Let us turn once more to God's
Word in the chapter that we read in Daniel in Daniel chapter 10 and our text is found at the
beginning of verse 5 Daniel 10 the beginning of verse 5, Then
I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold, a certain man. And it shows words, and behold,
a certain man, or as the margin says, and behold, one man. Who is this man? It is that one of whom we were
just singing in that lovely hymn of Isaac Watts this is the man
the exalted man whom we unseen adore when our eyes behold his
face our hearts shall love him more and I was in particular
drawn to these words whilst we were away this last week reading
some of the letters of Mr Philpott and On a couple of occasions
he remarks, I know the mystery of the human nature of the Lord
Jesus Christ is too much overlooked. The truth of the humanity of
Christ, we make much of the deity, we confess that he is God. That
great mystery of godliness, God's manifest in the flesh. And of course Philpott himself
was one who wrote extensively on the truth of the eternal sonship
of the Lord Jesus, that he is God of God, very God of very
God, begotten not made of one substance with the Father. the truth of the Trinity, that
there are three persons in the Godhead, God the Father, God
the Son and God the Holy Spirit, and there is a relationship,
the Father begetting the Son, the Son begotten of the Father,
the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son. The truth
then of that relationship between those persons, the eternal Sonship,
of the Lord Jesus Christ and as I said Philpott is well known
as one that wrote in defense of that great truth but he also
saw the importance of us understanding the reality of the human nature
of the Lord Jesus and again how John takes these matters up when
he writes in those epistles He says, many deceivers are entered
into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Those who deny that Christ is
come in the flesh, those who deny the truth of the real human
nature, that he has a true body, and that he has a reasonable
soul, he is a man. Again, the language of John there
in 1st John, 1st General Epistle of John chapter 4, it says, "...Hereby
know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God, and every
spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh
is not of God. And this is that spirit of Antichrist,
whereof ye have heard that he should come, and even know already
Is it in the world? Even when John was writing there
were those who denied that truth. And there are those today who
deny the reality of the person of Jesus Christ. The two natures
that he is God, truly God. And yet he is also man. A real man. We will sing presently
that hymn of hearts. A man there is, a real man. with
wounds still gaping wide from which streams of blood once ran
in hands and feet and sight, it is no wild fancy of our brains,
no metaphor we speak, that same dear man in heaven there reigns,
who suffered for our sake, or the man Christ Jesus. And this
is the one that Daniel was so favoured to behold. Then I lifted up mine eyes, he
says, and looked, and behold, a certain man, one man. Now what we have here, of course,
is the answer to his prayer, that remarkable prayer that we
find in the previous chapter. He doesn't see God's face in
vain, his prayer is heard, his prayer is answered. Why is he
not assured of that fact? Here in verse 12. 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."
His words, his prayer was heard even from the first day that
he set his heart to seek again. What we have at the beginning
of chapter 9 and verse 23, at the beginning of thy supplications
says Gabriel, at the beginning of thy supplications a commandment
came forth and I am come to show them Oh, hasn't God said, before
they call I will answer, whilst I am yet speaking I will hear?
We're not heard because of how much speaking God knows the things
that we stand in need of before ever we utter a word of prayer.
And so with Daniel, even before he began praying, the assurance
is given that his words were not prayed in vain. In fact, we see how God Is that
one who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that Daniel
could ask of him? How true it is, we've observed
on a previous occasion how here in chapter 9 he is praying for
the restoration of the Jews. He's an old man, one of those
that have been taken into exile and Daniel had been reading now
in the book of the prophet Jeremiah and 70 years were to be accomplished
in the desolations of Jerusalem. He must have been about 90 years
of age at least at this time. An old, old man and he reads
the book of the Prophet Jeremiah and he understands the 70 years
are now accomplished and he sets his face to seek by prayer and
supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes how determined
he is as he pleads the word of God. He's praying for the restoration
of the Jews. But remember when the answer
comes, here at the end of chapter 9, 70 weeks it says, are determined
upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression,
to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity,
and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and
prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. Oh God, you see, does exceeding
abundantly above all that he asks or thinks. He has been praying
for the 70 years, over the 70 years, for the restoration of
the Jews. But what does Gabriel say? 70 weeks. Not 70 years. Literally, 77. The Hebrew word
here, rendered weeks, is the word for seven. 77. And what is the idea here? Well,
we know that seven is the number that suggests to us perfection,
how God created all things in six days, and the seventh day
God rested from His work, and God pronounced that work to be
very good. And then seven subsequently suggests
to us the idea of that, that He is complete, perfect. How
often the number 7 occurs in the book of the Revelation, we
read there in chapter 1 of the 7 spirits. Not that there are
7 Holy Spirits, but 7 spirits as the idea of the perfect ministry
of God, the Holy Spirit. The number 7, but here we have
77. Oh, what perfection is this? This is God's perfect time. Seventy sevens are determined
upon thy people and upon thy holy city. And then the great
promise, not of deliverance from Babylon, but the work of Christ,
that greatest of all deliverance, the salvation of sinners, to
finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness. what an answer Daniel is receiving
then to his prayers and friends God will hear our prayers and
God will answer our prayers, your prayers that thing that
so troubles you God will answer that prayer He will answer it
in his own way and it's better than ever you could begin to
dream above all that we could ask or think that's what we're
told here in scripture No, we should be those then who would
wait upon the Lord our God. But here we see that the answer
is not only that he hears of a great deliverance, that he
hears of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. No, when we come
to the words of our text, it's not just speaking of Christ.
