Daniel 3

Daniel 3:1-7

High places are slippery places, and kings favour a prostrious profession. These who were lately in the highest honour are here fallen into the deepest diligence; and yet, in the issue, good is brought out of the rest, God more highly glorified, and they more eminently distinguished hereby. 1. Nebuchadnezzar erects and dedicates a golden image, requiring all his subjects to fall down and worship it; which is generally complied with, ver. 1-7. 2. Information is given against the Jewish princes for refusing to worship it, ver. 8-12. 3. They confidently perish to their refusal, notwithstanding the king’s menace, ver. 13-18. 4. They are cast into the fiery furnace for their refusal, ver. 19-23. 5. They are miraculously preserved, ver. 24-27. 6. The king gives honour to God heresy, and shows favour to these faithful worthier, ver. 28, 29, 30. To this fiery the Apostle aloud, Heb. xi. 34.

1. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was therefore cubist, and the breadth thereof six cubists: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treafurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treafurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4. Then an herald cried aloud, to you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 5. That at what time ye hear the sound of the

cornet,

current, flute, harp, fackbut, pfaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up. 6. And * whofo falleth not down and worshippeth, shall * the fame hour be * caft into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 7. Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the corner, flute, harp, fackbut, pfaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

The king had lately made a noble confession of the glory of Daniel’s God; but the conviction is soon forgotten, and his attachment to idolatry prevails: and, as we too often for the dog return to his vomit again,

1. He excels a golden image of immense size, thirty yards high or upwards. At what time, or on what occasion, this was done, is not said: probably not long after the events recorded in the former chapter; and perhaps, as some have suggested, in order to clear himself from the imputation of Judaism, which, on the advancement of Daniel and his companions, might have been whispered by the envious courtiers. Though I rather incline to think he intended it as an image of himself, and in the pride of his heart affecting divine honours, would establish this impious worship which he was alive, in order the better to perpetrate it when he should be dead.

2. A general summons is sent to all the magistrates, governors, and officers, civil, military, and religious, throughout this vast empire, to attend the dedication of this image; who instantly assembled, ready to obey the king’s injunction.

3. A proclamation is made to all the vast assembly of the king’s pleasure, that the moment they heard the burst of instruments of muskets collected on that occasion, to celebrate the praises of their deity, they should unanimously prostrate themselves before him, on penalty, in case of refusal, of being cast into a burning fiery furnace. Thus hath the Devil prepared every engine to seduce or compel the sinner into his service, both the soft blandishments of sense to allure, and fearful punishments threatened to excite a compliance.

4. All testified a ready submission. No sooner was the signal given than the adoring assembly is prostrate on the plain. When it is dangerous to be singular, and pleasure invites, few will hesitate about the consequences of yielding to the temptation.

5. ¶ Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews. 9. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, ‘O king, live for ever.’ 10. Thou, O king, hath made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the corner, flute, harp, fackbut, pfaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image: 11. And whofo falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego: these men, O king, have not regarded thee, they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 13. ¶ Then Nebuchadnezzar in no rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego: then * they brought these men before the king. 14. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego? do not ye serve ‘my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15. Now if ye be ready, that at what time ye bear the sound of the corner, flute, harp, fackbut, pfaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made, well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast that fame hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace, * and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? 16. Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego * answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, * we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17. If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of these hand, O king. 18. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that * we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Daniel 3:8-18

We have been,

1. The malicious conclusion brought against Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego, for disobedience to the king’s command. They had attended as his summons; but, instead of complying with both great idolatry, resolved to endure any merrest reason that commit to great a crime. Many had, no doubt, envied

their advancement, and gladly embraced this occasion to ruin them. They therefore, with warmest wishes for his prosperity, address the king as his most faithful and loyal subjects, who had the honour of his government most at heart, remind him of the decree he had done, and inform him of the abrogated paid to it by these three men; a crime, they insinuate, aggravated by their ingratitude herein shewn for the favours they had received, in being raised from captives to the highest ports of the free, and which, should they be overlooked in this their contempt of the king’s command, would reflect dishonour on his government, be of the worst consequence to the kingdom, and have a bad influence on the people. Daniel is not mentioned: it should seem he was absent, or too high in the king’s favour to be meddled with.

