vpon thy bed is this 29 O king whē thou wast in thy bed thoughts came into thy minde what should come to passe hereafter and he that reueileth secretes telleth thee what shall come ¶ The Meditation Daniel still laboureth to cause the king and all others to geue all glory vnto god Therefore he affirmeth that none of those whom they counted wise men neither any man by arte and science is able to vnderstand Gods secretes but God who is in the heauens doth onely reueile them as he pleaseth And with this poynt he beginneth with the king to smite a reuerence and feare of Gods maiesty into the kinges hart that he might more diligently heare feare the wordes that should after follow and so be the more apte to receiue the mysteries that should be reueiled For this is it that wanteth amongst the worldlinges that they can not thinke that it commeth of God which Gods messengers do bringe vnto them Many now a dayes are willing to heare what can be sayd of the Gospell and what may be brought agaynst popishe supersticion and error but they are not inwardly touched nor moued therefore what so euer they conceiue doth but vanish without profite and goeth forth of theyr remembrance Wherefore this reuerence of God and his word is most necessary as the beginning of wisedome and the preparation of the minde to right vnderstanding So doth Daniel then prepare the kinges minde and abbaseth him selfe and his owne knowledge that God only may haue the glory ¶ The Prayer GRaunt almighty God seing thou wilt haue vs to differ from the brute beastes and therefore hast grafted in our hartes the light of vnderstanding that we may learne to know this to be thy singular grace and gift and that we may reuerence and magnify thee for the same and that we may alwayes exercise our selues in the knowledge of those thinges which may bring vs reuerently to regard thy word and thy maiesty and also that we may put such difference betwixt the commō sense that thou hast geuen vs and the light of thy spirite that thou mayst be glorified and that we may alwayes especially praise thee for thy gift of faith wherby we are made thy childrē engrafted into the body of thy sonne and that we may continually craue encrease of the same fayth of thee whiles in the end thou do bring vs to that full reuelation of light when we being made like thee shall beholde thy glory face to face and shall haue the fruition therof through the same our Lord Iesus Christ Amen 30 As for me this secret is not shewed me for any wisedome that is in me more then in other but only to shew the king the interpretation and that thou mightest know the thoughtes of thy hart 31 O kyng thou sawest and beholde there was a great Image This image of excellent glory stoode before thee and the forme therof was terrible 32 This images head was of fine golde hys breast and armes of siluer his belly and thighes of brasse 33 His legges of yron and his feete were part of yron and part of clay 34 Thou beheldest it till a stone was cut without handes which smote the image vpon hys feete that were of yron and clay and brake them to peeces ¶ The Meditation vpon the .31 c. By this dreame of Nebuchadnezer Daniel as before declareth all the mutations of kynges kyngdomes to be done by Gods prouidence And though they be neuer so rich and pompous though they be neuer so proude fierce or terrible yet GOD by hys secrete counsell doth plucke them downe at hys tyme appoynted because they magnifie them selues agaynst the kyngdome of hys sonne Christ whom he hath determined without mans helpe in the myddes of his enemyes to rayse vp to hys great and eternall kyngdome Now these foure Monarchies the Babilonians or Chaldees the Medes or Persians the Macedonians or Greciās were destroyed one of an other and the last by the Romanes before the kyngdome of Christ was reueiled vnto the world Now the Romanes fell by ambition auarice crueltie and ciuill sedition And Christ who is the iust iudge of the world from all eternitie as he by hys diuine prouidence dyd iustly make the mutations of the other Monarchies so doth he in this last of all when he most euidently setteth vp hys spirituall kyngdome vpon the earth Christ is the eternall wisedome of his father by whom kyngs do raigne and haue their authoritie approued if they séeke that he may raigne amongest them but if they be opē enemyes to hys kyngdome and shew them selues cruell tyrauntes to hys people he then hath power with his yron scepter to breake them downe and destroy them And this dreame of Nebuchadnezer of the destruction of these Monarchies was sent especially for the comfort of Gods people that they should not dispayre when they dyd sée the glytteryng pompous kyngdome of the Chaldees after that of the Persians then of the Macedonians last of all of the Romanes ouerwhelmyng the whole earth but that they should still looke for the kyngdome of Iuda and of Christ which God had once promised to be performed how miserable ruines so euer in the meane space should appeare Therfore then was this dreame sent to the kyng with the interpretation by Daniel that all the East partes of the world might know it that the Iewes there dispersed might still norish their fayth and hope in Gods promises seyng all thynges done by hys appointement and that the same God which had tolde Nebuchadnezer before what should come afterward had also determined what he would do in tyme to come whose purpose could not be chaūged though it were long differred Whereas then the Iewes did know that the Chaldees dyd then raigne ouer them and all the world by the appointmēt of God and that after them there should come an other worse then they and thyrdly that vnder the Macedonians they should be still in troubles and that the Romanes also should be Lordes ouer all and kéepe the world in cruell subiection and last of all that their Messias whom they looked for should be the eternall kyng for euer and that none of the Monarchies had any assured stabilitie this was vnto them a singular comfort and confirmation Thus do we sée for what cause God would haue this thyng to be published euery where which was as then vnknowen that the Iewes might deliuer that from hand to hand vnto their childrē and posteritie which they heard of the mouth of Daniel and that hys prophecie might be extāt and remaine for them a continuall monument in all ages Wherfore when the Iewes that then were captiues dyd sée this terrible Image of their enemy in great admiration vnto all the world what could they then thinke but that they were as it were swallowed vp without recouery And so lykewise vnder the other mighty Monarchies Therefore God of hys great mercy doth offer them this consolation
that their redemer should come which should breake in péeces all these Empires and that without all helpe of mās hand or humane power for this stone of hym selfe and hys owne power should grow into such a kyngdome as should fill the whole earth ¶ The Prayer GRaunt almighty God seyng we wander so in this world that our myndes are easily encombred and troubled and our iudgemente darkened when wee do see the glystering power and prosperity of the wicked to be terrible both to vs and to all others Graunt we besech thee that we liftyng vp our eyes vnto the heauens may remember alwayes how great power thou hast bestowed vppon that thyne onely begotten sonne euen to this end that he should guyde vs and gouerne vs by the power of his spirite and should also defend vs through his fidelitie protectiō so that he shuld alter change and trāspose the whole world for our saluation that so we may quietly rest vnder his defence and fight forth our battaile boldly and constantly with such patience as he commaundeth and commendeth whiles that in the ende we may attaine that fruite of victory which thou hast promised vnto vs and the which also thou wilt shewe vnto vs in thy heauenly kyngdome So be it 36 This is the dreame and we will declare before the kyng the interpretation therof 37 O kyng thou art a kyng of kynges for God of heauen hath geuen thee a kyngdome power and strength and glory 38 And in all places where the children of men do dwell the beastes of the fieldes and foules of the heauen hath he geuen into thyne hand and hath made thee ruler ouer them all Thou art this head of God. 39 And after thee shall arise an other kingdome inferiour vnto thee of siluer And the thyrd kingdome shall be of brasse which shall beare rule ouer all the earth 40 And the fourth kyngdome shal be stronge as yron for as yrō breaketh in peeces and subdueth all thynges and as yron bruseth all so shall it do 41 Wheras thou sawest the feete and toes parte of potters clay and part of yron the kyngdome shal be deuided but there shal be in it of the strength of the yron ¶ The Meditation vpon the 36. c. Daniel describeth the golden head to be the kyng of Babylon because that in respect of the other thrée it was the best yet was it of it selfe wicked and cruell but the world euer waxeth worse and worse The which thyng as it was an admonition to the Iewes to be content with theyr state so is it vnto vs to take héede that we bee not caryed away with the long custome of sinne in these our wretched tymes Agayne he nameth the Persian kyngdome to be of siluer and so inferiour to the first Monarchie not that it was inferiour in power and dominion but because it was worse in ambition in crueltie in vice and corruption as Isay the 13. doth before prophecie And as the Monarchies dyd grow greater and greater so dyd their vices encrease that men might sée their madnes which desire to haue Princes of so great power and dominions As though any one mā were able to rule any one kyngdome and that this were not rather playne and euident that such excessiue dominions are lyke great ragyng riuers that runne ouer the bankes to the great dammage of their neighbours as Isay well noteth chapter 8. So is the thyrd named of brasse the Macedonian not so much for the strength as because it was worse to cause the Iewes still to wayte for the eternall kyngdome of Christ which is of mercy and iustice And the fourth of yron the Romane because it brake down all before it and was most cruell both to the Iewes and to other nations Yet the féete shal be parte of potters mettal parte of yron sayth Daniel which can not well be matched together but the one will breake the other which doth signifie the cruel murther that began betwixt the two first brethren and continued manifestly amongest them in their ciuill warres though they were ioyned in kynred to declare vnto the godly that that kyngdome of the Romanes was not it that they should stay vppon but that they should alwayes buyld theyr fayth and hope vpon this stone cut forth of the mountaine without hands and vpon that kyngdome which the God of heauen should rayse vp after these kynges