In this sermon, the preacher focuses on the story of Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who were taken into captivity in Babylon. Despite being young, they were chosen for their knowledge and wisdom by God. The preacher emphasizes the importance of relying on God and the gift of teaching to understand the deep and difficult aspects of the Bible. The sermon also discusses the division of the book of Daniel into three sections, with some commentators considering it as historical and prophetical, while others divide it into two sections.

550, hold thou my hand, so weak I am and helpless. I dare not take one step without thy aid. Hold thou my hand, for then, O loving Saviour, no dread of hell shall make my soul afraid. 550, please. Turning to the book of Daniel again. Book of Daniel. And we're at the first chapter of this evening. Book of Daniel. First chapter. And I think that all of us will readily agree that there are things hard to be understood. That's the phrase that Peter used about Paul's writing. And there is no doubt that there are things hard to be understood in this great book of Daniel. There are deep things of God here. And we've agreed with Paul that the natural man receives not the things of God. It doesn't make a matter how clever he is and your academic standard doesn't hurt you either. I like to make this perfectly clear that Paul was one of the great learned men that he was brought up at the feet of the great teacher Gamaliel and that counted for something. When he's giving his testimony he declares that he's a Hebrew of the Hebrews. That's his qualifications put out. But when Peter's writing about Paul he thanks God for the wisdom that God gave to our beloved brother Paul. Mind you, it doesn't make a matter about anything. You need the wisdom that comes from above to explore this book. Let's make no mistakes about that. And while there are hard things and deep things and we understand that the natural man they are foolishness too. Yet the spirit of God has come from above. He has given the gift of teacher to some people and is able through this to lead us into all truth. That's why I've called these studies Daniel Disciples because there are difficulties here that need to be made perfectly plain and clear by the spirit of God. You'll notice that we're taking in the Holy First Chapter this evening and I'll tell you why we're doing this. You know, when we come to this great book of Daniel it divides itself into three sections. If you're reading a commentary on Daniel just now you'll find that most of the commentators say that it divides into two sections. They say that this book is historical unprophetical. I think it goes a little bit further than that. I know that there's a great section in this book that is historical. It's a part of the history of Israel how God judged them and took them down to Babylon and let them be incapacitated there for 70 years. I know it gives a part of the history of the Babylonian Empire. I know it brings in the history of the great Medo-Persian Empire. And I know there's a tremendous part of the book that's historical. Of course there's a tremendous part of the book that is prophetical. And I think it's acclaimed by all prophetical scholars that the book of Daniel is one of the most valuable prophecies given to us by God. And I believe that as the years unfold and history goes by that the prophecies in this book of Daniel become clearer. I'm perfectly sure, of course, that when we come next week to look at this great image that the king dreamed about and Daniel explained to him when we begin to look up the ten toes of Daniel's image I'm sure that we will see that these ten toes are the last bit of this image to be formed. We know about its head and shoulders and legs and thighs and feet. But then you come to the ten toes. Is this, can this be God revealing so long ago the European economic community? Is this the common market? Is this the United States of Europe that Churchill read about? If that is so, then these ten toes will be smashed by Christ coming from heaven to earth. He'll smash the ten toes. But let's get this clear. That's seven years before that. Christ must come to the air for his people and we'll discover that in Daniel. If we can see the ten toes now and Christ must smash them how very near must we be to the Lord coming to the air for his people. You know, I was saying the other Sunday morning that the old Jews will build a temple yet on the site where Solomon's temple was. It's not so many months ago since they obtained the ground. And I was telling this piece of paper just tonight by a gentleman sitting down there coming in. This is what it says on it. It says the New York Times recently tied a full page ad for the purpose of collecting funds for the rebuilding of Solomon's temple. New York Times. Full ad. Collecting funds for the rebuilding of Solomon's temple. The ad was sponsored by Orthodox Jews. It is also reported that the Hebrew University in Jerusalem is offering courses on the preparation of sacrifices. These events point up that the great tribulation is not far away. And remember that the sequence of events is rapture before tribulation. This is exactly what I was teaching them here the other day. It's just a piece of paper in my hand just tonight. It wasn't anything preconceived about that. So that this book is going to be very important to us. And while we might rush the historical side a little bit we shall take great pains and great time with the prophetical side. But I would like to point out that while there is a historical section in