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Daniel Chapter
Two
Daniel 2
Chapter Contents
Nebuchadnezzar's dream. (1-13) It is revealed to Daniel.
(14-23) He obtains admission to the king. (24-30) The dream and the
interpretation. (31-45) Honours to Daniel and his friends. (46-49)
Commentary on Daniel 2:1-13
(Read Daniel 2:1-13)
The greatest men are most open to cares and troubles of
mind, which disturb their repose in the night, while the sleep of the labouring
man is sweet and sound. We know not the uneasiness of many who live in great
pomp, and, as others vainly think, in pleasure also. The king said that his
learned men must tell him the dream itself, or they should all be put to death
as deceivers. Men are more eager to ask as to future events, than to learn the
way of salvation or the path of duty; yet foreknowledge of future events
increases anxiety and trouble. Those who deceived, by pretending to do what
they could not do, were sentenced to death, for not being able to do what they
did not pretend to.
Commentary on Daniel 2:14-23
(Read Daniel 2:14-23)
Daniel humbly prayed that God would discover to him the
king's dream, and the meaning of it. Praying friends are valuable friends; and
it well becomes the greatest and best men to desire the prayers of others. Let
us show that we value our friends, and their prayers. They were particular in
prayer. And whatever we pray for, we can expect nothing but as the gift of
God's mercies. God gives us leave in prayer to tell our wants and burdens.
Their plea with God was, the peril they were in. The mercy Daniel and his
fellows prayed for, was bestowed. The fervent prayers of righteous men avail
much. Daniel was thankful to God for making known that to him, which saved the
lives of himself and his fellows. How much more should we be thankful to God,
for making known the great salvation of the soul to those who are not among the
worldly wise and prudent!
Commentary on Daniel 2:24-30
(Read Daniel 2:24-30)
Daniel takes away the king's opinion of his magicians and
soothsayers. The insufficiency of creatures should drive us to the
all-sufficiency of the Creator. There is One who can do that for us, and make
known that to us, which none on earth can, particularly the work of redemption,
and the secret designs of God's love to us therein. Daniel confirmed the king
in his opinion, that the dream was of great consequence, relating to the
affairs and changes of this lower world. Let those whom God has highly favoured
and honoured, lay aside all opinion of their own wisdom and worthiness, that
the Lord alone may be praised for the good they have and do.
Commentary on Daniel 2:31-45
(Read Daniel 2:31-45)
This image represented the kingdoms of the earth, that
should successively rule the nations, and influence the affairs of the Jewish
church. 1. The head of gold signified the Chaldean empire, then in being. 2.
The breast and arms of silver signified the empire of the Medes and Persians.
3. The belly and thighs of brass signified the Grecian empire, founded by
Alexander. 4. The legs and feet of iron signified the Roman empire. The Roman
empire branched into ten kingdoms, as the toes of these feet. Some were weak as
clay, others strong as iron. Endeavours have often been used to unite them, for
strengthening the empire, but in vain. The stone cut out without hands,
represented the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, which should be set up in the
kingdoms of the world, upon the ruins of Satan's kingdom in them. This was the
Stone which the builders refused, because it was not cut out by their hands,
but it is become the head stone of the corner. Of the increase of Christ's
government and peace there shall be no end. The Lord shall reign, not only to
the end of time, but when time and days shall be no more. As far as events have
gone, the fulfilling this prophetic vision has been most exact and undeniable;
future ages shall witness this Stone destroying the image, and filling the
whole earth.
Commentary on Daniel 2:46-49
(Read Daniel 2:46-49)
It is our business to direct attention to the Lord, as
the Author and Giver of every good gift. Many have thoughts of the Divine power
and majesty, who do not think of serving God themselves. But all should strive,
that God may be glorified, and the best interests of mankind furthered.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Daniel》
Daniel 2
Verse 1
[1] And
in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed
dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
In the second year —
This was properly in the fifth year of that king's reign, but in the second
year after Daniel had been brought before the king.
Dreams — It
was one dream, but of many parts.
Verse 2
[2] Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and
the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came
and stood before the king.
The astrologers —
Who pretended great skill in natural, and supernatural things.
The sorcerers — Or
necromancers, who used diabolical arts.
Chaldeans —
This name the magicians assumed as being national, and most noble.
Verse 3
[3] And
the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to
know the dream.
To know — He
remembered the fact in general, but could not repeat it perfectly. Yet it had
left such an impression on him, as put him in great perplexity. The Lord hath
ways to affright the greatest men in the world, in the midst of their security.
Verse 4
[4] Then
spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy
servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
In Syriack —
That is in the Chaldee tongue, for Syria or Aram is sometimes taken in a large
sense, containing, Assyria, Babylon, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Palestine, 2 Kings 18:26. From hence all is written in the
Chaldee language, to the eighth chapter.
Verse 9
[9] But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree
for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till
the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can
shew me the interpretation thereof.
But one decree — I
will not retract my sentence.
Verse 13
[13] And
the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel
and his fellows to be slain.
Daniel and his fellows — Daniel and his fellows were not called, because of their youth, which
the Chaldeans despised. Here it is observable: 1. The magicians confessed, that
knowledge and revelation must come from God, and therefore what Daniel did, was
not of any human strength. 2. That the Lord held the governor's hands, so that
he did not slay Daniel presently with the first. 3. That Daniel by his prudence
and piety, saved all the magicians lives.
Verse 21
[21] And
he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings:
he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
He changeth —
God can make the sun go back or stand still, as in Ahaz and Joshua's time, it
is the great part of God's power and prerogative to change times. Daniel here
attributes that to God, which Heathens attributed to nature, or chance. God
only, that made all by his power, doth rule, and over-rule all by his
providence.
Verse 26
[26] The
king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to
make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
Belteshazzar — By
this name of Belteshazzar he had given Daniel, he took courage as if he might
expect some great thing from him: for the word signifies the keeper of secret
treasure.
Verse 28
[28] But
there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king
Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of
thy head upon thy bed, are these;
What shall be —
Observe the prophet's wisdom, he does not fall abruptly upon the dream, but
first prepares this lofty king for it, and by degrees labours to win him to the
knowledge of the true God.
Verse 30
[30] But
as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more
than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation
to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
But —
But that the interpretation may be manifest to the king, and that thou mayest
be better instructed and satisfied in thy mind.
Verse 36
[36] This
is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
And we — By
this word we appears Daniel's piety and modesty, or he declares by it, that he
and his companions had begged this skill from God, and therefore he did not
arrogate it to himself.
Verse 38
[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.
Made thee ruler — He
hath given thee absolute dominion of all creatures, men and beasts within the
bounds of thy vast kingdom.
Thou — He
was first in order, as the head is before the other parts, and the vision began
in him, and descended downwards to the other three monarchies. He was the head
of gold, because of the vast riches wherein this monarchy abounded, and because
it stood longest, five hundred years, and was fortunate and flourishing to the
last.
Verse 39
[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.
Another kingdom —
This was that of the Medes and Persians, inferior in time for it lasted not
half so long as the Assyrian in prosperity and tranquillity; yet, was this
wonderful, rich and large for a time.
Third kingdom —
This was the Grecian monarchy under Alexander the great, called brass, because
coarser than the other.
Over all the earth —
Alexander marched even to the Indies, and was said to conquer the world.
Verse 40
[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.
Fourth kingdom —
This is the kingdom of the Romans, and was to last not only to Christ's first
coming, but under antichrist, to his second coming. This did break in pieces
all other kingdoms, being too strong for them, and brought all into subjection
to it, 'till the stone fell upon it.
Verse 41
[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.
Divided —
Partly strong, and partly weak; the Roman kingdom was divided, partly by their
civil wars, partly when conquered provinces and kingdoms cast off the Roman
yoke, and set up king's of their own, and so the empire was divided into ten
kingdoms or toes.
Verse 42
[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.
Broken —
This was plain in the civil wars of the Romans, and the falling off of some
countries, especially towards the end of it.
Verse 43
[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.
Mingle themselves — By
marriage, but they shall never knit well together, because ambition is stronger
than affinity.
Verse 44
[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.
In the days of these kings — While the iron kingdom stood, for Christ was born in the reign of
Augustus Caesar. And this kingdom is not bounded by any limits, as worldly
empires are, but is truly universal. And it shall be for ever, never destroyed
or given to others, as the rest were.
Verse 45
[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.
And the gold —
This denotes the small beginning of Christ's visible kingdom, and the different
rise of Christ from all other; his conception by the Holy Ghost, without father
and mother, respectively as to his two natures. This stone, falling from the
mountain, brake the image in pieces; for Christ is a stone that grinds to
powder those it falls on: and he is a growing stone even to a mountain, and
therefore will fill the earth.
Verse 46
[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.
That they should offer — This was strange, that so great a monarch should thus worship his
vassal, which he did in consternation and admiration. But doubtless Daniel put
a stop to it: though he could not hinder the king in his prostration, and in
his word of command. And the king being instructed of Daniel, gives God all the
glory in the next words.
Verse 47
[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.
God of gods —
The supreme God of all the world, above Baal and all other gods.
Lord of kings —
The word in the Syriack signifies, high Lord, seeing he is the highest king of
all the earth.
Verse 49
[49] Then
Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over
the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
And he set — He
substituted them as lieutenants for the king's service under Daniel, but Daniel
sat in the king's gate to be ready for the king's chief business.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Daniel》
The Kingdom That Shall Never Be Destroyed (2:1-49)
INTRODUCTION
1. In Dan 2, we read about Nebuchadnezzar's dream and Daniel's
interpretation...
a. Nebuchadnezzar challenges his magicians, sorcerers, et al, to
tell him both the dream and its interpretation, and they are
unable - Dan 2:1-13
b. God reveals the secret of the dream to Daniel in a night vision
- Dan 2:14-23
c. Daniel approaches the king and explains that God has made known
to him both the dream and its interpretation - Dan 2:24-30
d. Daniel then tells the dream, and gives the interpretation of it,
to the amazement of Nebuchadnezzar - Dan 2:31-49 (read)
1) The king had seen a great image
a) With head of gold
b) With chest and arms of silver
c) With belly and thighs of bronze
d) With legs of iron, and feet mixed with iron and clay
2) The great image was destroyed by a small stone made without
hands
a) The image representing the rise and fall of four world
empires
b) The stone representing a kingdom that God would set up
3) The king praises God, and exalts Daniel along with his three
friends
2. There are certainly two key thoughts expressed in this chapter...
a. God is a revealer of secrets - Dan 2:19,22,28-29,47
b. God can make known the future and bring it pass - Dan 2:28-29,21
3. But of particular interest to us ought to be the "kingdom" in verse
44...
a. Which the God of heaven Himself shall set up
b. Which shall never be destroyed, but consume other kingdoms and
stand forever
4. Several questions naturally come to mind concerning this
"kingdom"...
a. When would God set it up?
b. Has it been set up as foretold?
c. If it has, and if it shall never be destroyed...
1) Where is it now?
2) What is the future of this kingdom?
3) Can we be a part of this indestructible kingdom?
[In this lesson, we shall endeavor to provide the answers to these
questions. Let's start with the first: When would this "kingdom" be
set up...?]
I. THE PREPARATION FOR THE INDESTRUCTIBLE KINGDOM
A. "IN THE DAYS OF THESE KINGS..." (44)
1. Daniel describes the image as depicting four kingdoms which
shall rise and fall
2. The first one is definitely Babylon - Dan 2:37-38
3. With Babylon as the starting point, world history confirms
that the next three kingdoms would be:
a. The Medo-Persian empire, represented by the chest and arms
of silver
b. The Grecian empire, represented by the belly and thighs of
bronze
c. The Roman empire, represented by the legs of iron, with
feet mixed with iron and clay
4. Thus one could look for the establishment of the
"indestructible kingdom" in the days of the Roman empire
B. WHEN "THE TIME IS FULFILLED"...
1. Notice what John the Baptist began preaching during the days
of the Roman empire ("the kingdom of heaven is at hand")
- Mt 3:1-2
2. Jesus proclaimed this also, adding "the time is fulfilled"
- Mk 1:14-15
a. What "time" was fulfilled?
b. The time described by Daniel!
[So the "indestructible kingdom" was to be set up in the days of the
Roman empire. During Roman empire both John and Jesus anticipated its
establishment. This leads to our next question: Has it been set up as
foretold...?]
II. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INDESTRUCTIBLE KINGDOM
A. DURING JESUS' EARTHLY MINISTRY, IT WAS "AT HAND"...
1. This is what both John and Jesus proclaimed - Mt 3:1-2; Mk 1:
14-15
2. Yet after Jesus' death, there were those who were still
waiting for the kingdom - e.g., Joseph of Arimathea, Lk 23:
50-51
B. BUT FOLLOWING THE ASCENSION OF JESUS...
1. He is far above all principality, power, might, dominion - Ep
1:20-21
2. All has been made subject to Him - 1 Pe 3:22
3. He is ruler over the kings of the earth - Re 1:5
4. He rules the nations with a rod of iron - Re 2:26-27
-- He truly has all authority in heaven and on earth! - cf. Mt
28:18
C. THIS SUPPORTS WHAT IS REVEALED LATER IN DANIEL...
1. Consider Dan 7:13-14
a. Where one like the Son of Man approaches the Ancient of
Days (God)
b. And is given dominion, glory, and a kingdom which shall not
be destroyed
2. Compare this with Ac 1:9
a. Daniel describes the ascension from a heavenly perspective
b. Whereas Luke describes it from an earthly perspective!
[It is clear, then, that the King (Jesus) has received a kingdom, that
the indestructible kingdom was set up when He returned to heaven! But
one might naturally ask: Where is it now? The answer is found when we
consider...]
III. THE NATURE OF THE INDESTRUCTIBLE KINGDOM
A. THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT THIS KINGDOM...
1. It was described by Daniel as a "stone cut...without hands
which became a great mountain and filled the whole earth"
- Dan 2:34-35
a. "without hands" suggests it is not your ordinary kingdom
b. Also, it would start small and then grow larger
2. Compare this with what Jesus taught about the nature of His
kingdom
a. His kingdom is not of this world - Jn 18:36; cf. Ro 14:17
b. It would start small, and grow to encompass the earth - Mt
13:31-33
-- Thus this "indestructible kingdom" would start small, and be
spiritual in nature
B. THIS KINGDOM THEREFORE INVOLVES THOSE IN THE CHURCH...
1. The Christians at Colosse were in the kingdom - Co 1:12-13
2. Those at Thessalonica likewise - 1 Th 2:12
3. Along with the seven churches in Asia - Re 1:6,9
4. Indeed, all Christians receive their part in this
"indestructible kingdom" - He 12:28
a. Including us gathered here this day!
b. Fulfilling the statement that this kingdom would fill the
whole earth!
c. For here we are, on the other side of the planet from
Jerusalem, yet citizens of this kingdom foretold by Daniel!
[Whoever is willing to "repent and believe in the gospel" (Mk 1:15) can
be a part of the kingdom Jesus established when He sat down at the
right hand of God following His ascension to heaven. This leads us to
yet another question: What is the future of this kingdom...?]
IV. THE FUTURE OF THIS INDESTRUCTIBLE KINGDOM
A. IT WILL LAST FOREVER...
1. As Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar - Dan 2:44
a. "which shall never be destroyed"
b. "it shall stand forever"
2. As the writer to the Hebrews stated: "a kingdom which cannot
be shaken" - He 12:28
3. As the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary: "of His kingdom there
will be no end" - Lk 1:31-33
B. AT CHRIST'S COMING, IT WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE FATHER...
1. As taught by Paul to the Corinthians - 1 Co 15:23-26
a. When Christ comes, He shall deliver the kingdom to God the
Father, having put an end to all rule, authority and power
b. Until then, Christ shall reign until all enemies are placed
under His feet, the last enemy being death
2. As Jesus taught in the parable of the tares - Mt 13:40-43
a. At the end of the age, His angels will gather out of the
kingdom those that offend and practice lawlessness
b. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the
kingdom of their Father
CONCLUSION
1. And so this kingdom...
a. Foretold by Daniel, proclaimed by John the Baptist and Jesus
Himself
b. Was begun in the days of the Roman empire, with Christ as its
king and His disciples as its citizens
2. It is an indestructible kingdom...
a. That continues on, ever growing
b. With the hope of a glorious future in eternity
3. But let us not forget the last question raised in our introduction:
Can we be a part of this indestructible kingdom?
a. Yes! For Jesus and His apostles tell us how
1) We must be born again of water and the Spirit - Jn 3:5; cf.
Ti 3:5
2) An illusion to baptism, commanded of penitent believers - Mt
28:19; Mk 16:16; Ac 2:38
b. But beware, some in the kingdom may one day be cast out!
1) As Jesus warned in the parable of the tares - Mt 13:41-43
2) Telling us later of the necessity of an enduring faith - Re
2:10
Therefore, once we have been obedient to the gospel (cf. Ro 6:17-18) we
must remain diligent in our faith, if we wish to experience the future
glories of "The Kingdom That Shall Never Be Destroyed"!
－－《Executable
Outlines》
02 Chapter 2
Verses 1-49
Verse 1-2
Daniel 2:1-2
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 second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar
the king dreamed dreams.” Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was not of an ordinary kind.
It was not caused by the ordinary working of a mind agitated by anxiety, or
excited by ambition. It came immediately from that great and only God of whom
Nebuchadnezzar was ignorant. It was so ordered, for reasons that will
afterwards appear, that Nebuchadnezzar forgot what his dream was. But it was
also ordained that he should not forget that he had a dream of a most wonderful
kind. The impression made upon his mind was deep, and painful, and permanent.
He could not forget it. It filled his whole soul. He was so troubled that he
could neither compose himself to sleep nor be at rest when awake.
Nebuchadnezzar,--the great, the terrible, the invincible,--who had already
stormed so many towns, conquered so many countries, routed so many armies, and
who, like the eagle in the tempest, seemed to exult in the storm of
battle--Nebuchadnezzar troubled by a dream! How completely are the greatest of
men in the hand of Jehovah. How easily can he make the stoutest among them to
quail. And may we not reflect, if this transient glimpse into the invisible
world--if this unveiling of a portion of time and space, so small when compared
with eternity and infinity, produced such trouble of mind, what amazement and
terror will seize upon the souls of the ungodly, when the gates of the
invisible world shall be thrown wide open, and the spirit, disentangled from
matter, shall enter, and feel itself encompassed on all sides, not with the
vision, but with the reality of the spiritual world--encircled with what is
infinite and eternal--and penetrated by the holiness of Him that sitteth upon
the throne. Being greatly troubled by his dream, Nebuchadnezzar was anxious to
regain his composure. He was an idolater, and, consequently, ignorant of those
hidden sources of comfort that are opened up to a believer in his time of need.
(J. White.)
The Lost Dream
And as to the sneering Infidel question, How could a forgotten
dream trouble the king? it seems quite a sufficient answer to ask whether its
propounders have common sense enough to dream? For every one must know from
experience that the mind is often greatly agitated by visions of the night,
which vanish, leaving only a general impression. It is easy to suppose cases
where the agitation would be even increased by the very fact that the
particulars were no longer remembered, and the relief that might be hoped for
could not, therefore, be so readily obtained. The dimness, indistinctness,
mysteriousness of the subject only increases the agitation. The king knew three
things. He had had a dream. It was lost; but still it greatly troubled him. He,
therefore, called for his wise men.
1. How poor and wretched a creature is a man left to the power of
fierce and ungovernable passions! How contemptible a figure does the great King
of Babylon make in demanding what was impossible! Hot-headed and furious men
are generally without reason, and deaf to all remonstrances. How blessed are
your privileges, that you live under constitutional laws, and are not subject
to the arbitrary power of a tyrant! Magna Charta, Habeas Corpus, and trial by
jury are blessings that cannot be too highly valued.
2. In the rise and fall of nations, shadowed forth in prophecy, and
presented in history, it is of great importance to bear in mind the fact that
the Supreme Being does rule over all the inhabitants of the world, and yet does
no violence to the free agency of any rational creature. The mightiest planets
in the highest heavens sweep round in their orbits at his bidding, and so arise
and fall the mighty dynasties of our race, both in ancient and modern times,
and in both the Old and New World. Not a few seem to think that God’s
providence was concerned with ancient nations, but has ceased to take notice of
modern nations. This is nothing but practical atheism. God is not less vigilant
and supreme now, in the midst of our inventions and improvements, than He was
in the days of Jerusalem and Babylon. The celebrated and pious Bogue was in the
habit of saying, when he took up the papers in the time of Napoleon the Great,
to read what was passing: “Let us see how God governs the world.”
3. In the history of nations there are always two classes of
interests and facts very distinct, and yet exercising over each other a
powerful influence. I mean political and religious events. The first relates to
kings, emperors, rulers, cabinets, and forms of government; the second relates
to the moral character, religious sentiment of the people, and pertains to the
salvation of their souls and the condition of the Church of the living God.
These interests must necessarily exercise over each other a powerful influence.
The history of nations and the history of the Church of Christ reflect mutually
the state of the other.
4. Finally, here
you are taught where to go in all cases of difficulty. How did Daniel obtain
the knowledge of the lost dream? By asking for it. He prayed to God. He sought
help in the right direction. We do not, indeed, expect miracles now, yet we do
expect answer to prayer. (W.A. Scott, D.D.)
Dreams and Dreamers
Dreams have played an important part in the history of the world.
God seems to have made large use of the visions of the night and, of dreams to
call men into His service, to commission them to do His will, execute His
judgments, and to reveal His gracious purposes concerning the world. It was in
a vision that God revealed to the patriarch Abraham that his seed should be as
the stars of heaven for number. Nor is the New Testament without them. After
our Lord Jesus Christ came and revealed God, life; immortality, salvation, and
peace, the use of vision and dream did not cease. It was in a dream that Joseph
was warned to flee into Egypt, and thus secure the safety of Christ. When the
time had come that the Gospel of the grace of God should be preached to the
Gentiles, God revealed His will in the matter to Peter in a vision on the
housetop at Jaffa. But among all the dreams and visions of which we have read,
there are but few more remarkable and important than this, which filled the
slumbers of Nebuchadnezzar, and slipped from his memory afterwards.
I. We will
consider THE DREAMER.
The dreamer of the text was an Eastern monarch. There he is in secure
possession of his throne. Famed as a skilful soldier and victor, he is the
mightiest monarch on the face of the earth. Babylon, the seat of his empire,
the place of his throne, is among the most imposing and great of the ancient
cities of the world. This is the home of this royal dreamer. See him in the
midst of it. Seated on his throne, around him stand his chief men of state, his
eunuchs, priests, princes, and captains, all in their many-coloured and
glittering garbs. He is troubled. What has gone wrong? Has some part of his
kingdom broken out into rebellion? Has the death-plague seized upon his friends
and chief councillors? Nay, he has had a dream, a simple dream. The world owes
a great deal to its dreamers. Some have blessed the world by the great
victories which they won. What a great and noble company the dreamers make.
John Bunyan dreamed the “Pilgrim’s Progress,” a book which, next to the Bible,
which it illustrates, has had a larger circulation than any other book in the
world. That was a grand dream, and the world owes much to it. Columbus was a
dreamer. He had visions of another and a great land across an unexplored and
unknown ocean. Sir Christopher Wren was a dreamer. He had a vision of St.
Paul’s, and it grew up in the city of London.
II. THE DREAM. The dreamer
was a mighty monarch. The dream was worthy of the dreamer.. However great the
dreamer, the dream was not less so. He Went to rest that night with his mind
full of great and important thoughts. He thought of what wars had been, and
wondered what wars would be. He knew himself secure on his throne then. But did
he think that soon he would be gone? He wondered “what should come to pass
hereafter.” It was a great dream. No idolater ever had a greater dream, and but
few men any so great. He went out far beyond himself. The present did not
satisfy him. He wanted to pull back the curtain and see what was beyond. Have
we not all had dreams like this? Think you that this king was the only man who
ever felt dissatisfied with the present? Have not we all tried to look beyond?
I have had a vision of God; it may have been a dream, but I have thought about
Him. I have looked around me in the world, and have seen traces of Him. The
great mountains and the mighty ocean, which I have seen in the majesty of its
fury, have said something to me of the greatness of God. I seem to have had
visions of love, and mercy, and pity, but I can’t quite find out myself, I want
some one to interpret. I can’t myself quite solve it all. “Canst thou by
searching find out God?” asks one in ancient days who also had dreams about
God. Then I have had dreams of the soul and its destiny. I have dreamed of
“what shall come to pass hereafter.” Then I have had visions and dreams of a
future in which justice and righteousness shall prevail, in which the glaring
iniquities and wrongs of this present life shall all be set right. But have we
not had dreams of another sort? Sometimes we have felt with sorrow and shame
our own weakness and badness. We have become conscious that we were out of
harmony with things around us. There is a something within us which speaks to
us. Call it conscience or anything else--there it is. I have dreamed of
forgiveness, how to get it, and where. Who can tell me? Who can interpret for
me all these dreams of mine? Is there any Daniel whom I can call into court who
shall reveal to me all these secrets?
III. THE INTERPRETATION of
this dream. Daniel was able to tell the king his dream, and also to expound it.
And what an exposition it was!
Kingdom succeeds kingdom, monarch follows monarch. The Babylonian
head of gold, the Persian breast of silver, the Grecian thighs of brass, and
the Roman legs of iron, all come and go as Daniel expounds the dream.. There
are two things we must note in this interpretation.
1. The Christ kingdom symbolised by the stone cut from the mountain
without hands.
2. The second
thing I wish to note is that this Christ prefigured by the mountain stone is
the interpreter of all my dreams of God, the soul, and a future state. In His
school I get my answer. I have been to other schools and could not learn. Nebuchadnezzar
summoned all his wise monk They were accustomed to interpret dreams, but they
were perplexed now. When I come to Christ He interprets my dream. Be not only
reveals God to me, but He tells me of His love and kindness. God is love. God
is a Father. God cares for me. Jesus Christ tells me how I can be at peace with
God through Himself. He tells me about things which are to come to pass. Jesus
Christ is God’s answer to all my questions, and visions, and dreams. (C.
Leach, D.D.)
Human Wisdom Tested and Found Wanting
I. THE DREAM. The first
verse states that this vision occurred in the second year of the reign of
Nebuchadnezzar; i.e., in the second year of his solo sovereignty.
His father, Nabopolassar, being now dead, the empire devolved upon Nebuchadnezzar
alone.
1. The dream reveals the nature of his ambitions. It shows that his
mind was busy with projects of conquest, and the cares of government, and the
hopes of secure power. How natural that these engrossing thoughts of his waking
hours should pursue him in sleep and give complexion to the visions of the
night.
2. But the dream was sent by Divine agency. It was not only natural,
but also supernatural. This is not the first nor only time that God has
vouchsafed to make his revelations to heathen minds. Balaam is a notable
instance of prophetic gifts bestowed upon unworthy persons. All extraordinary
channels of Divine communications were no doubt selected for a purpose; and
while the light of revelation shines steadily upon his own chosen people, yet
he vouchsafes occasional flashes upon other minds to illuminate some truth
which may be best illuminated in that way.
3. The dream is forgotten. Strangely given, it was strangely
recalled. The honour shall be God’s and God’s alone. God will show by an
infallible sign that it is His revelation, and will not suffer the Chaldean
sages to tinker with its interpretation. Nothing remained but the disturbing
sense of having seen strange things, and an abiding conviction that these
things were closely related to his destiny. To whom shall he turn in his
perplexity?
II. THE DEMAND. We may well
imagine the surprise and alarm of the sooth-sayers and magicians when they
become acquainted with the nature of the king’s demand. Had they been quite
sure that the king had indeed forgotten his dream they might have very easily
invented one to satisfy him; but I suppose they were apprehensive lest this was
only a snare cunningly placed by this intelligent monarch to expose their
duplicity. It seemed to them the safer plan, then, not to hazard so dangerous
an expedient, but to declare their inability to do more than interpret the
dream when told. The king, however, reiterates his demand.
1. The Chaldeans maintain that this demand is unjust in that it was
without precedent. There is a true and a false law of precedent. It is
undoubtedly true that whoever demands or enacts a new thing, a thing counter to
existing usages, must have strong and unquestionable reasons for such a course.
There are always presumptions against novelties and innovations, and one who
appeals to custom has an undeniably strong ground to rest upon. On the other
hand, the law of precedent can create nothing more than presumption. It still
leaves the reason of the thing to be inquired into. It is probable the
imperious temper of this monarch would not be baulked by an appeal to customary
usages.
2. They further maintain the injustice of this demand on the ground
that it is beyond human power to comply with it. They say: “There is none other
that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with
flesh.” Some have supposed this declaration that the dwelling of the gods “is
not with flesh” to be indicative of scepticism. It was the cardinal belief of
the Babylonians that the gods were very near to men. Their temples, and
sacrifices, and priestly rites proceeded upon that belief. These Chaldeans,
then, are supposed, under the influence of their great peril, to betray here
their utter disbelief in these hollow mockeries. And the lesson is drawn from
it: “Alas, that this unbelief should so often, in Christian as well as in Pagan
times, have found a nest for itself so near the altar!” But I would rather
believe that these Chaldeans, whose studies brought them in contact with the
mighty works of God, had more exalted conceptions of the deity than those which
prevailed among the masses.
