The opposition raises its head again. But it came to pass that when Zambala and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very rough, and conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem and to hinder it. Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God and set a watch against them day and night because of them. And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build the wall. And her adversary said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. And it came to pass that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places when she shall return unto us, they will be upon you. Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and in the higher places I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them. Remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, And God had brought their counsel to naught, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, and shields, and bows, and hapergens, and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. They which builded on the wall, and they that bear burdens with those that laid it, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so build it. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. Amen. We'll finish there at verse 18. We trust that God will bless through our hearts the reading of his word this evening. It's verse 10 that I want to especially draw your attention to tonight, where this word comes to Nehemiah. where Judah said the strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed and there is much rubbish so that we are not able to build the wall. And what you have here is weariness amongst the workers or weariness in well doing as these men were working in the will of God working upon a work that was extremely good under an extremely good leader and yet we find them growing weary as they laboured on this matter. left with our Bibles open there we will bow in a further word of prayer and seek the Lord's face again before we come to his word. Father we thank thee for the reading of this chapter and we pray tonight that thou wilt bless it to our souls we are in need now of thy help Lord and we pray that thou wilt bless thy word to our souls we think of the psalmist praying open thou mine eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of thy law and Father we pray that thou wilt open our eyes that we might behold wonderful things out of thy law this evening. Encourage our hearts, we pray, for we ask these things in our Saviour's precious name. Amen. As C. H. Spurgeon, the prolific preacher and writer of the 1800s, continued his vast ministry in the City of London, he was burdened to commence a college to help young men in the gospel ministry. Spurgeon realised that there were many doing a work for God, especially in the City of London, but in other parts of England as well. Young men who had limited knowledge, men who had few resources, men who had little training and practically no support. And so in 1856, despite his already very busy schedule, he opened what became known as the Pastor's College. Spurgeon himself took part in the classes. He delivered a series of lectures and during those lectures he dealt with the subject of fainting in God's work. In his introductory comments, Virgin made this statement to his students, the strong are not always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous, and the joyous not always happy. He went on to say fits of depression come over the most of us. With those words and the introductory comments of that lecture on the subject of fainting in God's works, Spurgeon identified a very common problem in the work of God, namely that the very best of men can grow weary and faint in their hearts. When you read through the Old and the New Testament, you'll find that that truth is borne out in the lives of many eminent saints of God. When you think of David the King of Israel, the man after God's own heart, It is said of him in 2 Samuel 21 verse 15 Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel and David went down and his servants with him and fought against the Philistines and David waxed faint. Now David was a seasoned soldier He knew what it was to fight against the Philistines. He knew what it was to take up the weapons and to war for Israel and for God's cause. And yet, in that particular battle with the Philistines, his strength fled. He was overcome with weakness. Mighty David was not as mighty as he had been before. The disciples grew weary, especially in those hours immediately after the death of Christ. Peter himself was ready to return to his fishing. Two others had left for Emmaus and were moving out of Jerusalem and were filled with fear. And others of the disciples were filled with a dread of the future. Hearts that once were filled with so much gladness were now filled with so much gloom. You find a similar thing in the church at Galatia. It found itself in a position where Paul had to counsel them not to be weary in well-doing, for in due season they would reap if they fainted not. And there's a very real danger there that those believers would faint and therefore miss out on the blessing of God. It's even said of Martin Luther, the great reformer, that his great spirit was often in the seventh heaven of exaltation and as frequently on the borders of despair. One moment filled with zeal and vigor, filled with an enthusiasm, filled with joyous expectation of what God was going to do, and then at the next moment Mark Luther found himself in the depths of despair. And fainting in God's work is not an