Morning, everybody. If you'd
like to turn over to Daniel chapter six. Good to be with you this morning. Book of Daniels right after Ezekiel,
if you're looking for Ezekiel and Daniel, Daniel chapter six. The story that's found in this
chapter is probably a story we have all at least heard of. If
you haven't read it here in the scripture, or heard a message
preached on it, you probably at least know the gist of the
story. It's very, very common. It's Daniel when he gets thrust
into the lion's den. Everybody hears that story when
they're growing up. We have idioms that are related to being thrust
into a den because everybody knows this story. I want to read
this story. I want to take a look at it,
but before we read it, I want to give you the back story. Let
me see what we're picking up on this. The Babylonians have
come through and they've invaded Judah and they've overtaken it.
So all of Judah is in captivity to Babylon. Under that time,
it's King Nebuchadnezzar who's leading the charge. And Nebuchadnezzar
says this, he makes an edict. He says, the choicest of the
young men of Judah, bring them here. Bring them to my palace.
They're going to be a part of my court. And the idea was to
assimilate them into the Babylonian culture. We're going to teach
more language. teach them our ways, make them Babylonians,
and they'll have a good influence on their other Jews. Hey, listen,
these guys are great. This is a good captivity we're
under. Let's all just convert to their way of life. One of
these choice young men is Daniel, and Daniel serves under four
kings under this Babylonian captivity. The story we're picking up in,
this is the third king, this is Darius, or Darius, either way
you can say his name. The third king, under each of
the kings he served under, it's very interesting, each one of
these kings gives Daniel a position of leadership and authority and
influence. They see something in Daniel
that they marvel at, and they put him in charge. Every one
of these kings does that. Now, let's read this story. I'll
make some comments along the way. We'll see the gospel in
all this. Look at verse 1. It pleased Darius. to set over
the kingdom and 120 princes, which should be over the whole
kingdom. And over these three presidents of whom Daniel was
first or chief, that the princes might give accounts unto them
and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred
above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was
in him. And the king thought to set him
over the whole realm. Now, Darius is a king that leads
and manages by delegation. He set up a chain of command.
He has many leaders in his kingdom. He has counselors, and he has
judges, and he has governors, and he has captains. And all
those men report to three presidents. And one of these presidents,
the chiefest of them, is Daniel. and Daniel has been appointed
chief over the entire empire. Darius looked at him and he saw
in him an excellent spirit. And Darius said, I'm giving you
everything. I'm giving you the keys to the kingdom. Everybody's
going to report to you. Everything I have, it's all in
your hands. It's not unlike what Pharaoh
did with Joseph. Everything is in your hand. You are now the
ruler of the kingdom. You answer only to me. Everybody is under
your charge. Now all these captains and counselors
and governors and presidents, what are they? They're politicians. How do you think they feel about
being under Daniel's rule? Look at verse four. Then the
presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel
concerning the kingdom, but they could find none occasion nor
fault for as much as he was faithful. Neither was there any error or
fault found in him. Then said these men, we shall
not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it
against him concerning the law of his God. Now these men seek
to find fault with Daniel. We're going to find a fault and
we'll bring it up to Darius. And when Darius sees this fault,
he'll kick him out and we'll all have a shot at Daniel's position.
So they watch him. They look at Daniel and they
find no error. And they find no fault. And they
find a man who's faithful. They say, we can't find anything
wrong with him. So here's what we'll do. We know what Daniel's
going to do. We know exactly what he's going
to do. He is going to worship his God. He's going to pray to
his God. He's going to give obeisance to his God. We know he is going
to do this. This is a faithful man. Therefore,
what we need to do is put our laws in contradiction with him
worshiping his God. We need to outlaw it. And once
we outlaw it, we know what Daniel's going to do. He's going to worship
his God, and then we'll have him. See what happens, look at
verse six. Then his presidents and princes
assembled together to the king and said thus unto him, King
Darius, live forever. All the presidents of the kingdom,
the governors and the princes, the counselors and the captains
have consulted together, everybody but Daniel. to establish a royal
statute and to make a firm decree that whosoever shall ask a petition
of any God or man for 30 days, save of thee, O King, he shall
be cast into the den of lions. Now, O King, establish the decree
and sign the writing that it be not changed according to the
law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Wherefore, King Darius, sign
the writing. and the decree. These men go to Darius. They
say, Darius, you're a great king. You're glorious. You're wonderful.
