[0:00] We can begin our worship and we can join together in the singing of God's praise in Psalm 37.
[0:18] Psalm 37. And we're singing from verse 23 down to verse 30. A good man's footsteps by the Lord are ordered aright, and in the way where he walks he greatly does delight.
[0:46] Although he fall, yet shall he not be cast down utterly, because the Lord with his own hand upholds them mightily. I have been young, and now I'm old.
[1:00] Yet have I never seen the just man left, nor that his seed for bread of beggars' bean. Is ever merciful and blends, whose seed is blessed therefore.
[1:14] Depart from evil and do good, and dwell forevermore. For God loves judgment, and his saints leaves not in any case. They are kept ever, but cut off shall be the sinner's race.
[1:27] The just inherited shall the land, and ever in it dwell. The just man's mouth doth wisdom speak. His tongue doth judgment tell.
[1:38] And so on. You can sing these verses. Psalm 37 from verse 23 to verse 30. A good man's footsteps by the Lord are ordered aright.
[1:51] The just man's footsteps by the Lord are ordered aright.
[2:13] A good man's footsteps by the Lord are ordered aright.
[2:31] Allo Him, O ye shall be not, in the slouch of the King.
[2:50] It comes, O Lord, with your name, a post in my belly.
[3:07] I have been young and never lost, yet I have ever seen.
[3:26] TheRL, Josh, No, theNAB, nor bl subdiced Thor brought the Hebrews.
[3:45] His heaven mercy full of men, His kingdom's land therefore, If our glory must come to him, And dwell forevermore.
[4:23] Our God loves God's pen and His chains, There's no dead in any case, There are captive, The blood of God, Shall be the sinner's grace, The judge's end, And perish shall burn on, AMERIL discussed, The judgment of wisdom speak
[5:28] Is done, God, judgmental Let us join together in prayer Let us pray, gracious God, as we continue in your presence Grant to us a thankful heart That you are a God who is willing to hear our prayers and our petitions That you are willing to receive from us our thanksgiving You are worthy to receive it You are a God who is ever A God of grace and a God who provides for us So much for which we are indebted to you alone
[6:30] And yet we seldom acknowledge that goodness as we should You are the giver of every good and perfect gift You are the Father of lights The God of all grace A God who is resplendent in mercy Your glories far excel our ability to declare them And we cannot comprehend what it is For the all-glorious angels of heaven Who must veil their faces in your presence What it is to be able to gaze upon that glory With an unveiled face But that is what awaits your people Not by reason of any virtue that they possess by nature But by reason of your own saving grace
[7:30] That which is to be experienced by all your people To its completion You are able to take your people to yourself Wherever they are found Your eye fixed upon them In the great eternity Before the world was Even before they existed as men or women Which is something we cannot begin to understand And yet Your saving eye fell upon them And you decreed To take them to be your people And as they came to know you In the realms of this world So they were able to close in With the Saviour of sinners However he was presented to the eye of faith
[8:33] We give thanks for the vision That was given to your people Of the all-glorious one Who took our nature And who lived in this world And despite being in the world And not of the world Those who were with him And saw him physically Many of them were unable to see that glory When he chose He revealed himself And those who saw him Even a glimpse of that hidden glory Were overwrought by it We marvel at the way your word speaks Of these encounters That his closest friends had As they were with him in the way Those that he took up To the Mount of Transfiguration Those who saw the marvel of Christ
[9:35] In his glory Radiating heavenly glory In a way that was otherwise Hidden from you So much so that their desire Was to remain with them Where he was Without fully comprehending The foolishness of such a desire Our humanity Means that we are Incapable of fully comprehending The truth concerning him Except it be revealed to us We pray that this evening As we read your word And as we speak about it In whatever way Is needful to our souls May it be brought to our attention As the word of the only living And through God May it be blessed to us Here in this place And every gathering Of your people And those who are under The word of God May they know that God Is speaking to us
[10:35] We give thanks that Your word will not return Unto you empty But will accomplish that Which you have purposed for it We bring before you The needs and the concerns Of this congregation Those present And those unable to be present We bring to your attention The needs that you already know of Those who are dealing with Illnesses or fearing descriptions Those who have troubles Within the family circle Those who are concerned For loved ones We pray that you would Show yourself to be a God of grace Underneath the everlasting arms That's the promise That they await to be To be discovered by them In its fullness We remember those who are
