Daniel 10:18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, This is a record of the manner in which God reveals Himself to men, and it especially tells us how God strengthens them to hear His Word and do His Will. 1. God's strengthening comes through what is divine becoming human. It comes into human relations and human measures. Daniel is represented here as overwhelmed by what he had seen and heard. We cannot take in too much at a time even of the highest and noblest things. They require strength of mind, clearness of intellect, to grasp and to carry them. It is so with knowledge. It is true even of our affections. Just so it is with the presence of God. We cannot dwell too long among the coruscations and flashings of the divine glory. Our week faculties reel and collapse beneath the strain. Too much was unveiled to Daniel. tie became strenghtless. How was he restored? How did he gather strength again? One having the form of a man comes to him and touches him. That human touch gives him strength once more. The gentle touch of love, how it darts right through to our heart's core, and makes our blood tingle. The soothing touch of pity is more eloquent than ten thousand words. It is full of comfort, and gives patience and mighty peace. Daniel was no longer alone. He had a companion — a human companion — with him, and found heartfelt and infinite relief. Who was this human form? We do not know. We are not told that it was an angel. We are not told that it was Christ. In one sense it certainly was Christ, for all living manifestations of God are utterances or syllables, so to speak, of that eternal Word of God, of which Christ is the full and perfect embodiment. Better ask, "What does He mean?" than to press the question, "Who is He?" His appearance means this blessed, consoling, universal fact, that God is not far from men, and that He gives us power both to endure what He lays upon us, and to do His commandments, by coming to us, as Himself in a sense human, as full of human love and sympathy. There is something in God which is very near to us and very dear. He is the light by which we understand. He is the pulse that beats in the centre of our life. He is the soul of our best and purest joy. When God shows us this side of His character — what I may call the human side of it — then we grow strong, and our poverty and weakness pass at once, and pass utterly away. That is true every way. It is true in regard to our sins; and m regards to our temptations. The knowledge that Christ has overcome is there before us. That alone helps me That perfect man is here, the head and crown of humanity, and He will breathe peace and faith, hope and courage, harmony and victory, into you and into me. (J.F. Stevenson, LL.D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,WEB: Then there touched me again one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me. |
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