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The Common
AUGUST, 192?
er
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r. Bryan's
Bible Talks
A PBUNKEN MNG HEARS HIS POCM
By WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN -, .
.;
BIBLE TEXT--LESSON FOR JULY 16
, (Daniel v;17-28) '
.I'Jif'rt Daniel answered 'and said befdrd tile king,
if ihv trifts be to thytfclf, and give thy rewards to
InMlcr vet I will, read tho "writing- unto t,he king,
Ta make known to him the interpretation.
n Soil king, the most high God gave Nebuchad
nezzar thy father a kingdom, and. majesty, and
finrv anil honour:
And for the majesty that he gave htm, all peo
nies nations, and languages, lembled and retired
before him: whom he would he slow: and' whom he
would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up;
and whom ho would he put down.
But when his heart was lifted up. and his mind
hardened in pride, he was deposed from his klng
y throne, and they took his glory from him: -
And he was driven from the sons of men; and his
heart Was made like the beasts, and his dwelling
wafe with the wild asses: they fed him with grass
like oxen, and his body was wet with dew of
heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled
In the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over
It whomsoever he will.
And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled
thine heart, though thou knowest all this;
But has lifted up thyself against the Lord of
heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his
house before thee, 'and thou, and thy lords, thy
wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in
them; and thou hast praised tho gods of silver, and
gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not,
nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy
breath Is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou
not glorified: '
Then was the part of the hand-sent from him;
and this writing was written.
And this is the writing that was written, $IENE,
MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
This Is the interpretation of the thing: MENE;
God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and
art found wanting.
PERES: Thy kingdom Is divided, and given to
the Medes and Persians.
With the advocatesof wines. and beer clamor
ing to have the manufacture-and sale of these
Intoxicants legalized in this country, it is most
appropriate that we consider at this time the
Bible's greatest lesson against drink in any form.
It is set forth in one of the most graphic and
famous chapters of the entire Bible.
But before we make application to the drink
problem, let us consider the facts as they are
related in this fifth chapter of Daniel. The great
prophet never measured up more fully to the re
quirements of his high calling tliau on this oc
casion when, unabashed and unafraid, he inter
preted to a trembling ruler the fateful decree of
Jehovah. .
Our text deals with the feast of Belshazzar,
jroo knew full well the punishment visited upon
Nebuchadnezzar, wlioni the text .calls his father,
or his sins. He had no .excuse for his wrong do-ing--any
more than the son of a drunken father
jas for drunkenness. He had even less excuse,
because Nebuchadnezzar's punishment was fol
lowed by repentance and Belshazzar had this fact
las well as Nebuchadnezzar's sins) before him
wnen he entered upon Lis lordship over Babylon.
HISTORY'S MOST FAMOUS FEAST
nn?Ut ?olsnazzar was a worshipper of the body
WQ yielded to all the temptations that come
through the flesh,
h,aT tlle hight in question he had assembled a
inousand of his lords at a great feast and "drank
Si ?,re the thousand." Excited by the al
en 0inMUe wiue' he commanded that "the gold
new! , lver vessels which his fattier, Nebuchad
in tT ' , taken out oi the temple, which was
u Jerusalem," he brought to the feast; "that the
hnt , ,lus Princes; his wives, and his concu
m3 might drink. -therein."
historva?r thiS feast ls th0 most famous in
mrmll as maae tiie name of Belshazzar a
tlon. r wild debauches and wicked disslpa-
tadhX? wa? tUe kinS surrounded by his princes
drinkw nblos kte wives and Ms concubines,
toolaim. ?? out o tk sacred vessels that an
hong kinB had taken by force from the
Wue-WM God to the Holy City. As these
the sa drained their cups they praised
Iron III of eolland silver and brass, of
ijded !I iW00d and atone. Sacrilege was
or Go,10 bestiality; men made in the imago
toula fan ?r aescemiea as low as man
au Excess, was added to excess until
nothing was left undone to prove dcgcncracv
Buttto hour had Btruck-pltnlBhmcnit
A DRUNKEN KING'S TERROR
in the same hour came forth lingers of a
mans hand, and wrote over against the candle
stick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's
thitwrote ' tUe khlg " th PUrt f th hand
i .P11011 as he was. he had intelligence enough
eft to be awed by the moving hand that, reacn
Ing down from the unseen world, traced the ver
dict from which there was no appeal.
"Then the king's countenance was changed, and
his thoughts troubled him. so that the joints of
his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one
against another."
He called frantically for his astrologers,
Chaldeans, and soothsayers; he offered to
give to any one who would interpret the hand
writing on the wall clothes of scarlet, a chain of
go,ld and the third place in his kingdom. But
the king's wise men were impotent; they could
not read the writing, let alone interpret it. What
was to be done?
As an Israelitish maid carried to Naaman, the
leper's wife, news of Elisha's power, so at this
moment the queen-mother recalled the fame of
Daniel, who had not only interpreted Nebuchad
nezzar's dream but recalled it to the king when
he had forgotten it. She begged Belshazzar to
send for Daniel and Daniel was called.
"THOU ART FOUND WANTING"
Ho listened to the plea of the frightened Bel
shazzar, who in his distress was willing to offer
anything for an explanation. Rising to his full
height, Daniel answered him:
"Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy re
wards to another; yet I will read the writing un
to the king, and make known to him the inter
pretation." Daniel kept nothing back. He reviewed the
pride of Nebuchadnezzar and his punishment; he
confronted Bolshazzar with his sins "And thou,
his son, O Belshazzar, has not humbled thine
heart, though thou knewest all this."