3. In this view the demand was not so unreasonable as the Chaldeans
would make it appear. They had wilfully imposed upon both king and people,
laying claim to mysterious arts by which they could read secret things; and had
no doubt taken care that this faith in their powers should be implicit and
well-nigh unlimited. They could scarcely complain, then, when they are taken at
their word. Skilled in plausibility and ambiguity, they no doubt relied on
these powers to cover up a failure when one occurred, and to impose
successfully upon the credulity of the king.
4. It is a great gain to the cause of truth when impositions are
detected. So, then, Nebuchadnezzar deserves praise for pressing this matter to
a decisive issue. The cause of religion no doubt suffers a shock when priestly
pretensions are thrown in the crucible and tested, but it rises from such
shocks to greater stability, and usefulness, and power.
III. THE DECREE. Whatever may
be said of his demand, certainly the decree of the king is indefensible. These
wise men had done nothing worthy of death. Moreover, there were many among the
Chaldeans who laid no claim to magic powers, but who contented themselves with
the sciences, as patient and laborious students, and it was not only manifest
injustice, but strange impolicy to include them in this sweeping condemnation.
Yet more, why should Daniel and his friends, who had but just passed their
novitiate and who had not been consulted at all, share their fate? But rage is
blind and knows no discrimination. There are not wanting some, as an
illustration of this spirit, who would obliterate Christianity because of
unworthy Christians; and no one can estimate what man has suffered from this
stupid lack of the power of rational discrimination.
IV. CONCLUSION. What a
striking picture is here presented us of Nebuchadnezzar and his wise men
trying, by human devices, to arrive at the mind of God! How we yearn for man
when we behold his boundless aspirations confronted by his impotent
nothingness! But it was well that human skill should first exhaust its
resources in endeavouring to know the mind of God. It was a proper prelude to
God’s revelation, this confession of impotence: “There is none other that can
show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” It
is a law of God’s providence that He will not intervene until man has
discovered his own absolute inability, and felt his imperative need. (The
Southern Pulpit.)
The Dream of Humanity
There is no function in life which can compare for one moment to
that of him who can minister to the perplexities of his fellow-men. The story
connected with these words is very simple and well known. The king had dreamed
a dream, and when he woke in the morning he could not recall it to his mind. A
vague sense of the splendour of that dream haunted his imagination and memory.
He felt that there was bound up in it some deep and mysterious truth. He hardly
liked to let the whole remembrance of it quite go. He had around him his
Chaldeans and his wise men, and he turned to them for aid, and their answer was
that their function was limited only to the interpretation of dreams; it was
not their function to enter upon a process of thought-reading unless there were
present in the mind of him who demanded the interpretation the subject matter
of those thoughts. In the emergency the difficulty was solved by a Jewish
exile; to him it was given to be the reviver and interpreter of the dream. And
we, perhaps, may feel that that ancient story is not wholly lost to us when we
cast oar mind upon our own lives, and remember how much we, too, have been
haunted by some magnificent dream. When the vision of what life really was,
with its deep and solemn significance, was granted to us, we, awaking with the
impression of all life’s business, lost the vivid force of that dream--we could
not recall it, and we turned to the seers about us. They are plentiful to seek,
the wise and the unwise, the weak and the strong, the false and the true, and
we, haunted by the remembrance of that vision of what life’s deep significance
is, turn in vain to these. And yet the conditions may teach us what are the
real features and the real capacities of the true prophet. If I am not
mistaken, the story suggests to us that there are two great elements which are
essential in order that a man may be a real helper of his fellow men, the true
prophet of his age. The condition which the king insists upon supplies one of
these--it is that he should have touch with human nature; and his
interpretation of the dream suggests the other--he must have some knowledge of
the law and order of life. These two were just those that were vouchsafed to
Daniel.
1. The first is knowledge of human nature. Let me ask you to put
yourselves for the moment in the position of those who had this somewhat
unreasonable demand made upon them. Their answer to his demand was very simple
and fair. “We are perfectly ready,” they said, “to interpret your dream, but
our ministrations extend thus far; tell us the dream and we will tell the
meaning.” But the king, whose vision was elevated, perhaps, by the dream which
he had experienced, began to see that he was surrounded by those who were in a
large measure but charlatans; and prompted by this, he perhaps insists all the
more pertinaciously on the condition. “You profess to be able to interpret my
dreams. How do I know that your interpretations are true? Tell me what the
dream was, and I can verify your accuracy. In other words, vindicate your
pretensions in a sphere where I can test them, and then I will be able to give
you my faith in the sphere where I cannot test them. I cannot verify your
interpretations, but I can verify your statement of what passed through my
mind. You profess to explain my life to me, and all the destiny that awaits it;
if it be in your power to do this, show, first, that you understand me, and
then I will believe that you can unfold my destiny.” And that, in itself, when
you come to study it, is no unfair condition. It may be unreasonable in the
circumstances in which it was used, but there is a vein of reason, and there is
a vein of fairness in it; for when you reflect upon it there is no power in a
man to teach and to speak concerning the future, unless he has a certain
knowledge of the present. The man who can read deepest into the circumstances
and the situation of the present is the man who is far the more likely to be
able to forecast the future. You would not entrust your case to the doctor who
had no knowledge of your symptoms. You would believe that the man, and the man
only, who could read into your symptoms, would be able to track the probable
development of the disease. It is the same in nature. The naturalist cannot predict
a harvest except he understands the nature of the seed, and it is just in
proportion as he is possessed of the power of insight that he is possessed of
the power of foresight. That is taught us in the pages of history. As long as
men thought, as it were, to out-manoeuvre Nature, and to read her secrets by
ignoring her face, they simply courted defeat. These were the astrologers, the
charlatans of science; but the moment they took up the other attitude, and
began to scan closely the features of nature, and sought earnestly to
understand the meaning of her thoughts, they began to discover her laws, and
discovering them they had the power by which they could predict what would be
the evolution of those laws. And if that be true in the law and order of nature,
has it its counterpart in the moral order also? Place ourselves for a moment in
the position of the king. Daniel comes and unfolds to him the vision. That
splendid vision, that noble and colossal figure, represented what had passed
through the king’s mind, not that night only, but every night. It had been the
dream of his life, the splendour and the magnificence of his position; the
glorious headship which he held over the empire which he thought his own, from
the high ‘vantage ground of which he looked down in proud contempt upon human
kind. His thoughts were read. The man’s heart is read; his vision, and all the
subtle play of his thoughts is unfolded to him. “The man that can toll me these
secrets of my heart is the man into whose hand I will place my destiny and bid
him point the way along the track of my life. He can understand what is the
outcome of this career of mine who thus understands me.” And wherever men have
been in the position of prophets of their age, their strength and power has
depended upon their capacity to read the minds and the play of thought of the
men of their age. If they are not familiar with this life they cannot have any
power to deal with the life that lies beyond. The men who stood in their day
foremost had an intimate knowledge of human nature. Take, for example, what,
after all, is an illustration in the same direction. This Book of God has found
its dominion over the minds and the lives of men because it has always
displayed itself as a book well read in the deeps of human nature. “I say,”
said one, rising from the perusal of it, “the person who wrote that Book knew
me.” “I believe,” said one, who was cut off only too early in his splendid and
promising career, “I believe it to be God’s Book because it is man’s Book;” that
is to say, it has such a power to fit into the needs of human kind that it
vindicates its divine strength because of the very humanity of its methods. And
this is what we may call the divine key to the method which God Himself has
adopted in the life and pattern of Jesus Christ. He comes into our midst to be
the Divine Teacher. He understands men. “Before that Philip called thee, when
thou wast under the fig-tree I saw thee--I knew the devout aspirations of thy
life,” and that breaks down the thought. “This teacher understands me. Rabbi,
Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the Judge of Israel.” Sometimes we feel
ourselves a little disheartened. The cynic turns aside and says, “It is true
your Christianity is played out, your religion effete.” I say it is an unwise
thing for a man to echo these doleful plaints. May it not be the case that we
have lost touch with humanity, that we have failed to understand human nature
as it is before us in the century in which we live; that we have allowed, so to
speak, our Christian teaching to grow fossilised, and the fossilised thing has
lost its life and the hands and feet of its movement, and it cannot grasp upon
the heart of humanity again?
2. But let us look at this second condition--the knowledge of a
Divine order. What was the interpretation of the dream? Here stood this
colossal figure, glittering with its varied metals. By-and-by, “without hands,”
came the stone which smote upon it, and then, as in a moment, all the
magnificence dropped into pieces, and these huge masses of metal, which had
been the admiration of the world a moment ago, are lifted as things light, as
“the char upon the summer threshing-floor,” and swept away, and the little
stone begins to grow, and to take the place of this great image, and to fill the
world itself. Of course, you may say the figure represented the empires which
were existing and which were to follow--Persia, Greece, Rome, or, if you will
have it so, the Egyptian or the Syrian kingdoms; but whatever the historical
interpretation, the ethical interpretation is for you and me. That splendid
dream, and that magnificent figure which appeared in the king’s dream, is the
dream of man in all ages; it is the dream of self-realisation. He who dreams is
king. He sees that grand figure bearing human form, dominating the plain; and
this is the ambition of men in all ages; but as he beholds he sees it in its
glory and in its weakness. He sees it in its splendour--there is the effort of
man to realise himself. It was so with all those who endeavoured to establish
any solid, single monarchy. From the days of Nebuchadnezzar or Nimrod, if you
will, to the days of Napoleon, this has been the same dream, “I will take my
idea, and I will impress it upon the world, and I will mould that earth and all
the creatures that are in it to my will, and I shall dominate all.” That is the
ambition; what I want you to notice is, that it is the effort of a man to
realise self in some form or other. That is an instinct which does not simply
breathe into the hearts of’ great conquerors, or great founders of monarchies;
there is not a human being created with a soul or an intelligence that had not
had the dream that he will realise himself. The artist who seeks to cast his
ideas on the canvas so as to speak his thoughts in richness and detail to his
follow men--he is seeking to realise himself--his own idea painted there. Even
in the home life you can see it. Thisjoy of home life has largely its play and
its beauty because it is the very thing in which we see that in our children we
live again--we realise ourselves in them. This instinct of self-realisation is
at the root of man’s best ambitions as well as his worst, and as it is at the
root of them you can understand why it is, but the life and the form of that
which was given him from God; for God Himself, if we may in reverence say it,
has made His world but the picture of the same principle in Himself. The world
is God realising Himself in material beauty; the page of history is God
realising Himself in moral order, and this Christian revelation is God
realising Himself in spiritual splendour to humanity; and I am not surprised if
this, the very impulse of God, be self-realisation that He may manifest His
greatness and His love, that therefore we, drawing our life from His hand,
should be filled with a like instinct. But while this colossal figure in the
vision is shown in its splendour, it is also shown in its weakness. This little
stone, without hands, should demolish the whole; man’s best and noblest dreams,
man’s most brilliant ambitions, are destined to be overthrown. And why? This
stone represents precisely that unseen, that handless power which has not its
origin in the conceptions of man, but in the nature of things; it is just the
picture of what you see in nature. Man builds his noble shrines, he rears his
sumptuous palaces, he spreads abroad the magnificent tokens of his power; but
law, re-written deep down in the heart of nature, lays its hand upon all these
creations of man’s genius, and overturns all that man creates. In the precincts
of moral order the law will overturn also; under this condition, all that is up
built disregarding God’s eternal law must perish. It is not merely because man
made it that it must die, but it is that man made it in violation of eternal
law. Three laws were violated in its erection--the law of time and growth, the
law of righteousness, the law of solidarity. The law of time, because this is
that which is built up, made--it does not grow in contradistinction to the
stone “without hands.” Thatgrows, this is made. That which is made, as it were,
is merely built and at variance with the law of growth. The things which are
alive grow, and in those things in which there is any moral life there is the
capacity of growing. All the best things of this world grow, but the impatience
of man hastens them onward. God will make a kingdom, but men with their
impatience say, “We will make it in our own time,” and therefore at all
costs--at the cost of blood, at the cost of righteousness, the kingdoms are made.
These empires have perished. Why? Because they violated eternal laws of God;
and as surely as the power of natural law can overthrow every shrine of human
erection, so surely must every kingdom, every monarch, every race, every
nationality, every church die and perish, if it tries to construct itself out
of God’s due time and out of God’s due order. And as it thus violated the law
of growth, by the very impatience of its construction, you know that it
violated the law of rectitude. Men often imagine that they can do the right
thing, but that they can do it in any way they please. There are two sentinels
that stand at the outgoing of the temple of God; the one is the sentinel of a
right way and the other of a right thing, and you are not permitted to build
where God builds for all eternity, unless you be directed by the right thing
and also by the right way. The weakness of life, as we often see it, is that
men are passionately devoted to some great and noble enterprise, but they
undermine the very foundations of their own edifice, because, while they seek
the right thing they miss the right way, and that is the secret of many a
failure. It sinned also against the law of solidarity. If you look at the
construction of this image, you will find that it is merely a piling together:
there is no homogeneity about it, it is heterogeneous; I am of gold, and I will
be the head of all; I am of silver, and I will be the strength of all; I am of
brass and I will be power of fertility to all, and my iron heel shall be
planted upon all. Christ has made all men to be of one blood upon the face of
the earth, and the kingdom which He establishes shall be built up not with
materials which shall represent the dignity, the glory, or the pre-eminence of
one nation or one people over another, but that wider and better glory, which
is the organisation of humanity unto a loving, living whole. “Then, if that be
the doom, as it were, of this dream of humanity,” we begin to say, “is it not,
then, a sad close to it all?” If the instinct to realise self, that is, to
leave some impress of our own upon the world ere we die, be a great and a
God-given impulse, and if what we see is the constant overthrow of all our
schemes, are we, then, to settle down into a miserable pessimism and say, “It
is vain ever to expect the realisation of human dreams?” Nay, not so. This
little stone “without hands” takes the place of this overthrown image; it
grows; it is the empire of heart, the kingdom which cannot be shaken; and,
therefore, there has never passed through human mind a noble and a true dream
that God does not see the way to realise. He breaks down our little efforts to
realise it that He may substitute His own. Never let us think, then, that we
are to be for ever disappointed by incessant and perpetual failures. The world
grows old, but with it there grows, also, the everlasting and the ripening
purposes of God. (Bp. Boyd Carpenter.)
Verse 5
Daniel 2:5
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, like the Greek rema (and even sometimes logos)
it may also mean a thing or subject of which there is speech, as it seems to do
in Daniel 2:15; Daniel 2:17 of this chapter. The other
interpretation, however (“the word is gone forth from me”), which is given in
the margin of the Revised Version, appears to have most probability. The
reasons are these:
1. The king would scarcely call his dream a “thing.” He would have
said, “the dream is gone from me” if he had meant that. “Thing” would have
referred not to the dream, but to the whole matter connected with the dream,
and that had not gone from him.
2. The sequences in both the fifth and eighth verses are not relevant
with reference to “dream,” but are relevant with reference to “word” or
“decree.” In the fifth verse there is no nexus between a the dream is gone from
me “and “if ye will not make known unto me the dream,” etc. We should have
expected a “therefore.” In the eighth verse the seeking to gain time would be a
natural result of the terrible decree, but not a result of the dream being gone
from the monarch.
3. The similar expression in Daniel 9:23 and in Isaiah 14:23 (yatza dkabhar “the
commandment came forth,” “the word is gone out”) is a strong support for the
meaning here, “the word or decree is gone forth from me.” Some have supposed
(with this rendering) that Nebuchadnezzar well knew his own dream, but wished
to test his wise men, and so insisted on their telling him what the dream was
as well as its interpretation. It would certainly not be unlike an Oriental
despot to do such a thing on pain of death if they failed. But there is one
thing that forbids this theory. It is the terrible distress of soul which the
monarch experienced regarding the dream. Such distress (verse 1) would not
permit him to indulge in a grim play with his wise men. He would be quick
enough to tell them the dream in order that his soul might have relief from the
interpretation. He would be careful to tell them every feature of the dream
which he could remember, and so help them every way to the result--the
interpretation. He most certainly had forgotten every detail of the dream, and
only remembered that it had impressed his spirit with care and perplexity,
which is a common experience in dreams. There may have been beside this a
spiritual intimation that the dream was of God, but Daniel’s marvellous telling
of the dream (apart from his interpretation of it) and recalling every feature
to his mind mus have been the conclusive proof to him that the dream was no
ordinary and unmeaning one, but a divine revelation. (Howard Crosby, D.D.)
Things that are Most Remembered
The king, it would appear, had two dreams at different times. One
passed clean out of his memory, the other hung about his memory so that he
could not shake it off. The first dream caused a very slight uneasiness, and
gave him very little concern, compared with the second dream. The first made
but an evanescent impression, the second an enduring one. Look at the dreams, and
we may discover the reason of all this. The first vision was about the coming
of Christ’s Kingdom, its power and glory. The second vision reference to
himself. Because of his pride, God ordered that he should become deranged for
seven years, and all his power forsake him, and that he should be driven from
his kingdom and be treated more like a beast than a man. At the end of those
years he should recover his reason, and with it his power and majesty. The
second vision was all about the king himself and his worldly prosperity. All
that was revealed to him about Christ’s Kingdom he forgot directly. All that
was revealed to him about his own fortunes he remembered well enough. The
revelation of the future of Christ’s Kingdom gave him some anxiety. The revelation
of the future of his own affairs filled him with lasting distress. The only
vision that goes clear out of remembrance is that with reference to Christ’s
Kingdom. Is it not so now? is it not so with you? is it not an old story
repeated over and over again? Everything that has to do with your earthly
fortunes, every scheme that has to do with worldly advancement, every dream of
human prosperity, sticks firmly in the memory. Bad telegrams in the morning
papers, what uneasiness do they not cause? The thoughts upon your bed and the
visions of your head trouble you. Very foolish and improvident persons you
would be if you did not feel anxious about your incomes, your speculations,
your crops. But then if you remember these visions, do not forget those which belong
to Christ’s Kingdom. I suppose there was a time with most of you when your
mother, or father, spoke to you earnestly of your duties to God, and the care
you must have for your soul. But time passes, and “the thing is gone from me.”
Some sickness fails on you. On your bed you are brought near to the brink of
the grave, pain and fear of death distress you, eternity assumes a more real
aspect, God’s judgments appear more fearful, the service of God more
obligatory. Oh, if you might recover, how you would walk in newness of life!
You get well, all the business and care of this present life begin again to
engross your attention, and as for the dream of God’s Kingdom--“the thing is
gone from me.” There are solemn moments of solitude, when the heart is especially
awake to spiritual influence, and when the soul sees God in an extraordinary,
supernatural, manner. Does this last? Sometimes. But too often the clouds roll
again over the horizon, “the thing is gone from me.” (Anon.)
Verse 8
Daniel 2:8
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 to
the season.
I. TIME IS ON MAN’S SIDE. We are often
made to feel that Men of the world know how precious sometimes is an extension
of credit for a month, a week, a day, even an hour. Give the perplexed man
time, and he will know how to act. “It is all a question of time.” On the
higher plane of things this is specially true. Morally speaking, time is of
infinite consequence to us.
1. Time is another word for mercy. So long as we enjoy the shelter of
time, we are safe from the judgments which our sins have provoked. All the
retributive suffering of this life is light indeed compared with the
retributions which await the transgressor farther on; it is but the spilling of
the red vials. “Flee from the wrath to come.” The fulness of penalty is
reserved.
2. Time is another word for opportunity. It is not bare duration that
is granted us, but a period rich in influences, succours, instrumentalities,
and inspirations. To say that time is lengthened out is to say that the Word of
God is continued to us, the means of grace, the privilege of prayer, the
influences of the Spirit, all the fulness of the blessing of the redeeming
gospel. Life teems with chances of getting good and doing good.
3. Time is another word for hope. Whilst time is granted, wonderful
changes are possible.
II. THE PERIOD APPROACHES WHEN TIME CAN NO
LONGER BE ON OUR SIDE. It was thus with these Magi; they had
nearly exhausted the king’s patience. An end comes necessarily to all respites.
The business man in difficulties gains time, the bill is renewed, it is again
and again renewed; but the inexorable day dawns. So a limit is fixed to the
opportunities of the religious life. The dispensation of mercy and opportunity
is soon past.
1. Most appropriate to the season is the spirit of thankfulness. All
have reason to thank God for the past year. “Thy saints shall bless Thee.” They
bless Thee for the sweet spring, the opulent summer, the mellow autumn, the
stern winter, and for those larger, richer spaces of heavenly blessing which
accompany the circling year. They bless Thee for three hundred and sixty-five
days and nights burdened with spiritual benediction and hallowing influence.
The unconverted also have reason to thank God for sparing mercy. Job asks, “Why
do the wicked live, and become old?” There is but one answer: Because God
delighteth in mercy.
2. The spirit of humiliation becomes us. How much more good we might
have gained! Instead of ending the year with a bosom full of sheaves, too many
of us with shamefacedness bring to God only a few blighted ears and withered
leaves.
3. The season demands the spirit of consecration. New scenes and
opportunities open to us; let us be faithful, and God shall restore unto us the
years that the caterpillar has wasted. (W. L. Watkinson.)
Verse 12
Daniel 2:12
The king was angry.
Anger
“Anger,” Dr. Cox observes, “is
It is remarked by Robert Hall: “Vindictive passions surround the
soul with a sort of turbulent atmosphere, than which nothing can be conceived
more opposite to the calm and holy light in which the blessed Spirit loves to
dwell.”
Verse 18
Daniel 2:18
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
necessity was urgent. In the land of Judah they might have gone up together to
the house of God, and sought counsel of the Lord by Urim and Thummim. There
they would have had the assistance of the priest, but here there was no priest
and no oracle. Prayer, without ceremonial, was all that could be presented at
the mercy seat, but it was quite enough. Time had come for the people of God to
learn that the Mosaic ceremonial was not only interrupted for seventy years,
but that, after frequent interruptions and woeful desecrations, even at
Jerusalem, it was soon to pass away. A little party of faithful persons already
proved that not in Jerusalem only, but even in a strange land, God could be
worshipped in spirit and in truth; that prayer, more fragrant than the purest
incense, would rise acceptable to God, without priest, or thurible, or altar;
that, just as Jonah sent up his cry out of the depths of the sea, and gained an
instant hearing, so at any time, and at any place, the poor man might cry, and
God would hear him, and send present help for his necessity. Thus did Divine
Providence prepare the way for a higher dispensation, when that meeting for
prayer in the house of Daniel should be followed by many other such gatherings
of the people of God in the lands of their dispersion. So was prayer made for
imprisoned Peter by brethren assembled in the house of Mark. So did Roman
Christians resort to the Catacombs, and Italian Christians to the Alpine
valleys, and good men of every land to secret chambers. Daniel, be it noted,
began his public life with prayer, and hence it came to pass that, as was said
of the prophet Samuel, not a word of his ever fell to the ground. (W.
H. Rule, D.D.)
Affliction Teaches Men to Pray
It was his yoke in his youth that first taught Daniel to pray. And
Babylon taught Daniel and his three friends all to pray, and to pray together
in their chamber, as we read. To be arrested in their father’s houses by Nebuchadnezzar’s
soldiers; to have Babylonian chains put on their hands and their feet; to see
the towers of Zion for the last time; to be asked to sing some of the songs of
Zion to amuse their masters as they toiled over the Assyrian sands--you would
have been experts yourselves in a school of prayer like that. You would have
held little prayer meetings yourselves with your class-fellows and your
companions, if you had come through half that Daniel and his three companions
came through. It is because you are not being emptied from vessel to vessel all
the week that we never see you on Tuesday night. Jeremiah, a great authority on
why some men pray, and why other men never pray, has this about you in his
book: “Moab hath been at his ease from his youth up; he hath settled on his
lees; he hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel; neither hath he gone into
captivity; and, therefore, his taste remaineth in him, and his scent is not
changed.” The Cumulative
Power of Prayer
Manton says: “Single prayers are like the single hairs of Samson;
but the prayers of the congregation are like the whole of his bushy locks,
wherein his strength lay. Therefore, you should, in Tertullian’s phrase, quasi
manu facta, with a holy conspiracy, besiege Heaven, and force out a blessing
for your pastors.”
The Advantages of United Prayer
I often think of the negro woman who was once asked by the
governor of Surinam why she and her fellows always prayed together. Could not
they do it each one for himself? He happened to be standing at the time before
a coal fire, and the woman answered: “Dear sir, separate these coals from each
other, and the fire will go out; but see how brisk the flame when they burn
together.” (Expository Times.)
Prayer Cultures Character
We may learn from this passage one principal means of Daniel’s
excellence. Daniel was a great character: one of those illustrious men whom God
raises up in His church, at distant intervals, when He has great works to
accomplish. The excellencies of such men are the gift of God. Yet, while gifts,
they are generally nourished to their perfection by appropriate culture; and it
is of importance for all men to mark and consider the influence under which
such characters were reared. Now there can be no doubt that Daniel’s
prayerfulness, his habits of regular and frequent correspondence with God, had
the greatest effect in fostering the excellencies of his character. Prayer did
not give him his great intellect, for that was created with him; but prayer
gave him wisdom, and self-denial, and fortitude, and true independence. We
would, therefore, recommend prayer to all, and especially to the young, as a
means of purifying, and elevating, and perfecting the character. It does this
in a twofold way. It brings down the sanctifying influences of the Spirit into
the mind. Frequent intercourse with God transforms the soul into His likeness.
It fills the mind with a holy reverence that casteth out the fear of man. It
begets confidence in all the Divine managements, which raises the soul above
the fear of danger. It begets a sense of His favour, that sweetens the soul and
keeps it in a healthful frame. All the great men of the church--prophets,
reformers, martyrs--were brought up in the school of prayer. (William White.)
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
I. IN EVERY DIFFICULTY WE SHOULD APPEAL
TO GOD.
Very serious was the position in which Daniel and his friends were placed, as
well as the native wise men of Babylon. The demand of the king was altogether
unreasonable. Only a despot could have made such a demand, and issued such a
sentence because of the non-accomplishment of his will. By any human power the
thing wanted was impossible of attainment; but Daniel knew where to find help.
Full often had he and his companions repaired to the throne of grace; and it
was easy for them, with full confidence in the Almighty arm, to visit that
throne in the day of their distress.
II. AND SINCE CHRIST JESUS IS TO REIGN OVER ALL,
SHOULD WE NOT SEEK TO HAVE HIM AS OUR FRIEND? If we
knew that some great earthly ruler was certain soon to be put in rightful
possession of the kingdom in which we dwell, and if we had the means to acquire
his favour, so that when his throne was erected amongst us, we should be his
prime favourites, and during his life enjoy great riches and influence under
him, I daresay we would earnestly employ these means to secure such a happy
result. But Christ’s Kingdom is not for a lifetime merely, but for ever. Of His
government there shall be no end. His friends are all to he raised to regal
eminence and power, and their glory shall never fade away; but His foes shall
be driven from His presence, and reap eternally the just recompense of their
rebellion. Is it not, then, worth while to cast aside everything that would
hinder us from securing the favour of this King, immortal and eternal--nay, to
sacrifice even our earthly life, rather than not make certain of His
friendship? (Original Secession Magazine.)
Verse 19
Daniel 2:19
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 then records it, in a form
adapted to the needs of living souls around. The situation of the prophet,
then, must be favourable to the full reception of the prophecy in all its
significance. “To qualify him for his work his historical position must be such
that his whole situation may be, so to say, the human question to which
revelation proclaims the Divine answer.” Accordingly, Daniel was carefully
placed by the hand of God so that the prophecies with which he was favoured
should have for him the fullest meaning. When we say that his watch-tower was
in the palace of Babylon, hard by the very throne, we indicate how exactly God
prepared him to be the prophet of this crisis in the history, not of Israel
merely, but of the whole world. For more than seventy years he lived at the
Babylonian and Medo-Persian court. He was a member of the government, high in
position. His political preparation for successive revelations was very
favourable. He gained an insight into the secular organisations of the kingdoms
of this world, and became thus fitted to receive what we may be allowed to call
political revelations. His spiritual preparation, too, was wisely and
graciously ordered. The moral victory over the temptations of his state of
pupilage, rendered it possible for God to communicate with humanity through
him. He was well versed in previous revelations. Daniel knew the contents of
preceding prophecies (9:2). Besides this preparation of knowledge and
self-conquest, the experience of life at Babylon was likely to make his soul
very susceptible to Divine impressions. (H. T. Robjohns, B.A.)
