“Dare To Be a Daniel”

"Dare To Be a Daniel"

(No. 2291)

INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, JANUARY 15, 1893.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with
the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank."
Daniel 1:8.

VERY much of our future life will depend upon our earliest days. I like
a remark of Mr. Ruskin's that I remember to have read, though I cannot
quote it verbatim. He says, "People often say, 'We excuse the
thoughtlessness of youth,'" but he says, "No, it never ought to be
excused. I had far rather hear of thoughtless old age, when a man has
done his work– but what excuse can be found for a thoughtless youth?
The time for thought is at the beginning of life and there is no period
which so much demands, or so much necessitates, thoughtfulness as our
early days." I would that all young men would think so. They say that
they must sow their "wild oats." No, no, my dear young Friend, think
before you sow such seed as that, and remember what the reaping will
be. See whether there is not better corn to be found than wild oats and
try to sow that. Then think how you will sow it and when you will sow
it, for, if you do not think about the sowing–

"What will the harvest be?"

If there is any time when the farmer should think, it is surely in the
early stages of the plowing and the sowing. If he does not think, then,
it will be of small use for him to think afterwards.

Daniel was a young man, and he did think. It was his glory that he so
thought that he came to a purpose, and he purposed, not with a kind of
superficial, "I will," but he, "purposed in his heart," and gave his
whole self to a certain definite purpose which he deliberately formed.
He was a young man–he was also a captive–and that rendered it the
more remarkable that he should come to such a decision. He had been
stolen away from his father's house and carried into a foreign land.
And you know what men say, "When you are in Rome, you must do as Rome
does." But here was a young man in Babylon who would not do what
Babylon did–a youth in a king's court who would not eat what the king
ate, or drink what the king drank–a captive whose very name had been
changed in order to make him forget his country and his God, for the
change in name, as I told you in the reading, was meant to be
significant of a change in religion.

But though they might change Daniel's name, they could not change his
nature, nor would he give up anything that he believed to be right.
Captive as he was, he had a right royal soul, and he was as free in
Babylon as he had been at Jerusalem. And he determined to keep himself
so, for he, "purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself
with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank."
Oh, that we had a multitude of young men who knew how to put their feet
down! We have a great number, now, who are watching to see where to put
their foot down, and they will try to put it down, not where it is most
solid ground, but where it is most turfy, and easy, and soft to the
feet! May God give us back the old grit that used to be in
old-fashioned Christians, to whom custom was nothing, but God's Word
was everything–to whom it mattered not whether it brought loss or
gain–but they did the right and followed the right, cost what it
might!

Now, it was because Daniel, while yet a youth, a captive, a student,
was so decided in what he did, that his later life became so bright. He
would never have been called, "a man greatly beloved," if he had not
been made, by Grace, a youth greatly decided. Neither would he have
advanced to the reign of Cyrus, as we read just now, if he had not
stood firm in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. You shall read the evening
of life in the morning of life, and you shall decide what your evening
is to be by what your morning is! God help you, who are beginning life,
for, if God begins with you and you begin with God, your life will be
one of happy usefulness which will have a truly blessed end!

I am going to talk just now, not so much about Daniel, as about the
whole subject of a spirit of decision in such a time as this. Our first
head will be that there are temptations to be resisted by us, as there
were by Daniel. Secondly, there are right methods of resisting
temptation. And, thirdly, there are certain points which will have to
be proved by experience while we are in this process of fighting
against temptation.

I. THERE ARE TEMPTATIONS TO BE RESISTED. There never was a man yet who
had faith and who had not

trials. Wherever there is faith in God, it will be tested at some time
or other–it must be so. It cannot be that the house shall be built,
even on the Rock, without the rains descending, the floods coming and
the winds beating upon that house. Though it shall not fall, yet it
shall be tried by a force that would make it fall were it not Divinely
sustained.