He pointed out to Belshazzar how he had lifted
up himself against the Lord of heaven; how he
had brought the vessels of God's house to the
banquet hall that his lords, his wives and his con
cubines might drink wine in them; how he had
praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron,
wood and stone, "which see not, nor hear, nor
know," and had not glorified the "God in whose
hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways."
And then Daniel announced the decree
"Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin mene; God hath
numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. Tekel;
thou art weighed in the balances, and art found
wanting. Peres; thy kingdom is divided, and
given to the Medes and Persians."
SWIFT FULFILLMENT OF JUDGMENT
The king had just time enough to issue a proc
lamation giving Daniel the third place in the
kingdom an empty honor, for "in that night
was Belshazzar the king of Chaldeans slam And
Darius the Median took the kingdom.' This
prophecy was fulfilled at once; it scarcely was
uttered before the "history written in advance,
as prophecy is sometimes called, became the rec-
r w2lenMsakes in the Bible have bee? used
moMaSX. o? with greater effect. Edwin
Arnold puts the thought in verse:
There cometh forth a hand upon the atone.
Graving the symbols of a speech unknown;
Fingers like mortal fingers-leaving there
The blank wall flashing characters of fear
Ind still it glideth silently and slow.
Ind Still beneath the spectral letters glow
Now the scroll endeth-now the seal is set
Thailand ?s gone-the record tarries yet.
THE "BIG BROTHER" OF WINE AND BEER
It is an appropriate temperance lesson. aN
Jugh its application j covers all of m Htells
the story of the r"DU"" tn day It is of
kind of sin, as darkness M ow the 7 ot
special interest just .now JJ n JJ beer are
gESS dkVanfian ofindulged in without
faith, because the present
beer were too often the formor friends of the
saloon as it was, with all its vile accompany
ment. Tho bulk of thoao who, in tho name of
poraonal liberty, domand what thoy call light
wine and beer, rosiotod every effort to lessen tho
evils of tho saloon.
It required law to separate tho gambling
houie and brothel from the saloon, and tho
separation could never bo made whon those In
terested in the liquor traffic wore in control of'
the Government. Strong drink was "big broth
er" to wine and beer until tho law stopped the
manufacture and sale, of wbiaky, and tho family
will be reunited tho 'advocates of winq ana.,
beer are ever able -God forbid to carry put,
their policy. , , .. , ,.
THE BIBLE'S JNDICTMENT OF WINE J!
The Bible furuisUes us a sufficient Indictment
against wine, and the same argument Is :ap-
plicable to beer. It was wine that made Noah'a ,
drunkard, wine from, his own vineyard. Wo are
told that his sons in mortification took a gar
ment and, walking backward that they might
not see their father's nakedness, spread the gar
ment over him as he lay drunk in his tent. King
Ahasucrus was "merry with wine" whon ho com
manded that Queon, VasJitl be brought into tho ,
banquet hall that her beauty might bo exhibited ,
to drunkon revellers, It wag wine that David ,'
employed whon ho sought to conceal his own,
great sin from tho husband ot BatliBhoba. It
was wine bowls full of it that contributed to ,
the sins of those who were "at ease inZion".
when Amos thundered forth his rebukes. ,
It Is the alcohol iu wine and in other Intoxi
cating drinks that puts them all on tho same
level and makes them injurious to man, Prohi
bition is the greatest moral reform that was ever
won by the ballot; it has brought tho groatosfc
change in this country evor wrought anywhero ,
by law.
According to Prohibitior Commissioner
Haynes, it has led many millions of our people
to stop drinking; it has saved for better uses
$2,000,000,000 a year fomorly spent for intoxi
cating liquors; it has reduced tho arrests for
drunkenness throughout the nation over 00 ppp;
cent; it lias given to tho women of the land a
larger percentage of the family income -for
family expeuses than they evor had before, and
to the children better treatment; it has changed
the habits of tho people from the White Housd
to the humblest home.
THE GATEWAY TO REFORMS TO COME
In times past the President served liquors td
his guests, and intoxication among them was not
a thing unknown. Now, everywhere except in
a few wet centers, there is a decrease In drink
ing, and this decrease will become more and
more noticeable as the law is more completely'
enforced and as the sentiment back of the law
grows stronger with the years. '
A saloonless nation does not mean a sinless
nation, but total abstinence is the sure cure for
the evils that come with alcohol. Drink has not
only been the direct cause of a multitude of
evils, but the indirect cause of many others.
Prohibition Is, therefore, not only a reform it
self but also the gateway to reforms that are
yet to came, the next of which is likely to be tho
establishment of the single moral standard. So
long as the saloon existed such a reform was im
possible. With the saloon outlawed and woman
suffrage here, every righteous cause will be tri
umphant sooner and more completely.
Just as the handwriting on the wall pro
claimed the end of the rule of a wicked king, so
whenever any great evil is ripe lor overthrow.
Jehovah's hand appears and traces the words of
doom. When "the fullness of time" has come
God sounds forth the "trurapej; that shall never
call retreat" and the world moves forward to a
higher plane,
A STORY OF THE POWER OF FAITH
By .WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
BIBLE TEXT--LESSON FOR JULY 23 . .
(Daniel 6:16-23)
Then the king commanded, and they brought
Daniel, and cast him Into the dens of lions. Now
the king spako and said unto Daniel, Thy God
whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
And a stone was brought, and laid upon the
mouth of the den; and tho king sealed it with his
own signet, and with tho signet of his lords; that
the purpose might not be changed concerning
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the
night fasting: neither were instruments of rausick
brought before him: and his sleep went from him.
Then the king arose very early In the morning,
and went in haste unto the den of lions.
And when ho came to the .den, he cried with a
lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake
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