ing much and in it was food for all; under it dwelt cattle and beasts; and in the branches thereof the fowls of the air had their abode, and all flesh did eat of it. And behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven; he cried aloud, and said thus, 'Cut down the tree, and chop off the branches thereof: shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruits : let the beasts fly away that are under it, and the birds from its branches. Nevertheless, leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and let it be tied with a band of iron, and of brass, among the grass that is without; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let its portion be with the wild beasts in the grass of the earth. Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given him, and let seven times be passed over him. This is the decree of the sentence of the watchers, and the word and demand of the holy ones: till the living know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and He will appoint the basest man over it.' I, King Nabuchodonosor, saw this dream; thou, therefore, O Baltassar, tell me quickly the interpretation: for all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to declare the meaning of it to me; but thou art able, because the spirit of the holy gods is in thee."

It would appear as if this heathen king spoke of Daniel's holy gods, believing indeed that the God or gods which he worshipped were holy and most powerful, and able to work marvels which no other god could do; but it does not seem as if he was converted to the worship of that God who so wonderfully ordered his destiny at this time, or, indeed, ever entirely, although he was moved, after the fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy in this dream, to acknowledge his God to be the only true God in all the earth.

Then Daniel, after remaining in deep thought for the space of an hour, thus interpreted the dream to the king: "The tree which thou sawest which was high and strong, whose height reached to the skies, and the sight thereof unto all the earth, and the branches of it were most beautiful, and in it was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and the birds of the air had their abode in its branches; that tree is thou, O king, who art grown great and mighty, whose greatness has grown and reached to the heaven, and thy power unto the ends of the earth." And then Daniel went on to say, that the watcher or holy angel who had come down from heaven was pronouncing the sentence of the great King of Hea ven upon Nabuchodonosor for his pride, and had ordered the king to be cut down, even as the tree was; but as the stump was left, even so Nabuchodonosor's life was to be spared, and his kingdom was to be preserved and restored to him after he should have recognised the power of the Most High who rules over all men. And, as in the dream, the mighty tree was to have its portion with the wild beasts, so this great king was to be cast out from the dwellings of men, and driven out to feed with cattle and wild beasts until this time should come.

"Wherefore," said Daniel, "O king, let my counsel be acceptable to thee, and redeem thou thy sins with alms, and thy iniquities with works of mercy to the poor; and perhaps God will forgive thy offences," and (he meant) 'spare you this pun

ishment.'

The King of Babylon, however, as it appears, heeded not Daniel's good advice, and at the end of twelve months, as he was walking in the palace of Babylon, he gave vent to all the pride of his heart which had so offended God, and boastingly he

said, "Is not this the great Babylon which I have built to be the seat of the kingdom, by the strength of my power, and in the glory of my excellence?" And while the words were yet in the king's mouth, a voice was heard from heaven repeating the words of the prophecy, and saying, "O King Nabuchodonosor, thy kingdom shall pass from thee, and they shall cast thee out from among men, and thy dwelling shall be with cattle and wild beasts; thou shalt eat grass like an ox: and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will."

Then the prophecy took place: the king lost his senses, and was driven out to eat grass with the cattle; his body was wet with the dew of heaven, his hairs grew like eagle's feathers, and his nails like bird's claws, until, at the end of the appointed time (seven years), he lifted up his eyes to heaven, thus, as we may suppose, in some way recognising the power of God; and his senses returned to him, and he was sought for by his nobles, and restored to his kingdom, where greater honour and majesty were given him than before. Upon which the king praised and glorified God, saying that all His works and judgments were true, and that He was able to abase all such as walked in the pride of their hearts.

We read in the Magnificat, or Song of the Blessed Virgin, "He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek;" and we can scarcely study any part of the Scriptures without seeing God's hatred of pride, and how severely He punishes it. He even punished this heathen king with terrible severity for this dreadful vice; and if this was so, what punishments may not Christians expect, if they give way

to thoughts of pride and arrogance? This heathen king knew not the truth, and had every temptation to pride which the splendour and grandeur of this earth can give; and yet he presents but a true picture of many Christians who pride themselves on their earthly possessions, on their powers of mind, on their rank, their beauty, or fine clothing, who yet, unlike King Nabuchodonosor, have been instructed in God's laws and truths, and who profess themselves the followers of a God who lived on earth in poverty and obscurity, and was crucified on a cross, the King of humility and self-abasement. Would to God that all such Christians as imitate King Nabuchodonosor in his pride, would also imitate him in his repentance and acknowledgment of the greatness and justice of God in His chastisements!

THE HISTORY OF BEL.

NABUCHODONOSOR did not live many years after he was restored to his kingdom and honours, and on his death his son Evilmerodach became king. But Daniel was still the king's guest (for this new king is said to have been very favourable to the Jews): the Scripture says "he still lived in the palace, and was

honoured above all his friends."

Now the chief idol of the Babylonians was a statue called Bel, whom they all worshipped and paid great honour to; and believing that this poor mute block of clay eat and drank, they placed in his temple every evening twelve great measures of fine flour, and forty sheep, and sixty vessels of wine, which, when day reappeared, they found consumed. And the king was foremost amongst Bel's worshippers; for he went, says the Scripture, "to adore Bel every

day." But Daniel, remaining true to his faith in this idolatrous court, adored his God with ever-increasing zeal. And the king, struck with Daniel's fervour towards an unseen God, and his indifference to the idol whom he thought so powerful, said to him, "Why dost thou not adore Bel?" And Daniel replied, "Because I do not worship idols made with hands, but the living God that created heaven and earth, and hath power over all flesh." And the king then said, "Doth not Bel seem to thee to be a living god? seest thou not how much he eateth and drinketh every day?" Then Daniel smiled and said, "O king, be not deceived, for this statue is but clay within and brass without; neither hath he eaten at any time."

This reply made the king very angry, and still more so because he suspected he might have been deceived; and he therefore called for his priests and said to them, "If you tell me not who it is that eateth up these meats, you shall die. But if you can show that Bel eateth these things, Daniel shall die, because he hath blasphemed against Bel." And Daniel said to the king," Be it done according to thy word." And there were seventy of these idolatrous priests who were specially consecrated to Bel, and all these priests had wives and children. And the king went with Daniel into the temple of Bel, and these priests who were in the temple said, "Behold we go out; and do thou, O king, set on the meats and make ready the wine, and shut the door fast, and seal it with thy own ring; and when thou comest in the morning, if thou findest not that Bel hath eaten up all the meats and drunk all the wine, either we will suffer death, or else Daniel that hath lied against us." Now these priests, true children of him who is the father of lies and deceit, thought they were quite safe in their cunning; for they had made a secret entrance under the table, and they