c According tothe good Hand of his God upon him, who had ſheyn him Favour thus far, and obrain'd the King's leave, he wear to tj; Houſe near the Palace, that he might ſeek God in ſecret for this great 2. It was not a inal
18 That they would deſire mercies of the God of hez.t( periſh with the reſt of the wiſe.men,7
e Obſerve here Daniel's Humility, he ſought not to ingroſs this Bu.
I9 T Then was the ſecret revealed unto Daniel in :
g It is not improbably conjeQuured, that Dante! ſpent the Night is
thisis ſignified by what ſteps he roſc upto rophet. Again, he calls the rrue God the
x The Chaideans bring three Arguments to convince the King : 7. There isnot a Man upon Earth can ſhew the King's Matter. 2. There is no King requires ſuch a thing of any Magician. 3. None but the Gods can do this. The Chaldeans, with other Gentiles, did believe moie Gods than one, and the ſupream Deity or Deities did not meddle wi:h the Affairs of Men,burt had the Cognizance by inferiour or inter- mediate Demons. So Plato and many of them held : The Meaning then is this, Secing there are ſome things that God, who knoweth all things, will not communicate the Knowledge of to Men,and hath not done it tous, it is therefore a ſingular and unreaſonable thing the King ſhould 1cquire it of us, and that ſo ſuddenly, and upon ſuch Penalties.
12 For this cauſe the king was angry and very fu. Tious, and commanded to deſtroy all the wife men of
Babylon y.
> Tyrants are inexorable, and they rule according to their Will, and being croſs'd, they are furious, and that brings forth Death ; the Wrath of ſuch is the roaring of a Lion. |
13 And the decree went forth - that the wiſe »e ſhould be ſlain; and they ſought Daniel and his fellows to be ſlain &.
z This was unjuſt, that Daniel and his Fellows ſhould havetheir Share in the Puniſhment, and yer be excluded from the other part which was the Reward ; the Reaſon why they were not called, was, becauſe of their Youth, which the Chaldeans deſpiſed ; wherein we have theſe rhree things obſervable. 1. The Magician: confeſled rhis, that Knowledge and Revelation maſt come from God, and therefore what Danicl did was not by any humane Strength, bur divine only. 2. That the Lord held the Governour's Hands, fo that he did nor ſlay Daniel preſently with the firſt. 3. That Daniel by his Prudence and Piety faved all the Magicians Laves.
14 J Then Daniel! -þ anſwered with connſe] and wif dom to Arioch the {| -f captainof the kings guard, which forth to ſlay the wiſe z7e7 of Babylon.
1. He anfwered and faid ro Arioch the kings captain, Why « the decree fo haſty from the king ; then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
« $o precipitare 20 Nay the Innocenr who were never called, who | Enzw noch of ir. This appears plainly Hom rthek Words, they fniuh mate te ihicg keyws to Danic!, vez. 35. which was this, that
r
Wiſdom God gave him in revealing this great Secret to him, whichthe Wiſe-men could not attain to, becauſe rhey knew not the true God, nor did ſeek to him for it : this is clear in ver. 21, 22, 23. 2. Mg is his, that 1s, he is Almighty, above all mighty Potentates of the World, above Nebuchadn:zzar and all the Kings of the Earth, fori: ſets them up and plucks them down at pleaſure, wer. 21. ag the Jn terpretation of the Dream and Viſion ſhews.
removeth kings, and ſetteth up kings : he giveth wi dom unto the wiſe, and knowledge to. them that kno underſtanding.
ſure of Time; he made the Day and the Night, and the Seaſonsof
Times better, and turn Night into Day. He can make the Sun g? backward or ſtand ſtill, as in 4haz and Joſbuah's time, Ir isrhe great part of God's Power and Prerogative to change times. Daniel here it tributes that to God which Heathens attribured ro Nature which tht deified,or to Chance ; ſeeing that God only thar made all by hisPos* er doth rule, and ſometimes over-rule all by his Providence.
knoweth what # in the darkneſs »», and the light dv, leth with him.
Mens Hearts and Counſels which are very cloſe, deep and ſecr't, Hi): ing in themſelves, Who can ſee us? and the deep and ſecret __ Grace, and the Myſteries of Chriſt's Kingdom : All this is comforts?
to the Saints, and glorious God. : ' hidden things ; Dezic! points at tbe King's Dream in the Night, vi he only gave the King, andchen took it from him, and theo gut! Daxitl for him again.
my fathers », who haſt given me wiſdom and and hafi mads known umo me now what We
20 Daniel anſwered and faid, * Bleſſed be the name!
of God for eyert and ever : for wiſdom and might ar: his z, | Z
i He bleſſeth God for two things. 1. Wiſdomy he means chiefly th:
21 And he changeth the times and the ſeaſons & : * tt,
k God made Time ; God made the Sun, Moon and Stars, the Met
he Year, yea the Revolutions and Change of Times; he can makebii
22 * He revealeth the deep and ſecret things /: It
1 Both of Nature, wherein ate infinite Depths and Secrets; andof
» He ſees and forettes rhe 0
23 I thank thee, and praiſe thee, O thou God mnghh
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41
a, king z, and that thou mighteſt know the thoughts of thy
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31 E Thou, O king, + ſaweſt, and Behold, a great+ Chal? this great image whoſe. brigheneſs . was ex. 2#/t ſee-
« Here ke gives his God another diſtinguiſhing Title from all cho |cellent, ftood before thee b, and the form thereof was **:
f the Hcarhen, he calls him'the God of his Fathers,meaning by the os \t made with 4braham,&c. to whom and.their S2ed God revea. +
Covenan
Jed his Saving-knowledg,which he didnot to the Heathen : God is the
God of all by the Kingdom of his Power ; but the God of his Church,
Iy according to the Kingdom of his Grace. o In which words he intimates a twofold Privilege ; the one, that as the Son of ſuch Fathers,