Now, first, look at Daniel's temptations. In his case, the temptation
was very specious. He was told to eat the portion of food that, every
day, came from the king's table. Could he need any better? And he was
commanded to drink the measure of wine, generally the best in the
world, that was sent from the king's table. He might have fared like a
prince! Could he have any objection to that? He had no objection except
this–that it would defile him. Do you understand what he meant by
that? There were certain foods used by the Babylonians, such as the
flesh of swine, the flesh of the hare and of certain fish, that were
unclean, and when these came from the king's table, if Daniel ate them,
he would be breaking the Law of Moses as given in the Book of
Leviticus, and thus he would be defiled. Remember that the food which
was allowed to Israel was to be killed in a certain way. The blood must
be effectually drained from the flesh, for he that ate the blood
defiled himself thereby.

Now, the Babylonians did not kill their beasts in that way and the
eating of flesh which had not been killed according to the Law would
have defiled Daniel. You know how careful the Jews are to this day with
regard to the butchering of the food they eat. More than that, usually
such a king as Nebuchadnezzar, before he ate food, dedicated it to his
god. Bel-Merodach was greatly venerated by Nebuchadnezzar as god, so
that a libation of wine was poured out to Merodach, and a certain
portion of food was put aside, so that, in fact, it was offered to
idols–and Daniel felt that he would be defiled if he ate of meat which
might be unclean, and which was certain to be offered to idols–it
would be breaking the Law of God–so Daniel would not eat it.

But the temptation to do so must have been very strong, for somebody
would say, "Why, what difference can it make what you eat, or what you
drink?" Under the Christian dispensation, it might be another matter,
but under the Jewish dispensation, it made a great deal of difference
whether a man ate or drank certain things. Others would say, "Why is
Daniel so particular? There have been other Jews here who have
unhesitatingly eaten the king's meat. We read of king Jehoiakim, that
he had a portion from the king's table every day, and he does not seem
to have made any objection! Why does this young fellow put his back up
so and make himself so odd, and so different from everybody else? There
is no use in being so strict and sticking out about little things." So
the temptation came to Daniel with great speciousness.

Then, the temptation seemed the road to honor. To consent to eat of the
king's meat and to drink of the king's wine, seemed to be the way to
get on in Babylon. They would say to Daniel, "Surely, if you begin by
objecting to what the monarch sends you from his table, you will never
get on at court. People with a conscience should not go to court." I do
not say that, today, but I do think that they ought not to be members
of Parliament! It must be amazingly difficult for a man with a
conscience to go in and out there! But for Daniel to begin with a
conscience like this, so particularly tender that it was offended by a
glass of the king's wine, or a morsel of the king's meat, why, any good
old fatherly man would have said, "My boy, you will never get on–your
religion will always stand in your way. I am sure you will never come
to be much." That would have been a great mistake, however, for Daniel
became a great ruler and he prospered in the world through that very
conscientiousness which it was thought would spoil all his prospects!

Somebody would whisper in Daniel's ear, "It is the law of the land. The
king, who is supreme, has ordered that you should eat this portion and
drink this measure of wine each day." Yes, but whatever the law may be,
and whatever custom may be, the servants of God serve a higher King and
they have but one rule and one custom! "We ought to obey God rather
than man." They are ready to be the most obedient subjects up to a
certain point, but when the Law of God comes in, then are they dogged
to a degree of obstinacy. They can burn, but they cannot turn–they can
die, but they cannot deny the Law of the Lord, their God!

In Daniel's case, if he had done what it was proposed to him to do, it
would have been giving up the separated life. He felt that if he
constantly fed upon the luxurious food of the king, he would be
reckoned to be a Chaldean like the king,

and so, to keep up his separation as belonging to the chosen seed, of
whom Balaam prophesied, "The people shall dwell alone, and shall not be
reckoned among the nations," Daniel would not eat of the royal fare
which was provided for him. Had he done so, he would have melted into a
Chaldean and given up being an Israelite, to whom belonged the
promises. This is the temptation of the present day. Profess to be a
Christian, but float along the common current of the world! Take the
name of a Christian and go to your place of worship, and go through
your ceremonies–but do not bring your religion into your business! Act
as other people do! This is the temptation of the time–as the majority
of men think, so think you–and as the majority of men say, so say you!
And as the majority of Christian professors talk, so talk you! This is
the Satanic temptation which is wrecking our churches and doing, I know
not how much mischief to men of God! But Daniel, though tempted
strongly to do like that, would not yield. He "purposed in his heart
that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat,
nor with the wine which he drank."

