Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_300.lzh/6_317.TXT

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person, but of his cause; and not of eternal, but tem-
poral salvation: and also before thee, 0 king, have
done no hurt: either to his person or government;
nothing that was criminal and sinful, but what was
just and right, serving daily his God; and this was
plain to the king, what he knew and owned,; and
though he had acted contrary to the decree the lords
had craftily! obtained, yet it was not out of disrespect
to the king, but in obedience to his God; and in doing
of which he had done nothing prejudicial to the king's
interest.
Ver. 2_3. Then was the king exceeding glad for him,
&c.] For Daniel, because of his safety, because he was
alive, and in health, and unhurt; and the speech he
made was very acceptable to him, agreeable to his sen-
timents, and which he was satisfied was just and true:
or with, or  for himself {}; being now eased of a guilty
and distracted conscience: and commanded that they
should take Daniel up out of ,he den; that is, he ordered
those that were with him, his servants that at,ended hi m,
either to roll away the stone, and so let him out; or
to let down ropes, and draw him out, or ladders by
which he might ascend; for one would think it would
not have been safe for them to have gone down into
it, to take him up: these orders the king gave without
the consent of his lords, being animated to it by the
miracle wrought: so Daniel was taken up out of the
den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him; no
bruise by throwing him into the den, no wound was
made by the lions, or his flesh in the least torn by them:
because he believed in his God; served and worshipped
him; of which service and worship faith is a particular
branch, and is put for the whole, and without which
it is not pleasing and acceptable to God; he trusted
the Lord, he committed himself to Iris power and pro-
videnee; he left himself wholly in the hands of the
Lord, to dispose of him, whether for life or death, as
he pleased; he believed he was able to deliver him, but
he was not anxious about it: for this seems not to de-
sign any particular act of faith, with respect to this
miracle wrought for him, but his general trust and con-
fidence in God; and the apostle seems to have re-
ference to this, when among other things he ascribes
to faith the stopping of the mouths of lions, Heb.
xi. 33.
Vet. 24. And the king commanded, and thej brought
those men which had accused .Daniel, &c.] Not all the
hundred and twenty princes, and the two presidents;
but the chief of them, who were most busy in getting
the decree signed; watched Daniel's house, and what
he did there; brought the charge against him to the
king, and were most solicitous and urgent to have the
decree put in exccutiou against him: and the!t cast
them into the den of li.9ns ; the servants of the king,
who were sent to fetch them, and who brought these
by the king's orders, cast them into the same dcu of
lions that Daniel had been in: thus often the pit wicked
men dig for others, they fi.dl into themselves; so
man was hanged on the gallows hc prepared
!Moralcoal: - them, their children, and their wives;
which might be according to the laws of this mon-
archy in capital oftencos, relating to affairs of state,
as this was for an accusation of a prime minister of
State, to take away his life; though such things were
common with arbitrary princes, for the terror of
others; so Human and his sons were hanged up by
Ahasuerus: this may seem cruel and inhuman, though
it might be that the wives and children of these men
advised them to do what they did, and were encou-
ragers and approvers of it. Josephus {m} relates, that
the enemies of Daniel, when they saw no hurt came
tO him, would not ascribe it to the providence of God,
but to the lions being fifil of food; upon which the
king ordered much meat to be given them, and then
the men to be cast in to them, to see whether because
of their fulness they would come .unto them or no:
and the lions had the masterj of them, and brake all
their bones in pieces, or ever they came at the bottom of
the den; the lions seized them at once; and though
they did all they could to defend themselves, fighting
with them; yet the lions were too powerful for them,
and overcame them, and not only tore off their flesh,
but broke their bones in pieces, and that as they were
falling, before they came to the bottom, or the lower
part-of the den; this was a plain proof that it was not
through fulness, or want of appetite, that the lions
did not fall upon Daniel and devour him: this affair
happened in the first year of Darius, which, according
to Bishop Usher", and I)ean rrideaux o, and Mr. Whis-
ton {p}, was in the year of,he Julian period 4176, and
before Christ 538; Mr. Bedford {q} places it in 537.
Vet. 25. Tlten King Darius, &c.] Being thoroughly
convinced of the miracle, and of the powerful inter-
position of divine Providence iu it, and of the omni-
potence of God, and of his concern in the government
of the world; that all might be acquainted with the
same, wrote unto all people, nations, and languages,
that dwell in all the earth; he being at the head of the
Babylonish monarchy, which included many nations
and people of various languages; and which was
increased, and still increasing, by the victories of
Cyrus, who was partner with him in the empire; see
ch. iii. 4, 29: peace be multiplied unto you; an increase
of all kind of prosperity; an usual salutation or wish
with the eastern people.
Ver. o.6. I make a decree, that in every dominion of
my kingdom, &c.] Iu every province of his large em-
pire; this explains who are meant by all people, na-
tions, &c. before mentioned; namely, such as were
within his dominions; for to no other could his decree
reach: this decree is very different from that he had
made a few days before, forbidding any man to ask
any thing of any god or man for the space of a month;
but now his order is, that men tremble and fear before
the God of Daniel; that they would serve with fear
and trembling, and reverence and adore the God that
Daniel served and worshipped; and who manifestly
appeared to be his God, and to be the true God, by Iris
wonderful deliverance of him: for he is the living God,
and steadfastfor ever ;' thathas life in himself, and is the

{l} \^yhwle\^ apud se, Piscator; apud illum, Michaelis.
{m} Antiqu. I. 10. c. 11. sect. 6.
{n} Annales Vet. Test. A. M. 3466.
{o} Connexion, &c. part 1. p. 125, 128.
{p} Chronological Tables, cent. 10.
{q} Scripture Chronology, p. 711.