Translator's Preface (5)

Translator's Preface (5)

No notice is taken in these Lectures of the Deutero-Canonical additions, to this Prophet. In the versions of the Septuagint, and that of Theodotion, there are some additions, to this Book which are not found in the Hebrew Canon. Jerome translated these from the version of Theodotion, and ably replies to the objection of Porphyry by denying the canonicity of the following treatises, viz., The Prayer of Azarias, the Song of The Three Children, the History of Susanna, and The Story of Bel and the Dragon. Eusebius also denies the identity between the Prophet and the Son of Abdias, the priest who ate of the table of the King of Babylon. De Wette, in his Lehrbuch, has discussed the, criticism of these treatises with great ability. As early as the second century, the Septuagint Version of Daniel was superseded by that of Theodotion; and the former was lost till it was discovered and published at Rome in 1772. The views of De Wette, and of” Alber Of Pesth, who contends. against Jahn for the historic truth of these variations,” will be found in the Addenda to Daniel in Kitto’s Cyclopaedia. The Commentators of the Romish Church feel bound in honor to defend these additional portions. Their best arguments will be found in a praiseworthy attempt of J. G. Kerkherdere Historian to his Catholic Majesty Charles III,. to explain some difficulties in this Prophet. He considers, the number of Daniel’s Treatises to be a dozen. He places the history of his own Youth first, that of Susanna second, the Story of Bel and the Dragon third, and Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream fourth; and. then with great precision and clearness, enters upon those historical questions which need both acuteness and research in their treatment. Bellarmine also dwells on the testimony of the Greek Fathers, but meets, with an able opponent in Willet, the laborious author of the Hexapla in Danielem.

Note 53. See his “Prodromus Danielicus,” Lovanii, 1711.

Note 54. See the Appendix where the opinions of various writers are collected — especially pp. 331-336.

Note 55. See the Sixfold Commentary, Edit. 1610.

It must not be forgotten that portions of this Book, like that of Ezra, are written in Chaldee. From the fourth verse of chapter 2 to the end of chapter 7., the language is Chaldee. Rosemuller assigns as a reason for this, the desire of the author to represent Nebuchadnezzar and the Magi as speaking in the language of their country. However valid this reason may be for the earlier chapters, it is not equally so for the sixth and seventh, since the Medes and Persians probably used the Persian tongue. Abarbenel, in the preface to his Commentaries, supposes that Chaldee was no longer in use after the taking of the city; and that Daniel, through ignorance of Persian, returned to the use of Hebrew. C.B. Michaelis, however, demurs to this, and suggests that the use of either tongue was arbitrary, just as modern scholars use either Latin or their own vernacular tongue according to their convenience and taste. The occurrence of this older form of the Aramaic idiom has been seized upon by the opponents of the, authenticity of this Book, while its use has been ably explained and vindicated by Hengstenberg.

Note 56. Atuthentic des Daniel, p. 310 — on the other side, see Theologische Studien, 1830, et seq.; as quoted in Kitto’s Biblic. Cyc., Art. Chald. Lang.

THE RELIGIOUS, SOCIAL,
AND POLITICAL VALUE OF CALVIN’S

METHOD OF EXPOSITION.

In concluding our Introductory Remarks it will be useful to offer a few suggestions on the Religious, Social, and Political value of Calvin’s Method of Exposition throughout these Lectures. Such suggestions are the more appropriate in these days when views directly adverse to our Reformer’s are extensively popular through the ingenious theories of Faber, Elliott, and Cumming. Those who have imbibed their views will pronounce these Volumes profitless and barren. “What can it benefit us,” they will ask, “in the present day, to know how many Kings reigned from Cyrus to Xerxes; the changes in the Empire of Alexander; the troops which fought at Raphia; the marriage of Bernice, and the, results of the invasion of Greece by Antiochus,...” “Why not suffer these antiquated facts of history to sleep quietly in the dust, and bend our strength to the controversies and practical movements of the present hour?” May we not reply, that he is best able to understand and unfold the religious phases of the age in which he lives, who is most familiar with the events and opinions of all preceding times. A man can permanently impress his own age with the precepts of spiritual wisdom, who knows nothing but what his own eyes have seen, and his own hands have handled. The ever varied messages of the Holy Spirit have always combined historical reality with the deepest spiritual significance. The details of Profane History and its comparison with the Sacred Text will never, by itself, enable us to reap the full harvest of solid improvement from the perusal of these Sacred Oracles. We must dive deeper than the surface. We must look at them in the light of one majestic and solemn truth. They are all “the foreseen counsels and works of the living God; the vast scheme of Providence which he has ordained for his own glory, and steps in the fulfillment of his everlasting counsel.”

