mh_parser/vol_split/27 - Daniel/Chapter 4.xml

<div2 id="Dan.v" n="v" next="Dan.vi" prev="Dan.iv" progress="69.22%" title="Chapter IV">
<h2 id="Dan.v-p0.1">D A N I E L.</h2>
<h3 id="Dan.v-p0.2">CHAP. IV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Dan.v-p1" shownumber="no">The penman of this chapter is Nebuchadnezzar
himself: the story here recorded concerning him is given us in his
own words, as he himself drew it up and published it; but Daniel, a
prophet, by inspiration, inserts it in his history, and so it has
become a part of sacred writ and a very memorable part.
Nebuchadnezzar was as daring a rival with God Almighty for the
sovereignty as perhaps any mortal man ever was; but here he fairly
owns himself conquered, and gives it under his hand that the God of
Israel is above him. Here is, I. The preface to his narrative,
wherein he acknowledges God's dominion over him, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.1-Dan.4.3" parsed="|Dan|4|1|4|3" passage="Da 4:1-3">ver. 1-3</scripRef>. II. The narrative itself, wherein
he relates, 1. His dream, which puzzled the magicians, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.1-Dan.4.18" parsed="|Dan|4|1|4|18" passage="Da 4:1-18">ver. 1-18</scripRef>. 2. The interpretation of
his dream by Daniel, who showed him that it was a prognostication
of his own fall, advising him therefore to repent and reform,
<scripRef id="Dan.v-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.19-Dan.4.27" parsed="|Dan|4|19|4|27" passage="Da 4:19-27">ver. 19-27</scripRef>. 3. The
accomplishment of it in his running stark mad for seven years, and
then recovering the use of his reason again, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.28-Dan.4.36" parsed="|Dan|4|28|4|36" passage="Da 4:28-36">ver. 28-36</scripRef>. 4. The conclusion of the
narrative, with a humble acknowledgment and adoration of God as
Lord of all, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.37" parsed="|Dan|4|37|0|0" passage="Da 4:37">ver. 37</scripRef>. This
was extorted from him by the overruling power of that God who has
all men's hearts in his hand, and stands upon record a lasting
proof of God's supremacy, a monument of his glory, a trophy of his
victory, and a warning to all not to think of prospering while they
lift up or harden their hearts against God.</p>
<scripCom id="Dan.v-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4" parsed="|Dan|4|0|0|0" passage="Da 4" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Dan.v-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.1-Dan.4.3" parsed="|Dan|4|1|4|3" passage="Da 4:1-3" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Dan.v-p1.8">
<h4 id="Dan.v-p1.9">Nebuchadnezzar Magnifies
God. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Dan.v-p1.10">b. c.</span> 570.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Dan.v-p2" shownumber="no">1 Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people,
nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be
multiplied unto you.   2 I thought it good to show the signs
and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.   3 How
great <i>are</i> his signs! and how mighty <i>are</i> his wonders!
his kingdom <i>is</i> an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion
<i>is</i> from generation to generation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p3" shownumber="no">Here is, I. Something of form, which was
usual in writs, proclamations, or circular letters, issued by the
king, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.1" parsed="|Dan|4|1|0|0" passage="Da 4:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. The royal
style which Nebuchadnezzar makes use of has nothing in it of pomp
or fancy, but is plain, short, and unaffected—<i>Nebuchadnezzar
the king.</i> If at other times he made use of great swelling words
of vanity in his title, how he laid them all aside; for he was old,
he had lately recovered from a distraction which had humbled and
mortified him, and was now in the actual contemplation of God's
greatness and sovereignty. The declaration is directed not only to
his own subjects, but to all to whom this present writing shall
come—<i>to all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all
the earth.</i> He is not only willing that they should all hear of
it, though it carry the account if his own infamy (which perhaps
none durst have published if he had not done it himself, and
therefore Daniel published the original paper), but he strictly
charges and commands all manner of persons to take notice of it;
for all are concerned, and it may be profitable to all. He salutes
those to whom he writes, in the usual form, <i>Peace be multiplied
unto you.</i> Note, It becomes kings with their commands to
disperse their good wishes, and, as fathers of their country, to
bless their subjects. So the common form with us. We send greeting,
<i>Omnibus quibus hæ præsentes literæ pervenerint, salutem—To all
to whom these presents shall come, health;</i> and sometimes
<i>Salutem sempiternam—Health and salvation everlasting.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p4" shownumber="no">II. Something of substance and matter. He
writes this, 1. To acquaint others with the providences of God that
had related to him (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.2" parsed="|Dan|4|2|0|0" passage="Da 4:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>): <i>I thought it good to show the signs and wonders
that the high God</i> (so he calls the true God) <i>has wrought
towards me.</i> He thought it <i>seemly</i> (so the word is), that
it was his duty, and did well become him, that it was a debt he
owed to God and the world, now that he had recovered from his
distraction, to relate to distant places, and record for future
ages, how justly God had humbled him and how graciously he had at
length restored him. All the nations, no doubt, had heard what
befell Nebuchadnezzar, and rang of it; but he thought it fit that
they should have a distinct account of it from himself, that they
might know the hand of God in it, and what impressions were made
upon his own spirit by it, and might speak of it not as a matter of
news, but as a matter of religion. The events concerning him were
not only wonders to be admired, but signs to be instructed by,
signifying to the world that Jehovah is greater than all gods.
Note, We ought to show to others God's dealings with us, both the
rebukes we have been under and the favours we have received; and
though the account hereof may reflect disgrace upon ourselves, as
this did upon Nebuchadnezzar, yet we must not conceal it, as long
as it may redound to the glory of God. Many will be forward to tell
what God has done <i>for their souls,</i> because that turns to
their own praise, who care not for telling what God has done
against them, and how they deserved it; whereas we ought to give
glory to God, not only by praising him for his mercies, but by
confessing our sins, accepting the punishment of our iniquity, and
in both taking shame to ourselves, as this mighty monarch here
does. 2. To show how much he was himself affected with them and
convinced by them, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.3" parsed="|Dan|4|3|0|0" passage="Da 4:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>. We should always speak of the word and works of God
with concern and seriousness and show ourselves affected with those
great things of God which we desire others should take notice of.
(1.) He admires God's doings. He speaks of them as one amazed:
<i>How great are his signs, and how mighty are his wonders!</i>
Nebuchadnezzar was now old, had reigned above forty years, and had
seen as much of the world and the revolutions of it as most men
ever did; and yet never till now, when himself was nearly touched,
was he brought to admire surprising events as God's signs and his
wonders. Now, <i>How great, how mighty,</i> are they! Note, The
more we see events to be <i>the Lord's doing,</i> and see in them
the product of a divine power and the conduct of a divine wisdom,
the more marvellous they will appear in our eyes, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.23 Bible:Ps.66.2" parsed="|Ps|118|23|0|0;|Ps|66|2|0|0" passage="Ps 118:23,Ps 66:2">Ps. cxviii. 23; lxvi. 2</scripRef>.
