06-Daniel's Preservation in the Lion's Den
DANIEL’S PRESERVATION IN THE LIONS’ DEN
CHAPTER SIX
Foreshadowing Israel’s Deliverance from “the Beasts” “in the Latter Time”
EVERY Sunday-school child knows the story of Daniel in the lions’ den, but we wonder how many Christians know the typical teaching of this wonderful sixth chapter of Daniel? As we study it today, we want to see the details of its historical, practical message, so needed in our everyday lives. We also want to see in it the prophetic picture which it presents. For not only does the preservation of Daniel in the lions’ den encourage our own hearts, strengthening us for every trial, but Daniel also represents his people, Israel; his deliverance from the lions is a marvelous picture of the deliverance of the faithful Jewish remnant, which will go through “the Great Tribulation” when “the beasts” of the thirteenth chapter of Revelation persecute them “in the latter time.”
To this end, let us remember that chapters 3-6 of Daniel are typical of the religious and moral conditions that will prevail in the end of this age of Gentile world dominion. Let us remember that Daniel was cast into the den of lions during the reign of the first king of Medo-Persia, represented in Nebuchadnezzar’s image by the breast and arms of silver. By that time Babylon, “the head of gold,” had passed away.
DANIEL-“PRIME MINISTER” TO KING DARIUS When Darius came into power over conquered Babylon, he found Daniel in the exalted position to which Belshazzar had promoted him. Perhaps it was because Daniel had miraculously foretold Babylon’s downfall that Darius wanted to keep so useful a man in his service. Usually the incoming regime falls heir to all the honors. Just how Daniel came to occupy such an exalted position at the court of “Darius the Median,” we are not told. But we may be sure, that God was behind the scenes, bringing His servant into favor with the king, that he might continue to exercise an influence for good in the new empire, and that he might be used of God on behalf of his exiled people, Israel.
Darius had the reputation of being “weak and averse to business.”
Perhaps he was only too glad to give responsible duties to another whom he could trust. At any rate, he made Daniel the second ruler in the kingdom-in England such a man is called Prime Minister; in our country, Secretary of State. Let us read the first three verses of our chapter for the Scripture itself:
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes [satraps], which should be over the whole kingdom; and over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
1. “An Excellent Spirit Was in Him.”
Herein lay the secret of Daniel’s success. The queen-mother in the days of Belshazzar had said the same thing of this Hebrew (Daniel 5:12). Daniel could be depended upon to see that “the king should have no damage.” Therefore, he was made the first of three presidents, to whom the princes, or “satraps,” were in turn responsible.
In Old Testament times the Holy Spirit of God came upon individuals for special service. Surely He came upon Daniel for very special service at the court of one king after another, throughout a long period of years. Daniel would have been the first to attribute his own “excellent spirit” to the mighty power in his life of the Holy Spirit of his Triune God.
2. “He Was Faithful.”
When the other presidents and princes “sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom . . . they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him” (Daniel 6:4).
What a wonderful testimony to come from unwilling lips! Too often even our friends have occasion to find fault with us; and what of our enemies? But Daniel was faithful -first to his God; then to his king, even though he was an exile in a strange land.
Moreover, Daniel was old, possibly about eighty-six years of age. He might have given up, and said to himself that he had served his generation long enough. But no, he kept on serving, kept on being faithful. He was still busy for God! Through persecution and false accusation and trial he was ever faithful.
In all this, Daniel is a prophetic picture of the faithful Jewish remnant “in the latter time.”
When the Antichrist and the kings associated with him seek to annihilate Israel, these witnesses for the living God will be true to Him. Through martyrdom and death and such tribulation as “never was,” they will be, in very truth, “the faithful remnant in Israel.”
“An excellent spirit” was in Daniel, and “he was faithful.” Therefore, he was placed “over the whole realm” of Darius.
But there was another underlying reason for Daniel’s success. He was a Jew, and God made the Jew to rule! Throughout the centuries, in spite of all the Hitlers and Stalins, in spite of bitter oppression and unscrupulous pillage of the Jew by wicked Gentiles, God’s ancient people have prospered, far above the ratio of their number.
- Why is it that many of the greatest musicians, scientists, bankers, doctors, and scholars of the world have been Jews?
- Why is it that they have been blessed with an unusual capacity for acquiring wealth?
- Why is it that two out of every four names on Manhattan today are those of Jews?