[11:38] Housebound and hospitalised In need of care That only God alone Can provide We bring before you Any such that we know of Who may be Even as we speak At death's door We give thanks for your mercy And your grace And that it is sufficient Even to reach To a person Even after the last moments Moments where they draw breath In this world We pray Lord For mercy And we pray for grace To be able to To pray To you So that These prayers Would be heard That it would be A united Beating upon the doors Of heaven That you may hear And answer Mercy Mercy For Because it's Those who are Grieving and sorrowful
[12:39] Bind up their Heart And their wounds We pray for your Blessing upon Those who are Looking upon Empty places Every Anniversary Every reminder That there is Even in the lives Of those who May have some time Past Lost loved ones And yet Such recitations Are a Reminder to them Of the grief And the sorrow That they have We pray for healing And we pray For recovery And we pray For wisdom To bring All our cares And concerns To God Remember our nation Those who govern us And those Who form part Of the various Parliaments We We bring Before you Many that are Indifferent To the fact That they are Being remembered Many who are Oblivious to the Fact that there is A God To whom they Must be remembered
[13:40] And who will Not forget them Even though They forget you We pray Lord That you would Break into the Darkness That is all Pervasive In our day And generation That the light Of your countenance Would be lifted up And that you Would penetrate That darkness With the light Of salvation Reminding us That here We have no Continuing city That the road That we are on Is a short road And sooner Rather than later We will come To the end Of that road And how we meet With you Our Lord Will determine How you meet With us There is no There is no Avoiding that Encounter You have promised In your word That death Will be followed By judgment And that applies To all Be they kings Or queens Or be they The paupers That are Lying in the streets
[14:40] We pray That you would Remind us Of these truths Remember the Nations of the earth Especially where There is war Where there is Any form of Natural disaster For which Remedies are not Found Except they come From the hand Of God You are the God Of heaven and earth You are able to Rend us under The heavens And bring down Heavenly blessings Just as surely As you are able To break the cloud And pour out The rain of heaven And the parched Ground Turn into the Water pools Fear is O Lord Continue to watch Over us As we wait Upon you Cleanse from Everything In Jesus name Amen We are going to Read in the book Of Daniel Chapter 2 The book of Daniel Chapter 2
[15:41] And we are Going to read From verse 24 Reading from Verse 24 To the end Of the chapter Therefore Daniel went in Unto Ario When the king Had ordained To destroy The wise men Of Babylon He went And said Listen to him Destroy not The wise men Of Babylon Bring me in Before the king And I will Show unto the king The interpretation Then Ario Brought in Daniel Before the king In haste And said Thus unto him I have found A man of the Captives of Judah That will make No man To the king The interpretation The king Answered And said To Daniel Whose name Was spelled Teshazar Are thou Able to make No man To me The dream Which I have Seen And the Interpretation Thereof Daniel answered
[16:42] In the presence Of the king And said The secret Which the king Hath demanded Cannot the wise men The astrologers The magicians The soothsayers Show him to the king But there is A God in heaven That revealeth secrets And maketh known To the king Nebuchadnezzar What shall be In the latter days Thy dream And the visions Of thy head Upon thy bed Are these As for thee O king Thy thoughts Came into thy mind Upon thy bed What should come To pass Hereafter And he that Revealeth secrets Maketh known To thee What shall come To pass But as for me This secret Is not revealed To me For any wisdom That I have More than Any living But for their Sakes That shall make Know the Interpretation To the king And that thou Mightest know The thoughts Of thy heart Thou o king
[17:44] Sawest And behold A great image This great image Whose brightness Was excellent Stood before thee And the form Thereof Was terrible This image Head was of Fine gold His breast And his arms Of silver His belly And his thighs Of brass His legs Of iron His feet Part of iron Part of clay Thou sawest Till that a stone Was cut out Without hands Which smote The image Upon his feet That were of Iron And clay And break them To pieces Then was the iron The clay The brass The silver And the gold Broken to pieces Together And became Like the chaff Of the summer Threshing floors And the wind Carried them away That no place Was found For them And the stone That smote The image Became a great Mountain And filled The whole earth This is the dream
