Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1889-03-30
we find him on horseback, inthc midnight

VIC III On SGD0th, u iillslIiSAts
riding around the ruins. II is through
the spectacles OF This tcene thar We dis
cover the ardent attachment OF Nehemiah
for sacred Jerusalem, which in all ages
has been the type of the church Of God,
our Jerusalem, which we love just a,
much as Nehemiah loved his Jerusalem
The fact is that you love the church OF
God 30 much that there is no spot on
earth 80 sacred, unless 1t is your own
Preside. The church has been to you 50
much comfort and illumination that there
is nothing that makes you SO irate as TO
have it talked against. If there have
been times when you have been carried
into captivity by sickness, you longed for
the church. Cur holy Jerusalem. just as
much AS Nehemiah longed for his
Jerusalem, and the first day you came
ont you came to the house Of the Lord.
When the temple was in ruins as ours
was years ago, like Nehemiah. you
walked around and looked at it, and in
the moonlight you stood listening ii you
; could not hear the voice Of the dead
organ, the psalm of the expired Sabbaths,
What Jerusalem was to Nehemiah. the
church of God is to you. Skeptics
and infdels may scoff at the church As
III 5olG lol do "a L Va IAN Noln
ages, as a convention Of goody goody
people, but oil the impression they have
ever made on your mind against the
church Of God is absolutely nothing.
You would make more sacrifices for it to
day than for any other institution, and if
1t were needful you would die in its de-
Tense. You can take the words of the
kingly poet as he said, If ! forget
thee, o Jerusalem, let my right hand for
| get her cunning" You understand in
your own experience the pathos, the
holy enthusiasm OF Nehemiah in his mid
night, moonlight ride around the uin o!
his beloved Jerusalem.
Again, my text impresses me- with the
fact that before reconstruction there
must be IN exploration of ruins. Why
was not Nehemiah asleep under the
covers2 Why was not his horse stabbed
in the midDightY Let the police q! the
city arrest this midnight rider out on
some mischief. No Nehemiah is going
to rebuild The city, and he is making the
preliminary exploration. In this gate,
out that gate, eaet, west, north. south.
All through the ruins. The ruins must
be explored before the work of recon
struction can begin. The reason that
SO many people in this day, apparently
converted, do NOT stay converted is be
cause they do not first explore the ruins
of their own hearts. The reason hat
there are SO many protested Christians
who in this day lie and forge and steal,
and commit adultery, and go to the penn
Tertiary, is because they do not first learn
the ruin of their own heart. They have
not found out that ''the heart is deceit
full above all thirgs, and desperately
wicked They had an idea that they
were almost right, and they built religion
AS a sort Of extension, as an
cupola. There was a superstructure OF
religion built on a substratum OF unre-
pented sins. The trouble with q good
deal of modern theology is that instead
Of building on the right foundation, 1t
builds on the debris OF On unregenerated
nature. They attempt TO rebuild Jerusa-
lem before, in the midnight OF convlc-
ton, they have seen the ghaeliness OF
the ruin. They have such a poor fOunda-
ton for their religion that the first north
east storm Of temptation blows them
down. | have no faith in "A mans CON
version If he is not converted III the
old fashioned w~ay-John Bunyan's way,
John Weslev's way, John Calvin's way,
Paul's way, Christ's way, Gods way.
a dentist once said to me, Does that
hurt?' Said |. "Of course it hurts. II
is in your business as in my profession.
We nave 10 hurt before we can help
You viii never understand redemption
until YOU understand ruin. y man tells
me that some one IS a member o. the
church. II makes no impression on
my mind al all. | simply want 10
know whether nc was converted in The
Old fashioned way, or whether she was
converted in thencw fashioned way II
he was converted in The old fashioned
way he viii stand. II he was. converted
in the new fashioned way ne will not
stand. That Ia all there is about ii. a
man comes to me to ak about religion.
The first question ( ask him is: 'Doyou
feel yourself to be a sinner If he say:
"Weil, Yes" the h%esitancy makes me
feel that that man wants "a ride on Ncbe.
| miah's horse by midnight through the
ruins-in by the gate OF his affections,
out by the gate OK his will; and before he
has got through with that midnight ride
he viii drop the rcins on the horse's
neck. and will take his right hand aud
| smite on his heart and say: God be
merciful to me IA sinner and before he
has stabbed his horse he will take his feet
| out of the stirrups, and he will slide
down on the ground, and he will kneei,
| crying, Have mercy on rae, o God,
according to thy loving kindness, &C.
cording unto the multitude Of thy tender
mercies, blot out my transgressions, for
! acknowledge my transgreseions and my
sins are ever before thee" All, my
friends, you see this is not a compliment
airy gospel. That is what makes some
people SO mad. T. comes TO Ii man of a
million dollars and impenitent in lis sins
and says, You're a pauper.' 1t comes
to a woman OF fairest cheek, who has
never repented and says, You're Il sim
ner." 1t comes TO a man priding himself
on his independence, and says. Your re
bound hand and foot by the devil" 1t
comes to our entire race and says. You're
a ruin, a CHASTITY ruin, an il!imitab!c
ruin" Satan sometimes says to me,
why do you preach that TRUTH? Why
don't you preach a gospel with no re
| pentance in it, Why don't you Halter
men hearts so that you make them feel
all right? Why don't you preach a hui
manitarian gospel with no repentance in
it, saying nothing about the ruin. talking
all the time about redemptions" ! say,
Get the behind me, Satan" | woulo
rather lead five souls the right way