clothed vpon this mortalitie Paul affirmeth that men naturally can not be brought willyngly to go out of the world except as is sayd before that fayth get the victory But whē we vnderstand that our inheritaunce is in the heauens that we are straungers in the earth thē do we put of the desire of this earthly lyfe whereunto we are to much addicted These two are the thynges then which do prepare the childrē of God vnto Martyrdome that they doubt nothyng to offer thē selues and theyr lyues into the handes of God for a sacrifice that is to say if they be persuaded that theyr lyfe is preserued of God and that he wil be an assured deliuerer if he sée it to be expedient Agayne when they clime vp aboue this world and aspire vnto the hope of that eternall and euerlastyng lyfe so be ready to forsake the world And in their wordes a great magnanimitie may bée noted when they say Be it knowen to thee O king that we worshyp not thy Gods neither the Image that thou hast erected for here they accuse the kyng after a sorte that he wil be so arrogant to appoint Religion at his pleasure Thou hast set vp an Image but thine authoritie is to vs of no valure for we know that it is a fayned God whom thou wilt haue to bée worshipped vnder this Image But the God whom we worshyp hath opened hym selfe vnto vs and declared that he will not be worshypped vnder any Image We know that he is the maker of heauen and earth and that he hath redemed our fathers forth of Aegypt that he would chasten vs whē he cast vs forth into this banishment Because therfore a sure stabilitie of our faith is manifest vnto vs we vtterly despise thy God thy commaundemēt in this point 19 Then was Nebuchadnezer full of rage and the forme of his visage was chaunged agaynst Sadrach Mesach and Abednego therfore hee charged and commaūded that they should heate the fornace at once seuen tymes more then it was wont to be heat 20 And hee charged the most valiant men of warre that were in his army to binde Sadrach Mesach and Abednego and to cast thē into the hote fiery fornace At the first sight God séemeth here to forsake hys seruantes because he doth not openly helpe them The kyng commaundeth them to be cast into a fiery fornace no helpe appeareth from the heauens Wherfore this was a full and perfect triall of their fayth They were now armed as we did sée before to suffer all things For they do not aunswere so constantly onely because they trusted in the present helpe of God but because they were determined to dye and a better life dyd so comfort their mindes that they were content to lose this present lyfe This was the cause that they were not afrayde for the terrible cōmaundement of the king but they followed theyr course euen to suffer death without all feare for the honor of god For there remayned no thyrd thing but eyther to chuse to dye or els to deny the worship of the true god By the which example we are taught to premeditate this immortall life in our quiet state that if it so please God we do not doubt to lay downe our liues for the testimony of the truth for this is one cause why we are so fearefull Agayne when we doo come into present daunger then doo we tremble and quake because whiles we are forth of danger we vaynely imagine to our selues a continuall securitiy So long therefore as God geueth vs quietnes we must apply our myndes to meditate the life to come that the worlde may waxe vile vnto vs and that we may be ready so oft as néede shal be to geue our bloude for the testimony of the truth For this history is not set forth vnto vs that we should onely commend and magnify the vertue and constancy of these thrée holy men but it is set forth for vs to imitate theyr constancy And concerning the king Nebuchadnezer here Daniel agayne as it were in a glasse doth shew vnto vs the pride and arrogancy of kinges when theyr commaundementes are not obeyed Surely a hart of yron should haue bene mollified with this answere that Shadrach Meshach and Abednego did commit theyr liues vnto God and therfore could not for feare of death be drawn from theyr fayth But he is filled with anger Cōcerning this rage we ought to consider what power Sathan hath ouer mē whē he hath them in his clawes They haue no moderation nor rule of themselues although at other times they make a fayre shew of vertue As this king had many tokens of vertue as we haue sene before but because the deuill doth now styr hym there appeareth nothing in hym but crueltie and rage Forthermore let vs remember that our constancy doth please God although it doo not shew forth the fruite therof before the world For many vnder this colour spare themselues to liue in their pleasures because they thinke it a rashnes to offer themselues to death when there appeareth no profit And many excuse themselues vnder this pretence that they striue no more for the glory of God because they should lose their labour and theyr death should be fruitles But we doo heare Christ pronoūce this to be a pleasant sacrifice vnto God when we offer our liues for the testimony of the heauenly doctrine although the generation before whom we testify the name of God be crooked adultrous yea though it waxe the more stubbern at our constācy And such an example is here set forth vnto vs in these thrée holy persons For how so euer Nebuchadnezer waxed more more outragious with their bolde confession yet did that playne confession please God and they did not repent it although they did sée no such fruit of theyr constancy as they desired And the prophet doth expresse the circumstance to declare the kinges rage that he commaundid the fornace to be made seuenfolde hoater then it was wont and chused of his strongest men to cast these into the fornace But as it appeareth by the successe all this was done by the secret prouidence of god For the deuill might els haue obscured the miracle if all doubtes had not bene remoued But when the king commaundeth the fornace to be made seuenfolde hoater and did chuse out his strongest men to doo the execution God by deliuering his seruauntes tooke away all doubtfulnes that the more light should shine forth of that darkenes which Sathan thought to haue blinded men withall the kinges policy and his power Thus God vseth to disapoynt the wicked and the more witty that they be to obscure Gods glory the more doth God cause both his glory and his doctrine to shyne forth Like as here as it were in an image Daniel doth paynt vnto vs that the king Nebuchadnezer left nothing vndone whiles that he would thus smite a terror vnto all the Iewes with this
