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The Commoner
VOL. 22, NO. 8
8
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And said, to Daniel, 0 ftstnlol, .soryant .of th'a living,
G,od, is thy God, whom thou soryo.st continually,
amp to d'Olivcr' thee from tho Uons7
Then Daniel eald unto tho king", O king, live for
evor.
My God hath sent his angel, and hath closod tho
llon' inouths, that they have ndt hurt mo. foras
much as boforo him Innocency was found' in mej
and alao beforo thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
Thon was tho king exceeding glad for him, and
commanded that they should tako Daniel up out of
the den. So Daniel was taken up out of tho den,
and no manner of hurt was found upon him, be
cause ho had believed In his God.
Our talk today presents one of the Bible stor
ies with which tho, youug are most familiar.
The child 'early learns the difference between
tho domestic and the ferocious animalsi The
puppy and the kitten are its first pets, while the
lion and the tiger are the first to arouse Its sense
of fear. It is eaBy to understand, therefore, how
Daniel's thrilling 'experience in' the lion's den
grips the child's imagination and arouses its in
terest. Tho lesson of moral courage drawn from it has
played an important part in the lives of all who
have ever attended Sunday School or studied the
Bible under tho instruction of parent or pastor.
"Dare to bo a Daniel" has echoed in millions of
little hearts and has called innumerable hosts to"
courageous resistance in hours of trial.
And its lesson is for adults as well as for
youth. There is no day in life between the cradle
and the grave when one :may not be called to
meet a trial in which his faith can be strength
ened by a recollection of Daniel's fidelity to God
and by God'd reward ofrtnat fidelity,
A TRIBUTE TO DANIEL'S WORTH
The story as related in the sixth chapter of
Daniel exhibits unregenerate human nature and
kingly 'weakness as well as a sublime faith.
Darius, conqueror of Babylon, had conferred
high authority upon Daniel. We read that im
mediately after the slaying of Bolshazzar on the
night of his infamous feast and the ascension of
Dririus to the throne, "it pleased Darius to set
over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes
, and over these three presidents, of
whom Daniel was first." To emphasize still more
the respect shown for Daniel, it is stated that he
"was preferred above the presidents and princes,
because an excellent spirit was in him."
Such is the tribute paid to Daniel's worth. It
is not surprising that such preference, shown to
one' of foreign blood, especially to one who was
brought into the country as a captive, should
arouse the envy of his associates. The presidents
and princes sought to find occasion against Dan
iel. Those who deny the fall of man and con
tend that human history prove continuous prog
ress upward is the jiatural course, will have diffi
culty in explaining the tendency of man to sin.
, The Bible gives abundant evidence of the fatal
Bialady of sin from the first page to the last, and
the record since those days has been in line with
Bible history sin always and sin everywhere.
The spiritual nature is in constant combat with
the downward tendency. Just as the 'spark of
life continually battles against the forces- that
would drag the body back to the dust from which
it came, so the spiritual in man is battling every
moment against the gravitation that, in tho
moral world, pulls man sinward.
PLOTTING DANIEL'S RUIN
These, enemies of a godly man plotted his
ruin. The mental machine called the mind,
which some are wont to worship as if it were a
god, is but a tool in the control of man's will. It
plots a murder as willingly as it plans a noble
service. The wicked hearts of Daniel's wicked
associates were in control of their brains and
they succeeded in devising a scheme for Daniel's
Kurt.
They could not find aught against his conduct
in office, "forasmuch as he was faithful, neither
was there any error or fault found in him." They
confessed this; then they said: "We shall not
find any occasion against this Daniel except we
find it against him concerning the law of his
God."
What a wonderful tribute to an upright man
What greater praise could evil men give to a ser
vant of God?
So they set out to snare him through Jiis very
loyalty to Jehovah, And hero we see how they
employed the vanity of a king to aid their con
spiracy. They conceived the idea of flattering Darius
by proposing a decree according to which no one
w.ould be Permitted to "ask a petition of any
jGod or man for 30' days, save of thee, O king "
And they presented tho suggestions as coming
from "all the presluehts of the kingdom, the gov
.. ernors, and the princes, the counsellors and the
captains" thus including Daniel himself. A he
of course, but it had the effect that they In
tended. The king was weak enough to sign the
decree; thus the trap" was set and then it was
sprung.
WHY THERE ARE SO FEW DANIELS
They knew that Daniel prayed three times .a
day and. they knew that he prated with his win-
, dows open toward Jerusalem where his devotions
could be observed by passersby. They were not
long in securing the needed proof, for Daniel did
not falter for a moment. He prayed as usual
and he prayed with full knowledge of the decree
and knowing that it was to be used against him.
.'Why, it has often been asked, did Daniel ex
pose himself to danger unnecessarily? Why did
he invite punishment when it was so easy to pray
in some other part of tho room? Why, when he
knew that the decree was signed, did he insist
on kneeling in front of the window where his
disobedience would be observed by any passer
by? Many a Christian has aske(J similar questions
on similar occasions and made an answer quite
different from the answer made by Daniel and,
therefore, history does not give us as many
Daniels as there should have been.
The effect of Daniel's fidelity can be estimated
better today than, it could have been when
Daniel was praying. His decision, which at that
time seemed of little importance to any one save
Daniel stands out today as epoch making, show
ing how impossible it is for a human being to
calculate the infinite consequences of a single
act. The Christian cannot turn out his light for
a moment j he must always be on his guard lest
an opportunity for service pass unimproved.
"FOR HE IS THE LIVING GOD"
Let us see what followed. Daniel's disobedi
ence was at once made known to the king, and
then tho king was weighed in the balance and
f0und wanting. Instead of refusing to be" a party
to a foul crime, he allowed the conspirators to
holdl him to a decree obtained by deliberate de
ception, and Daniel was cast into the lions' den.