We might turn to many portions of the Scriptures for our answer. We shall look at only one, the Word of the Lord (Deuteronomy 28:1; Deuteronomy 28:11-13) spoken through Moses to Israel many centuries ago: The Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth. . . And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods . . . The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God.
One day Israel will realize fully all these promised blessings, because God will keep His covenant with Abraham, and will rule through Israel over the whole earth. THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST DANIEL
Just as wicked men throughout the centuries have envied the Jew, so in Daniel’s day the corrupt officials of the kingdom of Darius, political plotters, conspired to bring about the downfall of that godly man.
Because they could find no “error or fault” in him, they resorted to a cunning, scheming conspiracy to bring this to pass. Their own acknowledgement of Daniel’s faithfulness was a wonderful testimony to his integrity. Try as they might, they could obtain no proof of any dereliction of duty on his part.
- His books could stand the light of any audit.
- He had not put his hand on a single portion of the public funds.
- He lived an open, clean, godly life, above reproach.
And what a testimony those jealous politicians gave of his faithful witness to his God!
How wonderful it would be if a similar statement could be made by the godless of our day concerning the Christian leaders and professed followers of Christ! If we are to witness for Him, then our characters must stand investigation.
In Daniel 6:5-9, we read-
Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. Then these presidents and princes assembled together (literally “came tumultuously” or “hastily”) to the king, and said unto him, King Darius, live for ever. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and die 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. Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. In this appeal to the egotism of the weak king, these jealous men won him by their flattery.
Moreover, the king was considered the representative of the Persian god, Ormuzd; therefore, according to the decree, he was to be worshipped. We are told also that the Medes and Persians regarded their king as infallible, because he did represent their heathen god; hence the immut-ability of the laws signed by him.
What a picture of the Antichrist!
That is one reason why God has recorded this story for us just here. During his brief reign upon earth; after the church has been translated, that “man of sin” will demand worship. He will sit “in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
The Lord wants us to see how this age will end; therefore, he lets us get a glimpse of the awful blasphemy that will oppose itself against Him in that day.
My friend, it is not very difficult for us to see how such a blasphemy could come to pass in the world in our day. If we see the shadows of the coming Antichrist even now, how much more will the reality vaunt itself when the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit, working in and through the church, is taken away!
DANIEL’S COURAGEOUS TESTIMONY FOR GOD
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
From this verse Daniel 6:10, I feel sure that Daniel was not afraid. He had had experience with the Lord God; therefore, he simply pursued his godly course. He knew that his Lord was able to deliver him, even as He had delivered his three friends from the “burning fiery furnace.”
- He did not open the window before he prayed; that would have been to court persecution.
- He did not close the window; that would have been cowardly.
He just did the customary thing.
As the ruler next to the king, he was necessarily a very busy man; yet he found time to pray “three times a day,” kneeling upon his knees in a position of humility and worship. In the face of threatened death by violent means, he “gave thanks before his God.” For what? For the persecution that was being heaped upon him? He faced a den of hungry lions! Daniel thanked God for salvation, for His love and grace and power. Read his beautiful prayers in this book that bears his name, to see some of the blessings for which Daniel must have thanked his God.
There is a reassuring exhortation to us in Php 4:6, accompanied by the precious promise of the verse that follows. If we do not know this passage from memory, let us learn it- and practice freedom from anxious worry and care, as Daniel did:
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
However dark the hour, we may always lift our hearts to God in praise, and say, “Father, I thank Thee.”
As if the decree had not been signed, Daniel prayed “as he did aforetime.”
And doubtless this experience drew him closer to the God he loved and worshipped. He did not try to meet craft with craft, although many a man in a similar position would have done so. Remember that Daniel was a Jew; he belonged to the shrewdest race the world has ever seen. Would it not have been natural for him to use all the cunning he possessed to outwit his enemies? But he did no such thing. His weapons were not carnal; they were spiritual. May God grant that we shall ever be as true to Him as Daniel was! THE ACCUSATION AGAINST DANIEL
Then these men assembled [again the word means “came hastily and tumultuously”], and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel [note the contempt-“That Daniel”], which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. When Darius heard the words of Daniel’s accusers (Daniel 6:11-13), only then did he realize that he had fallen into their trap. Only then did he know that their wicked conspiracy was formed, in order that they might get rid of Daniel. They had gone “hastily and tumultuously” into the king’s presence, apparently eager to do him honor, evidently not giving him time for deliberation before he had signed the decree. How Darius must have been vexed at his own susceptibility to their fawning flatteries!
