mh_parser/vol_split/27 - Daniel/Chapter 8.xml

<div2 id="Dan.ix" n="ix" next="Dan.x" prev="Dan.viii" progress="71.40%" title="Chapter VIII">
<h2 id="Dan.ix-p0.1">D A N I E L.</h2>
<h3 id="Dan.ix-p0.2">CHAP. VIII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Dan.ix-p1" shownumber="no">The visions and prophecies of this chapter look
only and entirely at the events that were then shortly to come to
pass in the monarchies of Persia and Greece, and seem not to have
any further reference at all. Nothing is here said of the Chaldean
monarchy, for that was now just at its period; and therefore this
chapter is written not in Chaldee, as the six foregoing chapters
were, for the benefit of the Chaldeans, but in Hebrew, and so are
the rest of the chapters to the end of the book, for the service of
the Jews, that they might know what troubles were before them and
what the issue of them would be, and might provide accordingly. In
this chapter we have, I. The vision itself of the ram, and the
he-goat, and the little horn that should fight and prevail against
the people of God, for a certain limited time, <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.1-Dan.8.14" parsed="|Dan|8|1|8|14" passage="Da 8:1-14">ver. 1-14</scripRef>. II. The interpretation of this
vision by an angel, showing that the ram signified the Persian
empire, the he-goat the Grecian, and the little horn a king of the
Grecian monarchy, that should set himself against the Jews and
religion, which was Antiochus Epiphanes, <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.15-Dan.8.27" parsed="|Dan|8|15|8|27" passage="Da 8:15-27">ver. 15-27</scripRef>. The Jewish church, from its
beginning, had been all along, more or less, blessed with prophets,
men divinely inspired to explain God's mind to them in his
providences and give them some prospect of what was coming upon
them; but, soon after Ezra's time, divine inspiration ceased, and
there was no more any prophet till the gospel day dawned. And
therefore the events of that time were here foretold by Daniel, and
left upon record, that even then God might not leave himself
without witness, nor them without a guide.</p>
<scripCom id="Dan.ix-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8" parsed="|Dan|8|0|0|0" passage="Da 8" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Dan.ix-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.1-Dan.8.14" parsed="|Dan|8|1|8|14" passage="Da 8:1-14" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Dan.ix-p1.5">
<h4 id="Dan.ix-p1.6">The Vision of the Ram and
Goat. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Dan.ix-p1.7">b. c.</span> 553.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Dan.ix-p2" shownumber="no">1 In the third year of the reign of king
Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, <i>even unto</i> me Daniel,
after that which appeared unto me at the first.   2 And I saw
in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I <i>was</i> at
Shushan <i>in</i> the palace, which <i>is</i> in the province of
Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.  
3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood
before the river a ram which had <i>two</i> horns: and the
<i>two</i> horns <i>were</i> high; but one <i>was</i> higher than
the other, and the higher came up last.   4 I saw the ram
pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts
might stand before him, neither <i>was there any</i> that could
deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and
became great.   5 And as I was considering, behold, a he goat
came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not
the ground: and the goat <i>had</i> a notable horn between his
eyes.   6 And he came to the ram that had <i>two</i> horns,
which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the
fury of his power.   7 And I saw him come close unto the ram,
and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and
brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand
before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon
him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
  8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was
strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable
ones toward the four winds of heaven.   9 And out of one of
them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward
the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant
<i>land.</i>   10 And it waxed great, <i>even</i> to the host
of heaven; and it cast down <i>some</i> of the host and of the
stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.   11 Yea, he
magnified <i>himself</i> even to the prince of the host, and by him
the daily <i>sacrifice</i> was taken away, and the place of his
sanctuary was cast down.   12 And a host was given <i>him</i>
against the daily <i>sacrifice</i> by reason of transgression, and
it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and
prospered.   13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another
saint said unto that certain <i>saint</i> which spake, How long
<i>shall be</i> the vision <i>concerning</i> the daily
<i>sacrifice,</i> and the transgression of desolation, to give both
the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?   14 And
he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then
shall the sanctuary be cleansed.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p3" shownumber="no">Here is, I. The date of this vision,
<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.1" parsed="|Dan|8|1|0|0" passage="Da 8:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. It was <i>in the
third year of the reign of Belshazzar,</i> which proved to be his
last year, as many reckon; so that this chapter also should be, in
order of time, before the fifth. That Daniel might not be surprised
at the destruction of Babylon, now at hand, God gives him a
foresight of the destruction of other kingdoms hereafter, which in
their day had been as potent as that of Babylon. Could we foresee
the changes that shall be hereafter, when we are gone, we should
the less admire, and be less affected with, the changes in our own
day; for <i>that which is done</i> is <i>that which shall be
done,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.1.9" parsed="|Eccl|1|9|0|0" passage="Ec 1:9">Eccl. i. 9</scripRef>. Then it
was that a <i>vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel.</i> Here
he solemnly attests the truth of it: it was to him, even to him,
that the vision was shown; he was the eye-witness of it. And this
vision puts him in mind of a former vision which <i>appeared to him
at the first,</i> in the first year of this reign, which he makes
mention of because this vision was an explication and confirmation
of that, and points at many of the same events. That seems to have
been a dream, a vision in his sleep; this seems to have been when
he was awake.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p4" shownumber="no">II. The scene of this vision. The place
where that was laid was in <i>Shushan the palace,</i> one of the
royal seats of the kings of Persia, situated on the banks of the
river Ulai, which surrounded the city; it was in the province of
Elam, that part of Persia which lay next to Babylon. Daniel was not
there in person, for he was now in Babylon, a captive, in some
employment under Belshazzar, and might not go to such a distant
country, especially being now an enemy's country. But he was there
in vision; as Ezekiel, when a captive in Babylon, was often
brought, in the spirit, to the land of Israel. Note, The soul may