which kyngdome should neuer be destroyed but shall destroy all these kyngdomes and it shall stand for euer Now this kyngdome of Christ doth not destroy the kyngdomes of the world for any other cause but because that they are enemyes to his kyngdome Therfore Daniel speaking of this matter doth treate of a thyng thē knowne and afterwardes euidētly felt of the Iewes from time to time that is to say that these Monarchies are enemyes to the kyngdome of god For the Chaldees had throwen downe the temple of God and as much as in them lay they endeuoured them selues to destroy all his true worshyp As for the Medes and Persians although by Cyrus and Darius at the first libertie to returne from the captiuitie was graunted yet were the Iewes so miserably handled by the kinges folowyng and by their officers and deputies that the most of them dyd rather chuse to lyue in exile then to returne into their countrey Thirdly though Alexander of Macedony one tyme spared them yet the kynges that succeded him most cruelly vexed them spoiled and slue the most true worshippers of God and burned Gods holy Testament so that it is no maruaile though Daniel set the kyngdome of Christ agaynst such Monarchies As for the Romanes we knew how proudly they despised the God of Israel and though they had Pantheon wherin they worshipped all the Idols and Gods of all the nations that they Conquered yet would they not geue any honor or place to hym at all Agayne how they hated Christes Gospell how cruelly they murthered the Christians and labored by all meanes to diffame and banish forth of the world the doctrine of saluation the matter is most manifest Therfore Daniel to admonish the faithful what should be their condition and state to the comming of Christ doth pronounce all those Monarchies and kyngdomes to be so many enemyes to God and to the kyngdome of his sonne Christ and that therfore they must be destroyed And hereby he doth exhorte to patience that the faithfull do not faint in so great miseries and persecutions as the proude tyrauntes should styrre vp agaynst them so oft and many tymes And Daniel sayth that this stone is hewen forth of the mountaine without handes to signifie his diuine byrth sending frō the heauens so that his dominion kyngdome must be separate frō all earthly Empyre because it is immediatly from God and heauenly ✿ The Prayer GRaunt almighty God that we may remember our selues so to be pilgrimes straungers in this world that no glistering shew of any riches or
power or wisedome of this world do blinde our eyes at any tyme but that we may direct our sight eyes and senses alwayes to behold the kingdome of thy Sonne and that we may so be there fixed that nothing may hinder vs to hast forward in the course of our vocatiō whiles that at the length we may come to the marke which thou hast set before vs and vnto the which thou doost call vs at thys day by the trumpe and preachyng of thy Gospell and that at the length thou wilt gather vs into that blessed eternitie which is purchased for vs by the bloud of this thy Sonne and that we may neuer be broken by thys stone with the wicked world but that beyng strengthned with his power we may by him be raysed vp aboue all the heauens Amen 44 And in the dayes of these kinges shall the God of heauen set vp a kingdome which shall neuer be destroyed and this kingdome shall not be geuen to an other people but it shall breake and destroy all the other kingdomes and it shall stād for euer The God of heauen shal thē rayse vp a kingdome which shall neuer be destroyed neither shall this kingdome be geuen to an other people it shall destroy all and it selfe shall for euer The which comfortable promise of this eternall kingdome doth not onely pertaine to the person of Christ who is the onely king that liueth and raigneth for euer but also to hys Church which is the whole body of his kingdome to all his people and subiectes and to euery particular member and person of the same Thus doth this eternall king communicate his eternitie to all his because he will haue alwayes a kyngdome in this world though the world can not alwayes sée it and he doth regenerate al his true subiectes of thys kingdome with his eternall spirite into euerlastyng lyfe to raygne wyth hym in hys kingdome for euer Therfore the perpetuity of this kyngdome of Christ is true after two sortes besides the eternitie that is in the person of Christ first in the whole body which is the Church who though it be often tymes so scattered that it do not appeare in mans eyes yet doth it neuer vtterly perish but God doth preserue it by his secret and incomprehensible wisdome and power so that it shall remayne for euer Secondly in euery one of the faythfull there is an other perpetuity because they are borne agayne by the incorruptible séede and beyng borne by the spirit of God are not onely the mortall children of Adam but they cary the heauenly lyfe in themselues because the spirit which is in them is life as Paul sayth to the Romaynes And we sée how thys kingdome hath bene eternall euer since the doctrine of the Gospell hath bene preached For though the Church haue séemed sometymes as it had bene buried yet God gaue life in the very graue of Idolatry and ignoraunce vnto hys elect And now how is it come to passe that the children of the Church the souldiours of Christes kingdome are come forth as it were of the graue in such aboundaunce but that the Lord hath mercy vpon Zion because hys tyme appointed is come and therefore his seruauntes delite to builde vp Zion yea he himselfe wyll builde it and his glory shall appeare and the heathen shall feare and all the kinges of the earth at his glory and the people which shall be as it were new created shall prayse the Lord. Furthermore Daniel sayth that this kingdome can not be translated from one to an other as the first was from Baltazar to Darius the second from Darius to Alexander the thirde from that cursed kinred of Alexander and hys Princes to the Romaines The fourth of the Romaynes was turned not onely to straungers of forraine nations but to swineherds as Iustine writeth to beastes as was Heliogabalus to monsters in nature as was Nero and Caligula and such lyke like as also as the Gospell did grow it continually decayed because it was so manifest an enemy to Christes kingdome But as for Christes kingdome neither can Christ be spoiled of his power and dominion neither yet we his members can lose this kingdome whereof hee hath made vs pertakers Therefore Christ raigneth for euer as well in hym selfe as in hys members without any perill of alteration for we shall be preserued for euer by hys grace and hee hath receaued vs into hys protection that wee can not perish Iohn 10. We that are kept through his power by fayth as Peter sayth may be sure and quiet for what so euer the world and the deuill deuise against vs we shall for euer remayne safe and sure in Christ And thus would Daniel haue all men to sée that there is no stabilitie any where how great so euer the power or glory appeare but onely in Christ Where Daniel sayth that this stone was hewen forth of the mountaine without handes he declareth that nothing in Christes kingdome is wrought by mans power but all things in the saluation of man are wrought by God as Isa. 63 Because the Lord did sée no helper in the world he armed himselfe with hys owne strength Agayne herein we note his lowe and base beginning like vnto a stone that had no forme nor fashion Which both are comprehēded in Micha where he sayth Thou Bethleem Ephratha art the least amongest the thousandes of Iuda yet foorth of thee shall hee come vnto me that shall be the ruler in Israell whose goynges foorth haue bene from all eternitie Thus Daniel would aunswere mans grosse imaginatiōs which might thinke that because Christes glory did not appeare so great at the first as in the kingdomes of the worlde and because yet his kingdome is vnder the crosse that therefore it were not to be regarded and would haue vs to lift vp our eyes to the heauens and behold Gods power herein who worketh his glory contrary to mans iudgement 45 Where thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountayne without handes and that it brake in peeces the yron the brasse the clay the siluer and the golde so the great God hath shewed the king what shall come to passe hereafter and the dreame is true and the interpretation thereof is sure Thys must we alwayes consider that our Sauiour Christ sayd vnto Pilate that his kingdome is not of this world no man can sée how it springeth or spreadeth how soeuer the children of this kyngdome be dispersed or scattered and be neither named nor knowen in the world yet is it certayne that this kyngdome of God and hys Christ remayneth safe sound though neither Eliah nor any other man can sée it and that this kyngdome shall ouercome all powers that stand vp agaynst it ¶ The Prayer GRaunt almighty God seing thou hast made it open and knowne vnto vs by so many so cleare and most sure testimonies that we may looke for none other redemer then
moued with cruell threatnynges to pollute them selues with the worshyp of the image at the length are ready to defēd the pure worshyp of GOD not onely by their owne bloud but also by the sufferyng of most horrible tormentes As for the goodnes of God that shyneth forth in the end of this tragedy it is very profitable to arme vs with an inuincible fayth and constancy After this there doth folow the lyke battaile and victory of Daniel hym selfe whiles that he had rather to be cast to the ragyng Lyons then to absteine but three dayes from an open profession of hys fayth lest by deceitfull dissimulation he might prostitute the holy name of God to the derision of the wicked and he beyng deliuered forth of the denne as it were drawen forth of the graue most miraculously triūpheth ouer Sathan and his cōfederates Heare come not forth any Philosophers which can dispute subtily and cunnyngly of vertues in their studyes when they are quyet but here haue we the infatigable constācy of holy men in the exercise of true holynes to styrre vs vp with open cry to folow them Wherfore vnles we be altogether vncapable of doctrine we must learne of those Scholemasters diligently to take hede whether that Sathan lay hys baytes of flattery that we be not snared therewith or if that he assayle vs with violence that we may repulse and breake hys assaultes with a bold contempt of death and all daungers If any man will make excuse that the exāples of both these deliueraūces that we haue named are rare I do graunt that God doth not alwayes stretch forth his hand from the heauens to saue hys in lyke sort but which is sufficient for vs he hath hereby testified that he will be the faithfull guerdon and keper of our lyfe so oft as it shall be in any daunger and that