[18:46] And we will tell The interpretation Thereof Before the king Thou O king O king of kings For the God Of heaven Hath given thee A kingdom Power and strength And glory And wheresoever The children of men Dwell The beasts of the field And the folds of the heaven Hath he given Into thine hand And hath made he Ruler over them All Thou art this Head of gold And after thee Shall rise another Kingdom inferior To thee And another Third kingdom Of brass Which shall bear Rule over All the earth And the fourth Kingdom Shall be strong As iron For as much As iron Breaketh in pieces And subdueth All things And as iron That breaketh All these Thou art breaketh Pieces and brews And whereas thou sawest The feet and toes Part of potter's clay And part of iron The kingdom shall be divided But there shall be in it
[19:47] The strength of the iron For as much as thou sawest The iron mixed With mighty clay Thus the toes of the feet Are part of iron Part of clay So the kingdom Shall be partly strong And partly broken And whereas thou sawest Iron mixed with mighty clay They shall mingle themselves With the seed of men But they shall not Cleave one to another Even as iron Is not mixed with clay And in the days Of these kings Shall the God of heaven Set up a kingdom Which shall never be destroyed And the kingdom Shall not be left To other people But it shall break in pieces And consume All these kingdoms And it shall stand Forever For as much as thou sawest That the stone Was cut out of the mountain Without hands And that it break in pieces The iron The brass The clay The silver And the gold The great God
[20:48] Hath made known To the king What shall come to pass Hereafter And the dream is certain And the interpretation Thereof Sure Then the king Nebuchadnezzar Fell upon his face And worshipped Daniel And commanded That they should offer An oblation And sweet odour To him The king answered Unto Daniel And said Of a truth It is that your God Is a God of gods And a Lord of kings And a revealer of secrets Seeing thou couldst Reveal this secret Then the king Made Daniel A great man And gave him Many great gifts And made him ruler Over the whole province Of Babylon And chief of the governors Over all the wise men Of Babylon Then Daniel Requested of the king And he said Shadrach, Mishah And Abednego Over the affairs Of the province Of Babylon But Daniel Sat In the gate
[21:48] Of the king Amen And may the Lord That his blessing To your reading Of his word And to his name Be the praise Let us sing now Verses from Psalm 118 Psalm 118 We are going to sing From verse 20 Through to the end Psalm 118 And verse 20 This is the gate of God By it the just Shall enter in The evil I praise For thou me heard And hast my safety been That stone Is made head cornerstone Which builders Did despise This is the doing Of the Lord And wondrous In our eyes This is the day God made In it We'll draw it Thy infantly Save now I pray thee Lord I pray Send now prosperity Blessed is he In God's great name That cometh us To save We from the house
[22:49] Which to the Lord Pertains You blessed are God is the Lord Who unto us Hath made life To arise Bind ye into The altar's horns With cords Sacrifice Thou art my God I'll thee exalt My God I will thee praise Say thanks to God For he is good His mercy Lasts Always Let us sing These verses Psalm 118 From verse 20 To the end This is the gate Of God By it the just Shall enter in This is the gate Of God By it The just Shall enter in The word I pray Is for though
[23:51] Laver's And God She Debt 그�iend The Babylon 그리 Won't Vogspray When thunder sheds his mind.
[24:20] This is the giving of the Lord. A wondrous hand arise.
[24:38] This is the giving of the Spirit. With joy and harmony.
[24:57] To love thy pity, Lord, I pray. and the prosperity.
[25:15] Blessed is he in God's name that God loves to say we from the high which is the Lord that thank you, blessed God.
[25:52] God is the Lord who unto us and live life to our lives.
[26:11] Like ye unto the altar's arms with cords the suffering eyes.
[26:28] Thou art my God and the exiled my God and the holy peace give thanks to God for he is true his mercy and the holy peace and the holy peace I guess to turn to the passage that we read in the book of Daniel and we're looking at chapter 2 and this evening we're just looking at the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar as it is revealed and interpreted by Daniel.
[27:34] It's quite a long passage but we're going to try and just look at the main body of this dream as we have it here.
[27:48] I know that the temptation is always for the preacher to find ways of spiritualizing passages such as this one that are essentially narrative accounts of what actually took place and taking what is narrative and trying to bring spiritual truth out of it.
[28:25] Now that is possible and I have to say that there are a great many commentators who would take that approach but the problem with that is that because such an interpretation really depends on the interpreter's own powers of imagination and powers of spiritualization then inevitably there will be differences of opinion and differences of the presentation of the spiritual truth that is there.
[29:07] So that adds to the confusion I think. But I just want to look at this passage simply first of all reminding ourselves of the kind of person the kind of person Daniel was which is always at the forefront of what we discover from this book of Daniel.
