18
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene
cries of fear. A wild cry from the frantic king rang out in the assembly,
calling for some one to come and read the writing. The wise men were
called in, but those mystic characters were as strange to them as to the
others.
Then the queen-mother remembered Daniel, who, so many years
before, had made known to king Nebuchadnezzar his forgotten dream
and its interpretation. Standing before that gorgeous, terror-stricken
throng, the prophet of God reminded the king of Nebuchadnezzar’s
sin and fall, and reproved him for his own crimes. Then turning to
the writing on the wall, he read the message from Heaven. The hand
was gone, but four terrible words were left. With bated breath the
people waited as Daniel announced their meaning: “Mene, Mene,
Tekel, Upharsin:” “God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished
it;” “thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting;” “thy
kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” [
Daniel
5:25-28
.]
Just as surely as there was a Witness at the feast of Belshazzar,
there is also a Witness in every scene of sacrilegious mirth, and just
as surely is the recording angel writing, “Thou art weighed in the
balances, and art found wanting.”
Intemperance is on the increase, in spite of the efforts made to
control it. We cannot be too earnest in seeking to hinder its progress, to
raise the fallen, and shield the weak from temptation. With our feeble
human hands we can do but little, but we have an unfailing Helper.
We must not forget that the arm of Christ can reach to the very depths
of human woe and degradation. He can give us help to conquer even
this terrible demon of intemperance.
But it is in the home that the real work must begin. The greatest
burden rests upon those who have the responsibility of educating the
youth, of forming their character. Here is a work for mothers, in
helping their children to form correct habits and pure tastes, to develop
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moral stamina, true moral worth. Teach them that they are not to be
swayed by others, that they are not to yield to wrong influences, but
to influence others for good, to ennoble and elevate those with whom
they associate. Teach them that if they connect themselves with God,
they will have strength from him to resist the fiercest temptations.
In the Babylonian court, Daniel was surrounded by allurements
to sin, but by the help of Christ he maintained his integrity. He who