Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1892-05-12
Or. T'ALMAGE'S SERMON.
4 PRACTICAL DISCOURSE TO
YOUNG MEN.
lessons to- BE Drawn from tho Conduct
OF IA Man Who Cared Disobey King
An Illustration of the yaiEe of Chnrac-
Ger Rnl eiodiinesS.
Daniel and Darius.

| lessons of sound practical value Tor the
young men. His text was Daniel vi, 2,
"Danei was first"
| Where in romance can you find any
thing equal to what Daniel was IN real
| ity? A young man, far away from home
introduced into the most magnificent and
most dissouto palace of all the earth
The King, wishing to make this young
man prodigy in personal appearances
orders his attendants to see that he has
| plenty Of meat and wine, and Daniel re-
| fuses the deicacics and insists on q
vegetable dict, refusing everything but
| pulse and water, waving back all the
| rich viands with determined mo; /
thank you" He surpasses all the
princes in brilliancy. AS this sun rises
higher and higher in the armament, it
puts out all the stars, and If there is
anything the stars hate it is the sun.
| Daniel becomes SO much of favorlte
with King Darius that our young hero
| is promoted to be Prime Minister or
| Secretary of Statc-tho Frclinghuysen
or the Bismarck of the ancients. But
no man ever attained such high position
without exciting the envy of others.
The mcanest and wrathicst passion of
| tho soul is jealousy. You see it among
| sorry to say you see it as much among
clergymen as among other classes Of
men. 1t is a passion bitter as hell and
is is Immediately recognized, and vet,
| though it blackens the man who INDUCES
| in it, men will kindlc this fire which con-
sumcs only themselves.
There were demagogueS in Babylon,
| who, highly apprcciative of their own
| capacity doubted the policy of elcvatlng
such q young man as Daniel. They
| said: ''Why, we know more than he
does. We could manage the public at
| fairs better than he can manage them.
| The idea of putting Dan in such place
as that" Old Babylon was afraid OF
young Babylon. They began to plot his
| ruin. He was an illustrions target. The
taller the cedar the more apt to be struck
with the lightning.
These demagogues asked Darius to
| make an unalterable decree that any
| man who within thirty days shall ask u
| petition Of any one except the King.
| shall be put to death. Darius, not mis-
trusting any foul play, makes such a de-
| cree. The demagogues have accom-
| plished their purpose, for they knew that
| Daniel would not stop sending up petit
| tons to his God, and Daniel, instead of
| being atfrightcd by the decree, went
| three times a day to his housetop for
| prayer. He is caught in tho act. He is
| condemned to be devoured by the lions
Such a healthy young man will be for the
| leonine monarchs the best banquet they
| ever had. BY the rough executioners of
| the law he is hurried away toward the
| den
| / hear the growl of the monsters, and
| their paving OF the dust, and as
their mouth is placed to the
| ground the solid earth quakes with
| their below. Tho door is removed and
| Daniel showed into the den, which was
| all ageam with fiery eyeballs that seem
to roll and snap in the caverns. They
approach the defcnseless man. Their
| appetite was sharp with hunger. One
stroke of their paw, one crunch of their
| teeth and he would have been lifeless.
| How strange q welcome Daniel receives
from the monsters. They fawn about
| him. They cover his feet with their
| long name. They are struck with the
| lockja That night Daniels sleep is
| calm and undisturbed, with his head
| pillowed on the warm neck of the tanned
| lions.
But King Darius was not so happy.
| He loved Daniel and he hated the STRAIT
agem by which his favorite had been
| condemned. He PAGES his floor all
night. He cannot sleep. At the least
sound he starts and his flesh crcepS
with horror. A bad conscience will
make the bravest man u coward. He
watches eagerly for the dawn, which
seems so long in tarrying. At the first
| streak of light he starts out to find out
the tate of Daniel The palace gate
opens and jars heavily behind him
while yet the city is asleep. He comes
to the den. He looks through the crew
| ices but sees nothing. He dare not
| speak. Expecting the worst, his heart
stops.
Gathering strength, he puts his mouth
| to the riffs in the rock and cries, 'Oh,
Daniel, is thy God whom thou servest
continually able to deliver thee from
the lions?' An answer comes rolling up
out Of the darkness: ooh, King, live
forever. My God hath sent His angel
and hath shut the lions mouths, that
| they have not hurt me-" The young
man Is brought out and the demagogucs
who male the plot are thrown in But
| they hardly struck the bottom of the den
wheE their flesh is rent, and their
bones cracked, and their blood spurted
IHTOuRu blS THUS, WIllc VIC lcItH mon
sters shook the rocks with their terrible
roar, announcing to oil ages the truth
that while God defends His people, the
way of the wicked shall perish
Now, you see from this subject that in
the eyes of many the greatest offensc
| you can commit is success. OF what
crime bad this young man been guilty
| that he should come under the bitter
hatred Of the demagogues? Why, he
had got to be Prime Minister of Babylon.
That they could not forgive Behold in
this sketch q touch of human nature!
AS long as poverty plnches yon, and YOU
| run the gantlet between taxgatherer and
landlord, and you have hard work to
educate your children, there will be null
tltudes to say: Poor fellow! He ought
to succeed How sorry am for him."
But after awhile you begin to emerge
| from the darkness. That was capital