THE Restitution of King Nabuchadnezzer DAN 4. Verses 31. 32. 33. 34. By Henrie Smith Printed by Thomas Scarleti 1591 Daniel 4. 31. 31 And at the end of those daies I Nabuchadnezzer lift vp mine eies to heauen and my vnderstanding was restored to me and I gaue thankes to the most high and I praised and honoured him that liueth for euer whose power is an euerlasting power and his kingdom is from generation to generation 32 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing according to his will he worketh in the army of heauen in the inhabitance of the earth none can stay his hand nor say vnto him what doest thou 33 At the same time was my vnderstanding restored to me I returned to the honor of my kingdom my glorie my beautie was restored to me and my counsellers and my princes sought vnto me and I was established in my kingdome and my glorie was augmented towards me 34 Now therefore I Nabuchadnezzer praise and extoll and magnifie the king of heauen whose works are all truth and his waies iudgement and those that walke in pride hee is able to abase NOw wee are come to his Restitution First Nabuchadnezzer was humbled as God humbleth his enemies nowe hee is humbled as God humbleth his Children that although hee hath more honour than hee had before yet hee is not proud of it as hee was but cryeth with the Prophet Not vnto mee Lord not vnto me but vnto thy name giue the honour So he which sayde not onely in heart but almost with his mouth too There is no God now with heart and mouth honoureth none but God His pride and fall Daniell declareth when he came to his restitution he maketh Nabuchadnezzer to speake with himselfe and giue thankes in his owne person like a witnesse brought in to testifie the truth of this wonderfull storie When the Prophet had shewed how this king vaunted and how he was debased for it presently after he had spoken he calleth in as it were the king himselfe to witnesse his report and he declareth how he was raised again like a man which hauing receiued grace of a Prince or great personage is brought in before him to giue thankes for his fauour receiued and then hee is dismissed In these verses two things shew themselues at first view Nabuchadneezzers restitution and his thankfulnesse In his restitution first hee sheweth the time when he was restored in these wordes At the end of those dayes Then hee sheweth the manner how hee was restored in these wordes I Nabuchadnezzer lift mine eies to heauen mine vnderstanding was restored vnto me and my Councellors sought vnto me my glory was augmented more then it was In his thankfulnesse first hee extolleth gods power in setting him vp and pulling him down and raising him againe then he commendeth Gods trueth and iustice which deserueth to be praised for his iudgement as much as his mercie as if he reioiced that God made him like a beast that he may die like a man At the end of those dayes As the time of his pride was noted when hee walked in his pallace to shew how pride groweth out of building and wealth and apparell such roots so hee noted the time of his fall when the wordes were in his mouth to shewe that he was punished for his pride and arrogancie that hee might know where to begin his conuersion and abate his pride and when he had taken away the cause then God woulde take away the punishment so likewise hee noteth the time of his restitution At the ende of those dayes That is after seuen yeares were expired to shewe how long the sickenesse of pride is in curing and to shewe how euerything was fulfilled as it was prophesied euen vnto the point of time for it was tolde him by Daniel and by his dreame that hee shoulde be like a beast seuen yeares Therefore Nabuchadnezzer is prompt as it were to confes the truth saith as the Prophet saith At the end of those daies That is at the ende of seuen yeares I was restored againe to my vnderstanding and honour as Daniel foretold me Yet an other note is set vppon this least wee shoulde thinke that God regarded onely the season and thinke seuen yeares punishment inough for such a sinner he saith not barely that his vnderstanding and honour were restored to him when seuen yeares were ended but that they were restored vnto him when he beganne to lift vp his eyes vnto heauen to shewe that his blessing came from aboue and that hee which had humbled him had restored him againe as if hee woulde say vnto all that are cast downe with sicknesses or pouertie or infamie or any trouble in body orminde hee which hath humbled you will raise you as he hath done me but you must looke vp to heauen lift vp your hearts vnto him and then your