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not be moved: while others are shaken, his shall be stable; while all others are destroyed, his shall endure.

3. See the honour and happiness of God's people; they are saints; are devoted to him, and holy, though persecuted. Men may attempt to weary them out, yet they are always dear to God. This has a favourable aspect on the protestant cause; all that separate themselves from the corruptions of the Romish church, and from the wickedness of the world, shall be kings to God, shall reign with Christ, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.

CHAP. VIII.

This chapter relates to the Persian and Grecian monarchies, as explained by the angel; it is not, written in Chaldee, but in Hebrew, and this language is continued to the end of the book, as it chiefly concerns the Jews and their affairs.

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IN

N the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar, a vision appeared unto me, [even unto] me Daniel, after that 2 which appeared unto me at the first. And I saw in a vision, while awake, not in a dream, as before, and it came to pass, when I saw, that I [was] at Shushan [in] the palace, which [is] in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was 3 by the river of Ulai. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had [two] horns and the [two] horns [were] high; but one [was] higher than the other, and the higher came up last; an emblem of the kingdoms of the Medes and Persians united. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; referring to the countries conquered by the Persian kings; so that no beast, that is, no kingdom, might stand before him, neither [was there any] that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. 5 And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground and the goat [had] a notable horn between his eyes; referring to the Grecian empire, especially under Alexander the Great, and the swiftness of his conquests; who in less than eight § years overran the greatest part of Asia.† And he came to the

Ancient writers tell us that the ram was the ensign of the Persians, and is still to be seen with the horns, one higher, and the other lower, on the pillars of Persepolis: and this circumstance in the vision, intimated, that the Persian kingdom, though it arose after the Medes, should become more considerable.

The Greeks of Macedonia were called geadae, or, the people of the goat, twe hundred years before the time of Daniel, from the story of their founder Caranus, who was directed by the oracle to settle where he should find a flock of goats which he ac cordingly did, calling the place Æges, or goatstown, and making the figure of a goat his ensign.

im that had [two] horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power, that is, 7 attacked the Persians. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with cholar against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. The three expressions of smiting, casting down, and stamping upon, may refer to Alexander's three victories over Darius, at Granicum, Issue, and Arbela. Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong the great horn was broken; he died about the age of thirty three, in the height of his glory and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven, the em9 fire being then divided among his four generals. And out of one of them came forth a little horn,† which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the fo pleasant [land ;] toward Egypt, Syria, and Judea. And it waxed great, [even] to the host of heaven; and it cast down [some] of the host, that is, the Jewish people, who were in a peculiar manner the care of God, and of the stars, persons of dignity, priests, and nobles, to the ground, and stamped upon 11 them. Yea, he magnified [himself] even to the prince of the host, Christ was put to death by the Roman power prevailing in Judea, and by him the daily [sacrifice] was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down; Antiochus made it cease for a while, but the Romans took it away, and destroyed 12 the temple, which he only polluted. And an host was given [him] against the daily [sacrifice] by reason of transgression, the wickedness of the Jews at that time, was the reason of its being given up to the Romans, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered; referring to a breach of treaty which the Romans were guilty of, or to their persecuting christians, and labouring to extirpate christianity. 13 Then I heard one saint, or angel, speaking, and another saint said unto that certain [saint] which spake, How long [shall be] the vision [concerning] the daily [sacrifice] being taken away, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? how long shall Judea be desolate, and the Jews dispersed ? or, how far 14 shall this vision extend? And he said unto me, Unto two

When Alexander marched against Jerusalem, Jadua the high priest went out to meet Sim, and showed him this prophecy of Daniel; which encouraged him in his enterprize, and made him kind to the Jews.

+ Here commentators are much divided; most of them interpret this of Antiochus, a great persecutor of the Jews: but particular kings are not called horns, but kingdoms only. I therefore rather think, with Sir Isaac Newton, that it refers to the Romans, who cont quered Greece, and then became a horn, or a powerful nation.

