The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-05

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hemiah in his midnight moonlight ride
around the ruins or mis- beloved Jerusa-
lem.
Again. my text impresses me with the
fact that, before reconstruction. there
must be an exploration Of ruins. Why was
not Nehemiah asleep under the covers?
Why was not his horse stabbed in the mid
night? Let the police of the city arrest this
midnight rider, out on some mischief. No
Nehemiah is going to rebuild the city, and
he Is making the preliminary exploration
In this gate, out that gate east west
north, south. All through the ruins 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 be-
cause they did not first explore the ruins
of their own heart. The reason that there
are so many professed Christians who in
this day lie and forge and steal and COM
nit denominations, and go TO the peniten-
tiary, is because they first do not learn
the ruin of their own heart. They have
not found out that "the heart is deceitfu
above all things, and desperately wicked
They had an idea that they We're almost
right, and they built religion as a sort of
extension, as an ornamental cupola. There
was superstructure of religion built on
a substratum of unrepented sins. The
ogy 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 mid
night of conviction, they have seen the
ghastliness of the ruin. They have such
a poor foundation for their religion that
the first northeast storm of temptation
blows them down | have no faith in a
mans conversion if he is not converted
in the old-fashionede way-John Bunyan
way, John Wesleys way, John Calvin's
way, Pauls way, Christs way, Gods way
dentist said to me, Does that hurt?"
Said ]. "Of course II hurts. 1t is in your
business as ia my profession We have
to hurt before we can help" You will
never understand redemption until yoI
understand ruin. A man tells me that
some one is a member of the church. 1t
makes no impression on my mind at all. /
simply want 20 know whether he was con-
verted in the Old-fashioned way, or wheth-
er he was converted in the new-fashioned
way. IF he was converted in the old-fash-
toned way he will stand. If he was con-
verted in the new-fashioned way he will
not stand. That is all there is about it, A
man comes to me to talk about religion.
The first question l ask him is, DO you
feel yourself to be a sinner" If he say,
We'll, I-yes," the hesitancy makes me
feel that that man wants a ride on Ne
hemiah's horse by midnight through the
ruins-in by the gate of his affections,
out by the gate of his will; and before
he has goi through with that midnight
rifle he viii drop the reins on the horses
neck. and will take his right hand and
smite on his heart and say, God be merci-
ful to ME, a SINNER" and before he has
stabbed his horse he will take his feet Out
of the stilrups and he will slide down on
the ground, and he will kneel, crying,
Have mercy on me, o God according to
fYtrr Irfra
multitude of thy tender mercies; blot out
my trausgressions, for l acknowledge my
transgressions, and my sins are ever be-
fore thee" An. my friends, you see this
IS nos a complimentary gospel. That is
what makes some people so mad. It
comes to a man of a million dollars, ami
impenitent n his sins, and says, You re
a pauper." 1t comes to a woman of far
est cheek VINO has never repented, and
says, You re a sinner" 1t comes to a
man priding 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 thae
truth? Why don't you preach a gospel
with no repentance in 1t? Why don't you
flatter mems hearts so that you make
them feel ali right? Why don't you preach
a humanitarian gospel, with no repentance
ing all the time about the redemption -
l say. Get thee behind me, satan"
would rather lead five souls into safety
than 10000 into perdition. The redemption
of the gospel is a perfect farce if there
is no ruin. The whole need not a physi-
clan, but they that are sick" IF any one,
though he be an angel from heaven,
Treach any other gospel than this" says
the apostle let him be accursed." There
must be the midnight ride over the ruins
before Jerusalem can be built. There
must be the clicking of the hoofs before
there can be the ring of the trowels.
Again. My subject gives me a speci-
men of busy and triumphant sadness II
there was any man in the world who had
right to NOPE and give up everything as
lost, IL was Nehemiah. You say, He was
cup-bearer IN the palace of Shushan,
and it was a grand place" So it 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 foliage, and
the white of the driven snow, all hung
trembling in the upholstery. But, my
friends, you know very well that fine ar
chitecture will not put down home-sick-
ness. Yet Nehemiah did not give up.
Then when you see him going among
these desolated streets, ana by these dis
mantled towers, and by the torn-up grave
of his father, you would suppose that he
would have been disheartened, and that
he would have dismounted from his horse
| and gone to his room and said: WOE is
me! My fathers grave is torn up. The
temple is dshonored. The walls are brok-
en- down. ! have no money with which
to rebuild. / wish had never been born
/ wish | were dead" Not so says Nehe-
| miah. Although he had a grief so intense
| that II excited the commentary Of his
king, yet that penniless, eXpatriated Ne
| hemah rouses himself up TO rebuild the
| city. He gets his permission of absence.
| He gets his passports. He hastens away
| 10 Jerusalem. by night on horseback he
| rides through the ruins, lie overcomes
the most ferocious opposition. lie arouses
| the pety and patriotism of the people
and IN less than two months. namely. If
ty-two days, Jerusalem was rebuilt,
That's what call busy and triumphant
| sadness.
My friends the whole temptation Is with
| you when you have trouble, to DO Just the
| opposite TO the behavior of Nehemiah,
| and that Is TO give up. You say; Il nave
| lost my child and can never smile again. "
! You say 81 have lost my property. and /
never can repair my fortunca." You say;