vnderstanding and comfort and peace and health and wealth and libertie and good name and all shall returne vnto you againe like Iobes sheepe and cammels and oxen in greater number thē he had before as all the blessings of God returned to Nabuchadnezzer when he looked vp to heauen lo they shall come backe like a riuer vpon you when your eies can go by these vanities and looke vpon him which looketh vpō you or els seuen and seuen yeares shall passe ouer you you shal be neuer the better but worse and worse like Saule which was vexed more and more till hee had killed himselfe Therefore as the Iewes looked vp to the brasen serpent which was a figure of Iesus Christ when they woulde be healed so all which woulde recouer that they haue lost or obtaine that which they want Nabuchadnezzer doth teach them heere to lift vp their eies to heauen from whence saith Christ commeth euerie blessing of man At the end of those daies I Nabuchadnezzer lift vp mine eies to heauen Like a man which is wakened out of a long trance now he began to stirre and lift vp his eies When the heart is lift vp it will lift vp the eyes and the handes and the voyce and all to heauen He which neuer looked vp to heauen so long as his comfort was vppon the earth now his minde is changed his lookes and gestures and speeches and all are chaunged with it as though God would shew a visible difference betweene the spirituall and the carnall euen in their gate and lookes and gestures as there is betweene a childe and an olde man The spirituall mindes are heauenly mindes and look vp because their ioy is aboue The carnall mindes are earthly mindes and looke downe like beastes because their treasure is beneath As the serpent grouels vpon the ground so doth the serpentes seed and hath not so much as the countenance of grace Therefore by lifting vp his eyes to heauen is signified that the time was come which the Lorde
had set downe that he shoulde be like a beast vntill hee had well learned that lesson That the moste high beareth rule ouer the kingdomes of men and giueth it to whomsoeuer hee will Therfore Nabuchannezzer doth shew that hee had learned this lesson for hee looked not vp to heauen to beholde the sunne or the moone or the stars like an Astronomer but thinking how he had set himselfe against heauen from whence came all his honour in a godly shame and holy anger towards himselfe he turneth his face from earth to heauen to magnifie him that had humbled him so that contemned him that aduaunced him so Now he talketh no more of his pallace nor his power nor his maiestie though it be greater then it was but he looketh aboue his own pallace vp to another pallace from whence that terrible voice came downe vnto him Thy kingdome is departed from thee which expresseth his contrite heart and wounded spirit how many passions batled within as if hee shoulde chide himselfe and say O vnthankefull man my power descended from aboue and I euer looked vpon the earth mine honour came downe from heauen and I neuer lift vp mine eyes before Go vp my eyes and my heart and my voyce and mine hands how long will ye pore vpon the earth like a beast so hee lifted vp his eies vnto heauen After he had lift vp his eyes he beginneth to pray and gaue praise and thankes vnto God which sheweth that hee did not onely lift vp his eyes but his heart too For vnlesse we can say with Dauid I lift vp mine heart it is in vaine to lifte vp handes or eyes or voice as the hypocrites do because he that is a spirit requireth the spirit Therefore Mary saith Mine hart doth magnifie the Lord. As for the infidels and idolaters they haue no heart seruice but their religiō is like an occupation which is done with the bodie for when we read of the sacrifice or praiers of Idolaters wee doe not find that they lift vp theyr harts to their idols but their hands or eies or voice as the Baalites rored to Baal as the marriners cried to their sea oods as the Ephesians shouted to Diana but the lifting vp of their hart the hartie seruice is alwaies appropriat to God which saith My son giue me thy heart Therfore Nabuchad lifted vp his hart to God shewing that he had learned the lesson God gaue him 7. yeares to studie that the moste high beareth rule ouer the kingdomes of men Now God thinketh the time long inough and as hee reformed the ground after the floud with fruites and hearbes and flowers againe so he reformed Nabuchadnezzer with an vnderstanding and beautie and honor againe as if he repented himselfe and saide I will drowne the earth no more I will change Nabuchadnezzer no more now hee knoweth there is a king aboue him he shal be a king againe