Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-10-30

| to eat the roasted flesh Of his captives
and slaves. God placed IN one Of the
scales of his balances all Belshazzar's
infinite opportunities for doing good as
the mighty ruler of the wealthiest cap
ital Of the east God placed in that
one scale all Belshazzars opportunities
for knowing and learning about the
true God and his divine love. Bel
shazzar was not, as some suppose, the
heather ruler Of heather nation. He
was the grandson Of the Nebuchadnez-
Ear whose famous prime minister was
Daniel, the mighty man Of God. In
all probability he had heard from Dan
iels own lips the commandments of
the God Of the Jews, and how that
God had protected the prophet and
closed the mouths Of the hungry wild
beasts when his servant was thrown
into the lions den. Daniel, at the time
Of which l speak, was about eighty
years of age. He could have testified
and in all probability did testify to
Belshazzar how the love of the true
God had cared for his believing child,
now for nearly fourscore years. So
the word written OH the wall Of that
banquet hall was the record Of test.
Belshazzar's opportunities of leading
godly life had been placed in one scale,
and when the evil effects Of the life
he did lead were put in the other scale
it had gone down like a fash. That
was the inevitable result. He had been
weighed in the balances and found
wanting.
My brother and sister are you ready
to let God hold aloft the same balances
with which he weighed Belshazzar's
life in the royal banquet hall of Baby
lon? Are you ready to let him weigh
the results Of your life? "Oh, no."
you answer: my life Is nothing to
what it ought to be, when l think Of
my past religious bringing up. No one
had better and more consecrated
Christian mother than have had. No
one today has more consecrated pray
ing wife than l have. Every night
even my little children pray for me
and yet l am unwilling to pray for
myself or do what 1 ought to do" If
all this be true, then, my brother. how
are you to escape the doom Of him
who sat in Babylon's banquet hall?
You are being weighed in the balances
and found wanting.
The influence of Prayer.
1t is an awful and heartrending sight
to see man stand up and confess that
he has crushed out of his heart the re-
ligious influences which surrounded his
early life. l once heard of an old man
who arose in a great religious meeting
and, facing the audience, said sub
stantially this "Oh, my friends beg
of you not to fight against the infiu-
ences Of the prayers that have been
uttered in your behalf. II you do, you
will live to regret it, as l have done.
l was brought up in Christian home.
After 1 came to the city my business
grew SO rapidly that l drifted away
from church and from the Bible and
the family altar. l had little daugh-
ter who was the idol Of my life. She
was at that time accustomed almost
every evening to go to a neighbor' S
house. ! reproved her two or three
times and at last whipped her for go
| X.
and when she was flushed with the fe-
yer she called me to her side and said:
Papa, don't think l did wrong be-
cause l wished to go over to Mr.. So
and-so's house. l went there for you.
You used to have family prayers. but
somehow you are too busy now to have
them. and my little schoolmate's papa
always has family prayers. said the
old man, with tears streaming down
his cheeks. my little daughter had
to tell that to me, who had once been
rocked in a Christian cradle and reared
in Christian home. She had to tell
that to me. sinful man, when she
herself was about to take the long
journey over the river Of death, from
which no traveller ever returns" If
you. o sinful man, fight against the
religious influences of your past life,
you, like the aged, broken hearted par
ent, will live to regret it. When God
holds high his balances, he Is going ia
weigh US in reference to our religious
opportunities. a s he did when he weigh
ed the sinful life of BelshaZzar, the
king of the Chaldeans.
Gods balances weigh every individ.
ual life irrespective Of the conduct OF
other people. 1t was no availing eX-
cuse for BelshaZzar to say that he
ought not to be weighed in Gods bal.
ances and found wanting while there
were THOUSAND other drunken lords
of the Babylonish capital intoxicated
in the royal banquet hall. 1t was nc
legitimate excuse for the eastern ruler
to raise, that his immoral, infamous
ways did not call for more severe con.
demnation than those of hundreds OF
eastern royal aristocrats who were
loathsome with the same cancerous
sins. And yet there are thousands OF
fragrant sinners today who foolishly
think that God will overlook and par
don their evil practices merely because
they are no worse than their next door
neighbors, no worse than the people
with whom they come in daily con
tact. They act as If they expected q
universal pardon for unrepentant sin
in spite of the fact that the Bible di
rectly and emphatically declares, "Ev
cry man shall die for his own SIM
Human justice makes example of con
spicuous criminals like John Wilkes
Booth, Guiteau, Czolgosz and the as
sassin Of President Carnot, each OF
them perishing for his own crime, not