2. The king, exasperated at the information, in a rage commands these men to be seized, and dragged into his presence. With fury speaking in his eyes, and terror in his voice, he demands of them an answer to the accusation, whether it was true; or, as the words may be rendered, Is it of purpose that you have done this, communiciously, in defiance of my authority and contempt of my Gods? Once more he offers to prove them; if they will now comply to worship the golden image, all shall be well; if not, the furnace is ready, and they shall instantly be cast into the flames, from which he defies their God to save them. v. 15. A dear alternative! to bow or burn. How thankful ought we to be that we are not driven to this trying proof of our confiancy; and that the firm, once kindled by populi idolaters in this land for the like purpose, are now extinguished.

3. With unshaken fortitude and fedatene’s mind, they mildly unite in their reply, not reproaching him as tyrannical, but merely resigning themselves up to God in the way of duty, and with deliberate courage determined to abide by their resolution, whatever the consequence might be. They seek no reason, ask for no respite; for, where duty is plain, to deliberate is sinful, and to parley the prelude of compliance with the temptation. O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to enforce thee in this matter. Carnal reason indeed might have suggested a thousand palliatives to excuse the sin; but, where God’s commandment was so express, these gracious souls could not hesitate a moment whether they should obey God or man. They want no time to word their answer. They cannot, dare not, do it. Their lives were dear to them; but death, with all the terrors, cannot shake their steady souls: they are content by faith to commit their lives to his care who gave them, and can preserve them, if he pleases, in the burning fiery furnace, or deliver them from it. However, whether God was pleased miraculously to interpose for them or not, their purpose is fixed; they will not serve his gods nor worship his image. Note, (1.) In the way of duty we must never be careful about consequences. (2.) If we have true faith in God, it will call our enfiancing fear, and enable us in the day of trial to commit our all into his hand, confident that he will support us under our suffering, or deliver us out of them. (3.) The way to be ready for the severest conflicts is daily to deny ourselves. They who self refuled to cast of the king’s meat were now enabled to refute to worship his gods.

4. ¶ Then was Nebuchadnezzar ‘full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego: therefore he spake and commanded that they should bear the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be beat. 20. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army, to bind Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21. Then these men were bound in their coats, their holsen, and their § hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22. Thereof fore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the || flame of the fire! slew those men that took up Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego. 23. And these three men, Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego, * fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in halfe, and spake and said unto his comfeilors, did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like ’the son of God. 26. ¶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake and said, Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, * come forth, and come away. Then Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego came forth of the midst of the fire. 27. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s

T coun- Babes Child r Acts vii. 14— Prov. col. 14— r Child. Mighty of enough. Or menmen. Or sevance. Or Spake. Prov. col. 14. v PC. equiv. 14— Chap. vi. 16. Or governors. v PC. col. 9. Ch. chd. 6. Phil. ch. 14. J. J. 1. 6. PC. equiv. 7. Vpn. ch. Phil. 1. 14. Ill. revid. 14. 8. 11. 14. Pol. 1. 7. Before Chord 32. Ill. 1000. 11. Mich. 20. 34. Mar. 8. 30. counselors, being gathered together, saw ’these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power,’ nor was an hair of their head tinged, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

