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Daniel Chapter
Three
Daniel 3
Chapter Contents
Nebuchadnezzar's golden image. (1-7) Shadrach and his
companions refuse to worship it. (8-18) They are cast into a furnace
but are
miraculously preserved. (19-27) Nebuchadnezzar gives glory to Jehovah. (28-30)
Commentary on Daniel 3:1-7
(Read Daniel 3:1-7)
In the height of the image
about thirty yards
probably
is included a pedestal
and most likely it was only covered with plates of
gold
not a solid mass of that precious metal. Pride and bigotry cause men to
require their subjects to follow their religion
whether right or wrong
and
when worldly interest allures
and punishment overawes
few refuse. This is
easy to the careless
the sensual
and the infidel
who are the greatest
number; and most will go their ways. There is nothing so bad which the careless
world will not be drawn to by a concert of music
or driven to by a fiery
furnace. By such methods
false worship has been set up and maintained.
Commentary on Daniel 3:8-18
(Read Daniel 3:8-18)
True devotion calms the spirit
quiets and softens it
but superstition and devotion to false gods inflame men's passions. The matter
is put into a little compass
Turn
or burn. Proud men are still ready to say
as Nebuchadnezzar
Who is the Lord
that I should fear his power? Shadrach
Meshach
and Abednego did not hesitate whether they should comply or not. Life
or death were not to be considered. Those that would avoid sin
must not parley
with temptation when that to which we are allured or affrighted is manifestly
evil. Stand not to pause about it
but say
as Christ did
Get thee behind me
Satan. They did not contrive an evasive answer
when a direct answer was
expected. Those who make their duty their main care
need not be anxious or
fearful concerning the event. The faithful servants of God find him able to
control and overrule all the powers armed against them. Lord
if thou wilt
thou canst. If He be for us
we need not fear what man can do unto us. God will
deliver us
either from death or in death. They must obey God rather than man;
they must rather suffer than sin; and must not do evil that good may come.
Therefore none of these things moved them. The saving them from sinful
compliance
was as great a miracle in the kingdom of grace
as the saving them
out of the fiery furnace was in the kingdom of nature. Fear of man and love of
the world
especially want of faith
make men yield to temptation
while a firm
persuasion of the truth will deliver them from denying Christ
or being ashamed
of him. We are to be meek in our replies
but we must be decided that we will
obey God rather than man.
Commentary on Daniel 3:19-27
(Read Daniel 3:19-27)
Let Nebuchadnezzar heat his furnace as hot as he can
a
few minutes will finish the torment of those cast into it; but hell-fire
tortures
and yet does not kill. Those who worshipped the beast and his image
have no rest
no pause
no moment free from pain
Revelation 14:10
11. Now was fulfilled in the
letter that great promise
Isaiah 43:2
When thou walkest through the fire
thou shalt not be burned. Leaving it to that God who preserved them in the
fire
to bring them out
they walked up and down in the midst
supported and
encouraged by the presence of the Son of God. Those who suffer for Christ
have
his presence in their sufferings
even in the fiery furnace
and in the valley
of the shadow of death. Nebuchadnezzar owns them for servants of the most high
God; a God able to deliver them out of his hand. It is our God only is the
consuming fire
Hebrews 12:29. Could we but see into the eternal
world
we should behold the persecuted believer safe from the malice of his
foes
while they are exposed to the wrath of God
and tormented in unquenchable
fires.
Commentary on Daniel 3:28-30
(Read Daniel 3:28-30)
What God did for these his servants
would help to keep
the Jews to their religion while in captivity
and to cure them of idolatry.
The miracle brought deep convictions on Nebuchadnezzar. But no abiding change
then took place in his conduct. He who preserved these pious Jews in the fiery
furnace
is able to uphold us in the hour of temptation
and to keep us from
falling into sin.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Daniel》
Daniel 3
Verse 1
[1] Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold
whose
height was threescore cubits
and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up
in the plain of Dura
in the province of Babylon.
Made an image — Perhaps he did this
that he
might seem no ways inclined to the Jews
or their religion
whereof the
Chaldeans might be jealous
seeing he had owned their God to be greatest
and
had preferred Daniel and his friends to great honours.
Verse 4
[4] Then an herald cried aloud
To you it is commanded
O
people
nations
and languages
Nations and languages — Proclamation was made
therefore in several languages.
Verse 16
[16] Shadrach
Meshach
and Abednego
answered and said to
the king
O Nebuchadnezzar
we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
We are not careful — Heb. We care not:
there is no need of any answer in this case for it is in vain for us to debate
the matter; the king is resolved to have his will of us
and we are resolved on
the contrary.
Verse 18
[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.
But if not — It was therefore all one to them
which way God would honour himself; they were resolved to suffer rather than
sin
and leave the cause to God. Indeed if God be for us
we need not fear what
man can do unto us. Let him do his worst. God will deliver us either from
death
or in death.
Verse 20
[20] And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his
army to bind Shadrach
Meshach
and Abednego
and to cast them into the burning
fiery furnace.
To bind — What did he think these three men would have refused?
Or that their God would defend them from his power
or that if he had
his
mighty men could have prevailed? None of all this was the case; for God
purposed to shew his power when the king did his worst
and in the thing
wherein he dealt proudly
to be above him.
Verse 23
[23] And these three men
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abednego
fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Fell down — All this is exprest with
emphasis
to make the power of God more glorious in their preservation; for
that shame that slew the executioners
might much more easily have killed them
even before they fell down.
Verse 25
[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.
No hurt — See how the God of nature can when he pleases control
the powers of nature! The Son of God - Probably he had heard David speak of
him. Jesus Christ
the Angel of the covenant
did sometimes appear before his
incarnation. Those who suffer for Christ
have his gracious presence with them
in their sufferings
even in the fiery furnace
even in the valley of the
shadow of death
and therefore need fear no evil.
Verse 26
[26] Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the
burning fiery furnace
and spake
and said
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abednego
ye
servants of the most high God
come forth
and come hither. Then Shadrach
Meshach
and Abednego
came forth of the midst of the fire.
And spake — With a milder tone than before
God having abated the fire of his fury. Now he could at once acknowledge the
true God to be the most high above all gods
and the three worthies to be his
faithful servants.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Daniel》
Faith In The Face Of Fire (3:1-30)
INTRODUCTION
1. In Dan 1
we were introduced to three companions of Daniel: Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-Nego... a. Like Daniel
they were young men taken from Judah and trained to serve before the king - Dan 1:6-7 b. Like Daniel
they were blessed by God and impressed the king after their period of training - Dan 1:17-20 2. Dan 3 reveals more about the character of these three young men... a. In recounting an incident that has fascinated many
both young and old b. Like Dan 1
it illustrates the power of a strong faith in those who are young [This inspiring story
which I like to call "Faith In The Face OfFire" begins by describing...]
I. THEIR TRIAL
A. THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO IT... 1. Nebuchadnezzar's image
and his command to worship it - Dan 3:1-7
2. The accusation against Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego - Dan3:8-12
3. The king's threat of the fiery furnace - Dan 3:13-15 B. THE NATURE OF THEIR TRIAL... 1. To save their situation a. They had been promoted over the affairs of Babylon 3:12
b. They would lose their position as well as their lives 2. To sacrifice their conscience a. All they needed to do was to conform outwardly b. Of course
that would have meant disobedience to God - Exo20:4-5
C. WE MAY FACE SIMILAR TRIALS TODAY... 1. To save our situation
such as: a. Our popularity at school
by doing things our peers or teacher do not see wrong b. Our position at work
by doing that which our boss or company requires which may be illegal
unethical or immoral 2. To sacrifice our conscience a. It would be easy to conform outwardly
to "go along with the crowd" b. But our conscience would condemn us
and so would God [Likely we all have been tempted in some way like this. How did wereact? How should we have reacted? How did Shadrach
Meshach
andAbed-Nego react? Let's consider...] II. THEIR TESTIMONY
A. THEY DEMONSTRATED FAITH... 1. In the power of God - Dan 3:16-17 a. That God was able to deliver them from the fiery furnace b. If it was His will 2. In the will of God - Dan 3:18 a. If it was God's will not to deliver it
so be it! b. They would still not worship other gods
nor the gold image! B. THEY DETERMINED TO SERVE GOD NO MATTER WHAT... 1. Like Job in the midst of his affliction - Job 1:20-21; 13:15 2. Like Habakkuk who would praise God even in suffering - Hab 3:17-19
3. Like the apostles who rejoiced to suffer in His name - Ac 5:27-29
4. Like Polycarp who offered this prayer as he was being burned at the stake: "O Lord God Almighty
the Father of Thy beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ
through whom we have received the knowledge of Thee
the God of angels and powers and of all creation and of the whole race of the righteous
who live in Thy presence; "I bless Thee for that Thou hast granted me this day and hour
that I might receive a portion amongst the number of martyrs in the cup of Thy Christ unto resurrection of eternal life
both of soul and of body
in the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit. "May I be received among these in Thy presence this day
as a rich and acceptable sacrifice
as Thou didst prepare and reveal it beforehand
and hast accomplished it
Thou that art the faithful and true God. "For this cause
yea and for all things
I praise Thee
I bless Thee
I glorify Thee
through the eternal and heavenly High Priest
Jesus Christ
Thy beloved Son
through whom with Him and the Holy Spirit be glory both now and for the ages to come. Amen.' - From The Martyrdom Of Polycarp [Such examples are truly "Faith In The Face Of Fire"! This is what itmeans to have faith
trust
and commitment to the Lord. What about ourown personal trials at school or work? Have we been true to God
nomatter the cost? Finally
consider...] III. THEIR TRIUMPH
A. THE REST OF THE CHAPTER REVEALS... 1. How they were saved in the fiery furnace - Dan 3:19-25 2. How Nebuchadnezzar was led to bless the true God - Dan 3:26-39 B. CONSIDER WHAT THEIR TRIALS BROUGHT THEM... 1. A new sense of freedom! a. They entered bound
but were soon seen "loose
walking" - Dan 3:23-25 b. The very thing presumed to destroy them
enabled them to walk freely! c. So our own trials can be used to set us truly free! - Ja 1:2-4; Ro 5:3-5
2. A new source of fellowship! a. Note: There was a fourth person in the fire! - Dan 3:25 b. The identity of this fourth person is not certain 1) Some think it was an angel 2) Others believe it was a Christophany (a preincarnate appearance of Christ) c. Whichever
it suggested a closer communion and fellowship with God! d. So our trials can bring us closer to God 1) As explained by the author of Hebrews - He 12:5-11 2) As promised by Jesus Himself - Re 3:12
21; 7:13-17 3. A new opportunity for service! a. They were promoted to even higher positions! - Dan 3:30 b. Just as Joseph
who in his trials went: 1) From slave to steward 2) From prisoner to Pharaoh's second hand man! c. So our faithfulness in trials will lead to greater things! - Mt 25:21; Re 2:25-27 CONCLUSION
1. What a wonderful example of faith in these three young men! a. Committed to serving God
no matter the consequence b. Believing that God can bring deliverance
willing to accept death if He doesn't c. Demonstrating that faith in the face of fire can lead to greater things 2. Let's not overlook perhaps the most important outcome of this incident: glory to God! a. Note the praise rendered by Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon 3:28-29
b. So our faith (and works) should be to the praise of God - Mt 5:16 3. What kind of faith do we have? Is it like a.... a. Spare tire
used only in the case of an emergency? b. Wheelbarrow
easily upset and must be pushed? c. Bus
ridden only when it goes our way? May our faith be like that of Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-Nego
committed to serving the Lord and demonstrating "Faith In The Face OfFire"!
－－《Executable
Outlines》
03 Chapter 3
Verses 1-30
Verse 1
Nebuchadnezzar
the king
made an image of gold.
Gigantic Idols
We are not without historical confirmation of the narrative as to
the existence of gigantic idols of gold among the Babylonians. Herodotus writes
that in his day there was at Babylon an idol image of gold twelve cubics high;
and
what is still more remarkable
another authority
obviously speaking of the
same statue
mentions that every stranger was obliged to worship it before he
was allowed to enter the city. Diodorus Siculus mentions an image found in the
temple of Bolus forty feet high
which some think was the same as the golden
image of Nebuchadnezzar. Other images almost parallel in magnitude are
mentioned in history. The Colossus of Nero was one hundred and ten feet high.
The Colossus of Rhodes was seventy cubits high
and was considered one of the
seven wonders of the world. According to classic story
it took thirteen years
to construct this colossus; and on its being thrown down by an earthquake
so
great was its weight
it ploughed up the ground
and buried itself under the
ground. These historical facts show that such images were not unusual
and that
it was not impossible to construct such by ancient art. The Colossus of Nero
and of Rhodes were not
however
of gold; nor do we suppose that the image of
Nebuchadnezzar was of solid gold. It must have been either hollow
or made of
wood and covered with gold. It does not appear that the ancients made any but
small images of solid gold. The proportions of this image are out of order
unless we understand the height to include the thickness of the pedestal
which
it seems to me we should do. (W. A. Scott
D.D.)
Verse 2
Then Nebuchadnezzar
the king
sent to gather together the
princes
the governors.
Society
Society
the union of the many for the interest of all
seems ever
to have been a principal object of God’s care and protection. His providence
in the order of nature
is manifestly directed to gather men together
to bind
them to one another by the powerful bonds of mutual responsibility
and by the
ineffaceable sentiments of justice and humanity.
In the revealed or written law God has caused religion and society
to advance together. He has
in a manner
amalgamated them with each other. In
defining our obligations with respect to Himself
He has defined our mutual
engagements towards each other. All the precepts of the decalogue tend to the
general utility of mankind. The object of the Gospel is to make of all the
inhabitants of the world but one single people--of that people but one family;
and to imbue that family with but one single aspiration: “Holy Father
keep
through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me
that they may be one as
We are.” And we may assert of Jesus Christ in reference to Society
what He
asserted of Himself in reference to the ancient law
that He “did not come to
destroy
but to fulfil.” In fact
the intercourse which we carry on among
ourselves gives birth to four descriptions of duty essential to the happiness
of mankind
and to the tranquility of the social condition. Political duties
which are the foundations of society; magisterial duties
which are its
security; charitable duties
which are its bonds; conventional duties
which
are its elegancies. Now
it is religion alone that enforces and sanctifies
those duties
and
therefore
it alone really protects the interests of
society. Now
the error of all others prejudicial to society
and nevertheless
an error which is very common
is to imagine that the various conditions
existing in the world are no more than the result of chance or of
necessity--that it is not necessary to refer to Divine wisdom for the
explanation of the fact
that our wants once ascertained
it is perfectly
natural that we should seek in the industry of others for those resources we
cannot discover in ourselves--that this exchange of services has produced that
variety of conditions into which society is divided--and that independently of
Providence
nature has conferred authority upon the father of a family
strength given rule to kings
adulation created the influence of the great
the
public safety suggested the office of the magistrate
luxury and appetite have
been the parents of all the elegant arts. Would a father (and this is the title
by which He delights to be called) forget his children
and leave their future
prospects uncertain and wavering? No; and
therefore
religion displays to us
His providence directed to abundantly supplying our wants and even luxuries.
And how? Why
by means of that variety of social conditions
of which He alone
is the Author. For what other Being than He
who from the discord of the
elements called forth the harmony of the universe
could bind together and
incorporate so many opposing influences
and direct them towards one only end?
What other Being than He
who by means of a few grains of sand arrests the fury
of the waves
could discipline so many furious passions
and fix the invisible
limits which they cannot pass?
Nevertheless
I cannot deny that there is a specious objection
often urged to this fundamental truth; and that is
the great inequality of
conditions among mankind. “Wherefore
” it may be said
“wherefore is it that of
the same clay are fashioned vessels of honour and vessels of dishonour? Why
that immense distance that separates one man from another? Why so many
enjoyments and so much liberty on the one hand
and so many privations and so
much bondage on the other? Is God an accepter of persons?” What do you require
Him to do? That He should establish complete equality amongst us? Let us
suppose that He has done so
and nosy mark the consequences. We are all equally
independent
equally powerful
equally great
equally rich. And now tell us of
what advantage would that independence be to us. Should we be competent to
supply all our own requirements
and should we have no need to apply to others
to assist us in our necessity? Of what advantage would our power be to us? To
what use could we apply it? Of what advantage would our grandeur be to us?
Would it attract towards us one single particle of homage or of respect? Of
what advantage would our riches be to us? how could we employ them? That
complete equality once established even
would it last long? Would our ambition
continue to be satisfied? Would it patiently endure so many equals? Would it
not aspire to domination? And what restraint would be applicable to control it?
We should all be rivals
and continually in a state of civil war. That complete
equality once established
who amongst us would undertake to cultivate the
ground
to supply the most pressing wants
to procure the ordinary necessaries
of life? What law
what authority would there be to compel us to do so? We
should perish in consequence of our greatness and abundance; we should obtain
nothing but worthless superfluities while we were requiring actual food and
shelter. In short
to make men all equally fortunate is but another term for
rendering them all equally wretched. There must be a head of a state
that the
state may escape the infliction of many tyrants; there must be great men
“princes and governors
” to protect the weak; there must be warriors “and
captains
” to
defend the country; there must be magistrates
“judges
” “counsellors
and
sheriffs
” to prevent injustice
and to punish crime; there must be the rich
“the treasurers
” to employ labour and to reward it; there must be the poor and
needy
that the inconveniences which poverty entails may serve as a spur to
indolence and a warning to sloth. Society rests upon these different states as
upon buttresses that support it. Now
it would be perfectly superfluous in me
to prove to you that labour is the condition on which society exists--that in
certain respects even political commotions themselves are less dangerous than
apathy and sloth--that happiness consists in the mutual understanding which
should exist between various classes
who
acting in concert
and depending
upon each other for an interchange of good offices
meet together by different
roads which converge towards the same centre. Well
it is religion alone which
imparts a true impetus to that activity
by the peculiar stress it lays upon
the conscientious discharge of the various social duties--duties so peculiar to
each separate condition
that every individual is required personally to fulfil
them--so essential
that they will hold the foremost place in the examination
which at the last great day the Sovereign Judge will institute--so
indispensable
that their absence implies an absence of piety as well
since
“without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” Does human policy watch as
carefully over the interests of society? Does it rise up to protest with equal
sternness against those indifferent spectators who reap abundantly in the field
wherein they have not sown? Of the vast multitude of men of whom society is
composed
how few serve it from other motives than ambition or emolument! The
love of glory urges on the former
the thirst of riches influences the latter.
Fortunately nature condemns from their very birth the greater number to
struggle and to toil. And now observe the distinguishing glory of our holy
faith. Not content with enjoining the fulfilment of the various social duties
it sets forth as well the manner in which those duties should be fulfilled. Is
it no service to society that religion enjoins that the duties of the state be
discharged with intelligence?” Abound in knowledge and in all diligence.” And
who can fail to feel how fatal to the interests of society would be the
influence of those in power if destitute of the necessary knowledge? If they be
warriors
in spite of their valour and intrepidity
to what dangers would they
not expose their country? Or is it no service to society that religion enjoins
that the duties of the state be discharged with decorum? “Study to be quiet
and to do your own business
and to work with your own hands
that ye may walk
honestly towards them that are without.” Or does religion confer no benefit on
society when it enjoins
that the motive of action when we are serving our
fellow-men should be a desire to please God--“not slothful in business
fervent
in spirit
serving the Lord?” No other motive would be pure enough nor noble
enough to elevate us above human considerations and our own self-interest. Were
Christianity universally practised even there only where it is professed--were
all mankind to regulate their conduct by the maxims of the Gospel
and careful
to be guided by heavenly motives only; with God over all disposing everything
according to His wisdom
regulating everything by His will
animating
everything by His Spirit
enriching everything by His liberality
sanctifying
everything by His grace
sustaining everything by His power--at the sight of a
state of society like this
who would not be tempted to exclaim with Balaam
as
he contemplated the camp of Israel
“How goodly are thy tents
O Jacob
and thy
tabernacles
O Israel?” (J. Jessopp
M.A.)
Verse 4-5
To you it is commanded
O people.
The Importance of the Imperative
We cannot do without this word “command” in our religious
education. It is a Divine word. It would be instructive to trace the history of
that term
and to study its meaning in the various relations which it assumes.
The Bible is full of commandments; in Genesis the Lord commands
in the
Apocalypse there is a commanding voice; and Jesus
gracious
meek
patient
tender Jesus
commands--He says
“A new commandment give I unto you.” How
then
can Jesus give commands? Because of what He is. God can give commands
because He is God; and not only so
but being God
He knows human nature
and
can address it in its own terms
and according to the line of its own instincts
and necessities. When He thunders down His commands there is nothing that
offends the mental or moral constitution on which the commanding voice falls
with ineffable authority. The command awakens something that is already
slumbering in the nature. We must have our duties in the first instance in the
form of commands
but only God can tell what commands are not arbitrary
but
are natural
and operate in the line of instinct and Divine intention. What is
a commandment to one man is an easy task to another. Some hard and all but
impenetrable natures require to be commanded
stirred
roused; and others hear
the word of the Lord and spring to it in obedience that seems to understand it
all ere it be fully spoken. Many have sweetened the bitterness of their lot by
an ample and proper use of the promises who have forgotten that every promise
has behind it or near it a corresponding command. The imperative mood has never
been allowed to fall into disuse in the Bible; it is
“Son
give me thine
heart”; it is
“Love one another”; it is
“Hear my words and do them.” We draw
the line
then
as between human authority and Divine sovereignty
as between
an arbitrary decree and a command that is in harmony with the wisdom and love
of God
and in harmony with the peculiarity of human constitution and capacity.
(Joseph Parker
D.D.)
Verse 5
The sound of the cornet
flute
harp.
Eastern Musical Instruments
The instruments enumerated here are mostly still in use in the
present time
but some of them have become obsolete. The cornet is a brass
trumpet manufactured in the country
and used in martial music. There are
several kinds of flute
both single and double. The harp is no longer in use
nor the “psaltery
” which is a similar instrument of the same kind; they have
been replaced by the ood
which gives a richer sound
and is more portable. The
“sackbut” is a tamboora
a sort of guitar
of various shapes and sizes; in its
most complete and perfect form it is three feet nine inches long
has ten
strings of fine wire
and forty-seven steps. It is played with a plectrum
and
is often inlaid with mother-of-pearl and valuable woods. It is often
however
of smaller size and less costly materials. The “dulcimer” is a kanoon
or
sander. The “kanoon” is the original of our piano
both being probably derived
from the lyre and the harp
whence the piano was first called a harpsichord.
This instrument consists of a box two inches in depth
and of an irregular
form
its greatest length being thirty-nine inches
and its width sixteen.
There are only twenty-four notes
and
like the piano
each note has three
strings
which are tuned with a key. The sounding-board lies under the strings
and is perforated
and covered with fish-skin where the bridge rests. The
performer lays the instrument on his knees
and strikes the chords with the
forefinger of each hand
to which is fastened a plectrum of horn. Another form
of this instrument
called “santur
” is a double kanoon
and comes still nearer
to our piano; the strings are of wire
and only double; they are struck with
wooden hammers held in the hand. When used in a procession
this instrument is
suspended from the neck by means of a cord. (H. J. Van Lennep
D.D.)
The Religion of Ceremonial
Are all the coloured garments so many visions of beauty? Is there
some strain religious in the blare of brazen trumpets and the throb of military
drums? Most of the people that we see gathered together around great sights
would gladly be at home
listening to the voice of child
or friend
or bird.
Do external images fill the soul? is it enough to have a painted God? What
wonder if we begin by worshipping things that are seen? That course would seem
to be natural
and would seem to be able to justify itself by sound reasoning
of a preliminary kind. Who could not in ignorance of other deity worship the
sun? Sometimes he seems to be almost God! How multitudinous are his phases
how
manifold the apocalypse within which he shows his uncounted riches; now so
pale
as if he were weary
an eye half closed in sleep long needed
long
delayed; and then in full pomp
every beam
so to say
alive
and the whole
heaven amazed and delighted at this vision of glory
as if hidden within that
fount of flame and heat there lay ten thousand times ten thousand summers
and
ten thousand times ten thousand purple autumns
with all their largesses of
fruit and flowers and benison
for the sustenance and the nutrition of men;
then lost among the clouds
where
indeed
he seems to be disporting himself in
painting a thousand academies by one look of his eyes; see how he fills the
clouds and seems to shape them
or fall into their shape
making them burn and
sparkle and glitter
and invests them with unimagined and untransferable
colours; a marvellous
glorious sight! Who could not uncover his head in
presence of such glory
and say
Surely this is the gate at least that opens
upon the palaces of God. To worship nature would seem in certain stages of
development to be right. God made it; God made the green grass and the blushing
flower; the great hills
stairways to heights which man never scaled; God made
the valleys and the mountains; and what are these fountains saying to the
hearing ear? Only the true listener can tell; the vulgar man hears nothing in
that splash of water
but the refined soul hears in it melody and song
music
religious
and hint of other music that might please the ear of God. As we grow
in wisdom
in capacity
in understanding
in sympathy
we close our eyes upon
the universe
and say it is no more to us an image that should be sought unto
for purposes of worship; but we see within
by a Divinely directed
introspection
the true altar
the true sanctuary
the true centre of
acceptable worship. Thus we grow from the natural to the spiritual
and when we
have obtained the measure of our growth we say
“God is a Spirit”; if we still
preserve the image
it is as we should preserve a symbol
that was helpful to
us before we saw the thing signified. If our religion is in colour
form
aesthetic attitude and motion
our religion will surely come to nought; but if
our piety live in eternity
if it feed itself upon the almightiness and the
grace of God
as shown in the Cross of Christ
then it will abide for ever. (Joseph
Parker
D.D.)
O king
live for ever.
The Golden Image Set Up
These last words
“O king
live for ever
” were designed by those
who uttered them as the expression of the most gross and servile adulation
and
they were doubtless regarded by the monarch to whom they were addressed as the
spontaneous effusion of a reverential and devoted loyally.
I. First
then
THE WORDS OF THIS SALUTATION
“O king
live for ever
” were
in the mouth of the Chaldeans
manifestly
uttered with a twofold purpose; to dissemble the malignity of the courtiers
and to flatter the conceit
if not to impose on the credulity of the king. Now
we do not take upon ourselves to determine whether these Chaldeans had any
notion at all of a state of existence after death
or if so
what those notions
were; but we can hardly conceive that those who believed the Godhead to be of
the substance of silver and of gold could have any reasonable conception of the
spiritual essence
the immaterial
intellectual part of man. Judging from this
they could have hoped for nothing more
and could have looked for nothing
better after death
than to be resolved into their primal element of dust
and
become even as the brutes that perish. Their salutation
therefore
must have
been the climax of absurdity
because it bare on the face of it what was to
them a perfect impossibility--the violation of a fundamental and universal law
of our being. They knew that the king could not
in the course of nature
“live
for ever”; they knew
that as the ancient monarchs of the nations lay down
every one in his own house
so Nebuchadnezzar’s ample territory must ere long
contract itself to the narrow coffin. But they flattered the proud
in order to
betray the innocent; they deified a bloodstained and capricious tyrant
that
they might doom to death three unoffending strangers and captives
whom they
hated. Now
this is a true portraiture of the world in every age. It exalts the
oppressor
and tramples on the innocent. We may look upon Nebuchadnezzar
then
in this stage of his career
as a consummate specimen of the favourite of this
world
the courted
the envied
the admired
the adored. The universe lay
prostrate at his feet. This
then
is a specimen and a sample of the world’s
lie. It promises the ungodly what it never can bestow
and threatens the
servants of the Lord with the loss of that which it cannot take away; so that
while it deludes Nebuchadnezzar into the infatuation of believing that he
because he was a monarch over men
might become a manufacturer of gods
it
binds the servants of the one true and living God hand and foot
and casts them
into the devouring flame
because they fear not those who can only kill the
body
but rather fear Him who is the arbiter of life and death
and who
after
He hath killed
hath power to cast into hell.
II. And now let us
turn from the humbled king of Babylon
TO TRACE THE PRACTICAL BEARING OF THE SUBJECT UPON
OURSELVES. True it is
that in our own age and country
persecution for religion’s sake hath ceased
and with it the miracles that of
old wrought strange deliverance
and the spiritual consolations and supports
that suspended the laws of nature
and sustained the confessor beneath the
scourge and the martyr amidst the flames: but there is no change in the enmity
of the flesh against the Spirit
or in the barrel of the world to God. True it
is
that the oppressor hath no longer at command the burning fiery furnace
nor
the lions’ fearful den; but the evil one still does what he can
though he can
no longer do what he would. If the weapon of the world is no longer cruelty
it
is contumely; if it is no longer torture
it is ridicule. “Live for ever
”
these words are a memorial of our own immortality
and they should call upon
every one to consider
on the principles laid down in Holy Writ
whether he who
is born for eternity is also living for it. Now we
like these intrepid and
devoted children of the faithful Abraham
cannot at one and the same time bow
down before the golden idol and adore the living God; we must be equally
decided in our service with them. “Examine yourselves
” then
“whether ye be in
the faith; prove your own selves.” (T. Dale
M.A.)
They serve not thy gods
nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
The Golden Image
In last chapter we read of
an image which Nebuchadnezzar saw in vision. In this chapter our attention is
directed to an actual image which that monarch erected in honour of his gods.
This image was made of gold. We cannot suppose the whole structure to have
consisted entirely of that metal. Rich as Nebuchadnezzar was
neither he nor
any other prince possessed so much disposable wealth as would have been
required in order to construct a figure of solid gold of equal dimensions with
that mentioned in this passage. We should suppose that the structure consisted
of a pedestal or shaft surmounted by an image
that the image properly so
called was made of gold
that the pedestal was formed of some baser material
and that the height refers solely to the elevation of the image from the
ground
and not to its size. This image “was set up in the plain of Dura in the
province of Babylon.” Some suppose that Dura was the name of an extensive plain
in the neighbourhood of the capital. Others
of high authority in Scriptural
geography
are of opinion that it was some enclosure within the city adjacent
to the temple of Bolus. From the passage itself we would be disposed to infer
that it must have been without the city and at some distance
for if it was
within the walls of Babylon there was no need of stating
as is here done
that
it was “in the province of Babylon.” Various opinions have been entertained
respecting the end that Nebuchadnezzar had in view in the erection of this
image. Some are of opinion that he wished to claim for himself a place among
the gods
and that the image was erected as the outward symbol of his
deification. Nebuchadnezzar was evidently an aspiring man. We see no reason to suppose
that Nebuchadnezzar intended by this image
publicly
avowedly
and formally
to claim Divine honours for himself. If such had been his intention
it would
doubtless
have been distinctly announced in the proclamation by which his
subjects were enjoined to give it worship. The refusal of the three children to
worship the image is spoken of by their accusers as a refusal to worship the
king’s gods. It is thus apparent from the testimony of all the parties
concerned in this matter
that the image was erected in honour of the king’s
gods. In all ages
and in all lands
whose political history is known to us
religion has been degraded into an engine of state and an instrument of
tyranny. Hence professed atheists have affirmed that religion is a mere invention
of rulers to hold mankind in subjection. This assertion is self-destructive The
fact that rulers made use of religion as a means of upholding and strengthening
their government
evidently implies that religion had a previous existence
and
that they had recourse to it as an instrument of policy on account of the great
influence which they had perceived it to possess over the minds of men.
