THE PREACHER'S COMMENTARY 
 
 BOOK OF DANIEL. 
 
THE 
 
 ^reatler'js Cflmplde Jomilfttcal 
 COMMENTARY 
 
 ON THE 
 
 OLD TESTAMENT 
 
 (ON AN ORIGINAL FLAN), 
 
 SEitJj Critical aul3 (IBxplanatoriJ j^otcs, Intiiccs, ^c* ^c. 
 
 VARIOUS AUTHORS. 
 
 *il n D n : 
 lUCIIAIiJJ I). DICKINSON, 89 FAREINGDON STREET. 
 
 T8y2. 
 
HOMILETICAL COMMENTARY 
 
 ON THE BOOK OF 
 
 D A N 1 E J., 
 
 WITH COPIOUS NOTES AND INDEXES, 
 
 T. ROBINSON, D.D. 
 
 AUTHOR OF A SUGGESTIVK COMMENTAIIV ON THE EPISTLE TO THE KOJIANS 
 
 HOMILETICAL C0iIMENTAK\E3 ON JOB AND THE SONG OP SOLOMON; "THE EVANGELISTS 
 
 AND THE MISHNA," ETC, 
 
 lUCHARD D. DICKINSON, 89 FAEEINGDON STKEET. 
 
 1892. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The writer having been asked by the projector of the Preacher's 
 Commentary on the Old Testament to undertake the Book of Daniel 
 in addition to those of Job and the Song of Solomon, he felt it his 
 duty to comply with the proposal. In prayerful dependence on divine 
 aid, he has done his best upon this portion of Holy Scripture, which, 
 however interesting, is also confessedly difficult. He trusts his labour 
 has not been entirely in vain in endeavouring to provide a companion, 
 however imperfect, to that remarkable book, which may aid those 
 engaged in teaching divine truth, as M^ell as Christian readers in 
 general. He has adopted much the same plan of treatment as he had 
 done with the two books already mentioned. He has, however, divided 
 the present Commentary into Sections, and has placed the notes at 
 the end of each, instead of at the end of the entire book. The aids of 
 which he has especially availed himself, as the reader will observe, 
 are, besides several minor treatises— Hengstenberg on the Genuine- 
 ness and Authenticity of Daniel, Keil's Commentary on Daniel, 
 Auberlen on Daniel and the Revelation, Calvin's Commentary on 
 Daniel, Bishop Newton's Dissertations on the Prophecies, Birks on 
 the Two Eailier and Two Later Visions of Daniel, Dr. Piisey's Lectures, 
 Willet's Hexaplar Commentary on the same book, and Pole's Synopsis. 
 The views of others are for the most part given in the Notes at the 
 end of each section, while the writer's own are found in the Homi- 
 letical portion of the Commentary. Deeply conscious of its many 
 
 defects, he commits his work to the blessing of Him who has s.-ud, in 
 
 b 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 reference to another book of Holy Writ, which is to the New Testa- 
 ment what tliat of Daniel is to the Old, " Blessed is he that readeth, 
 and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things 
 which are written therein ; for the time is at hand " (Rev. i. 3). 
 
 Morpeth, February 10, 1882. 
 
HOMILETICJAL COMMENTARY 
 
 ON THE 
 
 BOOK OF DANIEL. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I. The excellence and importance of the book. Its excellence manifold. 
 Exhibits examples of moral excellence, mainly conspicuous in Daniel himself, 
 of the highest order and of the most attractive character. Affords illustrations 
 of God's care over His people, and His readiness to ans\ver their prayers, that 
 make the book a favourite even with children. Tire story of the three youths 
 in the fiery furnace, Daniel in the lions' den, and the handwriting on the wall 
 of Belsliazzar's palace, have with children all the interest of nursery tales, 
 along with the lifelong lessons of heavenly wisdom <^'. Above all, it contains 
 predictions of events from Daniel's own time to the end of the worl * many of 
 which have already received, and are now receiving, their fulfilment, Conspi- 
 cuous among these is the prophecy regarding the advent, work, and death of 
 the Messiah, with their blessed results for mankind ; which, receiving as it did 
 its exact fulfilment in Jesus of Nazareth, has afforded one of the most con- 
 vincing proofs of His Messiahship. Hence Sir Isaac Newton's remark, that 
 Christianity itself might be said to be founded on the prophecies of Daniel. 
 The excellence of the book is such that, according to Bishop Watson, "to read 
 it with attention and intelligence, and with an unbiassed mind to follow the 
 advice of our Saviour, 'Let him that readeth understand,' might be sufficient 
 to convert an unbeliever from deism to Christianity." Hengstenberg charac- 
 teiises the Book of Daniel as one of the most important books of the Old 
 Testament. Another German writer observes that Daniel is the most im- 
 portant witness among all the prophets to the credibility of the prophets in 
 general, and of divine revelation and the Christian religion in particular. J. 
 D. Michaelis remarks that Daniel, on account of its minute and circumstantially 
 fulfilled prophecies, is one of the strongest proofs of the divinity of revealed 
 religion. 
 
 II. Its nature and character. Partly historical '2) ; partly and mainly 
 prophetical '3). The historical part mainly in the first six chapters ; the pro- 
 l)hetical occupies the rest of the book, with a portion of the second chapter. 
 The prophecies .themselves partake of the historical character '4'. The book 
 written partly in Hebrew and partly in Chaldaic. The Hebrew portion, chaps, i., 
 
 A 1 
 
HO Ml LET IC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 ii. 1-3, viii.-xii. ; the Clialdaic the rest of the book. The reason louiul 
 in the nature of the contents, and the people for whom each series was more 
 especially intenJed '^'. The transition from the one language to the other a 
 confirmation of the genuineness and authenticity of the book, as being natural 
 and easy to one in the circumstances of Daniel, The Hebrew not the purest, 
 being placed by scholars, as Gesenius, on a level with that of Esther, Eccle- 
 siastes. Chronicles, and Jonah ; thus corresponding with the period and 
 place in which the book purports to have been written, the author's situa- 
 tion and circumstances in Babylon obliging him to make almost constant use 
 of the Chaldaic language; another evidence of the genuineness and authenticity 
 of the book '^'. The style of the prophetic portions rather prosaic than poetic, 
 as in most other prophecies of the Old Testament '''*. The prophecies given 
 variously as the interpretation of dreams and visions, vouchsafed partly to 
 Nebuchadnezzar, partly to Daniel himself; and as divine communications made 
 to the prophet by an angel commissioned for the purpose. The histories 
 selected, as Dr. Pusey remarks, with one object, namely, to show the way in 
 which the true God was pleased to glorify Himself amid the captivity of His 
 people in a heathen empire. The character of the book more a history of the 
 future than anything else, and thus an evidence of its divine origin. This, too, 
 only in keeping with God's previous dealings with Israel and the world. 
 
 III. Its authorsMp. The book purports to be the work of a Jewish captive 
 of princely birth, brought, among others, from Jerusalem to Babylon by Ne- 
 buchadnezzar, apparently in the reign of King Jehoiakim ; elevated in the 
 providence of God, through the remarkable illumination and grace bestowed 
 upon him, to some of the highest offices in Babylon ; and spared to see tlie 
 restoration of his captive countrymen to liberty under Cyrus, king of Persia '^'. 
 This authorship disputed by some. The first, and for seventeen centuries the 
 only one, to dispute it, was Porphyry, a heathen philosopher in the third 
 century, who grounded his objection on the exact correspondence of the pro- 
 phecies with actual history down to the times of Antiochus Epiphanes, the rest 
 remaining, in his view, unfulfilled. In modern times, the genuineness of the 
 book has been denied by the German Rationalists, and in our own country by 
 Collins in the last century, as well as by Dr. Davidson and some others, in- 
 cluding writers in the "Essays and Reviews," in the present one<^'. The genuine- 
 ness of the latter chapters has also been doubted by Dr, Arnold, as not har- 
 monising with his canon of interpretation, namely, that sacred prophecy is not 
 an anticipation of history ; and that while history deals with particular nations, 
 times, places, and persons, prophecy only deals with general principles, good 
 and evil, truth and falsehood, God and His enemy, — a rule that, along with 
 Daniel, would set aside a large portion of the Bible, The book must eitlier as 
 a whole be genuine, and written by the person whom it purports to have been 
 its author, or a forgery composed by some Jew in the time of the Maccabees, 
 three or four hundred years later, who wished to pass off his book as the work 
 of the ilhistrious captive of Babylon. In the words of Dr, Pusey, " It is either 
 divine or an imposture. To write any book under the name of another, and 
 to "•ive it out to be his, is, in any case, a forgery, dishonoiirabie in itself and 
 destructive of all trustworthiness. But the case as to the Book of Daniel, if it 
 2 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 were not liis, -would go far beyond even this. The writer, were he not Daniel, 
 must have lied on a most frightful scale, ascribing to God words Avhich were 
 never uttered, and miracles which are assumed never to have been wrought. 
 In a word, the whole book would be one lie in the name of God." The genuine- 
 ness of the book is ably defended by Dr. Pusey, as it had previously been by 
 Hengstenberg <io). According to Keil, the testimony given by the book itself 
 regarding its origin and authorship is confirmed — (1.) Ey the historic tradition 
 of both Jews and Christians, who with one accord ascribe it to the ancient 
 prophet whose name it bears '"'. (2.) By the certain traces of the existence 
 of the book before the times of the Maccabees 'i-'. (3.) By the character of 
 the language, corresp >nding as it does to the period of the Babylonish capti- 
 vity '13), (4,) By the exact acquaintance with the historical relations, manners, 
 and customs of Daniel's time <i*'. (5.) By the peculiarity .f its prophecies, 
 agreeing, as it does, to the times of the Babylonian exile and Daniel's own 
 peculiar situation. The objections are easily refuted, those made by one objec- 
 tor being frequently given up by another as invalid. The divine authority of 
 the book, and consequently its genuineness, decidedly maintained by our Lord 
 when He quoted words from it as "spoken by Daniel the prophet;" this divine 
 testimony alone settling the question of authorship. Similar testimony borne 
 by the Apostles, as well as by the whole Jewish Synagogue and the whole 
 orthodox Christian Church ; the facts that seem to speak to the contrary, as 
 Hengstenberg remarks, only appearing to do so. 
 
 IV. Unity of the Ijook. That the book is the M^ork of a single author a 
 thing now universally conceded '^^^. The historical tradition confirmed by the 
 internal connection and interdependence of the parts, as well as by the same 
 peculiarities of style being found in both the first and second parts, notwith- 
 standing the diff"erence of language. Formerly some ascribed the book to 
 several authors ; others, as Dr. Arnold, allowed the first part to Daniel but not 
 the second ; while some, as J. D. Michaelis, made Daniel the author of only the 
 two first and the last six chapters. Others, as Spinoza and Sir Isaac Newton, 
 ascribed only the last six to Daniel ; the latter, however, observing that to 
 reject Daniel's prophecies would be to undermine the Christian religion, which 
 is all but founded o,n his prophecies respecting Christ. Hengstenberg observes 
 that Bleek deserved credit for exposing in detail the futility of Eichhorn's and 
 Bertholdt's hypothesis of a plurality of authors, and showing the unity of the 
 book. Auberlen remarks that the unity of the book is now acknowledged by 
 all, even by those who impugn its canonicity; and Dr. Pusey observes that no 
 one doubts now that the Book of Daniel is one whole ; even De Wette re- 
 garding the uniformity of the language and style, both in the Chaldee and 
 Hebrew portions of the book, among the strongest proofs of its unity, and 
 admitting that the similarity of style binds together both portions, not only in 
 themselves but with each other. Some, however, as ]\Ir. Bosanquet ("Messiah 
 the Prince "), think that certain passages seem to betray the hand of a compiler 
 even as late as the time of the Maccabees ^'^^K 
 
 V. Its canonicity. Daniel formed part of canonical Scripture in the time 
 of Christ, and from the time of the completion of the Old Testament canon. 
 Its place in the Jewish Scriptures was in the third or last division, called the 
 
 3 
 
HO Ml LET W COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 Hagiographa or Sacred Writings, as disiinguished from the Law and tlie Pro- 
 phets, the other two. This has been thought to depreciate Daniel's character 
 as a prophet and the canonical value of his book. Hengstenberg, however, 
 accounts for the place assigned to the book by remarking that while Daniel 
 actually possessed the highest prophetical gift, and is accordingly called a 
 prophet both by our Lord and Josephus, his writings stand in the third class, 
 rather than in the second among the prophets, from the latter being exclusively 
 destined for those penned by persons who were prophets according to office, 
 and laboured as such among their people, which was not the case with Daniel. 
 Keil observes that the place of the book among the Hagiographa corresponds 
 to the place Daniel occupied in the kingdom of God under the Old Testament. 
 Ill the Hagiographa its place was before the older Book of Ezra. While 
 the earlier Talmudists or scribes place the book with the Psalms and the 
 Proverbs, the later ones range it with Zechariah and Haggai among the pro- 
 phets ; and when Aquila and Theodotion translated their versions, Daniel 
 was admitted to the prophetic rank. Origen in the third century placed him 
 among the prophets and before Ezekiel, following the example of Josephus in 
 his first book against Apion <i"'. 
 
 VI. Objects and uses of the book. These, in regard to the first or his- 
 torical part, are — to show the Avatchful care of God over His people, and so to 
 strengthen their faith in Him in all circumstances and situations ; to exhibit 
 God as the hearer and answerer of prayer, and the privilege as well as duty of 
 abounding in that exercise ; to show the reality, excellence, and value of true 
 religion, and to encourage its faithful practice ; to display the power of 
 Jehovah, as well as His providence in determining the destinies of the 
 kingdoms of the world ; to teach the folly and effects of pride, and to encourage 
 humility and dependence upon God; to show that the persecutors and op- 
 pressors of God's people will not go unpunished, while those who serve and 
 trust in Him will in one way or another be certainly delivered. In regai"d to 
 the second or prophetical portion, the objects and uses are, — to vindicate 
 Jehovah's honour as the omniscient and therefore omnipotent God ; to sustain 
 the Church in periods of depression and suffering with the prospect of better 
 times to come ; to comfort believers with the assurance that God rules in the 
 world, and will conduct all to a happy and joyful issue ; to encourage fidelity 
 to God and His truth, as well as diligence in seeking the conversion of others ; 
 to keep alive the expectation of the promised Saviour, and to enable believers 
 to recognise Him Avhen He appeared ; to confirm our faith in Christ and in the 
 Word of God by the manifest fulfilment of the predictions recorded. " Tlie 
 main purpose of the book," says Hengstenberg, "is to point out how God's pro- 
 vidence reigns over His Church ; how, although He may for a time give them 
 v.p to be deservedly chastised by their enemies, yet, when the sufi'ering has 
 attained its purpose. He delivers all the more gloriously ; how all worldly 
 power perishes when it enters into an unequal encounter with the Almighty 
 God of Israel ; how at length, after the destruction of the great kingdoms of 
 the world, the everlasting kingdom of God and Christ shall spread over the 
 whole earth." Powerful incitements contained in the main doctrine of the 
 book, to a faithful devotednoss to God, a willing pursuit of His commands, and 
 4 
 
nOMlLETIC COMMENTAHY : DAXIEL. 
 
 to steadfastness in sufferings and persecutions. Sucli incitements found as well 
 in the historical examples of fidelity to God set forth in the first part of the book, 
 as in the positive announcements made towards its conclusion, especially that 
 regarding the resurrection. How much the prophecies of Daniel had this effect 
 among the Jews during the severe persecutions under Antiochus Epiphanes, 
 appears from the affecting narrative related in the first Book of Maccabees, 
 regarding the mother and her seven sons, who, from the assured hope of the 
 resurrection to eternal life, here for the first time plainl}' and expressly taught 
 in the Old Testament, willingly endured one after another a most cruel death 
 rather than commit an idolatrous act. The deliverance of Daniel and his 
 three companions, on their proving steadfast in their obedience to God, was, 
 according to the same undisputed authority, used by Mattathias as an argument 
 to confirm his five sons, the Maccabees, in their faithful adherence to the 
 service of Jehovah, Avhatever it might cost them 'i^'. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 (1) "TVe, mojt of -whose minds must have 
 Leen arrested in our childliood or hoyliood by 
 these impressive fascinating histories ; we, to 
 wliom, as to the whole Church from the first, 
 and the Jewish Church before us, they have 
 been, all our lives long, instructive, know that 
 the works and words of God do ' not pass 
 away.' " — Pusey. 
 
 (-' " The Book of Daniel has nothing of 
 tlie nature of secuhir history ; it records only 
 certain events wliereby God acted upon the 
 heathen monarchs, in whose keeping His 
 people, tlie depositaries of His revelation to 
 man for the time, were ; and these events 
 were mostly supernatural." — Ihid. 
 
 (3) « Prophecy stands side by side with 
 God's actions along the whole course of the 
 history of the Old Covenant, interpreting 
 those actions to the people, and making known 
 the counsel of the Lord in guiding and 
 governing their affairs. As soon and as often 
 as Israel comes into conflict with the lieathen 
 nations, the prophets appearand proclaim the 
 word of God, not only in regard to the present 
 time, but they also make known the final vic- 
 tory of His kingdom over all the kingdoms 
 and powers of this eartli."— A'e/7. 
 
 (■*' " Daniel views chiefly the future history 
 of the world, passing tl)rough that develop- 
 ment which must precede the ailvent of the 
 kingdom of God. This accounts for that 
 special character of prophecy peculiar to him 
 alone. If propdiecy is anywiiere a history of 
 tiie future, it is here." — Aubeiicn. 
 
 <^) " Daniel, after having related in He- 
 brew the early history of himself and his com- 
 panions, passes naturally into Chaldaic in the 
 answer which the Magi maiie to the king 
 when he required them to tell him liis fortrot- 
 ten dream. But the Chaldaic does not cease 
 
 with that portion of the book which is con- 
 nected with the history or the public events of 
 the empire. The first of Daniel's visions is 
 also in Chaldaic. Tliis is not what we should 
 have expected. Perhaps it lias at some time 
 puzzled some of us, its reason not being 
 obvious. The connection is in the subject. 
 The vision of the seventh chapter is a supple- 
 ment to the revelation in Nebuchadnezzar's 
 dream. It, too, relates to the four great em- 
 pires of the world. It expands tliat first 
 disclosure to Nebuchadnezzar, fills it up, con- 
 tinues it. The prophecies which follow relate 
 more especially to Israel. Those events, then, 
 or prophecies, which belonged to the revelation 
 of God to the heathen, were written in the 
 language of the then great heathen empire. 
 Tliey were for the world, and were written in 
 the language common to the people of God 
 and to the world — a language understood 
 through all that then populous tract from 
 the Persian Gulf to Damascus, the seat, in 
 early times, of so many Christian Churches. 
 Tlie prophecies wliicli bore especially upon 
 Israel or the time of our Lord's first coming, 
 were written in tlie language of the ancient 
 prophets."— PMScy. "The language thus 
 marks two divisions of the book, the first part 
 being iu the language of the worldly power 
 under which the writer lived, that part repre- 
 senting the development of the powers of the 
 world, viewed from a world-historical stand- 
 point ; while the second, showing thedevelo))- 
 ment of the same powers in their relation to 
 Israel, is written in the laniiuajze of the people 
 of God ; thus signifying that in the one place 
 it was the history of the powers of tlie world, 
 in the other the history awaiting the people 
 of God, which formed the centre of his pro- 
 phecy,— an evidence of the genuineness of the 
 book. An interpolator would certainly have 
 written the whole book in Hebrew, the holy 
 langnau'e of the ancient prophets; and if any 
 part in Animaic, the second rather than the 
 5 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 first, which had more immediate reference to 
 liis own time, and was intended more to influ- 
 ence his own generation," — Auhcrlcn. 
 
 (6) "The use of the two languages and the 
 mode in which the prophet writes in botli, 
 corresponds perfectly with his real date ; they 
 are, severally and together, utterly inexplicable 
 according to the theory which would make the 
 book a product of Maccabsean times. The 
 language, then, is one mark of genuinetiess 
 set by God on the book. Eationalism must 
 rebel, as it has rebelled ; but it dare not now, 
 with any moderate honesty, abuse philology 
 to cover its rebellion." — Pusey. 
 
 (7) «« The ground form of prophecy is 
 generally lofty and impassioned discourse : 
 the prophecy of Daniel is couched in dreams 
 and visions. ... It is only in Zechariah, who 
 lived later, that the same form of revelation 
 appears, based on the precedent of Daniel. 
 The Eevelation of St. Jolin alone oilers a per- 
 fect parallel to our prophet, and for this 
 reason the Book of Daniel may be aptly 
 styled the Old Testament Apocalypse." — 
 Auherkn. 
 
 (8) " Daniel was thus providentially fitted as 
 the medium of communication for the pro- 
 phecies he was to deliver. From tender youth 
 to extreme old age, for more than seventy 
 years, the prophet lived at the Babylonian and 
 ivIedo-Persian court (i. 1, 6, 21 ; x. 1). But 
 more than this, he took part in the goyern- 
 ment of the State, in which he occupied a high 
 official position (ii. 48 ; v. 29 ; vi. 29 ; viii. 27). 
 lie was thus enabled to gain an insight and 
 knowledge of the organisation of political 
 atiairs in the kingdoms of the world, and fitted 
 to be tlie recipient of what perhaps I may be 
 )iermitted to call his political revelations. 
 But he has likewise obtaiited the spiritual 
 point of view. Tlie experience which Daniel 
 made tlirough the deep liumiliation of Nebu- 
 clia(inczz:ir, tliroiigli Belshazzar's downfall, 
 the rajiid efflorescence, decay, and vanishing 
 of the Baliylonian monarchy, the miraculous 
 deliverance of himself and his friends 
 (ch. iii., vi.), all these events made in him a 
 profound impression that the powers of the 
 world arc transitory and the glory of the 
 kingdom of God eternal. The circumstance, 
 too, that he was instructed three years in the 
 wisdom of the Clialdees tended at all events 
 to develop the high jjrophetical gifts which he 
 possessed by nature, and to familiarise his 
 mind with those mysterious regions." — Ibid. 
 
 (3) " Daniel presents peculiar difficulties to 
 the investigation of its historical meaning, 
 difficulties for which modern critics have pro- 
 vided a very simple solution by denying tlie 
 genuineness of the book. According to the 
 prevalent view among the olijectors to its 
 genuineness, it was written under Antiochus 
 Epi|ihanes during the years 170-164 B.C.; its 
 prophecies reach down only to this king; and 
 
 6 
 
 it is a record of events which were already 
 past." — Aubeiien. " After the impulse given 
 to criticism by Spinoza and Hobbes, the 
 genuineness of Daniel was impugned by 
 English Deism and German Rationalism. . . . 
 J. D. Michaelis, Eichhorn, and others, attacked 
 especially the narratives of miraculous events 
 (ch. iii. and vi.) ; afterwards the well-known 
 naturalist Corrodi attacked the whole book. 
 It is only in our century that this view of the 
 subject has acquired a solid and important 
 literature." — Ibid. The great argument 
 against the book lies with most " in the dog- 
 matic doubt of the reality of miracles and 
 predictions. Nothing is gained by a mere 
 answer to objections so long as the original 
 prejudice, ' there cannot be supernatural pro- 
 phecy,' remains. For us who believe with all 
 our heart in the reality of miracles and pro- 
 phecies, these arguments are not only devoid 
 of all weight, but we can only feel indebted to 
 the candour of criticism in thus laying bare 
 tiie secret motives of its procedure." — Pmcy. 
 The historical argument from the occurrence 
 of Greek names for musical instruments 
 (iii. 5, 7) may be regarded as now given up ; 
 De Wette granting that "it is possible that 
 such instruments and their names were known 
 at the time to the Babylonians ; " a possibility, 
 says Auberlen, " which Hitzig is unable to 
 impugn." "The other arguments have 
 either no conclusive force, as that from the 
 silence of the Son of Sirach, or proceed pal- 
 pably on suppositions, the correctness of 
 which remains to be demonstrated." — Ibid. 
 
 (10) The objections which Hengstenberg 
 and Pusey set themselves especially to refute, 
 are those grounded on the alleged Greek 
 words ; impure Hebrew; silence of the Son of 
 Sirach ; position in the canon ; depreciatory 
 statements of the Jews ; aimless profusion of 
 miracles ; historical errors ; irreconcilable con- 
 tradictions ; improbable and suspicious ac- 
 counts ; later Ideas and usages; unusual 
 definitencss of the prophecies, that definiteness 
 ceasing with Antiochus Epiphanes ; absence 
 of all higher moral tendency ; marks of Jew- 
 ish national pride. Tlie objection from the 
 presence of some Aryan words, advanced by 
 Dr. Williams, is characterised by Dr. Pusey as 
 an attempt to turn against tlie Book of Daniel 
 an unanswerable argument for its genuineness, 
 namely, that the knowledge of Aryan names 
 was natural to one living in the proximity of 
 Aryan nations at Babylon, but "unaccountable 
 in a Jew supposed to live nearly four centuries 
 afterwards in Palestine, when the Persian 
 power had passed away for a century and a 
 half." Hengstenberg mentions among the 
 arguments for the genuineness of the book, 
 its reception into the canon ; the general 
 acknowledi^'ment of its canonicity ; the testi- 
 mony of Christ and His apostles ; the entire 
 peculiarity of style and mode of representation 
 adopted in the book ; several things at vari- 
 ance with the spirit of the Maccabican times ; 
 the exact agreement of the historical part with 
 
IIOMILETW COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 the prophecies. Dr. Pusey adduces as another 
 argument, the threefold mention of Daniel 
 by Ezekiel as pre-eminently distinguished for 
 wisdom, righteousness, and power in prayer. 
 " Scripture is in harmony with itself. Ezekiel 
 is the first witness to the Book of Daniel. The 
 Book of Daniel explains the allusions of Eze- 
 kiel. No other explanation can be given of 
 Ezekiel's words. Ezekiel manifestly refers to 
 one well known to those to whom he spoke, 
 one as well known as the great patriai-chs 
 Koah and Job. Such was Daniel, under whose 
 shadow they of the captivity lived. But apart 
 from him, where is this man, renowned for 
 his wisdom, holy as the holiest, whose memory 
 had survived from the foundation of the 
 world ? " 
 
 (11) " Until the seventeenth century, or, 
 more strictly speaking, late in the eighteenth, 
 Daniel enjoyed the unanimous recognition of 
 its genuineness by the Christian Cliurch as 
 well as by the Jewish synagogue. The soli- 
 tary objector in all the preceding centuries is 
 Porphyry the Neoplatonist, whose attack on 
 the genuineness of Daniel forms only a part 
 of his attack on revelation and Christianity 
 in general. Porphyry gives accurate, and 
 especially with regard to the 11th chapter, 
 important historical references, showing how 
 universally the prophecies of Daniel, up to 
 Antiochus Epiphanes, had been fulfilled ; and, 
 as a heathen, concludes from thence that the 
 prediction must have taken place after the 
 fulfilment, and that the book was written in 
 Judtea so late as the time of Epiphanes. He 
 was opposed by the Church Fathers, Methodius, 
 ApoUinarius, Eusebiusof Csesarsea, and others. 
 Jerome says, ' None of the prophets spoke so 
 plainly of Christ;' and Augustine, that 'in 
 the Old Testament none wrote so largely of 
 the reward of the kingdom of heaven.' " — 
 Auherlen. 
 
 (12) "Zechariah, Ezra, and Nehemiah, but 
 especially the Apocalypse, refer to the Book 
 of Daniel. Distinct allusions to it are found 
 in the New Testament, as 2 Thess. ii. 4 ; Heb. 
 xi. 33, 34 ; Luke i. 19, compared with Dan. 
 viii. 16, ix. 21 ; Matt. xxvi. 64, where Jesus 
 obviously alludes to Dan. vii. 13; and Matt, 
 xxiv. 15, where the Saviour speaks of Daniel 
 as a divinely inspired man who prophesied 
 events, even then future." — Auherlen, Dr, 
 Pusey remiirks that the third book of the 
 Sybilline Oracles, written by a Jew about 
 170 B.C., quotes the prophecy of the ten horns, 
 and the horn which should spring up at their 
 side. The first Book of Maccabees, whose 
 accuracy is acknowledged on all hands, written 
 probably early in the life of John Hyrcanus, 
 about B.C. 125, gives the dying words of Matta- 
 thias to his sons, in which he mentions for 
 their imitation the case of Daniel and his three 
 companions as examples of fidelity to God, 
 The Greek translation of the Septuagint, 
 which hears marks of the time of Antiochus 
 Ep plumes, is admitted by the opponents of 
 
 the genuineness of Daniel to have been made 
 a considerable lime after the publication of 
 the book. So at one time De Wette. Laugerke 
 allows an interval of sixty or seventy years. 
 The Book of Enoch, which makes unmistak- 
 able reference to that of Daniel, dates at the 
 latest from the time of John Hyrcanus, and 
 leaves no room for such a development of the 
 doctrine of a resurrection, of the Messiah, and 
 of angels, as it contains, after b.c. 163. 
 
 (13) Havernick treats of the linguistic 
 character of the book as a decisive proof of 
 its authenticity. The Hebrew language had 
 ceased to be spoken by the Jews long before 
 the reigns of the Seleucidse, or kings of Syria, 
 and the Aramaean had become the vernacular; 
 while there was yet still a difference between 
 the Aramaean of Daniel and the late Chaldee 
 paraphrasts of the Old Testament. Oriental 
 scholars have pronounced this testimony to be 
 decisive. Yet one of the argumetits employed 
 by Collins against the book was that the 
 Chaldee of Daniel is near the style of the old 
 Chaldee paraphrast, composed some centuries 
 after Daniel's time ; to which Bishop Newton 
 replies that, by the same argument, Homer 
 cannot be so ancient an author as he is gene- 
 rally reported, the Greek language continuing 
 much the same many hundred years after his 
 time, while, besides, the style of Daniel differs 
 more from that of the old Chaldee paraphrasts 
 than Homer does from the latest of the Greek 
 classics. The impurity of the Hebrew of 
 Daniel has also been made an argument against 
 the genuineness by German Eationalists. Ber- 
 tholdt says : "The language of the last five 
 chapters sinks in point of style below tha 
 Hebrew of the very latest in the Old Testa^ 
 ment canon." It has, however, been entirelt 
 given up by Bleek, anotiier Rationalist, 
 According to Gesenius, Ezekiel, who was coa^ 
 temporary with Daniel, has, of all the OKI 
 Testament writers, the most grammatical irr©,- 
 gularities and incorrectnesses. But, as Heng 
 stenberg remarks, if the language of Daniel 
 were really more corrupt than it is proved to 
 be, yet this could be satisfactorily explained 
 from the position in Avhich Daniel stood, having 
 been early carried away to Babylon, investiMl 
 with office under the Babylonian government, 
 and obliged to make almost constant use of 
 the Chaldee language, 
 
 (1^) Instances of this exact acquaintance 
 will be pointed out in the course of the Com- 
 mentary. The opposite of such acquaintance 
 has been alleged as an argument against the 
 genuineness of the book. The following are 
 instancesof alleged ignorance, whicii increased 
 knowledge has only proved to be instances of 
 exact acquaintance. Daniel has been said to 
 give the last king of Babylon a false name in 
 calling him Belshazzar, and to follow a false 
 legend in regard to his fate ; whereas it is now 
 admitted that the name of Belshazzar occurson 
 Bahvlonian cylinders as that of the eldest, son 
 of Nabunahit (the Nabonidus of P.-osus and 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DAXfEE. 
 
 tie Labynetus of Herodotus), associated wit li 
 his father in the government, and shiin at 
 IJaljylon. Again, Daniel is said by the objec- 
 tors, in tlie reign of Iklsiiazzar to see liiniself 
 in vision at Susa or Shushan, as a residence of 
 the Persian kings, while it only became such 
 in the time of Cyrus. But tlie cuneiform 
 inscriptions mention Shuslian as one of the 
 two capitals of Ehim, even during the Assyrian 
 empire, in llie reign of Asshur-lianiiial, son of 
 E.sarliaddon, who took it twice, and the second 
 time incorporated it, along witli part of Susi- 
 aiia, with Babylonia as a satrapy under his 
 Itrothcr. A third simihar instance alleged is, 
 that Daniel speaks of satraps and government 
 by satraps, wliich, say the objectors, is not to 
 be imagined under tlie Babylonians, nor even 
 under tlie Medes and Persians, at the time of 
 the capture of Babylon. But, as Dr. Pusey 
 remarks, the office, that of viceroy or lieu- 
 tenant, and apparently the name also, accord- 
 ing to Oppert, appears in the cuneiform in- 
 scriptions ; Sarnon and others speaking of 
 jilacing Assyrian lieutenant-governors (perhaps 
 with tiie very title satraps) or native kings 
 as viceroys over conquered provinces. Keil, 
 quoting Kranfeld, observes in regard to the 
 objections made against the historical contents 
 of the book, that " they emanate from a criti- 
 cism which is astonishingly consistent in 
 looking at the surface of certain facts, and 
 tlien pronouncing objection after objection, 
 without showing the least disposition toward 
 other than a wholly external violent solution 
 of the existing difficulties." 
 
 (15) '< According to the testimony of the 
 hook itself, it was the work of this same pro- 
 phet. Daniel repeatedly introduces himself 
 as the author (vii, 1, &c. ; viii. 1 ; ix. 2 ; x. 1 ; 
 xii. 4). It is true this is done only in the 
 second or prophetical part of the book, ie., the 
 last six chapters, but the unity of the book 
 is now generally admitted ; and it is known 
 that in the historical books of Scripture the 
 authors, as a rule, arc not mentioned ; while 
 in the prophetical books of tlie Old Testament, 
 as also in tlie Epistles and Apocalypse of the 
 New, they generally are." — Au'>erlai. 
 
 (1^) Mr. Bosanquet thinks there is no suf- 
 ficient reason for believing tliat either Daniel 
 or Ezra had, during their lives, finally closed 
 and determined tlie contents of the books 
 which bear their names, in the fragmentary 
 form in which they have come down to us ; 
 and that Daniel bears marks of the hand of 
 a compiler or commentator, whose comments, 
 made at first on marginal columns, were after- 
 wards admitted into tiie text. In this suppo- 
 sition, however, he sctms to be singular ; 
 although Delitzsch thinks that Daniel did not 
 exist in its present form till the time of the 
 Maccabees. 
 
 ('") Dr. Williams ("Essays and Reviews"') 
 thinks that tlie original place of the book 
 amongst the later class of the Jewish canon, 
 and the absence of any mention of it by the 
 Son of Sirach, confirm the Rationalistic view 
 of its origin, i.e., in the days of Antiochus 
 Epiphanes. Mr. Bosanquet, who is entirely 
 opposed to this view, yet thinks there is not 
 sufficient reason to believe that either Daniel 
 or Ezra was accepted by the Jewish Church 
 from the time of Ezra, as of the same weight 
 and authority as tlie books of the prophets 
 Jeremiah and Ezekiel, who immediately pre- 
 ceded Daniel. He thinks the Revelations of 
 Daniel were probably looked irpon by the Jews 
 for many years after the reception of them at 
 Jerusalem, much in the same manner as the 
 Revelations of St. John were looked upon in 
 the early Christian Church, Eusebius, in the 
 fourth century, remarking, after enumerating 
 the canonical books of the New Testament, 
 and naming the first Epistle of Peter as 
 authentic, " then is to be placed, if you 
 think good, the Revelation of St. John." 
 Professor R. Smith ("Old Testament in the 
 Jewish Church") thinks tliat the absence of 
 any mention of the liook of Daniel by the Son 
 of Sirach in Ecclesiastieus, and the apocry- 
 phal ailditions to tlie book found in the Greek 
 version, point to its late admission into the 
 canon ; and that the only explanation of its 
 not being placed at first among the later pro- 
 phets, must either be the lateness of its origin, 
 or of its recognition as authoritative Scrip- 
 ture. Another explanation, however, as we 
 have seen, is given by Hengstenberg and 
 others. 
 
 (18) Calvin thus writes of the object of the 
 visions of Daniel. " It, was a heavy trial when 
 the Jews had to suffer an exile of seventy 
 years ; but after their return to their own land, 
 God delayed their final deliverance seventy 
 prophetic weeks, instead of seventy years. 
 The delay was multiplied sevenfold. Surely 
 then their hearts might fail them a thousand 
 times, and might even be nigh unto apos- 
 tacy. For the promises of salvation given by 
 the projihets were so glorious, that the Jews 
 looked for the commencement of the state of 
 perfect blessedness and salvation as soon as 
 they should be delivered from the Babylonish 
 captivity. Far from this, however, numerous 
 calamities came upon them ; and tiiat, not 
 only during a short time, but for more than 
 400 years, wh le the captivity itself lasted but 
 seventy; so that their redemption migiit still 
 look like a mockery. It can scarcely be 
 doubted, therefore, that Satan tempted many 
 souls to apostacy, by making them believe as 
 if God had been mocking them by bring- 
 ing them out of Chaldasa into their oun 
 land." 
 
BOM I LET 10 COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 nOMILETICS. 
 Sect. I. — The Captivity [Dan. i. 1, 2). 
 
 This remarkable book opens with the scene of Israel's deepest degradation and 
 misery. Threatened judgments had at length come. Warnings had been addressed 
 ill vain. Divine expostulations had been unheeded. The kingdom of Judah, like 
 that of Israel, had forsaken its God and King, and must now, like it, be forsaken 
 by Him. Idolatry and wickedness can no longer be tolerated in the chosen people. 
 Manasseh's sin in filling Jerusalem with innocent blood had, on his repentance, 
 been mercifully forgiven as regarded himself, but not as regarded his children and 
 subjects, who still continued impenitent. The blow began to fall on Jehoiakim 
 and the people of his reign (2 Kings xxiv. 1-4). It was, as the text states, "in 
 the third year of his reign "'^', after he had been some time tributary to Pharaoh 
 Necho, king of Egypt, that Nebuchadnezzar'^', king of Babylon, "came up," 
 or rather "set out," as in Jon. i. 3, on his expedition against Jerusalem, as the 
 chosen instrument of Jehovah's vengeance. The blow, however, even then did not 
 immediately descend. It was the next or fourth year of Jehoiakim's rtign before 
 Nebuchadnezzar, who first encountered the king of Egypt at Ciirchemish on the 
 Euphrates, arrived at Jerusalem (Jer. xlvi. 2). Divine forbearance was still 
 exercised. Jerusalem was taken, and Jehoiakim was "bound in fetters" to be 
 carried away to Babylon, but was again released and allowed still to reign as a 
 tributary prince. Many captives'^', some of them of noble and even of royal 
 birth, were taken to Babylon, here called by its ancient name, " Sliinar " '*', as well 
 as a portion of the sacred "vessels of the Temple," which Nebuchadnezzar placed 
 "in the house of his god " '•'^' as the trophies of his conquests and the expression 
 of his gratitude to Bel. The king, however, still remained imi)enitent. To all 
 his other sins he added that which apparently sealed his doom. The book or roll, 
 containing a divine message, which Jeremiah shortly afterwards sent by Baruch 
 to be read in the Temple-court to the people (Jer. xxxvi. 1-25), he defiantly cut 
 in pieces with a penknife, and threw the fragments in the fire. Some six years 
 afterwards, after vain attempts to free himself from the yoke of Babylon, bands of 
 Chaldeans and others were sent against him by Nebuchadnezzar. The threatened 
 punishment then fell on the infatuated monarch. He was put to death in his 
 cai)ital, and, according to the word of the prophet, his dead body was igno- 
 niiiiiously cast outside the gates of the city, and "buried with the burial of an 
 ass" (2 Kings xxiv. 7; Jer. xx. 18, 19) 'O'. Observe — 
 
 1. Tlie certain fulfilment of divine ilireatenings. God's word, whether of 
 mercy or judgment, will not return to Him void. " Hath He spoken it, and 
 will He not do it 1 " The j^romise and the threatening sure, sooner or later, to 
 be fulfilled, unless prevented in the one case by unbelief, or in the other by 
 repentance. Jehoiakim may cut the hated roll in pieces and cast it into the fire, 
 but the threatened judgment is only brought so muck nearer its fulfilment. 
 The burned Bible only adds fuel to the fire. 
 
 2. The consequence of unrepented sin. Divine wrath against impenitence slow 
 but sure. Ju.-tice travels with leaden feet, leaving time for repentance. !Mercy 
 rejoices over judgment ; but, mercy despised, judgnient strikes the blow. 
 *' Though sentence against an evil work be not executed speedily," yet the 
 judgment of the impenitent "lingereth not, and their damnation slumbercth 
 not." The sun rose on Sodom gladsome and joyous as usual, but set on it a heap 
 of ashes. The patli of disobedience, whatever it may promise of jdeasure or of 
 profit, is found, sooner or later, to be planted with thorns. In continuing to do 
 what is forbidden or to neglect what is commanded, whether to avoid a difficulty 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL 
 
 or to gain an end, we one day discover tbat we have but "sown the wind and 
 reaped the whirlwind." 
 
 3. The terrible effects of the divine displeasure. The desolated land, the sacked 
 city, and the burned Temple of the Jews only additional illustrations. " The 
 wrath of a king is as the roaring of a lion." What then the wrath of a God who 
 is holy, righteous, and omnipotent ? Slow in coming, fearful when it falls. "Who 
 can stand when once Thou art angry?" "A fearful thing to fall into the hands 
 of the living God." To hide one from the wrath of the rejected Lamb, rocks and 
 mountains will be appealed to in vain. Men's highest wisdom and interest to 
 prepare for the Dies Irce, " the great day of His wrath," before it come, " If once 
 His anger be kindled but a little, blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." 
 The '-blood shed for the remission of snis" the only refuge in that day ; the only 
 refuge noiv. 
 
 4. I'he awful evil of sin. It was sin that brought destruction upon Jerusalem 
 and its king. "An evil thing and a bitter" to forsake the living God and to 
 trample upon His laws. Only "fools make a mock at sin." Sin the abominable 
 tiling that God hates. Kindles a fire in His anger that "burns to the lowest hell" 
 (Deut. xxxii. 22). " Brought death into the world and all our woe." Banished 
 man from Paradise and buried the world in a deluge of water. Covers the earth 
 at present with every form of sorrow and suffering, and will one day overwhelm it 
 in a deluge of fire. Makes men and women partakers of the devil's character 
 now, and of his condemnation hereafter. 
 
 5. The reality of God's governvient of the ivorld. Nations and kings raised up 
 or overthrown at His will. His to plant and to pluck up, to build and to throw 
 down. Tiie hearts of rulers in His hand to turn them whithersoever He will. 
 The Lord "gave" Jehoiakim into JSTebuchadntzzar's hand. The king of Babylon 
 but Jehovah's executioner, "the axe in the hand of him that heweth therewith." 
 "Against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge : howbeit he meaneth 
 not so, neither doth his heart think so" (Isa. x. 6, 7, 15). Attila, taught by 
 the light of nature, called himself the Scourge of God. Who did not recognise the 
 same in the first Napoleon? God Himself the author of the calamities that befall 
 a sinful people, whoever or whatever the instrument. " Is there evil in a city and 
 the Lord hath not done it?" "I make peace and create evil" (Amos iii. 6 ; 
 Isa. xlv. 7). An all-controlling and sui)erintending agency where man sees 
 only the operation of human passions. A great truth uttered by England's 
 favourite author, "There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough hew them as we 
 wHl." 
 
 6. Desecration of sacred thhigs often a divine chastisement. The only calamity 
 here recorded in connection with Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem, the removal 
 of the sacred vessels of the Temple to Babylon, to be placed among the treasures of 
 I'd, the abomination of Chaldean idolatry. The acme of Israel's distress in the 
 days of Eli that the Ark was seized and cairied off by the Philistines. Fallen 
 Churches in the East chastised when their sanctuaries were seized by the Saracens, 
 and appropriated to a religion that robbed the Saviour of His divinity and placeil 
 Mahomet above Him as a i)ropiiet. The Church that shed tiie blood of tjje Hugue- 
 nots like water saw its communion vessels seizi'd and melted down to be coined 
 into money for the payment of revolutionary armies, its bells converted into 
 cannon, and the ancient cathedral of Notre Dame at Paris desecrated by the worship 
 of tlie Goddess of Pteason iu the person of a prostitute. Such desecration often the 
 cliastisement of abused privileges and rejected truth. The warning addressed to 
 Oriental Cliurches still applicable to those of the West, " Repent, or else I will come 
 lo thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent" 
 (liev. ii. /)), Matthew Henry remarks: "See the righteousness of God; His 
 jieo|.le liad brought the images of other gods itito His Teniple, and now He sufiuis 
 the vessels of the Temple to be carried into the treasuries of those other gods. When 
 
 10 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 men prufuae tlie vessels of the s;iiictuary with their sins, it is just with God to 
 profane them by His judgments." 
 
 7. The externals of religion no defence to a sinful, hi/poaitical vatio7i. The 
 Ark of God carried into the battle muable to save backslidden Israel from the 
 hands of the Philistines. Christian sanctuaries unable to protect those who had 
 already perverted the religion of Christ to one of formality, worldliness, and super- 
 stition. Hypocrisy and sin o)ily make a Church or people a carcase where the eagles 
 of divine vengeance will be gathered together. " Take away her battlements, for 
 they are not the Lord's." " Israel fondly trusted to the Temj^le to defend then», 
 thdugh they went on in their iniquity ; and now, to show them the vanity of that 
 confidence, the Temple is first plundered." — Henry. 
 
 8. Nebuchadnezzar, even in his profanity, an example of the recognition of, and 
 gratitude to, a Supreme Being for favours received and success obtained. The 
 vessels of the Temple placed in the house of his god rather than in his own, in 
 recognition of the aid by which, as he supposed, those trophies were won. Belief 
 in and recognition of a Supreme Being, among the first and plainest teachijigs of 
 nature. The heathen, who knew not the true God, accustomed to impute their 
 success to the favour of the deities they acknowledged (Hab. i. 11), After the 
 jtlague in Athens, B.C. 434, the Athenians dedicated a statue to Apollo as the 
 Averter of e.il. After the battle of Salamis, the Greeks dedicated the throne of 
 Xerxes as a thankoiFering to Minerva. The Parthenon itself, where it was kept, 
 was built in gratitude to the same imaginary deity, by whose assistance they 
 believed their heroes had fought and conquered. The small community of the 
 village of Phigaleia in Arcadia erected the beautiful Temple of Bassse in gratitude 
 to Ai)ollo for deliverance from a pestilence. Pythagoras sacrificed an ox to the 
 Muses on a new discovery made in geometry. The sin was, that in the blindness 
 and depravity of the natural heart, the heathen substituted false gods for the true 
 one. But may not the gratitude of the heathen to their false deities condemn 
 many a profi^ssed worshipper of the true God 1 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— <i' "/» tion to Lower Asia in the seventh year 
 
 the third year,^^ &c. No contradiction of his reign, and the eleventh of Jehoi- 
 
 between this and Jer. xlvi. 2, which akim's. Hengstenberg and others have 
 
 says that Nebuchadnezzar smote the met this objection by stating that Be- 
 
 army of Pharaoh Necho at Carcheniish rosus, in his Chaldean history, informs 
 
 in the fourth year of Jehoiakiin. Heng- us that Nebuchadnezzar the father, also 
 
 stenberg and Keil both prefer to render called Nabopolassar, on hearing that 
 
 the word ^<3 (6a), not " came," but " set the governor whom he had appointed 
 
 out or marched," the word, as the latter in Syria and Phoenicia had revolted to 
 
 observes, being frequently used of mill- the Egyptians, being too weak to go 
 
 tary expeditions. Objectors to the himself, sent his son Nebuchadnezzar 
 
 genuineness of the book have put this with an army, who defeated the 
 
 down among Daniel's alleged historical Egyptians at Carcheniish, and brought 
 
 errors. According to Jer. xxv. 1, say Syria and Phoenicia again under the 
 
 they, Nebuchadnezzar did not mount Babylonian dominion, the campaign 
 
 the throne of Babylon till the fourth being brought to a close by the tidings 
 
 year of the reign of Jehoiakim ; and of Nabopolassar's death. The beginning 
 
 according to Jer. xlvi. 1, the conquest of this expedition must fall, at least, in 
 
 of the Egy[.tians at Carcheniish did not the end of the third year of Jehoiakim. 
 
 occur till the same year; and the sub- Nebuchadnezzar soon succeeded in tak- 
 
 jugation of Jerusalem could only take ing Carcheniish, and marched into 
 
 j.lace as a consequence of that conquest. Judaea, whose king, Jehoiakim, was an 
 
 Hence, it is said, the deportation here ally and tributary of tlie king of Egypt, 
 
 spoken of, if it really took place, could towards the close of his fourth year. It 
 
 only do so in Nebuchadnezzar's expedi- is thus historically certain that befovtj 
 
UCtMlLETlC COMMENT Any. DANIEL. 
 
 the itiviision in the eloventli year of 
 Jelioiakim, Judaea was once conquered 
 by the Babylonians, Indeed history 
 tells of no other expedition of Nebu- 
 cliadnezzar than that before ns, the rest 
 of his life, according to Berosus, being 
 taken up with fortifying and einbellish- 
 iiig tlie city, and in other internal 
 arrangements. As to the title of 
 " king " here given to Nebuchadnezzar, 
 the same historian relates that Nabopo- 
 lassar, being aged and infirm, conferred 
 on his son, Nebuchadnezzar, who had 
 attained the age of manhood, some share 
 of the government. In reference to Jer. 
 XXV. 1, Hengstenberg thinks that it is 
 the first year of Nebuchadnezzar's co- 
 regency, and not that of his sole reign, 
 that is likely to be intended ; while in 
 Dan. ii. 1, on the contrary, it is the 
 second year of his sole monarchy, this 
 reckoning being as natural to an author 
 living in Babylon as the other would be 
 to one living in Judaea. 
 
 (2) (' Nehucliadnez:ar." According to 
 the canon of Ptolemy, the son of Nabo- 
 polassar, whom some call the elder Nebu- 
 chadnezzar. According to Josephus, the 
 father reigned twenty-three years, and 
 the son forty-three. Ptolemy states that 
 it was in the nineteenth year of Na- 
 V)opolassar's reign that the Babylonish 
 captivity began. His son, to distin- 
 guish hini from the father, is sometimes 
 called Nebucliadiiezzar tlie (^reat, Keil 
 observes that as Nabopolassar came into 
 no contact at all with Judaea, the Jews 
 knew scarcely anything of his reign and 
 death ; and the year of Nebuchadnezzar's 
 appearance at Jerusalem would be re- 
 garded in. a general way, both by Jere- 
 miah and his contemporaries, as the 
 first year of liis reign; and the com- 
 mander of the Chaldean army w^ould 
 be viewed as the king of Babylon, no 
 inatter whether on account of Ids being 
 co-regent with his aged and infirm 
 father, or merely as he was clothed 
 with royal power as tlie chief com- 
 mander of the army. In this sense 
 Keil thinks Daniel now names him king, 
 who was only afterwards such, and not 
 yet in actual possession of the tin-one, 
 
 <■'" Berosus relates that when Ne- 
 buchadnezzar heard of the death of his 
 VI 
 
 father, he set in order the affairs of 
 Egypt and the neighbouring countries, 
 and having commissioned some of his 
 friends to transport to Babylon the 
 prisoners of the Jews, Syrians, Phoeni- 
 cians, and the nations in Egypt, 
 together with the heaviest part of the 
 army, himself with a few attendants 
 went across the desert to Babylon, Mr. 
 Bosanquet thinks that the year in the 
 text could not be the third of Jehoi- 
 akim's reign, as, among other reasons, 
 the author of the last chapter of Jere- 
 miah, when enumerating the several 
 occasions when ca|ttives were carried off 
 in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, makes 
 no mention of this, in the third year of 
 Jehoiakim, nor of any before tlia seventh 
 year of Nebuchadnezzar, when Jehoi- 
 akim fell into this king's hands and 
 ceased to reign (Jer. lii. 28-30) ; also, 
 as the author of Second Chronicles, 
 writing after the seventy years of cap- 
 tivity were ended, makes no reference 
 either to this sujjposed important siege, 
 or to this commencement of the cap- 
 tivity, simply relating that Jehoiakim 
 reigned eleven years in Jerusalem, and 
 that " against him came up Nebuchad- 
 nezzar," ikc, (2 Chron, xxxvi. 6, 7) ; 
 finally, as Ezekiel appears to know of 
 no other commencement of the cap- 
 tivity at Babylon than that which began 
 in that eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 
 He quotes the Rabbinical book Seder 
 01am Piabba as stating that Daniel is 
 to be understood as speaking of the 
 third year after the rebellion of Jehoi- 
 akim, and, speaking in reference to the 
 year of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, says 
 that Scripture reckons the years from 
 the destruction of the Temple. He 
 refers also to Josephus, who reckons 
 that Daniel was carried to Piabylon as 
 late as the time of Zedekiah, and to 
 llipi)olytus, Clement of Alexandria, and 
 others, who considered that it took 
 jilace at the time when Jehoiachiu or 
 Jechoniali was taken prisoner to Bab)-- 
 lon. He thiidvs the "desolations of 
 Jerusalem" (Dan. ix. 2) are clearly 
 marked in 2 Chron. xxxvi. 19-21 as 
 be<nnninor with the burning of Jeru- 
 
 salem. 
 
 The name of the 
 
HO Ml LET IC COMMENT A R Y : DA XI EL . 
 
 country indigenous to Babylonia it- 
 self, of which we find traces not only 
 in classical writers, but in modern 
 travellers. Bertholdt is led by it, 
 according to his hypothesis of a plu- 
 rality of authors, to niauitain the com- 
 position of this first chapter in an 
 earlier age and in Babylonia. The 
 name found in historical prose only 
 in the Book of Genesis. In later times 
 it became quite antiquated among the 
 Hebrews. Occurs again only in pro- 
 })hetic poetry, — twice in Isaiah and 
 Zecliariah. Here, however, it is found 
 in simple prose, as the common geogra- 
 phical appellation of Babylonia. As- 
 suming Daniel to be the author of the 
 book, this is easily explained. — Heng- 
 stenberg. Dr. Rale observes that Baby- 
 lonia is named Shinar in the cuneiform 
 inscriptions. 
 
 <5' ''His god:' This was Bel, the 
 tutelar god of the city of Babylon. 
 According to Gesenius, the planet 
 Jupiter intended by the idol. The 
 name identical with Baal or Beel, de- 
 noting lord, possessor, or husband, 
 corresponding to the sun or generative 
 power in nature. Baal or Bel wor- 
 shipped, by the Carthaginians, Baby- 
 lonians, Assyrians, and others. Supposed 
 by some to be the same with Moloch, to 
 whom the Ammonites made their cruel 
 and bloody sacrilices, and to whom Israel 
 was seduced to offer their children, caus- 
 ing them to pass " through the fire." 
 Bel's worship prevailed through all 
 ancient Scandinavia, and is supposed 
 to have been general throughout the 
 British Islands. To this day there are 
 various superstitious observances in Ire- 
 land, Scotland, and Wales very closely 
 resembling the ancient worship of Bel. 
 A town in Perthshire is called TilUebd- 
 t'lne, that is, the Hill of the Fire of 
 Bel. In Ireland, Beltein, denoting the 
 Fire of Bel, is one of the festival days, 
 on which fires are made early on the 
 tops of the hills, and all the cattle are 
 made to pass through them, in order, it 
 is said, to be freed from contagion and 
 disease for that year. — Dr. Eadie. Dr. 
 Rule observes that the cuneiform in- 
 scriptions show the name of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar's deity to have been Merodach 
 
 or Bel-!Merodach. Berosus says Bel was 
 Ju])iter Belus, the son of Saturn, who 
 had a temple there, with the stupendous 
 tower in the midst of it, which, accord- 
 ing to Pliny, continued till the reign of 
 Vespasian. Dr. Cox remarks that this 
 treasure-house was probably the edifice 
 to which Herodotus refers, where a large 
 golden statue of Ju2>iter was erected, and 
 that historians compute the riches of 
 this temple at upwards of twenty mil- 
 lions sterling. It is remarkable, says 
 Hengstenberg, that Berosus, a Chal- 
 dean historian, states that with the 
 spoils of this very war he magnificently 
 adorned the temple of Belus and other 
 sacred edifices. Dr. Paile quotes from 
 the Standard Inscription Nebuchad- 
 nezzar's boast of having repaired the 
 temple, which he made his treasury. 
 " I set up long beams to support it : 
 with pillars and beams platid with 
 copper and strengthened with iron : I 
 built up its gates : I stored up inside 
 silver and gold, and precious stones 
 whose names were almost unknown : 
 and placed there the treasure-house of 
 my kingdom." 
 
 "^' Nebuchadnezzar made three in- 
 cursions into Judifia. The first, in the 
 time of Jehoiakin (606 B.C.), reduced 
 the Theocracy to a tributary of the 
 Babylonian world-i)ower. Daniel was 
 among the captives brought at tliat 
 very time to Babylon. At the second 
 inroad (598 B.C.), King Jehoiachin and 
 the prophet Ezekiel \vei-e led into cap- 
 tivity. In the third (588 B.C.), Nebu- 
 chadnezzar destroyed at last the Holy 
 City, brought the last Jewish kinu' in 
 fetters to Babylon ; and thus the king- 
 dom came to its end. Thus a new stage 
 in the history of the development of the 
 Theocracy begins with the Babyloni.->h 
 captivit}', which may be reckoned from 
 the first invasion of Nebuchadnezzar ; 
 for the independent existence of the 
 Theocracy then terminated — a stage 
 which may be desigiiated as the rule 
 of the powers of the world. Tiiis caj)- 
 tivity, as well as its termination, was 
 itself a fulfilment of prophecy. Micah 
 (ch. id. 12: iv. 10) foretold the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem and of the Temple, 
 as also the return from Babylon. Isaiah 
 13 
 
noMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 (oil. xl.-lxvi.) announced the deliver- The reason of ibis second one acknow- 
 ance of Israel out of Babylon, and the ledged by the Jews themselves to be their 
 buiUing up of the r lins of Jerusalem national guilt. This time, however, tliat. 
 and Judah, with the final glory of Zion, guilt consisted not in idolatry according 
 through the creation of new heavens and a to the ordinary meaning of the word — 
 newearthjgivinitheverynameofthePer- idolatry in its gross form, but the re- 
 sian monarch through whom the return jection of their ^>romised King and 
 should be effected. Jeremiah (ch. xxv. Saviour, which was also rejection of 
 29-31) proclaimed the captivity under their God who seut Him. "Not this 
 Nebuchadnezzar, but predicted the very man," they cried out, "but Barabbas :" 
 period of its continuance (seventy years), *' We have no king but Caesar ; " as be- 
 after which Judah and Israel should re- fore they said, "Not Jehovah, but the 
 turn to the land of their fathers. The gods of the heathen " (Jer. xliv, 17-19). 
 captivity of Babylon, however, was to Even still, however, the Lord has not cast 
 be succeeded in the space of GOO years ofi' His people whom He foreknew, Israel 
 by another and a much longer one — a shah yet look on Him whom theypierced, 
 captivity which still continues, called and mourn because of Him. AH Israe' 
 by the Jews the Great Captivity, shall yet be saved, and the receiving of 
 commencing with the destructi(m of them be life from the dead to the world 
 their city and Temple by the Bomans. at large. — AuberUn. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. II. — The Four Captive Youths {Chap. i. 3-7). 
 
 Among the youths of noble or princely birth taken from Jerusalem to Babylon 
 by Nebuchadnezzar as trophies of his conquest'^', and perhaps as hostages for the 
 good behaviour of those who were left behind, were Daniel and his three com- 
 jianions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. These, according to a custom prevalent 
 in Babylon, similar to that of the Ottoman court which in more modern times 
 originated the institutu)n of the Janissaries *-', were, at the king's command, im- 
 mediately placed under the charge of an officer called Ashpenaz '^', the chief of 
 the eunuchs '*'. To this often influential class these captive youths were kence- 
 forth to belong, having been selected for their handsome appearance, intelligence, 
 and good address '^l In token of their entire subjection to their Babylonian 
 master, their names, according to a common usage, were changed for others 
 intended apparently to obliterate all traces of their race and nation, and still more 
 of their religion, and to marU them, if it could not also make them, worshippers 
 of the gods of their new sovereign"^', as well as his i)roperty and slaves. Designed 
 for hii'h stations at court and about the king's person, they were for three years to 
 be dieted in a way judged most fitted to promote their health and more especially 
 their good appearance; while they were carefully instructed in the learning*''' and 
 language of the Chaldoeans '^l These captive youths, and Daniel more especially, 
 were to be God's chosen instruments in effecting, by their influence at court, the 
 predicted restoration of their exiled countiymen at the appointed period. Observe 
 from the passage — 
 
 1. The llleral fulfilment of God's word. The good King Hezekiah's foolish 
 vanity entailed a cliastisement which, according to the word of the prophet, was to 
 fall upon his descendants. Some of them were to become eumichs in Babylon (Isa. 
 xxxix. 7 ; 2 Kings xx. 18). Probal>ly Daniel and his three companions were thus 
 made examples, that no word of God, whether in jiromise or threatening, falls to the 
 ground. "Heaven and earth may pass away, but my word shall not pass away." 
 
 2. 27ie inxcrulable 2V'ovidence of God. It is one of the mysteries of that provi- 
 dence that the innocent suffer with and through the guilty. Both rulers and 
 people in Israel had deej)ly revolted from Jehovah. But it might be asked <»f 
 
 14 
 
no Ml LET JC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 those four godly youths, "What liad they done?" " When the scourge shiyetli 
 suddenly, it niocketh at the trial of the innocent." Yet God is still infinitely wise 
 and just and good. A gracious end in view, though hidden at the time. Children 
 often made to feel the effects of a parent's sin, while these effects may be graciously 
 overruled for their eternal good. The captivity of these youths made to turn t<j 
 their own benefit and that of others. Apparent evil often a real good. " Ye 
 thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this 
 day, to save much people alive" (Gen. 1. 20). 
 
 3. The sovereignty of divine grace. Nothing is said of the parents of these 
 youths. The royal seed had become a reprobate one. Both the sons of Josiah 
 Avho succeeded him on the throne were wicked. The princes of Jerusalem imitated 
 them in their sin. Grace makes exceptions. Perhaps these youths were judiciously 
 taken away from the evil example of the rest. Safer perhaps at the time to live 
 in Babylon than in Jerusalem. One might hope from the character of these four 
 youths that they had been taught the fear of God at home. But graceless parents 
 may have gracious children. Grace steps in and makes men to differ. The wind 
 bloweth where it listeth. Saints found in Caesar's household, and a godly Obadiah 
 in Ahab's court. 
 
 4. Memj remembered in the midst of judgment. Preparations for the purposed 
 and promised deliverance of Israel made from the very commencement of their 
 captivity. One of the very first captives to be made God's chosen instrument in 
 bringing it about. The edict of Cyrus, at the end of the predicted seventy years, 
 the result of Daniel's influence at the Babylonian and Persian courts. The same 
 influence doubtless effectual in mitigating the sufferings of his fellow-exiles '9'. 
 A silver lining often in the darkest cloud. God's bow of mercy set in tlie cloud of 
 man's deepest misery. Mercy and judgment the alto and bass in the believer's song. 
 
 5. God's instruments pre2Mred for their work. Daniel and his three companions 
 prepared beforehand for the part they were to perform in the relief and deliverance 
 of their countrymen. Gifted by nature and endowed by grace, they received an 
 education at the Babylonian court that fitted them for the post they were to 
 occupy about the king's person and in the government of the country. Capacity 
 for learning, united with conscientious application and the divine blessing given 
 in answer to prayer, made the youthful exiles ten times more able to answer 
 the king's questions than all the wise men in the realm, and so prepand the way 
 for their future elevation. The influence of that education in reference to the 
 exercise of Daniel's prophetical gift also not to be entirely overlooked. 
 
 6. Gy-ace superior lo circumstances. Captivity in a heathen land, residence in 
 an idolatrous and luxurious court, a three years' course of study pervaded with 
 idolatry and superstition, the constant presence of the followers of a false religion 
 and a low morality, all combined are unable to crush out the piety of these young 
 men. Circumstances changed their names but not their nature. With names 
 imposed upon them that seemed to designate them the worshippers of idols, they 
 were enabled by grace to remain the faithful servants of the true God. The 
 religion produced by the Holy Spirit in the soul is fast colours — not painted, but 
 engrained. 
 
 7. The value of gracious principles in early life. Only the presence of divine 
 grace in the soul able to witlistand the temptations of the woild and to conquer 
 in the battle of life. "Evil communications corrupt good maimers " onry when 
 those manners are not the fruit of a divine principle implanted in the soul. 
 *' This is the victory that overcometh the world, even your faith." Only an 
 apparently renewed Demas will forsake the truth, " having loved this present 
 World." Ptenewed by the Spirit and grafted into Christ, we are "kept by the 
 power of God through faith unto salvation," and made " more than conquerors 
 through Him that loved us." Probably these youths taught like Timothy to know 
 the Holy Scriptures from early childhood. Daniel may have had a Eunice for 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 his mother, though her name is not recorded. His early youth spent in tlie rei^iu 
 of good Josiah, who apparently died only four years before he was taken captive to 
 Babylon. Few men have become at once great and good who have not been 
 able to connect their religion with a mother's prayers and the instruction 
 received at a mother's knee. One thing concerning these four youths is certain, 
 that in early life they had been taught to say in tnitli, " Thy word have I hid 
 in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee." 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— 'i> '^Cer- 
 tain of the children of Israel and of the 
 klng^s seed, and of the princes." When 
 Darius Hystaspes succeeded Cyrus, he 
 obtained from Babylonia and the rest 
 of Assyria a thousand talents of silver 
 and five hundred boy-eunuchs. Keil 
 observes that D''pJil"l3 [par/emim) is the 
 Zend "jyrathema" (S>ausc. "pi^athama"), 
 denoting persons of distinction — mag- 
 nates, princes. 
 
 *2* The Janissaries were originally 
 Christian youths who had been taken 
 . captive by the Turks and brought to the 
 Ottoman court, after which they were 
 placed under the care of the chief of the 
 white eunuchs, under whom they were 
 trained and educated, taught some trade, 
 and brought up iu the religion of their 
 masters. Tliose most gifted were em- 
 ployed about the ruler's person, and in 
 due time advanced to high and suitable 
 offices in the state, to military coni- 
 inands, and to the government of pro- 
 vinces. Their Christian names were 
 changed for such as their Moslem mas- 
 ters delighted in. — Kitto ; also Rankes 
 " Ottoman Empire." 
 
 (3) '' Ashpeiiaz." Keil observes that 
 the name has not yet received any satis- 
 factory or generally adopted explanation. 
 lie thinks the person so named was 
 the chief marshal of Nebuchadnezzar's 
 court. Dr. llule thinks he might be 
 called master of the household. Junius 
 observes that the word in the Clialdaic 
 denotes the master of the chMers 
 {uh jury ant ium), cr, as Willet translates 
 it, the master of the comptrollers, i.e., 
 the chief comptroller and governor of 
 the king's house. 
 
 '*' " Eimuchs.'''' Di-. Rule remarks 
 that tlie name D"'D"'"lD {sarisim) may 
 simply indicate members of the king's 
 househo'd; the name being applied to 
 officers in or about the palace, whether 
 literally and physically eunuchs or not. 
 IG 
 
 (5) ti Wellfavoured." The Assyrian 
 and Babylonian kings, wishing to add 
 to the lustre and magnificence of their 
 court, admitted into their palace none 
 but young persons of high birth, dis- 
 tinguished for the gracefulness of their 
 person and the beauty of their counten- 
 ance. — Ganssen. 
 
 **5' "Gave names." Daniel, which in 
 Hebrew denotes, "God is my Judge," 
 was changed, according to the name 
 of Nebuchadnezzar's god (ch. iv. 8), into 
 Belteshazzar, or " Bel's treasurer," or 
 the " Depositar}' of Bel's secret things;" 
 but according to Gesenius and Nork, 
 the " IMnce of Bel." Azariah, or "The 
 Help of the Lord," was changed into 
 Abednego, the " servant of Nego," or 
 the Brightness, i.e., of the Sun or Fire, 
 or perhaps one of the planets — also 
 objects of Babylonian worship. The 
 other two names given for Mishael and 
 Hanauiah believed to have also an 
 idolatrous meaning, although not so 
 obvious. Shadrach, according to some, 
 is "The Inspiration of Each" or the Sun ; 
 and Meshach, a " devotee of Shach " or 
 Venus, the festival goddess. Kitto 
 observes that the jjractice of changing 
 the names of slaves is as ancient as the 
 time of Joseph, whose name was changed 
 by his Egyptian master to Zaphnath- 
 Paaneah, or the Ptevealer of Secrets. 
 In modern times the practice prevailed 
 in the case of Negro slaves. 
 
 '"' " Might teach the learniiifi (f the 
 Chaldeans." According to Pliny and 
 Strabo, the priest-caste among the Baby- 
 lonians had educational establishments 
 in certain cities; for instance, in Babylon 
 itself, Borsip[ta in Bal)yh)nia, and llip- 
 parene in Mesopotamia. — Ilingstenberg. 
 According to Piato and Xenophon, the 
 education of royal officers in Persia did 
 not begin until they had passed fourteen 
 years of age, and youths did not enti r 
 into the king's service until thry liad 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 Completed their sixteenth or seventeenth 
 year. — Rule. An objection has been 
 made to the genuineness of the Book of 
 Daniel on the ground that it is improb- 
 able that Daniel, with his strict prin- 
 ciples, should be willing to be taught 
 the principles of the magi. But Moses 
 also was "learned in all the wisdom of 
 the Egyptians " (Acts vii. 22). As 
 Moses acquired the secular knowledge of 
 the Egyptians without their debasing 
 superstitions, so might Daniel that of 
 the Babylonians, Nor was that learning 
 all superstitious. Their philosophers 
 were chiefly engaged about astronomy ; 
 and the Greeks thought that the birth- 
 place of philosophy in general was among 
 the magi of Persia and the Chaldees of 
 Babylonia o" Assyria, But the futility 
 of the objection is at once obvious ; at 
 Babylon the king's will was law, and 
 especially with his slaves. The passage 
 is rather a confirmation of the genuine- 
 ness of the book, as affording an example 
 of agreement with the customs and usages 
 of the time and country, 
 
 ^s' " The language of the Chaldeans." 
 Michaelis, Winer, and others have 
 su[>posed that by the *• language of 
 the Chaldeans" we are to understand 
 tiiat of the Chaldeans proper, and not 
 the Eastern Aramaean branch, which is 
 usually called the Chaldaic, and which 
 in chap. ii. 4, as in Ezra iv, 7 and 
 Isa. xxxviii., is called the Aramaic or 
 Syriac. Hengstenberg thinks it to 
 be the court language, spoken by the 
 monarch himself and his attendants, 
 which appears from chap, ii, 4 not to 
 be the Aramaic, as that is said to be 
 the language in which the Babylonian 
 sages answered the king. The exact 
 knowledge of the languages prevalent 
 in Babylon in the time of Daniel, as 
 shown by the book, no contemptible 
 proof of its genuineness. Keil thinks 
 the " language of the Chaldeans " in 
 the text to be that of the Babylonish 
 priests and learned men or magi, called 
 also Chaldeans in a more restricted 
 sense, the same being afterwards applied 
 to the whole body of the wise men of 
 Babylon (ch. ii. 2). He adds: "If 
 for the present no certain answer can 
 be given to the question as to the origin 
 
 of the Chaldeans and the nature of their 
 language and writing, yet this much 
 may be accepted as certain, that the 
 language and writing of the Chaldees 
 (D^":!:^?, casdim) was not Semitic or 
 Aramaic, but that the Chaldeans had 
 in remote times migrated into Babylonia, 
 and there had obtained dominion over 
 the Semitic inhabitants of the land ; 
 and that from among this dominant 
 race the Chaldees, the priestly and the 
 learned class of tiie Chaldees, arose. 
 This class in Babylon is much older than 
 the Chaldean monarchy founded by 
 Nebuchadnezzar," This instruction in 
 the wisdom of the Chaldeans, Aubeileu 
 thinks, *' tended, at all events, to de- 
 velop the high prophetical gifts which 
 Daniel possessed by nature ; " and that 
 " a similar school was thus provided for 
 Daniel to that which his Egyptian edu- 
 cation was to Moses, or which study of 
 philosophy is for the theologian of our 
 own day." Dr. Rule observes that 
 " seven or eight centuries later than 
 Daniel, the learning of the Chaldeans 
 or Babylonians was described as com- 
 prising astronomy, astrology, divination, 
 augury, incantations, and the science of 
 dreams and prodigies. Although idol- 
 worshippers, Justin Martyr, in his Ex- 
 hortation to the Greeks, affirms that the 
 Babylonians differed widely from the 
 Greeks and from all other idolaters of 
 the world, inasmuch as they acknow- 
 ledged a supreme and self- existent 
 God." 
 
 (9) u The Lord in His great mercy 
 had prepared for His people an influ- 
 ence in Babylon that must have miti- 
 gated the severity of bondage when the 
 ten thousand captives [with Jehoiachin] 
 were added to all that went before. 
 The king and the princes indeed were 
 prisoners of war; but young men of 
 royal blood are at the head of the 
 government, naturalised, and in rank 
 next the imperial throne, but known as 
 worshippers of the God of heaven, and 
 as confessors of that God in opposition 
 to the gods of the country, in full 
 enjoyment of religious liberty and pro- 
 tected in the exercise of their sacred 
 right by a decree in honour of Daniel's 
 God."— 7?«,V. 
 
 17 
 
nOMJLETJC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 Skct. III.— The Resolution {Chap. i. 8-10). 
 
 The religion of Daniel and his three companinns was soon to be put to the 
 test. They were to be fed from the royal table 'i'; but the Jews were forbidden 
 by the law of Moses to eat certain kinds of food, as well as food prepared in a 
 certain way. Some animals were to be avoided as unclean, and none were to be 
 eaten with the blood in them. Besides, what the heathen used of animal food had 
 been already offered in sacrifice to their idols, while a portion both of the meat 
 and drink on their table was presented as an offering and acknowledgment to the 
 same false deities. Daniel saw that to partake of the royal provision '2) was tlms 
 to pollute himself by participation with idolatry and to transgress the law of God ^'^\ 
 His purpose was at once taken. Be the consequences what they might, he would 
 neither defile himself nor apostatise from his God. Persuaded that man does 
 not " live by bread alone, but by every word of God," he would request the 
 superintendent to substitute pulse and water for the royal viands. He deter- 
 mined, says Matthew Henry, to let it be known from the first day of his residence 
 in Babylon, that though but a young Jewish slave, he was the servant of the living 
 God. If he could not preserve his dignity as a prince, he would preserve his 
 purity as a child of the covenant. It was no small risk. The wrath of Nebu- 
 chadnezzar, as of all Oriental despots, was as the roaring of a lion. That wrath 
 might well be apprehended for what must appear to him, if known, an act of dis- 
 obedience, and even of contempt. Unless prevented by some remarkable inter- 
 position, the act may cost Daniel and his three friends their life. Daniel had 
 indeed already gained the favour and affection of the chief or superintendent of 
 the eunuchs, but for him to change the diet, or even allow or connive at such a 
 change, must endanger his life also — with Daniel a considerable aggravation of 
 the difficulty. Still he must obey the dictates of his conscience and do what he 
 believes to be the will of God '4'. Prayer was no doubt his refuge. The God of 
 Abraham would open up a way of deliverance. "On the Mount the Lord will be 
 seen." Man's extremity is God's opportunity. Isaac was saved at the last hour. 
 The Lord will provide. Jehovah- Jireh still lives. To the chief officer, therefore, 
 Daniel communicates his difficulty and his purpose. The worthy heathen ex- 
 pressed his distress, and his fear for the consequences, even to himself. Daniel 
 only requests a trial. Ashpenaz can do nothing but commend him to the good 
 graces of the subordinate whose duty it was to .attend immediately upon the young 
 men, and whose responsibility was less than his own. Observe — 
 
 1. Religious principle sure to he tested. The gold must be submitted to the 
 fire to prove its reality and purge it from dross. The trial of faith a rule in God's 
 government and the universal experience of His peo})le. That trial may be a 
 "fiery" one (1 Peter iv. 12). May throw into heaviness for a season; but has 
 for its issue "praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" 
 (1 Peter i. 7). Believers to be, like Apelles, "approved in Christ." Difficult 
 situations, involving danger, trouble, or loss, the ordinary means of the trial. The 
 favour of God and conscious obedience to His will on the one hand, with sufToring 
 and worldly loss, or God's displeasure and a wounded conscience on the other, with 
 the short-lived favour of the world; which shall it be? Moses must choose 
 between the treasures of Egypt and the reproach of Christ; worldly greatness with 
 idolaters, sr " affliction with the people of God." 
 
 2. Trial a needful preparation for future service. Daniel and liis companions 
 destined to important service in Babylon. God was to be glorified in them as His 
 faithful witnesses. The deliverance of their captive countrymen to be ultimately 
 effected through their influence. Hence the necessity of discipline and trial. The 
 
 18 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 instrument to be prepared and polished. The f:iith and obedience of tliese fonr 
 godly youths to be afterwards severely tested. The trial to commence now, even at 
 tlie beginning. Smaller trials must prepare for greater ones. The faith that is to face 
 and triumph over the fiery furnace and the lions' den to be made strong by exerci.^e. 
 
 3. Self-denial necessary to triie religion. Daniel and his friends must choose 
 between the dainties of the king's table and the diet of the humblest slave. A 
 considerable difference to the flesh between the king's savoury dishes and delicious 
 wines, and mere boiled beans and water. But the choice was soon decided on. 
 Grace enabled Daniel, "instead of yielding to the temptations of luxury, volun- 
 tarily to subject himself to the humblest fare, that appetite might not betray him 
 into sin." Like his ancestor Moses, he ''chose rather to suffer affliction with the 
 people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." The Master's 
 rule, " If any man will be my disciple, let him deny himself, t;ike up his cross 
 daily, aiid follow me." The part of good soldiers of Jesus Christ to "endure 
 liardness." Such endurance and self-denial the means of strengthening character 
 and fitting for service in the world. The pulse itself probably made, even 
 physically, a means towards Daniel's elevation. Protogenes, the celebrated 
 painter, said to have lived on lupins during the seven years he was engaged on his 
 famous picture, "that his judgment might not be clouded by luxurious diet." 
 Calvin even thinks that Daniel might have desired pulse and water, on account 
 of the injurious efi"ects of good living. Auberlen remarks that "he who is to 
 receive or interpret divine revelations, must not feed on the dainties nor drink 
 from the intoxicating cup of this world." 
 
 4. Abstinence from ivhat is in itself lawful sometiines a sarred duty. The 
 royal provisions in themselves good, but in the circumstances not to be partaken 
 of by Daniel and his friends without sin and moral defilement. So even in his old 
 age, Daniel for a special religious purpose abstained for a time both from flesh and 
 wine (ch. x. 3). " Every creature of God is good, and to be received with thanks- 
 giving of them that know and believe the truth." But there are times when, for 
 the sake of others, if not for our own, it may be our duty to abstain from the use 
 of some. Christian wisdom and an enlightened conscience needed to direct us in 
 iregard to such abstinence. The same Apostle who counselled Timothy to "use a 
 tittle wine " for his stomach's sake and his frequent infirmities, asserts that " it is 
 good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother 
 stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak ; " and declares for himself, " If meat 
 make my brother to off'end, I will eat no flesh while the world standetli, lest I 
 make my brother to offend" (Rum. xiv. 21; 1 Cor. viii. 13). The character of 
 the wines and other intoxicating drinks used in this country, the prevalence of the 
 drinking customs, the continued evidence before our eyes of the terrible effects of 
 the use of these drinks, both physically, socially, and morally, slaying as they do 
 their tens of thousands, and drawing in their train both misery, poverty, disease, 
 and crime — these facts are believed by many to make it the duty of Christian men 
 and women in general, in the exercise of that charity that " pleaseth not itself" 
 and " seeketh not her own," to abstain entirely from the use of these beverages for at 
 least the sake of those who must, one way or other, be influenced by our example. 
 
 5. Grace made sufficient for all sitactlions. Grace needed most in times of 
 difficulty and trial. That grace now afforded to Daniel and his friends in their 
 perplexity. To Paul's thrice-repeated prayer that the "thorn in the fle.'^li|' might 
 depart from him, the only answer vouchsafed was, " My grace is sufficient for 
 thee ; my strength is made perfect in weakness." Believing this, Paul gloried in 
 his infirmities and necessities. Neither tribulation, nor persecution, nor famnie, 
 nor nakedness, nor peril, nor sword, able to separate the genuine believer "from 
 the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 
 
 6. The value of courage and resolution in the mitter of religion. These needful 
 to serve God and keep a good conscieiice in the world. Constantly verified in the 
 
 19 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 history of the Church, both in Old and New Testament times. To be faithful to 
 God and faithful to the end, one must, like Daniel, "purj^ose in his heart," and 
 through grace adhere to it. Joshua exhorted more than once before encountering 
 the Canaanites, and marching in to take possession of the land, to "be strong and 
 of a good courage, and not be afraid." Impossible at once to be a faithful Christian 
 and a coward. The " fearful and unbelieving " among those who are excluded from 
 the Nbw Jerusalem (Rev. xxi. 8). " We have received, not the spirit of fear, but 
 of love, and of power, and of a sound mind." He tluit timidly will save his life 
 shall lose it. The feet to be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, in 
 order to tread on briars and scorpions, " and all the power of the enemy." The 
 promise, " Thy shoes shall be iron and brass." In a world up in rebellion against 
 God, His servants need to be "made as an iron pillar and a brazen wall." The 
 exhortation to Ezekiel always needed, " Be not afraid of their faces." Reuben 
 " unstable as water," therefore " unable to excel." Fear makes men deserters ; but 
 " if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." He tliat putteth 
 his hand to the plough and looketh back is not fit for the kingdom of God, — 
 neither for the enjoyment of it himself or the extension of it to others. A Chris- 
 tian needs to be a hero, and grace makes him one. Faith the foundation of true 
 courage. Through faith, " out of weakness men were made strong, waxed valiant 
 in fight, and turned to flight the armies of the aliens." The faith that is "of the 
 operation of God" makes men heroe'S, and in religion a man must either be 
 that or nothing. . ., ;-r ... 
 
 7. Fidelity to God the best way to favour with men. " When a man's doings please 
 the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to' be at peace with him." Psalm cvi. 46 
 verified in Daniel and his companions : "He made them to be pitied of them that 
 carried them captives." True religion commends itself even to worldly men. 
 Grace a winning thing. Includes " whatsoever things are comely and of good 
 report." Favour with men not to be bought at the^expense of religious principle, 
 and need not be. Daniel found favour with the chief of the eunuchs and yet kept 
 his religion, and indeed by keeping it. Daniel made God's love and favour the 
 Jiist and chief thing, and God gave him in addition the love and favour of men. 
 
 " The hearts of kings are in the hand of the Lord, and He turneth them as the 
 rills of water." True religion consists in love, and love naturally begets love. 
 Jesus, the embodiment of that religion, "grew in favour with God and men." The 
 experience of Daniel in Babylon that of Jose^jh in Egypt. The chief of the 
 eunuchs, like the keeper of the prison, won by the becoming behaviour and sweet- 
 ness of disposition in a youthful Hebrew slave. The youth who pleases God likely 
 to find acceptance with men. 
 
 8. The importance of faithftdness in little thivgs. An apparently small matter, 
 the kind of food Daniel should eat or not eat ; but God's law made even that a 
 matter of conscience. Fidelity to God and His worship involved in it. Danitl 
 was faithful to his conscience, and desired to be excused from eating what he could 
 not partake of without sin. Thus prepared for proving faithful in greater things 
 — faithful to all his duties and trusts under the king, and faithful to God at tlie 
 peril of the lions' den. " He that is faithful iii that which is least is faithful aLo 
 in much." 
 
 9. The necessity of decision in the matter of religion. A distinct and settled 
 purpose often our safety and preservation in the world. DaTiiel's purity in Babylon 
 due to his "purposing in his heart." A firm purpose in God's strength to do 
 right, the girdle that binds the spiritual armour together. "I have said that I 
 will keep Thy word." "One shall say, I am the Lord's." "I have sworn, and I 
 wUl perfonn it, that I will keep Thy righteous judgments." Jesus Himself an 
 example of such decision. He " steadfastly .set His face to go up to Jerusalem." 
 Temptations to turn aside are to be re.-^olutely answered as He answered Peter, " Get 
 thee behind me, Satan ; for thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the 
 
 20 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 things that are of men." "When people are in Bal)yU)n they have need to talce 
 .s[)ecial care that they partake not in Babylon's nins."— Henri/. Safety olteu in a 
 decided "No." 
 
 Danikl a Notable Example of Eicsolution. 
 
 " Daniel xmrjwsed in his heart " — (ver. 8). 
 
 Resolution both an act and a habit. As a habit, it marks the character of the 
 man who makes a resolution and acts upon it. The habit formed by frecpient acts 
 of resolving and acting accordingly. As a habit, resolution a most important part 
 of character. Gives a man moral strength, energy, backbone. Constitutes force 
 of character. Makes a man strong. Ft)rms the hero, the scholar, the statesman, 
 the artist. Makes the successful merchant, the man of science, the philanthropist, 
 and the benefactor of his kind. " I will be a hero," the turning-pouit in Nelson's 
 history. Reynolds resolves at Rome to study the works of the old masters till he 
 has understood their excellence, and becomes a master himself. Paley at college 
 resolves to shake oif his habitual indolence and rise at four o'clock to his studies, 
 and produces works tliat cannot die. Daniel's resolution in regard to his diet one 
 of the means of strengthening his character and fitting him for future greatness. 
 Each resolution carried out in spite of difficulty or natural reluctance makes a man 
 stronger. An irresolute man a weak man. The jiart of weakness either to make 
 no resolution, or to make it and fail to keep it. " Resolves and re-resolves, and 
 dies a fool." Broken resolutions leave a man weaker. One resolution kept 
 prepares for keeping the next. A resolution manfully carried out often the turning- 
 point in a man's life and the determination of a man's character. Resolution as 
 an act should be — 
 
 1. Made deliheraifly. Rash resolutions often both foolish and dangerous. 
 Resolutely to carry out such, worse than the making of them. Resolution not to 
 degenerate into obstinacy and wilfulness, as in Herod the Tetrarch, and Pharaoh at 
 til e Red Sea. Daniel thought before purposing in his heart. "Ponder the path 
 of thy feet." 
 
 2. JJireded to what is right. A resolution should be to pursue a right course — 
 to act right, speak right, feel right. Daniel resolved to do what he saw and 
 believed to be his duty. Resolution noble when it is to serve God, do good, and 
 sin not; to be truthful, honest, industrious, kind, obliging; to avoid temptation 
 as far as possible, and to resist it when it comes ; to say " No " to every evil 
 suggestion. If still with our back to God, our resolution to be that of the prodigal, 
 — "I will arise and go to my Father." Tlie diseased woman's resolution to press 
 through the crowd and touch the hem of Clirist's garment brought health to her 
 body and life to her soul. The Syrophenician motlier pressed on with her suit till 
 she obtained a favourable answer, notwithstanding discouragements and repulses, 
 and she succeeded. So Esther resolved, at the risk of her own life, to plead with 
 the king for the lives of her countrymen : *' If I i>erish, I perish." 
 
 3. Made in deinndence on divine assistance. To make a right resolution needs 
 divine aid; much more to keep it. Tiie spirit willing when the flesh is weak. 
 To will may be present, but how to perform that which is good we find not, and 
 needs divine strength. Resolution to be linked with prayer. Strength given to 
 them that ask for it. Daniel a man of prayer as well as purpose ; the latter 
 because the former. Peter resolved to follow his Master even unto death, but, 
 trusting in himself, he denies Him at the challenge of a servant-girl. Neglect of 
 the Saviour's caution, " Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation," likely 
 to be followed with a fall. " He that trustcth in his own heart is a fool." 
 David's prayer, " Hold Thou me u]) and I shall be safe." 
 
 CI 
 
IlOMlLirnc COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— 'i> ''A 
 daily provision of tlie king's meat." 
 Among the Persians, a number of 
 persons, all the lower attendants of the 
 court, received tlieir support from the 
 king's table. This custom derived by 
 the Persians from the Babylonians, or 
 at least held in connncm with tliem. 
 According to Jer. lii. 33, 34, King 
 Jehoiachin, by the command of EviU 
 jNIerodach, received bis daily sustenance 
 from the royal table. — Ilengsle^iherg. 
 Dr. Rule observes that crowds of 
 Israelites no doubt ate "unclean things 
 in Assyria" (Hos. ix. 3), defiling them- 
 selves in like manner; but a few noble 
 souls lived above compromise. At tiiis 
 same time, Ezekiel, also a captive in the 
 .'^ame land, witnessing the shame of those 
 ■who " ate their defiled bread among the 
 Gentiles" whither they were driven, 
 could say, " O Lord God, behold, my 
 soul hath not been polluted; for from 
 my youth up, even till now, have I not 
 eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is 
 torn in pieces, neither came there abomin- 
 able flesh into my mouth" (Ezek. iv. 13, 
 14). Their "barley-cakes" the prophet 
 was coniuianded to treat with loathsome 
 contempt. Good Queen Esther, too, is 
 described in an apocryphal writing as 
 appealing to God that she had not 
 " eaten at Hamau's table, nor had 
 ])leasure in the king's feast, nor had 
 drunk tiie wine of the drink-oflfering." 
 
 ^'-^ " TJie portion of tlie king's meat," 
 Heb. "^^^n J2n3 {pathhag hammehh). 
 Dr. llnle observes that what this might 
 mean the old versions could not explain, 
 and our English translators could only 
 gather from the context. Some of the 
 ilabbis under.-itaiid it to be bread. He 
 remarks, what Dr. Piisey has also told 
 us in the Appendix to his Lectures on 
 Daniel, that Professor IMax Miiller, in 
 Ills ex[)laiiation of words in the Look of 
 Daniel supposed to be Ar\an, says tli;it 
 this word is Aryan, and is equivalent to 
 the Sanscrit ■prati.b((ga, " a share of 
 small articles, as fruir, flowers, itc, paid 
 daily to tlie raja for household expendi- 
 ture." The Pnifessor quotes a pass;ige 
 from Athenaiiis, where a Greek woid 
 is supposed to repre.-^ent the word in 
 Daniel, namely, potibazif:, said to be put 
 
 for TOTt^ayi;, and to denote " barley 
 bread and wheaten toast, and a crown 
 of cypress, and mixed wine in a gold cup, 
 out of which the king himself drinks." 
 Dr. Rule, after quoting a passage from 
 Ileiodotus, which shows that the Assy- 
 rians at their sacrifices " poured liba- 
 tions and offered consecrated barley-cake 
 with the sound of the flute and crowned 
 witli chaplets," remarks that " if the 
 2Mthbag of Daniel and the potibazis of 
 Athenseus be the same, if tlie king of 
 Babylon drank of the consecrated wine, 
 tasted the consecrated barle3'-cake, and 
 put on the cliaplet of cypress, amid the 
 noise of music and hymns to his god; 
 if the like consecrated food was sent 
 to members of the royal household, 
 to partake of it would be nothing 
 less than a formal participation of 
 idolatry." 
 
 {i) ^<'\Yoidd not dffile himself" Keil 
 observes that Daniel's resolution arose 
 from fidelity to the law, and frt>m stead- 
 fastness to the faith that man lives " net 
 by bread ahuie, but by every word of 
 God" (Dent. viii. 3); and from tlie 
 assurance that God would bless tlie 
 humbler provision which he asks for 
 himself and his companions. These 
 ordinances in relation to food are part 
 of the Levitical law, Exod. xxii. 31, 
 Dent. xiv. 2, 21, where the principle of 
 avoiding food inconsistent with ho.iness, 
 only touched upon in Exodus, is ex- 
 panded. 
 
 '■*' "7/e requested of tlie prince of tlie 
 eunuchs that lie might Hot defile him- 
 self." Dr. Cox remarks that, in the 
 conduct of Daniel on this occasion, liis 
 moral triiimpli wascompleteand glorious ; 
 appearing perfectly conscientious and 
 entirely decided while exhibiting a 
 graceful modesty connected with his 
 moral heroism, together witli great 
 judgment and wisdom, and a spirit of 
 self-denial and temperance of the most 
 exemplary kind. Dr. Rule observes 
 that it was far more than a purpose on 
 the part of Daniel. It was a resolve. 
 Literally " lie laid it on his heart," 
 Slh -hv "■=! DL'-M. {caiyashem D. \d libbo), 
 made it a matter of conscience, not 
 contemp'ating any jjossible contiiigenry 
 that mijlit shake his constancy. 
 
UOMILETW COMMEXTARY: DAN /EL. 
 
 EOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. IV.— The Trial {Chap. i. 11-21). 
 
 God works by me;ins, and in doing so deiils witli men's minds as weil as 
 their bodies. Daniel was delivered out of his difficulty in regard to the food 
 by a suggestion made upon his own mind, and favourably regarded by the person 
 with whom he had to do. This suggestion was the jjroposal of a trial for ten 
 days with pulse '^* instead of the king's meat, and water instead of wine. Melzar*^*, 
 the subordhiate officer, who could agree to the proposal with less risk to his 
 head than his chief, and who was, no doubt, in the meantime, to reap the material 
 advantage of it, consented to the proposed trial. The trial was made, and proved, 
 by the divine blessing on the humbler fare, eminently successful. At the end of 
 the period, no doubt could exist that the four Jewish youths were not only no 
 worse in their looks for their pulse diet, but actually appeared fairer and plumper 
 than those who had subsisted on the royal dainties '^'. Nor was this all ; for at 
 the end of the three years' study and preparation prescribed for them by the king, 
 they were found, on examination, to have made much greater proficiency than the 
 rest, and, indeed, to possess a wisdom and understanding greatly superior to any 
 of the magicians '*' and astrologers '^' within the realm. The result was, in the 
 providence of God, an influential appointment to each of the young men about the 
 king's person as his attendants and councillors **^' ; God, as Calvin observes, 
 aiming at exalting Himself in and through the person of His servants. They 
 '•stood before the king" an expression that finds its parallel in such passages as 
 Luke i. 19 ; IMatt. xviii. 10 ; 1 Sam. xvi, 21 ; 1 Kings xii. 6, 8. The purpose of 
 Divine Providence in thus elevating Daniel is indicated in the closing words of the 
 chapter, ''Daniel continued even unto the first year of King Cyrus" ^''K Daniel 
 was to acquire an influence which should operate on Cyrus to do what was already 
 written of him in the Scripture of truth,— release the Jewish captives and restore 
 the Holy City with its Temple and worship" (Isa. xliv. 28; xlv. 1-4) '«'. We 
 observe from the passage — 
 
 1. Faith IN God and fidelity to God sure to he rewarded. " They trusted and 
 were not confounded." "They shall not be ashamed that wait for me/'_ "Them 
 that honour me I will honour." God is a good paymaster, says Kitto ; give 
 what we may to Him of faith, or work, or trust, or love, or zeal, He gives back 
 again with large hiterest. Trust in man or self may disappoint ; trust in God 
 never. " Better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes." "Even 
 the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall ; but 
 they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength" (Isa. xl. 30, 31). 
 The trust reposed in God by these four youths, honoured by the blessing received 
 from God on all their undertakings and pursuits. 
 
 2. Health and vigour often the result of God's blessing on the htmllest fare. 
 Tulse and water, says I\Iatthew Henry, shall be the most nourishing food, if God 
 sj.eak the word. The coarsest food with the divine blessing more conducive to 
 health and good liking than the choicest diet without it. A natural connection 
 with godliness and good looks not to be forgotten. Godliness promotes temper- 
 ance, temperance health, and health a good complexion. Peace with God brings 
 peace of conscience, serenity of mind, and sweetness of temper; and these the 
 most certain means of bringing sweetness of countenance. One of the promises 
 made to godliness, or godlikeness which is love—'"Y\iQ Lord shall make fat thy 
 bones" (Isa. Iviii. 11). " A merry heart doeth good like a medicnie." A truly 
 and abidingly merry heart the result of peace with God, trust tn God, and 
 obeiiience to God. i • * ii- 
 
 3. The divine blessing the best help to successful study. A sound intelligent 
 
BOMn.hTJC COMME.\TARY: DANIEL. 
 
 mind as well as a sound and healthful body acknowledged even by the heathen 
 to be given by the deity, and to be sought in prayer. One of the favourite gods 
 of the Hindoos is one tliat is worshipped as the giver of wisdom and helper in 
 study. That study likely to be barren enough that lacks the divine blessing. 
 Daniel's three years' study with that blessing better than others' ten without it. 
 That blessing given in answer to prayer. Hence, bene orasse est bene studuisse, — 
 to have prayed well is to have studied well He studies to best purpose who has 
 a closet for prayer as well as a study for his books, and who is much in tlie one 
 as well as in the other. Godliness one of the best teachers. "I understand more 
 than the ancients, because I keep Thy precepts," — a sentiment of which Daniel 
 liiniself may have been the author. The most prayerful and conscientious usually 
 the most proficient student. Hence the knowledge even of difficult lano-ua^-es so 
 readily acquired by missionaries to the heathen, enabling them not only to preacii 
 the gospel, but to translate the Scriptures in the vernacular language. The late 
 William C. Burn enabled to converse and preach in Chinese in a wonderfully short 
 time after his arrival in the country. *' We count it reasonable," says Kitto, " to 
 look to the Lord for our daily bread, and to apply to Him for aid and guidance in 
 the trials and emergencies of life. Bat how few are they who seek for the same 
 aid from Him, and feel the same dependence upon Him, in matters of the intellect, 
 — in learning, in study, in thought ! It is very reasonable and becoming, — it is 
 very necessary, — that when we go forth to the toil and business of the day, or 
 when our affairs present perplexing difficulties, we should cast ourselves upon the 
 Lord's protection, and look to Him for counsel and guidance. But is it, — can it be, 
 —less needful that, when we sit down to write, to study, to think, we should lift 
 up our hearts trustingly to Him?" Kitto himself an eminent example of the truth 
 he teaches. 
 
 4. True piety the frequent path to rvorldly promotion. "Length of days is in 
 her right hand, and in her left hand riches and honour." Daniel in Babylon and 
 Joseph in Egypt distinguished examples. Worldly honour and advancement in 
 God's hand. *' Promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west nor 
 from the soutli : but God is judge ; He putteth down one and setteth up another " 
 (Ps. Ixxv. 6, 7). God promotes His servants in the world as He sees to be 
 most for His own glory and the good of themselves and others. Such pramotion 
 often a natural consequence of true piety. Godliness, even on natural grounds, 
 "profitable unto all things." Makes a man more faithful, conscientious, truthful, 
 honest, unselfish; hence more trustworthy and reliable. True piety connected 
 with the exercise of thought; hence tends to make a man intelligent and prudent, 
 even though poorly educated. Makes him acquainted with the best and most 
 elevating book, the Bible; and gives him the best and most efficient teacher, the 
 Holy Spirit. Hence a man with true godliness, though less gifted by nature and 
 j)rovidence, more likely to acquire advancement in the world than a man more 
 highly gifted without it. 
 
 5. God's purposes and pro^nises sure of fnlfdment. iMeaiis for accomplishin-^ 
 divine purposes never wanting. Daniel's good appearance, proficiency in stud}% 
 and superior intelligence, with their result, his elevation at court, part of the 
 means for accomplishing the divine purpose and promise in regard to Lsrael's 
 restoration. Tlie same true of Daniel's longevity. His life extended to about 
 )}inety years, in order to accomplish the purpose for which God Ijad raised him up 
 
 nd sent him an exile to Babylon. His influence with Cyrus to be the principal 
 
 cans of leading that monarch, in the very first year of liis reign, to lil)erate the 
 
 ewish captives, then under his dominion. An easy thing with God to make slaves 
 
 and exiles, like Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon, his lionoured iiistrunients 
 
 in accomplishing His designs in reference to His people. His kingdom, and the 
 
 world. "I will work, and who shall let it?" 
 
 6. A happy issue yiven to a believer out of all his troubles. Believers have 
 
 24 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DA MEL. 
 
 trouUles promised to tliem, but with the troubles a joyous deliverance out of 
 tlieiii. The angel "that redeemed Jacob fnmi all evil" still lives, and does the 
 same for all Jacob's faithful children. With the godly, the end better than the 
 beginning. "Always better on before." Their latter end peace, wliatever their 
 previous experience. Those who mourn with Zion in her sorrows sometimes si)ared 
 to rejoice with her in her joys. Daniel, after all liis sorrow for his people, spared 
 to see the promise made by Jeremiah fulfilled, — to see, at least in its beginning, 
 "the good of Jerusalem and peace upon Lsrajl." "Weeping may endure fur a 
 night ; joy cometli in the morning." 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— 'i' 'TuJse," 
 CJ'ITl' IP (inin haz-zero^im), " out of 
 the vegetables." Dr. Kule observes 
 that according to Buxtorf, Daniel and 
 liis companions would thus be allowed 
 free use of grain, pulse, and spices, not 
 necessarily excluding vegetable oils for 
 the preparation of such food as they had 
 been accustomed to at home, like their 
 ancestors before entering the land of 
 l)romise, and many of them afterwards 
 (1 Sam. xvii, 17, 18), living as do 
 multitudes in the Levant at this day. 
 He thinks it camiot be inferred that 
 they suffered any severe privation. They 
 were content to live moderately and 
 humbly. 
 
 '2' "iJ/e/sar." Hengstenberg tliinks 
 that Melzar was perhaps the ofhcial 
 name of the sub-overseer of the royal 
 attendants. Melzar, or "the Melzar," 
 observes Dr. Eule, wliatever that may 
 mean, being in a subordinate station, 
 and therefore not directly responsible, 
 like his chief, consented to make a brief 
 trial by way of private experiment. 
 
 (3) ^^Fairer and fatter in flesh." Dr. 
 Piisey remarks that even now God pro- 
 tects religious abstinence, and quotes the 
 words of Chardin : " I have remarked 
 that the countenance of the Keshicks 
 (Keshishim or monks) are in fact more 
 rosy and smooth than those of others; 
 and that those Avho fast much, I mean 
 the Armenians and Greeks, are notwith- 
 .standing very beautiful, sparkling with 
 health, and with a clear and lively 
 complexion." 
 
 <*' ''Magicians:' D^SU^nLl {ha-lhar- 
 tummim), from t^nn (kheret), a writing 
 or graving instrument, a pen or style. 
 Persons .skilled in writing, especially 
 hieroglyphics. — Noik and Gesenius. 
 According to Hengstenberg, persons 
 skilled in mystic writing. The exist- 
 
 ence of such among the Babylonians 
 confirmed by the fact that they are found 
 among the Egyptinn.^, wliose religious 
 .system stands in the closest liistorical 
 relation to the Babylonian. The exist- 
 ence of a mystic writing in Babylon 
 supposed in the narration in chap, v., 
 where the king thinks of calling for the 
 wise men to interpret the writing on the 
 wall. According to Gesenius, they were 
 persons among the ancient Egyptians 
 who studied the interpretation of dreams 
 and wrought miracles by macule (Gen. 
 xli. 8, 24; Exo.l. vii. 11, 22, &c.); the 
 n.ime also applied to the Ciialdeaii wi.se 
 men similarly versed in the interpreta- 
 tion of dreams; sacred scribes, or per- 
 sons skilled in interpreting sacred writ- 
 ing, especially hierogly])hics. 
 
 <5' ''Astrologers," D'Pt^5?n (lia-ash- 
 shapliim).^ Nork derives the name 
 from flt;'X = tlpX {asha2^h = asaph), to 
 " gather together," and understands by 
 it such persons as professed to foretell 
 events by a contemplation of the stars 
 in their situation relative to each other. 
 According to Gesenius, they were en- 
 chanters or magiciatis, from ^^'^, {nsh- 
 aph), a root of uncertaiu meaning; but 
 in Syriac, "to enchant." Bendered by 
 tlie Sept. and Theodotion, fj.riyoi (mngic). 
 So the Vulgate. The Venetian Bible 
 has " astronomers." So AbuKvaled and 
 Kimchi. Aben Ezra understands 
 " physicians." Hengstenberg thinks of 
 "exorcists;" not "natural philoso- 
 pher-s," as Bertholdt and Miinter sup- 
 pose. According to Diodorns Siculu.«, 
 the Babylonian wise men sought to avert 
 misfortune by lustrations, sacrifice.s, and 
 witchcraft. Isaiah (cli. xlvii. 9, 12) 
 derides Babylon by saying that all the 
 incantations of their wise men availed 
 not to avert tlie threatened ruin from Iier. 
 According to Claudian, a rain was as- 
 25 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 ciibed to tlie iiicaiit;itioii3 of the Cliiil- 
 deiuis, by which the army of Autouimis 
 was delivered from the threatened de- 
 struction. Dr. A. Clarke thinks the 
 name may be derived from E^'SJ («a- 
 2>hash), " to breathe," these mea laying 
 claim to inspiration ; but supposes them 
 to have been tlie pLiih)sophers and as- 
 tronomers among the Babylonians. See 
 fiiitlier under chap. ii. 2. 
 
 ^•^' " Therefore stood thy before the 
 Idng" Dr. Cox remarks that tlie king's 
 preference of the four young Jews was 
 all the more remarkable from the fact 
 tliat tlie Chaldeans boasted of their 
 literature and science, and deemed all 
 other nations to be barbarians ; their 
 superiority, which thus so greatly at- 
 tracted the royal favour, being certainly 
 from the Lord, who exalts and depresses 
 according to His own good pleasure, and 
 to subserve the purposes of His univer- 
 sal government. Keil observes that 
 Daniel needed to be deeply versed in 
 the Chaldean wisdom, as formerly Moses 
 was in the wisdom of Egypt (Acts vii. 
 22), so as to be able to put to shame 
 the wisdom of this world by the " hidden 
 wisdom " of God. Gaussen notices 
 that four benefits were bestowed by God 
 on these faithful youths as a recompense 
 for their fidelity : knowledge, skill in all 
 learning, wisdom in the conduct of 
 themselves, and, in the case of Daniel 
 at least, sometliing supernatural, pro- 
 phetic gifts, a miraculotis knowledge of 
 the secrets of tlie Lord. Matthew 
 Henry quaintly remarks that the king 
 was soon aware that a little of their 
 divinity was preferable to a great deal of 
 the divinations he had been used to. 
 
 ^'' " And Daniel continued even unto 
 tlie first year of King Cyrus.'" Heng- 
 steubeig remarks that the author con- 
 siders it superfluous to describe more 
 precisely the event which distinguished 
 the " first year of Cyrus ; " he takes it 
 for granted that all his readers would 
 of themselves remember it. He must, 
 therefore, have written as a cotemporary 
 for cotemporaries ; a confirmation of the 
 genuineness of the book. The year 
 referred to, 536 B.C., exactly seventy 
 years after the first c;iptives were taken 
 from Jerusalem to Babylon, of whom 
 Daniel was one, being then probably 
 fourteen or sixteen years of age. 
 
 '^' That the authority of Daniel had 
 a very great share in bringing about the 
 liberatiou of the Jews is generally ad- 
 mitted. Bertholdt, who opposes the 
 genuineness of the book, says that Daniel 
 without doubt very much contributed 
 to obtain the permission from Cyrus for 
 the exiled Jews to return to their father- 
 land, and to build Jerusalem and the 
 Temple anew. Kleinert expresses the 
 opinion that the immediate occasion of 
 the edict of Cyrus was the reading of 
 the prophecies of Isaiah concerning the 
 liberation to be granted to the Jews by 
 a person of his name. But this sup- 
 poses another more remote cause — the 
 influence of Daniel. Daniel influenced 
 Cyrus to take the step partly by his 
 great credit with the monarch, resulting 
 from all the preceding miraculous events, 
 even those which had occurred under 
 the reign of the Chaldeans, jiartly by 
 his laying before him the prophecies of 
 Isaiah concerning him, which he attested 
 with his own authority. — Ilengstcnberg. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. V. — The Answered Piiayeii {Cliap. ii. 1-10). 
 
 We come to the first of the visions given to Daniel. The occasion of it was a 
 dream of Nebuchadiu'zzar, of which it was required to give both the description 
 and the interi)retiition. The vision thus in harmony with D-iniel's situation in 
 Babylon, where pretensions to such wisdom and ability prevailed ; a confirmation 
 of the genuineness of the book. One object of the vision to elevate Daniel still 
 liiidier in the king's esteem and in the State, and so still further to prepare the way 
 for Israel's liberation at the apiK)inted time. Another and more direct object to 
 comfort the jieople of God, then and in all future time, witli the assurance that God 
 rules in the kingdoms of men, and tliat when the great monarchies of the world 
 26 
 
nOMILEriC COMMKNTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 Lave run their allotted course, the kingdom of Messiah sliall overtljrow tliein all, 
 
 and bless the earth with a lasting reign of righteousness and i)eace. 
 
 The vision was given in answer to prayer. The time of it was "the second 
 year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar," that is, as sole monarch, after havin^- reitnied 
 two previous years conjointly with liis father, Nabopolassar <^'. The king, haviuir 
 had his thoughts seriously exercised about the future (ver. 29), '-> had a dream '2> 
 which greatly disturbed him (ver, 1); and as the wise men about him pretended 
 to interpret dreams, he summoned the various classes of them <^', — magicians'''', 
 astrologers, sorcerers"^', and Chaldeans'"*, and required them to give both the 
 • Iream and its meaning. Either in realiiy, as is generally sup[)osed, the dreaui 
 liaving left only a confused impression, or, as others perhaps more correctly think, 
 in 2)retejice, in order to put to tlie proof the pretended ski 1 of his wise men, he 
 declared that the dream had passed from his recollection "^', and they must give 
 not only the interpretation, but the dream itself. In accordance with the character 
 of Oriental despotism, the penalty of failure was to be death in most terrible and 
 cruel form — to be "hewed in pieces"'^*, with the utter demolition of their dwell- 
 ingsj^**'. On the wise men disclaiming, in the Syriac or Chaldaic tongue '^i', the 
 entire inability of themselves or any mere man whatever, to gratify the king's 
 desire — a thing competent only to the gods, "whose dwelling is not with ilesh" — 
 Nebuchadnezzar, probably enraged at discoveiing, as he thought, the falsehood of 
 their pretensions, but ostensibly at their wish only to gain time for the safety of 
 their own persons'^'-', commanded the chief executioner 'i^' at once to inflict the 
 ])enalty. Daniel and his three companions, being supposed to be included among 
 the wise men, though apparently not among those who were summoned into the 
 king's presence, were sought out for execution with the rest. One refuge they 
 knew, which the others had not. The God they worshipped was, as they had 
 already experienced, a God that hears and answers prayer. At Daniel's suggestion, 
 tliey unite immediately in a concert of prayer for the preservation of their own 
 lives and those of the wise men of Babylon, and, to that end, for ability from on 
 high to describe and interpret the king's dream. The prayer was graciously and 
 speedily answered. 
 
 From the whole section observe — 
 
 1. Meu^s minds capable of being acted iiponhy GoJ. Dreams themselves often 
 from God, as well as the apprehension of their meaning. The power of recollection, 
 as well as the want of it, also from Him. By divine revelation, mediately or 
 immediately given, Daniel is enabled not only to interpret the king's dream, but to 
 describe the dream itself, without the slightest clue to it. The office of the Spirit 
 to "bring all things to remembrance," as well as to "show things to come." The 
 faculties of our minds as well as the members of our bodies under the influence and 
 control of Him who made both, and that both while jvsleep and awake. " I awoke, 
 and my sleep was sweet unto me," "Thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest 
 me through visions." 
 
 2. ^J'lce misery of xingodUj men. Nebuchadnezzar troubled and unhajipy in the 
 midst of all his power and grandeur, A dream by niuht or a thought by day, 
 laying hold of the mind, able to poison all earthly enjoyments. The sword of 
 Damocles suspended over the ungodly in the midst of their mirth. Armed guards 
 around a king's chamber unable to keep trouble from his spirit. Sleep, the gift of 
 God to His beloved (?s. cxxvii. 2), often far from the pillow of the ungodly. An 
 evil conscience a sufficient tormentor, A vague terror the usual accompaniment of 
 unpardoned sin. Apprehended anger on the i)art of God enou^^h to mb a man of 
 peace by day and sleep by night. The mere man of the world " generally impatient 
 under suffering ; apprehensive of danger at every change both of body and mind ; 
 alarmed at every circumstance which to him appears to portend either adversity or 
 dissolution," — Wood. 
 
 3. Tiie evils of despotii-m <nid also'ide piwev. Like Nebuchadnezzar, a des]M.t 
 
 Ti 
 
nOMILETiC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 usually iiiireasonjiljle and arbitrary, cruel find op[iressive, liasty and impetuous. Is 
 easily irritated, Avliile his wrath is " like the roaring of a lion." The capricious 
 disposer of his subjects' lives and property. The will of an absolute monarch, who 
 in his wratli rather resembles a madman or a wild beast, takes the place of law, 
 justice, and reason. Sad condition of a people when tlie will of one man is law. 
 Usually the character of Oriental monarchies. Tlie belieaded Baptist and the 
 shiuglitered infants of Bethlehem melancholy examples. Tlie tendency of absolute 
 power to make good men bad and bad men much worse. Such power only safe in 
 the hands of Him who is King of Ptighteousness and Prince of Peace. The happi- 
 ness of a free and constitutional State, as Avell as the duty of gratitude to God for 
 the privilege of living under such, best seen in contrast with the misery of being 
 inider a despotic one. Adam Chirke exclaims on the passage : *• Happy England ! 
 Know and value thy excellent privileges!" 
 
 " Tliee therefore still, hlamewortliy as tliou art, 
 Tiiee I account still happy, and ihe cliief 
 Among tlie nations, se<;ing thou art free, 
 My native nook of earth." 
 
 Plutarch relates that when Dionysins the Second took his departure from Syra- 
 cuse, the whole city went out to behold the joyful sight, and that their hearts 
 were so full of the happy event that they were angry with those that were absent 
 and could not witness with what joy the sun rose that day on Syracuse, now at 
 last delivered from the chains of slavery. 
 
 4. Tkef>'arful effects of sin. Sin makes men, who were created in the image of 
 God, to resemble demons. Degraded Nebuchadnezzar into the likeness of a beast 
 long before he was driven into the fields to eat grass. " When passion is on the 
 throne, reason is under foot." Both God and the devil stamp their image on tlieir 
 respective servants. Men must resemble the being they worship. We must either 
 be like the God who is love, or him who was "a nnirderer from the beginning." 
 Causeless and unholy anger is murder in the germ. Anger may enter for a moment 
 into the breast of a wise man, but "resteth only in the bosom of fools." Tlie 
 maxim of Periander, the wise man of Corinth, was — "Be master of thine anger." 
 The Holy Spirit says, "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath." Anger, Dr. 
 Cox observes, is — (1) undignifyiiig ; (2) unreasonable; (3) destructive of that just 
 and useful influence to which we should aspire, and for which every one is naturally 
 capacitated by his position in society; (4) usually makes a rapid progress; (5) is 
 ])roductive of great unhappiness ; (G) is a most guilty passion. It is remarked by 
 llobert Hall: "Vindictive passions surround the soul with a sort of turbulent 
 atm()Si)here, than which nothing can be conceived more opposite to the calm and 
 holy light in which the blessed Spirit loves to dwell." 
 
 5. The lielplessness of heathenism and of men rvitliout God. Babylon's wise men, 
 with all their learning and science, unable either to find direction in their difficulty 
 or deliverance from their danger. Like the mariners in the storm, they are "at 
 tlieir wit's end." They believed the gods could tell the king his dream, but they 
 had no access to them. Their "dwelling is not with flesh." Their gods do not 
 dwell with them, and they confess that they have no converse with them. Thus 
 lieathenism, by its own confession, is powerless. Sorry gods, indeed, that cannot 
 approach men, nor be approached by them ! Even the great Bel of Babylon un- 
 able to help his royal and devoted worshipper. Contrast with this the God of the 
 Bible, "a very jtrescnt help in trouble," and "near to all who call upon Him in 
 truth." Blessed are the jx'ople who knt)W tlie "mystery of godliness, God manifest 
 in the flesh;" and that, having been "made flesh" Himself, He can and does dwell 
 with men on the earth. iMatthew Henry notices the righteousness of God in 
 causing men who ini[)osed on others by pretending to do what they could not, to 
 bo tiinatened with death for not doing what they did not even pretend to do. 
 
 6. The happi/ privilege of in-ayer. Access to the throne of grace both the 
 
 l8 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DASIEL. 
 
 comfort and deliverance of Daniel and bis three friends. A noble sight for angels 
 to look down upon, those four young men on their knees, asking believingly, as 
 children of a fatlier, the gracious interposition of the God of heaven on behalf of 
 themselves and others. They knew that for the God of their fathers nothing -vvji.s 
 too dark to know, nothing too hard to do, nothing too great to giant to His praying 
 children. Nothing really good excluded from the subjects of prayer. " In every- 
 thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made 
 known unto God " (Phil. iv. G). Even under the law, Moses could appeal to Israel, 
 •' What nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them as the Lord our 
 God is in all things that we call upon Him for?" How much nearer under the 
 Gospel ! " Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, I will do it." "What- 
 soever things ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall 
 have them." "If we ask according to His will, we know that He heareth us; and 
 if we know that He heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the 
 petitions we desire of Him" (1 John iii. 22; v. 14, 15). The Spirit of Gud given 
 to help us in prayer, and to teach us to pray for what is according to the divine 
 will (Rom. viii. 26). Hence — 
 
 7. 21ce happiness of the godhj. Daniel, though exposed to the same danger as 
 the wise me'-, is calm and collected. He knew in whom he believed. An 
 example of the text, " He shall not be afraid of evil tidings ; his heart is fixed, 
 trusting in the Lord." He knew the God of his fathers to be the God " that 
 heareth prayer." The glory of the gospel that it brings the apostolic exhortation 
 into realised experience and actual practice : " Be careful (or anxious) for nothing : 
 but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known unto 
 God; and the peace of God, that passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts 
 and minds through Christ Jesus." Such a religion needed by men in the battle of 
 life; and the last-quoted words show how it is to be found, — "through Christ 
 Jesus." Daniel an example of it in the Old Testament; millions such in the New. 
 'i'ried by men and things as others are, yet kept in a peace to which the world is a 
 stranger, — a peace found in the knowledge and possession of Christ Jesus. "The 
 Lord of hosts is with us ; the God of Jacob is our refuge." 
 
 8. The special imjyoriance of uniled prayer. Daniel invites his three friends to 
 unite with himself in prayer for the divine interposition. " Two are better than 
 one," no less in prayer than in labour. " If two of you," said the Master, " shall 
 agree as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them" (Matt. 
 xviii. 19). So Esther asked her Jewish maids to join their prayers with hers in a 
 time of great emergency. The promised baptism of the Holy Ghost bestowed on 
 the disciples when engaged, as they had been for ten days, in imited prayer. Peter's 
 deliverance from prison in answer to the united prayer made by the Church for 
 that object. Tiiose the most valuable friends who are able to join us in our suit at 
 a throne of grace. Dr. Cox remarks on the passage : "While the individual sup- 
 plication of the 'righteous man availeth much,' union in prayer is adapted to 
 increase its fervency, and, through grace, to promote its success ; and while it is 
 adapted to our social nature and suited to our circumstances of common necessity, 
 it has the express assurance of a divine blessing." 
 
 9. A praijing man a national benefit. Here are four men, cjqjtives in a strange 
 land and occupying the position of slaves, made the means, by their intercession 
 with God, not only of saving the lives of a numerous class of citizens, and of 
 bringing peace and comfort to the troubled mind of the sovereign, but of bringing 
 that heathen king to confess the worthlessness of his idols, and for a time at least 
 to favour the worship of the true God among his subjects. How many national 
 blessings have been bestowed and national ca'amities averted by the believing 
 prayers of godly men, eternity alone will disclut>e. A poet reminds us how much 
 the world — 
 
 S9 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DAXlEL 
 
 " Receives advantage from liis noiseless lioiirs, 
 Of wiiich she little dre.-ims. reihaps she owes 
 Her sunshine and her rain, her blooming spring 
 And plenteous harvest, to the prayers he makes, 
 "Wlien, Isaac-like, the solitary saint 
 Walks forth to meditate at eventide, 
 And thinks on her who thinks not on herself." 
 
 10. The special privilege of a godly ancestri/. Ddiiiel's privilege that lie could 
 address his prayers to God as " the God of Lis fathers," and then thank and 
 praise Him as such, connecting with that relationship the gracious answer he had 
 received. The title reminds us, as Dr. Cox observes, " that tlie recollections of 
 piety aie the most solemn and endearing that earth can afford. Some are privileged 
 to look back upon an extended succession of holy ancestry, and to recount the 
 names of those who are endeared by relationship as well as distinguished for their 
 faith, who now form a part of the celestial society. Their sun is set, but their 
 example continues to shed its holy twilight around the horizon of life, and cheer 
 them on their ])ilgrimage." The recollection of such an ancestry at once a stimulus 
 to prayer and a help to faith. 
 
 Daniel an Example of the Efficacy of Prayer. 
 
 " Then uKis the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision" (ver. 19). 
 
 Daniel obtained what he asked of God. Important to inquire. How may we? 
 Reason and Scripture teach us that vari^ous things are necessary to efficacious 
 prayer. Prayer, to be efficacious, must obviously possess the following conditions. 
 It must be — 
 
 1. Offered in faith. This constantly required. " Let him ask in faith, nothing 
 wavering : for he that wave: eth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and 
 tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anythinor of the Lord " 
 (James i. 6, 7). " He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that 
 He is the rewarder of them tliat diligently seek Him " (Heb. xi. G). The ability 
 to grant on the part of the Giver, as well as His faithfulness if He has promised, 
 nnist be cordially believed. "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" (Matt. ix. 
 2S). We must be able to sa\, "Thine is the power;" and to believe "He is 
 faithful that promised." Daniel prayed in confidence that God was the " Hearer 
 of prayer." " The prayer of faith shall save the sick " (James v. 15). " As thou 
 hast believed, so be it done unto thee." 
 
 2. Earnest. Prayer offered without earnestness only begs a refusal. Daniel 
 prayed as in a matter of life and death. It is the "fervent" prayer that availetb 
 much. " Elijah prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not " (James 
 V. 17). " I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me " (Gen. xxxii. 26). " Tliey 
 constrained Him." 
 
 3. Importunate and persevering. This the evidence at once of faitli and earnest- 
 ness. Answers to prayer not always, nor often, granted innnediately. Prayer to 
 be continued till the answer come. Thus prayed Daniel and his three friends. 
 The disciples in the upper room " continued in prayer and supplication" till they 
 received the promised baptism of fire. Tiie Church pr.iyed for Peter"s release tid 
 it was granted. To this end Christ sjtake a i)arablo that " men ought always to 
 pray and not to faint," or give up because the answer is delayed. " Siiall not 
 God avenge His ow!i elect who cry day and night UJito Him continually, tliougli 
 He bear long with him?" Jesus Himself continued whole nights in prayer to 
 God. Elijah returned to his knees "seven times" before the "little cloud" 
 appeared. 
 
 4. From a right motive and for a right end. " Ye ask, and receive not, because 
 ye ask amiss, that ye jnay consume it upon your lusts " (James iv. 3). God's i;l.)i v 
 
 30 ^ * 
 
IlOMILETfC COMMILXTARY: DAXIEL. 
 
 and the good of others as well as ourselves to be our true motive. " Thine is tie 
 Ldory." " Hallowed be Thy name," the first petition tauglit in the Lord's Prayer. 
 Daniel prayed that men's lives might be saved and God's name glorilicd. Piayer 
 offered to gratify lust, pride, ambition, covetousness, either unanswered or answeie.l 
 without a blessing. " He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul " 
 (Ps. evi. 15). 
 
 5. Offtred with uprightness of heart and life. " Whatever we ask we receive of 
 Him, because we keep His commandments" (1 John iii. 22). The fervent prayer 
 cf the "righteous man" that which availeth much. The language of the man bom 
 blind that both of Nature and Scripture : " God heareth not siiniers ; but if any 
 man be a worshipper of God and doeth His will, him He heareth" (John ix. 31). 
 "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." "The prayer of 
 the wicked is abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the righteous is His 
 delight." The sinner, however, also heard, if he come confessing himself such and 
 feeling his sin a burden. *' God be merciful to me a sinner," a prayer when offered 
 sincerely never returned unanswered. Paul's prayers heard and answered as those 
 of a sinner before they were so as those of a saint. The prayers of a sinner, groan- 
 ing under his sin, and pleading for pardon and a clean heart, make sweet music in 
 heaven. "Behold, he prayeth." 
 
 6. With submission to God's ivill and desire onhjfor what is according to it. " Thy 
 will be done," the third petition in the Lord's Prayer. The great Teacher Himself 
 an example. *■ If it be possible, let this cup pass from me ; nevertheless, not my 
 will, but Thine be done." Prayer without submission to God's will, only the 
 language of rebellion. Prayer for what is not according to God's will better left 
 nnanswered. "If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us" (1 John 
 V. 14). The work of the Spiiit to teacli us to pray for what is according to the 
 will of God (Pi.om. viii. 2Q, 27). Prayer thus offered never unanswered. Con- 
 nected with this is — 
 
 7. With entire self -surrender. For the submission of the will to God the sur- 
 render of our whole self necessary ; without such surrender our prayer still that 
 of rebellion. The language of our heart either, " O Lord, I am Thy servant," or, 
 " Our lips are our own ; who is lord over us?" Prayer only safely and i>rofitably 
 answered where there is entire self surrender. Such surrender secures either the 
 blessing asked or something better. 
 
 8. In the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ. Daniel, in a recorded pr.iycr 
 of his (chap, ix.), renounces all merit and righteousness of his own as a ground of 
 acceptance, and pleads only to be heard " for the Lord's, that is, Messiah or 
 Christ's, sake." " Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name " (on my account 
 or for my sake), "I will do it." David taught to use the same prevailing plea — 
 " Look upon the face of Thine Anointed " (Ps. Ixxxiv. 9). God can refuse no 
 blessing so ask-.d, because He cannot refuse His Son. To plead the name and 
 merits of Christ, however, implies a cordial acceptance of and trust in Him as a 
 Saviour. The consequence of such acce{>tance and trust is a personal union with 
 Hiui, and the consequent indwelling of the Spirit as a "Spirit of adoption, 
 whereby we cry, Abba, Father." With that Spirit we not merely say, "Our 
 Father," but " My Father,'' and " pray in the Holy Ghost." 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— <i' "/m probably in the sixth year of the reign 
 
 the second year" dx. Tlie dream oc- of Zedekiah (Ezek. viii. 1), con.se- 
 
 curring at this early period in Nebu- quently thirteen or fourteen years after 
 
 chadnezzar's reign, observes Hengsten- the carrying away of Daniel into B.iby- 
 
 berg, agrees with the fame of Daniel's Ion. Tlie second mention of him five 
 
 wisdom and prevalency in prayer as in- years later. The repeated mention of 
 
 dicated by Ezekiel The first mention such a person quite natural in the cir- 
 
 niade of Daniel by that prophet was cuinstances. Yet this mention of Daniel 
 
 31 
 
no M IL ETIC COMMESTA R Y : DA NIEL. 
 
 by Ezekiel has lioeii made the ground of 
 •m opinion, advanced by Evvald and 
 espoused by Bunsen, that Daniel was 
 led captive in the first Assyrian invasion, 
 and that he lived ami prophesied, not iu 
 Babylon, but in Nineveii ! Kliefoth, 
 quoted by Keil, observes tliat in ch. i. 1 
 Daniel reckons Nebuchadnezzar's years 
 " according to the years of the Israelitish 
 kings, and sees in him already the king ; 
 on the contrary, in chap, ii., he treats 
 t)f the nations of the wurld-power, and 
 reckons here accurately the year of 
 Nebuchadnezz;ii-, the bearer of the world- 
 power, from the day in which, having 
 actually obtained the possession of that 
 power, he became king of Babylon." 
 Keil himself remarks : " If we observe 
 that Nebuchadnezzar dreamed his dream 
 in the second year of his reign, and that 
 he entered on his reign some time after 
 tlie destruction of .Jerusalem and the 
 captivity of Jehoinkim, then we can 
 understand how the three years ap- 
 pointed for the education of Daniel and 
 liis companions came to an end in the 
 second year of his reign ; for if Nebu- 
 chadnezzar began to reign in the fifth 
 year of Jehoiakim, then in the seventh 
 year of that king three years had passed 
 since the destruction of Jerusalem, which 
 took place in the fourth year of his 
 reign. A whole year or more of their 
 ]ieriod of education had passed before 
 Nebuchadnezzar mounted the throne." 
 It is, however, perhaps scarcely correct 
 to speak of what took place in Jehoia- 
 kim's fourth year as the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, which did not happen till 
 Some years afterwards. 
 
 (2) " jy/iat should come to pass here- 
 ofter." Dr. Pusey notices it as " a 
 striking picture of the young conqueror, 
 that, not contented with the vista of 
 future greatness before liim, he was 
 looking on beyond our little span of 
 life, wliich in youth so fills the mind, 
 to a future when his own earthly life 
 should be closed." 
 
 (J) ' 1 jy'^7^ whadiiezzar drea rued dreams. " 
 ^Ir. Wood, in his Lectures on Daniel, 
 observes, that " Nebucliadnezzar'sdreaiu 
 was an event in the Chaldean history 
 wlucli bore upon it the stanif) and im- 
 press 'of divine interposition. It iu- 
 32 
 
 volved in its interpretation the future 
 revolutions of the world, and had re- 
 ference to that most important revolu- 
 tion, the introduction of the religion of 
 Christ, which was to cover the earth." 
 
 '^' " TJie king commanded to call the 
 magicians," <L-c. On all occasions in the 
 book, says Hengstenberg, not par- 
 ticular wise men are consulted, but the 
 whole body of them, probably, as here, 
 in the persons of their representatives, 
 or of a selection made from them. Such 
 in accordance with the information of 
 Diodorus, that the observations of the 
 Babylonian wise men were always in- 
 stituted in company/ and by a college. 
 The division of the wise men here in- 
 dicated is not to be conceived of as if 
 every individual always confined him- 
 self to the cultivation of only one par- 
 ticular branch of Babylonian wisdom ; 
 the division only amounting to this, that 
 by rule each should particularly excel 
 iu only some one department. The 
 different branches, too, were so nearly 
 identified, that it would be difficult 
 previously to determine whether any one 
 of them would not, in any given in- 
 stance, come into operation. 
 
 (5) a Magicians." See note under 
 chap. i. 20. Dr. Kule observes that the 
 Hebrew name is generally considered 
 equivalent with the Greek h^c'ypa,u,fji,it-ug 
 or sacred scribes, not magicians. Tiie 
 Assyrians had a sacred writing, not like 
 the pictorial hieroglyphic of Egypt, but 
 a literal hieroglyphic or ideograph. The 
 characters were arrow-headed or wedge- 
 like (cuneiform), as in ordinary inscrip- 
 tions on the Assyrian sculptures and 
 r>abylonian cylinders. The style was 
 enigmatic, or at least obscure, by brevity 
 or abruptness or abbreviation. 
 
 '^' ^^ Sorcerers" CS^OD (mcchatih- 
 shephim), from a Syriac root meaning to 
 " supplicate " or " perform sacred rites ; " 
 enchanters, magicians, Exod. vii. 11; 
 Dent, xviii. 10; Mai. iii. 5. — Gesenins. 
 Sei>t., (fa^/xuKof, one who uses drugs or 
 incantations. Vulg., "maleficus." Aben 
 Ezra, one who uses horoscopes. Gesenius 
 understands a magician, or one who pre- 
 tended to cause eclipses by incantations. 
 
 '"' " Chaldeans." He rerc[iresented 
 as a class of themselves. A thing in 
 
nOhilLETIC COMMENTARY : DA XI EL. 
 
 itself most probable. The priest-caste 
 not likely first introduced into Babylonia 
 by the Chaldeans. No civilised people 
 of antiquity without an order of priests. 
 Isaiah, in whose time the Chaldeans had 
 not yet become masters of Babylon, 
 describes that city as the prime seat of 
 the arts of divination. Tiiese possessed 
 a priest-caste before tlieir invasion of 
 Babylonia. The name of the people 
 was at Babylon the name of the 
 whole caste, and occurs as such in the 
 oldest writers. The name given from 
 this distinction between the Chaldean 
 and Babylonian priesthoods. Curtius 
 speaks of the Persian magi, the Chal- 
 deans, and the Babylonians as so many 
 different kinds of -/ise men in Babyk)n. 
 The distinction here no small attesta- 
 tion to the trustworthiness, and so to 
 the genuineness, of the book. — Ileng- 
 stenherg. Dr. A. Clarke observes that 
 the " Chaldeans " might be a college 
 of learned men, where all arts and 
 sciences were professed and taught ; 
 that they were the most ancient philoso- 
 phers of the world ; and that they might 
 have been originally inhabitants of 
 Babylon, and still have preserved to 
 themselves exclusively the name of 
 Chaldeans. Keil views them as the 
 most distinguished class among the 
 Babylonian wise men. 
 
 '^' " Tlte thing is gone from me." 
 The passage otherwise rendered by 
 Michaelis, Gesenius, and others — '' the 
 word, or decree, has gone forth from 
 me ; " or, according to Winer, Heng- 
 stenberg, and others, "the thing has 
 been determined by me," or " the word 
 stands firm," like chap. vi. 12, " the thing 
 is true." Others translate, " let the word 
 from me be known," *' be it known unto 
 you." 
 
 '*" " Cut in pieces." This punish- 
 ment, observes Keil, common among 
 the Babylonians (chap. iii. 39 ; Ezekiel 
 xvi. 40). "A Chaldean death-punish- 
 ment," says Hengstenberg, " and in 
 accordance with the cruel character of 
 the people." The king's treatment of 
 the magicians, he observes, was bar- 
 barous, but nothing more tlian, judging 
 even by our sparing historical informa- 
 tion, we might expect of him (2 Kings 
 
 XXV. 7, 18, 21 ; Jer. xxxix. 5, kc. ; Iii. 
 9-11, 24-27). A mistake to expect an 
 Oriental despot to use our standard in 
 the estimate of human life. An exami)le 
 of the author's acquaintance with tiie 
 usages of the time and country, and so a 
 confirmation of the genuineness of the 
 book. The Persians had quite a clill'erent 
 mode of inflicting capital punishment. 
 
 (10) 'i Your houses shall be made a dung- 
 hill." The houses of Babylon were built 
 of earth burnt or simply dried in the sun. 
 When a building was totally demolished 
 or converted into a confused heap of 
 rubbish, the entire mass of earth, in 
 rainy weather, gradually decomposed, 
 and the place of such a house became 
 like a dunghill. Bertholdt admits that 
 the accurate acquaintance here shown 
 with the mode of building practised in 
 Babylon shows the piece to have been 
 written in that country. — Hengstenberg. 
 *^^* " In Sf/riack." Therefore, in the 
 opinion of Hengstenberg, not the lan- 
 guage of the king and court. The 
 language here meant is the Eastern 
 Aramaic or common Chaldaic ; that in 
 which the following part of the book is 
 written as far as the end of chap. vii. 
 Originally the language of Abraham in 
 his own country, but changed by his 
 descendants in Palestine for that com- 
 moidy called Hebrew, the language 
 of Canaan (Isa. xix. 18), which was 
 given to them for their possession. 
 Tins language of Canaan naturally 
 closely allied to the Phoenician, whose 
 characters, resembling the tSamaritan, 
 continued to be used by the Hebrews 
 till changed after the captivity for those 
 of the Chaldaic. Dr. Rule observes 
 that the language of Aram (or Syrhi), 
 now less properly called Chaldee in one 
 dialect and Syriac in another, while yet 
 the two dialects hardly differ, is very 
 different from the old Chaldee, or lan- 
 guage of Akkad, the classic t(mgue of 
 Assyria used by the race of Akkadians, 
 who had inhabited Babylonia from the 
 earliest times. Tliese Chaldees would 
 converse, he thinks, with each other in 
 their ancient language ; but that speech 
 the soldier-king would not have under- 
 stood, and therefore they are under the 
 necessity of speaking to him in bia 
 c 33 
 
nOMlLETlC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 motlier tongue, A different view from liad derived the corresponding statement.^ 
 
 that taken by Hengstenberg. from Jeremiah, would liave surely trans- 
 
 (12) uYe ivould gain the time." Either ferred also the name, in order to give an 
 till the king could recollect the dream appearance of trustworthiness." — Ilemj- 
 Limself, or should become indifferent stenherg. According to Keil, this man 
 about the matter, or till they could in- was regarded as the iiighest officer of the 
 vent something in the place of it, or get king (Jer. xxxix. 9, 11 j xi. 1, etc.) ; liis 
 time to escape with life and property. — business being to see to the execution of 
 A. Clark. the king's commands (1 Kings ii. 25 ; 
 
 (13) u Cai^laiii of the king's guard.'" 2 Kings vi. 8). Dr. Rule remarks that 
 Margin: " Chief of the executioners or this was also the Egyptian title 1200 
 slaughtermen." " The chief of the royal years before Nebuchadnezzar, and the 
 bodyguard, who also executed the capital repetition of both the office and the name 
 punishments. In Jer. xxxix. 13 he may be noted as one of many affinities 
 bears a different name from that in this between Egypt and Babylon in customs, 
 passage — an evidence of the genuineness language, and tradition, 
 
 of the book 3 as a spurious Daniel, if he 
 
 IW3nLFTICS. 
 Sect. VI. — The Thanksgiving (Chap. ii. 19-23). 
 
 The part of faith not only to pray but to look out for an answer. Daniel 
 prayed in the firm expectation that, if for God's glorj', an answer would be granted. 
 When the answer was given in the vision vouchsafed to him, he was in no doubt 
 about its being such. The vision carried with it the proof of its divine origin. 
 Revelations from God bear their evidence in their own bosom. No need for Daniel 
 to wait till the king identifies his dream. Daniel therefore at once gives thanks 
 and blesses the God of heaven. The text exhibits him at seventeen or eighteen 
 years of age as a beautiful example of elevated piety and devotion, worthy of the 
 mention made of him by the prophet Ezekiel some years afterwardst. 
 
 In Daniel's thanksgiving we have — 
 
 I. The Object of it. This is God, viewed under two aspect?!. 
 
 1. " The God of heaven " (ver. 19). All blessings received to be traced imme- 
 diately to God. The title indicates (1.) Ilis iniitij. The one God in contrast with 
 the "gods many" of the heathen. The only God known in heaven, though mys- 
 teriously subsisting in a Trinity of persons. (2.) His supreviacy. Heavenly 
 powers and heavenly bodies worshipped by the heathen. Israel's God the God of 
 them all. All in heaven as well as on earth subject to Ilim as His creatures. 
 Daniel's God not the sun nor the firmament, but He that made both. (3.) His 
 majesty. Heaven His throne, the earth His footstool. Nations and their sovereigns 
 as nothing before Him, Tliis not to be forgotten in our approaches to Him, 
 Prayer to be addressed to Him as "Our Father, who art in heaven." (4.) His 
 holiness. Heaven conceived of as the pLice of purity, untainted by sin. The abode 
 only of pure and holy beings. That holy heaven the place of God's throne and 
 •Special residence, (5.) Tlie source and centre of liappiness. Heaven the place of 
 blessedness. It is God that makes it such. The "God of heaven" makes hcavcTi 
 what it is. A heaven without God no heaven to holy creatures : " Whom have I 
 in heaven but Thee? " 
 
 2. " IVie God of his fathers" (ver. 23). The God known, served, and trusted in 
 by his fathers, from Abraham downwards, A special mercy when the " God of 
 heaven " is also the God of our fathers, Daniel recognises the privilege of having 
 godly, praying ancestors. Answers to prayer and blessings in general to be then 
 viewed in connection with such ancestry. The prayers of godly parents often 
 answered in the blessings bestowed upon their children after them. Children often 
 
 34 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 blessed for tlie sake of godly forefathers. Tlie prayers of tbe righteous their 
 children's beat inheritance. A special reason as well as encouragement to pray to 
 Him who has been the God of our fathers. " Our fathers trusted in Thee and 
 were delivered/' a scriptural and powerful plea in prayer. The God of our fathers 
 likely to be our God too. The promise that comforted Jacob's sorrowful heart ou 
 his way to Padanaram (Gen. xxviii. 13-15). What God was to our fathers He will 
 be to us, if we take Him and trust Him as our God. " I am the Lord ; I change 
 not." The text a powerful argument with parents to make God in Christ their 
 God, so as to hand down the blessing to their children and children's children after 
 them. 
 
 II. The Subject of the thanksgiving. The special subject is the answer to 
 prayer vouchsafed. " Who hast given me wisdom," &c. (ver. 23). The very 
 thing that Daniel and his friends had asked had been granted — wisdom and power 
 to interpret the king's dream, and so to save the lives of others as well as them- 
 selves, as well as to relieve the king's agitation. The thing granted in answer to 
 prayer often the ve;/ thing asked. Examples, Eliezer, Hannah, Elijah, Nehe- 
 miah. Faith receives either the very thing asked or something better. With thanks 
 for the special blessing vouchsafed, Daniel connects blessing and praise. 
 
 1. Fo7' ivhat God is. (1.) Wise. "Wisdom and might are His" (ver. 20), 
 Divine wisdom seen in the manner in which all things have been created and in 
 which all things are governed ; in the plan of the universe aiid the means for 
 carrying that plan out. Especially seen in the redemption of fallen mankind by 
 the incarnation and mediatorial work of His own Son. God the only wise. His 
 wisdom contrasted with the pretended wisdom of the wise men of Babylon. That 
 wisdom revealed in part in the king's dream. (2.) Mighty. "Might" as well as 
 wisdom His. Has power to execute what His wisdom plans. Power as well as 
 wisdom necessary to the government as well as the creation of the universe, and of 
 every, even the smallest portion of it. One object of the king's dream to exhibit 
 the power of God, in opposition to the gods of the heathen and the rulers of the 
 world. Constant reference to this contrast in the descriptions of Jehovah in this 
 book. " It is He, not as the Chaldean kings in their pride fondly imagined, human 
 power, that bestows kingdoms, sets up kings and casts them down, and that changes 
 times." The author of those great changes in the kingdoms of the world which 
 Daniel announced in the interpretation of the king's dream. (3.) Omniscient. 
 "Knowethwhat is in darkness," <fec. (ver. 22), Able to "reveal the deep and 
 secret things," which the wise men of Babylon, with all their pretension, were 
 auable to do, or their gods to do for them. All things naked and open before 
 Him. No darkness or shadow of death where men may hide themselves from 
 His sight. Hell and the invisible world without a covering before Him. The 
 future as the present within His ken. Sees the end from the beginning. " Known 
 unto Him all His works from the beginning of the world." All history, including 
 the lives and doings of the humblest of His creatures, only the development of His 
 plan formed before the foundation of the world. No mysteries with God. The 
 web of the universe, with its endlessly varied pattern, all before His all-seeing and 
 all-contriving mind from the beginning, and that without any prejudice to the free 
 agency of His intelligent creatures. 
 
 Daniel Exhibited in the Text as an Example of Thanksgiving. 
 
 " Then Daniel blessed (he God of heaven " (ver. 19). 
 
 Mercies in general, and answers to prayer in particular, call for due ac- 
 knowledgment. Favours demand returns. A thankless heart a graceless one 
 "Neither were they thankful," among the marks of man's apostasy from Go'l. 
 Of the ten cleansed lepers, only one " returned to give glory to God." Not much 
 
EOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 prayer in the world, still less of tlianksgiving. A gracious soul not only prays but 
 praises, especially when prayer has been beard and answered. Thanksgiving for 
 answers to prayer doubles the blessing. " More blessed to give than to receive." 
 Thanksgiving both God's right and man's happiness. The -want of it a wrong 
 both agiiinst God and ourselves. To give thanks not only right and " comely," 
 but "pleasant," — pleasant both to God and man. The ungodly man prays at 
 times in a way ; the godly both prays and gives thanks. Prayer made in hell, 
 though in vain ; thanksgiving and praise the employment of heaven. 
 
 Daniel's thanksgiving was — (1.) Prompt. Followed immediately on the bestnw- 
 ment of the blessing. " Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven." Thanks 
 delayed lose half their value. He gives twice who gives quickly. Christ gave 
 thanks even before the answer to His prayer was actually given, though anticipated 
 (John xi. 41). (2.) Hearty. Indicated by the language and enlargement on the 
 subject. Heartless thanks not real ones. The thankful leper fell down on his 
 face on giving thanks to Jesus, a thing more like a person asking for a favour than 
 giving thanks for one. Daniel as hearty in his thanks as he had been in his 
 l)rayers. " I thank thee, O God of my fathers." So the Psalmist : " I will praise 
 thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart ; for great has been Thy mercy toward 
 me" (Ps. Ixxxvi. 12, 13). (3.) Full. Daniel copious in his thanksgiving, as in 
 his prayer (ch. ix.). Anxious to omit nothing in describing the blessing 
 received. When God is not stinted in His gifts, we should not be stinted iu 
 our thanksgiving. 
 
 HOMILETICS, 
 
 Sect. YII. — The Testimony (Chap. ii. 24-30). 
 
 Daniel's thanksgiving to God immediately followed by his testimony to men. 
 Life being at stake, the business required haste. Daniel repairs, therefore, at once 
 to the captain of the guard, informing him he was able to meet the king's wish, 
 and desiring to be admitted to his presence. In answering the king's question, 
 *' Art thou able," &c. (ver. 26), Daniel verifies the words of the Psalmist, per- 
 haps his own, — " I will speak of thy testimonies before kings, and I will not be 
 ashamed " (Ps. cxix. 46). His testimony includes reference to — 
 
 1. The wise vien and soothmyers '^' of Babylon, and, by implication, the gods 
 they worshipped. Daniel declares what they had already confessed, their utter 
 inability to show the king's dream (ver. 27). The gods they served were equally 
 unable to help them. Were they worthy of the name of gods and of the worship 
 of men, they must know the secret of the king's dream, and both for the sake of 
 the king, their priests, and themselves, be willing to communicate it to their 
 servants, now in danger of their lives. The pretensions of these priests were 
 vain. They were either deceived themselves or sought to deceive others, or 
 rather both <2). 
 
 2. The true God. " Rut there is a God in heaven," (fee. (ver. 2S). Daniel 
 neither ashamed nor afraid to confess God before kings. He declares not merely 
 His superiority to all the gods of Babylon, but His exclusive claim to deity. Tiie 
 wise men spoke of " the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh ; " Daniel declares 
 there is but one. Tlie " gods many " of the heathen he tacitly intimates were 
 mere figments, shadows, and worthless dumb idols, neither able to help their 
 worshippers nor themselves. He declares, further, the sjnrituality and invisibility 
 of the true God, in opposition to those idols that stood in their temples. The 
 God who is able to reveal the king's dream is the God of heaven, the invisible 
 Being whose throne and abode is in heaven, and who fills it with His presence. 
 The proof of His sole and exclusive claim to Godhead about to be given. 
 
 36 
 
IWMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 Elijah's challenge : " Tlie God that answereth by fire, he is the God." Daniel's,^ 
 The God that revealeth the king's dream, he and he only is the God. 
 
 3. Daniel himself. " As for nie," &c. (ver. 30). Daniel disclaims any superior 
 •wisdom or merit in himself as the ground of his ability to show the kind's dream. 
 Ascribes the revelation entirely to God and His good pleasure. God wished to 
 reveal to the king what should hereafter happen to His kingdom and to the world. 
 True excellence always lowly. Apparent room and a strong temptation in the 
 circumstances for Daniel to glory. Daniel's lowliness of mind the very ground of 
 the distinction given him. God " giveth grace to the lowly ; the proud He 
 knoweth afar off." Daniel, though young, taught the lesson so difficult to fallen 
 humanity. " He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." No glory due to the 
 best of creatures. " Wiio maketh thee to differ? Or what hast thou that thou 
 hast not received?" Quite natural that Ezekiel should refer to Daniel as an 
 example of piety as well as wisdom. 
 
 Daniel a Noble Example of Faithful Witness-Beahing. 
 
 The high vocation of God's servants and people to bear witness for Him in the 
 world. "Ye are my witnesses" (Isa. xliii. 10). This repeated by Christ to His 
 disciples: "Ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem," &c. (Acts i. 8). 
 This witness to be borne before all classes as occasion may offer and require. "Ye 
 shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony" (Mark xiii. 
 9). To bear testimony to and for Christ in the world often the cross given a dis- 
 ciple to carry. Sometimes hard enough to do so before friends and neighbours, in 
 the workshop, the market, or the drawing-room. The sneer of the unbelieving its 
 frequent consequence. Sometimes something more than a sneer. " Martyr " literally 
 a "witness," or a witness-bearer. A cruel death in days past the frequent result of 
 faithful witness-bearing. Hence courage necessary to make a consistent Christian. 
 Such courage the offspring of the faith that makes a believer, " This is the victory 
 that overcometh the world, even our faith" (1 John v. 4). "Virtue" or courage to 
 be added to "faith" (2 Peter i. 5). Hence faith's noble roll of witness-bearers 
 (Heb. xi.) The " cloud of witnesses " not mere spectators but witness-bearers, 
 who on earth bore faithful testimony for God and His truth. Christ Himself the great 
 witness-bearer, — " who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession." The 
 world to be won to Christ and to God by faithful witness-bearing. The testimony 
 to be borne as well by our life as our lips. Future glory the reward of faithful 
 witness-bearing. "Whoso shall confess me before men, him will I confess also 
 before my Father which is in heaven " (Matt. x. 32). 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— <!• 'SS'oof'/i- tain fields. Dr. Pule gives a different 
 sayers." An old English word literally derivation, and observes : "If the word 
 denoting "truth-tellers," strangely aj)- may be ex[)lained according to its literal 
 plied to those who, as a matter of fact, meaning, they delivered the conclusion 
 were generally the reverse. Isaiah (ch. in doubtful questions, arrived at after 
 xliv. 25) and Jeremiah (ch. i. 36) both the usual methods of divination had 
 refer to the same class under the express been employed without result. They 
 term "liars," Q"''^3 (haddim). The term were the deciders." 
 in the text, Vl]} {gozrin), denotes, ac- <-' Their fortune-telling, however, it 
 cording to Hengstenberg, "definers of appears, did sometimes happen to prove 
 fate." This name is sup{iosed by some true. Plutarch relates of Otho, before 
 to be derived from 1-TI (^<?2«?') to l^e became emperor, that the Chaldeans 
 "divide," " cut off;" the knowledge of and other diviners whom he had always 
 fate being supposed to be gained from about him, would not suffer him entirely 
 the observation of the stars, which to give up his hopes or abandon his de- 
 were for that purpose divided into cer- sign of assuming the purple. In par- 
 
 37 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 ticular, he relied on Ptolemy, because be throne ; for as the former part of the 
 
 had formerly predicted that he should prophecy had proved true, he thought 
 
 not fall by the hand of Nero, but should he had no reason to despair of the 
 
 survive him and ascend the imperial latter* 
 
 HOiUILUTICS. 
 Sect. VIII. — The Deeam (Chap. ii. 31-35). 
 
 With the confidence of a man inspired and commissioned by the Most High, 
 Daniel proceeds to declare the king's dream. The dream one of no ordinary ch'ar- 
 acter. Exhibited the fate, not only of the empire of Babylon, but of those which 
 should succeed it. Foreshowed their destruction and the means by which it should 
 be effected. A Httle mysterious stone, with which the history of the world was 
 bound up, was to accomplish the whole. The dream further unfolded what 
 should ensue after the destruction of those empires. That stone should itself 
 become an empire, and as such should fill the whole earth. A fifth monarchy, 
 totally unlike its predecessors, should take their place, and last for ever. 
 Thus the history of the world to the end of time was summarily comprehended 
 in that dream. It is accordingly receiving its fulfilment at the present moment. 
 Most of it h:i6 already been accomplished. The image has long ago been 
 smitten, though not entirely destroyed. A little while and the whole shall be 
 fulfilled. Tlie stone is enlarging and will soon fill the earth. The time not 
 distant when the predicted cry shall be heard in heaven, " Tiie kingdoms of this 
 world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ" (Rev. xi. 15). 
 A vague impression both of the import and importance of the dream made on the 
 king's mind in his sleep^ probably the occasion of his perturbation when he awoke. 
 The dream in itself fitted to alarm. A gigantic, dazzling, and terrible image stood 
 before his eyes; then smitten on its feet by an insignificant-looking stone, 
 mysteriously cut out of a mountain without hands ; then broken in pieces till it 
 disappeared "like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor." The dream all the 
 more likely to alarm in a country where dreams were believed to have frequently 
 an important meaning, and to foreshow future events, the interpretation of which 
 formed one considerable branch of Chaldee learning. Natural for the king to feel 
 that his dream had a meaning and a mission— a feeling which it was part of the 
 divine purpose to produce, and to which his previous thoughts about the future 
 had doubtless contributed (ver. 29). No wonder the king was deeply concerned 
 to discover what that meaning was. The dream consisted of four parts — 
 
 I. The Image. Images of animal forms familiar to the heathen world, 
 especially in Babylon at that time <i'. The figure here a human one. In a cor- 
 resi)onding vision afforded to Daniel himself (chap, vii.), the figures those of wild 
 beasts. _ The kingdoms of the world symbolised in both cases, but as naturally 
 presenting different aspects to a worldly ruler and a servant of God '^'. The image 
 in the king's dream not unlikely the original idea of that which he afterwards 
 erected on the plains of Dura (chap. iii.). An image the appropriate symbol of the 
 world which men worship. The image in the king's dream possessed of five leading 
 features. It was — 
 
 1. Giganticin its dimensions. "A great image." That afterwards erected by 
 the king sixty cubits or about thirty yards in height, probably, however, includ- 
 ing the pedestal. Figures of monstrous proportions familiar to the eye in Chaldea 
 as in Egypt <^'. A gigantic human figure an appropriate symbol of the world, 
 with its great and universal monarchies succeeding each other. Yet how little 
 that world when compared with the value of a man's own soul, or the grandeur of 
 eternity ! An image indeed, and " vain show." 
 
 2. Various in its composition. The head of gold '•*', the breast and arms of 
 38 
 
no M I LET I C COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 silver, tlie belly .and tliiglis of brass, the legs of iron, termiinitiiig in feet and 
 toes partly of iron and partly of clay. The great empires to have a diversity of 
 character, distinguishing them from each other, while that character was uniform 
 in each, except in the last, in which a diversity was to take place in the latter 
 part of its existence. Some were to be conspicuous for splendour, riches, and 
 show ; others to be remarkable for strength, power, and destructiveness. The 
 first the most splendid, the last the most powerful, though de"-eneratiii<^ into a 
 mixture of weakness and strength. The golden head contrasted with the feet of 
 iron and clay. 
 
 3. Terrible in its aspect. An object of terror notwithstanding its brilliancy. 
 The form no further indicated than that it was that of a man. Dr. Rule observes 
 that it would not be "sculptured in relief, but in the full round, and not connected 
 A\ith any other object. It was in form terrible and majestic, and we may also be 
 almost certain that it was in a sitting posture, like the statues of Shalnianezer in 
 the Ijiitish Museum." 
 
 4. Resplendent in its appearance. Its "brightness was excellent." The metals 
 composing it, for the most part, such as to dazzle the eyes of the beholder. So the 
 tempter showed to the Saviour " all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of 
 them." This world and its kingdoms something dazzling to the carnal eve. Its 
 contents " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life " (1 John 
 ii. 16). Hence its witchery and its worship. 
 
 5. Symbolical in its character. This the king's own conviction. Hence liis 
 desire for the interpretation of his dream. Dreams in ancient times often partak- 
 ing, or believed to partake, of this character. Hence the class of wise men in 
 ]>al)ylon whose business it was to interpret them '^*. The dreams interpreted by 
 Joseph in Egypt of this class, as well as his own in his father's house. Not 
 uncommon also to represent kingdoms and countries under the figure of a human 
 being **^'. The great object to decipher the symbols. So in the Biuik of Revela- 
 tions, " Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of 
 the beast : for it is the number of a man " (Rev. xiii. 18). 
 
 II. The Stone. Probably to Nebuchadnezzar the most remarkable object in 
 his dream. To him the most alarming; to us the most comft)rting. That for 
 which the whole dream was given. The stone that on which the happiness of the 
 world and of the universe depends. Six features noticeable in the stone. It was — 
 
 1. Mysterious in its origin. "Cut out of a mountain" or rock "without 
 hands." No human power or instrument visible in its extraction. Its existence 
 supernatural, and the result of an invisible superhuman agency. The very 
 existence of Christianity a miracle. 
 
 2. Small in its beginning. Smites the image not on the head, nor on the body, 
 but on the feet. From a small beginning it was to grow into a mountain. God's 
 great works generally small in their commencement. The grain of mustard-seed. 
 
 3. Humble in its appearance. A rough stone taken out of a quarry, mean and 
 unattractive to look at. Striking contrast in its appearance with that of a 
 dazzling image of gold, silver, brass, and iron. Things not to be judged according 
 to outward appearance. 
 
 4. Wonderful in its growth. Stones not naturally things that grow. The 
 peculiarity of this stone that it expanded in its dimensions till it became " a great 
 mountain," filling the whole earth. Progress and ultimate greatness its leading 
 features. 
 
 5 Mighty in its effects. Small as at first it was, yet even then mighty enougli 
 to break, initially at least, the gigantic image in pieces. This amazing power of 
 the stone doubtless the great disturbing element in the king's dream. The stone 
 given us to rest our hopes for eternity upon, powerful enough to grind the world 
 to powder. 
 
 6. Lastinq in its duration. No end is ascribed to the stone. That which it 
 
 ■" 39 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 symbolised to "staTid for ever " (ver. 41). Contrasted with tlie image. That, 
 notwithstanding its dazzling glory and apparent strength, is brnken in pieces, 
 carried away by the wind, and vanishes like the chaff of the summer threshing- 
 floor. This, notwithstanding its small beginning and humble appearance, not 
 only outlives the image, but lasts for ever. 
 
 III. The Action of the Stone upon the Image. The stone smote the image on 
 its feet and " brake them to pieces " (ver. 34). This probably to the king the 
 most alarming part of his dream. Observe in it — 
 
 1. Tlie part smitten. "Smote the image on its feet." The blow to be given 
 during the last of the empires symbolised by the image, and that in the period of 
 its mixture and decay, the iron legs having Ijeen succeeded by feet of iron and clay. 
 From the corresponding image of the four beasts, the stroke might appear to fall 
 rather on the toes, into which the feet are divided (chap. vii. 7-2G). 
 
 2. The completeness of the destruction. The image was " broken to pieces 
 together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor ; and the wind 
 carried them away, that no place was found for them" (ver. 35). The effect like 
 that of the corner-stone on its rejecters, "It shall grind him to powder" (Matt, 
 xxi. 44). The same effect indicated by the angel in the Eevelation taking up a 
 great stone like a millstone and casting it into tlie sea, saying, "Thus with violence 
 shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all " 
 (Rev. xviii. 21). So in the corresponding image of the four beasts, "The beast 
 (tlie fourth one, corresponding with the legs and feet of the imatre) was slain, and 
 his body destro3'ed and given to the burning flame" (chap. vii. 11). 
 
 IV. The Growth of the Stone. " The stone that smote the image became a 
 great mountain and filled the whole earth" (ver. 35). This perhaps the most 
 conspicuous and wonderful part of the dream, with which it closes, leaving nothing 
 to be seen by the king but tlie mysterious mountain-stone now filling all the earth. 
 This the grand development of the dream, and that for which all the rest was 
 intended. This glorious result the hope of the Church and the expectation of a 
 groaning creation (Rom. viii. 21, 22). The finishing of the mystery of providence 
 and redemption. Observe — 
 
 1. The character of the growth. Growth either slow and gradual or sudden and 
 rapid. Here not said which. Probably both. Slow and gradual for a time, and 
 then towards the end sudden and rapid, when the stone assumes its mountain 
 proportions. So in the vision of the beasts, it is after the destruction of the fourth 
 beast that the Son of Man appears to be brought before the Ancient of Days, and 
 to have given to Him "dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all people, nations, 
 and languages should serve Him " (chap. vii. 13, 14). The growth into a mountain 
 a[iparently following upon the destruction of the image, though commencing with 
 the first smiting of it. So in the Revelation with reference to the same event, 
 when the seventh angel sounded, announcing the third and last woe, great voices 
 were heard in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world are become the king- 
 doms of the Lord and of His Christ, and lie shall reign for ever and ever" 
 (Rev. xi. 15). 
 
 2. 77te com2:)leteness of the growth. " It became a mountain and filled the 
 whole earth." No stop to its growth till then. The growth from its commence- 
 ment not however necessarily uniform. Its earlier period slow, interrupted, and 
 uneven. Often greatly hindered by the image itself. One among the ten toes, or 
 the Little Horn in the head of the fourth beast, its great antagonist. This and 
 the beast itself, or the great image having been destroyed, the growth of the stoTie 
 rapid and onward till it fills the earth. The growth of the stone as complete as the 
 destruction of the image. "The earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 
 as the waters cover the sea." "The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all 
 flesh shall see it together" (Hab. ii. 14 ; Isa. xl. 5). 
 