be a liberty when the body is in captivity; for, when we are bound,
the Spirit of the Lord is not bound. The vision related to that
country, and therefore there he was made to fancy himself to be as
strongly affected as if he had really been there.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p5" shownumber="no">III. The vision itself and the process of
it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p6" shownumber="no">1. He saw a <i>ram</i> with <i>two
horns,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.3" parsed="|Dan|8|3|0|0" passage="Da 8:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. This
was the second monarchy, of which the kingdoms of Media and Persia
were the two horns. The horns were <i>very high;</i> but that which
came up last was the higher, and got the start of the former. So
the last shall be first, and the first last. The kingdom of Persia,
which rose last, in Cyrus, became more eminent than that of the
Medes.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p7" shownumber="no">2. He saw this <i>ram pushing</i> all about
him with his horns (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.4" parsed="|Dan|8|4|0|0" passage="Da 8:4"><i>v.</i>
4</scripRef>), <i>westward</i> (towards Babylon, Syria, Greece, and
Asia the less), <i>northward</i> (towards the Lydians, Armenians,
and Scythians), and <i>southward</i> (towards Arabia, Ethiopia, and
Egypt), for all these nations did the Persian empire, one time or
other, make attempts upon for the enlarging of their dominion. And
at last he became so powerful that <i>no beasts might stand before
him.</i> This <i>ram,</i> though of a species of animal often
preyed upon, became formidable even to the beasts of prey
themselves, so that there was <i>no standing</i> before him, no
escaping him, none that <i>could deliver out of his hand,</i> but
all must yield to him: the kings of Persia did according <i>to
their will,</i> prospered in all their ways abroad, had an
uncontrollable power at home, and <i>became great.</i> He thought
himself great because he did what he would; but to do good is that
which makes men truly great.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p8" shownumber="no">3. He saw this ram overcome by a he-goat.
He was considering the <i>ram</i> (wondering that so weak an animal
should come to be so prevalent) and thinking what would be the
issue; and, <i>behold, a he-goat came,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.5" parsed="|Dan|8|5|0|0" passage="Da 8:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. This was Alexander the Great, the
son of Philip king of Macedonia. He <i>came from the west,</i> from
Greece, which lay west from Persia. He fetched a great compass with
his army: he came <i>upon the face of the whole earth;</i> he did
in effect conquer the world, and then sat down and wept because
there was not another world to be conquered. <i>Unus Pellæo juveni
non sufficit orbis—One world was too little for the youth of
Pellæ.</i> This he-goat (a creature famed for comeliness in going,
<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.30.31" parsed="|Prov|30|31|0|0" passage="Pr 30:31">Prov. xxx. 31</scripRef>) went on with
incredible swiftness, so that he <i>touched not the ground,</i> so
lightly did he move; he rather seemed to fly above the ground than
to go upon the ground; or <i>none touched him in the earth,</i>
that is, he met with little or no opposition. This he-goat, or
buck, had a <i>notable horn between his eyes,</i> like a unicorn.
He had strength, and knew his own strength; he saw himself a match
for all his neighbours. Alexander pushed his conquests on so fast,
and with so much fury, that none of the kingdoms he attacked had
courage to make a stand, or give check to the progress of his
victorious arms. In six years he made himself master of the
greatest part of the then known world. Well might he be called a
<i>notable horn,</i> for his name still lives in history as the
name of one of the most celebrated commanders in war that ever the
world knew. Alexander's victories and achievements are still the
entertainment of the ingenious. This <i>he-goat</i> came to the
<i>ram that had two horns,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.6" parsed="|Dan|8|6|0|0" passage="Da 8:6"><i>v.</i>
6</scripRef>. Alexander with his victorious army attacked the
kingdom of Persia, an army consisting of no more than 30,000 foot
and 5000 horse. He <i>ran unto him,</i> to surprise him ere he
could get intelligence of his motions, <i>in the fury of his
power.</i> He came <i>close to the ram.</i> Alexander with his army
came up with Darius Codomannus, then emperor of Persia, being
<i>moved with choler against him,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.7" parsed="|Dan|8|7|0|0" passage="Da 8:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. It was with the greatest violence
that Alexander pushed on his war against Darius, who, though he
brought vast numbers into the field, yet, for want of skill, was an
unequal match for him, so that Alexander was too hard for him
whenever he engaged him, <i>smote him, cast him down to the
ground,</i> and <i>stamped upon him,</i> which three expressions,
some think, refer to the three famous victories that Alexander
obtained over Darius, at Granicus, at Issus, and at Arbela, by
which he was at length totally routed, having, in the last battle,
had 600,000 men killed, so that Alexander became absolute master of
all the Persian empire, <i>broke his two horns,</i> the kingdoms of
Media and Persia. The ram that had destroyed <i>all before him</i>
(<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.4" parsed="|Dan|8|4|0|0" passage="Da 8:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>) now is himself
destroyed; Darius has <i>no power to stand</i> before Alexander,
not has he any friends or allies to help to <i>deliver him out of
his hand.</i> Note, Those kingdoms which, when they had power,
abused it, and, because none could oppose them, withheld not
themselves from the doing of any wrong, may expect to have their
power at length taken from them, and to be served in their own
kind, <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.33.1" parsed="|Isa|33|1|0|0" passage="Isa 33:1">Isa. xxxiii. 1</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p9" shownumber="no">4. He saw the he-goat made hereby very
considerable; but the <i>great horn,</i> that had done all this
execution, <i>was broken,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.8" parsed="|Dan|8|8|0|0" passage="Da 8:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>. Alexander was about twenty years old when he began
his wars. When he was about twenty-six he conquered Darius, and
became master of the whole Persian empire; but when he was about
thirty-two or thirty-three <i>years of age,</i> when he was
<i>strong,</i> in his full strength, he was <i>broken.</i> He was
not killed in war, in the bed of honour, but died of a drunken
surfeit, or, as some suspect, by poison and left no child living
behind him to enjoy that which he had endlessly laboured for, but
left a lasting monument of the vanity of worldly pomp and power,
and their insufficiency to make a man happy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p10" shownumber="no">5. He saw this kingdom divided into four
parts, and that instead of that one great horn there came up
<i>four notable ones,</i> Alexander's four captains, to whom he
bequeathed his conquests; and he had so much that, when it was
divided among four, they had each of them enough for any one man.
