cannot but speak the things which' we have seen-and heard," Acts 4:20. It is from the heart of such heroes of faith t h at God is glorified. Let the Crowd go as it will and where it will, but we who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ mu st be faithful In bur testimony to H im no m a t- ter wh at may be the cost. The Test of Fire. Walking in the midst of the fire. The furnace is there, heated hot. Trials, troubles, persecutions and furnace afflictions await the loyal followers of the Lord. We mu st feel the force of the flames. There is no escape, but we have the joyful con- sciousness of knowing t h at He will walk with us in the midst. No furnace will t ry us but such as is common to man. He will never be quite so precious as when by His presence H e gives us comfort and cheer in the midst of those trials endured by reason of our faithfulness to Him. In every experience of testing we may be able to say, "The Lord stood by me." and Daniel was a Jew. 2. Daniel, as every Christian may and should be, was beyond reproach In his character and conduct be- fore the world. Hence, they "found no fault In him" (Jno. 19:6). But if they could not charge him with wrong-doing, they could use the most devilish means—twisting his well doing into a halter to h a ng him with (6:5). But such wickedness cannot so de- throne the good who by being "persecuted for righteousness' sake enter Into the king- dom" (Mat. 5:10). 3. The conspirators chose a weapon, never allowed to rust by g r a ft and exploiters of the public, with which we are ourselves familiar, special legislation; under color of public interest. Nothing is more fre- quent than the promotion and protection of wrong • by law making. III. THE KING ENTRAPPED. 1.' Vanity is a weakness t h at causes much stumbling, and Darius proved an easy mark. They flattered his poor mortality, ascribing to him "the years of the Most High" (Psa. 77:10), "O king, live forever," and his sham royalty by tendering him the worship due to the KING OF KINGS alone, the prayers of mankind. 2. Their preamble and proposi- tion. "All the presidents of the kingdom (yet Daniel, the president of the presidents, had not been consulted, and his voice would have been weighty with Darius), the gov- ernors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to es- tablish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions" (v. 7). "Wherefore King Darius signed the decree" (v. 8). IV. THE STEADFASTNESS OF DANIEL. 1. The whole world was against him. There was nothing left him but prayer, and this his earthly king forbade under penalty of the loss of the king's favor, of all world- ly possessions, honors, and of life itself. 2. He did not hesitate—"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem (where God
do when the God of the world demands t h at you follow His fashions and pay tribute to His kingdom? With them it was a case of life or death. With you it is a ma t t er of pleasure, pride or personal profit. The Testimony of the Three. "Our God is able." How refreshing to hear such words from men whose lives were in the balance. P u t in plain English, they said, "We would rather die t h an worship a false god." That" was godly grit, and when you read It your blood runs a little quicker in your- veins. Queen E s t h er said, "1 will go unto the king and if I perish, I perish," E s t h er 4:16. Paul says, "Christ shall be magnified in my body whether it be by life or by death," Phil. 1:20. We may not always know w h at is the will of God in details, but we do always know t h at it is our high privilege to be loyal to Him. When Peter and John were commanded not to speak or teach in the hated name of Jesus they replied, "We 1. CHANGES. 1. Fifty years Intervene between the last and present lesson. Nebuchadnezzar's fury and his furnace have cooled and lost their terrors. The mighty king has met the king of terrors and his glory has dissolved in dust. Babylon, too, h as fallen; the head of gold" (Dan. 2:31, 32, 37) has lost its splen- dor and the dominion passed to "the arms of silver" (2:32, 39). Belshazzar's blasphem- ous orgies ended in blood, and the mysterious "fingers" (5:5) beckoned him away and the "MAN'S HAND" disposed of his realm and "Darius the Mede took the kingdom" (5:31). 2. Darius the Mede was, by appointment (?) of Cyrus, conqueror of Babylon and founder of the Medo-Persian empire, governor of the province of Babylon under the title "king." 3. Daniel, long in obscurity (5:10-14) through changes of administration was again in high authority. Darius discovered his ability and trustwortniness, and over the heads of Mede, Persian,, and Babylonian, set him as presi- dent of an executive commission over "the whole klngaom" and meditated giving "the Grand Old Man," now upwards of ninety years of age, but still in full use of his powers, the chief authority under himself of "the whole kingdom" (5:3). 3. His fellow nobles, changed in personnel, were unchang- ed in disposition, for the flesh changes not, and as envious of a great and good man as those of half a century before. II. THE CONSPIRACY. 1. These nobles of Babylon united to ruin Daniel and get him out of their way. (1) His integrity and nobility of character ,was a constant rebuke to them." (2.) They w a n t- ed his place. (3) They were, like most pub- lic officials, grafters, coveting perquisites, bonuses, bribes, and boodle, which Daniel's honesty loyalty, and diligent oversight de- prived them of. (4) They were Jew baiters, DANIEL IN THE LIONS DEN. Lesson XIII Daniel 6.
Lesson for September 24th
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