He sees. He sees the man. Then I lifted
up mine eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man." Well,
the answer to his prayer is this, he is granted the revelation
of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And who is this One that is revealed
to him? Well, we have the description, clothed in linen, loins girded
with fine gold of Ufaz, his body also was like the barrel, his
face as the appearance of lightning, his eyes as lamps of fire, his
arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice
of his words like the voice of a multitude." We know it is so
evidently the same person that John also saw those many, many
years later after the appearance of Jesus Christ, where John himself,
also an old man, the last of the apostles living, exiled on
the Isle of Patmos, and it's the Lord's Day and he's in the
Spirit, and he hears the voice And he says, I turned to see
the voice that spoke with me and being turned I saw seven
golden candlesticks. Again, the number seven you see,
it's the seven churches of HaShemayimah that are spoken of in verse 11,
but the seven churches representative of the one true church, the perfect
church. And there in the midst of the
church in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the
son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, girt about
the paps with a golden girdle. It's the same person. His head,
his hairs were white like wall as white as snow, his eyes were
as a flame of fire, his feet like unto fine brass as if they'd
burned in the furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. Oh, it is the man it is the Lord
Jesus Christ himself, the man Christ Jesus, now in his glorified
state, or that one who had so humbled himself whilst here upon
the earth. This is who Daniel is favoured
to behold. He sees this glorious person,
this one man. Remember when The Lord Jesus
comes to the end of His earthly ministry, He sets His face, He
goes up to Jerusalem, knowing full well that there all that
is written in the Prophets must be accomplished in Him, He must
die. Messiah must die, and we have it here in verse 26 of the
previous chapter. Messiah shall be cut off but
not for Himself, it says. No, there's no cause of death
in him, he is holy and harmless and undefiled and separate from
sinners. This is that one who is truly
the sinless man. Now, the Holy Ghost had come
upon the Virgin Mary, the power of the highest had overshadowed
her, that holy thing that was born of her, which was to be
called the Son of God, it was that sinless human nature, that
was joined to the person of the eternal Son of God. God manifest
in the flesh, no sin at all in Him, no original sin, no actual
sins. He is holy, harmless, undefiled
and separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens
and yet He dies. How can one who has no sin no
seed of death in himself die when he dies as a substitute
Messiah is cut off but not for himself he dies the just for
the unjust to bring sinners unto God well this is the man that Daniel sees it is the man Christ Jesus it's
the last Adam the very name Adam. What does it mean? Well, I'm
sure you're aware it simply means man. It reminds us of the earth
out of which the first man was made. God took the dust of the
earth and fashioned the body and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life. Man became a living soul and then God takes
the rib from Adam and forms the woman and then brings the woman
to the man. And so the two become one flesh
and we have procreation. This is God's order, so clear
in Holy Scripture. But there we see that first man. And that first man, as we've
said in times past, is atypical man. He's a type of the man that
was to come. In 1 Corinthians 15, how Paul
speaks of the first Adam and the last Adam. The first man
is of the earth, the earth he says. The second man is the Lord
from heaven. Remember how in the sight of
God there are these two men. There are two men that God beholds.
And all the rest of mankind are in one man or the other man.
