We ought to pause over this account, short as it is, of Ezra's
character. A scribe was one conversant with the Scriptures; and as
Ezra was a ready scribe, and had dedicated himself particularly to
this service, no doubt the thing was of the Lord. For as the Holy
Ghost hath caused his writings to be... [ Continue Reading ]
The several features in this grant were all in favor of the church.
And how strange would it seem did we not look deeper than the surface
of the matter, and behold the Lord's hand in the direction, to view an
idolatrous heathen giving assistance to the church of Jesus. John saw
a wonder in heaven wh... [ Continue Reading ]
How beautiful is this ascription of praise in the mouth and heart of
Ezra. How lovely is it to see when men have grace to pass by second
causes and look wholly at the first. Joseph's history affords a
memorable instance of this, when referring the unkind behavior of his
brethren unto the kind ordina... [ Continue Reading ]
REFLECTIONS
How truly lovely doth Ezra the scribe appear in the view here given of
him! a scribe indeed well instructed in the law of God. Trained in a
foreign land, and under captivity, yet still his attachment to his
beloved Jerusalem, and the people of his fathers, and yet above all to
the God o... [ Continue Reading ]