Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number four. The tune is Omnipotence
200. Keep silence, all created things,
and wait your maker's nod. My soul stands trembling while
she sins, the honors of her God. Hymn number four, tune Omnipotence
200. Birds who create their things,
and angel-makers not. Ice-coast and trembling water,
she sings the hours of her ? God in heaven and earth ? ? And all
the earth under ? ? Thine own peace shall be great ? It's the
eternal imperative of our duty to Thee. Stains in His throne above unite
with all that made of men. Then every angel's woe and sighs
drove the eternal dead. His providence unfolds the earth,
And makes His counsel shine. His love, in endless reserve,
? Fulfill so many times ? ? If
we may truth be rectified ? ? To scepters that have died ? And ever falling, may Jesus rest
with Simone now. Not day will answer reason why,
Nor come the reason when. Not just an angered angel cried,
He did have no death grieved. By God, I would not long to see
Thy face with curious eyes, But very lightly with holy ? O what bright stains and graces
? ? In thy fair book of life and
grace ? ? The way I find my way ? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God. in the Prophet Daniel and chapter
10. The 10th chapter of the Book
of Daniel. In the third year of Cyrus, king
of Persia, a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called
Belteshazzar, and the thing was true. But the time appointed
was long, and he understood the thing, and had understanding
of the vision. In those days, I, Daniel, was
mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither
came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at
all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. And in the four and
twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great
river, which is called Hiddekel, then I lifted up mine eyes and
looked, and behold, a certain man, clothed in linen, whose
loins were girded with fine gold of Euphrates. His body also was
like the Beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning,
and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like
in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like
the voice of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the
vision, for the men that were with me saw not the vision. But
a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore, I was left alone and
saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me, for
my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained
no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his
words, and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a
deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. And behold,
an hand had touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon
the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel,
a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee,
and stand upright. For unto thee am I now sent,
And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not,
Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart
to understand and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words
were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of
the kingdom of Persia withstood me, one and twenty days. But lo, Michael, one of the chief
princes, came to help me, and I remained there with the kings
of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand
what shall befall thy people in the latter days. For yet the
vision is for many days. And when he had spoken such words
unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. And behold, one like the similitude
of the sons of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth
and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my Lord,
by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained
no strength. For how can the servant of this
my Lord talk with this my Lord? For as for me, straightway, there
remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. Then
there came again and touched me one like the appearance of
a man, and strengthened me, and said, O man greatly beloved,
fear not. Peace be unto thee, and be strong,
yea, be strong.' And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened,
and said, Let my Lord speak, for thou hast strengthened me.
Then said he, Know thou wherefore I come unto thee, and now will
I return to fight with the prince of Persia. And when I am gone
forth, lo, the Prince of Greece shall come. But I will show thee
that which is noted in the scripture of truth. And there is none that
holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your Prince. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, we bow before thy great majesty,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We desire a spirit of true worship. We desire that the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father and the sacred
fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us as
we gather around thy word. What is the house, O Lord, to
me, unless the master I can see? May we, like thy servant John,
taste and handle and feel of the good word of life, and may
we feel present here in the sanctuary, our triune Jehovah. May the Lord
Jesus come and stand in our midst, that we may behold his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. May our gracious eternal Father
grant that we may be drawn, we may experience what we read in
Holy Scripture. Lord, we have done. Yea, I have
loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving
kindness have I drawn thee. And may it please thee to grant
