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[0:01] Begin our service this morning by singing from Psalm 119, Psalm 119 and verse 33.

[0:17] We sing the whole of this section of the Psalm, Psalm 119 and verse 33. Teach me, O Lord, the perfect way of thy precepts divine, and to observe it to the end I shall my heart incline.

[0:36] Give understanding unto me, so keep thy law shall I, yea, even with my whole heart I shall observe it carefully. In thy law's path make me to go, for I delight therein, my heart unto thy testimonies and not to greed incline.

[0:56] Turn thou away my sight and eyes from viewing vanity, and in thy good and holy way be pleased to quicken me. Confident to me thy gracious word, which I did gladly hear, even to thy servant, Lord, who is devoted to thy fear.

[1:15] Turn thou away my feared reproach, for good thy judgments be. Lo, for thy precepts I have longed, and thy truth quicken me.

[1:27] So on, we shall sing these words from the section of Psalm 119. Teach me, O Lord, the perfect way of thy precepts divine.

[1:39] Teach me, O Lord, the perfect way of thy precepts divine.

[2:03] Tいう, for God, the perfect way of thy door Irre carry. Tいう, for God is not to obtain. It's all to optimal sound. L is not to meditate. palabra Tom 풀 me, O Lord, the perfect way of thy thee is.

[2:15] I Ihnen譜bred by Tom Holyک, O Lord, the perfect way of thy Win whirre by Montanier. Come my heart and climb. Give the curse of me come to me.

[2:35] Lord, keep thy love shall I. Give with my whole heart I shall.

[2:56] All shall be carefully. And thy thoughts not make me true.

[3:15] For I give thy love and end.

[3:26] My heart unto thy flesh for me.

[3:36] I know to be divine. Turn thou away my sight of eyes.

[3:57] From the earth with my death in. And in thy good and holy way.

[4:17] Give me true with the being.

[4:28] Contempt to be a night. Dionysius Lord. Which I did not hear.

[4:48] Here to thy intentions. And more to this, Give old day to thy dear.

[5:10] Charmed thou with my dear great Lord, For good thy justice be.

[5:29] O for thy precepts I have longed, And thy truth will be.

[5:50] Let us join together in prayer. Let us pray. Your blessed God help us to come into your presence with that prayer that was on the lips of your servant.

[6:09] He desired that you would teach him from your holy precepts, from your word. And that that teaching would remain with him all the days of his life.

[6:27] And it is a prayer that every one of us should have, no matter who we are, that we would be willing to receive the instruction of our God, which is received from your word.

[6:46] And we pray that we would have teachable spirits. And that you would guide us in the path of life. And that our footsteps would follow.

[6:57] Even the footsteps of others who have gone before us, whose lives were so ordered. We give thanks that we are met around your word today.

[7:10] And that you are able to speak to us from your word. And that as we sit under its teaching, that we would see the scriptures of the Old and New Testament as another before saw the scriptures.

[7:30] The words of the Old Testament as the lips of God speaking. The word of the Old Testament and the word of the New. Two lips that speak the word of the only living and true God.

[7:45] We give thanks that we have met as we are today. We are privileged to be able to gather as we do.

[7:56] We are sensitive to that privileges in the way that we were denied it for so long. We are not able to meet in public.

[8:09] We are not able to gather in worship in public with those who had a like mind. We are not able to praise your name collectively.

[8:22] Even though we are able to worship in our homes with others, sometimes by ourselves. But there is a special blessing afforded us when we fulfill the divine mandate.

[8:39] We pray that you would bless our gathering.

[8:52] And that the windows of heaven would open. And that you would pour out upon us your own blessing.

[9:03] We give thanks for all who are present from the youngest to the oldest. We marvel that you are able to speak to some who are of few gears.

[9:21] And just as surely at that very moment speak to others who are of maturity. Just yesterday we were told of someone who, as we stood around a grave that marked the resting place of an infant of just a few days.

[9:46] And someone said of that passing, that a sibling who was just of one or two years of age, who had that memory impressed upon them of a mourning family.

