WINDOWS OPEN TOWARD HEAVEN

05-16-71

Daniel 6:10

 

 

I.          The Devil’s Devious Devices, Designs.

 

1.         The failure of the conspirators, moved by envy, to find a fault.  Life impeccable--administration faultless--judgments righteous.

 

2.         But the devil.

He never runs short of devious devices.  Full of all subtlety.  He whispers: “Do you notice this Daniel’s religious fault?  Despises your divinities.  Silent scoring, no veneration.  Surely you are artful enough to notice that the man is very religious, steadfastly prays to an unseen God?

They reply:  “We still cannot destroy him for these reasons.  So noble, faithful.”

He whispers: “Do you notice he prays to an unknown God?  I know him.  I have enticed him with every reward of social preferment, but he would rather die than fail his God.  This is the plan.  You are sure to trap the man for he’s sure to pray.”

They reply: “But how destroy a noble man because he prays?”

He whispers: “You are defected by the strength of Daniel.  You are looking in the wrong place.  Look at the king.  Every man has a chink in his armor, a weakness.  He is subject to vanity and to flattery.  Make him god for a month, no prayer but to him and then Daniel is caught like an eagle in a trap.”

The devil knows the secret, our strength.  Works day and night to cut, to sever, that cord that binds us to the unseen and eternal God.

 

II.          What shall he do?

 

1.         Could have entered into massive accusation of his enemies.  Sit down in chair, “how shall I circumvent these devils?”  “I shall fight cunning with cunning, craft with craft.” “Concoct a scheme that will frustrate their designs.”  Show him the plot.  Uncover conduct of enemies.  Called open assembly.  Charged them with falsehood, deceit, murder.

 

2.         Could have temporized.  Argued with his conscience.

 

(a)        “ not absolutely necessary to pray for 30 days.  Prayer meeting postponed.”

 

(b)        “I am worth more to my people than my death, they need me.”

 

(c)        “The end justifies the means.  Keep king from doing evil.”

 

(d)        Shut windows.  Another less conspictious room.  In the cellar.  Look like a heathen, not a true Christian.  Act like a worldly, but really....

Compare: Passover blood.

Religion public, unashamed--prayer, Bible reading, worship.

 

3.         Continued as he did aforetime.  Not alter his course whether they approved or disapproved.

Just as the sun rises, whether we look or not.  Not wait for our approval.

As the sea rolls in majestic tranquillity.....

As the mighty mountain peaks rear their heads in snowy grandeur....

As the stars in their orbits swing around these suns in their universes....

Whether anyone notices or not, he goes right on his way.

 

So a man of a great, majestic, mighty spirit serves God, whether anyone notices or not.  Not waiting, no ostentation, no heroics, no approval.  Simple keeping on. The only answer God expects of us, just keeping on.  Bible attacked?  Let us just go right on; let us publish another and a new edition of two million copies. When men storm through the schools of Christendom in liberalism and modernism and unbelief, let us organize a Bible institute.

 

“And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled down upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks to his God, as he did aforetime.”  That is Daniel.

 

Up the steps of his home, may be like climbing the steps of a gallows.

Neh. 6:10,11 when Sanballat and Tobiah sought to intimidate him, Nehemiah sent word to them and said: “Should such a man as I flee?”

Daniel is like Nehemiah.  He is absolutely fearless and absolutely not to be turned aside from his commitment to God. 

The whole empire may go wrong, but Daniel does not go wrong.

The king may go wrong, but Daniel does not go wrong.

The people may go wrong, but Daniel does not go wrong.

 

III.         His Strength, Refuge in prayer.

Every man greatly used of God a man of prayer.  The saints of the Old Testament and the New Testament. 

Jesus, Luke 11:1  Disciples came to see a connection between His outward life of power and miracles, and His inward, private life of prayer and intercession.

Robert Murry M’Cheynne:”When a man is down on his knees and alone before God, that he is and nothing more.”

Daniel’s outer life a reflection of his inner life.

 

1.         A Place of Prayer

Jewish houses, flat top.,  Possibly little chapel with lattice on windows.

An upper room.  Compare: Peter in Acts 10:9

Compare: Women of Philippi  Acts 16:13

 

2.         A Time of Prayer

Three times a day.  At the blush of dawn in the morning.

         At the brightness of high noon.

         In the shadows and twilight of the night.

So Daniel.  Ps. 55:16,17

Among pressure of empire, prime minister--yet took time to pray.

William E. Gladstone

Martin Luther

With frequency and with fervor. 6:11 “supplication”

 

3.         A Posture of Prayer

“Kneeled down.”  Prayed in submission, in humility, in yielded surrender.

Ps. 95:6

II Chron. 6:13 Solomon

Ezra 9:5

Luke 22:41 Jesus

Acts 7:60 Stephen

Acts 9:40 Peter

Acts 20:36 Paul 21:15

 

(1)               The kneeling camel

 

The camel at the close of day

Kneels down upon the sandy plain

To have his burden lifted off

And rest to gain.

 

My soul, thou too shouldst to thy knees

When daylight draweth to a close,

And let thy master lift thy load,

And grant repose.

 

Else how canst thou tomorrow meet,

With all tomorrow’s work to do,

If thou thy burden all the night

Dost carry through?

 

The camel kneels at break of day

To have his guide replace the load,

Then rises up anew to take

The desert road.

 

So thou shouldst kneel at morning dawn,

That God may give thee daily care;

Assured that He no load too great

Will make thee bear.

                                                            ---Anna Temple

 

4.         With thanksgiving

For what?  Hated, persecuted.

For the presence, help of God.  So Phil. 4:6

 

5.         With windows opened toward Jerusalem

Many possibilities of open windows--looking out over the market place.

         --looking out over crowds of people.

        --looking out upon those sparkling domes

   of the politicians, who were then con-

   triving his own destruction in Babylon.

But his toward Jerusalem.  Dear even in ruins.  And the sanctuary of God.

Where the touch of God’s love had been.

 

(a)        His childhood training.

Mother, father, home.

All the dazzling glitter of Babylon could not blot the memory out of his heart.

(b)        Toward the sanctuary.

The only type he had of Christ.  Did in that first dispensation when he prayed.  In that dispensation in reality of Jesus Christ.

Ps. 5:7; 28:2; I King 8:46-49

Believed in the promises of God: respected by the people of Jerusalem 90 yrs.     : rebuilding of the temple.

 

(c)        The light that streamed through those windows of prayer.

Judgments, decisions to rule Babylon.

But above all--as in John 8:56 Rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day.

Compare: Daniel 9: as if Paul were writing.

 

(d)        Our open windows toward the heavenly Jerusalem.

A type now fulfilled.  These works John 4:21-24  Toward Jerusalem is heaven.  Heb. 12:22-24

Looking across the valleys of trees to the heights of eternity.

Open, not cloud of grief, despair--toward the heavenly vision.