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end." He was to get no more light at that time regarding the great events of the future. He had to be satisfied with the thought that, if the wicked should still do wickedly, many should be purified and made white; and that those should be blessed who should wait and come to the predicted period of glory. And as for the prophet himself, if he should end his days long ere the ages have run their course, and the blessed era has arrived, he is assured that all will be well with him, and that, amid the bright glory of the future, he will not be overlooked or forgotten by the Master whom he loved so well and served so devotedly. He was relieved of his work, and dismissed from service, in these cheering words, " But go thou thy way till the end be : for thou shalt rest, and shalt stand in thy lot, at the end of the days."
^f Daniel reminds us of John. The one was the " man greatly beloved," the other "the disciple whom Jesus loved." The one had frequent revelations and visions, especially of the times and seasons, so had the other. The one fainted and was without strength at the sight of Messiah's glory ; the other fell at Christ's feet as one dead. Both were comforted by the hand of Jesus laid upon them. Both were exiles in a Gentile land. Both were very aged men. We are reminded of the last words of our Lord to John, " Follow me." To Daniel it is, Go thy way till the end.1
The text brings to the prophet a comforting message of — I. Belease. II. Best. III. Recompense.
I.
Belease.
" Go thou thy way."
These words are frequently supposed to refer to Daniel's dismissal from life. " Depart," they are supposed to mean, " thy work is over, thy time is done ; take thy journey across the dim borderland that separates between seen and unseen, temporal and eternal ; go thy way, and may the valley be bright, the passage
1 Horatius Boiiar.
276 A PROMISED INHERITANCE
be easy, the entrance be full." One might draw various good lessons from this reading. But it labours under a fatal objection. It implies that the end is immediate, just overshadowing, just impending ; whereas the end is future. " Go thou thy way," say3 the speaker, " till the end be." The way, then, that Daniel must go is the way of life, not the way of death, life with its business, life with its duties, life with its work. Death and the things that follow death — these come afterwards.
1. The words, then, while they imply release from the prophetic office, are a direct encouragement to persevere with the common duties of life. Daniel's had been a wonderful career. From being cup-bearer to the Babylonian king, he had mounted to be liberator of God's people and recipient of God's revelations. But in both aspects now his work was complete. There were no more people to be liberated. There were no more revelations to be received. There were just two things which Daniel in all probability desired. One was to return with the people to Jerusalem, to see their good, and rejoice with them in their great joy. It could not well have been otherwise. Daniel at the return to Canaan, like Moses at the entrance, must have longed and prayed to go over and see the good land beyond Jordan. " No," is the answer of God, " I have another place for thee, I have another task for thee. As cup-bearer in Babylon thou didst begin, and notwithstanding all that has happened in the interval, as cup-bearer, or at any rate as State official, thou shalt end. Back then to the king's service ! Back to the king's business ! Arrange in his household. Advise in his court. Beturn to thy post then, and where life occupies thee, there let death find thee, waiting, working, ready. Go thy way till the end be."
Like St. Paul, Daniel had been in the third heaven in the pre- sence of God. He had been carried forward into the marvellous events of the latter day. He needed a calming word. And here it is, " Go thy way till the end be." Do thy ordinary work ; walk in the simple way of common life. In the midst of this age's con- vulsions, and storms, and heat ; in the prospect of what is coming on the earth in the last days, we need calming words too. Let us listen to the calm, holy voice that ever speaks to us from heaven, " Be still and know that I am God ; " " Let not your hearts be
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troubled;" "Keep your selves in the love of God;" "What is that to thee ? Follow me."
T| " This do in remembrance of me " has turned many meals into the Lord's meals. How indeed shall we find Christ, how live by Him, if we search only the heights of heaven and know Him not as He meets us every day ? It is beautiful to note how, after the resurrection, He revealed Himself in unsuspected, be- cause too common, ways. Mary turns from the sepulchre, where she sought the Lord, to meet Him whom she thought to be only the gardener; the disciples knew Him, not as He told them of deep mysteries, but as He broke the bread for the wayfarers' evening meal. Our everyday activities, our common meals must be brought into conscious relation with Christ, we must see the absolute necessity of being in touch with the Divine source of life, if we are to understand either ourselves or Him.1