The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1899-06-17
IN GODS BALANCES.
Human Lives and Actions Weighed
in the Divine Scales.
DR.. Talmnge breaches on Personal
Responsibility. Taking His Text
from the Handwriting on
the Wall at Babylon.
copyright, 1899. by Louis Klopsch.)
Washington,


Washington,
In these days of moral awakening
this pointed sermon by DR.. Talmage on
personal responsibility before God will
be read with a deep and solemn inter-
est. Text, Daniel 5:27: "rhou art
weighed in the balances and art found
wanting"
Babylon was the paradise of archi-
lecture, and driven out from thence the
grandest buildings of modern times are
only the evidence of her fall. The site
having been selected for the city, 2,000,-
900 men were employed in the rearing
of her walls and the building of her
works. 1t was city 60 miles in circum-
ference. There was trench all around
the city, from which material for the
building of the city had been digged.
There were 25 gates on each side of the
city, between every two gates tower
of defense springing into the skies,
from each gate CT the one side street
running straight through to the CORE
spending gate or the other side, so that
there were 80 streets Is miles long.
Through the city ran branch of the
river Euphrates. This river sometimes
overhowed it's banks, and to keep it
from running the city lake was con-
structed into which the surplus water
of the river would run during the time
of freshets, and the water was kept in
this artificial lake until time of drought,
and then this water would stream down
over the city. At either end of the
bridge spanning this Euphrates there
was palace-the one palace mile and
half around, the other palace 7Xs
miles around.
The wife of Nebuchadnezzer had been
born and brought RI in the country and
in mountainous region, and she could
not bear this fat district of Babylon,
and So to please his wife, Nebuchadnez-
Ear built in the midst of the city a
mountain 400 feet high. This mountain
was built out into terraces supported on
arches. On the ton OF these arches u
layer of fat stones, on the top of that
a layer of reeds and bitumen, on the top
of that two layers of bricks closely ce-
mented, on the top OF that heavy sheet
of lead and on the top of that the soil
placed-the soil so deep that Lebanon
cedar had room to anchor its roots.
There were pumps worked by mighty
machinery fetching up the water from
the Euphrates to this hanging garden,
as it was called. so that there were foun-
tains spouting into the sky. Standing
below and looking up, it must have
seemed as if the clouds were in bios
som or as though the sky leaned on
the shoulder of a cedar. All this Neb-
uchadnezzar did to please his wife.
Well, she ought to have been pleased.
suppose she was pleased. If that
would not please her, nothing would.
There was in that city also the temple
of Bleus, with towers-one tower the
eighth of mile high, in which there
was an observatory where astronomers
talked to the stars. There was in that
temple an image, just one image, which
WOulu COSU Wndt Woulu NC Jul %o",
900, 900.
Oh. what city! The earth never saw
anything like it, never will see any
thing like it, And yet have to tell you
that it is going to be destroyed. The
king and his princes are at feast
| They are all intoxicated. Pour out the
rich wine into the chalices! Drink to
the health of the king! Drink to the
glory of Babylon! Drink to great fu-
ture! A thousand lords reel intoXi-
Gated. The king seated upon chair
with vacant look, as intoxicated men
will-with vacant look stared Mt the
wall. But soon that vacant look takes
on intensity, and it is an affrighted
look, and all the princes begin to look
and wonder what is the matter, and
they look at the same point on the wall
And then there drops darkness into
the room that puts out the blaze OF
the golden plate, and out of the sleeve
of the darkness there comes finger
finger of fiery terror, circling around
and circling around as though it would
write, and then it comes up, and will
sharp tip of flame it inscribes on the
plastering of the wall the doom of the
king: Weighed in the balances ant
found wanting"
The bang of heavy fists against tn,
gates of the palace is followed by thu
breaking in of the doors. A Thousand
cleaning knives strike into thousant
quivering hearts. Now death is king
and he is seated upon a throne o
corpses. In that hall there is balanc,
lifted. God swung it. On one side O
the balance are put Belshazzar's oppor
tunities; on the other side of the hal
' ance are put Belshazzar's sins. The sin
come down. His opportunities go up
Weighed in the balances-found want
ing.
There has been great deal of cheat
ing in our country with false weight
and measures and balances, and tn
government, to change that state O
things, appointed commissioners who's
business it was to stamp weights an,
measures and balances, and great dea
of the wrong has been corrected. Blu
still, after all, there is no such thing a
q perfect balance on earth. The chair
may break, or some of the metal ma,
be clipped. or in some way the equi
poise may be disturbed. You cannot al