Daniel 10:1

There are very few things harder to bear, or more often handles of Satan, than those strangely protracted intervals which so frequently come in between prayers and their answers, between promises and their fulfilments, between good desires and their attainments, between the best-laid schemes and their reasonable success. The truth which I wish to press is this: that the space which intervenes in all these cases, and which seems to us so needless, so severe, is as much settled and predetermined by God as the prayer we offer, or the means we use, or the event itself for which we are looking. The two are parts of the same thing; both are ordained, both are covenanted. The time is an appointed one—not loose—definite; and the one is as certain as the other. Consider one or two of the reasons of God's mysterious painful dealing about intervals.

I. God will always be a sovereign—not to be questioned, independent of man's opinions, infinitely beyond man's judgment, and always crossing the hands of man's expectations.

II. In heaven there is no time. It is impossible for us to conceive, much less to pronounce on, the action of one to whom all time is one perpetual now. In God's mind there is never any intermediate period. The prayer, the time after the prayer, the answer, when it comes, are all one—He sees them perfectly identified.

III. It is a rule of God's government, which you will find pervading every part of it, that everything is made matter of faith before it is made matter of enjoyment.

IV. The discipline is very good and necessary, for it addresses itself to two of our weakest points—our impatience and our pride. The man who wishes to have answers to prayer, must be a man who recognises that God is very kind and that he is very little—he must be a child content to tarry his Father's leisure—and the sooner, perhaps, that lesson is learnt the sooner will the Father give His child what He has been keeping from him just till he can say it.

J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 7th series, p. 174.

References: Daniel 10:11.—G. T. Coster, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xviii., p. 170; W. M. Taylor, Daniel the Beloved, p. 251. Daniel 10:18.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxii., No. 1295.

Daniel 10:18-19Who is this that in the presence of the angel is so weak and feeble that for a while he cannot bear even to hear him speak; that he faints and loses speech and sight before him? It is one than whom few nobler, few greater, or more courageous men have ever been. Daniel is a noble example of the good, great man. He had known what it was to be a captive and a prisoner, and a slave. He knew what it was to be a despot's counsellor and rule half the civilised world; and the one thing which upheld him in his first estate, and guided him to the last, was his clear sense of his own position before God and man; a large wide view of his own being; a clear view of his Master's earthly claims on him, and overspreading and bounding all other things and thoughts, the fear of God, thorough independence of man, perfect dependence upon God.

I. A strong sense of responsibility is the true source of genuine independence of character. To feel and know what we are, where we are, that we have real duties, and are really answerable in the most minute particulars for doing them, and for our manner of doing them—this constant thought of insight is the mother of all real and lasting independence of character.

II. True independence in nothing differs more from vanity than that it has a sense of weakness, a sense of need, a craving of strength from above. Foolishness is strong in its own sight. The prophet with all his independence of character ruling provinces, standing before kings and reproving them, how did he behave when he was alone with God? Remember his softness and tenderness, his window opened towards his home, and the man in prayer upon his knees three times a day there. Or think of him, as when in my text God's message came home to him, and he says, "There remained no strength in me." It was because realities to him were real. Let us pray that we may not live as though the things of sight, touch, and taste were real, heaven and eternity shadows, but that we may feel that God and God's law alone are real, and that usages, however prevalent, however accepted, which are not after God's laws, will one day pass away and leave us, if we have trusted them, solitary, helpless, and broken.

Archbishop Benson, Boy Life: Sundays in Wellington College, p. 219.

References: Daniel 10:18, Daniel 10:19.—J. Vaughan, Sermons, 14th series, p. 13; Preacher's Monthly, vol. vi., p. 368. Daniel 10:19.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xix., No. 1089. 10—Expositor, 3rd series, vol. ii., p. 437; J. G. Murphy, The Book of Daniel, p. 162. 10, 11—W. M. Taylor, Daniel the Beloved, p. 203. Daniel 11:31.—W. M. Statham, Christian World Pulpit, vol. iii., p. 257. Daniel 11:32.—Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 217. Daniel 11:32, Daniel 11:33.—Ibid., Sermons, vol. xi., No. 609. Daniel 11:36.—Expositor, 3rd series, vol. iv., p. 40. 11—J. G. Murphy, The Book of Daniel, p. 166.

Daniel 12

We have in this chapter:—

I. The hope of the suffering saint. "Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." The doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is here for the first time broadly asserted, and that in such a way as to connect it with retribution, and make it an encouragement to fidelity under trial.

II. We have here, secondly, the reward of the working saint. "They that are wise shall shine," etc. Among the nations of the earth decorations and honours are given to those who have done the greatest work of destruction. But in the kingdom of Christ it is far otherwise. The places of preeminence under Him are assigned to those who have been likest Him in the holiness of their characters, in the self-sacrifice of their lives, and in the hallowing and ennobling influence which they have shed around them.

III. We have here the rest of the waiting saint. "Go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." Do not disquiet yourself about the future. Leave that in God's hands. You shall rest in Him during the remainder of your life on earth, and when that shall end, you shall rest with Him.