then others so should we vse the grace of God hys holy spirite to instruct others For it is not enough for a man hym selfe onely to absteine from euill vnles he helpe others and ioyne them also with hym into the societie of goodnes and true holynes The which example may teach vs our dueties now and at all tymes 8 But Daniel purposed in his hart not to be polluted with the portiō of the kynges meat and drinke and he desired of the master of the Eunuches that he might not be polluted Heare agayne Daniel declareth that he had alwayes his heart bent to auoyde all thyngs that might any way pollute him and make hym forget hym selfe and hys state But here some do doubt whether any such matter were in the meate and the drinke that Daniel ought to absteyne from them For this semeth some note of superstition And we know that all thynges are pure vnto the pure which rule is true in all worldes Agayne we do read no such thing of Ioseph And it is very lyke that Daniel afterward did vse such meates when hee was in hys great authoritie with the kyng Wherefore this was not alway obserued of Daniel and therefore it may seme now either an vnaduised zeale or to much singularitie To this may be aunswered that God allowed it in Daniel in hys felowes as it were by miracle preseruyng them fayre lykyng in theyr mournyng strayte dyet and therfore it is not to be doubted but by Gods spirit they were thus at the first moued to absteine for a tyme frō the kyngs delicates and so to recorde that they were exiles and captiues brought from the holy Citie and the holy kinred of Abraham into an Idolatrous countrey and people whose maners were abominable vnto them And so they counte theyr fine meates and dayntie fare pollution and abomination for the consequence that would haue ensued if they had gredyly geuen them selues vnto them For Daniel knew the daunger that they should haue bene corrupted with heathnish maners if they had thus at the first geuen them selues vp to haue bene abused with sumptuous fare and princely dishes Wherefore absteynyng from them he kepeth hys mynde in reuerence to God he reteyneth the remembrance of hys owne state and countrey hée disapoynteth the kyng of hys crafty purpose and groweth into more credite through Gods prouidence ¶ The Prayer GRaunt O most mercyfull God that so long as we wander in this wretched world we may so take our meate and drinke for the infirmitie of our flesh that we neuer be corrupted by fine fare wherin the flesh deliteth neither yet by any foolish superstition nor that we be drawne away at any time from temperance and sobrietie but let vs alwayes remēber so to vse our aboundaunce that when we abounde in all things most plentifully we may geue our selues to moderate abstinence continually as also that we may patiently beare all pouertie and hunger when it commeth and that we may so vse libertie in our meates and drinkes that alwayes the glory of thy name O Lord may be before our eyes and that such frugalitie may appeare in all our lyfe that we may continually seke that sacietie and fulnes wherby we shal be saciate for euer most aboundantly when the glory of thy countenance shall appeare vnto vs in the heauens through Iesus Christ our lord Amen 9 Now God had brought Daniel into fauour and tender loue with the chief of the Eunuches 10 And the chief of the Eunuches said vnto Daniel I feare my Lord the king who hath appointed your meate and your drinke therfore if he see your faces worse lykyng then the other children which are of your sort thē shall you make me lose myne head vnto the kyng 11 Then sayd Daniel to Melzar whom the chief of the Eunuches had set ouer Daniel Hananiah Mishael and Azariah 12 Proue thy seruaūts I besech thee ten dayes and let them geue vs pulse to eate and water to drinke 13 Then let our countenaunces be looked vpon before thee and the countenaunces of the childrē that eate of the portion of the kynges meate and as thou seest deale with thy seruauntes 14 So he consented to them 15 And at the end of ten dayes theyr countenaunces appeared fayrer and better lykyng then all the childrē which dyd eate of the kyngs meat ¶ The Meditation Where it is written that God gaue Daniel fauour with the chief Eunuch we must consider the goodnes of GOD toward hys seruauntes how he turneth the cruell hartes vnto mercy and pitie that we may be the more bold to go forward with Gods busines thorow all daungers For this may many tymes come to passe that we can not do the office wherunto God hath called vs without presēt daunger of lyfe as that he should accompt the kynges meat a pollution which was but a captiue and a prisoner could not be without great daūger as appeareth by the Eunuches aunswere and because we would flye such daūgers we waxe cowardes and sluggish many tymes Daniel therfore to encourage vs in Gods matters declareth that God gaue hym fauour with this Eunuch to teach vs to cast our care vppon God when any worldly terrour or manaces of men would terrifie vs from the folowyng of Gods spirite And here we perceyue that it is in Gods hand to turne theyr hearts which rage agaynst vs so that he cā deliuer vs from all perill when he pleaseth Thus God caused the kyng which might haue vsed hym as a slaue to commaunde hym to be vsed as a Princes child and hys gouernour also to be very fauorable vnto hym Wherby we gather this generall doctrine that mens hearts are gouerned by God so that hee can mollifie all fearcenes and cruelty and make wolues lyke lambes so oft as it lyketh hys good pleasure As for example when hys people came forth of Aegypt God gaue them such fauour that the Aegyptians deliuered vnto them all theyr chief iewels and ornamentes Now it is playne that the Aegyptians hated them neuertheles What causeth them then to bryng foorth to the Israelites all theyr pretious iewels Onely the Lord God of the Israelites who euen then put into theyr hartes new affections And so of the contrary must we knew that it is in Gods hand to make our dearest frendes our greatest enemies Wherfore we must seeke God in all thynges Truth it is that GOD frameth formeth some from their byrth to be either milde or cruell but he doth not this onely for once but dayly and continually when it so pleaseth hym Lyke as also he lighteneth the myndes or blyndeth them euery houre and momēt at his pleasure so that the most wise shall sometime sée nothyng where the most simple shall finde great comforte Wherfore we may learne that mens hartes and myndes are so gouerned by Gods secret inspiration that he chaungeth them at hys good pleasure and therfore that we nede not much to feare our enemyes who
this thy Sonne whom already thou hast geuen vnto vs and hast established hys authoritie and hys diuine and eternall power by so many miracles and hast sealed the same as well by the publishing of thy Gospell as by the seale of thy holy spirit in our hartes and doest confirme the same by dayly experience that wee may remayne firme and stable in hym and that wee neuer turne from hym neither that our fayth fayle at ane tyme whatsoeuer Sathan attempt agaynst vs but that we may perseuer in the course of thy holy vocation whiles that at length we may be gathered into that eternal beatitude and blessed state of rest which is purchased vnto vs by the bloud of thine only begotten Sonne So be it 46 Then the kyng Nebuchadnezer fell vpon hys face and bowed hymselfe vnto Daniel c. 47 Also the king sayd to Daniel of a truth your God is a God of Gods a kyng of kinges c. That Nebuchadnezer worshiped God and Daniel though in some part it may be commended yet in some respect it is blame worthy for though he acknowledged the God of Israell to be the true God yet doth he geue part of Gods honor vnto a mortal man as many tymes men without knowledge do mixe heauen and earth together because that they alwayes fall to their superstitions though they haue sometymes some good motions And it is playne that this confession of the kyng was but particular for he dyd not wholly returne vnto God from hys Idolatry and errours but was astonished for the present and returned afterward to greater madnes as foloweth in the next chap. And thus many tymes God compelleth the wicked to geue testimonies to hys glory when yet they reteyne their vices and fall forthwith to their