The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1897-02-19


the domes with glisterings almost in
siderable, and the great streets thun-
der up their pomp into the ear of
the monarch. and armed towers stand
around, adorned with the spoils of
conquered empires, Nebuchadnezzar
waves his hand above the stupendous
scene and exclaims: "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 is gone from his vision, for
voice falls from the heaven, saying, 20
King Northumberland, to thee 1t 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 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 giveth 1t
to whomsoever he will" One hour
from the time that 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,
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 great variety in
the Scriptural landscape. In several
discourses we have looked at noun
tains of excellence, but now we look
down into a great, dark chasm Of wick
edness as we come to speak of Nebuch-
adnezzar. 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 introduced Daniel and Paul,
and Deborah, as illustrations of those
Word as to the hatefulness of pride,
of folly, of impiety, and lest we should
not thoroughly understand him, intro
duces NebuchadneZzar as the imper-
sonation of these forms of depravity.
The former style of character Is a
lighthouse, showing us way into
safe harbor, and the latter style Of
character is 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 laundering at the
gates of Jerusalem. The crown of that
sacred city is struck into the dust by
the hand of Babylonish insolence. 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 army, are obliged to leave
the home of their nativity! How their
hearts must have been wrung with
anguish, when, on the day they depart
ed, they heard 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, for we'll 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 did not dare halt for
roundabout are armed men, urging
them on with boot, and shout, and BIAS
phemy. 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 the captives, with
its gardens and palaces. A shout goes
I'D from the army as they behold their |
native city, but not one huzza is heard |
from the captives. These exiles saw no
splendor there, for it was not home.
The Euphrates did not have the water
CLEAN of the brook Kedron or the pool |
Of Sloan. The willows of Babylon, on
which they hung their untuned harps,
we're not as graceful as the trees which
at the lou VI mOunI MIL ltu occlucu U
weep at the departed glory of Judah,
and all the fragrance that descended
from the hanging-gardens upon that
great city was not so sweet as one
breath of the acacia and frankincense
that the high priest kindled in the
sanctuary at Jerusalem.
On a certain night, little while az
er these captives had been brought to
lis city, Nebuchadnezzar is scared with
night vision. A bad mans pillow is
Lpt to be stuffed with deeds and fore.
,odings which keep talking in the
hight. He will find that the eagles
Iown in his pillow will stick him like
'orcupine quilts. The ghosts Of old
are sure to wander
bout in the darkness and beckon and
Iiss. Yet when the morning came he
ound that the vision had entirely fed
rom him. Dreams drop no anchors.
nd therefore are apt to sail away be-
ore we can fasten them. Nebuchad-
ezzar calls all the wise men Of the
and into his presence, demanding that
y their necromancy they explain his
ream. They. of course, fail. Then |