(2.) He thence infers God's dominion. This is that which he is at
length brought to subscribe to: <i>His kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom;</i> and not like his own kingdom, which he saw, and long
since foresaw, in a dream, hastening towards a period. He now owns
that there is a God that governs the world and has a universal,
incontestable, absolute dominion in and over all the affairs of the
children of men. And it is the glory of this kingdom that it is
everlasting. Other reigns are confined to one generation, and other
dynasties to a few generations, but God's <i>dominion is from
generation to generation.</i> It should seem, Nebuchadnezzar here
refers to what Daniel had foretold of a kingdom which the God of
heaven would set up, that should <i>never be destroyed</i>
(<scripRef id="Dan.v-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Dan.2.44" parsed="|Dan|2|44|0|0" passage="Da 2:44"><i>ch.</i> ii. 44</scripRef>), which,
though meant of the kingdom of the Messiah, he understood of the
providential kingdom. Thus we may make a profitable practical use
and application of those prophetical scriptures which yet we do not
fully, and perhaps not rightly, comprehend the meaning of.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Dan.v-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.4-Dan.4.18" parsed="|Dan|4|4|4|18" passage="Da 4:4-18" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Dan.v-p4.6">
<h4 id="Dan.v-p4.7">Nebuchadnezzar's Second Dream;
Nebuchadnezzar Relates His Dream. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Dan.v-p4.8">b. c.</span> 570.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Dan.v-p5" shownumber="no">4 I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house,
and flourishing in my palace:   5 I saw a dream which made me
afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head
troubled me.   6 Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the
wise <i>men</i> of Babylon before me, that they might make known
unto me the interpretation of the dream.   7 Then came in the
magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and
I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me
the interpretation thereof.   8 But at the last Daniel came in
before me, whose name <i>was</i> Belteshazzar, according to the
name of my god, and in whom <i>is</i> the spirit of the holy gods:
and before him I told the dream, <i>saying,</i>   9 O
Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the
spirit of the holy gods <i>is</i> in thee, and no secret troubleth
thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the
interpretation thereof.   10 Thus <i>were</i> the visions of
mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the
earth, and the height thereof <i>was</i> great.   11 The tree
grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven,
and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:   12 The
leaves thereof <i>were</i> fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in
it <i>was</i> 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.   13 I saw in the visions of my
head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down
from heaven;   14 He cried aloud, and said thus, 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:   15 Nevertheless leave the stump of his
roots 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 <i>let</i> his portion <i>be</i> with the beasts in the
grass of the earth:   16 Let his heart be changed from man's,
and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass
over him.   17 This matter <i>is</i> by the decree of the
watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the
intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the
kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up
over it the basest of men.   18 This dream I king
Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the
interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise <i>men</i> of my
kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but
thou <i>art</i> able; for the spirit of the holy gods <i>is</i> in
thee.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p6" shownumber="no">Nebuchadnezzar, before he relates the
judgments of God that had been wrought upon him for his pride,
gives an account of the fair warning he had of them before they
came, a due regard to which might have prevented them. But he was
<i>told of them,</i> and of the issue of them, <i>before they came
to pass, that, when they did come to pass,</i> by comparing them
with the prediction of them, he might see, and say, that they were
the Lord's doing, and might be brought to believe that there is a
divine revelation in the world, as well as a divine Providence, and
that the works of God agree with his word.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p7" shownumber="no">Now, in the account he here gives of his
dream, by which he had notice of what was coming, we may
observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p8" shownumber="no">I. The time when this alarm was given to
him (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.4" parsed="|Dan|4|4|0|0" passage="Da 4:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>); it was
when he was <i>at rest in his house, and flourishing in his
palace.</i> He had lately conquered Egypt, and with it completed
his victories, and ended his wars, and made himself monarch of all
those parts of the world, which was about the thirty-fourth or
thirty-fifth year of his reign, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.17" parsed="|Ezek|29|17|0|0" passage="Eze 29:17">Ezek.
xxix. 17</scripRef>. Then he had this dream, which was accomplished
about a year after. Seven years his distraction continued, upon his
recovery from which he penned this declaration, lived about two
years after, and died in his forty-fifth year. He had undergone a
long fatigue in his wars, had made many a tedious and dangerous
campaign in the field; but now at length he is <i>at rest in his
house,</i> and there is <i>no adversary, nor any evil
occurrent.</i> Note, God can reach the greatest of men with his
terrors even when they are most secure, and think themselves at
rest and flourishing.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p9" shownumber="no">II. The impression it made upon him
(<scripRef id="Dan.v-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.5" parsed="|Dan|4|5|0|0" passage="Da 4:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>): <i>I saw a
dream which made me afraid.</i> One would think no little thing
would frighten him that had been a man of war from his youth, and
used to look the perils of war in the face without change of
countenance; yet, when God pleases, a dream strikes a terror upon
him. His bed, no doubt, was soft, and easy, and well-guarded, and
yet his own <i>thoughts upon his bed</i> made him uneasy, and the
<i>visions of his head,</i> the creatures of his own imagination,
<i>troubled him.</i> Note, God can make the greatest of men uneasy
even when they say to their souls, <i>Take your ease, eat, drink,
and be merry;</i> he can make those that have been the troublers of
the world, and have tormented thousands, to be their own troublers,
their own tormentors, and those that have been <i>the terror of the
mighty</i> a terror to themselves. By the consternation which this
dream put him into, and the impression it made upon him, he
perceived it to be, not an ordinary dream, but sent of God on a
special errand.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p10" shownumber="no">III. His consulting, in vain, with the
magicians and astrologers concerning the meaning of it. He had not
now forgotten the dream, as before, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.2.1-Dan.2.21" parsed="|Dan|2|1|2|21" passage="Da 2:1-21"><i>ch.</i> ii.</scripRef> He had it ready enough, but
he wanted to know the interpretation of it and what was prefigured
by it, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.6" parsed="|Dan|4|6|0|0" passage="Da 4:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. Orders
are immediately given to summon <i>all the wise men of Babylon</i>
that were such fools as to pretend by magic, divination, inspecting
the entrails of beasts, or observations of the stars, to predict
things to come: they must all come together, to see if any, or all
of them in consultation, could interpret the king's dream. It is
probable that these people had sometimes, in a like case, given the
king some sort of satisfaction, and by the rules of their art had
answered the king's queries so as to please him, whether it were
right or wrong, hit or missed; but now his expectation from them
was disappointed: He <i>told them the dream</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.7" parsed="|Dan|4|7|0|0" passage="Da 4:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), but they <i>could not tell him
the interpretation of it,</i> though they had boasted, with great
assurance (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Dan.2.4 Bible:Dan.2.7" parsed="|Dan|2|4|0|0;|Dan|2|7|0|0" passage="Da 2:4,7"><i>ch.</i> ii. 4,
7</scripRef>), that, if they had but the dream told them, they
would without fail interpret it. But the key of this dream was in a
sacred prophecy (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.31.3" parsed="|Ezek|31|3|0|0" passage="Eze 31:3">Ezek. xxxi.