the divine power, the heavenly unction of the Spirit of God. For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Lord, We pray that thou would
lead us into that sacred spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father,
my God, my Father, blissful name, O may I call thee mine, or that
it may be so tonight, that that sweet spirit of adoption We may
know that we are the sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty,
by his spirit that he has given us. May we know the power, the
inward witness of the Holy Ghost in our hearts. May we know that
power in the pulpit and in the pew, that we may hear the word
of the Lord, that we may truly worship in thy holy hill of Zion. Lord, that thy word instructs
us that as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the
sons of God. And that we pray, most gracious
Lord, that it may be so. A sacred experience of being
a son or a daughter of the Lord God Almighty. We think of those
lovely words spoken about the sons and daughters. Come out
from among them and be ye separate. Touch not the unclean thing and
I will be a father unto you. And ye shall be my sons and daughters,
saith the Lord God Almighty. Oh, we pray, most gracious Lord,
that that may be a sweet experience that sanctifying work of thy
Spirit, separating us from this world, sanctifying us, bringing
us into union with Christ, bringing us to feel and to know and to
experience. I could from all things parted
be, but never, never Lord from thee. We've read, Lord of thy
servant Daniel, and how his comeliness was turned into corruption. And
Lord, is that not so? But when we come into thy presence,
and all we pray that we might know more of thy presence, more
of our comeliness turning into corruption, more of what thy
servant and old declares, woe is me, for I am undone, for I
am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell of a people that is of
unclean lips. Gracious God, we do pray that
we may be truly humbled in thy presence here tonight, and that
thou wouldst indeed make one in our midst, that we may truly
worship thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast
sent. We pray thy blessing upon our
brethren, the deacons, that grace, wisdom and help may be given
them in all their responsibilities, not only here but among the churches
of God. We pray for our dear brother
on the coming Saturday, that he may be girded with all sufficient
grace and wisdom and help at the meeting. We pray for our
brother and sister that hope to go on holiday on the coming
day. We lovingly commend them to thee.
Pray that thou would bless them where they gather and grant a
time of rest and change. We do humbly beseech thee. Remember
each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship.
Remember them each. Remember those present. Remember
those that are not able to be here, and remember our dear brother
and sister in Holland, and dear Ellie and Pete. Lord, remember
us for good, Tim and Fran. Remember them, and bless us,
O Lord, we do beseech thee. Grant that they may be added
unto us, precious souls, gathered in, gathered into the church,
Constrain to follow them in the way of thy precious ordinances,
to be baptized in thy name, in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Gracious God, thou knowest. Look down from heaven, thy dwelling
place upon us. Revive us again. Renew us again. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants and thy glory unto their children. Thou hast promised,
I will work, and who shall let it? Let us see thy work. Let us see thy power and thy
glory in the sanctuary. Remember the little ones and
the children that gather with us on the Lord's day. Remember
them each. Remember them with the favour
that thou bearest unto thy people. Bore their ears to the doorposts
of thy house. May the fear of the Lord, which
is the beginning of wisdom, be granted unto them. Lord, we pray for thee, young
friends. Oh, that thou would remember
them, that thou would bless them, and bless them with that rich
grace that is in Christ Jesus. Bless them with light and understanding
in thy word. Bless them with that grace to
follow thee and to serve thee in their day and in their generation.
Bless them, Lord, with thy guidance in life's journey, in providence,
in their education, give them wisdom, guidance and direction. Lord, guide them in any future
employment. Guide them, O Lord, regarding
a partner in life journey. Help them to commit their way
unto the Lord and trust also in Him, and He will bring it
to pass. Lord, we pray. Yea, we lovingly
commend unto thee, our dear young friends. We remember the prodigals
that have departed from the sanctuary. We earnestly petition thee to
bless them, stretch out thy almighty arm, cause them to be in one,
cause them to return. We do humbly beseech of thee. There is nothing too hard for
thee. And there may yet be, O Lord,
in this district those that were brought up here many years ago.
Oh, may thy word, may thy word be fulfilled. Thou hast promised
that it will be. Thy word shall not return unto
me void, but it shall accomplish the thing whereto I sent it. Lord, we pray that thou in thy
great mercy would but remember parents and give them wisdom,
guidance and direction in the way that they should go and in
the bringing up of their children. May they do so in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord. Lord, we do pray that there may
be those like Ruth the Moabitess, when she gleaned in the field
of boas, And she was exhorted, go not to glean in another field,
but stand fast by his maidens. O gracious Lord, grant them that
steadfast mindedness. We do humbly beseech of thee.