now hee seekes my honour I will giue him honour now he magnifieth him that debased him I will returne to exalt him So the voyce which thundred from heauen Thy kingdome is departed from thee soundeth again Thy kingdom is returned to thee For it was not tolde him that he should bee like a beast vntill he died but vntill hee knewe That the most high beareth rule ouer the kingdomes of men Therefore when he knewe this nothing could stay him from his kingdom no more then they could stay him in his kingdome before Thus the displeasure of God is but an Interim vntill wee knowe some thing that we should knowe and then Nabuchadnezzer shall be king againe then the sicke man shal be whole again then the bond man shall be free againe his mercies are called Euerlasting because they indure for euer but his anger is compared to the cloudes because it lasteth but a season whom he loueth hee loueth to the ende but whom he scourgeth he scourgeth till they repent as Ezechias was sick vntil he wept Nabuchadnezzer was banished but till he repented Nowe the first cure of this kings restitution was of his mind Mine vnderstanding sayth he was restored vnto me which he repeateth againe in the 33. verse Mine vnderstanding was restored vnto mee to shewe what an inestimable gift our vnderstanding and reason is wherby we differ from beasts for which wee cannot be thankfull enough Therefore he recordes it twise as though his heart did slowe with gladnesse and his toong coulde not chuse but speake often of it as a man thinketh and speaketh of that which hee loueth Mine vnderstanding was restored vnto mee that which was first taken away came first againe which so soone as it was gone hee was counted a man no more but a beast as Dauid saith Like horse and mule which haue no vnderstanding accounting them which are voyd of vnderstanding no better then a horse or mule Therefore they which haue left their vnderstāding at the Tauerns as many heere haue done sometime and they which vnderstand not yet what is the booke of God are but horse and mule though they beare the visors of men After he had said Mine vnderstanding was restored vnto me he annexeth also Mine honour was restored vnto mee and so hee grewe to bee a king againe As he was woont to put on one robe after another when hee was king so when God woulde make him king againe first he putteth vppon him the robe of vnderstanding as it were the foundation ofaking like the princely spirite which came vpon Saul and when he had a princely heart then God gaue him a princely power and proclaimed like a voyce from heauen Nabuchadnezzer king of Babel So gloriously hee rose againe like the sunne with a triumph of his restitution and welcome of his subiects like the shout that went before king Salomon God saue king Salomon It doth not appeare that his nobles and subiects were conuerted like himselfe to receiue him to his kingdome againe because hee repented or because it was Gods will but because it was Gods will they could not resist it but fulfilled his ordinance as the wicked doe those things which are foretold that they should doe and neuer thinke how they are moued to it nor which way it commeth to passe no more then the Rauen knewe who had sent her to feede Elias she did as God commanded her but shee knewe not that God had commaunded her so they do as God inforceth them but they knowe not howe God inforceth them One would thinke when Nabuchadnezzer was a king that God coulde neuer haue made him like a beast and when he was like a beast one would thinke that God could neuer haue made him like a king for who woulde suffer a beast to rule ouer them vnles they were beastes themselues Wee will not haue this man to rule ouer vs say the Iewes such stomackes are in men that they will hardly abide any man to rule ouer them Therefore it is straunge that
these men should receiue one that had beene seuen yeares a beast it is euen as if one should lie seuen yeares in the graue and after come againe to challenge his goodes and lands house and monie from them that haue taken possession and count it their owne hee should haue a colde suite of it I thinke vnlesse it were some fewe that loued him in his life he might goe againe to his graue for a house to dwell in So no body looketh nowe for Nabuchadnezzer to come out of the wildernesse hee was the vnlikest man in the world to bee king after such a change But see what God can do though all be against it he which made a king like a beast raised a king of a beast Mine vnderstanding saith Nabuchadnezzer was restored vnto me and more then that Mine honour was restored vnto me and more then