The Fall of King Nebuchadnezzar, Religious tract
THE FALL OF King Nabuchadnezzer.
Dan. 4. 28. 29. 30.
By Henrie Smith.
Printed by Thomas Scarlet, 1591.
Dan. 4. 28.
28 While the word was in his mouth, a voice came from heauen, ſaying. O King Nabuchadnezzer, to thee be it ſpoken, thy kingdome is departed from thee.
29 And they ſhal driue thee from men and thy dwelling ſhall be with the beaſtes of the field, they ſhall make thee to eate graſſe with the Oxen, and ſeuen times ſhall paſſe ouer thee, vntill thou knoweſt that the moſt higheſt God beareth rule ouer the kingdomes of men, and giueth to whomſoeuer he will.
30 The verie ſame houre was this thing fulfilled vponupon Nabuchadnezzer, and hee was driuen from men, and did eate graſſe as the Oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heauen, till his haires were growne as Eagles fethers, and his nayles as birdes clawes.
FRom the 26. verſe, to the end of this chapter, is layde downe the pride, fall, and reſtitution of Nabuchadnezzer. The two firſt verſes are like a banner of his pride, which ſhewe him in his ruffeling as it were in the aire, before he knewe God, or him ſelfe. The three next verſes are the diſcouerie of his ſhame, which ſhew him in his miſerie, as it were groueling on the groūd, after God had cooled his courage. The foure laſt verſes are the celebration of his recouerie, which ſhew him in holines as it were rapt into heauen, & ſinging with the ſaints for ioy, that God had brought him vntounto his knowledge, thogh it were through ſhame and trouble, and loſſe of all that he had ſeuen yeeres togither. Of his pride we hauehave heard alreadie: yet becauſe we are friendes to vices, as we are to men, ſo long as they proſper and floriſh, but when they decay and fal, then we ſhrink away, and are aſhamed of them: ſo it may be, if ye could ſee pride take a fall, though yee louelove her well yet ye would forſake her, like a banquerout, when yee ſee that ſhe can pleaſure you no longer. Therefore ye ſhall ſee Nabuchadnezzer vponupon his feete againe: before you beheld him vppon his knees, that when ye ſee what a king he was in his galleries, and after find his ſeruants in his palace, and his ſubiects in his throne, & himſelf like a beaſt in the wilderneſſe, God may giuegive you heartes to thinke a little of this ſinne, what it is which coſt ſo dere, and is as common now in euerie houſe, as it was then in the Kings court.
After twelue moneths (sayth Daniel) that is, twelue moneths after GOD had warned this king by dreames and by Daniel, to repent his ſins, he was ſtrouting in his galleries, and thought what ſin ſhould bee next, as though hee had neuer heard of dreame or Prophet.
By this computation of ſinne, wherein the moneths are obſerued ſo exactly, howe long Nabuchadnezzer rebelled after hee was warned, Daniel ſhewes what a reckoning God keepes of our moneths, and weekes and daies, which hee giues vsus to repent, as he did to Nabuchadnezzer, & what an account wee ſhall make of them, as Nabuchadnezzer did, though we count no more of our age then the childe doth of his youth, & hauehave done no more of our taſke at twentie then when we were but ten, nor at thirtie then when we were but twenty, nor at fortie then when wee were thirtie, yet we ſhall giuegive account of mo hours in the day of iudgement, & it ſhall be heauier to the old than to the young, to you which hauehave the word, then to them which want it: and there is great ods betweene Nabuchadnezzer and vsus, for hee which challenged Nabuchadnezzer for twelue moneths ſince hee was warned, may challenge vsus of twelue yeres ſince we wer warned, and yet wee looke not for ſo great puniſhment as fel vpō Nabuchadnezzer for twelue moneths. Daniel names three twelue moneths, as though he would ſpeake of a great matter, and ſhewes how worthie Nabuchadnezzer was to be puniſhed, becauſe he might hauehave reformed his life ſince he was warned: for there were twelue moneths betweene his dreams and his baniſhment. But that yeare wherein hee had ſo manie warninges and teachinges, was as vaine as the reſt, and vainer then the yeares before: for now he ſhould hauehave bin a mourner like the king of Niniuie, whē Ionas threatned deſtruction vntounto them.
