22.-forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me;] The Prophet, having justly offended neither God nor the king, very truly offers the righteousness of his cause as the reason of the Divine interference for his security; not from any ostentatious display of his own merit, but to di rect the attention of the king to the power and providence of that great Being who is " mighty to save," and whose favour is more to be regarded than life itself.

24.-and the lions had the mastery of them, &c.] This shewed that the lions had not spared Daniel because they were not hungry, but that he had been miraculously preserved by Divine interference.

28.-Cyrus the Persian.] Who upon the death of Darius took possession of the whole monarchy of the Medes and Persians, called from him the Persian monarchy.

The example of Daniel not only strips us of every excuse for not performing our devotions, but gives us likewise instructions how to perform them with regard to place, posture, time, and matter. And let the blessed effect and reward of his devotion fire our souls to an imitation of so great and glorious an example. Would we be de livered from the power of the devil, and the bitter pains of eternal death? would we be holy, and just, and good? would we be filled with wisdom and understanding in the counsels of God? would we be high in the favour of Heaven? nay, would we be saved from temporal calamities, and brought to honour and esteem in the sight of men? Constancy in prayer can open a way to all these blessings.

CHAP. VII.

The historical part of the book of Daniel was finished with the last chapter; the remaining part of this book acquaints us with the visions, which at different times were communicated to the Prophet himself. The vision or dream contained in this chapter resembles that of Nebuchadnezzar, which the Prophet had related and expounded at chap. ii. What was there prefigured by a large statue of various metals, is here pointed at by a very different sort of emblem; each suited to the disposition or character of the persons to whom

the communications were made. Four beasts are, in this dream, designed to signify the four great monarchies or kingdoms; and some circumstances, relating to the fourth beast, are probably intended to shadow forth a train of events, which were to reach to the latest ages of the world.

Verse 4. The first was like a lion, &c.] This is the kingdom of the Babylonians; and the king of Babylon is in like manner compared to a lion by Jeremiah, chap. iv. 7; and is said to fly as an eagle, chap. xlviii. 40. The plucking of the eagle's wings denotes the diminution or decay of the Babylonish empire.

made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.] The sense of this passage seems to be, that, after the Babylonian empire was overthrown, the people became more humble and gentle; their minds were humbled with their fortune; and they, who vaunted as if they had been gods, now felt themselves to be but men. They were brought to such a sense as the Psalmist wishes such persons to have, "Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men."

5. And behold another beast, &c.] This is the kingdom of the Medes and Persians: and for their cruelty and greediness after blood, they are compared to a bear, a most voracious and cruel animal. and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: By the three ribs are probably to be understood the kingdom of Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt, which were conquered by the second beast, but were not properly parts or members of its body. They might be called " ribs," as the conquest of them much strengthened the Persian empire; and they might be said to be, " between the teeth of the bear," as they were much op pressed by the Persians.

6.-lo another, like a leopard,] This is the kingdom of the Macedonians, or Grecians, who under the command of Alexander the Great overcame the Persians, and reigned next after them. The leopard is remarkable for its swiftness and the impetuosity with which it springs upon its prey; and Alexander and the Macedonians were amaz ingly rapid in their conquests. This rapidity is further intimated by the "four wings on the back" of the beast. The "four heads" of the beast denote the four kingdoms, into which the empire of Alexander was divided at his death by his four captains; Cassander reigning over Macedon and Greece, Lysimachus over Thrace and Bithynia, Ptolemy over Egypt, and Seleucus over Syria.

7-behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, &c.] Daniel was curious to know particularly what this beast might mean; see verse 19; and was answered by the angel in the 23d verse. This fourth kingdom can be no other than the Ro

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man empire, which was "dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly," beyond any of the former kingdoms. It was" diverse from all kingdoms," not only in its republican form of government, but likewise in strength, and greatness, length of duration, and extent of dominion. And its conquests were so great and numerous, that it might well be said to "devour the whole earth, and to tread it down, and break it in pieces." St. John has described the shape of this beast, Rev. xiii. 1, 2.

