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shipers with direful persecutions and butcheries for near three hundred years.”

Verses 37-40. He renders, "Furthermore, (moreover, or "henceforth,) he shall not regard, nor give any heed to, the "gods of his ancienters nor the desire of women; yea, he shall "not give his mind to any Deity, but shall magnify himself above all. For together with God, he shall honour Ma"huzzim in his seat; I say, with God, whom his ancienters acknowledged not, he shall honour (them) with gold, and silver, "and precious stones, and desirable things.* And he shall make fortifications common to Mahuzzim and to the strange "god, whom acknowledging he shall abundantly honour; and "shall make them (the fortifications, or Mahuzzim) to rule "over many, and shall divide the land for a reward. And,

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(or but,) in the time of the end, the king of the south shall "invade or set upon him by war, and the king of the north "shall rush in upon him as a whirlwind, with chariots, and "horse-men, and mighty ships; and entering into the countries, " he shall overflow and pass through."

"Note here, as regards these verses and the following one, "(Mr. Mede says,) that the time of the end, wherein those evils "from the south and from the north shall lie and press upon "the Romans, is foretold to be the last period of the Roman "state which is elsewhere defined within the course, or cur"rent of a time, times, and half a time; in which that "king should audaciously presume to practise so great a wick"edness against the God of the Christians, whose worship not "long before he had taken up."

Verses 41-45. "And he shall enter into the land of beauty, "or renown; (that is into Palestine, or the Holy Land ;) and many shall be overthrown. But these shall escape out of his hands, Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of "Ammon; (to wit, the inhabitants of Arabia Petrea, which "were never yet provinces of the Turkish empire.) He (the Turk) shall stretch forth his hands also upon the countries (viz. of those parts) and the land of Egypt shall not escape;

*He calls Defenders, or titular deities, Mahuzzim, under which titles, given to deceased saints and to angels, the Romans worship them as patrons, protectors, and mediators.

"(though it should hold out long, under the Mamelukes ;) but, he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and all the precious things of Egypt; and the Cushites (that is,

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the neighbouring nations, whether of Africa, or Lybia, as in "those of Algiers ; &c. or of the Arabians, in Scripture called "Cushim ;) these shall be at his steps; (that is, at his de"votion.) But tidings out of the east, and out of the north "shall trouble him; therefore he shall go forth, with great fury. "to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And (to that "end) he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between "the seas, in the glorious mountain of holiness. The tidings (he adds) from the east and north may be the return of "Judah and Israel from those quarters; for Judah was carried

captive at the first into the east, and Israel by the Assyrian into "the north; (namely, in respect of the Holy Land ;) and in those parts the greatest number of them are dispersed to this day." Thus Mr. Mede; who accounts (if I mistake not) that the Roman and the Turk make up the fourth monarchy. I must now take my turn.

The things concerning the fourth monarchy (from v. 36 of chap. xi to the end of that chapter) do greatly conduce to un-. fold the main passage in chap. xii, 1;—that at that time Michael shall stand up for Daniel's people, the Jews, to deliver them. For we have a clear description of the Roman, or fourth monarchy, in its full latitude, as the last general enemy of Jews and Christians, and the ultimate predecessor and prejudicer of Christ's kingdom, hindering the setting up thereof, until that time when Michael stands up. And this description of the fourth empire holds forth the tyranny, impiety, heresy, apostacy and blasphemy thereof, in all the branches springing thence, both Turkish and Papal. And (which is the wonderful wisdom of God) they are all set forth by such characters, and in such a dress of language and phrases, as admirably comport to both of them, and to each in his several garb; though only one at a time is mainly intended. Which observation will easily manifest itself to any understanding, that will compare their history and the passages of this prophecy fairly together. For example:-" He shall do according to his will;" viz. leaving" all divine rules; "and shall exalt and magnify himself above

every god;" viz. kings and princes, and God himself, in despising his word, and setting up his own decrees above it; "and he shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods,” viz. CHRIST JESUS; “and he shall rule over many (countries ;)" "and shall enter into the glorious land;” viz. the country of the Jews, &c.

In verses 36-39 is chiefly described the Roman empire as heathen, and afterwards pontifical. In verses 40-45 it is described as it became first Saracenic and then Turkish. For "" the king of the south" means the Saracens ; who, next to the Romans, were the immediate oppressors of the Jews. The Saracens are a people of the south,-first, because of their rise from Arabia, which is southward from Judea ;secondly, because of their seat, having planted themselves in Egypt, Alexandria being the imperial city of their Souldan. The king of the north means the Turk, who, next to the Saracens, was the immediate oppressor of the Jews, winning from the Romans several countries of their empire. The Turks have the notation of a people of the north, partly because they arose out of Scythia, which was north from Judea ; partly because they possessed the country of Syria, which was also north from Judea. Of the Romans, as instruments of God's "indignation" oppressing the Jews, we have treated before. The Turks, joining with the Saracens, beat the Romans out of Judea and several adjacent countries; but to no advantage of the Jews, who thereby only changed their oppressors.

