11.-the miry places and the marishes-shall not be healed; The allegorical sense is, that some will reject the Gospel, and some receive it without obeying it.

Saltness is equivalent to barrenness in the Hebrew language.

12. whose leaf shall not fade,] They shall be like the trees of paradise, never barren or withering; a proper emblem of the flourishing state of the righteous still bringing forth fruit unto holiness, and whose end is everlasting life. See Ps. i. 3; Jer. xvii. 8.

14.—one as well as another:] Each tribe having an equal portion. This mysterious equality shews perhaps, that in the Church of Christ there should be no distinction between the Jew and the Gentile.

22.-ye shall divide it-unto you, and to the strangers &c.] Foreigners before never had the privilege of purchasing or possesing any inheritance among the Jews; so this mystically imports the admitting of the Gentiles into the same Church with the Jews, making them" fellow heirs, and of the same body" with them by "the Gospel," Ephes. iii. 6. From verse 15 to the end of the chapter is prefigured such an extension and enlargement of the Christian Church, as that it shall reach all the world over, even from one end to the other.

CHAP. XLVII.

Verse 1.-From the north end &c.] Having given a general description of the boundaries of the Holy Land, the Prophet now proceeds to state the limits of each tribe, beginning as before from the north.

8. And by the border of Judah, &c.] Between the portions of Judah and Benjamin, and immedi. ately south of that of Judah, shall be the offering set apart for the service of God, Chap. xlv, 1.

9. The oblation that ye shall offer unto the Lord] For His sanctuary and priests.

11.-as the Levites went astray.] Or, as the other Levites went astray: many of these had defiled themselves with idolatry, for which crime

they were to be degraded; see Chap. xlir, 10, 11. 19.-they that serve the city] That perform burdensome offices of publick utility.

29. This is the land which ye shall divide &c ] It is the opinion of some learned men, that so particular a description of the several portions allotted to each tribe, relates to the Jewish settlement in their own country after their conversion; several passages in the Prophets looking that way. But without laying too great a stress upon that opinion, we may fairly suppose some mystical sense contained under this description, the twelve tribes denote the true Christian Church in the New Testament; Luke xxii. 30. So this division of the land among the twelve tribes may imply. that all true Christians shall be equally sharers in the privileges of the Gospel.

35.The Lord is there.] It is frequently said in the sacred writings, that a person or a thing shall be called by a certain name, where it is predicted that the person or thing shall be endowed with those qualities which the name imports. Thus Isaiah says of the Messiah, that His name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller," &c. because He was to possess the qualities which would serve as a foundation to these titles. In this sense Jerusalem is called in the Psalms, the city of God, the city of the Great King;" and in Isaiah, "The city of Righteousness, the faithful city;" and in this passage, "The Lord

is there."

In this new Jerusalem, the Church of Christ, God shall dwell in a more glorious manner, and make it the place of His perpetual residence; so that every part of that city shall be honoured with tokens of the Divine presence: and every member of it being dedicated to God's service, and becoming an habitation of God through His Spirit, shall have some degree of the holiness of the temple where God had placed His name. is in a lower degree fulfilled in all good Christians, who are called " the temple of the living God," 2 Cor. vi. 16; and "an habitation of God through the Spirit," Eph, ii, 22

This

the Babylonian account, or the fourth, according to the Jewish; that is, in the second year of his reigning alone, or the fourth of his reigning jointly with his father.

5.-The thing is gone from me:] Meaning, "I do not recollect my dream:" or, according to some, "The word is most sure which I say;" that is, My decree is gone forth and is irrevocable.

8.-that ye would gain the time,] Ye seek delays, in order to gain time; that the king's attention to other concerns might make him forget this.

9.-till the time be changed:] Until some other occasions may divert me from this earnest inquiry.

10.-that can shew the king's matter :] The dream that he has forgot. The furious and arbitrary conduct of Nebuchadnezzar, both in this instance, and in that which is recorded in the following chapter, is much illustrated by history, which shews that such characters are not uncommon among the eastern monarchs.

18. That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven &c.] Many useful observations might be drawn from this passage on the nature, the efficacy, and the rewards of devotion; on the power and prevalency of united addresses to Heaven; and the important benefits, which the piety of a few boly men may sometimes bring down upon a multitude. Such improvements must be obvious to every attentive reader.

21.-he changeth the times and the seasons: &c.] He disposes the affairs of this world as seems good to Him.

22.-the light dwelleth with him.] With Him, and in Him, is all perfection of knowledge, and power of illumination,

28.-in the latter days.] This phrase often signifies the times of the Messiah, called the last times or age of the world. See the note on Is. ii. 2; and so the expression may be understood here; for the prophecy contained in this vision reaches to the establishment of Messiah's kingdom. See verse 44.

