A. C. 570. of, ye 6 But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereshall receive of me gifts and * rewards and great hov. 17. ver. 48. nour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. * Or, fee, ch. 7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it. 8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that +Chald. buy, ye would + gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. Eph. v. 16. Chald. returned. 9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof. 10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. 12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. 14 42 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom left the prince of the eunuchs he must have been very young, and still a stranger in the land is it therefore probable, that Nebuchadnezzar would make him at this time ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all its wise men (chap. ii. ver. 48,) and advance his three friends to such high offices in the state? When too, in addition to these things, it is stated that Daniel, at the time of the king's dream, was living in his own house, (chap. ii. ver. 17,) and that he was numbered among the wise men who were decreed by the king to be slain, (ver. 13.): he could not have been under the care of Melzar, in the palace of the king; for in the latter case, while he was pursuing his studies under the immediate protection of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel would not have been ranked among the wise men of Babylon. These considerations have induced me to insert here this chapter of Daniel, and to compute the second year of Nebuchadnezzar mentioned in it, from the universal dominion he obtained by his conquests. 42 The Jewish church, at the time of the wonderful interposition of Providence in enabling Daniel to discover and to interpret the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, when all the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and Chaldeans of Babylon, were not able to do so, was in the depth of its distress. Its enemies were on every side victorious. The gods of gold, of silver, of wood, and of stone appeared to be more powerful than Jehovah. to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone A.C. 570. forth to slay the wise men of Babylon: * Or, chief + Chald. chief 15 He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, marshal. Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch of the execu made the thing known to Daniel. tioners, or, slaughtermen, 36. 16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he Gen. xxxvii. would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. The prophet Ezekiel had ceased to address the people. Jeremiah in all probability no longer existed. Jerusalem was destroyed; the temple burnt; the visible church almost annihilated: when the attention of the world was fixed, and the church of God comforted, by the miraculous powers of Daniel. Through the providence of God this favoured captive became the adviser and the friend of kings, the head of governments and provinces, and the chief means of fulfilling the prophecies of His Scriptures, by accomplishing the deliverance of the Jews. The next chapter gives us an account of the dedication of a golden image by Nebuchadnezzar. This image is supposed to have been erected in commemoration of his conquests; it is therefore probable, that it was commanded to be made on his triumphal return to his capital. Elated with victory, the conqueror of the world, with every ambitious project accomplished: at last his mind gradually fixes itself on futurity. The visions which came into the king's head on his bed, as to "what should come to pass hereafter," were most probably the result of meditations on his present grandeur, and unrivalled power, the monument intended to transmit his fame and glories to posterity would naturally at such a moment have presented itself to his mind. The idea therefore has suggested itself to me, (and I cannot consider it as improbable) that the Almighty in his mercy selected the same figure that Nebuchadnezzar had designed to perpetuate his name and possessions, to reveal to him the instability of his empire, and the vanity of all human grandeur. The worshipper of idols had a prophetic dream, (as Bishop Newton observes from St. Jerome,) that the servant of God interpreting it, God might be glorified; and the captives, and those who served God in captivity, might receive great consolation. Nebuchadnezzar, with a mind thus lost in futurity, dreams about an image composed of different metals (1—13); the interpretation of this dream is communicated to Daniel (14-23), who reveals it to the monarch (24—35), and interprets it of the four great monarchies. The head of gold represented the Babylonian empire (32); the breast and arms, which were of silver, represented the Medo-Persian empire (32-39); the brazen belly and thighs represented the Macedo-Grecian empire (32-39); the legs and feet, which were partly of iron and partly of clay, represented the Roman empire (33, 40-43), which would bruise and break to pieces every other kingdom, but in its last stage should be divided into ten smaller kingdoms, denoted by the ten toes of the image. The stone "cut out of the mountain without hands, which brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold" (34, 35,) represented the kingdom of the Messiah, which was "to fill the whole earth," become universal, and stand for ever (44, 45). The chapter concludes with an account of the promotion of Daniel and his friends to distinguished honour. A.C. 570. Chald from before God. + Or, that they should not destroy Daniel, &c. i Ps. cxiii. 2. & cxv. 18. Chald. That 17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his compa nions: 18 That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; + that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19¶ Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said, i Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his : 21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: 22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. 23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter. 24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon : he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation. 25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the Chald, chil- captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king captivity of the interpretation. I have found. dren of the Judah. made known. 26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? 27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; 28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, Chald hath and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; *Chald. came up. + Or, but for the intent that the interpreta tion may be made known to the king. 29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. 30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for wisdom that I have more than any living, but for any their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy A. C. 570. heart. seeing. 31 Thou, O king, *sawest, and behold a great image. * Chald, wast This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his + thighs of brass, without 33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 36 ¶ This is the dream: and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly § broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave || one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. † Or, sides. Chald. this with this. kch iv. 3, 34. 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: 14,27. Mic. iv. k 26. & vii. 7. Luke i. 32, 33. * A.C. 570. and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. * Chald. kingdom thereof. was not in hand. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out + Or, which of the mountain + without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to Chald. after pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpre this. 1 ch. iv. 9. tation thereof sure. 46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. 47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. 48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and 'chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king. SECTION X. Nebuchadnezzar, on the Completion of his Conquests, sets up the Golden Image. DANIEL III 43. 1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six 43 This chapter describes the dedication of that golden image, most probably ordered by Nebuchadnezzar on his triumphal return to his capital, after his conquests. The conduct of Nebuchadnezzar, on this occasion, proves that the miraculous interpretation of his dream, given by Daniel, made no lasting impression on the king's mind. The consecration of this idol to Bel, or Belus, (ver. 14. Dan. iv. 8.) shews that he no longer acknowledged the superiority of the God of Daniel, (chap. ii. 47.) But this arrogant idolater, by the wonderful deliverance of his three captive servants, and the miraculous appearance of the Son of God, is again compelled to confess the superior power of the most high God, and to declare "there is no other God can deliver after this sort." The believing Jews, on beholding the Divine form which appeared in the midst of the fire, would recognise the same Almighty Being which had guided their fathers through the wilderness, and had so frequently manifested himself as the guardian God of the visible Church. And the wonderful preservation of these three faithful Hebrews, must have signified to all the Jews, that the same power would likewise be ex |