The free press., 1895-09-19

1
| figure of virgin in wood and iron. The
4 victim in olden time was brought there, and
\ this figure would open its arms to receive
| him, and once enfolded the figure closed
with hundred knives and lances upon him,
and then LET him drop 1870 feet sheer down.
| SO the world first embraces the 1dolaters,
! then closes upon them with many tortures.
| and then lets them drop forever down. Inc
| highest honor the world could confer was TO
make man Roman emperor, but out OF
sixty-three emperors it allowed only SIX TO
die peacefully in their beds.
The dominion of this world over multi
tudes is illustrated by the names of coins OF
many countries. They have their pieces OF
money which they call sovereigns, crowns
and half crowns, Napoleons and half Ma
poleons. Fredericks and double Fredericks
and ducats and Isabelinos, all of which
names mean not SO much usefulness as
dominion. The most of our windows open
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 tine 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 isnot
standing at the window, but kneeling while
he looks out Most photographs are taken
of those in standing or sitting posture. L
now remember but one picture of Il man
kneelng, 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
box his head in his hands upon the pill
low and dead on his knees. But here is
great ,lon tanner living under the
Of bp
disheveled by the breeze, praying. The fact
is that a man can see farther on his knees
than standing on tiptoe. Jerusalem was about
800 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 TO 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 see
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 50 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.
LII olden time the Earl of Westmoreand
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
amount to nothing unless, like
Daniel we pray for ourselves. o men and
women, bounded on one side by Shadrach's
redhot furnace and the other side by de-
lions, learn the secret of courage
and deliverance by looking mt that Baby
lonish window open toward the southwest
oh 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.
Homer's heaven was an elysium which he
describes as a 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 a 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 Scandinavian's heaven
was the hall of Walhalla, where the god
Odin gave unending wine suppers to earthly
heros and heroines. The Mohammedan's
heaven passes its disciples in over the bridge
Al-Sirat which is finer than IL hair and
sharper than II sword, and then they are let
loose into riot of everlasting sensuality.
The American aborigines look forward to
q heaven of illimitable hunting ground,
partridge and deer and wild duck more than
and the hounds never off the scent,
and the guns never missing fire. But the
has followed the earth round
and found no Homer's elysium. Voya-
gers have traversed the deep III all direc-
tions and found no Hesiod's islands OF
L ~ III x...1.,, .nlAr
tial debauchery and the Indians eternal
hunting ground for vast multitudes
have no charm. But here rolls in the Bible
heaven. No more sea-that is, no wide sep
aration. 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 celebrative and jubilant.
River crystalline, gate crystalline and
skies crystalline because everything is clear
and without doubt. White robes. and that
means sinssness. 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
means luscious and unending variety.
Harp, Trumpet, gaand march, anthem,
amen and halleluiah in the same orches-
ira. Choral meeting solo, and overture
meeting antiphon. and strophe joining dithy
ramb, as they roll into the ocean of doxolo-
gies. And you and have all that, and have
it forever through Christ if we 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
Day and night keep your window open to-
ward that Jerusalem. Sing about it. Pray
about it. Think about it. Talk about it.
Dream about it. Do not be inconsolable
about your friends who have gone into it.
Do not worry if something in your heart in
dicates that you are not far off from its
ecstasies. Do not think that when Chris
tian dies he stops, for he goes on.
An ingenious man has taken the heavenly
furlongs as mentioned in Revelation and has
calculated that there will be in heaven 100
rooms sixteen feet square for each ascending
soul, though this world should lose loo, 900, :
900 yearly. But all the rooms of heaven will
be ours, for they are family rooms, and as
no room in your house is too good for your
children, so all the rooms of all the palaces
of the heavenly Jerusalem will be free to
Gods children, and even the throneroom
will not be denied. and you may run up the
steps of the throne, and put your hand on
the side of the throne, and sit down beside
the King according TO the promise, ''To him