his sin was exceedingly aggravated; but charity leads us to hope, that after this peculiar visitation, and his recovery, he lived and died a true penitent, and a sincere worshipper of the Lord Jehovah.

After the death of Nebuchadnezzar, his son Evilmerodach succeeded him, who took compassion on Jehoiakim, the captive king of Judah, and released him from his imprisonment in the thirty-seventh year of his captivity, treating him with great humanity and respect, allowing him an honourable maintenance, and giving him the precedence of all other princes in Babylon.

Evil-merodach's reign was but short, continuing but two years, at the end of which, his luxurious son Belshazzar succeeded him. In whose first year Daniel had his vision of the four beasts representing the four great monarchies and in the third year of this same King, Daniel had that memorable vision † of the ram and the he-goat, with the interpretation of them. After t

which this luxurious king making a great feast for his courtiers, he commanded his servants to bring forth the sacred vessels of gold and silver, which his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple at Jerusalem, that he and his princes, with his wives and concubines, might drink wine in them: which accordingly was done, and in their cups they sang hymns of praise

to their idols.

Belshazzar, thus adding impiety to his excess, so provoked the great God of heaven by this sacrilegious

* Dream. See Dan. vii.

+ Vision. See Dan. viii.

After. Though these visions are placed after the luxurious and profane banquet of Belshazzar, yet in order of time they should come before; for Daniel tells the time of each; as, the dream was in the first year, and the vision in the third year of Belshazzar.

Done. The city of Babylon, was at this time besieged by Cyrus and the Medo-Persian army, and the final overthrow of the Babylonian empire drew near, as had been long decreed and foretold in the councils of Providence. See Isaiah, ch. xiii. and xiv. Dan. ch. vii.

contempt of his holy worship, and the profanation of the vessels dedicated to his service, that he terrified this prince in the midst of his luxurious feast, with the appearance of a hand, which, in three words,* wrote the sentence of his condemnation. Belshazzar was so much astonished and terrified at this dreadful prodigy, which a guilty conscience suggested must needs have a fatal design, that he called for the most learned of his people to shew him the meaning of it; but, notwithstanding the promised reward of purple vests and chains of gold, to those who could discover this mighty secret, they were so far from interpreting it, that they could not so much as read it. This occasioned the utmost consternation in the whole court, which, the queent dowager hearing, came immediately into the banqueting-house, and informed the king, that he had a man in his dominions, named Daniel, in whom was the spirit of the holy gods, and whom his grandfather, for his extraordinary ability in that respect, had made master of the Magi, who would shew the king the interpretation of the words that so much troubled him. The king, rejoicing in the prospect of discovering this terrible secret, sent for Daniel; who appearing before him, and slighting the honours and presents the king had promised in case he could interpret the words, addressed him to the following effect: That since he had not humbled himself, nor taken example by his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar, who for his pride was chased from the conversation of men, and reduced to

.מגא תקל ופרסן .Three words *

+ Queen. This, in all probability, was Nitocris, the queen dowager, the relict of the great Nebuchadnezzar.

Grandfather. Nebuchadnezzar is here, Dan. v. 11, called Belshazzar's father, not through mistake, but after the manner of the Chaldeans and Hebrews, who commonly call grandchildren and great grand children sons, and grandfathers and great grandfathers fathers. Thus Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are called fathers, after many generations of descents.

the state of beasts; but had lifted up himself against the Lord of heaven, and profaned the holy vessels dedicated to his service, God being provoked by these his crimes, had sent a hand to write upon the wall his condemnation in these three words, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN; which Daniel interpreted thus: by MENE, God hath numbered thy kingdom; by TEKEL, thou art weighed in the balance of his justice and art found too light; by UPHARSIN, thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. The king having heard this dreadful sentence pronounced by Daniel,† how unwelcome soever the interpretation was to himself, yet bestowed upon the prophet the honours promised him, causing him to be clothed in purple, with a chain of gold about his neck, and to be proclaimed the third person in the kingdom.

As to the fulfilment of this prophecy, God immediately verified it, as Daniel had predicted; for the same night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slaing God making him a terrible example to all who should slight his warnings, harden their hearts in sin, and profane his holy

name.