3</scripRef>, &amp;c.), where the Assyrian is compared, as
Nebuchadnezzar here, to a <i>tree cut down,</i> for his pride; and
that was a book they had not studied, nor acquainted themselves
with, else they might have been let into the mystery of this dream.
Providence ordered it so that they should be first puzzled with it,
that Daniel's interpreting it afterwards might redound to the glory
of the God of Daniel. Now was fulfilled what Isaiah foretold
(<scripRef id="Dan.v-p10.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.47.12-Isa.47.13" parsed="|Isa|47|12|47|13" passage="Isa 47:12,13"><i>ch.</i> xlvii. 12,
13</scripRef>), that when the ruin of Babylon was drawing on her
<i>enchantments and sorceries,</i> her <i>astrologers</i> and
<i>star-gazers,</i> should not be able to do her any service.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p11" shownumber="no">IV. The court he made to Daniel, to engage
him to expound his dream to him: <i>At the last Daniel came in.</i>
<scripRef id="Dan.v-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.8" parsed="|Dan|4|8|0|0" passage="Da 4:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. Either he
declined associating with the rest because of their badness, or
they declined his company because of his goodness; or perhaps the
king would rather that his own magicians should have the honour of
doing it if they could than that Daniel should have it; or Daniel,
being <i>governor</i> of the wise men (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.2.48" parsed="|Dan|2|48|0|0" passage="Da 2:48"><i>ch.</i> ii. 48</scripRef>), was, as is usual, last
consulted. Many make God's word their last refuge, and never have
recourse to it till they are driven off from all other succours. He
compliments Daniel very highly, takes notice of the name which he
had himself given him, in the choice of which he thinks he was very
happy and that it was a good omen: "His <i>name was
Belteshazzar,</i> from <i>Bel, the name of my god.</i>" He applauds
his rare endowments: He has <i>the spirit of the holy gods,</i> so
he tells him to his face (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.9" parsed="|Dan|4|9|0|0" passage="Da 4:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>), with which we may suppose that Daniel was so far
from being puffed up that he was rather very much grieved to hear
that which he had by gift from the God of Israel, the true and
living God, ascribed to Nebuchadnezzar's god, a dunghill deity.
Here is a strange medley in Nebuchadnezzar, but such as is commonly
found in those that side with their corruptions against their
convictions. 1. He retains the language and dialect of his
idolatry, and therefore, it is to be feared, is no convert to the
faith and worship of the living God. He is an idolater, and his
speech betrayeth him. For he speaks of many gods, and is brought to
acquiesce in one as sufficient, no, not in him who is
all-sufficient. And some think, when he speaks of <i>the spirit of
the holy gods,</i> that he supposes there are some evil malignant
deities, whom men are concerned to worship, only to prevent their
doing them a mischief, and some who are good beneficent deities,
and that by the spirit of the latter Daniel was animated. He also
owns that Bel was his god still, though he had once and again
acknowledged the <i>God of Israel</i> to be Lord of all, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Dan.2.47 Bible:Dan.3.29" parsed="|Dan|2|47|0|0;|Dan|3|29|0|0" passage="Da 2:47,3:29"><i>ch.</i> ii. 47; iii. 29</scripRef>. He
also applauds Daniel, not as <i>a servant of God,</i> but as
<i>master of the magicians</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.9" parsed="|Dan|4|9|0|0" passage="Da 4:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>), supposing his knowledge to differ
from theirs, not in kind, but only in degree; and he consulted him
not as a prophet, but as a celebrated magician, so endeavouring to
save the credit of the art when those blundered and were nonplussed
who were masters of the art. See how close his idolatry sat to him.
He has got a notion of many gods, and has chosen Bel for his god,
and he cannot persuade himself to quit either his notion or his
choice, though the absurdity of both had been evidenced to him,
more than once, beyond contradiction. He, like other heathens,
would not change his gods, though they were no gods, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.2.11" parsed="|Jer|2|11|0|0" passage="Jer 2:11">Jer. ii. 11</scripRef>. Many persist in a false
way only because they think they cannot in honour leave it. See how
loose his convictions sat, and how easily he had dropped them. He
once called the God of Israel a <i>God of gods,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.v-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:Dan.2.47" parsed="|Dan|2|47|0|0" passage="Da 2:47"><i>ch.</i> ii. 47</scripRef>. Now he sets him
upon a level with the rest of those whom he calls the <i>holy
gods.</i> Note, If convictions be not speedily prosecuted, it is a
thousand to one but in a little time they will be quite lost and
forgotten. Nebuchadnezzar, not going forward with the
acknowledgements he had been brought to make of the sovereignty of
the true God, soon <i>went backwards,</i> and relapsed to the same
veneration he had always had for his false gods. And yet, 2. He
professes a great opinion of Daniel, whom he knows to be a servant
of the true God, and of him only. He looked upon him as one that
had such an insight, such a foresight, as none of his magicians
had: <i>I know that no secret troubles thee.</i> Note, The spirit
of prophecy quite outdoes the spirit of divination, even the
enemies themselves being judges; for so it was adjudged here, upon
a fair trial of skill.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p12" shownumber="no">V. The particular account he gives him of
his dream.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p13" shownumber="no">1. He saw a stately flourishing tree,
remarkable above all the trees of the wood. This tree was
<i>planted in the midst of the earth</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.10" parsed="|Dan|4|10|0|0" passage="Da 4:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>), fitly representing him who
reigned in Babylon, which was about the midst of the then known
world. His dignity and eminency above all his neighbours were
signified by the height of this tree, which was <i>exceedingly
great;</i> it <i>reached unto heaven.</i> He over-topped those
about him, and aimed to have divine honours given him; nay, he
over-powered those about him, and the potent armies he had the
command of, with which he carried all before him, are signified by
the strength of this tree: it <i>grew and was strong.</i> And so
much were Nebuchadnezzar and his growing greatness the talk of the
nations, so much had they their eye upon him (some a jealous eye,
all a wondering eye), that the sight of this tree is said to be
<i>to the end of all the earth.</i> This tree had every thing in it
that was pleasant to the eye and good for food (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.12" parsed="|Dan|4|12|0|0" passage="Da 4:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>); <i>The leaves thereof were
fair,</i> denoting the pomp and splendour of Nebuchadnezzar's
court, which was the wonder of strangers and the glory of his own
subjects. Nor was this tree for sight and state only, but for use.
(1.) For protection; the boughs of it were for shelter both to the
beasts and to the fowls. Princes should be a screen to their
subjects <i>from the heat</i> and <i>from the storm,</i> should
expose themselves to secure them, and study how to make them safe
and easy. If the bramble be <i>promoted over the trees,</i> he
invites them to come and <i>trust in his shadow,</i> such as it is,
<scripRef id="Dan.v-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Judg.9.15" parsed="|Judg|9|15|0|0" passage="Jdg 9:15">Judg. ix. 15</scripRef>. It is
protection that draws allegiance. The kings of the earth are to
their subjects but as the shadow of a great tree; but Christ is to
his subjects as the <i>shadow of a great rock,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.v-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.32.2" parsed="|Isa|32|2|0|0" passage="Isa 32:2">Isa. xxxii. 2</scripRef>. Nay, because that,
though strong, may be cold, they are said to be hidden under the
<i>shadow of his wings</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.17.8" parsed="|Ps|17|8|0|0" passage="Ps 17:8">Ps. xvii.