we are not exposed to the lustes of the wicked but that God can assuage their fury and outragious enterprises when he seeth it good But we may not onely looke vpon the end and successe but we must behold how boldly courageously these holy men haue offered them selues to death for the defence of Gods glory neither doth their prompt and ready myndes in offeryng them selues as sacrifices deserue lesse prayse because they were deliuered Now amongest how many styrres and stormes was the Prophet tossed those 70. yeares that he lyued in Captiuity it will be good to consider He was so well treated of no kyng as he was of Nebuchadnezar whom he yet found a ragyng beast The other were more cruell whiles by the sodaine death of Balsazar and the wynnyng of the Citie he was brought vnder new Lordes the Persians and the Medes Who fiercely breakyng in like cruell enemyes as they made all afrayde so is there no doubt but that they wounded his heart And though he were wel vsed of Darius so that that seruitude was tolerable yet through the enuy and cursed conspiracy of the noble mē he was then in most daunger Howbeit as he was more carefull for the commune safety of the Church then for his owne quietnes in what sorow was it like that he remained and with how great grief was he troubled when that present state dyd shew none end of the cruell oppression of that miserable people He did depend assuredly vpō the Prophecy of Ieremy But this was an incomparable paciēce and constancy that his hope dyd not languish nor decay beyng so long differed yea that it was not vtterly drowned beyng drawen through so many ragyng floudes and tempestes after such sondry sortes Now come I to the Prophecies wherof the former were sent vnto the Babilonians partly because God would adourne his seruaūt with certaine speciall markes which should compell that most proude nation though now in conquest to reuerence and honour hym partly because it was conuenient that his name should be had in reuerēce amongest those prophane persons that beyng in authoritie he might exercise the office of a Prophet more freely towardes hys owne nation And after that his name was famous amongst the Chaldees God committed vnto hym Prophecies of great importance which should peculiarly belong to the elect people but God dyd so apply them to the vse and commoditie of the auncient people that they should both mitigate the sorowes with cōfortable remedyes and comfirme the waueryng myndes vntill the commyng of Christ and also he had no lesse regarde of our tymes For that which he dyd speake before of the transitory and vanishyng shew of the Monarchies and of the euerlastyng stability of Christes kyngdome is no lesse profitable to be knowne of vs this day then of old For God declareth that earthly power which is not founded in Christ is transitory and he threatneth a sodeine ruine to all kyngdomes which set them selues vp in pride to obscure or hynder the glory of Christ The Kynges that now reigne in so great kyngdomes vnles they willyngly come vnder Christes dominion shall feele in the end by dolefull experiēce that this horrible iudgement doth also apperteine vnto them For what is more intolerable then to robbe hym of his right and authoritie by whose protection their dignitie is preserued yet do we see how few of that number do receiue the Sonne of God offering hym selfe vnto them yea how they busie them selues how they seeke all shiftes and try all extremities rather then they will suffer hym to enter into their borders and many of their Counsellours diligently apply their whole industry endeuour and study to shut vp all passages And yet in the meane season that they pretende the name of Christianity and do boast them selues the chief defenders of the Catholicke faith it may easely bee confuted as a vayne bablyng if it be once knowne what the kyngdome of Christ is by a true and right definition For the scepter of his kyngdome or hys throne is nothyng els but the doctrine of the Gospell neither doth hys Maiesty shyne any where els neither doth he otherwayes atteine his empire then where all both high and low with quyte myndes to learne lyke shepe do heare his voyce and folow whether so euer he calleth But they do not onely euerywhere reiect this doctrine wherin true Religion and the lawfull worship of God is conteined wherin the euerlastyng saluation of man and the true felicitie consisteth but they banishe it and driue it farre from them with manaces and terrors with fire and with sword and leaue no force vnattempted to driue it forth of their borders And what a blindnes is this and how monstruous that they whom the onely begotten Sonne of God doth call most louyngly vnto him selfe cā not abide to receaue him and to imbrace him But many such is their pride thinke their authoritie nothyng if they submit their scepters to the hye Kyng Others will not suffer theyr lustes to be brideled and as hypocrisy doth blinde the wittes of them all they desire darknes and are afrayd to
any decrée published of religion and of the worship of God except the true knowledge of God confirme it and be sene in it Nebuchadnezer verely in thys decrée had a good ground but as I haue sayd it was onely a particular motion in hym But they that wyll now bée counted Christian Princes do onely rage vnder the pretence of a zeale and so lyke cruell beastes do shee l innocent bloud Wherefore Because they do not discerne betwixt the true God and the Idols But this shal be touched afterward Nebuchadnezer doth extol the God of Israel But how doth he know that he is the high God Verely by one token of hys power onely But he despised that which was the principall to vnderstand by the law and the Prophetes who that God was and what was hys wyll So do we sée the glory of God to be maintayned but in one part only and in the meane season that which was the chife in hys worship and in true holynes to be despised and left out The punishment is great that he should be cut in péeces and hys his house made a Iakes which speaketh blasphemy against the God of Israell Where we note that seuerity is not to be condemned where the true worship of God is maintayned euen wyth sleit punishmētes But we must be assured of a true iudgement in the cause But of this also I wyll speake afterward As for that which followeth that there is none other God which can deliuer after this maner it doth confirme that which I touched before that this king did not regard in hys decrée eyther the law of God or any other part of religion but onely that he was moued by this miracle so that he neither could nor would suffer any thing to be spoken in reproch agaynst the God of Israell Wherfore thys onely thyng is worthy blame in this decrée that he doth not enquire nor search who is that God that he may be drawen by a sure perswasion to publish the decrée 30 Then the king promoted Sadrach Mesach and Abednego in the prouince of Babell Thys séemeth to be of small importance yet is it not written in vayne but for thys purpose that we may know that thys miracle was ratified through the whole prouince and countrey when all the Chaldees did know that these thrée men were cast into the fiery fornace which afterward had agayne the kynges power and were restored to theyr former dignitie Seyng thys was done the power of God could not be vnknowen For it was like as if God had sent forth thrée preachers throughout the countrey which should proclaime in euery place how meruelously God had deliuered thē frō death by hys singular benefite Whereby also it myght be vnderstand that all the Gods which were thē worshipped in Chaldea were of no value seyng that great God whose Image the kyng had set vp was despised and yet that thys cōstancy was allowed of the true God which had deliuered hys seruauntes from death ¶ The Prayer GRaunt almighty God seyng thou art knowen vnto vs by the doctrine both of the law and the Gospell and doest vouchsafe dayly to open thy wyll familiarly vnto vs that we may remayne stable and stedfast in the true obedience of that doctrine wherein perfect iustice is manifested vnto vs and that we neuer be moued frō thy worship nor turned away from thy seruice and whatsoeuer commeth vnto vs that we may be ready rather to die a hundreth deathes then to turne from the true profession of thy religion in the which we know that our saluation consisteth that so we may glorifie thy name that we may be partakers of that glory which is purchased vnto vs by the bloud of thyne only begotten Sonne Amen ¶ Chapt. 4. by true diuision for here beginneth the preface to the proclamation 31 Nebuchadnezer king vnto all people nations and languages that dwell in all the world peace be multiplied vnto you 32 I thought it good to declare the signes and wonders that the hye God hath wrought toward me 33 How great are his signes and how mighty are his wonders his kingdome is an euerlasting kingdome and his dominion is from generation to generation Daniel doth first speake here in the kinges person afterward he declareth what came to the king But it may seme strange that Daniel sometimes bringeth in the king of Babylon speaking then speaketh he in his owne person and afterward bringeth in the king speaking him selfe Howbeit seing this varietie doth neither obscure the sense nor make it doubtfull we ought not to be troubled therewith The summe of this chapter is Because that Nebuchadnezer was playnly taught that the only God of Israell was to be worshipped and he was compelled to confesse this for a space yet because he departed not from hys supersticions yea and what so euer he had conceiued of the true God it rested not in his hart but vanished away by and by therefore is he worthely punished like a beast for so great ingratitude God would haue him to be more and more blinded as he vseth to doo with the reprobate and sometimes with the elect also When they will runne from sinne to sinne God lowseth them the reyne till they cast them selues down headlong Afterward eyther he reacheth them his hand or he draweth them backe with hys secret power or bringeth them into order by hys rods and corrections and so humbleth them Thus dyd he with the king of Babylon We will consider the dreame afterward but here we briefely note that the king was admonished that he might perceiue in the end that he had no excuse of his stubbernes and contempt God might worthely in déede haue stricken hym as soone as hee dyd sée that he was not truely conuerted but before God would punish hym so seuerely as we shall sée afterward he would monish hym to proue if there were any hope of repentance And although he dyd séeme to receiue that thing with great modesty that God declared by the dreame and Daniel dyd interpretate vnto hym yet dyd he professe with hys toung that which he had not in his hart And thys thing is manifest because that where he ought to haue trembled to haue bene carefull and to take héede vnto him selfe yet ceased he not from hys pride but boasted him selfe to be a king of kinges Babylon to be the quéene of all the world Because therefore he dyd speake so proudly after he was admonished by the prophet we perceiue that the dreame dyd nothing profit hym But God by this meanes would make hym more inexcusable Agayne although no fruite therof did straight wayes appeare yet by long processe of time when God touched his hart he did know more playnely that this punishment was sent vnto him of god Therefore was this dreame an entrey and as it were a preparatiue to repentance And lyke as the séede semeth to putrify in the earth before it bring forth his fruite so also
