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LECTURE X.

PRIDE ABASED.

"Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase."-Daniel iv. 37.

PERHAPS, as I quoted all the previous chapter in my former lecture, it will be necessary now to read the greater portion of the chapter from which the text is taken-and on which, rather than on a mere historical statement, I desire in this lecture to dwell.

We are told that Nebuchadnezzar, the king, wrote an epistle "unto all people and nations and languages that dwell on the earth;" and the substance of that epistle we are told was, "Peace be multiplied to you." He explains the ground on which he bases his statement- "I thought it good to show the signs and the wonders that the high God"—not his idol Bel, whose praises he had sung before, but "that the high God hath wrought toward me." And then, carried away by the magnificent ideas that were before him, and by the goodness of that God who had so mercifully dealt with him, he exclaims in ecstasy, "How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is"—not like my kingdom, a frail and fleeting one, but--"an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation." He then rehearses the main facts from which he draws the precious truths contained in this chapter, one of which I am about to unfold: he tells them, "I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace." All his enemies were subdued without; all his fears were quieted within. And while he was thus "at rest in his house and flourishing in his palace," another dream, different from the one which had before glanced before his eyes in the night, visions passed before him, and his thoughts

I saw in the visions of my

troubled him. He called all the magicians of his kingdom to whom he had been wont to look in his prosperity, and asked them to explain the marvellous vision which he had beheld. They were unable to make it understood. God always taught Nebuchadnezzar what he has so often taught us, that all human glory must be stained, that God's alone may shine forth; that the wisdom of man-even of the magicians of the earth, must be seen and felt to be folly, in order that we may be led to drink from that fountain of wisdom which alone is pure and undefiled, and worthy of the name. Daniel, the minister of God, was again brought before Nebuchadnezzar, and was informed by him what his dream was, and required to give the solution of it. The dream was as follows: "I saw a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: the leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. head upon my bed, and lo, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven; he cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him, and let seven times pass over him." Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, explains to Nebuchadnezzar what was the meaning and intent of the dream in these words: "My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies." You will notice in this verse, (19,) that the word "be" is printed in italics; which shows that it was employed by the translators as being supposed by them to express more freely the meaning of the original. If it be so, the sentence would seem like a sort of anathema pronounced by Daniel on the enemies of the king; but if we look at the original, we shall find that we

ought to leave out "be," and then the verse would run thus:— "the dream (is) to them that hate thee," &c.—i. e., “it is a dream which will make glad the hearts of your enemies; because it makes sorrowful your own." It is not an imprecation of what Daniel wished on the foes of the king, but a declaration of what the foes of the king would feel when they heard of the calamities he was about to suffer. Daniel then proceeds, "The tree that thou sowest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beast of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong; for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king: that they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity."

After he had heard the interpretation, and undergone the sentence of degradation, king Nebuchadnezzar thus concludes his history: "And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned. unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and ho

noured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase."

This closing epistle, addressed by the king Nebuchadnezzar to his subjects, breathes a quiet and a beautiful spirit, that indicates to my mind a change in his heart, a transformation of his character-a true and an actual conversion to God. We cannot but notice in this epistle, first the great humility by which it is characterized. The pride that provoked punishment is superseded by humility, that owns its justice and gives glory to the God who punished him for his sins; and thus he shows that he felt his sin to be grievous, and his sentence to be just. You will notice, too, in the blessing which the king pronounces upon all mankind, such a wish as can be expected to proceed only from a Christian's heart. The fierce monarch is changed altogether. Instead of war, he prays for peace; the hand that wielded the sword is stretched forth in benediction; the lion, fierce and ravenous, is changed now into the lamb. He that blasphemed and defied the attributes of heaven, now submits like a weaned child, and owns the justice of his punishment; and prays that blessings, such as God alone can give, and monarchs cannot take away, may be bestowed upon all his subjects, and that all mankind may rejoice in the enjoyment of them.

You will notice, too, another feature in the epistle of the king -namely, the missionary feeling and missionary sympathy that pervades it. He says, "I thought it good to show the signs and the wonders, and the might he had wrought," which is only

another form of expressing what David said, when he cried, "Come, all ye that fear God, and I will make known to you what he hath done for my soul." The king says, "I have seen the greatness, I have tasted the goodness of God. It is now my wish that all the people of my realm should see that I have done so; and learn that the God that they are to worship is no golden image, but the God who made the heaven and the earth, and whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;" and thus the Babylonian throne became the Christian pulpit. The mighty monarch became the humble and the faithful missionary; and his epistle a sermon eloquent of wonders, of mercy, of righte ousness, and of peace. Here, then, we have an evidence what grace can do; what transformations it can work; what results sanctified affliction can achieve; how blasphemies are turned into blessings, and the fierce despot into the meek and humble and submissive saint. And the same grace that changed the heart of the Babylonian monarch can and will change the heart of the most depraved of mankind. That grace, like the air of heaven, can enter by the smallest cranny, and can achieve by the smallest means the greatest possible results. It has found, and it will find, access into congress, divan, and cabinet, and family. It will find its way into the temple of Bramah,-into the mosque of Islam,-into the cathedral of the Romanist. Wherever there is a heart that beats, there grace can find a throne for its blessed supremacy.

The dream of the king, which we have read, and which Daniel interpreted, was a beautiful one. A lofty tree was seen planted in the centre of the earth; herds and cattle from a thousand hills enjoyed shelter beneath its branches, and the birds of the air built their nests amid its boughs. Such is the symbol of a prosperous and happy king. Nations dwelt beneath his sovereignty; families found peace beneath his sceptre; his kingdom was rooted in the hearts of his loyal subjects; a spectacle too magnificent for man long to enjoy elated the monarch's heart; drew out the corruption of his nature, and prompted the exclamation which brought down the vengeance of heaven: not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of my

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