 40 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTAIIY: DANIEL. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTE.S.-(i) ''Ac/reat 
 image." The predoiuinance of symbolism 
 characteristic of the Chaldeans, espe- 
 cially a preference for symbolising by 
 means of animal forms. *' If Daniel sees 
 a vision (or the king has a dream) in 
 which animal forms denote kingdoms, 
 symbolic shapes of that kind must have 
 been no strangers to the waking world ; 
 for we dream only of forms which we 
 see when awake, and in our dreams give 
 them new and variors combinations." — 
 Herder, quoted by Hemistenberg. 
 
 (2) " Whose briglitness tvas excellent." 
 "To Nebuchadnezzar, who aspired only 
 after human power and glory, the various 
 empires that were in their order to suc- 
 ceed his own and tyrannise over the 
 world, were represented by a splendid 
 image. But in the prophetic vision of 
 the man of God, they appeared in other 
 colours and assumed a veiy different 
 form. And under the appropriate sym- 
 bol of wild beasts, varying in fierceness 
 and cruelty, and distinguished by mon- 
 strous peculiarities, the successive empires 
 of Babylon, Persia, Macedon, and Rome, 
 the future promoters of idolatry and op- 
 pressors of man, were aptly characterised. " 
 —Klllo. 
 
 (■0 " 2Vie form thereof tvas terrible." 
 It was also characteristic of the Chal- 
 deans to affect the gigantic and grotesque. 
 This taste found throughout the book. 
 " Great, high, and dreadful to behold 
 is the figure which appears to Nebuchad- 
 nezzar; just as huge as the figure which 
 he in reality set up." — Hengstenberg, 
 who also remarks that this mode of 
 representation points to a Babylonian 
 origin of the book, and is only to be 
 explained on that supposition. 
 
 (4) " This imagers head was of fine 
 gold." " Tliou art that head, of gold." 
 Dr. Rule observes : " Nebuchadnezzar 
 
 and Babylon are addressed as one ; the 
 "oppressor" and "the golden city" are 
 identified (Isa. xiv. 4). The epithet 
 " golden " is descriptive, for it is histori- 
 cally certain that Babylon was nnrino 
 (madhhebahh), "an exactress of gold," 
 as it is rendered in the margin of our 
 Bibles, beyond any other ruling city in 
 the world." It is noticeable that Achan's 
 wedge of gold is coupled with the. Baby- 
 lonish garment (Josh, vii. 21). 
 
 C^) Hengstenberg remarks that "the 
 division of the wise men into distinct 
 classes amounted merely to this, that by 
 rule each should particularly excel in 
 only some one department, as, according 
 to chap. i. 17, Daniel excelled in inter- 
 preting dreams ; and hence when any- 
 thing belonging particularly to that de- 
 partment occurred, he was specially asked 
 for or associated with tlie number des- 
 tined for this branch." It is distinctly 
 mentioned, however, as God's s])ecial 
 gift to Daniel, that he "had understand- 
 ing in all visions and dreams." Daniel 
 did not appear with those summoned 
 by the king, the gift not having yet 
 manifested itself in him, and indeed 
 his three years' course of study being 
 barely completed. 
 
 ('J) " The human figure," observes 
 Adam Clark, "has been used both by 
 historians and geographers to represent 
 the rise, progress, establishment, and 
 decay of empires, as well as the situation 
 and importance of the different parts of 
 the government." Florus, in the Prooe- 
 mium to his Roman History, represents 
 the Romans under the form of a liuman 
 being in its diflferent stages from infancy 
 to old age. The representation by the 
 ancient poets of the four ages of the 
 world, as those of golden, silver, brass, 
 and iron, is well known. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 Sect. IX. — The Interpretatlon of tiik Dream (Chap. ii. 36-45). 
 
 In the interpretation of the king's dream we come to the prophecies of Daniel. 
 Some of these prophecies were communications from God to Daniel alone, without 
 any other medium ; others, like the present, through Daniel as the interpreter of 
 what was already given to another in the shape of a dream. . " This vision," says 
 E. Irving, "was revealed, not to the prophet, but to the king, in order to mark its 
 
 41 
 
no .1/ / L ETIC COM ME NT A R Y : DA XI EL 
 
 secular and subsidiary nature, but interpreted bj' the prophet to show that it was, 
 if not immediately, yet indirectly, connected with the Church." The prophecies of 
 Daniel liave a character peculiar to themselves, as marked by order and distinct- 
 ness, and as having in them notes of time at which the events predicted should 
 take place. These prophecies especially, like those of St. John, are, as Mr. Birks 
 observes, continuous, beginning with some chief event near to the date when they 
 were given. They are, therefore, said, like those of the llevelation, to be of the 
 historical kind, as distinguished from the discursive, the character of the other 
 prophetical books in general (^X They constitute an important portion of that 
 "sure word of i)rophecy, whereto we do well to take heed, as to a light shining in 
 a dark place" (2 I'eter i. 19). Very specially given, that "through patience and 
 comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope " (Rom. xv. 4). A great part of the 
 j)rophecies of Diuiiel have already been accomplished, and that with such remark- 
 able exactness as to have given occasion to objectors to deny the genuineness of 
 the book, as being, in their view, instead of prophecies, mere narrations of events 
 already past. The past and present fulfilment of one large portion of them leaves 
 no room for doubt as to the similar fulfilment of the rest. The prophecy before us 
 we find repeated, with important additions, in a vision given to Daniel himself, 
 and useful in assisting to understand the present one. That vision, given for the 
 s;ike of the additions, is that of the four beasts, contained in chap. vii. In this 
 and the other prophecies of Daniel, it is not the history of all nations that we find 
 mapped out, but tliat of those only which have had to do with the people of God ; 
 that, namely, of the great universal empires of Babylon, Persia, Gi-eece, and Iiome, 
 with the ten Gothic or German nations, into which the last of these came to be 
 divided, comprehending what is called the prophetic earth, or the world as known 
 by the ancients. 
 
 Part First : The Image (vers. 37-43). 
 
 Daniel interprets the four parts of the image, distinguished by the different 
 materials of which they were composed, as representing the four great successive 
 monarchies of the world, commencing with that of Babylon, of which Nebuchad- 
 nezzar was the head, and thus subsisting in the prophet's own time. These 
 monarchies are styled indiscriminately "kingdoms" and "kings," or ruling 
 dynasties (■-). These are readily and almost universally understood to be the 
 empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome (■'), all well known to have pos- 
 sessed, in a popular sense, the character of universality, and to have succeeded each 
 otlier, the last of the four having also, according to the symbol, been divided in 
 its later period into ten kingdoms. The first of these Daniel himself expressly 
 declares to be that of which Nebuchadnezzar was the head (ver. 38). According 
 to Daniel's interpretation of the writing on the wall of Belshazzar's jialace, the 
 empire of Babylon was, at the death of that monarch, given to the Medes and 
 I'ersians (chap. v. 2G-31). The Persian, or, as it is sometimes called, the Medo- 
 I'crsian, was tlius tlie second of the four. In the subsequent vision of the ram and 
 the lie-goat contonding for the mastery, the latter, which gained the ascendancy, is 
 said by CJabriel to be " the kings of Grecia," and the former, which was cast down 
 by the other to the ground, to be the " kings of ]\Iedia and Persia " (chap. viii. 3-21). 
 'J'ho Greek empire was therefore the third. This, which was founded by Alexander 
 tlie Great, king of Macedon, and therefore sometimes called the Macedonian empire, 
 was, after being, at the death of its fouiuler, divided among his four principal generals, 
 Aiitigonus, Lysimachua, Seleucus and Ptolemy, terminated by the Romans, who 
 incorporated the whole into their gigantic empire, which therefore formed the 
 fourth, and which, in its divided form, continues to this day ('). The different 
 materials composing tlie image and representing the four successive empires, 
 descending from gold to iriui and clav, have been viewed as not inai)tly exhibiting 
 42 ' L J ^ 
 
irOMTLETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 l)umaiiity in its various stages, from its highest excellence to its lowest decay ; and 
 as not obscurely indicating a downward course, entirely opposed to the theory of 
 Imman progress and perfectibility i^). We now view the constituent parts of the 
 image. 
 
 1. The head, or the Babylonian Empire. This empire, from its riches, re- 
 presented hy gold. Babylon itself called the "golden city," or, as the margin, the 
 " exactress of gold " (Isa. xiv. 4). The cruel oppressor of God's ancient people 
 (Ps. cxxxvii. 8). The mother of idolatry (Jer, li. 7). Notorious for its practice of 
 sorcery and divination. Doomed to destruction for its sins (Jer. li. 35 ; Ps. 
 cxxxvii. 8). Nebuchadnezzar exhibited in the history as an example of cruelty. 
 Hence Babylon made a type of Rome, " drunk with the blood of the saints and of 
 the martyrs of Jjsus" (llev. xvii, 5, 6). The Babylonian empire, commencing 
 with Nebuchadnezzar's sole reign about G06-5 B.C., the year also of the commence- 
 ment of Judah's captivity, terminated with Belshazzar's death, about sixty-eight 
 years afterwards (chap, v. 30, 31). The empire said to be universal (ver. 37, 38). 
 The words, however, of prophetic Scrijiture not to be strained to their strictest and 
 literal meaning. In point of fact, the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar never extended 
 to Europe, nor perhaps into Africa beyond the boundaries of Egypt. Virtually, 
 however, it was universal. Raised up by God in His providence for His own 
 purpose. "God hath given thee a kingdom" (ver. 37) (^). Hence Nebuchad- 
 nezzar spoken of by God as His "servant" (Jer. xxvii. 6). The purpose designed 
 to be served by Him the chastisement of Israel and other nations, and the glory 
 of Jehovah's own name. The termination of that empire as truly of God as its 
 establishment. *' God hath remembered tLy kingdom and finished it " (chap. v. 
 26). Babylon destroyed as foretold by Isaiah two centuries before the event 
 (Isa. xlv. 1-3). Greek historians relate that Cyrus took Babylon by first draw- 
 ing off the waters of the Euphrates, and then entering the city from the bed of the 
 river through the brazen gates which opened upon it, but which on the night of a 
 great festival had been left unshut (''). 
 
 2. The breast and arms, or the Medo - Persian Empire. In the night in 
 ■which Belshazzar was slain, " Darius, the Mede, took the kingdom " (chap. v. 30, 
 31). The capture of Babylon, however, rather the work of the Persians. Media 
 at first the stronger power, but under Cyrus, who took the city, became the in- 
 ferior part of the combined monarchy. Both Medes and Persians, however, as 
 indicated by the two horns of the ram in another vision, shared in the sovereign 
 power till united under Cyrus, who was related to both, and from whom the 
 empire has been generally called the Persian (^). Represented by silver, as inferior 
 to the first empire (^X The conquests of Cyrus neither so extensive nor so numerous 
 as those of Nebuchadnezzar. The grandeur of the latter and of his great metropolis 
 never equalled by that of the Persian kings and their new capital, Susa or Shushan. 
 The Persian monarchy more extensive in size, as indicated by the symbol, but 
 inferior in imperial majesty. The two arms of the image symbolical of the two 
 powers that first constituted the empire (i^). The monarchy, from its first establish- 
 ment by Cyrus to the death of the last king, Darius Codomannus, lasted little 
 more than two hundred years (^^X The two years assigned to Darius the Mede, 
 generally supposed to be the same with Cyaxares, completed the seventy years of 
 Israel's captivity in Babylon. It was under this second empire, on the accession 
 of Cyrus, who succeeded his uncle Darius, that the Jews obtained permission to 
 return to their own land, Judaea, however, still remaining tributary to the empire. 
 Under the same empire lived Ezra and Nehemiah, Mordecai and Esther, as well 
 as the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi ; while under it Daniel himself 
 spent the last years of his life. It was under the reign of Artaxerxes I., surnamed 
 Longimanus, in the year B.C. 458, that the commission was given to Ezra to repair 
 to Jerusalem and restore the Temple-worship, about eighty years after the edict of 
 Cyrus. 
 
 ^ 43 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 m 
 
 3. The belly and thighs, or the Grecian Empire. Tlie Persians were, after 
 ly enc(iuiitei-.s. ultimately subdued by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, 
 kuig of .Macedoii, who thus established the Grecian, or, as it is from him sometimes 
 called, the Macedonian emfjire. The symbolical metal of this, the third great 
 monanihv. was brass, corresponding to the Homeric title, the " brazen-mailed 
 Greeks ""(^-). Brass also a frequent symbol of eloquence, for which the Greeks 
 were distinguished. This third empire said, according to Scripture usage, to "bear 
 rule over all the earth," In the vision of the four beasts it is represented by a 
 k'opard with four wings ami four heads, while "dominion" is said to be "given to 
 it." Alexander, after his extensive conquests, commanded that he should be called 
 "king of all the world," and is said to have wept because there were no more 
 worlds to conquer. After colonising Asia with Grecian cities C^), he died in 
 Babylon at the age of thirty-two, in consequence of a debauch (^^X The Greek 
 or Macedonian empire was continued under his successors, who, however, were not 
 the members of his own family, but his favourite generals. These, as already 
 remarked, were four, being rei)resented in the corresponding vision by the four 
 heads of the leopard, and in another by the four "notable horns" of the he-goat 
 (chap. vii. 6 ; viii. 8). In the fourfold division of the empire after the battle of 
 I[isus, the two principal portions, those of Syria and Egypt, fell to Seleucus and 
 Ptolemy Lagus, hence called respectively the Seleucidte and the Lagidae, and 
 probably represented by the two thighs of the image, it being with these alone that 
 tlie Jewish Church and nation had to do ^'^■'). The third empire was the period of 
 the Jews' greatest suffering, and at the same time their greatest national renown. 
 It included the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes, one of the kings of Syria, and 
 the heroic struggles of the Maccabees. 
 
 4. The legs and feet, or the Roman Empire. The Greeks in their turn were 
 subdued by the Romans, who established the fourth and last of the world's 
 universal monarchies (^"^X The legs were of iron, while, in the feet, the iron was 
 mingled with clay. The fourth empire represented as stronger than any of its pre- 
 decessors, and as breaking them in pieces, "as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all 
 things" (ver. 40). In the corresponding vision, it is represented by a beast without 
 a luxme, "dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly," having great wwi teeth,^ 
 "devouring and breaking in pieces, and stamping the residue with its feet" (chap, 
 vii. 7). The Romans subdued and broke in pieces the empire of Alexander and 
 liis successors, as it did the whole known world. They nuide Syria a Ronian 
 province in tlie year 65 B.C., as they did Egypt thirty years later. "The arms of 
 the rei)ui)lic," says the infidel historian of the Roman empire, "sometimes van- 
 quished in battle, always victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps to the 
 J'hiphratcs, the Danube, the Rhine, and the ocean; and the images of gold, or 
 silver, or brass, that might serve to represent the nations and their kings, were 
 successively broken by the iron monarchy of Rome." The Roman empire fitly 
 represented by iron as well from its immense strength as from the sternness, 
 iiardness, and valour of its people, and the vigour, perseverance, and oppressive 
 consequences of its military achievements. It was an iron crown which was worn 
 by its cmjieror, and an iron yoke to which it suljected the nations. The Romans 
 pre-eminently "men of the sword." With the god of war for their legendary 
 parent, their national fierceness was represented by the she-wolf that nourished 
 their founder. The iron feet, however, mixed with clay, aptly indicated that, in 
 the hitcr period of its existence, the empire should degenerate and be weakened by 
 an admixtuie of foreign nations. The kingdom was to be "divided, — jiartly strong 
 and partly broken" or brittle. Tiie ])eoplo were to "mingle themselves with the 
 seed of mm," or with inferior races; but not so as to "cleave one to another, even 
 as iron is not mixed with clay" (ver. 40-43). It is well known that the Roman 
 empire, in its later period, was weakened by the irruptions of barbarous nations 
 from the North, who gradually became mingled with the native inhabitants (i"). 
 44 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTAnr : DANIEL. 
 
 CHAP. IT. 
 
 Their mingling themselves Avith '=the seed of men" witliout cleavinrr to eacli other 
 IS believed to point to the marriage alliances formed by the Romans M'ith the 
 barbarians, which were yet followed by no cordial union (18) ; "reasons of state" 
 as Bishop Newton observes, being "stronger than the ties of blood, and interest 
 generally availing more than affinity." This fourth empire had the farther marked 
 peculiarity that in its later period of weakness and decay, and in connection with 
 this very admixture of foreign elements represented by the clay, it was to be 
 divided into ten separate kingdoms, indicated by the ten toes of the imaf^e The 
 same remarkable circumstance symbolised, in Daniel's corresponding vision 'by the 
 ten horns of the fourth beast, expressly said to be ten kings or kingdoms (Dan. vii. 
 24). And It is a singular confirmation of the correctness of the application, that the 
 number of inferior kingdoms formed out of the weakened and dismembered lloman 
 empire, m consequence of the irruptions from the North, has been generally regarded 
 as, with more or less exactness, ten (i^). The number of these Gothic or German 
 kmgdoms appears to have been exactly ten at the earliest period of their formation, 
 but to have afterwards varied, in consequence of the frequent though temporary 
 alliances predicted in the prophecy; the number, however, never departing far from 
 the original ten. The tenfold character of the kingdoms, it has been "observed, 
 " donunant through the whole period of their existence, i.robably to appear at the 
 beginning and close of their history, though not always strictly maintained through- 
 out '(-"). The two legs of the image may be regarded as foreshadowing the 
 division of the empire into that of the East and West, previous to the formation of 
 the ten kingdoms. To the fourth or Roman empire also were the Jews made 
 subject. It was soon after the battle of Pydnathat they first came in contact witli 
 that power which, in the providence of God, was to be the instrument of a sorer 
 chastisement and a longer captivity than that by Nebuchadnezzar. Their subjugation 
 itself the consequence of trust in an arm of flesh. Leaning on Rome as they had 
 done on Egypt, they were pierced by the broken reed. The league with Rome, 
 sued for and obtained by Judas and Jason, the Maccabean leaders, against their 
 Grecian masters, proved the step to their subjection to the new world-power. It 
 was after Judaea had become a province of the Roman empire that the Redeemer 
 of the world was born. The predicted manner of His vicarious death and crucifixion 
 the consequence of that subjugation, exhibiting, as it did, Christ " made a curse for 
 us" (Matt, xxvii. 26; Gal. iii. 13). It was the representative of this empire in 
 Judaea that wrote the title over the cross, This is Jesus the King of the Jkws 
 (Matt, xxvii. 37). That same " King of the Jews " to be the Founder of a divine 
 monarchy that shall "fill the whole earth." 
 
 From this part of the interpretation of the dream we may notice — 
 
 1. The foreknowledge and omniscience of God. Here is a prophetic outline of 
 the history of the civilised world for upwards of a thousand years ; the four great 
 world-monarchies, commencing with Nebuchadnezzar who had recently ascended 
 the throne ; their respective characters ; the decay of the fourth from foreign 
 mixture, with its division into ten separate kingdoms. History shows the prophecy 
 to have been fulfilled as truly since the death of Antiochus Epiphanes as before it. 
 "Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world." It is 
 natural that He who created the world should have had a plan, not only for its 
 creation but its future history. All history but the fulfilment of that plan. Why 
 should He not be able to communicate to His servants portions of that j)lan for His 
 own gU>ry and the comfort and guidance of His people? " The great God hath 
 made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter " (ver. 45). These 
 future events, with all their connections, however unlikely to human foresight to 
 occur C^i), all open from the beginning to His omniscient eye, as simply His " works" 
 of providence. 
 
 2. The overruling 'providence of God. History the execution by divine power 
 of a plan which divine wisdom devised. Such execution is providence, Daniel, io 
 
 45 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 Ilia thanksgiving, extolled Jehovah as the God of " wisdom and might," who 
 " changeth the times, and who removeth kings and setteth up kings." He accord- 
 ingly reminds Nebuchadnezz;ir that it was He who gave the nations into his hand. 
 He did the same thing with his successors. Plutarch wrote a book about the 
 Fortune of Alexander; but that fortune was only the providence of God regarding 
 that monarch, employing him as His free and resiionsible instrument, as He liad 
 done Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar before him. " The Lord of hosts mustereth the 
 liosts of the battle," and giveth the victory to whomsoever He will. The provi- 
 dence of God, rather than the boatman, that which carried Cie=!ar and all his fortunes. 
 That same providence carries the humblest believer and all that concerns him. 
 
 3. Tlie evidence of the truth of revelation. Prophecy no mere guess or clever 
 calculation, whether sage or scientific. As a, simi)le declaration of future events, 
 impenetrable to human foresight, it necessarily ])artakes of the nature of miracle. 
 Its fulfilment, therefore, the credential of a divine message. Supernatural pre- 
 dictions must either be from above or from beneath. With holiness as their char- 
 acter and their object, they cannot be the latter. Necessarily therefore from above, 
 and as such the testimonial of a messenger sent from God. Appealed to as such 
 by Jesus Himself. *' These things have I spoken unto you before they come to 
 j)ass, that when they are come to pass ye may believe that I am He." The character 
 of the Book of Daniel as inspired Scrii)tnre, only attempted to be set aside by the 
 assertion that its prophecies were merely narratives of the past. But these 
 prophecies extended not only up to the times of the Maccabees, but far beyond 
 them, and are receiving their fulfilment at the present day. The simple prediction 
 of four, and only four, universal monarchies, is such, and in itself the evidence of a 
 divinely inspired author. 
 
 4. 'riie transient nature of human f/reatness and glory. These reached their 
 lieight in the empires of iJabylon and Persia, Greece and Rome. Yet the three 
 first and much of the fourth have passed away, leaving only vestiges behind, 
 sufficient to testify their existence. The earth-mounds of Babylon, the petty 
 town of Athens with its fragment-strewn Acropolis, and the wretched remains of 
 the palace of the Ctesars, all echo the cry of the prophet in our ears, "All flesh is 
 grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field : the grass 
 wilhercth, and the flower fadeth, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it : 
 .surely the i)eople is grass " (Isa. xl. 6, 7). The contrast that follows is striking: 
 " but the Word of our God shall stand for ever." History and science, observa- 
 tion and-exiierience, constantly verify the declaration. Happy those who, relying 
 on the truths and promises of that Word, secure to themselves, in the possession 
 of that Saviour whom it reveals, a greatness and a glory that shall not pass away. 
 
 EXEGETTCAL NOTES.— O " The is done as it were by four main ."^treams, 
 
 prophecies of Scripture are of two kinds ; all commencing from the period at which 
 
 the one. Prophecy i)roperly so called, or the prophet lived, and running down to 
 
 the s/<io?<//?K//t./7A of the purposes of God the time of the end. In the first of 
 
 respecting the world and the Church ; these, are used the emblems of the four 
 
 the other, /-"/-o/y/tf^ic- //i5<rj7-y, or the same metals combined into an imao-e, to de- 
 
 pnriioscs digested in a narrative of note a fourfold succession of^e'mpires, 
 
 coming events, drawn up with reference which should arise one out of the other; 
 
 to time and place." The latter kind, of until at length a fifth, described by a 
 
 which are the Books of Daniel and the stone cut out without hands, should 
 
 IJevelation, "are nothing else than destroy them all and fill the earth, and 
 
 histories of the future, expressed for the endure for evermore. In the second, 
 
 most i>art in a natural or emblematic, under the emblem of fimr beasts, are 
 
 not an artificial language, that it might dcsrribed the same four em[)ires, not 
 
 bo more expressive and universally in- with a view of repeating the farmer 
 
 telligiblo. In the Book of Daniel this vision, but to connect this new visicr 
 
 46 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DAXIEL. 
 
 •with the same points of time, in order 
 to give date and place to the description 
 of a certain blasphemous power, which 
 vas to do strange things against the 
 ;Most High in the time and territory of 
 tlie hist of the four great empires de- 
 scribed in the former vision. The third 
 of these four chief streams of prophetic 
 history connecteth itself with the former 
 at the struggle of the third kingdom with 
 the second, in order that it may trace, 
 within the territory of the third, the 
 rise of another blasphemous power, 
 ■which was also to prevail against the 
 saints of God till the time of the end. 
 Now the/o!;r^/t (for we purposely omit 
 tlie i^rophecy of the seventy weeks) is 
 not symbolical, being the history of 
 men, not of things, and also connects 
 itself with the time of Daniel by the 
 mention of certain kings immediately 
 thereafter ; which end of connection 
 having been secured, it makes large 
 leaps in order to reach the description 
 of a tldrd blasphemous and ungodly 
 power, which was to arise in the form 
 of an individual man, not of an institu- 
 tion, close to the time of the end." — 
 E. Irving. 
 
 (2) " After thee shall arise another 
 hingduvi' (ver. 39). "The exposition 
 of kings as ruling dynasties in the 
 symbolic projihecies is confirmed alike 
 by reason and Scripture usage." — Birlcs. 
 Gaussen remarks that in the image we 
 may see a change of metal, indicating 
 not properly a new empire, but a new 
 people, a new language, a new dynasty, 
 which rises up to rule over the world, 
 and to hold under its sway the people 
 of God; the time of the image being 
 the "times of the Gentiles" (Luke xxi. 
 24), that is, the period during which 
 the Gentiles are to rule over Jerusalem 
 and to trample it underfoot, beginning 
 with the Babylonians under Nebuchad- 
 nezzar and his successors, and continuing 
 under the Persians, until finally the 
 Latins take the place of the Greeks in 
 governing the world and oppressing the 
 people of God. 
 
 (3) Calvin says : " My assertion is 
 perfectly correct, that interpreters of any 
 judgment and candour all explain the 
 passage of the Babylonian, Persian, 
 
 Macedonian, and Pioinan monarchies.'* 
 "The rival interpretation which has pre- 
 vailed the most is that of which Porphyry 
 is the earliest known advocate, and which 
 has been embraced since by Junius, 
 Hayn, Lightfoot, Grotius, L'Empereur, 
 Venema, and a few other writers down 
 to our own day. Its main feature is to 
 make the successors of Alexander, the 
 fourth empire, distinct from that of 
 Alexander himself, and thus to terminate 
 the vision before the first Advent. This 
 view has now scarcely an advocate. An 
 opposite deviation from tlie general view 
 has been adopted by a few writers in 
 the last fifteen or twenty years. Tiieir 
 scheme, so far as it has any consistency, 
 is the following. The empire of Persia 
 is only the continuation of the first 
 empire of Babylon ; the second, of the 
 Grecian; and the third is theRiunan.; 
 the fourth is still future." — Birlcs, written 
 in 1845. Dr. Pusey says: "It is as- 
 sumed in Rationalist interpretation that 
 the fourth empire is no empire later 
 than the Macedonian, to which Antiochus 
 Epii)hanes belonged. For else there 
 would be prophecy : there is to be no 
 allusion to the Iloman empire ; for in 
 the time of Antiochus human foresight 
 could not yet discern that it would 
 become an empire of the world. But if 
 the Grecian empire is to be the fourth, 
 which are the other three? . . . Agreed 
 as this school is as to the result, they 
 have been nothing less than agreed as 
 to the process whereby it is to be arrived 
 at. Every possible combination has been 
 tried." All ancient authors sjjcak of tjje 
 kingdom of Alexander and his sncressors 
 as one and the same kingdom. Joseph U3 
 says : "Alexander being dead, the empire 
 was divided among his successors." " He 
 doth not say," observes Bishop Newton, 
 " that so many new empires were erected. 
 Even Grotius himself acknowledged that 
 even now the Hebrews call those king- 
 doms by one name, the kingdom of the 
 Grecians." 
 
 (4) " The Roman empire to be the 
 fourth kingdom of Daniel, was believed 
 by the Church of Israel both before and 
 in our Saviour's time ; received by the 
 disciples of the apostles and the whole 
 Christian Church for the first four huu- 
 47 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 dred years, without any known contra- 
 diction. And I confess, having so good 
 ground in Scripture, it is with nie tan- 
 iu7)i noil articidus fidei, little less than 
 an article of faith. Ephraim Syrus, in 
 the fourth century, interpreted the 
 fourth kingdom of the Greek, dividing 
 that of tlie Medo-Persian into two, those 
 of tlie Medes and of the Persians as the 
 second and third, — the only exce[)tion 
 to Mede's assertion. Jerome, in the be- 
 ginning of the fifth century, speaks of 
 it as what all ecclesiastical writers had 
 " handed down," that the ten kingdoms 
 were to rise out of the division of the 
 Poman empire. Cyril of Jerusalem, a 
 century later, says " that this (the 
 fourth kingdom) is that of the Romans 
 has been tlie tradition of the Church's 
 interpreters." Irenaius, in the second 
 century, speaks of the division of the 
 empire as a thing still future. Hippo- 
 lylus, at the beginning of the third, 
 says, *' Who then are these but the 
 Ptomans 1 which same is the iron, the 
 kingdom which now standeth. For its 
 legs, saith he, are of iron. After tliis, 
 then, what remaineth, beloved, save the 
 toes of the feet of tlie image, wherein part 
 shall be of iron and part of clay, being 
 mixed one with another ? " — Nen'ton. 
 
 (°) "Tlie world," says Calvin, " grows 
 worse as it grows older ; for the Persians 
 and Medes, who seized upon the whole 
 East inider the auspices of Cyrus, were 
 worse than the Assyrians and Chaldeans. 
 So jiriifane poets invented fables about 
 the four ages, a golden, silver, brazen, 
 and iron one." Dr. Coxe observes that 
 the human figure has been often intro- 
 duced by historians and poets to rejire- 
 Bent cities, jieoples, the progress or 
 decline of empires, or the relative im- 
 portance of diU'crent parts of a govern- 
 intnt. 
 
 (''> " God hath (livi'u tlue a Idngdom " 
 (ver. 37). Dr. Rule observes tiiat " this 
 great king could not have forgotten that 
 Ills father was only a satrap at first, a 
 BUfcessful rel)el, who perfidiously allied 
 himself with his niastci's enemies, and 
 by tliat means overthrew Nineveh and 
 Set u[) as king at iJabylon. V,y a sud- 
 denly acfjuired sovereignty over all the 
 Bervant-kiiigs, he became king of kings; 
 48 
 
 and thus Nebuchadnezzar, as son of 
 Nabopolassar, was the first Babylonian 
 king of kings by inheritance." Gaussen 
 says : " Nebuchadnezzar was the succes- 
 sor of the kings of Assyria, the most 
 ancient and the noblest of monarchies. 
 Since Nebuchadnezzar's father it had 
 become the em[)ire of Babylon ; the 
 Chaldeans formed but one kingdom 
 with the Assyrians. The young King 
 Nebuchadnezzar had met with the most 
 extraordinary successes from the very 
 commencement of his reign ; everything 
 had given way to him. He had been 
 led from his victories and his brilliant 
 achievements to regard himself as the 
 creator of his own magnificent fortune, 
 and to look upon himself as a kind of 
 demigod." 
 
 (") Herodotus rela'ies that Cyrus, 
 wearied with the length of the siege, 
 devised the plan of diverting the course 
 of the river; and that when this was 
 done, those who had been assigned to 
 that post entered by the bed of the 
 river, which had ebbed to the height 
 only of the thighs, and came upon the 
 Babylonians unexpectedly while cele- 
 brating a feast with dancing and revelry ; 
 those living in the middle of the city not 
 knowing when it was taken on account 
 of its great extent. 
 
 C^) Cyrus was the son of Cambyses, 
 the brother of Darius, who was the son of 
 Astyages and the uncle of Cyrus, and 
 believed to be the second Cyaxares of 
 the Greek historians. Cyrus at first 
 fought under his uncle ; and on the 
 taking of Babylon he desired him to 
 take the kingdom. On the death of his 
 father and of his uncle, in the year 53G 
 B.C., he became sovereign of the Medes 
 and Persians. 
 
 (^) ^^ Inferior to thee." Castalio ren- 
 ders the words, " worse than those." The 
 inferiority might have a probable refer- 
 ence also to the characterof the monarchs, 
 the Persian kings being, according to 
 Prideaux, the worst race of men that 
 ever governed an empire. Calvin says, 
 " Cyrus was, it is true, a prudent prince, 
 but yet sanguinary. Ambition and ava- 
 rice carried him fiercely forwards, and he 
 wandered in every direction like a wild 
 beast, forgetful of all humanity." 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 C^**) Josephus says that the two hands 
 and slioulders of the image signify that 
 the empire of the Babylonians should be 
 dissolved by two kings. 
 
 (1^) According to the Canon of Ptolemy, 
 tlie successors of Darius the Mede were : 
 Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius (Hystaspis), 
 Xerxes, Artaxerxes, Darius II., Arta- 
 xerxes II., Ochus, Arostes, Darius III. 
 
 (12) " Anotlter third Icingilom of brass." 
 Josephus explains the sj-mbol by saying 
 that another, coming from the west, 
 completely covered with brass, should 
 destroy the empire of the Medes and 
 Persians. 
 
 (13) " Which shall bear rule over all 
 the earth." Plutarch says that Alexander 
 founded above seventy cities among the 
 barbarous people, and sowed Asia with 
 Greek troops. Dr. Pusey remarks that, 
 apart from garrisons, towards seventy 
 cities founded by him or by his generals 
 at his command, have been traced in 
 Asia Minor, Syria, Egyi)t, ]\Iesopotamia, 
 Media, Hyrcania, Parthia, Bactria, Sog- 
 diana, India on the Hydaspes, the 
 Acesines, and the Indus, and in other 
 countries ; in modern terms, in the whole 
 of Turkey in Asia, Egypt, all' habitable 
 Persia, north, east, and south beyond 
 it, in Beloochistan, the Deccan, Cabool, 
 Afghanistan, the Punjab ; and yet north- 
 ward in Kliorassan and Khondooz, to 
 Bokhara and Turkestan. In all this 
 Alexander was imitated by his generals 
 who succeeded him. 
 
 (1*) " Death," says Gaussen, " in a 
 moment silences that commanding voice 
 which made the earth to tremble ; and 
 he for whom, the evening before, the 
 world seemed too small, is enclosed in a 
 tomb of porphyry, lately found in Egypt, 
 and now in the British Museum." 
 
 (15) « Five years after Alexander's 
 death, his wife, his brothers, liis sisters, 
 and his children, had all perished ; and 
 his generals, plunged in blood, were now 
 disputing for his vast empire. At length, 
 after thirty years of war, they ' divided 
 it toward the four winds of heaven,' into 
 four kingdoms, two of which (the only 
 ones that had to do with the people of 
 God) soon became more powerful than 
 the others. These were, north of Jeru- 
 salem, the Grecian kingdom of the 
 
 Seleucidce in Syria ; and south of Jeru- 
 salem, the Grecian kiiu/dom of the 
 Ptolemies \n'E.g)'\)t. Seleucus and Ptolemy 
 were two of Alexander's generals ; and 
 their descendants, who in Daniel are 
 called the kings of the North and the 
 kings of the South, reigned until the 
 arrival of the Romans, and ruled in turn 
 over the people of God." — Gaussen. 
 
 (16) "7//5 hgs of iron" (ver. 33). 
 " The fourth kingdom shall be strong as 
 iron" (ver. 40). Josephus says that 
 the two legs might denote the two 
 Pioman consuls. " After the battle of 
 Pydna, the Roman conqueror divided 
 jNIacedon into four parts, and soon after 
 reduced it into the form of a province ; 
 and not long after the fall of Macedon, 
 Carthage was finally destroyed," — Birks. 
 Gaussen observes that we may date the 
 destruction of the thighs of brass and 
 the commencement of the legs of iron 
 from the year 65 B.C., when Pompey 
 overthrew the kingdom of Syria, and so 
 broke the first thigh ; or from the year 
 30 B.C., when Augustus Csesar destroyed 
 the second thigh, the Grecian kingdom 
 of Ptolemy in Egypt, and became the 
 first emperor of Rome, with his autho- 
 rity fully established in Jerusalem. 
 
 (17) (( ffig yggf part of iron and part 
 of clay " (ver. 33). " The kingdom shall 
 he divided, partly strong and partly 
 broken (marg. brittle) " (vers. 41, 42). 
 Jerome, who lived to see the incursions 
 of the Northern barbarians, says in his 
 Commentary : " The fourth kingdom, 
 which plainly belongs to the Romans, is 
 the iron which ' breaketh and subdueth 
 all things ; ' but ' his feet and toes are 
 part of iron and part of clay,' which is 
 most manifestly proved at this time. 
 For as in the beginning nothing was 
 stronger and harder than the Roman 
 empire, so in the end of things nothing 
 is weaker; since both in civil wars and 
 against divers nations we need the assist- 
 ance of other barbarous nations." " From 
 the reign of Valens,"says Gibbon, "may 
 justly be dated the disastrous period of 
 the fall of the Roman empire. Especially 
 from that time began the infusion of the 
 foreign element, tending to weaken the 
 strength and cohesion of the emjiire ; 
 the mixture being partly in barbarian 
 
 49 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 nOMlLETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 levies, foreign mercenaries, and conquests 
 made by the Northern invaders. In 412, 
 the Visigdths liad Aqnitaine given theiu 
 by the Emperor to retire to. Tlie Bur- 
 gundians had a region on the Rhine, 
 whicli they had invaded, granted them 
 for an inheritance. Pharamiind,the prince 
 of the Salian Franks in Germany, had 
 seats granted to liis people in the empire 
 near the .same river." " And now," says 
 Sir Isaac Newton, " the barbarians vi-ere 
 all quieted and settled in several king- 
 doms within the empire, not only by 
 conquest, but by the grants of the 
 Emperor Hniiorius." — Quoted hy Birlis. 
 "About four hundred years after Christ," 
 says M. Gaussen, "almost at the same 
 moment, ten Gothic nations, speaking 
 the same language (a kind of German), 
 warlike and cruel, and countless as the 
 sand, were seen pouring from the remote 
 regiiins of the North towards the fron- 
 tiers of the fourth kingdom: they crossed 
 the Danube and the Rhine, seized upon 
 the Roman empire, and e.stablished them- 
 selves in its capital, a.d. 476. But soon 
 they too adopted the customs, the re- 
 ligion, the worship, the very language 
 of the Romans ; so that they continued 
 the fourth empire under another form. 
 Their Cliurch was called the Latin 
 Church, their religion the Romish re- 
 ligion, their empire the Latin empire, 
 their sacred language the Latin language, 
 and their history for ages the history of 
 the Latin Church and empire." 
 
 (IS) n ^}^^^ll mingle themselves ivith the 
 sri'xl of men, but they shall not cleave one 
 to another" (ver. 43). Dr. Keith ob- 
 serves : " Tlie sovereigns of the difFerent 
 kingdoms into which the Roman empire 
 was divided after being broken down 
 liave been perpetually contracting matri- 
 monial alliances with each other; but 
 notwithstanding this seeming bond of 
 tmion, they have not united or adhered 
 together." Mr. Birks, in his liook on 
 the " First Two Visions of Daniel," 
 adduces a great number of instances in 
 which this was the case. M. Gaussen, 
 liowcver, regards the mixture of the 
 iron and the clay as rather pointing to 
 tlie union between the Church and the 
 State, oecasioned ]>y the establishment 
 of Christianity as the religion of the 
 50 
 
 empire, as well as that of the ten Gothic 
 kingdoms. He remarks that at the 
 tiirie of the convension of Constantine to 
 Christianity, a great change was intro- 
 duced into the government and internal 
 constitution of the empire. Constantine 
 exempted the ministers of the Christian 
 religion from the payment of taxes, 
 loaded them with riches and honours, 
 and gave them palaces in the principal 
 cities of lii^ states. He established 
 among them an ecclesiastical govern- 
 ment, recognised in the empire and 
 sanctioned by the laws, with its superior 
 and inferior heads. After Constantine, 
 almost all the emperors continued or 
 added to his work. The clergy became 
 a power that soon equalled that of the 
 prince. The pastors of the cities governed 
 those of the country. Tlie priests of the 
 large towns aspired to rule over those of 
 the smaller ones. After some time they ■ 
 even aimed at being independent of the 
 princes who had recognised them ; and 
 subsequently pushing their haughty pre- 
 tensions still further, they set themselves 
 above kings, and claimed the right of 
 creating or deposing them at pleasure. 
 The Bishop of Rome proclaimed himself 
 the bishop of bishops, took the title of 
 Pontifex Maximus, a title completely 
 pagan, and which the Roman emperors 
 had hitherto borne for the celebration of 
 idolatrous rites. The mixture was to 
 be an internal, not an external division 
 like that of the toes, but taking place in 
 the very essence of the constitution, and 
 existing both in the feet and in the toes, 
 exactly as we see in all the states of the 
 Western empire — Italy, Austria, France, 
 Spain, itc. ; this change taking place 
 eighty years after the arrival of the 
 Gothic nations. Dr. Rule also suggests 
 whether the weakening mixture spoken 
 of as the " seed of men," or, according 
 to the Vulgate and Jerome, the "seed of 
 man" was not the uniting of a degene- 
 rate Christianity, a Christianity in name 
 rather than in substance, — a system 
 human in origin, in spirit, and in ad- 
 ministration, — with all the governments 
 of Europe until three or four centuries 
 ago, and still with some of them, though 
 continually in conflict with one or 
 another. According to Kcil, the figure 
 
IIOMILETIO COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 is derived from the sowing of a field 
 with mixed seed, and denotes all the 
 means employed by the rulers to com- 
 bine the different nationalities, anion"- 
 which marriage is only si)oken of as the 
 most important. Dr. Cox remarks that 
 the Roman and Northern nations were so 
 dissimilar in their habits and character 
 that they never could form one uniform 
 people. Hoflniann, quoted by Pasey,say3 
 in reference to tlje marriage alliances: 
 •'This was characteri. tic from the relation 
 of the immigrating nations to Rome; 
 they did not found a new kingdom, but 
 continued the Roman. And so it con- 
 tinues until the end of all earthly power, 
 until its final ramification into ten 
 kingdoms." 
 
 (19) « -yy^g ^^g^ ^^^^i the feet luere part of 
 iron and part of clay." Machiavelli, a 
 Roman historian, specifies by name the 
 ten Gothic kingdoms into which, like the 
 ten toes of the feet, the Roman emjiire 
 was divided : the Herulo-Thuringi, the 
 O.-itrogoths, the Lombards, the Franks, 
 the Burgundians, the Visigoths, the 
 Sueves and Alans, the Vandals, the 
 Huns, and the Saxons. Jerome, speak- 
 ing of his own day, in the beginning of 
 the fifth century, says: "Innumerable 
 and nn)st savage nations have taken 
 possession of the whole of Gaul. The 
 Quadians, the Vandals, the Sarniatians, 
 the Alani, the Gepidse, the Heruli, the 
 Saxons, the Burgundians, the Alemanni, 
 and the Pannonians, have ravaged the 
 whole country between the Alps and the 
 Pyrenees, the ocean, and the Rhine;" 
 thus, as Archdeacon Harrison remarks, 
 enumerating exactly ten nations. " The 
 most usual list, however," observes Mr. 
 Birks in 1845, "of living commentators, 
 is that which omits the Huns and intro- 
 duces the Alans as a distinct power." 
 Gaussen omits both Huns and Saxons ; 
 the former, as not settling in the Roman 
 empire, though they devastated it under 
 Alaric, and were neither of the same 
 language nor of the same race as the 
 other kingdoms; the latter, because 
 England did not form a part of the 
 prophetic earth ; neither that country, 
 nor Holland, nor Lower Germany having 
 made a part of the Roman State at the 
 accession of Augustus Caesar. Keil, 
 
 Dr. Todd, and some others, think that 
 the ten kingdoms belong to the future. 
 On the otiier hand. Professor Lee thinks 
 that the feet must necessarily symbolise 
 heathen Rome in its last times, and that 
 the kings represented by tlie toes may 
 be supposed, in a mystical sense, as the 
 digit ten, a round number, and signify- 
 ing a whole series. 
 
 (20) «<^sia i,;i(j beg,, fy,. j^ggg ^^ijg gg.^j. 
 
 of power, the mightiest and most popu- 
 lous region of the globe. Europe was 
 buried in darkness, and its western tribes 
 were like outcasts from the family of 
 nations. Greece itself had scarce risen 
 into notice, and presented only a con- 
 fused multitude of feeble and jarring 
 tribes. That an empire was thus born 
 among the barbarians of Latium wliich 
 would extend its power over Judaea, 
 Syria, and Babylon itself, was an event 
 which no human wisdom could possibly 
 divine. That this empire, like iron, 
 should be endued with a political firm- 
 ness beyond the mightiest monarchies 
 of the East, was a prediction no less 
 surprising, and would nowhere seem 
 less credible than amidst the proud 
 courtiers of Babylon. Two centuries 
 later, in his various accounts of every 
 region of the earth and of innumerable 
 towns and rivers, Herodotus never once 
 mentions the Tiber or the city of Rome. 
 Yet here, amidst the splendour of Baby- 
 lon, the prophet announces the rise and 
 domiinon of this fourth and greater 
 empire," — Birlcs. Speaking of the same 
 inilikelihood in regard to Rome, Dr. 
 Pusey remarks that we have two Jewish 
 documents, the one probably a little after 
 the death of Antiochus Epiphanes, the 
 other not later than the death of John 
 Hyrcanus, B.C. 105, which show tvpo 
 very different a.spects of the Jewish 
 mind towards the Roman commonwealth, 
 the one in Alexandria, the other in 
 Palestine ; yet in neither is there the 
 slightest apprehension of Roman great- 
 ness. The third Sibylline book is now 
 generally held to be the work of a Jew 
 in the time of Antiochus Epiplianes, 
 It threatens uidiesitatingly that all the 
 evils which had been done by the 
 Romans to Asia .should be requited with 
 usury upon them. The first Book of 
 51 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 Maccabees, on the otbci- liaud, relates 
 the simple unsuspecting trust -svliicli 
 Judas ]\Iaccal)ceus had in the Romans, 
 as if tliey were wholly unambitious, and 
 conquering oidy when assailed. " The 
 secret springs of Roman greatness," 
 observes Mr. Birks, "had all been 
 marked and defined in God's everlasting 
 counsels. While the empires of the East 
 were sinking into unsuspected decaj', 
 this mighty power was nursing into 
 strength amidst the gloomy shades of 
 the West, which was soon to eclipse 
 their greatness by a wider extent of 
 dominion and a more enduring sway. . . . 
 The foundations of the republic were 
 laid in weakness, while Darius and 
 Xerxes marshalled all Asia under their 
 haughty banners, and precipitated their 
 countless hosts on the States of Greece. 
 .While Miltiades, Themistocles, Cimon, 
 and Pericles broke the strength of 
 Persia, and with a band of poets and 
 sages carried the glory of Athens to its 
 height, Rome was convulsed with the 
 factions of the senate and people, gasp- 
 ing under the tyranny of the Decemvirs, 
 struggling for existence with the ^qui, 
 Vol.^ci, and Veientians, and scarcely 
 heard of beyond their narrow sphere of 
 barbarian hostility." 
 
 (■-') ]\I. Gaussen calls attention to the 
 fact that Sir Isaac Newton, while pur- 
 suing the study of the prophecies, saw, 
 in counting back the years with the 
 greatest exactness, that the epochs fixed 
 by Daniel for the several events, proved 
 
 perfectly correct. He saw also that the 
 heathen astronomer Ptolemy, who lived 
 140 years after Christ, had, in order 
 to mark the years of his eclipses, 
 divided the ages of antiquity exactly 
 in the same manner as the prophet 
 had done 745 years before him ; 
 seeing the four great monarchies in 
 the past, as Daniel had seen them in 
 the distant future. He saw also that 
 Ptolemy considered these four mon- 
 archies as a succession of reigns, as 
 Daniel views them under the figure 
 of a single statue, and as forming, in a 
 manner, only one kingdom. So that the 
 Babylonian was the commencement of 
 the Roman, while the Roman was merely 
 Babylon in its development and its 
 plenitude. The same author observes 
 that Le Sage or Las Casas, the friend 
 and companion of Napoleon Buonaparte 
 at St. Helena, drew out a chart of the 
 history of the world, in which, uncon- 
 sciously, he exactly followed Daniel — 
 dividing the history into four parts, and 
 employing four colours to designate the 
 empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and 
 Piome ; dividing, further, the Greek or 
 Macedonian empire into four kingdoms, 
 noticing two of these as much more 
 powerful than the others, viz., the 
 Syrian and the Egyptian ; and lastly, 
 dividing the Roman empire in reference 
 to the Northern invasions, as is usually 
 done, including both Huns and Anglo- 
 Saxons. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. X. — The Interpretation of thk Dream — Continued. 
 Part Second : The Stone (vers. 44, 45). 
 
 The stone no less remarkable than the image. The most glorious part of the 
 vision, and to Christians the most interesting. May be considered under three 
 heads : the Stone itself, its Action on the Image, and its Growth and ultimate 
 Greatness. 
 
 I. The Stone itself. While totally unlike all the parts of the image betokening 
 empire, the stime itself was to become a kingdom, or rather the kingdom that 
 was to take the place of all the rest. To be viewed as symbolising both Christ 
 and His kingdom (^X The two in a sense identified. Nebuchadnezzar thus 
 viewed as one with his empire : "Thou art this head of gold." The kingdom is 
 Ciirist reigning by His power and grace. Yet Clirist and tlie kingdom to be viewed 
 separately. The kingdom .said to be something given to Him (ihap. vii. 14). 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 1. Christ Himself. The "stone of Israel " one of the Old Testament names of 
 the Messiah. The stone laid for a foundation for sinners to build tlieir hopes 
 upon (Isa. xxviii. 16). The corner-stone of the spiritual temple (Ps. cxviii. 22; 
 ]^)h. ii. 20 ; 1 Peter ii. 4, 7). A crushing stone of stumbling to those who reject 
 Him, but a sure and precious foundation to all who accept and trust in Him 
 {Matt. xxi. 42, 44). Like the stone "cut out of the mountains without hands" 
 (ver. 45), Christ's birth supernatural. Born of a virgin and conceived by the 
 power of the Holy Ghost. Humble in circumstances and mean in outward ajv 
 pearance. A " root out of a dry ground, without form or comeliness " (fsa. liii. 2). 
 His resurrection, or official birth as the Messiah, equally of God (Ps. ii. 7 ; Acts 
 xiii. 33). As a stone, he, as God's appointed King of Zion, breaks oi>i)Osiiig 
 nations as a potter^ vessel (Ps. ii. 9). In the conesiwnding vision of the Four 
 JJeasts, he who takes the kingdoTu is "one like the Son of Man, coming with the 
 clouds of heaven" (chap. vii. 13). Applied by Jesus to Himself at the judgment- 
 seat of Caiaphas (Matt. xxvi. 64). Christ, however, to be viewed as including 
 His people. Christ and believers one (John xv. 5 ; Eph. v. 30). The head and 
 the members one Christ (1 Cor. xii. 12; Rev. xi. 15). Like the head, the mem- 
 bers made such by a supernatural and divine birth (John i. 12, 13). Believers 
 associated with Christ in His government and judgment of the world (1 Cor. vi. 2 ; 
 Eev. V. 10, XX. 6, xxii. 5, xix. 14, 15). Employed as His instruments both of 
 mercy and judgment (2 Cor. x. 4, 5 ; Ps. cxlix. 6-9 ; Jer. Ii. 20-24). 
 
 2. The Jdiigdom of Christ. Under this aspect the stone ultimately expanded 
 into "a great mountain, filling the whole earth" (ver. 35). This kingdom 
 identified with the visible Church of the New Testament. Called the kingdom of 
 "heaven," from its origin and character ; the kingdom of "God," from its Author 
 and end; and the kingdom of "Christ," from its Buler and King. Announced 
 by John the Baptist and by Christ Himself as then nigh at hand (Matt. iii. 2, iv. 
 17) (^X The subject of much of Christ's teaching both before and after His resur- 
 rection (i\Latt. iv. 23 ; Acts i. 3). Preached by the apostles as in a sense already 
 come (Acts xxviii. 31 ; 1 Cor. iv. 31 ; Rev. i. 9). The kingdom, however, then as 
 still, hidden or in mystery (Col. iii. 3, 4; 1 John iii. 2 ; 1 Peter i. 13; Rom. viii, 
 18-25). The kingdom connected with the " patience " or " patient waiting for " 
 of Christ (Rev. i. 9 ; 2 Thess. iii. 5). Now the kingdom of grace, hereafter the 
 kingdom of glory; now the kingdom of the cross, hereafter the kingdom of the 
 crown. The " kingdom " of Christ, in its manifestation, connected with His second 
 "appearing" (2 Tim. iv. 1). A kingdom, though heavenly in its nature, yet, like 
 tlie preceding ones, to be set up on earth, and to be everlasting, having no successor 
 (ver. 44). Was to be set up in " the days of those kings " or kingdoms, namely, 
 in the fourth or last of them (ver. 44). Jesus born under Augustus, the first 
 Roman emperor ; and the foundation of the kingdom laid on the day of Pentecost 
 under Tiberius, his successor. 
 
 II. The Action of the Stone upon the Image. It "smote the image upon his 
 feet, and brake them in pieces" (ver. 34). "It shall break in pieces and consume 
 all the.se kingdoms " (ver. 44). "Upon his feet;" therefore in the time of the 
 fourth or Roman empire, and in the latter part of that empire, when it had already 
 degenerated, and the iron had already or was soon to become mixed with clay, 
 though prior to its tenfold division. It was in the reign of the first empire, when 
 Rt)me, having reached its highest pitch of glorj', began to enter on its gradual 
 decline, that Jesus was born, the stone " cut out of the mountain ; " and it 
 was in that of His immediate successors that the smiting commenced C^). Morally 
 and secretly, that smiting might be said to commence when the idolatry and poly- 
 theism of the Roman empire was undermined by the preaching of Christ's gospel 
 and the new religion which it introduced into the world (•*). In the days of Nero, 
 the fifth Roman" emperor, the Apostle of the Gentiles could write, "Thanks be 
 unto God, who always cau.seth us to triumph in Christ." "For the weapons of 
 our warfare are not carnal, but nuLrhty tliro\igli God to the pulling down of .'-trong- 
 
 53 
 
EOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 holds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against 
 the knowlfdge of God, and bringing into cai)tivity every tliought to the obedience 
 of Christ" (2 Cor. ii. 14, x. 4, 5). The Roman empire may be said to have been 
 shaken by the gospel in the first three centuries, and the great image smitten by it 
 to its future destruction, " These that have turned the world upside down," That 
 destruction, however, was still distant. The judicial smiting of the stone was not 
 to t:i-ke place till long after, " This gospel of the kingdom must first be preached 
 amoncf all nations for a witness, and then shall the end come," This judicial 
 destruction prominent in the vision. In the corresponding vision of the prophet 
 hinisflf, after judgment is given upon the "little horn" of the fourth beast, that 
 beast is slain, and its "body destroyed and given to the burning flame" (chap, vii. 
 11). The judicial smiting probably in various stages, according to the three forms 
 which that fourth beast or Pioman empire should assume as Pagan, Papal, and 
 Infidel (^) ; the final stage being symbolically exhibited in the Apocalypse by the 
 great battle of Armageddon, in connection with the pouring out of the seventh and 
 lust " vial of the wrath of God " (Rev. xvi. 13-16, xix. 11-21) (6). 
 
 III. Its Growth and ultimate Greatness, The stone, after smiting the image, 
 " became a great mountain and filled the whole earth " (ver, 35), The interpretation : 
 " The God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the 
 kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume 
 all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever " (ver, 44), In the corresponding 
 vision it is said that to the Son of Man was given "dominion and glory and a 
 kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him" (chap. vii. 13, 
 14). This growth and greatness of the stone the glorious part of the king's dream ; 
 that to which all the previous works of the Almighty, both in creation and provi- 
 dence, pointed ; the end, as it is the reward, of the mediatorial undertaking of the 
 Son of God (Phil, ii. 6-11 ; Isa, liii. 11); the hope, comfort, and joy of the 
 Church ; the deliverance and blessedness of creation ; the joyous burden of all the 
 prophets, who testified beforehand " the sufferings of Christ and the glory that 
 should follow" (1 Peter i, 11). In the full enlargement, universal prevalence, 
 and glorious manifestation of that kingdom, which is " righteousness and peace and 
 joy in the Holy Ghost," we see Satan's head bruised, and paradise restored to a sin- 
 blighted and curse-stricken world; men blessed in Christ and all nations calling 
 Him blessed; earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord; a pure 
 language turned upon the people, " so that they shall call upon the name of tiie Lord, 
 to serve Him with one consent ; " Israel saved, and the receiving back of Israel 
 life from the dead to the world at large ; the Father's house filled with the sound 
 of music and dancing at the return of the long-lost prodigal son ; the whole 
 creation " delivered from the bondage of corrui)tion into the glorious liberty of the 
 children of God" (Rom. viii. 21, 22). The pn)spect of this blessed consumma- 
 tion and glorious triumph of tlie kingdom of Ciirist in the earth, that which has 
 gladdened, animated, and .'-ustained the .servants of God while battling with the 
 power of evil in the world, and, as Christ's witnesses, seeking to carry His gospel to 
 the ends of the earth. 
 
 "The time of rest, the promined Sabhatli, comes. 
 Six thousand years of sorrow have well iiii;h 
 Fulfilled their tardy ami disastrous course 
 Over a sinful world ; and what remains 
 Of this tempestuous state of human thinirs, 
 Is merely as the working of the sea 
 Before a calm, that rocks itself to rest. 
 For He whose ear the winds are, and the clouds 
 The dust that waits upon His sultry march, 
 When sin hath moved Him and His wrath is hot. 
 Shall visit earth in merey ; sliall descend 
 Propitious in His eiiariot, paved with love ; 
 And wiiat His storms have blasted and defaecd 
 For man's revolt, shall with a smile repair." 
 
 54 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 From the prophecy of the Stone we may observe — 
 
 1. The glorious future opened up for the world. A kingdom to be estal.lished 
 and to fill the earth, that exceeds all preceding it in excellence, jxiriiv, and 
 happiness, as well as in duration and extent. Witli heaven for its origin and the 
 Son of God for its King, it will combine in it all the elements of true gumdLur in 
 its constitution, while it embraces in its influence unnumbered nations^no count- 
 less myriads of souls. " To be a subject of this kingdom," observer Dr. Cox, 
 "to share in its blessings, to be eternally associated with its people and tliuir 
 King, must be to be elevated to the height of all glory, to the very summit of .ur 
 intelligent, sanctified, and immortal nature." But this kingdom is t.. till the 
 earth and to embrace in it all nations, thus restoring it to its original paui- 
 disaical condition D. 
 
 2. Ttie certainty of the Word of God and the truth of Christianitij. The pre- 
 diction regarding the stone as well as of the four great monarchies ahca.lv in 
 great part fulfilled. A King and a kingdom corresponding to the descripri(Mi in 
 the vision have already appeared. Nearly eighteen centuries ;igo that divine but 
 apparently humble stone-kingdom smote the glorious world-image. Idolatry und 
 polytheism disappeared from the Roman empire, and the word was '• turned 
 upside down." Christianity, with its hunible and despised beginning, luif,, con- 
 trary to all human likelihood and expectation, already spread itself, in one form 
 or other, in a greater or less degree, over most of the known world. Islands and 
 groups of islands unknown to the ancients have accepted its blessings and 
 adopted its name. Within the first thirty years after the death of its Founder, one 
 of its chief promoters could testify that the gospel was preached, and brought 
 forth fruit "in all the world" (Col. i. 6); and within the last eighty years, that 
 same gospel of the kingdom has been published in at least 226 languages and 
 dialects, in the form of translations of the Bible, or the more important ])arts of 
 it, ill scarcely fifty of which it had been printed before; every such translation 
 representing, in a greater or less degree, the subjects of the heavenly kingdom. 
 The "King of the Jews" is acknowledged already as King in almost all the 
 nations, tribes, and languages of the earth '^*. The past and present fultilinent of 
 the prophecy a proof of its divine origin, and a pledge of the future accomplish- 
 ment of the rest. " Heaven and earth may pass away, but my word shall not 
 pass away." The stone has already broken the image in pieces and grown into a 
 mountain, filling at least a considerable portion of the earth, and in the way of 
 soon filling the whole. " Therefore let all the house of Israel," and all the 
 nations of the world, with their rulers and statesmen and philosophers, "know 
 assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus who was crucified both Lord and 
 Christ" (Actsii. 36). 
 
 3. The characteristics of Christ's kingdom. (1.) Divine in its origin — a "stone 
 cut out of the mountain without hand" (Isa. vii. 14; John i. 12, 13). (2.) 
 Humble in its beginning — a "stone," small, rough, mean, insignificant in its appear- 
 ance (Isa. liii. 2; Phil, ii. 8). (3.) Victorious over all opposition— " breaking to 
 pieces" the opposing kingdoms of the world and "subduing" all to itself (2 Cor, 
 X, 4, 5 ; Acts v. 39). (4.) Onivard in its progress — growing from a little stone 
 into a "great mountain" (Acts vi. 7, xii. 24, xix. 20; Isa. ix. 7). (o.) Uni- 
 versal in its ultimate extent — destined to "fill the whole earth" (Ps, ii. 8, Ixxii. 
 11, 17; Phil, ii, 9, 10). (6.) Everlasting m its duration — never to be "destroyed," 
 or to be "left to another people," or succeeded by another kingdom, but to "stand 
 for ever" (Ps. lii. 17 ; Rev. xi. 15 ; Isa. ix. 7). 
 
 4. Tlie encouragement given to seek the extension of Christ's cause and kingdom 
 in the world, and the duty of doing so. That kingdom and cause, however humble, 
 weak, and small in any particular place, destined to be victorious over all opposi- 
 tion. The little one to become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation. 
 The stone to become a mountain filling all the earth, whatever may oppose its 
 
 55 
 
HOMILETW COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 progress. This consuinmntioii not only purposed and predicted, but provided for. 
 The result guaranteed by Oninipotence, "Not by might nor by power (of man), 
 but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." All power is given unto me in heaven and in 
 earth ; go ye therefore and teach all nations, &c. ; and lo, I am with you alway, 
 even to the end of the world." Means to be employed by human instruments, but 
 these means and instruments to be made effectual by a divine power accompanying 
 them. " Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and 
 ye shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem," &c, " The weapons of our war- 
 fare are not carnal, but mighty through God," At the presence of the Ark, 
 ihougli accompanied only with the sound of rains' horns and the human voice, the 
 walls of Jericho fell. " Who art thou, great mountain ? Before Zerubbabel thou 
 shait become a plain." In submission to and personal interest in that kingdom is 
 the only safety and happiness of sinful men. Christ and His kingdom the true 
 Xoah's ark. Inside, peace and safety ; outside, a deluge of wrath. The door 
 still open and the invitation issued, " Come thou and all thy house into the ark." 
 The day of our death or of the Lord's appearing shuts its either in or out. Either 
 of these may be at hand. It is for us to enter ourselves, and not to cease earnestly 
 to persuade others to enter along with us. The time is short, Jesus waits. Tarry 
 not. Enter now ! 
 
 ..EXl^GETICAL NOTES.— « "^ 
 stone cut out ivitliout haiuls," " 7%e God 
 of heaven shall set up a kingdom " (vers. 
 34, 44). "The Fathers generally apply 
 the prophecy to Christ Himself, who 
 was miraculously born of a virgin with- 
 out the concurrence of human means. 
 Dut it should rather be understood of 
 tiie kingdom of Christ, which was formed 
 out of the Roman empire; not by number 
 of hands or strength of armies, but with- 
 out means and the virtue of second 
 causes : first set up while the Koman 
 empire was in its full strength, with legs 
 of iron," — Bisho}^ Newton. Mr. Birks 
 regards the stone as being also the 
 Cliurch. "Our Lord Himself, by His 
 miraculous conception and His resur- 
 rection from the grave, was ' cut out 
 without hands,' with a direct and won- 
 derful triumph of divine power. His 
 people, in like manner, are 'born again, 
 not of corruptible seed, but of incor- 
 lUi-tiLlc, by tlie word of God, that livetli 
 ;uid al.idetl) forever.' In the day of the 
 resurrection their separation will be com- 
 plete; and being tlien unitetl to tlieir 
 Lord, tliey will form one mystical body, 
 and will along with Him execute the 
 predicted judgments." Dr. A. Clarke 
 remarks: " Tliis stone refers chiefly to 
 the Cliurch, which is represented as a 
 foundation-stone;" and adils : "As the 
 stone rejiresents Christ and His govern- 
 ing influence, it is here said to be a 'kin<'- 
 oG 
 
 dom,' ^.e., a state of prevailing rule and 
 government." Mede distinguishes be- 
 tween the " kingdom of the stone " and 
 the "kingdom of the mountain;" the 
 first, when it was cut out without 
 hands; the second, when it became itself 
 a mountain. The Jews acknowledge the 
 stone to be the Messiah. " The ninth 
 king is King Messiah, who reigns from 
 the one end of the world to the other ; 
 as it is said, ' And the stone became a 
 great mountain.' " — Pirke R. Eliezer. 
 Willet regards the prophecy as referring, 
 in the first instance, to Christ's first ad- 
 vent, but, by way of analogy, to His 
 second coming, when He shall make a 
 perfect conquest of all earthly kingdoms 
 and powers. Calvin applies the pro- 
 phecy both to Christ and His kingdom 
 arriving at the close of the fourth mo- 
 narchy ; the stone indicating the humble 
 and abject beginning of Christ, yet 
 divinely sent, and His kingdom sepa- 
 rated from all earthly ones, being divine 
 and heavenly. Gaussen understands it 
 of some " feeble and insignificant por- 
 tion of the Christian Church," which 
 shall become the occasion of the over- 
 throw of the image, and of the enemy of 
 the lledeemer's kingdom, without the 
 will of men being directly employed in 
 it, or having any ground of glorying 
 therein, all being obliged to acknowledge 
 in it the finger of God and the power of 
 His grace alone. 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DAY I EL 
 
 (^') " The ' kingdom of God ' is a phrase 
 which is constantly eraph)yed iu Scrip- 
 ture to denote that state of things which 
 is placed under the avowed administra- 
 tion of the Messiah, and which conse- 
 quently could not precede His personal 
 appearance. But during His residence 
 on earth, until His resurrection, this 
 kingdom is uniformly represented as 
 future, though near at hand." — Robert 
 Hall. 
 
 (^) "In the da^s of these Idngs." 
 Augustus, the first Roman emperor, in 
 whose reign Jesus Christ was born, had 
 completed the thirty-fourth year of his 
 age when he returned to Rome after the 
 overthrow of Antony. " From that 
 period to the end of a lengthened life he 
 remained in the possession of the greatest 
 power, and at the head of the most 
 extensive territory that had yet fallen 
 to the lot of man." Its now incipient 
 weakness and decay may be marked in 
 the following farther quotations from 
 Roman history ; — " The military opera- 
 tions in which Augustus himself took 
 part were not important. The Arabian 
 campaign was disastrous. The war of 
 the Danubeand the Rhine, from a struggle 
 in defence of the frontier, became an 
 aggressive movement against the tribes 
 beyond those rivers, but no permanent 
 impression ivas made upon them. While 
 Tiberius effected the reduction of Pan- 
 iionia, the district between the Danube 
 and the great tributaries the Drave and 
 the Save, establishing a line of forts ahmg 
 the river to guard against the future 
 incursions of the Northmen, Drusus con- 
 ducted an extensive plan of aggression 
 against the Germanic nations in general. 
 He led his troops to the Weser; but the 
 difficulties of the country, want of pro- 
 visions, and more than all, the firm 
 opposition of the natives, compelled him 
 to return to the Bhine, leaving two forts 
 with garrisons on the east bank as a 
 sliow of conquest. Tiberius took the 
 command on the Rhine upon the death 
 of his brother (Drusus), and constituted 
 the country from thence to the Weser a 
 Roman province, in a.d. 5 ; but was 
 eventually succeeded by Publius Quin- 
 tilius Varus, who lost all the advantages 
 gained, in the autumn of a.d. 9. The 
 
 army, consisting of above 24,000 men, 
 after an attack of three days, was cut 
 to pieces. The general fell ui)on his 
 sword, and all the forts and posts on the 
 right hank of the Rhine were taken. 
 Rome was filled with consternation at 
 the news of this defeat. Augustus, 
 then an old man, was cotved by the 
 stroke, and for a time could only ex- 
 claim, 'Varus, Varus, give me back my 
 legions.' Tiberius was forwarded with 
 reinforcements, but did not deem it 
 advisable to re-occupy the country be- 
 yond the Rhine, lohich reverted to the 
 Germans." Tiberius, the successor of 
 Augustus, " was favourably known for 
 military capacity ; but the dark features 
 of his character were gradually de- 
 veloped by the possession of jiower, 
 which allowed him to riot in sensual 
 indulgences loithout restraint or disguise. 
 Two formidable insurrections of the 
 troops greeted his accession. Three 
 legions, stationed on the frontier to- 
 wards the Danube, revolted. The in- 
 subordination of the grand Roman 
 army stationed on the Rhine presented 
 more serious difficulties. The soldiers 
 demanded to have their time of military 
 service shortened. The reign of Tiberius, 
 extending over an interval of twenty- 
 three years, is barren of jioliticul events 
 of importance in a general history, ex- 
 cepting the brief career of Germanicus 
 beyond the Rhine. But just when 
 Germany between the Rhine and the 
 Elbe was on the verge of subjection, Ger- 
 manicus was recalled by the Emperor, 
 who was jealous of his fame, and the 
 country reverted to the native tribes.''^ 
 The reign of Caligula, who succeeded 
 Tiberius, and whom despotic power so 
 bereft of his senses that he raised his 
 horse to the consulship, and built him a 
 marble stable and an ivory manger, may 
 be passed without notice. Claudius, his 
 successor, now upwards of fifty years of 
 age, was naturally an imbecile. " His 
 society had been chiefly that of women 
 and slaves. Female influence of the 
 ivoi^st possible description predominated 
 through his reign. One of the ferv ex- 
 tensions of territory under the emperors 
 was made in the reign of Claudius, a 
 departure from the i)olicy exempliiied 
 57 
 
no Ml LET IC COMMEXTAJIY: D Ay I EL. 
 
 by Augustus and bequeatned as a 
 legacv to his successors, — that of re- 
 stt-ictiiyj the empire to the limits pro- 
 vided by Xalure. South Britain was 
 uiiw coii>tituted a Roman province, but 
 the Sihires (in Wales) kept the field 
 with uuiToken spirit" It was during 
 the reign «if Claudius, who died in a.d. 
 54, that Ciiri.Ntianity was extensively 
 planted in Les-er Asia and in Greece by 
 the labours of Paul, as relited in tiie 
 Acts of the Ai'osties; eventually abol- 
 ishing the polytheism of the civilised 
 world, and thus tending to break the 
 great image in pieces. 
 
 (*) " Smote the image upon his feet.'' 
 The smiting, says Mr. Birk>, is '• referred 
 by some e;irly writers to the triumphs of 
 the gospel alter the first Advent. But 
 Theodoret and others, with more justice, 
 have referred it to His second coming. 
 They saw that the stone was to smite the 
 image on the toes of iron and clay, and 
 that the event must therefore follow the 
 division of the Roman empire. This 
 opinion has, from the same reason, been 
 received by the best expositors in modern 
 times." But the stone is not said to 
 smite the image on its toes, but on its 
 jeet, and therefore, it may be supposed, 
 before the division of the empire. Dr. 
 Coxe remarks: "That the prediction of 
 the stone does not refer exclusively to 
 the uttermost periods of the world, ap- 
 j>ears evident from the distinctiveness of 
 the intimation that it will strike the 
 image upon its feet, not upon the toes : 
 the latter are mentioned after the former, 
 as, according to tiie general construction 
 of the statue, subsequent in time. Con.«e- 
 quently the empire of Rome was to be 
 .smitten when in its strength, or before 
 the division into several kingdoms. This 
 interpretation is verified by the fact that 
 Chri>t was born in the reign of Augustus, 
 and the apostolic labours extended to 
 the period of the commencing decline of 
 I'omnn power." '"The fallen empire of 
 Rome was forcibly struck when the 
 Apost'es fulfilled their Lord's commis- 
 sion in going forth to preach the gospel 
 to every creature, and fell to pieces 
 when Constaiitirie, in a.d. 331, issued an 
 edict commanding the destruction of all 
 heathen temples." " We may hear," 
 5^ 
 
 says Gibbon, " without suspicion or 
 scandal, that the introduction, or at least 
 the abuse, of Ciiristiunity, had some 
 influence on the decline and fail of the 
 Roman empire." "Christianity," he 
 says again, '• erected the triumphant 
 banner of the cross on the ruins of the 
 Capitol. Xor was the influence of 
 Christianity confined to the period or 
 the limits of the Roman empire. After 
 a revolution of thirteen or fourteen cen- 
 turies, that religion is still professed by 
 the natioi.s of Europe, the most dis- 
 tinguished portion of human kind in 
 arts and learning, as well as in arms. 
 By the industry and zeal of the Euro- 
 peans it has been widely diffused to the 
 most distant shores of Asia and Africa ; 
 and by means of their colonies has been 
 firmly established from Canada to Chili, 
 in a World unknown to the ancients." 
 KeU observes: ''The stone which bre;ik3 
 the image becomes, from the first tinis 
 after it has struck the image, ' a great 
 mountain which fills the whole earth '(ver. 
 35) ; and the kingdom of God is erected 
 by the God of heaven, according to ver^e 
 i4, not for the first time after the destruc- 
 tion of all the world-kingdoms, but in 
 the days of the fourth world-monarchy, 
 and thus during its continuance." 
 '• Daniel indiaites its beginning in a 
 simple form, although he does not at 
 large represent its gradual development 
 in the war against the world-power. . . . 
 The last judgment forms only the final 
 completion of the judgment commencing 
 at the first coming of Christ to the 
 earth, which continues from that time 
 onward through the centuries of the 
 spread of the kingdom of heaven upon 
 earth in the form of the Christian Church, 
 till the visible return of Christ in His 
 glory in the clouds of heaven to the final 
 judgment of the living and the dead." 
 AuVierlen, however, thinks that " the 
 chief point which it is necessary to 
 recognise distinctly and express simply 
 is, that the commencement of the king- 
 dom, spoken of in the second and seventh 
 chapters of Daniel, is nothing else but 
 the second c<>ming of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." "With this he connects "the 
 re-establishment of the kingdom of 
 Israel." Calvin says the sense here is 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 proper and literal, Accdrdiiig to Gro- 
 tius, Christ was to put an end to all 
 earthly empires. Bishop Chandler 
 says: " Tlie kingdom of this 'stone' 
 shall bruise the Jews that stumbled at 
 Christ's first coming ; but the kingdom 
 of the ' mountain,' when niiinifested, 
 shall bruise the feet of the monarchical 
 statue to dust, and leave no remains of 
 the fourth monarchy in its last and 
 degenerate state." 
 
 (^) '^ Jirol-en to pieces tof/ethei'" (vers. 
 35, 44). '* In this destruction of the 
 image," says M. Gaussen, " there shall 
 be nothing but dust, nothing but the 
 most frightful anarchy. This complete 
 and universal breaking up of all exi.-t- 
 ing governments shall begin in the toes 
 and extend to the rest of the image. 
 Disorder, terror, ruin shall overspread 
 the whole earth ; unheard-of anarchy, 
 indescribable distress, shall seize upon 
 all nations, which shall seem as in the 
 agonies of dissolution." 
 
 (6) "We have," says E. Irving, "in 
 the first four seals (in the Book of the 
 Revelation), the four successive em- 
 perors in whose times and by whose 
 chief instrumentality Paganism, the first 
 enemy of the Church, was brought to 
 its end, and Rome, its seat, laid low, 
 as heretofore were Babylon and Jerusa- 
 lem." The emperors referred to were 
 Constantine the Great, Theodosius the 
 Great, Honorius, and Justinian ; the 
 last of whom was likened by Procopius, 
 a contemporary, to " a demon sent by 
 God to destroy men." " The fifteenth 
 and sixteenth chapters," adds Mr. Irving, 
 '' may be considered as belonging to the 
 oook with the seven seals, being the 
 seventh seal thereof; or, in general, as 
 the act of judgment upon the nations ; 
 or as the period of Christ's iron reign ; 
 or as tlie period of the stone's smiting 
 the image to powder — the sevenfold act 
 of judgment upon the Papal nations, 
 beginning from the year 1792, at which 
 the Papal period closed." 
 
 (") " From this magnificent, most 
 particular, and diversified symbol of 
 the battle of Armageddon, — whereof 
 every part hath an allusion to some 
 previous prophecy of tlie Apocalypse 
 or of the other Scriptures, so that it 
 
 is, as it were, the end and accompliish- 
 ment of a hundred predictions, — we 
 have these certainties : that therein 
 shall the spirit of Papal superstition 
 perish, with all those superstitions and 
 tyrannical forms of civil power and 
 government which grew out of it ; that 
 therein shall perish the spirit of infidelity 
 and the forms of destructiveness which 
 are implied thereby ; that therein also 
 shall other forms of darkness and cruelty 
 which inspired the heathen world like- 
 wise perish ; that is, their strength and 
 power shall perish therein, and the 
 whole earth which they possessed and 
 overruled shall become the reward and 
 trophy of ' Him that sitteth upon the 
 horse' and His holy army." — Irving. 
 
 (*) Even a heathen i)oet, jirobably 
 kindling his torch at the fire of inspired 
 prophecy, through the medium of one 
 of the Sibylline books, could sing in his 
 most elevated strains the happy period 
 awaiting the world in connection with 
 Messiah's kingdom. Virgil's Eclogue to 
 Pollio is well known: "Jam redit et 
 virgo," ttc. "Heathen legend," it has 
 been said, " often seems a vague reflex 
 of Holy Writ, aiid thus the golden age 
 itself, ere justice left mankind, suggests 
 the state before the Fall ; and some 
 broken and clouded rays of a truth once 
 whole and pure, may perhaps be gleaned 
 from this Eclogue as a witness to 'the 
 desire of all nations.' " Tlie author of 
 one, at least, of the Sibylline books, 
 however, is believed to have been a Jew. 
 Pope, in the advertisement to his imita- 
 tion of the Eclogue to Pollio, says : " In 
 reading several passages of the prophet 
 Isaiah wliich foretell the coming of 
 Christ and the felicities attending it, 
 I could not but observe a remarkable 
 parity between many of tlie thoughts 
 and those in the Pollio of Virgil, This 
 will not seem surprising when we reflect 
 that the Eclogue was taken fionr a 
 Sibylline prophecy on the same subject." 
 (9) " It is owned," says Dr. Pusey, 
 " by those who set these prophecies at 
 the very latest, that nearly two centuries 
 before our Lord's ministry began, it was 
 foreseen that the kingdom of God should 
 be established witliout human ad, to 
 replace all other kingdoms ;iiid to be 
 59 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 reiilaced b\' none ; to stimd for ever, since the world has been ; embracing all 
 
 and to fiirthe earth. Above eighteen times and climes, and still expanding; 
 
 centuries have verified the prediction of unharmed b}' that destroyer of all things 
 
 the permanencyoftliat kingdom, founded human, Time ; strong amid the decay of 
 
 as it was by no human means, endowed empires ; the freshness and elasticity of 
 
 with inextinguishable life, ever conquer- youth written on the brow which has 
 
 ing and to conquer in the four quarters outlived eighteen centuries." 
 of the world ; a kingdom one and alone 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XI. — Daniel's Elevation (Chap. ii. 4G— 49). 
 
 Tiie king was convinced that Daniel had given a true description and interpre- 
 tation of liis dream. The truth also wliich the youthful prophet declared concern- 
 ing the true God, approved itself to his understanding and conscience, and for a 
 time at least was powerfully felt. Under the power of his convictions he confesses 
 himself a believer in Daniel's God (ver. 47) (^). This all the more remarkable as 
 the interpretation of his dream seemed opposed to all his worldly projects and 
 ambitious aims. Daniel's faithfulness in confessing God and His truth before the 
 king is rewarded by his hearing the same confession from the king himself. 
 The result as important to Daniel's future position and influence, as it was to the 
 interest of God's truth, honour, and kingdom in Babylon and in the world. The 
 more immediate results were — 
 
 I. Daniel received the highest honour (ver. 46). The prostration of the king 
 and ciblati-on presented to Daniel according to Oriental custom. Uncertain 
 whether civil or religious obeisance intended — probably only the former; indicates, 
 liowever, the proneness of fallen man to idolatry. Nebuchadnezzar ready to 
 worship Daniel as a god, probably from seeing so much of God in him("). So the 
 Lycaonians and Melitians in regard to Paul (Acts xiv. 11, 15, xxviii. 6). Nothing 
 said as to what Daniel did on the occasion. Perhaps he did what Peter did in 
 regard to Cornelius in similar circumstances — " Stand up, for I also am a man " 
 (.Acts X, 25, 20) ; or what the angel did in regard to John wlien offering siijiilar 
 obei.«auce — " See thou do it not ; for I am of thy brethren the prophets : worship 
 God" (Rev. xxii. 8, 9). Those who cordially accept God's message not slow to 
 lionour the messenger. Daniel had honoured God by his faithful testimony 
 before tlie king ; God now honours Daniel by the king's grateful tribute to himself : 
 " Them tliat lionour me I will honour." 
 
 II. Daniel elevated to a lofty position in the State (ver. 48). Made gover- 
 nor of llie province of Babylon, and president of the ^Magian College (^). The king 
 made Daniel "a great man ;" but not so great as God had already made him, both 
 by His grace and gifts. This official elevation of Daniel a wonderful move- 
 ment in providence on behalf of the Jewish exiles. In accordance with God's 
 gracious promise regarding them: " I will be to them as a little sanctuary in the 
 countries wln^re they shall come " (Ezek. xi. 16). An important step to their 
 ultimate deliverance. An enlargement also of Daniel's sjjhere of usefulness, 
 i'oiind faithful in tliat which is least, he is now to be entrusted with much. 
 " 'I'o him that liath, more shall be given." His position as president of the 
 '•wise men" a precious opportunity for conununicating to them a pm-er 
 <loctriiie than their own. Tiie ligiit thus graciously made to .shine in the 
 darkness, whether or not the darkness comprehended it. Daniel's place in the 
 king's gate (■*), perliaps as one of his councillors, such as to give him ready access 
 to the king's person and influence in the king's coiuicils. Like Joseph, taken as 
 a slave from prison to the right hand of Pharaoh as ruler of Egypt, Daniel is on a 
 .'-iini'ar account taken as a captive exile, and j'laced next to Nebuchadnezzar over 
 
 GU 
 
nOMILETlC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 the province of Babylon. " He that liunibleth himself shall be exalted." The 
 elevation of Daniel as well as Joseph the foreshadowing of a still more important 
 one (Phil ii. 7-10). 
 
 III. Daniel's Elevation shared in by his Three Friends (ver. 49). At his recpiest 
 they are invested with a charge over the affairs of the province of which he himself 
 was made ruler. Sharers in his prayers, they are made sharers in his promotion. 
 Unlike the chief butler in Egypt, Daniel in his elevation forgat not former friends. 
 So Jesus associates His faithful followers wdth Himself in His future kingdom. 
 " Ye are they that have continued with me in my temptations, and I appoint unto 
 you a kingdom, even as my Father hath appointed unto me" (Luke xxii. 29). 
 "Thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign upon the 
 earth." "They li/ed and reigned with Christ a thousand years" (Rev. v. 10, xx. 
 4, 6). We may notice from the passage — 
 
 1. Prayer often the 2^ath to promotion. The elevation of Daniel and his three 
 friends the result of their united prayer for divine illumination. Earnest and 
 believing prayer sooner or lattr turned into thankful praise. " They that sow in 
 tears shall reap in joy." " Promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the 
 west, nor from the south; but God is the judge : He putteth down one and setteth 
 up another" (Ps, Ixxv. G, 7). That God also the hearer of prayer (Ps. Ixv. 2). 
 
 2. Believers^ trials only teviporary. Daniel and his three friends involved in 
 the trouble and dangers of the wise men in Babylon. Their sorrow soon turned 
 into joy. "To the upright there ariseth light in the darkness" (Ps. xxx. 5, 
 cxii. 4). " Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take," &c. 
 
 3. Tlie troubles of God's 2^eople overruled for good to themselves and others. 
 "Daniel's captivity and the trouble in which the king's dream involved him, over- 
 ruled to his being made ruler over Babylon, and a blessing to his people. Joseph 
 a similar example." "Ye thought evil against me, but God meant it for good" 
 (Gen. L 20). The comfort of God's people in affliction and trouble, that "all 
 things work together for good to them that love God, that are the called according 
 to His purpose"" (Rom. viii. 28), The loss of earthly things, as in the case of Saul 
 and his father's asses, often the gaining of a kingdom. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES. — W" FoJ^r For He who fully knows the whole 
 God is a God of gods " (ver. 47). " God future must also be the same who forms 
 must, by great revelations, lay open His the whole development of the world, 
 omnipotence and omniscience, and show Omnipotence cannot be separated from 
 He is infinitely exalted above the gods omniscience." — Casjxiri, quoted by Keil. 
 and wise men of this world, and above (2) " Fell upon Ms face and tvor- 
 all the world-powers. The wise men of shi^yped Daniel " (ver. 46). Dr. Rule 
 the Chaldean world-power, that is, the thinks that the king believed some god 
 so-called magi, maintained that they or genius to be present with the inter- 
 were the possessors of great wisdom, and prefer of his dream ; and in its honour, 
 such they were indeed celebrated to be, or in honour of the God of heaven Him- 
 and that theyobtained their wisdom from self, without intending to worship His 
 their gods. The Lord must, through servant, he might have caused the 
 great revelations of His omniscience, "sweet odours " to be poured out before 
 show that He alone, of all the possessors him. 
 
 of knowledge, is the Omniscient, while (3) " Chief of the governors over all the 
 
 their knowledge and the knowledge of tvise men" (ver. 49). "Wise men" 
 
 their gods is nothing. He must lay (rP'?n, khaJcJcimin), here the general 
 
 open to the world-power the whole name of the members of the Babylonian 
 
 future that He may show to it that He or Chaldean priest-caste. So in Isa. 
 
 knows it all, even to the very minutest xliv. 25 ; Jer. 1. 35. The presidents 
 
 event'^ that all lies like a map before of the particular classes called here 
 
 His eyes, and that to Him it is history. r??9 {signin), and the grand president 
 
JIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 of the entire establisbment, T??^ ^1 {^''(^^ 
 signiii). So Daniel is called here. He 
 appears as at tlie same time invested 
 with important secular power. So Dio- 
 dorus Siculus speaks of Bele.sys, who 
 wrested Babylon from the Assyrians, 
 as at once chief president of the priest- 
 caste and governor of BahyLm. And 
 according to Jer. xxxix. 3, ] 3, tlie same 
 chief president, called tliere J^ 31 (rab 
 may), or cliief magus, belonged to the 
 magnates of the kingdom, and was a 
 member of the Council of State, and as 
 such even took the field. — Hengstenherg. 
 Accnrding to Kiel, V}}^ {signin) is the 
 pural of an Aryan word incorporated 
 into the Hebrew, and denoting " vice- 
 gerent "or "prefect." Hengstenherg re- 
 marks that the writer's exact acquaint- 
 ance witli tlie Babylonian customs and 
 institutions, as shown in this and other 
 instances, affords no small confirmation 
 of the genuineness of the book. A Jew 
 living in the time of the Maccabees not 
 likely to possess such knowledge. 
 
 (*) ^^ Daniel sat in the gate of the 
 
 king " (ver. 49). Gates and gateways 
 of Eastern cities anciently held an im- 
 portant place. Among otlier purposes, 
 they served as places of public delibera- 
 tion, administration of justice, and royal 
 audiences (Dent. xvi. 18, xxi. 19, xxv. 
 7 ; Josh. XX. 4 ; Judges ix. 35 ; Ruth iv. 
 1-11 ; 1 Kings xxii. 10). The gate of 
 a royal residence seems to have been 
 used for similar purposes. Thus Mor- 
 decai, like Daniel, sat in the king's gate 
 as one of the king's councillors. An 
 existing trace of this use remains in the 
 name given to the Turkish court, the 
 " Porte," simply signifying the gate, 
 that part of the palace where the court 
 was originally held. Keil on the pas- 
 sage says, " Near the gate," that is, at 
 the court of the king, the gate or door 
 named for the building (Esth. ii. 19, 21). 
 According to Gesenius, Daniel was made 
 prefect of the palace. Junius and others 
 think that liis place was in the king's 
 gate, as having the power committed to 
 him of adnutting people into the king's 
 })resence. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XII. — The Golden Image (Chap. iii. 1-7). 
 
 Sudden conversions not always lasting ones. Mere imjjulses often evanescent. 
 Men's goodness sometimes " as the early cloud or as the morning dew tliat passeth 
 away." The stony-ground hearers "with joy anon receive the word, but dure 
 only for a while." Some more liable than others to be suddenly moved — impulsive 
 characters. Nebuchadnezzar apparently such. Liable to be suddenly and strongly 
 moved, both to good and evil. On hearing Daniel's description and interpretatfon 
 of his dream, he felt convinced that Daniel's God was the true one. Under the 
 influence of this conviction, he had raised Daniel, and at his request his three 
 friends, to the highest ofilces in the state. He appeared a converted man, and in 
 a certain sense perhaps was one. But there are different kinds of conversion, 
 Tliere are those which reach the centre of the soul, and those which only touch the 
 circumference. Much may be changed before the heart is so. The suburbs of a 
 city may be taken when the city itself is not. Even the city may be taken while 
 tlie citadel remains in the hands of the besieged. Saul, the future king of Israel, 
 had another heart given him, but not a neiv heart. We may have new notions 
 Avithout a new nature. Providences, appeals, human appliances may produce 
 the one; only divine almighty power can impart the other. The sow, only 
 washed externally, wallows again in the mire. As yet, at least, Nebuchaiinezzar's 
 conversion only of this character. Time had effaced his impressions ; and Daniel's 
 frequent and necessary absence from court migiit leave him open to unfavourable 
 influences. Thus in an evil liour, whether from a feeling of pride in desiring to 
 erect a .symbol of his own greatness (^), or a wish to introduce a new deity for his 
 own future glory, or a sudden fit of superstitious devotion to his god 15cl-Mero- 
 dach ('-'), or the idea of employing religion for a political purpose in the consolida- 
 G2 
 
HOMILETW COM ME NT A R Y : DA XIEL. 
 
 tion of his extensive but heterogeneous empire (^), or, finally, wliich is perhaps the 
 most likely, from the wily suggestion of envious courtiers, as in the ca^e of Darius 
 and the lions' den, Nebuchadnezzar, notwithstanding his former confession of 
 the true God, resolves to erect in the plains of Dura 0) a colossal iina^e of gold 
 and to command all his subjects, at a given signal, to fall down and worship it' 
 We may notice — ^ 
 
 I. The Image and its Erection. The image, doubtless erected on a pedestal 
 one of gigiintic size ('), and constructed of, or overlaid with, the most prech.us 
 metal W. What the king of Babylon did must be vast and colossal. Such was 
 the city Itself which he had built, or rather rebuilt, with its mountain of lian<dn<' 
 gardens. Nebuchadnezzar's empire colossal, and everything must be in keeping 
 with it. A man's ambitious aims often grow with his success. Nebucluuinezzar's 
 ideas now like those of his predecessors on the same plain of Shinar : '• Let us 
 build us a tower whose top shall reach into heaven." Possibly the conception from 
 the image seen in his dream. That dream, that should have humbled his pride 
 and taught him the vanity of all earthly greatness and glory, perhaps made now 
 the occasion of rebellion against the God who graciously sent it. Man's fallen 
 nature perverts mercies into mischiefs. Sin often makes what was desigiu-d for 
 our benefit to become our bane. God's gifts frequently made objects of idolatry to 
 the dishonour of the Giver. The brazen serpent, which was given as the means of 
 healing to one generation, made the object of idolatrous worship by another. 
 Before the image is worshipped, however, it must be solemnly dedicated to the 
 deitj' to honour whom it was erected and whom it was intended to represent. 
 This was done in the presence of all the grandees of the realm C^). 
 
 II. The command to worship it. The image erected not for the people to 
 admire but to worship. The people not left to worship it at their option, but 
 commanded by royal authority to do so, and that with the penalty of death on 
 refusing. As the king's god, it must be worshipped by the people also, and that 
 as a matter of obedience and loyalty to himself. Natural for fallen man to stretch 
 his power and authority to the utmost limits. Rulers, not content with obedience 
 in things civil and secular, must also prescribe in sacred ones ; not satisfied with 
 the things that are Csesar's, they must have also the things that are God's. Perhaps 
 they think to render themselves and their kingdom more acceptable to God by 
 compelling others to worship Him in the way they themselves think best ; forgetting 
 that religion is a matter between each man and God, and that conscience is a 
 domain which even kings ma}^ not enter. Persuasion and exam[)le in matters of 
 religion, a prince's privilege ; authority the prerogative of God. To command here, 
 without a command from God, both a mischief and a mistake. Hence persecuting 
 edicts, Inquisitions, and Star-chambers. To all such Nebuchadnezzar C^) now led 
 the way. The command was, within one short hour after the sound of the music W 
 to worship the image or die the death. The penalty, doubtless, annexed with 
 special reference to the Jewish exiles : the idolatrous Chaldeans needed no such 
 enforcement. The death a very terrible one — cast into a fiery furnace (i^). The 
 penalty the flames. That furnace the prototype of the auto da fes, and the fires 
 of Smithfield in later days. Superstition and cruelty twin sisters. The Babylon 
 of the Old Testament followed by the Babylon of the New. Both of them the 
 " mother of harlots " and the persecutor of the saints. The saints burned by the 
 former under the title of rebels ; by the latter, under that of heretics. The Papal 
 Bull, De Covihurendo, 'concerning the burning of heretics,' a subsequent edition of 
 the present edict of Nebuchadnezzar. 
 
 III. The obedience to the command. The edict not only issued, but obeyed. 
 No sooner were the first strains of the music heard, than, according to the pro- 
 clamation of the herald (11), the blinded multitude fall prostrate before the image. 
 The music probably intended also for greater honour to the god and greater attrac- 
 tion to the service. Perhaps to stimulate and intensify the devotion of the people. 
 
 63 
 
EOMILETJC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 The power of iiuisic recognised in the churcli as well as on the battlefield. The 
 fairest gifts often perverted to the foulest purposes. Superstition and idolatry 
 greatly indebted to the strains of music. The people bow down to the royal idol 
 with abundant goodwill. In the East especially, people follow a superior like a 
 flock of sheep. One also nuist ft)llow another. Each must be like his neighbour. 
 If not the true Cod, it matters little what men worship. 'Gods many and lord.s 
 many.' Babylon the land of graven images. Its people mad upon their idols. 
 Home acknowledged the gods of all nations. Christianity was opposed and perse- 
 cuted, because it was oi)posed to all other religions, as the only true one. The carnal 
 mind enmity against God, not against gods, or a god of our own imagining. Idolatiy 
 the depth of human degradation. The prostrate thousands on the plains of Dura 
 a sight that might make angels weep. "There is nothing," says Matthew Henry, 
 "so bad which the careless world will not be drawn to by a concert of music, or 
 driven to by a fiery furnace." 
 
 We may observe as lessons from the passage — 
 
 1. The danger of losing good impressions and turning asiae from a good j>ro- 
 fession. Too many copies of Nebuchadnezzar to be found in the Christian Church. 
 " Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world." Constant need of 
 David's prayer : " Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe." 
 
 2. Impressions, lioivever good and deep, not to he mistaken for conversions. 
 Present feelings neither to be slighted nor trusted to. A true conversion will in 
 time produce its own evidence. " Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance." " By 
 their fruits ye shall know them." 
 
 3. Mere Imman authority neither to be exercised nor yielded to in viatters of 
 religion. " Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things 
 that are God's." " We ought to obey God rather than men " (Acts v. 29). So 
 Acts iv. 19, The case of a parent in regard to his children who are under the 
 years of discretion, an apparent exception to the above rule. But even here the 
 authority is to be exercised only in commanding what God hns already enjoined. 
 " I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and 
 they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment " (Gen. xviii. 19). 
 
 4. Care to be taken not to follow the multitude to do evil. That a practice is 
 popular, no proof that it is right. Neither the rectitude of a course, nor the truth 
 of an opinion, to be decided by the law of the greater number. " The customs of 
 the people are vain." " Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to 
 destruction, and many there be that go in thereat." 
 
 _ EXEGETICAL NOTES.— (i) " The ivorshippeth " (ver. G). Dr. Smith re- 
 
 image which Nebuchadnezzar the king marks that Nebuchadnezzar's first care, 
 
 had set tip" (ver. 2). Dr. Ride observes after obtaining quiet possession of his 
 
 that about three centuries and a half kingdom after the first Syrian ex[)edi- 
 
 before the event narrated in the passage tion, was to rebuild the temple of Bel 
 
 before us, an Assyrian king, named (Bel-Merodach) out of the spoils of the 
 
 Asshur-akh-bal, as he relates in his own Syrian war. Dr. Taylor thinks Bel- 
 
 annal.H, erected a similar image in one Merodach the idol intended by the 
 
 of the cities wliich he liad conquered. image. "He who pays homage to 
 
 The king says: "I made an image of Merodach," one of Nebuchadnezzar's 
 
 my majesty ; the laws and emblems of titles. " AVe commonly observe, as 
 
 my true religion I wrote upon it, and peculiar to Nebuchadnezzar, a disposi- 
 
 in the city of Isuri I .set it up." Dr. tion to rest his fame on his great works 
 
 Kule thinks that the object exposed by rather than in his military achicve- 
 
 Nebuchadnczzar for public reverence ments ; and a strong religious spirit, 
 
 was no doubt intended to be an image manifesting itself especially in a direc- 
 
 of his majesty. tion which is almost exclusive to one 
 
 (2) " Whoso falleth vol down and particular god, though his own tutelary 
 
 GA 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 deity and that of his father was Nebo 
 (Mercury), yet his worship, his ascrip- 
 tions of i)raise, his thanksgivings, have 
 in ahnost every case for their object 
 the god Merodach. Under his protec- 
 tion he phiced his son Evil-Merodach. 
 Merodach is his ' h)rd,' his ' great lord,' 
 the 'joy of his heart,' the 'great lord 
 who has appointed him to the empire of 
 the world, and has confided to his care 
 the far-spread people of the earth.' lie 
 •was to him ' the supreme chief of the 
 gods.' " — Eawlinson, quoted by Dr. 
 Taylor. Dr. Taylor remarks that, accord- 
 ing to Prideaux, the festival took 
 place after Nebuchadnezzar's return from 
 the destruction of Jerusalem, with the 
 blinded King Zedekiah among his cap- 
 tives; and tbat it is by no means im- 
 probable that he meant on "that special 
 occasion to exalt his god above the 
 Jehovah of the Hebrews. 
 
 (■^) The erection of the statue is 
 believed by Dr. Taylor and others to 
 have had also a political design, the 
 king's religious fervour, as in the case 
 of multitudes since his day, being subor- 
 dinated to imperial policy, and unity of 
 worship sought only that it might con- 
 tribute to the political unity of the 
 empire. 
 
 0) ^' The plain of Di(,ra" According 
 to Dr. Smith and others, not Dur on the 
 left bank of the Tigris, and a hundred 
 and twenty miles from Babylon, but 
 more probably in the vicinity of the 
 mound of Dowair or Duair, to the 
 south-east of Babylon, where Oppert 
 discovered the pedestal of a colossal 
 statue, — a singular attestation of the 
 authenticity of the narrative. The older 
 commentators, as 'Junius, Polanus, and 
 Willet, thought of the Deera in Susiana, 
 mentioned by Ptolemy. Hengstenberg 
 observes that the name is found nowhere 
 else, neither in the Scriptures nor in 
 profane writers, and that the author 
 omits to afford any more precise geo- 
 graphical definition, assuming the i)lace 
 to be known to his readers ; a corro- 
 borative evidence of the genuineness of 
 the book 
 
 (5) " Whose height ivas threescore 
 cubits." The immense image, says M. 
 Gaussen, about a hundred feet high. 
 
 though not higher than the bronze statue 
 of Carlo Borromeo in the vicinity of the 
 Lago Maggiore, which is sixty-four feet 
 in height, and rests on a pede.ital thirty- 
 six feet high. The Colossus at lUiodes, 
 dedicated to the sun, was seventy cubita 
 high. 
 
 C^) "An image of gold." Dr. Taylor 
 remarks that the same terms being else 
 where employed to denote that which 
 was simply overlaid with gold, we may 
 conclude that the image was formed of 
 wood covered with a thin layer of gold ; 
 even thus, however, sufliciently costly. 
 Matthew Henry's remark on the passage 
 has too much truth in it : " The wor- 
 shippers of false gods are not wont to 
 stick at charges in setting up gods and 
 worshipping them. ' They lavish gold 
 out of the bag' for that purpose (Isa. 
 xlvi. 6), which shames our niggardliness 
 in the worship of the true God." 
 
 (*") " The king sent to gather together 
 the princes, the governors," dx. Of the 
 officers of the court and state, we have 
 (1.) The "princes" (X>5?n?c'n,^. akhash 
 darpenaiya), according to Keil and 
 Hengstenberg, from kshetra, a kingdom 
 or province, and ban, an overseer or 
 guardian; "jirinces." Gesenius, how- 
 ever, regards the word as the Hebrew 
 form of the Zend or Pehlevic kshatrap 
 (a satrap), and understands "presidents 
 of the greater provinces ;" oflicers among 
 the ancient Persians invested with civil 
 and military power ; dei)uties and lieu- 
 tenants of the king, whose splendour 
 they imitated. Wintle, like the Sept. 
 and Vulgate, renders the word "satraps." 
 (2.) The "governors" (^^.^fP, signaiya, 
 a word of Persian origin), according to 
 Hengstenberg, "chief magistrates of 
 Babylon ; the rulers of provinces ; " Sept. 
 " generals or commanders." Wintle ren- 
 ders the word "senators." Dr. Rule 
 regards them as governors over district?, 
 oflicers of the civil order. Ptendercd 
 " governors" in chap. ii. 48, and applied 
 to those who presided over colleges of 
 the Magi. (3.) The " captains " (^'nin? 
 jyakhavatha), superintendents of single 
 parts of a province in the Assyrian em- 
 pire, or of a smaller province than a 
 "satrapy. The word probably of Persian 
 origin. According to Benfey, from the 
 65 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 Sanscrit 2ml'sJta, a companion or friend, 
 and so a prefect of a province, as the 
 associate of the king; a pasha. — Ilengsten- 
 herg. Dr. Rule thinlis them to have been 
 of the military order, dukes or generals. 
 (4.) The "judges" (H'nT^ll^^:, adargoz- 
 raiya), from "in5< {adar), dignity, and 
 piTJ (/702/7'/i), j"^Ses; the chief judges. — 
 Iksenius. So Wintle. Dr. Ilule makes 
 them viceroys over the provinces. (5.) 
 The " treasurers" (^J"!!^!^) gedohliraiya), 
 like "I3T3 [gizhar) in Ezra i. 8 and else- 
 where, the sibilant t being changed into 
 T ; from the original Semitic T33 (ganaz), 
 contracted into T3 (gaz), [.the Aramaic 
 form, and the Persian termination va7', 
 serving for the formation of possessives. 
 The officers who had charge of the royal 
 exchequer, like the eunuch of Ethiopia in 
 Acts viii. — Gesenius. According to Dr. 
 Rule, they belonged to the fiscal order 
 of officers and were collectors of the 
 revenue. (G.) The "councillors" (J^t^^n? 
 dethobraiya), promulgators of the law, 
 from r>l (dath), law, and the Persian 
 termination var ; lawyers, judges. — 
 Hengstenherg. So Rule, officers of the 
 legal class ; doctors or lawyers. (7.) 
 The "sheriffs" (i<.lJ?sn, tipJdaye), per- 
 haps from the Arabic fata, to give a 
 legal opinion or judgment; whence 
 mufti; counsellors, perhaps lawyers 
 or pleaders. — Hengstenherg. The Vul- 
 gate has "prefects." Dr. Rule thhiks 
 them officers in the executive department, 
 being responsible for the execution of 
 justice. The exact knowlege displayed 
 by the writer of the entire political con- 
 stitution of the Chaldees, a corroborative 
 evidence of the genuineness of the book. 
 Rertholdt admits that the statements in 
 this cha[)ter respecting the Chaldean 
 })()litical constitution are so'copicms that 
 it must necessarily have been written in 
 Upper Asia. Gesenius also admits the 
 autlienticity of the statements ; remark- 
 ing that "since the constitution of the 
 Assyrian, liabylonian, aiid Persian cm- 
 ]iire3 had certainly groat similarity; 
 since, too, the descriptions of the Persian 
 court occurring in the Book of Esther 
 always differ essentially from those of 
 the Rook of Daniel ; and finally, since 
 tlie incidental but cotemporary notices 
 of Jeremiah agree in many points; these 
 (IG 
 
 statements, which besides have the ana- 
 logy of the whole East in their favour, 
 are not to be rashly rejected." Impos- 
 sible to explain this knowledge in a 
 ]\Iaccabean Jew. With the occupation 
 of the Greeks everything took another 
 form, and most certainly the adminis- 
 tration of the court and of the highest 
 offices of the state. — Hengstenherg. 
 
 (^) " The same lioxir.'^ Dr. Rule re- 
 marks, that if, as Sir H, Rawlinson 
 calculates, there were sixty divisions of 
 the day and night in Babylon, and not 
 twenty-four, as afterwards in Greece, the 
 vengeance would be swift indeed — only 
 twenty-four minutes. "Who can say 
 that the shadow of the pillar (image) 
 itself would not serve to measure the 
 brief space between the sentence and 
 the execution?" 
 
 (^) '■'■All hinds ofmusic,^^ ^7^X {^emara), 
 music in general, though among the 
 modern Egyptiansthe name of a pipe. The 
 Greek names of some of the instruments 
 mentioned are alleged as an objection to 
 the genuineness of the book. One of the 
 objectors to certain parts of it, however, 
 J. D. Michaelis, remarks in reference to 
 his own arguments on this head, that 
 '•' the more closely they were examined, 
 the more completely most of them 
 disappeared." Hengstenherg remarks, 
 " The dispute is at most about the names 
 of three musical instruments ; and who 
 can deny that these might, by even the 
 slightest intercourse of the Greeks with 
 the Babylonians, have found their way 
 to the latter?" Dr. Pusey, who ably 
 follows up Hengstenherg on this subject, 
 observes : " It were rather a marvel if 
 the golden music-loving city had not 
 gathered to itself foreign musical instru- 
 ments ; or if, in a religious inauguration 
 at Babylon, all the variety of music 
 which it could command had not been 
 united to grace the festival and bear 
 along the minds and imaginations of the 
 people." Dr. Pusey properly insists on 
 the well-known fact that " the name 
 follows the thing;" but Pareau, quoted 
 by Hengstenberg, observes that the simi- 
 larity in the names of musical instru- 
 ments is of such a kind that the Greek 
 appellatives are rather to be considered 
 as having an Eastern origin. The 
 
no Ml LET IC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 instruments mentioned are — (1.) The 
 "cornet," ^yy?. (Icarna), the Hebrew 
 1^^ {keren), a horn. (2.) "Flute," 
 Nri'')'?n:?'0 {inashrolcitha), the Chaldaic for 
 a flute or pipe. The Septuagint and 
 Theodotion : absiy^ ; Gr. Yen. : ahXog. 
 (3.) "Harp," ^"^^r}'?. (Icaihros or ki(hros), 
 which Gesenius says was received into 
 the Semitic language from abroad, being 
 the Greek xidapg or xiddoa, a " harp," 
 as both the Septuagint, Theodotion, and 
 the Vulgate translate it. Hengstenberg 
 admits that it certainly appears to be 
 the same word as the Greek xl^aoic, but 
 asks, since most of the names of Greek 
 musical instruments were of foreign 
 origin, why should just this one be 
 originally Greek? (4.) " Sackbut," 
 X35P (sahhecha), according to Hesyehius, 
 an instrument like a harp, but with only 
 four strings. Athenjeus says that the 
 samhuca, called the Phcenician lyre, was 
 an invention of the Syrians, Its foreign 
 or non-Greek origin is maintained by 
 Gesenius, and generally admitted. (5.) 
 " Psaltery," T"?^??? (pesanierm), ac- 
 cording to Gesenius and others, the 
 Greek -^aXTTjeicv, received into the Chal- 
 daic language ; which, however, is ques- 
 tioned by Hengstenberg. (6.)" Dulcimer," 
 N^J'sp-ID (sumjionia), retained untrans- 
 lated by the Septuagint, Theodotion, 
 the Vulgate, and the Greek Venetian ; 
 according to Gesenius, a bagpipe with 
 two pipes inserted into a bag, which he 
 says, on the authority of Polybius in 
 Athenseus, was, at the time of Antiochus 
 Epiphanes, used by Greeks living in 
 Syria under that name. Si/mjyhonia, 
 though with the old Romans used to 
 indicate "music," or the concert of 
 various instruments, was used also by 
 the later Latins to denote a musical 
 instrument, but rather a drum than a 
 pipe. Saadias, on the passage, explains 
 it as a pastoral instrument of the nature 
 of a bagpipe, as a similar instrument 
 used in Italy is still called saiiipogiia. 
 Hengstenberg questions the Greek deriva- 
 tion of the word, and the name of such an 
 instrument in the older Greek language. 
 
 (10) ujjg ^^gi ^i^fQ ^;^g j^j^;^,^.^ ^^ ^ 
 hurning fiery furnace." The punishment 
 of death by burning in ovens was en- 
 tirely Babylonian, while that i)ractised 
 by the ]\Iedes and Persians was the 
 casting into a lions' den. The descrip- 
 tion here given of the former mode of 
 punishment admitted to be a proof that 
 the writer had seen such an oven, and 
 had been present at an execution of the 
 kind; while the accuracy of his know- 
 ledge is also shown by the fact that in 
 the sixth chapter he attributes to the 
 Medo-Persians, not this mode of punish- 
 ing, but that peculiar to themselves 
 — an incidental corroboration of the 
 genuineness and authenticity of the 
 history. — Uengstenherq. 
 
 (11) ''An herald," Tina (cWoz), a 
 crier, from tj]| (craz), a Chaldaic word 
 meaning " to cry," as a herald ; used in 
 the Targunis and Talmud, and also in 
 the Samaritan. The same word is 
 found extensively in the Indo-Germanic 
 tongues, the Sanscrit, Zend, and Persian ; 
 being the Greek xri^uasu, tO' proclaim as 
 a herald, and xsccj^w, to cry ; the middle 
 Latin criso ; the German krieschen; and 
 the English cry. Gesenius thinks the 
 word is of Persian origin, though Heng- 
 stenberg believes it to be originally 
 Semitic, and its relation to the Greek 
 only accidental, or from onomatopoeia. 
 He remarks that it is almost unanimously 
 agreed by modern linguists that the 
 names of Babylonian gods, kings, and 
 other persons, which occur in the Bible 
 and in profane writers, find their ex- 
 planation in the Persian, the Chaldaic, 
 and Assyrian languages ; belonging, ac- 
 cording to Gesenius and others, to the 
 Medo-Persian stock ; and according to 
 others, as Rosenmiiller, to the Assyrian 
 language, a dialect of the IMedo-Persian, 
 and so naturalised in Babylon, thougli 
 the Assyrian predominated. Words of 
 Persian origin also found in Jeremiah, and 
 apparently even in Isaiah and Nalium. 
 No argument therefore against the genu- 
 ineness of the book. 
 
 67 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XIII. — The Fieey Furnace (Chap. iii. 8-27). 
 
 God has never left Himself without a witness. An Enoch and a Noah found 
 on the eve of the Flood ; an Abraham in Chaldea, and a Lot in Sodom. While the 
 multitude were falling prostrate before the golden image, Shadrach, Meshach, and 
 Abednego were in their closet on their knees. Where was Daniel 1 Probably 
 now, as often, at some distance from the court. Wherever he is, he is worshipping 
 the God of heaven. If at hand, like his three friends, fearless of the consequences, 
 be refuses to obey the summons to the plain of Dura, but for this time left un- 
 molested by his enemies, for reasons which we can only conjecture. Noio not 
 Daniel, but his three friends, are to be made illustrious through all time for their 
 faith in and fidelity to the true God. Daniel, in noble self-forgetfulness, is content 
 to leave them the honour of the deed, without being careful to give the grounds of 
 his non-participation in it ; an incidental confirmation of the genuineness of the 
 history. We may notice in the narrative — 
 
 I. The accusation (vers. 8-12). The accusation probably the offspring alike 
 of envy and religious zeal. The accusers the Chaldeans, the priests and religious 
 teachers of the country. The charge, as in Daniel's own case (chap, vi.), probably 
 the thing the accusers desired, expected, and waited for. " Who can stand before 
 envy ? " The accusation bewrays itself. " There are certain Jews, whom thoit hast 
 set over the affairs of the province of Babylon" The language indicative of the 
 spirit which prompted the accusation. Three faithful Jews so exalted, a likely 
 butt for the shafts of envious idolatrous natives. Nothing to be found against 
 these men except, as in the case of Daniel, " concerning the law of their God." 
 In a world " lying in the wicked one," fidelity to God hardly able to escape the 
 malice of men. In a corrupt time, "he that departeth from evil maketh himself 
 a prey." False or hostile accusation for the truth's sake, according to the Sermon 
 on the Mount, to be rather rejoiced in by the servants of God. The footprints of 
 the ])ro])hets and of the jMaster Himself. The servant not greater than his lord. 
 
 IL The answer (vers. 13-18). The charge, true in itself, though made with 
 evil intention, answered with meekness, firmness, and faith. The answer cahn, 
 dignified, and courageous. " Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to aUswer thee 
 in this matter " (^). Tiie naming of the king, as one has remarked, not disrespect- 
 ful, but expressive of the deep earnestness of the speaker, and the desire to impress 
 the mind of the hearer. The purpose declared, whatever may be the consequence. 
 " If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning" fiery 
 furnace, and will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known 
 unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image 
 which thou hast set up." The fiery furnace with the favour of God and a good 
 conscience to be preferred to the comforts of a palace without them. The choice 
 was wise and according to reason. To a Jew or a Christian enlightened by a 
 divine revelation compliance was sin, tljough to heathens and polythcists it 
 might be a matter of indillurence. The three exiles knew their duty, and they 
 knew in whom they believed. The God they served was able, if He i)leased, to 
 deliver them from the furnace or preserve them in it, as, according to tradition. He 
 Lad done their father Abraham before them in tliat very land. He who had 
 answered prayer at the time of the king's distress could answer prayer now. If 
 not His i)lea.sure, no matter. While the fire consumed their body in the "furnace, 
 their spirit should be witli God in paradise. Better a thousand times over to die 
 with His favour than live without it. Better a fiery furnace for the body than 
 the fire of liell and a guilty conscience for the soul. Fleas for compliance, sug- 
 gested by the flesh and the tempter, would not be wanting. It was only an act 
 G8 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 of the body, in which the mind, the principal thing, would not participate. It 
 was from compulsion, not from choice. Tlie king conunaiidcd it, and rulers are to 
 be obeyed. It would be ungrateful to the king, from whom they had experienced 
 so much kindness. To die now would terminate their usefulness. It would only 
 be what many, perhaps all, of their countrymen would be found doing. To all 
 these, and perhaps otlier arguments, these noble confessors had but one answer, 
 No. " It is written, Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor worsliip them." 
 Those, says Henry, who make their duty their main care, need not be careful con- 
 cerning the event. 
 
 III. The consequence (vers. 19-23). Arbitrary power brooks no opposition. 
 The soft answer did not turn away wrath, while the firmness of faith and fidelity 
 to God seem only to have inflamed it. Pride and passion shut both ears and 
 eyes to reason. These Jewish captives' past faithfulness and the king's own 
 former declarations alike forgotten. The decree goes forth with added cruelty. 
 The victims are bound for the furnace. As if to defy the God of the Jews and make 
 escape impossible, the furnace is heated seven times more than usual (-•>, while the 
 strongest men in the army are employed to bind the three youths. So the Jews 
 themselves thought afterwards to prevent the resurrection of Jesus by " sealing 
 the stone and setting a watch." So great was the heat of the furnace and the 
 haste of the king, that the death designed for the accused at once overtook their 
 txecutioners, possibly glad, as iMatthew Henry suggests, to do their cruel work. 
 " The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead." 
 Bound in their ordinary clothes (3), the martyrs descend into the fiery furnace. But 
 Abraham's God will again vindicate His honour in Babylon. There are times 
 when He may see it needful, for His own glory and for the welfare of His creatures, 
 to arrest the processes of nature and to suspend for a time the laws which He Him- 
 self imposed on material things. The fire is made for a season to lose its power to 
 consume or to give pain. The bonds which bound the victims were indeed con- 
 sumed by the flames, but neither their persons nor their clothes were affected by 
 the fire. The hair of their head was not singed, neither did the smell of fire pass 
 on them. Whether in vision or otherwise 0), a strange spectacle presented itself to 
 the king. "Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?" he suddenly ex- 
 claims t°o those about him j "lo ! I see four men loose, walking in the midst of 
 the fire, and they have no hurt ; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of 
 God"(^). The light of nature guided a heathen poet to speak of a crisis worthy 
 of divine interposition ('0. It is with the Almighty Himself to judge as to what is 
 such. Here is a city standing at the head of the civilised world. The laiid is one 
 of graven images. The worshippers of the only true God are captive in it, while 
 Bel, the great idol, is apparently triumphant. Three faithful servants of Johovah 
 and witnesses to His truth have been cast into a burning furnace for their protesting 
 fidelity, declaring at the same time that their God, if He pleased, was able to deliver 
 them. Shall God vindicate His honour, and supiiort the much-tried faith of His 
 people ? Or shall the heathen still tauntingly ask where is their God ? ("> 
 
 IV. The result (vers. 26-30). The king's former impressions and convictions 
 are revived and strengthened. A stronger declaration than before is made in 
 favour of the true God. A decree is issued on behalf of His servants forbiddmg, 
 in the style indeed of Oriental despotism, a single word to be uttered agauist Him_( ) 
 on pain of death. The three ('•') confessors are restored to their oflice with in- 
 creased honour. No wonder ; those most likely to be faithful to their king that 
 are faithful to their God, Tiie effect of the whole probably a considerable f"' tlier- 
 ance of the cause of true religion in the land, the strengthening of the hands and 
 encourac^ing of the hearts of God's servants, and an important step towards the hna 
 release of the Jewish captives, " Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee and 
 the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain " (Bs. Ixxvi. 10). Irom the whole we 
 may observe : — »q 
 
EOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 1. Persecution the frequent lot of God's faithful people. " All that will live 
 godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Tim. iii. 12). In a world of 
 which God's enemy is the prince, His faithful servants not likely to be long with- 
 out trouble. As surely as a knife cuts and fire burns, so surely will he who by 
 his life and lips reproves the ways of the world incur its hatred and persecution. 
 " The world cannot hate you ; but me it hateth, because I testify of it that the 
 works thereof are evil " (John vii. 7). 
 
 2. The poioer and precio^wiess of faith. The noble act and glorious deliverance 
 of these three Jewish captives ascribed to this divine principle. " By faith they 
 quenched the violence of fire." "This is the victory that overcometh the world, 
 even your faith " (1 John v. 4). Faith able to triumph over every difficulty and 
 every trial. The same principle that enabled Moses to choose rather to suffer 
 afiliction with the people of God than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, raised 
 these exiles above the fear of a fiery furnace. Its natural effect to make men 
 heroes. Its property to give " substance " and reality to " things hoped for," and 
 "evidence" or conviction in regard to "things unseen." Looks not at the things 
 that are seen and temporal, but at those which are unseen and eternal. Believes 
 that God not only can, but that according to His promise He tvill, in one way or 
 other, deliver. To_faith deliverance is certain, whether in this world or the next. 
 Looking into the glorious future, it thinks it matters little which. Eyeing Him 
 who said, " Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world," it sings, even at the stake, 
 " O death, where is thy sting ] " " Deny Christ," said the Roman governor to 
 Polycarp, " or thou shalt be thrown to the wild beasts." " Call for them," said 
 the venerable bishop ; " we have no mind to change from better to worse." " But 
 if thou thinkest so lightly of wild beasts, I shall have a fire that will tame thee." 
 " You threaten me," replied Polycarj), " with a fire that will burn for an hour and 
 then be extinguished, but remember not the fire of eternal damnation reserved for 
 the punishment of the ungodly. But why do you delay 1 Execute whatever you 
 please." " The emperor commands thee to do sacrifice," said the proconsul to 
 Cyprian ; " therefore consult for thy welfare." " I am a Christian," was the heroic 
 reply ; " and I cannot sacrifice to your gods ; do therefore what you are commanded : 
 as for me, in so just a cause, there needs no consultation." 
 
 3. A faithful adherence to God's prescribed zvorship one of our first duties. ^ The 
 first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me;" the second, 
 " Thou shalt not nuike to thyself any graven image ; thou shalt not bow down to 
 them nor worship them." God jealous both of His worship and the manner of it. 
 " I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God." Will-worship among the things con- 
 demned in Ilis Word. " In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the 
 commandments of men " (Col. ii. 23 ; Matt. xv. 9). God's glory to be esteemed 
 " of more consequence than a thousand lives, and the gratitication of a thousand 
 senses," 
 
 4. Clirist ever 2ires€nt with Ilis suffering servants. The Son of God a fourth in 
 the fiery furnace. " Fear not, for 1 am with thee." He that has power over fire 
 present with His people in every fiery trial which is to try them. " When thou 
 l)as.se.st tlirough the waters, I will be with thee, and through the iloods, they shall 
 not overflow thee : when tliou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, 
 neither shall the llame kindle upon thee " (Isa. xliii. 2). Faith, hiying hold of the 
 Word, sings with the Psalmist, " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the 
 shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for Thou art with me " (Ps. xxiii. 4). 
 
 .''). JlcHrvers gainers rather than losers hij their sufferi»i/s. The three confessors 
 in Babylon lost nothing in the furnace but the bonds that bound them. Believers 
 lose nothing by their sufferiiigs but the bonds of corruption and sin. "When He 
 hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." " This is all the fruit, to take away 
 their sin." Trouble often the method which God takes to consume our bonds and 
 to purify our souls. 
 70 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 " I asked the Lord tliat I miglit grow 
 In faith and love and every grace ; 
 Might more of His salvation know, 
 And seek more earnestly His face, 
 
 'Twas thus lie tauglit me thus to pray ; 
 And He, I think, lias answered prayer ; 
 I3ut it was done in such a way 
 As almost drove me to despair." 
 
 6. God glorified hj the trials of II is people. The fiery furnace a platform for 
 the disi^lay of God's glory in Babylon. His name raised higher by the deliverance 
 of the three martyrs than by the interpretation of the king's dream. The trial of 
 believers, whatever it may be here, "found unto praise and honour and glory at 
 the appearing of Jesus Christ." The high privilege of Paul and of all suffering 
 believers, to "fill up in their flesh that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ 
 for His body's sake, which is the Church " (Col. i. 24). Their patient suffering 
 made to glorify God as truly as their active service. The blood of the martyrs the 
 seed of the Church. 
 
 7. Something to he imitated in the conduct of Nebuchadnezzar. A prompt, 
 humble, and decided submission yielded to the truth as revealed in God's deliver- 
 ance of His servants. The effect and fruit of it the immediate employment of his 
 influence in honouring God and advancing His cause. The threatened penalty to 
 be condemned, as only corresponding to the character and customs of the time and 
 country, and the ideas of an Oriental despot. Otherwise the edict an examjile to 
 all in authority, whether as magistrates, parents, or masters, to employ their 
 influence in restraining open ungodliness and forbidding profanity on the part of 
 those who are under them. 
 
 8. Miracles 2'>recious as God's tesfiinony both to His p)ou'er and to His presence 
 ivith His people. One of the objections made against the genuineness of the book 
 of Daniel is its alleged "aimless profusion of miracles." But, as Hengstenberg 
 remarks, the object in each miracle occurring in the first six cliajiters is distinctly 
 stated — the manifestation of the omnipotence of the God of Israel before the 
 heathen kings and nations, the circumstances of the chosen people at the time being 
 such as to render it desirable that the weakness of their faith should be assisted 
 even by sensible means of support. Objectless, says Dr. Pusey, they can only 
 seem to those to whom all revelation from God seems to be objectless. " On the 
 one side was the world-monarchy, irresistible, conquering, as the heathen thought, 
 the God of the vanquished. On the other, a handful of the worshippers of the 
 one only God, captives, scattered, with no visible centre or unity, without organisa- 
 tion or power to resist save their indomitable faith, inwardly upheld by God, out- 
 wardly strengthened by the very calamities which almost ended their national 
 existence ; for they were the fulfilment of His Word in whom they believed. 
 Thrice during the seventy years human power put itself forth against the faith ; 
 twice in edicts which, if obeyed, would have extinguished the true faith on earth ; 
 once in direct insult to God. Faith, as we know, ' quenched the violence of fire, 
 stopped the mouth of lions.' In all cases the assault was signally rolled back ; 
 the faith was triumphant in the face of all the representatives of the power and 
 intelligence of the empire ; in all, the truth of the one God was proclaimed by 
 those who had assailed it. Unbelief, while it remains such, must deny all true 
 miracles and all superhuman prophecy. But, if honest, it dare not designate as 
 objectless miracles which decided the cause of truth in such battlefields." 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES. — (i) " In message, edict, and in general a word 
 this matter" (ver. IQ). UiT^P (piihgam), or matter.— Keil. Calvin paraphrases 
 from the Zend paiti or Sanscrit prati, the answer of the captives thus : " Thou 
 = T^of, to, and ga77i, to go ; hence a hast erected this statue, but thy autho- 
 
 71 
 
nOMILETlC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 rity is of no moment to us, since we 
 know it to be a fictitious deity, whose 
 image tliou wisliest us to worship. The 
 God whom we worship has revealed 
 Himself to us ; we luiow Him to be the 
 maimer of heaven and earth, to have 
 redeemed our fathers from Egypt, and 
 to intend our chastisement by driving 
 us into exile. Since, then, we have a 
 firm foundation for our faith, we reckon 
 thy gods and thy sway valueless." 
 
 '(-) " To heal the furnace one seven times 
 more" (ver. 19). An apocryphal addition 
 at tliis place, attributed to Theodotion, 
 the Greek translator, who flourished in 
 the second century of the Christian era, 
 contains a statement that the king's 
 servants were made to keep up the fire 
 by flinging into the furnace naphtha, tow, 
 pitch, and brands, such as were used 
 iii sieges for burning down cities ; and 
 that the flames rose forty-nine cubits 
 high. — Rule. 
 
 (.■^) ^^ In their coats, their hosen, and 
 their hats, and their other garments " 
 (ver. 21). . According to Herodotus, the 
 garments worn by the Babylonians were 
 the tunic (x/Jwv), an under-garment of 
 linen or cutton, reaching down to the 
 feet ; on this was another tunic of 
 woollen ; and over this again a white 
 mantle (■^Xanihov). This threefold clotli- 
 iug, though not such as we might expect 
 in a warm climate, found on Babylonian 
 cylinders. In the present passage, in 
 the dress of the three Jews, we meet 
 with it complete, though not according 
 to our own and ordinary translations. 
 AVe have (1.) lin\'?37D (sarhalehon), "their 
 coats," marg. " their mantles," Avhich the 
 Sept., Aquila, Theodotion, the Syriac, and 
 the Vulgate leave untranslated, and which 
 Symmachus renders by a word denoting 
 drawers or breeches reaching down to 
 the feet, sucli as were worn by the 
 I'ersians and Scythians. It is rather 
 intended to denote a mantle or cloak, 
 which Lutlier adopted, and Avhich is 
 favoured by Gesenius. Ilcngstenberg 
 ^dves "upper garment." (2.) i'ln^i'D:^ 
 (petishehon), " tlioir hosen," but which 
 ( Jesenius, after the Syriac and Hebrew 
 interpreters, renders "tunic," 'i'heodotion 
 and the Vnluatc render it "tiara" or turban. 
 (3.) pn^nbap? (carbclathchon), "their 
 72 ■■ 
 
 hats," but which the Sept. renders by 
 'z'.piKvTifj.lGi, a garment for the legs or 
 feet, and the Vulgate by cnlceamentis, 
 " shoes." Keil renders it "mantles" and 
 thinks that the other articles of clothing, 
 coverings for the feet and the head, are 
 to be understood under the word piT'LJ'n'p 
 (lehlmshehon) " garments." 
 
 (•*) " Was astonied" (ver. 24), Hin (tevah), 
 like the Heb. DpiDtf^il (hishtomem), chap, 
 viii. 27, or simply DpiCi' (shoinem), Ezra ix. 
 3. Between the 23d and 24th verses, the 
 apocryphal "Song of the Three Chil- 
 dren," as it is called, has been inserted 
 by Jerome and others. The Septuagint, 
 followed by the Arabic, inserts the 
 clause, " heard them singing praise " 
 {■j/MvomTM'j), thus accounting for the king's 
 astonishment. To connect the two 
 verses, Houbigant adds the words found 
 in the Vulgate, " But an angel of the 
 Lord went down with Azariah and his 
 companions into the furnace, and drove 
 out the flame of fire from the furnace, 
 and they walked in the midst of the 
 furnace." Added to show the reason of 
 the king's astonishment, and to account 
 for the appearance of a fourth person in 
 the furnace. — A. Clark. . 
 
 (") "/s like the Son of God," pn^N "^l 
 {bar elahin), which some prefer to trans- 
 late, "a son of the gods," as more likely 
 to be found on the lips of a polytheist. 
 The expression, according to Gesenius, 
 is equivalent to " one of the innnortal 
 gods," as, according to the Syriac idiom, 
 " Son of man " means simply a man or a 
 mortal. Keil thinksthatNebuchadnezzar 
 speaks in the spirit and meaning of the 
 Babylonian doctrine of the gods, accord- 
 ing to the representations peculiar to all 
 Oriental religions, the inferior divinities 
 being regarded by them as begotten by 
 the superior ones, Mylitta, a female 
 deit}', being associated with their higher 
 god, Bel. According to Hengstenberg, 
 the designation cannot be explained by 
 these theogonic ideas. "Willet, after 
 Rupertus, thinks that Nebuchadnezzar 
 thought only of some divine presence, 
 whether god or angel, but that in reality 
 it was Christ, the Son of God, who 
 appeared at this time in human shape. 
 Calvin thinks it was a single angel that 
 was sent to tlicse three men. Though 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 the words -n-ere probably only intended 
 by the king " to describe the dignified 
 and exalted deportment of Him whom 
 he thus characterised," yet they declared, 
 unknown to himself, a precious truth, — 
 the presence of Him who is the Son of 
 God witli His suffering servants. In ver. 
 28, the king calls him God's "angel," 
 which He no doubt was — the '' angel of 
 the Lord," otherwise called the " Mes- 
 senger of the Covenant," the Son of God, 
 who in the fulness of time was " made 
 flesh and dwelt among us." 
 
 <^)"Nec dens iutersit, nodus nisi vindice 
 digniis 
 Incident." — Hon ace, Be Arte Poctica. 
 
 " It is explicitly affirmed by Mr. J. S. 
 Mill {System of Logic) that on this 
 view of the constancy of nature, — on 
 the hypothesis that the governing power 
 of the universe is an infinitely wise and 
 Almighty God, — a miracle is no infrac- 
 tion of nature's harmony and concord, 
 and, of course, not beyond reach of 
 proof. . . . Lord Bacon declared that, 
 in regard of redemption, 'to which all 
 God's signs and miracles do refer,' the 
 Almighty could indeed ' break the law of 
 }iature by miracles.' The Saviour is called 
 by the father of modern pliilosphy 'the 
 Lord of nature in His miracles.' . . . 
 Miracles are thus shown to be in harmony 
 with a higher constancy than that of phy- 
 sical nature — a constancy of eternal pur- 
 pose and everlasting wisdom, a course of 
 mercy in the . moral government of the 
 
 world, a constancy of creative power, 
 varying at pleasure its modes and its 
 habitudes." — P. Bayne, '' ChriaCs Tes- 
 thnony to Cltristianity." 
 
 ('> Iveil remarks : " Since all the 
 heathen estimated the power of the 
 gods according to the power of the 
 people who honoured them, tlie God of 
 the Jews whom they had subjugated by 
 their arms would actually appear to the 
 Chaldeans and their king as an inferior 
 and feeble God, as He had already 
 appeared to the Assyrians (Isa. x. 8-11, 
 xxxvi. 11-20)." 
 
 (^) " Speak anyiliing amiss," marg. 
 " ejTor," iV'^ (shalah), " that zcJiich is 
 erro7ieo7cs or w)J2ist," from H^t?^ {shelah), 
 to err, commit a fault ; changed by 
 the Masorites into '^7^ or •vti' (shaht), 
 an error or fault, as in chap. vi. 5. Ob- 
 jection has been made to the difficulties 
 connected with the carrying out of such 
 a command. But such difficulties only 
 confirm the historical character of the 
 narrative. — Keil. 
 
 (^) ''Promoted," nbyn (Jiatslalh), liter- 
 ally, as the margin, " made to pmsper." 
 The Septuagint adds : " And he ad- 
 vanced them, and ai^pointed them to 
 rule over all the Jews that were in his 
 kingdom." Dr. Cumming remarks that 
 this may be the meaning of the verse, as 
 these three men were more likely to be 
 set over the Jews than over the Chal- 
 deans. 
 
 iio2iizi:tics. 
 
 Sect. XIV. — The Royal Testimony (Chap. iv. 1-3). 
 
 In this chapter we have a remarkable testimony from Nebuchadnezzar himself 0). 
 The date usually assigned to it is about ten years after the erection of the golden 
 image, probably towards the latter end of his life (2). The king had still to be 
 brought down from his pride. What was not unusual in the absence of a written 
 revelation, a dream, was employed for this purpose. See Job xxxiii. 14-17. The 
 dream, with its interpretation and fulfilment in a lengthened and humiliating 
 affliction, made effectual (s). As the result, we have the noble testimony in this 
 chapter. Calvin observes that Daniel has no other object in relating the edict than 
 to show the fruit of conversion in Nebuchadnezzar. The testimony remarkable in 
 itself; still more so from the quarter from which it came — a king of kings, the 
 head of the first great universal monarchy, a king who had been all his life a 
 heathen and a devoted worshipper of idols. The testimony given in the foiin of 
 a royal epistle, proclamation, or edict, addressed to all the subjects of his extensive 
 empire. The chapter an example of the varied contents of the Bible. Out of the 
 
 73 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 mouth of heathen monarchs, as well as of " babes and sucklings," God able to 
 ordain strength and perfect praise. The proclamation sets forth Jehovah's great- 
 ness, truth, and justice ; His supremacy as governor of the universe ; His over- 
 ruling providence among the nations of the world ; His sovereignty in doing all 
 according to His own will among angels and men, that will being the most perfect 
 justice; His remarkable dealings with the king himself; and, finally, a humble 
 confession of his sinfuhiess and pride, with the humiliating chastisement which it 
 had entailed upon him. The testimony addressed to the various peoples under 
 his rule with a view to their conversion to the only true God, the God of Israel. 
 The whole breathes a spirit of sincerity and humility, of gratitude to God and 
 good-will to men. The opening salutation probably more than a mere form. A 
 deep earnestness and warm admiration indicated in the manner in which he refers 
 to God's dealings with himself. " How great are His signs, and how mighty are 
 His wonders ! " (vers. 2, 3). The proclamation also contains a high testimony in 
 favour of Daniel, as an inspired prophet in whom was " the spirit of the holy 
 gods," and as a faithful counsellor of the king. The repetition of what Daniel had 
 said in the interpretation of a former dream, many years before, regarding the 
 " everlasting kingdom " which God was to set up, indicative of the deep impres- 
 sion which the prophet's words had left upon his mind. The three first verses of 
 the chapter, improperly forming the concluding ones in the Hebrew Bible and 
 Gr-eek version, serve as the preface or preamble to the edict. Among the lessons of 
 this part of the testimony, as well as of the testimony in general, are the following: — • 
 
 1. The 'power and t^icacy of divine grace. The proclamation of the king an 
 apparent evidence of a change of mind and heart where it might least be expected. 
 Nebuchadnezzar apparently a case of remarkable though imperfect conversion. 
 Among the evidences given of an inward change are — pride in a mighty monarch 
 acknowledged and abandoned ; a formerly idolatrous king now a preacher of the 
 true God to his subjects ; sin confessed, its chastisement related, and repentance 
 declared. " How hardly shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of God ! " 
 Yet here is one who at the time was the richest on the face of the earth, appa- 
 rently made to enter it as a little child. " The things that are impossible with 
 nien are possible with God." " Not many mighty, not many noble are called." 
 Yet, thanks to sovereign and omnipotent grace, some are. Nothing too difficult 
 for the grace that, as we may believe, converted Nebuchadnezzar. No situation 
 too high, as none is too mean, for its operation. " Who art thou, great moun- 
 tain ? Before Zerubbabel thou shall become a plain." 
 
 2. Encouragement to projj and labour for the conversion of others. Many a 
 j)rayer for the king's conversion doubtless olfered by Daniel and his three friends. 
 These at length answered apparently in this edict. The testimony of Daniel's life 
 and lips at length effectual. His faithfulness to the king (ver. 27) rewarded by 
 the king's testimony for God. The influence, though insensible, of a spiritual 
 and consistent Christian's life, accompanied by earnest persevering prayer, always 
 powerful, and often efficacious in the most unlikely places and persons. " Ye are 
 my witnesses." Hopeful's conversion mainly due to the spirit exhibited by 
 Christian and Faithful in Vanity Fair. The trial of the three faithful Jews in 
 connection with the licry furnace now made to bear fruit. " In the morning sow 
 thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand." The privilege of believers 
 to be tlie "salt of the earth," whether in a palace or a prison. 
 
 3. Thanks and praise to he rendered to God in every situation. Thanks espe- 
 cially due after mercies received and deliverance experienced. God's gracious 
 dealings with ourselves to be made know to others for His tjlory and their good. 
 " Come, hear, all ye that fear (Jod, and I will declare what He hath done for my 
 soul." " Many shall see it and fear, and put their trust in the Lord." " Go home 
 to thy friends and tell them how great things God hath done for thee." No 
 situation too lofty for making public acknowledgment of God and His mercies. 
 
 74 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DAMEL. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar an example to kings and those in high places. Nut ashamed to 
 confess God before his court, his princes, servants, and subjects. A throne a meet 
 place to acknowledge Him by whom "kings reign and princes decree justice." 
 " Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess before my Father and 
 the holy angels." Confession of God a natural duty. In Nebuchadnezzar the 
 spontaneous effusion of a grateful and childlike spirit. " Whoso oflercth praise 
 glorifieth me." May not this heathen king, recovered from his madness, put many 
 a professing Christian to shame ? 
 
 4. God's works to he viewed with admiration and 2^i'ctise. The king struck with 
 wonder and astonishment at those works. " How great are His signs ! and how 
 mighty are His wonders ! " God's works, whether in creation or in providence, 
 wonderful both for their goodness and greatness. He is " fearful in praises, doing 
 wonders." The song of the glorified, — " Great and marvellous are thy works, 
 Lord God Almighty," — echoed back from earth: "Thou art great, and doest 
 wondrous things ; thou art God alone." Man's sin not to regard the operation oi 
 his hands. " He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered" (Ps. cxi. 4). 
 These wonders visible in Nature, Providence, and Grace. Discoverable in each 
 individual's case as well as in Nebuchadnezzar's. The greatest wonder of all, the 
 gift, incarnation, and death of the Son of God for man's redemption, and, as the 
 effect of it, the restoration of ruined millions to God's friendship, family, and 
 likeness. Men turned from the madness and the misery of sin to a life of wisdom, 
 holiness, and peace, like Nebuchadnezzar's deliverance, "the doing of the Lord, 
 and marvellous in our eyes." 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— 0) " A'e- 
 hichadnezzar the king unto all people," 
 dec. Adam Clarke says : *' This is a 
 regular decree, and is one of the most 
 ancient on record, and no doubt was 
 copied from the state-papers of Babylon. 
 Daniel has preserved it in the original 
 language." Grotius observes : " Daniel 
 gives this wonderful history, not in his 
 own words, but in those of the pub- 
 lished edict itself, that there might 
 remain no doubt about its trustwor- 
 thiness." Calvin says : " Daniel here 
 gives the edict under the king's name 
 and person, afterwards relates what hap- 
 pened to the king, and at length returns 
 to the king's personal testimony; the 
 change of the person speaking, however, 
 not at all obscuring the sense." This 
 change of the speaker has been made 
 an objection to the genuineness of the 
 book. Hengstenberg remarks in re- 
 ply : *' We cannot by any means allow 
 that this happens univarily. With the 
 exception of ver. 19, where * the king ' 
 stands for ' I,' which calls for no re- 
 mark, because the same thing is found 
 repeatedly in the decrees of the Persian 
 kings (compare, e.g., Ezra vii. 14, 15), 
 the use of the third person commences 
 just where the narrative of the fulfil- 
 
 ment of the divine threat of punishment 
 begins (ver. 28), and ends where the 
 description of the sad ailment of Ne- 
 buchadnezzar comes to a close (ver. 33). 
 His restoration he describes again in the 
 first person. This cannot possibly be 
 accidental; and if not, then no argu- 
 ment can be taken from it against the 
 genuineness, although we cannot assign 
 with certainty the reason of the change. 
 It may be conjectured that Daniel dis- 
 posed this part in a briefer or more 
 detailed and exact narrative than as it 
 stood in the edict (so Calvin) ; and 
 now, to be chargeable with no false- 
 hood, used the third person." 
 
 (2) The Septuagint has introduced 
 the words " in the eighteenth year of 
 the reign of Nebuchadnezzar," which 
 Ewald has adopted, but arbitrarily mak- 
 ing it " in the twenty-eighth year,"&c. — 
 Keil 
 
 (3) Adam Clarke thinks that very 
 probably Nebuchadnezzar was a true 
 convert, that he relapsed no more into 
 idolatry, and that he died in the faith 
 of the God of IsraeL Dr. Gumming 
 remarks: "This closing ejiistle ad- 
 dressed by the King Nebuchadnezzar 
 to his subjects breathes a quiet and a 
 beautiful spirit, that indicates to my 
 
 75 
 
HO MI LET IC COMMENTARY: D AX I EL. 
 
 iniud a change in Lis heart, a transfor- 
 mation of his character, a true and an 
 actual conversion to God." Among the 
 older commentators, Willet thinks " the 
 more probable and certain opinion is 
 that Nebuchadnezzar in the end -nas 
 saved." He quotes Josephus, who says 
 that all his life long after this he ac- 
 knowledged God and gave praise and 
 glory to Him ; Augustine, who remarks 
 that, unlike Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar 
 was humbled and so saved ; and Theo- 
 doret, who contrasts the end of Nebu- 
 chadnezzar with that of Belshazzar, the 
 one being foreseen to be amended by his 
 correction, the other to be incorrigible. 
 So BuUinger, Osiander, and (Ecolampa- 
 dius. Calvin thinks that " though in 
 this edict Nebuchadnezzar does not de- 
 scribe what is required of a pious man 
 long trained in God's school, yet he 
 shows how he had benefited under God's 
 rod, by attributing to Him the height of 
 power, and adding the praise of justice 
 and rectitude, while he confesses himself 
 guilty." jMatthew Henry says, "Whether 
 lie continued in the same good mind 
 that here he seems to have been in, avc 
 are not told, nor doth anything appear 
 to the contrary but that he did ; and if 
 so great a blasphemer and persecutor 
 did find merc}', he was not the last." 
 Dr. Taylor quotes Scott's remark that 
 " the beginning and conclusion of the 
 chapter lead us at least to hope with 
 jtrevailing confidence that Nebuchad- 
 )iezzar was at last made a monument of 
 the power of divine grace," yet thinks 
 that the conversion was still an imper- 
 fect one, as the king still speaks of the 
 name of his god and of the spirit of the 
 holy gods, as if, while acknowledging 
 the supremacy of Jehovah, he still clung 
 to the worship of inferior divinities. 
 Hengstcnberg, who seems to be of the 
 same opinion, remarks, in reply to an 
 objection made by Eichhorn and otliers 
 against the genuineness of the edict, 
 from tlie narrator making the king 
 speak now as an ortliodox Jew, and now 
 again as an idolater : " Just this mode 
 of representation would be expected in 
 case the edict were genuine, and cer- 
 tainly affords a ])resumi)tion that it is. 
 It cannot be imagined that Ncbuchad- 
 7G 
 
 nezzar rooted out the inveterate super- 
 stition so quickly from his mind that 
 the traces of it should not have appeared 
 in connection with what he had learned 
 from the instruction of Daniel. That a 
 later Jew, bold in his fictions, would not 
 have been satisfied with such a conver- 
 sion of Nebuchadnezzar, is clear from 
 the attempt of very many Jewish and 
 Christian expositors to make the con- 
 version as radical and complete as pos- 
 sible." Dr. Pusey observes, "Although 
 Nebuchadnezzar's two first convictions 
 of the greatness of the God of the Jews 
 faded in time, we know of no relapse 
 after the last. God triumphed at last, 
 and won Nebuchadnezzar, as He does 
 so many relapsing Christians." Dr. 
 Cox judiciously remarks, "How far 
 this last return to the sentiments and 
 expressions of religion was genuine, and 
 whether we are to regard Nebuchad- 
 nezzar as finally converted to God, may 
 be regarded as one of those questions 
 vhich, while we are benevolently de- 
 sirous of giving it the most favourable 
 construction, must be referred to the 
 great mass of unfathomable mysteries. 
 'I'he evidence we have a right to demand 
 in general of a renewal of character 
 must be proportioned to the nature of 
 past delinquencies [and, may we not 
 add, to the individual's circumstances], 
 and it often requires much holy skill to 
 pilot our judgment between the Scylla 
 and Charybdis of uncharitableness and 
 laxity." 
 
 (^) "//o?«> great are His sir/ns," <i:c. 
 By " signs," Dr. Clarke understands 
 preternatural signs ; and by ** wonders," 
 miraculous interpositions ; remarking, 
 " These are very fine sentiments, and 
 show how deeply Nebuchadnezzar's 
 mind was impressed by the majesty of 
 God." The expressions "signs" and 
 "wonders" are also found connected in 
 Hebrew in Deut, vi. 22, vii. 19, and 
 frequently in the New Testament. 
 " ^Vonders," from their character ; 
 "signs," as serving to mark the pre- 
 sence and power of a divine agent or 
 a divine commission. " What sign 
 showcst Thou that we may believe iu 
 Thee ? " 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XV. — The Dr.EAM of the Tree and its iNTERmETATioN 
 (Chap. iv. 4-2G). 
 
 We come to the occasion of the royal proclamation. This was a dream and its 
 remarkable fulfilment, the second prophetic dream vouchsafed to the king. The 
 present one bearing more especially on the king himself. Its results, however, 
 such as to affect his whole empire, but more particularly the Jews that were in it. 
 The dream and its fulfilment an important step towards the release of the Jews, 
 and at the same tmie towards the spread of the knowledge of the true God, and 
 the preparation for the advent of the promised Messiah. We notice — 
 
 I, The dream itself. And here observe — 
 
 1. The time and cimimstaiices of it {\QV. 4). "I was at rest in mine house." 
 "At rest," after his conflicts and conquests. Probably calculating on ending his 
 days in peace and prosperity, and enjoying the fruits of all his toils and hardships. 
 Like the rich fool in the parable, " Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many 
 years; take thine ease; eat, drink, and be merry" (Luke xii. 16-21). A godless 
 rest one soon to be disturbed. A poor rest that which the world can give. Job's 
 experience : " I said, I shall die in my nest." Yet, how soon was that nest to be 
 rifled ! " Flourishing in my palace." Nebuchadnezzar now in the heyday of his 
 prosperity, " flourishing like a green bay-tree." Everywhere successful in his 
 campaigns, and now the established head of the first universal empire. In his 
 "palace," not in his tent or on the battlefield. A palace, however, unable to 
 exclude death from our thoughts or disturbing dreams from our slumbers. A 
 prince's palace as liable as a peasant's cottage to the upbraidings of conscience, and 
 to the forebodings of death and a judgment to come. 
 
 2. The contents of the dream (vers. 10-17). Here we have (1.) An immense, 
 wide- spreading, fruit-hearing tree, a tree in its appearance and extent probably 
 something like the banyan of the East, and seen still growing (0. A large and 
 noble tree, such as are common in Oriental countries, a well-known symbol for a 
 powerful monarch or a prosperous individual. So of Pharaoh and his power 
 (Ezek. xxxi. 3, xvii. 22). (2.) A command froin a superior being to cut it doicn ; 
 that being called a "watcher and a holy one " (-), having all the appearance of an 
 angel, while " the matter " is said by him to be " from tiie decree (^) of the watchers, 
 and the demand (*) by the word of the holy ones" (ver. 17), as if coming forth from 
 the celestial council. (3.) The stump to he left in the grou7id, and made firm by a 
 band of iron and brass 0), forbidding attempts to uproot it. (4.) An intimation, 
 by the same voice, that by the tree and its stump was represented a man. (5.) 
 The command that a man's heart should he taken from him, and that "a heast's 
 heart be given him instead," indicating the privation of intellect, with the appetites 
 and desires of a beast of the field. (6.) The continuance of this degradation to be 
 a period here mystically termed " seven times " (*^). 
 
 3. Its effect upon the king (ver. 5). His disturbance probably from the 
 apprehension that the dream was of a supernatural character and foreboded evil. 
 Dreams believed at that period to be often of such a character ('). Often produc- 
 tive of powerful emotions, both of pleasure and pain, though more frequently the 
 latter. Dreams in general " from the multitude of business ; " yet not always so. 
 The mind in sleep accessible to God and to good or evil spirits. " Thou scarest 
 me with dreams." If a dream can so disturb, what the reality ] A relief often to 
 find that it was only a dream. Yet dreams graciously employed in the economy 
 of divine providence (Job xxxiii. 15-18). Sometimes made to contribute both to 
 the preserving of a life and the saving of a soul. 
 
 4. The search for its interi^retation (ver. 6). The king anxious to have his dream 
 
 77 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 explained. Henry observes : " When God dves us general warnings of His judg- 
 ments, we should be desirous to understand His mind in them." The interpretation 
 of dreams an ancient belief. Such belief founded on a reality. The evidence of a 
 connection between the visible and invisible worlds. The interpretation of dreams 
 a study and jjrofession in Babylon. One of the forms of soothsaying, and carried 
 on for private gain. Generally an imposture, and failing when most needed. 
 Joseph's elevation in Egypt and Daniel's in Babylon due to the interpretation of 
 dreams, not as a human art but a divine illumination. Four classes of pretenders 
 to such knowledge brought before the king(s). AH obliged to acknowledge their 
 inability. Yet possibly, as time-servers, and actuated by personal considerations, 
 now kept back by fear, the dream being obviously one of a sinister character, with 
 a bearing upon the king himself. No small amount of courage required to declare 
 to an Eastern despot the meaning of such a dream even when perceived. Daniel 
 only sent for as a last resource. Faithful ministers most valued in a time of trouble 
 or on a dying bed, but often not applied to till then. 
 II. The interpretation. We notice — 
 
 1. The effect of the meaning of the dream on Daniel himself (yer. 19). The 
 truth made known to Daniel at once. That truth distressing to the prophet 
 because foreboding disaster to his royal master. His sensibility " honourable to his 
 humanity, his loyalty, and his religion." The dream only such as to distress all 
 true friends of the king (^). Faithful ministers deeply affected themselves by the 
 denunciations they have to deliver to impenitent hearers. Paul the subject of 
 continual sorrow of heart for his unbelieving countrymen. Tenderness and com- 
 passion among the most necessary qualifications for a minister of the gospel. The 
 " bowels" of the Master needed. 
 
 2. The Icing's appeal (ver. 19). Desires Daniel to declare' %e interpretation, 
 whatever evil it may forbode to himself. A good sign and a mark of sincerity 
 when a man desires the truth to be faithfully told, however it may seem to go 
 against hira. Ahab an opposite example. " I hate him ; for he doth not prophesy 
 good concerning me, but evil" (1 Kings xxii. 8). Something much more hopeful 
 in Nebuchadnezzar. 
 
 3. TJce interpretation itself (vers. 20-26). Its details : (1.) The tree is the 
 king himself. (2.) He was to be deprived of his reason, and thus to be driven 
 from among men to dwell with the beasts of the field, eating grass like one of 
 them(^^). (3.) This condition of things was to continue for a lengthened period, 
 only, however, obscurely and enigmatically intimated as " seven times" that should 
 pass over him ; long enough for his entire aspect to become changed, although only 
 until the end designed should be accomplished, and he should learn that not man, 
 but the ^lost High, " ruletli in the kingdom of men " (ver. 25). (4.) His kingdom 
 however should, in the meantime, be preserved to him, so that on the return of his 
 reason he might again possess it. Doleful tidings to the king, yet mixed with 
 mercy. A dark cloud, but with a silver lining to it. So the gospel reveals the 
 wratli of God against sin, but points the sinner to a refuge from that wrath. " He 
 that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; and he that believeth not the Sou 
 shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him " (John iii. 3G). 
 
 4. The exhortation acrompavj/mg it (ver. 27). Daniel yearns for the king's 
 welfare. Not satisfied with merely declaring the truth, adds faithful counsel and 
 loving exhortation. An example to ministers. Warm and faithful application of 
 a discourse a thing never to be omitted. The nail not merely to be made sharp, 
 but driven in, — " fastened by tlie Master of assemblies." Daniel's counsel to the 
 king is — (1.) To give up si7i^^^\ No favour with God nor peace to ourselves till 
 rebellion against God is given up. No peace to the wicked. Sin the great attract- 
 ing rod to God's wrath. The king's character and life here too plainly but faith- 
 fully indicated. (2.) To pntrfise righteousness. Well-doing in general, and 
 justice to his subjects in particular 0-). Not enough to cease to do evil; we must 
 78 
 
nOMILETlC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 learn to do well. Duty has two sides, a positive and a negative, — " tliou slialt" 
 as well as " thou shalt not." Not sufficient to be negatively good. Tlie kind's 
 character and life again hinted at. Oppression and injustice the usual accompani- 
 ments of despotism. (3.) To slum mercy to the poor. Something more than mere 
 justice. Kings as well as their subjects to be not only just, but kind and merciful. 
 In relation to men, justice and mercy the two duties which God requires of us. 
 " He hath showed thee, man, what is good ; and what dotii the Lord require 
 of thee but to do justly and to love mercj'-, and to walk humbly with thy Gctd?" 
 Justice and mercy the reflection of God's own character. Mercy that in which we 
 are especially to resemble him. " Be ye merciful, as your Heavenly Father is 
 merciful" To love and do good to our fellow-men only another form of justice. 
 Love a debt due tc each. That debt never fully paid. Every man his neighbour's 
 debtor. That due to every one which we would wish every one to do to us in 
 similar circumstances. Nebuchadnezzar's past life again alluded to. Selfishness 
 rather than regard to the poor the likely character of a despot. The greatest works 
 in Egypt and India accomplished through the forced labours of the poor under the 
 terror of the lash. 
 
 5. Tlie encouragement (ver. 27). " If it may be a lengthening of thy tranquil- 
 lity;" marg. "a healing of thine error "O^X Hope ever held out to the peni- 
 tent. " Let the wicked forsake his way," &c. (Isa. Iv. 7). The threatened doom 
 might not only be delayed, but possibly averted. So in the case of Nineveh. 
 " Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him?" 
 (Joel ii. 14). " God, even when grievously offended, not inexorable." Hezekiah's 
 prayer added fifteen years to his life. So might Nebuchadnezzar's repentance. Or 
 if the doom must come, the days might be shortened. The specified time of its 
 continuance indefinite. " Seven times " might be seven years or seven months ("). 
 Or a happy future might be made to succeed. A probationary period of twelve 
 months afforded. Mercy Jehovah's darling attribute. " He delighteth in mercy." 
 *' Afflicteth not willingly, neither doth grieve the children of men." " Ready to 
 forgive." The father runs to receive with the kiss of forgiveness the returning 
 prodigal. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— (i) ''The accordance with this Persian represen- 
 
 iree greiu and ims strong." " The per- tation. The term " watcher" is applied 
 
 fects nnn (rebhah) and ^''i?n (teqiph) by the Fathers and in the apocryphal 
 
 express not the condition of the tree. Book of Enoch to evil angels as well as 
 
 but its increasing greatness and growth. good ones. Nork thinks that Daniel 
 
 Cli. B. Michaelis properly remarks, that here spoke the astrological language of 
 
 l^ebuchadnezzar saw the tree gradually the Babylonian Magi. More correct, 
 
 grow and become always the stronger." however, to say that Nebuchadnezzar 
 
 — Keil. thus spoke. According to Calvin, a cer- 
 
 (2)*'^ tvaicher and a holy one." tain angel was doubtless intended, an- 
 
 *' The decree of the watchers" (vers. gels being so called either from their 
 
 13, 17). "l^V ('"'X "'■''^ i'oor), to watch, sleepless nature, or from their office as 
 
 be awake. According to Gesenius, a ministers of God's wakeful providence, 
 
 name given to angels, as watching over and as being always awake to their dut}-. 
 
 the world and the affairs of men. The From ver. 17, Corn, a Lapide thinks the 
 
 Sept., Greek Venetian, and the Hebrew tutelary angel of Babylon is meant. The 
 
 versions have " angels ; " while Aquila term " holy one" added to indicate a good 
 
 and Symmachus have syefiyo^og, and the angel, the^ raw, " and," being redundant, 
 
 Vulgate <' vigil," a watcher.' Bertholdt or rather denoting even, or "that is." 
 
 compares them with the seven Amshas- So Grotius and others. Hengstenberg 
 
 pands of the Persians, who are called remarks that the whole is made perfectly 
 
 " watchers of the world." Keil opposes clear from the Babylonian religious 
 
 the idea that the language is formed in ideas, with which of necessity the divme 
 
 19 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 revelation made to Nebuchadnezzar 
 would be mixed up in bis mind. He 
 quotes from Diodorus Siculus, who says 
 that to the star-gods (the five planets) 
 thirty others are subordinated, whom 
 they call "gods of counsel," Oiol fSovXaloi 
 (pl^y, irin), half of whom have the super- 
 intendence of the regions under the earth, 
 while the others overlook what is going 
 on among men and in heaven. Keil 
 observes : " The ' decree of the watchers ' 
 is a conception not Biblical, but Baby- 
 lonian-heathen. According to the doc- 
 trine of Scripture, the angels do not 
 determine the fate of men, but God 
 alone does, around whom the angels 
 stand as ministering spirits to fulfil His 
 commands and to make known His 
 counsels to men." To instruct the king 
 that his religious conceptions of the gods, 
 theVyV (iriu),''\VixtcheTS," or Oiol /BovXaioi, 
 were 'erroneous, was not necessary for 
 the purpose of the divine message, which 
 Avas to lead Nebuchadnezzar to an ac- 
 knowledgment of the Most High, Daniel 
 doing this afterwards by explaining that 
 the decree was from the Most High 
 Himself. 
 
 (■') " This matter is hi/ the decree of the 
 watchers," t>9?'?^ {jnthgama), definite 
 form of D5Jp2 [pith(/am), "matter" (ch. 
 iii, IG, at which see note). Here, a 
 message. " By the decree," Tr]^2 {higze- 
 rath), "by or in the decree;" from "iTfl 
 {fjezar), to "cut, mark off," hence to 
 "define, determine;" whence the term 
 V'\\\ (gozriii), to denote " astrologers," as 
 deiiniiig the fortunes of individuals from 
 the position of the stars at the time of 
 their birth, or as dividing the sky into 
 various signs, like the ancient augurs, 
 " The message consists in or rests on 
 thedccreeof the watchers." i^'^li (gezo-ah), 
 the unchangeable decision, the " divine 
 inevitable decree imposed on men and 
 liuman things" (Baxtorf) ; the Fate in 
 which the Chaldeans believed. — Keil. 
 
 (") " The demand;' i^Pi?^^ (shcelta), a 
 rcrpiest, inquiry, or demand, from ^^^^ 
 (sheal), "to ask." Keil, however, thinks 
 that the meaning, lying in the etymon, 
 request or question, is not here suitable, 
 but only the derivative meaning, matter, 
 as the object of the request or inquiry. 
 80 
 
 " The word (or utterance) of the holy 
 ones (or watchers) is the matter." Older 
 interpreters regarded the word as indi- 
 cating the petition either of angels or 
 men. Calvin and Junius refer it to 
 the angels who accused Nebuchadnezzar 
 before God, and who urged him by their 
 prayers to humble the proud and exalt 
 himself alone. Lyranus, whom Gaussen 
 follows, thinks of the prayers of the 
 saints in Babylon. They prayed, says 
 M. Gaussen, for the conversion of the 
 king, and God answers their prayers by 
 bringing him for a time into the deepest 
 humiliation. Polanus and Willet apply 
 it to the angels, as' only desiring that 
 God's decree might be accepted, and that 
 the sentence given in heaven by God 
 might be executed by men upon earth. 
 Henry remarks : " The saints on earth 
 petitioned for it, as well as the angels in 
 heaven, God's suffering people crying to 
 Him for vengeance." 
 
