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النشر الإلكتروني

of their heads being singed, or the least smell of the fire

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The haughty king was now convinced, that there was a more powerful being than himself, who could protect his servants from the rage of the most insolent and arbitrary tyrant; and therefore, in a sudden transport of devotion, he cried out, " Blessed be the Lord God of "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him. "Therefore I decree, that those who shall dare to blaspheme the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, "shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other god that can de"liver after this manner." Upon this, Daniel's three friends were again preferred, to the great mortification of those who envied their former promotion.

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And now, king Nebuchadnezzar being freed from all the toils of war at home and abroad, indulged himself in the pleasures of his court, and quietly, for a time, enjoyed the fruits of his conquests; till, at length, another dream occasioned fresh disquiet; which dream being perfectly remembered, and concluding that his own people might be able to interpret it, he sent not for Daniel, but for the Chaldeans; to whom he related his dream, but they were as much at a loss, as when the king demanded of them the discovery of his former dream, which he had forgotten. But the revealing of these divine secrets was reserved for the servants of God; and the king meeting with no satisfaction from his own subjects, sent for Daniel, to whom he recounted his dream, which was thus: "I saw a tree of a prodigious magnitude, which seemed "to reach from earth to heaven. It was fair and full of "fruit, yielded shelter to the beasts and fowls, and sus"tenance to all flesh. I saw also an angel come down "from heaven, who said aloud, Hew down the tree, cut "off the branches, shake off the leaves, and scatter the "fruit, and let all creatures depart from it: yet let the stump remain in the earth, with a band of iron and "brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be "wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be

"with the beasts in the grass of the earth. Let his heart "be changed from that of a man, and a beast's heart be

given him, and let seven times pass over him. This "is the decree of the Holy One, that the living may "know, that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whom he pleases, and setteth over "it the basest of men."

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Daniel, having heard the dream, was so affected with the dreadful judgments that it portended to the king, that he stood silent for the space of an hour; which the king observing, and guessing the true cause of his perturbation, commanded him freely to disclose the interpretation whatever it might portend. Then Danief, addressing himself with much tenderness and concern to the king, wished that this inauspicious dream, and the interpretation might affect the king's enemies, and thus interpreted it to him.

"The tree, O king, which thou didst see in thy dream, "is thyself; for thy greatness reaches to heaven, and thy "dominion to the end of the earth. And as to what the

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angel said of hewing down the tree, this is the meaning "of it: It is a decree of the Most High which is deter"mined against the king; For thou shalt be driven from "men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the "field; thou shalt eat grass with the oxen, and shalt be wet "with the dew of heaven; and seven times shall pass over "thee, till thou knowest that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

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• Seven. By seven times, some think are meant a long time, which in Holy Scripture is signified by the number seven, because it denotes perfection; as if it had been said, until a perfect or full time, that the king thus brutified should repent. The number seven is sometimes applied to weeks; but oftener to years, especially in the prophecy of Daniel. It was the way of speaking among the Chaldeans, and a year was the most common measure of time, especially in the Chronicles of the Kings. See Dan. vii. 25, and xi. 13, but some are of opinion, that these seven years, at the prayer of Daniel, were changed into seven months.

"And whereas it was ordered that the stump of the "tree should be left, it shews that the kingdom shall "be sure to thee, after thou shalt have known that the "Lord of heaven doth rule. And now thou hast "heard the interpretation of thy dream, permit me "humbly to offer my advice; and may my counsel "be acceptable unto thee. Break off thy sins by "righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy "to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tran"quillity."

Nebuchadnezzar, who had witnessed the fulfilment of Daniel's prophecies, and been an eye witness of God's wonderful power and providence, might have been somewhat depressed in mind at the report of such a judgment pronounced personally against himself: but instead of humbling himself, and deprecating the divine sentence by repentance, as Daniel advised him, "his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in "pride." About a year expired from the time of his remarkable dream, and Daniel's faithful admonition, when he gave full proof of his impenitence; for, surveying the strength and opulence of his capital, and the vast extent of his dominions, he uttered that arrogant, atheistical speech-" Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the metropolis of my king

Built. Nimrod is said, Gen. x. 10, to be the first founder of Babylon, and undoubtedly he was so. But Nebuchadnezzar here calls himself the builder of this city, as those who alter or add to any great structures, would seem to be reputed the first founders, and, by assuming to themselves the praise due to others, extinguish the memory of their predecessors. At first, indeed, Babylon was but a little city, and that often laid waste by the inundations of the river Euphrates, and because Semiramis afterwards very much enlarged and fortified it, and beautified it with many ornaments and fine buildings, she is likewise said to have built it, and celebrated as the foundress of it. But after Semiramis's time, the Assyrian kings, neglecting Babylon, built Nineveh, making it the royal residence, and metropolis of the Assyrian monarchy; and Babylon thus deserted, partly by the inundations of Euphrates, and partly by the incursions of enemies, became ignoble and obscure. At last, Nebuchadnezzar having destroyed Nineveh, made VOL. II.