W. M. Taylor, Daniel the Beloved, p. 232.

References: Daniel 12:4.—A. Mursell, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxv., p. 40; H. W. Beecher, Ibid.; J. F. Stevenson, Ibid., vol. ii., p. 307; H. W. Beecher, Ibid., vol. xxix., p. 291. Daniel 12:9.—C. Wordsworth, Old Testament Outlines, p. 262.

Daniel 12:13These words contain undoubtedly the dismission of Daniel from his whole life-work, and may therefore be applied to anyone who has been working well for God, and has now gone to rest.

The text brings before our view:—

I. The majesty and greatness of the providence of God. God says not only to individuals—to each of His servants when he has done his work, "Go thou thy way," He says it to communities of men and witnesses for the truth. He says it to Churches. He says it to generations. He says it to worlds—to one world after another: "Go thou thy way." Everything is ruled and used for the accomplishment of His ultimate and perfect will.

II. How little is individual man! Is it not as if with some sublime consciousness of the greatness of His own providence—covering the world, stretching along time, reaching up to heaven, filling at length eternity and infinitude—that God says to Daniel in dismissing him: "But go thou thy way, 'I have got from thee all the little service I require"?

III. And yet God is mindful of man. He does visit the son of man, talks with him, dwells with him, works in him and works by him, for the accomplishment of His own great purposes. As for those who have loved and served Him, who have been happy in His kingdom, and valiant for His truth on the earth, they will be regarded with a Father's love and pity. He will deal gently with them. He will hide them beneath the shadow of His wings. He will keep them unto life eternal.

IV. For "thou shalt rest." To go from earthly labour for God is to go to heavenly rest. Even the earthly part rests in the grave where the weary are at rest. But the better part, sleeping in Jesus, is carried to Paradise, to the stillness of the blessed dead, to the waiting, yet happy and restful, company of sainted souls.

V. This rest at death is preparatory to something far more complete, "at the end of the days." "Thou shalt stand in thy lot." Thou shalt rest first, until the night is over, and then stand up in the morning as a man refreshed with sleep. The term "stand" expresses the completeness, and above all the permanence, of the new life.

A. Raleigh, From Dawn to the Perfect Day, p. 401.

These words seem to say to us: The future is wrapped in clouds; much is hidden from your view, and there are many mysteries. "But go thou thy way;" do not hesitate; do not look back; do not measure by results; go thou thine own proper and appointed way. Do thy work, whatever it be, that God has given thee to do; fulfil thy part; execute thy mission; act out thy destiny. "Go thou thy way."

I. You must first have well ascertained that that way which you are now going to take is "thy way." This was the point at issue between Christ and Satan. Satan, falsely quoting, said, "In their hands they shall bear thee up," leaving out the sequel—which was the hinge of the promise—"in all thy ways." Christ saw the omission, and saw that any venture which was without that condition would be presumptuous, and therefore He answered, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."

II. I know of no comfort in life—I know of no repose greater than this—today, duty; to-morrow, trust; the foot straight in the road, and the eye, looking out for loving ends it cannot see. Therefore go. The clouds will vanish; the light will fall in; God will vindicate Himself; things may explain themselves, and the end will well compensate all thy effort, "Go thou thy way till the end be."

III. I do not wonder that the very next words are, "thou shalt rest." There is the soul's rest; increasing experience of God's faithfulness, a growing assurance of forgiveness; a greater and greater nearness to Christ; tokens for good; glances of the smile of God—all these will be "rest" even while you are on the road. Nevertheless, that "rest," sweet as it is, is always a future, running on and on; it is always "Thou shalt."

J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 10th series, p. 54.

I. The first application from this text shall be this general one: that wisdom is a practical thing. The prophet is telling us what the wise do.

II. If you are wise, when you see souls going the wrong way, the very first thing you will aim to do will be to use the means for turning them. When we look at all the works done under the sun, and compare them with this, there is no work worth talking about but this work of God—the work of turning many to righteousness.

III. If you are wise, you will, in aiming to turn many to righteousness, begin with the young. A very little right, or a very little wrong at the beginning, must make a tremendous difference very often at the end.

IV. If you are wise you will perpetually go to Christ for grace, for God only gives through Christ. (1) The first qualification for this going is pardon. (2) Another qualification is grace. To teach you must touch; to magnetise you must be magnetic. (3) Beyond the qualification of grace there is the gift of teaching. Mere mechanical routine, mere human education, will not do. You want the gift of living in other lives, putting yourself in the position of other persons. You want the gift of the happy word and happy way. (4) Beyond all this, you want power from on high. There are different kinds of power. Intelligence is power; union is power. But there are certain things in the lowest kingdoms of life that all the powers of all the teachers cannot do—they cannot make one primrose grow. And yet we want to do more than this—we want to turn many to righteousness. We must run to Christ, who says, "All power is given unto Me." Ask for that power; everything else is a cipher without it.

C. Stanford, Penny Pulpit, No. 1033.

References: Daniel 12:13.—A. Watson, Sermons for Sundays, Festivals, and Fasts, 2nd series, vol. ii., p. 409; Clergyman's Magazine, vol. xi., p. 151; Preacher's Monthly, vol. iv., p. 292; J. Ker, Old Testament Outlines, p. 263. 12—J. G. Murphy, The Book of Daniel, p. 199; Expositor, 3rd series, vol. i., pp. 217, 431.