Note 57. Birks, ibid. chapter 21. Though the views of this writer, expressed from chapter 12 to 20 are diametrically opposed to those of Calvin, yet the remarks of chapter 21 are so excellent, that we shall avail ourselves of a few appropriate sentences.

We are fully aware, that many will pronounce these Volumes deficient in spiritual life, and in Protestant zeal. But the Christian who dares not dogmatize beyond the direct teachings of the Spirit of God, will apply them indirectly to the events of the present era, on the intelligible principles of Sacred Analogy. They thus become a portion of that Divine Lesson which fulfilled Prophecy is ever reading to the Church of God. They display His ceaseless dominion over the wills of Sovereigns and over the destinies of Nations. When abstract truths are felt to be powerless in breaking the spell of worldliness, and in piercing within the charmed circle of social strife and political party, these embodied proofs of an ever-watchful Deity may awe men into submission to his sovereign will. The hollow maxims of earthly policy will never be superseded till men reverence the God Of Daniel, and, like the heavenly Elders, cast all their crowns of intellect and renown before His throne. From the days of Nebuchadnezzar and of Cyrus, we see in every change the foot;-prints of a guiding Deity. “The reigns of Cambyses, Smerdis, and Darius; the armament of Xerxes, with its countless myriad’s; the marches, and counter-marches, and conflicts, the subtle plots and shifting alliances of contending kings, long before they occurred, were noted down in the Scriptures of Truth — the Secret Volume of the Divine counsels. All of them, before they rose into birth, were revealed by the Son of God to his holy Prophets; and they remain till the end of time an imperishable monument of His Providence and foreknowledge. All was foreseen by His wisdom and ordained by his Sovereign power. The passing generations of mankind, while they see, this blue arch of Providence above them, and around them, sure and steadfast, age after age, like Him who has ordained it, must feel a deep and quiet reverence take possession of their soul.” The minuteness of detail in the visions concerning Alexander and Ptolemy Soter, and the repulse of Antiochus, convey the same instructive lesson. “Every royal marriage, like that of Berenice or Cleopatra, with all its secret issues of Peace or war, of discord or union; the levying of every army, the capture of every fortress, the length of every reign, the issue of every battle, the lies of deceitful ambition, the treachery of councilors, the complex web of policy, woven out of ten thousand human wiles, and each of them agahl the product of ten thousand various influences of good and evil, all are portrayed with unerring accuracy in the ‘Scriptures of Truth.’” [...] “The pride of Antiochus the Great, his successful ambition and military triumphs, his schemes of politic affinity, nay, even his prudent regard for the house of God, cannot avert. the sentence written against him, for his fraud and violence in the Word of Truth. In the height of seeming power, his own reproach is turned against him, and he tumbles and falls, and is not found.”

