Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Daniel · Chapter 5
CHAP. V.
Ver. 1. Belſhazzar the King] Son to Evilmerodach, grandſon to Nebuchadnezzar, whoſe line failed in this King, according to Jer. 27.7. Of Evilmerodach Daniel ſaith nothing: becauſe nothing remarkable fell out in his time, but what was before related, 2 King. 25.27. See there.
Made a great feaſt] Of this feaſt, ſee Jer. 25.26. Herodos. l. 1. Xenoph. lib. 7. It was made, ſay ſome, upon occaſion of a yearly ſolemnity, which continued five dayes together, wherein the ſervants bare ſway in every family, having a maſter of miſrule over them. Cyrus took this opportunity, ſaith Xenophon, and made himſelf maſter of the City: Nota hic Baltaſaris miram vecordiam, ſaith one: that is, take notice of Belſhazzars ſtrange ſtupidity and ſecurity; that having ſuch a formidable enemy before the City, he ſhould thus revel and bezel: but he did it, perhaps, to ſhew his valour, and how little he cared for the Perſians, who ſhewed themſelves ſoon after to be no contemptible perſons. Certain it is, that he minded nothing leſs at his feaſt then the deliverance of Gods poor people, which now he was in working. Now were the ſeventy years exactly ended: now therefore was Iſrael to be diſmiſſed, and it was done. The Rabbines have a tradition, that Belſhazzar ſeeing the ſeventy years ſpoken of by Jeremy expired, and the Jews,Lyra. by the coming on of another Monarch not delivered, kept this feaſt in contempt of that prophecy and people.
To a thouſand of his Lords] Who 'tis like, were all drunk for company: what wonder then that a land ſo ſick of drink ſpewed them all out? Lords and loſels were grown deſperate drunkards, ripe for ruine. Here were a thouſand Princes, but not one faithful Counſellor, to better adviſe this feſtival King (as he is called) wholly given over to diſſolute luſts. Who can tell whether it were not now with him as afterwards with Vitellius the Emperour, when his enemy was at hand,Tacitu…. Vitellius trepidus, dein temulentus, to put away the fear of death, he made himſelf drunk?
Ver. 2. Belſhazzar whileſt he taſted the wine] And was maſtered by it;Jam temulentus. Vulg. being now in his cups, as they ſay, and well whittled, ſwallowed up of wine, as the Prophet expreſſeth it, Eſay 28.7. Aben-Ezra rendreth it, in conſilio vini, doing as the wine adviſed him.
Commanded to bring the golden and ſilver veſſels] Being intoxicate he caſteth off all care of God and man, and falleth into the ſins of ſacriledge and blaſphemy.
Which his Father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the Temple] And ſhould have reſtored them thither again. We read that when Genſericus had ſpoiled and plundered Rome, he took the veſſels of gold and ſilver which Titus had brought from the Temple in Jeruſalem, and carried them with him to Carthage, The life of Juſtin by Mr. the Clark. 79.and carried them to Constantinople. But the good Emperor Juſtinian would not receive them into his treaſury, but ſent them again to Jeruſalem, to be diſpoſed of for the good of the Church, according to the diſcretion of the Chriſtian Biſhops who lived there.
Ver. 3. Then they brought the golden veſſels] Made and appointed for a better uſe; as were likewiſe much of our Church-lands, veſſels and utenſils, concerning wich a learned man thus complaineth, Poſſidebant Papiſtae, poſſident jam Rapiſtae; Luther cryed out earneſtly againſt this abuſe in Germany, Knox in Scotland, Calvin at Genevah; I ſee, ſaid he to the Senat there in a Sermon, that we have taken the purſe from Judas and given it to the devil: neither can I endure ſuch ſacriledge, which I know God in the end will puniſh moſt ſeverely. Belſhazzar paid dear for his bowſing in the boules of the Sanctuary.
And the King and his Princes—drank in them] As if they had been ſwine-troughs. This was to out-ſin his father and grandfather, who yet were none of the beſt.