accustomed wickednes as it is playne afterward Wherby we may learne that it is not enough though a man with open mouth prayse the power and wisedome of God vnles he cast all superstitions forth of his hart and so hold of one God that he defie all others For there can not be required a playner confession then this and yet we sée that Nebuchadnezer was still reteined in the snares of Sathan because he holdeth still hys false Gods and thinketh it enough to make God of Israel the chief The which folie appeareth euidently amongest the Papistes which graunt the name of God and Christ but they rob away all the power and giue it vnto other creatures after their fond imaginations and they are not so good as this prophane kyng for they will not geue him the whole gouernement but fayne man to haue frée will and all thynges to runne by chaunce or that the heauen and earth accordyng to mās merites or demerites do their endeuours and office Thus make they mans frée will the cause of all and so robbe God of his honor This is their madnes ¶ The Prayer GRaunt almighty God seyng mans hart is so full of hypocrisie that there is nothyng more hard then to purge it from all lyes errors feynyng dissimulation that we may learne to examine our selues fully and substancially and also that thou wilt so shyne vnto vs with the light of thy spirite that we may verely know our hyd vices and that thou wilt driue them farre away from vs that thou onely mayest be our God and that true holynes may preuayle amongest vs and that we may geue thee pure and vnspotted worshyp and honor and that we may lyue with vpright consciēces in this world and so be content euery one with our own state that we study alwayes for the commoditie of our brethren whiles that at the length we bee partakers of that true glory which thou hast prepared for vs in the heauens by Iesus Christ our lord Amen Chap. 3. The Texte KYng Nebuchadnezer made an Image of gold The height therof was lx cubites and the breadth therof vj. cubites and he set it vp in the playne of Dura in the prouince of Babel NEbuchadnezer after that hee had professed the God of Israel to be the true God doth fall agayne to this foule Idolatry wherein after the custome of the Idolaters hee vttereth his owne pryde and ambition Wherein God would haue his wicked hart to be made manifest Who might haue bene thought by hys former confession to haue bene wholly chaūged but by this it appeareth that in his fayrest shew of wordes he remained wicked And as this is the maner of all superstitious persons when they pretend their Religiō and thinke that they serue their God yet will they be seene and praysed of the world so many tymes they will mixe policie with their Religion to bryng men into an vniformitie And these two thinges are heare manifest His Idole is so costly and great that his fame must nedes spred and he straitly chargeth all nations both Iewes and Gentiles vppon payne of death to ioyne in this Idolatry Thus for policie he will stablish one Religion in all the nations that were vnder hym lest by the mixture of the Iewes that were stiffe in theyr religion or by any other people any tumult might arise and by such tumult any shakyng or diminishyng of his dominion Thus do many Princes when they publish lawes for Religion rather regarde their owne quietnes and commoditie then what God requireth by his word And this bold temeritie hath bene amongest them from the begynnyng that sometymes they would make new Gods sometyme they would appoynt GOD a law how he should be worshypped but they would rarely or neuer subiect them selues onely wholly to the word of god Whereby their madnes is manifest that whiles they pretend to worshyp God they set them selues aboue God and worshyp their owne fantasie and folie They thinke it is not for their Princely dignitie to be in obedience vnder God or to set forth his word simply but they wil haue their procedynges to bée of more authoritie and puttyng in the name of the Kyng or the Quéene they thinke the matter is preiudicate and sufficient that GOD may be worshipped none other wayes then it pleaseth them and as they haue decréed by their authoritie And in such commaundementes we may sée that al those which depend onely of their fathers and antiquitie are easily ouercome to chaunge their Religion and they onely are able to stād fast agaynst such thunderyng threatnynges of Princes which haue their consciences grounded vpon Gods holy word And this is to be noted that the king doth not cōmaunde any to professe with their mouthes that this is a GOD or that it hath any diuinitie but hee onely requireth the outward gesture Whereby we may sée that they are worthely condemned of Idolatry that do the outward gesture be it for feare or fauour either that they do dissemble such a matter as many do amōgest the Papistes and in other places We must worshyp God in spirite and truth and also with outward profession not onely to exercise our selues in the
disobedience We sée therfore that this was spoken to amplify the crime that the king had set them ouer the prouince of Babylon they did not worship the golden Image neither honor his Gods. We sée that the Chaldees in all this accusatiō haue onely this respect to condemne Shadrah Meshach and Abednego of this crime onely that they did not obey the kinges commaundemement For they doo not dispute of theyr religion because that was not profitable for them to call into question whether the Gods that they worshipped were worthy such worship or no. Therefore they passe with silence that thing which they thinke not to be expedient and they lay fast holde of this darte that the kinges maiesty is contemned because these thrée do not worship the Image which the king by his decrée had commaunded Here agayne doo we sée that supersticious persons doo not apply theyr minde nor care to search out the true or right worship of God but casting of this care they follow onely theyr foolishe boldenes and theyr owne lust Wherefore seing such foolishe temeritie is set foorth vnto vs by the holy ghost as it were in a glasse let vs learne that our religion and worshipping of God can not be allowed by God vnlesse it be grounded of the worde of God and that in this poynt therefore the authoritie of men is nothing to be regarded For except we be assured that the religion which we follow doth please God what so euer by mans authoritie can be brought to the confirmation thereof it is weake and nothing woorthe Forthermore seing we sée these holy men charged with the crime of vnthankefulnes and also of rebellion there is no cause why we shoulde thinke much to suffer the same at thys day Those that falsely accuse vs do lay rebellion to our charge because forsooth that we despise the decrées of princes which would binde vs to their errors and blindnes But as we shall sée afterwarde we haue an easy and ready defence yet must we suffer this reproch for a while before the worlde as though we were stubburne and rebellious And though the wicked do charge vs with ingratitude and a thousand reproches moe yet must we beare theyr sclaunders paciently for a season whiles the Lord come with hys brightnes and glory to mayntayne our innocency 13 Then Nebuchadnyzer in his anger wrath commaunded that they should bring Shadrach Meshach and Abednego So these men were brought before the King. 14 And Nebuchadnezer spake and sayd vnto them what disorder Will not you Shadrach