Verses
20-23
Daniel 2:20-23
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 history are taken into
account. He had been brought up among an idolatrous people, who worshipped
“gods many and lords many,” the sun, moon, and planets, and a host of inferior
deities. Despite these influences he had kept untainted the faith of his
fathers, God was for him the God, the true, the only existing; and He was “the
God of Heaven,” the Almighty Ruler who had fashioned that mighty host of stars
which the Chaldeans adored, and had traced out those courses from which they
professed to gain their knowledge of the future. As regards the prayer itself,
it will be observed how an ascription of praise both begins and ends it, as
with that prayer which the Saviour taught. He “changeth the times and
seasons”--not conjunctions of the planets. He “removeth kings and setteth up kings”--not
human ambitions and earthly armies. He “giveth wisdom to the wise “--not the
exponents of Chaldean lore. He “revealeth the deep and secret things”--not the
astrologers and diviners that call on heathen gods. There is a kind of subdued
triumph in the prayer, a spirit of exultation in its language, without any
alloy of mere mortal pride, but beseeming one who had trusted so fully and been
rewarded so richly. (P. H. Hunter.)
Daniel’s Thanksgiving
The name of God is an Hebrew form of expression for God Himself.
It is, therefore, the same as if He had said, “Blessed be God for ever and
ever.” There is a great difference between the manner in which God blesses us
and that in which we bless Him. God blesses us by showing us kindness, and
bestowing on us such benefits as tend to promote our present and eternal
well-being. In this manner we cannot bless God. To bless God is simply to
ascribe to him the glory that is due unto His name, and not to give Him
something which we have, and He has not. To be in the frame of mind which leads
us to admire and adore the Divine excellency, is to be in the highest state of
emotion of which our minds are susceptible. There is no region above this into
which our faculties can ascend. To contemplate and adore the Divine character
will be the sum of heavenly beatitude, “Blessed be the name of God.” Let Him be
praised, extolled, and magnified. Let earth and Heaven, time and eternity,
unite in this exercise. “Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever!” This
implies that God Would deserve to be praised for ever and ever. Human
excellencies wither and decay. But the excellencies of the Divine character are
everlasting and unchangeable. “Blessed be the name of God, for ever and ever,
for wisdom and might are His.” Wisdom and might are God’s in every sense. He is
infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in wisdom; infinite, eternal, and
unchangeable, in power. There is nothing which He does not know; nothing that
He cannot do. He is so wonderful in counsel that no flaw deforms His plans; so
excellent in working that no obstacle can frustrate the execution of them.
Creation, in all its departments, proclaims these attributes. That, however,
which called forth the exclamation from the prophet’s mind was the
contemplation of Divine agency, as presented to him in the vision, over-ruling
everything connected with the rise, progress, and ruin of the four monarchies,
to prepare for the erection of Christ’s Kingdom over all the earth. We may
learn from Daniel’s example, in reading history, which is just the unfolding of
the vision, to look beyond the visible actors unto God. We should not rest
content with knowing the exploits of warriors and the plans of statesmen. We
should endeavour to see the wisdom and the power of Him “who ruleth among the
kingdoms of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will.” And if we would see God
in history, we must compare causes and effects, events and their consequences.
We must not be content with looking to what occurs; we must observe what comes
out of occurrences; especially must we take in the whole range of this vision,
and consider the effect which every general movement had upon the world, in the
way of preparing it for the millennial glory. This is the end in which all the
general movements are to issuer Looked upon in this light, history becomes one
of the purest fountains of wisdom and devotion--one of the brightest mirrors
reflecting the Divine attributes, every page of which may be inscribed,
“blessed be the name of God, for ever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.”
Contemplating the changes presented to him by this prophetic vision, that which
most impressed itself upon the mind of Daniel was the supreme, universal,
uncontrollable sovereignty of God. “He changeth the times and the seasons, He
removeth kings and setteth up kings.” The seasons sometimes signify the marked
times and periods of the natural year. In this sense God is the author of all
the revolutions of the seasons. It is He who daily teacheth “the sun to rise
and know his time of going down.” But the times and the seasons, in this
passage, are to be understood in connection with the four monarchies, and
denote the period appointed for the various revolutions they were to undergo.
When He is said “to change the times and the seasons,” this implies that God
hath appointed to each of these monarchies the time when it shall rise, the
period of its duration, the revolutions through which it is to pass, end that,
by His providence, He brings about each of these changes at His own appointed
time. “He removeth kings and setteth up kings.” Kings, as in the following
vision, may here be used for kingdoms. The meaning will then be, “The rise and
fall of empires is from God.” While in the rise and fall of empire God is
sovereign. His sovereignty in this, as in everything else, is not arbitrary.
“He removeth kings and setteth up kings,” in infinite wisdom. Each of the four
kingdoms answered a most important purpose in regard to the human race. This is
a very glorious view of God. Independent Himself, all things depend on Him.
Unchangeable, He is the author of all changes. The God of order, He is also the
author of all revolutions. This is a very comfortable view of the world. It is
proverbially said to be a world of change. Nothing in it is fixed--nothing stable.
We never lie down and rise up in precisely the same world. But here is an
anchor that may stay us in every storm, here is a polar star to steer by in
safety, amid the teasings and the hearings of the tempestuous sea of time. All
the changes that are in the world come from God, and God is unchangeable. The
tide of revolution which at times sweeps with such terrific power across His
footstool cannot reach His throne, and the lapse of ages cannot affect His
nature. Having adored the Divine character as manifested in the dispensations
connected with the four prophetical kingdoms, Daniel now renders thanks for
Divine goodness shown in the revelation of the vision unto him. “He giveth
wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding,” etc.
While all knowledge comes from God, this is specially true of the knowledge of
what is hidden and future. “He revealeth the deep and secret things.” Whatever
glimpses men have gotten into the future, have come from God. And how
consolatory is it to reflect that God sees into the darkness of futurity. The
throne of providence is often encompassed with clouds and thick darkness. Let
us remember that when Daniel disclosed the dream which baffled all the wisdom
of Chaldea, he fell down before God in grateful adoration, and, instead of
boasting over the wise men, as many of the expositors of prophecy have done
over one another, his very first request, as we shall see in the following
verses, was in these words, “Destroy not the wise men of Babylon.” And in all cases
the study of prophecy is profitable only when it increases our admiration of
the Deity, and our humanity to our fellow creatures. On the other hand, it is a
sure proof that they have not studied prophecy aright, who, as the result of
it, have increased in dogmatism, and not in devotion--who, as if inspired by
misanthropy, become denouncers of wrath upon the world, and seem to exult in
fancy over the downfall of nations, and hurl forth their anathemas against all
who refuse to receive the wildest wanderings of their imagination as the
infallible dictates of Divine truth. (J. White.)
Daniel About to Interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
I cannot but think that the conduct of the prophet will impart,
when carefully examined, practical lessons of the widest application. You will
none of you be required, as Daniel was, to recall to the memory of another the
details of a forgotten dream, and to interpret with accuracy any signification
which might be supposed to attach to it; but, nevertheless, you must all of you
be tried, as Daniel was, through occurrences the dealing with which will test
at once your faith, your gratitude, and your love.
1. And I apprehend that the narrative ought to prove to you that
under the pressure of even the very heaviest afflictions nothing, in a
multitude of instances, can be less to the point than inaction or despair.
There are, of course, numerous cases wherein the exhibition of a meek
resignation involves the sole duty required; but those dispensations are
frequent, concerning which it is the appointment of Providence, that men shall
help themselves; entreating fervently, indeed, the bestowal of that gracious
aid without which their most toilsome exertions must be futile; but still
tasking their own energies to the utmost. In the instance before us, prompt
action was the primary obligation of the prophet. He accordingly proceeds at
once into the royal presence, and undertakes to set at rest, within a
reasonable time, the monarch’s anxiety as to both of the points specified. But
it does not, for a moment, occur to him that he could be competent, in his own
strength, to fulfil his engagement; for, together with his three companions, he
directly betakes himself to the Divine footstool; and they offer their joint
supplications that it may please the Lord to disclose the nature and bearings
of the secret. So then, it was no outburst of self-sufficiency which impelled
the prophet to apprise the king that in due time he would discover to him all
which he desired to know. A more striking illustration of the unlimited
possession and of the unbounded influence of faith, than is supplied by the
prophet’s course of action and its consequences, it were hardly possible to
conceive. You recollect what strong terms our blessed Saviour employs as
descriptive of the mighty effects which would be produced by the manifestation
of such a spirit. Faith would even remove mountains, He declares. And you
cannot but remark that Daniel seemed to entertain no doubts of the satisfactory
accomplishment of the wondrous task undertaken by him; he, without a moment’s
hesitation, assures the king of his ability to perform it. At the same time, I
would again remind you that his confidence was strictly connected with his
resolution to resort, with assiduity, to the right means of procuring success;
and I repeat that the work of earnest supplication to which he betook himself
was undeniably the strongest evidence of his faith. His, you see, was not that
so-called faith which eventuates in nothing practical; his assurance of the result,
unwavering as that was, was nothing else than an assurance that God’s blessing
would rest upon the due employment of those fitting means which he was
determined not to neglect. It rested with the Almighty to suggest to the mind
of the prophet the dream and its interpretation, whilst it devolved upon His
servants, with all earnestness, to entreat the bestowal of suggestions which He
alone could impart. And may we not succeed in deriving hence a lesson for
ourselves? Whilst it should at all times be the highest delight of the
Christian to repose on the justifying merits of his Redeemer an unhesitating
and a grateful confidence; whilst he should permit no floods to overwhelm, nor
fire to consume, nor lapse of time to impair the vigour of his faith; oh! let
him ever keep in remembrance the great truth, that the character of his works
and his course of life will, after all, stand as the final tests of the
genuineness of that faith; and that no mere consciousness or semblance of
occasional spiritual fervour can compensate for the absence of all practical
evidences of the sincerity of his profession. Like Daniel, he may feel
perfectly assured, whilst adopting this course, that the requisite support will
be given; and thus is he completely equipped for every enterprise.
2. But let me now more particularly call your attention to the
circumstance that the prophet, when in quest of the inspiration which alone
could enable him to perform his task, did not satisfy himself with merely
presenting his own supplications, how impassioned soever, before the throne of
grace, but desired his companions to mingle their entreaties with his; and thus
may be considered to have taken every possible means of obtaining from his
Maker a favourable response. And hereby also may we receive
instruction--instruction having reference to the value of united prayer. But
Daniel did not confine himself to entreaties that God would graciously enable
him to disclose the details and import of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. His
supplications having secured the accomplishment of his desire, he omitted not
forthwith to tender to the Divine Being the unfeigned and reverential
expression of his gratitude. “I thank Thee, and praise Thee, O Thou God of my
fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now
what we desired of Thee; for Thou hast made known unto us the king’s matter.”
And it must at once be admitted that in pursuing the course which he did, the
prophet set an example which should be copied even by ourselves, who enjoy the
privilege of living under another and far higher dispensation. We complain, and
justly, that men do not sufficiently betake themselves to prayer; and yet,
after all, they far more frequently cultivate prayer than praise. How many are
there who, when visited with afflictions, their deliverance from which appears
to be almost hopeless, or when placed in some position of difficulty or danger,
where special Divine assistance is absolutely required, will humble themselves
in the dust before the Majesty on high--will confess unreservedly and earnestly
their sins and shortcomings; and will almost “pray without ceasing” that they
may be guided amid their perplexities or rescued from their perils! Yet let a
kindly Providence but accede to their entreaties--let these perplexities be
surmounted, or these perils be happily removed, and, in multiplied instances,
the warmth and constancy of their devotions survive not the change; the period
of distress and trial seems now to be passed; and alas! the very consideration
which should call forth the loudest accents of thanksgiving and praise tends
only to the renewal of that spiritual indifference which had for the time been
parted with.
3. Let me ask you, in the next place, to observe the mode in which
the prophet addresses the Great Being whom, in the words of the text, he was
approaching with “the voice of thanksgiving.” His experience, doubtless,
supplied him with many instances of Divine watchfulness, Divine care, and
Divine support. That he cherished a most grateful sense of God’s mercies to him
is quite undoubted; and we may rest assured that at all times he recognised in
the Maker of heaven and earth his Guardian and his Guide. But, nevertheless, it
is not as his own God that he addresses the High and Holy One in the passage
under consideration. He addresses Him as the God of his fathers, thus showing
that his memory was stored with incidents wherein, in former times, God had
proved Himself a Shield and a Succour. His words tell that he must have felt,
and have exulted in feeling, that--“the same yesterday, to-day, and for
ever”--the eye of that mighty and uncreated Intelligence which had looked down
with tenderness and affection upon the ancestry, would continue to beam
brightly and benignantly upon the descendant. Oh! that there were more amongst
ourselves of such simple but well-founded, beautiful, and heaven-born faith!
Oh! that our hope, that our trust, that our joy, that our love, might be
inspired, elevated, augmented, as well by the remembered history of the past as
by personal and more recent experience! God is still, as in the days of David,
“a very present Help,” a “Fortress,” and a “Deliverer!” But the declaration of
Daniel that the “wisdom and might” which then belonged to him had been
conferred by God, demands, in another point of view, our attention. I have
already admitted that there were, in his case, peculiar circumstances which
exist not in our own. But acknowledging that both in the mode of their
communication and in the largeness of their amount, as well as in the direction
which they took, his endowments differed very widely indeed from any which have
ever been bestowed in modern times--throughout which, in fact, there has been
no occasion for the exercise,to any extent, of supernatural powers by man--we
may contend still for the desirableness of ever cherishing the recollection,
that the human faculties have been imparted by a higher Power, as calculated to
exert a most salutary influence. It will dispose us to dedicate these faculties
to our Maker’s service, engaging in no pursuit which His statutes have
condemned, and devoting ourselves to the practice of every virtue which He
enjoins. It will tend to bring home to us the consciousness that “we are not
our own.” It will beget a sense of responsibility to which otherwise we should
be strangers. It will check pride, and will thus prepare the heart for
profiting by progressive communications of Divine grace.
4. In conclusion, let me point out to you that the Almighty availed
Himself of even the iniquitous decree of a selfish tyrant by producing a most
striking display of His omniscience, by making an important addition to the
prophetic announcements, and, farther, by promoting the temporal welfare of one
of the most devoted and distinguished of His servants. Doubtless, indeed, His
providence was at work, suggesting to the monarch’s mind the exciting dream.
But assuredly the edict by which the dream was succeeded can be regarded as no
dispensation of His providence. Yet mark how speedily that providence brought
good out of evil! Then, under no circumstances, however apparently untoward or
threatening, must the Christian give way to despair. (H. B. Moffat,
M.A.)
The Workings of Gratitude
Turning to the practical improvement of this narrative, we have:
1. The value of united prayer. When Daniel undertook the solution of
the difficulty, he engaged his three friends to pray earnestly on his behalf,
and we may be sure he was fervent in supplication on his own account. He
believed in God as the hearer of prayer. The issue showed that he acted wisely.
There is a special promise to united prayer.
2. An illustration of the workings of gratitude. The moment he had
received the revelation Daniel poured out his heart in thanksgiving to God. How
many, when they have got the blessing for which they asked, forget to be
grateful for it! We cry when we are in extremity, but when the terror passes we
forget to give thanks to Him who has removed its cause.
3. An illustration of the devout humility of genuine piety. Daniel is
careful to let the king understand that he has not received the secret from God
for any excellence about himself. He fears to stand between the king and
Jehovah. He gives all the glory to the Most High. There is always a modesty
about true greatness, and you may know whether or not piety is genuine by
inquiring if it be characterised by humility. The good man will never seek to
hide God from the view of his fellow men.
4. An illustration of faithful friendship. When Daniel was exalted,
he did not forget his companions. Knit to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah by
congenial tastes, as well as by the ties of country and religion, he had become
to them a friend indeed; and they had shown their deep interest in and
attachment to him, not only in sharing his protest against the diet of the
College, but also in praying for him at his special request. It was meet,
therefore, that he should remember them in his prosperity. But this conduct is
not common. (W. M. Taylor, D.D.)
Verse 28
Daniel 2:28
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 wisdom and knowledge; a just God; a
powerful God; a great God; a good and merciful God; a faithful God; a holy God:
a God of love.
II. WHAT IS SAID OF HIM. He revealeth
secrets. He is capable of doing this because He knoweth all things. He makes
known to men the pride, hypocrisy, unbelief, of their own hearts. He reveals to
His people, who are called by grace, the secret of His love and favour. This
secret is revealed in the work of regeneration. He reveals also His covenant to
those who fear Him. He shows them the necessity, nature, and stability of the
covenant, and their interest in it. He reveals His people a sense of their
pardon and acceptance in Christ. And as the Lord will reveal these secrets for
His people’s comfort in this world, so also He will reveal to them the secrets
of that which is to come. (S. Barnard.)
My Dreams
Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, was sorely troubled by a vision
of the night. The wise men of the age acknowledged that the secrets of the mind
were beyond their ken. The whole narrative affords us an excellent illustration
of the limits of human reason, and the necessity of a revelation from God; and
in these days, when both science and philosophy are employed to cast doubts on
revelation, when the “wise men” of our time would decry the Word of God, it is
well for all lovers of the Gospel to give a clear and settled answer to these
who question the hope that is in us.
I. THERE ARE SECRETS, THE REVELATION OF WHICH IS OF THE
GREATEST IMPORTANCE TO HUMANITY. I, also, in common with all
mortals, have dreamed a dream, ay, dreams of God, of responsibility, of
happiness, of immortality; but they have gone from me; the pictures are
blurred, the ideas are indistinct.
1. I dream of the existence of a God. I have a dim consciousness of a
great First Cause, an innate conviction independent of creeds, and which defies
the impious foot of Atheism to crush it, or the breath of a cold Materialism to
wither it away. I see around me a thousand irresistible tokens of His creating
power and wisdom. He is my Maker, hence my Master! the Creator and Maintainer
of the Universe, hence the Universal King! My lot, my destiny, is in His hands.
To Him I am responsible. On Him I depend. Who is He? How does He regard me? I
would secure His favour. For the sake of my happiness, my life, it is essential
to me to know my God. Who art Thou, Lord? What is Thy will, that I may do it?
What are the conditions of Thine approval, that I may obtain it? I have faint
dreams of God, of truth, and right, and duty. Tell me, ye wise men, “Who is the
Ruler, and what is the rule of life?” I also have dreamed a dream, and, like
the vision of the king, it has left an intermittent horror on my soul.
2. I am conscious of wrong-doing. I am sensible of the existence of a
certain something, which condemns or approves, according to the nature of my
deeds. This “conscience” which is native to my soul upbraids me with my guilt,
and saddens me with the responsibility of my own “I will!” All peoples, all
individuals, have this conscious wrong. God is angry with me, and justly. It
defies argument What can I do? Must His justice take its course? How can a man
be just before God? This guilt oppresses me, this sense of sin embitters my
life and fills me with unspoken dread. Is there an interpreter, one among a
thousand, who will deliver me from going down into the pit, saying, “I have
found a ransom?” Like Nebuchadnezzar, I also have dreamed a dream, but it has gone
from me.
3. I dream of a possible rest. Toiling and moiling amid the cares and
anxieties of time, wrestling with ever-multiplying trials, my weary spirit gets
fitful and broken glimpses of a state of quiet. I strive to bear my
disappointment with a manly spirit, but I miserably fail. I hanker after
contentment. I am a searcher after happiness, and my search is vain. All men
seek it, but gold cannot buy it; honour cannot invest me with it; pleasure is a
false and gilded substitute; I dream, and the world dreams of a one time golden
age, but it has gone from me. I ask the “wise men” of the age, “Is there a
possible happiness for my poor soul to-day?” Like the King of Babylon, I also
dream a dream, and it fills me with anxiety and unrest.
4. I dream of an “after life.” My mind refuses the idea of dying like
the beasts below me. I am repelled at the thought of annihilation. I shall
live!--this is the innate instinct of every human mind. The conviction
isuniversal. Then, what is there awaiting me in that unseen future? I submit to
you that these are primal questions of man; and while these secrets are
unrevealed, what good will my birthright do me? I cannot live by bread alone. I
cannot subsist on theories and propositions. Who will recover and interpret my dreams
and bring me satisfaction and repose! Oh, ye “wise men,” ye sages of to-day: I
sit at your feet! I open my ears to your words. My anxious soul awaits your
answer to these problems. But leave me ignorant of these vital matters and my
life is chaos, existence is a riddle and a curse, death is a horror, and the
mysterious afterward a terror and a woe!
II. THE REVELATION OF THESE SECRETS
ALTOGETHER SURPASSES HUMAN WISDOM. Nebuchadnezzar called to his
aid the “wise men” of his kingdom, the philosophers and scientists of the day,
men who professed to read the secrets of the stars. To these the king stated
his difficulty; they honestly confessed that the thing was beyond their skill.
This, I submit, is the position occupied by the wise men of to-day as regards
these solemn problems of the soul. In the presence of my questioning heart,
Science is voiceless, Philosophy makes an effort to reply, flings a little
border light upon the mystery, flounders in a sea of contradictions, then
lapses into silence. The Astronomer talks with me on the composition of the
sun, he tells the number of the stars, calculates their distances, and calls
them by their names. He cannot tell me by what law my wandering soul may
gravitate towards Deity, and circle in the orbit of truth and duty around the
Eternal God. The geologist, who digs among the deep foundations of the earth,
can read the wondrous scroll of the earth’s biography; can echo in mine ear the
testimony of the rocks; but he finds no rock on which my restless soul can settle
and build its hopes of Heaven! “The depth saith, it is not in me!” The
Zoologist thrills me with his descriptions of animated nature. He discourses on
all the winged denizens of air, from the eagle with the sweeping pinions to the
sparrow chirping amid cottage eaves, but he hath found no single messenger who
can bring to human hearts, fearsome and sorrowful, the true olive-branch of
peace! The botanist, splendid sage, expounds the secrets of the vegetable
kingdom, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop upon the wall, from the tropic
palm to the lichen amid northern snows; but, tell me, glorious magician! canst
thou tell me where the herb hearts-ease grows, to soothe the moral sores that
run in the night of sorrow? The mathematician hath a marvellous power over
numbers, and proudly calls his, par excellence, the exact and certain
science; but can he calculate the unknown quantity of the price required to
redeem a law-condemned life? The geographer’s eye ranges over the wide surface
of the globe from China to Peru, from the scorching equator to the shivering
poles. But he hath never found the river of life among the unknown hills! If we
were to travel thus around all the circle of the sciences, if we questioned
thus at the portals of every school and system of philosophy, the answer of the
Babylonian astrologers must come alike from all: “There is not a man upon earth
that can show the king’s matter, and there is none other that can show it
except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh.” Great and precious and
important are all these in their legitimate domain. All honour to the men who
patiently study the mysteries of nature, and explore the secrets of mind; but
there are higher studies, there are grandar laws. Discarding all secondary
illumination, we must go the the Fount of Light and utter our humble prayer to
the Highest--“Teach me Thy statutes, even wondrous things out of Thy law.” Let
human wisdom honestly avow its limits.
III. These great
secrets, so important for humanity to understand, have been revealed by God
himself! Daniel received the desired knowledge direct from Heaven. Even so hath
God revealed these great mysteries to the human mind. He hath reproduced the
dreams that had gone from us, hath showed the great necessities of our moral
nature, and hath produced in His glorious Gospel an efficient satisfaction for
every yearning of the human heart. Jesus Christ is God’s answer to man’s
questions, and the answer is redemptive and complete. Come and hear Him, then!
His lips are touched by an unkindled fire. He speaks as never man spake, for He
is “the Power of God and the Wisdom of God”. He hath come to answer the cry of
humanity. Sit at His feet and propound your heart-questions. Do you ask Him for
rest and peace? He says, “Come unto Me, and ye shall find rest unto your soul.”
Do you ask for power and guidance, comfort and aid? “I will send unto you the
Holy Ghost, the Comforter, who shall guide you into all truth.” Afraid of
death, do you ask for help and victory? “He that believeth in Me, though he
were dead, yet shall he live; and whoso liveth and believeth in Me shall never
die.” Oh! surely these are glad tidings of great joy! Oh! my Saviour, I will
trust Thee! I will listen and believe! My fears fade, my doubts vanish, my
terrors die! Here, then, lies the key to unlock all secrets. We are, by the
mediation of Christ, brought back to God--to God, the true home of the soul.
Offended God and offending man atone and reconciled, and Jesus Christ the
healer of the breach! From Nebuchadnezzar went forth the edict that, should the
secret remain unrevealed, the men must die. “There is but one decree for you.”
That edict was a cruel wrong, a strict injustice. But that decree has also gone
out from God. There is but one decree for you if this divinely-interpreted
secret is not made clear to you; and this decree is just. You have the dream
and the interpretation; you have the statement of your need, and you have the
Gospel that will meet it to the full. If you reject this great salvation, so
adapted to your need, so attested as to its authority, so simple in its terms,
so mighty in its transformations, so glorious in its results, so tremendous in
its cost--there is but one decree for you--“He that believeth shall be saved,
he that believeth not shall be damned!” Alas for us if the slope of natural
religion, the ladder of science, were the only stair to lead us up to God! But
where natural religion abandons us, where science at its highest leaves us,
where philosophy in its purest form forsakes us--then revealed religion takes
us up. (J. J. Wray.)
God as a Revealer of Secrets
Men have secrets, or what they consider secrets, for really there
are no secrets in the universe, nor should there be such. Sin alone has
secrets, virtue has none. With it, all is as open as the day. Looking at the
Great One as the revealer of secrets, we observe:
I. HE MAKES NO OMISSIONS.
When men reveal the secrets of others, from ignorance they omit something; but
God knows the whole--the most hidden thought of the most obscure mind in the
universe.
II. HE COMMITS NO MISTAKES.
Men who reveal secrets, commit great errors; they either say too much or too
little. Omniscience commits no blunders; the revelation will be severely
faithful.
III. HE HAS NO UNKINDNESS.
Men often tell the secrets of others maliciously, but not so with Him. God is
constantly revealing the secrets of men now:
1. Through the dictates of human consciences.
2. Through the unguarded actions of human life. (Homilist.)
Verses
31-33
Daniel 2:31-33
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 mixed up with
other things. Errors in combination with truths, selfishness with benevolence,
superstition with religion, infidelity with science, injustice with law and
evil, too, is in combination with customs, systems, institutions. It is a huge
conglomeration. Unmixed naked evil could not, perhaps, exist. Worldly souls so
compound it as to make evil seem good.
II. IT IS A BIG THING. This
image was the biggest thing in the imagination of the monarch. Evil is the
biggest thing in the world. The image represents here what Paul meant by the
“world,” the mighty aggregation of evil. Alas, evil is the great image in the
world’s mind.
III. IT IS AN IMPERIAL THING.
The various substances that composed the image, Daniel tells us, represent
kingdoms--Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome. Evil here is imperial. The New
Testament calls it “The kingdom of darkness.” It wears the purple, occupies the
throne, and wields the sceptre of nations.
IV. IT IS A HUMAN THING. The
colossal image was a human figure--human head, breast, arms, legs, feet; and of
human manufacture. All the errors of the world are the fabrications of the
human brain; all the had passions of the world are the lusts of the human
heart; all the wrong institutions of the world are the productions of human
power. Evil is human, it thinks with the human brain; it speaks with the human
tongue; it works with the human hand. Man is at once its creator, organ, and
victim.
V. IT IS A TOTTERING THING.
On what does the figure stand? On marble, on iron, or brass? No, on clay; his
feet part of iron and part of clay. Evil, big, grand, and imperial though it
be, lacks standing power; it is not firm-footed. It has clay feet, and must one
day tumble to pieces. (Homilist.)
Symbolical Metals
The metals symbolical of the four kingdoms are placed after one
another in the order of their value. First gold, then silver, then brass, then
iron. There is a progressive deterioration in this arrangement of the metals.
That which is accounted most precious is first; that which is of least value is
last. To hold out the idea that the world is constantly growing worse, heathen
fable represented it as passing through four ages, which were also named from
these four metals, the golden age, the age of silver, the age of brass, and the
iron age. In each succeeding period the world became worse than it had been
during that which preceded. From the fact of the metals in this image following
one another in the order of their value, the most precious being first, and the
least valuable being last, we are not to suppose that Scripture countenances
this idea of heathen fiction, and that the world is really in a state of
constant deterioration--becoming more base and worthless by every succeeding
revolution. This idea is not correct in point of fact. It is true that every
nation, after reaching a certain stage, has decayed and been dissolved by the
corruption of manners, as the human body, after reaching a certain stage,
gradually decays and is at length dissolved by death. But while every
particular nation has in course of time deteriorated, the human race has been
steadily progressing in the knowledge of art, science, legislation, and
everything that is most conducive to the individual and social advancement of
mankind. National progression may be compared to the incoming of the sea.
