Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1902-10-31

BY Kew.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE, DID,,
Pastor Of Jefferson Park PreslSy-
terrain Church, Chicago
Chicago, Oct. 26.-From one Of the
most thrilling incidents of Bible his
tory Rev. Frank De Witt Talmage
draws lessons for the life Of today;
text, Daniel v, q, 'Thou art weighed
in the balances and found wanting"
These words were spoken in the royal
banquet hall Of the most famous CAPT
tai in the east. This is Babylon--beau-
tiful, HcentiOus, corrupt, luxurious,
shameless Babylon; Babylon the pride
of the Chaldeans; Babylon the wonder
Of the world
Ctesias tells us that Babylon was
sixty miles square That means its
area was more than one-third the size
Of the modern city Of London, the Eng
fish beehive, with its 100000 inhabit-
ants It was Of such vast wealth that
within its central temple was an idol
made Of solid gold, which alone was
worth over S2OO,OOO,OOO. Its surround
ing walls were 3G5 feet high and wide
enough to allow four characters to
drive their sixteen chargers abreast
upon the top Of them. while the moon
shimmered upon $50 watch towers and
tipped with light the spears Of hun dreds
Of sentinels and shone upon hundred
gates of solid brass. which swung open
to let friends in and changed Slut to
keep enemies out.
Standing upon the heights Of the IA
nous hanging gardens, which Nebu-
chadnezzar. the king who had courted
Amytis among the hills Of Ecbatana.
had thrown up to humor a whm Of
his queen. we can see off in the dis
lance the mighty river Euphrates flow
ing through the midst Of the metropolis
and cutting the city il twain. Along
the wharfs of the river We're daily
heard the cries of the sailors unloading
from the ships cargoes of merchandise
and fOodstuffs, as well as the 90 d and
silver and myrrh and precious stones
imported from other lands. In the cen
ter Of the capital we can also see where
the engineers had gathered the wa
ters of this mighty river into a large
artificial lake forty miles square. This
lake was wide enough and deep enough
to harbor all the modern navies Of the
world. In it all these ships Of war
could drop their anchors, fold their
white sails and float side by side in
peace.
The boulevards Of this ancient city
were pillared with statuary. The
streets encircled the busy marts where
merchants wrangled for barter and
gain or led down to the magnificent
bridges which SPAWNED the river. These
bridges were fianked with palaces
where beauty and wealth loitered away
the lazy hours or sang themselves t
sleep, Graded in the graceful gondOlas
which gently pressed the waters int
ripples or contemptuOusly tumblod tn
foam from off their crested breasts
Everywhere artesian wells tossed Vi
the waters into fountains, shining
through which the sun arche1 tn
flowers with rainbOws, while birds 0
brilliant hue, whose ancestors had bee
brought from tropical climes, stoppe
their singing long enough to quenc
their thirst or to cleanse their gOrgeOu
plumage. There in the evening hou
5 these fountains lifted up their lips
! while their cheeks blushed into a dee
e red for the good night kiss of tie sci
ting sun.
The Feast OF BeIshazzar.
But we must hurry on tonight an
not linger over the scenic delights G
this famous capital, for l am gong
lead you into the royal banquet hal
a where Belshazzar, the king of the Cha
o deans, is giving a great feast to thOl
Il sand lords of his kingdom. He is 81
ing this feast tonight in a hail dec
rated with the trophies of conquest al
the triumph of art, with the a
rhythmic with song and redolent wit
+ incense, with the faces Of his dead Il
cestors pictured upon the walls
er chiseled by the sculptors In marble
or purest white. He is giving this fea
~ in a banquet hall where the sardal'
foot strikes mosaic floor or sinks in
sOftest rug; where, under the light, t
y precious stones sparkle and glesm
" the jeweled hand Of an aristocr
n pushes back the tapestry or lifts t
~ golden chalice to the lip. The king
giving this drunken feast to show
contempt for the besieging army
=, Cyrus the Great, which for nearly tN
long years had fruitlessly laid siege
J., his capital, that seemed impregnfble
y But at last, in this banquet hall,
this famous feast. when the intoxici
ed eye became more brilliant than t
diamonds glittering upon the nak
threats of the assembled guest; a
the flushed cheek redder than the WI
IT, cup, there appears a marvellous sig
Out of space there stretches a LAM
r an armless, bodiless hand-and W
sri. the finger Of this strange hand fol-
srs' pen hidden power writes there aw
i ner words Of doom upon the wall Of. Il
nty banquet hall. 1t is to interpret one
&c those words. ''tekel." which lnei
'thou art weighed in the balances 6
art found wanting" that I am TOT
- preaching this sermon. preach VI
|
letters announced to BelshaZzar,
king Of the Chaldeans. that night t
rV be had to die.
Gods balances always have accC
ant weights. He weighs every 4
according TO the work which he
given him to do. He weighs ev
man In proportion to the religious
he' portunitles that have surrounded
o4y past life. He weighs every man v
sfae. reference to the Christian home
rats which he was born and to the pra.
ice. Of Christian men and women wi
,Sses have been uttered in his behalf,
lies weighs man not only with regart
nins his sins of commission, but also a
ions what he might have accomplished
bi I4s God had he applied himself for his
vine Master as he should have don
Sein The Scales of God.
When God in this royal banquet
DBL. Of Babylon held high the balances
. which he weighed Belshazzar, tie
IN Il the Chaldeans, God weighed
JUy life by a standard entirely diffG
from that with which he would W
the life Of an ignorant, brutal ktl
cannibal, taught from the days Of
lie youth that it was right and hOllOl
LIZ to eat the roasted flesh of his cap
49,. and slaves. God placed in one Of
scales of his balances all Belshaz
infinite opportunities for doing SOC
rental the mighty ruler of the wealthiest
4 ital of the east. God placed n