Thomas Daniel

“ They had abundance of good food, were well clothed, and their house, as well as their persons, was always neat and clean. But Daniel, though pleased with this outward reformation, was not satisfied; he knew that something more was necessary. He persevered in exhortation and prayer for the man’s conversion to God; and he wished him to make an open confession of his faith by baptism. As often as Daniel pressed this duty upon him, so often did Runga declare, ‘I am not worthy to be called a Christian; I am not worthy to be as you are. ”

“ This happened when Daniel was about thirteen or fourteen years of age. Preparatory to the worship, his parents cleaned the rusty swords, decorated them with flowers, and placed them upright against a wall. When the proper time came, they and their visitors made offerings to the swords, of plantains, cocoa-nuts, rice, etcetera. After this, they burned incense to their ancestors who were the original owners of the swords, and then falling prostrate before them they all cried out, “O, our gods, prosper us: O, our gods, defend us.” ”

“ As they proceeded slowly towards the large tank, (lake) , he saw that a few men near the front were carrying an image of clay in the shape of a woman. She had been worshipped to avert cholera, and now the worshippers were taking the idol to throw it into the tank, as the last act of their devotional ceremony. Daniel was a close observer of all that was done, and he saw at one time, when those who carried the idol held it up higher than the heads of the people, tears run out of its eyes. ”

“ I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.’ When he became worse, and it was evident that he had not many minutes to live, Daniel said to him, ‘Runga, continue to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.’ He replied, ‘I believe ONLY on the Lord Jesus Christ,’ and in a few minutes he died. He was never baptised, but doubtless he was saved through the merit of Jesus’ death, and Daniel was the chief instrument in his conversion. ”

“ We have seen how some old swords were worshipped by Daniel’s parents and friends, and we will now show how, many years ago, a god was made out of an old schoolmaster, and is worshipped at the present day. The legend is that, about two hundred years ago, there lived in Goobbe a very efficient schoolmaster, who was celebrated all over that part, of the country for his learning, wisdom, and sanctity. He lived to a good old age, and then died. ”

“ Good Edward Hardey, whose words were the first that were sent home to the heart of the washerman with the power that quickens dry corns into sprouting seeds, and good Matthew Trevan Male, who baptized him as the firstfruits unto Christ in Goobbe, are both gone to their rest. Many others who have sowed on that field are also gone. Daniel has ended his course in peace. ”

“ In such a work delay, disappointment, and the deferring of hope are to be taken as but a call for more faith and more prayer. If the lights struggling in the heathen mind of Chickka were but an example of what is taking place in the minds of many, so also the change by which Chickka became Daniel, the steadfast Christian, was but an example of thousands of thousands that are yet to come. ‘Behold, I make all things new,’ says He who caused the light to shine out of darkness; and in the Mysore He will yet bring forth a new and glorious creation. ”

“ The goddess referred to was Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. When little Daniel heard this proposal, it seemed foolishness to him, and at a favourable opening in the conversation he said to his relation, “The goddess Lakshmi has blessed you with wealth, but she has left us in poverty; when she gives us prosperity we will worship her, but not till then.” Both Daniel’s father and his visitor looked at the boy angrily, but said nothing; however, in the end his father decided not to fetch the idol. ”

“ He cannot; our god will kill you.’ Daniel said to the sick man, ‘Do you believe that their god can harm you?’ He said, ‘No, no!’ Daniel’s wife then added, ‘But we all think you will die; are you afraid to die?’ He answered, ‘I am not afraid ”

“ This is a very different state of things from that which existed when Daniel was a boy. But there is very much yet to be done. The Missionaries have made a good beginning, but the work has to be completed; every man, woman, and child has to be converted; and therefore the young Missionary collectors all over England, have need to renew their efforts, that many more Missionaries may be sent to India every year. ”

“ As he could not remain peaceably in his own house, he left the village, and the Missionary gave him a room on the mission premises. Sunday, December 20th, 1846, was the day fixed on for the baptism. The place was the chapel in which Daniel had been baptised about three years previously. The congregation was unusually large, and a solemn awe rested upon the people. The interest increased as the service proceeded. Vysha Runga was the priest’s heathen name. ”

“ The people who break the cocoa-nuts are clever jugglers. They have a store of cocoa-nuts which have been previously broken and stuck together again. They substitute one for the other, and so deceive the people.”
S. “How it is, Sir, I don’t know. You are a gentleman and you understand it. I only say what everybody says, Sir.”
The above dialogue shows a shepherd’s creed, his ignorance, and his mode of worship. And it was a festival, a procession, and worship such as this that the shepherds of Singonahully were celebrating when Daniel interfered. ”

“ Mark what a Complication of Crimes meet together in the Church; when they come up to the Altar, the Man plights her his Troth or Truth, that he will love her; when he knows he cannot do it, for that he loves another already before her.
The Woman plights him her Troth, that she will love him, when, as the Lady just now mentioned, told Sir Thomas ———, she heartily hated him from the first time she ever saw him. Here is mutual pledging the Troth to a Falshood, which is, in short, a premeditated Lye; like a cold Blood murther, 'tis intended to be done long before it is done. ”

“ We must take notice of it, to the glory of God, that, though Daniel was now very old (it was above seventy years since he was brought a captive to Babylon) , yet he was as able as ever for business both in body and mind, and that he who had continued faithful to his religion through all the temptations of the foregoing reigns in a new government was as much respected as ever. He kept in by being an oak, not by being a willow, by a constancy in virtue, not by a pliableness to vice. Such honesty is the best policy, for it secures a reputation; and those who thus honour God he will honour. ”

