The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-11-07
In the Religious World

heir Of royal character. He was
overwhelmed by the handwriting
upon h wall. The poet Heine has
depicted the scene amid which Bel
shazzar found himself:
THE yelling laughter was hushed.
n all
Was still as death n the royal hall.
And see: And see. on the white wall
high
The form Of a hand went slowly by,
And wrote, and wrote, on the broad
wall white,
Letters of fire. and vanished in night
"A Woman to the Rescue.
Like the self~-respecting queen
Vashti, in the story of Esther, the
real queen mother Of Babylon was
absent from these carousals. 1t lay
beneath her queenly dignity to coun-
tenance such dissipation by her pres
ence. Womanlike, when trouble be-
The news Of the strange horror that
had come to the banqueting hall
an like wild fire through the palace.
At once it was h queen who showed
the needed presence Of mind. Her
superiority to hat of the drunken
~Belshazzar is apparent. 1t is the So
Der person who has wits for an emer-
gency
There was another person beside
the queen mother not present at the
feast. This was the aged Daniel. The
rich and the mighty may seem to be
gathered in a great carnival Of pleas
ure at some Newport orgy, but 1t is
greater circle Of true good society"
that is not enrolled among those
present. Daniel was not at this feast.
He and the young king had little in
common-so little, indeed, that Bel
shazzar seems to have forgotten him
already; but when needed. he proved
to be the man for the hour.
The Dignity of Daniel.
Summoned, the Hebrew sage was
implored to read the Meme, Meme,
Tekel, Upharsin," which had come in
ghostly letters upon the palace wall.
He was promised royal gifts, but,
with the splendid dignity Of a wise
man and a patriot, he spurned the
gifts, while offering his best service
to his liege lord.
Then, in king1y, prophetic words he
spoke forth the truth for the time,
fearing naught, and striving not to
please with soft words. He recalled
and how God had lifted him p but
when ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS heart had be-
come hardened, God, who sits above
all thrones, had humbled him. Bel
shazzar had looked in. vain upon the
example of observation-disclosures. With
far less reason he had given his heart
to haughtiness. Now it was his turn
to be admonished by Jehovah. Then
came the massage, Thou art weighed
in he balances, n art found want
ing
A Mystic Message.
Incredibly patient is the Lord Of
Hosts, yet he must be God. What he
permits and endures on the part OF
mortals almost passes belief. Never
theless, he sits on his throne, judging
nations and individuals. There is no
greater truth within the compass OF
mans mind than the Of ulti-
mate responsibility to the King OF
kings. History is read blindly unless
the reader Understands that behind
all prOvidences and all seeming acct
dents lie the purposes Of the Most
High. History is His Story"
If, drunk with sight of power, we
Wild ongues that have not Thee in
| Such Boosting as the Gentiles use:
Or lesser breeds without the law
Lord roc Of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget-lest we forgetn
The echoes of the feasting in Bel
shazzar's palace had scarcely ceased
before the city fell. The hand that
wrote was the hand hat sImote. Men
may not with impunity defy the God
Of heaven. He still holds in his hands
the balances that weigh the souls OF
mea and of nations. The heart
searching message of this lesson is
hat Of accountability to the Lord
Most High.
Seven Sentence Sermons.
No man is such a conquereor as the
man who has defeated himself.-H.
w. Beecher.
A heart unspotted is not easily
daunted.-AnOn.
Stand upright, speak thy thoughts,
declare
The truth thou hast, that all may
share;
BE bold, proclaim it everywhere,
They only live who dare.
Anon.