Almost every wave advances farther than that by which it was preceded, and then
falls back, leaving the sand bare which once was covered; but another and
another wave follows, each succeeding one advancing nearer to the shore, until
the sea covers all its sands, having reached the point at which the voice of
the Almighty said to it, “Hitherto shalt thou come, and no farther.” In regard to
the four monarchies, it is not a fact that the condition of mankind became
worse under every succeeding monarchy than it had been during the reign of that
by which it was preceded. On the contrary, it could easily be shown that the
iron monarchy, which on the other supposition should have been the worst, was
more conducive to the welfare of mankind than any of the other three. From
these statements it appears that the metals are not prophetic of the relative
condition of the world under these monarchies, but are descriptive of the
character of the monarchies themselves. Each of the metals represents the
principal feature of the monarchy of which it is the symbol. As regards the
order of their succession, it ought to be remembered that these metals have a real
and a nominal value, and that their real value is in the inverse ratio of the
nominal. Gold and silver possess the greatest nominal value, because in
exchange for them everything else can be procured; but in themselves they are
of less value than brass and iron. Keeping this universally recognised
distinction in view, the succession of metals in the image may intimate that in
these monarchies there would be a declension in outward splendour, and a
progression in those things which were useful to mankind. Gold, the symbol of
the first monarchy, intimates that sumptuous splendour would be its most
striking feature. (J. White.)
The Dream Recovered
The king’s inability to recollect the dream that caused him so
much anxiety gave occasion to call for Daniel, and enabled him to prove the
vast superiority of his God over the gods and magicians of Babylon. By being
able to restore the lost dream, he proved at once that he was able to give its
true interpretation. By restoring the dream and giving its interpretation, he
revealed to the king two mysteries at once--a mystery from the past and a
mystery of the future. A great image. It appears from ancient coins and medals
that both cities and nations were represented by gigantic figures of men and
women. The old writer Florus, in his history of Rome, represents the Roman
empire under the form of a human being, in its different states from infancy to
old age. The recently-discovered monuments of the Nile, and of Nineveh, and of
Babylon, show that stupendous human figures were objects and emblems familiar
to the ancients. Geographers, also, have used similar representations. The
Germanic empire has been represented by a map in the form of a man, different
parts being pointed out by the head, breast, arms, etc., according to
their geographical and political relation to the empire in general. The various
metals of which Nebuchadnezzar’s image was composed represented the various
kingdoms which should arise subsequent to the fall of his own empire. Their
position in the body of the image clearly denoted the order of their
succession. The different metals and their position also expressed different
degrees of strength, riches, power, and durability. Clay, earth, and dust, of
course, mean weakness, instability. (W. A. Scott, D.D.)
The Dream Recovered
We see the hand of Providence in bringing Daniel and his friends
forward at the Babylonish court at the time when it was the most proper they
should be honoured. God never forsakes those that trust in Him.
I. THE DREAM, ITS PREDICTIONS, AND THEIR FULFILMENT PROVE THE
SUPREME AND PARTICULAR PROVIDENCE OF GOD, AND THEREBY ALSO SHOW THE TRUTH OF THE BIBLE. Now this
prediction of the future destinies of nations could not be without revelations
from God, nor could it be unless God be both sovereign in providence and in
nature. It is God only and alone who can foretell the distant changes of time
and nations; and this He can do and has done as infallibly as He knows the
revolutions of the heavenly bodies. God knows as perfectly and as certainly
what the commotions of the people and the thousand passions of kings and
statesmen will produce, as what the thousand attractions of the stars and their
most distant courses will bring about in immensity. Astronomers give us
beforehand the details of eclipses, because the Creator has impressed His will
upon the universe as a code of physical laws. He rules mankind, who dwell on
the earth, as well as the worlds which roll in infinite space. He stays the
commotions of the people, as well as the billows of the sea. He holds in His
hand the hearts of the rulers of the earth, as He counts the hosts of Heaven
and calls them all by name.
II. THE HISTORY OF NATIONS PRESENTS TWO
ELEMENTS IN THEMSELVES PERFECTLY DISTINCT, AND YET ALWAYS MORE OR LESS UNITED, AND ALWAYS MORE OR LESS SUBJECTED TO
MUTUAL AND RECIPROCAL INFLUENCES. I mean the political and
religious history of a country. The religious habitudes of a people do of
necessity deeply affect their morals, and their social and national
characteristics. So palpable is the influence of religion upon a nation, that
it has long been received as a canon of philosophical history, that the
religion of a country being known, all the rest of that country’s history can
be easily known. It is not essential to mere physical existence that we have
comfortable houses to live in, and that they are adorned with the products of
industry and filled with the comforts of commerce. We could live in tents. But
certainly those who have once tasted the elegances of refined life will not
desire to go back to semi-barbarism. So it is not essential for all pious
people to be politicians, yet all the members of Christ’s Church are interested
in the political interests of the world; and Christian young men should prepare
themselves to take a part in the civil affairs of their country. If the
administration of our laws and the outwork of our great institutions are left
wholly in the hands of ungodly or unprincipled men, we cannot expect God’s
blessing to rest upon us.
III. Observe HOW CAREFUL DANIEL WAS TO REMEMBER HIS FRIENDS IN
PROSPERITY. Like Joseph, when exalted, he was not ashamed of his
poor kin. At his request his three friends were promoted to high employments in
the department over which he presided.
IV. Throughout
Daniel’s history we see in him, as in Joseph, A DISPOSITION TO HUMBLE HIMSELF AND EXALT HIS GOD. Without
prevarication or hesitancy he shows his abhorrence of idolatry, and his deep
and earnest conviction that the God whom he served was the only real and true
God. He claims nothing for himself. When the king asks him if he is able to
make known the dream and its interpretation, he reminds the king that there had
been no power in the gods of his diviners which had enabled them to do this;
but “there is a God in Heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the
king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.” And in the whole affair
we hear him ascribing everything to God. And his object was in part attained.
The king’s mind became so powerfully impressed with Daniel’s arguments and
demonstrations, that he made the remarkable declaration: “Of a truth it is that
your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings.” (W.A. Scott,
D.D.)
The Inconsistent Image
“Behold this dreamer cometh” to us then, and says, “I saw in my dream”
an image of a man, in which, whilst the head was of fine gold, the farther each
part was from the head, the more inferior it appeared. And the least gifted of
the wise men among us replies with modest demureness, for he has read the
interpretation within himself a thousand times: Man’s knowledge may oft seem
like fine gold, but his action is at best but silver, and often but iron and
clay. It may even be that, in desire, he is of the noblest metal, yet in will
and deed but of the baser sorts. The youth is fired by the electric spark of
heroic emulation from the recital or vision of another’s glorious achievement,
hope and noble ambition stir within him till he burns to be a hero in the
strife; and in the absence of some great thing, he fails to fling his force so
richly accumulated into the duty that is nearest to hand, and so to irradiate
it as to make drudgery Divine. And as, at the day’s close, he recalls the
longing that leaped that morning within his breast, and contrasts with it the
cold commonplace achievement, life seems to him like a mocking travesty of a
true man, with a head of fine gold, but its feet part of iron and part of clay;
golden desires but deeds of clay. And the old man reads within himself the
messages that tell of the coming dissolution. It is time, he says, that autumn
touched my life to mellowness and maturity. Should not some of that excellent
glory begin to be reflected from me, if so soon I am to enter those Everlasting
Gates? And so there comes home to him the sense of space between his desire and
his attainment, his ideal and his actual. What artist before his most finished
work, what reformer after telling out all his scheme, what minister as he
reviews his ministry, what child of God as he surveys his life, does not say to
himself, softly and sorrowfully, “If the head was fine gold, the arms were but
silver, the foot part of iron and part of clay?” Yes, and if any man rejoins
that in his case achievement equalled, if it did not surpass, intention--the
feet were equal to the head--we have no hesitation in replying, “Then the head
was by no means ‘of fine gold.’” Full attainment means small attainments.
Better a golden conception carried out by silver arms, incomplete as that must
appear, than that both conception and execution be of no higher order than iron
or clay, though it be then symmetrical. Better lofty standards and ideals
imperfectly carried into action but honestly attempted, than low standards,
though completely realised. Let nothing, then, delude us into debasing the
“head.” Though it make our ears tingle and our cheeks flame scarlet daily, ever
above us and beyond us must be the prize of our high calling. To be satisfied,
to stop, is to perish at the core. We are saved by honestly hoping, and we can
only hope for the uuattained. Let him only who is honestly striving to make his
life of one substance throughout, and that “fine gold,” take to himself the
encouragement we have educed from the image. Let all others beware’ lest their
baser metal, or incongruous compound, melt utterly in that day when the fire
shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. But can we think long of the
spiritual life under the figure of a body, with its head and members, without
St. Paul’s vivid and effectively practical use of the metaphor coming before
our view? “Jesus Christ the head,” and “Know ye not that your bodies are
members of Christ?” And then as if some such grotesque and inconsistent image
as this of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream loomed before his vision as more than a
possibility, with a keen sense of unfitness amounting to horror that neither
the King of Babylon nor the inspired seer of old ever felt, he asked: “Shall I,
then, take the members of Christ and make them members of the clay and mire of
lust and sin?” “As He is, so are we in this world,” so be “conformed in all
things to our Head.” This, then, is the unending royal road along which the
saints are called to journey. Our “Head” is “of fine gold.” All the choice
virtues and fair excellences of the Divine human nature dwell in Him. Lovely
beyond comparison, the sum of all perfections, the essence of all that is
flagrant and fair, is our Head. And one thing only is wanting, that the Church
which is His body becomes as its Head, having attained “unto a full-grown man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness” of its Head; a glorious body,
“not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and
without blemish.” And “because we are members of His body,” to us is this word
sent. “Ye are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof,” or “members
each in his part.” (Marg. R.V.) What is our contribution to the visible Body?
“Ye are My witnesses.” Do they who see our works glorify our Head which is in
Heaven. Or is there a shocking incongruity, as in this image? Do not multitudes
to-day honestly think--yes, honestly believe--that Jesus’ day is over, that He
was not the imperishable fine gold, but if not simply “clay” that served its
passing purpose, at the best “iron” or “brass,” because they have seen His “members,”
and have concluded (and how shall we blame them in many instances?) that since
the “members,” the “feet” and the “legs” and the “hands,” were so palpably
baser metal, the “head” must be also? Shall our Divine Head be thus baffled in
us His members! Let us labour and pray so to be , “changed into the same image”
that as His feet we may run swiftly at His bidding; as His arms and hands we
may work out fully His will, and our whole being show itself a “vessel unto
honour, meet for the Master’s use.” (R. B. Shepherd, M.A.)
Deterioration in Successive Nations
The prophecies of Daniel (feinting to “the times of the Gentiles”)
are marked by evolution, but it is downward, and not upward; rather, it is
devolution! They are marked by progress, but it is progress in corruption; by
development, but it is inferiority. This outline is given us in two parts. One
from the human standpoint in Daniel 2:1-49, where, under the figure of
a man in stately proportion, they are seen in their succession by a man of the
Gentiles; the other from the Divine standpoint in Daniel 7:1-28; Daniel 8:1-27, where, by a man of God,
they are seen in their origin. The one, therefore, displays their outward
appearance to the eye of a man of the world; the other reveals their moral
character to the eye of the man of God. Nebuchadnezzar sees these nations and
“times of the Gentiles” under the outward aspect of glittering gold, shining
silver, brilliant brass, and irresistible iron. Daniel sees them as wild
beasts, ferocious in their nature, cruel in their career. Nebuchadnezzar sees
them in a dream, as a stately man, in his palace. Daniel sees them in a vision
of God, as wild beasts arising out of the waters. For, “man being in honour
abideth not, he is like the beasts that perish” (Psalms 49:12). And man apart from God,
has ever gone, and must ever go down, down! Even the saint without Christ can
do nothing. But man apart from God can do “only evil continually.” He goes
down, as it is here shown, from gold to miry clay; and from the noble lion to
the nondescript dragon! Yes, man has indeed a free will, but it is ever
exercised in opposition to God’s will, it is “enmity against God, for it is not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7). Man has ever destroyed
himself, and his help is found only in God (Hosea 13:9). Now look at the image. Look first
at its values. All tend downwards, first gold, then silver, brass, iron, and
clay. Look at its weight, its specific gravity. Gold is equivalent to 19.3;
silver, 10.51; brass, 8.5; iron, 7.6; clay,
1.9.
Down, down front 19.3 to 1.9. The image is top-heavy, and the firstblow of the
mighty stone upon the feet shall shatter its pottery, and bring it all down in
pieces. So it is with the beasts, which are all emblazoned on the banners, and
stamped on the coins of the Gentile nations. But they are wild beasts, and they
run rapidly down from the lion to the bear, from the bear to the leopard, and
from the leopard to the hybrid monstrosity. All is on the descending scale, all
is seen to be growing worse and worse. Those who look for the world to improve
and progress fill it developes into the Millennial kingdom, must account for
this. We all agree that these things are figures, but they are figures of a
reality, and that which is represented as an ever increasing descent, cannot
possibly be the figure for a gradual ascent. At any rate, it was not so
interpreted to Daniel by the Holy Ghost. He said to Nebuchadnezzar, “Thou art
this head of gold, and after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee”
(Daniel 2:38-39). Yet, with all this
advancing deterioration, there is a seeming advance in apparent greatness, but
it is in reality only weakness. The first empire, Babylon, is seen as one; the
second, the Medo-Persian, is seen as two; the third, Greece, becomes four
(Macedonia, Thrace, Syria, Egypt); and the fourth, Rome, becomes ten. So that
there is less and less of that unity which is strength, and more and more of
that division and separation which is weakness. And as the image thus declines
in all that is great, noble, and precious, so the beasts become more wild and
ferocious. Government runs down, down! The first (Babylon) was an autocracy,
“whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive” (Daniel 5:19). The second was a parliament
of princes, and the law of the Persian kingdom was stronger than the Persian
king (Daniel 6:1-14). The third, Greece, was a
government of oligarchies; while in the fourth, Rome, we see the mingling of
princely iron with the communistic clay; until, in our day, we see more and
more of the clay and less and less of the iron, till good government is the one
great want of the age all over the world. Man has been tried and found wanting.
He cannot govern himself as an individual, apart from God. How, then, can he do
it nationally? No! the descent is from God to the devil, from Christ to
anti-Christ. (J. Bullinger.)
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
The passage here brought to our attention is only the first of
several visions recorded in the book of Daniel treating of the same events. The
dream of the great image as given in this chapter, and the vision of the four
beasts as recorded in the seventh chapter, unquestionably describe the same
things. To a certain extent, the same thing is true of the vision of the ram
and the he-goat in the eighth chapter, and of the statements in the eleventh
chapter regarding the succession of kings. Daniel was first of all a devout
worshipper of the true God; he was further a patriotic Few; and the combination
of these peculiarities turned his thought intensely toward the promise of the
coming Messiah. God uses men according to their fitness, and Daniel, by his
predispositions, was eminently fitted for the Messianic prophecy. But Daniel
had his speciality even in this. He was a statesman--the greatest of his age.
From the beginning of manhood till the weight of years was heavy upon him he stood
behind the throne, and in the reigns of four kings and during two dynasties he
was the chief adviser of royalty, studying with the eye of a master the
relation of nations and the development of history. His Messianic prophecies
were shaped accordingly. He wrote, not as did Isaiah, of Christ the sufferer,
but of Christ the king, and he viewed the future in its relations to the rise
and fall of kingdoms, their influence on the coming kingdom of Christ, and the
final triumph of that mysterious and mighty Messianic dominion which should
cover the whole earth. The dream of Nebuchadnezzar, as interpreted by Daniel,
describes the succession of four great world-kingdoms, each preparing the way
for the kingdom which followed it, and the four leading to the last and most
wonderful, a fifth, to fill the whole earth and last for ever. All interpreters
agree that the last kingdom is that of Christ. The statement, also, is explicit
that the first kingdom is the Babylonish. What are the three intervening? There
is substantial agreement that the second and the third kingdoms are the
Medo-Persian Empire and the Macedonian. The only serious division of
interpretation is in regard to the fourth kingdom. What is meant by the legs of
iron, with feet part of iron and part of clay? Until within about a hundred
years there has been no question that by this was signified the Roman Empire.
But after Luther’s day entered German rationalism, claiming that the book of
Daniel was written by an uninspired pseudo-Daniel living in the times of the
Maccabees. Such a man, of course, could write history, but would neither dare
nor wish to prophesy another earthly dominion antagonistic to the Jews; and so
these rationalists feel obliged to find some other kingdom than the Roman to
represent the fourth. It is a similar prejudice against the supernatural which
has led to much of the destructive criticism of the present day, and it was
such prejudice which first suggested the substitution of the Syrian Empire for
the Roman in the interpretation of this passage. It is enough for our present
purpose that such scholars as Keil and Pusey advance satisfactory arguments
that the fourth kingdom can be no other than the Roman. Why, then, are these
great kingdoms introduced here? Because they prepared the way preeminently for
the establishment of Christ’s kingdom on earth. Each world-kingdom represented
certain ideas, and the downfall of that kingdom showed their inability to meet
the needs of man. Each world-kingdom did a certain work in shaping human life, so
that when Christ came the world was in better shape to receive Him. Let us
briefly examine these great empires to see what they accomplished in these
directions.
1. In showing that certain prevailing ideas of excellence were
inadequate to satisfy human wants, each one of these world-kingdoms played an
important part. It has evidently been a part of God’s plan to let nations try,
on a great scale, their theories of human advantage. Then, as one after another
nations carrying out these theories have gone down into ignominy and ruin, the
fallacy of their theories of happiness has been proved. Babylon represented the
idea of sensuous and sensual pleasure. There money could purchase everything,
and there the grossest delights of the flesh were indulged in to the full. Its
luxury was boundless. The wild and wanton feast of Belshazzar and his lords, as
described in the book of Daniel, is a mild picture of the drinking habits, the
profligacy and licentiousness of the Babylonians. No other nation ever
illustrated so fully as they the idea that man cannot find satisfaction in
material enjoyments. An Oriental people, of warm blood, living in a hot
climate, with the greatest abundance about them, their very religion
ministering to their ideas of pleasure, surely, they, if any in the world could
do it, might find the end of life in luxury. But in this they were grievously
disappointed. Their pleasure-loving was utterly demoralizing, and ended in
their ruin. The Medo-Persian Empire comes next into view. This people had higher
ideas of life than the Babylonian. They were monotheists, or at least dualists.
They were not a luxurious people. They despised silver and gold, and when they
made war upon Babylon they could not be bought off as other attacking armies.
Hence Isaiah says, “Behold, I will stir up the Medea against them,”--that is,
against the Babylonians--“which shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they
shall not delight in it.” The controlling idea of the Medo-Persian Empire was
glory. What they sought above all else was military renown. To them vastness of
numbers and vastness of territory had a peculiar charm. At one time the empire
covered an immense stretch of country, from the river Indus and the
Hindoo-Koosh Mountains on the east to the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and the
Sahara on the west. This was the empire which delighted in the most immense
armies the world has ever known. Xerxes brought together against Greece two
million and a half of men. But glory failed to satisfy, as had pleasure in the
preceding kingdom. Presently this great empire, with its twenty satrapies, fell
to pieces. The Macedonian Empire followed, bringing into view a wonderful
civilization. Its days exalted intellect. Philosophy and art were the prominent
forms of delight. Men sought refuge from the ills of life in the spacious
groves of the academy, where Socrates and Plato and other great thinkers
elaborated schemes of thought to explain all that troubles man and to provide a
remedy. The faculties of man were at their highest, and in no age of the world
has there been a finer development of literature and art. But it failed to meet
the cravings of man, or to defend him against evil. The Macedonian Empire went
down into speedy decay. With the death of Alexander it broke into two great fragments,
the empires of the Ptolemies and the Selucidae, and presently another and
greater world-empire swallowed up both of these. The Roman Empire was the last
of these great world-kingdoms, and this set forth the idea of power. Rome, as
no other nation before it, was thoroughly organized. The controlling ambition
of Rome in its highest prosperity was to rule. It emphasized the ideas of law,
of order, of force. It drew up a legal code that became the model for
subsequent ages. Its mighty legions swept all lands, and nothing could stand
before them. Lacking the grace and delicacy of Grecian civilization, caring
less for fame and show than the Medo-Persian civilization, scorning in its best
days the sybaritism of the Babylonian civilization, its fitting symbol was not
the gold of Babylon, nor the silver of Persia, nor the bronze of Greece, but
iron--hard, destructive, invincible iron. But law, though organized most
thoroughly, and force, though developed into its highest forms, gave no
guaranty of national permanence and secured no national happiness. Rome lapsed
into weakness. The magnificent nation became permeated with vice, and easily
fell a prey to the barbarians of the north. Its iron was mingled with clay.
2. And as the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold
were broken in pieces together and carried away by the wind, while the stone
that smote them became a great mountain and filled the whole earth, it is well
for us to see how these world-kingdoms all contributed toward the establishment
of Christ’s kingdom on earth before they disappeared. Babylon destroyed the
tendency of the Jews to idolatry. Before they were carried away into captivity
they had repeatedly gone after the false gods of the nations around them. But
Babylon established them in the firmest opposition to the sin. Even Rome
trembled before the fierceness of their hostility to idolatry, and at their
wish removed from Jerusalem its military ensigns on which were images of
Caesar. This intense monotheism was a necessary preparation for the coming of
Christ. The Babylonish captivity likewise scattered the Jews everywhere. But
few of them returned to Jerusalem. This dispersion of the Jews served an
important purpose in making ready for the kingdom of Christ. It caused a
general expectation of His coming throughout the world. It provided places for
the preaching of the Gospel, for wherever a synagogue stood there Jewish
Christians were at first able to speak for Christ. It secured an early
presentation of the Gospel in all lands. The Jews converted at Pentecost went
back into every land with the story of the Cross. The Jews in foreign lands
were obliged to modify largely the ritual of their fathers. The Medo-Persian
Empire broke down the scandalous Babylonish idolatry and destroyed a pestiferous
influence in the ruling forces of the world. By its wide conquests it broke up
the fallow ground of human thought, destroyed prejudices, and so opened the way
for the Gospel. It re-established the Jewish worship in Jerusalem, and so kept
the Divine fire of religious truth burning till Christ should come. The
religious efforts inaugurated in the time of Cyrus and Darius and other
Medo-Persian kings were permanent in their results. Not simply was the temple
rebuilt, but the Scriptures were collected and copied and familiarized. And
what did the Macedonian Empire do for Christ? It diffused the Greek language
with Greek literature and Greek modes of thought. Intellects were wonderfully
quickened the world over. The Old Testament was translated by Alexandrian
scholars into Greek. Thus the Scriptures were made known to the world, thus
language was fitted to express the lofty thoughts of the Gospel, and thus men
were lifted up on a higher plane of thought, where they could appreciate and
receive the preaching of the apostles. And Rome? The great Roman Empire
established a universal dominion which facilitated the spread of the Gospel. It
built good roads to all lands and policed them. It secured a fair measure of
good order. In consequence the apostles could carry their Divine message all
over the world. The Roman Empire also had an important bearing on Christ’s
atonement. It was the official authority which put Him to death. Thus it joined
Gentile and Jew as alike guilty before God, and alike needing the benefits of
the great sacrifice. It furnished a legal, and, therefore, peculiarly
incontrovertible testimony to His death. It proved His resurrection by
stationing guards at the tomb, who would assuredly have been put to death if
His body had been stolen by His disciples. And it ended the Jewish ritual, for
shortly after Christ’s death Roman legions destroyed the temple, scattered the
Jews, and made impossible the temple service. Can we doubt, even after this
review, that Christ’s empire is superior to all that went before it, and that
on their pulverized and widely scattered fragments it is built up? (Addison
P. Foster.)
The Great Image
I. ALL WORLD-KINGDOMS DESTITUTE OF GOODNESS WILL
END IN DUST. This is the doom of the great kingdoms of the world
who are destitute of sufficient morality to preserve themselves in existence.
II. THE OLDER THE WORLD BECOMES THE LESS
ENDURING AND THE MORE WORTHLESS ARE THE MERE WORLD-KINGDOMS. The longer
anything that is dying lives, the less valuable it is. Those who are dying morally
become of less and less worth in the world the longer they continue in it. So
with all kingdoms founded on a mere worldly basis. Mere physical power becomes
of less worth in proportion to the progress of the world by the development of
moral force.
III. THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE KINGDOMS OF
THE WORLD AND THAT OF CHRIST, IN THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE IMAGE AND THE STONE.
In relation to size, materials; in their origin, strength, place in human
history, length of existence. Lessons:
1. God may instruct a saint through the brain of a sinner. Here
Daniel is instructed by Nebuchadnezzar.
2. That all the materials of the world may be used, and so
consecrated, as means of illustrating Divine truth. The most common-place
things can be ennobled by being the vehicles of moral teaching.
3. We must judge, not according to appearances, but according to the
inherent strength of things and persons.
4. Sin will not resign its dominion unless it be smitten. We cannot
drive out the devil of evil habits by gentle persuasion or long speeches.
5. There can be no success against evil unless we are connected with
the supernatural. There are virtuous people in the world who are not
Christians. There have been some bright examples of such among heathen nations.
But they could make no head against sin around them, even if they had no strong
tendencies to gross or palpable sin within. Sin within us, or around us, can
only be smitten through connection with a “stronger than the strong man armed,”
who has himself smitten evil by a sinless life and an atoning death. (Outlines
by a London Minister.)
The Church and the World
The general condition of the Church, in reference to the world,
urges to the consideration of large and fundamental principles. There is in the
prophetical image a very exact picture of the condition of the world in a Pagan
state, and, to some extent, of what it is in every state, short of moral
perfectness; and there is, in the stone cut out of the mountain without hands,
an equally exact picture of the Christian Church working out the renovation of
the world.
I. THE IMAGE. We are not
left to conjecture the meaning, either of the whole or of its separate parts
(v. 36-43). The head of gold meant the Babylonish empire, especially during the
reign of Nebuchadnezzar (v. 37, 38). The breast and arms, which were of silver,
are understood to mean the Medo-Persian empire (v. 39); the belly and thighs of
brass, the Grecian, particularly under Alexander the Great (v. 39); and the
legs and feet, these last being divided into ten toes, the Roman, in the
different conditions of an empire and of the ten kingdoms into which it was
afterwards divided (v. 40-43); all of this is commonly understood, and so
generally allowed, as to warrant our omitting any special or detailed proof. It
will also be observed that these different empires are introduced as occurring
in succession, and as bringing before us the condition of the world
continuously, during a very long period. But there remaineth another
characteristic of this vision. The object revealed is an image. The word
translated image is indeed something employed to signify merely a figure or
resemblance of something. But its more ordinary meaning, and that which the
circumstances seem to require, is that of an idol. The object introduced is in
the form of a man, the materials employed are like those of idols, and the
greatness and strange mixture of the figure do also correspond. But the nations
of the world, and especially those introduced, must in this way somehow or
other be idolatrous; and the idolatry will require to be such as may be
reached, as will afterwards appear, by the progress of Christianity. Thus far
we are carried by the image itself; and now we are led to look around, and to
ask whether the kingdoms of this world be really such as is here
supposed--whether all Pagan nations are essentially idolatrous, and whether all
others not yet perfect are in the sight of God chargeable with less or more of
the same offence?
1. Now, first of all, it will be recollected that the same corruption
which exists in the individual affects society. Speaking of man as an
individual, sin was first introduced into his heart; but out of the heart
proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, etc.; and thus the whole man
becomes defiled. Then families made up of such individuals must also be impure;
and this not merely as regards the conduct of particular members, but as
respects domestic habits, and the authority of those who are heads of families.
But families grow into tribes, and tribes have laws and law-givers exercising
authority over them. But again, tribes become nations, and nations, whether by
conquest or federal union, become empires; and in this state the evil is still
worse. The contagion is greater, and the laws and customs, if supported by
public opinion, are almost irresistible; and what now would the world itself
be, if left to its own corruption, but one common though varied mass of moral
evil.
2. The reasoning employed in these remarks is fully borne out by
facts. The sin originally introduced into the breasts of our first parents soon
discovered itself in their offspring; Cain slew Abel, and because his own works
were evil and his brother’s good. In the course of a few generations the Church
had to be separated from the world on account of the prevalence of iniquity.
The same thing again occurred after the flood. It occurred to such an extent
that in the days of Abraham, who was only the tenth from Noah, special
provision had again to be made for the preservation of religious truth. And we
have, if possible, a still stronger proof in the description furnished by an
Apostle, as applicable to the world at the fulness of time. This account
contains an explanation also of the corrupting principles. In different
countries there are different forms of superstition, different kinds of
prevailing indulgences, and laws, and customs having different tendencies; but
in all, the corruption of the human heart is seen festering in society, and
pervading all its arrangements. It is not merely that there is the oozing forth
of the corruption of the heart, and this as defiling all things, but that all
the influence of power, all the authority of laws, and strong current of public
opinion, are wholly impure, unrighteous, and irreligious. And what, in like
manner, are the sympathies of such a people, but sympathies in favour of
corruption, of immoral indulgences, and unrighteous laws.
