Dan. v. 27. Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found
wanting.
THE words before us were uttered in reference to a single individual, Belshazzar, king of Babylon, whose open acts most fully attested the truth of the allegation contained in them. But God discerns the heart, and weighs every man in his unerring balance ; and, though he do not now declare the result of his examination, as he then did, by a written testimony that shall be seen of men, he records it in the book of his remembrance, and will make it known, con- cerning every one of us, in the last day. Now, as upon this testimony our eternal happiness will depend, it becomes us to ascertain beforehand what the state of our souls really is. And this we may do, if we weigh ourselves in the balances to which we have access. Let me then shew you,
I. In what balances we should weigh ourselves —
Certainly we must not take the scales by which the world forms its estimate of men and things. They are so deceitful, that we can never by them attain any just knowledge of ourselves. They are so con- structed, that sin, unless it be of a very enormous character, scarcely affects them at all : and virtue, of however low a character it be, produces a vast pre- ponderance in the scale of merit. Those which I would recommend for your use, are,
1. The balance of God's perfect law —
[The law of God requires that we love God with all our heart, and all our mind, and all our soul, and all our strength ; and that we love our neighbour, even every child of man, altogether as ourselves. It admits of no departure from this ; no, not so much as in thought. Any thing short of the obedience of Christ himself is a violation of it, and renders us obnoxious to its curse.
Now, if we try ourselves by this standard, who amongst us will not be found wanting? or rather I should say, who