How the enemies of Daniel must have gloated over their seeming triumph! But they had failed to take into account Daniel’s God! THE UNALTERABLE LAW OF THE MEDES AND PERSIANS
Three times in this chapter, in Daniel 6:8; Daniel 6:12; Daniel 6:15, we read of “the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.” It was a clever snare which these wicked men had set for the unsuspecting king; and try as he would, he could not change the decree. Herein we see one of the differences between “the head of gold,” which represented Nebuchadnezzar’s absolute monarchy, and the “breast and arms of silver,” symbolizing the kingdom of the Medes and Persians. You will remember that the word of Nebuchadnezzar was final, and none could dictate to him.
“Whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down” (Daniel 5:19).
But no such authority was given to Darius. He was bound by the unalterable law of the Medes and Persians, just as surely as was the weakest subject in his kingdom.
In this we see the deterioration in governmental power, just as silver is inferior to gold. It was not an inferiority in military strength, but in the degree of authority vested in the throne.
Democracy, or the will of the people, had already set in!
How much Darius loved Daniel may be inferred from the words he spoke and the things he did, once he realized the wicked intent of the conspirators. “Sore displeased with himself,” he “set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him” (Daniel 6:14).
But once more Daniel’s enemies “assembled hastily and tumultuously” unto the king, demanding the execution of the unalterable law. The insistence of their demands is seen in the fact that three times in the chapter, as we have already noted, we read that they went in confusion and with haste and tumult into the presence of the king; for that is the literal rendering of the word “assembled” (Daniel 6:6; Daniel 6:11; Daniel 6:15).
It seems as though they could not wait for the regular procedure of the law, but urged speed, lest their scheming come to naught. That they were overtaken in their guilt was due only to the intervening providence of Daniel’s God!
DANIEL IN THE DEN OF LIONS
Although the king could not raise a finger to avert the penalty which was about to descend upon Daniel, the prophet showed no evidence of fear. I am sure there was no tremor in his voice as he stood before his accusers. He had not denied his God; he knew that the Lord would deliver him or go with him through the trial.
Again, we would call attention just here to the power of his testimony, as shown by the king’s words in Daniel 6:16 :
1. The King’s Testimony concerning Daniel’s God.
Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. Can it be said of you, my Christian friend that you serve God “continually”? I ask myself the same question. “Continually” is all the time. How often we sin against our loving Lord by the harsh word, by the unkind thought, by the overt act, or by the neglected duty! A heathen king could say of Daniel that he served his God “continually.” May the Lord Jesus help us to be such witnesses to His love and grace!
2. God’s Delivering Power.
Every precaution was taken in Daniel 6:17 that Daniel might not escape the intended death. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
Darius was most unhappy; he passed the night in fasting.
“Neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him” (Daniel 6:18). He was not able to forget Daniel, even in his customary feasting and frivolity. Daniel 6:19-20 -
Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
It is very significant that this heathen king admitted to Daniel that his God was “the living God.”
Again he bore witness to Daniel’s continual service to his Lord. We can imagine the joy that filled his heart, the wonder and amazement that the miracle wrought in his soul, when he heard the voice of Daniel, in Daniel 6:21-22 saying:
O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. The den of lions must have presented a wonderful scene during the hours of that night! Possibly Daniel spent the time singing the Psalms, for they were the Jewish hymnal. Perhaps God told him to rest. Maybe he put his head on one of the lions for a pillow. Certainly he must have praised God for His miraculous, protecting care! Perhaps he was too eager to sing God’s praise to want to sleep. We do not know.
But this we know: Daniel’s God was “able to deliver” from the lions’ mouth. Daniel’s God is our God, “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8)!
Oh, if we could believe and act upon this eternal truth!
Then we should never spend an anxious moment; we should never know a distracting worry! It is a sin, a form of unbelief, for us to worry; it is an act of doubting the love and faithfulness of our God. His holy angels are our “ministering spirits”; they watch over us, whether we are conscious of their ministry or not. (See Hebrews 1:14; Psalms 91:11-12; 1 Corinthians 4:9).
3. “Daniel Believed in His God.”
When the king, “exceeding glad” that Daniel was delivered from the lions, “commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den,” he found “no manner of hurt” upon him. Why? “Because he believed in his God” (Daniel 6:23).