3. But there is another view of this subject, necessary to the
filling up of our prophetical delineation. We understand the image to be
representative of idolatry, and in correspondence with this we believe the
world, in its unbelieving state, to be essentially idolatrous. It will be
generally admitted that Pagan nations are for the most part idolaters. The true
history of man’s condition religiously is this: Religion is of God--is
communicated by His Spirit to the individual inwardly; and to the world by the
revelation of His will outwardly. It is itself pure in either way; but on
coming into contact with the corruption of the human heart, and of a world
lying in sin, it becomes impure, and if left alone would grow into corruption
itself. Confining our illustration to the world collectively, the history of
nations has only to be read that it may be seen. But this very tendency to
corrupt, tends also to an ultimate annihilation of religion itself. The same
alienation of mind from God, which veils in forms adapted to the human heart,
leads to an utter forgetfulness of God, and distaste for everything proper to
His worship. Even ancient Greece and Rome had almost reached this very
condition, when Christianity stepped in and saved these nations from absolute
infidelity. It will be observed that in all this we have spoken only of
Paganism, but the same principle extends to corruptions of every form. The very
same tendency of our corrupt nature, which converted the simple faith of the
Patriarchs into Paganism, changed the doctrines and worship of the Apostles and
first Christians into Mohammedanism, Popery, and other forms of error less
generally known. In these residers, therefore, nearly all will admit that the
nations of the world are for the must part idolaters. But there is another
sense in which the nations of the world are fitly represented by the
prophetical image; and although this is certainly the more abstract, it is
nevertheless that which seems mainly intended. The head of gold directly
pictured the King of Babylon and the glory of his reign (v. 37, 38), not the
priests of Bel, or anything proper to the idolatry of Babylon; and so was it of
the other parts of the image (v. 39-43). These were like the head, all
severally descriptive of the nations they represented politically. And
politically, therefore, must these nations be held as idolatrous. The principle
arrived at in the other case will assist us. Idolatry is the giving of that
honour and glory to any other which is due only to God. And so, when the
flatterers of Herod shouted, “It is the voice of a god and not of a man,
immediately the angel of the Lord smote him because he gave not God the glory!”
(Acts 12:22-23). And this was the very sin
of the King of Babylon, and no doubt that which rendered the head of gold a
part of the image (v. 28-30 and 34-37). And this is the master sin, first of
the human heart, then of each family, and lastly of kingdoms and empires,
including their laws and customs, and whatever else may direct or control
society. And curious enough it is, that here also the corrupting tendency
diverges into two separate currents, the one ending in an entire absence of
everything like an acknowledgment of God, and the other in the embodying of
interested and corrupt ends under the cover of Divine authority. The latter, as
in forms of worship, is greatly more common than the other. Most nations embody
their faith in their constitution, and some even allege the authority of the
State to be Divine; nevertheless that it is in all its leading features opposed
to the will of God, and essentially an organized form of oppression, and thus
instrumental in promoting rather than restraining wickedness. This alliance
nevertheless gives stability to such governments, and, on the principle already
referred to, namely, that the ends so served are natural to man, and are sought
by him. And the analogy holds equally good in the other branch, for what is a
government, simply expressive of a nation’s will, and without any
acknowledgment of God, or any observance of His laws, but infidel? Now, both of
these tendencies, it will be observed, manifest themselves in Christian as well
as Pagan nations. They are the concomitants of moral corruption, the one
generally in circumstances of popular ignorance and superstition, and the other
in nations distinguished for intellectual attainments, or at least activity,
with a less amount of practical religion. The rapid survey which we have thus
taken of what may be called political idolatry, is perhaps enough to show the
truth of the principle proceeded upon; and there is only one other element in
this condition of the world which we shall stop to notice. It is the well
ascertained fact that no nation has the power of reforming itself. No barbarous
nation, for example, has ever been known to become civilized except through the
interference of some other nation already in that state. All intellectual
improvement originates with religion--with revealed truth. This at least may be
proved, that the introduction of religion to any nation is ever followed by
intellectual improvement. And it is all but proved that nothing but religion
will so humanise the mind of any nation as to give it a taste for general
knowledge. And so far as the lights of history guide us, we are farther induced
to believe that the early improvement even of heathen nations, such as that of
Greece, was brought about by the importation of knowledge from countries which
had not yet wholly lost an acquaintance with Divine truth. The prophetical
image was thus literally descriptive of the condition of the world. The head
was of gold, and is passed downwards into silver, and brass, and iron mixed
with clay; but still it was a piece of dead matter, undergoing indeed changes,
but these were all downward. They were as nations themselves, still becoming
more and more debased, and yet, in no stage of this progress, discovering aught
of a redeeming tendency. This, be it observed, is the character under which all
nations, unblessed with the Gospel, are to be seen, and in so far as any nation
is wanting in moral and religious influence, it is under the same taint, and is
subject to the same progress. This, therefore, is the aspect under which the
world ought to be contemplated, apart from the effects of Gospel truths, or
short of their full and transforming power.
II. THE STONE CUT OUT OF THE MOUNTAIN
WITHOUT HANDS. The cutting of this stone out of the mountain was
not coeval with the commencement of the succession of kingdoms set forth in the
image. “Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out,” which is explained in the
44th verse thus: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up
a kingdom.” Then, as to the execution of the threatening that this stone should
smite the image, it is said in the vision, “which smote the image upon his
feet,” that is, during the continuance of the Roman empire; and yet, in doing
this, it is added that not only the iron and clay, but also “the brass, the
silver, and the gold” were to be broken to pieces together. This leads us at
once to the time of the cutting out of the stone. It was to be looked forward
to during the times of the Babylonish, the Medo-Persian, and the Grecian
Empires; but it was to occur under the Roman. And how is it then possible for
anyone to doubt as regards the fulfilment? The explanatory description is, “In
the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed.” The figure introduced is in many respects fitted to bring
before us the leading characteristics of the Church as regards the world.
1. And first, as to its origin. Quarries were of old frequently in
mountains, and there is nothing perhaps in this beyond a proper keeping with
the imagery employed; but its being cut out of the mountain “without hands” was
no doubt intended to point at the Divine origin of Christianity, and this as
distinguishing, it from every other form of religion. It was literally of God.
Its foundation stone was His own incarnate Son--its first propagaters were His
inspired Apostles--the first Christian Church was born under the special power
of Pentecostal influence. Such an institution is eminently of God, and must,
from its very nature, endure for ever.
2. Another of its characteristics is set forth in the power of the
stone to break the image. We all know that among the rude implements of ancient
times employed in breaking any piece of carved work, a mass of stone was the
most natural, and that which was most frequently used. Now, be it remembered,
that the prophetical image has been explained as meaning not the abstract
constitution and power of nations, but their idolatrous character--and this,
whether it respects the moral condition of their superstitious and polluted
worship, or their self-willed and unrighteous, if not also impious,
governments. The thing to be broken, therefore, and reduced to powder, is not
the ordinance of government, which is of God, but the idolatry of nations,
which is wholly of man. And now it will be seen that Christianity, as taught by
the Apostles, was eminently fitted to effect this--was so fitted as simply by
its progress to carry out all that is here meant. But allow conscience to be
once awakened--let the individual once feel himself restrained from wonted
habits, and compelled to unwonted causes of conduct--and even he will be
brought into collision with his fellow men. His own family will take offence,
and his neighbours will eye him askance, and by and bye an arm of power will be
lifted up against him. But allow the one to become a thousand, and the thousand
to become many thousands, and now the cry will be raised of “turning the world
upside down.” It will now become a matter of necessity, either that such
parties shall be freed from sinful laws and customs, or that they shall be put
down by the hand of power. What reason would thus pourtray, history narrates.
The day of Pentecost was but as yesterday, when the doctrines of Peter and John
gave offence, and they were called before the
Jewish Sanhedrim, and taught as they had been by the Master
himself to “render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s,” they were
nevertheless compelled to say to the High Priest and his Council, “whether it
be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God judge ye,
for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20); and on another occasion,
“we ought to obey God rather than men” Acts 5:29). This of itself affords proof
as well as illustration; but the instructions of the Saviour, originally given
to His Apostles, are more direct and certain. (Matthew 10:16-18; Matthew 10:34-36.) Nothing can more
Clearly show that the Church was to be brought into collision with the idolatry
of the world, and that it was in the first place to suffer.
3. It may, however, be well to rest here for a little, so as to look
at what is said of this smiting of the image even on the feet, that the whole
image was thereby reduced to powder. In this we have just another proof of the
principle on which we are proceeding. Suppose mere idolatry, as known under some
particular form, to be meant by the image, then would the stone require to have
been applied to the head of gold, as well as to the feet of iron and clay. But
if the idolatry meant, be as we have been alleging, that alienation from God,
and substitution of the corrupt will of the creature for the unerring will of
the Creator, then will the idolatry brought before us be one as the prophetical
image, no matter that the head and the other parts are of diverse materials. It
will be thus seen that the kingdom of Satan is one, though of many successive
ages, and that it remained in power down to the time of the first planting of
Christianity. And it conveys to us this farther idea, which is of some
practical importance, namely, that whatever remains of national alienation from
God, is in reality a part of the kingdom of Satan, and such as ought to be kept
under the power of the stone. And what would you more? it will be said. Would
you have her to do as she had been dealt by? Would you have her to persecute? By
no means. And what would you then? Simply to carry forward the work in which
she had been engaged, with all the advantages of her acquired power; not to
rest, but to carry forward the work of Christ as regards Scriptural
instruction, till, by the blessing of God, the remaining outfield be as the
vineyard of the Lord; and not to rest as regards laws, and customs, and
authority, till these be severally based on the Word, and imbued by a spirit of
piety.
4. But this carries us forward to another and most important branch
of this subject; we mean the stone becoming the mountain and filling the whole
earth. It is altogether too large to be received merely as one characteristic;
and, therefore, we shall speak of it in parts. It will be observed, then, from
the vision, that the pounding of the image and the enlargement of the stone, so
as to become a mountain and to fill the earth, were not strictly consecutive,
that is, the stone did not first become a mountain filling the earth, and then
smote the image, neither that the stone first broke to pieces the image, and
that when this was quite done it became a mountain, for the co-existence of the
stone and the image for some considerable time is clearly implied (v. 44). The
thing meant was, that the stone, when first cut out of the mountain, and when
still portable, was employed in pounding the image, and that as this went on,
so it grew, till by a diminution of the image and an enlargement of the stone
the one took the place of the other. The one disappeared and the other became a
mountain, filling the whole earth. And this we have in part seen. As
Christianity grew, Paganism and Pagan rule decayed, and nominally at least,
Christianity is even now seen as some lofty mountain towering over all human
institutions, and as it grows applying its weight--its influence--to the
demolition of another and another position of the fabric of Paganism.
5. But we ought not, perhaps, to conclude this series of remarks
without adverting to an interpretation of this and similar passages, which has,
in different ages, been the cause of great social mischief, and which ought to
be guarded against. When the Reformation in Germany had well-nigh reached a
state of general diffusion, there broke out among the half-instructed people an
opinion leading to revolution and bloodshed. Galled with the continuance of
political grievances, they sought to obtain deliverance under the influence of
religious motives. They fancied themselves entitled to revolutionise states and
overturn governments, for the purpose of erecting in their room others more in
accordance with what they believed to be the will of God. And the effect was,
first a civil war, and afterwards the destruction of the parties engaged, and
last of all the hindrance of religion, as regarded its progress and also its
legitimate influence. On these accounts it may be well very distinctly to guard
whatever is said on a subject of this kind. This is due to Society--it is due
to as many as would be instructed and act on their belief; but it is due also
to religion. And it is a matter of satisfaction that this may be done simply by
pointing back to the doctrine of the vision. It is not, then, be it remarked,
that the Church is to interfere with the affairs of the State, and far less
that Church members are to draw the sword, and thus forcibly to alter the laws
and constitution of kingdoms. The Church is spiritual, and it is to carry on
its pounding process only by spiritual means. It is to shed abroad the light of
the Gospel on society, and thus to dispose the nation to righteous laws and
right government. (D. Macfarlan, D.D.)
The King’s Dream
What was its meaning?
I. THE GREAT EMBLEMED WORLD-EMPIRES.
1. The Babylonian monarchy was the head of gold. The head well
emblemed it for its unity and intelligence. The sagacious and despotic will of
the king bound the far-reaching kingdoms into one. Nebuchadnezzar’s victories
were those of peace as well us of war.
2. The Medo-Persian Empire. Emblemed by the breast and arms of
silver. For two centuries it was the universal empire. But it lacked the unity
of the kingdom it overthrew and was as inferior to it as silver, for value and
solidity, is inferior to gold. Cyrus was its greatest ruler.
3. The Empire of Greece was emblemed by the belly and thighs of brass.
Its soldiers were known among the ancients as the brazen-coated Greeks. Its
founder was Alexander, a swift, transcendent, military genius. He sought, with
wise, philanthropic aim, to blend the nations of Asia and Europe into a
brotherhood.
4. The Roman Empire was emblemed by the legs of iron, with the feet
part of iron and part of clay. The stern, if not savage, valour of Rome was
well pictured by iron. The Romans, the ironsides, the iron hearts, vanquished
the world to their power. But their power was mixed with weakness, for they
gathered nations into their citizenship without inspiring them with their own
hardy virtues. So Rome ended in being divided into many kingdoms. All the four
powers became embodied in the Roman, which was the world-power when our Saviour
was upon earth, and thus may all be deemed as broken with it.
II. CHRIST’S EMBLEMED KINGDOM. The
stone cut from the mountain.
1. Humble in its beginning was Christ’s kingdom.
2. Heavenly in its origin. “Without hands” was the stone cut. God set
up this kingdom. His strength is in it. It is from God, for it makes men
Godlike
3. It is destined to be universal. The stone grew till it filled the
whole earth. So is Christ’s kingdom to grow. That kingdom is coming in the
hearts and homes and lives of men.
4. This kingdom is eternal. When many kingdoms have passed, this has
survived the treachery of friends and the fierce assaults of foes. Its glory
cannot be extinguished. It shall “endure for ever.” (G. T. Coster.)
Verses 34-49
Daniel
2:34-49
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 severance. So the foundation of Christ’s
kingdom was the result of no development of human character, but rather of the
bringing of a new spiritual and heavenly power into the world.
2. The
comparative feebleness of its beginning. The language of the vision indicates
that the stone grew from a small size until it became a huge mountain.
Frequently earthly kingdoms have had very insignificant beginnings. So with
this Kingdom of Christ, which began with the meeting of a few Galilean peasants
in an upper room.
3. The
gradualness of its progress. Not all at once was this development made. It was
a work of time. And so in the kingdom which it symbolises advancement was by
degrees. Beginning at Jerusalem, its first preachers sought their earliest
converts among their fellow-countrymen; but, as the seed sloughs off its outer
shell when it begins to grows the Christian Church very soon put off its Jewish
restrictiveness and found a root in Gentile cities.
4. Its
universal extent. The mountains “filled the whole earth.” “The knowledge of the
Lord shall cover the earth.”
5. The
perpetual duration of this kingdom. “ It shall never be destroyed,” and “it shall
not be left to other people.” This perpetuity is intimately associated with its
character, and that again with its origin. (W. M. Taylor, D.D.)
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
The Jewish people and
kingdom, to all human appearance and judgment, was, at the time of
Nebuchadnezzar, hopelessly destroyed; for in the history of the world a nation
which has been broken up as the Jewish nation then was, never reformed itself,
its people becoming absorbed and incorporate with succeeding nations. But it
was not to be so with this nation, apostate and broken though it was--and is.
We see in the story of Daniel and his three friends the germ out of which is to
spring the nation’s regeneration. In these young men the true principles of the
Theocratic Kingdom survived; faith, obedience, and the spirit of prophecy. The
first chapter has to do with the fact of this remnant and God’s special
protection thrown around it. In the second chapter we begin to see the Spirit
of God working in the heart of the ruler of the great world-power, disturbing
it with dreams of things to come; and also we see the spirit of prophecy
working in the head and heart of Daniel, to interpret the dream of the great
heathen king, and to set forth the course of history among the nations until
God should re-establish His own Theocratic Kingdom and give the world to the
saints according to His original and eternal purpose.
I. THE GREAT IMAGE. The
general meaning of this dream is perfectly clear. It represents the succession
of great world-powers which should rise in the world, to whom God had given,
directly or indirectly, the sovereignty of the earth, until Christ himself
should come and completely overthrown them, once for all, and take possession
of the whole earth, and reign upon it for ever with and by His saints (Daniel
7:18-27; Revelation
5:9-10; Revelation
11:15-17; Revelation
19:6; Revelation
20:4-6; Revelation
22:5). In
this image two things are particularly set forth: that the world-power tends to
division, as seen in the legs, feet, and toes; and that it gradually
deteriorates from the gold, down through silver, brass, and iron to potter’s
clay. It is only when the world-power becomes a mixture of iron and clay, which
cannot become permanently united, though having in it an element of strength,
that it is finally overthrown. The attempt of Napoleon to establish a fifth
universal monarchy was defeated and brought to naught by his two great reverses
at Moscow and Waterloo. There shall be no other universal kingdom, that is, of
a merely world-power. Man has come to the end of his strength in the matter of
conquest. Russia may attempt to succeed to universal dominion, but will fail
even as Napoleon.
II. THE STONE CUT OUT OF THE MOUNTAIN.
The prophet having described to the king the progress of the successive
world-powers, through four universal kingdoms, now takes up the interpretation
of that mysterious event which he saw in his dream: A stone cut out of the
mountain without hands, which first smote the colossal image on its feet of
clay and brake it in pieces, alike the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver,
and the gold, and then itself increased more and more until it filled the whole
earth. This he declares to be the establishment of a universal kingdom upon the
ruins of the great world-powers. This kingdom, however, is not a successor to
the former in the sense in which the four kingdoms succeeded one another. This
kingdom had no part in the image, but was different in its origin and in its
method of power.
1. The
stone cut out of the mountain without hands. The expression “cut out of the
mountain without hands” clearly indicates the supernatural origin and character
of this omnipotent power, which was to break in pieces all these
world-kingdoms, take possession of all things, and establish a kingdom for
itself.
2. The
universal and everlasting kingdom. The world-powers were never absolutely
universal; but the Kingdom of Christ shall include and fill the whole earth.
3. The
suddenness of the advent of the stone. There is no preliminary movement
ascribed to the stone. It seems suddenly to rise up and smite the image with
one mighty blow that shatters it to pieces. It is not a gradual, but an
immediate conquest. There is no struggle for supremacy; no long conflict ending
in final victory by the gradual rise of power and increase of might. This,
therefore, cannot refer to the slow conquest of the world by the Gospel. The
stone first smote the world-powers in pieces and scattered them like chaff from
a summer threshing floor; then it went on and grew and filled the whole earth,
and there was found no power to oppose it. This must refer to the sudden coming
of Jesus Christ, the Son of man, in the clouds of Heaven (Daniel
7:13; Revelation
1:7; Revelation
1:13; Revelation
14:14;
compare Matthew
24:30; Matthew
25:31; Matthew
26:64).
When Jesus comes again in the clouds of Heaven he will destroy all the
organized powers of this world.
III. THE EFFECT OF DANIEL’S INTERPRETATION. When
Daniel had finished his interpretation of his dream, the king was so profoundly
moved by its majestic truth that he fell upon his face, and having worshipped
Daniel, caused that oblations should be offered to him. We have no record of
what Daniel did when this act of worship was paid to him, but no doubt he
rejected it, or at least fully understood that the act of worship was not meant
for him, as it certainly was not, since he had already disclaimed any power of
his own to interpret the dream or unfold the secrets of God (v. 27, 28).
Moreover, the words of the king clearly intimated that he meant the worship to
be for the God of Daniel, and not Daniel himself. “Of a truth it is, that your
God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings.” This intimates a partial conversion
of Nebuchadnezzar to the true God. The second result was that it brought to
Daniel power and authority in the government of the kingdom, even as a similar
revelation of secrets and interpretation of dreams brought to Joseph in Egypt
great power, to be used in God’s service. Thus do we see how God takes
possession, even in their day of power, of the kingdoms of the earth; so far at
least as is necessary to carry out His purposes. The third effect was to lift
the three friends of Daniel also into places of great eminence and usefulness.
What a lesson is this for the encouragement of those who have purposed in their
hearts to be true to God in the world where they are placed for a testimony! (G.
F. Pentecost, D. D.)
The Evil and Good in Human
History
Here is a remarkable
fact--a Pagan ruler made the organ of a Divine revelation. The great Father of
Spirits has access to the souls of every type. The deepest Paganism cannot
exclude Him from contact with the spirits of men. There are two circumstances
connected with the Divine communication to this monarch which in all likelihood
are ever associated with “communications” from Heaven to depraved spirits. It
came to the king entirely irrespective both of his choice and effort. And it
had a most distressing influence upon his mind. Many great souls move about
heathendom under the pressure of strange and soul-disturbing visions from
eternity.
I. THE GREAT ATAGONISTIC PRINCIPLES IN
HUMAN HISTORY--GOOD AND EVIL. The huge image is the symbolization
of evil, as existing everywhere in the kingdoms of men. The four great
dynasties of the ancient world are here represented in one colossal human form
in order to symbolize in its totality the moral evil that sways mankind at
large. The image stands for evil, the stone stands for good.
II. THE VERY INTERESTING SCENE OF THE GOOD
ENTIRELY DESTROYING THE EVIL. To this day the great portion of
the world is under the dark reign of evil. It is enthroned on the heart of
humanity. To see the good, therefore, rising, growing, battling with it
everywhere, and finally overwhelming it in ruin, is a sight deeply interesting
and refreshing, both on account of its novelty and soul-inspiring character.
This is the glorious scene before us. The evil is entirely destroyed in the
vision.
1. The
entire destruction of evil is effected by a supernatural manifestation of the
good. There are circumstances connected with this stone which undoubtedly
indicate its supernaturalness. Its origin, its self-motion, its world-wide
expansion.
This subject supplies:
1. A
guide to a correct judgment. Judge not from appearances.
2. A
test of moral character. In order to be a Christian indeed evil must not only
be smitten, the Divine thing must fill up thy nature.
3. A
warning to infidel opposition. All opposition is both useless and dangerous.
4. Encouragement
to Christian labour. The stone has smitten evil. The stone will roll
on--nothing can stop it. The kingdom will be an “everlasting kingdom.” (Homilist.)
The statue and the Stone
In primitive times dreams
were often used as the mediums of Divine intimations. “In slumberings upon the
bed,” says Elihu, “God openeth the ears of teen, and sealeth their instruction.”
I. The
first point of contrast is the ENORMOUS
BULK of the statue as compared with the SMALLNESS of the stone. Man estimates the
importance of things by their size and appearance. Vast proportions produce a
feeling of awe; and primitive races strove to minister to this feeling by
building gigantic structures which would exalt the idea of human genius in
contrast with man’s personal insignificance. The idol which the Babylonish
monarch saw in his dream was in harmony with the huge monoliths, temples, and
human-headed bulls which formed the architectural ornaments of his capital. Its
colossal size admirably represented the material power and extent of his
kingdom. Mere bulk and physical massiveness were the characteristics of the
great empires of antiquity. But God’s thoughts are not as man’s thoughts. In
nature He accomplishes His mightiest operations by the most insignificant
agencies. Large islands are created by the labours of tiny coral polyps. And as
in nature, so in grace. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed,
which is the least of all the seeds that be in the earth. What was Palestine
but a very little country among the mighty continents of the earth? And what
was Israel but an insignificant people in comparison with the great nations of
antiquity? And was not Bethlehem where Jesus was born one of the least cities
of the land, and the house of Joseph among the poorest and most obscure
families in it?
II.
Another point of contrast is the HETEROGENEOUS
CHARACTER of the statue as compared with the HOMOGENEOUS NATURE of
the stone. The statue was composed of gold and silver, iron and clay; and these
substances were moulded and held together in a human shape, not by a vital
organisation, nor by chemical affinity, but by mere mechanical force. And in
this respect the statue graphically represented the outward symmetry of the
great world-kingdoms of antiquity, which was the result, not of a natural
spontaneous association, but, of a forced union of discordant elements by human
power. The might of the autocrats of Egypt, Assyria, and Rome blended together
races and creeds that had no natural affinity or sympathy with each other into
one form of government, one mode of political life, and one mould of religious
profession. This hard mechanical uniformity was secured by crushing the
instincts of human nature and the liberties of the individual. And hence there
was a constant tendency in this compulsory unity towards disintegration. The
kingdom of Satan is a kingdom divided against itself, and, therefore, cannot
stand. Men who hate each other, and have nothing otherwise in common, will
combine for some wicked purpose. But the unhallowed alliance has in it a
principle of schism. But widely different was the stone, which symbolized the
Kingdom of Heaven. It was a homogeneous substance. All its particles were of
the same nature, and they were held together by the law of mutual cohesion and
chemical affinity. The same force that united these particles into this compact
form, changing the mud at the bottom of the ocean, or the sand on its shores,
by pressure under massive rocks, or by the induration of volcanic outbursts
into stone, still held these particles together because of their similarity,
and resisted the processes of weathering to which they were exposed. The stone
of the vision was no conglomerate or breccia in which pebbles or fragments of
different minerals were held together by mechanical force, but in all
likelihood, judging from the geological formation of the region where the
vision occurred, a mass of limestone or marble, whose substance was
homogeneous--composed of the same calcareous sediment, which fire and pressure
had metamorphosed into this solid and enduring form. And how strikingly in this
respect did it symbolize the City of God, which is compactly built
together--the Kingdom of God, which is composed of those who are all one in
Christ Jesus. Believers have a strong family resemblance. Notwithstanding their
individual peculiarities, and their varieties of character, culture, and
circumstance, they are all essentially one, after the image of God’s unity, and
consequently of His eternity. Their unity is not legal, but spiritual; not of
dull uniformity, but of bright unanimity.
III.
Another point of contrast is the LIMITATION
of the statue as compared with the ILLIMITABLE DEVELOPMENT of the stone. The
statue was of gigantic size, but its human shape circumscribed its boundaries.
Its outlines were rigidly determined. And this was the characteristic of the
vast empires of antiquity, which, almost as soon as they were formed, became
stereotyped and incapable of progress. Unassisted human nature had reached in
the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Roman empires its utmost limits, and disclosed its
fullest capacities; and we see how incapable it was of bringing anything to
perfection--how stunted and stereotyped all its mightiest efforts were. China
has lived for two thousand years upon the work of five centuries; it has never
got beyond the doctrines of Confucius as explained and unfolded by Menucius. In
striking contrast with the fixed limits and definite proportions of these human
civilizations is the indefinite size and shape of the Kingdom of God. The stone
is an appropriate symbol of it, the rough stone taken out of the quarry--the
amorphous boulder lying on the moor, not the stone crystallized into the
mathematical facets of the gem. The statue, moulded by human art, shares in the
limitations of man’s own nature. Made by God, the stone shares in His
infinitude. The mystic stone in the vision grew and expanded until it became a
great mountain and filled the whole earth. The landscape consisted of itself
and its shadow. It presented a different aspect from each new point of view.
The uniform monotonous despotisms of antiquity were created by man for his own
aggrandisement; they had, therefore, fixed bounds of space and duration beyond
which they could not pass. But the Kingdom of god is the creation of Divine
love and grace, and, therefore, it unfolds with the need of man, and develops
new capacities of blessing him, and endures for ever. The image of the stone
does not suitably convey this idea. Every stone, however rough, has a limit as
fixed as the statue. But the idea of fixed shape is not so inherent in the
stone as in the statue, A stone may be of any shape--may be weathered by the
elements, or roughened by violent contact with other stones into the most
varied forms; but a human statue must preserve the human shape and observe the
fixed proportions of the human form. So, in like manner, the idea of
development is not inherent in a stone. It is of a fixed size; it cannot become
larger. But Scripture imparts the power of growth to it, and secures, by a
combination of images, what one alone cannot effect. We see this in the union
of ideas borrowed from the mineral and vegetable kingdoms--from architecture
and plant life--in some of the images employed to designate the Christian
Church and the Christian life. “In whom all the building framed together,
groweth into an holy temple in the Lord”; “Rooted and grounded in love.” The
grandeur of the Bible gives the grandeur of its own conceptions to every
comparison it uses, expands its powers, and imparts to it qualities which it
does not inherently possess, and thus makes it more elastic to represent the
expansive force of the Kingdom of God. There is nothing fixed or stereotyped in
this kingdom. It has a wonderful power of adjustment and assimilation. It
expands its horizon as humanity progresses. It grows with human growth. The
idea of growth is inherent in the Christian religion. It has created for itself
a literature and an art in which progress is essential. The horizontalism and
exact regularity of Greek and Assyrian architecture expressed the permanence
and immutability of the religious system associated with it; while the
verticalism and endless variety of the Gothic architecture embodied in a
physical form the ideas of advancement, elevation, and progress contained in
the Christian religion, which has chosen that style of art for its own. The religious
of the heathen keep man as he is--confined to the earth, limited and bounded on
every side by the restrictions and incapacities of his faith; the religion of
Jesus raises man from the ground, lifts up his nature to another world, arouses
his intellect and lightens his cares, bursts the fetters of his flesh, sublimes
his affections, fills the whole sphere of his vision with grand and aspiring
spectacles, and embodies itself in structures which exhibit a similar analogy.