Now, in our own case, what are the particular temptations to which we,
as believing men and believing women, are exposed?

I cannot go into the question of individuals, but I can imagine someone
here, tonight, who is in a position where he is asked to do what it is
not right for him to do. But he says, "I shall be fired if I refuse to
do it! I know others do it and I must do it." My dear young fellow,
allow me to put before you, Daniel, who purposed in his heart that he
would not eat the king's meat. I talked, the other day, with a
gentleman who was the trustee for one of the wealthiest men in England,
and who now is trustee of the money that the same gentleman has left to
all his children. Those children have grown up and have come to years
of maturity, but they still make him the trustee, paying him for
looking after all their money, which is an immense amount. I was asking
him how it was that he gained the confidence of the family so that they
put him in such a position where all that they have is under his care
and discretion.

He said that he remembered, when he was but a boy, the head of the
establishment said to him one day, "Say that I am out," and he replied,
"Please, Sir, I could not say that, for it would not be true." Of
course the master was very angry and told him that he must not bring
his scruples there, or he would never get on in life–but he never
asked him to tell a lie again–and when somebody was needed to act as
confidential clerk, that young fellow was selected and, knowing him to
be one who would be faithful and true, his master took the opportunity
to promote him! And he put implicit confidence in him from that hour.
Sometimes you will find that to be out and out for the right will be
the making of you. I would not urge integrity upon you from such a
motive, but, since the devil will tell you that it will be the ruin of
you, I will urge you to stand fast to the right, to speak the truth at
all times, to be straightforward, for you will find that honesty is the
best policy. Any man who speaks the truth will find it the best thing
in the long run! To lie, to stray from the truth, to stall, to try to
hold with the hare and run with the hounds involves you in a world of
difficulty and trouble! Be straight as Daniel was. The Lord help you to
be so!

But now it comes to Christian people in another way. Some would tempt
us to assist the cause of God by amusements. Christian people are asked
to go to places, well, very doubtful places, to say the least, and
sometimes this evil is introduced into religion, till, as one of our
friends said most truly in prayer, tonight, they have brought the
theater into the house of God! They have really done so and brought
back chaos and old night, primeval darkness. Oh, that God would speak,
again, and say, "Let there be light," and chase these things of
darkness away once and for all! I charge every Christian here to make
his resolve that, if others do these things, as for Daniel, he has
purposed in his heart that he will not defile himself with the king's
meat, or with the wine which the king drank!

So today, again, there is the temptation of love for intellectual
novelty. Instead of the old, old Gospel, and the old, old Book, for
which God be thanked forever, we are to place science, which is
generally conjecture, in the place of Revelation–and the thoughts of
men are to cover and bury the sublime thoughts of God. I see ministers
and churches deluded and led astray by these temptations. As for me, if
no one else will say it, I purpose in my heart not to defile myself
with this portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank.
We need still to have old-fashioned Believers who will sing the verse
we sang just now–

"Should all the forms that men devise Assault my faith with treacherous
art, I'd call them vanity and lies, And bind the Gospel to my heart,"
God send us many Daniels of that sort!

And, besides this, we have, nowadays, the temptation to general laxity.
People do, even Christian people do, what Christian people should not
do. And they excuse themselves by quoting the example of other
Christians, or by saying, "We are not so precise as our fathers were."
Has God changed? Is there not a text that says, "The Lord your God is a
jealous God"? Does He permit His people to sin and take pleasure in it?
And are we to forget that precept, "Be you holy, for I am holy"? Is
there to be no separation from the world? And is it no longer true
that, "If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in
him"? Is there no such text as this, "Come out from among them, and be
you separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I
will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and you shall be My
sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty"? I pray you, Brothers and
Sisters, now, if never before, tie everything up as tightly as you can!
The storm is now so heavy that you need to go with close-reefed sails.
Oh, for a Daniel's declaration that you will not defile yourself with
the portion of the king's meat, or with the wine which he drank!

