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SERMON L.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S VISION OF THE GREAT TREE.

"He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: nevertheless, leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him."-DAN, iv. 14-16.

THE experience of human life brings before us very wonderful vicissitudes. The rise and the fall of individuals and of empires alike exhibit the instability of human affairs, and how uncertain is the possession of those treasures of wealth and power for which ambition pants. Multitudes struggle for the splendours of earth, and a few attain them; for a time they seem the favoured children of fortune, their splendour dazzles mankind, and they stand on the summit of human greatness. The superficial envy them, the fumes of flattery swell their pride, their smiles are courted by those who surround them as gracious tokens of the favour of superior beings. But the tide turns, adversity sets in, shock after shock comes until all is is wrecked, prosperity, fame, health, sanity all gone, and the former idol of multitudes, the petted favourite of fortune, has sunk so low, that scarcely one remains to do poor service of all those who formerly watched and waited on his nod.

History has never failed to afford such instances of the rise and fall of human beings, but certainly few have been so complete as that furnished in this chapter, and which was foreshadowed to king Nebuchadnezzar in his astonishing dream; a dream which portrayed to him his greatness, his fall and his restoration. He stood in the midst of the earth, a potentate, the mightiest among men ; his arms had vanquished all who had resisted him, and he had so extended and embellished his capital, that it not only far exceeded the magnificence of any other city, but also owed so much to him that he might be regarded as a second founder.

While, however, he was at the very summit of his brilliant career, the awful dream was given him, which he felt also was more than a dream. He feared it was a vision of coming events. Anxious and troubled, he sought for its exact interpretation, and at length obtained it from the fearless and faithful Daniel. The terrible fulfilment of this, no doubt, divinely appointed dream took place twelve months afterwards, when every particular was realized. In the midst of his greatness, the king lost his reason, had a mania for acting as a beast, a mania well known to physicians, until his humiliation was complete; when his reason returned, his counsellors and lords sought him once more, his kingdom was re-established, and he issued a decree containing the account of the whole matter, and closing with the grand lesson, which the whole of these wonderful events had impressed upon him, " Now I Nebuchadnezzar, praise, and extol, and honour the king of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment, and those that walk in pride, He is able to abase." Never, perhaps, has this lesson been taught with greater force, never proclaimed with greater clearness. No condition is beyond the reach of change. The greater the height, and the greater the fall. Earthly riches find wings and fly away. How important, therefore, it is that we look for our stability in eternal things, our riches in that inner wealth which supplies the heart with heavenly graces, and the mind with those gems of spiritual wisdom which shine brighter in adversity, and will gleam with angelic radiance for ever. Give me neither poverty nor riches is the prayer of the truly wise, but give me, O Lord, the grace of contentment with my lot, whatever it may honestly be, and the love of being useful in the righteous performance of the duties of my station. Let us pray for such a daily cultivation of the graces of heaven, as may enable us in humble thankfulness to respond when the cry is raised "The bridegroom cometh," "Our lamps are ever burning, Lord, Thy servants are ever ready.”

Let us turn now from the individual application of this wonderful history to its wider bearing, in the disclosures it makes, of that Babylonish state of the Church of which it was at once the warning and the symbol. Jerusalem had become a prey to Babylon, and Babylon had attained a pitch of astounding greatness, pomp, and power. The inflated phantasy of the possessor of this seemingly impregnable position of grandeur assumed, that it was fixed, and beyond all danger of disturbance. We learn, however, that at the very acme of their glory, and in

the very hour of their fullest triumph, the stroke would come which would break down the power of Babylon; which would hew down the tree, cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its flower. Nebuchadnezzar's own name signified the anguish of judgment. The Babylonish spirit is the spirit of pride united to religion. It is self-love masquerading in saintli

ness.

Self-love appears in myriad forms, from the fawning whine of the street beggar, who will cringe and cajole, but who loves his lazy indolence too much to give himself to steady work, to the despot who to deck HIMSELF with fame and grandeur will waste whole kingdoms, will send the wail of widows through thousands of cottages, fill the air with the orphan's cry, and maim and slaughter hundreds of thousands of human beings. Self-love appears sometimes as the polite but over-reaching tradesman, sometimes as the pilfering cheat, sometimes as the marauding midnight ruffian, or the enraged assassin, but the character in which it becomes most appallingly extravagant, most exacting, most baleful, most intensely cruel, is when it comes forth in the garb of religion. It then transfers to itself the awful attributes of the Almighty, issues its fiats as infallible decrees, and assumes to inflict eternal as well as temporal miseries, upon those who are not submissive to its will.