You're second only to a god. And here's the problem. Nobody
sees that around here. Nobody sees your glory for what it really
is. So we propose something. We think this is going to be
good. We need to redirect everybody's attention. Get it off their gods,
get it off other men, and direct their attention to you. And so
we propose this, Darius, for 30 days, you sign a decree. Nobody
can pray to a god, nobody can worship a god, nobody can pray
to a man. They all have to come to you. They all have to worship
you, they all have to pray to you. Any petition out there,
it has to be brought before you, and you're going to get the final
say on everything. And through that, everybody's
going to see your great glory, Darius. And how do you feel about
that? He's like, that sounds like a
really good idea. I like that. I like it. These guys are great guys.
They're really interested in my glory. This sounds like a
great idea. I'm going to sign this decree. And the king signed
the decree for 30 days. Nobody could worship a god, pray
to their god, in any way, shape, or form. And if he did, he's
cast into a den of lions. And here's the thing. This is
the law of the Medes and the Persians, which altereth not. When the king made a decree,
when he made a law, when he signed it and put his seal down there,
he couldn't go back. There was no undoing that law.
No pardons could be given out. Either this law was abided by,
or the consequences of breaking that rule came into play, and
they had to. The law of the Medes and the
Persians, it altereth not. Look at verse 10. Now, when Daniel knew that the
writing was signed, he went into his house and his windows being
open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three
times a day and prayed, and listen to this, and gave thanks before
his God as he did a fourth time. Now, Daniel did not do this in
ignorance. It says he knew the writing was signed. He knew the
law. No gods to be prayed to. He knew the consequences. If
you do, you'll be cast into a den of lions. He knew the law, he
knew the consequences, and he did it anyways. And he didn't
do it in secret. He walked into his parlor and
he opened the windows. Now, what's that teaching us?
Is that saying we need to be praying in public, show everybody how
devout we are? No. No, you go to your closet
to make your prayers. What he's doing here is being
completely transparent. He's not trying to play both sides.
He's saying this, I've got to do what I've got to do. My God
is to be worshiped. He is to be prayed to. He is
to be sought. I've got to do what I've got to do. And you
fellas, you got to do what you got to do. You made this law. There are consequences to these
actions. I accept the consequences, but
he's not trying to play both sides. He's not trying to worship
his God, hoping maybe I do it in secret and maybe I won't have
to suffer the consequences. No, he knows the consequences. He knows what is going to happen
and he accepts the consequences for his actions. And this is
what I love about what it says here. It says he gave thanks. It doesn't say anywhere in this
story that the Lord met with Daniel and said, Daniel, I know
they're going to throw you in this lion's den, but I'm going
to deliver you and not a scratch is going to come upon you. He
did not have that reassurance. He simply had this, I got to
do what I got to do. You fellows got to do what you
got to do. I'm going down that lion's den. And whatever happens
down there, you know what it is? It is the will of my God. Nothing more and nothing less.
And he is promised, promised that everything he does for me
and everything he makes come to pass, it is all for my good. And I can't see how this could
possibly be good. I can't see how it could possibly
be good for me. That would be torn apart by a
pack of hungry lions, but I'm not God. My God is God though. And everything that happens is
going to be according to his goodwill and his pleasure, and
it's all good whether I can see it or not. He didn't know the
outcome. He gave thanks simply because
he knew the Lord's will was going to be done. For faith like that. What amazing faith. Would God
we would have faith just like that. He just trusted him. no
matter what, because he knew the Lord's will was going to
be done and it was all good. Now look at verse 11. Then these men assembled and
found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
Then they came near and spake before the king concerning the
king's decree. Hast thou not signed a decree that every man
that shall ask a petition of any god or man within 30 days
save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? Did
you say that, O king? The king answered and said, the
thing is true. According to the law of the Medes
and Persians, which altereth not. Then answered they and said
before the king, that Daniel, that one you love, that one you
think so highly of, that one you say has such an excellent
spirit, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, or
guardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed,
but maketh his petition three times a day. Then the king, when
he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself and set
his heart on Daniel to deliver him. And he labored till the
going down of the sun to deliver him. Then these men assembled
under the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that
the law of the Medes and the Persians is, that no decree nor
statute which the king established may be changed." Now, Darius
finally figures out that he's been hoodwinked. He's been duped.
He thought these men were all interested in his glory. These
men had such a great interest in the glory of Darius, and now
he finds out they didn't have any interest in Darius' glory
at all. They had an interest in their own glory. They were
just trying to get Daniel moved out of the way so they'd have
a shot at moving up the ladder, getting some glory for themselves.
