West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1889-09-12
FOUND WANTING,
SERMON BY DIR. rALMAGE
The Balance Lifted I'm the BANQUET.
Hall OF Belshazzar.

TEXT: "ThOu art tUeighed IN The bal
dnces, and art found icdnting. Daniel
v.,.27.
Babylon was the paradise Of architecture
ana driven out from thence the grandest
buildings OF modern times are only the evi.
dence OF her fall. The site having been
selected for the city. two million men were
employed in the rearing Of her walls and the
building OF her works. It was a city sixty
Innes nlclrcumterence There was n trench
all around the city from which the material
tor the building of the city had been digged
mere We're twenty-five gates on each side
the city; between every two gates tower of
defense springing into the skies: from each
gate ON the one side, a street running straight
through TO the corresponding gate ON the
other side, so there were fifty streets fifteen
miles long. Through the city ran a branch
OF the river Euphrates. This river some
times overfiowed its banks, and 20 keen II
from the rum OF the city lake was con-
structed, into which the surplus water of this
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 the Euphrates
there was palace-the one palace a mile
and half around, the other palace seven
and a half miles around
The wife of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS had been born
and brought up in the country and i'm a
mountainous region, and she could not bear
this fiat district of Babylon: and SO TO please
his wife, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS built I'm the midst
or the cltya mountain 400 feet high This
mountain was built out into terraces sun
ported on arches. On the top of these arches
layer OF Hat stones; on the top of that n
layer OF reeds and bituman; on the top of
that two layers of bricks. closely cementcd !:
on the top of that heavy sheet of lead, aud
on the top of that the soil placed-the soil so
deep that Lebanon cedar had room to an
Choir its roots. There were pumps worked by
mighty machinery fetching up the water
from the Euphrates to this hanging garden,
as 1t was called, so that there were fountains
spouting into the sky
Standing below and looking up 10 must
have seemed as if the clouds were in blossom,
OF as though the sky leaned on the shoulder
OF n cedar. All this Nebuchadnezzar did to
please his wife. Wen, she ought TO have
been pleased. L suppose she was pleased III
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 high, in which there was an observa-
tory where astronomers talked TO the stars
There was in that temple an image, lust one
image, which cost what would be our fifty
two million dollars.
:, . what ethyl The earth never saw any
thing like it, never win see anything like IT,
And yet have TO tell you that it is going 10
De destroyed The King and his Princes are
at 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 great future
A thousand Lords reel intoxicated. The
King, seated upon a chair with vacant look,
rs intoxicated men will-with vacant look
stared at the wall. But soon that vacant
look takes ON intensity, and il is an affrighted
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 darkness into the room and puts out
the blaze of the golden plate, and out OF the
sleeve OF the darkness there comes a finger
niger OF merry terror circling around and
crcIng around as though IL would write.
and then it comes up and with sharp tip of
lame 1t inscribes on the plastering Of the
wall the doom of the King: weighed in the
balances and found wanting" The bang
or heavy fists against the gates of the nal
ace are followed by the breaking in of the
doors. A thousand cleaning knives strike
INTO thousand quiyering hearts Now
Death is King, and he is seated ON a throne
OF oorpses. In that hall there is balance
n1ted. Tod swung il. On one side of the
balance are put BelshaZzar's opportunities
on the other side of the balance are put Bel
shazzars sins. The sins come down. His
opportunities go up. Weighed in the bal
ances-found wanting.
There has been great deal OF cheating
In our country with false weights and meas
ures and balances, and the government. 10
change that state of things, appointed com
misSioners whose business il WINS TO stamp
weights and measures 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 may
break or some of the metal may be clipped.
or in some way the equipoise may be little
disturbed.
You cannot always depend upon earthly
balances "A pound is not always pound,
ana You pay for one thing and you get an
other but in the balance which is suspended
70 the throne Of God, a pound is q pound and
right is right, and wrong is wrong. and n
soul is SOUL and eternity is eternity God
mas q perfect bushel and a perfect peck and a
perfect gallon. When merchants weigh
their goods in the wrong way, then the Lord
weighs the goods again. IL from the imper-
fect measure the merchant pours out what
pretends 20 be gallon of oil and there is less
than a gallon, God knows it, and He calls
upon his recording angel to mark it. $50
much wanting in that measure Of oil" The
farmer comes in from the country He has
apples 70 sell. He has an imperfect measure.
re pours out tho apples from this imperfect
measure. God recognizes il. He SAYS to the
recording angel; Mark down so many ap-
pies too few-an imperfect measure - We
may cheat ourselves aud we may cheat the
world but we cannot cheat God and in
the great day Of Judgment It will be found
cut That what we learned in boyhood at
school IS correct-that tweutv-hundred weight
make q ton. and one hundred and twenty
tohd feet make a cord OF wood. No more
no less. And n religion which does not take
hold Of tnis life as well as the life 10 come is
no religion at al. But, my friends, that is
not the kind Of balances / am 90 speak OF
today; that is not the kind Of weights and
measures. lam 90 speak Of that kind OF bal
ances which c-n weigh principles, weigh
chufche% weigh men, weigh nations and
weigh worlds. Nv hatr you say. 'ts 10 nos
n6le that our world is - b. weighedg' Yes
why, you would think IN God put on one
nde the balances suspended from the throne
the Alps, and tho Pyrcuces. and Che Hima-
layas, and Mount Washington. aud an the
cities of the earth they would crush IT, no.
no The time viii come when God win git
down on the white throne 10 zee the world
weighed. and on one side viii be- the worlds
opportunities, and on the other side the
world SINS. Down viii go The sins and away
VIII go the opportunities and God win say to
TIE inessengers with the torch Burn that
world Weighed and found wantingr
God win weigh chuTcheF Hetake-n great
church. That great church according To the
worldly estimate. must Doe weighed RE puts
10 on ono side the balance aud the minister
and the choir and the buiidinZ that cost g.
hundreds Of thou 1nds of dol.8rs Ire puts
them on ono side the balances. ON the other
SIDE ~ that scoie iIc puts what Chat church
ought g. De-. what its c1ugeorGtiDn ought ~
%, what its fymrathy Tor tHe poor ought to
pc, what its devotion ~ aii good ouynt t0ho
That is ON ono SIDE That ds c9mo down
aud the church. not being ahio b. stand the