Ver. 4▪ They drank wine] To the honour of their goddeſſe Shac: for ſo theſe feaſt-dayes were called foreign, being like the Roman Saturnalia.
And praiſed the gods of ſilver and of gold] As if theſe their dunghill-deities had maſtered and ſpoiled the God of Iſrael, who either would not or could not defend his temple and people, from falling into the power of their invincible conquerour. This was blaſphemy in an high degree: and therefore preſently puniſhed by God.
Ver. 5. In the ſame hour came forth fingers of a mans hand] Taken off from the arm. This ſtrange ſigne marr'd all the mirth immediately, making good the Proverb, Ʋbi uber, ibi tuber, ubi mil, ibi fael. Lege Dei aeternâ ſancitum eſt ut illicita voluptas pariat ultric…s conſcientiae ſu…ias & ſupplicia, juxta illud Apocal. 18.7. Carnal mirth goeth out in a ſnuffe.
Ʋpon the plaiſter of the wall] When the wrath of God is revealed from heaven againſt unrighteouſneſſe, he would have it to be well noted and noticed by all.
Ver. 6. Then the Kings countenance was changed] How ſoon is carnal joy extinct, the gallantry of it checkt with troubles and terrours! how ſuddainly is it put out as the fire of thornes! Pſal. 118.12. Eccleſ. 7.6. Surely as lightening is followed with rending and roaring: and as comets, when their exhaled matter is waſted, vaniſh and fill the ayre with peſtilent vapours: ſo is it here.
So that the joynts of his loyns were looſed] If a bare citation to judgment were ſo terrible to this jolly Prince, what ſhall the judgment it ſelf be? Knowing therefore the terrour of the Lord, &c.
And hiis knees ſmote one againſt another] The writing on the wall he could neither read nor underſtand: but his conſcience had written bitter things againſt him, which being now held to the fire of Gods wrath become legible, as things written with the juyce of an onion are, when brought to the fire. The wounds alſo of an accuſing conſcience pierce the members of the body, Prov. 17.22. The mark that God ſet upon Cain was, in likelyhood, the perpetual trembling of his hands and whole body.Luctant. Tullus Hostilius, who profanely derided the devotions of his predeceſſour Numa, had deſervedly for his gods Pavorem and Pallorem. Caracalla, after the murther of his brother Geta was ſo haunted with the furies of his own evil conſcience, that he forbad any ſo much as to name him on pain of death, and was well-nigh mad: ſo was Theodoricus the Tyrant, upon the ſight of the fiſhes head ſet before him, wherein he thought he ſaw the face of Symmachus whom he had wrongfully ſlain. The like befel our Richard the third after the murther of his two innocent Nephews; and Charles the ninth of France after the Maſſacre at Paris.
Ver. 7. The King cryed aloud to bring in the Aſtrologers] Daniel ſeemeth not to have been in any requeſt in the dayes of this diſſolute Prince: Neither was there any Courtier that would mention him, or mind the King of him till the old Queen came in. Such Combibones are unfit comforters: many of them, likely, were by this time, buckt with wine, and then laid out to to be ſunn'd, and ſcorn'd.
Shall be cloathed with ſcarlet, &c.] A troubled heart will give any thing for releaſe, as Cain, Spira, &c.
And ſhall be the third ruler in the Kingdom] i. e. Next to my ſelf and the Queen-Mother. Thus he promiſeth to another a third place, who could not promiſe to himſelf any place. Spirat ſuperbiam miſer.
Ver. 8. But they could not read the writing] Ʋtpote coe…itate & ſtupore perculſi, they could not ſo read it, as to make any good ſenſe of it. It may be the initial letters only were ſet down, or elſe without pricks, or in a ſtrange Character, the Samaritan, or ſome other. The honour of the work was reſerved for a better man.