this great book of Daniel and there is a great prophetical section we must take time to note that there is a spiritual section. Daniel was in Babylon. But Daniel lived a hundred percent for God in Babylon. He was a spiritual man in a dark world that was hastening the judgment. So that we keep these sides before us keep the historical and the prophetical and the spiritual we are going to look at the book the boy and I use that word very carefully because when Daniel was taken captive and taken down to Babylon the Bible scholars have agreed that he must have been about 14 years of age or maybe 16 14, 15 or 16 somewhere there. And that's very sure because the nation of Israel was held captive in Babylon for 70 years. And when the 70 years had run their course Daniel was still there. And Daniel was explaining to them that Jeremiah had given this prophecy almost 70 years ago. If he went when he was 16 then as we get to the end of the book he is an old man he is at least 86 years of age. And so as we begin the book he is just a boy maybe 14, maybe 15, maybe 16. So we are going to have a look at the book this evening and then we are going to have a look at the boy. And on the spiritual side of things we shall look at the discipline that developed him. Because it is good that the young bear the yoke in their youth, you know. And the discipline certainly developed the boy into a man of God. We shall not only look at the discipline that developed him we shall look at the temptations that tested him. Because he was well tested. And we shall look at the miseries that made him. There is a spiritual thing here and we would need to discover it. And we are not only looking at the book this evening and the boy but we are looking at the beginning of the Babylonian bondage. You know this is the time and the place where God brought Israel. And the times of the Gentiles began. You know way back in Genesis 12 he called Abraham out and said if you leave your Ur of the Chaldees and follow me and trust me I will make of thee a great nation. And he certainly did make a great nation from the loins of Abraham. And for years and years and years he trained and taught and tested Israel. But they got so far away from God that they had to come and lift them in judgment and take them down to Babylon and make them captives for 70 years. He was gobbling Israel here. And for the first time in the world's history he was giving the Gentiles full rulership of the world. This became the first Gentile world empire. The Babylonian empire. The times of the Gentiles began. Let's get this quite clear that the times of the Gentiles are still running. He hasn't taken Israel back yet. But I can tell you he's about to do so. You know if you just keep your finger in Hebrews or in Daniel chapter 1 and turn to the next book of the Bible it's Hosea. Daniel then comes Hosea and if you go to chapter 3 you'll find the prophecy that Hosea made to the people of Israel and it's this in chapter 3 verse 4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king and without a prince and without a sacrifice and without an image and without an ephod and without a pedophil afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God and David their king and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days. Now when God removed Israel here by allowing Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonian king to come upon them he removed the king and he removed the crown. And let me say this to you very closely from that day away back there when the times of the Gentiles began Israel hath never had a king up to now. They've come back to the land you know and the flags fly and they're recognized by the League of Nations tonight but they have no king. And they'll not have a king until Christ comes to the earth to take the throne of his father David because he's king of kings and Lord of lords. He's their king and when Pilate presented him to the nation and said behold your king in bitterness they cried we have no king but chief. And they've been under the Gentile supremacy for a long time and just beginning to creep out now. And you know from that day like to this one the Gentiles have had the full sway in this world and what a mess they have made of it. Gentiles! We have a sample of them at Stormont. Yeah. Oh yeah don't be easy on them. I have no time for them. They let us down that's all there is about it. They wouldn't take the stance not when they were being paid they wouldn't but once they lost their job listen to them on the TV now they can all talk now. What was mortal in them before? Must have been their job that was mortal in them. They let the police down and let the B man down didn't they when they were in Newcastle then. Listen to Rob Ford now he can talk now. There's a sissy before that. Lost his job now. Oh I'd like to take them one by one you know they really need it don't they? They're a crowd. Yes the big house is empty. They should make an asylum out of it. Because they were not seen at all in all their days. Yes what a mess the Gentile rulers have made right across the world. And I can tell you tonight by studying this book that the times of the Gentiles were coming very quickly to an end. Of course during these last two thousand years the Lord has been building his church. And I'll tell you the night that he added the last stone to the church I went out late last night and led an old man to the saviour. Some of these nights the last one will be added and then the Lord will come. And the Jews will begin to creep back into the limelight again. So that we're going to look at