We pray, most gracious Lord, that thou in thy precious mercy
would bless the families Bless all those in the midst of the
journey of life and graciously undertake for each one. Bring each to the feet of Jesus. Lord, we pray that the glory,
light, and power of the gospel may shine into this village and
the surrounding villages and hamlets. To arise, O Lord, we
humbly beseech thee Bless the distribution of thy word and
of the scripture calendars, that it may be redound to the glory
of thy great name, the good of precious souls, the awakening
of many. Lord, we pray that thou in thy
great mercy would remember those of us in the evening time of
life's journey. While our days on earth are lengthened,
may we give them Lord to Thee. Remember the dear Ina at home
and in her great age and undertake for her. We do humbly beseech
of Thee. Keep us together, O Lord, in
the sacred bonds of Christian love, union and communion. And when the enemy comes in like
a flood, may the spirit of the Lord lift up a standard against
him. May grace triumphant reign, and
Christ exalted be. Sinners deserve an endless pain,
thy great salvation sin. Hear us, Lord. Remember thy servants
as they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion. Set them
free. Set them at liberty. Enlighten
and enliven thy servants. We pray thee, the great Lord
of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest. Remember thy servants that labour
in word and doctrine, not only in this country, but in the nations
of the earth. Remember Ian Sadler as he labours
in the distribution of thy word, and the instructing of others
in the Christian church. Give him all needed grace and
wisdom and help. And remember, oh Lord, the Savannah
Education Trust and that great work they're entrusted with in
Ghana. Oh, that it may redound to the
great glory of thy name. And Lord, remember, we do humbly
beseech thee the Mombasa mission and grant
thy blessing there. Remember those who will take
up pastorates in the coming year. Oh, we pray that thou would indeed
grant the settlement of pastors among the churches and a reviving,
a renewing, the blessing to be given, mighty signs and wonders
to follow the preaching of the word, the pulling down of the
strongholds of Satan, the setting up of the kingdom of the Lord
Jesus in the hearts of sinners. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
O Thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth before
Ephraim and Manasseh. Let Thy hand be upon the man
of Thy right hand, the Son of Man, whom Thou madest strong
for Thyself. We thank Thee that Thou hast
laid help upon one that is mighty, one chosen from among the people,
even Thine only begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Mighty to save, mighty to redeem. We thank Thee that He was made
of a woman made under the law, to redeem them that are under
the law. We thank Thee that in him the law has been fulfilled,
everlasting righteousness has been brought in. Oh, we do thank
thee, most gracious Lord, for the glory of his name, for the
everlasting robe of his righteousness. We thank thee for Calvary, where
the lamb was slain, sin put away, divine justice satisfied. Oh,
we thank thee. for that perfect sacrifice. Through
sufferings perfect now He reigns. The King of kings, the Lord of
lords. He died for our sins and rose
again for our justification. Oh, the glorious of a risen Christ. Lord, we thank Thee that He has
bodily ascended into heaven, sitting at Thy right hand, Fill
our hearts with gratitude, with thanksgiving for that fullness
that is in our great high priest who is passed into the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God. We thank thee that we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Come and
touch one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We thank Thee for our house of
prayer. We thank Thee, Lord, for our families. We thank Thee
for every mercy of Thy kind providence, for all Thy goodness that has
passed before us in the world. We ask, with the forgiveness
of all sin, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 64. The tune is Lithum 882. Sovereign ruler of the skies,
ever gracious, ever wise, all my times are in thy hand, all
events at thy command. Hymn number 64, tune Lithum O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ? Glory in the highest ? ? Glory in the highest ? ? Glory
in the highest ? ? Holy Lord ? ? It's my heart that's
filled with love for you ? ? It's my heart that's filled with love
for you ? ? Good morning to thee ? ? We have
hoped thee many a day ? ? We shall
rise to the truth ? ? Our hearts shall ever be one with the Lord
? ? O spirit, child of heav'n ? ?
Light of heaven ? ? Live and well ? ? Light of love ? ? You
guide me ? God, I'm torn from all I know,
but I'm still with you here. God, I'm torn from all I know,
but I'm still with you here. God, I'm torn from all I know,
but I'm still with you here. ? Try to take your sick pills on
? ? But you'll never know what's in them ? There shall be no ending ? And left the world behind ? ?
