Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-03-28
SUNDAYS SERMON.
.vu OF REV. DIR. TALMAGES
" srERLING DIsCoURSEs.
snbieet: "The Moonlight Ride"

4nmN
do,d city is more suggestive than a liv-
=. n ctv-past Rome than present Rome
ms ratber than newly frescoed cathedral
r ~. 10 hest time TO visit ruin is by moon
pys. The Coliseum is far more fascinating
hsaSs traveller after shutdown than before.
2 sI NAV stand bv daylight amid the monas-
w rrIns of Merose Abbey, and study
y I.ssd oriel. and rosetted stone and mullion,
~ they throw their strongest witchery by
lpH-oonlight. Some Of you remember what
a a..snebanter of Scotland said in the Lay
dtbe Last Minstrel
gouldst thou view fair Melrose Alright,
90 visit il by the pale moonlight.
Washington Irving describes the Anda-
,-,i.n moonlight upon the Alhambra ruins
=. 'smo,nting 20 am enchantment My text
a,sssuts YOU Jerusalem in ruins. The tower
I'm The gates down. The walls down.
Trsrytbing down. Nehemiah on horseback,
~ moonlight looking upon the ruins. While
!, rides there are some friends on foot going
Iii him. for they do not want the many
h.rsps to disturb the suspicious of
IN people. These people do no know
n. ~ secret Of Nehemiahs heart, but they arc
song as sort of body guard. l hear the
ssiekipg hoof OF the horse on which Nehe
Mai rides as he guides it this way and that,
ma this gate and out of that, winding
through that gate amid the debris OF once
srsat Jerusalem. Now the horse comes to
5ss5 hall at the tumblel masonry where he
carnot pass. Now he SHES OIL at the charred
timbers, Now be comes along where the wa
IN upder the moonlight flashes from the
month Of the brazen dragon after which the
eats was named Heavy hearted Nehemiah
Fdinp in and out now by his old home
Isolated now by the defaced temple, now
amid the scars Of the city that had gone
down under battering ram and conhagra-
ion. The escorting party knows not what
Nehemiah means. Is he getting crazyi Have
bk own personal sorrows, added TO the sor-
roWs OF the nation, unbalanced his intellect
sin the midnight exploration goes on
Nehemiah on horseback rides through the
An Fate, by the tower OF the furnaces, by
Ina Kings pool, by the dragon well, in and
mt in and out, until the midnight ride is
cmpleted. and Nehemiah dismounts from
M horse, and to the amazed and COMPOUNDED
and ineredulous body guard, declares the
dell secret of his heart when he says:
1Come, now, let us build Jerusalem"
NThat Nehemiah, have you any money!
rNon "Have you any kingly au
Gortyf' "No." ''Have you any elo-
mncep mo- Yet that midnight, moon.
lght ride Of Nehemiah resulted in the glor-
bodybuilding Of the city of Jerusalem. The
eople knew not how the thing was to be
done, but with great enthusiasm they cried
OUT "Iet US rise up now and build the city,
Some people laughed and said it could not be
done Some people were inf1riate and Of
iusl physical violence, saying the
hing should not be done But the
vorEmen went right on, standing
On the WALL trowe in one hand
sword in tue other, until the work was
glorously completed At that very time, in
Greece, Xerophon was writing history,
and Plato was making philosophy and
Demosthenes was rafting his rhetorical
thunder but all of them together did not do
50 much for the world as this midnight,
moonlight ride OF praying, courageous, home
SICK, close.mouthed Nehemiah.
Ny subject first impresses me with the idea
what on intense thing is church affection.
Seize the bride OF that horse and stop Nehe-
miah Why are you rislSing your life here
in the nights 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 lie les us know he was an exile in a
for distant land and he was a servant, cup
bearer in tie palace OF Artaxerxes Longi-
manus and one day. while he was handing
The cup Of wine TO tho King, the King said
tohim What is the matter with youi You
Genot sick. know YOU must have some
great trouble What is the matter with
yoln Then he told the King how that 10
Oyed Jerusalem was broken down
bow that his fathers tomb had
zen desscrated; how that tho Temple had
been dishonored and defaced; how that the
walls were scattered and broken. well
MS King ArtaSerxes, what do you wantf
aHell,' said the cup-bearer Nehemiah,
:" want to 90 home. | want TO fix up
ta ~ NV I n RI.
store the beauty Of tho Temple | want
9 rebuild the masonry of tue city wall.
Besides, ! want passports so that / shall
ny be hindered IN my journey. And be-
sass that as you will find in the context,
lWant an order on the man who keeps your
lorsst for Just so much timber as | may need
lof The rebuilding of the city, "How long
s6al you be goneN said the King. The
ams Of absence is arranged. In hot
laste this seeming adventurer comes
y Jerusalem, and in my text we
% nm on horseback, in the midnight,
inhg around the ruins 1t is through the
Feetaces Of this scene that we discover the
irlent attachment of Nehemiah for sacred
..duaem, which in all ages has been
.le type OF the church of God, our
.aussem, which we love Just as much
= Nehemiah loved his Jerusalem.
Ias iaet Is that you love the church of God
haeh that there is no SPOT on earth SO
aIeo, unless it is your own fireside The
s,ulel has been TO you So much comfort and
Mlhnalion that there is nothing that
-AAe you so lraJe as 10 nave II talked
sshst II there have been times when you
~ been carried into captivity by
shes, you longed for the church,
hoy Jerusalem, just as much az
ss.ssnah longei for his jerusalem, and the
-e.uAy You came out you came to the
- q the Lord. When the Temple was
runs as ours was years ago, like Nehe-
~. ~ You walked around and looked at it,
- - y ne moonlight you stood listening If
~ eouii not hear the voice Of the dead
- the psalm of the expired Sab.
~ What Jerusalem was to Nehe-
a' the church Of God is to you.
! Asg,cs and infdels may scon at the church
: a obsolete affair. as q relic of tho dark
- q convention OF goody goody people,
a. "a tle Impression they have ever made
4 ~. VT mind against the church OF God is
49,, .s5lsly nothing. You would make more
- 'es for it to-day than for any
a institution, and il it were need
p YOU would die in its defence.
~ ~ eSa take the words Of the kingly poes
4il; III forget thee, o Jerusalem,
~ right hand forget her cunning.n You
~,s s'lnl IN your own experience the
A' the homssiclsness, the courage, the
enthusiasm of Nehemiah in his mid
~ moonlight ride around the ruins Of
7ioTed jerusalem.
as,'ea-aa my text impressss me with the fact
ssrio-..e!f reconstruction thero must be an
nl,5ol Of ruins. Why was not Nehe-
& - under ths covers, Why was not
49, = staoled in the rpf1nfpht2 Tet fha