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Daniel 7:10

The Pulpit Commentary on Daniel 7:10

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

God's books.

"The books were opened."

I. GOD HAS BOOKS.

1. The book of remembrance.

2. The book of life. St. Paul refers to those "whose names are written in the book of life" (; see also ; ). God preserves a record of the heirs of eternal life. He knows them, if men do not. He takes note of them individually; their names are written. The world is redeemed, not in the mass, but individually. Each one of us either has or has not his name written down in the "book of lift.." The most important question for each to ask is whether his name is there.

3. The book of the future. The future is known to God, and the course of providence and redemption by which he will work out his purposes of righteousness and mercy is determined (). Sudden changes surprise us, but they were anticipated by God. There is no chance, but an overruling wisdom fixes the great landmarks of the future.

II. GOD'S BOOKS ARE SEALED.

1. The book of remembrance is sealed. We have no present visible proof that Got notes our trouble, our fidelity, or our sin. We may forget our past, and it will lie hidden and silent.

2. The book of life is sealed.

3. The book of the future is sealed. Prophecy has extracted a few pages. But the great volume will only be unrolled as it is accomplished. It is best that we should not know the future, as we only have sufficient strength to bear the burden of the present (). It is best also because we can learn to walk humbly and trustfully, while we resign the future to the care of our Father in heaven ().

III. GOD'S BOOKS WILL BE OPENED. The judgment-day will be first of all a day of revelation. The decrees of reward and punishment will follow the opening of God's books.

1. The record of our conduct will be brought to light. Forgotten deeds will be remembered, and the truth of character made clear (). Hidden sin will be revealed. Unrecognized merit will be honoured.

2. The roll of the redeemed will be read. Not one of God's people will be forgotten. Christ will own the humblest of his followers.

3. The purposes of God concerning the future will declare themselves. The book of the future is unrolled by degrees as time passes. But its most momentous contents will be those which will be made clear when the great facts of the unseen world are first brought to light. Then God's purposes with mankind will be understood as we on earth can never comprehend them.

,

The kingdom of the Son of man.

In contrast with the brutal godless kingdoms, we have here a description of the higher final kingdom—its origin, character, and destiny.

I. ORIGIN.

1. It comes from above. Divine providence inaugnrates it, and heavenly principles inspire it. Christ and his kingdom are from above ().

2. It is in intimate relations with God. The Son of man "came to the Ancient of days," and was brought "near before him." The source of the power of Christ is his oneness with the Father (), his dependence on the Father (), and his obedience to the Father (; ).

3. It is a gift of God. The ether kings seized their power. To the Son of man a dominion is "given." Christ does not conquer the world by force. He receives his kingdom through the influence of God's grace and providence on men ().

II. CHARACTER.

1. It is a true dominion. Christ came to save the world by ruling over it. He is King as well as Redeemer. He claims obedience and more thorough submission than the greatest earthly despot can exact, viz. the submission of the heart ().

2. It is typified by "the Son of man," and therefore:

3. It is glorious. Christ was of humble earthly origin, and his kingdom came in obscurity (). Thus it was apparently inglorious when compared with the pomp of worldly monarchies. But it has God's glory, the beauty of holiness. This glory is soon in its principles and in its achievements, triumphing over sin and securing the peace and blessedness of obedience to God's will ().

III. DESTINY.

1. It is to be universal. The greatest human monarchies were limited in extent. Christ's is to be world-wide.

2. It is to be everlasting. Other kingdoms are temporary, and subject to final destruction. The kingdom of the Son of man is indestructible and everlasting.

HOMILIES BY H.T. ROBJOHNS

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