National uniformity in matters of religion has ever been the idol of
politicians. Conformity to the established religion has been one of the most
common tests of loyalty. There can be little doubt that in setting up this
image Nebuchadnezzar had a similar end in view. It was not erected simply as a
mark of reverence to his idols
but also
we may conceive
as a political
expedient to strengthen and consolidate his government
by promoting uniformity
of religion among his subjects. To him it would probably appear that this step
was not only warranted by the ordinary reasons in behalf of uniformity
but
demanded by the peculiar state of the Babylonian empire. A great part of that
empire had been newly acquired. It was composed of many nations
Jews
Egyptians
Moabites
Ammonites
Syrians
Edomites. Posts under his government
and places in his army would be held by persons from all these countries. To
unite a kingdom so variously composed
and obtain the permanent ascendancy over
countries so newly acquired
nothing would appear more likely than to bring all
his subjects to be of one religion. The religion
whether of an individual or a
nation
is the most permanent link of connection between the present and the
past. Religion exerts a powerful influence in the formation of character; so
long
therefore
as these varied nations retained a diversity of opinions
they
would never be thoroughly amalgamated into one empire. The image being erected
Nebuchadnezzar commanded all in authority under him
princes
governors
captains
judges
treasurers
sheriffs
and all the rulers of the provinces
to
come to his dedication. Being convened
“An herald cried aloud
To you it is
commanded
O people
nations
and languages
that at what time ye hear the
sound of the cornet
flute
harp
sackbut
psaltery
dulcimer
and all kinds of
music
ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king
hath set up: and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be
cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.” In this proclamation there are
two things: First
The command to fall down and worship the image; which
extended to all persons specified
without exception. Secondly
The penalty
denounced against such as refused. Viewed in the light of the Divine law
this
proclamation was most tyrannical. It was a violent outrage on the most sacred
rights of human beings. But by this proclamation
Nebuchadnezzar constituted
himself supreme dictator in religion to his whole realm; thereby he usurped the
prerogatives of the Godhead
by interposing his authority between the
conscience of the creature and the will of his Creator. To command his subjects
to fall down and worship the image
was to convert law
the bulwark of liberty
into an engine of oppression. But how much more odious and detestable does his
conduct appear when we think of the dreadful penalty annexed to the
proclamation! In this case
penal laws are always criminal
in the sight of
God. It is always wrong to attempt to propagate religion by force. It is
contrary to the nature of religion. It is contrary to the nature of man. It is
most foolish and inexpedient in point of policy. To attempt to propagate
religion by force is to make might the standard of right
which is opposed to
man’s nature as a reasonable being
and to the worship of God as a reasonable
service. And what could be more foolish? It is attempting an impossibility.
Force cannot reach the mind. Force may make cowards
it may make dissemblers
it may make hypocrites and apostates
but it never did
and never can make a
convert. What
therefore
can be more inexpedient in a government than to persecute
men for adhering to their religion? Is not the success of such a measure the
memorial of a nation’s ignominy? For
when persons are thus induced to fall
down and worship what they believe to be wrong
do they not proclaim that they
are sacrificing their integrity
that they are violating their consciences
that they are time-servers and apostates
and that they are men in whose
principles no dependence can be placed
when interest and duty are disjoined.
The law enacted by Nebuchadnezzar was most tyrannical
most unreasonable in
itself
and most inexpedient in point of policy. The command of Nebuchadnezzar
met with the most prompt compliance. What a lamentable spectacle was this
to
see the rulers of a great nation bending before tyranny--to see rational and
immortal beings doing homage to a figure formed of inanimate materials--to see
the creatures of God worshipping a creation of man! And yet
with three
exceptions
the whole assembled mass fall down and worship it as one man. The
thrre exceptions were the excellent companions of Daniel
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego. Unawed by the presence of the king
unseduced by the terrors of
the burning fiery furnace
they refused to fall down and worship the golden
image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. This act was warranted and
demanded by the moral law. In the second commandment it is written
“Thou shalt
not make unto thee any graven image
” etc. In the bustle of that
extensive scene
the king of Babylon saw not their neglect. But despotical
kings are always encompassed by minions
who
in such a case
are forward to
act the part of spies and informers. “Then certain Chaldeans came near and
accused the Jews.” Incapable of accounting for their conduct on any known
principle of court politics
they endeavoured by artful insinuations to
represent their conduct to the king in the most odious light
Nebuchadnezzar
probably felt proud of the fine spectacle which the plains of Dura that day
presented. His spirit
we may conceive
rose within him with the swell of the
music and the plaudits of the worshippers. His pride would be flattered by the
reflection that he was the lord of this assembly of rulers. This information
therefore
came upon him like a thunderbolt out of a cloudless sky. And how did
these Jews act when their God is thus insulted
and the alternative imposed
upon themselves of bowing to the image or burning in the furnace? They quitted
themselves like men. Many valuable lessons may be deduced from this passage
particularly in regard to the manner in which we should adopt
and the spirit
in which we should adhere to a profession of religion. There are few things in
which men act with greater frivolity than in regard to the solemn matter of
making a profession of religion. There are many who fall in with whatever is
most popular. Others adhere to whatever is most fashionable among the upper
classes of society
and would rather walk on the broad path of destruction with
fashionable men than on the narrow way of life without them. How often have human
laws enjoined what the Divine law prohibits? How often have God’s people been
persecuted because they were unwilling to render unto Caesar the things which
are God’s? There are seasons when it is no easy matter to obey God rather than
man. It may bring ruin on our fortunes and reproach upon our names. It may
expose us to a violent and untimely death. But even in these cases we ought to
surrender our lives rather than part with our conscientious convictions. In
such an emergency natural courage will “faint and fail.” The formalist will
become a coward; the hypocrite will become an apostate; and no man can stand
securely but he who has confidence in the Divine character
and on the ground
of this confidence is able to resign himself implicitly to the Divine
management. (William White.)
Pious Youth
First we have a state
religion persecuting the people for their religious opinions
and threatening
them with death if they do not comply with its decrees. The second thing that
strikes us is the measures taken to popularise the king’s religion
and
persuade the people to embrace it. These measures were two-fold. They were
seductive and minatory. They were directed to the sensual tastes and natural
fears of man. If the voluptuous swells of music from all kinds of instruments
could not cause the people to fail down and worship Bel
why then the furnace
was to do its work. And have we nothing like this in our times? The king
desired these young men to conform to his decree
but did not prove to them the
truth of his religion. There were many flattering arguments which these young
men might have urged against the conviction of their earlier education
and in
favour of complying with the king’s command
which they did not urge
nor even
seem to have allowed to have so much as a moment’s consideration. They might
have said--but they did not so say--that it was their duty to obey the king
and worship the image
for thiswas the established religion of the empire. They
chose to obey God rather than man
God alone is Lord of the conscience. These
young men might have urged also--but they did not do so--that it was most
expedient to bow down and worship the image. Mark their situation. They were
captives in the hands of an absolute Oriental monarch
who could take off their
heads at any minute
and no one ever ask why or wherefore. They were
moreover
advanced to places of power
where they were able
perhaps
to do many kind
things for their suffering countrymen. They remembered their old Hebrew
Catechism
which had taught them that God had said to them
“Thou shalt not bow
down to any idol gods
nor worship them.” It is plainly taught in God’s Holy
Word that right is always true expediency. It may not seem to be so; but it
will always be found so in the end. Nor did these three Hebrew youths urge that
they were compelled to obey the king’s commandment because they were under
great personal obligations to him. He had shown them much kindness
and heaped
honours upon them; but their duty to God was stronger than gratitude to the king.
Employers
parents
teachers
and benefactors may lay you under great personal
obligations; but you must follow your conscience in the matter of religion. “He
that loveth father or mother more than me cannot be my disciple.” Nor did they
urge that they would be out of fashion
and marked for their singularity
if
they did not worship this golden image. Singularity assumed for the sake of
being singular or famous is contemptible
and indicates a weak mind; but to be
singular as a necessary result of not sinning as others do
is worthy of a
Christian. When duty requires us to be singular
then we must not hesitate. Do
not mind that the multitude are against you
if God be with you. “If sinners
entice thee
” God says
“consent not.” “Follow not the multitude to do evil.”
Nor did these young men urge the terrible penalty to which they were exposed by
disobeying the king’s commandment. Is there any young man here who is saying to
himself
“I would become a Christian; I wish to save my soul; but if I do
I must
give up such and such pleasures; I must shut up my shop on Sunday
and quit my
lake rides on the Lord’s day?” And what if it does cost you all these pleasures
to save your soul? Would it not be better to be thrown into the fiery furnace
than to have both body and soul cast into hell for ever? “What shall it profit
a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” Your privileges are
greater than those of Shadrach
Meshach
and Abednego. The Gospel has unfolded
to you its grace
glory
and riches. How then can you escape if you neglect so
great salvation? But why
think you
did these young men refuse to obey the
royal decree?
1. They could not obey it because of the force of their religious
impressions.
2. Consistency of character and of profession forbade them to worship
idols. They were Hebrews. They had avowed Jehovah to be their God. They could
not obey the king without denying the God of their fathers. What satisfaction
would it have been
think you
to their pious parents
who in their homes at
Jerusalem had taken so much pains to instruct them in the law and in the
worship of the true God
could they have seen how firmly their sons adhered to
the principles they had implanted with so many fears
and tears
and prayers?
Never allow yourselves to imbibe any creed or do anything inconsistent with
your mirth
education
privileges
and destiny.
3. These Hebrew youths refused
because they were sustained by the
hope of deliverance. “When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee;
and through the rivers
they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through
the fire thou shalt not be burned
neither shall the flames kindle upon thee.”
They believed that God would make all things work together for their good. The
special lessons from the fiery furnace of Dura to the young men of the
nineteenth century are:
I. IN THE COURTEOUS BUT FIRM REFUSAL OF
THESE HEBREW
YOUTHS
WE HAVE A
MODEL FOR THEM IN LESS PAINFUL CIRCUMSTANCES. When God’s
providence calls for martyrs
then He will give grace sufficient for the
crisis. The principle
however
must be well settled
that if the day comes
when you are required to give up your liberty or religious freedom
or perish
in the field of battle or at the stake
you would firmly prefer the latter. The
prior point
in our times of freedom from persecution
is to become the true
followers of Christ. There are not wanting authors and public teachers who
argue that these young men should have complied with the wishes of the king
because the religion of Bel was the established religion of the empire. As
loyal subjects
they should have embraced the same religion that was professed
by their king. This is the old worm-eaten effete doctrine
that the government
or the king is the head of the church
and the keeper of the consciences of the
people. Such is not the teaching of the Bible. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ is
not of this world; nor has He given to any human power the authority of
enacting laws for Him. The Scriptures are the only rule of faith. Mormonism prevails
in Utah; if I go to the Salt Lake
must I turn Mormon? Brahminism is the
established religion of certain parts of India and China
must the English and
Americans that go thither become Hindoos? If you live in Constantinople
must
you
therefore
become a Mohammedan? If you live in Paris
is it right for you
to become an Infidel
Papist
or Socialist; or if in Germany
a Pantheist or a
Protestant
simply because any one of these may be the established or
prevailing creed around you? It is monstrous to suppose that a man’s duty to
his Creator is to be decided by any such standard as this. The only authority
binding on the conscience is the authority of God. It is the most potent
element of social or individual life. It may be tossed upon the billows of popular
fury
or east into the seven-fold heated furnace of persecution
or be trampled
to the dust by the iron heel of despotism; but it is absolutely imperishable.
“Hers are the eternal years of God.” Nor can those die who fall in her great
cause.
II. AS CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN YOU HAVE
THEREFORE
THE GREAT CONSOLATION OF KNOWING THAT
THE GREATEST EFFORTS OF THE MIGHTIEST MEN ARE UTTERLY UNAVAILING AGAINST THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. All the power of
earth and hell cannot burn out one single truth from God’s word; nor can all
the popes and assemblies
cabinets
and armies on the globe add one single
doctrine or precept to the Bible necessary to salvation.
III. Learn then
and though this lesson has been taught before
I must repeat it
that true
expediency is true principle. “The path of duty is the path of safety.”
“Honesty is the best policy.” It was so with Joseph. It was so with Daniel and
his three friends. It has always been so with the great and the good. Whatever
God calls you to do or to suffer
fear not to obey. He will be with you in
whatever He calls you to. If He calls you to enter the fiery furnace
hesitate
not one moment. He will be with you
and either sustain you or deliver you
or
make it conducive to your higher and future good. (W. A.
Scott
D.D.)
Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden
Image
In the second chapter
which immediately precedes the history of the golden idol
we have an account
of a prophetic vision granted to Nebuchadnezzar
and in which were foreshadowed
the destinies of the four great secular empires whose foundation succeeded the
foundation of the kingdom of Israel
and preceded the foundation of
Christianity. Now in this vision it is to be remarked that these empires were
exhibited to the king under the guise of a great statue or image. And explaining
the meaning of this strange and tremendous apparition
Daniel addresses the
king thus: “Thou art this head of gold.” Now there is a circumstance in the
description of the golden idol set up in the plain of Dura in the next chapter
which has greatly puzzled commentators
and has been used by some critics to
throw discredit on the whole narrative. This circumstance is the utter
disproportion of the idol. Assuming it to have been a human figure
how can we
imagine a statue representing a human figure sixty cubits high and only six
cubits broad? a statue
the height of which is exactly ten times its breadth?
Now to me
this monstrous disproportion seems at once to hint at a different
conception of what the idol was. I believe it to have been a representation of
the image the king had shortly before beheld in his prophetic dream. But
mark
you
not of the whole of that image. The other parts of the terrible apparition
had been explained by Daniel as denoting other kingdoms less exalted by nature
less glorious in appearance than that of the Babylonian monarch. He was “the
head of gold.” Accordingly the image he set up in the plain of Dura was
I
conceive
a representation not of the whole image of the vision
but simply of
the head of gold
elevated on a pedestal of the same metal
tall enough to
exhibit it completely to the whole multitude convened to worship it. The image
of the plain of Dura was
in other words
the image of the prophetic dream
so
far as it concerned Nebuchadnezzar’s self; it was the representation of himself
as the mightiest sovereign the world had ever seen
or ever was to see; and the
adoration he demanded for it was a deification of mere worldly power and
grandeur in his own person. This hypothesis will appear less startling when we
recollect that Oriental kings were often--indeed
generally--considered as
emanations from the Deity
incarnations of His attributes; and were approached
with exactly the same forms of adoration as were used to the Deity they
represented or embodied. And in this case
the representation of the king’s
superhuman power and grandeur might actually seem to be authorised by the
prophetic vision from which Nebuchadnezzar had adopted it. Viewed in this
light
we can at once perceive why all the great officials of the empire
the
princes
captains
judges
sheriffs and all the rulers of the provinces were
assembled to its dedication--of the people at large nothing is said--and why
such an extraordinary and terrific punishment was denounced on those who might
refuse to prostrate themselves before it. The official who would not adore the
consecrated representation of his own monarch’s power and place in the history
of the world might justly
according to Oriental notions
be regarded as a
traitor. Nothing but disloyalty could refuse the worship demanded. Why should
he not display to all his officers of state the disclosures made to him by the
Divinity and explained by the master of the magicians? Why not require Divine
honours to be paid to the Divinely revealed representation of his own great
place In the destinies of the world--in the history of the human race? Assuming
this conception of the connection between the vision of the second chapter and
the idol of the third chapter to be correct
how significant a hint does it not
give us of the propensity of the human heart to turn even God’s benefits into
poison! Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
like Pharaoh of Egypt
had been made the
recipient of superhuman knowledge
though on a far grander scale than Pharaoh.
He had been favoured with a disclosure of the destinies not of one single
kingdom
but of all secular power whatever
previous to the advent of the
Christ. But
instead of giving heed to the impressive warning
instead of a
salutary lesson of humility
a conviction of the nothingness of all mere
worldly power
he had been so puffed up with being told that he was the first
and the greatest of those temporal powers that were so soon to be destroyed by
the great spiritual Power
as to convert the very emblem of warning into an emblem
of daring and blasphemous impiety. God interposes by miracle
not in every case
where such interposition might seem desirable
but only in cases peculiar and
critical--cases which mark epochs and decide great destinies. Now such an one
was pre-eminently the case of the three youths in the burning fiery furnace.
God’s people had been completely subjugated by the mighty autocrat of Babylon.
Had the three Jews perished in the furnace destined to annihilate all who would
not pay Divine honour to the embodiment of human power
the cause of God might
perhaps
have been lost; His people might have been so discouraged that not a
remnant would have maintained the truth. Here
then
was a worthy case for
Divine interposition.
1. Individually we learn from the behaviour of the three Jews before
the terrible King of Babylon
that we have nothing to do with expediency when
principle is at stake. How plausibly might they not have reasoned themselves
into compliance had expediency been consulted! They were no politicians. They
simply asked
Hath God forbidden His people to bow down and worship idols
or
hath He not? If He hath
no reasoning can make that right which He hath said is
wrong. And as the command was plain and direct
they felt their obedience to it
must be plain and direct. Let this magnificent example of heroic steadfastness
in the path of duty teach us that simple but difficult lesson how to say NO when we are tempted
or threatened in order to make us do what we are aware is wrong. The man who
has learned that lesson can go through the fiery furnace of this world
unscorched
unharmed
without even the smell of its flame passing on him; for
One shall walk beside him who has also overcome temptation--One whose form
shall be indeed “the form of the Son of God!”
2. The same considerations apply with added force and on a grander
scale to the case of Christ’s Church on earth and every part thereof. The
history of that church is one of the strangest and saddest ever written by
human passion and human error on the course of time. How the very consolations
of God
the sweet ordinances of the Gospel
have
by the cunning of God’s
adversary and the fierce narrowmindedness of man
been transformed into whips
of scorpions
with which loveless zeal and arrogant pride have scourged
generation after generation
they know too well who know anything of the story
of Christianity. (C. P. Reichel
D. D.)
Is it True
If you would become
followers of the Lord Jesus Christ it will be well for you to count the cost.
It was our Lord’s custom to bid men consider what his service might involve.
His frequent declaration was
“He that taketh not his cross
and followeth
after me
is not worthy of me.” If we count upon ease in this warfare we shall
be grievously disappointed; we must fight if we would reign. One reason of this
is that the world
like Nebuchadnezzar
expects us all to follow its fashions
and to obey its rules. The god of this world is the devil
and he claims
implicit obedience. Sin in some form or other is the image which Satan sets up
and requires us to serve. The tyranny of the world is fierce and cruel
and
those who will not worship its image will find that the burning fiery furnace
has not yet cooled. The world’s flute
harp
sackbut
and psaltery must sound
for you in vain. A nobler music must charm your ears and make you bid defiance
to the world’s threatenings. The true believer’s stand must be taken
and he
must determine that he will obey God rather than man. The love of the world and
the love of God will no more mix than oil and water. To attempt a fusion of
these two is to bring confusion into your heart and life. As Shadrach
Meshach
and Abednego said to Nebuchadnezzar
so will true believers say to the world:
“We will not serve thy gods
nor worship the golden image which thou hast set
up.” Now
if you can refuse to sin
if you can refuse even to parley with
iniquity
it is well with you. If you stand out for truth and righteousness
your conscience will approve your position
and this in itself is no small comfort.
It will be an ennobling thing for your manhood to have proved its strength
and
it will tend to make it stronger. Peradventure some of you may say
“We will
not bow before the gods of the world
but we will worship God only; we will
follow Christ
and none beside.” This is a brave resolve; you will never regret
it if you stand to it even to the end. We are glad to hear you speak thus; but
is it true? “Is it true?” It is very well to profess
but “Is it true?”
I. Follower of
Christ
be ready for the question “Is it true?”
1. Do not reckon to live unnoticed
for a fierce light beats about
every Christian. You will be sure to meet with some one or other whom you
respect or fear
who will demand of you
“Is it true?” Nebuchadnezzar was a
great personage to these three holy men; he was their despotic lord
their
employer
their influential friend. In his hands rested their liberties and
their lives. He was
moreover
their benefactor
for he had set them in high
office in his empire. Many young Christians are tried with this temptation.
Many worldly advantages may be gained by currying favour with certain ungodly
men who are like little Nebuchadnezzars; and this is a great peril. They are
bidden to do wrong by one who is their superior
their employer
their patron.
Now comes the test. Will they endure the trial hour? They say that they can
endure it
but is it true? Nebuchadnezzar spoke in peremptory tones
as if he
could not believe that any mortal upon the earth could have the presumption to
dispute his will. He cannot conceive that one employed under his patronage will
dare to resist his bidding; he demands indignantly
“Is it true?” He will not
believe it! He must have been misinformed! You will meet with persons so
accustomed to be obeyed that they think it hard that you do not hasten to carry
out their wishes. The infidel father says to his boy
“John
is it true that
you go to a place of worship against my wishes? How dare you set up to be
better than your father and mother?” Often ungodly men profess that they do not
believe in the conversion of their fellow workmen. Is it true
John
that you
have become religious? A pretty fellow! Is it true? They insinuate that you are
off your head
that your wits have gone wool-gathering
and that you are the
dupe of fanatics. You will not be able to go through life without being
discovered; a lighted candle cannot be hid. There is a feeling among some good
people that it will be wise to be very reticent
and hide their light under a
bushel. They intend to lie low all the war time
and come out when the palms
are being distributed. They hope to travel to Heaven by the back lanes
and
skulk into glory in disguise. How was it Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego came
up to the front when the king’s command was given? They could not consistently
keep back. They were public men
set over provinces
and it was needful that
they should set an example. Rest assured
my fellow Christians
that at some
period or other
in the most quiet lives
there will come a moment for open decision.
Days will come when we must speak out or prove traitors to our Lord and to His
truth.
2. To be fully prepared to answer the enquiry of opposers
act upon
sound reasons. Be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you with
meekness and fear. Be able to show why you are a believer in God
why you
worship the Lord Jesus Christ
why you trust in His atoning sacrifice
and why
you make Him the regulator of your life. Ask the Lord to help you to go to work
with Bible reasons at your fingers’ ends; for those are the best of reasons
and bear a high authority about them; so that when the question is put to you
“Is it true?” you may be able to say
“Yes
it is true
and this is why it is
true. At such a time God revealed Himself to me in His grace
and opened my
blind eyes to see things in a true light.” When the mind is established
the
heart is more likely to be firm. Know your duty and the arguments for it
and
you are the more likely to be steadfast in the hour of temptation.
3. Next
take care that you always proceed with deep sincerity.
Superficial profession soon ends in thorough apostasy. Only heart-work will
stand the fire. We need a religion which we can die with.
4. This being done
accustom yourself to act with solemn
determination before God on every matter which concerns morals and religion.
Many very decent people are not self-contained
but are dependent upon the
assistance of others. They are like the houses which our London builders run up
so quickly in long rows; if they did not help to keep each other up they would
all ramble clown at once
for no one of them could stand alone. How much there
is of joint-stock-company religion
wherein hypocrites and formalists keep each
other in countenance. Where things are not quite so bad as this
yet there is
too little personal establishment in the faith. So many people have a “lean-to”
religion. If their minister
or some other leading person were taken away
their back wall would be gone
and they would come to the ground. We have need
nowadays to set our face as a flint against sin and error. We must purpose in
our own heart what we will do
and then stand to our purpose. Happy he who
dares to be in the right with two or three. Happier still is he who will stand
in the right
even if the choice two or three should quit it. He who can stand
alone is a man indeed; every man of God should be such.
5. Once more
when your determination is formed act in the light of
eternity. Do not judge the situation by the king’s threat and by the heat of
the burning fiery furnace
but by the everlasting God and the eternal life
which awaits you. Let not flute
harp
and sackbut fascinate you
but hearken
to the music of the glorified. Men frown at you
but you can see God smiling on
you
and so you are not moved. It may be that you all be discharged from your
situation unless you can wink at wrong and be the instrument of injustice. Be
content to lose place rather than to lose peace. Now I am sure that these good
men believed in immortality
or they would never have dared the violence of the
flames. These brave men dared the rage of an infuriated tyrant because they saw
Him who is invisible
and bad respect unto the recompense of the reward. You
also must come to live a great deal in the future
or else you will miss the
chief fountain of holy strength. God make us champions of His holy cause!
Heroism can only be wrought in us by the Holy Ghost. Humbly yielding your whole
nature to the power of the Divine Sanctifier
you will be true to your Lord
even to the end.
II. But now
secondly
IF YOU CANNOT SAY
THAT IT IS TRUE
WHAT
THEN? If
standing before the heart-searching God at this time
you cannot say
“It is true
” how should you act? If you cannot say that you
take Christ’s cross
and are willing to follow Him at all hazards
then hearken
to me and learn the truth.
1. Do not make a profession at all. If it be not true that you
renounce the world’s idols
do not profess that it is so. It is unnecessary
that a man should profess to be what he is not; it is a sin of supererogation
a superfluity of naughtiness.
2. If you have made a profession
and yet it is not true
be honest
enough to quit it; for it can never be right to keep up a fraud. A false
profession is a crime
and to persevere in it is a presumptuous sin. Will you
then
go back to your old ways?
3. I am sure you will if you cannot answer the question of my text;
but remember
that in so doing you will have to belie your consciences. Many of
you who are not firm in your resolves yet know the right. You will never be
able to get that light out of your eyes which has shone into them from
God’s word. You can never
again sin so cheaply as others; it will be wilfulness and obstinacy in your
case.
4. Remember also that by yielding to the fear of man you are demeaning
yourself. There shall come a day when the man that was ashamed of Christ will
himself be ashamed; he will wonder where he can hide his guilty head.
5. If your avowal of faith in Jesus and opposition to sin is not true
you had better withdraw it and be silent; for by a groundless pretence you will
dishonour the cause of God
and cause the enemy to take up a reproach against
His people. If Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego had stood before Nebuchadnezzar
and had made a compromise
it would have dishonoured the name of the Lord.
Suppose they had said
“O king
we believe in Jehovah
but we hardly know what
to do in our peculiar circumstances. We desire to please thee
and we also
dread the thought of the burning fiery furnace
and therefore we must yield
though it greatly grieves us.” Why
they would have cast shame upon the name of
Israel. O
do not talk about principle
and then pocket your principles because
they are unfashionable
or will cost you loss and disrepute. If you do this you
will be the enemies of the King of kings.
6. I want you to remember also that if you renounce Christ
if you
quit Him in obedience to the world’s commands
you are renouncing eternal life
and everlasting bliss. You may think little of that to-night
because of your present
madness; but you will think differently before long. Soon you may lie on a sick
bed gazing into eternity
and then your estimate of most things will undergo a
great change.
III. But now
thirdly
let us consider what follows IF IT BE TRUE. I hope that many here can lay
their hands upon their hearts
and quietly say
“Yes
it is true; we are
determined not to bow before sin
come what may.”
1. Well
then
if it is true
I have this much to say to you: state
this when it is demanded of you. Declare your resolve. This will strengthen it
in yourself and be the means of supporting it in others. Is it true?
2. Then joyfully accept the trial which comes of it. Shrink not from
the flames. Settle it in your minds that
by Divine grace
no loss
nor cross
nor shame
nor suffering
shall make you play the coward. Say
like the holy
children
“We are not careful to answer thee in this matter.” They did not
cringe before the king
and cry
“We beseech thee
de not throw us into the
fiery furnace. Let us have a consultation with thee
O king
that we may
arrange terms. There may be some method by which we can please thee
and yet
keep our religion.” No; they said
“We are not careful to answer thee in this
matter.” You may lose a great deal for Christ
but you will never lose anything
by Christ. You may lose for time
but you will gain for eternity; the loss is
transient
but the gain is everlasting.
3. If it be true that you are willing thus to follow Christ
reckon
upon deliverance. Nebuchadnezzar may put you into the fire
but he cannot keep
you there
nor can he make the fire burn you. The enemy casts you in bound
but
the fire will loosen your bonds
and you will walk at liberty amid the glowing
coals. You shall gain by your losses
you shall rise by your down-castings.
Many prosperous men owe their present position to the fact that they were
faithful when they were in humble employments. Do right for Christ’s sake
without considering any consequences
and the consequences will be right
enough. If you take care of God’s cause
God will take care for you.
4. If you will stand up for Jesus
and the right
and the true
and
the pure
and the temperate
and the good
not only will you be delivered
but
you will do great good. This Nebuchadnezzar was a poor piece of goods; yet he
was compelled to acknowledge the power of these three decided and holy men. The
man who can hide his principles
and conceal his beliefs
and do a little
wrong
is a nobody. He is a chip in the porridge; he will flavour nothing. But
he who does what he believes to be right; and cannot be driven from it--that is
the man. You cannot shake the world if you let the world shake you; but when
the world finds that you have grit in you
they will let you alone.
Nebuchadnezzar was obliged to feel the influence of these men. (C. H.
Spurgeon.)
The Hebrew Youths
I. THE SINGULAR CONDUCT OF THESE YOUTHS.
There stand three men upright--when all are bowing--who dare to disobey the
king’s command--who know a higher authority than that of any earthly potentate
. . . Well for us if we have learnt to judge our actions otherwise than by the
popular voice and popular example. If our inquiry is
not what saith the
multitude
but what saith the Lord.
II. THE SINGULAR TRIAL OF THESE HEBREW
YOUTHS. The punishment which Nebuchadnezzar pronounced against
those who should disobey his decree was that they should be cast into a burning
fiery furnace. This form of punishment seems to have been common in Babylon.
Jeremiah speaks of “Zedekiah and Ahab whom the King of Babylon roasted in the
fire.” That it was so
is moreover evident from the fact that the furnace was
to be heated “seven times more than it was wont to be heated.” It was in the
face
then
of such a terrible doom that these youths determined to stand true
to their God--that they refused to conform to the idolatry with which they were
surrounded. What a trial of their faith; and what strong faith must theirs have
been which enabled them in the face of all this to remain “stedfast and
unmoveable.” “Though he slay them
yet will they trust in Him.” Nebuchadnezzar
unfortunately
is not the only one who has presumed to dictate a religion to
his fellows
and sought to enforce his command by the stern logic of the
flames. Not long ago we visited the old city of St. Andrews
and saw where
Patrick Hamilton and George Wishart suffered amid the fires “for the Word of
God and the testimony of Jesus Christ--the reek from the faggots infecting as
many as it did blow upon.” And
as we east our eyes over the continent of
Europe
many similar spectacles rise to view. Now in France it is a Shuch
in
Bohemia a Huss; and has not Spain of late been but reaping the harvest which it
sowed when kings and nobles gathered themselves together and looked with
unpitying eye upon the followers of Christ suffering amid the blazing piles?
III. THE SINGULAR DELIVERANCE OF THESE
HEBREW YOUTHS (W. R. Inglis.)
The Fiery Trial
Not unwisely did an old
Scottish matron once remark
that “It is easy to utter the fourth petition of
the Lord’s Prayer
when there is plenty of bread in the house.” If
however
one has no supply
and is without the means of procuring a morsel
strong faith
is required to present the supplication aright. Similarly
it may be averred
that it is easy to confess Christ when no pains and penalties are attached to
the avowal of belief in Him. Most probably the self-confident and boastful
would fail in such a testing time; while the meek and retiring would be borne
through
because constrained by felt weakness to lean on the Almighty arm. It
has been often and truly said
that dying grace is not given till the dying
hour; neither is the grace of humble boldness in the cause of the Lord fully
conferred
till there arise an occasion demanding its exercise. Twenty-three
years appear by this time to have passed since Daniel was elevated to the
position of ruler over the whole province of Babylon
and his three special
friends made governors of subordinate districts. Meanwhile
much prosperity had
been experienced by the empire in all departments. Nebuchadnezzar
it is
believed
had during these years overcome not a few kingdoms bordering on his
own. Egypt had fallen under his sway
exactly as Jeremiah had prophesied; and
to the west or the south of Chaldea there were none strong enough to dispute
the sovereignty of the king of Babylon. Forgetting the lesson that had been
taught him by his dream regarding the compound image
he began to fancy that to
his idol-god Bel
or Baal
his great success was wholly due. Evidently without
asking advice from Daniel
he proposed to force all who were under his
government to do homage to this idol. As many various nations had been
compelled to submit to himself
he was resolved that they should also worship
his god. Where was Daniel at this period? Possibly he had already told his
master that he must be excused from attending at the dedication of the image;
and as the king could not run the risk of losing his services
his absence was
permitted. Possibly he may have been in attendance of the monarch during the
worship of the idol
and refused to bow down before it; but his great influence
prevented anyone from daring to accuse him. But much more probable is it that
he was absent from the capital
and engaged at a distance in connection with
some pressing business of the State. He may have been even sent away purposely
by the king
and thus have had no opportunity of taking part with his brethren
in their protest against idolatry. Had he been present
we may well judge that
he would either have stood beside them
as being guilty like themselves
or
if
unaccused himself
would have used his utmost efforts with Nebuchadnezzar on
their behalf. The monarch was much excited. He caused Shadrach
Meshach
and
Abed-nego to be instantly brought before him. Plainly did he repeat his
command
that bow they must to his idol
or die.