I could continue long at this point, but I have given you the general
principle which you can work out for yourselves. Christians have meat
to eat of which the world knows not. We have our re-creation–that is
the way to pronounce recreation–re-creation. We go to our Creator and
He makes us anew. We have our nights of holy mirth. We have our days of
delight. There is a King, a portion of whose meat we rejoice to eat,
and of whose wine we delight to drink. But as to questionable things,
things of the world, and all that tends towards departure from the
living God, we say that, by His Grace, we determine not to defile
ourselves with them!

II. Now I come to the second point. THERE ARE RIGHT METHODS OF
RESISTING TEMPTATION.

And the first is that the heart must be set. "Daniel purposed in his
heart." He looked the matter up and down and he settled it in his
heart. Before he asked Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego anything about
it, he had made up his own mind. Oh, for a made-up mind! Oh, for the
man who knows how to look at his compass and to steer his vessel where
he ought to go! God grant you Divine Grace, young man, to nail your
colors to the mast and to be determined that you will keep to the right
course, come fair wind or come foul! Daniel had settled it in his
heart. The Grace of God is a great heart-settler. Where it comes, men
become firm and positive, for the Lord teaches them to profit.

The next thing is that the life must be willing. Daniel was helped in
carrying out his resolution by his own personal character. God had
brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the
eunuchs. Whenever a man is brought into favor and tender love, and is a
good man, there is something about him that has commended itself. There
is a something about him that is lovable, or he would not have been
loved. It is of no use for a man to say, "I have made up my mind upon
certain things," and to keep doggedly fighting over those matters,
while, at the same time, the whole of his life is unkind, ungenerous
and unlovable. Yes, by all manner of means be a martyr if you like, but
do not martyr everybody else, for it is very possible to get so much
grit in you that you become all grit. There are some who have carried
firmness into obstinacy and determination into bigotry, which is a
thing to be shunned. Yield everything that may be yielded! Give up mere
personal whims and oddities, but as for the things of God, stand as
firm as a rock about them. God had brought Daniel into favor and tender
love with the prince who was set over him, but there was in Daniel, by
God's Grace, a generosity and frankness and nobleness of character
which even the mighty Chaldean admired. Oh, for a grand character to
support one's religious determination!

Then observe that the protest must be courteously borne. While Daniel
was very decided, he was very courteous in his protests. He went to the
prince and he told him his scruples. He requested that he might not be
obliged to defile himself. There are many ways of doing the same thing
and some people always select the very ugliest way of doing everything.
Let us ask for wisdom and discretion in doing that which is right.
Firmness of purpose should be adorned with gentleness of manner in
carrying it out. It was so with young Daniel.

Next to that, self-denial must be sought. I do not think that Daniel
had any objection to eat flesh, or to drink wine, for he evidently did
both, according to other portions of this Book, but his objection was,
for religious reasons, against the king's meat and the king's wine, so
he said, "To make it clear that nothing that enters my lips has ever
been dedicated to idols, let me have nothing to eat but
vegetables–lentils, beans, peas and such like things–and for drink,
let me have that of which kings do not often take much, let me have
nothing but water, in order to make quite sure that I have no libation
that has been offered to idols."

So Daniel and his three companions denied themselves luxuries, which,
perhaps, they enjoyed as much as anybody else, so as by no means to
defile themselves with anything which had been associated with the
Babylonian idols. If you

will be out and out for God, you must expect self-denial and you will
have to habituate yourself to it. Be ready for a bad name; be willing
to be called a bigot; be prepared for loss of friendships; be prepared
for anything so long as you can stand fast by Him who bought you with
His precious blood. He that should run the gauntlet of earth and Hell
for a thousand years, and yet hold fast his integrity, would be a
gainer by all that he lost–he would gain an increase of eternal joy by
all he suffered. Therefore, I charge you, seek for the Daniel spirit.

And then the test must be boldly put. Daniel showed his faith when he
said to Melzar, "Feed me and my three companions on this common fare;
give us nothing else. We do not ask you to leave us to our plan for
twelve months; try us for a short time. I do not say a day or two; but
take as many days as you like. Put us to the test and if, at the end of
the appointed time, we are not all the better for our plain fare, then
we will consider further, but, for the present, will you try us?" I
think that a Christian man should be willing to be tried. He should be
pleased to let his religion be put to the test. "There," he says,
"hammer away if you like." Do you need to be carried to Heaven on a
feather bed? Do you need to always be protected from everybody's sneer
and frown–and to go to Heaven as if you were riding in the procession
on Lord Mayor's day? Well, if so, you are very much mistaken if you
think you are going to have it so! God give you courage, more and more
of it, through faith in Himself! May you be willing to put your
religion to every proper test, the test of life, and the test of death,
too!

