cause why I should finde fault wyth hym or murmure agaynst hym as though he hath bene ouer seuere agaynst me Therefore I confesse what punishment soeuer I sustayne I was worthy of it Why For all the wayes of the Lord are iudgement that is there is great vprightnes in them Furthermore all his workes are truth that is there is no vnequall thing found in them neyther any deceitfull thyng but great righteousnes shall shine in them euery where We sée then how Nebuchadnezer doth condemne hym self by hys owne mouth with these words whiles he declareth the righteousnes of God in all hys workes Neyther doth thys generality hinder that Nebuchadnezer should not set hymselfe gilty openly and fréely before the iudgemēt seat of God but this word hath more hehemency whiles he beyng admonished by hys owne example doth confesse vniuersally that God is iust and whatsoeuer he doth is right and true And thys poynt is worthy to be noted For many can easely prayse Gods iustice and equity when they haue all thinges at their owne hartes desire but if God beginne once to deale sharply with thē then poure they forth their poyson and beginne to quarell wyth God and to accuse hym of iniustice and cruelty Wherefore in that that Nebuchadnezer doth here cōfesse without exception that God is iust and true in all hys workes when as he was so seuerely punished this confession is not fayned for that which he speaketh must néedes come forth of the inward and liuely féeling of the hart because he had tasted the rigour of Gods iudgement Now in the end is added That he can humble them that walke in pride Here Nebuchadnezer doth disclose hys owne sinne and shame more plainly and he is not ashamed to confesse hys fault before the whole world seyng that the punishment was euident Wherefore like as God would haue hys madnes to be detested of all men when he executed such a terrible example of so horrible a punishment vpon hym so doth Nebuchadnezer now come forth and testifie that he did worthely suffer this so greuous punishment because in déede he was to proud And here do we sée the power of God ioyned with hys iustice as was sayd before He doth not attribute vnto God any Tyranny that should be lawles For whē Nebuchadnezer hath confessed all the wayes of God to be iudgemēt straight wayes after he saith of himselfe that he was proud Wherfore he doubteth not to set forth his shame before mē that he might glorify god And thys is the right way to prayse God not onely when we confesse our selues to be nothyng but also when we recount our vices agayne when we do not onely knowledge wythin our selues and in our owne consciences that we are wicked and worthy to be condemned before God but testify the same wyth open mouth before all mortall men so oft as shall be necessary And when the word of humilitation or humbling is named it is to be referred to that outward abbasing and casting downe when God cast Nebuchadnezer forth into the woodes to liue among the wilde beasts Howbeit he was also humbled after an other sort euen as one of the children of God. Seyng then there be two kindes of humiliation Nebuchadnezer speaketh of the first where God doth cast down and deface the proud Thys is one kynde of humbling which hath no fruit vnlesse the Lord do afterward gouerne vs wyth hys spirit of humility Thus Nebuchadnezer doth not here comprehend the grace of God which yet should haue had the chiefe prayse neither yet doth he describe in thys decrée whatsoeuer were to be required of a godly man that had bene long exercised in the schole of God but yet he maketh it manifest that he had much profited vnder Gods corrections when he attributeth vnto hym the most high power and ioyneth thereunto the commendation of iustice and equity The Prayer GRaunt almighty God seyng thys sinne of price is so fast fixed in all our hartes euer since we haue bene corrupted in our father Adam graunt that we may learne to examine our selues throughly that we may be so displeased wyth our selues as becommeth vs and that we may perceaue that there is no wisdome neither equity but that commēth from thee onely so that we may flie vnto they mercy and that we may confesse our selues worthy to be iudged to eternall death and yet trusting to they mercy which thou hast vouchedsafe to offer vnto vs by thy Gospell and beleuing in the mediator whom thou hast geuen vnto vs we may doubt nothing to flye vnto thee and to call thee father that we beyng regenerate by thy spirite may walke in true humility and modesty whiles at the length thou do rayse vs vp vnto that heauenly kingdome which is purchased for vs by the bloud of thine onely begotten Sonne Iesus Christ our lord Amen Chap. 5. The Texte KIng Beltsazar made a great feast to a thousand of hys Princes dranke wine before the thousand DAniel doth here declare and history which was done at the same tyme that Babylon was taken but in the meane season hee leaueth the iudgement of God to be considered of the readers of the which the Prophetes prophecied before the people was banished Here doth he not vse a propheticall stile as we shall sée afterward but is content wyth the simple narration but the vse of the history may be learned by those wordes which folow Therfore it is now our dutie to weigh in this history that which may make to the edification of fayth and of the feare of god In the first place we must note the tyme in the which Beltsazar did celebrate thys feast Now the seuenty yeares were passed frō that tyme that Daniel was brought into exile For although Nebuchadnezer were called afterward the father of Beltsazar yet is it manifest enough that Euilmerodah was betwixt them two And Euilmerodah raigned thrée and twenty yeares Other also number two kings before Beltsazar for they do put Regassar after Labassardach which two make eight yeares more Metastenes sayth so many do folow hym But it is manifest that Nebuchadnezer the great which brought Daniel away which was the sonne of the first Nebuchadnezer raigned 45. yeares Other do transferre two yeares to hys fathers Empire Howsoeuer it is he obtayned the kinges power 45. yeares Now adde moreouer 23. yeares to Euilmerodah which will make thréescore and eight Beltsazar also raigned 8. yeares Therfore we sée 72. yeares to be passed after Daniel was caried away captiue Metasthenes reckeneth 30. yeares in the raigne of Euilmerodah and moreouer there are added vnto hym 8. yeares So should the yeares be more then fourescore And this is probable enough Although it séemeth that Methasthenes erred in this that he made diuerse kinges seyng they were onely diuerse names For Herodotus doth not call thys king of whom now mētion is made Beltsazar but calleth hys father Labinetus hym also by the same name Therfore
