LECTURE IV.

DANIEL II. 46-9, AND III. 1—8.

Although we have given an explanation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, conformable as we believe to its true intent, so far as it may be ascertained by the light of collateral revelations and the development of subsequent events, it is not to be imagined that the Babylonish monarch was able to penetrate all its mysteries. He was, doubtless, powerfully affected with the evident authority with which Daniel spoke, the precision of his communications, and the general idea of changes awaiting his own or other empires of the world. The effect indeed produced upon his mind at the moment, is thus represented:

Verse 46.-Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors 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 couldst 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.

Like most men of violent passions, Nebuchadnezzar was driven, by Daniel's remarkable statement, from the extreme of rage to that of adulation. The question has been much agitated among learned critics, whether the king paid divine honors to the prophet on this occasion, or whether he only heaped upon him a profusion of eastern compliments. Ha:mer has investigated this subject at great length, to show that the words which countenance the idea of a sacrifice, mean only such tokens of respect as the oriental nations occasionally use. Calvin considers that it was a real adoration, and supposes that Daniel, having contracted something of the pride that belongs to the servants of a court, willingly received it. But is it to be imagined that a man so distinguished by the love of God, and by his frequent rejection of personal honor, should have been betrayed on this occasion into such egregious folly and wickedness? If we suppose that under the first excitement of these astonishing revelations, the monarch, exceeding the boundaries of reason, forgot his

own dignity in an attempt to deify the prophet,-in the absence of all evidence, it would be severe indeed, to impute to so eminent a servant of God, a disposition so hateful and so opposed to all his avowed principles. The expression "the king answered unto Daniel," seems to imply there had been some unrecorded conversation between them; and may not the most probable explanation be, that the king was betrayed by a momentary impulse to offer what Daniel resolutely though respectfully disclaimed? Christians are sometimes endangered by the honor which may be occasionally received from men; but O how solicitous should they be of acquiring that which comes from God! Genuine religion is, in every situation of life, the only safeguard of virtue. We should constantly pray, "lead us not into temptation."

After the acknowledgment made by Nebuchadnezzar in the 47th verse, it appears natural to anticipate that he would henceforth have rejected Bel, with the gods of the nations, and have devoted himself to the exclusive worship of the God of Israel. But when the heart is unconverted to the love of the truth, men will only render the homage of the lips. And O how unavailable is mere external adoration! The concentrated force of all divine requisitions seems to be put into that authoritative yet affectionate appeal,-"My son give me thine heart."

In his highest elevation, Daniel did not forget his friends; but at his request they were raised to the superintendence of the affairs of Babylon under his orders. His request to the king was probably dictated, not only by the feelings of private friendship, but by a solicitude for the interests of the church and nation of the Jews, in which he knew that he should be assisted by his associates. "It is thus that God, from time to time, and for reasons worthy of his sovereign wisdom, deems it proper, even in this life, conspicuously to distinguish some of his servants by worldly glory, while he leaves others in obscurity or in affliction; showing, in the former instances, that piety does not shut up the road to riches and offices, and by the latter, that the possessions of the present world are not real, and that this is not the place of rewards. The piety and zeal of Daniel, and of his three worthy friends, assure us that these holy men rendered to God the universal homage of their lives and fortunes; and that, in the midst of an idolatrous court, they carefully preserved the integrity of their faith and the purity of their morals."*

* Saurin, Disc. Historiques, Critiques, &c. continuez par. M. Roques, Tom. vii. p. 493.

CHAPTER III.

A considerable interval of time elapsed between the transactions related in the preceding, and those which form the subject of the present chapter. As, however, the events which occurred during this period had no immediate connexion with Jewish affairs, they are omitted. It is not unusual, on a similar account, for some of the narratives of scripture to contain abrupt and perplexing transitions. The Septuagint and Arabic versions refer the following events to the 18th year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, after he had obtained many splendid victories. But, as the precise chronology is not indicated in the text, it is immaterial.

Verse 1.-Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose heigth was threescore cubits and the breadth there. of six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2.-Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3. Then the princes, the governors and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

4. Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,