I. WE SHOULD PREFER SUFFERING TO SIN.
To have bowed the knee to the golden image on the plain of Dura would have been
an aggravated transgression on the part of any of the sons of Jacob. They knew
well that there was no other God but the God of Israel
and the first and
second commandments of the moral law strictly forbade such an act. Better to
run the risk of the threatened punishment than
by yielding
to dishonour their
Creator
and cast away their souls. Marvellously were these confessors of
Jehovah rescued from the devouring fire; for the Lord
whom they honoured
had
great purposes to serve by their preservation. Suppose
however
they had been
burned to ashes
would they have been losers by their fidelity? Assuredly not!
Only the sooner had they reached the rest that remaineth to the people of God.
An early confessor of the Lord Jesus was summoned to the presence of the
Emperor of Rome
and threatened with banishment
if be dared to remain a
Christian. “Me thou canst not banish
” was the noble answer
“for the world is
my Father’s house.” “But I will take thy life
” said the Emperor. “Nay
but
thou canst not
sire
for my life is hid with Christ in God.” a I will deprive
thee of thy treasures
” continued the Emperor. “I have no treasures that thou
canst seize
” was the response
“for my treasure is in heaven
and my heart is
there.” “But I will drive thee away from man
and thou shalt have no friend
left
” “Nay
that thou canst not
” replied the bold and faithful witness
“for
I have a Friend in heaven
from whom thou canst not separate me. I defy thee.
There is nothing thou canst do to hurt me.” Where the risk of loss is greatly
less than in the case in which we have just referred
it is always far better
to suffer than to sin. The draper lad in the north of Ireland
who would not
assist his employer to cheat a customer
and was turned adrift in consequence
was no loser by his integrity. Through this very circumstance he became a
minister of the gospel
and afterwards rose to an eminent position in his
profession. There is little likelihood that any of us will be exposed to such a
fiery ordeal as the three Jews in Babylon. We may
however
have to meet with
much petty persecution
if we faithfully follow the Lamb
and show by our lives
that we are His.
II. LET US TAKE CARE THAT WE FOLLOW NOT
DOWN BEFORE THE GOLDEN IMAGE ERECTED AMONGST OURSELVES. Not in
Britain only
but in every land under the sun
does this idol lift up its head.
Those who worship at its shrine probably embrace by far the largest number of
every kindred
and tribe
and nation. “Thou shalt have no other gods before
me
” says Jehovah. Yet in the very temple of God is this idol set up by its
votaries
and crowds of worshippers devotedly bend the knee. No sweet music of
sackbut
or psaltery
or harp
is needed to induce men to adore. This idolatry
is even considered respectable. In America this idol is irreverently known by
the name of “The Almighty Dollar”; with us it is simply called wealth or money.
A mercantile man
who had an extensive acquaintance with various classes of the
community
used to state it as his serious opinion that the love of money ruins
perhaps more souls than even strong drink. Like other sins
this mammon-worship
never dwells alone. In due time it becomes the fruitful parent of many vile
things
which will
ultimately
develope into scorpions
to torment the soul
that nourished them. How comforting it is to know that imperishable and
unalienable wealth can be had simply for the accepting. “The GIFT of God is eternal
life
and this life is in His Son.” (Original Secession Magazine.)
The Fiery Furnace
How long after the events
recorded in the last chapter the setting up of this great image took place
it
is impossible to tell. The presumption is
however
that several years had
elapsed. The building of this huge image to the favourite god of
Nebuchadnezzar
probably the god of battles
was most likely to celebrate and
commemorate
with suitable splendour
the final triumph of his arms over all
the nations of the earth (v. 4). The profound impression made upon his mind by
the recalling and interpretation of his awful dream by Daniel seems to have
faded away
since we find him setting up an image of gold and requiring all his
subjects to worship it. This was a tyrannical act of uniformity
intended to
consolidate the religion as well as the politics of the empire. We do not know
where Daniel
Ezekiel
and other eminent Israelites were at this time
or how
far the mass of captive Jews complied with this decree; but it seems that the
three young princes
who with Daniel had been faithful in refusing to eat the
king’s meat
and who had been subsequently elevated to high political office in
the province of Babylon
refused
or at least failed
to do homage to the idol.
I. THE RAGE OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR.
Nebuchadnezzar was at the summit of his power; he had introduced a great
statue
in the form of an image of his god of battle
to celebrate his
universal sovereigns; his decree of universal obedience to his god
which was
also an act of homage to himself
seems to have been generally obeyed. The
defection of these princes from obedience seems to have reminded him that
after all
there were those who looked beyond him and higher than his fancied
god for a true king. There were but two courses open to him. He must either at
once recognise the right of the Hebrews to their religious liberty or he must
suppress them. To do the former would be to unsay and undo all that was involved
in the great celebration now going on; whereas
by summarily enforcing the
decree of uniformity
especially upon the persons of the high officers of
state
he thought he might increase his power
and by one stroke of severity
bring all his subjects unto submission. There are several points of evidence
that his conscience was aroused as well as his anger. When we refuse to obey
conscience
we are always apt to fly into a rage and do the thing forbidden by
conscience with ten times more violence. This king of Babylon is only the type
of all the world-powers that have succeeded him
who have been enraged against
the faith of God’s elect
and have sought to destroy that faith by Violence.
1. The arrest of the three princes. “Then they brought these men
before the king.” How often since have the children of faith been accused and
brought before kings and their magistrates
to give an account of their faith
and answer for their disobedience to some ungodly and tyrannical decree uttered
for the purpose of destroying the “faith once delivered to the saints.” The
very means of which heathen kings make use to suppress the faith
is made the
instrument of God for its universal spread.
2. The fearful alternative. The king seems
after all
to have
greatly respected these princes
and secretly desired to find a way of escape
for them. The sight of them and the remembrance of their faithful service and
of the peculiar marks of Divine favour which had been bestowed upon them for a
moment cooled down his rage.
3. The vain boast of the king. “And who is that God that shall
deliver you out of my hands?” This bit of vain boasting reminds us of the
speech of Pharaoh to Moses: “Who is Jehovah that I should obey his voice to let
Israel go? I know not Jehovah
neither will I let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2.) Also of the defiant proclamation of Sennacherib to Hezekiah and
Jerusalem: “Who are they among all the gods of the countries that have
delivered their country out of mine hand
that the Lord should deliver
Jerusalem out of mine hand?” (2 Kings 18:35.) And yet God destroyed Pharaoh
and put a hook in Sennacherib’s
nose by which He led him in ignominy back to his own city
to perish miserably
at the hands of his sons. How empty the boasts
how unbounded the folly of men
who challenge Jehovah to conflict!
II. THE DEFENCE OF THE PRINCES.
1. Not careful to answer. “O Nebuchadnezzar
we are not careful to
answer thee in this matter.” Had the Holy Spirit already whispered in their
hearts the instruction which Jesus afterward gave His disciples? “When they
deliver you up
take no thought how or what ye shall speak
for it shall be
given you
in that same hour
what ye shall speak.” (Matthew 10:19.) How calmly these young men stood there before the king! God
will answer for us when the emergency comes. Argument will not avail against
your arbitrary power over us
or against the injustice of your tyrannical
decree.
2. Their confession of faith. “Our God whom we serve.” In making
their answer
they distinctly announced that they believed in the one only and
true God
and Him they served. This was their
justification for not bowing
down to the idol which the king had set up
nor worshipping any of his gods.
Their faith was not speculative
but real. It dominated their lives
and
secured their glad service. The full power of faith does not always manifest
itself until the time of need comes
but
when once the emergency arises
faith
springs to the fore and asserts itself.
3. Their confidence in God. “If it be so
our God is able to deliver
us from the burning fiery furnace
and He will deliver us out of thine hand
O
king.” Notice this
that though their faith was absolute as to God himself and
their relation to Him
yet it was not absolute as to their deliverance out of
the fiery furnace
only as to God’s ability to deliver them.
4. Ready to die. If the worst came to the worst
they were quite
ready to die.
III. IN THE FURNACE AND OUT AGAIN.
God does not promise His saints immunity from suffering in this world; on the
other hand
He tells us that He has chosen us in a furnace of affliction.
1. The princes are cast into the furnace.
2. An awful warning. Now a strange thing happened. As the three men
who bore these princes to the furnace approached the open door to cast down
their helpless victims
a sudden draught of air sent out a volume of flame
which slew them on the spot. God seemed to give warning then and there that it
was a dangerous thing to touch His saints or do them harm.
3. The
astonishment of the king. A while ago he was in a furious rage; now we see him
trembling with astonished fear. Not only did the swift death that overtook his
three mighty men startle him
but as he looked into the raging flames he saw a
wondrous sight. Here was a fact on which he had not counted. By some mysterious
power the young men “had quenched the violence of the fire” (Hebrews 11:34)
and they were accompanied by the presence of another man
who
seemed to have them under his protection. It is not necessary for us to attempt
any discussion of this marvellous miracle of deliverance. Whether there was an
actual and objective fourth man in the furnace with the three princes
and
whether that fourth one was the very Son of God come down in a temporary bodily
form
as perhaps the angel of the Lord
or whether the king saw a vision
is of
no material importance. That there was a miracle is clear from the fact of the
safety of the princes in the flame. There is nothing antecedently impossible in
the literal truth of the whole matter. “For the eyes of the Lord are over the
righteous
and His ears are open unto their prayers
but the face of the Lord
is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you if ye be
followers of that which is good?” (I. Peter 3:12
13.) (G. F.
Pentecost
D.D.)
I. THE UNHOLY OBJECT THAT WAS OFFENSIVE
TO THEIR CONSCIENCES It was like a proud
arrogant
Eastern
despot
with an ever victorious army
to signalise a great triumph
by setting
up some great colossal image. It was more than a memorial
it was a deification
of himself. These Babylonian monarchs were not content with being kings or even
priests
they must be gods
the object of their people’s veneration. It helped
them to keep their iron heel upon the necks of their subjects
and feed their
own vanity.
Three Noncomformists
II. THE NATURAL HATRED OF THEIR ENEMIES.
This was their chance. They had been watching and waiting for this. It is no
wonder that they seized upon it with avidity. There is no love among the
children of darkness for the sons of light. The saved of the cross have ever
their cross to carry. There are shopmates and associates who are never slow to
make you the butt of all their spleen
and to pour out all the malice of their
soul upon you. The high offices which these youths held in the State exposed
them to the greater vehemence of persecution. It is the way of the world to
foster hostility against those above them
and to seek an opportunity to
overthrow such. There are men who will sneak into power over your heads
if there
be no other way. Yet it is better to endure with Christ than to go alone
without Him.
III. THE REFUSED DOOR OF ESCAPE.
When their accusers had laid the charge before the king
there seems reason to
believe that the king’s first flush of anger was at the sense of his possible
loss--he could not endure to think that three of his most capable rulers had
been so foolish as to expose themselves to death. He could afford to lose a
whole host of such accusers better than lose one Hebrew youth. Possibly
also
the shrewd king saw through their too thinly veiled jealousy. Anyhow
the king
offered them a way of escape. His words in effect suggest what we pleasantly
call diplomacy
“Just say you blundered
you did not properly understand the
meaning of my edict
and I will have the whole ceremony gone through again for
your sakes
then you can bow down and save yourselves.” Many of us would have
fallen into that trap; it was so ingenious a compromise. It needed great
decision of character to answer that aright. One day the officer came to Bunyan
in his prison
on Bedford Bridge
and said
“Now
Bunyan
if you like to go
free
you can; there is only one trifling condition imposed
and that is that
you abstain from preaching.” “If that is it
” answered Bunyan
“then I cannot
go out free
for as sure as I reach yonder field
I shall stand up and preach
Christ.” That one condition was the impossible condition. You have your battles
to fight
perhaps the issues are not so clear as in the cases before us
yet I
pray that you may be quick to discern the right from the wrong
and swift to do
the right.
IV. Now a great
moral courage like this must be born of GREAT CONVICTIONS. With Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
convictions were worth having
and worth dying for. To these youths
God was greater
higher than the king. God was first
the king second. Their
first consideration was not their prospects
but their duty. He has not the
martyr spirit who acts indifferently. When you do not bow to the world’s edict
expect not to be credited with conscientious convictions
it will be put down
to obstinacy. When John Bunyan refused to keep silent
he was obstinate. When
these Hebrews refused to worship idols
they were obstinate. So their
persecutors say
but posterity has accorded them justice
and declared it an
act of conscience; a spirit of fidelity to God.
V. THREE THINGS THAT CREATED THEIR NOBLE
CONDUCT.
1. They made religion a personal thing. It was not a matter of the
state or community
but of realised individuality; and personal responsibility
to God. No other but a personal religion is worth the name. No other will save
your soul.
2. They had repented towards God
and put their trust in Him. They
had turned from evil with mind and heart
and set themselves to seek righteousness.
3. They put eternal things before temporal. They saw the world in its
true light
and took it at its true estimate. The eternal endures
the temporal
passes away. (F. James.)
Devotion to Principle
I. THEY HAD CONVICTIONS.
They were not merely Israelites in name; they believed in Israel’s God’. It
would not be surprising if
so far from home and under such adverse conditions
the memory of their ancestral religion had gradually ceased and their devotion
faded out. But their piety was more
apparently
than an inheritance; it had
before their transportation
been ingrained m heart and conscience and life. If
religion be a mere matter of form
it may be changed as readily as one changes
his coat; but when it takes possession of the soul it keeps company with a man
for ever. Hence the importance of convictions. They believed in God
in the
truths which He had revealed to them
in the moral responsibilities which He
had imposed upon them. The word “belief” is
by some
derived from the Saxon by-lifian
that is
the thing we live by.
II. THEY WERE LOYAL TO THEIR CONVICTIONS.
They were called on to pass through a most trying ordeal. The day of the
dedication of the golden image was at hand. What should they do?
1. They might avoid all trouble by joining in the acclamations of the
multitude and prostrating themselves before the golden image.
2. They might prostrate themselves as a mere matter of form
saying
“After all
religion is of the heart; and God will know that inwardly we are
devoted to Him.” But compromise
in a question of right or wrong
is the
subterfuge of the weak and unworthy.
3. The only alternative was to stay indoors that day. Why not? Then
must they have said to one another
“We are three cowards.”
God wanted them to
go out into the plain of Dura and preach a sermon on heroic piety.
III. GOD TOOK CARE OF THEM.
He always takes care of His own. Here is a sure word of promise
“I will never
leave thee nor forsake thee.” (D. J. Burrell
D.D.)
On the Conduct of
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
Shadrach
Meshach
and
Abed-nego were three very young men
worshippers of the true God in a heathen
land. They were exposed to much persecution and distress on account of their
religion
yet they were enabled to act with faithfulness and prudence “in the
midst of a crooked and perverse generation.” The true Christian will be obliged
to stem the surrounding stream; there will
there must
be opposition; if he
were of the world
the world would love its own; but because he is not of the
world
but is chosen out of the world
therefore the world will hate him. Now
let us imagine a person
and especially a young person
such as were the three
individuals mentioned in the text
in such circumstances. How difficult
oftentimes and painful the line of duty! How much need is there of some
animating example
or affectionate and faithful advice
to keep such a person
from offending against conscience
and forgetting his obligations to his
Redeemer! To be faithful where ethers are unfaithful--to worship God truly in a
family
a parish
a neighbourhood
In which almost all around us conspire to
forget Him. It can be performed only by the aid of Him who is at once a
Comforter and a Sanctifier. It appears from the narrative
that Nebuchadnezzar
the king set up a golden image
and commanded all his subjects to fall down and
worship it. In like manner
in the present clay
is sin in its various shapes
an idol which the world delight to serve. By nature we are its slaves and
votaries; and it is not till we have learned
like those three young men
to
come out from the world and to worship the true God
that we begin to feel the
burden of this service. New idols are constantly presented to confirm the
sinner in his slavery
and to tempt the true Christian from his allegiance to
God. Babylon surely abounded with idols enough; yet a new one must be set up
for the occasion; and thus the world is always varying its temptations.
Whatever be the last evil custom
the last new mode of sinning
men are
expected to follow it. Thus
no sooner was the command given
than “princes
judges
governors
captains
treasurers
sheriffs
counsellors
and rulers
”
with the people at large
all with one accord eagerly flocked to the idolatrous
rite. These three persons only are mentioned as not complying with the order--a
proof that even the most youthful Christian ought not to be ashamed of
religion
or to reject it; namely
because there may be but few around him who
think as seriously as himself. Should all the rich
the wise of this world
the
gay
the splendid
be against serious religion; should a thousand new baits and
allurements be added to seduce us from it; should unsuspected dangers and
persecutions
spring up every moment around our path; yet we may learn from the
example before us a lesson of faith
and constancy
and reliance upon God.
These three young men
we find
did not court martyrdom or persecution; they
did not break out into violent invectives against other persons; they gave no
willing offence--thus teaching another most useful and important lesson. The
Christian is not to affect anything that may justly draw down the opposition of
the world. He ought
as much as in him lies
to live peaceably with all
men--but where this is impossible
and the offence arises entirely from the side
of the world who dislike his earnest piety
without being able to impeach his
character or conduct
he may learn from the example before us how to act so as
at once to glorify God and to preserve his own peace of mind. Behold
then
this illustrious example! Firm and decided for Jehovah
these three martyrs
approached the eventful spot. Life or death was the alternative. No human way
of escape was open before them. Thus tempted to waver
on the one hand
by
dread of torments and death
they might also be allured
on the other
by hopes
of reward. They might even be ready to plead that the sacrifice was but small.
These and various other reasonings might naturally enter their minds; and
had
not Faith been powerfully in exercise
would
doubtless
have overcome their
resolution. But this Divine grace was able
amidst all
to preserve them. Were
this Divine grace existing in full vigour in our minds
even the youngest and
most timid Christian would be able to withstand all the artifices of the world
the flesh
and the devil; and to say with Joshua of old
“Choose ye this day
whom ye will serve; but as for me and my house
we will serve the Lord.”
Instead of being ashamed or afraid of confessing the name of a crucified
Redeemer
and of living as becomes His faithful disciples
we should use the
decided language before us; and
placing our whole trust and confidence in the
supporting arm of an all gracious Father
should learn to do everything
and
bear everything
rather than forsake the cause of our Redeemer. There are four
things which are often powerful obstacles in the path of the youthful
Christian; namely
the allurements of pleasure
the commands of authority
the
dread of persecution
and the specious solicitations of friendship and
kindness. All these occurred in the case before us; and to a far greater degree
than usually
or indeed ever
takes place in the present age.
1. They overcame
in the first place
the allurements of pleasure.
What a festive scene was before them! The “cornet
flute
harp
sackbut
psaltery
dulcimer
and all kinds of music
” united their persuasive notes to
tempt them to sin. Pleasure assumed all its most winning and seductive shapes
to court their compliance. Yet
though in the midst of health and youth
they
steadily refused to join the multitude to do evil; they accounted the reproach
of Christ better than all the poisoned baits of the world. They were
doubtless
considered by those around them as gloomy and precise persons
who
railed at what others thought innocent pleasures--but they knew the side they
had taken; they knew also the power and love of their heavenly Parent
and they
feared not the result.
2. Neither
again
could the commands of authority tempt them to
commit this sin. They were strangers and captives in a foreign land; the hand
of power was over them; they were represented as factious persons
as enemies
at once to the government and the religion of the country; Nebuchadnezzar
a
despotic monarch
was infuriated against them--yet they stood firm. They knew
that the first authority to be obeyed is God.
3. The dread of persecution
we have already seen
they also manfully
overcame; nor did they less resist the specious solicitations of kindness and
friendship. Many a young Christian
who could have braved all the terrors of
open persecution
has given way to this temptation
and has for ever ruined his
soul
for the sake of that friendship with the world which is enmity against
God. Not so these illustrious sufferers. Though they had received innumerable kindnesses
from Nebuchadnezzar
and were in the way of receiving many more; though
nourished by his bounty
and loaded with his favours; yet when religion was to
be the sacrifice
they would not
they durst not make it. The result is well
known; God wrought a miracle in their favour; His presence was with them in the
fire; while their persecutors were consumed in the very act of casting them
into the flames--an awful proof of the danger of opposing the cause or the
people of God. Not even the garments of these triumphant confessors were
singed; nothing was consumed in the furnace except their bonds. They became
more free than they were before they were thrown into the flame; and in like
manner the Christian
in the present day
who resolutely bears the cross of his
Redeemer
often finds that the more he is persecuted for righteousness’ sake
the more he enjoys freedom and happiness in his own mind. His shackles are
consumed in the fire
and he is frequently rendered more bold and persevering
in the cause of God
by the very efforts which are made to overcome his
constancy. (Christian Observer.)
The Three Witnesses on the
Plains of Dura
I. The lessons
taught by the narrative of the Holy children.
I. As to the
reality of faith.
2. As to the reward of faith. In their hopes they were not
disappointed; for they had the presence of God which saved them. (Isaiah 43:2; Isaiah 63:9.)
II. Application of
the narrative to our own times. The plain of Dura is a picture of the world;
Nebuchadnezzar and his image pourtray the mammon-worship to which mankind is
called by common consent and by every device. But the true servants of God
refuse; they cannot serve God and mammon.
1. The choice requires a deep and abiding faith
which
The Refusal to Worship the
Golden Image
It has sometimes and
justly been remarked
that truth is far more wonderful than fiction. Events
certainly have transpired in the history of individual men which no fictitious
narrative can approach.
I. In the first
place
observe
THE MANDATE OF
IMPERIAL POWER WHICH HAD BEEN ISSUED. The person from whom the
mandate now referred to had emanated
was Nebuchadnezzar
the monarch of the
vast and gorgeous empire of Babylon. New in the mandate before us there was
heinous and presumptuous sin; and we shall endeavour to notice the elements of
which that heinous and presumptuous sin consisted. And we remark
1. That it was a tyrannical encroachment beyond the just limits of
civil authority. The monarch of Babylon had not
nor has any other monarch or
person invested with worldly station or worldly power
the right of anywise
controlling or attempting to influence the religious professions and religious
deportment of his subjects. Human governments were created by Divine
arrangement
in order that monarchs might order things aright in their secular
or political capacity; and their legitimate power of interference extends only
to overt acts which are socially beneficial
on the one hand
or which are
socially pernicious and injurious
on the other. Obedience to reasonable
commands in this respect is an obligation; but obedience to commands attempting
to control opinion and conscience is no obligation at all.
2. Again
you will observe of this mandate
that it was a daring
impiety against the majesty and claims of the only true God. You doubtless
remember at once the law which that Creator had promulgated in early times
in
direct denunciation of the apostacy referred to
pronounced by His own voice
and written by His own finger--“Thou shalt not have any gods before Me.” “Thou
shalt not make unto thee any graven image
” etc.
3. Again
you will observe of this mandate
that it was a cruel
outrage on the impulses of benevolence and of humanity. To threaten men that if
they did not fall down and worship a golden image they should be cast into a
furnace of fire there to endure the very worst and most excruciating agonies
which the human frame can undergo
was
indeed
beyond expression savage. And
here we cannot but observe an illustration of the keenness of despotic power in
all periods of time.
II. THE MANNER IN WHICH THIS IMPERIAL
MANDATE WAS TREATED.
1. And first
you will observe that there was firmness. Let us be
“valiant for the truth upon the earth”; and let it be our constant aim
that
being “followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises
”
we may indulge the glowing hope of being ultimately united in their glory.
2. And again
you will observe
that besides firmness there was also
meekness. There was no ebullition of self-sufficiency or of anger; there was
respect for regal dignity and station--there was forbearance
there was
quietness
there was readiness to suffer; they resisted the wrong
but they did
not rebel against the penalty. It is always important
in advocating the rights
of conscience and of religious truth
that in the same manner mildness should
be blended with courage
and gentleness with resolution. The want of this
spirit among those who have pleaded the right of conscience and of truth has
often inflicted deep injury upon the best and the holiest of causes. There has
been the indulgence of a rugged dogmatism and vehemence; there has been not
seldom a resort to the use of force
the fighting of battles
and an endeavour
after retaliation; and even when revenge would have struck deep injury upon
both liberty and religion
and would have mournfully retarded and held back the
time of their progress and the era of final freedom
III. THE PRINCIPLES UPON WHICH THE
TREATMENT OF THAT MANDATE WAS FOUNDED
AND UPON WHICH IT WAS JUSTIFIED. You will
observe
in the analysis of the narrative
that they were principles worthy of
the occasion
and amply vindicating the course which was pursued.
1. Observe
there was conviction of their duty and responsibility to
God. Their language is--“our God whom we serve.” They were endued with
reverence and with love to Him
and these principles
associated with the relationship
they embodied
prevented by moral necessity that they could be guilty of the
glaring impiety of adoring publicly
in the presence of immense masses
a thing
graven by art and man’s device
created by man’s base passions for man’s base
and bad designs. In the principle in this manner enunciated
you will observe
they took the highest ground under the highest influences--religion
imparted
and preserved by the Spirit of
God. And this is alone
worthy of the occasion when the rights of conscience and of truth are to be
vindicated.
2. Again
you will observe also
there was confidence in the power
and readiness of God to deliver. We have seen that the monarch of Babylon
uttered this challenge--“Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hand?”
And then they replied--“We are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 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 thine hand
O king.” Let us cherish the
confidence now. Let us cherish it for ourselves
and know that “nothing shall
separate us from the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus the Lord.” Let us
cherish it in behalf of the cause which is to us dear as our immortal
spirits--the cause of the Redeemer’s glory in the salvation of man and the
conversion of the world; and let us never be guilty even of dreaming of such an
era as when the church shall be in danger. False systems
which have usurped
the name
may be in danger
but the true church never. Can the throne of the
eternal Father be in danger?
IV. THE RESULTS IN WHICH THE TREATMENT
THUS VINDICATED AND JUSTIFIED WAS MADE TO ISSUE. You will observe
here what a singular combination of circumstances claims from the narrative our
regard. The immediate result was the infliction of the punishment. “Then was
Nebuchadnezzar full of fury
and the form of his visage was changed against
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego: therefore he spake
and commanded that they
should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.”
Observe the method in which that deliverance was accomplished. Lastly
you must
observe the characteristics by which this deliverance was distinguished. It was
accomplished by the agency of the Son of God; and its characteristics require
to be noticed. It was
you will observe
indisputably attested. There was
nothing equivocal in the mode by which the deliverance was known. And this only
indicates a general principle in the Divine interpositions--that when God
interposes for the welfare and deliverance of His people
there is nothing
uncertain; there is not such an intermingling of secondary instrumentalities
that we are unable to separate or to discern the interference of the power of
the great First Cause; there is always something in every event by which a
devout and enlightened mind is able to pronounce “God is here; here is the work
of God.” And it is a delightful fact in the history of the church now
as it
will be in the annals of the church in time to come
that wherever God
interferes for the welfare of His people He accomplishes His work thoroughly.
We observe again
that the deliverance produced a vast public impression. The
impression
as it was immediately produced
is noticed in the last verses of
the chapter: “Nebuchadnezzar spake
and said
Blessed be the God of Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
who hath sent His angel
and delivered His servants
that trusted 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 Cod.
Therefore I make a decree
that every people
nation
and language
which speak
anything amiss against the God of Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
shall be
cut in pieces
and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no
other God that can deliver after this sort. Then the king promoted Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
in the province of Babylon.” The decree manifested a
mighty impression on the mind of the monarch. Some more especial lessons.
1. And
in the first place
we learn from the narrative before us the
value of early piety.
2. Again
we learn also the immense importance of decision for God
under the most difficult of circumstances. If the example of these Hebrew
youths at this crisis had been wanting
even had their personal piety remained
intact
how evil would have been the consequence! Had they with some mental
weakness bowed
or had they been absent far away under some plausible pretence
or excuse--how different would have been the result! Not a voice to be raised for
God amidst that vast assembly
and the honour of God deeply and painfully
compromised in that nation and other nations for ages!
3. And then
finally
we learn the folly of opposition to the people
and to the cause of God. It cannot be hindered by the blandishments or by the
opposition of the world; it stands aloft amidst the wreck of empires
and it
suffers not amidst the fury of contending nations; it rides upon the whirlwind
and directs the storm
and never shall cease its manifestation until it shall establish
an empire bounded only by the limits of the universe
and terminating only with
the destruction of the world. See to it that you oppose not that
individually
or by combination
which is indestructible. “He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh
and the Lord shall have you in derision”; and so shall it be
until you shall “perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little.” (J.
Parsons.)
The Three Jews in Babylon
It is truly a sad and
awful spectacle--to behold a great monarch
and the personages representing the
population of a great empire
with perhaps a numerous throng of the common
people
assembled for such a purpose. Consider what man should be on earth!
Reflect
that the right
state would have been
that all mankind should be intelligent and solemn
worshippers of the true God
of Him alone; the merely right state
below which
the scene becomes a spectacle of horror and misery
for the vital principle of
all good is wanting. Think
then
of that great empire
that prodigious multitude
of human spirits (and nearly all the rest of mankind being sunk equally low)
ready to prostrate themselves in adoration of a figure of metal
from the hands
of the artificers. Look at them in such prostrations
all over the world
and
say
that man is not fallen! Between that state
and the simply
merely
right
state
how awful the difference! In the incalculable human mass of a whole
idolatrous world
we are shown here and there an individual
or a diminutive
combination of individuals
little shining particles
specimens of what the
right state of the world would have been. But if they were specimens of no more
than what was right--then
what power of thought can estimate
what language
describe--that condition of the general substance
from which they shine out in
contrast! The right state of the sun is to be one full orb of radiance; that
though there be some small spots and dimmer points
it should be in effect a
complete and glorious luminary. Imagine
then
if you can
this effulgence
extinguished
and turned to blackness
over all its glorious face
excepting
here and there a most diminutive point
emitting one bright ray like a small
star. What a ghastly phenomenon! and if it continued so
the utter ruin of the
system. But such
in the history before us
we behold the condition of the
human race--of which that empire was so large a province. We behold three men
true and faithful in the grand essential principle
among the innumerable host
that were sunk
debased
and lost
as to that which is the supremely essential
matter to man. In other pagan lands
however
in the same age
there was not
one such. In Babylon
a few. Observe
it is quite in the nature of things that
prevailing evil should be ambitious to prevail entirely. And here it was to be
brought to the trial
whether any would dare to refuse to be idolaters
in
conformity to the whole great assemblage.. The history of the design on the
part of the monarch would be curious if we could know it. How he should
conceive such a project. Were there not gods enough in his city and empire for
all the worship and offerings for which the people could spare time and cost?
The thing least strange in the case
was perhaps (for he was man)
that he
should forget what he had learned by experience of the God of Daniel
though
by his own confession at the time
“a God of gods
” and superior to all known
in his empire or in the world. But
then
was the new god to excel both all
them and that God too? If not
what need? and what just claim? and what was to make
him thus excel? It is a surmise of some learned men (Grotius) that it might be
designed as the act of deifying
on rather of expressing and proclaiming the
deification of
his deceased father. At any rate
a very leading prompter in
the affair was the monarch’s own self-importance. It was for him to show
himself lord of even the religion of his subjects. It was for him to constitute
a god for them
if he pleased. Then there was the process; an examination of
the public
or rather the royal treasures--the gold collected and computed--the
consultation and employment of artificers--operations of the smithery--frequent
statements or inspections of the progress--perhaps reports circulated through
the empire of the grand business that was going on. It is most likely that the
imperial mandate to the great man of all the provinces had been despatched some
while before
appointing the time; and that the idol was erected but just
immediately against the specified day. This grand assembly was summoned for the
act of dedication. The great men had been summoned as a kind of representatives
of all the people of the empire. Perhaps not one of them failed to be there
from any principle of conscience against idolatry. And as to the willingly
compliant conduct of the assembly
one is a little disposed to wonder at the
king’s having made ready such an expedient of persuasion
as that which he
points at
to enforce his command--that is
the furnace
which was prepared and
conspicuous near the station of the monarch and the idol. He certainly had not
been accustomed to experience any disobedience to his commands. Why
then
such
an argument of persuasion at hand? This might be for mere despotic pomp--to
impress terror of the very thought of such a thing as disobedience. But it may
be suspected that this was possibly done at the instigation of the haters of
Daniel and his three friends. Their faith was warned of another Monarch
and
also of another fire! a proper fear of whom
and of which
will overcome all
other fear. “Fear not them who can kill the body
but after that have no more
that they can do; but fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in
hell.” They were certain to be at the place
without any force used by their
enemies. They were assured that
in the present case
there must not be allowed
a grand triumphant day to idolatry and the impious pride of power--undisturbed
by at least a protest in the name of the Almighty. Was it for them
when their
eternal Lord was to be dishonoured
to slink away into a base impunity? And
besides
were they to give to their own people
in captivity there
the lesson
and example of betraying
even negatively
their religion
the only true one on
earth? They knew their duty
and addressed themselves to perform it. It would
seem that this duty devolved on them alone. A question might arise concerning
the numerous other Jews then in Babylon--what became of them? Were they placed
out of account on this grand occasion? It has been conjectured
in answer
that
as this was to be the solemn
primary act of sanctioning
authorizing
establishing
the new worship
the common people might
in this first instance
be left out of the account as being held of no weight; that it was the chief
men only of the empire that were wanted
or held of any value for this purpose.
