army." "What a pity you ever went into the war," he would reply. "I feel sorry for you.' Another would come along. "You've lost an arm; have you been in the army?" "Yes." "Well, that is a pity; but, bless God you didn't lose the other arm." There was a man on the North Side, and I never came out of his house without praising God. He was deaf, he was dumb, blind, and had the lockjaw. He had a hole in his tooth, and all the food he took was put through that hole. My friends, do you ever thank God for your senses? Do you ever thank God for your eyes, by which you can read His Word? Think of the three millions of people in this world who haven't any sight at all. Hundreds of thousands of them never saw the mother that gave them birth; never saw their own offspring; never saw nature in all its glory; never saw that beautiful sun and all the stars. Do you ever praise God for the ears by which you can hear the voice of man, by which you hear the gospel preached, by which you hear the songs of Zion? Did you ever praise Him for your hearing and for your reason? Go down to yonder madhouse. I never come out of it without feeling full of praise to God. There you will find fathers and mothers and children without the light of reason. Now, my friends, let us praise God we have a home in this gospel land. Let us praise God for this blessed Bible. Let us praise God for the gift of His only son. Let us praise Him that He gave up that Son freely for us all. Let us praise Him to-night for the love of His Son, and let us go out of this building with our hearts full of joy.

"Put Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of King's meat, nor with the wine which he drank."-Dan. i. 8.

STANDING by a purpose true,
Heeding God's command,
Honor them, the faithful few!
All hail to Daniel's band!

Many mighty men are lost,
Daring not to stand,
Who for God had been a host,
By joining Daniel's band.

Many giants, great and tall,
Stalking thro' the land,

Headlong to the earth would fall,
If met by Daniel's band.

Hold the gospel banner high!

On to vict'ry grand!

Satan and his host defy,

And shout for Daniel's Band.

Weighed in the Balance.

66

OU will find my text to-night in one short word, "Tekel,” meaning: Thou art weighed in the balance and art found wanting." In the fifth chapter of Daniel we read the history of the King Belshazzar. It is very short. Only one chapter tells us all we know about him. One 'short sight of his career is all we see. He just seems to burst upon the stage and then disappears. We are told that he gave a great feast, and at this feast he had 1,000 of his lords, and they were drinking and praising the gods of silver, of gold, of brass, of iron, and of wood, out of the vessels which had been brought from the temple at Jerusalem. As they were drinking out of these vessels of gold and silver from the house of God,-I don't know but what it was at the midnight hour, all at once came forth the fingers of a man's hand and began to write upon the wall of the hall. The king turns deathly pale, his knees shake together, and he trembles from head to foot. Perhaps if some one had told him the time was coming when he would be put into the balance and weighed he would have laughed at him. But he knows the vital hour has come, and that hand has written his doom in the words "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin." He calls the wise men of his kingdom, and the man who can interpret this will be made the third ruler of his kingdom, and be clothed in scarlet, and have a chain about his neck. One after another tried, but no uncircumcised eye could make it out. He was greatly troubled. At last one was spoken of who had been able to interpret the dream of his father Nebuchadnezzar. He was told if he would send for Daniel he might interpret the writing. And now the prophet came in and looked upon the handwriting, and told him how his father had gone against God, and how he, Belshazzar, had gone against the Lord of Heaven, and how his reign was finished. And this was the writing: "Mene: God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it; tekel: Thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting: peres thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. The trial is over, the verdict is rendered, and the sentence brought out. That very night the king was hurled

from his throne. That very night the army of Darius came tearing down the streets, and you might have heard the clash of arms, shouts of war, and have seen the king's blood mingling with the wine in that banquet hall.

Now I want to call your attention to that word "tekel." We are weighed in the balance. Now you cavil at the word of God: you make light when all is going well in the hour of your prosperity. But when the time of trial comes, and we are called into judgment, it will be altogether different. Suppose the sentence should come down from heaven upon every man and woman in this tabernacle to be weighed in the balance to-night, how would it be with you? Come, my friends, are you ready to be weighed to-night? Not in our own scales, but in God's balance. Suppose the scales were dropped now from the kingdom of God; are you ready to step into the balance and be weighed. Are you willing to be weighed by the law? I can imagine some of you saying, "I wouldn't be weighed by that law (meaning the decalogue); I don't believe it." Some men think we are away beyond the Mosaic law; we have got out of it. Why, Christ said in the fifth chapter of Matthew: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy but to fulfil. Heaven and earth may pass away, but my law shall never pass away;" but not until heaven and earth shall be removed will the word of God be removed. Now the commandments that I read to you to-night are as binding as ever they have been. Many men say that we have no need of the commandments, only the sermon on the Mount. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law of the prophets; I am not come to destroy but to fulfil." Now, my friends, are you ready to be weighed by the law of God-by that magic law? What is the first commandment? "Thou shalt have no other Gods but me." Are you ready to be weighed by this commandment? Now, the question is, have you fulfilled, or are you ready to fulfil, all the requirements of this law? A great many people say if they keep the commandments they don't need Christ. But have you kept them? I will admit if you keep the commandments you can be saved by them, but is there a man in this audience who can truly say that he has done this? Young lady, can you say: "I am ready to be weighed by the law to-night?" Can you, young man? Now, suppose we have these commandments written upon pieces of iron. You know when you go into a grocery store you see them taking a weight and putting it into the scales against what you have bought. Now, suppose the pieces of iron as weights and the law of God written on them. Take this first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other God but me" upon one of the

