'A man of an excellent spirit.' Let us examine the qualities of fruit 'manifested in the life-story of the man in whom spirit excelled and was the principal thing. He recognised in himself and in all his relationships the supreme quality, to be spirit. Darnel was a man proportioned after the pattern and ideal of Deity. 'An excellent spirit was in him.' He was a man who began his life in the spiritual, and from that centre governed the material. Daniel was not a man who thought of himself within the physical, as possessing a spirit he thought of himself within the spiritual 'as possessing' a body. The principal thing in Daniel was not the physical, though he was fair, ruddy, and splendid spirit was the dominant factor in the personality of this man. Not king's dainties, not wine from the king's table these are not the principal things, but rectitude, which means life harmonising with the infinite and the true and the eternal. This is evident at the very beginning of the book of Daniel. Not flesh, but spirit was the chief thing. We may with perfect accuracy, read our text thus - it would not be rhythmic or admirable as a translation, but it would at least be accurate - 'A spirit that excelled was in him' a spirit that jutted out was in him. Excellent is something that excels, goes beyond, predominates, and the word lying beyond this word excellent carries exactly that meaning.

Yet the etymology of the word has another signification. For instance, we say 'excellent' means fine, noble, admirable. We are accustomed to use the word 'excellent' with other values and intentions, all of which may be right in. The key to Daniel's splendid fidelity may be found in the statement of my text, repeated in other parts of the book, 'an excellent spirit was in him.' This statement literally means that in Darnel spirit predominated, was uppermost, was enthroned. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him…

Have an excellent teamspirit