If, then, we conclude with Calvin, that the persecution of the Little Horn and the idolatries of the Willful King are past, on what principle are we to derive instruction from their perusal? By the induction’s of a Divine analogy, by the assertion that “all which has passed is in some sense typical of all that is to come.” “The Saints of the Most High” are always the special objects of Jehovah’s regard; they ever meet with an oppressor as fierce as Antiochus, and as hateful as “the Man of Sin;” but still, whatever their sufferings under a Guise or an Alva, they shall ultimately “take the Kingdom,” and possess it for ever. Strongholds of Mahuzzim there always. will be, under either the successors of Medici or the descendants of Mahomet. The evidence of Gibbon, which has been used so freely by many modern theorists, is equally valuable on the hypothesis, that similar relations between the Church and the world occur over and over again in the course of successive ages. A parallel may often be drawn by an ingenious mind between the persecutions of Heathen and of Papal Rome, and the temptation is, always great to refer the fulfillment of Prophecy exclusively to that system of things with which we are immediately and personally concerned. Military ambition, subtle policy, the arts of Statesmen, the voice of excited multitudes, the passions of every hour, the delusions of every age — all must pass in silent review Under the eye of heaven. They are repeated with every successive generation under an infinite variety of outward form, but with a perfect identity in spirit and in feeling. It may be safely asserted, that every social and political change from the times of Nebuchadnezzar to those of Constantine, have had their historic parallel from the days of Charlemagne to those of Napoleon. Hence, Predictions which originally related to the Empires of the East, may be naturally transferred to the transactions of Western Christendom. At the same time, there never may have been the slightest intention in the mind of the writer to apply them in this double sense. We cannot venture to discuss all the arguments either for or against the double sense of Prophecy. Calvin, at least, opposed it strongly, and whenever he swerved from the literal version, he substituted the principle of accommodation, according to the educated taste of an experienced Expounder of Holy Writ. It will, perhaps, be our truest wisdom to listen to the judicious advice of Bishop Horsley — “Every single text of prophecy is to be considered as a portion of an entire system, and to be understood in that sense which may best connect it with the whole. The sense of Prophecy, in general, is to be sought in the events which have actually taken place [...] To qualify the Christian to make a judicious application of these rules, no skill is requisite in verbal criticism — no proficiency in the subtleties of the logician’s art — no acquisition of recondite learning. That degree of understanding with which serious minds are ordinarily blessed — those general views of the schemes of Providence, and that general acquaintance with the Prophetic language which no Christian can be wanting in these qualifications will enable the pious, though unlearned Christian, to succeed in the application of the Apostle’s rules.” (2 Peter 1:20, 21.) While this sentiment is cheering to the humble minded believer, another principle laid down by the same author must never be omitted. The meaning of a prediction “never can be discovered without a general knowledge of the principal events to which k alludes.” Let Calvin, then, be judged by this simple test — and before we venture to condemn him, let us be equally patient, and equally careful to gather all the information within our reach.

Note 58. See his four Sermons on this passage.

CONTEMPORARY EVENTS IN FRANCE.

The period when our Reformer addressed these Lectures To All The Pious Worshippers Of God In France, is now worthy of our attention. Calvin writes from Geneva at the close of the month of August A.D. 1561, immediately preceding that Colloquy at Poissy to which reference was made in the preface to Ezekiel. His Letter depicts so faithfully the state of persecution in which the Christians of France were placed, and compares it so efficiently with the condition of Daniel and the pious worshippers of God under Nebuchadnezzar, that the more we know of the times in which Calvin wrote, the more complete the parallel appears. An animated sketch of this eventful era has lately been published by the Queen’s Professor of Modern History in the University of Cambridge; and as the views of the Editor accord with those of the Professor “On the Reformation and the Wars of Religion” in France, we shall abridge and condense his narrative, as the best suited to our purpose.

Note 59. Calvin on Ezekiel, vol. 1, p. 29.

THE GENERAL SYNOD
OF PROTESTANTS AT PARIS.