that I was established in mine honour and more then that Mine honour was augmented more then it was when I was so proud of it As God turned his heart so he turned the heart of his nobles and people that they receiued him for their king againe and reuerenced him for all his former disgrace for which they contemned him before as a beast heere a wise man may stand and woonder like Elizeus when his maister was rapt to heauen for as though a snuffe had beene taken from the ground and set vp againe in the candlesticke and shined brighter then it did before so the king was raised from the dust and set in the throne euen nowe no man cared for him and nowe no man durst displease him then was fulfilled that which Salomon sayth When the waies of a man please the Lorde hee will make all his enemies at peace with him so when Nabuchadnezzer pleased the Lorde God gaue him grace with men and his glory was augmented My glory saith Nabuchadnezzer was augmented to mee that is hee receiued not onely his kingdome and power and honor againe but hee receiued vsurie of them for his seuen yeares banishment they haue beene put out seuen yeares to the banke for him to receiue more when hee came againe So when he sought his own honour honour departed from him his pallace coulde not hold it his treasures could not redeeme it his guarde coulde not stay it but pride chased it away whilest he folowed after it but when he sought Gods honor and cared not for his owne then his honour was increased according to that I will honour him which honoureth me What incouragement is this for all Nabuchadnezzers to seeke the honor of God seeing hee hath so linked his honour with their honour that they cannot seeke Gods honour but they shall finde their owne honour Therefore what would Nabuchadnezzer say to our Nabuchadnezzers who thinke it against their honours if they should seeke Christs honor and that if his kingdome went vp their kingdome should goe down like Herod who thought hee coulde not be king if Christ should raigne and the Pharisies which thought they shoulde be despised if Christ were regarded If Nabuchadnezzers honour came to him for the honour which he gaue to God howe long will their honor last which eat drink giue take bid and forbid set vp and pull down fauour and wrong and do all they do to honor themselues as Nabuchadnezzer built Babel vntill that voice thunder from heauen Thy kingdom is departed from thee thy office is departed from thee thy life is departed from thee Some haue exalted thēselues like Nabuchadnezzer are not fallen yet some mounted vp and are falne alreadie Some are fallen lower lower like Babylon but they are not yet at the ground They haue ruled like beastes longer then hee yet looke not vp to heauen that they may be chaunged Thus Nabuchadnezzer is welcome to his throne againe Now he hath receiued grace let vs examine his thankfulnes If you marke euery thing in his order you shal see a maruelous consequence obserued both in his fall restitution When he looked on his pallace hee waxed proud when hee waxed proud then God threatned him when he was threatened then God bannished him when he was banished then he lift vp his eyes to heauen when hee lift vp his eyes to heauen then his vnderstanding came vnto him then he gaue thanks to God shewing vs the vse of our vnderstanding why God hath giuen reason vnto man videlicet to serue him and praise him vpon earth as Nabuchadnezzer worshipped God so soone as hee came to his vnderstanding so so soone as we come to yeares of discretion and begin to vnderstand wee should begin a new life and serue him whome all creatures doe serue with vs or else our vnderstanding is vaine and we are like beastes still For by this Nabuchadnezzer shewes that he had vnderstanding and was like a man because he gaue praise vnto God and was mooued in heart to worship him which made him according to that definition which Dauid maketh of vnderstanding They which obserue them haue a good vnderstanding They which obserue the commandementes haue a good vnderstanding not they which speake of the commaundementes nor they which write of the commaundementes nor they which preach of the commaundementes but they which keepe the commaundementes haue a good vnderstanding the rest haue a false vnderstanding a vaine vnderstanding an vnderstanding like the Scribes and Pharisies which was enough to condemne them but not to saue them Besides euerie man should trie his wisedome for so soone as vnderstanding commeth to him as it came to Nabuchadnezzer it will extort praier and obedience from him whether he will or no. Therefore our Nabuchadnezzers