The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1889-09-07
The JUDGMENT SCALES.
a Sermon By DR.. Talmage on
Worldly Shortcomings.
Ehe Divine Weighing Always True-The
Churches Often Found wanting-The
Moralist IA Light weight-Christ's
Power to Save.

~. Y, In a recent SCI mon at Omaha, Neb.,
took Tor his text: ''Thou art weighed in
the balances and art found w~anting.n-
Daniel v. q. Following is the sermon:
BABYLON was the paradise of architect
ure' and driven out from thence the
randes buildings of modern times are
only the evidence of her fall. The site
having been selected for the city, 1000, 900
men were employed in the rear of her
walls and the building of her works. 1t
was a city sixty miles in circumference.
There was n trench all around the city,
from which the material for the building
OF the city had been digged.
mere were twenty-five gates on each
side or the city; between every two gates
q tower OF defense spcinging into the
skies; from each gate on the one side a
sureet running straight through to the COR
responding street on the other side, SO that
there were fifty streets fifteen miles long.
Through the city ran a branch of the river
Euphrates. This river sometimes over
Moved its banks, and to keep it from the
ruin OF the city II lake was constructed
into which the surplus water of the river
would run during the time of freshets, aud
the water was kept In this artificial lake
until the time of drought and then this
would stream down over the city. At
nv VI III bIllke spanning III
Euphrate there was a palace-the one
a palace n mile and a half around, the
otner palace seven and u half miles
around.
Inc wife of Nebuchadnezznr had been
porn and brought up in the country. and
IN q mountainous region, and she could
not Dear the Hat district of Babylon; and
90, to pleas his wife, Ne~buchadnezzar
built In the midst of the city n mountain
400 feet high. This mountain was built
out into terraces supported on arches. On
the top Of these arches a layer of fat
stones, on the top OF that a layer of reeds
n bitumen, on the top of that two layers
OF bricks closely cemented. on the top of
that a heavy sheet of lead and on top of
that the soil was placed-the soil so deep
mat a Lebanon cedar had room to anchor
It's roots. There were pumps worked by
mighty machinery fetching up the water
from the Euphrates to this hanging gar
den, as it was called, so that there were
fountains spouting into the sky.
Standing below and looking up it must
have looked as il the clouds were in blos-
som, or as though the sky leaned on the
shoulder of a cedar.
All this observation-disclosures did to please
his wife. Well, she ought to lave been
pleased. IL that would not please her
nothing would. There was in that city
also the temple of Belus, with towers-one
tower the eighth of a mile high, IN which
there was an observatory where astrono-
msrs talked to the stars. There was in
that temple an image, just one image,
which would cost what would be our $52,-
0O0, 900.
20. what a ethyl The earth never saw
any thing like IT, never will see any thing
like IT. And vat I haua To fall Won that IL
is going to be destroyed The King and
his princes are at n feast. They are all
Intoxicated. Pour out the rich wine into
the chalices. Drink to the health of the
King. Drink to the glory of Babylon.
Drink to a great future.
A thousand lords reel intoxicated. The
King, seated upon a 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 affrighted look, and all the princes be-
gin to look and wonder what is the mat
ter, and they look at the same point on
the wall. And then there drops a dark
ness into the room and puts out the blaze
Of the golden plate and out of the sleeve
Of the darkness there comes a lnger-n
finger Of fiery terror circling around and
circling around as though it would write,
stu thoh ~ NV hP dliu I'm u hudID III
Of fame IL inscribes on the plastering of
the wall the doom of the King: "Weighed
In the balances and found wanting" Tie
bang Of heavy fists against the gates of
the palace are followed by the breaking in
OF the doors. Athousand 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 10 a
balance lifted. Goo swung 1t. On ore
side Of the balance He put Belshazzar's
opportunities, on the other side of the ball
ance are put Belshazzar's sins. The sins
come down. His opportunities go up.
Weighed In the balances-found wanting.
There has been a great deal Of cheating
In our country with false weights and
measures and balances, and the Govern
ment, to change that state of things, APP
pointed commissioners whose business it
was to stamp weights and balances, and a
great deal of the wrong has been correct
ed. But still, after all, there is no such
thing as o perfect balance on earth. The
chain may break, or some of the metal
may be Clipped, or in some way the
equipoise may be a little disturbed.
You can not always depend upon earthly
balances. A pound Is not always a pound,
and you may pay for one thing and gel
another; but in the balance which Is sus-
pended to the throne of God, a pound is a
pound, and right Is right, and wrong is
wrong, and a SOU Is a soul, and eternity
Is eternity. God has a perfect bushel and
q perfect peck and a perfect gallon. When
merchants weigh their goods in the wrong
way, ten the Lord weighs the goods
again. II from the imperfect measure
the merchant pours out what pretsnds to
be q gallon, God knows 1t, and He calls
upon His recording angel to markrit: $50
much wanting jn-tsat measure of oil.n
Tine farmer comes in from the country.
He has apples to sell. He has an imper-
feet measure. He pours out the apples
from this imperfect measure. God recog-
nizes It. He says TO the recording angel:
mark down SO many apples too few-an
imperfect measure" We may cheat our
selves and we may cheat the world, but
we can not cheat God, and in tho great
day of Judgment IL will be found out that
what we / armed in boybood at school Is
correct; that twenty hundred weight
make a ton, and one hundred and twenty
eight 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 But, my
friends. that is not the style of balances 1
am to speak of to-day, that is not the kind
VI lAh oho u I'LL W oDOhh
of that kind of balances which can weigh
principles, weigh churches. weigh men,
weigh nations and weigh worlds.
30 God will weigh churches. He takes
q great church. That great church, ac-
cording to the worldly estimate, must be
weighed. He puts IL on one side Of the
balances and tne minister and the choir
and the building that cost hundreds of
thousands of dollars, He puts them on one
side the balances. On the other side of
the scale he puts what that church ought
to be, what its sympathy for the poor
ought TO be, what its devotion to all good
ought to be. That is on one side. That
side comes down, and the church not being
able to stand the test rises in the balances.
IL does not make any difference about
your magnificent machinery. A church
10 built for one thing-to save souls. II 1t
saves a few souls when 1t might save a
multitude Of souls. God will spew it out Of
His mouth. Weighed aud found w%antingi
30 God estimates nations. How many
times He has put the Spanish monarchy
into the scales, and found IL insufficient
and condemned i'll The French Empire
was placed on one side the scales, and
God weighed the French Empire, and
Napoleon said: Have / not enlarged
the boulevardsp Did not kindIe the
giories of the Champs Elyseos? Have
not adorned the TuileTies? Have 1
not built the guided opera houseY''
Then God weighed the nation, and He
put on on Q side the scales the Emperor,
and the boulevnrds, and the Tuileries,
and the Champs Elysees, and the gilded
opera house, and on the other sid He puts
that mans denominations, that mans lib
ertinism, that ans selfsbness, that