When Calvin addressed his followers in France, as desirous of the firm establishment of Christ’s kingdom in the native land, he was at His College in Geneva; but his labors and his Writings were all-powerful in influence with the Reformed in France. Their numbers were large throughout the cities and villages of the Empire. Lefevre and Farel were as father and son in ceaseless efforts to make known to these Gentiles “the, unsearchable riches of Christ.” Their evangelical preaching was signally blessed. Briconnet, the Bishop of Meaux, aided them in translating the Evangelists and in heralding the word of God, and so rapidly and widely had their gospel been received, that “a Heretic of Meaux” became the popular title for an opponent of the Papacy. Notwithstanding the hideous spectacle and the odious Massacre of the 29th of January 1535, when Francis I. celebrated the Fete of Paris by the Martyrdom of the Saints of God, the Reformers were so numerous throughout the realm, that a serious conflict was approaching between themselves and their foes. On the 25th of May 1559, a General Synod Of All Protestant Congregations was solemnly convened and held at Paris — the ecclesiastical system of their Patriarch at Geneva was adopted, and his “Institution Chretienne” became the source and basis of their Confession of Faith. Paris was but the energizing center of an organized Church throughout the Sixteen Provinces of the Realm, while Synods, and Consistories, and Conferences formed a kind of Spiritual Republic, spreading like network over the land. But the hand and the eye of the Persecutor was upon them. Rome had its despotic tyrants both in Court and Camp. In the very midst of the Parliament at Paris, a confessor of the true fifth appeared — but his courage was extinguished by his condemnation. Dubourg, a magistrate of eminent learning and illustrious family, in the presence of the King, in his place in Parliament, invoked a National Council for the Reform of Religion, and denounced the persecution of Heritics as a crime against Him whose holy name they were accustomed to adore with their dying breath. He expected His audacity by his death, and before the grave had been opened for him it had closed upon the Royal Tyrant, Henery II., who bequeathed his crown to a second France in his sixteenth year. And who knows not the crafty, treacherous, and intriguing wickedness of the Queen-mother, Catherine or Medici? Who knows not the ambitious worldliness of the two sons of Claude or Lorraine — Francis, the Duke of Guise — the savage butcher of the Huguenots of Champagne, and Charles, the Cardinal Lorraine, the subtle agent of Rome’s most hateful policy? These artful brothers worked their way to supreme influence in the national councils. Having married their niece, Mary Queen or Scots, to the youthful Sovereign, they employed their vast influence for the wholesale martyrdom of the defenseless flock of Christ. In every Parliament of the kingdom they established Chambers for trying and burning all persons charged with herisy, which obtained the unenviable notoriety of” chambres ardentes.” “But deep,” says the eloquent Lecturer, “called unto deep.” The alarmed and exasperated Huguenots, confident in their strength and deriving courage from despair, rose in many parts of France to repel, or at least to punish their antagonists. In the midst of the anarchy of the times, a voice was raised in calm and earnest remonstrance, urging toleration and peace. In August 1560, the, renowned Chancellor L’hopital appeared before the King and an assembly of notables at Fontainebleau. He presents a Petition from the whole Reformed Church of the realm, and requests the royal permission for the free performance of public worship. “Your Petition,” says the King, “is without a signature!” “True, sire,” replies Coligny “but if you will allow us to meet for the purpose, I will obtain 50,000 signatures in one day in Normandy alone!” His zeal might occasion a slight; exaggeration — but the phrase presents us with data for conjecturing the number of “the pious” whom our Reformer addressed about a year afterwards. As soon as opportunity was given for listening to the glad tidings of salvation, large accessions were made to the hosts of the believers. Farel, though advanced in years, preached the truth to large and ethusiastic assemblages. In the neighborhood of Paris, the followers of Beza were numerous, and his admirers reckoned them at 40,000. L’hopital presented to the Queen-mother a list of 2150 Ireformed Congregations, each under the ministry of a separate pastor, and he reckoned the number of the Huguenots as one-third of that of the Romanists!

EDICT OF POISSY.

At the very moment when Calvin was penning in his study the Letter which is prefixed to these Lectures Of Daniel, the Edict of July 1561 was issued. It bears the impress of the restored influence of the House of Lorraine, which ever proved an implacable foe to the Gospel of Christ as preached by The Calvinists. That Edict forbid their public assemblies, and yet tolerated their private and social worship. It protected them from injury on account of their opinions, and provided for a National Council which should, if possible, settle differences which were in their nature irreconcilable. This important enactment was issued in the Assembly at Poissy, held a few weeks after the date of the Letter which follows this Preface, and which has been alluded to in the Preface to Ezekiel. Cams was absent, because the French Court refused to give those securities for his safety which the, Republic of Geneva required. But he was ably represented by Beza, and a dozen ministers, and twenty-two lay deputies of the Churches. The dramatic taste of the French mind was gratified by the scene, for the tournaments of belted knights had now given way to those of theological disputant,. In the Refectory of the great Convent the boy King was seated on a temporary throne. The members of his family, the officers and ladies of his Court, were stationed on one side, six Cardinals, with an array of mitred Bishops, were assembled on the other. The rustic garb of Beza and his associates, as they were introduced to their Sovereign by the Chancellor, contrasted strongly with the gorgeous apparel and the showy splendor of the Court and its attendants. The political Cardinal or Lorraine and the subtle General of the Jesuits, Iago Lasquez, conducted the dispute against Beza. The Doctors of the Sorbonne watched the sport with official keenness, while Catherine listened to the debate with secret contempt, having long ago determined to root out every Heretic as soon as she could throw the mantle of policy over her cruelty.

