The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 210

Ver. 23 (last clauso).-Natural religion. I. WE HAVE NATURAL RELATIONS WITH Gon. Men ofton act as though we had no rela.tions with 8011 hut thos~ we v,,hmt,uily assume in religious worship, so that if we chose we could have nothing to clo with God. 1'his is e. gross delusion. We have rele.tions with God (1) apart from onr will· o.nd (2) apart from our consciousness, dependent upon our very nature and existenc~ in the world. 1. Owr life is dependent on God, In his hand our "breath is." He is tho First Cause-the Ori~in of life (Gen. i. 24-27). He is also the consta~t Sustainer of life, and without him we could not continue to exist for one moment,, any more thnn we could live without the air we breathe (Job xii. 10; Acts xvii. 28). 1'berefore the existence and the continuance of our life depend on his will (N,1mh. xvi. 22). These facts are not affected by our ideas about God. If they are facts, they apply as much to the atheist as to the theist, and to thP, most godless as to the most devout. 2. Our destiny ia shaped by God. " Whose are all our ways." We think to carve out our own career, and no doubt it is largely dependent on our conduct; but it is subject to numberless apparent accidents, which are really governed by the providence of God (Jas. iv. 14, 15). II. Oun NATURAL RELATIONS WITH Gon HAKE IT OUR DUTY TO GLORIFY HIM. As our primary relations with God are not dependent on our own will, so ou,· obliga- tions toward God cannot be regulated by our free choice. RJigious obligation~ are not simply determined by our "profession," nor can they be discarded by our renunci- ation of aoy connection with religious worship, Church relationship, etc. We are all subjects of God's spiritual kingdom, whether we will or no. 1'he man who refoses to submit to its laws is not to be regarded as an alien, hut as a deserter and a rebel. Therefore, though Belshazzar had never professed obedience to God, he was not exone- rated from blame when he failed to render it. 1. 1'he universal human duty of glorify- ing God is determined by the fact that we are all enjoying life and its advantages simply as the fruits of the goodness of God, 2. It may be enforced by the reflection that since we are entirely in the hands of God, no attempt to rebel against him can ultimately succeed (Isa. xl; 15). Ill. THE NEGLECT OF OU& DUTY TO GLORIFY GoD IS THE ROOT OF ALL SIN. This is the one sin to which Daniel calls attention, althongh Belshazzar was guilty of all kinds of wickedness. So long as we live in the effort to honour and serve God, our conscience will be kept pure; but when God is dethroned from the shrine of our hearts, all forms of evil take his place. Idolatry, the worship of fal,e god,, is only possible when the worship of the true God is neglected. Profanity is the direct oppvsi tc of the reverence which glorifies God. Indulgence in sinful pleasures is only po~sible when the pure pleasures of Di vine things are lost. Thus the special sins seen in Belshazzar in the incident of his -feast are all connected with the neglect of the honour and service of God. Note: 1. The very blessings which are proofs of the goodness of God are often used as temptations to allure us from our duty to glorify him. 2. Godlessness may bring present delights, but it must ensure future ruin. Vere. 25-28.-" Found wanti11g." The mysterious writing on the wall ofBelshazzar's palace is a revelntion of the judgment which must certainly follow all misuse of the talents and opportunities of life. It brings vividly before us the summons, the trial, and the sentence which awaits every one who neglects and abuses his mission in the world. I. THE BUMMONB. "Numbered" is the first word. The days of the Babylonian supremacy are numbered, and the days of the life of King Belshazzar are numbered; their end has- come, and now he and his nation are called to give account of their stewardship. 1. Every life has its limit. God gives us all sufficient time and oppor- tunity for the work which he requires of us, and, conversely, he requires no more of us than our faculties are equal to. Therefore we have no reason to murmur at the brovity of life, and no excuse for neglecting our proper duties on account of it. But there is a limit to our opportunities. W o have not the leisure of eternity before us. We cannot postpone the work of to-do.y till to-morrow, without interfering with the work of the morrow (John ix. 4). The time draws on apace when the end will come to all these opportunities of doing our work in the world. How bolish not to consider 176 THE BOOK OF DANIEL. [oa, v. 1-81,