uncommon problem. In fact, if we're all honest, we're prone to grow weary and fall in our zeal and in our strength for God. Nehemiah and his fellow workers were no exception to this particular problem. Although these men had shown tremendous vision and tremendous vitality for the work of God, although they were burdened for Jerusalem and had been blessed by the Lord, although they had worked with a spirit of absolute devotion and dedication and determination rarely seen in modern times, Even though they had done all of those things, the news was brought to Nehemiah that the strength of the bearers of burdens had decayed. In other words, these mighty men had grown weary. The word decayed there in verse 10 simply means fallen. It suggests something that is tottering. or something that is stumbling. And the idea behind the word is that of men who had grown weary or grown weak. And that's how it was with these builders. They had labored well, but as time passed they had grown tired. I'm not suggesting for a moment that they had lost heart in the work. I don't believe that was the case. I'm not suggesting that they had grown disillusioned with life in Jerusalem, or that they were ever sorry that they commenced this project. That would seem an entirely unfair charge against them, as we'll see later on. But the fact remains, their strength was not what it once was. Their strength had decayed. They had grown weary. They were worn out. Time had taken its toll upon them and tiredness had overcome them and that posed another problem and presented another obstacle in this work for God. And weariness still affects God's people. And maybe many more than we ever care to imagine are afflicted with a weariness in their Christian life. It may be for various reasons. It may be under various circumstances. But many of God's people, I'm sure, can identify with these words, the bearers of burden, their strength has decayed. I want to look at that theme tonight, the theme of weariness amongst the workers, or amongst the work of God. Notice with me, first of all, the causes of this weariness. Although Nehemiah and his co-workers were the very best of men, they were just men at the best. There was nothing supernatural about their constitution. They were not divine, they were not angelic, they were not endowed with extraordinary powers. They were just ordinary men and therefore they were naturally prone to growing weary. No man, however strong he may be, No man, however well built he may be, can sustain an exceptional level of service continually. Our strength, because we are men, because we are humans, our strength is naturally inclined to fade and to fall. But beside that natural difficulty, there were other circumstances here. There were other reasons, other causes as to why these Jews came into this particular situation. You'll notice there that they grew weary because of their resistance by the wicked. Nehemiah 4 is not only a chapter of building, it's a chapter of battle. The enemies of God's people wasted no time in opposing this great work for God. In fact, as Nehemiah, as soon as he expressed his interest in going to Jerusalem, to rebuild the walls as soon as he came within the precincts of this city and was crossing over the river in chapter 2. These men were enraged that someone had come to seek the welfare of the Jewish people. You have that in Nehemiah chapter 2 in verse 10 and verse 19. and you have that thought of opposition intensified in chapter 4 verse 1 because when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall he was wroth and took great indignation and mocked the Jews and then again verse 7 it deepens even further for Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Asterites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up and that the breaches began to be stopped then they were very wroth Now there are terms there that we ought to notice. In verse 1, they were wrath and they took great indignation. That phrase simply means they were filled with anger. They were enraged. greatly annoyed, greatly disturbed that the walls of Jerusalem were being rebuilt and the gates were being repaired. And these men, when they heard this, not only mocked the Jews, but they took great indignation or they became extremely angry. And that anger led them to plot for the destruction of the work of God. And when Samballad and Tobiah and these enemies heard that God was blessing the work, they planned to come and to frustrate the rebuilding of the walls again. If you look at verse 11, they say, they shall not know, speaking of the Jews, these enemies said, they shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them and slay them and cause the work to see. Such was their hatred against the Jews and against this work that they were prepared to slay them. Now that resulted in Nehemiah having to put men on watch on the walls. And the workers therefore became watchmen. We'll come back to this theme, God willing, next Tuesday night, again this theme of watching. But because of this constant attack by the enemy Nehemiah had to put men on the walls so that they would watch for the advancement of the enemy. He not only had to give them tools whereby they could build, he had to give them weapons whereby they could battle. And the threat from the enemy was real. The threat was extremely intensive. Day after day, night after night, there was this constant danger that the enemy would come and not only slay the workers, but stop the work of God. And that fact, that there were men offering a constant resistance to