Nehemiah 8:6

And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with [their] faces to the ground.

Ver. 6. And Ezra blessed the Lord] i.e. He called upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, Psalms 18:3. He prayed before he read and preached. So ought we to do by his example, as Lyra well noteth; and as is commonly done by all our ministers. Luther's usual prayer before sermon was this, Confirm, O God, in us what thou hast wrought; and perfect the work that thou hast begun to thy glory. Lord, open our eyes, that we may see the wonders of thy law, &c. Zuinglius began his public lectures thus, O Almighty, everlasting, and merciful God, whose Word is a light to our feet, and a lantern to our paths, open and enlighten our minds, that we may piously and holily understand thine oracles, and be so transformed thereinto, that we may not in anything displease thy majesty, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. The Platonists could say, that the light of our minds whereby we learn all things is no other but God himself, the same that made all things. This made Ezra here bless the Lord, that is, say, with David, Psalms 119:12, Blessed be thou, O Lord: teach us thy statutes.

The great God] The true Trismegist, the Fortissimus Maximus, Opt. Max. All whose attributes are in the highest degree, yea, in a degree beyond any superlative.

And all the people answered, Amen, Amen] This word is Hebrew; but used in all languages, in the close of prayers. The doubling of it here importeth their assent, and their assurance. It is the voice of one that believeth and expecteth that he shall have his prayers granted. The Septuagint render it, so be it; or, so it is. The apostle reckoneth it for a great loss when people either say not Amen to public prayers, or not heartily and affectionately, as here, 1 Corinthians 14:16, "Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say, Amen?" The Turks also, when their priest hath said his litany, such as it is, make answer in manner of a shout, Homin, that is, Amen.

With lifting up their hands] And with their hearts, unto God in the heavens, Lamentations 3:41. This Nazianzen judgeth to be optimum opus manuum, the best work of the hands, sc. in caelos eas extendere, ad precesque expandere, to stretch them towards heaven, and to hold them out in prayer. This way David ennobled his tongue (therefore called his glory), and so men may their hands.

And they bowed their heads] In token of the lowliness of their hearts. These outward gestures, as they issue from the fervency of a good heart, so they reflect upon the affections, and do further inflame them. Only note, that these bodily exercises are not always or absolutely necessary in Divine worship. God looks chiefly at the heart, and hateth all outside service and heartless devotion, Isaiah 1:11,23; Isaiah 66:3, and such as is that of the Jews at this day. Their holiness, saith one, is the outward work itself, being a brainless head and soulless body. And the like may be said of the Papist, and of the common Protestant, whoso body is prostrate, but his soul bolt upright within him.