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"dom?" The words had scarcely passed his lips, when a voice from heaven was heard to say, "Unto thee, O king Nebuchadnezzar, it is declared; thy kingdom is દર્દ departed from thee, and they shall drive thee from the "conversation of men, and thy dwelling shall be among "the beasts of the field." And immediately he was driven* from the company of men, and he did eat grass as the oxen, and lived like a brute.

By this terrible example God made it appear, how severely he can punish the pride and elevation of men's hearts, by debasing those persons into the condition of beasts, who by their arrogance exalt themselves above the state of men.

Babylon the seat of the empire, and very much enlarged and beautified it; for he added several walls to it, with magnificent gates. In that part where the royal palace stood, he built another city, which he inclosed with a wall of vast readth and height, where he had those famous pensile gardens, so celebrated of old. Though authors differ very much, as to the height and thickness of the walls of this city, yet it is certain they were prodigious in both, Orosius, and all, owning them to be fifty cubits, which, at the common estimation, is seventy-five feet; so that what Strabo and Curtius relate, viz. that chariots could pass by one another on the top of the walls, may reasonably be credited. As to the punishment which immediately befel Nebuchadnezzar upon this vain self-exaltation, he may by this act be said to have hastened it upon himself, though it was a year before foretold by Daniel; for by emphatically calling himself the author of these mighty things, he defrauded God of the honour, by whose permission he became so mighty, and capable of performing them.

Driven. Some think, that this being driven away, was his own shunning human conversation during the disturbance of his mind, which made him betake himself to the fields and woods: others, that the people grown weary of his tyranny, conspired against him, and forced him to fly; which last seems to derive from a tradition of the Hebrews, who say, that his son, Evil-merodach, affecting the throne in his father's life-time, helped to depose him; which is not propable, because after Nebuchadnezzar's state of brutality expired, and he came to himself, his subjects desired his return; but it may be supposed, that in his absence his son might act as regent. The reason of the variety of conjectures in this point proceeds from the distracted history of the Chaldeans, who in general speak of the reigns of their kings, but seldom mention minute circumstan ces; for no profane writers take notice of this part of Nebuchadnezzar's life.

What an affecting lesson to the world, and especially to the great, did this degradation of the mighty monarch afford! It was, probably, a sudden attack of insanity, by which he was thus depressed-an affliction, of all others to which humanity is liable, the most distressing. And who is so wise, or so great, as to be secure from this dreadful malady? How little, in this case, does proud man, with all his boasted talents, appear! In a single moment, his stores of learning, however ample, are all destroyed; his ideas, however just and accurate, are erased, like writing on the sandy shore; his possessions, however vast and extensive, rendered totally useless; and, he, who affected to rule, as the lord of the creation, is lowered, in the scale of being, to a level with the grazing brute. O that men were wise, and considered their dependence on Him, "in whose hand is our breath, "and all our ways!"

After Nebuchadnezzar had continued his appointed time in this sad and forlorn condition, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and God was pleased not only to restore him to his understanding and form, but to his former state and dignity; for which he made this thankful acknowledgment: "I Nebuchadnezzar do praise, "extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works "are truth, and his ways judgment; and those that walk "in pride he is able to subdue."

The sacred historian has not informed us concerning the character and conduct of this monarch at the close of life. We presume not to determine whether the influence produced on his mind was permanent or not. He had before professed his conviction, that the God of Daniel was the only true God, and yet afterwards relapsed into pride and idolatry, by which, no doubt,

I, &c. See Dan. iv. 34. Of the time and manner of this king's death we have no account in the Scriptures. He is supposed not to have lived long after his restoration, but to have left his kingdom to his son Evil-merodach, who is thought to have supplied his place in the government during his father's state of insanity.

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