30,-but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king,] That this may be the means for myself and my three friends to gain your good will, the better to promote the glory of God, and do kindness to our brethren in captivity.

31, Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image,] In this vision of the image composed of four metals, the foundation of all Daniel's prophecies is laid. It represents a body of four great nations, which should reign over the earth successively; namely, the people of Babylonia, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. And by a stone cut out without hands, which fell upon the fect of the image, and brake all the four metals to

pieces, and "became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth," it further represents, that a new kingdom should arise after the four, and conquer all those nations, and grow very great, and last to the end of all ages.

-This great image, whose brightness was excellent, &c.] A great terrible human figure is not an improper emblem of human power and dominion; and the various metals, of which it was composed, not unfitly represent the various kingdoms that should arise. The order of their succession is clearly denoted by the order of the parts, the head and higher parts signifying the earlier times, and the lower parts the latter times.

This image appeared with a glorious lustre in the imagination of Nebuchadnezzar, whose mind was wholly taken up with admiration of worldly pomp and splendour: whereas the same monar chies were represented to Daniel under the shape of fierce and wild beasts, chap. vii; as being the great supporters of idolatry and tyranny in the world.

32, This image's head was of fine gold,] Which Daniel interprets, verse 38, "Thou art this head of gold;" thou, and thy family, and thy representatives, The Babylonian therefore was the first of these kingdoms; and it was fitly represented by the "head of fine gold," on account of its great riches and Babylon for the same reason was called by Isaiah," the golden city," chap. xiv. 4. his breast and his arms of silver,] Which Daniel interprets, verse 39," And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee." The kingdom, which arose after the Babylonian, was the Medo-Persian. The two hands and the shoulders signify that the empire of the Babylonians should be dissolved by two kings. The two kings were the kings of the Medes and Persians, whose powers were united under Cyrus, who was son of one of the kings, and son in law of the other, who besieged and took Babylon, put an end to that empire, and on its ruins erected the Medo-Persian, or Persian, as it is more usually called, the Persians having soon gained the superiority over the Medes.

his belly and his thighs of brass,] Which Daniel interprets, verse 39," And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth." Alexander the Great overthrew the Persian empire. The kingdom therefore, which succeeded to the Persian, was, the Macedonian or Grecian and this kingdom was fitly represented by brass, the Greeks being famous for their brasen

succeeded next to the Macedonians. The Roman empire was stronger and larger than any of the preceding. The Romans broke in pieces and subdued all the former kingdoms. The iron was "mixed with miry clay," and the Romans were defiled with a mixture of barbarous nations. The Roman empire was at length divided into ten lesser kingdoms, answering to the ten toes of the image. These kingdoms contained much of the old Roman strength, and shewed it upon several occasions, so that "the kingdom was partly strong, and partly broken." They "mingled themselves with the seed of men;" they made marriages and alliances one with another; but still no union took place; "they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay;" that is, so mixed as to make one cleave to the other.

34, 35. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, &c.] Which is explained by Daniel, verses 44, and 45. "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a king. dom," &c. This description can with propriety be understood only, as the ancients understood it, of the kingdom of Christ; which was set up during the last of these kingdoms, that is, the Romans. The stone being "cut out of the mountain without hands," denotes that the kingdom of Christ should be raised not by human power and earthly means. This kingdom may be said to "break in pieces and consume" the four other kingdoms, not only by destroying their false worship and idolatry; but because it rose, as it were, out of their ruins. The Roman empire soon began to fall into decay after the establishment of the kingdom of Christ.

39.-which shall bear rule over all the earth.] Not strictly over all the world, but over a large portion of it. It shall be the sovereign kingdom of the then known world.

It is reported of Alexander the Great, that be engaged no enemy which he did not conquer; besieged no city which he did not take; and made attempts on no nation which he did not subdue.

44. And in the days of these kings] Meaning kingdoms; In the days of the last of them, that is, the Roman.

46.-worshipped Daniel,] That is, did reverence to Daniel; paid hin such tokens of respect, as were agreeable to Eastern manners.

CHAP. III.

Verse 4-0 people, nations, and languages,] From whatever part of the empire ye come, and whatever language ye speak. This form of speech was designed to set forth the largeness and extent of the Babylonish empire, which had subjects of so many different languages.

13.well: It shall be well with you.

16.—we are not careful to answer thee] In so plain a case there is no room for deliberation: we have an answer ready; that we ought to obey God rather than man.

25.-I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, &c.] This would be more easily understood, if we knew the true form of what is called a furnace." Probably it was either an inclosed building, with an opening large enough to admit a full view of it, or an uncovered building, an inclosure of fire, or an area surrounded by a wall, within which the fire raged; so that Nebuchadnezzar, still seated on his throne, might see the persons in the fire.

like the son of God.] Very bright and glori ous, above the possibility of human beauty. Probably one of the angels, who are called in Scrip ture" Sons of God."

