Lord stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar; and I fell on my face." Again, we read in Revelation, "When I saw him," says John, "I fell at his feet as dead; and he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the First and the Last; I was dead, and I am alive, and live for evermore." Then says Daniel," Behold a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands." A hand is used in Scripture as the symbol of the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus says, "If I with the finger of God cast out devils." The magicians said to Pharaoh, when they saw the overwhelming miracles that were performed by Moses, "Now this is the finger of God." So this hand of God that touched Daniel was the Spirit of God the Comforter, the strengthener that raised him up, encouraged him, and said to him, in cheering and reviving words, "O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright; for unto thee am I now sent."

There is no reason now why a Christian should quake in the presence of God. The instinctive feeling of unsanctified nature is terror of God; but the feeling, and the true feeling, of every true Christian, is perfect love, confidence, and joy in God. It is altogether a mistaken notion that God is an awful, revengeful, terrible being, from whom you should run and hide yourself amidst the trees of the garden, lest he should overtake and destroy you. God is our Father. The grandest revelation in the New Testament is the fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of all believers -heaven and earth reunited and restored again to full communion in Christ the Mediator, of twain

making one. It is easy to teach men to be terrified at God; it needs Almighty grace to enable them to believe that God is far more willing to accept them, and bless them, and make them happy, than ever they were or can be to believe it. He said, "Fear not, Daniel;" your fear is uncalled for and unnecessary. And then he states that some onethe prince of the kingdom of Persia-withstood him. I do not know what is the idea specially meant in that, but it strikes me it may be this-that when God is about to fulfil his promises and purposes towards his people, there are thousands of obstructions: man tries to obstruct, the world tries to obstruct, the wickedness of the human heart tries to obstruct; and the law of God's economy is not by omnipotence to strike down obstructions, but by the force of moral influences, wielded in his providence, to dissolve and remove them. For instance, in one sense God might at once cast Satan out; he might at once put an end to all sickness, sorrow, death, sin, grief, and trouble; omnipotence could do it. But it is neither his purpose nor his promise that he will thus do it; it is by moral and spiritual influences that he is removing the obstructions to the spread of his kingdom. The opposition of the prince of the kingdom of Persia, however feeble or ineffectual, or ultimately unsuccessful, was made, and by God it was removed; and, according to this, he took time to remove it. God takes time to do everything. He might make the seeds of spring burst in one hour into the golden harvests of autumn: he does not do so, he takes time to do it. He might make the bud burst into blossom

and ripe fruit, and drop the wine fully fermented: but he does not do so, he takes time. He might make the babe step at once into all the vigour of manhood: he does not do so, he takes time. So he might remove every obstruction to his kingdom in men's hearts and in the world: but he does not do so, he takes time. And the issue will be greater glory to himself, greater happiness to mankind, and a more thorough conviction on our part that the greatest triumphs have been achieved not by physical, but by moral and spiritual weapons; not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

Then we read that this Being revealed himself to Daniel as come to let him understand what is explained in the next two chapters-what should befall his people, the Jewish race, and probably the people of God, in the latter days. And then he says, that one like the similitude of the sons of men touched his lips: "Then I opened my mouth and spake;" and his words were those of humility and depression. "Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me; and said, O man greatly beloved, fear not."

What a blessed thing when God gives an apocalypse not only to his church, but to the individual heart! There is nothing unreasonable, there is nothing unnatural, in supposing that God speaks to men's hearts. Satan can enter them to tempt them; how should we suppose that God cannot enter them to comfort and cheer them? And many a time those springs of comfort that have been opened in the desert places of broken hearts, which we have attributed to

ourselves, to chance, or to the world, have been like the spring struck in the rock in the desert, produced by the touch of the finger of God; and we shall discover after many days that the Lord was in that heart, though at the time we knew it not.

PAST AND FUTURE.

CHAPTER XI.

THIS is a long and elaborate history, set forth in prophecy, beginning almost from the days of Daniel, and terminating, as the next chapter shows, at the very dawn of the millennial kingdom. It would be impossible, in the short space assigned to a mere cursory exposition, to enter into all the details of this prophecy, which embraces upwards of two thousand years, from the time of Daniel onward to the end. I may specify however, some few leading facts, by which, as by threads, you will be able to penetrate and pursue the intricacies of the prediction.

We read in the second verse-and Bishop Newton, Sir Isaac Newton, and other commentators, agree in the exposition which I give you in brief—“ Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia"-Cambyses, Smerdis, and Darius-" and the fourth, Xerxes, shall be far richer than they all; and by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia"-thus bringing Greece into war with Persia. "The king of the south," in the sixth verse, is the king of Egypt for the time being; where we read, "The king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great domi