“ These rulers were watching near by, and they saw Daniel kneeling in prayer to God. Then they came to the king, and said:
"O King Darius, have you not made a law, that if any one in thirty days offers a prayer, he shall be thrown into the den of lions?"
"It is true," said the king. "The law has been made, and it must stand."
They said to the king: "There is one man who does not obey the law which you have made. It is that Daniel, one of the captive Jews. Every day Daniel prays to his God three times, just as he did before you signed the writing of the law." ”

“ He had no vigour in him, and was but one remove from a dead carcase; he looked as pale as death, his colour was gone, his comeliness in him was turned into corruption, and he retained no strength. Note, the greatest and best of men cannot bear the immediate discoveries of the divine glory; no man can see it and live; it is next to death to see a glimpse of it, as Daniel here; but glorified saints see Christ as he is and can bear the sight. But, though Daniel was thus dispirited with the vision of Christ, yet he heard the voice of his words and knew what he said. ”

“ He will carry out incredible feats of destruction, and act, and destroy the mighty and the holy. 25 And by his cunning he will make fraud prosper in his hand, and he will think himself great, and in peace destroy many. And he will stand against the prince of princes, and he will be broken, but not by hand. 26 And the vision of evening and morning which was told is true. And you must conceal the vision, because it will be many days. 27 And I, Daniel, was exhausted [18] and sick for days. Then I rose and did the king's business. And I was appalled by the vision, and no one understood it. ”

“ He is a Lord of kings, from whom they derive their power and to whom they are accountable; and he is both a discoverer and a revealer of secrets; what is most secret he sees and can reveal, and what he has revealed is what was secret and which none but himself could reveal, 1 Cor. ii. 10. 3. He preferred Daniel, made him a great man, v. 48. God made him a great man indeed when he took him into communion with himself, a greater man than Nebuchadnezzar could make him; but, because God had magnified him, therefore the king magnified him. Does wealth make men great? ”

“ By the coming down of the holy watcher, and his commanding the tree to be despoiled of its glory, and hewn down, Daniel showed the king was meant his own humiliation. He should be driven from the abodes of men, his dwelling should be with the beasts of the field; he should eat grass like an ox, and his body should be wet with the dew of heaven. ”

“ When he comes to the den, not without some hopes that God had graciously undone what he had wickedly done, he cries, with a lamentable voice, as one full of concern and trouble, O Daniel! art thou alive? He longs to know, yet trembles to ask the question, fearing to be answered with the roaring of the lions after more prey: O Daniel! servant of the living God, has thy God whom thou servest made it to appear that he is able to deliver thee from the lions? ”

“ There is a man in thy kingdom that hath the spirit of the holy gods in him: and in the days of thy father knowledge and wisdom were found in him: for king Nabuchodonosor, thy father, appointed him prince of the wise men, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers, thy father, I say, O king:
5:12. Because a greater spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, and interpretation of dreams, and shewing of secrets, and resolving of difficult things, were found in him, that is, in Daniel: whom the king named Baltassar. Now, therefore, let Daniel be called for, and he will tell the interpretation. ”

“ But, whether he have any concern for himself or no, Daniel is concerned for him, and therefore wishes, " The dream be to those that hate thee. Let the ill it bodes light on the head of thy enemies, not on thy head." Though Nebuchadnezzar was an idolater, a persecutor, and an oppressor of the people of God, yet he was, at present, Daniel's prince; and therefore, though Daniel foresees, and is now going to foretell, ill concerning him, he dares not wish ill to him.
II. The interpretation itself is only a repetition of the dream, with application to the king. ”

“ And the king cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Great is the God of Daniel, Who hath made the lions to be submissive to him, and so like unto cats that they lick his feet.” And straightway the king commanded his servants to take Daniel up out of the den, and to seize his enemies, who had made accusations against him, and cast them into the den. And at that moment the lions devoured them before the king and before Daniel. And Daniel dwelt in the city of Babylon until the children of Israel returned to Jerusalem, that is to say, seventy years, and he died in peace. Salutation to Daniel. ”

“ Daniel was astonished, and his thoughts greatly troubled him.
"Belteshazzar," said the king, "let not the dream or the interpretation thereof give thee pain or uneasiness."
"My lord," said Daniel, "the dream is to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. The tree that thou sawest, which grew and was strong, whose height reached into the heavens, and the sight thereof to all the earth, it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong; for thy greatness is grown and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. ”

“ Though Daniel was himself a great prophet, and one that was well acquainted with the visions of God, yet he was a diligent student in the scripture, and thought it no disparagement to him to consult Jeremiah's prophecies. He was a great politician, and prime-minister of state to one of the greatest monarchs upon earth, and yet could find both heart and time to converse with the word of God. The greatest and best men in the world must not think themselves above their Bibles. ”

“ And the situation of the world was shewn unto him until the son of man came in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and got a kingdom in which all people, nations and languages should serve him. Reader, reflect! and see what a vast of knowledge this man Daniel must have obtained in these visions, which no man could communicate to his fellow man: his ideas must have been much clearer on all the scenes which passed before him in vision, than the mind of any person could be to whom he only told it, or who had no idea of those things only what he had received from others. ”

“ There is not a man upon the earth - The thing is utterly impossible to man. This was their decision: and when Daniel gave the dream, with its interpretation, they knew that the spirit of the holy gods was in him. So, even according to their own theology, he was immeasurably greater than the wisest in Babylon or in the world. ”