St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1897-03-20
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
A Discourse on the Sin Of Neb-
uchadnex1aE, the King.

A Discourse on the Sin OF Mob
uchadnex8ar. the King.
Lessons to BE- Leaned From the Hu0llo.
asioa Of the Rread-rhs Uses se
Wicked Aea-Ths Dsseeeasioa
Of Sacred ThlagA
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage took for the
subject cf the following sermon: "A
King Eating Grass, " basing it upon the
texts
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon
Eebuchadnexxar; and he WAS driven away
from men. aud did cot grass - oxen. and hla
body Was wet with the dew OF Heaven. till hla
hairs were grown like eagles feathers. and his
nails like birds clawA Daniel w.. n
Better shade your eyes lest they be
put out with the splendor OF Babylon.
az some morning you walk out with
Nebuchadnexzar on tho suspension
bridges which hang from the house.
tops, and he shows you the vsstnesa
Of his realm. As the sun kindles the
domes with glistsrings almost insuf-
terable, and the great streets thunder
up their pomp into the ear Of the
monarch, and armed towers stand
around, adorned with tho spoils Of
conquered empires, Nebuchadne1zaE
waves his hand above tho stupendOus
scene aud exclsims: 'Is not this great
Babylon, that 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 10 gone from hia
vision, for voice falls from Heaven,
saying, ''Oh. King Nebuchadnexzar,
to thee it is spoken: Tho kingdom ID
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 ~
oxen, and seven years shall pass over
thee, until thou know that tho Most
High ruleth in the kingdom Of men,
aud giveth it to whomsoever He will.
One hour from the time he made the
boast he Is on the way to the fields, .
maniac, and. rushing into the forests,
he becomes one Of the beasts, covered
with eagles feathers for protection
from the cold, aud his nails growing
to birds claws In order that he might
dig tho earth for roots and climb the
trees for nuts
You see there Is = great variety In
the Scriptursl landscape. In several
discourses We have looked at noun
tains of excellence. but now we look
down into . great, dark chasm OF
wlckedness as we come to speak OF
Nebuchadnexzar. God In His word
sets before M the beauty Of self-de-
nial, Of sobriety, Of devotion. Of eour.
age, and then, lest we should not
thoroughly understand Him. He In
troduced Daniel and Paul, and De
borah, asillustrations Of those virtues.
God also speaks to NJ in His word ~
to the hatefulnsss Of pride. OF folly, Of
impistv, and lest We should not thor
oughly understand Him, introduced
Nebuc chadnezzar as the impersonation
Of these forms Of depravity. The
former style Of character Is light
house. showing NJ . way into
. safe harbor. and the latter
style Of character 10 . black
buoy swinging ON the rocks. ia
show where vessels wreck themselves.
Thanks unto God for both the buoy
and the lighthousei The host Of Neb-
uchadnexzar 10 laundering at the gates
Of Jerusalem. The crown Of that sacred
city is struck into the dust By the hand
Of Baby ylonish insolence. Tho vessels
Of the temple. which had never been
desecrated by profsne touch. were
ruthlessly seized for sacrilege and
transportation. Oh. what sad hour
when those Jews, 1t tho command Of
the invading army. are obliged to
leave the home Of their nativityl How
their hearts must have been wruna
with anguish when. on the day the5
departed, they heard the trumpeta
from the top Of the temple announc
Ing the hour for morning sacrifice,
and saw the smoke Of the III
tars ascending around the holy hill
Of Zion, for they al knew that
In far distant land they would never
hear that trumpet call, nor behold the
ma jestic ascent Of the sacrifice. Be-
hold those captives on the road from
Jerusalem to Babylon! Worn and
weary, they dare not halt, for round
about are armed men urging them on
with hoot. and shout, and blssphemy.
Aged men totter along on their stsves
weeping that they could mot lay thei'
bones in tho slesping place Of theil
fathers and children won dered 1t thu
length Of the way and sobbsd them
selves TO sleep when the night ha<
lallen. It seemed - II at every step
heart broke. But st . turn In th.
road Babylon suddenly springs upol
tho view Of the captives, with its gar
dens and palaceA Ashout goes mp iron
the army % they behold their nativ'
city. but not one huxza - heard from
the csptivea. These exilss saw n
splendor there, for It was not at home
The Euphrates did not have the water
CLEAN Of the brook Kedron or the poo
81 Sloan. The willows Of Babylon
ON which they hung their untune'
harps, were not ~ graceful ~ the tree
which at the foot Of Mount 4orial
seemed TO weep 1t the departed CLOS,
Of Judah, and all the fragrance tha
descsnds from the hanging garden
upon that great city was not 90 swss
ss one breath Of the acacia and frant
inscense that the high priest kindle
In the sanctuary 1t Jerusalem.
| On . certain night, little Will
after these captives had been brough
to his city, Nebuchadnessar - scare
| with 4 night vision. A bad man's pt
low 10 apt to be stuffed with deeds On
forsbodings which keep talking In th
| night. He will And that the eagle
down in his pillow will stick him III
porcupine quills. The ghosts Of ol
|Srans9ressions are apt 70 wander abog