The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-04-03
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN.
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Thc Moonlight Ride"

back, and entered by the gatc Of the ualteH
and so rcturasd.'-Nehemiah H., ID.
A dead city is more suggestive than liv-
ing city-past Rome than present Rome
ruins rather than newly frescoed cathedral.
But the best time to visit ruin is by moon
light. The Coliseum is far more fascinating
to the traveller after sundown than before.
You may stand by daylight amid the monas-
tic ruins of Melrose Abbey, and study
shafted oriel, and rosetted stone and mullion,
but they throw their strongest witchery by
moonlight. Some of you remember what
the enchanter of Scotland said in the tLay
of the Last Minstrel"
Wouldst thou view fair Merosc Alright,
Go visit it by the pale moonlight.
Washington Irving describes the Anda-
lusian moonlight upon the Alhambra ruins
as amounting to all enchantme mt. My text
presents you Jerusalem in ruins. The tower
down. The gates down. The walls down.
Everything down. Nehemiah on horseback,
by moonlight looking upon the ruins. While
he rides, there are some friends on foot going
with him, for they do not want the many
the people. These people do no know
the secret of Nehemiah's heart, but they are
going as sort OF body guard. hear the
clicking hoof Of the horse on which Nehe-
miah rides, as he guides it this way and that,
into this gate and out of that, winding
great Jerusalem. Now the horse comes to
dead halt at the tumbled masonry where he
cannot pass. Now he SHES off at the charred
timbers. Now he comes along where the wa
ter under the moonlight flashes from the
mouth CT the brazen dragon after which the
gate was named. Heavy hearted Nehemiah!
Riding in and out, now by his old home
desolated, now by tue defacsd temple, now
amid the scars Of the city that had gone
hot
tion. The escorting party knows not what
Nehemiah means. Is he getting crazyl Havc
his own personal sorrows, added to tho sor-
rows of the nation, unbalanced his intellect?
Still the midnight exploration goes on.
Nehemiah on horseback rides through the
fish gate, by the tower OF the furnaces, by
the Kings pool, by the dragon well, in and
out, in an0 out until the midnight ride is
completed, and Nehemiah dsmounts from
his Eorse, and TO the amazed and confounded
and incredulous body guard, declares the
dead secret of his heart when he says:
"Come, now, let us build Jerusalem
Nv What Nehemiah @ have you you any 5yI1S money!
shoptyp MG Nen SSH Saave any you As Any eio. a
.quencer' 'No." Yet that midnight, moon
light ride of Nehemiah resulted in the glori-
Gus rebuilding of the city Of Jerusalem, The
people knew not how the thing was to be
done, but with great enthusiasm they cried
OUT LET us rise up now and build the CITY,"
Some people laughed and said it could not be
thing thing should RSidI not be- done. But the
workmen went right on, standing
on the wall, trowel in one hand
sword in the other: until the work was
gloriously completed. At that very time, in
Greece. Xenophon was writing history,
and Plato was making. philosophy, and
Demostheues was rattling bis rhetorical
thunder, but all of them together did not do
50 much for the world rs this midnight,
moonlight ride OF praying, courageous, home
sick, close-mouthed Nehemiah.
My subject first impresses NE with the idea
what an intense thing is church affection.
miah. Why are you risking your life here
In the night! Your horse will stumble over
these ruins and fall on you. Stop this use
less exposure of your life. No; Nehemiah
will not stop. He at last tells US the whole
story. He LET'S us know he was an exile in a
far distant lane, and he was servant, cup
bearer in the palace Of Artaxerxes Longi-
manus and one day. while he was handing
the cup of wine to the King, the King said
TO him: What is the matter with you! You
are not sick. know you must have some
great trouble. What is the matter with
your Then he told the King how that be-
loved Jerusalem was broken down;
how that his fathers tomb had
been desecrated how that the Temple had
been dishcnored and defaced; how that the
walls were scattered and broken. "Well,"
says King Artaxerxes, "what do you want?"
SWELL" said the cup-bearer Nehemiah,
II want to 60 hone. l want to fix up
the grave of my father I want to re-
store the beauty of the Temple. l want
to rebuild the masonry of the city wall.
Besides, I want passports so that I shall
not be hindered III my Journey: And be-
sides that" as you will find in the context,
II want an order on tho man who keeps your
forest for just so much timber as may need
for the rebuilding of the city" .'How long
shall you be gone" said the King. The
time of absence is arranged. In hot
haste tlis seeming adventurer comes
to Jerusalem, and in my text we
find him Oh horseback, i'll the midnight,
riding around the ruins 1t is through the
spectacles of this scene that We discover the
ardent at achment of Nehemiah for sacred
Jerusalem, which in all ages has been
the type Of the church of God, our
Jerusalem, which We love just as much
as Nehemiah loved his Jerusalem.
The fact is that you love the church of God
70 much that there is no spot on earth so
sacred, unless it is your own firesile. The
illumination that there is moth ng that
makes you so 1rate as to have it talked
against If there have been times when you
have been carried into captivity by
sickness, you longed for tho church.
our holy Jerusalem, just as much as
Nehemiah longed for his Jerusalem, and the
first day you came out you came to the
house Of the Lord. When the Temple was
in ruins as ours was years ago, like Nehe-
miah, you walked around and looked at it,
and in the moonlight you stood listening if
You could not hear the voice Of the dead
organ, the psalm Of the expired Sab.
baths. What Jerusalem was to Nehe-
miah. the church Of God is to you.
Skeptics and iufiels NAY scott at the church
as an obsolete affair, as relic of the dark
ages, as convention Of goody goody people,
but all the impression they have ever made
on your mipd against the church of God is
absolutely nothing. You would make more
sacrifices for it to-day than for any
other institution, and if it we're need
full you would die in its defence.
You can take the words of the kingly poet
Alst my right hand forget her cunning" You
understand in your owE experience tho
pathos, the homesicl;ness, the courage, the
holy enthusiasm OF Nehemiah in his mid
night, moonlight ride around the ruins of
his beloved Jerusalem.
AGAIN, my text impresses me with the fact
that before reconstruction there must bs an
exploration Of ruins. Why was not Nehe-
miah asleep under the covers, Why was not
his horse stabbed in the midnight! Let tho
police of tho city arrest this midnight rider
but on some mischief. No. Nehemiah
ris going to rebuild the city, and
he is making the preliminary ex-
ploration. In this gate, out that gale,
cast, west, north, south. All through
the ruins. The ruins must bs explored be.
fore the work of reconstruction can begin.
The reason that so many people in this
day, apparently converted, do not stay
converted is because they did not first
explore the ruins of their own heart Tho
reason that there are so many professel
Christians who in this day lie and forge