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
the Prophet had forgotten hymselfe when he did receiue the purple which he had so boldly refused or els what is the cause why he did so and did not deny afterward to weare thys princely apparell For the first I doubt not but that he would speake more roughly to that wicked and desperate Beltsazar but because that there remayned yet some goodnes in kyng Nebuchadnezer and he had good hope of hym therefore did he treate hym more gently As for kyng Beltsazar it was of necessity that he should be more roughly delt withall because he was come to all extremities I doubt not but that thys was the cause of the difference For the Prophet went forward cōstantly in hys course but it was hys dutie to put a difference betwixt the diuersitie of the persons and because there was greater pride obstinacy and stubbornes in the king Beltsazar therfore he declareth that he geueth vnto hym lesse honor then he did vnto hys Grandfather Furthermore the tyme of the captiuitie subiection was now at an end in respect wherof he did before reuerence the Monarchy of the Chaldees As concerning the contrariety which appeareth betwixt hys aunswere and hys fact whereof we shall speake afterward it ought not to séeme straunge vnto vs if the Prophet did at the first testify that he did not regard the kynges rewardes and yet did not contend ouer behemently in the refusall lest he myght séeme to do it craftely for the auoyding of present perill He would shew therfore a great boldnes in both twaine That he beginneth hys preface wyth the refusall of the kynges giftes he knoweth that the kingdome is but for a moment Agayne that he receiueth the purple and other honours he doth it because he might haue suffered blame if he had vtterly refused it for it had bene a signe of fearefulnes which myght also haue bene suspected of treason The Prophet therefore declareth that he doth boldly despise all that dignity that kyng Beltsazar offered hym for he was now as a mā halfe dead and doth in the meane season shew hymselfe not to feare any perill at all For the kings destruction was at hand and the City either the same houre or within few houres after was taken Daniel therefore doth not refuse this purple to declare that he feared not death if néede so constrayned He myght haue bene more safe in hys secret places if he had bene amongest the common people and without the Court Againe if he had bene coūted as one of the seruaūts he myght haue bene in lesse daunger When he then doubteth not to receaue the purple he sheweth hymselfe to be wythout all feare In the meane time there is no doubt but that he would beat downe the foolish arrogancy of the king when he sayth take thy giftes to thy selfe geue thy rewardes vnto others I care not for them When he despiseth the kynges liberalitie in such sort he doth it doubtles to correct the kynges pride wherewyth he was puffed or at the least he would wound and pricke hys conscience that he myght féele Gods iudgement whereof Daniel should afterward be both a preacher and a witnes 18 O king heare thou The most high God gaue vnto Nebuchadnezer thy father a kingdome and maiestie and honour and glory 19 And for the maiestie that he gaue hym all people nations and languages trembled and feared before hym he put to death whom he would he smote whom he would whom he would he set vp and whom he would he put downe 20 But when hys hart was puft vp and hys mynde hardened in pryde he was deposed from hys kyngly throne and they tooke hys honour from hym Before that Daniel doth rehearse the writing and before he geueth the interpretatiō therof he admonisheth the kyng of the cause of thys wonder For it had not bene mete to haue begonne with the reading to haue sayd mene mene as we shall sée in the end of the Chapter the king could not so haue profited by such a short maner of speach But here he declareth that it is no maruaile though God did stretch forth hys hand or put forth the likenes of a hand which did write the kynges destruction because the kyng had obstinatly prouoked Gods wrath We sée then why Daniel beginneth wyth thys history that Nebuchadnezer was a great Monarch that he had subdued the whole world vnto hym that all men feared hys countenaunce agayne that he was cast downe from the throne af hys kingdome euen for thys purpose to make it more playne that Beltsazar did not trespasse of ignoraunce because that he ought soberly and modestly to haue behaued himself considering that notable and meruelous example of hys Grandfather But because thys domesticall admonition did nothing profit hym Daniel declareth that the tyme is now at hand when God wyll shew his wrath vpon him euen by a fearefull wonder Thys is the summe But as touching the wordes he sayth first of all that there was geuen to king Nebuchadnezer from God an Empire a maiestie honor and glory as if he should say he was magnified and adorned of God that he should be the Monarch of the whole world We haue sayd before and Daniel wyll repete it agayne in many places that kyngdomes do not come vnto men by chaunce and fortune but from God as Paul sayth that there is no power but of God. And God wyll haue hys prouidence to appeare after a speciall maner in the distribution of kyngdomes For although God gouerne the whole world and thynges which séeme most small in the gouernment of mankinde are ruled by hys hand yet hys speciall prouidēce doth appeare most euidently in kingdomes and Empires And Daniel to confirme thys doctrine addeth that for the gaeat authority that God gaue hym all men did tremble before hym Whereby he signifieth that the glory of God is imprinted in kynges persones so long as he wyll haue thē to raigne Thys can not be outwardly séene but the matter it selfe declareth it playnely that kynges are armed wyth authority from God in that they are able thus to retayne vnder their hand and at their appointment great multitudes of men for amongest mortall men euery one desireth to be the chiefe How doth it then come to passe seyng ambition is so fixed in all mēs harts that many thousands wyll submit thēselues vnto one and suffer thēselues to be ruled yea that they can suffer at the handes of such many iniuries What is the cause hereof but that God doth arme wyth the sword and power whom he wyll haue to be excellent in the world This reason therefore is diligently to be noted that the prophet saith that all did tremble at the sight of king Nebuchadnezer because God had made hym great that is to say because God would haue hym excellent aboue others in the world God hath many causes and those many tymes most secret why he doth extoll him and cast downe an other Howbeit this
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
vnto vs then the most holy and precious thyng of all that is to say that God may haue his due honour We sée then that we are taught to deale vprightly of the one part because we can not bée more safe by any meanes then by a safe conscience as Peter doth exhorte vs by the same reason in his first Epistle But what soeuer we feare and what ende soeuer may folow although an hundreth deathes be offered vs yet may we in no wise fayle from the pure worshyp of god For Daniel doubted not to enter into death and to go downe into the denne of Lyons that hée might declare that he worshypped the GOD of Israel Now that the nobles do fall to that barbarous and cruell counsaile that is that they might oppresse Daniel by the pretence of Religion hereby we gather how blinde the rage is whē ambition and enuy do possesse mens mindes for they do nothyng feare at all to fight manifestly agaynst god For they do not assayle Daniel as a man but they breake forth most wickedly and outragiously agaynst God when they would extinguish the worship of God to satisfie their lust Wherefore I say that we are admonished by this example how carefully wee ought to fly ambition and to take héede of it and also of enuy which spryngeth thereof What crime they committed agaynst the law of God it foloweth 6 Therfore the rulers these gouernours went together to the kyng and sayd thus vnto hym kyng Darius liue for euer 7 All the rulers of thy kingdome the officers and gouernours the counsellers and dukes haue consulted together to make a decree for the king and to establishe a statute that who soeuer shall aske a petition of any God or mā for thirty dayes saue of thee O kyng hee shal be cast into the denne of Lyons The rulers of the kyngdome went about by this policie to ouerthrow the holy Prophet of God that either he beyng cast into the denne of Lyons should perish or els that hée should forsake the outward profession of the worshyp of god But they thought that he was more constant and of greater courage then that hee would redeme his lyfe with such wickednes Therfore they thought that they were sure that he should dye They thinke thē selues very subtill but God setteth him selfe agaynst thē and helpeth hys seruant as we shall sée Yet this was a detestable malice that they go about to destroy Daniel vnder this pretēce For though they did not worshyp the God of Israel yet did they know that the minde of the Prophet was right and good and also they had proued by experience the power of that GOD which was vnknowne vnto them They dyd not cōdemne Daniel therefore in that conscience neither yet were they able to finde fault with that Religiō which he vsed Wherfore I say that they were so caryed by the hatred of the person vnto this cruelty that they set them selues against god For they could not be ignoraunt of this that God must be worshypped They them selues worshypped vnknowne Gods and they durst not condemne the worship of the God of Israel We sée therefore how the deuill bewitcheth them that they durst lay this crime agaynst the holy Prophet Howbeit it is vnknowen what occasion they abused to this their wicked purpose Some suppose that this was done because Darius could not well beare the glory of hys sonne in law For where he was old and the other was of a florishyng age he