'Thou shalt stand in thy lot at the end of the days.' 'Stand'--that is
Daniel's way of preaching, what he has been preaching in several other
parts of his book, the doctrine of the resurrection. 'Thou shalt stand
in _thy lot_.' That is a reference to the ancient partition of the land
of Canaan amongst the tribes, where each man got his own portion, and
sat under his own vine and fig-tree. And so there emerge from these
symbolical words thoughts upon which, at this stage of my sermon, I can
barely touch. First comes the thought that, however sweet and blessed
that reposeful state may be, humanity has not attained its perfection
until once again the perfected spirit is mated with, and enclosed
within, its congenial servant, a perfect body. 'Corporeity is the end of
man.' Body, soul, and spirit partake of the redemption of God.
But then, apart from that, on which I must not dwell, my text suggests
one or two thoughts. God is the true inheritance. Each man has his own
portion of the common possession, or, to put it into plainer words, in
that perfect land each individual has precisely so much of God as he is
capable of possessing. 'Thou shalt stand in thy lot,' and what
determines the lot is how we wend our way till that other end, the end
of life. 'The end of the days' is a period far beyond the end of the
life of Daniel. And as the course that terminated in repose has been, so
the possession of 'the portion of the inheritance of the saints in
light' shall be, for which that course has made men meet. Destiny is
character worked out. A man will be where he is fit for, and have what
he is fit for. Time is the lackey of eternity. His life here settles how
much of God a man shall be able to hold, when he stands in his lot at
the 'end of the days,' and his allotted portion, as it stretches around
him, will be but the issue and the outcome of his life here on earth.
Therefore, dear brethren, tremendous importance attaches to each
fugitive moment. Therefore each act that we do is weighted with eternal
consequences. If we will put our trust in Him, 'in whom also we obtain
the inheritance,' and will travel on life's common way in cheerful
godliness, we may front all the uncertainties of the unknown future,
sure of two things--that we shall rest, and that we shall stand in our
lot. We shall all go where we have fitted ourselves, by God's grace, to
go; get what we have fitted ourselves to possess; and be what we have
made ourselves. To the Christian man the word comes, 'Thou shalt stand
in thy lot.' And the other word that was spoken about one sinner, will
be fulfilled in all whose lives have been unfitting them for heaven:
'Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.' He,
too, stands in his lot. Now settle which lot is yours.
* * * * *