_Nebuchahnezzar Dreamed Dreams._ THE WISE MEN OF BABYLON In the conclusion of last chapter, we are informed that Daniel “had understanding in all visions and dreams.” Events are now ordered so that he shall have an opportunity of exercising his skill on a more illustrious theatre. “And in the secon... [ Continue Reading ]
_The thing is gone from me._ NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM The “thing” is considered by many to be the dream, and so they also understand the same phrase in the eighth verse. There is nothing in the Chaldee (Aramaic) of this passage to forbid this understanding, for though _millethath _means “word,” yet,... [ Continue Reading ]
_I know of certainty that ye would gain the time._ A MEDITATION FOR THE NEW YEAR The magicians wished to gain time, hoping that the king might remember his dream, or that something might happen to extricate them from the dreadful dilemma. Notice the two main thoughts and the suggestions suitable t... [ Continue Reading ]
_The king was angry._ ANGER “Anger,” Dr. Cox observes, “is (1) undignifying; (2) unreasonable; (3) destructive of that just and useful influence to which we should aspire, and for which everyone is naturally capacitated by his position in society; (4) usually makes a rapid progress; (5) is pr... [ Continue Reading ]
_That they would desire mercies of the God of Heaven._ COMPANIONS IN PRAYER Daniel and his companions were all equally concerned, every man of them for his life, and therefore ought everyone to pray; but, being companions in every other respect, it became them also to keep company in prayer. The ne... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision._ DANIEL’S PREPARATION FOR PROPHETIC WORK A prophecy does not fall from Heaven in the form of a book written and sealed. Prophecy is given through the spirit of a man. It comes first into the living soul. He afterwards declares it, and the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever._ DANIEL’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING Such a prayer sheds a flood of light upon the character of the man who utters it. It was addressed to the “God of Heaven,” and that title has a peculiar significance when the facts of Daniel’s... [ Continue Reading ]
_But there is a God in Heaven that revealeth secrets._ A GOD IN HEAVEN I. THE ASSERTION. There is a God in Heaven. Daniel was not one of those who say in their hearts “there is no God”; he was well persuaded, both of His existence and of the perfections of His nature. Daniel’s God is a God of wisd... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou, O King, sawest, and behold a great image._ THE AGGREGATION OF EVIL Look at evil as represented by this colossal image. I. IT IS A COMPOUND THING. The image was made up of various substances: gold, silver, brass, iron, clay. Evil does not often appear here in its naked simplicity, it is mix... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands._ THE DREAM RECOVERED AND INTERPRETED The vision suggests to us many interesting things concerning the Kingdom of Christ. 1. Its superhuman origin. The stone was “cut out” of the mountains without hands. There was no natural cause for its s... [ Continue Reading ]
_But they shall not cleave one to another._ THE LAW OF UNITY There is a law of unity, of brotherhood or consolidation. Mechanical association has nothing to do with true unity. Men may sit side by side in the same church and yet have a universe between them. Men may handle the same psalm-book and s... [ Continue Reading ]
_Shall the God of Heaven set up a Kingdom._ THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST The stone being cut out of the mountain without hands, is a phrase used in Scripture to convey to us the idea of spirituality; as, for instance, our present body represented as “the earthly house of this tabernac... [ Continue Reading ]
_And that it break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold._ THE IMAGE DESTROYED Looking at the image as a whole, notice: I. ITS UNITY. Four successive empires were not represented by four colossal images, but by one. The figure stood entire to the end, the brightness ex... [ Continue Reading ]