the work of God, had a wearying impact upon these Israelites. The fact that the enemy was ever present, and that they were engaged in a battle that continued day after day, night after night, caused these men to lose their strength. You turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter 30. You'll find something similar in the life of David's men. 1 Samuel chapter 30 recalls for us that time when David came back to Ziklag and discovered that his own city had been burned with fire and that David seeks the Lord in prayer. regarding whether or not he should go to recover what had been taken from Ziklag, and of course the Lord's word is that he should go. And so David arms his men, men who were ready to stone him to death, and he calls the men together. But it speaks in verse 9, So David went he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed. But David pursued he and four hundred men, for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. Now when David and his men came back to Ziklad, they had just come from a time of battle. They had come from times of war. And these men, when they come to go and to pursue after the Amalekites, they discover that they are so faint that they cannot go on. The constant battle that those men were involved in as they fought with David and alongside David, that constant battle had taken its toll upon them and they were so faint that they could go no further. And they had to abide by the stuff. And Christian, it's no different in our life in this world. We face constant resistance to our walk with God, not only from the devil and from the world, but from our own flesh. And there's a constant battle for the believer. A constant struggle as he lives in this world and as he seeks to go on with God, as he strives to go forward, there's always that which is resisting him. Paul speaks of it in Romans chapter 7. The things that he would do were the things he didn't do. And the things he didn't want to do were the things he found himself doing. And he spoke of the body of this death resisting him. And isn't that how it is with us tonight? We seek to make progress with God and we are resisted. We seek to see the work of God go forward and we find an obstacle. We seek in our own lives to do business with God and advance in the Christian life and we find ourselves opposed at every side and the devil and the world and their flesh strive to hinder us, strive to drive us back as they did with the Galatian Christians. And Paul has to ask, who did hinder you? And the Christian finds himself in a very same position, and it can be wearying. Because of that constant resistance, we find our spiritual strength starting to decay. So it was with these men, with this constant presence of the enemy, and they had grown weary. Notice also they grew weary because of not only the resistance of the wicked but the requirements of the work. There is an interesting phrase there in verse 10 where Judah said the strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed. The word burden there has to do with bearing a load. In fact it has a very graphic suggestion when it speaks of bearing the burdens, it has the idea of dragging yourself along, dragging a load with you and dragging yourself along to do the work. It pictures extremely heavy work, strenuous effort. It has the idea of great exertion where men are laboring to build the wall and giving themselves intensely to that work. It's the same phrase that's used of men who hewed the timber from the mountain as they built Solomon's temple. Hard, hard labour. And the thought behind the phrase is anything but easy. And here were men who were giving themselves to that kind of work. I've read commentators on that verse who suggested that these men were simply unwilling to work. That this comment to Nehemiah was an exaggeration of the problems. That these men had no desire to bear burdens in the Lord's work. Quite frankly, I don't believe that. Because when I look over at verse 17 and verse 15, in verse 17 I discover that when the problem was dealt with the men went straight back to the work again it says in verse 17 we returned all of us to the wall everyone on to his work and in verse 16 the last word you have the thought of Judah there and they which build it on the wall and they that bear burdens it wasn't that these men were unwilling to work because they go back to the work It wasn't that they were ready just to throw it up or that they were exaggerating the problem. I don't understand where commentators get that idea from. The thought is here that due to the immensity of the work, due to the pressure of the work, due to the requirements that were placed upon these men, and remember they were repairing gates that had been demolished in the invasion of Jerusalem. They were repairing walls that had been broken down when the Babylonians had come in to take the city many years earlier. And there was so much rubble and so much rubbish, and we'll come to that, that now the very animals that Nehemiah was riding on could barely pass by. And there was great demands placed upon these men as they sought to build the wall up again. And that fact caused them to grow weary. It wasn't that they were trying to shirk their responsibility rather they had given themselves wholeheartedly to this work and in giving themselves to a work that was difficult they had grown weary in their service for God. And the demands of Christian service can have that effect on many of God's people. It may be you're seeking to bring your family up in the ways and the