Not only did Darius and all the heathen enemies of Daniel thus witness his great faith, but the Holy Spirit, many centuries afterwards, must have had Daniel in mind when He encouraged the hearts of persecuted Hebrew Christians, reminding them of the saints of old who, among other trials, had “stopped the mouths of lions” (Hebrews 11:33).
As we meditate upon this wonderful story, we can only exclaim, with the apostles of old, “Lord, Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5).
Let us remember that it is not always God’s will to deliver His saints from tribulation; sometimes He wants them to witness unto Him, “even unto death.” Many of the early Christians were thrown to the lions to please the whim of a diabolical emperor.
In the London Art Gallery, some years ago, I saw a beautiful painting entitled “Christ or Diana?” It was the portrait of a young girl, about nineteen years of age. She was standing before an image of the Greek goddess, Diana. There were the vestal virgins. There were the priests of this pagan deity. One of the vestal virgins held out to this girl a golden box of incense. All that was asked of her was that she put her hand in the incense box, and take an offering to present to Diana.
By her side stood her lover, begging her to obey, to save her life. But the girl knew the Lord Jesus Christ as her Saviour. Like Daniel of old, she could not deny Him. Her eye was fixed upon that “city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10).
Her faith did not falter. She was cast into the arena, to be devoured by the lions, but the God of Daniel went with her through the ordeal, and took her Home to His presence forevermore.
He wanted to use her testimony before a heathen people, even as He may want to use your faithful witness to His grace and power, my dear friend in trouble.
“Have faith in God,” and He will go with you all the way.
CERTAIN JUDGMENT UPON THE WICKED
It was a fearful thing that Darius did to the enemies of Daniel. It is true that these wicked men brought the awful penalty upon themselves. But one may ask, “Why did their wives and children have to meet the same terrible fate?” (Daniel 6:24). It was a custom among the Persians that a man’s kindred should share in his punishment. This was contrary to the Law of Moses. It was not God’s law; it was pagan man’s terrible law. And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.
Compare with this awful scene the just words of our righteous God in Deuteronomy 24:16 (cf. 2 Kings 14:6): The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin. The terrible fate of Daniel’s enemies is just a dim picture of the eternal doom of all who reject Daniel’s God.
As Daniel represents the faithful Jewish remnant in the “time of Jacob’s trouble,” even so his persecutors might well symbolize the Satan-inspired enemies of God’s ancient people, Israel, “in the latter time.” The Lord Jesus Himself will come to avenge His elect; and “the beast . . . and the false prophet” and all who will be deceived by “the man of sin” will be “cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone” in that day of reckoning (Revelation 19:20).
My unsaved friend, will you not let Christ wash away your guilt by His atoning blood before it is too late? “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” unsaved, unfit for His righteous, holy presence! (See Hebrews 10:31). THE KING’S DECREE CONCERNING “THE GOD OF DANIEL”
It was a wonderful testimony that Darius gave to “the God of Daniel,” going as it did throughout all of the great empire. Let us read Daniel 6:25-27 just here:
Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. When we get to heaven, we shall not only see Daniel and his three Hebrew friends. Surely many souls in Babylon and Medo-Persia must have been won from idolatry to a faith in the living God by the testimony of Daniel’s consistent life!
“So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian” (Daniel 6:28). God prospered him; and he witnessed to Nebuchadnezzar, to Belshazzar, to Darius, and even unto Cyrus-to king after king, over a long period of years.
ISRAEL’S DELIVERANCE FROM “THE GREAT TRIBULATION” But one may ask, “Why is this story in a book which has to do with the course, character, and consummation of ’the times of the Gentiles’?” Let us see if we cannot make this clear. After the church has been translated, God will take up Israel again and deal with her as a nation. It is then that the seventieth week of Daniel, of which we shall study in chapter nine, will begin to run its course. In that day there will arise in Europe “the man of sin,” whose portrait is given on many pages of the Word of God. He is the Antichrist, “the beast,” the great persecutor of Israel.
During the reign of this Satan-inspired dictator, Israel will be back in her own land-not all of Israel, but many of this ancient people. They will be back there, but in unbelief, except for the faithful remnant who will be the missionaries of that terrible period. Many portions of Scripture tell of Israel’s return to her own land. We quote here only one of these, taken from Isaiah 11:11-12 : And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands (or “coasts”) of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The Antichrist will make a covenant with regathered Israel for a seven-year period. According to this agreement, he will promise the Jew national and religious liberty. He will observe this covenant for three and one-half years; then, as the head of the revived Roman Empire, he will demand universal worship. When he sets up his image in the holy place of the temple in Jerusalem, Israel will realize that he is a false Christ, will refuse to bow down to such an “abomination”; and her time of “Great Tribulation” will follow.