8</scripRef>), where they are not only safe, but warm. (2.) For
provision, The Assyrian was compared to a <i>cedar</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p13.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.31.6" parsed="|Ezek|31|6|0|0" passage="Eze 31:6">Ezek. xxxi. 6</scripRef>), which affords shadow
only; but this tree here had much fruit—in it was <i>meat for
all</i> and <i>all flesh was fed of it.</i> This mighty monarch, it
should seem by this, not only was great, but did good; he did not
impoverish, but enrich his country, and by his power and interest
abroad brought wealth and trade to it. Those that <i>exercise
authority</i> would be called <i>benefactors</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p13.7" osisRef="Bible:Luke.22.25" parsed="|Luke|22|25|0|0" passage="Lu 22:25">Luke xxii. 25</scripRef>), and the most
effectual course they can take to support their authority is to be
really benefactors. And see what is the best that great men, with
their wealth and power can attain to, and that is to have the
honour of having many to live upon them and to be maintained by
them; for, <i>as goods are increased, those are increased that eat
them.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p14" shownumber="no">2. He heard the doom of this tree read,
which he perfectly remembered, and related here, perhaps word for
word as he heard it. The sentence was passed upon it by an angel,
whom he saw <i>come down from heaven,</i> and heard proclaim this
sentence aloud. This angel is here called a <i>watcher,</i> or
<i>watchman,</i> not only because angels by their nature are
spirits, and therefore neither slumber nor sleep, but because by
their office they are <i>ministering spirits,</i> and attend
continually to their ministrations, watching all opportunities of
serving their great Master. They, as watchers, encamp round those
that fear God, to deliver them, and <i>bear them up in their
hands.</i> This angel was a <i>messenger,</i> or <i>ambassador</i>
(so some read it), and a <i>holy one. Holiness becomes God's
house;</i> therefore angels that attend and are employed by him are
<i>holy ones;</i> they preserve the purity and rectitude of their
nature, and are in every thing conformable to the divine will. Let
us review the doom passed upon the tree.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p15" shownumber="no">(1.) Orders are given that it be cut down
(<scripRef id="Dan.v-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.14" parsed="|Dan|4|14|0|0" passage="Da 4:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>); now also
<i>the axe is laid to the root</i> of this tree. Though it is ever
so high, ever so strong, that cannot secure it when its day comes
to fall; the beasts and fowls, that are sheltered in and under the
boughs of it, are driven away and dispersed; the branches are
cropped, the leaves shaken off, and the fruit scattered. Note,
Worldly prosperity in its highest degree is a very uncertain thing;
and it is no uncommon thing for those that have lived in the
greatest pomp and power to be stripped of all that which they
trusted to and gloried in. By the turns of providence, those who
made a figure become captives, those who lived in plenty, and above
what they had, are reduced to straits, and live far below what they
had, and those perhaps are brought to be beholden to others who
once had many depending upon them and making suit to them. But the
<i>trees of righteousness,</i> that are <i>planted in the house of
the Lord</i> and bring forth fruit to him, shall not be cut down,
nor shall their leaf wither.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p16" shownumber="no">(2.) Care is taken that the root be
preserved (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.15" parsed="|Dan|4|15|0|0" passage="Da 4:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>);
"<i>Leave the stump of it in the earth,</i> exposed to all
weathers. There let it lie neglected and buried in the grass. Let
the beasts that formerly sheltered themselves under the boughs now
repose themselves upon the stump; but that it may not be raked to
pieces, nor trodden to dirt, and to show that it is yet reserved
for better days, let it be hooped round with <i>a band of iron and
brass,</i> to keep it firm." Note, God in judgment remembers mercy;
and may yet have good things in store for those whose condition
seems most forlorn. There is <i>hope of a tree, if it be cut down,
that it will sprout again, that through the scent of water it will
bud,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.v-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.14.7-Job.14.9" parsed="|Job|14|7|14|9" passage="Job 14:7-9">Job xiv.
7-9</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p17" shownumber="no">(3.) The meaning of this is explained by
the angel himself to Nebuchadnezzar, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.16" parsed="|Dan|4|16|0|0" passage="Da 4:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. Whoever is the person signified
by this tree he is sentenced to be deposed from the honour, state,
and dignity of a man, to be deprived of the use of his reason, and
to be and live like a brute, till <i>seven times pass over him. Let
a beast's heart be given unto him.</i> This is surely the saddest
and sorest of all temporal judgments, worse a thousand times than
death, and though, like it, least felt by those that lie under it,
yet to be dreaded and deprecated more than any other. Nay, whatever
outward affliction God is pleased to lay upon us, we have reason to
bear it patiently, and to be thankful that he continues to us the
use of our reason and the peace of our consciences. But those proud
tyrants who <i>set their heart as the heart of God</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.2" parsed="|Ezek|27|2|0|0" passage="Eze 27:2">Ezek. xxvii. 2</scripRef>) may justly be
deprived of the heart of man, and have a beast's heart given
them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p18" shownumber="no">(4.) The truth of it is confirmed
(<scripRef id="Dan.v-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.17" parsed="|Dan|4|17|0|0" passage="Da 4:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>); <i>This
matter is by the decree of the watchers and the demand by the word
of the holy ones.</i> God has determined it, as a righteous Judge;
he has signed this edict; pursuant to his eternal counsel, the
decree has gone forth, And, [1.] The angels of heaven have
subscribed to it, as attesting it, approving it, and applauding it.
It is by <i>the decree of the watchers;</i> not that the great God
needs the counsel or concurrence of the angels in any thing he
determines or does, but, as he uses their ministration in executing
his counsels, so he is sometimes represented, after the manner of
men, as if he consulted them. <i>Whom shall I send?</i> <scripRef id="Dan.v-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.6.8" parsed="|Isa|6|8|0|0" passage="Isa 6:8">Isa. vi. 8</scripRef>. <i>Who shall persuade
Ahab?</i> <scripRef id="Dan.v-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.22.20" parsed="|1Kgs|22|20|0|0" passage="1Ki 22:20">1 Kings xxii.