These <i>four notable horns</i> were towards the <i>four winds of
heaven,</i> the same with the <i>four heads</i> of the leopard
(<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.7.6" parsed="|Dan|7|6|0|0" passage="Da 7:6"><i>ch.</i> vii. 6</scripRef>), the
kingdoms of Syria and Egypt, Asia and Greece-Syria lying to the
<i>east,</i> Greece to the <i>west,</i> Asia Minor to the
<i>north,</i> and Egypt to the <i>south.</i> Note, Those that heap
up riches know not who shall gather them, nor whose all those
things shall be which they have provided.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p11" shownumber="no">6. He saw a <i>little horn</i> which became
a great persecutor of the church and people of God; and this was
the principal thing that was intended to be shown to him in this
vision, as afterwards, <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.11.30" parsed="|Dan|11|30|0|0" passage="Da 11:30"><i>ch.</i> xi.
30</scripRef>, &amp;c. All agree that this was <i>Antiochus
Epiphanes</i> (so he called himself)—<i>the illustrious,</i> but
others called him <i>Antiochus Epimanes</i>—<i>Antiochus the
furious.</i> He is called here (as before, <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.7.8" parsed="|Dan|7|8|0|0" passage="Da 7:8"><i>ch.</i> vii. 8</scripRef>), a <i>little horn,</i>
because he was in his original contemptible; there were others
between him and the kingdom, and he was of a base servile
disposition, had nothing in him of princely qualities, and had been
for some time a hostage and prisoner at Rome, whence he made his
escape, and, though, the youngest brother, and his elder living,
got the kingdom. He waxed exceedingly great <i>towards the
south,</i> for he seized upon Egypt, and towards <i>the east,</i>
for he invaded Persia and Armenia. But that which is here
especially taken notice of is the mischief that he did to the
people of the Jews. They are not expressly named, or prophecies
must not be too plain; but they are here so described that it would
be easy for those who understood scripture-language to know who
were meant; and the Jews, having notice of this before, might be
awakened to prepare themselves and their children beforehand for
these suffering trying times. (1.) He set himself against <i>the
pleasant land,</i> the land of Israel, so called because it was the
<i>glory of all lands,</i> for fruitfulness and all the delights of
human life, but especially for the tokens of God's presence in it,
and its being blessed with divine revelations and institutions; it
was Mount Zion that was <i>beautiful for situation,</i> the <i>joy
of the whole earth,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.48.2" parsed="|Ps|48|2|0|0" passage="Ps 48:2">Ps. xlviii.
2</scripRef>. The pleasantness of that land was that there the
Messiah was to be born, who would be both the consolation and
<i>the glory of his people Israel.</i> Note, We have reason to
reckon that a pleasant place which is a holy place, in which God
dwells, and where we may have opportunity of communing with him.
Surely, <i>It is good to be here.</i> (2.) He fought against the
<i>host of heaven,</i> that is, the people of God, the church,
which is the kingdom of heaven, the church-militant here on earth.