to geue our selues wholly to glorify thy name all our life long through Iesus Christ our lord Amen Chap. 2. The Text. ANd in the second yeare of the raigne of Nebuchadnezer Nebuchadnezer dreamed dreames wherwith his spirit was troubled and hys sleepe was vpon hym 2 Then the king commaunded to call the Enchanters and the Astrologians and the Sorserers and the Chaldeans for to shew the king his dreames So they came stode before the king 3 And the king sayde vnto them I haue dreamed a dreame and my spirite was troubled to know the dreame 4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in the Sirians language O king liue for euer Shew thy seruaunts thy dreame and we shall shew the interpretation The meditation WHere Daniell saith that Nebuchadnezer had this dreame the second yeare of his Empire it semeth somthing contrary to the first Chapiter For if Nebuchadnezer did conquer Ierusalem the first yeare of his kingdome how can it be that Daniell was now counted amonges the wyse men and Astrologians for he was then a Scholer This seemeth not then to agree that Daniell with his companions were but Scholers the first yeare of Nebuchadnezer and that the second yeare he was in daunger of hys lyfe because he was of the number of the Mages Some say that the second yeare is to be counted from the captiuity and destruction of the Citie for they say that Nebuchadnezer was called kyng after that he had a quiet Monarchy and before he had destroyed the Temple and Citie he had not so But I do thinke otherwayes as it is more probable that this Nebuchadnezer raygned wyth hys father when he conquered Ierusalem in the tyme Ioachim and that he was then sent thether by hys father and after he had ended hys warres in Aegipt he returned into Chaldea to preuent seditions and innouations Wherefore herein there is no absurdity that Nebuchadnezer raigned before the death of hys father together wyth hym and afterward he raigned alone and that this thyng which is here spoken came to passe in the second yeare of his owne raigne He sayth that he dreamed dreames and yet there is but one dreame declared But because many thynges were wrapped vp in thys dreame he speaketh plurally as of many It is added that his spirit was troubled that we may know that it was no common dreame For this was not the first tyme that euer he dreamed neither was he so troubled euery night to call together all the Mages Wherefore Daniell woulde note that thys was an extraordinary dreame so that he beyng astonished did fall agayne into a dreame through the trouble of his mynde forgat what he had dreamed But he felt a burning in his cōscience because God would not suffer hym to rest but would haue hys mynde to be vnquiet whiles that he should haue the interpretation of the dreame Wherefore the prophane writers do not without cause place dreames amonges diuinations They speake in déede doubtfully of dreames because there can be no certainty in their writinges yet did they thinke that there was some kinde of diuination in their dreames How be it to extend this to all dreames were foolishe and childish For many tymes dreames do come of the affection of the mynde or of the disposition of the body but of the cōtrary part some dreames do come by Gods appointment for other purposes But concerning the dreame of Nebuchadnezer two thynges are to be noted First that the memory therof was lost and it was forgotten secondly that the meaning thereof was vnknowen We may sée in other places that the dreame was not forgotten and yet that the interpretation was vnknowen But here Nabuchadnezer was not only troubled for want of interpretation of the dreame but he was troubled agayne and was full of care and griefe because the vision was vanished forth of hys mynde As for the darknes of the dreames God vseth them so towardes his owne children For Ioseph when he dreamed that he was worshipped of the Sunne and the Moone knew not what the matter ment neither yet when he dreamed that his sheafe was worshipped of the sheaues of his brethren but he tolde it simply to his brethrē Thus doth God speake in dreames as it were by a darke ridle vntill the interpretation be annexed and so was the dreame of Nebuchadnezer Thus sometimes we sée that God doth open his wil to the vnbeleuers but not openly because they seyng should not sée and it is as if one should reach vnto them a booke that were shut as Isay sayth that God doth speake with the vnbeleuers in a straunge and a stamering toung So then was Gods will vttered to Nebuchadnezer that he did still remaine doubtfull and amazed wherefore hys dreame could nothing haue profited hym vnlesse God had geuen hym Daniell to be the interpreter thereof All hys cunning Astrologians and Chaldees could do nothing as all theyr sciences are vayne and foolish The Chaldeans who had taken to them the name of the Countrey as men most excellent could tell the king nothing at all Daniell and his fellowes in the meane tyme are forgotten of the king though he had good proofe of their wisdome before no doubt by the singular prouidence of God because God would not haue his seruauntes to be ioyned or coupled wyth the Enchanters Sorcerers and Mages but would haue his power to be made euident in Daniell after that all their vayne sciences had fayled and that the kyng by them could haue no comfort though they boasted much of their owne knowledge But it is to be noted that the dreames that God sendeth can not be expounded by any arte of man but by speciall reuelation from the almighty God. 5 And the king aunswered and sayd the thing is gone from me If ye will not make me vnderstand the dreame with the interpretation thereof ye shall be drawen in peeces and your houses shal be made a Iakes 6 But if ye declare the dreame and the interpretation thereof ye shall receaue of me giftes and rewardes and great honor therefore shew me the dreame and the interpretation of it 7 They aunswered agayne and sayd let the king shew his seruaunts the dreame and we wil declare the interpretation thereof 8 Then the king aunswered and sayd I know certainely that ye would gaine the time because ye see the thing is gone from me 9 But if ye will not declare me the dreame there is but one iudgement for you for ye haue prepared lying and corrupt wordes to speake before me till the tyme be chaunged therfore tell me the dreame that I may know if ye can declare me the interpretation thereof Here the king requireth more of the Chaldees thē they euer professed For although they boasted much of their art yet they did neuer promise to tel euery mā his dreame Wherfore it semeth that the king doth against iustice thus to charge them But we must note that the king had
