The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-05-06
NItscEI1
THE SCALES SUSPENDED FROM
THE THRONE OF GOD,
In Which SO Many are Weighed and Found want
Ing-Se1mon Preached by DR.. ISlmase In the
prookIvn Tahernaele April 20th.


IpR-Sermon Preached by DR., Ialmage In the
Brooklyn Tabernacle April s0th'
Brooklyn, April 25.--rhe following is
a report Of DR.. Talmage's sermon:
suRJEcT-"MEN, CHURCHES AND NATIONS
WEIGHED"
Text-Daniel 5:27: "Thou art weigh.
ed in the balance and found wanting"
Babylon was the paradise of architec'
ture. Driven from thence, the most
elaborate structures of modern times are
only the evidence Of her fall. After the
site Of Babylon had been selected, two
million men were employed for the con
struction of the wall and principal works
The walls of the city were sixty miles in
circumference. They were surrounded
by a trench, out of which Lad been dug
the material for the construction of the
city. There were twenty five gates of
solid brass on each side of the square
city. Between every two gates gr at
watch tower sprang up into the heavens.
From each of the twenty-five gates on
either side, street ran straight through
to the gate on the other side, 80 there
were fifty streets, each fifteen miles long
which gave the city the appearance of
wonderful regularity. The houses did
not join each other on the ground, and
between them were gardens and shrub
berry. From house-top to house'top
bridges swung over which the inhabit'
ants were accustomed to pass. A branch
of the Euphrates went through the city,
over which a bridge of marvellous struc-
ture was thrown, and under which
tunnel ran. To keep the river from
overlooking the city in times of freshet,
great lake was arranged to catch the
surplus, in which the water was kept as
in reservoir until times of drought,
when it was sent streaming down over
the thirsty land. A palace stood at each
end OF the Euphrates bridge-one mile
and three quarters in compass, the other
seven and half miles in circumference.
The wife of NeDuchadnezzar, having
been raised amid the mountains of Me-
dia, could not stand it in this flat count
ry of Babylon. and 30, to please her,
NebuChadnezzar had mountain four
hundred feet high, built in the midst of
the city. This mountain was surround
ed by terraces, for the support of which
great arckes were lifted. On the top of
these arches fiat stones were laid, then a
layer of reeds and bitumen, then two
rows of brick closely cemented, then
thick sheets of lead, upon which the soil
was placed. The earth here deposited
was 80 deep that the largest trees had
room enough to anchor their roots. All
the glory Of the hOwery tropics was here
spread out, until it must have seemed to
o3e below as though the clouds were all
in blossom, and the very sky leaned on
the shoulder of the cedar. At the top
an engine was constructed which drew
the water from the Euphrates, far be-
low, and made it spout up amid this gar
den of the skies. All this to please his
wife. think she must have been pleas
ed. In the midst Of this city also stood
the temple of Belus. One of its towers
was one,sixth of mile high, on the top
was an observatory which gave the as.
tronomers great advantage, as, being at
30 great height, one could easily talk
with the stars. This temple was full of
cups, and statues, and censors, all of
gold. One image weighed a thousand
Babylonish talents, which was equal to
S52OOO,0OO. But why enlarge2 The
city is besieged and doomed. Though
provisioned for twenty years it shall fall
tonight. See the gold and silver plate
flash on the Kings table. Four out the
rich wine from the tankard into the cups,
Drink, my lords, to the health of the
King; drink to the glory of Babylon;
drink to the defenders of the city. Star.
tie not at the splashed wine on the ta.
BILE as though it were blood. Turn not
pale at the clash of the cup as though it
we're the Clang of arms. On with the
mirth! A thousand Lords reel on their
chairs, and quarrel and curse. The be.
sotted King sags back on his chair, and
stares vaCantly on the wall. But the va.
oopk lob 70 l. a. nm infappitv , bo s.,,,r,
the Lords gaze. Every eye is turned to
the wall. Darkness falls upon the room.
Out of the black sleeve of the darkness
a finger of fiery terror trembes through
the air and comes to the wall, and then,
with stick of fame, writes on the wall
the Kings doom, Weighed in the bal
ance and found wantingp
There has been a great deal of cheat
ing in this country by false weights and
measures Government appointed Com.
missioners to stamp the weights and
measures. Much of the wrong has been
righted. l speak of another kind of
scales. We have all been in the habit of
making mistakes in our weighing of men
and things. There is, indeed, only one
pair of balances perfectly right, and that
is suspended from the throne of God.
Other balances get out of order, the me.
tai is clipped, or the equipoise in some
way is broken; pound does not always
mean pound. But the balance of God
never lose their adjustment; with them
a pound is pound; and wrong is wrong;
and right is right, and eternity is eter,
nifty. Whenever merchant measures
r Il
it Immediately after him. The merch.
ants measure may be wrong, but Gods
measure is just right, If merchant
measures a gallon Of oil and does not
give the proper quantity, God measures
it and says: $50 many drops too f-wl
Recording angel, write it down." If a
farmer comes to town with apples for
sale and he does not give full measure,
the apples are Immediately put into
Gods peck, and record is made oftwen-