 (^) "yl band of iron and brass." Keil 
 thinks the idea is not congruous to the 
 stump of a tree, and that the words refer 
 certainly to Nebuchadnezzar, though not 
 to be understood, with Jerome and 
 others, of the binding of the madman 
 with chains, but figuratively or spiritually 
 of the withdrawal of free self-determina- 
 tion through the fetter of madness (corap. 
 Ps. cvii. 10; Job xxxvi. 8). The inter- 
 pretation, however, refers it to the making 
 bis kingdom secure to him after his 
 afiliction (ver. 2G). 
 
 (^) '■'■Seven times." The expression 
 enigmatical and the meaning uncertain, 
 though probably denoting seven years, 
 the usual interpretation. — Josephiis, 
 Junius, Q'Jcolampadiiis, d'c. Grotius 
 thinks seven years intended, according 
 to the Chaldean mode of speaking, a 
 year being the most common measure 
 of time. Bullinger and others regard 
 the term as indefinite. So Calvin, who, 
 however, thinks it to indicate a long 
 period, and probably seven years. Keil 
 considers the duration of the divine 
 punishment decreed against Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, for purposes connected with the 
 history of redemption, uncertain whether 
 to be understood as years, months, or 
 weeks. So Hengstenberg, who remarks : 
 "It must not be said that HV (iddan), 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 cliap. vii. 25, xii. 7, occurs in the sense 
 of years: it stands in both passages 
 properly, as here, in the independent 
 sense of time ; the more strict definition 
 is not in the word, but is only given 
 afterwards. But even granting that a 
 definite period was pointed out, we sliould 
 not be warranted to assume seven years 
 any more tlian seven other portions of 
 time, however large or small they might 
 be. Nor is a period of seven years at 
 all required for the occurrence of what is 
 related in the narrative." Some, men- 
 tioned in Poole's Synopsis, have sup- 
 posed that the seven years were changed 
 into seven months at the prayers of 
 Daniel ; while some Jewish writers, as 
 Aben Ezra and Abarbanel, considered 
 the time to be seven weeks. There is 
 little doubt, however, that the period 
 ordinarily understood, viz., seven years, 
 is the correct one. Dr. Rule remarks 
 that " times " for years is not unusual, 
 and the phrase reminds one of the 
 Gothic and Anglo-Saxon use of winters 
 for years, as in Luke ii. 42; John 
 viii. 57. The term "times" is well 
 known in prophetic Scripture, especially 
 in the expression "time, times, and half 
 a time," occurring both in Daniel and 
 the Apocalypse, and is always under- 
 stood of years, whether literal or figura- 
 tive. Some students of prophecy have 
 considered the "seven times" of Nebu- 
 chadnezzar's madness as at once sym- 
 bolical and prophetical, and as related 
 both to the "seven times" of Israel's 
 threatened chastisement (Lev. xxvi. 18, 
 24, 28), and the "time, times, and half 
 a time," which is simply their hidf. 
 Mr. Birks, in his " Elements of Pro- 
 phecy," remarks : " The king himself 
 represents the succession of imperial 
 sovereignty till the kingdom of Christ 
 should come; the 'seven times' that 
 passed over him must therefore represent 
 the whole period of debasement in the 
 Gentile kingdom, from the times of 
 Nebuchadnezzar till their full redemp- 
 tion." "These 'seven times' of the 
 Gentiles," says Mr. Bickerstetli, " began 
 with the subjection of Israel under 
 Shalmaneser." Following Mr. Birks 
 and Mr. Bickersteth, Mr. Guinness 
 ("Approaching Time of the End") says. 
 
 "The vision of the tree is not more 
 symbolic of Nebuchadnezzar's seven 
 years' insanity, than that incident itself 
 is typical of certain moral and chrono- 
 logical features of the succession of 
 Gentile monarchies, of which Nebuchad- 
 nezzar was both head and re[)resentative." 
 These features, he remarks, have been 
 ignorance of God, idolatry, and cruel 
 persecution of the saints— Nebuchad- 
 nezzar's own previous character. The 
 incidents in his life too, he thinks, 
 answer to events in the scale of nations 
 and centuries with which history makes 
 us familiar. So the seven years' bestial 
 degradation of the monarch during his 
 insanity answer to the period of Gentile 
 rule represented by the wild beasts of a 
 subsequent vision. 
 
 (') The reader of the Iliad will re- 
 member the words, expressive of the 
 confident belief of the period, which 
 Homer puts into the mouth of one of 
 his heroes — 
 
 Kai 7a/3 r ivap €k A<6s eoTiV. 
 
 —Iliad, A. tj.3, 
 " For even a dream too is from Jovi," 
 
 C'^) " llien came in the magicians" d'C. 
 See note under chap. ii. 2, 27. 
 
 (9) " 2Vie dream be to them that hate 
 thee,'' (She. That is, may it be fulfilled 
 to them, or rest upon them. So Keii, 
 who remarks : " As Daniel at once 
 understood the interpretation of the 
 dream, he was for a moment so astonished 
 that he could not sjieak for tenor at the 
 thoughts which moved his soul. This 
 amazement seized him because lie wished 
 well to the king, and yet he must now 
 announce to him a weighty judgment 
 from God." He renders ny^' (sha'ah), 
 an "instant" or moment, instead of an 
 " hour." 
 
 (lu) a They shall make thee to eat grass 
 as oxen." According to the Syriac or 
 Chaldaic idiom, for "Thou shalt be 
 made," ifec, the indefinite plural standing 
 for the passive. The sul)ject thus re- 
 mains altogether indefinite, so that one 
 has neither to think of men or angels as 
 the instruments of the infliction. "As 
 to the eating of grass," says Roscb, 
 quoted by Keil, " there is nothing to 
 perplex or that needs to be explained. 
 81 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 It is a circumstance that Las occurred 
 ill recent times, as, e.g., in the case of a 
 woman in the Wiirteniberg asylum for 
 the insiuie." Keil also, in a note, quotes 
 Friedreich, who observes, that "some- 
 times in pliysical maladies the nails 
 assume a peculiarly monstrous luxuri- 
 ance with deformity ; " and that " it is 
 an actual experience that the hair, the 
 more it is exposed to the influence of 
 the rough weather and to the sun's rays, 
 the more does it grow in hardness, and 
 thus becomes like unto the feathers of 
 an eagle." See further under next 
 Section. 
 
 (11) << Brealc off thy sins." P'!^? (perooq), 
 from p"]^ (/'''■«(?), to "break off, break 
 ill pieces," hence to " separate, disjoin, 
 ]nit at a distance." Theodotion and the 
 Vulgate improperly render the word by 
 one which means, to " redeem." But, 
 " though in the Targums, p"lD is used 
 for ^^i (gaal), and n"J2 (padhah), to 
 loosen, to U7ihi>ul, of redeeming or ran- 
 soming of the first-born, an inheritance, 
 or any other valuable possession, yet 
 this use of the word by no means accords 
 with sins as the object, because sins are 
 not goods which one redeems or ransoms 
 so as to retain them for his own use." 
 ^Keil. 
 
 (12) '' Jij/ rifjhteousness." Theodotion 
 and the Vulgate commit a further error 
 by rendering this word " alms." The 
 passage, s.ays Keii, is thus made to teach 
 tiie doctrine of salvation by works, — 
 " llt'deem thy sins by alms." In this 
 rendering they are followed by many 
 Church Fathers and Rabbis ; the later 
 Jews holding the doctrine of the merit 
 of works, wliile, as Keil observes in a 
 footnote, the Catholic Church regards 
 tliis passage as a locus classicus for the 
 doctrine of tlie merit of works, against 
 which the Apologia dm/. August, first set 
 forth the right exposilinii." The samc 
 exi)ositor remaiks : " Hf^Ty {tseilhaqah, 
 'righteousness') nowhere in the Old 
 Testament means good-doing or alms. 
 This meaning tlie self-righteous Rabbis 
 first gave to the word in tlieir writings, 
 Daniel recommends the king to practise 
 righteousness as the chief virtue of a 
 ruler, in contrast to tlie unrightcousnohs 
 of the despots, as Ilgslb., Iliiv., llofm., 
 
 82 
 
 and Kllef. have justly observed." It 
 may be noticed here that the term 
 "righteousness" (diKuiosJirj) appears from 
 the New Testament to have come to be 
 used by the Jews in the time of the 
 Saviour, and subsequently by Jewish 
 Christians and others, in the sense of 
 ahns. In Matt. vi. 1, while our version 
 has "do not thine alms," some ancient 
 Creek copies have "do not thy right- 
 eousness." The translators of the Bible, 
 therefore, placed "righteousness" in the 
 margin, while the Revisers of the New 
 Testament have inserted it in the text 
 as the preferable reading. The fir>t 
 verse, however, is the only place in the 
 context where the word is used ; in all 
 the rest, vers. 2, 3, and 4, the word is 
 "alms" (fXsjj.aoffuyjj). Righteousness is 
 not to be confounded with alms. Calvin, 
 however, thinks "righteousness" here 
 means the same as grace or pity ; the 
 word pity or " mercy " being added by 
 way of explanation, "righteousness" 
 embracing all the duties of charit3\ 
 "Righteousness," indeed, as meaning 
 almsgiving, may have been adopted 
 from Psalm cxii. 9, which the apostle 
 seems to have understood and quoted in 
 that sense, 2 Cor. ix. 9. 
 
 (i!5) (' j[ lengthening of thg tran- 
 quillity;" niarg. "a healing of thine 
 error." The Greek translator improperly 
 has "perhaps God will be long-suffering 
 to thee;" and the Vulgate, " [>erha})s 
 He will pardon thy faults." N3"lt< {area), 
 says Keil, means continuance or length 
 of time, asch. vii. 12; and ^']2^' (sheleva), 
 rest, safety, as the Hebrew nipEi' (^shal- 
 vah), here the peaceful prosperity of life ; 
 hence the proper rendering, "If there 
 may be a continuance of pros})erity of 
 life," of which the condition placed 
 before the king is reformation of life, the 
 giving up of injustice ami cruelty to the 
 poor, and the practice of righteousne.-^a 
 and mercy. Calvin prefers the render- 
 ing that stands in the margin: " As if 
 he liad .=aid. This is the proper and 
 genuine medicine ;" adding that the more 
 received sense is, " This medicine may 
 be suitable to the error." Calvin and 
 I'olanus thought tlie calamity might be 
 alleviated, though the punishment might 
 be inflicted. Willet o);serves that Daniel 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 sustains the double character of a pro- Keil, knew nothing of a heathen Fa/tim, 
 
 phet and a faithful counsellor; know- but he knew that the judgments of God 
 
 ing that if the king humbled himself in were directed against men according to 
 
 time, it would not be unprofitable for their conduct, and that punishment 
 
 liim, he counsels him, "if so it stood threatened could only be averted by 
 
 with God's good pleasure." Daniel, says repentance. 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XVI. — Nebuchadnezzar's Madness (Chap. iv. 28-37). 
 
 "Riches are noi for ever; and doth the crown endure to all generations?" 
 History presents us with many and great contrasts occurring in the experience of 
 individuals, even in the course of a single day. The monarch who in the morning 
 has swayed the sceptre over millions of his fellow-men, in the evening has been a 
 solitary exile or a dishonoured corpse. Herod Agrippa, in the height of his pro- 
 sperity, receives in the morning the idolatrous acclamations of thousands, and in 
 the evening is the pitiable subject of a loathsome and incurable disease (Acts 
 xii. 21-23). But perhaps the most remarkable of such contrasts is that pre- 
 sented in this chapter. The most exalted of earthly monarchs in the morning, is 
 in the evening eating grass with the beasts of the field. The section before us 
 contains the fulfilment of the king's dream and its interpretation. That fulfil- 
 ment took place in the infliction of a species of madness, of which other instances 
 are known, though happily of rare occurrence 0). 
 
 I. The time and place of the infliction. The time, twelvemonths after the 
 dream — a sufficient period allowed for repentance. The opportunity, however, not 
 improved. Sickbed resolutions often soon forgotten. Mere natural impressions 
 evanescent. The time of the stroke was during the day, that it might be the more 
 conspicuous as from the hand of God, The place was Babylon and the king's own 
 palace (ver. 29). A palace, however gorgeous and well defended, not impervious to 
 the stroke of affliction or the shaft of death. 
 
 II. The king's employment at the time. " He walked in (or upon) the 
 palace of the kingdom of Babylon" (ver. 29). Perhaps walking on the loof and 
 enjoying the prospect of the beautiful city on whicli he h)oked down, or pro- 
 menading with his queen and courtiers in the celebrated hanging gardens of the 
 palace. We have also the thoughts he was indulging and the language to which he 
 was giving utterance. The king spake and said, " Is not this great Babylon (-), that I 
 liave built (■'') for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the 
 honour of my majesty?" (ver. 30). The king was indulging in self-gratulation 
 and glorying in the works of his own hands. Babylon was indeed at that time a 
 glorious city, and Nebuchadnezzar was the person who had enlarged and beautified 
 it(*). But, like Herod Agrippa at Csesarea, he gave not God the glory. In raising 
 Babylon to the pitch of grandeur which it had attained, he had done it only to 
 himself. He was now worshipping the idol of his own hands, and himself as its 
 creator. God was not in all his thoughts. To forget God the great sin that 
 characterises prince and peasant in an unregenerate state. The sin for which the 
 nations shall injustice be "turned into hell," as robbing God of His glory (Ps. 
 ix. 17, 1. 22). 
 
 m. The infliction itself (vers. 31-33). The king was struck with a si)ecn'3 
 of madness, in which the sufferer imagines himself a beast and acts assuchO'). 
 Tiie stroke was— (1.) Sudden. The words of vainglory were still in his mouth 
 when there fell a voice from heaven, heard by Nebuchadnezzar if by no 
 other, " O king Nebuchadnezzar ! to thee it is spoken, The kingdom is de- 
 parted from thee, &c. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchad 
 nezzar" (vers. 31-33). God's strokes often slow, but sudden when they come 
 
EOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 " Wliile tliey say, Peace and safety ! then sudden destruction conieth upon them, 
 as inivail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape" (1 Thess. v. 
 3). {2.) Terrible. Reason was dethroned. The king suddenly imagines himself a 
 beast, and begins to exhibit the instincts, cravings, and actions of such. As a 
 madn'ian, he is obliged to be removed from human society. " He was driven 
 from men and did eat grass as oxen." He was probably confined in a field, whither 
 perhaps his changed instinct now led him, and where, as if bound with iron fetters, 
 he indulges a bovine appetite with the beasts among which he herds. " Nebuchad- 
 nezzar," °says Matthew Henry, "would be more than a man, and God justly 
 makes him less. God puts on a level with the beasts the man that sets up for 
 a rival with his Maker." The kingdom, as a matter of course, is for the time 
 taken from him and administered by his nobles. His nails and the hair of his 
 head and beard are allowed to grow, until the one looks like birds' claws, and the 
 other like eagles' feathers. Alas, poor king 1 how changed from the glorious 
 monarch surveying his city from the luxurious hanging gardens ! And yet only a 
 picture of the much sadder change that takes place with the sinner that is " driven 
 away in his wickedness" by death. "The rich man died and was buried, and 
 in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment." (3.) Irremediable. Physicians 
 might not be wanting, but physicians were in vain. Means might be employed to 
 remove the madness, but means were utterly powerless. The science and skill of 
 the wise men could effect nothing. The magicians, sorcerers, and Chaldeans tried 
 their arts to no purpose. The case was hopeless in respect to any aid from man. 
 It was not hojjeless, indeed, in regard to God ; but till the " seven times " were 
 fulfilled, and it pleased God to remove the affliction, all the powers of earth and 
 hell would be ineffectual. That time would mercifully come ; but till then, no 
 created might covdd break those " bands of iron and brass." Resemblance and 
 contrast to the case of the finally imj)enitent. No remedy to the burning tongue 
 and still more burning conscience. Whoever enters the doleful regions of the lost 
 leaves hope behind. As in Nebuchadnezzar's case, there is hope from God for 
 the sinner while on earth ; but, at the bourne that separates the visible from the 
 invisible world, the law is, "He that is filthy, let him be filthy still" (llev. xxii. 
 11 ; Heb. ix. 27). 
 
 IV. Its continuance. " Seven times " were to pass over Nebuchadaezzar, 
 and doubtless did eo. " At the end of the days," says the king himself in his 
 relation of the case, " I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and my 
 understanding returned unto me " (ver. 34). The time, whatever it was — most 
 probably seven years, as in chap. xi. 13, margin, (see noteC*') under the preceding 
 section) — at length came to an end. What man could not effect, God then in His 
 mercy did. The removal apparently coiuiected with a humble acknowledgment, per- 
 haps with an act of penitence and prayer, " I lifted up mine eyes unto heaven" ("). 
 Power in a single look that has submission, penitence, and prayer in it, " Look 
 luito me and be ye .saved." " They looked unto Him and were lightened." With 
 such a look to heaven, in a mercifully granted gleam of consciousness, the king's 
 deliverance came. "And mine understanding returned unto me." The seven dark 
 and dismal years caiiie to an end. 
 
 V. The result (vers. 31-37). The result an obvious change for the better in 
 Nebuchadnezzar's spiritual condition. Probably his real ccmversion to God. The 
 last thing related of him by the Spirit of God is the humble public confession which 
 he made, and the noble testimony to the true God which, for the benefit of all 
 men, he <]elivercd in the edict contained in tliis cha[)ter. With this mental deliver- 
 ance and spiritual change caiijc also restoraticm to his royal rank (^), and to more 
 than his former prosperity. His case strikingly similar to that of Job, whose 
 captivity the Lord turned after his penitent humiliation and confession (Job xlii. 
 1-10). Calvin observes that Nebuchadnezzar did not raise his eyes to heaven till 
 God drew him to Himself, and that the dream was a kind of entrance and preparation 
 
 84 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 for repentance. " As seed seems to lie putrid in tlie earth before it brings fortli its 
 fruit, God sometimes works by gentle processes, and provides for the teaching, 
 which seemed a long time useless, becoming both eificacious and fruitful." From 
 Nebuchadnezzar's madness we may notice — 
 
 1. The danger and intoxicating effect of long-continued prospen'tt/. Israel was 
 guarded against the sin into which Nebuchadnezzar fell, and which entailed on 
 him his heavy affliction. " Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy Cod, «&c. 
 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt 
 therein ; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is 
 multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied ; then thine heart be lifted up, and 
 thou forget the Loid thy God, cfec. And thou say in thine heart. My power and 
 the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shait remember 
 the Lord thy God ; for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth" (Deut. viii. 
 11-18). 
 
 2. The ahominahle nature of jiride in the sight of God. This especially the sin 
 into which Nebuchadnezzar's i)r()sperity led him, and of which he makes special 
 confession. Pride both a rivalry and a robbery of God, a deifying of the creature 
 and an ignoring and despising of the Creator. The sin of Satan and of unregenerate 
 men in general. " The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek 
 after God. God is not in all his thoughts " (Ps. ix. 4). 
 
 3. The ability of God to abase andjmnish the proud. The lesson especially learned 
 by Nebuchadnezzar from his affliction. Mind and body both under God's control, 
 and dependent on Him for their healthful preservation. His sustaining hand with- 
 drawn, reason is dethroned, and the man of genius and intellect becomes a drivel- 
 ling idiot. Diseases of every kind are but His servants and do His bidding. To mad- 
 ness, paralysis, and pain He has but to say "Come, and it conieth" (^latt. viii. 9). 
 
 4. The certainty of divine threatenings icnless averted by repentance. Months 
 had passed away since the dream that so much disturbed the king's peace. The 
 dream and its interpretation, with the solemn exhortation of the prophet, had in 
 the midst of his prosperity been forgotten. But God forgets not His threatenings. 
 Judgment, though delayed, yet slumbers not. The warning unheeded, the hour of 
 its fulfilment comes. 
 
 5. Mercji mingled ivith judgment in the present world. Gracious liopcs held out 
 to the penitent. The door of repentance kept open. Hope held out even to 
 Nebuchadnezzar that the threatened punishment might be delayed, and would not 
 be perpetual. Wliat was faintly held out to him is made bright and clear to us in 
 the Gospel. The bow in the cloud. In wrath God remembers mercy. The blood 
 of the Surety shed, Justice can sheath her sword. This gracious state of things, 
 however, confined to the present life. " It is appointed unto men once to dio, and 
 after death the judgment." 
 
 6. The benefit of sanctified affliction. Nebuchadnezzar's madness his greatest 
 mercy. His loss of reason, and with that of everything but life, a greater gain to 
 him than all his conquests. " Children," said Tiiemistocles, " we should have been 
 undone, had we not been undone." The best medicines often bitter and bad to 
 take. " If our charity reach so far as to hope that Nebuchadnezzar did find mercy, 
 we must admire free grace, by which he lost his wits for a while that he might save 
 his soul for ever." — M. Ihnry. It would be correct, though a paradox, to say he 
 never truly had his senses till he lost them. So with multitudes; it was never well 
 with them till it was ill. 
 
 7. The following are other useful reflections from the passage : — (1.) .SV« is of a 
 hardening nature, retaining its hold in defiance of warnings and even of repeated 
 punishments. (2.) The mod exalted of liuman beings is but an insignificant atom in 
 the hand of Infinite Poicer. (3.) God is never ttnmindful either of His threatenings or 
 of His promises, which leave the impenitent nothing to hope, and the believing 
 nothint^ to fear. (4.) The imnishments which God infiicts iijjon the wicled here or 
 
 85 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 hereafter Iiave relation to their character and demerits. (5.) As the possession of 
 reason is the highest distinction of man, so the continuance of our mental sanity, which 
 might in one moment be deranged, either in sovereignty or in judgment, ought to 
 inspire our most devout and daily gratitxule to Him who is the author of it. — Cox. 
 
 8. The great lesson that Nebuchadnezzar was to learn from his affliction zcas 
 God's supremacy and government of the world, or that " the heavens do 
 rule" (ver. 26). Two great disputes in tlie world, the one moral and the other 
 intellectual. The first, whether God or man shall rule, — whether His will or mine 
 shall be done. The second, whether an intelligent Supr«me Being exercises a 
 continual rule and providence in the world, or whether all happens according to 
 blind fate or fixed natural laws ; in other words, whether or not " the heavens do 
 rule." Objections against this : — (1.) All things appear to happen according to fixed 
 law, and to follow in a natural sequence of cause and effect. (2.) The good suffer as 
 well as the bad. (3.) The innocent often suffer with and through the guilty. (4.) 
 The existence of sin and suffering at all in the world. (5.) Men of the worst 
 character often the highest and most prosperous. (6.) Infants suffer and die. (7.) 
 The best and most useful often cut off prematurely in the midst, or even at the very 
 beginning, of their usefulness. General answer to these objections : — We only know 
 and see a part of God's dealing. The web of Providence unfinished. Divine plans 
 require time for their development. Eternity will solve all mysteries. What we 
 know not now we shall know hereafter. Here we know only in part or in a 
 fragmentary manner. Things will probably appear hereafter in a difierent light 
 from what they do here. God alf)ne sees the end from the beginning. Apparent 
 evil often real good. Finite minds unable to judge the divine procedure. The 
 present state subservieirt and prejiaratory to another. Special arguments that " the 
 lieavens do rule : " — (1.) Eight conduct, as a rule, brings peace andhapjjiness. (2.) 
 Evil often overruled for good. (3.) The wicked often signally and unexpectedly 
 punished. (4.) Sin and wrong-doing, as a rule, followed by suffering. (5.) A sudden 
 arrest often laid on high-handed wickedness. (6.) Great events often made to turn 
 upon and spring out of insignificant incidents. (7.) Human life, on the whole, a 
 state of comparative comfort, and the course of the world one of comparative 
 regularity. (8.) The laws of Nature beneficent, and such as to n)ake suffering a 
 consequence of sinning. (9.) The history of nations, but more especially that of tlie 
 Jewish people. (10.) The facts of Christianity, with its origin, extension, and 
 results even at the present day. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— 0) The into a feeble state of health and died, 
 
 madness of Nebuchadnezzar, and so the having reigned forty-three years." Aby- 
 
 genuineness of the whole chapter, denied donus, though in a confused manner, 
 
 by some from the absence of any men- confirms the Scripture account, and says: 
 
 tion of the occurrence in any other book "After this, as the Chaldeans relate, on 
 
 of the Old Testament, and in any ancient ascending to the roof of his palace, he 
 
 liuathen autlior. But mention in the became inspired by some god [madness 
 
 former is unlikely; and the Greek his- generally considered by the ancients as 
 
 toriaiis are regarded as entirely worthless an inspiration], and delivered himself 
 
 in respect to the older history of Asia; thus: ' Babylonians, I, Nebuchadnezzar, 
 
 these writers, even Herodotus himself, foretell you a calamity that is to happen, 
 
 s.iying nothing about Nebuchadnezzar at which neither my ancestor Bel nor Queen 
 
 ill. The object of the Chaldean histo- B.eltis can persuade the fates to avert, 
 
 rians, Berosus and :\Ianetho, was to Tiiere sliall come a Persian mule [one 
 
 exalt tlieir own nation, who were, there- having parents of diiferent countries], 
 
 fore, not likely to mention the circum- having your own gods in alliance with 
 
 ■3tance. Yet lierosus says that Nebu- him, and he shall impose servitude upon 
 
 •;hadnezzar, after conii)letiMg the threefold you with the aid of a Mede, the boast 
 
 circunivallatioa around Babylon, "fell of the Assyrians. Rather than this. 
 8G 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 would that some Cbarybdis or sea had 
 engulfed him in utter destruction, or 
 that he had been forced some other way 
 through the desert, where there are no 
 cities, and no path trodden by man, but 
 where wild beasts feed and birds roam, 
 where he must have wandered among 
 rocks and precipices ; and that I had 
 found a happier end before becomitig 
 acquainted with su'-li a disaster.' Hav- 
 ing thus said, lie expired." Even Bert- 
 holdt is obliged to confess that " this 
 rare legend is in its chief i)oints identical 
 with our account." — Ilengstenherg. A 
 slill more remarkable confirmation, how- 
 ever, has been discovered in a portion of 
 tlie great Standard Inscription among 
 the cuneiform monuments of the Baby- 
 lonian empire brought to light by Raw- 
 linson. Nebuchadnezzar there appears 
 to say, after describing the construction 
 of the most important of his great works: 
 " For four years the seat of my kingdom 
 did not rejoice my heart. In all my 
 dominions I did not build a high place 
 of power : the precious treasures of my 
 kingdom I did not lay up. In Babylon, 
 buildings for myself and the honour of 
 my kingdom I did not lay out. In the 
 worship of Merodach, my lord, the joy 
 of my heart, in Babylon, the seat of his 
 st)vereignty, and the seat of my empire, 
 I did not sing his praises ; I did not 
 furnish his altars with victims. Nor did 
 I clear out the canals." — Smith's J)ic- 
 tionari/ of the Bible, quoted by Dr. 
 Taylor. 
 
 (-) " Great Bahi/lon." The whole city, 
 we are told, formed a perfect square, each 
 side of which was 15 miles long, making 
 a circuit of 60 miles, and an area of 3G0 
 square miles. Its walls were perha})S 
 tlie most stupendous that ever existed. 
 Constructed of brick, cemented together 
 with bitumen, which grows hard by 
 being exposed to the air, they rose to the 
 height of 350 feet, and were 87 feet 
 thick ! Twenty-five magnificent streets, 
 running in parallel lines, 150 feet wide 
 and 15 miles long, traversed the city 
 from north to south, being intersected 
 by 25 others of similar dimensions from 
 west to east; these streets being termi- 
 nated by a hundred brazen gates, and 
 forming by their intersections 620 large 
 
 squares with a circumference of GOO feet. 
 What was most admired, however, was 
 the temple of the god Bel and the two 
 royal palaces ; these last occupying a 
 space of nearly three square miles, con- 
 taining the celebrated hanging gardens, 
 formed on vaulted terraces 4000 feet 
 square, rising one above the other to the 
 height of the walls; the topmost platform 
 having a spacious basin filled with water 
 from the Euphrates, forced up by a 
 powerful hydraulic engine. — Ganssen. 
 
 (3) " Which I have hiiilt." HJ? (henah), 
 "he built," designates here not the 
 building or founding of a city; for the 
 founding of Babylon took ])lace in the 
 earliest times after the Flood (CJeii. xi.), 
 being dedicated to the god Belus, or 
 the mythic Semiramis, in prehistoric 
 times ; but the building up, the enlarge- 
 ment, the adorning of the city "for the 
 house of the kingdom," or a royal resi- 
 dence. — Keil. 
 
 (*) In the Standard Inscription the 
 king says of Babylon, " The city which 
 is the delight of my eyes, which I have 
 glorified." It is known that after Nebu- 
 chadnezzar had finished his military 
 career, he set himself to improve liis 
 territory and beautify his capital. Ac- 
 cording to Herodotus, the city was built 
 on both sides of the Euphrates, the ex- 
 tent of the outer wall being about 56 
 miles, though Ctesias makes it only 42 ; 
 the area being thus five or six times that 
 of London. The houses were frequently 
 three or four storeys high. In each of 
 the two divisions of the city was a for- 
 tress or stronghold, the one being the 
 royal palace, the other the temple of 
 Bel. The two portions of the city were 
 united by a bridge, at each extremity of 
 which was a royal palace. The city was 
 not oidy renovated throughout by Nebu- 
 chadnezzar, but surrounded with several 
 lines of fortifications, and increased by 
 the addition of a new quarter. Having 
 finished its walls and adorned its gates, 
 he constructed a new palace, in tiie 
 grounds of which, in order to gratify the 
 taste of the queen, he formed the cele- 
 brated hanging gardens. Rawlinf^on, in 
 his Appendix to Herodotus, quoted by 
 Dr. Rule, says, " The more northern 
 mound, now called the Mnjellilieh, and 
 87 
 
IIOMILETIO COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 crowned -with the building called the 
 Kasr, is undoubtedly a construction of 
 Nebuchadnezzar, and may be almost 
 certainly identiKed with tlie new palace, 
 adjoining his fatlier's (Nabopolassar's), 
 which is ascribed to Inni. The size of 
 this mound, about 700 yards each way, 
 shows the area covered by the palace 
 mentioned in our text. The buildings 
 here are of superior material ; and the 
 sculptures and bas-reliefs found in them 
 give evidence of superior magnificence. 
 Solid masses of masonry, consisting of 
 pale yellow bricks of excellent quality, 
 each one, with very rare exceptions, 
 stamped with the name and titles of 
 Nebuchadnezzar, give attestation to the 
 truth of his recorded exclamation, ' Is 
 not this great Babylon which I have 
 built r" 
 
 (^) In the view of Hengstenberg, the 
 case was this : There is often in madness 
 a violent desire after a free, solitary, 
 wild life. In Nebuchadnezzar's case, 
 they humoured this propensity so far 
 as it was feasible ; only they had him 
 watched that he might fall into no dan- 
 ger, and bound him with fetters that he 
 might do himself no mischief. Probably 
 they took care also that he should haunt 
 those places oidy where he would not be 
 exposed to the gaze of his subjects. 
 Others, however, as Grotius, understand 
 the binding with a band of iron and 
 brass as referring to his kingdom, which 
 was to be secured to him, rather than to 
 his person. Probably botli are intended. 
 Keil observes that the malady of Nebu- 
 chailnczzar was that which is called 
 iiisania zoanthropica, or, in the case of 
 tliose who think themselves wolves, 
 lijcan.thropia, — a malady in which men 
 regard themselves as beasts, and imitate 
 
 their manner of life. Dr. Pusey, who 
 also considers the king's madness a case 
 of lycanthroj^y, quotes Dr. Brown, Com- 
 missioner of the Board of Lunacy for 
 Scotland, who agrees in the same view, 
 and says that the king probably " re- 
 tained a perfect consciousness that he 
 was Nebuchadnezzar during tlie whole 
 course of his degradation." 
 
 (^) "And I ivas establisheil in my 
 Idngdom,'" The supposed unlikeliness 
 of this has been made an objection to 
 the genuineness of the book. But, as 
 Hengstenberg remarks, " several causes 
 surely concurred to prevent the nobles 
 from thinking of a change of rulers. 
 Nebuchadnezzar was the pride of the 
 nation ; from his successor, Evil-Mero- 
 dach, only mischief could be looked for ; 
 the highest officers in the realm must 
 expect under him a deposition from their 
 rank, as is so frequently the case in the 
 East on a change of rulers. The general 
 and the individual interest combined, 
 therefore, to determine them to reserve 
 the crown as long as possible for Nubu- 
 chadnezzar, in whose name and authority 
 they were certainly not reluctant to rule 
 without control." To these reasons it 
 may be added that the time during whiidi 
 the malady should continue was left un- 
 certain, and might be short; or, if certain, 
 the regency would only be for a deiinite 
 period. 
 
 C^) " I lifted up mine eyes unto heaven.'^ 
 Thus paraphrased by Grotius: " I prayed 
 to the God of heaven." By Junius : 
 " Before, I looked prone to the earth ; 
 now I looked up to heaven." By Calvin : 
 " Now I regarded the hand of Him that 
 smote me, and acknowledged God to be 
 a just Judge and the Revenger of tlie 
 proud." 
 
 IIOMILKTICS. 
 
 Sect. XVII. — Belsiiazzar's Feast (Chap, v.) 
 
 This chapter deservedly a favourite with general readers O. Tiie magnificence, 
 excitement, and revelry of the royal feast; the profligate king, when heated with 
 wine, calling for tlie sacred vessels of the Temple, and, with his princes, wives, 
 and concubines, drinking out of them to the honour of heathen deities ; the 
 sudden ajipcarance, in the midst of the carousal, of a weird hand, tracing distinct 
 but unintelligible characters on the wall ; the consternation of the whole party, and 
 the sudden stop i)ut to all the mirth ; the terror of the conscience-stricken ino:i.iicli. 
 86 
 
nOMlLKTlC COMMEyTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 causing liis very knees to smite against each other ; the hasty summoning of the 
 magicians and soothsayers to decipher the mysterious writing ; the perplexity of 
 the king and his party when these men dechire their inability to read or under- 
 stand it ; the appearance of the queen-mother i^) on the scene, reminding the terror- 
 stricken king of the aged servant of his father, or rather his grandfather ('0, Nebu- 
 chadnezzar, whom his excesses had driven from his court, but who was doubtless 
 able to interpret the handwriting ; Daniel's entrance at the royal summons, with 
 his venerable mien and hoary locks, now above eighty years of age ; his faithful 
 reproof addressed to the jjrofane and licentious king; the solemn reading and 
 interpretation of the divine message on the wall, each word falling like a death- 
 knell on the ear of the guilty monarch ; the bestowment of the promised reward on 
 Daniel, the golden necklace W put on his neck and the proclamation issued that 
 made him third ruler in the kingdom (^) ; in the midst of this the startling report 
 that the Persians were in the city, and immediately thereafter a tumultuous noise 
 outside, and the entrance of foreign soldiers, brandishing naked blood-stained swords, 
 into the banquet-hall; and, finally, the promiscuous slaughter that ensues, in which 
 the king himself is slain (*'), and the great Babylonian empire comes to an end. 
 Seldom, if ever, have so many thrilling events been brought together in so short a 
 space. The whole scene fitted solemnly to remind us of another, of which it may 
 be regarded as a type — that hour of doom which is to overtake a godless and 
 guilty world, when not a mere hand on the wall, but the Sun of man Himself shall 
 appear in the clouds, striking terror into every impenitent heart. We may note — - 
 
 I. The feast (vers. 1-4). It was — (1.) Large ; a thousand guests besides the 
 king's wives and concubines ("), marking the dissipated character of Belshazzar, 
 as the kuigs of Chaldea are said to have rarely invited guests to their table. 
 (2.) Magnificent; hell in the banquet-hall of the royal palace, the guests being the 
 highest nobility (^) in the land, the king himself reclining ajiart on his sumptuous 
 couch (^). (3.) Idolatrous; celebrated with songs of praise to their gods of gold, 
 silver, brass, and iron, wood and stone, the feast itself being possibly in honour of 
 the tutelary deity of the city, as the supposed author of their fancied prosperity, 
 and the successful competitor of Jehovah, to whom Nebuchadnezzar had sho\Mi so 
 much partiality. (4.) Profane ; the king, not satisfied with praising the gods of his 
 own country, must insult and defy the God of the Jews by sending for the golden 
 vessels of the Temple, which, nearly seventy years before, Nebuchadnezzar had 
 brought from Jerusalem ; and then, with his riotous guests, drinking out of them 
 to the honour of his gods, as if he would again triumph over Jehovah whom Bel 
 had conquered, like the Philistines when they placed the ark in the temple of 
 Dagon. 
 
 II. The handwriting (vers. 5-9). It was — (1.) Sudden; in the midst of the 
 mirth and revelry of the feast. (2.) Mysterious ; a hand seen tracing characters high 
 up on the wall, without any one appearing to guide it. (3.) Heal ; the hand and 
 the writing visible to every one on the wall over against the great chandelier 0**); 
 hence no etlect of excited imagination or of priestly imposture. (4.) Alarming ; 
 all naturally seized with fear, but more especially the king, for whom it was 
 intended, and whose eyes it now opened at once to his guilt and danger. (5.) Per- 
 plexing ; no solution of its meaning obtainable through the usual channels, in 
 fulfilment of Isa. xlvii. 12, 13; while there is felt an inward certainty that the 
 •writing must have a meaning. The handwriting on the wall a picture of the 
 many denunciations against impenitent sinners written by the same divine finger 
 in the Word of God ; with this difterence, that while that handwriting was obscure 
 and unintelligible till Daniel interpreted it, the denunciations in the Bible are clear 
 as written wiUi a sunbeam, and so plain that a child may understand them. 
 
 III. The reproof (vers. 10-24). Daniel, sent for by the king at the queen's 
 RUL'gestion, before interpreting the writing, addresses to the king a solemn reproof. 
 That reproof an example of uncompromising faithfulness. (1.) Keminds him of au 
 
HOMILETIC COMMEXTARY. DANIEL. 
 
 aLlmoiiitory fact in the history of Lis great ancestor, Nebuchadnezzar (vers. 20, 21). 
 (2.) Points him to his own sin in disregarding that solemn monition (ver. 22). 
 (3.) Charges him directly with pride, impious defiance of the God of heaven, sacri- 
 legious profanity, and honouring with his praise dumb idols, instead of the God 
 in whose hand his breath was, and whose were all his ways (ver. 24). (4.) After 
 thus faithfully convicting him of his misdeeds "in tiie presence of all the wealth, 
 rank, beauty, and power of his kingdom," he declares that the writing on the wall 
 proclaims to him the righteous judgment of God which now overtook him, and of 
 which it was sent as a solemn precursor, announcing at once his guilt and his 
 impending doom. 
 
 IV. The interpretation (vers. 25-28). Daniel, who had been appointed by 
 Nebuchadnezzar head of all the Magi in Babylon, and had already been distin- 
 guished as a prophet of the Most High God, now again is enabled to make good 
 his title. Sent for in the hour of distress, after having been probably banished 
 from the court for at least seventeen years as a drivelling fanatic, he proceeds, witli, 
 the confidence and calm solemnity of an inspired man, to decipher the writing. 
 ]Ie first reads the mystic words: Mene, Mkne, Tekel, UpharsIN (^^X He then 
 slowly gives the interpretation of each. Mene — -repeated for emphasis, and to indi- 
 cate the completeness and certainty of the fact — " 7mmbered, numbered;" "God 
 hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it," — the days of thy reign, thy 
 dynasty, and tiie empire of which thou hast been the guilty head, are numbered, 
 and now come to an end. Tekel, ^^iveighed ;" "Thou art weighed in the balances 
 and art found wanting,"— tlie cause of the approaching doom. Peres — the sin- 
 gular form of the verb of which Upharsin is the plural with the conjunction u (and) 
 prefixed — "divided ;" "Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and 
 Persians " — the very words seeming to indicate those to whom the empire was now 
 to pass (^-). 
 
 V. The end (vers. 29-31). Daniel's interpretation soon tragically verified. 
 The cup of IJelshazzar's iniquity now full. Tlie hour of Babylon's doom and his 
 own had struck. The prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah were now to receive their 
 fulfilment. The Medes and Persians already prepared by Jehovah to fulfil His 
 purposes against Babylon (Isa. xxi. 2). While Daniel was speaking, the Lord was 
 admitting Cyrus and his Persians into the city by the two-leaved gates of brass 
 (Isa. xlv. 1, 2), which opened on the river, and had that night been strangely left 
 unshut (^-^ " One post runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, 
 to show the king of Babyhm that his city is taken at one end. I will dry up her 
 sea. The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight ; they have remained in 
 their holds ; their niight hath failed ; they became as women. In their fear I will 
 make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice and sleep 
 a perpetual sleep, and not awake, saith the Lord'' (ler li. 28-39). Belshazzar falls 
 anioiig the slain in the same night, and Darius the Mede, otherwise called Cyax- 
 ares (^'*), takes by courtesy the kingdom which Cyrus his nephew had conquered. 
 
 Among the tlioughts suggested by the narrative are the following : — 
 
 1. The shorldived nature of unludlojved pleasiire. " As the crackling of thorns 
 under a pot, so is the laughter of a fool" (Eccles. vii. G). Belshazzar and his 
 nobles had given themselves up to i)leasure, heedless of warning and danger. Their 
 godless revelry had reached its height when king and princes are summoned to 
 tlieir account. 
 
 2. The cer/(iint>/ of divine relrihntinir. Bulshnzzar's life one of licentiousness 
 and immorality. Despising the lesson taught by the case of his grandfather, and 
 trusting in iiia fortifications, lofty walls, and brazen gates, he expected to sin on 
 with im[)uinty. But the judgment of hardened offenders " lingereth not, and their 
 dauiuation slumbcreth not" (2 Pet. ii. 3). 
 
 3. The siiddeiiness ivitk which punishment often overtakes the ivicked. Here it 
 was ill the midst of festivity and mirth. The sacred vessels of the Temple were 
 
 90 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DAMEL. 
 
 fctill in their hands, and the God defying praises of Bel on their lips, when judgment 
 falls upon the profane rioters. The king, his princes, and his people, thought 
 themselves secure, and laughed at the besiegers, when destruction hurst upon the 
 doomed city. " When they shall say. Peace and safety ! then sudden destruction 
 Cometh upon them." "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be 
 overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and so that day come upon you 
 unawares" (1 Thess. v. 2; Luke xxi. 3i). 
 
 4. The terror of a guilty conscience. It was* Belshazzar's guilty conscience that 
 blanched his cheeks and made his knees smite against each ether as he beheld the 
 writing on the wall. " 'Tis conscience that makes cowards of us all." "The 
 ■wicked flee when no man pursueth." A heathen poet could write, "A righteous 
 man will be found fearless, though the heavens should fall and crush him " G^). 
 
 5. The aggravated guilt of ^uikeeded warnings. Belshazzar's special guilt that 
 he lived a life of sin, with the case of Nebuchadnezzar before his eyes. "Thou 
 his son, Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this." 
 " He that, being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be cut off, and 
 that without remedy " (Prov. xxix. 1). Unheeded warnings and neglected calls 
 both hasten the stroke of judgment and make it heavier wlien it comes. 
 
 G. The sin of not glorifying God. The sin charged upon Belshazzar, as the sum 
 and essence of his guilt, that the God in whose hand his breath was and whose 
 were all his ways, he had not glorified. The sin that robs God of His right and 
 ]>roclaims man a rebel against his Maker. " The Lord hath made all things for 
 Himself." All creatures to glorify God according to their several natures and 
 capacities, because He has created all things, and for His " pleasure they are and 
 were created." The universal sin. "All have sinned, and come short of the glory 
 of God." "When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God." The sin espe- 
 cially marked by God. Herod Agrippa eaten up of worms because he "gave not 
 God the glory." Yet few consider it a sin at all. 
 
 7. The stupidity of the human heart. Belshazzar's riotous feast at the very 
 time when the city and country were hi imminent peril. With such an enemy as 
 Cyrus at his gates and in possession of great part of the country, a fast would 
 have been more becoming than a feast. Men often most heedless when in greatest 
 danger. "In that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourn- 
 ing, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth; and behold joy and gladness, 
 slaying oxen, and killing sheeji, and drinking wine : let us eat and drink, for to- 
 morrow we die" (Isa. xxii. 12, 13). 
 
 8. The destiny of men and nations in the hand of God. The days of Babylon 
 and Babylon's king were numbered. So the days of each State and of each indi- 
 vidual in that State. " The number of his months is with Thee." The hairs of our 
 head are numbered, much more the days of your life. Yet man, as a free agent 
 jmd a rational creature, generally responsible for the preservation of his own life and 
 the life of others. The effect of sin to shorten the existence both of States and 
 individuals. "The bloody and deceitful man shall not live out half his days," 
 On the other hand, prayer added fifteen years to Hezekiah's life, and repentance 
 saved Nineveh from an impending and threatened destruction. 
 
 9. The beneficial influence of icoman. A woman's presence and voice powerful 
 amid the terror and consternation of Belshazzar's banquet-hall. The aged queen 
 the only one able to give counsel to the terrified and bewildered king. Presence 
 of mind and perception of what is needed in times of perplexity and peril often 
 found in woman. " The adaptation of woman to promote the comfort of life is 
 a gracious provision of God ; and the disposition to soothe anxiety, to alleviate 
 suffering, to shield or aid in danger, is alike certain to operate and honourable to 
 display." — Cox. 
 
 10. The crime of tvantonly profaning sacred things. This the acme of Bel- 
 shazzar's guilt. ;^Ien not unfrequently tempted, especially amid festivity and 
 
IIOMILETW COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 iiiirtl), to conmiit this sin. God'« Word and ordinances sometimes profanely made 
 to contribute to that mirth. " When the facts and the expressions of the Bible, 
 its sublime, its pure, and its holy truths, are used, as they not uiifrequently are, to 
 luiint a pun, add edge to a jest or keenness to a sarcasm, to excite a laugh or to 
 iirovoke a sneer, you have God's vessels desecrated to an unhallowed and profane 
 end. Never try to construct jests from the Bible." — Cumming. 
 
 11. The danger of indalging in intoxicating drink. It vi'as while drinking 
 ■wine (^^), perhaps not deei)ly, that Belshazzar, in his impious madness, called for 
 the sacred vessels of the Temple to drink still more. The king, wicked and profane 
 to begin with, made more so by the excitement of strong drink. Herod the 
 Tftrarch a similar example. Wine given by a beneficent Creator for man's refresh- 
 ment and strength. But the same authority which states that wine " gladdenetli 
 man's heart," says also, " Wine is a mocker, and strong drink is raghig ; and he 
 that is deceived thereby is not wise" (Prov. xx. 1). The foulest crimes often, as 
 at Belshazzar's feast, the result of strong drink. " All those sanguinary conspiracies 
 which issued in such a frightful effusion of Protestant blood in France were con- 
 cocted at Blois, Bayonne, Paris, and Orleans, amid the festivities of the table, and 
 in the society of the Salomes and other immoral women who constantly attended 
 Catherine de Medici, the Herodias of the French." — Gaussen. 
 
 12. The condition of unconverted men in general. That condition exhibited in 
 the case of Belshazzar, as described in the writing on the wall, — 
 
 AVeighed in the Jjalanoes and Found Wanting (ver. 27). 
 
 1. Weighed in the balances. The figure taken from the practice of weighing 
 the precious metals to test their purity. The balances those of the sanctuary, of 
 Him who is the Judge of quick and dead(i*'). Held by One who is omniscient, 
 and whose knowledge no action, word, thought, feeling, wish, or secret motive can 
 elude; who " searcheth the heart and trieth the reins;" who is impartial and no 
 respecter of persons ; and, finally, who is spotlessly just, judging of each act, 
 word, thought, and feeling according to its real character and circumstances, and 
 awarding accordingly. His balances just ones, such as He loves and requires of 
 men. The weights in the balance to weigh these actions, &c., are His own law, 
 which is just, and holy, and good, and adapted to man's moral nature; a law which 
 he was created capable of fulfilling, and in the obedience of which he finds his 
 happiness ; a transcript of Cod's own character, which is love, and therefore re- 
 quiring only love — supreme love — to our Maker, the sum and source of all excel- 
 lence, and the fount.ain of all blessings to His creatures, with disinterested, 
 universal, and inqiartial love to our neighbour; a law that is spiritual, taking 
 cognisance of the inward thoughts, feelings, and motives, as well as outward acts 
 and words, and requiring love as the character and mainspring of them all ; a law 
 as broad as man's moral nature and capabilities, requiring him to glorify God with 
 his body and his spirit, whether he eat or drink or whatever he does, and to desire 
 and suek the welfare of his neighbour as his own in respect to his whole being as 
 an immortal creature, possessing body, soul, and spirit; a law that admits of no 
 sin or the least disobedience, all such being rebellion against God ; a law the 
 penally of which, for even the least transgression, is, as it ought to be, death, or the 
 separation of the sinning and polluted soul from God, who is life and purity itself. 
 Against sucli a law, written in men's consciences and revealed in God's Wm-d, men 
 are weighed. " Tlie Lord weigheth the spirits." " By Hin) actions are weighed." 
 Job gets here his desire: "Oh, that I were weighed in an even balance." Men 
 weighed now as they are at each moment ; every action, word, thought, and feeling 
 as it passes. The great day of public weighing hereafter, when God shall "judge 
 the world in righteousness by that Man whom He has appointed," — shall "judge 
 the secrets of men by Jesus Christ." 
 92 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 2. Found ivanting. Universally true ever since man fell. " All have sinned' 
 and come short of the glory of God." A fact universally admitted, even by the 
 heathen. That man is a sinner as true as that he is mortal, and the latter simply 
 because he is the former. Man not merely a sinful creature but a fallen one. 
 " God made man upright, but he hath sought out many inventions." Man's fall 
 from a state of innocence a universal tradition. His character, when left to him- 
 self, notoriously not love but selfishness. "Mind number one" man's rule of 
 action ; not " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," which is the law of God. 
 Instead of loving God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, He is not in 
 all our thoughts, and we do not desire to have Him there. Tiie language of the 
 natural heart, " Dei)art from us; we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways." Dis- 
 like to a just and holy God, disregard of His will, and independence of His autho- 
 rity, the characteristics of fallen man in respect to his Maker. His nature corrupt, 
 and no more the transcript of his Creator. Sin the character of his inner and 
 outer life. His whtde life one continued shortcoming. Found wanting at every 
 moment. The same true of every action, word, thought, and feeling, so far as they 
 are the product of his own unrenewed nature. Even when the will may be to do 
 what is right, the performance is wanting. Found wanting in all the relations of 
 life, as parent and child, master and servant, ruler and ruled. A continuance in 
 all the requirements of the law, day and night, all life through, in thought, word, 
 and action, necessary to make him weight. Yet he continues in none, nt)t even for 
 un hour or a minute of his life. Hence the penalty of death incurred d;dly and 
 hourly. "The soul that siniieth it shall die." " The wages of sin — all and any 
 sin — is death." " Guilty before God," the charge against every child of man ; 
 "gudty of death," his sentence. 
 
 3. Our only hope. Hope of acceptance with God from ourselves or any works 
 of our own impossible. Every such attempt to gain acceptance only a further 
 shortcoming. No action, word, thought, feeling, put into the scale, but is itself 
 short weight. No more hope from our neighbour than from ourselves. Each in 
 the same predicament. Every man must bear his own burden. Yet man's case 
 not hopeless. Hope not found in himself but in another. That other is Jesus 
 Christ, "our hope." The hope provided by the Creator Himself. " O Israel, thou 
 hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thy help found." "He hath laid help on 
 one that is mighty." He who was the "hope of Israel " is the hope of a guilty 
 world. The glad tidings from heaven — " There is born unto you a Saviour, which 
 is Christ the Lord." " God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, 
 that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life." 
 "This is the name by which He shall be called. The Lord our Righteousness." 
 God in our nature, the Eternal Word made flesh. He is provided as our surety 
 and substitute, the just one taking the place of the unjust. God's " Tughteous 
 Servant," fulfilling all righteousness, that, accepting and trusting in Him, His 
 righteousness might be reckoned to us, and we might be accepted in Him. "He 
 hath made Him to be sin who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteou.- 
 ness of God in Him" (2 Cor. v. 21). To those who accept of Him, and so are in 
 him. He is of God made righteousness as well as sanctification and redemption. 
 M.icie one with Him, through acceptance of Him and trust in Him, His perfect 
 obedience is ours, and is thrown into the scale as our own. "As by one man's 
 disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one many are made 
 righteous." Christ's works, not our own, make us full weight ; His, and at the same 
 time ours by virtue of union with Him. His righteousness, not our own, the garment 
 for the marringe feast. The sin and ruin of the Jews that they rejected tliis robe 
 of righteousness. " They being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to 
 establish theiir own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteous- 
 ness of God " (Rom. X. 3). Reader, what have you to weigh against God's law ? 
 Christ's works or your own? If the former, as evii.ced by a new heart .-.nd life, 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 3'ou are accepted ; if the latter, still "found wanting." Lose no time in accepting 
 Christ as your righteousness. Yuu may even yet have His works put into the 
 empty scale as your own. But soon it will be too late. Accept in time, or you 
 are undone. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES. —0) Dr. 
 A. Clarke is of opinion that tiiis 
 chapter is out of its proper place, and 
 should come in after chapters vii. and 
 viii. Chronologically this is true ; but 
 for other reasons it has been placed 
 where it is, leaving the whole of the 
 second part of the book prophetical, 
 Hengstenberg observes tliat in this 
 chapter the objections are less nume- 
 rous and particularly feeble. An ob- 
 jection has been made on the ground 
 that no king of Babylon of the name 
 of Belshazzar is known in history; and 
 that the name of the last king was not 
 Belshazzar, but Nabonnedus, according 
 to Berosus, or Labynetus, according to 
 Herodotus, who was not slain in Baby- 
 lon, but surrendered himself a prisoner 
 to Cyius at Borsippa, and was kindly 
 treated by the conqueror. Strange to 
 say, as already remarked in the Intro- 
 duction, a clay cylinder, now in the 
 liritish Museum, was in 1854 dis- 
 ciivered by Sir 11. Rawliuson among 
 the ruins of ^Slugheir, the ancient Ur 
 of the Chaldees, on which is an in- 
 .«cription stating that the building in 
 which it was found was the work of 
 Nabonidus ; the last of the Babylonian 
 kings, who repaired it in 555 B.C., and 
 that Bel-sh;ir-ezer (or Bjlshazzar) his 
 eldest son, had been aiimitted by him 
 to a share in the government. There 
 were thus two king.s of Babylon at the 
 time the city was taken ; the one, the 
 father, of whom the historians speak, 
 and who was then at a distance ; the 
 other, the son, who was in the city at 
 the time, and who, according to both 
 Daniel and Xeno})hon, was slain on the 
 occasion. According to Josephns and 
 Berosus, Belsh;izzar, called by Metas- 
 thenes and the Septuagiut Baltassar, 
 was the son of Evil-Merodacli, and 
 reigned seventeen years ; the two who 
 reigjied between JCvil-Merodach, tiie son 
 of Nebuchadnezzar, being Nerigles.sar, 
 liis brother-in-law, who slew liini, and 
 reigned four years, and Laborosoarchod, 
 94 
 
 his son, who reigned only nine months ; 
 whose names, as only petty kings and 
 usurpers, would not. Dr. Gumming thinks, 
 be acknowledged in the chronicles of 
 Babylon or by the sacred writers. Keil, 
 with Hoffmann, Havernick, and others, 
 is inclined to regard Belshazzar as the 
 son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar, 
 and to identify him with Evil-Merodach, 
 it being the rule with Eastern kings to 
 have several names. 
 
 (-) " The queen." According to Hero- 
 dotus, this was Nitocris, a prudent 
 woman ; the queen, not of Belshazzar, 
 but of his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, 
 the former being already at the feast 
 among his wives and concubines. Ac- 
 cording to Polyhistor, it was Amiyt, 
 daughter of Astyages, sister of Darius 
 the Mede, and aunt of Cyrus. Prideaux 
 takes her for the mother of Belshazzar 
 and widow of Nebuchadnezzar. So 
 Keil. Dr. Piule ob.serves : " Perhaps she 
 was the wife of Nabonadius, left in the 
 city when her hu.sband sallied forth to 
 meet the enemy, but who had not re- 
 turned. If so, she would well remem- 
 ber the events of the latter part of the 
 reign of Nebuchadnezzar." According 
 to Josephns, she was the grandmother 
 of Belshazzar ; wdiile Origen, Ephrem 
 Syrus, and Theodoret, make her his 
 niotiier. 
 
 (•'•) " Tliij fatkerP It is generally ad- 
 mitted that 3X {(ihli) frequently signifies 
 an ancestor in general. Belshazzar was 
 probably a son of Evil-Merodach, who 
 only reigned two years, and so was the 
 grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. 
 
 (*) '■^ A nedclace." Among the Persians 
 it is said to have been one of the highest 
 honours to receive a neck-chain as a 
 present from the king. An emblem, as 
 among the ancient Egyptians and our- 
 selves, of magisterial aulhorit}'. 
 
 (^) '* The third ruler in the ki.i);/J<>in." 
 This agrees with what has been noted 
 as to Belshazzar having been associated 
 with his fatlier in the government, and 
 thus nuide the second ruler j an unde- 
 
no Ml LET W COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 signed coincidence, and a singular con- 
 liimatiou of tiie genuineness of the 
 account. Jerome and others, however, 
 understood the third ruler to be equi- 
 valent to the Greek r^iaruTTii, the title 
 given to a member ot a triumvirate in 
 the government of a kingdom or empire. 
 Dr. Kule observes that the word agrees 
 with the term used in Ezek. xxiii. 15, 
 23, to denote Babylonian princes, C)"'P'V^ 
 (shalisliim), or " third men ; " the origin 
 being discovered in Lhe three charioteers 
 or soldiers who rode in the war-chariots 
 (1 Kings ix. 22), as seen in the war 
 scenes on the slabs of the Assyrian 
 marbles. 
 
 (•5) ''In that nigUp &c. For the 
 account of the taking of the cit}-, as 
 given by Herodotus, see page 48, note 
 ("). The night of that event is regarded 
 by Gaussen as " a prophetic type of the 
 last solemn judgment of the Lord ; a 
 night so great and so terrible that the 
 Holy Spirit frequently refers to it as 
 the emblem of thiit night, a thousand 
 times more terrible, Avhen the Lord 
 Jesus shall be * revealed from heaven 
 with His mighty angels,'" 
 
 (') " His ivives and his concnhines.'" 
 The presence of women at feasts was a 
 custom with the Babylonians, as appears 
 from Xenophoii. The Alexandrian trans- 
 lator (the Septuagint), following the 
 custom of his own time, has, strange to 
 say, everywhere passed over the women 
 at the feast of Belshazzar ; another 
 corroborative evidence of the genuine- 
 ness of the account, as showing the 
 writer's intimate acquaintance with the 
 manners and usages of the country. — 
 llengstenherg. 
 
 (8) "Z/is lords;' "his princes," '^>i3???:? 
 (rabhrehhcmohi), the reduplication of 
 ^T (rabh), great ; " great men," " mag- 
 nates " of the realm. An objection has 
 been grounded on the use of this word, 
 which is found in the Targuni, but not 
 in the older Aramaic writings ; an objec- 
 tion, as Hengstenberg remarks, which 
 would aj)ply also to the pseudo-Daniel 
 in the time of the Maccabees, and so 
 prove too much. , , 
 
 (^) " £efore the thousand," 7?n^ {la- 
 qahhel), " over against." So Dr. Pusey, 
 who gives the paraphrase of Ephrem 
 
 Syrus, " Alone he lay over against all 
 reclined." A Greek scholiast, quoted by 
 Dr. Pusey, observes, " It was their cus- 
 tom that each should have their own 
 table." So Athenaeus : " When the Per- 
 sian king makes a drinking feast, they 
 (the guests) do not drink tlie same wine 
 as he ; they sitting on the ground, he 
 lyinir on a couch with golden legs." 
 
 (10) ^^ Over against the candlestirknpon 
 the plaister of the wall." Keil says, 
 "The fingers wrote on the ]»laster of the 
 wall over against the candlestick which 
 stood on tlie table at which the king 
 sat, and which reflected its light per- 
 ceptibly on the white wall opposite, so 
 that the fingers writing could be dis- 
 tinctly seen. The feast had been pro- 
 longed into the night ; and the wall of 
 the chamber was not wainscotted, but 
 only plastered with lime, as in the 
 chambers found in the palaces of Niin- 
 roud and Khorsabad, covered over only 
 with mortar." Dr. Kule thinks there 
 was no ink nor colouring, the visibility 
 of the writing being only by the effect 
 of light and shade on the sharp relit-f 
 of the characters made on the lime or 
 cement of the wall, such as is actually 
 found remaining on those ruins where 
 the walls are not lined with slabs. 
 
 (11) "Mene, mene," kc. "According 
 to the account, it was only by super- 
 natural illumination that Daniel was 
 able to read and explain the writing, 
 and only because the king believed him 
 to possess it that he was called in for 
 the purpose. The characters must there- 
 fore have been quite uncommon, so as 
 not to be deciphered without divine 
 illumination." — IlengUensherg, who also 
 remarks that the existence of a mystic 
 writing in Babylon is supposed in the 
 entire narration. He supposes the 
 " matricians," P^P.^D {kliartummin), of 
 whom Nebuchadnezzar made Daniel the 
 master, and who are included in the 
 wise men of chap. ii. 48, were probably 
 men skilled in such writing, such per- 
 sons being found among the Egyptians, 
 whose religious sy.-tein stands in tlie 
 closest relation to the Babylonians. Dr. 
 Cumming remarks that these jiersons 
 were not " magicians," but jihilosopliers, 
 who held converse with God's outer 
 
 95 
 
no Ml LET IC COMMEXTAnY: DANIEL. 
 
 world, not with evil spirits, like tlie 
 sorcerers and diviners of old. He thinks 
 thiit the writing was in the pure Hebrew 
 character, which we call Samaritan, and 
 that it was simply from the strangeness 
 of the character that the wise men were 
 unable to understand it. Some of the 
 old interpreters, as Polanus, Calvin, and 
 Willet, ascribe their inability, not so 
 much to the strange and unknown char- 
 acters, as to the fact that they were 
 blinded and astonished by the power of 
 God. Dr. Rule thinks that the difficnlty 
 may have arisen from the characters or the 
 langnage,orfrom both ; and tl)at thechar- 
 racters were most probably cuneiform, no 
 other being used in that age in Assyria 
 and Babylonia, while there were many 
 languages or dialects. All the ancient 
 versions except the Syriac have, instead 
 of four words, only three, Mene, TekeJ, 
 Phares, exactly as explained in the verses 
 which follow. The words are differently 
 rendered, according to the supposed form 
 of the verbs, whether as perfect, parti- 
 ciple, or imperative. Some think the 
 first word is doubled for emphasis; 
 otliers, as Calvin, for confirmation, and 
 to show that the numbering was now 
 completed. Maldonatus thinks that the 
 reduplication, according to a Hebraism, 
 indicates "he hath diligently xmnxheviidi" 
 alluding to the seventy years of the 
 Jewish captivity, or the existence of the 
 Babylonian empire. Calvin and Polanus, 
 after 11. Saadias, favour the idea of exact- 
 ness. Dr. Ptiile observes that S3D {mene), 
 whether in Chaldee or Hebrew, signifies 
 to "number, count out, allot," and is 
 employed here in the sense it bears in 
 Jsa. Ixv. 12. In connection with the 
 last word, D"I3 or ponSI {peres ov uphar- 
 siu), Dr. ilulo observes that the division 
 or dihtribulion indicated in the lirst 
 word is unfolded in the distinct an- 
 nouncement of the prophet that tht; 
 Modes and Persians, now employing 
 tlieir united forces in the siege, sliall 
 have the kingdom divided between them ; 
 the Medes, according to Herodotus, 
 being Aryans, and the Persians of 
 Aryan descent. Darius the Mede had 
 precedence in the attack over Cyrus 
 the Persian because of seniority, and 
 held tiie sceptre till his death, when 
 
 Cyrus took it ; Darius, according to one 
 account, having called him out of Persia 
 to assist him in the war by taking the 
 command of the army. Willet remarks 
 that iqyharsin, the plural, refers to the 
 Medes and Persians as the instruments, 
 while jjeres, the singular, points to God 
 as the author of the division. He thinks 
 the writing gives both the thing pre- 
 dicted, — the division of the empire, — 
 and the parties between whom it was 
 to be divided, the Medes and Persians, 
 Darius having Babylon, and Cyrus 
 Assyria. Calvin, however, properly re- 
 marks, that the city was truly taken by 
 the valour and industry of Cyrus, but 
 that Cyrus admitted his father-in-law to 
 the great honour of allowing him to 
 partake of the royal authority, and that 
 the Medes and Persians are said to have 
 divided the kingdom, although there 
 was properly no division of the empire. 
 Gaussen remarks that each of the words 
 appears to have a double signification, 
 one in Hebrew and another in Chaldee, 
 so that they became equivalent to six 
 terrible sentences. 
 
 (12) Xenophon says this was done by 
 Gadates and Gobryas, who had gone over 
 from the Babylonians to Cyrus. Hero- 
 dotus relates that in Babylon there pre- 
 vailed such recklessness that no inquiry 
 was made as to what was doing aujong 
 the enemy, and so nothing was perceived 
 of all those operations by which Cyrus 
 had been preparing for the conquest of 
 the city. 
 
 V-i) '<■ Darius the Mede." Some have 
 thought that this was Darius Hystaspes. 
 So Porphyry, Tertullian, and Cyril of 
 Jerusalem. But, as Willet observes, 
 Darius Hystaspes reigned third after 
 Cyrus ; and Babylon was taken twice, 
 the first time by Darius and Cyrus, and 
 the second by Darius Hystaspes, through 
 means of Zopyrus. Bertholdt, Bleek, 
 and others object against the genuineness 
 of tlie book, as a historical error, that he 
 whom Xenophon calls Cyaxares II. is 
 here called Darius, and assert that the 
 later author of the book only gave him 
 the name by a confusion with Darius 
 Hystaspes; that of Cyaxares II., Hero- 
 dotus and Justin say nothing, while 
 Herodotus, Ctesiasand others, state that 
 
UO Ml LET 10 COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 the Median kings close with Astyages, 
 after whom the Persian kingdom com- 
 mences with Cyrus. To this llengsten- 
 berg replies that clear reasons can be 
 given to show that the scanty testimonies 
 to the existence of a Median Darius are 
 correct. DifTerences of names occur also 
 in the Hebrew writings without any one 
 tljinking of charging them with error on 
 tliat account. It is also generally allowed 
 that Darius, like many other names of 
 kings, is not a proper name, but an appel- 
 lative or surname, a mere title borne by 
 different kings, and denoting the Tamer 
 or Subduer. The Armenian Chronicon of 
 Eusebius confirms the credibility of Dan- 
 iel by making menticm of a Darius as the 
 last uf tlie Median kings. Dr. Pusey says, 
 " Who Darius the jMede was is a matter 
 not lor sacred but for secular Babylon- 
 ian history, whether the Cyaxares II. of 
 Xenophon, or Astyages, or neither," but 
 some descendant of Cyaxares. The name 
 Daryawash (Darius) is confessedly an 
 appellative, and so it is consistent with 
 his being known in secular history by 
 some other name. The coin called Daric 
 is said to have been so named not from 
 ]")arius Hystaspes, but from an older king. 
 The Darius who expelled Naboned from 
 Carmania more likely to have been a 
 contemporary of Cyrus than one fifteen 
 years later, ^schylus, moreover, makes 
 Darius Hystaspes recount his origin from 
 Darius the Mede. 
 
 (If.) a lY/iiifS he tasted the wine" 
 SiCn oyps {bit'em hhmnra). Keil un- 
 derstands the expression to mean tvheii 
 the wine was relished by him, as Hitzig 
 says, " In the wanton madness of one 
 excited by wine," The Vulgate has 
 
 '•temulentiis," tipsy. Vatablus and 
 Calvin : heated and excited by the wine. 
 Grotius : while drinking, the wine 
 became more and more pleasant to him. 
 M. Henry : when he had tasted how 
 rich and fine the wine was, he, with a 
 profane jest, thought it a pity not to 
 have the best vessels to drink it in. 
 A. Clarke : he relished it, got heated 
 by it, and when wine got fully in, wit 
 went wholly out. Belshazzar is usually 
 represented as addicted to the lowest vices 
 of self-indulgence. Wintle, however, 
 thinks that the expression in the text may 
 simply refer to the libation to the gods 
 made at the beginning of the feast, and 
 quotes the words of Virgil, "Primacpie 
 libato sum mo tenus attigit ore." 
 
 (16) u Weighed in the balances." The 
 ancient Egyptians represented in a 
 symbolical manner this weighing of 
 individuals and their actions, as taking 
 place after death, on one of the mummy 
 cases in the British Museum. The stjul 
 is represented as "weighed in the 
 balances," and answered for by tlie 
 cmbalmer of the dead. The soul was 
 believed, by the Egyptians at least, to 
 repose in the tomb till its gradual in- 
 crease in virtue and size demanded its 
 translation to heaven. It is seen, on 
 the case, after being weighed, larger and 
 larger still, and at last, when fully grown, 
 rising up to heaven on the spread wings 
 of the attendant scarabasus, its cherubic 
 emblem. The idea, however, of God 
 as our observer and judge, weighing 
 men and their actions as moral agents, 
 was already a Biblical one. See Job 
 xxxi. 6; Ps. Ixii. 9; 1 Sam. ii. 3; 
 Prov. xvi. 2 : Isa. xxvi. 7. 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 Sect. XVIIL— The Plot (Chap. vi. 1-9). 
 
 Another of the deeply interesting chapters of Daniel. A former one exhibited 
 faith "quenching the violence of fire ; " this presents the same faith " stojiping the 
 mouths of lions." The events recorded took place in the reign of a Persian 
 monarch named Darius, generally understood to be the Darius mentioned in the 
 conclusion of the previous chapter, and the same who is called by a Greek liistc- 
 rian Cyaxares the Younger or Cyaxares XL, the son of Astynges and uncle i>f 
 Cyrus (^). We have — 
 
 I. Daniel's elevation (vers. 1-3). The Medes and Persians were now in pes- 
 session of Babylon. The first of the four great monarchies had passed away, and 
 
 o 97 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 the second, indicated by the silver breast and arms of the great image, bad suc- 
 ceeded it. Darius, tlie first ruler of the new empire, had, probably at the sugges- 
 tion of Cyrus, divided the kingdom into a hundred and twenty provinces or 
 satrapies (-), afterwards increased under Xerxes or Ahasuerus to a hundred and 
 twenty-seven (Esther i. 1). Over each of these provinces was a prince or satrap, 
 and over the whole of the princes were placed three presidents, of whom Daniel 
 was the chief (^), Darius having probably only confirmed him in the office to which 
 he had already been promoted by Belshazzar. Indeed, for the excellent spirit that 
 the king found to be in him, he even thought to place him over the whole empire 
 as his viceroy or khedive, giving him all the power over the several departments 
 of the state "that would have enabled him to enforce obedience and punish 
 dereliction." 
 
 Darius had seen and heard enough of Daniel to convince him that his own 
 interest lay in employing him in the most responsible oflice in the realm. 
 Wisdom, prudence, disinterestedness, conscientiousness, and fidelity, so combined 
 in his character as to mark him out as the man on whom above all others the 
 king could depend. The resemblance in this, as in some other respects, between 
 Daniel in Persia and Joseph in Egypt, is obvious and striking. " Seest thou a 
 man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings, and shall not stand 
 before mean men 1 " " Them that honour me I will honour." 
 
 II. The conspiracy (vers. 4, 5). Promotion to honour often the precursor of 
 trouble. The presidents and princes could not see Daniel, a foreigner, a captive, 
 a Jew, a man of an entirely different religion from their own, without the worst 
 feelings of our fallen humanity coming into play. " Wrath is cruel and anger is 
 outrageous ; but who can stand before envy ] " (Prov. xxvii. 4). Daniel, too, was 
 a man of uprightness and principle, which the presidents and princes were not. 
 The former, were to receive and examine the revenue accounts of the latter, that 
 the royal exchequer might not be defrauded. But the presidents might be 
 corrupt as well as the princes. AVill Daniel connive at their peculation 1 Daniel 
 was faithful to his sovereign, because faithful to his God. Duty to God secures 
 the faithful discharge of our duty to man, Daniel made his master's interest his 
 own ; and hence kept a strict look-out on both presidents and princes. He aimed, 
 according to his office, not only at doing his own duty to the king, but at keeping 
 others at theirs also. Hence his troubles. In a corrupt world, " he that departeth 
 from evil" too often "maketh himself a prey." Daniel's colleagues became his 
 enemies. Like Joseph's brethren in Egypt, they hated him, and must have him 
 out of the way. Tlie question was how ] Accusation against his moral or official 
 conduct they could find none. " Every attempt to find a flaw, to prove a weak- 
 ness, or to justify a suspicion, either of disloyalty or maladministration, failed." 
 The only way to entrap him must be in connection with his religion, in which 
 they knew him to be as strict and conscientious as he was in his official duties. 
 A clever and diabolical scheme was concocted that promised complete success. 
 This was by placing his obedience to God in antagonism with his obedience to the 
 king. 
 
 IIL The decree (vers. G-9). The scheme was this. Daniel was known to 
 be a man of prayer, and to repair to his chamber at stated times in the day for 
 that purpose. Get the king to sign a decree forbidding any one to present a 
 petition to either God or man for a whole month on pain of being cast in a den of 
 lions. The king will be flattered by the proposal, and Daniel will be caught. 
 They will watch him, whether he will observe the decree and save his life, or go to 
 his knees as usual. In the latter and most likely case, the decree once signed by 
 the king, the representative of the unchanging deity, being irrevocable, Daniel is a 
 lost man, and tlicy are rid of thoir rival. The decree being accordingly drawn up, 
 was presented to the king for signature. The weak monarch, not perceiving the 
 object of the princes, perhaps flattered with the appearance of their loyalty and 
 98 
 
nOMILETW COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 idevotion, and pleased at the idea of being thus for a time siipeiior to both gods 
 and men, readily complied with the proposal and signed the decree. 
 *' Oh, purblind race of miserable men ! 
 How many among us at this very hour 
 Do forge a lifelong trouble for ourselves 
 By taking true for false, or false for true ! " 
 
 But for divine interference, this would now have been realised in Darius. The 
 ])residents and princes, having obtained their desire, returned home triiunphant. 
 Daniel's doom was sealed. Observe from the passage — 
 
 1. Godliness no hindrance to greatness, and prayer no chstacle to 2'^romotinn. 
 Daniel in Babylon pnd Joseph in Egypt notable examples. In ma!)y resjtects 
 natural. But for prevailing sin in the world, and the influence of him who is its 
 ])rince and the enemy of all goodness, godliness would be the surest way to great- 
 ness, and prayer the certain path to preferment. Godliness and prayer secure the 
 necessary requisites for positions of trust — wisdom, uprightness, and fidelity. " The 
 fear of tlie Lord is the beginning of wisdom." " If any man lack wisdom, let him 
 ask it of God, and it shall be given him." Abraham Lincoln, the President of the 
 United States, was pre-eminently a man of prayer. General IIavelock,though bur- 
 dened with the care of the army during the terrible mutiny in India, managed to 
 keep sacred for prayer a considerable time in the morning of every day. Sir 
 Thomas Browne wrote in his journal as an admonition to himself, to be sure to let 
 no day pass without calling upon God in a solemn manner seven times in the 
 course of it. 
 
 2. The excellence of true religion. " The righteous is more excellent than his 
 neighbour." Seen even by a heathen monarch in the case of Daniel. Hence his 
 elevation. His enemies unable to find a flaw in him. His steadfastness in religion 
 the only ground for accusation against him. A godly man firm and fearless in the 
 discharge of his duty. His religion not put on or off to suit the season. Daniel 
 known to prefer fidelity to life, and death to deviation from duty. The part of a 
 truly godly man to act not from expediency but from principle. His inquiry, not 
 what will be most advantageous, but what is right. His concern not to appear, 
 but to he just and good. His aim to please God in the first place, and man in the 
 second. True godliness, symmetrical and all-embracing ; extends to principles and 
 practice, to the temper and the ti)ngue, to private and to public conduct, to our 
 duty to God and our duty to man in every relation of life. 
 
 3. The depth of human dep7'aviti/. Seen in the conduct of Daniel's enemies. 
 Hates the good because they are good, and because their goodness rebukes our evil, 
 and stands in the way of our sinful courses. Contrives their overthrow, and even 
 plots their death. Commits murder in the heart, and then, when it can be done 
 safely, in the act. Practises hypocrisy in order to conceal our wickedness and 
 make others accomplices of our crimes. Steels the heart against pity, and finds 
 pleasure in the torture of the innocent. The character and conduct of Daniel's 
 enemies shows what man is by nature since the first sin robbed him of his Maker's 
 image. Left to himself, man exhibits the image of his tempter. It was the testi- 
 moify of Him who was at once Truth and Love, " Ye are of your father the devil, 
 and the lusts of your father ye will do." The witness true of unrenewed men, 
 whether Persian princes or pharisaic Jews. History as well as daily observation 
 and experience prove that the Bible picture of man's depravity is not overdrawn, — 
 " Foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice 
 and envy, hateful and hating one another;" "full of envy, murder, deceit, malignity" 
 (Titus iii. 3 ; Ptom. i. 29). Verily man needed a Saviour, and, thanks to divine 
 mercy, a Saviour has been found. "Such were some of you; but ye are washed, 
 but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by 
 the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor. vi. 11). 
 
 4. 2'he certain cxj^osure of the godly to persecution. Mural excellence no shelter 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 from the sLafts of malice, but rather their natural butt. Socrates and Aristides 
 examples among the heatlien. A natural and necessary antagonism between light 
 and darkness, good and evil. '• The world cannot hate you, but me it hateth, 
 because I testify of it that the deeds thereof are evil." " If ye were of the world, 
 the world would love its own ; but because ye are not of the world, but I have 
 chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." The natural conse- 
 quence, so long as the world is what it is, " lying in wickedness," or under the 
 power of the wicked one. Its hatred, opposition, and persecution, in one form and 
 at one time or another, the necessary accompaniment of fidelity to God and con- 
 formity to Christ, " Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you." 
 " Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you." " All they that will live 
 godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." To possess Daniel's character, we 
 must be prepared, sooner or later, more or less, to share Daniel's experience. The 
 experience of Daniel only that of Daniel's Lord. " The disciple not greater than 
 his Master." 
 
 5. The responsibility of men in power. Darius made the tool of wicked design- 
 ing men, and virtually the author of a cruel murder. Forgetting the claims of 
 justice, truth, and mercy, and blinded by a foolish ambition, he heedlessly con- 
 signed to a dreadful death the best and most faithful subject in his realm. Rulers 
 in a condition either to further or defeat the designs of the wicked. Princes too 
 often allow themselves to be the tool of priests in carrying out their persecuting 
 projects, and so made participators in the death of God's saints. To this source 
 much of the persecutions of Papal Europe to be ascribed. Men responsible for the 
 evil they might prevent, as well as for the good they might accomplish. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— (O "Da- 
 rius." Keil observes that Hitzig con- 
 fusses that the identity of this Darius 
 of Daniel with the Cyaxares of Xeuo- 
 phon is placed beyond a doubt. How 
 long his reign in Babylon lasted is not 
 stated in this book, or learned from any 
 other direct source ; but it is correctly 
 supposed that he reigned two years, his 
 reign giving place to that of Cyrus, by 
 whom the writing on the wall was fully 
 accomplished. The character of Darius 
 fnndamentally different from that of 
 Nebuchadnezzar, the latter being dis- 
 tinguished by energy and activity, while 
 Darius Avas a weak prince, wanting in 
 energy, and allowing himself to be 
 guided and governed by his officers of 
 btate. Some, as Mr. Bosanquet, still 
 think that the Dariu«, under whom 
 Daniel lived and wrote his later pro- 
 phecies, was Darius Ilystaspes, who is 
 mentioned in the prophecies of Haggai 
 and Zechariali and in tlie Book of Ezra 
 (Hag. i. 1 ; Zech. i. 1 ; Ezra iv. 24, v. 
 5, vi. 1). Dr. Puaey observes that the 
 identification of Cyaxares II. with 
 " Darius the Mede " is only a probable 
 historical conjecture, with which Daniel 
 ia in no way concerned. 
 100 
 
 (2) " An hundred and tiventy princes." 
 Keil remarks that when Daniel mentions 
 so large a number of satrapies, it is no 
 argument against the credibility of the 
 narrative, as if, according to Hitzig, the 
 kingdom was too small for so many 
 satrapies in the Persian sense, so, that 
 they must be understood rather as 
 Grecian ones. The division of the king- 
 dom, however, by Xerxes (Esther i. 1) 
 into 127 provinces shows that it might 
 have been previously divided by Darius 
 the Mede into 120. The ]\Iedian Darius 
 might be led to appoint one satrap or 
 prince, i.e., a prefect clothed with mili- 
 tary power, over each district, since the 
 kingdom was but newly conquered, that 
 he might be able to suppress every at- 
 tempt at insurrection among the nations 
 coming under his donunion. Dr. Cox 
 remarks that Xeuophon informs us that 
 Cyrus devised the plan of government 
 with regard to conquered nations, which 
 is here ascribed to Darius; and that 
 Archbishop Us.sher therefore supposes, 
 with great probability, that it was first 
 devised by Cyrus, and at his suggestion 
 pursued by Darius. Dr. Rule observes 
 tiiat the presidents of the 1 20 princes, 
 viceroys or satraps, received and ad- 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 iniiiistcred the revenue, Daniel being (^y Save (hee, Icivr/:' The Pemaii 
 
 First Lord of the Treasury. kings were regarded as incarnations of 
 
 (^y^O/whom Daniel ivas first." M. the deity. Ganssen observes that Ne- 
 
 Gaussen remarks : " What profound biichadnezzar claimed divine honours, 
 
 wisdom, vast capacity, and extensive Alexander tlie Great pretended to be a 
 
 knowledge must he have possessed ! god, and the son of a god. The Roman 
 
 Eat also what decision, integrity, and emperors required themselves and their 
 
 equanimity, for the princes of the Medes images to be worshipped. And in our 
 
 and Persians to think of putting at the own day the Pope lays claim to religious 
 
 liead of so powerful an empire a man, homage, being at his consecration fumed 
 
 a stranger, a Jew, a, captive, a servant with incense and placed on the altar of 
 
 of their enemies, and, moreover, an old God, while the people kiss his feet, and 
 
 man, now eighty-five years of age at all the cardinals cry, Vtnite aclorejnns, 
 
 least ! " «' Come let us adore him ! " 
 
 IIOMILFAICS. 
 
 Sect. XIX.— Daniel a Man of Prayer (Chap. vi. 10, 11). 
 
 Daniel's enemies had so far gained their object. The royal decree that was to 
 remove him out of the way was already signed. It only remained to be put into 
 execution. How was Daniel employed in the meantime ? Just as usual. Fidelity 
 to Godjorbade him to yield obedience to the decree ; faith in God led him as usual 
 to his closet. With his window open towards Jerusalem, reminding him of the 
 promises of God to His praying people (1 Kings viii. 40-49), he kneeled down and 
 prayed with thanksgiving three times a day, " as lie did aforetime." Afine exhibition 
 of the man of God here presented. *' When Daniel knew that the writing was 
 sigjied." " He knew too that it was aimed at him, nnd that it was a compound of 
 malignity and absurdity ; but he uttered no reproach, and made no remonstrance 
 either ivith his persecutors for their injustice, or against them in appeal to the mis- 
 guided sovereign. * He went into his house.' And for what purpose 1 Not to 
 devise a counterplot ; not to indulge in bitter lamentations over his hard lot, or 
 secret repinings at the conduct of Providence ; but to ^5?-fty. This was his habit 
 'three times a day,' and he continues the practice as before. The Holy City with 
 its Temple was now desolate, but he prayed with his window ' open in his cham- 
 ber toward Jerusalem ; ' the Temple being regarded by the pious Jews as a type of 
 Christ, while the circumstances of its dedication filled their minds with sentiments 
 of the profoundest awe and solemnity. ' He gave thanks before his God ; ' a 
 devout heart finding reasons for gratitude when others can perceive nothing but 
 occasions of lamentation." — Cox. 
 
 Daniel as a man of prayer was — 
 
 1. Constant. He prayed as he was wont. Prayer had been his habit, and 
 that habit was not likely to be suspended now when it was most needed, though 
 its exercise might cost him his life. A truly godly man prays at all seasons, in 
 the gloom of adversity as well as in the sunshine of prosperity. Daniel had prayed 
 in the midst of public business under Nebuchadnezzar, as one of his councillors of 
 state ; he had prayed in the quiet retirement of jirivate life under Belshazzar, when 
 his godliness removed him from the court ; he had prayed again under Darius, as 
 ruler over a third part of the oniinre and First Lord of the Treasur}'. He i)rays 
 now in the prospect of a horrible death which he knows his prayers will cost him. 
 " Will he always call upon God? "is asked by Job as the test that distinguishes a 
 true servant of God from a hypocrite. Daniel known in Babylon and at court as 
 the man that served God " continually " (vers. 16, 20). 
 
 2. Regular. Daniel, like the Psalmist, had his regular seasons for prayer, three 
 tJmes a day. " Evening, morning, and at noon will I pray and cry ahnid, and He 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 sliall liear my voice" (Ps. Iv. 17). The rule not suspended even now when his 
 enemies were watching to find him in the act. Prayer with Daniel, as with every 
 truly codly man, more than his necessary food. Morning saw him on his knees 
 crivincf thanks for the mercies of the night, and craving guidance, help, protection, 
 md blessincr during the day. Noon saw him returning to the exercise, seeking 
 refreshment iu communion with his God, and a mind kept above earthly things. 
 Eveuinf found him again in his closet, giving thanks for the mercies of the day, 
 and seeking pardon for shortcomings, a blessing on his labours, and the divine 
 presence and protection during the night. Daniel prayed without ceasing, carry- 
 in"- ever with him a prayerful spirit, and, like Nehemiah, lifting up his heart 
 to God repeatedly during the day as occasion suggested. But he felt the need of 
 meeting with God more freely and fully at stated times. " Unless we fix certain 
 hours in the day for prayer it easily slips from our memory ; and therefore, although 
 Daniel was constant in pouring forth prayers, yet he enjoined upon himself the 
 customary rite of prostrating him.self before God three times a day." — Calvin. 
 How much may be lost by omitting the prayer " at noon !" 
 
 3. Btlieving. " His windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem." 
 Expressive of his belief in the promise made by God at the dedication of the 
 Temple, in regard to those who should iu any place pray towards that house (1 
 Kings viii.) So David lifted up his hands towards God's "holy oracle" and 
 •worshipped " toward His holy Temple " (Ps. v. 7, xxviii. 2). Thus Daniel prayed, 
 believing the promise. " He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and 
 that He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Believing prayer 
 that which is made in God's own way and in dependence on His promise. The 
 eye to be now directed in prayer, not to Jerusalem, but to Jesus at God's right 
 hand, the- true Temple with its ark and mercy-seat. The promise is now, "What- 
 soever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it you" (John xv. 16, 
 xvi. 23). " Seeing that we have a great High Priest that is passed into the 
 heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that 
 we many obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. iv. 14-lG). 
 Our Propitiation or mercy-seat, for whose sake God can be propitious, pardon our 
 sins, and hear our prayers, is "Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John ii. 2, 3). 
 "What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye 
 shall have them." " Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering " (Mark xi. 24 ; 
 James i. G). 
 
 4. Fearless. Daniel went to his chamber — the upper chamber, chosen for 
 quietness and freedom from interruption, like the disciples at Pentecost (Acts i. 
 13, 14, ii. 1, 2). The window of lattice-work open, as usual on such occasions, 
 toward Jerusalem. This now done by Daniel at the peril of his life. Carnal 
 prudence might have suggested a different course for the present. This, however, 
 would have appeared only cowardice and deceit. Daniel acted in the sjtirit of 
 Nehemiah, who, when tempted by his enemies to shut himself up in the Temple 
 to save his life, said, "Should such a man as I flee?" (Neli. vi. 11). So Jesus, 
 when some of the Pharisees tempted Him to flee for His life, — " Get thee out and 
 depart hence, for Herod will kill thee," — said, " Go ye and tell that fox, Behold I cast 
 out devils, I do cures to-day and to-morrow," The fear of God raises us above the 
 fear of man. True faith makes men heroes. " Fear not them that kill the body, 
 and after that have no more that they can do; rather fear Him who is able to 
 destroy both soul and body in hell," The lions' den could be but a shorter way 
 to paradise. The fearlcs'^ness of faith not to be confounded with foolliardiness. 
 One thing to i)ut oneself in the way of danger, and another not to go out of the 
 way of duty. Prayer to God as usual was Daniel's duty, though the passage to 
 his chamber was the passage to the lions' den. " It was necessary to testify 
 before men his perseverance in the worship of God ; to have altered his habit at all 
 would have been a partial abjuration, and proof of perfidious defection. God not 
 
 102 
 
HO MI LET 10 COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 only requires faith in the heart and the inward afifcctions, but also the witness and 
 confession of our piety." — Calvin. 
 
 5. Cheerful. Daniel not only prayed but "gave thanks" to God. Thanks- 
 giving naturally a cheerful thing. " I will praise the name of the Lord with a 
 song; I will magnify Him with thanksgiving" (Ps. Ixix. 30). Daniel went to his 
 chamber not only to pray but to give thanks. Went, therefore, with a cheerful, 
 not a downcast countenance. Eealised how much he had to give God thanks for! 
 That he had been made to know Him, and to know Him as his God and Father, and 
 the Hearer of prayer ; that He had been his help and deliverer hitherto ; and that 
 even now he was honoured to confess Him before men, and perhaps to suffer for 
 His sake. All thes^ sufficient'causes for thankfulness, and therefore for cheerfulness, 
 Daniel solemn in the prospect of death, but not sad. Stephen's face, in similar 
 circumstances, like the face of an angel. Thanksgiving accomi)anying prayer 
 makes prayer cheerful and joyous. Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, " I thank 
 thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth." Kemembrance of God's mercies gives 
 brightness, not only to the past, but to the present and the future. " Because Thou 
 hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice." With the 
 Lord for his God and Saviour, why should Daniel not 'give thanks and rejoice ? 
 "Though the fig-tree shall not blossom, &c., yet will I rejoice in the Lord, and joy 
 in the God of my salvation." Prayer, resting on the promise, cannot but be 
 cheerful ; prayer, accompanied with thanksgiving, must be still more so. Hence 
 thanksgiving always to accompany prayer. " Pray without ceasing ; in everything 
 give thanks." "By prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests 
 be made known unto God" (1 Thess. v. 17, 18; Phih iv. 6). Grace enabled 
 Daidel to give thanks and rejoice in the prospect of a painful death. Faith sings 
 a joyous paean where Nature offers only a doleful dirge. " death, where is thy 
 sting 1 O grave, where is thy victory?" So Paul and Silas not only prayed but 
 sang praises to God in the prison. Daniel gave thanks "to his God." That God 
 was "/«'s God" in itself a sufficient ground for thankfulness, whether in life or in 
 death. The expression indicative of the holy joy with which this aged saint poured 
 out his heart before God, even now in the prospect of a lion's den. 
 
 6. Earnest. Daniel not only prayed, but " made supplication " (ver. 11). Sup- 
 plication is prayer intensified, a beseeching or pleading for special and needed 
 mercies ; entreaty. Prayer always to take this form, or to have supplication con- 
 nected with it. Hence the two generally conjoined. " With prayer and supplica- 
 tion let your requests be made known unto God." " Praying always, with all 
 prayer and supplication." " So Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with 
 strong crying and tears " (Heb. v. 7). The Holy Spirit a " Spirit of grace and sup- 
 plication ;" and makes intercession for us " with groanings that cannot be uttered." 
 The more there is of the spirit of prayer and of felt need, the more there will be 
 of supplication in our prayers. The fervent prayer the effectual one. " Elias 
 prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not," ifcc. So Daniel 
 employed entreaty in his prayer. That entreaty not necessarily merely for himself. 
 The cause of God, of his brethren, and of his fellow-men, probably more on Daniel's 
 heart at that hour than his own. His prayer that of a burdened spirit, but bur- 
 dened more for others than himself (chap, ix.) Daniel's prayer always with sup- 
 plication, but probably now more than usual. "Shall not God avenge His own 
 elect, who cry day and night unto Him continually 1 " For himself he now needed 
 special strength to endure the fiery trial that was to try him ; grace to be faithful 
 unto death, and to glorify God in the fire by {)atience and serenity ; the comfort 
 of the Divine presence, if called to suffer the threatened penalty, according to the 
 promise, " When thou -walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned, neither 
 shall the flame kindle upon thee ;" "Fear not, for I am with thee" (Isa. xliii. 2, 5). 
 
 103 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY . DANIEL. 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XX.— The Lions' Den (Chap. vi. 11-17). 
 
 No time lost by Daniel's enemies in getting the king's decree put into execution. 
 Tbe wicked "sleep not except they have done mischief, and their sleep is taken 
 away unless they cause some to fall" (Prov, iv. 16). The Biblical description of 
 fallen man dark, but not darker than the reality. "Their feet are swift to shed 
 blood." The decree probably signed in the morning, and its execution sought 
 before night. We notice in the narrative — 
 
 I. The discovery (ver. 11). Daniel's enemies knew his haunts and habits. 
 Cod's servants a city set on a hill. Their conduct watched by the world, eager to 
 find a flaw. The princes must find Daniel in the act. For this purpose they 
 " assembled " by concert near Daniel's door, that the united testimony of many 
 witnesses miglit leave no doubt on the king's mind of Daniel's guilt. They watch 
 to see the man of God enter his chamber and shut his door behind him. Like his 
 master, the wicked man "lieth in wait secretly, as a lion in his den : he lieth in 
 wait to catch the poor ; he doth catch the poor when he draweth him into his 
 net " (Ps. X. 9). And they did catch Daniel. There he is as usual going into his 
 chamber. They rub their hands. But they must hear his voice in prayer before 
 they go in upon him. Hush ! There he is ; he has begun; now is the time. They 
 burst into his chamber, and find the man of God on his knees. They "found him 
 praying and making supplication before his God." 
 
 II. The information (vers. 12-15). So far Daniel's enemies have got their 
 desire ; they have made the discovery they wanted. Ptejoicing in their success, 
 they hasten in a rush 0^) to the king with the intelligence. Eager to make sure 
 of their object, they maliciously enlarge upon and exaggerate the fact. " That 
 Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah," — to whom thou hast 
 shown such kindness, see how he requites thy generosity, — "regardeth not thee, O 
 king, nor the decree that thou hast signed," — despises both thee and thy authority, 
 — " W maketh his petition three times a day." Here, however, they meet with a 
 check. The king is taken aback. He had not calculated upon this. A weak- 
 minded man, he had perhaps forgotten all about Daniel's religion in the intoxica- 
 tion of the cunning flattery of the nobles. Or, having no real religion himself, he 
 probably never thought Daniel or any one else could find much difliculty in com- 
 })lying with the decree which was to honour the king. Men who have no religion 
 themselves seldom give credit to others for having any either. The king's eyes, 
 however, are now opened to his mistake ; he sees, when it is too late, he has 
 destroyed his best friend and subject. The law of the Medes and Persians cannot 
 be altered. The princes are urgent. Like the chief priests and rulers in regard 
 to Jesus when they had caught Him, they urge the execution of the law. Like 
 Pilate, the king seeks to save the innocent. He labours the whole of the day to 
 save his favourite minister, but in vain. Darius is not above the laws of the 
 Medes and Persians. It is against their religion that a decree signed by the 
 incarnation of the deity should be revoked. Daniel must die, and the king must 
 order his execution. Such results may want of thought and want of principle 
 produce. The king can oidy make a feeble attempt to comfort his faithful 
 servant with the assurance that, though his earthly master had thoughtlessly and 
 sinfully brf)ught him into such peril, his Heavenly Master, whom he had served so 
 faithfully, would deliver him. 
 
 IIL The execution (vera. IG, 17). The lions' don the mode of punishment 
 that prevailed among the Medes and Persians (2), indicative of the notorious 
 cruelty of their disposition. The fiery furnace, adopted by the Babylonians, changed 
 V)y their Persian successors as worshippers of fire ; a testimony to the genuineness 
 of the account. A splendiil evidence now to be uivon that Daniel's God was the 
 101 
 
IIOMILETW COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 CHAP. VT. 
 
 living and true God, the ruler of heaven and earth, and tlie hearer of prayers. 
 The savage beasts, restrained by an invisible power, refuse to touch His servant. 
 Daniel remains unhurt in the den. Faith " stopped the month of lions," as it had 
 ••quenched the violence of fire," No hurt done to Daniel, "because he believed 
 in his God" (ver. 23). The occasion appeared to the All-Wise to demand such an 
 interference. The world had changed masters, and it seemed right to Him to afford 
 a similar evidence in favour of the truth and of His own snpremacj'-, at the com- 
 mencement of the second great monarchy, to that which He liad given under the 
 first. Jehovah is to be declared the God of the universe. Nature for the time 
 apparently changed by the God of Nature. Not one, but a whole den of lions l;iy 
 their savage disposition for a time aside. And yet it was only a temporary resto- 
 ration of the primitive condition, when wild beasts among others came to Adam to 
 receive their names. A fuller and more lasting restoration among the things 
 promised, when Christ, the second Adam, shall in the regeneration make all things 
 new (Isa. xi. 6, 7, Ixv. 25; Acts iii. 21). Isolated cases of similar interposition 
 not awanting in the Primitive Church, as testimonies to the truth of the Gospel 
 and the power of Christ over the realms of nature (Mark xvi. 18; Acts xxviii. 
 1, &c.) 
 
 IV. The sequel (vers. 18-23). DaTiiel was now in the den, and the door secured, 
 as in the case of the buried Saviour, by a large stone placed on its mouth. The 
 king, after sealing the stone for further security with his own signet, had returnee 
 to iiis palace ; not, however, to sleep. The crown of earthly empire unable to 
 give peace to its wearer. Darius was in too much trouble at what had taken 
 I)lace to allow the usual music in his palace that night. Ilis thoughts were about 
 the faithful friend whom he had left in the den, and himself the thoughtless and 
 guilty author of the deed. He could not sleep. Perhaps he attempted to pray to 
 Daniel's God to deliver him, as he had expressed the belief that He would. Anxiety, 
 and perhaps hope, led him in the morning to repair to the don. He calN, as if 
 expecting to see him still alive, •' O Daniel, servant of the Most High God, is 
 thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions 1 " 
 
 " He speaks doubtfully," says Calvin, " as unbelievers do who seem to have 
 some ground for hope, but no firm or sure foundation in their own minds." He 
 seems not to have doubted the disposition of Daniel's God to deliver him, but 
 questioned His ability. A cheerful voice from the den assured him of both. "O 
 king, live for ever ; my God hath sent His angels, and hath shut the lions' mouth?», 
 that they have not hurt me ; forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me ; 
 and also before thee, king, have I done no hurt " (ver. 22), " Hath sent His 
 angels." Angels invisible beings employed by the Lord of the universe to execute 
 His will (Ps. ciii. 20, 21). They "excel in strength," and act in a way beyond 
 our comprehension. "Why might they not be able to shut the lioiis' mouths, when 
 even a human eye can overawe the most savage beast ? He (God) " hath shut the 
 lions' mouths." " It was," says M. Gau?sen, "the divine power that, governing 
 according to its will the savage instinct, in one case opened the lion's mouth in 
 the way to Bethel to devour the disobedient prophet, and in another to shut it in 
 the den in Babylon, that the life of a faithful prophet might be rescued from the 
 grave." Observe — 
 
 1. The faithfulness of God to Ilis promises. "Because he liath set his love 
 upon me, therefore will I deliver him : I will be with him in trouble ; I will de- 
 liver him and honour him" (Ps. xci. 14, 15). God has many w.ays of fuKilling 
 His promises, and does not tie himself to any. The mode of fulfilment is accord- 
 ing to infinite wisdom. He w^as with Daniel in the lions' den, and fulfilled 
 hTs promise by preserving him alive. He was with Stephen when stoned to death, 
 and fulfilled His promise by taking him to glor)^ _ , • ,. 
 
 2. God the hearer of grayer. " He shall call upon me and I will answer him ;^^ 
 "Before they call I will answer, and while they are yet speaking I will hear" 
 
 105 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 (Vs. xci. 15 ; Isa, Ixv. 29). One of the sweetest titles given to and assumed by 
 Jehovah, " fliou that hearest prayer " (Ps. Ixv. 2). That title continually being 
 made good iu the experience of believers. The knowledge and assurance of it the 
 ground of their daily peace. *' Let your requests be made known unto God, and 
 the peace of God, that passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds 
 through Christ Jesus " (Phil. iv. 6, 7). 
 
 3. Believers alivays safe hi God's hands. Daniel safe in the lions' den. " lie 
 shall deliver thee in six troubles; yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee ;" 
 "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no 
 evil ; for Thou art with me " (Job v. 19 ; Ps. xxiii. 4). Safe in God's keeping iu 
 the midst of danger, they can sing with Luther the forty-sixth psalm, '• God is our 
 refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." " The singular protection 
 of God," says Calvin, "preserves us in daily safety amidst the ferocity and madness 
 of our foes." God, who shut the mouths of the lions, is able to shut those of all 
 our enemies ; and if Daniel was safe in the lions' den, there can be no situation 
 of danger and duty where we are not. The path of duty is the path of safety. 
 '* ^Yho°is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good ] " "When 
 a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with 
 him" (1 Pet. iii. 13; Prov. xvi. 7). Believers shielded by Omnipotence while 
 doing their Master's work ; immortal till that work is done. " Have not I sent 
 thee 1 " our sweetest and surest defence. 
 
 4. Tke happiness of faithful believers. Trusting to God's promised protection 
 and seeking conscientiously to do His will, believers are the subjects of a peace to 
 w hich the world is a stranger; and are kept in peace amid dangers and troubles, while 
 unbelievers are in anxiety and distress, even when surrounded with all earthly 
 comforts. Marked contrast between the peace of Daniel in the lions' den, and the 
 misery and disquiet of the king in his palace. " "What a night was that when Darius 
 was sleepless in his palace, and Daniel tranquil, perhaps joyful, in his dungeon ! 
 Who would not pity the miserable monarch, and who would not envy the happy 
 maityr ? Fear, restlessness, self-reproach, were the demons that haunted the couch 
 of earthly greatness ; joy and peace in believing, like spirits of light, beamed on 
 the ground where helpless piety reposed." — Cox. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— (i) "T/i^y and the courier. "Nothing mortal," 
 
 came near." ^^Vy] [hargishoo), " came says Herodotus, " travels so fast as these 
 
 tumultuously," as ver. 6, " rushed for- Persian messengers. The entire plan is 
 
 ward, pressed in eagerly;" showing a Persian invention, and this is the 
 
 the greatness of the zeal with which method of it : Along the whole line of 
 
 they performed their business. — Keil. road there are men (they say) stationed 
 
 Dr. Hide observes that this could with horses, in number according to the 
 
 hardly have taken place on the strength number of days which the journey takes, 
 
 of a cons[)iracy under the rule of a allowing horses and men sufficient for 
 
 Bardanapalus or a Nabonadius ; nor each day ; and these men will not be 
 
 until some all-pervading system of com- hindered from accomplishing at their 
 
 munication had been organised and best speed the distances they have to 
 
 brought into operation tlirough the go, neither by snow, nor heat, nor 
 
 whole empire. Such a system was by the darkness of the night. Tlie 
 
 finst established by tlie Persians, first rider delivers his despatch to the 
 
 notorious for their exi)edition in con- second, and the second passes it to the 
 
 veying messages and transporting them- third; and so it is borne from hand to 
 
 selves from place to place. Compare hand along the whole route." The same 
 
 Esther i. The art was so peculiarly mode has continued in that country up 
 
 Persian, that for ages the Greek and to the present day. 
 
 Latin languages were indebted to the (-) '^ Ben of lions." t*33 [guhha), 
 
 rersiaii for words to describe the post which the Targmns use for the Hebrew 
 lOG 
 
HO M I LET W QOMMENTAliY: DANIEL. 
 
 "113 {bor), a cistern ; but in Jer. xli. 7, 9, Pusey quotes the following description 
 
 used for a subterranean chamber into of a lions' den in Fez, where state 
 
 which seventy dead bodies were cast. prisoners and Jews were often thrown : 
 
 Concerning the construction of the Medo- "The lions' den was a large quadran- 
 Persian lions' den, we have no informa- gular hole in the ground, divided by a 
 tion from other sources. All that we partition into two chambers. This wall 
 possess is only a single description of has a door which can be opened or shut 
 lions' dens of quite another hmd and from above. The keepers of the lions 
 another period, but agreeing with Daniel's (mostly Jews) throw food into the one 
 description in its essential features, division, and so entice the lions tliither ; 
 According to it, th-^ receptacles for tlie then they shut the door from above and 
 lions were underground, so that persons clean the other division. . . . The whole 
 condemned to death were thrown down is under the open sky, and is only en- 
 into them, while the narrow opening at circled with a wall over which people 
 the top was closed by a large flat stone can look down in. The Emperor some- 
 laid upon it above, which, as in graves, times has men cast iu." 
 served for a door. — Ilengstenberg. Dr. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XXI. — The Judgment in Babylon (Chap. vi. 24-28). 
 
 The deliverance of Daniel was a signal display of the power of Jehovah and 
 Ills presence with His people. Even the king, who seemed to have some idea that 
 God might possibly interpose on His servant's behalf, was probably taken by sur- 
 prise ; like the believers in Mary's house when Peter, released in answer to their 
 prayer, stood before the door. No sooner was Daniel taken up out of the den 
 than judgment began on his enemies. " The righteous is delivered out of trouble, 
 and the wicked cometh in his stead." Sooner or later "judgment taketh hold of 
 the wicked." Conspicuous reward also awaited God's faithful servant. The whole 
 scene exhibits one of judgment, and affords a picture of another on a larger scale 
 yet to come. We notice separately — 
 
 I. The judgment on Daniel's enemies {ver. 24). That judgment was not long 
 in following Daniel's deliverance. According to the king's command, they are 
 immediately taken and cast into the den from which Daniel had been taken. 
 Digging a pit for their friend, they fall into it themselves. Virtually guilty of 
 muixler° they suffer the murderer's doom. Though hand joined in hand, they were 
 not allowed to escape. Their rank and their number no screen from justice. 
 Showing no mercy themselves, they receive none, Haman must be hung on his 
 own gallows. The extension of the punishment to the wives and children, who 
 were Hinocent, according to the custom of the time and people (0. Great crimes 
 sometimes made, by special command of God, to involve a man's house and family 
 as well as himself, even among the early Israelites (Xumb. xvi. 27-33 ; Josh. vii. 
 24, 25). Forbidden, however, by the law of Moses that children should suffer for 
 the sins of fathers (Deut. xxiv. 16; 2 Kings xiv. G). Tradition relates, what is 
 probable enough in itself, that these princes would not believe that any miracle 
 had been wrought in Daniel's favour, the lions having been abundantly fed before 
 he was thrown in. To convince them of the contrary, "the lions brake all their 
 bones before even they reached the bottom of the den." Infidelity will believe in 
 nothing supernatural till it finds itself in the hands of Him who says, " CVmsidcr 
 this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver" 
 (Ps. 1. 22), 
 
 "ll. The royal decree (vers. 25-27), The deliverance of Daniel was followed 
 by a decree similar to that of Nebuchadnezzar on the return of his reason. Tlie 
 decree was iu honour of the true God, who had delivered Daniel from the powcT 
 
 107 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 of tlie lions. He is declared to be tlie living God and steadfast for ever, the Ivuler 
 of a kingdom that shall not be destroyed, and the possessor of an everlasting 
 dominion • a God that re.scueth and delivereth, and who worketh signs and 
 wonders in heaven and earth. Men were to tremble and fear before Him in every 
 part of liis realm, which at least implied that they were to treat His name, worship, 
 and religion with reverence and respect. This exaltation of Jehovah one of tlie 
 objects of this as well as tlie other miracles recorded in the book, tending, at 
 the same time, to the welfare of the people in general, and to that of the Jews in 
 particular, as well in providing full toleration for their religion during their dis- 
 persion, as in preparing the way for their restoration to their own land. The great 
 object of all God's dealings in providence that men may fear Him, that fear being 
 at once their excellence and their happiness. Such the final issue of the judgments 
 yet to be displayed. " Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name '? 
 for Thou only art holy ; for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for 
 Thy judgments are made manifest" (Rev. xv. 4). The deliverance of Daniel as a 
 faithful servant of Jehovah proclaimed in the decree, as a testimony at once to 
 His power and faithfulness, and an encouragement to all to make Him their trust 
 ill like manner, as the God that delivers and rescues those who serve and trust in 
 Him. Thus Daniel himself was honoured through all the widely-extended realm 
 of Persia. " Them that honour me I will honour." So at last in reference to 
 those who fear the Lord and think upon His name in a God-forgetting age. " They 
 shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels ; 
 and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall 
 ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that 
 serveth G(xl and him that serveth Him not" (]\Lal. iii. 17, 18). 
 
 III. Daniel's prosperity and extended life (ver. 28). Externally Daniel 
 liad seen the last of his trials. He lived to see the end of the short reign of 
 f);irius — how much is uncertain — and a portion, at least, of the longer reign of 
 Cyrus, his successor(-). During the whole of that last period of his life he prospered. 
 He continued probably in his high ofBce as chief of the three great presidents of 
 the empire. At the accession of Cyrus, his influence at court was such that Cyrus, 
 doubtless as the result of it, issued the decree recorded in the end of 2 Chronicles 
 and the beginning of Ezra, giving permission to the Jews to return to their own land 
 and rebuild their Temple at Jerusalem. It is said that the aged minister pointed 
 the kins; to the passage in Isaiah, where he is mentioned by name as the conqueror 
 of Babyhin and the chosen deliverer of Jehovah's covenant people (Isa. xliv. 28, 
 xlv. 1). The prosperity of Daniel to be noted in connection with the fiery trial 
 which had tried liim and the death which had threatened him. "This Daniel ;" 
 the same whom his enemies had nearly swallowed up ; the same who had been 
 faithful unto death, and had been only delivered from the mouths of the lions by 
 a divine interposition. " They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." The happiness 
 of believers to be able to say with Paul, "Who delivered us from so great a death, 
 and doth deliver; in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us" (2 Cor. i. 10). 
 Observe among the lessons of the jtassagc — 
 
 1. The certainty of divine jiulgments. " Verily there is a God that judgeth in 
 tlie earth." Daniel's enemies in fancied security after the king had aflixed his seal 
 to the stone over the mouth of the den. The night probably spent in pleasure and 
 mutual congratulations. So on the glaughter of the Two Witnesses (Rev. xi. 7-1 1). 
 I'.ut " the triumphing of the wicked is siiort." The wicked sometimes punished in 
 this world, that men may know there is a God that judgeth; only sometimes, that 
 tliey may know there is a judgment to come. 
 
 2. The fjodhj idtimately delivered out of trouble. Daniel delivered a second time 
 from imminent death when no human power could rescue him. " In six troubles 
 He shall deliver thee, and in seven no evil shall befall thee." Trouble and deliver- 
 ance the common experience in the way to the kingdom. "Thou kiiowest what 
 
 108 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 l)ersecutioiis I endured ; but out of them all the Lord delivered me " (2 Tim, iii. 
 10, 11). "Fear none of those things which thou shalt. suffer ; behold, the devil 
 shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribu- 
 lation ten days : be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life " 
 (Rev. ii. 10). The angel that redeemed Jacob from all evil, the Angel of the 
 covenant, stands engaged to deliver the Israel of God from every evil work, and 
 to preserve them to His heavenly kingdoui'(2 Tim. iv, 18). 
 
 3. Events in providence made to 2)romote the glory of God and the advancement 
 of His kingdom. "The Lord hath made all things for Himself." The course of 
 the world is but the course of divine providence, and divine providence is only 
 God's government c'' the world He has made, and His conducting it to the end for 
 which He made it. In that providence He makes the wrath of man to praise Him, 
 while the remainder of wrath He restrains. The decree of Darius a foieshadowing 
 of the time when the kingdoms of the world shall become "the kingdoms of our 
 Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. xi. 15). AH 
 things made to tend to this ultimate consummation. This the Redeemer's reward, 
 as it is the result of His redeeming work. " He shall see of the travail of His 
 soul and be satisfied." Adequate power provided for the object. " Thy people 
 shall be willing in the day of Thy power." What was done at Pentecost at the 
 commencement of the Christian dispensation, only an earnest and pledge of what 
 shall be done at its close. " I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh." 
 
 4. The power and precio^isness of divine grace. That grace seen in Daniel to 
 be able to preserve the godly in a course of high-toned morality and religion during 
 the course of a long life, in the midst of diversified temptations and in the most 
 unfavourable circumstances. Daniel an example of Ps. xcii. 12-15. "As perse- 
 verance is the one final touchstone of man, so these scattered notices combine in a 
 grand outline of one, an alien, a captive, of that misused cLiss (the eunuchs) who 
 are proverbially the intriguers, favourites, jDests of Oriental courts, who revenge on 
 man their ill treatment at the hand of man ; yet himself in uniform integrity, 
 outliving envy, jealous}', dynasties ; surviving in untarnished, uncorru^jting great- 
 ness ; the seventy years of the captivity ; honoured during the forty-three years of 
 Nebuchadnezzar's reign ; doing the king's husiness under the insolent and sensual 
 boy Belshiizzar; owned by the conquering Medo-Persians ; the stay, doubtless, and 
 human protector of his people during those long years of exile. . . . Such undeviating 
 integrity beyond the ordinary life of man, a worship[)er of the one God in the 
 most dissolute and degraded of the merchant cities of old, first minister in the first 
 of the world-monarchies, was in itself a great fulfilment of the purpose of God in 
 converting the chastisement of His people into the riches of the Gentiles." — Pusey. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— (i) (2) ''hi the reign of Darius and in 
 
 " Tltem, their children, and their ivives." iJ^^ y^ign of Cyrics the Persian." niS^O^ 
 
 Keil observes : By the accusers, we are (hemalcuth), " in the reign," the word 
 
 not (with Hitzig) to think of the 120 denoting both reign and kingdom. From 
 
 satraps, together with the two chief pre- the repetition of the word before Cyrus, 
 
 sidents, but only of a small number of observes Keil, it does not follow that 
 
 the special enemies of Daniel, who had Daniel sei)arates the Persian kingdom 
 
 concerned themselves with the matter. ^^^^^^ ^^^ Median ; for n-13^D here does 
 
 The condemnmg to death of the wives ^^^^ ^^^^.^^^ kingdom, but dominion, ie., 
 
 and children along with the men was ^^.^^_ r^^^ succession of the reign of 
 
 in accordance with Persian custom, as ^^^^^^^^ ^-^^ Persian to that of Darius the 
 
 is testified by Herodotus, in. 119, Amm. j^igji^^ ^^,^^ ,„,t ^i,^,^ ^i.^ diversity of 
 
 Marcell. xxiii. 6, 81, and also with the ^j^^ ^^,^ kingdoms, but only that the 
 
 custom of the Macedonians in the ca?e ot ^.^^j^^^ ^^^ ,1^^ kingdoms were of diflferent 
 
 treason (Curtius,vi. 2), but was forbidden ^.^^^^^ -p^.^^^^ this verse, taken in cun- 
 in the law of Moses {cf. Deut. xxiv. 16). 
 
 109 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENT A R Y : DA NIEL. 
 
 iiection with the last of the iireceding 
 chapter, it appears that the Chaldean 
 kingdom, after its overthrow by the 
 Medes and Persians, did not immediately 
 pass into the hands of Cyrus ; but that 
 between the last of the Chaldean kings 
 and the reign of Cyrus, Darius, descended 
 from a Median family, a son of Ahasu- 
 erus (ch. xi. 1), held the reins of govern- 
 ment. This Darius and his reign are not 
 distinctly noticed by i)rofiine historians ; 
 and hence modern critics have called in 
 question his existence, and thence de- 
 rived a supposed argument against the 
 historical veracity of the whole narrative. 
 The account given by Xenophon in his 
 Cyropedia, differing somewhat from that 
 of Herodotus, shows that this Darius 
 the Mede is the same i)erson whom he 
 calls Cyaxares 11. According to him, 
 the Median king Astyages, son of Cy- 
 axares I., gave his daughter Mandane in 
 marriage to Cambyses, king of Persia, 
 Avho was under the Median supremacy, 
 of which marriage Cyrus was born. 
 When Cyrus arrived at man's estate, 
 Astyages died and was succeeded by his 
 son Cyaxares II., the brother of Man- 
 dane and uncle of Cyrus. When, after 
 this, Croesus, king of Lydia, concluded a 
 treaty with the king of the Assyrians 
 (Babylonians), with a view to the over- 
 tlirow of the Medes and Persians, Cyrus 
 ifceived the command of the Medo- 
 Persian army ; and when, after a vic- 
 torious battle, Cyaxares was unwilling to 
 proceed farther, Cyrus carried forward 
 the war by his permission, and destroyed 
 the host of Croesus and the Assyrians; 
 at the report of which Cyaxares fell into 
 a passion, and in a threatening letter to 
 Cyrus, ordered the Medea to be recalled. 
 These declaring their desire to remain 
 with Cyrus, the latter entered on the 
 war against Babylon independently of 
 Cyaxares. Having driven the Baby- 
 
 lonian king back upon his capital, he 
 sent a message to Cyaxares, desiring 
 him to come and decide regarding the 
 vanquished and the continuance of the 
 war. Cyaxares accordingly came to the 
 camp, where Cyrus exhibited to him his 
 power by reviewing his army before him, 
 treated him kindly, and gave him a large 
 share of the plunder. After this, the war 
 against Babylon was carried on in such 
 a way that Cyaxares, sitting on the 
 Median throne, presided over the councils 
 of war, while Cyrus, as general, had the 
 conduct of it. After conquering Sardis 
 and taking Croesus prisoner, Cyrus re- 
 turned to Babylon, and during a noctur- 
 nal festival of the Babylonians took the 
 city, upon which the king of Babylon 
 was slain. After the conquest of Baby- 
 lon the army regarded Cyrus as king, 
 and he began to conduct his affairs as if 
 he were so. He went, however, to 
 Media to present himself before Cyax- 
 ares, brought presents to him, and 
 showed him that there was a house and 
 palace ready for him in Babylon, where 
 he might reside when he went thither. 
 Cyrus now went to Persia and arranged 
 that his father, Cambyses, should retain 
 the sovereignty of it so long as he lived, 
 and that then it should fall to him. He 
 then returned to Media and married 
 the daughter of Cyaxares, receiving with 
 her the Avhole of Media as her dowry, 
 Cyaxares having no son. He next went 
 to Babylon, and placed satraps over the 
 subjugated peoples; and so arranged that 
 he spent the winter in Babylon, the 
 spring in Susa, and the summer in Ec- 
 batana. " This account given by Xeno- 
 phon regarding Cyaxares," says Keil, 
 *' so fully agrees with the narrative of 
 Daniel regarding Darius the Mede, that, 
 as Hitzig confesses, 'the identity of the 
 two is beyond a doubt.' " 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 
 Si:cT. XXIT. — Tiiii; Vision of the Four Beasts 
 (Chap. vii. 1-7). 
 
 We now come to the second and principal part of the Book of Daniel, the 
 prophetical portion, the narratives it contains being merely introductory to the 
 110, 
 
HO M I LET I C COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 visions. The present, as well as tlie succeeding chapter, chronologically anterior to 
 the preceding one, this vision having been given in the first year of the reign of 
 Belshazzar, probably twenty-three before the events narrated in the preceding 
 chapter ; the editor or arranger of the book, whether Ezra or Daniel himself, havin° 
 for convenience placed the narrative before the present and following chapters, in 
 order to preserve uninterrupted the contiiuiity of the prophecies. 
 
 The present chapter, in its matter as well as its position, the central portion of 
 the book. It is in both respects to the Book of Daniel what the eighth chapter of 
 the Epistle to the Romans is to that epistle. Next to the fifty-third chapter of 
 Isaiah, and perhaps the ninth chapter of this same book, we have here the most 
 precious and prominent portion of the sure word of Messianic prophecy. The 
 chapter worthy of the most careful prayer and study. Referred to directly or 
 indirectly by Christ and His apostles perhaps more than other portions of the Old 
 Testament of similar extent. Appears to have been regarded by the Old Testament 
 Church, in the centuries preceding the Messiah's first advent, as pre-eminently the 
 " word of prophecy." The same apparently in the NeAv Testament Church till the 
 Revelation of John was vouchsafed for its guidance. The Saviour's chosen title 
 of "the Son of Man," as well as the declaration of His future coming "in the 
 clouds of heaven," obviously taken from this chapter. So Paul's description of the 
 "Man of Sin" in his second Epistle to the Thessalonians (chap, ii.) Frequent and 
 obvious parallels between its images and predictions and those of the Book of 
 Revelation, more especially those connected with the ten-horned beast (Rev. xiii. 
 1-7), the Lord's second Advent, the reign of Christ and His saints, and the final 
 judgment. 
 
 The vision not understood by Daniel, till at his own request it was explained 
 to him by one of the angels present in it ; an indication at once of our duty and 
 privilege in relation to the study of the word of prophecy. The vision and its 
 interpretation given for our sakes especially, "on whom the ends of the world 
 have come." One part of the Holy Spirit's office to show us things to come, 
 which have been already "noted in the Scripture of truth ;" while it is our part 
 to imitate the prophet in "searching what or what manner of time the Spirit that 
 was in them did signify, when he showed beforehand the sufferings of Christ and 
 the glory that should follow" (1 Pet. i. 11). 
 
 This, as well as the prophecies that follow, delivered in Daniel's own name, 
 the reason being because the visions were communicated to him personally. 
 Daniel not now a narrator of events, but a witness of what had been delivered to 
 himself. Difference of the person used, no evidence of a difference of authorshi[). 
 Authors known to employ both the first and third person in their narratives. The 
 unity of the two parts of the book indicated by the sameness of the spirit, the style, 
 and the interdependence of the parts upon each other. The contents of both por- 
 tions, however, probably written at different times. 
 
 The language employed in this chapter still the ChaldaicO), ■which, how- 
 ever, ceases with the close of it, the remaining portion of the book being in Hebrew. 
 The reason apparently found in the nature and object of the two parts thus 
 differently written. The Chaldaic probably by this time as much or more the 
 language of the Jews in Babylon than their own Hebrew, as it contiinied to be that 
 of those in Palestine afterwards. This also the language of the Targums, trans- 
 lations or rather paraphrases of the Old Testament when the Hebrew ceased to be 
 the spoken language of the Jews. 
 
 The vision of the Four Beasts corresponds to that of the Great Image in chap. 
 ii. This given in a dream to Daniel, as that had been to Nebuchadnezzar. Tlie 
 interpretation given by an angel at the same time. The whole vision committed 
 to writing probably soon after its communication to the prophet, being intended to 
 form a part of Sacred Scripture, as it has done since the canon of the Old Testa- 
 ment was completed in the days of Ezra and Malachi; thus securing accmacy, and 
 ^ 111 
 
CHAP. VII. no Ml LET 10 COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 giving permaueiicy to the inspiration for the benefit of succeeding ages. Hence the 
 proplicts often commanded to commit their revelations to writing. See Isa. viii. 1 ; 
 XXX. 8; Jer. xxx. 2; Ilab. ii. 2; Rev, i. 11, xxi. 5. Daniel not only "wrote 
 the dream," but "told the sum of tbe matters" to his friends and countrymen 
 about him (ver. 1). The prophets in general preachers as well as writers. Their 
 liearers called their " children " and " disciples" (Isa. viii. 16-18). Figuratively, 
 their " threshing" and the " corn of their floor" (Isa. xxi. 10). The Sabbath and 
 the new moon the ordinary days for their public ministration (2 Kings iv. 23). 
 Daniel, however, rather a prophet by gift than by office, and his communications to 
 others, therefore, probably more private. 
 
 The effect of the vision on the prophet himself powerful and disturbing. " My 
 cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me" (ver. 28). So 
 the corresponding vision afforded to Nebuchadnezzar " troubled his spirit " (chap, 
 ii. 1). Still stronger language used by Habakkuk, in describing the effect pro- 
 duced upon himself by the disclosure of the future communicated to him (Ilab. 
 iii. IG). 
 
 The present vision, in some of its leading features, a repetition of that afforded 
 fifty years before to Nebuchadnezzar, accompanied, however, with important addi- 
 tions ; a circumstance tending to give special weight to the vision, and to draw 
 particular attention to it ; while confirmation was thus given to both visions, and 
 tlie interpretation of each rendered buth more easy and more memorable (-). The 
 vision given to Daniel and the Church for the sake of the additions, especially that 
 relating to the " little horn." The former part of the vision already clearly accom- 
 plished; the latter part manifestly approaching its fulfilment. The vision affords 
 a compendious history of the world from the time of Daniel to that of Christ's 
 millennial kingdom, in so far as that history stands more immediately related to 
 the Church both of the Old and New Testament. The Saviour's exhortation in 
 reference to another portion of D.aiiel's prophecies, eminently applicable to this : 
 " Let him that readeth understand." David's, or perhaps Daniel's own praver, 
 here particularly suitable and necessary : " Open Thou mine eyes that I may behold 
 wondrous things out of Thy law" (Ps. cxix. 18). 
 
 Tlie subject of the vision is the four great or universal monarchies, here re- 
 presented under the figure of so many wild beasts, as they were in Nebuchadnezzar's 
 (lre;im under that of a great and splendid image, with its four parts composed of 
 different materials; together with another and everlasting kingdom which should 
 succeed them all. The four beasts are said in the interpretation to be " four kings," 
 or, as in the Greek version, " four kingdoms, that should arise out of the earth " 
 (ver. 17). The same object — the kingdoms of this world — thus presented under 
 very diiferent aspects to the carnal, worldly-minded monarch, and to the godly, 
 spiritually-minded [irophet. To the carnal, unrenewed man, the world appears as 
 a dazzling show ; to the spiritual and renewed, a hateful reality of ambition, selfish- 
 ness, rapacity, cruelty, and oppression, resembling so many wild beasts contending 
 for the mastery (■'). These four beasts or kingdimis, however, are only introduced 
 to show what was God's purpose in reference to the establishment of His own king- 
 dom or that of the Messiah, which, like the stone in chap, ii., should remove and 
 succee'l them all, and which should last for ever. 
 
 It is noticeable that the three beasts here mentioned by name are those which 
 the Lord threatened by llosea to send against Israel for their apostasy and sins, 
 the lion, the leopard, and the bear, while a fourth was added as simply ''a wild 
 beast," corresponding witli the fcmrth in the vision without a name (Hosea xiii. 7, 8) ; 
 clearly indicating the relation which these world-kingdoms bear to Israel and the 
 Cliurch, as, in the hand and according to the pleasure of God, instruments of 
 cha>tisem6nt for unfaithfulness. Similar figures to indicate the powers of the 
 world not unfretpiently employed by tlie prophets. So Jer. iv. 7, v. G ; Ps. Ixviii. 30. 
 Men in their natural condiiiun, as luUen and without the renewing grace of God, 
 112 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. chap. vri. 
 
 often similarly represented under the figure of savage beasts. (See Pa, x. 9 10 
 Ivii. 4, Iviii. 4, 6, lix. 6.) In more senses than one men rendered by sin "'like' 
 the beasts that perish." 
 
 The four beasts in the vision are represented as coming up out of the great sea 
 when thrown by opposing winds into tempestuous commotion (ver. 23). Such a 
 sea a picture of the great world of mankind in its alienation from God and conse- 
 quent dispeace (Isa. xlviii. 22, Ivii. 21). The origin of the great monarchies of tl.e 
 world the conflicting passions and commotions among men. Nimrod " began (was 
 the first) to be a mighty one in the earth: he was a mighty hunter before th°e Lord " 
 (Gen. X. 8, 9). The Mediterranean, on which Daniel Lad often looked when in his 
 native country, often called " the Great Sea," as distinguished from the smaller 
 bodies of water in Palestine. It was on the borders or in the vicinity uf that sea 
 that the four great contending monarchies lay. The " four winds of the heaven," 
 by wluch the great sea was tossed into a tumult, probably intended to represent the 
 external means and circumstances by which God in His holy providence operates 
 on the nations and rulers of the world, thereby arousing them into action, while lie 
 wisely overrules and controls their own carnal passions. 
 
 It is also worthy to be observed that the number of monarchies represented 
 both in the vision of the king and the prophet is the same, namely, four; an evidence 
 itself of the divine origin of the book, when taken in connection with the remarkable 
 fact that there have never been more than four great universal monarchies in tiie 
 world, though some, as Charlemagne and Napoleon Buonaparte, have laboured hard 
 to establish a fifth. The four, as already seen in connection with Nebuchadnezzar's 
 dream, are those of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome (^). From this general view 
 of the vision we may note — 
 
 1. The importance of the word of prophecy. The repetition of the prophecy 
 regarding the four great monarchies and the divine kingdom that was to succeed 
 them, itself significant. Given first in a dream to Nebuchadnezzar and then in 
 a vision vouchsafed to Daniel himself, the repeated revelation of the same things, 
 under different forms, seems a clear intimation how important for the Church tiiis 
 communication appeared to the Spirit of God, whose it is to "show us things to 
 come." What God has thus so carefully given it can neither be safe nor right for 
 His people to neglect. Especially is this the case with a prophecy which we know 
 to apply to the times in which we live, and which has been given for our comfort 
 and guidance in these last days. The words forming the preface to the Book of 
 Revelation applicable here also. " Blessed are they that read, and they that hear 
 the prophecy of this book, and that keep the things that are written therein ; for 
 the time is at hand " (Rev. i. 2). 
 
 2. All history within the foreknowledge and under the conti'ol of God. This 
 vision exhibits the great leading events of the world's history from the time of 
 Daniel, projected in the word of prophecy as on a map. Hence not only foreknown, 
 but so overruled as infallibly to come to pass. This without the s'lightest prejudice 
 to or interference with the freedom of man's will, and so wilhcnit any diminution 
 of his responsibilit}'. God's foreknowledge and man's freedom — God's purposes and 
 man's responsibility — solemnly and mysteriously compatible with each other. Both 
 alike realities, however unable we may be in our present state to reconcile them. 
 Now we know only in part. The Jews, not knowing their own Scrii)ture.s, fulfilled 
 the same by crucifyhig their King and Saviour, to their deep and dire condemna- 
 tion, under which, alas ! they still lie. "Him, being delivered by the determinate 
 counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have cruci- 
 fied and slain" (Acts ii. 23). I'he hands still wicked l:ands though fulfilling the 
 secret counsel and foreknowledge of God. The same thing true in regard to the 
 events of general history and individual life. The providence that appoints the 
 establishment or overthrow of an empire presides over the fall of a sparrow, fixes 
 the bounds of our habitation, and numbers the hairs of our head. 
 
 H 113 
 
nOMlLETlC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 3. The true character of the Jcingdotm of this world. To Daniel these appear not 
 as a dazzling image, but as savage and irrational beasts, the symbols of selfishness, 
 cruelty, rapacity, and strife, obeying the impulses of appetite and passion instead 
 of the dictates of reason and conscience. History makes good the picture. The 
 universal admission that sin has reduced men to the level of beasts. Paul's 
 description of fallen men apart from divine grace, as given in the first chapter of 
 the Epistle to the Romans, verified by the testimony of the heathen themselves. 
 " Full of env3', murder, debate, deceit, malignity " (Rom. i. 29). The divine ver- 
 dict — " The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked " — realised 
 by universal observation and experience. Time given fully to develop man's need 
 of a Saviour from sin before that Saviour came. Four thousand years only proved 
 the divine testimony given at the time of the Flood to be true : " The imagination 
 of man's heart is evil from his youth " (Gen. viii. 21, vi. 5). Man was shown to 
 be sick unto death — desperately, and, to all human effort, incurably wicked; and the 
 Healer came. " He shall be called Jesus, for He shall save His people from their 
 sins" (Matt. i. 21). 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES —0) "This 
 chapter," says Brightman, " is written 
 in the common tongue of the heathenish 
 kingdom, that the common prophecy 
 miglit come abroad unto all. The vision 
 in the next chapter is in the proper 
 tongue of the holy people ; the prophet 
 thus intimating that this in the seventh 
 chapter is more general, that in the 
 eighth more particular, as also those 
 which follow to the end of the chapter." 
 
 (2) According to Calvin, the repetition 
 is given for greater clearness, and in 
 token of the certainty of the prophecy. 
 This repetition, Archdeacon Harrison 
 remarks, is " according to the method of 
 divine prediction, presenting at first a 
 general sketch and outline, and after- 
 wards a more complete and finished 
 picture of events." Sir Isaac Newton 
 observes "that the prophecies of Daniel 
 are all of them related to one another, 
 us if they were but several parts of one 
 general pro])hecy, given at several 
 times ; " and that " every following 
 prophecy adds something new to the 
 former." 
 
 (8) ^'' Four great beasts." " The image 
 appeared with a glorious lustre in the 
 imagination of Nebucliadnczzar, whose 
 mind was wholly taken up with admira- 
 tion of worldly pomp and splendour; 
 whereas the same monarchies were repre- 
 sented to Daniel under the shape of fierce 
 wild beasts, as being the great supporters 
 of idolatry and tyranny in the world." 
 — Grotius. Auberlcn points out more 
 fully and profoundly the distinction 
 114 
 
 between the two visions. " The out- 
 ward political history had been shown 
 in general features to the worldly ruler ; 
 for by his position he was peculiarly 
 and almost exclusively fitted to receive 
 a revelation of this kind. But the 
 prophet obtains more minute disclosures, 
 especially on the spiritual and religious 
 character of the powers of the world, 
 and such as were best adapted to his 
 position and his receptivity. This dif- 
 ference of character easily explains the 
 difference of images. Wiiile in the 
 second chapter they are taken from 
 the sphere of the inanimate, which has 
 only an external side, they are chosen 
 in the seventh chapter from the sphere 
 of the animate. Further, as Nebuchad- 
 nezzar saw things only from without, 
 the world-power appeared to him in its 
 glory as a splendid human figure, and 
 the kingdom, from its humility, as a 
 stone : at first he beheld the world- 
 power more glorious than the kingdom 
 of God. Daniel, on the other hand, to 
 whom it was given to penetrate farther 
 into the inner essence of things, saw 
 that the kingdoms of the world, notwitli- 
 standing their defiant power, are of a 
 nature animal and lower than human ; 
 that their minds are estranged from and 
 even oj)posed to God ; that only in the 
 kingdom of God is the true dignity of 
 humanity revealed ; and a;;cordingly, 
 the kingdom of God appears to him 
 from the outset, and in the very selec- 
 tion of images, superior to the kingdoms 
 of the world, . . . The colossal figure 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 that Nebuchadnezzar beheld represents "whicli has been recently maintained 
 
 mankind in its own strength and great- by Havernick, Hengstenberg, Hofmann, 
 
 uess ; but however splendid, it presents Auberlen, Zundel, Kliefoth, 0. P. Cus- 
 
 only the outward appearance of a man. pari, and IT. L. Reichel, alone accords, 
 
 But Daniel, regarding mankind in its without any force or arbitrariness, with 
 
 spiritualc()ndition,sawhumanity,through the representation of these kingdoms in 
 
 its alienation from God,, degraded to tlie both visions, with each separately, as 
 
 level of reasonless animals, enslaved by well as with both together." Comjiare 
 
 the dark powers of nature." Comm. on chap. ii. 36^45, section ix. 
 
 W " This opinion," observes Keil, page 41. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 Sect. XXIII. — The Four Great Empires (Chap. vii. 3-7, 17-24). 
 
 "These great beasts, which are four," said the interpreting angel, "are four 
 kings which shall arise out of the earth" (ver. 17). By the four kings we are to 
 understand not four separate individuals, but, as the Greek version has it, four 
 kingdoms or empires, succeeding each other, as in the vision of the Great Image 
 (chap, ii.) These, as already remarked, are almost universally understood to be 
 the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Greek or Macedonian, and the Iloman. We 
 now notice these empires separately as here described, leaving the description of the 
 Little Horn for another section. 
 
 I. The first or Babylonian Empire. The first of the four beasts which Daniel 
 beheld rising up out of the earth was a lion with eagle's wings (ver. 4). This 
 figure common among the sculptures of Nineveh and the ruins of Persepolis (i). A 
 winged lion a fit symbol of the first or Babylonian Empire (-); a lion being expres- 
 sive of its superiority, and its wings of the rapidity of its conquests. Babylon and 
 Nebuchadnezzar, as its representative in its best days, described by the prophets as 
 the instrument of God's chastisement of His people under the figure of a lion. See 
 Jer. iv. 7; v. 6; xlix. 19; 1. 17. In the Great Image the same monarchy is repre- 
 sented by the head of gold, gold being among metals what the lion is among beasts. 
 The figure of an eagle, the king of birds, also employed by the proi)hets to repre- 
 sent Nebuchadnezzar and his conquests. See Jer. xlviii. 40, xlix. 22 ; Ezek. xxvii. 
 2 ; Hab. i. 6. The rapidity of those conquests seen in the fact that while, at the 
 ])eriod of his father's death, the empire comprehended Chaldea, Assyria, Arabia, 
 Syria, and Palestine, Nebuchadnezzar greatly augmented it after his accession to 
 the throne, adding to his tributary dominions both Egypt and Tyre. Ancient his- 
 torians agree in considering him by far the greatest monarch of the East. The 
 prophet, however, as he gazed upon the symbol, observed a change to pass upon it. 
 " I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth 
 {marg., by which it was lifted up, &c.), and made to stand upon its feet as a man ; 
 and a man's heart was given to it" (ver. 4). An arrest was to be laid upon those 
 conquests, and a state of humiliation and timidity to succeed them. Babylon's 
 monarchs were to be no longer lions, but as private men, deprived of power and 
 strength. Possibly also an allusion is made to the humiliation connected with 
 Nebuchadnezzar's madness, and his ultimate deliverance from it. Succeeding 
 reigns only brought disaster to the Babylonian Empire; and Bel.shazzar, its last 
 kin°g, was so far from being "lion-hearted," that he was afraid to engage in open 
 battle with the Persians, or to accept the challenge of Cyrus to swingle combat. He 
 trembled and his knees smote each other at the sight of the writing on the wall. 
 According to Jeremiah's prophecy, he and his nobles " became as women " (Jer. h. 
 30). The lion of Babylon was to be " put in fear" that he might " know himself 
 to be but a man " (Ps. ix. 20) (3). 
 
 II. The second or Medo-Persian Empire. This is represented by a bear 
 
 11') 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 raising itself upon one side, with three ribs in its mouth (ver. 5). The great uni- 
 versal monarchy that succeeded the Babylonian, already, in chap, ii., seen to be tlie 
 Persian or Medo-Persian. Its symbol, portrayed upon its standard, from the 
 known character of its princes and peopled, one of the most bloodthirsty of 
 animals. Compare Isa. xiii. 18. The bear at the same time a less courageous as 
 well as a less noble and magnanimous animal than the lion, though exceedingly 
 strong and voracious (^). Hence, " Arise and devour," &c. Corresponds to the 
 breast and arms of the image, which were of silver, as being inferior to the Baby- 
 lonian Empire, the liead of gold. The bear raising itself upon one side C^), apparently 
 expressive of the fact, that while this second empire was at first under the con- 
 federate kings of Media and Persia, the former had first the pre-eminence in the 
 person of Darius, but after his death the Persians under Cyrus rose to the sole 
 dominion. The two powers of Media and Persia or Elam, as united in the over- 
 throw of Babylon, pointed to nearly two centuries before by the prophet Isaiah 
 (Isa. xiii. 17, xxi. 2). These separate powers represented in the Great Image by 
 the two arms, and their coalescence under Cyrus by the breast. The three ribs 
 in the bear's mouth, and the command to " arise and devour much flesh," indica- 
 tive of the rapacity and conquests of the Medo-Persian Empire. The three ribs 
 have been supposed by Sir Isaac Newtun and others to indicate Lydia with its 
 capital Sardis — the country of Croesus, Babylon, and Egypt, which Cyrus added 
 to his conquests, without their properly belonging, however, to the body of his 
 empire (") ; while others, as Calvin, have considered them to be Media, Assyria, 
 and Babylonia. The inferiority of the second empire to the first, indicated as well 
 in the symbol of the image as that of the beasts, apparent under the successors of 
 Cyrus, who are known to have sadly degenerated, giving attention to pomp and 
 show rather than to real strength and valour (^). It lasted also a shorter time, 
 having only continued 206, or at most 230 years from Darius, its first monarch, 
 who ascended the throne B.C. 538, till its overthrow by Alexander the Great in 
 332. 
 
 III. The third or Grecian Empire. This represented by a leopard with four 
 heads and four wings, and corresponding to the belly and thighs of brass in the 
 Great Image. The Persian empire having gradually decayed under the successors 
 of Cyrus, it at length entirely succumbed to the power of Greece under Alexander 
 the Great. The eager and fiery nature of this renowned conqueror symbolised by 
 the leopard, an animal remarkable for its swiftness and the eagerness with which 
 it springs upon its prey. Rollin observes that after the siege of Tyre, the 
 character of Alexander degenerated into debauchery and cruelty. When Gaza, 
 after a protracted resistance, was at length taken, Alexander manifested the 
 cruelty of his character by ordering a thousand of its inhabitants to be put to 
 death, and its governor to be dragged round the walls by ropes passed through his 
 heels till he died. The spots of the leopard supposed to indicate the variety of 
 the nations that constituted the Grecian emj)ire, as the four wings plainly 
 pointed to the rapidity of the Grecian conquests (^). The four heads the prophetic 
 symbol of the well-known division of the Grecian Empire into four parts soon 
 after Alexander's death. After a series of intrigues and murders, with a view to 
 the succession, in which his mother, his wife Roxana, his brother, and his son, all 
 perished by a violent death, the empire fell into tlie hands of the four principal 
 generals, who divided it between them — Cassander holding Macedon and 
 Greece; Lysiniachus, Thrace and Asia Minor; Ptolemy, Egypt, Palestine, and 
 Arabia Petraja ; and Seleucus, Syria and the remainder, including Upper Asia 
 or the Eastern Empire. The two last, especially in relation to the Jewish 
 people, the most prominent and important. The fourfold division of the Greek 
 Empire distinctly exhibited in the vision of the Ram and He-goat in chap. 
 viii. 21, 22. 
 
 IV. The fourth or Roman Empire. The fourth empire is represented by 
 IIG 
 
HO MI LET 10 COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 a beast without a name, as if no existing animal could be found sufficient for tlie 
 symbol(io). It is described " as diverse from all the rest; dreadful and terrible 
 and strong exceedingly, having great iron teeth ; devouring, breaking in ijieces' 
 and stamping the residue with its feet " (ver. 7). The corresponding°iiart of the 
 Great Image is the legs and feet, which were of iron, with a mixture of clay in 
 the feet and toes ; like the fourth beast, bruising and breaking to pieces. Tlie 
 identity of the empire symbolised in both cases obvious from the fact that the 
 fourth beast is particularly represented as having ten horns, plainly correspondin'' 
 with the ten toes of the image. According to the all but unanimous belief ol 
 both Jews and Christians, the empire indicated is that of Rome, wliich, as is well 
 known, succeeded that of Greece. Tlie iron in both the symbols indicative of the 
 sternness of the people, and of the strength, duration, and destructiveiiess of the 
 empire. The ten horns which characterised the fourth beast, like the ten toes of 
 the image, symbolical often kingdoms which should be formed out of the empire in 
 its state of weakness and decay ("X Compare what is said in reference to the toes of 
 the Great Image. It may only farther be noticed here in regard to the ten horns, that 
 this circumstance connected with the fourth beast appears i)lainly to identify that 
 beast with another mentioned in Rev. xii. 1 and xviii. 3, 12, whose ten horns are 
 also said to be " ten kings," but which had " received no kingdom as yet " (Rev. 
 xvii. 12), that is, at the time the vision was given to the apostle; which makes it 
 farther manifest that the fourth beast or empire could be no other than the Roman. 
 A new feature, and one of the most remarkable, being tiiat for wliich more 
 especially this second vision of the four great empires was given, is the rise of 
 another or eleventlt horn, called the "little horn," but which in its character, pre- 
 tensions, and actual doings was the most formidable of all, and with which more 
 than all the rest the Church of God was to have to do. As this will be considered 
 in a section by itself, we may only notice the following thoughts as suggested by 
 the prophecy of the four beasts. 
 
 1. Tlic fxdfihnent of this proijliecy an nnqnestio7iaUe fad, and as sucJi, anevuknce 
 of the reality of jyrophecy in the sense of 2^rediction, and of the divinity of at least 
 this part of the Old Testament Scrijjtiire The fulfilment of projiliecy employed by 
 God Himself as an evidence of His deity (Isa. xli. 22, 23, 26, xlv. 21, xlvi. 9, 
 10). Declared to be the criterion of a divine messenger, except when the object is 
 to lead away from God's worship and revealed truth (Deut. xviii. 21, 22, xiii. 1, 3; 
 Isa. viii. 20). The fulfilment of the prophecy before us undeniable, notwitji- 
 standing all attempts to set it aside. This and other predictions of Daniel acknow- 
 ledged even by enemies to be true up to the time of Aiitiochus Epiphanes, one of 
 the Syrian kings in the third or Grecian empire, but denied to have been written 
 before that period, and therefore maintained to be mere history and not prophecy. 
 Bnt the prophecy as truly fulfilled after that period as before it, and receiving its 
 fulfilment at the present time. The fourth empire and the predicted facts con- 
 nected with it more remarkable than any of its three predecessors, and to human 
 foresight impossible to have been calculated upon. Yet that empire and those 
 fncts a reality which is before our eyes at the present day. An empire of iron- 
 crushing strength succeeding a third, acknowledged to be that of Greece, and in 
 its latter period becoming weak by foreign admixture, and divided into ten king- 
 doms, with one rising up among them or after them of a description totally different 
 from all the rest. These are simple facts, and found in a prediction delivc-red 
 twenty-four centuries ago. With the convinced magicians of Egypt we may well 
 excLiim, " This is the finger of God." " I have told you before it come to jiass, 
 that when it is come to pass ye might know that I am He" (John xiii. 29). 
 
 2. The certainty of predicted events that have not yet talcen place. Past fulfil- 
 nieiit only makes the word of prophecy "more sure" or confirmed, that we may 
 "take heed" to it, as to a "light shining in a dark place" (2 Pet. i. 19). "While 
 much of the present chapter, as well as of other prophecy, has been fulfilled, much 
 
 117 
 
EOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 of it still awaits its fulfilment. The destruction of the fourth beast with its "little 
 horu" has not yet taken i^lace, nor has its body yet been "given to the burning 
 flame ; " the Son of Man has not yet come " with the clouds of heaven ; " nor has 
 tlie kingdom been "given to the saints of the Most High." Yet, as certainly as 
 one part of the vision has been fulfilled, so certainly shall the other. Eighteen 
 centuries ago, Jesus, after He had ascended with the clouds into heaven, said, 
 "Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to every man as his 
 work shall be." As surely as the fourth predicted beast with its iron teeth came 
 into existence and devoured and brake in pieces, so surely shall it be destroyed 
 and its body given to the burning flame, and Jesus Christ come again with the 
 clouds of heaven and take the kingdom, and the kingdom be given to the saints of 
 the Most High, who shall reign with Christ for ever and ever (ver. 11, 13, 14, 18 ; 
 Kev. v. 10, xi. 15). 
 
 3. Matter for thanhsgiving and rejoicing that the kingdoms of this tvorld are to 
 be succeeded by one of a very different character. The kingdoms of the world are 
 those of the four beasts, wherever they may have their place. These kingdoms 
 naturally characterised by sin and suffering. Such the experience of the world up 
 to the present time. The history of these kingdoms written in tears and blood ; 
 but they are not to be for ever. Three of the four have, as predicted long ago, come 
 to their end. The fourth, which in its divided form is now going on, is not to be 
 everlasting. The everlasting one is yet to come. Its foundations have already long 
 ago been laid, but as yet it is far from being the mountain that is to fill the whole 
 earth. But the time of this consummation hastens apace. The kingdom that is 
 "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost" will ere long constitute the 
 monarchy of the Man Christ Jesus, the King of the Jews, which shall fill the earth 
 and last for ever. Men shall yet everywhere be blessed in Christ, and all nations 
 call Him blessed. The sure word of prophecy gladdens the Church with the ho[)e 
 of good times coming — glory to God in the highest, with peace on earth, under 
 the reign of Him who is the Prince of Peace. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— W '' Lile the necessary analogues and substrata 
 
 a lion, and had eaglets wings'' (ver. 4). for the vision. The Assyrian king 
 
 Herder, Miinther, &c., have pointed Assur-bani-pal, the Sardanapalus of the 
 
 out the peculiarly Babylonian character Greeks, says in the inscription of one of 
 
 which the animal -symbolism in Daniel his cylinders, in reference to Elam or 
 
 bears ; and the recent excavations Persia : " I broke the winged lions and 
 
 among the ruins of Babylon and Nine- bulls watching over the temple, all there 
 
 veh contain so many confirmations of were. I removed the winged bulls 
 
 the book being written after the cap- attending to the gates of the temples of 
 
 tivity, as they show shapes of animals Elam." 
 
 by which we are involuntarily reminded (2) " The first " (ver. 4). Dr. Rule 
 
 of tliose occurring here, and which sug- observes that as the fourth or Ilom.ui 
 
 gost the thought that an acquaintance beast was to be the fourth upon earth, 
 
 with sculptures of tliis kind may have so the first or Babylonian must not only 
 
 proved a psychological preparation for be the first of the kingdoms in this pro- 
 
 tlie visions in the seventh and eighth phetical series, but also the first upon 
 
 chapters. — Ilengstenberg. At the en- earth: which is historically true. About 
 
 trance to a temple at Birs Nimroud, two thousand years before Daniel, the 
 
 says Keil, there hiis been found (Layard, young population of the post-diluvian 
 
 {Babylon and Nineveh) such a symboli- world, being then " of one language and 
 
 cal figure, viz., a winged eagle with the of one speech," journeyed from the east, 
 
 head of a man. But the representation found a plain in the land of Shinar, dwelt 
 
 of nations and kingdoms by the images there, began to build a city and a tower, 
 
 of beasts is much more widely spread, and on tlieir speech being coi»founded, 
 
 and aflnrds the proi)lietic symbolism were scattered abroad on the face of the 
 118 
 
no Ml LET IC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 e;irth. Bat the city remained with a 
 sufficient population settled in it, the 
 first built after the Deluge, and retaining 
 the name Babel to mark the confusion 
 of language which there took place. 
 That city was the first central seat of 
 power ; and though the royal residence 
 was for some time in Nineveh, and 
 Babylonia was included within the em- 
 pire of Assyria, Babylon recovered its 
 primeval majesty, und was again the 
 seat of empire from Nabopolassar to 
 Belshazzar, and so rightly counted the 
 first kingdom upon earth. Callisthenes, 
 a friend of Alexander the Great, and his 
 companion at Babylon, B.C. 331, sent 
 thence to Aristotle a series of observa- 
 tions on eclipses made in that city, 
 which reached back 1903 years, i.?., 
 from 2234 B.C. The face of the sky 
 had thus been read and recorded on 
 that spot for near two thousand years. 
 
 (3) << ^ itianh heart was given to it " 
 (ver. 4). Keil thinks that this, as well 
 as the preceding expression, " lifted up," 
 when lying prostrate on the ground, to 
 the right attitude of a human being, 
 denotes that the beast nature was trans- 
 formed to that of a man ; and that in this 
 description of the change that occurred 
 to the lion there is, without doubt, a 
 reference to what is said of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar in chap. iv. Although the words 
 may not, however, as Hofmann and 
 others think, refer directly to Nebuchad- 
 nezzar's insanity, as here it is not the 
 king but the kingdom that is the suViject, 
 yet Nebuchadnezzar's madness was for 
 his kingdom the plucking off of its 
 wings. The completeness of the decay 
 of Babylon under the second empire 
 appears in the fact related by Strabo, 
 that when Alexander completed the 
 conquest of that empire about 331 B.C., 
 he found the great temple of Belus in 
 so ruined a condition, that it would 
 have required the labour of ten thousand 
 men for two months to clear away the 
 rubbish with which it was encumbered. 
 
 W "^ second like to a bear" (ver. 5). 
 Bishop Newton says : Cambyses, Ochus, 
 and others of their princes, were indeed 
 niDre like bears than men. Instances 
 of their cruelty abound in almost all the 
 historians who have written of their 
 
 affairs, from Herodotus down to Ain- 
 mianus Marcellinus, who describes them 
 as proud, cruel, exercising the power of 
 life and death over slaves and obscure 
 plebeians. "They pull off the skin 
 (says he) from men alive, in pieces or 
 altogether." The cruelty of their modes 
 of punishment indicative of the cruelty 
 of tlieir character. Eollin relates that 
 one of the royal judges, condemned to 
 death for receiving a brii)e, was to have 
 his skin taken off and fastened on the 
 seat where he used to sit and give judg- 
 ment, to be a warning to his son, who 
 was to occupy it after him. "Witness 
 also the lions' den. 
 
 (o) i' jirise, devour vnich flesh" (ver. .5). 
 Next to the lion, the bear is the strongest 
 among animals ; and, on account of its 
 voracity, it was called by Aristotle tuo\i 
 -rra/xjayov, " an all-devouring animal." — 
 Keii. 
 
 (^) "Raised up itself on one side." Tl)3 
 margin reads : " raised up one king- 
 dom," after R. Nathan, who has, "and 
 it established a dominion," with which 
 Kranichfeld agrees. Keil objects to this 
 as irreconcilable with the line of thought, 
 and also because in (Jchadh) is not the 
 indefinite article, but the numeral ; and 
 the thought that the beast established 
 one dominion, or a united dominion, is in 
 the highest degree strange; for the char- 
 acter of a united or compact dominion 
 belongs to the second world-kingdom no 
 more than to the first, while it cannot 
 belong to a beast or kingdom to establi.'^h 
 a kingdom at all. 1t?^ (sheiar), or 
 rather, as in Syriac and the Targunis, 
 "iDb Z3 "iDtp (setar), is rendered by the 
 Sept. and other old translators, as well 
 as by Saadias, "aside." According to 
 Calvin, who translates, " stood on one 
 side," the expression refers to the 
 Persians having previously been witli- 
 out fame or reputation, as well as with- 
 out wealth. Gesenius thinks it an 
 image of the kingdom of tiie Medes 
 being ordered by God, after having long 
 lain, as it were, in ambush, to rise and 
 attack Babylon. Keil, with Hofmann, 
 Delitzsch, and Kliefoth, regards the 
 figure as indicating, according to chaps. 
 ii" and viii., the douljle-sidedness of this 
 empire — the one side, the Median, being 
 119 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 at rest after the efforts made for the 
 erection of the world-kingdom ; -while 
 the otlier, the Persian side, raises itself 
 up, and then becomes higher than the 
 first and prepared for new rapine. 
 
 C^) " Three ribs." According to 
 Xenophon, Cyrus, after the conquest 
 of Babylon and Lydia, undertook an 
 expedition in which he subdued all 
 those nations which lie from the en- 
 trance into Syria as far as the Red 
 Sea ; while his next expedition was 
 to Egypt, which he also subdued. 
 Keil, with Hofmann, Ebrard, Ziindel, 
 and Kliefoth, understanding the bear 
 as the Medo-Persian, and not merely 
 the Median kuigdom, considers the three 
 ribs to denote the three kingdoms of 
 Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt, conquered 
 by the Medo-Persians. 
 
 (^) Xenophon relates that imme- 
 diately upon the death of Cyrus his 
 •sons fell into dissension ; cities and 
 nations revolted, and everything tended 
 to ruin. He adds the reflection, that 
 the Persians and their allies have evi- 
 dently less piety towards the gods, less 
 dutiful regard to tlieir relatives, less 
 justice and equity in their dealings with 
 others, and at the same time are more 
 effeminate and less fitted for war than 
 they were at their commencement as a 
 nation. 
 
 (^) " Four ivings of a fowl " (ver. 6). 
 The victories and triumphs of the 
 Greeks in the Persian war are well 
 known to the reader of history : how 
 in the time of Darius Hystaspes, B.C. 
 490, an army of 300,000 Persians was 
 defeated by 11,000 Greeks at Mara- 
 tlion ; and how Xerxes, his successor, 
 lost nearly the whole of his fleet at 
 Sahimis only ten years after, wliile the 
 remainder of his troops, left to pro- 
 secute the war in Greece, were nearly 
 all cut in i)ieces in the following year 
 at the battle of Plata^a, his fleet being 
 defeated on the same day at Mycale. 
 The decisive blow to the jjower of 
 Persia, however, was not given till 
 about a hundred and fifty years after 
 by Alexander the Great, who, born at 
 Pella, in Macedonia, B.C. 356, siutceeded 
 hi.s father, I'liilip, as king of ]\[aced(m, 
 when oiilv twenty years of a<'e. Ati- 
 l:i0 
 
 pointed generalissimo of the Greeks, 
 he undertook an expedition against the 
 Persians, while Darius Codomannus, 
 the last king of Persia, was on the 
 throne ; defeated with 35,000 men an 
 army of 100,000 Persians on the banks 
 of the Granicus, and gained a similar 
 victory in the following year at I.'jsus 
 in Cilicia. The fall of all Asia Minor 
 followed; and soon after that of in- 
 sular or new Tyre, which Alexander 
 took, according to the word of pro- 
 phecy, by connecting the island with 
 the mainland by means of a causeway 
 formed out of the materials of old 
 Tyre. The final blow was given to 
 Persia at the battle of Arbela, in 
 Assyria, B.C. 331, when the Persians 
 were twenty times the number of the 
 Greeks. " When you next address 
 me," said Alexander, in reply to an 
 offer of capitulation by Darius, "call 
 me not only king, but your king." 
 The conquests of the winged leopard 
 did not, however, stop till, having sub- 
 dued the Medes, Parthians, Hyrcanian.s, 
 Bactrians, and Sogdians, he crossed the 
 Indus with the intention of penetrating 
 into India, and was only obliged to 
 turn back by the unwillingness of 
 his army to proceed any farther. As 
 further illustrative of the truth of the 
 image, it is said that his movements 
 were so rapid that his enemies were 
 usually taken by surprise, and that he 
 was able to pursue them on horseback 
 for days and nights together, like a 
 panther after his prey. " Can Alex- 
 ander, who can do all things, fly also ? 
 And has nature on a sudden given 
 him wings ? " asked the confident 
 defender of a rocky height of the 
 messenger sent by Alexander. The 
 height, however, was taken. *' Yon 
 see," said the conquerors, " Alexander's 
 soldiers have wings." 
 