[10:07] And that memory would seem to be something that could not have possibly been retained and yet it was. The retentive ability that we have is mysterious in many respects.

[10:23] But do not allow us to overlook the impressionable heart and mind of our young people. That it is something that you are able to touch in a way that is not just something that is a present experience.

[10:46] But a lifelong experience. Retained and perhaps used of the God of heaven for the salvation of a soul.

[10:59] We pray that you would magnify your name amongst us in speaking to our young people, our children. May we learn to pray for them as we are reminded even as we bring our children for the sacrament of baptism.

[11:17] The burden that you place upon parents, upon grandparents, upon the worshipping church. May we pray for the sins of the church. To bear them upon the shoulders of prayer. Do not allow us to neglect that.

[11:29] Even in such cases as that may be a charge that can be laid upon us. That we are negligent. Do not allow your people to neglect what you have given to us by way of privilege.

[11:44] To bear one another's burdens. To remember the homes and the families that surround us in these villages of which we form a part.

[11:56] So bless us together then as we wait upon you. In this act of worship remember every home and family represented. Every need that is known and many that are not.

[12:10] We pray for those that are dealing with ill health and who have cares and concerns for themselves and for others. We pray that you would be near to all such and bring healing where it is in accordance with your will.

[12:28] Bring grace to a company where healing is not immediate or evident or possible. We give thanks for those that you have endowed with skill.

[12:42] Endowed with skill of the caring professions, nurses and doctors and physicians of all kinds. We pray that you would guide their hands as they minister to them.

[12:53] We remember before you those who are grieving. You are grieving. Your voice has been heard in recent days within our communities. Telling us of our own sojourn here in this world.

[13:08] You take from us those that we know. Those that we grew up with. Those whose families we interacted with. You take them out of that sphere of influence and that interaction.

[13:25] And there are those who are left to mourn their passing. We bring them before you and ask that you would comfort them. Thankful that you are the God of all comfort.

[13:37] Lord, we pray for our nation. We pray for our nation. And remember our predicament at the present, which seems to be ongoing and prolonged.

[13:49] We bring before you the government of the day, both in Holyrood and in Westminster. And remembering the governments of the land throughout the world.

[14:02] We are thankful that we can see the wise, powerful government of God overarching all that is done, even in the face of defiance and ridicule.

[14:17] Your will will be done. And no matter who do their utmost to thwart it and deny it, the day will fast hasten when there will be one sovereign who will hold out the rod of your great power and bring all to their knees before you.

[14:41] Even in the person of Jesus Christ who sits upon the throne of the universe and before whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord.

[14:54] We pray that you would remember all the evils that are done in this world, that you would bring them to naught and that you would sanctify the good that is done.

[15:06] That souls may cry out for mercy and you as God may respond to them. We pray for the nations that are suffering from want, where there are great trials ongoing.

[15:22] We pray for Afghanistan and the trouble that is there and the Yemen and various nations that are not so much in the news of the present and yet there is much suffering going on there.

[15:37] In particular we pray for them that you would bless them and that you would bless them and bring them to a conscious awareness of God's near presence in all that they are suffering.

[15:56] So continue with us the short time that we are together. We pray your blessing on the Sunday school as it meets and on our teachers and as they meet together for this first time in this term we pray that they would know that you have not changed.

[16:12] Your word is still the word of the living God and that they are privileged to have it read to them and spoken of and may it enrich their lives even in their youth.

[16:27] Go before us and grant mercy for our sins in Jesus name. Amen. We are going to hear the word of God as we have it in the Old Testament scriptures and we are reading from the book of Daniel.

[16:42] Daniel chapter 5. It is a familiar account to many. But we can't read the whole chapter. It is a fairly long chapter but we can't read it.

[16:55] Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar while he tasted the wine commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem.

[17:15] That the king and his princes, his wives and his concubines might drink therein. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem.

[17:27] And the king and his princes, his wives and his concubines drank in them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood and of stone.

[17:39] In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. And the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

[17:53] Then the king's countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him. So that the joints of his loins were loosed and his knees smoked one against another.

