Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1899-05-26


and all the princes begin TO look and
wonder what is the matter. and they
look al the same point on the wall. and
then there drops a darkness into tho
room that puts out the blaze Of the
golden plate. and out Of the sleeve CT
the darkness there comes finger-a
finger Of fiery terror circling around
and circling around as though it would
write, and then it comes up and with
sharp tip Of fame it inscribes on the
pastering of the wall the doom Of the
king "Weighed in the balances and
found wanting" The bang of heavy
fists against the gates of the palace is
followed by the breaking in Of the doors.
A thousand cleaning knives strike into
900 quivering hearts Now death is
king. and he is seated on throne of
corpses. In that hall there is balance
lifted Gcd swung it. On one side Of
the balance are put Belshazzar's oppor-
tunities, on the other side of the bal
ance are put Belshazzar S sins. The sins
come down. His opportunities go up
Weighed in the balances-found want
ing
No Perfect Balance.
There has been a great deal Of cheat
ing in our country with false weights
and measures and balances, and the
government, to change that state Of
things, appointed commissioners whose
business it was to stamp weights and
measures and balances, and great deal
of the wrong has been corrected. But
still, after all. there is no such thing as
a perfect balance on earth. The chain
may break or some of the metal may
be clipped or in some way the equipoise
may be disturbed You cannot always
depend upon earthly balances. a pound
is not always a pound, and you may
pay for one thing and get another, but
in the balance which is suspended to
the throne of God. a pound is a pound
and right is right and wrong is wrong
and a soul is a soul aud eternity is eter-
nifty. God has a perfect bushel and a
perfect peck and a perfect gallon. When
merchants weigh their goods in the
wrong way. then the Lord weighs the
goods again If from the imperfect
measure the merchant pours ont what
pretends to be n gallon of oil, and there
is less than a gallon, God knows it, ana
he calls upon his recording angel to
mark it, $50 much wanting in that
measure of oil. " The farmer comes ID
from the country. He has apples to sell
He has an imperfect measure. he pouIs
out the apples from this imperfect
measure God recognizes it. He says t.
the recording angel, "Mark down SO
many apples too few-an imperfect
measure. We may cheat ourselves,
and we may cheat the world, but we
cannot cheat God. and in the great day
of Judgment it will be found ont that
what we learned in boyhood at school
is correct; that twenty hundredweight
makes a ton. and 800 solid feet make a
cord Of wood. No more, no less, and q
religion which does not take hold OF
This life. as well as the life to come, Is
no religion at all.
Weigh Principles.
But, my friends, that is not the style
of balances am to speak Of today
that is not the kind Of weights and
measures. | am to speak Of that kind
of balances which weigh principles,
weigh churches. weigh men, weigh ma
tions and weigh worlds. "What. You
say. as it possible that cur world is to
be weighedl" Yes Why, you would
think if God put on one side Of the bal
ances suspended from the throne the
Alps and the Pyrenees and the Hima,
layas and Mount Washington and all
the cities Of the earth they would crush
it, No, mol The time will come when
God will sit down on the white throne
TO see the world weighed, and on one
side will be the worlds opportunities
and on the other side the worlds sins.
Down will go the sins and away will
90 the opportunities and God will say
10 the messengers with the torch
"Burn that world Weighed and found
wanting"
So God will weigh churches. He takes
a great church. That church, great ac-
cording to the worldly estimate, must
be weighed. He puts it on one side the
balances and the minister and the choir
and the building that cost its hundreds
of thousands of dollars He puts them
ON one side the balances On the other
side of the scale he puts what that
church ought to be- what its consecra-
tion ought to be, what its sympathy for
the roor ought to be, what its devotion
to all good ought to be. That Is on one
side That side comes down. and the
church, not being able to stand the test,
rises in the balances. 1t does not make
anv difference about your magnificent
machinery A church is built for one
thing-to save souls. If it saves few
souls when it might save a multitude
of souls God will spew it out Of his
mouth. Weighed and found wanting
MaIady TO BE Cured.
So we perceive that God estimates
nations How many times he has put
the Spanish monarchy into the scales
and found il insufficient and condemned
iii The French empire was placed on
one side of the scales, and God weighed
the French empire. and Napoleon said
"Have | not enlarged the boulevardsY
Did | not kindle the glories of the
Champs Elyseesl Have | not adorned
the Tuileriesl Have ! not built the
gilded opera houses" Then God weigh
ed the nation, and he put on one size
the scales the emperor and the boule'
wards and the Tuieries and the Champs
Elysees and the gilded opera house. and
on the other side be puts that man
abominaticns. that mans libertinism'
that mans selfshness that man $ god
less ambition. This last came down.
and all the brilliancy of the scene van
ished. What is that voice coming mp
from SedanS Weighed and found want
ing
But | must become more indiYlduai
and more personal in my address. Some
people say they do not think clergymen
| -.,.k+ 20 ha naraonnl in their religious