There were
then
three men come on the ground under the fearful vocation to
brave the authority
and power
and wrath
of a lofty potentate--the
indignation of all his mighty lords
and the rage of a devouring fire. We
admire heroic self-devotement in all other situations--we are elated at the
view
for instance
of Leonidas and his small band calmly taking their station
in Thermopylae in the face of countless legions. But here was a still nobler
position taken
by men who were fit to take it
because they were sure not to
desert it. We may suppose the utmost calmness--the most unostentatious manner
in these three men; that belongs to real invincible fortitude. And they had no
occasion to begin with parade--to make a flourish of premature zeal! Exhibition
enough was to come erewhile! They were “to be made a spectacle to God
and to
angels
and to men.” There was nothing they could need to say; it was past the
time for consulting
questioning
or mutual exhortation. They were in the wrong
place
if anything remained to be yet decided. But think of the brief interval
of suspense and silence between the conclusion of the herald’s proclamation and
the first note of the signal-music! What would be their sensations in waiting
for it to strike? Think of the intensity of listening! How much the soul may be
said to live during such moments
when not amazed and stupified! And at whose
dictate--under what conviction--were they thus submissively performing
in
appearance at least
the most solemn act that human
that created beings can?
The mere dictate of a creature
that was one day to become dust. Thus this
proud
and numerous
and lordly assembly acknowledged that neither their bodies
nor their souls were their own. But so acknowledged
too
the three men that
remained standing upright. Their bodies and souls were not theirs to surrender
to a monarch or to an idol. They belonged to another Power; and to Him their
bodies
if He should so appoint
were to be offered in sacrifice on that altar which
was flaming full in their view. It were going
perhaps
quite to the extreme of
possibility
if we should suppose in them such perfect self-possession that
they could look around with regret and compassion on this wide field of
prostrate and degraded humanity. But they had not long to look; there were
vigilant eyes on them
though it seems not those of the king himself. His
devotions were interrupted
and turned into surprise and indignation
by
accusers of these three men. These accusers well understood their profession.
And then
with the true address of sycophant courtiers
they put the alleged
impiety in the form of disloyalty. It was as against him that the offence was
committed
more than against the god. “They have not regarded thee
O king!” And
this very effective art has never been forgotten by the haters and persecutors
of the protestors in behalf of true religion. The three recusants of Babylon
were instantly ordered into the royal presence. And the potentate
powerless
over the “rage and fury” which agitated him
did yet display some remainder of
a reasonable disposition. The truth of the accusation was not to be doubted;
but he expressed his amazement at their conduct
as what he could hardly
believe against them. He had not long to wait for their decision. “We are not
careful to answer thee in this matter”; meaning
“we have no thought or
deliberation to give to the alternative; no question or hesitation remains to
us; we seek no evasion or delay; our decision is absolute
because our duty is
plain.” Some learned critics have given
as more exactly expressive of the
sense of the original
an altered construction of the two verses together
thus
“Whether our God
who is able to deliver us
shall deliver us or not
be
it known unto thee
” etc.; thus taking away the apparent expression of
their assurance that He would deliver them. We cannot know in what degree they
did expect any extraordinary Divine interposition
but this construction of
their reply exhibits them in a still higher
completer
character of
magnanimity and devotement. In the utmost extremity of fury
he ordered the
fire to be augmented to a corresponding intensity. “Seven times hotter”--a
phrase not of strict numerical import
but meaning the utmost intensity
possible
by means of the most effectual fuel that could in haste be supplied.
Our martyr
Ridley
slowly consuming at the stake
earnestly entreated
“Give
me more fire--more fire!” The binding of these three men was a very superfluous
act. But it had a certain judicial appearance; and it exposed them more
formally in the character of criminals and victims. And now the consummation
the crowning sanction
would seem to be added to the establishment and
authority of the new divinity and worship by a human sacrifice. But the matter
was not so to end. It might so have ended without impeachment of the Divine
Governor of the world
with respect to these His faithful servants; for He has
a right to demand an absolute martyrdom--an actual surrender of life for His
cause
and often has required it. But
in this instance
if it had so ended
it
would have appeared to the whole empire like a complete triumph and sanction
gained to idolatry. There would be
among the great men of the assembly
much
self-congratulation that they were no such insane and desperate fanatics. The
personal enemies of these three men (and many such they must have had
who
hated them for their incorruptible public virtue)--these
too
had now their
moment of lively gratification. But the idolatrous chiefs and lords had not all
the delight to themselves
that there was at that moment
on that field--the
most animated exultation of all
was glowing amidst the flames of the furnace!
It is beyond our faculties to conceive the first sensations of men
suddenly
plunged into the midst of a vast mass of fire
of the most raging intensity
in
their living
susceptible bodies
which even a spark would have hurt
and yet
feeling no pain
no terror. We may imagine a momentary amazement
but quickly
changed into a full consciousness of exquisite delight. It is beyond our power
however
to bring such a fact to our comprehension. Consider
it is according
to natural laws and relations that pleasure is produced
that is
the
constituted condition of human pleasure. But when
in a rare instance
by the
Divine will and agency
pleasure is to arise from a perfect and stupendous
reversal of those natural laws
we are thrown off from any power and means for
estimating that pleasure. The attention of Nebuchadnezzar seems to have continued
fixed on the fiery receptacle
perhaps with some relenting for what he had
done; possibly with some degree of doubt
or suspense of expectation
respecting the consequence. He seems to have been the first to perceive that
his fury
and the doom he had awarded
were frustrated. And with that prompt
kind of honesty which appears conspicuous in his character
he was the first to
proclaim it. Nebuchadnezzar loudly called them to come forth. Had he any
authority to do so? He might have left it to the discretion of their splendid
visitant and associate to lead them forth when He should judge it the proper
time. This once
they were clearly beyond the monarch’s jurisdiction. As to the
monarch
that space of fire was as a tract of another world. And besides
they could
have no wish to come forth. It was the sublimest
most delightful region they
had ever dwelt in yet. At length the three men came out from the fire--their
celestial companion being left to depart
like Manoah’s angel
who ascended in
the flame. They were looked upon by the amazed and humiliated assembly of
grandees; and the effect of fire had not passed on their very garments or their
hair. (J. Foster.)
The Fiery Furnace; or
True Principle Exemplified
Man is a worshipper. If
there were no God before whose shrine he could bend his knees
he would make
himself an object of worship. We have a remarkable instance of this in the
narrative before us. What was the design of the Babylonian despot in the
erection of this colossal image? Two different answers might be given to this
question. It was intended either as an expression of his gratitude to the deity
who he imagined had so greatly prospered him on the battle-field
or as a
representation of himself under the title of the long-expected “Divine Son
” or
universal sovereign of the world. The fact that he summoned all the great
officers of the empire to be present at its inauguration is a clear proof that
this was not an ordinary idol. It is not probable that he would thus have
ordered all the officers from their labours and posts of duty merely to add to
the magnificence and splendour of an ordinary scene. The proud monarch had
something of far greater importance in view; he wished to secure for himself
the homage of his chief officers
and through them that of his numerous
subjects. Then
the terrible punishment threatened upon disobedience to the
royal mandate is a further proof of the great importance the Babylonian despot
attached to this ceremony. This threat was in perfect keeping with the
despotism of Chaldea
and the spirit of that benighted age. But in spite of the
severity of the threat
the three Hebrews were found true to their principles
and dared to oppose the king’s impiety. How could they pay homage to an idol?
Every principle of their religion
every feeling of their heart
revolted
against the very thought. The honour due to their God they will not lavish on
their monarch.
I. TRUE PRINCIPLES SEVERELY TESTED.
Every principle will sooner or later be tried. There is a fiery furnace that
will test the principles and motives of every heart. The test in the case of
the young Hebrews was peculiarly severe.
1. They had to oppose the will of a powerful benefactor.
2. They had to incur the odium of an excited public.
3. They had to forfeit the honours and emoluments of office.
4. They had to meet death in one of its most terrible forms.
II. TRUE PRINCIPLE NOBLY MAINTAINED.
1. Their calm demeanour. True godliness possesses sweet sustaining
power.
2. Their strong faith. Their language was the language of faith; the
language of a pious heart firmly confiding in the faithfulness of Heaven. Their
faith took hold of two things. The power of God: “Our God is able to deliver us
from the burning fiery furnace.” And also His willingness: “And He will deliver
us out of thine hand
O king.” These two elements form the basis of true faith.
You confide in that person because you believe him to be both able and willing
to befriend you.
3. Their inflexible determination. “But if not
we will not serve thy
gods
nor worship the golden image.”
III. TRUE PRINCIPLE ULTIMATELY TRIUMPHANT.
Several very important points were gained by this glorious triumph of true
principle.
1. The impious ambition of the monarch was checked.
2. The living personality of the “ Divine Son” was established. The
deities of the Gentiles were the creations of their own fancy. Nebuchadnezzar
had probably no faith in them. But the person whom he saw in the “fiery
furnace” was not a myth
but a real living person. The God of Shadrach and his companions
was a living person
not an imaginary object we worship not an idea
but a God
who has a heart to love us
and an arm to save us.
3. The faith of the weak and the wavering was confirmed. Had their
bitter affliction almost driven the poor Hebrew captives into despair? The
occurrence on the plain of Dura would revive their hope
and fill them with
wonder and gratitude. Many a disconsolate exile would be greatly encouraged
his faith strengthened
and the expiring embers of his religious love fanned
into a flame.
4. The welfare of the captive Jews was effectually promoted. Their
treatment of the exiles would be more humane and generous; and they would
naturally infer that the people whose God would thus interpose on their behalf
were not to be despised.
5. The honour of the true God was greatly enhanced. How valuable is
vital godliness! It possesses a sustaining power. It brings down upon the soul
the richest blessing of God. Be faithful to it. Let its living principles be
exemplified in your life. (J. H. Hughes.)
Three Heroes
Babylonia
whither the
Jews were led captive by Nebuchadnezzar
was a pagan
idolatrous country
a
circumstance which must have been very distressing to God’s faithful people
and added very much of bitterness to the anguish of their enslaved condition.
It was a trial heavy enough for the peculiar people to have seen their
beautiful city of Jerusalem destroyed--their country turned into a waste
howling wilderness--and themselves dragged away from their beloved fatherland
into a strange
unfriendly clime. It would have been some relief for them
however
if
in the land of their exile
they had found a people whose
religious sympathies and practices had been in harmony with their own--or even
if their lot had been cast on some desert
uninhabited isle
where
like John
in Patmos
they might have worshipped their God without let or hindrance. But
how terribly annoying it must have been--at least
to the thoughtful and devout
among them--to be dwelling amidst a people wholly given to idolatry! What was
the moral effect of the prevailing idolatries of the Chaldeans upon the Jewish
exiles
generally
does not appear--probably it was unfavourable. Still
it is
very gratifying to learn that there were some men in Babylonia who defiled not
their garments
but kept themselves unspotted from surrounding corruption.
I. We learn that EMINENT PIETY MAY BE MAINTAINED
AMIDST TRIALS THE MOST SEVERE. We are sometimes tempted to
believe that man is the creature of external circumstances--that his character
is formed for him--not by him; and that
consequently
he cannot be virtuous
as he is notresponsible. The narrative before us is calculated to show the
erroneousness of this notion
and to establish the important fact that the
freedom of the human mind is not destroyed
nor the moral agency of man set
aside
by any circumstances in which he may be placed
save and except such as
involve the loss of reason
or the eclipse of the intellect. It is true
indeed
that we are frequently influenced by circumstances--our habits too
often reflect the form and colour of those circumstances by which we are from
time to time surrounded. It is well when such circumstances as favour the
growth of piety and godliness are permitted to shed their hallowing influence
upon our character. But
to the force of evil circumstances--those
circumstances which in themselves tend to foster the development of ungodliness
and sin--we need not
we ought not
by any means
to yield. We are responsible
for our character. We must
every one of us
give an account of himself to God.
Never let us forget that our God has made us free
accountable agents; that
most reasonably He holds us bound to do our every duty constantly and
unflinchingly; and at the last day will admit no plea whatever for the
infidelity of which we have been guilty in this life. “Many men are lamenting
their misfortunes
and wishing that their place was changed
that they might
the more easily live Christianly. If a man cannot be a Christian in the place
where he is
he cannot be a Christian anywhere.” The Christian life ever has
been
and must be
a self-denying
cross-bearing life; and the future glorious
eternal reward of Heaven is for them
and them only
who
through good report
and evil report
have followed the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. The three pious
Hebrews--Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego--were placed amidst sorest trials--as
few are in our day--yet they proved faithful to their God. To be dutiful to
their God they had to resist the most powerful temptations--to brave most
formidable dangers.
1. They had to rebel against royal authority. “King Nebuchadnezzar
was what would be called a man of large ideas and vast undertakings. The great
empire he had won and consolidated comprised many different nations
with
different gods and different forms of religions service. Seeing that all these
nations obeyed him as a king
and were subject to his absolute sway
it seemed
to him but reasonable that his god should share his triumph
and that
as there
was but one civil
so there should be but one religious obedience. He
therefore
determined to set up a vast golden image of his god in the plain of
Dura
and that
at a signal given by bands of music
all the persons assembled
together in the vast plain at the time of dedication should fall down and
worship this image.” The religion of Heaven is by no means adverse
but most
thoroughly favourable
to civil obedience. Good men have ever been the truest
subjects and the best citizens; and the prevalence of godliness among a people
is the best guarantee for the stability of the throne that is based on
righteousness
and the surest security for the effective carrying out of all
such laws as are just and good. But as the sphere of the civil ruler is
limited
so are the obligations of the subject The moral sense cannot be bound
by Acts of Parliament; the will cannot be coerced by the magistrate’s sword. It
was a saying of Napoleon Bonaparte--“My rule ends where that of conscience
begins.” It would have beenwell if all civil rulers had recognised this
principle. Much bloodshed would have been spared. When the laws of men
harmonise with the laws of God there can be no difficulty felt by the good man
as to duty in respect to them. But if it is attempted to compel obedience to laws
diametrically opposed to the laws of God
then there can remain no doubt as to
how the good man must act. We must obey God rather than man. Noble men! no
reckless revolutionists
no fanatical politicians were they; but men who
understood to what extent they were bound to honour man; and who well
understood and deeply felt that there was no consideration which could
by any
possibility
free them from their obligation to serve God alone.
2. They had to act in
defiance of the popular custom. Grand moral spectacle! Truest heroism this!
Here is none of your pitiful time-servers who dare not to differ from the
multitude by doing right--here is none of your compromising religious duty by
an unhallowed seeming to conform to the world. They did not follow bad customs
lest they should be
thought singular. They despised the fashionable religion
and were great and
good enough
though Jews
to stand true to their fathers’ God in the face of a
nation of idolaters. Was not that a brave deed? Warriors never did such a noble
thing. Earth’s proudest heroes never won such laurels
never deserved such
fame! If you would be great in the highest and best sense
dare to be good. If
there is one spectacle more contemptible than another
it is that mean-spirited
soul whom you see timidly
cowardly crouching down to a popular custom which in
his conscience he knows to be wrong
and ignobly following a multitude to do
evil. It requires little moral courage
publicly and faithfully to stick to
duty when it is popular to do so. It is a comparatively easy thing to wear the
Christian name and attend to Christian ordinances when and where it is
fashionable to do so. But to dare to be singular
to take sides with “the
peculiar people
” to endure the world’s scorn
to do what few only have heart
and conscience to do--that demands sterling piety
no common-place devotedness
more than lukewarm love to God and His cause. In the present day the
temptations to renounce and ignore religion altogether are not such as martyrs
knew. Our danger comes from another quarter. Our perils lie hid beneath such
religious pretensions as find general favour. It is fashionable
nowadays
to
be religious. Only infidels and “our city arabs” are irreligious now. It is a
disgrace not to belong to some church or another. The demand is for something
more genuine--a counterfeit religion is too wide spread. The form of godliness
is abundant. The power of it is rare indeed. Men will be religious; but they
are far more eager to gain the world than to save their souls. While they are
serving God after a fashion
their hearts are going forth after covetousness.
Custom is
as it has ever been
the stern
unyielding foe of all earnest
spiritual
thorough-going Christianity. Men generally have little sympathy with
the heartfelt
life-purifying religion of Jesus Christ. “Business is business”
with them
and religion has no right to show its face in the warehouse or
workshop
in the counting-house or the exchange. Strict morality will not pay;
they cannot afford to do right. Their neighbours resort to the “tricks of
trade
” and cheat
and tell lies
and deceive; and so must they
or they may as
well give up business at once. It is all nonsense to talk to them about
applying Christian rules to secular callings. It would be perfectly ruinous!
And then
as to social usages and domestic habits
what has religion to do with
these things? It is all very well to sing and pray
and go to church
too. But
you would never think of turning Puritans
and make religion to bear upon
dress--upon our homes
and our amusements! “Style” has to be kept up.
Appearances must be preserved. We must not be thought mean
etc. Thus
thousands talk
and apologise for the most thorough-going conformity to the
giddy
regardless world. I repeat it
he who will be true to his God in these
days
must dare to break through unhallowed customs--must be brave enough to
differ from others. He who stops to ask himself
What do others do? or
What
are the religious opinions and practices of others? cannot be a true disciple
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Your Saviour demands of you thorough-going
uncompromising fidelity to truth and equity. He requires you to take His will
to be your own rule; and so completely will He have you in subjection to His
authority
that
whatever you do
whether you eat or drink
you must do all to
His glory!
3. They had to resist the
demands of self-interest. It was at a severe cost
an immense sacrifice
that
they were prepared to fulfil their obligations to the true and living God (v.
6). By this it would appear that death by burning alive was a very ancient
punishment for “heresy.” It was a customary punishment among the Babylonians.
Jeremiah
in denouncing the false prophets
Ahab and Zedekiah
predicted that
they should be put to death by the King of Babylon
“And of these shall be
taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon
saying
The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab
whom the king of Babylon
roasted in the fire.” See
then
how terrific the threat by which Nebuchadnezzar
sought to promote the worship of his god. What a severe trial of the godly
steadfastness of these three pious Jews (v. 13
15). Would you have wondered
if
in such circumstances
they had trembled and proposed to themselves some
temporising mode of escape from so dreadful a punishment? Ah
threats cannot
intimidate them. This noble answer reminds us of what Augustine relates of
Cyprian
that when courtiers persuaded him to preserve his life--for it was
with great reluctance that the Emperor devoted him to death--when flatterers on
all sides urged him to redeem his life by the denial of Christianity
he
answered
“There can be no deliberation in a matter so sacred.” So our three
heroes declare that they are in nowise concerned to vindicate their conduct
or
to deliberate upon the expediency of the step they were taking. “Our
consciences are bound to serve the God of heaven alone
and Him only will we
worship
despite all consequences.” But many can
Peter-like
boast grandly of
how bravely they will act. Nothing shall move them from their Christian
steadfastness till the crisis comes--till the hour arrives for self-sacrifice
for prompt and self-denying action--then they faint and fall away. Not so the
three pious Hebrews. They were none of your talking heroes. Their deeds were as
glorious as their words. Are we not too much given to time-serving? Are we not deterred oftentimes from
faithfully acting out our convictions by the fear of losing someone’s
friendship
or of incurring someone’s frown? by the fear of suffering the loss
of certain worldly emoluments
or of missing certain social advantages? Is our
devotedness to Christ characterised by all that manly energy--that indomitable
courage that breaks through every barrier
and that conquers every difficulty?
II. We learn what
are THE SOURCES AND
ENCOURAGEMENTS OF TRUE MORAL HEROISM.
1. All things are possible to them who believe. There is the secret
of their heroism. It was not natural animal courage--it was not stoical
insensibility--it was not indifference to life--it was not the love of
distinction
or ambition for fame--it was faith in God.
2. God is ever present with his faithful people (v. 21-25). We have
no reason for supposing that Nebuchadnezzar thought that the fourth person was
Jesus Christ
the Son of God; of him he must have known nothing. “A single
angel
” says Calvin
“was sent to these three men; Nebuchadnezzar calls him a
Son of God
not because he thought him to be Christ
but according to the
common opinion among all people that angels are sons of God
since a certain
divinity is resplendent in them
and hence they call angels generally sons of
God. According to this usual custom Nebuchadnezzar says
the fourth man is like
the son of a god.” No doubt Nebuchadnezzar recognised the Divine interposition
in what appeared to him an angel; God was wont by the ministry of angels and
otherwise visibly to interpose on behalf of His people
and in a most
extraordinary way to effect deliverances for them; and
doubtless
it was God
who appeared in human form with the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace
to
comfort
support
and deliver them
and to convince their enemies that they
were under the protection of. Heaven
and
therefore
in safe keeping. We do
not look for any palpable manifestations of the Divine presence to attend us in
our trials. We look for no miraculous deliverance from the hands of our
enemies. Nevertheless
God has promised to be with us to help and succour us
so that we may triumphantly exclaim
“If God be with us
who shall be against
us?” “A man in the right with God on his side is in the majority
though he be
alone
for God is multitudinous above all populations of the earth.” So that
you may boldly say
“God is our refuge
” “I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me.”
3. The social influence of uncompromising fidelity to duty on the
part of God’s people is mighty (v. 28
29). We see here the natural working of
a truly consistent life. “Ye are the salt of the earth
” etc. (Matthew 5:13-16); “The holy seed is the stock of the land” (Isaiah 6:13). “A man ought to carry himself in the world as an orange-tree would
if it could walk up and down in the garden--swinging perfume from every little
censer it holds up in the air.” Ah
how many of us do this? How many of us
commend to the world the religion we possess by an unbending
consistent life?
4. Distinguished honours shall crown the fidelity of God’s people (v.
30). (John Williams.)
The Power of Youthful
Piety
The history of these three
young men teach us the following lessons.
1. The children of respectable parents may be reduced to humble
circumstances.
2. Children deprived of the protection of parents sometimes rise in
the world and prosper.
3. Religion is the best preservative of youth when separated from
their parents and friends.
4. The effects of early religious education is generally good. These
young men’s piety was very vigorous. Consider the power of the piety of these
young men.
I. ITS PRINCIPLE. It was
attachment to the true God.
1. Their attachment to God was natural
and
therefore
strong. Man
was made for God. What is unnatural is weak. Unnatural conformation of body is
attended by weakness and pain. The body deprived of the natural means of
support soon becomes feeble. Unnatural exercise of social affections wastes
them. It is so with the moral powers. Idolatry is not natural to man. It is weakness.
It cannot reason; it cannot distinguish between matter and mind. It holds no
communion with spiritual worlds; it sinks the spirit; it robs God of His right
and man of happiness. God is to man all that his nature wants.
2. Their attachment was individual.
3. Their attachment was uniform.
II. ITS MANIFESTATIONS. Is
wonderful
if we consider.
1. Their destitution of religious means. Without public worship
parental protection exposed to the bigotry
example
society of idolaters.
2. The strength of their temptation.
3. The tenderness of their age. They were little more than twenty.
4. Their number was small. There were only three. But were one in
life
death.
III. ITS IMPRESSIONS on those
who witnessed it.
1. The king admired their character.
2. Called attention to it.
3. Blessed God.
4. Promoted them. (Caleb Morris.)
The Martyr Spirit
This episode of the three
Jews in Babylon is a revelation of the martyr-spirit
and so
centuries after
the Christian writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews included them in his great
muster-roll of the heroes of faith
as those who “quenched the violence of
fire.” They were champions of a cause which has often been contested since in
the history of nations
and in none perhaps more sharply than our own. It was
the rights of conscience they asserted
as they stood calm and confident before
the furious king. They showed what men can do under the dominance of a lofty
principle. Life
that was in its prime--dignities of office and sweets of
power
that bad been tasted--these they were ready to lay down for conscience
sake. No sophistries blinded them to the real point at issue; they could not
bow to that heathen idol--not even for the king. They faced the ordeal
and
came forth from it victorious; they would have been equally victorious had
their bodies been charred in the furnace. Theirs was the dauntless spirit which
has been manifested by the martyrs or “witnesses” of all ages. The answer they
made to the king of Babylon has found many an echo at the stake or the block.
Such
as one instance
were the words spoken by the young Scottish martyr on
the scaffold (Hugh M’Kail
1666). “Although I be judged and condemned as a
rebel amongst men
yet I hope
even in order to this action
to be accepted as
loyal before God.” (P.
H. Hunter.)
The Three Hebrew Youths
For the difficult task of
acting upon fixed religious principle
example is more helpful than precept.
I. THESE YOUTHS WOULD NOT
TO SAVE THEIR LIVES
COMMIT EVEN ONE SINGLE ACT OF
IDOLATRY (v. 12) Had they not been true servants of God they
would easily have quieted their consciences with excuses such as these.
1. All are obeying the command.
2. After all
it was a political rather than a religious act.
3. If they failed to comply with the royal mandate
their conduct
might be misconstrued. But men of religious principle do not ask if they will
be misunderstood
but what is their duty to God.
II. THEY REFUSED TO PARLEY ABOUT THE
COURSE OF DUTY (v. 16). Our declining even to discuss the course
of duty
when it is plainly and instinctively recognised by the conscience
is
a proof of religious firmness and constancy.
III. THEY TRUSTED IMPLICITLY IN GOD’S SPECIAL PROVIDENCE OF HIS PEOPLE (v. 17). When
our hold upon Divine truth is lessening or weak
we trust to the arm of flesh
and useless expediences. Examples: Asa and the physicians (2 Chronicles 16:12); Israel and the chariots of Egypt Isaiah 31:1). Those whose hearts are fixed
and who prove true in the fiery
ordeal of trial
fall back upon their inner lines of retrenchment. They realise
the fact that the Lord reigns
and personally superintends the order of events
so that the wrath of man is restrained
and also that God watches with jealous
care His own people.
IV. THEY DID NOT CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES
OF THEIR CONSTANCY (v. 18). God has not pledged Himself always to
work a miracle or to doanything uncommon to deliver His people. As a rule we
must not expect such interpositions. If we were perfectly certain of such help
where would be the worth of our holding out for the truth? It was as much a
miracle of grace for the three youths to remain constant as it was a miracle of
providence that they were kept safely in the fiery furnace. To determine our
conduct
altogether irrespective of the consequences which may follow
shows
the value of our religious life.
V. THEY HONOURED GOD BEFORE THE WORLD AND GOD ESPECIALLY HONOURED THEM.
As unholy compromises and cowardly denials conduct to shame and confusion
so
unflinching courage
and acting upon religious principles
leads to happiness
and honour. Such is illustrated in the present case.
1. They are safely protected from the slightest harm in the fiery
furnace. The very elements are made to respect them (v. 24
25
27).
2. The Son of God blesses them with His company (v. 25; Isaiah 43:2;Proverbs 18:10).
3. Their
persecuter
Nebuchadnezzar
bestows greater honour upon them (v. 30; Proverbs 16:7). Is our religion one of fashion
form
education
or one of
reality and principle? If the former
then in times of trial we shall fall
away; if the latter
we shall by God’s grace be kept steadfast. Christians
should be prepared to face a fiery ordeal of temptation at some period of their
career. This will strengthen and purify their faith. (C. Neil
M.A.)
The Nonconformists of
Babylon
Hero worship is the one
form of religion
if you will allow me to call it so
that binds the whole
world. Dare great things
look at them in the face
and at once you are secure
of the crown of laurel. What the world has to decide is the highest kind of
courage. Some types of hero at once rise to your mind. There is the soldier
type
for instance. He will dash through a storm of grape
and stand first upon
the enemy’s breastwork
covered with wounds. Or here is another
there is the
fireman. He will rush through suffocating smoke and scorching heat
and come
forth presently with the life he has rescued from the flames. Or here is the coast-guardsman.
He will swim through the boiling surf
with a rope in his teeth
to the ship
that has been stranded. Noble types of courage all of them--heroes worthy of
crosses and of honours. But there is one thing to be said with regard to all
these
they have all one strong inducement to heroism--the onlooking and the
applause of the spectators. But if you wish to know who the true heroes of men
are
ask who are those who dare to do right
simply because it is right
secure
of no applause from the world
certain only of disapproval--standing alone. To
be honest when honesty is the best policy
to be right when broad lines of
right and wrong are marked down and acknowledged by all men
that is good; but
to dare to be honest
and good
and true when it is not the best policy
when
it is not popular--commend me to the man of this sort for the highest hero. And
it was of such heroism that the men in our text are an example. The golden
image. No figure emerges from the mist of ancient times more clearly defined than
Nebuchadnezzar. He occupies a large space in Scripture
and the disinterred
libraries of the East are filled with the records of his glory. While yet only
crown prince he had swept in triumph through Syria and Palestine
and inflicted
a severe defeat on Egypt. Greater than his victories abroad was his conquest of
the magnificent city of Babylon
with its colossal walls and temples
which may
justly be called his creation. To a certain magnificence and generosity of
character he united vast arrogance
an ungovernable temper
and vindictive
cruelty; yet he was so religious that all the records of his deeds are
ascription to his god. What is the meaning of this decree? Doubtless
in the
first place
it was largely political--a method
not unwise
of uniting the
many different elements of his scattered empire
and securing his own
supremacy. But it is not difficult to see that Nebuchadnezzar’s god was
after
all
only a deification of Nebuchadnezzar himself. The true man comes out in
such phrases as these: “Is not this the great Babylon which I have built? . . .
Who is that God
who is able to deliver you out of my hands?” Yes
the image
overlaid with gold
flashing in the sun there
is an image erected to success
and human glory. It is the worldly power triumphant. Men and women
the image
of Dura is with us still. It is no longer embodied in outward form of idol or
king. It is the world spirit
the spirit of earthly glory
wealth
success; and
a right lordly spirit it is
towering
like Nebuchadnezzar’s image
aloft
and
decked out
too
like it
with flashing gold. It has allurement still; it
gathers to it still all music
art
and refinement
--everything that delights
the senses
and makes the homage of its worshippers easy; but it is arbitrary
and capricious as ever. No religion or morality may control it. Its first
commandment is
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me”; and for all its
beauty and refinement
it is cruel--oh
deadly cruel. Resist it
and it is
swelling with rage. Resist still
and it opens the furnace
no longer the
furnace of wood or pitch. We have changed all that. The times are refined
but
it has still its deadly enmity
as sharp in the teeth as ever. If it is no
longer a furnace
it has sneering and scorning and social ostracism. The image
flashes
the music sounds
the king is looking on
and in a moment the vast
assembly is prostrate as a field of corn before a sudden tempest. Scythian
purple
fine white linen
all kiss the dust. Just so
just so. Always where the
world-spirit is upreared the world-power is down with one consent. Character
religion
these matter nothing. Wealth
show
rank
glory
these are your gods
O Israel. What kind of man is he that you ask us to worship? They say that he
has broken hiswife’s heart; never mind
“bow your heads”; and at once the whole
multitude make their universal salaam. Here another splendid equipage comes
along. Hats off! It is said
Who is he? What has he done? He has made his
fortune. They say he has taken his millions out of the gutter. What does that
matter? He is a rich man. Bow your heads; and again there is an universal
acknowledgment of the old image of Dura. Our god is Success. This is his great
Babylon that he has built. And so
when the music sounds the scene of Dura is
repeated in every age
and the golden image is still worshipped by all. Not by
all! Thank God
there are heroes still. Let us consider what they had to do.
