344 THE DEFENCE

had to do was the work of God, and
that He would prosper and bless it.
So the Jews went on building, and
did not attend to what their enemies
said. .

When Sanballat saw that the walls
were almost finished, he felt very
angry: but he pretended to despise
what the people were doing, and
said to his friends, “What can
these poor weak Jews do? How
can they strengthen themselves ?
What power have they to build up

 

OF NEHEMIAH.

their city, and to settle in it again »»
Then Tobiah answered, “If they
do, the building will be so weak, that
a fox might break down their stone
wall.” So these wicked men laughed
at the Jews; but still the work went
on, and, at last, the walls were
finished. God was with His people
who trusted in Him, and He would
not suffer their enemies to destroy
what He had commanded to be
done.

 

CCXXVIII.

JHE PEFENCE

Soy| HEN the enemies of the
f\| Jews heard that the walls
were built, they conspired
together to come and fight
against Jerusalem. But
Nehemiah was told of this con-
spiracy, and he prepared to defend.
himself. First, he prayed to God,
and asked help from Him; for
Nehemiah knew that nothing could
hurt him and his people if God
protected him. Then he armed
some of his servants with swords,
and spears, and shields, and bows.
The rest went on with the building ;
but they all held a sword in one
hand, while they worked with the
other, that they might be ready to
defend themselves, if the enemy
should come. They kept watch
too, all day and all night; and a
man with a trumpet stood by Nehe-
miah, to sound an alarm, if there
was any danger, and call the people

 

or NEHEMIAH,

together in a moment. So all was
ready; and then Nehemiah spoke to
the people, and said, “ Be not afraid;
remember the Lord is great and
terrible; and fight for your brethren,
your sons, and your daughters, your
wives, and your houses.” Then the
people felt encouraged again, and
went on willingly with their work.
Nehemiah was right to take so
much care to defend himself and
his people. It is our duty, when
we are in danger, to do what we can
to save ourselves. But we must re-
member, as Nehemiah did, that all
we do will be of no use without the
blessing of God; and begin by ask-
ing His help and guidance. Then
we may feel safe, in all dangers and
troubles. And we may learn another
lesson from this story. We have not
such enemies as the Jews had 10
fight against; but we have enemies
of another kind, and we must pre-