PARALLEL BETWEEN THE PROTESTANTS IN FRANCE ANDTHE JEWS IN BABYLON.

The matured Christian is now enabled to see at a glance, that such Conferences are, of necessity, worthless as to any progress of vital religion in the soul. The narrative, however, may enable the reader to enter a little into the state of the Christian, in France when Calvin’s indicted his Prefatory Letter, and may justify the comparison which he makes between their lot, under the tyranny of such merciless rulers, and that of Daniel under the sway of the imperious Nebuchadnezzar, and at the tender mercy of his colleagues under Darius. The parallel is as complete as it could possibly be between the temporal position of the pious in France, and that of the devout Jews in Babylon — and the graphic description of the Royal Professor of Modern History fully justifies the pastoral anxiety of the austere Theologian of Geneva.

ARRANGEMENT OF THE PRESENT WORK.

The Contents of these Volumes are as follow —

The first Volume contains a translation of Calvin’s elaborate Address to All the Faithful in France; and also of his Preface, to his Lectures. Their translation is continued to the end of the Sixth Chapter, which closes the Historical portion. of the Book. Dissertations explanatory of the subject-matter of the Commentary close the Volume, containing various historical, critical, and exegetical remarks, illustrating the Sacred Text as expounded by our Reformer. The chief of them are as follow, viz.

CHAPTER 1 The Date of Jehoiakim’s Reign.
Nebuchadnezzar — one King or two?
His Ancestors and Successors
The Chaldeans.
The Three Children.
Coresh — was he Cyrus the Great?

CHAPTER 2 The Dream.
The Image.
The Stone cut without hands.

CHAPTER 3 The Statue at Dura.
The Magistrates.
The Musical Instruments.
The Son of God

CHAPTER 4 The Watcher.
The Madness.
The Edict of Praise.

CHAPTER 5 Belshazzar and the feast.
The Queen.
The Handwriting.
The Medes And Persians.
Derius the Mede.
The Capture of Babylon.

CHAPTER 6 The Three Presidents.
The King’s Decease.
The Prolongation of Daniel’s Life.

The Second Volume proceeds with the Translation of the remaining Chapters, which are the peculiarly Prophetic portion of the Book; and the interest which every sound Exposition of these Prophecies has always excited throughout the Theological world, will render the following Addenda acceptable to the reader.

1. Dissertations Explanatory Of The Last Six Chapters Of Daniel, fully elucidating all important questions.

2. A Connected Translation or Calvin’s Version, illustrated by the peculiar words and phrases of his Commentary.

3. Summary Of The Historical And Prophetic Portions Of The Book, according to Calvin’s view of their contents.

4. A Notice Of Some Ancient Codexes And Versions

5. A List Of The Most Valuable Ancient And Modern British And Foreign Expositions Of Daniel, with concise Ephtomes of the contents of the most important.

6. An Index Of The Scriptural Passages Quoted In The Lectures

7. A copious Index Of The Chief Words And Subjects treated in these Volumes.

Before concluding these Prefatory Observations, The Editor would briefly refer to the fundamental rules of The Calvin Translation Society, which very wisely exclude all expressions of private opinion. He hopes that no remarks in this Preface will be deemed inconsistent with so judicious a regulation. The clear illustration and the comprehensive defense of our Venerable Reformer seem to demand the candid statement of some views which are adverse to the popular current; but this necessity need not induce him to step beyond the limits of his province. It has been his desire conscientiously to vindicate his Author’s Interpretations wherever he is able to do so, and as fearlessly to point out wherever Calvin is allowed to be in error; but in both cases, the Editor has scrupulously avoided taking any one-sided view of a great argument. He has attempted to exercise the utmost impartiality in quoting from a great variety of Standard Works which contain the most opposite conclusions; and yet, in accordance with the first principles of these Translations, he has at the same time carefully abstained from pressing any sentiments of his own on rite attention of the intelligent reader.

T. M.
Sheriff-Hutton Vicarag,
May 1852.