Ezra 3:8-13

the Foundation of the Temple Laid

Ezra 3:8

Foundation-laying is not always pleasant work. It means toil under ground, down in the trenches, unnoticed and unknown, and those who begin are often not permitted to finish. But amid all, the minstrel Hope brought her harp, and sang her sweet strains of encouragement. In spite of the fewness and poverty of the builders, the voice of Inspiration had assured them that the glory of the latter house should surpass that of the former. So by the reckoning of faith, in sure anticipation that God would keep His word, the builders encircled their foundations with their songs. But the same event excited tears and shoutings. The old men looked back, and as they contrasted the impoverished and diminished condition of their people with the opulent crowds that had thronged the courts of Solomon's Temple, they could not restrain their tears. The young, new generation had not the same retrospect or ideals and, filled with hope of that which was to be, they could not restrain their shouts, which were heard afar off. “We have been,” said the graybeards, “and the good old times were better than these.” “We shall be,” said the young, “and we will make the coming days better than any that have been since the beginning of the world!”