The fret

As the minister

submission which bends to kiss the rod. ful complaining spirit was subdued. surveyed the afflicted pair, the lesson was impressed on his own soul, that it is possible for men to be gainers by losses, and more than conquerors in seeming defeat. He silently thanked God that this world's Babylon has its Daniels still, not only amongst the great but the lowly; and that in bringing the children of light through great tribulations, God still performs the daily miracle of shutting the mouth of lions, and quenching the violence of fire!

XXIV.

The Den of Lions.

LECTURE VI.

YRUS the Persian was lord of Babylon, and to the horrors of the night of slaughter succeeded the pomp and glory which marked the conqueror's reign. Mildness and moderation appear to have been characteristics of this remarkable man. Of this he gave a singular proof in his conduct towards his uncle Cyaxares the Mede, or, as he is called in the Bible, Darius. After arranging affairs in the conquered city, Cyrus went back to Persia, and bringing his uncle thence returned with him to Babylon, where he made Darius share with him that throne which his own valour

had won. Nay, so far did the young conqueror carry his respect for his uncle, that with singular freedom from jealousy or ambition, he gave Darius the first rank in the state, which the Mede enjoyed during the remainder of his life. Cyrus, throughout this period, was much engaged in foreign conquests, . leaving his uncle to conduct the government alone in Babylon.

Darius and Cyrus concerted together a plan for ruling their mighty empire. They divided it into a hundred and twenty provinces, each with a governor of its own. Over these were set three ministers, of whom one was of higher dignity and greater power than the rest. So lofty a post as that of chief minister of the grandest empire in the world, must have been an object of ambition to the greatest of the lords who had fought under Cyrus, or attended the court of the Mede. But who was selected for the post? An aged man, who, save by reputation, must have been unknown either to the Median or the Persian monarch; a former minister of Nebuchadnezzar,—but not of Babylonish blood,—one of a conquered race. Daniel, the captive Jew, was chosen amongst the thousands of eager aspirants to fill the office of highest trust he was preferred above the presidents and the princes, because an excellent spirit was in him, his was the wisdom which cometh from above.

We thus a second time behold Daniel the most powerful subject in Babylon, devoting his time and his energies to fulfil the duties of his responsible office. But the very greatness to which God had raised him made Daniel the mark for envy. The highest mountain attracts the cloud, the loftiest tree the lightning. A good man raised to earthly distinction is almost certain to become the object of envy, hatred, and fear. "Who is this son of a slave!"

would the haughty Persians exclaim, " that we should bend in homage to him? The corrupt satraps who thronged the Median court would dread the watchful eye of one who administered justice without partiality and without fear. The natural hatred borne by the children of this world towards the children of light acquired tenfold strength from such envy and such dread. To disgrace Daniel, to ruin the detested Jew, became the one absorbing desire of the princes of the Babylonish court. They watched his steps, they scrutinized his actions, like men who survey a hostile fort in eager hope to detect some weak point that may lie open to attack. Could they but discover some error in judgment, some inconsistency in conduct, how envy would triumph, how malice would exult, how hatred would magnify the offence!

Nothing can give us a higher idea of the spotless integrity of Daniel than the fact that even his watchful enemies could find no fault in his actions. David, when surrounded by such foes, had written, When my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me; but so great were the wisdom and grace bestowed upon Daniel by God, that as far as man could see, his steps never faltered nor slipped.

Not that we must for one moment imagine that Daniel stood before God in any righteousness of his own; that even he in the judgment could plead his good works, or the purity of his life. One of the lowliest confessions of sin contained in the Holy

Scriptures came from the lips of Daniel, the upright minister of King Darius.

After the unsuccessful efforts of the princes in Babylon to find a flaw in the character of Daniel, with a cunning which Satan must himself have inspired, they resolved to turn his very virtues against him. "We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel," said his enemies, "except we find it against him concerning the law of his God." The device fixed upon by these wicked conspirators could only have had effect under one of the weakest and vainest of monarchs, and we can entertain no doubt that Cyrus was absent at the time. Darius, like his predecessor Belshazzar, must have been intoxicated with power, or he could never have entertained, far less granted, the strange petition now offered by the princes.

King Darius, live for ever!" thus was the Mede addressed by his fawning courtiers. "All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not."

The pride of Darius was flattered by the impious proposal, which should have filled him with disgust.