20</scripRef>. So it denotes the solemnity of this sentence. The
king's breves, or short writs, pass, <i>Teste me ipso—in my
presence;</i> but charters used to be signed, <i>His testibus—In
the presence of us whose names are under-written;</i> such was
Nebuchadnezzar's doom; it was by the <i>decree of the watchers.</i>
[2.] The saints on earth petitioned for it, as well as the angels
in heaven: <i>The demand is by the word of the holy ones.</i> God's
suffering people, that had long groaned under the heavy yoke of
Nebuchadnezzar's tyranny, cried to him for vengeance; they made the
demand, and God gave this answer to it; for, when the <i>oppressed
cry to God, he will hear,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.v-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:Exod.22.27" parsed="|Exod|22|27|0|0" passage="Ex 22:27">Exod.
xxii. 27</scripRef>. Sentence was passed, in Ahab's time, that
there should be no more rain, at Elijah's word, when he <i>made
intercession against Israel,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.v-p18.5" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.17.1" parsed="|1Kgs|17|1|0|0" passage="1Ki 17:1">1
Kings xvii. 1</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p19" shownumber="no">(5.) The design of it is declared. Orders
are given for the cutting down of this tree, <i>to the intent that
the living may know that the Most High rules.</i> This judgment
must be executed, to convince the unthinking, unbelieving, world,
that <i>verily there is a God that judges in the earth,</i> a God
that governs the world, that not only has a kingdom of his own in
it, and administers the affairs of that kingdom, but rules also
<i>in the kingdom of men,</i> in the dominion that one man has over
another, and <i>gives</i> that <i>to whomsoever he will;</i> from
him promotion comes, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.75.6-Ps.75.7" parsed="|Ps|75|6|75|7" passage="Ps 75:6,7">Ps. lxxv. 6,
7</scripRef>. He advances men to power and dominion that little
expected it, and crosses the projects of the ambitious and
aspiring. Sometimes he <i>sets up the basest of men,</i> and serves
his own purposes by them. He sets up mean men, as David from the
sheepfold; <i>he raises the poor out of the dust,</i> to <i>set
them among princes,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.v-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.113.7-Ps.113.8" parsed="|Ps|113|7|113|8" passage="Ps 113:7,8">Ps. cxiii.
7, 8</scripRef>. Nay, sometimes he sets up bad men, to be a scourge
to a provoking people. Thus he can do, thus he may do, thus he
often does, and <i>gives not account of any of his matters.</i> By
humbling Nebuchadnezzar it was designed that the living should be
made to know this. The dead know it, that have gone to the world of
spirits, the world of retribution; they know that <i>the Most High
rules;</i> but the living must be made to know it and lay it to
heart, that they may make their peace with God before it be too
late.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p20" shownumber="no">Thus has Nebuchadnezzar fully and
faithfully related his dream, what he saw and what he heard, and
then demands of Daniel the interpretation of it (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.18" parsed="|Dan|4|18|0|0" passage="Da 4:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>), for he found that no one else
was able to interpret it, but was confident that he was: <i>For the
spirit of the holy gods is in thee,</i> or of the <i>Holy God,</i>
the proper title of the God of Israel. Much may be expected from
those that have in them the <i>Spirit of the Holy God.</i> Whether
Nebuchadnezzar had any jealousy that it was his own doom that was
read by this dream does not appear; perhaps he was so vain and
secure as to imagine that it was some other prince that was a rival
with him, whose fall he had the pleasing prospect of given him in
this dream; but, be it for him or against him, he is very
solicitous to know the true meaning of it and depends upon Daniel
to give it to him. Now, When God gives us general warnings of his
judgments we should be desirous to understand his mind in them, to
hear <i>the Lord's voice crying in the city.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Dan.v-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.19-Dan.4.27" parsed="|Dan|4|19|4|27" passage="Da 4:19-27" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Dan.v-p20.3">
<h4 id="Dan.v-p20.4">Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
Interpreted. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Dan.v-p20.5">b. c.</span> 570.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Dan.v-p21" shownumber="no">19 Then Daniel, whose name <i>was</i>
Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled
him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or
the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and
said, My lord, the dream <i>be</i> to them that hate thee, and the
interpretation thereof to thine enemies.   20 The tree that
thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto
the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;   21 Whose
leaves <i>were</i> fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it
<i>was</i> meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt,
and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their
habitation:   22 It <i>is</i> thou, O king, that art grown and
become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto
heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.   23 And
whereas the king saw a watcher and a 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 <i>let</i> his portion <i>be</i> with
the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;   24
This <i>is</i> the interpretation, O king, and this <i>is</i> the
decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
  25 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,
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.   26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of
the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that
thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.   27
Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and
break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by
showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy
tranquillity.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p22" shownumber="no">We have here the interpretation of
Nebuchadnezzar's dream; and when once it is applied to himself, and
it is declared that he is the tree in the dream (<i>Mutato nomine
de te fabula narratur—Change but the name, the fable speaks of
thee</i>), when once it is said, <i>Thou art the man,</i> there
needs little more to be said for the explication of the dream.
<i>Out of his own mouth he is judged; so shall his doom be, he
himself has decided it.</i> The thing was so plain that Daniel,
upon hearing the dream, was <i>astonished for one hour,</i>
<scripRef id="Dan.v-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.19" parsed="|Dan|4|19|0|0" passage="Da 4:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>. He was struck
with amazement and terror at so great a judgment coming upon so
great a prince. <i>His flesh trembled for fear of God.</i> He was
likewise struck with confusion when he found himself under a
necessity of being the man that must bring to the king <i>these
heavy tidings,</i> which, having received so many favours from the
king, he had rather he should have heard from any one else; so far
is he from desiring the woeful day that he dreads it, and the
thoughts of it trouble him. Those that come after the ruined sinner
are said to be <i>astonished at his day,</i> as <i>those that went
before,</i> and saw it coming (as Daniel here), <i>were
affrighted,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.v-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.18.20" parsed="|Job|18|20|0|0" passage="Job 18:20">Job xviii.
20</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p23" shownumber="no">I. The preface to the interpretation is a
civil compliment which, as a courtier, he passes upon the king. The
king observed him to stand as one astonished, and, thinking he was
loth to speak out for fear of offending him, he encouraged him to
deal plainly and faithfully with him; <i>Let not the dream, nor the
interpretation thereof, trouble thee.</i> This he speaks either, 1.