The saints, being born from above, and citizens of heaven, and
doing the will of God, by his grace, in some measure, as the angels
of heaven do it, may be well called a <i>heavenly host.</i> Or the
priests and Levites, who were employed in the service of the
tabernacle, and there <i>warred a good warfare,</i> were this
<i>host of heaven.</i> These Antiochus set himself against; he
<i>waxed great to the host of heaven,</i> in opposition to them and
in defiance of them. (3.) He <i>cast down some of the host</i>
(that is, <i>of the stars,</i> for they are called the host of
heaven) <i>to the ground, and stamped upon them.</i> Some of those
that were most eminent both in church and state, that were burning
and shining lights in their generation, he either forced to comply
with his idolatries or put them to death; he got them into his
hands, and then trampled upon them and triumphed over them; as good
old Eleazar, and the <i>seven brethren,</i> whom he put to death
with cruel tortures, because they would not eat swine's flesh, <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:2Macc.6.7" parsed="|2Macc|6|7|0|0" passage="2 Mac. vi. 7">2
Mac. vi. 7</scripRef>. He gloried in it that herein he insulted Heaven
itself and <i>exalted his throne above the stars of God,</i>
<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.14.13" parsed="|Isa|14|13|0|0" passage="Isa 14:13">Isa. xiv. 13</scripRef>. (4.) He
<i>magnified himself even to the prince of the host.</i> He set
himself against the high priest, Onias, whom he deprived of his
dignity, or rather against God himself, who was Israel's <i>King of
old,</i> who <i>reigns for ever</i> Zion's King, who himself heads
his own host that fight his battles. Against him Antiochus
magnified himself; as Pharaoh, when he said, <i>Who is the
Lord</i>? Note, Those who persecute the people of God persecute God
himself. (5.) He <i>took away the daily sacrifice.</i> The morning
and evening lamb, which God appointed to be offered every day upon
his altar to his honour, Antiochus forbade and restrained the
offering of. No doubt he took away all other sacrifices, but only
the <i>daily sacrifice</i> is mentioned, because that was the
greatest loss of all, for in that they kept up their constant
communion with God, which they preferred before that which is only
occasional. God's people reckon their daily sacrifices, their
morning and evening exercises of devotion, the most needful of
their daily business and the most delightful of their daily
comforts, and would not for all the world part with them. (6.) He
<i>cast down the place of his sanctuary.</i> He did not burn and
demolish the temple, but he cast it down, when he profaned it, made
it the temple of Jupiter Olympius, and set up his image in it. He
also <i>cast down the truth to the ground,</i> trampled upon the
book of the law, that word of truth, tore it, and burnt it, and did
what he could to destroy it quite, that it might be lost and
forgotten for ever. These were the projects of that wicked prince.
In these he practised. And (would you think it?) in these he
prospered. He carried the matter very far, seemed to have gained
his point, and went near to extirpate that holy religion which
God's right hand had planted. But lest he or any other should
triumph, as if herein he had prevailed against God himself and been
too hard for him, the matter is here explained and set in a true
light. [1.] He could not have done this if God had not permitted
him to do it, could have had no power against Israel unless it had
been given him from above. God put this power into his hand, and
<i>gave him a host against the daily sacrifice.</i> God's
providence put that sword into his hand by which he was enabled
thus to bear down all before him. Note, We ought to eye and own the
hand of God in all the enterprises and all the successes of the
church's enemies against the church. They are but the rod in God's
hand. [2.] God would not have permitted it if his people had not
provoked him to do so. It is <i>by reason of transgression,</i> the
transgression of Israel, to correct them for that, that Antiochus
is employed to give them all this trouble. Note, When the pleasant
land and all its pleasant things are laid waste, it must be
acknowledged that sin is the procuring cause of all the desolation.
<i>Who gave Jacob to the spoil? Did not the Lord, he against whom
we have sinned?</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.42.24" parsed="|Isa|42|24|0|0" passage="Isa 42:24">Isa. xlii.
24</scripRef>. The great transgression of the Jews after the
captivity (when they were cured of idolatry) was a contempt and
profanation of the holy things, <i>snuffing</i> at the service of
God, <i>bringing the torn and the lame for sacrifice,</i> as if the
<i>table of the Lord</i> were a <i>contemptible</i> thing (so we
find <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.7-Mal.1.8" parsed="|Mal|1|7|1|8" passage="Mal 1:7,8">Mal. i. 7, 8</scripRef>,
&amp;c., and that the priests were guilty of this <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p11.8" osisRef="Bible:Mal.2.1 Bible:Mal.2.8" parsed="|Mal|2|1|0|0;|Mal|2|8|0|0" passage="Mal 2:1,8">Mal. ii. 1, 8</scripRef>), and therefore God
sent Antiochus to <i>take away the daily sacrifice</i> and <i>cast
down the place of his sanctuary.</i> Note, It is just with God to
deprive those of the privileges of his house who despise and
profane them, and to make those know the worth of ordinances by the
want of them who would not know it by the enjoyment of them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p12" shownumber="no">7. He heard the time of this calamity
limited and determined, not the time <i>when it should come</i>
(that is not here fixed, because God would have his people always
prepared for it), but <i>how long it should last,</i> that, when
they had no more any <i>prophets to tell them how long</i>
(<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.74.9" parsed="|Ps|74|9|0|0" passage="Ps 74:9">Ps. lxxiv. 9</scripRef>, which psalm
seems to have been calculated for this dark and doleful day), they
might have this prophecy to give them a prospect of deliverance in
due time. Now concerning this we have here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p13" shownumber="no">(1.) The question asked concerning it,
<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.13" parsed="|Dan|8|13|0|0" passage="Da 8:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. Observe [1.]
By whom the question was put: <i>I heard one saint speaking</i> to
this purport, and then <i>another saint</i> seconded him. "O that
we knew how long this trouble will last!" The angels here are
called <i>saints,</i> for they are <i>holy ones</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.13" parsed="|Dan|4|13|0|0" passage="Da 4:13"><i>ch.</i> iv. 13</scripRef>), the <i>holy
myriads,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Jude.1.14" parsed="|Jude|1|14|0|0" passage="Jude 1:14">Jude 14</scripRef>. The
angels concern themselves in the affairs of the church, and enquire
concerning them, if, as here, concerning its temporal salvations,
much more do they desire to <i>look into the great salvation,</i>
<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.1.12" parsed="|1Pet|1|12|0|0" passage="1Pe 1:12">1 Pet. i. 12</scripRef>. One saint
<i>spoke</i> of the thing, and another <i>enquired</i> concerning
it. Thus John, who lay in Christ's bosom, was beckoned to by Peter
to ask Christ a question, <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:John.13.23-John.13.24" parsed="|John|13|23|13|24" passage="Joh 13:23,24">John
xiii. 23, 24</scripRef>. [2.] To whom the question was put. He said
<i>unto Palmoni that spoke.</i> Some make this <i>certain saint</i>
to be a superior angel who understood more than the rest, to whom
therefore they came with their enquiries. Others make it to be the
<i>eternal Word,</i> the <i>Son of God.</i> He is the <i>unknown
One. Palmoni</i> seems to be compounded of <i>Peloni Almoni,</i>
which is used (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p13.6" osisRef="Bible:Ruth.4.1" parsed="|Ruth|4|1|0|0" passage="Ru 4:1">Ruth iv. 1</scripRef>)
for <i>Ho, such a one,</i> and (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p13.7" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.6.8" parsed="|2Kgs|6|8|0|0" passage="2Ki 6:8">2 Kings
vi. 8</scripRef>) for <i>such a place.</i> Christ was yet the
<i>nameless One. Wherefore asked thou after my name, seeing it is
secret?</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p13.8" osisRef="Bible:Judg.13.18" parsed="|Judg|13|18|0|0" passage="Jdg 13:18">Judg. xiii.