But like a victor of a countrie returned from battell, to ſolemnize his triumph, firſt hee decked his pallace as braue as himſelfe, and then hee walkes his ſtations in it, and when he hath ſet all things before him, which might make him forget God, and hoiſt himſelfe in pride, like a ſerpent that would burſt vnleſſe he diſcharged ſome of his poyſon, hee breaketh out and ſaith, Is not this great Babel, which I hauehave built by the might of my power, for the honour of my maieſtie? Wherin obſerue firſt what a glorious opinion this vaine king had of his vaine buildinges. Secondly, how that hee names himſelfe the founder of them, as though he had done all without an helpe. Thirdly, that in all his workes hee ſought nothing but vain-glorie, as he witneſſeth againſt himſelfe, ſaying: which I hauehave built for the honour of my maieſtie, not for the honor of Gods maieſtie, but for the honour of my maieſtie. So firſt that which hee ſhould hauehave contemned, as Chriſt did the beautie of the temple, hee admired it,Math. 24 2 and nothing ſeemed ſo glorious to him, as that which made him ſhamefull to God. Secondly, that Citie which was built by Semiramis, he arrogateth to him ſelfe, and neuer ioyned the chiefe workemaiſter with him, but ſaith which I hauehave built by the might of my power, when hee ſhould hauehave ſayd, by the might of Gods power.page missingsal. 127. 1. For vnleſſe God build the houſe, the builders (saith Dauid) buildeth but in vaine.Kin. 4 10.
Laſtly, that which hee ſhould hauehave builte for the honour of God, as the man built a chamber for the Prophet, he builded for his own honor, as our Nabuchadnezzers do. Therfore when al his pleaſures were prepared like a feaſt, and he came to ſit downe at the banket, it happened to him as to the churle in the Goſpell, after hee had filled his barnes, when hee came to ſing in his hart, be merrie my ſoule, that night his ſoule was taken from him and the deuills made merrie with it in hell: ſo hee had feathered his neaſt, and beganne to crowe vponupon his roofe, Is not this great Babel, &c. As if hee ſhould ſaie, Now Nabuchadnezzer, make thee merrie, that houre his honour was taken from him, for a voice came downe from heauen like the terrible hand which wrote vponupon the wall, when Baltazar ſate at his banquet, and daſht his pride vppon ſuch a rock, that within an houre all his pomp and pleaſures and treaſures, ſuffered ſuch a ſhipwracke, that his that his fall was more admired of all, than his glorie and buildinges were admired of himſelfe. Thus all the ioy, and pleaſures, and glorie of pride are ſpoken with a breath, and ſtopt with another.
Yo… hauehave heard what the voice ſpake from earth, now you ſhall heare what the voice ſounds from heauen. Theſe three verſes following declare this Kinges fall, when and how, and from whome it was. While the wordes were yet, &c. there is the time. A voice, &c. there is the iudge. O king, &c. there is the arraignment, Thy kingdome, &c. there is the iudgement, He was driuen from men, & liued with beaſts in the wildernes, till his haires were growen like Eagles feathers. There is the execution and maner of his puniſhment. Firſt of time, While, &c.
As Daniel obſerued the time when Nabuchadnezzer ſinned, ſo he obſerueth the time when Nabuchadnezzer is puniſhed, as if God had lien in wait to catch him in his words, & take him at the trip: euen as hee watched Lots wife, when ſhe looked backe,Ge. 14 and transformed her into a piller of Salte, ſo ſoone as ſhee looked behinde. So now the Lord laie as it were in the ſcout, to watch when Nabuchadnezzer ſpake treaſon, and to apprehend him vponupon it. O Nabuchadnezzer, thou haſt vaunted theſe twelue moneths, ſince I warned thee, and I made as though I heard not, but ſuffered thee to doe and ſpeake thy pleaſure, and vaunteſt thou ſtill? Surely, thou ſhalt ſcape me no longer, I will not heare a worde more againſt mine honour: ſo hee cut cut him off while the wordes were in his mouth, and propundeth the wordes of iudgement againſt him. If you marke the time when the voice ſpake from heauen, you may ſee three wiſedomes of God, firſt God takes him in his fault, that hee might ſee his falt,page missing. Kin. 13 4. as Ieroboam was ſtroken when hee ſtroke the Prophet, that he might knowe why he was ſtroken. Then he takes him ſodenly, becauſe hee contemneth his warning, as the fire came vponupon Sodome while they contemned Lots warning.Gen. 19 24 Thirdly, God takes him where he is pleaſantest, & luſtiest, & ſafeſt, in his pallace, which was lyke a caſtle, as hee tooke Herod, when his gard ſtod by him,Acts. 12. 