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thousand and three hundred days, that is, years; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.*

15° And it came to pass, when I, [even] I Daniel, had seen the

vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood 16 before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's

voice between [the banks of] Ulai, which called, and said, 17 Gabriel, make this [man] to understand the vision. So he ⚫came near where I stood and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man for at the time of the end [shall be] the vision; that is, Consider and mind, for the vision refers to the end of 18 the Jewish state. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground, that is, as insensible of every thing but the present impression upon my mind, as if I had been asleep: but he touched me, and set me up19 right. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation for at the time appointed the end [shall be ;] that is, the end of God's indig 20 nation against the Jews. The ram which thou sawest having 21 two horns [are] the kings of Media and Persia. And the

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rough goat [is] the king of Grecia: and the great horn that 22 [is] between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stand up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power; they shall neither be 23 equal in power, nor extent of empire. And in the latter time of their kingdom, that is, of the Grecian kingdom, when their 1ower began to decline, especially over Judea, by the growing power of the Romans, when the transgressors, or the transgressions of the Jews, are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, that is, a kingdom of great policy, art, prudence, and valour, as the Romans were, 24 shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, he shall effect great things, but not by his own power; rather by fraud and underhand dealing and the divine permission, than by force of arms and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy peo25 ple; that is, the Jews, or rather, the christians. And through his policy also, or treachery, in not observing treaties, he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify [himself] in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many; taking opportunity in time of peace to make war, and oppose

This is an unanswerable objection against applying this prophetic vision to Antio chus, for his conquest and profanations continued no longer than three years; consequently, there can be no sense in which it could be two thousand three hundred days: it intimates that the end of the desolation of the sanctuary, and the restoration of the Jews, should be two thousand three hundred years from the time spoken of; which Bp. Newton reckons from the time when Alexander invaded Asia; which was about three hundred and thirty years before Christ, (and which will bring it to about the year 2000) to the commencement of the fall of antichrist, the Jews' restoration, and the glorious triumph of Christ's king

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christianity: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand; he shall crumble to pieces by degrees, and not be destroyed, as the former empires 26 were, by an extraordinary display of divine power. And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told [is] true wherefore shut thou up the vision, that no offence be given to the Persians, nor premature perplexity to the Jews; 27 for it [shall be] for many days. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick [certain] days; my spirit was weakened by these visions and the foresight of these troubles; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood [it ;] the meaning was not then known, or, none perceived by my countenance that I was troubled.

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WE

REFLECTIONS.

E are here taught the folly of ambition; which is rered to in v. 7, &c. He conquered the world, but died of a drunken surfeit in the prime of his days; his captains shared his conquests, and his vast empire was broken to pieces. With what pity and contempt may we think of the renowned heroes of antiquity; who were so active and unwearied; did so much mischief; and yet reaped such little benefit by it: but God was answering his own purposes by all.

2. It should be our desire and care to be well acquainted with the prophecies, and the mind of God in them. Daniel sought their meaning; considered and reflected on it. The angels inquired one of another about it. This shows us how worthy those things are of our study; and it justly reproves those who will take no pains to understand these parts of scripture, nor give themselves the trouble to attend to those expositions of them, which, after much labour and study, ministers are from time to time giving. If properly considered, they would be a great confirmation of our faith; would lead us to adore the omniscience of God; and convince us of his universal government and influence.

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CHAP. IX.

Daniel understanding from the prophecies of Jeremiah, that the sev enty years' captivity was now drawing to a close, pours out his soul in prayer to God, and earnestly supplicates pardon and restoration for his captive people. The angel Gabriel informs him, that the city should be rebuilt and peopled, and should continue so for seventy prophetic weeks, or four hundred and ninety years ; at the end of which it should be utterly destroyed for putting the Messiah to death.

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Ν

IN the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed

of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; that is, in the time of Cyaxares, Cyrus' uncle, who 2 was made king of Babylon by him; In the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem; several passages in Jeremiah determined them to seventy years, from the fourth year of Jehoiakim, when Daniel and many others were carried captive; this period ended in the first year of Darius, or Cyrus, who reigned with him: but as the promise of the restoration was conditional, viz. that they should seek the Lord with their whole heart, Daniel adds,

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And I set my face unto the Lord God, that is, toward the temple, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and 4 sackcloth, and ashes; the customary forms of mourning: And 1 prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy, fulfilling all its gracious promises, to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled even by departing from thy pre cepts and from thy judgments; a confession similar to that prescribed by Solomon at the dedication of the temple, to be used 6 in their captivity, 1 Kings viii. 47. Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the peo7 ple of the land. O Lord, righteousness [belongeth] unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, [that are] near, and [that are] far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their 8 trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us [belongeth] confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God [belong] mercies and forgivenesses, though

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