 (10) II ji fourth beast, diverse from all 
 the others" (vers. 7, 19). Thought by 
 some of the Jews to be the wild boar, 
 according to Ps. Ixxx. 13. Not named, 
 says Theodoret, from the changeable 
 form of its government, kings, generals, 
 tribunes, &c. According to Jerome, 
 from its snpereniinent cruelty. Its 
 diverseness fruin the others, Calvin 
 
IJOMIL ETIC COMMENTA R Y : DAMEL. 
 
 ascribes to the composite character of 
 the Roman people, the senatorial, 
 equestrian, and plebeian ranks. That 
 the Roman empire is intended the 
 all but universal opinion. Some Jews, 
 as Abeii Ezra and R. Saadias, wish 
 to make it the Turkish empire, in- 
 cluding the Roman in the third, in 
 order to avoid the conclusion that the 
 Messiah has already appeared. Pfaflf 
 thinks that both the tyranny of the 
 Turks and of the Popes is included 
 under this fourth beast. Calvin thinks 
 only of the Roman empire up to the 
 first Advent of Christ. Willet, after 
 Polychronius, Junius, Polainis, and 
 others, interprets it of the kingdom of 
 Syria, in which ten kings succeeded each 
 other, the last of whom they suppose was 
 Antiochus Epiphanes, the little horn ; 
 though typically of the Roman empire 
 foreshadowed under it, John's vision of 
 the beast (Rev, xiii. 1), or the Roman 
 empire, having reference to this of Daniel. 
 In like manner Rosenmiiller and some 
 other Germans endeavoured to make 
 this beast to be the Greek empire in 
 Asia after Alexander's death. But Bleek, 
 who is one of them, admits, "We are 
 induced by ver. 8, where it is said of 
 the little horn that it would rise up 
 between the ten horns, to think of ten 
 contemporaneous kings, or rather king- 
 doms, existing along with each other, 
 which rise out of the fourth kingdom." 
 Therefore he will " not deny that the 
 reference to the successors of Alexander 
 is rendered obscure by the fact that chap, 
 viii. speaks of four monarchies which 
 arise out of that of Alexander after 
 his death." In opposition to the view 
 that the parts of Alexander's kingdom 
 which became independent kingdoms 
 might be numbered in different ways, 
 and the number ten be made out 
 from the number of the generals who 
 retained the chief provinces, Ziiiidel 
 justly observes : "These kingdoms could 
 only have significance if this number, 
 instead of being a selection from the 
 whole, had been itself the whole. But 
 this is not the case. For at that time 
 the kingdom, according to Justin, was 
 divided into more than thirty parts." 
 AccurJing to Dr. TuJd and the Futurists, 
 
 the power indicated is one yet to be 
 developed, as the precursor of the final 
 Antichrist. Sir Isaac Newton observes 
 that the Romans conquered the kingdom 
 of Macedon, Illyricum, and Epirus in 
 the eighth year of Antiochus Epiphanes, 
 B.C. 167 ; that of Pergamos thirty-five 
 years afterwards ; Syria sixty-four years 
 later, and Egypt after other thirty-nine 
 years ; and that by these and other con- 
 quests the fourth beast became greater 
 and more terrible than any of the three 
 preceding ones. Dionysius Halicarnas- 
 sus, after enumerating the earlier empires 
 of the world, the Assyrian or Babylonian, 
 the Persian, and the Grecian, says, 
 " The empire of the Romans pervades 
 all regions of the earth which are not 
 inaccessible, but are inhabited by man- 
 kind ; it reigns also over the whole sea, 
 and is the first and only one that has 
 made the east and west its boundaries ; 
 and that there is no people that does 
 not recognise Rome as the universal 
 mistress, or that refuses to submit to its 
 dominion." Professor Bush says, "As 
 the fourth beast of Daniel lives and acts 
 through the space of 12G0 years (the 
 'time, times, and dividing, or half of a 
 time,' ver. 25), and as the seven-headed 
 and ten-horned beast of John prevails 
 through the same period, I am driven 
 to the conclusion that they adumbrate 
 precisely the same thing — that they are 
 merely different aspects of the same 
 reality ; and this I have no question is 
 the Roman empire." Keil observes, 
 after an elaborate proof of his premises : 
 " Since, then, neither tlie division of the 
 Medo-Persian kingdom into the Median 
 and the Persian is allowable, nor the 
 identification of the fourth kingdom 
 (chaps, ii. and vii.) with the Javanic 
 (the Greek or Macedonian) world-king- 
 dom in chap, viii., we may regard as 
 correct the traditional Church view tliat 
 the four world-kingdoms are the Chal- 
 dean (or Babylonian), the Medo-Persian, 
 the Grecian, and the Roman." 
 
 00 ''And it had ten hoj-ns." Some 
 have understood the number ten as 
 indefinite, indicating, as Augustine 
 thinks, the whole of the kings in the 
 Roman empire up to the coming «>f 
 Anlichric^t: or, as Culvin, tlie severid 
 121 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY : D AX I EL. 
 
 provinces or kiiigJoms of that empire; 
 or as others, the kingdoms into which 
 the Roman empire was divided and 
 dissolved on its first partition into the 
 Eastern and Western empires. Most, 
 however, consider it to be a certain 
 number. Some think of the kings who in 
 the end should divide the empire between 
 them. Thus Jerome says, "Let us say, 
 what all ecclesiastical writers have 
 handed down, that in the consumma- 
 tion of the world, when the kingdom of 
 the Romans is about to be destroyed, 
 there will be ten kings who shall divide 
 the Roman world among them." Ire- 
 iigeus had said in the second century, 
 " Daniel, looking to the end of the last 
 kingdom, that is, the ten kings among 
 whom shall be divided the empire of 
 those upon whom the Son of Perdition 
 shall come, saith that ten horns did 
 grow upon the beast. And more mani- 
 festly still hath John, the disciple of 
 our Lord, signified concerning the last 
 time and the ten kings which are in it, 
 among whom shall be divided the king- 
 dom which now reigns, explaiiung in 
 the Apocalypse what were the ten horns 
 which were seen by Daniel ; " thus 
 showing, as Archdeacon Harrison re- 
 marks, " how tlie earliest Christian 
 expositors identified with the imagery 
 before us that which reapjiears in the 
 visions of the Apocalypse." Most under- 
 stand the tea kingdoms into which the 
 
 Roman empire was divided in con- 
 sequence of tlie invasion of the Northern 
 nations. J. D. Michaelis remarks that 
 *' the number of the kingdoms in the 
 great community of Europe moves, so 
 to speak, fluctuatingly about this round 
 number (ten), being sometimes more 
 and sometimes less." Hengstenberg 
 thinks, however, that probably, at the 
 time of the final fulfilment, the number 
 ten will be a definite one. Anberlen 
 observes that the reference in the Revela- 
 tion to this fourth beast of Daniel 
 " overthrows the whole modern view 
 of the fourth beast (being the Greek 
 kingdom), and of the four beasts in 
 general ; it overthrows hereby, secondly, 
 the theory that the prophecies of Daniel 
 are limited to the time of Antiochus 
 Epiphanes ; and it consequently over- 
 throws, thirdly, the chief argument 
 brought forward against the genuineness 
 of our book." " Rationalism," observes 
 Dr. Pusey, " has come round to tlie same 
 view." "I agree," says Bleek, "with 
 Auberlen, that the ten horns of the 
 fourth beast cannot be meant of ten 
 successive Syrian kings (as Bertholdt, 
 V. Lengerke, Maurer, Hitzig, and De- 
 litzsch think) ; nor of ten kings, some 
 Syrian and some Egyptian (as Rosen- 
 miiller, &c., and Porphyry of old) ; but 
 rather of the single portions into which, 
 the kingdom was divided." 
 
 HOMILETIGS. 
 Sect. XXIV. — The Little Horn (Chap. vii. 8, 19-25). 
 
 "We now come to that part of Daniel's vision which especially distinguisnes it 
 from Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The king only saw the feet of the image divided 
 into ten toes : Daniel not only sees ten horns proceeding from the head of the fourth 
 beast, corresponding with these ten toes,but another horn additional to these, whicli, 
 tliough appearing as a " little horn," engaged the special attention of the prophet, 
 and constilutes the leading object in the vision. The character of the kingdoms of 
 the world was to be concentrated in that horn or the power represented by it, and 
 it was from it that the Church of God was mainly to suffer (^). As a "horn," it 
 was to be a power like the rest ; that term, expressive of the powerful weapon of 
 inatiy animals, being figuratively emjiloyed in the Scripture to denote power or 
 strength, and so a kingdom or a sovereignty. See Deut. xxxiii. 17 ; Ps. xviii. 2 ; 
 Luke i. G9. In relation to the "little horn " we have to notice — 
 
 I. Its lise. It is said to rise cnnoncj the other ten horns, and so to be con- 
 tnnpontncous with them ; and also after or bc/riiid them, and so in the time of its 
 ai)pcaianoe jiosterior to the rest, as well as gradual iu its growth and for a time 
 122 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DAXIEL. 
 
 unobserved. Before it, three of the ten were " plucked up by the roots and fell," 
 or, as it is interpreted by the angel, it subdued three out of the ten kings or 
 kingdoms, and so made room for itself by occupying tlieir place (vers. 8, 10, 2\). 
 The other horns obtained their place as kingdoms out of the body of the fourth 
 beast or Roman empire ; this one was to obtain its place out of that beast only 
 indirectly, by gaining it out of the others. 
 
 II. Its character and description. {\.) k." little" hoxn; sma^Hn comparison 
 with the rest, especially in its commencement, and humhle, perhaps, in its profession. 
 (2.) "Diverse from the rest;" its diversity consisting in this, that it had "eyes" 
 in it, like the eyes of a " man," and a " mouth speaking great things," — the eyes 
 and the mouth sufflciently indicating a human being as represented by it('-), and a 
 power of a peculiar character ; the eyes of a man, not of a god ; lamb-like, though 
 speaking as a dragon (Rev. xiii. 11.) (3.) The mouth uttered "great words 
 against the Most High ; " hence proud, arrogant, and blasphemous ; while from the 
 eyes was a " look more stout than his fellows," also indicative of pride and 
 haughtiness above that of the other powers, and an overbearing demeanour in 
 respect to them. (4.) He was to "make war with the saints of the Most High, 
 to wear them out, and prevail against them •" a persecuting power, and one whose 
 persecutions should be persevering and successful, against such as adhered to a 
 holy life and the worship of God according to His Word. (5.) He was to "think 
 to change times and laws;" lofty in his pretensions, as superior to laws.both human 
 and divine, and affecting a power which is the prerogative of God (chap. ii. 21). 
 5. The saints were to be "given into his hand " for a definite period, prophetically 
 and enigmatically described as a " a time, times, and the dividing of a time ;" his 
 power over the saints or true worshippers of God to be absolute for a time, but that 
 time a limited one. " To form a well-grounded judgment regarding the appearance 
 of this last enemy," observes Keil, " we must compare the description given of him 
 here with the apocalyptic description of the same enemy under the image of the 
 beast out of the sea or out of the abyss" (Rev, xiii. 1-8, xvii. 7-13) ; and we may 
 add, with the description of the " Man of Sin " given by the apostle (2 Thess. 
 ii. 4, kc), with an obvious allusion to the passage before us. 
 
 III. Its identification. This power intended to be identified as truly as the 
 four beasts themselves. The minute and varied description obviously given with 
 this view. This description, including both its rise and character, ought appa- 
 rently to leave no room for doubt as to what is intended by it, and no difficulty 
 in identifying it when the power indicated should appear. The question is, has 
 such a power already appeared, or are we still to look for it ] The latter unlikely, 
 as the fourth beast, from which it springs, has confessedly appeared two thousand 
 years ago, and the ten kingdoms, among and behind which it was to rise, have pro- 
 bably been in existence about fourteen centuries. Has, then, any power appeared 
 during that period to which the description is at all applicable, and to which it has 
 been applied ? There is a well-known power to which the description has appeared 
 so applicable, that for more than three hundred years the description has been 
 actually and unhesitatingly applied to it by almost all who have studied this 
 passage, with the exception, of course, of those who are in any way connected with 
 the p'ower itself ; although it is probable that the horn may not even yet have 
 fully developed itself (•■). That power is the Papacy, with the Bishop of Rome as 
 its head and representative W ; for nearly thirteen centuries a temiioral power, like 
 the other horns, though now no longer such C^) ; but so diverse from them as to be 
 at the same time a spiritual power, while the rest were only secular ones. The 
 identity has appeared — 
 
 1. Ill the rise of the Papacy. Tiie Little Horn rose among, and at the same 
 time after or behind, the other ten ; while three of these were plucked up and fe 1 
 before it, so that tlieir place was occupied by it, or, as interpreted by the angel, 
 three kingdoms, states, or powers were subdued by itC^). It is known that it 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 vas while the Northern nations were esta\>lishing for themselves kingdoms out of 
 tlie decaying lloman empire that the Bishops of Kome also became temporal 
 rulers, and that they did so after occasioning the fall of some of those rulers, 
 probably those of Lombardy, Ravenna, and Rome, whose territories then became 
 their own under the name of the States of the Church C^). A writer on prophecy- 
 remarks: "The Little Horn came up among the ten horns, of which three fell 
 before it. This determines the appearance of the Little Horn to be not before the 
 appearance of the ten, of which not one came into being till after the year 487 of 
 the Christian era, until which time the Roman empire continued under its empe- 
 rors, undivided into any of those ten kingdoms which arose afterwards. At that 
 time Auo-ustulus, the last Emperor of the West, was forced to resign ; and for three 
 hundred years the empire remained without even a nominal head." It is in 
 remarkable agreement with this fact that Paul speaks of the "Man of Sin" as 
 being hindered at that time from revealhig himself by something which he does 
 not name, but which would one day be taken out of the way ; that hindrance being 
 doubtless the Roman imperial power, which for obvious reasons Paul did not think 
 it expedient to name. The circumstance of the three horns or states being rooted 
 up to make way for the temporal power of the Papacy seems openly declared in 
 the " triple crown" which the Pope still continues to wear. 
 
 2. In the character of the Papacy. 
 
 (1.) The horn was a ^^ little" one. The territory of the Papacy has always 
 been small in comparison with that of the other powers, never exceeding the 
 extent of an Italian province. The Pope properly and originally a humble minister 
 of Jesus Christ, on a level with the other bishops or presiding ministers of the 
 Churches, and possesshig no territory or temporal jurisdiction whatever ; so " little " 
 that the apostle does not even salute or mention him in his Epistle to the Church at 
 Rome. The Epistle of Clement, one of the first Bishops of Rome, if not the very- 
 first, written to the Church of Corinth, breathes the very spirit of humility C^), a 
 humility which is affected by his successors, while each calls himself the " servant of 
 servants" and a successor of "the fisherman." 
 
 (2.) It was ^'' diverse from the first" (ver. 24), having the eyes and mouth of a 
 man. The difference of the Papacy from the other powers, as already noticed, 
 conspicuous in this, that it was at the same time both a temporal and a spiritual 
 power, the Pope being both a secular prince and a s[)iritual teacher, or, as Cibbon 
 expresses it, " a Christian bishop invested with the prerogatives of a temporal 
 jirince." The Pope claimed both swords, the civil and the ecclesiastical; a 
 combinati(m perhaps indicated in the Revelation by the two separate beasts, 
 the one rising out of the sea and the other out of the earth (Rev. xiii. 1-11), or in 
 the fact that the latter had two horns like a lamb, while it spake like a dragon 
 (ver. 11). 
 
 (3 ) "His hole ivas more stout than his fellotvs " (ver. 20). It is well known 
 what anathemas were fulminated by the Popes against all who refused to acknow- 
 ledge their supremacy or submit to their authority ; how kings were deposed and 
 their kingdoms placed under interdicts which deprived them of religious ordinances, 
 their subjects released from their allegiance, and their crown given to another. This 
 "stout look," and the claim of making aiid unmaking kings at pleasure, conspicuous 
 in the person of Gregory VII. (a.d. 1073). "I have received," said he, "from 
 (Jod the power of binding and of loosing in heaven and inearth; and by this 
 power I forbid Henry (the Fourth, Emperor of Germany) the government of the 
 whole realm of Germany and Italy. I also loose all Christians from the oaths 
 they have taken to him; and I decree that no man shall obey him as king" C*). 
 Among the " stout words " of the Papacy are the following, spoken by the same 
 Gregory: "The Roman Pontiff alone can be called universal. He alone has a 
 riu;ht to use imperial ornaments. Princes are bound to kiss his feet, and his feet 
 only. He has a right to depose emperors. No book can be called canonical 
 124 
 
EO M IL ETIC COMMENT A R Y : DANIEL. 
 
 without his authority. Hi.s sentence can be annulled by none, but he may annul 
 the decrees of all." It is also to be remembered that the poises claim infallibility. 
 
 (4.) "/;; had eyes like the eyes of man" (ver. 8). The very title of bishop, 
 which is simply " overseer," as in Acts xx. 28 and 1 Pet. v. 3, is in perfect agree- 
 ment with this mark of the horn. The popes, as bishops or overseers, being spiri- 
 tual teachers, are supposed to be endowed with wisdom and knowledge to qualify 
 them for their office, of which the eyes of a man are a well-known synibol (^). 
 
 (5.) The horn had also "a mouth speaking great things," even " great words 
 itgainst the Most High." The first of these expressions indicates pride and arro- 
 gance, the latter blasphemy. The Papal bulls leave little room for doubt as to the 
 applicability of th - former to the Papacy. " The tribunals of kings," say they, 
 "are subject to the sacerdotal power." "Since the Holy Roman Church, over 
 which Christ has willed that we preside, is set for a mirror and example, whatever it 
 has decreed, whatever it now ordains, must be perpetually and irrefragably observed 
 by all men." The words spoken against or (as the word is also rendered) as the 
 Most High (10) are such as tend to set God aside. These have not been wantiii" 
 in the lips of the Papacy. " The Roman Pontiff," says Pope Stephen, " is to judge 
 all men, and to be judged by no man." "The Pope is styled God," says Pojie 
 Nicholas, " by the pious prince; and it is manifest that God cannot be judged by 
 man." This mark may be truly regarded as made good, as Bishop Newton ob- 
 serves, by the popes " setting up themselves against all laws human and divine, 
 arrogating to themselves godlike attributes and titles, and exacting obedience to 
 their ordinances and decrees." A bull of Pope Boniface declares that " all the 
 faithful of Christ are, by necessity of salvation, subject to the Roman Pontiff, who 
 has both swords, and judges all men, but is judged by none" (i^). Again we have 
 to remember the claim to infallibility by the Pope, that infallibility having been 
 recently made an article of faith in the Romish Church. 
 
 (6.) " He shall think to change times and laivs" (ver. 25) 0^\ The presence of 
 this mark in the Papacy already apparent. Everything was to be entirely in 
 accordance with Papal decree. The observance of saints' days established ; the 
 marriage vow, in the case of the clergy, cancelled and marriage itself forbidden (^3) ; 
 subjects, as, for example, the English in relation to Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, 
 released from their allegiance to their sovereigns ; the cup in the Lord's Suppc^r 
 forbidden to the laity (i"*) ; and the making and worshipping of images sanctioned (^'X 
 Bishop Newton mentions also as instances of this mark of the Little Horn, the Pope's 
 "appointing fasts and feasts ; canonising saints; granting pardons and indulgences 
 for sins ; instituting new modes of worship ; imposing new articles of faith [as 
 recently the Immaculate Conception] ; enjoining new rules of practice ; and 
 reversing at pleasure the laws both of God and man." The traditions of the 
 Fathers and decrees of Councils are made to supersede and set aside the Word of 
 God. " The holy and inspired fathers and teacliers," says Gregory III., " and tiie 
 six Councils in Christ, these are our scriptures and our light to salvation." 
 
 (7.) He was to " make war with the saints and prevail against thnn," and " wear 
 them out " (vers. 21, ::5). It is well known that one of the most prominent features 
 of the Papacy in past centuries was the persecution of the saints under the name 
 of heretics, that is, of those who refused, in matters of doctrine and practice, to 
 submit to the authority of the Pope instead of the Word of God, and who said, 
 with Peter and the other apostles, " We ought to obey God rather than men " (Acts 
 V. 29, iv. 19) (^^). "If any one," said Pope Nicolas in a Council at Rome, "shall 
 presume to dispute the dogmas, commands, interdicts, sanctions, or decrees whole- 
 somely published by the head of the Apostolic See, let him be accursed." " It is 
 permitted neither to think nor to speak differently from the Roman Church." Such 
 were to be handed over to the secular power, to be i)unisl)ed with the loss of gooi^s, 
 imprisonment, and even death. The burning of heretics, according to the bull 
 He Gomburendo, is too well known in England. The term " Crusades " was given 
 
 125 
 
nOMlLETlC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 to tliose military enterprises undertaken to extirpate the Waldensss and Albigenses ; 
 and the same Papal indulgences were promised to those who fell in such under- 
 takino-s as were bestowed on those who died in the wars against the infidels (^"X The 
 " wearing out of the saints ";may be seen in the decree of Pope Pelagius, that those 
 guilty of schism or separation from tlie Ptoman See were to be " crushed by the 
 secular power, and restrained not only by exile, but by proscription of tlieir goods, 
 and by severe imprisonment." How far the Papacy " prevailed " against the saints, 
 or so-called lieretics, appears from the fact that in a Council of the Lateran, held 
 in ilay 1514, about three years and a half before the breaking out of the Refor- 
 mation under Luther, the Hussites were summoned to appear ; and when no 
 appearauce was made, the doctor of tlie Council uttered the remarkable words, 
 "There is an end to resistance to the Papal rule and religion ; there is none to 
 oppose ; the whole body of Christendom is now subject to its head." 
 
 (8.) Tlie saints ivere to be ''given into the hand" of the Little Horn for a limited 
 2)eriud, here called "a time, times, and the dividinij of a time." This enigmatical 
 period, found also in chap, xii., as well as in the Book of Revelation, is generally 
 understood to be equivalent to three years and a half, or, as it is expressed in the 
 Apocaly[)se, 12G0 days, 360 being reckoned to a year, and also forty and two 
 months (Rev. xii. 14, 16, xi. 2, 3, xiii. 5 (i^), the half of the "seven times" 
 already mentioned in connection with Nebuchadnezzar's insanity. The period in 
 the text for the dominion of the Little Horn over the saints is also that of the 
 " scattering or crushing of the power of the holy people " (chap. xii. 7) ; of the 
 woman's abode in the wilderness (Rev. xii. 6, 14); of the treading of the holy 
 city under foot by the Gentiles (Rev. xii. 2) ; of the prophesying of the two 
 witnesses in sackcloth (Rev. xii. 3) ; and of the effective continuance of the beast 
 out of the sea (Rev. xiii. 5). Probably the same period, and the same experience 
 of humiliation and suffering on the part of the saints under the same power, 
 intended under these various symbolical representatious. The three years and a 
 half, however, might be understood either literally or figuratively ; either as 
 ordinary years, or, as they are called, 'prophetical ones, each day being reckoned a 
 year. The latter is generally understood, though there may be also a fulfilment 
 of the prophecy on the smaller as well as on the larger scale. It is remarkable 
 that from the time that the Bishop of Rome became a temporal prince, namely, 
 in the early part of the seventh century (a.d. 606), till the cessation of his 
 temporal power in 1870, is just 1264 years, the period in the text on the larger 
 or year-day scale, with perliaps four years more ("'). It is also remarkable that 
 from the time in which all Christendom was declared to be subject to the Roman 
 Pontiff, May 1514, to the breaking out of the Reformation under Luther, that 
 effected the deliverance of so large a portion from his spiritual sway, was just 
 three years and a half on the shorter or literal day scale. Twelve centuries 
 ago, more or less, the saints, or those who chose to obey the Word of God 
 rather than tlie edicts and decrees of man, seemed to be given into the hand of 
 the Roman I'ontilf. Tliere seems little reason to doubt that happily that period 
 of subjection has come to an end. Tiie Papacy can no longer persecute the so- 
 called heretics as before. The Scriptures are openly sold and the Gospel is freely 
 preached even in Rome itself. The Inquisition is at an end. Dr. Achilli and the 
 two Madiai were among its last prisoners, the latter having been given up at the 
 demand of Protestant Europe. The French Revolution in 1792-3, exactly 1260 
 years after the edict of Justinian seemed formally to give the Church into the 
 hands of the Roman bishop, was doubtless the coniiucncenient of his falK'-^^); one 
 of the most marked results of that event being the freedom of religious worship 
 among the nations of Europe, which during the last ten years may be said to have 
 been all but com])lete. Tliis circumstance might seem to leave no doubt as to the 
 identification of the Little Horn with the Papacj', and to establish the opinion that 
 Las larircly prevailed for centuries (-0. 
 126 
 
EOMILETIG COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 From the prophecy regarding the Little Horn we may notice — 
 
 1. The providence- of God as ruling both in the ivorld and in the Church. " He 
 putteth down one and setteth up another." Even the Little Horn, which was to 
 prove svich a scourge to the Church and to the world, was entirely under His con- 
 trol, and employed as His instrument in accomplishing the purposes of His infinite 
 wisdom. The saints were to be "given" into His hand, as Judali and its king were 
 given into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar (chap. i. 2). The same Providence limited 
 the continuance of the subjection in both cases. What is done wickedly by man 
 is i:)ern)itted and conti'olled wisely and holily by God. 
 
 2. The comfort of God's people to hioiv that their sufferings are meted out, both in 
 intensity and durat'on, by a Father's hand. It was a fiery trial that was to try 
 the saints when they were to be given into the hand of the Little Horn, who was 
 to make war upon thsm, and prevail against them, and wear them out. But it was 
 to continue only for a time, a long time indeed, as indicated in the expression 
 " a time, times, and the dividing of a time ; " but still it was to come to an end. 
 "Thou shalt have tribulation ten days," — not more. "In measure when it 
 shooteth forth, Thou wilt debate with it : He stayeth His rough wind in the day of 
 His east wind " (Isa. xxvii. 8). The " time to favour Zion, even the set time," conies. 
 
 3. 2'he precioicsness and poiver of divine grace in sustaining the peojde of God 
 under prot7-acted persecutions and afflictions. No small affliction to the saints who 
 held fast the Word of God to have war made upon them by a mighty and prevail- 
 ing power, and to be worn out by exile, imprisonment, and loss of goods, year after 
 year, the same thing being continued century after century. No small amount of 
 grace needed to sustain them in the conflict, so as to be faithful unto death. But 
 the promise is sure. " My grace is sufficient for thee ; my strength is made perfect 
 in weakness." " As thy days, so shall thy strength be." Though appointed as sheep 
 to the slaughter, we are made more than conquerors through Him that loved us. 
 *' They overcame through the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony." 
 
 4. The divine, and therefore indestructible, nature of the Church and religion 
 of Jesus Christ, ivhich has held out tinder centuries of cruel persecution. To exhibit 
 this, probably one reason why such a state of things is permitted to take place. 
 The bush burns, but is not consumed, because the Lord Himself is in it. The 
 gates and power of hell unable to prevail against the Church of Christ, because 
 founded on the Eock of Ages. The Cliurch outlives the furnace, because One like 
 the Son of God— the Son of God Himself— is with it there. " If this counsel or 
 work be of men, it will come to nought ; but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow 
 it." "Although," says Sismondi, himself a Roman Catholic, " for two hundred 
 years the fires were never quenched, still every day saw Catholics abjuring the 
 faith of their fathers, and embracing the religion which often guided them to the 
 stake. In vain Gregory IX., in 1:^31, put to death every heretic whom he found 
 concealed in Rome." 
 
 5. Cause for joy and thanksgiving that the wearing out of the saints by the 
 Little Horn is at or near its close. There may yet be possibly a period of intense 
 suffering from that same Little Horn under a changed aspect ; but if so, it will be 
 but of short continuance ; perhaps the " time, times, and dividing of a time," on 
 the shorter literal day scale. But we may well rejoice and give thaidcs that the 
 long-protracted period of " wearing out" is at an end. The fires of Smithfield and 
 the°tortures of the Inquisition, we may believe, are over. Even in Rome men 
 may read the Bible and worship God according to it without being afraid. Let us 
 thank God for liberty of conscience in Europe, 
 
 6. The prediction regarding the Little Horn, with its manifest fulfilment , another 
 remarkable evidence of divine inspiration. That horn, as rising out of the fourth 
 beast, and amoHf/ the other ten, acknowledged not to be Antiochus Epiphanes, and 
 must therefore be found long after the time when the prophecy was written. 1 he 
 
 prediction minute and detailed ; and its fulfilment, iu a power that for twdve 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENT A RY : DA XIEL 
 
 centuries has been the most prominent and conspicuous one in Europe, singularly 
 exact. The fulfilment of such prediction, though perfectly natural, yet partaking 
 of the nature of a miracle, as being beyond any mere human power to foresee it, 
 and as such an evidence of the divine origin of the prediction. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— W " It is 
 in the fearful shape of the last beast 
 that the world-power will fully manifest 
 that its whole nature is opposed to God. 
 But as the interest which attaches to the 
 four monarchies is led rapidly over the 
 first three to centre in the last, so, for 
 the same reason, in considering the last 
 we are led to the final shape. . . . The 
 description introduces these horns merely 
 to show how an eleventh has sprung up 
 in their midst, a king in whom the full 
 haughty hatred and rebellion against 
 God, His people, and His service, finds 
 its representative. . . . The essential 
 nature of the kingdoms of the world 
 appears concentrated in the fourth king- 
 dom ; the nature of the fourth kingdom, 
 in like manner, in its last worldly ruler. 
 Thus it is only at the end that the 
 peculiar character of the world-power, 
 " the mystery of iniquity," is unveiled, 
 and we recognise in the eleventh horn no 
 other than he whom Paul calls "the 
 Man (if Sin" and "the Son of Perdition" 
 (2 Thess. ii.) Here, for the first time 
 in the development of revelation, the 
 idea of Antichrist is clearly unfolded ; 
 because here, for the first time, the en- 
 tire course of the development of the 
 godless and God- opposing world is 
 clearly surveyed down to the very end." 
 — Auherlen. So Dr. Pusey, who also 
 sees in the Little Horn mainly an Anti- 
 christ yet to come." "Wiiy should there 
 not be under the fourth empire an 
 antagonian to the true God, concen- 
 trated in and directed by one individual, 
 as it was in and by Antiochus in the 
 third? Human nature repeats itself. 
 Wliut nian has done, man will do. We 
 C'liristians look for an Antichrist yet to 
 come. Our Lord forewarned of him 
 and his deceivableiiess. St. Paul 
 describes such an one as Daniel speaks 
 of." We must not, however, overlook 
 the Antichrist of the past and tlie 
 present, while even as Protestants we 
 may also acknowledge an Antichrist yet 
 to couio. 
 
 123 
 
 (2) '•''Eyes like the eyes of mayi." 
 " Eyes and seeing with eyes are the 
 symbols of insight, circumspection, and 
 prudence. The eyes of a 7)ian, not 
 merely to indicate that the horn signified a 
 man, which was already distinctly enough 
 shown by the fact of eyes, &c., being 
 attributed to it, nor yet to distinguish 
 it from a beast ; but in opposition to a 
 higher celestial being, for whom it might, 
 from the terribleness of its rule and go- 
 vernment, be mistaken." — Keil. Others 
 have viewed the expression as indicative 
 of the assumed blandness that accom- 
 panied papal arrogance, and the sharp 
 look-out kept by the popes on their 
 own and their families' interests, as well 
 as those of the Church. 
 
 (^) Jerome and the fathers, as well as 
 De Lyra, Hugo, and Pvonian Catholic 
 writers generally, interpret the little 
 horn of the Antichrist, who should come 
 in the end of the world, after the Roman 
 empire is destroyed. Some of the 
 Reformers, as Melanchthon and Osian- 
 der, understood it of the Turkish empiie. 
 Calvin thinks that historically this pro- 
 phecy of the Little Horn was fulfilled 
 before the coming of the Messiah into 
 the world, in the person of Julius Caesar, 
 Augustus, and the other emperors ; but 
 that it may, by analogy, be applied, as 
 it was by some, to the Pope or to the 
 Turks ; " and these applications," he 
 says, " by way of analogy I mislike 
 not." Qllcolampadius understood it of 
 the Pope in tlie West, and the Turkish 
 empire in the East. Bullinger, and the 
 Reformers in general, applied the pro- 
 phecy entirely to the Papacy. Junius, 
 Pohmus, and Willet understood it hi.s- 
 torically of Antiochus Epiphanes, but 
 typically of Antichrist. Dr. Lee, of 
 Cambridge, api)lies it to heathen Rome 
 and the i)ersecuiing emperors from Nero 
 to Constantine. The Futurists, with 
 Roman Catholic writers, understand it 
 of an Antichrist yet to come. 
 
 (^) Dr. Rule observes that the descri[)- 
 tion given of the Little Horn exactly 
 
IIOMILEriC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 answers to the Papacy, and regards tlie 
 assumption of absolute sovereigntj'- over 
 the city and territory of Ptonie by Pope 
 Innocent III. as the uprising of it, a 
 sovereign pontiff over a temporal do- 
 minion, armed also with military powers. 
 " Here," says Muratori, in relating this 
 event, "expired the last breath of the 
 Augiisti in Pome; and henceforth the 
 I)refects of Rome, the Senate, and the 
 other magistrates, swore fealty to the 
 Iloman Pontiff only." Professor Bush 
 says, "This Little Horn is unquestionably 
 the ecclesiastical power of the Papacy. 
 This horn did not come till after the 
 empire received its deadly wound by 
 the hands of the Goths." 
 
 (^) That the Bishop of Rome became 
 a temporal ruler, receiving his place and 
 rank as such among and soon afler the 
 other rulers of the kingdoms formed 
 out of the dismembered Roman empire, 
 every one knows. One of the most 
 remarkable events of recent years was 
 the entire cessation of this temporal 
 sovereignty of the Pope, when in 1870, 
 after the French Empemr had withdrawn 
 his troops from Rome, Victor Emmanuel, 
 as king of Italy, at the voice of the 
 people, assumed the entire government 
 of tlie country, leaving Pius IX. only 
 the Vatican and its precincts for his 
 residence ; the Pope exclaiming against 
 the act as one of wicked sacrilege and 
 spoliation, and endeavouring to rouse all 
 Catholic Europe to aid him in recovering 
 the lost "patrimony of St. Peter." The 
 Times of the period said, "In the same 
 year the Papacy has assumed the high- 
 est spiritual exaltation to which it could 
 asj)ire, and lost the temporal sovereignty 
 which it had held for a thousand years." 
 
 (6) <■<■ Jjefore whom there were three of 
 the first horns plucked up l)y the roots." 
 I'JIeshall subdue tJiree ldngs"{vQVS. 8, 2-4). 
 7''St."ri^_ (^yehaslipil), " shall overthrow, 
 deprive of sovereignty." — Keil. Some 
 liave understood the number three as 
 indefinite. So Calvin and CEculam- 
 jiadius, but understanding it as de- 
 noting much or many. Most have 
 viewed it as a definite number. Jerome 
 and others after him understood the 
 three horns to be Egypt, Africa, and 
 Ethiopia, which were to be subdued 
 
 by Antichrist. Melanchthon thought of 
 Egyi)t, Syria, and Cilicia, to be taken 
 by the Turks ; while Osiander and PfaiF 
 understood them to be Asia, Greece, 
 and Egypt. Bullinger, applying the 
 I)rophecy to the Papacy, regarded the 
 three horns as the Emperor Leo, or the 
 Exarchate of Ravenna, taken by Gregory 
 II. ; Childeric, king of France, de- 
 posed by Pope Zacliary ; and the Lom- 
 bards with the government they obtained 
 from Leo III. Dr. Rule considers them 
 to be the Roman Senate and people, with 
 the so-called patrimony of St. Peter, 
 gained A.D. 498; Apulia, otherwise called 
 Naples, and Sicily, obtained in 1 2GG. He 
 observes that, sinmltaneously with these 
 acquisitions, the work of persecution, 
 foretold in the next verses, rapidly ad- 
 vanced. According to Mr. Birks, the three 
 horns were the kingdom of the Heruli 
 under Odoacer, that of the Ostrogoths 
 under Theodoric, who at the instigation 
 of the Pope overthrew the former, and 
 took possession of that part of Italy 
 forming the Exarchate of Ravenna, 
 which again, at the Pope's instance, was 
 overthrown by Belisarius and Narses, 
 lieutenants of the Emperor Justinian ; 
 the third jiower overthrown being that of 
 the Lombards under Alboin and Aistulph. 
 To obtain freedom from the threatened 
 yoke of the Lombards, and to secure 
 still farther the possession of a temporal 
 dominion, the Pope made his appeal to 
 Pepin, son of Charles ]\Iarte], as well as 
 to Charles (Charlemagne) and Carloman, 
 tlie three kings of the Franks. "Pepin 
 and Charlemagne willingly undertook 
 the task of uprooting the Lombard king- 
 dom, the last enemy that stood in the way 
 of the ambitious See." After the sur- 
 renderof Pavia, "the last obstacle was now 
 removed, and the popes rose at length to 
 temporal dominion, and obtained a firm 
 and settled place among the powers 
 and kingdoms of the Western Empire. 
 ' The Church's ancient jiatrimony of 
 farms and houses,' says Gibbon, 'was 
 transformed by the bounty of the Car- 
 lovingians into the temporal dominion 
 of cities and provinces ; and the dona- 
 tion of the Exarchate was the first-fruits 
 of the victories of Pepin.' The ample 
 province of tlie Exarchate, granted lo 
 129 
 
lIOMILhn'lC COMMESTARY: DANIEL 
 
 tlie Papacy by the usurper Pepin, iniglit 
 cninpn.se all the provinces of Italy which 
 Lad obeyed the Emperor and his vice- 
 gerent ; but its strict and proper limits 
 were included in the territory of Ilavenna, 
 Bologna, and Ferrara, and its insepa- 
 rable dependency was the Pentapolis." 
 
 " The tempter," says Gavazzi, " came 
 over the Alps in the Gallic Pepin; he 
 showed from a pinnacle of earthly power 
 and aggrandisement the kingdoms of 
 this world, and pledged himself to secure 
 their homage, if, falling prostrate before 
 God's adversary, ' Christ's Vicar ' should 
 adore him. The sacrilegious bargain 
 was struck ; the ark of the Lord was 
 placed in the temple of Dagou ; the 
 bishops of Rome, who over and over 
 again suffered death rather than offer 
 incense to Pagan idols, fell into the 
 palpable snare of Satan ; and the hand 
 that bore on its finger the brightest of 
 sacerdotal gems in the ' ring of the 
 fisherman ' was outstretched, with scan- 
 dalous avidity, to burn a fatal frankin- 
 cense on the altar of secular ambition. 
 A visible change fell on the Papacy. 
 The gory crown of martyrdom was ex- 
 changed for the glittering tiara," 
 
 Mr, Mede supposed the three " up- 
 rooted" or " depressed" horns to be, first, 
 the Greeks, that is, the entire kingdom 
 of Italy, which in 554 was ended by the 
 Exarchate or dependent government of 
 the Greek emperor, which continued for 
 fifteen years ; second, the Lombards, 
 who possessed the country for about 
 200 years ; and, third, the Franks, wlio 
 stretched their authority into the imme- 
 diate vicinity of Ptome. 
 
 (^) The following are extracts from 
 Clement's letter, written towards the 
 end of the first century, to allay some 
 disturbances in the Church at Corinth 
 in regard to the pastorate, " These 
 tilings, beloved, we write not only to 
 admonish you of your duty, but to ad- 
 monish ourselves, for we arc in the 
 same race and conflict. Wherefore, let 
 us abandon vain and empty cares, and 
 advance to the glorious and venerable 
 rule of our calling. Let us look to 
 what is beautiful, and pleasing, and 
 acceptable in the eyes of our Creator, 
 Let us fix our ejcs on the blood of 
 ].30 
 
 Christ, and consider how precious to 
 God is that blood, which, having been 
 shed for our salvation, has offered the 
 grace of repentance to all the world. , , , 
 Christ belongs to those who conduct 
 themselves humbly, not those who exalt 
 themselves over His flock with pride 
 and arrogance. . . . Let us attach our- 
 selves to those to whom grace has been 
 given by God. Let us put on concord 
 with moderation of mind, endued with 
 the gift of self-control. Temerity, arro- 
 gance, and audacity belong to those 
 who are accursed of God ; moderation, 
 humility, and meekness to those who 
 are blessed of Him. ^ . . The apostles, 
 preaching the Word through regions 
 and cities, proving their first-fruits in 
 the Spirit, appointed bishops and dea- 
 cons of those who believed. The apostles 
 knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that 
 contentions would arise about the name 
 of the episcopate, and on that account, 
 being endowed with perfect foreknow- 
 ledge, they appointed persons previously 
 indicated, and left successions of mini- 
 sters and officers afterwards described, 
 that other approved men might succeed 
 to their place and discharge their offices. 
 Look diligently into the Scriptures. 
 Take into your hands the epistles of the 
 blessed Apostle Paul. Consider what 
 he wrote to you near the very beginning 
 of his preaching the gospel. Being cer- 
 tainly divinely inspired, he reminded you 
 in an epistle concerning himself, Cephas, 
 and ApoUos, that even then there were 
 seditions and party feelings among you. 
 . . . Whosoever is zealous, pitiful, and 
 full of love among you, let him say, ' If 
 any sedition, contention, or division, 
 has arisen through me, I will depart ; 
 I will go away whithersoever you wish ; 
 I will do whatever is commanded by 
 the people ; that only the flock of 
 Christ may live in peace with the elders 
 (or presbyters) that have been appointed 
 over them.'" 
 
 (^) These were not empty words. 
 Henry, driven to despair, in a winter of 
 unusual severity, crossed the Alps with 
 the determination of seeking the Pope's 
 forgiveness and reconciliation. Gregory 
 was at Canossa, a fortress near llcggio. 
 The Emperor was admilted without hia 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 guards into an outer court of the castle, 
 where he was kept standing for three 
 successive days, from morning to 
 evening, in a woollen shirt, and with 
 bare feet, while Gregory, shut up with 
 the Countess, refused to admit him into 
 his presence. On the fourth day lie 
 obtained absolution, but only on con- 
 dition that he appeared on a certain day 
 to receive the Pope's decision as to 
 whether or not he should be restored to 
 his kingdom, till which time he was 
 not to assume the insignia of royalty. 
 It was this same Pope who endeavoured 
 to compel William tlie Conqueror to do 
 homage for the crown of England, and 
 who menaced Philip I. of France with 
 deposition. The language and bearing 
 of Adrian IV., in 1155, to the Emperor 
 Frederick was of a similar character. 
 The Pope insisted on the Emperor be- 
 coming his equerry and holding his 
 stirrup while he mounted. " To place 
 your name before ours," said he to the 
 Emperor, "is arrogance, is insolence; 
 and to cause bishops to render homage 
 to you, those whom the Scripture calls 
 gods, sons of the Most High, is to want 
 that faith which you have sworn to St. 
 Peter and to ns. Hasten then to amend, 
 lest that, in taking to yourself what does 
 ni)t belong to you, you lose the crown 
 with which we have gratified you." 
 
 (9) See note (^). 
 
 (10) " Against the Most High." IV? 
 (Je-tsadh), "at the side of." Keil ob- 
 serves that this term properly means 
 against or at the side of, and is more 
 expressive than 'V (^al) ; denoting that 
 he would use language by which he 
 •would set God aside, and would regard 
 and give himself out as God. Compare 
 2 Thess. ii. 4. 
 
 (11) It is this Pojie of whom Gavazzi, 
 in the oration already quoted from, says, 
 *' Swelling with the pride and pomp of 
 Satanic inflation, Boniface VIII., having 
 foully dethroned his still living pre- 
 decessor, Celestine V., burst on the 
 world with his blasphemous bull, 
 Unam Sandam, and laid his monstrous 
 mandate on mankind, involving the 
 human race in sacerdotal serfdom. r>y 
 one fell swoop he abrogated the autho- 
 rity of kings within their dominions, 
 
 of magistrates within the circle of their 
 attributions, of fathers within the sacred 
 precincts of their households. Popes 
 became arbiters of universal sovereignty, 
 bishops bearded monarchs, and priests 
 lorded it over the domestic hearth. . . . 
 Every human right, claim, property, 
 franchise, or feeling at variance with the 
 predominance of the Popedom was, 
 ipso facto, inimical to Heaven and the 
 God of eternal justice." 
 
 (12) " 2^0 change times and laws." 
 Keil observes that to "change times" 
 belongs to the all-perfect power of God 
 (cf. ii. 21), the creator and ordainer of 
 times (Gen. i. 14); and that there is no 
 ground for supposing that t^JDT (zimnin), 
 " times," is to be specially understood 
 of " festivals or sacred times," since the 
 word, like the corresponding Hebrew 
 one, Ciy.l'^ (mo'adhim), does not 
 throughout signify merely festival times 
 (cf Gen. i. 14, xvii. 21, xviii. 14, &c.) 
 The sill is that he does not in his 
 ordinances regard the fundamental con- 
 ditions given by God, but so changes 
 the laws of human life that he puts his 
 own pleasure in the place of the divine 
 arrangements. H"? (dalh), a law, rite, cus- 
 tom, or constitution. Calvin, applying 
 the passage to the Roman emperors, says 
 they perverted all laws, human and divine. 
 Dr. Pusey, on the other hand, trans- 
 lates " essaying to change worship and 
 law;" and has in a fooinote,]''^^] (zimniii) 
 " set times," that is, probably, the times 
 of the S€t feasts (as Ave speak of sacred 
 " seasons"), and so the worship of those 
 times. He observes that in Onkelos 
 prOT (-m?ii») stands for onyiD (mo'adh- 
 iw), Gen. i. 14; and Jonathan puts 
 nyiD ^i?3T {zimne mo'ed) for *li?1» (moed), 
 Zeph. iii. 18. Pseudo-Jonathan uses 
 the woid i^T (zeman) in paraphrasing 
 i^jiT! .''."'i/'^ {mo'adhe Jchnvali), " the feasts 
 of the Lord." Elsewhere \'0\ is used 
 of the place of the sacred assembly 
 (Num. i. 1 ; Tsa. xxxiii. 20), but "^yiO 
 of the festival (Lam. i. 4 ; Hos. ix. 5). 
 
 (13) A decretal of Callixtus II. says, 
 " We entirely interdict priests, deacons, 
 sub- deacons, and monks from contracting 
 marriages ; we decide also that, according 
 to the sacred canons, the marriages con- 
 tracted by persons of this kind be dis- 
 
 131 
 
HOMILETIO COMMENTAhf: DANIEL. 
 
 solved, and the persons brought to 
 penance." This Pope, as well as Pope 
 Agatho, writes that the decretal epistles 
 of the Roman Pontiff are to be received 
 among the Scriptures, though they are 
 not embodied in the code of canons, just 
 as the Old and New Testaments are so 
 received, " because a judgment of holy- 
 Pope Innocent seems to be published " 
 for doing so. 
 
 (^^) In regard to the use of the cup, 
 Pope Gregory VII. thus wrote to Wratis- 
 laus, king of Bohemia, " What your 
 people ignorantly require can in no wise 
 be conceded to them ; and we now forbid 
 it by the power of God and His holy 
 Apostle Peter." 
 
 (^^) Gregory III. convened an assembly 
 of 93 bishops in 732, and with their 
 assent published a general excommunica- 
 tion against all who were opposed to the 
 worship of images. The same Pope 
 wrote to the Emperor Leo, " Do you 
 cease to persecute images and all will be 
 quiet." 
 
 (16) tf Jifake tvar with the saints" (ver. 
 21). In our own country, in the short 
 reign of Queen Mary, three hundred per- 
 sons are said to have been cruelly put to 
 death for no other reason than because 
 they refused to acknowledge the supre- 
 macy of the Pope, This is written within 
 little more than a stone's throw of the 
 monument that commemorates the mar- 
 tyrdom of Ridley, Latimer, and Cranmer, 
 nnd the cross in front of Balliol College, 
 Oxford, that marks the spot on which 
 they sulTered death. It is computed that 
 in the South of France, between the 
 twelfth and eighteenth centuries inclu- 
 sive, about a million of those called 
 Waldenses and Albigenses suffered death 
 as heretics, especially by armies sent 
 against them for that purpose, after 
 receiving the ]>apal blessing. Nearly a 
 million suffi.rcd on the same account after 
 the institution of the order of the Jesuits. 
 In the Netherlands, it was the boast of 
 the Duke of Alva that 3G,000 heretics 
 had been put to death by the common 
 executioner within a few years. In 
 Ireland, 150,000 are said to have been 
 massacred in one jjrovince in virtue of a 
 papal edict dated May 25, 1G43, in which 
 the Pope granted a full and plenary in- 
 132 
 
 dulgence and absolute remission of all 
 their sins "to all the Christians in the 
 kingdom of Ireland, so long as they should 
 war against the heretics and other ene- 
 mies of the Catholic faith." In the 
 Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day, 
 1572, thirty thousand at least, in Paris 
 and throughout France, are said to have 
 been horribly butchered within thirty 
 days, for which the Pope ordered public 
 thanks to be given, and a medal to be 
 struck in commemoration of the event. 
 This feature of the Little Horn is acknow- 
 ledged and justified in the Rhemish New 
 Testament, where it is said in a note at 
 Rev. xvii. G, that the blood of the here- 
 tics is not to be considered as the blood 
 of the saints, but is " no more than the 
 blood of thieves, mankillers, and other 
 malefactors, for the shedding of which, 
 by order of justice, no commonwealth 
 shall answer." So Pope Urban II., en- 
 couraging the shedding of such blood, 
 states, " We do not count them mur- 
 derers who, burning with zeal for their 
 Catholic mother against the excommuni- 
 cate, may happen to have slain some of 
 them." Sismondi, himself a Roman 
 Catholic, intimates what was the crime 
 of those whose blood was thus to be shed : 
 " Many sects," he says, " existed in Pro- 
 vence, and this was the necessary conse- 
 quence of the freedom of inquiry which 
 was the essence of their doctrine. With 
 one accord they considered that the 
 Romish Church had changed the nature 
 of Christianity, and that she was the 
 object described in the Apocalypse as the 
 woman of Babylon." He adds : " To 
 maintain unity of faith, the Church had 
 recourse to the expedient of burning all 
 those who separated themselves froniher." 
 (17) " Let the Catholics," said In- 
 nocent III. in the Lateran Council, 
 " who, after taking the sign of the cross, 
 devote themselves to the externiinatiou 
 of heretics, enjoy the same indulgence, 
 and be protected with the same privilege, 
 which is granted to those who go to the 
 succour of the Holy Land." 
 
 (IS) a ,( filing ^fii^l (i),i(,g (,j^(/ ^]^g (Ji'Dul. 
 
 ing of a time " (ver. 2G). Some have 
 understood by this only an indefinite 
 though lengthened period. So Calvin, 
 who applied the prophecy to the per- 
 
nOMlLETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 secutioiis under Nero and other Roman 
 emperors. By the " dividing" or half of 
 a time he understood the shortening of 
 the period for the elect's sakes. BuUin- 
 ger viewed it as a definite time fixed by 
 God, but known only to Himself, Q]]co- 
 lampadius understood half aweek orthree 
 days and a half, God thus shortening 
 the time. Osiander regarded it aa three 
 and a half prophetic years or 1278 
 solar years, during which the rule of 
 Mahometanism, commencing in the year 
 613, should continue. Jerome, and 
 Roman Catholic writers after him, un- 
 derstand it of three and a half literal 
 years, the period for the tyranny of 
 Antichrist before the end of the world. 
 Similarly other Futurists. Junius and 
 a few others applied it historically 
 to the time during which Antiochus 
 Epiphanes persecuted the Jews. Joseph 
 Mede was " the well-known reviver of 
 the year-day theory. Before his time 
 it was a vague assertion ; he first gave 
 it shape and form, and plausible con- 
 sistency. Since his day it has been 
 adojjted by many intelligent critics, 
 among whom are Sir Isaac Newton, 
 Bishop Newton, Faber, Frere, Keith, 
 and Birks." — I'ranslators Preface to 
 Calvin on Daniel. Professor Lee refers 
 the expression to " the latter half (mys- 
 tically speaking) of the seventieth week 
 of our prophet" (ch. ix.) ; that week of 
 seven days being equivalent here to 
 Ezekiel's period of seven years. Pro- 
 fessor Bush says, " The grand j)rinci2)le 
 into which the usage of a day for a year is 
 to be resolved is that of miniature symbo- 
 lisation." Mr. Brooks {Elements of Pru- 
 jyhetic Interpretation) says, "The literal 
 meaning of a ' time ' is a year ; and the 
 expression in ver. 2o may signify, mys- 
 tically, if calculated by lunar time, a 
 period of 1260 years." Mr. Bickersteth 
 {Piadical Gnide to the ProjJiecies) says, 
 " The time, times, and half a time, 
 the forty and two months and 1260 
 daj's, are the same interval ; the time, 
 times, and half a time of Daniel and 
 the Revelation are the same period ; a pro- 
 phetic day is a natural year, as three and 
 a half times are the half of seven times, 
 the whole season of Gentile power, and the 
 iame with the 'latter time.s ' of St. Paul." 
 
 lie thinks the three and a half times 
 began with Justinian's Code in 532-5.33. 
 "By this edict (of Justinian)," says Mr. 
 Irving, " ecclesiastical power over the 
 faith of the West and against the saints 
 who dwelt there was given to the Bishop 
 of Rome, which imperial edicts being 
 seconded by the imperial arms, brought 
 to nothing the heretical powers who 
 might have opposed his entering into 
 possession. In twenty years from that 
 date he ordered heretics to be burned 
 by the temporal powers — the first indica- 
 tion of that mixture and combination of 
 powers, civil and ecclesiastical, which is 
 the proper character of the whole period. 
 Then, also, mass was introduced. In 
 sixty years he had made such great 
 strides towards absolute supremacy, that 
 in the reign of Gregory the Great, who 
 resisted the Bishop of Constantinople's 
 supremacy, were introduced purgatory, 
 invocation of saints, expiations by 
 masses, lustrations of the Blessed Virgin, 
 and the celibacy of the clergy was 
 attempted. In seventy years he ob- 
 tained from the emperor the sole title 
 of Universal Bishop. In little more 
 than a century the service was performed 
 in Latin, and the ignorance of the people 
 sealed. In two centuries the Pope had 
 obtained the pride and power to excom- 
 municate the Emperor of the East for 
 prohibiting image-worship." Dr. Cox 
 thinks that "the computation must be 
 made from the period when the Little 
 Horn or ecclesiastical power of the 
 Church of Rome should arise;" and that 
 " that application of the propliecy is 
 most probable which fixes on the time 
 Avhen, by the decree of Pliocas, the 
 Roman Pontiff was constituted Uni- 
 versal Bishop and supreme head of the 
 Church." This was in the year of our 
 Lord 606. Some students of pro- 
 phecy see in the term " times," «fec., 
 the half of the period of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar's humiliation and insanity, sym- 
 bolical of the time (2520 years) during 
 which the covenant people should be 
 under the dominion of the Gentile 
 monarchies as the chastisement of their 
 unfaithfulness, this period having 
 different crises as stages of commence- 
 ment. Of these, Mr. Guiniie>s {Ap- 
 133 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 proachincj End of the Age) mentions 
 four, from the invasion of Pul, king of 
 Assyria, iu 770 B.C., to the final fall of 
 the throne of David and full captivity 
 of Judah under Nebuchadnezzar iu 602. 
 These stages of commencement have 
 corresponding terminations, the first 
 being iu 1750, the period of Voltaire, 
 and the last in 1918, yet to come. It 
 was during the latter half of these 
 mystical "seven times" that the Little 
 Horn was to have power over the saints, 
 the case of Israel being bound up with 
 that of the Christian Church, which 
 was to be under captivity by the same 
 power that was to tyrannise over Israel, 
 namely, the last of the four beasts. See 
 farther the note under chap. xii. 7. 
 
 (1^) The spiritual power of the Papacy 
 may, of course, have a different period 
 for its termination, and outlive the 
 temporal, which constituted it the Little 
 Horn. Mr. Bosanquet remarks : " We 
 see no room left for doubt that these 
 1260 years mark the duration of the 
 Papal power. The temporal power 
 of the Papacy seems to be vanishing 
 before our eyes, if indeed it has not 
 already ceased to exist [it has apparently 
 done so, namely, in 1870], but how 
 long the spiritual power shall be allowed 
 to linger on in the ancient seat of its 
 dominion, is a question to be solved by 
 time. Wherever we may be disposed to 
 fix the date of its commencement, it is 
 clear that the time of expiration cannot 
 be very far remote." Some, however, 
 date from the eighth century. *' I'rom 
 the time," says Bishop Newton, "of 
 Pepin's grant of Aistulph's dominions 
 in 755, the popes, having now become 
 temporal princes, did no longer date 
 their epistles and bulls by the year of 
 the Emperor's reign, but by the year of 
 their own advancement to the Papal 
 chair. Charles the Great, son and 
 successor of Pepin, confirmed the grant, 
 adding other territories, and giving the 
 Pope to hold under liimself the duchy 
 of Ptome, over which lie gradually 
 obtained the absolute authority, being 
 about the same time declared superior 
 to all human jurisdiction, while Charles 
 iu return was chosen Emperor of the 
 West. Lewis the Pious, .son and suc- 
 131 
 
 cessor to Charles the Great, confirmed 
 the donations of his father and grand- 
 father, including Eome and its duchy, 
 the popes to hold them in their own 
 right, principality, and dominion to 
 the end of the world." " It should 
 seem," adds the Bishop, " that the 
 ' time, times,' &c., are to be computed 
 from this full establishment of the powei 
 of the Pope in the eighth century." 
 Gibbon speaks of Gregory I., who 
 wrote so defiantly against the Emperor 
 Leo about images in the eighth century, 
 as the founder of the Papal monarchy ; 
 and Miliier says, " From this time I 
 look on the Pope of Rome as Antichrist." 
 
 (-0) One of the effects of the Revolu- 
 tion in 1792-3 was the destruction of 
 the established religion in France, the 
 chief support of the Papacy. As the 
 edict of Justinian in 533 might be said 
 to be the beginning of the Little Horn as 
 a temporal power, and the givhig of the 
 saints into his hand, though its full 
 growth was not for some time after, so 
 the commencement of his fall as such, 
 and the deliverance of the saints from his 
 hand, might be dated from the French 
 Revolution, though not to be completed 
 till several years afterwards. The Con- 
 vention, which met on the 20th Septem- 
 ber 1792, first decreed the eternal aboli- 
 tion of monarchy, and on the seventh 
 day of its sitting, it was proposed by JNI. 
 !Mauuel that, as royalty was abolished, 
 the order of priests and all religious 
 establishments should be abolished with 
 it. This, however, was only done on the 
 31st of ]\Iay in the following year, when 
 the success of the Jacobin conspirators 
 completed the destruction of the civil 
 establishment of religion in France. On 
 the 17th of June the report of Camille 
 Jourdau on the freedom of religious 
 worship was ordered to be printed by 
 the unanimous vote of the Council of 
 Five Hundred. 
 
 ('-^) It was the belief of the Early 
 Church that the little horn of Daniel and 
 the " Man of Sin " spoken of by Paul 
 (2 Thess. ii.) was the same Antichrist, 
 who was even expected shortly to appear. 
 Justin Martyr says, " He being at hand 
 who was to si)eak blasphemous wordij 
 against the Most High, whom the pro- 
 
no Ml LET W COMMESTIRY : DAS I EL. 
 
 pliet Daniel foretold was to continue for 
 a time, times, &c." Tertullian, referring 
 to 2 Tiiess. ii., says, " Who can this be 
 but the Roman State, the division of 
 which into ten kingdoms will bring on 
 Antichrist, and then the Wicked One 
 shall be revealed ? " Cyril, Bishop of 
 Jerusalem, about the year 3G0, referring 
 to the same passage, says, " Thus the 
 Iiredicted Antichrist will come when the 
 times of the Roman empire shall be ful- 
 filled, and the consummation of the world 
 shall approach. Ten kings of the Romans 
 shall rise together, in different places 
 indeed, but they shall reign at the same 
 time. Among them the eleventh is Anti- 
 christ, who by magical and wicked arti- 
 fices shall seize the Roman power,'' 
 Cyril believed that the apostasy or falling 
 away which was to precede the appear- 
 ance of the Man of Sin, or Antichrist, 
 had already taken place in his day, 
 " Formerly," he says, "the heretics were 
 manifest, but now the Church is filled 
 with heretics in disguise. For men have 
 fallen away from the truth, and have 
 itching ears. Is it a plausible theory ] 
 All listen to it gladl}'. Is it a word of 
 correction? All turn away from it. 
 Most have dej)arted from right words, 
 and rather choose the evil than desire 
 the good. This therefore is the falling 
 away, and the Enemy (Antichrist) is soon 
 to be looked for," 
 
 As yet probably they had no idea that 
 the Bishop of Rome was to be he ; for 
 his coming was to be a " mystery of ini- 
 quit}-," and *' mystery " was to be the 
 name of the system of which he was the 
 head, as the word is said to be actually 
 found on the Papal mitre. But a few 
 centuries awoke the suspicion. In the 
 
 Middle Ages it was believed by many 
 that the Anticlirist had already appeared 
 in the person of the Popes. In the 
 tenth century Arnulph, Bishop of Or- 
 leans, addressing a Council at Kheims, 
 said : " O deplorable Rome, who in thf 
 days of our forefathers produced so 
 many burning and shining lights ! thou 
 hast brought forth in our times only 
 dismal darkness worthy of the detesta- 
 tion of posterity. . , , What think you, 
 reverend fathers, of this man, the Pope, 
 placed on a lofty throne, shiiung with 
 purple and gold % Whom do you ac- 
 count him ? If destitute of love and 
 puffed up with pride of knowledge only, 
 he is Antichrist sitting in the temple of 
 God," It is said in a work published 
 in 1120, "The great Antichrist is al- 
 ready come ; in vain is he yet expected ; 
 already by the permission of God is he 
 advanced in years," Roman Catholic 
 writers, of course, refuse to believe that 
 the Papacy is " the Little Horn or Anti- 
 christ ;" and some few Protestants agree 
 with them in thiidving that that power 
 is still future ; while others, as the Ger- 
 man Rationalists, would see in it only 
 Antiochus Epiphanes, In reference to 
 this last opinion, it is enough to say, 
 with Auberlen, that the Little Horn is 
 found among the ten kingdoms of the 
 fourth beast or Roman Empire, while 
 Antiochus Epiphanes belonged to the 
 third or Grecian, which, according to 
 chap, viii., is well known to have been 
 divided, not into ten, but into four king- 
 doms. That the Roman Empire was 
 broken up into about ten different king- 
 d(uns many centuries ago, and that the 
 Papacy, as a temporal power, sprung up 
 among them, are facts not to be disputed. 
 
 nOMlLETICS. 
 
 ^ECT, XXY. — The Judgment of the Beast akd the Little Horn 
 (Chap. vii. 9-12, 20). 
 
 Hitherto we have not met with much difficulty in the way of interpretation. 
 Little room has been left either for doubt or hesitation. The case is somewhat 
 different now. We approach the region of unfulfilled prophecy, naturally more 
 difficult of interpretation, and leaving more room for mistake and difference of opi- 
 nion. The field is interesting and inviting, but demands caution in its investigation. 
 Tiie word of prophecy is given for our guidance and comfort, as a light sinning in 
 
no MI LET I C COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 a dark place. But we need the Spirit to interpret His own Word. " Open Tiiou 
 mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law." " In Thy light we 
 shall see light." "The Spirit searcheth all things, even the deep things of God," 
 and revealeth them unto us. " He knoweth what is in darkness, and the light 
 dwelleth with Him." It is His to reveal the " deep and secret things," and to show 
 us, as He has done in His Word, " things to come." We have before us a passage 
 of overwhelming grandeur and sublimity ; the description of a scene of awful solem- 
 nity. The passage exhibits the judgment-seat of God, with myriads of attendant 
 angels, and the infliction of pronounced doom on a large portion of the human race. 
 The judgment is not indeed, like that in Rev. xx., the general judgment, terminating 
 the reign of Christ and His saints on earth, and resembling in some of its features 
 the present one. It is rather the judgment on the fourth beast, or Roman Empire, 
 with its ten horns or kingdoms, and more especially the " Little Horn," whose pride, 
 persecution, and blasphemy are the special occasion of it. 
 
 I. The occasion of the judgment. This is distinctly said to be " the voice of 
 the great words which the horn spake" (ver. 11). So in the interpretation by the 
 angel it is said, " He shall speak great words against the Most High," &c. "But 
 the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his kingdom" (vers, 25, 26). He 
 was to wear out the saints of the Most High, who were to be " given into his hand for 
 a time, times, and the dividing of a time." That allotted period was to terminate, 
 and then the long-delayed judgment was to commence. That monstrous reign of 
 blasphemy against God and cruelty to His saints was to be allowed no longer. 
 " These things thou hast done, and I kept silence : thou thoughtest that I was alto- 
 gether such an one as thyself. But I will reprove thee, and set them in order be- 
 fore thine eyes." " Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe : come, get you 
 down, for the press is full, the fats overflow ; for the wickedness is great " (Ps. 1. 
 21 ; Joel iii. 13). The occasion of the judgment is the sayings and doings of the 
 Little Horn,W whose kingdom is therefore to be taken away ; and the beast, to whom 
 it belonged, of whose wickedness it was the concentration, and who had given to it 
 its power, aided and abetted its doings, and so had identified itself with it, is, with 
 its ten horns, to be slain, and its body " destroyed and given to the burning flame." 
 
 n. The circumstances of the judgment. "The thrones were cast (rather, 
 set or planted) down," &c. (-) (ver. 9). We have — 
 
 1. The judge. "The Ancient (or permanent) of days did sit." The expression 
 indicative of the Godhead, the I am, the everlasting and unchanging Jehovah, who 
 was, and is, and is to come. In ver. 13, the Father, or first person in the God- 
 head, appears to be meant ; here probably the Son, or second person, who in 
 virtue of His becoming the Son of Man has all judgment committed to Him (^). 
 " For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son, 
 and hath given Him power to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of 
 Man." "God shall judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath 
 ordained." " God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ." " He (Jesus 
 Christ) shall judge the quick and the dead at His ap[)earing and His kingdom." 
 Judgment, however, is the attribute and prerogative of Godhead. "God is Judge 
 Himself" (Ps. 1. 3-G). No other is capable of being so. Jesus occupies the 
 judgment-seat as Supreme Judge because He is God, the Ancient of days. This 
 character claimed by Jesus Himself. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning 
 and the end, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the 
 Almighty " (Rev. i. 8). Hence His ap[)earance at the same time identical with 
 tliat here given : "His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow, 
 and His eyes were as a flame of fire." Stupendous contrast with His aj^pearance 
 before Pilate's bar. Now the judge and the prisoner change places. 
 
 2. The throne. This was a " fiory flame," and its "wheels," on which it 
 appeared to rest, or rather to move, (') as " burning fire;" emblematic of searching 
 investigation, fiery indignation, swift judgment. An object of sui)reme terriblo- 
 
 136 
 
n OMILETIC COMMENT A R Y .- DA XI EL. 
 
 iiess like the representation in Ezek. i. 2G-28. Tlie throne correspoiKliiig with 
 the character of the judge. " Our God is a consuming fire." " His eyes were as a 
 flame of fire." *' Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire ? " Expressive 
 also of the object of the judgment, the infliction of punisliment or burning 
 vrath. It is "the great day of His wrath," the "wrath of the Lamb." "The 
 nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they 
 should be judged " (Rev. vi. IG, 17 ; xi. 18). "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed 
 from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them 
 that know not God," &c. (2 Thess. i. 7, 8). "A fire goeth before Him and burneth 
 up His enemies round about." It is the time of "judgment and fiery indign;ition, 
 that sliall devour txie adversaries" (Ps. xcvii. 3; Heb. x. 27). 
 
 3. The attendants. "Thrones." Not one throne, but many thrones. Tlic scene 
 in accordance with earthly tribunals, where the judge has his assessors (^). Apostles, 
 saints, and martyrs elsewhere represented as sitting on thrones, with judgment 
 given to them (Rev. xx. 4). The saints shall judge the world as assessors with 
 Christ (1 Cor. vi. 2). " When the Son of ilan shall sit on the throne of His glory, 
 ye also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel " (Matt. xix. 
 28). Innumerable angels also about the throne as the ministers of His justice. 
 "Thousand thousands ministered to Him." Angels employed as the executioners 
 of His justice. " He will say to His angels, Gather the tares into bundles to bum 
 them." He will come " with His mighty angels, taking vengeance." "The Sim 
 of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him " (Matt. xxv. 31). 
 llis angels to be employed in gathering "out of His kingdom all things tliat off"end 
 (all the stumbling-blocks), and them which do iniquity" (Matt. xiii. 41). His 
 ministers in inflicting judgments on the Little Horn and the apostate nations of 
 Christendom (Rev. xvi. 1). Hence their appearance here about the throne. 
 
 4. Tlie accompaniments. " A fiery stream issued and came forth from before 
 Him " (ver. 10). A further indication of the character and object of the judgment — 
 fieiy indignation. "It shall be very tempestuous round about Him" (Ps. 1. 3). 
 This probably indicative of and connected with the judgment to be inflicted on the 
 Beast, — "his body given to the burning flame ;" tlie earth, or as much of it as shall 
 be involved in the judgment, to be "burned up;" the elements to "melt with fervent 
 heat ; " the earth " reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdiiion of 
 ungodly men " (2 Pet. iii. 7, 10). 
 
 in. The judgment itself. "The books were opened" (ver. 10). The signi- 
 ficance and object of this indicated in the description given in the A[>ocalypse of 
 tlie general judgment, "The dead were judged out of the things that were written 
 in the books" (Rev. xx. 12). Reference to earthly courts and tlieir judicial pro- 
 ceedings, the names of the acccused, with the crimes laid to their charge, being 
 registered for examination ('^X Indicates the strict and impartial character of the 
 judgment. A constant observation exercised in regard to the doings of the enemies 
 of God and His people, and a full and accurate account preserved of them. All 
 the sayings and doings of the Little Horn recorded in the book ; all the great and 
 blasphemous words spoken against the Most High ; all the cruelties exercised by 
 him and the nations that submitted to his authority or were inspired by his 
 spirit; every blasphemous bull and persecuting edict that ever issued from the 
 Vatican ; every secret murder committed in the cells of the Inquisition ; every deed 
 of darkness and of blood perpetrated under the cloak and in the name of Clirist's 
 religion, all registered in those awful but truth-telling books. Words as well as 
 deeds preserved there for judgment. "By thy words thou shalt be justified, and 
 by thy words thou shalt be condemned." So Enoch testified before the Flood. 
 " Behold the Lord conieth to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that 
 are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly 
 committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken 
 against Him" (Jude 14, 15). Contrast with these records of ungodly words and 
 
CHAT. VII. IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DAXJEL. 
 
 deeds another book, — the book of life. " A book of remembrance was written 
 before Him of them that feared the Lord and that thought upon His name ; " of 
 those who chose, with Moses, " rather to suffer affliction wdth the people of God 
 than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season," and rather to go to the stake 
 or Lay down their heads on the block than prove unfaithful to God and His 
 truth. 
 
 IV. The consequences of the judgment. "The beast was slain, and his 
 body destroyed and given to the burning flame." " They shall take away his (the 
 Little Horn's) dominion, to consume and destroy it unto the end" (vers. 11, 2G). 
 In the vision itself it is the beast or fourth empire on which the judgment is repre- 
 sented as taking effect ; in the interpretation of the vision it is the Little HornW. 
 That horn thus identified with the beast, of which it was properly only a part. The 
 judgment falls on the beast for the words of the Little Horn, so entirely were they 
 one. The horn was only the concentration of the beast. The kingdoms of the beast, 
 or iioman Empire, are represented in the Book of Revelation as giving their power 
 to the beast (Rev. xvii. 16, 17), and we know, as a matter of fact, that that power 
 was long exercised in obedience to the will of the Little Horn and in carrying out 
 his persecuting edicts. When the Papacy delivered the heretic over to the civil 
 power, that power was obedient, and put him to death. Thus also armies were 
 raised for their extirpation. Justinian, in his celebrated edict, distinctly permitted 
 the Roman pontiff to " use the powers of the empire against whomsoever he deemed 
 heretical" The spirit of the Little Horn is the spirit of the kingdoms of the beast, 
 in so far as their subjects are not renewed by the Spirit of God. It is the 
 spirit of pride, vainglory, worldliness, and enmity against God, and so of enmity 
 against His saints. The judgment on the beast exi)ressed either literally or 
 figuratively, or both(-). A literal destruction by fire not unlikely. Rome, the 
 metropolis of the fourth beast, and seat of the Papacy or Little Horn, repeatedly 
 represented in the Book of Revelation as awaiting this judgment (Rev. xvii. IG, 17 ; 
 xviii. 8). That a wide-spread conflagration will form at least one part of the 
 judgment to be inflicted on the Papal kingdoms and those animated by the same 
 s[>irit of unbelief and rebellion against God, seems indicated in such places as 
 2 Thess. i. 8 and 2 Thess. ii. 8-12. According to Peter, the day of the Lord, 
 in which this judgment shall be executed, is accompanied with a fire by which 
 "the earth and the works therein shall be burned up" (2 Peter iii. 10). This 
 may possibly commence with Rome and Italy, and extend to the other nations. 
 It is well known that already beneath the sulphurous soil of Italy are subterranean 
 fires ready to break out at the bidding of their Creator, who keeps them in store for 
 His own purpose, like the fountains of the great deep, stored and then broken up 
 for the destruction of the old world, when its wickedness made it ripe for judg- 
 ment C*). Possibly the destruction may be indicated in ver. 12 as extending to 
 those countries that constituted the three preceding empires, Babylon, Persia, and 
 Greece, whose dominion was taken away, though " their lives were prolonged for 
 a season and a time "(i"). Of the Little Horn it is simply said that its dominion is 
 "taken away, to consume and destroy it unto the end." The Papacy was to cease 
 to be a temporal power apparently by slow degrees. So also the Apostle seems to 
 speak of the destruction of the ]\lan of sin (2 Tliess. ii. 8). This destruction 
 doubtless includes alike the temiioral and spiritual power of the Papacy, whatever 
 form it may assume. The total loss of the temporal power in 1870 may, perhaps, 
 be viewed as the completion of what began in 1793 in the French Convention, 
 and was furtiier advanced in 1798, when, iu the Campo Vaccine, the ancient 
 Roman Forum, the Pontifical Government was pronounced, in the midst of a large 
 concourse of people, to be at an end ; while on the following day fourteen cardinals, 
 in the Pope's absence, met iu the Vatican, and signed the absolute renunciation of 
 the temporal power("). This taking away of the temporal dominion of the Little 
 Horn seemed to be completed on the 20th of September 1870, when Rome was 
 138 
 
JIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 declared the capital of Italy, and made the seat of government by Victor 
 Emmanuel as its chosen kingO^), As a spiritual power, however, the Papacy has 
 still many millions in Europe and elsewhere subject to its sway. This, though it 
 may continue for some time longer to exercise its baleful influence in the souls of 
 men, must also ultimately perish. 
 
 V. The time of the judgment. As already observed, this is not the general 
 judgment at the termination of Christ's reign on earth, or, as the phrase is 
 commonly understood, the end of the world. It appears rather to be an invisible 
 judgment carried on within the veil and revealed by its effects and the execution 
 of its sentence (13)^ As occasioned by the "great words" of the Little Horn, and 
 followed by the taking away of his dominit)n, it might seem to have already sat. 
 As, however, the sentence is not yet by any means fullj' executed, it may be sitting 
 now. The deeds of the Little Horn may not yet be finished, though the temporal 
 power of the Papacy has apparently censed. A new and more terrible form may 
 jiossibly yet be assumed before its final and complete destruction shall take place 
 by the brightness of the Lord's appearing (2 Thess. ii. 2, 8) (^*). The words of 
 warning addressed by the Saviour have their application at the present time : 
 "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with 
 surfeiting and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and so that day come upon 
 you unawares : for as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on tiie face of 
 the whole earth. Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be counted 
 worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the 
 Son of Man." "Behold I come as a thief; blessed is he that watcheth, and 
 keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame" (Luke xxi. 
 34-3C; Eev. xvi. 15). 
 
 As suggested by the passage, Ave may notice — 
 
 1. It is onr comfort to hiow that there is a God that judgdh in the earth. Men 
 not w^orn out by tyranny, oppression, and persecution, without an eye being kept 
 upon their wrongs and the perpetrators of them. Flesh and sense ready at times 
 to say, " My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over by my 
 God." A sore trial for faith when the oppressor and persecutor prosper, and the 
 cause of truth and righteousness seems well-nigh crushed. But God oidy appears 
 to take no notice. Christ is in the ship, and though apparently asleep in the 
 storm, He will awake at the right time, at the cry of His people, rebuke the 
 oppressor's wrath, and change the storm into a calm. Patience is to have her 
 perfect work, that when we have done and suffered the will of God, we may 
 iidierit the promises. " He that shall come will come, and will not tarry." The 
 liour of deliverance shall arrive. The judgment will sit — is now indeed sitting. He 
 who is "higher than the highest" takes not His eye from the liaughty oppressor 
 and persecutor of His people, and will, when the proper time arrives, "awake to 
 the judgment which He has commanded." 
 
 2. Tlie infinite majesty of God eaid the avful consequences of His displeasure. 
 The Lord is a God of judgment. His eyes, which are as a flame of fire, behold, 
 and His eyelids try, the children of men. A fiery stream issues and goes forth 
 from before Him. "Who can stand when once He is angry? Our God is a con- 
 suming fire. Huw terrible to meet Hiiu as an adversary ! Yet sin makes Him 
 our adversary. Prepare, then, to meet thy God. Agree with thine adversary 
 quickly, whilst thou art in the way with Him. There is one, and only one, way 
 of doing so. The Jews, to be reconciled to their offended king, made Blastus, his 
 chamberlain, their friend. God has given His own Son as a sacrifice and Mediator, 
 that we may make Him our friend, accept of Him, and put our trust in Him, and 
 so be reconciled to God. This is God's own way for meeting Him. Blessed are 
 all they that put their trust in that provided Mediator. Such can see the fiery stream 
 that issues from before Him, ready to devour the adversaries, without alarm. ^ They 
 can iro forward to meet it singing, wiih the Apostle, "Who shall lay anything la 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 nOMILETlC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." Or, with Count Zinzendoif 
 ill the well-known hymn — 
 
 " Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness 
 Aly 1/eauty are, my glorious dress. 
 Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed, 
 With joy shall I lift up my head. 
 
 Bold shall I stand in that great day ; 
 For who aught to my charge shall lay? 
 Fully absolved through these I am, 
 From sin and guilt, from fear and shame." 
 
 3. The ivisdom of 2'>reparing for a jxulgment to come. Whatever may be tlie 
 case in regard to the judgment we have been considering, and whatever share we 
 may or may not have in it, it is certain that we must all appear before the judgment- 
 seat of Christ, to receive according to the things done in the body, wiiether good 
 or bad. " It is appointed unto men once to die, and after that tlie judgment." 
 Each must then give account of himself to God. For all these things God will 
 bring tliee into judgment. Are our works those of the flesh or of the Spirit? Are 
 they wrought in God or out of Him? Am I renewed or still unrenewed? Am I 
 pardoned and accepted now in the Surety, the Lord our Righteousness ? A place 
 in tlie New Jerusalem or the Gehenna of fire depends on the question. *' Blessed 
 are tliey that do His commandments, that they may have right to enter in through 
 the gates into the city ; " or, as the Revised Version reads, " Blessed are they that 
 wash their robes." This is the beginning of doing His commandments. "Come 
 now, let us reason together: tliough your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as 
 wool; though they be red as crimson, they shall be white as snow." Reader, the 
 fountain for sin and uncleanness is still open ; if not already washed, wash now, 
 and prepare for the judgment. "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth 
 us from all sin." Trust in that blood and be clean. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— O ''Be- 
 cause of the voice of the great ivords 
 which the horn sjmh'." The connection 
 between the depriving the Papacy of 
 its temporal dominions in 1870 and its 
 "great words" or blasphemous preten- 
 sions was remarkable. " In the same 
 year," said the Times of the period, " tlie 
 Papacy has assumed the highest spiritual 
 exaltation to which it could aspire, and 
 lost the temporal sovereignty whicli it 
 had held for a thousand years." The 
 exaltation referred to was the decree of a 
 General Council in Rome that the Popes 
 were infallible in matters of doctrine. 
 The circumstances attending the act 
 were also reniarhablc. Arrangements 
 had been made in the chamber wliere the 
 Council sat, that, by means of mirrors 
 suitably disposed, a glory exftressive of 
 divinity sliould ap[)ear to encircle the 
 Pope's head when the decree was passed. 
 Strange to say, however, as if to rebuke 
 the blasphemy and [)rochum tliat tlie 
 hour of doom had struck, the sun did 
 not shiiH' out that day; a violent storm 
 110 
 
 burst over Rome ; tlie sky was darkened 
 by tempest, and the voices of the 
 Council were lost in the roll of thunder. 
 Within a day or two after, the Franco- 
 German war was declared, which led to 
 the immediate withdrawal of the French 
 troops from Rome, and the consequent 
 fall of the Pope's temporal power, which 
 for several years they had served alone 
 to sujiport. Jerome, and Roman Ca- 
 tholic writers after him, understanding 
 the Little Horn to be the Antichrist that 
 should appear immediately before the 
 end of the world, view the judgment in 
 the text as taking jilace at tliat time in 
 his destruction. So Bullinger, O^colam- 
 padius, and Osiander, who regard the 
 fourth beast as either the Roman or 
 Turkish Empire ; while Willet, under- 
 standing the fourtli beast of the Greek 
 kingdom of the Seleucida?, applies the 
 passage to the first coming of Christ, 
 but typically also to the final judgment, 
 the judgment beginning with tlie first and 
 ending with the second coming of Christ. 
 Calvin also refers it to the latter j'criod. 
 
nOMlLETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 (2) " I'he thrones were cast down" 
 •Vpi (remioo), "were set up." Wintle : 
 " were pitclied." So the Sei^tuagirit, 
 Vulgate, and all tlie ancient versions, 
 as well as Morus, Castalio, Piscator, and 
 Calvin. The rendering also of Gesenius. 
 The word used by the Targums in Jer. 
 i. 15 for "they set." Keil has **they 
 were thrown," i.e., they were placed in 
 order quickly or with a noise. This 
 idea of haste or noise, however, dues not 
 seem necessarily included. Dr. Eule 
 prefers the rendering of the English 
 version, " were cut down," but under- 
 stands not the thrones of assessors, but 
 of the ten kings formerly mentioned, 
 which is unlikely. Keil, with most 
 interpreters, understands them as seats 
 for the assembly sitting in judgment 
 with God ; that assembly, iu his view, 
 consisting neither of the elders of Israel, 
 as the Ilabbins think, nor of glorified 
 men, as Hengstenberg (on Rev. iv. 4) 
 supposes ; but of angels, according to 
 P.s. Ixxxix. 8, " who are to be distin- 
 guished from the thousands and tens 
 of thousands mentioned in ver. 10 ; for 
 these do not sit upon thrones, but stand 
 before God as servants to fulfil His com- 
 mands and execute His judgments." 
 Hengstenberg's view, however, will pro- 
 bably appear to most the more correct 
 one. Lightfoot quotes from De Lyra : 
 "He saith 'thrones,' because not only 
 Christ shall judge, but the apostles and 
 perfect men shall assist." He adds, 
 " So the saints shall at the day of judg- 
 ment sit with Christ, and approve or 
 applaud His judgment." 
 
 (^) " 7'he Ancieiit of Days," r'P^' 
 P''^y ('atdq yoviin). Proft-ssor Bush, 
 after Cocceius and Michaelis, translates, 
 " permanent or enduring of days." Ktil 
 luis, " one advanced in days, very old," 
 and says this " is not the Eternal, for 
 although God is meant, yet Daniel does 
 not see the everlasting God, but an old 
 man or a man of grey hairs, in whose 
 majestic form God makes Himself 
 visible (cf. Ezek. i. 26). Mr. Irving 
 understood God the Father, coming 
 in His unstained holiness to judge tiie 
 arch-enemy of His Son and destroyer of 
 His people, and to prepare the way for 
 the coming of the Son of Man in the 
 
 clouds of heaven." So Dr. Piule. OEco- 
 lami)adius understood it of Christ, tiie 
 Lamb " shun from the foundation of 
 the world." So Dr. Cuniming. Wintle 
 understands the term P"'iny ('a(tiq) ac- 
 tively — "he that maketh the days old," 
 and applies it to Deity. 
 
 (^) "His wheels as burning fire." 
 Grotius remarks that the ancient thrones 
 and curule chairs had wheels. Those 
 in the text, being like " burning fire," 
 Dr. Cox observes, " prognosticate at 
 once the majesty of the Judge, pierc- 
 ing, penetrating, awful, and the rapid 
 progress of those providential visitations 
 which would bespeak the indignation 
 of a sin-avenging Deity." The fire- 
 scattering wheels, says Keil, " show 
 the omnipresence of the divine throne 
 of judgment, — the going of the judg- 
 ment of God over the whole earth." 
 He further observes : " Fire and 
 the shining of fire are the constant phe- 
 nomena of the manifestation of God 
 in the world. The fire which engirds 
 his throne with flame jiours itself forth 
 as a stream from God into the world, 
 consuming all that is sinful and hostile 
 to Him, and rendering His people and 
 kinL:dom glorious." 
 
 (^) " Thrones." From this represen- 
 tation of the judgment Piationalists have 
 raised an objecticni to the genuineness 
 of the book, as if it were borrowed from 
 the circumstances and customs of the 
 Persian court, while the prophecy pur- 
 ports to be given in the age of the last 
 Chaldean king. To this objection Heng- 
 stenberg replies, that every feature of 
 the picture can be pointed out in earher 
 writings of Scripture, as in Job i. and 
 ii. ; 1 Kings xxii. 19-22, So in Isaiali 
 vi. the principal angels are represented 
 as standing round the throne of Gud. 
 Dr. Cox thinks that the sitting of the 
 judgment, as thus prepared, has a clear 
 reference to the solemnities and general 
 construction of the Jewish Sanhedrim or 
 Great Council. Tiiis, however, probably 
 an institution of later times. 
 
 (<5) '■'■The hooks were opened." Heng- 
 stenbergderivesthefigurefrom the papers 
 of the judge, in which the names of the 
 criminals and their deeds are registered. 
 Keil considers the books those in whicii 
 
 in 
 
nOMlLETlC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 tlie actions of men are recorded. Jerome, 
 WiUet, and others understand them of 
 every one's conscience ; opened by God 
 to each, says OEcoIampadius, to see and 
 confess His justice. Bede strangely 
 regarded them as the Scriptures ; and 
 Calvin in like manner understands by 
 them the manifestation of the knowledge 
 of God to the world at the coming of 
 Christ by the preaching of the Gospel. 
 
 (") Jerome and expositors in general, 
 both Roman Catholic and Protestant, 
 think the destruction of Antichrist 
 and his members here meant. Calvin 
 understood the passage of the Roman 
 Empire when it began to decay after 
 Trajan ; but says that the slaying of the 
 fourth beast and the giving of the king- 
 dom and authority to the people of the 
 saints does not seenr to have been 
 accomplished yet, and that all Christian 
 interpreters agree in treating the pro- 
 phecy as relating to the final day of 
 Christ's Advent. Bui linger applies the 
 destruction of the fourth beast to the 
 ruin of the Papal kingdoms ; while 
 Osiander and CEcolampadins understand 
 the decay of the Turkish and Roman em- 
 pires together. Junius thinks onlj' of An- 
 tiochus Epiphanes, and Willet of the 
 whole kingdom of the Seleucidae. Irving 
 thinks that not only the Little Horn or 
 the Papacy is intended in the destruction, 
 but all its supporters, " Yea, the whole 
 beast of seven heads and ten horns, 
 which had listened to the great words 
 wliich it spake." Dr. Rule observes 
 that the prophet's beholding "until the 
 beast was slain," &c., appears to intimate 
 that the slaughter and the destruction 
 will be gradual, perhaps very slow. 
 
 (^) ' ' Given to the hurning flame. " " The 
 supposition that the burning is only the 
 figure of destruction, as, for example, in 
 Isa. ix. 4, is decidedly opposed by the 
 parallel passages, Isa. Ixvi. 14, which 
 J)aniel had in view, and Rev. xix. 20 
 and XX. 10, where this prophecy is again 
 taken up, and the judgment is expressed 
 by a being cast into a lake of fire with 
 everlasting torments." — KeU. 
 
 C) '■'■ TJiC hurnhig flame." "Thus 
 
 much being allowed from Scripture, let 
 
 us now return to nature again, to seek 
 
 out that part of the Christian world 
 
 142 
 
 that from its own constitution is most 
 subject to burning, by the sulphureous- 
 ness of it.«i soil and its fiery mountains 
 and caverns. This we easily find to be 
 the Roman territory or the country of 
 Italy, which, by all accounts, ancient 
 and modern, is a storehouse of fire ; as 
 if it was condenmed to that fate by God 
 and nature, and to be an incendiary, as 
 it were, to tiie rest of the world. And 
 seeing mystical Babylon, the seat of 
 Antichrist, is the same Rome and its 
 territory, as it is understood by most 
 interpreters of former and later ages, 
 you see both our lines meet in this point, 
 and that there is fairness on both hands 
 to conclude that at the glorious appear- 
 ance of our Saviour the conflagration 
 will begin at the city of Rome and the 
 Roman territory. Nature hath saved 
 us the pains of kindling fire in those 
 parts of the earth ; for since the memory 
 of man there have always been subter- 
 raneous files." — Barnefs^^ Sacred Theory 
 of the Earth.''' Dr. M'Cosh remarks in 
 an article in the British and Foreign 
 Evangelical Review for January 1881, 
 that an old fisherman, more than 1800 
 
 years 
 
 anticipated the doctrine of 
 
 modern science that the earth shall be 
 burned up. The following communica- 
 tion from Vienna, dated April 12, 1881, 
 appeared in the newspapers : " A rather 
 severe shock of earthquake took place 
 at the naval port of Pola and the sur- 
 lounding district this morning at a 
 quarter to ten o'clock. The earthquakes 
 at Agram and the more terrible calamities 
 at Cassamicciola (Ischia) and Chio, to- 
 gether with the increasing reports of 
 shocks in Switzerland, Italy, and Central 
 and South- Western Europe generall}-, are 
 facts which are attracting much attention 
 from Continental geologists." 
 
 (10) " Tlie rest of the beasts." Bishop 
 Newton observes regarding these: "They 
 are all still alive, though the dominion 
 of the fir.-st three is taken away. The 
 nations of Ciialdea and Assyria are still 
 the first beast; those of Media and 
 Persia are still the second beast ; those 
 of Macedonia, Greece, Thrace, Asia 
 Minor, Syria, and Egy[)t are still the 
 third beast ; and those of Europe on 
 this side of Greece are still the fourth." 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 CHAP, VIT. 
 
 Mr. ]\liles (Lectures on Daniel) remarks : 
 " They must all perish together ; the 
 three await the execution of marked 
 vengeance upon the fourtli. AVhen the 
 power of Kome shall be extinguished by 
 the glorious manifestation of the Re- 
 deemer, every secular kingdom shall 
 disappear." Dr. Cox thinks the mean- 
 ing to be that although these three mon- 
 archs were dispossessed of empire, " yet 
 their influence anJ impious principles 
 still continued to operate, notwithstand- 
 ing their temporal demolition." Keil 
 observes that " the death or disappear- 
 ance of the first three beasts is not ex- 
 pressly remarked, but is here first indi- 
 cated. These had their dominion taken 
 away one after another, each at its 
 appointed time, and their end is con- 
 nected with that of the last, as denoting 
 that in that hour, not merely the fourth 
 kingdom, but also the first three, the 
 whole world-power, is brought to an end 
 by the last judgment; the unfolding of 
 the world-power in its diverse phases is 
 exhausted, and the kingdom of God is 
 raised to everlasting supremacy." Dr. 
 Rule, however, says : " The sentence — 
 'And concerning the rest of the beasts, 
 &c.' — seems most naturally to relate to 
 them after the destruction of the fourth 
 empire ; for it continues the description. 
 It does not ai)pear to be simply an 
 account of what God had done afore- 
 time to those former empires, viz., that 
 ■when He took away their world-rule, 
 He left them in being as nations; but 
 of something which shall be after the 
 destruction of the fourth. This, however, 
 will be made clear when the timecomes." 
 (11) The history is thus related by M. 
 De la B^dolliere (Le Domaine de Saint 
 Pierre) : " The possessions that remained 
 to the Pope (in 1792) had for their limits 
 in the north, Venice and the Gulf of 
 Venice; in tlie east, the kingdom of 
 Naples; in tlie south, the Tuscan Sea; 
 in the west, the duchies of Tuscany, 
 Modena, Miraiidula, and Mentone. Thoy 
 were divided into twelve Legations or 
 provinces : the Compagna of Pome, 
 the Sabine country, the patrimony 
 of St. Peter properly so called, the 
 diiciiy of Castro, the province of 
 Orvieto, the province of Perouse, the 
 
 diichy of Spoleto, the duchy of Ur- 
 bino, the maich of Ancona, Roniagna, 
 P>ologna, and Ferrara. Tlie duchy of 
 Penvenuto and the principality of Ponte 
 Corvo were fiefs of the Cliurch. Of the 
 populations of these countries, some in- 
 clined to the principles of the Revolu- 
 tion in 1789, others were animated 
 with a fanatical hatred against Franco 
 and its doctrines." When,''in the month 
 of March 1796, General Buonaparte took 
 the command of the army of Italy, his 
 l)rompt conquests in the north " were 
 easy, for the majority of the population 
 was favourable to the French. The 
 reigning Pope, Pius VI, frightened at 
 the progress of the French army, soli- 
 cited an armistice. This was granted 
 him on hard conditions, whicli, however, 
 he ratified on the 23d of June 1796! 
 He gave up to France the Legations 
 of Boh)gna and Ferrara, the citadel of 
 Ancona, which he was to deliver up, and 
 all the coasts of the Adriatic Gulf from 
 the mouths of the Po to that citade', &c. 
 The Pope having broken the armistice, 
 the French troops immediately invaded 
 the domain of St. Peter, and took Fti- 
 enza, Fc.rli, and Ravenna ; after which 
 the Pope, in consternation, wrote to 
 Buonajjarte begging a treaty, which was 
 concluded at Tolleiitino on the 19th of 
 February, the Pope yielding in perpe- 
 tuity to the French Reiniblic all his 
 rights over the Legations of Boh)gna, 
 Ferrara, and Romagna, on condition that 
 it should be without any damage to the 
 Catholic religion, and handing over to 
 the treasurer of the French army ten 
 millions of livres in specie, and five mil- 
 lions in diamonds and other valuables. 
 In consequence of an emeute in Rome 
 on the 28th Decem))cr 1797, in whicli 
 the French General Dupiiot was killed, 
 Alexander Berthier, general-in-chief of 
 tiie French army in Italy, received 
 orders to take jiossession of RoTue, whicli 
 was done without striking a blow. On 
 the 6th of February 1798, the chiefs tf 
 the revolutionary movement pronounced, 
 in the name of a large concourse of 
 people assembled in the Campo Vaccino 
 (the ancient Forum), the fall of the Pon- 
 tifical Government, and proclaimed tlie 
 Republic. The Po^ie dm iiiL' these events 
 143 
 
aOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 kept bimself concealed ; but the canli- 
 ii;ils, having met in the Vatican, had 
 signed their absolute renunciation of the 
 temporal power ; and on the 7th of 
 February fourteen among them attended 
 at a solemn Te Deum,sung in the Church 
 of St. Peter, with all the pomp of Ca- 
 tholicism, to celebrate the revolution 
 which took away the throne from the 
 he.Kl of the Catholic Church." 
 
 (1-) The French Catholic paper 
 L' Cnivers, commenting on the debate 
 on Rome in the French Assembly (July 
 1871), says : " All our hopes have been 
 disai)pointed ; in the only nation on 
 ■which the Papacy could count the last 
 supi)ort fails it. Humanly speaking, 
 all is over." The "Roman correspondent 
 of the Daily Neivs says about the same 
 time : " The Pope is twitting the more 
 Ultramontane of the venerable members 
 of the Sacred College, those who have 
 been urging him to pursue reactionary 
 courses, after the following fashion : — 
 'You see what it has all come to — just 
 as I told you, just as I never ceased to 
 predict. You insisted on my abjuring 
 my early liberal policy, and now you 
 see the result. It is by you that such 
 calamities have been brought on the 
 Church and on the world.'" On June 
 20 the Pope held a consistory, in which 
 lie said, " We are, my very dear brothers, 
 in the hands of Divine Providence; we 
 have nothing to expect from human 
 aid, for man has abandoned us. Why 
 sliould we dissemble? It is better I 
 sliould. t; 11 you, that kings and govern- 
 ments, forgetting their promises, leave 
 us to our fate. . . . We can hope for no 
 help from any quarter. We have done 
 all that was in our power, but our efforts 
 have failed. All is over. Only a 
 miracle can save us." The republican 
 (xoverninent of Franco, tlie country that 
 formerly was the great support of the 
 Papacy, in the latter end of 1880 passed 
 and executed a decree which not only 
 banished the Jesuits from the country, 
 but closed the convents of most of tiic 
 religious orders in France, in all twenty- 
 nine, witli about tliree thousand six 
 hundred members, in addition to the 
 two thousand four hundred and sixty 
 Jesuits who were cx[)elled. 
 
 (^3) " These passages (Rev. iv. 2, 4 ; 
 V. 11 ; xi. 15-17), and others like them," 
 says Archdeacon Harrison, "show how, 
 in the visions of prophecy, the throne of 
 judgment of the everlasting King is in 
 some sense ever at hand, ready to be 
 revealed, and its unseen processes of 
 judgment ever going on; though at 
 certain times — and more awfully, we 
 may believe, as the 'mystery of ini- 
 quity ' in its varied forms unfolds itself 
 and the end of the world draws near — 
 the spirit of prophecy, or the hand of 
 Providence, draws back the veil, and 
 exhibits the awful scene which Daniel 
 saw in vision." 
 
 (1**) Materials sekhnu long wanting 
 for such a development. It was believed 
 by many that the first Napoleon was 
 to perform the role of the final or infidel 
 Antichrist. The same thing was antici- 
 pated by some regarding his nephew, 
 the late Emperor, w^ho professed to 
 l)ossess the spirit of his uncle, and to 
 have a peculiar destiny to fulfil. The 
 anticipations have not been fulfilled in 
 either case. Such a development, how- 
 ever, can soon be made to ajjpear if 
 the word of prophecy and the pur- 
 pose of God require it. The following 
 lately appeared in the WeeUi/ Review: 
 " Whether you talk to Parisians or to 
 Frenchmen in the provinces about the 
 political prospects, nine times out of 
 ten there will be the shrug of the 
 shoulders and the remark that history 
 repeats itself ; and the last decades of 
 the nineteenth century, Lke the last 
 decades of the eighteenth, wdl be a 
 jicriod of anarchy and revolution. . . . 
 The Republic itself shows signs of weak- 
 ness, and moderate men of all parties 
 are anxious. It is said that the execu- 
 tion of the decrees against the religious 
 orders lias done some harm to tlie 
 Republic. . . . After tiie way in which 
 M. Victor Hugo has lauded Voltaire, it 
 would, perhaps, have been discreet to 
 have tolerated even the Jesuits for a 
 time, rather than to have given the 
 Anti-Republicans the pretext for assert- 
 ing that the lleiuiblic is antagonistic 
 to religion. But the changes of ministry 
 is the Jiiost menacing feature. ... It 
 is incontestable that M. Gambetta has 
 
110 MI LET IC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 made and unmade Ministries. He has if he is to be the chief of a Republic, 
 
 power without official responsibility, and If M. Gambetta wins by the sole or 
 
 that is always perilous. . . . Unfortunately main support of the Ileds, his tenure of 
 
 moderate men are becoming distrustful, the highest position is not likely to be 
 
 and M. Gambetta may be compelled to long or beneficial to France." 
 rely upon the extreme section, the Reds, 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 Sect. XXVI. — The Kingdom of the Son of Man (Chap. vii. 13, 14). 
 
 We come now to what is perhaps the most glorious part of the visions of Daniel, 
 or even of the prophetic Word in general. We have here the plain and fulJ 
 announcement of that which constitutes the burden of the prophets from the 
 beginning — the kingdom of God upon earth, the establisliing of which in the place 
 of the kingdom which God's adversary had introduced into the world was the 
 great object of the incarnation of the Son of God, In another }>art of his pro- 
 phecies Daniel speaks of "the sufferings of Christ" (chap, ix.) ; here it is "the 
 glory that should follow" (1 Pet. i. 11). It is "the mystery of God according to 
 the good tidings which He declared to His servants the prophets," which the trumpet 
 of the seventh angel was to introduce (Rev. x. 7, U.V.) It is "the times of 
 refreshing from the presence of the Lord," and of " the restoration of all tilings, 
 whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the 
 world began" (Acts iii. 19, 21, R.V.) It is the consummation which John heard 
 rapturously celebrated by the great voices in heaven when the seventh angel 
 sounded, " The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of 
 His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. xi. 15, R.V.) We have in 
 these and the followuig verses the detailed account of the kingdom of the Son of 
 Man, in its character, extent, and duration, as succeeding to and taking the place 
 of the kingdoms of this world, including the dominion exercised by the Little Horn 
 or Papal power. "The coming of Christ in His kingdom and glory," says Archdeacon 
 Harrison, " is in truth that great and final consunimatiou for which the whole 
 course of God's moral government hath been ordered from the very beginning of 
 the world's history; and every successive stage in the fall of earthly power is, in 
 its degree, a fuller manifestation of the glory with which the Almighty would 
 invest His incarnate Son, exalted in His human nature as the Son of Man to 
 supreme dominion." In the sublime and magnificent passage before us we 
 have — 
 
 I. The establishment of the kingdom and the installation of the Son of 
 Man as its King (ver. 13). "One like the Son of Man came with the clouds of 
 heaven and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him before Him : and 
 there was given Him dominion and glory and a kingdom." The kingdom is the 
 donation of the Ancient of Days, here doubtless indicating the Father. " I appf)int 
 unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me" (Luke xxii. 29). 
 Christ's words to" His Father at the close of His earthly ministry were, " Thou hast 
 given Him power over all flesh ; " and to His disciples before His ascension into 
 heaven He said, " All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth " (John xvii. 
 2 J Matt, xxviii. 18). God " hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name that is 
 above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow," &c. (Phil. ii. 
 10). This donation of the kingdom is represented in Scripture as made to the Son 
 of Man, or to the Son of God as the Son of Man, in virtue of His having become such 
 in obedience to the will of God the Father, for the redemption of a lost world, and 
 as the reward for the completion of that redeeming work given Him by the Father 
 to do (John xvii. 4, 5; V. 27 ; vi. 38; x. 17, 18; Phil. ii. 7-10; Ps. xl. 6-8; Ita. 
 
 K 145 
 
UOMILETIC COMMEyTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 liii, 10-12). The text exhibits the solemn installation of the Son of Man or tlie 
 Messiah into His kingdom, in the presence of assembled angels who attend Him 
 as He comes forward, to receive tlie kingdom at the hands of His Father. The 
 passage has its parallel in Ps. Ixviii. 17, 18, "The chariots of God are twenty 
 thousand, even thousands of angels," &c. The Son of Man is represented as coming 
 to the Ancient of Days " with the clouds of heaven" 0). This passage recalls 
 the ascension of Jesus ; angels attended Him as He went up to heaven, while a 
 cloud received Him out of His disciples' sight (Acts i. 9, 10); To that event also 
 the psalm just quoted appears to refer, " Thou hast ascended up on high." The 
 text might indeed be regarded as descriptive of the time when the Lord Jesus, 
 having finished the work given Him to do, went up to receive His reward at the 
 hands of His well-pleased Father, and has by some been referred to that event. 
 Doubtless such a public, solemn donation and installation in the presence of the 
 angels of God then took place, " Angels and authorities and powers being then 
 made subject to Him " (1 Peter iii. 22). The exaltation and the gift of the supreme 
 name with universal dominion is also represented by the Apostle as past (Phil. ii. 10), 
 The nobleman in the parable (Christ Himself) was to go into the far country to 
 receive for Himself a kingdom and then to return (Luke xix. 12). The text, 
 however, has been applied by Christ Himself not to His going up to heaven, but 
 to His coming down from heaven, visibly and in glory : " Hereafter ye shall see 
 the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of 
 heaven" (Matt. xxvi. 61). (2) The reference to the words of Daniel is obvious; 
 and no less so the reference to His own second and glorious Advent. The text 
 evidently so understood by the apostles. Hence the words of the Apocalypse, 
 " Behold He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they also that 
 pierced Him " (Rev. i. 7). The prophecy might indeed include both. Both were 
 connected by the two angel-messengers on the Mount of Olives : " Ye men of 
 Galilee, why stand ye here gazing up into heaven ? This same Jesus, who is taken 
 from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go up 
 into heaven" (Acts i. 11). He went up with clouds; He will come again with 
 clouds. He went to receive the promised kingdom ; He will come again to set up 
 that kingdom in its glorious manifestation ; for the time when He shall come to 
 "judge the quick and the dead " is " at His appearing and His kingdom " (2 Tim. 
 iv. 1). It is true that in the text He is said to come not from heaven to earth, but 
 to the Ancient of Days ; but as the passage was obviously understood by the 
 Saviour and His apostles to point to His glorious return, we have only to suppose 
 that He comes to His Father previous and preparatory to His descent to earth. 
 It is also to be observed that the event in the text is posterior to and in consequence 
 of the great words of the Little Horn, and in connection with the judgment occasioned 
 by them, and the destruction of the fourth beast which follows it. Here, as in the 
 vision of the Great Image, the destruction of the world-kingdoms and the setting 
 up of the kingdom of Messiah are brought together. It was when the stone smote 
 the image, so that it was broken in piece.", and became as the chaff of the summer 
 threshing-floor, that it became a mountain and filled the whole earth ; the kingdom 
 of Messiah taking the place of the kingdoms of this world, according to Rev. 
 xi, 15. The vision miglit indeed seem to intimate that the destruction of the 
 fourth beast and its little horn was effected by the Son of Man Himself, who, for 
 the execution of this part of His work, is conducted to Ilis Father to receive 
 the kingdom, in order to set it up in its glorious manifestation (•''). Thus the 2d 
 Psalm represents the J^essiah, God's anointed King over Zion, as receiving this 
 commi.ssion and promise from the Father, "Ask of me, and I will give Thee the 
 heathen (the nations of the world) for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of 
 tiie earth for Tiiy possession. Thmi shalt break them with a rod of iron ; Thou 
 shalt dash them in jjieces like a potter's vessel" (Ps. ii. 8, 9). The 110th Psalm 
 represents Him as first exalted to His Father's right hand, and then "smiting 
 14G 
 
nOMILETlC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 througlx kings in tlie day of His wrath," and wounding " the heads over many 
 countries." Isaiah sees Him coming from Bozrah with garments dyed in the blood 
 of His enemies (Isa. Ixiii. 1). In the Apocalypse it is after "the battle of the 
 great day of God Almighty," and the destruction of His combined adversaries in 
 Armageddon, that the thousand years' reign of righteousness and peace under 
 Himself and His saints is seen to commence (Rev, xix. 11-21 ; xx. 4). 
 
 II. The reality of the kingdom. It is something given to Him by the Father. 
 That something is called "dominion, and glory, and a kingdom." As the result of 
 it, "peoples and nations and languages" were to "serve Him." The gift was as 
 truly a kingdom as any of those that preceded it ; as that, for example, which GoJ 
 "gave" to Nebuchadnezzar. It is represented as properly a fifth universal 
 monarchy, abolishing and taking the place of the fourth, as that did in regard to 
 its predecessor. As a kingdom or monarchy, it has, like the rest, its Ruler, its 
 subjects, its laws, its administration. It is a kingdom or monarchy rather than a 
 republic; for it has one Head or Ruler, the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings 
 and Lord of lords; and yet it is also true that the kingdom is given to "tiie 
 people of the saints of the Most High," who shall reign along with Him (vers, 18, 
 22, 27), The difference between this kingdom and those that preceded it is in 
 its origin, its character, its blessings, its objects, its extent, and its duration, 
 
 IIL The Head of the kingdom. This distinctly sai^l to be the Son of Ttlan. 
 No question as to who this is. The title constantly appropriated by the Lord 
 Jesus, though not given to Him by His disciples. The title given also to the 
 Messiah in Ps. Ixxx, 17. His title in virtue of His incarnation, marking Him 
 truly man while He is as truly God, The Son of Man and Son of God in one 
 ])erson. The Son of Man par excellence. Pre-euiiuently the Man, The new 
 Head and representative of humanity. The second Adam, taking the place of the 
 first root and father of the race, by whom it fell. The sovereignty over creation 
 given to man lost in the first Adam and regained in the second (Ps, viii, ; Heb, 
 ii, 8, 9), Sin and death our inheritance through the first man, righteousness and 
 life through the second, called the Son of Man (Rom. v, 12, 17; 1 Cor, xv. 21, 22). 
 As Jesus declared Himself before the high priest to be the Son of Man of v/honi 
 Daniel spoke in the text, so before Pilate He declared Himself to be a King, and 
 the King of the Jews, though His kingdom was not then of this world (John xviii. 
 36, 37). The world's blessedness is in this, that at length it shall be under the 
 rule of the Son of Man as its King, the King of righteousness and Prince of 
 peace, the Son of Man and yet the Mighty God^ the Ruler for whom it has 
 siglied for nearly six thousand years. 
 
 IV, The time of the kingdom. This appears to be plainly indicated as 
 immediately succeeding the destruction of the fourth beast or Roman Empire with 
 its ten kingdoms and little horn. The kingdom of the Son of Man, although set 
 up in its commencement in the days of the fourth or last empire (chap. ii. 44), yet 
 is obviously intended to be the successor, and to take the i)lace of, the four great 
 monarchies. That Christ began to exercise His regal office immediately after His 
 ascension, and hiis been doing so ever since, there can be no doubt. The founda- 
 tion of His visible kingdom in the world seems to have been laid on the day of 
 Pentecost, when, after the descent of the Spirit, the apostles declared, "Therefore 
 let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath mnde that same Jesu.<, 
 whom ye have crucifipd, both Lord and Christ" (Acts ii. 33). The kingdoiii, 
 however, was perhaps then, and still is, rather in its preparation than in its mani- 
 festation and glory. The nobleman is receiving the kingdom in the far countr}'. 
 Thus Paul connects the kingdom that is in its full development and glory 
 Avith His appearing when He shall judge both quick and dead (2 Tim, iv. 1). 
 It is "in the regeneration," or renewed state of the world, that "the Son of Man 
 shall sit on the throne of His glory," and the apostles shall " sit also on throne-, 
 judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Mult. xix. 28, R.V.) During thi3_time of 
 
 147 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 preparation, the dispensation of the Gospel, those were to be gathered out who, 
 after overcoming ia the fight of faith, sljali sit with Christ on His throne, and 
 receive from Him authority over the nations to rule them, as He ;ilso has received 
 of His Father (Rev. ii. 2G, 27 ; iii. 21). The times of the Gentiles are to be 
 fulfilled, and Israel is to be brought to receive in penitence their rejected king, 
 before the times of refreshing can come from the presence of the Lord, and God cau 
 send again Jesus, whom till then the heavens were to receive (Acts iii. 19-21, R.V.) 
 Then, according to the prophet, shall the Lord of hosts " reign in Mount Zioii and 
 in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously" (Isa. xxiv. 21-23). In this sense 
 believers still have to pray, "Thy kingdom 'Come," or, in the words that have for 
 centuries been uttered at the open grave, that the Lord would " shortly accomplish 
 the number of His elect and hasten His kingdom." 
 
 V. The place of the kingdom. This is obviously the earth, the place of the 
 preceding monarchies. The kingdom is said to be not in heaven, but " under the 
 whole heaven" (ver. 27). It is peoples, nations, languages, and dominions {marg., 
 rulers) that are to serve and obey Him (vers. 14, 27). But these only have their 
 place and existence as such on earth. The expectation of the saints now in glory 
 is that they shall reign with Christ on the earth (Rev. v. 10 ; xx. 4). It is the 
 kingdoms of the world that are to become "the kingdom of our Lord and of 
 His Christ" (Rev. xi. 15). The stone, when become a great mountain, was to 
 fill the whole earth. The earth, made to be inhabited by man, but seized and 
 held by the great usurper, to be rescued and restored by the second Adam as the 
 special seat and sphere of His kingdom. The earth not to be annihilated at His 
 coming, but purified and delivered ''from the bondage of corruption" (Rev. viii, 
 21). " We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a ne^\ earth, wherein 
 dwelleth righteousness " (2 Pet. iii. 13). God's sending back Jesus connected with 
 "times of refreshing" to the earth (Acts iii. 19, R.V.) 
 
 VI. The administration of the kingdom. While the Son of Man is the sole 
 Head of the kingdom, it is said at the same time, more than once, to be ** given 
 to the people of the saints of the Most High" (vers. 14, 22, 27). These intended 
 to be associated with Christ, and to administer the kingdom under Him Christ's 
 renewed people, as made one with Him, are, as kings and priests, to reign with 
 Him ill His manifested kingdom and glory. "If we sufTer with Him, we shall 
 also reign with Him" (1 Tim. iL 12). "He that overcometh, to him will I give 
 authority over the luitions, and he shall rule them, even as I received of my 
 Father." "To him will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also over- 
 came, and am set down with my Father in His throne" (Rev. ii. 2G, 27; iii. 21). 
 The saints shall judge the world and even angels (1 Cor. vL 2, 3). Of the 
 execution of future judgment the Psalmist says, "This honour have all the 
 saints" (Ps. xlix. 9). The words addressed to the faithful servant in the parable 
 in accordance with the general teaching of the Scripture, " Have thou authority 
 over ten cities " (Luke xix. 17) (■*). 
 
 VII. The character of the kingdom. This gathered, first, from the fact that 
 Christ is its King and Head, and that tlie Siiints of the Most High are associated 
 with Him in the administration of it ; and, secondly, from the fact that all peoples 
 and nations, with their rulers, shall serve and obey Him (vers. 14, 27). The King 
 is at once King of righteousness and King of peace, holy, harmless, and unde- 
 filed, meek and lowly in heart. Those who reign or administer with and under 
 Him are saints — saints of the Most High ; holy, as He is holy ; persons who were 
 once sinners, but by almighty grace have been transformed into the image of 
 the King. Such a kingdom must render earth a paradise restored, a kingdom 
 in whicii love reigns instead of selfishness and hate, righteousness instead of 
 injustice and wrong, truth instead of falsehood and deceit, humility instead 
 of pride and vainglory, purity instead of licentiousness and lust. " Wisdom 
 and knowledge shall be the stability of His times, and the strength of salva- 
 
 148 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 tion " (Tsa, xxxiii. 6). The Canaanite no more in the house of the Lord. 
 God's house no more made a place of merchandise or a den of tliieves. The pro- 
 fession of religion no more, or with rare exceptions, dissociated from its possession. 
 " Holiness to the Lord" inscribed on the horse-bridles. Every pot in Jerusalem 
 and in Judah holiness to the Lord of liosts. Superstition and formality gone, the 
 incense of loving praise and the pure offering of renewed hearts everywhere pre- 
 sented. Social life entirely changed and purified. Christian governments sucli in 
 reality, instead of being only so in name. Kings the nursing fathers and their 
 queens the nursing mothers of the Church, instead of being, as frequently before, 
 its persecutors and oppressors. Nations will live in peace and loving brotherhood 
 with each other. Weapons of war will be turned into implements of liusbandry, 
 and the art of it forgotten C'). Converted Israel will not be grudged his place as 
 the head of the nations,('^) while Jesus still retains His title, " The King of the 
 Jews." Adequate means for the accomplishment of so great and glorious a cliango 
 in the world provided in the Si)irit that, according to the pronuse, shall be poured 
 out, not only on Israel, but upon all iiesh (Zech. xii. 10 ; Joel ii. 28, »fec.), of which 
 the blessed effusion at Pentecost, with its mighty results, was but the first-fruits 
 (Acts ii. ; Rom. viii. 23; James i. 18). All things that offend or cause to 
 stumble gathered out of the kingdom, and Satan, the deceiver of the nations, 
 bound for a thousand years (Matt. xiii. 41 ; Rev. xx. 2). The work of conversion ap- 
 parently to be aided by the judgments that shall have preceded it (Ps. xlvi. 8-10)(''). 
 Vin. The extent of the kingdom. Repeatedly declared to be universal. 
 More truly so than any of its predecessors. The earth to be filled with the know- 
 ledge of the Lord. Men everywhere to be blessed in Christ, and all nations to 
 call Him blessed. Each individual not necessarily regenerated. Religion universally 
 professed, and generally, though not universally, experienced. As the kingdom 
 advances and spreads, the unregenerate maii made an exception. "The sinner 
 being an hundred years old shall be accursed " (Isa. xlv. 20). Service everywliere 
 rendered to Christ externally, though not in all cases sincerely. A forced subjection 
 rendered where there is not a willing one. The former, however, the exception 
 (Ps. xviii. 44, 45). Cases of disobedience marked and suitably visited (Zech. xiv. 
 16-19). Converted Israel apparently the principal human instrumentality em- 
 ployed in extending the kingdom of Christ among the nations (Lsa. Ixvi. 19) (8\ 
 The sphere of their activity apparently those nations who had been left unevange- 
 lised or living at a distance from Palestine : "The isles that are afar off, that have 
 not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory;" probably nnich of Asia, Africn, 
 and America. Israel to be the third with Egypt and with Assyria : " Even a 
 blessing in the midst of the earth " (Isa. xix. 23-25). 
 
 IX. The duration of it. This repeatedly said to be perpetual, " for ever and 
 ever." This kingdom never, like its predecessors, to pass away and be succeeded 
 by another. Sin°not again to turn the earth into a wilderness. The final outbreak 
 under Satan, released for a little at the expiry of a thousand years,W speedily 
 terminated by fire from heaven (Rev. xx. 7-9). The subsequent state of thnigs 
 not clearly revealedC"). Apparently the general judgment, with the resurrection of 
 those who had not previously been raised. Perhaps the kingdom then delivered 
 up to the Father, "that God may be all in all" (1 Cor. xv. 28). Uncertain 
 whether the last two chapters of the Revelations describe the state of thmgs before 
 or after the general judgment— m the millennial kingdom or after it, tliough 
 generally understood to be the latter. Certain that no kingdom shall ever succeed 
 that of Jesus Christ on this earth. The kingdom will only cease on earth if earth 
 
 itself is to do so. , j r ^u r • 
 
 X. The certainty of the kingdom. This is as great as the word of the living 
 God can make it. Its establishment and blessings the constant subject of the 
 teaching both of Jesus Christ and His apostles. The keynote of tj'^ Apocalypse. 
 The predictions regarding the previous four monarchies exactly fulfiHed; th.^se 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 pertaining to the fifth will not be less so. Uncertainty may exist in regard to 
 some things connected with the kingdom, none in regard to the kingdom itself. 
 How Christ may come to set it up in its glorious manifestation and power, and at 
 what time He may do so, and what shall be the concomitants of its establishment ; 
 liow He will exercise His kingly rule, and how long it shall continue, whether a 
 thousand years literally or otherwise, and what state of things shall follow ; these 
 and many other things connected with the kingdom may be uncertain, but the 
 kingdom itself, in its more glorious manifestation and universal extension, is among 
 the certainties of the word of Him who cannot lie. It has been already and still is 
 in the world, and has for more than eighteen centuries blessed men with its precious 
 fruits wherever it has been made known, and unbelief hae not rejected it. It has 
 indeed been but as the grain of mustard-seed, and the enemy has sadly mixed the 
 tares with the wheat. But the mustard-seed shall become a tree, and the tares 
 shall be rooted up, and the mystery of iniquity, that has so disfigured and changed 
 the appearance of the kingdom, shall be destroyed ; and the kingdom, which had 
 been only a hidden one, and without observation, with perhaps only now and then 
 a prelusive flash bursting forth from behind the cloud, shall be manifested in glory, 
 and embrace all nations. The Gospel, or glad tidings of this kingdom, must first 
 be preached for a witness to all nations, and then shall the long-desired end come. 
 Even so come, Lord Jesus ! 
 
 \. It is for believers to rejoice in the prospect revealed in the text. In the anti- 
 cipation of a universal and endless reign of righteousness and peace to bless this 
 poor, sin-stricken, and curse-laden earth, we may well rejoice. The prospect of a 
 kingdom that shall bring glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and goodwill 
 among men, instead of the wretchedness, and crime, and tears, and blood with 
 which sin has stained and burdened it for six thousand years, may well make glad 
 the heart of every lover of God and of his kind. In the midst of the groans and 
 miseries of a world that yet lies under the power of the Evil One, who is a 
 murderer from the beginning, infallible truth calls us to rejoice in the assurance 
 that the day is hastening on -when He who has been constituted Lord of all, be- 
 cause He has redeemed them by His precious blood, shall "make all things new," 
 and establish a state of things far exceeding the anticipations of the most sanguine 
 j)hilanthropists. In the prospect of what it promises in connection with the king- 
 dom of the Son of Man, inspiration calls upon us greatly to rejoice in sympathy 
 with a renovated and rejoicing world : " Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth 
 be glad ; let the sea roar and the fulness thereof. Let the fields be joyful, and all 
 that is therein ; then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord. For 
 He Cometh, for He cometh to judge [to deliver and govern] the earth. He shall 
 judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth" (Ps. xcvi. 
 11-13; see also Ps. xcvii. 1 ; xcviii. 4-9). In the midst of prevailing darkness 
 and confusion, and scepticism and sin, it belongs to believers to rejoice that, not 
 merely for themselves, but for the world, it is " better on before." 
 
 2. It is for tis to make sure our place in thai kingdom now. It is our privilege 
 to be among the subjects of the Son of Man now, by acce[)ting Him cordially as 
 our King and our Saviour from sin. He has His kingdom now, into which He 
 brings every penitent believing soul, or rather which He brings into such a soul. 
 He has His kingdom of grace now, preparatory to the kingdom of glory hereafter. 
 To be His loyal and loving subject now, secures that we shall be among His 
 glorified subjects in the day of His appearing. It is ours to make this sure, 
 tiirough His Spirit's grace, by accepting Him as our King and Saviour, and giving 
 ourselves up entirely to Him to save and rule us. "To as many as received Him, 
 to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on 
 ]Iis name" (John i. 12). 
 
 3. It is our 2»'ivileiie and dtiti/ to speed that kingdom hy our prayere, and to 
 prepare others as well as ourselves for a j^lace in it. It is the King Himself who 
 
 150 
 
BOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 has taught us to pray, " Thy kingdom come ! " Oflfered with the heart, and not 
 merely, as too often, with the lips, it will not be in vain. In answer to the prayer 
 of His elect, who cry day and night to Him continually. He will hasten His 
 kingdom. He will appear in His glory and build again Zion, " because He shall 
 regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer" (Ps. cii. 13-16). 
 A prayer to the same effect left us in the last words of the Bible, " Even so, come, 
 Lord Jesus." The Spirit exhorts us by Peter, not merely to "hasten unto," but 
 to "hasten" the coming of the day of God (2 Peter iii. 12, margin). But it is 
 ours alrio to seek to gather others into the kingdom, tliat so the number of His 
 elect may be accomplished, and the kingdom in its glory be hastened. Peter urged 
 the Jews to repent and be converted in order that the times of refreshing might 
 come, and God might send again Jesus (Acts iii. 19, R.V.) The Bride, whom He 
 is to receive and bring with Him, is to be gathered out and prepared for His 
 coming. For this the Gospel is to be preached to all nations, and the Bride, 
 already gathered out, is to say to all others, "Come." This loving and loved work 
 of Jesus when on earth He has left for His saved people to do in His name and 
 stead : "Ye shall be witnesses unto me unto the uttermost ends of the earth" 
 (Acts i. 6-8). The kingdom of grace, or rather Jesus Himself, like Noah's Ark, 
 stands open as the only place of safety for siuuers, and His people are with loving 
 persuasion to " compel them to come in." 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— 0) " With 
 the clouds of heaven." Keil observes : 
 "Literally, 'with' the clouds, i.e., in 
 connection with them, in or on them, as 
 the case may be; surrounded by clouds." 
 He refers to Rev. i. 7 ; Mark xiii. 26 ; 
 Iklatt. xxiv. 30, xxvi. 64 ; and adds : " If 
 He who appears as a Son of Man with 
 the clouds of heaven, comes before the 
 Ancient of Days, executing the judg- 
 ment on the earth, it is manifest that 
 He could only come from heaven to 
 earth. . . . The clouds are the veil or 
 tiie 'chariot' on which God conies from 
 heaven to execute judgment against His 
 enemies. Cf. Ps. xviii. 10, xcvii. 2-4, 
 civ. 3 ; Isa. xix. 1 ; Nah. i. 3. This 
 l)assage forms the foundation for the 
 declaration of Christ regarding His fu- 
 ture coming, which is described, after 
 Dan. vii. 13, as a coming of the Son of 
 Man with, in, or on the clouds of hea- 
 ven. Matt. xxiv. 30 ; Eev. i. 7, xiv. 14." 
 Dr. Pusey observes : " Even before our 
 Lord came, the description was recog- 
 nised as relating to the Messiah. The 
 passage was cited in the Book of Enoch 
 when affirming the pre-existence of tlie 
 Messiah before the creation of the world. 
 ' Anani,' He of the ch)uds, continued to 
 be a name of the Messiah ; and the Jews, 
 unable to distinguish beforehand His 
 first and second coming, reconciled the 
 accounts of His humiliation and His 
 
 glory by the well-known solution: 'It 
 is written of King Messiah, And see, 
 with the clouds of heaven one like a Son 
 of Man came ; And it is written, Meek 
 and sitting upon an ass.' " " Most 
 Christian writers," says Willet, "under- 
 stand it of the second coming of Christ 
 to judgment." Willet himself applied 
 it to the first coming of Christ, yet so 
 that His kingdom should be finished at 
 His second Advent. 
 
 (2) " Passages," .«ays Auberlen, " like 
 Matt. xxiv. 27-31 ; Acts i. 11 ; Rev. i. 
 7, leave scarcely a doubt that this aji- 
 pearance of the Lord will be visible. 
 Moreover, the great and visible changes, 
 of which there can be no doubt, which 
 are thereby produced in the whole form 
 of the world, render it probable ; while 
 the fundamental importance of this com- 
 ing of the Lord consists, according to 
 the declaration of St. Paul (Col. iii. 3, 4), 
 in this, that Christ and His Church 
 shall become manifest and visible, even 
 as before they are invisible in God. The 
 Advent of Christ has a twofold object — 
 to judge the world-power, and to bring 
 to the Church redemption, transfigura- 
 tion, and power over the world." Ju- 
 nius understood the passage of Christ's 
 ascension to the Father, and His coming 
 into the world in His deity to finish the 
 work of redemption; His "coming in 
 the clouds" being the figure of His 
 151 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 divine majesty. Dr. Cox says : " His 
 * coming in the clouds ' implies the dig- 
 nity and splendour of the manifestation, 
 but can no more be deemed literal than 
 the garment and the hair and the wheels 
 of the Ancient of Days." Professor 
 Bush, who refers the passage to the 
 ascension, understands by clouds " a 
 multitude of heavenly attendants." But 
 why depart from the natural and literal 
 meaning without any necessity, when it 
 yields a sufficiently good sense? New- 
 come remarks that any signal interposi- 
 tion on behalf of His Church or in the 
 destruction of His enemies may be 
 metaphorically called a " coming " or a 
 2)arousia of Christ ; which may be quite 
 true, without setting aside the litei-al 
 meaning of the texts, which speak of His 
 second appearing. Dr. Pusey remarks 
 that among the " later ideas" alleged by 
 opponents as an argument against the 
 Book of Daniel, is the doctrine of the 
 Messiah, which, it is said, appears 
 already much more developed than in 
 EzLikiel ; Mes>iali here appearing as a 
 superhuman being, while no traces of 
 His divine nature occur elsewhere in the 
 prophets. This is simply untrue. See 
 Ps. ex. 1, applied by our Lord to show 
 His divinity. So also Heb. i. 8. No- 
 thing strange had it been otherwise. 
 Daniel, living nearly to the close of the 
 former revelation, might receive doctrine, 
 especially as to the Messiah, not revealed 
 before. 
 
 (3) « 'J'Jigre tvas given liim dominion, 
 and glory, and a kingdom^' (ver. 14). 
 " The kingdom of God," says Auberlen, 
 " has different periods ; it is come in 
 Christ (Matt. xii. 28); it spreads in the 
 world by internal, spiritual, hidden pro- 
 cesses (Matt. xiii. 33) ; but, as a king- 
 dom, in the strict sense of the word, in 
 royal glory, it shall only come with the 
 ]->aronsia (coming or presence) of Ciirist 
 (Luke ix. 11, 12, 15); even as we arc, 
 according to Christ's command, to pray 
 even now day after day. Thy kingdom 
 come." Keil regards the commencement 
 of the kingdom as at the first coming of 
 Christ, and its continuance in the form 
 of the Christian Church, terminating 
 with His second visible appearing in the 
 clduds (if heaven to final judgment. 
 152 
 
 (^) For further consideration of the 
 administration of the kingdom by the 
 saints, see next section. " Of the 
 saints' particii)ation in the glory and 
 reign of Christ," says Auberlen, "the 
 New Testament throughout speaks often 
 and fully. See Rom. viii. 17; 2 Tim. 
 ii. 12; 1 Cor. iv. 8; Rom. v. 17; Luke 
 xii. 32, xxii. 29. , . . After having 
 gathered His Church, and after having 
 taken His Bride to Himself, Christ 
 returns with her to heaven. Earth is 
 not as yet transfigured, and can con- 
 sequently not be the locality meet for 
 the transfigured Church. But from 
 heaven the saints now rule the earth; 
 whence we may conclude that one of the 
 glories of the millennium shall consist 
 in the much freer and more vivid com- 
 nninion of the heavenly and earthly 
 Churches in particular, and the lower 
 and higher world in general. There 
 now commences a manifestation of God 
 through the perfected Church ; a mani- 
 festation of God to humanity then on 
 earth, through the instrumentality of 
 the perfected Church. By which mani- 
 festation the social life of humanity is 
 influenced into obedience to the divine 
 power, which is shown and realised in 
 the perfect Church, by which the God- 
 opposed dementis prevented from exert- 
 ing its power in the way of form i tig 
 communions or combinations." Hof- 
 mann, quoted by Auberlen, says : 
 " Thus not only does the evil spiritual 
 influence which the prince of this world 
 exerted in humanity cease, but in place 
 of it the transfigured (glorified) Church 
 of God obtains a most blessed dominion 
 over the world ; and they know no 
 higher joy than to lead their brethren 
 to the same salvation and glory in which 
 they themselves partake." 
 
 (•■') Dr. Rule remarks that the Zenda- 
 vesta, written, as is believed, by Zoro- 
 aster in the reign of Darius Hystaspes, 
 the same reign in which tlie Temple was 
 rebuilt, contains a prediction that in the 
 last days a IMan would appear and adorn 
 tlie world with religion and justice; that 
 He would revive justice among tlie inha- 
 bitajits of the world, suppress wrongs, 
 and restore ancient customs which liad 
 fallen into decay. He foretold, or pre- 
 
BOM J LET IC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 tended to foretell, that kings would 
 follow and serve Him; that he wouki 
 establish true religion, and that in hia 
 time peace and tranquillity would prevail, 
 dissensions be forgotten, and trouble pass 
 away. An expectation of the advent of 
 such a deliverer might well have been 
 raised by the prophecies of Daniel, and 
 have brought the Persian Magi from the 
 East to worship the new-boru King of 
 the Jews. 
 
 C^) '* The Jews were to be distinguished 
 by their covenant as the first in the 
 kingdom and the organs for divine 
 communications to mankind. From the 
 earlier to the later parables of our Lord 
 we see the ideality of the kingdom 
 undergo a remarkable change. At first 
 the kingdom of heaven was to embrace 
 all men ; was to last from that time 
 forth ; was to be successful. Afterwards 
 men refused to receive it ; it was shut 
 up ; to be delayed till the Bridegroom 
 came, or the Nobleman returned from 
 the distant country, or the Son of Man 
 appeared in glory. . . . These considera- 
 tions leave us no room to doubt tliat the 
 original idea in Christ's preaching was 
 that the kingdom was a theocratic one ; 
 the Jews were still to be the covenant 
 people, receptacles of the successive 
 communications of Deity ; and through 
 their means the other idea of the 
 kingdom, namely, its spiritual one, was 
 to come forth. . . . We are now living 
 in the frustrated state of Christianit}'. 
 We do not see the bright visions of the 
 prophets because of the infidelity of the 
 Jews. Nor will these visions ever be 
 fulfilled until they turn to the Lord, 
 and become again a theocratic com- 
 munity. . . . The last words of our 
 Lord in public were a lamentatit)n over 
 Jerusalem for having refused to receive 
 Him, and a warning that in consequence 
 their house should be left to them deso- 
 late, accompanied by a prediction that 
 He would not come again till tliey (the 
 Jews) should say, 'Blessed is He that 
 cometh in the name of the Lord ; ' that 
 is. He announces two events : first, the 
 destruction of Jerusalem, because the 
 Jews had rejected Him ; and, secondly. 
 His coming again when they should be 
 ready toackuowledge Him." — Johiistv7ies 
 
 Israel after the p. '<h. "The Israelitish 
 priest-kings are upon earth in the 
 millennium ^Ahat the transfigured (glo- 
 rified) priest-kings are in heaven. Then 
 there shall be a blessed chain of giving 
 and receiving, — God, Christ, the trans- 
 figured Bride or the Church, Israel, the 
 world of nations. . . . Israel, brought 
 back to his own land, will now be tlie 
 people of God in a much higher and 
 more internal sense than he was before ; 
 for now the power of sin is checked, 
 the knowledge of the Lord fills the 
 whole land, and the Lord dwells ai;ain 
 among His people at Jerusalem. Then 
 a new time of revelation will begin ; 
 the Spirit of God will be poured out 
 abundantly, and a fulness of the gifts of 
 grace {charisviata) be bestowed, even as 
 the Apostolic Church possessed it typi- 
 cally. . . . And with this sacred and 
 glorious character of divine service shall 
 be combined a corresponding govern- 
 ment of the world, — a fnlnei^s of bless- 
 ings and undisturbed festal joy. When 
 Israel glorifies God and is again glorified 
 by his God, a deep and powerful im- 
 pressicm cannot fail to be made upon 
 the Gentiles. Now it is no longer 
 necessary to go after and seek the 
 Gentiles laboriously ; on the contrary, 
 they come willingly of themselves, 
 attracted by the rich gifts of God's 
 mercy and the fulness of divine mani- 
 festation which they behold. It is their 
 delight now to serve their God and to 
 offer to Him their noblest and be>t 
 offerings. Now, in the millennium, 
 Jews and Gentiles are united, and all 
 humanity, united under the First-born 
 Brother, walks in the light of God ; anil 
 then the true and just life of humanity 
 is at last realised (Rom. xi. 30-32)." 
 — Auheiien. 
 
 0) Dr. Piule remarks that the estab- 
 lishment of the eternal kingdom lies in 
 remote futurity, and that it is not pro- 
 mised until the Antichristian apostasy 
 should be annihilated, and Antichris- 
 tian kingdoms too. This, however, 
 may not require so remote a futurity. 
 " A short work will the Lord make 
 upon the earth." Dr. IJule thinks that 
 "between that extinction of the Papacy 
 and the universal prevalence of Chris- 
 153 
 
no MI LET IC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 tianity there is an interval marked, 
 yet not measured ; and then there will 
 probably be some signal methods or- 
 dained for bringing round the glorious 
 consummation." 
 
 (8) " The m;ijority of humanity then 
 living and remaining after the Parousia 
 (or coming of Christ) belong neither to 
 the one class nor to the other (neither to 
 apostate Christendom nor to the faithful 
 congregation caught up with Christ to 
 heaven). They consist of Jews and 
 heathens. . . . Besides the Harlot and 
 the Beast, their exist on earth Judaism 
 and heathenism in their old shape, with- 
 out reference to Christianity ; and iu 
 this form they are comparatively inno- 
 cent, because they have not yet come 
 into close contact with the Gospel of 
 mercy, and are therefore not guilty of 
 rejecting and stamping it under foot. . . . 
 Hence Judaism and heathenism, in the 
 strict sense, that is, Israel and the hea- 
 then, living at the time of the Parousia, 
 are the comparatively healthy elements 
 wliich form the new soil of a new de- 
 Tfclopnient. And this is part of the 
 humiliation of the modern civilised 
 nations, that nations which they despise 
 most, Jews and uncivilised barbarians 
 (perhaps chiefly the negroes of Africa, 
 the Hainites, who, on account of the 
 curse of Noah, have been so backward 
 and neglected. Gush, Seba, &c. — Ps. 
 Ixviii. 31 ; Ixxii. 10), shall succeed them, 
 and surpass them as centres of the 
 world's history. ... At the beginning of 
 the millennial kingdom humanity will 
 be in a condition similar to that in 
 which it was at the commencement of the 
 Church-historical time, after the ascen- 
 sion of the Saviour. Again, Israel and 
 tlie heathen shall be the representatives 
 of history ; and distinguished from 
 them, we see the Gliristian congrega- 
 tion wishing to christianise them. But 
 everything now is on a higher degree 
 of development. Not only has tlie 
 preaching of the Gospel of tlie kingdom 
 among Jews and heatliens before the 
 second Advent of the Lord i)repared 
 the dawn of light (Matt. xxiv. 14), so 
 tliat the nations can understand some- 
 thing of the wonderful events attending 
 the coming of the Lord ; but the events 
 154 
 
 themselves, the coming of Christ iu 
 glory, the destruction of the Antichris- 
 tian power, the transfiguration of the 
 Church of believers, the binding of 
 Satan, and the ceasing of Satanic 
 influences, must necessarily produce au 
 unspeakably deep impression on the 
 nations. Now the veil of Moses is 
 taken from Israel, and the face of the 
 covering, which was cast upon all 
 people, is broken (2 Cor. iii. 14-lG; 
 Isa. XXV. 7)." — Aiiherkn. 
 
 (^) Some think no definite period 
 is intended by the thousand years. 
 Strange to say, some, asWillet, make it to 
 begin after the ten heathen persecutions 
 and with the time of Constantine, and 
 to end with that of Wickliffe and John 
 IIuss ; the resurrection being the re- 
 newing of the soul and its rising from 
 dead works by the preaching of the 
 Gospel. Some again, as the translators 
 of the Geneva Bible, make it to com- 
 mence with the nativity of Christ and 
 terminate with the time of Pope Syl- 
 vester ; while others, as Junius, place 
 its commencement thirty-six years aftiT 
 Christ, and its termination in the time 
 of Hildebrand or Gregory VII. One 
 may wonder how at such a time Satan 
 could be said to be bound so as not to 
 deceive the nations any more. 
 
 (10) " After the millennial kingdom," 
 says Auberlen, " after the universal 
 judgment, when heaven and earth are 
 renewed, and the New Jerusalem de- 
 scends from heaven, then all limitation 
 shall disappear and cease. . . . Not 
 even the millennial kingdom is the final 
 end of the development of God's king- 
 dom. For even during the millennium 
 there is a separation between heaven and 
 earth, — between humanity transfigured 
 and humanity still living in the flesh. 
 Hence it is possible that the apostasy 
 should take place at the end of the 
 millennium. The kingdom is more 
 glorious than the Church, but it is not 
 yet the new world. It is a time of 
 refreshing after the times of warfare, 
 but not yet the time of perfection in the 
 strict sense of the word. ... As the 
 life of the God-man, so likewise the 
 first period of the existence of divine 
 life is one of inward, spiritual, hidden 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENtARY: DANIEL. 
 
 Lumility during the Church-bistoric fundamental elements — state, art, civili- 
 time, in which nature and history pur- sation, &ic.; this is the millennial king- 
 sue essentially their wonted unspiritual dom. And, finally, this life becomes 
 course. After this period the life of also the power which transfigures tlie 
 Christ becomes manifest and visible world universally, — in the time of the 
 (Col. iii. 3, 4) ; it penetrates powerfully new heavens and the new earth." 
 the whole world of history in all its 
 
 nOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XXYII. — The Kingdom of the Saints of the Most High 
 (Chap. vii. 18, 22, 27), 
 
 'The saints shall take the kingdom." A striking feature in the kingdom 
 predicted in this vision of Daniel is that, while it is distinctly said to be given to 
 the Son of Man, it is just as distinctly said, and that twice over, to be given to 
 the saints, or to the people of the saints of the Most High, and that the saints 
 take the kingdom. Although this circumstance has been slightly referred to 
 under the preceding section, in connection with the administration of the king- 
 dom of the Son of Man, yet from the prominence given to it and its threefold 
 repetition in the vision it demands a separate consideration. We notice — the 
 saints to whom the kingdom is given ; the kingdom itself ; the sense in which it 
 is given to the saints ; the suitableness of the appointment ; and the beneficial 
 results. 
 
 I. The saints (0. Saints denote holy or sanctified persons. The term is appli- 
 cable both to angels and men. Here it is the latter. " Holy " means separated 
 from sin, and separated to God and His service. The former may be called tlie 
 moral, the latter the official meaning of the term. Whatever is set apart to God 
 and His service or use may be called holy in the official sense. Men thus set apart 
 are or ought to be holy also in the moral sense, holy in heart and life, or separate 
 from sin. This is the sense in the text; hence they are called "saints of tlie Most 
 High," such as are both separated to His service, belonging to Him as His own, 
 made saints by Himself, and approved by Him as such. This far removed from 
 the profane caricature of Papal canonisatiun. Men are made saints by the mighty 
 power of divine grace, renewing them in the spirit of their mind, making them 
 spiritually alive from being dead in trespasses and sins, and rendering them " new 
 creatures," or a new creation in Christ Jesus. This is especially the work assigned 
 to the Holy Ghost, and sucli are said to be "born of the Si)irit." Baptism with 
 water is the sign, but not the instrument of it. Cornelius, and thousands more, 
 were born again of the Spirit before they were bai>tized ; while Simon the sor- 
 cerer, like millions more, though baptized with water, was never born again 
 at all. The instrument in the new birth, in the case of any beyond infancy, is the 
 Word of truth. "Being born again," says Peter, "not of corruptible seed but of 
 incorruiitible, by the Word of God, that liveth and abideth for ever." "Of His 
 own will," says James, " begat He us by the Wt)rd of truth." It is by the same 
 instrument that the work of holiness or sanctification is carried on in the saints 
 afterwards. " Sanctify them through Thy truth ; Thy Word is truth." " Now ye 
 are clean through the Word that I have spoken unto you." " That He might 
 sanctify and cleanse it (the Church) with the washing of water by the Word " 
 (John xvii. 17; xv. 3; Eph. v. 2G). This renewing and sanctifying of the soul 
 by the Holy Ghost is effected in union with Christ, as members of His body and 
 branches in Him as the true Vine, — " sanctified in Christ Jesus." The work is 
 carried on here in the body of flesh, but is only perfected wlien the body is eitlior 
 put off at death or changed at the Lord's coming. Hence "' the spirits of ju.-^t men 
 
 150 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 made perfect." Men may be truly saints here, but only perfected saints hereafter. 
 This saintship or sanctified condition is peculiar to no nation or class. There is, 
 however, also a federal or covenant holiness which may belong to a nation or class, 
 and which, like official holiness, m;iy exist without holiness in heart and life. 
 Thus the Jews were a holy, because a covenant people, chosen by the Lord as a 
 people for Himself. Thus baptized Christians and the children of such are federally 
 holy, as taken outwardly into the Christian covenant, and professedly given up to 
 God in baptism, though, alas ! too often, like the Jews, far away from moral and 
 personal holiness. The saints of the Most High are not merely federally and 
 officially, but morally and personally holy ; holy as God is holy, and pure as God 
 is [)ure, partakers of the divine character, and possessing the same holiness in kind 
 though not in degree. In the Old Testament such were cliiefly found/ among the 
 Jews, to whom pertained the adoption and the giving of the law, as well as the 
 covenants and the promises. In the New Testament they are found both among 
 Jews and Gentiles of every nation, people, and tongue. It is of such that the 
 kingdom of the Son of Man, identical with the kingdom given to the saints, con- 
 sists. Hence the commission : " Go ye and teach (disciple) all nations, baptizing 
 them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of tlie Holy Ghost." While 
 He is King of the Jews, He is also " Lord of aU." There appears, therefore, no 
 reason for limiting the term in tlie text, especially as the vision has obviously its 
 fulfilment, not in Old, but in New Testament tiuies. A more difficult question 
 perhaps might be, Are they the glorified saints, or saints still in the body, or 
 both? (2) If the giving of the kingdom to the saints is to be understood in the 
 sense of reward, as in that sense it is given to the Son of Man, then it would seera 
 that the saints here indicated are those who, like Paul, have fought the good fight, 
 have finished tlieir course, and have kept the faith, and so have now received the 
 crown of righteousness from the hand of the righteous Judge at His appearing. 
 On this supposition they are those who have overcome, and so have received 
 l)ower from Christ "over the nations to rule them," and have been made to 
 sit down with Him on His throne. It would be the fulfilment of the promise, 
 " Ye are they that have continued with me in my temptations, and I appoint unto 
 you a kingdom, even as my Father hath appointed unto me" (Luke xxii. 28, 29). 
 Other parallel passages would be Rev. v. 9, 10; xvii. 18; xx. 4. In this case, 
 the saints would be those who should be raised from the dead at the Lord's appear- 
 ing, according to 1 Cor. xv. 23, and 1 Thess. iv. 16, together with those who should 
 be alive at His coming (1 Cor. xv. 51, 52; 1 Thess. iv. 17). However, even in 
 respect to the saints then still in the body, and constituting the renewed subjects 
 of the millennial kingdom in general, with converted Israel in particular, it would 
 .still be true that the saints take the kingdom, all civil government being then 
 exercised by the holy persons in subordination to Christ and His glorified Bride. 
 
 II. The kingdom itself. This appears to be the same as that of which the 
 interpreting angel had already spoken as the kingdom given by the Ancient of 
 I)ays to the Son of ^lan — the kingdom of which Christ is the Head and King, and 
 wliicli was to take the place of the kingdoms of this world, or of tlie four monarchies, 
 vhich shall have disappeared as tlie chaff of the summer threshing-floor (chap, ii.) 
 The same dominion, rule, and kingdom that is given to Christ is given to the 
 saints as Clirist's member.'*, who are to reign and be glorified with Him, and to sit 
 with Him on His throne ; to whom He Himself was to give authority over the 
 nations, to rule them along with Him, and whom He was to a[)point a kingdom as 
 His Father had appointed to Himself. The kingdom is given by the Ancient of 
 Days to Christ, and by Christ is given to His Church or liride, to possess it along 
 with Him, and be as.sociated with Ilini in its government. The kingdom is 
 lieavenly in its origin and character, but has its jdace not in heaven but on earth, 
 over and among the nations and peoples inhabiting it. While having its earthly 
 visible and material side, like its predecessors, it will be spirited and holy in its 
 156 
 
HO MI LET IC COMMENT A R Y : DA KIEL. 
 
 cliaracter, consisting not in meats and drinks, but in righteousness and pence, and 
 joy in the Holy Ghost; the kingdom that has been so h)ng prayed for, when (Jod's 
 will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven. From heaven, wherever that may 
 be, the saints will rule the earth with Christ, while the saints on earth shall rule 
 subordinately with them. The "kingdom of the world" shall become "the 
 kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ," or His anointed members (Ivev. xi. 15, 
 K.V.) 
 
 III. The sense in which the saints shall take the kingdom. This appears 
 to be the same as that in which Christ Himself takes it. The angel indicates no 
 difference ; only that Christ receives it directly from the Ancient of Days, which 
 the saints are not said to do, they receiving it mediately from or virtually in Christ, 
 whose members and whose Bride they are, forming with Him one body and one 
 Christ (Rev. xi. 15; 1 Cor. xii. 12). Christ the Head receives the kingdom from 
 the Father as His reward iov the accomplishment of His mediatorial work given 
 Him by the Father to do as His Righteous Servant (Puih ii. 6-10). His members 
 receive it also as a reward from Christ, whose servants they were, and to whom 
 they were enabled to be faithful even unto death. " If any man will serve me, 
 let him follow me ; and where I am there shall also my servant be. If any man 
 serve me, him will my Father honour." " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will 
 give thee a crown of life." " He that overcometh, and keepeth my words unto 
 the end, to him will I give power over the nations." "Ye are they which have 
 continued with me in my temptations ; and I appoint imto you a kingdom, even 
 as my Father hath appointed me" (John xii. 26; Rev, ii. 10; iii. 21 ; Luke xxii. 
 28, 29). The saints take the kingdom as heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. 
 One with Christ, they share with Him in His glory and reign, as they shared with 
 Him before in His humiliation and suffering. They possess the kingdom, and 
 exercise kingly rule and authority with and under Him, as the priest-kings whom 
 He made such by His grace after redeeming them by His blood (Rev. i. 5, 6 ; v. 
 9, 10). With the members as with the Head, it is first humiliation and then 
 glory: "Out of prison he cometh to reign" (Eccles. iv. 13). They take the 
 kingdom, not as the kings of the world, as a matter of earthly ambition, or through 
 carnal relationship, or by skilful management, intrigue, and violence, or as con- 
 querors with garments rolled in blood. They take it as a gift of grace from their 
 loving Husband and King, whom it was given them by the same grace lovingly to 
 folU)W and obey even unto death. They take and possess the kingdom, not for the 
 gratification of personal ambition, or selfish desires, or carnal pleasures, from which, 
 as saints, they are for ever separated; but for the glory of Him who created all 
 things for Himself, and of His Son who redeemed them by His bloody, as well as 
 for the happiness of a regenerated world and wide-extended universe. For the same 
 liigh and holy ends will the saints tlien still in the flesh, and Israel more especially, 
 exercise in a subordinate capacity the rule which the King Himself in His wisdom 
 shall assign to them. 
 
 IV. The suitableness of the appointment. There is something suitable in 
 the thrice-repeated declaration that the saints of the Most High, or truly holy 
 persons, shall take the kingdom. In the preceding empires, and ever since 
 Nimrod, the "mighty hunter before the Lord," began to be "a mighty one on the 
 earth," the "vilest of men" have often been "exa'ted" to kingly power, and, as a 
 consequence, the " wicked have walked on every side" (Ps. xii. 8). For wise and 
 holy reasons, God, in His mysterious providence, often sets over kingdoms the 
 " basest of men," when, as a natural result, the land is filled with misery and 
 crime (Dan. iv. 17). Selfish and godless rulers have constituted a j'art of the 
 present state of earthly things. Natural, so long as "the whole world lieth in tlie 
 evil one " (1 John v. 19, R.V.) Evil rulers a part of the evil entailed hy the Fall, 
 and often the chastisement of the sins of the people. What the world wants and 
 longs for, but seldom obtains, is wise, upright, disinterested rulers, ruling' ni the 
 
no Ml LET IC COMMENTARY: DAXIEL. 
 
 fear of God and for the best interests of their subjects. Such is the state of things 
 predicted in the text. Something suitable and becoming when holy men, separ- 
 ated from sin and selfishness, bearing the image and character of the God whose 
 name and nature is love, and who is "righteous in all His ways and holy in all His 
 works," shall take, and, by divine gift, possess the kingdom. Such have learned to 
 rule by being first taught how to obey, and have been trained to reign with Oh list 
 hereafter by suffering with Him here. Such fitted to rule by imbibing the spirit and 
 walking in the steps of Him who was meek and lowly in heart, and who pleased 
 not Himself, but went about doing good. " Blessed are the poor in spirit, for 
 theirs is the kingdom of heaven." " Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit 
 the earth" (Matt. v. 3, 5). 
 
 V. Its beneficial results. The happiness of subjects greatly bound up with 
 the character and government of their rulers. " The king by judgment establisheth 
 the land." " When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice ; but when 
 the wicked bear rule, the people mourn" (Prov. xxix. 2, 4). Seen in a measure 
 in the rule of David, as compared with that of many who succeeded him. Limited 
 examples also in our own Alfred, and in her who now sits upon his throne. The 
 best of rulers, however, in the present state of things, able only to produce 
 partial results, both from their own imperfect spiritual condition and that of their 
 ministers and coadjutors in the government, their short continuance in power, the 
 evil state of things already existing, and the hostile influences, visible and invisible, 
 which oppose them. From these impediments the reign of the saints of the 
 Most High in the millennial kingdom of the Son of Man will be greatly exempt, so 
 that their rule will be naturally one of the highest beneficence, and attended with 
 the happiest results to humanity (■*). The state of things in the world, under a 
 government in whicli a King (Messiah) shall reign in righteousness, and princes 
 (the saints associated with Him) shall rule in judgment, represented by the prophets 
 under such imagery as the following: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, 
 and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and 
 the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them." "He shall comedown 
 like rain upon the mown grass; as showers that water the earth. There shall be 
 a handfnl of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof 
 shall shake like Lebanon ; and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the 
 earth" (Isa. xi. 6-9; Ixv. 25; Ps. Ixxii. 6, 16). Without any figure, "Then 
 shall the earth yield her increase, and God, even our own God, shall bless us. 
 God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him" (Ps. Ixvii. 6, 7). 
 The subject suggests — 
 
 1. Cause of rejoichig in the prospect presented hy the text. It was as a ground 
 of comfort and a matter of rejoicing that it was three times ainiounced to Daniul 
 that the saints should take and possess the kingdom. It was intimated as good 
 tidings not only for the saints themselves, who, instead of being given into the 
 hands of oppressors and persecutors, despised and down-trodden, and often 
 counted as sheep for the slaughter, should have the rule and government of the 
 nations committed to them, but for the world who should reap the benefit of such 
 a state of things. Whether it be the saints that have finished their course of 
 sufi'ering and service on earth, and now are glorified according to the promise, or 
 whether it be the saints still living in the flesh, be it Jews or Gentiles, or both, it 
 is for every lover of his kind to rejoice that a day is coming when truly holy 
 persons, and only such, shall hold the reins of government, and administer a 
 righteous and beneficent rule over the nations, in loyal and loving subordination 
 and obedience to the Prince of Peace. That saints, renewed and sanctified in 
 Clirist, transformed into His imago, and breathing His spirit of meekness, humility, 
 and love, and at the same time guided by a wisdom that is from above, pure, 
 peaceable, and gentle, full of mercy and of good fruits, instead of the wisdom that is 
 earthly, ."sensual, and devilish — that such shall be the only rulers that the earth 
 158 
 
HO MI LET IC COMMENTARY: DAM EL. 
 
 shall know, and that their rule shall be at the same time the rule of the Sou of 
 Man, with all power in heaven and earth, is surely a consummation devoutly to be 
 wished, and a prospect greatly to be rejoiced in. 
 
 2. The blessed consequence of a failhfid adherence to the Savionr. The saints 
 shall take the kingdom. Believers are made kings and priests already. They are 
 princes even now, but in disguise. They travel to their iidieritaiice incognito. It 
 doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we do know that a crown of "lory 
 awaits every faithful follower of Jesus, however poor his condition may be now. 
 If we suffer with Christ, we shall also reign with Him. Suffering witli llim now, 
 we shall be also glorified with Him hereafter. When He who is our life shall be 
 manifested, we shall also "with Him be manifested in glory" (Co), iii. 4, R.V.) 
 The humblest follower of Jesus, faithful unto death, shall receive a crt)wn of life, 
 and shall sit down with Christ in His throne, sharing with Him in His kindly 
 glory, and in the government of a renewed world. They'bhall reign with Christ. 
 "The saints shall judge the world. Know ye not tliat we shall judge angels?" 
 (1 Cor. vi. 2, 3). It matters not how the saints shall reign or exercise the kingly 
 authority that shall be committed to them. What we know not now we shall 
 know hereafter. Enough that the thing is true. If Ave suffer with Him, we shall 
 reign with Him. Let this be our comfort under the burden and heat of the day, 
 and let it animate us to use unfaltering perseverance in a cause of faithful self- 
 denying service, till the Master shall please to call us from the field. 
 
 3. The character of the future blessedness oj the saints. They shall possess the 
 kingdom. They shall thus have noble work to do, honourable and dignified service 
 to employ them. His servants shall still serve Him, and they shall serve Him in the 
 highest form of service. They shall find abundant scope fur the sanctified faculties 
 which they shall possess, and have ample field for the exercise of the Christ-like dis- 
 position which shall animate them. Renewed in the image of the universal Ruler, thuy 
 shall have the employment restored to them which was originally bestowed upon man 
 at his creation, but was lost through the Fall. Their blessedness will not be mere 
 rest, but rest from trouble, sin, and bondage, with a holy and happy employment which 
 shall become their position as sons of God and brethren of the King of kings, and 
 in which they shall with Him still contribute to the glory of the Creator and the 
 hai)piness of His creatures. They will thus not only be made to resemble their 
 Lord and Husband, but be kept in closest sympathy and fellowship with Him, 
 as sharing in the government that shall be upon His shoulders. Wiiat was their 
 chief hapi)iness on earth will thus be perfected in glory. Their kingly and princely 
 office they will also be enabled to discharge without fatigue, and without the grief 
 of being continually opposed and thwarted in their benevolent endeavours by the 
 wily and watchful enmity of him who was the great adversary of God and man, 
 but who shall then be under a divine restraint, so as no more to deceive the 
 nations (Rev. xx. 4). 
 
 4. The jyrivilege of believers to be employed now in a way that shall be both an 
 anticipation of their future blessedness and their preparation for it. This is tliat of 
 seeking, according to our gifts and opportunities, to promote the objects aimed at 
 by Christ Himself and the saints that shall reign with Him over the eaith — tlie 
 glory of the Creator and the happiness of men, as experienced in His favour and 
 service. To promote this twofold object is the work given to believers to do now, 
 more especially by communicating the knowledge of the Saviour, and persuading 
 men to be reconciled through Him to God. The Saviour's parting commission to 
 His Church, "Ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and 
 in Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth." " Preach the Gospel to 
 every creature." " Shine as lights in the world, holding forth the Word of life." 
 " Others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire." For tliis blessed tlioudi 
 now often trying and self-denying service He has promised and bestowed abundant 
 qualification in the gift of His Holy Spirit; "Ye shall receive power after that 
 
 1 oy 
 
nOMlLETlC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 the Holy Gliost is come ui)onyou" (Acts i. 7, 8). Such employment here, in 
 •whatever way and in whatever circumstances, a blessed anticipation of and prepara- 
 tion for our future employment when the saints shall take the kingdom. It was 
 the faithful servant to whom it was said, " Have thou authority over ten cities." 
 Nor will the painful trials and deep sorrow which we may be called to experience 
 in connection with a faithful endeavour to serve Christ and our fellow-men in the 
 present state, be the least part of our preparation for the higher service that awaits 
 us when all tears shall be wiped away. 
 
 5. Our interest to make sure our place now among the sai7its u'ho shall 2^ossess 
 the hingdom. Regard to one's own interest makes this the first object we should 
 be concerned to secure. The day is hastening when to have neglected this will 
 appear the height of madness. To throw a fortune, a dukedom, a kingdom away, 
 will one day soon appear to be reason and sense compared with the throwing 
 away the opportunity of obtaining a place among those who shall in a few short 
 years possess a kingdom that shall never pass away. That place is to be secured 
 simply by a sincere and cordial acceptance of the Saviour whom God in His love 
 has provided for a lost and guilty world, that Son of Man who came to seek and 
 to save that which is lost. " To as many as received Him, to them gave He power 
 to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." That Son 
 of Man who shall come one day in His glory and all His saints with Him, comes 
 now in His Gospel to each man and woman who hears it, and offers him freely 
 Himself, and ah)ng with Himself a place among His saints who shall hereafter 
 with Himself possess the kingdom. Reader, have you cordially accepted Him"? 
 Is He yours 1 Are you among His redeemed people ? If not, accept Him now, 
 and take no rest till by His grace you are enabled joyfully to say, " My Lord and 
 my God ! " 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— 0) 
 " Saints.'" According to Keil, these are 
 neither the Jews, who are accustomed 
 to call themselves " saints," in contrast 
 with the heathen (as V. Lengerke, 
 Maurer, Hitzig, (kc, think), nor the 
 converted Israel of the millennium (as 
 Hofmann and others believe) ; but, as 
 we argue from Exod. xix. G ; Deut. vii. 
 6, the true members of the covenant 
 nation, the New Testament Israel of 
 God, i.e., the congregation of the new 
 covenant, consisting of Israel and the 
 faithful of all nations. Auberlen, like 
 HofmAnn, understands the Jews still on 
 earth to be the saints meant in this 
 vision of Daniel. *' By ' the people of 
 the saints of the Most High,' to whom 
 dominion is given, Daniel evidently 
 could only understaiid the people of 
 Israel, as distinguished from the heathen 
 nations and kingdoms, wliich were to 
 rule till then. In this point Roos, Preis- 
 werk, Hofmann, agree with Hitzig, 
 Bertholdt, and others. The prophet's 
 words refer to the re-establishment of 
 the kingdom of Israel, concerning which 
 tlie disciples asked iniincdiately before 
 IGO 
 
 the ascension." fficolampadius and 
 others understood the faithful reigning 
 with Christ in the celestial kingdom. 
 Willet, however, justly observes that the 
 kingdom is not said to be in heaven, but 
 under heaven, and therefore on earth. 
 Some, as Pellican and BuUinger, thought 
 the Church of Christ is indicated, com 
 mencing wliile the other monarchies 
 were still standing, and propagated over 
 all the world in the time of the fourth 
 beast or Roman Empire. Willet thinks 
 the kingdom is the spiritual dominion 
 of the Church, commencing when the 
 other monarchies are extinguished ; be- 
 ginning in this world, but perfected at 
 tlie Lord's second Advent, the saints 
 reigning in grace here and in glury 
 hereafter. 
 
