The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1889-09-12
AT OMAHA.

AT OMAHA.
The Discourse from the Text; ssThou
Art Weighed IN the Balances
and Art Found Wanting,v
Churches Should Exist for the Sole
Purpose or Saving Souls, and
Not for Artistic Eject.
OMAHA, Neb., Sept. 1.-Great interest was
manifested here to-day, the Rev. T. Dewitt
Talmage, D. D., preaching to m immense
congregation. His text was: "Thou art
weighed IN the balances and found wanting"
Daniel u ~. The preacher said:
Babylon was the paradise OF architecture,
and driven out from thence the grandest
buildings Of modern times are the only evil
denco Of her fall. The site having been select
cd for the city 2.O00,0 900 men were employed
n the rearing Of her wallis and the building
Of her works. It was o city sixty miles in
circumference. There was o trench all around
the city, from which the material for the
building. Of the city had been dug.
There were twenty-five gates on each side
the city; between every two gates q tower OF
defense springing into the skies; from each
gate on the one side astreet running straight
through TO the corresponding street on the
other side, so that there were fifty streets
fifteen mileslong. Through the city ran a
branch of the river Euphrates. This river
sometimes overlooked it's banks, and to keep
Il from the ruin Of the city q lake wa con-
structed, 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 Euphrates
there was o palaca-the one palace mile and
q half around, the other seven and Q hall
miles around.
The wife Of Nebuchandnezzar had been
born and brought up in the country, and in
"a mountainous region, and she could not
please his wife, observation-disclosures built in the
midst of the city o mountain 400 feet high.
This mountain was built out into terraoes
supported ON arches. On the top Of these
arches "a layer of fat stones, on the top of
that d layer; OF reeds and bitumen. on the
top OF that two layers Of bricks closely cemen-
ted. on the topof that q sheet of lead, and
on top Of that the soil placed-ths soil SO
deep that 70 Lebanon cedar had Don to
anchor it's roots. There were pumps worked
by mighty machinery fetching mp the water
from the Enphrates to this hanging garden,
ns it was called, so that there were fountains
~spouting into the sky.
have seemed as If the clouds were in blossom,
or as though the sky leaned on the shoulder
of q cedar. All this Nebunchadazzar did to
please his wife. Well, she ought to have
been pleased. Hthat would not please her
nothing would. There was in that city also
the temple Of Belus, withtowers 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 $50, 100000.
o what q ethyl The earth never saw any
thing like it, never will see anything like it.
And yet l have to tell you thatit is going to
be destroyed. The king and his princes are
out the rich wins into the chalices. Drink to
the health of the king. Drink to the glory
OF Babylon. Drink to o great future.
A thousand lords reel intoxicated. The
king, seated upon a chair, with vacant look
LAS intoxicated men will-stared at the wall.
But soon that vacant looks takes on inten-
sity, and it is nm affrigbted 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 2 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
fery terror, circling 9 and circling
around, AZ though it would write; and then
It comes up n 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 fol-
lowed BY the breaking in Of the doors. A
thousand cleaning knives strike into a
thousand quiyering hearts. Now death is
king, and he is seated on q throne Of corpses.
In that hall there is a balance lifted.
God swung it. On one side of the balance
are put Belshazzar's opportunities, and on
the other side ofthe balance are put Belshaz-
1ar's rims. The sins come down. His oppor-
tunities 60 up. Weighed in the balances
found wanting.
our country with false weights and measures
and balances. and the government, to change
that state of things, appointed commission
ers whose business it was to stamp weights
and measures and balances, and q great deal
Of the wrong has been corrected. But still,
after all, there j., no such thing az o perfect
some OF the metalmay be clipped. or in some
way the equipose may be little disturbed.
You can not always depend upon earthly
balances. A pound is not always y pound,
and you may pay for one thing and get an
other; but in tho balance which 10 suspended
to the throne of God q pound is q pound,
and right is right, and wrong 10 wrong and O
Un.,1fs = onu1 end oforn{fv Il oknrpifu Hod