The Penn's Grove record., 1889-04-06
people, but all the impression they have

You would make more sacrifices for 1t
to-day than for any other Institution,
and If 1t were needful you would die In
its defence. You a take the words OF
the klngly poet as he said, 'If I forget
thee, o Jerusalem, let my right hand
forget her cunning" You understand
In your own experience the pathos, the
homeslckness. the courage, the holy
enthusiasm of Nehemiah in his mid
night ride around the ruins of his be-
loved Jerusalem.
Again, my text impresses me with
the fact that before reconstruction there
must be an exploration of ruans. Why
was not Nehemiah asleep under the
covers? Why was not his horse
stabbed in the midnight Let the
police of the city arrest this midnight
rider out oil some mischief. No. Ee-
hemiah is going to rebuild the city,
and he Is making preliminary explora-
ton.
In this gate, out that gate, east.
west, north, south. All through the
RUNS. The ruins must be explored
before the work OF reconstruction can
begin. The reason that so many people
in this day, apparently converted, do
not:stay converted is because they did
not first explore the ruins of their own
heart. The reason that there are o
many professed Christians who in tins
day lie and forge and steal and commit
adultry and 60 to the ~peniteltiary, is
because they first do not learn the ruin
of their own hear. They have not
found out that ''the heart is deceitful
above all things. and desperately
wicked" They had an idea that they
were almost right, and they built re-
ligion as a sort of extension, as an
perstructure of religion built on a
substratum Of sins.
The trouble with a good deal of mod
ern theology is that instead of building
on the right foundation. it builds on
the debris of an unregenerated nature.
They attempt to rebuild Jerusalem
before, in the midnight of conviction
they have seer the ghastliness of the
ruin. They have such a poor founda-
ton for their religion that the first
northeast storm OF temptation blows
them down. / / have no faith in a mans
conversion i, he is not converted In
THE OLD FASHIONED WAY
John Bunyan's way, John Wesley's
way, John Caivin's way, Paul's way,
Christ's way, Gods way. A dentist
once said to me. Does that hurtp"
Said /, "Ot course it hurtsi 1t is in
your business as in my profession; We
have to hurt before We can help"
You will never understand redemption
until you understand ruin. A mar
tells me that someone is a member of
the Church. 1t makes no impression
on my mind at all. l simply want to
know whether he was converted In the
old fashioned way, or whether he was
converted In the new-fashioned way. II
he was converted IN the Old-fashioned
way, he will stand. If he was on
verted IN the new-fashioned way he
will not stand. That it all thers is
about it.
A man comes to me to talk about re.
ligion. The first question l ask him is,
500 you feel yourself to be a sinner"
RI he say. '.Well, YES" the hest.
fancy makes me feel that that man
wants q ride on Nehemiah's horse by
midnight through the rulns-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 reins on the horses neck,
and will take his right hand and smlte
on bis heart and say: "God be merciful
to me a sinner" and before he had
stabbed his horse he will take his feet
out of the stirrups, and he will slide
down on the ground, and he will kneel,
crying, "Have mercy on me, o God,
according to thy loving kindness: &C.
} cOrding unto the multi de OF thy ten
der melcies blot out my transgressions.
For | acknowledge my transgressiOns,
and my sins are ever before thee"
All, my friends. you see this Is
NOT A COMPLEMENTARY GOSPEL.
That is what makes some people SO
mad. 1t comes to a man Of a million
dollars and impenitent in his sins and
says, YOU'RE a pauper." 1t comes to
a woman OF fairest cheek, who has
never ~repented. and says, "YOu're a
sinner" 1t ZONES to a man prldiDg
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 a ruin. a CHASTITY ruin,
an illimitable ruin." Satan sometimes
says to me, "Why do you preach
that truth? Why don't you preach
a gospel with no repentance in itp
Why don't you flatter mems hearts SO
that you make them feel all rightp
Why don't you preach a humanitarian
gospel with no repentance in 1t, saying
nothing about the ruin. taking all the
time about redemption?" l say, "Get
thee behind me, SATAN" / would
rather lead five souls the right way
than twenty thousand the wrong way.
The redemption of the gospel is a per-
feet farce 1t there is no ruin. 'The
whole need not a physician. but they
are SICK" ''If any one, though he be
an angel fri heaven, preach any other
gospel than this" says the apostle,
"let him be accused" There must be
the midnight ride over the ruins before
J Jerusalem can be built. There must
, be the clicking of the hoofs before there
can be the ringing of the trowels.
Again: My subject gives me a speci-
, men Of busy and
TRIUMPHANT SADNESS.
If there was any man IN the world who
had q right to NOPE and give up every.
thing as lost, it was Nehemiah. You
cav, ''He was a cup-bearef in the
palace OF Shushan, and it wa a grand
placer So 1t was. The hall of that
palace was two hundred feet square,
and the roof lowered over thirty-six
> marble pillars, each pillar sixty feet
> high; and the intense blue Of the sky,
and the deep green of the forest foil
age, and the white of The driven snow,
all hung trembling In the upholstery.
! But, my trends, you know very vel
! that fine architecture will not put
down inconsistencies. Yet Nehemiah did
, not give up. Then when you see him
going among these desolated streets,
3 and by these dislnantled towers, and
. by the tOrn-up grave of his father. you
wouli suppose that he would have beer
} disheartened, and that he would have
I dismounted from his horse and gone t.
his room aud said: s'Woe is mel My
fathers grave is torn up. The Tenn
/, pie is dishonored. The walls ART
! broken down. have no money witt