a godless king. His appearance seemed to be unknown to Belshazzar, for he asks the prophet: "Art thou that Daniel, of the captivity of Judah, whom the king, my father, brought out of Jewry?" Then he points to the writing over against the candlestick, and confesses that none of the wise men or astrologers have been able even to read the writing, much less make known the interpretation. But if Daniel could he should be clothed in scarlet, be adorned with a gold chain, and be made third ruler in the kingdom. You shall hear in the next chapter Daniel's answer to the king's address.

(Read Daniel v. 1-16.)

14. THE MYSTERY UNRAVELLED.

We have seen already how fearless Daniel was; how he never shrank from declaring God's truth, even though he knew it would be most unwelcome to royal ears; and now, when about eighty years of age, his courage does not fail. Rewards had no influence on him-the promised honours the king might bestow on others; yet Daniel promised to make known the interpretation, as well as to read the writing; but before doing so he looked back on years long past, and spoke to Belshazzar of the majesty and greatness of his grandfather. Then he reminded him of the depth of humiliation to which he had sunk because of his pride. Then, pointing to Belshazzar, he showed how this lesson had been lost upon him: "Thou hast not humbled thine heart though thou knewest all this; but thou hast lifted up thyself

against the Lord of heaven, and they have brought the vessels of His house before thee, and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, thou hast not glorified; because of this, the hand had been sent from God, and this mystic writing written. Then, as Belshazzar listened tremblingly, Daniel read the words, explaining them as he went along. Were they written in an unknown tongue? I cannot tell you. Some have supposed they were in the old Hebrew character, which naturally would be unknown to the wise men of Babylon; others have thought they were written in pure Chaldee, and that God had sent a spirit of blindness, so that the king and his nobles could not read the writing; but Daniel makes all clear, both to the king and to the wise men.

Only four words had caused this terror to Belshazzar. These are the words :

Mene, Mene (twice repeated to enforce the terrible meaning), God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.

Tekel, thou art weighed in the balances, and found. wanting.

Peres, or Upharsin (which is the same word, only in the plural number), thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

The king was as good as his word, the three honours were bestowed upon Daniel in his presence; but only for a few brief hours did the king see him enjoy them. For listen to the simple words in which Belshazzar's end, and that of his mighty empire, are told: "In that night was Belshazzar, the

king of the Chaldeans slain, and Darius the Median took the kingdom."

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Did these enemies come upon them unknown and unawares? We can scarcely say so. For months they had been surrounding Babylon; but the inhabitants had grown secure. They trusted besides in their mighty river, which seemed to render ingress on that side impossible. And yet it was by means of that river that the Medo-Persian army entered the city for long deep sluices had been dug, so as to be ready to receive the waters of the Euphrates; and on the night of Belshazzar's feast the careless guards had forgotten to close the great brazen gates; so the enemy seized the opportunity, turned the river into its new channels, and, marching up the muddy riverbed, entered the palace, and slew the king. Thus were Daniel's words fulfilled, "Thy kingdom is given to the Medes and Persians."

(Read Daniel v. 17-31.)

15. DANIEL'S DREAM.

Before passing on to the history of Darius, I must tell you of two remarkable dreams which God sent to Daniel himself. The first came to him in the year in which Belshazzar began to reign. Daniel thought it so remarkable a dream that he wrote it down, in order that it might not be forgotten. For he had none to whom he could reveal it, so he had to ponder it in his heart all alone. I must now describe the vision.

Daniel dreamt that he stood by the wide ocean, which was agitated by the winds of heaven.

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sently he saw four great beasts coming out of the sea, and each beast was different from the other. The first was like a lion, it was so strong; only on its back were eagles' wings, carrying it along in its rapid career. But as the prophet looked at it, he saw the feathers plucked off, and the beast made to stand upright on its feet, which seemed to grow like those of a man, and a man's heart was given to it. The second beast was like a bear in the act of devouring its prey, for it had three ribs still unconsumed in its mouth; and yet it went ranging about for more, as it heard the summons: "Arise, and devour much flesh." The third beast Daniel saw in vision was a swift leopard; and as if still further to show its swiftness, four wings, like those of a fowl, were given to it. But the strangest thing about this beast was that it had four heads. The fourth beast Daniel could compare to none he had seen on earth. It was "dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly." With its nails of brass and its iron teeth it tore and devoured all that came in its way, and then it stamped and destroyed the rest with its feet. On this animal's ample forehead were ten horns; and while Daniel was gazing at them and wondering, another little horn came up among the others. This little horn had eyes and a mouth like those of a man, and out of its mouth issued words of blasphemy. So strong was this little horn that before it three of the others were plucked up by the roots. Then it turned itself against the saints of God, and persecuted them, and for three years and a half they suffered from its cruelty. Even against the Most High this little horn sought to exalt itself. For a time only. The Lord is long

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suffering, and hath long patience. But at last the hour of His redeemed drew on. "Then Daniel beheld a glorious sight. One whom he recognised as the Ancient of Days, clothed in a garment white as snow, sat upon a throne burnished like the fiery flame, and with wheels like burning fire." "Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened." The first to receive sentence was the horn which had spoken so blasphemously. He was slain, and his body given to the burning flame.

Then the beasts were sentenced. Their dominion was taken from them; but their lives were spared for a little time. Who then was to possess the kingdoms of the earth? This was soon shown to Daniel; for he saw One-no mortal man, yet like the Son of Man, brought before the Ancient of Days. He received from Him dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away through decay, nor be destroyed by violence.

I must leave the interpretation of this dream till the next chapter.

(Read Dan. vii. 1-15.)

16. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE DREAM. To Daniel had been given the power of interpreting the dreams of the mighty King of Babylon; but the visions which he himself saw were too hard for hin He knew they contained a message from God,