to hear the proclamation of the strange experiences which befell him, as foretold by Daniel.

(b) PROBATION. 4:19-36.

19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.

20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;

21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:

22 It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.

23 And whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;

24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king:

25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.

27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shew

ing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthen-
ing of thy tranquillity.

28 All this came upon the King Nebuchad

nezzar.

29 At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.

30 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?

31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.

32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.

34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:

35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.

In all true ministries there are moments of great astonishment. Of Jesus we read, that "He marveled." Daniel was astonished for one hour. How much can be crowded into a short space of time. In that single hour Daniel saw the record of

seven years. In the previous chapter nothing was said concerning God's displeasure over Nebuchadnezzar's setting up the golden image on the plains of Dura. Now God speaks, and the vision which came to the king is shown unto Daniel. He sees the king moving among the beasts of the field, bereft of his reason. What a remarkable man Nebuchadnezzar was. Folks usually like to tell of their blessings. Here the king would have all men know of his chastising probation. It is no easy task to tell men of impending judgment. Daniel is a true prophet. He did not spare even royalty. The reason of the king's probation is suggested in the twenty-fifth verse. "Till thou know," is the message. The tree was to be cut down, but in mercy God would save the stump. The bands about the stump indicated that it would blossom and flower again. Do you wonder why God permits you to suffer chastisement and pain? Herein lies the answer, "Till thou know." The writer to the Hebrews declares, "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son 'whom he receiveth.'

It was not until Beethoven had become so deaf he could not hear the fortissimo of a full orchestra that he compossed his chief oratorio. It was not until John Milton had become stone blind that he could dictate the sublimest poem of the ages. It was not until Walter Scott was kicked by a horse and confined to the house for many days that he could write the "Lay of the Last Minstrel." That painter who mixes his colors with blood from his own broken heart makes the best pictures. The mightiest men of all ages have been mightiest in their agonies. (c) PRONOUNCEMENT. 4:37.

37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

Nebuchadnezzar's probation had the desired effect. Humiliated and chastened he again took up the reigns of government. His counsellors sought him, and unto him was given new glory. One won

ders why he was permitted to wander in the fields. The probability is that he escaped from restraints placed upon him by his family. This last verse of the chapter represents the close of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. It is the last we hear of him. What a joy to know that never again did he forget the Lord. True, his faith was not that of a New Testament saint. But he did have a creed, and it was a "Creed Born of Tears." It is not necessary that our creed embrace the whole horizon. One vital redeeming truth will save us. A little bit of faith, real faith, is worth more than a thousand manuscripts of dogmatism.

A certain general, prominent in the northern army during the Civil War, one evening at a church service accepted Christ. The news soon spread among his fellow officers that he had announced himself a follower of the Nazarene. The next morning at breakfast, an officer who was known for his atheism said to the general, "I can show you a thousand inconsistencies in the Bible, and I can give you innumerable reasons to prove the utter futility of individual faith." The general thought a moment and then replied "You may be able to do all this but there is one thing you cannot do and that is, change the experience which came to me last night. This one thing I know, that a Saviour came and took me as a sinner, placed my feet upon a solid rock and made me to sit in heavenly places with Him.'

When a man searches his mind to discover 'what he really believes, one may be sure that such a man believes little. Let us lay hold of that which is simple. Let us emphatically declare, "God is love," "Christ died for me," "The Bible is the living word of the living God," "In the House of my Father there is a fountain that never ceases" and "In the Cross there is pardon for the vilest sinner." To believe with all our heart such declarations is to know the joy of that grace which enables us, in the midst of sorrow and tribulation to develop a creed that will stand the shock of time.

CHAPTER FIVE

THEME “In the Presence of the King." 5:1-31. Divisional Words Privilege-Pride-Presence. (a) PRIVILEGE. 5:1-4.

Belshazzar the king made a great feast

to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before
the thousand.

2 Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine,
commanded to bring the golden and siver vessels
which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out
of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the
king and his princes, his wives and his con-
cubines, might drink therein.

3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his princes, his wives and his concubines, drank in them.

4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood,

and of stone.

Belshazzar made a great feast. Gathering a thousand of his lords, inflamed with wine and flattery, in pride he ordered the gold and silver vessels. of the temple to be brought. Out of these he and his wives and concubines and courtiers drank to the praise of their gods. What an opportunity confronted this new king as he ascended the throne. Tablets recently discovered convey the information that he possessed great opportunities of knowing the will and mind of Jehovah.

(i) There was the voice of Creation.

The glorious heavens and the wonders of earth tell the story of the handiwork of the Eternal. Not to recognize God through the manifestations of nature surely was to be the victim of gross folly.

(ii) There was the voice of Providence.

No

doubt many still lived who told Belshazzar of the strange experiences which had befallen his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar. Although the name "father" is used in reference to Nebuchadnezzar's relationship, he was in reality his grandfather. Much the same cus