New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-09-11
TALMAGE AT OMAHA.
Tie Discourse from the Text; s'Thou
Art Weighed in the Balances
and Art Found Wanting
Churches Should Exist for the Sole
Purpose Of Saving Souls, and
Not for Artistic Effect.

Not for Artistic Effect.
OMAHA, Neb., Sept. l.-Great interest was
manifested here to-day, the Rev Z. Dewitt
Talmage, D. D.. preaching to an immense
congregation. His text was: Thou art
weighed in the balances and found wanting"
Daniel ", 81. The preacher said:
Babylon was the paradise of architecture,
aud driven out from thence the grandest
buildings of modern times are the only evil
eience of her fall. The site having been select
ed for the city 2OOO,OOo men were employed
in the rearing of her walls and the building
other works. 1t was a city sixty miles in
eircum ierence. There was atrench all around
the city. from which the material for the
Abuiding of the city had been dug.
There were twenty five gates on each side
the city; between every two gates a tower OF
-detease 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 fifty streets
fifteen miles long. Through the city ran a
Branch of the river Euphrates. This river
it from the ruin of the city a lake was con-
seructed, into which the surplus water of the
river would run during the time OF treshets,
and the water was kept in this artificial lake
uutil time of drought, and then this water
would stream down over the city. At Either
end of the bridge spanning this Euphrates
there was palace-the one palace mile and
"a half around, the other seven and half
snliies around.
The wife of observation-disclosures had been
boan and brought up in the country, and in
81 mountainous region, and she could not
bear this fat district of Babylon; and so, to
please his wife, observation-disclosures built in the
, midst Of the city q mountain 400 feet high
This mountain was built out into terraces
supported on arches. On the top of these
as1ss4,es a layer of fat stones, on the top of
that q layer. of reeds and bitumen, on the
top OF that two layers of bricks closely cemen-
ted, ON the top of that sheet of lead, and
ton top of that the soil placed-the soil so
deep that Lebanon cedar had room to
:aactlor it's roots. There were pumps worked
by mighty machinery fetching up the water
from the Euphrates to this hanging garden,
as it was called, SO that there were fountains
apouting into the sky.
Standing below and looking up to it must
have seemed as If the clouds were in blossom,
OF as though the sky leaned on the shoulder
afa cedar. All this Nebunchadezzar did to
ptease his wife. Well, she ought to have
been pleased. If that would not please her
nothing would. There was in that city also
Che temple of Belus, with towers 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 $52, 100000.
u what a CITY! The earth never saw any
il-ci VT 10
Aud yet Ihave to tell you thatit is going to
be destroyed. The king and his princes are
at a FEAST. They are all intoxicated. Pour
cut the rich wine into the chalices. Drink to
the health of the king. Drink to the glory
of Babylon. Drink to a great future.
4 thousand lords reel intoxicated. The
king, seated upon chair, with vacant look
AS Intoxicated men wil-stared at the wall.
Esut soon that vacant looks takes on inten-
saty, and it is an affrighted look; and all the
princes begin to look and wonder what is
Che matter, land they look at the same point
on The wall. And then there drops dark
ness into the room and puts out the blaze Of
the golden plate, and out Of the sleeve of the
darkness there comes q fnger-a finger of
fiery terror, circling around and circing
around, as though it would write; and then
Mcomes up and with sharp tip of flame it
Hnscribes on the plastering of the wall the
edoona of the king: Weighed in the balances
and found wanting" The bang of heavy
fists against the gates of the palace are fol-
I lowed 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 q throne ofcorpses.
I'm that hall there is a balance lifted
God swung it. On one side Of the balance
5are put Belshazzar's opportunities, and on
N&e other side ofthe balance are put Belshaz-
mars sins. The sins come down. His oppor-
tunities go up. Weighed in the balances
found wanting.
There has been great deal of cheating in
our country with false weights and measures
aud balances. and the government, to change
Hasa6 state of things, appointed commission
4ers whose business it was to stamp weights
and measures and balances, and great deal
.of the wrong has been corrected. But still,
after all, there is no such thing as a perfect
balance on earth. The chain may break, or
some of the metal may be clipped, or in some
way the cquipose may be little disturbed.
You can not always depend upon earthly
Balances. A pound is not always a pound,
sud you may pay for one thing and get an
other; but in tho balance which is suspended
10 the throne of God a pound is a pound
and right is right, and wrong is wrong and q
ssoul is soul, and eternity is eternity. God
lhas q perfect bushel and a per feet peck and q
sperfect gallon. When merchants weigh their
goods in the wrong way, then the Lord
weighs the goods again. Iffrom the imper-
fect measure the merchant pours out what
pretends to be o gallon of oil and there is
Tess than a gallon, God knows it. and he calls
Mpon his recording angel to mark it: 80
much wanting in that measure Of ol.'' The
Harmer comes in from the country He has
apples to sell. He has an imperfect measure
Hepours out the apples from this imperfect
measure. God recognizes it. He says to the
recording angel: Mark down SO many ap-
pies too few-an imperfect measure" we
anay cheat ourselves and We may chrat the
. Int rotn hoof Ctc1 4 ~.
great day Of Judgment it will be found out
that what we learned in boyhood at school
Ss correct; that twenty hundred weight make
8 ton, and 100 solid feet make q cord Of
& wood. No more, no less and religion
which does not take hold Of this life to come
is no religion at all. But, my friends, that
IS not the style Of balance am to speak OF
today. that is not the kind ofweights and
measures. I am to speak Of that kind OF
balances which can weigh principles, weigh
churches, weigh men, weigh lions, and weigh
worlds. What you say, 'isit possible that
our world is TO be Maiohed?, Yes WHY.