[29:34] Daniel is a man of God and as such the characteristics that he possesses as a man of God should be highlighted.
[29:45] And what we find here in this passage as he interprets the dream is something that we have been reminded of already and that is the great humility that this man possesses.
[30:02] He is somebody who is no doubt endowed with great gifts from God but he is always the first to acknowledge that God has provided these gifts to him.
[30:22] The source of the source of the source of the source of the source of the source of these gifts is God. The second thing that we can say something of is the sovereignty of God as it appears to us in this passage.
[30:36] Not only are we presented with a dream we are presented with the interpretation of a dream. But it is not just a dream that is based upon the imagination of a person's heart.
[30:58] It is a dream that will ultimately be realized and fulfilled in God's own time. And as the God who has supplied the dream he clearly means us to understand that he is someone who understands and knows what the future holds because he is sovereign in all our future.
[31:22] And that is something that we are faced with quite clearly in this. And briefly, finally, the way the king appears to our attention as somebody who is spiritually ignorant in many respects.
[31:43] Despite the exposure that he has to God through his servant Daniel and despite the clear favor that God shows him, he shows himself to be someone who doesn't really understand what God is doing.
[32:03] And we will say something about that. Now there are a number of things that we will come across in this book again and again.
[32:15] And we are reminded of them probably because we need to be reminded of them. The place that Daniel has at the heart of this bears his name obviously.
[32:27] And obviously he is, although there is debate amongst theologians as to who the author is, we believe the author to be Daniel and the person that is not only the subject of the book, but the one who communicates the truth that the book contains.
[32:46] And we are reminded first of all that he is able to interpret the king's dream. Because God had not only revealed the hidden dream to him, but given him the ability to interpret it.
[33:05] And as we saw the last time when we saw his prayer of thanksgiving to God, he acknowledges that to God. But here he acknowledges it to the king.
[33:18] And there is always the temptation to give to ourselves the praise, even when the praise is God's.
[33:31] And Daniel avoids that. I suppose there is a contrast between Daniel who is the expositor of the dream and the one who introduces Daniel to the king.
[33:51] It is not the first time that this king has been introduced to Daniel. I think we have to understand that because I think most believe that the very fact that Daniel has been given another name by the king, that it means that he had already encountered him and had exposure to him.
[34:15] So it seems on the face of it that he is first of all meeting, he is meeting the king for the first time here, but that isn't necessarily the case. But we read that the king's servant, the chamberlain who takes Daniel to the king to interpret the dream, and to, first of all, to open out what the dream is, instantly takes the plaudits to himself for bringing this patient to the king.
[34:46] And notice the difference. Daniel is there, and he means God to have the glory. That man is there, and really it's not the fact that Daniel is the expositor of God's dream that's highlighted, but that he is the one who has sought this means by which the dream is to be explained.
[35:12] And that may be a trivial thing, but I think it's there for a reason. We find that there is a very human trait that God's grace alone can deal with.
[35:31] And Daniel is someone who, throughout the account that we have of his life here, somebody who constantly belittles himself, if you like, in the eyes of men, but elevates his God in the eyes of men.
[35:50] We also see another characteristic that will follow Daniel, and that is his holy boldness. He tells the king how unreasonable it is for him to expect people to interpret a dream that they don't even know.
[36:11] He chastises the king almost verbally because of his attitude towards his own soothsiers and magi and whoever they are.
[36:22] He is saying to them, well, it's an unreasonable request that you have. How could they possibly interpret a dream that they haven't heard themselves?
[36:34] It may be a simple observation, but Daniel nevertheless brings it to the attention of the king. And you could say that it was a put down of those others.
[36:50] Because in one respect he is highlighting their inability. He is showing them up. Because here he is, he is going to tell the king what his dream was, and he is going to tell the king what his dream meant.
[37:10] And these others, they can't do that. At the same time, I think it is important for us to recognize that Daniel is more or less putting the king in his place.
[37:25] John Calvin has an interesting slide on what Daniel is saying there. It's not simply saying that Daniel is protecting these people in the sense that he is deflecting the king's anger against them.
[37:48] Because remember, all of them were in the same boat. And it seems on the face of it that Daniel is acting as an advocate on their behalf.
[38:15] But Calvin says this, Daniel spared the Magi, but not through any personal regard. He wished them to be safe, but for another purpose, namely to await their punishment from God.
