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whole hearts. And as God can by secret and unexpected means cause it to revive and increase, we may expect a gracious answer to such fervent supplications; and our piety and zeal will be accepted and rewarded.

3. Whatever weakness and danger may seize us, we have encouragement to seek and hope for strength from above. Daniel, being overpowered both in body and spirit by this vision, was gradually strengthened by the angel. Thus can God strengthen his servants when they are languishing in body, or their spirits are dejected; when afflictions press them down, or the terrors of God overwhelm them. And we have peculiar reason to expect divine strength, when, like Daniel, we are most sensible of our own weakness, and humbly depend upon divine aid. God giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

4. The guardianship of angels over states and kingdoms, affords a pleasing reflection, though there is and must be much obscurity resting upon it. By whatever methods they carry on their grand affairs, it is in much wisdom appointed that they should be invisible to us; since they would otherwise overpower our senses, as this vision did Daniel's. Their interposition shows God's regard to the happiness of mankind. It adds to the pleasure of this reflection, to observe, that God's church is under the care of Christ, the Lord of angels that he presides over it, and manages its affairs. That the angels who preside over other kingdoms are under his direction; and that the devils, who seek their ruin, are subject to his control. In the strength of Michael our prince, let us confide; and if we faithfully hold to him, he will hold with us in all things.

CHAP. XI. 1-30.

The angel had told Daniel that he would inform him what was recorded in the scripture of truth, or the true writings, the book of God's decrees; this he here proceeds to do.

1

LSO I in the first year of Darius the Mede, [even]

A1 stood to confirm and to strengthen him, to encourage him to give liberty to the Jews. In the following verses the angel foretells a series of events relating to the state of the world, and particularly of the nations with whom the Jews were concerned; and then of those that relate to the christian church to the end of the world: and a most amazing prophecy it is. 3 And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia beside Cyrus, that is, Cambyses, Smerdis, and Darius Hystashes, who succeeded Cyrus ;

and the fourth shall be far richer than [they] all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia ; that is, Xerxes, whose wealth is mentioned by many of the heathen writers, shall stir up all his subjects and allies against Greece; which accordingly he invaded with the most numerous army that ever was brought together, amounting 3 to above four millions. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will; referring to Alexander the great, and his invading Persia ▲ and other eastern nations, none daring to oppose him. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.*

5 And the king of the south shall be strong, and [one] of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have domin6 ion; his dominion [shall be] a great dominion. And in the end of years, after several years, they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement; referring to the marriage between Antiochus Theus, king of Syria, and Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt; on which account he put away his former wife: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in [these] 7 times. But out of a branch of her roots shall [one] stand up in his estate, or, a plant shall stand in his room, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail; that is, Ptolemy Euergetes, her brother, who warred with Seleucus Callinicus, king of Syria, (who slew Berenice and her 8 little son) he invaded Syria, and had great success: And shall also carry captives into Egypt 'their gods, with their princes, [and] with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and

Accordingly he was destroyed in the midst of his prosperity: his brother and two sons were slain, and his four generals made themselves kings; but neither of them had such a kingdom as he, having divided the empire between them, though some others shared in the division.

+ Two of the most considerable of these kingdoms were those of Egypt and Syria; the former is called here the king of the south, the latter, the king of the north, who, be tween them, soon swallowed up the two others. Judea lay between them, and had concerns with both; the king of the north was the stronger, namely, Seleucus Nicator, or, The conqueror; who, though weak at first, yet by Ptolemy's favour and countenance, became stronger than Ptolemy himself, from whom he got the power over Judea, and had at last near a third part of Alexander's empire.

At first she had great sway, but soon lost it; and Antiochus recalled his former wife; who procured the murder of Berenice and her attendants, and of a son that she had by him; her father, who had strengthened her, being dead a little before.

he shall continue [more] years than the king of the north.* So the king of the south shall come into [his] kingdom, that is, the kingdom of the north, and shall then return into his own land. 10 But his sons, that is, the sons of the king of Syria, viz. Ceraunus and Antiochus the great, shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces and [one,] that is, Antiochus the great, (Ceraunus being poisoned by his generals) shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, [even] to his fortress; taking advantage of the effeminacy of Ptolemy Philopater, the son of Euergetes, 11 he took Raphia, a strong fortress on the borders of Egypt. And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, [even] with the king of the north : and he, that is, the king of the north, Antiochus the great, shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand, that is, into the hand of Ptolemy Philopater, An12 tiochus' army being beaten, and he forced to retreat. [And] when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down [many] ten thousands: but 13 he shall not be strengthened [by it.t] For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches; and accordingly Antiochus the great, fourteen years after the former attack, 14 again invaded Egypt with great force and success. And in

those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves 15 to establish the vision; but they shall fall. So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither [shall there be any] strength to withstand; Antiochus, wishing to recover Judea, shall come again and take many cities from the king of Egypt, whose army shall be besieged in Sidon, a strong city, and obliged to surren 16 der. But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him and he shall stand in the glorious land, that is, Antiochus shall stand in Judea, which by his hand shall be consumed; or rather perfected; referring to the kindness he showed to the Jews who sub17 mitted to him. He shall also set his face to enter into Egypt

• He carried back great treasures, and two thousand five hundred Egyptian idols, which Cambyses had taken away when he invaded Egypt, and he survived Seleucus about five years.