the book tonight and the boy and the Babylonish bondage. Let me say a word or two about this book you know. There are modernists in this world tonight and the book I think that they attack most is the book of Daniel. They don't believe that this should be included in the canon of Scripture. They've all sorts of questions to ask. In fact they don't believe that there was a person called Daniel at all. I was preaching at Queen's University some years ago and I remember that I preached to about seven or eight hundred people about the daring of Daniel. Said a lot of things about Daniel and how he dared to do this and that and the other. And as I came up the corridor from preaching an old professor walked beside me rubbing his nose. He said you know that was a great word Mr. Morris. And that makes me suspicious immediately I may as well tell you. He said you know you hadn't a notion you could prove that. It's great preaching. He said well I don't believe a word of it you know. It came then. He said I don't believe there's any such person as Daniel and I don't think the book of Daniel should be included in the canon of Holy Scripture. I said before the argument really begins sir it doesn't matter truth it's what an old fellow like you believes. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter to me. I have my belief and if you want to have that silly notion you just have it. But let me get it over to you that when you say you don't believe it doesn't bother me. I want to ask you a simple question. Do you believe Jesus Christ was God's son? Yes he said I do. I said you really believe he was the son of God who came from heaven? Yes I do. I said now I don't want to be rude to you but tell me this do you think he knew better than you? He said yes he did. I said you have to say that because this book tells me that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge belong to him. In fact it says in the book of Psalms concerning Christ that his understanding was infinite. Do you agree with that? Do you think he knew more than you do? Yes. So I very quietly opened this book and I want you young people to see this. I opened it at Matthew chapter 24. Matthew 24 and our Lord Jesus Christ is speaking here speaking to his own disciples. You remember in verse 3 as he sat upon the Mount of Olives his disciples came unto him privately. And I like that because when you don't understand things you can go to him privately and ask him questions. And I tell you this will always be in when you go. You'll have no trouble getting it. It'll be there. And so he begins to answer the questions and when he came to verse 15 this is what he said When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet. I said well the man that knows better than you says there was a Daniel the prophet. And that settles the argument for me sir. You can go on in your unbelief and criticism as much as you like. You don't count as far as I'm concerned. Who let these people upset you who seem to think they know everything. You just follow Christ. That's all. Surely this is the one we follow as Jesus Christ says there was a Daniel the prophet. That should settle it for you. It settles it for me. I don't need any more argument. And I'll tell you he didn't want any more argument. This is what you call open and hard first time. Yes our Lord Jesus Christ defended this book you see. Because he talks about a Daniel the prophet. Of course there are one or two problems you know that some of these critics and some of the enemies of the cross and some of these modernists bring up and they're very difficult. You know let me show you some of the questions they bring up. Let's go back to Jeremiah for a moment or two. I'm at Jeremiah 32. The book of Jeremiah 32. Jeremiah 32 verse 3. For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up saying this is Jeremiah being shut up in prison. Wherefore dost thou prophesy and say thus saith the Lord behold I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon and he shall take it. This is what Jeremiah prophesied just before the king was taken captive. And Jeremiah was a contemporary of Daniel. Of course Daniel was a good bit younger and Daniel was taken captive Jeremiah was still left in the land and prophesied after Daniel was taken away. But you see what Jeremiah prophesied. He prophesied for Zedekiah king of Judah. Verse 4. Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon and shall speak with him mouth to mouth and his eyes shall behold his eyes and he shall lead, that is the king of Babylon shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon and there shall he be long till I visit him saith the Lord. Though ye fight with the Chaldeans not a name for the Babylonians ye shall not prosper. Now that's absolutely clear that Jeremiah prophesied before it took place that the king of the Babylonians Nebuchadnezzar would come and Zedekiah would be taken down to Babylon as a prisoner. Now when you come to the prophecy of Ezekiel and that's just before Daniel there Ezekiel chapter 12 Ezekiel 12 verse 8 take your time now and find the place the younger ones are a bit slower at getting it sometimes and the young believers and it's important for you in a Bible class to find the place we're at Ezekiel chapter 12 verse 8 and in the morning came the word of the Lord unto me saying son of man pass not the house of Israel the rebellious house said unto thee what doest thou? say thou unto them thus saith the Lord God the burden consents the prince in Jerusalem not a name for the king and all the house of Israel that are among them say I am your sign