[18:04] The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans and the Southseers. And the king spake and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing and show me the interpretation thereof shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

[18:25] Then came in all the king's wise men. But they could not read the writing nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonished.

[18:43] Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house. And the queen spake and said, O king, live forever. Let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed.

[18:57] There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. And in the days of thy father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods was found in him, whom the king Nebradneser, thy father, the king, I say thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans and Southseers, forasmuch as an excellent spirit of knowledge and understanding, interpreting of dreams and showing of hard sentences and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel whom the king named Belshazzar.

[19:35] Now let Daniel be called and he will show the interpretations. Then was Daniel brought in before the king, and the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of duty?

[19:52] I have even heard of thee that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. Now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof.

[20:12] But they could not show the interpretation of the thing. And I have heard of thee that thou canst make interpretations and dissolve doubts. Now if thou canst read the writing and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold above thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.

[20:35] Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another. Yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

[20:48] O thou kingdom, O high God, give Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour, and for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him.

[21:03] Whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive, and whom he would he set up, and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne.

[21:19] And he took his glory from him, and he was driven from his sons of men. And his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses.

[21:30] They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the 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.

[21:42] And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart. O thou knewest all this, but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven, and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee.

[21:55] And thou and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them. And thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know.

[22:09] 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.

[22:20] And this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written. Many, many, take ill through parson. This is the interpretation of the thing.

[22:31] Many, God hath numbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it. Take ill thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. Peris, thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

[22:45] Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

[22:58] In that night was Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans, slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

[23:11] Amen. And may the Lord add his blessing to this reading of his word and to his name be praised.

[23:23] Well, before we sing the next sermon, the children go out just a word to the children. When we're reading the Bible, we're meant to remember that the Bible is God's word.

[23:38] Sometimes there are parts of it that we think is just a story book, because it's full of stories.

[23:50] Stories such as the one that we've read here, that are quite remarkable and interesting, and we want to know more about what the story is saying.

[24:03] But the thing we must remember is that even though there are stories, there is narrative, there is history, there is poetry, there is all kinds of different literary forms, that it is one book, and it is God's book, the word of God.

[24:24] And like anything that is true about God, it's important, it's special. And Jesus reminds us in the way that he handles God's word, the way that he speaks about God's word, that this word is a special word.

[24:42] And he says in one place, this word, God's word will not be broken. In other words, no matter what man says about this word, and men and women, and often boys and girls are saying this word is not true.

[25:00] What this word is saying can't be true. There are stories here that can't be believed, but Jesus says this is God's word, and it will prove itself to be true.

[25:12] And Jesus teaches us that by the way that he himself reads the word and preaches from the word and quotes from the Bible again and again.

[25:27] Even when he was dying on the cross, what did you hear Jesus say? He quoted from the Bible, the words of the scripture, because they were precious to them.

[25:41] Now many people today disbelieve what Jesus believed. But he believed the stories of the Old Testament. He believed the story that we find so difficult in many respects to believe, to believe because of how dramatic it is and how incredible it is that a hand could appear from nowhere and write on the wall.

[26:07] And yet Jesus believed this to have happened. He believed that Jonah was swallowed by a big fish. And he quotes from the Bible and tells us that that is what happened.

[26:22] There are many stories that people disbelieve that Jesus deliberately refers to when he speaks about the Bible.

[26:33] And when you're going out to Sunday school today, you're going out, I hope, to learn something from the Bible. And the most important thing that you can take with you is this, that what you are being taught, Jesus was taught.

[26:50] As a little boy, he was taught from the Bible. His mother taught in the scripture. He was brought to church to the place of worship. And he was taught from the Bible.

[27:02] And he learned what the Bible had to say. And these are the things just like the words of the psalmist that we sang to begin with.

[27:14] These were the things that were imprinted in his heart. And that he kept them with him all his days. And I hope that will be true about you and what you learned in Sunday school today.

[27:29] Well, we're going to sing as you go out. And remember, I don't know how you manage to be as orderly as this, but you go out one seat at a time.

[27:40] And you look at Mr. McKeever there and he'll tell you who to go and how to go. We're going to sing from Psalm 76. Psalm 76.