band of yron brasse bynde it among the grasse of the fielde and let it bee wet with the dew of heauen and let his portion be with the beastes of the field till seuen tymes passe ouer him 21 This is the interpretation O kyng and it is the decree of the most hye which is come vppon my Lord the kyng Daniel here prosecuteth the matter that hee began with great libertie and constancy saying that the kyng of Babylon this great trée must be cut down He calleth him Lord and that vnfainedly but because he was the Ambassadour of the high kyng he doubteth not to lift vp his wordes and to set out his message committed vnto him with a more hye stile For this is the common vse of all the Prophetes to rise vp stoutely agaynst the mountaines and the hilles as is sayd in Ieremy J haue set thee this day ouer kingdomes and ouer nations to plucke vp and to roote out and to destroy and to throw downe to build and to plante God therfore will chalēge so great reuerence to his word that nothyng shal be so hye or excellent in the world which shall not geue place vnto it Daniel therefore concernyng men and the politike order confesseth the kyng to be his Lord notwithstandyng hée goeth forward with his Ambassage as he was appoynted That the king sayth he dyd see a watchman come downe from the heauens which sayd cut downe the tree and scatter it vntill seuen tymes passe ouer He repeteth that he which he spake before that the tyme of the punishment should haue an ende For God might haue abolished the kyng of Babylon and his whole memory and posteritie but hee would mitigate the punishment Albeit he would not for a short time punish this kyng Nebuchadnezer lest it should be neglected as an vsuall thyng but because it was his will to set forth a notorious example for all ages therefore would he prolong his punishment for a long tyme To this end therfore perteineth the nomber of seuen yeares For we know in the Scriptures that a long tyme is signified by the nomber of seuen because that nomber signifieth perfection The Prayer GRaunt almighty God that so oft as thou settest our sinnes before vs and doest pronounce thy iudgementes agaynst vs we do not abuse thy long sufferance and so heape vppon vs the store and treasure of greater vengeaunce thorow our slothfulnes and dulnes but let vs feare betymes and tremble at thy iudgementes and so take carefull heede vnto our selues that we may tast the comfort of thy swetenes and thereby be allured to submit our selues willingly vnto thee that we may desire nothyng more then to geue our selues wholly vnto thy seruice that thy name may bee glorified by vs in Christ Iesus our lord Amen 22 They shall driue thee from men thy dwellyng place shal be with the beastes of the field They shall make thee to eate grasse as the oxen and they shall wet thee with the dew of heauē and seuen tymes shall passe ouer thee till thou know that the most hye beareth rule ouer the kyngdome of men The verse that went before did say that this dreame did belong to the kyng Nebuchadnezer And it was méete so to be expressed for this was a heauy and a sharpe message to the kyng And we know how hardely kynges can beare not onely to be brought into order but also to be sommoned before Gods iudgement seat there to be beatē downe with shame reproch For we know that prosperitie doth make euen common persons dronken What can come vnto kynges then but that they forgettyng them selues to be mē should exempt them selues from all incommodities and griefes because they do not thinke that they are of the common condition with men Wherfore because Nebuchadnezer could hardely beare this message therfore did the Prophet admonish him in few wordes that the cuttyng downe of the trée was but a figure of that ruine and fall which he shortly should haue This doth he prosecute with moe wordes and sayth They shall cast thee from among men and thy dwellyng shal be with the wilde beastes Whereas Daniel did treate before of the fower Monarchies there is no doubt but that the kinges minde was at the first time stirred and sore gréeued but this was much more sharpe and much more intolerable to the kinges minde that he is compared to the brute beastes that he is cut of from the company of men and sent into the fieldes and woodes to féede with the beastes If Daniel had sayd onely that he should haue bene spoyled of his prnicely dignitie he would haue bene greatly offended with that abasement but when he is cast downe into this so great ignominie shame there is no doubt but he was raging madde inwardly Notwithstanding God dyd bridle his fury that he dyd not couet to auenge hym selfe of thys which he thought to be an iniury done vnto him For we shall see by the text afterward that he did not rightly repēt amend his life Seing then that he fostered the same pride still in his hart there is no doubt also but he was cruell for these two vices do alway go together But God restrained his rage so that he spared this holy Prophet By the way we may note the constancie of the seruaunt of God in that he doth not insinuate vnto the king by subtle meanes what should come vpon him but openly declareth with many wordes how fowle and shamefull a condition was appoynted for hym They shall cast thee out saith he from among men If he had sayd thou shalt be as a common person among men and shalt nothing differ from the base people now that had bene very greuous vnto a king But when the king is cast out of all humane society that he may not haue one corner amongest them neither is it graunted that he may lead his life with the Neatherdes and Swinherdes how greauous and horrible this was euery man may coniecture by his owne minde Yet doth not Daniel here doubt to pronounce this sore iudgement And the wordes that folow are of the same importance Thou shalt feede of the grasse thou shalt be watred with the dew of heauen and thy dwelling shal be with the wilde beastes Where the prophet teacheth that this punishment is at hand vnto the king of Babylon that he shal be brought to extreame ignominy and shame that he shall differ nothing from brute beastes Thys liberty then as I haue sayd is worthy to be noted that we may know that the seruauntes of God which haue the charge to teach and to preach vnto others can not execute theyr offices faythfully vnlesse with close eyes they passe by and despise all the hautines of the world Agayne by the example of the king we may learne that it is in vayne for vs to be stubborne and froward when God by his messengers threatneth vs For although Nebuchadnezer dyd not rightly repent
