The Washington herald., 1918-02-24
HERALD'S SUNDAY
SERMON.
The Appeal Of Nehemiah
Answered.

up and build. So they strengthened
their hands for their good work"
Nehemiah, 21s.
To be brave in time when men are
losing courage. to be full Of enthus-
asm when others are yielding to de-
preston, to be patient when men are
unable to endure suffering, to be en-
thusiastic when the air 10 surcharged
with pessimism, to keep faith In God
when the spirit Of the time Is laden
with doubt and to trust God against
the evidence Of the senses, these are
the things that set a man apart from
his fellows and make him great
Nehemiah's Task.
Nehemiah had all these things to
deal with, and when he learned OF
the suffering of his own people and
heard the reports of the desolation
in his native land, he asked OF the
king permission to return home and
to help his people rebuild their city
and re-establish the worship OF Je-
hovah. His people had just lately
been permitted to return from their
captivity to their native land, ana
the sights that greeted their eyes
were broken walls, ruined homes. ana
a despoiled temple. There was need
for a great soul who should under
take to lead this people in the work
of reconstruction, and the young man
Nehemiah was the man Of the hour.
He was essentially q builder, his
e. rRr
he stood before his people and plead
to the task Of building. They an
swered his appeal in the stirring
words, Let US rise and build"
This Is an appeal for q construc-
tive effort; It is q challenge to be
a builder and not O destroyer. IL
emphasizes the fact that to be
builder in any age q man must re-
sist that spirit of the time that tends
to evade. to compromise or to de-
stroy.
Tho spirit of the time often in
lures confidence and destroys hope
in a great cause. Nehemiah had
given himself to a great undertak-
ing, only to find that he was face
to face with a critical spirit which
took exception to his motives. Every
man who tries to live a godly life
and be a real disciple OF Jesus Christ
has had this experience. His mo-
tives are misconstrued, his purposes
are misjudged, and there is always
a great crowd of people who are
ready to tear down, but who never
strive to build up.
Build, Do Not Destroy.
Never be a huckster of gossip. In
other words, be a builder and not a
destroyer. 1t takes less intelli-
gence to destroy; 1t takes more in
ltelligence to build. Too many peo-
pie stand around and throw rocks
at the cross of Jesus Christ. They
| criticise all efforts in the direction
of. righteousness, but they never
raise their hand to help carry the
burden of a dying world.
That a man may make the finest
brand of tin cans or the best quail
ity of oil or perfumery does not
qualify him to adjust the religious
program Of the world. Nehemiah
Twas a leader in this great construc-
tive effort They laughed at him,
they sneered at him. they got angry
with him, they tried to entrap him,
they circulated false reports about
his purposes, but he rose above all
these things and kept true to his
aim, keeping faith in God. They
said the walls he was building were
no good. They tried to get him to
come to q banquet in order to do
him harm You could not fool
Nehemiah with a big banquet.
Faith Essential.
Do not lose your grip on your faith
in God, and do not be afraid to be
a real disciple of Christ. II they
Taught at you, IL they sneer at you,
If they conspire against you. II In
the guise Of pleasure they have sin
lister purposes; hold fast to your pro-
fession, nothing wavering.
1t seems hardly possible that in this
day when our country is involved in
a war that means a crisis not only for
the ideals and principles of our ma
tion, but also for the cause of Chris
tianity. when the youth Of our land
is being sent into the firing line, that
men should be SO greedy as to capi-
talize these critical times; and yet
they are doing it. There ought to be
some way by which these greedy de-
stroyers might be singled out and
their shame punished.
The unbelieving spirit in Nehe-
miah's time showed itself in utter
disregard of the Sabbath day. This
question Is not entirely a religious
problem, and it Is not merely mat
ter of the observance of a day. II
is the fundamental question of the
recognition of the worship of God.
i nA1aSSifNy ~ dnUnfinO at
least one day in the week to the
cultivation of our spiritual natures.
We demand that our intellectual
natures shall be trained. we de-
velop the social side of our lives,
and we cherish and cultivate our
femotions, but our spiritual natures
the only real and permanent and
abiding thing in US. are often al
lowed to go to seed or dry up en-
tirely. The world is full of people
who have so starved their spiritual
natures, and their consciences have
become so wizened and dead that
IAN Egyptian mummy would look
like a hing Of life and beauty COM
pared with them.
War Won by Honoring Lord.
We shall win this war If We honor
God. but we have no right to ask
God to bless us and then disobey
His law and neglect His worship
and pay no heed to the cultivation
of our spirits, and disregard the day
of rest and give ourselves to un-
limited pleasure and selfish indulg-
ence. II there ever was a time
when a nation should get down on
its knees, confess its sins and re-
pent before God, that nation is ours
and that time is now.
The answer to Nehemiah's appeal
| WAS az sincere as il WAS thrilling