Notes on the Old and New Testaments

^And another third kingdom of brass. See Notes on ver. 32. The parts of the image which were of brass were the belly and thighs, denoting inferiority not only to the head, but to the part which im mediately preceded it — the breast and the arms of silver. It is not indeed speci fied, as in the former case, that this king dom would be inferior to the former, and it is only from the position assigned to it in the image, and the inferior quality of the metal by which it is represented, that it is implied that there would be any inferiority. There can be no reasonable doubt that by this third kingdom is de noted the empire founded by Alexander the Great — the Macedonian empire. It is known to all that he overthrew the Persian empire, and established a king dom in the East embracing substantially the same territory which had been occu pied by the Medo-Persian and the Baby lonian empire. While there can be no doubt that that kingdom is referred to, there can be as little that the reference is not merely to the empire during the reign i of Alexander himself, but that it em- | braced the whole empire as founded and arranged by him, until it was succeeded by another universal empire — here de nominated the fourth kingdom. The rea sons for supposing that the Macedonian empire is referred to here are almost too obvious to require that they should be specified. They are such as these: (1.) This kingdom actually succeeded that of Medo-Persia, covering the same territory, and, like that, was then un derstood to be a universal monarchy. (2) The empire of Alexander is elsewhere | more than once referred to by Daniel in the same order, and in such a manner that the sense cannot be mistaken. Thus in ch. viii. 21: " And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, wheraas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of his nation, but not in his power." Ch. x. 20: "And now," said the man that appeared in vision to Daniel (ver. 5,) "will I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come." Cb. xi. 2 — 4: " And now will I show thoe the truth. Behold there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. And a mighty king shall stand up, that fihall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, and not to his posterity, nor according to the kingdom that he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides those." Since this kingdom is thus referred to elsewhere by Daniel in the same order, and as destined to act an important part in the affairs of the world, it is reasonable to suppose that there is a reference to it here. (3.) It is a circumstance of some importance that the emblem here by which this kingdom is represented, brass, is one that is pecu liarly appropriate to the Greeks, and one that could not be applied to any other nation with equal propriety. The Greeks were distinguished for their brazen ar mor, and the appellation the brazen coated Greeks — xaX«roxirw»'Cff 'A^aiot — is that by which they were designated most com monly by the Ancients. II. i. 371, ii. 47; Od. i. 286. In accordance with this, Josephus says, (Ant. B. x. c. 10, $4) Tr)i> <$£ ixtivaiv Ertpojnf and (5iio-£a>{ Ka^aipfiaei \'aX(coV rifjupieanevos — ' their empire another shall come from the West, CLOTHED WITH BRASS, shall destroy.' These considera tions leave no doubt that the kingdom here referred to was that Grecian or Macedonian, which, under Alexander, obtained dominion over all the East. ^f Which shall bear rule over all the earth. In a sense similar to that of the Assyrian, the Babylonian, and the Medo-Persian empire. This is the common description of the empire of Alexander, He, him self, commanded that he should be called the kiny of all the icorld: — Accepto deinde imperio, regem se terrarum omnium ac mundi appellari jussit (Justin. L. 12, c. 16 $9) — 'Having received the empire, he ordered himself to be called the king of all lands, and of the world.' "Diodorus Siculus says that he received ambassadors from all countries. Kcna <5e" TOVTOV rdv Xpovov, i£ dndaqf oXt&dv r>/f oimvplviif IJKOV irpiatfeis, K. r. X. 'At which time, legates came tc him from almost the whole habit able world.' L. 17, c. 113. So Arrian (Bxpedi. Alex. L. 7, c. 15,) remarks that ' Alexander then appeared to himself and to those around him, to be lord of all the earth and of the sea — y/5j re iaramtt xal SaXawrK Kvpiov. The author of the Book of Maccabees gives a similar account of the extent of this kingdom: — " And it

came to pass, after that Alexander, the son of Philip, the Macedonian, who first reigned in Greece, had overthrown Darius, the king of the Persian and Medes, he fought many battles, and took the strong holds of all, and slew the kings of the earth; and he went through even to the ends of the earth; and took the spoil of many nations; and the earth was quiet before him." 1 Mac. i. 1 — 3. The pro

priety of saying that this "kingdom bore rule over all the earth," is, therefore, ap parent. It embraced, of course, all that was anciently included in the Assyrian and Babylonian empires; all that had been added to that empire by the con quests of Cyrus, and also all that Alex ander had added to it by his hereditary dominions, and by his conquests in other places. Nearly or quite all the known world, except that which was then sub ject to the Romans, then just a rising power, was under the sway of Alexander. A question has been started whether this refers merely to the kingdom of Alex ander, during his own life, or whether it embraced also the succession of dynasties until the conquests of the Romans. That the latter is the correct opinion seems clear from the following considerations: (1.) It was true, as we have seen, of the two previous kingdoms specified — the Babylonian, and the Medo-Persian — that they embraced not merely the king dom under any one reigning monarch, but during its entire continuance until it was overthrown by one that had also pretensions to a universal empire — the former by the Medo-Persian, and the lat ter by the Macedonian. It is to be pr£- sumed that the same principles of inter pretation are to be applied also to the Macedonian kingdom itself — especially as that was also actually succeeded by one that in a still higher sense laid claim to universal empire. (2.) This was in fact one kingdom. It is true that on the death of Alexander, the empire which he founded was divided among four of his generals, and also that from that sprung the two reigns the Seleucidae in Syria, and of the Lagidae who reigned in Egypt, but, as Newton has remarked, "their

kingdom was no more a different kingdom from that of Alexander, than the parts differ from the whole. It was the same government still continued. Those who

governed were still Macedonians. All ancients authors spoke of the kingdom of Alexander and of his successors as one and the same kingdom. The thing is implied in the very name by which they are usually called, the successors of Alex ander. 'Alexander being dead/ says Josephus, (Ant, B. xi. ch. 8, § 7,) 'the empire was divided among his successors.' After the death of Alexander/ says Jus tin, (Lib. xli. c. 4, gl,) 'the kingdoms of the East were divided among his suc cessors/ and he still denominates them Macedonians, and their empire the Mace donian." Newton on the Prophecies,

pp. 189, 190. In regard to the point before adverted to in reference to the kingdoms of Babylon and of Medo-Persia — Hie relation which they sustained to religion, or the methods in which they were made to contribute to its progress in the world, making it proper that they should be noticed in the volume of in spiration, it may be remarked that the Macedonian kingdom was also designed, undoubtedly, under an overruling Provi dence, to contribute to the progress of the great work of human redemption, and to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. A full statement of what was done under this reign in reepect to religion — the most interesting aspect of history — may be seen in Ed ward's History of Redemption, pp. 271 — 275, and in Prideaux's Connexion, vol. 2, page 279, seq. The kingdom here re ferred to — the Macedonian, represented here by the portion of the imago that was of brass, and in the vision of the four beasts (ch. vii.) by a leopard that had on its back the wings of a fowl, and in ch. viii. 21, by the rough goat, continued from the overthrow of Darius Codomanus by Alexander, (B. C. 333,) to the conquest of Syria, and the East by the Romans under Pompey, about sixty-six years be fore the birth of the Saviour. The prin cipal events during this period affecting the interests of religion, and preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah, were the following: — I. The extensive diffusion of the knowledge of the Greek language. The army of Alexander was mainly composed of Greeks. The Greek language was, of course, that which was spoken by the court, and in the cities which he founded; the despatches were in Greek; that language would be exten sively cultivated to gratify those in power; and the successors of Alexander were those who used the Greek tongue. The consequence was, that the Greek language was extensively spread over the coun tries which were subdued by Alexander, and which were governed by his succes sors. That language became the popular tongue; a sort of universal language understood by the great mass of the peo ple, in a manner not unlike the French in Europe at the present day. The effect of this, in preparing for the introduction of the gospel, was seen in two respects: (a) in facilitating the preaching of the gospel. It is true that the apostles had the gift of tongues, and that there was, notwithstanding the prevalence of tho Greek language, occasion for this. But there is no evidence that this was con ferred on all the early preachers o? th-e gospel, nor is it certain that those on whom it was conferred were able to mako use of it on all occasions. It is not im probable that in their ordinary labors the apostles and others were left to rely on their natural endowments, and to use the language to which they had been most accustomed. As there was, therefore, a common language in most of the countries in which the gospel would be proclaimed, it is evident that the propagation of reli gion would be greatly facilitated by this, and there can be no doubt that it was one of the designs of Providence in permitting the Macedonian conquest thus to prepare the way for the more easy and rapid dif fusion of the new religion. (6) In like manner, this conquest prepared the way for the permanent record of the history of the Saviour's life, and the doctrines of religion in the writings of the New Tes tament. It was evidently desirable, on many accounts, that the records should be made in one language rather than in many, and of all the languages then spoken on the earth, the Greek was the best adapted to such a purpose. It was not only the most polished and culti vated, but it was the most copious; and it was the best fitted to express abstract ideas, and accurate distinctions. Pro bably with all the improvements since made in the copious Arabic language, and in the languages of modern times, there never has been one that was so well fitted for the purposes of a divine revela tion as the Greek. It may have been one design of Providence in the extensive and accurate cultivation of that language)