III. Now, in closing, I want to show you that THERE ARE CERTAIN POINTS
WHICH WILL HAVE TO BE

PROVED BY EXPERIENCE. I speak, now, to you Christian people who hold
fast by the old doctrines of the Gospel, who mean to hold fast by the
old ways and will not be led astray by modern temptations. Now what
have you to prove?

Well, I think that you have to prove that the old faith gives you a
bright and cheerful spirit. Really, I cannot help laughing, sometimes,
when I see myself as some other people see me. One gentleman describes
me as having "settled down into an ever-deepening gloom." It is a
curious thing that I was not aware of this at all! You who know me and
with whom I mix–have you noticed this "ever-deepening gloom" falling
upon me? Do I preach like a man who has lost all the joy of life and
all his comfort? I think not! If there is a happier man beneath the
skies than I am, I will not change places with him, for I am perfectly
satisfied to take things as they come to me–and I am glad that he has
more to rejoice in than I have! Yet I am sure I do not know what he has
that I have not. I have God in Heaven, I have God on earth! My heart is
filled with an intense satisfaction in the firm conviction that what I
believe is true and that what I preach to you is true! I am ready to
stand before the Judgment Seat to give an account of what I have
preached! That which I have asked you to believe, I myself believe, and
if I am lost with faith in Christ, and you are lost, well, we will both
be lost and go down in the same ship, for I have not a little private
boat on the davits, ready to be let down, that I may got away by
myself! I shall stick to the old ship and be the last man to leave
it–and I shall not leave it–neither will the ship go down, but it
will carry us all safely to the desired haven!

Well, dear Friends, if you hold by this truth, do not let that ever
make you gloomy! Men talk of "Gloomy Calvinism!" Have you never read
about that "awful gloomy Calvinism"? Think of Calvin, a man who
suffered from somewhere about 83 separate diseases–the most pained and
tortured of all men as to his body–yet look at his life and read his
Commentaries and his other books, and see the deep and wondrous calm
that filled his mighty soul! There was nothing gloomy about his
Calvinism–it was all bright and light and cheering to him. They do not
know us, or they would not attack us as they do! Perhaps they would,
though, for the enemies of the Truth of God are always ready to lie in
their throats.

Another point that we shall have to prove, dear Friends, is that the
old faith promotes holiness of life. There are some who say, "Those
people cry down good works." Do we? If you bring them as a price to
purchase salvation, we do cry them down. "All our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags" and, as somebody says, "The rags have the best of it,
for they are worth more than our righteousnesses." We do say that, but,
though we cry down good works as a ground of confidence, we wish to
abound in them more and more to the glory of God! Go to some people and
hear them talk about good works and go to other people and see them
done! We wish for you and for ourselves, that we may be so holy in our
lives and so gracious in our conversation that even our adversaries
shall be compelled to say, "Whatever their doctrines may be, their
lives are right." We have to prove that we are fatter and fairer than
those who eat the king's meat! God help us to prove that we are more
truthful and more godly than those who have not like precious faith!

The next thing, dear Friends, is that we must prove that the old faith
produces much love of our fellow men. You know that, nowadays, the
watchword is, "the enthusiasm of humanity." It is a curious thing that
those churches that have such a wonderful "enthusiasm of humanity"
speak of us as if we were always talking of God and forgetting men.
Well, well, which of these new-fangled churches has an orphanage? It is
very fine to talk about Christian socialism and what you are going to
do for the poor–but what have you done? Much of it is just chatter,
chatter and nothing else! But the godly, who feel that God is All, are,
after all, those who care most for men. And those who believe most
firmly that the unbelieving sinner will be lost are the men who are
most anxious to have him saved! Those who believe that there is no
salvation but by the precious blood are determined that Christ shall
see of the travail of His soul. Those who believe that salvation is all
of Grace, from first to last, are moved to preach it with heart and
soul wherever they have the opportunity. And, when God makes up His
last account, it shall be found, I trust, that the best lovers of men
have been those who were first of all the best lovers of God! By your
help, by your kindness, by your benevolence, prove it, so that when
they come to look at you who have eaten nothing but vegetables and who
have drunk water, they may find that, after all, you appear fairer and
fatter in flesh than all the children who ate the portion of the king's
meat and drank his wine. Let our labor for the conversion of souls be
incessant! Let us abound and superabound in it!