23. that he might ſee that nothing can garde him from God, but God muſt garde him from danger, or elſe Princes be not ſafer than ſubiects: ſo thogh a man ſin often, and ſteale his ſins as it were without puniſhment, yet at the laſt he is took napping while the wickednes is in his hand: as the Iewes were,Num while the quailes were in their mouthes, and his day is ſet when he ſhall pay for al, whether it be after twelue moneths, or twelue yeares, whenſoeuer it commeth, it will ſeeme to ſoone. Vengeance doth ſtay till ſinne be ripe, & watch the time when they are moſt occupied: then iudgement ſteps foorth, like the Angell to ſtoppe Balaam in his way.Num Becauſe the puniſhment is more terrible and greeuous when they looke not for it (for the worſt that is, wiſh like Balaam to die the death of the righteous) therefore God will croſſe them in that: though they proſper alwaies before, yet their endes ſhall bee a kinde of iudgement vponupon all theyr lyfe, and a propheſie of torment, for all men to ſee what becomes of the wicked after death, that they may feare to bee lyke vntounto them. As when we ſee ſome ſtriken dead while they forſweare themſelues at the barre: ſome fall downe vnderunder the table, while they ſit ſwilling at the wine: ſome ſtriken dumbe in the pulpit, while they preache vntruths: euen as the Philiſtines were ſlaine while they feaſted: and as Herod was ſhamed while he vaunted:Act. 12 23 and as Ieroboam was ſtriken while he ſtroke.1. Kin 13. 4 What doeth this teach vsus, but that our ſinnes depart from vsus, ſo ſoone as they are done, vntounto the iudge, and there they accuſe vsus, as Cains murther cried out againſt him, ſo ſoone as hee ſlewe his brother,Gen. 4 I know thy words, ſaith God:Reu. 3 15 hee may ſaie, I knowe thy wordes and thy thoughts too. For Iudas coulde not goe ſo cloſely about his trecherie,Mat. 26 14 15, 16 but that Chriſt did knowe when his thought entered into his heart, and hearde when hee conferred alſo with the Scribes, and ſawe likewiſe when he tooke the bribe, though he kept a time to puniſh him, as hee ſayth in the ſeuen and thirtie Pſalme the ſecond verſe: When I ſee a conuenient time, then will I execute iudgement.
Now the time was come, when this king ſhould be made an example vntounto all other kinges after him, to amend their liues and reforme their realme. When the Prophet commeth from God vntounto them, to tell them what they ſhould doo, when dreame & Daniel had done what they could: nowe God calles foorth his iudgementes and bids them ſee what they can do, & commands them to chaſe Nabuchadnezzer, vntil he hauehave loſt his kingdom, vntill hee be driuen out of his pallace, vntill hee be fled into the wildernes, vntil he be degenerat like a beaſt, vntill his ſubiects & ſeruants, and pages, make their ſport, & gaze and wonder at him, like a foole which goeth vntounto the ſtockes, or a treſpaſſer, which is gazed at vppon the pillorie: So this king was debaſed, when God heard him but vaunt of his buildings.
Therefore let vsus take heede, and be carefull, after what ſorte wee ſpeake, and what wordes ſlip from vsus, leaſt God take vsus in our lies, or othes, or ſlanders, or ribauldrie, as he took Nabuchadnezzer, when his toong walked without a bitt: for if he had ſuppoſed that God had bin ſo neare, and that hee would hauehave aunſwered him as hee did, hee would hauehave held his peace, and laid his hand vppon his mouth, rather then pay ſo deare fo… a vaine word, which did him no good when it was ſpoken.