thought hym selfe contemned Some thinke therefore that Darius him selfe was pricked with some secrete enuy and that his nobles had therby an entry to deceaue this miserable old man ouer light of belief and so blynde his eyes But this coniecture doth not seme vnto me of any great weight neither yet do I much trauaile about this matter For it may be that they would gratifie their kyng in the begynnyng of this new kingdome and therfore that they would decrée some new and straunge thyng the which thyng we do sée often tymes to be done by such as do flatter kynges and princes Wherefore this old man might be deceiued herein now when his Monarchy was so lately encreased He ruled onely ouer the Medes before now came the Chaldees the Assiriās and many other nations vnder his Empire Such an encrease of dominion might make him dronken with vaine glory and the nobles thought that they had a plausible matter in hand to decrée diuine honours vnto their kyng Me thinke this one cause may suffice Wherfore I am not to much carefull to search any further for I do take that which offereth it selfe and is most probable We sayd before that the nobles which layd snares for Daniel were stricken with a maruelous ragyng madnes when they durst publish this decrée vnto the kyng which Daniel reciteth For that was an intolerable sacrilege that the kyng spoyled all the Gods of their honour yet dyd he signe and subscribe the decrée as foloweth to the intent that he might hereby try the obediēce of his people whom he lately brought into subiection by the helpe of his sonne in law For there is no doubt but that he ment to hold vnder the Chaldees who had bene Lordes vntill this presēt time For we know how that pride of hart is engendred by power authoritie When as the Chaldees therfore did reigne before this tyme so farre and so wyde it was hard to bryng them downe and to make them ready to all obedience especially when they dyd sée them selues to be their seruauntes whose equals they were before For we know that they had often tymes encountered in battaile with the Medes Although therfore they were now ouercome by the sword yet were not their hartes conquered Therfore would Darius proue their obedience This semeth to be the cause For hée doth not of set purpose prouoke the wrath of the Gods agaynst hym selfe but whiles he regarded men he forgate God set hym selfe in the place of the Gods as though he had authoritie to plucke downe the power of the heauēs to him selfe This was an horrible sacrilege as I haue sayd But if any man could try the hartes of kynges scarsely the hundreth man of thē could be found which doth not after the same sort despise all diuine power For although they cōfesse them selues to reigne by the grace of God yet will they be worshipped in Gods stead And heare we sée how easily flatterers can persuade princes any thyng that may seme to set out their honors and maiesties The Prayer GRaunt almighty God that as thou hast gouerned thy seruaunt Daniel when honours were offered aboundantly and when he was set vp in most high dignity that he yet alwayes continued in integrity and lyued innocently where all liberty was geuen vnto all euill graund we beseech thee that we may learne to reteyne our selues in that meane state whereunto thou doest restrayne vs and that we being contēt with our pouerty may
be drawen forth into the light Yet is there no more wicked pestilēce thē the feare which Herode had as though he would take away earthly dominions from the Monarches which offereth the heauenly kyngdome to euery one of the least and poorest of the people The next is that whiles one doth looke at the doynges of an other their mutuall league doth reteine them all fast bound vnder the yoke of impiety with a deadly knot For if they would earnestly apply their mynde to enquire what is truth and right yea though they would but onely open their eyes the knowledge therof were euident But because this is perceiued vsually for the most part when Christ springeth forth with his Gospell that also great styrres do aryse vnder an honest pretence they cast away the heauenly doctrine to prouide for publike tranquillity I must graunt in deede that such alterations chaunges as do engender publicke disturbance may be iudged odious but God hath great iniury offered vnles we attribute thus much to his power that he can establish the kyngdome of his sonne and assuage all tumultes that boyle forth agaynst him Although heauen and earth should rolle together the worshyp of God is farre more precious then that the least diminishing therof can be recompensed with any ransome How be it they do burden the Gospell with a false sclander which do imagine that it is the matter cause of tumultes and vproares It is true in dede that God doth therein thunder with the vehemency of his word wherby he shaketh the heauen and the earth but whiles the Prophet bryngeth in this sentence to commend the word and to bryng credit therunto that shakyng is blessed and much to be wished And assuredly vnles Gods glory be set aloft in his due place whiles all flesh be humbled and brought downe the pride of men which doth lift vp it selfe agaynst it will neuer giue place but forced and throwne downe by the strong and mighty hand of god And if so be that the earth trembled at the publishyng of the law it is no maruaile if the power and office of the Gospell appeare more glisteryng and glorious Wherfore we ought more louyngly to embrace the Gospell which whiles it rayseth the dead from the helles and openeth the heauēs to them that were vnworthy to lyue vpon the earth it sheweth a straunge power and vertue as though all the elementes dyd agree to our saluation But loe the tumultes and tempestes do spryng forth of an other fountaine because that some tymes the nobility and such as are in hygh honor in the world do not willyngly suffer the yoke of Christ sometymes the foolish multitude spitteth forth what soeuer is for saluation before they haue any taste what it is and part like porkes delite them selues in their filthynes And others as though they were enraged with infernal furies are outragious in slaughters And the deuil doth pricke forth those that he hath wholly to be his slaues with most excessiue fury and outrage to bryng all to hurly burly Hereof commeth the soundyng of the trumpets hereof come battailes and warres whiles that Heliogabalus that Prelate of Rome with hys red and bloudy route and horned beastes rageth so fiercely agaynst Christ and seketh for helpe on euery side of his filthy Clergy the which altogether although it be not fedde in like daynty sort yet doth it eate browys and collaps out of the same pot and many hungry companiōs flye vnto thē to offer their seruice A great number of the iudges which were wōt to stuffe their bellyes with Idolatrous feastes do fight for their kitchyns bellycheare but chiefly the deuill sendeth raylers out of the cloysters of Monkes and Friers and forth of the dennes of dimsicall Doctours who are like bellowes to kindle the fire I do passe ouer the priuy craftes and wicked conspiracies wherof they can be the best witnesses vnto me that are the greatest enemies to Religion I name no man it is enough to haue pointed them with the finger who are but ouer well knowne It is no maruaile though they which depend of the chaungeable state and the diuerse ishue of thynges continue doubtfull in this confused inuasion of so many beastes But they reiect the blame of their infidelity iniustly and wickedly vpon the holy Gospell of Christ Let vs graunt that all hell with the infernall furies do enter into battayle will God sit idle in the heauēs to forsake and betray his owne cause And when he shall stand vp agaynst them can the craftes of men be they neuer so subtill or yet their forces be they neuer so great let God to haue the victory The Pope they say will bryng with hym a long trayne of confederates It is a iust reward of incredulity to tremble at the sounde of the fall of the leafe And what say you vnwise and vnprouident counsaylers let Christ go that no new straungenes do trouble vs Therfore shall you perceaue shortly after this how much better it had bene to haue God mercyfull and despisyng all vayne terrours to rest vpon his protection then to prouoke hym to open warre lest they should offend and displease the euill and wicked spirites Surely when all thynges are examined to the vttermost by the Popes defenders the superstition which hetherto hath reigned is none other but an euill thyng well and cunnyngly layd vp and placed which they thinke ought not to be styrred because it semeth that it can not be touched without some losse and detriment But vnto them which desire Gods glory and which are setled in true Religion there must be a farre contrary purpose that is that they do so offer their labours vnto God that they commit all the ishues therof to his prouidence who if he had promised nothyng vnto vs peraduenture there might be some iust cause to feare and continually to doubt but seing that he hath so oft testified that hys assistance shall neuer fayle in the settyng forth of the kyngdome of his Christ it is the onely way to do well to settle our selues in this confidence Now it is your partes good brethren as farre as euery mans power and office shall lead hym to be carefull with all his harte that true Religion may recouer hys pure and perfect state I nede not to rehearse how diligently hetherto I haue endeuored my selfe to cut of all occasions of tumultes so that I haue the aungels and you all my witnesses before the hye iudge that the faulte was not in me that the kyngdome of Christ hath not had a peaceable procedyng without any hinderance and I suppose that my diligence hath somethyng profited that priuate men should not passe theyr boundes Now although God by his merueilous power hath spread the restoryng of the Church farther then I durst hope for it yet is it mete to remember what Christ commaundeth his scholers euen to possesse their soules in patience Vnto the which purpose also the vision