The impious Belshazzar being thus overtaken by di

* Numbered. That is, the term of thy kingdom.

Daniel. This prophet, who had been so great and powerful in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, is supposed to have retired from court during the reigns of Evilmerodach his son, and Belshazzar his grandson, and in those five years(at least) seems to have been forgotten by all but the old queen, widow of Nebuchadnezzar; during which time of his solitude God vouchsafed by wonderful visions to discover to him the successions of all the empires of the world until the blessed kingdom of Christ.

Challeans. See Dan. v. 30.

§ Slain. By the Medes(under the conduct of Darius, king of the Medes, and with the help of his son-in-law, the great Cyrus) who at that time besieged BabyJon. These taking the advantage whilst the Chaldeans were thus revelling and overcharged with wine, to divide the river Euphrates, possessed themselves of the city, and surprised the court.

vine justice, Darius, the Mede, assumes the throne ;* who, esteeming Daniel as a person filled with the Spirit of God, bestowed on him peculiar marks of his favour; for at first he made him one of the three presidents of the kingdom, and intended to make him viceroy. These honours, so properly conferred on Daniel, soon excited the envy and jealousy of the other presidents and princes, who, thinking it too much for a captive Jew to be preferred above them, conspired to ruin him. They could find no fault with his public administration, for he was perfectly just and faithful in all things that concerned the king. Wherefore concluding they should never find any thing to accuse him of, except in the matter of his religion, they resolved to lay a snare for him in that respect. And in this they were, at first, at a loss how to bring their malice to bear against him, for they well knew the king was apprised of his piety and zeal in the religion of his country, and that he stood so fair in the royal favour, that they dared not directly attack him; and therefore they struck at him in a more distant way; for they persuaded the king to publish a proclamation, that whosoever should ask any petition, either of God or man, except of the king only, for the space of thirty days, should be thrown to the lions. The unwary king, not suspecting any fraud, concluded that, bacause they assured him, that all the presidents, of whom Daniel was the first, had agreed to it, Daniel had consented to it, taking it for a testimony of their affection and loyalty to him at his accession to the throne, without any hesitation consented to it, and it was passed into a decree.

Though Daniel knew that this wicked law was levelled

Torone. This revolution had been particularly foretold by the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel. The very name of the general-Cyrus, was previously declared, two hundred years before; the method whereby it should be accomplished, &c. &c. See Isa. xiii. 6-22, xxi. 2-10, xli. 1, &c. Jer. 1. 1, &c.

Read Prideaux Connexions, part 1, book 2, and bishop Lowth on Isa. xiii. 21, and 45.

at him, yet preferring the law of God to that of men, he continued his usual course of praying to, and praising God three times a day, kneeling upon his knees, with his chamber window open towards Jerusalem. His enemies, who had laid this snare for him, soon found an opportunity to betray him; for having taken him in the act of praying, they presented themselves before Darius, and accused Daniel of contempt and rebellion in disobeying the king's decree, desiring immediate execution of the sentence against him. The king, too late, perceived their design, and being vexed at his easy credulity, in suffering himself to be thus imposed upon, laboured to have the decree reversed; but the grandees represented to him, that the royal decrees, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, were unalterable, and that therefore the penalty Daniel had incurred, being irreversible, he must be cast into the lions' den. The king's weakness in this unjust act, gave way to the solicitations of these wicked men; and though Daniel's piety and wisdom had recommended him very powerfully to his favour, yet he thought, in honour, he could not recede from his word, and therefore delivered Daniel to them, at the same time unwittingly predicting, that the God whom he served continually, would preserve him.

Daniel being thrown into the den, to prevent any means that might be attempted for his escape, a great stone was laid on the mouth of it, and sealed not only with the royal signet, but with that of the lords too. The king retired to his palace very pensive, where he spent the night in great anxiety and uneasiness of mind for his favourite Daniel; and early in the morning repairing to the den, between hope and despair, he in a melancholy tone called to Daniel; "O Daniel, servant "of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Yes, O king! replied Daniel: my God hath sent his angel, who "hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me, "because he found me innocent in his sight, and just to "thee." The king, overjoyed to find the person he so highly valued thus miraculously preserved, ordered him