The ſecond note is of the iudge. A voyce came downe from heauen: the controuling voice came downe from heauē ▪ God is moſt offended with our ſinne: for Nabuchadnezzer might hauehave ſpoken more than this, before any other man: and no man could controll him, becauſe he was a king: and kings delight in greater vanities than buildings, yet no man ſaith, why doeſt thou ſo: becauſe Salomon ſayth:Pro He which repeateth a matter, ſeparateth the Prince, that is, he which tells Princes their faulte, maketh them his enemies: therefore ſince Iohn Baptiſt died, onelie God is lefte to reproue almoſt all that ſinne by authoritie, yet one is in heauen hath an eare & a tongue, and cheeketh the king as boldly as euer the king checketh his ſubiects. When the voice from earth ſpake vainely, the voice from heauen ſpake iudgement. Heere is the king of heauen againſt the king of earth, the voice of God againſt the voice of man: a diuine wrath, warring with a humane pride: the fire is kindled, woe to the ſtubble. The Lord of hoſts is in arms againſt the Lord of Babel, and begins to laie hands on him, and to thruſt him out of his throane. Firſt hee rattles him like a thunder, O king Nubuchadnezzer, as if he ſhuld ſaie▪ for all thou art a king, thou ſhalt ſee whether another be aboue thee. Now garde thy perſon, now defend thy honor: for he whom thou haſt deſpiſed, threatneth to take thy kingdome from thee: go now & walke in thy gallery, fetch one turne more before thou be turned out of dore, and walke with the beaſtes in the forreſt. Now hee comes to the arraignment, & cals him to the bar, O king Nab. to thee be it ſpoken: he was neuer called king with leſſe reuerence, nor had ſuch pay for ſinne in all his raigne. God giues him his title, but he tells him his lot, he calles him king, but without a kingdom, as if he ſaid, late king of Babel, hold vp thy hand, here a king is araigned in his own kingdom, & no euidēce giuen againſt him, but as though he had witneſſed againſt himſelfe, as all ſinners do, God condemneth him out of his own mouth, and to open his eares, hee calleth him by his owne name, O king Nabuchadnezzer, as the priſoner is called whē he holdes vp his hand at the barre. Then hee pronounceth the iudgement, To thee be it ſpoken, to thee which aduanceſt thy ſelf like God, to thee which wouldeſt not take heed by the dreame, to thee which wouldſt not be warned by the prophet, to thee which didſt all for thine own honor. Now hearken to thy iudgement, Thy kingdome is departed from thee, thou ſhalt be driuē out of thy pallace, they which ſhoulde honour thee ſhall expulſe thee, thou ſhalt raigne with the beaſts in the deſart, there ſhalbe thy dwelling ſeuen yeares, go now and ſtalke in the woods, as thou didſt in thy pallaces, and when thou art among the lions and wolues, and Beares, looke vntounto Babell which thou haſt built. Howe doth this ſpeech differ from Nabuchadnezzers ſpeeche? his wordes were but words, but Gods wordes were, He ſpake, and it was done.Genespage missing For in the ſame houre that which was ſpoken was done (ſaith Daniel) and whatſoeuer the ſame voyce threatneth vntounto our ſinnes or vntounto the ſinner, ſhall be done at firſt or at laſt. To Nabuchadnezzer it was ſayd, Thy kingdome ſhalbe taken from thee: to vsus it is ſaid, Thy life ſhalbe taken from thee: to him it was ſaid, Thou ſhalt be thruſt forth into the deſart: to vsus it is ſaid, Thou ſhalt be thrown forth into darkeneſſe: to him it was ſaid, Thou ſhalt be like beaſtes: to vsus it is ſaide, Thou ſhalt be like the damned. Shall not the voice ſpoken to vsus be remembred with God, aſwell as the threatning menaced to him?
This voyce came from heauen, and therefore it ſpake home, not like them which glide by the faults of Princes, and whiſper behinde their backs, as though they would reproue them if they durſt, but for feare leaſt the Prince, or Councellour, or Iudge, or Magiſtrate, ſhould take it as hee meanes it, and think that he aimes at them, which makes them ſpeake in parables, as though they woulde caſt a vaile ouer their reproofe, and eate their meſſage before they hauehave ſpoken it. The holy ghoſt teacheth vsus here to reproue, ſo that whoſoeuer ſinneth, may know, that thou ſpeakeſt to him. Hee which ſpeaketh from heauen (as this voyce did) muſt ſpeake like Iohn Baptiſt among the Publicanes and harlottes, and ſoldiers, as though he went from one to another, and ſaide, this is ſpoken to thee, this is ſpoken to thee, this is ſpoken to thee. For vnleſſe wee come neere this mortall Gods and proude Nabuchadnezzers, as neere as Elias came to Achab, when hee said, It is thou that troubleſt Iſrael, 1. Kin.page missingthey will poſt it ouer, and thinke that thou ſpeakeſt not to them, vntill thou ſpeakeſt plainly, as the voyce ſpake from heauen, To thee be it ſpoken. And then they will reforme the matter, or elſe God ſhewe ſome iudgement vppon them, as hee did heere vponupon this great King Nabuchadnezzer. Nowe the decree goeth foorth, that Nabuchadnezzer ſhall be king no more. Thy kingdom is departed from thee. This is ſuch a ſaying, as if Nabuchadnezzer had thought of it before, hee woulde hauehave wept when hee vaunted, to thinke that his honour was going from him, when he thought it was comming to him: yet his kingdom was not departed from him, & yet God ſayth, Thy kingdome is departed from thee, becauſe thy decree was paſt, which ſhoulde as ſurely come to paſſe, as if it were paſt alreadie, Therefore becauſe we care not ſo long as the Prophet ſaith, we ſhall die, we ſhall ſuffer, we ſhal anſwer, he leaueth Shall, and ſayth Now, as God ſayd to Abimelec: Thou art a dead man, page missingene. 20 3not thou ſhalt die, but thou art dead, which rouſed him more, then if hee had threatned him an hūdred deaths, becauſe he thought that he ſhould die preſently: ſo the holy Ghoſt is forced as it were to exceede, and ſpeake more than we thinke hee ſhoulde ſpeake, for the hardnes of our hearts, which heare like ſtones, and go like ſnails. If we hauehave but a weeke to repent, we will defer it to the laſt day, that we may ſinne all the reſt.
