III. DANIEL'S SUPPORT. 1. The Lord will always stand by them who stand for Him. There is a strong a rm under every Daniel. Keep on the Lord's side and He will be on your side; You shall not be left alone, nor fail of the accom- plishment of your purpose, if it is a godly one, for God's sake. "He will give His angels charge over" you (Heb. 1:14); and He .will make your enemies to be at peace with you (Prov. 16:17), for "God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunochs" (Dan. 1:9). God had done it, whatever Daniel's manner, beauty, or character had to do with it, God did it, and we need not fear but t h at H e will raise up friends if our integrity brings us into need of them. 2. "And at the end of the ten days" (v. 5). Wine, luxurious living, revellings and late hours, cigars and cigar- ettes, beer and spirits, never brought any ma n 's countenance to be "fairer or fatter" t h an anothers. All these indulgences and excesses have markedly the contrary effect. Not only the surgeon s diagnosis detects this, but it soon becomes manifest to all t h at the once fair, frank, and manly face has changed its aspect. But "ten days" of frugal diet could not have produced such results; the boys had kept themselves pure from the earliest (1 Tim. 5:22), and the Lord had added His touch to beautify t h em; and wh at is more beautiful t h an the face of a healthy, pure, vigorous young manhood, radiant with the peace and grace of God? 3. And so when the king held his civil service examination those young men took the prizes. And it is true t h at the mind is more affected by the material and moral regime than the body. Temperance, purity, abstinence from n a r- cotics, and, above all, a clear conscience and godly grace, are most conducive to a bright mind and a good judgment. God loves to give "wisdom and understanding" to such as these, and they bring place and promotion. After our temporal schooling, when we stand before the King, shall we be fairer and f a t t er than others, with a wisdom and understanding rendering us worthy of a place in the kingdom, among the King's counsellors? PIVOT. faithful to his convictions. H e had a holy purpose not to defile himself. A man defiles himself when he goes contrary to his con- victions. He demeans himself, he lowers himself in his own eyes. A little me at and wine would have made but little difference in a short time to his body, but with his convictions it would have made a v a st dif- ference with his soul. Wh en a m an lowers his standard he loses his own self-respect. The compromising Christian demeans him- self and disgraces his Lord. Pity the per- son who, professing to be a Christian, has no purpose to keep himself unspotted from the world. To the world, Christianity is often but a joke, a meaningless pretension. Daniel was not a J ew simply because his father and mother were Jews, b ut he was a J ew in- wardly. He believed in Jehovah for him- self. This is the spirit we need. This thin» of being a Christian should grip our very being, permeate our very lives, ma ke the
intelligent and keen interest, and Daniel's knowledge, and Daniel's hope, would best form Daniel's character and promote his kind of piety. II. DANIEL'S PURPOSE. J. This noble prince, for he was "of the king's seed" (1:3), as were also his eom- panions, showed "every inch a king" by his loyalty to his God and to his duty. E v e ry youth is a prince, every m a n a. king who "dares to be a Daniel." 2. He was In a strange land, amons) a godless people, fa^ - from the restraints of home, and the eye of pious criticism, but stood fast, resolved to remain a pure, sober, godly young man, at whatever cost. 3. He "purposed In his heart t h at he would "not defile himself." T h at word "defile" proves t h at his resolve was not merely one of expedience, either for the preservation of a sound mind, body, or repu- tation, not a prudent, or even a moral reso- lution, but a religious one. H e would not eat of the king's dainties, the food or the wine, for: First, they would Include "un- clean" me a ts forbidden in the law (Lev. 11.); second, they would not be "clean" ("Kosher") if prepared by Gentile hands and methods; third, they would have been dedi- cated to false gods, for the viands of the pagans were first "offered to idols" (1 Cor. 8:1, 4; 10:28). Such laws do not apply to us Gentiles (1 Cor. 8:8; 1 Tim. 4:4, 5), but the principle remains, for whatever is contrary to good morals; discreditable to a Christian profession; injurious to our bodies, or our minds; a hindrance to our spiritual life and communion; or a stumbling block to our testimony and influence, we should purpose in our hearts not to do, no ma t t er where we are, and no m a t t er w h at the ridicule, the slights, the material damage, may be. 4. Daniel's example encouraged his fellows. Daniel is primarily named and would seem to have been the leader whose example his comrades were bold to follow. Many a weaker brother would be saved if we our- selves stand fast, who would go down if left alone. But it is a noble and glorious, as well as a safe thing to follow if we have not strength to lead. He, too, is a Daniel who follows a Daniel. PITH AN It is refreshing to t u rn from the story of the failure of the kings of Israel and J u d ah to the study of the character of a man like Daniel. We take three things from the lesson which manifests the true traits of this tested man. (1) A Holy Purpose. He purposed in his heart, vs. 28. Not in his head, where ma ny of the purposes of men are founded. He set his heart on obeying the dictates of his conscience. Daniel had religious convictions t h at were deep sealed. They were based upon the Word of God. He was a J e w; he Was a captive; he was in a strange coun- try; he had his own way to make. It would have been easv for him to have reasoned himself into believing t h at it would be wise in Babylon to do as the Babylonians do, to look a f t er number one, to avoid making himself conspicuous and obnoxious by t h r u s t- ing his religious views upon others, but he determined in his heart t h at he would be
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