Ver. 9. Then was King Belſhazzar greatly troubled] In the midſt of his feaſt he was thus damped and caſt into his dumps; according to that of Amos, chap. 8. ver. 10. I will turn your feaſts into mourning, and all your ſongs into lamentation. Yet find we not in him any ſign of true remorſe. Whoredom and wine and new wine had even taken away his heart, Hoſ. 4.11. robb'd him of himſelf, and laid a beaſt in the room.
Ver. 10. Now the Queen] The Queen-Mother, whom Heredotus calleth Nicochris, and greatly commendeth for her wiſdom and ability of ſpeech, which in a woman is a comely ornament, Prov. 31.26. 1. She was not at this riotous feaſt, which is an argument of her temperance. 2. She prudently inſinuateth into the King by the ordinary ſalutation, O King live for ever. 3. She adviſeth him to bear up, and not to be over-troubled. 4. She maketh honourable mention of Daniel, cujus virtutum ſola est admiratrix, and perſwaded the King to make uſe of him, by her own experience. We uſe to ſay that womens wits are beſt at a pinch. Moſt ſure it is that women have proved ſometimes more prompt for counſel then men, Judg. 13.23. and ſome we may find, who, beſide their ſex, have little of a woman in them. See 2 Sam. 20.16. Herodotus maketh this Nicochris as famous as Semiramis.
Ver. 11. There is a man in thy Kingdom] Once famous for his Oracles, and highly promoted by thy grandfather Nebuchadnezzar. Thus this old Queen ſpeaketh of ancient things. She was not therefore Belſhazzars wife (as Porphyry ſcoffingly objected) but his mother at leaſt, if not his grandmother.
In whom is the spirits] See on ver. 10.
The King, I ſay, thy father] This was a check to Belſhazzar, for neglecting ſo worthy a perſon as Daniel, whom his grandfather had ſo highly honoured.
Ver. 12. Foraſmuch as an excellent spirit, &c.] Very excellent is the grace of the Spirit in godly hearts, Coloſ. 1.29. neither can natural conſcience do leſſe then ſtoop and ſtrike ſail to the image of God, in whomſoever.
And diſſolving of doubtis] Chald. knots, that is, perplexed and obſcure ſpeeches and ſentences.
Now let Daniel be called] Who will not obtrude himſelf, nor like the marry gold open and ſhut with the Sun; but, as the violet which grows low and hang… the head downward, hiding it ſelf alſo with its own leaves: ſo Daniel, were it not that the fragrant ſmel of his many virtues betrayed him to the world, would chuſe to live and dye in his ſelf-contenting ſecrecy.
Ver. 13. Then was Daniel brought in] Wiſe men are never found to be unneceſſarily forth-putting, or over-forward to expreſſe themſelves. They know Qui benè la…uit benè vixit; & qui benè tacuit, benè dixit: and when they muſt ſpeak, uſe as few words as may be, and as direct to the point.
Art thou that Daniel] Daniel had deſerved of the Babylonian State to have been better known of Belſhazzar, and better reſpected. But this is the worlds wages.
Which art of the children of the Captivity of Judah, &c.] What needed all this? he never learned it ſurely of his Queen-mother. She had ſpoken all good of Daniel, and inminded the King of another both office and name. He only takes notice of Daniel's captive condition, and vaunts of his grandfathers victory: moving this inſolent and unſeaſonable queſtion in tanta neceſſitate & conſilii inopia, Art thou that Daniel? &c.
Ver. 14. I have even heard of thee that the Spirit, &c.] This ſilly and ſhallow Prince hath nothing to ſay but what was put before into his mouth by his wiſer grandmother: Only what ſhe diſcreetly concealed, viz. that Daniel was one of the Captives, &c. hoc unum commemorat glorioſus Rex, that he blures out,Oecolamp. in a way of upbraiding.
Ver. 15. But they could not ſhew the interpretation of the thing] They could not read nor interpret it. Such as ſeek to Sorcerers are worthy to loſe their labour, as a puniſhment of their folly. Suidas teſtifieth that the Citizens of Alexandria in Egypt deviſed and decreed, that Aſtrologers ſhould pay a certain tribute to the State out of their gettings, and that it ſhould be called The fools tribute, becauſe none but fools and light fellows would repair to ſuch for direction.
