The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-10-28

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toward the world, and, like Daniel, open our
windows toward Jerusalem.
But mark you, Daniel ut the window is not
standing looking out; he is kneeling and look
ing out. The most Of photographs give us
the position OF those who are sitting or stand
ing. / do not remember now but one picture
Of one kneeling and that is of David Living
stone, who for God and civilization sacrificed
his own life, dying in Central Africa. One
morning, Majwara, his servant, came in and
saw O candle stuck in the top Of a box, and
Livingstone with his face in his hands against
the pillow, kneeling, and he went off, the
servant not desiring to disturb the devotion.
He came back IN hour or two after and still
found him kneeling. He put his hand on him
and said: cdr. Livingstone, it is time for you
to rise~ DR.. Livingstone made no answer.
He touched him again and said: "Dr. Liv-
ingstone, it is time for you to rise from your
knees" Ali the Lord had taken him. He
died on his knees. But Daniel ound that a
man can see further when OIL his knees than on
tip-toe. Jerusalem was about $50 statute miles
from Babylon. Between the W cities shifted
the sands of the desert, but Daniel on his
knees saw clear across the desert, saw that
city, saw beyond it, saw earth, saw heaven,
saw time, saw eternity. Oh. my hearers,
would you see your way clear G.rough your
Gins to pardon, clear through your trouble to
comfort, and clear through your temptation
to rescue, and clear through dire sickness to
immortal health, and clear through night and
day, and clear through things terrestrial to
things celestial, you must take Daniels
posture. No caps of bone on the joints Of the
fingers, but caps Of bone on the knees because
the God of the body is the God Of the soul,
and He makes provision for long continued
and earnest inc oft repeated supplication-
the physical structure joining the spiritual
necessity in commanding us to pray and
pray and pray. In olden times the Earl of
Westmoreland said there was no need he
should pray for himself because he had
enough pious tenants to pray for him; but
though we had the prayers of all Christen-
dom they would amount to nothing unless we
prayed for ourselves. All, are we having
our windows kept open toward Jerusa-
lem? Are our supplications going up
toward the Lord who made us and the
Lord who redeemed us? Oh, men and
women bounded OH one side by Nebuchad-
nezzar's red hot furnaces, and on the other
side by devouring lions, learn the lesson of
courage and Of deliverance by that Babylon
ish window open toward the southwest.
"But," you say, "that is the direction Of the
desert" Yes, but beyond the dessrt'is a God
and a Christ and a Jerusalem and q heaven.
Keep your windows open toward that blessed
place. Brussels lace is most exquisite. 1t is
valuable, I believe, above all other lace, it is
50 delicate 1t is very expensive, being worth
400 francs a pound. Do you know how that
Brussels lace Is made? The spinning is in q
dark room, the only light coming through O
small aperture, and that light falling direct
ly on the pattern. And the finest specimen
Of Christian grace n Christian experience
I have ever seen is in the lives Of those whose
windows have been darkened by bcreave-
ment and misfortune, save one window, and
through that one window prayer goes OH
IN ri pi,,r with Ifx>ina tuorlynoo nchin rpok.
ing a pattern fit to deck a throne, a celestial
embroidery that angels admire and God ap-
proves. But there Is another Jerusalem to-
ward which you and I will 10 we'll to keep
our windows open. The exiled evangelist Of
Ephesus one day caught a glimpse Of it
as the surf OF the 1carian sea foamod
and FLASHED on the boulders at his feet, and
in his vision he thought of a wedding day,
the sister and the maid of the bride preparing
tho garlands for her hair and arranging the
jewels for her neck just before she puts the
betrothed hand into. the hand Of the %at1ianced,
and he cried out: "And I John saw the
holy city, Jerusalem, coming down from God
out Of heaven, prepared as q bride adorned
for her husband" Have your window open
toward the bridal Jerusalem' That place is
not a mere annex of earth, it is not a desc
late OUTPOST, but as Jerusalem was the CAPT,
tai of Judah, and as Babylon was the capitol
of Babylonish monarchy, and as London is
the capital of Great Britain, and as Wash
ington is the capitol Of our W republic, the
new Jerusalem is the capitol Of the universe.
There the king lives, and the royal family of
the redeemed have their palaces, and there is
the congress of all nations and the parliament
of all worlds; and as Daniel sometimes
thought of his friends in Jerusalem-his kin
drea, perhaps father and mother and brothers
and sisters still ~living-anl he was homeSick
tosee them-he belonged to the royal family,
Daniel himself having imperial blood in his
veins - so we sometimes think of
those who have gone into the other Jer1lsa-
lem and we are h0nesick to see them. They
are princes and princeSses, and they have
royal blood in their veins. Oh, we do well to
keep or windows open toward that Jerusa-
lem. 1t makes one heavenly-minded to think
much Of heaven. The air that sweeps through
that open window comes off gardens that
never wither, under skies that never cloud,
in a s%pringtide that never terminates. All
other heavens arc dead failures compared
with this heaven. Homer's heaven was al
Elysiuln, as hs called it, and the flowers
breathed there perpetually. This Elysium
was at the end of the world, or it was under
the world, or then it never railed there, or
it never showed there, or it was under the
government of Rhadamanthus, the justest OF
men. The heaven of Hesiod was what ho
called the Islands of III, Blest, and there the
flowers bloomed three times a year, and the
air was purple with beauty, and they had
games and horse races and music Ferpetually.
The heaven of the Scandinavian was the hall
Of Walhalla, with his god, Odin. giving per-
po.ual wine suppers to the heroes and heroines
come up from earth. The Mohammedan
heaven introduced it's inhabitants over
the bridge ALSirat-a bridge, it is said,
thin as air and sharper han a sword,
and the inhabitants once entered, then
they were turned into q riot OF
everlasting sensuality. The heaven OF the
American aborigines is eternal hunting
grounds, the cartridges and the deer and the
wild duck more than plentiful, and the
hounds are never off the scent, and the gun
never misses fire. But travellers have gone
all around the world but they have never
found Homer's Elysium. Voyagers have swept
the sea in every direction and have not found
Hesiod's Islands Of the Blest. The Moham-
medan heaven of eternal senslality and the
aboriginal heaven of eternal hunting
grounds do not satisfy a vast multitude. But
here rolls in the Bible heaven. No more sea;
that is no more wide separation. No more
night; that is no more insomnia. No more
tears; that is no more heart break. No moro
pain; that is Punishment Of bitter draught
and lancet and neuralgias and consumptionS,
Music all in the major key because cele-
brative and jubilant. All cOlors OH the wall
except gloomy black. A rainbow; that means
no more storm. Walls full Of odors; that
means pure regalement of the senses
Twelve manner of fruits: that means deli.
cious and everlasting variety. Trumpet and