Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1889-03-23
A HOLY REBUILDING.
Or. TALkiAeE APPLIES THE EXAMPLE
OF NEHEMIAH TO CHRISTIAN LIFE.

Dead City Nehemiah. . Captive. Longs
ca Rcbuiid the Home of lila Fathers.
Ills Moonlight Ridc-why aud How the
Heart of Man Mus. To Reconstructed.
BRooKLyX, March l7-At the tab
crnacle this morning the Rev. T. dc
Witt Talmagc. ID. d., cxpoundcd the
seventh chapter Of Ecclcsastcs. lie
afterwards gave out the hymn begin.
ming.
Grace! it's charming sound.
Harmonious "a the ear.
which was sung by the vast congrc.
CATION with magnificent effect The
subject Of DIR. Talmagc's sermon was
1.-The Moonlight Ride. aud the text.
Nehemiah ii. Is: Then | went up in
tho night by the brook. aud viewed
the wall. and turned back. and entered
by the gate Of the valley. and SO re-
turned" lie said:
4 dead city is more suggestive than
living city-past Rome than present
Romc-ruins rather than newly frcs-
coed cathedral. But the best time to
visit n ruin is by moonlight. The
Coliseum is far moro fascinating 10 the
traveller after shutdown than before.
You may stand by daylight amid the
monasiic ruins Of Melrcsc Abbey. aud
study shaftcd oricl. and roscttcd stone
and mullion, but they throw their
strongest witchcry by moonlight.
Some Of you remember what the Ell.
cllanter OF Scotland said in the lay
OF the Last Minstrcl:"
woul,ist thou vicw fair Mcirosc Alright.
80 visit IL by the pals moonlight.
Washington Irving describes the
Andalusian moonlight upon the Al
hambra ruins as amounting To an en-.
chantncnt My text presents you
Jerusalem in ruins. The tower down.
The gates down. The walls down.
Everything down. Nehemiah on
horseback. by moonlight looking upon
the ruins. While hc rides, there are
some friends on foot going with him.
for they do not want the many
horses TO disturb the suspicious Of
thcpcoplc. These people do not know
the secret Of Nchcmiah's heart, but
they arc going us II sort Of body
guard. ! hear the clicking hoofs Of
the horse on which Nehemiah rides.
rs he guides il this way and that, into
this gate and out Of that, winding
through that gate amid the debris of
once great Jerusalem. Now the horse
comes 10 dead halt ut the tumblcd
masonry where lie cannot pass. Now
he SHES oil ut the charrcd timbcrs.
Now he comes along where the water
under the moonlight flashes from tho
mouth of the brlzcn dragon after
which the gate was named. Heavy
hearted Nehemiah! Riding in and
out. now by his old home dcsolatcd.
now by the dcfaced temple. now amid
the scars Of the city that had gone
down under bit,crlny ram and conlla
grafton. Thccscurtlng party knows not
what Nell nI,ah means. Is he getting
crlzyf Have his own personal sor
rows. added to the sorrows Of the M.
ton. unbalanced his intellect. Still
the midnight exploration goes on.
Nehemiah ON horseback rides through
the fish gate, By the tower Of the fur
naccs. by The kings pool. by the
dragon well. in :ild ont. in and out,
until the midnight ride is completed.
and Nehemiah dismounts from his
horse, and 10 the amazed and con
founded and inrrlulous body
guard. declares the dead secret
Of his heart when he says. Come,
now, let us build Jerusalem" What,
Nehemiah, have you any money!
No. Have youany kingly author
tyr No" Have you any elo-
qucnccg" 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 us rise up now and build the city. ="
Some people laughed and said il could
not be done. Some people were in
furiatc and offered physical violence.
saying the thing should not b. done
But the workmen went right on. stand.
ing on the wall, trowcl in one hand,
sword in the other until the work was
gloriously completed. At that very
time, in Greece. Xcnophon WAS writing
history, and Plato was making phil.
osophy, and Dcmosthcncs WAS r.ttling
his rhetorical thunder. but all of them
together did not do So much for the
world us this midnight, moonlight
ride OF praying. courageous. homesick.
close nloutird Nehemiah.
CPBulLDfN0 OF ZION.
Ny subject first imprcsscs me with
the idea what an intense thing is
church affection. Seize the bride of
that horse and stop Nehemiah Why
are you rislsing your life here in tho
night9 Your horse will stumble over
these ruins and fall ON you. Stop this
useless exposure Of your life. No;
Nehemiah will not stop. lie ut last
tells us the whole story. He lets us
know hc was an exile in far distant
land, and lac was servant. u cup
bearer in the palace Of Artaxcrxes
Longimanus. and one day, while hc
was handing the cup Of wine Ia the
king. the king said To him.
'WhGt is the matter with your
You are not sick. know
you must have some great trouble.
What is the matter with you Then
hc told the king how that be-
loved Jerusalem was broken down;
how that his fathers tomb had
been dcsecrated; how that the
Temple had been dislionorcd and
dcfaccd; how that the walls were
scattered and broken. "Wcll." says
King Artaxerxes. what do you wantt"
"Wcll. said the cup bearer Nehemiah,
Il want 10 go home. | want Ia iix up
the grave OF my father. wan, To re.
store the beauty Of the temple. want
TO rebuild the masonry Of the city wall.
Besides, ! want passports 81 that shall
not be hindered in my journey. And
besides that. us you will lind in the
context. ii want an order on tie man
timber rs may need for the rebuild
ing Of The city" "llow long SHALL you
0e gone" sid the king. The time of
absence is arranged. In ho, haste
this seeming advcnturcr comes
TO Jerusalem. and in rIy text
We find him on h rcback. in
the midnight. riding around the
ruins. 1t is through tho spcctaclcs of
this scene that We discover the ardent
aftnchmcnt of Nehemiah for Sncrcd