Ver. 16. And I have heard of thee] As far off as he maketh it, Belſhazzar could not be ſo ignorant of Daniel, as he would ſeem to be, ſith he underſtood punctually the dreams, honours, and troubles of his grandfather, ver. 22. But this he took for a piece of his ſilly glory, to make it very ſtrange, as if he had never heard of Daniel till now.
Ver. 17. Let thy gifts be to thy ſelf] Honours, Pleaſures, Riches, Hac tria pro trino numine Mundus habet, Bus as Moſes, by the force of his faith, overcame them all, Heb. 11.24, 25, 26, 27. ſo did Daniel here; throwing off the offers of them, and anſwering the Kings proud ſpeech with a grave Invective which he beginneth ſomewhat abruptly▪ not without indignation, as having to deal with a wicked and deſperate man, rejected of God. Miniſters muſt carry in them a retired majeſty (ſaith One) toward the perſons of wicked men, 2 Kings 3.14.
Ver. 18 O thou King, the moſt High God gave Nebuchadnezzar] See here the neceſſary and profitable uſe of hiſtory, which hath its name, ſaith Plato, foreign, from ſtopping the flux and overflow of impiety in others; Exemplo alterius qui ſapit, ille ſapit. Domeſtical examples are moſt prevalent: as, not to profit by them is a great provocation, and yet too too common, Pſal. 49.14. Lamech was nothing bettered by Cain's puniſhment, but the contrary. Jude inveyeth againſt ſuch as made no uſe of Sodoms ruine: this was a juſt preſage and deſert of their own. And kingdom, and majeſty, and glory, and honour] His offences were much increaſed by theſe many obligations.
Ver. 19. Whom he would he ſlew] De facto loquitur, non de jure: See the like, 1 Sam. 8.10, 11, &c. Lib. 5. cap. 11.See the Notes there. Lactantius telleth of a certain tyrant, qui lucem vivis, terram mortuis denegabat, who would never let his ſubjects reſt alive or dead.
Ver. 20. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardend in pride] Pride is of an hardening property, cauſeth men to commit ſin with an high hand, as Pharaoh. The increaſe of the ſpleen is the decreaſe of the body: ſo is pride of the ſoul, and overturneth the whole man. Evagrius noteth it for a ſpecial commendation of Mauritius the Emperour, that he was not puffed up with his preferments.
Ver. 21. And he was driven] See on chap. 4.22. Lege hiſtoriam, ne fias hiſtoria.
Ver. 22. And thou his ſon O Belſhazzar, hast not humbled thy heart] It was no ſmall aggravation of his ſins not to be warned, and now he ſhall heare of it on both cares. The putting out of the French Kings eyes (which promiſed before with his eyes to ſee one of Gods true ſervants burned) who ſeeth not to be the ſtroak of Gods hand?Act. & Mon. fol. 1914. Then his ſon Francis, not regarding his fathers ſtripe, would needs yet proceed in burning the ſame man. And did not the ſame God give him ſuch a blow on the ear, that it coſt him his life?
Ver. 23. But haſt lifted up thy ſelf aginſt the Lord of heaven] As did alſo Pharaoh, Senacherib, Herod, Acts 12. whoſe acts were ſet forth with falſe and flattering praiſes by Nicolas Damaſcenus, as Joſephus complaineth: but ſo are not Balſhazzar's by holy Daniel, Antiq. lib. 16. cap 11.who yet is, almoſt, his only Hiſtoriographer.
And whoſe are all thy wayes] Chald. thy whole journy.
Ver. 24. Then wat the part of the hand] Completâ peccati menſurâ, non differture poena, when ſin is once ripe, puniſhment is ready. The bottle of wickedneſſe when once full with thoſe bitter waters, will ſoon ſink to the bottom.