And then, dear Friends, let us prove that the old faith enables us to
hare great patience in trial. He who believes the Doctrines of Grace is
the man who can suffer! He who falls back on Predestination and the
Sovereignty of God is the man to bear burdens that would crush another!
And when we come to die, who will die best? Will it be the man who is
trusting in his own righteousness, or trusting in constantly changing
philosophy that alters like a chameleon, according to the light that
falls on it? Who will die best? You, with all this flimsy stuff, or he
who, believing in his God, and in his Bible, falls back upon the blood
and righteousness of Jesus Christ?

Finally, Brothers and Sisters, what is needed is that we who hold the
old faith should be in a better state of spiritual health. May every
Grace be developed! May every faculty be consecrated! May your whole
lives be spent in walking with God and may you be such men and women
that, if we need evidences of the truth of our holy religion, we may
bring you forward and say, "See what Grace has made them! A belief in
the Doctrines of Grace has fashioned them as they are, and they,
themselves, are the proof of what they believe."

May God bless to many here the words which I have spoken so feebly–and
may many a young man–

"Dare to be a Daniel! Dare to stand alone! Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known!"

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON. DANIEL 1.

Verse 1. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. Sin
always brings its punishment. King Jehoiakim did evil in the sight of
the Lord, so God used Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to be the rod in
His hand to scourge His sinful people and their wicked king.

2. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand. It was
not merely that Nebuchadnezzar was strong enough to overcome the Jews,
but God handed over His people into Nebuchadnezzar's hand. The enemy
cannot touch the Church of God without Divine permission.

2. With part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into
the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels
into the treasure house of his god. See how holy things, once used for
the noblest purposes, become of no further service when the Spirit of
God is gone from the Church. You know that when the Philistines
captured the Ark of God, and put it in the temple of Dagon, the
fish-god fell down broken before the Ark. Nothing of this kind happened
in Babylon. The holy vessels were put into the heathen temple and no
miraculous result followed, for God cares nothing for golden vessels in
and of themselves. When sin has polluted His people, their precious
things are nothing to Him. They may go where men please to carry them.
All their value lies in God accepting the service rendered through
them. So,

Brothers, you may keep up your attendance at the Lord's Supper, and
your preaching, and your gathering for worship–but they will all be
nothing without the Spirit of God!

Look how the Lord's Supper is turned into the sacrifice of the "mass,"
and how Baptism is represented as the channel or medium of
regeneration, when once the Spirit of God has gone from the
Divinely-appointed ordinances! Besides these holy vessels,
Nebuchadnezzar took the best of the people of the land and carried them
away captive. He singled out the rich and the noble–those who had
education and other attainments–while he left the poorest of the land
behind. Sometimes those who are the most exalted will have the most
suffering.

3. 4. And the king spoke unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, that
he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's
seed, and of the princes; children–youths–

4. In whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all
wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such
as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they
might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.
Nebuchadnezzar was, in many respects, an enlightened ruler. He looked
upon this as one of the best things that he could do for his court and
vast empire, that he should pick out the best of the young men of every
nation, who should bring their national knowledge with them, and then,
being sprightly in body and nimble in mind, should be trained to become
counselors, or advisers of the court, or be prepared to fill important
offices as they became vacant.

5. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat,
and of the wine which he drank. Treating them exceedingly well,
thinking, perhaps, that the very food they ate might help to tone their
minds for the work to which he had called them. He wished to make them
into true Chaldeans, so he ordained that they must eat of the meat he
ate and drink of the wine he drank.