[38:30] Now maybe Calvin is a bit too severe there in his opinion. But it is his opinion, nevertheless. He is quite prepared to wait for God's judgment on these people.
[38:45] He knows what they are. He knows that they practice the socialry and the dark arts in order to fulfill their own roles within that society.
[38:57] It doesn't mean that he has a place for them. It doesn't mean that he favors what they are doing in any way. But one thing he knows, and one thing any one of us can know, that God will in his own time bring such a people to judgment.
[39:15] And he will judge them accordingly. Well, these are three simple things that we can, on the face of it, find from Daniel's dealings with the king.
[39:29] It's a, I think, a remarkable thing that he is asked to, to explain a dream that he didn't have himself.
[39:40] And to interpret. It's hard enough for ourselves to think of a dream that is ours. And then to interpret that dream. But to be asked to interpret somebody else's dream, which we don't even know what it is.
[39:55] It seems an impossible task. Daniel could do so because he believed God had enabled him to do that. So the second thing is the sovereignty of God.
[40:07] I don't know if that's the right word, but I think the sovereignty of God covers it. It can be understood in several, with several layers, if you like.
[40:20] We can see from the description of God that what the dream has to do with is what lies in the future.
[40:33] And it is true that at that moment, in that present moment, God is able to predict what the future is.
[40:48] And not only is he able to predict what the future is, he is able to put the dream in the heart and in the mind of the king.
[41:01] So that the king can have it. You know, in verse 29, as for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed.
[41:13] What should come to pass hereafter? And he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. And it's plain from that that the source of the dream is outside of the king.
[41:34] But Daniel knows that source to be divine. He knows that God is the one who gave the king that dream. And his motive in implanting that dream in the mind of the king has to do with the king's own heart.
[41:57] You know, as for me, the secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
[42:16] And I think that's a difficult thing to explain or even to understand. Daniel is saying, God has given you this dream so that you will understand.
[42:31] You, the king, that you will understand your own heart. And clearly, God is dealing with Daniel, but he's dealing with Nebuchadnezzar as well.
[42:45] Dealing with him at a very personal level. And making himself known to them through that dream the king has.
[42:56] Now, the whole realm of dreams is a mystery to us all. And some people, you know, I do read a lot of comments on this passage.
[43:11] And there's a whole host of opinions as to what exactly is happening here. And more modern commentators will say that the reason for the king's dreams lies in the psychology of his life, in the personal problems that he has, his own unhappiness.
[43:40] And how that is affecting him. It's keeping awake at night. It's not sleeping properly. There's a psychosis. And they're interpreting this purely at the level of the psychoanalyst who's trying to interpret scripture using material that is purely and simply humanistic.
[44:09] Why did the king dream? Why did the king dream? Because God meant him to dream. Why did he dream what he dreamt? Because the dream was God's and everything that was in it, he was meant to experience.
[44:27] Whatever was going on in his life, he was a king, he was an emperor even. He had great power, he had great resources at his disposal. He was endowed with all kinds of characteristics that marked him out in whatever way we choose to interpret it.
[44:48] But simply to say the dream was the result of his psychological condition is not to understand what God was doing here.
[45:02] But that doesn't mean to say that we can't dismiss the fact that there was a dream experience that was the king's. It's a very long passage and the passage deals with this, the dream, its discovery and its interpretation.
[45:21] And there are many, many dreams that are contained within the scripture. Go over to Joseph's dreams. Why was Joseph given access to future events in his own life by way of dream?
[45:40] Who gave him that opportunity to see himself elevated to the role almost of king in Egypt before it happened?
[45:57] It happened by reason of dream. God gave him that dream. Why? We're not told. It doesn't give us an explanation as to why God should use that facility.
[46:08] We read in the New Testament the experience of Pilate's wife. Pilate is warned by his wife.
[46:22] I have suffered much in the night by reason of a dream concerning this righteous man. I have suffered much.
[46:33] She dreamt. We're not told what the dream was. But the dream was vivid to her and she knew it was connected with the Lord Jesus.
[46:44] And she warned Pilate against doing what he was intended to do. Why? What was the purpose of the dream? Are we assured that the source was always God?
[47:00] Every dream that we have recorded in the scripture is God the source. So there's a mystery in a sense in some of the dream experiences that the Bible brings to our attention.