-and it had ten horns.] By these are represented the ten smaller kingdoms, into which the Roman empire was broken and divided. See verse 24.

8.-behold, there came up among them another little horn,] This little horn is supposed to represent the Pope.

9.-the Ancient of days] By this term is undoubtedly meant the Deity, the eternal Judge of the world, whom the Prophet thus describes, to adapt himself to human apprehensions, and to make the following part of his descriptions more intelligible; but no similitude is pointed out, nor ought we from hence to attempt to represent by any figure the invisible God.

The general judgment is described in this and the following verses, wherein sentence was to pass upon this fourth beast, and an end put to his dominion.

12. As concerning the rest of the beasts, &c.] As to the three first kingdoms, denoted by the former three beasts, though the succeeding kingdom took away the dominion of that which went before, yet it was not done all at once; and the nations had still a being though they changed their masters, Whereas the destruction of the last kingdom implied the putting of an end to that empire and to all other earthly governments; the kingdom of Christ being then immediately to take place. See verse 13, 14.

13.-behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven,] One in the shape and likeness of a man; but clothed with such ensigns of majesty, as shewed Him to be an extraordinary Person; in short the Messiah, as the description of Him that, followeth, shews. Our Saviour often speaks of Himself as "the Son of man;" and He alludes to this text, Matt. xxvi. 64, where He speaks of His coming in "the clouds of heaven," by which expression He acknowledged Himself to be the Messiah here described.

16. one of them, that stood by,] One of the angels, who always attend upon the throne of God.

20.—even of that horn that had eyes,] To denote his cunning and foresight, his looking out and watching for all opportunities to promote his own interest.

-and a mouth that spake very great things,] Such had the Pope, especially in former ages, boasting of his supremacy, thundering out his bulls and anathemas, excommunicating princes, and absolving subjects from their allgeiance.

- whose look was more stout than his fellows.] The Pope has assumed an unlimited superiority, not only over his fellow bishops, but even over crowned beads.

24.- and he shall be diverse from the first] The papal power was an ecclesiastical and spiritual, as well as a civil and temporal authority.

and he shall subdue three kings.] Three of the ten horns or kingdoms, namely those of the Heruli, the Ostrogoths, and the Lombards. These were plucked up or eradicated before the little horn, in the way of which they stood: and by the addition of their dominions to the papacy, the Pope became also a temporal power.

25.--and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.] "They," that is, either the saints shall be subject to his power, or his influence shall prevail over the times, or solemnities, and laws.

"

The period here mentioned must be computed according to the nature and genius of the prophetick language. According to this, " time and times and the dividing of time," or half a time, are three years and a half: and the ancient Jewish year consisted of twelve months, and each month of thirty days," a time and times and half a time,' or three years and a half, are reckoned in the Revelation as equal to forty and two months," or "a thousand two hundred and threescore days," Rev. xi. 2, 3; xii. 6, 14; and the day in the style of the Prophets is a year, Ezek. iv. 6: and it is confessed, that the seventy weeks in the ninth chapter of Daniel are weeks of years; and consequently 1260 days are 1260 years. So long the little horn will continue: but from what point of time the beginning of these 1260 years is to be dated, is not so easy to determine. And it is safer to wait for the completion of the prophecy, than to conjecture and divine about it,

26, 27. But the judgment shall sit, &c.] After what manner these great changes will be effected, we cannot pretend to say, since God hath not been pleased to reveal it. We cannot frame any conception, how Christ will be manifested in glory; how the little horn with the body of the fourth beast will be given to the burning flame, or how the saints will take the kingdom, and possess it for ever and ever. It is the nature of such pro⚫ phecies, not to be perfectly understood till they are fulfilled. The best comment upon them will be their completion.

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CHAP. VIII.