Ver. 25. Mene, Mene, Tekel, Ʋpharſin] Theſe words ſignify, He hath perfectly numbred, he hath weighed, and it falleth in pieces: They were the Samaritan Characters,Weem…e. ſaith One; therefore the Babylonians could not read them, nor could the Jewes underſtand them, though they knew the characters, becauſe they underſtood not the Chalde… tongue as Daniel did. See on ver. 8.
Ver. 26. Mene, God hath numbred thy kingdom] He hath caſt up thy reckonings, taken account of thy mal-adminiſtration, and calleth for ſatisfaction. So he dealt with Pharaoh King of Egypt; Cum duplicarentur lateres, venit Moſes, when the tale of bricks was doubled, then came Moſes: and when the four hundred or the four hundred and thirty years of their Captivity in Egypt were exacty expired, the ſame night were the firſt-born ſlain. So the tyranny of the Roman Emperours was numbred at the end of three hundred years after Chriſt, when they, ſounding the triumph before the victory, had fooliſhy engaven upon pillars of marble theſe bubbles of words, Nomine Chriſtianorum deleto qui Remp. evertebant, We have utterly rooted out the name of Chriſtians thoſe traytours to the Commonwealth. So, laſtly, God hath numbred the Popes kingdom, and well-nigh finiſhed it. Let him look to the year 1666. Tis plain, Satan ſhall be tyed up a thouſand years: 666 is the number of the beaſt; Antichriſt ſhall ſo long reign; theſe two together make the juſt number.
Jupiter ipſe duas aequato examine lances Sulline…. Virg.Ver. 27. Tekel, Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting] As the former was a term taken from creditours, ſo this from light coyn; deprehenſus et minus habere, thou art not currant. Others may think thee weighty enough and worthy, but God pondereth the hearts, Prov. 22.2. and findeth thee fit to be refuſed, ut nummus reprobu….
Ver. 28. Peres, thy kingdome is divided and given to the Medes] This had been long before prophecyed of Iſa. 13.17. yea Gen. 9.25. And now Chams poſterity felt his fathers curſe. Nimrod the founder of Babylon came of Cham: Madai or the Medes were of Japhet, and Elam or the Perſians, of Sem. Gods forbearances are no quittances. Let all wicked ones look to it. What is Mene but death? Tekel but Judgement? Peres but hell or utter ſeparation from God, and all to be paſſed thorough by their poor ſouls, if timely courſe be not taken? Hear this all ye drunkards, who glory in drinking the three Outs, &c.
Ver. 29. Then commanded Belſhazzar, and they cloathed Daniel] No nay but they would do it, and he at length admitted it: partly, that he might not ſeem to ſlight the Kings courteſy and to be diſaffected: and partly, that thereby he might be the better known to the Perſians, for the comfort of Gods poor people.
And put a chain of gold about his neck and made a proclamation, &c.] All this the King commanded to be done, out of an admiration of Daniel's divine wiſdom, and that he might be dicti ſui dominus as good as his word. But not a word hear we of his repentance, ſuch was his ſtupidity: nor doth Daniel exhort him to it, becauſe he ſaw him to be paſt feeling, and knew that the decree was gone forth.
Ver. 30. In that night was Belſhazzar—ſlain] By Gaddatha and Gobrya two of Cyrus his Commanders who had been wronged by Belſhazzar, Xenoph. Cyrop. lib. 7.(as Xenophon alſo teſtifieth) and now took revenge on him, after that they had betrayed the City, and brought in Cyrus his army. So fell that famous Babylon—fuit Ilium & ingon… Gloria Teuerorum.
Ver. 31. And Darius] Called by C…ſias foreign, which comes near to Dariaves, as the Chalde… here calleth him. He is thought to be the ſame with Cyaxares ſon of Aſtyages, and uncle to Cyrus.
Being about threeſcore and two years old] Born the ſame year, ſay the Rabbins,Sedar Olam. wherein Nebuchadnezzar beſieged Jeruſalem and deſtroyed it. So Auſtin was born the ſame day is Afrike, that Pelagius was in Wales (ſay Chronologers) by a wiſe and watchful providence of God for the good of his Church.