Chap. V. Or, ſe; King, Let thy gifts be to thy ſelf, þ and give thy rewards to es ch. 2.6, another &, yet I will read the writing unto the king, and meke known to him the interpretation. þ Did not Daniel receive Gifts and Honours from Nebuchaanezzar 'on the Jike occaiion ? Arſw, He was then young, and the Captivity was to be long, arid he by his place could be helpful ro his poor Bre- thren ; butt now the tithe of the Captivity was near expired, and Baby/. in diſtreſs, by Invafion and Siege, and thar Night King, City and Kingdom laſt; and there the time was different, and the Caſe allo. Moreover, Dir! would not receive a Reward for fo ſad a Mreflage.
18 O thou king, the moſt high God gave Nebuchad-! nezzar thy father -þ a kingdom, and majelty, and glory, and honour /, | } 7 This the Prophet repeats, to put Bc/ſhazzar 1n mind how God
exlc with his Father ; for it is good for Kings to read over the Story of their Anceſtors, and take warning, and to take Example; in the firſt they are Sea-marks, in the ſecond Land-marks.
19 And for the majeſty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him ; whom he would he flew, and whom he would he kept alive, ahd whom he would he ſet up, and whom he wou he put down .
m He ruled arbitrarily, and had power of Life and Death : He did what he would, his Wiil was a Law. Andthislifced up his Heart in Pride, and hardned it as Ph.raoh's, for which being incorrigible, he was depoſed from his Kingly Throne, as in the next Verſe, _
20 But * when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardned || in pride, he was - depoſed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him ».
+ Chald. n Which was opened before. All this Danicl minds him of to rub made to Up his Memory, that he might have the fuller Blow in the Applicati- come down. ON, wei, 22. for the Aggravation of his Crime. ; 21 And he was * driven from the ſons of men, and [| his
* heart was made like the beaſts, and his dwelling as
with the wild aſles : they fed him with graſs like oxen, heart equal, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till &C, he knew that the moſt high God ruled in :the kingdom of men, and zhar he appointeth over ic whomſoever he
will. |
22 And thou his Son, O Belſhazzar, haſt not humbled
thine heart, though thou kneweſt all this o :
} Chald.
#he King- aom, CC. lo Gr.
* Ch.4.30. jOr,to acal proudly,
DANIEL "_
Belſhazzar and his Line and Family. Secondly, that it was 9;v,
the Chaldeans to the Perſians. Thin it was re {ber C— = _ and Perſians ; for Cyrus took Babyloz, who was 2 Perſean ; after tha gave part of it to Darius his Son-in-Jaw, and he was a Meg: = be they were as it were Partners. So this vaſt 'Empire, thar Was one le 4 entire thing under Befhazzer, becomes now as it were two divide 'ewixe the Medes and Perſians. It is curious to obſerve that this W - Phars, or Pharas, ſignifies with the Chaldeans not only Dividin - Perſian, as Pliny teſtifies. The Perſians in Scripture are calles” Y mites. y :
4
29 Then commanded Belſhazzar, and they clotheg Dz. his neck, he ſhould
niel with ſcarlet, and put a chain of gold about and made a proclamation concerning him, that be the third ruler in the kingdom x.
x Thoit were a fad unwelcome Meſſage to him, as good as his Word, and performed his Promiſe: For his Prin: were Witnefles to it, and the Word of thoſe Kings was counteg fo cred, Belides, it wasa great thing that Daniel had unfolded; all Wers convinced of itas well as the King. Queff. But how comes Dane! to accept that now, which he ſeemed to refuſe before? wer, 19. 41 He refuſed before, leſt he ſhould ſeem to prophefie for Reward, which was diſhonourable ; now it is as it were forced upon him, for the Kin commanded it ; and there is as much Danger and Crime with Gn: in refuſing a Favour, as Boldneſs in begging. ;
39 T In that night was Belſhazzar the king -- of thei Chaldeans lain y. i 3 Which the Heathen Hiſtories do alſo confirm. This ſhews th,* Severity of God's Judgment agiinſt the higheſt Offenders, ?(z ; and 110. and 149. Hof. 10.7. Ir alſo confirms the Tuth of God) Threatnings, and of the Hand-writing as Dazie! interpreted. Son: are ſad Inſtances of God's Veracity. 3x And Darius the Median took the kingdom, + beiny
b
| about threeſcore and two years old.
z There were two of this Name, one called the Mede, another nh rius called Perſian. This in the Text was he that wich Cyras beſizge(|| and took Babylon : He gave himſelf the Name Darins, being before led Nibomedus. He waschief in the Siege, and ficſt in the Quarcelz. gainſt the Chaldees.
yet he would hs
CHAP. VI,
Darius maketh Daniel the chief of the preſidents : they cavy him, and dr an idolatrovs, . to pray unto none but the king for 30 days, 1—y, Daniel accuſed of its breach , caſt into the lions den, 10—17. ol preſerved, 18—23. his adverſaries caſt in, and devoured, 24. Dmy
o Sins againſt Knowledge, Experience, and Example, have the higheſt Aggravation. Thy Father was puniſh'd for his Pride moſt dreadtully,
and thou kneweft it, and behold thou art worſe than he. God pu-|
niſheth others for Example and Warning to us, that we may h:ar and fear, and dono more wickedly ; but thou, O King Bclſhazz.ar, art more wicked than thy Father; he was reſtored, bur thou art utterly de- firoyed. And now he goes on to rell for what.
23 Buthaſtlifted up thy ſelf againſt the Lord of heaven p,
and they have brought the veſſels of his houſe before thee, |
and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines have drunk wine in them, and thou haſt praiſed the gods of fil- ver and gold, of braſs, iron, wood and ſtone, which ſee * Job 12, 297 nor hear, nor know ; andthe God in * whoſe hand _ ' thy breath #, and * whoſe are all thy ways, ha(t thou not
* Prov.20, glorified. 24. p He inſtanceth in three or four things. 1. They have brought the Veſſels of his Houſe before thee to drink Wine in them, to profane them in your Idolatrous Feaſt, and ye have all polluted them with your filthy blaſphemous Mouths, Concubines and all. 2. Ye have prai ſed the Idol-godsof Metal, Wood, and Stone, which cannot hear, nor ſee, nor know. 3. And haſt not glorified the true God, in whoſe hands thy Breath is, and all thy Ways. Yea, thou haſt highly diſho- noured, and affronted, and reproached him.
24 Then was the part of the q hand ſent from him, and
this writing was written. gIt is called par? of the Hazd, becauſe the Hand appeared parted
from the reſt of the Body.