I want to caution you, also, against the use of by-words. Sometimes boys swear without knowing it; they say "By Jiminy." Now, the word "Gemini" means "Twins," and refers to two heathen gods whose names were "Castor" and "Pollux," and when boys use the expression, "By Jiminy," they are swearing by those two heathen gods. Jesus said, "Swear not at all." (Matt. v: 34.) Then not only those who literally swear, but all those who use God's name without reverence and who make light of sacred things break this Commandment. So you see that many are not able to be weighed against this Commandment.
Then take the next: "Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy." There are many people who remember the Sabbath Day simply to make it the occasion of visiting, letter writing, and to enjoy a trip into the country, or in the park. They remember the Sabbath Day, but they do not remember it to keep it holy. So you see that you would not be able to be weighed against that requirement.
Now take the next: "Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." If God were to come into this community and weigh the boys and girls against this Commandment, how many do you think would be found to whom God would turn and say, as He did to Belshazzar: "Thou art weighed and art found wanting"? Any boy or girl who speaks of his father as "The old man," and of his mother as "The old woman"; any boy or girl who is disobedient; any girl who yesterday when mother asked her to dust the furniture, or any boy who when mother asked him yesterday to run upon an errand, grew petulant, and scowled and scolded, perhaps went out of the room and slammed the door behind them, all such boys and girls would be found wanting. You see how, with one after another of these Commandments, if God were to weigh us we would be found wanting.
If we take the other Commandments, "Thou shall not kill," anybody who has hated his brother in his heart; "Thou shall not commit adultery," any one who has harbored lust in his heart; "Thou shall not steal"; "Thou shall not bear false witness"; "Thou shall not covet"; think of each of these and see how many times in your life you have broken them, if not in letter, yet in spirit.
Now, if you cannot be weighed against these different requirements and you have come short of them in the past, how can you expect to stand in the great Day of Judgment, when God shall take into account every idle word that we have ever uttered, every wicked thought; when we shall be weighed in the just balances of an infinite God? When God shall place these requirements upon one side of the balance, and you and I shall step in upon the other side of the balance, there is only one possible way in which we could then be heavy enough, and that is if we could have our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, to step into the balance with us, as He is willing to do, and God should accept the obedience and holiness of His own Beloved Son, Jesus Christ in our stead. Unless you and I have Jesus Christ with us when we step into that balance, it will be said, "Thou art found wanting." Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your friend, and are you trying to serve Him? If you have not now made Him your friend, how can you hope to have His friendship then? May God help you to have Jesus as your friend in life, as well as in death; in this life as well as in the life to come, now while being tempted and tried in this world, as well as when being weighed in the next.
Questions.—What was the handwriting on the wall at Belshazzar's feast? Does God weigh our bodies? What does He weigh? Against what was Belshazzar weighed? What are we weighed against? Are we weighed against each commandment separately? Can a person who has sworn be weighed against the third commandment? Is the use of by-words swearing? Are we honoring our parents by speaking disrespectfully of them? Can we break a commandment in thought as well as in deed? Tell how. Will all these requirements over-balance us? What must we do to make a proper balance? Is Christ willing to step into the scales with us?
