In the Court of Babylon
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be judged by what we ought to have done, but did not accomplish
because we did not use our powers to glorify God.
A noble character is not the result of accident; it is not due to special
favors or endowments of Providence. It is the result of self-discipline,
of subjection of the lower to the higher nature, of the surrender of self
to the service of God and man.
Through the fidelity to the principles of temperance shown by the
Hebrew youth God is speaking to the youth of today. There is need
of men who like Daniel will do and dare for the cause of right. Pure
hearts, strong hands, fearless courage, are needed; for the warfare
between vice and virtue calls for ceaseless vigilance. To every soul
Satan comes with temptation in many alluring forms on the point of
indulgence of appetite.
The body is a most important medium through which the mind and
the soul are developed for the upbuilding of character. Hence it is that
the adversary of souls directs his temptations to the enfeebling and
degrading of the physical powers. His success here often means the
surrender of the whole being to evil. The tendencies of the physical
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nature, unless under the dominion of a higher power, will surely work
ruin and death. The body is to be brought into subjection to the
higher powers of the being. The passions are to be controlled by
the will, which is itself to be under the control of God. The kingly
power of reason, sanctified by divine grace, is to bear sway in the life.
Intellectual power, physical stamina, and the length of life depend upon
immutable laws. Through obedience to these laws, man may stand
conqueror of himself, conqueror of his own inclinations, conqueror of
principalities and powers, of “the rulers of the darkness of this world,”
and of “spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Ephesians 6:12
.
In that ancient ritual which is the gospel in symbol, no blemished
offering could be brought to God’s altar. The sacrifice that was to
represent Christ must be spotless. The word of God points to this as an
illustration of what His children are to be—“a living sacrifice,” “holy
and without blemish.”
Romans 12:1
;
Ephesians 5:27
.
The Hebrew worthies were men of like passions with ourselves;
yet, notwithstanding the seductive influences of the court of Babylon,
they stood firm, because they depended upon a strength that is infinite.
In them a heathen nation beheld an illustration of the goodness and
beneficence of God, and of the love of Christ. And in their experience