 C-^) " Among the saints who are called 
 to reign with Christ," says Auberlen on 
 Rev. XX. 4, " tlie martyrs of ancient and 
 modern times are mentioned first ; they 
 become most like to tlie Lord Jesus in 
 their suffering and death, and are there- 
 fore nearest llim in His life and reign. 
 . . . And the Saviour teaches expressly 
 that at His second coining as King of 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL, 
 
 CHAP. vtr. 
 
 the kingdom, He shall place one servant 
 over ten cities and another over five, 
 according to tlie measure of faithfulness 
 they showed durhig His absence (Luke 
 xix. 11). Next to the martyrs are 
 mentioned all who had not worshijjped 
 tlie beast, be it in more remote times or 
 in the last days, which are referred to 
 by the image and the mark upon their 
 forehead, as will appear from a com- 
 parison with Key. xiii. 14-17. Wor- 
 shippers of the beast are all they that 
 take the powers of this world as a 
 reality and serve it, instead of looking 
 to things invisible and future (2 Cor. 
 iv. 17). . . . Hence our passage refers 
 to the whole congregation of believers 
 who are born of God, to God's Church 
 gathered out of Israel and the Gentiles 
 (Rom. viii. 17). . . . Immediately con- 
 nected with the resurrection of the dead 
 is the transfiguration of those who will 
 be then living on the earth; and the 
 living thus changed, freed from the 
 weight of the earthly and corruptible, 
 and transported into the essential liberty 
 of spirit, can now, even as the trans- 
 figured Saviour ascended up on high, be 
 caught up into the clouds to meet the 
 returning Lord in the air (1 Thess. iv. 
 17). The New Testament tells us that 
 instead of the devil, the transfigured 
 Church of Christ shall rule the world ; 
 while the Old Testament informs us that 
 instead of the heathen beast, the holy 
 people of Israel shall do so. Both agree 
 in what is of central importance, that it 
 is Christ, the Son of Man, who now 
 rules humanity by His transfigured 
 Church in heaven and by His people 
 Israel on earth." Calvin observes that 
 in consequence of the intimate union 
 between Christ and His Church, what 
 belongs to the Head is transferred to the 
 body ; that the supreme power is ci)n- 
 stantly promised by the prophets to 
 the Church, especially by Jesus Christ, 
 who often predicts its complete supre- 
 macy ; and that while the Church reigns 
 
 by itself, Christ, its only supreme Head, 
 obtains dominion therein. 
 
 (■') " Talce the kingdom.''^ Calvin re- 
 fers the taking of the kingdom by the 
 saints to the time when, after the pro- 
 mulgation of the Gospel, the kingdom 
 of God and of the saints obtained some 
 fame and celebrity in the world. In 
 another place, however, he remarks that 
 the slaying of the fourth beast and the 
 giving the kingdom and authority to 
 the people of the saints does not seem 
 to have taken place yet ; whence all 
 Christian interpreters agree in treating 
 this proj)hecy as relating to the final 
 day of Clirist's Advent. He himself 
 thinks the saints began to reign under 
 the whole heaven when Christ ushered 
 in His kingdom by the promulgation of 
 it ; and that though Daniel does not 
 here predict occurrences connected with 
 the Advent of Christ as Judge of the 
 world, but with the first preaching of the 
 Gospel, yet he notwithstanding draws 
 a magnificent picture of Christ's reign, 
 embracing its final completion. The 
 taking of the kingdom was in like 
 manner interpreted by the early Fathers 
 as referring to the general spread of 
 Christianity after the first Advent of 
 Ciirist. So Dr. Lee and Professor 
 Bush. 
 
 (^) " Not only," s;iys Auberlen, " does 
 the evil spiritual influence which the 
 prince of this world exerted on humanity 
 in the preceding ages cease, but, in place 
 of it, the transfigured Church of God 
 obtain a most blessed dominion over 
 the world. Christianity will pervade 
 the world and all relations of life in 
 spirit and in truth. . . . It is upon tliis 
 present earth that it must be shown 
 and proved that the devil, who pre- 
 tended to be its rightful lord, was only 
 a usurper; man, who was created to 
 ' have dominion over the earth,' is to 
 rejoice over his world with full, un- 
 mixed, holy joy. Every legitimate and 
 true ideal will then become a reality." 
 
 IGl 
 
BOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XXVIII. — Antiochus Epipfianks, or the Syrian Little Horn 
 (Chap. viii. 1-27). 
 
 This chapter presents to us another vision of Daniel vouchsafed to him in the 
 reign of Belshazzar, but two years Liter than the preceding one, which is here 
 mentioned as that which appeared to him "at the first," or at an earlier period. 
 See chap. ix. 21, note (3). The narrative is given in Hebrew, which is now resumed, 
 .and continues to be the language of the book to its conclusion, there being no 
 more reference made to Chaldea, and what remains being intended only for God's 
 covenant people. This change in the language is a confirmation of the genuineness 
 of the book. 
 
 The vision is represented as given when Daniel was in the province of Elam, 
 another name for Persia, at the palace or royal residence of Shushan(0 or Susa, 
 probably so called from the lilies that abounded in the region. He relates that at 
 the time he was on the banks of the river Ulai(^); but whether in the body, or, as 
 Calvin and others, with great probability, suppose, in spirit, as Ezekiel was at Jeru- 
 salem in spirit while in body he was in Chaldea, appears uncertain. The quiet 
 banks of this Persiin stream, now long unknown, might be to Daniel what lonely 
 Patmos was to the beloved disciple, who so much resembled him, having been 
 chosen by him as a place of retirement for prayer and communion with God after 
 his hours of public business in Shushan. " Arise, and get thee into the plain, and 
 there will I talk with thee." 
 
 This vision, like the preceding one, is related by Daniel in his own name, 
 Daniel being now not a mere narrator of events, bnt a witness to what had been 
 personally communicated to him. This also, like the other, was interpreted to 
 Daniel, at his own request, by the Angel Gabriel .W, acting under the direction of 
 One with the appearance of a man, probably, as Calvin thinks, the Son of God 
 Himself, who was one day to be also the Son of Man W. It is called " the vision of the 
 evening and the morning," generally considered to be a title given to it on- account 
 of the expression in ver. 14, " Unto two thousand atid three hundred days," literally, 
 as in the margin, "evening, morning "("). 
 
 The vision now given is that of the Ham and the He-goat, representing respec- 
 tively the Persian and the Grecian empires. It connects itself both with Nebuchad- 
 nezzar's great image and Daniel's four beasts, the ram being the silver breast 
 and arms of the image and the bear of Daniel's vision, while the hegoat corre- 
 sponds with the brazen belly and thighs of the former and the four horned leopards 
 of the latter. Tlie vision thus brings up before us the second and third of the 
 four great monarchies. 
 
 Tiie special and more immediate object of the vision was to acquaint Daniel, 
 and through him liis brethren the Jews, with calamities vihicli should overtake 
 them many years after their return to their own land, and the happy issue out of 
 them at the appointed time. Tiie vision was therefore to be sealed up, marked as 
 true and certain, and carefully preserved for future useC"). It is remarkable that, 
 as in the furiner vision with reference to the New Testament Church, tliese troubles 
 were to arise from a power called a " little horn," but in this case proceeding not 
 from the fourth beast or Roman Empire, but from the tiiird or Grecian one, it 
 being within its bounds that Judea lay. From the period mentioned for the continu- 
 ance of this Little Horn and his persecution of the covenant people, two thousand 
 three hundred days, as also from the manner in which it is again introduced (chap. 
 xi. 21, (fee), it has been sup[)osed that it is intended to exhibit a twofold aspect, or 
 to possess a typical character, the fii^t and nearer power being the type of another 
 more remote ; as it is not uncommon in the prophecies of Scripture for two persons, 
 16^ 
 
tiOMlLETIO COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 things, or events to be predicted together in one and the same iirophecy, tlie two 
 standing related to each other as type and antitype, and seen together as in a kind 
 of mental perspective (0. By universal consent, tlie person more ininiediately 
 described is one of the kings of Syria, which constituted one of the four kingdoms 
 formed out of Alexander's Grecian or Macedonian Empire. His name was AntToclius 
 Epii)hanes, or the Illustrious, the author of one of the bitterest persecutions that 
 ever the sins of Israel brought upon their race. We have in the vision — 
 
 I. The rise of this power. It was to exhibit this that the vision of the ram 
 and the he-goat was introduced (ver. 3-9). A ram is seen by the prophet, and is 
 explained by the angel to denote the Medo-Persian Empire («); its two horns, of 
 which the higher came up last, representing the Medes and Persians, who together 
 constituted the empire, the former, in the person of Darius the Mede, taking 
 possession immediately on the fall of Babylon, while the latter, who succeeded in 
 the person of Cyrus, was the more powerful. This ram is represented as pusliing 
 westward, northward, and southward W, so that none could stand before him ; Cyrus 
 having extended his conquests to Babylon, Syria, and Asia Minor on the west, to 
 Armenia and Scythia in the north, and to Egypt in the south. He is, however, 
 confronted by a he-goat who comes from the west, with a great horn between his 
 eyes, and so swift as to appear not to touch the ground, and is interpreted by 
 Gabriel to denote the king of Grecia (i"). The goat attacks the ram in great fury, 
 breaks his two horns, and utterly crushes them under his feet ; verified in history 
 by the victories obtained over the Persians by the Greeks under Alexander the 
 Great, the founder of the Greek Empire ("), and here represented as "a notable 
 horn " 0^) of the goat. His conquests over Persia were made with such rapidity 
 as to be included within the space of six years, while his whole course of victory 
 elsewhere was completed in six more, when he was arrested by death in the thiity- 
 third year of his age. This horn being thus broken or snapt asunder (i^), " for it," — 
 or in its stead, — "came up four notable horns towards the four winds of heaven ;" 
 interpreted by the angel to mean that on the death of the first king, Alexander the 
 Great, " four kingdoms should stand up out of the nation, but not in his power (");" 
 fulfilled in the well-known historical fact that, soon after Alexander's death, his 
 vast empire came to be divided among his four principal generals, wlio ruled with 
 a power greatly inferior to his own. These, as already indicated under the visions 
 of the great image and the four beasts, were Antigonus-, or, after the battle of 
 Ipsus, Cassander, who ruled Macedonia and Greece ; Lysiniachus, who possessed 
 Tiirace and Asia Minor; Ptolemy Lagus, who took Egypt, Palestine, and Arabia 
 Petraea; and Seleucus, who obtained Syria, Babylonia, and the Eastern countries 
 .as far as India ; thus "towards the four winds of heaven." It was out of the last 
 of these that there " came forth a Little Horn," making the most conspicuous figure 
 in the vision ; waxing " exceeding great toward the south, and toward the east, 
 and toward the pleasant land" (ver, 9). This was Antiochus, surnamed Epiphanes"0^), 
 the son, though not immediate successor, of Antigonus the Great, and the eightlj 
 who had reigned as king of Syria. He greatly extended the dominions of liis 
 father, almost gaining possession of Egypt, and seizing "the pleasant land,"(''') or 
 Palestine, on whose account it is that he is introduced at all. It is especially from 
 the exact agreement between the prophecy and this person that Porphyry was led 
 to maintain that it was history and not prophecy at all, and that it had been written 
 after the events by some one who wished to palm oflF his composition as that of 
 Daniel the prophet. For more in regard to him and his rise as the Little Horn, 
 see the prophecy in chap. xi. 21, ttc. 
 
 n. His character. The notes given of him by Gabriel are : — 
 
 1, PruJe. " He magnified himself even to (or against) the prince of the host," 
 
 i.e., God Himself or the Messiah, called also the Prince of princes : " He shall 
 
 magnify himself in his heart, and shall stand up against the Prince of princes" (ver. 
 
 14,''25). The author of the second Book of Maccabees says, in like manner, that 
 
 1G3 
 
nOMILETlC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 " be thought be might command the waves of the sea and weigh the high motmtains 
 in a bala°ice ; so proud was lie beyond the condition of men." The same book 
 relates that when humbled in his last hours by the hand of God so heavily laid 
 upon him, conscious of his past pride, he said, " It is meet to be subject unto God; 
 and a man that is mortal should not proudly think of himself as if he were God." 
 Pride, and especially pride in relation to God, always a prominent feature in the 
 description of Antichrist. 
 
 2. Fierceness. " A king of fierce countenance " (ver. 23). This feature in his 
 character sufficiently verified by his doings as related in the first Book of Maccabees. 
 When he first came against Jerusalem, under the impression that the Jews had 
 revolted, " removing from Egypt in a furious mind, he took the city by force of 
 arms, and commanded his men of war not to spare such as they met, and to slay 
 such as went up upon the houses." Even with his last sickness upon him, he is 
 said to have been still filled with pride, and to have breathed out fire in his rage 
 against the Jews. This enemy was to be daring and shameless, without fear 
 either of God or man. 
 
 3. Knowledge and penetration. "Understanding dark sentences" (ver. 23). 
 The exact meaning and application of this clause uncertain (^"). Bishop Newton 
 thinks it denotes that the Little Horn should be " a politic and artful as well as a 
 formidable power." The second Book of Maccabees speaks of him as thinking in 
 his pride to " make the land navigable and the sea passable on foot," as if possessed 
 of extraordinary knowledge or acquaintance with magical powers. He was to be 
 clever, and possessing.no ordinary powers of intellect. Even Satan is transformed 
 into an angel of light. 
 
 4. Policy and craft. "Through his policy he f^hall cause craft to prosper in his 
 hand," and "by peace he shall destroy many" (ver. 25). Much of his success 
 against the Jews appears as the result of this feature of his character (i*). Plis 
 general, Apollonius, coming to Jerusalem with an army and pretending peace, 
 forbore from his operations until the Sabbath, when, taking advantage of the 
 Jewish habit of resting on that sacred day, he armed his men, and, rushing on the 
 unprepared Jews, he slew them all (2 Mace, v.) The enemy to be characterised 
 by great ability to deceive. Paul speaks of " all deceivableness of unrighteousness," 
 
 III. His doings. " It waxed great even to (or against) the host of heaven ; " 
 probably the Jewish people or Church of God;(i") and it " cast down some of tlie 
 host of the stars (individuals among them) to the ground, and stamped upon them. 
 Yea, he magnified himself even to (or against) the prince of the host (probably 
 the promised Messiah or God Himself); and by Him the daily sacrifice" — the 
 ordinary stated worship of Jehovah at Jerusalem, accompanied with and expressed 
 by the ofi'ering of a lamb every morning and evening — "and the place of His 
 sanctuary was cast down. And an liostC-*^) (or a time) was given him against (or 
 over) the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth " — • 
 the Jewish worship and religion — ^"to the ground, and it practised and prospered" 
 (vers. 9-1 2). In the interpretation of the vision it is said, " He shall destroy 
 wonderfully, and shall prosper and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the 
 holy peoplu," — the Jews, called to be to God " a holy nation " (Exod. xix. 6, 24). 
 The first Book of Maccabees reveals the exact fulfilment of this part of the pro- 
 I>hecy, ('-') as well as the fact, also predicted, that these outrages did not take place 
 till the apostasy of a large number of the Jews had ri[)ened them for the judgment : 
 " The transgressors had come to the full " C"^. " The Lord was angry for a while 
 for the sins of them that dwelt in the city ; therefore His eye was not upon the 
 place." The result of Antiochus waxing great toward "the pleasant land " waa 
 that forty thousand of the Jews were slain and an equal number sold into 
 ca^jtivity. 
 
 IV. His continuance. " He practised and prospered " (ver. 1 2). It is not 
 said how long; but in vers. 13, 14, it is related by the prophet, "Then I heard 
 
 164 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 one saint (or holy one, namely, an angel) speaking, and another saint said unto 
 that certain saint (niarg., "the numberer of secrets "or " the wonderful numberer " 
 probably the Son of God, whose name is Wonderful, Isa, ix. 6; Judges xiii. 18), 
 which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the 
 transgression of desolation {marg., " making desolate ")^ to give both the t-anctuary 
 and the host to be trodden under foof? And He said unto me, Unto two thousand 
 and three hundred days [mm^g., "evening-morning," or evening and morning), and 
 then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." The sanctuary was defiled by AntTochus, 
 and the daily sacrifice made to cease in the year 168 B.C. In that year, two years 
 after his first coming up from Egypt against Jerusalem, he sent his chief collector 
 to put an end to the temple-worship, and thus to lay waste the sanctuary till it 
 was made "like a wilderness" (1 Mace. i. 39). It was not till about four years 
 afterwards that he died. The sanctuary, however, had been cleansed in the pre- 
 ceding year by Mattathias and his sons the Maccabees, after it had been defiled 
 between three and four years. The time mentioned in the text — "two thousand 
 and three hundred days" — might, it has been thought, indicate the period from 
 the first attack of Antiochus on Jerusalem, when he "entered proudly the sanctuary 
 and took away the golden altar," &c., till the cleansing of it between five and six 
 years afterwards (^s). Viewed typically and reckoned on the large year-day pro- 
 phetic scale, a day being counted a year, according to Numb. x-iv. 34, Ezek. 
 iv. 5, 6, the cleansing would apparently take place, a.d. 2132. 
 
 V. His end (ver. 25). " He shall be broken without hand." Neither in battle, 
 nor by the hand of the assassin, nor any other human instrumentality, but by the 
 secret operation and mighty power of God, was this oppressor of His people and His 
 cause feo meet with his end. Prophecy was fulfilled in his death as truly as in his 
 life. History relates that having gone to Elymais, in Persia, in quest of gold to 
 pay the Roman tribute, he left the place in great heaviness to return to Babylon. 
 "There came to him," however, says the author of 1st Maccabees,, "one who 
 brought him tidings into Persia that his armies, which went against the land of 
 Judea, were put to flight," and that the people " had pulled down the abomination 
 which he had set up upon the altar in Jerusalem." When the king heard this "he 
 was astonished and sore moved ; whereupon he laid him down upon his bed and 
 fell sick for grief, because it had not befallen him as he had looked for ; and there 
 he continued many days, his grief always increasing, and he made account that he 
 should die." Then calling his friends together, he is said to have addressed them 
 in the following terms : " I now remember the evils that I did at Jerusalem, and 
 that I took all the vessels of gold and silver that were therein, and sent to destroy 
 the inhabitants of Judea without a cause. I perceive, therefore, that for this cause 
 these troubles are come upon nie, and behold, I perish through great grief in a 
 strange land"(l Mace. vi. 4-16). The second Book of Maccabees further relates 
 that, fleeing from Persepolis, where he had attempted to rob the temple, and com- 
 ing to Ecbatana, he received the tidings of the defeat of his generals, Nicanor and 
 Timotheus, in Judea, and that upon this he resolved to hasten his return to Jeru- 
 salem, threatening to make it a common burying-place of the Jews ; but that as 
 soon as he uttered the words, " he was smitten with an incurable and invi.-^ible 
 plague, being seized with severe jiains in his bowels," aggravated by a sore fall from 
 his chariot while driving violently in haste for revenge ; while, " along with his 
 extreme pain, the worms rose up out of his body, his flesh fell away, and the noi- 
 someness of the smell that issued from him was such that no one could endure to 
 carry him, and that he himself was unable to bear it." 
 
 From the whole chapter we may notice — 
 
 1. The reality of fulfilled prophecy. The proof of the predictions contained in 
 this chapter being true prophecy and not history, as well as of their actual fulfil- 
 ment, such as to be sufficient to convince any but those who will not believe either 
 in prophecy or miracle on any evidence whatever. The fulfilment of the prophecy 
 
 165 
 
EOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 ill this section so exact that writers of the Ratioiualistic school have employed all 
 their ingenuity to disprove the genuineness of the book and to make it to be a 
 forgery of later times. Our comfort to know that as God possesses the knowledge 
 of hiture events, so He has given to His people a proof of His concern for their 
 welfare by coinmunicating to them through His servants, centuries beforehand, 
 events that shall surely come to pass. 
 
 2. The interest taken by angelic beings in the affairs of the Church and the world. 
 This interest exhibited here by two celestial personages, one of whom at least is a 
 created angel. Their interest in the vision and its interpretation an example worthy 
 of our imitation, for whose benefit both were given. If an angel inquired witli 
 concern of Him who is the revealer of secrets, " How long shall be th« vision i " 
 well may those do so who have a, personal interest in the events foretold. 
 
 3. IVie duty of inquiring into the 7n€aning of the word of prophecy. This taught 
 by the example of the prophet himself. Daniel, not satisfied with receiving the 
 vision, earnestly sought its meaning. If the prophets themselves " inquired dili- 
 gently what, and what manner of time, the Spirit that was in them did signify, 
 when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should 
 follow," how much more ought we to do so for whom they ministered ? (1 Pet. i. 
 10-12). 
 
 4. Jesus the Author both of the prophecies and their interpretcdion. Little doubt 
 but that here and in chap. ix. He is^the person who is introduced as communicating 
 with Daniel through a created angel. So the New Testament prophecies are called 
 " the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto Him," and which " He sent 
 and signified by His angel unto His servant John " (Rev, i. 1). So in chap. xxii. 
 IG : "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches." 
 " The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." A sufficient reason surely for 
 studying the prophetic Word, as well as a sweet encouragement to look for divine 
 help in understanding its meaning. The prophetic office of Jesus never to be 
 forgotten. 
 
 5. The instrwmentality of others employed by the Head of the Church in commu- 
 nicating knoivkdge. The interpretation of the vision not given to Daniel directly, 
 but through the medium of an angel. " Gabriel, make this man to understand the 
 vision." So Philip was sent to expound to the eunuch the prophecy he was reading : 
 " How can I understand except some man should guide me 1" (Acts viii. 30, 31). 
 
 6. T'he tendency of the heart to backslide from God. Within four centuries 
 after the return of the Jews from Babylon, they are found to have departed so far 
 from God, and to have adopted so much the ways of the heathen, that fresh and 
 still greater calamities were made to overtake them, almost to their entire extinc- 
 tion as a people. Only too much ground for the warning, "Take heed lest there 
 be ill any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing fiMiii the living God." 
 
 7. The danger to true religion from the influence of the world around u,s, and 
 the necessity of guarding agaiiist it. The danger to Israel after their return to 
 their own land was that they were surrounded by the heathen and brought into 
 close contact with them. " They were mixed with the heathen and learned their 
 ways." The danger from conformity to the world, the rock against which the 
 Church of God needs constantly to be warned. " Evil communications corrupt 
 good manners." Hence the exhortation, " Wherefore come out from among them, 
 and be ye separate, saith the Lord" (2 Cor. vi. 17). 
 
 8. God's patience and long-suffering. Not till " the transgressors had come to 
 the full " did He employ the scourge of the Syrian oppression for their correction. 
 Sentence against an evil work not speedily executed. The loiig-suireriiig of God 
 to be accounted salvation. Cod not willing that any should perish. His good- 
 ness intended to lead to repentance. Only when that fails goodness is exchanged 
 for severity. 
 
 9. The mercy of divine chastisement. " Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth." 
 
 1G6 
 
ilOMILETlC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 Better for Israel to Lave Antiochus let loose upon tbein than to continue to learn 
 and practise the ways of the heathen and sink into apostasy. Better smart for 
 sin in time than suffer for it in eternitj% The case of Israel and Antiochus is 
 given as an example of the use of persecution to discipline the Church of God 
 and His ministers, and to prepare the way for the Saviour. 
 
 10. The ureiched depravity of the human heart. In Antiochus Epiphanes, as in 
 millions more, we have an example of the madness that is in men's hearts while 
 they live without God and are strangers to His grace. The tendency of the heart 
 to increase in depravity as its desires are indulged. No height of pride or depth 
 of wickedness to which a man may not arrive when left to himself and the enemy 
 of souls. One prayed to be kept from that most hideous of sights, a human heart. 
 Better the saying of the heathen philosopher, " Know thyself." 
 
 11. Oppressors and persecutors still in God's hand. To Antiochus, as to others, 
 He says, " Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further, and here shall thy proud 
 waves be stayed." The tyrant and oppressor employed as His scourge as long as 
 He sees necessary, and then arrested in his madness, either in mercy or in judg- 
 ment. Saul, breathing out slaughter against God's saints, is awakened and saved j 
 Antiochus perseveres in his cruelty till he is "broken without hand." 
 
 12. Timely help and deliverance provided for God's persecuted people. While 
 Antiochus is prepared as a scourge for backsliding Israel, Mattathias and his sons 
 are raised up as means for their deliverance. So with the Jews and Sennacherib. 
 *' The Assyrian came down lil^e a wolf on the fold," &c. Herod Agrippa stretches 
 out his hand to vex certain of the Churol), and he is smitten with an unseen hand 
 and eaten up of worms. Queen Mary dies while Bernard Gilpin is on his way to 
 a martyr's death. Persecutors seldom allowed to be long livers, and when the 
 enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against 
 hun. Where Satan raises up a Pharaoh, God in His time prepares a Moses. 
 
 13. Religioics privileges and ordinances not sufficient to keep the Church from 
 backsliding from God, nor to save it from punishment when it does so. The abuse 
 of such privileges among a nation's greatest sins, and the cause of its sorest 
 chastisements. The sin which brought Antiochus against the Jews and Mahomet 
 against the Christians. The ark of God no safety to unfaithful Israel from the 
 hand of the Philistines. "Take away her battlements, for they are not the Lord's." 
 England's greatest danger from despised mercies and abused privileges. Britain's 
 highest privilege the abundance of her Bibles and the freeness of her Gospel. The 
 present a time, however, for all the lovers of their country to cry mightily to God 
 to save her from the sin of a refused Bible and a reiected Saviour. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— (0 " Shic- the citadel, the HTan (hahbirah) of the 
 shan the palace." Shushan or Susa, text. This was a strongly fortified build- 
 now called Sus or Shoosh by the Arabs, ing, towering over the city for its terror 
 was the chief city of the province of or its defence ; while the " palace, " as 
 Elam, called Elymais by the Greeks, is known by inscriptions, was built by 
 and, until Darius, is thought to have Darius Hystaspis or Gnshtasp, who only 
 been part of the Babylonian dominion. began to reign B.C. 521, perhaps thirty- 
 Keil, however, says we have no accurate two years after tliis vision. He reads : 
 information whetlier under Belshazzar " I was in Shushan, the citadel," as 
 Elam was or was not added to Babylon the city itself is called, either from the 
 or the Chaldean empire. At the time citadel proper, or because of its own 
 of Darius Susa belonged to the province great strength, the palace being de- 
 of Elam, which had been made a satrapy scribed in Esther i. 5, 6, (fee, and called 
 by the kings of Persia, with Susa for its "the house (or palace) of the king," 
 capital. Dr. Rule observes that the situated in a garden, and sumptuously 
 "palace" of Susa, as is evident from furnished, as being intended for state 
 the ruins, was a different building from or pleasure, but not like a citadel for 
 
 167 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 fitreiigth. Tlie ruins of Susa are now 
 only u wilderness, and inhabited by 
 lions and hyenas, on the eastern b;inks 
 of the Shapur, between it and the Diz- 
 ful, both flowing into the Knran, pro- 
 bably the same as the Ulai, or, accord- 
 ing to its Aryan or Persian name, the 
 Choaspes. Three great mountains of 
 ruins, from eighty to a hundred feet high, 
 show the compass of the city, while 
 smaller heaps point out its remains. 
 
 (") By the river of Ulai. Mentioned 
 on the cylinder of Assnrbanipal as the 
 river of Shushan. "Their wives, like 
 bows and arrows, filled the vicinity of 
 Shushan; their corpses I caused the 
 Ulai to receive." Jerome, as w^ell as the 
 Vulgate and Theodotion, translate the 
 words, " at the gate of Ulai," remarking 
 that Ulai is the name of a place or of a 
 gate, and stating that at Shushan there 
 is no river, but only the gate of that 
 castle, although some make the word 
 7niS (oobhal) equivalent to ^nv (yoo- 
 hhal), a flood. There had been such a 
 river, Calvin observes that the Latin 
 writers mention a river ^m/cp«5, and that 
 he has no hesitation in understanding 
 it to be intended here. Pliny says the 
 river Eulseus divides Susiana from Ely- 
 mais. 
 
 (-0 " Gabriel." For remarks on this 
 angelic messenger see under chap. ix. 
 21. 
 
 <S) "That certain saint" (ver. 13), 
 ''3107S (palmoni) ; according to Keil, " a 
 certain one, I know not who," as not 
 being more particularly definable. Left 
 untranslated in the Greek. The margin 
 of E.V. has "Palmoni ;" but adds, "or 
 the numherer of secrets, or the tvonderfnl 
 mimherer." PfaiT, Junius, and Willet : 
 "a certain one," like peloni almoni, 
 "such a one" (Paith iv. 1); Willet 
 thinking the Hebrew words better joined 
 on account of tlie ambiguous significa- 
 tion. Polanus Y'lderstands it to mean 
 " secret," from X73 (pelc), " wonderful," 
 and D'^y ('alam), " to hide." (Ecolam- 
 j)adins translates the word " an admir- 
 able or wonderful one," from N?D (pele), 
 "a wonder," and *30'?N (almoni), "a 
 certain one." Calvin also renders it 
 " wonderful," and thinks it certainly 
 points to a person the superior of the 
 1C8 
 
 angel who speaks, and that it denotes 
 Christ Himself. Brightman has " au 
 excellent one ; " while Wintle adopts the 
 marginal rendering. 
 
 (5.) " 2Vie vision of the evening and 
 the viorning" (ver. 26). 1i^'3 ^^ {'erehh 
 hoqer), like tiie wy^Qriixiim (a night and 
 day) of tlie Greeks (2 Cor. xi. 35). Ac- 
 cording to Keil, who renders the phrase 
 " evening-morning," we are to under- 
 stand whole days, consisting of morning 
 and evening (twenty-four hours). So 
 Bertholdt, Pliivernick, itc, in opposition 
 to Bleek, Ewald, Delitzsch, and others, 
 who, understanding the reference to the 
 morning and evening sacrifice of each 
 day, make the number, not 2300 whole 
 days, but 1150. Keil thinks the verbal 
 import of the expression doubtful ; but 
 that the choice of so unusual a measure 
 of time, derived from the two chief parts 
 of the day, instead of tlie simple mea- 
 sure of time by days, probably originates 
 with reference to the morning and even- 
 ing sacrifice, by which the day was to be 
 consecra.ted to the Lord, after Gen. i. 5, 
 8, 13, &c., where the days of the crea- 
 tion week are named and reckoned ac- 
 cording to the succession of evening and 
 morning. 
 
 _ C*^) " Shut up the vision " (ver. 2G). 
 DiriD (sethom), from Dnp {satliam), to 
 stop, to conclude, to hide; but not in 
 the sense of keeping secret, or because 
 it would be incomprehensible for the 
 nearest times ; but in the sense of keep- 
 ing, as in archives. According to Keil 
 and Kliefoth, the meaning is simply 
 this : Preserve the revelation, not be- 
 cause it is not yet to be understood, 
 also not for the purpose of keeping it 
 secret, but that it may remain preserved 
 for future times. So Chrysostom : Keep 
 and preserve it faithfully. Cardinal 
 Hugo understands it to mean : Commit 
 it to memory. De Lyra : Commit it to 
 writing. Bnllinger : Seal it as a thing 
 most true and certain. Willet : Keep 
 it from the Clialdees and from carnal 
 men. According to Junius, it was to 
 intimate that the vision would be long 
 in receiving its fulfilment. Calvin un- 
 derstood it to mean that men were not 
 to doubt of its fulfilment. Dr. Ilule thus 
 pai'aphrases : " Let nothing curiously 
 
IIOMIL ETIC COMMENTAR Y : DA Nl EL. 
 
 tempt thee to brccak the seal, for that 
 which God closes no creature has power 
 to break open. Be not iin})atient to 
 promulgate what thou art not able to 
 explain ; for neither is it necessary to pub- 
 lish what God has determined that none 
 shall understand till the time to under- 
 stand shall come. Seal it up, therefore, 
 and let it be kept with care, every letter 
 of it, that no rude handling obliterate 
 the finest stroke." 
 
 (0 " It cannot be disputed that here, 
 in prophetic perspective, the time of the 
 end is seen together with the period of 
 the oppression of the people of God 
 by Antiochus, and the first appearance 
 of the Messiah with His return in glory 
 to the final judgment, as the latter is the 
 case also in chap. ii. 34, &c., 44, kc, 
 and vii. 13, 2%, &c. . . . For in the last 
 vision (chaps, x.-xii.) which Daniel saw, 
 not only the time of the oppression of An- 
 tiochus and that of the last enemy are 
 contemplated together as one, but also 
 the whole contents of this one vision 
 are, chap. x. 14, transferred to the • end 
 of the days.'" — Keil. 
 
 (s) (« ^ y^^^j which had two ho7-ns." 
 *' The kings of Media and Persia " (vers, 
 3, 20). A ram's head of gold, says Dr. 
 Gumming, chosen as the diadem of the 
 Persian kings, alone sufficient to identify 
 the symbol. The figure of a ram, the 
 symbol of Persia, Dr. Rule tells us, has 
 been found among the ruins of Per- 
 sepolis. In the Zend book Bundehesh, 
 the guardian spirit of the Persian king- 
 dom is represented under the figure of 
 a ram. Dr. Rule observes that the 
 Medo-Persian conqueror of Shushan, a 
 Babylonian stronghold, is here foretold ; 
 and thinks that it was perhaps as much 
 the assurance produced in his mind in 
 this vision as any second revelation in 
 the night of the banquet, that enabled 
 the prophet to declare the meaning of 
 the writing on the wall. 
 
 (9) a p^isliing rveshvard, and northward, 
 and southward" [ver. 4). Dr. Gumming 
 observes that Lydia and Babylon were 
 subdued by Cyrus, and Egypt by his 
 son Gambyses. Keil remarks that the 
 ram is to be conceived of as standing on 
 the western bank of the river flowing on 
 the west of Susa, from whence he pushed 
 
 down with his horns all beasts before 
 him, i.e., subdued all nations and king- 
 doms to his power in three regions of 
 the earth ; in the west, Baljylon, Syria, 
 and Asia Minor ; in the south, Egypt ; 
 in the north, the Armenian and Scythian 
 nations. He did not push toward the 
 east; not because, as Havernick thinks, 
 the conquests of the Persians did not 
 stretch towards that quarter, for Gyrus 
 and Darius subdued nations to the east 
 of Persia even as far as to the Indus ; but 
 because, for the unfolding of the Lledo- 
 Persian monarchy as a world-power, its 
 conquests in the east were subordinate, 
 and therefore are not mentioned. 
 
 (10) " jiti he-goat came from the toest." 
 " The rough goat is the king of Grecia" 
 (vers. 5, 21). Dr. Taylor remarks that 
 the symbol of a goat often appears in 
 connection with Macedonia, and was 
 used as an emblem of that kingdom, 
 its origin being ascribed to the tradition 
 that Garemus, the first king of Mace- 
 don, was led by a flock of gt)at3 to the 
 spot on which he decided for the capital 
 of his kingdom. Keil observes that the 
 goat comes from the west, as Macedonia 
 lay west of Susa or Persia; and its 
 coming over the earth is more definitely 
 denoted by the expression, " he touched 
 not the ground," i.e., as he hastened 
 over it in his flight, — the remark corre- 
 sponding with the four wings of the 
 leopard (chap. vii. 6). 
 
 (") " The first king." The author of 
 the first Book of Maccabees says th.it 
 Alexander "reigned in his stead (viz., 
 that of Darius the Mede), the first over 
 Greece." The author of this book, 
 which is said to have been written 
 originally in Hebrew, "is thought to 
 have compiled it partly from the 
 memoirs collected by Judas Macca- 
 bseus, and partly from those of John 
 Hyrcanus, whose leadership began at 
 the period where this book leaves off." 
 Archdeacon Harrison remarks, after Mr. 
 Forster (Mohammedanism Unveiled) that 
 a clear reference is made by the author 
 of that book to the prophecy regarding 
 Antiochus Epiphanes. 
 
 (12) "yl notable horn." Ti^\r[ XJ)__ (ke- 
 ren khazuth), a "a horn of sight," i.e., a 
 horn to be looked at and contemplated 
 169 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL 
 
 with admiration. The parallel expres- 
 sion in ver. 8, " the great horn." Keil 
 remarks tliat ri-ltn (khazuth) has the 
 meaning of ^^?P. {march), in the keri 
 r\^-\ip C"X {ish viareh) of 2 Sam. xxiii. 
 21, a mmi of countenance or sight ; a Iwrn 
 of sight, consideration, or considerable 
 greatness. Sept., xhag Sic^rjo. " He 
 made many ^Yars, and won many strong- 
 holds, and slew the kings of the earth, 
 and went through to the ends of the 
 earth, and took the spoils of many na- 
 tions, insomuch that the earth was quiet 
 before him ; and he ruled over countries, 
 and nations, and kings, who became tri- 
 butary to him" (1 INlacc. i. 2, etc.) 
 
 (13) a j'he great horn tvas broken." 
 Dr. Gumming, applying the words to 
 Alexander's government rather than to 
 himself, observes that the original term 
 denotes " snapt asunder ; " not gradually 
 wasted away, nor desolated inch by inch 
 till it disappeared. Alexander's govern- 
 ment w:is terminated with his life. The 
 expression, however, probably refers to 
 Alexander's own death, which came upon 
 him suddenly in the midst of his car- 
 ousings in Babylon, tlie termination of 
 his empire being the result of that event. 
 " Here as well as at chap. xi. 4 the re- 
 ference of the words to the sudden death 
 of Alexander in the prime of his days, 
 and when in the very height of his vic- 
 torious career, cannot be disputed ; and 
 by the breaking of the horn we can only 
 understand Alexander's death, and the 
 breaking-np of the kingdom founded by 
 him." — Keil. 
 
 0-i) "For it came up four notable ones." 
 " Four kingdoms shall stand rip out of 
 the nation, but not in his poiver " (vers. 
 8,22). n^^n (khazuth), "sight," the noun 
 used ill ver. 5, here employed as an ad- 
 verb, conspicuoush/ ; " tliere came forth 
 four cons{)icuou.xly in its i)lace." Ac- 
 cording to the interpretation of the angel, 
 however, these four horns, though not- 
 able and conspicuous, have not the power 
 of tlie one great liorn. " They represent 
 in themselves a considerable power, with- 
 out, however, gaining tlie power of the 
 one undivided kingdom." — A'eil. These 
 four liorns or kingcloms are the dynasties 
 of the Diadochs, as they are called. Of 
 these there were indeed five ; but after 
 170 
 
 the overthrow of Antigonus at tlie battle 
 of Ipsus, 301 B.C., twenty-two years 
 after the death of Alexander, for the 
 first time they became in reality four 
 kings, and divided the empire among 
 themselves, as stated in the text. All 
 of them, however, says the historian 
 Justin, "abstained from tlie use of the 
 insignia of their dignity while the sons 
 of their king survived. So great was 
 their veneration, that although they had 
 royal wealth and resources, they cared 
 not for the name of kings, so long as 
 there existed a legitimate heir to Alex- 
 ander." 
 
 (15) u Q^^f Qj! Qjjg ^j iJi^^y^ came forth 
 a little horn" (ver. 9). Literally, "Out 
 of one of them came forth one horn 
 out of littleness," i.e., from small be- 
 ginnings. So Keil, Maurer, and others. 
 The expression corresponds with "^TVt 
 •'^i2?P {zeirah silqath), " came up small," 
 in chap. vii. 8. The horn was to grow 
 to great power from a small beginning. 
 It was to be one horn, not several. 
 The one of the four horns from which 
 the Little Horn grew up has been acknow- 
 ledged by all interpreters since Josephus 
 to be the Syrian monarchy, and the horn 
 itself to be AntiochusEpiphanes. "There 
 came out of them a wicked root, An- 
 tiochus, surnained Epiphanes, son of 
 Antiochus the king" (1 Mace. i. 10). 
 Josephus says, "Our nation suffered 
 these calamities under Antiochus Epi- 
 phanes, as Daniel saw and wrote many 
 years before what things should come 
 to pass." 
 
 (i«) " The pleasant land" (ver. 9) ;?•>'? 
 (hatstsebhi), the beauty, delight, or orna- 
 ment, as in chap. xi. 16, 41, 45, where 
 it has " land " or " mountain " connected 
 with it. The name given to the land of 
 Canaan, and perhaps to Jerusalem, its 
 capital, from its pleasantness and beauty, 
 but more especially from its being chosen 
 as the land in which Jehovah was pleased 
 to manifest Himself; hence, in chap. xi. 
 45, the addition of the epithet "holy." 
 According to Keil, " splendour, glory ; " 
 the gloiious land. So Calvin. The same 
 word used as the name of the roe, from 
 its pleasantness and beauty. Tiie expe- 
 ditions of Antiochus referred to in the 
 text are thus rehited in the first Cook of 
 
no .1/ IL ETIC COMMENT AR Y ; DA XIEL. 
 
 CHAP. Vllt. 
 
 Maccabees, " Now when tue kingdom 
 was establislied before Antiochus, be 
 thought to reign over Egypt [in the 
 south], that he might have the dominion 
 of two realms. Wherefore he entered 
 into Egypt with a great multitude, with 
 chariots, and elephants, and horsemen, 
 and a great navy ; and made war against 
 Ptolemy, king of Egypt, and he took the 
 spoils thereof. And after that Antiochus 
 had smitten Egypt, he returned again, 
 and went up against Israel and Jeru- 
 salem with a great multitude " ( 1 Mace. 
 i. 16-20). 
 
 (^") " Understanding dark sentences.''^ 
 Literally, " understanding mysteries ; " 
 n'lT'n {khidhoth) ; but probably taken 
 in a bad sense ; concealing his purpose 
 behind ambiguous words, using dissimu- 
 lation, forming artifices. So Keil, who 
 thinks the expression is interpreted in 
 ver. 25 by nOlD (mirmah), craft or deceit. 
 The Sept. and Vulg. have, " understand- 
 ing problems or propositions." Luther 
 refers the expression to his craftiness ; 
 while Calvin understands it also of his 
 cleverness ; not easy to be deceived — 
 skilled in enigmas. So Martin (French) : 
 Of a penetrating spirit. G rutins inter- 
 prets it of his knowledge of tricks, strata- 
 gems, and wiles ; knowing in what way 
 many of the Jews might be drawn away 
 from their religion. Junius and Geier 
 THiderstand it as denoting his sagacity in 
 investigating and finding out abstruse 
 matters. Adam Clarke thinks the ex- 
 pression to mean — learned and skilful 
 in all things relating to government and 
 its intrigues, and apparently typical of 
 Rome, whose legal learning is proverbial 
 to the present time. R. Saadias under- 
 stood it of his mastery of the " dark 
 sentences " or enigmas of the principal 
 kings of his time, viz., those of Greece, 
 Rome, and Persia. 
 
 (18) (( TJirQugh his policy he shall 
 cause craft to prosper " (ver. 25). '9^ 
 (nechel), sagacity ; generally used in a 
 good sense ; here apparently in a bad 
 one, — cunning. Through his clever- 
 ness his deceit should be successful. 
 Great intelligence and cleverness to 
 characterise both type and antitype. 
 " All deceivableness of unrighteousness." 
 Satan transformed into an angel of lidit. 
 
 (19) " The host of heaven." Here, as 
 in Jer. xxxiii. 22, the whole body of 
 the stars of heaven, interpreted by the 
 angel in ver. 24 to denote the people 
 of the saints, or the covenannt people 
 of God, the stars who were cast to 
 the ground being therefore individuals 
 among the people, and not necessarily 
 the priests or leaders. " lie (the 
 general) fell suddenly upon the city, 
 and smote it very sore, and destroyed 
 many people of Israel" (1 Mace. i. 
 30). 
 
 (20) " jin host teas given him against 
 the daily sacrifice " (ver. 12). XTi* 
 {tsahha), " a host." According to Keil, 
 it denotes only military service, or per- 
 haps military forces ; and the proper 
 rendering of the passage is, "An host 
 shall be given up, together with the 
 daily sacrifice, because of transgres- 
 sion," viz., the apostasy of Israel from 
 God. So, in general, C. B. Michaelis, 
 Havernick, V. Lengerke, Maurer, and 
 Kliefoth. So also Willet, Bullinger, 
 Junius, and Polanus; the latter, how- 
 ever, reading "against the daily sacri- 
 fice ; " and understanding by the trans- 
 gression especially the treachery of the 
 priests Jason and Menelaus, through 
 which the city and Temple were be- 
 trayed (2 Mace, iv.) Calvin under- 
 stands the word N3V (tsahha) in the 
 sense of '"'an appointed time," as in 
 Job vii. 1 ; and considers the meaning 
 to be, that Antiochus could do nothing 
 unless divinely permitted and pre- 
 viously limited ; that God would try 
 the patience of His Church for a certain 
 definite time, but that Antiochus should 
 not be able to abolish the worship of 
 God. — I^PI^ (tamidh), "daily sacrifice;" 
 literally, "the continual;" comprehends 
 all that is of permanent use in the 
 service or worship of God. So Keil, 
 Hengstenberg, Havernick, &,c. 
 
 (21) "/^ cast down the truth to the 
 ground " (ver. 1 2). ^ID^? (einelh), " truth," 
 "the truth ;" here objective truth ; the 
 Word of God, so far as it is embodied 
 in external worship ; the Jewish re- 
 ligion and worship as appointed by God 
 Himself. The first Book of Maccabees 
 (chap. i. 43, &c.) informs us how far this 
 was "cast down" by Antioclms. "He 
 
 171 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 entered proudly into the sanctuary, and 
 took away the golden altar, and the 
 candlestick of light, and all the vessels 
 thereof, and the table of the shew- 
 bread, and the pouring vessels, and the 
 bowls, and the censers of gold, and the 
 veil, the crowns, and the golden orna- 
 ments that were before the Temple ; all 
 wliich he pulled ofi". He took also the 
 silver and the gold and the precious 
 vessels. . . . ]\toreover. King Antiochus 
 wrote to his whole kingdom that all 
 should be one people, and every one 
 should receive his laws : so all the 
 heathen agreed according to the com- 
 mandment of the king. Yea, many also 
 of the Israelites consented to his re- 
 ligion, and sacrificed unto idols and 
 l)rofaned the Sabbath. For the king 
 liad sent letters by messengers to Jeru- 
 salem and to the cities of Judah that 
 they should follow the strange laws of 
 the king, and forbid burnt-ofierings and 
 sacrifices and drink-offerings in the 
 Temple, and that they should profane 
 the Sabbath-days and festival days, and 
 ])(>lhite the sanctuary and holy people." 
 The punishment of non-cnmpliance was 
 death, which was rigorously inflicted. 
 
 {22) <i ]Y}n'-ii tJie tranRgix'ssors are come 
 to the fuir' (ver. 23). DnniD (Jceha- 
 them), literally, "at the making full," 
 or " when they have made full," i.e., 
 their transgression, or the measure of 
 their sins, understood from the concep- 
 tion of the subject. The transgressors, 
 D^i'P'Dn (^happoshe'lm), are the rebellious 
 among the Jews, who apostatised and 
 cast off the religion of Jehovah for the 
 manners of the Greeks, as in ver. 12; 
 ])erhaps with special reference to the 
 leaders in the apostasy. The author of 
 tlie first J>ook (»f Maccabees thus relates : 
 " When on the death of Seleucus, king 
 of S.\ ria, Antiochus Epiphanes came to 
 the kingdom, Jason, the brother of 
 Onias the high priest, laboured under- 
 hand to obtain that dignity, promising 
 the king a large sum of money as a 
 bribe, and at the same time another 
 large sum if he might have licence to 
 Ret him up a place for exercise, and for 
 the training up of youth in the fashions 
 of the heathen ; which, when the kiiig 
 bad granted, and he had gotten into his 
 172 
 
 hand the rich, he forthwith brought his 
 own nation to the Greek fashion, and 
 putting down the governments which 
 were according to law, he brought up 
 new customs against the law. For he 
 gladly built a place of exercise under 
 the tower itself, and brought the chief 
 young men under his subjection. . . . 
 Now such was the height of Greek 
 fashions and increase of heathenish 
 manners, through the exceeding pro- 
 fanity of Jason, that ungodly wretch 
 and no high priest, that the priests had 
 no courage to serve any more at the 
 altar; but, despising the Temple, and 
 neglecting the sacrifices, they hastened 
 to be partakers of the unlawful allow- 
 ance in the place of exercise, . . . not 
 setting by the honour of their fathers, 
 but liking the glory of the Grecians best 
 of all. By reason whereof sore calami- 
 ties came upon them ; for they had them 
 to be their enemies and avengers whose 
 customs they followed so eagerly, and to 
 whom they desired to be like in all 
 things. For it is no light thing to do 
 wickedly against the law of God." 
 
 (23) n IJnio two thoiisaiid and three 
 hundred days (niarg., evening morn- 
 ing) : then shall the sanctuary be 
 cleansed." Calvin says these days fill 
 up six years and three and a half 
 months, while the Jews suffered under 
 Antiochus about six years. Keil also 
 understands the period here mentioned 
 as two thousand three hundred days, 
 but views it rather as symbolical, the 
 oppression of Antiochus having con- 
 tinued not fully seven years. Wintle 
 thiidcs the expression " evening morn- 
 ing " should induce us to understand 
 those days in the first instance literally, 
 rather than of months and years ; and 
 wcuild thus refer them to the tyranny of 
 Antiochus, without forgetting the refer- 
 ence to Antichrist, of whom Antiochus 
 was the type. Dr. Rule, however, re- 
 marks: "The king of fierce countenance 
 (ver. 23) was to arise in the latter part 
 of the kingdom of the successors of 
 Alexander, which kingdom began about 
 three hundred and seven years before 
 Christ. The defilement of the Temple, 
 B.C. 1G8, took place only one hundred 
 and two years before the extinction of 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTAR Y : DANIEL. 
 
 the Syrian kingdom, B.C. 66, and there- therefore, if we correctly understand 
 
 fore ' in the hitter time of their king- the prophecy, some state of things is 
 
 doni,' that is to say, the kingdom of the likely to arise that shall answer to 
 
 four kings ; and must be taken to make the cleansing of the sanctuary, the 
 
 the commencement of the two thousand restoration of the daily sacrifice, the 
 
 three hundred years, which, on that ending of the transgression of deso- 
 
 calculation, will terminate in the year lation, and the fuliiluient of Daniel's 
 
 of our Lord 2132. About that year, vision." 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XXIX. — The Moslem Antichrist (Chnp. viii. 9-25). 
 
 Although the vision of the Syrian or Grecian Little Horn had plainly its 
 fulfilment in Antiochus Epiphanes, yet there have appeared reasons for believing 
 that it looked beyond that monarch to another power, of which it might be 
 regarded as the type(^). This has seemed especially probable from the time during 
 which the sanctuary was to remain uncleansed and the daily sacrifice to be 
 abolished. The pollution of the Temple by Antiochus, strictly speaking, continued 
 oidy some three years or three years and a half; which hitter term would be not 
 2300, but 12G0 days. The probability is that the term "days," or, as it is here 
 peculiarly expressed, " evening mornings," as often elsewhere in prophecy, is to be 
 understood oi years ; as it obviously is in chap, xii., and as the ''weeks" in the 
 next chapter are well known to be weeks not of days but of years. Another 
 reason for regarding this Little Horn as typical of another power afterwards to 
 arise is the fact that the Scripture elsewhere ajiplies the same language to a power 
 that was only to appear in connection with the fourth beast or Roman Empire, and 
 that is usually spoken of as the Antichrist ; while the evils predicted as wrought 
 by Antiochus against the Jews were much less than those inflicted both upon 
 Jews and Christians (the people of the new covenant) by another power in many 
 respects resembling him. There appears reason, therefore, to regard the " Little 
 Horn " of the third beast or Grecian Empire as typical of that other " Little Horn " 
 of the fourth beast or lloman Empire predicted in chap. vii. It is thus that 
 Antiochus was regarded by the early Christians as a type of Anticlirist. 
 
 It has, however, been believed by some, on apparently satisfactory grounds, 
 that besides the Antichrist of the fourth beast or Roman Empire, Antiociius niigiit 
 typify another power that was to prove as hurtful to the Christian Church as that 
 tyrant was to the Jewish one, and which was to arise within the bounds of the 
 same third empire to which Antiochus himself belonged. That power was the 
 Mohammedan or Turkish, which, with Mahomet for its head and representative, 
 might be called the Antichrist of the E;ist, as the Papacy, with the Roman Pontiff 
 as its head, was of the West ; and which, like the latter, ajipears to occupy a con- 
 siderable place in the Apocalypse of the New Testament. See Rev. ix. 1-19, xvi. 
 12. Tlie pollution of the sanctuary and the "abomination of desolation standhig 
 in the holy place," which were to characterise the future Antichrist, as it had done 
 Antiochus, has marked the conduct no less of the jMoslems than of the Romans. 
 The latter polluted the Temple by planting an idolatrous standard, the Roman 
 eagle, within its walls after the siege (2), while a new city, called iElia Capitolina, 
 was erected on the ruins of Jerusalem, which no Jew was allowed to approach. 
 The doings of the Moslems have been no less marked in respect to the Temple, tlie 
 Holy City, and the Jewish people, while they have been especially directed against 
 the people of the new covenant, the Christian Church in its Eastern branch, with 
 its sanctuaries and worship (s); and it is not a little remarkable that, as DAubign^ 
 observes, " At the beginning of the seventh century, while the sturdy shoulders 
 
 ITS 
 
nOMlLETlC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 of the children of the idolatrous North were placing on the supreme throne of 
 Cliristendom a pastor on the banks of the Tiber, these events were accomplishing 
 in the West precisely at the period when the power of Mahomet arose in the East." 
 It may be interesting to trace the typical analogy in the various particulars 
 enumerated in the preceding chapter. 
 
 I. The rise of their power. The Saracen power, like Mahomet himself, arose 
 in Arabia, while that of the Turks had its origin in Parthia, near the Oxus, both 
 being within the territory of the he-goat or Grecian Empire, and indeed that part 
 of it from which the Little Horn was to spring, and of which Antiochus was the 
 ruler. Like the founder of the religicm which bears his name, the Turkish Empire 
 was "little" in its beginning, commencing with Togrul Beg, a Turcoman shep- 
 lierd, the petty chief of a petty clan. Togrul, by marrying the Caliph's daughter, 
 from being, as Dr. Cumming remarks, " a petty and contemptible chief, became 
 the loyal and all but irresistible propagandist of Mahometan fanaticism." 
 
 II. Its character. Pride obviously belonged to one who claimed to be the 
 supreme prophet of God, whose teachings and revelations were to supersede those 
 both of Moses and of Christ, and to a people that believe themselves to be alone 
 the faithful and the favourites of the Almighty, and despise all others as dogs and 
 infidels. Fierceness is the well-known characteristic both of Saracens and Turks, 
 a people, according to one of their own chiefs, whose " delight is in war rather 
 than in peace," and who, in the language of Gibbon speaking of the Turkish 
 nations, " still breathe the fierceness of the desert." The singular and somewhat 
 obscure feature of ^^understanding dark sentences" may not unnaturally be applied 
 to one who pretended to receive the Koran, with all its mysterious and dark sen- 
 tences, from the mouth of the Angel Gabriel, a book which has been the study of 
 many of his followers in relation to the most abstruse theological subjects, while 
 many others have entered as profoundly into the various branches of mathematical 
 and scientific knowledge, — Mahomet's successor, Ali, uniting, as Gibbon remarks, 
 " the qualifications of a poet, a soldier, and a saint." 
 
 By pcdicy and craft ]\Iahomet is known to have made the progress he did, 
 acting as a worldly ruler while pretending to be the prophet of God and the organ 
 of divine communications to mankind. " In the exercise of political government," 
 says the historian just quoted, " Mahomet was compelled to abate the stern rigour 
 of fanaticism, to comply with the prejudices and passions of his followers, and to 
 employ even the vices of mankind as the instruments of their salvation. The use 
 of fraud and perfidy, of cruelty and injustice, was often subservient to the pro- 
 pagation of the faith." He is believed to liave worn the mask of sanctity and 
 mortification only the better to extend his imposture in the world ; while his craft 
 appears in pretending new and contradictory communications from Heaven to meet 
 emertrencies and requirements as they arose. 
 
 III. Its doings. Like Antiochus Epiphanes, the Saracens and Turks "waxed 
 exceeding great toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant 
 land." Tiiey extended their conquests to Egypt, Persia, etc., and to Palestine, 
 the last being in their possession to the present day. The Calii)h Omar, in the 
 seventh century, obtained possession of Jerusalem, and immediately caused a 
 magnificent mosque to be erected on the site of the aticient Temple. On his enter- 
 ing the city, the Christian patriarch Sophronins, says Gibbon, "bowed before his 
 new master, and muttered, in the words of Daniel, 'the abomination of desolation 
 is in the holy place.'" In place of the worship of the Triune Jehovah through 
 the one Mediator Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice, was substituted the 
 worship of a Being of whom Mahomet taught that it was unbecoming to say 
 that He could have a son, and who was to be approached through no Mediator 
 unless it might be himself, and through no olTering except a man's own meritorious 
 actions. The daily sacrifice was taken away in its true sense, as it had been by 
 Antiochus in its typical one. The religion of Jesus, witli its one sacrifice for siii, 
 
 174 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. chap, vitl 
 
 •was banished from the precincts of tlie Temple area, within which even now a 
 Cliristiau is scarcely permitted to enter. Nor indeed did this take place till, as in 
 the case of Antiochus and the Jews, "the transgressors had come to the full ;" 
 Moslems and Turks being simply the scourge of a degenerate Christianity, which 
 had changed " the Gospel of the blessed God " into what was in many respects a lie, 
 and His worship into a mass of foolish and worthless superstitions W. By them 
 the mystical holy city, the Church of Christ, as well as the literal one, was to be 
 trodden under foot. Everywhere Christian churches were either demolished or 
 converted into mosques W, and were permitted to remain .as such only on the 
 payment of a tribute, the memorials of this profane desolation meeting you every- 
 where in the East at the present day, as well as in Constantinople itself, where the 
 most splendid mosques, as that of St. Sophia, were originally employed for Chris- 
 tian worship before the Crescent supplanted the Cross. The well-known option to 
 the Christian was between renouncing Christianity, tribute, and death (^). How 
 Mahomet magnified himself against the Prince of princes, and cast down the truth 
 to the ground, was made only too obvious by the well-known watchword, " There 
 is no God but one, and Mahomet is His prophet;" and by the law, rescinded only 
 a few years ago under British influence, that made it death for a Moslem to become 
 a Christian. 
 
 IV. Its end. The Little Horn was to be " broken without hand." We have 
 seen the fulfilment of this part of the prophecy in relation to the person of An- 
 tiochus. In his Moslem antitype, however, we look for it rather in the power than 
 the person. In the Book of llevelation the Turkish power, which succeeded the 
 Saracenic and continued the reign of Islam, is presented under the symbol of the 
 river Euphrates, the quarter from whence it sprung (Rev. ix. 14, 15). That river, 
 however, was to be " dried up," that " the way of the kings of the East might be 
 prepared" (Rev. xvi. 12). The Turkish power, after serving the purpose for which 
 in the providence of God it was "prepared" for an appointed time, was to be 
 gradually dissolved till it wholly disappeared. This decay or " drying up " was to 
 take place, according to apocalyptic symbol, as the effect of the effusion of the 
 sixth vial, while that of the seventh was to bring the end. The fact that, in the 
 days in which we live, thio decay of the Turkish Empire is rapidly going on, is well 
 known to every intelligent reader of the newspapers. One of the subjects recently 
 engaging the attention of Europe was the demand of Greece for the rectification of 
 its extended frontier, involving the surrender of Turkish territory. More than 
 half a century ago E. Irving wrote : " Though the destruction of the Mahometan 
 power is yet future, it is even now beginning to be ' broken without hand ' by its 
 own disorganisation and dismemberment — wasting away of inward consumption, 
 according to the language of the sixth viaP'C''). From the year 1820, the Turkish 
 power has been "the sick man," gradually losing his strength and coming to his 
 end. Moslems themselves believe that, according to ancient prophecy, the days of 
 Islam are numbered. Daniel's period for the antitypical cleansing of the sanctuary 
 cannot, therefore, be far distant (»). Nor is it unlikely that, as the Papal and Moslem 
 Antichrists began their disastrous course almost together, so together, or within a 
 short period of each other, they will perish. 
 
 The effect of the vision upon Daniel himself, noted in the end of the chapter. 
 " I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days" (ver. 27). The mere circumstances 
 of the vision might have thus operated on Daniel's physical system. Communi- 
 cation with angelic behigs in the present state probably too much for the human 
 frame to endure without considerable derangement. It is likely, however, that the 
 nature of the comnnmication made had the principal share in producing this effect. 
 The prospect of so much misery in store for his people after their restoration to 
 their own land, and that, too, as the consequence of their own multiplied aiid 
 matured transgressions, especially their abandonment of Jehovah's worship, was 
 too much for the sensitive and beloved prophet. Daniel felt as a patriot, a 
 
 175 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 prophet, and a mau of God. From this, the concluding part of the cliapter, we 
 may note — 
 
 1. It is the pari of sin to hlunt, hut of grace to intensify, natural feelings. Tlie 
 more tliat our nature is refined and purified, the more shall we be afi'ected by the 
 sins and sorrows of others, especially those of our own kindred and country. The 
 more we are made to resemble the Sinless One, the more readily shall we with 
 Him mingle our tears with the bereaved and weep over a city that rejects its God 
 and Saviour. The same grace drew from the tender-hearted prophet the ex- 
 clamation, " Oh, that my head were waters and mine e} es fountains of tears, that I 
 might weep day and night for the slain of the daughters of my people;" and 
 caused the manly, courageous Apostle to write, " I have great heaviness and con- 
 tinual sorrow in my heart for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh" 
 (Jer. ix. 1 ; Rom. ix. 23). 
 
 2. The feelings and affections moved hy realised truth according to its nature. 
 The effect of truth, cordially received and realised, as in the case of the proi>het, is 
 to produce either joy or sorrow, hope or fear, love or aversion. The depth and 
 power of the emotion according to the character of the truth and the intensity 
 with which it is realised. The proper eff"ect of Gospel truth to produce not only 
 love to the revealed Saviour, but to fill the soul with joy (1 Pet. i. 8). Believed 
 and realised prediction of divine visitation for sin naturally productive of deep 
 concern. The mark of the godly to tremble at God's word (Isa. Ixvi. 2). " When 
 I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered 
 into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble" 
 (Hab. iii. 16). It is the nature of sin to liarden the heart again:st divine threaten- 
 iiigs (Eleb. iii. 7, iv. 7). While Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and 
 judgment to come, Felix trembled. His ruin was that he resisted his convic- 
 tions, silenced his fears, and hardened his lieart by a return to his sins. 
 
 3. Religious concern no hindrance to daily duty. Daniel's sickness disabled him 
 for duty while it lasted, which was only for " certain days." So soon as it was 
 over he "rose up and did the king's business" (ver. 27). Daniel's well-balai;ced 
 mind knew how to be *' diligent in business" while "fervent in spirit." One 
 form, fruit, and evidence of serving God faithfully is the faithful discharge of 
 relative duties. Daniel was faithful and diligent in serving the king because he 
 was faithful and diligent in serving God, His diligence and fidelity as well as his 
 wisdom the source and secret of his influence at the Babylonian and Persian courts. 
 "Seestthou a man diligent in liis business? He shall stand before kings, and 
 shall not stand before mean men." 
 
 4. God's dealings often dark and mysterious. Daniel " was astonished at tlie 
 vision" (ver. 27). Events in providence often very different from our anticipation. 
 Daniel expected a long period of peace and prosperity to his people on their settle- 
 ment in their own land, according to the glowing descriptions of Isaiah and other 
 prophets ; while Israel, taught by bitter experience, would henceforth walk in the 
 ways of the Lord. Poth of these expectations were contradicted by the vision. 
 Messiah was not yet to appear. The people were to sufi'er more than ever, and 
 their suffering was to be the chastisement of their ai)Ostasy and sin. " His way is 
 in the sea, and His path on the great waters.'' Patience is to have her perfect 
 work. " Though the vision tarry, wait for it." One day is with the Lord as a 
 tliousand years, and a thou-and years as one day. God is not slack concerning 
 His promise, as some men count slackness. If He delay to fulfil His promise, it is 
 because delay is better than despatch. " My ways are not your ways, neither are 
 my thonglits your thoughts, saitli the Lord." 
 
 6, KnovAedge of prophetic truth not in all cases vouclisafed. " None understood 
 
 the vision " (ver. 27). Daniel was to " shut up the vision " (ver. 27). It was 
 
 true, and therefore to be carefully preserved ; but its fulfilment was distant, " for 
 
 many days." As the time of fulfilment drew nigh it would be pondered and better 
 
 176 
 
BOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL, 
 
 understood. *' At the end it shall speak, and not lie " (Hab. ii. 3). The time 
 would come when many should run to and fro, or carefully investigate its meaning, 
 and the knowledge of it should be increased (chap. xii. 4). That time much nearer 
 now in these last diiys. " Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words 
 of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein : for the time 
 is at hand " (Rev. i. 3). 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— (i) Bishop 
 Newton observes that most of the ancient 
 fathers and modern divines and commen- 
 tators agree with Jerome in applying the 
 prophecy to Antiochus Epiphanes, while 
 all allow at the same time that Antiochus 
 was a type of Antichrist, and that in 
 this great enemy of the truth the pro- 
 phecy was to obtain its full accomplish- 
 ment. The Bishop, who regards the 
 Roman Empire as the antitype, observes: 
 " Antiochus did indeed take away the 
 daily sacrifice, but he did not cast down 
 the place of the sanctuary — he did not 
 destroy the Temple. He took away the 
 sacrifice for a few years, but the Romans 
 for many ages ; and the Romans like- 
 "wise utterly destroyed the Temple, which 
 Antiochus only spoiled and profaned." 
 He adds, that " Antiochus did not so 
 mightily destroy the Jews nor prosper 
 in his heathenish designs against them. 
 Antiochus slew forty thousand and sold 
 forty thousand more ; the Romans, after 
 the city was taken, slew eleven hundred 
 thousand and sold ninety-seven thou- 
 sand more. Antiochus meant to root 
 out the whole people, but his success 
 was not equal ; the Romans put an end 
 to the government of the Jews and 
 entirely took away their place and 
 nation." Calvin remarks : " It would 
 please me better to see any one wishing 
 to adapt this prophecy to the present 
 use of the Church, and to apply to 
 Antichrist, by analogy, what is said of 
 Antiochus. We know that whatever 
 ■happened to the Church of old belongs 
 also to us, because we have fallen upon 
 the fulness of times." Jerome had said : 
 " Jilost Christians refer this place to 
 Antichrist, and affirm that what was 
 transacted in a type under Antiochus 
 Epiphanes will be fulfilled in truth 
 under Antichrist." Luther says : "All 
 former teachers have called and in- 
 terpreted this Antiochus a figure of the 
 final Antichrist, and they have hit tlie 
 
 right mark." Wieseler remarks that 
 " Antiochus Epiphanes, in his self- 
 deifying fanatical haughtiness and his 
 enmity against God and divine wor- 
 ship, is very properly the type of Anti- 
 christ." Keil says : " The circumstance 
 that the description of the Little Horn 
 growing up between the ten horns of 
 the fourth beast, the speaking great and 
 blasphemous things against the Most 
 High, and thinking to change times 
 and laws (chap. vii. 8, 24, &c.), har- 
 monises in certain features with the 
 representation of Antiochus Epiphanes, 
 described by the Little Horn (chap, viii.), 
 which would destroy the people of the 
 Holy One, rise up against the Prince of 
 princes, and be broken without hand of 
 man, does not at all warrant the iden- 
 tification of these enemies of God and 
 His people rising out of diflferent world- 
 kingdoms, but corresponds perfectly 
 with this idea that Antiochus in his 
 Avar against the people of God was a 
 type of Antichrist, the great enemy 
 arising out of the last world-kingdom." 
 
 (-) Josephus relates that after the 
 city was taken the Romans brouglit 
 their ensigns into the Temple and placed 
 them over against the eastern gate, and 
 sacrificed to them there. Bishop New- 
 ton remarks that the Roman army it- 
 self is fitly called " the abomination," 
 and " the abomination of desolation," 
 as it was to desolate and lay waste 
 Jerusalem ; and is said to stand in th? 
 holy place when compassing the city ; 
 Jerusalem itself and a space around it 
 being accounted holj\ 
 
 (^) Dr. Cox remarks that in this chap- 
 ter, according to Faber, whose interpre- 
 tation appears to be, on good grounds, 
 now universally [rather, extensively] 
 adopted, tlie prophet records the history 
 of the Mohammedan imposture. He 
 adds that " the first efforts of the im- 
 postor were directed against the Jews, 
 who refused to receive Mohammed's 
 [ 177 
 
CHAP. VIIT. 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 effusions as the revelations of Heaven, 
 and in consequence suffered the loss of 
 their possessions and lives." So that 
 under the modern Antichrist the Jews 
 suffered as well as the Christians. Gib- 
 bon says : " Mohammed, with the sword 
 in one hand and the Koran in the other, 
 erected his throne on the ruins of Chris- 
 tianity and of Rome. The genius of the 
 Arabian prophet, the manners of his 
 nation, and the spirit of his religion, 
 involved the causes of the decline and 
 fall of the Eastern empire ; and our eyes 
 are curiously intent on one of the most 
 memorable revolutions which have im- 
 j)ressed a new and lasting character on 
 the nations of the globe." E. Irving 
 observes that the third of the four chief 
 streams of prophecy presented in the 
 Book of Daniel (viz., that in this 8th 
 chapter), " connected itself with the for- 
 mer, at the struggle of the third kingdom 
 with the second, in order that it may 
 trace, within the territory of the third, 
 the rise of another blasphemous power 
 [the Mohammedan], which was also to 
 prevail against the saints of God till the 
 time of the end." Dr. Keith says: 
 "The 'king of fierce countenance' is 
 Mohammed, who offered only submis- 
 sion or the sword, and * understanding 
 dark sentences' (wherewith the Koran 
 pre eminently abounds) ; who stood up 
 and became mighty, not by his own 
 power, Mohammed possessing no heredi- 
 tary dominion and rising from nothing. 
 The ' holy ones ' are the Christians, 
 whose churches, 'the host and the stars,' 
 lie cast to the ground ; prospering by 
 * policy and craft ' through a faith ac- 
 ciimmodated to the jjassions of men ; 
 'niagnifying himself in his heart,' saying, 
 ' There is no God but one, and Moham- 
 med is His prophet ; ' * niagnifying him- 
 self against the Prince of the host ' by 
 oalliiig himself a greater prophet than 
 Clnist ; and destroying the land he sub- 
 jugated more * by peace ' than others 
 have done by war." 
 
 (■*) "The Christians of the seventh 
 century," says Gibbon, " liad insensibly 
 relapsed into a semblance of Paganism ; 
 their j)ublic and private vows were ad- 
 dressed to the relics and images that 
 disgraced the temples of the East ; the 
 178 
 
 throne of the Almighty was darkened hy 
 a cloud of martyrs and saints and angels, 
 the objects of popular veneration ; and 
 the CoUyridian heretics, who flourished 
 in the fruitful soil of Arabia, invested 
 the Virgin Mary with the name and 
 honours of a goddess." 
 
 (5) "When Christian churches," says 
 Scott the commentator, " were converted 
 into mosques, the ' daily sacrifice' might 
 be said to be taken away." 
 
 (6) " Ye Christian dogs ! " said Kaled 
 to the Christians of Damascus, " ye 
 know your option — the Koran, the tri- 
 bute, or the sword." — Gibbon ("Decline 
 and Fall," &c., chap, li.) 
 
 C^) Fifty years ago it was written by 
 Lamartine, " Turkey is dying rapidly 
 for want of Turks." Another, writing 
 subsequently from Constantinople, says, 
 " Turkey is in the agony of dissolution." 
 A recent death-pang was in the cession 
 of Dulcigno to Montenegro at the bid- 
 ding of the powers of Europe ; immedi- 
 ately followed by another, the cession of 
 more of its territory to Greece. 
 
 (^) Dating from the time of Alex- 
 ander's invasion of Asia in 334 B.C., 
 according to Bishop Newton and others, 
 the 2300 years expire in 1966 a.d., or, 
 if the Septuagint reading be adopted, a 
 century later. Dr. Gumming prefers to 
 date this period from the time when 
 the Persian Empire reached its meridian 
 glory in the year 480 B.C., just before 
 the defeat of Xerxes on his invasion of 
 Greece ; which brings the period to its 
 close in 1820 A.D., when it is well 
 known the decay of the Ottoman Empire 
 began by the revolt of Ali Pasha and 
 the insurrection of the Greeks. Dr. 
 Cox observes : "It is some clue to the 
 commencement of the period to remark 
 that Daniel does not refer to the origin 
 of the Persian monarchy, but to some 
 period afterwards when it is to become 
 a settled government; because the !Medo- 
 I'ersian ram does not rise from the sea, 
 but stands, already grown, upon the 
 margin of the river. Cyrus and Darius 
 were conquerors, but it was not till the 
 seventh year of Artaxerxes that the em- 
 ])ire had attained its strength. The 
 Medo-Persian ram rose in the year 
 B.C. 536, and continued to stand till 
 
no MI LET 10 COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 B.C. 330 ; the date of the vision there- terval would bring its termination to the 
 fore is between these years." To date year a.d, 1897, or, if we read according 
 the period from the middle of that in- to the Septuagint, a century later. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 Sect. XXX. — Daniel's Prayer (Chap. ix. 1-14). 
 
 We come to what, in more than one respect, is among the most remarkable 
 portions of Scripture. The chapter before us contains one of the most precious 
 predictions concerning the promised Saviour and the work of redemption which 
 He was to accomplish. It has two peculiarities which place it in advance of 
 every other : the one, that it gives the name or title by which He was to be known 
 throughout the dispensation He was to introduce, and which was at the same time 
 to designate that dispensation, viz., Messiah or the Christ; the other, that the 
 time of His advent is distinctly and unmistakably marked out. 
 
 This remarkable communication was given to the prophet in answer to prayer. 
 That prayer, itself remarkable, is also recorded in this chapter, — the second cir- 
 cumstance that distinguishes it as a portion of Holy Scripture (0. The prayer is 
 peculiar, not only from its own intrinsic character, but as being the prayer of a 
 prophet, a patriot, a statesman, holding the highest office in the second great 
 universal empire, and an eminent saint of above fourscore, who had walked with 
 God in Eabylon for threescore years and ten. It is to this remarkable prayer we 
 now turn our attention. We notice — 
 
 I. The time of the prayer. " In the first year of Darius, the son of 
 Ahasuerus (''), of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the 
 Chaldeans " (ver. 1). This was that " Darius the Mede " who, on the death of 
 Belshazzar and the fall of Babylon, " took the kingdom, being about threescore 
 and two years old" (cbap, v. 31). As Darius reigned only two years, and as Cyrus 
 his successor granted the Jews their liberty to return to their own land in the first 
 year of his reign, after a captivity of seventy years, at the commencement of which 
 Daniel was a youth of about fourteen or sixteen years of age, he must now have 
 been something above eighty years old. Daniel, as we have seen, had been a man 
 of prayer from his youth. Neither his engagements as a statesman and prime 
 minister, nor the seductions of a luxurious court, had been able to turn him aside 
 from his beloved practice. The path to the mercy-seat had become to Daniel a 
 well-beaten one. The throne of grace was now well known to him for a refuge. 
 He had long experienced the truth of the divine title, " Tliou that hearest 
 prayer" (Ps. Ixv. 2). He spends his last days in the happy familiar exercise. As 
 in the case of President Lincoln, prayer had become a confirmed habit. His 
 constant resource amidst the difficulty and trials of life, it is his solace as he 
 approaches the solemnities of deatli. As the burden of state business and the 
 splendours of a palace, so the infirmities of old age failed to lessen his relish for 
 the hallowed employment. 
 
 II The occasion of it. This was the reading and study of the Scriptures 
 which he possessed, and more especially the prophecies of Jeremiah, *' I, Daniel, 
 understood by booksC^) the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord 
 came to Jeremiah the proj^het that He would accomplish seventy years (*) in the 
 desolations of Jerusalem" (ver. 2). From this prophet Daniel knew that the time 
 for the termination of the captivity could not be far distant, from whatever period 
 its commencement was to be dated. His concern was that no sin or unbelief on 
 the part of his people might cause the promised term to be prolonged, as in the 
 case of their fathers in the desert. Knowing well their past provocations, he sets 
 liimself to sui^plicate pardon and grace on their behalf, according to the divine 
 direction given in the same prophet (Jer. xxix. 10-12). Not even a direct pio- 
 
 179 
 
nOMlLETlC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 mise intended to supersede the duty of humiliation and prayer, but rather to 
 stimulate to the performance of it. God free even in the fulfihnent of His 
 promises. "Ye shall knosv my breach of promise" (Num. xiv. 33). "Your 
 iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good 
 things from you" (Jer. v. 25). The fulfilment of a promise to be secured by 
 prayer and prepared for by humiliation. So the disciples at Pentecost (Acts 
 i. 4, 5, 14; ii. 1). 
 
 III. The preparation for it. " I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by 
 prayer and supplication(^), with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes "W (ver. 3). 
 Daniel's prayer was to be no ordinary one, and to be engaged in in no ordinary 
 manner. The prayer was to be for an object of the highest importance, not so 
 much to himself personally, as to his people, the cause of religion, and the glory 
 of God. It was to be for the promised removal of evils long threatened and justly 
 executed on account of the aggravated and long-continued sins of his people, and 
 ^^ hich impenitence and unbelief on their part might still retard. The prayer needed 
 therefore to be not only made with deepest earnestness and fervour, but to be 
 a'companied with heartfelt humiliation and confession of sin, in the name of hia 
 guilty countrymen as well as his own. All the powers of his soul must therefore 
 be aroused to intense exercise, while he must be brought under a deep sense of the 
 sins which he has to confess as the cause of his people's severe and protracted 
 calamities. He has recourse, therefore, to what were not only the ordinary out- 
 ward expressions of self-abasement, humiliation, and sorrow, but natural helps to 
 the attainment and maintenance of such a state of soul, and suitable accompani- 
 ments of it. Special prayer demands special preparation. " This kind goeth not 
 out but by prayer and fasting." "Thou wilt prepare their heart ; Thou wilt cause 
 Thine ear to hear." 
 
 IV. The prayer itself. This prayer of Daniel, perhaps beyond any other in 
 the Bible, contains in it all the elements of devotion. Those in Ezra ix. G, ikc, 
 and Nehemiah ix. 5, *tc., dictated by the same spirit, probably moulded by this of 
 Daniel. As its constituent parts we have — 
 
 1. Adoration. Expressing — (1.) Reverence. " Lord, the great and dreadful 
 Cod " (ver. 4). The Lord is great and greatly to be praised, to be held in reverence 
 <if all that are about Him. Great fear due to Him in the meeting of His saints and 
 in all their approaches to His throne of grace. " Of all the people will I be sancti- 
 fied." Filial confidence not inconsistent with the deepest reverence. The song of 
 tlie glorified on the sea of glass : "Who shall not fear Thee, Lord, and glorify 
 Thy name ? for Thou only art holy " (Rev. xv. 4). The tendency of such adoration 
 to deepen our sense of sin. (2.) Faith. "Keeping the covenant and mercy to 
 them that love Him, and to them that keep His commandments" (ver. 4). Faith 
 in God as merciful, gracious, and ready to forgive, also expressed in ver. 9 : "To 
 the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled 
 aL'ainst Him." " He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is 
 the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him " (Heb. xi. 6). Confidence in God's 
 mercy to be coupled with reverence and holy fear. "Without faith it is im- 
 possible to please Him." Daniel's faith further expressed in his .-ippropriation of 
 liie Lord as /u's God. Not satisfied with calling Him " our God," he twice over 
 invokes him as "my God." Faitli believes, accepts, and appropriates God as our 
 covenant God in and through Christ. " I will be their God, and they shall be 
 my people." " My Lord and my God." " If we wish our prayers to be heard," 
 says Keil, " then God, to whom we pray, must become our God." 
 
 2. Confession. "We have sinned," &c. (ver. 5-14). This confession, large 
 and full, occupying the greatest part of the prayer. Felt by Daniel, in the circum- 
 stances, to be that which was so much called for, and so necessary to the obtaining 
 of the object sought. He confesses the sins of the wliole people in bt)th its sec- 
 tions, and of all classes, including his own. With the sins he acknowledges the 
 
 180 
 
nOMlLETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 sufferings entailed by tliem, and the justice tliat inflicted them. "Righteousness 
 beloiigeth unto Thee, but unto us confusion of face " (vers. 7, 8). Mentions as an 
 aggravation of their case that while the Lord was visiting them for their sin they 
 still refused to repent and pray, and hardened themselves against His corrections. 
 In confessing sin we are to remember and confess its peculiar aggravations. 
 
 3. Tlianksgiving and 2^raise. Daniel makes thankful acknowledgment of God's 
 past mercies. " O Lord God, that hast brought Thy people out of the land of 
 Egypt," kc. (ver. 15). Thanksgiving to accompany prayer and supplication in 
 making our requests known unto God (Phil. iv. 7). Thanksgiving for past mercies 
 a tribute due to their Author and the means of obtaining more. Gratitude both 
 glorifying to God and a gain to ourselves. "In everything give thanks, for this 
 is the will of God concerning you." What God has already done, a never-failing 
 source of thanksgiving. 
 
 4. Petition or supplication Q). " Lord, according to all Thy righteousness, I 
 beseech Thee let Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away," &c. (vers. 16-19). 
 Supplication and petition, prayer properly so called. To pray is properly to ask or 
 make request ; supplication is earnest asking. Without this there may be devotion 
 and communion with God, but scarcely prayer. This part of Daniel's prayer the 
 centre and kernel of the whole. His object in the exercise to entreat for forgive- 
 ness and favour on behalf of his people and country. In this part of the prayer 
 we observe — (1.) Intense earnestness. " Lord, I beseech thee. . . . O my God, 
 incline Thine ear and hear. . . . O Lord, hear ; O Lord, forgive ; Lord, hearken 
 and do ; defer not, for Thine own sake, my God." An instructive specimen of 
 earnest pleading. This the " effectual fervent prayer " of the righteous man that 
 " availeth much." Jacob wrestling with the angel and refusing to let him go 
 without bestowing a blessing. (2.) Deep humility. *' We do not present our sup- 
 plications before Thee for our own righteousnesses, but for Thy great mercies." 
 " To us belongeth confusion of face." Humility refuses every plea for acceptance 
 but God's free mercy. It can indeed plead a righteousness, but not its own. The 
 Lord Himself is its righteousness, wrought out in the person of the Son and freely 
 made over to faith. " This is the name whereby He shall be called. The Lord our 
 Righteousness." " I will make mention of Thy righteousness, even of Thine only." 
 (3.) The pirevailinrj plea. "For the Lord's sake" (ver. 17)(^). No doubt as to 
 who this is. " Daniel sets before God the Mediator by whose favour he hopes to 
 obtain his request." — Calvin. " The Lord (Jehovah) said unto my Lord (tlie 
 Anointed or the Christ, the promised Saviour), Sit Thou on my right hand," &c. 
 (Ps. ex. 1). The same Messiah who forms the subject of the following vision, God's 
 anointed King of Israel on His holy hill of Zion (Ps. ii.) Raising Him from the 
 dead and placing Him on His own right hand, God declared Jesus to be "both 
 Lord and Christ" (Acts ii. 36). It was through Him that God blessed Israel and 
 that He now blesses men. Prayer accepted and answered on His account, and there- 
 fore to be made in His name. Thus David prayed : " Behold, God, our shield ; 
 look on the face of Thine Anointed." " Let Thy hand be upon the Man of Thy right 
 liand, upon the Son of Man, whom Thou hast made strong for Thyself " (Ps. Ixxxiv. 
 9, Ixxx. 17). This divine and God-given plea made more fully known after His 
 appearance in the flesh and the acceptance of His offered sacrifice. " If any man 
 sin, we have an Advocate with the Father." " Having a great High Priest who is 
 passed into the heavens, let us come boldly to the throne of grace." " He that 
 spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with 
 Him also freely give us all things ?" (1 John ii. 2 ; Heb. iv. 14-16 ; Rev. viii. 32). 
 (4.) Large-heartedness and unselfishness. Daniel's petitions and pleadings more on 
 behalf of others than himself. Self forgotten in his deep concern for his country 
 and the cause of God. He pleads for Jerusalem, God's city and sanctuary that 
 was desolate, His holy mountain, and His people. Personally, Daniel himself was 
 in comfort, and never expected to see again his native lain! and beloved citv. But 
 
 181 
 
no M I LET I C COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 his people were still captives and Jerusalem was in desolation. Tlie cause of God 
 and of His Christ was in the dust. Hence his unselfish pleading. Grace enlarges 
 the heart and makes the cause of others our own. The mark of the spirit of 
 Jesus to be burdened with the sins and sorrows of others. True patriotism and 
 benevolence learned at the feet of Him who wept over Jerusalem. " For Zion's 
 sake I Avill not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, till the 
 righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp 
 that burneth." The sign of a mere nominal Christianity and a heartless religion 
 when its professors " drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the chief 
 spices, but are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph " (Amos vi. 6). Such was 
 not Daniel's. " If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her 
 cunning " (Ps. cxxxvii. 5). 
 
 From the whole prayer we may learn — 
 
 1. The spirit of 2irayer characteristic of a child of God. Prayer in a child of 
 God as natural as a child's cry to its mother. God has many suffering children, 
 but no silent ones. "We cry, Abba, Father 1" 
 
 2. God's Word the study and enjoyment of His ijeojyle. Daniel not only a man of 
 prayer but a man of study. " I understood by books." These books the Scrip- 
 tures. Other books not neglected, but these his daily food. " It is my medita- 
 tion all the day." " His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he doth 
 meditate day and night." God's Word the stream that nourishes the roots of god- 
 liness, the oil that makes the lamp of grace to burn. This inclusive of prophetic 
 Scripture. Prophecy a large proportion of the Bible. Daniel moved to pray 
 by the word of prophecy. That word to be taken heed to " as to a light shining 
 in a dark place." Daniel, though a prophet, himself a careful reader of the 
 prophecies of others. 
 
 3. The Word read to he turned into prayer. Believing prayer a fruit of the 
 study of Scripture. Daniel read and then prayed. To read little is often to pray 
 little ; and reading without praying is of little worth. That is the most profitable 
 reading of the Scriptures that sends us to our knees. That the most lively, fervent, 
 and successful prayer that is the child of a precept, a promise, or a prophecy. 
 
 4. Prayer to he acco7npanied ivith thanksgiving and confession of sin. God's 
 past mercies and our own past sins never to be forgotten at the throne of grace. 
 He prays ill who forgets God's favours and his own faults. 
 
 5. Believers especially to cultivate intercessory 2^raycr. For this purpose Christ 
 makes us priests. Our high calling to be God's remembrancers, God's people 
 watchmen set on Zion's walls to give Him no rest till He establish and make 
 Jerusalem a praise in the earth. A wide field and a loud call for earnest inter- 
 cessory prayer. Prayers and intercessions to be made for all men (1 Tim. ii. 1). 
 "Seek the peace of the city, and pray unto the Lord for it." " Pray for the peace 
 of Jerusalem." "Brethren, pray for us." "For all saints." "Pray one for 
 another, tliat ye may be healed." Abraham's intercession all but saved Sodom. 
 I'aul's prayers saved the lives of all that sailed with him (Acts xxvii. 24). 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES. — C^) This at once to perceive that, without excep- 
 
 prayer, observes Keil, has been judged tion, they all have their roots in the 
 
 very severely by modern critics. Ac- Pentateuch, and afford not the slightest 
 
 cording to Bertholdt, V. Langerke, proof of the dependence of this chapter 
 
 Hitzig, Stahelin, and Ewald, its matter on Neliemiah ix. The whole tone and 
 
 and its whole design are constructed language of the prayer also is such that 
 
 according to older patterns ; in part, it seems impossible to conceive of it as 
 
 according to the prayers of Neliemiah a forgery under the name of Daniel, 
 (chap, ix.) and Ezra (chap, ix.) But (^) " Son of Ahasueriis." This Aha- 
 
 we have only to examine the parallel suerus was a brother of Cyrus's grand- 
 
 tlioughts and words adduced in order father, Darius being Cyrus's uncle. 
 182 
 
nOMlLETlC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 Aliasuerus was a coiinnou name among 
 the kings of Persia, its Greek form 
 being Artaxerxes, See note at cliap. v. 
 31. The Ahasuerus, however, who is 
 here mentioned, is called by heathen 
 writers Astyages, Oriental monarchs 
 usually having several names. The 
 first year of the reign of Darius the 
 Mede over Babylon was probably 538 
 B.C. Mr. Bosanquet indeed contends 
 that this Dariua was Daiius Hystaspis, 
 and that this vision was given iu the 
 sixty-second year of his age, 592 B.C. 
 He also thinks of this Ahasuerus as Cy- 
 axares, of the seed of the Medes, whose 
 son or grandson he may have been by 
 birth, adoption, inheritance, ancestral 
 descent in male or female line, son-in- 
 law, or simply successor to the throne 
 of this Median king. He thinks that it 
 was in the second year of that Darius 
 that the indignation against Jerusalem 
 ceased, and the seventy weeks of mercy 
 began (Zech. i. 12), and that it was 
 therefore at that period when the present 
 prophecy was delivered. See note (4). 
 
 (^) "i>^ hooks." C"??!?? {bassej^harim), 
 " in the books," the sacred books which 
 he possessed, especially those of the 
 prophets, and more particularly the 
 writings of Jeremiah. Neither the pro- 
 })hecies of Haggai, Zechariah, and 
 -Malaclii, nor the histories of Ezra, 
 Nehemiah, Esther, and the two Books 
 of Chronicles, were yet written. Heng- 
 stenberg observes that nothing more can 
 be gathered from this passage than that 
 Daniel was in possession of certain sacred 
 writings, embracing the Pentateuch, 
 Isaiah, Obadiah, Micah, a collection of 
 Psalms, and the Book of Job. Equally 
 numerous were the writings which 
 Zechariah had before him. Hence the 
 text affords no argument that the Book 
 of Daniel was first composed at a time 
 when the rest of the canon was already 
 made up and regarded as a complete 
 whole. Keil, with Maurer and Hitzig, 
 renders the words, " I marked or gave 
 heed in the Scriptures;" and adds: 
 "DnSIpn [hassepharim), rd j3il3}Ja, is 
 r.ot synonymous with D''?-iri|in (Juikke- 
 ihuhhim), ai yiufa! ; but denotes only 
 writings in the plural, without saying 
 that these writings formed already a 
 
 recognised collection ; so that from this 
 expression nothing can be concluded 
 regarding the formation of the Old 
 Testament canon." Dr. Pusey re- 
 marks that the date at which the Jews 
 in the time of Josephus believed the 
 canon of the Scriptures to have been 
 closed was about four centuries before 
 the birth of our Lord. Josephus pro- 
 bably fixed on the reign of Artaxerxes 
 as being the period of Nehemiah's great 
 work of restoration, although the actual 
 closing of the canon probably took place 
 during the second visit to his country, 
 the probable date of the prophet Malachi, 
 under the son and successor of Artaxerxes 
 or Darius Nothus. Dr. Pusey, how- 
 ever, remarks that what is said here 
 about the books, i.e., the hiblia, the 
 Scriptures, exactly expresses what we 
 see from the writings of the prophets 
 before the Captivity to have been the 
 fact, that the books of the prophets 
 were collected together. He adds : 
 *' The canon was almost completed 
 before the return from the Captivity. 
 Of the former prophets or historical 
 books, the Kings at most had yet to be 
 formally added to it. Of the latter 
 prophets, there remained perhaps the 
 formal recej^tion of Ezekiel; the three last 
 prophets only had not been sent. Of 
 the Hagiographa, there remained the 
 collection of some later psalms, — some 
 in the last Book of the Psalms were not 
 yet written. Daniel was perhaps then 
 formally added : the historical books of 
 Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, the Chronicles, 
 were as yet unwritten." Professor R. 
 Smith thinks we have here the prophetic 
 literature referred to under the name of 
 "the books," which he understands as 
 equivalent to Scriptures. He remarks 
 that the first unambiguous evidence as to 
 the close of the canon is contained in the 
 list of Josephus, composed towards the 
 close of the first century ; and that we 
 can affirm, with practical certainty, that 
 the twenty-two books of Josephus are 
 those of our present Hebrew canon. 
 He thinks, however, that the force of 
 this evidence is disguised by the con- 
 troversial purpose of the writer, which 
 leads him to put his facts in a false 
 liglit, viewing the close of the canon as 
 183 
 
nOMILETIO COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 distinctly marked by tlie cessation of 
 the succession of prophets in the time of 
 Artaxerxes, while there was clearly no 
 regular and unbroken series of sacred 
 annals officially kept up from the time 
 of Moses onwards. He regards the view 
 of Josephus as a theory, and one incon- 
 sistent with the fact that we find no 
 complete formal catalogue of Scriptures 
 in earlier writers like tlie Sou of Sirach, 
 who, enumerating the literary worthies 
 of his nation, had every motive to give 
 a complete list, if he had been in a posi- 
 tion to do so ; inconsistent also with the 
 fact that questions as to the canonicity 
 of certain books were still undecided 
 within the lifetime of Josephus himself ; 
 referring to those of Ecclesiastes and 
 the Song of Solomon, about whose char- 
 acter, as inspired Scripture, the Mishna 
 records some Rabbinical disputes. Mr. 
 Smith thinks that the clearest evidence 
 tliat the notion of canonicity was not 
 fully established till long after the time 
 of Artaxerxes is in the Septuagint, 
 as containing some apocryphal addi- 
 tions ; from which he concludes, that 
 the canon of the Old Testament was of 
 gradual formation ; that some books, 
 now accepted, had long a doubtful 
 pcsition, while others were for a time 
 admitted to a measure of reputation, 
 which made the line of demarcation 
 between them and the canonical books 
 tinccrtain and fluctuating ; the canon 
 <if the Old Testament passing through 
 much the same kind of history through 
 which we know the New Testament 
 oanon to have passed ; the position of 
 .several books being, as a matter of fact, 
 still .subject of controversy as Antile- 
 gomena in the apostolic age, and not 
 finally determined till after the fall of 
 the Temple and the Jewisli state ; the 
 llagiographa not forming before that 
 date a closed collection with an undis- 
 p\ited list of contents, so that the 
 general testimony of Christ and His 
 apostles to the Old Testament Scrip- 
 ture cannot, in his opinion, be used as 
 (•ertainly ijicluding those bo<»ks.^ 
 
 (■*) " Seventy years in (he desolations of 
 
 Jerusakm " (vcr. 2). There have been 
 
 two reckonings of these seventy years : 
 
 one, which is generally accepted, from 
 
 184 
 
 the captivity in the third year of Jehoi- 
 akim, ending with the first year of 
 Cyrus ; the other, from the captivity of 
 Zedekiah, ending nineteen years later, 
 in the second year of Darius Hystaspis 
 (Zech. i. 12). The later adopted by 
 Theodoret, Pellican, and (Ecolampadius. 
 The Duke of Manchester thinks there 
 were two periods of seventy years : the 
 one, that of the servitude in Babylon ; 
 the other, that of the desolation of 
 Jerusalem, terminating in the first year 
 of Darius Nothus. Dr. Pusey observes 
 that the time of seventy years, counting 
 from the year when captives were first 
 taken to Babylon, the first of a long series 
 of such removals, viz., in the third year 
 of Jehoiakim, was fulfilled to the exact 
 year. According to the canon of Ptolemy, 
 Nebuchadnezzar reigned forty - three 
 years ; Evil-Merodach, two ; Neriglissar, 
 four ; Nabunahit, who for a time associa- 
 ted his son Belshazzar in the government, 
 seventeen ; to which should probably 
 be added a year or eighteen months pre- 
 ceding that part of the fourth of Jehoia- 
 kim with which Nebuchadnezzar's ac- 
 cession to his father's throne coincides, 
 and the two years during which Darius 
 the Mede was viceroy in Babylon after 
 Belshazzar's death. Prideaux thinks 
 that it was not only exactly after seventy 
 years that the release from the Cap- 
 tivity took place, but that it was in the 
 very month, viz., November, in which, 
 seventy years before, it had commenced] 
 the Jews who returned being found for 
 the first time in Jerusalem in the month 
 Nisan (our April), after a four months' 
 march and one month's preparation for 
 it. 
 
 (5) ''Prayer and supplication^' (ver. 
 3). Keil thinks that n?2ri {tephiUah), 
 " prayer," is prayer in general ; D^JI^nn 
 (takhammim), "supplications," prayer 
 for mercy and compassion, as also peti- 
 tion for something, such as the turning 
 away of misfortune or evil. Dr. Cox 
 observes that Daniel's prayer divides 
 itself into three parts — the address, 
 the confession, and the petition. He 
 remarks that the prayer is remarkable 
 for tlie large proportion of it that is 
 occupied with confession ; the reitera- 
 tion of phrases descriptive of sin, ex- 
 
ROMILETIG COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 emplifyiiig the depth of his penitential and thus to stimulate himself to ardour 
 sorrow ; the simplicity of the diction ; in supplicating God. 
 the minuteness of the detail ; the pro- (0 Dr. Rule observes that it is evident 
 found humility indicated; the vindica- from the utterances of both Jeremiah 
 tion of God and the spirit of self- and Ezekiel, that after the giving of the 
 reproach ; the high estimation expressed j^romise of a gracious return of the cap- 
 of the mercy and forgiveness of God. tives from Babylon, the wickedness of 
 (6) " With fasting and sachdoth and those left behind in Jernsnlem had ex- 
 ashes^^ (ver. 3), Calvin remarks that ceedingly increased ; that there was not 
 Daniel, though naturally alert in prayer yet any appearance of the restoration i f 
 to God, was yet conscious of the want the Jews in captivity ; and that all that 
 of sufficiency in himself; and hence he was royal, noble, brave, or worthy in that 
 adds the use of sackcloth and ashes and city had been swept away. See Ezek. 
 fasting. He observes that every one viii.-xi. ; Jer.vii. 30, rxxii. 34. The cap- 
 conscious of his infirmity, ought to tives themselves in general apparently 
 collect all the aids he can command not much improved by their affliction. 
 for the correction of his sluggishness, See Ezek. ii. and iii. ; xxxiii, 30-32. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 Sect. XXXI. — Prayek Answered (Chap. ix. 20-23). 
 
 The character ascribed to God by the Psalmist founded on absolute truth, and 
 in accordance with the universal experience of the godly in all ages, " Thou that 
 hearest prayer." The promise, " Call on me and I will answer thee," verified in 
 believers both in the Old and New Testament times. Natural, if God stands to them 
 in the relation of a father. Natural for a child to ask and a parent to bestow. 
 The promise, "Ask, and ye shall receive," never broken when the conditions are 
 fulfilled. The constant experience of Daniel through his whole life in Babylon. 
 Another distinguished instance to be added in his extreme old age. Concerning 
 this last recorded answer to his prayers, related by himself, we notice — 
 
 I. It was prompt and immediate. In his prayer Daniel had said, " Hearken 
 and do ; defer not." Deep earnestness with difficulty brooks delay. " Haste thee 
 to help me ; make no tarrying, O my God." " Sir, come down ere my child die." 
 So Daniel gives special emphasis to the fact that while he was yet speaking the 
 answer to his prayer came. " While I was speaking, and praying, and confessing 
 my sin, &c. ; yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel," &c. (ver. 20, 
 21). So literally does God in His kindness ful61 His promise in regard to His 
 children's prayer, " Before they call I will answer, and while they are yet speaking 
 I will hear" (Isa. Ixv. 24). Prayer and its answer not unfrequently simultaneous. 
 Thus with Abraham's servant at the well (Gen. xxiv. 12, 15). So Daniel is told 
 by Gabriel(i) that at the very beginning of his supplication the command came forth 
 from God that it should be answered, or the message given which Gabriel was to 
 carry to him (ver. 23). Nor had Gabriel delayed, although he only reached Daniel 
 with the message at the time of the evening oblation, or three o'clock in the after- 
 noon. He had been "caused to fly swiftly," and comes as one who had accomplished 
 a lengthened journey (ver. 21) (2). Angels not ubiquitous or omnipresent. Their 
 abode, and the place of the eternal throne before which they stand, apparently 
 far distant from earth, which is but a speck in the Great Creator's dominions. 
 Answers to prayer may require time. The exact time of the answer reaching Daniel, 
 however, wisely chosen. Daniel's prayer and confession of sin must have their full 
 expression. Delays often only apparent, and never denials. 
 
 II. Given through an angelic medium (ver. 21). The angel here called " the 
 man Gabriel." Reference to Gabriel's former appearance (chap. viii. 16). Angels- 
 generally represented under a human form. Gabriel's name especially connected 
 
 185 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTABY: DANIEL 
 
 with this fact. Denotes " the man of God," or " God's champion " or hero. Per- 
 haps, " God will prevail." The name indicative of strength, in which angels gene- 
 rally excel (Ps. ciii. 20). Angels often represented as warriors. The " hosts or 
 armies of Jehovah;" the "chariots of God." Gabriel especially employed iu 
 errands to men. His place to stand in the presence of God to receive His commis- 
 sion (Luke L 19). Had already appeared to Daniel at the beginning (chap. viii. 
 IG) (^), or at an earlier period. The name not found earlier in the Old Testament. 
 Unknown to us to what extent angels are employed by God in answering our 
 prayers. All of them ministering spirits sent forth to minister for the heirs of salva- 
 tion (Heb. i. 14). Ministered even to Jesus, the Elder Brother, in His humiliation as 
 one of us (Matt. iv. 11 ; Luke xxii. 43). Their ministry promised to both Head and 
 members (Ps. xci. 11, 12). Hezekiah prays, and an angel destroys the host of the 
 Assyrians. Cornelius prays, and an angel directs him to send for Peter. The 
 Church at Jerusalem prays, and an angel opens the doors of Peter's prison (Isa. 
 xxxvii. ; Acts x., xii.) Their agency no less real because invisible. At Elisha's 
 prayer his servant's eyes were opened, and he saw the mountain where his master 
 lived full of angelic chariots and horsemen (2 Kings vi. 17). God in no w\nnt of 
 agents in answering the prayers of His people. 
 
 IIL The answer given in a different way from what Daniel probably 
 expected. The thing asked by Daniel, that God would visit and restore Jerusalem 
 and the Jews in mercy. The answer, a divine messenger sent to inform him of 
 what should afterwards take place. That information included the restoration of 
 Jerusalem, and a great deal besides. The information both doleful and delightful, 
 enough to make Daniel weep, and yet greatly to rejoice. Prayer often answered 
 in a way different from our expectation. Paul prayed for his way to be opened to 
 visit Home. God answered his prayer, and sent him there two years afterwards, 
 but bound with a prisoner's chain. " By terrible things in righteousness wilt 
 thou answer us, God of our salvation" (Ps. Ixv. 5). 
 
 IV. The answer far beyond the request. Daniel prayed only for the restora- 
 tion of " the holy mountain of his God" (ver. 20). God answers by the promise 
 that not only should Jerusalem be restored, but Messiah Himself should at no very 
 distant period appear — a period expressly declared — with the glorious benefits that 
 should result from his Advent (vers. 24, 25). Thus God, in His kindness to His 
 children, often far exceeds their prayers in the answers He sends them. Solomon 
 asked for wisdom, and God in addition gave him power and riches beyond those of 
 any other monarch. He is " able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask 
 or think," and in the riches of His love He often does so. 
 
 V. The answer a consequence of Daniel's character. The answer given, 
 according to Gabriel's statement, because Daniel was a man " greatly beloved" 
 (ver. 23) (''X Prayer answered from God's own kindness and love, though not 
 without regard to the character of the asker. The person accepted before the 
 jirayer is answered. "The prayer of the wicked is abomination to the Lord, but 
 the i)rayer of the righteous is His delight." "If I regard iniquity in my heart, 
 tiie Lord will not hear me." To receive Daniel's answer to prayer we must 
 j)0ssess Daniel'-s character. Our prayers probably answered in jjroportion as we 
 are " greatly beloved." John, the beloved disciple, desired by Peter to ask the 
 Lord who it was that should betray Him. The faith that brings answers to our 
 l)rayers gives acceptance to our person. Faith, h)ve, humility, and obedience the 
 graces tliat make a man " greatly beloved," and that secure answer to prayer. 
 " Whatsoever we ask," says the beloved disciple, the Daniel of the New Testament, 
 as John was the Daniel of the Old, " we receive of Him, because we keep His 
 commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." "If ye 
 abide in jne," said the Master, " and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what 
 ye will, and it shall be done unto you " (1 John iii. 22 ; John xv. 7). 
 
 From the whole observe^ 
 186 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 1. The blessedness of a truly godly life. Fellowship witb God a leading ele- 
 ment in such a life. Freedom in asking and readiness in bestowing included in 
 such fellowship. Asking"' and receiving the privilege of children, and constantly 
 realised in family life. Not less so among the children of God and in the "house- 
 hold of foith." 
 
 2. The encouragement to persevere in prayer. Prayer offered according to 
 God's Word and for things according to His will sure, sooner or later, and in one 
 way or other, to be answered. A parent's ear never shut to his children's cry, be 
 the parent otherwise ever so wicked. "And shall not God avenge His own elect, 
 ■who cry day and night to Him continually, though He bear long with them ? I 
 tell you that He will avenge them speedily" (Luke xviii. 7, 8). Daniel one 
 example out of millions. 
 
 3. God^s love in giving Ills children vnich more than they ask Wlien He 
 answers prayer. He gives "heaped up and running over;" and when He withholds 
 the thing asked, it is only to give something better. Moses prayed to be taken 
 over Jordan to Canaan ; God instead takes him to the country of which Canaan 
 •was but a shadow. Paul asks for the removal of the thorn in the flesh ; Christ 
 instead gives him an assurance that was to comfort and strengthen him in all the 
 trials, sufferings, and conflicts of his future life. 
 
 4. Precious grace that maJces a sinfid man to he one "greatly beloved " of God. 
 Paul's testimony of himself and others, including Daniel, in their natural condition 
 as the fallen children of Adam, apart from divine renewing grace, is, "Foolish, 
 disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and 
 envy, hateful, and hating one another;" "Children of wrath even as others" 
 (Titus iii. 3 ; Eph. ii. 3). How rich the love and how mighty the grace that out 
 of such materials can form such characters as Paul, and John, and Daniel, men 
 "greatly beloved"! "God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith 
 He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with 
 Christ" (Eph. ii. 4, 5). "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the 
 beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes and to make them inherit 
 the throne of glory" (1 Sam. ii. 8; Ps. cxiii. 7, 8). 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— 0) " Gab- it " borne with speed " {r6.yj, ppofj^'^g) -, 
 
 riel." Some render the name, " God is Theodotion, "flying;" Vulg., "flying 
 
 my champion;" others, " God will pre- swiftly;" from which, observes Keil, 
 
 vail ; " others, as Keil, the " man of the Church Fathers concluded that the 
 
 God," standing here with the adjunct angels were winged. So the E.V., 
 
 t-"''!^5n (ha-ish), " the man," with the which is also adopted by Hlivernick, V. 
 
 definite article, as referring back to chap. Lengerke, Hitzig, and some Piabbies. 
 
 viii. 15, where Gabriel appeared as a Keil maintains that this translation is 
 
 man, ISS (gehher), probably the first part Avithout any foundation in the words, 
 
 of the name, "a man," from 133 (gahhar), being probably derived by the old trans- 
 
 to "be strong," "to prevail;" hence lators from a confounding of ^IJ/* (.ya'<';)A) 
 
 expressive of strength, a strong one ; with ^iy ('ooph) ; the former meaning 
 
 hence also "l'"l3| {giblor), a mighty man, a only wearied, to become tired, to weary 
 
 hero (Isa. ix. 7). one's self by exertion, in certain cases 
 
 (2) '■^ Being caused to fly swiftly'^ (ver. by a long journey or course, as in Jer. 
 
 2). ^V*? ^V^ (mu'afbi'af). Calvin ob- ii. 24; but nowhere to 7-u7i or fy. He 
 
 serves that some take the expression to understands ^V^ (ye'aph), the noun, from 
 
 mean " flying swiftly," implying fatigue ^V.1, and translates the words, "wearied in 
 
 and alacrity,as if from '=l'iy {'uph),to "fly," weariness," i.e., very wearied ; ajiplying 
 
 having its participle connected with it; them not to the angel, but to Daniel 
 
 others derive it from ^IV^ (j'a'ep/t), to "be himself, as perfectly agreeing witli hia 
 
 fatigued," explaining it metaphorically, condition described in chap. viii. 17 and 
 
 as "flying hastily." The Sept. renders 27; Daniel now mentioning this circuni- 
 
 187 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTAnY: DANIEL. 
 
 stance, because Gabriel, at his former synonymous with n3t."{<"l3 (harishonah), 
 
 coming to him, not only helped to in the beginning, in Gen. xiii. 3, xli. 21, 
 
 strengthen him, but also gave him xliii. 18, 20 ; Isa. i. 26. 
 understanding of the vision, so that his (•*) ^'Greathj beloved" (ver. 23). nn-IJ^n 
 
 appearing again at once awakened joyful (Ichamoodhotk), "desires," equivalent to 
 
 hope. He observes that we cannot rinitorj C'''X (^ish Tchamoodhoth), " a man 
 
 speak of an angel who is an unearthly of desires," in chap. x. 11, 19 ; meaning 
 
 being as being wearied, although, with " most desired" or "delighted in," or, 
 
 Kranichfeld, one may think of the way as in the E.V., "greatly beloved," from 
 
 from the dwelling-place of God, removed "ipn (khamadh), to desire or delight in ; 
 
 far from His sinful people, to this earth from which also the title given by the 
 
 as very long. He thinks also that the prophet to Messiah, the "Desire of all 
 
 words, from their position, belong to nations," D^iil-73 JTHOn {Jchemdath kol- 
 
 the relative clause, or specially to ^^"b^T goim), Hag. ii. 7. Keil observes that 
 
 {raithi), I had seen; no reason being the expression in the text does not con- 
 
 jierceivable for placing the adverbial tain the reason for Gabriel's coming in 
 
 clause before the verb. haste, but for the principal thought 
 
 (■■') '■'■At the beginning" (ver. 21). of the verse — the going forth of the 
 
 ri?nj^3 (battelchiVlah), " at the first," as commandment or word of God imme- 
 
 in chap. viii. 1 ; with the general signifi- diately at the commencement of Daniel's 
 
 cation, as Keil observes, of earlier^ and prayer. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 Sect. XXXIL— The Man Greatly Beloved (Chap. ix. 23). 
 
 This remarkable and precious testimony borne to Daniel by the Angel Gabriel 
 The same thing done twice over in the next chapter by the same person, if not by 
 one greater than he; the difference being that in the latter cases it is used as an 
 epithet to Daniel, " man greatly beloved," and " Daniel, a man greatly 
 beloved" (chap. x. 11, 19). The expression may be viewed either as the ascription 
 of a character — worthy to be greatly beloved, or as the declaration of a fact, — 
 actually so beloved. A " man of desires " (the literal marginal rendering of the 
 word) is either one worthy of such desires or the actual object of them. The 
 expression may also be viewed as indicating both what Daniel was in himself, very 
 lovable or lovely, and what he was in relation to others, actually beloved. In 
 the latter case, those by whom he was beloved were, in the first instance, the 
 Divine Being Himself ; then the angels, especially Gabriel, who s[ieaks ; then good 
 men in general, including the spirits of the just made perfect, who were doubtless 
 cognisant of Daniel's character and worth. The testimony, in any case, expressive 
 of Daniel's moral excellence, as rendering him both lovely and lovable and actually 
 beloved. It is remarkable as coming not from a man but from a celestial being, 
 lovely and lovable himself, as a spotless and unfallen creature, and a correct judge 
 of what is truly lovely and lovable, and well acquainted with the facts of the case 
 as an angel of light. The text afH.rds an occasion of gathering up and considering 
 some of the points of Daniel's character as brought to our view in the book before 
 us, and as justifying the testimony borne in the text. Some of these are — 
 
 1. His early piety. Piety in youth is especially lovely and attractive. This 
 consi)icu()U3 in Daniel. Daniel still a youth when, though a captive in a foreign 
 land and surrounded with tenijitations in a heathen and luxurious court, he resolved 
 to deny himself the luxuries of the king's table, and to live upon beans and water, 
 lather than do what he believed was contrary to the law of God. His amiability 
 and sweetness of disposition were such as to gain for him the favcnir and attachment 
 of the officer in the i>alace, under whose charge he and the other Jewish youths 
 Wire j)lac('d. Daniel was still only a young man when, in a crisis of crreat dan-er 
 18S « o 
 
BOMILETW COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 to others as well as himself, he, in childlike confidence, carried the matter to the 
 Lord, and obtained, through a divine communication vouchsafed to him, deliver- 
 ance both for himself and the wise men of Babylon. Daniel's piety in youth the 
 foundation of his character and greatness as a man. 
 
 2. His steadfastness and perseverance in well-doing. Daniel's piety, which 
 began in youth, was retained to the end of a long life. Beloved while a young 
 man by the chief of the eunuchs for his amiability and good behaviour, he receives 
 the angelic testimony, when above fourscore, that he was still "greatly beloved." 
 From a youth of fourteen he had lived among idolaters and in a licentious court, 
 yet his piety remained unshaken. More than once his religion brought him into 
 danger of his life, but he remained the same. Neither the plots of enemies, 
 nor the elevation of earthly greatness, nor the seductions of pleasure, nor the cares 
 of statesmanship, were able to draw him from the paths of piety and virtue. In 
 prosperity and adversity, in sunshine and storm, Daniel remained the same faithful 
 servant of God and of the king, walking with his Maker and seeking the welfare of 
 his fellow-men. 
 
 3. His consistency and symmetry of character. Daniel's conduct was the same 
 throughout, always in harmony with itself. Attentive to his duty to God, he was 
 equally so in his duty to man. Faithful to his God, he is equally faithful to his 
 king. His morality is no less conspicuous than his religion. He is fervent in 
 spirit, but no less diligent in business. Regular and earnest in his closet, he is 
 equally assiduous in his office. Studious in his Bible, as a man of business he is 
 well acquainted with his books. His enemies can find no fault in him, and no 
 ground of accusation with the king, but in the matter of his religion. He is favoured 
 witli revelations from Heaven and the visits of angels ; yet no sooner are his visions 
 withdrawn and his usual state of health recovered, than he returns to do " the 
 king's business." He is endowed, even while yet young, with a wisdom and under- 
 standing superior to that of all the wise men of Babylon, yet disclaims all merit 
 and wisdom of his own as being greater than those of other men. He is tender 
 and gentle, while bold and uncompromising in professing the truth and reproving 
 sin. He is distressed as being the bearer of evil tidings to Nebuchadnezzar, yet 
 fearlessly declares to the hardened Belshazzar both his sin and his doom. 
 
 4. His conscientiousness even in the smallest matters. This exhibited in his 
 carefulness in regard to the law respecting forbidden meats, as also in his observance 
 of his usual practice in his devotions, although at the risk of his life, when to have 
 done otherwise would have appeared a want of faith in God and obedience to His 
 will. He that is faithful in the least is faithful in much. The smallest duty, 
 because a duty and the will of God, attended to by Daniel, as well as those of 
 ai)parently a much more important character. Love will be obedient and seek to 
 please in the least as well as in the greatest matters. Such conscientiousness a 
 feature in the man "greatly beloved," and a considerable part of what made him 
 such. 
 
 5. His faith and confidence in God. Seen in early life in his proposal to put the 
 desired change of diet to the proof, assured that God wo'<ld answer prayer and 
 honour obedience to his will. The same trust in God as the hearer of prayi r 
 exhibited in the matter of the king's dream. So afterwards Daniel went calmly 
 to the lion's den, believing in his God, and assured that he was safe in His kee[iiiig, 
 whatever might be the result. Daniel enabled to walk in the steps of his father 
 Abraham, and of that faith which gives glory to God. Nothing more pleasing to 
 God, or likely to make a man "greatly beloved" of Him, than a simple, childlike, 
 and unwavering trust. Jesus was pleased wherever he found faith in Himself. 
 Daniel's childlike faith made him, like Abraham, "the friend of God." 
 
 6. His pray erf ulness. From youth to old age Daniel characterised as a man 
 of prayer. His whole life an example of the Apostle's words, " In everything by 
 prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known untu 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 GoJ." Prayer to God the natural fruit of faith in God. Prayer the element in 
 which Daniel lived. Each life presents constant calls to prayer, and constant 
 opportunities for it. No place where prayer is not needed, and none where it 
 may not be made. Daniel's prayers both regular and special, Daniel prayed in 
 his closet, and prayed by the river-side. Had his stated prayer morning, evening, 
 and at noon, and yet set himself to pray for a whole day with fasting and sack- 
 cloth. Prayed for himself, but with at least as much fervency for others. Had 
 his whole days of prayer and fasting for his brethren, his country, and the cause 
 of God. His prayerfulness well known to his heathen neighbours. This the 
 charge brought against him, and that Avhich all but cost him his life, Daniel 
 prayed with a cruel death before him as its probable consequence. His prayerful- 
 ness the secret of all his other excellences, the key that unlocked to him the 
 treasury of all spiritual blessings ; brought and kept him in fellowship with the 
 source and sum of all excellence, and so made him like Him ; made him walk 
 with God as a man with his friend, so that, like Moses, his face shone with the 
 reflected glory. Prayer the continual source and supply of strength for every 
 duty and every trial ; not only for doing and suffering, but for doing and suffering 
 in the right spirit. Makes Christ's strength our own, and at all times sufficient for 
 us. Daniel waited on the Lord, and so renewed his strength. 
 
 7. His amiahleness of disposition and kindness to others. When God brought him 
 into tender love with Ashpenaz, his superintendent in the palace at Babylon, it was 
 doubtless by giving Daniel that which gendered such love. Daniel's amiable spirit 
 and loving demeanour such as to commend him to his superiors. Love in others to- 
 wards us begotten by love and lovableness in ourselves. The amiableness of his dis- 
 position and tenderness of his spirit followed Daniel into mature age. Struck dumb 
 and unable at once to declare to the king the unhappy import of his dream, he only 
 does so when urged by his royal master, and then does it in the tenderest and most 
 loving manner, while yet faithfully seeking the king's best interests. Daniel seemed 
 to care for the imperilled lives of the wise men in Babylon more than his own ; and 
 on his deliverance from the death which his heathen enemies had devised for him, 
 lie makes not the slightest reference to their cruelty and wickedness while declaring 
 his innocence to the king. 
 
 8. U is patriotism and concern for his country's welfare. It was concern for his 
 country that moved him to that day of solemn prayer and fasting which the chapter 
 before us relates, and which brought Gabriel down with an answer and the testi- 
 mony in the text. To an enliglitened man the cause of his country will be bound 
 u[» with the cause of God and of religion, as it can be well with the former only as 
 it is so with the latter. This was especially the case with Daniel, whose country 
 God had made and called His own, and whose city, Jerusalem, was God's holy 
 mountain, the city of the great King, who had chosen it for the place of His spe- 
 cial worship. That country was now in desolation, and Jerusalem with its Temple 
 was in ruins. God's worship there had been brought to an end. Sin on the part 
 of tlie people had brought the desolating foe that had put a stop to their solemn 
 feasts. Provoked to anger by their continued rebellion and apostasy, the Lord had 
 " caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and had despised, 
 in the indignation of His anger, the king and the priest. The Lord had cast off 
 His altar ; He had abhorred His sanctuary ; He hiid given up into the hand of the 
 enemy the walls of her palaces" (Lam. ii. 6, 7). This was tlie burden that pressed 
 upon the heart of the beloved projjhet. The cause of his people, and with that the 
 cause of God and of true religion, which was bound up with it, was his deep sor- 
 row, and drove him to incessant })rayer as the time of the promised deliverance 
 drew nigh. He was concerned notoidy for his country's peace, but for his people's 
 repentance, which must be at the foundation of it. It was this that led him, as a 
 true patriot, to pour out his heart before God in the fervent prayer and deep humi- 
 liation here recorded. 
 liH) 
 
IIOMILETIG COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 9. His %mselfishness. This sufficiently apparent from the last particular, la 
 the remarkable prayer of this chapter, self is entirely forgotten in his concern for 
 his brethren and his country. The same renunciation and forgetfuhiess of self 
 conspicuous on many occasions. He associates with himself his three companions 
 in the interpretation of the king's dream, first asking their participation in liis 
 prayers, and then giving the interpretation as if from them all conjointly — " We 
 will tell the king his dream." He makes no mention of himself in relating the 
 noble stand which his three companions made in the matter of the golden image, 
 refraining from saying anything to account for his non-participation in their stead- 
 fast refusal to worship it, and leaving the entire honour of it to themselves. When 
 Eelshazzar holds out to him the promise of the highest reward he could bestow for 
 the interpretation of the handwriting on the wall, his answer is, " Let thy gifts be 
 to thyself, and give thy rewards unto another; yet I will read the writing to the 
 king, and make known to him the interpretation" {chap. v. 17). Dr. Pusey well 
 remarks : " A self-laudatory school has spoken much of the laudation, as they call 
 it, of Daniel, as being unnatural, on our belief that he was the author of the book. 
 To me certainly much more striking is his reticence about himself." At the very 
 commencement of his remarkable course he distinctly renounces in the king's 
 presence all claim to any superior wisdom or merit of his own in the interpretation 
 of his dream, and ascribes it entirely to God, who wished to acquaint the king 
 with its meaning. In like manner, all that he is obliged to relate in regard to his 
 gifts and attainments, his answers to prayer and divine revelations, he ascribes to 
 tlie same source — the free bounty of a gracious prayer-hearing God, who does what 
 He will with His own. *' He giveth wisdom to the wise and knowledge to them 
 tiiat have understanding. ... I thank Thee and praise Thee, O Thou God of my 
 fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now 
 what we desired of Thee" (chap. ii. 22, 23). 
 
 In leaving the character of this man "greatly beloved," we may remark with 
 Dr. Cox : " It is characteristic of Scripture biography to record the censurable 
 actions of good men as well as their virtues and graces ; the entire omission of the 
 former, therefore, in the account of Daniel, naturally leads to the conclusion that 
 he was a person of pre-eminent excellence." The same writer adds : " The estima- 
 tion in which Daniel was held by successive potentates, the public honours he re- 
 ceived, the eminent rank he held, all fade into nothingness before the testimony 
 from Heaven, a testimony founded on no external glory, but on a character invul- 
 nerable to reproaches, and formed of all the elements of pure religion." Nor 
 in thinking of Daniel's character, which entitled him to this high testimony, 
 f-hould we forget that he was only an Old Testament saint, living in wliat is 
 called by the Apostle the " ministration of the letter that killeth," instead of 
 the ministration of the Spirit that succeeded it ; the former, glorious as it 
 was, "haviTig no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth," the 
 glory of the dispensation of the Spirit in which it is our privilege to live (2 Cor. 
 ill. 6-10). If that inferior dispensation which possessed comparatively so little 
 of the Spirit that renews and sanctifies, produced a character of such excellence as 
 to merit this angelic testimony, to what moral excellence ought New Testament 
 believers not to be able to attain? Daniel beheld God and His sanctifying truth 
 only with the veil of Moses on his face, and yet attained to so much of his like- 
 ness. What may, what ought we not to attain to when the veil is done away in 
 Christ, and when we, beholding with unveiled face, and reflecting, as in a mirror, 
 the "glory of the Lord," enjoy the privilege of being "transformed into the same 
 image from glory unto glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit'"? (2 Cor. iii. 
 14-, 18, R.V.) The character of Daniel is portrayed in this book by the Holy Ghost 
 for our imitation, even in these last days of the ministration of the Spirit ; for 
 "whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning," that 
 the man of God might be "perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work" 
 
 191 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 (Horn. XV. 4; 2 Tim, iii. 17). The present dispensation has produced many 
 Daniels, — its Metchers, its Paysons, its M'Cheynes, its Pennyfathers, and multi- 
 tudes besides, whose record is only on high. It will produce many more. It is 
 the privilege both of the reader and the writer, by contemplating in the Word not 
 merely the character of Daniel, but of Daniel's Lord, to possess Daniel's character, 
 by possessing more and more of the character of Him from whom that eminent 
 saint derived all his excellence ; learning of the Master, who was " meek and lowly 
 in heart," and walking in the spirit and steps of Him who was " holy, harmless, 
 and undefiled, and separate from sinners." For this, however, we must become one 
 with that Master, united to Him as a branch is to the tree by a cordial acceptance 
 of Him, surrender to Him, and trust in Him, as the provided Saviour for poor 
 helpless sinners. Eeader, may that be your happiness and mine ! 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XXXIII.— The Promised Messiah (Chap. ix. 24-27). 
 
 We now come to that part of Daniel's prophecies which perhaps more than any 
 other distinguishes him as a prophet, and which was communicated to him as 
 a man *' greatly beloved." It is the prediction regarding the promised Messiah, 
 more full and explicit, especially in regard to the time of His appearing, than any 
 that had hitherto been given (i). The communication was made to the prophet in 
 connection with the announcement as to what was to befall his people and country, 
 in whom Daniel felt so deep an interest, and for whom he had prayed so fervently. 
 The prediction, therefore, was twofold, having relation in the first instance to 
 Messiah, and in the second to the Jewish peojjle to whom He should come, and 
 whose King He was to be. Daniel had prayed that God would graciously visit His 
 people, now captive in Babylon, as well as the Holy City and its Temple, now lying 
 in ruins. In the promise of the Messiah this prayer was answered. No more 
 gracious visitation of Israel could be vouchsafed than in the Advent of Him who 
 was to come as the consolation and glory of His people, and who had been so long 
 promised and waited for as such (Luke i. 68, 69). The mere return of the exiles 
 to Judea, and the restoration of their polity and worship, was insignificant in itself 
 compared with the birth of that Saviour who was to be " a light to lighten the 
 Gentiles and the glory of His people Israel," an event of which none less than 
 angels were to be the immediate heralds (Luke ii. 8-14, 25-38). In the present 
 Bection we shall confine our attention to the Messiah Himself, as Irere promised, 
 with the time of His appearing, leaving for a succeeding one the blessed results 
 that should follow His Advent. 
 
 I. The Messiah Himself. He is here called by two names, or, perhaps mure 
 strictly, by a name and a title, "Messiah the Prince "(2). 
 
 1. " Mesaiah." Tliis Hebrew term, equivalent to the Greek Chrisf, denotes 
 " the Anointed." The promised Deliverer had already been spoken of by the 
 prophets as God's Anointed. See 1 Sam. ii. 35, xii. 3, 5 ; Ps. ii. 2, xviii. 50, 
 Ixxxiv. 9. Now, however, perhaps for the first time. He is designated by this name 
 alone, Messiah or the Anointed. God speaks in the Psalms of having anointed 
 Tlin), as the King whom He had chosen and appointed to rule over Israel on the 
 tlir(jne of His father David, Solomon's antitype (Ps. Ixxxix. 19, 20, ii. 6, viarg.) 
 Isaiah speaks of Him as anointed by God with the Holy Si)irit, as a pro])het to 
 make known the glad tidings of salvation to fallen men (Isa. Ixi. 12). This in 
 accordance with the practice of both kings and pmphets being installed in their 
 oflice with the anointing of oil, the symbol of the Holy Spirit, with whom, as the 
 true king and prophet, Messiah was to be anointed. As the great High Priest also, 
 He was to receive vhe same anointing, it being appointed under the law that the 
 192 
 
EOMILETW COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 priests should be introduced into their office by the anointing with oil (Exod. xxx. 30, 
 xl. 15; Ps. cxxxiii. '2). This symbolical anointing, wtiich was to receive its fuliilnieiit 
 in the promised Deliverer, hence called the Messiah or Anointed, was actually 
 fulfilled in Jesus, on whom the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily «liaiie at His 
 baptism, and of whom Peter testifies, that He went about doing good, being 
 anointed by God "with the Holy Ghost, and with power" (Acts x. 38). The evan- 
 gelists relate that Jesus went up from the Jordan full of the Hi>ly Ghost, and was 
 led by the same Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. The Epistle 
 to the Hebrews tells us that it was through the eternal Spirit that Jesus, as 
 the Great High Priest, "offered Himself without spot unto God" (Heb. ix. 14). 
 Through the Holy Ghost He gave commandments to His apostles after His resur- 
 rection (Acts i. 2). He was anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows. 
 God gave not His Spirit by measure unto Him (Ps. xlv. 7 ; John iii. 34). 
 
 2. " The Prince." ^'^) The Hebrew term here used also applied to the promised 
 Saviour in Isaiah Iv. 4, and there rendered Leader. It may be regarded as 
 equivalent to king, head, or ruler, Jehovah, in the passage referred to, declares, 
 in regard to the provided and promised Saviour, "I have given Him for a witness 
 to the people (His prophetical office); a leader and a commander to the people," 
 thus indicating at the same time His office as a king. So we read of Jesus, that 
 He has been exalted by the Father with His own right hand, "a prince and a 
 Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel and the forgiveness of sins" (Acts v. 31). 
 He is " the Prince of the kings of the earth;" equivalent to "King of kings 
 and Lord of lords" (Rev. i. 5, xix. 16). The Saviour was especially promised in 
 the character of a prince or king. " Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zioii ; for 
 behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek and having salvation" (Zech. ix. 9). 
 It was in this character that He was to bruise the serpent's head, and deprive 
 him of his usurped dominion. His language to Joshua, "as Captain of the 
 Lord's host am I come." He is the "Captain of our salvation;" " travelling in 
 the greatness of His strength, mighty to save;" the "King of glory, mighty in 
 battle" (Heb. ii. 10; Isa. Ixiii. 2; Ps. xxiv. 8). His princedom as head of all 
 principality and power, given to Him by the Father as the reward of His media- 
 torial work, and at the same time as the means of fully securing the ends of that 
 undertaking (Phil. ii. 6-11; Eph. i. 20-22; Matt, xxviii. 18; John xvii. 2; 
 Ps. ex. 1, &c.) 
 
 It may here be interesting to inquire how far Messiah had been promised and 
 made known previously to this communication made to Daniel concerning Him, 
 and through Daniel to the Church. We may mark seven leading promises, pre- 
 viously given, revealing so many particulars concerning the Saviour who was to 
 come : — 
 
 (1.) The original promise in Eden, showing that the Saviour of men was to be 
 a man, and that while He was to be the destroyer of him who had overcome and 
 sought to ruin man, He was Himself to suffer (Gen. iii. 15), Hence the name He 
 generally gave Himself, the Son of Man. 
 
 (2.) The promise made to Abraham, and renewed to Isaac and Jacob, indicating 
 the nation from which the Saviour was to spring, that of which Abraham was to 
 be the head, tlie Jewish peojile (Gen. xii. 3). Salvation was to be of the Jews. 
 
 (3.) The promise made through Jacob on his dying bed, intimating the tribe in 
 the Jewish nation out of which the Messiah was to spring, viz., that of Judah, the 
 royal tribe, indicating that Messiah was to be a king (Gen, xlix. 10). Jesus 
 claimed the title of King of the Jews. 
 
 (4.) Tlie promise through Moses, showing that the Saviour was to be a prophet 
 as well as a king (Deut. xviii. 15). It was more especially in this character that 
 He exerci-^ed His three and a half years' ministry, teaching the people. 
 
 (5.) Tlie promise by David, showing the family in which Messiah was to be 
 born, viz., that of David the son of Jesse ; and that though He was to succeed His 
 
 N 193 
 
EOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 father David as king of Israel, He was to be rejected by the leaders of the peoplb, 
 and to suffer and die ; while, as a priest, He offered Himself as a sacrifice to God 
 for the sins of the world, the very kind of death He was to suffer being indicated 
 (Actsii. 30; Prf. Ixxxix. 4, ex. 4, cxviii. 22, xl. 6-8, xxii. 16). The Son of David, 
 the name by which the Jews generally designated the promised Messiah. 
 
 (6.) The promise by Isaiah, B.C. 714-50, that He was to be miraculously born 
 of a virgin, intimating also that while truly man He was also to possess a divine 
 nature, as Emmanuel, the Mighty God ; and showing at the same time more dis- 
 tinctly than before that He was to be rejected by men, and made by God a sacrifice 
 for the sins of the people (Isa, vii. 14, ix. 7, liii.) Isaiah especially the evangelical 
 jnophet, or prophet of the Gospel. 
 
 (7.) The promise given through Micah, B.C. 710, shortly after the preceding, 
 and showing the place where Messiah was to be born, viz., in Bethlehem, a small 
 village in Judah, and declaring still more explicitly that, notwithstanding the lowly 
 place of His birth, He was the everlasting God (Micah v. 2). Singularly fulfilled, 
 while ]\Iary and Joseph were at the time inhabitants of Nazareth. 
 
 II. The time of Messiah's appearing. This is expressly intimated in the text, 
 though somewhat enigmatically. Seventy weeks are said to be determined upon 
 Daniel's people for the accomplishment of those gracious purposes connected with 
 Messiah's advent (ver. 24). These prophetic weeks are again divided into three 
 portions, of seven, sixty-two, and one ; each portion having some important event 
 or transaction connected with it (vers. 25-27). The points requiring consideration 
 are — 
 
 1. The seventy iveeks and the event they bring. No room is left for doubt that 
 these weeks are prophetic weeks or weeks of years, each week being seven years, 
 and the whole thus making up 490 years, or seventy times seven C^). The events 
 to take place in the course of them render every other meaning of the expression 
 out of the question. The event with which these years were to terminate is not so 
 certain, and is differently understood (^). Not improbably that event is the ceasing 
 of the Gospel to be preached exclusively to the Jews, when the kingdom of God 
 was to be given to another people bringing forth the fruits of it. This took place 
 only a few years after the death of Christ (Acts x.) It is possible that, as some 
 suppose, they extend to the period when the Jews shall be restored. 
 
 2. The three 2)ortions of the seventy iveeJcs. The first of these appears to be seven 
 weeks or forty-nine years, the event connected with it being, apparently, the rebuild- 
 ing of Jerusalem ("), when "the street should be built again and the wall, even in 
 troublous times" (ver. 25). The historical fulfilment particularly related in the 
 Book of Nehemiah(0. The second portion of sixty-two weeks or 434 years, 
 succeeding the former, and with it making up 483 years, would appear to terminate 
 with the death of Messiah, which should take place either then or soon after. 
 "After threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off" (ver. 26) (^X The third 
 portion, or one week of seven years, apparently succeeding the others, and including 
 tlie death of Messiah, and the fruits of it among the Jews in connection with the 
 preaching of the Gospel during the first few years succeeding that event. Some 
 extend it so as to include the judgments to fall on the Jews for the rejection of the 
 Gospel, according to the verses that immediately follow. 
 
 3. The 2^eriod of their comvuncnnent. Where do the seventy weeks begin? 
 Here also is some uncertainty and difference of opinion. (9) In the text, it is the 
 time of "the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" 
 (ver. 25). The uncertainty is as to what that time was, or what was the precise 
 commandment referred to. There have been four commandments or edicts of the 
 kings of Persia, to which the words of the angel have been referred, each a few 
 year.s — though only a few — distant from the others. The first is the edict of 
 Cyrus, B.C. 536, permitting the Jews to return to their own land (Ezra i. 1). The 
 second, about sixteen years later, is that of Darius Hystaspis, in the second or 
 
 194 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 third year of his reign, B.C. 520, confirmatory of that of Cyrus (Ezra vi. 1). The 
 third is that of Artaxerxes Longimanus, in the seventh year of his reign, B.C. 457, 
 giving commission to Ezra to repair to Jerusalem and put matters right there 
 (Ezra vii. 7, 11). The fourth and hast is that of the same monarch, in the 
 twentieth year of his reign, B.C. 444, giving permission to Nehemiah to visit Jeru- 
 salem with the object of setting forward the restoration of the city (Neh. i. 2, ii. 
 1, &c.) The first and the last two appear to have the most to be said in their 
 favour, the third being, perhaps, the most probable. Whichever of these periods 
 or edicts may be the exact one, there can be little doubt that the prophecy was 
 intended to mean that somewhere about five centuries, more or less, after Daniel 
 received the vision, Messiah was to appear. Although there is an uncertainty 
 connected with ancient chronology, it appears that, as a matter of fact, the baptism 
 of Jesus, which was preparatory to His death, like the setting apart of the passover 
 lamb (Exod. xii. 3, 6), took place somewhere about 483 years, or 69 prophetic 
 weeks, from the third of the above edicts, and that in little more than seven years, 
 or one prophetic week later, the Gospel had begun to be preached among the 
 Gentiles. It is certain that at the very time when Jesus appeared, the Jews, 
 guided by ancient prophecy, were in earnest expectation of the advent of their 
 promised Messiah. When John the Baptist began to exercise his ministry, all 
 men mused in their hearts whether he were the Christ. From his prison John 
 sent two of his disciples to Jesus with the inquiry, " Art thou He that should 
 come, or look we for another % " At the time of the birth of Jesus the godly in 
 Jerusalem were waiting and looking for Him who was to be the Redeemer and 
 Consolation of Israel. Even the Samaritans were looking for Him : " I know 
 that Messias cometh ; when He is come. He will tell us all things" (John iv. 25). 
 That there existed at that time a widespread report through all the East that a 
 ruler should appear in Judea and obtain a universal dominion, even Roman his- 
 torians testify. According to Josephus, it was that very expectation that moved 
 the Jews to revolt from their Roman masters. It has even been believed by Jewish 
 Rabbis that the Messiah was born at the time that the temple was destroyed, and 
 that He lay hid among the lepers in Rome. So fully were the Jews persuaded 
 that He should appear about that period, that, rejecting Him when He came in the 
 person of Jesus, they were ready to embrace and welcome every pretender ; till, 
 always disappointed, their Rabbis pronounced a curse upon those who should 
 attempt to calculate the time of His appearing, which could chiefly, and almost 
 only, be done from this very prophecy of Daniel. " When the fulness of the time 
 was come," God did indeed "send forth His Son, made of a woman, made under 
 the law, that He might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive 
 the adoption of sons" (Gal. iv. 4, 5). 
 
 We may observe from the text — 
 
 1. The cause of rejoicing afforded hy this prediction. This is one of those 
 portions of Scripture that cannot be attentively and believingly read without a 
 thrill of joy. Here is not only a prediction concerning the Saviour who was to 
 come, with the blessed results of His advent, but of the very time when He was to 
 appear, though given nearly five centuries before the event, and given in terms so 
 plain and precise, that in consequence of it the Jews looked for His coming at the 
 very period indicated ; C^") while exactly at that period, Jesus, with every prophetic 
 mark of the true Messiah found in Him, actually came ; and though rejected, a 
 thing which was also predicted of the Messiah, by the mass of His countrymen, 
 and more especially their leaders, was hailed, accepted, and trusted in as the 
 promised Saviour of the world, by numbers during His life, and by millions more 
 since then in almost every part of the world, and among the most civilised portions 
 of the human race. The reading of the text may well awaken those feelings 
 claimed by another angel for his statement when announcing the actual fulfilment 
 of the prophecy : " Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be 
 
 195 
 
CHA?. IX. HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 unto all people ; for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour 
 which is Christ the Lord." If any tidings are fitted to evoke feelings of joy, 
 surely it is tliese. 
 
 2. Tlie iluty of personally accepting that Saviour ivhose advent tvas thus graci- 
 uusiy foretold, and at the predicted period actually took ^j/aee. The text reveals a 
 Saviour and promises a salvation which meets the requirements of every human 
 beiiio' J a salvation not only from sin's consequences, but from sin itself, and one 
 which in the Gospel is freely tendered to every creature. Millions, accepting the 
 aiiuoimcenieiit and cordially embracing the promised Saviour as their own, have 
 experienced its truth both in life and death, and, made by it new creatures in 
 Cmist Jesus, have rejoiced with exceeding joy. Such an experience is for each to 
 make his own, and that without delay. " To you is the word of this salvation 
 sent." " Behold, now is the day of salvation." " How shall we escape, if we 
 neo-lect so great salvation 1 " Has the reader embraced it ? 
 
 3. The evidence here afforded of the truth of Christianity and the word of God. 
 With this prophecy of Daniel before us, and the Gospel narrative in our hands, 
 and the existence of the Christian Church before our eyes, we need nothing more 
 to convince us that there is such a thing as divinely inspired prediction, and that 
 Christianity is of God. Sir Isaac Newton, no mean authority in connection with 
 such a sut)ject, was willing to stake the truth of Christianity on this very prophecy' 
 of Daniel. With the prediction of the text and the facts of history before us, 
 even the most scriptural may well exclaim with the magicians of Egypt, *' This is 
 the finger of God ! " Believers, if only from the evidence afforded by this prophecy 
 and its fulfilment, may rejoice with Peter in the assurance, that they " have not 
 followed cunningly devised fables." Calvin was right when he said, " How clear 
 and sure a testimony we have in Daniel's prophecy, where he counts the years 
 till the advent of Christ ; so that we may with boldness oppose Satan and all the 
 scorn of the ungodly, if it be but true that the book of Daniel was in men's hands 
 before Clirist came." That it was so is doubted by none ; even the keenest 
 opposer of the genuineness of the book placing it at least 150 years before that 
 event.(iO 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— (i) This Antichrist and the final completion of 
 
 is the general view regarding the pro- the kingdom of God. 3. That of some 
 
 phecy. Keil observes that the interpre- of the Cliurch fathers, and several modern 
 
 tations of the passage may be divided theologians, who interpret the prophecy 
 
 into three principal classes. 1. That of eschatologically, as an announcement of 
 
 most of the Church fathers and the the development of the kingdom of God 
 
 older orthodox interpreters, who find from the end of the exile on to the per- 
 
 proiiliesied here — the a[)pearance of fecting of tlie kingdom by the second 
 
 Christ in the flesh. His death, and the coming of Christ at the end of the days, 
 
 destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans; This last view is that of Keil himself, 
 
 the view held also by Havernick, Heng- as well as Kliefoth, the germs of it 
 
 stenberg, Auberlen, and Dr. Pusey. 2. appearing in Jlippolytus and Apollinaris 
 
 That of the majority of the modern of Laodicea, who refer the statement in 
 
 interpreters (that is, mainly, the Gern);ui ver. 27, regarding the hast week, to the 
 
 Rationalists), who refer the whole pas- end of the world, viewing the first half 
 
 sage to tlie tune of Antiochus Kjjiphanes; as the time of the return of Elijah, and 
 
 a view held also hy Hofmaiin and De- the second as that of Antichrist. From 
 
 litzsch, who, however, have united with the contents of ver. 24, Keil concludes 
 
 wliat liiey consider the primary historical that the termination of the seventy weeks 
 
 reference of verses 25-27 to Antiochus, coincides with the end of the present 
 
 an eschatological reference, according to course of the world. Differently from 
 
 which the prophecy will he perfectly most, he thinks the periods are not to 
 
 accoinj)li.>hed only in the appearance of be reckoned chronologically, but to be 
 
BOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 viewed symbolically, as a divinely- 
 appointed period measured by sevens, 
 the reckoning of their actual duration 
 being withdrawn beyond the reach of 
 our liunian research, but leaving us the 
 strong consolation of knowing that tlie 
 fortunes of God's people are safe in His 
 hands. 
 
 (;) '' J fessiah the Prince" (ver. 25). 1\J3 
 ri''L"?p (^Maahiakh Nagltiilh), not, as Ber- 
 tholdt thinks, an anointed prince; for 
 C^''^ cannot be an adjective to T^JJ, 
 because in Hebrew the adjective is, 
 with few exceptions, which are inappli- 
 cable in this case, always placed afler 
 the noun. Nor is D'^'D a participle, as 
 Steudel makes it, but a noun with T'J^ 
 in apposition — an anointed one ivho is 
 also a prince. According to Keil, it is 
 one who is first and specially a priest, 
 and, in addition, a prince of the i)eople 
 or a king, it being chiefly priests and 
 kings who in the Old Testament were 
 anointed to their office. He remarks 
 that tliis could neither be Zerubbabel, 
 as many old interpreters thought, nor 
 Ezra, nor Onias III., nor Cyrus, as some 
 Kabbis and Rationalists have supposed. 
 The Old Testament knows only One who 
 shall be both priest and king in one per- 
 son (Ps. ex. 4 ; Zech. vi. 13), Christ, the 
 Messi.is (John iv. 25) ; in whom the two 
 essential requisites of the theocratic king, 
 the anointing and the appointment to be 
 the 1^^3 or prince of the people of God 
 (1 Sam. X. 1 ; 2 Sam. i. 21), are found in 
 the mo>t perfect manner. Some explain 
 the want of the article on the ground 
 that n>t^O {Mashiakh) "Messiah" is 
 used as a proper name, like HOV 
 (tsemakh) the Branch, in Zech. iii. 8, 
 vi. 12 ; the term having certainly been 
 used as a proper name before it was 
 applied to Jesus (John i. 41, iv. 25). 
 Keil, who thinks that in this case the 
 article would have stood before T"?? 
 {nac/hidh) " the prince," prefers to read 
 — till one comes who is anointed and at 
 the same time lirince ; because He that 
 is to come is not definitely designated 
 as the expected Messiah, but must only 
 be made ].rominent by what is ascribed 
 to H i m as a parsonage altogether singular. 
 
 (3) " The prince^' (ver. 25). Here the 
 Messiah, thougli in the following verse 
 
 an earthly prince, probably Titus or the 
 Roman emperor. Josephus applies the 
 term even in this verse to Ves[iasian as 
 the person intended. Theodoret and 
 Eusebius tht)ught of John Hyrcanus, 
 who was both prince and high priest. 
 Others have applied it to the anointed 
 governors and elders among the Jews in 
 general. Some of the Jews applied it to 
 Herod Agrippa, who was slain shortly 
 before the destruction of Jerusalem. 
 
 (^) _" Seventy weeks" (ver. 24). Seventy 
 □"ynt^ (^sJtabhiiim), " sevens," hence, 
 weeks. Dr. Taylor observes that here 
 it is not necessary to adopt the year- 
 day theory, although itself resting on 
 sufficient grounds. The prophet says, 
 " seventy weeks," or " seventy sevens," 
 which might either be days or years; 
 and as this allusion appears to be to the 
 seventy years of the captivity, so years 
 are naturally to be understood here. 
 " For the one seventy in exile, there 
 should be seve7i seventies of continued 
 occupation of the holy city." Auberlen 
 thinks the seventy weeks, or 490 years, 
 extend to the year 33 a.d. " The fixed 
 chronological point from which to cal- 
 culate we find in the death of the Mes- 
 siah, which falls in the middle of the 
 last week, that is, three and a half years 
 before the end of the whole i)eiiod, con- 
 sequently the year 30 a.d. But it is in 
 this very year, according to the soundest 
 chronological investigations, and the 
 most generally adopted reckoning, ia 
 which Bengel and Wieseler, for example, 
 coincide, that the Lord Jesus was cruci- 
 fied." So Willet, reckoning from the 
 first year of Cyrus, computes, — the Per- 
 sian monarchy lasted 130 years; the 
 Greek or jMacedonian, 300 ; the Roman, 
 to the death of Christ, GO ; in all, 490. 
 He observes that, " although in the par- 
 ticular account of time there be some 
 disagreement, yet herein most Christian 
 interpreters agree, that all those years 
 expired either at the birth or passion of 
 Christ, or in the destruction of Jerusa- 
 lem ; so that whichever account be re- 
 ceived, two main points are proved, 
 namely, that Messiah is come, and that 
 He came not as a temporal prince, but 
 was put to death." Calvin, who remarks 
 that " the diversity of opinions among 
 197 
 
no MI LET IC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 interpreters doth not evacuate or extenu- 
 ate the authority of Scripture," says that 
 '• the Jews agree with us in considering 
 the prophet to reckon the weeks not by 
 days but by years, as in Lev. xxv. 8 ; 
 only they consider them to have begun 
 at the destruction of the former temple, 
 and closed at the overthrow of the second, 
 when God would disperse them over all 
 the earth, as a chastisement for their 
 sin, till at length Messiah should come." 
 He paraphrases thus : " Sorrowful dark- 
 ness has brooded over you for seventy 
 years ; but God will now follow up this 
 period by one of favour of sevenfold 
 duration, because, by lightening your 
 cares and moderating your sorrow. He 
 will not cease to prove Himself propitious 
 to you, even to the advent of Christ." 
 Dr. Pusey also, who observes that the 
 choice of the form of the prophecy was 
 itself prophetical, thinks that the inter- 
 val which God assigned had an evident 
 reference to the seventy years of the 
 captivity ; and that that immber had a 
 bearing on the broken Sabbaths, in pun- 
 ishment of which Moses foretold that 
 the land should enjoy her Sabbaths in 
 the captivity of the people. " Seventy 
 years were the term of their captivity ; 
 seven times seventy years were to be 
 the main term of their new probation 
 in the possession of their land and of 
 their restored city." Mr. Bosanquet also 
 thinks these seventy weeks are seventy 
 Sabbaths of years, " each ending with a 
 sliemiltah, or ' year of release,' such as 
 were to be observed under the Levitical 
 law ; the period of seven weeks repre- 
 senting seven Sabbaths of years, or 49 
 years, ending with a year of jubilee 
 (Lev. xxv. 8, 9), and with the dedica- 
 tion of the wall of Jerusalem." Profes- 
 sor Stuart calls them seventy hepiades 
 of years, Daniel having been making 
 diligent inquiry regarding the seventy 
 years of the captivity. Professor Lee 
 understands only an indelinite period. 
 Hofmann and Kliefoth too, with whom 
 Keil agrees, remark that D''y.pt^ (shahh- 
 u'im) does not necessarily mean year- 
 weeks, but an intentionally indefinite 
 designation of a period of time measured 
 by the number seven, whose chron- 
 ological duration must be determined 
 198 
 
 on other grounds. Hengstenberg and 
 Kranichfeld, however, are in favour of 
 year-weeks (periods of seven years), on 
 the ground that such an interpretation 
 is very natural, since they hold so pro- 
 minent a place in the law of Moses ; 
 and the exile had brought them anew 
 very distinctly into remembrance, inas- 
 much as the seventy years' desolation of 
 the land was viewed as a punishment 
 for the interrupted festival of the Sab- 
 batical year (2 Chron. xxxvi. 21). So 
 Junius, Pellican, Polanus, &c., the last 
 remarking that the number seven is of 
 great observance among the Jews, indi- 
 cating periods of holy rest, and pointing 
 to the great year of rest in the redemp- 
 tion of the world by Messiah. 
 
 (5) " Are ddermined ii-pon thy people, 
 and upon thy holy city to finish," &c, 
 (ver. 24) "^nri; (neJchtach), from "^nn 
 (khathach), occurring only here in Heb- 
 rew, but in Chaldee meaning " to cut off, 
 cut up into pieces," hence " to decide," or 
 determine; so Pagn. Mont. Jun.,&c. Not 
 abbreviated or shortened, as the Vul- 
 gate, abbrevialce, and as Wieseler thinks. 
 The singular used, either from a singu- 
 lar noun, as W (^eth) time, being before 
 the prophet's mind, as Hengstenberg 
 thinks, or, as Keil prefers, from the 
 seventy weeks being conceived of as a 
 whole or absolute idea ; but not from 
 an inexact manner of writing of the 
 later authors, as Ewald supposes. The 
 expression " upon thy people," tkc, 
 implies, according to Kliefoth and 
 Keil, that the people and city of God 
 should not remain in the state of desola- 
 tion in which they then were, but should 
 at some time be again restored, and 
 should be continued during the time men- 
 tioned ; Keil understanding these terms 
 certainly to refer first to Israel after the 
 ^esh and to the geographical Jerusalem, 
 but also as embracing the New Testa- 
 ment Church and the Church of God 
 on earth. He remarks that the follow- 
 ing infinitive clauses, " to finish," &C., 
 present tlie object for which the seventy 
 weeks are determined, intimating what 
 shall happen till, or with the expiry of 
 the time determined ; it being only to 
 be concluded from the contents of the 
 final clauses \Ahether what is mentioned 
 
BOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 Bhall take place only at the end of the 
 period, or shall develop itself gradually 
 in the course of it. He thinks, from 
 the contents of these six clauses, that 
 the termination of the seventy weeks 
 coincides with the end of the present 
 course of the world. Sir Isaac Newton 
 also inclined to apply the last seven 
 weeks of the period to the time when 
 Antichrist should be destroyed by the 
 brightness of the Saviour's coming. 
 CEcolampadius understood this last week 
 to be no definite number of years, but 
 commencing with the time of Pompey, 
 continuing to the death of Christ, and 
 terminating in the reign of Adrian, 
 ninety-eight years later. Melanchthon 
 and Junius (first edition) viewed the 
 second half of that week as commenc- 
 ing with Christ's death and continuing 
 onwards. Polanus and Junius make 
 that latter half to include the destruction 
 of Jerusalem. Bulliiiger, Broughton, 
 and Willet make the last of the weeks 
 the seven years previous to Christ's 
 death, the first half being a preparatory 
 season before His baptism, which took 
 place in the middle of it. Scaliger 
 divided the last week into two parts, 
 assigning four years and a half to 
 Christ's ministry, and the other two 
 and a half to the destruction of Jeru- 
 salem. Apollinaris seems to have ex- 
 tended the prophecy to the end of the 
 world. The Duke of Manchester, reck- 
 oning the whole period of 490 years 
 from B.C. 424, or anno Nabonassar 325, 
 the supposed time of the vision, brings 
 its termination down to a.d. 66. 
 
 (6) " Seven weeks, and threescore and 
 two weeks " (ver. 25). Keil observes that 
 most interpreters who understand Christ 
 as Messiah the Prince, have referred 
 both of these periods to the first clause, 
 as being to be reckoned from the going 
 forth of the commandment. Thus Theo- 
 dotion and the Vulgate. So Havernick, 
 Hengstenberg, and Auberlen. Heng- 
 steuberg says: " The separation of the 
 two periods of time was of great conse- 
 quence, in order to show that the seven 
 and the sixty-two weeks are not a mere 
 arbitrary dividing into two of one whole 
 period, but that to each of these two 
 periods its own characteristic mark be- 
 
 longs." He divides them thus : " Sixty 
 weeks must pass away ; seven till the 
 completed restoration of the city, sixty 
 from that time till the Anointed, the 
 Prince." Keil, however, who regards 
 the periods symbolically and not chro- 
 nologically, thinks that this interpreta- 
 tion distt)rts the language of the text, 
 and ought to be suffered to fall aside as 
 untenable, in order that we may do 
 justice to the words of the prophecy. 
 He thinks that the seven weeks are 
 said to terminate with the ajipearance 
 of Messiah the Prince, after which tlie 
 sixty and two weeks take their com- 
 mencement, terminating with the cut- 
 ting ofi" of the Messiah. Willet, after 
 Calvin, Q^]colampadius, and Broughton, 
 reckoning from the first year of Cyrus, 
 make the first seven weeks, or forty- 
 nine years, to terminate with the finish- 
 ing of the temple in the sixth year of 
 Darius or Artaxerxes Longimanus. 
 
 (J) " The street shall be bxiilt again 
 and the wall, even in trotihlons times" 
 (ver. 25). 3-IK'n (tashuhh), "shall 
 return," is thus joined adverbially to 
 the second verb, "^J^^rlp?? (yenihhnethah), 
 " and shall be built." So Havernick, 
 Hofmann, and Wieseler. Keil, on the 
 other hand, thinks that the words refer 
 undoubtedly to the expression in the 
 former clause of the verse ril^^pi. S^Cr'n? 
 (lehashibh velibhnoth), " to restore and 
 to build;" and that therefore ^-Iti'n 
 (tashiibh) is to be rendered intransi- 
 tively, "shall be restored," as Ezek. 
 xvi. 55 ; 1 Kings xiii. 6, and elsewhere 
 He thinks, against Rosenmiiller, Gese- 
 nius, and Henystenberg, that the sub- 
 ject to both verbs is nut 2in"| (^rekhobh), 
 " the street," but Jerusalem, as is mani- 
 fest both from the Avords of the com- 
 mandment, and from the fact that in 
 Zech. viii. 5 the noun is construed as 
 masculine, while here the verb is femi- 
 nine. He is also of the opinion that 
 the words V''"'C1 ^'"'"1 {rekhohh vekharuLs), 
 " the street and the wall," contain to- 
 gether one definition, the former, ^IH") 
 (rekhohh), the street and wide space be- 
 fore the gate of the temple, being taken 
 as the adverbial accusative, " with wide 
 spaces ; " and the latter as a participle, 
 "and yet cut ofi;' or limited," the sense 
 199 
 
CHAP. IX. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 being, " Jerusalem shall be built so 
 that the city takes in a wide space, has 
 wide free places, but not, however, un- 
 limited in width, but such that their 
 couipiiss is measured off, is fixed and 
 bounded." So Kliefoth, Theodotion, 
 and the Vulgate have " the street and 
 the wall," To the latter word (I'-lin) 
 Gesonius and others give the meaning 
 "ditch, wall, aqueduct;" Ewald, "a 
 pond ;" Hoimann, " a confined space ;" 
 Hitzig, " the court." Hiivernick, Heng- 
 stenberg, and others translate it as a 
 participle, " and it is determined." The 
 expression " in troublous times," P^^*? 
 D'^riyn {^betsoq ha'ittim), "in the dif- 
 ficulty or oppression of the times," 
 points to the circumstances under which 
 the building was to jjroceed, and which 
 are fully recorded in the Book of Ne- 
 hemiah (chaps, iii., iv., vi., ix.) ; but, in 
 Keil's opinion, is, according to Ps. 11, 
 20, to be applied also to the spiritual 
 building of the city of God. 
 
 (*) " After threescore and tivo loeeks 
 shall Messiah be cut off" (ver. 26). 
 Tiiesc weeks apparently the period im- 
 mediately succeeding the seven weeks 
 that constitute the first section of these 
 weeks of years. Keil remarks that 
 from the ^^l!5< (akhare) " after," it does 
 not follow with certainty that the " cut- 
 ting olF" of the Messiah falls wholly in 
 the beginning of the seventieth week, 
 but only that the "cutting off" shall 
 constitute the first great event of this 
 week, and that those things that are 
 nieiitioML'd in the remaining part of the 
 verso shall then ft)llow. Many think 
 that, iiccording to ver. 27, this great 
 event will oidy take place in the midst 
 of that hist week, when, in consequence 
 (if it, the typical sacrifices and oblations 
 shall be made to cease, the true sacri- 
 fice being now offered. 
 
 (9) " /rroyn, the (joing forth of the 
 cominaiulment" «fec. (ver. 24). Varions 
 opinions as to what commandment is 
 here referred to. Calvin and G^col.-un- 
 padiiis, anil, annrng the moderns, Klei- 
 iiert, Kbrard, Kliefoth, Keil, and others, 
 regard it as the edict of Cyrus (Ezra i. 
 1), from whicii, says Kliefotli, the ter- 
 miiiiuion of the exile is coirstantly 
 dated, and from which time the return 
 200 
 
 of the Jews, together with the building 
 up of Jerusalem, began. Keil tliinks 
 that Isaiah xliv. 28 directs us to this 
 view, as also the words in Ezra vi. 14, 
 '• They budded according to the com- 
 mandment of the king of Persia." 
 Hiivernick and Hengstenberg, following 
 some Church fathers, decide in favour 
 of the second decree of Artaxerxes given 
 in favour of Nehemiah in the twentieth 
 year of his reign ; Hengstenberg being 
 of opinion that the words of the angel 
 do not refer to the beginning of the 
 building of Jerusalem, but much rather 
 to the begiiuiing of its complete restora- 
 tion according to its ancient extent and 
 glory. Luther and Bengel regard the 
 "commandment" as the decree of Darius 
 Hystaspis ; while Bullinger, Pfatf, Sir 
 Isaac Newton, Prideaux, Aulierlen, and 
 others prefer the edict of Artaxerxes 
 given to Ezra in the seventh year of his 
 reign. Dr. Rule observes that the first 
 decree by Cyrus related only to the 
 temple, not the city ; but that the great 
 and decisive decree for rebnildiifg Jeru- 
 salem was issued by Artaxerxes, 457 
 B.C., in the seventh year of his reign, 
 and is preserved in full in Ezra vii., 
 being no doubt to be found in the 
 archives of the realm. Seven weeks or 
 forty-nine years from that date come 
 down to the year 408 B.C., when Nehe- 
 miah finished his work of restoring the 
 city. Sixty-two weeks, added to this, 
 making sixty-nine weeks or 483 years, 
 reach down to a.d. 26, when our Lord 
 was about thirty years of age, and was 
 baptised by John ; which Dr. Rule con- 
 siders to be meant by His being "cut 
 off," or separated as a victim for sacri- 
 fice. The remaining week or seven 
 years was, in his view, occupied with 
 the Saviour's ministry till His death ; 
 during which He confirmed the cove- 
 nant with many by His teaching. This 
 is also the view of Dr. Pusey, who 
 remarks that of tlie four, two only are 
 j)rincipal and le;iding decrees, tliat of 
 Cyrus, and that in the seventh year of 
 Artaxerxes Longinninus; that those of 
 Cyrus and Darius relate to the rebuild- 
 ing of the temple, those of Artaxerxes 
 to tile condition of Jndea and Jerusalem; 
 and that this rebuilding of the city and 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 reorganisation of the Jewish polity, be- 
 gnn by Ezra and carried on and per- 
 fected by Nebemiah, corresponds with 
 the words in Daniel, "From the going 
 forth," &c. He observes that the time 
 also corresponds ; that 483 years of the 
 whole period of seventy weeks or 490 
 years, the last seven years being parted 
 off, reckoned from the year 457 B.C., 
 were completed in the year 27 A.D., 
 which, since the nativity was four years 
 earlier tlian our era, would coincide 
 with our Lord's baptism, when the Holy 
 Gliost descending upon Him manifested 
 Him to be the Anointed One, or the 
 Messiah, He adds : " But the fact of 
 these several 2)eriods being prophesied, 
 and the last above six hundred years 
 before, is the body, not the soul, of the 
 prophecy ; it is not that which is the 
 chief evidence of its divinity." Hesse 
 thinks we are not forced to understand 
 the angel's words as referring to only 
 one of these edicts, but that tht-y refer 
 to the whole period during which such 
 edicts were given, revoked, and renewed. 
 Preiswerk thinks that, considering the 
 uncertainty of ancient chronology, we 
 ought not to lay much stress on calcu- 
 lating the exact year, but be content to 
 point out a mere general coincidence of 
 the prophecy with the historical time ; 
 and that if we show that possibly even 
 a minute coincidence took place, and at 
 le.nst that no one can prove the contrary, 
 we .shall have done enough to prove the 
 truth of the ancient prophecy. Sack 
 thinks it was enough to strengthen 
 faith and keep alive expectation, to 
 leave only a general conception of the 
 time when the Deliverer, Messiah the 
 Prince, sliould appear. 
 
