The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1889-03-29
THE MOONLIGHT RIDE
Ret. DR.. Tslnsss streasly I'm.
pressed with the Intensity Of Gen.
uine Church Affection,

Ride" and the text Nehemiah g.; Is: "Then
I went up in the night by ths brook. and
viewed the hall, and turned back, and enter.
ed BY the gnte Of the valley, ahd 60 return.
cd" He said:
A dead city H. more suggestive than liv.
Ing city-pass Rome than present Rome
ruins than newly ifescoed cathedral. But
the hest time to visit ruin is by moonlight.
The Coliseum is far more faacinnting to the
traveller otter sundown than before. You
may stand BY daylight amid THE ponastic
ortel, and rosetted stone and mullion. but
they throw their strongest witchcry by
moonlight. Somc Of you remember what
the enchanter Of Scotland said In the "Lay
Of the Inst MINSTREL"
.Wouldst thou view fair .Aelrose Alright,
Go visit 1t by the pale mopnGght."
Washington Irving describes the Andalu.
sion moonlight upon the Alhambra ruins
as amounting to IN enchantanent Ny text
tower down. The gates down. The walls
down. Everything down. Nehemiah on
ass ssaS sss sS'ss span sSs
on foot going with him, for they do not
want the many horses to disturb the suspic.
ions OF the people. These people do not
know the secret Of Nel,emiat's hcnrt, hut
they are going as a sort Of body-guur,l. !
hear the clicking hoofs of the horse on which
Nehemiah rides, as he GIiles it this way
and that, winding through that gate, amid
the debris Of once great Jerusalcm. Now the
horse comes to q dead halt ut the tumble,l
masonry where he Gun not pass. Now he
SHES of ut tho cllnrred timLers. Now he
comes along where the water under the
moonlight flashes from the moutl, of tho
brazen dragon after which the gate was
named. Heavy hearted Nehemiah Riding
in and out, now by his old home lcsolatc,,
now ny the defaced temple. now nmid tho
scars Of the city that llnd gone down under
battering ram and contlag, ntion. Theescort.
ing party knows not what Nehemiah mems.
is he getting crazy? Have his own personal
sOrrows, added to the sorrows of the ma
tion. unbalanced lls intellect? Still the
midnight exploration goes on. Nehemiah
on horsehnrk r.des through the fish cute,
by the tower of the furnaces, by the kings
pool, by the dragon WE'LL in and out. in aild
out, until the midnight ride is completed
md Nehemiah dismounts from his horse,
and to the amazed and con Oun,lcd md in-
crctiulOus holy guard declares the dead
secret Of his henrt when lie snys: Come,
now let us build Jerusalem" "Whnt,
Nelcmiah, have you nny money!" "No."
"!iave you any kingly authority" NO"
Have you any eloquenc?" NO" Yet
that midnight moonlight ride of Nehemiah
resulted IN the glorious rebuilding of the
how the thing was to be done, but with
great enthusiasm they cried out, LET us
rise up now md build tho city," Some
people laughed and snid it could not be
done. Some people were intlriate and
offered physical violence, saying tho thing
should not DO done. hut tho workmcn
went right on. stnn,ling on the wall, trowcl
In ono hand, sword in the other, until tho
work was .sloriously completed. At that
a history. md Plato was making philosophy,
and Demosthenes was rattling his rhetorical
thunder, hut all Of them together did not
do s0 much for the world MS this midnight
moonlight ride Of praying, courageous,
homesick. close-mouthed Nehemiah.
My subject first imprcsscs me with tho
idea what an intense thing in church afIcc.
tion. Seize the bride ofthat horse and stop
Nehemiah. Why arr you risking your life
over these ruins and faIi on YOU. stop this
useless exposure ofyour life. No; Nehemiah;
will not spot lie at lust tells us the whole
story. lie let's us know he was an ex.
lie in n fnr distant land. and he was n
servant, a cup-bcarer in the palace of Ar
taxerxes l.onginanus, and one day, while
he WINS handing tllecup of wine I o the king, I he
king said to him. "Whnt is the matter with
you? You nre not sick. know you must
ter with you? Then he told tho king how
that beloved Jerusalem was broken down;
now that his fathers tomb had been desc.
