Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we [are] in, how Jerusalem [lieth] waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
Ver. 17. Then said I unto them] Then, when I saw it a fit season to say it. It is an excellent skill to time a word, Isaiah 50:4. To circumstantiate it aright, Proverbs 25:11. That it may run as upon wheels: Nehemiah's words do so, notably. Verba prius ad limam revocata, quam ad linguam, words well weighed ere uttered. Nescit paenitenda loqui qui proferenda prius sue tradidit examini, He cannot but speak wisely who speaketh warily.
Jerusalem lieth waste] i.e., open to the spoiler; as the pope made account this land was in Henry VIII's time, when he had given it primo occupaturo, to him that should first invade and seize it.
Come, and let us build, &c.] With forces united, with one shoulder, Multorum manibus grande levatur onus.
That we be no more a reproach] Quam multa quam paucis! How much in a little! said Cicero of Brutus's laconical epistle; and the like may we say of this pithy and pathetic speech. Those that love to hear themselves talk, saith Bishop Pilkington upon this text, and with many words to colour their ill meaning, may here learn how a simple truth, plainly told in few words, worketh more in good men's hearts than a painted tale that hath little truth and less good meaning in it. An honest matter speaketh for itself, and needeth no colouring; and he that useth most flattering and subtle words maketh wise men mistrust the matter to be ill. A few words well placed are much better than a long unsavoury tale. Thus he.