28.-have changed the king's word,] Have made his command of none effect, God Himself having prevented the execution of it.

CHAP. IV.

Verse 1.-Peace be multiplied unto you.] An usual form of addressing the subjects of this vast empire.

8.-in whom is the spirit of the holy gods:] Or, " of the holy God."

9.-no secret troubleth thee,] None is too hard for thee to find out.

tell me the visions of my dream] The meaning is, Hear the visions of my dream, and then tell me the interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar relates the dream himself.

10.-behold a tree in the midst of the earth, &c.] The sovereigns of the world are often represented by large trees in the language of other countries, as well as in the prophetick language of the Hebrews; and by the shadow is denoted the protec tion which men may receive under government.

15. Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth,] As, when the root of a tree is still alive, there is a possibility of its flourishing again; so there should still be hopes that the king might recover his former state and dignity: see verse 26. 16. Let his heart be changed &c.] See verse 25. The plain interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's case, stripped of the prophetick figurative language, appears to be, that he should be punished with madness, should fancy himself a beast and live like a beast, but after some time should recover his reason and resume the government.

let seven times puss over him.] That is, seven years.

17.—the watchers,—the holy ones :] Many commentators suppose that by these titles are to be understood angles, who are the instruments of

God, and messengers to execute His judgments. But it has been suggested with more probability, that they denote the Persons in the Godhead; the first ("the watchers") describing Them by the vigilance of Their universal providence; the second ("the holy ones"), by the transcendent sanctity of Their nature. For it is observable, that it is not the mere execution of the judgment pon Nebuchadnezzar, but the decree itself, which is ascribed to Them; that the whole matter originated in Their decree, and at Their command the decree was executed; and accordingly, in perfect consistency with this interpretation we find, in the 24th verse, that this decree of " the watchers" and "the holy ones" is "the decree of the most High" God.

-the basest of men.] This regards Nebuchadnezzar, either with respect to his state of prosperity, when his pride and cruelty rendered him despicable in the sight of God: or else it may be understood of his wonderful restoration, after he had been degraded from his diguity; and sent to herd with the beasts of the field.

26.-thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee,] That is, Thou shalt certainly be restored again to thy throne.

27.-if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.] If you repent and reform, your punishment may perhaps be remitted, and your prosperity continued for a longer term.

28. All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.] Strange as it must seem, notwithstanding Daniel's weight and credit with the king: notwithstanding the consternation of mind, into which the dream had thrown him; this warning had no lasting effect. He was not cured of his pride and vanity till he was overtaken by the threatened judgment.

29. he walked in the palace] Or, "he was walking upon the palace." It is well known that the roofs of the buildings in the East were flat, over which the inhabitants used to walk for plea

Verse 2.-his father Nebuchadnezzar] Rather, his grandfather. It was not unusual with the Hebrews to call the grandfather, the father.

4.-praised the gods of gold, &c.] As they drank their wine in these once hallowed vessels, they triumphed over that God, to whom they had been consecrated; and magnified the power of their idols, as if by their might these victories had been achieved, and these rich spoils obtained. Such a wanton and sacrilegious insult deserved and called for exemplary punishment.

5. In the same hour came forth fingers &c.] While they were in the act of offering this insu.t to the God of heaven, it pleased Him in His wisdom to vindicate His honour in an extraordinary manner, and to shew that He took notice of this presumptuous impiety.

20. and they took his glory from him ;] Oí, "his glory was taken from him."

26.-MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.] The determinate number of years which God hath appointed for the continuance of thy reign, and the Babylonish monarchy, is finished. The word "MENE" is doubled in the foregoing verse, to shew that the thing is cer. tain, and established by God," as Joseph tells Pharaoh in the like case, Gen. xli. 32,

27. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the ba lances, and art found wanting.] The meaning here is, that the Almighty, had weighed, or made a due estimate of, the conduct of Belshazzar, açcording to the just and impartial measures of His providence; and had found him light or deficient, a man unworthy of a kingdom, and a fit object of Divine vengeance.

28. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, &c.] "Peres" is derived from a word signifying to divide or break: it is likewise the proper name of the Persians, who were to be sharers in the division of the Babylonish empire. "Upharsin" in the 25th verse literally signifies" and they divide."

30. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.] And from the next verse it appears, that the Babylonian or Chaldean kingdom expired with him.

The judgment recorded in this chapter is a visible proof of the Divine vengeance on those, whose heart is lifted up by prosperity; on the profane and ungodly, who, instead of reverencing Him from whom they receive life, and breath, and all things, have the insolence to exalt themselves against Him; and on those, who do not improve the warnings He gives them, the afflictions He visits them with, nor the examples He sets before them.