GOD is displeased with the wickedness of men now as He was then. He is not an indifferent spectator of the ways of nations, though He would appear so in this time of long-kept silence. It is the testimony of Daniel that "the Most High God ruleth in the kingdom of men, and appointeth over it whomsoever He will" (Daniel 5:21). Babylon was weighed in the balances and found wanting, and therefore the kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians (verses 27,28). This was done by events with which, apparently, God had nothing to do, namely, the successful enterprise of Darius and Cyrus. So now national disasters do not come without divine intention and manipulation. A threatening army gathered on the frontiers of a country may be the hand of God for the visitation of justice.

ROBERT ROBERTS, The Ways of Providence, page 134