Lectures and readynges of Iohn Caluine vpon Daniel ¶ The first Prayer that he continually vsed before the same ¶ The Lord God graunt vs to be exercised in the mysteries of his heauenly wisedome with true encrease of Godlines vnto his glory and our edification Amen HEre foloweth the boke of Daniel the Prophet the vtility commoditie wherof how great it is may more easily bee vnderstand by the goyng forward in the same then aptly in fewe wordes be declared But I will now giue some tast yet therof which may the better prepare vs to the readyng make vs more attentiue And before I do come so farre I will briefly comprehend the summe of the boke and so diuide it as may best further vs Wherfore we will diuide it into two partes First Daniel rehearseth how he atteined authoritie euen amongest the infidels For it was necessarie that he should be raysed vp to his propheticall office after a straunge rare maner All thinges as is well knowne were so cōfused and so farre out of order amongest the Iewes that scarcely could any man beleue that there remained yet any Prophet Hieremias was a lyue in the begynnyng and Ezekiel afterward Also the Iewes had their Prophetes after their returne but Hieremias Ezekiel had almost ended their course when Daniel began to Prophecy Others as Haggaei Zakari and Malachi were created Prophets to exhort the people so that their office seemed to be limited As concernyng Daniel he could scarcely be counted for a Prophet vnles God had set hym vp after a maruelous maner as I haue sayd This shall we see to the end of the vj. chapter that he was adourned of God with speciall notes and tokens that the Iewes might fully be assured that God had geuē hym vnto them for a Prophet vnles they would condemne them selues of filthy ingratitude agaynst god His name was famous amongest the Babilonians and much honored If the Iewes had despised hym that was had in admiratiō euē of the prophane Gentiles was not this as it were of set purpose to quench to tread vnder foote the grace of God Daniel therfore had certaine notes and tokens wherby he might be knowen the Prophet of God wherby his vocation might be ratified The second part is ioyned afterward wherby God forwarneth by him what soeuer should shortly come to the elect people The visions therfore from the vij chapter to the end of the booke do peculiarly belong to the Church of god For there God declareth what is to come which was a thyng very necessary It was a sore tentation when the Iewes must suffer captiuitie 70. yeares and yet after that they should returne into their countrey for those 70. yeares God did differre the full deliuerance vnto 70. times seuē yeares Their mindes might haue fayled and they all haue dispayred a thousand tymes For the Prophetes had spoken so gloriously of the redemption that the Iewes did hope for an happy and most blessed state so soone as they should be deliuered from the Babilonicall bondage But when they are oppressed agayne with so many afflictions and that not for a short tyme but aboue foure hundreth yeares where as they were in captiuitie but 70. yeares the deliuerance might seme but a mockery And there is no doubt but that Sathan dyd tempt the myndes of many to fall away from God as though God had deluded them when he brought them forth of Chaldea into their countrey For these causes God declared by a vision vnto hys seruaunt how many and how great afflictions did remaine for the people of god Howbeit Daniel doth so Prophetie that he doth almost lyke an Historiographer describe all those thyngs which then were secrete And this was very necessarie because that in so troublesome alterations the people had neuer tasted that these thynges were reueled vnto Daniel by God if the successe had not approued the heauenly testimonie Therfore was it mete that this holy man should thus speake and Prophecie of thynges to come as though he had declared thynges already performed But this shall we speake of in place I returne to the begynnyng to declare how profitable this booke of Daniel is to the Church of Christ And first the matter it selfe declareth that Daniel did not speake of his own head but that what soeuer he did speake it was taught hym by the holy ghost For how could he haue coniectured these thynges that we shall see afterward if he had folowed nothyng but mās wisedome that is to say that other Monarchies should grow vp which should destroy the Empire of Babylon which had thē the greatest power in all the world Agayne how could he coniecture of the commyng of great Alexander and of his successors Long before Alexander was borne Daniel dyd Prophecie what he should do Also he declareth that his kingdome should not be lōg because it should straight wayes be diuided into foure hornes Other thynges that he speaketh also do manifestly proue that he spake by the holy Ghost Howbeit this may be more euidently proued by his other Prophecies whē he admonisheth with what great miseries the Church shall be vexed betwixt those two most cruell enemies the kyng of Syria and the kyng of Aegypt There doth he rehearse their leagues and then reciteth theyr cruell warres one agaynst an other and afterward all the alterations and he doth so point out euery thyng with the finger and prosecute the whole matter that it may appeare that God speaketh by his mouth This is then a great thyng and very profitable to know assuredly that Daniel was the instrument of the holy Ghost and that he dyd speake nothyng of his owne brayne Now that he was in such authoritie to the end that he might be in more credite with the Iewes concernyng his doctrine that is extended vnto vs For how foule and shamefull ingratitude is this if we do not embrace the Prophet of God whom the Chaldees were compelled to honour whom we know both to haue bene superstitious and full of pompe and pride Those two nations of the Aegyptians and Chaldees stode most in their owne conceit of all others For the Chaldees thought that they onely had the Vniuersitie of all wisedome Wherfore they would neuer haue bene very ready to receiue Daniel vnles the truth had compelled them and that this confession had bene violently wrasted forth of them that Daniel was the very Prophet of God. Now when the authoritie of Daniel is thus confirmed somethyng must be spoken of the matters that he treateth And concernyng interpretations of dreames the first dreame of Nebuchadnezar doth conteine as we shall see a thyng of most great importance that is to say that all the glory the power of the world must vanish away and that the kingdome of Christ onely shall remaine stable and that there is none other perpetuitie As concernyng the second dreame of Nebuchadnezar therin doubtles the meruelous constancy of Daniel is euident
sometymes God worketh leysurely causeth that his doctrine which semed vnprofitable a long time becommeth at the length fruitefull and of force Now come I to the wordes The preface of the decrée is Nebuchadnezer the king to all people nations and langages which dwell in all the world that is vnder his dominion For he would not haue this vnderstād of Scithia or Fraunce or other farre countreys but because his dominion stretched farre and wide he spake proudly as we sée the Romanes call theyr Rome the imperiall sea of all the world yet were they not lordes ouer all Nebuchadnezer therefore doth here proudly set forth the largenes of his Monarchy when he sendeth forth his decrée to all people and nations vpon the whole earth Afterward he ioyneth this I thought it good to declare the signes wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me There is no doubt but that at length he perceiued that he was punished for his ingratitude because that he had geuen glory vnto the one and true God onely by toung and outward shew and afterward fell agayne to his olde superstitions yea he would neuer cast them of at all Therefore do we sée that this king was oft chastised before he would take profit of Gods correction Let vs not merueile then if God doo often smite vs with his hand for dayly experience doth try vs to be slouthfull and very sluggardes at Gods admonitions When God therefore will bring vs to repentance he must of necessity beate vs oftentimes because either we are nothing moued when we are chastised by his hand or if that we doo seme for one time wakened yet doo we returne agayne by and by to our olde sinfull slumber It is of necessitie therefore that the scourges be doubled This do we sée in this present history as in a glasse How be it this was a singular benefit of God that Nebuchadnezer did geue place at the length after that God had chastised him many times Yet know we not whether this confession came forth of a true and vnfeyned repentance I do leaue that in doubt Yet I doo nothing doubt but that Daniel doth rehearse this decrée to declare that the king was in the end compelled to confesse the God of Israell to be the onely God and to publish the same to all people and nations vnder his dominion In the meane ceason this is to be noted that this decrée of the king is praysed by the spirite of god For Daniell doth rehearse it for none other purpose but to declare the fruite of the conuersion in the king Wherefore thys is with out al controuersy that king Nebuchadnezer hath testified his repentance when he magnified the God of Israell before all the world and appoynted a penalty for all them which spake blasphemously agaynst that god Therfore is this place oft cited by Augustine agaynst the Donatistes for they would haue bene suffered still vnpunished when they maliciously troubled the Church when they corrupted the pure doctrine yea when they tooke vpon them to robbe like theues and rage like murtherers For it was manifest that diuerse were then murthered by them and others maymed When these men liued so wickedly yet would they haue their wickednes to go vnpunished thys they helde for a principle that no man ought to be punished for holding a contrary religion For the which thing some at this day are to much bent to contention It is euident what they séeke For if a man marke them they are wicked contemners of God at the least they would haue nothing to be certayne in religion Therefore doo they labour to ouerthrow and as much as in them lyeth to destroy all the principles of religion Therefore that they may poure forth theyr poyson they striue thus stoutly for impunity deny that heretikes and blasphemers ought to be punished That impudent Castalio is one of them and his felowes and other such like Such were then the Donatistes And therefore as I haue sayd Augustine doth often times cite thys place and declareth that it is shamefull slackenes when Christian princes doo not by punishing the heretikes and blasphemers maintayne Gods glory considering that Nebuchadnezer which was neuer truely conuerted yet by a certayne secret instigation published this decree How so euer it is it is euident enohgh to such as are modest and voyd of contention that this decree of Nebuchadnezer is commended by the testimony of the spirite If it be so it foloweth consequently that it is the duety of kinges to defend Gods true worship to punish seuerely prophane contemners who labour either to make nothing of true religiō or adulterate and corrupt the true doctrine with their errors and so dissipate the vnity of fayth and trouble the concord of the Church This is playne by the text of the prophet Nebuchadnezer sayth first It is good for me to declare the signes and the wonders which God hath wrought with me At the first he began to declare what God had done but