He sees this. He was flattered. He was overtaken
by vanity and pride. Now he's sad about it. And he's
grieved over this. He loves Daniel. And he goes
back to his chamber, and he's trying to find a way. Is there
any way that I can keep this from happening? Is there any
way I can keep Daniel out of that lion's den? And these men
come and they say, no. You know the law of the Medes
and Persians. It is unalterable. You gave your
word. You made a decree. You made a
law. Now, King, you have to do what
you said you were going to do. So he does. Look at verse 16. Then the king commanded, And
they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. Now
the king spake and said unto Daniel, thy God, whom thou serviced
continually, he will deliver thee. Now have you noticed here
that this is a transaction between the king and Daniel. The king
commanded this. The king made the law. The king
signed the decree. The king makes good on the decree
he signs. Take him, put him in the lion's
den. I would also point out here,
it does not say that he drug him in the lion's den. In order
to shackle him, in order to put up a fight, he walked him. into
the consequences of what he had done. He walked into that lion's
den. And the king said this, and I
don't know whether the Lord revealed himself to Darius at this point,
or this is just wishful thinking. We've exhausted everything else.
Here goes this. Your God, Daniel, is going to
deliver you. He says it very confidently.
He's not so confident later on, but he says it very confidently.
And whether this is wishful thinking or faith, I'm not quite sure,
but it's a marvelous statement. Just very simple. He will deliver
you. Everybody that belongs to Christ,
you just write this down. He will deliver them. There is
no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Salvation is not conditional.
And in any way, if you belong to Christ, He will deliver you. Salvation is a historical fact. It is something that has already
taken place. In fact, it took place before
the foundation of the world was ever built. Your God will deliver
you. If you're a believer, If you
belong to Christ, he will deliver you. No doubt about it. Look
at verse 17. And a stone was brought and laid
upon the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own
signet and with the signet of his lord's, that the purpose
might not be changed concerning Daniel. The king put Daniel inside
that den, and everybody just assumed this was going to be
Daniel's tomb. This is the end of it, he's going to be eat up
by these lines, and the king said, put a stone in front of
the mouth of that. Seal it up, seal it up tight.
Do you remember anyone else's tomb that was sealed with a great
stone? The Jews went to Pilate, they
said, the sepulcher you're putting is Jesus of Nazareth in. You've
got to seal that up. If you don't, his disciples will
go, they'll take out his body, and they'll hide it, and they'll
say he's been resurrected. It's going to cause all kinds
of problems for us. Put a rock in front of it. Seal it up. Set
a wash, Pilate. Pilate said, you have your wash. Make it as sure as you can. Well, they couldn't make it sure
as all, because he walked out of that tent. See where we're
going here? See what this signifies? This
signet is interesting. I looked at this and I looked
at the word, it speaks of a covenant. My understanding is this, this
is the king's seal. The king made a decree and when
he followed through with his decree, he would take his seal,
his mark, and he would stamp it. I held up my end. I did what I said I was going
to do. So Darius rolls a rock in front
of the mouth of that den and he puts his seal over top of
that. I made a decree. I made a rule. I made a law.
I'm following through with what I said I would do. Verse 18. Then the king went to his palace
and passed the night fasting. Neither were instruments of music
brought before him and his sleep went from him. Then the King
arose very early in the morning and went in haste under the den
of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable
voice unto Daniel. And the King spake and said unto
Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God whom
thou service continually able to deliver thee from the lions? What a question. Is your God whom you serve? able to deliver you? What a question. Every man should ask himself
that question. This is the stuff of faith. Paul
said, I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is
what? Able To do what, Paul? To keep that which I've committed
unto him, which is everything, which is every aspect of my salvation
against that day. The God whom you serve, is he
able to save you all by himself with absolutely no help from
you? Because that's what you need. And if you do not have
a God like that, if you do not have a Savior like that, then
you will not have salvation. Now, verse 21. Then said Daniel
unto the king, O king, live forever! My God hath sent his angel, and
hath shut the lion's mouths, and they have not hurt me. For
as much as before him innocency was found in me, and also before
thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceedingly
glad for them, and commanded that they should take Daniel
up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of
the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he
believed in his God. Darius walked up there. Daniel,
you alive? Right here, not a scratch on me. Why? I'm innocent. No false found in me. No stain,
no error. I'm faithful. I'm innocent. Darius
said, he's innocent, so do this. Bring him up. Take him out of
that den and bring him up. An innocent man must be brought
out of the tomb. Down here, verse 24. And the
king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel.