Young men they were
we are told
standing on the very threshold of life. Aye
and when is life ever so sweet? When is the grass so green
and the sun so
bright
and that light upon land and sea so pleasant? When is it so difficult
to turn one’s back upon it
and leave it all? And not only life was before
them
but
look you
such a life full of advantage. Would they not say
“God
pardon for once. We find the noise of the multitude
and the wrath of the
king
and the allurements of music too much. God pardon us?” They had a very
good precedent for it. You remember that when Naaman the Syrian was cured
he
said to the prophet
taking the prophet’s God to be his in this thing
“The
Lord pardon thy servant
that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to
worship there
and he leaneth on my hand
and I bow myself in the house of
Rimmon; when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon
the Lord pardon thy
servant in this thing.” And the prophet said
“Go in peace.” And was there no
prophet to say to these men that their sin was very small
and they might go in
peace? There was higher than the king there that day. “They endured as seeing
Him who is invisible.” But we have not yet touched the full height of their
heroism. Let us follow the narrative. The tongue of envy is at once set ageing.
You will see that the envious tongue is the tongue of the Chaldeans
and you need
not wonder at that when you find in the chapter before we have a record of a
victory over the Chaldeans at the hands of Jehovah. They cannot bear to be thus
humbled
prostrate themselves. You can hear cutting words like these:
“Straight-laced!” “Who are they that they should be setting themselves up
indeed!” “Holier than all the rest!” Just so
just so. Do you worship with me?
No; you dare to be different. How dare you? Who are you that you should set
yourself up that I am wrong and you are right? And so the king heard of it
and
was swelling with rage. Don’t you wonder at the king? But a little while ago he
had said of a truth
“your God is a God of gods and a Lord of lords.” And yet
it suited him to forget. The former interference of the God of gods had been
quite in a line with his policy’. “And if the God of gods and the Lord of lords
will interpret my dreams to me
and give me satisfaction
why
I have no
objection to His being God of gods; but if He interferes with my lordship
if
He sets me down from my pedestal and my golden image
erected to my glory
ah!
then who is that God who will deliver out of my hand?” That is the morality of
the world
the world’s god. They knew God. Well
they had their answer. “Oh
Nebuchadnezzar
we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 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 thy hand
O king. 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.” “But if not.” Men and women
I wonder if you see the amazing
heroism of these three words. What does it mean? Ah! here is what it means.
Religion pays. Honesty is the best policy. If you do not get on in this world
you will in the next. If you are good
there is Heaven; if you are bad
there
is hell. It is best to be good. But if all that arrangement of yours for the
reward of good and the punishment of evil were to-night upset
where would your
morality be? It is convenient for you to be an honest fellow. You have the
repute of your fellows. But that hope beyond--but if not
if there should be no
reward for your goodness
if there is noHeaven to keep you up
if there is no
hell to terrify you
nothing but right--that is right
whether it is reward or
not. I wonder if you would be boldenough to say
“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.” But marvellous things happen. With startling dramatic
power it is put before us in this narrative. “Then Nebuchadnezzar was
astonished
rose up and said
“Lo! I see four men loose
walking in the midst
of the fire
and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Ah
whatever
interpretation you make of that verse
on the whole doctrine the story is true
for all time. Truth lives in the furnace. It was a great thing these men had
looked forward to when they said
“Our God is able to deliver us from the
furnace
and He will deliver us.” That was great
but who of men ever thought
of this greater thing by far--“Our God is able to deliver us in the furnace.”
These men went free; nothing was burned but the bonds which their fellows had
laid upon them. The lesson of it all is this
that truth--nay
let me say this
to speak in New Testament language--the truth
us it is in Jesus
devotion to
Christ
is a thing marked off from the world by as sharp a line as it was in
the days of Nebuchadnezzar--and to young men--yes
and old men--there comes the
same choice on the one side
the lordly bringing to itself all worldly
advantage
surrounding itself still with cornet
flute
harp
sackbut
psaltery
and dulcimer
and all kinds of music
with the furnace not far off
is claiming
your allegiance; and by the side is your Lord and Master
asking you to witness
and be faithful to Him
to His Person
to His atonement
to His resurrection
to all that He is and all that He has given us; and He has asked of you
“What
will you do to-day?” Ah! the world says
“No need to be so sharp; let us have
airy notions and ill-defined beliefs; let us have a large margin
wherein it
may be lawful now to bow to the golden image
and now to bow to Jehovah.” No
no. Keen--keen is the dividing line still--the worship there
Christ here; the
music there
the furnace here--and for your choice. God help you in that day
when the two forces strive for your allegiance! I say
God help you to say
“We
are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so the God whom we
serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace
and He will deliver
us. But if not
we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image thou
hast set up.” (W. J. Macdonald.)
The Trial of Fire
The world crowns with the
heroic wreath those who have been distinguished for valour in the field of
carnal strife
“but there is something which has tried the souls of men more
than the muzzle of a gun ready to pour its contents into the unshielded breast
of a soldier.” So there have been heroes who never set a squadron in the field
or bared their breast to an enemy’s steel flattery and frowns
blandishments
and dungeons
and cross and the stake
have had no power to turn them from the
right.
I. THE ACCUSATION. No man
may expect to escape from calumny. But happy is the man who can be assailed
only because of his virtues--his adherence to religious principles. And such is
the base passion of envy
that it withers at another’s joy
and hates the
excellence it cannot reach
” and will
therefore
seek to elevate itself by
detracting from the reputation of another.
II. THE TRIAL. The trial of
these young men was one of the most extraordinary to which men were ever
subjected. It was so as by fire. Now
truth and virtue are on trial. What will
be the issue? Come
ye angels that excel in strength; come
all the world that
hang in hope upon the truth of religion
and await the result. “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.” The answer illustrates:
1. The duty of pleasing God rather than men. “We are not careful to
answer thee in this matter.” But just here the text is found at which so many
fail. Men are careful to answer to their fellow-men
rather than to God
for
their conduct. Public opinion is the great golden image before which they fall
down in worship. Fashion also sets up its great golden image
and commands all
to bow down and worship it. It has passed into an aphorism: “You had as well go
out of the world as out of the fashion.” God says: “Be not conformed to this
world
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” There is also a great
golden image set up in the form of prevailing social customs
by which persons
are tried whether they will do right or conform to the example of the company
they are in.
2. The confidence that God would take care of them if they honoured
Him. “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery”
furnace
and He will deliver us out of thy hand.” And their knowledge of the
character of God assured them that no real harm could come to them in the way
of their duty to Him. But their answer went further; if it had not
it would
have lacked in one great element of force
which we shall see presently. They
said: “But if God does not deliver us
we will not serve thy gods.” If this had
not been added
it might have been said: “No wonder they are so heroic
having
the assurance that God would save them from the threatened punishment; in other
words
they were willing to serve God as long as they were exempt from
suffering; as long as it went well with them in this world.” That was the kind
of religion that the neighbours of Job thought he had--a mercenary religion.
3. We have in this answer an exhibition of true principle as the
foundation of a religious life. Their were governed by principle. “True
religion
” says Albert Barnes
“is a determined purpose to do right
whatever
may be the consequences. Come wealth or poverty
honour or dishonour
life or
death
the mind is firmly fixed on doing right.” A man who loves what is right
and is determined to do what is right because he has deep down in his soul a
recognition of the everlasting blessedness of virtue
is not the one who will
want to bring weak excuses for worldly conformity; for doing what he has
misgivings in his own mind is not right. He who is in earnest about saving his
soul will not frame weak excuses for yielding to temptation. In fine
principle
and not impulse
will be the mainspring of his religious activity.
True religion is a determined purpose to live for God
come what may.
III. WE COME NOW TO THE CONDEMNATION AND
DELIVERANCE OF THESE YOUNG MEN AS THE FINAL GENERAL PROPOSITION OF OUR SUBJECT.
They were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Though they had been so
faithful to God
yet He permitted them to be brought into this dreadful place.
Now may Nebuchadnezzar utter his infidel sneer: “Who is that God that shall
deliver you out of my hands?” Even faith itself may be so tried as to say: “It
is vain to serve God; He is so indifferent to our efforts to please Hire
or He
is powerless against the world.” But do not be in haste to judge. God did not
save them from the furnace
but He went with them into it and protected them
there. So His people may not be exempt from trials
but they have the presence
of Jesus in these trials. “In the world ye shall have tribulation
” and through
great tribulation ye shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. But if He sees
that it is necessary that we go into those trials
He will give us blessed compensations.
And then
if He sees fit to put us in the furnace in order to purify
and
sanctify
and fit us for glory
it is because He knows there is something in us
worth the trial. Men do not put dross in the crucible--a thing of no value--and
sit there watching over it. Then
if you are in the furnace
there is something
in you which God values
and by this process He will develop it. “They walked
in the midst of the fire and had no hurt.” How true to the history of God’s
people in all ages of the world-walking in the midst of the fire and not
burned. From this we learn that it is not the outward circumstances of an
individual that can harm him. His welfare depends upon the inward state of the
heart. Hence a Christian has a source of consolation which no earthly
influences can turn aside or obstruct. But the same fire which was harmless to
God’s servants destroyed their enemies. And thus it is that those trials under
which Christians are happy are overwhelming to those who have no faith in God.
I cannot leave this subject without one more thought. These men were called up
out of the furnace. And that was not all; they were promoted in the kingdom.
From the fires of trial to which God subjects us
always comes a higher state
of life. But this higher state is produced by those experiences which seem so
hard to us. We rise upon the wreck of the earthly to the Heavenly. After they
were well tried the king came and called these young men out of the trial--out
of the furnace. Then the king promoted them in the province of Babylon. And
thus will God
when He has seen that we have been suffciently tried
and are
fitted for the better world
call us out of the furnace and promote us to the
kingdom of everlasting blessedness. (J. T. Murray.)
Three Names High on the
Muster-roll
Have you not seen in your
time men seriously impressed? But after a while they forgot it all
and became
at length the most bitter opponents of the truth before which they seemed once
to bow. We know
then
what to expect; that some who seem like fish almost
landed
will
nevertheless
slip back into the stream. This great king of
Babylon was an absolute monarch. His will was law; no man ever dared to dispute
with him. Who would differ from a gentleman who could back up his arguments
with a fiery
furnace
or with a threat to cut you in pieces
and to make your
house a dunghill?
I. First of all
as we think of these three brave Jews
let us consider THE EXCUSES THEY MIGHT HAVE MADE. They were
accused by the Chaldeans
who had so recently been saved from death by Daniel
and his three friends. The surest way to be hated by some people is to place
them under an obligation. But in this case the wrath of man was to praise God.
They might have said to themselves
“It is perfectly useless to resist. We cannot
contend against this man. If we submit
we do it unwillingly; and surely
being
coerced into it
we shall be but little blamed.” It is a bad excuse
but it is
one that I have often heard made. “Oh
” says a man
“we must live
you
know; we must live.” I really do not see any necessity for it. Again
they
might have said
“We are in a strange land
and is it not written by one of our
wise men
‘When you are in Babylon
you must do as Babylon does’? Of course
if
we were at home
in Judaea
we would not think of such a thing.” Is God the God
of this island
and not the God of the Continent? Has He ever given us
permission to do abroad we may not do at home? It is a vile excuse
but
commonly enough made. They might also have said
“We are in office”; and seeing
they were set over the affairs of the province of Babylon
they might have
found some difficulty in detaching their private religion from their public
duty. A man gets elected to a parish vestry
or a council
or a board
and when
he once gets to sit on that board
he seems to have left his honesty at home. I
say not that it is so always
but I am sorry to say that it has often been so.
The official has no sooner put on his robes of office than his conscience has
vanished. But
then
they were prosperous men. They were getting on in the
world
and I believe that God sent this trial to Shadrach
Meshach
and
Abed-nego
because they were prospering. They might have said
“We must not
throw away our chances.” Among the dangers to Christian men
the greatest
perhaps
is accumulating wealth--the danger of prosperity. May God grant that we may
never turn His mercies into an excuse for sinning against Him! You who are rich
have no more liberty to sin than if you were poor. Again
further
they might
have excused themselves thus. The putting up of this image was not altogether a
religious act. It was symbolical. The image was intended to represent the power
of Nebuchadnezzar
and bowing before it was
therefore
doing political homage
to the great king. Might they not safely do this? They might have said
“We are
pollitically bound.” Oh
how often we hear this brought up! You are told to
regard the difference between right and wrong everywhere
except when you get
into politics; then stick to your party through thick and thin. Right and wrong
vanish at once. Loyalty to your leader--that is the point. A very soothing
salve for their conscience might have been found in the absence of any command
to renounce their own religion. They might have encouraged each other to submit
by saying
“We are not called upon to abjure our God.” They need not believe
the idol to be Divine
nor confess the least faith in it; in their hearts they
might make a mental reservation as they bowed
and they might have whispered to
one another
and said that it was a devil
and no God. They might have excused
themselves to their own conscience by saying that they prostrated themselves to
the music
and not to the idol
or that they made obeisance to the king
rather than to his image. Anything
in fact
will serve for an excuse
when the
heart is ‘bent on compromise; and
especially in these half-hearted days
it is
very easy to find a specious reason for a false action
if some temporal
benefit is attached to it. Modern charity manufactures a multitude of excuses
to cover sins withal. A stronger argument
however
might have been secured
from the fact of the universal submission to the decree. “Everybody else is
doing it
” they might have said. Though millions bowed
what had that to do
with them? I ask you to cultivate a brave personality. In the service of God
things cannot go by the counting of heads. They might have said
“It is only
for once
and not for long. Ten minutes or so
once in a lifetime
to please
the king; such a trivial act cannot make any difference; at any rate
it is not
enough to brave the fiery furnace for. Let us treat the whole thing as a huge
jest. It would be ridiculous to throw away our lives for such a trifle.” Not
even for a few minutes in a lifetime would these three brave men deny their
God. May their stubborn faith be ours! Another excuse that they might have made
was
“We can do more good by living than we can by being cast into than
furnace. It is true
if we are burnt alive
we bear a rapid testimony to the
faith of God; but if we live
how much more we might accomplish! You see we
three are Jews
and we are put in high office
and there are many poor Jews who
are captives. We can help them. We have always seen justice done to God’s
people
our fellow-country-men
and we feel that we are raised to our high
office on purpose to do good. Now
you see
if you make us bigots
and wilt not
let us yield
you cut short our opportunities of usefulness.” If an act of sin
would increase my usefulness tenfold
I have no right to do it; and if an act
of righteousness would appear likely to destroy my my apparent usefulness
I am
yet to do it. But they might also have said
“Real!y
this is more than can be
expected of us.” Remember what Jesus said to the multitudes who went with him
“If any man come to me and hate not his father
and mother
and wife
and
children
. and brethren; and sister
yea
and his own life also
he cannot be
my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross
and come after me
cannot
be my disciple.”
II. In the second
place
let us assure our own hearts by admiring THE CONFIDENCE WHICH THEY POSSESSED. They
expressed it very emphatically and clearly. They had a definite
solid
foursquare faith.
1. First
they said
“O Nebuchadnezzar
we are not careful to answer
thee in this matter.” The word “careful” there
does not give you the meaning.
Read it
“We are not full of care as to how to answer thee.” They did answer
very carefully; but they were not anxious about the answer. They did not
deliberate. They did not hesitate. They said
“Nebuchadnezzar
we can answer
you at once on that point.”
2. In the second place
they did not judge it theirs to answer at
all. I find that it may read
as in the Revised Version
“O Nebuchadnezzar
we
have no need to answer thee in this matter
” meaning
“We will not answer you.
It is not for us to answer you. You have brought another Person into the
quarrel” Then notice what they say. “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver
us from the burning fiery furnace.”
3. They avowed their faith in the Omnipotent God
knowing that
if He
chose
no mighty man of Babylon could ever throw them into that furnace. What
is more
they add
“And He will deliver us out of thine hand
O king.”
Whether they burned in the fire or not
they were sure they would be delivered.
If any of you are in great difficulty and trouble
tempted
to do wrong
nay
pressed to do it
and if you do what is right
it looks as if you will be great
losers and great sufferers; believe this: God can deliver you. He can prevent
your having to suffer what you suppose you may; and if He does not prevent
that
He can help you to bear it
and
in a short time
He can turn all your
losses into gains
all your sufferings into happiness. The Lord has helped us
in the past
He is helping us in the present
and we believe that He will help
us all the way through.
III. But here is
the point that I want to make most prominent--the third one--THE DETERMINATION AT WHICH THEY HAD
ARRIVED. “I not
” if God does not deliver us at all
“be it known
unto thee
O king
that we will not serve thy gods
nor worship the golden
image which thou hast set up.” Grand language! Noble resolve!
1. They did not pivot their loyalty to God upon their deliverance.
They did not say
as some do
“I will serve God if it pays me to do so. I will
serve God if He helps me at such and such a time.” No
they would serve Him for
nothing; theirs was not cupboard love.
2. They resolved that they would obey God at all costs. Let us walk
in this heroic path. But some will say
“It is too hard. You cannot expect men
to love God well enough to die for Him.” No
but there was One who loved us
well enough to die for us
and to die a thousand deaths in one
that He might
save us. If Christ so loved us
we ought so to love Him. “Well
” says one
“I
think it is impossible. I could not bear pain.” It is possible
for many have
endured it. You may never be called to such a trial as that; but still
if you
cannot bear the small trials
how would you bear the great ones? To enable us
to get the spirit of these three holy men
we must get
first
a clear sense of
the Divine presence. It a man feels that God is seeing him
he will not bow his
knee to an idol; neither will he do evil; for God’s eye is upon him. We must
next
have a deep sense of the Divine law. I have already reminded you of the
law. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me
” etc. Above all
to keep
us right
we must have a mighty sense of the Divine love. We shall never obey
God till by His grace we have new hearts
and those hearts are full of love to
Him through Jesus Christ. “But what did these three men do?” says one; “they
simply did not bow their heads
and they were cast into the fiery furnace. What
did they do?” They influenced their age
their people
and all time. These
three men influenced the city of Babylon
and the whole Babylonian empire
They
certainly influenced King Nebuchadnezzar. These three men command the
admiration of Heaven and earth. A fool would have pointed at them and said
“There go three fools--gentlemen high in office
with large incomes
and wives
and families. They have only to take their cap off
and they may live in their
wealth; but if they do not do it
they are to be burnt alive; and they will not
do it. They will be burnt alive. They are fools.” Yes
but the Son of God did
not think so. When He in Heaven heard them speak thus to King Nebuchadnezzar
He said
“Brave
brave men! I will leave the throne of God in Heaven to go and
stand by their side”; and invisibly He descended
till where the fires were
glowing like one vast ruby
where the fierce flame had slain the men that threw
the three confessors into the burning fiery furnace
He came and stood. (C.
H. Spurgeon.)
The True Way of Treating
Sin
and what comes of it
The true way of treating
sin is by a religion of principle. And that sort of religion is splendidly
displayed in Scripture. Out on the plain of Dura is to be lifted a golden image
ninety feet in height. It is plated
not solid--and are not all idols plated?
Every object of worship
save only God
is hollow and deceiving. Well
the
pageant is accomplished. The image stands resplendent. The king is gorgeous on
his throne. The highest officers of the kingdom crowd the plain. The music
bursts and swells. And all the plain at once is full of prostrate worshippers.
Except that three men still stand. They have not fallen. They do not worship.
Who are they? They are Hebrew captives from Jerusalem. They have heard the
command higher than the king’s--“Thou shalt have no other gods before me; thou
shalt not bow down thyself to them
nor worship them.” They will obey this
loftier mandate. And there they stand amid the kneeling host
erect
alone;
with firmness on their faces
with faith in their hearts
with God above them
with all the world beneath their feet. Here
surely
is a religion of
principle. Not a transient enthusiasm; not simply a decorous
fair-weather
profession; not a weak and swaying sentimentality
but a deep
inward
immovable
resistent principle of life
holding the possessors of it to
straight and definite courses
and clothing them with heroism. Consider the
foundation of such religion of principle. Right doctrine is one of its
foundations. Doctrine is something taught. Shadrach
Meshach
and Abednego had
been taught the truth that Jehovah is supreme. There is an immense importance
in right doctrine. Right religion is right theology applied; right practice is
right doctrine carried out; right life is right creed lived. You must learn the
will of God before you can unfalteringiy do that will. Right resolve is another
of the foundations of a religion of principle. Not only must the right doctrine
be received
but along with that must go the resolve to practise it at all
hazards. The doctrine must not be a seed
carefully wrapped and laid in some
secret drawer; it must be a seed planted
and helped upward into growth and
bloom and fruitage by all the breezes
and all the showers
and all the
sunlight. Right doctrine must
through holy resolution
compel the deed into coincidence
with itself. Consider the tests of this religion of principle. It is prompt.
Oh
the waste of life
in debating duty! Oh
the weakness of argument and
counter argument! Oh
the trouble of the spirit stunned with the noises of
disputation with itself. Oh
the clearness and straightness and strength of the
life which
looking to Christ for truth
just bravely does the truth at once.
Mark the grand promptness of these three Hebrews. “We are determined and
decided; wears not careful to answer thee in this matter
O king.” This
religion of principle is conscientious about small matters. (Wayland Hoyt
D.D.)
Religious Intolerance
I. WE HAVE HERE AN INSTANCE OF RELIGIOUS
INTOLERANCE. The scene of the text is laid in an Eastern land. It
would seem that the will of the monarch was supreme. His word was law; he must
be obeyed. And this authority was not confined simply to affairs of state; it
seems to have entered into the region of religion too. This is always
dangerous. It matters but little when it happens; trouble is almost sure to
arise unless freedom of thought and liberty of conscience are entirely
surrendered. It was this arrogant claim which kept many states of Europe in the
chains of ignorance and superstition far too long. It was this which fired the
soul of Luther
and led him to be a reformer. We state with emphasis that in
our judgment no man has a right to come between God and the soul.
1. Every man should be at liberty to worship God according to his own
conscience and lights.
2. The law should protect every man in the enjoyment of this liberty
providing always that he does not interfere with the enjoyment of the same
rights and liberties by others. My freedom of action is to be limited by the
rights and liberties of others. The king had a perfect right to set up his
image. But when he sought to compel others to do as he did he interfered with
their liberties
which should have been the measure of his own. The law should
protect us all alike in our religion
if we do not interfere with the rights of
our neighbours.
3. No man should suffer civil disability because of his religious
belief.
4. No man should have preference in civil matters because of his
religious profession.
II. WE HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF RELIGIOUS
FAITHFULNESS.
1. We must be true to our God
even if we have to stand alone. Living
as we do in times when religion is popular
and to attend public worship is
respectable
we cannot fully realise all it means to stand alone for God.
2. We must be true to our God
even if it makes us seem untrue to
men. These men had received
much in this kingdom. They were the sons of
conquered people
men of an alien and foreign race
the children of captivity
and prisoners of war. Royal favour had spared
and saved them. Sad and painful
as it may be to appear ungrateful to those to whom we are under obligation
we
must not dishonour our God. It is better to lose the friendship of man than the
favour of God.
3. We must be true to God
even if it brings loss upon us. A religion
which costs nothing is worth only what it costs. Did Moses consider what he
would gain if he made common cause with his own people
whom God meant him to
deliver? It may well be doubted if anyone ever suffers much in the long run
through faithfulness to God. (C. Leach
D.D.)
The Martyrs
Men of this strain are of
native right the captains of the great host of God. They are the men sent to
lead it when formed
to rally it when broken
and to inspire it by their own
conduct in the field. The men who can say
Whether I succeed or fail
as the
world counts success or failure
whether I suffer or triumph
whether I die or
live
one thing I do
the will of God as far as it is made known to me; and one
thing I will not do
the will of the world
the flesh
and the devil
form that
living core of strength and valour in Christ’s army. The presence of these
Jewish youths at the Chaldean court is a conspicuous instance of the visible
interposition of a Divine hand in the government of the world. The Jew was the
living witness of the care of God for the political welfare of men. We are
prone to underrate the influence of the Jew on the world of his time. We see
him narrow
selfish
and exclusive
and we easily overlook the remarkable
influence which he exerted at critical moments on the surrounding peoples.
Joseph’s work in Egypt is really but a specimen of the work which that people
willingly or unwillingly
were compelled to accomplish for mankind. In Daniel
probably the influence culminated
until the whole commission was read out by
St. Paul. The crisis which Daniel records is one of the chief pivots of
universal history.
I. Let us study THE MARTYR SPIRIT AS HERE REVEALED.
1. These men had attained to the condition in which conviction had
passed beyond the reach of perturbation or question. The everlasting hills were
not so firmly rooted as the belief in the God of Heaven
and the essential
blessedness of serving Him
was rooted in those young hearts. The rending in
pieces of the whole world system around them would have shattered none of their
dearest beliefs and hopes (Psalms 46:1-5). Their God made the world
and could make new worlds at His
pleasure; but He was the same
from everlasting to everlasting
and His word
must stand
whatever else in the universe might fall.
2. They were themselves of that temper
and had come to that strength
and unity of character
that they could declare
There are things which we
cannot say
there are things which we cannot do
whatever be the cost; it is
blankly impossible; here strand we; we can do no other
God help us. I say they
were of that temper
and they had come to that strength and unity of character.
There must be both to make such martyrs
such witnesses for the God of Heaven
as these. If this must be
it must be. God help us; it must be. We cannot
speak
we cannot do
this awful lie. “Be it known unto thee
O king
that we
will not serve thy gods
nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
3. There must abide in all martyr spirits an unwavering faith in the
omnipotent hand of God. “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us.” His
power to rule is clear to us as sunlight. He may choose to help us now
and
signally deliver. He may choose to let us suffer
but nothing can shake our
belief in His Power to save. We are sure that His will must be done; His cause
must triumph; His servants
His soldiers
must be crowned. It may be here; it
may be there; we do not question Him; times are in His hand. But here or there it
will be
as surely as He reigns. A man may say with unconquerable firmness
I
cannot do this thing
I will rather die
even when he believes that death is
annihilation. But this faith is essential to the joyous spirit of Christian
martyrdom; the exultation in prospect of a death of pain and shame which broke
forth in the words
“I am ready to be offered up
and the time of my departure
is at hand. I have fought a good fight
I have finished my course
I have kept
the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness
which
the Lord
the righteous Judge
shall give me at that day.” To die thus
one
must believe that that for which he dies will reign
and he with it
in
eternity.
II. We shall
better understand the temper of these men WHEN WE COMPARE IT WITH A RECORD WHICH DESCRIBES VERY
FAITHFULLY THE QUALITY OF MUCH THAT GOES BY THE NAME OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE Genesis 28:16-22). “Bless me
prosper my journey
bring me home again
and I will
serve thee
” were the terms of Jacob’s covenant in Bethel. But if the cross be
heavy
the self-denial hard
the battle long and stern
the cry is
Why hast
thou brought me forth? “Is not this that” we said unto thee
Let us alone that
we may serve the Egyptians?” How grandly beside these terms of bargain rings
out the clear defiance of the text. Many a man enters on the pilgrim path in
the belief that God will make his way smooth
pleasant
prosperous
and ends by
being so wedded to truth and righteousness that he would say quite calmly with
these men
“Be it known unto thee
O king
that we will not serve thy gods
nor
worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Do not be disheartened if you
find faith waver in the hour of trial. At the opening of a battle
when the
first bullets begin to patter
the boldest soldier draws himself together. When
his blood is warm
he thinks of them no more than of summer rain-drops. Pray to
the Master that thy faith fail not.
III. Let us look at
THE SCHOOL IN WHICH MEN ARE
TRAINED TO SUCH GOD-:LIKE VIGOUR AND COURAGE which it was God’s
will that they should practise in great things. They were as resolute against
little compliances as against great ones. It is a grand mistake to think that
men can leap in one moment of high excitement to such a glorious height of
strength and courage. Nothing but trained Christian manhood can endure such
strain. Idols! the world is full of them. Golden idols
too
and daily throngs
bow down their souls to worship. Are you trained to say
That I cannot do
that
trick I cannot practise
that lie I cannot tell
that lust I will not indulge
that worldly success I will not clutch at
though life were hanging on it. I
cannot do it; God help me! (J. B. Brown
B.A.)
Courage and Fidelity
I. THE IMPIETY OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR IN
ERECTING THIS IDOL
and using means to compel all people
especially his captives
to fall down and worship it..
II. The exemplary
courage and fidelity of these men
in withstanding the impetuous passion of the
king
and suffering all the effects of his rage and fury
rather than yield to
the impiety of worshipping his idol
III. The happy
issue of their constancy
and triumph of their faith in this conflict.
I. As to the idol
itself
though the sacred text says nothing of the shape of it
yet I think it
is not doubted but that it was made in the figure of a man; some think it was
intended for Bolus
the founder of the Babylonian royal family; others
for
Nabopollasser
this king’s father; but a third opinion is that it was a model
of that image which Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his dream
in the foregoing
chapter
which he might take to be the genius of his kingdom
and which
therefore
he might hope to render propitious to him and his affairs
by dedicating
to him this magnificent statue
and through it offering to him Divine honours
and adorations. This
indeed
was agreeable enough to the theology of the
ancient Gentiles
who thus venerated their peculiar and tutelar deities. But it
was more unpardonable in this king than in others
by reason of the long
commerce which he had with the Jews
which makes it impossible to conceive that
he could be ignorant of this first and greatest article of their religion
that
there was but one God
and that He was to be worshipped in a spiritual way
without any material resemblance. He was well acquainted with Daniel and these
three men
whom he had appointed to be bred up in his court
and to be fitted
for the high offices of his kingdom
to which he quickly preferred them. I will
not now stand to enquire how far it may be lawful to enforce the profession
even of true religion by temporal penalties. There is a zeal for God
which His
own word approves of in magistrates and ministers; and there is a zeal without
knowledge
which runs out into a criminal persecution
for which St. Paul says
that he obtained mercy
because he acted ignorantly (1. Timothy 1:13). But
surely Nebuchadnezzar could not plead this excuse. He must be well acquainted
with the religion of these men; he had the greatest obligations to their God
and was bound to them by the laws of hospitality
and by the faithful service
which we may justly suppose they rendered him in their respective stations.
II. Let us now
turn to the contemplation of THE
EXEMPLARY COURAGE AND FIDELITY OF THESE MEN
who withstood the
impetuous passion of the king
and chose to suffer all the effects of his rage
and fury rather than yield to the impiety of worshipping his idol. This is a
plain argument that their hopes were extended beyond this life; for had they
thought the fiery furnace could have put an end to their being
and that there
should nothing have remained of them for God to reward or punish in another
state
I am of opinion they would have bowed to this image rather than have
burned for it. For
however some affirm
that truth is so much more beautiful
and con-natural to the soul of man than falsehood
that a wise man would prefer
it even for its own sake
though nothing was to be expected after this life;
yet if it were to be vindicated with the utter extinction of the whole man
and
that on the contrary his receding from it would prolong his existence and his
happiness
I am apt to think that it would in such case become an allowed rule
of wisdom
to recede from the truth when it could not be held without suffering
the loss of soul and body for the sake of it. And this was certainty the
motive
why these martyrs of the true God did so cheerfully surrender their
bodies to the flames
submitting themselves to Him
to live or die
as He saw
most conducive to His own glory; firmly believing that if the fire dissolved
their bodies
their souls should pass into His more immediate presence
and be
made partakers of His immortal felicities. I believe I need not say much to persuade
those who have a competent knowledge of the sufferings of holy martyrs
that
many of them have given the best evidence that the consolations of God have far
exceeded the torments of men in their greatest extremities.