Tell me, have I had a long time? ? Greatly feeling today the Lord's
Gracious help, I would direct your attention to the 10th chapter
in the prophet Daniel. Read in verse 19 for our text. Daniel chapter 10, verse 19. And said, O man greatly beloved,
fear not. Peace be unto thee. Be strong. Yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me,
I was strengthened and said, let my Lord speak, for thou hast
strengthened me. We notice in verse 18, it says,
that then there came again and touched me one like the appearance
of a man. and he strengthened me. What a wonderful thing to be
strengthened. We read of those that walk by
faith out of weakness were made strong. The apostle exhorts us,
doesn't he, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his
might. Not in your own strength, not
in your own wisdom, but in the Lord. Be strong in the Lord. Be strong in faith, in Jesus
Christ, the King of glory. Daniel was an outstandingly godly
man, who had an exceedingly difficult
path, a path of great responsibility, He's obvious from the way that
he's set before us in the word of God, a man of considerable
intellectual ability, along with his companions, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego. We read in the beginning of this
book of Daniel, that they were chosen from among the captives
of the children of Israel and they were chosen on the basis
that they were to be fair to look upon but principally those
that are able to understand science and in other words it could be
seen that they were intellectually capable And that was the basis
on which they were chosen by the Babylonians. And so Daniel and his three friends,
when they were chosen and they were given a portion of the king's
meat, within that portion there would have been things that as
Jews they were not permitted to eat. And we find that Daniel
He speaks to the chief man that was set over them. I think his
name was Malzar. And he says, let us not have
this diet of the king's meat, but let us have pulses, that
is a mixture of beans and of various other things. And that
happened for 10 days. And he said, let us try it, because
he said, if it makes you worse, he said, then I will be answerable
to the king. And they tried for 10 days, and
they found that they were fairer and fatter to look upon than
all the others that were there, the eight of the king's men.
So you see how right from very young, because I suspect We don't
exactly know, but I suspect that Daniel would have been 14, 15,
16, something in that region when
this happened in Babylon. And so him and his three friends,
they were put to school. They were educated for three
years. They were to learn the tongue
of the Chaldeans, that they were to be sufficiently intellectual
to stand in the King's presence and to give advice unto the King.
And at the end of those three years, it says here in Scripture,
Scripture doesn't exaggerate, it says that Daniel and his three
friends intellectually were ten times better than all the others. went there. They obviously had
examinations and they were 10 times better. And that gives
us to understand. It's similar to what we have. You have A-levels, which you
do for two years. You have a degree course, which
is usually three years. And then at the end, you're given
examinations to see how you have attained and what you have attained
to. And so this is what happened here. And then we read how the
nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream. As I say, Daniel was only a young
man. And the purpose of that dream was to bring forth Daniel before the presence of the king,
to be noted. And the king was so angry with
the magicians and the soothsayers, et cetera, that he was going
to slay them all because they couldn't interpret his dream.
He couldn't tell them the dream and they couldn't interpret the
dream. So he ordered that they should all be slain. And when
the chief captain came, Ariok, came to Daniel and Daniel said
to him, why is the thing so hasty? And Ariok told him what had happened
and how the magicians and the soothsayers could not answer
or could not interpret the king's dream. And he asked Ariok to give him
time. And he went and prayed along with Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego. They prayed unto the God of heaven.
They wrestled with the Lord and the thing was revealed unto Daniel. The king's dream It was all revealed to Daniel.
So he sent and he was brought in before King Nebuchadnezzar.
