West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1889-03-28
A MOONLIGHT RIDE
TO THE RUINS OF JERUSALEM.
Or. Talmage Tells.orNehemiah's Visit
toJerusalem by Night.

ruins rather than newly frescoed cathedral
but the best time to visit ruin is by moon.
nghe The Coliseum Is far more fascinating
70 the traveller after shutdown than before
You may stand by daylight amid the monas.
ITO ruins OF MelroSo Abbey, and study
shafted oriel, aud rosetted stone and mullion,
moonlight Some OF you remember what
The enchanter OF Scotland said I'm the mIav
OF tho Last Minstrol:n
woHldst thou view fair Melrose arlebt
30 VISIT II by the pale moonlight.
Washington Irving describes tho Anda.
lusian moonlight upon the Alhambra ruins
as amounting 70 an enchantmCnt. NV text
presents you Jerusalem in ruins The tower
DOWN Tho gates down. The walls down
everything down. Nehemiah ON horseback
he rides, there are some friends on foot goinc
with him, FOR they do not want the many
horses TO disturb the suspicious Of
t me people; These people do no know
.ne secret OF Nehemiah's heart, but they arc
gong as q sort Of body guard hear tho
cncking hoof of the horse ON which Nehe.
mian rides, as he guides Il this way and that
INTO this gate and out OF that. winding
through that gate amid the debris OF once
great Jerusalem. Now the horse comes 10 a
dead halt at the tumbled masonry where he
vannos pass. Now he SHES Off at the charred
timoers. Now he comes along whore tine wa.
Ter under the moonlight flashes from the
mouth or tho brazen dragon after which tbo
gate was named Heavy hearted Nehemiah
hiding IN and out, now by his old home
uesoated, now by the defacel temple. now
smld the scars of the city that had gone
INV g Tnoer pattering ram and conGagTs-
Son. The escorting party knows not what
Sehemiah means is he getting crazyl Have
MS own personal sorrows, added to the sor
COWS OF the nation, unbalanced his intellecti
Sui tne midnight exploration goes on.
Nenemiah on horseback rides through the
ush gate, by the tower OF the furnaces low
tne King pool, by tho dragon well, in and
OUT, IN and out until the midnight rido Re
eompletedi and Nehemiah dismounts from
OBS morse, ana TO the amazed and confounde1
and incredulous body guard declares the
Head secret OF his heart when ho says,
Come, now, let us build Jerusalen.n
.H Mhst, Nehemiah, have You any money!
thorityF, s'Nop ',Haxn A'nSy nu
9uencen mo" Yet that nIidnie ht moon.
light rido Of Nehemiah resulted In the glori.
Gus rebuilding OF the city Of Jerusalem, The
peOPie new not how the thing was 10 DO
uone, but with great enthusiasm they cried
nut; Let us rise up now and build the city,
Some people laughed and said it could NOT Ia
zone; come people were infuriate and OF.
. hi0a PRnysssicai violence, saying 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 q history
and Plato was MAILING philosophy. and
Demosthenes was rafting his rhetorical
thunder, but all OF them together did not do
so much for the world as this midnight,
.;H,u Tide oil praying courageous, home.
ncs, close-mouthed Nehemiah.
My subject first impresses me with the ida
Hna5 an intense thing is church affection
Seize the bride OF that horse and stop Nebe.
mah. why nre you risling your life here
IN the night Your horse viii stumble over
these ruins and fall ON you. Stop this use
less exposure of your life. No; Nehemiah
viii not stop. De at last tells us tho whole
story. Ho LET'S us know no was an exile In q
Tar distant land, and he was q servant a cum.
bearer in the palace OF Artaxerxes Longi.
manus, and one day. while be was handing
the cup OF wine to the King the King said
20 him; What is the matter with your 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 tho Temple had
been dishonored and defaced; how that the
walls wore scattered aud broken. "WelI.n
SAYS King Artaxsrxes, ''what do Won yynntau
wen" said the cup-bearer Nehemiah.
want to go hone. l want to fix up
the grave Of my father l want to re-.
store the beauty of the Temple. I want
20 rebuild the masonry Of the city wall
Besides, 1 want passports so that I shall
nos be hindered IN my journey. And DO
s ssqes tnat, as you viii find in the context,
won't an order on the man who keeps vour
forest Tor lust so mitch timber as I may need
Tor the rebuilding Of the city, How lone
shall you be gomez" said the King. The
nms OF absence is arranged. In hot
to Jerusalem, and in my teri We
md him on horseback in the midni0ht
riding around the ruins. 1t Is through the
spectacles Of this scene that we discover the
ardent attachment OF Nehemiah for sacred
Jerusalem, which in all ages has been
the type OF the church of God onr
Jerusalem, which we love lust as much
as Nehemiah loved his Jerusalem.
INC fect IS that you love the church OF God
50 much that there is no spot on earth go
hsefe9, unless u is your own firesido. Tho
church hes been % you 90 much comfort and
Illumination that there Is nothing that
makes you 80 irate as TO have it t.lksf
asainss, ~ there have been times when yoJ
sickness, you ionged for the church
our holy Jerusalem, Just as much os
Nehemiah long7d Tor his Jerusalem. and tbe
ilrst day you came out you camo TO en-,
ia ruins as ours was years ago. iikd Nebo
miah, you walked around and looked az it
and In the moonlight you stood lstenin1 n
you could not hear the voice Of the denj
baths What Jerusalem was TO Eehe
mlah.. the church Of God IL To Won
pkoptics and inndels may scott at the church
rs an Obsolete affair, as n relic Of the dark
b - ceFtI HttAl B-Dpltf
Lat All tho impression thoy have ever made
on your mind against tho church OF Col h
n5sointsly nothing. You would make more
sacrliices for Il today than for any
other institution, and IL IL were nesf
tul you would die in its dsfenco.
You can take the words Of the kinRly poss
es he said. IF forget thee o Jerusalem
lot my right hand forget her cunning You
unscfstaud IN your own experiences the
patho5, the homesiclsness, tina courage. the
holy enthusiasm Of Nehemiah in his mid.
night moonlight ride around the ruins of
bis beloved Jerusalem.
AGAIN. my text imDrcas9s ma viii, tia fat
eues DeL0ro reconstruction there must 10 M
eAplofation or ruins Why was not Neho
, ,s.l9 a5iesp under the coversi Why was not
nls morse stabbed in the midnivhtf Tet me
py.iS7 ol bno city arrest this midnight rider
git on some mischief No. Nehemiah
gong % rebuild tho city. and
u9 makinE tho preliminary ox
p.ofapon no this gate, out that gate
49, "est, north, south All throu0b
ne runs the ruins mu8t DO explored ~
syte sls work OF rec0ugiruction can hegin
re rte5on chat 20 many people ln fhis
uAYs apparently converted. 10 not stav
toFtefD9l B because they dil not 0rst
eAp'oro the ruins OF their own heart ire
reason that there are 90 many profe1-eJ
ia.lu5 VINO IN this day lie ana forgs
ahA 8teaL nnQ commit ainitsry and 81 a.
ne penitentiary d because they Gret do not
earn ne ruin oitheir own heart They b9vs
not ioun1 out That "lh9 heart h do1sitf1i
eDoFo all things and desperately vzickod ~
~ ned ar idea that thoy we're almost rigbt