III. THE HAPPY ISSUE OF THESE MEN’S CONSTANCY
and the
triumph of their faith in this conflict. The enraged king had power to throw
them into the fire
but he had no power to make the fire burn them. The king
when he called to his counsellors upon this occasion
told them that the form of
the fourth man was like the Son of God. By this he might mean that he appeared
to be a very august
majestic person; a god-like man
as we would say. This is
as much as the expression sometimes imports. But because he could not think
that a man of flesh and blood could enter there
and preserve the sufferers in
such a miraculous manner
he must rather mean that it was some Divine Being
sent from Heaven for this purpose. To this it will be objected that it is not
credible Nebuchadnezzar knew anything of this Son of God
so as to be able to
say that this person was like him. And we may readily allow that he did not;
and yet this objection does not at all overthrow our hypothesis. For the king
might mean in general that he seemed to be some Divine person; and this person
might be the particular and only Son of God
who in all probability appeared
upon the earth in human shape upon some occasion long before His incarnation. (W.
Reading M. A.)
I. CONSIDER THE TRIAL OF THEIR OBEDIENCE.
It must be allowed that things good in themselves are heightened in value by
circumstances. Why was the liberality of the widow commended
whole file rich
cast into the treasury? We are told that they cast in of their abundance; but
she of her penury cast in all that she had. The man who is not puffed up in the
time of prosperity
is the humble man; he who is not cast down when in danger
and when all other men’s strength fails
this is the courageous man.
1. They could plead authority. It was their sovereign who commanded
them to fall down and worship the image
and good men must be loyal subjects.
Yes
but here is a distinction to be made: we must distinguish between civil
and religious concerns
and must obey God rather than man. But this conduct has
often given to the servants of God a character for insubordination. Thus Jesus
was charged with sedition
and Paul with being tumultuous.
2. They could plead obligation. Nebuchadnezzar had taken these
captives from among the Hebrews
and had raised them to offices of trust and
emolument. Nothing pleads so powerfully as kindness; favours attach the heart
and good men are sensible of obligations. There is no greater trial than to be
unable to oblige a friend. “He that loveth father and mother more than me
is
not worthy of me”--this is the trial.
3. They could plead the universality of the example. All around them
yielded; and why should they be singular? Singularity
for its own sake
always
shows a vain mind
and singularity in little things discovers a weak mind.
Decency requires that we should not stand out in little things; but in things
important
where a soul is to be lost
and God dishonoured--there we must be
“separate
and touch not the unclean thing.” A dead fish will swim with
the stream; it is a live one only that can swim against it. It was thus that
Enoch walked with God alone
and amidst opposition. Thus
Noah was a preacher
of righteousness in a sinful world
and Moses refused to be called the son of
Pharaoh’s daughter. You are not afraid to be singular in most things; you are
not afraid to be singularly wise--singularly rich--singularly happy! The best
wisdom is that “which is from above
” and the best happiness is that which is
eternal. When you are called on to do good
never ask what others are doing
or
what will be said of you.
4. Remark the dreadfulness of the penalty. You sometimes complain
that your trials are too much for your virtue. “Oh
” you say
“if we follow on
in this particular course
we shall”--but let us hear your trials--“we shall be
exposed to the burning stake--cast into the lion’s den.” No
nothing like it. “
Shall be deprived of liberty”; nothing like it. “Be reduced to want”; nothing
like it. “No; but in order to attend to closet and family devotions
” I hear
you say
“we must rise a little earlier. Oh! but
if we don’t profane the
Sabbath
and open our shops on the Sunday
we shall lose some of our customers.
If we don’t conform to the world
we shall be scoffed at.” Eternal God! these
are the martyrs of thy religion in our day!
II. THE PRINCIPLE OF THEIR OBEDIENCE.
A conduct so tried
and yet so triumphant
must have had principle to support
it. A man under the influence of principle will not be under the control of
circumstances
nor under the influence of momentary impulse; if a good man
errs
he acts from principle. But what armed them? Can we find a principle
equal to the effect produced? The servants of God have done great things
and
have suffered great trials; and the very thing which has enabled them to suffer
is that which some are afraid of
viz.
faith. Faith does not lead to
licentiousness. It is by faith alone that we can do good works. But faith must
have something to lay hold on
and act and work upon. In the faith of these
three young men there were three things to act upon.
1. The power of God. “Our God
” said they
“is able to deliver us.”
“He is the Maker of heaven and earth; He has suspended the laws of nature
made
iron to swim
and raised the dead; and He is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we can ask or think.” It was here that the Jews failed; they
asked’
“Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? Can He give flesh also?”
All nature may change; but His word cannot fail: “He can turn the shadow of
death into the morning.”
2. It regarded the disposition of God. “He will deliver us out of
thine hand
O king!” Perhaps they thought it probable that God would work a
miracle in their favour; perhaps they had some inward presentiment of it in
their minds; perhaps they concluded this from Scripture. They had doubtless read
in the book of Psalms
“I will deliver him and honour him
and I will shew him
my salvation.” He has engaged to deliver His people in the day of trouble
and
He will do it
either here partially or hereafter completely.
3. It regarded a future indemnification in another world. What! did
they still persist in their determination--though a painful death was to be the
consequence? Yes; but they could not have regaled it as annihilation. If there
had been no other world
it would not have become them to have sacrificed life;
their martyrdom would
in this case
have been madness. They must
then
have
believed in a state of future recompense. Unless we bring the prospect of a
future and eternal life to bear upon our conduct
we shall yield to temptation;
and it is for want of this that the world leads us astray. When we think of
another world
how infinitely superior does it appear to the present life!
III. Notice THE EFFECT OF THEIR OBEDIENCE.
How did it end? In promoting the glory of the Master whom they served
and the
interests of the religion which they professed. When the people of God suffer
in the discharge of their duty
they glorify God
and show how He can deliver
those who trust in Him. It resulted in their own honour and advantage. They
staid not long in the furnace; but those were golden moments. O what peace and
joy in God did they feel! and what holy resolutions did they form while in the
furnace? To conclude:
1. Let us be thankful for the biography of the Scriptures--let us be
grateful that we have the example of so many good men set before us
who
through faith and patience
do now inherit the promises.
2. If you are the servants of God
His grace is necessary for you. It
is happy for us that we live under a paternal government
and are not exposed
to the fury and caprice of tyrants.
3. While infidels ridicule you
and the enemies of Christ
misrepresent your conduct
there is something in the religion of Christ which
will support you; there is a reality in it which can be found in nothing else.
(W. Jay.)
The Three Hebrew Youths
The Church of God has
suffered much persecution. This
though in itself an evil
has been productive
of good. By persecution the sincerity of religious professors has been tried
the hypocrisy of deceivers has been detected
the graces of good men have been
exercised and improved.
I. The CIRCUMSTANCES which
occasioned the address. Babylon the renowned capital of the ancient Chaldean
empire; a place not less remarkable for its magnificence than its idolatry.
Nebuchadnezzar was a heathen; the royal patron of idolatrous practices; a very
powerful and ambitious monarch. And was the object of this imperious prince
attained? Did he secure universal compliance? No; these three youths
mentioned
in the text
dared to refuse. “Then Nebuchadnezzar
in his rage and fury”--very
unfit companions for a king! How little qualified was this man to rule mighty
nations
who had no rule over his own spirit! This worm of the earth sets
himself in competition with Jehovah! He challenges the Most High
the King of
Heaven! He defies the power of Omnipotence! It is the sentiment of an infidel
bloated with pride
and burning with passion.
II. The TEMPER OF MIND discovered
in the address. It possesses uncommon beauty
and is highly instructive.
1. Dignified composure. “We are not careful to answer thee in this
matter.” There was nothing in the least disrespectful in this sentence; they
were not indifferent to their situation
or inattentive to their language and
behaviour; it intimates rather that they were not perplexed about the answer
they should give. The king was exceedingly agitated
but we see nothing of
agitation in these young men; they were perfectly collected and composed. They
did not begin to declaim against the idols of Babylon
or against the iniquity
of this sanguinary edict. We notice here the influence of genuine religion; it
is the same in all ages
and in all countries. So far as it is possessed
it
quiets the mind; it preserves it unruffled; it subdues those angry passions which
disturb the breast of many when their will is thwarted
when their inclination
is crossed. Do you complain of the want of self-possession
and of command of
temper in the presence of those who revile and persecute you?
2. Decided piety. In the presence of an imperious monarch
who was
addicted to the practice of idolatry
and determined on reducing all about him
to the same way
these youths explicitly avow “the God whom we serve.” Yes
the
man who loves God in his heart is not ashamed of his attachment
nor is he
afraid to declare it on every proper occasion. Decided piety is productive of
Christian courage; and this does not consist in rudeness; it does not oblige a
man to intrude religious talk into every company
and at every turn; yet
when
his principles are violently attacked
when the honour of God and of the Gospel
is insulted
the true Christian will not be cowardly
but decided and firm. Beg
of God to strengthen this heavenly principle in you
to fortify your hearts and
minds
to preserve you from sinful shame
to make you decided and valiant for
the truth as it is in Jesus.
3. Believing confidence is remarkably evident. “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 thine hand
O king.” They seem to have had a secret
expectation that
should Nebuchadnezzar be suffered to carry his threats into
execution
their God
by some means
would rescue them. Whether they had any
intimation of this given them from Heaven
we are not certain. They trusted in
the living God
and by faith “endured
as seeing Him that is invisible! “Ask
yourselves
what is the nature
and what are the grounds of your confidence? Is
your hope in God?” Does it rest on His truth
and on the certainty that He will
secure His own glory? Alas! the confidence of most is easily shaken
and faith
wavers with every wind of trial.
4. Steady resolution
at all events
to obey God rather than man
A
variety of considerations might have shaken their constancy
and led them to a
compliance. Let us advert here
to the disposition of many professors of
religion in the present day. Could not you have got over this difficulty
without hazarding your life? Would you not have temporised a little? Would you
not have yielded
and then
by some expedient
have settled matters with your
conscience? Yes
some have settled much more difficult points.
III. The remarkable
EFFECTS which the
address produced. On Nebuchadnezzar they were effects of more violent anger; it
stirred up all his malignant rage
which appeared in the distortion of his
countenance; he was “full of fury
and the form of his visage was changed.”
Henry remarks: “Would men in a passion but look at their faces in a glass
they
would blush at their own folly
and turn their displeasure against themselves.”
But the day is coming when proud tyrants will be called to account
not only
for the cruelties which they have themselves practised
but also for those
which they have instigated others to commit; and an awful reckoning it will
be.” This subject suggests a few words:
1. To young persons. The case of these Hebrew youths conveys
instruction to you with peculiar energy
and demonstrates the great necessity
of steady religious principle. It is true you live not in the court of Babylon;
but you live in a sinful world
surrounded with the enemies of God
and of your
souls. An image of gold is not set up which you are commanded to worship; but
there are other snares
a variety of other trials
which will put your
sincerity to the test
and determine whom you serve. And you
parents
we
wonder not that young persons
in the present day
are so yielding to vanity
and vice; so content to swim with the stream
and to follow the corrupt
fashions of the age; for what should hinder? What should induce them to resist?
Their minds are not principled;they are not furnished with religious knowledge;
and for want of this
their consciences have little sense of evil
their hearts
are not inclined to good
they are left without any effectual restraint.
2. To undecided professors. There are many such; and many do not
suspect themselves till they are tried. It is an easy thing to follow religion
while the world smiles; but when it frowns
when it threatens
when it reviles
and persecutes
then is the secret iniquity of multitudes discovered; their
principles are abandoned
and their props give way. Remember
if religion
demands anything
it demands the heart. You must be decided
or you are
nothing. Is it so
that you are led away by the fascinations of the world? You
know nothing of the Gospel as you ought to know.
3. Afflicted
persecuted believers are addressed. To you this subject
speaks peculiar encouragement. Never was there a more striking illustration
or
a more exact fulfilment of the promise
“When thou walkest through the fire
thou shalt not be burnt; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” And to you
Jehovah speaks
as well as to believers in all ages: “I will be with thee”--“I
will deliver thee.”
4. Are there any
persecutors here? This subject speaks closely to you. And let me remind you of
the dreadful end of such characters. See it in the death of Herod
who was
eaten up with worms; see it in the doom of Pharaoh
who
with his host
sunk
like lead in the mighty waters; and see it in the degraded condition of this
haughty Chaldean monarch. Many a man is an oppressor
a persecutor
in his own
house. His influence
possibly
does not reach much farther; or he may have
that regard to his reputation
and to his worldly interest
which binds him to
restrain his passion in his general intercourse with men. But see him in his
own domestic circle;observe his temper in his own family; how often rage and
fury boil in his breast
anger distorts his countenance
and even Nebuchadnezzar could scarcely be more
unreasonable in some of his requirements. (T. Kidd.)
Shadrach
Meshach
and
Abed-nego
Let us consider the heroic
constancy and fidelity of those devoted servants of God
and endeavour to
derive therefrom matter for our instruction and encouragement. Now
I can
scarcely conceive a harder trial of faith than what these men were called upon
to undergo
or any circumstances fitted to put the truth and reality of their
principles to a severer test. Had they been the objects of unrelenting persecution
for some time previously
their ease would have been vastly different. Their
minds would have been
in some measure
prepared for the fearful crisis which
awaited them. For it is well known how a long series of afflictions and trials
loosens all the ties which bind us to life
and takes away the bitterness of
death. But such was not the condition of the bold and holy confessors we are
now considering. Their condition
their outward estate
was happy. They might
have been called the children of fortune.. Worldly prosperity had brightened
their path--they had been promoted to offices of dignity and trust. It is but
keeping within the strictest limits of reason and probability to suppose they
had as much to attach them to life. This was a dreadful alternative And here we
may pause
and ask
Oh! how would hypocrisy
how would empty profession have
shrunk from it?--how would the mere formalist have turned his back?--I had
almost said
how would the weak and timid believer have proved himself unequal
to the trial? But God’s grace was magnified in these men. The fire which
consumes the dross only purifies the gold. The holy purpose was fixed. There
must be no compromise
no concession; conscience told them the act was wrong.
Its voice was paramount. There are those who sneer at those holy records of
martyrdoms for the truth
and who would set them down to the score of wild
fanaticism
or to the ambition of getting a name. But could it be so in the
case before us? What motive could actuate them arising from secular
considerations? There were no honours to be obtained by them as dying
martyrs--there were the interests of no party to be upheld. They had not the
power of the example of others before them to stimulate them to seek a martyr’s
glorious name. Oh
I should like to see how wild fanaticism
or heated
enthusiasm
or the fire of false excitement
could stand such a trial!--how
they would demean themselves under such circumstances. No
we must trace the
inflexible courage and constancy of these men to a higher and nobler source.
And now was the hour of breathless suspense; now it was expected the screams of
agony would issue from the fiery furnace. But
no; all was silent as the grave.
It could not be that death had done its work so soon. When
lo
the mysterious
marvel!--What signet is this that breaks upon the monarch’s view? “Were there
not three men cast into the fiery furnace?”--but
lo
he sees four men
walking; and the fourth is like the Son of God! Now
it is delightful to see
God thus openly putting honour upon the faithfulness of His servants. But this
as well as all other Scriptures
was written for our instruction; and we are
not living in an age when the lesson which it is fitted to teach us is no
longer needful. It is not because the flames of martyrdom are quenched
or its
sword sheathed
that
therefore
the spirit
the uncompromising spirit of the
martyrs is no longer needed. No
in every period of the church there is truth
to be maintained with uncompromising fidelity; error to be opposed with
unhesitating boldness. There is ever a demand for that singleness of purpose
that simplicity of aim
which turns not to the right hand nor to the left
where the interests of truth are concerned. These are times when the principles
which were so distinguished in these holy men are as much needed as ever. It is
well known how much of latitudinarian sentiments are now abroad. We know well
with what plausible arguments opinions may be maintained which are as much
opposed to truth as light is to darkness. And it is no ordinary trial of
sincerity which awaits the young
especially--when they are thrown into the
society of men who are infinitely their superiors in intelligence
and literary
attainments
and skill in argument--to maintain their principles with meekness
but with boldness. The Christian is certainly called upon to act a consistent
and decided part; to show plainly to whom he belongs; to come out and be
separate; to be “a living epistle
known and read of all men.” A love of God’s
truth is his distinguishing character; and a compromise of God’s truth
or
anything that tends to lessen or to obliterate the boundary marks between truth
and error
shall have his unqualified reprobation. The truth of God is what he
loves better than the life itself; and that truth is simple and one. It would
be well to ask ourselves
occasionally
“What sacrifices do we make in defence
of the truth? What do we do and suffer in our Divine Master’s cause?” No one
can tell how much the interests of true religion may be advanced by the
Christian “showing
out of a good conversation
his faith with meekness of
wisdom.” The believer is bound to advance the cause of his Master
to the
utmost of his ability
means
and opportunity. The silent lessons of a holy
example are ever powerful. You may be faithful “in the midst of a perverse and
crooked generation.” The offence of the cross is not yet ceased; and the
Christian is called to bear a cross. And it would be well that we should
at
times
examine ourselves upon the subject of our trials and exercises for
Christ’s sake. If we have none
let us examine and search diligently into the
cause; take care that our exemption be not owing to compromise or faulty
concession--to bowing before the golden image of expediency. (D. Kelly
B.
A.)
The Nonconformists of
Babylon
We have here:
1. A specimen of religious intolerance. God alone is “Lord of the
conscience.” A man’s faith and worship are things which lie between himself and
his Creater. This liberty is my birthright as a man.
2. How religious intolerance may be met. These three young men simply
refused to do what Nebuchadnezzar commanded; or
in modern phrase
they met his
injunction with “passive resistance.” They would not tolerate any excuses
any
casuistry. With similar firmness and humility we should meet intolerance yet.
3. An illustration of the support which Jesus gives to His followers
when they are called to suffer for His sake. These young men were entirely
delivered
even as Peter was taken out of prison at a later day. God’s servants
are not always taken out of tribulations
but they are always supported through
them.
4. In the matter
of religious intolerance
as well as in some other things
the opposite of
wrong is not always right. Nebuchadnezzar gave up the attempt to coerce these
young men. That was well; but he issued an edict in reference to Jehovah which
had in it elements not less objectionable than his command to worship the
image. He had no more right to out men to pieces for speaking evil of Jehovah
than he had to put Shadrach into the dames for not worshipping his image. Both
edicts were alike unjustifiable. (W. M. Taylor
D.D.)
The Three Witnesses on the
Plains of Dura
We may be
and often are
put to trials similar in kind
though perhaps not in degree. If
however
faith
and constancy were triumphant in so signal an instance as this
and in
circumstances under which frail human nature may have been expected to give
way
there is much more reason why they should not give way under less vehement
assaults
and with greater advantages on their side. Let us pray to God that
our strength may prove equal to our day. In company with idolatry we see
tyranny and oppression; these hateful things are always found in union.
Observe
too
the zeal with which men who are led by the deceits of Satan
propagate their errors. And the cause of truth and godliness ought to be
supported by the lawful influence
the fervent prayers; the holy examples
of
all in every station
whether high or low . . . What are the temptations by
which we are usually induced to break God’s commandments? Some present pleasure
that might well be foregone; some convenience that might be easily dispensed
with; some gain of money that becomes a loss when obtained; some compliance
with the humour of those whom we are wont to look up to with respect
but whose
smile is dearly purchased by the sacrifice of principle
and the forfeiture of
the favour of God. Inquire lute the principles which actuated these champions
for the truth. It was that principle of faith which is so much pressed upon us
in the Holy Scriptures. It was that fear of God which is the beginning of
wisdom. “They endured as seeing Him who is invisible.”. . . We have
in this
narrative
a most vivid exhibition of the practical working of faith. Many persons
cannot understand why such stress should be laid upon faith. We behold in the
case of these faithful servants of God what faith can do. It lifts us above the
world
and bears us up against sorrow and adversity. (H. J. Hastings
M.A.)
The Importance of a True
Creed
Why is it that men like
these Jews under the Old Testament dispensation
and Christians now and at all
times
are ready to give up life and everything for God? It is because a true
religion is the sole thing which enlightens the conscience
and so trains and
strengthens it as to invest it with real power in the guidance of our lives.
When men have felt their will enlightened by Divine knowledge
and sanctified
by the Holy Spirit’s indwelling
they then choose God’s service so firmly and joyfully
that no earthly terrors can shake or move them from their sure foundation.
This
then
is what religion does for us. It clothes us with power. Under false
religions the conscience remains in a rudimentary state
and though it does
approve or condemn
and say this is right and that wrong
it acts but weakly
and ignorantly
and is a very feeble monitor. And with so little help men’s
lives sink down into mean baseness. But a true faith and the Holy Spirit aid to
build up the conscience
and give it
first
light
whereby it distinguishes
right and wrong clearly; and
secondly
power
so that it speaks to the will
with all authority
and says
“This thou shalt do
and this thou shalt leave
undone.” Conscience had long ago decided
for Shadrach and his companions what
their lives were to be. And under its influence they could not abandon the
faith which had enlightened the conscience and given it this power; nor could
they be false to that God who had been their peace and happiness
and whom they
knew to be the sole Almighty Governor both in Heaven and in earth below. (Dean
Payne-Smith
D.D.)
The Duty of Religious
Profession
At first Oliver Cromwell’s
Ironsides were dressed anyhow and everyhow; but in the melee with the
cavaliers
it sometimes happened that an Ironside was struck down by mistake by
the sword of one of his own brethren
and so the general said: “You wear red
coats
all of you.” What Cromwell said he meant
and they had to go in their
red coats
for it is found essential in warfare that men should be known by
some kind of regimental. Now
you that are Christ’s
do not go about as if you
were ashamed of your Master’s service. Put on your red coats; I mean
come out
as acknowledged Christians. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christians Unconquerable
The rose of Jericho
flourishes amidst surroundings which lack all things wherein plants delight--in
the hot desert
in the rocky crevices
by the dusty wayside
and in the rubbish
heap. Even more
the fierce sirocco tears it from its place and flings it far
out upon the ocean
and there
driven by the storms and tossed by the salt
waves
it still lives and grows. So should the Christian grow in any and all
circumstances where he may be cast--in sorrow
in hardship
in misfortune
in
suffering. A deathless life is in him
and he should be unconquerable. (Signal.)
Verse 17-18
If it be so
our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the
burning fiery furnace.
Our Sure Defence
These souls were under the strongest possible temptation to do
that which would have been an act of utter unfaithfulness to God
and which
would have cost them their own self-respect. Had they yielded to the royal
threat
they would have done that for which theft never could have forgiven
themselves. It would have been a deed of recreancy and of shame. It is not only
for great occasions that we should be prepared. Again and again will occur to
us the opportunity for courageous constancy
the temptation to “unworthy
concession or to the submission that would end in shame. Where shall we find
our defence?
I. IN ABSOLUTE CONVICTION.
“The God whom we serve is able to deliver us
” said these dissenting Jews.
There was no doubt about that. They remembered what Jehovah had done in the
past
what deliverances He had wrought; and in answer to the king’s
incredulity
they replied with the absolute conviction of the Divine power to
save. It is almost everything to us to have a deep sense of some great
spiritual certainties. When evils hang over our head
when our prospects are
threatened
when health
or liberty
or life is at stake
it is much indeed to
stand upon the rook of some solid certitudes. God is near to us; He is
observing us
and is awaiting our constancy with Divine interest and
acceptance; He will reward fidelity with His loving favour; He will not allow
the worst to happen
except it be right
and well that it should happen; Christ will sympathise with us if
we suffer
and go down with us into the deepest waters into which we may
descend. If God be for us
we can afford to have the world against us (Mt Romans 8:31). It is a strong rampart in
the day of assault to have some impregnable convictions such as these within
our souls.
II. A STRONG HOPE. “And He
will deliver us out of thine hand . . . but if not”; in other words
we have a
prevailing hope that our God will exert His power on our behalf. Their state of
mind was this: they knew that God was with them
and was for them
that He was
mindful of their prayer and of their trust; that was certain. They could not be
sure whether He would justify their faith by a miraculous intervention on their
behalf
or by imparting Divine grace to enable them to bear martyr-witness to
the truth. Their strong hope was that He would thus deliver them. It is open to
us to act and to feel thus. We are in serious danger of financial disaster
or
of being attacked by disease
or of losing reputation
or of severe
bereavement
or of grievous disappointment
or of social or professional
failure. We ask for deliverance. It is not for us to prescribe to the Lord of
our life how He shall interpose for us. We may say to ourselves
“God will give
us our desire
but if not”--we may cherish not a presumptuous confidence
but a
sustaining hope.
III. AN UNWAVERING RESOLVE:
“We will not serve thy gods
” etc. Even if their hope of bodily
deliverance was not granted
they would retire to the spiritual certainties on
which they built
they would fixedly determine not to belie their convictions
not to offend their God
not to desert the truth
not to fail their
fellow-countrymen and their coreligionists in the hour of trial. To the proud
threat of the imperious and all-confident monarch they opposed the immovable
resolution of upright souls that believed in God; their resolution was
unqualified
unenfeebled by the shadow of a doubt
invincible. Let the young go
forth to the conflict of life in this devout
this heroic spirit
and to them
also shall come the victory and the crown. (W. Clarkson
B.A.)
Faith Victorious over the Fear of Man
Examples of the victory of faith over the terrors of the world are
useful to believers in their militant state. The victory of faith related in
our text will appear brilliant when we call to mind the number of the
combatants
the situation in which they stood
the manner in which they were
assailed
and the strength and terror of the opposition with which they
contended.
I. WE WILL GIVE A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE
ILLUSTRIOUS MEN
WHOSE
NAMES ARE IN THE TEXT
and their praise in the church. With
respect to number
they were only three; a small number to appear for the Lord
God of Israel in opposition to the idolatry of the king
and the court
and the
empire of Babylon. By nation and profession they were Israelites
who had been
carried to Babylon in the captivity of their country. They were of the tribe of
Judah
and are commonly believed to have been of the king’s seed
or royal
family. They were in places of power and trust in Babylon.
II. “WE SHALL GIVE SOME ACCOUNT OF THE
TESTIMONY WHICH THESE IT ILLUSTROUS MEN HELD
AND THROUGH WHICH THEY OVERCAME.
It was not a testimony of their own framing. The Lord God of Israel framed and
wrote it
and commanded it to be observed. “He established a testimony in
Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel
which he commanded our fathers that they
should make them known to their children.” That branch of the testimony for
which these princely witnesses appeared
had not only been written on tables of
stone by the finger of God; but
according to His promise
was written in their
hearts. It had been put into the ark of His testimony which was now lost; but
it was also put into their minds by His Holy Spirit
out of which it could not
be erased. “Ye are my witnesses saith the Lord
and my servants whom I have
chosen
that ye may know and believe me
and understand that I am he: before me
there was no God formed
neither shall there be after Me.” “Fear ye not
neither be afraid--ye are even my witnesses. Is there a god beside me? yea
there is no god
I know not any.” “I am the First
and I am the Last
and
beside Me there is no God.” The reason inserted in the law satisfied the
conscience of every pious Israelite: “For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.”
Encouraged and awed with the sovereign reason in it
the princely witnesses
entered the plain in the boldness of faith
stood before a haughty monarch
without meditating terror
and spake with the dignity of men who feared Him
that would not give His glory to another
nor His praise to an image of gold in
the plain of Dura. With the Psalms of David and the prophecies of Isaiah they
were doubtless acquainted. In the Psalms of David are these passages: “The Lord
is great and greatly to be praised
he is to be feared above all gods: For all
the gods of the nations are idols
but the Lord made the heavens.” “Confounded
be all they that serve graven images
that boast themselves of idols.”
“Wherefore should the heathen say
where is now their God? But our God is in
the heavens
he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Their idols are silver
and gold
the work of men’s hands. They have mouths
but they speak not; eyes
have they
but they see not. They have ears
but they hear not; noses have
they
but they smell not. They have hands
but they handle not; feet have they
but they walk not
neither speak they through their throat. They that make them
are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.” In the prophecies
of Isaiah
we find these and several other passages of the same import. “They
have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image
and pray unto a
god that cannot save.” “They lavish gold out of the bag
and weigh silver in
the balance; and hire a goldsmith
and he maketh it a god; they fall down
yea
they worship. They bear him upon the shoulder
they carry him and set him in
his place
and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove; yea
one shall
cry unto him
yet can he not answer
nor save him out of his trouble. Remember
this and shew yourselves men
bring it again to mind
O ye transgressors. I am
the Lord
and there is none else
there is no god beside Me.” Under that
dispensation
in Babylon
as in Jerusalem
believers lived by the word.
III. We shall
attempt TO GIVE SOME ACCOUNT OF
THEIR MANNER OF MAINTAINING THE ESTABLISHED TESTIMONY
which they
received
believed
and held fast. The witnesses
in maintaining their
testimony for the honour of the God of Israel
conducted themselves:
1. With discretion. Nebuchadnezzar
in his haughtiness and bigotry
added rudeness and insolence to idolatry
and impiously challenged the might of
the God of Israel--“Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?”
The witnesses
however
neither call him tyrant
nor idolater
nor oppressor
though
in fact
he was all three. On the contrary
they express themselves
discreetly and mildly: “O Nebuchadnezzar!” “O king!” In their language they
give no occasion to irritation
nor to any court
or to accuse them of
despising dominion.
2. With composure and presence of mind. Neither anger nor fear
disturbed them. The peace of God
which passeth all understanding
ruled in
their hearts. The cause in which they appeared needed not the wrath of man to
support it; and the fear of God
which is a sedate and composed principle
fortified their minds against the fear of man.
3. With confidence in the living Cool
as God and their God. Far from
being ashamed of Him
and the testimony which He had established in Israel
they acknowledge His propriety in them
and their interest in Him
before a
numerous and splendid convocation of His enemies. If their acknowledgment be
boasting
it is boasting in the Lord
which is an exercise of faith.
4. With steadfastness. This was standing fast in the faith
and
quitting themselves like men.
5. With uprightness. Nothing crooked
nor perverse
nor deceitful
appears in their conduct. Had they consulted flesh and blood
reasons might
have been suggested to palliate some deviation from integrity. But flesh and
blood were not consulted. The witnesses were Israelites indeed
in whose
conduct there was no guile.
Lessons:
1. The mean and unkindly behaviour of the mighty potentate
who
projected and authorised the criminal solemnities of that memorable day.
Vengeance sparkled in his eyes
with a fierceness resembling the dame of his
furnace. This was unmanly
unwise
unkingly
ungodly--“Cease ye from man
whose
breath is in his nostrils.”
2. Observe the violence of superstition armed with power. Nothing
will satisfy it but either the consciences or the lives of upright and holy
men. One would have thought that the king and court of Babylon might have been
satisfied with the obeisance of that great assembly
without prosecuting three
dissenters of a different nation
and a different religion.
3. Observe the distressing alternatives to which faithful witnesses
for God have been reduced.
4. Observe the goodness of God in supporting His witnesses in such
extremities. What were these three witnesses? In themselves they were weak and
timorous as other men. How were they preserved from fainting
and from
dishonouring
by unworthy compliances
the testimony for which they appeared?
The Lord stood by them
and said
“Fear ye not
for I am with you; be not
dismayed
for I am your God: I will strengthen you
yea I will help you
yea I
will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.” “Strengthened with
all might according to His glorious power
by His Spirit in the inner man
”
they stood firm
repelled the wrath of the king and the terror of his furnace
and obtained a glorious victory
“The people that do know their God shall be
strong and do exploits.”
5. Observe the wisdom of counting
before temptations and trials
assail our faith
the expense of holding fast our profession unto the end.