of thy former life be redressed Thou hast lōg enough gone astray For hetherto thou hast wandred without all iudgement whiles thou hast folowed thine vnbridled lust Put an end therfore to thine errour opē thine eyes and vnderstand at the length that thou oughtest to repent This semeth to be the meanyng of the wordes Now for the pointes of the doctrine Daniel doth deale more mildly with this prophane king then if he had preached to his owne countreymen For thē he would haue vsed his propheticall authoritie not haue talked of his owne counsaile But because he did know that the kyng knew not the first principles of Religiō he taketh vpon him the person of a counsailer because he was not an ordinary teacher That Nebuchadnezer had now called him it was not vsuall euery day as though he would submit him selfe to his doctrine Daniel doth therfore consider with what maner of man he had to do when he sayth Let my counsaile be acceptable vnto thee and then doth vtter it in few wordes Breake of thy sinnes or cast them from thée by rightuousnes and thyne iniquities by mercy toward the poore There is no doubt but that Daniel would exhort the kyng to repentance howbeit he doth touch but one kinde as we do know that it is vsuall in the Prophetes For when they call the people home they do not alway comprehend what repentance is neither do they generally describe it but they touch by a figure either the outward declaration therof or some part of it especially wherin men are most fauty Daniel doth so now If thou do aske what is repentance it is the turnyng agayne of man vnto God from whom he was departed And is this conuersion and returnyng onely in the handes and the feete and the tounge Nay it rather begynneth in the hart and then it goeth forth into outward workes True repentaunce then beginneth in the minde of man to wit that he which would be wise in his owne conceit should now renounce his owne wisedome and forsake the foolishe confidence in his own wyt and then that he should subdue his wicked and corrupt affections and submit them vnto God then shall folow the reformation of the life outwardly Howbeit the workes are but testimonies of repentance For repentaunce as I sayd is a thyng more pure and precious then that the roote therof can euidently be séene with mans eye By the fruites therfore do we onely testifie our repentance But because the workes of the second table do as it were open and declare mans mynde what it is therfore the Prophetes often tymes when they require repentance do onely set forth the workes of charitie as Daniel here doth Breake of thy sinnes sayth he with righteousnes When men do sée that they are called to repentaunce and amendment of lyfe they do fayne vnto themselues many prety kindes of seruice which yet are not worthy to be accompted Gods seruice because they do not regard what doth please God neyther yet what he commaūdeth by his word but as they themselues do allow thys or that they do wythout regarde obtrude it vnto God as we do sée in Popery For what call they an holy and iust lyfe amōgest them To trot hether and thether to vow and go pilgrimages then to set vp some Image to found some Masses to fast thys or that day and to heap vp such a sort of fond toyes of the which God hath neuer spoken one word Because therefore that mē do so farre so grosly wander a stray in the knowledge of true iustice the Prophet doth here ioyne the name of mercy as an exposition as though he should say Do not thinke that God is pleased wyth outward pomps shewes which do please men as they are carnall and addicte to earthly thynges and therefore do they wickedly esteme God after theyr owne disposition Let not thys vanity therefore begile thée but know thou that true iustice standeth in compassion toward the poore Also in this second member the part is named for the whole by a figure called Sinecdoche for true iustice is not restreined to this matter simply but to all the workes of charity We must then deale faythfully wyth all men and neither beguile rich nor poore neyther yet be greuous vnto any but geue vnto euery man that which is hys owne as apperteineth And thys manner of speaking ought to be well known of vs if we be any thyng exercised in the doctrine of the Prophetes How so euer it is Daniel woulde hereby shew vnto the king of Babylon what it is to liue iustly to wytt euen to kéepe fidelity and vpright dealing with men and yet doth he not neglect the first table of the law For the worshyp of God is more precious then all humane iustice that is to say thē any thing that can be done betwixt mā and man Howbeit true iustice declareth it selfe by outward workes and testimonies as is sayd before And he rather speake to of the second table then of the first because the whiles hypocrites do pretēd to worship God by ceremonies and many outward shewes they suffer themselues to liue in all cruelty bribery craft deceit so that they care not how they liue wyth their neighboures Because then that the hypocrites do couer their wickednes vnder thys cloke God doth set forth a touchstone to try them when he calleth them to the workes of charity There may be double vnderstanding of the end of the verse If we retaine the futer tense Behold there shall be a medicine to thyne error it is a confirmation of the doctrine that went before as though he should say thou mayst not deale by long delayes and vayne shiftes that wyll not serue thys is the onely medicine that I tell thee Or if we take it as an exhortation the text wyll go very well Let thys be a medecine to thyne errors that is to say do not folow thy lustes still as thou hast done but open thine eyes and perceaue how miserably thou hast liued and labour to redresse thy former errors Now where the Papistes haue abused thys place to proue that God is pacified with sacrifices it is to foolish and ridiculous if we examine their doctrine For when they wyll define satisfactions they call them the workes of supererogation If a man do that which God hath cōmaunded in hys law yet can he not satisfie for hys sinnes as the Papistes are compelled to confesse What remayneth then Forsooth that we offer more vnto God then he commaundeth Wherefore they call them also opera indebita workes that are not due But Daniel doth not here require of kyng Nebuchadnezer any worke of supererogation but hee requireth iustice afterward declareth that mans lyfe is not ordered by iustice vnlesse humanity and kindnes be amongst vs and especially vnlesse we be mercifull vnto the poore Surely here is no worke of supererogation For wherunto tendeth the law It foloweth the refore that
