Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1897-02-19


bath.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14.-Dr. Talmage
in this sermon uses weird and strange
scene Of ancient times to illustrate the
behavior Of modern people who desecrate
sacred things, and for their arrogance
get a bad tumble. His subject was "A
King Eating Grass" and the text
Daniel iv, 33, 1.-THE same hour was the
thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar,
and he was driven from men, and did
eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet
with the dew Of heaven, till his hairs
were grown like eagles feathers, and
his nails like birds claws.
Better shade your eyes lest they be
put out with the splendor Of Babylon,
as some morning you walk out with
NebuchadneZzar on the suspension
bridges which hang from the house tops
and he shows you the vastness OF his
realm. As the sun kindles the dOmes
with glisterings almost insufferable and
the great streets thunder up their pomp
into the ear of the monarch, and armed
towers stand around, adorned with the
spoils Of conquered empires, Nebuchad-
nezzar waves his hand above the stu
pendous scene and exclaims, "Is not
this great Babylon, that l have built for
the house of the kingdom by the might
Of my power and for the honor Of my
majesty" But in AN instant all that
splendor is gone from his vision, for
voice falls from the heaven, saying: 80
King Nebuchadnezzar, TO thee 1t i
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 shall 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 and giyeth it to whom
soever he will" " One hour from the
time that he made the boast he is on the
way to the fields, a maniac, and, rush
ing into the forests, he becomes one OF
the beasts. covered with eagles feathers
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.
On the Road to Babylon.
You see there is a great variety in the
Scriptural landscape. In several dis
courses we have looked at mountains OF
4 excellence. but now we look down into
a great dark chasm Of wickedness as we
come to speak of Nebuchadnezzar. God
in his Word sets before US the beauty OF
self denial. Of sobriety, Of devotion, Of
courage. and then, lest we should not
/ thoroughly understand him, he intro
drted Daniel and Paul and Deborah as
| illustrations Of those virtues. God also
speaks TO Us in his Word as TO the hate
fulness Of pride, Of folly, Of impiety
and lest we should not thoroughly un-
/ derstand him, introduces NebuchadneZ-
gar as the impersonation Of these forms
Of depravity. The former style Of char
! acter is lighthouse, showing US a way
into a safe harbor, and the latter style
Of character is a black buoy, swinging
on the rocks, to show where vessels
wreck themselves. Thanks unto God
for both the buoy and the lighthouse
The host of Nebuchadnezzar is thunder
ing at the gates Of Jerusalem. The
crown Of that sacred city is struck into
the dust By the hand of Babylonish IN
science. The vessels Of the temple,
which had never been desecrated by pro
fame touch, were ruthlessly seized FOL
sacrilege and transportation. Oh. what
a sad hour when those Jews, at the
command of the invading army, art
obliged to leave the home OF their ma
tivity? How their hearts must have
been wrung with anguish when, on the
day they departed, they heard the trum
pets from the top OF the temple an
nouncing the hour for morning sacrifice
and saw the smoke Of the altars ascend
ing around the holy hill Of Zion; fol
well they knew that in far dlstan
land they would never hear that trumpe
call nor behold the majestic ascent o
the sacrificed Behold those captives oi
the road from Jerusalem to Babylon
Worn and weary, they dare not halt
for roundabout are armed men urelnI
them ON with hoot and shout aud bias
phemy. -,
Aged men tottered along on thei
slaves, weeping that they could not la.
their bones In the sleeping place O
their fathers and children, wondered a
the length Of the way and sobbed them
selves to sleep when the night had fau
en-. 1t seemed as if at every step a hear
broke. But at turn of the road Baby
Ion suddenly springs upon the view Q
the captives, with its gardens and pa
aces. A shout goes up from the army
they behold their native city, but nu
not one huzza is heard from the car
tiyes. These exiles saw no splendo
there. for it was not home. The Eu
nbrates did not have the water gleam
the brook Kedron or the pool OF Siloan
The willows Of Babylon, on which the
hung their untuned harps, were not Q
graceful as the trees which at the foe
of Mount Moriah seemed to weep at "a
departed glory Of Judah, and all IN
fragrance that descended from the hans
= ing gardens upon that great city wa
not so sweet as one breath Of the acaci
, and frankincense that the high prle'
kindled in the sanctuary at Jerusalem
e On certain night, little while aft'
!, these captives had been brought to n
oitv. Nebuchadnezzar is scared with
night vision. A bad mans pillow Is al
10 be stuffed with deeds and forebodins
which keep talking in the night u
I will find that the eagles down IN n
. inflow will stick him like porcupif
auills. Tho ghosts Of old transgressioI
ara sure to wander about in the dari
i ness and beckon and hiss. Yet VINE
the morning came he found that u
vision had entirely fed from HIN
, Dreams drop no anchors, and therefo'
are apt 70 sail away before we can tast'
them. Nebuchadnezzar calls all the WI
ID men Of the land into his presence, d
manding that by their necromanoy tn
explain his dream. They Of course IA
-, Then their wrathful king issues