As one that sincerely desired to know this truth. Note, Those that
consult the oracles of God must be ready to receive them as they
are, whether they be for them or against them, and must accordingly
give their ministers leave to be free with them. Or, 2. As one that
despised the truth, and set it at defiance. When we see how
regardless he was of this warning afterwards we are tempted to
think that this was his meaning; "<i>Let it not trouble thee,</i>
for I am resolved it shall not trouble me; nor will I lay it to
heart." But, whether he have any concern for himself or no, Daniel
is concerned for him, and therefore wishes, "<i>The dream be to
those that hate thee.</i> Let the ill it bodes light on the head of
thy enemies, not on thy head." Though Nebuchadnezzar was an
idolater, a persecutor, and an oppressor of the people of God, yet
he was, at present, Daniel's prince; and therefore, though Daniel
foresees, and is now going to foretell, ill concerning him, he
dares not wish ill to him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p24" shownumber="no">II. The interpretation itself is only a
repetition of the dream, with application to the king. "As for
<i>the tree</i> which thou sawest <i>flourishing</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.20-Dan.4.21" parsed="|Dan|4|20|4|21" passage="Da 4:20,21"><i>v.</i> 20, 21</scripRef>), <i>it is thou, O
king!</i>" <scripRef id="Dan.v-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.22" parsed="|Dan|4|22|0|0" passage="Da 4:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>. And
willing enough would the king be to hear this (as, before, to hear,
<i>Thou art the head of gold</i>), but for that which follows. He
shows the king his present prosperous state in the glass of his own
dream; "<i>Thy greatness has grown and reaches</i> as near <i>to
heaven</i> as human greatness can do, and <i>thy dominion is to the
end of the earth,</i>" <scripRef id="Dan.v-p24.3" osisRef="Bible:Dan.2.37-Dan.2.38" parsed="|Dan|2|37|2|38" passage="Da 2:37,38"><i>ch.</i>
ii. 37, 38</scripRef>. "As for the doom passed upon the tree
(<scripRef id="Dan.v-p24.4" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.23" parsed="|Dan|4|23|0|0" passage="Da 4:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>), it is <i>the
decree of the Most High, which comes upon my lord the king,</i>"
<scripRef id="Dan.v-p24.5" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.24" parsed="|Dan|4|24|0|0" passage="Da 4:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>. He must not
only be deposed from his throne, <i>but driven from men,</i> and
being deprived of his reason, and having a beast's heart given him,
his dwelling shall be <i>with the beasts of the field,</i> and with
them he shall be a fellow-commoner: he shall <i>eat grass as
oxen,</i> and, like them, lie out all weathers, and be <i>wet with
the dew of heaven,</i> and this till <i>seven times</i> pass over
him, that is, <i>seven years;</i> and then he shall know that the
<i>Most High rules,</i> and when he is brought to know and own this
he shall be restored to his dominion again (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p24.6" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.26" parsed="|Dan|4|26|0|0" passage="Da 4:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>): "<i>Thy kingdom shall be sure
unto thee,</i> shall remain as firm as the <i>stump of the tree</i>
in the ground, and thou shalt have it, <i>after thou shalt have
known</i> that <i>the heavens do rule.</i>" God is here called
<i>the heavens,</i> because it is in heaven that he has <i>prepared
his throne</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p24.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.103.19" parsed="|Ps|103|19|0|0" passage="Ps 103:19">Ps. ciii.
19</scripRef>), thence he <i>beholds all the sons of men,</i>
<scripRef id="Dan.v-p24.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.33.13" parsed="|Ps|33|13|0|0" passage="Ps 33:13">Ps. xxxiii. 13</scripRef>. The
<i>heavens, even the heavens, are the Lord's;</i> and the influence
which the visible heavens have upon this earth is intended as a
faint representation of the dominion the God of heaven has over
this lower world; we are said to <i>sin against heaven,</i>
<scripRef id="Dan.v-p24.9" osisRef="Bible:Luke.15.18" parsed="|Luke|15|18|0|0" passage="Lu 15:18">Luke xv. 18</scripRef>. Note, Then
only we may expect comfortably to enjoy our right in, and
government of, both ourselves and others, when we dutifully
acknowledge God's title to, and dominion over, us and all we
have.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p25" shownumber="no">III. The close of the interpretation is the
pious counsel which Daniel, as a prophet, gave the king, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.27" parsed="|Dan|4|27|0|0" passage="Da 4:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>. Whether he appeared
concerned or not at the interpretation of the dream, a word of
advice would be very seasonable—if careless, to awaken him, if
troubled, to comfort him; and it is not inconsistent with the dream
and the interpretation of it, for Daniel knew not but it might be
conditional, like the prediction of Nineveh's destruction. Observe,
1. How humbly he gives his advice, and with what tenderness and
respect: "<i>O king! let my counsel be acceptable unto thee;</i>
take it in good part, as coming from love, and well-meant, and let
it not be misinterpreted." Note, Sinners need to be courted to
their own good, and respectfully entreated to do well for
themselves. The apostle beseeches men to <i>suffer the word of
exhortation,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.v-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.13.22" parsed="|Heb|13|22|0|0" passage="Heb 13:22">Heb. xiii.
22</scripRef>. We think it a good point gained if people will be
persuaded to take good counsel kindly; nay, if they will take it
patiently. 2. What his advice is. He does not counsel him to enter
into a course of physic, for the preventing of the distemper in his
head, but to break off a course of sin that he was in, to reform
his life. He wronged his own subjects, and dealt unfairly with his
allies; and he must <i>break off</i> this <i>by righteousness,</i>
by rendering to all their due, making amends for wrong done, and
not triumphing over right with might. He had been cruel to the
poor, to God's poor, to the poor Jews; and he must <i>break off</i>
this <i>iniquity</i> by <i>showing mercy</i> to those poor, pitying
those oppressed ones, setting them at liberty or making their
captivity easy to them. Note, It is necessary, in repentance, that
we not only <i>cease to do evil, but learn to do well,</i> not only
do no wrong to any, but do good to all. 3. What the motive is with
which he backs this advice: <i>If it may be a lengthening of thy
tranquility.</i> Though it should not wholly prevent the judgment,
yet by this means a reprieve may be obtained, as by <i>Ahab's
humbling himself,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.v-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.29" parsed="|1Kgs|21|29|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:29">1 Kings xxi.
29</scripRef>. Either the trouble may be the longer before it comes
or the shorter when it does come; yet he cannot assure him of this,
but <i>it may be,</i> it may prove so. Note, The mere probability
of preventing a temporal judgment is inducement enough to a work so
good in itself as the leaving off of our sins and reforming of our
lives, much more the certainty of preventing our eternal ruin.
"<i>That will be a healing of thy error</i>" (so some read it);
"thus the quarrel will be taken up, and all will be well
again."</p>
</div><scripCom id="Dan.v-p25.4" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.28-Dan.4.33" parsed="|Dan|4|28|4|33" passage="Da 4:28-33" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Dan.v-p25.5">
<h4 id="Dan.v-p25.6">Nebuchadnezzar Driven among
Beasts. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Dan.v-p25.7">b. c.</span> 569.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Dan.v-p26" shownumber="no">28 All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
  29 At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of
the kingdom of Babylon.   30 The king spake, and said, Is not
this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom
by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?  