admonition of the Lord. and you find there are great requirements there, great demands placed upon you. It may be that you're teaching a Sunday school class and the preparation for the class and the teaching of the class can sometimes be an effort that demands our great attention and that can cause us to grow weary. It may be some other aspect of God's service and such is the responsibility, such is the importance of the work. that you find your strength just being sapped away. While there was a resistance of the wicked and their requirements in the work, these men grew weary also because of the rubbish at the wall. They had to work under difficult circumstances. Jerusalem had been ravished by the Babylonians and the aftermath of that invasion was still evident. The rubble was still strewn across the city and debris lay there in rough heaps. And these men had to work in the midst of that. That's why verse 10 makes mention of that fact. Judah said the strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed and there is much rubbish so that we are not able to build the wall. These men had to pull down before they could ever build up. They had to remove the rubble before they could ever repair the wall. And the presence of that rubbish, that rubble, that debris around the base of the wall cause them to lose their strength. Is it not the case that there is much rubbish that we face as God's people in this world? You think of the moral rubbish that abounds in the ever increasing tide of sin that comes against the child of God. You think of the moral rubbish that prevails in our nation that is promoted by government. And it seems when you listen to the news there's something else that's done that encourages sin and promotes sin. And that can have a wearing effect upon the child of God. You look at the social rubbish. I read an article just the other day which stated that children in a school in England will be allowed to swear at their teacher five times in a class. And then after that will be marked up on the board. permitting children to use the foulest of language. And that's the spirit of the age. That's the spirit that prevails. And no matter when you read the news or listen to the news or watch what's going on in the world, that kind of theme appears again and again. Sin is being excused. Sin is being promoted. Think of it theologically. Think of it in regard to the church of Jesus Christ. And think of the rubbish that abounds there. It's an age of apostasy where the great truths of God's word are denied, openly denied. No longer are those who deny scripture skulking around in the darkness or in the background. They have come right out into the open against the things of God and compromise and ecumenism and modernism and liberalism have spread right throughout the land and it's a day off. theological, ecclesiastical rubbish. And when the child of God watches that kind of situation unfold before him, he can grow weary. How often have we not said and thought, where is it going to end? What's it going to be like in a few years time? What kind of generation will our children be growing up into? And that constant situation of wickedness and sinfulness that prevails can weary the child of God. I'm sure you've sat like me and you've just shaken your head when you hear what goes on in the land and you think, how can it be? Almost on the point of despair. That's how it was with these men. The strength of the bearers of burdens was decayed. And what Christian hasn't experienced that kind of thing? Every believer has burdens. Maybe family burdens, maybe personal burdens, maybe things that no one else knows anything about. And you find yourself with your strength failing and you growing faint. Just as Spurgeon spoke of, that depressing fits are things that are common to many of God's people. As I was here, these men had lost their strength. Notice the consequences of this weariness. The loss of the strength of the Jews had led to a dreadful situation emerging within the work of God. It wasn't a minor thing, What Judah said here, the strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed and there is much rubbish so that we are not able to build the wall. That wasn't some minor problem. It led to some very serious consequences. Notice verse 10 speaks of the fact that the work was stopped so that we are not able to build the wall. Up until this time the men had worked with dedication. They had been determined. Nothing hindered them. They toiled until the very breaches were made up. You have that thought in verse 7. Until the very gates and the locks and the bars were all put in place and the gates were reopened again. You have that in chapter 3. They were men who served unitedly, served fervently. They let nothing up until this time at least. They let nothing stop their progress. But when their strength was gone, the work came to a halt. They could not go on. The loss of strength meant the loss of steady progress. That can happen with the Christian. I was reading today in Exodus chapter 17, that great chapter where Moses has cause to lament because of the sin of Israel and they're murmuring for water and they're coming before the Lord and they're speaking there in Rephidim because there's no water for the people to drink and They come to chide with Moses and to complain against him. And Moses says, why chide ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? And the people thirsteth for water. And there's trouble here. And Moses is growing weary with that kind of situation. And he takes it to the