he said to them, "I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it." Sermons
1. At home, and the associations of Jerusalem. 2. Knowledge of previous revelations (see Daniel 9:2). 3. Moral victory at a crisis of history. 4. Experience of life at one of its great centres - Babylon - the court. As indicating the difference between Ezekiel's standpoint and that of Daniel, note Ezekiel dates from the years of the Captivity - for him, in comparative obscurity, the years dragged on wearily - Daniel, by the reigns of kings in whose court he was. Daniel's experience grew with the years, and he became increasingly fit to receive political revelations - revelations as to the rise and fall of empires. I. THE DISCREPANCY. Between Daniel 1:5 and Daniel 2:1. Occasion might well be taken from this to insist upon one or two wholesome truths in reference to Biblical interpretation. 1. The discrepancy looks at first sight glaring enough; i.e. as to the dates. Still, with our idea of the sacred writings, we should be justified in believing: 2. That some explanation would be forthcoming, if we knew all the loots. Of the propriety of this assumption, we shall have a striking illustration in the recent clearing up of' the special critical difficulty of ch. 5. 3. One might fairly conclude that Daniel is quite as reliable an historian as any other author. 4. The seeming discrepancy is clear evidence that Daniel, and none other, is the writer; for these two dates would never have been admitted in a form apparently contradictory, coming so close to each other as to challenge attention, if the author had been an impostor. Daniel writes straightforwardly the truth, unconscious of the possible misconstruction of his words. This unguardedness of style is a sure sign of the credibility of a living witness, and of the genuineness of any book. 5. There are several explanations forthcoming, one specially credible (see Exposition). 6. Our feeling in relation to discrepancies real or apparent, will doped entirely on our moral attitude in relation to revelation. The believer will treat them lightly; the captious and unbelieving will make the very most of them (see Alford on receipt of one of Colenso's volumes, in 'Alford's Life'). II. THE PREPARATION. There were subjective conditions of the dream which argue a certain nobility in Nebuchadnezzar. Dreams grow out of waking thought; and, though this dream was supernatural, we may well believe it was naturally conditioned. The mood of the king created a certain receptivity for Divine revelation (ver. 29). 1. The cares of empire weighted his soul. 2. His mind projected itself into the far future. (Ver. 29.) 3. Thoughts of present responsibility and visions of the future were enter-rained. To all, such high thoughts come at some time or other; but not all entertain them. We may drown them in frivolity, or quench them by intoxication. When God comes to a soul with thoughts worthy of its nature, it is for the soul to open wide its portals and let the glory in. About this young conqueror there was a certain grasp and elevation of mind. III. THE DREAM. Here, at present, we ignore its contents; we are supposed, indeed, not to know it: and consider only generally whether, and to what extent, the dream may become the article of Divine communications to man. In a complete, discussion, we should have to cite the following testimonies: Those of: 1. Psychology. The nature and origin of dreams should be elucidated, with the view to a just estimate of the testimonies which follow. Sufficient wilt be found for homiletic purposes in Dr. Smith's 'Bible Dict.,' art. "Dreams." 2. Scripture. These inductions seem valid: (1) "That Scripture claims the dream, as it does every other action of the human mind, as a medium through which God may speak to man[" (2) "That it lays far greater stress on that Divine influence by which the understanding also is affected. In dream, the imagination is in the ascendant; the reason, dormant. (3) That dream as a medium of Divine communication is inferior to prophecy. (4) That dreams, therefore, were granted: (a) To the heathen rather than to the covenant people of God. (b) To the latter only during their earliest and most imperfect individual knowledge of him. (c) Only in the earliest ages, and less frequently as the revelations of prophecy increase. (d) Almost invariably require an interpreter. These last four points are all illustrated by the dreams in the Book of Daniel. 