Verse 3.-there stood before the river a ram] The second empire in the former vision is the first in this and what was there compared to a bear is here prefigured by a ram. This "ram having two horns," according to the explication of the angel Gabriel, was the empire of the Medes and Persians, verse 20. The propriety of the emblem appears from hence, that it was usual for the king of Persia to wear instead of a diadem, a ram's head nade of gold.

-the two horns were high; &c.] This is said, because the empire of the Medes and Persians was a union of two very formidable powers: "but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last." The kingdom of Media was the more ancient of the two, and more famous in history: Persia was of little note till the time of Cyrus, but under Cyrus the Persians gained and maintained the superiority.

4. I saw the rum pushing westward, and northward, and southward;] Subduing Lydia, Babylonia, and Egypt, with their dependencies, represented in the former vision by three ribs in the bear's mouth.

5.-behold an he goat] The interpretation of which is given in verse 21. "A goat" is very properly made the type of the Grecian or Macedonian empire. The first king of the Macedonians made a goat his ensign, and called his capital city Egea, or the goat's town.

and touched not the ground:] the swiftness of his marches, and the his conquests.

Alluding to rapidity of

and the goat had a notable horn between his yes.] "The rough goat" (see verse 21.)" is the king of Grecia," that is, the kingdom; " and the great horn between his eyes is the first king;" or the first kingdom, namely, that under Alexander the Great.

8, 7. And he came to the ram &c.] In these two verses we have an account of the Grecians overthrowing the Persian empire.

8.and when he was strong, the great horn was broken:] The empire of the goat was in its full strength, when Alexander died of a fever at Babylon. He was succeeded in the throne by some of his own family; but in the space of a few years they were all murdered, and then the first horn or kingdom was entirely broken. The "four notable ones" that came up in its room" toward the four winds" were the four kingdoms into which the dominions of Alexander were divided, under Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus.

9. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, &c.] By this little horn is to be understood the Roman temporal power. It was to rise up in

the north west parts of those nations, which composed the body of the goat; and from thence was to extend his dominion towards Egypt, Syria, and Judea.

The actions of the little horn here described accord well with the Romans. He "waxed exceeding great;" and so did the Roman Empire, even within the territory of the goat. "Toward the south;" the Romans made Egypt a province of their empire. "Toward the east;" the Romans grew very powerful in this direction, conquering and making a province of Syria, which was the eastern kingdom of the goat. "And towards the pleasant land;" that is, Judea. The Romans effectually conquered the Jews, first made a province of their country, and then destroyed their city and temple, and dispersed the people, so that after so fatal a fall they have never been able to rise again.

10.-even to the host of heaven;] Or," against the host of heaven." In prophetick language “the host of heaven" and "the stars" are put for the people of God, the great men among the Jews.

11.-to the prince of the host,] Or, "against the prince," &c. The Messiah, the Prince of the Jews, whom he put to death.

by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was east down.] The Romans took away the daily sacrifice of the Jews, and utterly destroyed their temple.

12. And an host was given him &c.] Or, as we read in the margin of the Bible, the host was given over for the transgression against the daily sacrifice, and he cast down the truth to the ground, and he practised and prospered." Or, as the same thing is expressed by the angel, "He shall destroy wonderfully, &c." see verse 24, 25. The Romans carried their conquest and their revenge so far, as to put an end to the government of the Jews, and entirely to take away their place

and nation.

13, 14.-How long shall be the vision &c.] The words may be rendered, "For how long a time shall the vision last, the daily sacrifice be taken away, and the transgression of desolation continue?" &c. The answer is, "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."

The days are without doubt to be taken agreeably to the style of Daniel in other places, not for natural, but prophetick days; that is, years. And these two thousand and three hundred days denote the whole time from the beginning of the vision to the cléansing of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is not yet cleansed, and consequently these years are not yet expired. When these years shall be expired, then their end will clearly shew from whence the beginning is to be dated, whether

from the vision of the ram, or of the he goat, or of the little horn. It is difficult to fix the precise time, when the prophetick dates begin, and when they end, till the prophecies are fulfilled, and the event declares the certainty of them.