tn Greece itself, as well as in its diffusion over the world, that there should be at the time of the introduction of the Chris tian revelation a medium of permanent record, that should be as free from imper fection as language could be; a medium also in which there should be so much permanent and valuable literature that even after It should cease to be a spoken language, would be cultivated by the whole literary world, thus furnishing the means of an accurate knowledge of the meaning of the sacred writings. II. The translation of the Old Testament into the same language, was another impor tant event which took place during the continuance of this kingdom which greatly facilitated the introduction and spread of Christianity. The Hebrew language was understood by comparatively few. It ceased to be spoken in its purity after the time of the captivity. In that lan guage the Scriptures of the Old Testa ment would have been but little diffused in the world. By their being translated, however, into Greek, they became exten sively known, and furnished a ready and an intelligible ground of appeal to the preachers of the new religion when they referred to the prophecies of the Old Tes tament, and the recorded predictions of the Messiah. For a full account of the history of this version, the reader may consult Prideaux's Connexion, vol. iii. p. 53, seq. It was made, according to Archbishop Usher, about 277 B. C. The probability is, that it was made at dif ferent periods, and by different hands, as it is executed with very various degrees of ability. See Intro, to Isaiah, $ viii. I. (1), for a more extended account of this version and its value. There can be no doubt that it contributed much to the dif fusion of the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and was an important instru ment in preparing the world for the recep tion of the revelation that should be made by the Messiah. III. Events of great importance occurred during the continu ance of this kingdom in preserving the Jewish people in times of persecution, and saving their city and temple from ruin, and their nation from extinction. («) The destruction of Jerusalem and the tem ple was threatened by Alexander himself. After the siege and capture of Tyre, he became enraged at the Jews for refusing to furnish supplies for his army during the eiege, under the plea that they were bound to show allegiance to Darius, and he marched to Jerusalem with an inten tion to take and destroy it. In order to appease him, it is said that Jaddua, the high priest, went out to meet him in his pontifical robes, at the head of a procession of priests, and accompanied with the people in white garments. Alexander was so impressed with the scene, that, to the surprise of all, he spared the city and temple, and on being asked by Parmenio the reason of this clemency, said that he had seen this person in vision, who had directed him to lay aside all anxiety about his contemplated expedition to Asia, and that he had promised that God would give him the empire of the Persians. According to the story, Jaddua showed him the prophecies of Daniel, and confirmed him by those prophecies in the confident expectation of conquering the East, and in view of this Alexander offered sacrifices in the temple, and granted to the Hebrews the freedom of their country, and the exercise of their laws and religion. See Prideaux, vol. ii. p. 302, seq.; Josephus, Ant. B. ii. ch. 8. Whatever of fable there may be in this account, it is certain that the city and temple were not destroyed by Alexander, but that in his ravages in the East he was led, by some cause, to deal with the capital of the Hebrew nation in a manner different from what he did with others. (b) A remarkable preservation of the Jew ish people, of a somewhat similar cha racter, and evincing the protection of God, occurred during the great persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes, one of the successors of Alexander, in the time of the Maccabees. See Prideaux, vol. iii. p. 230, and 2 Maccabees, v. 11-27. In the times of that celebrated persecution, mul titudes of the Jews were slain by Antio chus himself, the city was taken, and the temple defiled. Three years after it was taken by Antiochus (B.C. 168), Apollonius was directed by him to march against the city to vent his wrath on the Jews, and when the people were assem bled in their synagogues for worship, he let loose his forces on them, with a com mand to slay all the men, and to take all the women and children captives to be sold as slaves. After this, he plundered the city, demolished the houses, and pulled down the walls, and then with the ruina of the demolished city built a strong for tress on the top p.f an eminence in the

40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as

city of David, in a place which over looked the temple, and placed a strong garrison within. From this place, attacks were made on all who went up to the tem ple to worship, and the temple was defiled with all manner of pollutions, until it was deserted, and the daily sacrifices ceased. From these calamities and persecutions, the city and the Jewish nation were delivered by the valour of Judas Macca beus, in the manner detailed in the First Book of Maccabees.

40. And the fourth kingdom. Repre sented in the image by the legs of iron, and the feet " part of iron, and part of clay." ver. 33. The first question which arises here is, what kingdom is referred to by this? In regard to this, there have been two leading opinions; one, that it refers to the Roman empire; the other, that it refers to the kingdoms or dynasties that immediately succeeded the reign of Alexander the Great; embracing the king doms of the Seleucidae and Lagidae, Syria and Egypt — in the language of Prof. Stuart, who adopts this opinion, " that the legs and feet were symbols of that intermingled and confused empire, which sprung up under the Grecian chiefs who finally succeeded him," [Alexander the Great]. Com. on Daniel, p. 173. For the reasoning by which this opinion is supported, see Prof. Stuart, pp. 173-193. The common opinion has been, that the reference is to the Roman empire, and in support of this opinion the following con ditions may be suggested: (1.) The obvious design of the image was to symbolize the succession of great monarchies, which would precede the setting up of the kingdom of the Redeemer, and which would have an important agency in pre paring the world for that. The Roman empire was in itself too important, and performed too important an agency in preparing the world for that, to be omitted in such an enumeration. (2.) The king dom here referred to was to be in existonce at the time symbolized by the cut ting of the stone out of the mountain; for during the continuance of that king dom, or under it, " the God of heaven was to set up a kingdom which should never be destroyed." ver. 44. But the king doms of the Seleucidee and the Lagidse — the 'intermingled and confused empires that sprang up' after Alexander the Great

— had ceased before that time, being su perseded by the Roman. (3.) Unless the Roman power be represented, the sym metry of the image is destroyed; for it would make what was in fact one king dom, represented by two different metals — brass and iron. We have seen above that the Babylonian empire was repre sented appropriately by gold; the Medo- Persian by silver; and the Macedonian by brass. We have seen also, that in fact the empire founded by Alexander, and continued through his successors in Syri.ii and Egypt, was in fact one kingdom, so spoken of by the ancients, and being in fact a Greek dynasty. If the appellation of brass belonged to that kingdom as a Greek kingdom, there is an obvious in congruity, and a departure from the method of interpreting the other portions of the image, in applying the term iron to any portion of that kingdom. (4.) By the application of the term iron, it is evi dently implied that the kingdom thus referred to would be distinguished for strength — strength greater than its pre decessors — as iron surpasses brass, and silver, and gold, in that quality. But this was not true of the confused reigns that immediately followed Alexander. They were unitedly weaker than the Babylonian and the Medo-Persian, and weaker than the empire of Alexander, out of which they arose. Comp. ch. viii. 21, 22. It was true, however, of the Roman power, that it was so much superior to all its predecessors in power, that it might well be represented by iron in comparison with brass, silver, and gold. (5.) The fourth monarchy represented in Nebu chadnezzar's dream is evidently the same which is represented by the fourth beast in Dan. vii. 7, 8, 23, 25. But it will appear, from the exposition of that chap ter, that the reference there is to the Roman empire. See Notes on these pas sages. There can be no well-founded objection It this view on the ground that this kingdom was not properly a ttucces- *ion of the kingdom of Alexander, and did not occupy precisely the same terri tory. The same was true of each of the other kingdoms — the Medo-Persian, and Macedonian. Yet while they were not, in the usual sense of the term, in the suc cession, they did in fact follow one after the other, and with such accessions as iron breaketh in pieces and sub- f 41 And whereas them sawest tho dueth all things: and as iron that j feet and toes, part of potter's clay, breaketh all these, shall it break in and part of iron, the kingdom pieces and bruise. shall be divided; but there shall were derived from conquest, and from the hereditary dominions of the conquerors, they did occupy the same territory. The design seems to have been to give a re presentation of a series of great mo narchies, which would be, in an important sense, universal monarchies, and which should follow each other before the advent of the Saviour. The Roman, in addition to what it possessed in the West, actually occupied in the East, substantially the same territory as the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, and the Macedonian, and like them it had all the claims which any ancient sovereignty had to the title of an universal monarchy. Indeed no kingdom has ever existed to which this title could with more justice be applied. ^[ Shall be strong as iron. It is scarcely necessary to observe that this description is ap plicable to the Roman power. In nothing was it more remarkable than its strength; for that irresistible power before which all other nations were perfectly weak. This characteristic of the Roman power is thus noticed by Mr. Gibbon: — " The arms of the Republic, sometimes vanquished in battle, always victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps to the Euphrates, 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, Avere successively broken by the iron monarchy of Rome." Dec. and Fall, p. 642, Lond. ed. 1830, as quoted by Prof. E'^sh. ^f forasmuch oa iron breaketh in pieces and subducth all things. Iron is the metal which is used, and always has been used, for the purpose here suggested. In the form of hammers, sledges, and cannon-balls, and in general in reference'to the accomplishment of any purpose, by beating or battering, this has been found to be the most valuable of the metals. It is heavy; is capable of being easily wrought into desired shapes; is abundant; is susceptible of being made hard so as not to be itself bruised, and has, therefore, all the properties which could be desired for purposes like this. ^ And as iron that breaketh all these. That is, all these things; to wit, every thing. Nothing is able to stand before it; \hciv is nothing which it cannot reduce to powder. There is some repetition here, I but it is for the sake of emphasis, ^ Shall j it break in pieces and bruise. Nothing! could better characterise the Roman power i than this. Everything was crushed be- | fore it. The nations which they con quered ceased to be kingdoms, and were reduced to provinces, and as kingdoms j they were blotted out from the list of nations. This has been well described by Mr. Irving: "Tho Roman empire did beat down the constitution and establish ment of all other kingdoms; abolishing their independence, and bringing them into the most entire subjection; humbling the pride, subjecting the will, using the property, and trampling upon the power and dignity of all other states. For by this was the Roman dominion distin guished from all the rest, that it was the work of almost as many centuries as those were of years; the fruit of a thousand battles, in which millions of men were slain. It made room for itself as doth a battering-ram, by continual successive blows; and it ceased not to beat and bruise all nations, so long as they con tinued to offer any resistance. Disc, on Dan. Visions, p. 180.

41. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes part of potter's clay, and part of iron. Ver. 33. The Chaldee is, ' of them clay of the potter, and of them iron;' that is, part was composed of one material, and part of the other. The sense is not that the feet were composed entirely of one, and the toes of the other, but that they were intermingled. There was no homogeneousness of material; nothing in one that would coalesce with the other, or that could be permanently united to it, as two metals might be fused or welded together, and form one solid compound. Iron and clay cannot be welded; and the idea hero I clearly is, that in the empire here referred! to there would be two main elements which could never be made to blend. ^ The kingdom shall be divided. That is, divided as the iron and clay were in the image. It does not necessarily mean that there would be an open rupture; an actual separation into two parts, but that there would be such a diversity in the internal constitution that, while there wculd be the be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet

were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly a broken.

element of great power, there would be also an element of weakness: there would be something which could never be blended with the element of strength, so as to produce one harmonious and homo geneous whole. ^[ But there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. The principal idea in this part of the description, is, that there would be great power; that whatever elements of weak ness there might be, yet the power of the empire would be apparent. No one can fail to perceive how this applies to the Roman empire; a mighty power which, through all its long history, was dis tinguished for the vigour with which it carried forward its plans, and pressed on to universal dominion. As to the ele ment of weakness symbolized too by the clay, it may not be possible to determine, with absolute certainty, what is referred to. Any internal source of weakness; anything in the constitution of the state, whether originally existing and consti tuting heterogeneous material; or whether springing up in the empire itself, or whether arising from the intermingling of foreign elements that never amalga mated themselves with the state, any one of these suppositions would meet all that is fairly implied in this language. From ver. 43, " they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men/' it would seem, however, that the reference is to some foreign admixture — like the interming ling of nations of other languages, laws and customs which were never truly amalgamated with the original materials, and Avhich constantly tended to weaken and divide the kingdom. It is to be re marked, in the exposition of the passage, that in the previous three kingdoms there was comparative homogeneousness. In the fourth kingdom, there was to be something of a peculiar character in this respect by which it should be distinguish ed from the others. As a matter of fact, the other three kingdoms were com paratively homogeneous in their cha racter. The predominant feature was Oriental; and though there were dif ferent nations and people intermingled in the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, and the Macedonian kingdoms, yet there was the same general prevailing character in each; there was not such an intermin gling of foreign nations as to produce disturbing elements, or to mar the sym metry and strength of the whole. It was not thus with Rome. In that empire there was the intermingling of all nations and tongues, and though the essential element of the empire remained always — the Roman, — yet there was an intermin gling of other influences under the same general government, which could be.ap propriately compared with clay united with iron, and which ultimately con tributed to its fall. See Notes on ver. 43. 42. And as the toes of the feet, were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall le partly strong and partly broken. Marg. brittle. The margin is the more correct rendering of the Chaldee word — n^3?. It meams frail, fragile, — easily broken, but not necessarily that it was actually broken. That did not occur until the stone cut out of the mountain impinged on it. It has been commonly supposed (comp. Newton on the Prophe cies), that the ten toes on the feet refer to the ten kingdoms into which the Roman empire was ultimately broken up, cor responding with the ten horns seen in the vision of Daniel, in ch. vii. 10. In regard to the fact that the Roman empire was ultimately broken up into ten such king doms, see the extended Notes on ch. vii. 24. The thing which struck the monarch in the vision, and Daniel in interpreta tion, as remarkable, was that the feet and toes were composed partly of iron and partly of clay. In the upper portion of the image there had been uniformity in the different parts, and had been no inter mingling of metals. Here a new feature was seen — not only that a new metal was employed, but that there was inter mingled with that, in the same portion of the image, a different substance, and on* that had no affinity with the iron, and1 that could never be made to blend with it. In the latter part of this verse, tho original word for 'partly' is not the same in each clause. In the former it is ^P*~?P — properly from the end, sc. of

43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of

the kingdom. Comp. Dan. iv. 31, " At the end of the days;" i. 15, "At the end of ten days;" and vs. 5, 18. The word might be employed to denote the end or extremity of anything, e. g. in respect to time, and some have supposed that there is a reference here to the later periods of the Roman empire. See Pool's Synopsis. But the word is also used to denote the eum, or the whole number, and then the phrase is equivalent to a part — as e. g. in the phrase B^^vJ '"^3 ^? PXpp, from the sum of the vessels of the house of God (Dan. i. 2); that is, a portion of the whole number, or a part. Comp. Neh. vii. 70, * from the sum of the heads of the fathers;' that is, a part of them. In the latter part of the clause it is, Hip— -from it; that is, a part of it; partly. The entire phrase means that one part of the whole would be strong; and one part would be fragile. The reference is not to the ft'mewhen this would occur, but to the fact that it would be so. The idea in this verse does not vary materially from that in the former, except that in that, the prominent thought is, that there would be strength in the kingdom; in this, the idea is, that while there would be strength in the kingdom, there would be also the elements of weak ness.

43. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men. Various explanations have been given of this verse, and it certainly is not of easy interpretation The phrase 'seed of men' would properly denote something different from the ori ginal stock that was represented by iron; some foreign admixture that would be so unlike that, and that would so little amal gamate with it, as to be properly repre sented by clay as compared with iron. Prof. Stuart interprets this of matrimo nial alliances, and supposes that the idea expressed is, that, "while the object of such alliances was union, or at least a design to bring about a peaceable state of things, that object was, in a peculiar manner, defeated." The word rendered pjcn — N^'JN — is employed, in Hebrew and in Chaldee, to denote men of an inferior class — the lower orders, the common Uerd, — in contradistinction from the more men: but they shall not cleave a one to another, even as iron is not mixed

With clay. a This with this.

elevated and noble classes, represented by the word &*. See Isa. ii. 9, v. 15; Prov. viii. 4. The word here used, also (from ^19, to be sick, ill at ease, incurable), would properly denote feebleness, or infe riority, and would be aptly represented by clay as contrasted with iron. The ex pression ' seed of men' as here used, would therefore denote some interming ling of an inferior race with the original stock; some union, or alliance, under the one sovereignty, which would greatly weaken it as a whole, though the original strength still was great. The language would represent a race of mighty and powerful men, constituting the stamina — the bone and the sinew of the empire — mixed up with another race, or other races, with whom, though they were asso ciated in the government, they could never be blended; could never assimilate. This foreign admixture in the empire would be a constant source of weakness, and would constantly tend to division and faction, for such elements could never harmonize. It is further to be remarked that this would exist to a degree which would not be found in either of the three previous kingdoms. In fact, in these kingdoms there was no such inter mingling with foreign nations as to destroy the homogeneousness of the em pire. They were, in the main, Orientals j with the language, the manners, the customs, the habits of Orientals, and in respect to energy and power — the point here under consideration — there was no marked distinction between the subjected provinces and the original materials of the monarchy. By the act of subjection, they became substantially one people, and readily blended together. This remark will certainly apply to the two first of these monarchies — the Babylonian and the Medo-Persian; and though with less force to the Macedonian, yet it was not true of that that it became so intermingled with foreign people as to constitute hete rogeneous elements as it was of the Ro man: In that monarchy, the element of strengtJi was infused by Alexander and his Greeks; all the elements of weakness were in the original materials of the empire. In the Roman, the element of strength — the iron — was in the original material of the empire; the weak, the heterogeneous element — the clay — was that which was introduced from the foreign nation?. This consideration may perhaps do something to show that the opinion of Grotius, Prof. Stuart, and others, that this fourth monarchy was that which immediately succeeded Alexander, is not well founded. The only question then is, whether in the constitution of the Roman empire, at the time when it became the successor of the other three as a universal monarchy, there was such an intermingling of a foreign element, as to be properly represented by clay as con trasted with the original and stronger material, iron. I say, ' at the time when it became the successor of the other three as a universal monarchy/ because the only point of 'view in which Daniel con templated it was that. He looked at this, as he did at the others, as already such a universal dominion, and not at what it was before, or at the steps by which it rose to power. Now, on looking at the Roman empire at that period, and during the time when it occupied the position of the universal monarchy, and during which the ' stone cut out of the mountain' grew and filled the world, there is no difficulty in finding such an intermingling with other nations — ' the seed of men' — as to be properly described by 'iron and clay' in the same image that could never be blended. The allusion is, probably, to that intermingling with other nations which so remarkably characterised the Roman empire, and which arose partly from its conquests, and partly from the inroads of other people in the la,tter days of the empire, and in reference to both of which there was no proper amalgamation, leaving the original vigour of the empire substantially in its strength, but intro ducing other elements which never amal gamated with it, and which were like clay intermingled with iron. (1.) From their conquests. Tacitus says, " Dorninandi cupido cunctis affectibua flagrantior est" — the lust of ruling is more ardent than all other desires, — and this was eminently true of the Romans. They aspired at the dominion of the world; and, in their strides at universal conquest, they brought nations under their subjection, and admitted them to the rights of citizen ship, which had no affinity with the original material which composed the

Roman power, and which never really amalgamated with it, any more than clay does with iron. (2.) This was true, also, in respect to the hordes that poured into the empire from other countries, and par ticularly from the Scandinavian regions, in the latter periods of the empire, and with which the Romans were compelled to form alliances, while, at the same time, they could not amalgamate with them.

