The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1891-02-04

llnuSE IL NoiIt Niitt. ''-!N lI.S%, "iIit
sharp tip Of dame, sngGaVss ea the
p!as:ering the doom OF the king The
music stops. .rI.ccoblct falls from ;he
narvelcss grasp. There IS a thrill.
There is q start. There is 4 thousand
voiced shriek OF horror. Let Daniel
be brought in to read that writing.
lie Genes IN. lie reals it, weighed
in the balance and found wanting.
Meanwhile The ASssrianS, who for
two wears had i;een laying siege 20 that
city. took advantage Of that carouS2i
and came IN hear the feet Of the
conquerorS on the palace stairs. Mas
sacfc rushe> IN with 4 Thousand Sieaal-
ing knives. Death burStS npoa the
scene. and shut the door CT that ban
Gueting hall. for do not want to look.
There is nothing there but torn ban
nerS. and broken Wreaths, ana the
slush Of upset ;arE2rdS, and the blood
Of murdered women. and the Kicked
and t"mbied carcass OF q dead king.
For ''iu that night waS B.!ShaZZar. the
king OF the ChaiGeans. slain
| go Oh to learn that when GOD
writes anything or the wall, a man had
better read it as It is. Daniel did not
misinterpret or modify the hanawrit-
ING on the wall. 1t is ali foo!lshnesS
to expect a minister Of the Gospel to
preach always things THAI the people
like or the people choose. Young men
what shall | preach to YOU tonight?
Shall tell you Of the wonders that
our race has accomplished? oh, no.
YOU say: tell me the message that
Fo1 ,,-:l = thara
any handwriting On the wall 1t IS this
lesson. Accept of Christ and be
saved" l might talk OF 4 great many
other things, but that is the message,
and 50 declare it.
Jesus never tlattered those to whom
he preached. lie said to those who did
wrong and who were offensive IN his
Sight. "Ye generation Of viperS. ye
w!iited sepelchers. how can ye escape
the damnation of hell.'' Paul the
apostle preached before q man who
was not ready to hear him preach.
What subject cid he take? Did he say,
"Oh, YOU are good man, 4 very fine
man, Il very noble man? No; he
preached of righteousness TO Il man
who was unrighteous; OF temperance
to man who was the victim OF bad
appetiteS; Of the judgment 70 come TO
man who was unit for 1t. so we
must always declare the message that
happens to come TO Us. Daniel must
read it as It IS
Another lesson that comes 10 us.
There is a great difference between
the opening OF the banquet of sin and
its close Young man, If you had look
ed in upon the banquet in the first few
hours, you would have wished you had
been invited there. and could sit at the
feast. "Oh! the grandeur OF BelshaZ-
Zar's feast.w 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 shast-
lier banquet; human blood is the wine.
and diving groanS are the music. Sin
has made itself king in the earth. 1t
has crowned itself. 1t has spread
banquet. 1t invites all the world to
come to it. It has hung in its banquet
ing hall the spoils of 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 horribleis is its end, Ever and anon
there is handwriting on the wall. 4
king falls. \ great cUlprit is arrested.
The knees OF wickC dneSS knock togeth-
er. Gods Judgment. like an armed
host, breaks iu upon the banquet; and
that night is BelshaZZar, the king OF
the ChaldeanS, slain.
I,,r from this c,,hiapt fH Of
Death sometimes breaks IN upon a
banquet. Why did he not go down to
the prisons in Babylon? There were
people there that would like to have
died. | suppose there were men and
women in torture in that city who
would have welcomed Death. Bat he
comes to the palace; and jnst At the
time when the mirth is dashing to the
tiptop pitch Death breaks in at the
banquet. We have often seen the same
thing illustrated. Here is a young
man Just come from college. He is
kind. He is loving. He is enthuslas-
tic. He is eloquent. BY one spring
be may bound to heights toward which
many men have been struggling 70.
years. \ profession opens before him.
He is established in the law. His
friends cheer him. Eminent men en-
courage him.
After while you may see him stand
ing in the United States Senate, or
moving a popular assemblage by his
-eloquence. as trees are moved IN a
whirlwind. Some night he retires ear
". \ fever is On him. Delirium, like
reckless charloteer, seiZes the relns
of his intellect. Father and mother
stand by and see the tides of his life
going out to the great ocean. The
banquet is coming to au end. The
lights of thought and mirth and elo-
euence are being extinguished. The
garlands are snatched from the brow.
The vision IS gone. Death at the ban
euet.
have also to learn from the subject
that the destruction Of the vicious,
and of those who desp!Se God, will be
very sudden. The wave of mirta had
dashed to the highest point when that
Assyrian army broke through. 1t was
unexpected. Suddenly. almost always,
comes the doom of those who despise
God and defy the laws OF men. How
was it at the deluge? DC you suppose
IL came through q long NOEtucaSt
storm, so thas people fer days before
were sure it was coming? No; | sup
pose the morning was bright, that
calmness brooded on the waters; that
beauty sat e2throaed on the hills.
when suddenly the heavens burst, and
the mountains sank like anchors into
the sea that dashed clear over the
Andes and the uimalayas.
The Red sea was divided. The
Egyptians tried to cross it. There
could be no danger. The ISraclites had
just gone through. Where they had
gone, why not the Egyptians? On. it
was such a beautiful! walking place!
a pavement of tinged shells and pearls,
and on either side two great walls OF
water-solld. There can be no danger.