This is the true and terrible Babylon, of which the other was the shadow going before. The word Babel means confusion. And, certainly, it is impossible to conceive of greater confusion than is introduced into Christianity, when instead of its meek spirit of serving and ministering to others, of self-denial, of loving deference to other, and taking the lowest seat; of returning good for evil; of seeking to spread light and truth around as God's universal gifts to train all men to happiness and to heaven, we are introduced to gaudy grandees with high sounding titles, claiming to lord it over all the world, to apostles of darkness and mystery who pretend to dispense with the teaching of science and common sense, and to have their decrees admitted on pain of destruction here if they can inflict it, and of everlasting ruin which they claim to be able to bestow. This spirit of Babylon is abundantly described both in the Old and the New Testaments. Thus, we read in Isaiah respecting Babylon, "And, thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever, so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it. Therefore, hear now, this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest

in thine heart I am, and none else beside me: I shall not sit as a widow neither shall I know the loss of children. But, these two things shall come to thee, in a moment, in one day: the loss of children and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection, for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge they have perverted thee: and thou hast said in thine heart I AM, AND NONE ELSE BESIDE ME." (xlvii. 7-11.)

The enormous arrogance of the spirit of pride has made its monstrous qualities too well known, in all ages, to leave any doubt of its nature; but the peculiar characteristic of Babylon is the blending of pride with a religion whose essence and form are innocence and humility. The Lamb of God is the especial title of the Blessed Saviour, because the Lamb is the symbol of that Divine Innocence, which is gentle, tender, and useful, but has no pride. Christians are sent out by the Saviour AS LAMBS IN THE MIDST OF WOLVES, because the essence of their character is the innocence that claims neither power, dignity, nor merit, but desires to become AS A LITTLE CHILD, obedient as a little child, and unassuming as a little child, and so enter the kingdom of God.

"Ye know, the Redeemer said, that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them, but it shall not be so among you." True religion is modest, gentle, self-subduing, desiring to prefer others before itself, and especially, in meekness, to serve the Lord.

How marvellous has it been to see a system develop itself in the bosom of Christendom, filling the world with arrogant claims to power and authority, and the most vehement denunciations of all who do not admit these audacious pretensions.

So cruel is this terrible lust of spiritual domination, that kingdoms have often been laid waste, and millions of men have perished in the insane endeavour to give effect to the demands of spiritual despots. In this respect, Babylon is described by the prophet Jeremiah, "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance: He will render unto her a recompence. Babylon, a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest

:

all the earth and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain."

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Babylon is said to be a destroying mountain, because it is the very opposite of LOVE TO THE LORD, represented by mountains in their good signification. They signify the soul's best affections, raised up in fervent love to the Most High. "I will look to the mountains whence cometh my help," it is written, "My help cometh from the Lord who made heaven and earth (Ps. cxxi. 1, 2). The mountains shall bring peace (lxxii. 3). The mountains shall run down with new wine (Joel iii. 18). In the last days, saith the Lord, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established at the top of the mountains, and above all the hills, and all nations shall flow into it (Isa. ii. 2, 3). These mountains represent the soul's highest affections raised with adoring emotion to the Source of all good, but the DESTROYING MOUNTAIN, which Babylon became, represents the swelling pride of spiritual ambition. It rages, and curses and deals out desolation and death to all who oppose, and when it has spent its utmost strength, and wasted its vindictive energy, it sinks in disaster, condemnation and defeat. It is then as an exhausted volcano, with the fires of hate still smouldering below-a burnt mountain.

It seems marvellous that religion, the spring of our most pure and elevated states, the sustainer of charity, the friend of justice, the consoler of the afflicted, the harbinger of hope, could ever be so perverted as to become the embroiler of the human race, the persecutor of the conscientious and sincere. Yet such it has been when allied to the lust of power, and such it still is.

So beautiful, so grand, so important, and so holy are the principles of true religion, so much do they enter into all the affairs of men, and so valuable are they felt to be by those who faithfully enjoy them, that they freely honour those who are instruments of blessings so inestimable. This very circumstance makes it all the more needful for the ministers of religion to be especially fearful of themselves, lest they forget that they are appointed to be ministers of good only, to others, servants of the children of God, examples of humility and love.

Religion itself is the tree, like a grain of mustard-seed at first, which grows up, a vast system reaching to heaven, and seen to the end of the earth (ver. 10, 11). The leaves of religion are fair, the flower much, and in it is meat for all (ver. 12). What is rendered fruit in the description, ought to be flower. Religion has twelve manner of fruits (Rev. xxii. 2).

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