[47:15] And here we are told quite plainly that while we cannot insist that every dream that's recorded for us in the scripture is of divine origin, nor can we explain every dream experience that we ourselves have.
[47:32] And we read often of Christians, certainly the older Christian church, that there are many people there who had spiritual experiences within the realm of dream that allowed them to see into the future.
[47:51] Or to at least speak of future events in the ways that are beyond our comprehension. And we cannot always explain and we cannot always insist that such experiences, even though they are the experiences of Christians, that they are always of sanctified sources.
[48:14] Because there are others in this world who have had dream experiences, who are not necessarily Christian, nor have their experience of dream anything to do with the spirit or the soul of the individual who has these dreams.
[48:33] But that being said, we can say here that this dream is God given. God gave this king this dream.
[48:47] If you read in verse 31 downwards, Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee, and the form thereof was terrible.
[49:00] And he describes what the king saw. Now he could not describe that without God himself showing him exactly what the king saw.
[49:11] And you can understand how awesome that must have been to Nebuchadnezzar. This vague recollection of a dream. I can't even say how vivid the dream was in his memory.
[49:26] But he had a dream. It troubled him. He needed to have it explained. He wasn't comfortable with the memory of that dream.
[49:37] However vague it was, he needed to have it explained to him. And God, in his wisdom, saw fit to bring it to the attention of Daniel vividly again, so that Daniel could bring it to the king.
[49:53] And this is from God. Not just the dream itself, as the king had it, but the dream as Daniel was able to see it.
[50:09] As if he was the one seeing through the eyes of the king what the king saw but forgot. And he presents that to the king followed by the interpretation.
[50:24] Now, it's wonderful that we can interpret the words of the dream with God's interpretation. Otherwise, we have difficulty because without the explanation, without the understanding of what is meant by the dream, we would have a broad span of different opinion.
[50:50] But the interpretation as Daniel brings it, we are told this, that So it seems that this is the key to the interpretation of the dream.
[51:28] The figures that we have there, of the head of gold and the limbs and so on, in descending order, we're given an insight into what that means, because Daniel says, you, Nebuchadnezzar, are the king.
[51:46] You are the head of gold. Your kingdom is spoken of here. But then your kingdom will be followed by another kingdom. After thee shall rise another kingdom inferior to thee.
[52:02] Another third kingdom of brass. The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron. And so on. So the interpretation there for us is reasonably simple.
[52:18] Because he's talking about what seems to be four empires. And most commentators say to us, these are the empires that are described in this way.
[52:32] In a historical order, you have the kingdom of Babylon, that the king ruled over. Then you have the kingdom of Persia. And then you have the kingdom of the Greeks.
[52:49] And then you have the kingdom of Rome. Now, that is simply the four kingdoms that are spoken of here. But historically, when you look at how that spans the pages of history, they're not really, they're probably the main empires and the main powers that feature.
[53:17] But they're not the only ones. And if people want to nitpick, that's what they pick on. That's what they point at. And they say, this isn't really predictive.
[53:29] This isn't really accurate. This is just something that could have been speculated upon, but not really, I don't think.
[53:39] but many subsequent attempts have been made based upon placing the book of Daniel at a later date, so that instead of Daniel recording prophecy, he is simply looking back and seeing the events at a later date and putting them into this sequence, which is wrong, because there's no reason for us to believe that approach.
[54:14] What Calvin says is this, that God wished using this figure to represent the future condition of the world until the advent of Christ.
[54:27] this is how God wished us to understand that these kingdoms would come and these empires would exist.
[54:43] But one day the king of kings would come. Notice he calls, Daniel calls, the king Nebuchadnezzar, a king over kings in the sense that he is king among kings.
[55:08] He is a king that is co-equal with the kings. But there's only one king of kings and lord of all and that is God. But Daniel highlights the place that this king has in the sequence of events.
[55:26] But that sequence will come to an end with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this is the thing that is highlighted by many.
[55:39] They look at these verses and they wonder what is it that is referred to here.
[55:53] Is Daniel and probably by reason of what is going to be said later on within this prophecy is Daniel is he straddling as it were the coming of Christ the first time and going to the coming of Christ in his second coming.
[56:15] Is the establishment of the kingdom that he is speaking of here is that what Daniel has in view. And there is no reason for us to believe like that because when we read the scriptures the scriptures tell us quite plainly that Jesus when he comes he is establishing a kingdom a kingdom that has no end at all.
[56:43] David Helm writes about verses 34 and 35 and later verses 44 and 45.
