The Penn's Grove record., 1889-09-21
DIR TALMAGE,S SERMON:
The Balances,

The Balances.
aTnou art weighed In the balances and art
found wanting.r Daniel s: "a. ~
BABYLON was the paradise ofsrchitec-
ture, and driven ont nom thence the
grandest buildings Of modern times are
only the evidence of her fall. The site
having been selected for the city, two
million men were employed in the rear
ing of her walls and the building Of her
works. 1t was a city sixty miles in cir.
conference. There was q trench all
around the city, from which the mater
ial for a.
III BUILDING OF THE CIT
had been digged. There were twenty
five gates on each side the city; bstween
every two gates a tower OF defence
springing into the skies; from each gate
on the one side, q street runniOg
straight through to the corresponding
gate on the other side, 30 that there
we're fifty streets fifteen miles long.
Through the city ran q branch Of the
river Euphrates. This river sometimes
overfowed its banks, and to keep it
from the ruin of the city . lake was
constructed 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 q palace-the one palace q mile and
q half around, the other palace seven
miles and q half around.
The wife OF Nebuchadnezzar had
been born and brought up In the coun-
try, and IN q mountainous region, and
she could not bear this fat district of
Babylon; and 30, to please his wife,
Nebuchadnezzar had built in the midst
of the city a mountain four hundred
feet high. This mountain was built out
into
TERRACES SUPPORTED on ARCHES.
On the top Of these arches q layer OF
flat stones, on the top of that . layer of
reeds and bitumen, on the top of that
two layers Of bricks closely cemented,
the top of that aheavy sheet Of lead, and
on top of that the soil was placed-the
soil so deep that q Lebanonx cedar had
room to anchor Its rootsS4AThere were
pumps worked by mighty machinery
fetching up the water from the Euph-
rates to this hanging garden, Is it was
called, sol that thsret.eFe fountains
spouting into the sky. Standing below
and looking up, it must have seemed as
if the clouds wpre m sh3e9pm, or as
though the Aky leaned on tho shoulder
of a ce&ar.s AlE this observation-disclosures
did to please his wife,, We'll, she ought
to have been pleased. I-Stppose she
was pleased II that dSdlnst please her
nothing would. There was in that city
also the temple of Belun With lowers
one tower the eight of mile high, in
which 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 fifty-two million dollars.
OH WHAT A czrY!S
The earth never saw anything like 1t,
never will see anything like it, And
yet I have to tell you that it il going to
be destroyed. The kingasdhis princes
are at a feast. They are all intoxicsted!
Pour out the rich wine INTO the chalices!
Drink to the health afthe king! Drink
to the glory of B&byioHi Drink to .
great future! A thouaand@prds reel in
toxicated. The king seated upon .
chair, with vacant look, - intoxicated
men will-with vacant look atassdat the
wall But soon that vacant look takes
on intensity, and il 10 an alfrighted
look; and all tho princes begin to look
and wonder what Is the matter, end they
look at the same point on the vail. And
then there drops . darkness into the
room and puts out the blAne Of the
plate, and out OF thealeeve Of
the darkness there comes = hnger-A
finger of fiery terror circhng around
and circling aroundsas though itwould
write; and then il comes up, and with
sharp tip of flame it inscribes on the
p~lastering of the wall 4s
THE DOOM DE- THE KING: 4s8 Ns
"Weighad in the balances, and found
wanting" The bang of heavy fists
against the gates of the palace i fellow
ed by the breaking in OF the doors. A
thousand cleaning knives strike into o
Thousand quivering hearts. Now Death
is king, and he is sealed on q throne of
corpaes. In that hall there is . balance
lifted. God swung it. On one side Of
the balance are put Belshazzars oppor-
tunities' on the other side Of the bSlance
are put Belshazzar's sips.- Yhe sins
come down. His opportunities 90 up.
Weighed in the balsnces-found want
There has been Q great deal OF cheat
ing in our country with false weights
and measures and balances, and the
to change that stataSof
appointed commissioners whose
business it was TO stamp weights and
and balances, aAd sgreat deal
the wrong has been corrected. But
q perfect balance on earth. The chain
may break, or some Of the metal may
be clipped, or in some way the equipose
may be disturbed. You cannot always
depend upon
EARTHLY BALANCEs-
. pound is not always apound, and you
may pay for one thing snd get another;
but in the balance which is suspended
TO the throne of God, o pound 10 q
pound, and right is right, and wrong is
wrong, and q soul is a soul, and etsrnity
10 StOthA ooo lao P0kACcb DuAAol
and a perfect gallon. When merchants
weigh their goods in the wrong way,
then the Lord weighs the goods again.
If from the imperfect measure the mer-
chant pours out what pretends to be q
of oil, and there is less than q
God knows it, and he calls upon
his recording angel to mark it: $50
wanting in that measure of oil"
The farmer comes in from the country.
He has apples to sell. He has an i'm
measure. He pours out the
from this imperfect measure.
God recognizes it: He says to the re-
cording angel: "Mark down 10 naaay
too few-an imperfect measure
We may cheat ourselves, and we may
cheat the world, but we cannot cheat
God, and in the great day Of judgment
Il will be found out that what we learn
al in boyhood at school is correct; that
hundred and twenty hundred
makes 3 ton, and one hundred
and twenty solid feet make o cord Of
wood. No more. no less. and n relioion