this can not be drawen to the workes of satisfaction and that the Papistes are foolish and filthy herein But although we graunt vnto thē this thyng yet it doth not folow that the sinnes are redemed before God therby as though the workes could recompence either for the punishmēt or for the crime They confesse that the crime is not redemed with satisfactions but the punishment they say is redemed But sée how thys agréeth wyth the mynde of the Prophet I do not striue wyth them now for the word of redemyng but I would haue them to regard whether thys redemption be in the iudgement of God or before men It is certaine that Daniel here did regarde how wickedly and cruelty Nebuchadnezer had behaued hymselfe how tyrannously he had vexed hys subiectes how proudly he despised the poore and miserable that were vnder hym Because then he had geuen hym selfe so dissolutly to all wickednes Daniel declareth the remedy And though this remedy be taken for a redemption or deliueraunce there is no absurditie for we redeme our sinnes wyth men when we satisfie for them I do redeme my fault at my neighbours hand when I do labour to reconcile my selfe vnto hym after I haue offended hym knowledging my crime and asking forgeuenes And if I haue diminished hys goods I restore that which was vniustly taken Thus do I redeme my crime But it doth not follow therefore that my sinnes are purged before the iudgement seat of God as though thys which I do vnto my neighbour were any kynde of recompence before god We sée therefore how foolish the Papistes are to abuse the Prophetes wordes Here they vse to demaund a question to what purpose Daniel doth exhort the king Nebuchadnezer to breake of hys sinne or to redeme hys sinne For eyther it was a thyng depending of chaunce which were a great absurdity to graunt or els it was an heauēly decrée like as the dreame of the kyng was a publication of Gods decrée as we did sée before If thys were determined with God it could by no meanes be chaunged Therefore it was in vayne to redeme hys sinne If we follow the other exposition of breaking of thys sinne there remayneth no doubt But although we cōfesse that the Prophet here doth speake of the redeming of sinnes yet is the exhortatiō not vnprofitable For although kyng Nebuchadnezer should haue prepared hymselfe to beare Gods correction yet was it not vnprofitable to know God to be mercifull And the tyme also myght haue bene shortened which was prolonged by his ostinate malice not that God at any tyme chaungeth hys decrée but because he often tymes preacheth threatningly vnto mē to cause them to repēt that he may deale more mercifully wyth them and restraine the rigour of hys vengeaunce as we sée by manifolde examples Thys had not bene then vnprofitable nor fruitles that Daniel exhorted the kyng to redeme or breake of hys sinne if the king had considered it for he myght haue found fauour in some poynt although he had bene punished Yea though there had not bene one day shortened of vij yeares yet was this no small profite if the kyng had humbled hym self betymes before God that yet he might be capable of that mercy in the end which was promised For because the tyme was named by the Prophet therfore had it bene profitable for the kyng if he had prepared hymselfe to receiue that mercy by humble prayer vnto hys iudge Wherefore this dictrine was profitable many wayes lyke as it is vnto vs at thys day For although we must be ready to receiue Gods corrections yet is thys no small comfort in our miseries when we do so submit ourselues vnto God that we are perswaded of the contrary part that he wyll be mercifull vnto vs because he seeth vs displeased wyth our sinnes and hartely abhorre them ¶ The Prayer GRaunt almighty God that we may learne paciently to beare all manner of aduersities and that we may know that thou doest exercise towardes vs the office of a iudge as often as we are afflicted in thys world that we may by thys meanes preuent thy vengeaunce and may wyth true humilitie so condemne our selues that we yet trusting vnto thy mercy may alwayes flie vnto thee by the cōfort that we haue in the mediator whom thou hast geuen vnto vs thyne onely begotten Sonne and that we may so craue pardō of thee that we may in the meane seasō meditate true repētaūce not by vayne and vnprofitable inuentions of men but wyth true and earnest tryals of our selues that is that we may exercise true charitie and fidelitie one toward an other and may thus testify vnto the world the feare of thy name that thou mayst be truely glorified amongest vs by the same Iesus Christ our lord Amen 25 All these thynges did come vpon the kyng Nebuchadnezer 26 At the end of twelue monthes he walked in the royall palace of Babell 27 And the kyng spake and sayd Is not thys great Babell that I haue built for the house of the kingdome by the might of my power and for the honor of my maiestie 28 While the word was in the kinges mouth a voyce came downe from heauen saying O kyng Nebuchadnezer to thee be it spoken thy kingdome is departed from thee 29 And they shall driue thee from men and thy dwelling shal be wyth the beastes of the field they shall make thee to eate grasse as the Oxen and seuen tymes shall passe ouer thee vntill thou know that the most high beareth rule ouer the kingdome of men geueth it to whomsoeuer he wyll After that Nebuchadnezer hath declared that Daniel was the preacher of Gods iudgement vnto him which was at hand now he addeth how and after what sort God dyd execute that iudgement which he had pronounced by hys Prophet He speaketh in the third person but we know how often the chaunging of the person is vsed wyth the Hebrues and Chaldees Furthermore Daniel did not write the saying of the kyng but did onely cōprehend the summe So it commeth to passe that sometymes he bringeth in the kyng to speake sometymes he speaketh in his owne person There is no cause therefore why this diuersitie should trouble vs for it doth nothing obscure the sense In the first verse Nebuchadnezer teacheth that that dreame which Daniel expounded was not in vayne So he admonisheth by the effect that followed that it was a heauenly oracle for other dreames as we do know do vanish away But because God did accomplish at hys due tyme that which he had shewed to the kyng of Babylon by dreame hereby it appeareth that it was no trifling dreame but a certayne and sure reuelation of the punishment which should shortly come vpon the kyng And the manner also is expressed Daniel saith that after a yeare was ended the king did walke in hys palace boasted of hys glory maiestie the same moment a voyce came downe frō heauē wherby