like as I have done so shall it be done unto them they shall remove and go into captivity and the prince that is among them that's the king shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight and shall go forth they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby he shall cover his face that he see not the ground with his eyes my meth also will I spread upon him and he shall be taken in my snare and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans yet shall he not see it though he shall die there now some of these modernistic scholars take these two prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel and they were contemporaries of course of Daniel and they say that Jeremiah in Jeremiah 32 said most surely that Ezekiel the king would go down to Babylon and Ezekiel said yet shall he not see it though he shall die there and they say this is confusion and contradiction they say it's confusion to say he shall die there and yet he'll not see the land and it's a contradiction for to say he'll not see it when Jeremiah said he'll be taken down to it of course it's easy to pick holes you know because I've always found this out when men start working with so called contradictions the one thing that's perfectly sure each time is that they don't know the whole story they don't know the whole story if this were turned up to some young believer he would stand with his mouth shut and maybe he couldn't make a stammer and don't worry if he can't there are some of us can without any problems at all and their ignorance amuses me cause if you know this book from Genesis to Revelation the ignorance of people who actually question really amuses me my they're so clever and they have so many degrees and they're so dark and so stupid and they haven't learned the whole story how can you harmonize that he'll go to the land and not see it how can you say he'll not see it and yet die there it does look a bit contradictory and confusion alright but we should wait till you know the whole story let's have a look at the second book of Kings second Kings chapter 25 second book of Kings chapter 25 now this is really the whole story you know while the others are prophecies this is the whole history that's fun second Kings 25 verse 1 Kings have passed in the ninth year of his reign in the tenth month in the tenth day of the month that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came he and all his hosts against Jerusalem and pitched against it and they built forts against it round about and the city was besieged down to the eleventh year the kings had begun and on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city and there was no bread for the people of the land and the city was broken up and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls which is by the king's garden now the Chaldees were against the city round about and the king went the way toward the plain trying to escape and the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his army was scattered from him so they took the king and brought him to the king of Babylon to a place called Riblah and they gave judgment upon him and they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes they slew his sons before his eyes and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with fetters of brass and carried him to Babylon there is the answer to you of course Jeremiah was right he was taken to Babylon of course Zedekiah was right he didn't see the land his eyes were put out before they took him it's a great pity they couldn't read you know it's a great pity somebody wouldn't start a school for them but they would be too proud to go and sit and learn my their mumbling really amuses me if they only knew how much I laugh up my sleeve about the so called education my dear friends don't people open their mouths and they that profess to be wise become fools the two prophets were right of course Jeremiah was right he was taken down to Babylon yes of course Zedekiah was right he didn't see the land of Babylon his eyes were put out of course Zedekiah was right the next time again he died there there isn't any problem it's just their lack of knowledge that's all and so you can see that our Lord defended this book and our Lord quoted from this book if we were going back to Matthew 24 and we'll not go back just now he said when thou seest the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet and I think that old Bullinger was right because there is no doubt at all whatsoever about the scholarship of Bullinger you can say what you like about his last days and all the rest of it but he was one of the greatest Greek and Hebrew scholars that ever lived and I was reading a portion today where he quoted that our Lord quoted ten times out of the book of Daniel during his whole life it was tremendous I hadn't found the half of them but he had found them all I was teaching in Canada once when I said something like this about Bullinger and a man came up crying at the end of the meeting and he was a son or a son-in-law I forget now of Bullinger he said you're the only man I've ever had in my life who'd give him any credit not right for us Christians not to give credit where it's due you know and I think we should but when these modernists talk out of the turn they need to be really plucked and we ought to do it I think that this will suffice this class about the authenticity of the book if my Lord said there's a Daniel and my Lord defended this book and my Lord quotes out of this book and quotes it a nine or ten times then this will settle this this evening for this class that