Grated; now that the temple Ind hcen dis
hOnorotl and defaced how TINT tho walls
were scattered and broken. "Well," snid
says King Artaxerxcs, what do You wnnt?"
"Well," said the cup-benmr, Nehemiah, II
want to go home. l want to fix up the
grave fmy father;. want ro restore the
masonry ofthe city wall. Besides, want
you will find in the context ii
want IN order on the man who keeps your
forest for just SO much timber rs may need
for the rebuilding Of the city" How long
shall you he gomez" snid the king. Tho
time OF absence is arranged In hot haste
this seeming advcnturer comes to .Jerusa-
bnrk. in the midnight. riding around the
ruins. 1t il through the rprrtncrs ofthis
scene that we discover tho ardent nttnrh-
ment of Nehemiah for sncrel Jerusalem,
which in all ages has been the type of the
church Of God, our Jerusalem, wl,ici, We love
just as much an Nehemiah loved his .jerusa-
lem: The iact il that you love the Church of
God SO much that there is no SPOT on earth
SO sacred. unless it is your own iileside. The
church has been to you 80 much comfort
and illumination that there is nothing that
makes youso irnte as have it talked against.
II there have been times when you have been
carried into captivity by sickness, YOU
longed for the church. our holy Jerusalem,
just us much MS Nehemiah longcd for his
Jerusalem, and the first day you came out
you. came to the house of the
Lord. When the temple WAS in ruins ms ours
was years ago, like Nehemiah yon walked
around and looked Mt it, and in the moon
light you stood listening if you could not
hear the voice of the dead organ, tho psalm
of the expired Sabbuths. What Jerusalem
was to Nehemiah the church of God is TO
you. Skeptics md infitlcls may scOtf at the
church as an obsolete nffi,ir, nR n relic of the
dark ages, rs n convention of goody-goOdy
people, hut all the impression they have
made on your mind against the church of
God ia absolutely nothing. You would make
other institution. and ifit were necdfnl y0n
would die in its defense. You can take the
words OF the kingly old poet ms he snii: "If
l forget thee, o Jerusalem, let my right llnnd
forget her cunning" You understand in
your own experience the paihns, tho home
sickness, the courage, the holy enthusiasm
Of Nehemiah IN his midnight. moonlight ride
around the ruins Of his beloved Jerusalem.
Again, my text impresscs me with the fact
that before reconstruction there must le IN
exploration of ruins. Why wus not Nee-
miah asleep under the covers? Why was
not Ills horse stabbed in the midnigt? Lct
the police Of the city nrrest this midnight
rider out on some mischief. No. Nehemiah
10 gong to rebuild the city, nn'l he is max
ing the preliminary exploration. In this
gate: out that gatc-cast, west: north.
0.,kt all
must he explored before the york Of re on
Gun begin. The reason tina, 40
many people in this day, apparently coi-
verted. do not stay converted il because
they did not first explore tho ruins of their
own heart. The reason TINT there are no
many pro essed Christians who in this day
lie and forge and steal and commit adultery
and go to the pentcntiary is terause they
!irst do not learn the ruin of their own llcart.
deceitful above all things and desperately
They rad nm idea tl.nt they
were almost right, and they built
religion MS IL sort of extension, M IN orn;,-
mental cupOln. There was n superst r,icture
Of religion built on n sulstrntum of unrc.
pented sins. The trouble with II good deal
Of modern theology is that instead oil build
ing on the right foundation it builds on the
debris Of nm mnrcgeneratcd nature. They Mt.
Of conviction, they have seen the
gastlIless of the ruin. They have such
poor foundation for their religion that the
Frst northeast storm of temptation
blows them down. have no lai,h
in mans conversion if he is rot converted
IN the old-fashione,l way-IOhn Bunyan's
say. John Wesley way, John Cnlvin's way.
Paul's way, Christ's way. Gods way. 4
ientiRt once snid to me: 'Does that hurt?"
Said !: "Of course it hurts. 1t is in
rour business ns III my profession. We hnve
10 hurt before we can help" You will never
understand redemption until you under
stand ruin. A man tells me that some ono