[27:57] And at verse 7.

[28:36] Sing these verses.

[28:51] From verse 7 of Psalm 76. Oh Lord, even though not he that should be feared. O Lord, even though not he that should be feared unto the sea, That fish and doubt before thy sight, In the waters of the sea.

[29:38] From heaven the judgment could be heard. The earth was still with fear.

[29:55] When God to judge and rule to stand, On weep on earth that bear.

[30:12] Truly the daddy brought all of mine, Unto thy history judge, Thou turnst a friend, And all his heart, With every sickness.

[30:47] Thou choose the Lord, Your God and faith, Only the mearing being, Bring gifts and presence unto him, For to be feared to see.

[31:22] By him the Lord, By him the sire shall keep the dawn, Of those that bring the dawn, And to the kings that are on earth, He feared for the dawn, And to the kings that are on earth, And to the kings that are on earth.

[32:05] Now we're going to return to the passage, In the Old Testament Scriptures, The book of Daniel. And we can look at verse 24 onwards, the whole context of these words.

[32:22] Then was the part of the hand sent from him, and this writing was written, and this is the writing that was written, Many, many takele a person.

[32:34] This is the interpretation of the thing. Many, God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it. Takele the word, wait in the balances, and art found wanting.

[32:44] Paris, thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. The opening verses describe to us a party like no other, a great feast given to a thousand of his lords.

[33:11] I don't know if that means a thousand lords, or a thousand plus, because it speaks of wives and concubines over and above that number, perhaps.

[33:26] Belgeshire, the king, had made a great feast to which he had invited many. And he was intent on impressing those invited.

[33:38] And after he was under the influence of much wine, he called for his servants to bring in the gold and silver vessels, which his father, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken out of the temple, which was in Jerusalem.

[34:00] And what better than to fill these vessels with wine and carry on the revelry? It didn't trouble him that his actions were profane.

[34:17] It didn't trouble him that his actions were blasphemous. And that these vessels, which had an original purpose to which God had sanctified them, was ignored.

[34:37] And he compounded that sin with the sin of idolatry. Because, as we read on in this chapter, he used them to offer worship to the gods who were his gods, no doubt.

[35:02] Anyway, that is a sort of background to what took place. And it's almost, almost as if you're reading this account of a very brief summary of this great event.

[35:21] And all of a sudden, this event comes to an end. You read that in verse 4, they drank wine, praised the gods of gold and silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

[35:41] And then, in that same hour, came forth fingers of a man's hand and roped over against a candlestick. At that very moment, when they were in the height of their enjoyment, men and women, one moment, experiencing ecstatic pleasure in their wantonness, and it all comes to an end.

[36:14] It all stops. I'm not sure myself from reading this passage whether the effect of, I'm sure the effect of what took place touched everyone present.

[36:32] But what we read is that the king, the king saw the part of the hand that roped. It doesn't mention that everybody present saw the hand right.

[36:47] but the king certainly saw it and the king was certainly affected by what he saw. His countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him so that the joints of his loins were loosed and his knees smoked one against the other.

[37:06] A very graphic picture of someone in the grip of fear. And he called for his wise men, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, the surseers, and he invites them to read this writing.

[37:24] So clearly, whether they saw the hand or not, they saw the writing that was on the wall. And they also saw how it affected him.

[37:38] the way things affect us.

[37:50] Sometimes, we as individuals are affected by events that others are left unmoved by.

[38:01] Others are left untouched by. when I was looking at this preparing this, I was reminded of my own foolish days.

[38:12] And I was, like many others, somebody who took delight in going to parties and dances and so on.

[38:23] and I remember with shame how I felt whenever a planned dance was brought to an end.

[38:36] The plan was not fulfilled because there was a death in the community and still to this day we respect death in that way.

[38:48] we pay homage to the fact that there is a voice that needs to be heeded and whatever activities are planned this takes preeminence.

[39:02] But in my foolishness the loss of the enjoyment was far much a greater cause for my grief than the voice of death.

