Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-03-28


conviction, they have seen the ghastilinsss Of
the ruin. They have such poor founda.
tlon for their religion that the first norbhaa 1T
storm of temptation blows them down. /
have no faith in mans conversion IL Ia il
not converted in the old fashioned way-John
Bunyans way, John Wesley's way, John
Calvin's way, Paups way, Christ's way.
Gods way. A dentist once said to me;
"Does that hurtp Said /: "Of course it
hurts. 1t is in your business as it is in my
profession. We have tollurt before we can
help" You will never understand reiemp-
ton until you understand ruin A man tells
me that some one is a member of the
church. 1t makes no impression on my mind
at all. | simply want to know whether he
was converted in the old fashioned way. or
whether he was converted in the new-
fashioned way. IL he was converted in tho
old fashioned way he will stand. II he was
converted in the new fashioned Way he will
not stand. That is all there is about it. A
man comes to me to talk about religion. The
first question ask him is: do you feel your
self to be sinner" II he say: well L
yes the hesitancy makes me feel that that
man wants ride on Nehemiah's horss by
midnight through the ruins-in by the gate
of his affections, out by the gate of his will;
and before he has got through with that
midnight ride he will drop the reigns on the
horses neck, AMI will take his right
hand and smite on his heart and saw;
"6o1 DO mercifUl TO me a snnern
and before lie has stabbed his horse he
will take his leet out OF the stirrups, and he
will slide down on the ground, aud he will
kneel, crying: Have mercy on me, God,
according TO Thy loving kindness, according
unto tho multi tude of Thy tender mercies
blot out my transgressions, for / acknowl.
edge my transgressions and my sins
are ever before Thee All, my friends,
you see this is not a complimentary
gospel. That is what makes some PEG.
pie SO mad. II comes TO a man of million
dollars and impenitent in his sins and SAYS:
you're pauper.p 1t comes to a woman Of
fairest cheek who has never repented, and
says: You're sinner 1t comes to a man
priding himself on his Independence and says:
You're bound hand and foot by the devil
1t comes to our entire race and says: YOU'RE
q ruin, CHASTITY ruin, an illiTnitabe ruin"
do you preach that truthl Why
don't You preach gosLel with
no repentance In lts why don't you natter
mems hearts so that you make them feel all
right! Why don't you preach humani-
tartan gospel with no repentance in it, say
ing nothing about the ruin, talking all the
time about redemptionN | say; "Get thee
lead five souls the right way than
twenty thousand the wrong way.
The redemption of the gospel is per-
feet farce il there is no ruin. ''The whole
need not physician, but they that are sich.n
III any one, though he be an angel from
heaven, preach by any other gospel than
this says the apostle, act him be accursed.n
There must BE- the midnight ride over the
ruins before Jerusalem can be built. There
must be the clicking of the hoofs before there
can he tho ringing Of the trowels
Again. My subject gives me specimen
OF busy and triumphant sadness II there
was any man in the world who had a right
10 NOPE and give up everything as lost, it
was Nehemiah You say: "Hs was cup
bearer in the palace of Shushan, and it was
a gran place. So It was. The hall OF that
palace was two hundred feet square,
and the roof hovered over thrSy-six
marble pillars, each pillar sixty feet high
and the intense blue of the sky and
the deep green of the forest foliage, and
the white Of the driven snow, all hung
trembling in tho upholstery. But, NV
friends, you know very well that fine archi-
lecture viii not put down homesickness.
Yet Nehemiah did not give up. Then when
you sea him going among these desc.
latoi streets and by these dismantled
towers, and by the torn up grave of his
father. you would suppose that he would
have been dsheartensd, and that he would
have dismounted from his horse and gone 20
his room and said: Woe is mel My fathers
grave is torn up. The Temple is dishonored.
The walls arc broken down. Ihave no money
with which to rebuild. wish l had neve
been born. | wish [ were dead.' Not so says
Nehemiah Although he had a grief so
intense that it excited the commentary Of his
King, yet that penniiess, expatriated
Nehemiah rouses himself up to rebuild the
city. He gets his permission OF absence. He
gets his passports. lie hastens away TO
Jerusalem. By night on horseback he rides
through the ruins He overcomss the most
ferocious opposition He arouses the pisty
and patriotism of the people, and in less than
Two months, namely, in fifty-two days,
Jerusalem was rebuilt. That's what | call
busy and triumphant sadness.
My friends, the Whole temptation is with
you, when you have trouble. to do just the
opposite to the behavior of Nehemiah, and
that is to give up. You say: 81 have lost
my child and can never smile again You
say: 81 have lost my property, and never
FAN repair my fortunes Hou say; u nave
fallen into sin, and l never can start
make you form that resolution, and
make you keep it, he has ruined you
Trouble is not sent TO crush you, but o.
lrouse YOU, TO animate you. to propei yon
The blacksmith does not thrust the iron IN
he forge and then blow away with the D.
lows, and then bring the hot iron ont on .
anvil and beat with stroke alter stroke
ruin the irou, but TO prepare it 4
, better use. Oh, that the Lord
IF Nehemiah would rouse up
hearted people to rebuild. Whiop4d
betrayed, shipwrecked, imprisoned faui
went right on. The Italian martyr
Algerius Sits in his dungeon writing letter.
and he dates it "From the detachable orchard
Of the I.eonine prison That is what cal
triumphant sadness. knew mother vino |
buried her baby on Friday and on Sabbath
appeared in the house OF God and said; |
st$ive me a class; give me a Sabbath school
lass. | have no child now left me,
md / would like to have a class OF iittic
children. Give me real poor children;
five me a class Of the back street
That. | say, is beautiful. That IS tri-
imphant sa lness. At 3 o'clock this after
ioon. in a beautiful parlor in Philadelphia =
. parlor pictured and statuette there VIII
20 from ten to twenty destitute children OF
he street IL has been SO every Saobatn
afternoon at 3 O'Clock for many years. nose
destitute children receive religious lnstrue'
ion. concluding with cakes and sandwichas-
low do know that that has bean gong on 1
or many years. 1 knew it in this way.
That was the first home in Philadelphia
where | was callel to comfort great soi,
-ow They had q splendid boy ana
Ne had been drowned at Long Branch;
Tho father. and neither almost idoiizsd /