Therefore it was meete to ſay, Thy kingdome is departed from thee. That ſeeing his iudgement ſhould not ſtay, hee ſhould not ſtay his repentance. If this voice had ſaide, Thy Babell ſhall ſinck, as Nemrods Babel did, it ſeemeth hee woulde hauehave thought his honour buried, but when he was ſtript, not only of his pallace, but alſo of his kingdome, what heauy newes was this vntounto him, which thought himſelfe equal with God, and now may not be a king. But when hee was thruſt among beaſts to eat graſſe with oxen, what a downfull was this to be brought vnderunder all his ſubiectes, which ſpake euen nowe as though there none but he: and now his ſeruauntes ſeruant would not be like vntounto him? So the king of kings wil be honoured of kinges, as they are of their ſubiects, or els he wil tread vponupon their crownes, and they ſhall heare the ſame at laſt, Thy kingdome ſhall depart from thee. Now followeth the execution of this iudgement, for Daniel ſaith, The ſame houre all this was fulfilled. So he ſheweth the order of it: as a priſoner is brought to the barre, and lead to gybbet, ſo this king was drawne from his throne, and turned into the wilderneſſe, where hee abode among wilde beaſtes ſo long, Till his haires were growne like Eagles feathers, and his nayles like Birdes clawes.
When God began, hee made haſte, it was long before hee ſpoke, but when he ſpoke, hee did it, and effected in an houre all that the dreame, and the Prophet had foretold. Then was fulfilled, The pride of man ſhall bring him low: Euen in that houre that Nabuchadnezzer aduanced himſelfe more then before, in the ſame houre hee was brought vnderunder al his ſubiects, al his ſeruantes and pages: ſo hee which ſetteth vp can pull down, he which gaue can take, he which made can deſtroy.
Therefore let no man vaunt though he were a king of his houſe or land, or farme or children, but knowe that he ſhoulde hauehave nothing, if God did not regarde him more than other: and thinke when thou doeſt reade this ſtorie, whether thou be not as proude of thy welth, as Nabuchad. was of his pallace: whether thou be not as proud of thy children, as Nabuchadnezzer was of his kingdome: whether thou bee not as proude of thy parentage, as Nabuchadnezzer was of his honour: whether thou be not ſo proud of thy learning, as Nabuchadnezzer was of his traine. If thou be not ſo proud, then God doth ſay no more, O king, to thee be it ſpokē, O ſubiect to thee be it ſpoken, theſe bleſsings ſhall be taken from thee, For, hath God taken no mans kingdome from him but Nabuchadnezzers? Hath hee taken no mans office from him but Iudas? hath he taken no mans riches from him but Iobs? how did Antiochus and Iulian, and Herod, and Saul, and Athalia, and Iezabel, and Richard the third goe from theyr thrones, as if God had pulled them out by the eares: he had no reſpect vntounto their perſons, but vſed them like beaſts, as hee did Nabuchadnezzer, & fulfilled his threatning. The candle of the wicked ſhall be put out. Therefore as Chriſt ſaith vntounto them which turne backe, Remember Lots wife: ſo I ſay to them which beare high minds, & proud lookes, and ſtout wordes, remember king Nabuchadnezzer, howe God reſiſteth the proud. Now if anie man long to be reſolued, how this king was changed to a beaſt, he muſt not imagine anie ſtrange metamorphoſis, or popiſh tranſubſtantiation, as though his ſhape were altered, or his manhoode remoued, or that he put on hornes & hoofe, as the Poets faine of Acteon, for the voice doth not ſaie that he ſhould become a beaſt, but that he ſhould dwell with the beaſtes. Daniel doth not ſaie that his head or arms, or legs were tranſformed, but that the haire of his head & the nailes of his fingers did grow lyke Eagles feathers, & like birds claws, as euerie mans haire and nayls wil if he do not pare them. Laſtly, Nabuchadnezzer ſayth not, that his ſhape was reſtored vntounto him, but that his vnderſtanding was reſtored vntounto him: all which declare that he was not changed in bodie, but in minde: not in ſhape, but in qualitie. A ſauage minde came on him,Genes. 