The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-07-29

Illustrated in this sermon, the preacher
taking for his text Daniel /, Z. Prove
thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days"
What is a victory like2" said a lady
friend to the Waterloo conqueror The
greatest tragedy IN the world, madam. eX-
cept a defeat" was the answer. Wen
said. thou iron duke None could speak
more authoritatively. The world has
supposed thy heart adamantine. But even
the stones themselves might almost weep
when they are drenohed with human earn
age. The cheers of triumph can never
drown the sobs Of anguish. The glitter
ing rewards of victory cannot blind our
eyes to the awful price. at which that
victory was purchased Lord Roberts
upon his return from the Boer war, was
hailed in England as a conquering chief.
When he returned from Africa to London
the whole nation rose to do him honor.
But while the British were acelaming the
mighty deeds of Little Bobs," Lord Rob-
erts was wearing upon his uniform
griefs symbol the black Grape LORD
Roberts only boy had been shot among
the African hills. So is it always Win
war. We praise the returning chiettains'
but we cannot forget the bloody fields
over which these heroes have waded and
the many grave trenches they saw nlieu
with the slain bodies of their valiant COM
rades
But If the battlehelds of the nineteenth
century were the scenes of awful TRACE
dies, what must have been the horrors
of the battlehelds of the fifteenth, the
twelfth and the fifth centuries and the
battleheds of a thousand years ago. In
olden times the eonquerors rarely took
prisoners or liberated their captiyes upon
parole, as we do now. The general GUS
tom was to Stay their prisoners or, what
was still more common, to sell them into
perpetual servitude. This practice was al
most universal. Thus many Of the ma
lions, like the Phoenicians and the Etru-
rians and the Cretes and the Sicillans'
made war for human eaptives as well as
for gold and silver. These nations were
known. according to an old historian
definition as IMAM stealers." They want
ed human slaves as oarsmen to man tnelr
galleys and laborers to work in their
fields and men and women to be their DO
nestle servants as well as men Tor char-
ioteers. What was true of the great mar
thine states mentioned was also true OIL
Egypt and Rome and Greece and BABY
lon. These mighty cities of olden times
all had their human auction blocks. The
greater the conuuests of their returning
warriors the greater number of slaves to
be put up and sold as common cattle in
the market places. Thus, having mace
this explanation, We can understand why
Daniel and the finest youths OF the he
brew nation were carried to Nebuchad-
nezzars capital after Jerusalem had been
captured and overthrown.
The Kings Meat.
No sooner was the Babylonish king
back in his palace than he called one OF
his chief officers, Ashpenaz by name, and
said: "Ashpenaz ] wish you would go
and look over those young Hebrews whom
have brought back Select three or four
of the finest physical and mental speci-
mems that are there. Then for the next
three years take them and educate them
and feed them from my own table. |
want to develop these men for my own
service l want to reinforce the intelli-
gence of my own court with the best
blood Of this Hebrew nation" The result
of this command: Daniel and his three
friends Hananiah and Mshael and Aza-
riah. were selected. All, this was high
honor for Daniel and his companions. 1t
not only meant liberation from human
slavery, but in time it also meant menu
bership in the kings council. But alas,
alas IL seems as though Daniel is fool
ishly going TO upset all his political pros
poets When the food and the wine from
the kings table Is placed before him.
Daniel refuses them because they are
forbidden diet-are unclean according to
Jewish law But" says the kings
chamberlain. you must eat this meat
and wine, for II you do not the king will
not only punish me, but also Will proba-
bly, slay you. And he will surely know
this refusal by your starved looks Then
Daniel spake the words of my text:
prove thy servants | beseeeh thee, ten
=. oils IN an
to drink Then let our countenances be
looked upon before thee, and the coun-
tenanees of the children that eat of the
portion OF the kings meat and as thou
seest deal with thy servants So the
royal officer consented to them in this
matter and proved them ten days. You
all know the result of this test. At the
end of ten days the countenances of Dam
lei and his three friends were "fairer"
and fatter in flesh than all the children
who did eat the portion of the kings
meat. Such today is the simple story
from which we will draw our sermonic
theme And may our history in life be
like that of Daniel, who refused to eat
the kings meat.
Let us now look at our subject little
closer. Notice that this kings meat was
to Daniel and his comrades q sensual
temptation 1t appealed to Daniels eye
and nostril and palate. 1t was the temp
tation of the banquet hall, which not only
smelled good and looked good, but II APP
pealed to Daniel the more enticingly be-
cause heretofore he had never had his
appetite surfeited by the delectable viands
of royal kitchen.
Daniels Temptation.
The richest of foods become nauseatlng
and repellent If one has too much of them.
Frederick Seward tells the story that,
many years ago, his father, Secretary
William II. Seward, was travelling In Alas
ka The people there wished to show Lin
coins great premier all the respect they
could. so they gave him great banquet.
While they were eating one of the ladies
at the table said Governor, we are very
sorry that we can afford you nothing but
the fare of the country" But that is
excellent" said tho governor. "Oh, no."
answered the lady. 1--WE have nothing
here but venison and grouse and trout.
We have these so often that we are sick
of the sight of them. We were In hopes
of obtaining some beef by the last steam
err but we were disappointed, and so we
can give you nothing but what our coun-
try produces THAT reminds me-" said
one of the officers at the table. of the
mutiny which was threatened at a Flor
ida post in oden times because the sol
diers protested against being served with
green turtle soup more than once a week"
So you can see that, even under the very
brightest conditions, the most enticing of
foods pals upon the palate if they are
served too often and too long.
But Daniel had never been an epicure.
ell had never been one who was devo-
tee of sensual pleasures. He had grown
up with the plain coarse, simple and yet
xyholasone food unon which most of rs