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THE DECREE OF DARIUS
IT is the prerogative of God, not only to defeat all the designs of men or devils against him, but to advance his own glory by the very means which his enemies use to obstruct it. The wisdom and fidelity of Daniel had secured for him at the court of Persia the same influence as he had been honoured with by the kings of Babylon; but the princes of that empire sought his destruction, and, together with that, the subversion of all the influence of Daniel’s God. They devised a plan, in which they too fatally succeeded, to establish a law, by which Daniel must of necessity, if faithful to his God, be condemned. King Darius, when lie saw into what a snare he had been drawn, sought to deliver Daniel from the sentence which the law, so inconsiderately enacted, denounced against him: but he could not prevail; and therefore at last consented to the execution of it on his faithful and unoffending servant. Daniel was cast into the den of lions: and with him, the hope of further protection to the Jewish captives must cease. But behold, God, as Darius himself had hoped, interposed for the preservation of Daniel; and thereby shewed to the conviction of Darius, that he was the One omnipotent and only true God. Darius now ordered the very punishment which Daniel’s enemies had sought to inflict on him, to be executed on them; and immediately issued throughout the whole extent of his dominions the decree contained in our text.
We propose to consider,
I. His views of Daniel’s God—
We are quite surprised that a heathen, who had so impiously exalted himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, should have such just views, as he shews himself to have had, of the God of Israel. In describing Jehovah, he speaks of,
1. His essential perfection—
[Darius had hitherto known only the gods of gold and silver, or of wood and stone, which had no existence till they were formed into an image by the hands of man; and which, when formed, were lifeless and motionless as the materials of which they were made. But of Jehovah he had far different views: he saw him to be the eternal self-existent God, who, whilst he alone had life in himself, was the one only source of life and being to all his creatures. Him too he saw to be an unchangeable God, “steadfast for ever” in all his purposes, and immutable in all his counsels.
This is such a view of God as all of us should have: if we see not his self-sufficiency, we shall never feel persuaded of his all-sufficiency for our help [Note: Isa_26:4.]: — — — and if we be not convinced, that “with him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning [Note: Jam_1:17.]” we shall never know whence our own stability arises [Note: Mal_3:6.], or enjoy the consolation which God himself designs that we should derive from this never-failing source [Note: Heb_6:17-18.] — — —]
2. His universal dominion—
[Here, we apprehend, this heathen monarch did not limit his views to the providential government of Jehovah over all the works of his hands; but that, he spoke also of that spiritual kingdom which should be erected by the Messiah, and which was to be both universal in its extent and everlasting in its duration. The dream and vision of Nebuchadnezzar were well known throughout all the Babylonish empire. In this vision the destruction of Babylon was expressly foretold; and, after the establishment and ruin of three successive kingdoms, the Persian, the Grecian, and the Roman, a fifth kingdom was to arise, namely, that of the Messiah, which should break in pieces all other kingdoms, and stand for ever. The first part of this dream had now recently been fulfilled; and fulfilled by the very person who had been foretold by name three hundred years before he was brought into the world; and in the precise manner also that had been circumstantially foretold at the same distant period. These prophecies, beyond all doubt, were shewn to Cyrus and Darius, as soon as they became masters of Babylon: and the miracle just wrought by Jehovah in favour of Daniel, brought additional conviction to the mind of Darius, that the Messiah’s reign should be such as had been predicted.
This is a glorious view, of which we should never lose sight. It was this which Abraham delighted to contemplate [Note: Joh_8:56.], and which has filled the saints of all succeeding ages with unutterable joy. To us, no less than to those of former ages, it yet remains as an object of hope. The predicted kingdom is indeed established; but it is as yet but very limited in its extent: nevertheless we believe that the word of God respecting it shall stand, and that “all the kingdoms of the world shall in due time become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” — — —]
3. His miracles of love and mercy towards his believing people—
[Here also Darius speaks in general terms: the deliverance of Daniel from the lion’s den is considered by him as a single instance only of the innumerable interpositions which God vouchsafes to his people, and of the wonders which he works in their behalf. The whole history of the Jewish people, from their departure out of Egypt to their final dispersion by the Romans, is one continued record of stupendous miracles and gracious deliverances.