Meshach and Abednegoserue my god nor worship the golden image that I haue set vp 15 Now therefore are ye ready when ye heare the sound of the Cornet Trumpet Harpe Sackbut Psalterie and Dulcimer and all instrumēts of musicke to fall downe and worship the image which I haue made for if ye worship it not ye shal be cast immediatly into the midest of an hote fiery fornace for who is that God that can deliuer you out of my handes This hystory doth euidently declare vnto vs that Princes in dissembling some Religion haue onely regard to their owne authoritie that they may the better thrust in them selues into the place of the Gods. For this is a monstrous matter that kyng Nebuchadnezer doth here bragge agaynst all the Gods as though there were no power in heauen but that which he alloweth What God sayth he can deliuer you out of my hand And why then dyd be worshyp any other God For this cause verely to hold the people in with some bridle and so to establish his tyranny not that he had any care of holynes in his hart Daniel doth declare that the kyng was angry at the begynnyng For nothyng is more greuous to kynges then to sée their authoritie despised They wil be obeyed in all thinges though their commaundementes be most wicked Yet the kyng semeth afterward to temper hym selfe whē he asketh Sadrach Mesach and Abednego if they be not ready to worshyp his God and that Image of gold When therfore he speaketh vnto them doubtfully and doth yet propound vnto them frée choyce there is some moderation in these wordes For it semeth that he will not charge them with any crime so that they will suffer them selues to bée turned afterward But in the meane season the rage breaketh out vnder this deceaueable shew of moderation for he addeth straight wayes Vnles ye obey behold ye shal be cast into the fornace of burnyng fire And at the length he breaketh forth into that cursed sacriledge and horrible blasphemy that there is no God which can deliuer those holy men out of his handes We sée therfore in the person of Nebuchadnezer with what pride Princes do swell and are puffed vp euen where they pretend some zele of Religiō because they are not touched with any true reuerēce of the true God but will haue what soeuer they commaunde to be receiued of all men and so as I haue sayd they do rather thrust them selues into Gods place then study to worship God a right or to maintayne his glory To the same end tende the wordes which he vseth saying that he hath set vp the Image that he made As though he should say it is not now lawfull for you to consult whether the Image ought to be worshypped or no for my commaundement ought to be sufficient vnto you I haue set vp this Image not without consultatiō and reason therfore it were your duety simply to obey vnto me We sée therfore how he chalengeth most high authoritie euen in the makyng of a god For he doth not here treate of politike matters but he will haue this Image worshypped as God because he hath decréed so because he hath published his law And we must alway remember as I haue touched that this example of pride is set forth before vs that we may know how we ought to attempt nothyng rashly in Religion but that we must heare God speake so that we depend of his word and authoritie for if we sticke vnto men there wil be no end of errours Although therfore that Princes be proude and ragyng yet must we kéepe this rule that nothyng pleaseth God but that which he hath commaunded in his word and that the begynnyng of true Religion is the obediēce which we geue to God alone As concernyng the blasphemy it doth declare that which I haue spoken more playnely that is to say how soeuer they pretend Religion yet they despise all the power of God and they haue none other thyng in their harts but to set forth their authoritie and therfore they borow the name of God that they may be the more honored Howbeit in the meane tyme if it were profitable to chaunge theyr Gods a hundreth tymes euery day they would not care to do it Therfore is Religion for the most part but a pretence to earthly Princes and no true reuerence of God is in their hartes as in this prophane kyng is
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
the beastes of the fielde that is to say let hym haue some portion of meat to sustaine hys lyfe and let hym be washed wyth the rayne of heauen God doth signifie the though he would punish this kyng and shew an horrible tokē of hys wrath yet doth he regarde what he is able to beare and doth so temper the payne that there remayneth hope in the end This is the cause that he hath meate wyth the beastes of the fielde and hath also comfort of the heauenly dew The Prayer GRraunt almighty God that whereas we see how hard a thing it is for vs to beare prosperity and not to be demēted therewith to forget that we are mortall that our frailty and wretchednes may euermore be before our eyes which may retaine vs in true humility whereby we may glorifie thee and beyng admonished by thee may learne to walke wyth carefulnes and feare and submit our selues vnto thee and that we may liue modestly wyth our brethren that none of vs despise an other but study by all meanes to do hys office and duty whyles at the length thou gather vs vnto that glory which is purchased for vs by the bloud of thyne onely begotten Sonne Amen 14 In the decree of the watchmen is the sentence and in the word of the holy ones is the request to the intent that the liuing mē may know that the most hygh hath power ouer the kingdome of men and geueth it to whom so euer he will and appoynteth ouer it the most abiect among men God doth confirme by this verse that which he had shewed in a dreame to Nebuchadnezer Daniel therfore sayth that the king was certified of a matter of truth because it was decréed before God and his Angels The purpose is that Nebuchadnezer should know that he could not escape that punishment whereof he did sée the figure in his dreame There is some darkenes in the wordes but we perceaue the minde of the Prophet Yet is here a doubt for it semeth an absurditie to geue vnto the Angells thys power and authority for this is to make them equall with god We know that God is the only iudge and therefore that it pertayneth to him alone to decrée and to pronounce what sentence he pleaseth If this be attributed to the Angels so much séemeth to be taken away from Gods hygh dignity for it is not méete for hys maiesty to admit any companions But we know by the scripture that it is no strange thing that God taketh hys Angels vnto hym not as equals but as ministers to whom yet he geueth so much honor that he will admit them to hys counsaile And so are the Angels called Gods counsellers Wherfore they are named in this place to decrée with God not of them selues at theyr own pleasure but because they doo subscribe vnto Gods iudgement And here must we note two persons to be attributed vnto them For in the first place Daniel maketh them to subscribe vnto Gods decrée afterward he sayth that they require or demaunde And thys may well be that the Angels doo require in theyr peticions that all mortall creatures may be abased that God alone may haue the preeminence and that al things may thus be brought downe that obscure the glory of god It is méete and right that the Angels require thys continually seing we know that there is nothing that they doo more desire then that they them selues should worshyp God and