it vanished away Therefore after that God had twise or thrise chastised him at the length he confesseth that it is good and glorious for him to declare the wonderfull workes of god And he breaketh forth into an exclamation how great are his signes how wonderfull are his mighty workes his kingdome is an eternall kingdome and his dominion for euer It is no doubt but Nebuchadnezer would stirre vp his subiectes to reade this decrée more diligently and to know the greatnes thereof that they might geue them selues to serue that true and only god He calleth the hygh God the God of Israell vndoubtedly Yet doo we not know whether he had cast away his supersticions or no. And I do rather thinke the contrary that he had not cast of his errors but that he was compelled thus to geue glory vnto the true god He dyd then so knowledge the God of Israell to be the hygh God that he dyd ioyne vnto hym the inferior Gods as companions and mates as all the faythles haue perceiued that there was one hygh God but they imagined therewith an heape of other Gods. So then dyd Nebuchadnezer confesse the God of Israell to be the hye God yet dyd he not correct the Idolatry that was vnder his dominion yea he mingled altogether his false Gods with the God of Israell and so left not hys corruption He doth greatly celebrate Gods glory but that is not enough vnles all superstions be abolished that that only religion which is prescribed in the word of God may haue place and the pure and perfit worshyp of God may only florish To be short this preface may be some token of a notable conuersion But we shall sée streight wayes that Nebuchadnezer was not wholly pourged from his errors Wherefore we ought to be the more moued where we sée the king wrapped in many errors to be so rauished with the admiration of Gods power that he exclameth cryeth out
reached vnto heauen and the sight thereof to the endes of all the earth 9 The boughes thereof were fayre and the fruit thereof much and it was meate for all it made a shadaw vnder it for the beastes of the fielde and the foules of the heauen dwelt in the boughes thereof and all flesh fed of it 10 I saw in the visions of my head vpon my bed and behold a watchman an holy one came downe from the heauens 11 And cryed aloud and sayd thus hew downe the tree and breake of hys braunches shake of hys leaues and scatter hys fruite that the beastes may flye from vnder it and the foules from hys braunches 12 Neuertheles leaue the stump of hys rootes in the earth and wyth a baud of yron and brasse bynde it among the grasse of the fielde and let it be wet with the dew and let hys portion be with the beastes among the the grasse of the field 13 Let hys hart be chaunged frō mans nature and let a beastes hart be geuen vnto hym and let seuen tymes be passed ouer hym Nebuchadnezer doth here tell hys dreame the interpretation whereof shall follow afterward Yet because the bare narration should be vnprofitable vnles we speake somthing of the matter it is necessary that we touch somewhat thereof and the rest shal be differred Now first of all vnder the figure of a tree was Nebuchadnezer described not that he did performe the full office of a kyng but because God hath appointed kyngdomes and dominions in the world to thys end that they should be like trées of whose fruite all mortall mē should tast and eate and vnder whose shadow they should also finde rest and comfort And this ordinance of God is of such force that the very tyrantes although they be very farre from right and true gouernment by moderation yet whether they wyll or no they are compelled to be trées for it is better to liue vnder a most cruell tyraunt thē to liue without any regiment Let vs imagine that all were of like authority what wyll such a disorder bring in the end No man will geue place to an other euery man will try what hee were able to do so shall there be all licencious liberty to rob and to steale to begile to kill one an other finally all mens lustes shall bee set at liberty Therefore haue I said that tyrāny may better be borne then a dissolute disorder where there is no gouernment at all where there is none that hath power ouer others to kéepe them in order Wherefore they dispute ouer subtilly which thinke that a king is here described which had great vertues for there was no such excellency of iustice and equity in king Nebuchadnezer But first of al God would declare vnder this figure how he would haue the world gouerned by a politike order and therefore appoynteth kynges and Monarches and other magistrates Secondly he would declare that although tyrantes and other Princes which forget their duties do not performe that which is appoynted vnto them by God yet the grace of God is alwayes euident in all empires and dominions The tyrantes go about to extinguish all comfort of iustice and equity and to confound all things together but God in the meane season doth restraine them by a secret and incomprehensible maner that they are compelled to be profitable to mankinde wyll they nyll they Thys then is to be learned by the figure or the Image of the trée And where it is added That the byrdes of heauen dwelt in the braunches and the beastes dyd feede of the fruite therof this must be referred vnto men For although the beastes of the fielde haue some commoditie by politicke gouernement yet we know that God did appoynt it for mans sake He sayth then that the beastes of the fielde were shadowed vnder it because we are defended vnder the shadow and defence of the Magistrates for els there is no such burning heate of the Sunne that can so broyle or scorch miserable men as if they were spoyled of thys shield and shadow vnder the which God would haue them to finde rest Also the foules of heauen make their nestes in the boughes Some do make a difference betwixt the birdes and the beastes ouer subtilly but I am cōtent to learne thus much by the Prophet that men of all states and condition do féele and perceaue no small vtility by the protection of Princes For if they were destitute of thys ayde and comfort it were better for thē to liue amonges wilde beastes then one to kil an other And this should be of necessity if we consider how great a pride is ingendred in vs all and how blinde loue euery one of vs haue towardes our selues and how raging our lustes are Seing it is so then God declareth by thys dreame that of what state so euer we are yet stād we in néede of the helpe of the Maiestrates And by meat féeding and by the shadow of the trée he doth signifie the manifolde cōmodities which come vnto vs by politicke order Some mā myght obiect that he néedeth not the Magistrate in this or in that poynt but if we try all the necessities of our lyfe we shall finde that thys benefite of God is very necessary Now it followeth That the height thereof was great and that it grew vp vnto the heauens and that the sight of it was extended to the endes of the earth This is restrayned to the Monarchie of Babylon For there were at that tyme other kingdomes in the world but theyr condition was but poore and slender and the Chaldees had such a dominion that none of those Princes came to such power and authoritie Seyng then there was such excellency in kyng Nebuchadnezer it is no meruell though he be described by the trée that reacheth to the heauen and spreadeth to the endes of the earth And where some of the Rabbines will haue Babylō to stād in the middest of the earth because it is vnder the same line wyth Ierusalem it is to foolish And they that say that Ierusalem is in the middest of the earth are in a childish error as Hierome and Origene and other of the auncient writers which holde thys principle But they are worthy to be mocked wyth that aunswere of Diogines who when he was required to poynt the middest of the earth he touched the earth that was vnder hys féete wyth hys staffe Then when an other obiected that it was not the midle of the earth he sayd measure thou the earth and thou shalt sée Where it is sayd That the boughes thereof were beautitifull and the fruite was plentyfull thys may bee referred to the commō opinion of the multitude for we know how their eyes are daseled wyth the glory of Princes For if any be farre more excellent then other by the greatnes of his power all do worship and reuerence hym and are rauished as it were into an admiration so that they
as hath bene sayd and it wil be more euident afterward yet do we sée how he suffered this horrible iudgement of God to be pronounced agaynst hym If then we which are but chaffe in comparison of hym and of no reputation can not abide the threatninges of God when so euer they shal be pronounced agaynst vs euen he shal be a witnes and iudge agaynst vs who though he were in so great power and dignity yet durst he do nothing agaynst the prophet Now in the end of the verse the sentence is repeated agayne which was expounded before vntill thou know that the most hye beareth rule in the kingdome of men and he geueth it to whom he will. Thys place doth teach how hard a thing it is for vs to geue all power vnto god We are in deede great speakers of the glory of God with our tounges howbeit there is no man but he restrayneth hys power whiles that he vsurpeth some what to hym selfe or turneth some what thereof to one or an other Especially when God doth rayse vs vp to any honor or dignity we forget that we are men and we robbe God of hys honor and thrust our selues into hys place Thys disease is hard to be cured and thys punishment which God hath layd vpon the king of Babylon is an example for vs For God would haue bene content with a smaller punishment but because thys madnes doth so sticke in the bowels and mary that men dare chalenge vnto them selues that which is peculiar vnto god Wherefore there must needes be some sharpe medecine to teach them modesty humility and méekenes Kinges and Monarches at thys day do alwayes pretēd in theyr titles that they are Kinges Dukes and Earles by the grace of God but how many do falsely pretend that name to this end and purpose that they may chalenge to them selues authority ouer all For what meaneth that title by the grace of God but that they should knowledge no superior And in the meane season they would treade vnder foote God him selfe vnder whose shielde they mayntayne and defend them selues so farre are they from earnest consideration that they do reigne by hys benefit and goodnes Wherefore this is but a mockery that they boast them selues to haue theyr authority by the grace of god Seing it is so we may easely iudge how proudly prophane kinges do despise God although they do not pretend the name of God deceaueably as these vayne tatlers do which mocke God openly and so prophane and pollute the name of grace 23 Where as they sayd that they should leaue the stumple of the tree rootes thy