17.-for at the time of the end shall be the vision.] Or," to the time of the end;" that is, there is a precise time appointed for the accomplishment of the vision, when it shall certainly be fulfilled.

19.-I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation:] I will explain to thee the whole series of God's judgments upon His people to the conclusion of them.

23. And in the latter time of their kingdom, &c.] That is, of Alexander's successors.

when the transgressors are come to the full,] When the transgressions of the Jews are become so great as to be ripe for vengeance. Or, " the transgressors" may mean the Romans; and then the words are to be understood as alluding to the profanations committed by them, when they put down the Jewish religion, and set up the heathen worship in Jerusalem.

-a king of fierce countenance,] Meaning the Roman power. "A king" in the prophetick style

is the same as "a kingdom;" and a kingdom is any state or government. What follows is a description of the Roman power and policy, in subduing the world by force and fraud.

24. but not by his own power: Meaning perhaps, that the singular progress of the Roman greatness was to be attributed, not so much to their own strength, as to the assistance of their allies, and often to the quarrels and divisions of their enemies, of which they were always on the watch to take advantage. Or the meaning may perhaps be, that they were permitted by Provi dence to "destroy wonderfully" and to make havock of God's people.

-and practise,] That is, shall perform great actions. The great and splendid actions of the Komans have commanded the admiration of all ages.

This

25.-and by peace shall destroy many:] Or rather," in peace shall destroy many." alludes perhaps to the cruel and bloody amusements in which the Romans delighted, such as the shews of their gladiators, and the exhibition of men torn in pieces by wild beasts. It has been observed that no war brought such slaughter and devastation on the human race, as these diversions; and that one month has cost Europe twenty or thirty thousand lives.

he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;] That is, lie shall become the judge of the Prince of princes, meaning, the Messiah. It was by the malice of the Jews, but by the authority

of the Romans, that Jesus Christ was put to death.

but he shall be broken without hand.] As "the stone," in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, was "cut out of the mountain without hands," that is, not by human, but by supernatural means, go "the little horn shall be broken without hand ;” not die the common death, nor fall by the hand of men, but perish by a stroke from Heaven, And this agrees perfectly with other predictions of the fatal catastrophe of Rome. See chap. ii. 34; vii. 11, 26. All which implies, that the dominion of the Romans shall be finally destroyed with some extraordinary manifestation of the Divine power.

26.—the vision of the evening and the morning] That is, probably, the vision concerning the continuance of the evening and morning (that is, daily) sacrifice, see verse 13.

shut thou up the vision;] The same thing is expressed by "shutting up the words," and "sealing the book," chap. xii. 4. The expression in both places denotes the concealing of the sense of it from common understandings; or the de. ferring of the accomplishment of the events therein foretold.

CHAP. IX.

This chapter contains a very affecting and fervent prayer of Daniel, on a near view of the expi- . ration of the seventy years allotted for Judah's captivity; the success of his prayer is pointed out at the conclusion of it, and the deliverance of his brethren is communicated to the Prophet in a very extraordinary revelation by the angel Gabriel; but the misconduct and ingratitude of the Jews would occasion the utter destruction of their restored city, after a period, and by reason of an event, which the prophecy plainly indicates.

Verse 2.-whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet,] See Jer. xxv. 12. and

xxix. 10.

seventy years] Which were now very far advanced. This first year of Darius was the sixtyeighth of the captivity.

3-to seek by prayer and supplications,] The promises of God ace generally conditional: and the promise of restoring the Jews after seventy years captivity, had this condition particularly expressed, that they should "call upon Him, and pray unto Him," and then He would "bearken upto them;" Jer. xxix. 12.

4. And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession,] Both acknowledging His justice and holiness, and my own and my people's iniquity. The better men are, the greater is the sense of their guilt, and the deeper is their humiliation.

