Daniel 4

NEbuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations and languages that dwell in all the earth, Peace be multiplied unto you i. e. All health and happiness, this was always the form of greeting and salutation among the Eastern Nations, comprehending peace, plenty, with uninterrupted joy and felicity in all comfortable enjoyments; and from them it came derived down to the Penmen of the New Testament, and notes more, even peace with God in Jesus Christ, Spiritual and Everlasting: Now the reason hereof was that War being the root of all misery, especially where all Government was Tyrannical, and when once it brake forth, it made all desolate; therefore Peace was as Heaven in comparison of the Hell of War, which made the Heathens paint Plutus the god of Riches in the bosome of Peace.. the Prophet Daniel here sets down another strange story; after he had finished that of the three young men: This the Prophet sets forth not in his own words, but in the words of the Kings own Proclamation, that it might pass with undoubted credit, and without all dispute; being sent to all his vast Kingdoms, and questionless put into the Kings Archives, and Court rolls, as the manner was. These three first verses of this 4th Chapter, are improperly annexed to the end of the foregoing third Chapter, by some; seeing they are the Preface of the following History.

I thought it good I did upon mature thoughts judge it very becoming me, yea it was my pleasure to let all the World know it. to show the Signs and wonders that the high God has wrought toward me 1. Signs and wonders, 2. wrought by the high God, 3. toward me, wherein I was personally concerned, these were his reasons why he made it known to the World..

How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders These two words signifie in their roots, admiration and astonishment; it seems these works of God had that impression upon this King; a great cause whereof was his ignorance of the true God, together with his own excessive Pride and Epicurisme. God by this following dream, and Daniels instruction, had told him his fate, and that no Kingdom but God's Kingdom, was Everlasting, which he had told him once afore this, Dan. 2.44.! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation This Confession of the King was upon conviction, and it looks somewhat like repentance, but the sequel proves him to be no changling, though God made prodigious mutations in his Kingdom, and in the form of his person, as ye see, verse 31, 32. of this Chapter; he was Metamorphoz'd to a monstrous beast, and then to a man again, and yet no convert..

I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house At rest his Warrs were over, which were great, and he victorious, then I sate down quiet, enjoying the spoiles of my enemies. and flourishing in my place Which was most magnificent, there I lived in all delights and grandeur..

I saw a dream which made me afraid There is no felicity in this World lasting; a black Cloud big with storm and tempest, spoiles the fairest Sun-shine day. They that fear not God shall be frighted by him. God does justly make Epicures and Tyrants uneasie in the midst of their fools Paradise, where if the fool says in his heart there is no God, he shall soon find in his heart to think otherwise., and the thoughts upon my bed, and the visions of my head troubled me.

Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me Though he had experienced before that these wisemen, were fool'd and could do nothing either in telling or interpreting his dream, chap. 2. yet he will try them once again, possibly because they might gain fresh credit with the King; or he would hear what they could do, and if they failed him, he would then make use of Daniel whom he had in reserve. Perhaps these Chaldean Doctors, and Wizards shunned, and scorned Daniels Company, and he was as much shy of theirs; therefore they came not together, but God had disposed of this whole scene, and for the honour of his name, suffered Daniel not to be sent for till the last., that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.

Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the sooth-sayers: and I told the dream before them, but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof And yet this was it they stood upon before, that the King should tell the dream, and they would interpret it, which now they could not do; this shows them to be mere Impostors, and that neither their natural skill, nor diabolical help could unfold Gods secrets..

¶ But at the last Daniel came in before me Whether sent for by the King, or brought in by another appears not, but he was last, that it might appear he had the true understanding of these secrets: for if he had come first before the rest had done their best in trying all their skill, in vain they would have said, they knew as well as he, and so God would not have had the glory, but now its plain the spirit of God in the Prophet did all. whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods He speaks in the plural like an Idolater, and because he calls him Belteshazzar according to the name of his God, i. e. Bel or Baal, by the Spirit of God he means the Spirit of divination, or Prophesie of future contingent things which God only knows, and reveals by his Spirit as he pleaseth, which none of the Magicians were indued with., and before him I told the dream, saying,

O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee This argued he was convinced of Daniels great abilities, and that he truly deserved the title and dignity the King had honoured him with, and by this persuasion and confidence he had of him, Daniel would show he answered both the opinion and expectation the King had of him., and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.

