John Trapp on Daniel 3:1

CHAP. III.

Ver. 1. NEbuchadnezzar the King made animage of gold] Having taken Tyre (which was that great ſervice ſpoken of, Ezek. 29.18.) ſubdued Egypt, (which was his pay for his pains at Tyre) and overthrown Niniveh, (as Nabum had foretold) he was ſo puffed up with his great ſucceſſe, that he ſet up this monſtrous ſtatue of himſelf, to be adored by all, on pain of death. That it was his own image which he here erected for ſuch a purpoſe (as did alſo afterwards C. Caligula the Roman Emperour) it is gathered, 1. Becauſe he did not worſhip it himſelf. 2. Becauſe ver. 12. it is diſtinguiſhed from his Gods. 3. Becauſe this was long ſince foretold of him, Iſa. 14.14. that, Lucifer-like, he ſhould take upon him as a god: which becauſe he did, he was worthily turned a grazing amongſt beaſts, chap. 4. Mean-while, take notice here of the inconſtant and mutable diſpoſition of th[illegible: 1 letter]s proud Prince, as to matter of Religion. Vel[illegible: 1 letter]x oblivio est veritatis, ſaith Hierom, the truth is ſoon forgotten: Nebuchadnezzr (who ſo lately had worſhipped a ſervant of God as a god, and not being ſuffered to do ſo, declared for the one only true God, and advanced his ſervants to places of greateſt preferment) is now ſetting up idolatry in deſpite of God; and cruelly caſting into the fire thoſe whom he had ſo exalted, becauſe they diſſented. Daniel, its likely, withſtood this ungodly enterprize ſo far as he might, and left the reſt to God.

Whoſe height was threſcore cubits] The ordinary cubit is a foot and half: but the Babylonian cubit ſaith Herodotus, was three fingers greater then the common cubit:Plin. l. 34, c. 7. ſo that this image might be Sixty ſeven ordinary cubits high. The Rhodian Coloſſe was yet bigger then this: for it was Fourſcore cubits high, made of braſſe in the form of a man, ſtanding with his two legs ſtriding over an haven; under which, Ships with their ſails and maſts might paſſe. The little finger of it was as big as an ordinary man, being the work of twelve years, made by Chares of Lindum, Theop. P[illegible: 1 letter]zel. Mell. hiſt. and worthily reckoned for one of the worlds ſeven wonders. It was afterwards ſold to a Jew, who loaded 900 Camels with the braſſe of it: for it had been thrown down by an earthquake. This image of Nebuchadnezzar was thus great, to affect the people with wonderment (ſo they wondered after the beaſt, Rev. 13.3.) and thus glorious (guilded at leaſt, if not of ſolid gold) to perſtringe their ſenſes, and with exquiſite Muſick to draw their affections. The Papacy is in like ſort an alluring, tempting, bewitching religion. Hierom compareth hereſy to this golden image: Irenaeus, worldly felicity, which the devil enticeth men to admire and adore.

He ſet it up in the plain of Dura] In a pleaſant plain, (mentioned alſo by Ptolomy the Geographer) quò ſtatua commendatior habeatur, Lib. 6. Geog. that it might be the more regarded.