kingdome shall remayne vnto thee after that thou shalt know that the heauens haue the rule Here Daniel doth end the interpretation of the dreame and teacheth that God will not so seuerely deale wyth the king Nebuchadnezer but that he will leaue some place for hys mercy Therefore he doth mitigate the great rigor of the punishment that Nebuchadnezer hoping for pardon might call vpon God and repent as there shall folow afterward a more euident exhortation But now Daniel doth prepare hym to repentance when he sayth that the kingdome shall remayne vnto hym For God could haue cast hym out of mans company so that he might alway haue remayned with the wilde beastes He might also haue cast hym streight way out of the world but thys is a signe of clemency that he will restore hym not onely vnto some meane state but to hys owne dignitie as though hee had bene alway vpright Therfore we sée that this dreame had bene profitable to kyng Nebuchadnezer if he had not despised the admonition of the holy Propeht yea if he had not bene vnthākefull vnto god For Daniel did not onely forewarne him of the calamitie which hāged ouer his head but also he brought the message of reconciliation God therfore had taught him profitably had he not bene stubburne and despised to learne as the most part of men commonly do But hereof many we gather a generall doctrine that when God doth appointe an end for his punishmentes we are moued to repentaunce because God geueth some taste his mercy that we may hope to obteine pardon of at hys hand if we flye vnto him vnfeinedly and in sinceritie This also is to be noted that Daniel addeth in the second parte of the verse After that thou shalt know that the heauens haue the rule For vnder these wordes is the promise of the spirituall grace included that God would not onely punish the kyng of Babylon to humble him but also would inwardly worke and chaunge the hart like as at the length though long first it came to passe I haue sayd that the grace of Gods spirite is here promised for we do know how smally men do profite without it although God correct them an hundreth tymes For the stubburnes and rebellion of our hartes is so great that we are rather more and more hardened when God calleth vs to repentance And doubtles Nebuchadnezer had bene like vnto Pharao saue that God did not onely humble him with outward punishmentes but also did geue him the inward motion of his spirite that he suffered him selfe to be taught and did submit him selfe to the power and iudgement of god This meaneth Daniel when hee sayth After that thou shalt know For Nebuchadnezer would neuer of his owne minde haue come downe to such a knowledge vnles he had bene touched with some secrete motion of the spirite He addeth That it is the power of heauen that is to say that God gouerneth the world and hath the whole rule For here he setteth the heauens as it were contrary to the earth and to all mortall creatures Now the kynges when they sée all thinges quiet about them if no man feare them they thinke that they are safe enough and whiles they will make them selues sure they looke round about them hether thether but they neuer lift vp their eyes to the heauens as though this perteined nothyng vnto God to mainteine kyngdomes to raise vp whom he will and to cast downe all the proud As though then that this were not in Gods hand the Princes of this world do neuer consider that the heauens haue the authoritie and rule but as I haue sayd they looke this away and that way before and behind euen euery way saue onely to the heauēs This is the cause that Daniel affirmeth that the heauens beare the rule He setteth God as it were agaynst all mortall men as is before 24 Wherfore O king let my counsaile be acceptable vnto thee and breake of thy sinnes by rightuousnes and thine iniquities by mercy toward the poore Lo let there bee an healyng of thyne errour As though he should say take my counsaile breake of thy sinnes cease from thy wickednes enter into a new trade of life that is turne thy crueltie into humanitie and mercy and thy tyranny into pityfull compassion of the poore thus let the errour
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
the rather endeuour our selues to behaue our selues innocently both towardes thee and towardes men with whom we haue to do that so thy name may be glorified in vs and we beyng defended by thy protection may go forward agaynst the malice of men and howsoeuer Sathan do assaulte vs and the wicked lay snares and like raging beastes rise vp agaynst vs that yet we may remaine safe vnder thy defence yea and though we should suffer an hundreth deathes that we may learne to lyue and to die vnto thee that thy name may be glorified in vs through Iesus Christ our Lord Amen 8 Now O king confirme the decree and seale the writing that it be not chaunged according to the law of the Medes and Persians which altereth not 9 Wherefore kyng Darius sealed the writing and the decree Hereby as I haue sayd it is most manifest how prone the myndes of Princes are to be deluded when they thinke that their authority should be encreased and their honour augmented For the king doth make no long disputation wyth his noble men but signeth the decrée because he supposeth that this shal be profitable for hym and his successors if he might haue the Chaldees so obedient vnto hym that they would be ready rather to deny all their Gods then to refuse any thing that he commaundeth Which shall not be chaunged say they that is to say let the decrée be immoueable after the manner of the Medes and the Persians which altereth not In that he ioyneth the Medes wyth the Persians hereby it appeareth as we haue sayd that Cyrus and Darius did raigne ioyntly together For whereas the greater dignity and honour was graunted vnto Darius as long as he liued yet the power remained with Cyrus and without doubt his children were the heyres of both those kingdomes and of the Monarchy of the East vntill they beganne to fall out betwixt themselues And whereas they do alledge that the law of the Medes and the Persians is immutable this doubtles is commendable in the lawes that their authority should be inuiolable and also that they should haue their force and obtayne their effect for the which they were made For where the lawes are euer chaunged and altered many men must néedes be iniuried for no priuate mans right can be stable and sure but where the law is continually one Agayne where it is permitted to make lawes to take away lawes there in the stead of equity succéedeth tyranny lust for law For they which haue this authority beyng corrupt by money wyll now pronoūce one law now an other So shall there be no equity where there is such liberty to alter lawes at will. Howbeit thys must of necessity be warely cōsidered first that kinges make no law nor proclamation without great aduise and long deliberation secondly they must take héede vnto them selues that they be not circumuented and deceaued by craft and cunning fetches as it cōmeth many tymes to passe Wherefore constancy is commendable and prayse worthy in kings and Princes so that wisdome and iustice do go before But straight way we shall sée how foolishly kynges would haue the name of constancy and by their pride peruert all equity 10 Now when Daniel vnderstoode that he had sealed the writing he went into hys house and hys window beyng open in his chamber toward Ierusalem he kneled vpon his knees three times a day and prayed and praysed God as he did before tyme. Now Daniel declareth that he was endued with the strength of the spirit of God that he might offer hys life vnto God as a sacrifice because he knew that there was no hope of pardon left hym if he had bene found to haue violated the kinges cōmaundement He knew also that the king hymselfe should not be frée although he would pardon him euen as it came to passe afterward Seing then that death was before the Prophetes eyes he had rather go vnto it willingly then cease from his duty in religion We must note that here is nothing spoken of the inward worshipping of God but of the outward profession If Daniel had bene forbidden to pray this fortitude might séeme to be necessary wherewith he was endued but now many may thinke that he was in ieoperdy without any great cause whē he dyd set himself forth to death whereas he was onely restrayned frō the outward profession But because Daniel doth not here declare his owne vertue but the spirit speaketh by his mouth we must marke that this boldnes of minde pleased God in the holy Prophet and his deliuerance doth declare how greatly his Godly fact was allowed in that he had rather to renoūce his owne life then to chaunge any thing of his vsuall custome in seruing of god We do know that this is the chiefe sacrifice which God requireth euen to pray vnto god For we do testify thereby that he is the author and geuer of all good thinges vnto vs and agayne we do geue a testimony of our fayth whiles we flie vnto hym and cast all our cares into hys bosome and do offer vnto hym our requestes and desires Seing therefore that prayer hath the chiefe office in the worship and seruice of God doubtles it was of no small importance that the king forbad that any man should pray vnto God for this was a manifest ouer grosse deniall of religion And hereby do we gather agayne how blinde the pride of thys kyng was whiles he could subscribe vnto their wicked and filthy decrée againe how greatly the nobles raged who that they might destroy Daniel went about as much as in them lay to destroy all religion and to plucke downe God from heauen For what remayneth when men thinke that they can want the helpe of God and so haue no care of God at all We know that vnlesse God do strengthen vs euery moment wyth hys power we are easily brought to nought When the king then did forbid all manner of prayer for a whole moneth this was as I haue sayd to require of euery man to deny god Therefore Daniel could not obey the decrée without great iniury vnto God and falling from religion because this prayer is the chiefe sacrifice that God requireth Wherefore it is no meruaile though Daniel did boldly stand against thys cursed decrée And concerning hys profession it was necessary that he should testify before mē that he did stand stedfastly in the worship of god For if he had chaunged any thing of hys vsuall order it had bene after a sort a deniall of his religion He had not publikely pronounced that he contemned God for Darius pleasure but the very chaunge had bene a signe of a traiterous defection and faythles falling from god But we know that God doth not onely require the fayth of the hart and the inward affection but also the testimony and profession of our religion Wherfore it was his duty vnlesse he would haue bene a shamefull apostata to continue in that holy