338 that led him to consecrate the freshness of his youth ...to the service of his Maker. Being related to the royal family, he was exposed to all the femptations of a court. The Josiah, who were probably his companions, yielding to these, instead of walking in the steps of their father, became very wicked. But Daniel resisted all these temptations, and his piety sebnis to have acquired great vigour even before he was carried away from his own country. Then, in Babylon, he wo surrounded by gross idolaters. g Wherever he went, he saw heathen temples ånd processions, and witnessed only heathcn practices. It is difficult, amid such scenes, to realize the presence of God and the truths of religion. Yet amidst all these difficulties and dangers Daniel, by attendß to the means which God has appointed to that cnd, still maintained an elevated and consistent piety. Those means are, careful study of the holy Scriptures, religious meditation, and froquent prayer. Daniel loved these duties; he loved God; and this love to God was the source of all his other virtues, and of his great firmness of character in particular.
