Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1897-02-25
A KING EATING GRASS.
DIR. TALNAGE'> SUNDAY THEME

u HiiIu LHtillu ulltlUU. |
DIR. TALMAGE'> SUNDAY THEME.
see NeDuehadnezZar on the Proudest
Throne Of All the Earth and Then
See Him Craze With the Sheep and
Cattle.
Ixxr: ''The same hour was the thing full
AlIed upon Nebuchadnezzar and he was
orisen from men. and did eat grass as oxen,
anu his body was wet with the dew of
neaVen, TIL his hairs were grown like eagles
leaIners, and bis nails like birds claws."-
Daniel iy., SO.
better shade your eyes lest they be put out
with the splendor OF Babylon, as some morn
ing you walk out with Nehuchadn-zzar on
tfe, suspension bridges which hang from the
EousetopS and he shows you the vastness OF
his realm. As the sun kindles the domes
with glIst nings almost insufIerable aud the
great streets thunder up their poInp into the
ear OF the monarch. and armed towers stand
around, adorned with the spoils Of con-
quered empires, Neouchadnezzar waves his
hand above the stupendous scene and ex-
claims. lis not this great Babylon that |
nave built for the house Of the kingdom by
the might of my power and tor the honor Of
my maleStY: But in an instan. all that
splendor Is gone from his vision, for voice
1ails from tle heaven, saying: 20 King
Neouchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken. The
Kingdom is departed from thee, and they
shall drive thee from men and thy dwelling
shall be with the beasts Of the field They
snail make thee TO eat grass as oxen and seven
years shall pass over thee until thou know
that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom OF
men ana glvetn II to WhomSoever he will"
One hour from the time that he made the
boast be Is on the way to the fields a maniac
and rushing into the forests, he becomes one
yr-tth afyfa
for protection from the cold. and his nails
growing to birds claws in order that he
might dig the earth for roots and climb the
trees for nuts.
You see there is a great variety in the Scrip
tural landscape. In several discourses we
nave looked at mountains OF excellence, but
now we look down into great, dark chasm
OF WlckedneSs as we come to speak Of Nebu-
chadneZzar. God in His Word sets before US
the beauty Of self DENIAL of sobriety, of de-
votlon, OF courage, and then, lest We should
not thoroughly understand Him, he intro
duced Daniel and Paul and Deborah as illus
fra.1ons OF those virtues. God also speaks
10 US IN His Word as to the hatefulness of
PRIDE, of Jolly. Of i'm piety and lest we should
not thoroughly understand Him. introduces
Neouchadnezzar us the impersonation of
these forms OF depravity The former style
| OF character is lighthouse, showing Us
way into safe harbor, and the latter style
| OF character is a black buoy. swinging on
| the rocks, to show where vessels wreck them
| selves. Thanks unto God for both the buoy
| ana the lighthouse! The host Of Nebuchad-
| nezzar is laundering at the gates of Jerusa-
| lem. The crown Of that sacred city is struck
into the dust by the hand Of Babylonsh in
| science. The vessels Of the temple, which
| had never been desecrated by profane touch.
| were ruthlesslY seized for sacrilege and
| transportation. Oh. what a sad hour when
| those Jews, at the command Of the invading
| q nhi 70 0oox + %h,h 49,
nativity? How their hearts must have been
wrung with anguish when on the day they
| departed, they neard the trumpets from the
/ top Of the temple announcing the hour for
morning sacrifice and saw the smoke Of the
affairs ascending around the holy hill of Zion: j:
| Tor well they knew that in a far distant land
they would never hear that trumpet call nor
| behold the majestic ascent Of the sacrifice.
/ behold those captiveS on the road from
Jerusalem to Babylon! Worn and weary,
| they dare not halt, for roundabout are armed
| men urging them on with hoot and shout
and blasphemy.
Aged men tottered along on their slaves.
weeping that they could not lay their bones
IN the sleeping place OF their fathers and
children, wondered at the length Of the way
and sobbed themselves to sleep when the
| night had fallen. 1t seemed as if at every
step heart broke. But at turn Of the road
Babylon suddenly springs upon the view of
=.
A shout goes up from the army as they be-
| mold their native city, but not ono huzza is
| heard from the cap.ives. These exies saw
no spiendor there, tor it was not home. The
| Euphrates did not have tbs water CLEAN Of
| tho brook Hebron or the pool of Sloan The
| willows OF Babylon. on which they hung
their untuned harps, were not as graceful as
| the trees which at the foot Of Mount M0rlah
| seemed TO weep at the departed glory Of
Judah. and all the fragrance that descended
from the hanging gardens upon that great
| city was not 81 sweet as one breath of the
| acacia and franklncense that the high priest
| k1n1ied In tie sanctuary at Jerusalem.
On certain night, a little while after
these captiye5 had been brought TO his city
! Nebuchadnezzar is scared with night vision.
bad mans pillow is apt to be stuffed with
deeds and forebodinga which keeptalkinc in
the night. He will find that the eagles down
in his pillow will stick him like porcuplDe
quilts. The ghosts OF old transgressions are
sure 70 wander about in the darkness and
beckon aud hiss. Yet when the morning
came he found that the vision had entire '
| fled from him. Dreams drop no anchors,
and therefore art apt TO sail away before we
| can fas.en them. Nebuchadns zzar calls al
| the wise men, OF the land into his presence.
| demanding that by their necronaacy they
| explain his dream. They OF course fail
Then their faithful king issues Al edict with
| rs itte sense as mercy, ordering the slayia <
Daniel the prophet comes il with the inter
| pretatioa Just in time to save the wise men
| and ths jewish captIves-
| Ny friends, do you not see that pride aai
/ ruin ride Ii the same saddle? See Neoucaad-
neZzar on the Pc udest throne % all tn
earth, and then zee him Sraza with the sheer
anu the cattle Pride is commander. vel
plunei and com pa-isoned, bt.: i. leads forth
dark and frovnag host. The arrows from
the Ainighfys QGlve- are apt 70 strike a
man when q tie wing. Goliath shakes hi
crea: spear in defiance. but the smooth
stones from the brook make him stacgc- an
!a,l ike al Ok IN .er u butchers tird-eor-
/ He who = down raln0t fall Vessels sd
Dig under bare poles 10: teel tae fore
Of sle storm, while those with ali sails -
ca - = AZ :hs sudden descent u the ,e--fe-.
I.e-ne.loer ,ha: We can be IS proud Q. clt
humility IS anything ese. Au'isia@Le q
Wa ses The streets o. Athens with ra-.@
CLOAK 10 ie-Eo EoI.s;-ate his humility. u. =
crates declared he could sae hl- hypocgls
throueh tbs hole. IL his cloaz. VS. woal
al see ourselves smaller than - a-e j. v
wers a. phi!osopttc as seve-cs. 'he En- le-c
ot Rome who said s, TIE Gloss q rs l.te
II have seen everything. aad everything
roialDc Aai WHEN The 1-a teat vas :
ecltala his ashes was &. his co--a-
brought 10 ail, as said Little arr, ,h3'
shalt ccota.1 9-s Or whom the word "a
too .ii,e-
Ia VS. Aa --fx -