Tekel — Thou are weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
Peres — Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
If some one had told the king an hour before that the time had come when he must step into the balances and be weighed, he would have laughed at the thought. But the vital hour had come. The weighing was soon over. The verdict was announced, and the sentence carried out.
“In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain, and Darius the Median took the kingdom.” Darius and his army came marching down those streets. There was a clash of arms. Shouts of war and victory rent the air. That night the king’s blood mingled with the wine of the banquet hall. Judgment came upon him unexpectedly, suddenly: the probably ninety-nine out of every hundred judgments come in this way. Death comes upon us unexpectedly; it comes upon us suddenly.
Perhaps you say: “I hope Mr. Moody is not going to compare me with that heathen king.”
I tell you that a man who does evil in these Gospel days is far worse than that king. We live in a land of Bibles. You can get the New Testament for a nickel, and if you haven’t got a nickel you can get it for nothing. Many societies will be glad to give it to you free. We live in the full blaze of Calvary. We live on this side of the cross, but Belshazzar lived more than five hundred years on the other side. He never heard of Jesus Christ. He never heard about the Son of God. He never heard about God except, perhaps, in connection with his father’s remarkable vision. He probably had no portion of the Bible, and if he had, probably he didn’t believe it. He had no godly minister to point him to the Lamb of God.
Don’t tell me that you are better than that king. I believe that he will rise in judgment and condemn many of us.
All of this happened long centuries ago. Let us get down to this century, to this year, to ourselves. We will come to the present time. Let us imagine that now, while I am preaching, down come some balances from the throne of God. They are fastened to the very throne itself. It is a throne of equity, of justice. You and I must be weighed. I venture to say this would be a very solemn audience. There would be no trifling. There would be no indifference. No one would be thoughtless.
Some people have their own balances. A great many are making balances to be weighed in. But after all we must be weighed in God’s balances, the balances of the sanctuary. It is a favorite thing with infidels to set their own standard, to measure themselves by other people. But that will not do in the Day of Judgment. Now we will use God’s law as a balance weight. When men find fault with the lives of professing Christians, it is a tribute to the law of God.
“Tekel.” It is a very short text. It is so short I am sure you will remember it: and what is my object, just to get people to remember God’s own Word.
D.L. Moody
Peres — Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
If some one had told the king an hour before that the time had come when he must step into the balances and be weighed, he would have laughed at the thought. But the vital hour had come. The weighing was soon over. The verdict was announced, and the sentence carried out.
“In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain, and Darius the Median took the kingdom.” Darius and his army came marching down those streets. There was a clash of arms. Shouts of war and victory rent the air. That night the king’s blood mingled with the wine of the banquet hall. Judgment came upon him unexpectedly, suddenly: the probably ninety-nine out of every hundred judgments come in this way. Death comes upon us unexpectedly; it comes upon us suddenly.
Perhaps you say: “I hope Mr. Moody is not going to compare me with that heathen king.”
I tell you that a man who does evil in these Gospel days is far worse than that king. We live in a land of Bibles. You can get the New Testament for a nickel, and if you haven’t got a nickel you can get it for nothing. Many societies will be glad to give it to you free. We live in the full blaze of Calvary. We live on this side of the cross, but Belshazzar lived more than five hundred years on the other side. He never heard of Jesus Christ. He never heard about the Son of God. He never heard about God except, perhaps, in connection with his father’s remarkable vision. He probably had no portion of the Bible, and if he had, probably he didn’t believe it. He had no godly minister to point him to the Lamb of God.
Don’t tell me that you are better than that king. I believe that he will rise in judgment and condemn many of us.
All of this happened long centuries ago. Let us get down to this century, to this year, to ourselves. We will come to the present time. Let us imagine that now, while I am preaching, down come some balances from the throne of God. They are fastened to the very throne itself. It is a throne of equity, of justice. You and I must be weighed. I venture to say this would be a very solemn audience. There would be no trifling. There would be no indifference. No one would be thoughtless.
Some people have their own balances. A great many are making balances to be weighed in. But after all we must be weighed in God’s balances, the balances of the sanctuary. It is a favorite thing with infidels to set their own standard, to measure themselves by other people. But that will not do in the Day of Judgment. Now we will use God’s law as a balance weight. When men find fault with the lives of professing Christians, it is a tribute to the law of God.
“Tekel.” It is a very short text. It is so short I am sure you will remember it: and what is my object, just to get people to remember God’s own Word.
D.L. Moody
I cross all denominational lines now understanding the Song of Songs. I realize the Queens and concubines in Solomon's song can be seen as allegory for different denominations. All scripture is God breathed, though Solomon's song was to a woman he loved deeply, it is actually God's song for His elect and reveals the collective thoughts of the Elect toward God. Its imagery has metaphors and allegories. Queens being those who have Rites and concubines which do not but help spread the gospel in a more simplistic way- from a pulpit not having all the bells and whistles of the older assemblies. They are not in queen status so, do not have the same clout as the Queens. Queen denominations have Rites and honor the queen mother of Christ, concubines don't have such practices but do not bash the mother of Christ, they simply make less mention of her. Concubines do not raise up those who are called firstfruits= those who are part of the first resurrection. There are two resurrections.