Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-02
UNABLE TO BALANCE.
Weighed and Found Wanting When
Called Upon for Settlement.
EVERY DAY is ONE OF JUDGMENT.
DR.. Talmages Interesting SermOnat Omaha,
Neb., Yesterday Morning.
ALL HAVE TO GET In THE BALANCES
rsrEc1AL TELEGRAM TO THE DIspArcH.i

-
terest was manifested. here to-day, the Rev.
7. De Witt Talmage d. D., preaching to
an immense congregation. His text was;
Thou art weighed in the balances, and art
found wanting. Daniel v, q. The
preacher said:
Babylon was the paradise of architecture,
and driven out from thence the grandest
buildings Of modern times are only the evil
dence of her fall The site having been
selected for the city, 2,OOO, 600 men were em-
ployed in the rearing OF her walls and the
building of her works. 1t was a city 60
miles in circumference. There was trench
all around the city, from which the ma
terial for the building of the city had been
digged.
There were % gates on each side the city;
between every two gates a tower of defense
springing into the skies; from each gate on
the one side street running straight
through to the corresponding street on the
other side, so that there were so streets Is
miles long. Through the city ran a branch
of the River Euphrates. This river some
times overhowed its banks, and to keep it
from the ruin of the city a lake was con-
strueted into which the surplus water of the
river would run during the time of freshets,
and the water was kept in this artificial
lake until time of drought, and then this
water would stream down over the city. AT
either end of the bridge spanning this Eu-
pirates there was paiace-the one palace
mile and half around, the other palace
seven and half miles around.
no DTracr r1rc xu,rr
The wife of Nebuchadnezzar had been
born and brought up in the country, and in
mountainous region, and she could not
bear this fiat district of Babylon; and so, to
please his wife, Nebnchadnezzar built in
the midst Of the city mountain 400 feet high.
This mountain was built out into terraces
supported on arches. On the top of these
arches layer of fiat stones, on the top OF
that layer of reeds and bitumen, on the
top Of that two LAYERS of bricks closely &C.
mented, Oh the top of that heavy sheet of
lead, and on the top of that the soil placed
the soil so deep that Lebanon cedar had
room to anchor its roots. There were pumps
worked by mighty machinery fetching up
the water from the Euphrates to this hang
ing garden as it was called, so that there
were fountains spouting into the sky.
Standing below and looking up it must
have seemed as if the clouds were in bios
som, or as though the sky leaned on the
shoulder of cedar. All this Nebuchad-
nezzar did to please his wife. Well, she
ought to have been pleased. suppose she
was pleased. If that would not please her,
nothing would. There was in that city also
the temple of Belus, with towers-one tower
the eighth of mile, in which there was an
observatory where astronomers talked to the
stars. There was in that temple an image,
just one image, which would cost what
would be our So, 100000.
NOTHING EVER LIKE 1T.
q, what city! The earth never saw any,
thing like it, never will see anything like
1t. And yet have to tell you that it is
going to be destroyed. The King and his
princes are at a feast. They are all intoxi-
Gated. Pour out the rich wine into the
chalioeS. Drink to the health of the King.
Drink to the glory of Babylon. Drink to
great future.
A thousand lords reel intoxicated. The
King, seated upon chair, with vacant look,
as intoxicated men will-with vacant look
stared at the wall, But soon that vacant
look takes on intensity, and it is an
afrighted look; and all the princes begin to
look and wonder what is the matter, and
they look at the same point on the wall.
And then there drops a darkness into the
room and puts out the blaze of the golden
plate, and out of the sleeve of the darkness
there comes fnger-a finger of fiery terror
circling around and circling around as
thouga it would write; and then it comes
up and with sharp tip OF flame it inscribes
on the plastering of the wall the doom of the
King: Weighed in the balances, and found
wanting" The bang of heavy fists against
the gates of the palace are followed by the
breaking in of the doors. A thousand
cleaning knives strike into a thousand
quivering hearts. Now Death is king, and
he is seated on a throne OF corpses, In that
hall there is a balance lifted. God swung
1t On one side of the balance are put Bel
shazzars opportunities, on the other side of
the balance are put Belshazzar's sins The
sins come down. His opportunities 90 up.
Weighed in the balances-found wanting.
NO PERFECT BALANCE.
There has been great deal of cheating in
our country with false weights and meas
ures and balances, and the Government, to
change that state of things, appointed COM
,nissioners whose business it was to stamp |
weights and measure and balances, and a |
great deal of the wrong has been corrected. |
But still, after all, there is no such thing as
perfect balance on earth. The chain NAV |
break, or some of the metal may be clipped. |
or in some way the equipGse may be little |
disturbed.
You cannot always depend upon earthly |
balances. A pound is not always pound. |
and you may pay for one thing and get an |
other; but in the balance which is suspended |
to the throne of God, pound is pound. |
and right is right, and wrong is wrong, and |
soul is a soul, and eternity is eternity. |
God has perfect bushel and perfect peck |
and perfect gallon. When merchants /
weigh their goods in the wrong wav, then
the Lord weighs the goods again If |
from the imperfect measure the merchant
pours out what pretends to be gallon of |
oil, and there Is less than gallon, God |
knows 1t, and he calls upon his recording
angel to mark 1t, $50 much wanting in that |
measure of oil" The farmer comes in |
from the country. He has apples to sell. |
He has an imperfect measure. He pours
ont the apples from this imperfect measure.
God recognizes it. He says to the recording
angel: Mark down SO many apples too
few-an imperfect measure" We NAV
cheat ourselves and we may cheat the world. |
but we cannot cheat God, and in the great
day of judgment it will be found out that
what we learned in boyhood at school is
correct; that twenty hundred weight make
ton, and one hundred and twenty solid
feet make a cord of wood. No more, no
less, and a religion which does not take
hold Of this life as well as the life to come is
NO RELIGION AT ALL.
1 But, my friends, that is not the stvle of
balances l am to speak of to-day, that is
not the kind of weights and measures. L
am to speak of that kind of balances which
can weigh principles, weigh churches,
weigh men. weigh nations and weigh unrlds |