5. So nourishing them three years. Putting them to college, as it were,
for three years–

5, 6. That at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now
among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael,
and Azariah. You know these men's names, you will recognize them when
you hear them in their altered form.

7. Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names. This was to
Chaldeanize them, to take away from them everything Jewish.

7. For he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah,
of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.
Now these young men's Jewish names had, each one of them, the name of
God worked into their texture. I need not stay to bring it out, but
there is a signification about each name connecting it with God. You
hear in two of them the sound of El, which is a name of God, and in the
other two, the termination Iah, which brings out the name Jehovah. The
new names that were given to them appear to have been connected with
idols–at all events, it was so with Belteshazzar and Abednego, or
Abednebo. The intent was to make Babylonians of them.

8. But Daniel purposed in his heart.–I always like to come across a,
"but," when there is any scheme of this kind. When the plan is to
seduce men from right, then it is a happy thing to have a but, but,
but, "But Daniel purposed in his heart," determined, settled, fixed it.

8. That he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's
meat, nor with the wine which he drank. Daniel here mentions only
himself, but the three others were one with him in the resolve and the
request. He was the leader. Sometimes there would be no Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego, if there was not a Daniel. The other three might
never have had the strength of mind if it had not been for the Daniel
who dared to stand alone. But having such a brave leader, they dared to
stand with him. We often owe much to spiritually-minded men who are
able to help others to take a right course.

8, 9. Therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might
not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender
love with the prince of the eunuchs. It was like the case of Joseph and
Potiphar. Daniel's gentle disposition, his loving ways, his open and
frank spirit had won upon the prince of the eunuchs, so that he not
only regarded him with favor, but even had a tender love for him. God
has the hearts of all men under His control and He may give His people
favor where they least expect it.

10. And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the
king, who has appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see
your faces worse looking than the children which are of your sort? Then
shall you make me en-

danger my head to the king. What a reign of terror there is in a
despotic country where kings can do as they will! For the smallest
offense, a man's head may be in danger!

11, 12. Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had
set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove your servants, I
beseech you, ten days; and let them give us vegetables to eat, and
water to drink. I like it that the Holy Spirit uses their old names
whenever it is proper that they should be used. May we never lose our
old names! I mean, our new names, for they have grown old with some of
us now! May we always be known as the servants of God and not as
Chaldeans! The prince of the eunuchs gave Daniel a kind of hint, that,
if the officer under him chose to take the responsibility of altering
the food and drink, he might do so, and the prince would not interfere
with the experiment. So Daniel turns to Melzar and says to him, "Prove
your servants for a suitable time. Let us have vegetables to eat, and
water to drink." He put his request in an extreme light in order to be
quite sure that nothing brought to him would come from the king's
table.

13. Then let our countenances be looked upon before you, and the
countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat:
and as you see, deal with your servants. "If we do fall off and grow
thin, and look pale and ill through this coarse food, as you think it,
well then, alter it. But if, on the other hand, we should be as well as
those who have eaten the king's meat, and drunk the king's wine, then
let us keep to our vegetables and water."

14. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. A
round number, standing for a sufficient period to afford a fair test.

15. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer–and
fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the
king's meat. I doubt not that the satisfaction of heart which they had
in keeping themselves undefiled tended to give them a good digestion
and thus they were more likely to be well than were the others.

16. 17. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine
that they should drink; and gave them vegetables. As for these four
children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom.
God can help us in our study. We may pray as much over what we have to
learn as over what we have to do. I believe that, often, a difficult
problem can be best solved by prayer. All true knowledge and skill in
all learning and wisdom are the gifts of God.

17-19. And Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Now at
the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in,
then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the
king. They were made to be his attendants, his advisers–these very men
who had been so absurd as not to eat the food from the royal table–so
obstinate as to consider that they would defile themselves if they did!
It is these absurd and obstinate people who cannot be bent, but must be
straight–the upright men who shall stand before kings–for God is with
them.

20. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king
enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians
and astrologers that were in all his realm. They communed with God and
that was better than being magicians or stargazers! Men of God are ten
times better than all that lot put together!

21. And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus. Those
two words summarize the whole of Daniel's history–"Daniel continued."
May God give to each of us here Divine Grace to continue as Daniel did!