3. Experience. The reference here is to that modern experience, of which we may be either the subjects or the observers. Even in a Christian civilization like ours, the superstitious regard fur dreams is so common, that the following truths may well be insisted on: (1) That dreams should never for us stand in the place of revelation. (2) Should be disregarded entirely, when contravening the truth as it is in Jesus" (3) That God may see fit by dream to prepare the mind for the future. (4) That there seems well-authenticated instances in which the coming event has been imaged in dream. Surely he who made the soul can have access to it by night or by day, directly or mediately, as he will In the application of these truths to our own life, the greatest spiritual wisdom will be necessary. IV. THE SEARCH. We do not agree with Keil, that the king remembered the dream, and was intent on testing the value of the interpretation by making the interpreter tell also the dream itself; nor with the reasons he assigns for that interpretation. We believe that the dream was gone from memory, yet leaving behind such an impression that the king would recognize it on its being described, and also leaving behind an idea of its tremend us import, and a conviction that its origin was Divine. Here note: 1. The mission of oblivion. "God sometimes serves his own purposes by putting things out of men's minds, as well as by putting things into their minds." By the king's forgetfulness Daniel came to be honoured, and in him the God of Daniel. 2. The adaptation of Divine revelations. From Daniel 2:4 to Daniel 7:28 the language of the book is Chaldee; as though God would throw open the revelation through Daniel to the people of Babylonia as well as to the Jew. After ch. 8. the language reverts to Hebrew, for the communications are then chiefly for Israel. This adaptation one instance of what obtains universally. 3. The infirmities of even noble minds. There were many elements of greatness about Nebuchadnezzar; but all shaded by: (1) Superstition. Seeking for light where no light could be found - from the magi of various grades. (2) Unreason. Demanding both dream and interpretation. A certain sort of wisdom might interpret; but only the omniscience of God could recover the dream. (3) Cruelly. Many instances besides that in this chapter. V. THE FAILURE. (Ver. 11.) Observe: 1. The error into which exalted intellect may fall. "Gods" imply polytheism. 2. The truth which may shine through error. The magi were aware: (1) Of the omniscience that is essential to Deity. (2) Of the limitation that belongs to the creature. The flesh is a veil that hides from us much of the spirit-world. VI. THE DOOM. Cruel as was the edict on the part of the king, there was, nevertheless, a sort of rough justice on the part of God's natural government of the world, in consigning to punishment the practicers of imposition and traders on the superstitious fear, of men. "They sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain suggests how oft the innocent are caught in the consequences of the sin of others. - R
But there is a God in Heaven that revealeth secrets. 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.) 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 is universal. 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 at one 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.) Homilist. 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.) People Abednego, Arioch, Azariah, Belteshazzar, Daniel, Hananiah, Meshach, Mishael, Nebuchadnezzar, ShadrachPlaces Babylon, ShinarTopics Anxious, Clear, Desire, Dream, Dreamed, Moved, Spirit, Troubled, Troubles, UnderstandOutline 1. Nebuchadnezzar, forgetting his dream, 5. requires it of the Chaldeans, by promises and threats. 10. They acknowledging their inability are judged to die. 14. Daniel obtaining some respite finds the dream. 19. He blesses God. 24. He staying the decree is brought to the king. 31. The dream. 36. The interpretation. 46. Daniel's advancement. Dictionary of Bible Themes Daniel 2:1-3Library The Image and the Stone'This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which … Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Book and Tract Catalogue. Editor's Preface The Scattering of the People That Gospel Sermon on the Blessed Hope Epistle Xliii. To Eulogius and Anastasius, Bishops. A Description of Heart-Purity The Wisdom of God The Wicked Husbandmen. The First Great Group of Parables. The Necessity of Regeneration, Argued from the Immutable Constitution of God. Letters of St. Bernard Lii. Concerning Hypocrisy, Worldly Anxiety, Watchfulness, and his Approaching Passion. Annunciation of the Birth of Jesus. The First Sayings of Jesus --His Ideas of a Divine Father and of a Pure Religion --First Disciples. The Gospel of the Kingdom. 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