all creatures with them And when they do sée Gods authoritie to be diminished by mans pride and arrogancy then doubtles they require thys that God would bring downe vnder his obedience and yoke those proude men that set vp theyr creastes agaynst hym Now do we sée why Daniel sayth that thys sentence is in the decrée of the watchmen and in theyr word a request as though he should say thou hast all the Angels thine aduersaries For with one consent and as it were with one mouth they do accuse thee before God that thou doest obscure his glory as much as in thee lyeth and God agreing to theyr requestes hath decreed to cast thee away and to make thee contemptible shamefull before al the world and thys decree is ratified by all the Angels as it were common with him and them For their consent and subscription might haue some authority with this prophane king And doubtles God as he doth many tymes doth now accommodate the vision to this mans capacitie who was neuer taught in the law but had only a confused knowlege of the diuinity so that he dyd not discerne betwix God and the Angels And yet thys sentence is also true that the sentence was published by the common decree of al the heauenly army and that together by supplication and request because doubtles the Angels did take it greuously that any thing should be withdrawne from Gods glory that there should be such madnes in men that they would draw and catch to them selues that which is proper and peculiar to God alone This seemeth to be the true sense And so that which followeth dependeth well hereof that mortall men may know that God hath power ouer the kingdomes of men For Daniel doth note the end of theyr request that the Angels would haue Gods authoritie to remayne wholly to himselfe and that nothing should be taken away therefrom by mans churlish ingratitude For man can chalenge to him selfe neuer so little but he robbeth God of hys due prayse and glory Therefore do the Angels craue of God continually that he would cast downe all the proud and that he would not suffer hym selfe to be defrauded of hys authority but that all power may remayne with hym wholly And this is diligently to be noted that all mortall men may know that the most high doth beare rule in the kingdoms of men For the most wicked will graunt that God hath the chiefe power and authoritie for they dare not draw him downe from his heauēly throne with theyr blasphemies but in the meane season they imagine that they can both get and defend kingdomes in this world either by theyr owne power or riches or other meanes Therefore the vnbeleuers would gladly shut vp God in heauen euen as the Epicure fayneth that God vseth his delicates in idlenes Therfore Daniel sheweth that God is spoyled of his right except he be acknowledged to be the ruler in the kingdome of men that is in the earth that he may humble whō he pleaseth So is it also sayd in the Psalme Power is neither from the east nor from the west but from the heauen And in an other place also It is God that lifteth vp the poore from the doung Agayne in the song of the holy virgin He casteth downe the proude from their throne and exalteth the humble and abiectes They all do confesse this thing but yet scarcely the hundreth man doth thorowly féele in his mynde that God doth rule in this world so that
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
they are more and more enraged and waxe furious That Nebuchadnezer was chastened for a space by the hand of God and afterward repented to perceiue that God beareth the whole rule in all the world this was of speciall grace He sayth that God is the ruler in the kyngdome of men because that tyrauntes will be persuaded of nothyng more hardly then that they are vnder the power of god They will confesse in one word that they reigne by his grace but in the meane seasō they suppose that they are come to their authoritie either by their power or by fortune and that they are mainteined therein either by their power their wisedome or by their riches Wherfore they shut forth as much as in them lyeth God from the gouernement of the world whiles they are puffed vp with this fonde opinion that they remaine in their state and dignitie by their own power or wisedome This was no small profite then that Nebuchadnezer began to perceiue that God is the gouernour in the kyngdome of men for the kyngs would set him in a meane state betwixt them and the people They graunt in dede that the people must be in obedience vnto God but they thinke thē selues to be exempted from the common order and they imagine after their lustes that they haue a priuiledge that they nede not to be vnder the hand gouernment of god So was this as I haue sayd no vulgare nor cōmon lesson the Nebuchadnezer learned at the last that God doth raigne in the earth For kyngs do cōmonly shut him vp in the heauēs and imagine that he doth content him with hys owne glory so that he doth not intermedle with mens matters Afterward hee addeth what kinde of gouernment God hath euen that he raiseth vp whom he pleaseth and casteth downe others God is not the gouernour then onely in this respect that he susteineth the world by his vniuersall prouidence but because no man commeth to any authoritie but at his pleasure He gyrdeth some with a gyrdle he vngyrdeth others he powreth contempt vpon Princes and maketh the mighty weake as it is written in the booke of Iob. We may not imagine then any power of God that is idle but we must ioyne it with the present acte Whether then that tyrauntes haue the gouernment or good and godly kynges altogether is gouerned by the secret counsaile of God for other wayes he could not be the kyng and gouernour of the world 30 At that same houre was this thing fulfilled vpon Nebuchadnezer and hee was driuen from men and did eat grasse as the bullockes and his body was wet with the dew of heauen till hys heares were growne like Egles fethers and hys nayles like byrdes clawes The Prophet doth conclude that which he had spoken before that is as soone as the voyce came from heauē Nebuchadnezer was cast forth of mens company It may be that they had some occasion to dryue hym forth But because the coniecture is doubtfull I had rather leaue it indifferent which the holy ghost hath not reueiled I will onely touch this briefly that when he boasted that Babylon was built by the strength of his power it might be that euē the nobles also did disdayne whiles they saw him puffed vp with so great arrogancy or it may be also that he spake after this maner when he thought that they lay in wayt for him or when he perceaued that troubles were moued agaynst him How soeuer it is God sent forth his voyce and droue forth of the company of mē the kyng Nebuchadnezer in the same moment Therfore In that houre sayth he was the word fulfilled If it had bene a long space afterward the cause might haue bene ascribed to fortune or other lower meanes but where there is such copulation of the word with the worke the iudgement is more manifest then can be darkned by mās malignitie Therfore he sayth that he was cast forth and did eate grasse so that he differred not from the oxen that his body was watered with rayne because he did lye without the house For we oftentymes are watred with rayne and there is none which can escape that necessitie in the fieldes and often tymes the trauellers do come wette to their Inne But here the Prophet doth speake of the