sayth that he should be the third for many thinke that the Quéene of whō there shal be mention made hereafter was the wife of king Nebuchadnezer and the Grandmother of king Beltsazar 8 Then came all the kinges wysemen but they coulde not read the writing nor shew the kyng the interpretation 9 Then was king Beltsazar greatly troubled and hys countenaunce was changed in him and hys Princes were astonied Here Daniel declareth that the king was deceaued in hys opinion because he trusted that there should be some interpretation of that writing amongst the Mages Astrologiās Chaldees Soothsayers but there was none which could read it Therefore here he is punished for hys ingratitude because hee counted the Prophet of God nothyng whē yet he knew that it was foretold vnto his grandfather that came to passe afterward and that Daniel did alwayes excell in wisedome so that there were proofes both many sure enough of hys calling Because then he had so contemned the incomparable benefite of God here he is destitute of counsayle and he séeth that he called all the Chaldeans and Astrologians in vaine And Daniel sayth that there was none which coulde read the writing or shew the interpretation thereof to the king Because thys séemeth absurde the Hebrue Doctours do labour much herein Other thinke that the letters were set out of order and other thinke that the letters were chaunged and other do suppose that the characters or forme of the letters were chaunged But we haue sayd in an other place that the Iewes are bolde in their diuinations as oft as they haue not a sure reason And we haue no néede of those coniectures for it is probable that the writing was eyther onely set forth to the kyng and was hid from all the Chaldees or els they were so blinded that in séeing they should not sée as God doth also often times shew such astonishment euen vnto the Iewes We sée what he did pronounce by Esay your law shal be as a booke that is shut vp If any man say read thys he will say the booke is sealed I can not or let the booke be opened all ye shal be as it were blynde yea they which do séeme most expert aboue other shall say they are idiots and not to be learned men Therefore that which God threatned to the Iewes and we know was fulfilled in them and is fulfilled at this day because there is a couering cast ouer their eyes as Paul sayth that they should be blinde in the most cleare light what maruell thē is it if the same happē to the Chaldees that they can not read the writing Therefore what nede is there now to cōiecture that the letters were set out of order or written in an other order or some put vnder other that the word Tekel should goe before and then Mene Mene These things bee to vayne Thys is certaine that God would admonish the king of his destruction now at hand also that his minde was troubled not that he would repent but that hys carelesnes should be inexcusable and that whether he would or not he should call for some remedy because he knew he had to do with God. Now as concerning the writing God should not haue bene frée except it had bene in hys wyll to speake sometime with one man alone sometime with more Therefore he would that king Beltsazar should know thys writing In the meane season all the Mages as though they had bene blynd could not read the writing As concerning the interpretation it is no meruaile if they were doubtfull in it For God spake darkly whē he sayth Mene Mene then Tekel that is weighed Peres it is diuided Although those Mages had read these foure wordes an hundreth tymes yet they could neither coniecture nor comprehend in reason what they ment For that was an allegoricall prophecy vntill there was an interpreter ordayned from heauen But forasmuch as belōgeth to those letters there is no meruaile though the eyes of the Mages were shut and closed vp because it pleased God so which would sommon the kyng to hys iudgement as we haue sayd The Prophet sayth that the king was astonished his countenaūce was chaunged hys Princes were also troubled The féeling of the iudgement of God must of necessity encrease lest the thyng should haue bene hid For as we shall sée afterward king Beltsazar hymselfe was slayne in that same night Cyrus entred when the Babylonians feasted and were carelesly geuen to their daintyes and delicates In that same dronkenes thys so notable an example of the iudgement of God might haue bene straight way buryed except it had bene made manifest by many circumstances Therefore the second tyme Daniel repeateth that the king was troubled after that hée saw that there was no counsayle nor helpe in the Mages and Astrologians Also he sayth that hys Princes were astonished because it was not méete that the kyng onely should haue bene troubled but also the whole Court that the fame might not onely spread thorow the Citie but also to other Countreyes because there is no doubt but Cyrus was afterward taught of this prophecy neither would he haue so loued Daniel or treated hym so honorably but that he knew thys thyng 10 Now the Queene by reason of the talke of the kyng and hys Princes came into the banket house and the Queene spake and sayd O kyng lyue for euer let not thy thoughtes trouble thee nor let thy countenaunce be chaunged 11 There is a man in thy kingdome in whom is the spirit of the holy Gods and in the dayes of thy father light and vnderstanding and wisedome lyke the wisedome of the Gods was found in hym whom the kyng Nebuchadnezer thy father the kyng I say thy father made chiefe of the Enchaunters Astrologians Chaldees and Soothsayers Here Daniel declareth by what occasiō he was brought before the kyng that he myght read and interprete the writing He sayth that thys was done by the Quéene Men doubt whether it was the wyfe of kyng Beltsazar or hys grandmother but it is probable that the woman was now olde which speaketh of the tyme of kyng Nebuchadnezer Albeit thys coniecture peraduenture is not very certayne therefore it is better here to suspend the iudgement hereof then to iudge any thyng rashly but that we saw before that hys wyfe satte at the table with him But we must diligently note that which we may surely gather by the wordes of the Prophet that is that the kinges ingratitude is cast him in the téeth that he did not send for Daniel among the Mages Chaldees and Astrologians The holy man would not be counted in that order and he were worthy that God should spoyle hym of his prophetical spirit if he had ioyned him selfe with these deceauers and it easily appeareth that hee was separated from them The kyng Nebuchadnezer had made him ruler ouer all the Mages but he would not vse this honor because