Thus were the visions of mine head Because the fancy, and imagination is in the head; and he calls them Visions or Seeings, because eyes and sight are attributed to the understanding, and the thing seemed visible to him, as if he beheld it with his eyes. in my bed, I saw, and behold, a tree Those that write of the Language of the East tell us, that a Tree denotes some excellent man. Thus the Prophet Ezekiel, chap. 31. throughout describes the King of Assyria, and Pharaoh King of Egypt, in their flourish, height and great fall, comparing them to huge Cedars. in the midst the earth, and the height thereof was great.

The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth.

The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much This notes the publick good and benefit of Magistracy: so that it is better living under Tyranny then Anarchy, as Calvin says., and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.

I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold, a watcher By Watcher is meant an Angel, a holy or good Angel, the instruments of God, and his Messengers to execute Gods judgments, which they watch constantly to perform, Psalm 103.20, 21., and an holy one came down from heaven.

He cried aloud, and said thus Whereby is shown the consent of the Angels, when one stirs up another to cut down, i. e. to cast out and take away., Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit, let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches.

Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth Here he mitigates and corrects the former rigour of his sentence, that the Kingdom should remain, with hope of return, and readmission: God cuts off many flourishing Kingdoms to the stumps, by spoiling their riches, beauty and majesty., even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field Let the body of Nebuchadnezzar be preserved, and the Kingdom remain firm: though he be turned out to grass for a while among the beasts., and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts im the grass of the earth.

Let his heart be changed from mans, and let a beasts heart be given unto him, and let seven times pass over him Let him live seven years as a Beast in mans shape among Beasts of the Field, let him become brutish without humane sense and understanding, and this appeared much also in his outward shape; nailes like claws, and hair like Feathers. Some think that he was truly changed into a Beast but this cannot be, for then the Chaldeans would never more have owned or restored him. Others judge that he was not changed at all but in appearance only to the beholders and in their phansies, but this is a false construction of Gods works, when the Scripture says it was truly done. It is probable he was mute, and bellowed only, that he went naked, and bowed, and eat grass among the Beasts, with whom his converse was a dreadful example upon the greatest man on Earth, for his brutish, and raging Tyranny, and inhumane carriage, abasing himself, and abusing his honours, and great prerogatives to wickedness, and savage cruelty, to be thus forsaken of God and Men, and to be made a Prodigy and spectacle to the World, and that upon Record to all Generations..

This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones The decree was Gods, and the demand was of the Holy Angels, if God would enact and ratifie it, the Angels as Commissioners had the dispensation of it put into their hands, and they all consent to it as a just judgment of God to be executed by them according to the will and pleasure of God: and they desire of God it may be done, alluding to the customs of some Nations, and speaking after the manner, for the holy Angels are zealous for Gods honour, and pray him to assert his own soveraignty against the bold encroachments of mortal men, especially rampant and savage Tyrants, to make them know themselves.: to the intent that the king may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men This Nebuchadnezzar and his flatterers conceited he was God in Earth, independant and unaccountable to any, and though he had notions of a supream God, yet he confined his Government to Heaven. Iupiter in Heaven, Caesar in Earth rules all, said the Heathen Poet. But the great God will make all men know he rules all in Earth too; and sets up at his pleasure whom he will, and plucks them down again: All power is of God, Rom. 13.1. who does often make use of his power in this case, thereby declaring he only is Arbitrary and absolute, for instance,, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men He gives this dignity sometimes to the basest of men, as he took it from Sa l and gave it David a poor Shepherds boy, Psal. 78.70, 71. and made him a name among the great men of the Earth, 1 Sam. 2.7, 8. 1 Chron. 17.7, 8..

This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen: now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.

¶ Then Daniel (whose name was Belteshazzar) was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him Because he foresaw such tragical things coming upon the King, for whom he had such reverence for the high favours and honours he had conferred on him, and he was afraid to declare them, these things coming upon him while he was acted by a spirit of Prophesie, doubled his consternation, and troubled his thoughts, Dan. 10.16, 17.: the king spake and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof trouble thee Speak out freely let the event be what it will.. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies Though this King were a Tyrant, and an Enemy of God, and his People, yet the Prophet is grieved for him and prayed for him that God would avert his judgments from him and lay them rather upon his Enemies, Ieremiah 29.7..