The religion that will satisfy the soul is a religion that makes provision for
its growth and expansion, that shares in the infinitude and indefinite
progressiveness of man. The stone must destroy the statue.
IV.
Another point of contrast is the BRILLIANT
APPEARANCE of the statue, and the VALUE of the materials of which it is
composed, as compared with the MEANNESS
and commonness of the stone, and the WORTHTLESSNESS of its substance. With the
exception of the clay, out of which its extremities were partly moulded, all
the other materials used in the composition of the statue were exceedingly
valuable according to the human standard. These materials are the highest forms
which the mineral kingdom assumes--the sublimation of the substance of the
earth, and therefore they fitly represent all the pomp and circumstance of the
proud kingdoms of the world--all that is strongest, most precious, and enduring
in human sovereignty. On the other hand, the stone which smote the magnificent
statue had no value or splendour. It was a rude aggregation and consolidation
of the common sand or mud or dust of the earth. It was made up of the materials
which are trodden under foot or employed only m the humblest uses. Who values a
rough stone by the wayside? And in this respect it is a fit symbol of the Founder
of the Heavenly Kingdom, who, while on earth, had no form or comeliness, and
was despised and rejected of men. Christ in His life and death presents no
attraction to the natural eye. His Church was the filth and offscouring of all
things to the world. The subjects of His kingdom were the weak, the foolish,
the ignorant, and the poor. The dream of the night has become the grandest fact
of history; the vision of a heathen monarch has become the reality of
Christendom; and every age will give the vision and the dream a grander and yet
grander interpretation. (H. Macmillan, D.D.)
The Stone and the Image
Ordinarily there is
nothing more unreal and flimsy than a dream. It is but a shadow, a freak of
fancy, the effluence of a distempered body or an unquiet soul, the echo of
sounds we heard, or the confused picture of sights we saw, on the previous day,
a gossamer structure reared by the imagination, which the first breath of
awaking reason will dissipate for ever. The great mass of dreams have all this
unreality about them. They are as a shadow that declineth. They are more the
creatures of the past than the prophets of the future. Their face is turned
towards yesterday rather than to-morrow. And yet in the history of the world
there can be no doubt they have played an important part, as they have been one
of the ways in which God has communicated His will to man. And even the
Apocalypse may not unfitly be viewed as a glorious dream. In fact, there is no
dream recorded in Scripture which is destitute of meaning; and the meaning of
the dream before us is fully expounded by Daniel. It was the dream of a pagan,
of a wicked and cruel pagan. But all souls are God’s, and He has access to them
all; and the narrative before us shows that, though Israel was God’s peculiar
people, to whom He specially revealed Himself until the fulness of the times
should come. He did not leave Himself without witness among the heathen. He was
asleep upon his bed, when lo! the form of a stupendous image loomed before him
and filled his soul. Some men forget their dreams, forget even that they have
dreamed. So did Nebuchadnezzar. He knew only that he had had a dream which
greatly troubled him. In vain he tried to recover his dream. What was to be
done? He had men, however, about him whose business it was, among other things,
to interpret dreams. Let them be summoned and try their skill. They were
staggered at the claim. They reminded him that no king, lord, or ruler had ever
asked for such an extravagant and impossible thing before; and told him that
what they could not do, no one could do except the “gods, whose dwelling is not
with flesh.” This was true. No one but God could tell the dream and the
interpretation thereof. But there was one in his court whom God knew well. Let
us look at the vision and the interpretation. The vision, then, consisted of an
image, a majestic image, not like some of those which at times appear in our
dreams, monstrous and distorted, but symmetrical. It was in the form of a man.
But its material was not uniform. Its head was resplendent gold; and not merely
gold, but fine gold, gold that had been purified. Then came the breast and the
arms, and these were composed of the metal next in preciousness--they were of
silver. Below these were the thighs, which were of inferior metal still; and
then came the legs of iron; and last of all came the feet, which were part of
iron and part of clay. This was the vision, and doubtless as soon as Daniel had
finished the description it would be recognised by Nebuchadnezzar as true, just
as memory promptly verifies what we had for a moment forgotten, as soon as it
is brought to our mind by another. Then comes the interpretation. It promised
well at the beginning. It seemed to be very flattering to the king, for he was
the head of gold. But the cup of comfort was dashed from his lips at the next
sentence, for it speaks of a kingdom that should rise after him. Startling
intelligence for the proud and powerful king that he was to pass away. So much
for the head. But what of the silver breast and arms? This was the Medo-Persian
dynasty, which was established during the life of Cyrus, who marched through
the earth with resistless armies, melting the nations as the sun melts
structures of snow, and subduing them to his sway. It was touching him that the
handwriting on the wall gleamed forth Belshazzar’s fatal doom, “Thy kingdom is
divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” But was even this to last? No; a
few years only should elapse, and then a brazen kingdom should arise under the
victorious sway of Philip and his son Alexander the Groat, the latter of whom,
at the close of his sanguinary battles, finding himself the conqueror of the
world, sat down and wept that nothing more was left for his ambition. Surely
that kingdom will endure. Look at it. It is so vast. It comprises Macedonia--it
comprises Greece--it comprises Persia--it comprises Media--it comprises Asia
Minor--it comprises Egypt--it comprises Afghanistan and the Punjaub. Surely
such a kingdom will endure. There is not a power in the world to resist him, to
fight with him. Alexander is emperor of the earth. But at length he died, and
another power arose which is set forth in the iron legs of the great image.
Before the prowess of Rome the Greece-Macedonian empire succumbed like a pigmy in
the grasp of a giant, a giant which extended its sway more widely than any
previous kingdom. Its empire was about two thousand miles in breadth. Its
length extended three thousand miles, from the Western Ocean to the Euphrates.
It razed Carthage to the ground--it subdued Spain and Gaul--it attacked England
and Scotland--it triumphed in Judaea--and to this day may be seen, in Rome, the
stone from which the miles were measured throughout the enormous extent of its
dominion. But the iron which broke in pieces all else was itself mixed with
clay in the toes of the feet, signifying that the Roman empire should be partly
weak and partly strong. This wonderful prediction, uttered six hundred years
before the birth of Christ, was accomplished with the most literal exactness.
It was the forestalling of a series of events which no human sagacity could
possibly infer from the condition of things at the time of Daniel. Nay, it was
the declaration of what then seemed impossible. But the God to whom prophecy is
history, who sees the end from the beginning, who causes weak things to
confound the mighty, and things which are not to bring to nought things that
are, displayed this wondrous succession of dynasties as in a panorama before
the mind of Daniel. And there is one thing which we must very specially note.
It is this--that the dream of Nebuchadnezzar did not represent the mere decay
of one kingdom through successive stages of diminishing grandeur and power
until it finally collapsed in its feet of clay and iron. This might have been
in keeping with the general character of the image itself, and Daniel might
have said, “Thy kingdom, which is now of gold, shall become at length silver,
after that it shall degenerate into brass, then it shall be transformed into
iron, and shall finish its course in iron mixed with clay.” This has been the
history of some nations, but it was not to be the history of Babylon. It should
perish in its grandeur. It should be smitten in its strength; so should the
Persian, so should the Macedonian; while the Roman power, on the other hand,
should, after centuries of imperial rule, sink Slowly into decay, being at
length divided into ten minor monarchies. This was one part of the sublime and
impressive vision by which the sleep of Nebuchadnezzar was troubled on that
memorable night. Now we turn to look at another. The object at which we have
been looking was an image at rest, a colossal monument standing, as it were, in
solitary grandeur in the midst of an expanded plain. But yonder in the
distance, on the edge of the horizon, is seen another object. It is not at
rest. It moves. It moves, too, of its own accord: It comes nearer. And lo! it
is a stone; a stone which bears no marks of the delver’s art and power. It does
not bear the dint of hammer nor the scratch of crowbar. It has been out out of
the mountain without hands. And this is not all. It grows as it rolls, unlike
other stones, which, whether rolling in river or down the hill-side, lose
something of their size from moment to moment, the very friction chipping them
or wearing them away. This stone expanded as it moved, rose higher, spread
wider, advanced with more terrible momentum. But what of the image? Was that
left standing? No. Nebuchadnezzar saw the stone roll onwards in the direction
of the image with silent and majestic force, like a very symbol of omnipotence,
and it was not arrested by the colossal monument and driven back. The stone
smote the image on the feet--that is, at its very foundations--and the
heterogeneous mass fell down. But it did not lie prostrate in its completeness
as when a hurricane wind upheaves a pine tree from its rooting and lays it like
a giant on the ground. The stone rolled over it, and broke it in pieces, and
ground it to dust, and the wind carried the particles away so that no place was
found for them. And the stone ceased not, but rolled on, growing as it rolled,
until it filled the whole earth.
I. We
see in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar THE GREAT FACT THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD, THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST, THE KINGDOM OF TRUTH, IS AT LENGTH TO BE SUPREME OVER ALL
OTHER KINGDOMS. Other kingdoms have always hitherto represented
ideas and forces of evil. From the beginning, even down to the present moment,
there has not yet been one kingdom which has aimed supremely at the well-being
of the world. All of them, without exception, have been selfish and aggressive,
aiming at the accession of territory and the augmentation of power and wealth.
There have been men who have aimed at blessing others without dreaming of any
blessing for themselves. But there has never been any nation which has been
inspired with such noble aspirations. There is not one now. England, as one of
the great dynasties of the world, is not contemplating any such purpose. She is
seeking trade, wealth, territory, dominion, as other powers have done before
her. Nations look at each other with jealousy and distrust and passion, as if
they had only to fear danger from each other. But they do not take account of
that invisible kingdom which is working behind and through them all, and which,
by its secret and Divine power, can undermine their foundations. The image
which Nebuchadnezzar saw did not fall of its own accord. It was not destroyed
by a band of enemies. It did not crumble to pieces by natural decay. It was not
upheaved by earthquake or consumed by fire. It was destroyed by miracle, by a
stone cut out of the mountain without hands. The same Divine power formed it
that made the world, and it rolled along under the same invisible impulse which
wheels the planets in their courses. The gospel is always represented as an
exotic--a plant brought from Heaven to earth. It is not the offspring of
humangenius, of human culture, or of human virtue. The grapes of the Gospel
could not grow on the thorns of human nature. How little man could do in the
way of elaborating a saving system of truth may be seen by what man did
actually do in the most enlightened nation of the world. In his wisdom he knew
not God. For thousands of years the problem of human redemption through the power
of unaided human genius and virtue had a fair trial. But how did it succeed?
Men became warriors, statesmen, scholars, philosophers, poets--but redeemers,
never. Here and there sprang up in a few hearts the conviction that man was,
somehow, far beneath what he should be, but no help came--no help could come
unless it came from above. And it came in the incarnation of our Lord. He was
the stone cut out of the mountain without hands. Men have striven to account
for Him without the acceptance of His Divine nature and mission. It is vain.
They cannot account for Him. No man can rise above the essential conditions of
the race to which be belongs. Christ was far above them--He was a stone cut out
of the mountain without hands. All other men have been born in the ordinary way
of succession. Christ was conceived of the Virgin Mary. He was a stone cut out
of the mountain without hands. Of all the unnumbered millions that have trodden
the earth there has not been one who, in virtue of his own power, could escape the
stroke of death; but Christ possessed the prerogative of defying the assault of
the universal foe, exclaiming, “No man taketh away My life from Me: I have
power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” He was the stone out
out of the mountain without hands. We do not despise the stones which have been
cut out of the mountain with hands; in other words, we despise no true thing,
no human work which is beautiful, no human deed which is right, no human word
which is noble, no human improvements which ameliorate the condition of the
world. All hail inventions, laws, education, which enable the race to rise even
by a single step out of its ignorance and degradation and misery; but the great
image of evil will stand against them all, firm as the rocky headlands against
wind and waves, and will fall only before the majestic movement, and the Divine
force of the “stone which has been cut out of the mountain without hands.” Such
is the origin of the stone. It is supernatural, and it is from Heaven.
II. We
notice THE APPARENT CONTRAST
BETWEEN THE AGENT WHICH DESTROYS EVIL AND THE EVIL WHICH IS TO BE DESTROYED.
A stupendous image--that is the evil; a stone, quite small at first, cut out of
the mountain without hands--that is the good. That which is to destroy evil is
at first little and despised; and men laugh at it, and treat it with mockery,
even as David was treated when he stood forth as the foe of, the Philistine
giant. What was Christ to all appearance, that He should assume the part of the
destroyer of evil? He was as a root out of a dry ground. He had no form nor
comeliness. He was but a rod out of the stem of Jesse. His cradle was a manger
at His birth, and He had no settled home when He had entered on His ministry.
Look at Him--this Galilean peasant--with few friends, with no favour from the
great, with the hostility of kings and priests and rulers of the people, with a
face of sorrow and a heart of woe. He it is who claims to be the light of the
world, and who, knowing that He would die on the accursed wood, said, “I, if I
be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.” Is that the man who is
destined to universal empire--an empire not won by force, but by love; not by
wounding, but by healing; not by destruction, but by salvation? Ah! that stone
cut out of the mountains without hands, does it not seem small, too small to
smite anything, still less the kingdoms of this world? Look at Him when “He
hangs lifeless on the cross, when He lies lifeless in the grave, dead as the
stony sepulchre in which He is entombed! That stone seems harmless now against
all evil, hemmed in by rock and seal and soldiery. From that day the stone has
rolled on and on, and is rolling still. On the day that our Saviour rose from
the dead there was not one man, perchance, in England who had ever heard of His
name. Our fathers were then but savages, dwelling in trackless forests; now we
are baptized in His name. This day is called after Him--the Lord’s day. Our
monarchs are consecrated in His name. The symbol of that Cross on which He hung
is seen surmounting our churches, and glittering on every side as an ornament
of person and of home. The nations that believe in Him are rising, the nations
that reject Him are sinking; for the kingdoms and the nations that will not serve
Him shall perish. But why shall they perish? They shall perish because they
have no life in them; because they lack that spiritual leaven which alone can
preserve nations from their doom. But this is as true of men as of nations.
Sadly should we fail to realise the full import of this dream if ere did not
bring it home to our own hearts. (E. Mellor, D.D.)
The Stone Cut Out of the
Mountain
What are we to understand
by the stone? Many commentators expound it of Christ’s person. Others, with
whom we agree, understand it not of Christ’s person, but of His Kingdom. We
cannot conceive how it is possible, by any known law of exposition, to arrive
at the conclusion that the stone means our Lord himself. How, for example,
could our Lord be said to become a great mountain, and fill the whole earth?
Christ himself cannot become more exalted. He has already ascended far above
all heavens. The stone, therefore,
must denote the visible Kingdom of Christ upon earth, which is
inseparably connected with Christ, but which, at the same time, is neither His
mediatorial person nor His mystical body. Let us ask the prophet himself what
the stone means, and he gives us a plain, decisive answer. He tells us that the
stone signifies a kingdom, which the God of Heaven was to set up, “In the days
of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be
destroyed.” And what is the kingdom which the Cod of Heaven was to erect? It is
just the church under the New Testament dispensation. Hence, both John the
Baptist and our Lord came proclaiming “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It is
worthy of remark that the stone is altogether distinct and separate from the
image. The metals in the image were all distinct from one another, but they
were all parts of the same structure. Not so the stone. It was not only
distinct from the various metals in the image, it was distinct from the image
itself. It had a separate and independent existence. The stone and the image
were contiguous to one another, they are represented as having comb into
contact, but their contact was that of collision, and not of incorporation. In
its nature, origin, and privileges, the Church of Christ is distinct from, and
independent of, the kingdoms of this world. The existence of the church is
contiguous to that of temporal states and kingdom They have many things in
common. The same individuals may be the subjects of both. The glory of God, and
the good of man, are the common ends of both. Conformity to the will of God is
the common rule of both. Notwithstanding all those points of agreement, the
Church of Christ and the kingdoms of this world are so distinct from one
another that they never can be incorporated, never can be blended into one
society, nor subjected to one legislative head, without imminent danger to the
best interests of man, and a total disregard of the authority of God. They
differ in their origin. Earthly kingdoms derive their origin from God as the
Creator and Supreme Ruler of the world. The Kingdom of Christ derives its
origin from God as the God of grace, having been instituted with the view of
promoting the salvation of that chosen company whom Grid, from all eternity,
purposed to call, justify, sanctify, and bring to eternal life. They differ in
respect of their constitution. The supreme power of administration in earthly
states is placed in human hands; the supreme power of administration in the
church is placed in the hands of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no
Divinely-given code of civil law, and, therefore, every temporal state possesses
a power of legislation. It has authority to make, repeal, and modify its laws;
and in so doing it is limited only by the obligation of making them in all
moral respects conformable to the will of God, so far as known. Neither is
there a Divinely-given form of civil government. While the constitutions of
other societies originate in human wisdom, and may lawfully be altered by the
sagacity or the taste of man, the constitution of the church, having emanated
from Christ’s will, and bearing on all its parts the impress of His authority,
is unchangeable by man. Every alteration is a defection; every change of
doctrine is an error; every deviation from the simplicity of instituted worship
is a step towards superstition; every change in government and discipline is a
movement either towards anarchy or despotism. The Kingdom of Christ also
differs from all earthly kingdoms in the end for which it was erected. The
special end of civil government is to promote the temporal welfare of men; the
special end of the church is to promote their spiritual welfare. A second thing
deserving of notice respecting the stone is the statement that it was “cut out
of the mountain without hands.” To understand the meaning of this let us
reflect that there is no principle more deeply laid in the human intellect than
this, that every effect must have a cause. When, therefore, it is said that the
stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, this intimates that the
kingdom which the stone symbolizes was to be erected in the world by
supernatural influence. This is the meaning attached to the symbol by Daniel
himself. “In the days of those kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom.”
This does not mean that the kingdom prefigured by the stone would be set up in
the world altogether without the use of outward instrumentality, but simply
that the mode of its erection would be such as to demonstrate “that the
excellency of the power was of God, and not of man.” Go back to the days of the
apostles and contemplate the mighty fabric of ancient heathenism. It was
congenial in itself to corrupt nature, it was hallowed by the veneration of
ages, its roots were struck through all the framework of society, it was
ramparted around by the terror of authority and the pride of erudition, by the
emperor’s sword and the philosopher’s pen. From the experience of all the ages
that had gone before, the inference might have appeared to be warranted that
this system would continue until it was subverted by some great political
convulsion. “For, pass over the isles of Chittim and see; and send to Kedar,
and consider diligently and see if there be such a thing. Hath a nation changed
their gods, which are yet no gods?” With Christianity, however, a new era
dawned on the human race. The avowed design of it was to overthrow all the
systems of religion then existing among mankind. Who that contemplated its
apparent resources could have supposed that it would succeed. All power, all
passions, all interests, all prejudices, all kindreds and classes of men, Jew and
Greek, Barbarian, Scythian, bond and flee, were opposed to the spread of the
gospel. To meet this formidable array it had nothing but seeming weakness. Its
author was publicly crucified as a malefactor, its apostles were fishermen, its
adherents were poor, its doctrines were humbling, its precepts were at war with
human corruption, its privileges were purely spiritual, its rewards lay beyond
the present life. The entrance to such a religion was by the gate of
self-denial. In this triumph of weakness over power, of persecuted truth over
fondly cherished errors, in the grandeur of the result compared with the
unlikeliness of the original instrument, we discern an effect, to produce which
the seeming cause is inadequate, and, therefore, we must admit of apostolic
Christianity, that it was “a stone cut out of the mountain without hands.” In
like manner it could be shown that all the living spiritual churches of Christ
upon the earth are like stones cut out of the mountain without hands. They have
been placed in the situation they presently occupy by the leadings of
Providence rather than by any pro, conceived plan or voluntary choice of their
own. The stone that was out out of the mountain without hands is farther
represented as coming into collision with the images though it is here
predicted that the image will be subverted by the stone, we are not warranted
from this to infer that Christ’s Kingdom is hostile to the kingdoms of this
world. Our Lord, when on earth, yielded obedience to the Roman government, and
hath commanded His disciples, after His own example, to “render unto Caesar the
things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” We ought
also to remember that Christ’s Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, and that “the
weapons of her warfare are not carnal but spiritual.” Far be it, therefore,
from us to suppose that the church will have recourse to violent means for the
subversion of the civil governments now existing. The stone, as we have already
seen, signifies the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ under the New Testament
dispensation. But before the erection of Christ’s Kingdom, the Babylonian, the
Persian, and the Macedonian empires had been already destroyed. Seeing these
empires were overturned before the stone was in existence, it could have no
direct and positive agency in their subversion. It can, therefore, only be said
of these empires that they were destroyed by the stone, in the sense that they
were destroyed for the stone--that they were subverted by an all-wise
Providence in order to prepare the world for the erection of the church. This
interpretation is further confirmed by the fact that all these empires are
represented as being destroyed at once--whereas, nearly a thousand years
intervened between the overthrow of Babylon and the overthrow of Rome. This
shows that the subversion of these empires, though accomplished by various
instruments, and in ages remote from one another, was done for the same end,
was part of the same work. It shows that they were all overthrown to make way
for the kingdom of the stone. Their overthrow took place at different times,
but it was for the same end. It was for the church that each of them rose, and
for the church that each of them fell. It gives us a striking view of the unity
and harmony of Divine providence. It shows us that the world does not move at
random. It shows us that God has a definite end in view in His government of
the human race. That end is the erection of Messiah’s Kingdom. This is the
centre in which all the lines of Providence meet. Having destroyed the image,
the stone is represented as becoming a great mountain that filled the whole
earth. Some commentators make a distinction between the empire of the stone and
the empire of the mountain. When the Kingdom of Christ is spoken of as first a
stone and then a great mountain, this conveys the same idea as the Saviour did
when He compared it to “a little leaven” that in due time leavened the whole
lump. It is also the same as the idea conveyed by the parable of the mustard
seed which, from the smallest of seeds, gradually expanded into the mightiest
of trees. And when the stone is said to become a mountain, and fill the whole
earth, this clearly intimates that Christianity will yet be universally
disseminated. This, however, is not all If a mountain were to fill the whole
earth, this would be like a new earth taking the place of the old. And
Christianity will not only be universally diffused, she will become the
predominating influence in our world. In no period, in no place, has Christianity
been accounted the predominating power. Politics have always had the ascendancy
of Christianity. We cannot point to an era in which the principles of the Bible
were practically recognised as the supreme law of nations. But when the image
of anti-Christian civil government has been destroyed, the stone will then take
the place of the gold, the silver, the brass, and the iron. Christianity will
then be the predominating power. Politics will be subordinated to religion.
When we think of the subversion of the present civil governments, and that in
all likelihood this will be by violence, the prospect is gloomy, but there is
brightness beyond. If the image be destroyed, it is because the stone is to
fill the earth. This will be a great benefit to mankind--first, because it will
be the end of anti-Christian governments; secondly, because it will be the
means of abolishing tyranny, oppression, slavery, and war, by which the world
has been scourged since the dawn of time; thirdly, because the triumph of Christianity
will be the ruin of superstition. And the believers of that time will towen in
spiritual stature above those of every former age. Religion will have that
place that the world has now, for the stone will occupy the place of the image.
And what saints will they be who are as devoted to God as we are to mammon--who
are as concerned about the soul as we are about the body. ButChristians are
required to make efforts for the extension of the church. The stone is here
spoken of as possessing an inward principle of vitality by virtue of which it
grew and became a great mountain. This principle of vitality is nothing else
than the grace of God in the hearts of the true members of the church. This is
an aggressive principle. No sooner is it implanted in the soul than it begins
to war with corruption, and it will carry on that conflict until innate
depravity shall be completely subdued. Fed by gracious supplies from above, and
transmitted from one generation of the faithful to another, it will never cease
to strive till the whole world is Christianised, and civilised, and saved. The
want of this aggressive spirit has been the great sin of the church in past
ages. Concerning this kingdom, it is farther said that “it shall never be left
to another people, but shall endure for ever.” Other thrones may fall, but “to
the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.” Other crowns may be
cast to the ground, but Immanuel’s crown will flourish. (J. White.)
The Stone and the Image
The image was the type of
great civilizations. The image has long since crumbled away, but the kingdom
cut out by the God of Heaven shall stand for ever. The Divine must supplant the
human. Christ supplants Satan; righteousness supplants sin. Christianity cannot
be explained by pure reason. It is not the product of human thought and
creation. It comes with the stamp of Divinity on it, a Divine, God-given
religion. Notice the destructive and aggressive character of the religion of
Christ. Christianity entered upon a spiritual warfare against giant errors. It
met the world with new ideas of good, of morality, of purity, and political
right. The history of the Christian Church is the history of the greatest
miracle of the ages. Christianity reconstructed society. The final triumph of
Christianity is prophesied in this text. To live in this age of grand
opportunities is a most precious privilege. (Frank W. Bristol, D.D.)
The Stone that Smote the
Image
Revolutions among nations
are insignificant parts of the vast and wonderful scheme of Divine Providence
by which the Almighty is carrying out His own gracious purposes and plans.
According to Daniel’s prophecy, before the four kingdoms had all passed away
the God of Heaven was to set up His throne on earth, which could never be
shaken nor removed. As a fact of history, the first part of this prediction was
exactly accomplished; and the remainder is now in course of fulfilment. Our
Saviour appeared in Judaea as the Babe of Bethlehem while Augustus ruled the
Roman empire, and within fifty years His Gospel had been preached in all the
world then known. How was this new kingdom to gain a foothold in the world, and
how keep its influence and power? Surely not by force of arms, as other empires
had been built up. Not by dealing with philosophical subtleties. The Eternal
Son returned to the throne of His glory in Heaven, and the Holy Spirit came
down to guide and bless the church until the final judgment shall close her
toils and trials. The work went on so silently and gradually that its advance
was scarcely noticed. From Jerusalem, as a common centre, Christianity went
forth into the heart of a polished and learned world, and laid the wholesome
restraints of its righteous laws upon a corrupt and self-indulgent age. By its
meek and peaceful doctrines it gloriously triumphed over the force of habit,
the craft of an impure religion, the policy of legislators, the genius of poets
and philosophers, the charm of oracles and prodigies, the shafts of ridicule,
and the fierceness of bloody persecution. Not only did the religion of Jesus
spread throughout Asia and Europe, but the midnight gloom of Africa was
brightened by its silver beams, and apostolic hands unfurled its banner on the
distant shores of Britain. The Almighty has made no covenant that any human
institution shall endure; but He has pledged His own word for the perpetuity of
His Church. (John N Norton.)
Progressive Movements
Here is movement; more,
here is advance; here is human history epitomized. Each age is a product and a
producer. The ancient geological periods built foundations on which the human
age could build. So intellectually and morally.
1. Time
past is a progressive revelation of God and right and duty. Divine truth comes
in ever widening circles, In the earlier Scripture it is the physical attributes
of God and the temporal blessings of obedience which are the more prominently
presented, but, as the generations pass, this gradually passes, until in the
time of Christ it is the spiritual attributes and the eternal rewards which
occupy a larger place in Jewish thoughts. Here is advance. The Bible itself is
a progressive development of Christian truth. Nor was the advance movement
restricted to one nation. History, in the large view, is a record of the
enlightening and bettering of men. The progress is along three lines: the
unfolding of religious truth, the comprehension and reception of it, and the
order and movement of events.
2. The
cost of this progress. Every leader in a good cause has to suffer at the hands
of those who have not accepted his advance ground. Heretics they are of
yesterday, and canonized saints of to-day. But martyrdom means progress. (Martin
Post.)
The Succession of Kingdoms
I.
Daniel regarded the dream as a communication from God. It” was common for the
Almighty to communicate with men in this way (Job
33:15-17; Numbers
12:6).
Most frequently “a dream cometh through the multitude of business” (Ecclesiastes
5:3);
yet there are instances in which we have reason to believe that God does still
interpose to instruct, warn, and admonish people through the agency of dreams.
We are not to look for illumination in this way where we have the Holy
Scriptures to guide us; neither are we to believe or follow our dreams in
anything contrary to God’s written word. In the case of Nebuchadnezzar the
dream was special, and from the Lord. And it is not incongruous that a
universal monarch, in the highest glory of the world’s original kingdom, should
be the veer of the course and end of all secular dominion, particularly when
earnestly concerned about the matter.