He grew very debauched and cruel, attempted to enter the temple at Jerusalem, slew forty thousand Jews at Alexandria in Egypt, and so weakened his own kingdom: he then died, and left a son four years old.

As the prince was but an infant, there were domestic factions and rebellions in the provinces of Egypt, and some revolted Jews (who were a sort of banditti) exalted themselves against him; but his generals overcame them, and placed a garrison even in Jeru alem; so that they helped to confirm this prophecy.

with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; or rather, with an equal agreement between them, that is, a treaty between the young king of Egypt and Antiochus, that Ptolemy should marry Cleopatra his daughter; thus shall he do and he shall give him the daughter of women, that is, one of the most beautiful of women, corrupting her; endeavouring to keep a separate interest in his daughter, contrary to her husband's; but she shall not stand [on his side,] neither be for him; she accordingly joined with her husband against her father, in sending an embassy to Rome to congratulate the Romans on their 18 victory over him. After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause [it] to turn upon him; that is, he shall attack the maritime countries of Greece, who were confederate with the Romans; but the Roman general Scipio, to avenge the affront offered to their allies, shall attack and defeat him, and he and his successors shall become tributary 19 to the Romans. Then he shall turn his face toward the fort

of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found to pay this tribute; he went to plunder the temple of 20 Elymais, but was there slain by the inhabitants. Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes [in] the glory of the kingdom; or, as in the margin of our bibles, one that causeth an exactor to pass over, that is, Seleucus Philopater his son, who paid an hundred talents yearly to the Romans; but within few days, or years, he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.*

21

And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, Antiochus Epiphanes, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries; his accession shall be at first disputed, he not being the right heir; but by flattering the Syrians and Romans, and making them rich presents, he shall get possession 22 of the kingdom, And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; the arms of the overflower, that is, his opposers, shall be overcome by him; 23 yea, also the prince of the covenant. And after the league [made] with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come 24 up, and shall become strong with a small people. He shall

enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province;

• He was destroyed by his treasurer Heliodorus, the instrument of his oppression and cruelty, in raising the taxes, and particularly in plundering the temple of Jerusalem; he reigned only twelve years.

+ Some understand this of a league between him and the king of Egypt, in which he behaved deceitfully; others understand it, more probably, of his procuring Jasor to be the Jewish high priest, and after him Menelaus, who offered him more money: in both cases it is a fact that he acted deceitfully: he came from Rome with a few attendants, and yet attained to this power.

and he shall do [that] which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches; in his debate with the king of Egypt, he shall exceed his fathers in profusion; as he actually did; and bribed the king of Egypt's officers: [yea,] and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time; he shall 5 employ & me years in his preparations. And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; Antiochus Epiphanes shall muster up the power of Syria, and with great courage give battle to Ptolemy Philomeror; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand : 26 for they shall forecast devices against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow, or, be overflowed and many shall fall down slain; Ptolemy shall be destroyed by some of his own servants. 27 And both these kings' hearts [shall be] to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; alluding to a treaty between the two kings, at a magnificent entertainment at Memphis in Egypt; but it shall not prosper; there shall still be no friendship, they shall endeavour to circumvent one another, but neither of them shall succeed: for yet the end of the war [shall be] at 28 the time appointed. Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart [shall be] against the holy covenant, hat is, against the people of the Jews, and he shall do 29 [exploits,] and return to his own land. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter; after two years, he shall invade Egypt again; but the latter invasion shall not be like the former; it shall turn out to his disadvantage and shame.

30

For the ships of Chittim, the coast of Greece and Italy, shall come against him: referring to the arrival of Popilius, the Roman ambassador, in Egypt, who commanded him in the name of the Romans not to molest Egyfit, which they had taken under their protection: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.†

Jason, whom Antiochus had deposed, bearing a report of Antiochus' death in Egypt, seized the priesthood again by violence, and drove out his rival. Antiochus, thinking that the Jews had revoited, attacked Jerusalem, slew forty thousand, sold as many for slaves, and polluted the temple with swine's flesh.

Menelaus, and his party at Jerusalem, took up arms for him, and assisted him even against their own country and Jerusalem; and they suffered a grievous persecution from him. All these facts are confirmed by Jewish and heathen historians of undoubted credit; and the book of Macabees very much illustrates this part of the chapter.

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