The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;

Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:

It is thou, O king Thou art he that is meant by it. The King is the Tree, the Branches are his Princes, Children and Nephews; the Leaves are his Nobles and Captains, the Fruits are his Riches and Revenues, the Shadow is the protection which his People had under him. See Achmetes of the Language of the East. Now in that he speaks plainly, and roundly the whole truth, this Prophet is herein a pattern to every faithful Minister of Christ. First to preach the Truth of God and to apply it without respect of persons, and yet with that Wisdom, and Moderation, that men may see they have a compassionate care for their souls., that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown and reacheth unto heaven Thou art High and Mighty in the majesty and splendor which God has given thee., and thy dominion to the end of the earth Say some to the Caspian Sea North, to the Euxine and Aegean West, to the Mediterranean South, for it is not clear that it reached further, and this alone was great..

And whereas the king saw a watcher, and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it, yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass in the tender grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him.

This is the interpretation, O king This is the Decree of the Most High which is come upon my Lord the King. By saying these words, my Lord the King, he indeavours to sweeten the bitterness of this cup of Gods displeasure as much as he can., and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:

That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven Because thou hast lived a brutish Epicurean Life, and wert lifted up above the common race of mankind, in thy Heart, therefore thy fate shall be, not to be cast out to live among the basest, and meanest sort of men, which were hard enough, no not among Herdsmen as if that were too good for him, but among the Beasts to Herd with them. This was such a thundering peal, that it was wonderful the King could endure to hear without wrath, and fury boyling in his Heart, yet the Lord withheld him., and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will How hard is it for lofty Princes to learn this lesson, that God is the giver of all they have, and will call them to account severely for all they do, and make the Kings and Kingdoms of the World to know they are his, and not theirs, and that their Tenure is but at the Will of the Lord solely, who can alter and alienate the property of all their enjoyments being the High Lord Paramount above all..

And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee There shall be no other King chosen in thy room all the time thou livest as a stump of a Tree, Iob 14.7, 8, 9. Thou shalt recover all again, young branches shall sprout out of thee., after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule Verse 34, 35, &c. If Princes will not learn and know this, God will beat it into them. This is the end of all Gods rods upon them, if they would hear the voice of them, and him that has appointed them, 2 Chron. 33.12, 13. Psal. 119.67, 71. Micah 6.9. Though Nebuchadnezzar never proved a convert, yet God made him acknowledge this Truth upon his Restoration..

Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee These words Daniel addes out of his good will to the king if perhaps it might turn away this dreadful stroke from him: and give the King some hopes of mitigation at least, as it was with Ni eveh and others., and break off The word is well translated break off, for so it properly signifies, and not redeem, as the Papists would wrest it, to establish their works of Satisfaction and Merit, and is no more then this, cease to do evil and learn to do well, change thy course, instead of oppressing the poor show them Mercy. thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity Daniel was not certain of pardon for him, nor did he altogether despair of it, as Peter dealt with Simon Magus, Act. 8.22. Ioel 2.14. who knoweth if he will return and repent, Ionah 3.9. Zeph. 2.1, 2, 3. Though Daniel gave not this counsel to elude, or null the Decree of God which was immutable, yet it might turn to the Kings good many wayes, if he followed this counsel. 1. Hereby this judgment was shorter in the time, and easier in the rigour. 2. That he might acknowledge God to be gracious to him in this chastisement. And 3. That he might become by his reformation more capable of pardon, and prepared for it..

¶ All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.

At the end of twelve months Here we see God did forbear the execution of his judgment decreed the space of one whole year, which may be upon Daniels words, and he did reform somewhat, as Ahab was spared a good while upon his humiliation, 1 King. 21.27. and God would try him by giving him space of Repentance, as he did to them before the flood, Gen. 6.3. and to Iezebel, Rev. 2.21. but it is most probable though he may be a little astonied at the first, when he heard Gods Decree against him; yet he having this respite he grew hardened and thought it was over, and therefore spreads his plumes and strutted in his pride as high as ever. he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.