Then what? The king spent a, sleepless night,
while Daniel was at ease among the beasts
whose ferocity was restrained by their Maker.
The monarch hastened to the den at dawn and
"cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel."
Even during the night watches he had hoped that
Daniel's God would save him from the hunger
of the beasts (and from the king's weakness),
and he was overjoyed when the prophet an
swered: "O king, live forever. My God hath sent his
angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they
have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him in
nocency was found in me."
And then what? The king had the accusers
of Daniel cast into the den; retribution followed
as retribution always follows.
And then? King Dai'ius wrote unto all peoples
nations, and languages that dwelt in all the
earth and made a decree that in every dominion
of his kingdom, men tremble and fear before the
God of Daniel, "for He is the living God."
And then? The release of the children of
Israel and their return from exile.
AN ACT THAT HAS SHAPED THE
CENTURIES
As it is impossible to foresee the good that
may follow from a single act of obedience to
God, so it is impossible to calculate all the evils
that may follow3 in the train of a single sin We
know wliat Daniel's faith has meant to millions
but we cannot estimate the calamities for which
he would have been responsible if, in this mo
ment of trial, he had surrendered to the prompt
ings of wordly prudence. p pi
One recalls in this connection the words of
Wendell Phillips, "How prudently motmen
sink into nameless graves, while now and then
a few forget themselves into immortality
Daniel forgot himself into immortality? us fas
many have done who have followed in his stens
eVsel WUbUt thUght f -eQueSciS
It is by attempting the impossible that wa
learn what faith can accomplish; those who lack,
faith cannot know because they do not try a
colored preacher once expressed his idea of faith
as "willingness to do what God tells i n? !? J
without asking any questions." To ijlst?ate n
said, "If God tells me to butt my head throh'
,a stone wall, I butt that is my part- 2S5S
through' the wall is God's part " ' g ne
THE KING WHO FUMTOjXiED A FAMOUS
By WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
y
BIBLE TEXT LESSON FOR JULY 30
(Joremiah xxlx:10; Ezra 1:1-8, li)
For thus saith tho Lord, That after seventy voir
be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you .m,i
perform my good word toward you, in causing Vo
to return to this place. b iOU
Now In the first- year of Cyrus king of Persin
that tho wjord-pf the L.or1 by tho mouth of Jero
mlah might be fulfilled, tho Lord stirred un tin.
spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that ho made a proi..
lamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it
also in writing, saying,
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, Tho Lord God
of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the
earth; and he hath charged me to build him an
house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. -
Who la there among you of all his people? his
God bo With him, and let him gb up to Jerusalem
which is in 'Judah, and build the house of the Lord'
God"of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jeru
salem. And whosoever romaineth in any place where ho
sojourneth, let the- men of his place help him with
silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with
beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of
God .that is in Jerusalem.
Then rose up the chief of tho fathers of Judah
and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites
with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up
to build tho, house of tho Lord which is in Jeru
salem. "
And all they that were about them strengthened
their hands, with vessels of .silver, with gold, with
goods, arid with beasts, and with precious things,
besides all that was willingly offered.
Also Gyrus the king brought forth tho ve6sels
Of the house of .the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar
had brought forth from Jerusalem, and had put
them in the house of his. gods;
Even those did Cyrus king of Persia tiring forth
by theihand of Mithredath the treasurer, and num
bered them "unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
All the vessels of gold and of silver Were five
thousand and four hundred. All thefso did Shesh
bazzar bring with them of the. captivity that were
brought up from Babylon unto -Jerusalem.
Tho fulfillment of a famous prophecy, the
generous act of a great king in obedience to a
summons from the Almighty, atfd the return of
the Children of Israel to their home land after
an exile of 70 years in Babylon, whither they had
been carried captives of war by; Nebuchadnezzar
these give us" the theme of today's Bible Talk. 1
What was this famous prophecy;? "For thus
saith the Lord,", wrote the proph'et Jeremiah
from the ruins of Jerusalem to them that had
been carried away captives, "That after seventy
years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit
you, and perform my good word toward you, in
causing you to return to this place."
How did God cause this prophecy by one of
His servants to be fulllled? It is told plainly and
simply in the first chapter of the book of Ezra:
"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,
that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jere
miah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the
spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a
proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and
put it also in "writings saying, Thus saith Cyrus
king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath
given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he
hath charged me toi build Him a house at Jeru
salem, which is in Judah."
"THAT THE PROPHECY MlGHTTBE FUL
FILLED" First, let us consider the phrase, "That the
word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah
might be fulfilled." A similar phrase, "That the
prophecy might be fulfilled," which appears often
in both the Old and New Testament, is some
times necessary to an understanding of the pas
sage in which it occurs.
For instance, jtake the 36th, 37th and 38th
verses of the 2 2d chapter of Luke; the phrase
"And he that hath no eword, let him sell his
garment and buy one," has often been quoted in
support of war, but the following verse explains
it and gives toit an entirely different meaning.
Immediately following the words above quoted
we read:
"For I say unto you, that this that is written
must yet be accomplished in me, And he was
reckoned among the transgressors: for the
things concerning me have an end."
Why did Christ advise His disciples that they
sell their garments and buy a sword? "That this
that is written must yet be accomplished in me.
And what was it that must yet be accomplished .
What prophecy must yet be fulfilled? "And J
was reckoned among the transgressors." The.
sword was the symbol of resistance to the law;
It put the bearer of the sword among the trans
gressors. Tlie disciples answered. "Lord, behold, here
are two Bwords. And He said Unto them, it ; w
enough." Two swords were not sufficient for tue
protection of Christ on the night of His betrayal
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