" In the reign of the Emperor Caracalla," says Mr. Gibbon, " an innumerable swarm of Suevi appeared on the banks of the Mein, and in the neighbourhood of the Roman provinces, in quest of food, or plunder, or glcry. The hasty army of volunteers gradually coalesced into a great and permanent nation, and, as it was composed of so many different tribes, assumed the name of Allemanni, or allmen, to denote their various lineage, and their common bravery." No reader of

the Roman history can be ignorant of the invasions of the Goths, the Huns, and the Vandals, or of the effects of these in vasions on the empire. No one can be ignorant of the manner in which they be came intermingled with the ancient Ro man people, or of the attempts to form alliances with them, by intermarriages and otherwise, which were always like attempts to unite iron and clay. " Placidia,

daughter of Theodosius the Great, was given in marriage to Adolphus, king of the Goths; the two daughters of Stilicho, the Vandal, were successively married to Honorius; and Genseric, another Vandal, gave Eudocia, a captive imperial prin cess, to his son to wife." The effects

of the intermingling of foreign people on the character and destiny of the em pire, cannot be stated perhaps in a more graphic manner than is done by Mr. Gibbon, in the summary review of the Roman History, with which he concludes his seventh chapter, and at the same time there could scarcely be a more clear or expressive commentary on this pro

phecy of Daniel. " During the four first ages," says he, " the Romans, in the labo rious school of poverty, had acquired the virtues of war and government: by the vigorous exertion of those virtues, and by the assistance of fortune, they had ob tained, in the course of the three succeed ing centuries, an absolute empire over many countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The last three hundred years had been consumed in apparent prosperity

und internal decline. The nation of sol diers, magistrates, and legislators, who composed the thirty-five tribes of the Roman people was dissolved into the com mon mass of mankind, and confounded with the millions of servile provincials, who had received the name, without adopting the spirit, of Romans. A mer cenary army, levied among the subjects and barbarians of the frontier, was the only order of men who preserved and abused their independence. By their tumultuary election, a Syrian, a Goth, or an Arab, was exalted to the throne of Rome, and invested with despotic power over the conquests and over the country of the Scipios. The limits of the Roman empire still extended from the Western Ocean to the Tigris, and from Mount Atlas to the Rhine and the Danube. To the undiscerning eye of the vulgar, Philip appreared a monarch no less powerful than Hadrian or Augustus had formerly been. The form was still the same, but the animating health and vigour were fled. The industry of the people was discou raged and exhausted by a long series of oppression. The discipline of the legions, which alone, after the extinction of every other virtue, had propped the greatness of the state, was corrupted by the am bition, or relaxed by the weakness of the emperors. The strength of the frontiers, which had always consisted in arms rather than in fortifications, was insen sibly undermined; and the fairest pro vinces were left exposed to the rapaciousness or ambition of the barbarians, who soon discovered the decline of the Roman empire." Vol. i. pp. 110, 111. Harper's

Edi. N. Y. 1829. Comp. Notes on Rev. vi. 1—8. The agency of the Roman empire was so important in preparing the world for the advent of the Son of God, and in reference to the establishment of his king dom, that there was an obvious propriety that it should be made a distinct subject of prophecy. We have seen that each of the other three kingdoms had an im portant influence in preparing the world for the introduction of Christianity, and was designed to accomplish an important part in the " History of Redemption." The agency of the Roman empire was more direct and important than any one or all rf these; for (a) that was the em pire which had the supremacy when the Son of God appeared; (6) that kingdom had performed a more direct and im portant work in preparing the world for his coming; (c) it was under authority derived from that sovereignty that the Son of God was put to death; and (d) it was by that that the ancient dispensation was brought to an end; and (c) it was under that that the new religion was spread through the world. It may be of use, therefore, in an exposition of this prophecy, to refer with some particularity to the things that were accomplished by this ' fourth kingdom' in furthering the work of redemption, or in introducing and establishing the kingdom that was to be ' set up, and which was never to be destroyed.' That agency related to the following points: (1.) The establishment of a universal dominion; the fact that the world was brought under one sceptre, greatly favoured the propagation of the Christian religion. We have seen, under the previous dynasties — the Babylonian, Persian, and Macedonian, — that such an universal empire was important in earlier ages to prepare the world for the advent of the Messiah. This was still more im portant when he was about actually to appear, and his religion was to be spread over the world. It greatly favoured the diffusion of the new system that there was one empire; that the means of commu nication from one part of the world to another had been so extended by the Romans; and that one who was entitled to the privileges of citizenship could claim protection in nearly every part of the world. (2.) The prevalence of unir versal peace. The world had become subject to the Roman power, and con quest was at an end. The world at last, after so long agitations and strifes, was at peace. The distant provinces quietly submitted to the Roman control; the civil dissensions which had reigned so long at the capital, were hushed; Augustus, hav ing triumphed over all his rivals quietly occupied the imperial throne, and, as a symbol of the universal peace, the temple of Janus was closed. Rarely in their his tory had that temple been closed before;•* and yet there was an obvious propriety

* This temple was built, or finished at least, by Numa. It was closed, first, in his reign; secondly, at the close of the first Punic war, B. C. 241; three times in the reign of Augustus, the last time near the epoch of the birth of the Saviour; and three times afterwards, once under Nero, once under Vespasian, and once under Constantius, A. D. 350. Eschenburg Glow. Lit. p. 18.

that when the ' Prince of Peace' should come, the world should be at rest, and that the clangor of arms should cease. It was a beautiful emblem of the nature of his reign. A world tha.t had been always in conflict before rested on its arms; the tumult of battle had died away; the ban ners of war were furled; the legions of Rome paused in their career of conquest, and the world tranquilly waited for the coming of the Son of God. (3.) The Ro man power accomplished an important agency in the great transaction which the Son of God came to perform in his making an atonement for the sins of the world. It was so arranged, in the divine counsels, that he should be put to death, not by the hands of his own kindred and countrymen, but by the hands of foreign ers, and under their authority. The ne cessity and the certainty of this was early predicted by the Saviour (Matt. xxix. 19; Mark x. 33; Luke xviii. 32), and it is clear that there were important reasons why it should be thus done, and doubtless one design of bringing Judea and the rest of the world under the Roman yoke was that it might be accomplished in this way. Among the reasons for this, may be sug gested such as the following: (a) The heathen world, as well as the Jewish community, thus had a part in the great transaction. He died for the whole world — Jews and Gentiles — and it was I important that that fact should be referred to in the manner of his death, and that the two great divisions of the human family should be united in the great transaction. It thus became not a Jewish affair only j not an event in which Judea alone was interested, but an affair of the world; a transaction in which the repre sentatives of the world took their part. (6) It was thus made a matter of pub licity. The account of the death of the Saviour would thus, of course, be trans mitted to the capital, and would de mand the attention of those who were in power. When the gospel was preached at Rome, it would be proper to allege that it was a thing in which Rome itself had had an important agency, the fact that under the Roman authority the Messiah had been put to death, (c) The agency of the Romans, therefore, established the certainty of the death of Jesus, and consequently the certainty of his having risen from the dead. In order to demon strate the latter, it was indispensable that the former should be made certain, and that all questions in regard to the reality of his death should be placed beyond a doubt. This was done by the agency of Pilate, a Roman governor. His death was certified to him, and he was satisfied of it. It became a matter of record; a, point about which there could be no dis pute. Accordingly, in all the questions that came up in reference to the religion of Christ, it was never made a matter of doubt that he had been really put to death under Pilate, the Roman governor, whatever question may have arisen about the fact of his resurrection, (d) Equally important was the agency of the Romans in establishing the innocence of the Sa viour. After patient and repeated trials before himself, Pilate was constrained to say that he was innocent of the charges alleged against him, and that no fault could be found in him. In proclaiming the gospel, it was of immense importance to be able to affirm this throughout the world. It could never be alleged against the gospel that its author ha-d violated the laws; that he deserved to be put to death as a malefactor, for the records of the Roman governor himself showed the contrary. The agency of the Romans, therefore, in the great work of the atone ment, though undesigned on their part, was of inestimable importance in the establishment of the Christian religion; and it may be presumed that it was for this, in part at least, that the world was placed under their control, and that it was so ordered that the Messiah suffered under authority derived from them. (4.) There was another important agency of the Romans in reference to the religion that was to fill the earth. It was in destroying the city of Jerusalem, and bringing to a final end the whole system of Hebrew rites and ceremonies. The ancient sacrifices lost their efficacy really when the atonement was made on the cross. Then there was no need of the temple and the altar, and the ancient priesthood. It Avas necessary that the ancient rites should cease, and, that having noAV lost their efficacy, there should be no possibility of perpetuating them. Accordingly, within the space of about thirty years after the death of the Saviour, when there had been time to perceive the bearing of the atonement made on their temple rites; when it was plain that they were no longer efficacious,

44 And in a the days of these kings shall the God b of heaven set

up a kingdom which shall never b« destroyed: and the c kingdom shall significant, or necessary, the Romans were suffered to destroy the city, the altar, and the temple, and to bring the whole system to a perpetual end. The place where the ancient worship had been celebrated was made a heap of ruins; the altar was overturned, never to be built again; and the pomp and splendor of the ancient ritual passed away for ever. It was the design of God that that system should come to a per petual end; and hence, by his provi dence, it was so arranged that ruin should spread over the city where the Lord was crucified, and that the Jewish people should never build an altar or a temple there again. To this day it has never been in their power to kindle the fire of sacrifice there, or to cause the smoke of incense to ascend in a temple consecrated to the worship of the God of their fathers. The agency of this fourth kingdom, therefore, was exceedingly important in the introduction and establishment of that kingdom which was to be perpetual, and which was to fill the earth, and hence the reference to it here, and the more ex tended reference in ch. vii.