continuall iudgement of God that he had no house to go into but did lye in the fieldes So he sayth He was watered with the dew of heauen vntill sayth hee his nailes did grow lyke byrdes clawes and his heares lyke Egles fethers This place doth more confirme that which was spoken before that seuen tymes should bee expounded of a long time because his heares would not haue so growē in seuē monethes neither would there haue bene such a deformitie and so great in this space Therfore thys chaungyng which is described of the Prophet doth sufficiētly declare that the kyng Nebuchadnezer was punished with a longer tyme Neither could he so quickly be humbled because arrogancie is vntameable euen in a meane man how much more in such a great mighty Monarche 31 And at the end of these dayes I Nebuchadnezer lift vp myne eyes vnto heauen and myne vnderstādyng was restored vnto me and I gaue thankes vnto the most high and I praysed and honored him that liueth for euer whose power is an euerlastyng power and his kingdome is from generation to generation Now the Prophet doth bryng in the kyng speakyng agayne Therfore he sayth After that tyme was passed he lift vp his eyes vnto heauen There is no doubt but he doth meane of those seuen yeares And seyng he began at the length to lift vp his eyes vnto heauen hereby it appeareth how lōg the healing of his disease that is of his pride was For euen as where there is some liuyng part corrupted and almost consumed the remedy is hard and long euen so because pride is altogether fastened in mens hartes and doth occupy euen the very marow and doth infect what soeuer is in the soule therefore is it not so easily plucked away And this is worthy to be noted Furthermore we are also taught by this word that God did so worke in the kyng Nebuchadnezer that he did not forth with bring forth the effect of his grace opēly It was profitable for Nebuchadnezer to be so shamefully handled for the space of seuen yeares or such a tyme and to bee banished from the company of men but he could not so soone perceiue this vntill God had opened his eyes So then God doth often times chastise vs and calleth vs by litle and litle and also doth prepare vs to repentaunce but his grace is not straight way knowne ¶ The Prayer GRaunt almighty God seyng that although we are nothyng yet we do neuer cease to stand in our owne conceite and also are blinded by the vayne cōfidence of our selues and furthermore do vaynely boast of our vertues and powers which are nothyng that we may learne to put of
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
Christ but he was afrayd of the threatnings of the people whē they pronounced that Cesar would be offended And it is no meruaile though there be such wauering where there is no beliefe nor resting vpon God For faith onely is the stable and sure stay wherupon whē we rest we may do our office without feare and may ouercome all terrors But where fayth fayleth doubtfull wauering carieth vs to fro And hereof cōmeth it that Darius feareth the conspiracy of his nobles and geueth vp innocent Daniel to their cruelty There was also in him a shamefastnes which I haue spoken of that he would not séeme vnaduised or vnconstāt which should sodainly call backe his decrée seyng that it was a law amongest the Medes and the Persians that that which procéeded from the king myght not be repealed And Daniel speaketh furthermore of this saying that those men gathered themselues together when they sée that the kyng waxeth doubtfull and is ready to chaunge his purpose they rage and are ready as it were to fight with him Wheras they are named to haue assembled themselues it was to this purpose to make king Darius afrayd Know thou O king say they He knew it well enough neyther do they teach hym a thing vnknowne but they propound this as a threatning What doest thou not sée that the kynges name shal be of no authority hereafter if this man shall violate thy commaundement vnpunished Wilt thou suffer thy selfe so to be mocked To conclude they signifie that he shal not be king except he reuenge the iniury done against hym by Daniel which had despised the kinges commaundement Know thou therfore O king that to the Medes and the Persiās He was the king of the Medes but it is as much as to say what a rumor will be spred throughout all thy coastes For thou knowest that this hath bene hetherto amongest the Medes and Persians that the king should not chaunge his statutes If thou then shew such an example wyll not all thy subiectes straight way rise agaynst thee shalt not thou be contemned of them We sée then how the Princes rage against theyr kyng and do feare hym from the chaunging of his counsell And they do ioyne the decrée to the statute that the king had established to the entent that they may moue him the more that he should not suffer that to be contemned that he had decréed and agayne established 16 Then the king commaunded they brought Daniel and cast him into the dēne of the Lyons Now the kyng spake and sayd vnto Daniel thy God whom thou alway worshippest euen he wil deliuer thee The king as I haue sayd beyng affrayd by the threatnyng and manacing of his nobles doth appoint Daniel to die And hereby we gather that the kinges themselues haue that reward which their pride deserueth when they are cōpelled to obey like slaues vnto their flatterers How was Darius deceaued by the craft of the Princes euen because he supposed that his Empire should be now established if he could thus trye the obedience of all men that no man should pray to any God for a whole moneth long Therfore he thought that he should be both aboue God and man if he had tryed such an obedience in all his subiectes Now we sée how Princes do stubbernly rise agaynst God when they dare threaten death except men be obeyed We sée then when kinges do extoll them selues ouer much they set them selues forth to open shame in so much that they be the slaues of their seruauntes And this is ouer common in earthly princes They which get great authoritie and fauour at their handes do flatter them in all things and they worship thē as Gods. There is no kinde of flattery which they do not inuēt to bring thēselues into fauour But in the meane season what libertie is there in those Idoles For they are suffred to do nothing no they can not be familiare euen with their best and most faithful frendes whiles they are obserued and watched of their kepers To conclude if they be compared with those miserable persons which are kept in most strayte prison there is none shut vp in so déepe a dongeon although he haue thrée or foure kepers which hath not more libertie then these kynges But as I haue sayd this is the most iust iudgement and vengeance of god For seyng they can not conteine them selues in the order degrée of men but will pearce euen aboue the cloudes and be equall with God it is necessary that they be made a mocking stocke Hereof it commeth that they are seruaunts to their seruauntes and dare speake nothing fréely neither haue they any man their frende neither dare they call this or that man vnto them nor graunt vnto this man or that man what they would Thus they rule therfore as seruauntes in earthly kingdomes because they remember not that they are of the nomber of mortall men This came vpon king Darius because he called Daniel and by his commaundement was he cast into the denne of Lyons and his nobles do compell him to this wicked