And they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children,
their wives. And the lions had the mastery
of them, and break all their bones in pieces, or ever they
came at the bottom of the den. Look at what happened to everyone
who opposed the reign of Daniel, everyone who brought an accusation
against this Daniel. The king said, take them, put
them in the lion's pit, and they are no more. Verse 25. Then King Darius wrote unto all
people, nations, and languages that dwell on all the earth,
peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree. Another one.
That in every dominion of my kingdom, men tremble in fear
before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God. and
steadfast forever, and his kingdom, that which shall never be destroyed,
and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and
rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and earth,
who hath delivered Daniel from the power of lions. So this Daniel
prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the
Persian. Now I greatly admire this man,
Daniel. Daniel the man, I admire his
character and what he said about him. I admire his faithfulness. This man knew he was going to
be thrown into a dental alliance, and he opened his windows and he
prayed to his God, and he fully accepted the consequences of
that, and then he gave his God thanks, not knowing the outcome
of the situation. He just trusted him. For faith
like that, I admire this man very, very much. But if we look
at this story, And all we see is a character study and an outline
of what a good Christian man is supposed to look like. We
have missed it completely. Daniel's type here isn't the
type of believer. He's the type of Christ. That's who he typifies
here. This one, Darius, the king, this
is a type of God the Father. And all these politicians, these
counselors, these captains, these presidents, all these, they represent
man, and man at his best state. Now, where's the gospel in this
story? When you're preaching the gospel,
you have to start here. You have to start with God and who he
is. So I ask you this question, the
triune God, The God that is separated into three distinct persons,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. What is he like? What are his attributes? Look
down here, verse 26. We'll read it again. Darius says, I make a decree
that in every dominion of my kingdom, men tremble in fear
before the God of Daniel, For he is first this, the living
God, and secondly this, steadfast forever. And his kingdom, that
which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even
unto the end. Here's the first thing he tells
us about him. This God, this triune God, he
lives. I was doing all that this morning.
He is, and right now, he lives. He is a living being. Right now, there's an entity,
there's a being in heaven, separated into three distinct persons called
God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Not only are
they alive, but in them dwells life. He is the giver of life,
real, holy, spiritual life, a life that can stand the test of time
and the test of God. He is the giver of life. The
Father sits alive in His heavens right now. The Son, He sits at
the right hand of the Father. And this is what Hebrews 7.25
says about the Son. Wherefore he is able also to save them
to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth
to make intercession for them. He ever lives, sitting at the
right hand of his Father, making intercession for any sinner that
comes to him saying, I can't come up with the goods. I can't
stand against this unalterable law of God. I can't please God. I can't make up for what I have
done. The only way I'll be brought into his presence and I will
have the very favor of God is if you make me acceptable and
you bring me before him in you. Everybody who comes to him, comes
to God like that, he ever liveth, he liveth right now and makes
effective intercession for him every single time. He lives. Secondly, this, he is steadfast. That means he is 100% reliable. He is always good to his word. When God makes a decree, when
he makes a covenant, when he says, this is the promise, that
promise can be 100% relied on and dependent upon because of
who he is. He is one who is immutable. He
cannot change. When he says, this is it, this
is the way it is, I have promised this, he can't go back on it
because he is God. And if he did, he would cease
to be God, immutable, and having the power to ensure that that
promise is fulfilled every single time because of his great, omnipotent
power. He is steadfast. He is the only
one that can be trusted. His kingdom, it cannot be destroyed. Why? Because he has no rivals.
There's no one who can stand against him. There is no creature
that has any power that doesn't have it on loan from him. You
think of the most powerful creature we know of, Satan. It scares
me to even say his name. He's the most powerful creature
we know of. The only reason he has any power is this. The Lord gave it to him to accomplish
his purposes. And when he is done accomplishing
the purpose and the will of God, that power will be removed and
he will be back down the dunghill where he belongs. All power belongs
to the Lord. All power. Therefore, he has
no rivals. His kingdom, it will never be destroyed. No one can
stand against him. And finally this, his dominion
shall be unto the end. This is his absolute sovereign
rule as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And it said
it'll be all the way to the end. Here's the only issue. With him,
there is no end. There is no beginning. There
is no end. Everything is in the now with
God. He is the eternal God. He was
in absolute sovereign control before the foundations of the
world were ever built. He is in absolute sovereign control
right now. He will always be in absolute
sovereign control. What is God like? This is what
God is like. And I find it very interesting.