 (1") Josephus says : " What gave them 
 (the Jews) courage to fight was a saying 
 found in the Holy Scriptures that about 
 that time (shortly before the destruction 
 of Jerusalem) one of their nation was 
 to obtain the government of the world." 
 This report was widely spread. Tacitus 
 says : " Many had the conviction that 
 it stood written in their ancient priestly 
 books that just about that very time 
 the East would rise up in great power, 
 and men from Judea would obtain the 
 government of the world." Suetonius, 
 
 another Eoman historian of the period, 
 also says : " The old and c(nnmon 
 opinion was spread through all the East, 
 that it was destined by fate tliat mea 
 of Judea should obtain at this time 
 the government of the world." Jewish 
 writings bear the same testimony. 
 " Our Rabbins have delivered to us that 
 in the week in which the Son of David 
 comes," &c. {Talnnul, Sank. 07, 1). 
 " Seventy weeks after the destruction 
 of the first temple shall intervene till the 
 destruction of the second " [Seder Olam, 
 Yalkut Sliimeoni, ii. 79, 4). "Why was 
 Jonathan ben Uzziel forbidden to inter- 
 pret the H;)giograi)ha ? Because in it is 
 contained the term of Messiah's advent" 
 {MegiUoh, 3, 1). Rashi says, "The 
 term of Messiah is found in the book of 
 Daniel." Bishop Hurd observes : " They 
 (the Jews) were led by these prophecies, 
 as interpreted by themselves, to expect 
 that they would be completed at the 
 time at which we say they were com- 
 pleted ; and it was not till after the 
 coming of Christ that they began to 
 interpret them differently, and to look 
 out for another completion of them. . . . 
 The natural and proper sense will be 
 thought to be that in which we take 
 them ; for that sense occurred first to 
 themselves, and was, in truth, their 
 sense before we adopted it. When I 
 say their sense, I mean especially in 
 respect to the time which they had fixed 
 for the accomplishment of the pro- 
 phecies concerning the Messiah." Dr. 
 Keith remarks : Tacitus, Suetonius, 
 Josephus, and Philo agree in testifying 
 the antiquity of the prophecies, and 
 their acknowledged reference to that 
 period. Even the Jews to this day own 
 that the time when their Messiah ought 
 to have appeared is long since ])ast ; and 
 they attribute the delay of His coming 
 t :> the sinfulness of their nation. And 
 thus, from the distinct prophecies them- 
 selves ; from the testimony of profane 
 historians ; and from the concessions 
 of the Jews, every requisite proof is 
 afforded that Christ appeared when 
 all the concurring circumstances of the 
 time denoted the prophesied period of 
 His advent." 
 
 (11) The views of the German Ra- 
 201 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 tionalists, and others of the same school, 
 are thus expressed by an English writer, 
 R. W. Mackay (Progress of the Intel- 
 lect) : *' During the severe persecutions 
 under Antiochus Epiphanes, when the 
 cause of Hebrew faith, in its struggle 
 with colossal heathenism, seemed des- 
 perate ; and when, notwithstanding 
 some bright examples of heroism, the 
 majority of the higher class was inclined 
 to submit and to apostatise; an unknown 
 writer adopted the ancient name of 
 Daniel, in order to revive the almost 
 extinct hopes of his countrymen, and to 
 exemplify the proper bearing of a faith- 
 ful Hebrew in the presence of a Gentile 
 tyrant. . . . The object of Pseudo- 
 Daniel is to foreshadow, under a form 
 adapted to make the deepest impression 
 on his countrymen, by a prophecy, half- 
 allusive, half-apocryphal, the approaching 
 destruction of heathenism through the 
 advent of Messiah." The prophecies of 
 Daniel are supposed by this school to 
 extend to the death of Antiochus, but no 
 further, the book being completed shortly 
 after that event. The great effort is to 
 uiake the periods mentioned in this chap- 
 ter to coincide with the eventsof that time. 
 The attempt, always failing, is renewed 
 under another form again and again, with 
 the same success. Dr. Pusey has count- 
 ed thirteen various ways in which this 
 school attempts to reckon the seventy 
 weeks. Keil observes : " The opponents 
 of the genuineness of the book of Daniel 
 generally are agreed in this, that the 
 destruction of this enemy of the Jews, 
 or the purification of the temple occur- 
 ring a few years earlier, forms the ter- 
 minus ad quern (or termination) of the 
 seventy weeks ; and that their duration 
 is to be reckoned, from the year 1G8 or 
 172 B.C., back either to the destruction 
 
 of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, or to 
 the beginning of the exile. Hitzig, 
 Ewald, Wieseler, and others suppose 
 that the first seven year-weeks, or forty- 
 nine years, are not to be taken into the 
 reckoning along with the sixty-two 
 weeks, and that only sixty-two weeks, 
 or 434 years, are to be counted to the 
 year 175 (as Ewald), or 172 (as Hitzig 
 thinks), as the beginning of the last 
 week, filled up by the assault of An- 
 tiochus against Judaism. But even this 
 reckoning brings us to the year 609 or 
 606 B.C., the commencement of the exile, 
 or three years further back. To date 
 the sixty years from that event agrees 
 too little with the announcement that 
 " from the going forth of the command- 
 ment to restore," &c. So that of the 
 most recent representatives of this view, 
 no one any longer consents to hold the 
 seventy years of the exile for a time of 
 the restoring and the building of Jeru- 
 salem. Thus Hitzig and Ewald openly 
 declare that the reckoning is not correct, 
 and that the Pseudo-Daniel has erred, 
 and assumed ten weeks, or seventy 
 years, too many. ... By this change 
 of the sixty-two weeks into fifty-two, 
 or 434 years into 364, they reach from 
 the year 174 to 538 B.C., the year of 
 the overthrow of Babylon by Cyrus, by 
 whom the commandment to restore Jeru- 
 salem was promulgated. To this the 
 seven weeks (or forty-nine years) are 
 again added, in order to reach the year 
 588 or 587 u.c, the year of the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, 
 from which the year-weeks, shortened 
 from seventy to sixty, are to be rec- 
 koned." Keil adds : " This hypothesis 
 needs no serious refutation ; yet this 
 supposition is made among these oppo- 
 nents a dogmatic axiom." 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 Sect. XXXI V.— The Objects of Messiah's Advent (Chap. ix. 24). 
 
 We come to the cream of the prophec}'. The angel foretells what were to be 
 the blessed results of Messiah's advent, which were to take place within the 
 seventy weeks determined upon Daniel's people. These objects and results are 
 described in six particulars, or in thne pairs, more or less connected. (^) 
 
 I. Transgression was to be finished or restrained. Ver. 24. "To finish 
 trans'^ressioii." The word rendered "finish" is ambiguous, C-^) many preferring 
 202 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 the translation given in the margin of our Bibles, to " restrain." One blessed 
 result 'of Messiah's advent was to be that transgression and sin would be so 
 restrained that it should no longer rule and prevail, and in multitudes of cases 
 should for ever cease among men as before. Accordingly the name to be given to 
 the Messiah, and by which He was to be known among men when He came, was 
 Jesus, because He should "save His people from their sins." Deliverance from 
 sin the primary object of Messiah's advent. Hence Zachai iah's song : " That He 
 would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, 
 might serve Him without fear, in righteousness and holiness before Him, all the 
 days of our life " (Luke i. 74, 75). Such deliverance impossible without an 
 atonement or satisfaction to divine justice for human guilt. Sin must be forgiven 
 before it can cease to reign. But " without shedding of blood there is no remis- 
 sion." Sin shall have no dominion over us, only because we are delivered from 
 the condemning sentence of the law, and placed on a footing of grace and free 
 favour through the satisfaction made by Christ's death. It is the blood of Christ, 
 who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, that purges 
 our conscience "from dead works to serve the living God " (Heb. ix. 14). 
 
 II. Sin was to be forgiven. " To make an end of sin," or, according to the 
 margin, to " seal '' it up,(^) as something that was no longer to see the light. This 
 probably connected with the preceding as its ground or foundation. When sin, 
 having beeji atoned for, is sealed up as a thing no longer to be seen, it loses its 
 power or prevalence, and so is restrained as under bonds and imprisonment. 
 Deliverance from the guilt of sin, inseparably connected with deliverance from its 
 power ; the latter deliverance being in consequence of the former, as it is the guilt 
 or condemnation under which sin brings us that gives it its power. Sin, as an act 
 of transgression against God's law, brings death, spiritual as well as temporal, as 
 its penalty ; but spiritual death is simply the reign of sin in the soul. " The soul 
 that siniieth it shall die." Forgiveness cancels the sentence, and so delivers 
 not only from the guilt but from the reigning power of sin. Christ is made 
 *' righteousness " to us, in the forgiveness from sin and the acceptance of our 
 person; and so is also immediately made to us " sanctificatiou " for our personal 
 holiness (1 Cor. i. 30). " In the Lord" we have "righteousness and strength ;" 
 righteousness, or forgiveness and acceptance, first, and then, or along with it, 
 strength, in order to overcome sin and serve God (Is. xlv. 24). God first forgives 
 all the sinner's " iniquities," and then heals all his " diseases " (Ps. ciii. 3). This 
 forgiveness is complete and permanent, a true "sealing" up of sin. " Their sins 
 and their iniquities will I remember no more " (Heb. viii. 12). " There is now no 
 condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus " (Ptom. viii. 1). " He that be- 
 lieveth is justified from all things ; " " hath everlasting life;" and "shall never come 
 into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." " Thou wilt cast all their 
 sins into the depths of the sea" (Acts xiii. 38, 39; John iii. 36, v. 24; .Alicah 
 vii. 19). This making an end of or " sealing " up of sin, by its entire and ever- 
 lasting forgiveness, solely the result of Christ's death. Constantly exhibited in the 
 great central ordinance of the Church, the Lord's Supper : " This cup is the new 
 covenant in my blood shed for the remission of sins." 
 
 III. Satisfaction or atonement was to be made for iniauity. " To make 
 reconciliation iov niiquity."('*) This the ground of the preceding, as that again was 
 of its predecessor. Before sin could be restrained or arrested in its power, it must 
 be forgiven ; and before it can be forgiven, it must be atoned for. This the 
 significance of all the sacrificial blood that had flowed from the beginning ; for 
 " without shedding of blood is no remission." The sin that is to be forgiven must 
 be laid and punished somewhere. But " it was impossible that the blood of bulls 
 and goats could take away sin " — atone or satisfy for man's guilt. This could only 
 point to blood that was able, from the dignity of the person whose blood it was, to 
 eifect this object. This was the Messiah, the Anointed, emphatically called " the 
 
 203 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 L:imb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." Hence the evangelical 
 prophet: "He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our 
 iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him ; and by His stripes we are 
 healed. All we like sheep have gone astray ; we have turned every one to his 
 own way ; and the Lord hath laid on Him tlie iniquity of us all. It pleased tlie 
 Lord to hriiise Him ; He hath put Him to grief. Thou shalt make His soul an 
 offering for sin. He shall bear their iniquities. He bare the sin of many, and made 
 intercession for the transgressors" (Lsa. liii. 5, 6, 10-12). Thus exhibited by the 
 A2>o-tle : " Wlioiii God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, by His blood, 
 to show His righteousness, because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, 
 in the forbearance of God ; for the showing, I say, of His righteousness at the 
 present season; that He might Himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath 
 faith in Jesus" (Rom. iii. 25, 26, R. V.) 
 
 "Die man or justice must, unless for him 
 Some other, able and as willing, pay 
 The rigid satisfaction, death for death." — Paradise Lost. 
 
 IV. Everlasting righteousness for man's acceptance to be procured. " To 
 
 bring in everlasting righteousness." What righteousness is this 1 {°) Righteousness 
 in the Bible is eilhev judicial ov Tnoral ; acceptance with God, or that conformity to 
 His law which is the ground of it. In the former sense it includes forgiveness, 
 which is the removal or cancelling of what would otherwise forbid our acceptance 
 with God. Such acceptance, however, requires more than forgiveness. Besides 
 the cancelling of transgressions against God's law, it requires a perfect obedience 
 to it. It is properly the righteous man, or the man who is able to present such 
 a righteousness as the law demands, that is accepted, or regarded and pronounced 
 righteous. Forgiveness is something negative ; righteousness something positive. 
 Forgiveness cancels disobedience ; righteousness presents obedience. To be 
 accepted requires both. Both provided for in the j\Iessiah ; the one in His atoning 
 deatl], the other in His spotless life. As the result of both, the Lord was " well 
 pleased for His (Messiah's) righteousness ; He hath magnified the law, and made it 
 honourable" (lsa, xlii, 21). It is in the righteousness' of Messiah, including both 
 His active and passive obedience, His rendering to the law the obedience it requires, 
 and the penalty it demands for the transiircssions which in becoming man and 
 man's Surety He took upon Him, that we sinners are accepted. We are righteous 
 and accepted in Him who for our sakes became God's righteous Servant, and is 
 pre-eminently "the Righteous" and "the Just One." His name was thereft)re to 
 be called " the Lord Our Righteousness." " In Him shall all the seed of Israel be 
 justified and shall glory. Surely, shall one say. In the Lord have I righteousness 
 and strength." In this respect the Messiah was to be the Second Adam, and the 
 contrast as well as the antitype of the first. " As through the one man's disoliedience 
 tlie many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One shall the 
 miny be made righteous" (Rom. v. 19, R.V.) This righteousness of Messiah was 
 t(. be an "everlasting" righteousness. Unlike the obedience of the first Adam, His 
 obedience was to contiinie to the end, and to be followed by no disobedience ; and 
 the result of it was to be everlasting and perpetual acceptance, as of Himself, the 
 Head, so of all His members who are made to share in His righteousness and be 
 accepted in Him. Tiiey, like the Head, were never to come into condemnation, but 
 to be "saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation," and never to be "ashamed 
 or confounded world witlnrnt end" (lsa. xlv. 17). This everlasting righteousness 
 was brought in by Messiah as the product of His whole life, terminating in the one 
 great act of ol.edience to His Father's will and surrender to the law's demands, His 
 vicarious atoning death. "He said. It is finished; and He bowed His head, and 
 gave up tlie ghost." Thus brought in, it is made to belong to those for whom it 
 was provided, on their belief in and acceptance of it as their own, — their entire trust 
 204 
 
HOMILETIG COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 and dependence on it alone for acceptance \Yith God. This is faitli, the means or 
 instrument by which we are put in possession of it, and are justified. "Justified 
 by faith, we have peace with God." "He that believeth is justified from all 
 things." "The righteousness of God, through faitli in Jesus Christ, unto all them 
 that believe" (Acts viii. 89; Rom. viii. 1, iii. 22, RV.) 
 
 •'Ob, how unlike the complex works of man, 
 Heaven's easy, artless, uneucumber'd plan ! 
 
 It stands like the csevuleau arch we see, 
 
 Majestic in its own simplicity. 
 
 Inscribed above the portal, tVom afar, 
 
 Conspicuous as the brightness of a star, 
 
 Legiljle only by the light they give. 
 
 Stand the soul-quickeuing words — Believe and live." 
 
 V. Prophecy was to receive its fulfilment and to cease. " To seal up the 
 
 vision and jirophecy ; " or, literally, to " seal up vision and prophet." (6) In the birth, 
 life, death, resurrection, and kingdom of the Messiah, vision and prophecy would 
 receive their fulfilment ; for what the Spirit of Christ testified beforehand in the 
 prophets was "the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow them" 
 (1 Pet. i. 11, E.V.) " The testimony of Jesus was the spirit of prophecy." Jesus 
 could testify before His death with reference to the " vision and prophecy " of the 
 Old Testament, " The things concerning Me have an end." To this completion of 
 prophecy His last words might also have reference : " It is finished." He had told 
 His disciples while yet with them, that " all things must be fultilled, which were 
 written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms " concerning 
 Him. So after His resurrection, " beginning at Moses and all the prophets. He 
 expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 
 xxiv. 27, 44). As a precious gift indeed for the edification of His Church, and the 
 extension of His kingdom in the world, as had also been made the subject of Old 
 Testament prophecy in connection with the "glories" that should follow Messiah's 
 sufferings, the Spirit was poured out upon the believei's, both men and women, so 
 that they were enabled to " prophesy" (Acts ii. 1-18 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 1 ; Eph. iv. 11). 
 But with the apostles and immediate disci])les of Jesus vision and prophecy in rela- 
 tion to the future were to cease. These having received their fulfilment, either abso- 
 lutely, or, as in the case of Messiah's kingdom, incipiently, with the communications 
 given to the beloved disciple, the last of the apostles, the canon of Scripture was 
 closed. 
 
 VI. The new spiritual Temple was to be set up and consecrated. " To 
 anoint the Most Holy ; '' or, literally, " to anoint a Holy of holies." (") The allusion 
 to the most holy place in the tabernacle or temple is obvious. The question is, what 
 is here particularly the thing predicted 1 The reference is probably to that New 
 Testament Church, Temple, or House of God which Messiah was to establish, and 
 of which He was to be the chief corner-stone. That Church or Temple, with 
 Messiah as at once its foundation and builder, was made the subject of express pro- 
 phecy. " The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become tlie head stone 
 of the corner." " Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a 
 precious corner-stone, a sui-e foundation." " Behold the man whose name is the 
 Branch, and He shall grow up out of His jilace, and He shall build the temple of 
 the Lord" (Ps. cxviii. 22 ; Isa, xxviii. 16 ; Zech. vi. 12). Of this spiritual temple, 
 identified with Christ as His body, the anointed tabernacle and temjile at Jerusalem 
 was a type. Speaking of Himself, Christ said, " Destroy this temple, and in three 
 days I will raise it up." Aiid of His Church He said, " On this rock will I build 
 My church." So the Apostle Paul, addressing believers, says, " Ye are the temple 
 of the living God;" "Ye are God's building;" built upon the foundation of the 
 apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone." Peter, 
 
 205 
 
HO MILE TIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 in like manner : " To whom coming as unto a living stone, ye also as lively stones 
 are built up a spiritual liouse " (1 Cor. iii. 17, vi. 19 ; Eph. ii. 20 ; 1 Pet. ii. 5). This 
 New Testament Church was to be set up by Messiah at His advent, and in con- 
 formity -with its type it was to be consecrated by anointing. That Anointing Oil 
 was the Holy Ghost, the antitype of the holy anointing oil of the Old Testa- 
 ment. We have seen how Jesus Himself, the chief corner-stone, and who is one 
 with His Church, was anointed with the Holy Ghost at His baptism. In like 
 manner was the Church, His members, anointed on the day of Pentecost and onwards, 
 ill fulfilment of the great promise made by their Head, " Ye shall be baptised with 
 the Holy Ghost not many days hence." It was this anointing that was to fit them 
 for their great work in the world till He should come again. " Ye shall receive 
 power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses 
 unto Me, both in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost 
 parts of tlie earth " (Acts i. 5, 8). The effects of the anointing in the now con- 
 secrated spiritual Tenifile were immediately apparent. "They were all filled with 
 the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them 
 utterance. And the same day there were added unto them about three thousand 
 souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, 
 and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And all that believed Avere together, and 
 had all things common ; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to 
 all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in 
 the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their ment with glad- 
 ness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. 
 And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved " (Acts ii. 4, 
 41-47). This anointing with the Holy Ghost to be characteristic of the New 
 Testament Cliurch. " He who hath anointed us is God." " Ye have an unction 
 from the Holy One, and ye know all things. The anointing which ye have 
 received abideth in you ; and ye need not that any man teach you ; but as the 
 .same anointing teaclieth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as 
 it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him " (2 Cor. i. 21 ; 1 John ii. 20, 27). The 
 privilege as well as duty of the New Testament Church is expressed in the apos- 
 tolic exhortation, "Be ye filled with the Spirit." Its members were to be distin- 
 guished by the fruits and graces of that Spirit with which, in common with their 
 Head, they were to be anointed. " God hath not given us the Spirit of fear, but 
 of power, iind of love, and of a sound mind." " If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are 
 not under the law. But the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, 
 gentleness, goodness, faitli, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law : 
 and they that are Clirist's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts" 
 (2 Tim. i. 7 ; Gal. v. 18, 22-24). Tlie name given to the New Testament Church 
 descriptive of this anointing. " Tiie disciples were first called Christians at 
 Antiocli." But " Christians" are simply " Christ's men," or the members of the 
 Anointed One, and so anointed themselves. Even the very name of " Christ," the 
 Anointed, appears to be given them in the word (1 Cor. xii. 12; Rev. xi. 15). 
 This quite natural, the Head and members forming one body. The same holy 
 Anointing Oil which was poured on the head of Aaron ran down to his beard, even 
 to the skirts of his garment (Ps. cxxxiii. 1, 2). 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— (i) The the temple. Keil regards the passage 
 
 six statements are divided by Maurer, as rather containing two three-membered 
 
 Hitzig, Kranichfeld, and others, into sentences; the first three treating of 
 
 three passages of two members each, the taking away of sin, and thus giving 
 
 containing (1) the completion of the the negative side of the deliverance ; the 
 
 measure of sin ; (2) the covering of sin three last treating of the bringing in of 
 
 and bringing in righteousness ; (3) the righteousness with its consequences, and 
 
 fulfilling of prophecy and consecration of thus of the positive deliverance ; the 
 
 206 
 
HO MI LET IC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 members in both classes standing in 
 reciprocal relation to each other. 
 
 (2) "To finish trmisgression" (ver. 
 24). **??? ilechalle), properly to " re- 
 strain." Keil remarks that in this 
 word a double reading is combined \ 
 the vowel points not belonging to the 
 Kethibh or text, which rather has 
 np?> ijichloh), but to the Keri ; the 
 Masorites holding X?D to be of the same 
 meaning with n^3, to he ended, as Theo- 
 dotion, Aquila, and the Vulgate have 
 translated it. Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, 
 Winer, and others, have followed them 
 in supposing that H has passed into N ; 
 and understand the expression to mean, 
 the filling up or completing the measure 
 of sin. Keil objects to this meaning 
 as not agreeing with the context, and 
 prefers to retain ^^^7, to "restrain," in 
 the sense of hemming in or hindering 
 wickedness, so that it can no longer 
 spread about. Calvin understands the 
 expression to mean putting an end to 
 wickedness ; Bullinger, that by the 
 coming of Christ and the preaching of 
 the Gospel, there should be a general 
 restraint of sin, according to 1 Cor. vi. 
 10. Dr. Rule understands the finishing 
 or ending the transgression which has 
 lasted through so many ages, in the 
 stubborn rebellion of the ancient people 
 against God's law. 
 
 (3) a rp^ iiiaTce, an end of sin." 0^0? 
 (leUiatkem), literally, to " seal up." 
 Hufmann, Kliefoth, and Keil under- 
 stand the expression to mean that sins 
 should be laid under custody, so as no 
 more to be active or increase ; while 
 Hengstenberg and others think it means 
 the taking away of sins or removing 
 them out of God's sight. Polanus and 
 Willet also understand the meaning to 
 be, that sins should be bound up, sealed, 
 and closed, so as never more to be 
 opened, read, or declared against us, as 
 writings are sealed up to be concealed 
 and buried in oblivion (Col. ii. 14). 
 Dr. Rule understands it of the putting 
 away of sin by the atoning sacrifice 
 of One who should establish a better 
 covenant (Heb. ix. 26). 
 
 (4) " To make reconciliation for 
 iniquity." "^S?? {lechapper), to pardon, 
 to blot out by means of a sin-offering, 
 
 i.e., to forgive. So Keil. The term 
 properly denotes, as in Lev. i. 4, &c., to 
 make atonement by a sacrifice ; hence 
 gives its name to the mercy-seat n^SS 
 {capporeth), that which makes atone- 
 ment or propitiation ; applied to Christ, 
 and His atoning death, — the *' propitia- 
 tion through His blood " (Rom. iii. 25). 
 The verb in its simple form or root, 1Q3 
 {cajyliar), to ^^ cover;" applied to the 
 covering or smearing of the ark with 
 pitch ; the atoning sacrifice covers the 
 sin so as not to appear, and covers the 
 sinner so that no deserved wrath shall 
 reach him. Sin, when forgiven, said 
 to be " covered " (Ps. xxxii. 2). Keil 
 observes that " the three expressions in 
 the text — 'to finish or shut up trans- 
 gression,' &c. — all treat alike of the 
 setting aside of sin, but in different 
 ways. The first presents the general 
 thought, that the falling away shall be 
 shut up, the progress and the spreading 
 of the sin shall be prevented. The other 
 two expressions define more closely how 
 the source whence arises the apostasy 
 shall be shut up, the going forth and 
 the continued operation of the sin pre- 
 vented. This happens in one way with 
 unbelievers, and in a different way with 
 believers. The sins of unbelievers are 
 sealed, are guarded securely under a 
 seal, so that they may no more spread 
 about and increase, nor any longer be 
 active and operative ; but the sins of 
 believers are forgiven through a recon- 
 ciliation." 
 
 (5) i( jiq jjj-i^^g in everlasting righteous- 
 ness." Keil and others, taking the word 
 in its moral sense, understand by 
 "righteousness " that which is practised 
 by believers, — the internal and external 
 righteousness of the new heavens and 
 the new earth, according to 2 Peter iii. ; 
 called everlasting, as corresponding to 
 the eternity of the Messianic kingdom 
 (chap. ii. 44, vii. 18, 27). Vatablus 
 understands it as Christ Himself ; Bul- 
 linger and others, as Christ's righteous- 
 ness imputed to us (James ii. 23). 
 
 (<5) " To seal up the vision and pro- 
 phecy;' N'3:i. |nn (Khazon venabhi), 
 "vision and prophet." Not only the 
 prophecy, but the prophet or his calling, 
 must be sealed ; namely, when by the 
 207 
 
nOMlLETlC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 full re;\li.sati()n of all prophecies, pro- 
 phecy itself ceases, and no more pro- 
 phets appear. So Keil, who, however, 
 thinks that the extinction of propliecy 
 in consecpience of its fulfilment is not, 
 as Heiigsteuberg and others believe, " to 
 be sought in tlie time of the manifesta- 
 tion of Christ in the flesh ; for then only 
 the prophecy of the Old Covenant 
 reached its end, and its place is occu[)ied 
 by the prophecy of the New Testament, 
 the fulfilling of which is still in the 
 future, and which will not come to an 
 end till the kiuL'dom of God is perfected 
 in glory ; namely, at the termination of 
 the present course of the world's history, 
 at the same time with the full conclu- 
 sive fulfilment of the Old Testament 
 prophecy" (Acts iii. 21). Willet and 
 others think that the " vision " and 
 "prophecy " intended was that of the Old 
 Testament, which referred to the Messiah 
 and had its fulfilment in Jesus. " Ex- 
 perience shows that long since all pro- 
 phecies and visions among the Jews are 
 ceased ; hence they are convinced (or 
 shown) that the Messiah is come." Dr. 
 Rule understands the clause to mean 
 the fulfilling of the predictions of former 
 ages, and the confirming of them by 
 " making the events to correspond with 
 the prophecies respecting the Messiah." 
 It is not, however, to be forgotten that 
 the Old Testament prophets testified 
 beforehand not merely " the sufferings 
 of Christ," but " the glory that should 
 follow" (1 Pet. i. 12). 
 
 (J) " To anoint the most lioly" t^*'!}P 
 ^V'P,. {Kodhesh Kadhashim), literally, 
 " a lioIy of holies ; " a new holy of holies 
 which, as Keil observes, sliould be in 
 the {)lace of the tabernacle and the 
 temple of Solomon. Those who refer 
 the fulfilment of the prophecy to the 
 time nearest the close of the exile, or 
 to tlie time of the Maccabees, apply this 
 clause eitlier, with Wieseler, to the con- 
 secration of the altar of biirnt-ofl'ering, 
 restored by Zernbbabel and Joshua 
 (Ezra iii. 2, &c.); or, with J. D. 
 Michaelis, to the consecration of the 
 temple of Zerubbabel ; or, with Hitzig, 
 Kranichfeld, and others, to the conse- 
 cration of tlie altar of burnt-ofVering 
 which was desecrated by Antiochu.s 
 208 
 
 Epiphanes (1 !Macc. iv. 54). But only 
 the Mosaic sanctuary of the tabernacle, 
 Avith its altars and vessels, were conse- 
 crated by anointing (Exod. xxx. 22, &c.); 
 nor is the expression used of a single 
 article or holy vessel, but to the whole. 
 The Church fathers understood Ciirist 
 Himself to be meant. The old Syriac 
 translation has introduced into the text 
 the words, " Till the Messiah, the Most 
 Holy." Willet says : " This is Christ, 
 prefigured and shadowed forth by the 
 most holy place in the temple." Calvin 
 thinks it refers to " the entire restora- 
 tion of the Church of God, on which 
 He was to pour forth the fulness of all 
 His pity at the advent of Christ ; the 
 privileges of the New Church bting far 
 better, more excellent and desirable, 
 than those of the ancient one." He, 
 however, adds : " But Christ Himself is 
 properly and deservedly called the Holy 
 One of holy ones, or the Tabernacle of 
 God, His body being the temple of 
 Deity, and being anointed when the 
 Spirit of God rested on Him with all 
 His gifts." Dr. Cox understands by the 
 expression the Messiah, dedicated to 
 His work, and made the ]iriest of His 
 people. Dr. Rule thinks of the conse- 
 cration to some high office of a person 
 worthy to be called The Most Holy — 
 the Anointed. Hofmann applies it to 
 the sanctification of the Church by the 
 Holy Ghost; not, however, to take 
 place in its predicted conspicuousness 
 till the time of the end. Keil, from 
 the want of the article, and the con- 
 stant application of the term to things, 
 not persons, thinks the reference is to 
 the anointing of a new sanctuary or 
 most holy place; and, with Kliefoth, 
 understands it of the establishment, in 
 the time of the end, of the new holy of 
 holies which was shown to John in Pat- 
 mos, as the tabernacle of God with men, 
 a new place of the gracious presence of 
 God, or a new way of His dwelling 
 among men, opened up l>y Christ's work 
 of redemption. Dr. Pusey thinks the 
 clause must be spiritual, as all else is 
 spiritual. " Holy of holies," literally, 
 "holinessofholinesses;" t.^., all-holiness, 
 he observes, is " a ritual term, used to 
 express the exceeding holiness which 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 tilings acquire by being consecrated to Hengstenberg, following Havernick, 
 God. It is never used to describe a would make the expression applicable 
 place, but is always an attribute of the to the Messiah, as it is applied to Aaron 
 thing, and, in one place, of the person and his sons in 1 Chron. xxiii. 13, 
 who is spoken of (1 Chron. xxiii. 13). under the idea of a most holy thing 
 The destruction of the temple, as having (Luke i. 35), Kliefoth, with whom 
 been previously profaned, is the close of Keil agrees, says that the most holy is 
 this prophecy." Mr. Bosanquet, apply- not the place of the congregation where 
 ing it to Christ, thinks that the anointing it comes to God and is with God, but 
 lias reference only to the birth of the where God is present for the cong'rega- 
 *' Prince" of the house of David, and tion and manifests Himself to it. °This, 
 to His anointing to the kingdom, and he says, apart from the connection, might 
 not to either His priesthood or His refer to the work of redemption per- 
 ministry ; the holy of holies being lite- fected by the coming of Christ, which 
 rally the most holy portion of the has indeed created in Him a new place 
 sanctuary of the Jewish temple, but of the gracious presence of God ; but in 
 here applied figuratively to the " Holy the connection of the clause it looks for- 
 of Holies " of the spiritual Church of ward to the time when the work of sal- 
 Christ; i.e., to the most holy portion of vation shall be fully carried through, in 
 that spiritual temple of which Jesus the return of the Lord from heaven for 
 Christ is the chief corner-stone, to the the final judgment- 
 Eedeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 Sect. XXXV.— A Rejected Saviour (Chap. ix. 26), 
 
 The view of Israel's future, afforded to Daniel by the angel, like the pillar in 
 the wilderness, presented both a bright side and a dark one. It assured Daniel of 
 the coming of the long promised Messiah at a definite though still distant period, 
 together with the blessed and glorious results that should follow His appearing 
 It revealed, however, at the same time the awful fact that the Messiah when He 
 came should not only be rejected by the mass of His countrymen, but should be 
 put to a violent death. It declared, further, that, as the consequence of their wicked 
 rejection of their King and Saviour, the city and sanctuary that had been rebuilt 
 should be overthrown by a foreign power, and that war and desolation should be 
 visited upon the land and the people until the appointed end. (i) 
 
 The prophecy brings us to the great central truth of the Bible, and that which 
 constitutes the foundation of a sinner's hope. The same fact that formed the 
 greatest wickedness of the Jews, and brought the heaviest judgments upon the land 
 and nation, is that which brings life and salvation to a guilty world. It is the 
 violent but vicarious death of the provided Saviour. " Messiah shall be cut off." 
 To the astonishment of angels who had studied the predictions regarding Him with 
 deepest interest (1 Pet. i. 12), instead of hailing and embracing their own and the 
 world's Deliverer when He came, after having for more than a thousand years been 
 promised to their nation by a succession of prophets, and foreshadowed by nume- 
 rous divinely appointed types, they, and especially their priests and elders, reject 
 Him with scorn, anathematise Him as a blasphemer, and in bitter hatred demand 
 that He shall be put to an ignominious and cruel death. They took Him, and 
 by wicked hands crucified and slew Him (Acts ii. 23). The prophecy brings 
 before us — 
 
 I. The time of the solemn event. " After threescore and two weeks. "(2) 
 As noticed in a former section, these prophetic weeks are doubtless the same as 
 
 o 209 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 tliose mentioned in the preceding verse, as succeeding the first seven from " the 
 going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem ; " thus making 
 sixty-nine such weeks, or 483 years from the issuing of that edict. Although 
 some uncertainty may exist as to which of the three or four possible edicts may be 
 expressly referred to, yet it is a fact calling for deepest thankfulness, that exactly 
 that period, according to accepted chronology, after the most probable of these 
 edicts, brings us to the time when John the Baptist i^ointed to Jesus and 
 exclaimed, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" 
 (John i. 29) ; or perhaps to the time when, three years and a half later, the Jews 
 cried out concerning Him, " Crucify Him, Crucify Him ! " 
 
 II. The event itself. *' Messiah shall be cut off,('') but not for Himself;" or 
 rather, according to the marginal reading, " and He shall have nothing." " Shall 
 be cut off." So Isaiah says, though using a different word, " He was cut off out 
 of the land of the living " (Isa. liii, 8). It is the word used for being cut off from 
 among the people, or from the presence of the Lord (Lev. xx. 18, xxiii. 3). The 
 angel says not by whom. Other prophets supply the information. " He is de- 
 spised and rejected of men ; " and more particularly, " The stone which the builders 
 rejected, the same is become the head of the corner" (Isa. liii. 3 ; Ps. cxviii. 22). 
 The historian agrees with the prophet in showing not only that Messiah was cut 
 off at the time indicated, but that He was rejected by His own people, and more 
 especially by the "builders," the priests and elders, who were the appointed and 
 professed builders of the Church of God. " He came to His own, but His own 
 received Him not." " All the chief priests and elders took counsel against Jesus 
 to put Him to death." *' The chief priests and elders persuaded the people thac 
 they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus." •' Then answered all the people 
 His blood be upon us and upon our children." To the Jewish people Peter 
 declared, " Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of 
 God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." " Ye denied 
 the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you, and 
 killed the Prince of life." "I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also 
 your rulers" (John i. 11; Matt, xxviii. 20, 25; Acts iii. 14, 15, 17). In this 
 rejection and cutting off of the Messiah, indeed. Gentiles were associated with Jews, 
 ** Of a truth against Thy holy child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod 
 and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered 
 together, for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be 
 done" (Actsiv. 27, 28). The cutting off was indeed of God, whose love provided 
 such a Lamb for a burnt-offering, when no other could take away sin ; Jews 
 and Gentiles, His betrayers and murderers, were the no less guilty and responsible 
 instruments. 
 
 Let us turn aside and consider this great sight, Messiah cut off. The pro- 
 vided and promised Saviour, the mighty God in man's nature, is rejected and made 
 to sulTer the death of a felon, a blasphemer, and a slave. Wonder, O heavens, at 
 man's depravity ! But '' the thing is of God." While the act is that of their own 
 free will, it is what His hand and His counsel "have determined before to be done." 
 Joseph's brethren sold him; but it was God that sent him into Egypt, to save 
 much pef)])le alive. Messiah must be cut off, or man must remain in his sins. He 
 who is to save must suffer — suffer in the room of those whom he saves. Sin must 
 be atoned for, if it is to be forgiven. Justice must be satisfied, if mercy is to bless. 
 The woman's seed must have his heel bruised, if he is to bruise the serpent's head. 
 The Son of God in man's nature must die, if man is to live. The Blessed One 
 must be cut off, if the accursed are to be restored. It is done. God so loved the 
 world that He gave His only begotten Son. To save the sinner, it pleased the Lord 
 to bruise His Son. Wonder, O heavens, at God's love to man ! 
 
 Messiah was cut off both % man and /or man. Bij man. But how could such 
 wickednes.s exist 1 The answer is not far to seek. The root of that wickedness is 
 210 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DAM EL. 
 
 in the heart both of writer and reader. He who knows that heart has declared it 
 to be " deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." A sinful blindues.i 
 occasioned by the Fall, unbelief regarding the testimony of God, pride, self- 
 righteousness, love of the world and sin, hatred of a holy God and what is holy • 
 
 these are the natural products of man's wretchedly depraved heart, and these, yielded 
 to, were sufficient to reject the Son of God and to murder the Saviour that God 
 sent. And they still do so. The Saviour whom the Jews crucified, the Gentiles 
 reject, and in rejecting Him trample on His blood. He is still despised and 
 rejected of men. We still turn away our faces from Him, Though in Himself 
 the chief among ten thousand, and for sinful ruined man everything that is to be 
 desired, yet we esteem Him not. 
 
 And yb?' man, "not for Himself." W The marginal reading is better, " He 
 shall have nothing;" literally, "There shall be nothing for Him." In His being 
 cut off, life and everything should be taken from Him. The world would have 
 nothing whatever to do with Him. Perhaps these two short words pointed to the 
 cry, "Away with Him, away with Him !" Or to the fact that, in His last hours. 
 His very garments were taken from Him and divided among the soldiers that 
 crucified Him. Or to that other fact, that after His death charity provided Him 
 a winding-sheet and a grave. Or did they indicate that so absolute was the 
 cutting off, that while the chief priests and scribes and elders mocked Him, and 
 they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads, and the thieves who were 
 crucified with Him cast reproaches in His teeth, His very disciples forsook Him 
 and fled, and only one of them returned to take His stand at the cross ] Or did 
 they point to that still more awful abandonment, involving the soul and centre of 
 the cutting off, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Mel" This one 
 thing the words may well suggest : " Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He 
 became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich." It was for vian He 
 was cut off, stripped of everything, and abandoned by all. There was to be 
 nothing fur Him, but everything for man. For Him the cross, and shame, and 
 anguish, and death; for man, pardon, peace, holiness, heaven, and God. "For 
 your sakes." The ram was taken from the thicket and laid on the altar in Isaac's 
 place. This the essence of the Gospel, This the only foundation of our hope, and 
 the true source of a sinner's peace. We have a substitute provided by God in the 
 person of His incarnate Son. This our joy on earth ; this the song of the redeemed 
 in heaven, " Tliou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood," 
 " Unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, be 
 glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen," 
 
 III, The consequences of this rejection of Messiah, These are partly 
 mentioned in the latter part of the verse : " The people of the Prince that shall 
 come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with 
 a flood ;(=) and unto the end war and desolations are determined." C*') So Jesus 
 Himself foretold while He wept over the infatuated and doomed city, "If (Oh 
 that) thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which 
 belong unto thy peace ! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days 
 shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and com- 
 pass thee round and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the 
 ground, and thy children within thee ; and they shall not leave thee one stone 
 upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation" (Luke xix, 
 41-44), History tells how sadly the prediction was fulfilled. Within forty years 
 after the Jews had crucified their King and Saviour, the Romans under Titus — 
 " the people of the prince that shall come " — invaded Judea, comj)elled by the 
 infatuated Jews who took up arms against them in the belief that their promised 
 Messiah would come to their help and deliver them from their heathen masters. 
 After a protracted siege, both Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed, notwith- 
 standing the orders of the general to spare the beautiful and magnificent fabric. 
 
 211 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 War swept over tlie land like a desolating flood. In the siege alone above a million 
 ]>erislied by the sword, while nearly a hundred thousand were sold into slavery. 
 Even after that protracted and destructive war was terminated, a desolating curse 
 seemed to be poured upon the land. War followed war, as one Gentile nation 
 after another invaded it. Jerusalem, according to the word of its rejected King, 
 lias been literally " trodden uiidsr foot of the Gentiles." The Jewish inhabitants 
 of the country were all but rooted out of it, and scattered over all the earth, "tribes 
 of the wandering foot and weary breast." Such in a large degree is what at this 
 day still meets our view in that once favoured and glorious land, now and for 
 centuries under the blighting rule, or rather misrule, of the Turks. Desolation and 
 wretchedness meet you everywhere, with a few thousands of squalid Jews, still in 
 unbelief and hardness of heart, located in four of the cities, or rather villages, and 
 subsisting on the alms they receive from their brethren in other lands. The blood 
 of their crucified King and Saviour has indeed, according to their own imprecation, 
 been upon them and their children. Hitherto it has been on them as a people 
 only for a curse ; may the promised period soon arrive when it shall be on them 
 for a blessing ! 
 
 Such, to the Jews, were some of the consequences of a rejected Saviour ; and 
 these are but a shadow of those which the eye cannot now perceive. Israel are 
 now, and for eighteen centuries have been, suffering what they themselves call their 
 " great captivity," because they are reaping the consequence of their great sin, the 
 rejection and crucifixion of their King and Saviour. *' Jerusalem, Jerusalem ! 
 thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent to thee ; how often 
 would I have gathered thy children together as a hen doth gather her chickens 
 xmder her wings, and ye would not ! Behold, your house is left unto 3'ou desolate. 
 For verily I say unto you. Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say. Blessed 
 is he that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Matt, xxiii. 37-39). May the day 
 speedily come when, with the veil taken away from their heart, this shall be the 
 language of penitent Israel ! 
 
 The section suggests two obvious topics for reflection. 
 
 1. 21ie remarlaible fulfilment of jivoplieaj as an evidence of the insinratlon of the 
 'Scriptures and the truth of Christianity. The verse before us contains three 
 distinct predictions, each of which has received an obvious fulfilment. (1) The 
 !Messiah when He came was to be rejected and cut off by a violent death. ; (2) 
 this was to take place at a certain definite period, nearly four hundred and ninety 
 years after a decree from the ruling power to restore and build Jerusalem ; and 
 (3) as the eonscqnence of that rejection and cutting off of their Messiah, the Jews 
 were to see the destruction of their city and sanctuary, and the desolation of their 
 land for a lengthened and indefinite period. The fulfilment of each of these is 
 obvious. The Jews as a nation rejected Him whom we know, and many among 
 themselves have acknowledged, to be the ]\[essiah. History leaves no room to 
 doubt that this took place at the time predicted, the time at which tlie Jews them- 
 selves expected their Messiah to ap[)ear. And every one knows what happened to 
 Jerusalem and the temple soon alter, and what has been the condition of the 
 country and the people these eighteen centuries, and still is to this day. Humanly 
 speaking, such a state of things was in the highest degree unlikely. Such a treat- 
 ment of the Deliverer promised to their fatliers for nearly two thousand years, and 
 eagerly exi)C'cted by all the godly among them, was only to be accounted for on the 
 ground of the desperate dei)ravity of the human heart, and the secret purpose and 
 plan of the Almighty thus to effect the redemption of the human race. More, 
 surely, is not needed to convince any reasonable mind that such a prediction was 
 from God, and tliat Jesus who was crucified is indeed the Saviour of the world, 
 whose coming had been promised and foretold from the beginning. The words of 
 Alfred Cave, in a recent number of the " British and Foreign Evangelical Review," 
 may be suitably quoted here. " How is that notable phenomenon of the Hebrew 
 212 
 
110 MI LET IC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 religion called Prophecy to be regarded as a datum on which to found the Spence- 
 rian theory of evolution? The reply aflorded by the advocates of a theory of 
 natural development is — by banishing from prophecy any idea of prediction. The 
 question arises whether the idea of prediction can be dissociated from the Biblical 
 idea of prophecy ] This is firm ground. If there is a single instance of predic- 
 tion in the Old Testament which cannot be adequately described as conjecture, 
 then any such theory as the Spencerian is declared insufficient in its explanation. 
 . . . Such facts as the adoration of the Magi, and the fulfilment to the letter of Daniel's 
 prophecy of the seventy weeks, which might be augmented a hundredfold, provide 
 incontestable proofs of the reality of prediction ; and these facts receive a most 
 impressive recognition from the laboured attempts of rationalistic interpreters to 
 explain them away." 
 
 2. The guilt involved hi the rejection of the provided Saviour. What was it that 
 consigned to the flames that magnificent temple which the Roman general did his 
 utmost to spare ; that overthrew that strongly fortified city which so long defied 
 the power of the Roman army, and which Titus declared he could never have taken 
 had not God Himself wrought with him in the siege ; (*■) and that caused the Jews 
 to be banished from their own land, and to be scattered over the whole earth, 
 ■while that land lies desolate, even to this day ? We have only to point to Calvary, 
 and the cry that preceded it, "Away with Him ! away with Him ! Crucify Him ! 
 crucify Him ! " Nor need we wonder. Had Jesus of Nazareth been a mere man, as 
 the Jews wished to believe, and as some who are not Jews even still maintain, it 
 would be, to say the least, unwarranted to connect these unparalleled and long 
 continued calamities of the Jewish people with Calvary and the crucifixion of 
 the Nazarene. He suffered death as a blasphemer. But if Jesus was what He 
 declared Himself to be, the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who shall one day 
 come with the clouds of heaven, then the whole is clear. What tongue can describe 
 the guilt of rejecting and crucifying the Son of God when, in His love, assuming 
 man's nature. He came to save a dying world 1 This was the crying guilt of the 
 Jews. But what of the Gentiles ? Have theij not rejected Jesus ? Are thousands 
 and tens of thousands not rejecting Him now ? The charge is too true. Even 
 where a nominal and outward profession of acceptance of the Crucified is made, 
 the life declares in too many instances that He is still in heart rejected. " Why 
 call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say ? " Where the Gospel 
 is preached and the offer of the Saviour is made, men must either believe and 
 accept that offer and so be saved — saved from sin and all its consequences, and have 
 peace with God, and be made new creatures — or, like the Jews, they must reject 
 Ilim. The streets of Britain, the Sabbaths of Protestant England, the land of 
 Bibles and of Gospel light and liberty, proclaim too loudly that the secret language 
 of the heart is that which the lips of the Jews dared openly to utter, " We will not 
 have this man to reign over us : not this man, but Barabbas. We have no king but 
 Caesar. Away with Him ! " When, for the rejection of their King, the kingdom of 
 God was taken from the Jews, the Gentiles were to have their time, and they have 
 it now. Their rejection of the Son of God and Saviour of men is not winked 
 at, although not now signally punished as in the case of the Jews. Lidividuals 
 experience the blessedness of accepting and the misery of rejecting that Saviour. 
 A day also has been foretold, and cannot now be far distant, when that same Jesus, 
 who had been preached to the nations, " shall be revealed from heaven with His 
 mighty angels^ in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and 
 that obey not the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ." Happy those who, having 
 through grace cordially accepted Jesus as their Saviour and King, are in a con- 
 dition to say, Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen, 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES, — (^) Keil, analyses of the whole passage, gives, as 
 who enters fully into the grammatical his conclusion, that in the seventieth 
 
 ::13 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 ■week Messiah is cut oflf, and that ia 
 consequence of it destruction falls upon 
 the city and the sanctuary. 
 
 (-) " After threescore and two weelcs." 
 That is, says Keil, in the seventieth 
 week, viewing these sixty-two as follow- 
 in"- the previously mentioned seven, and 
 added to them, so as to make one entire 
 period of sixty-nine weeks. These most 
 interpreters understand as weeks of 
 years, and consequently as making 
 483 years. After that period, without 
 saying how long after, " Messiah was to 
 be cut off." Keil thinks that the "after" 
 does not certainly imply that the cutting 
 off should wholly fall in the beginning 
 of the seventieth week, but only that it 
 should constitute the first great event 
 of it. This, Mr. Bosanquet thiidvs, 
 would make up the third of those equal 
 cycles of seventy weeks of years iu 
 which the people of Israel may be said 
 to have fultilled their previous destinies, 
 viz., seventy such weeks (or 490 years) 
 under the Tabernacle ; seventy, includ- 
 ing the seventy neglected Sabbaths 
 kept at Babylon, under ih.Q first Temple ; 
 and seventy under the second Temple, 
 even until the laying of the foundation- 
 stone of the third Temple, not made with 
 hands, in the time of Jesus Christ. 
 
 (3) <' Be cut o/." nns; {ykcareth), in 
 Keil's opinion, does not necessarily 
 point to the death of the Messiah, or 
 the crucifixion of Christ ; the root de- 
 noting to " fell or hew down," to " cut 
 to pieces," and the passive form, here 
 used, to be rooted up, destroyed, anni- 
 hilated ; and generally, though not 
 always, indicating a violent kind of 
 «leatli, being the usual expression for 
 the death of the ungodly {e.r/., Ps. 
 xxxvii. 9 ; Prov. ii. 22), without particu- 
 larly designating the manner in which 
 this is done, lie thinks the right in- 
 terpretation of the word depends on the 
 jiioaning of the ex[)ression that follows, 
 i' i^^l {re-cn lo), and that it denotes not 
 the cutting oil" of existence, but the 
 annihilation of His jdace as Messiah 
 among His people. Dr. Pusey thinks 
 the word, in tlie passive form, "shall 
 be cut oflf," never means anything but 
 excision, death inflicted directly by 
 CJod, or violent death at the hands of 
 21 i 
 
 man ; is never used of mere death, nor 
 of a sudden but natural death ; and is, 
 after the Pentateuch, used absolutely 
 and of national inflictions of destruction 
 of which man is the instrunisnt. He 
 thinks it equivalent to the word used 
 by Isaiah in chap. liii. 8. CEcolam- 
 padius thought the word did not refer 
 to the death of Christ, as it indicates 
 such a cutting off as to extinguish and 
 cause to perish, which with Christ was 
 not the case. 
 
 (■*) "But not for himself." i^T^I. (ve-en 
 lo) is rendered by Bullinger, Willet, 
 Vitringa, Piosenmiiller, Hiivernick, and 
 others, as in our English version, "not for 
 himself,"identifying ^^? (ain) with ^<^ (lo) 
 which Keil and Hengstenberg maintain 
 cannot be done, notwithstanding the pas- 
 sages adduced by Gesenius as examples 
 of the interchange. Keil, viewing the 
 expression in its undefined universality, 
 renders the clause, " and it is not to 
 Him," namely, the place which He as 
 Messiah has had, or should have, among 
 His people and in the sanctuary, but 
 which, by His being " cut off," is lost. 
 Calvin renders the words, " He shall 
 have nothing," i.e., He shall die a con- 
 tenqjtible death. Junius: "It shall 
 be nothing to Him," — death shall have 
 no power over Him to stay His judg- 
 meuLd. Pioman Catholic expositors 
 follow Jerome and the Vulgate : " He 
 shall have no people or disciples," as 
 they were to reject Him. So Grotius 
 and Auberlen. QEcolampadius refers 
 the clause to Jerusalem : " It shall have 
 iu)thing," neither king nor priest. Vata- 
 blus has: "There shall be none to help 
 Him." Dr. Paile observes that the 
 clause is most obscure, and apparently 
 an imperfect reading, and thinks it safer, 
 iu the uncertainty regarding, it to let our 
 Authorised Version remain unaltered. 
 Dr. Pusey reads " there shall not be to 
 Him," i.e., as he thinks the context 
 implies, the city and the sanctuar}', — 
 they shall be His no more ; or, as he 
 says in another place, " What hitherto 
 was His," viz.. His people, whose Prince. 
 He heretofore was ; the Jews as a nation 
 having cut themselves off when they 
 crucified Him. 
 
 (^) " The end thereof shall he with a 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 flood." Keil, with Kraniclifeld, Ilof- 
 inann, and Kliefotb, considers the end 
 to be that of the hostile " prince," here 
 emjjhatically placed over against his 
 "coming," but regards that prince as 
 not Titus, but tlie Antichrist who is 
 yet to appear. Geier, Havernick, Au- 
 berlen, and others refer it to the city 
 and sanctuary, more especially to the 
 latter, as the pronoun is masculine. 
 Vitringa, C. B, Michaelis, and Heng- 
 stenberg regard the suffix in V'ifp (hittso) 
 as neuter, and refer it to the previous 
 verb " destroy," or the idea of destroy- 
 ing comprehended in it, " the end of it 
 (or it shall end) in the flood ; " a warlike 
 expedition overflowing the land ^t?y'3 
 (bashsheieph) " in or with a flood," or 
 rather, on account of the article : " in or 
 with (he fluod." Rosenmiiller and others : 
 " in an overflowing." Steudel and 
 Maurer : " with a certain irresistible 
 force." Others: "like an overflowing." 
 Keil remarks, however, that the article 
 shows that a definite and well-known 
 overflowing is meant, and, with Wieseler, 
 llofmann, and others, understands it of 
 the desolating judgment of God, the 
 article conveying an allusion to the flood 
 which overwhehned Pharaoh and his 
 host. Dr. Piisey renders the clause : 
 "The end thereof shall be with that 
 flood," the flood of war just spoken of. 
 The Septuagint has : '' They shall be 
 cut off" with a deluge ; " and the Vul- 
 gate : " The end of it shall be ruin." 
 Junius understands the meaning to be : 
 " The calamity shall be sudden, inevi- 
 table, and general." P>ullinger inter- 
 prets it of "perfect desolation on the 
 city." 
 
 (6) " A7id to (he end of (he ivai; desohi- 
 (ions are de(ermined." As no war has 
 as yet been mentioned, and the noun 
 npn?0 (milkhamah) is without the 
 article, Keil, with Hengsteuberg and 
 many other interpreters, regards that 
 iiuun as the subject of the clause, *' to 
 
 the end is war;" understanding the 
 end to be, not as Havernick and Auber- 
 len think, the end of the ci(^, nor, as 
 "Wieseler, the end of the pri7ice, but as 
 the end gmerally, the end of the jiei-iod 
 in progress, the seventy weeks ; that is, 
 war shall continue during the whole of 
 the last week. The Septuagint and 
 Vulgate, however, read the clause, " the 
 end of the war." So Rosenmiiller, Ewald, 
 Hofraann, and others. Dr. Pusey makes 
 "war" along with "desolations" the 
 subject of the verb " are determined," — 
 " unto the end, war and desolatenesses 
 (are) decreed." For the last clause the 
 Septuagint has, "determined with deso- 
 hitions ; " while the Vulgate reads as 
 the English. Hengsteuberg regards the 
 clause as in apposition to war, " a decree 
 of ruins," the meaning being that the 
 war and the decree of ruins will ter- 
 minate only with the end of the object. 
 So Auberlen, " decreed desolations." 
 Keil renders the passage, " Till the end 
 war will be, for desolations are irre- 
 vocably determined by God," the deso- 
 lations including those which the fall of 
 the prince, who destroys the city and 
 the sanctuary, shall bring along with it. 
 C^) Philostratus relates that when the 
 neighbouring nations wished to crown 
 Titus on account of his victory over the 
 Jews, he declared that he was unworthy 
 of the honour, as he had not himself 
 been the author of those works, but 
 had only lent his hand to the Deity, 
 who was demonstrating His resentment 
 against the Jews, Josephus, engaged in 
 the war himself, relates that the robbers ■ 
 or zealots killed the principal men of 
 Jerusalem during the siege, appointed to 
 the priesthood whom they pleased, and 
 ruled the city themselves. The temple, 
 he says, could no longer be called God's 
 house, nor could it continue ; as it had 
 become the scene of constant slaughter 
 and the theatre of civil war. 
 
 215 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XXXVI. — The Last Week and its Employment. 
 
 (Chap. ix. 27.) 
 
 We have seen what was to take place at the end of the first seven of the seventy- 
 weeks, and did take place; also what was to happen after the second period, or 
 other sixty-two weeks, and actually did so. The street and wall of Jerusalem were 
 restored, and Messiah was cut off. The prophet seems to be further informed 
 what was to take place during the remaining one week of the seventy determined 
 upon his people and the holy city. This is related in the last verse of the chapter, 
 and is given in three particulars. 
 
 I. The confirmation of the covenant. " He shall confirm the covenant with 
 many for one week." (i) This is generally understood as referring to the ministry 
 of the Messiah on behalf of His own people, and fulfilled in the personal ministry 
 of Jesus and that of His apostles after His ascension into heaven. The Lord's own 
 ministry was confined to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and His apostles 
 were commanded, after His resurrection, to preach repentance and the remission 
 of sins through His name to all nations, " beginning at Jerusalem." Their mission 
 was, *' Ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in 
 Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth" (Acts i. 7). In the Gospel 
 which they were commissioned to preach, and which Jesus Himself had preached 
 before them, a covenant — the covenant of grace and peace — is tendered, and is 
 established with all who believe and accept it. Its terms are : " Hearken dili- 
 gently and come unto Me ; hear and your soul shall live ; and I will make an 
 everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David" (Isa. Iv. 3). It 
 is the covenant which takes the place both of that which was made with our 
 first parents in Paradise, and that afterwards made with Israel at Mount Sinai. 
 In both these cases the tenor of the covenant was, Obey, and live ; in this it 
 is, Hear, or believe, and live. " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting 
 life." "To as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the 
 sons of God ; even to them that believe on His name" (John i. 12, iii. 3G). As 
 distinguished from the covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai, it is called 
 the New Covenant ; the former, based upon their personal obedience, having 
 been broken and thus set for ever aside. ** Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, 
 that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house 
 of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in t»he 
 day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt ; 
 which My covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them (or, and 
 I regarded them not), saith the Lord. But this shall be the covenant that I 
 will make with the house of Israel ; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put 
 My laws in their inward parts," &c. (Jer. xxxi. 31-33; Heb. viii. 8-12). In 
 respect to mankind in general, it is the New Covenant as distinguished from and 
 taking the place of the covenant made originally with man in Eden, which, like 
 that made with Israel at Sinai, was broken, and its promised blessings forfeited 
 and lost. " By man (the first man) came death." " In Adam all die." " By one 
 man's disobedience many were made sinners." This New Covenant has also a man 
 for its head and representative — the Second Adam, the Lord from heaven, with 
 whom it is made in the name and behalf of His spiritual children whom He 
 represents in it. With His perfect obedience He purchased its blessings, and with 
 His blood, slied for tlie forgiveness of the transgressions committed under the first 
 covenant, called therefore the blood of tlie everlasting covenant. He sealed it 
 (Heb. xiii. 20; Matt. xxvi. 20). By the blood of that covenant, thence called 
 216 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 Messiah's covenant, His prisoners, or those for whom He acted, and who accept 
 of and trust in Him for life and deliverance, are discharged from all condemnation 
 (Zech. ix. 11). It is in virtue of that blood, or the atoning sacrifice of His death, 
 that God can and does receive sinners into His favour and family. Those accept- 
 ing this covenant and its blessings at the hand of Christ, and trusting in Him as 
 their Surety, are therefore spoken of by God as "My saints, those that have made 
 a covenant with Me by sacrifice " (Ps. 1. 5). Jesus, as He procured the blessings 
 of this covenant by His obedience and sealed it by His blood, is thus made the 
 Mediator of it, and has the administration of it committed to Him by Jehovah, 
 who declares, " I have given Him for a covenant to the people " (Heb. viil 6 ; Isa. 
 Iv. 4, xlii. 6). As the Mediator of the covenant and the Covenant itself. He 
 tendered it to sinners personally when He stood and cried, "If any man thirst, let 
 him come unto Me and drink." " Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy- 
 laden, and I will give you rest" (John vii. 37; Matt. xi. 28). He did the same 
 by the ministry of His apostles and disciples after He was taken up to heaven ; 
 and now does it through the instrumentality of His servants and people. " The 
 Spirit and the Bride say. Come" (Rev. xxii. 17). The covenant was thus confirmed 
 by Messiah with many among the Jews for one week. We have to rejoice and 
 praise God that when that week was over, or while it still lasted, He confirmed it 
 with many among the Gentiles, and is graciously doing so to this day. May 
 multitudes more among the Gentiles know the day of their merciful visitatioji, 
 before their time also comes to an end ! 
 
 II. The termination of the legal sacrifices. " In the midst of the week, he 
 shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." (-) This is generally understood 
 of the abolition of the various sacrifices and oblations prescribed by the law of 
 Moses, together with the whole of the Levitical worship. Jesus Christ, doubtless, 
 pointed to this Himself when He said to the woman of Sychar, " The hour cometli 
 when ye shall neither on this mountain (Gerizim), nor yet at Jerusalem, worship 
 the Father. But the hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall 
 worship the Father in spirit and in truth ; for the Father seeketh such to worship 
 Him" (John iv. 21, 23). Those sacrifices and offerings, with all that Mosaic 
 system of ceremonial worship, were intended only for a temporary ])urpose, to 
 serve as types and figures till Messiah, the true and only atoning sacrifice, should 
 come, and introduce a spiritual worship. They were "a shadow of the good things 
 to come," and only "imposed until the time of reformation" (Heb. ix. 10, x. 1). 
 This cessation of sacrifices, therefore, as it could only take place when the one 
 Great Sacrifice was offered, which alone could take away sin, so it must do so then. 
 Accordingly, as a matter of fact, the sacrifices of the temple ceased entirely within 
 forty years after the death of Jesus ; and as if to put a sure and absolute end to 
 them, the temple itself, where alone they could be ofi"ered, ceased to exist. As if 
 to visibly and unmistakably connect the abolition of the ceremonial temple- 
 worship with the death of Jesus the true Lamb of God, at the hour in which He 
 expired on the cross, the veil of the temple which separated the most holy from 
 the holy place, and through which none but the high priest could pass, and he but 
 once a year, on the great Day of Atonement, was without hands rent "in twain 
 from the top to the bottom /' the Holy Ghost thus signifying that the way into 
 the holiest of all was now made manifest, and that free access to God was pro- 
 vided (Matt, xxvii. 51 ; Heb. ix. 8, x. 19, 20). This cessation of the sacrifices 
 was to take place in the midst of the last week ; and if, as appears likely, the 
 sixty-two or rather sixty-nine previous weeks, or 483 years, expired with the 
 baptism of Jesus, then this rending of the veil, which was the expression of it, 
 must have taken place exactly in the middle of that week, or three days and a half 
 (three years and a half) after its commencement, that being generally believed to 
 have been the time that intervened between the Lord's baptism and death. And 
 it is remarkable that no attempts to ofi"er sacrifices on Mount Moriah have been 
 
 217 
 
UOMIL FA'IC COMMLWTA R Y : DA N/EL. 
 
 allowed in the providence of God to be made in all these eighteen centuries, or, if 
 ever defiantly made, to be successful. C^) Tlie only bloody sacrifice that Israel 
 Las since then attempted to offer is the cock, which, of course without the slightest 
 authority, as the poor expiation for their sins, they kill at home on the Day of 
 Atonement, whicli, in a way, they still observe, (^) 
 
 III. The continuance and increase of sin and unbelief with their baleful 
 consequences among the Jews. " For the overspreading of abominations He shall 
 make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined, shall be 
 poured upon the desolate." (^) The sentence is somewhat obscure, but the general 
 meaning seems not diflicult to apprehend. The great sin and abomination of the 
 Jews was their rejection of their divine King and Saviour, and along with that 
 their rejection of Him that sent Him. After the crucifixion of Jesus, that abomi- 
 nation, with others which it brought in its train, seemed not only to continue but 
 to increase and intensify. Tiiere was "the overspreading of abominations." 
 Having crucified their King, they added to their sin by bitterly persecuting His 
 followers; and not only blaspheming Him themselves, but compelling others to do 
 the same. The Acts of the Apostles is a record of these abominations, which com- 
 menced immediately after the disciples began to carry out the commission of their 
 ascended Master. " As they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of 
 the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being grieved that they taught 
 the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead ; and they 
 laid hands on them and put them in hold unto the next day. And they called 
 them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus" 
 (Acts iv. 1—3, IS). On another occasion soon after : "The high priest rose up, and 
 all they that were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and were filled 
 with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common 
 prison. And when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded 
 tliat they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go" (Acts v. 17, 
 18, 40). Then followed in the same year the martyrdom of Stephen. "They 
 gnashed on him with their teeth ; then they cried out with a loud voice, and 
 stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the 
 city and stoned him." One distinguished person among them, who kept the clothes 
 of those who stoned him, " made havoc of the church, entering into every house, 
 and haling men and women, committed them to prison." Breathing out threat- 
 enings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, and compelling them to 
 blaspheme, Saul received, at his own desire, a commission from the high priest tt) 
 go to Damascus and bring any he might find " of that way " as prisoners to 
 Jerusalem. Him on his conversion they immediately laid wait to kill. The same 
 s[)irit of bitter hatred and persecution spread through the provinces. At Antioch 
 in Pisidia, the Jews " were filled with envy, and spake against those things which 
 were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming" (Acts xiii. 45). So the 
 Jews at Tliessalonica, from tiie same spirit, not only set the whole city in an 
 uproar against the apostles, but followed them to Berrea, and did the same thing 
 there also. At Corinth they " made insurrection with one accord against Paul, 
 and brought him to the judgment-seat " (Acts xviii. 12). Paul's dark testimony 
 of them in his letter to the Thessalonian Church was, that "they please not God, 
 and are contrary to all men ; forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they 
 might be saved; to fill up their sins alway" (1 Thess. ii. 15, IG). What they 
 became before their city was destroyed their own historian has recorded. 
 J()sci)hus, an eyewitness, declares that never city suffered such things, and never 
 race of men, not even Sodom, were so wicked ; and states it as his conviction 
 that God brought all the evils on Jerusalem in consequence of their sins, giving 
 them oyer to blindness of mind, so that they not only fought against the llomans 
 l)ut against God. C) The appalling and unparalleled calamities which he relates 
 as overtaking his countrymen in the siege and in the war, we may regard as the 
 
 21» 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 beginning of tliat desolation which was to follow the overspreading of abomi- 
 nations, until the decreed consummation, even now still going on, should be 
 poured upon the desolate. *' Jerusalem, Jerusalem ! thou that killest the 
 prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee ; how often would I have 
 gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her chickens under her wings ; 
 but ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto 
 you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in 
 the name of the Lord " (Matt. xxiv. 37-39), 
 
 Let us make one reflection. 
 
 The verse before us exhibits the terrible consequences of abused privileges. To 
 the Jews belonged the giving of the law, with its types and shadows of good things 
 to come ; and the service of God, witli its temple, priests, and sacrifices ; and the 
 promises, including that crowning one, the promise of a Saviour-King ; and the 
 covenants, the old one at Sinai, and the new one promised in connection with the 
 Messiah, tendered to them first by Christ and then by His apostles, and securing 
 to them, on their acceptance of it, all the blessings of a present and an eternal 
 salvation. These privileges, however, were abused. The law given to them they 
 made their boast of without yielding to it the obedience of a loving heart which it 
 required ; and rested in its outward and typical observances, instead of embracing 
 the substance to which they pointed. The promised Saviour, when He came, they 
 rejected ; and the covenant which held out to them the full forgiveness of their 
 sins and the renewal of their nature, they refused, preferring to merit their accept- 
 ance with God by their own wretched works of a mere external righteousness. 
 The consequence was that while a remnant accepted the oGfered covenant and 
 entered into the enjoyment of all its precious blessings, the rest were blinded, and 
 went on hi the hardness and frowardness of their unbelieving hearts, adding sin 
 to sin, not only refusing to accept Christ themselves, but doing their utmost to 
 hinder others from doing so, and persecuting even to the death those who accepted 
 Him themselves and sought to make Him known to others ; till the measure of 
 their iniquity being full, the threatened judgments of God came upon them to the 
 uttermost, and from being the most favoured nation in the world they became 
 outcasts from their own country and wanderers over the face of the earth, as 
 we see them at this day; a beacon and a warning to the Gentiles, to whom their 
 privileges were graciously transferred, to beware of similar unbelief and misuse of 
 Gospel-mercies, lest a like judgment happen to them also, " Be not highminded, 
 but fear. For if God spared not the natural branches (of the good olive tree), take 
 lieed lest He also spare not thee (who hast been only grafted in among them). 
 For unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith" (Rom, xi. 20, 21), 
 The language that comes to us from that long desolated land, once the glory of all 
 lands, and that long desecrated templeless mount, where Jehovah once had His 
 abode, and that wretched remnant of the scattered nation, once God's favoured 
 people, the kings and priests of Jehovah, now unable to find a settled home or 
 resting-place for the sole of their foot, is, "Behold the goodness and severity 
 of God : on them that fell, severity ; but toward thee, goodness ; if thou continue 
 in His goodness : otherwise thou also shalt be cut oflf," " How shall we escape, if 
 we neglect so great salvation 1 " " To-day if ye will hear His voice, liarden not 
 your heart. If we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, 
 there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful looking for of judg- 
 ment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries" (Heb, ii, 3, iii. 7, 
 8, X. 26, 27). 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— O " //e covenant to many." So Hofmann,— 
 
 shall confirm the covenant with many for understanding it to mean, One week 
 
 one iceek.^' Theodotion renders the shall confirm many in their fidelity to 
 
 words, "One week shall confirm the the faith. Havernick, Hengstenberg, 
 
 219 
 
nOMlLETlC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 and Auberleii understand the Messiah 
 as confirming the new covenant by His 
 death. Ewakl and the Rationalists only 
 think of the many covenants which 
 Antiocbus made with the apostate Jews. 
 Hitzig thinks of the Old Testament 
 covenant which the one week should 
 make grievous, "l''3?n (Jiighhir), to the 
 faithful Jews who should suffer for their 
 adherence to it. Keil thinks the sub- 
 ject of the verb is not the Messiah, nor 
 the one week, " but the prince that shall 
 come " (the Antichrist), who shall im- 
 pose on the many — the great mass 
 of the Jews, in contrast with the few 
 who remain faithful — a strong covenant 
 that they should follow him and give 
 themselves to him as their God. Calvin 
 understands the covenant of grace, con- 
 firmed through the preaching of the 
 Gospel by Christ and His apostles with 
 the world at large, tlie faitliful Gentiles 
 united with the Jews. Willet thinks 
 the confirmation of the covenant in- 
 cludes both the preaching of it by 
 ^Messiah and the sealing of it with His 
 blood. Dr. Pusey includes the preaching 
 of the Baptist. Mr. Bosanquet thinks 
 the covenant is the two-fold covenant 
 made with Abraham : (1) that in his 
 seed, tliat is, Messiah, all the nations of 
 the earth should be blessed ; (2) that 
 to Abraham, and his seed after him, all 
 the land of Canaan should be given as 
 an everlasting possession (Gen. xxii. 18, 
 xvii. 7, 8) ; — the " covenant and mercy " 
 for which David prayed (Luke i. 17, 18). 
 He thinks also that the " one week" 
 has a figurative reference to the Sabbath- 
 week, A.D. 27-34, or seven years of 
 covenant from the preaching of the 
 kingdom of the Messiah, by John the 
 liaptist to the Jews, until the calling of 
 the Gentiles ; or, literally, to the Sab- 
 bath-week, A.D. 65-72, or seven years 
 (if cin'enaiit, during which the Jews 
 partially regained possession of the 
 jiromised land of Canaan, and resisted 
 the power of the Romans. 
 
 (-) " And ill the midst of the week he 
 shdll cause the sacrifice and the oblation to 
 cease." nmpi n?T {zthhakh nminkhah), 
 tiie bloody and unbloody offering.s, the 
 two chief parts of sacrificial service, 
 representing the whole of worship 
 220 
 
 by sacrifice. Keil understands the 
 abolishing of such service for half a 
 week by the ungodly prince or Anti- 
 christ, who is to come in the time of 
 the end. Mr. Bosanquet thinks that 
 the prophecy has reference, figuratively, 
 to the death of Christ in A.D. 32 ; and 
 literally, to the actual cessation of the 
 morning and evening sacrifice and ob- 
 lation on the 17th of the month Pane- 
 mus or Tamuz, a.d. 70, as Josephus 
 relates in his Jewish War, vi. 2. 
 
 (^) Such an attempt was made by 
 the Emperor Julian, the Apostate from 
 Christianity. The workmen engaged 
 in preparing the foundation of the 
 intended temple were obliged to desist 
 from their operations by extraordinary 
 obstructions which they met with in 
 their work, in the form, it is said, of 
 balls of fire that issued from the place 
 of excavation. 
 
 (■*) It is said the reason why the 
 Jews take a cock for sacrifice on the 
 Day of Atonement is because the name 
 of a cock in their language is also the 
 name of a man, *13J {gebher) ; by a kind 
 of fiction, therefore, it is viewed as 
 taking the place of the offerer, who, as 
 he kills it with various ceremonies, 
 declares that he wishes it to be regarded 
 as his substitute and sin-bearer, and as 
 by its death making atonement for his 
 sins, of which death is the legal penalty. 
 The circumstance indicates the view 
 that the Jews entertained of the mean- 
 ing of sacrifice, the only true and natu- 
 ral one, the death of the victim being 
 regarded as standing for that of the 
 olll^rer who by sin has come under the 
 penalty. 
 
 (5) « /'or the overspreading of ahomi- 
 nations he shall make it desolate, even 
 until the consummation, and that deter- 
 mined, shall he poured vpon the deso- 
 late." This is variously rendered. For 
 the first clause the Creek translation 
 has, " Oti the temple shall be the abo- 
 mination of desolations;" reminding one 
 of Matt. XX vi. 15. The Vulgate fol- 
 lows it : " There shall be in the temple 
 the abomination of desolation." Simi- 
 larly the Arabic : *' U[)on the sanctuary 
 shall be the abomination of ruin." Dr. 
 A. Clarke remarks that a Hebrew MS. 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: BAN I EL. 
 
 of the thirteenth century, instead of 
 ^133 (canaph), rendered in our version 
 " overspreading," and in the margin 
 "battlements," and literally meaning 
 a wmg, has the word ^3^T (hecal), 
 temple. Houbigant has also, " In the 
 temple," &c., like the Vulgate. CEco- 
 lampadius, BuUinger, Osiander, &c., 
 understood the word of the wings or 
 pinnacles of the temple. Brightmau 
 reads, " Desolation on the wing of abo- 
 minations ;" observing that the " wing " 
 is a military word signifying a troop or 
 band of soldiers, such as the wing of 
 the Jewish rebels when they took up 
 arms against the Pvomans ; and under- 
 standing the passage to mean, " When 
 rebellion shall be added to abomina- 
 tion, and the people shall be ranked 
 into wings, bands or troops — the wing 
 of abominations being the troops of 
 thieves and robbers, the zealots in the 
 temple, though all the people conspired 
 along with them — they shall make de- 
 solate by bringing ruin on their own 
 heads and on the whole country," 
 Calvin understands the extremity or 
 extension of abomination ; and interprets 
 it of " the profanation which occurred 
 after the Gospel began to be promul- 
 gated, and the punishment which was 
 inflicted on the Jews when they saw 
 their temple subjected to the grossest 
 forms of desecration, because unwill- 
 ing to submit to tlie only begotten 
 Son of God as its true glory. " 
 Gesenius renders the clause, " On the 
 pinnacle are the abominations of the 
 desolator." Hengstenberg prefers the 
 word " summit," i.e., the highest part 
 of the temple, here called " abomina- 
 tion," being so desecrated by abomina- 
 tion, as no longer to deserve the name 
 
 of the temple of the Lord, but that of 
 the temple of idols ; the expression in- 
 dicating its utter ruin : " Over the sum- 
 mit of abomination comes the destroyer." 
 Auberlen adopts the word "summit," 
 but in a different sense : " On account of 
 the desolating summit of abominations;" 
 adding that it is the acme or summit of 
 the abominations committed by Israel 
 which, according to Stier, " draws down 
 the desolation, nay, which is the deso- 
 lation itself ; " and that the worship 
 of a people who have murdered the 
 Lord's Anointed, and only go on more 
 obdurately in their self-righteousness 
 and hardness of heart, is full of abomi- 
 nations. So Ewald : "On account of 
 the frightful height of abominations." 
 Havernick combines the local idea with 
 the moral, understanding "the extreme 
 heights of abominations " of the high- 
 est place that can be reached where 
 the abominations would be committed, 
 namely, the temple, as the highest point 
 in Jerusalem. Keil objects to the refer- 
 ence of the passage to the desecration of 
 the temple before the destruction of 
 Jerusalem by the Romans, and, with 
 some other?, takes the word ^J2 (^ca- 
 naph) in its ordinary meaning of loing : 
 " On the wings of abominations he 
 comes desolating ; " the abominations 
 being heathen gods, idol-images, and 
 other heathen abominations ; idolatry 
 being the power that lifts upwards the 
 destroyer and desolator, carries him and 
 moves with him over the earth, that 
 destroyer being the future Antichrist. 
 Dr. Pusey translates : " And upon the 
 pinnacle of abominations, a desolator," 
 understanding the abominations to be 
 the moral ground why in God's provi- 
 dence he came. 
 
 JIOMILETICS. 
 Sect. XXXYII. — Axgel Mixistpjes (Cliap. x. 1-21). 
 
 In this and the two following chapters we have another of Daniel's remarkable 
 visions. It is both the last and the longest recorded, occupying, as it does, nearly 
 three whole chapters of the book. It was vouchsafed to Daniel as a man greatly 
 beloved, which he is here again declared twice over to be. It was given him in 
 the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, B.C. 531, Daniel now approaching the 
 ninetieth year of his age. The prophet relates in the present chapter his spiritual 
 exercises previous to his receiving the vision, which were no doubt made preparatory 
 '■ 221 
 
nOMlLETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 to Lis doing so. Already -witli thankfulness and joy lie had seen his people, accord- 
 ing to Jehovah's gracious promise, restored, through the edict of Cyrus, the result of 
 his own influence and exertions, to their own land. Notwithstanding this, how- 
 ever, the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem, and who after all formed but a 
 small proportion of the exiles, were in great humiliation and depression. Their 
 first attempt had been to rebuild the temple; but in this they were opposed and 
 hindered by the heathen already in the land. These, who had been settled there by 
 Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, now demanded a share in the erection of the temple. 
 This the Jew^s refused, on the ground that they formed no part of the covenant- 
 people. Irritated by the refusal, these heathen settlers, or Samaritans, as they 
 were then and afterwards called (Samaria being the part of the country in 
 which they were located), set themselves to oppose the work in every possible 
 way, and especially by seeking to prejudice the king of Persia against it, which 
 they continued to do throughout the reign of Cyrus (Ezra iv. 1-4). This 
 opposition to the work, and its consequent interruption, had doubtless reached 
 the ears of Daniel at the Persian court, where, probably on account of his 
 advanced age, he had still remained. The tidings pressed heavily on his spirit ; 
 and deeply sympathising with his brethren, .and concerned for the cause of bis 
 God, at the beginning of tlie new year, and as the time of the Passover approached, 
 he set himself, as he had done before (chap. ix. 3), to seek the Lord's mercy 
 for his people by prayer and fasting. He relates that in those days, he, 
 the same Daniel who is also called Belteshazzar,(^) was "mourning three full 
 weeks; "(2) neither eating any pleasant bread, nor drinking wine, nor anointing 
 his body,(^') during the whole of that period (vers. 2, 3). The place of retirement 
 which he had chosen for this exercise of continued prayer and fasting was on the 
 banks of the Hiddekel or Tigris, where there already existed an oratory or place 
 of prayer, according to Jewish custom. There, whither he had gone accompanied 
 by some of his friends, he received the vision which he here relates. The com- 
 munications, as on a former occasion, are made through an angel, who declares 
 that what he communicates is what is " noted in the Scripture of truth ; " W 
 probably God's unchanging decree, which was now so far made known to him. 
 It is stated by the angel that the communication "is true," (5) though the time 
 appointed for its fullilment (or the warfare and trouble predicted) " was long." 
 Daniel intimates also that he "understood the thing: I had understanding of 
 the vision ;"W a thing which, in relation to one point at least, as he afterwards 
 relates, he particularly desired and asked for (chap. xii. 8). The present chapter 
 is remarkable for the insight which it affords into the angel-world and angel- 
 ministrics. given as a kind of preface to the divine communications which were to 
 follow. The occasion of this special information being now vouchsafed to the 
 prophet, was the struggle going on between the Jews and their heathen neighbours 
 in the country to obtain the influence of the kings of Persia for, or against, the 
 building of the temple ; as also the situation which the Jews were, for centuries 
 to come, to occupy in relation to the great world-powers to which they were to be 
 subject, and from which they were so greatly to suffer. It was to be for the 
 comfort of Daniel and his people to know that the Providence of a covenant- 
 God was watching over them ; and that under that Providence angelic agencies 
 were continually employed in their behalf. These celestial beings appear to 
 Daniel in the vision ; the first and chief of whom, from a comparison of the 
 description given of him (vers. 5, 6) with that in lie v. i. 13, (tc, would seem to be 
 identified with the Angel of the covenant, the Lord of angels nimself(') It 
 ai)pears uncertain whether he, or one of the otiier two, is the principal speaker in 
 the vision, thougli probably one of the latter,('^) speaking under his direction, as in 
 chap. viii. IG. From the view liere given regarding the ministry and agency of 
 angels for the benefit of the Church of God in the world, we may observe the 
 followint; particulars : — 
 222 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 1. Ihe existence of different ranks and orders among those angelic ministers 
 The angels introduced in this chapter are " princes ; ^' while one of them, named 
 Micliael, IS called "one of the chief or first princes" (ver. 13); (9) this same 
 Michael being also called (chap. xii. 1) the "great prince," and 'elsewhere the 
 archangel or chief of the angels (Jade 9 ; Rev. xii. 7).(i0) As distinguished from 
 the angels in general, some would appear to be princes, and that of different 
 ranks. Peter seems to indicate the existence of such a celestial hierarchy, when 
 he speaks of " angels, authorities, and powers " being subject to Christ ; as well 
 as Paul, who speaks of "principalities and powers in heavenly places "'(1 Pettr 
 iii. 22; Eph. iii. 19). Each of those princes apparently the constituted leader of 
 an angehc host, perhaps one of those legions of which Jesus speaks (Matt. xxvi. 
 53), The Book of Revelation speaks of Michael and his angels conflicting with 
 the devil and his angels (Rev. xii. 7). A similar subordination of rank would 
 seem still to continue to exist among the angels who fell, and who are still spoken 
 of as " principalities and powers " (Eph. vi. 12), 
 
 2. Their appointment to diff'erent spheres or posts of dntij. Thus Michael is here 
 represented as the prince of the people of Israel (ver. 21), and in chap. xii. 1, the 
 l)rince "that standeth for the children of Daniel's people;" his post apparently 
 being to defend and protect that favoured nation. On the other side, we read of 
 the princes of Persia and Grecia, being, in the opinion of many, the subordinate 
 leaders among the fallen angels, to whom are assigned by their chief these countries 
 as their respective spheres of operation. (lO So Paul speaks of principalities and 
 powers, the "rulers of the darkness of this world" (Eph. vi. 12). How far indivi- 
 duals may be made the special charge of certain angels is perhaps less certain. 
 Jesus, however, speaks of little children as having " their angels" (Matt, xviii. 10). 
 The believers in Mary's house at Jerusalem said of Peter at the door, " It is his 
 angel " (Acts xii. IG). The hill on which Elisha's house stood was seen to be " fuil 
 of horses and chariots of fire" round about the prophet (2 Kings vi. 17j. 
 
 3. The deep interest felt hy those angelic beings in the welfare of good men and 
 the prosperity of God's canse. Their interest in good men seen in the manner in 
 which Daniel is addressed as a " man greatly beloved ; " words " indicative of tender 
 compassion and encouragement, as addressed to an aged saint in whom the infirmi- 
 ties of age, blended with a deep self-abasement, rendered such assurances of regard 
 especially grateful and appropriate." The exhortation, " fear not," expressive of the 
 same loving interest and tender consideration. The earnest endeavour to impart 
 strength to the overpowered and fainting prophet (vers. 18, 19) reminds us of the 
 same affectionate concern manifested on behalf of the Man of Sorrows Himself 
 in His agony in the garden (Luke xxii. 43). The whole of the narrative before us 
 in reference to the exertions of these angelic ministers on behalf of Israel indica- 
 tive of their deep interest in the welfare of that people, and the prosperity of 
 Jehovah's cause in the world. 
 
 4. The variety of their ministrations. Here, as elsewhere, we see them em- 
 ployed in conveying messages and delivering communications from God to His 
 servants (ver, 14). So in chap. ix. 21, 22, we see them also engaged in counter- 
 acting the evil influences brought to bear on rulers and others by the adversaries of 
 God's cause and people. From chap. xi. 1, we find that the same celestial personage 
 who communicates with Daniel had exerted his influence in strengthening and 
 encouraging Darius in favour of the Jews, when thwarted and oi)posed in their 
 work of restoring Jerusalem by the Samaritans, who sought to prejudice the king 
 against them and their work. Their ministrations as varied as the circumstances, 
 necessities, and requirements of the servants of God and heirs of salvation for whose 
 benefit they are employed in ministering. 
 
 5. Their union and miitual help among themselves. " Michael, one of the chief 
 princes," says the principal speaker in the chapter, "came to help me" (ver, 13). 
 And again (ver. 21), "There is none that holdeth (marg., * strengtheueth himself, 
 
 223 
 
nOMlLETIC COMMENTARY : DAXIEL. 
 
 — puts forth strenuous efforts or vigorously co-operates) with me in these things 
 but Michael your prince." The angels, though excelling in strength, yet of limited 
 power. Even among those potent agents, co-operation and mutual aid are necessary 
 and enjoyed. The same important principle experienced among the celestial as 
 among terrestrial workers. Union is strength. " Two are better than one." An 
 example for the Church on earth in their works of good-doing. 
 
 6. Dificulfies and opposition expe}'ienced hy these angelic agents in their bene- 
 volent work. The angel who came to Daniel with the divine communications was 
 withstood by the prince of the kingdom of Persia, and that apparently all the 
 twenty-one days during which Daniel was fasting and praying (ver. 13). C^^) After 
 fulfilliiig his mission to the prophet, he had to return to fight again with the prince 
 of Persia, who was still endeavouring to thwart his services on behalf of the Jews 
 (ver. 20). So in Piev. xii. 7, Michael and his angels are opposed by the devil and 
 his angels. In Jude, ver. 9, the same archangel is represented as having contended 
 with the devil about the body of Moses, probably when commissioned by Jehovah 
 to bury it (Deut. xxxiv. 6). We see and experience the conflict carried on between 
 the friends and foes of truth and righteousness on earth. It is well to know that 
 a similar contest is waged by invisible powers above us and among us. Such con- 
 tests no less real because unseen. The horses and chariots were on the mountain 
 round about Elisha before the servant's eyes were opened to see them. It is 
 certain that Christ's servants are aided on earth by angelic agents ; but it is quite 
 as certain that they are also hindered and opposed by invisible powers of a different 
 character (1 Thess. ii. 18; Rom. xvi. 20). Even when opposed by earthly adver- 
 saries, it is an encouragement to know that we are not alone in such an experience. 
 ATigels, who are "greater in power and might," have also to contend against 
 opposition while ministering to us and to the cause of Christ on earth. 
 
 From the whole narrative we may learn — 
 
 1. How glorious must he the place that forms the abode of those angelic beings to 
 tvhom ive are here introduced. The visible glory and splendour of " the man clothed 
 in linen " (vers. 5, 6), whether a created or uncreated angel, suggests the glory of the 
 j)lace where such have their residence. A similar appearance is elsewhere ascribed 
 to those angelic ministers; for example, Matt, xxviii. 3. How glorious the throne 
 which is attended by such exalted and resplendent ministers ! How glorious the 
 King ! A picture of His glory, under a human form, perhaps presented to us in 
 this chapter. The queen of Sheba's burst of amazement and admiration on seeing 
 tlie glory of Solomon's court, likely to be far exceeded by the believer's experience 
 as he enters the heavenly glory : " It was a true report that I heard — and behold, 
 the half was not told me. Happy are thy men, and happy Jire these thy servants 
 that stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom!" Daniel fainted 
 at the glorious vision of the man clothed in linen. (^'0 Believers beholding "the 
 King in His beauty " shall be filled " with joy unspeakable and full of glory." 
 
 2. Ample provision made for the ivelfare of the Church and for the success of 
 the Redeemer's catise. An agency is provided in the wisdom and love of God, and 
 committed into the hands of the Mediator, which, though invisible, is always in 
 operation, and is fully adequate to meet all requirements and exigencies. Such 
 l)rovision made in the ministration of angelic beings, who, though necessarily 
 limited both in their power and knowledge, yet " excel in strength " as well as 
 wisdom ; and, while yielding implicit obedience to the will of their Sovereign, are 
 also deeply and lovingly interested in the happiness of His people and the 
 l)rosperity of His cause. Tlieir influence also, as spiritual beings, is capable of 
 being exercised as well on the mind as on material objects. It is true that in their 
 ministrations they are resisted by beings of a similar nature, though of an opposite 
 character and disposition. How eflectually, however, the ministry of angels is 
 exercised on behalf of the Church, is shown by numerous examples both in the 
 Old and New Testaments, one of Avhich is found in this very book (chap. vi. 22). 
 
 224 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 3. The duty of imitating the character and conduct of those angelic ministers. 
 A petition tauglit by the Saviour, and constantly on the lips of tlie professin," 
 Church, is, " Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The book of Dauiei, 
 and especially the chapter before us, reveals how it is done there. We see these 
 celestial beings not only promptly obedient to their Maker's will, but cordially 
 interested in wliatever that will is, and especially in the work of ministering for 
 the heirs of salvation about whom they are employed. Their obedience not only 
 prompt but loving and hearty. What is done in obedience to the divine will is done 
 " heartily as to the Lord." Whatever the service on which they are sent, it is 
 faithfully, zealously, and lovingly executed. Though thwarted and opposed for 
 days and weeks together by hostile influences and wayward dispositions, they 
 persevere in their mission till it is accomplished. It is our privilege to be engaged 
 with them in serving the same Master, and in promoting the same objects. Like 
 them we shall meet with opposition both from visible and invisible adversaries. 
 Like them it is for us, through promised and provided grace, to persevere till our 
 efforts are crowned with success, or we called away by the Master to another field 
 of service. 
 
 4. The reverential spirit ivith tohich xue ought to receive the communications of 
 God's word. Daniel relates that when the angel brought to him the divine 
 coniniunication with which he was charged, " when he had spoken this word unto 
 me, I stood trembling ; " and again, " when he had spoken such words unto me, 
 I set my face toward the ground, and became dumb" (vers. 11, 15). One of the 
 marks of the truly godly given by God Himself as that with which He is well 
 pleased, is, that they " tremble at His word " (Isa. Ixvi. 2). So Ezra speaks of the 
 godly in his day (Ezra ix. 4, x. 3). Striking contrast to the thoughtless indiffer- 
 ence with which the divine oracles are too often read and heard. The deep 
 humility, self-abasement, and godly fear that Daniel exhibited in relation to the 
 divine communications which he received, a part of his general character, and that 
 which doubtless prepared him for receiving those revelations by which he was so 
 greatly honoured. " Them that honour Me, I will honour." 
 
 5. The manifoldness of Scripture teaching. Not only in regard to our own race 
 has the Holy Ghost been pleased to give us information in His word ; but also in 
 regard to an order of beings higher than ourselves in the scale of creation, and 
 whose existence dates further back in the annals of the universe.O^) This infor- 
 mation, too, the Scriptures afford us, not to gratify curiosity, nor even merely to 
 augment our knowledge ; but on account of the relation which those angelic beings 
 bear to ourselves, and the important part assigned to them in connection with the 
 human race, and more especially to that part of it who, like themselves, are 
 engaged in the service of God. " Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth 
 to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation ? " The infurniation thus 
 afforded us concerning angels calculated to exercise an important influence upon 
 our spirit and daily walk, cheering us by the assurance of their presence and aid, 
 and animating us by their holy and loving example (Ps. xxxiv. 7, xci. 11, 12; 
 Eccles. V. 6 ; 1 Cor. xi. 10). 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— (i) " Bel- (2) " Three full iveehs " (ver. 2). 
 
 teshazzar" {\ev.\). Calvin thinks that Literally, "three weeks of days;" an 
 
 Daniel mentions this name as that by expression, which while it denotes, ac- 
 
 which he was better known among the cording to Hebrew idiom, three full 
 
 nationswithwhomhewould havethispro- weeks, may also indicate that there are 
 
 phecy to become famous. Polanus thinks weeks of another kind than those of 
 
 it is given to show that he was the same days; e.g., the seventy weeks of the 
 
 person who had the former visions, that preceding chapter, which are weeks of 
 
 so it might be received with greater years. Dr. Cox mentions as reasons 
 
 credit and authority. for Daniel's present protracted season 
 
 p 225 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 of humiliation and prayer — his personal 
 transgressions, the opposition experi- 
 enced in the rebuilding of the city and 
 temple, the reluctance of many of the 
 Jews to return to Jerusalem and co- 
 operate in the work, and the predicted 
 conduct of his people when Messiah 
 should appear and be " cut off." 
 
 (3) "Anoint mi/self" (ver, 3). Jerome 
 says the Persians, instead of bath- 
 ing, anointed their bodies all over, 
 which, according to Pliny, was done 
 both to defend themselves from the 
 excessive heat, and preserve their bodies 
 in health. Keil observes that the anoint- 
 ing with oil was a sign of joy and a 
 joyous frame of mind, as with guests 
 at a banquet (Amos vi. 6) ; and was 
 now intermitted by Daniel as in a time 
 of sorrow. 
 
 (4) " In the scrij^tiire of truth " (ver. 
 21). Calvin observes that Holy Scrip- 
 ture often adopts forms of speech ac- 
 cording to human custom; the "scripture 
 of truth" being nothing but the eternal 
 and inviolable decree of God Himself. 
 Bishop Lowth remarks : " Gud's decrees 
 are spoken of as if they were committed 
 to writing and registered in a book." 
 Mr. Bosanquet thinks it to have been a 
 book or writing concerning " the truth ; " 
 and that what follows is mostly a com- 
 ment founded upon it, and not to be 
 mistaken for prophecy. 
 
 (5) " The tiling was true " (ver. 1). 
 Keil observes that in this statement 
 Hitzig finds an intimation that betrays 
 the writer's standpoint, namely, the 
 time when " the thing " was realised, 
 Daniel not being able to say this before 
 it hapi)ened. But this objection sup- 
 poses that the author was a lying pro- 
 ])het who spoke from his own heart 
 (Jer. xxix, 8, 15). But if Daniel had 
 actually received a word from God, he 
 could before its fulfilment testify its 
 truth ; that testimony here indicating, 
 as in chap. viii. 2G, that the word now 
 communicated to the pro{)het contained 
 tilings which it would be difTioult for 
 the human lieart to believe. ]\lr. Bos- 
 anquet thinks that it was i)art of the 
 interpretation made by some unknown 
 person in or after the time of Antiochus 
 Epiphanes, and in the course of time 
 
 220 
 
 accidentally transferred from the alter- 
 nate columns or margin of the sacred 
 roll into the text. But Rev. xxii. 19, 
 teaches caution in supposing passages 
 to be interpolations. 
 
 (6) "ZTe understood the thing, and 
 had understanding of the vision" (ver. 
 1). Rosenmliller understands T? {bin) 
 imperatively, and nra (binah) as a mere 
 repetition of the word : " Consider it, 
 consider, I say, the thing made known 
 through the vision." So Lengerke and 
 Mr. Bosanquet. Keil thinks that a 
 summons to give heed or to under- 
 stand would not be here in place. He 
 considers HVIl (binah) a substantive, 
 and r3 (bin) the preterite, and not, as 
 Havernick, the infinitive : " Under- 
 standing was to him by that which was 
 seen," nS"lS2 (hammareh), by the vision, 
 i.e., by the appearance described in ver. 
 5, &c. Kliefoth refers this last word 
 to the earlier prophecies of chap. viii. 
 7, 9. The objection that Daniel says 
 (chap. xii. 8) that he did not under- 
 stand the vision, is disposed of, he ob- 
 serves, on the ground that the non- 
 understanding had reference to a single 
 point, viz., the duration of the afHiction ; 
 regarding which, however, disclosures 
 are given to the prophet in chap. xii. 
 10, &c. Auberlen refers to a distinc- 
 tion, also noticed by Keil, between this 
 and other revelations vouchsafed to the 
 prophet, viz., that it is communicated 
 partly by supernatural illumination for 
 the interpretation of the dream-vision, 
 partly by visions, and partly by the 
 appearance of angels ; indicating a note- 
 worthy progression, in which one reve- 
 lation always prepares the way, in a 
 material and formal respect, for that 
 which follows, and by which God gra- 
 dually prepared the prophet for the 
 reception of still more definite disclo- 
 sures. 
 
 (^) *' A certain man clothed in linen " 
 (ver. 5). Dr. Rule thinks that it is 
 Gabriel, distinguished as the Lord's 
 chosen messenger, who is described in 
 vers. 5, 6 ; and that by a comparison 
 with Eev. i. 13, etc., we find that the 
 descriptions, though resembling each 
 other, are not to be confounded, the 
 latter having every divine attribute, 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENT ART: DANIEL. 
 
 while the former Las none, Brightman 
 thinks that his priestly garments pro- 
 claim him to be the only priest worthy to 
 be consulted in all doubtful matters, and 
 whose lips " keep knowledge." Keil is 
 led by Rev. i, 13, &c.^ to regard him 
 as no common angel-prince, but a mani- 
 festation of Jehovah, i.e., the Logos or 
 AVord, who afterwards was made flesh ; 
 liis appearance resembling that of the 
 glory cif Jehovah as seen by Ezekiel at 
 the river Cliebar, and indicating how by 
 his acts he would reveal himself to his 
 jieople in the great tribulation. So 
 (Ecolampadius, Willet, and others. 
 
 (^) "^ hand touched vie" (ver. 10). 
 Hengstenberg thinks, with many old 
 interpreters, that the person who speaks 
 to Daniel and announces the future, is 
 not the same who is described in vers. 
 5, 6, as the "man clothed in linen." 
 Jerome thinks they are the same created 
 angel. So Pfaff and BuUinger. CEco- 
 lampadius thinks they are the same 
 person, viz., Christ. So Keil. Heng- 
 stenberg identifies him with Gabriel. 
 Dr. Rule thinks that other angels, less 
 terrible than the one described in vers. 
 5, 6, ministered to the prophet (vers. 
 10, 16, 18). Birks thinks the speaker 
 in the vision is the angel of the cove- 
 nant, the Son of God. 
 
 (9) ''Michael" (ver. 13). ^S^a^P = 
 " who is like God," expresses the idea 
 of God's unparalleled helping power. 
 Hengstenberg identifies Michael with 
 the " Angel of the Lord," the leader of 
 the Israelites, and prince of the army of 
 Jehovah, mentioned in Exod. xxxii. 34 ; 
 Josh. V. 13 ; Zech. i. 5). Melanchthon, 
 Broughton, Junius, and others identify 
 him with Christ. Birks and most in- 
 terpreters think him a created angel. 
 Calvin leaves it indifferent, observing 
 that God does not confine Himself to 
 any fixed rule, 
 
 (10) "(5;if of the chief 2vinces" (ver. 13). 
 Keil observes that the title here given 
 to Michael points undoubtedly to an 
 arrangement of orders and degrees 
 among the angels. From the circum- 
 stance that the guardian spirit of Persia 
 (see next note) is called I??* (sen-), a 
 prince, it does not follow that 
 " princes " is not a designation of the 
 
 angels generally, but only, as Hofmann 
 thinks, of the princes of the peoples 
 who are the spirits ruling in the social 
 affairs of nations and kingdoms. The 
 " chief princes," he adds, can only be 
 the princes, or chiefs, of the good angels 
 who remain in communion with God 
 and work for His kingdom. The work 
 of standing up for Israel (chap. xii. 1) 
 is committed to Michael as one of them. 
 As God would not intrust to a subordi- 
 nate spirit a work demanding special 
 power and greatness, the title given to 
 Michael was for Israel's comfort, as 
 affirming that they were under very 
 powerful protection, though little es- 
 teemed before the world. 
 
 (11) <( j-z^g prince of Persia — of the 
 kingdom of Persia — of Grecia" (vers. 13, 
 20). Jerome, Melanchthon, Osiander, 
 and others think the " king of Persia " 
 to be Satan or evil angels. Dr. Rule 
 thinks that the " prince of the kingdom 
 of Persia" was Darius, and that the 
 "kings of Persia" (ver. 13) were the 
 kings of subject provinces ; while the 
 princes of Persia and of Grecia (ver. 20) 
 were the kings of those countries, the 
 King of Grecia being Alexander the 
 Great. So Calvin, who thinks of 
 Cambyses the son of Cyrus. Dr. Cox 
 thinks that Satan, the prince or god of 
 this world, either by himself or by one 
 of his chief agents, employed his machi- 
 nations to instigate Cambyses and the 
 court of Persia to hostilities against the 
 Jews ; while the angelic spirit, to whom 
 this ministration was intrusted, era- 
 ployed his efforts to influence the king 
 and his nobles in their favour. Keil 
 tliinks the " prince of the kingdom 
 of Persia," in ver. 20 the "prince 
 of Persia," is not King Cyrus, nor, as 
 Hiivernick and Kranichfeld, with Calvin 
 and most of the reformers, think, the 
 kings of Persia collectively ; but the 
 guardian spirit or the protecting genius 
 of the Persian kingdom, as the Rabbis 
 and many Christian interpreters after 
 Jerome have acknowledged ; a spirit- 
 being, yet not the heathen national god 
 of the Persians, but, according to the 
 view of Scripture (1 Cor. x. 20, &c.), 
 the demon (^az/xo'v/of) of the Persian 
 kingdom : i.e., the supernatural spirit- 
 227 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 power standing behind the national 
 gods, -whicli we may call the guardian 
 spirit of this kingdom. According to 
 Kliefoth, this spirit stood behind the 
 Persian kings to intiuence them against 
 Israel, and to direct against the chosen 
 people the power lying in Persian 
 heathendom, so as to support the in- 
 sinuations of the Samaritans, and whom 
 the angel, mentioned in ver. 5, came, at 
 Daniel's prayer, to dislodge from his 
 position and deprive of his influence ; 
 in which, with the aid of Michael, he 
 so far succeeded that, after a contest 
 of twenty-one days, he gained the 
 mastery over him, and stood in his 
 place beside the kings of Persia, so as 
 henceforth to influence them in favour 
 of Israel. By the king of Grecia, Keil 
 understands the spirit of the Maccabeaii 
 world-kingdom, who, while the angel 
 addressing Daniel returns to Persia to 
 maintain the position he has gained, 
 will come and cause a new conflict. 
 Dr. Pusey, after Gregory, Theodoret, 
 Lyranus, and others, regards these 
 " princes " as good angels desiring the 
 welfare of the peoples committed to 
 their care, and so contending, though 
 in submission to the will of God. 
 
 (12) " Withstood me" (ver. 13). Dr. 
 Cox remarks that contests of this nature 
 are mentioned in other places of Scrii> 
 ture, as Zech. iii. 1-3; Jude 9; llev. 
 xii. 7, 8. " The angel lets the prophet 
 catch a glimpse of the invisible struggles 
 between the princes of the angels, in 
 which it is decided who is to exert the 
 determining influence on the worldly 
 monarch (the king of Persia) — whether 
 the god-opposed spirit of this world, or 
 tlie goud spirit whose aim it is to further 
 the interests of God's kingdom." — jUiber- 
 len; wlio adds : " We are wont to speak 
 in a spiritualising way of a struggle be- 
 tween the good and the evil spirit in 
 man. Holy Scripture teaches us to re- 
 gard such a struggle as real and sub- 
 stantial (compare 1 Sam. xvi. 13-15; 
 1 Kings xxii. 22). Tlie Satanic influ- 
 ences, of which we have more particular 
 knowledge through the language of Christ 
 and His apostles, are essentially not dif- 
 ferent from this. Tlie liberty of human 
 actiojis is not hereby taken away : for 
 228 
 
 the spirits exercise no compelling influ- 
 ence on men's hearts, and their chief 
 activity consists probably in the arrange- 
 ment of outward events." 
 
 (13) a 2'here remained no strength in 
 me" (ver. 8). Keil observes that the 
 effect which the appearance of the man 
 clothed in linen had upon Daniel, formed 
 a pre-intimation and a pledge of what 
 would happen to his people in the future. 
 As Daniel was thrown to the ground 
 and raised up again by a supernatural 
 hand, so should the people of God be 
 thrown to the ground by the fearful 
 judgments that should pass over them, 
 but should again be raised up by the 
 all-powerful help of their God and His 
 angel-prince Michael, and should be 
 strengthened to endure the tribulation. 
 
 (^■*) This information, given through 
 Daniel, regarding angels has been made 
 an argument against the genuineness of 
 the book as belonging to a later age ; 
 the angels being said to appear quite in 
 the form in which they were introduced 
 from the later Parseism into Judea, with 
 thedistinction of higher and lower orders, 
 and the names given to certain indivi- 
 duals among them. But, as Dr. Pusey 
 observes, some distinction among those 
 heavenly hosts was revealed from the 
 first (Gen. iii. 24-). Also, there was one 
 known as distinct from and above all the 
 rest as " the Angel of the Lord," whether 
 God the Son, or (as Dr. Pusey thinks) 
 a created angel, and especially Michael, 
 in whom God accustomed His creatures 
 to the thought of beholding Himself in 
 human form. He thinks the one thing 
 peculiar in Daniel's revelations regard- 
 ing angels is that, as God set one chief 
 angel as the deputed guardian of His 
 people, so He set others over the nations, 
 assigning to each nation one of those 
 ministering spirits to succour and defend 
 them, and to plead their cause with 
 Himself, the Father of all. He observes 
 that it is agreed that the common title 
 Amesha-Cpenta (or Amshaspands), " the 
 holy immortals," does not occur in the 
 oldest part of the Zendavesta; and that 
 the names by which they are severally 
 distinguished occur there also as names 
 of qualities or substances. Dr. Hide 
 observes : " It is a familiar saying with 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 the Jews that their fathers brought up of Daniel, which are now accessible to 
 
 the names of angels out of Babylon ; us, are not known to disclose any infur- 
 
 aud, for anything we know to the con- mation concerning angels' names. As 
 
 trary, it may be true that they brought for Zoroaster, his date is not certainly 
 
 them thence. Bat it would be an error known ; but even if it was he who first 
 
 to conclude that the Jews learned the taught the Persians that angels existed, 
 
 names of angels from the Babylonians and if he really flourished in the reigu 
 
 or from the Persians." At first sight, he of Gushtaph or Darius Hystaspis, B.C. 
 
 remarks, it might seem probable that, as 521-48G, he was probably born a few 
 
 the later Persian religion, unlike the years before the decease of Daniel, but 
 
 Assyrian, is distinguished by long lists had not yet been heard of in Daniel's 
 
 of angels, good and bad, Persia might time ; and the oidy probability is that 
 
 be the birthplace of angelology ; and it he would be glad to borrow from the 
 
 might be conjectured that the inspired prophet's writings anything to serve his 
 
 writers of the New Testament, who own purpose." He concludes that angels 
 
 record the names of Gabriel and Michael, Avere not known of in Babylonia, and 
 
 drew them from the same source as the therefore there could not have been 
 
 Persians, o'r indeed from the Persians angels' names, except as the Baby- 
 
 themselves. " In the present case, the lonians and others learned them from 
 
 Persian documents of or before the age the Hebrews. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XXXVIII. — The Kings of the Xortii and of the South. 
 
 (Chap. xi. 1-20.) 
 
 We come to the things which the angel was commissioned to communicate to the 
 prophet, and through him to the Church. They are spoken of as the things which 
 should befall his people " in the latter days," 0) being the things noted in " the 
 scripture of truth." The chapter is a continuation of the angel's discourse, the 
 liist verse being more properly connected with the preceding chapter, as the com- 
 munication only commences with the second. The i^rophecy is the most extensive 
 and minute one which the prophet had hitherto received, including a period 
 stretching from Daniel's own time to the resurrection of the dead. (-) It contains 
 a further filling up of the outline of the four great empires already given in the 
 visions of the Great Image and the Four Beasts (chap. ii. and vii.), as well as that 
 of the Third Monarchy and the Little Horn in the vision of the Ram and the He- 
 goat (chap, viii.) The prediction " was given," says Auberlen, " to be a light to 
 the people of Israel in one of the darkest periods of their chequered history, and, 
 indeed, in the darkest centuries of their abandonment by God — centuries that have 
 not yet run their course." The angelic communication commences with a glance 
 at the kings of Persia, who were yet to arise, and at the founder of the Third or 
 Grecian Empire who was to succeed them. The angel then passes to the contend- 
 ings that took place between the kings of two of the divisions of Alexander's 
 partitioned empire, Syria and Egypt, in order to introduce the power who had 
 already formed a sadly conspicuous object in the visions of Daniel, as the great 
 antagonist and persecutor of the Jews and of the religion of Jehovah, Antiochus 
 Epiphanes, one of the kings of Syria. These Syrian kings are spoken of in the 
 vision as the kings of the North, as distinguished from the kings of Egypt or of 
 the South, to whom, after Alexander's death, the Jews were subject. From 
 Antiochus the vision appeal s to pass to others of whom he appears as the type. 
 
 I. The Persians and Alexander the Great (vers. 2-4). Cyrus, the founder of 
 the Second or Persian Empire, was now, as is stated in the previous chapter (chap. 
 
 229 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL, 
 
 X. 1), in the third year of his reign, after succeeding his uncle, Darius the Mede, 
 otherwise called Cyaxares II., who on the fall of Babylon had "taken" or 
 received the kingdom, which he ruled for two years. To this second empire the 
 Jews were in subjection, as they had been to the first or Babylonian, Judea being 
 still only a tributary province. It was through the favour of its monarchs that 
 the Jews were for two centuries to enjoy peace and prosperity in their o\n\ land 
 and elsewhere. At the head of this empire there were yet to be three kings, who 
 should be followed by a fourth, far richer than any of his predecessors (ver. 2). 
 These three kings are known in history as Cambyses, a son of Cyrus ; Smerdis, 
 who pretended to be another son ; and Darius Hystaspis. The fourth is the well- 
 known Xerxes,C^) thought to be the same with Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther, 
 whose riches were proverbial, and in whose reign the empire reached its highest 
 magnificence. " By his strength, through his riches," he was to " stir up all against 
 the° realm of Grecia." He is known as the king who, in his war with Greece, 
 covered the shores of the Hellespont with his immense host. The disasters that 
 attended his expedition, and the entire overthrow of the empire under one of his 
 successors, Darius Codomannus, are well known in history. 
 
 After mentioning Xerxes, the angel passes to the power by which the Persian 
 empire was to be overthrown : "A mighty king shall stand up, which shall rule 
 with great dominion, and shall do according to his will " (ver. 3). Alexander the 
 Great, thus referred to, with his rapid and extensive conquests, has been already 
 before us in former visions as the founder of the Third or Grecian Empire. When 
 in the height of his prosperity, however, he was to be cut off and his kingdom to 
 be "broken, and divided toward the four winds of heaven," his successors being 
 none of his own posterity (ver. 4). This also we have seen fulfilled in the untimely 
 and unexpected death of Alexander, and in the division of his empire, not between 
 his two sons, Alexander and Hercules, who were both murdered soon after their 
 father's death, but among his four generals, Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and 
 Seleucus. See further under chap. vii. 6, and viii. 5-8, 21, _22_. Although the 
 condition of the Jews was considerably affected by Alexander, it is more as a link 
 in the historical chain that he is here introduced. 
 
 II. The kings of Syria and Egypt, or of the North and South (vers. 5-20). 
 These, the most powerful of Alexander's successors, are made, with their mutual 
 contendings, to occupy a considerable part of the prophecy, from the circumstance 
 that Judea lay between them, and was often the bone of contention to the rival 
 parties. " The Jews," says Luther, " placed thus between the door and the hinges, 
 were sorely tormented on both sides. Now they fell a prey to Egypt, and anon 
 to Syria, as the one kingdom or the other got the better ; and they had to pay 
 dearly for their neiglibourhood, as is wont to be in time of war." 
 
 The prophecy regarding these kings commences with the statement that the 
 king of the South or of Egypt should " be strong, and one of his princes," that is, 
 of the princes of Alexander, namely, the king of Syria, who should " be strong 
 above him, and have dominion," which should be " a great dominion " (ver 5). (■*) 
 This we find verified in the kings of Egypt and Syria, or, as they are sometimes 
 called, the Lagida3 and the Seleucida3, from the names of their respective founders, 
 Ptolemy Lagus, and Scleucus ; the latter becoming the sovereign of not less than 
 three fourtlis of all the Asiatic dominions conquered by Alexander the Great. It 
 was under Pt..lomy Philadelphus, the second of the kings of Egypt, that, in con- 
 sequence of the number of Jews residing in that country (^) and speaking Greek, 
 tlie Greek or Septuagint version of the Old Testament was made, about the year 
 273 B.C. Of these kings, the angel says, "in the end of years," or after several 
 years, " they shall join themselves together," in friendly alliance ; " for the king's 
 daughter of the South shall come to the king of the North to make an agreement;" 
 an alliance, however, which was to effect nothing ; the angel adding, " but she shall 
 not retain the power of the arm," or be able to render any permanent help to her 
 230 
 
tlOMILBTIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 father in relation to Syria. " Neither shall he stand, nor his arm ; but she shall be 
 given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her {marg., 'he -whom she 
 brought forth '), and he (or they) that strengthened her in these times " (ver. 6). 
 Jerome, from various ancient authors, gives the following account in verification 
 of the prophecy : — After many years, Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, wish- 
 ing to bring this troublesome contention to an end, gave his daughter Berenice in 
 :narriage to Antiochus, king of Syria (surnamed Theos or the god) ; Antiochus 
 having two sons, Callinicus and Antiochus, by Laodicea, his first wife, who was 
 still living, Philadelphus himself took his daughter to Pelusium, carrying with 
 him as her dowry many thousands of gold and silver, whence he obtained the 
 name of the Dowry-bearer. But Antiochus, though at first professing to take Berenice 
 for his consort in the kingdom, and to retain Laodicea as his concubine, after a 
 length of time was overcome by the love of his first wife, and took Laodicea and 
 her children back to the palace. Laodicea, fearing that Berenice would win back 
 the heart of her fickle husband, employed her servants to take away his life by 
 poison, and then delivered up Berenice and the child she had borne to Antiochus 
 to two princes of Antioch to be murdered, while she made Callinicus, her eldest 
 son, king in the room of his father. The angel foretells the sequel of this tragedy. 
 " But out of a branch of her roots," sprung from the same parents, " shall one 
 stand up in his estate (or stead), which shall come with an army, and shall enter 
 into the fortress (or strong city) of the king of the North, and shall deal against 
 them, and shall prevail : and shall also carry captives into Euypt their gods, with 
 their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and gold ; and he shall con- 
 tinue more years than the king of the North. So the king of the South shall come 
 into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land " (vers. 7-9). Jerome 
 relates : After the murder of Berenice and the death of her father Ptolemy Phila- 
 delphus, her own brother, Ptolemy Euergetes, came with a great army and entered 
 into the provinces of Callinicus, then reigning in Syria with his mother Laodicea ; 
 and after revenging himself upon them, took possession of Syria, Cilicia, the parts 
 beyond the Euphrates, and almost all Asia. Afterwards, on receiving intelligence 
 from Egypt that a sedition had arisen, he seized on the kingdom of Callinicus, took 
 forty thousand talents of silver, precious vessels, and images of gods to the number of 
 two thousand and five hundred, including those which Cambyses had carried out of 
 Egypt into Persia. In reference to the clause, " he shall continue more years 
 than the king of the North," it has been remarked that the average length of a 
 reign in Egypt was about twenty-seven years and four months, while that in Syria 
 was just one-half; and that "the atrocious cruelty of the Syrians, and especially 
 their oppression of the Jews, is enough to account for the shortness of their lives, 
 to any one who takes into consideration the retributive providence of God, who 
 scourges unjust kings by tiieir discontented subjects." 
 
 The angel proceeds. " But his sons (those of the king of Syria) shall be stirred 
 up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces ; and one shall certainly come, 
 and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to 
 his fortress. And the king of the South shall be moved to choler, and shall come 
 forth, and fight with him, even with the king of the North, and he shall set forth a 
 great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his hand. And when he 
 shall take away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up ; and he shall cast down 
 many ten thousands ; but he shall not be strengthened by it. For the king of the 
 North shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and 
 shall certainly come after many years with a great army and with much riches" 
 (vers. 10-13). The following are the facts of history that verify this part of the 
 prophecy : — The two sons of Callinicus, namely, Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus, 
 surnamed the Great, stirred themselves up to recover their father's dominions. 
 The former, though surnamed the Thunderer, was equally weak in body and mind, 
 and after a reign of three years was poisoned by his generals, having done little 
 
nOMILETlC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 more than assemble a large force, wliicli, for want of money, lie was unable to 
 keep together. After his deatli, his brother Antiochus came with a great army, 
 retook Seleucia, his fortress, and recovered Syria ; and after a time he returned, 
 overcame the Egyptian general, and had thoughts of invading Egypt itself. 
 Ptolemy Pbilopator, having succeeded his father Euergetes, whom he had 
 murdered, enraged at his losses, roused himself from his sensual indulgences, and 
 marched with a numerous army as far as Eaphia, between Rhinocolura and Gaza, 
 where he met Antiochus with a still more powerful host. The latter was defeated, 
 and his numerous armament given into Ptolemy's hand, ten thousand of his troops 
 having been slain, and four thousand made prisoners. The weak heart of Ptolemy 
 was lifted up by his success, and on making a visit to Jerusalem, among other 
 cities which sent their ambassadors to do him homage, he demanded to be allowed 
 to enter the interior of the temple. When Simon the high priest remonstrated, 
 alleging that not even ordinary priests were admitted into the inner sanctuary, the 
 king haughtily answered that although they were forbidden, he ought not to be so, 
 and then pressed forward. The Jewish historian relates that in passing through 
 the inner court for that purpose, he was seized with a panic and fell speechless 
 to the ground. He was carried out half dead; and soon after his recovery he 
 departed, full of anger against the Jewish people. The result was that on return- 
 ing to Alexandria, he commenced a bitter persecution of the numerous Jews 
 residing there, so that "many ten thousands were cast down" by it; only three 
 hundred retaining their civil rights at the expense of their religion, while, accord- 
 ing to Eusebius, forty thousand, or, according to Jerome, half as many more, 
 jireferred death rather tlian obey the royal decree that commanded them to wor- 
 ship idols. Ptolemy, giving himself up to his pleasures instead of pursuing his 
 victory over Antiochus, Avas " not strengthened by it." He died about a dozen 
 years after, and Antiochus, raising an incredibly large army among the upper 
 provinces of Babylonia and Media, came down upon his son, Ptolemy Epiphanes, 
 an infant four years old. 
 
 The prophecy continues: "And in those times there shall many stand up 
 against the king of the South : also the robbers of thy people, (^) or " breakers," 
 that is, of the divine law, shall exalt themselves to establish the vision ; but they 
 shall fall. So the king of the North shall come, and cast up a mount, and take 
 tlie most fenced cities ; and the arms of the South shall not withstand, neither 
 bis chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. But he that 
 Cometh against him shall do according to his own Avill, and none shall stand before 
 him; and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be con- 
 sumed " (vers. Ii-1G.)("'') History relates that Philip of Macedon entered into a 
 loague witli Antiochus to divide Ptolemy's dominions between them, each taking 
 the part that lay nearest to him ; in consequence of which, as Judea lay nearest 
 to Antiochus, that country was seized by him and the generals of Ptolemy by 
 turns. The Jews themselves were divided into factions, part favouring the cause 
 of Ptolemy, to whom they were already under allegiance, while others gave their 
 aid to Antiochus, by which they only prepared the way for the fulfilment of the 
 l)rophecy regarding the sufferings which the Jews were to endure under one of 
 his successors. The help, however, which was rendered to Antiochus by the 
 Syrian faction at Jerusalem, was of little avail. Scopas, the Egyptian general, 
 recovered Phenicia and Cccle-Syria ; and after subduing the Jews, placed a garrison 
 in Jerusalem. This, however, only continued for a time. Antiochus, coming to 
 Judea, encountered Scopas at the sources of the Jordan, destroyed a great part of 
 ]iis army, and pursued liiui to Sidon, where he shut him up, Avith ten thousand of 
 liis men, till famine obliged him to surrender. Antiochus soon retook Phenicia, 
 Ccele-Syria, and Palestine, nothing being able to withstand his victorious arms. 
 He stood " in the glorious land." The party that revolted from Ptolemy cordially 
 received him into Jerusalem, and even assisted him in besieging the garrison 
 232 
 
no M I LET W COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 which Scojxas had left in the citadel, so that his power was established in Judca. 
 The laud, however, was wasted by his troops, as well as in other ways. 
 
 The angel proceeds : " He shall also set his face to enter with (or against) the 
 strength of his whole kingdom (or, ' to enter by force into the whole kingdom,' 
 i.e., of Egypt), and upright ones (or, according to the margin, 'equal conditions,' 
 — an agreement by a marriage alliance) with him : thns shall he do : and he shall 
 give him the daughter of women, corrupting her ; but she shall not stand on his 
 fcide, neither be for him. And after this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and 
 shall take many : but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by 
 him to cease ; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him. Then 
 he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land : but he shall stumble, and 
 fall, and not be found" (vers. 17-19). History gives the fulfilment. Aiitiochus, 
 having been so far successful against Egypt, formed schemes to seize upon the 
 whole kingdom. His aim was to accomplish this by means of a marriage alliance, 
 giving Ptolemy his beautifid daugliter Cleopatra in marriage, thinking, through her 
 affection for himself, to obtain the kingdom of her husband. In this, however, he 
 was disappointed. The marriage took place, but Cleopatra was too true a wife 
 for his ambitious schemes, and sided with her husband against her father. An- 
 tiochus then, collecting a large fleet, turned his face " to the isles " of the Mediter- 
 ranean, including the Greek cities of the coast, many of which he took. As these, 
 however, were in alliance with the Ptomans, the latter, under the consul Acilius, 
 uniting with their allies, after gaining re2:>eated victories over Antiochus, compelled 
 him to return with his army into Asia. After his defeat at Magnesia, he fled to 
 Sardis, and the next day reached Antioch, "the fort of his own land." Two years 
 after he was slain by the Persians while plundering the temple of Jupiter Belus at 
 Elymais, or, according to another account, by his companions while carousing at a 
 banquet. 
 
 The prophecy regarding the kings of the North and the South, introductory to 
 the main one relating to Antiochus Epiphanes, closes with the brief notice of 
 Seleucus Philopator. " There shall stand up in his estate (or stead) a raiser of 
 taxes {Marg., 'one that causeth an exactor to pass over '),(") in the glory of the 
 kingdom ; but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in 
 battle" (ver, 20). This " raiser of taxes" was Seleucus Philopator, who succeeded 
 his father Antiochus the Great, and did nothing memorable in his twelve years' 
 reign. Of a sluggish disposition, he was intent on nothing but raising money to 
 pay the tax levied upon him by the Romans. He was murdered by his treasurer 
 or chief collector, Heliodurus, whom he had sent to plunder the Temple at Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 From this part of the prophecy we may note — 
 
 1. The foreknoivlejge ami providence of Go J. The Apostle only declared what 
 reason itself may teach us, when he said, "Known unto God are all His works 
 from the beginidng of the world." The architect knows beforehand what he will 
 do in the erection of the building when he prepares the plan. The weaver knows 
 beforehand what he will do with his web when he has fixed upon the pattern. 
 God's works embrace those of providence as well as of creation. " My Father 
 worketh hitherto," said Jesus, " and I work." His almighty power and boundless 
 wisdom are continually occupied in relation to all that His creating hand has 
 produced, upholding and governing all His creatures and all their actions, so that 
 without Him not even a sparrow falls to the ground. " In Him we live and 
 move," as well as " have our being." Tlie details predicted in this section, now 
 matters of history, were all included within the divine foreknowledge and Provi- 
 dence, like every other event that takes place. Being foreknown by God, it was 
 easy to communicate the knowledge of them beforehand, as far as divine wisdom 
 saw meet. It is our comfort to know that " the Lord reigneth ;'' and that not only 
 matters connected with rulers and empires, but all events, whether great or small, 
 
 233 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 are not only known by God beforehand, but are ordered and controlled in His all- 
 Avise providence, so that the ends He designs shall be accomplished ; making even 
 the wrath of man to praise Him, while the remainder of that wrath He restrains ; 
 and causing all things to " work together for good to them that love God, and 
 who are called according to His purpose " (Ps. Ixxvi. 10 ; Rom. viii. 28). This 
 gracious purpose continually kept in view in all His doings. The thing that is 
 determined shall be done (ver. 3G). 
 
 2. The character and condition of human nature apart from divine grace. The 
 section valuable as confirming the view given of the kingdoms of the world in 
 Daniel's vision of the Four Beasts, of which the third is here partially exhibited. 
 It affords an epitome of secular history extending over three centuries, and a 
 specimen of that history in all ages of the world. It is especially valuable 
 inasmuch as the period brought before us in the section is that in which Greek 
 culture had reached its highest perfection. It exhibits sin and misery as the 
 characteristics of fallen humanity with all the advantages that worldly art and 
 science could afford it. It shows the works of the flesh, or of man's fallen nature 
 unrenewed by divine grace, to be what the Bible represents them, — " enmities, 
 strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions ; unrighteousness, covetousness, envy, 
 murder, deceit, malignity (Gal. iv. 20 ; Rom. i. 2l>). Fifty thousand unoffending 
 Jews cruelly massacred by a Ptolemy in and around his own metropolis, because 
 he was refused a profane entrance into the Holy of Holies at Jerusalem ! God's 
 long-suffering patience and fatherly pity exercised on such a world. The world 
 was shown to need a Saviour, and a Saviour was provided. Into such a world 
 Christ came. " God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that 
 whosoever believeth on Him might not perish but have everlasting life." The 
 view here given of the kingdoms of the world, such as to awaken the longing for 
 the setting up and universal extension of the promised kingdom, which is " righteous- 
 ness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— (i) ''In Horn or Wilful King, in the 'three 
 
 the latter days" {ch^^. -Si. l'^). Dr. Cox times and a half of his permitted 
 
 remarks that, by this expression in the power, with the warfare of the Saracens 
 
 preceding chapter, " our views are natu- and Turks, and their dominion in the 
 
 rally conducted through the perspective East. A further extension of the pre- 
 
 of revolving ages ; all the events of dieted times is at length revealed. In 
 
 which, till the great consummation, this latest portion of the prophetic 
 
 must be contemplated with reference c;ilendar, the Wilful King enters on the 
 
 to the Jewish nation or Daniel's people, last form of his apostate power; and 
 
 whose affairs form the centre of the assuming to himself the features of per- 
 
 chicf transactions of this lower world." sonal malignity and an open rejection 
 
 (-)" Of all the predictions contained in of Christ, which belong to Antiochus, 
 the holy Scriptures," observes Auberlen, his type and predecessor, and the king 
 " this is doubtless the most special and of the North, his temporary rival, 
 minute. ... Its special minuteness, gathers at length under his banner all 
 however, is by no means of such a kind tlie apostate nations ; and in the height 
 as to lift the veil which, in the wise of his power and pride is broken and 
 counsels of the Almighty, has been overtiirown by the hand of God in the 
 drawn across tlie futnre, nor of such a mountains of Israel.'' Keil observes : 
 kind as to unfold the future to the gaze " It is true that the Church interpreta- 
 of a i)r()fane curiosity." Mr. Birks gives tion, given by Jerome, is so far valid, 
 the following summary of it: — "This in tliat it interprets the prophecy par- 
 enlarged prophecy of the ' Scripture of tially considered under the point of 
 Truth ' resumes the message of the view of the very special predictions of 
 earlier visions, and unfolds more clearly historical persons and events, and from 
 the idol-worship set up by the Little this view concludes that vers. 21-35 
 234 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 treat of Antiocljus Epiphanes^ and vers, 
 36—15 of Antichrist ; according to which 
 there would be in ver. 3G an immediate 
 passing from Antiochus to the Anti- 
 christ, or, in chap. xii. 1, a sudden 
 transition fi'om the death of Antiochus 
 to the time of the end and the resur- 
 rection of the dead. But the prophecy 
 does not at all correspond to this repre- 
 sentation. The angel of the Lord will 
 reveal to Daniel, not what shall happen 
 from the third year of Cyrus to the time 
 of Antiochus, and further to the resur- 
 rection of the dead ; but, according to 
 the express declaration of chap. x. 14, 
 what shall happen to his people, n^"}nx3 
 ^''PJl', (beakharith haiyamivi), " in the 
 end of the days," i.e., in the Messianic 
 future, because the prophecy relates to 
 His time. In the D'»jn nnqs* {akharith 
 haiyamim), the latter days or end of 
 the days, there takes place the de- 
 struction of the world-powers, and the 
 setting up of the Messianic kingdom at 
 the end of the present world-seon. All 
 that the angel says respecting the Per- 
 sian and the Javanic (or Grecian) world- 
 kingdoms, and the wars of the kings of 
 the North and the South, has its aim to 
 the end-time, and serves only briefly to 
 indicate the chief elements of the de- 
 velopment of the world-kingdoms, till 
 the time that brings on the end shall 
 burst forth ; and to show how, after 
 the overthrow of the Javanic world- 
 kingdom, neither the kings of the 
 North nor those of the South shall gain 
 the possession of the dominion of the 
 world. Neither by the violence of war, 
 nor by the covenants which they will 
 ratify by political marriages, shall they 
 succeed in establishing a lasting power. 
 They shall not prosper, because (chap, 
 xi. 27) the end goes yet "to the time 
 appointed " by God. A new attempt of 
 the king of the North to subjugate the 
 kingdom of the South will be defeated 
 by the intervention of the " ships of 
 Chittim ;" and the anger awakened in 
 him by this frustration of his plans 
 shall break forth against the holy cove- 
 nant, only for the purifying of the 
 people of God for the time of the end, 
 because the end goes yet to the ap- 
 pointed time (ver. 35). At the time of 
 
 the end, his power will greatly increase, 
 because that which was detennined by 
 God shall prosper till the end of the 
 indignation (ver. 3G) ; but in the time 
 of the end he shall suddenly fall from the 
 summit of his power, and come to his 
 end (ver. 45) ; but the people of God 
 shall be saved, and the wise shall shine 
 in heavenly glory (chap xii. 1-3)." 
 
 (^) " The fourth." The Xerxes of 
 the Book of Esther, according to Keil, 
 Hiivernick, Ebrard, Delitzsch, Auberlen, 
 and Kliefoth. On the contrary, Hitzig 
 and some others would make the fourth 
 king to be the third, to justify their 
 interpretation of the four wings and 
 four heads of the leopard (chap. vii. G) 
 of the first four kings of the Persian 
 monarchy. 
 
 (■^) " Shall he strong, and one of his 
 princes " (ver. 5). C. B. Michaelis, 
 Ptosenmiiller, and others understand his 
 princes as those of the "mighty king" 
 (ver. 3), or Alexander ; while Keil refers 
 the pronoun to the king of the South, 
 the prince being the king of the North. 
 Bishop Newton, who observes that the 
 Hebrew text appears here a little con- 
 fused, and perhaps defective, thinks that 
 possibly the words \\^^\^ "V.]^ {meleclh 
 hattsaphon), " king of the North," may 
 have fallen out. The rendering of the 
 Septuagiut is clearer :/' And one of these 
 princes shall be stronger than he." It 
 is here where Mr. Bosanquet thinks the 
 marginal comment began, which ulti- 
 mately became incorporated with the 
 text. He thinks the prophet gives no 
 particulars concerning the four succes- 
 sors of Alexander, but proceeds at once 
 to the object of the vision, the king of 
 the latter days, according to chap. x. 
 14, after amplifying in vers. 2-4 what 
 is said in chap. viii. 20-22 concerning 
 the kingdoms of Persia and Greece, and 
 thus leading back the mind of the reader 
 to the words of chap. vii. 17, "at the 
 time of the end shall be the vision," i.e., 
 the vision of the king of fierce counte- 
 nance (viii. 23), who shall appear at 
 " the last end of the indignation " (viii. 
 19), and who " shall stand up in the 
 latter time of those kingdoms" which 
 were to be formed on the platform of 
 Alexander's empire in the East, that is, 
 235 
 
nOMILETlC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 in " the latter days." He thinks the 
 interpreter, passing over Ptolemy Soter, 
 Lysimachus, Cassander, and Seleucus 
 Nicator, selects, out of more than twenty, 
 ten kings, beginning with Ptolemy 
 Philadelphus, and ending with Anti- 
 ochus Epiphanes and Philometor, who 
 all lived nearly in his own days, being 
 the ten kings or horns for whose suc- 
 cession the kingdom of Alexander was 
 to be " plucked up," according to ver. 4. 
 In this supposition Mr. B. appears to 
 stand alone. 
 
 ('") " Bobbers of thy 'people'^ (ver. 14). 
 ^?3y ^VIS {vavitse \immecha), according 
 to Dr. Rule, are the separatists who left 
 Judea for Egypt, and there attached 
 themselves to Onias, who built a temple 
 at Heliopolis like that at Jerusalem, 
 and established a kind of rival wor- 
 ship. Sir Isaac Newton considers them 
 to be the Samaritans and such like. 
 The Septuagint has " pestilent ones ; " 
 the Vulgate, " prevaricators." Bishop 
 Newton renders the term " revolters," 
 tlie factious and refractory ones, the 
 majority of the Jews at that time being 
 for breaking away from allegiance to 
 Ptolemy, king of Egypt. Keil under- 
 stands those violent men who break 
 through the barriers of the divine law 
 (Ezdv-; xviii. 10). 
 
 CO "Shall he consumed" (ver. 16). 
 (173 {calalL) may also denote, " shall be 
 ]>erfected," prosper, and flourish. The 
 Septuagint has " shall be finished." 
 Bishop Newton remarks that Antiochus, 
 in order to reward and encourage the 
 
 Jews in their fidelity and obedience to 
 him, gave orders that their city should 
 be repaired, and the temple should be 
 finished and adorned. Keil regards the 
 word not as a verb but a substantive, 
 and reads (as an explanatory clause), 
 " and destruction is in his hand ; " the 
 destruction referring to the Holy Land, 
 in which violent (or rapacious) people 
 (ver. 14) make common cause with the 
 heathen king, and so put arms into his 
 hands to destroy the land. Hiivernick 
 and others, also regarding nPB (calah) 
 as a noun, render the clause, " and it 
 (the land) is wholly given into his hand." 
 (") "A raiser of taxes " (ver. 20). 't-"y"l3 
 {noghes), according to most, a collector 
 of tribute, as in 2 Kings xxiii. 35 ; the 
 person understood being Heliodorus, 
 whom Seleucus Philopator sent to Jeru- 
 salem to seize the temple treasure. Keil 
 prefers " taskmaster ; " and understands 
 the oppressions not only of the Holy 
 Land, but of his kingdom in general. 
 He observes here that, from a compari- 
 son of the prophecy with the history, 
 this much follows, that the prophecy 
 does not furnish a prediction of the 
 historical wars of the Seleucidse and 
 the Ptolemies, but an ideal description 
 of the war of the kings of the North and 
 the South in its general outlines ; where- 
 by, it is true, divers special elements of 
 the prophetical announcement have been 
 historically fulfilled, but the historical 
 reality does not correspond with the 
 contents of tlie prophecy in anything 
 like an exhaustive manner. 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 
 Section XXXIX. — ANTiocifUS EnniANEs; or, The Vile Person. 
 
 (Chaps, xi. 21-35.) 
 
 The next part of the prophecy is occu])ied with a person who has been already 
 the subject of divine revelation as the Little Horn of the Third or Grecian Empire 
 (chap. viii. 9-12, 23-25). Tliis is Antiochus, surnamcd Epiphanes, or the Illus- 
 trious. The present prediction concerning him is a considerable enlargement of the 
 former one. _ The prominence given to this Syrian king arises in the first instance 
 from his being the groat enemy and persecutor of the Jewish people ; and secondly, 
 from his being made the type of another persecuting power to arise under the New 
 Testament dispensation, and to continue in one form or other to the time of the 
 end. (1) The prophecy regarding him would seem to make way for and to melt 
 into predictions concerning that other power or powers of which he was to be tiie 
 forerunner and type. We have — 
 23a 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 I. His rise. *' And in his estate (or stead, viz., that of Seleucus Philopator, 
 the ' raiser of taxes,' ver. 20) shall stand up a vile person, (-) to Avhom they shall 
 not give the honour of the kingdom : but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain 
 the kingdom by flatteries" (ver. 21). The vileness of this Antiochus the Illustrious 
 appears, froni what profane historians relate of him, as conducting himself mucli 
 below his dignit}',^ consorting and drinking with people of the lowest raidc, frequent- 
 ing public brothels and places of revelry and dissipation, jesting and dancing 
 with low and frivolous persons, and such like. His vileness such that his reckless 
 conduct earned for him the title of Epimanes the Madman, rather than Epiphanes 
 the Illustrious, even buffoons in the theatre being ashamed of him. The rightful 
 heir to the throne was not Antiochus, but his nephew Demetrius, the son of the hito 
 king, Philopator, who at the death of his father was on his way to Rome as a 
 hostage. The right to the Syrian throne, which had immediately been seized by 
 Heliodorus, the murderer of Philopator, was also disputed by Ptolemy Philometor, 
 king of Egypt, who claimed it as the son of Cleopatra, sister of the late king and 
 daughter of Antiochus the Great. Antiochus did not thus receive the honour of 
 the kingdom as the rightful heir, but coming in " peaceably," softly, and by stealth, 
 or unexpectedly, (3) obtained the kingdom " by flatteries;" first flattering Eumenes, 
 king of Pergamus, and his brother Attains, to gain their assistance ; then the 
 Syrians themselves, by a promise of clemency and less taxation ; and, finally, the 
 llomans, to whom he sent ambassadors to court their favour with a rich present 
 and the payment of the arrears of tribute, desiring them to make the same alliance 
 with him which they had made with his father, Antiochus the Great, and promising 
 constant submission to whatever the senate should require. 
 
 II. His success. " And with the arms of a flood shall they (his opposers) 
 be overflown from before him, and shall be broken ; yea, also the prince of the 
 covenant (the Jewish high priest). And after the league made with him he shall 
 work deceitfully : for (rather ' and ') he shall come up, and shall become strong, 
 with a small people. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places (or, 
 shall enter the quiet and plentiful cities) of the province ; and he shall do that 
 which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers ; he shall scatter among 
 them the prey, and spoil, and riches ; and he shall forecast his devices against the 
 strongholds, even for a time. And he shall stir up his power and his courage 
 against the king of the South with a great army ; and the king of the South shall 
 be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army ; but he shall not stand, 
 for they shall forecast devices against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of 
 his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow, and many shall fall down 
 slain. And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak 
 lies at one table ; but it shall not prosper : for yet the end shall be at the time 
 appointed " (vers. 22-57). The following is the historical verification : — The 
 armies of the opposers of Antiochus were vanquished by the king of Pergamus, 
 while his own presence disconcerted all their measures. Onias III., the Jewish 
 high priest, he removed from his oflice, and appohited his brother Jason in his 
 stead, in return for a large sum of money which he oftered him. This league with 
 Jason, "the prince of the covenant,"(^) he broke, and deposed him in favour of 
 Menelaus, who offered a larger price for the priesthood. (•') Having come from 
 Ptome, where he had been kept as a hostage, with only a few attendants, he soon 
 received a great increase of followers, and entered the quiet and plentiful cities of 
 Judea, now a province of Syria, as it had previously been of Persia, and then of 
 Egypt. His lavish bestowment of gifts from the spoils he took is referred to in 
 the first book of the Maccabees, where he fears he should no longer have such gifts 
 to bestow as he had done before, " for he had abounded above the kings that were 
 before him " (1 Mace. iii. 30). His object in this liberality was to secure the 
 possession of the provinces of Judea, Phenicia, and Coele-Syria, which were claimed 
 by the king of Egypt. For the same object he put Joppa and the frontier towns 
 
 237 
 
nOMILETlC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 in a state of defence, "forecasting devices against (or concerning) the strongholds" (or, 
 as tlie Septuagint reads it, against Egypt). A few years after he marched against 
 Egypt with a hirge army ; and although Ptolemy's generals made great preparations 
 to resist him, tliey were unable to defeat his " fraudulent counsels," The author 
 of the second book of Maccabees says, " When tlie kingdom was established before 
 Antiochus, he thought to reign over Egypt, that he miglit have dominion over two 
 realms. Wherefore he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots, 
 and elephants, and horsemen, and a great army ; and made war against Ptolemy, 
 king of Egypt ; but Ptolemy Avas afraid of him and fled ; and many were wounded 
 to death. Thus they got the strong cities in the land of Egypt ; and he took the 
 spoils thereof." Porphyry, an apostate Jew, who, after he became a heathen, wrote 
 a book on Daniel in tlie latter part of the third century, says that the battle was 
 fought between Pelusium and Mount Casius. Some of Ptolemy's servants at the 
 same time proved unfaithful to him, while the Alexandrians revolted and made 
 his brother Euergetes, or Physcon, king in his stead. Partly, it is thought, by his 
 humajiity after the victory, he gained not only Pelusium but all Egypt; after which he 
 entered into an outward friendship with the young king, Philometor, and took upon 
 him to order the affairs of the kingdom ; Antiochus pretending, as Jerome says, 
 " to consult for his nephew's interest and to recover him the crown, although only 
 plotting his ruin ; while Ptolemy on his part was resolving to take the first oppor- 
 tunity of breaking the league and seeking a reconciliation with his brother. Bishop 
 Newton thinks the mischief they plotted was against the Jews ; but which did 
 not take efiect, as the time appointed by God was not yet." 
 
 III. His persecutions. " Then shall he return into his own land with great 
 riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant ;(") and he shall do exploits, 
 and return to his own land. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward 
 the )South ; but it shall not be as the former nor as the latter (or, * as the former 
 so the latter,' — the latter shall not be as the former). For the ships of Chittim (^) 
 shall come against him ; therefore he shall be grieved and return, and have indig- 
 nation against the holy covenant. And arms (") shall stand on his part, and they 
 .shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and 
 they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. And such as do wickedly 
 against the covenant shall be corrupt by flatteries : but the people that do know 
 their God shall be strong and do exploits. And they that understand among the 
 I)eop]e shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by 
 captivity, and by spoil, many days " (vers. 28-33). History relates that after his 
 success in Egypt, Antiochus returned to Syria ; but in doing so, as he had heard 
 while in Egyi)t that the Jews, from a false report of his death, had revolted, he 
 resolved in his indignation to go up to Jerusalem and chastise his fickle subjects 
 there. He there si)oiled the temple of its treasures to the value of eighteen 
 hundred talents, and massacred forty thousand of the people, while he sold as 
 many for slaves. " After that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned again, 
 . . . and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude ; and 
 entered proudly into the sanctuary, and took away tiie golden altar, etc. And 
 when he liad taken all away, he went unto his own land, having made a great 
 massacre, and spoken very proudly. Therefore there was great mourning in Israel, 
 in every place where they were" (1 Mace. i. 20, &c.) The second book relates: 
 " Now wlien this that was done came to the king's ear, he thought that Judea had 
 revolted : whereupon removing out of Egypt with a furious mind, he took the city 
 by force of arms, and commanded liis men of war not to spare such as they met, 
 and to slay such as went \\\^ upon the houses. Then there was killing of ycmiig 
 and old, making away of men, women, and children, slaying of virgins and infants. 
 And there were destroyed within the sjjace of three whole days, fourscore thousand, 
 whereof forty thousand were slain in the conflict, and no fewer sold than slain. Yet 
 was he not content with this, but presumed to go into the most holy temple of all 
 238 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 the world " (2 Mace. v. 11-21). Two years after this, having heard that the two 
 brothers, Philometor and Euergetes, or Physcon, had become reconciled and come 
 to an amicable arrangement about the kingdom, Antiochus returned to Egypt, 
 marching through Coele-Syria, while he despatched a fleet to Cyprus. He°had' 
 however, only got within four miles of Alexandria when he was met by Iloman 
 legates, headed by Popilius, who showed him tlieir written tablets, and demanded 
 that he should immediately quit Egypt. He was thus very reluctantly obliged 
 at once to return to Syria. His hatred against the Jews and their religion 
 now broke forth afresh ' with greater violence. " After two years had fally 
 expired, the king sent his chief collector of tribute into the cities of Judea, 
 who came into Jerusalem with a great multitude. . . . Then builded they 
 the city of David with a great and strong wall and with mighty towers, 
 and made it a stronghold for them ; and they put therein a sinful nation, 
 wicked men, and fortified themselves therein. Thus they shed innocent blood 
 on every side of the sanctuary, and defiled it. . . . Moreover, King Antiochus 
 wrote to the whole kingdom that all should be one people, and every one 
 should have his laws. So all the heathen agreed, according to the command- 
 ment of the king. Yea, many also of the Israelites consented to his religion, and 
 sacrificed unto idols, and profaned the Sabbath. For the king had sent letters 
 by messengers unto Jerusalem and the cities of Judea, that they should follow the 
 strange laws of the land, and forbid burnt-olFerings, and sacrifices, and drink- 
 offerings in the temple ; and that they should profane the Sabbaths and festival 
 days, and pollute the sanctuary and holy people ; set up altars, and groves, and 
 chapels of idols ; and sacrifice swines' flesh and unclean beasts ; that they should 
 also leave their children uncircuincised, and make their souls abominable with all 
 manner of uncleanness and abomination ; to the end they might forget the law 
 and change all the ordinances. And whoever would not do according to the 
 commandment of the king, he said, he should die. In the selfsame manner wrote 
 he to his whole kingdom, and appointed overseers over all the people, commanding 
 the cities of Judea to sacrifice, city by city. Then man)'- of the people were 
 gathered unto them, to wit, every one that forsook the law ; and so they committed 
 evil in the land. . . . They set up the aboniination of desolation upon the altar, 
 and builded idol-altars throughout the cities of Judea on every side. . . . And 
 when they had rent in pieces the books of the law which they found, they 
 burned them with fire. And wheresoever any was found with the book of the 
 Testament, or if any consented to the law, the king's commandment was that they 
 should put him to death. Thus did they, by their authority, unto the Israelites 
 every month, to as many as were found in the cities. Now the five and twentieth 
 day of the month they did sacrifice upon the idol-altar which was upon the altar 
 of God" (1 Mace, i. 29-59). There were those however who "knew their God," 
 and, strengthened by His grace, "did exploits." Through faith, they "out of 
 weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of 
 the aliens " (Heb. xi. 34). " Howbeit," says the historian, " many in Israel were 
 fully resolved and confirmed in themselves not to eat any unclean thing. Where- 
 fore they chose rather to die, that they might not be defiled with meats, and that 
 they might not profane the holy covenant." Such was the aged scribe Eleazar, 
 and the mother with her seven sons, who, after refusing to eat swine's flesh, were 
 first " tormented with scourges and whips," and then cruelly put to death. " It is 
 good," said the fourth of the seven sons, when mangled and ready to die, " being 
 put to death by men, to look for hope from God to be raised up again by Him." 
 Such also were the noble IMattathias and his five sons, the Maccabees, and those 
 who followed him to the mountains. " Whosoever is zealous of the law," said he, 
 " and maintaineth the covenant, let him follow me. So he and his sons fled into 
 the mountains, and left whatever they had in the city. Then many that sought 
 after justice and judgment, went down into the wilderness to dwell there, both they, 
 
 239 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 and tlieir cluldren, and their -wives, and tlieir cattle ; because affliction increased 
 sore upon tlaeni" (1 Mace. i. 27-38). There they "lay hid in the caves and 
 secret places of the wilderness ; " a thousand of them being on one occasion 
 discovered and put to death. The second book of Maccabees relates that 
 Nicanor, one of the great officers of Antiochus, " undertook to make so much 
 more money by the captive Jews as should defray the tribute of two thousand 
 talents which the king was to pay to the Ptomans. AVherefore immediately he 
 sent to the cities upon the sea-coast, proclaiming a sale of the caiitive Jews, and 
 promising that they should have fourscore and ten bodies for one talent " (2 Mace, 
 iii. 10, 11). 
 
 The angel adds : " Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little 
 help;(^) but many shall cleave to them with flatteries: and some of them of 
 understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even 
 to the time of the end : (^) because it is yet for a time appointed " (vers. 34, 35). 
 In the persecutions of Antiochus, the faithful Jews were "holpen with a little 
 help " by the noble efforts made by Mattathias and his five sons. On their side, 
 however, were found those who only clave to them while fortune seemed to smile 
 upon their cause, and who only weakened their ranks. The result however was, 
 like, all the troubles of the faithful, their own purification ; and it had its appointed 
 end. After a continuance of somewhere about three years and six montlis, their 
 sufferings terminated with the decisive victories which God gave to their arms, 
 and soon after with the death of their great persecutor, Antiochus himself. His 
 end is not here predicted unless it should be in the last verse of the chapter, where 
 it is said, " He shall come to his end and none shall help him ; " which, as it seems 
 to be spoken in relation to another hostile power of which Antiochus was the type 
 and forerunner, may be intended to predict at the same time the destruction of all 
 the world-powers that have set themselves in opposition to God's covenant people, 
 whether in Old or New Testament times. According to chap. viii. 2.), Antiochus 
 was to be " broken without hand ; " and the commentary on the passage shows 
 how remarkably this was fulfilled. 
 
 The section suggestive of the following reflections : — 
 
 1. The i^rophecrj regarding Antiochus, together tviih its exact fulfilment, may serve 
 as a confirmation of our faith in God's constant siiperintendence of the luorld, and His 
 watchful care over the interests of His Church and 2^cople. Everything pertaining 
 to this furious adversary of His people and cause, all the steps that conducted to 
 his elevation, as well as his bitter hostility and cruel proceedings after he reached 
 it, were foreseen and foretold centuries before his appearance. Like Pharaoh, he 
 was raised up for an important purpose in the all-wise providence of God ; and 
 that purpose being served, he is brought to his predicted end. 
 
 2. God''s Church and x>eopl6 never long loithout suffering. Aftlictions, in one 
 shape or other, their appointed lot in this world. " In the world ye shall have 
 tribulation." " Through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom." So long 
 as the world lies in wickedness (or " in the wicked one "), so long they are in an 
 enemy's country, where hostility seldom sleeps, and where they must either con- 
 form and sin, or say No and suffer. It was against the holy covenant that 
 Antiochus was filled with such enmity ; and that covenant still exists wherever 
 God has His people, to whom it is all their salvation and all their desire, while it 
 must still provoke the enmity of the world who are without God. Besides, so 
 long as God's people are in the world, so long they will require chastening, and 
 all the more likely after seasons of quiet and prosperity. 
 
 3. Grace is able to sustain the people of God under the severest trial and hottest 
 persecution. Tlie furnace may be lieated seven times more than usual, but One is 
 with them who lias all power in heaven and in earth, and who is able to make His 
 grace sufiicient for them, so that they shall even glory in tribulation and be made 
 more th;m conquerors in all their persecutions. The lamp which God has kindled 
 
 240 
 
nOMlLETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 is constantly guarded and fed, so that no wind of persecution can extinguish it. 
 Many professors may fall in times of trial, but true grace is fast colours. Believers 
 are "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." " As thy days, so 
 shall thy strength be." 
 
 4. The godly ultimately delivered out of trouble. The persecution may be hot 
 and the sufferings severe, but they have their appointed end. The trouble is 
 weighed and measured. The Eetiner sits over the gold in the fire. The ten days' 
 or ten years' tribulation comes to an end. The storm may rage and the boat 
 appear in danger of sinking ; but in the fourth watch of the night the Master will 
 appear and say, "Peace, be still;" and there shall be a great calm. Patience is 
 first to have her perfect work ; and in due time " He that shall come, will come 
 and will not tarry." Weeping may endure for a night during the Bridegroom's 
 absence ; joy cometh in the morning, when all tears shall be wiped away. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— (i) Jerome 
 says, at ver. 19 : "Thus fur the order of 
 history is followed, and between Porphyry 
 and our interpreters there is no dispute. 
 The rest that follows, to the end of the 
 book, he (Porphyry) interprets of An- 
 tiochus surnamed Epiphanes. . . . And 
 while much tliat we shall afterwards 
 read and expound agrees with the person 
 of Antioclius, they (the Christian inter- 
 preters) will have him to be the type of 
 Antichrist; and the things which had 
 their first fulfilment in him, they will 
 have to be accomplished in Antichrist, 
 . . . Our people interpret it all of Anti- 
 christ who is to arise in the last time." 
 Chrysostom, however, as Dr. Rule ob- 
 serves, writing a book against the Jews 
 about the same time, in which he gives 
 a brief account of this latter part of 
 Daniel's prophecies, applies the whole 
 exclusively to Antiochus. 
 
 (-) '■'A vile person" (ver. 21). nnj 
 {nibhzeh), "one despised;" that is, says 
 Kcil, such a one as by reason of 
 birth has no just claim to the throne, 
 and therefore appears as an intruder ; 
 also one who finds no recognition : not 
 bad or unworthy, but supposing un- 
 worthiuess. The honour of the kingdom, 
 or that which men give to the king, was 
 denied to the despised one on account 
 of his character. 
 
 C^) ''Peaceably" (ver. 21). rXW| 
 {beshalvah), "in quietness" or security, 
 i.e., shys Keil, unexpectedly. " When 
 they shall say. Peace and safety, then 
 sudden destruction cometh." 
 
 (^) " The prince of the covencmt " (ver. 
 22). nna n^J? {neyhidh herith) Keil 
 considers analogous to n*")! VJ^3 (baale 
 
 herith), " persons in covenant " with 
 another, and, from the absence of the 
 article, to be taken in a general sense, 
 as, according to Kranichfeld, "covenant 
 princes " in general. Calvin understands 
 Ptolemy Philopator, who took the part 
 of his young relative Ptolemy Philometor 
 against Antiochus. According to others, 
 the king of Egypt himself is meant by 
 "the prince of the covenant." 
 
 <P) ''The holy covencmt" (ver. 28). 
 This Dr. Eule understands of the Jewish 
 religion, the term "covenant" being 
 often used in Scripture to denote both 
 the religion of the Israelites and that 
 of the Christians, the former depending 
 on the covenant made with Abraham, 
 the latter on that made with Christ ; 
 Christian faith consisting of trust in 
 Him who fulfilled the conditions of the 
 covenant by dying for our sins. Keil 
 understands the expression, not of the 
 holy people in covenant with God, but 
 the divine institution of the old cove- 
 nant, the Jewish theocracy, of which the 
 Jews were only members ; and approves 
 of Calvin's view that Antiochus carried 
 on war against God, his undertaking 
 being an outrage against the kingdom of 
 God which was established in Israel. 
 
 (<^) "Ships (f Chitlim" (ver. 30). 
 D^FI3 D^'S {tsiyim Chittim), literally 
 " ships, the Chittim." The Septuagint 
 has "the Chittim (or Kitians) going 
 forth." The expression derived from 
 Numbers xxiv. 2-4. Chittim is Cyprus, 
 with its chief city Chittion, now Chieti 
 or Chitti (Gen. x. 4). Ships coming 
 from Cyprus, observes Keil, are ships 
 coming from the west, from the islands 
 and coasts of the Mediterranean. 
 Q 241 
 
IIOMILETW COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 (") ^^ Arms shall stand" (ver, 31). 
 C'VIT (.jero'm), arms (of the body), a 
 liuurative term for exertion, or the 
 means of making it. It is disputed, 
 says Keil, whether these " arms " denote 
 military forces, troops of the hostile 
 king, according to Havernick, or his 
 accomplices of the apostate party of 
 the Jews, like those in ver. 30, as 
 Calvin, Hengstenberg, and others think. 
 Keil himself understands the word to 
 mean "help," warlike forces, as in vers. 
 15, 22. Dr. Cox thinks the term may 
 be rendered miglity forces or poioers, 
 " standing up " being the phrase already 
 employed to denote the rise of the 
 Macedonian and other empires or 
 potentates. He accordingly believes 
 that there appears here a sudden tran- 
 sition to another power, and to other 
 scenes than those which have been 
 previously introduced ; these " arms " 
 or powers referring to the military 
 dominion which spread on the side of 
 Greece, when Paulus yEinilius subdued 
 Macedon, and the remaining states came 
 under the power of Rome; the angel 
 now inforuiiiig Daniel of what should 
 befall the Jews on the dissolution of 
 their state by the Romans. 
 
 (S) '' Ilolpen ivith a little help'' (ver. 
 34). The " little help " naturally under- 
 stood of the victories gained by the 
 Jews under Mattathias and his sons 
 over the armies of Antioclius. This 
 "little help," says Keil, consists in this, 
 that by the rising up and the wars (jf 
 those that had understanding among 
 the people the theocracy w\as preserved, 
 the destruction of the service of Jehovah 
 and of the Church of God, which was 
 aimed at by the hostile king, was 
 prevented, and the purifying of the 
 people of God, the design intended, is 
 brought about ; the attaining of this 
 end being only a "little help" in 
 comparison with the complete victory 
 over the arch enemy in the time of the 
 end. 
 
 (9) ''The time of the end" (ver. 35). 
 Keil understands by the "time of the 
 end," which in chap. xii. 4 is the time 
 of the resurrection of the dead, the end 
 of the present course of the world, with 
 which all the opposition against the 
 peojile of God ceases, and which comes 
 out "at the appointed time," viz., that 
 which God has determined for the 
 purifying of His people. 
 
 Sect. XL.— The Romans. (Chap. xi. 31-35.) 
 