6. Observe the nature and efficacy of faith in God:
Absolute Confidence in God
One case is presented here as to which there might be an
alternative
and another case is presented as to which there could be no
alternative. “If not.” There is that which may happen
and there is that which
may not happen. Whether or not our God shall deliver us--and of this there is a
doubt--“we will not serve thy gods
O king
” of that there is no doubt. The
confidence of the just in God is never misplaced. But this confidence of the
just must be absolute
in no way distinguishing. It must be in God himself
not
in God doing for them this or that.” They must demand of Him nothing; they must
trust Him simply. This is the word which comes to us from the story of the
fiery furnace. Death by burning was a Babylonish punishment. The martyrs of God
are sometimes left to suffer. Faith in God--not in God’s deliverance
but in
God himself--reaches beyond all earthly destiny; it reaches up to Him. If we
can onlysee the form of the “Fourth
” no furnace that we may ever have to pass
through will go on keeping its heat. Near to us
if we strive to be true to our
Father and His love
we may see the very Son of God. There was one who said
and
said it to all His true servants
whatever their condition may be
and in
whatever age of time they may live
“I am with you alway
even unto the end of
the world.” If the knowledge of Him who said that shall only be
by the mercy
of God
vouchsafed to us; if we are empowered to grasp the fact of Christ and
His salvation; not with the shadow of a fancy
but with a strong and real hold;
then the plain of Dura
or the fiery furnace
the quiet pastures of life
or
the rugged broken ground
the walking loose unhurt
or the consuming of the
flames--there will be a reach in our souls beyond them. Knowing God
we shall
absolutely trust Him. And then
as to the changes and contortions of this
mysterious life--in which we must all take
certainly our chequered
perhaps
our grievous part--we shall have outgrown either anxious hope or enervating
fear. As to the afflictions of life
in the words of hope we may say
“He shall
deliver us; but if not.” Inevitably the point is open
and the trust of faith
assumes
and’ accepts the doubt
and passes beyond it; but as to death
and the
conditions beyond death
there is to the humble
truehearted believer in Christ
no alternative to be admitted. What did he say
that noblest of all Christian
men
when he came to the borders of this valley
and looked forth upon its
darkness
knowing that he must pass immediately into it--what did he say? “I am
now ready to be offered
and the time of my departure is at hand. Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness
which the Lord
the righteous
Judge
shall give me at that day.” St. Paul speaks quite positively here. He
admits of no second case being possible. There is no room here for “but
if
not.” That may suit the life of our mortality. The believer in God is here sure
of God
but he is not sure of what God shall do with him. God hath pledged
himself to no earthly thing
except His love over all. God makes us all like
unto St. Paul in this; and life may be buoyant and cheerful with us
or even
tempered and calm
but if not--at least when “I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death I will fear no evil
for thou art with me.” The form of the
Fourth will be there
and He is not (as the King of Babylon said) “like unto
the Son of God
” He is the Son of God. (M.Wright
M.A.)
Firmness in the Hour of Trial
These Jews were placed in a perfect dilemma. Life and death are
now presented for their choice--life with all its blessings if they would
conform--death in all its terrors if they should refuse compliance. If they had
consulted with flesh and blood
in forming their determination or in framing
their reply
what a multitude of cogent and plausible arguments might have been
found to justify their compliance. They were not required to renounce the God
to whom they had been hitherto devoted-to adjure His name
to abandon His
worship
and to profess the god of Nebuchadnezzar as the only living and true
God. No such profession was required; all that was necessary was an outward act
of homage
which might have been done with a secret disavowal of the image as a
god
and a mental protestation in the sight of Heaven that they still owned
none save the God of their fathers
and worshipped none else but the invisible
Jehovah. But these men
by a previous refusal
had already lifted up their
testimony against the idolatry of which they had been the witnesses; and their
obedience now
after such a testimony
could be regarded in no other light than
as an involuntary constrained act
in which their feeling of constraint
destroyed their guilt. A multitude of considerations must naturally have
suggested themselves in palliation of the crime. But no token of retraction was
given
no sign of irresolution appeared. They addressed the king in calm
but
uncompromising terms. The principle which actuated these youths was a
scrupulous regard to the will of God
and a deep-seated confidence in His power
and promises. Idolatry was a sin prohibited and denounced by God as a
derogation from the honour that was due unto His name. In defiance of the punishment
which threatened them
they resolved to adhere to the plain line of duty
disdaining the subterfuges which carnality would suggest. The application of
this history is far from being a remote one. There is little likelihood
indeed
that any of you should ever be placed in circumstances so critical. But
you may be the subjects of tyrannical dictation from another quarter
even from
that world in which you dwell
and from those masters which dwell within
you--your lusts
your appetites
your passions. Temptation may often be
presented to make you swerve from the path of rectitude. You may meet with many
who will ridicule your faith
and more who will ridicule your practice
if that
be in strict conformity to the faith you profess. But we need not so much to
warn you against others as to warn you against yourselves. There are tyrants
within who would constrain you to do them reverence. Money
sensual pleasures
vanities
etc.
all have something within you to which they make appeal.
(J. Glason.)
Courage in the Best of Causes
This is one of the most admirable instances of fortitude and
magnanimity. The deportment of these men was at one respectful and unshrinking
free from anything approaching to a railing or resentful expression
but at the
same time wholly unmixed with fear. How admirably does their response harmonize
with the instructions of our Lord to his disciples
“When ye are brought before
kings and rulers . . . it shall be given you in the same hour wilt ye ought to
speak.” How many and how glorious have been the triumphs which this Divine
principle of a realising faith in the grace and providence of God have
in all
times and countries
enabled His people
however weak in themselves
to
achieve. In the example before us
it inspired the Jewish youths with a freedom
from anxiety perfectly sublime. How does their magnanimous reply put to blush
that lukewarm
pusillanimous profession of religion with which so many of us
are contented
which refuses the most trivial sacrifice or self-denial in God’s
service
and shrinks affrighted even from the shadow of danger! We are in no
danger of being called upon to resist unto blood
striving against sin. Our
present peril lies in the opposite direction--of being altogether overpowered
by the ease and effeminacy of modern refinement--in the risk of our being
swallowed up in spiritual sloth and self-indulgence. Our danger arises chiefly
from within
from that covetousness which is idolatry. It is when called to
undergo fiery trials that the upright Christian may
with the most unhesitating
confidence
look for his Lord’s special protection and support. In every
temptation
however fierce or terrible
He will open a door of escape
or give
us grace to bear the trial. No fire so intense as to overcome His love. (W.
F. Vance
M. A.)
Conscientiousness
In what a trying position these three young men were placed! They
did not trifle with their consciences. Compare their behaviour with the
accommodating spirit shown by Naaman the Syrian. Persons who are thus only
half-conscientious are very apt to show this accommodating spirit whenever they
are associated with those who are altogether irreligious. In the various
matters of daily life
the conscientious
the half-conscientious
and the
unconscientious
are often obliged to have dealings with each other. It is
contrary to common-sense
as well as to all Christian modesty
that the
Christian should thrust forward at times and in places whore he is not called
for the difference in principle between himself and some other who is only a
Christian in name; but it does seem to be the duty of all Christians
when
mixed up in this world’s business with the ungodly
to be ready to bear witness
to the truth
whenever circumstances call for such a witness. An accommodating
spirit may be sinful. If we had more reverence for conscience
considering it
as no less than God himself speaking to us
we should not be anxiously seeking
how far we might go without sin
in making conscience give way to our
convenience. (W. H. Nanken
M.A.)
The Fiery Furnace
The three young men
Hananiah
Mishael and Azariah
whom the king
of Babylon named Shadrach
Meshach and Abednego
did not go to the fiery
furnace with a prophecy that they would be preserved
as David did when he
moved forward against Goliath. David declared
“This day will the Lord deliver
thee into mine hand.” The three Hebrews in Babylon had no such prospect
vouchsafed them. They went to the fiery furnace without assurance of any
deliverance. Their courage of faith was greater than that of David in the case
alluded to. The faith of these three is brought out into full relief when we
thus consider that the fiery furnace was a reality in prospect for them. Had
God revealed to them that they should not be touched by the flames
their faith
would have rested on His word of deliverance; but now it rested on His
character of wisdom
truth and love. It was a higher
grander faith than mere
faith in a special deliverance promised. It was a full
implicit confidence
that God would do what was best
and would never abandon His own servants. It
is not
therefore
in the miracle that we find our lesson to-day. Such a
miracle may never again be wrought. Men as true and as holy as Shadrach
Meshach and Abed-nego have not been miraculously saved from physical torture
and death
and no saint of God has any right to expect such intervention. Our
lesson lies deeper than this. The exclamation of the three was not “The Lord
will deliver us from the force of the fire
” but
“The Lord is able to deliver
us from the fire.” And herein is a vast difference. Here is implied a spiritual
knowledge of the character of God as the God of His people
for the implied
sentence is
“And He who is thus able will do for us what is best’; and that
this is the implied sentence we know from what follows: “and He will deliver us
out of thy hand
O king.” They are assured that God will give them deliverance
from the king’s wrath
though it may be by taking them out of the body. There
is a grand
eternal deliverance before them. The lesson
then
which we are to
learn legitimately from these heroes of the faith is to be unconcerned
regarding the Nebuchadnezzars and fiery furnaces that are in our path
and that
not because they will be removed
but because the Omnipotent God
our God
is
directing all
and will give us the grand deliverance. In our low views of
things we are tempted to say
“Why
this is very unsatisfactory; there is no
encouragement here. It would be far better if the promise would come to us that
the fire should not burn us
that we should suffer no pain or hardship
and
have all easy before us. Why cannot God do this?” Well
He certainly could
as
far as ability goes
but what would become of His love then
for it is
certainly true that whom the Father loveth He chasteneth?
1. The first point
then
in our lesson from the three Hebrews is to
have faith in God as our God There is a strange misapprehension of faith
Christian faith
in some minds. They seem to consider it a blind confidence
that certain things will take place. Only put your mind on an event
and be
perfectly sure it will come
and it will come. There is not a grain of
Christian faith in such presumption
but the very enemy and hindrance of faith.
Christian faith is faith in God
His character
His will
His promises
as
revealed in Jesus Christ His Son. Christian faith has God as its object and
security. It holds all things subject to His most holy will
and knows that all
things are directed by that will for the soul’s good. It does not attempt to
mark out God’s course of dealing
but it is satisfied with that course
whatever it may be. It asks God for special gifts
but it desires God’s
infinite wisdom to decide concerning the giving
for a true faith humbly
recognises human short-sightedness and knows well that the human wish might be
very injurious if granted. Herein is the radical difference between the
believer and the world. He is in communion with God
and the grace of God is
his comfort and defence
while the world resists the grace and has no Divine
promise and no Heavenly experience to rest upon.
2. The second point in our lesson from the three Hebrews is that
faith implies service. “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us
” is the
exclamation of the three heroes. This completely sets aside a speculative
faith
which is the common faith of so many who are called Christians.
Orthodoxy in opinion is not faith. There must be an action corresponding to the
creed. As there can be no true faith without active service
so
of course
there can be no assurance of faith. The Christian who lazily looks after
nothing but his present earthly comfort will never look at fiery furnaces with
composure. Now
the service of the Lord is the use of the Divine means of grace
for ourselves and for others. His grace is working in our earth for His great
purpose of salvation
and He chooses us to be His co-workers. The field is the
human heart--our hearts and the hearts of others. As servants of God we will
take hold of this assigned work earnestly. It is in this way our faith will
grow into the proportions of overcoming power that will fear no Nebuchadnezzar
or his fiery furnace. Without such service we can express no such growth.
Salvation is not from without and by magic. It is by a life that has faith as
its motor. The three Hebrews were simply acting out their life of faith when
they refused to bow to the king’s idol It was the natural operation of a godly
life. They served the Lord. That was their soul’s position. They lived in
accordance with that service. “The thing is perfectly plain. Our whole lives
direct us. We shall not worship thine idol
and the burning fiery furnace is no
argument.” That is the way a soul in the Lord’s service will always reply to an
invitation to sin
even when a threat accompanies it. The reason why so many
Christians yield is because they do not serve God. They wear Christ’s name and
serve self and the world. They have no courage because they have no faith.
3. The third point in our lesson from the three Hebrews is that God’s
service runs counter to the world’s requirements. Hence there must be a
collision. A man who will serve God will clash with the world. Nebuchadnezzar
was but a specimen of the world. The world will insist upon some form of
idolatry of every one
and will threaten the fiery furnace for disobedience.
The world hates God
and will not recognise His exclusive demands. Political
commercial and social customs will bring a tyrannical pressure upon the soul
and the Christian in the name of his God will have to resist. The fiery furnace
has different forms. The more resolute he is
the more wrath the world has and
the hotter will it make the fire. Then is the opportunity for the Christian to
triumph in his faith and to taste the glory of his position as with God.
Deceit
Sabbath-breaking
impurity
fraud
lying
intrigue
to which the
customs of the age allure the Christian
are all forms of idolatry
for they
are revolts from God after the gods of covetousness
ambition
or carnality.
Now
there is no other treatment of these by the godly but positive
open
uncompromising resistance
at any cost. The only position
then
of the
Christian who would be at peace with God and with himself is the position of
the three Hebrews--the position of faith. There he is afflicted with no doubts
anxieties
or remorse. He knows that God will be with him
even if it be a
valley of death-shadow that he is to traverse. He will find the inexpressible
comfort of the Divine presence
and feel at every step the strong upholding
hand of his God. He will not miss earthly friends in such exalted
companionship. In contrast with this steady believer is the one who fears the
world’s opposition
and endeavours to soothe and subdue it. This is always done
by giving up God for the world. This Christian is of all men most miserable. He
gets worse than the fiery furnace in the tortures of his conscience
in his
failure to make anything satisfactory out of the world
in his own
self-contempt and his dreary
blank prospect. (H. Crosby.)
The Fiery Furnace
It was in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar
according to the
Septuagint
that he set up this image of gold in the plain of Dura. If that
date be correct (and there appears no reason to discredit it)
it was done to
celebrate the recent destruction of Jerusalem
and the subjection of various
enemies of Babylon from India to Ethiopia.
I. THE SECRET OF LOYALTY is
a simple and undisturbed trust in God. Of course
there can be no loyalty
without faith; none to man
none to God. That which impresses us in the case of
these Hebrew youths is that their trust was so serene. And now
when the stress
of the king’s command is put upon them
they are not taken off their guard;
they are not overwhelmed with surprise or dismay. They trust in God. They
believe His word. But the arm on which they leaned was omnipotent. The wisdom
to which they confided their way was unlimited. Jehovah cared for them. He had
kept them; He would keep them in the time to come. The truest courage is the
calmest. Peter and John looked into the faces of the Sanhedrim
and put the
question simply back to them
“Whether it be right to hearken unto you more
than unto God
judge ye.” Paul
arraigned before Roman kings and Hebrew
governors
turns from his own defence on a technical complaint
to deliver the
message with which his master had charged him. A loyalty thus based is ready
for any emergency. It is not a strain; it is only a confidence. It does not go
into heroics; it is unconscious that it is heroic. During the time of the civil
war
much was said about the extraordinary bravery of Admiral Farragut in
having himself lashed to the mast while passing the forts under fire at Mobile.
In answer to an inquirer about it afterwards
he said
“I cannot understand why
they make so much of my going up into the maintop. It was nothing special that
I did at Mobile
and I was not lashed there at all. When going into action
or
in any time of danger
I always went up there
because I felt it my duty to be
where I could overlook everything in person
and be seen by all of the men
and
set them an example of sharing their risks.” True courage does not promise
nor
posture
nor explain. It goes on quietly and acts. It does not care to answer.
II. THE TESTING OF LOYALTY is
permitted of God. Nor is it any contradiction to the constancy of His care for
His people that it is so. The Lord can do better for His own than to shield
them from all hardship. Even their spiritual gifts and graces deserve something
better at His hands than sheltering. They ask for cultivation
for the opportunity
of development
for the privilege of growth. Protection from evil ceases beyond
a certain point to be a kindness. It is more to be strengthened than to be
sheltered. The trees which grow always in the forest
protected from the
sharpness of the winds
never compelled to battle with the storm
grow up
toward the light
but do not spread their branches above ground or their roots
below. If the barrier by which one of them has been shielded from the winds
were taken suddenly away
the first blast of the tempest would lay it low. It
is not braced against it. It stands
not because it is strong
but because it
is supported. But on the mountainside the oak grows
or the cedar. From a
sapling the breezes have played with it
and it has bonded but held on. And
equally
what power of discipline
what opportunity of courage
what
development of strength would the church and Christian of the present day be
deprived of
if
by more delicate but no less searching tests
its loyalty were
not continually put to the proof.
III. THE SUPPORT OF LOYALTY is
promised and assured. “As thy days
so shall thy strength be.” “My strength
shall be sufficient for thee.” “Certninly I will be with thee.”
IV. THE VINDICATION OF LOYALITY IS CERTAIN.
(Monday Club Sermons.)
The Burning Fiery Furnace and its Lesson
Stars are visible in the dark
and heroes are seen in persecution
and trouble. Had these men always remained amid the peace and quietness of
Canaan
they might have perished without leaving even their names upon the
pages of history. This is no singular and isolated case.. All history
whether
secular or sacred
is full of them. The antediluvian darkness caused Noah to
shine. The Egyptian bondage caused Moses to shine. Roman Catholicism caused
Luther to shine. The national darkness of England caused Cromwell to shine. The
chief glory of man is obedience to God. Every reader finds a charm in the
Babylonian captivity. There is something that captivates and delights the soul
of man
and has a powerful influence over his life. The wisdom
wealth
authority
slavery
and idolatry that crowd upon each other in the narrative
with their light and shadow
may all be stript from the page
yet the power
remains that moves the breast of man. Take that one secret
and all the august
and dazzling things are bereft of their charm and power. We are part with the
wisdom of the magician and the wealth of the king; but we hold with a tenacious
grip the unfaltering trust of Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego. We pass by
everything else and cling to this
because it is the chief glory of man
and
his most lasting good. The imposing art of the magician
the foresight of the
astrologer
the easy saying of the soothsayer
may be grand; but that power
these three captives possess
which enables them to defy the king and live for
God
is more glorious by far. The wealth of the king only enriched the body
and left the soul as poor as before; would last but a few years
and then
vanish for over. But the faith of the captives enriched “the inner man” with a
life and blessedness that would endure throughout the hidden ages of eternity.
The chief glory of man is not outward grandeur
but a strong trust in God;
because it is a power to help amid the cares of life
amid the experience of
death
and the unknown possibilities of the future. This has been verified by
all history and experience. Pharaoh’s palace yonder is adorned with all the
arts and magnificence of the land. Sheep and oxen
corn and wine
power and
plenty are on every side. Everything for which one can crave to make life
joyous and gay is near. Servants and soldiers without number wait to do his
bidding. But we yearn for none of those things; we pass by them all as
valueless. We crave for the spirit and faith of the slave Joseph. Because the
humble obedience of the slave
and not the outward grandeur of the king
is the
chief glory of man.
1. The value of this faith is seen in that it gave the captives
boldness to express their convictions.
2. The value of this faith is seen in that it prepared the captives
for adversity and suffering.
3. The value of this faith is seen in that it secured the captives a
noble victory. God stood by His servants
baffled their opponents
and gave
them a glorious victory. God’s enemies might appear to conquer at first
but
Jehovah only delayed the victory of His people that
when it did come
it might
be more marked and distinguished. To fight against God
and against
God’s people
always means defeat and ruin in the end. Pharaoh and
his army were buried in a watery grave as they pursued the Israelites. (J.
Hubbard.)
The Fiery Furnace
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego were men of integrity
against whom no one could bring an accusation
except in the matters of their
God. But solely on account of their adherence to the Divine cause
they were
cast into the burning fiery furnace.
1. By this we may he reminded
of what it is important at all tinges
to keep in view
that for adherence unto God we may be exposed to great
difficulties and dangers. At the beginning it was foretold that there “would be
enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman
” and no
prediction has ever been more strikingly fulfilled. Those that are born after
the flesh have always persecuted them that are born after the Spirit. What injuries
have thereby been done unto the church!
2. Though these young men were menaced with danger
though all that
was dear to them was in peril
yet they openly adhered unto God. They did not
feign an excuse for absenting themselves from the dedication. They did not
content themselves with adhering to God in their heart
while they bowed down
to the idol with their bodies. When accused
they had not recourse to any
specious disguise or subtle ambiguity. And
though everything like ostentation
is to be avoided as a sin
we ought openly to hear our testimony for God
whatever difficulties we may have to encounter. It is not enough that we wish
well to the cause of God in our hearts--it is not enough that we desire and
pray for its triumph--it is not enough that we give it secret aid
while we
remain openly among its enemies. When any acknowledge a cause to be good
and
stand hack from avowing their attachment
because of the odium which they may
incur
or the danger to which they may be exposed
this is unequivocal evidence
that the fear and the favour of man have more effect upon their minds than the
fear and the favour of God. Christ was not ashamed to own us publicly. God and
angels
men and devils
saw Him publicly die for us upon the cross. And shall
we ever be ashamed to confess Him before men!
3. Their adherence unto God was not only open
it was also resolute.
Nothing like hesitation
or suspense
appears in their conduct. Their minds
seem as resolute as if all inducements had boon upon the side of duty--as
resolute as if adherence unto God had been the way of advancement
instead of
leading
as it did
to a fiery “Be it known unto thee
O king
that we will not
serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” We must
beware of everything like halting
hesitating
and wavering. A halting
wavering
undecided frame of mind
is spoken of in Scripture in the language of
contempt. Why halt ye between two opinions? if Jehovah be God
then choose ye
Him
but if Baal be God
then choose ye him.
4. The adherence of Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego unto God was
steadfast. Many are bold when danger is at a distance
who faint when the hour
of trial draws nigh. But these young men were steadfast and immovable. They not
only declared their resolution to suffer everything
they actually submitted to
be cast into the furnace when it was heated seven-fold. “Be thou faithful unto
death
and I will give thee a crown of life.” Much depends on the steadfastness
of soldiers in the day of battle--the issue of the conflict
and the fate of
their country. Openly
decidedly
and steadfastly to adhere to the cause of
God’s glory
in despite of all trials and difficulties
is no easy matter. They
who are called to such work would do well to count the cost
and consider their
abilities. It is God alone who can teach the hands for this war
and the
fingers for this fight. And He has promised to do so. Has He not said
“Fear
not
for I am with thee; be not dismayed
for I am thy God. I will strengthen
thee
yea
I will help thee
yea
I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness. My grace is sufficient for thee
and my strength shall be
perfected in thy weakness.” These promises were made good
in the case of His
three witnesses
on the plains of Dura. When He called them to more than
ordinary work
He furnished them with more than ordinary strength. God not only
supported His three servants under the trial to which they were exposed; He
in
due time
delivered them. This deliverance was in many respects miraculous
and
in so far as this was the case
we are not warranted to expect that any
such interposition will be made in our behalf. But the manner of their
deliverance was in most respects similar to God’s ordinary method of
interposing for His church and people.
The Three Hebrews in the Furnace
“I am no hypocrite. I make no profession of religion”--that is to
say
you boast of your open and consistent enmity to God. This is not the
worst. This impiety of conversation
which we every day hear
if it means
anything
insinuates
of course
that a profession of religion can never be
sincerely made--that there is no such thing as true piety; and proves the
people who talk thus to be
not only sinners in their lives
but infidels in
their hearts. I only wish these cynics would
study the narrative mow before
us. It is said that no one can eater the presence of that matchless statue
the
Apollo Belvidere
without instinctively standing erect
without feeling his own
form at once dilate and become taller and nobler; and the man is to be pitied
who can contemplate the moral grandeur of these youthful heroes without being
conscious of I know not what elevation of heart and purpose. A true soul will
turn from the record of such undaunted loyalty to God and conscience with a
fresh outfit of faith and hope.
I. In unfolding
the lessons of the text
let us begin with THE NARRATIVE
let us analyse this passage in
the history of our race. And
first
who can look at the scene here portrayed
without blushing for the degeneracy and corruption of our race? The spectacle
presents a brilliant panorama. The morning is bright
and the eastern sun is
kindling a blaze all over the plains of Dura
us its beams are reflected from
silver and gold and diamonds
in which princes
satraps
peers
the whole
jewelled aristocracy of that magnificent court
are arrayed. High on a throne
of royal state
gorgeous with barbaric pomp and splendour
sits the Chaldean
monarch. And from the centre of this Oriental and most imposing pageant
soars
aloft
glittering and dazzling
the colossal image
the cynosure of every
eye--attracting the admiration and homage of that uncounted multitude. The
spectacle is grand; but what an exhibition of human nature! On every side I
behold the earth carpeted with the softest green
enamelled with a flushing
luxuriance of variegated and fragrant flowers. Cool fountains gush up in the
groves
and transparent streams murmur through the valley. I breathe delicious
odours. I am refreshed by the balmiest zephyrs. Heaven and earth are rejoicing
in their loveliness. From nature I turn to man
and what do I find? Recollect
here is no mob of the ignorant and brutal
but the monarch and his
patricians--all the gathered wisdom
refinement
honour
of the empire. What do
we see openly and superciliously displayed in them all? Idolatry
hostility to
God
selfishness
cruelty
the most vindictive malice. In this countless host
what a diversity of talent and taste and character; but those detestable
passions reign in every bosom. And this depravity flows from an inexhaustible
fountain in the human heart. In all this multitude here are only three men who
worship the true God
and what have they done? whom have they injured? It is
simple mockery to speak of liberty if the mind and conscience be not free. The
persons
the property
the lives of his subjects are at the absolute disposal
of the Chaldean autocrat. This
however
is not enough. His imperial mandate
shall control their religion
shall fetter their souls. The ends of government
are temporal
not spiritual. The Saviour possessed omnipotence
but He did not
use it to enforce His religion by measures having no relation to the truth of
His doctrine. He said
“All power in heaven and in earth is given unto me
go
teach all nations.”
II. THE CONDUCT OF THESE HEBREWS
and the example which God here proposes of that constancy and decision of
character
without which we can neither be true to truth
to Jesus
nor to
ourselves. Decision of character must never be confounded with obstinacy. Firmness
tempered with gentleness
this is what we need
if we are to be real
Christians. The more you study the conduct of the Redeemer the more will you
admire the peerless combination of these virtues in Him. It is not at all
uncommon to meet people who pique themselves on firmness and decision; when in
fact it is mere
sheer
downright stubbornness they betray--a perverse
selfwilled pertinacity--in which there is no more moral force than there is in
the dead weight which fixes a heavy
inert mass of rock to the earth. The other
quality
gentleness
is more amiable
but it is scarcely ever united with the
highest energy. There is softness
tenderness
sweetness of disposition; but
the character is effeminate. Firmness tempered with gentleness--this is true
decision of character; not the rigid
inexorable
iron hardness of the dead
tree
which cannot bend without breaking; nor the weakness of the osier which
bends and remains bent; but the innate
elastic vigour of the young oak
which
only becomes more erect
and strikes its roots more deeply into the earth
by
yielding to every breeze and complying with every pressure. What is the first
element in true decision of character? It is an inflexible and controlling
adherence to the will of God in all things and at all times. What is the next
element in true decision of character? It is a spirit armed and intrepid in
facing danger
in meeting the responsibilities of our station. How prone are we
to shrink from duty. These Jews were men of a different spirit. At first
indeed
we are tempted to ask
Why did they come on the ground at all? But--not
to remark that cowardice could have availed them nothing--it never can avail
anything in the cause of God--was it for men like them to be afraid? Was this a
time for the servants of the Most High to be craven? Here is no small matter; a
great soul will never concern itself about small matter. God and His glory are
about to be outraged. The third element in decision of character grows out of
those just indicated. It is a brave disregard of consequences. The moment we
begin to think of expediency--to inquire tremulously
What
if we are faithful
will be the effect on our interest or position or reputation? that moment we
are gone
we have fallen. And all this strenuousness of purpose is perfectly
calm
as real strength always is calm. Men and brethren
a simple trust in God
is the most essential ingredient in moral sublimity of character. It elevates a
man high above all the earth
and equips him to bear anything
and to brave
everything. If God be for him
who can be against him? How indispensable energy
and courage are to the Christian
you need not be told. Would you be useful?
you must be decided; piety is not enough; you must have a reputation for piety.
Would you not dishonour your profession? you must be decided. But
now
how can
this firmness and fortitude be inwrought and sustained in beings so feeble and
inconstant? I answer
By faith
and faith only; hence the exhortation
“Add to
your faith virtue
” that is
courage. Faith is the source from which this
commanding grace must spring
and by which it must be fed; and with what
invincible courage
what undaunted contempt of danger and death
does not a
simple trust in God inspire these young heroes? Observe the noble singularity
of the Hebrews. Nor was this any transient enthusiasm
one of those sudden
impulses which may hurry a generous spirit to make heroic sacrifices
of which
it may afterwards repent. For space is given them to reconsider their
determination
the king expostulates with them; but they are immovable.
III. THE RESULT OF THIS FIERY ORDEAL;
and impress upon you the great lesson it teaches. The expression
“than it was
wont to be
” shows that this furnace was the place of punishment for criminals;
and it is probable that its floor was now a bed of the horrible ashes left by
former executions. It is God’s method’ ever to cause the malice of those who
persecute his people to recoil upon themselves. “The wicked is snared in the
work of his own hands.” And what is all this but the type of a Christian
when
called to pass through the fire--trembling
perhaps
in view of the
furnace--but afterwards
with adoring wonder and gratitude
exclaiming
“My God
how good it is for me that I was afflicted?” This is not all. Not only is this
furnace a sort of heaven to these noble youths
but see how they glorify God in
this day of their visitation. Witnesses who testify from eternity. For the
place in which they stand belongs not to this earth. Witnesses who look with
sublime contempt upon the king and all the pomp and equipage of his power.
Witnesses who take no praise to themselves. A Christian never does arrogate any
strength or merit; he ascribes all his salvation
from first to last
to
sovereign grace. Lastly
witnesses whose testimony is at once and forever
decisive. It is not by words
not by preaching
nor forms
that we are to
honour God and His truth; it is by our fidelity that men may see our good works
and glorify our Father who is in Heaven.” Lessons:
1. And
first
let this narrative reinforce our faith and constancy.
The secret of Christian strength is an open secret; it is a gracious habit of
trusting in God at all times. The song of the Three Holy Children is one of the
Apocryphal Books. The man who wrote that beautiful composition
if not inspired
himself
had power to inspire others. Nothing can be more touching than the
whole story
which I commend to you.
2. How amiable is the religion of Jesus Christ. To the faithful soul
it is really true
that “all the way to heaven is heaven.” Even when all is
bright
how necessary is this religion for man. But are you bearing crosses and
making sacrifices for Jesus and His cause? If not
you are preferring some idol
to Him
and what must the end be? (R. Fuller.)
Verse 18
That we will not serve thy gods.
Christian Decision
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego were three very young men
worshippers of the true God
living in a heathen land! They were exposed to
much persecution and distress on account of their religion
yet they were
enabled to act with faithfulness and prudence “in the midst of a crooked and
perverse generation.” Religion
where it is genuine and active
will inevitably
excite the hatred or contempt of the world. The genuine Christian will be
obliged to stem the torrent; there will
there must be
opposition; if he “were
of the world
the world would love its own; but because he is not of the world
but is chosen out of the world
therefore the world hateth him.” How difficult
oftentimes
and painful the line of duty! How much need is there of some
animating example
or affectionate
and faithful
and wise advice
to keep such
a person from offending against conscience
and forgetting his obligations to
his gracious Saviour! To be faithful in a family
in a neighbourhood in which
almost all around us conspire to forget God--to be in earnest in religion where
our friends
and associates
and connections are careless and indifferent--to
forsake sin
and the world
and temptation
where everything invites us to love
them and follow them
is no easy task. It can be performed only by the aid of
that Holy Spirit
who is at once a comforter and a sanctifier. Nebuchadnezzar
not satisfied with his existing gods
commanded all his subjects to fall down
and worship a new image which he had set up. In like manner
is sin in its
various forms an idol which the world delights to serve.