And he then, he interpreted the dream of the king. It's wonderful what God was revealing. And it
comes out right through the book of Daniel. We've just sung that
hymn purposefully. And the first hymn also, he setteth
up one, he put it down another, as the hymn writer said, that
he sets up one and then treads a monarch down. It reminds us of the wonderful
words of concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, or rather what
he speaks of himself in Proverbs 8, by me kings reign, and princes
decree justice. By me. He's the King of Kings. We read in the Revelation that
he hath a name written upon his vesture. King of Kings and Lord
of Lords. He's the sovereign ruler of the
skies. He is. All my times. That's what it says in Psalms,
doesn't it? All my times are in thy hand. All events at thy command, the
sovereign ruler of the skies. What a mercy that there's a God
in heaven. I've often told you when that
word is in the second chapter, is when indeed Daniel was brought
in before Nebuchadnezzar. And he says to Nebuchadnezzar,
but there is a God in heaven. Never shall I forget. when that
word was dropped into my heart with such heavenly power. It
was a word of rebuke. I was so full of unbelief, so
full of doubt, so full of fears, but there's a God in heaven.
Oh, the power that that entered into my heart, and Daniel proved
it continually through 70 years. Indeed, what we have here, if
you just look in the First verse, in the third year of Cyrus, king
of Persia, a thing was revealed unto Daniel. Cyrus was the last
of the Persian kings and it was prophesied in Isaiah that Cyrus
would deliver the children of Israel from Babylonian captivity. So Daniel was now an old man. 70 years. See and we read in verse 2, in
those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. See the Lord
revealed something to Daniel. I often think of that word and
this is very true of a church and of a congregation. The word
in the Proverbs, where there is no vision, The people perish. I've been to chapels like that.
There's no vision. You might say, what do you mean,
vision? Faith. There's no exercise, burden,
concern for the building up of the place. It feels spiritually
dead where there is no vision. What a mercy if we have a vision.
Not what we've given ourselves, but what the Lord has given us.
The word of the Lord that there will be a building up, there
will be a reviving, there will be a renewing. Now, if the Lord
has given you something like that, he will do it. He's a promise
giving and a promise performing God. He will do it. I will work. And who shall let it? Who shall
hinder it? Who shall stop it? It may be
many that try. We even read here, and the Lord,
he says to Daniel, in verse 20, then said, He knowest thou, wherefore
I come unto thee, and now will I return to fight with the prince
of Persia. When I'm gone forth, lo, the
prince of Grisha shall come. I'm going to fight against the
prince of Persia. He says earlier, How the Prince
of Persia hindered him. He hindered him. You see the
work of Satan. He tries to hinder the work of
God. The fulfilling of the work of
God. Look at Babylon. Look at Esther. Not only Daniel, a Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, but there was Queen Esther. She was raised
up to be queen. And eventually her uncle Mordecai
was raised up to be a chief ruler. You see, the Lord, he puts his
people. In the days of Ahab, that wicked
ungodly king Ahab, there was Obadiah in the court of the king. He was a godly man. You see, the Lord has his servants
suffering. You think of Elijah. I, I only am left. That's what
he said to the Lord, didn't he? He'd come rock bottom. He stood
just before that on the Mount of the Lord and he slew 400 of
the prophets of Baal. And he stood before Israel. Choose
ye this day whom ye shall serve. serve Baal or will you serve
the Lord? He was bold. But when the cloud,
the size of a man's hand, came, he ran. But obviously in the
spirit, he ran to Jezreel. When he came to Jezreel, the
Queen Jezebel, that wicked woman, vowed that she would have his
head when she heard what had been done to the prophets of
Baal. And he ran. He stood before all Israel, Ahab
the king and all Israel, but now a woman seeks his life and
he runs. I, only I am left. And what did the Lord say to
him? Are there not 7,000 in Israel that have not bowed the knee
to Baal? Elijah, you're not the only one.
There's 7,000 in Israel that have not bailed the need of bail.
You see, my beloved friends, unbelief is an awful thing. It is. It's an awful thing. Now, Daniel interpreted the dream
and there'd be goodness. And there is a Right the way
through the book there is a return into that interpretation of that
dream. You remember that there was a
great image that was set before the king in that dream, in that
vision, with a golden head and Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar,
thou art that golden head. And then there's four stages.
