AND the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that breaketh all these shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter's clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it, of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron, mixed with miry clay.

And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest the iron, mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. DAN. ii. 40-43.

We have advanced through the consideration of the three kingdoms, of gold, of silver and of brass. And these words bring us to the fourth kingdom, or the two legs of iron, and the feet part iron and part clay. And the inquiry will at once be made, What kingdom is this? Among the nations of the earth, what people combined within themselves the qualifications here pointed out? It must be a kingdom stronger than all others.

As iron breaks and subdues all other metals, so this kingdom was to break and subdue all other kingdoms. What kingdom did this? And, doing this, what

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KINGDOM OF THE LEGS OF IRON.

kingdom rested on its two great divisions, even as the image rested on its two legs of iron? And, further still. What kingdom, doing all this, was afterwards divided into ten other kingdoms, even as the feet of the image were divided into its ten toes?

Now, I suppose there need be no hesitancy about our reply. We are not left to conjecture here; nor even to strong probability. These requisitions of the vision, fence the matter about so closely, that it seems scarcely possible for us to go wrong concerning it. No kingdom but one can satisfy these demands of the prophet. Look at them. It must subdue the third, or Macedonian empire. Breaking in pieces all other kingdoms, it must set its feet on the dominions of the three preceding empires of the vision. It must reach to universal sway. It must be formed into two vast divisions. And afterwards it must be broken into ten parts-which were to continue until the kingdom of the God of Heaven broke them to pieces; swept them away as the wind does the chaff of the summer threshingfloor; and itself filled the world!

There is but one kingdom, of which, up to this time, all these things are true. You all anticipate me when I say, That is the Roman kingdom! To it, and to it alone, every item applies with great exactness. This kingdom of iron succeeded, in point of time, to that of brass: i. e., to the Græco-Macedonian empire. And then, it wielded a power greater than that of any other kingdom before it. And, whether or not, he was conscious of the real import of his words, it is a striking fact, that Gibbon uses this very figure in speaking of the Empire of Rome. He says:

"The arms of the republic, sometimes vanquished in battle, always victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps to the Euphrates, the Danube, the Rhine and the Ocean; and the images of gold, or silver or brass, that might serve to represent the nations and their kings, were successively broken by the iron monarchy of Rome." (Vol. iii., Millman's ed., p. 634.)

Beyond a doubt, the kingdom of iron was that of Rome. And it needs but a glance, at its possessions, to see, how well it deserved the name of an universal empire. "The empire of the whole earth"-was not this its favourite title? It succeeded the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, and the Macedonian, in the government of the world. First, Macedon went down before it. Carthage was destroyed by it. Corinth became, in spite of its princely splendour, a heap of ashes in its path. Spain next bowed to its yoke. Egypt became a Roman province. Judea was annexed to its dominions. And the plough-share of the idolater was driven across the streets of the Holy City. And thus, it rose to the power of the first of the nations. It trod upon their necks. It made the world tributary to its greatness. It seemed the realization of its own fabled Briareus. And, looking with its single eyei. e. a lust of unbounded dominion-over the nations of the earth: it reached forth the hundred hands of its power to gratify that lust. The neighbouring state and the distant isle, alike became subject to its dominion. Britain passed under its yoke. "These ravagers of the world," said Galgacus, as he addressed the Caledonians, "after all the earth has been too narrow for their ambition, have ransacked the sea, also." In

other words, at the time of the Christian era, the Roman Empire took in the whole south of Europe, France, England, the greatest part of the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the South of Germany, Hungary, Turkey and Greece; not to speak of its possessions in Asia and Africa. Well, therefore, might Gibbon declare, "The Empire of the Romans filled the world. And, when that Empire fell into the hands of a single person, the world became a safe and dreary prison for his enemies. To resist was fatal: and it was impossible to fly." (Vol. 1. p. 99.)

Now, the image stood on two legs of iron. In other words, this kingdom was composed of two main divisions the Eastern and Western Empire; into which it was formed about A. D. 364. And this, together with the period of conquest leading up to this, was the period of its strength. You observe that, up to this, the declaration is unqualified. "The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron." And there, in its fore-ordained character, it stood like a mighty Colossus, bestriding the nations; conquering everything that opposed it; and giving laws to the world. This was the period of its strength.

But this was not to continue. "And, whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron; the kingdom shall be divided." And most exactly are its divisions pointed out. It was not to be broken at random. It was not merely to be divided. It was to be divided into an exact number of parts. That number was ten; according to the ten toes of the image.

Now, in dwelling on the first vision of Daniel, the

consideration of these ten kingdoms will present itself more directly before us, than it does in this place. I therefore merely refer to them now. Read any history of Europe; take any map of Europe, after this division, under Theodosius the Great, and these ten kingdoms will be found to turn up. Revolution after revolution has swept over the nations. But, when the storm has passed, the constitution of the States of Europe, on which the feet of the image stood, has been found true to the prophetic word. Of course, there have been, there are now, more European kingdoms than ten. But the prophecy speaks only of those, whose territory was covered by the feet and toes of the image. It calls for those that should take the place where the image stood. When, therefore, the matter comes definitely before us, the inquiry will be for those into which the Roman Empire was divided. And these, when the division is completed, must be ten; or, we shall not have found the fourth kingdom at all.

Into these different parts, then, the kingdom of iron was to be broken. Into these parts it was broken. It is a plain record on the book of history; and therefore all writers substantially agree concerning it. I say substantially, because the enumeration has, at different times, included different nations. But, whether you adopt that of Machiavelli, of Sir Isaac Newton, of Mr. Mede, of Bishop Lloyd, or Bishop Newton, you equally find the ten kingdoms on the territory of the feet of the image. Into this number, then, the kingdom of iron was broken. And, in