fact and he obeyeth them agaynst his will. But the cause hereof is to be noted that whiles he forgot that he was a mortall man and would extorte from God his dominion as though he would plucke him downe from heauen For if God be in heauen he must be prayed vnto But Darius did forbid that any man should be so bold as to pray and this was to make God of no power as much as lay in him But now is he compelled to obey euen his subiectes although they exercise agaynst him despitefull tyranny Now Daniel addeth that the kyng spake thus to him Thy God whom thou seruest or whom thou worshippest hee will deliuer thee This may be read as it were a wish or desire and there is no doubt but Darius did so wish and desire but it may be taken also in this sense thy God whom thou worshyppest will deliuer thée As though he should say I haue no power now of my owne selfe I am herein caryed away as with a raging tempest my nobles compell me agaynst my will to this wicked fact Now therfore I resigne thée thy life into Gods hand because it is not in my power to deliuer thée as though he would now make his crime the lesse by this excuse because he leaueth it in Gods power to to preserue Daniel This reason moueth some mē to prayse the godlynes of the kyng But as I graunt his pitie and humanitie to be shewed by these wordes so is it plaine that there was not one crumme of godlynes in him when he would thus adorne him selfe with that which he robbeth from god For superstitious men although they do not feare God aright yet are they kept in some secrete feare of his maiestie but this man would haue brought to nothing all diuine power What godlynes call you this Wherfore pitie or compassion may be praysed
almost throughout the East For the Medes and Persians bare rule from the Sea vnto Aegypt Seyng then the Empire was so large Daniel doth not without cause say that the decrée was proclamed throughout the earth Peace be multiplied vnto you We know that kynges do thus faune vpon their subiectes and vse gentle prefaces that they may more easily obteine their purposes and also that they may haue them more obedient subiectes And this is a thyng that costeth them nought to wish peace to their subiectes And in the meane tyme as I haue sayd by this bayte they do often times séeke fauour to prepare their subiectes to further bondage By the name of peace it is wel knowen that a prosperous state is vnderstand as though hee should say I wishe you to do well and prosperously Afterward hee addeth That a decree is made in his presence that is to say that he of his authoritie doth comman̄de all his subiectes that they all do feare and tremble before the God of Daniel By the which feare and tremblyng he vnderstandeth nothyng but reuerence and worship But thus vse all prophane mē to speake which are afrayde at the naming of god Yet it semeth that he would expresse that the power of the God of Israel was euident which ought to moue them all to reuerence and worship him and that with feare and trembling And this maner of speach semeth to be taken of a true principle because God is neuer truly worshipped but when men are humbled and brought downe Therfore God nameth him selfe many tymes terrible not that he would driue his seruauntes to worship him by feare but because as I haue sayd the mindes of men can neuer be well prepared to due reuerence vnlesse they fully perceaue the power of God so that they are afrayde of his iudgement But if feare onely should haue place in the mindes of men he could not frame them to true holines For that sentence of the Psalme is to be considered There is mercy with thee that thou mayest be feared God can not therfore be rightly worshipped or feared vnlesse we be persuaded that hee wil be entreated and that we be sure that he wil be mercyfull vnto vs Yet is it necessary that feare and tremblyng go before which may humble and bring downe the pride of the flesh This is signified by these wordes That all may feare and tremble before the God of Daniel The king calleth him the God of Daniel not that Daniel had made him but because he worshipped him We may rightly say that Iupiter is the God of the Grecians because he was made a God by their foolishnes thereby gate his name and authoritie in the residue of the world And so Iupiter and Minerua and that multitude of the false Gods take their names of their originall There is an other cause why king Darius calleth him the God of Daniel whom Daniel worshipped because hee reueled him selfe to Daniel as he is called the God of Abraham because hee reueled him selfe vnto Abraham But to explicate this thing more manifestly why is hee called the God of Daniel rather then the God of the Babylonians Doubtles because Daniel as hee had learned by the law of Moses so did hee worship God purely which had made his conuenaunt with Abraham and the holy fathers and which had adopted the Israelites for a peculiare people vnto him selfe This did therfore depend of the worship prescribed in the law and the worship did depend of the couenaunt Wherfore the name of Daniel is not put here as though he had libertie to fayne or imagine a God but because he worshipped that God that had reueled him selfe by his word Finally this maner of speach must be thus vnderstand that all mē must feare that God that hath made his couenaunt with Abraham and his posteritie and which hath chosen that nation as a peculiar people to him selfe who hath taught the maner and forme of the true and right worship and hath declared it by his law and whom also Daniel worshipped Therefore let vs learne to discerne the true God from all Idols and mens fantasies if we desire to haue our seruice and worship allowed before him For many imagine that they worship God which yet do wander in all kinde of errours and are not addicted to one true god This is a wicked thing yea it is nothyng but a prophanation of true Religion so confusedly to worship god Therefore we must marke this difference which I haue spoken of that our mindes may euer bee kept within the boundes of the word lest we erre from the true God if so be we couet to reteine him and to folow the Religion that hee alloweth I say that we must abide within the boundes of the word and may neither decline hether nor thether for we shall fall into innumerable deceites of the deuill vnlesse the word kepe vs as it were fast bound vnto it As concerning Darius he did know that there was one most high God but as is sayd before he did not cast away his fayned and wicked Religion wherunto he was accustomed But such mixture of Religiō is intolerable before God. He addeth Because he is the liuyng God and remaineth for euer Here he semeth to bring all the false Gods to nothing But as I sayd all prophane men do so lift vp their mindes to the most high God that yet by and by after they vanish away Therefore if they did acknowledge the true God aright they would immediatly exclude all fayned Gods. But they thinke it enough if God haue the first place and in the meane season they ioyne lesser Gods to him that he may lie hid as it were amōgest the number and yet haue some kinde of préeminence Such was the reason and such was the purpose of Darius for hee vnderstode nothing purely and sincerely of the onely essence of God but supposed the most hye power to be in the God of Israel how soeuer other nations worshipped their Gods. So do we sée that hee departed not from the superstitiōs which he had receiued in his childhode Wherfore there is no cause why we should prayse his godlynes saue onely in this particular action Yet God doth wrast forth of his mouth a confession wherin his nature is described vnto vs He calleth him the liuing God not onely because he hath lyfe in him selfe but also of himself because he is the fountaine and originall of life Wherfore this adiectiue must be taken actiuely because God doth not onely liue but he hath life also of him selfe agayne he is the cause of life because there is no life beside him or without him Afterward hee addeth That he remaineth for euer and so doth he disseuer him from all creatures amongest whom there is nothyng stable nor stedfast For we do know that not onely euery thyng which is vnder the heauen is subiect to chaunges but also the heauen it selfe In this point therfore doth