18</scripRef>. He is the <i>numberer of secrets</i> (as some
translate it), for from him there is nothing hidden—<i>the
wonderful numberer,</i> so others; his name is called
<i>Wonderful.</i> Note, If we would know the mind of God, we must
apply to Jesus Christ, who lay in the bosom of the Father, and
<i>in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge,</i> not hidden from us, but hidden for us. [3.] The
question itself that was asked: "<i>How long shall be the vision
concerning the daily sacrifice?</i> How long shall the prohibition
of it continue? How long shall the pleasant land be made unpleasant
by that severe interdict? How long shall <i>the transgression of
desolation</i> (the image of Jupiter), that great transgression
which makes all our sacred things desolate, how long shall that
stand in the temple? How long shall <i>the sanctuary and the
host,</i> the holy place and the holy persons that minister in it,
be <i>trodden under foot</i> by the oppressor?" Note, Angels are
concerned for the prosperity of the church on earth and desirous to
see an end of its desolations. The angels asked, for the
satisfaction of Daniel, not doubting but he was desirous to know,
how long these calamities should last? The question takes it for
granted that they should not last always. <i>The rod of the wicked
shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous,</i> though it may
come upon their lot. Christ comforted himself in his sufferings
with this, <i>The things concerning me have an end</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p13.9" osisRef="Bible:Luke.22.37" parsed="|Luke|22|37|0|0" passage="Lu 22:37">Luke xxii. 37</scripRef>), and so may the church
in hers. But it is desirable to know how long they shall last, that
we may provide accordingly.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p14" shownumber="no">(2.) The answer given to this question,
<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.14" parsed="|Dan|8|14|0|0" passage="Da 8:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. Christ gives
instruction to the holy angels, for they are our fellow-servants;
but here the answer was given to Daniel, because for his sake the
question was asked: <i>He said unto me.</i> God sometimes gives in
great favours to his people, in answer to the enquiries and
requests of their friends for them. Now, [1.] Christ assures him
that the trouble shall end; it shall continue <i>2300 days and no
longer,</i> so many <i>evenings and mornings</i> (so the word is),
so many <b><i>nychthemerai</i></b>, so many <i>natural days,</i>
reckoned, as in the beginning of Genesis, by the evenings and
mornings, because it was the evening and the morning sacrifice that
they most lamented the loss of, and thought the time passed very
slowly while they were deprived of them. Some make the morning and
the evening, in this number, to stand for two, and then 2300
evenings and as many mornings will make but 1150 days; and about so
many days it was that the daily sacrifice was interrupted: and this
comes nearer to the computation (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.7.25" parsed="|Dan|7|25|0|0" passage="Da 7:25"><i>ch.</i> vii. 25</scripRef>) of a <i>time, times,</i>
and the <i>dividing of a time.</i> But it is less forced to
understand them of so many natural days; 2300 days make <i>six
years</i> and <i>three months,</i> and about eighteen days; and
just so long they reckon from the defection of the people, procured
by Menelaus the high priest in the 142nd year of the kingdom of the
Seleucidæ, the sixth month of that year, and the 6th day of the
month (so Josephus dates it), to the cleansing of the sanctuary,
and the reestablishment of religion among them, which was in the
148th year, the 9th month, and the 25th <i>day of the month,</i>
<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:1Macc.4.52" parsed="|1Macc|4|52|0|0" passage="1 Mac. iv. 52.">1 Mac. iv. 52.</scripRef> God reckons the time of his people's
afflictions he is afflicted. <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.2.10" parsed="|Rev|2|10|0|0" passage="Re 2:10">Rev. ii.