substaunce which neither see neither heare nor vnderstand and thou hast defrauded the liuing God of his honour in whose hand thy lyfe is vpō whom thou doest depend and of whom also thou hast what soeuer thou boastest vpon Seyng then thou diddest so despise the liuyng God which was so mercyfull vnto thée how foule and shamefull is this ingratitude We sée therefore how seuerely the Prophet doth here rebuke the wicked tyraunt for his sacriledge for his outragious pride and rash boldnes and also for his shamefull ingratitude agaynst God. 24 Then was the palme of the hand sent from hym and hath written this writing In the word bedain then there is an emphasis signifiyng that the full tyme of the vengeaunce of God or declaration thereof was now come Wherefore Daniel declareth that God did vse long sufferance towardes the king Beltsazar and did deferre hys punishment of long tyme but now hee came forth as a iudge and sat vpon his iudgement seat when hys pride was at full and hys wickednes was in no wyse tolerable We sée therefore that thys must be read with an emphasis as though he should say thou canst not here complaine of the swiftnes of thy punishmēt as though God had done it before the tyme Thou canst not say that God was ouer hasty in thys punishmēt Consider and weigh wyth thy selfe how many wayes and how long space thou hast prouoked hys wrath And concerning thys last fact thou wast come to the full measure of iniquity whē thys hand appeared vnto thée God therefore now in due tyme draweth thée forth to punishment because he hath long suffered thée and thy horrible sinnes After thys long sufferaunce what remayned seing thou doost so proudly set thy selfe agaynst hym but that he should bring thée downe because thou art vtterly desperate and no amendment is to be hoped And lest Beltsazar should demaund farther from whence thys hand commeth he sayth that it procedeth from the presence of God as a witnes of hys vengence from heauen that thou shouldest not thinke it to be a vayne vision but shouldest know that God by this figure doth declare hymselfe to be displeased wyth thy sinnes and because thou art now come to the extremity of thy wickednes thy spedy punishment is also fallen vpon thée And thys writyng was noted sayth he as though he should say that the kyng Beltsazar is not deceaued because this is the hand of God that is sent from hys presence that it might be a sure witnes of his vengeaunce 25 And thys is the writing which he hath written mene mene tekel vpharsin 26 Thys is the interpretation of the thing mene God hath numbred thy kyngdome and hath finished it 27 Tekel thou art weighed in the balance art found to light 28 Peres thy kyngdome is diuided and geuen to the Medes and Persians Here Daniel doth expound those foure wordes which were written on the wall The king could not read them eyther because he was astonished or because God had troubled all hys senses and had as it were dawbed vp his eyes And the same may we say also of the Mages and Soothsayers They myght haue read if they had not bene blynded by god Daniel doth first of all therefore rehearse those fower wordes mene mene tekel vpharsin Then doth he interprete thē One word is twise rehearsed Mene. Some do thus diuide it that both the yeares of the life of the king and also the tyme of the kynges raygne was numbred But this subtilty semeth not substantiall Therefore I thinke that this word was added twise for cōfirmation as though the Prophet should say that the number was now fulfilled For in accomptes it is easy to fayle as the prouerbe is Wherefore that Beltsazar myght vnderstand that hys lyfe and hys kingdome was now at an end God doth affirme that the number is full and perfect as though he should say that there should not be added one minute of an houre to the terme appointed And thus doth Daniel hym selfe interprete the same God sayth he hath numbred thy kingdome that is God hath appoynted and determined an end of thy kingdome so that it must néedes come to an end because the tyme is accomplished Although here God speake but to one king and the writing was set before hys eyes yet may we gather a generall doctrine hereof that God hath determined a certayne time to all kingdomes The scripture testifieth the same of euery one of our liues If God then haue appointed to euery mā hys dayes much more may it be sayd of publike Empyres and kingdomes because they are of greater importance Therefore let vs know that not onely kinges do lyue or die but that kyngdomes are chaunged also by Gods appointment as is sayd before and that they are so set vp by God that he appointeth them also their certayne end And hereof should we take comfort when we sée tyrauntes deale so outragiously that there is no measure in their lustes and cruelly When then they do so rage as though they would mixe heauen and earth together let vs remember this doctrine that their yeares are numbred God knoweth how long it is expedient for them to raigne he can not be deceaued For vnles he did know it to be profitable for the church and his elect that the tyrantes should rage for a time doubtles he would straight wayes bridle them and plucke them downe but because he hath appointed the number from the beginning let vs know that the full tyme of vengeaūce is not yet come as long as he suffereth thē to abuse so licenciously their rule and power graunted vnto them of God. Now foloweth the exposition of the word tekel Because thou wast weighed in the balance sayth he and wast found faulty Heare Daniel declareth that God doth so order hys iudgementes as if he did holde the balance in hys hand It is a similitude borowed of the custome of men We know that the vse of the balance is that there should be a certaine measure and an equall distributiō in thinges So also is it written that God doth all thinges by waight and measure because he doth nothing confusedly but with such measure that there can be neither more nor lesse as the common saying is For this cause Daniel sayth that Beltsazar was weighed in the balaunce that is to say that God was not hasty in punishing of hym but did execute that punishment iustly after his vsuall manner and continuall order because he was found faulty that is because he was light and of no weight As though he should say thou supposest that thyne honour should be spared and because all men do reuerence thee thou thinkest thy selfe worthy of honour Thou art deceaued sayth he for the iudgement of God is otherwise God doth not vse the common balance but he hath waightes of hys owne and thereby thou art found faulty that is nothing worth a man of no reputation There is no doubt but