 In these verses, ic is believed by many, a transition is made by the angel from 
 Antiochus to that power which was to succeed the Grecian as the fourth great 
 empire of the world, and which we know is brought upon the stage in ver. 30, as 
 " tiie ships of Chittim." Verse 31 may be the place referred to by the Saviour in 
 connection with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, which would be 
 decisive as to the application of the passage. But it might also be chap. ix. 27, as 
 read in the Greek version. The section before us may indeed still have its primary 
 reference to Antiochus, while it may also point to a second enemy of God and Ilis 
 trnth of whom Antiochus was a type. The Old Testament " little horn " of the 
 Third Empire might be, and possibly Avas intended to be, a type of the New Testa- 
 ment " little horn" of the Fourth or Roman Empire, now again to be introduced to 
 the prophet's view as the Wilful King. It is certain that much that took place 
 under the persecution of Antiochus, as detailed in these verses, had its counterpart 
 in the cahunities afterwards snfTered under the Romans; while much that is pre- 
 dicted of Antiochus was verified in that mysterious power into whose hands the 
 saints of the New Testament were for a lengthened period to be delivered. _" All 
 that has piissed," says Calvin, " is in some sense typical of all that is to come." 
 " Tlie saints of the Most High," says his translator, " arc always the special objects 
 of Jehovah's regard : tlicy ever meet with an oppressor as fierce as Antiochus and 
 as hateful as the 'Man of Sin;' but still, whatever their sufferings under a Guise 
 or an Alva, they sliall ultimately * take the kingdom,' and possess it for ever. 
 Strongholds of ^Tahazzim there always will be, under cither the successors of the 
 242 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 Medici or tbe descendants of Mahomet. ... It may be safely asserted that every 
 social and political change from the time of Nebuchadnezzar to those of Constan- 
 tine have had their historic parallel from the days of Charlemagne to those of 
 Napoleon. Hence predictions which originally related to the empires of the East 
 might be naturally transferred to the transactions of Western Christendom." In 
 this section we shall trace the passage before us in its application to the Fourth 
 Empire, or to the Eonians who succeeded the Greeks as rulers of the world, 
 
 I. The proceedings of this power against religion. " And arms shall stand 
 on his part,'"(i) — " some will help by their exertions," — "and they shall pollute the 
 sanctuary of strength," — the temple which had been held inviolable as a place of 
 refuge, and was strongly fortified, — " shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they 
 shall place the abomination that maketh desolate " (ver. 31). We have seen how, 
 in accordance with this part of the prophecy, Antiochus was aided by apostate 
 Jews as well as by his own military forces in the mischief he did at Jerusalem, 
 placing an idol altar on the altar of Jehovah, changing the very name of the temple 
 to that of Jupiter Olympius, and filling it with the riot and revelry of the Gentiles. 
 Sir Isaac Newton, in applying the passage to the Romans, observes : "By various 
 ways the lloman arms * stood up ' over the Greeks ; and after ninety-five years more, 
 by making war upon the Jews, they ' polluted the sanctuary of strength,' " &c. He 
 remarks that the " abomination that maketh desolate " was placed there after the 
 days of the Saviour, according to Matthew xxiv. 15 ; adding that in the year 
 of the emperor Adrian, a.d. 132, the Eomans " placed" this abomination by build- 
 ing a temple to Jupiter Capitolinus where the temple of God in Jerusalem had 
 stood, and that from the end of the war which ensued upon this in a.d. 137, the 
 land thenceforward " remained desolate of its inhabitants." (2) Bishop Newton 
 agrees with his illustrious namesake, thinking no interpretation so rational and 
 convincing as that which he proposes. Mr. Birks observes that the first pollution 
 of the "sanctuary of strength " by the Romans took place on the siege and capture 
 of Jerusalem by Pompey the Great, when, according to Josephus, "no small 
 enormities were committed about the temple itself, which in former ages had 
 been inaccessible and seen by none ; for Pompey went into it, and not a few of 
 them that were with him, and saw all that was unlawful for any to see but the 
 liigh priest." The next signal act of Roman profanation, he observes, was under 
 Crassus ; and the third on the accession of Herod, B.C. 38, when Sosius took the 
 city by storm. The cessation of the daily sacrifice during the siege of Jerusalem 
 by Titus is thus referred to by Josephus : " On that very day, the seventeenth of 
 Panemus, the sacrifice, called the daily sacrifice, had failed, and had not been 
 offered to God for want of men to offer it." It had thus ceased even before the 
 destruction of the temple, which, of course, would of itself have terminated it.(^) 
 
 II. Their eflfects. " And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he 
 corrupt by flatteries; but the people that do know their God shall be strong and 
 do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many : 
 yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, and by captivity, and by spoil, 
 many days " (vers. 32, 33). Bishop Newton thinks the former of these verses 
 might be applied to the times of Antiochus, but not so properly the latter ; as it 
 does not appear that the Maccabees instructed the people, though they led them 
 to battle and to victory. Neither could it so well be said that the sufferings of 
 the Jews under Antiochus were for " many days," or years, according to the pro- 
 phetic import of the expression ; that persecution having lasted only a few years. 
 "All these things," he says, "are much more truly applicable to the Christian 
 Jews ; for now the daily sacrifice was taken away, the temple was given to desola- 
 tion, and the Christian Church had succeeded to the place of the Jewish, and the 
 New Covenant in the room of the Old." In reference to the clause, " such as do 
 wickedly he shall coorupt by flatteries," he observes : " The Roman magistrates 
 and officers, it is wel' known made use of the most alluring promises, ns well as 
 
 243 
 
HO MI LET IC COMMENTARY : DANIEL 
 
 tlie most terrible tbreatenings, to prevail upon the primitive Clirislians to renounce 
 their religion, and oflfer incense to the statues of the emperors and images of the 
 gods." He quotes an old commentator, who says : " There are some who think 
 that the prophet here had respect to the Christians whom the wicked idolaters 
 endeavoured, from the beginning of the rising Church, to seduce by flatteries ; but 
 the persecution of tyrants raged chiefly against the apostles and holy teachers." 
 Times of persecution will doubtless have much in common ; and Christians, suffering 
 as they did, and so long and often so severely under the Koraan emperors and 
 magistrates, would naturally find much in the description of the times of Antiochus 
 applicable to their own. The word of prophecy was intended to be a "light shining 
 in a dark place," in the New as it had been in the Old Testament dispensation. 
 " These things happened unto them (the Old Testament Church) for ensamples; and 
 they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come " 
 (1 Cor. X. 11). The bishop adds: "It may, too, with the strictest truth and 
 propriety be said of the primitive Christians that, being dispersed everywhere, 
 and preaching the Gospel in all the parts of the Roman empire, they ' instructed 
 many,' and gained a great number of proselytes to their religion : yet they fell by 
 the sword, &c., 'many days;' for they were exposed to the malice and fury of ten 
 general persecutions, and suffered all manner of injuries, afflictions, and tortures, 
 with little interniission, for the space of three hundred years." 
 
 III. The relief. " Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little 
 help : but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of tbem of under- 
 btanding shall fall ; to try them, and to purge, and to make them white ; even 
 to the time of the end ; because it is yet for a time appointed " (vers. 34, 35). 
 According to Sir Isaac Newton, the " little help " was that afforded to the Chris- 
 tians in the time of Constantine the Great ; the result of which was that many of 
 the heathen, on account of the favour shown them by the emperor, and especially 
 when Christianity was made the religion of the empire, as is well known, joined 
 the Church without any real change of heart or faith in Jesus as a Saviour. While 
 the edict of Diocletian, as Dr, Cox observes, was nearly fatal to the Christian 
 cause, the elevation of Constantine to the imperial throne in the year 306 pro- 
 duced a period of external prosperity and peace to the Church. Bishop Newton 
 remarks : " Here Porphyry hath many followers besides Grotius, supposing that by 
 the ' little help ' was meant Mattathias of Modin, who with his five sons rebelled 
 against the generals of Antiochus, and endeavoured to preserve the worship of tiie 
 true God. But Mattathias died of old age ; and his son Judas Maccabseus several 
 times vanquished the generals of Antiochus, and after recovering the holy city, 
 cleansing the sanctuary and restoring the worship of God, survived Antiochus 
 some years ; while the united dignity of the high priesthood and the sovereignty 
 descended to his brother Simon's son, and continued in the ^.family for many 
 generations : which was much more than being 'holpen with a little help;' while 
 the Jews were so far from falling again by persecution, that their religion and 
 government were established upon a firmer basis than before." He quotes Jerome, 
 who says that some of tlie Jewish doctors understood these things of the Roman 
 emperors Soverus and Antoninus, who greatly loved the Jews; and others, of the 
 Emperor Julian, who pretended to love them, and promised to sacrifice in their 
 temple. The bishop, however, thinks the most natural way of inter^jretation is to 
 follow the course and series of events; and.thus to understand the "little help" 
 of the entire suppression of the protracted persecutions of the Church by Con- 
 stantine, when instead of being persecuted it was protected and favoured by the 
 civil power ; called, however, only a " little help," first, because while it added 
 much to the temporal prosperity of the Church, it contributed little to its spiritual 
 welfare, proving, on the contrary, the means of corrupting its doctrine and relaxing 
 its discipline, while it caused many to " cleave to them by flatteries," simply 
 because Christianity was made the religion of the empire ; and, further, because 
 L'44 
 
nOMllETlC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 tliis help lasted but a little while, the spirit of persecution soon after reviving, espe- 
 cially under the Arians. "And sucli," he adils, "more or less has been the face 
 and condition of the Church ever since." Calvin remarks on the latter part o( 
 tlie verse, that " in tliese days (the latter part of the sixteenth century) the very 
 counterpart of this prophecy is exhibited before our eyes. The whole Papacy is 
 called the Church of God, and we the Protestants are but few in number; and 
 yet what a mixture exists even among us ! How many in these days profess 
 attachment to the Gospel, in whom there is nothing either solid or sincere." 
 Mr. Birks, on the passage before us, remarks : " The afflictions of the Jfaccabees 
 were indeed a brief rehearsal of a longer series of changes, which serve, in the 
 ]irophecy, to conduct us into a fresh dispensation, and down to the rise of a more 
 dangerous and powerful persecutor than Antiochus, to prevail afterwards in the 
 latter days." And again, in regard to the words of the prophecy, he observes : 
 "They answer exactly to the troubles of the Jews under Antiochus; but they 
 correspond also with no less accuracy, on a wider scale, to the whole course of 
 Providence towards the Jews and the Christian Church, from the time of the 
 Maccabees far into the present dispensation." He thinks that the very place which 
 these verses occupy may prove of itself that they form a transition from Antiochus 
 to the time of the end; and that the leading events of that interval, here portrayed 
 in their natural order, are "the gradual encroachment of the Romans in Judea, till 
 at length they destroyed the city and temple, and brought on the desolation which 
 has now for ages brooded over Jerusalem ; the preaching of the apostles ; the spread 
 of the Gospel through the Roman empire; the pagan persecutions; the triumph 
 of the faith when the whole empire nominally received it; the corruption of the 
 visible Church ; renewed troubles and persecutions ; and the growth of an apostate 
 tyranny without example in the history of the world. Some of the followers of 
 Jesus, like these men of understJinding in the days of Antiochus, were to " fall, to 
 try them, and to purge, and to make them white." After the elevation of Cliris- 
 tianity as the religion of the empire, " Christians tliemselves," says Dr. Cox, 
 " became miserably disunited, and the character of the Church of Christ awfully 
 corrupted. An unholy hierarchy gradually rose to distinction and dominion ; and 
 'men of understanding,' or those who obeyed the dictates of conscience, combining 
 with sober inquiry unto the truth, — in fact, multitudes of the faithful followers of 
 the Saviour, became the victims of papal intolerance — a trying indeed, but still a 
 whitening or purifying process." This was to be " to the time of the end," — the 
 time when the purposes of God regarding the " scattering " of Israel on account of 
 their sin should be accomplished, and the promised period for their restoration, 
 and the visible and universal establishment of the kingdom of God under the 
 Messiah, should arrive. " Because it is yet for an appointed time." The time for 
 the fulfilment of the prophecy was fixed in the purpose of God. " The vision is 
 yet for an appointed time ; but in the end it shall speak, and not lie ; though it 
 tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry" (Hab. ii. 3). 
 
 It is our comfort to know that the promises of God, the troubles of His people, 
 and the triumphs of His enemies, have all their appointed time. "It is a righteous 
 thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you 
 that are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from 
 heaven " (2 Thess. i. 6-8). In the meantime it is comforting to know that these 
 troubles and persecutions have for believers a gracious mission and a blessed result. 
 Their object on the part of Him who permits them, is to ])rove and to purify them. 
 The will of God is the sanctification of His people ; and afflictions and persecutions 
 are but the fire which He employs for their purification. " This is all the fruit, to 
 take away their sin," 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES. — W opinion, the reference is here to what 
 *' Arms shall stand" (vQ^.Zl). In Keil's Antiochus accomplished by the help of 
 
 245 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 apostate Jews. Mr, Birks, wlio views 
 this and the following verses as referring 
 primarily to Anlioclius, and typically 
 to tlie Eomans, says : " These words 
 serve to describe very accurately the 
 character and course of the llomans, from 
 the days of Antiochus to the conquest 
 of Judea. ' Arms ' (brachia) are used 
 throughout these prophecies to denote 
 military forces or power. They are said 
 to ' stand up ' when they manifest them- 
 selves in vigorous action. After the de- 
 feat of Antiochus the Great by the 
 liomans, and the repulse of Epiphanes 
 himself by their ambassadors in the shii)S 
 from Chittim, which have been already 
 announced, it is natural that their for- 
 midable power should be next predicted. 
 The word rendered ' on his part ' may, 
 as in ver. 23, denote simply a succession 
 in time. And even if it be thought to 
 require a still closer connection between 
 Antiochus and the arms here mentioned, 
 this existed in the case of the llomans 
 no less really than in that of ApoUonius 
 and his forces who ravaged Jerusalem. 
 The llomans not only received tribute 
 from Antiochus, but were virtually his 
 successors in the kingdom." 
 
 (-) " Tlte ahomiiiation that maheth 
 desolate" (ver. 31). It is to this place, 
 in the view of many, that the words of 
 the Saviour in Matt. xxiv. 15 refer, 
 Avhich must therefore have its fulfilment 
 in the times of Vespasian and the 
 liomans. According to others, the re- 
 ference is to the words in chap. ix. 27. 
 Mr. Bilks inclines to the former view, and 
 thinks that the phrase in Matt. xxiv. 
 occurs only in this place in Daniel. But 
 see under chap. ix. 27. The prophecy 
 received its fullilmcnt, Mr. Birks remarks, 
 
 first when the llomau forces under 
 Cestius assailed the temple ; secondly, 
 when Titus pitched his camp on the 
 Mount of Olives, and when, after the 
 temple was set on fire, the llomans, as 
 Josephus relates, brought ensigns into 
 the temple and placed them over against 
 the eastern gate, and there oifered sacri- 
 fice to them ; and finally when, in the 
 time of Adrian, a temple was built and 
 consecrated to Jupiter Capitolinus, on 
 the very site of the sanctuary of God. 
 Hengstenberg, who refers the present 
 passage to the time of Antiochus rather 
 than to that of the Romans, translates 
 the words, " and shall give the abomina- 
 tion as one that lays waste ; " observing 
 that by the " abomination " is designated 
 idolatry in its whole compass and extent, 
 and that thus the passage entirely coin- 
 cides with that in chap. ix. 27, both mak- 
 ing the abomination one that draws after 
 it the train of devastation, as sin draws 
 after it punishment ; the abominations 
 being considered as " the antecedent 
 sin, which by means of the supervening 
 destroyer is avenged by the righteous 
 judgment of God." 
 
 (^) '^ /Shall take aivay the daily sacri- 
 fice " (ver. 31). Hengstenberg trans- 
 lates the words, " they shall take away 
 that which is constant ; " and observes 
 that most interpreters erroneously refer 
 this exclusively to the daily sacrifices ; 
 the word I^PIJl (tamidh), as it stands 
 here, never occurring of one particular 
 object, but with the adjuncts, not only 
 of the daily sacrifice, but also of the fu'e 
 of the altar, of the sacrificial lamps, of 
 the shewbread, etc. Keil regards the 
 words as denoting the removal of the 
 stated worship of Jehovah. 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XLI.— The Wilful Kma. (Cliap 
 
 36-39.) 
 
 The present i)art of the pmphecy regards a king, power, or sovereignty, 
 emphatically spoken of as " the king." Some will have Antiochus Epiphanes still 
 intended by this king. The great majority of evangelical interj)reters, however, 
 believe that the angel has already passed from that monarch and the empire which 
 lie represented, to that which was to succeed it, namely, that of the Komans, who 
 are certainly introduced in a preceding verse as the "ships of Chittim," and who 
 t^cem to be the subject of that j)art of the prophecy immediately preceding the 
 present. O The question is whether the Fourth or Roman Empire in general is 
 2-tG 
 
nOMlLETlC COMMENTAIiY: DANIEL. 
 
 here described ; or, as in the vision of the Four Beasts we saw that empire repre- 
 sented by, concentrated in, and identified witli, a little horn or special power 
 springing out of it, — whether we are not also here to consider the same concentra- 
 tion and representative of that empire, or indeed the same little horn which is 
 described in chap. vii. The similarity of the description in both places would 
 seem to leave little room to doubt that the latter is the more correct view ; and 
 that in this Wilful Kiiig before us we see that power which, springing out of the 
 decayed and dismembered ancient Roman empire, represented it for many centuries, 
 having, like that empire, Rome as its metropolis and seat of government, its head 
 being at the same time a spiritual ruler, the sovereign pontiff, — in other words, the 
 papacy. Bishop Newton, after showing that the prophecy could not with truth be 
 applied to Antiochus Epiphanes, remarks that the prophet now proceeds to describe 
 the principal author of the persecutions that should still follow the Church. The 
 term "king" or kingdom, he observes, signifies any government, state, or poten- 
 tate ; and the meaning of ver. 3G he conceives to be, that, after the empire was 
 become Christian, there should spring up in the Church an Antichristian power 
 that should act in the most absolute and arbitrary manner, exalt itself above all 
 laws, divine and human, dispense with the most solemn and sacred obligations, 
 and in many respects enjoin what God had forbidden, and forbid what God had 
 commanded. The power, he further remarks, began in the Roman emperors, who 
 summoned councils, and directed and influenced their determinations almost as 
 they pleased. After the division of the empire, this power still increased, and 
 was exerted principally by the Greek emperors in the East, and by the bishops of 
 Rome in the West. He observes also that this power was to continue till " the 
 end of the indignation," or till God should have "accomplished to scatter the 
 power of the holy people /' and that it was an ancient tradition among the Jewish 
 doctors that the destruction of Rome and the restoration of the Jews would fall 
 out about the same period. Mr. Birks observes that some have referred the whole 
 passage (vers. 36-39) to Antiochus, others to an infidel king yet to arise, others to 
 democratic infidelity in the Roman emjjire, and others to the popedom or the 
 Christian Greek emperors; and that most divines, whether Fathers, Protestants, or 
 Roman Catholics, believe that the same power or person is designed as in the Little 
 Horn and the Man of Sin. Mr. Birks himself, like Mede and Bishop Newton, 
 applies the prophecy to " the idolatrous apostasy of the Church in the latter clays," 
 the Wilful King being identical with the Little Horn of chap. vii. We notice — 
 I. The power itself. " The king'' (ver. 36). The term might either indicate 
 a single individual ruler, as in the case of Alexander (ver. 3), or a series of rulers — 
 as in the expression "four kings which shall arise" (chap. vii. 17). From the 
 lengthened period of his predicted continuance, the term would seem here to have 
 the latter meaning, and, like the Little Horn in chap, vii., to indicate an arrogant 
 and blasphemous power that should rise in or out of the Roman empire. This, 
 with most expositors of prophecy, we can oidy regard as, in the first instance at 
 least, the papacy. The expression "the king " seems emphatic ; and it is scarcely 
 likely that it should be used to designate Antiochus whom the angel had intro- 
 duced as a " vile person " to whom they should " not give the honour of the 
 kingdom" (ver. 21). The emphatic term might naturally be chosen to indicate a 
 new power that should occupy a conspicuous place in the future history of God's 
 people. The type, which doubtless Antiochus was, appears now, as Archdeacon 
 Harrison observes, to be lost sight of in the prophecy, and the antitype to be 
 almost exclusively in view. According to the view of Christian antiquity, the 
 prophecy is now occupied for some time at least with the description of that 
 tyrannical and persecuting power already indicated in the Little Horn of the 
 Fourth Beast, the description of which so closely corresponds with that of this 
 Wilful King. The papacy or popedom may well be spoken of as " the king," 
 inasmuch as the popes not only claimed to be sovereigns, but sovereigns above 
 
 217 
 
HOMILETJC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 all others however exalted, combining with a temporal sovereignty a spiritual 
 jurisdiction which embraced all Christendom. It is justly viewed as the power 
 to which the Apostle referred in 2 Thess. ii. 3, 4, as that which should arise in 
 the Church as the result of an apostasy, or mystery of iniquity, which had even 
 in his time begun to work, and which was only then withheld from fully developing 
 itself by an existing hindrance which he does not name, and which, on the 
 removal of that hindrance, would reveal itself, and continue until destroyed by the 
 Lord's second appearing. 
 
 II. Its character. " The king shall do according to his will " (ver. 36). The 
 leading characteristic of this power was to be absolute and arbitrary conduct. Of 
 all absolute and arbitrary rulers he should be the chief. Antiochus acted as a 
 type and shadow of this " king " when he commanded all the peoples under his 
 sway to receive his laws and follow his religion. It is well known that the popes 
 claimed, and for a time obtained, an absolute sway over the greatest earthly rulers 
 ill virtue of their assuming the place and authority of the Vicar of Christ, with 
 power over both worlds, and possessing both the spiritual and the temporal sword, 
 with a judgment that was infallible, and an authority that could set aside oaths 
 and the most sacred obligations. The language of the Decretals and Bulls of the 
 popes, to which the nations of Europe submitted for centuries, is, as Mr. Birks 
 observes, that emperors ought to obey and not to rule over the pontilis ; that they 
 owe an oath of fealty and subjection to the pope as their superior and head ; that 
 what the bishops of Rome decree ought to be observed by all ; that it is permitted 
 neither to speak nor to think differently from the pope ; that he imparts authority 
 to laws, but is not bound by them ; and that he is made the head of the whole 
 world. One example may sufhce. Hume relates of Pope Paul IV., to whom 
 Ferdinand, the brother of Charles V., applied for his coronation, that "he 
 thundered always in the ears of all ambassadors, that he stood in no need of 
 the assistance of any prince; that he was above all the potentates of the earth ; 
 that he would not accustom monarchs to pretend to a familiarity or equality with 
 liim ; that it belonged to him to alter and regulate kingdoms ; that he was successor of 
 those who had deposed kings and emperors ; and that rather than submit to anything 
 below his dignity, he would set fire to the four corners of the world. He went so 
 far as, at table, in the presence of many persons, and even openly, in a public con- 
 sistory, to say that he would not admit any kings for his companions ; they were 
 all his subjects, and he would hold them under his feet ; so saying, he stamped on 
 the ground with his old and infirm limbs : for he was now past fourscore years of 
 age." Such was " the king," the king with emphasis ; the king that by his absolute 
 will and arbitrary power was to rule and afflict the Church and the world for many 
 centuries, 
 
 III Its doings. Described in various particulars in vers. 36-39. 
 
 1. "He shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god" (ver. 36). 
 Here we have especially that which connects this prophecy with 2 Thess. ii., and 
 identifies this " king " with the man of sin there predicted. (-) For " every god " 
 the Apostle has all that is called god ; the expression, doubtless, referring to civil 
 rulers, wlio are frequently so called in Scripture, and who are known frequently to 
 have claimed divine honours. How far the Roman pontiffs have claimed this 
 superiority is obvious from wliat has been already said. The popes have declared 
 that their princedom is far more excellent than any human princedom ; that the 
 Kacred power and authority of the pontiffs govern the rulers of this world; and 
 that Christian emperors are bound to submit their mandates to theirs. 
 
 2. "He shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods" (ver. 36). 
 History relates that Antiochus commanded his statue to be erected in the temple 
 at Jerusalem, and that he spoke very jiroudly ; but it records nothing of his 
 s[)eakiiig "marvellous things against the God of gods." Tlie Roman pontiffs may 
 be said to have done this when they claimed in their Decretals an equality with 
 
 2t8 
 
BOM I LET IC COMMENTARY : DAS' 1 EL. 
 
 God, asserting that the pontiff cannot be bound or judged by the secular power, 
 " because it is manifest that God cannot be judged by man." They claim also in 
 the mass the power of creating God out of a wafer, according to tiie well-known 
 saying, Whom they create tbey adore. The blasphemous title is also known, and 
 never repudiated, "Onr Lord God the Pope." Of the Man of Sin, the AjKistle 
 says, " As God he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 
 While enthroned on the high altar in St. Peter's at Pome on the day of his conse- 
 cration, he has the words of the ninety-fifth psalm blas2)hemously applied to hiiu, 
 Venite adoremus, " O come, let us worship. "(^) 
 
 3. "//e shall not regard the God of Ids fathers" (ver. 37). Antiochus, on the 
 contrary, commanded all his subjects to adopt the religion of the Greeks, and the 
 worship of his own gods, and was liberal and ostentatious in his religious rites. 
 On the other hand, the ground on which so many seceded from the^'church of 
 ]lome before the Reformation was, that the popes had changed the nature of 
 Christianity, and that the pope himself was Antichrist. The Man of Sin was to 
 be the outcome of a deep apostasy or falling away from the Christian faith ; n)any 
 departing from the faith and giving heed to seducing spirits (2 Thess. ii. 3 ; 1 Tim. 
 iv. 1). It is well known that, in the papacy, the appeal in regard to religions truth 
 is not to the Word of God in the Scriptures, but to tradition and the Church ; that 
 much of the worship and religion enjoined by the popes is an importation fronx 
 and imitation of paganism, of which the primitive Church knew notljing, of which 
 the very first act on entering a popish place of worship, the use of h()iy water, is 
 an example; and of which the pope's own title, the Pontiff or Pontifex, the title 
 of the high priest of ancient iloman idolatry, is itself an obvious instance ; (•*) 
 ajid, finally, that the image of the Virgin Mary is a most prominent object in 
 almost all papal churches, and that she is constantly addressed in hymns and 
 prayers — things entirely unknown in the Scriptures and among the early 
 Christians. 
 
 4. ^^ Nor shall he regard the desire of women" (vex. 37). (^) The clause is 
 acknowledged to be obscure, and the meaning doubtful. Notbing is known of 
 Antiochus to justify its application to that person. One mark of the apostasy, 
 however, which was to develop the " Man of Sin," was " forbidding to marry " 
 (1 Tim. iv. 3) ; while one of the articles of the creed of Pope Pius V. is, " It is un- 
 lawful for ministers to marry." The honoixr also that is given in the papal system 
 to so-called vows of chastity, or vows of perpetual celibacy and virginity, is well 
 known. Eusebius, quoted by Bishop Newton, says of Constantino, that he held in 
 the highest veneraticm those men who devoted themselves to the monastic life, and 
 almost adored the company of perpetual virgins. His example was folhnved by his 
 successors ; and in the fourth century clerical celibacy, like a torrent, overran the 
 Eastern Church, and soon after the Western too. A writer in the " Quarterly 
 lleview," quoted by Mr. Birks, says : " Hildebrand (Pope Gregory VII.), a wise 
 man in his generation, knew that the power of the pope through the clergy and 
 over the clergy depended on their celibacy. We speak of the system, and we 
 appeal to history. Perhaps the monkish institutes may have the excuse or pallia- 
 tion that they were composed in hard times and for hard men. But what sentences 
 of unfeeling, unmitigated, remorseless cruelty do they contain ! What delight do 
 they seem to have in torturing the most sensitive fibres of the heart, in searing the 
 most blameless emotions of human nature I" 
 
 5. " Nor (will he regard) any god : for he shall magnifi/ himself above all " (ver. 
 37). This could perhaps hardly be said of one who set up the statue of Jupiter in 
 the temple, commanded all his subjects to acknowledge the gods of the Greeks, 
 and was himself prodigal and magnificent in his worship of them. Calvin, applying 
 the prophecy to the Pomans, says they manifested a great contempt for God, 
 while they maintained the appoarance of piety. If the term "god " is here also to 
 be regarded as denoting civil rulers, which is probable, we have already seen how 
 
 249 
 
IIOMILETIC COinJENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 strictly applicable tlie description is to the papacy. If tlie term is to be viewed 
 in a religious sense, the prophecy may still be regarded as having its fulfilment 
 in a system which sets aside the written word of God for human tradition, and 
 which has had the obvious effect of preparing the way for infidelity in the countries 
 where, as in France and Italy, it has ruled with greatest power and ai)peared in its 
 greatest glory. The worldliness and ambition of the Roman pontifis, it is well 
 known, has been too generally such as to indicate a secret infidelity under all the 
 outward profession of piety, openly expressed by Leo X., who is reported to have 
 spoken of the Gospel as a profitable fable. 
 
 6. "Bid ill his estate he shall honoiir the god of forces [Marg., "Mauzzim,"' or 
 '^ go^i?>-^pvoiectox&^^) •j^''^ and a god ivhom his fathers knew not shall he honour ivith 
 gold, and silver, and tvith 'precious stones, and j^leasant tilings. Thus shcdl he do 
 in tlie most strong holds ivith a strange god, whom he shall acknoivledge and increase 
 with glory ; and he shall ccmse them to rule over many, and shall divide the land 
 for gain" (vers. 38, 39). The only god whom the Wilful King was really and 
 practically to acknowledge and honour is one here called " the god of forces," 
 or, as in the Hebrew and the Margin, "the god Mauzzim," or "the gods-pro- 
 tectors;" apparently the same as the god whom his fathers knew not, a strange 
 god. It is well known that one of the most prominent characteristics of the 
 papacy is the place which it gives to the adoration and invocation of the Virgin 
 Mary and the saints of the calendar, as well as the honour given to and the trust 
 reposed in the relics of the martyrs, as so many strongholds and protectors, — 
 things entirely unknown in the earliest ages of the Church. History informs us 
 that in the fourth and fifth centuries it became common both in the East and 
 West to regard not only angels and departed saints, but the relics of martyrs, as 
 the defences and protection of the church that contained them. Basil speaks of 
 a church being "fortified by the great towers of the martyrs," and of the martyrs 
 fortifying our country "like some thick towers against the incursions of enemies." 
 Clirysostom says of the body of Paul, "This corpse surrounds the city (Rome) as 
 with a wall, which is safer than every tower and thousands of ramparts." Hilary, 
 in the West, speaks of the munitions of angels; while both East and West invoke 
 the Virgin Mary as "the impregnable wall" and the "fortress of salvation."" One 
 of the articles in the creed of Pope Pius V. is, that " the saints reigning together 
 with Christ are to be invoked." The Litany of Our Lady of Lorelto begins witb, 
 "We fly to your patronage, holy Mother of God." She is addressed as the 
 Refuge of sinners and the Help of Christians. Not only, however, was such wor- 
 ship, invocation, and trust unknown among the early Christians, the professed 
 fathers of the Roman pontiffs, but the Church was ex[)ressly guarded by the 
 Apostle against will-worslii[) and the worshipping of angels; while among the 
 signs of the apostasy of the last days are mentioned the giving heed to seducing 
 spirits and to doctrines of devils or demons, a term not unfrequently employed to 
 designate departed spirits. That the shrines of tutelary saints, as well as the 
 images of the Virgin, are honoured and adorned with the most costly offerings 
 is known to all who have visited Roman Catholic churches on the Continent. 
 The ministers of the papacy have naturally been increased with glory, the pope 
 imparting to them the power which he professes himself to possess, of creating tlio 
 Cud whom the people are to worship, as well as of receiving their confessions and 
 furgiving their sins ; one of the articles of the creed of Pius V. being that sin is to 
 be confessed to a priest at least once a year under pain of damnation. The 
 choicest lands, too, as Bishop Newton observes, have been appropriated for the 
 property of the Church and the use of those who minister at the altars of 
 these gods-protector.s. 
 
 IV. Its continiiance. " He shall prosper till the indignation he accomplished ; 
 for thai thai is ddcnniucd sh(dl be done" (ver. 3G). The indignation is that of God 
 against His people for their unfaithfulness to, and abuse of, the privileges bestowed 
 250 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 upon them, and, in the case of Israel more esi^ecially, their rejection and crucifixion 
 of tlieir King and Saviour ; the consummation determined (chnp, ix. 27) ; the wratli 
 that was to come upon them to the uttermost (1 Tiiess. ii. 16) ; an indignation that 
 is still experienced in the "great captivity" which the Jews have been suffering for 
 eighteen centuries, with which the indignation in the time of Antiochus was not 
 to be compared. It is spoken of in chap. xii. 7 as the " scattering of tlie power of 
 the holy people," which was to be accomplished, or completed and finished, at the 
 time of the end. This indignation or righteous judgment was to be accomplishecl 
 through human instrumentality ; and that instrumentality was mainly to be this 
 very power or " king/' who was therefore, like Pliaraoh, to be upheld and suffered, 
 or rather made to prosper, till that object should be accomplished. (^) That period 
 is spoken of as "a time, times, and half a time ;" the same period during which 
 the Gentile Church was also to suffer at the hands of the same tyrannical and 
 persecuting power (chap. xii. 7, vii. 25). The purposes of God must be accom- 
 plished — " that that is determined must be done ; " and the time for their accom- 
 plishment is fixed. Till then the instruments for that accomplishment will be 
 provided, preserved, and strengthened, without any consciousness on their part of 
 being so used, while simply acting out the inclinations of their own depraved wills, 
 and seeking the furtherance of their own selfish ends, for which, when the divine 
 purposes shall have been accomplished, they will be called to account. To every 
 l)ersecuting power the voice of Omnipotence is, " Hitherto shalt thou come, and no 
 further ; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." 
 
 The Wilful King was not only to continue but to " prosper " during his appointed 
 period. This purpose of God has been the secret of the mysterious continuance 
 and more mysterious prosperity of the papacy during the past twelve centuries. 
 " Four times," says Macaulay (Essay on Ranke's History of the Popes), " since the 
 authority of the Church of Kome was established in Western Christendom, has the 
 human intellect risen up against her yoke. Twice that Church remained completely 
 victorious. Twice she came forth from the conflict, bearing the marks of cruel 
 wounds, but with the principle of life strong within her. When we reflect on tlie 
 tremendous assaults which she has survived, we find it difficult to conceive in what 
 way she is to perish." It was thus that while the mighty work of reformation 
 was proceeding in the north of Europe, and in all the countries on this side of the 
 Alps and the Pyrenees it seemed on the point of triumphing, a counter-reformation 
 took place, carried on with equal energy and success. Hence the mysterious rise 
 and progress of the Order of Jesus, a concentration of the spirit of the papacy, the 
 main instrument in the great papal leaction. Till the appointed time of his decay 
 and overthrow should come, the Wilful King was to be invincible. That time, how- 
 ever, was to come. In May 1514, the orator of the Lateran Council proclaimed 
 that there was an end of resistance to pajjal rule, and that the whole body of 
 Christendom was now subjected to its head. Pope Leo X. In October 1517, 
 exactly three years and a half after, Luther fixed up his famous Theses at the door 
 of the University of Witteniberg, which were to shake the papacy to its foundations. 
 Three centuries and a half longer were to transpire before " the king," divested of 
 all his territory, was to cease to be a temporal ruler. But the time came. That 
 that was determined was done. But the end is not yet. 
 
 We may pause to reflect — 
 
 1. IIoiv %ins€archable are God's judgments, and His ii-ays past finding out! 
 IIow mysterioiis that such a power should be permitted to arise in the Church, and 
 to continue and prosper for so long a period ! 
 
 2. No evil 07- calamity hut is under God's control. Evils in Church and state 
 can only exist and continue by His permission and appointment, and will be over- 
 ruled for His own glory. 
 
 3. Solemn responsibility connected uith the 2'>oss€ssion of the Gosj^el. The mis- 
 use or non-acceptance of that Gospel, proceeding from want of love to the truth, 
 
 251 
 
JIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 the sin tbat gave rise to this fearful judgment upon the Church of the New 
 Testament, as a similar sin had done with that of the Old (2 Thess. ii. 9-12). 
 
 4. The poiver and malignity of Satan in contriving, preparing, and employing 
 agencies for evil where they might be least expected. It is our comfort, however, to 
 know that this power is counteracted by the still greater power of God, in controlling 
 these agencies and overiuling them for His own glory and the good of His people. 
 
 5. The extent to ivliich lunnan depravity may, under Satan^s influence, be carried, 
 even in connection with the highest profession of religion and piety. Hence the 
 constant need of the P.<ahnist's prayer : " Search me, O God, and know my heart ; 
 try me, and know my thoughts ; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and 
 lead me in the way everlasting." 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— 0) " The 
 hiiig " (ver. 36). Dr. Pusey observes 
 that the cliaracteristics of this infidel 
 king are self-exaltation above every god ; 
 contempt for all religion ; blasphemy 
 against the true God ; apostasy from 
 the God of his fathers ; disregard of 
 tlie desire of women ; honouring a god 
 whom his fathers knew not ; adding, 
 that of all these only one in the least 
 agrees with Antiochus, while the pro- 
 phecy unmistakably corresponds with 
 that which in the Revelation is still 
 future (Rev. xiii. 11, 12). But many 
 believe that it also at least as unmistak- 
 ably corresponds with the papacy, which 
 is also foretold in the Revelation. " By 
 the name ' king,' " says Dr. Cox, " Mede, 
 and others after him, understand the 
 Roman state of power, under whatever 
 kind of government ; but it is more 
 especially referred to Rome-papal, of 
 which power the descrii)tion is deemed 
 peculiarly graphic. His despotism, blas- 
 phemy, and self-exaltation are clearly 
 marked : and he was to prosper till the 
 indignation be accomplished, or the 
 ' time, times,' <fec., the 1260 years, when 
 the ' wonders,' as afterwards named, 
 shall have an end." Mr. Birks argues 
 against the idea of Antiochus, or a single 
 infidel and blasphemous king yet to 
 arise, being meant by this king, on the 
 ground that the marks of time in the 
 prophecy fix the close of tlie vision far 
 beyond the days of Antiochus, and the 
 jironiised period of the Jewish restora- 
 tion ; that there is no proof that the 
 Wilful King denotes one individual per- 
 son ; that since the fail of Jerusalem 
 the Jews have been exiles from Pales- 
 tine, and the West, even more than the 
 East, lias been the scene of their suffer- 
 252 
 
 ings ; that the Wilful Khig is not an 
 open atheist and rejector of all religion ; 
 that his place in the prophetic history is 
 Ijetween the return of Antiochus from 
 F.gypt, B.C. 167, and the events pre- 
 dicted in chap. xii. 1-3, an interval of 
 two thousand years, while the appli- 
 cation of the preceding verses to tho 
 Romans as far as Constantine the 
 Great would bring the prophecy to the 
 time of the Vandal persecutions in 
 Africa ; and finally that the Wilful 
 King is to prosper until the anger 
 of God against Israel is accomplished. 
 Calvin, who acknowledges the passage 
 to be very obscure, applies it entirely to 
 the Roman empire, not, however, con- 
 sidering it to be begun in the reign 
 of the Caesars ; believing that the angel 
 passed from Antiochus to the Romans, 
 as God wished to support the godly 
 under the troubles that awaited them 
 till the time of the Romans, from whom, 
 beginning with Pompey and Crassus, 
 they continued to be harassed by many 
 and continual wars. Mede, who with 
 Calovius, Geier, and others, applies the 
 prophecy to Antichrist, connects ver. 36 
 with the preceding — "to the time ap- 
 pointed, the king shall do his will," Ac. 
 Dr. Clarke things the prophecy may 
 apj)ly to Antioclius ; but observes that 
 it is well known that an Antichristian 
 power did spring up in the Christian 
 Church, showing itself in the Greek 
 emperors in the East, and in the bishops 
 of Rome iji the West. Roman Catholic 
 interpreters, as De Lyra, Hugo, and 
 others, after Jerome and the fathers, 
 understand by *' the king " the Anti- 
 christ who is to appear at the end of the 
 world, and to reign three years and a 
 half. (Ecolampadius and Melanchthoii 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENT AR Y ; DANIEL. 
 
 regarded him as both the pope' and the 
 Turk. Others of the Reformers, as 
 Osiandei and Pfaff, understand the 
 pope to be meant from here to the end 
 of the prophecy. Willet thinks all was 
 historically fulfilled in Antiochus, to 
 whom the prophecy specially pointed, 
 though it has a typical application to 
 the Papal Antichrist. Briglitman, like 
 Calvin, applies the prophecy to the 
 Romans, and especially to the Roman 
 emperors, the object of the prophecy 
 being to show what would be the state 
 of the Jews to all ages, till gathered 
 into one fold with the Gentiles. Keil 
 observes, that after the example of Por- 
 phyry, Ephrem Syrus, and Grotius, 
 almost all modern interpreters, that is, 
 in Germany, find here only a description 
 of the conduct of Antiochus Epiphanes 
 up to the time of his destruction ; while 
 of believing interpreters, some, as C. P>. 
 Michaelis, Havernick, and others, regard 
 the whole as having a typical reference 
 to Antichrist ; while others, as Jerome, 
 Theodoret, Luther, Qllcolampadius, Osi- 
 ander, Calovius, Geier, and at length 
 Kliefoth, interpret the section as a 
 direct prophecy of Antichrist, the 
 "king" being the little horn growing 
 up among the ten kingdoms of the 
 Fourth Empire, and described in chap. 
 ix. 26 as " the prince that shall come," 
 and introduced here as a new subject. 
 He remarks that the Rabbinical inter- 
 jireters have also adopted the idea of a 
 change of subject in verse 36 ; while 
 his own opinion is that the reference of 
 the section to Antiochus is essentially 
 correct, and that the supposition of a 
 change of subject is not established. 
 He admits, however, that what is said 
 regarding "the king" in vers. 36-39, 
 goes far beyond what Antiochus did, 
 does not harmonise with what is known 
 of Antiochus, and is expressly referred 
 in the New Testament to Antichrist; 
 but thinks that these circumstances 
 rather show that " in the prophetic 
 contemplation there is comprehended in 
 the image of one king what has been 
 historically fulfilled in its beginning by 
 Antiochus Epiphanes, but shall only 
 meet its complete fulfilment by the 
 Antichrist in the time of the end." By 
 
 " the king," Mr. Bosanquet also under- 
 stands the king of fierce countenance 
 mentioned in chap. viii. 23, to which 
 the prophecy goes back, after coming to 
 Alexander's kingdom in ver. 4, in order 
 to relate what shall be in the latter 
 days, the great object of the vision ; 
 this king being, in his view, the per- 
 sonification of Mohammedanism, who 
 literally destroyed the mighty and the 
 holy people, putting an end to the 
 Jewish kingdom of the Homerites in 
 Arabia Felix, B.C. 627, after it had 
 existed for some seven hundred years, 
 the last remnant of the Jews as a nation. 
 
 (2) "Magnify himself above every 
 god" (ver. 36). The allusion here, 
 observes Mr. Birks, to 2 Thess. ii., is 
 so plain that it has been recognised by 
 every class of interpreters, from Theo- 
 doret down to our own day. Polybius, 
 quoted by Bishop Newton, says that 
 Antiochus in his public sacrifices and 
 worship of the gods was more sump- 
 tuous and magnificent than all who 
 reigned before him, and that in his 
 solemn shows and processions he had 
 the images of all who were called or 
 reputed gods, demons, or heroes carried 
 before him. On the other hand, Calvin 
 observes that the Romans in their pride 
 and lawlessness surpassed other profane 
 nations, and did not even preserve a 
 superstitious fear of God, making a 
 laughingstock of all divinities, and 
 ridiculing the very name and aj^pear- 
 ance of piety, which they only used for 
 the purpose of retaining their subjects 
 in obedience. 
 
 (^) ^^ Shall speaJc marvelloris things 
 against the God of gods" (ver. 36). In 
 reference to the blasphemous claims 
 put forth in the bulls and decretals 
 of the i^opes, as well as the conversion 
 of the consecrated wafer into the divine 
 being, Mr. Birks asks, "If these are 
 not marvellous speeches against the 
 God of gods, how can our imagination 
 invent others which may deserve the 
 name 1 " 
 
 (•*) Pontifex Maximus was the title of 
 the high priest of the pagan idolatry 
 of ancient Rome. It was bf)rne by the 
 emperors till Gratian, being a Chris- 
 tian, declined the honour, when it waa 
 253 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 given to and adopted by tbo Bishop of 
 llome. For further Pagan importa- 
 tions, see Hyslop's " Two Babyh)us." 
 
 (^) " TJie desire of ivometi" (ver. 37). 
 Keil observes that the old interpreters 
 understood these words of conjugal love ; 
 the moderns in Germany, on the con- 
 trary, after the example of D. Michaelis 
 and Gesenius, understand them of the 
 goddess Aiiaitis or Mylitta, the Assyrian 
 Venus, and refer them especially to the 
 spoiling of the temple of this goddess 
 in Elymais by Antiochus; while Ewald 
 tliinks of the Syrian deity Tammuz or 
 Adonis. Keil's own opinion is that 
 the love of women is an example 
 selected from the sphere of human love 
 and attachment, for which even the 
 most selfish and most savage of men 
 feel some sensibility. Calvin thinks it 
 refers to the duties of charity ; Calovius 
 and Geier, to conjugal love and honest 
 matrimony ; the former remarking that 
 D'C'J (iiasim) properly denotes not 
 harlots but tvives. Grotius, applying 
 the words to Antiochus, thinks they 
 mean that he will be touched with no 
 I)ity for the sex. So Maldonatus, 
 Polanus understands the clause to mean 
 that he will not be moved from his 
 purpose of disturbing religion by the 
 prayers of his wives ; and Piscator, 
 that he will not suffer his wives to wor- 
 .sliip any god but Jupiter Olympius. 
 Brightuian understands it of natural 
 aifection, the thing most desired by 
 women being to have their cliildren in 
 )uost honourable position?, while the 
 Roman emperors cared nothing about 
 having cliildren to succeed them. Willet, 
 applying the passage to Antiochus, 
 understands it to mean that he will 
 contenni matrimony ; which he thinks 
 may also be ajiplied tyi»ically to the 
 pope. Bullinger and Osiander apply 
 it to the pope historically. Some 
 understand tlie expression of Messiah, 
 whom it was the desire of the women 
 in Israel to bring forth. Dr. Pusey 
 remarks : " Since it was suggested 
 that the 'desire of women' might be 
 their Syrian goddess ^lylitta, the Ger- 
 mans have comuionly adopted the 
 explanation. Yet there is nothing in 
 the revolting and also unnatural wor- 
 254 
 
 ship of Mylitta which should entitle 
 that degrading worship to be called the 
 desire of women. Nor can I bring 
 myself to think that Daniel, in a pic- 
 ture of the sin of Antiochus, would 
 mention the abstinence from such wor- 
 ship as a portion of that sin." 
 
 (•5) " Nor regard any God." Keil and 
 Kliefoth understand the clause to mean 
 that he set himself free from all piety 
 or. reverence toward God, or toward that 
 which is divine. Calvin, applying it to 
 the Ptomans, says, they treated the 
 worship of their deities simply as 
 matters of business, being destitute of 
 any perception of true divinitj', and 
 only pretenders to religion, wliile they 
 manifested a gross contempt of God 
 under the appearance of piety, and 
 thought themselves superior to their 
 gods, Grotius understands it to mean 
 that he (Antiochus) will not regard the 
 god of any nation, but will rob all he 
 can ; Piscator, that he will despise all 
 religion. Brightman undeistands the 
 term " god," as in the preceding verse, 
 as magistrates, but here, of domestic 
 ones, though anciently established. A. 
 Clarke says, " The mandates and decrees 
 of the papal Church have been often in 
 defiance of God and His Word, the 
 Papacy magnif3ing itself above all 
 power and authority in heaven and 
 earth," Boothroyd understands any 
 superior, either magistrates or kings, 
 who are called gods (Ps. Ixxxvi. 6), the 
 papal power arrogating to itself the 
 right of raising or abasing, crowning or 
 deposinL', kings at its pleasure. 
 
 (7) ">7ie god offerees.'' D^WI? liji^?? 
 {Eloah Ma'uzzivi), "god of fortresses." 
 Sir Isaac Newton understands the term 
 to mean "strong guardians," and applies 
 the term to the souls of the dead, saints 
 and angels, and especially the Virgin 
 Mary ; all being invoked and adored 
 both in the Greek and Latin Churclus 
 as patrons, intercessors, and guardians 
 of mankind, their shrines and images 
 being adorned with the most costly 
 offerings. ]\Iede seems to have been 
 the first to a[)ply the term to tlie papacy, 
 as denoting demons or god-protectors, 
 which the llomans worship with Christ, 
 namcl}', saints and angels ; remarkiiiij 
 
IIOMILBTIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL 
 
 that Basil, Gregor}', Chrysostom, and 
 others call the relics of martyrs towers 
 and bulwarks, while Gregory of Nyssa, 
 Theodoret, and others call martyrs pat- 
 rons and protectors. He remarks : " It 
 is a thing not to be passed by without ad- 
 miration that theFathers and others, even 
 at the beginning of saint-worship, by I 
 know not what fatal instinct, used to 
 call saints and their relics walls, bul- 
 warks, and fortresses, i.e., Mahnzzim, in 
 the primary and original signification," 
 Keil renders the expression, "the god 
 of fortresses," and observes that, as is 
 now generally acknowledged, C-TJ-''? 
 (?/ia'«22m) is not, with Theodotion, the 
 Vulgate, Luther, and others to be re- 
 garded as the proper name of a god. 
 He applies the prophecy to the future 
 Antichrist, who, he thinks, is here said 
 to regard no other god but only war ; 
 the taking of fortresses he will make his 
 god, and he will worship this god above 
 all, as the means of his gaining the 
 universal power he aims at. Professor 
 Lee translates the phrase the "god of 
 forces," and supposes it to apply to the 
 lloman emperors, Nero being the first of 
 the series. C. B. Michaelis, Gesenius, 
 and others, applying the prophecy to 
 Antiochus, suppose Mars, the god of 
 war, to be intended ; while Havernick, 
 Ewald, and others, after Grotius, think 
 of Jupiter Olympius ; which, however, 
 as Keil observes, were not gods un- 
 known to his fathers. Calvin translates 
 the word " strengths, or fortitudes," 
 observing that the god which the 
 Romans are said to worship, namely, 
 the Koman Jupiter, the prophet calls 
 a "god of bulwarks" or of power; 
 
 meaning that they claimed a divine 
 power as their own, and acknowledged 
 no deity but themselves. Geier and 
 Vatablus read, " god of fortifications or 
 strengths," like Asina or Mars, a Sy- 
 rian deity to whom this king would 
 ascribe all his dignity and power. Mr. 
 Birks thinks that the general feature of 
 the expression is that of one chief and 
 many subordinate objects of worship; 
 the god, along with whom the ]\rauzzim 
 are worshipped, being the tSon of God, 
 or the true God, but made the object of 
 a heathenish worship, with many sub- 
 ordinate idols, degraded into an Eloah 
 or chief patron-divinity, who shares his 
 worship with many Mauzzim ; and that 
 the " most strong holds " here mentioned 
 are buildings dedicated to these Mauzzim 
 or tutelary deities. The Wilful King, 
 he thinks, will pay honour to a multi- 
 tude of guardian powers, and cause 
 them to receive homage and costly 
 worship from his people. 
 
 (S) How the Jews have suA'crcd at 
 the hands of the papacy is well known. 
 Gibbon, quoted by JMr. Birks, writes in 
 reference to Spain : " The intolerant 
 spirit, since it could find neither idolatry 
 nor heresies, was reduced to the perse- 
 cution of the Jews." And in regard to 
 the Italians : " They respected the 
 armed heresy of the Goths ; but their 
 rage was safely pointed against the rich 
 and defenceless Jews." " Of these (the 
 first Crusaders) and of other bands of 
 enthusiasts, the first and most easy war- 
 fare was against the Jews, the murderers 
 of the Son of God ; nor had they felt a 
 more bloody stroke since the persecu- 
 tion of Hadrian." 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 Sect. XLIL — Sakacexs and TrcKs. (Chap. xi. 40-45.) 
 
 Considerable obscurity connected with the present section. According to some, 
 it is a continuation of the prophecy regarding the vile person or Antiochus Epi- 
 phanes, here still styled the King of the North. Thus viewed, the prophecy points 
 to a last expedition against Egypt made after those previously mentioned ; an expe- 
 dition, however, of which history gives no intimation, but the reverse. 0) In the 
 opinion of many evangelical expositors, the passage furctells the rise and doings of 
 another power, of which, however, Antiochus was also a type. That power was 
 the Mohammedan, first under the Saracens and subsequently the Turks; a power 
 already noticed as an antitype of Antiochus, predicted as the little hdrn in the 
 
 255 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 vision of tlie Raiii and Ile-goat, chap. viii. Historically, it was that power that in 
 the eastern portion of the empire succeeded the lloman, and became a scourge 
 both to the Jews and to the Christian Church. In the prophecy also the section 
 appears to connect itself with the prediction regarding the lloman empire and its 
 representative, the Papacy. Thus viewing it, we notice — 
 
 I. The time referred to. That the prophecy points to a time far beyond that 
 of Antiochus would seem to be intimated in the words with which the section 
 commences : " In the time of the end." This probably the " end " already 
 referred to as the time when the " indignation " against Israel is to be accom- 
 plished (ver. 35), the latter period of the fourth and last empire, the " time, 
 timed, and half a time " of the Little Horn. It is according to the Book of Keve- 
 latiun the time of the three last of the seven " trumpets," called the three woes ; 
 this power being the fifth and sixth, the former under the Saracens, and the latter 
 the Turks, followed by the seventh, which announces the end or finishing of the 
 mystery of God, when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of the 
 Lord and of His Christ, and when He takes to Himself His great power and 
 reigns (Rev. ix., x. 7, xi. L3-1S). This time of the end might, as it has done, 
 extend over centuries, being the duration of the last period of Israel's chastisement, 
 and at the same time the chastisement of the Christian Churche.^-.(-) 
 
 IL The parties predicted. These are twofold, designated according to the 
 phraseology already employed in the former part of the prophecy in relation to 
 two other powers, namely, the kings of the N"ortli and of the South. Formerly 
 these terms were applied to the kings of Syria and of Egypt, the most prominent 
 parties in that part of the vision, and so called from their situation in relation to 
 Judea. Xoiv, in the latter part of the prophecy, in the time of the end, they 
 appear to mark the Saracens and the Turks, the latter rising in Scythia, to the 
 north, and the former in Arabia, to the south of Palestine, and hence with equal 
 truth designated the kings of the North and of the South.C^) These powers 
 appear to be represented as acting against that previously predicted, namely, the 
 Roman em[)ire and its representative, the Papacy or Little Horn. They are 
 apparently introduced as the power that was to check and weaken the Wilful King. 
 Tlie Turk'sh armies, which chiefly consisted of cavalry, appear to be pointed out 
 in the prophecj', which represents the king of the North as coming " like a great 
 whirlwind, with chariots and with horsemen." They are said also to have many 
 ships, without which, as Bishop Newton remarks, they could not have vanquished 
 Venice, or taken Constantinople, Rhodes, Cyprus, or Crete. Tlie description 
 corresponds with that of the Euphratean horsemen, generally understood to represent 
 the Turkish power. " The number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred 
 thousand thousand" (Rev. ix. 14-16). This Euphratean power appearing under 
 the sixth trumpet, or in the time of the end, is also represented as having their 
 appointed period of rise and duration, being "prepared for (or, as in tlie margin, 
 at) an hour and a day, and a month and a year (R.V.. for the hour and day and 
 month and year), to slay the third part of miii." The application of the king 
 of the North to the Turkish power confirms that of the king of the South to 
 the Saracens, their predecessors ; that power l)eing, according to general opinion, 
 predicted in tlie locust army or first woe, which after " five months," or a century 
 and a half, of mischief, was to be succeeded by the second, or horsemen from the 
 Euphrates (Rev. ix. 3-10). 
 
 III. The doings of the parties. Those of the Turkish power or king of the 
 North mainly describetl. 
 
 1. " The king of the South shall push at him " (ver. 40). Mr. BIrks remarks : 
 "The Saracens, however wide their other conquests, did really push, with furious 
 vehemence, against the papal dominions, whether we interpret them in a narrower 
 flense of St. Peter's patrimony, or more widely of the nations in communion with 
 the See of Rome. How violent tlieir inroads on the Western nations at large, till 
 250 
 
UOMILETIC COM MENTA R Y : DANIEL . 
 
 their defeat by Charles Martel, is known to the most cursory reader of history or 
 romance. He quotes Gibbon, who says : " A fleet of Saracens from the African 
 coast presumed to enter the mouth of the Tiber, and to approach a citv ^vhic•h even 
 yet in her fallen state, was revered as the metropolis of tlie Christian world." The 
 Atrican coast marks the mvaders as a power from the South 
 '^:'\The U,^, of the North shall come agaimt him like a whirlwind with 
 chariots, &c. History decides what the construction seems to leave uncertain 
 whether the attack of the king of the North was to be directed a-ainst the same 
 power pushed at by the king of the South, or against the king of the South him- 
 self. We read of the attacks made by hordes of Turkish cavah-y, first .m tiie 
 provinces of the Eastern empire, and then on tlie papal kingdoms (;f the West as 
 If following in the steps of the Saracens. Gibbon, speaking of the conquests' of 
 Togrul and Alp Arslan, says : " The Asiatic provinces of Rome were irrotrievablv 
 sacrificed. After overthrowing the Greek empire, by means of their horsemen 
 and their ships, tliey directed their attack on the West, more particularly predicted 
 in the words, " He shall enter into the countries, and overflow, and pass ever ''' 
 Mr. Birks remarks: "These words aptly describe the first passage of tlie Turks 
 into Europe. They had already entered into the countries of Asia Minor and 
 established themselves there as kings of the North. But they were not restrained 
 withm these narrow bounds. . . . The results of this first overflow of the Turks 
 into Eurojie are too well known, and too legible on the map of Europe for centuries 
 to require further details." He observes that Sismondi describes Italy and the 
 pope as the true objects, at that time, of the Turkish asgression ; and quotes 
 Gibbon, who says : " The grief and terror of the Latins revived, or seemed to 
 revive, the old enthusiasm of the crusades. ... The devastation advanced towards 
 the West, and every year saw a new kingdom fall." These attacks of the king of 
 the North, like those of his predecessor, were tlie divinely appointed cliastiseinent 
 of the idolatry which had already found so large a place in the Ciiristian churches. 
 The words of the Sultan Mahomet II., read in connection with Rev. ix. 20, at 
 once show this to have been the case, and to confirm the view of this power beinf^ 
 identical with the second woe and the king of the North : " I will not turn my 
 face from the west to the east, till I overthrow and tread under the feet of my 
 horses the gods of the nations ; these gods of wood, of brass, of silver, and of gold, 
 or of painting, which the disciples of Christ have made with their hands,"— as if 
 he had read the passage above referred to,—" and tlie rest of the men which were 
 not killed by these plagues, yet repented not of the works of tlieir liaiids, that 
 they should not worship devils (demons, or departed spirits), and idols of 'gold, 
 and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood," 
 
 3. He (the king of tl" North) shall enter also into the glorious laml, and manij 
 countries shall be overthrown ; hut these shall escape out of his hand, Edom, Moah, 
 and the chief of the children of Amnion " (ver. 41). No question as to what is 
 meant by "the glorious land" here and in ver. 16. Palestine or Syria, the tract 
 lying between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates, " has been more favoured by 
 nature, and is more riclily stored with tlie various delights of climate, of soil, and 
 of scenery, than any other space of equal extent on the surface of the globe. Were 
 one asked to point to that region of the earth which is the happiest in respect of 
 natural conditions, it is to this tract that he would turn." The glory and beauty, 
 however, were more especially in the manifested presence and gracious croings of 
 Him who deigned to call it peculiarly His own land. Into that land the victorious 
 Turks entered in 1517, and left, as the trace of their i)resence and conquest, the 
 present grey walls that surround Jerusalem, erected by the Sultan Snliman in 
 1542, the land continuing in the possession of the Turks to this day.W Those 
 here said to escape out of his hand are Bedouin tribes of Arabia, who, as sons of 
 Ishmael, still make good the prediction of Gen. xvi. 12 ; whom the Turks have 
 never been able entirely to subdue; and to whom, ever since the time when the 
 
 R 257 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 Sultan Selim conquered the adjoining countries, they liave paid an annual pension 
 for the safe passivge of the pilgrims to Mecca. It might seem strange, as Calvin 
 remarks, and not a little trying to the covenant people, to learn that while they 
 and their country, which God had given to Abraham and his seed, and which He 
 had promised to watch over, should be invaded by this hostile power, those other 
 countries, inhabited by their hereditary enemies, should be permitted to escape, 
 and to remain in peace and safety. But they might remember the words of the 
 prophet, " You only have I known of all the nations of the earth, therefore I will 
 punish you for your iniquities." Egypt, however, was not to escape (vers. 42, 
 43). Selim, among his other conquests, put an end to the government of the 
 Mamelukes, and established in its stead that of the Turks, who continue to this 
 day, as Bisliop Newton remarks, to drain immense treasures out of that rich and 
 fertile but oppressed and wretched country. That it is held now by a Khedive or 
 viceroy, only another evidence that the reign of the Turk is drawing to its close. 
 With Egypt, the chief power in the south, should also fall the other nations of 
 Africa, — the Libyans and the Ethiopians or Cushites, still farther to the south, 
 who should become the obsequious followers of his march (Jud. iv. 10), but who 
 also now give evidence to the drying up of " the ereat river Euphrates " (Rev. 
 xVi. 12). 
 
 4. " Tidings oiit of the east arid out of the north shall trouble him ; therefore he 
 shall go forth ivith great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many ; and he 
 shall plant the taheoiiades of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain " 
 (vers. 44, 45). The tidings out of the east and the north which shall disturb this 
 victorious power in the midst of his conquests in the Holy Land and the adjacent 
 countries, are such, doubtless, as would inform him of risings among the subdued 
 nations, or invasions from other quarters, which should endanger his acquisitions, 
 or perhaps his own dominions. (^) These tidings should arouse his indignation and 
 draw him from Africa, where he appears then to be, again to Palestine, where he 
 would seem to encamp at Jerusalem, the metropolis of the country, pitching his 
 tent on the " glorious holy mountain, between the seas," the Mediterranean on the 
 one side and the Dead Sea on the other, C') his purpose being, like that of his 
 Syrian type, to wreak his vengeance on the people by their utter destruction. C^) 
 How the Turks took and retained possession of Jerusalem we have already seen. 
 It is scarcely likely that the doings of Sultan Selim in reference to that city are 
 here referred to ; history only relating concerning him that, having been greatly 
 annoyed by the arrows of the wild Arabs from the hills in the south, he advanced 
 towards Gaza, and thence to llama, where he revenged himself on the habitations, 
 wives, and children of the Arabs, and soon after turned aside with his cavalry to 
 visit Jerusalem. It is more tljan probable that, as it is there that this hostile 
 power is to come to his end, the prophecy has not yet received its fulfilment. 
 Probably another power is first to come upon the stage. (^) 
 
 IV. The end of the hostile power. "He shall come to his end, and none 
 shall help him " (ver. 45). This being the first time we read of the end of the 
 power whose doings are described in the preceding verses, since the introduction of 
 the vile i)erson in ver. 21, some have been led to think that the same power is 
 spoken of throughout. It is probable, however, that the end here foretnld is that 
 of the hostile power under its last form, which is at the same time the termination 
 and destruction of all the world-powers that have set themselves in opposition to 
 God's people whether in Old or New Testament times, and which, of course, is 
 .still future. The blending, in the prophecy, of one Antichristian power, or of one 
 form of Anti(;hrist, into another has its parallel in the pi'ophecy of the Saviour 
 Himself, in whicli the prediction regarding Jerusalem's destruction blends into that 
 of His second api)earing, when He shall take "vengeance on them that know not 
 God, and that oliey not the Gospel of His Son," and when tlie "Man of Sin" shall 
 be destroyed " with the brightness of His coming." It seems certain, from chap. xii. 
 258 
 
MOMILETIG COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 t iKninH ^ .f ^'"'*" ^T^' ^^'^ P^^^^^ted is connected With the great 
 
 tabulation and the resurrection from the dead which is probably soon to followTt 
 The angel then adds : "And at that time "-the time reared to in the end of tht 
 
 t^Sren of r^'^'l ^''''Ti '''''\ ^^P' ^^^ ^'^''' ^^^ which stanleh 
 the childien of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never 
 was since there was a nation even to that same time." This time o trouble a"!' . 
 IS connected with the resurrection from the dead, which appears to follow it (clfa ' 
 
 xv' 2l'-"i Thesf iv"'l ."l 7.'" T. ''' "^"'' ^' ^^^ Lord's Ucond appearing I S 
 r;Jt; f 1.7^- ^^^^^^^a»"er m which the end of this and, at the 
 
 same tune, of every hostile power is described, corresponds with this vien- of the 
 time and circumstances in which it shall happen. It is simply said " He shall 
 come oh>s end, and none shall help him." As if a breath from' [he Lord's mouth 
 or a glance from His eye, brought him and all his chivalry in a moment to destruc! 
 tion. No word is spoken as to the means by which, or the manner in which, the 
 end shou d be brought about. The scene closes in sublime and mysterious silence 
 ±or a fuller description of the solemn event we must, doubtless, look to the prophecy 
 of Zechariah chap. xiv. 3, 4, and especially to the awful and magnifice.it |!ictire of 
 the battle of the great day of God Almighty presented in Rev. xix. 11-21 Mav 
 both reader and writer be prepared for the terrors and solemnities of that infinitelv 
 momentous and rapidly approaching day ! 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES— 0) Bright- 
 man observes that this part of the pro- 
 phecy cannot apply to Antiochus, as he 
 can find no mention in any author of 
 a third expedition by him into Egypt. 
 He thinks that neither the authors of 
 the books of the Maccabees nor Josephus 
 would have been likely to omit to men- 
 tion it, had there been any such ; the 
 latter, indeed, stating that nothing at 
 all was attempted by Antiochus against 
 that country after his expulsion by the 
 Romans till his death in Persia. Justin 
 relates that after the check he received 
 from the Roman consul Popilins, he 
 died as soon as he returned to his own 
 kingdom. Sending Lysias, his general, 
 into Syria, he himself went into Persia, 
 where he died. Keil also, with V. 
 Lengerke, Maurer, and Hitzig, considers 
 the idea of a last expedition of An- 
 tiochus against Egypt in this passage, 
 not only unsupported by history, but in 
 irreconcilable contradiction to the his- 
 torical facts regarding his last under- 
 takings. 
 
 (2) " The time of the end:' Bright- 
 man thinks that, as the Romans did 
 nothing in jiarticular against the Jews 
 after Adrian, the prophecy passes on to 
 the time of the weakened and decayed 
 empire, when the Saracens, under 
 Mahomet, encountered them, as the 
 king of the South, a.d. 630, when they 
 
 took from the Romans, in about thirty 
 years, Jerusalem, all Syria, Africa, and 
 Asia ; the king of the North being the 
 Turks, whose tyranny especially lay 
 against the Romans from the year a.d. 
 1300. So Joseph Mede, who is followed 
 by most modern evangelical expositors, 
 considers the " time of the end " to be 
 the last times of the Romans, and the 
 king of the South the Saracens under 
 Mahomet ; while the king of the North 
 is the Turks from Scythia in the far north, 
 another Antichristian power who should 
 attack and overcome the Saracens. 
 
 (■^) Bisliop Newton, agreeing with 
 Mede, observes that the terms North 
 and South are to be taken and ex|)lained 
 according to the times of which the 
 prophet is speaking. Dr. Cox observes : 
 " The sovereignties of Egypt and Syria, 
 before called the king of the South 
 and the king of the North, disappeared 
 when they were absorbed in the Roman 
 empire; and the new powers, or the 
 Saracen and Turkish empires that 
 succeeded, are now brought into view. 
 But let it be observed that the Saracens 
 became masters of Egypt, the original 
 territory of the king of the South, and 
 the Turks possessed Syria, or the king- 
 dom of the North, and still retain it." 
 Calvin, who considers the power pre- 
 viously introduced, viz., the Romans, 
 to be still described, thinks that the 
 259 
 
HOMJLETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 king of the Soutli or Egypt, assisted by 
 the king of the Nortli or Syria, was to 
 carry on war with the Romans, who are 
 here compared to a deluge which should 
 come and overflow, burying all the 
 forces both of Egypt and Syria, and 
 should also invade Judea. Junius and 
 Willet think that the king of the North 
 is still Antiochus, who should come up 
 against the king of the South or Egypt, 
 viz., Philometor, in order to aid his 
 brother Physcon. BuUinger, like Mede 
 and Brightman, understands by the 
 kings of the North and South the Turks 
 and Saracens. Pfaflf and Osiander 
 thouglit the king of the North to be 
 Antichrist, and tbe king of the South 
 to be Christ Himself, Roman Catholic 
 writers after Jerome, as well the 
 Futurists, refer the passage to an infidel 
 Antichrist who is yet to arise, and to the 
 last conflicts in the land of Judea, Anti- 
 christ being here the king of the North. 
 Kliefoth thinks that the prophecy re- 
 lates to Antichrist, whom he distin- 
 guishes from the kings of the North 
 and South, both of whom will in th6 
 time of the end attack him. Keil con- 
 siders the first " him " to refer to the 
 hostile king, tlie chief subject of the 
 prophecy, but the second " him," against 
 whom tlie king of the North comes, to 
 be the king of the South named im- 
 mediately before ; the king of the North, 
 however, being the hostile king himself, 
 thought of as the ruler of the distant 
 North, reaching far beyond Syria, from 
 wliich in liis fury he comes against the 
 king of tlie Soutli. 
 
 (') Brightman observes that the Sul- 
 tan Seliin, about the year 1514, on his 
 way to I'^gypt, took his journey by Judea, 
 and carried Jerusalem by assault. Edoni, 
 or in general, Arabia, tlie Turks did not 
 attack, being content too])en themselves 
 a way to Kgypt through Syria and Pa- 
 lestine, which in the following year they 
 brought under their subjection. 
 
 (•'•) " Tidhu/s from the east and from 
 the north." Bishop Newton tliinks that 
 Persia in the east, and Russia in the 
 north, of the Ottoman empire, may be 
 the quarters from which tlie tidings 
 referred to may come, and that these 
 nations may hereafter be made the 
 l!GO 
 
 instruments of divine Providence in the 
 restoration of the Jews ; quoting a cur- 
 rent tradition among the common peo- 
 ple in Turkey, that their empire shall 
 at some period be destroyed by the 
 Russians. Pfatf and Osiander, under- 
 standing the passage of the Roman An- 
 tichrist, regarded the tidings as those of 
 the breaking out of the Reformation, 
 and the preaching of the Gospel in 
 Germany. Melanchthon understood it 
 of the Turks, whose rage the Lord 
 should stay from heaven when no 
 human force could resist them. Bright- 
 man, writing in the seventeentli century, 
 observes that the things hitherto pre- 
 dicted are already i)ast ; those which 
 follow, to the end of the chapter, are 
 still to come. No tidings from the 
 east troubled Antiochus, nor the Ro- 
 mans after the battle of Cannae ; nor 
 did the Romans plant their tabernacles 
 in Judea. He thinks the tidings out 
 of the east and north that shall trouble 
 the Turk, is the conversion of the Jew^. 
 according to Rev. xvi. 12, which brings 
 him in great fury to the Holy Land, 
 where he is to perish. 
 
 (6) " He shall plant the tabernacles Oj 
 his palace between the seas in the glori- 
 ous holy mo^mtain." Mr. Birks inclines 
 to think, with Melanchthon, that in so 
 far as the Turkish power is viewed as 
 the subject of the present prophecy, 
 Constantinople is the place ret'erred to 
 as the "glorious holy mountain," or, 
 as he says the words might be ren- 
 dered, a " mountain of holy delight ; " 
 the occupying of that place as the seat 
 of empire being tlie main event of the 
 history between the time of the con- 
 quest of Egypt by tiie Turks and their 
 final overthrow. Regarding the king 
 of the North, however, as the Antichrist 
 yet to arise, he thinks Palestine and 
 Jerusalem the places intended, whither 
 he will lead the confederate nations of 
 Europe, the power of Russia, and the 
 districts lield long before by the king of 
 the North. Dr. Cox thinks the passage 
 intimates that the Turk will plant his 
 tabernacles, or fix his encampment, in 
 the Holy Land at Jerusalem, between 
 the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean; 
 and that there, having enjoyed a teni- 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 porary triumph, he will experience a 
 signal and fatal overthrow. He adds, 
 "Wliether the Russian and Persian 
 powers are destined to inflict the pro- 
 vidential visitation, as many have sup- 
 posed, must be left to the disclosures 
 of futurity." Keil thinks that the ex- 
 I)rcssion V^} (nata'), "plant," probably 
 alludes to the great palace-like tent of 
 the Oriental ruler, whose poles must be 
 struck very deep into the earth ; these 
 tents being surrounded by a multitude 
 of smaller ones for the guards and 
 servants, which accounts for the use 
 of the plural, "tabernacles" or 
 ", tents." He renders the words 
 tJ'np-^ny in (ha,- tsehhi-qodhesh), "the 
 holy hill of the delight," i.e., of Pales- 
 tine ; and considers it to be the hill 
 on which the Temple stood. He dis- 
 agrees with Kliefoth and others, who 
 think that the "seas" are the Mediter- 
 ranean and the Dead Sea ; and regards 
 the word "seas" as only the poetic 
 plural of fulness for the great Mediter- 
 ranean. The term ''\^']m (ciphadJmo), 
 " Ins palace," as our own and Luther's 
 version render it, has been variously 
 understood. Theodotion and the VuJoate 
 leave it untranslated, while the Sej)- 
 tuagint omits it altogether. Porphyry 
 understood it to be the name of a place, 
 and Junius regards it as that of the 
 country of Mesopotamia or Syria, the 
 "seas" being its fens or marshes. 
 Jerome renders it "his stable," as re- 
 ferring to cavalry. Calvin has "his 
 palace," as indicating a permanent abode 
 fixed by the Romans in those countries. 
 The word is used by the Rabbins in 
 the sense of a palace. Dr. Pusey 
 remarks that this is one of the four 
 Syrian words which have been singled 
 out by the opponents of Daniel, as 
 making against his Hebrew, but as 
 agreeing with the situation of a Jewish 
 writer in the time of the Maccabees. 
 The word, he says, survived in heathen 
 
 and Christian Syriac as well as in the 
 translation of the Scriptures, and was 
 also, in a slightly varied form, probably 
 introduced into i\rabia from the Syriac, 
 and had certainly been known in Meso- 
 potamia, since it became the name of 
 a place, Apadnas, near Amida on the 
 Tigris ; but was wholly lost in Chaldea 
 being unintelligible to all the Greek 
 translators, and rendered in the Syriac 
 version, not according to the meaning 
 of the actual Syriac word, but according 
 to the common meaning of ^>a(/a», which 
 forms part of the name Padan-aram. 
 
 ^''^ " To destroy and utterly make away 
 many." Dnnn^-l n^p^'H^ {lehashmidk 
 ulehaJiharim), to smite and to ban, or 
 uproot, implying utter destruction. ' So 
 Antioclius in his wrath resolved t(. 
 make Jerusalem a grave for the whole 
 of the Jews. 
 
 (^> Mr. Birks, \\ho interprets these 
 last verses of the Saracen and Turkish 
 powers, is inclined to extend their 
 bearing to a power that should combine 
 in himself all the forms of Antichris- 
 tian hostility that had preceded, and 
 believes there is a further accomplish- 
 ment in events which will complete 
 and close the Gentile dispensation, 
 Keil also views the latter part of this 
 chapter as pointing to a power, whom 
 he designates Antichrist, the anti- 
 type of Antiochus Epiphanes, and 
 remarks: "The placing of the over- 
 throw of this enemy with his host near 
 tile Temi)le-mountain agrees with other 
 prophecies of the Old Testament, whicli 
 place the decisive destruction of the 
 hostile world-power by the appearance 
 of the Lord for the consummation of His 
 kingdom upon the mountains of Israel 
 (Ezek. xxxix. 4), or in the valley of 
 Jehoshaphat (Joel iv. 2, ic), in or at 
 Jerusalem (Zech. xiv. 2) ; and confirms 
 the result of our exposition that tiie 
 hostile king, the last enemy or world- 
 power, is the Antichrist, 
 
 Sect. XLIII- 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 
 -The Infidel and Final Antichrist. 
 
 (Chap. xi. 45.) 
 
 "He shall come to his end, and none shall help him." It has been remarked 
 that in this last prophecy of Daniel one predicted hostile power appears to merge 
 
 261 
 
HOMILETIO COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 into and blend with another that succeeds it. This prophetic blending sometimes 
 takes place almost insensibly ; so that the same power would almost seem still 
 to continue to be spoken of. Of these various successive powers Autiochus Epi- 
 plianes, who is introduced in ver, 21, seems to be regarded as a kind of general type. 
 The powers themselves may be regarded as so many Antichrists, — for, according to 
 the Apostle, "there are many Antichrists," — or Antichrist under so many different 
 lornis. The destruction of all these Antichristian powers would seem to take 
 place together, and to be that "end" predicted in the closing verse of the chapter, 
 of which the sudden and signal end of Antiochus was a type. As the papal Anti- 
 christ seemed to blend into the Mahometan in ver. 40, so the Mahometan would 
 appear to blend into the infidel and final one in the last verse of the chapter. 
 From what is said to take place when the power thus predicted comes to his end, 
 viz., the time of great tribulation, the deliverance of the Jewish remnant, and the 
 resurrection from the dead, there can be little doubt that this power is the last 
 enemy that shall appear against the people of God, till the end of the thousand 
 years' reign of righteousness and peace (Rev. xx. 7-9). That last enemy is 
 apparently still the Little Horn of Daniel's Fourth Beast, and Paul's Man of Sin ; 
 but,- as may be gathered from the book of Revelation, under an openly infidel 
 form, as the scarlet-coloured beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit and 
 goeth into perdition, "full of names of blasphemy," having seven heads and ten 
 hoins, who with the false prophet gathers together the kings of the earth and their 
 armies, to make war against Christ in the " battle of the great day of God 
 Almighty," and who with the same false prophet shall then be taken and " cast 
 alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Rev. xvii. 3, xvi. 14, xix. 20). 
 
 Following Mr. Frere in his " Combined View of the Prophecies," Mr. Irving 
 observes that in the book of Daniel we have four main streams of prophecy, all 
 commencing from the period at which the prophet lived, and running down to 
 the time of the end. The fourth stream is contained in this eleventh chapter, 
 which connects itself with the time of Daniel by the mention of certain "kings" 
 immediately succeeding it, and then makes large leaps to reach the description of 
 a third blasphemous and ungodly power, which was to arise in the form, not of an 
 institution, but of an individual, close to the time of the end ; these three powers 
 being the Papal, Mahometan, and the Infidel ; all to arise within the bounds of 
 the four great monarchies, which may be called the prophetic earth. The prophet, 
 he remarks, gives a most particular account of one king who should, at the time of 
 the end, exalt himself against God, and prosper in war, till he should " come to his 
 end, and none should help him." This end of the infidel king, for whose manifes- 
 tation the whole history was given, shall also be the end or accomplishment of God's 
 purposes in dispersing the Jews; which, he observes, was most important for Daniel, 
 and is still most important both to the dispersed Jews and the Church of the Gentiles, 
 whose fulness comes not in till the dispersed are gathered again ; inasmuch as the 
 prophecy makes this ingathering contemporaneous with the downfall of the great 
 infidel king. Much to the same effect, Mr. Faber, in his " View of the Prophecies 
 regarding Israel," observes that nearly every prophecy that treats of the restoration 
 of the Jews treats likewise of the contemporary overthrow of some great and im- 
 pious combination of God's enemies; a confederacy of v/hich an infidel power, 
 which should appear at the time of the end, should be so powerful as to take the 
 lead, and which should include the ten-horned beast or Roman empire under its 
 last head, the ecclesiastical power represcmted by Daniel's little horn, and certain 
 kings of tlie earth, apparently in a state of vassalage to that sovereign power. All 
 these are said to come to tiieir end, and to be destroyed by some divine interposi- 
 tion after the expiration of a certain period (a " time, times, and half a time ") ; and 
 that in Palestine, a region between the seas, in the neighbourhood of the glorious 
 holy mountain, or Mount Zion, and in the more immediate vicinity of the town of 
 Megiddo. At the close of the same period, he observes, the prophet teaches (chap. 
 2G2 
 
UOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 xii. 1) that the restoration of the Jews, the goal to which the angelic comnnmici- 
 tion pointed, should take place. The restoration, contemporaneous with the 
 overthrow of the infidel power, Mr. Fuber regarded as prepared for by the fall of 
 the Ottoman empire, or the drying up of tlie river Euphrates (Rev. xvi. 12), which 
 takes place previous to the gathering together of the great confederacy. A writer 
 on prophecy already quoted remarks that the manifestation of the last Antichristian 
 a[)Ostasy or infidelity consists, like that of the former two, tlie Papal and the 
 Mahometan, of two parts ; the latter and the chief part being the account of the 
 infidel person, his acts, and his destruction ; the other part being the historical 
 chain which connects the account with the time of the giving of the vision, — a 
 chain of persons, remarkable kings, who were to intervene. This chain, Mr. Irving 
 observes, brings us to a new dynasty (ver. 18), when the Roman arms under Scipio 
 took the sovereignty of the parts that had constituted the Grecian monarchy ; and 
 then the prophecy at one stride bruigs us down to the immediate predecessor of the 
 infidel king, who is said to be in his estate a "raiser of taxes" (ver. 20). The 
 chaui, he thinks, thus brings us to the first manifestation of the infidel power 
 in the "vile person" (ver. 21), whose acts the prophet describes tlirougli tlie 
 remaining part of the chapter. The countries he enters into (ver. 40) he considers 
 to be already prepared, by the dissemination of his infidel sentiments, to give him 
 a welcome ; when he will " overflow " and level, like a terrible inundation, ancient 
 thrones and establishments before him. This first manife^tation of the infidel 
 power he, with many others, believed to have its realisation in the first Napoleon, 
 to be succeeded by a second like to him. He thinks that the prophet then inmie- 
 diately carries the infidel prince over to another scene of action, quite out of 
 the bounds of the ten-horned papal empire, to the Holy Land (ver. 41), and gives 
 a narrative of his conquests there, carried on probably from a motive of mad 
 ambition. Perhaps, having subdued the western Roman empire, he is to be God's 
 instrument to bring the Turk to his end, and may thus pass over to the Asiatic 
 and African states, to possess himself of Egypt and the neighbouring kingdoms, 
 to rally the nations of the ancient empire under his banner, the time of the 
 destruction of the fourth beast being nigh at hand. The tidings out of the east, 
 he, with Brightman, thinks refer to the event predicted in Rev. xvi. 12, regarding 
 the kings of the East, while those from the north refer to Russia. Thus troubled 
 and " moved by what natural impulse we know not, but overruled by all tliose 
 prophecies that have doomed him and all his chivalry to fall upon the mountains 
 of Israel, in the valley of Jehoshaphat, by the rock of Zu)n, he plants in Jerusalem 
 the ' tabernacles of his palace,' the insignia of his royal state, upon the ' glorious 
 holy mountain between the seas,' and there he comes to his end by a niii;hty over- 
 throw, in a great battle of God Almighty, to which the nations have been gathered 
 together." He characterises the infidelity or infidel apostasy, contemplated here 
 in the light not of an institution but of a person, as that which has grown like a 
 disease out of the body of the papacy, and been nourished by the very grossness 
 of that superstition, and gathering every evil and corrupt humour »)ut of the 
 wicked mass, till we see it, as it now is, all over its kingdom, ready to burst out 
 and destroy the very organisation of tlie body. This im[)ersonati()n of infidelity, 
 or infidel chief, he considers, is to conduct and guide that infidelity to its sure 
 purpose of dissolving that constitution of evil which has so long sat as an incubus 
 upon the spirit of the Church. This infidel Antichrist, having obtained the victory 
 over the papal constitution in order to destroy every vestige of lingering life within 
 it, and being then led onwards to the East where he shall find the Mahometan 
 superstition in its last throes ; and thus coming in time to take uj) the abandoned 
 sceptre of the Eastern empire, and having under him that power of nations and of 
 kingdoms, which both the apostasies of the East and West once pos>essed,— " he 
 hath accomplished his end, and his time is come." With his destruction, wlucli is 
 accomplished at Armageddon, the three apostasies are all finished, and Satan's last 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 desperate throw is ended, and " the kingdom of Christ in good earnest spreads 
 with all the prosperity of the divine blessing over all the earth." 
 
 In Mr, Faber's view, which is similar, the person who forms the subject of the 
 closing verses of the chapter is the inBdel king, the leader of the great Antichristiau 
 confederacy of the last days, who will, at the time of the end, or the close of the 
 time, times, and balf a time, be opposed by a king of the North and a king of the 
 South ; yet, in spite of this opposition, will succeed in overflowing many countries, 
 and in conquering Palestine, Egypt, Libya, and the land of Cush or Ethiopia. In 
 the midst of these victories, he, being in Egypt, will be disturbed by some untoward 
 tidings out of the North and out of the East, {)robably of the arrival in Palestine 
 of the navy of the great maritime power with the converted of Judah. Enraged 
 at such ungrateful news, he will hasten to Jerusalem, which he will succeed in 
 taking. This, however, will be his last victory. Advancing to Megiddo, a town 
 near the shores of the Mediterranean, in the great plain of Esdraelon, where, 
 according to St. John, the conflict is to be decided, he will come unexpectedly to 
 his end. The triumphant " Word of God " shall break his confederacy, and super- 
 naturally overthrow him with a sudden destruction. The king of the North Mr. 
 Faber thinks to be Ptussia ; some terrible invasion from that quarter, symbolised 
 by' tlie great hailstorm of the Apocalypse, being made upon the papal Roman 
 empire during the time that the infidel king is prosecuting his conquests in Pales- 
 tine and Egyi)t, 
 
 Keil also views the latter verses of the chapter as all pointing to such an infidel 
 power, whom he designates the Antichrist, the antitype of Antiochus Epiphanes. 
 He says : " The undertaking of this king (Antiochus) to root out the worship of 
 the living God, and destroy the Jewish religion, shows in type the great war which 
 the world-power shall undertake against the kingdom of God, by exalting itself 
 above every god, to hasten on its own destruction and tlie consummation of the 
 kingdom of God. The description of this war, as to its origin, character, and 
 issue, forms the principal subject of this prophecy. . . . From the typical relation 
 in which Antiochus, the Old Testament enemy of God, stands to Antichrist, the 
 New Testament enemy, is explained the connection of the end, the final salvation 
 of the people of God, and the resurrection from the dead, with the description of 
 this I'neiny, without any express mention being made of the fourth world-kingdom 
 [the lioman empire], and of the last enemy [the little horn] arising out of it-- 
 already revealed to Daniel in chap. vii. ... In chapter viii., the violent enemy 
 of the people of Israel, who would arise from the Diadoch-kingdoms of tlie 
 Javanic world-monarchy [the four divisions of the Grecian empire after Alex- 
 ander's death], was already designated as the type of the last enemy who would 
 arfse out of the ten kingdoms of the fourth world- [or universal] monarchy. Alter 
 tliese i)recediiig revelations, the announcement of tiie great tribulation, that would 
 come upon tlie people of God from these two enemies, could be presented in one 
 com[)rehensive painting, wherein the assaults made by the prefigurative eneuiy 
 against the covenant people should form the foreground of the picture, for a repre- 
 sentation of tlie daring of the antitypical enemy, proceeding even to the extent of 
 abolishing all divine and human ordinances, which shall bring the last and severest 
 triliuhition on the Church of God at the end of the days, for its purification and 
 preparation for eternity." 
 
 We conclude our remarks on the infidel Antichrist, and on the whole of this 
 deeply interesting though somewhat obscure chapter, with the words of Auberlen : 
 *'It cannot be proved with absolute certainty that a personal Antichrist will stand 
 at the head of the Antichristiau kingdom ; for it is possible that the eighth, like 
 the preceding heads (of the beast in Uev. vii.), designates a kingdom, a power, and 
 not a person ; and the same may he said concerning tiie Antichristiau horn described 
 by Daniel, when compared witli the ten horns. But the type of Antiochus Epiphanes 
 is of decisive importance ; for tiiis personal enemy of God's kingdom is described 
 264 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 in the eighth chapter of Daniel, as a little, gradually increasing horn, just as Anti- 
 christ is spoken of in the seventh. And this is corroborated by the Apostle Paul 
 (2 Thess. ii.), who describes Antichrist (ver. 4) with colours evidently furnislied by 
 Daniel's sketch of Antiochus, aJid who calls him, moreover, the " Man of Sin," the 
 Son of perdition, which, if explained naturally, must refer to an individual (Com- 
 pare John xvii. 12, where the same expression is used of Judas). In favour of the 
 same view may be adduced, likewise, analogies in the liistory of the world ; the 
 previous world-kingdoms (or universal em[>ires) had extraordinary persons as their 
 heads, as Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Alexander the Great. The spiritual and universal 
 character does not exclude individual, personal rej)resentations. Every spiritual 
 tendency has its distinguished representatives, and when it has reached its perfec- 
 tion, provides its representative xar l^ox^'^ (?'^'' excellence). Hence Antichristian 
 tendencies produce different Antichrists ; and it is a sober historical view when 
 Christianity maintains that these separate Antichrists shall, some future day, find 
 their consummation in an individual far excelling them in the intensity of his evil 
 character (Lange). In conclusion, we must not omit to mention that Paul and John 
 agree in speaking emphatically of the destruction of Antichrist. . . . His triumph 
 is but of short duration ; judgment speedily overtakes him. The man of sin is of 
 necessity a child of death, the son of perdition. . . . The return of the " beast " 
 (Rev. xvii. 11) is represented, or at least prepared, in that principle which, since 
 1789, has manifested itself in beast-like outbreaks, and has since then been 
 developed both extensively and intensively. This principle has appeared in various 
 forms, in the Revolution, in Napoleon, (0 despotism sanclioning revolution ; proving, 
 at the same time, that the beast, even in this shape, can carry the "harlot" in 
 Socialism and Communism. But we may yet expect other manifestations. (-) At 
 present, it is the endeavour of churches and governments to keep down this 
 monster ; but it has shown its teeth more than once, and given unmistakable signs 
 that it is regaining life and strength. How long its development shall last, — 
 whether it is to grow up rapidly, — through what different phases it has yet to pass, 
 — at what period the seventh kingdom sliall pass over into the eighth (Rev. xvii.), 
 is not known to man : God alone knows it. It is not for us to know the times or 
 the seasons (Acts i. 7) ; but it is for ns to take to heart the word of our Lord, 
 ♦* Can ye not discern the signs of the times ? " (Matt. xvi. 3). 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES. —0) Mr. The "prince of the covenant" he views 
 
 Irving and others find a remarkable as the pope, who declared his submis- 
 
 correspondence between the prophecy sion in a league which terminated the 
 
 concerning the " vile person " and the campaign. In correspondence with ver. 
 
 first Napoleon. The "raiser of taxes," 2.3, he remarks, that Napoleon, after the 
 
 who preceded him, is identified with league just mentioned so wrought with 
 
 Louis XVI., whose death was brought men of science and letters as well as 
 
 about "neither in anger nor in battle," with the common people, to induce them 
 
 but in cold blood, by the sentence of to regard him as the harbinger of light, 
 
 that very power to which his raising reason, and liberty, that he was able, 
 
 of taxes had given birth. The rise of with a small force, so to increase his 
 
 Napoleon is considered to be described power as to enter the richest provinces 
 
 in ver. 21, "with a general compre- of Italy, and levy upon tlieni exactions 
 
 hensiveness as wonderful as in the of every kind, which he scattered among 
 
 former verse was the Bourbon's fate." his soldiers; at the same time plunder- 
 
 Ver. 22, Mr. Irving thinks, describes ing churches and repositories of Art of 
 
 the first act of Napoleon's career in their treasures which no conqueror had 
 
 Italy almost in his own words which he hitherto done. Verses 25-27 were fnl- 
 
 addressed to his troops: "You have filled in the surprising victories gained 
 
 precipitated yourselves like a torrent over the emperor of Austria, the king 
 
 from the summit of the Apennines." of the Snutli, through secret intel- 
 
 205 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 ligence had with one high in the Aus- 
 trian counsels ; the emperor concerting 
 the campaign with the pope or prince 
 of the covenant, plotting mischief to- 
 gether, viz., the continuance of the 
 mystery of iniquity, — but in vain, as its 
 end was determined ; the result being 
 that Rome became a republic, the 
 priests were banished, and the pope 
 died in exile. Ver. 28 is viewed as 
 giving the key to his future wars and 
 animosities, viz., his "indignation 
 against the holy covenant," or that 
 people who continued to maintain the 
 cause of religion and righteousness 
 against his usurpation and the con- 
 federacy to perpetuate the mischiefs of 
 the papacy, viz., the British nation. 
 
 (2) Faber, Frere, Gauntlett, and others, 
 expressed their conviction, previous to 
 1820, that a second French emperor, 
 exactly lilce the first, would arise nearer 
 to the end, and would constitute the 
 last great Antichrist. More than twenty 
 other writers, according to Mr. Baxter, 
 up to 1861, considered the late em- 
 peror. Napoleon III., to be the eighth 
 head of the apocalyptic beast or future 
 personal Antichrist. Points of resem- 
 blance between him and the first Na- 
 poleon were not wanting ; enough to 
 show that the idea of a repetition might 
 easily be verified, and to strike the at- 
 tention of those who, according to the 
 Lord's direction, seek to discern the 
 signs of the times. That two poten- 
 tates, so closely related to each other, 
 should arise and, after a brief interval, 
 succeed each other, both so unlikely in 
 themselves, and with such humble be- 
 ginnings, and bearing so strong a re- 
 semblance both to each other and to 
 the propliecy, was certainly remarkable, 
 and fitted at least to keep men on the 
 
 watch. But the end was not yet. 
 " Deus habet sus horas et moras." Not- 
 withstanding the expressed presenti- 
 ment of the first Napoleon that his 
 nephew should be the ultimate repre- 
 sentative of the Napoleonic dynasty, 
 and the profound conviction of that 
 nephew, even from early life, that he 
 had a great mission and destiny to fulfil 
 in relation to France ; notwithstanding 
 that, singularly, after becoming presi- 
 dent of the French Republic in 1851, he 
 became emperor of France in 1852, 
 being crowned on the anniversary of 
 the battle of Austerlitz and the corona- 
 tion of Napoleon I., thus restoring the 
 Napoleonic dynasty, when the French 
 people inscribed on an arch erected in 
 his honour the remarkable words, "The 
 uncle that was, the nephew that is," as if 
 in literal fulfilment of Rev. xvii. 8, 11 ; 
 notwithstanding that from 1849 to 1870 
 he maintained military occupation of 
 Rome, and declared that the temporal 
 power of the pope was incompatible 
 with the advance of civilisation and 
 must be put down, being termed the 
 " modern Augustus, nephew and heir 
 of Csesar ;" and finallj', notwithstanding 
 that he succeeded in acquiring an almost 
 paramount influence over Spain and 
 Italy, while he extended his power in 
 Algeria and the northern coast of 
 Africa, and appeared determined to 
 possess himself of Palestine, and that, 
 as in the case of the first Napoleon, 
 Great Britain appeared to be the only 
 impediment to his attainment of un- 
 controlled dominion over the Roman 
 world ; yet he passed away, broken 
 apparently in the zenith of his pros- 
 perity and power, and left the pro- 
 phecy still unfulfilled. 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 Sect. XLTV. — The Great Tribulation. (Chap. xii. 1.) 
 
 The angel continues his discourse regarding the things tliat should befall 
 Daniel's people in the last days. He had shown him the fall of their last great 
 adversary in the "glorious holy mountain" where, in his pride and indignation 
 against tlie people of God, he liad planted the tabernacles of his palace. He now 
 describes what siiould be the experience of men in general at that period, but with 
 a special reference to Daniel's own people. "There shall be a time of trouble, 
 26G 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 such as there never was since there was a nation even to that same time." To this, 
 the great tribulation, we now turn our attention. The Lord the Spirit give light \ 
 That there should be such a time of trouble previous to the period of 
 lasting peace and prosperity to Israel and the world, Daniel might have already 
 read in the sacred books which he possessed. The song of Moses in the law had 
 concluded with intimations of such a time (Deut. xxxii. 34-43). Isaiah had been 
 led more than once to enlarge upon it, when foretelling the year of the Lord's 
 redeemed. It was with reference to it that the Lord exhorts His peojjle when He 
 says : " Come, My people, enter into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about 
 thee, and hide thee for a little season, until the indignation be overpast. For, 
 behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the world 
 for their iniquity ; and the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover 
 her slain" (Isa. xxvi. 20, 21). In reference to the same period the prophet had 
 asked, " Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments, from Ijozrah 1 
 This that is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength?" 
 The answer is given by the lledeemer and Deliverer of His people, " I that si)eak 
 in righteousness, mighty to save." The prophet asks again, " Wherefore art thou 
 red in Thine apparel, and Thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat ?" 
 To which the answer is returned, "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of 
 the people there was none with Me : for I will tread tliem in Mine anger, and 
 trample them in My fury ; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon My garments, 
 and I will stain all My raiment," — the blood here that of his enemies, not His own. 
 " For the day of vengeance is in Mine heart, and the year of My redeemed is 
 come " (Isa. Ixiii. 1-4). That day of vengeance was to follow " the acceptable year 
 of the Lord;" and hence His object was only to declare the latter when, reading 
 in the synagogue at Nazareth from Isa. Ixi. 1—2, Jesus stopped at the words, ''tlie 
 day of vengeance of our God." Zephaniah had also predicted the same time 
 of trouble as ushering in the glory of the future age. " For My determination 
 is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them 
 Mine indignation, even all My fierce anger ; for all the earth shall be devoured with 
 the fire of My jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that 
 they may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent " (Zepli. 
 iii. 8, 9). Jeremiah had written of the same period of tribulation, adding, " It is 
 even the time of Jacob's trouble ; but he shall be saved out of it " (Jer. xxx. 7). 
 Ezekiel, about half a century before this last vision of Daniel, had been inspired to 
 predict the same time of trouble in the following sublime and terrific language : — 
 " Speak to every feathered fowl and to every beast of the field, Asseml)le yourselves, 
 and come ; gather yourselves on every side to the sacrifice that I do sacrifice for 
 you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh anil 
 drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the miglity, and drink the blood of the princes 
 of the earth, of rams, and of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings 
 of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunkt-n, 
 of My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at My table 
 with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the 
 Lord God. And I will set My glory among the nations, and the nations shall see 
 My judgment that I have executed, and My hand that I have laid upon them. So 
 the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and 
 forward. And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity 
 for their iniquity ; because they trespassed against Me, therefore hid I My face from 
 them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies; so fell they all by the sword. 
 According to their uncleanness, and according to their transgressions, have I done 
 unto them, and hid My face from them. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Now 
 will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon tlio whole liouse of 
 Israel, and will be jealous for My holy name" (Ezek. xxxix. 17-25). Tliis was, 
 doubtless, the same tribulation of which Jesus forewarned His discii'les wlien He 
 
 207 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 said, " There shall be great tribulation, sucb as was not since the beginning of the 
 world to that time, no, nor ever shall be ;" adding, "Immediately after the tribu- 
 lation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give lier 
 light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be 
 shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven : and then 
 shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man 
 coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." This time of tribu- 
 lation the Saviour, like the prophets before Him, connects with that of His 
 people's redemption, adding, according to Luke, " When these things begin to 
 come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth 
 nigh " (Luke xxi. 28). 
 
 We may notice in connection with this time of trouble — 
 
 I. The time of it. The angel says, "At that time,"(i) i.e., when the last 
 hostile power shall, as had just been mentioned, "go forth with great fury to 
 destroy and utterly to make away many," and shall " plant the tabernacles of his 
 palace hetween the seas in the glorious holy mountain," there to meet with his end 
 (chap. xi. 44, 45). The last clause of the verse connects it with the time of return- 
 ing mercy to the covenant people, when " all Israel shall be saved" (Rcmi. xi. 26) ; 
 while the second verse connects it with the resurrection of the dead, both events 
 being elsewhere connected with the Lord's second appearing (Zech. xii. 10 ; Rev. 
 i. 7 ; Matt. xxiv. 39 ; Acts iii. 19-21, R.V. ; 1 Cor. xv. 23; 1 Thess. iv. 15-17). 
 So Jesus, as we have seen, connects the time of tribulation with that of His own 
 coming "in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." From the events 
 which are to follow it, however, it is obviously not to be confounded with the 
 time of the general judgment. The fulfilment of the promises regarding Israel is 
 to follow. 
 
 IL The subjects of the tribulation. These, apparently, are twofold : (1) The 
 nations of ajjostate Christendom forming the great confederacy under the leader.<hip 
 of the infidel and final Antichrist, who is then to come to his end ; and (2) Israel or 
 the Jew.s, whose great and final trouble it is to be, previous to their restoration as 
 God's covenant people, — " the time of Jacob's trouble." In regard to the former, 
 the tribulation will apjiarently be both immediately from the hand of God, whose 
 sacrifice their destruction is said to be, and who sjjeaks of " raining upon the 
 infidel leader, and his bands, and the many peoples that are with him, an over- 
 flowing rain, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone ; " and also mediately, through 
 the instrumentality botli of others and themselves, as God declares by the s;inie 
 prophet, that He will call for a sword against the invading enemy througdu)ut all 
 His mountains, wliile every man's sword shall be against his fellow, and that He 
 will "plead against him with pestilence and with blood" (Ezek. xxxviii. 21, 22). 
 In reference to Israel, the cause or instrument of the tribulation will apparently be 
 the hostile power itself, whom God however brings up against them, and gives into 
 his hand (Ezek. xxxviii. 16, 17, xxxix. 23, 24). The procuring cause of the tribula- 
 tion in both cases is sin. On the part of the infidel leader and his followers and 
 abettors throughout the nations, it is pride, infidelity, defiance of God, covetons- 
 ness and rapacity, the eimiity against God and His people culminating in one 
 grand attack upon Israel now apparently i)rosperous and at case in their own 
 country (Ezek. xxxviii. 8-13). On the i)art of Israel, it is unbelief and rejection 
 of their Saviour-King yet unrepented of and unforgiven (Ezek. xxxix. 23, 24), the 
 cur.se called down upon themselves and their cliildren now taking its full antl 
 final effect, when they shall iiave filled up the measure of their iniquity (Malt. 
 xxvii. 25). 
 
 III. The greatness of it. It is here spoken of as unparalleled, and is so 
 
 characterised by Jeremiah : " Alas ! for that day is great, so that none is like it : 
 
 it is even the day of Jacob's trouble " (Jer. xxx. 7). The same language used by 
 
 tlie Saviour in reference to it. The un])arallelcd greatness of it seen both in the 
 
 268 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 extent and intensity of it. Terrible indeed tlie tribulation that shall exceed that 
 of the Deluge, the Cities of the Plain, Jerusalem in its siege and capture by the 
 Chaldeans and then by the Romans, the French Revolution and the Reign of 
 Terror. Its greatness inferred from the exhortation of Jesus to His disciples and 
 people in every age: "Watch and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy 
 to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of 
 Man " (Luke xxi. 36). The same to be inferred from the object of it. It is the 
 day of recompenses, both in regard to. Israel and the nations of Christendom, when 
 the blood of God's saints shed from the beginning shall be avenged on Jew and 
 Gentile, when " the earth shall disclose her blood — the blood which she has been 
 caused to drink, — and shall no more cover her slain " (Isa. xxvi. 21). Its greatness 
 may be inferred also from its results. It is to terminate, in a general sense, not 
 only the sins and sufferings of Israel but of the world at large, and to usher in a 
 jieriod of righteousness and peace that shall continue for at least a thousand years. 
 It is in reference to that period that the prophetic Psalmist writes, " Come, behold 
 the works of the Lord, Avhat desolations He hath made in the earth. He maketh 
 wars to cease unto the end of the earth ; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear 
 in sunder; He burneth the (war-) chariot in the fire. Be still and know that I aniGod; 
 I will be exalted among the heathen ; I will be exalted in the earth" (Ps. xlvi. 8-10). 
 It is as the result of it that God will turn ii[ion the peoples a pure language, so that 
 they shall all serve Him with one consent (Zeph. iii. 8). The greatness of the tribula- 
 tion may also be gathered from its character and the agents in it. Proceeiling, as 
 in great part it is to do, from the great infidel leader and his Antichristian host, 
 whose coming as the Man of Sin, the Son of perdition, and that Wicked or Lawless 
 one, is after the power and energy of Satan, it shall inaugurate a time of unbridled 
 wickedness, fully-developed ungodliness, and daring God-defying infidelity ; and 
 who, in his fury at the evil tidings that are to reach him iu the midst of his 
 triumphant iniquity, shall " go forth to destroy and utterly to make away many." 
 Of all evil times it will be the most evil, faith being scarcely any longer to be 
 found in the earth, few if any godly men left, those there are being hidden as 
 in a pavilion in the chambers of God's protection provided for them, and the 
 restraints of His grieved and insulted Spirit being for the time withdrawn from 
 the earth ; a period of which the three years and a half at the commencement of 
 the French Revolution, during which religion was publicly and 0[)enly j)roscribed, 
 the Sabbath abolished, the Bible dragged through the streets of Paris at the tail of 
 an ass, and a beautiful but profligate woman worshipped in the church of Notre 
 Dame as the Goddess of Reason, may have been an instalment and a type. 
 Physical disturbances and commotions seem to be indicated both by the prophets 
 and the Saviour Himself, as accompanying these civil and religious ones ; signs 
 appearing in the heavenly bodies, and tlie powers of heaven being shaken, both as 
 symbols and accompaniments of the distress of nations ; the godly being taught to 
 sing in the prospect of that time of trouble : " The Lord of hosts is with us ; the 
 God of Jacob is our refuge : therefore will we not fear, although the earth be 
 removed, and the mountains be cast into the depths of the sea : tliougli the waters 
 thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling 
 thereof" (Ps. xlvi. 2, 3). Nothing is said in the text to indicate the duration of 
 this time of trouble; but we may gather from other places that its brevity will^ be 
 in proportion to its intensity. The godly are to hide themselves " for a little 
 moment, till the indignation be overpast." " A short work will the Lord make 
 upon the earth." For the elect's sake "the da3'S will be shortened," for otherwise, 
 according to the Saviour's declaration, " no flesh should be saved " (Matt. xxiv. 22). 
 The subject calls for solemn thought and earnest preparation. That this time of 
 great and unparalleled tribulation shall come cannot be questicmed by any believer 
 in Revelation. The words of a great writer, philosopher, and divine, now pa.ssed 
 away, express the conclusion of a simple-minded, unbiassed reader of the Word : 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 " I utterly despair," said the late Dr. Chalmers, " of the universal prevalence of 
 Christianity as tlie result of a painful missionary process, I look for its conclu- 
 sive establisliment tljrough a widening passage of desolating judgments, with the 
 utter demolition of our present civil and ecclesiastical structures." (-) IIuw near we 
 may be to this predicted state of things, or how far off from it, it is impossible for 
 any one to say. Whether perceptibly or not, we are doubtless approaching to it. 
 Signs are not wanting to indicate that such is the case. " This gospel of the 
 kingdom," said the Saviour when speaking of that future period, " shall first be 
 preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations " — 2)reached, not believed 
 in — " and then shall the end come " (Matt. xxiv. 14). This is rapidly taking place. 
 Missionary operations are constantly multiplying. So also are infidelity and its 
 agencies. It has recently been said by a high authority, that religion seems to be 
 unsettled, and almost going away from various countries.(^) The rapidity with 
 which great changes at present take place is the subject of general remark. A few 
 years may suffice to bring the predicted period. For ought we know, the present 
 living generation may see and participate in the great tribulation. It is for all to 
 seek earnestly to secure for themselves and others a place of security in time, 
 while the doors of the provided ark are open. " Seek righteousness ; seek meek- 
 ness ; it may be ye may be hid in the day of the Lord's anger" (Zeph. ii. 3). The 
 present time is to be embraced by earnestly laying hold of the gracious covenant 
 held out to us in Christ, and persuading others also to do the same ; and thus being 
 prepared for the time when it will be said, in connection with predicted judg- 
 ments, "Gather ]\Iy saints together unto Me, those that have made a covenant 
 with Me by sacrifice " (Ps. 1. 5). " Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish 
 from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little : blessed are all they that 
 put their trust in Him " (Ps. ii. 12). 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— « "At 
 that time." Keil remarks that the ex- 
 pression points back to the " time of 
 the end " (chap. xi. 40), the time when 
 the final hostile and persecuting power 
 rises up to subdue the whole worhl, and 
 sets up his camp in the Holy Land, to 
 destroy many in great anger, and totally 
 to uproot them. He observes that the 
 description of this oppression seems to 
 be based upon Jer. xxx. 7, the time of 
 trouble being the climax which the hos- 
 tile king shall bring upon Israel, and 
 occurring with the expiry of the last or 
 seventieth week (chap. ix. 26) ; while, 
 with Kranichfeld, he identifies Israel's 
 deliverance out of it with the setting 
 up of Messiah's kingdom as describeil 
 in chap. vii. 22-27. lie agrees with 
 Hiivernick in opposing those who refer 
 this verse to the period of persecution 
 under Antiochus, on the ground that 
 the statement regarding it is far too 
 strong for such a period, while the 
 promised deliverance of those " written 
 in the book " does not accord with that 
 Syrian oppression. Hiivernick under- 
 stands the " trouble " of the sufferings 
 270 
 
 and oppressions which the people of 
 Israel should endure at the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem by the Romans, but 
 which should be most fully realised 
 only at the second coming of the Lord 
 (Matt. xxiv. 21, 22). Hofmann finds 
 in this and the two following verses 
 the prophecy of the final close of the 
 history of nations, the time of the great 
 tribulation at the termination of the 
 present course of the world, the com- 
 plete salvation of Israel in it, and the 
 resurrection of the dead at the end of 
 the world. Calvin interpreted the words 
 of the increased troubles and heavier 
 afllictions to be endured by tlie Church 
 after the manifestation of Clirist. Chry- 
 sostom, Grotius, and others understand 
 them of the persecutions of Antiochus 
 while his armies were still in Judea, 
 Junius, with Calvin, applies them to 
 the troubles of the Church in the times 
 of the Gospel. Calovius limits them 
 to the last times, in the " end of the 
 days." Brightman remarks that the 
 tribulation cannot be applied to any 
 trouble from Antiochus or the Romans, 
 as after it no calamity is to be expected 
 
HO MI LET IC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 by the Jews, the suffering inflicted on 
 them by those powers being insignificant 
 compared with this misery in which, 
 after sixteen, now eighteen, centuries, 
 the Jews still lie buried. He considers 
 the tribulation to have reference to the 
 Jews, Daniel's own people, of whom, 
 however, he thinks, some will very 
 likely hold obstinately to their legal 
 rights and institutions, notwithstanding 
 the deliverance of their nation, and the 
 glory with which the truth shall then 
 flourish. 
 
 (2) The same writer, in his " Sabbath 
 Scripture Readings " on Rev. xv. says : 
 "Can this sea of glass on which the 
 saints might stand and look on the 
 execution of God's righteous sentence 
 on the earth at large, — can it be what 
 my friend Edward Irving imagined it 
 to be, — one country in the world that 
 should stand exempted from the deso- 
 lations which are to go abroad over 
 the face of it, and that country to be 
 the evangelical and missionary Britain, 
 standing aloof from popery, and actu- 
 ated generally and throughout, or at 
 least influentially, though it might be 
 
 partially, by a pure, and scriptural, 
 and Protestant faith? The song of 
 Moses, as commemorating tlie destruc- 
 tii)n of the enemies of the Church, and 
 the Church's safety as well as prospects, 
 might well harmonise with the song of 
 the Lamb ; and both together might har- 
 monise with the circumstances of that 
 transition period, when plagues were to 
 be sent down from heaven upon the earth, 
 and, as the fruit of God's judgments 
 being made manifest, all nations were 
 to come and worship before Him." 
 
 (3) " Any one," said Cardinal New- 
 man lately in a sermon at Birmingham, 
 " who looked into the news of tlie day, 
 would see quite enough in the state of 
 things at home and abroad, to under- 
 stand the great need of intercession. 
 There was certainly a very dark pro- 
 spect before them with regard to reli- 
 gion ; and without saying whether the 
 troubles were greater or less than those 
 which had previously tried the Church, 
 they had a depth which, to those who 
 only saw the present, was more serious 
 and more dangerous than any depth 
 that had been." 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 Sect. XLV. —The Deliverance of the Jews. 
 last clause.) 
 
 (Chap. xii. 1, 
 
 The object for which the angel was sent to Daniel was to communicate to 
 him what should befall his people in the latter days. He had already intimated 
 to him the coming of Messiah at a definite period, with the calamities which 
 should follow their wicked rejection of Him even to the time of the end. These 
 calamities, however, were to culminate, as the end approached, in a time of trouble 
 such as had never yet been since there was a nation. It is now promised, how- 
 ever, for the comfort of Daniel and his godly countrymen, that his people should 
 be delivered out of that tribulation, at least a portion of them, — " every one that 
 shall be found written in the book." We notice, in connection with this pro- 
 mised deliverance — 
 
 I. The deliverance itself. " Thy people shall be delivered." Daniel's people 
 were the Jews, the descendants, with himself, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; those 
 for whom he had so earnestly prayed, and whose sins he had so penitently con- 
 fessed (chap, ix.) The whole twelve tribes are included. These, in consequence 
 of Solomon's apostasy, had indeed been divided into two kingdoms, those of 
 Judah and Israel ; the former consisting of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, 
 the latter of the remaining ten (1 Kings xi. 9-13). They formed, however, but 
 one people, and were yet again to be united in one kingdom (Ezvk. xxxvii. 
 16-24). Those constituting the kingdom of Israel, having been the first to 
 apostatise to idolatry, were the first to be led captive from their own land, which 
 was done by the Assyrians, who placed them in various cities of the Medes 
 
 271 
 
no MI LET IC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 (2 Kings XV. 29, xvii. 56). The two tribes forming the kingdom of Judiih, Having 
 imitated the apostasy of the kingdom of Israel, were carried captive, on three 
 separate occasions, by Nebuchadnezzar into Babylon. It was more especially those 
 two tribes who returned to Judea after the edict of Cyrus ; and of these only a 
 portion. The whole twelve tribes, however, vrere regarded as existing in the days 
 of the apostles, though mostly scattered among the Gentiles (Acts xxvi. 6, 7 ; 
 James i. 1 ; John vii. 35). It is more especially those who formed the kingdom 
 of Judah, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with a sprinkling from the other 
 tribes, that are now known as Jews, the ten tribes being as yet comparatively 
 unknown, though doubtless to be found in various parts of the world. It seems 
 to be more especially those of the kingdom of Judah that are here indicated, as it 
 appears to be they vpho shall be found in Jerusalem and Judea at the period 
 referred to (Zech. xii. 2, 4, 6-10). These apparently intended to be the means of 
 seeking out and bringing back their scattered brethren after their own conversion 
 and acceptance of the Saviflur (Isa. Ixvi. 19-22). Even of those, however, who, 
 being in Judea and Jerusalem at the time of the great tribulation under their final 
 adversary, only a portion will be delivered. (0 Zechariah predicts that in all the 
 land two-thirds should be cut off and die, but the third should be left therein, to 
 be brought through the fire and refined as silver is refined, and be made God's 
 people, not merely in name as before, but in reality and truth (Zech. xiii. 8, 9). 
 They are here spoken of as those " written in the book ; " that book being doubt- 
 less the secret register of those whom, as an elect remnant, it was the Lord's 
 sovereign purpose to spare, as the nucleus of the future Church of Abraham's 
 seed ; and doubtless those who, according to the prophet's exhortation, had truly 
 and in time sought righteousness and meekness, and under the outpoured Spirit of 
 grace and sup[)lication had looked to Him whom they had pierced, and had mourned 
 because of Him, and had thus been led to the fountain opened for sin and unclean- 
 ness (Zech. xii. 10, xiii. 1). Such a book frequently referred to as " the book of 
 life," or "of the living" (Phil. iv. 3; Rev. iii. 5, xiii. 8; Luke x. 25; Exod. 
 xxxii. 42 ; Ps. Ixix. 28). The deliverance is, in the first instance, one from death 
 l)y the sword of the enemy. According to Zechariah, all nations will be gathered 
 at that time, doubtless under this same infidel chief, against Jerusalem ; and the city 
 shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished, and half of the inhabi- 
 tants shall go into captivity ; but " the residue of the people shall not be cut off 
 from the city " (Zech. xiv, 2). This residue doubtless the remnant in the text. This 
 deliverance from death, however, to be followed with a still more important and 
 blessed one, the deliverance from spiritual death and introduction into Messiah's 
 kingdom. 
 
 II. The agency employed in effecting it. This is said to be " Mich.iel," called 
 elsewhere " Michael your prince," and " the prince that standeth up for the children 
 of thy people." (^) In the New Testament called jNIichael the archangel (Jude 9). 
 Represented in the book of Revelation as, in conjunction with the angels under 
 him, fighting with the devil and his angels (Rev. xii. 7). He a[)pear.s especially 
 charged with the defence of God's ancient jieople. The ministry of angels with 
 their allotment to various charges already referred to under chaj). x. Michael, as 
 the chief of the angel princes, and especial intrusted with the defence and care of 
 Israel, naturally introduced in this their final conflict with the powers of this world, 
 under the leadership of one whose coming is after the working of Satan with all 
 power and deceivableness (2 Thess. ii. 9), and against wlu)m, with his mighty 
 force, it might seem impossible tliat Israel should be able to stand. Quite in 
 accordance with the economy of God's lu-ovidential government of the Church and 
 the world, in employ angelic agency for the accomplishment of His purposes, 
 whether of mercy or of judgment. In what particular manner Michael executes 
 the charge committed to him on this occasion, it is not for us to inquire. An 
 angel smote in one night a huiulred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians that lay 
 272 
 
ITOMILET/C COMMESTAltY: DAXIi-L 
 
 encamped about Jerusalem. " The stars in their courses fought against Sisera." 
 In a thousand ways of which we have now no conception the angelic agents fultil 
 their ministry. 
 
 III. The results of the deliverance. The deliverance, in the first instance, was 
 one from the sword of Antichrist and his infidel host. It is also the deliverance 
 of Israel from their last oppressor, and the termination of that captivity under 
 which, in consequence of their unbelitf and rejection of their divine King and 
 Saviour, they had lain for so many centuries, as the curse which their fathers wln) 
 crucified their King called down upon themselves and their children. The time of 
 their rejection by God, and their scattering and crushing under the hand of the 
 Cientiles into whirh they had been delivered, will now come to an end. The 
 "seven times" of punishment that were to pass over them for their sin will now 
 have expired. The time to favour Zion, even the set time, will now have come, 
 lie that had scattered Israel is now, according to the promise, to gather him. (^) 
 The threatenings and the curses h;id in righteous judgment been executed, and now 
 in like manner the promises made to their fathers were in unmerited mercy to be 
 fulfilled also. The curse can now be removed and the blessing bestowed, because 
 Israel, through the Spirit of grace and supplication poured upon them, will have 
 penitently accepted their long-njected King and Saviour. Tliey will have been 
 brought, with the veil removed from their hearts, to say in faith, " Blessed is He 
 thiii Cometh in the name of the Lord,' and their house is to remain no longer 
 desolate. They are now to be betrothed in rigliteousness, and in judgment, and in 
 loving-kindness, in mercies, and in faithfulness, — to be betrothed for ever (Hosea 
 ii. 19, 20). The blindness that in part overtook Israel as the result of their 
 rejection of their Messiah, was to be taken away when the fulness of the times of 
 the Gentiles should be come in, when all Israel should be saved. That time will 
 now have come. The Deliverer was to come out of Zion to them that turn from 
 ungodliness in Jacob, and to those who have looked on their once pierced Redeemer. 
 That Deliverer now comes. He comes to turn away ungodliness from Jacob, and to 
 graft the natural branches, broken off on account of unbelief, again into their own 
 olive tree. The casting away of Israel for a time was the reconciling of the world ; 
 the receiving back of them again was to be to that same world " life from the 
 dead."(^) They are now to be restored to the high and holy position originally 
 intended for them, as a kingdom of priests unto God in the service of humanity. ('') 
 A mere external deliverance without this spiritual one would have left Israel but as 
 they were. But now the new covenant is to be made with them, in virtue of which, 
 while their iniquities are all forgiven, God's law is put within their hearts and 
 written indelibly on their minds by the Holy Ghost. That better covenant they 
 accept when they look by faith on Him whom they pierced and mourn for Him, a 
 covenant made through the sacrifice of the Son of God (Ps. 1. 5). 
 
 We may make one reflection. The deliverance in the text suggests the deliver- 
 ance which every individual, whether Jew or Gentile, needs, and that which, pro- 
 cured by the Son of God incarnate for us, is freely held out to each in the Gospel ; 
 that with which no external deliverance is once to be compared, but of which 
 Israel's deliverance from their external enemies is a type. It is deliverance from the 
 curse of a broken law, from the deserved wrath of God, from the dominion of sin, 
 from the power of Satan, and from the pains of eternal death. It is deliverance from 
 ■A tribulation with which that of Israel under Antichrist, great as it will be, is only 
 as a shadow ; a tribulation from which, beyond a certain period, deliverance will 
 be impossible. "After death, the judgment." It is a deliverance, too, which, like 
 that of Israel in the text, places the subjects of it in the glorious position of kings 
 and priests to God. This deliverance also, like that in the text, is experienced in 
 looking through the Spirit of grace and supplication, believingly and penitently, on 
 Him whom we too, by our sins and unbelief, have pierced, and, as penitents, wash- 
 iui' our guilty souls in the fountain of a Uedeemer's blood, opened for sin and for 
 ° ^ a 273 
 
JIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 tincleanness. That deliverance is freely offered in the Gospel. A believing, 
 humble, hearty acceptance of it makes it our own. And it is to be accepted 
 now. " Behold, now is the accepted time ; behold, now is the day of salvation." 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES. -(i)''7^i'fr^ 
 one that shall he found written" &e. 
 According to Professor Lee and others, 
 these are not to be the Jews at large, 
 but the holy remnant who embraced 
 Jesus as the Messiah, and escape to 
 carry the tidings of salvatitm to the 
 ends of the earth. Speaking of I.-a. 
 xxiv. 6, "Few men left," Dr. Chalmers 
 remarks: "a remnant, however, will be 
 left, and a good remnant ; and this 
 not confined to the land of Israel, but 
 among all the neighbouring countries 
 that had been laid waste ; for the voice 
 of praise was to arise from the sea and 
 from the isles, and this too to God as 
 the Lord God of Israel. This voice 
 was to arise from the midst of cruel 
 suffering.s, even ' in the fires ' where- 
 with (ver. 6) the houses were burnt by 
 their invaders." He adds ; " In this 
 prophecy is foreshown a visitation upon 
 the earth still future, which is to emerge 
 in the Millennium — how emphatically 
 told in this place ! — when the Lord shall 
 reign in Jerusalem, and before His an- 
 cients gloriously." 
 
 (2) " In the boolc." The expression 
 " written in the book " probably equi- 
 valent to " written among the living 
 in Jerusalem" (Isa. iv. 3), or "written 
 in the book of life " (Phil. iv. 3). This 
 book is the register made and kept by 
 God Himself of those whom He destines 
 to life. It is from this that the Jews 
 have the notion that the name of each 
 individual is written at the beginning 
 of each year in a book of life or of 
 death, according as he is to live or 
 otherwise through the course of that 
 year, — a recognition of the truth, " the 
 number of his months is with Thee;" 
 " my times are in Thy hand." The " book 
 of life," however, refers to a liiglier 
 kind of life than the present one. The 
 disciples were to rejoice that " their 
 names were written in heaven," rather 
 tlian that the spirits were subject to 
 them (Lidce x. 20). Hitzig, with 
 Avliom Keil agrees, remarks that "the 
 book of life is the record of those who 
 27^ 
 
 shall live; the list of the citizens of 
 the Messianic kingdom (Phil. iv. 3) ; in 
 Isaiah (iv. 3) it contains the names of 
 those who reach it while living ; in 
 Daniel, those also who must first be 
 raised from the dead." 
 
 (-0 " Michael." Piegarded by Calvin 
 and some others of the older commenta- 
 tors as Christ Himself. So Hiivernick 
 interprets the text of the first appearance 
 of Christ. Most understand Michael to 
 be the archangel. Dr. Cox thinks that 
 the standing up of Michael for Daniel's 
 people corresponds with the going forth 
 of Him who is called Faithful and True 
 upon the white horse ; the trouble here 
 predicted agreeing with the mighty over- 
 throw of the Antichristian powers, who 
 are to be cast into the " lake burning 
 with brimstone," as there represented. 
 Brightman thinks Michael to be some 
 certain angel, whose ministry the great 
 Prince will employ in that battle. 
 
 W Auberlen remarks : " The predic- 
 tions contained in Lev. xxvi. 31-45 ; 
 Deut. xxvi. 62-68, xxix. 22, xxx. 14, 
 xxxii. 15-43, concerning Israel's apos- 
 tasy and dispersion among the heathen, 
 and then concerning their conversion 
 and glorious re-estaolishment in the 
 Holy Land, were not exhaustively ful- 
 filled in the short decennia of the 
 Assyrian and Babylonian exile, and in 
 the troublous centuries of the restora- 
 tion that followed those captivities. On 
 the contrary, tlie curse lies even this 
 day on the Jewish nation ; and the i)ro- 
 mised restoration awaits yet its fulfil- 
 ment and realisation. For him who 
 believes in the fulfilment of pro[)hecy, 
 it is only necessary to reael the words 
 of Scripture in order to be persuaded 
 of this. The great commentary on the 
 history of revelation is given us in the 
 miraculous preservation of the Jewish 
 nation through all centuries to our time, 
 while other nationalities are either de- 
 stroyed or have mixed to such an extent 
 with other nations, that they are dis- 
 figured to sucii a degree that they can 
 scarcely be recognised, — a preservation 
 
nOMllETIC COMMESTARY : DAXIICL. 
 
 whicli is doubly miraculous; since 
 Jsrael is dis})ersed in all countries of 
 tiie eartb, wliile other nations have their 
 fi'sed stationary residence." 
 
 0'^) " The conversion of Israel stands 
 in a causal, and not merely temporal or 
 chronological connection with tlie com- 
 ing of Christ ; and is succeeded by a 
 new state of the world in which a new 
 ' life,' in a greater, more richly charac- 
 teristic fulness of Spirit, will spread from 
 the people of God to all the nations 
 of the earth ; and in comparison with 
 which the life of nations, during the 
 preceding ages, might be called ' death.' 
 The Apostle designates this new state of 
 the world by the same expression which 
 he uses when speaking of the regenera- 
 tion of individuals, as ' life from the 
 dead ' (Rom. vi. 13, compare Eph. ii. 
 5 ; Col. ii. 13). As there is at present 
 a regeneration of individuals, so in the 
 future the life of nations, as such, shall 
 be renewed : there shall be a world- 
 regeneration. Quite in accordance with 
 this is the expression used by our Lord 
 when He denotes the new Mow or age 
 Palingenesia, or ' the regeneration ' 
 (Matt. xix. 28) ; and by Peter when he 
 designates it as ' the times of refreshing 
 from the presence of the Lord ' (Acts 
 iii. \^-2\)."—Aiiherl€n. 
 
 C^) " The peo[ile of Israel," says 
 Auberlen, " receives for all time the 
 destiny to be the recipient and mediator 
 of divine comminiications." Referring 
 to Exod. xix. 5, 6, he says : " Israel 
 stands in the same relation to humanity 
 as a priest stands to the nation ; a 
 mediator in the relations of humanity 
 to God. Hereby the relations of Israel 
 are fixed ; not merely for the times of 
 the old covenant, during which Israel 
 did not even exei'cise his piiestly office 
 as regards the heathen ; but for all 
 
 times ajid for ever. . . . From the 
 relif/ions point of view, in their relation 
 to God and Christ, as needing mercy 
 and salvation, Gentiles and Jews stand 
 on a perfect equality ; the same right- 
 eousness is imputed to tiiem ; the same 
 glory is given to them ; tliey have the 
 same participation in Christ, and by 
 Him both have access to the Father in 
 one S[)irit. We see this also in the 
 transfigured (or glorified) church, whicli 
 consists of both Jew.s and Gentiles. 
 But from the standpoint of the history 
 of revelation, as regards the way in 
 which God uses men as instruments to 
 bring about the objects of His kingdom, 
 the case is altogether different. From 
 this point of view, Israel is, and ever 
 shall be, the chosen people through 
 which God executes IJis plans concern- 
 ing humanity." 
 
 (") Dr. Clialmer.% in his Daily Scrip- 
 ture Readings, says on Ps. h 1-1 o: 
 "I am far more inclined to the literal 
 interpretation of this psalm, than to 
 that which would restrict it to the 
 mere preaching of the Gospel in the 
 days of the Apostles. It looks far 
 more like the descent of the Son of 
 Man on the Mount of Olive.s, with all 
 the accompaniments of a Jewish con- 
 version, and a first resurrection, and a 
 destruction of the assembled hosts of 
 Antichrist. The saints here summoned 
 are those within the pale of the evan- 
 gelical covenant ratified by the blood 
 of the sacrifice of Christ. The address 
 here given is like that from the Son of 
 God, now manifested to the Jews, who 
 had returned, though yet unconverted, 
 to the Holy Land ; but who, hearing tlie 
 words as well as seeing the per-son of 
 Him whom they had pierced, are "born 
 in a day," by the impressive remon- 
 strance and overpowering .spectacle." 
 
 Sect. XLVI. 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 -TuE Resurrection. 
 
 (Chap. 
 
 We come to a most precious and important part of the angel's communication. 
 It is that in which he declares more distinctly than had ever been done before tlie 
 doctrine of the resurrection from the dead, and that in connection with retribution, 
 which had not previously been done. The object for which the statement con- 
 cerning this great truth is now so distinctly made, is obviously to comfort Daniel 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DA XI EL. 
 
 and his faithful though -suffering people, and especially to sustain and encourage 
 those who should be called to lay down their life in the maintenance of God's 
 truth and worship. That the statement produced this effect in the case of those 
 who suffered under Antioclius in the Maccabsean age, we have historical evidence 
 in the first book of the Maccabees; and more especially in the narrative there 
 given of the Jewish mother and her seven sons, who chose rather to endure a 
 horrible death than renounce their religion, under the assured h()i)e of " the better 
 resurrection. "(') The statement is made here in connection with the promise of 
 deliverance to an elect remnant during the last great attack upon Israel from the 
 liostile world-power, in which so many should miserably perish ; and it is there 
 made apparently with the view of assuring them that at that period of deliverance 
 those who had fallen in maintenance of the truth, or had died in the faith and 
 service of .Jehovah, should also receive their reward. The comfort intended 
 appears similar to that designed by the Apostle when he assures believers, who 
 are mourning the departure of those who had fallen asleep in Jesus, that when 
 the Lord should come again to take His people to glory, He would not glorify 
 tliose wbo should then be found alive till He had first raised from the dead those 
 that slept in Him (1 Thesg, iv. 15-17). 
 
 In connection with the passage before us, we have to notice — 
 I. The fact of the reaurrection. '' Many of them that sleep in the dust of the 
 earth shall awake." There should be little doubt that a true physical and literal 
 resurrection of the body is here intended, and not a moral, spiritual, and figurative 
 one, such as that described in Ezek. xxxvi. (-) If a resurrection of the body is not 
 here declared, it will be difficult to find where it is, or to imagine words in which 
 it can be so. Although .the doctrine may be found in earlier inspired writings, yet 
 it is doubtless on this passage tliat the Jewish martyrs more especially based their 
 hope, and from this that the Jews in general drew their assurance that there should 
 be a resurrection of the dead, and that both of the just and the unjust (Acts xxiv. 
 15). (2) It is justly believed also that to this i)assage the Saviour's words had 
 reference when, announcing Himself to be the Lord and Giver of life, He declared, 
 " The hour is coming in the which all that are in their graves shall hear His voice, 
 and shall come forth : they that have done good unto the resurrection of life ; and 
 they tliat have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation" (John v. ^S, 29). 
 Of this resurrection Jesus Himself rose as a specimen and firstfruits, in whom, as 
 the second Adam and Head of redeemed humanity, those who diud literally and 
 physically in the first Adam, should in the same sense be " made alive." Accord- 
 ingly after His resurrection, Matthew relates, that many of the bodies of the saints 
 which slept arose, and " went into the holy city and appeared unto many " (Matt, 
 xxvii. 52, 53). To such a resiu-rectiou Paul referred in his appeal to Agrijipa and 
 liis audience at Cai.sarea when he a.sked, "Why should it be thought a thing 
 incredible with yoii, that God should raise the dead?" (Acts xxvi. 8). It is the 
 resurrection of the body that sleeps in the grave, or " in the dust of the earth," (•*) 
 the same, yet changed. In respect to the bodies of believers at least, "it is sown 
 a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body ; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in 
 glory" (1 Cor. xv. 42-44). The expression of the angel, "them that sleep in the 
 dust," though a similar one had been already used by Isaiah (chap, xxvi, 19), and 
 even by tiie Psalmist (Ps. xvii. 15), and still more in the book of Job (chap. xiv. 
 12), that which more especiidly gave occasion to the i)ractice of si)eaking of death 
 as a sleep (Acts vii. 60; 1 Cor. xv. 6, 51 ; 1 Thess. iv. 13, 14). More than fronj 
 the mere resemblance between the state of death and sleej), which even the heathen 
 recognised, the expression derives its significance from tlie fact that out of that 
 sleep there is an awaking, which mere natural reason seems never to have been 
 able to anticipate, and still less to obtain the certainty of ; although the trans- 
 formation of insects might well suggest the possibility, if not the probability, of a 
 siaular change for man. 
 276 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMLWTARY : DANll-L. 
 
 II. The time of it. This apparently indicated by the place which the state- 
 ment occupies, and its connection with tlie preceding one, expressed by the copula 
 " and."('') The :ingel appears to intimate that when the Jewish remnant experience 
 the promised deliverance, this other deliverance shall also take place in reference to 
 those that shall have slept the sleep of deatli. These two events, Israel's conversion 
 and restoration, and the resurrection of the dead, are elsewhere brought together in 
 tlie Scriptures, as taking place soon after each other. The resurrection is coincident 
 Avith the Lord's second ai)pearing : " Clirist the firstfruits, afterward they that are 
 Ciirist's at His coming." lint Israel's conversion and restoration is connected with 
 the same glorious advent. Peter exhorts the Jews to repent and be converted, not 
 only that their sins may be blotted out, but " that the times of refreshing may 
 come from the presence of the Lord, and He shall send Jesus Christ, who before 
 was preached " unto them, and whom " the heavens must receive till the restitution 
 of all things" (Acts iii. 19-21, R.V.) The Jews were not/ to see Jesus again until 
 they should say, " Blessed is He that cometh in tlie name of the Lord " (Matt, xxiii. 
 39). The promise that they should look on Him Avhom they had pierced and 
 mourn because of Him, is viewed by the Apostle John as pointing to the Lord's 
 visible appearing : " Behold He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, 
 and they also which pierced Him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because 
 of Him " (Rev. i. 7). The Apostle Paul appears to connect the conversion of 
 Israel with the Redeemer's coming : " There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, 
 and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob ; " or, as it stands in Isaiah, " The 
 Redeemer shall come to Zion, and to them that turn from transgression in Jacob " 
 (Is. lix, 20 ; Rom. xi. 26). The destruction of Antichrist, too, when he has " planted 
 the tabernacles of his palace between the seas on the glorious holy mountain," in 
 the great gathering at Armageddon connected with Israel's conversion, is also 
 ai)parently represented in the Apocalypse as speedily, if not immediately, followed 
 by the first resurrection (Rev. xix. 19, 20, xx. 4, 5). Paul also appears un- 
 mistakably to connect the destruction of the Man of Sin or Son of perdition, 
 doubtless the same Wicked or Lawless One of whom Daniel prophesied, witli the 
 personal and glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus : " whom the Lord shall consume 
 with the t^pirit (breath) of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness 
 (manifestation) of His coming" (2 Thess. ii, 1, 2, 8, R.V.) Daniel vii. seems 
 also plainly to connect the destruction of the fourth beast and the little horn 
 with the coming of the Son of Man with the clouds of heaven." The destruction 
 (if Antichrist, the conversion and restoration of Israel, the resurrection of the just, 
 thus appear clotely connected with each other, and all with the Lord's glorious 
 appearing. 
 
 in. The subjects of the resurrection. " ^lany of them that sleep in the dust 
 of the earth." Although tlie Scriptures, and probably this very passage, assure 
 us that all the dead shall rise again, both just and unjust, yet this does not 
 appear to be expressly declared by the angel in the words before us. Not all that 
 sleep, but many of them, shall awake.C*') " Many " are not here equivalent to 
 " all," as in Rom. v. 15, 19 ; both because of the absence of the article, and because 
 the " of," or from among, that follows gives what is called a partitive signification, — 
 indicating a part, and not the whole. The " many " who shall awake are the 
 godly, — the " some," or literally " these," who shall awake to everlasting life, and 
 of whom it is the angel's special object now to speak. That the rest of the sleepers, 
 or the ungodly, shall also awake, appears to be also intimated ; these being the 
 second " some," or literally " those," who shall awake to shame and everlasting 
 contempt. It being the angel's object rather to speak of the future blessedness of 
 the faithful, it is their resurrection which is here especially declared as taking 
 place in connection with the predicted deliverance. The resurrection of the rest or 
 the ungodly, not being here especially intended to be spoken of, though plainly 
 hitimated, was apparently indicated as taking place at a period posterior to that of 
 
 Z ( 7 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL 
 
 the otliers. Such we find to be in accordance with the manner in which the 
 resurrection is geiienilly spoken of in the New Testament. The " resurrection of 
 the just " is spoken of by the Saviour as a thing by itself. " Thou shalt be 
 recompensed in the resurrection of the just" (Luke xiv. 14). "In the resurrec- 
 tion " — that is, the state which it introduces — " they neither marry, nor are 
 given in marriage, but are as the angels of God " (Matt. xxii. 30). Still more 
 expressly in Luke : " The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage ; 
 but they which shall be accounted ivorthy to ohlAin that world, and the resurrection 
 from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage : neither can they die any 
 more, for they are equal unto the angels ; and are the children of God, being the 
 children of the resurrection " (Luke xx. 34-36). The resurrection liere spoken 
 of obviously includes only the godly, — the "resurrection of the just," which 
 only some shall be accounted worthy to obtain, even the children of God, who 
 are therefore also called " the children of the resurrection." This is that which 
 the Epistle to the Hebrews represents the ancient martyrs as being so eager to 
 obtain, called " a better," or rather " the better, resurrection " (tieb, xi. 35). This 
 also apparently that which in the Apocalypse is called " the first resurrection," — 
 that, namely, of the martyrs and faithful followers of Jesus; the rest of the dead 
 not living again till the thousand years' reign of Christ and His saints is finished 
 (ilev. XX. 4, 5). The Apostle also only speaks of them that are Christ's being raised 
 at His comin_L% this being according to the appointed order : " Every man in his 
 own order ; Christ the firstfruits, afterwards they that are Christ's at His coming" 
 (1 Cor. XV. 23). So when Christ shall descend with a shout, the voice of the 
 archangel, and the trump of God, it is " the dead in Christ" that "rise first," — 
 before the living saints are changed (1 Thess. iv. 15-17). It is, however, only in 
 the Apocalypse, which closes the canon of Scripture, that we seem to learn any- 
 thing of the length of the interval elapsing between the resurrection of the just 
 and that of the unjust.C) It is thus that, according to the Psalmist, the upright 
 " have dominion " over the ungodly " in the morning " (Ps. xlix. 14) ; theirs being 
 not merely a resurrection of the dead, but a resurrection from, or from among, the 
 dead (Luke xx. 3-5), where it is literally and emphatically " the resurrection, that 
 from the dead." This general mode of representing the resurrection is not really 
 at variance with the Saviour's words in John v. 28, though apjjarently so. The 
 resurrection of both classes is not said to be simultaneous; the "hour" in which 
 that of both shall take place being simply the time when it shall happen, without 
 defining it to-be either at the same mcmient, or with a lengthened interval between. 
 This was to be learned from other testimonies of Scripture. It may be added that, 
 ill like manner, Jewish doctors generally spoke of the resurrection as peculiarly 
 belonging to the righteous ; though they also taught that at some period or other 
 the bodies also of the wicked should be restoreil to life. (^) 
 
 IV. The results of the resurrection. " Some (or these) to everlasting life ; 
 some (or those) to shame and everlasting contempt." The results in the two cases 
 infinitely opposite to each other. In regard to the faithful, of whom the angel 
 particularly speaks, the result is everlasting life. Life the term emi)loyed in 
 tlie Scriptures to express happiness of experience and holiness of character, and 
 likeness to God in both ; that happiness being es[)ecially found in the enjoyment 
 of His favour, friendship, and felh)wship, and that holiness in the possession of 
 Hia own nature and character. "In His favour is life." Sin is "alienation" or 
 estrangement " fmm the life of God." The term "everlasting" life, so often used 
 in the New Testament, doubtless taken from this very passage, is here met with 
 for the first time. It is everlasting life, as enjoyed in that kingdom of Christ and 
 of God, which is for ever and ever (chap, vii.) It is everlasting, in contrast to 
 the same life enjoyed in Paradise, but which came to an end through Adam's 
 transgression. Believers who have this life are " saved in the Lord with an ever- 
 lasting .salvation." It is found only in, or in vital union with, the Lord Jesus 
 278 
 
110 MI LET IC COMMENTARY: DAM EL. 
 
 Himself, who is the Life. "He that bath the Son hath life; and he that hath 
 nut the Son of God hath not life " (1 John v. 12). It is obtained in believing on, 
 or accepting of and trusting in, the Lord Jesus as a Saviour for lost sinners, " He 
 that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; and he that believeth not the Son 
 shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him " (John iii. 36). Tlie 
 '' shame and contempt " of the rest of the risen dead is that which properly belongs 
 to sin, the abominable thing that God hates, and which makes all those abominable 
 in whom it dwells. The first mark of true repentance is to see this to be the case, 
 and to loathe ourselves for our inicpiities. "What fruit had ye then in those 
 things whereof ye are now ashamed?" (Romans vi. 21). One part of the putiish- 
 ment of sin is, to be made a loathing to others as well as ourselves. '* They shall 
 be an abhorring to all flesh " (Isa. Ixvi. 24). That shame and abhorring also ever- 
 lasting. " He that is filthy, let him be filthy still," as true as, " He that is holy, 
 let him be holy still" (Rev. xxii. 11). Continuance, and perhaps growth and 
 intensification, but no change. 
 
 Let us, from the subject before us, learn — 
 
 1. To have our minds dee}dy and permanently impressed with the truth and 
 reality of the resurrection. It was for this that the statement was made to Daniel 
 by the angel. It is one of the truths most plainly revealed and most frequently 
 referred to in the Word of God. Christ's resurrection is to be the object of our 
 fiiith ; our own resurrection the object of our hope. It was in the hope and 
 expectation of the resurrection that the Apostle exercised himself to have always 
 a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man. It was the source of 
 his joy and triumph, that this corru[»tion should put on incorrujjtion, and this 
 mortal put on immortality. In this blessed hope he cheerfully renounced the 
 world and died daily, ready, " after the manner of men," to "fight with beasts at 
 Ephesus." It was this hope that enabled the Jewish martyrs to dare all the rage 
 of their furious persecutors ; and will enable us, though not martyrs, to look not at 
 the things that are seen and temporal, but at those that are unseen and eternal. 
 It is our comfort when we part with beloved ones who fall asleep in Jesus, and 
 commit their bodies to the dust of the earth, to know that that body, now sown as 
 a precious seed-corn in weakness and dishonour, shall be raised in power and glory, 
 the same voice of Jesus that comforted Martha and Mary s[te;iking to us at the 
 side of that open grave, "Thy brother shall rise again." "For if we believe that 
 Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that sleep in Jesus will God bring 
 with Him. Wherefore comfort one another-with these words" (1 Thess. iv. 14, 18). 
 
 2. To regard everything in the light of the resurrection. It is our wisdom 
 to view things now as they will appear on that day. Everything will then stand 
 forth in its true character. Things often appear quite otherwise now. "That 
 which is highly esteemed among men is abomination with God," and will so appear 
 at the resurrection. Paul and his fellow-apostles were regarded on earth as " the 
 filth of the world and the offscourings of all things." In the resurrection they will 
 sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Men like Herod Agrippa, who 
 had shed their blood and put them in prison to please the Jews, and who, while 
 seated on his throne in gorgeous array, and delivering his oration to the people, 
 was applauded as a god and ni)t a man, will on that day be the objects of "shame 
 and everlasting contempt." Dives and Lazarus will then change places. Lazarus, 
 with his ulcered body changed and transfigured into the fashion of Christ's glorious 
 body, will have his place among the princes of God's people, inheriting the throne 
 of glory, on which he will reign with Christ for ever and ever, in the enjoyment of 
 an everlasting felicity. The rich man, appearing in a body allied to his unrenewed 
 and sin-polluted soul, wall be " an abhorring to all flesh." The " mighty," who only 
 lived to the gratification of their own pride and passions, will be " put down from 
 their seats;" while those "of low degree," who in their poverty trusted in God 
 and, possessing their blood-washed souls in thankful patience, waited for the 
 
UOMILETIC COMMEXTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 coming of Ilis Son from heaven, shall be exalted to the position of kings and priests 
 unto God, in mansions of unfading joy and a kingdom of righteousness and peace, 
 with the Lamb for their companion and God for their everlasting light and glory. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— 0) "It is 
 goud," said one of these seven sons, 
 when his body was lacerated by the 
 scourge, " being put to death by man, to 
 look for hope from God to be raised up 
 again by Him." 
 
 ("-') Grotius referred the resurrection 
 in the text, in the first instance, figura- 
 tively, to the deliverance of the Jews in 
 tlie time of Antiochus, as Porphyry had 
 done before him ; and in the second 
 instance, to the literal resurrection of 
 the body, as rather hinted at than ex- 
 plicitly declared. He has had, however, 
 but few followers in the Christian 
 Church. Briglitman understood the 
 resurrection here as pointing to the 
 victories of the Jewish nation, and their 
 being called to the faith in Christ, as 
 John V. 25 ; Eph. v. 15 ; Horn. xi. 15 ; 
 Ezek. xxxvii. 1, <kc. Some, he thinks, 
 partaking of the deliverance predicted, 
 shall yet persist in their wickedness, 
 and shall rise indeed, but to eternal 
 destruction. 
 
 (2) It was a saying of Eabbi Eleazar 
 of Capernaum : " They who are bora 
 are to die, and the dead to live, and the 
 living to be judged ; that we might 
 know, and understand, to be informed, 
 that He is God the Former, the Creator, 
 the Intelligent One, the Judge. . . . 
 Let not thine imagination persuade thee 
 that the grave shall be a house of refuge 
 for thee ; for against thy will thou 
 wast formed, and against thy will thou 
 wast born, and against thy will tlu)U 
 dost live, and against thy will wilt thou 
 die, and against thy will must thou here- 
 after give in thine account." — rirke 
 Abhoth, iv. 23. 
 
 (■') " In the di(si of (he earth:' TlDIX 
 "l^IJ {adhmalli '(/;>//«/•), the earth or ground 
 of dust, the dusty ground ; the expres- 
 sion formed after Gen. iii. 19, and de- 
 noting the grave, as in Ps. xxii. 30, 
 " the dust of death." 
 
 <'') " And many," &c. " Keil remarks 
 that the copula "l(and) connects this verse 
 with the preceding one, and indicates 
 the continuance of the thought in the 
 
 latter half of that verse, i.e., the further 
 representation of the deliverance of 
 God's people, namely, of all those who 
 are written in the book of life. Auber- 
 len and some others separate the resur- 
 rection from the predicted time of 
 tribulation, simply because they refer 
 that time to the persecution under 
 Antiochus. He believes, however, that 
 the resurrection will follow inmiediately 
 after the period of Antichrist, and be 
 contemporary with the coming of the 
 Messiah in glory. Calvin thinks that 
 the angel passes over the intermediate 
 state between the preaching of the Gospel 
 and the final resurrection, because the 
 salvation of the church is connected 
 with that event, it being till then like 
 a dead body. Bishop Newton ct)nnects 
 the resurrection with the tribulation as 
 taking place immediately after it. Dr. 
 Chalmers, on Isa. xxvi. 11-21, remarks 
 that " it will take a time even after 
 they (the Jews) are set upon enlarge- 
 ment, ere the deliverance can be wrought, 
 and their enemies have fallen. But it 
 will come at length, and come gloriously. 
 Then will there be the first resiurcc- 
 tion." 
 
 CO " Many of them (hat sleep," &c. 
 ^3t:'*P D''3']1_ (^vevaJ)hini miyoshene). Keil 
 remarks that D''3T (rabbivi) does not 
 mean all, and that the partitive in- 
 terpretation of IP (??«■«), "of or from 
 among," is the only simple and natural 
 one, and therefore with most interpre- 
 ters he prefers it. Some, as C. B. 
 Michaelis, following the IMasoretic ac- 
 centuation, separate D^?"] from \3t?'*P, 
 "And [there shall be many] ; of them 
 that sleep, some, or these, shall awake," 
 &c. Brightman reads the word as equiva- 
 lent to all, meaning the Jewish nation. 
 Broughton understands it of the uni- 
 versality of them that sleep. Calvin, 
 also, after Augustine, understands the 
 word to meaTi all. Keil thiidcs that it 
 is not the object of the angel to give a 
 general statement regarding the resur- 
 rection of the dead, but only to give the 
 information that the final salvation of the 
 
nOMlI.ETlC COMMENTARY ! DANIEL. 
 
 people shall not be limited to those who 
 shall be living at the end of the great 
 tribulation, but shall include al.>o tliose 
 who have lost their lives during that 
 I)eiiot]. He thinks, however, tliat the 
 Israel of the time of the end, who are 
 here referred to, consist not merely 
 of Jews or of Je\vi>li Cliristians, but 
 embraces all peoples who belong to 
 God's kingdom of the New Covenant; 
 in which respect the resurrection of all 
 is iviplied, as it is explicitly declared 
 by Christ when speaking in John v. 28, 
 witli unmistakable reference to this verse. 
 He adds: "As with the living (at that 
 time), so also with the dead, not all 
 attain to blessedness. Also among 
 those that arise there shall be a dis- 
 tinction, in which the reward of the 
 faithful and of the unfaithful shall be 
 made known." He considers the word 
 " many " used only " with allusion to 
 and in contrast with the small number 
 of those who shall then be living, and 
 not with reference either to the univer- 
 sality of the resurrection of the dead or to 
 a portion only of the dead ; " the object 
 being merely " to add to the multitude 
 of the dead, who shall then have part 
 with the living, the small number of 
 those who shall experience in the flesh 
 the conclusion of the matter." Osiander, 
 Btdlinger, and Vatablus understand the 
 word ?iianT/ to be chosen instead of all, 
 as some believers will be alive at the 
 Lord's coming. 
 
 C^) On Rev. XX. 4, Bishop Newton 
 remarks : " The martyrs and confessors 
 of Jesus, — not only those who were be- 
 headed or who suffered death under the 
 lieathen emperors, but also those who 
 refused to comply with the idolatrous 
 worship of 'the beast and his image,' — 
 are raised from the dead, and have the 
 jirincipal share in the felicities of Christ's 
 kingdunr upon earth. . . . This is the 
 first resurrection, — a particular resur- 
 rection preceding the general one at 
 least a thou an I years." Auberlen, on 
 the same passage, says: "Among the 
 saints who are called to reign with 
 Christ, the martyrs of ancient and 
 modern times are mentioned first ; be- 
 cause, most like to the Lord Jesus in 
 their suffering and death, they are 
 
 therefore nearer Him in His life and 
 reign. . . . Next to tlie martyrs are 
 mentioned all who had not worshipped 
 the beast, be it in more remote times or 
 in the last days ; — all tliey who refused 
 to take the power of this world as a 
 reality, and to serve it instead of looking 
 to the things invisible and future" (2 
 Cor. iv. 17). This he says is "the 'first 
 resurrection,' as distinguished from the 
 general one, which is mentioned in ver. 
 12." A Jewish tradition of the school 
 of Elias is quoted by Bisluip Newton, 
 which states that "tlie righteous whom 
 dd shall raise up shall not again l)e 
 turned to dust, but shall live a thousand 
 years, in which the Holy and Blessed 
 One shall renew His world." The early 
 fathers in general held the same view. 
 Justin Martyr, in the second century, 
 says : "A certain man among us, whose 
 name was John, one of the apostles of 
 Christ, in a revelation made to him, did 
 prophesy that the faithful believers in 
 Christ should live a thousand years in 
 the New Jerusalem, and afterwards 
 there should be a general resurrection 
 and judgment." TertuUian, in the third 
 century, speaks of it as tlie belief of 
 himself and the general Church, that 
 " there shall be a resurrection for a 
 thousand years in the New Jerusalem, 
 and after that the destruction of the 
 world, and the general judgment." Lac- 
 tantius, in the following century, speaks 
 to the same effect. Mosheim, treating 
 of tlie third century, says: "Long before 
 this period, an opinion had prevailed 
 that Christ was to come to reign a 
 thousand years among men before tlie 
 entire and final dissolution of this 
 world. This opinion, which ha:l hither- 
 to met with no opposition, was diffe- 
 rently interpreted by diiferent persons ; 
 nor did all promise themselves the 
 same kind of enjoyments in the 
 future and glorious kingdom. But in 
 this century its credit began to decline, 
 principally through the influence and 
 authority of Origen, who opposed it with 
 the greatest warmtli, because it was in- 
 compatible with some of liis favourite 
 sentiments. Nepos, an Egyptian bishop, 
 endeavoured to restore this o[)inion to 
 its former credit, in a book written 
 281 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENT A R Y : DA A' lEL 
 
 against the Allegorists ; for so lie called, 
 by way of coiiteiupt, the adversaries of 
 the milleniiarian system. This work 
 and the hyix)thesis it defended was 
 extremely well received by great num- 
 bers in the canton of Arsinoe ; and 
 among others by Colacion, a priest of 
 no mean influence and reputation. But 
 Dionysius of Alexandria, a disciple of 
 Origen, stopped the growing progress of 
 the doctrine by his private discourses, 
 and also by two learned and judicious 
 dissertations concerning the divine pro- 
 mises." Mr. Miles (^Lectures on Daniel) 
 observes, after Mede, that we have 
 strong evidence that so late as the 
 Council of Nice (a.d. 325) the current 
 of public opinion was in favour of 
 the orthodox primitive belief. " New 
 heavens and a new earth," says that 
 Council, " we expect according to the 
 sacred writings, wlien there shall shine 
 forth the appearance and kingdom of 
 the great God and our Saviour Jesus 
 Christ ; and tlien, as saith Daniel, the 
 saints of the Most High sliall receive a 
 kingdom, and the earth shall be pure 
 and holy, an earth of the living and not 
 of the dead." After the fourth century, 
 as the same author observes, " the lead- 
 ing fundamental doctrines of the Gospel 
 were eclipsed by the rapid growth of 
 error, tradition superseding the authority 
 of Scripture. ' The doctrine,' says Bishop 
 Burnet in his Sacred Tlieory of the Earth, 
 ' was always uneasy, and gave offence to 
 the Church of Home, because it does not 
 suit to that scheme of Christianity which 
 they have drawn. They suppose that 
 Christ reigns already by His Vicar the 
 Pope.' " Auberk'ti also remarks : " Chi- 
 liasm — the doctrine of the tlumsand 
 years' reign of Clirist — disappeared iu 
 the Ciiurch in proportion as Roman 
 papal Catholicism advanced. . . . The 
 pa[)acy, with its fundamental tendency 
 to seek power and external glory, is, in 
 its innermost essence, a false anticipation 
 of tlie millcrini.il kiiigiloni. Bengul says : 
 ' When Cliristianity became a worldly 
 l)ower by Constantine, the hope of the 
 future was weakened by the joy over 
 the present success.'" The doctrine 
 iil>i)ears, however, to have revived witii 
 tlie licformation. John Bradford the 
 
 martyr, quoted by Mr. Miles, says : 
 " Methinks it is the duty of a godly 
 mind simply to acknowledge, and 
 thereof to brag in the Lord, that in our 
 resurrection all things shall be so repaired 
 to eternity, as for our sin they were made 
 subject to corruption." And again : 
 " Now every creature travaileth and 
 groaneth with us ; but we being restored, 
 they also shall be restored ; there shall 
 be new heavens and new earth, and 
 all things new." Auberlen observes ; 
 " The Eeformation protested successfully 
 against the harlot (the papal Church) 
 by opposing to it the original Christian 
 principle of faith, which is opposed, not 
 only to the works of the law, but to 
 living by sight, and to a false ex- 
 ternalisation of the Church. . . . The 
 fundamental principle of apostolical 
 Christianity, viz., of faith, is in- 
 separable from apostolical Chiliasm. 
 . . . The Beformers did not carry 
 out their principle far enough to 
 attain biblical Chiliasm. . . . Scholastic 
 priestly tyranny, Caesaropapism, besides 
 the papacy, brought Antichiliasm. . . . 
 The conscience of the Beformation pro- 
 tested against this new corruption of 
 the Church in the person of Spener." 
 In the time of the commonwealth the 
 ancient doctrine seems to have revived 
 in England. Baillie in his Letters says : 
 " The most of the chief divines here (iu 
 the Westminster Assembly), not only 
 Independents, but others, such as Twisse, 
 Marshall, Palmer, and many others, 
 are express Chiliasts." Peter Sterry, 
 one of Cromwell's Censors, says of the 
 premillennial advent and the thousand 
 years' reign : " Like a rich coin, which 
 liath been long buried in the earth, and 
 lately dug up again, it begins to grow 
 bright with handling, and to pass cur- 
 rent with great numbers of saints and 
 learned men of great authority." Joseph 
 Caryl, the author of the commentary on 
 Job, his fellow-censor, speaks similarly 
 in his Beconnnendation of Holmes's 
 book on the resurrection, in which pre- 
 niillennarian views are strongly advo- 
 cated. " Though I have not skill enough 
 in the expositi(m of hard prophecies," 
 says the spiritually - minded Baxter, 
 " to make a particular determination 
 
IIOMILETW COMMENTAin : DAS I EL 
 
 about the thousand years' reign of Christ 
 on the earth before the final judgment, 
 yet I may say that I cannot confute 
 what such learned men as Mr. Mede, 
 and Dr. Twisse, and others (after the 
 old Fathers) have hereof asserted." 
 John Bunyan expresses his views thus : 
 " The world therefore beginning thus, 
 doth show how it will end, namely, by 
 the reign of the Second Adam, as it 
 began with the reign of the first. These 
 long-lived men, therefore, show us the 
 glory tliat the Church shall have in the 
 latter day, even the seventh thousand 
 years of the world, the Sabbath when 
 Christ shall set up His kingdom upon 
 earth, according to that which is written, 
 They lived and reigned with Christ a 
 thousand years." " Christ," says Dr. 
 Uill, " will be in His kingdom not only 
 by His Spirit and the effusions of His 
 grace, but He will personally appear in 
 all His glory ; hence His appearing and 
 kingdom are put together as contem- 
 
 poraneous in 2 Tim. iv. 1. This glori- 
 ous and visible kingdom will not take 
 place till after the resurrection of the 
 just and the renovatioji of the world. 
 As soon as He personally appears, the 
 dead in Christ shall rise first ; this i.i 
 the first resurrection, in which they who 
 have a part shall reign with Christ 
 a thousand years. This kingdom of 
 Christ will be bounded by two resurrec- 
 tions." Delitzsch, qu(.ted by Auberlen, 
 marks the general prevalence of the 
 doctrine among believers in Germany, 
 and traces it to the influence of Bengel 
 and his writings. '• To whom also," he 
 asks, "do we owe it that the orthodox 
 Churchof the present timedoes not brand 
 the Chiliastic view of the Last Times 
 as a heterodoxy, as is done in almost 
 all old manuals of di>gmatics ; but, on the 
 contrary, has allowed it to enter into her 
 innermost life, so that there is scarcely a 
 believing Christian now (that is, in Ger- 
 many) who does not take this view ^ " 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XLVIT. — The Wise and the ^innms of Souls, -with their 
 Glokious Eewakd. "(^Jiap." xii. 3.) 
 
 This verse stands in close connection with the preceding one. It describes the 
 chauacter and blessedness of those who, at the resurrection of the just, shall awake 
 out of the sleep of death to the enjoyment of eternal life. Perseverance in a life 
 of faith and good-doing, whatever suffering and trial it may have involved, is at 
 length crowned with a glorious and an everlasting reward. The verse partakes of 
 the nature of Hebrew poetry, consisting of two members, each of which contains 
 both a character and the blessedness promised to it. 
 
 I. The characters mentioned. These are given in two expressions ; they are 
 "wise," and "they turn many to righteousness." The first is probaldy to be 
 regarded as the general description, embracing the whole ; the second as a more 
 s[iecial one, applying more particularly to some. The first expresses the character 
 as viewed with reference to the individuals themselves; the second, the same 
 character, but in its relation to others. All here spoken of are " wise," with the 
 wisdom more or less developed. One natural and necessary effect of that wisdom 
 is that it acts more or less beneficially upon others, leading them also to the 
 possession and practice of righteousness. But in some this fruit and effect of 
 wisdom in relation to others is more abundant and extensive than in the case of 
 the rest. There are those who, being wise themselves, as a fruit and effect of that 
 wisdom, turn not only others but many others to righteousness. The wisdom is a 
 thing in ourselves, but its influence and action are to be upon others, who are to 
 recei°ve the benefit of it. The wisdom possessed by ourselves will evince and 
 manifest its existence by leading us to seek, and enabling us to promote, the wel- 
 fare of others, by turning them to righteousness ; while to do this requires tlie 
 Dussession and exercise of wisdom in ourselves. " He that winneth souls is wise " 
 ^ 283 
 
nOMILLTIC CGMMEXTARY: DANIEL, 
 
 (Prov. xi. 30). To will souls requires wisdom, while it is the evidence nnd 
 manifestation of it. Accordingly, the wisdom that is from above is described by 
 the Apostle as " full of mercy and of good fruits," leading us to sow the fruit of 
 righteousness in peace, and so enabling us to make peace (James iii. 17, 18). 
 Notice — 
 
 1. The ivise. "They that are wise." (^^ Wisdom has been defined as that 
 which chooses the best ends and pur^^ues them by the best means. The best ends 
 are (1) the glory of God our Maker, who has created all things, and for whose 
 pleasure all "things are and were created ;" who has made all things for Himself, 
 and whose glory it is both our duty and happiness, as His rational creatures, to seek 
 in every competent way to promote. Next to this is (2) the present and eternal 
 happiness of ourselves and others in the enjoyment of their ^Maker's favour and 
 friendship, the possession of His character, and obedience to His will. To confine 
 our aims to lower ends than these is unworthy of intelligent and immortal natures, 
 and marks us as unwise. The Scriptures accordingly declare wisdom to consist in 
 the true fear of God, and describe ungodliness and wickedness as at the same time 
 f"lly and madness. This wisdom is that which "comes from above," and of 
 which God, the only Wise, is the Author; and is described as "first pure, then 
 ]ieaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and of good fruits, without 
 liartiality or wrangling, and without hypocrisy" (James iii. 17). Any wisdom which 
 is not this is desciibed by the same inspired writer as "enrthly, sensual, devilish;" 
 allying us less to the only wise God, than to him who is the prince of darkness, 
 though able to transform himself into what he originally was, an angel of light. 
 
