Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1892-02-19
REV. Or. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S sun
DAY SERMON.
SUBJECT: "SINKING To THE LEVEL OF
BRUTES"

BRUTES"
TEXT: "AU this came upon The KIM
Nebuchddnezzur.' daniel iv, %
Colonel Rawlinson, the oriental traveller
says that the exhumef bricks not only OF
Babylon, but of a hundred towns in an area
OF one hundred miles in length and thirty in
breadth, are inscribed with the name of
Nebucha nezzar. He was a great warrior
and at the glance Of his sword nations pros.
trated themselves. He was a great king
and built city reservoir ninety miles in cir
conference and one hundred and twenty
feet deep, and conaructe1 hanging garden
four hundred feet square and seventy-hve
feet high, some say TO please Amuhia, his
wife, who had been born among the hills,
and others say TO get pleasure ground free
from the mosquitoes which aiilict the levels.
| think from his character the latter
reason may have impelled him as much as
the former. When he conquered King Zed.
ekiah, so as to have no more trouble with
him, he put his eyes out-a most barbarous
way OF lncapacitating an enemy. But Babylon
was great place, the houses surrounded by
gardens and the housetops were connectej
with each other by bridges and one day
NeLuchadneZZar walked out on those sus-
pension bridges and showed, perhaps to a
royal visitor, the vastness OF his realm a,
the sun kindles the domes with glistenings
almost insufferable and the great sire d,
thunder up their pomp into the ear OF the
monarch, and armed towers stand around
adorned with spoils Of conquered empires.
9 Mel uchaGnezzar waves his hand above the
stuf endous scene an exciaims, "Gs not this
great Babylon that | have built for the
house OF the kingdom by the might Of nv
power and for the honor of my majestyy'
In other words. "What a great man | am
Babylon was not anything until | adorned
II. See those water works, see those gar
dens; see those forts. did all this / shall
never he forgotten. Why. my name is on
every brick in all those walls Just look at
me. | am more than a man
But n an instant all that splendor is gone
from his visiop, for a voice falls from
heaven, saying, 80 King Nebuchadnezzar,
to thee 1t is spoken: the kingdom is departed
from thee, and they shall drive thee from
men and y dwelling shall be with the beasts
OF the fields; they shall make thee to eat
grass as oxen, AMI seven times shall pass
over thee, until thou know that the Most
High ruieth in the kingdom OF men and
giveth 1t 20 whomsotyer He wiIl.'
One hour from the time he had made tho
boast he Is on his way to the fields a maniac.
and rushing into the forests he becomes as
one Of tho beasts, and is after awhile COW
from the cold, and his nails grow TO look like
birds claws, in order that he may dig tue
earth for roots and climb the tracs for nuts.
The mental disaster that sei7al him WAS
what the Greeks called lyclnthropy. by
which man imagines himself a beast and
prefers TO 80 out and mingle with brutes. He
who had been eating pomeS eSranates and aprt
cots off OF plates of gold inIaid with
amethyst and diamond, and drinking tho
richest wines from the royal watts now brow
sing on grass. an struck by the horn of the
OK as he contends for better tuft of the
pasturage, and instead OF an orchestra on
benches OF ivory playing tho national airs,
now list, ming to the moan and below and
grunt OF the beasts. This is not hard for ma
to believe, for the forms of dementia are in.
lumerab,c.
few years ago, arriving in city on n
summer afternoon, while waiting for my
| engagement IN the evening | saunteret fortl
into what seemed to be a park in front OF a
large public building the use of which knew
not. met a gentleman with whom fell into
delightful conversation, and he seemed intel.
llgent on all subjects. After awhile said
Let Us sit down on this bench and rest
awhile and enjoy the scene of verdure and
! fountains" No said he "You sit down.
but cannot. | am made of glass, and if /
| should sit down | would break TO pieces ~
| Then saw that he was Insane and belonged
to the large building just behind us.
After such an interview as that can cas- ily
! believe this account Of my text. Here Is
/ Nebuchadnezzar on all fours. He once
prlded himself on being more than a
man, and now he turns out less than man.
| The courtiers look out of the windows upon
tim AS be moves among the royal herds and
cry, "A beast! Seven years pass when sud
denly his reason returns aud he comes back
, to Babylon humble worshipar of the Col
Of heaven.
What must have been the excitement in
In the royal court as this restored maniac
emperor walks into the palace What a time
they had in cutting his nails and his hair,
which had grown for seven years without
being interiered with by any shears. What
scrubbiug down must have taken place in
the imperial baths. What transformation
necessary i'll order that he who had been
herding with camels and goats and swine
may be made fit to associate with princes.
! What change from sty to throne rooml
While walking from his Babylonian palace
Gown to the pasture field, and from the pas
ture field back to the palace, the first thing
that lnpreSseS me is what an incongruous
thing il is for king to be eating grass /,
is good for cattle, but not fit for man. And
| then for one to prefer il to royal table to-
/ docks and streams and vineyards In all the
earth might contribute-what an amaze
mentl And yet the scene is as common as
! the daylight.
When see q man of regal nature, made
to rule in realms OF thought, capabls of al
moral elevation, bestowing his faculties, at.
! tempting out of low sensualities to satisfy
his immortal energies, coming down or OF
his throne of power into brutalities, sacriflc.
| ing his higher nature to his lower nature
STOPPING and stopping coming down and
! coming down until all his influence for good
is gone | cry out, There is king eating
| grass like an OK
And there are tens of thousands of such
! NehuchadnC zzars. So there are queens who
| dedicate themselves to the same humil alton.
What power for good God gave that woman
| Magnetism of personal presence. Influence
more than imperial. BY her intelligence, by
! her tenderness by her charm of smile anI
manner, capable OF soothing so much sor-
row, and reforming so much waywardnesS
and welding so much elevated power; YET
at the call of worldlinesS coming out of thu
throne room of good influence where GoC
would have her reign, coming down ove
the ivory stairs OF mortal power, coming
down and coming down until she has m
more soul than the dead bird transtiXed il
her millinery or the chinchilla that wa
slain to afford her warmth, or the kid tina
furnished her the glove, and finding her onl
delight in batteries of brainless men AM
midnight schottische and debauche
novelettes. say, "rhere is ons who nigh
have been a queen unto God forever, ye
eating straw like an OK"
look over the pasture fields Of folly an
sin and find many groveling who ought I
be erect oh, men and women, go back
your thrones! A young man ran away frol
home and broke his widowed mothers hear
Fourteen years passed, and he returned an
came to the window at which his old mothe
was sitting. She looked up and immed
atcly recognized him and said: "Oh, Rober
Robertl Come inY' "NoF said he. "Moth
er shall never come in till hear you sa
you forgive me-" Her answer was: "Rober
have forgiven you long ago. There
nothing to forgive now except that yc
stayed away SO long"
My hearers, forgiveness has been read
for you good while. With more than
mothers tenderness God will take you bac
o., in ha m alaC