The king spake, and said, Is not this great As to the greatness of this place it might be well called great, for most Historians and Geographers make it 45 miles about the walls, some 60; for the height of the walls, they affirm them to be a 100 cubits, and for their thickness such as six Chariots might go a breast upon the top of them. See Bochart in his Phaleg. Babylon that I have built Which words of his are not true as to the first foundation of Babylon: For that was done by Nimrod, or Bel which is the same, Gen. 10.10. but if ye speak touching the repairing, and inlarging of it after Nineveh was destroyed, so Nebuchadnezzar, might be said to build it, i. e. to make it so great and glorious as at last. for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty The manner of proud Tyrants is to ingross all honour to themselves, moreover he attributes nothing to the signal goodness of God to him, but takes all to himself. Now God that resists the proud, presently falls upon him, and down he comes while he stood crowing and pruning his gay feathers.?

While the word was in the kings mouth, there fell a voice from heaven This made the judgment more remarkable, and argued the sin more provoking, and the anger of God more just against him. Sudden judgments are most dreadful whereof we have many instances, as in Herod, Elimas, Ananias and Saphyra, &c. this voice was from God., saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, The kingdom is departed from thee This voice was alowd and clearly perceived by the King, and them about him which the dream intimated more obscurely; not the Kingdom, but the administration of the Government was transferred to others..

And they shall drive thee from men From the Society and Conversation of men., and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar; and he was driven from men Being bereft of his understanding, as a man distracted he fled, and betook himself to the woods, or was thrust and driven out either by popular tumults or conspiracy of his Nobles, or by his Son Evilmerodac, some think, when he raved he was bound with chains, and after turned off loose into the Woods among Beasts., and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles feathers, and his nails like birds claws And his nailes like Birds claws, which might easily grow in seven years to a prodigious length and deformity..

And at the end of the days, I Nebuchadnezzar lift up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me God shined upon his Soul, and gave him understanding to reflect upon his condition, to consider his sad state nd the causes of it., and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation By Prayer and Praise adoring the Justice and Mercy of God towards him, giving God the glory of his soveraignty, and unchangeableness, chap. 4 35.

And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing A due consideration of Gods infinite greatness makes the Creature appear as nothing in comparison of God. Creatures are nothing to help, nothing to hurt nothing absolutely, nothing in duration, nothing solid and substantial, nothing without dependance and influence, and support from God. God i I am and there is none else, verily every man in his best estate is altogether vanity, Selah Psal. 39.5. Yea less then vanity and nothing, Psal. 62 9. Isai. 40.17.: and he does according to his will Psal 115.3. God only is arbitrary. in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth Being the Lord of Hosts, and the only absolu e and universal Monarch of the World.: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What dost thou He is irre istable, and uncontroulable, Iob 9.12. Isaiah 45.9. Romans 11.33, 34.35 36.?

At the same time my reason returned unto What is a Magistrate, yea, or a man without reason? A brute, as a Ship without a Pilot, as an Army without a Commander, as Flock or Herd without a Shepherd. me, and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me Instead o the shape of a savage Beast, I got the Majesty of a King in my Countenance. and my counsellers and my lords sought unto me They who before despised and rejected me now were glad to creep to me and to know their place and distance, and I was established in my kingdom In my wonted power and place owned, and obeyed without Competitors by all; without question, or complaint, see chap 5 18, 19., and excellent majesty was added unto me He was the most August and Magn ficent Pr nce on Earth, therefore the Lady of Kingdoms Isaiah 47.7, 8. so was his Kingdom called..

Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extoll and honour the king of heaven Thus can the Lord make the stoutest hearts to stoop, and do him homage. This Doxology proceeds from his heart all whose works are truth, and his wayes judgment God is Truth essentially: He is the rule and standard of Truth, his Words are Truth, his ways are Truth; and they are judgment: He is wise and has dealt justly with me for m pride, and in very faithfulness has afflicted me, and in very tenderness has restored me: I do and ever shall adore him for it., and those that walk in pride he is able to abase As he has declared upon me, in stupendious changes, which I proclaim to all the World to his glory. He had a just controversie with me, and I have no ground to quarrel with him, but to give him glory by this confession..