The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-09-25

| QOmlnlOD. Inc most OF our Wluuo"o oPon
toward the exchange, toward the salon OF
fashion. toward the god OF this world. In
olden times the length of the English yard
was fixed by the length Of the arm OF King
Henry l.. and we are apt to measure things
by variable standard and by the human
arm that in the great crises Of life can give
US no help. We need. like Daniel. to open
our windows toward God and religion.
But. mark you, that good lion tanner lsnot
standing at the window, but kneeiing While
he looks out. Most photographs are taken
of those in standing or sitting posture. l
now remember but one picture OF man
kneeing. and that was David Livingstone,
who in the cause Of God and civilization
sacrificed himself, and in the heart OF Africa
his servant, Majwara. found him in the tent
by the light of a candle stuck on the top OF
a box. his head in his hands upon the pill
low and dead on his knees. But here is
dash of the light, and his hair
disheveled by the breeze, praying. The fact
is that man can see farther on his knees
than standing on tiptoe. Jerusalem was about
$50 statute miles from Babylon, and the vast
Arabian desert shifted its sands between
them. Yet through that open window Dan
iel saw Jerusalem. saw all between it, saw
beyond, saw time, saw eternity, saw earth
and saw heaven.
Would you like 10 see the way through
your sins to pardon. through your troubles
to comfort, through temptation to rescue,
| through dire sickness to immortal health,
through night to day, through things terres-
trial to things celestial-you will not sea
them till you take Daniels posture. No cap
of bone to the Joints Of the fingers, no cap OF
bone to the joints OF the elbow. but cap OF
bone to the knees, made 80 because the God
of the body was the God of the soul, and
especial provision for those who want to
pray and physiological structure joins with
Spiritual necessity in bidding us pray and
pray and pray.
In older. time the Earl OF Westmoreland
said he had no need to pray because he had
enough pious tenants on his estate to pray
for him, but all the prayers Of the church
| universal amount to nothing unless, like
| Daniel, we pray for ourselves. men and
women, bounded on one side by Shadrach's
| redhot furnace and the other side by de-
vouring lions, learn the secret OF courage
and deIiverance by looking ut that Baby
lonish window open toward the southwest.
sob" you say: that is the direction OF the
Arabian desert" Yes, but on the other side
OF the desert is GOD, is Christ, Is Jerusalem,
is heaven.
But it is another Jerusalem toward which
we now need to open our windows. The exiled
evangelist of Ephesus saw it one day as the
the surf of the Icarian Sea foamed and
splashed over the boulders at his feet, and
his vision reminded me Of wedding day
when the bride by sister and maid was hav-
ing garlands twisted for her hair and jewels
!! strung for her neck just before she puts her
betrothed hand into the hand OF her
atfianced. 81, John. saw the holy city. New
Jerusalem, coming down from God out OF
heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband" Toward that bridal Jerusalem
are our windows opened?
We would do we'll to think more ofheaven.
1t is not mere annex Of earth. 1t is not
desolate outpost. As Jerusalem was the cap
| ital of Judea, and Babylon the capital OF the
Babylonan monarchy. and London Is the
capital Of Great Britain, and Washington 15
the capital of our own Republic, the New
Jerusalem is the capital of the universe. The
King lives there. and the royal family OF the
redeemed have their palaces there. and there
is congress ofmany Nations and parliament
OF all the world. Yea, as Daniel had kindred
! in Jerusalem of whom he often thought,
though he left home when very young man.
perhaps father and mother and brothers and
sisters still living, and was homesick to see
them. and they belonged to the high circles
of royalty, Daniel himself having royal blood
in his veins, so We have in the New Jerusa-
lem a great many kindred, and we are some
times homesck to see them, and they are all
princes and princesses. in them the blood
imperial, and we do we'll to keep our windows
open toward their eternal residence.
| It is Joy for US to believe that while we
are interested in them they are interested in
US. Much thought of heaven makes one
heavenly. The airs that blow through that
open window are charged with life, and
| sweep up to US aromas from gardens that
| never wither, under skies that never cloud,
in a spring-tide that never terminates. Com
| pared with it all other heavens are dead fail
| ures.
| The American aborigines look forward to
heaven of illimitable hunting ground,
partridge and deer and wild duck more than
| plentiful, and the hounds never of the scent,
and the guns never missing fire. But the
geographer has followed the earth round
and found no Homer's elysum. Voya-
gers have traversed the deep III all direc-
tions and found no Hesiod's islands of
the blessed. The Mohammedan's celes-
tial debauchery and the Indians eternal
hunting ground for vast multitudes
have no charm. But here rolls in the Bible
heaven No more sea-.hat is. no wide sep
arati0n. No more night-that is, no insom-
MIA No more tears-that is, no more heart
break. No more pain-that is, dismissal OF
lancet and bitter draft and miasma and ban.
| ishment Of neuralgias and catalepsies and
consumptions. All colors in the wall except
gloomy black. All the music in the major
key because ce!ebrative and jubilant.
| River crystalline, gate crystalline and
skies crystalline because everything Is clear
and without doubt White robes. and that
means sinlssness. Walls full OF odors, and
that means pure regalement OF the senses.
Rainbow, and that means the storm is over.
Marriage supper, and that means gladdest
festivity. Twelve manner Of fruits, and that
| 1,,ca 11nnnnInu vQrQfv
Harp, trumpet, grand march, anthem,
amen and halleluiah in the same orches-
ira Choral meeting solo, and overture
meeting antiphon. and strophe joining dtthy-
ramb, as they roll into the ocean OF doxolo-
gies. And you and I have all that, and have
it forever through Christ five will let Him
with the blood Of one wounded hand rub
out our sin, and with the other wounded
hand swing open the shining portals.
ward that Jerusalem. Sing about it. Pray
about it. Think about it. Talk about 1t.
Dream about it. Do not be inconsolable
about your friends who have gone into it.
Do not worry il something in your heart in
dicates that you are not far of from its
ecstasies. Do not think that when Chris
tian dies he stops, for he goes on.
Homer's heaven was an elySium which ne
describes as plain at the end OF the earth
or beneath, with no snow nor rainfall, and
the sun never goes down. and Rhadoman-
thus. the iustest Of men, rules. Hesiod's
heaven is what he calls the islands OF the
blessed. in the midst OF the ocean. three
times year blooming with most exquisite
flowers, and the air is tinted with purple,
while games and music and horse races oc-
cupy the time. The Scandinavians heaven
was the hall of Walhalla, where tha god
Odin gave uuending wine suppers to earthly
heros and heroines. The Mohammedan' g
heaven passes its disciples in over the bridge
Al-Sirat, which is finer than Il hair and
sharper than sword and then they are let
loose into riot of everlasting sensuaity.