Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1891-02-14

ana the kicked and tuLooie1 carcass OF a
dead king. For in that night was Bel
shazzar, the king Of the Chaldeans, slain"
| go on to learn that when God writes any
thing on the wall. a man had better read Il
as it is. Daniel did not misinterpre' or modi-
~ the handwriting on the wall. It Is ali
foolishness to eypect d minister of the Cog
pei 70 preach always things that the people
ike or the people choose. Young men, what
shall | preach 10 you tonight Shall l tell
YOU Of the dignity OF human aatures Shall
| tell you of the wonders that our race has
accomplished 'Oh, no. you say: tell me
the message that came from God" | will.
Ifthere is any handwriting on the wall, it is
this lesson. Accept Of Christ and be saTed%H :
/ might talk Of g great many ether things,
bat that Is the message. and SO l declare It.
Jesus never hattered those TO whom he
preached. He said 70 those who did wrong
ard wao were offensive in His SIGHT, "1e
generation OF vipers' ye whlted sepulchers,
how can We escape the damnatlon OF hell"
Paul the apostle preached before a man who
was not ready to hear him preach. What
subject did he take? Did he say, oh. you
are a good man, a very fine man, a very 40
bic man. No; he preached Of righteous
ness to a man who was ~unrighteous; OF tenn
perance toa man who was the victim Of bad
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
Us boiA1NA AlloSl "a ~ - ~ 80 AlASS
preached before James |. Of England. who
was James u. Of Scotland. What subject
did he take The king was ncteia al over the
world for his being unsettled and wavering
in his ideas. What did the minister preach
about to this man who was James l. of Eng
land and James VI. of Scotland, He took
for his text James j.. e: He that Waveretn
is like a wave of the saa. driven with the.
wind and tossed"
Hugh Latimer ofe:e1 the king by Il ser
mon he preached, and tue king said, Hugh
Latmer, come and apologize. Il viii
said Hugh Latimer. so the day was ap-
pointed, and the kings chapel was tull Of
women Of the country, for hugh Lstimer
was to apologize He began his sermon by
saying: Hugh Latimer, bethiuk thee,
Thou art IN the presence Of thine earthly
king, who can destroy thy body. But be
think thee, Hugh Latimer. that thou art IN
| presence of the King of heaven aud earth,
who can destroy both body and sO,1 IL hell
fire Then he preached with appalling
| directness at the kings crimes.
Another lesson that comes 70 Us. There IS
a great difference bet" cen the opening Of the
| banquet Of sin and Its close. Young man, If
| You had looked III upon the banquet IN the
first few hours, YOU would have wished you
had been invited there, an1 could sit at the
feast. "Ol, the grandeur OF BelshaZZar3s
ICaots ~ 'oAiA LIZA ' 'kAIA ohb 80 Ac'e 80
at the close OF the banquet, and your blood
curdies with horror. 1he'kng OF Ierrors
has there a ghastlier banquet; human blood
Is the wine. and dvinr eroans are the music.
Sin has made itself a king in the earth. 1t
has crowned itself. 1t has spread n bannnet
1t invites all the world to come to il. IL has
hung in its banqueting hall the spoils If all
kingdoms and the banners OF all nations. 1t
has gathered from all music. 1t has strewn.
from Its wealth, the tables and the floors and
arches. And yet how often is that BANQUET
broken up, and how horrible i, its end
Ever and anon there is a handwriting on the
wall. A king falls. A great culprit is ar
rested. The knees Of wickedness Knocked to-
gether. Gods Judgment, like an armed host,
breaks In upon the banquet, and that night
Is Belshazzar, the king OF the Chaldeans,
slain.
Here is q young man who says: III cannot
see why they make such a fuss about the in
to1icating cup. Why, it is celebrating, 1t
makes me feel we'll. | can talk better. think
better, feel better. cannot see why people
have such a prejudice against it." A few
years pass on. and he wakes up and finds
himself in. the clutches of an evil habit
which he tries to break, but cannot; and he
cries out: "Oh. Lord God. help mer' 1t
seems as though God would not hear his
prayer, and in an agony of body and soul he
cries out: 1t biteth like a serpent, and it
stingeth Ike an adder" How bright it was
at the start How black it was at the last,
Here Is a man wis begins to read corr upt
novels. They are SO charming says be,
II will go out and see for myself whether all
these things are So He opens the gate of
a sinful life. He goes in. A sinful sprite
meets him with her wand. She waves her
wand. and 1t IS all entertainment. Whv, it
seems as If the angels OF God had poured out
phials Of perfume in the atmosphere. AS he
walks on he finds the hills becoming more
radiant with foliage and the ravines more
resonant with the falling water. Oh, what
a charming landscape he SECS! But that
sinful sprlte with her wand meets him again:
but now she reversas 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, stenchfui
laughter. Lost spirits gather about him and
feel for his heart, and beckon him on with
Hail, brother Hail, blasted spirit, hailn' He
tries to get out. He comes to the front door
where he entered, and tries to push it back,
but the door turns against him, and in the
jar of that shutting door he hears the words.
This night IS Belshazzar, the king Of Chal-
deans, slain" Sin may open bright as tn
morning. 1t ends dark as the night,
:. LEARN further from this subject that Deaf.
sometimes breaks III upon a banquet. Why
did he not go down to the prisons In Babylon:
lax "CAO people tUtIc lLdt "CulU ike It
have died. | suppose there were men and
women IN torture in that city who would
have welcomed Death. But he comes TO the
palace; and just at the time when the mirth
is dashing to the tip-top pitch Death break:
III at the banquet. We have often seen tbs
same thing illustrated. Here is a young ma,
just come from college. He is kind. He il
loving. He is enthusiastic. He is eloquent
By one spring he may bound to height,
toward which many men have been strug
Cling for years. A profession opens before
him. He is established in the law. Hi
friends cheer him. Eminent men encourag,
him.
After a while you may See him standin;
in the United States senate, or moving
popular a~sseublage by his eloquence, a.
trees are moved in a whirlwind. Some nigh
he retires early. A fever is on hun, Delirium
like a Reckless charioteer, seizes the reins O
hfs intellect. Father and mother stand b,
and see the tiles OF his life going out to thu
great ocean. The banquet is coming to al
end. The lights of thought and mirth an,
eloqueice are being extinguished. The gar
lands aIe snatched from the brow. The
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