The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1915-07-01
The PEOPLES FORUM.
Wonders.

/ Creation, of Providence ard Of Grace.
Let me speak in this of the Wonders
of Judgment. Men stand in awe of
divine judgments and quail before the
manifestation of supernatural power.
| CONSERVATION SEXES them as they see
the tornado swoop down upon them and
cheeks are blanched in the presence of
death.
When Judgments were about to fall
on Egypt and the first born were to be
slain. strong men turned pale and VIC
men wept, while children chung TO par
ents and family groups were 50 still in
awful suspense and expectancy Of the
fearful hour of midnight that they could
hear their hearts beat. They knew
that the Lord 5 hand would fail heavily
upon their oppressors that they would
be FASTENED from their midst hurried
out from their sights.
Judgments of Jehovah ended the
captivity of his people, turned their
dark days into light and sent the ran
somed tribes forth in triumph amidst
the shrieks of despair and howls of woe
that arises from every Egyptian home,
making night hideous. Village cries to
village. city answers back to city while
the mighty wave of midnight lamen-
tation rolls over the realm OF the proud
and impious Pharaoh and fills the. land
of the Nile.
Wonders of judgment that swept
Egypt's mighty army out of existence
in few brief moments and tossed
rider and horse on the crest of the
angry deep
Judgments of God swept 10000 Of
the Assyrians from the face of the
earth in one night.
Beishazzar was great, proud, self
INDUCED absolute monarch whose word
was law. Violent in temper, efTemi-
nate and capricious. Heroditus says
the front Of BeIshazzar's palace was
four times as long as the capitol at
Washington, surrounded by three walls
so high it would require thirteen men
on top of each other to reach the top.
His city was fifteen miles square. sur
rounded by walls seventy five feet high
er than the highest steeple in America
and as wide at the top as a large church.
Ancient Babylon had fifty streets, one
third wider and longer than Broad
street, Philadelphia, and if built to the
limit of the city would be the longest,
widest and straightest in the world.
Its towers, TEMPLES, palaces and pleas
ure gardens correspond to its greatness.
They had set themselves against the
Lord. Judgments were ripeninc and
the night the proud king made a feast
for his thousand lords the CITY was given
up TO riotous excess and rejoicing at
the supposed departure of the enemy.
The Lord had but to let loose his judg-
ments which swept the magnificent
city like a bosom Of destruction. Bel
shazzar's drunken revelry was checked
by the mysterious handwriting on the
wall. His heart sunk and his glory de-
parted and revelry was turned into
lamentation. With all his riches and
glory and power his life is worthless to
the world, except to warn men against
his way of living. He lived a wretched
life and died as the fool dieth. He ex-
allied himself against God and became
as the chaff that is driven by the wind.
So shall it ever be. There is no lack so
serious as to be wanting toward God.
To be wanting when God weighs mo-
tive, character, life and soul; to be
wanting when judged by the most com
passionate Saviour, to be deficient in
love to Him who died to draw all to
Himself, to be lacking in the fruits of
the spirit, who is so freely given; to be
wanting in the hope that is sure and
steadfast when our soul is required of
US; to be wanting when the Judge opens
the Book of Life. is calamity that is
beyond conception and remedy. There
is judgment on the sin of dirt. of physi
!! cal uncleanness, bad habit, unwhole-
some diet, unfit habitations and for this
reason scourges originate in those dis
tricts where humanity is most thickly
congregated and all sanitary laws are
|; set at defiance.
Asiatic cholera existed among the
most degraded inhabitants of Asia.
Our city slums are cess pools from
which miasma and malaria eXhale con-
tinualv while the poisonous atmos-
phere infests the prosperous and beau
tiful parts Of the city and homes of the
well to do and rich are infected.
Judgments on moral iniquity are in
evidence enough to satisfy the most
skeptical mind. Here is a well anthem
ticated example. In the west was a
village settled by infdels. No form Of
! Christian institution was allowed there.
They blasphemously ridiculed all re-
ligious faith They bore in front of
procession a hideous doll, as the effigy
of Christ. They sat down to banquet
to celebrate the Lords supper with
I strong drink. Soon after, Indians came
upon the village and destroyed il, while