Look at the first three words of verse one. It opens with this
concept. What are those first three words,
verse one? It pleased Darius. That's how our story opens. With
the king doing his good pleasure. What is God the father like?
Well, amongst many other attributes, many, many other attributes,
if we nail this one down, everything else will fall right into place.
He is one who does as he pleases. That's what God the Father is
like. And Nebuchadnezzar, he learned that the hard way. That's
two kings ago. Nebuchadnezzar, he walked on
his balcony. He said, look at this great Babylon that I've created. I'm
this great king. I've made this great kingdom.
He was lifted up in pride. And what did the Lord do? He
made that man like unto a beast for seven years. He ate grass
like a cow. He had the dew falling on him
because he slept outside. And when the Lord brought him
out of it and returned him to his wits, what did he say? He
said this, and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his
will in the armies of heaven. and amongst the inhabitants of
the earth and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest
thou? Nebuchadnezzar learned that and
he learned it the hard way. Who is God? He is one who does
as he pleases. I want to say this as plainly
and as clearly as I possibly can. This is the teaching of
this book. God is, God is an absolute sovereign control. God
loves his son, Jesus Christ, that second person of the Blessed
Trinity. There have always been a people
in that second blessed person, sharing an eternal union with
those people. And before any of this was ever
built, God loved his son and he loved everybody in him. And
then he chose. He made a decision. He made a
decision to save those people whom he loved. He made the decision. He gave them to his son to be
surety, to redeem, to ensure that they came back without a
scratch on. That is salvation story. Why did he do that? Why
did he love a people? Why did he choose a people? This is what 1 Samuel 12, 22
says, for the Lord will not forsake his people for his great namesake,
for his reputation's sake. because it hath pleased the Lord
to make you his people. Why do you love a people? Why
do you choose a people unto salvation? Why didn't you ensure the salvation
of those people through the suretyship of his son? It's very simple,
because it pleased him. Salvation is an act of the good
pleasure and will of God, not man's will, not man's actions,
not man's works. It is an act of the good pleasure
and will of God. He does as he pleases. Why did
Christ become the surety? Why was he willing to go and
suffer and die for these people and make them, ransom them, make
them acceptable to God? This is what Isaiah 53 10 says,
yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall
see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Why did Christ go to the
cross bearing the sins of the elect? Because it pleased the
Father to bruise him. Say, is God sadistic? Is he sadistic? He enjoyed punishing his son.
Not in any way, not in any way. It pleased the father to bruise
him because of what his son was accomplishing on that cross.
He knew his son could take the wrath. He knew his son would
do exactly what he told him to do. This is what gave him the
great pleasure. Through these stripes, my people
will be healed. And through that, the chief glory
of God will be achieved. This is my son achieving the
pinnacle of his glory through the salvation of these people
who could do absolutely nothing for themselves. The only thing
they contribute is the sin that made their salvation necessary. And this is the greatness of
my son. I'm gonna pour down my wrath upon him and he takes it.
And through that death, he puts away their sins. And through
all that, his name is greatly glorified, the pinnacle of glory.
This is what this is all about. This is what this creation is
all about. You want to know what the fall is all about? Why it
was purposed? Why the cross was purposed? Why every aspect of
life and creation is purposed is all for this. This is God,
the father in his good pleasure, getting glory for his son, Jesus
Christ. That's what it's all about. Now that's the father. What is
Christ like? Look at verse three. Then this Daniel, this great
type of Christ, was preferred. See, Christ is preferred of his
father. Above the presidents and princes,
because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king thought
to set him over the whole realm. Christ is preferred of his father. He's the firstborn, his father's
only begotten son. You remember that Mount of Transfiguration?
Peter, James, and John are up on top of that mountain. And
this booming voice comes down and it says this, this is my
beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. See, he's preferred by the father
in all things. Why does he prefer him? Why does
the father prefer the son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the excellent
spirit? He has an excellent spirit in
him. What's that all about? What does
an excellent spirit look like? Look at verse four. Then the
presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel
concerning the kingdom, but they could find none occasion nor
fault. For as much as he was faithful,
neither was there any error or fault found in him. This is what
an excellent spirit looks like. God looked him over, looked over
the Christ. He couldn't find any error in
him. And he found no fault in him. See, this was a sinless
man, a sinless, spotless lamb. He did no sin. He knew no sin.