44. And in the days of these kings. Marg. their. The reading in the text — ' these kings' — is the more correct. The Vulgate renders this, ' in the days of these kingdoms.' The natural and ob vious sense of the passage is, that during the continuance of the kingdoms above mentioned, or before they should finally pass away, that is, before the last one should become extinct, another kingdom would be established on the earth which which would be perpetual. Before the succession of universal monarchies should have passed away, the new kingdom would be set up that would never be destroyed. Such language is not uncom mon. " Thus, if we were to speak of any thing taking place in the days of British kings, we should not of course understand it as running through all their reigns, but merely as occurring in some one of them." Prof. Bush. So it is said in Ruth i. 1: " It came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land;" that is, the famine occurred sometime under that gen^rfil administra tion, or before it had pasted away, evi dently not meaning that there was a famine in the reign of each one. So it is said of Jephtha, that he was buried in the cities of Gilead; that is, some one of them. Josiah was buried in the sepulchres of his fathers; that is, in some one of them. \ Shall the God of heaven. The God who rules in heaven; the true God. This ia designed to show the divino origin of this kingdom, and to distinguish it from all others. Though the others here re ferred to were under the divine control, and were designed to act an important part in preparing the world for this, yet they arc not represented as deriving their origin directly from heaven. They were founded in the usual manner of earthly monarchies, but this was to have a hea venly origin. In accordance with this, the kingdom which the Messiah came to establish is often called in the New Testament, ' the kingdom of heaven,' ' the kingdom of God/ &c. Comp. Micah iv. 7; Luke i. 32, 33. f Set np a king dom. ' Shall cause to arise or stand up' — ^\>\. It shall not owe its origin to the usual causes by which empires are consti tuted on the earth — by conquests; by human policy; by powerful alliances; by transmitted hereditary possessions, but shall exist because God shall appoint and constitute it. There can be no reasonable doubt as to what kingdom is here in tended, and nearly all expositors have supposed that it refers to the kingdom of the Messiah. Grotius, indeed, who made the fourth kingdom refer to the Seleucidae and Lagidse, was constrained by consis tency to make this refer to the Roman power; but in this interpretation he stands almost, if not entirely alone. Yet even he supposes it to refer not to heathen Rome only, but to Rome as the perpetual seat of power — the permanent kingdom — the seat of the church: Imperium Romanum perpetub mansurum, quod sedes erit ccclesite. And although he maintains that it refers to Rome primarily, yet he is constrained to acknowledge that what is here said is true in a higher sense of the kingdom of Christ: Sensiu sublimin, Christum finem impositurum omnibus iuiperiis tenrertribu*. But there can be no real doubt as to what kingdom i? in.

not be left to other people, but it shall break a in pieces and consume

tended. Its distinctly declared divine origin j the declaration that it shall never be destroyed; the assurance that it would absorb all other kingdoms, and that it would stand fcr ever; and the entire ac cordance of these declarations with the account of the kingdom of the Messiah in the New Testament, show beyond a doubt that the kingdom of the Redeemer is intended. ^[ Which shall never be destroy ed. The others would pass away. The Babylonian would be succeeded by the Medo-Persian, that by the Macedonian, that by the lloman, and that in its turn by the one which the God of heaven would set up. This would be perpetual. Nothing would have power to overthrow it. It would live in the revolutions of all other kingdoms, and would survive them all. Comp. Notes on ch. vii. 14; and the summary of the doctrines taught here at the close of the Notes on ver 45. ^[ And the kingdom shall not be left to other people. Marg. their. Literally, 'Its kingdom shall not be left to other people;' that is, the ruling power appro priate to this kingdom or dominion shall never pass away from its rightful pos sessor, and be transferred to other hands. In respect to other kingdoms, it often happens that their sovereigns are deposed, and that their power passes into the hands of usurpers. But this can never occur in this kingdom. The government will never change hands. The adminis tration will be perpetual. No foreign power shall sway the sceptre of this king dom. There may be an allusion here to the fact that, in respect to each of the other kingdoms mentioned, the power over the same territory did pass into the hands of other people. Thus, on the same territory, the dominion passed from the hands of the Babylonian princes to the hands of Cyrus the Persian, and then to the hat-Is of Alexander the Macedonian, and then to the hands of the Romans. But this would never occur in regard to the kingdom which the God of heaven would set up. In the region of empire appropriate to it, it would never change hands; and this promise of perpetuity made this kingdom wholly unlike all its predecessors, ^f But it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms. Ag represented by the stone cut out of all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

the mountains without hands, impinging on the image. See Notes on vs. 34, 35.

Two inquiries at once meet us here, of Bomewhat difficult solution. The first is, how, if this is designed to apply to the kingdom of the Messiah, can the description be true? The language here would seem to imply some violent action; some positive crushing force; something like that which occurs in conquests when nations are subdued. Would it not ap pear from this that the kingdom here represented was to make its way by con quests in the same manner as the other kingdoms, rather than by a silent and peaceful influence? Is this language, in fact, applicable to the method in which the kingdom of Christ is to supplant all others? In reply to these questions, it may be remarked, (1.) That the leading idea, as apparent in the prophecy, is not so much that of violence as that the king doms referred to would be utterly brought to an end; that there would be, under this new kingdom, ultimately an entire cessa tion of the others; or that they would be removed or supplanted by this. This is represented (ver. 35) by the fact that the materials composing the other kingdoms are represented before this as becoming like " the chaff in the summer threshingfloors;" and as " being carried away, so that no place was found for them." The stone cut out of the mountain, small at first, was mysteriously en larged, so that it occupied the place which they did, and ultimately filled the earth. A process of gradual demolition, acting on them by constant attrition, removing portions of them, and occupying their place unHl they should disappear, and until there should be a complete substitu tion of the new kingdom in their place, would seem to correspond with all that is essential in the prophetic description. See Notes on ver. 34, on the expression, " which smote the image upon his feet" But (2.) this language is in accordance with that which is commonly used in the predictions respecting the kingdom of the Messiah — language which is descriptive of the existence of power in subduing the nations, and bringing the opposing kingdotns of the world to an end, Thus in Psalm ii. 9, " Thou shalt break them with a vod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." Isa. Ix. 12, " For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." So 1 Cor. xv. 24, 25, " When he shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet." These expres sions denote that there will be an entire subjection of other kingdoms to that of the Messiah, called in the New Testa ment, " the kingdom of God." They un doubtedly imply that there will be some kind of force employed — for this great •work cannot be accomplished without the existence of power; but it may be remarked (a) that it does not necessarily mean that there will be physical force, or power like that by which kingdoms have been usually overturned. The kingdom of the Redeemer is a kingdom of prin ciples, and those principles will subdue the nations, and bring them into subjec tion, (b) It does not necessarily mean that the effect here described will be ac complished at once. It may be by a gradual process, like a continual beating on the image, reducing it ultimately to powder.

The other question which arises here is, How can it be said that the new king dom which was to be set xip would "break in pieces and consume all these king doms?" How could the destruction of the image in the Roman period be in fac the destruction of the three previous king doms, represented by gold, and silver, and brass? Would they not in fact have passed away before the Roman power came into existence? And yet, is not the representation in ver. 35, that the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together and were all scattered like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor? Is it sup posed that these kingdoms would be al in existence at the same time, and tha the action of the symbolical ' stone' was to be alike on all of them? To these questions, we may answer, (1.) That the meaning is, undoubtedly, that three of these kingdoms would have passed away at the time of the action of the ' stone' referred to. They were to be a succession of kingdoms, occupying to a great extent, the same territory, and not contemporary monarchies occupying distinct territories. (2.) The action of the ' stone' was in faot, ID a most important sense, to be on them ill; that is, it was to be on what consti* ited these successive kingdoms of gold, silver, brass, and iron. Each was in its /urn a universal monarchy. The same.erritory was substantially occupied by;hem all. The Medo-Persian sceptre ex tended over the region under the Babyonian; the Macedonian over that; the Roman over that. These were indeed accessions in each successive monarchy, but still any thing which affected the Ro man empire affected what had in fact been the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, and the Macedonian. A demolition of the image in the time of the Roman em pire would be, therefore, in fact, a de molition of the whole. (3.) This inter pretation is necessary from the nature of the symbolical representation. The eye of the monarch in the dream was directed to the image as a splendid whole. It wa» necessary to the object in view that he should see it all at a time, that he might have a distinct conception of it. This purpose made it impossible to exhibit the kingdoms in succession, but they all stood up before him at once. No one can doubt that there miyht have been a different representation, and that the kingdoms might have been made to pass before him in their order, but the representation would have been less grand and impos ing. But this design made it necessary that the image should be kept entire be fore the mind until its demolition. It would have been unseemly to have re presented the head as removed, and then the shoulders and breast, and then the belly and thighs, until nothing remained but the feet and toes. It was necessary to keep up the representation of the image of colossal majesty and strenyth, until a new power should arise which would de molish it all. Nebuchadnezzar is not re presented as seeing the parts of the image successively appear or disappear. He does not at first see the golden head rising above the earth and then the other parts in succession; nor the golden head dis appearing, and then the other parts, until nothing was left but the feet and the toes. Such a representation would have de stroyed the decorum and beauty of the whole figure; and as it cannot be argued that because Nebuchadnezzar saw the whole image at the outset standing in its complete form that therefore all these kingdoms must have been simultaneously in existence, so it cannot be argued be-

45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the moun tain a without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold;

the great God hath made known ti the king what shall come to pass b hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

cause he saw the whole image standing when the stone smote upon it, that there fore all these kingdoms must have had an existence then. It may be added (4.) that the destruction of the last was in fact the destruction of all the three pre decessors. The whole power had become embodied in that, and the demolition affected the whole series.

45. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone, &c. On the meaning of the lan guage employed here, see Notes on vs. 34, 35. The word forasmuch may be taken either in connection with what pre cedes, or with what follows. In the former method, there should be a period at the word gold in this verse, and then the sense is, ' In those days shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, &c., foras much, or because thou sawest a stone,' &c., that is, that was a certain indication of it. According to the other method, the meaning is, ' Forasmuch as thou sawest the stone cut out and demolish the image, the great God has made known the cer tainty of it;' that is, that is a certain indication that it will be done. The Vul gate is, ' According to what thou sawest, that the stone was cut out without hands, and reduced the clay, <fcc., the great God has shown to the king what will be here after.' The difference in the interpreta tion is not very material, ^f Cut out of the mountain. This is not inserted in the statement in ver. 34. It seems, however, to be implied there, as there is mention of the stone as ' cut out.' The representa tion is evidently that of a stone disengaged from its native bed, the side of a moun tain, without any human agency, and then rolling down the side of it and im pinging on the image. ^[ The great God hath made known to the Icing what shall come to pass hereafter. Marg. the same as the Chaldee, after this. The meaning is simply, in time to come; in some fu ture period. Daniel claims none of the merit of this discovery to himself, but ascribes it all to God. f And the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof *nre. TJ;ai is, it is;ao vain and airy phantom: no mere working ">f the imagination. The dream was all that the monarch had supposed it to be — a repre sentation of corning events, and his soli citude in regard to it was well-founded. Daniel speaks with the utmost assurance also as to its fulfilment. He knew that he had been led to this interpretation by no skill of his own; and his representa tion of it was such as to satisfy the mon arch of its correctness. Two circum stances probably made it appear certain to the monarch, as we learn from the next verse it did: — one, that Daniel had re called the dream to his own recollection, showing that he was under a divine guid ance; and the other, the plausibility — the verisimilitude — the evident truthful ness of the representation. It was such a manifest explanation of the dream that Nebuchadnezzar, in the same manner as Pharaoh had done before him when his dreams were explained by Joseph, at once admitted the correctness of the represen tation.

Having now gone through with the exposition of this important passage re specting the stone cut from the mountain, it seems proper to make a few remarks in regard to the nature of the kingdom that would be set up, as represented by the stone which demolished the image, and which so marvellously increased as to fill the earth. That there is reference to the kingdom of the Messiah cannot be reasonably doubted. The points which are established in respect to that kingdom by the passage now under consideration, are the following:

I. Its superhuman origin. This is in dicated in the representation of the stone cut out of the mountain ' without hands;' that is, clearly not by human agency, or in the ordinary course of events. There was to be a superhuman power exerted in detaching it from the mountain, as well as in its future growth. What appeared so marvellous was, that it was cut from its original resting-place by some invisible power, and mcved forward to the con summation of its work without any hu man agency. That this was designed to be significant of something there can b« no reasonable doubt, for the result is made to turn on this. I do not see that any special significancy is to be attached to the idea of its being cut from ' a moun tain,' nor that it is required of us to attempt to refine on that expression, and to ascertain whether the mountain moans the Roman kingdom, out of which the gospel church was taken, as many suppose; or the Jewish nation, as Augus tine supposed; or that "the origin of Christ was sublime and superior to the whole world/' as Calvin supposes; or to the mountainous country of Judea in which the Messiah was born, as many others have maintained; or to the tomb of Joseph, as a rock from which the Mes siah sprang to life and victory, as others have imagined. All this belongs to a system of interpretation that is trifling in the extreme. The representation of the mountain here is merely for the sake of verisimilitude — like the circumstances in a parable. If a stone was 'cut out with out hands/ it would be natural to speak of it as cut from the mountain or parent rock to which it was attached. The eye is not here directed to the mountain as having any thing significant or marvel lous about it, but to the stone that so mys teriously left its bed, and rolled onward toward the image. The point of interest and of marvel, the mysterious thing that attracted the eye, was that there was no human agency employed; that no hands were seen at work; that none of the or dinary instrumentalities were seen by which great effects are accomplished among men. Now this would properly represent the idea that the kingdom of the Messiah would have a supernatural origin. Its beginnings would be unlike what is usually seen among men. How appropriately this applies to the kingdom of the Messiah, as having its origin not in human power, need not here be stated. Nothing is more apparent; nothing is more frequently dwelt on in the New Testament, than that it had a heavenly origin. It did not owe its beginning to human plans, counsels, or power.

II. Its feebleness in its beginning com pared with its ultimate growth and power. At first it was a stone comparatively small, and that seemed utterly inadequate to the work of demolishing and pulver- '•/.ing a colossal statue of gold, silver, i/raf.s, and iron. Ultimately it grew to >*o itself of mrc^tam-size, and to fill the land. Now this representation would undoubtedly convey the fair impression that this new power, represented by the stone, would at first be comparatively small and feeble; that there would bo comparative weakness in its origin as contrasted with what it would ultimately attain to; and that it would seem to be utterly inadequate to the performance of what it finally accomplished. It is hardly necessary to say that this corresponds entirely with the origin of the Messiah's kingdom. Every where it is represented as of feeble beginnings, and as a system, to human view, entirely inadequate to so great a work as that of bringing other kingdoms to an end, and subduing it to itself. The complete fulfilment of the prophetic statement would be found in such circumstances as the following: (1.) The humble origin of the head of this new power himself — the Messiah — the king of Zion. He was in fact of a decayed and dilapidated family; was ranked among the poor; was without powerful friends or political connections; possessed no uncommon advantages of learning, and was regarded with contempt and scorn by the great mass of his coun trymen. No one would have supposed that the religion originated by one of so humble an origin would have power to change the destiny of the kingdoms of the earth. (2.) The feebleness of tho beginning of his kingdom. His few fol lowers; the little band of fishermen; the slow progress at first made — these were circumstances strikingly in accord ance with the representation in Daniel. (3.) The absence in that band of all that seemed requisite to accomplish so great a work. They had no arms, no wealth, no political power. They had nothing of that which has commonly been employed to overthrow kingdoms, and the band of fishermen sent forth to this work seemed as little adequate to the under taking as the stone cut from the moun tain did to demolish the colossal image. (4.) All this feebleness in the beginning was wonderfully contrasted with the ulti mate results — like the stone, when cut from the mountain, contrasted with its magnitude when it filled the earth. The Saviour himself often referred to the con trast between the feeble origin of his reli gion, and what it would grow to be. At first it was like a grain of mustard seed, smallest among seeds; then it grew to be a tree so large that the fowls of the air lodged in the branches. At first it was like leaven, hidden in meal; ultimately, it would diffuse itself through the mass, so that the whole would be leavened. Matt. xiii. 31—33.

III. It would supplant all other king doms. This was clearly indicated by the fact that the ' stone' demolished the image, reducing it to powder, and filled the place which that occupied, and all the land. This has been explained (Notes on vs. 34, 35,) as meaning that it would not be by sudden violence, but by a con tinued process of comminution. There would be such an action on the kingdoms of the earth represented by gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, that they would disappear, and the new power re presented by the 'stone' would finally take their place. As this new power was to be humble in its origin, and feeble to human view; as it had nothing which, to outward appearance, would seem adequate to the result, the reference would seem to be to the principles which would charac terize it, and which, as elements of power, would gradually but ultimately secure the changes represented by the demoli tion of the colossal statue. The only question then would be, whether the principles in the kingdom of the Messiah had such originality and power as would gradually but certainly change the modes of government that existed in the world, and substitute another kind of reign; or, what is the influence which it will exert on the nations, causing new methods of government, in accordance with its prin ciples, to prevail on the earth. Though apparently feeble, without arms, or wealth, or civil alliances, it has elements of poiver about it which will ultimately subdue all other principles of government, and take their place. Its work was indeed to be a gradual work, and it is by no means ac complished, yet its effect has been mighty already on the principles that rule among the nations, and will still be more mighty until the laws of the kingdom of the Mes siah shall prevail in all the earth. This seems to be the idea which it is designed to express by this prophetic image. If one were asked in what respects it is to be anticipated that these changes will be wrought, and in what respects we can discern the evidences of such changes already, we might say in such points as the following: — (1.) In regard to the methods in which governments are founded. Governments were formerly mostly the result of civil or foreign wars. Nearly all the governments of antiquity were originally founded in the power of some military leader, and then held by power. Christianity originated new views about wars and conquests — views that will ultimately prevail. In nothing are the opinions of mankind destined more en tirely to be reversed than in regard to war — to its glory, its achievements, and the fame of those who have been most celebrated for bloody triumphs. (2.) In regard to the rights of the people. A mighty principle was originated by Chris tianity in respect to the rights of men — the right of conscience; the right to the avails of their own labour; the right to life and liberty. (3.) In regard to op pression. The history of the world has been to a great extent a history of op pression. But all this is to be changed by the principles of the true religion; and when the period shall arrive that there shall be no more occasion to use the word oppression, as descriptive of any thing that shall have an actual existence on earth, this will be a different world. Then the time will have come appropri ately designated by the demolition of the colossal statue — symbolic of all govern ments of oppression, and the substitution in its place of that which was at first insig nificant, but which had vital energy to supplant all that went before it.

