be truth. Some men have never taken enough of a stand anywhere so that it would be worth while to keep their feet from being moved. If we are standing on some falsehood of uncertain, changing ground, we cannot hope that the Lord will keep our feet from falling. If the belief in salvation from sin through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a poorly grounded presumption, then we are on slippery ground. If the Sabbath of the Ten Commandments and of the life of Jesus is not an unchanged moral law, then are our feet almost falling. If, on the other hand, we are building on the truth, then are we safe. Let us search diligently to know the truth, that we may take our stand upon ground where we can confidently expect that he will not suffer our feet to be moved. Notice also that we must take a decided stand ourselves. If a man doesn't exactly know whether or not he is a Christian-he hopes he is, he expects to be, his parents were, he means all right, that man in his uncertain attitude is not upon ground where he can expect God to maintain him. It may be that a man is asking that the Lord will keep his feet from falling in the temptation to intemperance, who has never taken any stand on that question at all. God will not keep a pure heart in one who deliberately opens his eyes and ears to that which is impure. If any one of us expects the Lord to keep us from the paths of sin, it will be well to consider what stand we have taken toward sin. Neither can a man choose a business or profession where Sabbathkeeping is practically impossible and then expect that the Lord will open the way for him to observe the Sabbath. A man starts out in business hoping in a general way to be able to keep the Sabbath, and get on in the world at the same time. He believes in the Sabbath and would be glad if he could observe it-possibly after a time he can--after he gets a start. This man has not set his feet down at all, and it matters little whether they are moved or not. This is not the way in which Daniel and the other young Hebrew captives answered King Nebuchadnezzer. I can easily imagine a lot of fairly good excuses that these young men might have given to themselves for not being over particular about defilement, but they took a stand, and God honored them in it. So it was that when three of these men were confronted with the question of bowing down to the golden image that the king had set up, that there was no uncertain ground taken. To be sure they were alone of all the subjects of Nebuchadnezzar, and they were only captives; but with the enraged king and his armed guards before their eyes, and with the crackle of the furnace in their ears, but with God in their hearts, they confidently answered and said to the king, "Oh, Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thy hand, oh king. But if not, be it known unto thee, oh king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." The God of these brave men is our God, and if we trust in him, and do our part, there will be with us in every fiery trial the form of the fourth-like unto the Son of God. So it was that afterwards, when King Darius had signed the wicked decree that no one should pray to any god for thirty days, that Daniel was not moved. He chose to face lions rather than to dishonor Jehovah. "Dare to be a Daniel, Dare to stand alone, Dare to have a purpose firm, Dare to make it known. |