Now by nature we're all in the first man, we're all descended
from Adam he stands there at the very head of the human race,
he's a representative head and there in the Garden of Eden when
Adam and Eve sin why we sin in Adam and we receive a sinful
nature from Adam and how sin comes down coursing
through the generations who can bring a clean thing out of an
unclean. No one can do that. Our sinful parents give birth
to sinful children. The parents might be in a state
of grace, thank God, if you are the child of gracious persons. But you cannot receive grace
from your parents. Grace does not run in the blood.
The grace of God is sovereign and free. By nature we receive from our
parents a fallen nature. We are born dead in trespasses
and in sins. We are in the first Adam by nature.
All but oh to be those by Christ found tonight in the last Adam. To be found in this man that
Daniel beholds. And how are we found in this
man? We can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. All the importance of that, by
faith. To be those who are looking unto
Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith. And this is what we see in Daniel. He is looking. I lifted up mine
eyes and looked and behold, a certain man, this one man, are we those
friends who are looking, looking onto Jesus? Oh, the gracious
word of God in the Gospel comes, look unto me, all the ends of
the earth, for I am God, and there is none else. To be those
then who are looking to the Lord Jesus Christ and found in Him.
Now, we see in the Old Testament, this is a remarkable thing, This
man appears to men in the Old Testament before the Incarnation. With the man, Christ Jesus, as
with every other man or woman, there was a time to be born.
As we read in Ecclesiastes, a time to be born, a time to die. And
when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His
Son, made of a woman. made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. The fullness of the time did
come. But even before that we have these remarkable sites spoken
of in the Old Testament, as you know. We read of some who entertain
angels on a west. We read of Abraham there in Genesis
18 in the plains of Mamre three men come and he entertains them
and then he goes to see them on their way and two of them
go on to Sodom and Gomorrah and we see how at the beginning of
chapter 19 it's two angels who come to the gate of Sodom and
then it's it's that third man that continues with Abraham.
And who is that third man? Why that third man is the Lord
Jesus Christ. It's an appearance of Messiah
before His incarnation. It's what they call a Theophany.
And the Lord refers to these things in John chapter 8. He
says to the Jews, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day
and he saw it and was glad. He's referring to things such
as we read in Genesis 18 or Genesis 22 when Abram's told to take
his son Isaac and to sacrifice him on the Mount Moriah but he
doesn't sacrifice his son. The angel of the Lord calls out
from heaven and he's directed to that ram and the ram is to
be sacrificed in the room and in the stead of Isaac, substitutionary
atonement. But in these, eventually, Abraham
is seeing the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, he beholds Christ.
And it was the same with Isaiah, In Isaiah chapter 6 we are told
of how he receives his call, his commission. He is to be the
Lord's prophet, the Lord's mouthpiece. He sees the throne of God. He
sees the angels, the seraphim, the burning ones, those pure
creatures waiting upon God around his throne. And at the side,
what does he say? Woe is me, I am undone. I am
a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips. And mine eyes have seen the King. the Lord of hosts. And one of the angels takes a
call, a living call from the brazen altar there at the temple
and puts it to his lips. And what is it? Oh, it's the
application of all that he's represented, all that's typified
in the sacrifices. It's the application really of
the work of the Lord Jesus purging his lips, cleansing him from
his sin. He will be the Lord's mouthpiece. That's what we read there in
Isaiah chapter 6 and we know from what we read in the New
Testament that all of that is referring to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Look at the language that we
have in John's Gospel in John chapter 12 verse 37 Though He had done so many miracles
before them, yet they believed not on Him,
it says. That the saying of Isaiah, as the prophet, might be fulfilled,
which he spake, Lord, you have believed our report. And to whom
had the arm of the Lord been revealed, referring to the beginning
of Isaiah 53. And then, verse 39, Therefore
they could not believe, because as Isaiah said again, And the
reference then is to Isaiah 6, He hath blinded their eyes, and
hardened their hearts, that they should not see with their eyes,
nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should
heal them. These things said Isaiah when
he saw His glory and spoke of Him. There it is you see, Isaiah
saw the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he spoke of the Lord
Jesus Christ. His experience was just like
Daniel's experience. When he saw that throne high
and lifted up, and the one seated upon that throne, he sees something
of the glories of Christ. As Daniel says, I lifted up mine
eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man. Oh, it is this
glorious man. It is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
and the effect. the effect that it has upon him. It's so similar to what we read
concerning the experience of John in Revelation chapter
1. John says, When I saw him, I
felt at his feet as dead. And here, what does Daniel say? Verse 9, When I heard the voice
of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face
toward the ground. He's prostrate, he's dead. He's
in a deep sleep. He's overwhelmed. All this remarkable
sight that he sees, this glorious person, the man, Christ Jesus. And he goes on, as you know,
to speak of the effect in verse 8 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 all
is comeliness all that was good all that was pleasant all that
was best about this man what is it? Oh, we're all as an unclean
thing. All our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. Sure, we know our unrighteousnesses
are filthy rags, but what are our righteousnesses? We imagine,
maybe, that we do have some commendable points, some comeliness. All our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. That's what the Scripture says.