 2. Tlie soid-ivinners. '■^ They that turn many to righteousness." d^) Literally, 
 "that make many righteous." Righteousness has reference both to character and 
 standing. In its relation to character, it is conformity in heart and life to the 
 law of God, that law which is a transcript of His own character, and which is 
 summarily described as love, even as God is love. In relation to stauding, it 
 is a state of acceptance and approval with God, as of those against whom His 
 law has no charges, a freedom from condemnation, or, as the Scriptures often 
 speak of it, a .state ()f justification, which is simply that of one Avho is declared 
 righteous or innocent in the eye of the law. How is a man made righteous in 
 this sense? How can a man be just with God? or how can he that is a sinner 
 be righteous with his Maker? To be a sinner is to be a transgressor of the 
 law of God ; which appears to be the opposite of righteousness both in character 
 and standing. For a transgressor of the law to be righteous before God seems 
 a contradiction in terms. It is the scheme of divine wisdom and mercy in 
 the provision of a Saviour that reconciles this contradictioji, and shows how 
 the thing that appeared im[)ossible is actually effected, while truth is strictly 
 maintained and justice retains its lights. It is this provision that constitutes 
 the Gospel, whoso object it is to reveal it. It is by the substitution of a righ- 
 teous person, who while He is man is at the same time God, in the place of 
 the unrighteous, that the latter, on their acceptance of Him as their Surety, are 
 regarded in the eye of the law as righteous, being viewed as one person with 
 llini, and entitled to the same standing which He Himself occupies as righteous 
 before God. Tliis divine plan of making sinners righteous before God by substi- 
 tution, suretysliip, or representation, corresponds with the way in which the race 
 has become guilty. Just as in and by the first Adam, or head of the human race, 
 men were made siiinera, so in and by the second Adam, God's Son made fiesh, as 
 the second Head of the race, they that accept of and trust in Him are made 
 righteous (llom. v.) They stand righteous before God because He who is their 
 ilead and Surety does so, and they are, in the eye of the law, one with Him. With 
 this righteousness in state or standing, believing sinners, at the same time and by 
 tiie same means, obtain righteousness of character. A new inward spiritual life, 
 or principle of righteousness and holiness, is infused in or imparted to them by 
 
 284 
 
IIOMIL ETIC COMMENT A II Y: DANIEL. 
 
 the Spiiit of God, in virtue of and in connection with that same union with the 
 second Adam, or divine Surety, which talces phice on their acceptance of and trust 
 in Him ; just as a graft partakes not only of the fortunes of the tree but of its life 
 and sap. Accordingly the Word of God declares that "if any man be in Christ, 
 he is a new creature ; old things are passed away ; behold, all things are become 
 new" (2 Cor. v. 17). Christ is made to those who are thus in llini not only 
 righteousness, for their righteous standing before God, but sanctification for 
 their righteous, holy character. In the Lord they have both "righteousness and 
 strength," — righteousness for their accepted standing before God, and strength for 
 a holy character and life of new obedience. Thus actually to make persons' right- 
 eous, as it is of God's providing, is also of God's effecting ; for it is lie that, by 
 His Spirit disposing and enabling us to accept of aJid trust in Christ as sinners, 
 makes us legally one with Him. Accordingly we read : " Of Him are ye in Christ 
 Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, 
 and redemption" (1 Cor. i. 30). How, then, do the persons mentioned in the 
 text make others righteous? Instrumentally. He that makes them one with 
 Christ, or grafts them into Him by giving them to accept of and trust in Him as 
 sinn-ers, is the Holy Spirit. But in doing this He employs, as the means of eflect- 
 ing it, the testimony concerning Christ, whether conveyed in the written word or 
 uttered by human lips. For Christ to be accepted of or trusted in. He must be 
 known. " Who is He, Lord, that I should believe on Him ? " " How shall they 
 lelieve on Him of wiiom they have not heard f " (Rom. x. 14.) It is for this 
 especially that the Spirit employs human instrumentalit}'. " How shall they hear 
 without a preacher? "' " It hath pleased God by the foolishness of preaching" — 
 by the preaching of the glad tidings of salviition, which appears foolishness to the 
 world — " to save them that believe." By this testimony concerning Jesus, and God's 
 way of making men righteous through Him, whether brought to the eye or the ear, 
 tlie Spirit persuades and enables men to accept of and trust in Him as their Surety 
 and Saviour, and so be made righteous. To bear this testimony, and so instru- 
 mentally to turn others to righteousness, is the privilege and duty of those who 
 have themselves been made personally and experimentally acquainted with it. 
 Accordingly, this is by no means confined to those who are in an official sense 
 teai^hers or preachers, though especially incumbent on such. It is, in one way or 
 other, within the ability of all who know Christ themselves to tell others of Him, 
 and is accordingly made their duty and privilege. "The Spirit and the Bride — 
 all believing and renewed souls — say. Come : and let him that heareth say. 
 Come." Even those who do so officially must first have a})proved themselves 
 by doing so unofficially. " Without doubt," says Calvin, " the angel here 
 specially denotes the teachers of the truth ; but in my opinicm he embraces also 
 all the pious worshippers of God. No one of God's children ought to confine 
 himself privately to himself ; but as far as jiossible, every one ought to interest 
 himself in the welfare of his brethren. God has deposited the doctrine of His 
 salvation with us, not for the purpose of our privately kee[)ing it to ourselves, but 
 of our pointing out the way of salvation to all mankind. This therefore is the 
 common duty of the children of God, to promote the salvation of their brethren." 
 The angel says, "They that turn many to righteousness." While all who know 
 Christ themselves are bound to aim at making Him known to otliers, and so 
 turning tiiem to righteousness, all who do so are not equally successful. The 
 extent to which souls are actually won or turned to righteousness depends, under 
 God, on many things. This will especially depend on the measure in which the 
 requisite wisdom is possessed, the faithfulness and diligence with which it is 
 exercised, and the prayer of faith with which it is accompanied. While Paul 
 plants and Apollos waters, it is God that gives the increase. But there must be 
 the planting and the watering ; and ordinarily in proportion to the wisdom, 
 diligence, and prayer in doing this, will the increase be given. " They so spake 
 
 285 
 
nOMJLETlC COMMENTAnY: DAXIEL. 
 
 that many believed." " In so doing tliou shalt both save thyself and tbein that 
 hear tliee." To catch men with the Gospel net we require both the skill and the 
 diligence of successful fis-hermen. " Being crafty, I caught you with guile. I am 
 made all things to all men, if by any means I may save some." Among the things 
 requisite for turning many to righteousness, whether in a public or private capacity, 
 must be mentioned — love, that both gains the ear and moves the heart; earnestness, 
 that shows the speaker to believe his own words, and so makes others earnest ; 
 perseverance, that after toiling all night and taking nothing, will yet again and 
 again let down the net ; judgment, to speak the word in season, and to deal with 
 eacii case as occasion and circumstances require ; faith, including both assurance 
 of God's promised blessing, certainty regarding the truths stated, and the realisation 
 of things unseen ; hnowleihje, so as to give clear and correct direction as to the way 
 of truth and peace ; singleness of aim, so as to seek the glory of God in the salvation 
 of men as our one object in all our labour; prayerfulness, seeking continually His 
 aid, blessing, and power, without which we can neither work aright nor work to any 
 iffect, — imitating the resolve of the apostles, " We will give ourselves to prayer 
 and the ministry of the word ; " finally, consistency of life, both as regards our 
 spirit and conduct, the testimony of the lips being seconded by the concurring 
 testimony of the life, 
 
 II. The reward. Tljis also is exhibited in a twofold manner, a simile being 
 employed in each member of the verse, corresponding with the twofold description 
 of the character. The wise shall " shine as the brightness of the firmament ;"(^) 
 they that turn many to righteousness "shall be, or shine, as the stars for ever and 
 ever." W The former, like the character with which it is associated, is a glory of 
 a more general kind, tliat of the celestial expanse lighted up with the splendour of 
 the noonday sun. The latter is the brilliancy of the stars as they sparkle in the 
 nocturnal sky, especially as seen in a southern or oriental country like Syria or 
 ("haldea, with a radiance all the more glorious from the dark ground in which, like 
 diamonds, they appear to be set. The former comparison, though not to the body 
 of the sun but to the brightness which emanates from it, yet connects itself with 
 that made by the Saviour probably with reference to it : "Then shall the righteous 
 shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" {Matt. xiii. 43). 
 
 Tiie comparisons, taken together, suggest, in relation to the promised reward, — 
 
 1. An external visible glory. Christ's glorified body, which is said to shine as 
 the sun as it appeared to the disciples on the mount, emitted a visible refulgence. 
 But the bodies of His people when raised from the dead are to be " fashioned like 
 to His glorious body" (Phil. iii. 21). As He shall appear, or be manifested, with 
 a visible glory, they shall appear, or be manifested, in glory with Him (Col. iii. 4). 
 As we have borne the image of the earthy, so even in body we who are His 
 members shall also "bear the image of the heavenly " (1 Cor. xv. 49). How poor 
 in comparison with such a glory will appear the most gorgeous splendour of earth's 
 loftiest princes ! It was probably a portion of this glory that made the face of 
 Moses to shine as he came down from the mount, and that made that of Stephen 
 a])pear to the Jewish council as the face of an angel. 
 
 2. Purity and moral excellence. There is a moral and spiritual glory as well 
 as a visible external one, of which indeed the latter is but a symbol and outward 
 exi)ression. Light itself the symbol of moral purity and excellence. God is light ; 
 and goodness is the armour of light, as contrasted with sin, which is the work of 
 darkness. The image of Christ's perfect moral character believers at the resurrec- 
 tion shall also bear, and that in a perfect degree ; as well those who shall be alive 
 and remain at His coming, as those who shall be raised from the dead. For "we 
 Kliall not all sleeji (or die), but we .shall all be changed, in a moment" (1 Cor. xv. 
 ni, 52). Even here, while we behold (or reflect) as in a glass the glory of tlie 
 Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the 
 fe^pirit of the Lord (2 Cor. iii. 18). "It doth not yet appear what we shall be; 
 
 28G 
 
IIOSULETIC COMMEXTARY : DAS I EL. 
 
 but we know that when lie shall appear we shall be like Him," — spiritually and 
 visibly, in spirit and in character as well as in body, — " for we shall see llim as 
 He is " (1 John iii. 2). 
 
 3. Dignity and liommr. Sun and stars are employed in Scripture as symbols 
 of dignity and lofty rank, Balaam, prophesying of Messiah, said : " A star .shall 
 come out of Jacob, and a sceptre out of Israel" (Numb. xxiv. 17). Hence stars 
 usuiilly worn as decorations of princely honour. Christ redeemed His people to 
 make them kings and priests unto God. Like Christ Himself, tliey are hidden for 
 a time, and often appear mean and contemptible. But the time for the mani- 
 festation of their royal rank and princely dignity as the sons of God and brethren 
 of the King of kings at length arrives. "When Christ who is our life shall be 
 manifested, then shall ye also be manifested with Him in glory." " He that over- 
 cometh and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the 
 nations: and I will give him the morning star" (Rev. ii. 2G, l'^). This dignity 
 and princely rank will belong to each of the persons spoken of, th(jugh, doubtless, 
 in different degrees, as " one star differeth from another star in glory." 
 
 4. Joy and felicity. Light a standing emblem of joy and gladness. " Light is 
 sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart." On the destruction 
 of tiieir enemies, the Jews " had light and gladness and joy and honour " (Esther 
 viii. 16). Clouds and darkness the emblems of sorrow. The future of God's now 
 tried and afflicted people one of unmingled joy, as well as purity and honour. 
 Their experience after the resurrection like the brightness of a cloudless sky, 
 or like the untarnished radiance of the stars in the midnight vault of heaven. No 
 cloud of grief or care to bring a shadow over their hajipy spirits. The joy of their 
 future experience heightened by the sorrow through which they had passed on their 
 way to it, as the moon and stars appear most beautiful when the clouds that hid 
 them have passed away. Much of their joy the very fruit of their sorrow, as they 
 see around them those whom with tears and travail of soul they sought to turn to 
 righteousness, and on whom they now look as the mother, after her pangs, looks on 
 the child to whom she has given birth. " For what is our hope, or joy, or crown 
 of rejoicing 1 Are not even ye in the preseTice of our Lord Jesus Christ at His 
 coming 1 For ye are our glory and joy " (1 Thess. ii. 19, 20). " Blessed are the 
 dead that die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, for they do rest 
 from their labours, and their works do follow them," — the fruits of their labours in 
 those radiant and happy beings, whom they were made the honoured instruments 
 of turning to righteousness, and who now, as stars in their crown, enhance their 
 own felicity. 
 
 5. Fermanence. " As the stars for ever and ever." The stars themselves 
 appear the very emblem of permanence, appearing from year to year and from 
 generation to generation, to occupy the same place and to shine with the same 
 brilliancy that they did thousands of years before. This apparent permanence and 
 unchangeableness pictures forth the real permanence and unchanging glory of the 
 wise and those who turn many unto righteousness. They shall reign for ever 
 and ever. Their life is an everlasting one ; their crown one that fadeth not away. 
 Their sun never goes down, neither does their moon withdraw itself. Their glory 
 is necessarily abiding and unchanging, as the Lord Jehovah Himself is their ever- 
 lasting ligiit, and their God their glory. As one with Him who is the same 
 yesterday, to-day, and for ever, their joy and felicity, their purity and dignity, 
 nnist be as permanent as His own. Even the stars may lose their lustre, and the 
 sun may cease to fill the firmament with brightness. It is said that during the last 
 three hundred years thirteen fixed stars have disappeared, one of them after jiresent- 
 ing a peculiar brilliancy as if on fire, then exhibiting a reddish yellow hue, and before 
 its final disappearance becoming ashy pale, the time occupied by the change being 
 about sixteen months. Philosophers also calculate that in the course of some seven- 
 teen millions of years the sun may have emitted all its rays and entirely lost its 
 
 • - - 2S7 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY; DANIEL. 
 
 lustre. The Wurd of God does not teach that either sun or stars are everUvsting, but, 
 oil the contrary, that they shall one day cease to be. They will have served their 
 purpose of showing forth their Maker's glory and ministering to others of His 
 creatures, and then, like a worn-out garment, be laid aside (Ps. cii. 25, 26). Their 
 Maker, however, remains the same, and so shall all who as His children partake of 
 His nature. " Whatever possible changes may take place with the glorious fabric of 
 the material heavens, though the sun should lose its splendour, or pale before more 
 glorious suns, as the stars disappear before the orb of day ; and though the stars, 
 which are mostly only other suns, shall attract no more by their brightness and 
 beauty ;" yettho.se glorious children of the resurrection, who fulfilled on earth their 
 day of labour in doing the will of their Creator and seeking to bring back to Him 
 His banished ones, shall still shine on with unchanged and unchanging gh)ry, like 
 their glorious Head whom they are made to resemble. " In the lapse of millioni3 
 of ages hence," says Arthur Butler, " for aught we can tell, it may be the purpose 
 of God that all this universe should gradually give place to some new creation ; that 
 other planets should circle around other suns ; that unheard-of forms of animated 
 existence should crowd all the chambers of the sensitive universe, — forms of life 
 unlike all that we can dream of ; that in slow pn^gression, the immense cycle of 
 our present system of nature shall at length expire ■,^-') but even then no decay 
 shall dare to touch the universe of souls." We may add, nor yet the glorified 
 spiritual bodies of those who, having been " wise " in time, shall shine at the 
 resurrection " as the brightness of the firmament," and of those who, having laboured 
 to turn many to righteousness, shall shine " as the stars for ever and ever." 
 
 Reader, believest thou this ] They are the words of Him that cannot lie. How 
 infinitely important then to make it our first business to secure a place among 
 those who are " wise," and then through the grace given to us to seek faithfully 
 to do the Master's work in turning others to righteousness by communicating, in 
 every competent way and in whatever sphere we may move, the knowledge of Him 
 whose name is the Lord our llighteousuess ! The day is hastening apace when 
 everything else will appear as insignificant as the dust under our feet, and when 
 all earth's glory will burst and vanish as the empty soap-bubl)le. The harvest is 
 approaching, when he that went forth bearing precious seed and weeping, shall 
 come again rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him, — when " both he that soweth 
 and he that reapeth shall rejoice together." Hold on, brother, re.idy to faint in 
 the sowing lime under the burden and heat of the day. In due time you shall 
 reap, if you faint not. " Harvest home " will soon be sung amid the acclamations 
 of angels ; when, after the throes of a dissolving world, the Lord of the harvest 
 shall proclaim, " Behold, I make all things new," Has the reader not yet begun 
 to be a candidate for that glory ? It is not yet too late. Begin now. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.-C^) " They (2) » They that turn many to righteori,. 
 that he ivise." D''?''3^J|)n (hammashkilhn), ncss." ^"ili} "'i?*?V^ (matsdiqe harah- 
 the wise or understanding. The margin him)^ "they tliat make the many 
 has " teachers." The same word used righteous." Brightnian has, " they that 
 in chap. xi. 33, 35, and rendered " they justify others, by teaching, admonishing, 
 that understand," and " them of under- exhorting, reproving, and comforting, 
 etanding." Keil observes that the term which are parts and duties of the teach- 
 is here, as there, not limited to the ers, and those who enjoy public office 
 teachers, but denotes the intelligent, in the church." According to Keil, the 
 who, by instructing their contempo- word here signifies to assist in obtain- 
 raries by means of word and deed, have ing, or to lead to, righteousness; and 
 awakened them to steadfastness and is here to be read in this general inter- 
 fidelity to their confession in the times pretation, and not to be identified with 
 of tribulation, and have strengthened the Pauline biy.atoZoQai (justification), 
 their faith. The persons here intended, he says, are 
 288 
 
BO Ml LET IC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 those who by tlieir fidelity to the law 
 led others to ni^l.y ((sidhqah, ligliteous- 
 ness), — showed them by their example 
 and teaching the way to righteousness. 
 The same word used in Isa. liii. 11 of 
 Christ as God's Righteous Servant, who 
 by the knowledge of Himself as their 
 sin-bearer sliould "justify many." The 
 only way of being made righteous is by 
 the same knowledge, for the communi- 
 cation of which His people are made 
 His witnesses (Acts i. 8). 
 
 (3) '^ As the brightness of the firma- 
 ment." Keil observes that the splen- 
 dour of the vault of heaven (Exod. 
 xxiv. 10) is a figure of the glory which 
 Christ designates as a light like the sun, 
 in Matt. xiii. 43, referring to the pas- 
 sage before us. He refers also to Rev. 
 ii. 28 and 1 Cor. xv. 40, &c., as exam- 
 ples of the figure. Brightman remarks : 
 " The firmament itself, whither no cloud 
 aspireth, nor any earthly pollution as- 
 cendeth, to cast any aspersion or blot 
 thereupon : here, not as it often seemeth 
 to us, covered all over with thick clouds, 
 but as it is in itself." He thinks, how- 
 ever, that this is a less reward than that 
 which is laid up for the righteous at the 
 last day, when they shall shine forth 
 like tlie sun itself. 
 
 (') •'■As the stars." Stars, says Bright- 
 man, wherewith the firmament shall be 
 
 beautified and adorned, themselves in 
 the meantime enjoying the chiefest 
 glory. SoRev. i. 10. More especially, 
 he thinks, teachers of the Jews, being 
 the precious stones of which tiie wall 
 of the New Jerusalem is built (Rev. 
 xxi. 19). Keil observes: "The salva- 
 tion of the people, which the end shall 
 bring in, consists in the consummation 
 of the people of Gcd, by the resurrec- 
 tion of the dead and the jiulgtnent 
 dividing the pious from the godless, 
 according to which the pious shall be 
 raised to eternal life, and the godless 
 shall be given up to everlasting shame 
 and contempt. But the leaders of the 
 people, who, amid the wars and con- 
 flicts of this life, have turned many to 
 righteousness, shall shine in the im- 
 perishable glory of heaven." 
 
 (^) It is well known that the stars 
 owe their different degrees of size and 
 splendour mainly to their different dis- 
 tances from us; and that the number 
 of those which are visible to the eye 
 even when aided by a powerful tele- 
 scope, proliably bear only a small pro- 
 portion to those that are scattered 
 through the boundless regions of space. 
 Even the Milky Way, which is simply an 
 immense cluster of countless stars to 
 which our solar system belongs as a unit, 
 is only one of innumerable such clusters. 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XLVIII. — The Increase of Knowledge as a Sign of the 
 
 Time. (Chap. xii. 4.) 
 Daniel had already received a very full and minute account of what was to 
 befall his people in the latter days. The information communicated, however, was 
 to be "shut up and sealed," 0^ as a precious treasure that was to be carefully 
 guarded, and as something that would be more known and appreciated hereafter 
 than at present. The same order we find to have been given in relation to the 
 vision of the Ram and the He-goat, the reason given being that the vision was 
 to be " for many days," or only to receive its fulfilment after a length of time. 
 So here; the words were to be shut up and the book sealed "even to the time 
 of the end," when they should be about to receive their entire accomplishment. 
 The meaning conveyed apparently that as the end approached the prophecy would 
 be both more studied and better understood. There would seem to be a time 
 when, for wise reasons, the right understanding of prophetic scripture is withlield, 
 and when that part of the woni is not even studied equally witli the rest. The 
 prophet was comman.ied to "bind up the testimony and seal the law among the 
 disciples" (Isa. viii. 16); so that when the book was handed to one to nad, the 
 reply should be, "I cannot, for it is sealed" (xxix. 11). John in Patmos, on the 
 
 ^•^ T 289 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 other hand, was commanded not to seal the sayings of the Apocalypse, because 
 the time for their fulfilment was at hand (Rev. xxii. 10). For the same reason 
 a blessing is promised to those who read and those who hear the words of that 
 prophecy, and who keep what is written in it (Rev. i. 3). A sealed book not able 
 to be read till the seals are broken (Rev. v. 1, &c.) The prophecies of the Old 
 Testament confirmed or made " more sure " by the events of the New ; so that we 
 are encouraged to take heed to that word of prophecy, as to a light shining in a 
 dark place till the day of clearer knowledge dawn (2 Pet. i. 19). 
 
 The words in the second clause of the verse, from the place which they occupy, 
 have been thought by many to refer to what should take place toward the time of 
 the end, viz., that there should be a greater amount of study given, as to other 
 subjects of knowledge, so more especially to the written word, and to the word of 
 prophecy in particular, and that accordingly there should be a much better under- 
 standing of its contents ; (2) as well as that, from the increased facilities for 
 locomotion, its dissemination should be greatly increased. And it is a remarkable 
 fact, and one that cannot fail to be regarded as a striking feature of the time in 
 which we live, and a sign of an approaching state of things different from what 
 has hitherto existed, that these words of the prophet have received so literal and 
 extensive a fulfilment during the last eighty or a hundred years far beyond any 
 former period. That many have " run to and fro," and that a spirit of inquiry 
 and awakened interest in Daniel's prophecies, and in the teachings of the prophetic 
 scriptures in general, has appeared in our own time, none acquainted with the 
 religious literature and history of the present century can hesitate to acknowledge. 
 In England especially, it is well known that from the time of the first French 
 Revolution the attention has been in a remarkable degree drawn to the subject of 
 prophecy ; many thoughtful and enlightened Christians having been led to view, 
 in that event and those which followed, what might probably prove " the beginning 
 of the end." From that time to the present numerous books have continued to be 
 written on the subject, a thing which had previously been exceedingly rare. The 
 number of those who have been led to give deep and earnest attention to the 
 prophetic word, and who have consequently become comparatively well acquainted 
 with its contents and teaching, has been largely increased. Evidences of the same 
 increased interest, and means tending to the same result, have been seen in the 
 courses of lectures delivered, and the periodicals started, in connection with the 
 same subject. In Germany, somewhat earlier, the attention of the Church was 
 awakened in a similar manner by the writings of Spener, and still more by those of 
 Bengel. This increased attention to and knowledge of prophetic scripture, while 
 it is itself a remarkable fulfilment of such scripture, is at the same time a sign 
 of the approaching " end," when all prophecy shall have its accomplishment. 
 *' Apocalyptic prophecy," says Auberlen, *' is approaching its fulfilment. For this 
 reason the Lord adds to the light of faith also the light of hope. He leads us ever 
 deeper into the understanding of the Apocalypse, and will give us apostolic know- 
 ledge for apostolic times and struggles. It is the undisputable merit of Bengel 
 that he pre2)ared the way for such a knowledge." 
 
 In relation to the diffusion of divine truth in general, and of the knowledge of 
 Jesus Clirist, its central subject, the prediction in the text receives a fulfilment in 
 the present beyond any previous period of the world. Probably not even in 
 apostolic times was it true to an equal extent. In reference to England, pre- 
 eminently the country of Bibles and missions, never were earnest living witness- 
 bearers for Clirist, whether as ministers, city missionaries, evangelists, lay-preachers, 
 and Sabbath-school teachers, even in proportion to the increased population, nearly 
 so numerous as at present ; and never was the Gospel, in its purity, so widely pro- 
 mulgated in heathen lands. The empire of China, which with its four hundred 
 millions lias now opened her doors to the Gospel ; India, which, with its two 
 hundred and fifty millions, is now all our own and everywhere accessible to the 
 290 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 truth ; Japan, Africa, and the islands of the South Seas are now visited by the 
 heralds of salvation as never before. (3) In Indin, the Zenanas, or apartments 
 of the women, hitherto secluded from Cliristian intercourse, are now open to the 
 female teacher and missionary of the cross. "The year (1881) upon wliicli we 
 have entered," says an American publication, " begins with the whole world open 
 to the Gospel ; with an array of nearly 3000 foreign missionaries encircling the 
 globe ; with one hundred and fifty millions of copies of the Holy Bible proclaiming 
 their message in two hundred and fifty tongues, and witli a great multitude of 
 nearly two million converts from heathenism as the firstfruits of the Gentiles. 
 More than one thousand seraglios in India are open to the missionaries of our 
 Women's Boards ; imperial palaces in China are open to our medical missionaries, 
 and imperial patronage is fostering our missionary hospitals ; pagan religions are 
 becoming effete, and even Mahoinmeilanism is at hist beginning to yield to the 
 Gospel." "Since the commencement of the nineteenth century," says Dr. Christlieb, 
 " Protestant missions have been spreading among people of every race, and in every 
 possible state of civilisation ; they have been growing ever vaster in extent and in 
 plan of operation, while they are always becoming more difficult to estimate in 
 their effects and fruits, in their leavening influence on the faith and life of the 
 heathen, as well as in their reflex action on the Church at home." " We live in an 
 age of missions," he says again, " such — the mere outward extent of them shows it 
 — as the Church has never seen. . . . The cross of Clirist is being lifted up no 
 longer in a few non-Christian lands, but in every one, among all races of men, the 
 comparatively civilised as the most degraded; in colonies, as in independent heathen 
 lands ; in hundreds of languages and dialects. Those provinces of the Church, too, 
 once lost to her, and crushed beneath the bloody heel of Islam, by the light of the 
 Gospel are now being awakened to newness of life." 
 
 The increased diffusion of Scripture as well as other knowledge by the printed 
 pages is as remarkable as that by the living teacher. Only during the past year 
 the Keligious Tract Society alone has issued no less than eighty-one millions of 
 separate publications, no fewer than sixty millions of these being in our mother 
 tongue and circulated in our own country or in the colonies ; while above two 
 thousand millions of books, tracts, and periodicals, all containing the truth as it is 
 in Jesus, have been circulated since the formation of the society. At present the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society alone produces at the rate of two copies of the 
 Scriptures every minute throughout the twenty-four hours of the day, working 
 every day in the week ; and these copies are transmitted over the whole habitable 
 globe in no less than a hundred and seventy languages. "At the beginning of the 
 present century," says Dr. Christlieb, " the Scriptures existed in some fifty trans- 
 lations, and were circulated in certainly not more than five millions of copies. 
 Since 1804, i.e., since the formation of the British and Foreign Bible Society, new 
 translations of the Bible, or of its more important parts, have been accomplished 
 in at least two hundred and twenty-six languages and dialects. There are trans- 
 lations of all the Sacred Scriptures into fifty-five, of the New Testament into eighty- 
 four, of particular parts into eighty-seven languages ; and now the circulation of 
 the Scriptures, in whole or in part, has amounted to a hundred and forty-eight 
 millions of copies. These translations have been made chiefly by missionaries ; 
 and within seventy years over sixty languages have been made to possess a 
 literary history." In this way the visions of Daniel have been read and searched 
 into as they had never been before. 
 
 If we apply the text to the increase of knowledge in general, the prediction is 
 equally verified in the days in which we live. The present is emphatically the age 
 of travel, of exploration, of investigation, and discovery. In whichever of the two 
 senses we take the word, "many run to and fro," and as the result, " knowledge ia 
 increased." The cheap and rapid mode of printing by steam is itself a means of 
 the fulfilment of the prophecy. By the discovery and use of steam as a motive power, 
 
 291 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 tbe age in which we live is an age of books and cheap literature. The diffusion of 
 knowledge, by means of books, journals, schools, and lectures, is one of the 
 characteristics of the present age. The facilities for cheap and rapid travelling 
 and transit tend in the same direction. The productions of authors, as well as 
 the living teachers, are thus continually speeding over land and ocean as at no 
 foriiier period of the world. By these means, as well as the advance of education, 
 mental activity has reached a greater height than ever before. Probably never was 
 the desire to acquire and to communicate knowledge so great as it is at present. 
 Not only do we live in the days of gas and steam, two discoveries of the present 
 century, but of an agent of still greater power, and one likely to produce still greater 
 ejffects than it has done already in the telegraph, — namely, electricity. At the 
 International Electrical Exhibition recently opened in Paris, visitors are conveyed 
 from the Place tie la Concorde to the exhibition building by a tramcar worked by 
 electricity; and when there, they find that the objects exhibited are divided into no less 
 than sixteen classes, and that no less than twenty-eight rooms are each lighted by a 
 different electric system, and contain specimens of electric railways, electric boats, 
 and electric balloons, with vast masses of machinery driven by electricity. (*) 
 
 The prediction in the text may well stimulate the friends of Jesus and of their 
 fellowmen to greater zeal. Much has been done already in diffusing the know- 
 ledge of the truth, but still more remains to be done. Millions are still perish- 
 ing in all parts of the world for lack of knowledge. Only five thousand mission- 
 aries are sent to a thousand millions of heathens, or one to two hundred thousand 
 souls. The cry of Macedonia reaches us still from a thousand places, " Come ovei 
 and help us." The appeal for more men, and more means for their support, is still 
 addressed to the churches. Increased openings, increased facilities, and increased 
 prosperity, call for greatly increased operations in the field of missions. "Friends 
 of Jesus," says tbe author of the Telegraphic Sign, *' make haste to the rescue of 
 those who are perishing in ignorance, because they are ' out of the way.' Let 
 there be promptness and rapidity in your movements. Everything around you is 
 on the wing, as if the world were ruiming a race, and had scarcely time to take 
 breath, even for a moment. Let there be speed in your operations. In commerce, 
 literature, and the arts, all is expedition. Things are done quickly, fast, in haste. 
 The work of years is accomplished in as many days. The instinctive, predominant,^ 
 prevailing propensity, as if from some strange presentiment, is, to save time. For 
 what purpose is never seriously inquired. But that which is done is given out to be 
 done without delay. It is getting late. Every moment is precious. The clock is 
 just on the stroke. Hurry, Hurry. Let not a second be lost. Yet what is all 
 this for 1 What is all this busy, bustling hurry intended to subserve 1 Merely to 
 relieve, and lighten, and help on the brief hours of a temporary existence. It is 
 vanity and vexation of spirit after all ; a scrambling for gain, a labouring only for 
 tiic meat that perisheth. And yet for this all the world is taxed. Land and water 
 are laid under revenue in the shortest possible time. Steam engines, steam presses, 
 steam ploughs, steam ship.s, are all charged to do their utmost. The sails of commerce 
 whiten every shore. Screws and paddles propel the mighty merchandise of the 
 seas. Railway carriages 'run.' The telegraph outstrips the winds. Power to 
 overcome resistance, derived from natural forces and not from brute strength, is 
 .--uinmoned and put on the stretch to do the bidding of man at a word. Do we 
 not rejoice at the wonderful facilities and improvements of our time ? We do. 
 We bless God for endowing His creatures with the marvellous faculty of invention, 
 Ijy which various and even op[)()site properties are combineil and utilities created, that 
 would have lain in the crypts and caverns of unexplored nature, had they not been 
 brought out and dominated by the laws of mechanical science, and rendered so 
 Ijcautif ully and amazingly subservient to the wants and interests of society. We 
 could not, we would not, go back to the Middle Ages of slow travelling, slow pro- 
 duction, slow printing, slow progress in every dei)artment of service. We are 
 292 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 more than satisfied M-ith our present vantage ground, wliile we are alinnst dizzy 
 with our lofty, elevated, far-stretchiiig advance. But liere is our condemnation and 
 our shame. Our religious improvement has not gone on in the same ratio with 
 our commercial and political progression. The march of evangelism has not kept 
 pace with the march of intellect. Education is putting out the leaden eyes of 
 ignorance, pouring the light of knowledge on the visual ray, and kindling the spark 
 of intelligence in the minds of the untutored masses, while 'darkness still covers 
 the earth, and gross darkness the people.' All else with impetuous stride has 
 nearly reached the goal, while the chariot of the everlasting Gospel, bearing the 
 message of salvation to dying millions, still drags its slow length along; and 
 though above eighteen hundred years on the highway of the world's amelioration, 
 has not yet traversed half the globe, seeing two-thirds of its population at least are 
 to this day unacquainted with the ' faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation,' 
 that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, even the chief On whom 
 does the charge of negligence in this matter rest ] All religious parties are more or 
 less implicated. We have none of us put our shoulder to the wheel as we ought 
 to have done. We have not been zealous for the Lord of Hosts. We have set our 
 affections too much on earthly things. We have hoarded our substance instead 
 of giving it to Christ. We have hid our Lord's money, instead of employing it for 
 the spread of the Gospel. The streams of wealth that have flowed to us from the 
 bountiful hand of God, we have diverted from their legitimate channels, for their 
 transmission into dry and thirsty lands where no spiritual water is. We have 
 selfishly turned them into our own reservoirs, and made them administer to our 
 ■whims, and fancies, and pride." 
 
 May the time past si;ffice to have been guilty of our brother's blood; and may we 
 now at length, in the self-denying spirit of the Master, rise and do our utmost to 
 spread the Gospel of the kingdom among all nations, that the promised end may come ! 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— (i) ''Shut take care of it as a treasure, and not 
 \ip the words, a7id seal the booh." Ac- impart it generally to all; and that 
 cording to some, the prophecy was to many years should elapse before its 
 be only enigmatically delivered to a fulfilment. According to Brightman, 
 few, because scarcely one in a hundred the angel would have Daniel to write 
 would be worthy to receive it, or give the prophecy in precisely the same 
 it any attention. Calvin thinks the words and after the same manner in 
 meaning of the order to be that, although which he had received it, and to add 
 it should be universally despised and nothing of his own by way of exposition, 
 ridiculed, it was yet to be shut up like Dr. Cox thinks the command implies 
 a precious treasure ; and not to be that those last events will only be un- 
 treated as valueless, because so few ravelled, in their full glory and meaning, 
 should embrace the teaching it con- as the time for their accomplishment 
 tained ; the direction being given for approaches, when great inquiry should 
 the consolation and encouragement of be excited aiid increasing knowledge 
 the prophet himself, lest he grew weary acquired, as they should break one after 
 and despondent, because it failed to another in rapid and splendid succession 
 command the applause of all the world. upon the view of the Church. Heng- 
 Jerome says the prophet was to fold up stenberg thinks the command only 
 the prophecy in dark speech, and sign relates to a symbolical action, to be 
 it that many might read and seek the understood of something internal ; and 
 truth of the history. BuUinger thinks after the removal of the mere drapery, 
 the command meant that notiiing was the imperatives are to be resolved into 
 to be added to the prophecy, it being futures, thus, — "These prophecies will 
 perfect and absolute ; Willet, that he be closed and sealed till the time of the 
 should commit it to writing, and set it end." Keil understands the words in 
 forth in obscure terms and words, to the sense of ^'ztarJm^', while he supposes 
 
 293 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 that tbe command refers to the whole 
 of the visions received by Daniel, all of 
 ■which he understands the prophet to 
 have committed to writing. The pro- 
 phet was to guard the entire book 
 containing them from disfigurement, 
 "till the time of the end," because its 
 contents stretched out to that period. 
 
 (2) " Many shall rxm to and fro.^' 
 •Itopb'*. {yesliotetoo), " shall go up and 
 down," especially with the view of 
 searching and investigating. So Job i. 
 7, ii. 2. Keil remarks that ti-ltJ' (shoot) 
 signifies neither to "go astray," as J. 
 D. Michaelis supposed, nor to " wander 
 about " as in consciousness of misery, 
 as Hiiveruick thought ; but only to go 
 to and fro, to pass through a land, in 
 order to seek out or search, to go 
 abt)iit spying. It is used of the eyes of 
 God in Zech. iv. 10, as well as of Satan 
 in Job i. 7, &.C. Here the idea is that 
 of searching a book, not merely reading 
 it industriously, as Hitzig or Ewald 
 renders the word ; but, as Gesenius says, 
 thoroughly searching in it. Keil, how- 
 ever, would not confine the passage to 
 the time of the end ; and agrees with 
 Kliefoth in his interpretation of it, that 
 Daniel must place in security the pro- 
 phecies he has received until the time 
 of the end, so that through all times 
 many men may be able to read them 
 and gain understanding from them. 
 Calvin says : " Many shall investigate ; 
 this prophecy shall not always be buried 
 in obscurity ; the Lord will at length 
 cause many to embrace it to their own 
 salvation." He adds that this really 
 came to jass : " Before Christ's coming, 
 this doctrine was not esteemed according 
 to its value ; whereas now this divine 
 assistance affords us strength and en- 
 ables us to overcome all the attacks of 
 tlie world and the devil." Vatablus 
 imderstands the prediction to mean that 
 many should go to and fro to obtain 
 knowledge. 
 
 0) '^ A'nowledf/e shall be increased." 
 In the year 1797, says E. Irving, 
 *' when the two witnesses were to re- 
 cover life (llev. xi.), tlie London Mis- 
 sionary Society was called into being, 
 or, at least, began its first active opera- 
 tions amongst the heathens; for in that 
 
 year missionaries were landed in the 
 island of Otaheite, which with all that 
 group hath now been yielded to the 
 preaching of the Word. And since that 
 time, the society has laboured with ita 
 chief diligence and success among the 
 islands of the Pacific Ocean, the tribes 
 of Southern Africa, the expatriated and 
 enslaved negroes, and the tribes of 
 Northern Asia. The same year the 
 prophecy began to be fulfilled in another 
 way, by the Baptist missionaries in 
 India addressing themselves to the first 
 new translation of the Scriptures which 
 had been undertaken since the Befor- 
 mation. From that time till this (1826), 
 the spirit of translating the Scriptures 
 into all languages hath never slumbered 
 nor slept, but been aroused in the Church 
 to an extent beyond all former example ; 
 insomuch that within the last thirty 
 years more versions of the Scriptures 
 have been made than existed in all 
 languages before. . . , And when they 
 began to multiply beyond the means of 
 the various societies to print and circu- 
 late them, the Lord raised up that most 
 noble instrument, the Bible Society, 
 which hath taken from the hands of the 
 translators their works as fast as they 
 were finished, and brought them into 
 widest circulation." 
 
 (*) In relation to the increase of 
 mere natural knowledge as predicted in 
 the text, the same writer, more than 
 half a century ago, observed : " Of all 
 characteristics of the present times, the 
 increase of our natural knowledge is 
 perhaps the most remarkable, except 
 the dissemination of it. The zeal with 
 which the earth hath been run over, for 
 facts and specimens, in all departments 
 of science, the numbers of travellers and 
 voyagers, and the apparatus for dis- 
 covery and observation with which they 
 go attended ; the books which teem 
 from the press in that kind, and the 
 exactness witli which they are written, 
 are only surpassed by the inventions of 
 printing and copj'ing by which they are 
 circulated through the earth with the 
 speed of life and death : and cultivation 
 of the intellect in all that respects out- 
 ward visible things, is the great end of 
 education ; and hath been carried to a 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 wonderful perfection ; insomuch that late are altogether marvellous ; so that 
 
 these intellectual tastes have rooted out from the swaddling-band of childhood 
 
 many of the sensual excesses and indul- up to the fathers of families, you shall 
 
 gences of our fathers. And education find the people in some .school or other, 
 
 is the rallying word of all well-disposed either infanthie, academical, or mechani- 
 
 men. For the perfecting of which, the cal." If true in 182G, how much more 
 
 inventions which have taken place of so now in IbSl ! 
 
 HOMILETICS. 
 
 Sect. XLIX. — The Time of the Exd. (Chap. xii. 5-1?.) 
 
 Daniel had just received orders from the angel to shut up the words of the 
 vision, and to seal the book that contained them, " even to the time of the end." 
 As yet, however, there had been no distinct intimation when that time should be. 
 Information on this point was greatly desired by Daniel, and was not to be entirely 
 withheld from him. The time of Messiah's advent had already been expressly 
 indicated; after sixty-nine weeks of years He was to be cut off; and after that 
 event, war and desolation was determined upon the people for the terrible guilt 
 thus incurred. The time when the first captivity should terminate, and Israel be 
 restored to their own land, had also been distinctly foretold ; and the event had 
 verified the prediction. Daniel was, therefore, naturally wishful to be informed 
 as to the end of these predicted " wonders " which had just been communicated to 
 him. Like the prophets in general, who " searched diligently what and what 
 manner of time the Spirit that was in them did signify, when he testified before- 
 hand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow," Daniel, having 
 already learned the time of the sufferings, wished now to learn something regarding 
 that of the glory that was to succeed them. This was now in part to be commu- 
 nicated; but in a way that should rather lead to the exercise of faith and patience 
 than satisfy curiosity. The scattering and crushing of the power of the covenant 
 but unbelieving and guilty people must first be fully accomplished. The time 
 when that should be completed is indicated in the enigmatical terms with which 
 the prophet's ear was already acquainted, as that during which the saints were to 
 be given into the hand of the little horn of the fourth universal empire. It was 
 the mysterious " time, times, and half a time," or three times and a half ; but what 
 that period exactly meant, or from what point it was precisely to take its com- 
 mencement, definite information was not vouchsafed. Some indication, however, 
 as to the length of the period was given. A thousand two hundred and ninety 
 days, probably understood by Daniel as indicative of so many years, were to elapse, 
 after a certain event yet to take place. That event is also named, — the taking 
 away of the daily sacrifice, and the setting up of the abomination that niaketh 
 desolate. These terms also Daniel had already heard, and something of their 
 meaning he had already seen in connection with his own personal history. Another 
 period is mentioned, extending forty-five days beyond the preceding one ; when 
 all the indignation shall have entirely passed away, and when Israel, visited with 
 Jehovah's returning mercy, shall, according to the prophetic promise, have snng, 
 " Lord, I will praise Tiiee ; for though Thou wast angry with me, Thine auL'cr is 
 turned away, and Thou comfortedst me " (Isa. xii. 1). Farther information Daniel 
 was not to receive. As God's faithful and accepted servant, he was to go his way 
 and rest in faith and patience till the end should come. What the angel had 
 commanded Daniel to do, he now speaks of as done : " The words are closed up 
 and sealed till the time of the end," Intimation, however, is given that, sealed as 
 they are, " the wise " should " understand " (vers. 9, 10), They were " written 
 for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come" (1 Cor, x. 11). 
 
 The information regarding the time of the end was communicated to D.miel in 
 
 295 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 a peculiarly solemn and impressive manner. After the angel had ceased making 
 his communication, Daniel continued to gaze on his celestial informant ; when, as 
 he did so, he saw other two, one on each side of the river,W on or over which the 
 chief angel, or the man clothed in linen, stood, as Lord of it and what it repre- 
 sented. One of these, addressing the latter, probably for Daniel's information, 
 possibly for his own, asked, " How long shall it be to the end of these wonders 1" (2) 
 Upon which the chief angel, solemnly lifting up both his hands to heaven, and 
 swt-aring by Him that liveth for ever and ever, as about to make some most important 
 statement, deeply affecting not Daniel only but the Church at large, and calling 
 for the most deep and devout attention to it, declares that "it shall be for a time 
 and times and a half ;(^) and when He shall have accomplished to scatter the 
 power of the holy peoplCjW all these things shall be finished " (vers. 5-7). Daniel, 
 not understanding the precise meaning of the statement, ventures, in his earnest- 
 ness, to ask for himself, " O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things r' 
 Daniel, however, is forbidden to inquire further, and is only assured that though 
 the troubles of his people should be many, the end should be the purification of 
 the wise, who should also understand the vision. Additional information, however, 
 is vouchsafed ; and then Daniel is bidden to go his way till the end be, as he 
 .should rest and stand in his lot " at the end of the days" (vers, 10-13). 
 
 In indicating the time of the end, the man clothed in linen mentions, first, a 
 period that should elapse during which a certain purpose of Jehovah regarding the 
 chosen people should be accomplished (ver. 7); secondly, a period of time that 
 should be reckoned from the occurrence of certain events (ver. 11). We notice 
 both — 
 
 I, The period to elapse during which a certain purpose of Jehovah should 
 he accomplished. The purpose referred to is the scattering or crushing of the 
 power of tlie holy people, that is, the Jews, so called as having been taken int& 
 covenant with Jehovah, who declared that they should be to Him a holy people 
 or nation (Exod. xix. 56 ; Lev. xx, 26 ; Dent, vii, 6), In case of His people's 
 continued disobedience, He threatened to "break the pride of their power" and 
 to "scatter them among the heathen" (Lev, xxvi, 18, 19, 33); both apparently 
 indicated in the text, " when He shall have accomplished to scatter or crush the 
 power of the holy people." We have seen how this scattering or crushing com- 
 menced after the rejection and cutting oflf of the Messiah, wl)en, according to 
 the prophecy, "the people of the prince that should come — the Romans under 
 whose subjection they then were — should destroy the city and the sanctuary," 
 and the end should be with a flood, even war and desolations determined upon 
 them (chap. ix. 26). Paul speaks of them as already in his day broken oflf and 
 cast away (Rom. xi. 15-20). They have been so up to the present time ; a nation 
 scattered and peeled, tribes of the wandering foot and weary breast. Even now 
 thousands of them are said to contemplate leaving Germany, from whence they 
 have been all but expelled, in order to return to Spain, from whence their perse- 
 cuted fatliers fled for refuge to Germany several centuries ago. The scattering 
 and crushing of their power is still going on, their own country being still in 
 the hands of the Gentiles. But this is to have an end; and when this purpose of 
 chastening shall have been accomplished, when Jehovah shall see tliat " their 
 power is gone," and they " accept the punishment of tlieir iniquity," and acknow- 
 ledge their guilt in rejecting and crucifying the Lord's Anointed, the fulfilment 
 of His gracious promises regarding them sliall begin (Lev. xxvi. 40—45 ; Deut. 
 xxxii, 30). "If tlie casting away of them be — as it has been — the reconciling of 
 the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead 1 " (Rom. 
 xi. 15). The period during which tliis scattering or crushing was to take place 
 is tlie enigmatical one already occurring in the prophecy (chap. vii. 27), "a tin:e, 
 times, and a half," or three and a half times. From chap. xi. 13 (margin) we 
 may gather that the term " time" was understood to indicate a year; "at the end 
 2UG 
 
JIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 of times, even years," Avas the language of tlie angel. A year was usually reckoned 
 as containing 360 days; so that the period in the text would be that which we 
 twice meet with in the llevelation, a thousand two hundred and sixty days (Rev. 
 xi. 3, xii. 6) ; or, according to prophetical reckoning, each day being con.sidered 
 a year, 1260 years; a period also spoken of in the Revelation as a time, times, and 
 half a time (chap. xii. 14). The two periods thus similarly described in tlie two 
 Revelations of the Old and New Testament, as of the same lengtb, are probably 
 one and the same, commencing and concluding together, as it is certain that they 
 possess the same character of suffering, persecution, and ojjpre.'^sion of the people 
 of God. Its application to the duration of the Little Horn of the Fourth Beast 
 or Roman empire, we have already considered under chap. vii. 27. Altliough 
 the temporal power of the Little Horn appears since 1870 to be a thing of the 
 past, still its spiritual power continues ; and it is certain that the scattering and 
 crushing of the covenant people is not yet at an end. How near, liowever, in 
 both cases the consummation may be, time alone will show. Far distant, it would 
 seem, it cannot well be. O Israel, return unto the Lord, from whom ye have 
 revolted. "Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, in order 
 that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and He may 
 send again Jesus, who before was preached unto you ; whom the lieavens must 
 receive until the times of the restoration of all things" (Acts iii. 19-21, R.V.) 
 
 The period mentioned in ver. 11, " twelve hundred and ninety days," is doubt- 
 less the same three times and a half with the addition of thirty more : while the 
 third period (ver. 12), or the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days, is 
 a still further extension of it by forty-five ; these additions or extensions having 
 probable reference to what shovtld take place between the termination of the 
 scattering and crushing of Israel's power in their deliverance out of the great 
 tribulation (ver. 1), and their full enjoyment of the blessings promised in connec- 
 tion with their return to their Saviour and King. ^) 
 
 II. The period of time to be reckoned from the occurrence of certain 
 events (ver. 11). This period is that just mentioned, twelve hundred and ninety 
 days, or thirty days (or years) beyond the 1260, or the "time, times, and half a 
 time," The events from which this period is to be reckoned are spoken of as the 
 taking away of the daily sacrifice,(^) and the setting up of the abominaticm that 
 maketh desolate. (") We have to inquire when these events took place. But first 
 we have to consider what the expressions mean. We have had them before (chap, 
 viii. 11, xi. 31). Literally and primarily in relation to Israel, they are under- 
 stood to indicate the cessation, or rather violent removal, of the Jewish worship 
 as prescribed in the law of Moses, and the introduction of a false and idolatrous 
 wciship, under whatever form, in its stead. This took place first under Antiochus 
 E[)iphanes, and afterwards again under the Romans and their successors the 
 Malioniedans, as it is this day. In relation to the Church, or the Israel of the 
 New Testament, the exi)ressions would denote the violent removing or changing 
 of the Christian worship, and corrupting the great doctrine of the one sacritice for 
 sin, with the stibstituting of an unscriptural creed and idolatrous worship in their 
 place ; things which we have already seen were done by the Little Horn, both of 
 the Fourth and the Third Beast (chap. vii. 25, viii. 11). In relation to the 
 chosen people of the Old Covenant to whom the prophecy seems to have a special 
 reference, it is more difficult to point to a period when these predicted events took 
 phice, and from which the 1290 days or years were to take their commencement. 
 It is remarkable, however, as was formerly noted, that the oppression of the 
 Church under the Little Horn of the Fourth or Roman empire, viewed as the 
 Papacy, commenced almost simultaneously with the oppression of Israel by the 
 Little Horn of the Third or Grecian Empire, viewed as Mahomedanism ; namely, 
 soon after the beginning of the seventh century ; while it is certain that both the 
 Papacy and Mahomedanism have been equally oppressive to the Cliuich of the 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 New Testament and that of the Old. And it appears equally certain that the 
 faithful in both the Old and New Covenants will be the objects of the wrath of 
 the Antichrist under the last or infidel form which he seems destined to assume, 
 ■when he shall "go forth in great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away 
 many " (chap. xi. 45). 
 
 From the whole passage we may make the following reflections and inferences : — 
 1. The passage appears to teach the duty of taking a lively interest in the 
 future of the Church and in what God has been pleased to reveal in His word 
 regarding the end and the time of it. This is indicated in the very fact that such 
 revelations have been communicated to the Church. These have certainly been 
 given to be studied and inquired into. Christians might possibly give too much 
 attention to such subjects, but it is much easier to give too little. The passage 
 before us exhibits the interest which the angels take in the Church's future, and in 
 the things revealed regarding it, with the time of their occurrence. It is an angel 
 that asks, "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?" (ver. 6.) The 
 question suggestive, whether we regard it as asked by the angel for his own 
 information or that of the prophet. When angels are concerned about the future 
 of the Church, its own intelligent members may well be so. Not only into the 
 suflerings of Christ, but the glory that should follow them, the angels desire to 
 look (1 Pet. i. 12). The manner in which the exalted personage clothed in linen, 
 and standing over the river, gives the information sought regarding the end, 
 suggestive of the same duty. The information is given by him in the form of a 
 most solemn attestation ; lifting up both his hands to heaven, and swearing by 
 Him that liveth for ever and ever (ver. 7). Finally, the same thing seems to 
 be taught by Daniel, who, as if not yet satisfied — such, as Brightman quaintly 
 observes, being the difference of perception in the heavenly and earthly schools — 
 inquires, "0 my Lord, what shall be the end of these things'?" (ver. 8.) This 
 question, so far from being discouraged, is answered by still fuller information on 
 the subject (ver. 11). Indifference on the subject of unfulfilled prophecy in relation 
 to the Church and the world, in the presence of these facts, should hardly be found 
 in the clearer dispen. ;ition of the Spirit, when that divine Teacher is promised, 
 among other purposes, to show us "things to come " (John xvi. 13) ; still more at a 
 period when we may well believe that the things promised must be hastening to 
 their fulfilment. It is of such prophecy that the Apostle speaks as " a light shining 
 in a dark place," to which we "do well to take heed until the day dawn " (2 Pet. 
 i. 19). It cannot, one should think, be becoming on the part of believers, nor 
 either pleasing or honouring to the Master, to be in any degree indifferent to that 
 which awakened so much interest in heaven, — the unsealing of the book whicii 
 contained the disclosures of the Church's future and the things of the end, and 
 which it was the sole prerogative and glory of the Lamb slain to take and unseal 
 (Rev. V. 1, &c.) " There is a point to which we may legitimately pursue our 
 inquiries, but where it becomes us to pause. Prophecy is intended to guide us 
 along the bright outlines of the future, but not to make us historians by anticipa- 
 tion ; to impart sufficient for the needful instruction and encouragement of the 
 people of God, amidst the tribulation of these latter days, which will [irocede the 
 ultimate triumph and glory of the Church ; but not to acquaint them with the 
 secret intentions of God with regard to the minuter character of those events which 
 are written in the book of His decrees. To steer between the Scylla and Charybdis 
 of a desponding and neglectful indifference to prophecy, and a dugmatic interpre- 
 tation, is an important attainment ; and is precisely that course which tends to 
 tranquillise the spirit amidst surprising changes, and sustain it by phasing hopes" 
 (Cox). "As God revealed to the prophets who jjrophesied of the grace that 
 should come to us, 'the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow,' that 
 they might search and inquire ' what and what manner of time the Spirit of Christ 
 Mho was in them did signify ;' so in the times of the accomplishment, we who are 
 298 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 living are not exempted from searching and inquiring, but are led by the proplutic 
 word to consider the 'signs of the times' in tlie liglit of tliis word ; and fnuu that 
 which is already fulfilled, as well as from the nature and manner of the fulfilment, 
 to confirm our faith, for endurance amid the tribulations which prophecy has made 
 known to us ; that God, according to His eternal gracious counsel, has measured 
 them, according to their begiiniiiig, middle, and end, that thereby we should be 
 purified and guarded for the eternal life " (Kcil). 
 
 2. It should be the comfort of the Church to know that the time of the end, 
 about which so much interest was felt both by the angels and the " man greatly 
 beloved," cannot now be far distant. It secuis impossible but that the period 
 appointed and predicted fur the "scattering and crushing the power of the holy 
 people," should be near its expiry. (S) For eighteen centuries has that scattering 
 and crushing been going on ; and still Jerusalem is trodden under foot of the 
 Gentiles, and the land, given to Abraham and his seed for an everlasting inlierit- 
 ance, lies well-nigh desolate in the hand of their adversaries, while they themselves 
 are still shut up in unbelief. Israel was to be punished "seven times" for their 
 sins. We may well believe that these times of chastening and abandonment are 
 w^ell nigh at an end. Everything indicates that such is the case. Signs of an 
 approaching crisis in the history of Israel, the Church, and the world, are far from 
 being wanting. The great river Euphrates — the Turkish empire — is being rapidly 
 " dried up, that the way of the kings of the East," whoever they may be — believed 
 by many to be Israel themselves — "may be prepared" (Eev. xvi. 12). And we 
 know that the drying up of that river synchronises with the time of the end, when 
 Antichrist shall be overthrown, Israel be restored, and " the mystery of God be 
 finished, according to the good tidings which He declared to His servants the 
 prophets " (Rev. x. 7, R.V.) Simultaneously with the drying up of the Euphrates, 
 the beloved disciple saw " coming out of the mouth of the dmgon, and out of the 
 mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits 
 as it were frogs ; for they are spirits of devils, working signs ; which go forth unto 
 the kings of the whole world, to gather them together to the battle of the great 
 day of God Almighty" (Rev. xvi. 13, 14, RV.) While this was going, the voice 
 came forth from Him whose coming again was pron)ised on the day He went up : 
 " Behold I come as a thief; blessed is he who watcheth and keepeth his garments, 
 lest he walk naked and they see his shame." The events of tlie last hundred years 
 might justly lead to the conclusion that we had fallen ujion " the time of the end," 
 especially when predicted chronological periods seemed to be probably drawing near 
 their completion. Such events as the French Revulu-tion of 1789, with the shaking 
 of every Continental throne that ensued upon it ; the gradual decay and diminution 
 of the Turkish empire, from 1820 till now when the Turkish vizier gives it as his 
 opinion that, if Turkey engages in a war with Cyprus, it will be the last time she 
 will ever fight in Europe ; the entire cessation of the [Kjpe's temporal power in 
 1870 ; the unexampled increase of knowledge in general, and diffusion of the 
 Gospel in particular, with the special attention given to the word of prophecy ; 
 and, finally, the fearful spread of infidelity at home and abroad; — these should be 
 sufficient to convince us, with the Bible in our hands, that our lot is fallen in days 
 when the time of the end is not far distant. 
 
 3. Our duty to prepare ourselves for the changes that may speedily come, and 
 to help in preparing others. In connection with the casting ofi" of the Jews, the 
 Gentiles would have their times of Gospel privilege. The casting a\\ay of Israel 
 was to be the reconciling of the world, and has been so. These times ot the 
 Gentiles have been going on for eighteen centuries. But they were not to be for 
 ever. The time was to come when the Gentiles should be dealt with for their use 
 or abuse of the privileges of the kingdom of God, as Israel had been after tlieir 
 rejection of their King and Saviour. That King was to come again, and reckon 
 with His servants to whom He had intrusted His talents. " The Lord Jesus shall 
 
 299 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 "be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, coming in the clouds of Leaven 
 with power and great glory," so that " every eye shall see Him, in flaming fire 
 taking vengeance (in them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ " (2 Thess. i. 7, 8). Such a time of reckoning with those who 
 have possessed the Gospel and the privileges of the kingdom, awaits the Gentiles 
 as truly as it did Israel. An account must be taken of the manner in which that 
 Gospel has been received. What if the Spirit of grace should be withdrawn from 
 Christendom as He was from Israel, and, for the misuse of the Gospel, the Gentile 
 churches be judicially given over to a spirit of unbelief and impenitence, so as to 
 become the willing followers of Antichrist and partake of his dotmi? (2 Tliess. ii. 
 11,12.) " When the Son of Man couieth, shall He find faith on the earth 1 " " Be 
 not highminded, but fear ; for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest 
 He also spare not thee " (Rom. xi. 20, 21). " Behold, now is the accepted time ; 
 behold, now is the day of salvation:" although that day with the Gentiles is now 
 hastening to its close. " To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts." 
 He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. " Behold I come quickly, and 
 My reward is with Me, to give unto every man according as his work shall be " 
 (Eev. xxii. 12). To all who accept His Gospel and receive Himself as their King 
 and Saviour, He assigns their work till He shad come. " Ye shall be witnesses unto 
 Me both in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of 
 the earth." "The Spirit and the Bride say. Come; and let him that heareth 
 say. Come" (Acts i. 8; Piev. xxii. 17). Have we received that Saviour, 
 and are we faithfully endeavouring to do the work He assigns us 1 The door 
 of the Ark still stands open ; let us make sure of entering it ourselves, and 
 ■endeavour to persuade our kindred, and as many others as possible, to enter it 
 along with us. 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— 0) 
 
 " U})on the ivaters of the riverT Keil 
 remarks that the river, which, according 
 to chap. X. 4, is the Hiddekel or Tigris, 
 is here called "1^^* {j)eor\ a name only 
 given in the Old testament to the Nile ; 
 as if to indicate that, as the angel of 
 the Lord once smote the waters of the 
 Nile to ransom His people out of Egypt, 
 so in the future shall He cah.i and sup- 
 press the waves of the river which in 
 Daniel's time represented the might of 
 the world-kingdom ; the river Hiddekel 
 being thus a figure of the Persian 
 monarchy, through whose territory it 
 flowed. The other two angels who 
 appear on the banks of the river, he 
 view3 as stajiding by the side of the 
 Angel of the Lord, represented as the 
 ruler of the Hiddekel, as servants pre- 
 pared to execute His will. Brightman 
 observes that, while in the first vision, 
 the four winds of heaven strove on the 
 great sea, and four great beasts came up 
 ■out of it, the matters there treated being 
 in regard to all peoples, which wore to 
 be described with their four universal 
 empires ; the second was given at Ulai, 
 ;]()0 
 
 no sea nor any famous river, as it 
 treated only of some particular nations ; 
 and the last on Hiddekel, a particular 
 river also, but one that flowed out of 
 Paradise ; the matter treated pertaining 
 to a holy and elect people, whose origin 
 was the infinite grace of a merciful God. 
 He views the nuui ch)thed in linen as 
 Christ Himself, the only Priest who, as 
 the Spirit moved uj)on the waters of 
 chaos (Gen. i. 2), sustaining them in 
 that confusion by His mighty power, 
 watches over the affairs of His Church 
 to preserve and support it. He thinks 
 the other two on the banks of the 
 river are added for confirmation of the 
 whole matter, every word being, accord- 
 ing to Deut. xix. 15, established ni 
 the mouth of two or three witnesses, 
 the one of these waiting in silence and 
 modesty, while the other speaks, these 
 holy beings having the Author of order 
 ever before their eyes. Willet ohseives 
 that the most general opinion regarding 
 the angel on the river is, that it was 
 Gabriel. So De Lyra, Pererius, Bul- 
 linger, «fec. His own view, however, is 
 that it was Christ Himself, the I'ul- 
 
nOMlLETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 moni or Certain One, in chap. viii. 13, 
 who, as the " Wonderful," Lath " secrets 
 in account and number." 
 
 (2) " How lonrj shall it be to the end 
 of these U'onders ? " Kranichfeld reads, 
 "When shall the end of these things bel" 
 Keil, however, thinks that the question 
 rather is. How long continues the end 
 of these things, — Ileb., — " Till when is 
 the end 1 " Not, How long shall they 
 continue 1 but. How long shall the end 
 of them do so ? the end being the " time 
 of the end " prophesied of from chap. xi. 
 40-xii. 3, with all that shall happen in 
 it ; the wonders being particularly the 
 unheard-of oppressions described in chap, 
 xi. 39, tfec. Brightman thinks the " end 
 of these wonders " shall be when the 
 blasphemous kingdom of the Turks 
 shall come to an end, God then making 
 an end of " scattering the power of the 
 holy people." Auberlen views this 
 period as referring to the time of Anti- 
 christ, and pointing back to chap. vii. 
 25, which refers to the same period, as 
 the time of the world-power, in which 
 the earthly kingdoms rule over the 
 heavenly ; and mentioned in the Apoca- 
 lypse as the times of the Gentiles, ex- 
 tending from the destruction of Jeru- 
 salem by the Romans to the second 
 advent of Christ. 
 
 (•^) " j4 thne, times, and a half." Keil 
 thinks that the definition of time 
 here given leads to the conclusion that 
 the answer of the angel refers not to 
 the period of persecution under An- 
 tiochus, but to that under the last 
 enemy, the Antichrist ; as it accurately 
 agrees with the period of time named in 
 chap. vii. 25, as that of the duration of 
 the enemy of God who should arise 
 out of the fourth world-kingdom. Three 
 and a half times, according to the pro- 
 phecy of chaps, vii. 25, and ix. 26, 27, 
 are given, he thinks, for the fullest 
 unfolding of the power of the last enemy 
 of God till his destruction ; and when, 
 in this time of unparalleled oppression, 
 the natural strength of the holy people 
 shall be completely broken to pieces, 
 then shall these terrible things have 
 reached their end. As regards the 
 place here, and the periods named in 
 Rev. xiii. 5, and xi. 2, 3, where forty 
 
 months and 1260 days are used inter- 
 changeably, he thinks it is questionahle 
 whether the weeh and the dai/s repre- 
 sent the ordinary weeks of the year and 
 days of the week, and whether these 
 ])eriods of time are to be taken chrono- 
 logically. He thinks the choice of the 
 chronologically indefinite expression 
 " time " shows that a chronological de- 
 termination of the period is not in view, 
 but that the designation of time is to 
 be understood symbolically. The three 
 and a half times, he observes, are, be- 
 yond doubt, the half of " seven times ; " 
 but, in his opinion, they only indicate a 
 testing period, a period of judgment, 
 which, according to Matt. xxiv. 22, 
 Prov. X. 27, will for the elect's sake be 
 intercepted and shortened. He thinks, 
 however, they refer to a period still 
 future. Several modern interpreters, on 
 the other hand, especially in Germany, 
 refer the period to the duration of the 
 oppression of the Jews under Antiochus 
 Epiphaiies. Mr. Habershon (Disserta- 
 tion on the Prophecies) writes : " It was 
 the opinion of the celebrated Mr. Mede 
 that the time, times, and a half, of 
 Daniel and John, was but the bisection 
 of a complete number of seven times, 
 which he called the Sacred Calendar of 
 the Great Almanack of Prophecy ; and 
 ■which he thought all mention of time 
 in the Scriptures had reference." The 
 same writer thinks the " time of the 
 end " to signify the same point of time 
 as the termination of these " times ;" the 
 " wonders " taking place not only at the 
 fall of the Little Horn of popery but 
 at the restoration of the Jews. Faber 
 observes : " At the close of the self- 
 same period of 1260 years (the time, 
 times, and a half), we are taught by 
 Daniel that the Jews are to be restored. 
 ... At the outflowing of the last vial, 
 the 1260 years apparently expire, and 
 the restoration of Judah commences. 
 To this period, therefore, we must 
 ascribe the expedition of the Wilful 
 King; and at the same period the 
 Stone begins to smite the Image upon 
 his feet, and the Ancient of Days to sit 
 in judgment upon the Roman beast and 
 his tyrannical little horn. . . . During 
 this period of unexampled trouble, 
 301 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 wliicli so awfully terminates with the 
 shiughter of Megiddo, we are expressly- 
 taught by Daniel, in perfect harmony 
 with the other inspired prophets, that 
 the restoration of Judah shall take 
 place," Faber, after Alede, recognises 
 the captivity of Israel under the four 
 successive hostile monarchies, as form- 
 ing the complete period or Great Calen- 
 dar of Prophecy ; and assumes as a 
 datum the number of " seven times " in 
 Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the tree, 
 which he considers to mark the dura- 
 tion of the four tyrannical monarchies ; 
 the period having a double application 
 to Judah and Israel, while each applica- 
 tion has a double commencement and 
 a double termination, the last of these 
 terminations being in the Millennium. 
 
 (*) " To scatter the poiver of the holy 
 people." 1^ 1*25 {iiappets yadh), liter- 
 ally, to "shatter or crush the hand." 
 Keil observes that the expression }*S5 
 (nappets) primarily denotes to beat to 
 pieces, to shatter, as in Ps. ii. 9, cxxxvii. 
 9 ; and is the meaning to be given to it 
 in the text, as has been done by Heng- 
 stenberg, Maurer, Auberlen, and others. 
 T (yadh), hand, is the emblem of active 
 power ; and the shattering of the hand 
 he views as the complete destruction of 
 power to work, and the placing in a 
 helpless and powerless condition, as in 
 Deut. xxxii. 36, referring to the crush- 
 ing by Antichrist of the holy people 
 in the last great tribulation. Jerome 
 understands the oppression of God's 
 people under the hand of Antichrist, 
 this general dispersion of them being 
 given as a sign of the end of these 
 things. Calvin understands the entire 
 weakening of their strength through 
 persecution. 
 
 (•') " A thousand two hundred and 
 ninety days; the thousand three hun- 
 dred and five and thirty days." Mr. 
 Faber thinks that though the restoration 
 of Judah takes place at the close of the 
 12G0 years, or "a time, times, and a 
 half," the " lost sheep of the house of 
 Israel remain still to be gathered." He 
 considers the circumstance of the two- 
 fold restoration the reason why the 
 angel divides the seventy-five days or 
 years beyond the 12G0 into thirtv and 
 302 
 
 forty-five, the former being the period 
 for the restoration of Judah, the latter 
 for that of Israel, the whole seventy-five 
 belonging exclusively to the period of 
 the last vial in the Apocalypse. Pishop 
 Newton considers that it is to the 
 three great events of the fall of Anti- 
 christ, the restoration of the Jews, and 
 the beginning of the Millennium, that 
 the three different dates of 1260, 1290, 
 and 1335 years are to be referred. Dr. 
 Cox observes that a further period of 
 thirty days or years is here added, as 
 perhaps marking the season during 
 which the predicted overthrow of the 
 Antichristian powers shall be accom- 
 plished, or, as some suppose, the restora- 
 tion of the Jews. " We presume not 
 to decipher the particular events of the 
 third era of forty-five additional years, 
 producing a period of 1335, the close 
 of the jjrophetic revelations. As he is 
 pronounced ' blessed ' who attains that 
 age, we must conclude that it will be 
 the last and most glorious manifestation 
 of God to mankind." Keil thinks that 
 vers. 11 and 12 treat of an earlier period 
 of oppression than ver. 7, and that thus 
 the 1290 and 1335 days are not reckoned 
 after the three and a half times. He 
 thinks also that they are not to be 
 reckoned chronologically, but interpreted 
 symbolically ; days being used instead 
 of times, to indicate that tlie time of the 
 tribulation is not one of an innneasur- 
 able extent, but limited to a [leiiod of 
 moderate duration, which is exactly 
 measured out by God ; the 1290 days 
 denoting in general the period of Israel's 
 affliction on the part of Antiochus 
 Epiphanes, by the taking away of the 
 Mosaic ordinances of worship and the 
 setting up of the worship of idols, but 
 ■without giving a statement of the dura- 
 tion of this oppression which can be 
 chronologically reckoned. The second 
 definition of time, 1335 days, by which 
 the period is increased by forty-five, he 
 thinks more strictly represents the same 
 idea of a limited period of duration ; 
 the oppression wlK)lly ceasing with the 
 expiry of that extended period. Several 
 modern interpreters reckon these two 
 latter periods from chap. viii. 14 ■ Klie- 
 fotli reinarkiii'f that we know from the 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 ■book of Maccabees that the consecration 
 of the temple took place on the 25tli 
 day of the month Kisleu, in the 14Sth 
 year of the Seleucidan era, and that 
 Antiochus died in the year following, 
 which he thinks may be the end of the 
 1290 days, while the 1335, or forty-five 
 days longer, reach to the entire cessation 
 of the persecution. Junius and others 
 referred these forty-five days to the 
 time between the restoration of the 
 Jewish worsljip and the death of An- 
 tiochus. The Duke of Manchester 
 {^Finished Mystery), with some others, 
 regards the " time of the end " as a 
 period probably of only 1290 or 1335 
 literal days, ending with the general 
 resurrection. Mr. Habershon thinks 
 that the events to take place during 
 those seventy-five years, about which 
 nothing is said in the vision, correspond 
 with those things which, in Rev. x., were 
 uttered by the seven thunders, but which 
 the Apostle was to seal up and not to 
 write ; the information not concerning 
 the disciples of Jesus, who would be 
 taken out of the reach of those troubles, 
 as Noah was from the deluge. Lot 
 from Sodom, and the Christians from 
 Jerusalem in the siege. Some suppose 
 that of these additional seventy-five 
 years, the first thirty were to be taken 
 up with the outpouring of the vials 
 upon apostate Christendom, after the 
 papal power was brought to an end, 
 and the remaining forty-five with the 
 troubles consequent on the rise and 
 doings of the infidel Antichrist, termi- 
 natnig with the battle of Armageddon. 
 So Mr. Irving, who says : " Knowing 
 as we do from the former vision that 
 the 1260 years bring the Little Horn's 
 power to an end, and introduce the 
 awful scene of the judgment of the 
 Beast which obeyed his blasphemy, it 
 must necessarily be that these thirty 
 years should run over into that period 
 of judgment; but whether they con- 
 clude it or not, no one has a right to 
 declare, because it is not so declared, 
 nor are any grounds revealed for con- 
 cluding or even conjecturing so. But 
 on the other hand, from the wording of 
 the following verse, I think there was 
 reason for concluding or conjecturing 
 
 the contrary. 'Blessed is he that 
 wiiteth,' etc. The language, ivaUiiir/ 
 ;in 1 coming to, seems to me to imply the 
 exercise of tried patience and the escape 
 frrm imminent peril, and carrieth to 
 my ear a ctr ain note of trouble, which 
 being safely passed, all will be well, and 
 the blessed time and condition of tiie 
 world attained to. . . . And I think 
 that the 1290 days doth not announce 
 the completion of anything ; but doth 
 announce the woeful beginning of a long 
 day of trouble and desolation to the 
 Church, whereof the period 1335 
 announceth not only the complete 
 determination, but the beginning of 
 another period of universal blessedness." 
 De Lyra, Pintus, and other Roman 
 Catholic writers apply the 1290 days to 
 the reign of Antichrist, which they con- 
 sider equivalent to the time, times, and 
 half a time, or three and a half years. 
 Jerome considers the additional forty- 
 five days to be between the death of 
 Antichrist and the coming of Christ in 
 glory. So Pererius and the Pvoman 
 Catholics in general. Calvin, who says 
 he is no conjuror in numerical calcu- 
 lations, thinks that the 1290 days 
 indicate the unlimited period of Anti- 
 christ's long reign, and that the ad- 
 ditional forty-five is no certain definite 
 time, but is intended to intimate 
 that the godly should wait with patience, 
 though the time of deliverance seemed 
 long. Melanchthon puts both the 
 numbers together, making seven years 
 and three months, ending with the 
 overthrow of Nicanor, the general of 
 Antiochus. Osiander applies the 1290 
 days to the profession of religion under 
 the papal Antichrist from its beginning 
 to its end ; and thinks the 1335 years 
 mark the continuance of the kingdom 
 of Antichrist, of which the beginning is 
 uncertain. BuUiuger refers the 1290 
 days to the time of the Jewish war 
 begun by Vespasian in the fourteenth 
 of Nero, and ended in the second year 
 of Vespasian, after continuing about 
 three years and a half. He thinks the 
 additional forty-five days began from 
 the taking of Jerusalem by the Romans, 
 multitudes of the Jews being then sold 
 into captivity and subjected to other 
 303 
 
HOMILETIC COMMEISTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 miseries, Mr. Bosanquet reui.irks that 
 when the Wilful King is interpreted as 
 representing the personification of the 
 Mahomedan apostasy, these periods of 
 1290 and 1335 days or years necessarily 
 count from his time even beyond the 
 present days. 
 
 (6) " The daily sacrifice shall he talcen 
 away." Irving, with many others, 
 views the taking away of the daily 
 sacrifice as equivalent to the violent 
 putting down of the true worship of 
 Jehovab, which was done by the papal 
 power, " In the interpretation of pro- 
 phecy, respect ought to be had continu- 
 ally to the form of religious truth and 
 religious language in which the prophet 
 and the people to whom he prophesied 
 were instructed, and in which they 
 could be intelligently addressed. That 
 is, we ought to put ourselves as much 
 as we can into their condition of know- 
 ledge, in order to understand what the 
 words spoken to them of the Lord 
 signify. Now to the mind of an 
 Israelite, trained under the dispensation 
 of Moses, the taking away of the daily 
 sacrifice from the temple on Mount 
 Zion, signifies no less than the violent 
 putting down of the worship of Jehovah ; 
 and the setting up of ' the abomina- 
 tion that niaketh desolate,' or 'that 
 astonisheth,' signified the placing, in its 
 stead, of some form of blasphemous and 
 idolatrous worship. This language, 
 therefore, is applicable only to those 
 great invasions of the Church, whereby 
 the true worship is abolished, and a 
 false one substituted in its stead." 
 Irving regards the taking away of the 
 daily sacrifice in the text as ascribed to 
 the Wilful King or infidel Antichrist 
 (chap. xi. 31), and understands it of his 
 reconstituting " the papal abomination 
 within the bounds of his emjjire after it 
 had been for many years abolished." 
 Brightman, on the other hand, under- 
 stands the abolition of the ceremonial 
 law of sacrifices accomplished by Christ 
 through His death. 
 
 (7) a rpjig abomination that maketh 
 desolate." Bishop Newton understood 
 the desolation here referred to as that 
 of the Eastern Church by Mahomet, 
 " That same time, therefore, is prefixed 
 304 
 
 for the desolation and oppression of the 
 Eastern Church, as for the tyranny of 
 the Little Horn (chap, vii, 25) in the 
 Western Church ; and it is wonderfully 
 remarkable that the doctrine of Ma- 
 homet was first forged in Mecca, and 
 the supremacy of the pope was estab- 
 lished by virtue of a grant from the 
 wicked tyrant Phocas, in the very same 
 year of Christ, 606." H3 adds : " The 
 ' setting up of the abomination of desola- 
 tion ' appears to be a general phrase, and 
 comprehensive of various events. It is 
 applied by the writer of the first book of 
 the Maccabees (i. 54) to the profanation of 
 the temple by Antiochus, and his setting 
 up the image of Jupiter OI3 mpius upon 
 the altar of God. It is applied by our 
 Saviour (Matt. xxiv. 15) to the destruc- 
 tion of the city and temple by the 
 Romans under the conduct of Titus ia 
 the reign of Vespasian. It may for the 
 same reason be applied to the Roman 
 emperor Adrian's building a temple to 
 Jupiter Capitolinus in the same place 
 where the temple of God had stood, and 
 to the misery of the Jews, and the 
 desolation of Judea that followed. It 
 may with equal justice be applied to 
 the Mahomedans invading and deso- 
 lating Christendom, and converting the 
 churches into mosques ; and this latter 
 event seemeth to have been particularly 
 intended in this passage." Brightman, 
 as well as Calvin, understands by ' the 
 abomination that maketh desolate ' the 
 adulterate and counterfeit won-hip set 
 up by the Jewish nation since they 
 rejected Christ, and which is a most 
 loathsome abomination before God. 
 He reads DOit' (shomem) as passive, 
 " made desolate," denoting the time 
 when Christ utterly abolished that 
 impious manner of sacrificing, or 
 the ceremonial worship ; this abomina- 
 tion standing in the holy place up to 
 the time of VesiJasian, when the temple 
 was destroyed, and being especially put 
 an end to in the time of the emperor 
 Julian (about the year A.D. 360), when, 
 as the historian Socrates says, the tem- 
 ple was utterly overthrown, instead of 
 the new edifice being prepared ; so that 
 nothing after that was ever attempted, 
 the abomination being made utterly 
 
HO M I LET I C COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 desolate. Bullinger understood tliia 
 ' abomination ' of the laying waste of the 
 nation and city of the Jews j for exam- 
 ple, the destruction of Jerusalem by the 
 Romans. Osiander, like Irving and 
 others, understands it of the idolatrous 
 service introduced into the Church by 
 the Eoman Antichrist, Willet again 
 refers all to the time of Autiochus 
 Epiphanes historically, though typically 
 to that of Antichrist. That the appli- 
 cation of the text by Osiander and 
 others to the papal corruptions is not 
 without solid grounds, will appear when 
 it is remembered that article 4 of the 
 creed of Pope Pius is that "in the mass 
 is offered to God a true, proper, and 
 propitiatory sacrifice for the living and 
 the dead ; " that article 5 is, " I pro- 
 fess that in the most holy sacrifice of 
 the eucharist there is truly, really, and 
 substantially the body and blood, to- 
 gether with the soul and divinity, of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ ; " that article 7 
 declares that " the saints reigning to- 
 gether with Christ are to be venerated 
 and invoked ; " and that in article 8 it 
 is said, " I most firmly assert that the 
 images of Christ, of the mother of God 
 ever virgin, and also of other saints, 
 may be had and retained, and that due 
 honour and veneration is to be given 
 them." The practice is accordingly. 
 The following tragical story, taken from 
 an American paper, is told in the New- 
 castle Chronicle of March 25, 1881 : — 
 "The Italian barque Ajace, from Ant- 
 werp, bound for an American port, went 
 ashore during a storm on the -Ith inst. 
 (March 1881), on Cooney Island, and 
 was lost with all hands, except one man 
 named Pietro Sala. The crew con- 
 sisted of fourteen, composed of Italians, 
 Austrians, and one Greek. The sur- 
 vivor states that after the vessel struck, 
 the officers and sailors lost all self-con- 
 trol. The captain offered a bottle of 
 brandy to the crew, telling them to 
 drink and die like men who were not 
 afraid of death. The men were too 
 much excited to pay attention to the 
 captain's offer. He then took a small 
 image of Madonna (the Virgin ISIary), 
 which he held aloft in both hands, and 
 the crew all knelt before it, shrieking, 
 
 and crying, and imploring the ^Madonna 
 to rescue them. Another man caught 
 the image from the steward's hands, 
 and carried it into the sea. Then the 
 steward cried out aloud, ' The Madonna 
 has deserted us ; there is no hope ; ' 
 and pulling out his sheath-knife, cut 
 his throat, declaring that he would 
 rather die by his own hand than be 
 drowned. The sight of his blood, as it 
 spurted from his neck and fell on the 
 deck where he had fallen, seemed to 
 madden some of the crew ; and imme- 
 diately the carpenter, a Neapolitan, 
 and a Genoese lad, drew their knives 
 and followed his example." 
 
 (8) "//e shall have accomplished to 
 scatter" &c. It is not a little remark- 
 able that at the time of the French 
 Revolution, when many believed that 
 prophecy was receiving its fulfilment, 
 there were not wanting appearances of 
 the probable termination of the scatter- 
 ing of Israel's power. Milman, in his 
 History of the Jews, writes : " In the year 
 1780, the avant-couricr of the Revolu- 
 tion, Joseph II., ascended the throne 
 (of Austria). Among the first measures 
 of this restless reformer was a measure 
 for the amelioration of the condition of 
 the Jews." In his Edict of Toleration 
 he " opened to the Jews the schools and 
 the universities of the empire, and gave 
 them the privilege of taking degrees as 
 doctors in philosophy, medicine, and 
 civil law. ... It threw open the whole 
 circle of trade to their speculations, per- 
 mitting them to establish manufactures 
 of all sorts, excepting gunpowder, and 
 to attend fairs in towns where they 
 were not domiciliated. ... It gave 
 them equal rights, and subjugated them 
 to the same laws as the Christians." 
 Matters are now changed, however, with 
 the Jews in the German empire. After 
 nearly a century of com[)arative external 
 prosperity, though as yet, alas ! far 
 from having returned to the Lord their 
 God and to the true David their King, 
 the popular voice is now lifted, in 
 Prussia especially, to demand their e.v- 
 jiulsion. — According to an article in tlie 
 British and Foreign Eixoujeliccd Review, 
 there are only about 21,000 Jews at 
 present in the Holy Land, living most y 
 u 305 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 in the rabbinical cities — Jerusalem, Saf- found in the commercial centres, but the 
 fed, Tiberias, and Hebron; about 1500 are largest number, about 1300, in Jerusalem. 
 
 HOMILETIGS. 
 Sect. L. — The Contrast. (Chap. xii. 10.) 
 
 This verse stands, like many in the book of the Revelation, like a bright light 
 in a dark and surging sea, both for solemn warning and at the same time for sweet 
 consolation, in the midst of prophecies which might appear dark and unintelligible. 
 It is such as Dr. Chalmers was accustomed to speak of as the memorabilia of 
 Scripture, or passages worthy to be especially noted and remembered. It has 
 special relation to the prophetic communications just delivered by the angel to 
 Daniel, regarding the latter days and what should befall his people in them. It is 
 applicable, however, to the whole contents of Revelation, and to the whole period 
 of the present dispensation, with those who live in it. They imply trouble and 
 affliction ; but this is characteristic of our present state on earth, until the happy 
 time arrive when " they shall not hurt nor destroy " in all God's holy mountain, 
 and when His people " shall dwell in peaceable habitations, and in sure dwellings, 
 and in quiet resting-places " (Isa. xi. 9, xxxii. 18). Till Christ, who is " the bright 
 and morning star," shall visibly and gloriously arise on the earth, as He did above 
 eighteen centuries ago " in great humility," the time of believers on earth will be 
 one of discipline and of patient waiting. The " whole creation " will continue to 
 " groan and travail together in pain," as it has done until now, till "delivered from 
 the bondage of corruption unto the glorious liberty of the children of God. And 
 not only they, but ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we 
 ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption 
 of our body" (Rom, viii. 21, 23). The children of the bridechamber were to 
 mourn while the Bridegroom is away. In the salvation already experienced, and 
 especially in that which is to be revealed, believers " greatly rejoice ; though now 
 for a season if need be," they are " in heaviness through manifold temptations." 
 The effect, however, of these is a blessed one : " that the trial of your faith being 
 much more precious than of gold that perisheth, may be found unto praise, and 
 honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter i. 6, 7). Such is 
 the cwmfort held out in the text. " Many shall be purified, and made white, and 
 tried ; but the wicked shall do wickedly : and none of the wicked shall under- 
 stand ; but the wise shall understand." We may note — 
 
 1. The blessedness of sanctified trouble. Trouble is sanctified and blessed in 
 two different ways, and to two different classes. It is sanctified to the ungodly, 
 and to those still out of Christ ; and it is so when, accompanied by God's quick- 
 ening and convicting Spirit, it leads the troubled one to a consideration of sin and 
 its baneful effects, and to an earnest desire to be saved from it, and to be recon- 
 ciled to God. Such a case was that of Manasseh, who in his captivity and afflic- 
 tion sought the Lord and found Him. Of such sanctified trouble the prodigal son 
 is a standing and divinely given picture. The conversion of Israel in the great 
 tribulation probably to be a distinguished example of the same thing. But trouble 
 is also and especially sanctified to the godly, who are already in Christ. These 
 probably more particularly referred to in the text. The " many " were not only 
 to be purified and made white, but tried, — proved and made manifest as God's 
 pure gold, His faithful people, who choose rather to suffer than to sin, and who 
 prefer death to denial of His truth. In the case of such, trouble however severe, 
 and persecution however bitter, is only the fire employed by the Purifier to purge 
 aw:iy the dross from the jjrccious metal, until He sees His own imago perfectly 
 reflected in it. " This is all the fruit to take away their sin." Persecutors are only 
 God's rough polishing-stone to brighten His Church. It is the gracious office of 
 30G 
 
nOMILETIO COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 tlie Redeemer to " sit as a refiner of silver, and to purify tlie sons of Levi, that 
 they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness " (Mai. iii. 3). As 
 trouble and affliction is the instrument employed by Ilim for that purpose, the 
 man is pronounced blessed whom He thus " chastens and teaches out of His law" 
 (Ps. xciv. 12). Such trouble and suffering is only the evidence of His fatherly 
 and faithful love. " Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every 
 son whom He receiveth " (Heb. xii. 6; Rev. iii. 19). 
 
 2. Persecutions and struggles endured hy the godly are overrided for good. 
 Many shall be purified and made white. The result of the suffering predicted. 
 The authors of these meant them, as in the case of Joseph's brethren, for evil, but 
 God overrules them for good. His people's purification shall be promoted by them. 
 Instead of being losers they shall be gainers. Thus the wisdom and goodness of 
 God are manifested in permitting them. The wrath of men is made to praise Him 
 by contributing to the purification of His children. The storm is not permitted to 
 destroy, but employed to purify them. Tlie furnace-fires of Babylon, kindled by 
 the ungodly, were made only to consume the bonds of those they were intended 
 by them to destroy. Believers have therefore no cause to fear the wrath and 
 persecution of any adversary. These, with everything else, are only made to work 
 together for their good. 
 
 3. Moral piiriJicatio7i the great end intended ly God in regard to His i^eo-ple. 
 The will of God is their sanctification. Perfect holiness their true excellence and 
 real happiness. Such holiness conformity to God's own character. This the high 
 calling and destiny of His children. " Be ye holy, for I am holy." God is love, 
 and His children are to be perfected in love. Sin, which is oj^posed to this, the 
 only real evil. God's purpose, therefore, to deliver them from it. The object of 
 Christ's incarnation, life, and death to save His people from their sins, to " redeem 
 them from all iniquity, and to purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
 works." This moral purification and perfection of His children constantly aimed 
 at by God in His providential dealings both with themselves and the world. Life, 
 with all its chequered experiences and all its varied history, God's school for the 
 education of His children in order to their moral perfection in His likeness. The 
 Church with its ordinances designed for the same end. " He loved the Church, 
 and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing 
 of water, by the word " (Eph. v. 25, 26). That glorious end ultimately secured, 
 ^lany shall be purified. An Almighty Agent employed for its accomplishment. 
 Whatever may be the instrumentality, whether events in providence or ordinances 
 in the Church, the Agent is the Spirit of holiness, by whose almighty grace we are 
 changed from glory unto glory, into the perfect image of Him whom in the Word 
 we are enabled by Him to contemplate (2 Cor. iii. 17). He is able to present the 
 subjects of His moral training "faultless before the presence of His glory with 
 exceeding joy." " Faithful is He who calleth you, who also will do it " (Jude 2-t ; 
 1 Thess. V. 24). 
 
 4. Godliness the only true wisdom. "The wise shall understand." So in ver. 
 3, "they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament." Wisdom 
 something very different from mere knowledge or science. Knowledge is precious, 
 but at best is only light ; wisdom is light, with life and love combined. Knowledge 
 not necessarily accompanied with moral excellence. Probably a much greater 
 amount of knowledge pos?essed by fallen spirits than by any hum.nn being in this 
 life. "Knowledge puffeth up;" dissociated from renewing grace, is apt to make 
 men vain, head}', highminded. Pythagoras, conscious of the excellence of wisdom, 
 refused to be called by the title which others affected, a "wise man," claiming only 
 to be a " lover of wisdom," — a philosopher. Wisdom a practical thing. Chooses 
 the highest and best ends, and pursues them by the best means. Such is true 
 godliness. The highest and best end, the glory of God the Creator of all, and the 
 enioyment of His friendship, fellowship, and image. Godliness is Godlikeness, 
 
 307 
 
110 Ml LET IC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 and the continual aiming at sucli by the way that God lias revealed. It is "to do 
 justly, and love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God" (Micah vi. 8). "Pure 
 and undefiled religion before God even the Father is this, to visit the fatherless 
 and the widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unsjjotted from the world " 
 (James i. 27). This is wisdom, exemplified in the life and character of Him who 
 was Wisdom personified, and who is made wisdom to all who receive and trust in 
 Him (1 Cor. i. 30). 
 
 5. KnoivleJge and understanding, in all things necessary to true happiness, 
 guaranteed to all God's reneived children. " The wise shall understand." To " be 
 wise " is a character equivalent to godliness, and belonging to those who by 
 grace are made new creatures in Christ, who is wisdom Himself, and is made 
 wisdom to them that are in Him. To " understand " is something promised to 
 that character. The promise, though standing absolutely, is yet necessarily limited. 
 The limitation is to those things necessary and desirable for us to understand. 
 Many things which it is the province of science to explore, it is not necessary that 
 we should understand. The same thing true of the Word of God in general, and 
 the word of prophecy in particular. In this life we may well be content to remain, 
 as we must remain, ignorant of many things. Here at best we can but know in 
 part. Hereafter we shall, if approved, know even as we are known. But know- 
 ledge and understanding of what is needful is promised to the Avise. The promise 
 has special reference to the predictions already delivered by the angel to Daniel ; 
 but doubtless intended to extend to tlie will of God in general. The exhortation is, 
 "Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." It has 
 reference to revealed truth as a whole. " Consider what I say, and the Lord give 
 thee understanding in all things," — in all things about which I have written, and 
 whatever else is revealed and necessary to be understood. That understanding has 
 especial respect to God Himself, to His will concerning us, to the revelations of 
 His word, and to His dealings in the world. "He hath given us an understanding 
 that we should know Him that is true." This understanding is to make us to be 
 no mere children, but men (1 Cor. xiv. 20). Given, however, to those who are of 
 a child-like, humble, and teachable spirit. " Thou hast hidden these things from 
 the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes " (Matt. xi. 26). The 
 author of this understanding is not man but God, through His Holy Spirit. " Ye 
 have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. The anointing which 
 ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you ; 
 but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth and is no lie, 
 even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him " (1 John ii. 20, 27). Christ 
 counsels the vain, conceited Laodiceans to anoint their eyes with His eye-salvo, 
 that they may see (Rev. iii. 17). "Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold 
 wondrous things out of Thy law." 
 
 G. Tlie inahilitij of tlie ungodly to understand divine truth, and more especialli/ 
 the word of j^rophecy. " The wicked shall not understand." Ungodliness, when 
 continued in, incapacitates for the perception of divine truth. The love and 
 practice of sin associated with a moral blindness. " If any man will do the will 
 of God, he shall know of the doctrine." A moral and spiritual nature necessary 
 to discern moral and spiritual truth. Mere intellectual light often aissociated wiiLi 
 thick moral darkness. Witness the ancient Greeks and Romans, and many of the 
 heathen at the present day. The ungodly destitute of a taste and relish for divine 
 truth, and therefore incapable of perceiving and appreciating it. Hence the counsel, 
 " Give not that which is lioly unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before 
 swine." Ungodliness generally associated with pride and self-conceit, the great 
 hindrance to the reception of true knowledge. " Whom shall He teach knowledge, 
 and whom shall He cause to understand doctrine 1 Those that arc drawn from the 
 breasts." The ungodly, rejecting divine knowledge, are often right«)usly given 
 over to a mind incapable of discerning it — a "reprobate mind." Such, especially, 
 308 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 to be the case in tlie time of tlie end, more particularly referred to in tlie text. 
 Antichrist's false pretensions and lying wonders believed by those who received not 
 the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thess. ii. 10-12). 
 
 7. A time u'hcti, it may he too late for repentance. " The wicked shall do 
 ■wickedly." The effect of indulged sin and practised ungodliness is to perpetuate 
 itself. A time when God may righteously leave ungodliness to follow its own 
 inclinations. '' My Spirit shall not always strive with man." "He that is filthy, 
 let him be filthy still." Confirmed ungodliness seen in its persistency both in the 
 time of bestowed mercy, and increased light, and manifested judgments. "Let 
 favour be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of 
 uprightness he will deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord. 
 When thy hand is lifted up they will not see" (Isa, xxvi. 10, 11). Such a state 
 of things probably indicated in the text as taking place in the last days, when 
 " evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived " 
 (2 Tim. iii. 13). The greatest blessing, when the wicked is made to turn from his 
 wickedness and live ; the greatest curse, when the wicked is left still to do wickedly. 
 "To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your heart." Sad indeed when neither 
 mercy nor judgment, neither goodness nor severity, leads men to repentance, and 
 when the more thev are stricken the more they revolt, till God ceases even to smite 
 (Isa. i. 5). 
 
 8. Solemn contrast }wesented in the text. Scripture abounds in striking contrasts. 
 Here is one, in relation, first, to 2^ersons; and, second, to ^vhat is said of them. The 
 2)ersons are the ivise and the ivicked. The only two classes mentioned, and in God's 
 eye the only two in the world. The contrast not always sharp or evident in man's 
 sight, though always in the eye of God — probably to be made more manifest as the 
 end approaches. The wise, those who, like Mary, choose the good part that shall 
 not be taken from them. The wicked, those who are content to have their portion 
 in this life. The wise, those who seek God ; the wicked, those who forget Him. 
 The inward language of the wise, " Lord, lift Thou upon me the light of Thy 
 countenance ;" that of the wicked, "Depart from us, for we desire not the know- 
 ledge of Thy ways." The wise are made sucli unto salvation, through the know- 
 ledge of the Scriptures ; the wicked neglect the great salvation, and have no relish 
 for the word that reveals it. The wise often poor and illiterate, with little of the 
 knowledge which the world so eagerly prizes and pursues. 
 
 "Just know, and know no more, tlieir Bililo true; 
 A truth the brilliant Frenchman never kunv." 
 
 The wicked often only such in the eye of Him who looks not on the outward 
 appearance, but looks upon the heart ; in man's eye, ]ierhaps, enlightened, respect- 
 able, and even religious. That which is highly esteemed among men, often abomina- 
 tion with God. The Laodicean Christian congratulates himself that he is rich, 
 and increased in goods, and having need of nothing ; while, without knowing it, 
 he is poor, and wretched, and miserable, and blind, and naked ; satisfied and 
 pleased that he is neither cold nor hot, while, because he is only lukewarm, Christ 
 is ready to spue him out of His mouth. The contrast similar in regard to what is 
 said of the two classes. The wise are purified and made white by the trials and 
 afflictions through which they are made to pass. The wicked, notwithstanding all 
 they either see or experience, all the events of Providence, as well as all the 
 warnings of the Word, still do wickedlj'. The Lord's beseeching hand remains 
 stretched out all day long in vain to a disobedient and gainsaying people. He 
 calls, but they refuse ; He stretches out His hand, but they do not regard. They 
 refuse to repent. Again : the wise shall understand ; shall see both the meaning 
 and the beauty of God's W^ord, especially in wliat it declares concerning the last 
 things, both the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow, with the 
 iierils and tribulations that shall usher in that glory, as Avell as the dealings of 
 ^ 3"9 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 God's providence, and the events tliat shall come one after another upon the 
 ■world. But the wicked shall not understand, blind alike to the truths of God'3 
 Word, and the character of His providential dealings with the world, saying, 
 Peace, peace, when there is no peace, calling good evil and evil good, putting 
 bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter, darkness for light and light for darkness. 
 It will be the misery of the wicked who refuse Him who is the Light of the world, 
 that, while the godly in those days of darkness that are to come, shall, like Israel, 
 have light in their dwellings, they shall still walk on in darkness, until their 
 *' feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and while they look for light. He turn 
 it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness " (Jer, xiii. 16). 
 
 How important the question, On which side of the contrast am 1 1 — Among 
 those who are wise unto salvation, and hearken for the time, the eternity, to come ; 
 or among the wicked, who, Felix-like, say, Go thy way for this time, when I have 
 a convenient season I will send for thee. Dying beds often bear witness to the 
 contrast ; and dying beds do not generally tell lies. Dying circumstances, when the 
 approach of eternity opens men's eye?, usually discover the wise man and the fool. 
 " My principles," said Altamont when in those circumstances, " have poisoned my 
 friend ; my extravagance has beggared my boy ; my wickedness has murdered my 
 ■wife : and is there another hell ? Oh thou blasphemed, yet most indulgent Lord 
 God, hell itself is a refuge if it hide me from Thy frown." " Give me more 
 laudaimm," said Mirabeau, " that I may not think of eternity and of what is to 
 come." " I would give worlds," said Thomas Paine, " that the Age of Reason had 
 never been written." Let us hear from the other side. "I have pain," said 
 Eichard Baxter — "there is no arguing against sense — but I have peace; I havepeace." 
 " The battle is fought," said Dr. Payson, "and the victory is won for ever: I am 
 going to bathe in an ocean of purity, and benevolence, and happiness, to all 
 eternity." " My soul," said John Brown of Haddington, " hath found inexpres- 
 sibly more sweetness and satisfaction in a single line of the Bible, nay, in two 
 such words as these. Thy God and My God, than all the pleasures found in the 
 things of the world since the creation could equal." " I desire to depart and to 
 be with Christ, which is far better ; and though I have lived sixty years very com- 
 fortably in this world, yet I would gladly turn my back on you all to be with 
 Christ." " I think now that I could willingly die to see Him who is white and 
 ruddy, the chief among ten thousand." " Had I ten thousand hearts, they should 
 all be given to Christ ; and had I ten thousand bodies, they should all be employed 
 in labouring for His honour." His last words were " My Chkist." 
 
 IIOMILETICS. 
 Section LI. — Waiting and Working. (Chap. xii. 12, 13.) 
 
 Doctrine is to be followed by practice. Knowledge brings reponsibility. Faith 
 evidences itself by works. Light is given, not that wo may sleep, but work. The 
 word of ])r()phecy, made sure by its continual fulfilment, was given that we might 
 take heed to it as " a light shining in a dark place till, the day dawn, and the day- 
 star arise in our hearts." The communications made to Daniel closed with an 
 intimation as to the use to be made of them. " Blessed is he that waiteth, 
 and Cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days : But go thy 
 way till the end be ; for thou shalt rest and stand in thy lot at the end of the 
 days."0) The latter verse is thus paraphrased by Brightman : "But thou, Daniel, 
 go thy way and rest content, till all these things sliall come to pass, towards or before 
 tlie end ; and although they seem to be long delayed, yet the tediousness thereof 
 sliall not be grievous unto thee: for thou in the meantime shalt yield to nature, and 
 go the way of all flesh, and being freed from the miseries of this life, shalt quietly 
 rest, and be partaker of that hapi)ine.ss which those enjoy who die in the Lord : 
 310 
 
nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 and at length also shall thy body be raised up out of the grave, in that lot and 
 condition which God shall give unto thee, that thou mayest be partaker of 
 unspeakable joy with all the rest of the saints, aud so reign with Christ for ever 
 and ever." These concluding verses suggest— 
 
 1. The duty of securing luith all earneslness a personal interest in the blessedness 
 predicted in the prophecy. We have been told, with Daniel, of the resurrection to 
 everlasting life that shall follow the last great tribulation, and the kingdom of 
 glory with and under the Messiah, when " the wise shall sbine as the bright- 
 ness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for 
 ever and ever." It was Daniel's happiness to be assured of his interest in that 
 predicted blessedness ; and with that assurance quietly to wait till the time for the 
 full experience of it arrived. It is for us who read or hear the words of this pro- 
 phecy, to make sure our participation in the same blessedness. It is for us to 
 secure in time our place among the wise, making sure that with the lamp of an 
 outward possession of faith in Christ, and an intellectual knowledge of the truth, 
 we have the oil of saving grace and spiritual light in the vessel of our hearts. 
 Unless the Bridegroom come speedily, we too, like Daniel, shall lie down to rest in 
 the grave till the resurrection trump shall awake us out of sleep. The question is, 
 How shall we do so? Shall we, like the ''man greatly beloved," lie down renewed 
 in the spirit of our mind, and made accepted in the Beloved ; or as those who, 
 unforgiven and destitute of the holiness without which no man shall see the Lord, 
 awake only to shame and everlasting contempt ; like the foolish virgins who, satis- 
 fied with the present, delayed to secure the needful supply for the future till it 
 was too late 1 Let us make sure that we have gone to Him who has the oil of 
 the Spirit of life aud peace to sell, or rather to give freely to those who are willing 
 to buy without money and without price ; and let us not rest till with Simeon we 
 are able joyfully to say, " Now, Lord, lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace; 
 for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation. 
 
 2. The duty of patient waiting for the fxdure blessedness. The man pronounced 
 "blessed," who " waiteth and cometh" to the happy period predicted in connec- 
 tion with Israel's restoration, the resurrection of the dead, and the future glory. 
 That period was in Daniel's day far distant. It is now two thousand four hundred 
 years nearer tban it was then. There must be much less time to wait. That time 
 may be very short. But whatever it may be, it is still to be one of patient wait- 
 ing. It may, and doubtless will, be one of peculiar trial, temptation, and distress. 
 It will be one in which the enmity of Satan and the world against Christ, His 
 truth. His people, and His cause, will reach its utmost violence ; the time in which 
 the great enemy will come forth with "great wrath, knowing that he hath but a 
 short time." It will be the time of the last manifestation of Antichrist, in which 
 all that has been predicted of the two Little Horns, of the Wilful King, and of 
 the Man of Sin, will be fully developed, summed up, and concentrated. It will 
 be the time to which the Church has looked forward for eighteen centuries, as that 
 of the great outbreak of wickedness and of Satanic power, that will call forth and 
 be only terminated by the manifestation of the Lord's coming. There will, there- 
 fore, be need of patient waiting. In patience believing men will need to possess 
 their souls. The period will probably be short, though severe. Its end will be 
 glorious. From the throes and birth-pangs of the period shall come forth a new 
 and beauteous creation, the long-looked for and prayed for "regeneration," the 
 new heavens and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteuusness, when the petitiuu 
 long presented shall be at length fulfilled, " Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done 
 on earth as it is in heaven." It is worth a long time of patient waiting for it. 
 Like Daniel, we who are now living and working may have to go our way and 
 rest in the grave till the end be, and our waiting be completed there in the dust. 
 But others will follow and have their waiting time on earth, it may be for another 
 generation or two, or perhaps more. Perhaps it may be less. Apparently we are 
 
 oil 
 
IIOMILETW COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 entering upon an age of scientific, as well as grosser, atheism. (-) These are the claj's 
 of rapid development. As England and the world have recently been reminded, 
 immense strides have been made in the advance of science during the last fifty 
 years ; and the outcome seems to be an upsetting of notions hitherto entertained 
 regarding God and His works; so that a prelate of the Church, in a discourse on 
 the occasion, could ask. Will there at last, \\hen the problem is solved, be any 
 place left for God, or Christianity, or prayer, or conscience, or free-will, or respon- 
 sibility, or duty, or faith in the unseen ? and observed that the remarks of many 
 scientific men showed that these questions were not superfluous, and that conse- 
 quently alarm and anxiety had taken possession of many minds, and his own 
 among the rest. Thus evidently is the time of patient waiting not only still 
 existing, but intensifying. Faith and patience will doubtless yet be severely tried. 
 " When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth % " " Because thou 
 hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of tempta- 
 tion which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" 
 (Luke xviii. 8 ; Rev. iii. 10). The proper attitude of the Church in these days 
 in which we live, as it was in those of the Apostles, is that of a " patient waiting 
 for Christ." As the Old Testament Church was found waiting for the first Advent 
 of Him who was the Consolation of Israel, so is it to be with the ISTew Testament 
 Church in relation to the second. This waiting posture is described by the 
 Apostles in such language as, " Loolcing for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing 
 of the great God, even our Saviour Jesus Christ ; " " Our conversation is in heaven, 
 from whom also we looh for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ;" " Waiting for His 
 Son from heaven;" '■'■ LooJcing for and hasting unto the coming of the day of 
 God ; " " To them that looh for Him shall He appear the second time without 
 sin unto salvation " (Tit. ii. 13; Phil. iii. 20; 2 Thess. i. 10 ; 2 Peter iii. 12: 
 lleb. ix. 28). 
 
 3. The duty of luorlcing as ivell as tvaiting. Daniel was told to go his way till 
 the end be. It is said of him that, after his recovering from the fainting and 
 sickness consequent on a former vision, he " rose and attended to the king's busi- 
 ness" (chap. viii. 27). Although now considerably older, he might still be able to 
 do the same. At the beginning of the present vision we find that he had been 
 engaged for three full weeks in special prayer and fasting. Whatever he might be 
 able to do in the business of his earthly master, he was still in a condition to serve 
 his heavenly one. Whatever his hand found to do in that service, he was to go 
 and do it with his might, before he was called to rest from his labour ; whether 
 tliat work might be in comforting his brethren with the consolation wherewith he 
 himself was comforted of God, communicating to them the knowledge which he 
 himself had just received, or exhorting them to a steadfast faith themselves and 
 fidelity in strengthening the faith of others in the prospect of the trials that were 
 yet before them. Daniel was to wait, but, so long as the Lord gave him strength, 
 he was also to work, showing God's strength unto that generation, and His saving 
 power to every one that was to come (Ps. Ixxi. 18). The "waiting" in the text 
 is not to be an idle, indolent one. Looking for the blessed hope and the glorious 
 appearing of the great God our Saviour, is associated by the Apostle Avith the 
 denying ourselves to all ungodliness and worldly lust, and living soberly, right- 
 eously, and godly in the present world (Titus ii. 12, 13). On the ground of the 
 same hope, Paul exhorts the Corinthian believers to be "steadfast, unmovable, 
 always al)oundiiig in the work of the Lord, knowing tl^at our labour is not in 
 vain in the Lord " (1 Cor. xv. 58). While "looking for the mercy of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ unto eternal life," we are to "have compassion" on others, and to 
 seek to "save some with fear, pulling them out of the fire" (Jude 21-23). To 
 be waiting for the Master's return will naturally move us to diligence in doing 
 the Master's work. It is the servant who says in his heart. My lord delayeth his 
 coming, tliat begins to " beat his fellow-servants, and to cat and drink with the 
 312 
 
nOMlLETIC COMMENTARY : DANIEL. 
 
 drunken " (Luke xii. 45, 4G). The use to be made of the study of the propliutic 
 word, is, with the eunuch, to go on our way rejoicing in tlie blessed liope tliut it 
 has set before us. That hope is one of a bright hereafter, not only for ourselves 
 as faithful believers, but for the Cliurch and the world. Like Daniel, we are to 
 be attending diligently to " the king's business," till %ve also shall be called away 
 from the field, as so many before us have been, to hear from the Master's lips 
 that blessed plaudit, "Well done, good and faithful servant! thou hast been faith- 
 ful over a few things, I will make thee faithful over many things ; enter thou 
 into the joy of thy Lord." C^) 
 
 EXEGETICAL NOTES.— 0) ''Go 
 thy rcay till the end he." Keil, with 
 Theodoret and most interpreters, under- 
 stands the words to mean, " Go to the 
 end of thy life ; the angel of the Lord 
 thus dismis.sing the highly-favoured 
 prophet from his life's work, with the 
 comforting assurance that he should 
 stand in his own lot in the end of the 
 days. Daniel was to rest, that is, in 
 the grave, and to rise again, to enjoy 
 his part in the inheritance of the saints 
 in light (Col, i. 12), to be possessed by 
 the righteous, after the resurrection of 
 the dead, in the heavenly Jerusalem ; in 
 those last days when, after the judgment 
 of the world, the kingdom of glory should 
 appear." According to Calvin, he was to 
 be content with his lot, and expect no 
 more visions. BuUinger understands the 
 words as an exhortation to persevere 
 and continue to the end. According to 
 Junius, he was to set all things in order, 
 and make himself ready for his end, 
 without curiously searching further into 
 these things. Brightman understands 
 the words as intimating that what the 
 Lord might have further to reveal, He 
 would do it by other prophets, as He 
 did by Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. 
 
 (2) u ;pifty years ago," said Sir John 
 Lubbock in the presidential address at 
 the late Jubilee of the British Associa- 
 tion, " it was the general opinion that 
 animals and plants came into existence 
 just as we now see them." This is 
 represented as the general opinion no 
 longer. " We perceive that there is a 
 reason — and in many cases we know 
 what that reason is — for every difference 
 in form, in size, and in colour ; for every 
 bone and every feather, almost for every 
 hair." "We can now see precisely," 
 says the Christian World, " where the 
 old opinion differs from the new. The 
 
 modern biologist professes to under- 
 stand better than his predecessors those 
 forces or processes by which birds have 
 become different from reptiles, and 
 animals that suckle their young dif- 
 ferent from both. To put it still more 
 pointedly, the modern doctrine affirms 
 that, leaving out of consideration the 
 unknown beginning (of which science 
 takes no account), nature in the world 
 of life, animal and vegetable, has always 
 worked with the means and methods em- 
 ployed at this hour. Elephants and alli- 
 gators, sharks, kangaroos, and humming- 
 birds are blood relations." Again a writer 
 in the same journal says: "The two chief 
 springs of that inspiration with which 
 Christianity has quickened the co'd, 
 dead heart of humanity, are, with- 
 out question, the love of God, and the 
 boundless possibilities of that future 
 which the Gospel opens to man. It is 
 an inspiration which it seems that in 
 these days our wise ones are doing their 
 very utmost to destroy. Of God they 
 tell us that we know nothing, and can 
 know nothing ; while of ' the things 
 which are before us ' we know as little. 
 God's love, we are now taught, is no 
 more than the mere yearning of the sad 
 human heart to find a living expression 
 in that awful world-system which sur- 
 rounds us, and whose cruel sternness 
 drives great nations of our fellow-men 
 to long for annihilation, as the supreme 
 benediction which the universe can offer 
 to its intelligent child ; while the hope 
 of immortality, by the same rule, is the 
 vain effort of that faculty of our nature 
 which ' looks before and after,' to 
 construct a future which may soothe its 
 imagination, but which is baseless and 
 fruitless as its idlest dreams. It is 
 without doubt," the writer goes on to 
 say, " a very dread aspect of these times, 
 313 
 
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: DANIEL. 
 
 especially for the young who are nursed, 
 as it were, in its atmosphere. But 
 instead of wild denunciations of it, it 
 is wiser for us to study the way in 
 which it comes to be ; how it is 
 possible that this ghastly creed could 
 have grown up in the heart of Chris- 
 tendom, in the very age and region in 
 which the triumph of Christian truth 
 and civilisation ought to be most com- 
 plete. . . . The saddest result of this 
 theological abuse of the world-system — 
 we can call it nothing else — is to make 
 men believe that it has no meaning or 
 method that man can discover ; that all 
 its movements are all mechanical, and 
 that man is but the most highly-finished 
 part of the machinery ; like the rest of 
 it, sprung from and returning to the 
 dust. The idea that the universe is 
 guided by a living Intelligence, and. that 
 the development of man's life is an 
 object which the Intelligence that guides 
 the universe has ever in sight, would be 
 banished to the limbo of worn-out super- 
 stitions, effete idolatries, if some of our 
 keen thinkers had their way." 
 
 (^) "Let us," says Auberlen, "who 
 love the word of prophecy, not forget 
 the present, and what has been given 
 us already in thinking of the things we 
 hope for ; lest our study of prophecy de- 
 generate to a mere favourite pursuit of 
 our infancy, and unspiritual excitement. 
 Let this hope of the kingdom take the 
 same place in our heart as is assigned 
 to it in the Divine Word ; and let us 
 not change the proportion in which Holy 
 Scripture has placed it to the funda- 
 mental truths of Christianity. Let the 
 apostolic word be our motto : " For the 
 grace of God that bringeth salvation 
 
 hath appeared unto all men ; teaching 
 us that, denying ungodliness and worldly 
 lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, 
 and godly in this present world ; looking 
 for the blessed hope, the glorious appear- 
 ing of the great God even our Saviour 
 Jesus Christ" (Tit. ii. 11-13). All 
 Christians of the present day find it 
 difficult to lay to heart the words which 
 apply to our days, as well as to the 
 days of Isaiah : " In quietness and con- 
 fidence shall be your strength." But let 
 us remember that we are living in a 
 time when judgments are preparing; 
 and our only duty is to be ever watch- 
 ful and prayerful witnesses of the com- 
 ing of the Lord. We are, for this reason, 
 not slothful ; we do not fold our hands ; 
 only we do not cherish illusive ^opes 
 and expectations from our work. Let 
 us be faithful in the little things in- 
 trusted to us; as for the great things, 
 we cannot take them to ourselves ; but 
 we wait till the Lord will bring them to 
 us. . . . What our generation wants is, 
 witnesses who can lift up their voice in 
 the spirit and power of the prophets ; 
 men who can stand in the breach in the 
 hour of temptation which is coming 
 over the whole earth. In that hour we 
 need to be " strong in the Lord and in 
 the power of His might," so that we 
 may achieve the victory ; then we must 
 lift up our heads in blessed hope and 
 joy, knowing that " our redemption 
 draweth nigh." May our merciful God 
 prepare us for that hour, by teaching us 
 to understand aright and to practise 
 faithfully the word of the Apocalypse : 
 •' Here is the patience and the faith of 
 the saints/' 
 
 314 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 In relation to the prediction in Daniel vii. 11, regarding the destruction by fire 
 of the body of the Beast or fourth universal empire, that immediately preceding 
 the kingdom of the Son of Man, and of the saints — bis body being " given to the 
 burning flame " — science has recently indicated another way in which this judg- 
 ment might be inflicted on apostate Christendom and the Antichristian kingdoms. 
 The following extract from the Spectator, in relation to a recent conclusion of 
 astronomy, only met the writer's eye while the preceding work was in the press : — 
 " We sometimes doubt whether the world's belief in science is quite as genuine as 
 it seems. Here is Mr. Proctor, whose astronomical authority and ability nobody 
 doubts, has told the world for some time back, we believe, that there is really a 
 very considerable chance of a catastrophe only fifteen years hence, which may put 
 an end to us and our earthly hopes and fears altogether ; and, so far as we can see, 
 the world has blandly treated ]\Ir. Proctor's warning as it would have treated an 
 interesting speculation on the future of electricity — that is, has regarded it with u 
 certain mUd, literary satisfaction, but has not made any change in its arrangements 
 in consequence. . . . Yet, supposing Mr. Proctor's facts to be correctly stated — on 
 which we should like to have the judgment of other astronomers— there does seem a 
 remarkably good chance that in 1897 the sun will suddenly break out into the same 
 kind of intensity of heat and light which caused the conflagration in the star of the 
 Northern Crown in 186G, when for a day or two the heat and light emitted by it 
 became suddenly many hundreds of times greater than they were before, after which 
 the star relapsed into its former relative insignificance. Those few days of violence, 
 however, must have been enough to destroy completely all vegetable_ and animal 
 life in the planets circulating round that sun, if such planets were in existence ; and 
 Mr. Proctor shows no little reason to believe that the same catastrophe may very 
 probably happen to U3, doubtless from a precisely similar cause, if the astronomers 
 who believe that the comet of 1880 was identical with the comet of 1843 and the 
 comet of 16G8 should be right,— which would imply that the same comet, with a 
 rapidly diminishing period, is likely to return and fall into the sun, with all its 
 meteoric appendages, in or about the year 1897. Mr. Proctor tells us that Professor 
 Winnecke believes that the identity of the comets of 1843 and ISSO hardly admits 
 of a doubt ; while Mr. Marth thinks that both may be identical with the comet of 
 1668, its velocity having been reduced by its passing through the corona of the 
 sun -'so that on its next return, in a considerably reduced time, it may be altogether 
 unable to pass out of the sphere of the sun's influence, and may precipitate itself, 
 with all its meteoric train, into the mass of the sun. If this event occurs— as at 
 some return or other Mr. Proctor believes to be nearly certain— (the next but one, 
 we supiiose, if not the next), there will certainly be an abrupt arrest of an enor- 
 mous momentum as the long train of meteors enters the sun, which arrest would 
 show itself in the shape of enormously increased heat,— the probable result whereot 
 would be the burning up of all vegetable and animal life exi.tmg on the planets of 
 the solar system. It is true that Mr. Pructor is not quite sure how the absorption 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 of this comet and its train into the sun would really affect us. He is by no means 
 certain that our sun would burst into flame, as the star in the Northern Crown did 
 in 186G, but he evidently thinks it much more likely than not. And he does not 
 seriously doubt that in the behaviour of the star in the Northern Crown, which so 
 suddenly broke into llanie in 1866, we have the example of a real sidereal catas- 
 trophe which from time to time either actually destroys, or would destroy, if they 
 existed, such worlds as ours, if they happen to be the planets of a sun thus sud- 
 denly fed with a great accession of cosmic heat." 
 
 In connection with the same subject the writer has recently met with the fol- 
 lowing passage in Mr. Garrat's " Midnight Cry," written about twenty years ago : — 
 " The fiery flood. So it is described in Peter's second epistle. The destruction of 
 the ungodly will be by fire ; and out of that fire will issue the new heavens and the 
 new earth. The question is often asked, whether that event will happen at the 
 commencement or the close of the millennium. Perhaps, in ditFerent degrees, at 
 both. Isaiah says, speaking of a period prior to the thousand years, ' By fire and 
 by sword will the Lord plead with all flesh ; and the slain of the Lord shall be 
 many.' And he seems also to place the creation of new heavens and a new earth 
 at the same period ; while it is after the millennium, John says in Ilevelation, ' I 
 saw a new heaven and a new earth.' This and many other apparent difliculties of 
 the same nature are easily explained. ' One day is with the Lord as a thousand 
 years, and a thousand years as one day.' The whole millennium is, in God's eye, but 
 a day — the great day of the Lord God Almighty. It is the ' regeneration,' — the 
 period of earth's new birth ; and the events at its commencement and its close are 
 sometimes looked upon as one. God will destroy His enemies with fire at the 
 beginning of these thousand years. The conflagration at their close will be still 
 more terrible. Both are looked upon as one event. And it is to both, regarded as 
 one, that the words of Peter apply : ' The day of the Lord will come as a thief in 
 the night ; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the 
 elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein 
 shall be burned up.' It will come as a thief in the night on the world. They 
 will be alone, because the Church will have been translated. With what bitter 
 remorse will men look on the fiery deluge as it comes sweeping along ! They niight 
 Lave escaped, and they would not ; and now escape is impossible." 
 
 310 
 
GENEEAL INDEX. 
 
 Abomination, the, that maketh desolate, 24C, 
 304 
 
 Abstinence, 19 
 
 Adoration, 180 
 
 Adrian, Pope, IV., 131 
 
 ^lia Capitolina, 173 
 
 Ages of the world, the, 41 
 
 Ahasuerus, 182 
 
 Alexander the Great, 44, 49, 120, 1G3, 170, 230 
 
 AUegorists, the, 282 
 
 Altamont, his deathbed experience, 310 
 
 Alva, Duke of, 132 
 
 Ancestry, privilege of a godlj', 30, 34 
 
 Ancient of Days, 136, 141 
 
 Angels, 137, 141, 187 ; their ministries, 221 
 
 Angel-princes, 223, 227 
 
 Angelology of Daniel, 229 
 
 Anger, 28 
 
 Anointing, personal, 22G 
 
 official and spiritual, 193 
 
 Antichrist, 128 ; the Musleiii, 177, 2G1 ; the 
 Man of Sin, 265 
 
 Antiochus Epiphanes, 163, 179, 236; his end, 
 165 ; a type of Antichrist, 234 
 
 Arabs, Bedouin, 257 
 
 Arnold, Dr., his views of the iirophecies of 
 Daniel, 23 
 
 Arnulph, bishop of Orleans, 135 
 
 Artaxerxes Longimauus, 43 
 
 Assur-akli-bal, 64 
 
 Assur-bani-pal, IIS 
 
 Astrologers, what, 25 
 
 Astyages, 183 
 
 Atonement, 203 
 
 Auberleu, his remark on the unity of the Book 
 of Daniel, 3 ; quotations from, 5-8, 58, 114, 
 128, 151-154, 160, 161; in regard to the 
 Antichrist, 264 ; to the Jews, 274, 275 ; to 
 the millennium, 275 ; to the first resurrection, 
 281 ; to Chiliasm, 282 ; to present duty, 314 
 
 Augustus CaBsar, 57 
 
 Babylon, 43, 83, 87, 118 
 
 the mystical, 142 
 
 Babylonian empire, 32, 115 
 
 Bacon, Lord, his view of miiacles, 73 
 
 Baillie, quotation from lii^ letters, 282 
 
 Balances, weighed in the, 92, 97 
 
 Barley-cakes, consecrated, 22 
 
 Baxter, Eichard, quotation from, 282; his 
 
 deathbed experience, 310 
 Bayne, Peter, quotation from, 73 
 Bedouin Arabs, 257 
 Bel, 13, 64 
 Bel-Merodach, 13, 64 
 Belshazzar, 94 ; his feast, 88 
 Belus, 87 
 Bengel, his opinion in regard to the doctrine of 
 
 the millennium, 282 ; his influence on it in 
 
 Germany, 283, 290 
 
 Bickersteth, quotations from, 81, 133 
 
 Birks, quotations from, 47, 49, 51, 52, 56, 58. 
 
 81 
 Bishop of Rome, 50 
 Bleek, his views on the unity of the Book of 
 
 Daniel, 3 ; ou its language, 7 ; on the Ten 
 
 Horns, 122 
 Boniface, Pope, VIII., 131 
 Books of judgment, 137, 141 
 
 of Scripture, 183 
 
 Bosanqtiet, Mr., his views on the Book of 
 
 Daniel, 3, 8 ; on the time of Daniel, 121 ; on 
 
 the Little Horn, 134 
 Bradford, John, quotation fiom. 282 
 Brooks, Mr., quotation from, 133 
 Brown, John, of Haddington, his deathbed ex- 
 perience, 310 
 Bunyan, John, his views on the millennium, 283 
 Burnet, Bishop, quotation from, 142 ; in regard 
 
 to the millennial reign, 282 
 Bush, Professor, quotations from. 121, 133 
 Butler, Arthur, quotation from, 288 
 
 Calendar of Prophecy, Mede's Sacred, 302 
 
 Caligula, 57 
 
 Calvin, quotations from, 8, 47, 48, 71, 75, 76, 
 
 85, 102, 105, 177 ; in regard to seeking the 
 
 salvation of others, 285 
 Canon of Scripture, 183 
 Captivity, the Jewish, 9, 13 
 Caryl, Joseph, 282 
 Caspari, quotation from, by Keil, 61 
 Cave, Alfred, qixotation from, 212 
 Celestine, Pope, V., 131 
 Chaldeans, 17, 32 
 Chaldees, 17 
 Chalmers, Dr., quotations from, in regard to the 
 
 Last Things, 270, 271, 274, 277 
 Chandler, Bishop, quotation from, 59 
 Chardin, quotation from, by Dr. Pusey, 25 
 Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, 129, 134 
 Chiliasm, 282, 283 
 Chittini, 211 
 
 "Christian "World," quotation from the, 313 
 Christianity in the seventh century, 178 
 Christlieb, Dr., quotations from, 291 
 Clarke, Dr. Adam, remarks of, 32 
 Claudius Cajsar, 57 
 
 Cleansing of the sanctuarj', 165, 168, 175 
 Clement, bishop of Rome, 124 ; his Epistle to 
 
 the Cliurch of Corinth, 130 
 Clothing. ]!abyloni.an, 72 
 Clouds of beaven, 151 
 
 Cock, a, sacrificed by the modern Jews. 218, 220 
 Colaciou, 2'<2 
 
 Collins, his objections to the Book of Daniel, 27 
 Confession of sin, lt>0 ; to a pritst, 250 
 Constantino the Great, 50, 244 ; his veneration 
 
 for monks and virgins, 249 
 Conversion, 62 
 
 317 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Council of the I.ateran, 12G ; at Rome in 1870, 
 140 ; of Nice, ia relation to the milleauium, 
 2812 
 
 Courage, 19 
 
 Covenant, how used, 241 
 
 couhimation of the, 216, 219 
 
 Covenants, Old and New, 216 
 
 Cox, Dr., quotations from, 22, 28-30, 51, 58, 
 76, 91, 101, 106, 152, 177, 178 ; in regard to 
 Daniel, 191, 259 ; to the study of i)rophecy, 
 298 
 
 Crusades, 125, 132 
 
 Cumming, Dr., quotations from, 75, 92 
 
 Cup, forbidden to the laity by the popes, 132 
 
 Cyaxares II., 43, 96, 97, 100, 110 
 
 Cycles of seventy weeks of years, 214 
 
 Cyprian, 70 
 
 Cyril, quotation from, 135 
 
 Cyrus, 43, 48, 110, 182 
 
 Daily sacrifice, 171, 174 ; its violent removal, 
 304 
 
 Daniel, 2, 4, 14 ; an example of resolution, 18, 
 21 ; his conduct, 22, 110 ; his elevation, 60, 
 97 ; his character, 109, 175, 176, 188 ; a man 
 of prayer, 189; his prayer, 179 
 
 Daniel, the Book of, 1-8 
 
 Darius the Mede, 43 ; Codomannus, 43 ; Hys- 
 taspis, 96, 183 
 
 D'Aubigne, quotation from, 173 
 
 Decision, 20 
 
 Delitzsch, his view of the Book of Daniel, 8 ; of 
 Bengel and the millennium, 283 
 
 Deliverance from sin, 203 ; of the Jews, 271 
 
 Despotism, 28 
 
 Destruction of Jerusalem, views of the, 215 
 
 De Wette, his views on the unity of the Book 
 of Daniel, 3 
 
 Diadochs, the, or successors of Alexander, 264 
 
 Dionysius of Alexandria, 282 
 
 Dream, Nebuchadnezzar's first, 38 ; its inter- 
 pretation, 41 ; his second, 77. 
 
 Dreams, 39, 41 ; their interpretation, 78 
 
 Dress of the Babylonians, 72 
 
 Drink, intoxicating, danger of, 92 
 
 Duke of Alva, 132 
 
 of Manchester, his views of the seventy 
 
 years' captivity, 184 ; of the time of the end, 
 303 
 
 Dura, the plain of, 65 
 
 Eagle, winged, 118 
 
 Earth, the prophetic, 42 
 
 Earthquakes in 1881, 142 
 
 Electricity, the agency of, 292 
 
 Elias, tradition of his school regarding the 
 
 seventh millennary of the world, 281 
 Emperor Leo, 1.32 
 
 p]mpires, the four universal, 42, 115 
 End, time of tlic, 295 
 Enoch, Book of, 7 
 Eunuchs, 16 
 
 Euphratean horsemen, 255 
 Euphrates, drying up of the, 263, 299 
 Exarchate, the, 129 
 Executioners, 34 
 
 Ezekiel, his mention of Daniel, 31 
 Ezra, 43 
 
 Fabkr, his views of the great Antichristian 
 confederacy, 262, 264 ; of the time, times, and 
 half a time, 301, 302 
 
 Faithfulness, 20 
 
 Fasting, 185 
 
 Feast, Bclshazzar's, 88 
 318 
 
 Fidelity, 20 
 
 First resurrection, the, 281 
 
 Forgiveness of sin, 203 
 
 Four Beasts, the, 111 
 
 Franco-German war, 140 
 
 Frere, his views of Antichrist, 262 
 
 Friedrich, quotation from, by Keil, 82 
 
 Furnace, tiery, 107 
 
 Futurists, the, 128 
 
 Gabriel, 162, 185, 187 
 
 Gambetta, 144 
 
 Gate, the King's, 62 
 
 Gates of ancient cities and palaces, 62 
 
 Gaussen, quotations from, 26, 47-50, 52, 59, G5, 
 
 92, 101, 105 
 Gavazzi, quotation from, 130 
 Gentiles, times of the, 299 
 Germanic kingdoms, the, 45, 50, 51 
 Gesenius, quotation from, 66 
 Gibbon, quotations from, 44, 49, 58, 129, 178, 
 
 257 
 Gill, Dr., his views of the millennium, 283 
 Gilpin, Bernard, 167 
 Golden City, the, 41, 43 
 Golden image, the, 62 
 Gothic kingdoms, the, 45, 50, 51 
 Grecian empire, the, 44, 116 
 Gregory the Great, 133 
 Gregory VII., 124, 130, 249 
 Grotius, qirotation from, 114 
 Guinness, Mr. G., quotations from, 81, 133 
 
 Habershon, his views of the time, times, and a 
 haJf, 301 ; of the additional seventy-five 
 years, 303 
 Hall, Robert, quotations from, 28, 57 
 Handwriting on the wall, the, 90, 95 
 Harrison, Archdeacon, quotations from, 114, 
 122, 144 
 
 Havelock, General, 99 
 
 Hiivernick, his views of the Book of Daniel, 7 
 
 He-goat, the, 163, 169 
 
 Hengsteuberg, his views of the Book of Daniel, 
 1, 4 ; of Daniel himself, 4 ; quotations from, 
 4, 26, 32, 75, 88 ; his remarks on tbe lan- 
 guage of Daniel, 7 ; his answers to objec- 
 tions against the book, 11 
 
 Henry IV., emperor of Germany, 124, 130 
 
 Henry, JIatthew, quotations from, 10, 11, 18, 
 20, 23, 26, 28, 64, 65, 69, 76, 78, 80, 84, 85 
 
 Heralds, 67 
 
 Herder, quotation from, 41 
 
 Hiddekel, the, 300 
 
 Hildebraud, 249 ^ 
 
 History, what, 45 
 
 Holmes, his book on the resurrection, 282 
 
 Holy of holies, the new, 205, 208 
 
 Horn, the Little, 122; of the Third Beast or 
 He-goat, 162 
 
 Horns, the Ten, 121 
 
 Horsemen, the Euphratean, 256 
 
 Hours, Babylonian, 66 
 
 Houses, Babylonian, \'>?i 
 
 Human greatness and glory, 46 ; human figure, 
 48 
 
 Hume, quotations from, 248 
 
 Hurd, Bishop, quotations from, 201 
 
 Image, the great, 38, 41, 42; the golden, 02, 
 
 64,65 
 Images, worship of, 132 
 Infallibility, papal, declared, 140 
 Infidel Antichrist, the, 262 
 Infidelity, an elfcct of the papacy, 250 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Inscription, the Standard, quotations from, 13, 
 
 87 
 Ireland, Protestant massacre in, 132 
 Irving, Edward, quotations from, 41, 46, 59, 
 
 133, 178, 294; his views of Antichrist, 202, 
 
 263, 267 ; of the 1290 days, 303 ; of the taking 
 
 away of the daily sacrifice, 304 
 Islam, the religion of, 175 
 Italy, territory of, 142 
 
 Janissaries, the, 16 
 
 Jason, the high-priest, 172 
 
 Jehoiakim, 9, 11 
 
 Jerome, quotations from, 49, 51, 122, 177 
 
 Jews, who, 271; their distinction, 153; per- 
 secution under Antiochus Epiphanes, 238; 
 under the papacy, 255 ; their deliverance, 
 127 ; toleration under Joseph II. of Austria, 
 305 ; their present numbers in the Holy Land, 
 ib. 
 
 Johnstone's "Israel after the Flesh," quotation 
 fi'om, 153 
 
 Josephus, his views of the destx'uction of Jeru- 
 salem, 215 
 
 Judea, 45 
 
 Judgment of the Fourth Beast, 135 
 
 Julian the Apostate, 244 ; his attempt at re- 
 building the temple, 220 
 
 Jupiter Belus, 13 
 
 Justin Martyr, quotations from, 134, 138; his 
 views of the millennium, 281 
 
 Justinian, edict of, 134 
 
 Justinian code, the, 133 
 
 Keil, his proofs of the divine origin and 
 authenticity of the Book of Daniel, 3; his 
 view as to its place in the canon, 4 ; quota- 
 tions from, 5, 26, 32, 58, 73, 81, 151, 169, 178, 
 202 ; his views in regard to Antichrist, 264 ; 
 of the study of prophecy, 298 
 
 Keith, Dr., quotations from, 50 
 
 King, the Wilful. 246, 252 
 
 Kingdom, the, of Christ, 53, 55, 143 
 
 Kitto, Dr., quotations from, 16, 23, 24, 41 
 
 Kliefoth, quotations from, 32 
 
 Knowledge, increase of, 289, 294 
 
 Koran, the, 174 
 
 Kranichfeld, quotation from, 8 
 
 Lagid^, the, 44 
 
 Land, the pleasant, 170 
 
 Language of Daniel, 1, 7 ; of the Chaldeans, 17 
 
 Lateran Council of 1514, 251 
 
 Learning, Chaldean, 17 
 
 Lee, Professor, views of, 51, 133, 250 
 
 Leo, the Emperor, 132 
 
 Lewis the Pious, 134 
 
 Life everlasting, 278 
 
 Lions' dens, 106 
 
 Little Horn, the, 122, 128 ; early Church views 
 of it, 134 
 
 Lubbock, Sir John, extract from his presi- 
 dential address, 313 
 
 "L'Univers," the, quotation from, 144 
 
 Luther, 126 ; quotation from, 144 ; his Theses, 
 251 
 
 Lycanthropia, 88 
 
 Macaulay, quotation from, 251 
 
 Maccabees, the, 5, 165 ; first Book of, 7, 51, 169, 
 
 239, 242 
 Mackay, R. "W., quotation from, 202 
 Macchiavelli, 51 
 
 Macedonian or Greek empire, 44 
 Madness, Nebuchadnezzar's, 83, 86, 88 
 
 Magi, the, 17 
 
 Magicians of Egypt and Babylon, what, 25, 32 
 
 Mahomet, 174, 178, 259 
 
 Mahomet II., 257 
 
 Man of Sin, early Church views of the, 134 ; an 
 
 individual, 205 
 Marriage, forbidden by the papacy to the clergy, 
 
 131,249 
 Martyrs, relics of the, 250 
 Massacre of Protestants in Ireland, 132 ; in 
 
 Paris, ib. 
 JIattatliias, 5, 165, 167, 239, 242 
 Ma'uzzim, what, 250, 254 
 Meats, unclean, 18, 22 
 Mede, Joseph, 56 ; his views of the time, times, 
 
 and a half, 130, 301 
 Medes, the, 43 
 
 Medo-Persian empire, 43, 49, 115 
 Mene, mene, 95 
 Merodach, 13, 64 
 Messiah, meaning of the name. 192; Daniel's 
 
 prophecy regarding Him, ib. ; the time of 
 
 His appearing, 194; the objects of it, 202; 
 
 His rejection and cutting otf, 209 ; praying 
 
 for His sake, 181 ; His second advent, 151 ; 
 
 doctrine of it, 152 
 Michael, 223, 227, 272, 274 
 Michaelis, J. D., his view of the Book of Daniel, 
 
 1, 3, 122 
 Miles, Mr., quotation from, 282 
 Mill, J. S., his view of miracles, 73 
 Milman, quotation from, in reference to the 
 
 Jews, 305 
 Millennium, the, 154 ; testimonies regarding it, 
 
 and history of the doctrine, 281 
 IMilner, quotation from, 134 
 Ministers, hints to, 78 
 Mirabeau, his deathbed experience, 301 
 Miracles, views of, 73; those recorded in the 
 
 Book of Daniel, 71 
 Missions, present state of Christian, 290 
 Mosheim, quotation from, regarding the mil- 
 lennium, 281 
 Moslem Antichrist, the, 173 
 Moslems, the, 173, 175 
 Muratori, quotation from, 129 
 Music, 03 
 Musical instruments, 66 
 
 Name, change of, 16 
 
 Napoleon I., 144; supposed by some to be the 
 antitype of Antiochus Epiphanes, 205 
 
 Napoleon III., views of some regarding him, 265 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar, 12, 13, 48, 64 ; his dream of 
 the image, 27 ; of the tree, 77 ; his madness, 
 83, 86, 88 ; his testimony, 73 
 
 Necklace, 94 
 
 Nepos, Bishop, 281 
 
 Netherlands, persecution in the, 132 
 
 New Jerusalem, the, 154 
 
 Newman, Cardinal, quotation from, 271 
 
 Newton, Sir Isaac, 52; his views of the pro- 
 phecies of Daniel, 1, 3, 50 
 
 Newton, Bishop, quotations from, 47, 56, 134, 
 142, 177 ; regarding the first resurrection, 281 ; 
 the abomination that maketh desolate, 304 
 
 Nitocris, 94 
 
 North and South, Kings of the, 230 
 
 Objections to the Book of Daniel, answered by 
 
 Hengstenherg and I'usey, 6 
 Omar, the Caliph, 174 
 Origen, 281 
 
 Paine, Thomas, his deathbed experience, 310 
 
 319 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Palestine, 170, 257 
 
 Papacv, the, identified with the Little Horn, 
 123 ; with the AVilful King, 247 
 
 Papal territory, the, 143 
 
 Paris, massacre of Protestants in, 132 
 
 Patrimony of St. Peter, 143 
 
 Payson, Dr., his deathbed experience, 310 
 
 Pe'pin, king of France, 129, 134 
 
 Persecution, 63 ; under Queen Mary, 132 ; of 
 the Waldeusians, ib. 
 
 Persian empire, the, 43, 49 
 
 posts, lOG, 115 
 
 war, 120 
 
 Persians, their cruelty, 119 
 
 Pius v., creed of, 250, 305 
 
 Pius IX., 129 
 
 Polycarp, 70 
 
 Pompey the Great, 243 
 
 Pontiff, origin of the title, 249, 2.53 
 
 Pope Gregory VII., 124, 132 ; Stephen, 125 ; 
 Nicolas, ih.; Gregory III., 165, 132; Gregory 
 IX., 127; Pius IX., 129; Adrian IV., 131; 
 Boniface VIII. , ib.; Celestine V., ib.; Callix- 
 tus II., ib.; Agatho, 132; Urban II., ib.; 
 Innocent III., ib.; Pius VI., 143; Paul IV., 
 248 
 
 Popes, arrogant claims of, 131, 248 ; their 
 blasphemous titles and honours, 249; be- 
 lieved to be Antichrist, ib. 
 
 Porphyry, his views of the prophecies of Daniel, 
 2,7 
 
 Portion from the king's table, 22 
 
 Post, the Persian, 106 
 
 Prayer, 189 ; privilege of, 28 ; its efficacy, 30 ; 
 examples of, 99; parts of, 180; preparation 
 for, ih. 
 
 Pride, 85 
 
 Prideaux, his views of the captivity, 184 
 
 Priest-caste in Babylon, 61 
 
 Prince, Messiah the, 193, 197 
 
 Princes, angelic, 223, 227 
 
 Promises relating to Messiah, 193 
 
 Prophecy, 46 ; Daniel's great Messianic, 202 ; 
 fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, 205, 207 
 
 Propitiation, 207 
 
 Protestant massacre in Ireland, 132 : in Paris, 
 ih. 
 
 Protogenes, 19 
 
 Providence of God, 45 
 
 Psaltery, 07 
 
 Ptolemy the astronomer, 52 
 
 Philadelphus, 230 
 
 I'ulse, 25 
 
 Punishments, Chaldean, 33, 67 
 
 Pusej', Dr., liis remarks on the histories in 
 Daniel, 2; on the unity of the book, 3 ; quo- 
 tations from, 2, 5, 0, 32, 47, 49, 51, 59, 66, 
 71, 76, 109, 128, 151, 183, 201, 208 ; liis re- 
 marks in relation to Daniel himself, 197 
 
 Pydna, battle of, 49 
 
 Kabbi Ei.KAZAU, his saying in regard to the re- 
 surrection, 2rf0 
 
 Ram, the, 1C9 
 
 Kam and He-goat, vision of the, 162 
 
 Kationalists, their views of the Book of Daniel. 
 202 
 
 Rnwlinson, quotations from, 65, 87 
 
 Keigii, tlie niilleimial, 160 
 
 P.ejection of the Saviour, 209 
 
 P-schition, 18, 24 
 
 Pesurroction, the, 275; the first and second, 
 278, 2S1 
 
 revelation, the truth of, 4(i 
 
 Kevolution, the French, 120. 134 
 
 Rhemish New Testament, quotation from the, 
 
 132 
 Roman empire, tlie, 44, 47, 110, 120 
 
 persecutions, 243 
 
 Romans, the, 44, 242 
 
 Rome, 138, 142 
 
 Church of, her conflicts and continuance, 
 
 251 
 
 Bishop of, 50 
 
 Rosch, quotation from, 81 
 
 Rule, Dr., quotations from, 17, 41, 48, 50, 153, 
 
 172 
 Russia, 260, 264 
 
 Sackbot, 67 
 
 Sacrifices, 220 ; the termination of them, 217, 
 
 220, 243 
 Saints, 154, 160; reign of the, 148, 152, 160, 
 
 101 ; the kingdom given to them. 1.55 
 Sanctuary, cleansing of the, 165, 168 
 Saracens, 174, 255, 259 
 Satisfaction for sin, 203 
 Satraps, 65, 174 
 Science, its present aspect in regard to religion, 
 
 Scott, the commentator, quotation from, 76, 
 
 178 
 Scripture, books of, 183 
 Scriptures, present diffusion of, 201 
 Seleucidse, 44, 49 
 Selim, Sultan, 258, 2G0 
 Septuagint, the, 7, 230 
 " Seven times," 80, 84, 133, 259, 302 
 Seventy weeks, the, 194, 196, 197 
 
 years' captivity, 184 
 
 Shinar, 12 
 
 Ships of Chittim, 241 
 
 Shushan, 162, 167 
 
 Sismondi, quotation from, 127, 132 
 
 Smith, Robertson, his views of the Book of 
 
 Daniel, 8 ; of the canon of Scripture, 183 
 Sou of God, 72 
 Son of Man, 145, 149 
 Song of the Tliree Children, 72 
 Soothsayei's, 37 
 
 Sophronius, patriarch of Jerusalem, 174 
 Sorcerers, 32 
 Spener of Germany, 282 
 Spinoza, his views of the Book of Daniel, 3 
 St. Bartholomew's Day, 132 
 St. Sophia, mosque of, 175 
 Standard Inscription, the, 13, 87 
 Stars, 287 
 
 Sterry, Peter, quotation from, 282 
 Stone, tlie, cut out of the mountain, 39 ; ii.s 
 
 interpretation, 52, 56 
 Sultan l\Iahonu;t II., 257 
 
 Suliniaii, //.'. 
 
 Soliui, 2JS, 2C0 
 
 Sun, the, 287 
 
 SupiiHcation, 181 
 
 Sybilline oracles, the, 59 third book of, 7, 51 
 
 Syria, 257 
 
 Syriac, 33 
 
 " Tki.egrapiiic Sign," quotation from, 292 
 Tcmplo on Mount Moriah, 217 
 Temple, the new s])iritual, 205 
 Temporal power of the papacv, 138 
 Tenllorns, the, 117 
 
 kingdoms, the, 45, 51, 117 
 
 Teitvillian, quotation from, 135; ii ;,'ar<.itig the 
 
 niilleniiinni, 2.S1 
 Testinuiiiy, Daniel's, 36 ; Nebuchadnezzar's, 73 
 Testimonies, deathbed, 310 
 
gex[:ral index. 
 
 Thanksgiving, 35, 81 ; Daniel's, 34, 35 
 
 Third ruler of the kingdom, 91 
 
 Tliousand years' reign of Christ nnd His saints, 
 
 281 
 Tiberius Caesar, 57 
 Ti-ris, the, 300 
 "Time, times, and half a time," 80, 126,132, 
 
 296, 301 
 Time of the end, 295 
 " Times," the, quotations from, 129, 140 
 Titus, his views of the taking of Jerusalem, 215 
 Todd, D"., views of, in regard to prophecy, 51 
 Togrul Beg, 174 
 Tollentino, Treaty of. 143 
 Tree, dream of the, 77 
 Trees, 77 
 
 Tribulation, the Great, 2^5 
 Turkey, 178 
 Turks, the, 174, 255 
 
 Ur.Ai, the, 162, 168 
 
 United prayer, 29 
 
 Universal bishop, title of, lo3 
 
 ViCTOii Emmanuel, 139 
 
 Virgil, his eclogue to Pollio, 59 
 Virgin ]\Iary, invoked and trusted in, 250; l.er 
 images, 249 
 
 "Waiting and working, 310 
 
 "Watciiers. 79 
 
 AVatson, Bishop, quotation from, 1 
 
 \Viesler, quotation from, 177 
 
 Wilful King, the, 246, 252; identified with 
 
 Paul's Man of Sin, 248, 253 
 Williams, Dr., his views of the Book of Daniel, 
 
 8 
 Winners of souls, 283, 2S4 
 Wise, the, 284 
 
 Wise men of Babylon, 41, 01 
 Witness bearing, 36, 314 
 AVoman, her influence, 91 
 Wood, Mr., quotations from, 27, 32 
 
 Xerxes, 230 
 
 Year-day theory, the. 133 
 
 Zendaverta, the, 152, 228 
 Zoroaster, 228 
 
 321 
 
HOMILETICAL LNDEX. 
 
 SUBJECTS MORE OR LESS HOMILETICALLY TREATED. 
 
 Ang-tl Ministries .... 221 
 
 1. The existence of different ranks ami 
 
 orders amon^ angelic ministers. 
 
 2. Their appointment to different spheres 
 
 or posts of duty. 
 
 3. Their deep interest in the welfare of 
 
 good men, and the prosperity of God's 
 cause. 
 
 4. The variety of their ministrations. 
 
 5. Their union and mutual help. 
 
 6. The difficulties and opposition met with 
 
 in their work. 
 Eeflections : 
 
 1. How glorious the place that forms their 
 
 abode ! 
 
 2. Ample provision made for the welfare 
 
 of the Church, and the success of the 
 Redeemer's cause. 
 
 3. The character and conduct of these 
 
 angel-ministers to be imitated. 
 
 Belshazzar's Feast ... 89 
 (Jeneral description : 
 I. The Feast. 
 1. Latge ; 2. Magnificent ; 3. Idolatrous ; 
 4. Profane. 
 II. The Handwriting. 
 
 I. Sudden ; 2. Mysterious; 3. Eeal ; 4. 
 
 Alarming ; 5. Perplexing. 
 
 III. The Reproof. 
 
 1. Keniinds of an admonitory fact. 
 
 2. Points to the sin of neglecting it. 
 
 3. Charges directly with pride, &c. 
 
 4. Declares the writing and the impend- 
 
 ing doom. 
 
 IV. The Intehpretation. 
 V. The End. 
 
 Less(Mis : 
 
 1. The short-lived nature of unhallowed 
 
 pleasure. 
 
 2. The certainty of divine retribution. 
 
 3. The suddenness with wliich punishment 
 
 often overtakes the wicked. 
 4 The terror of a guilty conscience. 
 
 5. The aggravated guilt of unheeded warn- 
 
 ing. 
 
 6. The sin of not glorifying God. 
 
 7. The stui>idity of the Inunun heart. 
 
 8. The destiny of men and nations in the 
 ^ hand of God. 
 
 9. 'J"he beneficial influence of woman. 
 
 10. The sin of wantonly profaning sacred 
 tilings. 
 
 II. Tlie danger of indulging in intoxicating 
 
 drink. 
 
 322 
 
 Contrast between the Righteous 
 and the Wicked . . . .306 
 
 1. The blessedness of sanctified trouble. 
 
 2. Persecutions and struggles endured by 
 
 the godly overruled for their good. 
 
 3. Moral purification the great end intended 
 
 by God in regard to His people. 
 
 4. Godline.-s the only true wisdom. 
 
 5. Knowledge and understanding in all 
 
 things necessary to true happiness, 
 guaranteed to God's renewed children. 
 
 6. The inability of the ungodly to under- 
 
 stand divine truth, and more especially 
 the word of prophecy. 
 
 7. A time comes when it may be too late for 
 
 repentance. 
 
 8. Solemn contrast presented in the text, 
 
 in relation : 
 
 (1) To persons ; 
 
 (2) To what is said of them. 
 Application. 
 
 - . - - 101 
 
 As such he was — 
 
 1. Constant ; 2 Regular ; 3. Beleving ; 4. 
 
 Daniel as a man of prayer 
 
 , 2 Regular; 3. r>ei evm^ 
 
 Fearless ; 5. Cheerful ; 6. Earnest 
 
 Daniel in the lions' den . .184 
 I. The Discovery. 
 II. The Information. 
 
 III. The Execution. 
 
 IV. The Sequel. 
 Lessons : 
 
 1. God's faithfulness to His promises. 
 
 2. God the heai-er of prayer. 
 
 3. IJelievers safe in God's keei)ing. 
 
 4. The happiness of the faithful. 
 
 Daniel, a "man greatly beloved." 
 
 The testimony due to : 
 
 1. His early i>iety. 
 
 2. His steadfastness and perseverance iu 
 
 well-doing. 
 
 3. His consistency and symmetry of char- 
 
 acter. 
 
 4. His conscientiousness even in the 
 
 smallest matters. 
 
 5. His trust and confidence in God. 
 (■). His piayerfulness. 
 
 7. His amiableness of disposition and kind- 
 
 ness to others. 
 
 8. His jiatriotism and concern for his 
 
 countiy's welfare. 
 
HOMILETICAL INDEX. 
 
 9. His unselfishness, 
 
 Daniers character and the testimony 
 borne to it attainable by all, more 
 especially in the present dispensation 
 of the Spirit. 
 
 End, time of the , . . . 295 
 
 I. A Period to Elapse for the Accom- 
 
 plishment OP God's Purposes in re- 
 gard TO Israel. 
 
 II. A Period of Time Reckoned from the 
 
 occurrence of certain predicted 
 Events. 
 lleflections and inferences : 
 
 1. The duty of taking a lively interest in 
 
 the Cliurch's future, and God's revealed 
 Word regarding it. 
 
 2. The comfort of the Church in knowing 
 
 that the time of the end cannot be far 
 distant. 
 
 3. Our duty to prepare ourselves for the 
 
 changes that may speedily come, and 
 to help in preparing others. 
 
 Government of the world by a 
 Supreme Being . . . . 8C 
 
 1. Objections against it. 
 
 2. Answers to these objections. 
 
 3. Special arguments that "the heavens do 
 
 rule." 
 
 Judgment of the Fourth Beast, or 
 the world under its fourth uni- 
 versal empire at present pre- 
 vailing 135 
 
 I. The Occasion of it. 
 
 II. The Circumstances op it. 
 
 1. The Judge; 2. The throne; 3. The at- 
 tendants ; 4. The accompaniments. 
 
 III. The Judgment itself. 
 
 IV. The Consequences of it. 
 V. The Time of it. 
 
 Kingdom of Christ, the ; or, the 
 Stone cut out of the mountain . ir>3 
 Its characteristics : 
 
 1. Divine in its origin. 
 
 2. Humble in its beginning. 
 
 3. Victorious over all opposition. 
 
 4. Onward in its progress. 
 
 5. Universal in its ultimate extent. 
 
 6. Everlasting in its duration. 
 
 Kingdom of the Son of Man . 14") 
 
 I. Its Establishj[ent, and the Installa- 
 tion of the Son of Man as its 
 King. 
 II. Its Reality. 
 
 III. Its Head. 
 
 IV. The Time of it. 
 V. The Place of it. 
 
 VI. The Administration of it. 
 VII. Its Character. 
 VIII. Its Extent. 
 IX. Its Duration. 
 X. Its Certainty. 
 Lessons : 
 
 1. Believers to rejoice in the prospect of 
 
 the kingdom. 
 
 2. Our duty to make sure a place in the 
 
 kingdom now. 
 
 3. Our privilege and duty to speed that 
 kingdom by our prayers, and to pre- 
 pare ourselves and others for a place 
 in it. 
 
 Knowledge, its increase a sign 
 of the time 289 
 
 1. In relation to the word of prophecy. 
 
 2. In relation to divine truth in general, 
 
 and to Jesus Christ its central subject. 
 
 3. In relation to knowledge in general. 
 Practical improvement of the fact. 
 
 Messiah the Prince . . 192 196 
 
 I. Messiah Himself. 
 
 1. Messiah. 2. The Prince. 
 
 II. The Time of His Appearing. 
 Lessons and Keflections : 
 
 1. The ground of rejoicing afforded by this 
 
 prediction. 
 
 2. The duty of personally accepting the 
 
 Messiah whose advent was thus gra- 
 ciously foretold. 
 
 3. The evidence here afforded of the truth 
 
 of Christianity and the Word of God. 
 
 Prayer answered . . . .185 
 Tlie answer was ; 
 
 1. Prompt and immediate. 
 
 2. Given through an angelic medium. 
 
 3. Different from what Daniel probably ex- 
 
 pected. 
 
 4. Far exceeding the request. 
 
 5. A consequence of Daniel's character. 
 Lessons : 
 
 1. The blessedness of a truly godly life. 
 
 2. The encouragement to persevere in 
 
 prayer. 
 
 3. God's love in giving His children more 
 
 than they ask. 
 
 Prayer, Daniel an example of its 
 
 efficacy 30 
 
 Prayer, in order to be effectual, to be : 
 
 1. Offered in faith. 
 
 2. Earnest. 
 
 3. Importunate and persevering. 
 
 4. From a right motive and for a right end. 
 
 5. Offered in uprightness of heart and life. 
 
 6. With submission to God's will, and desire 
 
 for things according to it. 
 
 7. With entire surrender of ourselves to 
 
 God. 
 
 8. In tlie name and for the sake of Jesus 
 
 Christ. 
 
 Prayer of Daniel . . . .139 
 I. The Time of it. 
 
 II. The Occasion of it. 
 
 III. The Preparation for it. 
 
 IV. The Contents of it. 
 
 1. Adoration ; expressing (1) Kevercnce ; 
 
 (2) Faith. 
 
 2. Confession of sin. 
 
 3. Tlianksgiving and praise. 
 
 4. Petition and supplication ; exhibiting 
 
 (1) Intense earnestness; 
 
 (2) Deej) humility ; 
 
 (3) The prevailing plea for acce]>tancp ; 
 
 (4) Large-heartednessand unselfishness. 
 Lessons : 
 
 1. The spiiit of prayer characteristic of a 
 child of God. 
 
 3-23 
 
nOMILETICAL INDEX. 
 
 2. God's "Word tlie study and enjoyment of 
 
 His people. 
 
 3. The Word read to be turned into prayer. 
 
 4. Prayer to be accompanied with thanks- 
 
 giving and confession of sin. 
 
 5. Believers especially to cultivate inter- 
 
 cessory prayer. 
 
 Bejection of Christ ; or Messiah 
 cut off 209 
 
 I. The Time of the event. 
 II. The Event itself. 
 III. The Consequences of it. 
 Reflections : 
 
 1. The remarkable fulfilment of prophecy 
 
 as an evidence of the inspiration of 
 the Scriptures and the truth of Chris- 
 \ -ity. 
 
 2. liie gu-lt involved in the rejection of the 
 
 provide^' Saviour. 
 
 Resolution ; Daniel an example 
 of it 21 
 
 Its nature, both as an act and a habit. 
 As an act, it should be : 
 
 1. Made deliberately. 
 
 2. Directed only to what is right. 
 
 .3. Made in dependence on divine assistance. 
 
 Resurrection, the . . . .275 
 I, The Fact of it. 
 II. The Time of it. 
 
 III. The Subject of it. 
 
 IV. The Result.s of it. 
 Lessons from it : 
 
 1. To have our minds deeply and perma- 
 
 nently impressed with tlie truth and 
 reality of the resurrection. 
 
 2. To regard everything in the light of it. 
 
 Saints, as possessors of the king- 
 dom 155 
 
 I. The Saints. 
 II. The Kingdom. 
 
 III. The Sense in which the Saints ueckive 
 
 AND POSSESS IT. 
 
 IV. The Suitableness of the Appointment. 
 V. Its Beneficial Results. 
 
 Lessons : 
 
 1. Cause of rejoicing in the prospect pre- 
 
 sented in the text. 
 
 2. iJlcssed consequence of a faithful adlicr- 
 
 eiice to the Saviour. 
 
 3. The character of the future blessedness 
 
 of the saints. 
 
 4. The privilege of believers to be now em- 
 
 ployed in a way that affords both an 
 anticipation and preparation for their 
 future blessedness. 
 
 5. Our interest to make sure our place now 
 
 among the saints that shall hereafter 
 "take the kingdom." 
 
 Thanksgiving, Daniel's . . 34 
 
 I. The Orject of it. 
 
 1. The " God of heaven," indicating : 
 
 (1) His unity ; 
 
 (2) His supremacy ; 
 
 (3) His majesty ; 
 
 (4) His holiness ; 
 
 (5) God the source and centre of happi- 
 
 ness. 
 
 2. Tlie " God of his fathers." 
 II. The Sub.tect of it. 
 
 1. What God is in Himself : 
 
 (1) Wise ; (2) Mighty ; (3) Omniscient. 
 
 2. What He has done ; has heard and 
 
 answered prayer. 
 III. The Character of it. 
 
 1. Prompt ; 2. Hearty ; 3. Full. 
 
 205 
 
 .310 
 
 Tribulation, the Great . 
 
 I. The Time of it. 
 II. The Subjects of it. 
 III. The Gre.\tness of it. 
 
 Practical reflections from it. 
 
 Waiting and Working 
 
 1. The duty of secuiing a personal interest 
 
 in the blessedness predicted in the 
 prophecy. 
 
 2. The duty of patiently waiting for the 
 
 promised blessedness. 
 
 3. IJelievers to be working as well as wiiit- 
 
 ing for the kingdom. 
 
 The Wise and the Winners of 
 Souls, and their glorious reward 2S3 
 I. The Chauactek. 
 
 1. The wise. 
 
 2. The winners of souls. 
 
 II. The Reward : implying — 
 
 1. An external visible glory. 
 
 2. Purity and moral excellence. 
 
 3. Dignity and honour. 
 
 4. Joy an<l felicity. 
 .""). Pernuinence. 
 
 324 
 
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 GAYLORD 
 
 
 
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