this book is a book worthy to be in the canon of Holy Scripture when my Lord learned it and quoted from it now I want to say a word or two about the boy now it's Daniel and he's just arrived he's been taken captive you know his name is a very interesting one it's the word Daniel I think that I spent the whole night when we were going through the the Gems and Genesis we were going through the whole book of Genesis once here and I told you that any Hebrew name of any Jew ending with EL the EL always means God something you should make a study of I'll just start you off you remember the word Bethel it's the place where Jacob went to and got blessed the word Bethel in Hebrew means the house and it means the house of God Bethel it's the house of God you know better still the word Emmanuel what does Emmanuel mean? the first part means with us and the last bit means God EL means God it's God with us this is the great name of the incarnate son of God he was God with us of course the Russellites wouldn't know exactly what it means you can take all the words the word Daniel the word Dan if you go back to the tribe of Dan it means judge and the word Daniel means God is my judge and whoever named the lad named him well because it seems that he lived every day and speak every word and thought every thought with God looking on what a way to live what a way to live in Babylon oh you'd think we had a problem living in Ulster you would need to be in Babylon for 70 years and this man lived in Babylon to the glory of God and they couldn't find a fault in him when they tried you see God was his judge and this makes a great study when you take all these EL in fact the word Ezekiel it's EL again and the first part of the word means strength God is my strength what a name for a prophet Jewel first part of the word means Jehovah Jehovah is God EL oh they go on and on you know that when Nimrod set up his false religion it was called Babel B-A-B hyphen EL and the B-A-B means a gateway to God my there are religions in this world tonight that came from Nimrod who professed to be the way to God if you keep the hyphen out and put the word together Babel means confusion and this is exactly what they're doing to the people they're pretending to take them to God and they're confusing the issues they're not clear about it at all we never exalt this place the Baptist would take you nowhere only to trouble shame it's Christ in this they don't exalt the party oh we've got Baptist conviction and we believe we've got them in the group and we shall stand by them but we don't exalt the party you know that's why I don't work for a party I work for a person God's son yes this is a great name this lad and you can see the suitability of the name now I want to bypass the next heading on your list there's the sincerity of the lad we'll just leave that for the moment but I'll most surely come back to it because it's the crux of this first chapter but thinking about the bondage let's start it properly now we're at the beginning of the chapter now I've been preaching for a long time just now we never got the chapter started yet sir you're not getting home early tonight you know you bring your peace with you did you all right let's get started at the chapter in the third year of the reign of Jehoiachin and remember that Jehoiachin was Zedekiah's brother and when the Babylonians took Zedekiah down put his eyes out old Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin king back in the all most desolate land and eventually he came and took him away too in the third year only three years you see of the reign of Jehoiachin king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon onto Jerusalem and besieged it and the Lord gave Jehoiachin king of Judah into his hands and I want you to get the phrase into your heart the Lord gave you know God was giving them up in a sense yes God was casting down Israel but remember not casting them away forever just casting them down and this is what we might call the Jewish elect of Jehovah and the Lord gave Jehoiachin king of Judah into his hand with part of the vessels of the house of God which he carried into the land of Sinai to the house of his God and he dropped the vessels into the treasure house of his God it's good to take note that Nebuchadnezzar had that much godliness if you like to call it or reverence about him that he took the vessels of the house of the temple in Jerusalem into the treasure house of his God but you remember that Belshazzar on the night of the feast when he got drunk he called for the gold and silver vessel he meant to mock God which we learned the other Sunday night that God will not be mocked because there came the fingers of a man's hand writing on the wall and he was judged that very night but this is God giving them up this is the Jewish elect of God and then I want you to get this bit because this is very important verse 3 and the king, that is Nebuchadnezzar came to speak on to Arspenaz the master of his eunuchs that he should bring certain of the children of Israel under the king's seat and of the princes these lads who had been brought down as captives especially those of the royal seat children whom was more blemished but well favored and skillful in all wisdom and cunning in knowledge and understanding science and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's fold and whom they might teach the learning in the tongue of the Chaldeans now I want you to get this into your mind because this is a diabolic elect that is going on here you see they are going to take all the young boys and they are going to