Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1911-11-09

GOLDEN TEXT-"God shall bring ev-
cry work into Judgment. with every Sc
cret thing. whether 1t be good or whether
1t be e~vil."-Eccl. 1874.
T1ME-The event described belongs to
the last years Of the exile. B. c. $3.50,
when Babylon was taken by Cyrus and
his generals.
The decree Of return. and the first re-
turn. occurred a year or two later.
PLACE-Babylon the capital. enlarged,
beautihed aud fortified by N~ebuchadnez-
Ear.
Under the great Nebuchadnczzar
Babylon rose in grandeur, power and
extent, till 1t became the most mag
nifcent and beautiful city Of anti
guilty. In those days Babylon was the
metropolis Of the world, the center OF
commerce, art and wisdom. The
wealth of the world poured into its
Golfers. Babylon was the strongest
fortress in all the world. Belshazzar
was the acting king of Babylon at the
time Of this lesson, while his father
Nabonidus was the nominal and legal
king who lived and warred outside OF
the city.
Cyrus had been advancing toward
Babylon. He gained a decisive victory
over Nabonidus, on his way to the
capital, and his army entered the city
without fighting, and peace .as pro.
claimed. A portion Of the city, prob
ably the citadel including the royal
palace, held out for some time, being
occupied by the army Of Belshazzar
as a rallying place. Two or three
weeks later Cyrus made his triumphal
entry into the city. Seven days later,
the general Of Cyrus stormed that
part Of Babylon which had held out
against his army, and on that night
Belshazzar was slain. 1t was during
this week that Belshazzer made a
magnificent banquet to encourage his
generals and princes in their struggle
with the Medo-Persian foe.
At his feast. therefore, Belshazzar
sought to remind his warriors of the
old campaigns their forefathers had
fought. He had in his possession the
treasures which these f~orcfathers had
carried from Jerusalem when they
conquered Israel and, as 1t seemed to
them, Israel's Jehovah. His conduct
thus was not merely that Of a drunk.
en- debauchee, but partly Of a cool
politician, when amid the applause OF
q thousand courtiers and army COM
manders he ordered the sacred YES
sells Of the Temple Of Jerusalem to be
brought into the hall Of feasting. Such
q scene would fill the hearts of the
wine-inflamed warriors and mobiles to
overlooking with daring, and also
bring a worthy occasion for the d.
vine interference to encourage his
people on The eve OF their deliver
ance.
In the midst of the carousal, the
king say the fingers of a mans hand
writing strange words, letters Of fate
and characters of fear" on the wall
in the full blaze of the ~cand.estick,
perhaps one great golden candlestick
taken from the temple. There 10
something blood.curdling in the visit
bility of but a part Of the hand and
its busy writing.
Belshazzar, in his terror and horror,
summoned his wise men to declare
what the strange apparition and the
blazing letters meant, and promised
great rewards to the M who should
interpret them; but all failed. Either
they could not make sense of the let.
tiers, or could not perceive what mean.
ing they had.
Then the queen mother, mother of
Belshazzar, came In and spoke OF
Daniel as one who had shown great
gifts at Interpretation to his GRANDPA
Their Nebuchadnezzar. 1t took place
before this boy king was born, and he,
naturally, knew nothing about the
story. Daniel was sent for, and came
into the festival hall. He heard the
kings offer, and spurning 1t spoke
brave and true words which might
easily cost him his life. He told the
story OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS fall from
the height of pride, and accused him
Of dishonoring the true God. Then he
Interpreted the message written or
the palace walls: "Thou art weighed
In the balances and found wanting"
The want OF religious restraints and
motives, exposes one u~ndefended To
the powers OF temptation. Belshazzar
would enrich the splendor of his feast
by the sacred goblets and dishes OF
gold that Nebuchadnezzar had taken
from the temple at Jerusalem. They
were brought, and made to be instru'
ments for drunken revelry and lust
and worship of idols, thus declaring
that the idols had given them the vic
tory over the God of the Jews.
The social power of the wine cup
its connection with feasting. comrade