The second chapter of Nehemiah shows us Nehemiah occupied with the duties of his office as the king's cupbearer. He "took up the wine, and gave it unto the king"; but his heart was occupied with other things, burdened as it was with the unutterable sorrow of his people's condition, and it was intolerable to the king that his cupbearer should wear a sorrowful face at such a time. It destroyed his own pleasure. And Nehemiah confesses that he "had not been beforetime sad in his presence." The king therefore was angry, and said, "Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart." "Then," says Nehemiah, "I was very sore afraid." v. 2. And well he might have been; for in such a mood, like a true Oriental despot, Artaxerxes might have ordered him forth to instant execution. But if afraid, God preserved to him his presence of mind, and led him, out of the abundance of his heart, to tell simply and truly the cause of his sorrow. He said to the king, "Let the king live forever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchers, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?" v. 3. The king was not unacquainted with the subject of his cupbearer's sorrow, for it was he who had permitted Ezra to go up to build the temple, and had himself given gold and silver to aid his object. God used Nehemiah's simple words to interest the king once more in the condition of Jerusalem. And he said, "For what dost thou make request?" Surely most would have hastened to answer the king, assuredly concluding that he would be certain, since he had deigned to put the question, to grant the desired favor. Not so Nehemiah (and this brings out a special trait of his character), for he says, "So I prayed to the God of heaven," and afterward he presented his petition. Not that we are to conclude that he kept the king waiting. By no means. But the point to be observed is, that before he answered his master he cast himself upon his God—he prayed to the God of heaven. He thus acknowledges his dependence for wisdom to say the right thing, and reveals the special characteristic which another has termed "a heart that habitually turned to God." We might well seek the same grace, for surely it is blessed at all times to be so walking in dependence on God, that when in the presence of difficulties, perplexities, and dangers, we naturally (if we may use the word) look to the Lord for the needed wisdom, direction, and succor. When this is the case, the presence of God will be more real to us than the presence of men.