Nehemiah 9:3

_AND THEY STOOD UP IN THEIR PLACE, AND READ IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW OF THE LORD THEIR GOD ONE FOURTH PART OF THE DAY; AND ANOTHER FOURTH PART THEY CONFESSED, AND WORSHIPPED THE LORD THEIR GOD._ Read in the book of the law. Their extraordinary zeal led them to continue this as before. ONE FOURTH PART OF THE DAY - i:e., for three hours, twelve hours being the acknowledged length of the Jewish day (John 11:9), so that this solemn diet of worship, which probably commenced at the morning sacrifice, was continued for six hours - i:e., until the time of the evening sacrifice. The worship which they gave to the Lord their God, at this season of solemn national humiliation, consisted in acknowledging and adoring His great mercy in the forgiveness of their great and multiplied offences, in delivering them from the merited judgments which they had already experienced or which t

1-3 The word will direct and quicken prayer, for by it the Spirit helps our infirmities in prayer. The careful study of God's word will more and more discover to us our own sinfulness, and the plenteousness of his salvation; thus it calls us to mourn for sin, and to rejoice in him. Every discovery of the truth of God, should render us more unwearied in attendance on his sacred word, and on his worship....

Verse Nehemiah 9:3. ONE _FOURTH PART OF THE DAY_] As they did no manner of work on this day of fasting and humiliation, so they spent the whole of it in religious duties. They began, says _Calmet_, on the _first_ hour, and continued these exercises to the _third hour_; from the _third_ they recommenced, and continued till the _sixth_ hour; from the _sixth_ to the _ninth_; and from the _ninth_, to the _twelfth_ or _last_ hour. 1. They heard the law read, standing; 2. They prostrated themselves, and confessed their sins; 3. They arose to praise God for having spared and dealt thus mercifully with them....

EXPOSITION SOLEMN FAST KEPT, WITH CONFESSION OF SINS; AND VOLUNTARY COVENANT WITH GOD ENTERED INTO BY THE PEOPLE, AND SEALED TO BY THE PRINCES, PRIESTS, AND LEVITES (Nehemiah 9:1.). When the law was first read to them on the opening day of the seventh month, the people had shown strong feelings of compunction, an earnest desire to return to God by the thorny way of repentance. In checking this feeling on that particular day, Ezra and Nehemia

CHAPTER 9 _ 1. The public humiliation and confession (Nehemiah 9:1)_ 2. The great confession and prayer (Nehemiah 9:6) Nehemiah 9:1. Two days after the feast of tabernacles had been concluded this humiliation and confession of sin took place. The assembled congregation fasted, with sackcloth and earth upon them. Separation was next. Evil confessed must mean evil put away. They separated themselves from all strangers, and after their confession they worshipped the Lord. Here again is the right order of a spiritual revival. Reading, hearing and believing the Word always comes first; humiliation, self-judgment, confession and true worship follow....

THE FAST AND A NATIONAL CONFESSION. All that took place, as described in this section, was the result of the reading of the Law. The command to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles having been observed, there followed a spontaneous outburst of self-condemnation on the part of the people, who were conscience-stricken on account of having hitherto neglected to observe the Law; they had clearly been desirous of expressing their sorrow before (see Nehemiah 8:9), but it would have been inappropriate during the feast. Fasting and prayerful confession were fitly followed (see next section) by a solemn act of resolution of amendment. Nehemiah 9:1. the twenty and fourth day: the second day after the celebration of the feast, _i.e._ in the seventh month (see...

THE BOOK OF THE LAW. See App-47. THE LORD. Hebrew. _Jehovah._ GOD. Hebrew. _Elohim._ App-4....

_a_. The Day of National Humiliation, and its religious services It must be admitted that, if the Great Day of Atonement were observed at this time, it is strange that its occurrence in this month was not made use of for the solemn service of confession. Perhaps this was one of the commands of -the law," of which the stricter observance as of the Feast of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8:17), was now first publicly made known to the people....

TEXT AND VERSE-BY-VERSE COMMENT B. The Levites lead in a psalm of confession. 1. Introduction: The occasion on which the prayer was offered is described. TEXT, NEHEMIAH 9:1-5 a 1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dirt upon them. 2 And the descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God. 4 Now on the Levites-' platform stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God. 5a Then the Levites

THE RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT 4. Stairs] lit. 'ascent': probably the pulpit of wood mentioned in Nehemiah 8:4. BANI.. BANI] One of the two names is probably an error for 'Binnui': cp. Nehemiah 12:8....