Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1889-03-27
The MOONLIGHT RIDE.
AN INTENSE THING rs CAURC1A
AFFECTION.
@MY FRIENDS, THIS Is NOT A COM
ELEMENTARY GOSPEL"
SPECIMENS OF BUSYAND TRIUM-
PHANT SADNESS.
THE OLD SEXTON WAS RlGHT.
DIR rALMAeE's SERMON SUNDAY, MARCH II

DIR TALMAeE's SERMON SUNDAY, MARCH II.
DRooKLYN, March 17.--At the Taberna-
Dcle this morning, the Rev. I. DE Wl6t
Talmage, DID,. expounded the seventh
chapter. of Ecclesiastes. He afterwards
gave out the hymn beginning,
Grace! tits a charming sound,
Harmonious to the ear,
which was sung by the vast congregation
with magnificent effect. The subject of
DR.. Talmage's sermon was "rhe Moon
light Ride" and the text, Nehemiah H., Is:
"Then | went up in the night by the brock,
and viewed the wall, and turned back, and
entered by the gate Of the valley, and so re-
turned" He said:
A dead city is more suggestive than liv-
ing city-pass Rome than present Rcals-
ruins rather than newly frescoeo cathedral,
But the best time to visit ruin IS by moon
light. The Coliseura is far more fascnat-
ing TO the traveller after sundown than be-
fore You may stand by daylight amid the
monastic ruins cf Melrose Abbey, and study
shafted oriel. and rosetted stone aud null
lion, but they throw their strongest witche
ry by moonlight. Some OF yoa remember
what the epchanter of Scotland ssid in the
"Lay of the List Minssref':
WouIdst thou view fair Melrose Alright.
Go visit IL by tue rale moonlight.
Washington Irving describes the Andalu-
sian moonlight upen the Alhambra ruins as
amounting to al encAantmens. My text
presents you jerusalem in rnins. Tho tower
down. The gates 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 horses to disturb the
suspicious of the people. These people do
not know the secret of Nehemiah's heart,
but they are gong al a sort of bodyguard.
| hear the clicking koofs of the horse On
which Nehemiah rides, rs he gnides it this
way and that, into this gate and out OF that,
winding through that gate amid the de6ras
of once great Jerusalem. Now tho horse
comes to dead halt at the tumbled mssGa-
ry where be cauuot pass. Now he SHES OF
at the eharred timbers. Now he comes
along where The water under the moonlight
flashes from tbs mouth of the bra2 en- dragon
after which the gale was named Heavy
hearted Nehemiah! Riding in and out, now
by his old home desolated, row by the de
faced temple, now smid the scars Of the CITY
that had gone down under batteripg ram
and conflagra,ion. Tho escorting party
knows not what Nehemiah means. LIS be
getting crazy? Have his Own PERSONAL scr
rows added to the surrows of the nations,
unbalanced his intellect? Still the mid
night exploration goes Oh. Nehemiah on
horseback rides through the fish gate, by
the tower OF the furnaces, by the kings
pool, by the dragon VOL in and out, in and
out, until the mtdEight rnse is completed,
Nehemiah dismounts from bis horse, and tC
the amazed and confounded and iacredulous
bodyguard, declares the dead secret of bis
heart when he says, 'Cnme, now, let US
build Jerusalem" "What, Nehemiah
have you any mouey?" "No." ''Havs
you any kingIy authority ?" mo. - "Havs
you any eloquence9" No" Yet thai
midnight, moonlight ride of Nehemiah re-
suited in the glorious 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 uf
now aud build the CITY," Same people
laughed and said it could not be done.
Some people were infuriate and offered
physical violence, saying the thing should
not be done. But the Workmeu went right
on, standing on the wall, trowel in one
hand, sword in the other, until the work
was gloriouaiy completed. At that very
time, in Greece, Xenophon was writing a
history, and Plato was making philosophy,
aud Demosthenes was rattling his rhetorical
thunder, but all of them together did not
do so much for the world as tns midnight,
moonlight ride OF praying, courageous,
home-sick, close e-mouthed Nehemiah
My subject first impresses me with the
!: l. H. ,,,Ao oh.
ton. Seize the bride OF that horse and
stop Nehemiah. Why are you risking your
life here in the night? Your horse will
Stop this useless exposure of your life. No;
Nehemiah will not atop. He at last tells
US the whole story. He lets us know ha
was an exile in far distant land, and he
was servant, a cup-bearer in ths palace of
Artaxerxes Longimanus, and one day, while
he was handing the cup of wine to the king,
the king said to him, "What is the matter
with your You are not sick. l know you
must have some great trouble. What is The
matter with you?' Then he told the king
how that beloved Jerusalem was broken
down; how that his fathers tomb had beeu
desecraIed; how that the Temple had been
dishonored and defaced; how that the walls
we're scattered and broken. "Well," says
King Artaxerxes, "what do you want?'
s-Well," said the cup bearer Nehemiah, 81
want to go home. l want to ax mp the
grave of my father. want to restore the
beauty of the Temple. l want 10 rebuild
the masonry of The city wall. Besides,
want passports SO that shall not be hiaos e.
ed in my journey. And besides that" as
you will find in the contex, 81 want an Or
der Oh the man who keeps your forest for
just so much timber as may need for the
rebuilding of the city" ''How long shall
you be gomez" ssid the king. the ime OF
absence is arranged. Iu hot haste this SEEM
ing adve pturer Guinea to Jerusalem, and IN
my text We fad him ON horseback, il the
midnight, riding around the ruius. It is
through the spectacies of this scene that We
discover the ardent attachment of Nehemiah