Daniel

The warriors of Babylon

Laid siege and it was not too long

Before Jerusalem gave in

Surrendered by Jehoiakim

The temple riches made of gold

Were stolen by the victors bold

And from the aristocracy

The cream went to captivity

Among the royal hostages

A cut above the averages

Four lads were found to serve the king

They had to study everything

So Hananiah, Mishael

And Azariah, Daniel

Though servants in a pagan court

Did not forget what God had taught

Nebuchadnezzar had a dream

But none could tell what it might mean

Which put the king into a rage

He planned to murder every sage

But Daniel went to ask the king

For time for true interpreting

Then Daniel and his praying friends

Discovered what the dream portends

And Daniel sang a song of praise

To God, the King of endless days

From whom no secrets can be hid

On royal dreams there is no lid

Then to the king the dream revealed

Unlocked the meaning and unsealed

Four passing kingdoms come and go

Till Heaven’s King rules here below

For empires wax and empires wane

And human monarchs stake their claim

But when God’s Kingdom like a stone

Strikes at their feet, the empires groan

Then fall and crumble, turn to dust

Just like their idols which they trust

And in their place God’s endless rule

Remember this, don’t be a fool!

But royal pride like cancer grows

King Neb defeated all his foes

Then built an idol out of gold

But Daniel’s friends were very bold

Before this idol they refused

To bow, King Neb was not amused

Into the furnace they were thrown

But even there were not alone

Among the flames King Neb could see

Not three, but four were walking free

He called them out and with surprise

He praised their lack of compromise

No whiff of smoke, no smell of fire

No harm befell them in the pyre

They trusted God, survived the flames

Defied the king and his false claims

But royal pride is hard to tame

Nebuchadnezzar dreamed again

A tree grew up to great renown

Then came a call to cut it down

But leave a stump there in the ground

With bronze and iron bind it round

And let the stump be drenched with dew

Until he calls on God, who’s true

Daniel feared to tell the king

The meaning that this dream might bring

For Neb himself was that great tree

Felled, destined for insanity

A year went by, the king was high

On self-addiction, me and my

And did I mention, I! I! I!?

Then came the verdict from the sky

Cut him down! The Lord decrees

Until he learns who plants the trees

Insanity will haunt his brains

He needs to know that heaven reigns

And so the king became a beast

Until from madness was released

And then he praised the Lord Most High

Whose name alone we glorify

About a king called Belshazzar

There is a story quite bizarre

He held a banquet for his court

Forgetting what the Lord had taught

And from the royal treasure pile

God’s sacred vessels he defiled

With toasts to gods of wood and stone

He sat with pride upon his throne

Then terror struck the festive hall

A hand was writing on the wall

In letters no one could decode

Bad news for sure the message bode

Belshazzar nearly wet his pants

Surrounded there by sycophants

But Daniel now was old and grey

He did not care what kings might say

On heaven’s scales you have been weighed

Your time has come, so be afraid

Your kingdom will be torn in two

Your life is now required of you

To Babylon that very night

The Persian army came to fight

The city fell, no incident

Belshazzar died without lament

Now Darius the Mede then ruled

He too by royal pride was fooled

O king, be god for thirty days

Let anyone who offers praise

To any other god be then

Escorted to the lions’ den

Darius was truly flattered

But he forgot what really mattered

He wasn’t god, he did not care

To know the heart or answer prayer

But Daniel would not change routine

Three times a day, a prayer machine

The plotters found him on his knees

Regardless of the king’s decrees

But Daniel took it in his stride

A man who fell before a pride

That night the king was filled with guilt

He could not sleep and ran full tilt

At dawn to find if Daniel’s calm

Had saved him from leonine harm

Oh King, don’t fret, these pussy cats

Are subject to divine diktats

My God has sent an angel here

To shut their mouths and calm my fear

The stone was rolled and from the floor

They raised the prophet from death’s door

And all his enemies were thrown

Into the pit, oh hear them groan!

From kingly wrath, from furnace hot

From subterfuge and hostile plot

From monarchs who with madness rave

The Lord Most High is strong to save

The second half of Daniel’s book

Is harder, but let’s take a look

For Daniel was a man who kneeled

Before the Lord who then revealed

What would befall this broken world

The Lord his masterplan unfurled

Four monsters rose out from the sea

Each filled with vile iniquity

Before the throne of God Most High

All creatures came to testify

The final beast was caught and slain

The other beasts put on a chain

Then every nation, tribe and tongue

Gave glory to the Son of Man

A kingdom that will never end

Before Him every knee will bend

This vision caused him great alarm

His spirit trembled, found no calm

Until the explanation came

These beasts are kingdoms which shall reign

Let every human monarch know

The Lord on high rules here below

God’s kingdom shall for ever stand

The Son of Man is in command

Another dream disturbed his sleep

The violence made him nearly weep

A Persian ram, a Grecian goat

Disaster and a great revolt

Four kingdoms of the Grecian state

One vile king will desecrate

The Holy Land, the sacred place

Until God leaves of him no trace

And Daniel turned again to prayer

The only answer to despair

How long, Oh Lord, how long until

Your promises you will fulfil?

When shall the exile be complete?

When comes the end of our defeat?

Oh Lord, forgive our nation’s sin

The list is long, where to begin?

While Daniel knelt to intercede

God sent his angel and decreed

That he should know God has in mind

A plan to rescue all mankind

An end to sin, plans to atone

A Prince to rule upon the throne

Then Daniel fainted as if dead

The angel calmed his throbbing head

Then just as things were calming down

Another vision made him frown

Two kings with proud and boastful mouth

Prepared for war from north and south

They trampled down the Holy Land

And Daniel could not understand

He turned confusion to lament

And when he asked God what it meant

The angel told him to depart

For God will save the pure in heart

Seal up the scroll, it’s not yet time

For God will judge and then assign

The risen ones to life or shame

Lord, in your book, please write my name

Seal up the scroll and go your way

The Son of Man will come one day

And though we do not now perceive

What all this means we do believe

As Daniel knew that heaven reigns

And that the earth with all its pains

Will come before the throne of grace

With all creation in its place

The Kingdom of the Son of Man

Will be established by God’s plan