Nehemiah 9:2–3

The heart enters the word in a spiritual way. It bows to the word, and the bright hope of the people of God fills it with joy. Only then can we have a deeper sorrow. It is the greatest mistake to think that one truth works against another... Fill the hearts of God's people with God's future for them, and they will feel their present shortcomings all the more.

There is a reason for the use of the word seed here. It points out that they were a holy people, set apart to God. They were born of His people Israel, whom He had redeemed to Himself on the ground of the blood of the Passover Lamb. They were therefore a "holy seed," and they were to keep that holy character. God had brought them into this place. So to tie themselves to strangers denied it. It also broke down the barriers God Himself had set up between them and other peoples.

It is still required of all who name the Name of the Lord to depart from iniquity. But real separation calls for confession. The very fact that we have to separate at all proves we have been in wrong company, and that wrong calls for confession. And confession without separation would be unreal — for how can we continue in the evil we confess? So true separation and honest confession will always be found together.

Notice that separation came before confession. The word showed them they had sinned by joining themselves to strangers. They acted on what they saw, and then confessed their guilt before God. This is always God's order. The moment we see that something we have allowed, or are joined to, is condemned by the word of God, we must refuse it or separate from it. No circumstances can justify delay... To confess our sin while still holding on to it is only mockery.

They also confessed the iniquities of their fathers. They did so because the Lord's hand had been on them for this very reason. Their fathers' sins were why they had suffered captivity in Babylon. God's tender mercy had now restored them to their own land, yet they were still in bondage to a Gentile king. So they went down to the root of all the evil... Their humbling on this day was no shallow work.

This was not sectarianism, but real obedience. Their separation was essential to their existence as a people. They could not have enjoyed the divine presence on any other ground... The great difficulty is to combine a spirit of intense separation with a spirit of grace, gentleness, and patience. As another has said, the aim is "to keep a narrow circle with a wide heart."

You might think that separation from others would produce a feeling of self-superiority. But no, it did not... And then there is reading, confession, and worship. Ah, this is of God: it is the divine order. Separation from evil brings us to abhor ourselves before God. And the more we read His word, the more we have to confess; and, wonderful to tell, the more we confess, the more we worship.

When we are called on to judge an obvious evil, we will agree easily enough to humble ourselves as a group. We agree so long as the act does not force each of us, one by one, to confess our own sins and the wrongs we have committed. We will accept any compromise rather than that.

The Jewish day had four periods of three hours, starting at six in the morning. So they read the Scriptures for three hours, and confessed and worshipped for three hours. And what more blessed work could they have been doing? No doubt God Himself taught them and led them in this.

No confession can be complete without the Word. It is only through the Word that we learn what God is, what does not fit His character, and what we ourselves have been. What is more, the confession of the people was in direct proportion to what the Word revealed to them. One fourth of the day went to reading the law, and one fourth of the day went to confession. They had come to know the source of their strength in the book of the law. In this same book they now learn to judge their condition, so that they can confess it without holding anything back.

Someone might think that separating from others would produce a feeling of self-superiority. But no; it did not... And then there is reading, confession, and worship. Ah, this is of God: it is the divine order. Separation from evil brings us to loathe ourselves before God. And the more we read His word, the more we have to confess. And, amazing to tell, the more we confess, the more we worship... Self-judgment produces dependence on God, and faith in God.

It does not matter whether the people are giving praise to God or humbling themselves because of their failure. Either way, all of it is the outcome of the word of God applied to the conscience.

First, they separated themselves from every tie with foreigners that they had been allowing. Second, they confessed their own sins, as well as the wrongs their fathers had been involved in. Then third, they honoured their God by worshipping Him. They recognised that the word of the Lord, which they read, demanded obedience.

On every side we hear complaints of coldness and indifference, and of how little we feel our real condition... Look, then, at the example of these children of the captivity — the divine remedy, the true way of a real revival. In some places there may be only two or three who feel the present evils. But let these two or three get together. Let them test themselves, and everything else, by the Word, and confess their sins and the sins of their fathers. They would soon rejoice as God stepped in and delivered them... Even if we did no more than confess that we have no power to pray, it would be the dawning of hope in many an assembly.