must we know without all doubt that no kyngs come to authority vnles GOD lend them hys hand and styll stablishe them therein and when hee wyll take away their power they fall spedely not that there commeth anything by chaunce in these mutations and chaunges but because that God as is written in the booke of Iob doth loose their girdles whom he had before girded Then it followeth whom he would kill he killed whom he would he did smite Some thinke that the abuse of the kinges power is here noted But I had rather take it simply that Nebuchadnezer had authority to cast downe whom he would and to exalt whom he would that it was in hys power to geue lyfe and to take away lyfe I do not therefore referre these wordes to tyrannicall lust as though Nebuchadnezer had murthered many innocentes had shed mās bloud without reason or had spoyled many of their possessions and had made other rich or raysed them to honours I do not take it so but that it was in hys power either to kill or to geue life to set vp or to cast downe To be short me thinke that Daniel doth here describe what power kynges haue which may thus fréely deale wyth their subiectes not because it is lawfull but because none dare speake agaynst it For whatsoeuer pleaseth the king all mē are compelled to agrée thereunto or at the least no man dare stirre against it Seing that kynges then haue such liberty Daniel declareth that this kyng Nebuchadnezer was not raysed hereunto by hys owne industry wisdome or counsayle or by hys good fortune but he saith that he gate thys great Empire and that he was terrible vnto all because God had adorned hym wyth that glory In the meane tyme yet it behoueth all kynges to regard what is lawfull and what GOD permitteth them to do For as they are kynges so must they consider also that they must once geue accomptes to the most high kyng We can not gather hereby then that kinges are constitute of God to be lawles to liue without order and to do what they list But the Prophet as I haue sayd speaketh of the power that they haue And seing that kinges haue power of death and life ouer their subiectes he saith that the life of them al was in king Nebuchadnezers hand Then he sayth VVhen his heart was lifted vp then was he cast downe from the throne of his kingdome and they spoyled him of his dignitie He prosecuteth that which he began His purpose is to declare to kyng Beltsazar that GOD for a space doth suffer their pride which do forget hym when they haue gotten high authoritie Therfore sayth he kyng Nebuchadnezer thy grandfather was an hye Monarch this did hée not atteine of himselfe neither yet did hée reteine the Empire and cōtinue therein but as he was stayd vpholden by the hand of god Now the trāsformation of him into a boast was a notable document that their pryde can not alwayes bee suffered which are vnthankefull vnto God and do not acknowledge that they do reigne by hys benefite VVhen his hart therfore was lifted vp sayth he and his mynde was set vpon pride there came a sodaine chaunge Hereby shouldest thou haue learned O kyng and all his posteritie to deceiue your selues no longer with pride but rather the exāple of this thy forefather should strike thy hart Wherfore this writyng is set before thyne eyes whereby thou mayst vnderstand that both thy kyngdome and thy life are euen now at an end And this sentence is to be noted that Daniel sayth That his heart was hardned in pride For he geueth vs to vnderstād that he was not puffed vp sodainly with a light folie as vayne men many tymes vse to bee when there is no cause and no inward motion of the minde goeth before but hée would vtter vnto vs a greater matter that this pride had now bene nourished in his hart along tyme as though hée should say that he was not taken with a sodaine vayne motion but that hée had so long bent him selfe vpon pride that he was obstinate and hardened therin The Prayer GRaūt almighty God that seing euery one of vs haue our state limited we may be well contented with our place and condition and that when thou wilt humble vs we may willingly submit our selues vnto thee and suffer our selues to be gouerned by thee that we may neuer desire that height that should cast vs down headlong to destruction Agayne we besech thee to graunt that euery one of vs in our vocation may behaue our selues so modestly that thou mayst alwayes haue thyne high authoritie amongest vs Furthermore that we may seeke nothyng but to bestow our labour and trauayle to serue thee and our brethren to whom we are ioyned that thy name may thus be glorified in vs all through Iesus Christ our lord Amen 21 And he was driuen from the sonnes of men and his heart was made like the beastes and his dwelling was with the wilde Asses they fed him with grasse like Oxen his body was wet with the dew of heauen till he knew that the most hye God did rule ouer the kingdome of mē and that he appointeth ouer it whom so euer he pleaseth This verse nedeth no long exposition because Daniel doth repete onely that which hee had written before that hys grandfather Nebuchadnezer though hee were not chaunged into a beast yet at the least he was cast forth of mās company that hee was deformed throughout all his body that he him selfe abhorred mans cōpany would rather dwell with brute beastes This was a horrible exāple especially in such a great monarch and worthy to be left in memory to the posteritie frō hand to hād euen to a thousand generatiōs if that Monarch had endured so long But that his nephew had so soone forgotten this lesson hereby is hee worthely reproued of shamefull securitie and carelesnes This then is the cause why Daniel doth agayne rehearse the history He was cast forth from the sonnes of men sayth he and his hart was lyke the beastes that is to say he was destitute of reason and iudgement for a tyme And we know that this is the chief difference betwixt men and beastes that men do vnderstand and iudge but the brute beastes are onely caryed by their senses God therfore shewed a terrible example vpon this kyng when he thus spoyled him of reason and vnderstandyng He sayth That his habitation was with the wilde Asses which before had dwelt in that palace which was knowne to all the world from whence all the people of the East did at that tyme receiue their lawes Therefore seyng he was wont to be worshipped for a God this was a terrible iudgemēt that afterward he dwelt with the wilde beastes And whereas now they fed him with grasse like a bullocke which before had all maner of delicates at his pleasure and was wont to be fed