Lord. And he takes it to the Lord in prayer. And what does the Lord say to him in Exodus 17 verse 5? The Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel, and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the ripper, take in thine hand, and go. Did you mark what he says there? He says to Moses, Go on and go. And the thought has to be that Moses was on the point of giving up. He was on the point of stopping. And the Lord says, No, Moses, go on and go. And very often, when the child of God finds himself weary, he's tempted to stop. He's tempted to give up. He's tempted just to stop where he is and not strive on with God any further. And the work can stop. The walk with God can stop and that's a tragedy. Notice not only did the work stop but the wicked were strengthened in their evil work. I learned that from verse 11. And I think you ought to link these words together here. In verse 10 you have the statement, And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish, so they were not able to build the wall. And then you have this statement, And our adversary said, So you have Judah coming and he is speaking to Nehemiah and he said something and then immediately afterwards our adversary said they shall not know neither see till we come in the midst among them and slay them and cause the work to cease. In other words these adversaries believed that these weary Jews would not notice. The weary Jews would not see until they were right in amongst them. and they would slay them and cause the work to cease for good. The enemies were going to exploit the weariness of the people. When they found their strength going, they thought they'd seized the opportunity to come in against them. A little like Samson. When Samson lost his strength, His hair was cut, the Philistines moved in and tried and did for a time stop his work as a judge of Israel. He'd lost his strength and they poured his eyes and carried him down to Gaza and made him to grind in the prison house. And weak workers, when we grow weary, are an easy prey for a wily enemy. It's no different for us tonight. Believers who fall into a state of discouragement and weakness and spiritual tiredness will find themselves the special target of the devil's attack. He will, he'll come just at that time when your strength is at its lowest and the devil will seek to use that opportunity to do you harm. Notice further that the people of God at this time fell into a state of despair and hopelessness I've mentioned there the phrase in verse 10 and Judah said and then verse 11 and our adversary said and then link that with verse 12 and it came to pass when the Jews which dwelt by them came they said unto us So you have the men of Judah coming to Nehemiah, and they're lamenting that the strength of the bearers of burdens has decayed. When that news is there, then the adversaries, they say, well, we'll move in amongst them and we'll slay them and stop the work. And then when that is heard, these men, these Jews which dwelt by that area of the land, then they said, and notice they said ten times, from all places when she shall return unto us, they will be upon you. What are they saying there? They're saying the enemies are going to come and destroy you. And these are the Jews speaking to Nehemiah. And they're coming to Nehemiah and they're saying to him, these enemies from all places when you return to us, they're going to come in upon you. And ten times they give that message. Ten times that discouraging word was brought. There was a nair here of utter despondency. And these Jews could see no way forward for the work. They were talking as if the enemy had already gained the victory. They were speaking as if the enemy had already done their evil work and they felt that there was nothing they could do. They believed the case was hopeless. And ten times, it wasn't just once that they came with this message, but repeatedly they came and said, whatever way you come here, whatever is going to happen, these men are going to be in upon us. and the people of God fell into a state of despair and hopelessness. Spiritual weariness can lead us to be marked with spiritual hopelessness. You know when a Christian gets down in the dumps there, he feels there's no way forward for him. And the devil of course will encourage that. He'll encourage that kind of thinking. We get down into the depths of despair and the devil, you can be guaranteed, will make that situation ten times worse. And he'll come and he'll say, there's no hope for you. And we'll fall further and further into that way of thinking. Spiritual weariness is a dangerous thing. because it leads to these tragic consequences. But notice with me lastly the conquering of this weariness. That situation that unfolded here posed a great problem for Nehemiah. How does he answer it? Well there are a number of things that he does to encourage these people and to strengthen them. and to help them overcome this sense of weariness that had crept up amongst the people of God. Notice he encouraged the people to strengthen each other in the work. Look at verse 13, Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and in the higher places I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. It seems to me as I read verse 13 that Nehemiah gets the people together They're not scattered along the wall. He has them together after their families. And he encourages this sense of strengthening each other and uniting with each other and being together with each other that he might counteract this weariness. He doesn't just turn