The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-01-26

WIN ~ nii ueatt 1uIAa! nuhAhi kor great
BelshaEzarI"
What is that on the plastering OF the
wall is it a spiritl Is it phantoml Is 1t
Gods Out of the black sleeve of the dark.
ness finger of fiery terror trembles
through the air and comes to tine wall, cir
cling about as though it would write, and
then, with sharp tip of fame, engr aves on
the plaStsring the doom Of the king. The
music stops. The goblet falls from the
nerveless grasp. There is a thrill. There is
start. There is thousand-voiced shrek Of
horror. Let Daniel bs brought In to read
that writing. He comes in. He reads IL:
weighed in the balance and found want
ing.n
Meanwhile the Assyrians, who, for two
years, had been laying siege to tnat city,
took advantage of that carousal and came
in. hear the feet of the conquerors on the
palace stairs. Massacre rushes IN with a
thousand cleaning knives. Death bursts
upon the scene; and l shut the door of that
banqueting hall, for do not want to look.
There is nothing there but torn banners,
and broken wreaths, and the slush OF upset
tankards, and the blood of murdered
women, and the kicked aud tumbled car
caSs Of q dead King. For sin that night
was Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans,
slain.n
go on TO learn that when God writes
anything on the wall, a man had better
read 1t as IL is. Daniel did not misinterpret
or modify the handwriting on the wall. 1t
Is all foolishness to expect q minister of the
the gospel to preach always things that the
people like or the people choose. Young
men, what shall preach to you to- nightl
Shall tell you OF the dignity Of human
paturef Shall l tell you Of the wonders
that our race has accompl:shedi "Ol no."
you say; "tell me the message that came
from God" / will. II there is any hand
writing oIt the wall, it is this lesson: "Ac-
cspt Of Christ, and be saved" / might talk
of great many other things but that is the
message, and so declare il. Jesus never fat
tered those to whom he preached. He said
to those who did wrong and who were offen>
sive in his sight, "Ye generation of v1pers
ye whited sepulcherSi how can ye escape
the damnation of hellp' Paul the apostle
preached before a man who was not ready
TO hear him preach. What subject did he
takel Did he say, "Oh you are good
man, a very fine man, o very noble mAnw
No; he preached of Righteousness to q man
who was unrighteous; of temperance to a
man who was the victim Of bsd appetites; !;
Of the Judgment to come to a man who was
unfit for it. So we must always declare
the message that happens to come TO
u.s. Daniel must read il as 1t is. A minis
who was James VI of Scotland. What sub
ject did he takes The king was noted all
over the world for being unsettled and
waverinR In his ideas. What did the minis
ter preach about to this man who was James
l. of England and James vi. of Scotia nd [?
He took for his text James :, 81 HE that
wavereth is like "a wave Of the sea, driven
with the wind and tossed" Hugh Latimer
offended the king by a sermon he
kLa lrf. a. 4 ~ss
mer, come and apologize" II will," said
Hugh Latimer. So the day was appointed
and the kings chapel was full of lords. aud
dukes, and the mighty men and women of
the country, for Hugh Latimer was to
apologize. He began his sermon by saying,
Hugh Latimer, bethink theel Thou art
in the presence Of thine earthly king, who
can destroy the body. But bethink thee,
Hugh Latimer, that thou art in the pres
ence OF the King Of heaven and earth, who
can destroy both body and soul in hell fire. I"
Then he preached with appalling dirsotness
at the kings crimes.
Another lesson that comes to US: there Is
a great difference between the opening of
the banquet of sin and its close. Young
man, il you had looked In upon the banquet
In the first few hours, you would have
wished you had been invited there, and
could sit at the feast. 80, the grandeur Of
Belshazzar's feastln you would have said I;
but you look in at the close Of tho banquet,
and your blood curdles with horror. The
king of terrors has there a
ghRstlier banquet; human blood is
the wine, and dying groans are tho music.
Sin has made itself q king in the
earth. IL has crowned itself. 1t has spread
banquet. 1t invites all the world TO come
10 it. 1t has hung in its banqueting hall
the spoils of all kingdoms and the banners
of all nations. Il has gathered from all
music 1t has strewn, from its wealth, the
tables and the floors and the arches. And
yet, how often is that banquet broken up,
and how horrible is its end Ever aud anon,
there is a handwriting on the wall. A king
falls. A great culprit is arrested. The
knees Of wickedness knock together. Gods
judgment. like an armed host, breaks in
upon the banquet, and that night is Belshaz-
zar. the KING of the Chaldeans, slain.
Here is young man who says, II cannot
see why they make such fuss about the
Intoxicating cup. Why, it is exhilarating |
1t makes me feel well can talk better,
think better, feel better. cannot ses why
people have such prejudice against it.
A few years pass on, and he wakes up and
finds himself in the clutches Of an evil
habit which he tres to break. but cannot;
and be cries out, "Oh, Lord God help me -
Il seems ss though God would not hear his
prayer; and In an agony of body and soul
he cries out, st biteth like serpent, and it
stiugeth like an adder" How bright it
was at the start! How black 1t was at the
lasti
Here is a man who begins TO read cor
rupt novels. "They are so charming"
says he; II will go out and see for myself
whether all these things are so.p He opens
the gate of sinful life. He goes in. A
sinful sprite meets HIM with her wand. She
waves her wand, and it is oil enchantmeut.
Why, 1t seems as il the angels of God had
poured out phials Of perfume in the atmos-
phere. AS he walks on, he finds the bills
becoming more radiant with foliage, and
the ravines more resonant with the falling
water. OF what a charming landscape he
he secs! But that sinful sprite, with her
wand, meets him again; but now
she reverscs the wand, and all
the enchantment is gone. The
cup is full of poison. The fruit turns TO
ashes. All the leaves of the bower are forked
tongues of Kissing serpents The flowing
fountains fall back in a dead pool, stenchful
with corruption. The Turing songs become
curses aud screams OF demoniac laughter.
Lost spirits gather about him and feel for
his heart and beckon him on with: "Hail,
brotherl Hail, blasted spirit, hallr' He
tries to get out. He comes TO the front door
where be entered and tries to push 1t back,
but the door turns against him. and in the
lar of that shutting door he hears these
words ''This night Is Belshazzar, the King
of the Chaldeans, slain.n Sin may open
bright as the morning. 1t ends dark as the
nigaatl .