After Nebuchadnezzar, would come the kingdom of the Medes and
the Persians. Cyrus the Persian was one of
them, obviously. And after that would come the kingdom of Alexander the
Great, called the Grecian kingdom. If you just look here in verse
20, knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee, now will I return
to fight with the king of Persia, and when I am gone forth, Lo,
the Prince of Greece shall come. And Alexander the Great came
and he overran the kingdom of the Persians. And this is what
was prophesied in the second chapter, in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Then following the kingdom of
Alexander the Great, the Greek kingdom. If you remember when
Christ was here on earth, it was Greek that was spoken. The Romans actually were then
in power. Alexander the Great had been
destroyed, and his kingdom had been destroyed. And that last
kingdom, the fourth kingdom that is spoken of, is the Roman Empire,
which lasted for nearly a thousand years. You see, God sees all
things. God knows all things. And he
was showing to Nebuchadnezzar through Daniel the things that
would come. right to the end of time. And how that after that Roman
Empire, then there would be a kingdom. It speaks of 10 kings in the
second chapter. 10 kings. And then it says, in the interpretation
of this, in verse 31. Thou, O King, sawest and behold
a great image, this great image, whose brightness was excellent,
stood before thee, and the form thereof was terrible. The image's
head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver. That's
the Persian kingdom. His belly and his thighs of brass.
That is the kingdom of Alexander the Great. His legs of iron,
his feet part of iron and part of clay. And thou sawest till
that a stone was cut out without hands, that's Christ, which smote
the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay and break
them to pieces, that's the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then
was the iron, the clay and the brass, the silver and the gold
broken to pieces together and became like the chaff of the
summer threshing floor. And then just moved down to verse
44. It says here, these kings, it
says the toes are these kings, 10 kings. And in the days of
these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which
shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be
left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume
all these kingdoms it shall stand forever. It's the glorious kingdom
of our Lord and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Now, I often draw
your attention to the seventh chapter, and exactly the same
truth is set before us in the seventh chapter. In verse 13,
and Daniel here had a vision. Verse 13, I saw in the night
visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, that's Christ,
came with the clouds of heaven and came to the ancient of days
and they brought him near before him and there was given him dominion
and glory and a kingdom that all people nations and languages
should serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion which
shall not pass away and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed
confirming what we've just read and then in verse 27 of chapter
7 and the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom
under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the
saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominion shall serve and obey him. See, Daniel had
a vision right to the end of time, the vision that was given
to him of God. And he was a man greatly beloved. O man, greatly beloved. That's what really drew me to
this text today. I spent a long time this morning
trying, as it were, to seek the mind of the spirit, and it was
that that just fell on my spirit and stayed on my spirit. O man,
greatly beloved. Fear not. Fear not. Just look at verse 11. You see,
it says in verse 10, And behold, an hand touched me. And the poor
man, he was, as it were, prostrated before the Lord. And he says
in verse two, in those days, I, Daniel, was mourning three
full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither
came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at
all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. And in the four-and-twentieth
day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river,
which is Yitikel, then I lifted up mine eyes and looked and behold
a certain man. This man is Christ, clothed in
linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Euphrates. His body also was like the barrel,
and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as
lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polish
brass and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude
and I Daniel alone saw the vision for the men that were with me
saw not the vision but a great quaking fell upon them so that
they fled to hide themselves therefore I was left alone and
saw this great vision and there remained no strength in For my
comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no
strength. And he says in verse 10, And
behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees, and upon
the paws of my hand. And he said unto me, O Daniel,
man greatly beloved. What wonderful things the Lord
speaks of Daniel. O Daniel, a man greatly beloved.
Understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright,
for unto thee am I now sent. You see, in chapter nine, you're
familiar with it, it's the prayer of Daniel, when he wrestled with
the Lord. Look at what it says here. Then
said he unto me, verse 12, then said he unto me, fear not, Daniel,
for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand
and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard,
and I am come for thy words. The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom
of Persia withstood me one and twenty days, and lo, Michael,
one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there. with the kings of Persia. Now
I am come to make thee understand. And at your leisure you can read
that beautiful prayer of Daniel in chapter 9. And how beautiful
that prayer is. And how he wrestled with the
Lord for the children of Israel. And it says there in verse 20
of chapter 9, and whilst I was speaking, May this be an encouragement
to us to wrestle with the Lord, and whilst I was speaking and
praying and confessing my sin and the sins of my people Israel
and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the
holy mountain of my God, yea, whilst I was speaking in prayer,
even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning,
came, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me. about the time of
the evening oblation. And he informed me and talked
with me and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill
and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplication,
the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee, for thou
art greatly beloved. Three times here, the Lord says
to Daniel, for thou art greatly beloved. Therefore, understand
the matter, and consider the vision, and I won't go into it,
70 weeks, that's 70 years, that's what it meant. 70 weeks are determined upon
thy people and upon thy holy city to finish the transgression,
that's the coming of Christ, to make an end of sins, that's
Christ, and to make reconciliation for iniquity in Christ, and to
bring in everlasting righteousness, the righteousness of Christ,
and to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the
most holy. Know therefore and understand
that from the going forth of the commandment, you see, everything's
ordered of God, all the nations of the earth, all the kings of
the earth, all the rulers of the people. By me kings reign,
and princes decree justice. My mind went much to the book
of the Revelation. John himself was given many visions. Indeed, as I've often pointed
out to you, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave
unto him. And that is what we find in the
book of the Revelation. My mind, it just goes to the
first chapter in the book of the Revelation. And John, he
says in verse 13, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks,
that's the church of God, one like unto the Son of Man, that's
Christ, clothed with a garment down to the foot, girt about
the patch with a golden girdle, his head and his hairs were white
like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame
of fire, and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned
in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters, And
he had in his right hand seven stars. You see, look at the effect
it had. Verse 17. And when I saw him,
I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon
me, saying unto me, fear not. I am the first and the last.
I am that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell. and of death. Just like Daniel,
his comeliness was turned into corruption. Again in Revelation
chapter 19, John is again given another revelation of Christ. Verse 11, I saw heaven open and
behold a white horse and he that sat upon him was called faithful
and true and in righteousness does he judge and make war His
eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns,
and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And
he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name
is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in
heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean. And out of his mouth groweth
a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and
he shall rule them with a rod of iron. and he treadeth the
winepress and fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. He hath on his vesture and on
his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the
revelation of Jesus Christ. And this is exactly what Daniel
had, the revelation of Jesus Christ. And in the consummation
of all things, reading Revelation chapter 11 and verse 15. And the seventh angel, that's
the last angel, and the seventh angel sounded. And there were
great voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms of this world are
become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall
reign forever and ever. And the four and 20 elders which
sat before God on their seats fell upon their faces and worshipped
God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art
and wast and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great
power and hast reigned. He reigns. He's King of Kings. He's Lord of Lords. He's the
Eternal God. He's the Eternal Son. of the
Eternal Father. And as he said to his disciples
before he departed this life, all power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth. My beloved friends, may the Lord
give us a view of this glorious, sovereign Jesus Christ, the King
of kings and the Lord of lords. And if you get a view by faith
of him, it'll encourage you in prayer. And you'll look at the
promises, all the promises of God are yay and amen in Christ.
And it's when we take our eyes off Christ that we get despondent
and cast down. Oh, that we may be enabled to
have a clear view of King Jesus, of his sovereign power that he
has taken. Thou hast taken to the great
power. Oh, just think of that. He left
heaven. He came to this sin-cursed world.
He was made of a woman made under the law. He was a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief. Thou hast taken to thee thy great
power. He fulfilled and honoured and
magnified the holy law of God on the behalf of his people,
just as we have here in Daniel, the bringing in of everlasting
righteousness. It's all in this glorious King
Jesus. He fulfilled the law, he honoured
the law on the behalf of his people to make them righteous
by faith. He then, in the Garden of Gethsemane,
our eternal father laid upon him the iniquity of us all. And
he took our sins and he nailed them to his cross. He did, he
suffered, he bled, he died for our sins. He will see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. Christ will. And he entered into death itself,
shed every drop of his precious blood to redeem his people. And
then he swallowed up death in victory. All power is given unto
me in heaven and in earth. He's bodily ascended into heaven.
