II. His anxious inquiries —
[" He cried aloud to bring in all the magicians," that he might inquire of them the import of what was written : and when they were unable to give a satisfactory reply, he was induced to send for Daniel, who on former occasions had expounded the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar, but had since been neglected by the weak ungrateful prince who now sat upon the Chaldean throne : now was he glad to learn, even from him, a just interpretation of the words before him.
Here again then we see what sinners will be driven to, when Conscience summons them to its bar, and constrains them to call their former ways to remembrance. Then they will be glad to be instructed in the written word of God : yea, they will request instruction even from a neglected and despised Daniel, in whose judgment and fidelity they can trust, when they have seen, that those on whom they before relied were " physicians of no value." But let not these inquiries be delayed. There is a hand-writing against us all ; a writing so plain and intelligible, that " he who runs may read it." It
a Acts ii. 37. and xvi. 26 — 30. b Isai. xxxiii. 14.
requires no Daniel, no person of extraordinary wisdom, to expound it. We may see in the sacred volume, which lies open before our eyes, " the wrath of God revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." You need not go to men to interpret this to you: go to God; and he will expound it to you, and by his Spirit will " give you an under- standing to understand it." But it is not a sentence of con- demnation only that is written there : no ; blessed be God ! there are many glorious sentences which proclaim pardon and
peace through the atoning blood of Christ Read
these; meditate on these: and your fears shall speedily be dispelled, and your sorrows be turned into joy. Mark the answers given to those whose terrors we have before spoken of, and the effect of those answers on their souls ; and then you will see what you may assuredly expect as the result of your inquiries, if only they be made in sincerity and truth0.]
The instruction given him was however unavailing :
it had no effect on,
III- His confirmed obduracy —
[He listened not only to the instructions, but also to the reproofs of Daniel, who set before him the guilt he had con- tracted, by his misimprovement of those judgments which had been inflicted on Nebuchadnezzar for his pride; as also by his utter neglect of Jehovah, " in whose hand his life was;" and particularly in so heinously insulting God, as to take the sacred vessels of the sanctuary and profane them in his drunken revels, and make them an occasion of exalting his gods of wood and stone above him. Having set before him these grounds of God's displeasure, Daniel proceeded to ex- plain the writing, and to tell him from God, that his life and kingdom were just ready to be delivered over to his enemies. All this he heard without offence ; and he even gave orders, that the promised rewards should instantly be conferred on this faithful servant. But we hear not one word of humilia- tion on account of all his wickedness : he does not, like Ahab, humble himself in sackcloth and ashes d; he does not, like the Ninevites, proclaim a fast; he does not even, like Pharaoh, say, I have sinned; nor does he even, like Simon Magus, desire Daniel's intercession, that these judgments might not fall upon hime. He seems altogether insensible, given over to a reprobate mind and an obdurate heart.
And do we not often see a similar result from all the most faithful expositions of God's word? A momentary fear per- haps maybe excited, even to terror; but no solid improvement