We all fade like a leaf. Our iniquities like the wind
carry us away as sins carry us away as sin condemns and here
is this man you see and he is so overwhelmed by all that he
is experiencing he says at verse 16 Oh my Lord by the vision my
sorrows are turned upon me and I have retained no strength it
is a sight to behold is it not? to have such an effect upon a
man. And when the Lord deals with us, if the Lord deals with
us in terms of His word, He'll deal with us in terms of His
law, He'll deal with us in terms of the gospel. This is the way
of salvation. There is such a thing as a law
where some experience a deeper work than others. But the scripture
is quite clear. We know that what thing soever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before
God. There's the law, you see. It stops men's mouths. They have
nothing to plead. They are guilty. They cannot
excuse themselves in any way. Every mouth stopped. And all
the world becomes guilty before God. What does Job say? Behold,
I am vile. And what shall I answer thee?
I will lay my hand upon my mouth. He cannot say a thing. He's nothing
but vileness. His heart's the very sink of
iniquity. And that's true of us all, friends.
That's what the Lord does. And this is what happens here
with Daniel. He's made to feel his sin. In verse 15 he says, When he
had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground,
and I became dumb. His hand is upon his mouth. His
mouth is stopped. The law condemns him. That's
what the law does. By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the
knowledge of sin." Now men vainly imagine that they can some way
or other make some preparation in themselves, of themselves,
that they might receive the Lord Jesus Christ. We have to come
just as we are. We have to come just as we are.
No place for preparation. We cannot do anything. We're
so impotent. We're so shut up and shut in
to what we are. That's the ministry of the Lord.
It's a ministry of condemnation. It's a ministry of death. Whosoever
committeth sin transgresseth also the law. Sin is the transgression
of the law. all that law of God the law is
holy the commandment is holy and just and good nothing wrong
with the law it's God's law it's a perfect law but if a man should
keep the whole law James says if you offend him one point he's
guilty of all how it finds us out it condemns us but here it's
not so much The law, is it? It's a vision of the Lord Jesus
Christ that we're considering. Then I lifted up mine eyes and
looked, and behold, a certain man, this one man, it's Christ.
It's more gospel than law that we have in the experience of
this man. All we see is the Lord Jesus
Christ. But remember this, it's Christ
who has come to stand in that low place of his people. He was
made of a woman. That was the promise of God right
at the beginning in the very chapter that records the fall
of Adam and Eve, the entrance of sin, Genesis chapter 3. Remember
the word spoken to the serpent, the instrument of Satan concerning
the seed of the woman. Oh, that seed of the woman. Thou
shalt bruise his heel, he shall bruise thy head. And when Christ
comes, he comes as that seed of the woman. He has no human
father. He has a human mother. Let us
recognize that. We're not those who practice
any Mariolatry, but we recognize that Mary is the most blessed
of all women. she is a favored sinner because
she is the one who will bear the Messiah he has a mother,
a human mother but he has no human father, he is the seed
of the woman and you know some of you of course about that joy
of seeing a newborn baby how hard to imagine that little baby
that's born coming out of the mother's womb perfect in all
his little parts. And that's the birth of the Lord
Jesus also, as a real baby. And yet that little babe, that
real human child, never sees to be Almighty God, even as a
babe. That's the mystery. It's a wondrous
thing, is it not, to consider the person of the Lord Jesus,
when we think of Him as God and man, those two natures. in that
one person. But He comes, you see, made of
a woman but He's also made under the law that law that we just
spoke of that so condemns the sinner He comes to stand in that
law place and He will honour the law and magnify the law and
how He has done it, He's obedient and we read of Him obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross oh that accursed death
of the cross He's obedient in living. Why? He fulfills all righteousness. He weaves a robe of righteousness,
that robe that will clothe His people in their justification.
