Milford chronicle., 1891-01-30


from the nerveless grasp. There is thrill
There is a start. There is a thousan'
voiced shrek Of horror. Let Daniel b
brought in to read that writing. He come
| in. He reads it, weighed in the balanc
and found wanting"
Meanwhile the Assyrians, who for tw'
years had been laying siege to that city
/ took advantage of that carousal and cam
in. l hear the feet of the conquerors OF
| the palace stairs. Massacre rushes in witt
a thousand cleaning knives. Death burst
upon the scene, and / shut the door o
I that banqueting hall, for do not want Il
I look. There is nothing there but tori
/ banners. and broken wreaths, and the slusl
I of upset tanllards, and the blood of muir
dered women, and the kicked and tumbleC
carcass of a dead king. For ''in that might
was Belshazzar, the king Of the Chaldeans
/ slain"
READ IT AS IT IS.
20 on to learn that when God write.
anything on the wall, a man had bettel
read it as it is. Daniel did not misinter
pret or modify the handwriting on the
wall It is all fOolishness to expect a min
ister of the Gospel to preach always thing
that the people like or the people choose
Young men, what shall preach to you to
night? Shall tell you of the dignity ol
human natureP Shall / tell you OF the
wonders that our race has accomplished
"Oh, nOW you say; tell me the message
that came from God" will II there is
any handwriting on the walk it is this les
son, accept of Christ and be savedw
might talk of great many other things
but that is the message. and so I declare it.
Jesus never fiattered those to whom be
preached. He said to those who did wrong
and who were offensive in his sight, "Ye
generation Of vipersl ye whited sepulchers
how can ye escape the damnatiOn of helPi
Paul the apostle preached before man
who was not ready to hear him preach.
What subject did he takei Did he say,
"Ohl you are a good man, a very fine man,
a very noble man" No; he preached of
righteousness to a man who was unright-
eOus; of temperance to man who was the
victim Of bad appetites; OK the judgment
to come to a man who was unfit for it. So
we must always declare the message that
happens to come to us. Daniel must read
it as it is. A minister preached before
James I of England, who was James vi
of Scotland What subject did he takes
The king was noted all over the world for
being unsettled and wavering in his ideas
m
this man who was James Of England
and James VI Of Scotland? He took for
his text James /, g: "He that wavereth is
like wave of the sea, driven with the
wind and tossed"
Hugh Latimer offended the king by a
sermon he preached, and the king said,
Hugh Latimer, come and apologize.
81 will, j." said Hugh Latimer So the day
AnI bo nhr
full of lords and dukes, and the mighty
men and women Of the country, for Hugh
I.atimer was to apologize He began his
sermon by saying: Hugh Latimer, be-
think thee! Thou art in the presence of
thine earthly king, who can destroy thy
body. But bethink thee, Hugh Latimer,
that thou art in the presence Of the King
of heaven and earth, who can destroy both
body and soul in hell fire." Then he
preached with appalling directness at the
kings crimes.
THE BEGINNING AND THE END CONTRAsTED.
Another lesson that comes to us. There
is a great difference between the opening
of the banquet of sin and its close. Young
man, if you had looked in upon the ban
quet in the first few hours, you would
have wished you had been invited there,
and could sit at the feast. "Ohl the
Of Belshazzar's feastw you would
have said; but you look in at the close Of
the banquet, and your blood curdles with
horror. The King of Terrors has there a
ghastlier banquet; human blood is the
wine, and dying groaus are the music.
Sin has made itself king in the earth. It
has crowned itself. It has spread a ban
uuet. It invites all the world to come to
fw,s huI hsaI
spoils of all kingdoms and the banners Of
all nations. It has gathered from all mu-
sic It has strewn, from its wealth, the
lab, ,es and the floors anl arches. And yet
how often is that banquet broken up, and
how horrible is its endl Ever aad anon |
these is handwriting on the wall. A
kirg falls. A great culprit is arrested. |
The knees OF wickedness knock together. |
Sod's Judgment, like an armed host, breaks |
N upon the banquet; and that night is /
Belshazzar. the king Of the Chaldeans, |
slain.
Here is a young man who says: 81 can |
lot see why they make such fuss about |
,he intoxicating cup Why, it Is exhilA-
.atingl 1t makes me feel well. / can talk /
,etter, think better, feel better. cannot |
zee why people have such a prejudice |
lgainst it." A few years pass on, and he
wakes up and finds himself in the clutches
# an evil habit which lie tries to break,
,ut cannot; and he cries out, "Oh, Lord
9od, help mel" 1t seems as though God
would not hear his prayer, and in an agony
4 body and soul he cries out, 1T biteth
ike a serpent, and it stingeth like an
oder" How bright It was at the startl
low black it was at the lastl
THE HORRORS OF A SINFUL LIFE.
Here is a man who begins to read cor
upt novels. "They are so charming"
avs he, 81 will go out and see for myself
whether all these things are So" He opens
he gate of a sinful life. He goes in. A
inful sprite meets him with her wand.
he waves her wand, and it is all enchant-
lent. Why, it seems as if the angels Of
iod had poured out phials of perfume in
he atmosphere. As he walks on he finds
be hills becoming more radiant with foil
ge and the ravines more resonant with
he falling water Obi what a charming
,ndscape he seesi But that sinful sprite
18th her wand meets him again; but DOW
he reverses the wand, and all the enehant-
tent is gone. The cup is full Of poison.
he fruit turns to ashes.
All the leaves of the bower are forked
lngues of kissing serpents. The flowing
,untains fall back in dead pool, stencil
Il with corruption. The Turing songs be-
1rne curses and screams of demoniac
lughter. Lost spirits gather about him
nd feel for his heart, and beckon him on
18th Hail, brotherl Hail. blasted spirit,
ailr' He tries to get out. He comes to
le front door where he entered, and tries
push it back, but the door turns against
i'm, and in the jar Of that shutting door
e hears these words, "This night is Bel
lazzar, the king of the Chaldeans, slain"
in may open bright as the morning. 1t
ads dark as the night
I learn further from this subject that
cath sometimes breaks in upon banquet.
Thy did he not 60 down to the prisons in
abylon? There were people there that
ould like to have died. I suppose there
ere men and women in torture in that
ty who would have welcomed Death. But
. comes to the palace; and just at the
me when the mirth is dashing to the tip
p pitch Death breaks in at the banquet
ye have often seen the same thing illus
ated. Here is a young man just come
ON college He is kind. He is loving