IV. This kingdom will be perpetual. This is asserted in the unequivocal state ments that it " shall never be destroyed," and that "it shall not be left to other people;" that is, shall never pass into other hands. There could not be a more positive declaration that the kingdom here referred to will continue through all coining time. Other kingdoms pass away, but this will not; and amidst all the revo lutions of other empires this will remain. The lapse of eighteen hundred years since this kingdom was set up, has done not a little to confirm the truth of this prediction Many other kingdoms during that time have disappeared from the earth, but this remains in its full vigour, and with ex tending power. It has, at this day, an extent of dominion which it never had before, and there are clearer indications that it will spread over all the earth than ever existed at any previous time. That this kingdom will be perpetual, may be from the following considerations: (1.) From the promises of God. These are absolute; and they are attested by Him who has all power, and who can, with infinite ease, accomplish all that he has spoken. So in Dan. vii. 14, " His do minion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Luke i. 33, " And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever: and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Ps. xlv. 6, (comp. Notes on Heb. i. 8), " Thy throne, 0 G od, is for ever and ever." In Hebrews i. 8, it is, "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, 0 God, is for ever and ever." Isa. ix. 7, " Of the increase of his govern ment and power, there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth even for ever." (2.) It may be argued, from the fact that the efforts which have been made to destroy it have shown that this cannot be done by any hu man power. Eighteen hundred years have now passed away — a period sufficiently long to test the question whether it can be destroyed by force and violence; by argument and ridicule. The experiment has been fairly made, and if it were pos sible that it should be destroyed by ex ternal force, it would have been done. It cannot be imagined that more favourable circumstances for such a purpose will ever occur. The church of Christ has met every form of opposition that we can conceive could be made against it, and has survived them all. Particularly it has survived the trial which has been made in the following respects: (a) The Roman power, the whole might of the Roman arms, that had subdued and crushed the world, was brought to bear upon the kingdom of Christ to crush and destroy it, but wholly failed. It cannot be supposed that a new power will ever arise that will be more formidable to Chris tianity than the Roman was. (6) The power of persecution. That has been tried in every way, and has failed. The most ingenious forms of torture have been devised to extinguish this religion, and have all failed. It has always been found that persecution has only contributed ultimately to the triumph of the cause which it was hoped to crush, (c) The power of philosophy. The ancient phi losophers opposed it, and attempted to destroy it by argument. This was early done by Celsus and Porphyry; but it soon became apparent that the ancient philoso phy had nothing that could extinguish the rising religion, and not a few of the pro minent philosophers themselves were con verted, and became the advocates of the faith, (d) The power of science. Chris tianity had its origin in an age when science had made comparatively little pro gress, and in a country where it was almost unknown. The sciences since have made vast advances; and each one in its turn has been appealed to by the enemies of religion, to furnish an argument against Christianity. Astronomy, history, the discoveries in Egypt, the asserted antiquity of the Hindoos, and geology, have all been employed to overthrow the claims of the Christian religion, and have all been compelled to abandon the field. See this admirably demonstrated in Dr. Wiseman's lectures on the connection between science and revealed religion. (e) The power of ridicule. At one time it was held that ' ridicule is the test of truth/ and this has been applied un sparingly to the Christian religion. But the religion still lives, and it cannot be supposed that there will be men endued with the power of sarcasm and wit supe rior to those who, with these weapons', have made war on Christianity, or that in fidelity has any hope from that quarter. It may be inferred, therefore, that there is no external source of corruption and decay which will prevent its being perpetual. Other kingdoms usually have; and after a few centuries at most the internal cor ruption — the defect of the organization — develops itself, and the kingdom falls. But nothing of this kind occurs in the kingdom of Christ. It has lived now through eighteen hundred years, through periods of the world in which there hare been constant changes in the arts, in the sciences, in manners, in philosophy, in forms of government. During that time many a system of philosophy has been superseded, and many a kingdom has fallen, but Christianity is as fresh and vigorous as it meets each coming genera tion as it ever was; and the past has demonstrated that the enemies of the gos pel have no reason to hope that it will become weak by age, and will fall by its own decrepitude.

V. A fifth characteristic of this king dom is, that it will universally prevaiL

46 f Then the king Nebuchad- 1 nezzar fell upon his face, and wor-

which cannot be detached from society, but which go into its permanent struc ture, and which ' the world will not let die.' (3.) Society is thus making con stant advances. A position gained in hu man progress is never ultimately lost. " The principles thus accumulated and incorporated into society become perma nent. Each age adds something in this respect to the treasures accumulated by all preceding ages, and each one is, in some respects, an advance on its prede cessors, and makes the final triumph of the principles of truth, and liberty, and pure religion more sure. (4.) Christianity, or the kingdom of Christ, is aggressive. It makes a steady war on the evil cus toms, habits, and laws of the world. It is in accordance with its nature to diffuse itself. Nothing can prevent its propaga tion; and, according to the laws of society, nothing is so certain philosophically in regard to the future, as the final preva lence of the religion of the Redeemer. It may meet with temporary and formi dable obstructions. It may be retarded, or extinguished, in certain places. But its general course is onward — like the current of the mighty river towards the ocean. The only thing certain in the future is, that the Christian religion will yet spread all over the world; and there is enough in this to gratify the highest wishes of philanthropy, and enough to stimulate to the highest effort to secure so desirable an end.

46. Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face. This was the common method of signifying profound respect among the Orientals. Comp. Gen. xvii. 3, 1. 18; Lev. ix. 24; Num. xiv. 5; Josh, v. 14; Judges xii. 20; Rev. xi. 16. ^ And worshipped Daniel. The word rendered worshipped here — "UP — in the Chaldee portions of the Bible is uniformly ren dered worship. Dan. ii. 26; iii. 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 28. It occurs nowhere else, and in every instance, except in the one before us, is employed with refer ence to the homage paid to an idol, all the other cases occuring in the third chapter respecting the image that was set up by Nebuchadnezzar. The corresponding He brew word — "UD — occurs only in Isa. xliv. 15, 17, 19, xlvi. 6, and is, in every in-

This was symbolized by the stone that | "became a great mountain, and that filled the whole earth." ver. 35. It is also im-; plied, in the statement in ver. 44, that it " shall break in pieces, and consume all these kingdoms." They will cease, and this will occupy their places. The prin ciples of the kingdom of the Messiah, whatever may be the external forms of government that shall exist on the earth, will everywhere prevail. That this will occur, may be argued from the following considerations: (1.) The promises recorded in the Bible. The passage before us is one. Of the same nature are the follow ing: Ps. ii. 8, "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inherit ance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." Mai. i. 11, '•' For from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering." Isa. xi. 9, " The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Comp. Hab. ii. 14; Isa. xlv. 22, and Isa. Ix. (2.) The world in its progress loses nothing that is of value. Truth is eternal, and when once discovered, society will not let it go. It seizes upon great elements in human nature, and the world will not let it die. Thus it is with discoveries in science, in inventions in the arts, and

Srinciples in morals. There is no evience that anything that was known to the ancients which was of permanent value to mankind has been lost; and the few things that were lost have been succeeded by that which is better. All that was truly valuable in their science, their phi losophy, their arts, their jurisprudence, their literature, we possess still, and the world will always retain it. And what can ever obliterate from the memory of man the printing-press, the steam-engine, the cotton-gin, the telescope, the blow pipe, the magnetic telegraph? Society ACCUMULATES from age to age all that is truly valuable in inventions, morals, and the arts, and travels with them down to the period when the world shall have reached the highest point of perfectability. This remark is true also of Chris tianity — the kingdom of Christ. There are principles in regard to the happi ness and rights of man in that system,

shipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.

stance, rendered fall down, also with reference to idols. The proper idea, there fore, of the -word here is, that the monarch meant to render religious homage to Daniel, or such adoration as was usually paid to idols. This is confirmed by what is immediately added, that he commanded that an oblation should be made to him. It is not, however, necessary to suppese that Daniel received or approved this re ligious homage of the king, or that he left the impression on his mind that he was willing to be honoured as a god. The! prostration of the king before him, of! course, he could not prevent. The views and feelings which the monarch had in doing it, he could not prevent. The com mand to present an ' oblation and sweet odours to him/ he could not prevent. But it is not a fair inference that Daniel approved this, or that he did anything to countenance it, or even that he did not, in! a proper manner, rebuke it: for (1.) we we not to suppose that all that was said was recorded, and no one can prove that Daniel did not express his disapprobation of this religious honour shown to him. (2.) Daniel had, in fact, expressed his views, in the clearest manner, on this very point before the monarch. He had, again and again, disclaimed all power to be able to reveal such secrets. He had directed his mind to the true God, as he who alone could disclose coming events, vs. 28, 30, 45. He had taken all possible precaution to prevent any such result, by declaring, in the most emphatic terms (ver. 30), that this secret was not revealed to him ' on account of any wisdom which he had more than any living.' If now, after all this precaution, and these disclaimers, the king should prostrate himself before him, and, for the moment, feel that ho was in the presence of a God, Daniel was not responsible for it, and it should not be inferred that he encouraged or approved it (3.) It would seem, from the narrative itself, more than probable that Daniel did refuse the homage, and direct the thoughts of the monarch to the true God. la the very next verse it is said, " The king answered unto Daniel, and said, of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a re-