[39:15] death. And I remember feeling shame for a while at that feeling because of the way I felt because I had not thought about the grief that others were enduring because of the fact that the reason I wasn't allowed to go and enjoy myself as I planned was that somebody somewhere had a broken heart some whom had been affected by death and that thought didn't last long.

[39:55] Yes there was shame on my part and shame on the part of others that that's the way they thought but that's the way we are you see by nature I'm not saying everybody thought the way I did and I know that there were some who were affected differently by death when it came into the locality but I know that some of those who were probably wiser than I was then and more sensitive than I was then they still live to this day as far as I know in ignorance of the gospel and in ignorance of Christ and in ignorance of who God is and that makes me wonder that makes me feel that this God is a God of mercy I didn't deserve to have somebody who lived their life neglecting

[40:56] God denying God disregarding the salvation that the gospel had to offer that at any point in my experience I would be allowed to come to know this Christ for myself and yet in the wisdom of God in the mercy of God in the grace of God I was one such person whereas others were not and are not but here we have somebody and that somebody and God visits him in this way a very real way because by his very demeanour he recognises that there is something supernatural taking place his whole demeanour has changed he's shaking like a leaf his knees are knocking he's terrified and he answers to this terror in the only way that he knows how to he looks to his soothsayers he brings his magicians now he should have known better because we know that

[42:05] Nebuchadnezzar was somebody who was his relative that he would know the story of Daniel in his own way and when we read this account here of his speech to Daniel you know it shows his ignorance because he in no way acknowledges the God of Daniel to be the only living and true God we read in verse 11 there is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods and in the days of thy father light and understanding and so on there is somebody there a queen mother who is thought to have been well the queen she is identified by historians as the queen mother possibly the widow of Nebuchadnezzar so a whole interesting story there is a background to this story which is not told and I think

[43:10] I can mention it because when we spoke to the children of the scripture of the old testament and the new testament as being a word from God the word of God the only living and true God speaking to us through this word many have denied passages of the scripture such as this one because the account that we have did not accord for a time with the historical revelations that they had in their possession because here we have and it's interesting the way it is did you notice when you read this account you read of this king who is speaking of himself as a king and when he makes the offer to Daniel to be a king himself almost he is only allowed to make him the third person in power he doesn't make him second well he makes him second to himself but third in power and that itself is a discreet statement that doesn't make a lot of sense unless you start wondering why does he speak of

[44:36] Daniel or to Daniel in this way and many have found it difficult they would point to this passage and they say well there's no mention of this person Belshazzar in the history books and for a long time this was proof positive that the bible couldn't be believed and yet in the 19th century archaeologists who were researching on behalf of a British university around the outskirts of Babylon they found an obelisk and on this obelisk was recorded the name of Belshazzar and he was described as a son of Nabonidus a son of Nebuchadnezzar before that there was no knowledge of him but here archaeologists found themselves to confirm what the bible was saying no I'm not saying that we need archaeology to prove the bible that's not what I'm saying but I'm reminding you that there are many people today who believe that archaeology and history and men in their wisdom have disproved the word of God they have done no such thing and rather than looking to archaeology to prove the bible it's the bible that proves what the archaeologists are discovering the word of god was written thousands of years ago before these people made these discoveries and it's only on these discoveries being made that the bible has been shown to be right all along and this is just one example of it some people treat the scripture with a great deal of scepticism because they can't find the proofs that they would want to confirm what the bible is saying anyway that's just one instance and we have it here we have it here that this person who is not recognised as a descendant of

[47:05] Nebuchadnezzar but it turns out that is Nebuchadnezzar's son Nebuchadnezzar on on Aetis according to the cuneiform writings on these obelisks he had that king had gone on a journey and he had left his son Belshazzar rolling in his stead temporarily and during that temporary time this event occurs and archaeologists have discovered that to be the fact they don't deny the destruction that was wrought with the coming of Darius the meat that is there for them to acknowledge and they have to acknowledge but the scripture contains it and tells it to you and me this is how it is is it how it was this is the background to what took place and that extra information is there for us if we want to clean it anyway what we see there is one moment there is a great festivity great enjoyment people involved in the desecration of God's name and the items that were consecrated to his worship treated with disdain and his name treated with disrespect as so often happens to this day people take delight in denying