And everybody who the Lord reveals himself to, you know that. You
know that he did no sin. He's not even capable of sin.
He is righteousness. He is holiness. And he's faithful. You notice that? I looked him
over. The father looked him over and said, he's faithful. He came
to this world, he lived perfectly, lived righteously, never across
word, never across thought, never across emotion in his heart.
Everything was toward his father in love and in duty. He lived
to do the will of his father. And he did the will of his father.
He came to this earth and did what his father told him to do.
And because of that, because of this excellent spirit that
is in him, the father prefers him above everybody else. He
is preferred of the father and because he is preferred, What
did Darius do to Daniel? Darius saw that excellent spirit
that was in Daniel. He said this, you get everything.
You get the whole kingdom. Everybody's under you. You have
all authority. Everything I have, it all goes
to you because he is preferred of the father. And he has this
excellent spirit. God, the father has given him
everything, the creation, all power, all dominion, all control. He is judge, jury, executioner,
and savior, all in one package. The Father has given everything
over to the Christ. I find this very interesting
to think about. Once we leave this body and we leave this world
and we are with the Lord, the only person of the Godhead we
will ever see is the Lord Jesus Christ. In him dwelleth all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
dwell in this God-man, Jesus Christ. There's a man in heaven.
His body. You can touch it. A God-man. All of God is held up in this
man, and the only person of the Godhead you and I will ever see
is this man, Jesus Christ. The Father has given him all
things. Now, It's what the father is
like and what the son is like. What is man like? Every man is
born in this world. What are we all like? These counselors,
these captains, these presidents, these governors, what were they
like? I can tell you what they were
like. They hated Daniel, and they refused the rule of Daniel. And I find this very interesting.
They saw in him a man who was faultless, and a man who there
was no error in him, and a man who was faithful. And you think
if we'd get around together, and one of us was faultless and
without error, and he was completely faithful, we all just say, you're
in charge. Whatever you say goes. You have
the attributes. You have the character. Whatever
you say goes. We're going to bow the knee to
you. And whatever you say, we're just going to do. This man is
without error. He is faultless. He is faithful.
Let's put him in charge. That's not what these men did.
They saw a man who was faultless and faithful and without error,
and they tried to kill him. And you say, these men were a
bunch of wicked, terrible men. These men are us. That's the
type. That's the picture. But one time,
a truly faithful and truly righteous and truly errorless and faultless
man walked on this earth. There's only one Jesus Christ.
When he walked on this earth, collectively, human nature, what
did we say? He declared his kingship. He
declared who he was. I am equal with God because I
am God. No bones about that. We will
not have this man to rule over us. They put him to death. Murdered him. Now, whether I
physically drove the nails through his hands and his feet myself
is completely and utterly irrelevant. It's irrelevant because I share
the exact same fallen, evil nature with the men who did physically
do that. We all have this fallen, wicked nature in Adam. This nature
that hates God in all his faultlessness. in all his faithfulness, in all
his great attributes, in all his kingship, we will not have
this man rule over us. By nature, we are God haters. And here's the thing. A man can't
change that about himself. He can create his own God. He
can create an idol that he can live with, that he can control,
that he has the attributes he's comfortable with. And he can
worship that God. But the God of the Bible, this one whose
kingdom will never be destroyed, whose dominion is forever, who
does according to his good pleasure in all things up to and including
salvation, this one The natural man, he cannot love him, he cannot
seek him, he cannot believe upon him. It is only in his nature
to hate him and to put him to death. That's it. And I know
that not one soul, not one person, is ever going to come to Christ
because they're afraid of consequences. I recognize that, but this is
a sobering thought. Right now, you and I sit in the hands of
a God who does with men as he pleases. He has the power to
do with men as he pleases, to save or damn at his good pleasure. And he has an unalterable law.
the holy law of God, that law that demands, if a man breaks
this law, he must be punished. The soul that sinneth must surely
die. And you take away all the other
sins, the very breathing that is against God. Every breath
I take is against God because of this nature. Take all that
away, this one in whose hands we sit. Here's our crime. This
is our guilt. We murdered a son. Let that sink in for a second.