specially select out those who had royalty in them that is the ones who belong to the tribe of Judah that was the royal tribe in Israel and they are going to indoctrinate them that's why they choose the boys they are going to brainwash them didn't begin in Russia you know began with the Babylonians going to take these kids going to take them to the school that was connected to the palace and they are going to teach them the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans going to brainwash the kids I want you to get that because that is very important you know as we go on with the story verse 5 and the king appointed them that is these lads a daily provision of the king's meat and the wine which he drank now the king's meat could be anything here and if it was on clean animals such as the pig if it was harm or anything like that it would be testable to Daniel and of course if Daniel was brought up in strict orthodox Jewish fashion at that age he wouldn't be going after wine but the king of course has gone to indoctrinate or brainwash and the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat and of the wine which he drank so nourishing them three years going to take three years that brainwashing that at the end thereof they might stand before the king now among these that is these lads who were selected were the children of Judah were of the children of Judah these are royal princes Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah here are four of them that the spirit of God is bringing before us just now these four young lads and I would think they would all reach from 14 to 16 years of age being taken into this school to be indoctrinated they're going to brainwash them they're going to make them Babylonians and I want you to watch this these four lads who have their names Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names and changed the name for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belti Shavu now the word Daniel of course means God is my judge the word Belti Shavu means keeper of the treasure of Bel now Bel was an old Babylonish God a plaster cast that they had down there let me say that all plaster casts that are worshipped come from Babylon and there was a God called Bel and they're trying to change Daniel's name to this Babylonish God name you'll notice that Hananiah got the name Shadrach and Shadrach means the inspiration of the sun S-U-N because the Babylonians didn't only worship Bel they worshipped the sun and they want this young fellow to be attached to the sun God and that Mishael they gave him the name of Meshach and Meshach it means the goddess of Sha and Sha is an old Chaldean word for Venus he's the goddess he's attached to the goddess of Venus and you'll see that Azariah was given the name of Bednigal and the Bednigal means serpent of the fire and they worshipped the fire you see they're putting each of these lads to one of their gods they mean to indoctrinate them now here's something for to think about if you were asked the name of the three Hebrew children who were in the fire of Aeternus what would you say? Shadrach, Meshach and the Bednigal now I was listening to a program some time ago and there was some missionary being questioned and they asked the missionary the names of the three Hebrew children in the fire of Aeternus and immediately she said Shadrach, Meshach and the Bednigal that is not their name they gave her the prize I don't think they knew either because that's the name the Babylonians gave them that's not their name their name is Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah but we all know, we all know, we all say Meshach, Shadrach and the Bednigal we say it like that now the thing is this that to these three the Babylonian name seems to have stuck because we always say Shadrach, Meshach Daniel's name never stuck you would never think of calling them Delchi, Shadrach you always say Daniel somehow you always stick the Babylonian name on the other one wonder does it mean that he was so strong and spiritual and stood out so daringly that it never stuck at all I am not sure but there is something there that we would need to pay attention to but you know the king is trying to indoctrinate them isn't he and then we come to the crux of the whole matter we are at verse 8 but but Daniel purposed in his heart maybe that is the crux of it maybe that's why the name did stick a bit to the others it was just Daniel that purposed maybe he carried them with him, I don't know but at least I am sure of this that this young fellow purposed he is just fourteen, can you see him he is the prisoner of war he is in the king's palace and the king doesn't give two hoots about him he has killed already Zedekiah's son through the princess and he has put out Zedekiah's eyes afterwards and if this wee fellow gives him any bother he should blot him out we want to get it properly into our minds tonight exactly what this lad was facing you can see him standing up straight and the way down in his soul he is he is making a decision he is purposing in his heart come what may or what must I am going to stand up for my God you know if you are ever going to be any use for God at all this is how you begin some of our Roman Catholic friends here and we have many of them scattered throughout this meeting tonight who got saved just had to put their heads up and their shoulders back and take their stand for God only you Protestants never knew a thing about that and I think it is a great pity we didn't sometimes maybe we would be far better men and women yes well this is what Daniel did you