He's opened those pearly gates and entered into glory. Who is
this king of glory? It's the Lord Christ. We give
thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty. And said, O man greatly beloved,
fear not. Peace be unto thee. Be strong,
yea, be strong. Like the apostle says, be strong
in the Lord and in the power of his might. Looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before him, despised the cross. He suffered, he bled, and he
died for the sins of his people. Oh, that we could have clearer
views of this glorious Saviour. Oh man, greatly beloved, peace
be unto thee. Be strong, yea, be strong. And
when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, let my
Lord speak, for thou hast strengthened me. Job said, didn't he? I know what he would say unto
me. He would put strength in me. Job knew that. He knew it
by past experience. When Christ appears to his people,
he puts strength in them. You see, a man greatly believed
Loved with an everlasting love. A man of great grace. There are
some men in Holy Scripture that stand out so beautifully, so
clearly. Godly, gracious men. Joshua,
when he took over from Moses, he stands out as the most godly
man. Joseph, you see, he stands out
as the most godly man. Look at what they wrought in
the name of the Lord, walking by faith. Daniel, a man greatly
beloved, all those 70 years standing at the side of those heathen
kings, giving them advice with wisdom and understanding. They depended on him and they
looked to him as a man of great wisdom and a great understanding.
Oh man, greatly beloved. He was loved of his God. He was
loved with an everlasting love. The Lord stood with him. Paul
proved that, didn't he? I think it's in the Thessalonians.
Nevertheless, the Lord stood with me. When he was left of
everybody. Nevertheless, the Lord stood
with me. Daniel proved that. And all the
Lord's living family will prove that. Be strong. Yay, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me,
I was strengthened and said, let my Lord speak, for thou hast strengthened me. How strengthening, my beloved
friends, when the Lord speaks, when that word comes with divine
power into your heart, when Christ is made exceedingly precious,
when he becomes the altogether lovely one, yea, the chiefest
among 10,000, he will put strength in me. Or you have a view of
King Jesus. You see, kingdoms of men will
vanish soon, vanish as though I saw them not, when you have
a sight of King Jesus. And you have a realization by
faith of what He has done what he can do and what he will do,
and what he's promised to do. He has, he's promised to bless
his church. He promised to deliver the children
of Israel from Babylonian captivity, and he did, and he did. He promised
to deliver his people right through the Old Testament, to deliver
from their sins, and he did, and he did. He brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel. He reigns, he sitteth King forever. King Jesus, oh that the Lord
would grant that these things may be made very special to us,
especially this word. May we have a sense of it in
our own souls. Oh man, greatly beloved, fear
not. Peace be unto thee. Be strong,
yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me,
I was strengthened and said, let my Lord speak, for thou hast
strengthened me. May the Lord add his blessing
to these few remarks that we have made. Let us now sing together hymn
number 19, I'll read the first two verses and we'll commence
singing at verse three. And the tune is Belgrave, 100.
Behold the glories of the Lamb. Amidst his father's throne, prepare
new honours for his name and songs before unknown. Let elders
worship at his feet, the church adore around. With vials full
of odour sweet, and harps of sweeter sound. Hymn number 19
commencing at verse 3 to the tune Belgrave 100. ? And give thanks to Christ ? ?
Who sends his light to mankind ? ? The moon shall pour into thy
sacred well ? ? Oh, what a star shall take that poor heart ? He shall propel thy great degrees,
and so long deserves it well. Thou in expanses O'er heaven and earth. Now take a look at what you see. The endless blessed land. Salvation, joy, joy remain. O Thou who hast redeemed the
souls with Thine, and set the prisoners free, has made us kings and priests
to God, and we shall reign with thee. The mountains of nature have
no fray, The wood beneath thy fly, Then shorten these delaying days,
And bring the promise now. May the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship of the
Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us forever and ever. Amen.