47 The king answered unto Da niel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a

vealer of secrets." Answered what? Perhaps something that was said by Daniel. At all events, it is clear from this that whatever were the momentary expressions of wonder, gratitude, and adoration, on the part of the king, his thoughts soon passed to the proper ob ject of worship — the true God. ^ And commanded, &c. The fact that this was commanded does not prove that it was done. The command was probably given under the excitement of his admiration and wonder. But it does not follow that Daniel received it, or that the command was not recalled on reflection, or that the oblation and odors may not have been presented to the true God. <[ That they should offer an oblation. That is, his attendants, or perhaps the priests to whom pertained the duty of making offerings to the gods. The word rendered oblation — nnjp — does not refer to a bloody sacrifice, but means a gift or present of any kind. It is applied in the Scriptures to denote (1.) a gift, or present (Gen. xxxii. 14, 19, 21, xliii. 11, 15, 25, 26); (2.) tribute, such as was exacted from a subject na tion, under the notion of a present (2 Sam. viii. 2, 6; 1 Kings v. 1); (3.) an offering, or sacrifice to God, especially a bloodless offering, in opposition to njj — a bloody sacrifice, Lev. ii. 1, 4, 5, 6, vi. 7, vii. 9; Ps. xl. 7; Jer. xvii. 26. See the word fully explained in the Notes on Isa. i. 13. There can be no doubt that Nebuchad nezzar meant that such an offering should be presented as was usually made in idol worship. ^f And sweet odors. Incense was commonly used in worship (see Notes on Isa. i. 13), and it is not improbable that in the worship of the gods it was ac companied with other fragrant odors. Sweet odors, or ' savors/ expressed by the same word which is used here, were a part of the prescribed worship in the liebrew ritual. Lev. i. 9, 13, 17, ii. 2, 9, iii. 5, vi. 14; Num. xv. 7.

47. The king ansicered Daniel. Answered either what he had said in tho interpretation of the dream, or possibly something that he had said in regard to the impropriety of offering this homage to him. Cornp. Notes on ver. 46. It is

Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many

great a gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the b governors over all the wise men of Babvlon.

certain that, for some cause, whatever might have been the homage which he was disposed to render to Daniel, his thoughts were soon turned from him to the true God, and to an acknowledgment of him as superior to all other beings. He seems, at least, instantly to have reflected on what Daniel had himself said (ver. 30), and to have remembered that religious homage was due, not to Daniel, but to the God who had communicated.the secret to him. ^ Of a truth it is. It is truly so. This had been shown by the manner in which this secret was disclosed. ^[ That your God is a God of gods. Is superior to all other gods; is supreme over all. Comp. Rev. xvii. 14; 1 Tim. vi. 15. The idea is, that whatever subordinate beings there may be, he is supreme. ^[ And a Lord of kings. Supreme over kings. They are all inferior to him, and subject to his control. ^[ And a revealer of secrets. One of the attributes of divinity. See Notes on ver. 28. ^[ Seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. A secret which the wisest men of the realm had sought in vain to disclose. The fact that a pro fessed servant of God had been able to do this, showed that God was himself su preme, and worthy of adoration. We have here, then, an instance in which a proud and haughty heathen monarch was brought to an acknowledgment of the true God, and was constrained to render him homage. This was a result which it was evidently intended to reach in the whole transaction: in the dream itself; in the fact that the wise men of Babylon could not interpret it; and in the fact that an acknowledged servant of the Most High had been enabled to make the dis closure. The instance is instructive, as showing to what extent a mind clearly not under the influence of any genuine piety — for subsequent events showed that no permanent effects wei'e produced on him, and that he was still an idolater (ch. iii.), and a most proud and haughty man (ch. iv.), — may be brought to ac knowledge God. See the remarks at the end of the chapter (7.)

•acS. Then the kiny made Daniel a great man. That is, he gave him an honourable appointment; he so honoured him that he was regarded as a great man. He was really made great by the grace of God, and the extraordinary favour which God had bestowed upon him, but the estimate which the king had of his greatness was shown by the tokens of the royal favour. ^[ And gave him many great gifts. This is a common way of showing esteem in the East. The estimate in which one holds another is evinced by the variety and richness of the presents conferred on him. Hence every person of distinction expects gifts of those who approach them as ex pressive of their regard for them, and of the esteem in which they are held. Comp. ver. 6. of this chapter. ^ And made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon. Chald. rvkv? — caused him to preside over, or to rule over, from the verb BT7# — shelat, to rule, and commonly applied to one who rules as a prince, or in an elevated office. From this word the terms sultan, and sultana are derived. <[ And chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. This would seem to be an appointment which did not pertain to him as governor of the province of Babylon, or as presid ing in the capital, but was a separate ap pointment, and, therefore, an additional mark of favour. The phrase 'chief of the governors,' would seem to imply that the magi of Babylon were disposed in certain orders or classes, each of which had its appropriate head, like the head of a college or university. Daniel waa placed over the whole as the president, principal, or chancellor. It had been the policy of Nebuchadnezzar to assemble at the capital the principal talent and learn ing of the realm. Comp. Notes ch. i. 18- 20, ii. 2. Daniel thus, in both these stations of honour at an early period of life, though recently an unknown stranger, and a captive, was exalted to the highest honours which could be conferred on a subject, and raised to posts of distinction which would usually be regarded as the highest rewards which could be obtained

49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and * he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the

by a long life of devotednees to the wel fare of the country.

49. Then Daniel requested of the king. In his own remarkable prosperity, and in the extraordinary honours conferred on him, he did not forget the companions of his humbler days. They were his coun trymen; they had been captives with him; they had been selected with a view to stand with him before the king (ch. i. 3, 4); they had shared with him in his rules of abstinence (ch. i. 11-17); they had all passed an honourable examination before the king (ch. i. 18, 19); they had united with him in supplication to God that he would disclose th« meaning of the vision (ch. ii. 17, 18), and now it was proper that they should be remembered by him who had been so signally hon oured. ^[ Over the affairs of the province of Baby Jon. In what particular depart ments of business they were employed is not mentioned; but it would seem that all that specially pertained to this pro vince was intrusted to them. Daniel had the general superintendence, but the subordinate duties growing out of the office were intrusted to them. The fact that the king granted the request, shows the influence that Daniel had at the court. The reasons which influenced the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat b in the gate of the king.

king in granting the request, may have been not only the favour with which he re garded Daniel, but the fact that the duties of the office conferred on him now were such as to require assistance, and the re membrance of the virtues of these youths when they stood before him. fl But Daniel sat in the gate of the king. The post of chief honour and dignity as a counsellor of the king. The gate of a city in the East, being a chief place of con course, was the place where courts were held, and public business was usually transacted. See Notes on Job xxix. 7. To say, therefore, that he ' sat in the gate of the king,' is merely to say that he oc cupied a place with the chief counsellors and dignitaries of the realm. The phrase ' Sublime Porte/ that is, ' the Sublime Gate,' is still employed at Constantinople to denote the government of the Sultan; for in the earlier days of Ottoman rule, the reigning sovereign, as is still the case in some parts of the East, held courts of justice and levees at the entrance of his residence. See Harper's Magazine, vol. iv. p. 333. The office of Daniel was, perhaps, not far different from that of the Grand Vizier of the Turkish govern ment. See Murray's Ency. Geog. vol. ii. p. 202.

Among the lessons of practical value suggested by this chapter, we may notice the fol lowing: —

(1.) We have an instance (vs. 1-3) of the methods -which were resoited to in the early period* of the world to ascertain what the future would be. This great monarch relied on a dream which greatly disturbed him, and on the power which he supposed was intrusted to men to interpret dreams. In common with the prevailing spirit of his times, and of all ancient times (Notes, ver. 1), he believed that dreams might be regarded as prognostics of future events; that they were under divine direction; and that all that was necessary to make them safe guides in reference to what is to occur, was that they should be properly interpreted. In common, too, with all the people of ancient times, and with most of modern times, the king here referred to had an earnest desire to look into the future. There has been no desire in the human bosom stronger than this. We are so made that we wish to lift the mysterious veil which shrouds the future; to penetrate the deep darkness which rests on the unseen world. Our great interests are there. The past is fixed, and cannot now affect us, except by the consequences of what we have done, and by teaching us lessons of value derived from our own observation, and that of others. But the future is not yet fixed. Man, so anxious to know what this is to be. finds himself in respect to it peculiarly endowed. In relation to the past, he is endowed with the faculty of memory, but with nothing corresponding to this pertaining to the future. lie can treasure up what has occurred, but he cannot in like manner make the future pass before his mind, that he may become wise by knowing what will take place in far distant times. There can be no doubt that God could have endowed the mind with one faculty as well as the other —.or he has it himself— but there were obvious reasons why it should not be done. Institute then V* man was of this power, one great object of human inquiry has been to see whether th» deficiency could be supplied, and whether something might not he found -which would he to tho future substantially what the memory is to the past. The efforts and results on this subject — one of which we have in the chapter before us — constitute one of the most instructive chapters of the history of our race, and show how effectually God has bounded the limits of human in vestigation in this respect. Among those methods of attempting to penetrate the future, and of laying open its deep mysteries, may be noticed the following: —

(a) Astrology. It was supposed that the stars might exert an influence over the fates of men, and that by observing their positions, conjunctions, and oppositions, it might be ascer tained what would be the destiny of individuals and nations. The belief of this hae manifested itself more or less in every age; and in such instances as in the word lunacy, and in the common apprehensions about the influence of the moon on health, and on vegetation, may be still seen traces of that belief. Even Lord Bacon held that ' astrology was a science not to be rejected, but reformed;' and in the early periods of the world it was & fair subject of investigation whether the heavenly bodies actually exerted such an influence, and whether, if it were so, it was possible to ascertain the laws by which this was done. This was the so-called science of astrology.