Meanwhile, the faithful Jewish remnant, of whom Daniel is a type, will witness to their soon-coming Messiah and King, even the Lord Jesus. John tells of this missionary band in the seventh chapter of Revelation - 144,000 Jews, 12,000 from each tribe. They will set themselves against the decree of the Antichrist, even as Daniel set himself against the decree of Darius. This “beast,” as he is called in Revelation, together with the false prophet who will represent him in Palestine, will seek to annihilate the Jewish nation. However, “for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22). God will be on the side of His people, to deliver them from the fury of these “beasts,” even as He delivered Daniel from the wild beasts in the lions’ den. In that day of “Great Tribulation” God’s people, Israel, will “flee into the mountains” (Matthew 24:16) to a place of refuge.
When we come to the study of the eleventh chapter of Daniel, we shall have more to say about the cities of Petra, to which many Bible students believe Israel will flee in that time of “Jacob’s trouble.”
They are ancient rock cities in the land of Moab; and that land will “escape out of” the Antichrist’s “hand” at that time of bitter persecution (Daniel 11:41). We cannot be dogmatic about this; but all the evidence points toward these prepared cities, hewn out of sheer rock, as a place of refuge for the Jew in the day of his most bitter persecution.
The late W. E. Blackstone, a godly man and a profound Bible student, was so convinced that the cities of Petra would afford a covert for Israel in that day that he purchased hundreds of New Testaments and hid them in the rocks there, so that God’s ancient people could find them when they flee there for safety from “the beast.” He wanted them to have the God-given message concerning their Messiah and coming King!
Isaiah 16:4 also seems to point to the fact that this will be a place of safety for God’s people when the fierce wrath of “the beast” is turned upon them: “Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler.”
The days I spent in that area, climbing thousands of feet, and examining that amazing “Rose-colored City of the Dead” were a never-to-be-forgotten experience in my life.
My Christian friend, we would remind ourselves again, before we close this chapter, that, although Daniel’s preservation in the lions’ den is a prophetic picture of Israel’s deliverance from “the beasts” “in the latter time,” yet we may take comfort also from this story of God’s protecting care of His own in every age. We are His children, and the sheep of His pasture. His Word tells us that He sees the sparrow that falls to the ground! Then how much more does He see us and care for us!
These are trying times, and even more “perilous times” lie ahead of this Christ-rejecting civilization.
Let us put our trust in the living God, if we expect to have peace and freedom from torturing worry and anxious care. He who watched over Daniel in the lions’ den is the only One who can give us a tranquil mind and heart in the midst of perplexities and problems which face us on every hand. We can afford to trust Him, for He never fails! And His gracious promise in Isaiah 26:3-4 reassures our fainting hearts:
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.
Let us not be among those who throughout the centuries have persecuted God’s people, Israel. The following lines, quoted from an unknown author, should cause us to search our hearts, lest we forget that to Daniel’s people we owe a debt of love-and that they stand in need of the gospel of their Messiah and our Saviour and Lord: THE JEW Scattered by God’s avenging hand, Afflicted and forlorn,
Sad wanderers from their pleasant land, Do Judah’s children mourn;
And e’en in Christian countries few
Breathe thoughts of pity for the Jew.
Yet listen, Gentile, do you love The Bible’s precious page?
Then let your hearts with kindness move To Israel’s heritage.
Who traced those lines of love for you?
Each sacred writer was a Jew.
And then as years and ages passed, And nations rose and fell,
Though clouds and darkness oft were cast O’er captive Israel,
The oracles of God for you
Were kept in safety by the Jew.
And when the great Redeemer came For guilty man to bleed,
He did not take an angel’s name;
No-born of Abram’s seed-
Jesus, who gave His life for you,
The gentle Saviour was a Jew.
And though His own received Him not, And turned in pride away,
Whence is the Gentile’s happier lot? Are you more just than they?
No; God in pity turned to you.
Have you not pity for the Jew?
Go, then, and bend your knee to pray For Israel’s ancient race;
Ask the dear Saviour ev’ry day To call them by His grace;
Go, for a debt of love is due
From Christian Gentiles to the Jew.
~ end of chapter 6 ~