Nehemiah 8:9-10 And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said to all the people… When I was about fifteen years of age I sat up one night with one of my class-mates, an aged man, who had suffered from spasmodic asthma for a number of years with great resignation and patience; and about the noon of night he called me to his bedside, and with difficulty articulated a few words, which were these: "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." He then closed his eyes, gathered up his feet, and slept with his fathers. I have blessed God a hundred times, a thousand times, that when I was so young in the way I saw a Christian die. "In the joy of the Lord" was his "strength" — the strength of his heart, and his portion for ever. (J. Entwistle.) Parallel Verses KJV: And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. |
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