The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1889-03-20
A MOONLIGHT RIDE.
Sermon by Rev. Or. T. Dewitt
@ M Talmage, D.
Nehemiah's Ride at Midnight Through
the Ruins OF Jerusalem-The Ex-
ploratIon OF Ruins Necessary Be
fore There Can be Recon-
struction.

sermon at the Brooklyn Tabernacle was,
"The Moonlight Ride" and the text, Nehe-
miah ii, Is: Then went up in the night by
the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned
back, and entered by the gate Of the valley,
and 20 returned" The eloquent divine spoke
as follows:
dead city is more suggestive than liv-
Ing city-past Rome than present Rome
ruins rather than newly frescoed cathedral.
But the best time to visit a ruin Is by moon
light. The Coliseum is far more fascinating
to the traveller after sundown than before.
You may stand by daylight, amid the mo-
nastic ruins of Melrose Abbey, and study
shafted oriel, and rosetted stone and null
lion, but they throw their strongest WITCH
ery by moonlight. Some Of you remember
what the encbanter OF Scotland said In the
"Lay Of The Last MINSTREL"
Wouldst thou view fnir Melrose Alright,
Go visit it by the pale moonlight.
Washington Irving describes the Andalu-
sian moonlight upon the Alhambra ruins as
am uniting 10 an enchantment My text
presents you Jerusalem In ruins, The
tower down. The gates down. The
walls down. Everything down. Nehe-
miah ~ horseback, by moonlight look
ing up the ruins. While he rides there
are some friends on foot going with him,
for they do not ant the many horses TO
disturb the suspicious Of the people. These
people do not know the secret Of Nehemiah's
heart. but they arc going rs sort OF body
guard. hear tho clicking hoofs Of the
horse on which Nehemiah rides, as he
guides 1t this way and that, into this gate
and ont Of that, winding through that gate
amid the debris of once great Jerusalem.
Now the horse comes TO u dead halt at the
tnmblOl ma .oHry where no can not pass.
Now he SHE, off Al the charred timbers. Now
he comes along where the water under the
moonlight flashes from tho mouth OF the
brazen dragon after which the gate was
namel. Heavy hearted Nehemiah Riding
In and out now by his old home desolated,
now by the dcfacei temple, now amid the
scars Of the city that had gone down under
battering ram and confagration. The es-
corting party knows not what Nehemiah
mears Is he getting crazyl Have his own
per DUAL sorrows, added to the sorrows OF
| the nation, unbalanced his iniollectl Still
| the midnir III exploration goes on. Nehemiah
| on horseback rides through the fish gate, by
the tower Of the Furnaces by tie Kings pool,
| by the d agon well in an out, 10 and out un-
| III the midnight ride is completed, and Nehe-
miah dismOunts from his horse. and TO the
amazed and conrounded and incredulous
| BODY guard, declares the dead secret OF his
heirt when no sIys Come, now. let US
build Jerusalem" What, Nehemiah. have
v, u any moneyln "NO." "Eave you any
kingly authoritym "No" "Havc you any
eloauencel" "No." Yet that midnight,
moonlight ride OF Nehemiah resulted 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 MS rise up now md build the
city.n some people laughed and said II
could not be done. Some people were In
furiaie and offered physical violence, sayl
ing the thing should not be done. But the
workmen went right on, standing on the
wall. trowel in one hand, sword In the other
until they was gloriously completed. Al
that very time, in Greece, Xenophon wa;
writing history. and Plato was making
philosophy, aud Demostheues was rafting
his rhetorical thunder, but all Of them TO
geiher did not do so much for the world a'
this midnight moonlight ride OF praying
COURAGEOUS, homesick close mouthed Nehe
miah.
My subject first impresses me with thu
idea what an intense thing Is church aifec
ton Seize the bride OF that horse and stoT
Nehemiah. Why are you risliing your lifC
here In the night Your horse will stumble
over these ruins and fall on you. Stop thi'
useless exposure OF your life. No; Nehe
mlah win not stop. He at last tolls us Tho
whole story. He lets US know that he wa
an exile in far distant land, and he was {
servant, q cup bearer In the palace o.
Artaxerxes Longimanus, and one day whilt
he was handing the cupof vine 10 the king
the king said to him. "What Is the matte
with youl You are not sick ] know yol
must have some great trouble What Is IN,
matter with yonl" Then he told the kim
how that beloved Jerusalem was broker
down; how that his fathers tomb had beef
desecrated; how that the temple had beei
dishonored and defaced; how that the wall
wero scattered and broken. "Well,
says King Artaxerxes, "what do you wantr'
"Well," said the cup bearer Nehemiah.
want TO go home. want to FIX up the grav
Of my father want to restore the beauty o
the tpmpla. want TO rebuild the masonr.
OF the city wall. Besides, want passport
90 that shall not be hlndered In my journey
And besides that" as you will find In tn
context, ~ want an order on the man VIII
keeps your forest for Just 30 much timbe
as NAV need for tho rebuilding OF the city.
"How long shall you be gonei" said th
king The time Of absence Is arranged 1
hot haste this seeming adventurer comes I
Jerusalem, and in my text we find him o
! horseback, In the midnight, riding aroun
the ruins IL Is through the spectacles Q
I this scene that we discover the ardent o.
tachment OF Nehemiah for sacred Jerusalem
which In all ages has been the type Of VI
church Of cd, our Jerusalem, which we Low
lust as much as Nehemiah loved his Jerusi
! lem. The fact Is that you love the ohurc
Of God so much that there Is no spot on cart
so sacred unless II Is your own hresid'
The church has boen 10 you 30 much con
fort and illumination that there Is nothin
: that makes you 30 irnto as 10 have II talke
against. II thore have been tImes whe
. you have been carried into captivity b
sickness, you longed for tho church, on
holy Jerusalem, Just as much M Nehemla
longed for his Jerusalem. and the hrst da
: you came out you came 70 the house OF u
Lord. When the temple was In ruins
ours was years ago, like Nehemiah, yo
! walked around and looked at II, and In u
. moonlight you stood listening II you coul
8 not hear the voice OF the deu
I; organ, the psalm OF the expired Bal
!. baths What Jerusalem was 10 Nehemia
] tho church OF God Is 10 you. Skepti,
and infdeIs may SCOT at the church as Q
9 obsolete affair, as q relic Of the dark ages,
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