are beastes still for this is no part of their vnderstanding but hee which can goe beyond all in shifts and pollicies is counted the wisest man in Court or Citie Oh if Nabuchadnezzer had liued in our countrey what a Monarch might hee be to what honour and wealth and power might he haue risen in a short time whether hee had beene a Lawyer or a Courtier or a Prelate Me thinkes I see how many fingers would point at him in the streets as they doe at his Apes and say there goeth a deepe fellow he hath more wit in his little finger then the rest hath in the whole body but we speake to the bellie which hath no eares Now let vs see the partes of this kings confession that we may see how his thankfulnes did answere to his sinne before he had robbed God of his honor Now as thogh hee came to make restitution hee bringeth praise and thanks glorie in his mouth first hee aduaunceth Gods power and saith That his kingdome is an euerlasting kingdome vnder which words he confesseth that God was aboue him because his kingdome was not an euerlasting kingdome but a momentary kingdome like a sparke which riseth from the fire and falleth to the fire againe therefore he sheweth what a foole hee was to vaunt of his
kingdome as though it were like Gods kingdom which lasteth for euer Secondly he magnifieth the power of God sayth That God doth what he listeth in heauen and in earth and nothing can hinder him nor say vnto him What doest thou Vnder which words he confesseth againe that God was aboue him because hee coulde not raigne as hee listed but when he thought to liue at his plesure then he was thrust out of the dores and God said not vnto him What doest thou but Thy kingdome is departed from thee Therefore hee sheweth what a foole hee was to vaunt of his power as though it had bene like Gods power which could not bee checked Thirdly hee commendeth the iustice of God and sayth That his workes were all trueth and his waies were all iudgement Vnder the which wordes Nabuchadnezzer confesseth againe that God was aboue him for his waies were all errours and his workes were all sinnes as the ende proued Therefore he sheweth what a foole hee was to vant of his works as thogh they had beene like Gods works which cannot bee blamed Therefore he concludeth I Nabuchadnezzer praise and extoll and magnifie the king of heauen When hee lighted on the right string marke how hee harps vpon it and doubles and trebles it like a bond which is ratified with many words of like sence so he ratifieth his bond to God with many wordes of like meaning I will praise and extoll and magnifie the king of heauen as though he would praise and more then praise him So they which loue from the hart repent from the bottome praise and praise pray and pray giue and giue serue and serue that is when they haue serued him they are readie to serue him againe Heere is a glasse for all the children of pride First looke vpon Nabuchadnezzer yee which are great men like Nabuchadnezzer for thus will God make his examples of greatmen because they should be examples to others Many wicked men died in Iurie and scarse a man was by to see their end but Herod was striken before the people that all might see because he was a wicked king There were many in Babel as proud as Nabuchadnezzer but none but Nabuchadnezzer was made like a beast because hee was a proude king so God doth stomacke sinnes in those that beare his owne person As princes vse to picke out the principall and chiefe of the rebellion to make them examples of terror which were ringleaders in the treason so doth God bend his shotagainst the captaines of his enemies like the king of Aram which charged his souldiers that they should fight against none but against Achab the king For as Salomon saith Strike the scorner and the rest will beware so iustice shewed vppon a great man doth terrifie manie If wee could see but one of the Nabuchadnezzers of our daies so disgraced it woulde make all the rest better in their office and thinke when they sitte in their maiesties as Queene Hester did that their power is giuen them to minister iustice and not to doe wrong Paul doth not wish vnto Agrippa more wealth nor more honour nor more friendes but more religion which is the greatest want of princes magistrates They sit in Gods chaire saith Dauid and are called Gods but they are not like God but like Mammon except their names and their crownes Peraduenture there is a Dauid or a Salomon or a Iosua that is a few that remember whose person they beare The rest are like Herod and Saule and Nabuchadnezzer which knowe not from whom their kingdoms come Nabuchadnezzer built