the tyraūt was greatly moued with these wordes but because hys end was come he was forced to suffer the voyce of the preacher And vndoubtedly God dyd bridle hys rage because he should not ryse vp agaynst Daniel In the end is added this word Peres for the word Vpharsin that his kingdome is diuided that is to say by the Medes and the Persians I doubt not but that God did signify by that word the destruction of the Monarchy which was at hand When he sayth therefore Vpharsin and they shall diuide he meaneth that this Monarchy can continue no longer because he will diuide it and breake it asunder But the Prophet doth allude very aptly to the diuision which was made betwixt the Medes the Persians and so was their shame encreased for the Babylonians were compelled to serue two sundry Lordes It is a great griefe whē any people hath gottē dominion farre and large and beyng afterward ouercome should be cōpelled to beare the yoke of one Lord but when there be two Lordes this increaseth the griefe So therefore Daniel doth shew that the vengeaunce of God shall not be simple when the Monarchy of Babylon is scattered abroad and this shal also encrease the greatnes of the punishment that the Medes and the Persians shall rule ouer them But true it is that the Citie was taken by the strength and industry of Cyrus but because Cyrus did geue so great honor to hys father in law that he did willingly admit hym to the society of the kyngdome therefore the Medes and the Persians are sayd to haue diuided betwixt them that kyngdome although there was properly no diuision of the kingdome Cyrus afterward as he was rauished wyth an insatiable ambition and couetousnes was drawen forth into other warres But Darius who was aboue 60. yeares old as we shal sée afterward did remaine quietly at home He was of the Medes as is well knowne For if we shall beleue many historiographers his sister the mother of Cyrus was as it were banished into Persia because there was a prophecy of the greatnes of Cyrus Who because his Grādfather had geuen hym out to be destroyed did afterward reuenge this iniury yet not so cruelly but that he spared his life He was cōtent that he should remayne in some honor and made hym a gouernor And after this hys sonne raygned ouer the Medes and Cyrus suffered it willingly Then Cyrus maried hys daughter So what for kinred and what for the loue of thys new affinity he was wylling to haue hym pertaker of hys Empire In thys sēse doth Daniel speake of the diuisiō of the Monarchy to be at hand because the Medes and the Persians should diuide it betwixt them 29 Then at the commaundement of Beltsazar they cloched Daniel wyth purple put a chaine of golde about hys necke and made a proclamation concerning hym that he should be the third ruler in the kingdome It is meruaile that the king gaue such commaundement when he was thus roughly handled of the Prophet It appeareth that hys hart did then fayle hym For before he would haue raged wythout measure and would haue commaunded thys holy Prophyt of God to haue bene put to death How then doth it come to passe that he commaundeth hym to be appareled like a kyng and causeth hym to be proclamed the third in the kingdome Some thinke that thys was done because the lawes of the kinges of Babylon were in great reuerence yea their wordes were sure and whatsoeuer they spake was vnchaungeable inmoueable They thinke therefore that this came of the regard of hys honor that king Beltsazar did performe his promise But I suppose that he was first astonished when he heard the Prophet and so became like a blocke or a stone howbeit I thinke that he did thys for his owne safety For he myght haue bene brought into contempt with his nobles if he had not shewed some courage Wherefore that he myght shew hymselfe not to be moued he commaunded Daniel thus to be adorned as though that threatning had bene of no force He did not despise that which had bene spoken by the Prophet but he would haue hys Princes perswaded and all them which were at the feast that God did threaten onely to make thē afrayde but not to execute so greuous punishment And the kynges when they are most afrayde are yet very ware of this alwayes that they shew no signe of their feare for they thinke that their authority should therby decay Wherefore that he may kéepe hys authority wyth hys subiectes he would séeme altogether careles and wythout all feare I doubt not but that thys was the deuise of thys tyraunt when he commaunded Daniel to be adorned with purple and princely ornamentes 30 The same night was Beltsazar the king of the Chaldees slayne and Darius of the Medes receaued the kingdome when he was 52. yeares olde Here Daniel sheweth briefly that this prophecy was fulfilled the same night as we haue sayd before that there was then a solemne feast because it was a feastiuall day which the Babylonians did yearely kéepe and by thys occasion the Citie was betrayed by two gouerners Gobria and Gabatha for so they are named of Xenophon And in this place do the Hebrue rabbines vtter their impudēcy and ignoraunce as they are bolde to bable after their manner of thinges vnknowne For they say that the kyng was slaine because that one of the Garde heard the voyce of the Prophet and therefore would execute that iudgement of God as though forsooth that the iudgemēt of God should depend of one prophane mans wyll or pleasure Wherefore passing ouer such childish trifles we must remember the truth of the history that Beltsazar was taken in hys feast when he had made hymselfe dronken and rioted wyth his noble men and concubines In the meane time we may obserue the meruelous mercy of God toward the Prophet For it was not possible but that he was in daunger amongest the rest For he was clothed with purple wythin an houre after the Medes the Persians entred the Citie In that tumult he could not haue escaped if God had not couered him with the shadow of hys hand We sée therefore how God careth for hys and deliuereth them from most great daungers as though he did draw them forth of the graue And there is no doubt but that this holy Prophet was sore troubled in that tumult for he was no stocke But it was necessary that he should be thus exercised that he might know the God was the kéeper of hys lyfe and that he should therefore prepare himselfe more readily to serue hym because he dyd sée that there could be nothing better then to cast all hys cares vpon God. Daniel sayth further that this kingdome was translated vnto the king of the Medes whom he calleth Darius but Xenophon calleth hym Cyaxares Howbeit thys is certayne that Babylon was taken by the power and industry of Cyrus for