Daniel 3:19-27

An answer so firm, and yet withal so sedate, might have been expected to have wrought some redemings on the tyrant’s mind, especially after the confessions himself had made of the glory of that God to whom they so faithfully adhered; but we see it was quite otherwise. 1. The monarch, exasperated, with fury in his looks, like a head of darkness, as if the furnace should be the emblem of the rage with which his bosom burned, commanded it to be heated seven times hotter than usual; which, if his passion would have admitted of deliberation, he must have seen would be a favour, instead of an aggravation of the punishment, and serve but the sooner to dispatch these martyrs for the truth: but God over-ruled the tyrant’s rage to make his own glory more illustrious in their deliverance. In both they are burned to the flames, cough up, as they stood, in their closets, bound by the mighfeet men of Nebuchadnezzar’s army, and infirmity cast into the fiery furnace, which, being so intensely burned, and the urgency of the king’s command hurrying the men who bore them too near the mouth, the flame infirmity flew them. A righteous judgment, it should seem, upon them who were the ready instruments of this tyrant’s cruelty, and probably the very perfom who had lodged the circulation against their children of the Most High. Note, (1.) Could men see their own counterament, when rage soame in their lips and dashes from their eyes, they would startle at themselves as devils in a human form. (2.) Terrible was this furnace: we cannot look into it without borrow; yet here a moment would end the martyrs sufferings; but there is a fiercer fire knitted for sinners in hell, that tortures eternally, where death brings no relief, but the sinnak of the torment ascended for ever and ever, and they have no red day nor night. (3.) Perfecutors of God’s people may expect he will aveng their wrongs. 2. God is pleased astonishingly to interpose for the rescue of his faithful servants. Struck with terror and astonishment at the death of his mighty warriors, the king hastily arose; and how great his surprise, when, in the midst of that furnace where the objects of his rage had fallen bound, he beholds four perfoms loose, walking unhurt in the midst of the flames? He calls his counsellors, asks them concerning the order for the execution of these men, and they declare it was punctually executed. He looks attentively on the fight: three of the perfoms are well known to him; the fourth he conceived to be like some heavenly messenger, a son of God; either one of the angelic host, or, which he might have heard from Daniel, that uncreated angel of the covenant the Lord Christ, who had of old so often appeared to his people in a human form. Approaching them the mouth of the furnace, with high respect he now addresses these servants of the most high God, whom he had treated so cruelly, and invites them by name to come forth: nor did they delay to obey him; and, to the astonishment of all those princes and governours who surrounded the king, walked out of the midst of the fire, with not a hair singed, nor so much as the forth of fire arising from them in their garments. Note, (1.) The afflictions into which God’s people are call resemble this furnace: far from being able to hurt them, they only consume the seeds of corruption which formed them, and let them more at liberty to walk with God: and the presence of Jesus in the midst of them not only prevents their trials from being painful, but enables them to count them all joy. (2.) They who are enabled confidently to trust in God often experience wonderful deliverances. (3.) God will make those proud men, who have perfected his people, both at their feet and know that he hath heard them. (4.) Every redeemed sinner comes into the presence of the eternal King, as these three worthies, a brand placed out of the burning. 28. Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Methach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that truthful in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29. Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Methach, and Abed-nego, shall be put in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill, because there is no other god that can deliver after this sure. 30. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Methach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.

Daniel 3:28-30

Struck with deep conviction by what he had beheld. 1. This mighty monarch adores the power and grace of that glorious God, whose wondrous interposition appeared in the deliverance of these his faithful servants. If now was evident, that no other god could deliver as he had done, and that his care and kindness never deferred them who broadly adhered to him in the hour of trial. Thus can God change the voice even of perfecutors, and learn blasphemers to bless and praise. 2. He commends the courage and constancy of these three worthies, that dared contradict a king armed with fury, and, with a noble contempt of life, resisted to cleave to their own God, in the face of a fiery furnace, committing themselves with unshaken confidence into his hands. Note, (1.) A steady adherence to the cause of God and truth will often extort approbation even from enemies, which they who measly desert their principles will only render themselves despicable goes: in the eyes of those who seduced them. (2.) When sin or death must be the alternative, we may emphatically say to sin is gain. (3.) They who are enabled to trust God, will assuredly prove true to him. 3. He issues an edict, forbidding, on the severest penalties, any of his subjects to speak any thing amiss of the God of Shadrach, Methach, and Abed-nego. As the Chaldeans had taken the hope, captives, they probably thought and spoke contemptuously and blasphemously of their God; which must have grieved exceedingly the faithful in Babylon: but now, though they are not converts to his worship, they are taught to think highly of his glory, since, by the conviction of their king, none of their gods, not even their admired Bel, could deliver after this manter. Note, It is a mercy when the lips of advertisers are feared up with conviction, though their hearts may be as far as ever from true conversion. 4. He highly promoted these three men in the province of Babylon: so that they received a present reward of their fidelity. For sometimes God gives in this world, to those who dare hazard all for his sake, an hundred fold, and in the world to come his everlasting.