True it is, that miracles are ceased: but wonders, if we may so speak, are quite as common as in the days of old. Wherein is the deliverance of a soul from death and hell inferior to the deliverance of the Hebrew youths from the fiery furnace; or the preservation of Daniel in the lions’ den, to the preservation of believers from the assaults of that roaring lion that is ever seeking to devour them? This view then of the Deity is still to be ever kept in mind, in order that we may never give way to fear, or doubt a moment but that He who hath hitherto delivered us, will go on to deliver, and will preserve us safely to his heavenly kingdom — — —]
Such being his views of the Deity, we are no longer surprised at,
II. His decree founded upon them—
An external worship was deemed sufficient for senseless idols; but not so for the God of heaven and earth: the decree before us required much more than that. Let us distinctly notice,
1. Its import—
[The terms “fear and tremble” seem to import only a dread of God, as a terrible being whom it was dangerous to provoke: but the meaning of them is widely different from this. Throughout all the New Testament these words express rather a holy reverential regard, blended with love to Him who is the object of it. St. Paul, when at Corinth, was amongst his converts “in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling [Note: 1Co_2:3.];” not surely with a slavish dread of their wrath, but with a holy anxiety to fulfil his ministry to their greatest advantage. He exhorts servants to “obey their masters with fear and trembling [Note: Eph_6:5.],” that is, with a tender conscience, and an affectionate regard to their will. He bids us also to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling [Note: Php_2:12.],” that is, with the utmost watchfulness and care. Thus we understand the decree of Darius as enjoining to all his subjects, that they should serve God with a holy and affectionate regard to his revealed will. We conceive that the terms of the decree do in effect enjoin all that worship which is required of us under the Gospel: for David, speaking expressly of the worship to be paid to the Messiah, says, “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling [Note: Psa_2:11.];” which shews that “fear and trembling,” properly understood, does not expel, but only moderates and tempers, our joy. Indeed, “the angel that is represented as carrying the everlasting Gospel throughout all the earth,” proclaims it in terms of similar import, “Fear God, and give glory to him [Note: Rev_14:6-7.].” We see then, that the decree did go, in fact, to the abolition of idolatry, and to the establishment of the Redeemer’s kingdom throughout that vast empire: only, not being followed up by similar enactments, and a practical exhibition of its import by those who were at the head of the empire, it fell to the ground; as all precepts must do, if not followed up by constant exertions and corresponding examples. One effect however necessarily followed from it, namely, to procure more favour to the Jews throughout the empire, and ultimately to facilitate the reception of Christianity throughout the world.]
2. The reasonableness of it—
[Who can contemplate the foregoing views of the Deity, and not confess the reasonableness of the decree founded upon them?
Consider the power and authority of God; consider him as the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the universe; and can a doubt be entertained whether we ought to fear and serve Him? Consider also the love and mercy of God, particularly as manifested in the redemption of men by the blood of his only dear Son, and the blessings vouchsafed to them through his all-sufficient grace; can any one who adverts to this subject question the propriety of surrendering ourselves up, in body, soul, and spirit, to his service? — — — It matters not what rank in society we hold, or what office we may fill; the decree is equally applicable to all, and equally reasonable for all; kings and princes are no more exempt from these duties than the meanest of their subjects: as long as subordination to rulers is enjoined, much more must a duteous regard to the God of heaven be held sacred — — — and, as long as gratitude is esteemed a becoming principle in relation to men, so long must its exercise be obligatory on all towards the Redeemer of the world — — —]
Behold then in this decree,
1. The effect which God’s mercies should have upon us—
[Darius felt the deliverance of Daniel to be in fact as great a mercy to himself as it was to Daniel: and a sense of this penetrated his soul with a desire to honour that God by whom the mercy had been vouchsafed. This was right. And is it not right that mercies and deliverances should have the same effect on us? Consider what mercies we have received; some public and national, and others private and personal [Note: Here any public or private mercies may be glanced at.] — — — Should no improvement be made of these? Should we not say, “What shall I render to the Lord for all the benefits that he hath done unto me?” Surely these things, and especially the mercies vouchsafed to our souls — — — are calls from God himself to glorify him with all our faculties and all our powers [Note: The particular objects of the Society may here be stated at large.] — — —]
2. What use we should make of our influence—
[To serve God ourselves is right and necessary: but it is far from comprehending the whole of what is required of us in return for the mercies vouchsafed unto us. We all have influence, which it is our bounden duty to exert: if that influence reach only to a very small circle, we should not on that account think ourselves at liberty to leave it unimproved: nor if it extend over a vast empire, should we be backward to encounter the opposition and obloquy which the exercise of it may bring upon us. Whatever it be, whether more or less, we should regard it as a talent to be employed for God. Even a heathen, and he, we fear, not truly converted, felt this obligation: how much more then should we, who profess to embrace the Christian faith, and to enjoy all the blessings of the Gospel salvation! But we greatly mistake, if we imagine that the influence of any amongst us is small: for if we unite our efforts together, and act in concert with each other, we may do far more than Darius could with all his power. Let any one contemplate the Bible Society, in which the poor, strange as it may seem, do far more than the rich; and see what wonders are doing by means of it throughout the world — — — Let any one contemplate Mission Societies, which are in fact forwarding, as it were, the very decree of Darius, and calling on “all people, nations, and languages to fear and tremble before the God of Israel [Note: ver. 25, 26.]” — — — Let us then rise to the occasion: let us unite as one man: let us not merely issue the decree, but do the thing; providing all the means for it, and carrying into effect the objects we profess to aim at. Thus shall we indeed approve ourselves good and faithful servants to our God, and be rewarded by him according to our improvement of our respective talents — — —]