Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1902-11-01

drawn swords, broke into that banquet
hall and changed the wassail OF wine
into a carnival Of blood. SO. my broth
er. at the very time when you feel you
are most secure and can sin with the
greatest safety, God is watching your
secret sin and he Is decreeing that you
must die. Oh, man Of sinful habit,
hearing tonight Of Belshazzar's BAN
auet hall, do you not feel that you can
never escape the scrutiny of Gods all
seeing eye, never be independent OF
his inexorable scales?
While We live Gods balances are
never put away. His all seeing eye Is
never shut. Just before the battle OF
Sorr. Frederick the Great gave an en-
phatic order that every light SHOULD be
put out and that no soldier should even
have a candle lighted in his tent. That
night the great Prussian general, as
was his custom, went prowling around
his camps to verify with his own eyes
whether his orders were obeyed. See
ing light in soldiers tent, he crept
I'D and looked in There he saw q SOL
dier with q lighted candle hidden be-
Meath his knapsack writing a letter.
All that Frederick the Great said was
this: Young man, add a postscript TO
that letter which you have just writ
ten. Say: 'Goodby forever. l have
dlsobeyed my kings commands In or
der to write this letter, and by the or
der Of King Frederick | shall be shot
tomorrow" AS Frederick the Great
always kept his eye on his troops,
Gods all seeing eye is always watch
ing us, even In the most secret OF
places. He watches us in the most
sacred places of our chambers, In the
Office, when we 90 down the street,
wherever we may be. No sin Is Sc
cret sin to God. He knows all and sees
all. The same divine scales that
weighed the sinful life Of Belshazzar
in the banquet hall Of the Babylonish
capital are continually weighing us, no
matter where we may be.
Sins balanced by Atonement.
But. though Gods balances may be
condemning scales for the Belshazzars
of sin. they may also become scales OF
salvation for every immortal soul that
ayails itself Of Christs atonement. 1t
is not now a question of how many
sins may be piled into the right scale,
but rather OF whether we are willing
TO place the atoning cross In the ierI
Though the sins of Gods wayward
children may be mountains high ana
seas deep, yet that cross is able to out
weigh them all. In the Philadelphia
mint can be seen q pair of scales SO
perfectly adjusted that II a speck OF
dirt falls into one Of the scales or ny
walks across the balancing bar over
hanging It that scale will sink. Gods
scales are perfectly adjusted spiritual
| ly. No matter how many or how great
our sins may be. II we once place the
cross of Iesus Christ into the scale op-
posite to that which Is piled high with
our sins, we shall then he weighed In
the balances and not found wanting.
What a blessed and transporting
thought this should be. that we can
have all our sins Outweighed! we
would not dare for one instant TO
preach sermon upon Gods balances
at Belshazzars: feast unless we could
place the greatest emphasis upon this
idea. 1t would be appalling to depict
the horror Of sinners eternity. unless
at the same time we could offer a par
don for all sins to all people If they
would only all be willing to be cleansed
of their sins in the blood Of the Lamb.
once read of a dramatic scene where
there was not enough physical saliva
ton to 90 around. 1t was on the deck
of the United States man-Of-war Tren-
ton during the famous cyclone In the
Samoan harbor few years ago. Every
officer and sailor had diyested himself
of ali his outer garments because every
moment they expected the huge snip
TO 90 down. us many Of the other yes
sells had already been enSulfed be-
fore their eyes But though every man
was making all the necessary prepara'
tions he could FOR what seemed the iney'
liable plunge there WAS one lie pre-
server for which no one seemed to have
any particular Use. 1t was the only
life preserver on board and nobody
wanted to take it and live and let his
companions die A sailor handed it up
TO the executive officer. The executive
officer would not put it On. but handed
II TO the captain. The captain In turn
handed it to the admiral The admiral
refusing to put 1t OH this life preserver
was carelessly thrown acroTs tue rail
of the bridge There II hung" Said
an eyewitness. II glowing tribute to
the courage Of men who were unwill-
ing TO be saved If they knew thereby
that their companions had to die" But
though there may not be physical sal
vation enough to go around the whole
crew of a doomed ship. yet. thank Cod
there Is spiritual salvation enough Tor
MI the world If we only will accept that
salvation through the blood OF Jesus
CnflSI. uPTc 10 nv bONN IA VIZ ~-
shoxzar of sin today being found want
ing when he is weighed In Gods bal
ances II he will only let the cross OF
Jesus Christ be placed IN the scale op
posite to that which Is piled high witt
his past sins.
The entrance into Belshazzar's ban
ouet hall Of sin is not one Of unalloye'
Joy. The poet tried to describe tn
wild exultation Of that feast when b.
imagiIatively wrote these words:
Oh. ne'er in Babylon did blaze a sight
More richly grand, magnificently bright;
Bearing his crown and dressed in robe
state,
High on his throne OF gold Belshazzs
sate
In shining robes and stretching far away
Like billows quivering meath the sunse
ray.
Chiefs. mobiles. stood, the red lamps float
fnor n