for his honor and they build for their honors he gathered for his welth they gather for their wealth he sought his pleasure and they seeke after their pleasures he vaunted of his power and they vaunt of their power what did Nabuchadnezzer that they doe not but repent which they doe not I cannot wish them beastes to doe them good like Nabuchadnezzer because it is a question whether they bee worse then beastes already but if wee coulde driue them out of their pallace to liue in the wildernesse it were a a good riddance for there they should do lesse harme Thus you see why Nabuchadnezzer was made like a beast that he may die like a man for he could neuer learne from whom his kingdome came or who gaue him his name vnlesse he had beene seuen yeares a prentise vnto the crosse When he perceiued who tooke his kingdome from him then he gaue his kingdome vnto him and learned his thankfulnesse in the wilderdernesse When all the blessinges were gone which he should haue beene thankefull for hee thought God was no bodie vntill hee became like no body himselfe and then who but God no power but of him no honour but from him his first honor came from God as wel as the last but then hee was like a beast which knoweth not his owner like a babe which knoweth not his father like an Image which knoweth not his maker But nowe he knoweth from whoÌ„ kingdoms come and hath learned to say Thy kingdome as well as my kingdom and is like the Elders in the Reuelation which cast downe their crownes before the Lambe such a scholemaister is affliction to teach that which prophets angels cannot teach For the Prophet and his dreame had tolde him as much before yet he could neuer say The Lord hath giuen before he saw the Lord had taken They say a friend is neuer knowne before he be lost so when God fled Nabuchadnezzer followed but when God called Nabuchadnezzer contemned when he hath all thinges he is vnthankfull and when hee hath nothing hee beginneth to be thankfull So we must learne Gods loue out of Gods wrath spell his goodnes out of his iustice Therefore we preach iudgement to you to make you flie vnto mercie we denounce the lawe against you to make you loue the Gospel We shew you hell to make you seeke heauen because wee are all like Pharaos sorcerers Though we receiue neuer so much yet we neuer say The finger of God hath done this but when hee beginneth to plague vs then we cry the finger of God hath done this therfore if we will not be inuited it is good to be compelled To conclude he which made Nabuchadnezzer a king when he was like a beast is he that makes theÌ„ rich which were poore and hee which makes them free that were bond and hee which makes them beloued that were hated and he which makes them wise that were rude and he which makes them whole that were sick they must stay a time seuen dayes or seuen weeks or seuen moneths or seuen yeares as Nabuchadnezzer did when they are ready for it it will come sodainly as the Angels came to refresh Christ so soon as he was hungry yet a litle while yet a little longer comfort is on foote and that God which is comming will come as the sun which was rising is risen For as Nabuchadnezzer said mine honor is restored to me so I am sure many heere that haue beene afflicted may say my right was restored vnto me my libertie was restored to mee my goodes were restored to me my health was restored to me in lesse time than Nabuchadnezzers honour was and what then Therefore I Nabuchadnezzer praise and extoll and magnifie the king of heauen This is the conclusion of all Gods benefites They which do not praise and extoll and magnifie the king of heauen are worse then Nabuchadnezzer Therefore letal those which haue said in their heart like Nabuchadnezzer Is not this the house which I haue built Is not this the land which I haue purchased Is not this the money which I haue gathered Are not those the children which I haue begotten Say nowe with Nabuchadnezzer for all I praise and extoll and magnifie the king of heauen which can take all againe as he did from Nabuchadnezzer Thus haue you seene pride and humilitie one pulling Nabuchadnezzer out of his throne the other lifting him vnto his throne wherby they which stand may take heed least they fall and they which are fallen may learne to rise againe FINIS Printed by T. S. and are to be sold by William Wright 1591. Psaâ— Psâ— â—ob 42. â— Sa. 31 4 Num. 21 8 Genes 3. 14. Psal. 15 1 Ioh. 4. 24 1. Kin. 18 28 Ionas 1 5 Act. 19 28 Pro. 23. 26 Gen. 8 21 Psa. 136 1 2. 6 Psal. 23. 9. 1. Sa. 10 9 2. Kin. 1 34 1. Kin. 17 4 â— Kin. 11 11. 12 â—rou 16 7 Psal. 111 10. 2. Ch. 18 30 Prou. 19 25 Psal. 82.