10</scripRef>, Thou shalt have <i>tribulation ten days.</i> [2.] He
assures him that they shall see better days afterwards: <i>Then
shall the sanctuary be cleansed.</i> Note, The cleansing of the
sanctuary is a happy token for good to any people; when they begin
to be reformed they will soon be relieved. Though the righteous God
may, for the correction of his people, suffer his sanctuary to be
profaned for a while, yet the jealous God will, for his own glory,
see to the cleansing of it in due time. Christ died to cleanse his
church, and he will so cleanse it as at length to present it
blameless to himself.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Dan.ix-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.15-Dan.8.27" parsed="|Dan|8|15|8|27" passage="Da 8:15-27" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Dan.ix-p14.6">
<h4 id="Dan.ix-p14.7">The Vision of the Ram and
Goat. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Dan.ix-p14.8">b. c.</span> 553.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Dan.ix-p15" shownumber="no">15 And it came to pass, when I, <i>even</i> I
Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then,
behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.   16
And I heard a man's voice between <i>the banks of</i> Ulai, which
called, and said, Gabriel, make this <i>man</i> to understand the
vision.   17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came,
I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me,
Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end <i>shall
be</i> the vision.   18 Now as he was speaking with me, I was
in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me,
and set me upright.   19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee
know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the
time appointed the end <i>shall be.</i>   20 The ram which
thou sawest having <i>two</i> horns <i>are</i> the kings of Media
and Persia.   21 And the rough goat <i>is</i> the king of
Grecia: and the great horn that <i>is</i> between his eyes
<i>is</i> the first king.   22 Now that being broken, whereas
four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the
nation, but not in his power.   23 And in the latter time of
their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king
of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall
stand up.   24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his
own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and
practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.  
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in
his hand; and he shall magnify <i>himself</i> in his heart, and by
peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince
of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.   26 And the
vision of the evening and the morning which was told <i>is</i>
true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it <i>shall be</i> for
many days.   27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick
<i>certain</i> days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's
business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood
<i>it.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p16" shownumber="no">Here we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p17" shownumber="no">I. Daniel's earnest desire to have this
vision explained to him (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.15" parsed="|Dan|8|15|0|0" passage="Da 8:15"><i>v.</i>
15</scripRef>): <i>I sought the meaning.</i> Note, Those that
rightly know the things of God cannot but desire to know more and
more of them, and to be led further into the mystery of them; and
those that would find the meaning of what they have seen or heard
from God must seek it, and seek it diligently. <i>Seek and you
shall find.</i> Daniel considered the thing, compared it with the
former discoveries, to try if he could understand it; but
especially he sought by prayer (as he had done <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.2.18" parsed="|Dan|2|18|0|0" passage="Da 2:18"><i>ch.</i> ii. 18</scripRef>), and he did not seek in
vain.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p18" shownumber="no">II. Orders given to the angel Gabriel to
inform him concerning this vision. One <i>in the appearance of a
man</i> (who, some think, was Christ himself, for who besides could
command angels?) orders Gabriel to <i>make Daniel understand this
vision.</i> Sometimes God is pleased to make use of the
ministration of angels, not only to protect his children, but to
instruct them, to serve the kind intentions, not only of his
providence, but of his grace.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p19" shownumber="no">III. The consternation that Daniel was in
upon the approach of his instructor (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.17" parsed="|Dan|8|17|0|0" passage="Da 8:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>): <i>When he came near I was
afraid.</i> Though Daniel was a man of great prudence and courage,
and had been conversant with the visions of the Almighty, yet the
approach of an extraordinary messenger from heaven put him into
this fright. He <i>fell upon his face,</i> not to worship the
angel, but because he could no longer bear the dazzling lustre of
his glory. Nay, being prostrate upon the ground, he <i>fell into a
deep sleep,</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.18" parsed="|Dan|8|18|0|0" passage="Da 8:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>), which came not from any neglect of the vision, or
indifference towards it, but was an effect of his faintness and the
oppression of spirit he was under, through the abundance of
revelations. The disciples in the garden slept for sorrow; and, as
there, so here, <i>the spirit was willing, but the flesh was
weak.</i> Daniel would have kept awake, and could not.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p20" shownumber="no">IV. The relief which the angel gave to
Daniel, with great encouragement to him to expect a satisfactory
discovery of the meaning of this vision. 1. He <i>touched him,</i>
and <i>set him upon his feet,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.18" parsed="|Dan|8|18|0|0" passage="Da 8:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>. Thus when John, in a similar
case, was in similar consternation, Christ <i>laid his right hand
upon him,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.17" parsed="|Rev|1|17|0|0" passage="Re 1:17">Rev. i. 17</scripRef>. It
was a gentle touch that the angel here gave to Daniel, to show that
he came not to hurt him, not to <i>plead against him with his great
power,</i> or with a hand <i>heavy upon him,</i> but to help him,
to <i>put strength into him</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.23.6" parsed="|Job|23|6|0|0" passage="Job 23:6">Job
xxiii. 6</scripRef>), which God can do with a touch. When we are
slumbering and grovelling on this earth we are very unfit to hear
from God, and to converse with him. But, if God design instruction
for us, he will be his grace awaken us out of our slumber, raise us
from things below, and <i>set us upright.</i> 2. He promised to
inform him: "<i>Understand, O son of man!</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.17" parsed="|Dan|8|17|0|0" passage="Da 8:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. Thou shalt understand, if thou
wilt but apply thy mind to understand." He calls him <i>son of
man</i> to intimate that he would consider his frame, and would
deal tenderly with him, accommodating himself to his capacity as a
man. Or thus he preaches humility to him; though he be admitted to
converse with angels, he must not be puffed up with it, but must
remember that he is a son of man. Or perhaps this title puts honour
upon him: the Messiah was lately called the <i>Son of man</i>
(<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:Dan.7.13" parsed="|Dan|7|13|0|0" passage="Da 7:13"><i>ch.</i> vii. 13</scripRef>), and
Daniel is akin to him, and is a figure of him as a prophet and one
<i>greatly beloved.</i> He assures him that he shall be made to
know <i>what shall be in the last end of the indignation,</i>
<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p20.6" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.19" parsed="|Dan|8|19|0|0" passage="Da 8:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>. Let it be laid
up for a comfort to those who shall live to see these calamitous
times that there shall be an end of them; <i>the indignation shall
cease</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p20.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.10.25" parsed="|Isa|10|25|0|0" passage="Isa 10:25">Isa. x. 25</scripRef>); it
<i>shall be overpast,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p20.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.26.20" parsed="|Isa|26|20|0|0" passage="Isa 26:20">Isa. xxvi.
