The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-08-20

Of that banqueting hall, for do not want
to look. There is nothing there but torn
banners and broken wreaths. and the
slush Of upset tankards, and the blood ol
murdered women, and the kicked and
tumbled carcass Of dead king. For
In that night was b elshaxxar slain.
I. learn from this, that when God
writes anything on the wall q man had
better read it as 1t Is. Daniel did not mis-.
interpret or modify the handwriting on the
wall. II is an foolishness TO expect Q
minister Of the gospel to preach always
things that the people like Or the people
choose. Whist shall I preach to you to-
day! Shall tell you Of the dignity Of
human nature? Shall I tell you Of The
wonders that your race have accomplished
''Oh, no." you say, "ten me the message
| that came from God" will. II there Il
any handwriting on the wall Il Is this les.
son: "Repent. accept Of Christ and Be
| saved" might talk Of . great many
| other things, but that is the message, and
SO declare it. Jesus never dattered those
TO whom he preached. He said TO those
who did wrong and who were offensive In
his sight: aye generation of vipers? Ye
whited sepulchers! How can We escape
the damnation Of heil.n Paul the Apostle
preached before q man who was not ready
to hear him preach. What subject did he
takei Did he say: "Ob, you are . good
man. avery fine man. Q very noble man!'
No; he preached of Righteousness to a
man who was unrighteous; Of temperance
to q man who was the victim
of bad appetites; Of the judg.
ment to come to a man who was unfit for
1t. So we must always declare the mes
sage that happens to come to US. Daniel
must read it as it is. A minister preached
before James I. of England, who was
James VI of Scotland. What subject did
he take: The King was noted all over
the world for being unsettled and waver-
ing in his ideas. What did the minister
preach about to his man who was James l.
of England and James VI. Of Scotland!
He took for his text:
He that wa vereth is like a wave OF the sea
driven with the wind and tossed-James,
L,6
Hugh Latimer offended the King by q
sermon he preached, and the King said:
Hugh Latimer, come and apologize"
81 WILL" said Hugh Latimer.
So the day was appointed, and the
Kings chapel was full of lords and dukes,
and the mighty men and women of the
country. for Hugh Latimer was to apollo
gize. He began his sermon by saving:
Hugh Latimer, bethink thee! Thou art
in the presence of thine earthly King, who
can destroy the body! But bethink thee,
Hugh Lstimer that thou art in the pres.
ence of the King of Heaven and earth,
who can destroy both body and soul in
hell fire. ., King, cursed he thy crmesv
2. Another lesson that comes to US:
There is q great difference between the
opening Of the banquet Of sin and its close.
Young man, il you had looked in upon the
banquet in the first few hours you would
have wished you had been invited there
and could sit at the feast. 40, the grand
eur of Belshazzar's feast, YOU would have
said: hut you look in at the close of the
bautue- and your blood curdles with hor.
ror. The King of Terrors has there a
ghas-lier banquet: human blood is the
wine and dying groans are the music. Sin
has made itself king in the earth. Ithas
crowned ITSELF. 1t has spread a banquet.
1t invites all the world 70 come to il. Il
has hung in its banqueting hall the SPOTS
Of all kingdoms ard the banrn-s IF -, ~.
tions. 1t has gathered from all music. II
has s'rewn fr,..l its wealth the table and
floors and arches. And vet how often is
that banquet broken up, and how horrible
is lis end! Ever and anon there is hand.
writing on the wall A king falls. A
great culrrit is arrested. The knees of
wickedness knocked together. Gods juds.
ment. like an armed host, breaks in upon
the banquet, and that night is Bel shaz.ar,
the King Ok the Cha,ieaus, slain.
Here is young man who says: az can
not see why they make such fuss about
the Intoxicating cup. Why, it is exhil-
arating. 1t makes me feel we'll. I can
talk letter, think better. feel better. lean
not see why pc opie have such prejudice
against l." A few years pass on and Re
wakes up and finds himself IN the clutches
OF an evil habit which he tries to break,
but lie can not: and he cries cut: "Oh,
Lord God. help net" It seers rs though
God would not hear his prayer, and in an
agony of body and soul he cries out:
Il biteti Ike serpent and s,inge;h like IN
adder.
How bright it was at the start! how
black it W as at the last.
Here is a mall who begins TO read
French novels. They are SO charming"
he says: II viii go GU. and see for myself
whether all these things are So" He
opens the gate of sinful life. He gees
in. A sinful sprite meets him with her
wand. she waves her wand and il is
all enchantment. Why it seems as IL the
ANGELS of God had poured out phials OF
perfume in tae atmosphere. Is he walks
on he finds the hills becom ing MOI radiant
with the falling water. o. wha. charm
ing Landscape he sees! But that sinful
sprise with her wani meets him again:
but now she reverses the wand, and all tine
enchanmcnt IS gone. The cup is full of poi
son. The fruit turns TO ashes. All The
leaves of the bower are iorked tongues OF
Kissing serpeass. The flowing fountains
fall back in a dead pool, stem chfuI with
corruption. The Turing songs become
curses and screams of demoniac laughter.
Lost spirits gather about him, and feel FOR
his hesrt, and beckon him on with: Hail
brother! Hail. biased spirit. Hal ~ He
tries to &c. out. He comes to the fron.
door, where he entered, and tries to push
il hack, lut the door turns ayains. him:
and in the jar of that shutting dooc he
hears these words:
This night is BeIshazzar, tie Kias OF tho
ChafdeauS, slain.
Sin may open bright as the morning; 1t
closes dark as the night.
5. learn further from thi. subject that