And you would think that under those circumstances, there wouldn't
be mercy for any of us. But thank God for the gospel
as found in this illustration. Now let's dig into it. Look at
verse 16. Then the king commanded, remember
the king has made a law. He's made a rule. He's made a
promise. The King is going to do this. Then the King commanded
and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. Now
the King spake and said unto Daniel, that God whom thou service
continually, he will deliver thee. And a stone was brought
and laid upon the mouth of the den and the King sealed it with
his own signet and with the signet of his Lords that the purpose
might not be changed concerning Daniel. Now if we want to dig
into this, we need to focus here on this thing of the signet.
I told you it has something to do with the covenant and the
king keeping his promise. The king rolled a stone in front
of that door. The king put his signet on it and he says, I'm
doing this. I made the decree. I made the
law. I'm putting him in this tomb.
I'm sealing it up. This is my signet. I'm doing
what I said I would do. This is the king honoring his
covenant. And if you want to understand
what this is talking about, you got to go all the way back. all the way back
before the world was ever formed, when there was nothing but God
in the covenant of grace. Remember that one? Where the
father said, I love people. I chose them. I chose a people.
I've got to put them in the only place of safety. There's only
one place of safety. I'm giving them to my son. He
went to the Christ. He said, here's the deal. They're
going to sin. They're going to have to do absolutely
nothing, contribute nothing to their salvation, nothing they
will do in and of themselves will ever please me. You will
have to do everything. You will have to keep the law
for them. You will have to go, you will have to be made their
sin. You have to suffer under my wrath. And when you do that, when you
suffer acceptably and you put away all the sins of all my people,
here's what I'll do. I'll raise you from the dead
and I'll raise all them along with you." And in that, Christ
said, I will. And the covenant was sealed.
The king put his signet over the wall. He said, this is it.
I'm going to hold up my end of the bargain. And the Christ said
this, I'm going to do my part. He put his signet up there too.
I'm going to hold up my end of the bargain. This covenant was
between the father and the son. Now here's the reason the covenant
was necessary. Look at verse two. And over these three presidents
of whom Daniel was first, that the princes might give accounts
unto them and the king should have no damage. Now this is why the surety ship
of Christ is so necessary. The king can take, can have absolutely
no damage. God loved people. He chose a
people. Why can't he just forgive them?
Why can't he just overlook their sins, sweep them under the carpet,
do away with it? He's God. He does according to
his good pleasure. Why can't he just forgive and get over
it and move on and save them? Because he would accrue damage.
He would accrue damage to his character. Here's one thing that
God who does only his good pleasure can't do. He can't violate his
own character. His own holy character. Here's what he cannot do. He
cannot show mercy at the expense of his own personal sense of
justice. He must be just. Mercy cannot be dealt out until
justice has been accomplished. His law is the unalterable law. God has a holy law. It demands,
I must be kept, and if anybody breaks me, the soul that sinneth
must surely die. And if God were to save under
any other circumstances, he would cease to be God. His justice
would be marred. The king can have no damage.
That's why the surety ship, the redeemer hood of the Christ is
so necessary. So the king won't accrue any
damage. This is what this covenant demanded. This is a familiar
scripture. Second Corinthians five 21 for
he, the father have made him the son sin for us, the elect,
that knew no sin, the spotless Lamb, He did no sin, that we
might be made the very righteousness of God in Him. This is what that
covenant demanded. Now, this filling of this covenant,
this was not easy. Look at verse 18. Then the king went to his palace
and passed the night fasting. Neither were instruments of music
brought before him and his sleep went from him. Now I mistakenly
often think of the Lord as an emotionless being. I'll tell
you why, because I associate emotions with being reactive.
So, something happens, it makes me happy. Something else happens,
it makes me sad. Something else happens, it makes
me angry. Something else happens, it makes me scared. I view emotions
as something that's reactionary, and God's never reactionary.
He never reacts to anything. All activity comes from Him. He's the first cause behind all
things. But it's a wrong view. He's a
God of emotion, a God of holy emotion. Darius was up all night,
all night, worried over Daniel. This wasn't easy. The fulfilling
of this covenant was not easy. It was not easy for the father
to pour out his wrath upon the son. It was not easy to make
him the sins of his people. Now, I don't pretend to understand
the mind and heart of God when that cross was going on. I don't
understand. But I know this. The father is,
in fact, a father. And I know this. You can't delve out punishment
on your kid like that. It's not easy. It's not easy.