20</scripRef>. It may intermit and return again, but the <i>last
end</i> shall be glorious; good will follow it, nay, and good will
be brought out of it. He tells him (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p20.9" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.17" parsed="|Dan|8|17|0|0" passage="Da 8:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>), "<i>At the time of the end
shall be the vision;</i> when the last end of the indignation
comes, when the course of this providence is completed, then the
vision shall be made plain and intelligible by the event, as the
event shall be made plain and intelligible by the vision." Or,
"<i>At the time of the end</i> of the Jewish church, in the latter
days of it, <i>shall this vision</i> be accomplished, 300 or 400
years hence; understand it therefore, that thou mayest leave it on
record for the generations to come." But is he ask more
particularly, "When is the time of the end? And how long will it be
before it arrive?" let this answer suffice (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p20.10" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.19" parsed="|Dan|8|19|0|0" passage="Da 8:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>): <i>At the time appointed the
end shall be;</i> it is fixed in the divine counsel, which cannot
be altered and which must not be pried into.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p21" shownumber="no">V. The exposition which he gave him of the
vision.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p22" shownumber="no">1. Concerning the two monarchies of Persia
and Greece, <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.20-Dan.8.22" parsed="|Dan|8|20|8|22" passage="Da 8:20-22"><i>v.</i>
20-22</scripRef>. The <i>ram</i> signified the succession of the
kings of Media and Persia; the <i>rough goat</i> signified the
kings of Greece; the <i>great horn</i> was Alexander; the <i>four
horns</i> that rose in his room were the four kingdoms into which
his conquests were cantoned, of which before, <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.8" parsed="|Dan|8|8|0|0" passage="Da 8:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. They are said to <i>stand up out
of the nations,</i> but <i>not in his power;</i> none of them ever
made the figure that Alexander did. Josephus relates that when
Alexander had taken Tyre, and subdued Palestine, and was upon his
march to Jerusalem, Jaddas, who was them high priest (Nehemiah
mentions one of his name, <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p22.3" osisRef="Bible:Dan.12.11" parsed="|Dan|12|11|0|0" passage="Da 12:11"><i>ch.</i>
xii. 11</scripRef>), fearing his rage, had recourse to God by
prayer and sacrifice for the common safety, and was by him warned
in a dream that upon Alexander's approach he should throw open the
gates of the city, and that he and the rest of the priests should
go forth to meet him in their habits, and all the people in white.
Alexander, seeing this company at a distance, went himself alone to
the high priest, and, having prostrated himself before that God
whose name was engraven in the golden plate of his mitre, he first
saluted him; and, being asked by one of his own captains why he did
so, he said that while he was yet in Macedon, musing on the
conquest of Asia, there appeared to him a man like unto this, and
thus attired, who invited him into Asia, and assured him of success
in the conquest of it. The priests led him to the temple, where he
offered sacrifice to the God of Israel as they directed him; and
there they showed him this book of the prophet Daniel, that it was
there foretold that a Grecian should come and destroy the Persians,
which animated him very much in the expedition he was now
meditating against Darius. Hereupon he took the Jews and their
religion under his protection, promised to be kind to those of
their religion in Babylon and Media, whither he was now marching,
and in honour of him all the priests that had sons born that year
called them <i>Alexander. Joseph. lib.</i> 11.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p23" shownumber="no">2. Concerning Antiochus, and his oppression
of the Jews. This is said to be in the <i>latter time of the</i>
kingdom of the Greeks, <i>when the transgressors are come to the
full</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.23" parsed="|Dan|8|23|0|0" passage="Da 8:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>);
that is, when the degenerate Jews have filled up the measure of
their iniquity, and are ripe for this destruction, so that God
cannot in honour bear with them any longer then shall <i>stand
up</i> this king, to be <i>flagellum Dei—the rod in God's hand</i>
for the chastising of the Jews. Now observe here, (1.) His
character: He shall be a <i>king of fierce countenance,</i>
insolent and furious, neither fearing God nor regarding man,
<i>understanding dark sentences,</i> or (rather) <i>versed in dark
practices,</i> the <i>hidden things of dishonesty;</i> he was
master of all the arts of dissimulation and deceit, and knew the
<i>depths of Satan</i> as well as any man. He was <i>wise to do
evil.</i> (2.) His success. He shall make dreadful havoc of the
nations about him: <i>His power shall be mighty,</i> bear down all
before it, but not <i>by his own power</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.24" parsed="|Dan|8|24|0|0" passage="Da 8:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>), but partly by the assistance of
his allies, Eumenes and Attalus, partly by the baseness and
treachery of many of the Jews, even of the priests that came into
his interests, and especially by the divine permission. it was not
by his own power, but by a power given him from above, that he
<i>destroyed wonderfully,</i> and thought he made himself a great
man by being a great destroyer. He destroys wonderfully indeed, for
he destroys, [1.] The <i>mighty people,</i> and they cannot resist
him by their power. The princes of Egypt cannot stand before him
with all their forces, but he practises against them and prospers.
Note, The mighty ones of the earth commonly meet with those at
length that are too hard for them, that are more mighty than they.
