in charge to reveal to thee as followeth to the end. x Cyrus, or Cam« byſes, who by their Counſels and Captains hinder the Work of God, and to bring the Prince of Greece upon him, viz. Alexander the Great, who-utterly ruined the Perfizn Monarchy ;- which is uſhered with the word Lo, becanſe it was a wonder that the Prince of Greece with 30000 Men ſhould do it. T hus the Lord ſets and diſpoſeth the Fates
of Empires, and changeth them as he liſcs ; eſpecially in his Church's Quarrel.
* 21 But I will ſhew thee that which is noted in the Scripture of truth a- and there s none that + holdeth with me in theſe things bur Michael your Prince b.
'41,e, In the peremptory Decree and Purpoſe of God, more au- erh himſelf
thentick and unalterable than the Laws of the Medes and Perþans : How God hath appointed to deliver the Fews from the Perſians by the Greeks z and from the Greeks by the Maccabees, eſpecially the Seleucids ahd Lagids ; and how the Komins ſhould come after, and plague the People of God Jong, both by the perſecuting Emperors, and by Anti: crif, and how that allo ſhould have an end. 6 Jeſus Chriſt alone is the Champion, and Prote&or of his Church, and that all-luthcient, when all the Princes af the Earth beſides deſerted or oppoſed it. For it cannot be meant of Angels in any ſound (enle, as Poptſp Interpreters would have it, thereby to countenance their Angei-worſyip 3 for can We imagins up-n rational and orthodox Priaciples, that the Angels of Heaven ſhould be divided into Parties, aud but two of them mind che Cauſe of the Church of God, with other like Abſurdities, which accompany the Popiſh Senſe that Meldenate, 4 4 apide, GT talren PPgR £415 SCF:PLUrCs
CHAP.
+ Heb,
ren;thene
Chap. XI D A N
CHAP, XL.
A prophecy of the kings of Perſiz and Grecia, 1—— 4g. The leagues and conflits berween the rinces j the ſouth and the north, 5 —— 29+ The cruelty and wickedneſ? of one hing above all the reſt, and of other enemies of God's people ; the invaſion and tyranny of the Romans, 30 ——45:
1 Lſo1, in the firſt year of * Darius the Mede c, ever I ſtood to confirm, and to ſtrengthen him.
This firſt Verſe ſhould have been the laſt Verſe of the tenth Chap- ter, for it partains to it ; and the ſecond Verſe of this Chapter ſhould have been the firſt ; which Negle&, thoſe who divided the Scripture into Chapters have been found guilty of more than once. c Thus fpeaks the Angel to Daniel, becauſe Darius had the Rule of Babylon by tie Conſent of Cyrus ; he ſettled the Monarchy of the Medes and Perſians upon the Ruines of the Babylonian, for the verifying of Pro- pliecies, and for ProteRion and Preſervation of the Church, |
2 And now will I ſhew thee the truth d, behold mane; ſhall ſtand up yet three Kings in Perſia e, and the fourth ſhall be far Richer than they all : and by his ſtrength
throagh his Riches he ſhall ſtir up all againſt the Realm of Grecia f. EE, +
4 This is that thing which Danzel ſaith, chap. 10, 1, was revealed unto him, and was true ; i. e, plain without any Obſcurity, and ſhould ſud-. denly and certainly come to paſs. e Which notes their flouriſhing and Strength z for after them that Monarchy declined. Theſe three are Cyrus, Smerdis, Darius Hyſtaſpis. Others put Cambyſes for Cyrus ; others add Xerxes, who is added as the forth in this ſame Verſe, and made more potent than all rhe other three, becauſe his Father Darius had gather'd an incredible Maſs for him, and heaiſo himſelf drove the ſame Trade for fix Years together before he made his Expedition a- gainſt Greece. There were more Kings of Perſia beſides thoſe four,but they had no Concern with the People of God ; but thoſe four had, either in hindring or helping the building of the Temple z and there- fare the Angel's Inftrutions from God toDanzel,was principally touch- ing thoſe four who are mentioned. f He had vaſt Territories from India to Ethiopia ; he had a Navy of 1200 Ships, and an Army of $00000, as Creſids writes : but #erodorus ſpeaks of a prodigious Army that Xerxes had, little ſhort of five Millions and near an half, 5283000,and all againſt the Realm of Greece, where he-made incredible Havock at Thermopylz and Athens, as the Greek and Latin Hiſtories mention. +
3 And a * mighty King ſhall ſtand up,' that ſhall
*Uh.;.2 I,
* Ch. 8.4,
will z. g Fils was Great Alexander the He-goat, who moved with Choler
for the Perſian Invaſion, ran down the Rem and ftamped on it, and
got a Golden Fleece from him by that ; and after many Viftories he did according to his Will, even what he would without Controllment
by any. See Dan. 8. 7, 8. | 4 And when he ſhall ſtand vp, his Kingdom þ ſhall be
broken #, and ſhall be divided toward the four winds of Heaven ; and nor. to his Poſterity k, nor according to his Dominion 4 which he ruled : for his Kingdom ſhall be pluckt vp, even for others beſides thoſe m.
þ When he is come to his higheſt, as Monarch of the World, &c. # After he had enjoyed that Title a little while, his Kingdom was broken, as the Text ſaith. $0 it was into four pieces, whereof we have ſpoken, Dan. 7 and 8 Chapters. & But tofour of his chief Commanders who ſhould reign in the four Quarters of the World, 7.e. in the Countries conquered by Alexnder, tha here he only mentions two of them, Egypt and Syria, t. e, the South and the North : Alexander had
a Brother named Aridzus, and two Sons, Alexander and Hercules, be-
ſides others of his Blood, but the Nobles deſtroyed them all, and ſo
the whole Race of Alexander was rooted out to fulfil this Prophecy :
but judicially for his great Cruelty, Pride and Luxury. 1 They did
not reign as Kingsat firſt, but only as Captains; and as to the extent
of their Dominion, it was far leſs than Alexander's; yea all four fell
ſhort of his. m Some lefſer Commanders ſhared ſeveral parts of that Empire, as Eumexes, Philotes, with many more, at leaft ten ; as Hi-
ſtories tell us.
5 © And the King of the South ſhall be ſtrong, and |?
one of his Princes #, and he ſhall be ſtrong above him, and haye Dominion: his Dominioa ſhall be a great Domi- nion 9.
#» This King was Ptolomy the Son of T agus, the firſt King of Egypr after Alexander, who is brought in becauſe he took Feruſalem by Trea- Chery ; for the Ang=l minds only thoſe Perſons and Things which re- lated to the Fews, paſſing over many things that pertained not to
them. o His Riches were great,and his Territories by Land and Sea ; for he added Cyprus, Phenicta, Caria, with many other Countries to