Daniel — Chapter 4
Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great tree cut down, with the 'watcher' decree for seven 'times' of madness, fulfilled when the king is driven to eat grass like an ox. Lapide reads the tree as Nebuchadnezzar's pride; the 'seven times' as seven years of humiliation; the restoration to sanity as a type of the sinner's restoration through humility.
Verse 2
It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me: Lapide reads Nebuchadnezzar's public testimony as a striking instance of how God uses the conversion of great sinners and powerful men to spread His glory. He cites Paul's conversion (Acts 9) and the emperor Constantine as parallel cases.
Verse 24
Daniel interprets the dream and urges the king: 'Quam ob rem, rex, consilium meum placeat tibi, et peccata tua eleemosynis redime' — redeem your sins with almsgiving: Lapide makes this one of the key texts in his treatise on almsgiving as satisfaction for sin. He cites Ambrose's De Nabuthe and Chrysostom's homilies on almsgiving extensively.
Verse 30
Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty? Lapide identifies Nebuchadnezzar's pride as the paradigm of all political hubris — the city (or empire, institution, culture) that its builder regards as his own greatest achievement, forgetting the divine gifts that made it possible. He applies this to the great Renaissance and Baroque building projects of kings and popes, cautioning against self-glorification.
Verse 31
Nebuchadnezzar's reason is restored when he lifts his eyes to heaven and blesses the Most High: Lapide reads this as the pattern of all conversion — pride leads to madness (spiritual and sometimes literal), and the lifting of the eyes to God restores sanity. He applies this to the conversion of great sinners throughout history.