The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-09-18
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVTNE'S SUN.
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Weighed in the Balances"
preached at Omaha, Neb)

Subject: "Weighed in the Balances
preached at Omaha, Neb.)
TEXT: "Thou art aoei1hed in the 6Gl-
ances, and art found 1oant1ng.
", 81.
Babylon was the paradise of architecture,
and 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. 1t was city sixty
| miles fnicircumference. There was trench
| all around the city from which the material
| for the building Of the city had been digged.
There were twenty-five gates on each side
| the city; between every two gates tower of
defense springing into tho 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 overhowed its banks, and to keep it
| from the ruin Of the city a Lake was con-
structed, into which the surplus water OF this
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 O palace-the one palace mile
and half around, the other palace seven
and half miles around.
The wife Of Nebuchadnezzar had been born
and brought up in the country and in a
mountainous region, and she could not bear
his wife, Nebuchadnezzar built in the midst
of the city a mountain 400 feet high. This
mountain was built out into terraces sup
ported on arches On the top Of these arches
u layer Of fiat stones; on the top of that
LAYER Of reeds and bituman; on the top OF
that two layers Of bricks, closely cemented;
on the top Of that heavy sheet Of lead, and
on the top Of that the soil placed-the soil so
deep that a Lebanon cedar had room to an
chor its 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
spouting into the sky.
Standing below and looking up it must
have seemed as If the clouds were in blossom,
or as though the sky leaned on the shoulder
of a cedar. All this Nebuchadnezzar did to
please his wife. Well she ought to have
been pleased suppose ss she HaPs was pleased ond n
There was in that city also the temple OF
Belus, with towers-one tower the eighth OF
q mile high, in which there was an obServa-
tory where astronomers talked to the stars.
There was in that temple an image, just one
image, which cost what would be our fifty
two million dollars.
what cityl The earth never saw any
thing like it, never will see anything Like it.
And yet I have to tell you that it is going to
be 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 chair, with vacant look,
as intoxicated men wil-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 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 finger
q finger Of fiery terror circlng around and
circling around as though it would write;
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 pal
ace are followed by the breaking in of the
doors. A thousand cleaning knives strike
into q thousand quivering hearts. Now
Death is King and he is seated on a throne
OF 0OTpSeS. III unat udu Gueio ID q paIanSo
lifted. God swung it. On one side Of the
balance ara put Belshazzar's opportunities,
on the other side of the balance are put Bel
shazzar's sins. The sins come down. His
opportunities 60 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, to
change that state Of things, appointed COM
missioners whose business it was 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,
and you pay for one thing and you get an
other; but in the balance which is suspended
to the throne Of God, pound is pound, 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 way, then the Lord
weighs the goods again. IF from the imper-
feet measure the merchant pours out what
pretends to be gallon of oil and there Is less
than gallon, God knows it, and He calls M
w
much wanting III that measure Of OIL" The
farmer comes in from the country. He has
apples to sell. He has an imperfect measure.
He pours 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
may cheat ourselves and we may cheat the
world, but we cannot cheat GOD, ana In
the great day of Judgment it will be found
out that what we learned In boyhooo az
school is scorrect-that twenty hundred weight
make a ton, and one hundred and twenty
solid feet make cord of wood. No more, =
no less. And religion which does not 80 20
hold of this life as well as the life to cgt ha9 iS
no religion at all. But, my frlenas, ,aT smIo ~
not the kind Of balances am 20 epe"A "
to-day: that is not the kind OF Weigass anu anu
measures. lam to speals0f tnat k1no VI a;o, Ia
ances which can wolgh Prlncipies, "ets gsd
churches weigh men, welgn na1iVa eis T. Nc.
s,Ss m4 tbat ~ nur world is to be weighed%. Yes.
WIN Won would think if God put on one
s;da tbs halances suspended from the throne
t,,e Aims. and tne Pyrenees, and the Hina- ma
ioyos and Mount Washington, and all Ine
tiles of the earth, they would crush IL. mo,
NJ Tho time will come when God Will s,G
do1v,, On the white throne to see the worla
WEIGHED and on one side Will 6e tne "orLs .i,s
onportunities, end on the otner siGe .nr
worlds sins. Down Will go tne si9s % amu aT, CIV" ~
~ 81 oars with the torch: Burn that
World vuT Weipled and found wantlng|
w. c. will wsigh churches. Hetakes great
oh,,rch Tbat great church, according TO tne
cnuiSh llSi ost;mate must be weighed. He puts
~ ~ nya side the balances, and the minister
I'D tho oh oir and the building that cost lts
hnndreds of thousands of dollars he puts