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ance, or perhaps its increase, in extent and glory, through many a successive generation. With such thoughts as these he fell asleep; to change from waking dreams to a vision of terrible reality; dim indeed, and wholly unintelligible in its meaning to him that dreamed it, yet not the less calculated to trouble his spirit, and to make him wake in anxiety and fear. See ver. 1. Let it be our endeavour so to regulate our waking thoughts, as that our dreams may be more likely to be peaceful. Let us avoid proud thoughts, ambitious thoughts, presumptuous thoughts, and, what these often lead to, discontented thoughts, and murmuring thoughts. Let us cherish, whilst awake, holy thoughts, and heavenly thoughts. And then we may with reason hope, that God will give us peaceful and refreshing sleep, and make our very dreams devout.

There is another natural association to be observed in the tenour of this dream. Nebuchadnezzar was an idolater, or image worshipper. The thing which he was made to see in his sleep was "a great image." "And the form thereof was terrible." This was often the case with the images made as objects of worship. They were so fashioned, as to inspire the beholders with fear rather than with admiration. In the different parts of the image, as presented in this dream to the mind's eye of the king, were seen the metals most in use in the idols made with hands. But there was a remarkable distribution of these metals in the different parts of the body, from the gold of the head to the iron of the legs and feet, which in the feet was mingled with clay. And whilst the king was contemplating this image with the awe and veneration of an idolater, lo, a stone cut out without hands is seen to smite the image upon his feet, and to break them in pieces; yea, the whole image, with all its parts, was broken to pieces together, and scattered to the winds; and the stone became a mountain, and filled the earth. Thus did Daniel describe to the king the dream which he had dreamed; taking to himself no credit for skill, but ascribing the revelation of this secret to the God of heaven; and stating that it was vouchsafed for the sake of saving the threatened lives of God's servants, and for the sake of making known to the king his thoughts. For our sakes too, doubtless, this secret was revealed; for our sakes this revelation was recorded, and the record has come down to our times, in order that we may admire and adore the wisdom and the goodness of the Lord. Praise then be unto his name, for the deliverance vouchsafed to his servants of old! Praise be unto his name for the instruction herein laid up for his Church in all ages of the world! Even as He has revealed it, so has it come to pass, so may it come to pass unto the end! So may all idolatry cease out of the earth! So may every idol that man sets up in his heart be utterly abolished, and every kingdom of the earth be altogether sanctified, by the growth of the Gospel in the world, and by the universal establishment of the kingdom of Jesus Christ!

Daniel interpreteth the king's dream.

36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

44 And in the days of these

kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.

47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.

49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.

LECTURE 1367.

The nature and growth of Christ's kingdom.

From the interpretation of the king's dream we learn, that the image, with its several parts, was a symbol of four successive kingdoms, the first being that of which Nebuchadnezzar was at that time the sovereign. We learn further that these four kingdoms were to arise from distinct sources, the second being inferior to the first, the third to the second, as silver to gold, and as brass to silver; inferior in splendour, but not in strength, each prevailing against the one which went before it, and the fourth being, like iron, the strongest of them all. This description exactly answers to those four great empires, which form the principal objects in the history of the world; first that of Babylon, next that of Media or Persia, thirdly that of Greece, and fourthly that of Rome. This last has, we know, not been succeeded by any of the like nature and extent, but was severed into two empires, the eastern, and the western, of which the former has left little or no trace, whilst the latter has been broken up into several distinct sovereignties, some stronger and some weaker, answering to the toes of the feet of the image, "part of iron, and part of clay."

But the chief object of this prophetic vision is the fifth monarchy, here represented by the stone "cut out of the mountain without hands." This is no other than that kingdom of heaven, which Jesus Christ came to proclaim and to establish. In the days of the kings of the last of the four kingdoms, the stone smote upon the image. Christ crowned with thorns, and enthroned upon the cross, received a kingdom from the Father, to be supreme over all. Thenceforth He has reigned, and He will reign, until He has put all enemies under his feet. Then did the image, bright and terrible, representing man's arbitrary dominion in the earth, receive a blow from which it never can recover. And from that time to this, there has been growing, and spreading wider, a power new and before unheard of, the spiritual supremacy of Christ in the hearts both of kings and of their subjects. Obstinately Obstinately as that power is resisted by many, and wickedly as man has attempted to usurp it, and far as it yet is from filling the whole earth, we doubt not that its success is at hand; we doubt not that soon will all the thrones and dominions of the earth be laid low, and Christ reign for ever and ever. Let us then study to subdue unto his will our unruly wills and affections. Let us glorify Christ as our King, by observing his laws, by obeying his commandments. And whatever influence or honour it may please Him to give us among men, let us use it, as Daniel did that which he obtained, in promoting our Master's cause, and the well being of our brethren.

PART VIII. 0. T.

N n

Nebuchadnezzar dedicateth a golden image. 1 Nebuchadnezzar the king accused the Jews. made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.

2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:

6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and

10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: 11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.

14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnez

zar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

thine hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known
unto thee, O king, that we will
not serve thy gods, nor worship
the golden image which thou

17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of hast set up. LECTURE 1368.

That we ought to fear not man but God.

In the commandment of Nebuchadnezzar, and in the penalty with which he determined to enforce it, we see a painful instance of the gross abuse of sovereign authority. The image which he set up, and the worship which he commanded every one to pay to it, even these were for his own glory, rather than out of reverence for any of his gods. For the point dwelt upon in his proclamation for bowing down to it is this, that it was the image

that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up." And it was because he considered his own authority questioned, not out of any regard to the idol, that he fell into such a rage and fury towards those who refused to worship it. "And who is that God," he asks, "that shall deliver you out of my hands?" not as if he referred it to his idol god to execute judgment, but as if he felt that vengeance was his, and that there was no power in earth or heaven, able to arrest the execution of his will. Great must have been the shock given to such exceeding arrogancy by the cool and calm determination with which three of the captive Israelites refused to do homage to this idol. In vain are the chief officers of state all gathered together to set them an example. They bow not down notwithstanding. In vain are all the instruments of music sounded. They worship not. They worship not. In vain does the enraged monarch summon them to his presence, and question them as if it were a thing incredible that they worship not his gods, and threaten them, that if they bow not down, they "shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace." They are not careful, they tell him, to answer him in this matter. That is to say, they are not afraid to speak the truth in reply, to avow their undivided allegiance to the true God. He was a God, who could, if He thought fit, deliver them from the worst that the king could do unto them. But they staked not his honour, or their own constancy, on any such miraculous deliverance. They were prepared to glorify his name by enduring even unto death. What a contrast, in them and their oppressor, between calmness and passion, faith and sense, real greatness and its semblance! May the good confession thus stedfastly maintained remind us of our bounden duty to confess Christ before men, at all risk of present harm! May it animate us with that true courage, which, springing from the fear of God, and from the conviction of his ever present help, enables us, even when in jeopardy the most imminent, to glorify his name!

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