But the king was faithful. The king said, this is what I'm
going to do. You agreed. I'm putting their
sins on you. I'm pouring my wrath down upon
you. I'm going to kill you. He put his signet up there. He
put his seal. I'm honoring, I'm doing what
I said I would do. But it wasn't easy. It wasn't
easy for Christ. At Goring of Gethsemane, he saw
something of what it would mean, what it would look like to be
made sin. And this is what he said, praying
to his father, he said, if it be possible, let this cup pass
from me. Nevertheless, not as I will,
but as thou wilt. He saw something of what it would
mean, a holy man being made the sins of his people. He says,
if there's any other way, didn't he know there was no other way?
Of course he knew that, he's God. But it wasn't easy. It wasn't easy
being cut off from the smile of his father. It wasn't easy
suffering the extent of an eternity in hell for thousands and thousands
and ten thousands upon thousands. That wasn't easy. But the point
I'm making is this, is they both held up their end. Both of them
honored the covenant. The father said, this is what
I'm going to do. This is what we've purposed.
I'm going to make you sin, and I'm going to punish you for the
sins that I find upon you." And the son, he held up his end. I find it beautiful. I think
this is interesting, the story. This is a transaction that happens
between Darius and Daniel, the father and his preferred. Darius
makes a decree. He puts Daniel in the den. He
rolls the stone in front of it, and he puts the seal on there.
I did what I said I would do. They didn't have to coerce Daniel
in there. They didn't have to drag him in. Daniel walked in.
Christ went to that cross, his eyes wide open. He knew in this
covenant exactly what it was going to cost him, being made
sin, suffering under the wrath of God. For the love of his people,
he did it anyway. He walked in that tomb, just
the exact same way Daniel walked in that lion's den. Now, look at the effects of the cross.
Down here, verse 22. Daniel says, my God sent his
angel and shut the lion's mouths that they have not hurt me. For
as much as before him, innocency was found in me and also before
thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Now in every type, the
type breaks down and this is where our type breaks down. Daniel
walked into that lion's den and he was delivered from the lions.
Christ walked into that den and he was delivered to the lions.
Big difference. But here's what happened. After
the father rained down all his dread, all his wrath upon the
son, and he said, it is finished, and he gave up the ghost. You
know what was found when all the smoke cleared? Innocency. What he had done was he had put
away the sins of everybody he went to that cross and died for.
Put them away so when the father looked at him, he saw nothing
but innocency. He did exactly what the Father
sent him to do, to pay for those sins, to suffer acceptably, and
put them away. And he looks at Darius and he
says, I've done you no hurt. Same as Christ looks at his Father,
he says, I've done you no hurt. You've accrued no damage. I've
satisfied your perfect sense of justice, and now you can open
the floodgates of mercy to your people, and it won't cost you
a thing. It's all free because I did it. You accrue absolutely
no damage. Now look here, look at verse
23. Then was the king exceeding glad for him and commanded that
they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken
up out of the den and no manner of hurt was found upon him because
he believed in his God. This innocency, it was accomplished
because Christ was faithful and doing what his father sent him
to do. And when the father looked down on Christ, he said, he's
innocent. All the sin has been paid. It's
all been taken away. What do you do then? Raise him
up. Raise him up from the dead. That's part of my signet. That's
part of my covenant. I said if he goes and he pays
the debt, I'll raise him from the dead and I'll raise everybody
in him, everybody he died for from the dead as well. And the
father looked and he said, he's innocent. He's done me absolutely no hurt.
Raise him up. And everybody in Christ was raised
wholly unblameable and unapprovable at the exact same time. That's
true justification. That's what it looks like. I've been going a while, so I
suppose I should quit, but I'm gonna leave you with this thought.
This is the question that Darius asked Daniel, and it's a question
you should ask yourself, and we should all ask ourselves this.
Is thy God, whom thou service continually, able to deliver
thee? Now, if you have a God and a
Savior that is different than the God and the Savior we have
just read about here this morning, I have absolutely nothing for
you. If he is not sovereign, if he is not holy, if he is not
just, if your Savior is not capable of saving you all by himself
with absolutely no help from you, we've got nothing for you.
You have an idol. You have a false god. Flee from him. I'm talking
to you right now. This God, this true and living
God that we've spoken of here this morning, your estimation
of him, is he able to save you? And I'm not asking you whether
you think you're elect. Whether you think you're saved or not,
I just have this question. Is he able to save you all by
himself with no help from you? I think he is. And if he is,
trust him. Trust him just like Daniel did.
I'll leave it there. It's been a pleasure.