31 While the word <i>was</i> in the king's mouth, there fell a
voice from heaven, <i>saying,</i> O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it
is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.   32 And they
shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling <i>shall be</i> 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.   33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon
Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as
oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs
were grown like eagles' <i>feathers,</i> and his nails like birds'
<i>claws.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p27" shownumber="no">We have here Nebuchadnezzar's dream
accomplished, and Daniel's application of it to him justified and
confirmed. How he took it we are not told, whether he was pleased
with Daniel or displeased; but here we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p28" shownumber="no">I. God's patience with him: <i>All this
came upon him,</i> but not till <i>twelve months after</i>
(<scripRef id="Dan.v-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.29" parsed="|Dan|4|29|0|0" passage="Da 4:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>), so long
there was a <i>lengthening of his tranquility,</i> though it does
not appear that he <i>broke off his sins,</i> or showed any
<i>mercy to the poor</i> captives, for this was still God's quarrel
with him, that he <i>opened not the house of his prisoners,</i>
<scripRef id="Dan.v-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.14.17" parsed="|Isa|14|17|0|0" passage="Isa 14:17">Isa. xiv. 17</scripRef>. Daniel
having counselled him to repent, God so far confirmed his word that
he gave him space to repent; he <i>let him alone this year
also,</i> this <i>one</i> year more, before he brought this
judgment upon him. Note, God is long-suffering with provoking
sinners, because he is not willing that <i>any should perish, but
that all should come to repentance,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.v-p28.3" osisRef="Bible:2Pet.3.9" parsed="|2Pet|3|9|0|0" passage="2Pe 3:9">2 Pet. iii. 9</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p29" shownumber="no">II. His pride, and haughtiness, and abuse
of that patience. He walked <i>in the palace of the kingdom of
Babylon,</i> in pomp and pride, pleasing himself with the view of
that vast city, which, with all the territories thereunto
belonging, was under his command, and <i>he said,</i> either to
himself or to those about him, perhaps some foreigners to whom he
was showing his kingdom and the glory of it, <i>Is not this great
Babylon?</i> Yes, it is great, of vast extent, no less that
forty-five miles compass within the walls. It is full of
inhabitants, and they are full of wealth. It is a <i>golden
city,</i> and that is enough to proclaim it great, <scripRef id="Dan.v-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.14.4" parsed="|Isa|14|4|0|0" passage="Isa 14:4">Isa. xiv. 4</scripRef>. See the grandeur of the
houses, walls, towers, and public edifices. Every thing in Babylon
he thinks looks great; "and this <i>great Babylon I have
built.</i>" Babylon was built many ages before he was born, but
because he fortified and beautified it, and we may suppose much of
it was rebuilt during his long and prosperous reign, he boasts that
he has built it, as Augustus Cæsar boasted concerning Rome,
<i>Lateritiam inveni, marmoream reliqui—I found it brick, but I
left it marble.</i> He boasts that he built it <i>for the house of
the kingdom,</i> that is, the metropolis of his empire. This vast
city, compared with the countries that belonged to his dominions,
was but as one house. He built it with the assistance of his
subjects, yet boasts that he did it <i>by the might of his
power;</i> he built it for his security and convenience, yet, as if
he had no occasion for it, boasts that he built it purely <i>for
the honour of his majesty.</i> Note, Pride and self-conceitedness
are sins that most easily beset great men, who have great things in
the world. They are apt to take the glory to themselves which is
due to God only.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p30" shownumber="no">III. His punishment for his pride. When he
was thus strutting, and vaunting himself, and adoring his own
shadow, <i>while the</i> proud <i>word was in the king's mouth</i>
the powerful word came from heaven, by which he was immediately
deprived, 1. Of his honour as a king: <i>The kingdom has departed
from thee.</i> When he thought he had erected impregnable bulwarks
for the preserving of his kingdom, now, in an instant, it <i>has
departed from him;</i> when he thought it so well guarded that none
could take it from him, behold, it departs of itself. As soon as he
becomes utterly incapable to manage it, it is of course taken out
of his hands. 2. He is deprived of his honour as a man. He loses
his reason, and by that means loses his dominion: <i>They shall
drive thee from men,</i> <scripRef id="Dan.v-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.32" parsed="|Dan|4|32|0|0" passage="Da 4:32"><i>v.</i>
32</scripRef>. And it was fulfilled (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p30.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.33" parsed="|Dan|4|33|0|0" passage="Da 4:33"><i>v.</i> 33</scripRef>): he was <i>driven from men the
same hour.</i> On a sudden he fell stark mad, distracted in the
highest degree that ever any man was. His understanding and memory
were gone, and all the faculties of a rational soul broken, so that
he became a perfect brute in the shape of a man. He went naked, and
on all four, like a brute, did himself shun the society of
reasonable creatures and run wild into the fields and woods, and
was driven out by his own servants, who, after some time of trial,
despairing of his return to his right mind, abandoned him, and
looked after him no more. He had not the spirit of a beast of prey
(that of the royal lion), but of the abject and less honourable
species, for he was made to <i>eat grass as oxen;</i> and,
probably, he did not speak with human voice, but lowed like an ox.
Some think that his body was all covered with hair; however, <i>the
hair</i> of his head and beard, being never cut nor combed, grew
like <i>eagles feathers,</i> and <i>his nails like birds'
claws.</i> Let us pause a little, and view this miserable
spectacle; and let us receive instruction from it. (1.) Let us see
here what a mercy it is to have the use of our reason, how thankful
we ought to be for it, and how careful we ought to be not to do any
thing which may either provoke God or may have a natural tendency
to put us out of the possession of our own souls. Let us learn how
to value our own reason, and to pity the case of those that are
under the prevailing power of melancholy or distraction, or are
delirious, and to be very tender in our censures of them and
conduct towards them, for it is a trial common to men, and a case
which, some time or other, may be our own. (2.) Let us see here the
vanity of human glory and greatness. Is this Nebuchadnezzar the
Great? What this despicable animal that is meaner than the poorest
beggar? Is this he that looked so glorious on the throne, so
formidable in the camp, that had politics enough to subdue and
govern kingdoms, and now has not so much sense as to keep his own
clothes on his back? <i>Is this the man that made the earth to
tremble, that did shake kingdoms?</i> <scripRef id="Dan.v-p30.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.14.16" parsed="|Isa|14|16|0|0" passage="Isa 14:16">Isa. xiv. 16</scripRef>. Never let the <i>wise man</i>
then <i>glory in his wisdom,</i> nor <i>the mighty man in his
strength.</i> (3.) Let us see here how God resists the proud, and
delights to abase them and put contempt upon them. Nebuchadnezzar
would be more than a man, and therefore God justly makes him less
than a man, and puts him upon a level with the beasts who set up
for a rival with his Maker. See <scripRef id="Dan.v-p30.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.40.11-Job.40.13" parsed="|Job|40|11|40|13" passage="Job 40:11-13">Job xl. 11-13</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Dan.v-p30.5" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.34-Dan.4.37" parsed="|Dan|4|34|4|37" passage="Da 4:34-37" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Dan.v-p30.6">
<h4 id="Dan.v-p30.7">Nebuchadnezzar Restored. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Dan.v-p30.8">b. c.</span> 562.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Dan.v-p31" shownumber="no">34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar
lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned
unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured
him that liveth for ever, whose dominion <i>is</i> an everlasting
dominion, and his kingdom <i>is</i> from generation to generation:
  35 And all the inhabitants of the earth <i>are</i> reputed
as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of
heaven, and <i>among</i> the inhabitants of the earth: and none can
stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?   36 At the
same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my
kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my
counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in
my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.   37 Now
I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven,
all whose works <i>are</i> truth, and his ways judgment: and those
that walk in pride he is able to abase.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p32" shownumber="no">We have here Nebuchadnezzar's recovery from
his distraction, and his return to his right mind, <i>at the end of
the days</i> prefixed, that is, of the seven years. So long he
continued a monument of God's justice and a trophy of his victory
over the children of pride, and he was made more so by being struck
mad than if he had been in an instant struck dead with a
thunderbolt; yet it was a mercy to him that he was kept alive, for
while there is life there is hope that we may yet praise God, as he
did here: <i>At the end of the days</i> (says he), <i>I lifted up
my eyes unto heaven</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p32.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.34" parsed="|Dan|4|34|0|0" passage="Da 4:34"><i>v.</i>
34</scripRef>), looked no longer down towards the earth as a beast,
but begun to look up as a man. <i>Os homini sublime dedit—Heaven
gave to man an erect countenance.</i> But there was more in it than
this; he looked up as a devout man, as a penitent, as a humble
petitioner for mercy, being perhaps never till now made sensible of
his own misery. And now,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p33" shownumber="no">I. He has the use of his reason so far
restored to him that with it he glorifies God, and humbles himself
under his mighty hand. He was told that he should continue in that
forlorn case till he should know that the Most High rules, and here
we have him brought to the knowledge of this: <i>My understanding
returned to me, and I blessed the Most High.</i> Note, Those may
justly be reckoned void of understanding that do not bless and
praise God; nor do men ever rightly use their reason till they
begin to be religious, nor live as men till they live to the glory
of God. As reason is the substratum or subject of religion (so that
creatures which have no reason are not capable of religion), so
religion is the crown and glory of reason, and we have our reason
in vain, and shall one day wish we had never had it, if we do not
glorify God with it. This was the first act of Nebuchadnezzar's
returning reason; and, when this became the employment of it, he
was then, and not till then, qualified for all the other enjoyments
of it. And till he was for a great while disabled to exercise it in
other things he never was brought to apply it to this, which is the
great end for which our reason is given us. His folly was the means
whereby he became wise; he was not recovered by his dream of this
judgment (that was soon forgotten like a dream), but he is made to
feel it, and then his <i>ear is opened to discipline.</i> To bring
him to himself, he must first be <i>beside himself.</i> And by this
it appears that what good thoughts there were in his mind, and what
good work was wrought there, were not of himself (for he was not
his own man), but it was the gift of God. Let us see what
Nebuchadnezzar is now at length effectually brought to the
acknowledgment of; and we may learn from it what to believe
concerning God. 1. That the <i>most high</i> God <i>lives for
ever,</i> and his being knows neither change nor period, for he has
it of himself. His flatterers often complimented him with, <i>O
king! live for ever.</i> But he is now convinced that no king lives
for ever, but the God of Israel only, who is still the same. 2.