[49:00] God and pouring scorn on his name and doing that at will and thinking that they can do it with impunity and yet here in this passage just one statement tells us that it is God who will bring them to account this person here he looks at Daniel and he says he's going to bribe Daniel he's going to offer Daniel the world for as much of it as he's allowed to give to him and all Daniel has to do is pay homage to him and Daniel recognises that he has not the capacity to bestow anything on him because God has already spoken about him and what does God say to him when he puts the writing on the wall you remind yourself of this as well there are two statements here and their current currency in secular society that is the statement the writing was on the wall very often used in current day secular terminology not one of them acknowledged to be of biblical origin and the same is true about what

[50:34] Daniel says of this person that that God was going to the writing was on the wall and that he was going to meet with God very quickly look at the words of this text in verse 25 we read many many and then take him and then who pass him many many now some of the commentators make the point that when you look at this writing the wall that the reason that they didn't recognize it or understand what it said was that it was written in a certain forum so that there was a word play taking place where the words were written almost as one long word rather than several whether that is the case or not the first part of what was said is interpreted for us by

[51:52] Daniel himself this is the interpretation of the thing many God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it it's the second statement that we have that's current in current use your days are numbered where does that come from it comes from here writing was on the wall and your days are numbered Daniel is saying to the king your days are numbered the days of your kingdom are numbered who has numbered who has numbered the days God has and that's the thing repetition for emphasis and your kingdom is going to come to an end and it's a I think you have to look at these words and look at them in the immediate context this man was king he was lord over this party this celebration this feast and he wanted to show himself to be in charge in control and he wanted to establish his reputation in the way that he went about doing that and

[53:19] Daniel said you're going to discover that your kingdom your life is going to come to an end more quickly than you realise the mystery of God's will is there for all of us to see and when we look at the way God works and he may tell us or choose not to tell us what our future holds he may elaborate on the content of our future and disclose it to us in ways that are mysterious or he may choose to keep that hidden from us he can do that and he can choose not to reveal the fact of the matter is however we look at this death is universal and judgment is certain

[54:27] I don't know which would said that as far as death was concerned this was true it was 100% certain that all would die there's no getting away from it so in a sense Daniel didn't need to be a prophet to say this God didn't need to reveal this truth to them but this was a truth that was so far away from Belshazzar that he was totally oblivious to the reality of it and totally unprepared for it unwilling to acknowledge the possibility and unprepared to close sin with the outcome once it came his way now you don't have to be young and foolish you don't need to be planning a great party or a festival or feast to have this truth brought home to you that very often when

[55:46] God brings their lives to an end we're not prepared for it there is a sense in which every one of us is in the same boat if we are not looking to the word of God to inform us you know there are many people and we've all experienced instances of this and they've been on their death bed for a long time we've seen and heard of people who were poorly and their death was imminent and we were told that and yet the dying process took so long but it was still inevitable and that inevitability came to fruition that's not always the way it is because there are people and we've had them in our lives and they've been removed from our company removed from our families removed from our workplaces and they were not ready to die they were not prepared doesn't matter there may be a sense in which some were very like this person who lived a religious life in the sense that he had no regard for

[57:23] God the God of heaven the God of Daniel and nor did he have an interest in that God there are some who are like that but not everybody is like that but still when death comes if they have not made their peace with God through Jesus Christ the state of their soul is an unprepared state they are not ready they are not ready to meet God as their maker they are not ready to meet the God who is the quick judge of the quick and the dead that's the thing and for a great many the privileged position of being told is not sufficient for them to make their peace with God through Christ and when that happens well this story tells us how quickly things changed scales upon which precious metals gold silver are placed and our weight is placed on the other scale and they're balanced whatever the weight of the precious metal is you're given the gold or the silver that compares to that and in this image that we have

[59:25] God is describing to us through the words that he issues through Daniel of how this person is going to meet God he's going to be put in the scales he's going to see how he measures up against God's demand or requirement and there are many people I suppose and they're happy at that thought they think when that happens to me that's fair enough I've got a good chance when God puts me in the scale you know I've been a good person not been a bad person I've never harmed anyone I've been a good mother a good father good son and a good daughter and in their mind they're thinking well when it comes to it