a blind eye to it. That's a very important thing. Nehemiah does not dismiss this complaint. He does not dismiss this comment that the strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed. He takes it on board and he seeks to encourage these people to strengthen each other in the work of God. That's a good place to start. We are to bear one another's burdens. We are to pray for one another. When Paul speaks those words in the New Testament, he's not just Speaking of something that has no relevance for us tonight, we ought to pray for each other. We ought to pray for God's people. We ought to encourage each other. We ought to seek to come alongside and strengthen each other. And Nehemiah encourages that. And that's something we should be at pains to do. We ought to seek to strengthen each other in our walk with God. Notice also he made use of every means of defense. In verse 13, I even sent the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. He armed them. He armed them, especially in the face of the enemy. When this word comes that these adversaries were going to slay the people, going to stop the work, Nehemiah goes and he arms the people and the first thing he gives them is the sword. Where do we counteract the spirit of weariness and how do we deal with this matter of warring against our enemies? We take up the sword of the Spirit of God. In Christianity you find yourself growing weary of the devil coming in, bringing you down into despair, and as you serve the Lord, your strength seems to go, then take up the sword of the Spirit of God. Take up the Scriptures. Read there. Read carefully. Read slowly. Ponder the promises of God. Consider the words of the Lord Himself to your own soul. Take a hold of God's Word. As these men had to take a grip of the sword, And they held in one hand a weapon and in the other hand a sword. Then take up the sword of God's word and encourage yourself with the word of God. Notice also he reminded the Jews of their God in verse 14. I looked and rose up and said unto the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, be not ye afraid of them. Remember the Lord. Remember the Lord. And if you take away nothing else tonight but those three words, remember the Lord. Christian, when you're weary, remember the Lord. When things are not going as you would like them to go and you've been seeking God's help and crying to God to intervene, remember the Lord. If you have burdens on your heart and they're weighing you down, remember the Lord. When it feels all is black and gloomy and hopeless and despairing, remember the Lord. Remember the Lord. That's what Nehemiah says, and he says, remember the Lord which is great and terrible and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses. Remember the great and terrible God that you have. It's almost as if they had forgotten the Lord. In the midst of all their work, in the midst of all of this constant warfare and the bearing of these burdens, could it be that they had forgotten the Lord and that's why they'd grown weary? Very often the child of God can grow weary when he takes his eyes off the Lord. Remember the Lord, he tells them, and that will be an encouragement to them. He urged them also to consider the future generations. Look at verse 14. He says at the end of that verse, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses. Fight for your sons, fight for your daughters. Remember there's a cause here to fight for. Remember there's a work that's worthy to be engaged in. It's almost as if he's appealing to them by saying, what would happen to your families if this work was to stop? fight, fight for your families. Remember there's a cause to engage in that's worthy and that's important. Those steps were marked with wisdom and God blessed them. He blessed them because in verse 15 we read that we returned all of us to the wall, everyone on to his work. The enemies heard but it was known, it was heard amongst the enemies what God had done, that God had brought their counsel to naught. And every man where the law had stopped, every man went back to his work again and took up the cause of God and the work went on. Because weariness can be overcome. This whole thought of their strength being decayed had the potential to wreck the world. had the potential to stop it completely but they overcame the weariness. They overcame the weariness when they got their eyes upon the Lord. Christian, that has to be the answer for us. What does Paul say in Hebrews? We are to consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself lest we be faint and wearied in our minds. And in your weariest moments, remember Christ gives the truest rest. Therefore we can come to him with all our burdens. Because remember, these burdens are lifted at Calvary. And while we all have burdens to carry, let's not carry them ourselves but cast our care upon him. Knowing that just as Nehemiah cared for those people, we have one who is our Governor, who cares for us, Jesus Christ our Saviour. And I trust that God will encourage our hearts and tonight if you are weary and there are matters in your Your life matters in your heart that are weighing down heavily upon you. Remember the Lord and carry those burdens to heaven. God will give you strength because he has promised to give strength to the field. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength and they shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk, or in the case of Nehemiah, they shall work and not be weary. May God bless his word to our hearts for Jesus' sake.