2. Daniel
regarded this dream as very momentous. When it was made known to him he broke
into exultant adoration, not so much because he was the honoured servant to
whom it was revealed, as for what it signified. It showed such a majesty above
all the majesty of earth, such a plan in the course of all human governments
and dominions, and such a power to handle and order all the potencies of time,
that his soul was ready to break away from him when the mighty showing flashed
upon his understanding. It set every emotion and energy within him on fire.
3. The
dream gives an outline of the history and destiny of all earthly dominion, from
Nebuchadnezzar to the end of the present world, and for ever. The several
metals of which the great image was composed designated a succession of
universal empires. The head was “fine gold,” and Nebuchadnezzar was this head
of gold. Babylon was the first and greatest of kingdoms. The breast and
shoulders and arms of this image were of silver. This represents the
comparatively inferior empire of the Medes and Persians, which stood for about
two hundred years. It is chiefly interesting for the personality of Cyrus, its
founder. The abdomen and thighs of the image were of brass; this represented
the Graeco-Macedonian empire of Alexander the Great. The image had legs, feet,
and toes. These were of iron, except the toes. This represents the Roman power.
Since the Roman there has been no universal empire.
4. In
this foreshowing of the succession of earthly administration there is a
continuous deterioration from the beginning to the end. Political economists
and statesmen claim that the world has been growing in wisdom and excellence
through all the ages. And in some respects there has been growth. But with all,
in God’s estimate, there has been a never-ceasing downwardness, depreciation,
and tendency toward the earth out of which man was taken. It is the whole
history of the world that is comprehended in this vision. When we find in this
book the whole political and social history of our world grandly and truly
sketched, just as it has turned out from that time to this living present, how
can we construe it except upon the doctrine alleged by the prophet, that it was
revealed to him from the Almighty and all-knowing One. Daniel tells us that
God, the living God, the God who rules all kingdoms and all history, the God to
whose omniscience all things are present, naked and open, the Almighty,
revealed these things to him; and the seal to his assertion is inimitably
stamped upon all the records of the succeeding ages. There is a God in history,
and He hath prophets whom He hath sent to speak His word and will. These living
oracles are verily from Him. (Joseph A. Seiss, D.D.)
Verse
43
Daniel 2:43
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 sing the same words without worshipping the same God.
Brotherhood is a question of the soul. We are new creatures, and, therefore, we
have new relationships in Christ Jesus. At first, of course, the only possible
relationship was a relationship of blood; man and man stood together in a
certain sequence; but Jesus Christ came to alter all that; it does not follow
that your father according to the flesh is now your father at all, and as for
your brothers, they may be the greatest strangers to you on the face of the
earth; the great relationship now is a Christian one. We are in relation to one
another what we are at the Cross of Christ. The man who is on the Cross is not
one with the man who never was crucified with Christ. This is a great mystery,
and it goes dead against the first instincts of nature, which must be killed
one by one before we can understand the mystery of the new life, the blessed
mystery of the new kinship. Thanks be unto God, it is not necessary that a
man’s father should cease to occupy the paternal relationship; the father and
the child may both be crucified with Christ, and thus belong doubly to each
other. Nor are we to throw off old relationships frivolously and Pharisaically,
saying, I am now a Christian, and, therefore, I can hold no consort with those
of my own household who are not Christians. We must prove our Christianity by
seeking to make other people Christians; we must evangelize at home. Compromise
is never strong. Carry this law fearlessly through and through life. Do not
marry into strange faiths, or into no faith. If you are a Christian soul, and
shall wilfully marry one who is not a follower of Christ, do not be surprised
if vengeance suffer you not to escape. It would be strange, indeed, beyond all
reason and all calculation if in this line only law failed. If men could set up
any compacts they pleased in life, and evade the law, why there would be one
great province of creation left untended, unwatched, undirected by the God and
Father of men. Apply the doctrine also to business. You, a Christian business
man, cannot keep a partner to tell the lies of the business whilst you attend
to all the religious ceremonies; ye cannot serve God and mammon. Clean the
house, suffer loss, but let the morsel of bread that remains be sweet, because
it is the bread of honesty. (Joseph Parker, D.D.)
Verse
44
Daniel 2:44
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 tabernacle,” it is material;
but the house in the heavens is “a house not made with hands,” that is
spiritual. The cutting out of the stone without hands marks, I apprehend, the
spirituality of the kingdom. The material is very unpromising, when compared
with the reality. Though the stone is represented here as possessing mighty
power, it does not possess that from any inherent property which it possesses,
but from the vigour of the arm by which it is employed. The material, too, is
utterly contemptible when compared with the others; it is indeed contemptible
in the eyes of those who are dazzled with the gold, the silver, the brass, and
iron. It is intended by the idea coming under the figure of a stone to be
contemptible and despicable; yet to be possessed of such a power as to break
the image in pieces. You will look, in the first place, at the circumstances of
the increase which is here predicted. The stone came from the mountain--either
impelled through the air by an invisible hand or rolling along the
plain--smiting the feet of the image, and destroying it; and then the stone
gradually increased. Now, I think, the idea here is, gradual advancement. It
did not suddenly start up and fill the whole earth; but I apprehend there is
the idea of gradual increase. I do not know that in the dream that increase was
represented as always advancing with the same rapidity. I do not know whether
it was or was not, very likely it was not; and ere it filled the whole earth
its increase might be sometimes gradual, and sometimes more rapid. But the idea
presented to our attention is, the ultimate effect of the extent of that
increase. Then there is its ultimate extent. It increased and increased until
it filled the whole earth. I do not know how that was represented in the dream,
but certainly the impression was conveyed to the mind of the man to whom God,
by this figure, was setting forth what was to come to pass in the latter days.
The ultimate extent of the kingdom was exhibited by the stone becoming a great
mountain, and filling the whole earth, all other kingdoms and nations being
destroyed and superseded, as it were, by it. I do not admit that there is to be
such an alteration in the character and form of these kingdoms (God’s Kingdom
is in the heart alone) as that there shall be no such things as nations and
particular forms of government, or secular societies and confederacies; but, I
apprehend, they will be very different sorts of nations to those represented by
these metals. Men confederate together generally for the purpose of conquest,
or tyranny, or selfishness; for their patriotism is selfishness, and the very
profession of liberty among the ancients was the liberty of the few over the
many, the liberty of the masters over the slaves. I apprehend, therefore, that
though nations will exist to the end of time, yet this spiritual Kingdom of God
will co-exist along with them; and it will be the unlimited spiritual reign of
truth and piety conveyed to all hearts, operating upon all characters,
regulating all movements, private, domestic, social, and public; and thus,
while the confederacies of human beings will remain, this will be the grand
universal reign of truth, godliness, and peace throughout the whole earth. Then
the last idea is its perpetuity. It is to be continued for ever and ever. It is
not to be left as these other nations successively were, to other people and
other forms of government, or to other secular societies and confederacies; but
it is to continue for ever and ever, never to be superseded. Now, I think, we
should take this idea along with us; this kingdom that is to continue for ever
and ever is to be coextensive with the present system of things, and will
continue also throughout eternity. This kingdom which is to last for ever and
ever is that very same kingdom which begins in the stone; the kingdom of the
mountain is the kingdom of the stone. We learn that this dispensation of ours,
the Gospel dispensation, and the Gospel church, as it now exists, is an
ultimate dispensation. It is not a preparatory dispensation; it is not to be
superseded; it is not introductory to anything else. It is this very kingdom of
the stone that is to last for ever and ever. Two or three observations will
suffice on the circumstance of its certainty. The dream is certain, and the
interpretation thereof sure. Wherever you find man’s heart and man’s nature,
you find something which Christianity is just adapted to meet; adapted to meet
its wants, its capacities, and its aspirings, and to satisfy, direct, and
cultivate them aright. There is an adaptation to the mind of every individual,
and there is an adaptation to their external affairs, an adaptation to men
existing under any particular form of government that may be set up in the
world, to any particular form of secular administration. There is, therefore, a
propriety in our indulging the delightful thought that the interpretation of
the dream is sure, and that the Gospel shall go on conquering and to conquer,
increasing and increasing until it shall fill the whole earth. Then there is
another thought which lies on the surface of Scripture, which meets us
perpetually, and is of great practical advantage, that although we admit, most
unequivocally, the work to be God’s, we also admit, unequivocally, the
mysteriousness of the movement under, as it were, the omnipotence of God, by
which the stone is increased. We admit most unequivocally, “Not by might, nor
by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.” We admit that God set up
the kingdom, that God will carry it on, and that God will complete it; and we
delight in thus referring everything to God. But we must never forget that God
in his sovereignty, his condescension, and his benevolence, has determined that
this shall be accomplished by human instrumentality. God could very easily do
without us, He could convert the world without preachers; He could convert the
world without Bibles; He could edify the church without the recurrence of
Sabbaths and ordinances. God does not need to have His omnipotence aided (the
very term is absurd) by your instrumentality. But God has chosen--and there is
sovereignty, and condescension, and privilege, and kindness towards us in the
very choice--to effect and fulfil His purposes by the instrumentality of His
church. God is present, positively and personally present, in every scene of
idolatry. God is positively present in every heathen temple; He is present at
every idolatrous festival; He is actually present in the very midst of the
worshippers of all man’s absurd and ridiculous superstitions. Aye, He is in the
presence of His whole church; He is observing them, and His eye is upon them
all; He is listening to their insults, observing their blasphemies, their
fanaticism, their absurdity, and yet He does not put forth directly His power
to enlighten, to convert, to sanctify, and to make them all that He could
delight in. But He could do that, and why does He not do it? Let us remember
always that human instrumentality is necessary in order that the little stone
may become a mountain, and fill the whole earth. Now, why has not the stone
grown larger? Why does it not fill the whole earth? A great many reasons may be
found, some of which we have to refer to the Divine sovereignty, to the secret
things that belong to God. But there are other things that belong to us, and
causes to which we ought to give the most earnest hood. For my part, I have no
hesitation at all about saying that I think the connection, alliance, and
confederacy, unnatural and improper friendship of the church with the world has
been a great obstacle in the past ages of Christianity, and in the present, to
the going forth of God’s chariot in all its freedom and in all its power. Oh,
no, the stone was cut out without hands. The Christian Church, before it was
encumbered with wealth, went on with God in the midst of her, and the shout of
a king accompanied her; and it will do so again! We exult in the thought--we
feel confident in it. This great and delightful object has been impeded by the
oblivion of the church. The church forgot both the duty and the privilege of
the work; she soon forgot when she fell into luxury and ease the solemn
obligation resting upon her from Christ, that so long as there was a corner of
the earth in which there was not a preacher the command remained to be
fulfilled--“Go into all the earth, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” We
are not alive to the fulness and the intensity of this obligation yet. We want
our sensibilities refined in order that we may perceive all the goodness of God
towards us, in making the conversion of the world to rest upon the church. It
will be well, then, to remember that the Gospel dispensation is here spoken of
under the idea of a kingdom--the kingdom of God, setting up a kingdom. But if
you and I are true Christians, as we profess to be, we are subjects of the
Kingdom of God. A kingdom implies laws, authority, duty, respect, reverence for
the government under which we live, under which we act, and by which we are
protected. Let us feel that, and let us act as obedient, devoted, humble,
faithful subjects of Him who is the Head and King of that government under
which we live, and by which we are protected. There is something delightful
both in thinking that we are under the government of God as subjects and that
we have the Kingdom of God within us to give us vigour for the work of Christ.
Then I think we may feel from this subject that we need have no fears about the
ultimate realisation of the intentions of God, all our fear ought to be with
respect to ourselves; our fear should be, whether we are faithful to our trust,
faithful to our God, faithful to our country, faithful to our church, faithful
to the world, faithful to posterity. (T. Binney, D.D.)
On the Nature and Extent of the Kingdom of Christ
I. We here observe THAT THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST NOT ONLY IS TO CONTINUE,
BUT IS TO EXIST IN A STATE OF
PROGRESS TO FARTHER DOMINION; STRUGGLING WITH ENEMIES, BUT STILL PREVAILING.
It is in a progressive manner that the ordinary plans of Providence are, in
most cases, unfolded and accomplished. Almost all the objects around us pass
through various states before they arrive at their full maturity and
perfection. The same rule of progress is also generally followed, not only in
regard to the nature, but the extent of the blessings. The discoveries, for
example, of science and learning are at first only known to a few individuals.
They afterwards extend to neighbouring communities and nations. From one nation
they are communicated to another, and at last, in various degrees of fulness
and excellence, they spread throughout the world, and affect the general
condition and character of mankind. The Kingdom of Heaven is represented as
carrying on, in a similar manner, its operations, and accomplishing its grand
designs. It exists in various states of power and extent. Its blessings are
experienced in various degrees of fulness and excellence, in different quarters
and ages of the world; and the number of its true subjects are seen varying
even among the same people, in different periods, during its progress to full glory
and universal dominion. We cannot explain all the reasons for this part of the
Divine procedure. But whatever difficulties may seem to our short-sighted eyes
attending it, you will observe they are not confined to the dispensation of the
Gospel; they attend the whole plan of Providence in the communication of its
blessings. We are very ignorant of the means which are best for securing most
extensively, and most lastingly, the ends of the Divine government. And this
method of procedure may be found at the termination of the mighty and
complicated plan, to have been the most effectual in producing on the whole,
and in the greatest extent and degree, that excellence, and that happiness,
which are suited to rational and immortal beings. It is obvious, also, that the
blessings of Christ’s kingdom, being of a spiritual order, the knowledge which
it conveys, and subjection of the heart which it requires, necessarily suppose
that it may be neglected, perverted, and abused. Nay, the nature and design of
the gospel must lead to the expectation that for some period, and on many
occasions, it must struggle with difficulties and meet with much opposition.
The obstinacy of ignorance; the slavery and errors of superstition; and all the
perverted passions, depraved habits, and predominant inclinations of our
corrupted race--all of them are opposed to the doctrines, spirit, and precepts
of Christianity. In this contest betwixt the empire of darkness and of light,
trial is made of the spirits of all flesh. The subjects of the Kingdom of God
are trained, and sanctified, and perfected under the Captain of their
salvation. The Church of Christ is founded on a rock, and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it. The principle of renovation is infused into the
corrupt mass; and by the direction and power of God it will spread throughout
the world its heavenly influence. Amidst all the disorders and ragings of the
nations, the Son of God is pursuing, with undeviating purpose, His mighty plans
nor will He cease from His great undertaking till ignorance and error yield
before Him. And thousands, and tens of thousands, are now standing before the
throne, whom Jesus hath redeemed, out of every tongue, and kindred, and people.
II. But from this mixed scene
of opposition and success, which we now contemplate, LET US TURN TO THE VIEW OF THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST, BRINGING ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE
WORLD UNDER ITS POWER; and Gentile and Jew of every country
acknowledging His sway, and experiencing the blessings of His reign. The Gospel
has nothing in it of a local and temporary nature, and is fitted and destined
for all nations, and for all ages. In the accomplishment of this great
dispensation of grace, we thus contemplate the downfall of every system which
exalteth itself against Christ, and the universal prevalence of that knowledge
which is in Him. In the contemplation of this great renovation, the prophets
break forth into strains of rapture, and in beautiful and affecting imagery,
foretell its glory and its blessedness. “The wilderness and the solitary place
shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall
blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing. Then the eyes of the
blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall
the lame leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing; for in the
wilderness shall waters break forth, and streams in the desert. As the earth
bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in
it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to
spring forth before all the nations.” Were we to confine our attention to those
effects of the Gospel and Kingdom of Christ, on the temporal condition of
mankind, we should still see a prospect so sublime, a change and amelioration
so great, as should awaken our gratitude and admiration. The depravity and
vices of men are the chief causes of the disorders which disturb the world, and
lay it waste in every quarter. They have ruined the happiness of our race; they
have, in various ways, brought misery even on the inferior beings with whom we
are connected. Every mean of amelioration ought to be valued and employed; but
never, my brethren, let it be forgotten that no mean will avail for our behest
which is not accompanied with a change and improvement in our moral and
spiritual character--which does not tend to rescue us from the power of sinful
passions and indulgencies. The Gospel presents the amelioration of mankind in
connection with the only method by which that amelioration can be
accomplished--the renovation and improvement of the character. The design of
the Gospel and Kingdom of Christ is directed chiefly and ultimately to the
salvation and eternal happiness of men. To these all other objects are
subordinate and subservient; and faith in the Saviour is the great mean by
which His power effectually operates for their accomplishment. In contemplating
the progress and power of the Gospel, we contemplate the increasing numbers of
our fallen race, delivered from their lost condition, received into the
families of God, and raised to the privileges and joys of His children. How
worthy are such views to engage your chief affections and your highest
admiration! Again, the views which we have been considering should guard
against security, and teach us that the progress and final triumph of the
Messiah’s Kingdom do not prevent the apostasy and the rejection both of
individuals and nations calling themselves Christians. But chiefly, and lastly,
I observe that we learn from those views the way by which we shall promote most
effectually the glory of God and happiness of man. It is by promoting the
knowledge of the Gospel, and bringing the minds of men under the dominion of
the Son of God. The source of misery is sin, and until Christian knowledge, and
Christian holiness, be rendered prevalent among mankind, vain and ineffectual
will be every mean to promote their happiness. Let every man do good as God has
given him the opportunity--and in his own sphere, and among those over whom his
influence extends, promote the cause of Christ’s Kingdom and oppose abounding
iniquity. (S. MacGill, D.D.)
Christianity as a World-Power
“A dream, only a dream,” is likely to be the mocking language of
the so-called practical men of the world, who regard it as an evidence of
superior sanity to trust only facts and figures, when this immortal declaration
is read in their hearing. True, in the visions of night royal Nebuchadnezzar
had seen a gleaming colossus of different metals, not unlike the huge colossi
guarding his own palace gates, which had been smitten by the mysterious
fragment of rock cut from a mountain without hands, and which Daniel had
interpreted in the passage before us. And what then? Are all such disclosures
necessarily unworthy of credence? Was not Abimelech Divinely guided through a
dream? Was not the immediate future of Egypt accurately foreshown to Pharaoh
through the same means? Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions relate the
accomplishment of various events that were anticipated in sleep. Thus Gyges,
King of Lydia, had been admonished to enter on an alliance with Assurbanipal;
and by this method Egypt had been encouraged to unite against the Assyrians.
Likewise in Persian history, rulers, such as Afrasiab and Xerxes, were warned
and directed when their senses were wrapped in slumber, and the scenes
uncurtained were faithful counterparts of approaching realities. And what are
all the successes of our modern era, all the conquests over nature, all the
triumphs over tyranny, all the vindications of human rights, but the fulfilment
of dreams dreamed by saints and sages, poets and philosophers, for the
announcement of which they were derided and cursed, were shut up in prison and
thrust out of life? My own opinion is, as far as chronology is concerned, that
we are taught that during the rise and fall of ancient nations God was cutting
out of the mountains a stone, was setting up a kingdom, and is still setting up
a kingdom, which, in the fulness of time, shall prevail over all empires and shall
fill the entire earth. But I am inclined to believe that the prime intention of
the writer was not so much to fix times and seasons as to bring into relief the
eternal antagonisms that exist between what the mighty image represents and
what the stone denotes; and to create a just conception of the nature and
history of Christianity as a world-power. The originality of Christianity as a
world-power is worthy of serious thought.
1. This originality appears in the source of its inspiration. Whoever
reads carefully the New Testament must have observed the prominence assigned
the Holy Spirit. His presence and potency constitute likewise the
distinguishing excellency of our faith. With the day of Pentecost came His
advent and His incarnation in the church. Revivals of religion are not fresh
processions of the Comforter from the Unseen. They are distinct manifestations
of what is the perennial possession of God’s people, There are times when the
tides of the sea rise higher, but we are not to suppose that there has been a
new or larger supply of water, only a peculiar concentration and elevation. So
revivals are only higher tides, more overmastering demonstrations of power, and
greater exhibitions of fervency; they are not a new descent or coming of the
Paraclete. They are often needed, and are needed now, to recall the church to
the source of her inspiration. Political world-powers are impelled onward,
sometimes by lust of conquest, sometimes by desire for gain, sometimes by
glory, or by what they vaguely term, “manifest destiny.” They are at times
governed by the spirit of the Chauvinist, of the French soldier, who could not
conceive of anything wrong in the great Napoleon; and thus become fatuous
idolaters of country and party. Frequently they are dominated by a Machiavelianism,
which seeks, as Richelieu stated, to preserve the unofficial conscience
separated from the state conscience, and which forms the habit of acting
indirectly and crookedly so that nothing can be done without deception. Their
statesmen are often incapable of the great thoughts which are necessary to
precede great actions, and listen with ear to the ground for the whisperings of
the crowd; or they are unpardonably indifferent to the needs of the people, and
betray them when concentrated wealth demands the sacrifice and offers its dirty
thirty pieces of silver. And whenever churches, in the remotest degree,
approximate to such motives and methods, they lose their unique character. Then
their originality is obscured, and the world treats them as they deserve, as
mere lath and plaster. The Kingdom of Christ should always be moved from
within, from the impulses of the Spirit who hath descended from above.
Throughout the New Testament, from the birth of Christ to the separating of
Paul and Barnabas to the ministry of missions, the Holy Spirit is the chief
actor. Nothing is more impressive in the post-resurrection life of our Lord
than His constant breathing of the Spirit on His followers. Without Him
Pentecost would have been impossible, and without Him there would have been no
adequate momentum toward the evangelisation of Samaria and the regions beyond.
Almost every departure in new and aggressive work has been preceded by a
spiritual quickening somewhere. It was so when the great missionary organisations
came into being. They were not called into existence by human ingenuity to
serve as organs for the work of the Holy Spirit; they were themselves begotten
by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, I fear, we forget this. Sometimes we approach
the work of the kingdom as though it were identical with that of the world. And
soon we are tempted to boast that we administer churches and missions as
leading business men manage business. In a sense this is very well; but after
all, the kingdom cannot be administered merely as a vast corporation. Indeed,
were this ideal paramount, corporations being what they are to-day in fact and
in the popular estimate, the sympathies and prayers of the Christian masses
would speedily be detached from the cause of Christ. No; it must seek to be
guided by the Holy Spirit, to follow His leadings, yield to His inspirations,
and become more and more a pliant instrument in His hand; and where this is
done, the unique glory by which its Founder designed it to be for evermore
distinguished will be displayed and recognised.
2. The originality of Christianity also appears in the power of its
assimilation. Usually national types are fixed and definite. It is not an easy
thing to overcome them, and after generations of intermarriages they are not always
obliterated. What has been accomplished to render homogeneous this
heterogeneous mass has been largely the work of the evangelical faith. That
faith is like a magnificent furnace in which the representatives of various
nationalities are melted down, fused, and are made capable of being moulded.
What it has wrought in Fiji, in Polynesia, in Burma, in China, and Japan would
have been impossible if Christianity were not wonderfully adapted to all races
and tribes, the lowest and the highest. If the day ever comes when differences
shall disappear and humanity be as one, it will be in consequence of the
transforming grace of the Spirit. This religion alone seems to be gifted with
the universal quality. It is broad enough, it is wide enough, it is deep enough.
It knows the needs of the common heart of man. In it kings and princes find
comfort, and in it barbarians and outcasts find hope. To confer its blessings
it asks no man of what house, family, or clime he comes. His needs are
recognised, and the provision is Sufficient and abundant. This cannot be said
of Hinduism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, and the rest. However numerous their
adherents, these creeds nevertheless are provincial and narrow in their scope.
They are only accepted by kindred peoples; and the more they are known the less
charm they have for the European and American. By this test, if their claims
are judged, they must yield to the superior merit of Christianity.
3. The Originality of Christianity appears in the benevolence of its
aspirations. This cannot be alarmed of worldly empires of the Babylonian or
Roman type. Doubtless some among them in our day justify their interference in
the affairs of inferior races on the ground that they would do them good. But
every competent judge perceives that all this is reversed in the case of
Christianity. Wherever she goes she blesses, and in pagan lands it is only her
spirit and influence which mitigate the evils of foreign occupation. Sir
Herbert Edwardes testified years since, as the result of his observations in
the East: “That secular education and civilization will ever regenerate a
nation I do not believe; as an able missionary once said, ‘He alone can make a
new nation who can form a new man.’” In the same direction I quote Mr.
Hawthorne: “The only salvation of India, even from an economic point of view .
. . is its Christianisation.” And with him the Hon. Mr. Bryce evidently agrees,
for he is quoted as saying that the Indian Empire could not last unless it were
Christianised, and that nothing else can hold it together. Captain Mahan
likewise perceives a peril in bringing together the East and the West on the
basis of common material advantages without a correspondence in spiritual
ideals. Men like Schwartz, Livingstone, Carey, and Ashmore are the saviours of
pagan lands. When their disinterested labours are understood, a new and
regenerating idea begins to dawn and an uplift is experienced. Here lies the
secret of Christian power. Religion asks for no man’s silver and gold, attempts
not to rob him of his wealth, brings to bear on him no violence, does not shoot
down his children or burn his villages; and the method is so novel, the intent
so unselfish, that the hearts of multitudes are moved to repentance and faith.
Sovereignty means right, authority, chieftaincy; the right to subdue, overcome,
and sweep away whatever wrongfully is arrayed against it. But Christianity has
no authority to fall on, to crash and annihilate by sheer force what she may
regard as antagonistic to her reign. She is not permitted to appeal to the
sword. Christ Himself decreed that the servants of the kingdom should not
fight. They were not authorised to invoke the weapons of war for the
advancement of the Cross. This inhibition likewise forbids them to encourage
others, the secular powers, for instance, to invade distant lands, seizing them
and occupying them for the sake of Christian evangelisation. Then the paucity
of language appears again in the dream when the idea is suggested that these
various empires are so blotted out as to obliterate their inhabitants, and that
all human governments are to be supplanted by the church. Interpreting
Scripture by Scripture, and symbols by common sense, I understand the action of
the stone in falling on the huge form to denote the right of the church to
efface and expunge everything in the State that is ungodly, unrighteous, and
unjust, so that the actual administration of affairs will come to harmonise
with her ideals. In other words, she is to incarnate herself in human society
and in all of its mechanism, whether it be the machinery of government, of
education, of commerce, or industry. She is not to remain for ever outside, a
something distinct from the secular; but she is to take possession of it,
transform it, become its very soul, and direct all of its movements from
within. As Christianity is not to take the sword, the expression and action of
her sovereignty must be moral; and we are to learn from the scene before us
that this exceeds all other weapons in potency. We are all slow to learn this
truth. And yet not an age passes without being demonstrated anew. A nation
rushes into speculations which imperil industry, and encourages business
methods which are pernicious, and dazzled by her successes sneers at the
conservatives and the moralists. But the day of judgment comes. Some stone--the
hard, inexorable law of rectitude asserts itself falls on the entire mass of
chicane and deceit, and collapse fallows. It ought also to be noted that these
indications which are making for the final triumph of Christianity are usually
characterised by suddenness and occasionally even by violence. This violence is
the natural overflow of the moral principles which have been generated through
religion in the volcanic soul of humanity. The humiliation of Spain is a case
in point. The Reformation under Luther was another illustration of what we
should learn from this theme. What a crash it was? How unexpected though
inevitable? What cruelty and horror it occasioned. And yet what marvellous
progress it inspired. It was blowing up the barrier that impeded freedom of
thought and the advance of civilization. Thus Christianity goes on
demonstrating the sovereignty of the ethical and spiritual over the political
and the commercial, developing moral crises in which her own influence comes to
be recognised as potent. And it is questionable whether any vast upheaval has
occurred since the birth of Christ which has not been in some real sense the
result of His teachings and has not contributed to their wider dissemination.
This I hold to be alike true of the convulsions that crushed the Roman Empire,
of the agitations and struggles that wrecked the dominance of feudalism, of the
catastrophies that characterised the French Revolution, and of all the strange
and violent antagonisms which have led to the unity of Italy and to the
conquest of the Soudan. But it may be asked, Is there to be a final and
widespread crisis involving, not isolated nations, but the existing civil order
everywhere, both east and west, among civilized and barbarous people alike? The
probabilities point in that direction; and the Scriptures seem to be decisively
on its side. “Sun and moon are to be darkened, the stars of heaven are to fall
before the great and notable day of the Lord.” Armageddon precedes the millennium.