Let not the strong man then glory in his strength, be it ever so
great, unless he could be sure that there were none stronger than
he. [2.] He destroys the <i>holy people,</i> or <i>the people of
the holy ones;</i> and their sacred character does neither deter
him from destroying them nor defend them from being destroyed.
<i>All things come alike to all,</i> and there is one event to the
mighty and to the holy in this world. [3.] The methods by which he
will gain this success, not by true courage, wisdom, or justice,
but by his <i>policy</i> and <i>craft</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p23.3" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.25" parsed="|Dan|8|25|0|0" passage="Da 8:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>), by fraud and deceit, and
serpentine subtlety: He shall <i>cause craft to prosper;</i> so
cunningly shall he carry on his projects that he shall gain his
point by the art of wheedling. <i>By peace he shall destroy
many,</i> as others do by war; under the pretence of treaties,
leagues, and alliances, with them, he shall encroach on their
rights, and trick them into a subjection to him. Thus sometimes
what a nation truly brave has gained in a righteous war a nation
truly base has regained in a treacherous peace, and craft has been
caused to prosper. [4.] The mischief that he shall do to religion:
<i>He shall magnify himself in his heart,</i> and think himself fit
to prescribe and give law to every body, so that he shall <i>stand
up against the Prince of princes,</i> that is, against God himself.
He will profane his temple and altar, prohibit his worship, and
persecute his worshippers. See what a height of impudence some
men's impiety brings them to; they openly bid defiance to God
himself though he is the Kings of kings. [5.] The ruin that he
shall be brought to at last: <i>He shall be broken without
hand,</i> that is, without the hand of man. He shall not be slain
in war, nor shall he be assassinated, as tyrants commonly were, but
he shall fall into the hand of the living God and die by an
immediate stroke of his vengeance. He, hearing that the Jews had
cast the image of Jupiter Olympius out of the temple, where he had
placed it, was so enraged at the Jews that he vowed he would make
Jerusalem <i>a common burial-place,</i> and determined to march
thither immediately; but no sooner had he spoken these proud words
than he was struck with an incurable plague in his bowels; worms
bred so fast in his body that whole flakes of flesh sometimes
dropped from him; his torments were violent, and the stench of his
disease such that none could endure to come near him. He continued
in this misery very long. At first he persisted in his menaces
against the Jews; but at length, despairing of his recovery, he
called his friends together, and acknowledged all those miseries to
have fallen upon him for the injuries he had done to the Jews and
his profaning the temple at Jerusalem. Then he wrote courteous
letters to the Jews, and vowed that if he recovered he would let
them have the free exercise of their religion. But, finding his
disease grow upon him, when he could no longer endure his own
smell, he said, <i>It is meet to submit to God, and for man who is
mortal not to set himself in competition with God,</i> and so died
miserably in a strange land, on the mountains of Pacata near
Babylon: so Ussher's Annals, <i>A.M.</i> 3840, about 160 years
before the birth of Christ.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p24" shownumber="no">3. As to the time fixed for the continuance
of the cessation of the daily sacrifice, it is not explained here,
but only confirmed (<scripRef id="Dan.ix-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.26" parsed="|Dan|8|26|0|0" passage="Da 8:26"><i>v.</i>
26</scripRef>). That <i>vision of the evening and morning is
true,</i> in the proper sense of the words, and needs no
explication. How unlikely soever it might be that God should suffer
his own sanctuary to be thus profaned, yet it is true, it is too
true, so it shall be.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.ix-p25" shownumber="no">VI. Here is the conclusion of this vision,
and here, 1. The charge given to Daniel to keep it private for the
present: <i>Shut thou up the vision;</i> let it not be publicly
know among the Chaldeans, lest the Persians, who were now shortly
to possess the kingdom, should be incensed against the Jews by it,
because the downfall of their kingdom was foretold by it, which
would be unseasonable now that the edict for their release was
expected from the king of Persia. <i>Shut it up, for it shall be
for many days.</i> It was about 300 years from the time of this
vision to the time of the accomplishment of it; therefore he must
<i>shut it up</i> for the present, even from the people of the
Jews, lest it should amaze and perplex them, but let it be kept
safely for the generations to come, that should live about the time
of the accomplishment of it, for to them it would be both most
intelligible and most serviceable. Note, What we know of the things
of God should be carefully laid up, that hereafter, when there is
occasion, it may be faithfully laid out; and what we have not now
any use for, yet we may have another time. Divine truths should be
sealed up among our treasures, that we may find them again after
many days. 2. The care he took to keep it private, having received
such a charge, <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.8.27" parsed="|Dan|8|27|0|0" passage="Da 8:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>.
He <i>fainted, and was sick,</i> with the multitude of his thoughts
within him occasioned by this vision, which oppressed and
overwhelmed him the more because he was forbidden to publish what
he had seen, so that <i>his belly was as wine which has no
vent,</i> he was <i>ready to burst like new bottles,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.ix-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.32.19" parsed="|Job|32|19|0|0" passage="Job 32:19">Job xxxii. 19</scripRef>. However, he kept it
to himself, stifled and smothered the concern he was in; so that
those he conversed with could not perceive it, but he <i>did the
king's business</i> according to the duty of his place, whatever it
was. Note, As long as we live in this world we must have something
to do in it; and even those whom God has most dignified with his
favours must not think themselves above their business; nor must
the pleasure of communion with God take us off from the duties of
our particular callings, but still we must in them <i>abide with
God.</i> Those especially that are entrusted with public business
must see to it that they conscientiously discharge their trust.</p>
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