That his kingdom is like himself, <i>everlasting,</i> and his
<i>dominion from generation to generation;</i> there is no
succession, no revolution, in his kingdom. As he lives, so he
reigns, for ever, and of his government there is no end. 3. That
<i>all nations</i> before him are <i>as nothing.</i> He has no need
of them; he makes no account of them. The greatest of men, in
comparison with him, are less than nothing. Those that think highly
of God think meanly of themselves. 4. That his kingdom is
universal, and both <i>the armies of heaven</i> and <i>the
inhabitants of the earth</i> are his subjects, and under his check
and control. Both angels and men are employed by him, and are
accountable to him; the highest angel is not above his command, nor
the meanest of the children of men beneath his cognizance. The
angels of heaven are his armies, the inhabitants of the earth his
tenants. 5. That his power is irresistible, and his sovereignty
uncontrollable, for he <i>does according to his will,</i> according
to his design and purpose, according to his decree and counsel;
whatever he pleases that he does; whatever he appoints that he
performs; and none can resist his will, change his counsel, nor
<i>stay his hand, nor say unto him, What doest thou?</i> None can
arraign his proceedings, enquire into the meaning of them, nor
demand a reason for them. Woe to him that strives with his Maker,
that says to him, <i>What doest thou?</i> Or, <i>Why doest thou
so?</i> 6. That every thing which God does is well done: His
<i>works are truth,</i> for they all agree with his word. <i>His
ways are judgment,</i> both wise and righteous, exactly consonant
to the rules both of prudence and equity, and no fault is to be
found with them. 7. That he has power to humble the haughtiest of
his enemies that act in contradiction to him or competition with
him: <i>Those that walk in pride he is able to abuse</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p33.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.37" parsed="|Dan|4|37|0|0" passage="Da 4:37"><i>v.</i> 37</scripRef>); he is able to deal with
those that are most confident of their own sufficiency to contend
with him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p34" shownumber="no">II. He has the use of his reason so far
restored to him as with it to re-enjoy himself, and the pleasures
of his re-established prosperity (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p34.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.36" parsed="|Dan|4|36|0|0" passage="Da 4:36"><i>v.</i> 36</scripRef>): <i>At the same time my reason
returned to me;</i> he had said before (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p34.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.34" parsed="|Dan|4|34|0|0" passage="Da 4:34"><i>v.</i> 34</scripRef>) that his <i>understanding
returned</i> to him, and here he mentions it again, for the use of
our reason is a mercy we can never be sufficiently thankful for.
Now his <i>lords sought to him;</i> he did not need to seek to
them, and they soon perceived, not only that he had recovered his
reason and was fit to rule, but that he had recovered it with
advantage, and was more fit to rule than ever. It is probable that
the dream and the interpretation of it were well known, and much
talked of, at court; and the former part of the prediction being
fulfilled, that he should go distracted, they doubted not but that,
according to the prediction, he should come to himself again at
seven years' end, and, in confidence of that, when the time had
expired they were ready to receive him; and then <i>his honour and
brightness returned to him,</i> the same that he had before his
madness seized him. He is now established in his kingdom as firmly
as if there had been no interruption given him. <i>He becomes a
fool, that he may be wise,</i> wiser than ever; and he that but the
other day was in the depth of disgrace and ignominy has now
<i>excellent majesty added to him,</i> beyond what he had when he
went from kingdom to kingdom conquering and to conquer. Note, 1.
When men are brought to honour God, particularly by a penitent
confession of sin and a believing acknowledgment of his
sovereignty, then, and not till then, they may expect that God will
put honour upon them, will not only restore them to the dignity
they lost by the sin of the first Adam, but <i>add excellent
majesty to them</i> from the righteousness and grace of the second
Adam. 2. Afflictions shall last no longer than till they have done
the work for which they were sent. When this prince is brought to
own God's dominion over himself. 3. All the accounts we take and
give of God's dealing with us ought to conclude with praises to
him. When Nebuchadnezzar is restored to his kingdom he <i>praises,
and extols, and honours the King of heaven</i> (<scripRef id="Dan.v-p34.3" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.37" parsed="|Dan|4|37|0|0" passage="Da 4:37"><i>v.</i> 37</scripRef>), before he applies himself to
his secular business. Therefore we have our reason, that we may be
in a capacity of praising him, and therefore our prosperity, that
we may have cause to praise him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Dan.v-p35" shownumber="no">It was not long after this that
Nebuchadnezzar ended his life and reign. Abydenus, quoted by
Eusebius (Præp. Evang. 1. 9), reports, from the tradition of the
Chaldeans, that upon his death-bed he foretold the taking of
Babylon by Cyrus. Whether he continued in the same good mind that
here he seems to have been in we are not told, nor does any thing
appear to the contrary but that he did: and, if so great a
<i>blasphemer and persecutor</i> did find mercy, he was not the
last. And, if our charity may reach so far as to hope he did, we
must admire free grace, by which he lost his wits for a while that
he might save his soul for ever.</p>
</div></div2>