Ezra 3:13

Why so? It was the cause of tears to the older men. They felt how poor the present expression of the Lord's glory among them was, compared with what they had once seen. It was a source of joy to the others, because they had only known the utter collapse of the name of the Lord on the earth. Now their hearts were glad that at any rate there was a distinct and decided confession of that name as entitled to gather His people together, even though they were only a remnant here below. They were both right, yet how different the expression of their hearts!... I am persuaded that, of the two, the older men had the deeper sense of God's glory.

Joy was in His presence and acceptable. Tears confessed the truth. They gave witness to a just sense of what God had been for His people, and of the blessing they had once enjoyed under His hand... and these tears were acceptable to Him. The weeping could not be distinguished from the shout of joy. This was a truthful result: natural and sad, yet fitting in the presence of God. For He rejoices in the joy of His people, and He understands their tears.

Joy could well be unmixed in those who were still young and could not remember the past. They were present at a kind of resurrection of the people. In it they saw the marvellous intervention of the grace of God. Who would want to stop them rejoicing? But the priests, the Levites, and the chief fathers wept. They were in closer communion with God, so they were more conscious of the dishonour brought upon His name. And the old men wept because they had known better times.

Even in that hour of loud joy over the foundation laid, the old men wept. They felt the ruin and its moral causes more. God saw and cherished the tears. Men were more alive to the joy that greeted the promising act of that day. Both bore witness that the Lord is good, and His mercy is for ever. That holds true whatever the failure of His people and His righteous notice of it.

We see those tears as expressing another side of things. That side should always be present when we are able to rejoice in a time of revival granted in the mercy of God. However blessed the revival, the memory of the grace and power that marked the beginning of things tempers our rejoicing... this, though it may not bring tears to our eyes, will have a very sobering effect upon us for our good.

This mixture of joy and loud weeping rose up before God. It was so blended that one could not tell one sound from the other, and "the sound was heard far away." In the same way, some today have at heart the building of the house of God and the laying again of its ruined foundations. Their attitude should show that a true humbling over their state cannot be separated from their joy. That joy comes from celebrating together the work and person of Christ, the only foundation of present and future blessing.

It is the failure that causes the tears, and we must not be indifferent to it. The truth will not make us indifferent to it; the more we know it, the more deeply we shall feel the failure. But it will not depress us, for we shall turn from it to the Lord, "because He is good, for His mercy endures for ever."