weights. Put it in one of the scales and just step on the other. "Thou art weighed in the balance.” Is your heart set upon God to-night? Have you no other idol ? Do you love Him above father or mother, the wife of your bosom, your children, home or land, wealth or pleasure? Have you got another God before Him? If you have, surely you are not ready to step in and be weighed against that commandment, "Thou shalt have no other God before me." That is the commandment of God, and it is binding to-night. Then take another. You will say there is no trouble about this one. We might go off to other ages or other lands, and we can find people who worship idols, but we have none here. But how many idols have we in our hearts ? Many a man says, "Give me money and I will give you heaven; what care I for all the glories and treasures of heaven; give me treasures here. I don't care for heaven. I want to be a successful business man." They make money and business their god. Although they don't make gods of silver and gold, they bow before them. There are more men who worship silver and gold in Chicago than any other god. But take another one: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Is there a swearing man ready to put the weight into the scales and step in? Young man, have you been taking the name of the Lord in vain to-day? What does he say? "The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain." I don't believe men would ever have been guilty of swearing unless God had told them not to. They don't swear by their friends, by their fathers and mothers, by their wives, by their children. But because God has forbidden it, man wants to show how he despises His law. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Blasphemer, go into the scales, and see how quick you will fly out. You will be like a feather in the balance. A great many men think there is nothing very serious in swearing; they don't think there's much wrong in it. Bear in mind He sees something in it when He says: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." You cannot trifle with God. Some men say they never swear except when they get angry. Suppose you swear only once in six months, or a year-suppose you swear once in ten years, do you think God will hold you guiltless for that one act? A man that swears once shows that his heart is rebellious to God. What are you going to do, blasphemer? If the balances were here to-night, and God told you to step in, what would you do?

But take the fourth commandment: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Suppose you could see the law written over those walls, "Remember to keep the Sabbath-day to

keep it holy," could you say that you had observed it? Are you ready to be weighed by the weight, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy ?" Some of us may be professed Christians, but do we observe the Sabbath? If this country falls into neglect of the observance of the Sabbath, it will go the way of France, Mexico and Spain. Every nation that gives up the Sabbath must go down. It is only a question of time with them. Look when the children of Israel refused to obey the injunctions of the Lord in regard to the cultivation of their land, how He took them into bondage and kept them for seventy years to let them know that God's land was not to be trampled under their feet. Are you guilty or not guilty or innocent in regard to this law: "Thou shalt keep the Sabbath day holy ?" When I was in France in 1867, I could not tell one day from another. On Sunday stores were open, buildings were being erected, the same as on other days. See how quick that country went down. Only a few years ago it stood breast to breast with other nations, it stood side by side almost with England. But it didn't have any respect for the Sabbath: it trampled God's message under foot, and when the hour of battle came, God left them alone. My friends, every nation that tramples the Sabbath under its feet must go to ruin. Are you innocent or guilty? Do you keep the Sabbath day holy or not? I have been talking to those car conductors-and if there's any class of men I pity more than another it is them-and they have to work on the Sabbath. Some of you are breaking this law by coming down here on Sunday in the cars. What will you do? Foot it. It will be better for you. I make a point of never allowing myself to break the Sabbath of any man. When I was in London, and it's a pretty big city, you know, in my ignorance I made arrangements to preach four times at different places one Sunday. After I had made the appointments I found I had to walk sixteen miles, and I walked it, and I slept that night with a clear conscience. I want no hackman to rise up in judgment against me. My friends, if we want to help the Sabbath, let business men and Christians never patronize cars on the Sabbath. I would hate to own stock in those horse-car companies, to be the means of taking the Sabbath from these men, and have to answer for it at the day of judgment. No man can work seven days a week and save his soul. And the very best thing we have is being taken from these men by us Christians. Are you willing to step into the balance and be weighed against "Thou shalt keep the Sabbath day holy."

Well, there is the fifth: "Honour thy father and mother." Are you ready to be weighed against this? Have you honored them? Is there anyone here to-night who is dishonouring fa