Scenes of conflict and anguish are announced as opening the way to the final
Gospel triumph. Anyone can see the utter impossibility of realising the reign
of righteousness under present social and political conditions, whether in
America or Europe, in lands civilized or lands blighted by heathenism. And
there seems to be a growing consciousness that something critical is about to
take place, because it ought to take place; and governments and leaders are
apprehensive lest they should go down in the crash. They are voting more
cannon, new explosives, fresh levies, stronger fortifications, and are
encouraging inventors to devise novel means of destruction; but they are not
adopting the true defence--“righteousness exalteth a nation”; “God is our refuge,
a present help in time of trouble.” And yet with all their expenditures and
preparations they are not at ease. “The hearts of the nations are failing them
for fear.” Moreover, in all these lands, grave solicitude is felt regarding
social inequalities. The control of business is rapidly passing through trusts
into the hands of relatively a few chieftains in America, and the result is
that opportunities for employment are diminishing, not increasing. Anyone can
see that things cannot continue as they are. The social Vesuvius is already in
a turmoil, and its fires and lava cannot be eternally suppressed. A crisis is
inevitable. Some of the most passionless students of our times perceive the
imminence of the danger. They work out this result as coolly and scientifically
as a mariner works out his reckoning, and as deliberately as the weather bureau
forecasts the atmospheric changes. With them it is not a question of feeling
and sentiment, but of strict reasoning and logic. Given rapaciousness,
heartlessness, and cold-blooded selfishness on the part of employers as the
major premise in the social syllogism, and discontent, discouragement, and the
ever-increasing sense of wrong on the part of the employed as the minor, and
the outcome can hardly be anything else than chaos, though it may be chaos
leading to a new industrial creation. I know that the taunt will not be lacking
that I am preaching pessimism. No, I am an optimist and proclaiming optimism.
Were I a pessimist, I should now be declaring that the image seen by Daniel’s
sovereign never could be destroyed; and that it would go on trampling beneath
its feet of iron and clay--a mixture of militarism and materialism--the best
hopes of humanity. But I have no such doleful message to deliver. My song is
that of the lark; I herald the flay, not the night; but I dare not hide from
myself the fact that night precedes the day. “The stone which the builders
rejected,” aye, “the stone cut out of the mountains,” shall finally bring to an
end all of these mischievous evils, aged shall “fill the whole earth.” But not
without a scene of conflict and experiences of sharp agony. Let us hope and
pray that it may be without anarchical riots, incendiary outbreaks, and
bloodshed, and may accomplish itself in one of those wonderful upheavals
wrought by the patient determination of free peoples, who, enlightened by the
Gospel, by their principles and convictions expressed at the polls, will bring
down the lofty and exalt the lowly. Thus it may be; but however the result
shall be accomplished, the spirit that shall compass it, that antagonises
everything wrong at home or abroad has been engendered by Christ’s Kingdom, and
the ultimate deliverance will furnish the crowning evidence of its victorious
sovereignty. The responsibility of Christianity as a world-power must now claim
our attention, or this discussion would fail of its purpose. The prophet tells
us that in the days of the ancient kings God set up a kingdom. To me the
beginnings of this creation antedate the appearance of Christ. Every prediction
that announced it, every psalm that chanted its glories, and every providence
that prepared the world for its manifestations, were as the digging of
foundations; or, better still, as the felling of timber in the forests, and the
disinterring of reeks in the quarry for the construction of this everlasting
sanctuary. And I believe that still the God of Heaven is setting up a kingdom.
Generals and soldiers are lauded and rewarded as the builders of empires; but
the missionaries and evangelists, with all the lowly souls that are helping in
their enterprise, are usually ignored or are misunderstood by society that
still walks by the light of its carnal vision. And yet these obscure labourers
are building up a kingdom that shall not be moved, and are establishing a
world-power whose beneficence and beauty transcends the highest excellencies of
all earthly imperialisms. May I not remind you by what God has already wrought
through His people that there is a responsibility resting on the kingdom to yet
further fall in with His plans, and to co-ordinate itself to His Spirit? If the
claims of humanity can appropriately be pressed home on the conscience of a
secular power, how much more are they entitled to weight by the spiritual.
Responsibility is an attribute of sovereignty. Do we, as Christians, realise
ours? What we need to-day is a quickened conscience in our churches. An aroused
conscience would solve all difficulties; provide adequate missionary income,
supply the brightest type of workers, and provoke an activity at home and
abroad which would speedily bring to an end the reign of darkness.
1. This responsibility can only be met by liberality, and not by
retrenchment. The church should be as wise as the state. Alas! her financiers
have too frequently been given, when financial emergencies have arisen, to talk
approvingly of retrenchment. If there is a spectacle offensive to Heaven and
contemptible before men, it is that of professed disciples living like Dives
and begrudging the crumbs which fall from their affluence into the missionary
collection for poor Lazarus. Let us recognise the truth. The truth is, the
church has money enough to fulfil her responsibilities at home and abroad. She
has not enough for wastefulness or extravagance, or even for sentimental
experimenting; but she has ample resources for the evangelisation of the entire
world. But this wealth was not bestowed that it might shut God out; and yet it
will assuredly do so if it is not expended as He has planned and directed. Its accumulation
ought once and for all to teach that the church is bound to prosecute her work,
not by the measure of her offerings, but by the measure of her possessions.
2. But more than this, our responsibility can only be honoured by
combination, and not by isolation. The unsocial communities have been violently
disturbed of late. China’s great wall has fallen; Japan has emerged from her
solitude; and it is claimed that the United States can no longer refrain from
joining the European Powers in their confederate activities. The progress of
this race is wonderful. It controls ever one-third of the earth’s surface.
Prof. Marsh has said: “More than one-half of the letters mailed and carried by
the universal postal system are written, mailed, and read by the English-speaking
populations”; and they distribute more than two-thirds of all Bibles and
Testaments published; and in literature and general intelligence they excel all
that is found among other people. But it must not be supposed that every aspect
of this great branch of the human family is attractive or promising. Far from
it. Even now, after centuries of training, it displays much of the spirit of
the Vikings and of the Heligoland pirates, and it is constantly in danger of
defying force. For the history of its progress and aggrandisement is in no
small measure the history of violence and aggression. If isolation is fast
becoming impossible between nations, and particularly between Great Britain and
the United States, it ought to be equally impossible between denominations.
Fast is it becoming so. Missionary congresses and federation of churches are
helping to draw into one holy alliance the diverse and separated forces of the
living God. Something more than independency of action and enthusiasm of spirit
is demanded, if the claims of Christianity as a world-power are to be
substantiated. But while I speak thus, I realise that organisations, however
complete and indispensable, can never supersede the zeal and personal endeavour
of the individual. Man is grander than a machine, and the religious machine is,
after all, only a supplement to the man. What we need to-day is, that while we
sustain our missionary societies we likewise develop all the resources of the
individual. Obligations cannot be vicariously met. The hour has arrived for
personal decision and consecration. Two tendencies are observable to-day. The
one is toward secular imperialism. It is the dream of nationalities in the old
world, and is not without charm for ourselves in the new. Success along this
line apart from religion is freighted with ultimate mischief and peril. But the
other trend is more encouraging and more ennobling; it is toward the triumphant
imperialism of Christianity. For which shall we labour? I am not saying that
they are necessarily inconsistent with each other; but so far as grandeur and
sublimity are concerned, I would rather devote myself to the second than to the
first. Would not you? As for me, I would rather stand with Livingstone, Carey,
Marshman, Judson, than I would with Clive, Hastings, and Lawrence; and I would
rather in the end be associated with Christ and His apostles than I would with
Caesar and the legions thundering at his heels. (J. G. Lorimer,
D.D.)
The Kingdom of Christ
This image, then, represents to us the kingdoms of the earth, such
as they are without the fear of God, in all their pride and stateliness. You
see them, in it, condensed and combined into one vast body, glittering, as we
behold them with our eyes, with silver and gold, and lifting up their heads to
Heaven itself, with the insolence of a giant strength and the godlessness of an
unrebuked security. The eye of flesh and blood, obedient to its instincts, and,
ignoble, like them, is dazzled at their looks; and the heart of man, like that
of the Babylonish king, is not only moved with a momentary awe, but crouches
down with a real servile terror at their outward grandeur. But all this has
nothing substantial in it, notwithstanding--no more than the show of solidity
which you see in the summer clouds--how suddenly, like them, do they dissolve,
nay, consume, perish, and come to a fearful end! The reason is that, being
unbased on that reality of power which belongs to God alone, they have no
essential and true strength; they stand on feet of iron and clay, unharmonizing
materials, ill mixed, and uncompacted. And they break away into a thousand
fragments the moment they come into collision with the Almighty’s purposes, and
the smiting of His avenging rod. “But,” you say, “it is difficult to draw a
practical lesson from so mystic a warning”; true, but the whole Bible is full
of such warnings, as well as its great interpreter, the history of the world.
When, therefore, learned and worldly men talk of this great kingdom and of
that, as being ruined by a mistake in policy, or a mismanagement in war, and so
on, and puzzle themselves and others in the vain attempt to unfold, by external
and secondary events, what they are pleased to call the real causes of this
great ruin; the humblest Christian man, with the Bible in his hand, may say, “I
cannot deny what you tell me, nor can I, indeed, understand the difficult
operation of those fine-sounding things on which you make the adversity or
prosperity of kingdoms to depend; but I know this, which is far better than all
your science and philosophy put together, that nations, like individual men,
only prosper while they love and obey God; and that when they refuse or cease
to do so, He punishes and destroys them for their sins. And if you ask me why I
dare contradict one so much more learned than myself, and am so sure of this
conclusion, touching, as it does, the very mysteries of politics, I have but
one reason to give, though that is the best of all--God says so--I find it
plainly written in the Bible.” Well, then, all the kingdoms of theworld are
represented by the prophet Daniel as finally crushed beneath the weight of that
everlasting kingdom which God shall set up among the nations, and which they
shall resist--not recognising as Divine a power so unlike their own, nor discerning
that penal ruin, which, by ways beyond the scan and compass of the carnal
politician, its rejection necessarily involves, even during this earthly
dispensation. But is not God love, and the Gospel merciful, and Christ,. the
Saviour, meek and gentle beyond the meekness of man, not so much as quenching
the smoking flax, or breaking the bruised reed? it is not to be denied, so He
is; yet He shall tread out, notwithstanding, in His wrath, the wine-press of
Almighty God. And, if you will think for a moment of God’s goodness and of
man’s wickedness, and the exceeding guilt of rejecting such great salvation,
you will no longer marvel that the Gospel, with its revelations of unspeakable
love, and the blood of the cross, whoso sprinkling cleanseth from all sin,
should be presented to us under an aspect so tremendous, or should exercise in
the world at large, in its final development, a condemnation so awful, and a
ruin so sweeping! And I say a ruin so sweeping, because the words of the
prophet seem to indicate that all nations, from the empire of the Chaldees
downwards, shall, in their turn, share the same fate; and that our native land,
therefore, with all its privileges, may ultimately be added to the catalogue of
nations blotted out or tormented in fire for incorrigible wickedness. Our Lord
himself, perhaps in intended allusion to these very words of the prophet,
describes thus the result of resistance to His eternal kingdom: “Whosoever
shall fall upon this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it
shall grind him to powder.” “A stone cut out without hands”; that is, without
human and visible agency, any power mensurable by carnal calculation, but by
the power of Almighty God himself, operating when and where He wills, with or
without the instrumentality of subordinate agents; a stone so guarded and so
blessed by all Heavenly graces, as to lay a meet foundation for an everlasting
church. Such, then, is the Christian kingdom, coming out from God, and of God;
it goes forth, from age to age, in spite of evil spirits and evil men,
conquering and to conquer. What though the heathen rage, and the people imagine
a vain thing? Nay, but I put it to yourselves; have not the prophet’s words
been gloriously fulfilled? Has not the stone become a mountain, and filled the
whole earth? it is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. Who
would have ventured to pronounce that the crucified Jesus, hanging between two
thieves, on the accursed tree, the despised and rejected of men, would, after a
few years had passed, have been worshipped as a God and a Saviour from one end
of Heaven to another? “O the depth of the riches both of the power and the
wisdom of God; how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding
out!” Now, all that I have been laying before you of God’s eternal purpose to
raise the Kingdom of His Son on the ruins of an unbelieving world, is the clear
word of God; so clear that they who run may road, confirmed, too, in the
history of the world, by many infallible and terrible proofs; and, therefore,
it is as certain to be fulfilled in what is to come, as it has been in all that
is past. Moreover, there is not an attribute of Almighty God which is not
pledged, and actively engaged in the issue of it. There are His unchangeableness
and truth--for, from all eternity He has planned this spiritual kingdom to be
carried on in the midst of the kingdom of the prince of this world; and, by no
less an oath than His immutable self, hath He sworn to preserve it unto the
end. There is His justice, for by the same solemn engagement, He has announced
in the oars of Heaven and earth, that He will punish all the guilty, and cast
out from that presence, in which alone is light and life, the enemies of Him
who reigneth on His hill of Zion. There is His love, and with it, Hid
abhorrence of sin; for with such incredible earnestness, and love for man, has
He wrought for the establishment of this kingdom that He has given His blessed
Son to die for us, and by His death, to open the gates of life. (J. Garbett.)
The Kingdom of the Saints
Daniel’s interpretation is: “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
those kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” This prophecy is fulfilled among
us at this day. Look into the details of this great providence, the history of
the Gospel dispensation.
1. Observe what it was that took place. Many kingdoms have boon set
up and extended by the sword. This, indeed, is the only way in which earthly
power grows. But the propagation of the Gospel was the internal development of
one and the same principle in various countries at once, and, therefore, may be
suitably called invisible, and not of this world. Apostolic efforts do not
provide adequate explanation. See what really happened. In the midst of a great
empire, such as the world had never seen, powerful and crafty beyond all former
empires, more extensive, and better organised, suddenly a new kingdom arose.
Suddenly, in every part of this well-cemented empire, ten thousand orderly
societies, professing one and the same doctrine, and disciplined upon the same
polity, sprang up as from the earth. This was a new thing, unprecedented in the
history of the world before or since, and calculated to excite the deepest
interest and amazement in any really philosophical mind. When men began to
interrogate this enemy of Roman greatness, they found no vague profession among
them, no varying account of themselves, no irregular and uncertain plan of
action or conduct. They were all members of strictly and similarly organised
societies. They all refused to obey the laws of Rome, so far as religion was
concerned. At the same time they professed a singular patience and submission
to the civil powers. They did not stir hand or foot in self-defence. They
avowed, one and all, the same doctrine clearly and boldly, and they professed
to receive it from one and the same source. They were bound to one another by
the closest ties of fellowship. And, in spite of persecutions from without, and
occasional dissensions from within, they prospered . . . If there be a moral
governor over the world, is there not something unearthly in all this,
something which we are forced to refer to him from its marvellousness,
something which from its dignity and greatness, bespeaks his hand?
2. Consider the language of Christ and His apostles. From the first
they speak confidently, solemnly, calmly, of the destined growth and triumph of
the kingdom. Christ contemplated the overshadowing sovereignty of His Kingdom.
He spoke also of the disorganisation of society which was to attend the
establishment of His Kingdom. In like manner, St. Paul takes for granted the
troubles which were coming on the earth, and the rise of the Christian church
amidst them, and reasons on all this as if already realised.
3. If the Christian church has spread its branches high and wide over
the earth, its roots are fixed as deep below the surface. The intention of
Christ and His apostles is itself but the accomplishment of ancient prophecy.
4. The course of providence co-operated with this scheme of prophecy.
God’s word and hand went together. Notice the strange connection between the
dispersion of the Jews and the propagation of Christianity. Does not such a
manifest appearance of cause and effect look very much like an indication of
design? (J. H. Newman, B.D.)
God’s Everlasting Kingdom
All that was foretold in this remarkable prophecy in due time came
to pass. This universal and everlasting kingdom is distinguished by certain
infallible marks and evidences which prevent it from being confounded with
human institutions, which may resemble it in some respects.
I. THE FIRST NOTE OF THIS KINGDOM IS ITS VISIBILITY.
It has a visible ministry; visible scriptures; visible forms, and ceremonies,
and observances; visible sacraments. The very idea of a kingdom implies its
visibility.
II. ITS PERPETUITY. It is expressly foretold of it
in the text that it should “never be destroyed.” But that it should “stand fast
for ever.” All temporal kingdoms are exposed to changes and decay. That
kingdom, complete in all its parts, and vigorous and active in its operations,
must now be found upon this earth. There does exist a great and Divine system,
having the properties of vast dominion, distinguished privileges, and eternal
endurance.
III. ITS UNITY. This is a distinguishing mark of
God’s Kingdom, and good men should never cease to pray that “all who profess
and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the
Faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life.”
IV. ITS SANCTITY The Divine Head and Founder of
the church gave Himself for His people that he might “redeem them from all
iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
V. ITS APOSTOLICITY. In other words, it must have
a history, and be able to trace back its origin to the days of the Apostles of
Christ. (John N. Norton.)
The Kingdom of Christ
1. The mediatorial action of the Son of God is of the nature of
kingly rule. Christ rules in the first place within the church. He is King of
Saints. His subjects are hearts willingly submissive to His sway. He rules by
His word and Spirit. His dominion extends beyond the church; beyond even the
world of men. Nature and the invisible world are beneath His feet.
2. The kingdom is of supernatural origin. The kingdom is one which
the God of Heaven set up. It was Divine in its origin, so it was endowed with
inextinguishable life.
3. The kingdom was insignificant in its commencement. The stone was
small. Look at the Messiah himself, at the veil of obscurity which He assumed.
He was “of a decayed and delapidated house; was ranked with the poor; was without
powerful friends or political connections; of no uncommon advantage of
learning; and was regarded with contempt and scorn by the great mass of His
countrymen.”
4. The kingdom is destined for universal prevalence. It began by
casting down that which would and did oppose its way. Significant as the
destruction wrought by the stone may be, even more so is the displacement of
the image by the stone. Man-created universal empire gives place to a universal
empire God-created. The worldly rule gives way that Heavenly rule may speedily
appear. That the stone which smote the image will become a great mountain and
fill the whole earth we devoutly believe. The truth might be argued from the
essentially aggressive character of the Gospel
5. The kingdom is to be everlasting. It has stood for eighteen
hundred years. Not, however, because no attempt has been made to annihilate it.
Physical force, mental power, transcendent genius, have each and all done their
worst. It is the great fact of the world still. (H. T. Robjohns,
B.A.)
A Contrast between Paganism and Christianity
You will recall to your minds King Nebuchadnezzar’s wonderful
dream, and the interpretation of it by Daniel. God can touch the heart of a
person in sleep. He can touch the heart of a man dead in sin. How easily He
gains His purposes--the forgetting of a dream raised Daniel next to the throne.
In the dream we find revealed a contrast between paganism and Christianity.
1. Paganism is constructed; Christianity is a growth. The image was
builded of gold, of silver, of brass, of iron, of clay. But the little stone
grew.
2. Paganism is of human origin; Christianity, like the little stone,
is made without hands.
3. Paganism divides men; Christianity unites. Disorganisation is
inherent in paganism, and it cannot but crumble. How different with
Christianity! Its centre is God, and that Centre is everywhere, and its
circumference is nowhere. Every individual in this kingdom is at the very
centre of power. We have even no need of one to stand between us and this
Centre, for Christ is God. The advance of civilisation is destructive to error;
but Christianity is fitted for the highest civilization. The greater the
advancement, the more irresistible becomes this stone cut from the mountain.
Its development is the crowding out and destruction of all false systems. There
need be no fear that science will harm Christianity; it will, in the end, help
it, not harm it. Literature is on this side. Never has Christianity exercised
so great a power over the press as to-day, Education is also helping, not
hindering, religion. Our colleges are nearly all in the hands of Christian
people. Nine-tenths of all educational endowments are the gifts of Christian
men and women. Art is not hostile to Christianity. The best of painting, the
best of sculpture, the best of architecture, the best of music, is helping to
roll this stone that is filling the earth.
4. The power which makes this stone irresistible is God. It is
omnipotent as is the throne of Jehovah. No man-made power can resist it. Gold,
brass, iron, are crushed beneath it. The great movement for the purification of
the earth is going forward. God wishes us to Join in this work. Blessed are we
if we are found co-workers with Him. (Bishop Simpson.)
The Fifth Monarchy
I. WHAT IS THE KINGDOM? By the kingdom we
understand the gospel church or Christian dispensation. When John the Baptist
commenced his ministry in the wilderness of Judaea, he preached, saying,
“Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In this passage we evidently
find the church represented as a kingdom. There are, we apprehend, sufficient
reasons why she may be so represented. She has all the qualities peculiar to a
kingdom. A kingdom consists of a number of men associated for purposes of
mutual benefit, who have ordained a certain code of laws for the regulation of
their lives, and who have elected a ruler to preside over their interests--to
dispense law and preserve order--to act as “a terror” to evil-doers and a
praise to them that do well. Similar in all these respects is the church. The
revealed and written word of God contains the constitution and rules of their
society. It contains laws for the regulation of their lives, as individuals, as
congregations, as churches, and as nations--rules for all the relations into
which man in this life of change can possibly enter. Christ is their King,
Lawgiver, and Judge--“King of kings, and Lord of lords”--“Head over all things”
to the church are titles conspicuously written on His vesture and on His thigh.
II. SOME OF THE MORE OBVIOUS QUALITIES OF THIS KINGDOM.
Every man has his distinguishing characteristics. In like manner, every
community, every kingdom is distinguished by some special properties. Thus we
find Russia, notorious for despotism; Spain, for bigotry; France, for
fickleness and instability; Christ’s kingdom is distinguished by:
1. Its spirituality.
2. Light. Scripture informs us that “God is light.” Being light in
himself He can never be the author of darkness. The kingdoms of men are
kingdoms of darkness. Satan is the god of this world, and he is the prince of
darkness. He knows that “Where there is no vision the people perish.” Hence he
endeavours by all means to keep those subject to his sway in gross moral
darkness. Whilst we doubt the Divine existence, or entertain wrong views of His
character and law, of our present condition--our wants and requirements--we
will never come to God that we may have life. Hence, when Jehovah wills the
salvation of any sinner, he commences the work of grace on his heart by
spiritual illumination, by opening the eyes of the understanding to see the
wonderful things contained in the law. Thus, every believer, on receiving
Christ, though formerly darkness, becomes light in the Lord. His soul is filled
with light on all subjects affecting his interests for time and eternity.
3. Liberty. Freedom is sweet to every living being--to everything “in
whose nostrils is the breath of life.” The entire animate creation rejoices in
the free and unrestrained exercise of every power conferred by the Author of
life. By man more especially is liberty prized. The mere mention of its name
fills his soul with pleasurable emotions. Christ confers liberty in the highest
and most extended sense of the term--liberty infinitely superior to that for
which philanthropists have oftentimes sighed and patriots bled. Jesus confers
spiritual and a right to temporal liberty on all His followers. These two kinds
of freedom are intimately connected. When the former obtains the latter will in
due time be sure to follow. When the former has no place the latter cannot
possibly exist. When men are spiritually slaves they can neither understand nor
enjoy temporal freedom. Jesus delivers all His people from the thraldom of sin
and Satan. When Messiah “reigns in Mount Sion, and in Jerusalem, and before His
ancients gloriously,” “He shall deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor
also, and him that hath no helper.” A bright future is, therefore, in reserve
for the oppressed nationalities of Europe; for the persecuted and oppressed of
every clime.
4. Peace and happiness. Peace and prosperity are intimately
connected. Without peace there can be no progress, no enjoyment, personal,
domestic, or social. There can be no happiness to the man whose soul is filled
with the tumult of contending passions, whose mind is agitated by fear, or
distracted with doubt. There is no enjoyment in the family where alienation and
strife reign. The kingdom or nation divided against itself will assuredly fall.
Peace is thus of paramount importance; but unhappily it has long been banished
from the world. The world has long been a scene of violence, of rapine, and of
blood. There is no peace on its wide extent but that which prevails in the
Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ gives peace to all His subjects--peace
with God and peace with man. The enmity of the carnal mind is slain and a
spirit of love imparted--love to God as Creator, Preserver, Redeemer, and love
to all His people. Such a disposition obtaining in the mind--such a spirit
pervading society--peace will prevail, and harmony reign.
5. Universal. It has at all times baffled the highest efforts of
human genius to establish a universal empire. The experience of Alexander in
ancient, and of Napoleon in modern times, is proof positive on the point. The
honour thus denied the most gifted of our race is reserved for Him who is
“Prince of the kings of the earth.” There will never be a universal kingdom but
that of Immanuel. We learn from the context, and kindred portions of Inspired
Writ, that His empire will embrace all the kingdoms of men.
6. Eternal growth and decay is the order of nature. This holds good
both in regard to the animal and vegetable kingdoms. Every plant and every
animal, every species of organic existence has its period of development, its
period of maturity, and its time of decline. The majestic oak, monarch of the
forest, once grew as a tender sapling; gradually and slowly it attained its
noble dimensions; after having lifted on high its head for ages, and shaking
out its green drapery to the breeze, seeming to bid defiance to the lightnings
of Heaven and fury of the blast, at length it becomes gnarled and bare, and
yielding to the violence of the storm, falls prostrate on the ground. In like
manner with man, lord of the animate creation. As with man individually, so
with man collectively, so with nations. Nations as such have their rise, their
growth, their maturity, and decline. Thus with all the celebrated kingdoms of
antiquity. They all prevailed for a time, and maintained their proud supremacy,
but at last the elements of decay contained in their constitution wrought their
ruin. Christ’s Kingdom, however, though it had a commencement, and an increase,
will never be destroyed, nor suffer a decline. It is free from all elements of
dissolution. Sin is the cause of all death, national as well as individual. The
Redeemer’s Kingdom is distinguished for holiness, hence it “shall never be
destroyed,” but on the contrary, “shall stand for ever.” The wicked may plot its
overthrow; but their devices will redound to their own confusion. Observe:
Verse 44-45
Daniel 2:44-45
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 excellent, the form
terrible. The image was the symbol of human power in its highest manifestation,
an imperial despotism all but commensurate with the inhabited world. The
dynasties, differing in form, were, nevertheless, one and the same in spirit
and genius--particularly in alienation from the life of God--and, therefore, in
hostiliy to His Kingdom. This need not have been the case. Civil government may
be a reflection of the Divine government. It may be rooted in Divine
principles. It may be administered in the fear of God.
II. ITS MAJESTY. Just as
there may be a certain majesty in mere intellect, apart from its consecration,
so may there be in an empire over men, notwithstanding its prostitution to
sinful ends. Man was made in the image of God. The dominion of man over nature,
over other men, is a shadow of Divine dominion. Of this dominion the image of a
human form was a fit symbol; but the image was not of a mere man, but man in
colossal majesty. No particular form of government can claim to exist as
exclusively of Divine right; but government of some kind, government in the
abstract, magistracy of some order, is undoubtedly Divine.
III. ITS WEAKNESS. There is
grandeur in this image of worldly power; but the colossus of metal stands on
weak feet of clay. It may have been God’s intention that we should note
this--how all things human deteriorate unless redeemed from corruption by the
saving power of religion. This is as true of government in general, and of
particular dynasties and races of kings, as of anything else whatever. Then we
may expect Divine intervention to save society by the quickening and
regeneration of its members. The process of deterioration is not inevitable. (H.
T.Robjohns, B. A.)
The Spiritual Kingdom
As in the symbolical language of the prophetical writers, we have
an earthquake for a revolution, a mountain for a kingdom, a star for a prince,
a forest for a great city, the treading of the wine-press for desolation and
slaughter, and a censer with incense for the offering of prayer; so, in our
text, we have the four great empires of the world, like the four ages of the
poets of ancient Greece and Rome, represented by the precious and useful
metals--gold, silver, brass, and iron; while the enduring empire of the Messiah
is expressed by the mountain-stone--that stone which the builders of worldly
empires, and of worldly policy, despise. The empire of the Messiah differs from
all the others in its nature, origin, extent, and duration. Its spiritual
nature our Lord himself signifies, when He says that “His Kingdom is not of this
world.” This empire “shall never be destroyed.” Corruption, it is true, in the
west, and delusion in the east, have marred both the beauty and extent of the
present visible kingdom of the Messiah. But notwithstanding these, we must not
falsely estimate either the extent or purity of the Kingdom of Christ.
Wherever, therefore, our varied lot of life may be placed by the disposal of
providence, whether under our native skies, or in lands the most distant from
our own; let us all so live as it becomes the subjects of that empire which
shall survive in glory when all earthly empires shall have passed away. (T.
Aitken, M.D.)
Reserve Power of Christianity yet to be Manifested
All the oxygen breathed into our lungs is not at once expended
again. By the complex processes of our human system, no remotest corner of the
body but is supplied with this element of the air against such uses as may
require it throughout a future more or less extended. Vigour of body, vigour of
mind, vigour of soul, are but other expressions to denote the sum of energies
which are in reserve in the respective realms of the physical, the mental, and
the spiritual. Christianity’s power, even at present, it is not possible to
estimate, and never will be known unless we can know the reserve of soul which
God’s heavenly grace has stored in His children’s hearts. In the final conflict
between good and evil, this reserve will doubtless be called upon. Thus,
against that day, let us preserve and reserve His grace. (Quiver.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》