With New Testament Eyes: 79
By Henry Mahan
Daniel 4:28-37
Those who know the living God, who have seen a little of his glory and majesty in the face of Christ Jesus are troubled by the low opinion that men today have of God. 'There is no fear of God before their eyes' (Rom. 3:18). 'Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself' (Psalm 50:21). Such trash and trite that is permitted in the pulpit and church in the name of God and such familiarity, irreverence, small thoughts, and loose talk about the Lord God is unheard of in the scriptures or among our ancient fathers. Let us look at the text and see how the Lord dealt with Nebuchadnezzar and what he was pleased to teach him.
No one ever accused Nebuchadnezzar of being a prophet; but the Lord taught him, as he taught Jonah, some powerful truth in a most unusual way. Nebuchadnezzar was a great and powerful man, also a very proud man (vv. 22, 30). Because of his pride and boasting, the Lord took away his kingdom and his understanding and he became like an animal for a time (vv. 32- 33). Through this experience be learned four things:
1. He learned the majesty, greatness, and sovereignty of God.
v. 34. At the end of those days, Nebuchadnezzar said, 'I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion.'
When Moses stood before the bush that burned and was not consumed and asked, 'What is thy name?' the Lord said to Moses, 'I AM THAT I AM.' There was a time when man was not; there was a time when the world was not; there was a time when the heavens were not; there was a time when time was not; but our God is, was, and ever liveth. 'I praise him that liveth forever.'
The Lord God's dominion and reign is everlasting, infinite, irresistible, and immutable. The hymn writer wrote:
'Thy throne eternal ages stood,
ere seas or stars were made;
Thou art the ever-living God,
were all the nations dead.
Eternity with all its years
stands present in thy view;
To thee nothing old appears,
great God, there's nothing new.
Let idols topple to the ground
and their own worshippers confound,
But Judah shout and Zion sing
and each confess our sovereign King.'
He is absolutely sovereign in creation. All things were made by him and for him, and by him they are held together. By him they shall be destroyed, and he shall make 'all things new' (2 Peter 3:10-13).
He is totally sovereign in providence. 'Not a bird falls to the ground without him.' He worketh all things after the counsel of his own will' (Isa. 45:5-7; 46:9-11; Eph. 1:11). He so orders all events, all men, and their actions that 'all things work together for good to them that love him and are the called according to his purpose.'
He is sovereign in salvation. He said to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy' (Rom. 9:10-18; 8:28-31). Our Lord said, 'The Son quickeneth whom he will' (John 5:21).
How did David identify the Lord God when the heathen asked, 'Where is your God?' He replied, 'Our God is in the heavens; he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.'
2. He learned the nothingness of man.
v. 35. 'And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing.' 'All the inhabitants of the earth are as nothing;' not some, not the poor, the rich, the weak, the openly wicked, but all together. Kings, emperors, the rich, the powerful, the learned, the talented, the wise, and the foolish are all before him as nothing. Men came from the earth and will return to the earth. 'We brought nothing into this world and we carry nothing out.' 'Without him we can do nothing!'