[56:55] And what he says is simply this that this is the establishment of the kingdom of Christ which is not of this world.
[57:08] And remember these words for as much as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it break in pieces the iron the brass the clay the silver and the gold the great God hath made note to the king what shall come to pass hereafter and the dream is certain and the interpretation thereof is sure.
[57:30] So that while he is highlighting the existence of a kingdom that is great and a king that is mighty that kingdom is not going to endure it will be followed by another lesser one that will be followed by another lesser one that will be followed by another lesser one some Jews to look at the division of the feet you know as if it implies the fragmentation of that kingdom and that there is certain evidence that we can go to that it points to a certain kingdom it's not necessary for us to go into that detail the detail that's important is that Daniel here is interpreting a vision given to the king by God concerning the kingdom of Christ and his coming which is amazing which is amazing because Nebuchadnezzar is not a believer in God
[58:33] Nebuchadnezzar does not know who God is and yet God in his wisdom sees fit to allow this king to have a vision of future glories that he cannot even begin to understand and it's just a reminder to us again and again when we see God intruding into the darkness of this world he quite often chooses unlikely vehicles to convey the glory of his truth Cyrus is one such example he's not somebody who knows God or honors God or loves God yet he is the vehicle for God's glory and Nebuchadnezzar in this sense when he receives this vision from God he is given an insight and others through his interpretation that's given to him of the glory that belongs to our kingdom that will no bounce you know we sang in psalm 18 and relating there of this stone which
[60:01] Christ likes to apply to himself in the psalms and apply to himself that he is the chosen stone he is the rock of ages he is the one upon which the church is going to be built now you can sense the relief on the part of the king when he gets the dream told not only explained to him as to what the dream was but what the dream means and I'm sure it was a wonderful thing for him to know that he was he was the king of kings for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom power and strength and glory would have done his ego a power of good to hear that and yet he just doesn't get it what does he do when
[61:06] Daniel tells him this the king made Daniel a great man well before that he worshipped Daniel and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odour unto him he he was lifting Daniel up to to to to deity he was deifying because of what Daniel had done with God's help and yet in another way God is using this man to elevate Daniel and to give Daniel the position amongst that nation that will be to the good of his own people ultimately and in the hand of God Daniel and his friends are elevated by him because of
[62:06] God and the way God works sometimes may mystify us it may puzzle us it may make us wonder what is God doing here why is God doing what he is doing as Helm says the kingdom expands not through geopolitical rule but spiritual rule that pulls people out from their heart allegiances to self and to sin and into identification with Christ and church and that is where God means us to come when we read this book a book that has narrative which we can follow a book that continues into deep mysteries and yet it's the God of Daniel that introduces us to these things and allows us to have access to the wonders of who
[63:14] God is and may God help us to appreciate some of these things let us pray Lord help us to understand that amongst the mysteries of this dream world to which Daniel was given access that there is a God who super intends it all you gave such a vision to someone who could not comprehend the contents of that vision but you did so in order to have the glory that is you communicated not only to him but to your people we bless you and thank you for the many ways in which you find avenues by which you will declare your glory grant into each of us a sense of that glory forgive our sins in Christ amen our concluding psalm is psalm 145 psalm 145 the first version of the psalm and we're singing from verse 9 to 14 the
[64:34] Lord Jehovah and to all his goodness do declare and over all his other works his tender mercy are thee all thy works shall praise O Lord and thee thy saints shall bless they shall thy kingdom's glory show thy power by speech express to make the sons of men to know his acts done mightily and of his kingdom the excellent and glorious majesty thy kingdom shall forever stand thy reign through ages all God raises all that are bowed down upholdeth all that fall these verses the Lord Jehovah and to all his goodness doth declare recogn pour an holy home and poor in goodness does
[65:38] Israel and And all the wrongness of the world, this end of mercy's time.
[65:58] In your life worship, praise the Lord, and in thy sins shall bless.
[66:14] Take shall thy kingdom, glory is all thy power, thy spirit's blessed.
[66:31] Who may the sons of men turn all his eyes and nightly, and all his kingdom can say, and glorious majesty.
[67:03] Thy kingdom shall forever stand, thy ring to the ages of all, God raises all the time, and all the joy of the Lord, and all the joy of the Lord.
[67:42] May we make grace, mercy, and peace, and God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit rest and abide with you all, no one don't wish. Amen.