know he purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat nor with the wine which he drank therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself you know it was a big moment for the wee fella to go to the prince who was over him and say look I don't want to do this I don't want to eat this meat at all I don't want to drink this I don't want to defile myself there is a wee thing in here I think that you should see verse 9 now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love you know God can do wee things for you you can't do yourself and I think that all Christian business men should get this into their mind God can favour you you know God can give you favour for the last 6 months going to Belfast now and again I noticed when I was coming short of petrol that I would say oh I'll run off at this point I'll go to that wee place I didn't know who owned it went there went there and maybe three dozen pounds one day I was just thinking about this and I said Lord why do I always think about going there now so I drove off to the side of the place and a man came up and put me in the presence and said hello how are you I said tell me this boy do you know the Lord Jesus is just his you're mine I do he said I'll tell you God was favouring him and I'll tell you God can bring in custom that you never thought about God looks after his children you know in ways that you never dreamed of who would ever have thought of God working in this Babylonish character's heart ah but God was way ahead of Daniel Daniel wasn't on his own you're never on your own you know Lord was there I want you to get this verse 10 and the prince of the unit said unto Daniel I fear my Lord the king who hath appointed your meat and your drink so why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort then shall you make me endanger my head to the king then said Daniel to Melzah whom the prince of the unit should set over Daniel Hananiah Messiah and Azariah Daniel says prove thy servants mind you he's just a wee fella prove thy servants I beseech thee ten days and then give us and let them give us to eat and water to drink then let our countenances be looked upon before thee and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat and as thou seest deal with thy servants so he consented to them in this matter and proved them ten days and at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh then all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat thus Melzah took away the portion of their meat and the wine that they should drink gave them false you know God was looking after the wee fellow wasn't he God looks after all us wee fellows what a God we have you know we don't depend enough on him oh we are so cowardly at times I was preaching out of the Psalms last week somewhere but David say know that I have the wings of a dove my some of us cultists deem desire you'd like to run away from it would you ah well men of God don't run away they don't compromise with the enemy you know oh some of the boys now compromise with the enemy man of God takes his stand in the evil day and having done all he's still standing you know and God will help them yes they look fairer and they look fatter than the others I want you to get this bit as for these four children God gave them knowledge my God can give you knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar three years had gone by and the king communed with them and among them all was found none like Daniel Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah therefore stood they before the king and in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king required of them he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all Israel all that we would rely on our God a bit more wait a minute we're not stopping just there hear that whistle going on hold it now I should say watch it I want you to get this sweet bit you know Daniel purposed in his heart that the state would not defile him that's a great thing you know purposed in his heart that the state would not defile him do you remember Joseph remember him down in Egypt tight cornered again memorable woman tempting him well he purposed in his heart that the flesh would not defile him do you remember Elijah in his day I would say the darkest that Israel ever had I think that Elijah purposed in his heart that the powers of darkness in the land would not defile him for I'm only starting you on a study now why you can go through the book Paul purposed in his heart that his national pride he says I'm an Israelite but I'm thrown at a wedge he says I was circumcised the 8th day it's literal but I'm thrown at a wedge he said I'm a Hebrew of the Hebrews it's an academic standard but I'm thrown at a wedge that's depending on that oh may we purpose in our hearts tonight we're at the spiritual side of the thing now we have come through the history but we have come to the spiritual side may we purpose in our hearts by the grace of God will not be defiled God bless you we'll sing just two verses this evening or we might as well sing the three of them 566 amid the trials that I meet amid the thorns that pierce my feet one thought remains supremely sweet thou thinkest Lord of me 566 please before we sing the last verse now there are plenty of these and you can have one or two three or four whatever you want somebody said can I take more than one whatever you want you just take they'll be at that door and that one and at the other two doors so you don't need to worry last verse please dear Lord part us in thy fears and bless thy blessing for thy namesake Amen