4 12 like that which droue Caine from the companie of men, and he became like a Satire or wild man, which differeth not from a beaſt but in ſhape: though hee was not tourned to a beaſt, yet this was a ſtrange alteration, to bee ſo changed in an houre, that his nobles abhorred him, his ſubiects deſpiſed him, his ſeruants forſooke him, none woulde companie with him but the beaſts. Conſider this all that aduaunce themſelues agaynſt God and deſpiſe his word, as Nabuchadnezzer did. Take warning by a king, which euen now walked in his galleries, and his nobles ſerued him in his pallace, with all diſhes that the aire, or ſea, or lande could affoord: now he is turned to graſe and feede like an oxe with the beaſts in the wilderneſſe. This was to ſhew that God maketh no more account of the wicked then of beaſtes, and therefore the holie Ghoſt calleth them often by the name of beaſts: ſhewing how that ſinne and pleaſure make men lyke beaſts, whē they hauehave abuſed their wits often, and peruerted their reaſon, at laſt God taketh their vnderſtanding from them, and they become like beaſtes, loathſome to themſelues and others: many ſuch beaſts we hauehave ſtil like Nabuchadnezzer, who were fitter to liue in the deſart among lions, wher they might not annoy others, then in townes amongſt men, where they infect more then the plague. Thus if you hauehave not conſidered the beaſtlines of ſin, looke vppon Nabuchadnezzer,Genes. 4 12 like a beaſt. If you would ſee the guilt of it, looke vppon wandering Cain,1. Sa. 16. 14 If thou woldeſt ſee the frenſie of it, looke vponupon frantike Saul. If thou wouldeſt ſee the feare of it, loke vponupon trembling Baltazar.Dan. 3.page missing If thou wilt ſee the ſhame of it,Heſter. page missing1 looke vponupon Haman hanging vponupon his owne gallowes. If thou wilt ſee the end of it, looke vppon the glutton frying in hell.Luke. 1page missing2 Theſe are the pictures of ſin, which God hath ſet for a terror before vsus: like the piller of ſalte,Gene. 1page missing2 or Achans ſepulchre to ſpeake to vsus. Take heed by thoſe,Ioſua. page missing2 when I hauehave warned you, as I warned them, I will puniſh you, as I puniſhed them.
This is the Epitaph, as it were, which God ingraueth vppon Nabuchadnezzers ſepulchre.
Be thou an example to kings and rulers, for all the children of pride to beware how they ſette themſelues againſt him who aduanced them.
Thus he which ſets vp, can pull down. Did not I ſend thee dreams to warne thee? Did not I ſende a Prophet to warne thee? If either of them would hauehave ſerued, thou mighteſt hauehave ruled ſtill, and walked in thy galleries, and feaſted in thy pallace, and iudged vppon thy throne, and died a king: but now thy kingdome is departed from thee, who woulde bee like Nabuchadnezzer, now the king is like a beaſt? If this heathen was thus challenged for his warning, which had heard but one Prophet, wee may tremble to thinke what wee ſhall aunſwere for our warninges, which hauehave bin threatned as often as the Iſraelites, & yet prouoke the Lord whil he ſerueth vsus, like thoſe which curſe the ſunne while it ſhineth vponupon them.
Thus hauehave you ſeene the fall of pride. Euen now he ſaid, Is not this great Babel? Now he may ſaie: Is not this vnhappie Babel? euē now he ſayde, Which I hauehave built by the might of my power: and now he may ſaie, which I hauehave built by the vanitie of my pride: euen now hee ſaid, for the honor of my maieſtie: now he may ſaie,, for the ruine of my kingdome: yet after this he roſe againe, and came to himſelfe, and receiued his kingdome, and honored him which puniſhed him ſo: but the time will preuent mee to ſpeake of his reſtitution, therfore here I end.
FINIS.
End of the text · Henry Smith, The Fall of King Nebuchadnezzar (1591)