The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-10-05
DANIELS OPEN WINDOWS.
DR.. Talmage Talks of the Prophet and
the Lessons of His Career.
Men and Women Must Learn the Great Secret
OF Courage and Deiyerance by Looking
Toward the New Jerusalem.

mage preached this morning in the Brooklyn
Tabernacle on the subject, 'Windows Toward
Jerusalem" Before the sermon he expounded
the parable of Luke, concerning the widows
plea before the unjust judge and showed how
God honored prayer To-day was communion
Sabbath and numbers were added to the church
membership, which now reaches considerably
beyond three thousand. The opening hymn
was:
Nearer my God to thee
Fen though it he
A cross that raiseth me-
Still all my song shall be,
Nearer my God to thee,
Nearer to thee.
The text of the sermon was from Daniel vi.
10: His windows being open and his chamber
toward Jerusalem DR.. Talmage said:
The scoundrelly princes of Persia, urged on
by political jealousy against Daniel, having sue
ceeded in getting law passed that whatsoever
prays to God shall be put under the paw and
teeth of the lions, who are flashing themselves in
rage and hunger up and down the stone cage.
or, putting their lower jaw on the ground, bel
lowing till the earth trembles. But the leonine
threat did not hinder the devotions of Daniel
the coeur de lion. These enemies might as we'll
have a law that the sun should not draw water,
or that the south wind should not sweep across
garden of magnolias, or that God should be
abolished. They could not scare him with the
red hot furnaces, and they cannot now scare him
with the lions. AS soon as Daniel hears of this
enactment he leaves his Office of Secretary OF
State, with its upholstery of crimson and gold,
and comes down the white marble steps and goes
to his own house. He opens his window and
puts the shutters back, and pulls the curtains
aside, so that he can look toward the sacred city
of Jerusalem, and then prays. 1 suppose the
people in the street gathered under and before
his window and said "Just see that man defy
ing the law. He ought to be arrested" And
the constabulary of the city rush to the police
headquarters and report that Daniel is on his
knees at the wide-open window. "You are my
prisoner" said the officer Of the law dropping
heavy hand On the shoulder of the kneeling
Daniel AS the constables open the door of the
cavern to thrust in their prisoner they see the
glazing eyes of the monsters. But Daniel
becomes the first lion tamer and they lick his
hand and fawn at his feet, and that night he
sleeps with the shaggy name of wild beast for
his pillow while the King that night, sleepless
in the palace has or him the paw and teeth Of q
lion he cannot tame-the lion of remorseful
conscience.
What picture it would be for some artist
Darius, in the early dusk of morning, not wait
ing for footman chariot, Fastening to the den.
all flushed, and nervous, and in deshabille, and
looking through the crevices of the cage to see
what had become of his prime minister. What
no sound2" he says. 'Daniel is surely devoured
and the lions sleeping after their
horrid meal, the bones OF the poor man
scattered across the floor Of the cav
ern.' With trembling voice. Darius calls
out Daniel" No answer, for the prophet is
yet in profound slumber. But lion, more
easily awakened, advances, and. with hot breath
blown through the crevice, seems angrily TO de-
mand the cause of this interruption, and then
another wild beast lifts his mane from under
Daniels head, and the prophet, waking up,
comes forth to report himself unhurt and we'll
LOVE FOR NATIVE LAND.
But our text stands us at Daniels window.
open towards Jerusalem. Why in that direction
open2 Jerusalem was his native land, and ali
the pomp of his Babylonish successes could not
make him forget it. He came there from Jeru-
salem at eighteen years of age, and he never
visited it, though he lived to be eghty-ive years
Yet when he wanted to arouse the deepest emo
tons and grandest aspirations OF his heart. he
had his window open toward his native Jerusa
lem. There are many of you to-day who under
stand that without exposition. This is getting
to be a nation of foreigners. They have come
into all occupations and professions. They sit
in all churches. 1t may be twenty years ago
since you got your naturalization papers, and
ho L..A
can't forget tho land of your BIRTH and youE
warmest sympathes 60 out toward 1t. YouH
windows are open toward Jerusalem. Your
father and mother are buried there. 1t may
have been very humble home in which you
were born, but your memory often plays around
it, and you hope some day to 60 and see it; the
hill, the tree, the brook, the house. the place so
sacred, the door from which you started off, with
parental blessing. to mako your own way in the
world; and God only knows how sometimes you
have longed TO the familiar places of your
childhood, and how, in awful crises of your life,
you would like to have caught glimpse of the old
wrinkled face that bent over you as you
lay on the gentle lap twenty, or forty. or fifty
years ago. You may have this side the sea
risen in fortune, and like Daniel have become
great and may have come into properties which
you never could have reached if you had stayed
there, and you may have many windows Of con-
servatory and windows all sides, but you
have at least one window open toward Jeru-
salem.
When the foreign steamer comes to the wharf
you see the long line of sailors with shouldered
mail-bags coming down this blanks, carrying az
many letters as you might suppose would ba
enough for years correspondence, and this re-
peated again and again during the week Multi
tudes of them are letters from home. and at all
the postofices of the land people will go to the
window aud anxiously ask for them, hundreds OF
thousands of persons finding that window Of