Be not ye afraid of them - Are they more terrible or stronger than God?

Fight for your brethren - Your own countrymen, who worship the same God, and are come from the same stock; your sons, whom they wish to slay or lead into captivity; your daughters and wives, whom they wish to deflower and defile; and your houses, which they wish to seize and occupy as their own. They had every thing at stake; and therefore they must fight pro aris et focis, for their religion, their lives, and their property. A people thus interested, who once take up the sword, can never be conquered.

There is an address made to the Greeks by their leader in Aeschylus, Pers. ver. 402, similar to this, to excite them against the Persians: -

- Ω Παιδες Ἑλληνων, ιτε,

Ελευθερουτε πατριδ,ελευθερουτε δε

Παιδας, γυνιακας, θεων ρε πατρῳων ἑδη,

Θηκας τε προγονων· νυν ὑπερ παντων αγων.

" - Sons of the Greeks, go on!

Free now your country, and your children free;

Your wives, the temples of your fathers' gods,

And dear abodes of farthest ancestors: -

Now strike the blow for all!"

J. B. B. C.

And I looked,.... Took a view of the people, and observed that they were in their proper place, and sufficiently armed, and also whether the enemy was coming:

and rose up and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people; who were under their nobles and rulers, as their captains and commanders:

be not ye afraid of them; of their enemies, their numbers, and their threats:

remember the Lord, which is great and terrible; who is greater than they, and is to be feared and trusted in by his people, and is terrible even to the kings of the earth:

and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses; intimating, that they were in danger of losing all that was near and dear, valuable and precious to them, if they did not fight for them; and therefore it became them to quit themselves like men, and be strong.

(Nehemiah 4:8)

"And I looked, and rose up, and said." These words can only mean: When I saw the people thus placed with their weapons, I went to them, and said to the nobles, etc., "Be not afraid of them (the enemies); remember the Lord, the great and the terrible," who will fight for you against your enemies (Deuteronomy 3:22; Deuteronomy 20:3, and Deuteronomy 31:6), "and fight ye for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses," whom the enemies would destroy.

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: {h} remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

(h) Who is always on hand to deliver his out of danger: and therefore seeing they should fight for the maintenance of God's glory, and for the preservation of their own lives and of theirs, he encourages them to play the valiant men.

4:14 Looked - He looked up, engaged God for him, and put himself and his cause under the Divine protection. That was his way, and should be ours: all his cares, all his griefs, all his fears he spread before God. Great and terrible - You think your enemies are great and terrible. But what are they in comparison of God? Especially in opposition to him?

4:7-15 The hindering good work is what bad men aim at, and promise themselves success in; but good work is God's work, and it shall prosper. God has many ways of bringing to light, and so of bringing to nought, the devices and designs of his church's enemies. If our enemies cannot frighten us from duty, or deceive us into sin, they cannot hurt us. Nehemiah put himself and his cause under the Divine protection. It was the way of this good man, and should be our way. All his cares, all his griefs, all his fears, he spread before God. Before he used any means, he made his prayer to God. Having prayed, he set a watch against the enemy. If we think to secure ourselves by prayer, without watchfulness, we are slothful, and tempt God; if by watchfulness, without prayer, we are proud, and slight God: either way, we forfeit his protection. God's care of our safety, should engage and encourage us to go on with vigour in our duty. As soon as a danger is over, let us return to our work, and trust God another time.