[60:25] God wants me I'm ready I'm there to stand before them and I've got a good chance of being alright well that's fine if you're alright it's based on one thing not what you are or what you would want to be or what you wear on one thing whether you have a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ whether you stand before God as he assesses you as a person as someone who has come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ who is the only person that God looks at and looks at in order to cover a sinful race with his own righteousness with his own holiness with his own purity with his own obedience with his own perfections because if you're there with your own what you are your righteousness your goodness your perfections the scales are going to be tilted against you you are not going to fulfil what you believe is adequate to

[61:59] God because it can't be just one thought and that is if it were possible for any person here to appear in the presence of God on the basis of what they are or who they have become why would God permit his son to come into the world to die on the cross if there was a possibility that men and women could on the basis of their own obedience or their own goodness or their own walk in life that they would have an adequacy of life that would please God that's not what the Bible teaches anyway and the Bible teaches what men and women don't want to believe they they they don't want to believe that there is a justice that there is a just God that there is the scales by which he will he will test all men and all women they would rather not believe that and whether they would rather believe it or not it's neither here nor there

[63:14] God's word tells us this is how it's going to be and the day will come when every man woman and child will appear in the presence of God be they infants or be they of mature years in the wisdom of God they will appear in his presence and those who are in Christ will be considered by God as his for all eternity and those who have chosen not to they will die in their sins of harsh and divided he says Paris thy kingdom is divided and given to the meats and the Persians all he had would be taken from him even his very soul some reckon that it is a complicated as I said play of words here but in one of the commentators his opinion is simply this the doom is announced and the ground upon which it rests is declared and the means by which it is carried out follows the

[64:30] Persians there is the meat lying in wait the rejection of God carries those who reject God it is something that is done at great cost and no matter how much you choose to live your life believing that that is not going to weigh against you it will some of the commentators and I'll finish off with this quote a poem I'm not sure they don't name who the poet is but this is what the poem says there is a time we know not when a place we know not where that marks the destiny of man in glory or despair there is a line by us and sin that crosses every path the hidden boundary between

[65:36] God's patience and his wrath in this case the boundary was crossed God was patient as long as this man lived but the point came where God said so far and no further but however that point is reached it will be reached whenever it is reached it will be reached and those who are in Christ are assured that the God who is their God and Christ who is their portion will assure them that what awaits them is beyond compare those who have reached this point and who know not Christ will know to answer to God who will require them to answer to them only one thing will tip the balance in our favour and that is our putting our trust in the Lord and Saviour

[66:49] Jesus Christ for time and for eternity may he bless to us these few thoughts let us pray Lord help us to believe that there is a day of reckoning awaiting each of us and no matter how circumspect our life may be and how much we believe ourselves to be of the chosen number who are especially favoured if we are not especially favoured by you our God then we will be sorely disappointed grant to us in your mercy and in your grace to have a knowledge of Christ that would ensure that the path that we are on is a path that will redound to your glory and for eternal betterment continue with us blessing all that is done in your name in Jesus name we ask all things

[67:52] Amen concluding Psalm 62 Psalm 62 at verse 9 surely men mean men are vanity and great men are alive in balance lay the holy are more light than vanity trust ye not in oppression in robbery be not vain on wealth set not your hearts when as increased as you gain God hath it spoken once to me yea this I heard again that power to almighty God alone doth appertain yea mercy also unto thee belongs O Lord alone for thou according to his work hath rewardest every one Psalm 62 and from verse 9 surely men are vanity and great men are alive surely men are vanity and great men are are

[69:10] God do come if you are or life and progress for to see they are in all new The End God has this broken ones to me

[70:15] It is the church again That power to the Almighty God And the Lord you have not heard in The mercy of God So unto thee He loves no Lord alone For the Lord for the Lord To His Word Rewardeth Every one May the grace, mercy, and peace

[71:19]  Through God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit Rest and abide with you all now and always Amen