The deliverance of the Jews from the Roman empire, as Roman, is hinted in v. 36, in those words-" till the indignation be accomplished, for that that is determined shall be done :" that is, the time of God's wrath against the Jews is but for a certain term of years. Their deliverance from the SaracenoTurkish portion is expressed in vv. 44, 45-" But tidings out of the east, and out of the north shall trouble him, therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away with many; and although he shall plant the tabernacle of his palaces between the seas, in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”—That is, the Jews, rising up in the bordering countries, lying east and north

from Judea, shall thereby become the object of the Turkish fury in their own land. The application of these rumors from the east is ill referred to Antiochus, disquieted about the Parthian wars: and as ill are the reports of the commotions from the north applied to the success of Judas Maccabæus: for they plainly signify the rising of the Jews as aforesaid, in behalf of which interpretation several arguments may be urged.

First, this prophetical book of Daniel, in all the chapters wherein mention has been made of the misery of the Jews under the four monarchies of the world, hath constantly held forth this object; viz. to annex a close concerning the delivery of the Jews. For it is the scope of this whole book to set forth the tragedy of the Jewish state; the ante-scene or prelude to which is to be sad to the Jews and glad to their enemies; but the catastrophe gladness to the Jews and sadness to their enemies. The Holy Ghost well minds the sad captivity of the Jews at the time of this prophecy; and they had great need, upon any mention of their oppressions and the continuance of them, of some comfort: unless therefore the comfort of their deliverance be here intimated, this method is quite broken. Second, Daniel holds this method in the twelfth chapter. For mentioning the Jews' troubles in the first verse, and hinting them again in the third verse, he spends the rest of the chapter in discovering their deliverance. Third, the conversion of the Jews is prophesied expressly to come from the east, in Revelation xvi, 12; wherein the drying up of the great river Euphrates is said to be," that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared." Fourth, it may be observed, that at this day the Jews are especially conversant in those eastern parts near Judea, hankering after Canaan; for the sake of whose residence there, the Arabian parts thereabouts, (viz. Ammon, Edom, Moab, &c.) are spared, by special divine providence, as is intimated verse 41. Fifth, the enemy himself, for the prevention as I take it of the return of the Jews into their own land," pitches the tabernacle of his palace in Judea;" consequently there, and thereabouts especially, shall be the insurrection of the Jews.

But notwithstanding all the power and prudence of the Turkish enemy," he shall come to his end, (by the said rising of the

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"Jews.) FOR* at that time shall Michael stand up, the great “prince, who standeth for the children of thy people; and there “ shall be a time of trouble, such as never was, since there was a "nation, even to that same time. And at that time thy people “ shall be delivered." By which words, considered in their substance and dependance, we may perceive the necessity of our opening so much of the eleventh chapter as hath been presented to you for the whole of that and this put together clearly amounts to this; that at the end of the fourth monarchy, Christ (most fitly called Michael, which signifies, “who is as God") stands up to deliver the Jews, and that as well from their civil bondage as from their spiritual.

Now this cannot be at the ultimate general judgement. For, first, the Jews are not then delivered more than the people of any other nations who were believers. And it were a small comfort to them now in captivity, that their full deliverance from under tyrants should not be till the last day of the general judgement. Jews cannot then be so delivered, unless they be first grafted in again by faith ;ÿ the last judgement being a destruction, not a deliverance, of all but believers. This corporal deliverance therefore of the Jews (besides their spiritual) from captivity under the fourth monarchy, not having been yet fulfilled, is yet to come: which conclusion is further confirmed, in that it is a time of the greatest troubles; whereas at the final judgement there is not an increase of the troubles of them that are the Lord's delivered, but a total and final end to them.

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If any object, that this deliverance must still be at the last judgement, because of two passages in this chapter ;—" They shall be delivered that are found written in the book ;" and "Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, "some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting con"tempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of "the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as "the stars for ever and ever;"-we cannot but confess, that learned and pious men, in times of greater darkness, did imagine

* Our translators render it and. But is oft, and must here of necessity be, rendered for; instances of which we have given before.

y Rom. xi, 23.