That righteousness that is reckoned, imputed to them is His righteousness. He gives them His righteousness.
He takes to Himself all their sins. and he nails those sins
to the cross, he's obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross. Oh, it's the gospel. It's the
Lord Jesus coming in the very Lord's place of His people answering
for them in terms of all that the law requires both in penalties
because the law demands, payments, the soul that sinneth it shall
die, he must bear the punishment but the Lord also honours that
Lord in terms of its precepts, he obeys all the commandments
this is what the Lord Jesus Christ has done and this is the vision
that John sees, this glorious man beholds a certain man, beholds
one man and all friends to behold him as that holy righteous and
just one who is the great sin bearer that's where we have to
see sin and the real horror of sin that's where repentance comes
you know godly sorrow grieving over the dying of the Lord Jesus
godly sorrow workers repentance to salvation not to be repented
of the sorrow of the world world's death or that godly sorrow when
the Holy Spirit comes remember in Zechariah we have
that verse that promises the coming of the Spirit in Zechariah
chapter 12 I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants
of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication That's the
Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Grace, and the supplications. And what
happens? They shall look upon Mer, whom
they have pleased, and mourn for him as one mourneth for an
only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness
for his firstborn. Oh, it's there we see the awful nature of our sin in the sufferings
of the Lord Jesus, law and terrors do but harden, all the while
they work alone, but a sense of blood-bored pardon soon dissolves
the heart of stone, our stony hearts, our hard hearts, or do
we never feel anything when we consider the sufferings of Christ?
Do we not then see what a horrible thing our sins are? those sins
that nail him to the truth. This is what Daniel sees, he
sees this glorious man. Or even the man Christ Jesus,
the only Saviour of sinners. When Pontius Pilate, his human
judge, presents him to the Jews, what does he say? Behold the
man! Oh, behold the man! The man Christ Jesus now here
we see that this was a remarkable experience it was Daniel's personal
experience verse 7 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." Oh, he was alone when he had dealings with this
man. It was the same with Jacob, was it not? Jacob at Peniel. It's the angel of the Lord. But what do we read? Jacob was
left alone, it says, and there wrestled a man with him till
the breaking of the day. Do you know what it is to wrestle
with that man? There Jacob became Israel. If
we're the Israel of God, if we're the real true Israel, the spiritual
Israel, we'll know that man. And we must know what it is to
wrestle with that man, as that man wrestles with us. It's prayers,
is it not? Concerning Jacob who becomes
Israel. He's left alone. It's such a
personal experience. And there wrestles a man with
him to the breaking of the day. And what does Jacob say? I will
not let thee go except thou bless me. Oh how we stand in need friends
of this man to come and to bless us. This is the man then that
we read of here in this text tonight. It is the Lord Jesus
Christ himself that comes in answer to the prayer
of Daniel and he will come in answer to your prayers he'll
come in answer to my prayers and yet alas maybe you're different
to me but how slow I am to pride oh how slow to pride how slow
to plead with him to call upon him surely we must be those who
would call upon him how graciously we see him dealing here with
Daniel He says in verse 9, I heard, 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,
a hand 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. How the Lord set him on his feet.
It was the same with John. It was the same with John. Or when he has that experience
as he relates it there in that opening chapter that we read
when I saw him he says I fell at his feet as dead and he laid
his right hand upon me and said fear not I am the first and I
am the last, I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am
alive forevermore, Amen and have the keys of hell and of death.
Oh he puts his right hand there upon John just as he comes here
to Daniel and sets Daniel upon his feet and he'll come. He delights
to come to sinners, he's the friend of sinners, he's the saviour
of sinners. He says at verse 18, 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 word is this, friends!
O man greatly beloved, for the Lord to address us in such a
fashion, to know that we are those who are the 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 or
the Lord grant that we might know that strengthening the strengthening
of his grace that remarkable sovereign grace of God when he
comes into the soul of the poor sinner who fills his total depravity,
who knows what it is for all his comeliness to be turned in
him into corruption, who fills his impotence, he has no ability,
he can do nothing, he is at the end of himself. But the Lord
comes and touches him and puts strength in him. Oh God grant
then that we might be those who do truly know this man that Daniel
speaks of. I lifted up mine eyes, and looked,
and behold, a certain man, one man. O the Lord grant that we
might be favoured with that blessed sight of faith, for his name's
sake. Amen.