Daniel here sets himself to confess his sins, and those of his countrymen, to entreat for mercy on Jerusalem, with a fervour and affection never to be exceeded. Our devotions, according to this mo del, should consist of confession of sins; deprecation of the punishments and judgments acknowledged to be due to them; supplication for pardon, deliverance and grace; and intercession for the Church, and all included in her, our relations, friends, countrymen, and fellow Christians, and more especially for all that are in affliction; the whole to be concluded with thanksgiving; concerning which, we may observe, that no situation in this world can exclude the necessity, and take away the ground of it, since we find Daniel "giving thanks," when the city and temple of God were in ashes, and himself a captive in Babylon. Even then he not only "prayed," but also " gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime;" chap. vi, 10.

11.—the oath that is written in the law of Moses] See Levit. xxvi. 14, &c. Deut. xxviii. 15, &c.

17.-for the Lord's suke, This expression seems to refer to the promised Redeemer, who says of Himself, "I am in the Father, and the Father in Me", John xiv. 11; that Lord, for whose sake alone the petition of the Prophet could be heard and accepted.

19.-defer not, for thine own sake, O my God:] Defer not to accomplish the promise, which Thou bast made, to restore us to our own country. So remarkable a turn of providence will greatly redound to the honour of Thy name.

To the same effect with this supplication of Daniel are those petitions in our Liturgy, where we pray to God to" deliver us for His name sake," and presently after, "for His honour." In both which petitions we implore the protection of Almighty God, not for any merit of our own, but from a deep sense of His mercy and goodness; not merely that we may be delivered, bnt that His honour and glory may be displayed.

20. for the holy mountain of my God;] The temple, on mount Zion: see verse 16.

21.the man Gabriel,] The angel Gabriel, appearing in the shape of a man.

23. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth,] God's command to Die to instruct thee further in what should hereafter befal the city and temple of Jerusalem, in behalf of which you poured forth your supplications. Mere was a remarkable completion of that promise in Isa. lxv. 24. "While they are yet speaking, I will hear."

24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people &c.] By "seventy weeks" we are to under

tand seventy weeks of years, or seventy times seven years; that is, 490 years; each day being

accounted for a year, according to the prophetical way of reckoning: see Numb. xiv. 34; Ezek. iv. 6. Daniel, by examining the prophecy of Jeremiah, had discovered, that the seventy years of the captivity were nearly expired: and here the angel reveals to him another line of time, importing that Jerusalem, after its restoration, should continue for a space consisting of seventy times seven years, which being expired, it should be finally destroyed.

In the seventh year of Artaxerxes, Ezra returned with a body of Jews from captivity, and revived the Jewish worship; and by the king's commission created magistrates in all the land to judge and govern the people according to the laws of God and of the king, Ezra vii. From this year to the death of Christ was just 490 years.

At the expiration of this time, which God bad punctually" determined," or allotted for the people of the Jews, they were to be no longer His peculiar people; nor the once holy city Jerusalem, nor the Mosaical worship, any longer to be owned as His peculiar city or worship: and then "the most Holy should be, anointed," the Messiah or Christ, be manifested, "to finish the transgression," restrain impiety by the Gospel; " and to make an end of sins," by taking away the guilt thereof through His death, instead of the Jewish offerings, which were to cease; and thereby "to make reconciliation" with God the Father; "and to bring in everlasting righteousness," not like that of the Law, but of the Gospel, to endure for ever; and so "to seal up the vision and prophecy," fully to complete and finish all that by former visions and prophecies had been revealed.

25.-shall be seven weeks, and three score and two weeks: The whole put together make sixtynine weeks of years, or 483 years.

-

even in troublous times.] The Jews were sorely assaulted by their adversaries, who did all they could to hinder them from rebuilding the city. See Nehem. iv. 7, &c,

26. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off] That is, after the sixty-two added to the seven foregoing weeks, or after the termination of the 483 years. The common interpretation is, that in the seventieth or last week the Messiah should be put to death.

It was in consequence of this prophecy of Daniel concerning the seventy weeks, or 490 years, that the coming of the Messiah towards the end of that period was generally expected among the nations of the east.