By nature we are its slaves and votaries; and it is not till we
have been taught by the Spirit to worship God in truth
and to renounce the
world’s vanities
that we begin to feel the burden of this service. New idols
are constantly presented to confirm the sinner in his slavery
and to tempt the
true Christian from his allegiance to God. Whatever be the last evil custom
the last new mode of sinning
men are expected to follow it. Should all the
rich
the wise of this world
the gay
the splendid be against serious
religion; should a thousand new baits and allurements be added to seduce us
from it; should unsuspected dangers and persecutions spring up every moment
around our path--yet we may learn from the example before us a lesson of faith
and constancy
and reliance upon God
and be incited
from the merciful support
given to His servants of old
to commit ourselves to Him as a faithful Creator
knowing that with the “temptation He will also make a way for our escape.” The
Christian is not to affect anything that may provoke the opposition of the
world; if he live holily
justly
and unblamably
as he ought to do
and if he
evidence in his life and conduct the faith
the hope
the prayerfulness of a
true disciple of Christ
opposition will almost inevitably arise without his
seeking it. He ought
as much as in him lies
if it be possible
to live
“peaceably with all men.” Some of the most powerful obstacles in the path of
the youthful Christian are the allurements of pleasure
the commands of
authority
the dread of persecution
and the specious solicitations of
friendship and kindness. I am well aware that this principle may be abused.
Enthusiasm may fancy
and hypocrisy may pretend
a Divine commission for the
wildest excesses; and resistance may be made about very trifling and
unimportant matters. But the principle exists notwithstanding. The clearest and
most valuable principles are liable to be abused. They knew that the first
authority to be obeyed is God; and that though all other authorities should
come in competition with this
yet that one was their Master
even that Messiah
who Himself appeared for their support and comfort walking in the midst of the
devouring flames. Many a young Christian
who could have braved all the terrors
of open persecution
has given way to this temptation
and has
if not for ever
ruined his soul
at least marred his present peace
and endangered his soul for
the sake of that friendship with the world “which is enmity against God.” Not
so these heroic sufferers. If
then
we value our own souls
if we value the
souls of others
if we value the cause of Him who deserves all our love and
gratitude
let us be decided
“steadfast
unmoveable.” But remember
that
Christian decision is exercised in regard to matters of real importance
and
when the command of God is clear and distinct. Among mere worldly men a certain
stoutness of spirit is often exhibited in matters of indifference
as well as
in matters of moment. Such firmness as this is a mere native obstinacy of
character. At the same time in matters of real moment
Christian decision
displays itself with unshrinking promptitude and perseverance. And such was the
case in which these persons in the plain of Dura were called to act. An attack
was made upon the very foundation of all true religion. It was a case
therefore
imperiously demanding the decision they exhibited. Everything
precious in religious principle
as well as everything tremendous in religious
sanctions
required them to act as they did. True Christian decision keeps its
eye on the eternal law of God. The man of real Christian firmness admits not a
thought of a compromise with sin or with error. Man’s policy will always be
narrow
unless it embraces considerations drawn from eternity. He who consults
his convenience and temporal interests--who has been controlled at one time by
the law of God
and at another by the will of man
will learn too late that he
has acted upon a plan not to be admitted in transactions with the Eternal. He
attempts a hard task indeed; that of uniting the service of God and mammon. Is
there in your deportment nothing like a compromise with sin and error? Are the
claims of Christ all met with cheerfulness
and discharged with promptness? Is
there no blending of the service of God and the service of the world? (H.
Irwin
B.A.)
The Choice of the Highest
These words represent the grand challenge of the human heart
against evil fate. Those who believe in the naturalistic origin of conscience
forget that its greatest achievements have not been in line with
but in
defiance of
popular sentiment. They have been the victories of minorities
rather than of majorities. Yet no such sacrifice has ever failed or can fail.
The three Hebrew children are a figure of the moral heroes of the world. They
did not debate what ought to be done in matters of conscience. It is often said
that first thoughts are best. I have only two things to say to you arising out
of this text. The first is that the supreme spiritual need of the hour is a
strenuous morality
and the second is
there is no morality worthy of the name
that is not born in conflict. You may think it strange if I say the supreme
spiritual need of the hour is a strenuous morality. What has morality got to do
with spirituality? Everything. There is no spiritual truth which has not a
moral bearing and places the man who receives it under a moral obligation. It
is a cheap spirituality that makes no demand upon conscience. I do not wish to
identify morality with spirituality
but I declare they can never be separated.
To-day we are confronted with two seemingly contrasted attitudes of the modern
mind towards Christianity. First we see before us an admiration for the ethical
value of Christianity
for the character of its Founder
for the ideal which He
set up
but along with this there comes a very considerable and widespread
distrust of its dogmas. He is worthy not only of imitation
but of the fullest
homage that a man’s heart can render. Christ stands highest
Christ stands
first
Christ is my God. But about that I am not concerned to dispute at this
moment. I think Christ is not concerned so much as to what we say about who He
is
but He is a very great deal concerned as to the obedience we render unto
Him. There is a need to-day of warmth of devotion and moral enthusiasm about
the highest things which
after all
lie close to us every day. Poverty in
these things leads to pessimism. Every spiritual truth makes this moral demand.
The best way for you young men to find the truth about Christ
about God
about
Heaven
is to be good. The good and the true are ultimately one. Do one good
action and the universe speaks back to you its “Well done.” Every one of you
bows before a moral ideal written in his heart. You may prove unfaithful to it
but if you faithfully obey it
it will lead you into light. Whoever or whatever
wrought that ideal within you is your God
and your God makes His demands upon
you not simply sometimes now and then
but all the time and everywhere. The
greatest need
I repeat
of the present day
is the need of a strenuous form of
morality. Make men who are not afraid of rendering homage to conscience
and
you will make that type of character which Christ Himself delights to honour.
But to go to my second point
there is no goodness worth having which is not
born in conflict. Make a distinction between the morally beautiful and the
morally sublime. I trust you have all read Edmund Burke’s essay on the “Sublime
and the Beautiful.” You will remember that he declares one ingredient of the
sublime to be a feeling akin to fear
fear in the presence of an unknown dread
of an experience that may come. Now
young men
the morally beautiful may
contain nothing at all of that particular ingredient. The morally sublime goes
to the making of character
and in the long run it cannot be different from the
morally beautiful. There is nothing more winsome than the innocence of
childhood. Is childhood ideal? No
but childlikeness is. You will go from the
morally beautiful through the morally sublime. Begin with childlikeness if you
would come to the character of Christ. If you go through the morally sublime
you must be prepared to meet Apollyon in the Valley of Humiliation and the
demons in the darkness of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Simplicity
naturalness
transparency of character
absence of arrogance
are characteristic
of the child. It is remarkable but splendid to think that within are the very
things which the world is coming to demand from manhood. Test it yourself.
Examine your own virtue and see if you have obtained these qualities. That is
not virtue which is easily won. The false accent of religiosity to-day says
much about humility where humility is not
and a man may come to that dangerous
condition when
as has been truly said
he is proud of his own humility. Doing
what one wants to is no great virtue in the sight of God. We are every day
confronted with the choice between the higher and the lower
the golden image
or the fiery furnace. Sometimes a grand crisis comes in life. We have to choose
between God and Mammon
conscience or a momentary gain. In such crises we seem
left to ourselves
but we never really are left to ourselves. In the darkest
hour there stands by our side that unknown Friend. Most of us want God to
rescue us before the crisis comes. He very seldom does that
but He rescues us
on the other side of this strenuous activity by which character is beaten out
gained
and won. When God calls us to a crisis
God brings us to a conflict It
is as though there was a bar to cross
and on the other side
and only on the
other side
is the still water and safety. God does not give His rescues upon
this side. It is an evil agency that would keep a man back from that by which
his manhood is won. Here is opportunity in the great crises of life--to venture
on for the right
and to leave the future to God. Supposing
then
that in this
house of prayer there is some man listening to me who is face to face with the
burning fiery furnace
I would say to him
Make this humble man your ideal. Be
not careful about your answer. First thoughts are best in eases like this. Play
the man. “Our God is able to deliver” you from the burning fiery furnace--but
if not
if not? Then do not bow down. Leave the future to Him.Some of you are
instantly tempted to compromise with the ideal. Watch what you are doing. You
are perilling something higher than you know
driving from you
it may be
God’s great opportunity. Faithfulness is always vindicated. There is a grandeur
in moral victory. If it were otherwise
God’s world would be wrongly made. No
man who has ever tested the worth of righteousness has had cause to regret his
choice. Listen to the call of inflexible good. Dare to trust it and obey. (R.
J. Campbell
M.A.)
Character versus Circumstances
The Babylonian kingdom is in the very height of its power and
prosperity. The great Nebuchadnezzar has become a powerful and mighty
potentate. His very word is law throughout all that vast realm. He is
accustomed to strict obedience in all the affairs of state. Since his subjects
are under such perfect control; since they dare not oppose his plans nor thwart
his purposes
he thinks he will command them as to what their religion shall
be. There are many religions in the realm of Nebuchadnezzar the king; there are
many gods to whom sacrifice is made; many images of stone before which the
people bow. But Nebuchadnezzar will change this order of things. He will make
one image of great stature. The day arrives. A great multitude has assembled.
The statue is unveiled with much pomp and display. Another victory for
Nebuchadnezzar! Great is the king of the Babylonians! Mighty is the monarch of
the Chaldeans! Wonderful is the power that he exerts over his subjects; for
their religion
even
is subject to his command. But what newt is this that he
hears? What strange report is this that his courier brings? “There are three
men in your realm
O king
” the messenger says
“who did not obey your royal
mandate
nor bow themselves down at your command.” “Three men in all my kingdom
that dare to disobey! Three subjects in all my realm who disregard my command!
Who are they? Are they generals of war who have grown haughty? Are they men of
wealth who have become influential? Are they politicians of fame with whom is
power
that they dare thus to withstand the king? Speak
messengers
their
names! Who are they?” “Neither wealth nor power nor royal lineage is theirs
but they are three captives brought from Judea who dare to withstand thine own
edict. Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego; these men
O king
have not regarded
thee nor worshipped the golden image which thou hast set up.” Then
Nebuchadnezzar commanded the three offenders to be brought before him. He tells
them of the law they have broken
and rehearses to them the penalty incurred. A
fearful penalty
a death sentence of execution terrible. But he will give them
one more chance. Our text forms a part of the answer that the Jewish captives
gave the king in the hour of trial.
1. These Israelites were true to their principles
in spite of
difficulties
and in the face of opposition. They were just as loyal and true
in Babylon as ever they had been in Jerusalem. They kept their religion as pure
and undefiled as captives as ever they did as free citizens. Circumstances were
tremendously against them
but they were the kind of men who did not give way to
circumstances. Popular opinion was mightily against them
but they were the
kind of men that are uninfluenced by wrong public opinion. They had grit as
well as grace; pluck as well as piety.
2. There are a good many people who are good enough so long as they
are surrounded by good influences
but get them away from those influences and
into temptation and they fall. Some men
who are very good citizens in
Jerusalem
lose all their piety as soon as they get down to Babylon. The men
who possess decision of character and firmness of purpose are the men who stand
where others fall. Young men come here to our city from their country homes.
Some advance to positions of responsibility and honour; others sink into lives
degraded and low. What is the difference?
The difference lies not in the circumstances that surround these
men
but in the characters that they possess.
3. That young man is safe
wherever you put him
who has the
consecrated courage
the God-like determination
the heroic devotion to
principle
that these three young men had. To tell what will become of a man
inquire not so much into his surroundings
but look at the man himself and see
how he is made. When that young man leaves your home to go to a distant city
look not at the reputation of that city so much as at that young man’s
character
if you would read his future. Young men
into your lives trying
hours will come; into your experiences untoward circumstances will be thrust.
But you will have no experience more trying
and be placed in no circumstances
more difficult
than were the three Judean captives. And they found that the
God whom they worshipped
at home
and to whom they were true abroad
did not
forsake them in the hour of Nebuchadnezzar’s rage
but in the very midst of the
fiery furnace He was with them
and from all harm He safely delivered them.
Their God is your God. He who gave them strength to resist will give you power
to overcome. (C. G. Mosher.)
Three Hebrew Martyrs
This persecuting spirit is of very ancient date in the history of
human folly. That the summons of the king met with general compliance is not
very wonderful. Accustomed as the Assyrian princes and nobles had been to the
worship of idols
it is not surprising that they yielded instant and implicit
obedience to the royal mandate. It was but adding another to the calendar of
the gods of Chaldea
and gratified that passion for variety in the objects of
worship which is characteristic of the spirit of idolatry.
I. In looking at
the conduct of these Hebrew confessors
the first circumstance that strikes us
is
that THEY DID NOT COURT
THIS OPPORTUNITY OF MANIFESTING THEIR ZEAL AND CONSTANCY. The
erection of the golden image was not the work of a day. Much preparation was
employed
and the scene that was to be exhibited in the plain of Dura was known
throughout the length and breadth of the land. But in the midst of all the
preparation for this new exhibition of human folly
this insult to the Majesty
of Heaven
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego did not feel it to be their duty to
interfere. It was enough for them to utter their testimony to the faith of
their fathers when legitimately called to do so
and to show their abhorrence
of the idol when commanded to bow down before it. They were prepared for
martyrdom
but they did not court it; they were ready to brave and defy the
tyrant’s rage
but they sought not prematurely to provoke it. That forward
zeal
which courts opposition and seeks reproach
forms no part of the
Christian character; and to step out of the sphere in which Providence has
placed him to censure the errors that prevail in the world
or to make an
uncalled-for statement of his opinions and feelings
is going beyond the sphere
of legitimate duty
and causes his “good to be evil spoken of.” If the
Christian adheres to the plain and obvious path of duty
and seeks to lead a
holy and blameless life
he will meet with difficulties enough to exercise his
faith and patience
and sufficient opportunities of proving and exhibiting the
strength and vigour of his principles
without going beyond the sphere of his
ordinary calling
or courting unnecessary publicity and distinction.
II. THE SUPERIORITY OF THESE HEBREW
MARTYRS TO THE ALLUREMENT OF PLEASURE merits our next
consideration. A slight examination of their history will satisfy you that they
were at that time of life when those attractions wherewith Nebuchadnezzar
introduced his golden image have the greatest power over enlightened and
cultivated minds. They were not
so far as the history before us testifies
the
gross and repulsive pleasures of mere sensualism
wherewith the introduction of
the golden image into the number of the Chaldean divinities was celebrated.
Pleasures of a more refined and attractive description were held out to allure
and deceive the princes and nobles of Babylon. All the charms of Eastern music
were employed to recommend this scene of idolatrous folly
and to drown all
inquiry concerning the wisdom and propriety of the measure. But these Hebrew
captives were superior to the attraction. It is probable that other pleasurable
attractions accompanied the powers of music on this memorable occasion; but
of
whatever description they were
and whatever passions they addressed
they had
no power to suppress or extinguish that fear of God which was the ruling and
master sentiment of their souls. They tell us to be on our guard against the
seductive influence even of innocent pleasure. “The flute and the dulcimer
the
psaltery and the sackbut
the cornet and the harp
” were in themselves innocent
instruments of delight
and
employed in the service of God
would have filled
Shadrach and his companions with hallowed joy; but
prostituted to the purpose
of idolatry and sin
their notes were dissonant
and lost to these holy men all
their power to please. And thus do they teach us how pleasures
that are in
themselves innocent and susceptible of being rendered the ministers of our
improvement
are to be estimated. Sin is never so insidious as when it comes
attended by these pleasures which in themselves are innocent. Never let your
taste for any enjoyment
which in itself may be harmless
reconcile you to
scenes or indulgences with which the guilty ingenuity of men may have
associated it. Our most favourite enjoyments must be viewed with jealousy
and
shunned when we see them prostituted to the purpose of iniquity.
III. In maintaining
their fidelity
these pious Hebrews RESISTED ALL THE INFLUENCES OF KINDNESS AND FRIENDSHIP.
Throughout all the provinces they were viewed as the favourites of the mighty
monarch
and many an envious eye was cast at the eminence they had attained.
They were thus bound to the king by the ties of gratitude
and by the prospects
of future favour. Men who so truly and deeply feared God could not be deficient
in yielding every legitimate honour to the king. But the question which now
pressed upon them related to higher interests than the favour of a monarch
and
all the honour and wealth he could bestow. Similar sacrifices of worldly
interest to religious principle--of the sense of gratitude to the sense of
duty--are frequently demanded of the faithful servants of God; and where
religious principle and the sense of duty have a proper hold of the heart
these sacrifices are made without hesitation or reluctance. These Hebrew
confessors would gladly have retained the favour and friendship of the king of
Babylon; but when these could not be retained but at the expense of their
religious consistency and by the sacrifice of their immortal interests
they
were willing to relinquish them.
IV. When we admire
this superiority to the influence of kindness and friendship in the cause of
religion
THE FIRMNESS AND
MAGNANIMITY WITH WHICH THEY BRAVED DEATH IN ITS CRUELEST FORM MERIT A STILL
HIGHER MEASURE OF OUR REGARD. In this moment of uttermost peril
the feeling of self-preservation
the all-powerful instinctive love of life
might have whispered
and doubtless did whisper
some excuse to conscience for
compliance with the king’s command. Such are the considerations that enhance
the faith and fortitude of these confessors. Let us now
in conclusion
turn
our attention to the manner in which Heaven honoured their faith and constancy
in the hour of trial. (J. Johnston.)
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
or Decision in Religion
Decision of character never appears more truly great than when it
is displayed in defiance of danger and in contempt of death.
I. In looking at THE DISTINGUISHING CHARACTER OF
RELIGIOUS DECISION
as it is illustrated in this history:
1. It appears to be lofty in its principle. It is quite evident that
in this ease it was not exercised in order to gratify some mere impulse of
feeling. It did not spring from a foolish wish to affect singularity
nor from
a mere determination to oppose the king’s authority. No; but it was a noble stand
in defence of the rights of conscience--it was a firm resistance of an unjust
demand--it was a lofty determination to obey God rather than man. Had
Nebuchadnezzar commanded Shadrach and his companions to perform some difficult
but lawful service
we believe they would have performed it; but desirous as
they were of obeying him
they dare not do this
at the certain risk of
disobeying God--they knew that Jehovah had infinitely higher claims upon their
obedience than any earthly king--they knew that in the decalogue they wore
expressly and solemnly commanded to avoid the sin of idlolatry
and not even
the imperious mandate of a Nebuchadnezzar
nor yet the fiercest manifestations
of his displeasure
could make them swerve from their duty
or shake their constancy
to the King of kings. I say
their decision
in this matter
was lofty in its
principle. It was so
because it was based upon an intelligent sense of duty.
Reason and judgment and conscience were arrayed on the side of principle; while
all that worldly wealth could offer
and all that worldly power could indict
were enlisted on the aide of expediency. Was it not noble in these men
under
such circumstances
to stand firm by their principles? But
again
their
decision was lofty in principle because it was an assertion of the
inalienability of man’s right at all times to think and to act for himself in
all matters of religion. What right had the Babylonian king to enact laws on
the subject of religion? As the monarch of an earthly kingdom
it is true
he
had a temporal jurisdiction over his subjects
and he had a perfect right to
exercise it. But you perceive Nebuchadnezzar was not content with this.
Accustomed to wield the iron sceptre of despotism over the bodies of men
he
vainly wished to control their spirits too. But Nebuchadnezzar had yet to learn
a most important lesson--he had yet to learn that there is a power in the
spirit of man to burst asunder the chains that would enslave it--he had yet to
learn the supremacy of conscience
and the power ofreligious principle to
enable a man to press toward his object even with death itself in view.
2. I would remark that religious decision
as it is illustrated in
this history
appears to have the character of uncompromising firmness.
Throughout the whole of the conduct of Shadrach and his companions there does
not appear the smallest indication of a wish to accommodate matters or to
effect a compromise between principle and expediency. But
further
let us
follow them to the presence of the haughty king
before whom they were soon dragged at
the impeachment of their bloodthirsty foes; and here
how striking the scene.
See them confronted by everything most adapted to intimidate and appal human
nature. Once more
if we follow them on to the last and most fearful trial of
their constancy
we shall see the uncompromising firmness of their religious
decision. But even this barbarous mandate did not shake their constancy. They
saw the fury of the king--they heard his cruel command--but they were unmoved.
II. THE IMPORTANT TIME OF ITS
MANIFESTATION. It requires only a limited historical acquaintance
with the state of the world at the time when Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
were called to act their parts upon it--to know that it was a time of great
mental degradation and moraldebasement. There seemed to be at that period a
concentration of effort on the part of the powers of darkness to quench the
last spark of vital religion yet remaining upon earth
and by a desperate piece
of policy to plunge in yet deeper gloom an already too fearfully benighted
world
and Shadrach and his companions seem to have been the appointed
instruments in the hands of God of defeating this infernal policy
and of
preserving this only remaining spark from utter extinction. Was not that a
critical season
when
before an assembled universe they were called to combat
the confederated power of darkness
and to vindicate the insulted majesty of
Jehovah? It was for these men
by their conduct
to show whether the whole
family of man should be publicly led captive by the devil at his will
or
whether
by boldly standing forth as witnesses for God
the work of darkness
should be arrested
and Satan deprived of his triumph. And here let me ask
before passing on
whether the present period of time be not one which
preeminently demands the manifestation of religious decision on the part of the
professed servants of God.
III. THE BENEFICIAL RESULTS
resulting from religious decision
as illustrated in the history before us. Had
opportunity permitted
we might have dwelt upon the beneficial consequences
resulting from this decision to the individuals themselves who exercised it. It
was not only a manifestation of their consistency
and a proof of the reality
of their religion
but it secured them the respect of the king
and it opened
up a way for still greater aggrandisement and worldly honour. We might still
further have enlarged upon the effect of this decision upon the minds of the
captive Jews at Babylon. Doubtless
those of the Hebrews who had bowed down to
image
through a time-serving policy
would be ashamed of their inconsistent
and guilty course
while such as had done thus through a vacillation and
conscious weakness would be inspired with a fresh energy and zeal. We might
also have shown you at length the mighty change which this manifestation of
decision tended to effect in the views and purposes of the proud king of
Babylon; and
doubtless
also in the views and purposes of those by whom he was
surrounded. Oh! let us ever remember that with Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
we are called to stand forward before an ungodly world as witnesses for God
and that
as His professing people
our every action has an influence directly
or indirectly upon the destiny of the world. If we are faithful to our trust
a
stamp of reality shall be given to our religion which shall convince the most
unwilling
and convert the world; but if we are unfaithful
the reign of
darkness shall be perpetuated
and Satan shall triumph. Let me conclude in the
language of a well-known writer: “Of this
Christians
you may rest assured
you cannot stand neutral. Every moment you live you are testifying for or
against religion. Every step you take you tread on cords that will vibrate
through all eternity. Every time you move yon touch keys whose sounds will
re-echo over all the hills and dales of Kenyon
and peal through all the dark
caverns and vaults of hell. Every moment of your lives you are exerting a
tremendous influence that will tell on the immortal interests of souls all
around you. Are you asleep
while all your conduct is exerting such an
influence?” (G. W. Pegg.)
Active Religious Principle
I. THE PRINCIPLE FOR WHICH WE CONTEND
SHOULD BE TRUE. This should be our first consideration. The
standard of right or wrong is the Bible. These young men had not now to
investigate whether idolatry was allowable or not. Though the revelation of the
Divine will
which they had
was not so full and clear as that with which we
are favoured
it was quite decisive on this subject--and they knew it. We
too
ought to be familiar with the Scriptures
so that when any line of conduct is
proposed to us we may be able instantly to say whether or not we ought to
pursue it.
II. TRUE PRINCIPLES SHOULD BE MAINTAINED
AGAINST ALL OPPOSITION.
III. TRUTH SHOULD BE MAINTAINED IN THE
SPIRIT OF LOVE. This is of great consequence
and is often
neglected. But if we fail in spirit and manner:
1. We injure our cause before men; who soon perceive our
inconsistency
and put a small price upon our bad-tempered exhortations.
2. We deprive ourselves of Almighty help; without which our most
earnest efforts will be vain.
IV. THERE ARE ABUNDANT ENCOURAGEMENTS FOR
US THUS TO MAINTAIN RIGHT PRINCIPLES. These young men were
encouraged by an assurance that God’s power and goodness were exercised on
their behalf. They knew that God was “able
” and would deliver them out of the
king’s hand.
V. GLORIOUS RESULTS WILL FOLLOW THE
CONSISTENT MAINTENANCE OF RIGHT PRINCIPLE. In the case before us
the confessors were themselves preserved and honoured
and the God whom they
served was glorified. (Edward Thompson.)
Witnesses to the Truth
This scene is one of the most sublime and majestic which the human
mind can conceive. On the one side is represented human power in its grandest
and most overwhelming form. On the other side we have three men who stand apart
and refuse to join in the act for which all the rest are met. Here is the
contrast between spiritual greatness and human greatness. Each complete and the
highest of its kind.
1. We ask ourselves what it was which gave these three men the power
to withstand the will of this great monarch
and stand firm though they were
alone in the midst of an assembled world? And the answer is obvious. It was
simply that they felt the importance of the truth for which they witnessed.
They knew that they were upholding the true religion against the false.
2. Here
then
is the lesson which the scene teaches us; that we have
laid upon us the duty of witnessing to the truth; and that in order to be able
to witness to the truth
we must have an inward perception of the value of the
truth to be witnessed to. We are told particularly in Scripture that this is
one of our great duties as servants of God. The whole Jewish nation entrusted
with the oracles of God. When Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-negro bore witness
as they did in this striking manner
to the truth of the unity and spiritual
nature of God
and against the worship of idols
they fulfilled their special
duties as Jews
and did what God had sent the Jewish people into the world to
do. And we Christians
too
are told in Scripture that we are to be witnesses
to the truth
as the Jews were to be
though to a higher truth than the Jews
had. Our Lord Himself had this as one of His great offices (John 18:37). And the Apostles (1 John 1:1-3). And all Christians
are invested in a measure with office of witnessing to the truth of the
Christian revelation (Matthew 5:16).
3. And as Christians have the office imposed upon them
so they are
placed in a world which tries that office severely
and opposes great
temptations to
and brings an overwhelming influence to bear against
the
performance of that duty. The scene described in the Book of Daniel is indeed a
symbolical one. The great Babylon which arrayed itself in majesty on that
occasion
and set up its golden idol
has fallen
but there is another Babylon
which still goes on
and always will go on till Christ comes again to judgment.
As imposing
and as carnally majestic
great and sublime as ever. Go where we
will it follows us. And what a powerful influence does it exert upon our
minds--very same influence as that which tried the faith of Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego on plain of Dura. Doubtless they felt the commanding force of
that great spectacle
and had feelings and natural weaknesses of men. It was
influence of the visible world which they resisted.
4. Such being the office
then
which Christians have
and such the
temptations under which they have to exercise it
what is
as a matter of fact
the way in which this duty is performed? Do we find Christians showing by their
lives
and by the objects they pursue here
their belief in eternity
witnessing to the great truth of the Gospel dispensation
that our Lord by His
resurrection from the dead brought life and immortality to light? or do we not
find that the great rule of all action adopted by them is to do as other people
do
to think as other people think
and to aim at getting what all other people
strive to get? That is to say
do not the great mass of people do exactly the
same thing that Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego would have done
if at the
proclamation of the herald
and at the sound of the music
they had fallen down
and worshipped the golden image?
5. The office of witness
however
to Divine truth
rejected as it is
by the generality
as if it were something more than could be expected of men
is a privilege as well as a duty
and brings
if it is faithfully executed
great rewards to those who execute it. We cannot conceive anything more sublime
than the triumph of the three great witnesses in this chapter. It is one of the
great triumphs of faith
one of those great anticipations of the final triumph
of good over evil
which Scripture has recorded for our encouragement. (Moses
Elijah
etc.) The men were bound
the furnace was heated
etc. (Describe
result.) The strength of the whole earth was gone in a moment
in the presence
of One who was walking in the midst of the fire
and whose form was like the
Son of God.
6. Here was
indeed
a triumph of that faith which bears witness to
the truth; and
as I have said
this scene is symbolical. It is the figure of a
deep truth which holds now
and which we may apply to ourselves. Men know the
truth
but they will not witness to it. Yet
we may venture to say
and with
certainty
that never
on any occasion
by any one of the humblest servants of
God
was this office of witness to the truth executed without a reward. In the
adversity a companion; in the fire walking with him the Son of God. (Canon
Mozley.)
Faith Victorious Over the Fear of Man
I. Concerning THE OBJECT OF OUR FAITH.
By these holy writings we know and acknowledge Him to be the Lord our God in
Christ.
1. He is the Lord
whose name alone is Jehovah.
2. The object of faith is the Lord “our God.” He says in the ear of
His people
“Be not dismayed
for I am thy God”; and hearing His speech
they
say
“This God
” who speaketh in His holiness
is “Our God.” Would ye have an
example? ye will see one in the eighteenth Psalm: “The Lord is my rock
and my
fortress
and my deliverer; my God
my strength
in whom I will trust; my
buckler
and the horn of my salvation
and my high tower.”
3. The object of faith is the Lord our God in Christ. In the faith of
sinners this consideration of Him is essentially important. Without a mediator
of righteousness
atonement
and reconciliation
we can have no intercourse
with Him in believing. “By Christ we believe in God
who raised Him from the
dead
that our faith and hope might be in God.” This consideration of the object
of faith is not peculiar to the New Testament. Though the revelation of it was
comparatively dark
the first believer
and all that followed
had it before
them
and saw it truly. God was then
as He is now
in Christ. The witnesses in
Babylon saw anal believed in Him as in Christ; and in the furnace had a
sensible proof of it.
II. Concerning THE GROUND OF FAITH.
The ground on which we stand and build in believing
is the record or testimony
of God
revealing Himself to us as the Lord our God in Christ. This record
testimony
or witness
faith believes to be true
receives as good
rests in as
sure
and builds on with appropriation
according its address with full
assurance of its stability. The truth is
faith can neither stand nor build on
any other ground. Unless we have His own testimony before us
we cannot glorify
Him in believing. It would be presuming
and not believing
to call Him our God
on any other ground. Though the faith of believers doth not fix them always on
the same passage
they always build on some passage of the revealed testimony.
They never change their ground
but do not always build on the same spot. In
the Testimony which is the ground of faith there is an order that ought not to
be overlooked
since according to it the exercise of faith is to be regulated.
The glorious Object
in the front of the law
says
“I am the Lord thy God”;
and in the body of the particular commandment
which turned to His witnesses in
the plain of Dura for a testimony
He repeats it
saying
“I the Lord thy God
am a jealous God.” Upon hearing this gracious declaration from His throne
faith proceeds
and boldly advances its claim
saying
“This God is our God.”
In this very order the witnesses proceed
and add to their faith virtue.
3. Concerning the exercise of faith. In the exercise of faith there
is:
1. That believing God is warrantable and authourised exercise in all
extremities. Warrantable
because it is allowed; authorised
because it is
commanded.
2. That the gratuitous deed
which is the ground of believing
proceeds upon a ransom found
and an atonement made. Grace reigns in it. The
reign of grace
however
is a righteous administration.
3. We infer the immorality of unbelief. By many in the visibles
church unbelief is not held to be an immorality. Discipline cannot lay hands
upon it
nor are ministers able to do anything but cry against it
It is
notwithstanding
a crying immorality
denying the truth of God in His word
despising the loving kindness of the Saviour of the world
resisting the spirit
of holiness
and drowning in destruction and perdition multitudes of precious
souls. (A. Shanks.)
Christian Heroism
The service of Christ demands heroism of the truest and highest
kind. This world is radically hostile to Christ and His religion
and no
disciple
in any age or land
can be
in all things and at all times
true to
his Master
in the full sense of the term
and not encounter opposition and
obstacles that will demand the very highest type of heroism to meet and
overcome. Examples of the sublimest heroism are not wanting in the history of
the church. We have such in Noah
in building the Ark; in Abraham
in the
sacrifice of Isaac; in Daniel; in the three Hebrew worthies; in Paul
and the
other disciples; in the long line of the prophets
martyrs and witnesses to the
truth
and in the lives of such missionaries as Brainerd
Martyn
Carey
Judson
Morrison
and Harriet Newell. And in the grand roll of honour
read off
in the final day
will be found the names of untold thousands of true heroes
whose deeds were never recognised on earth--men and women
who
in humble life
or in private stations
away from the observation of men
heroically endured
and wrought for the Master
and won a crown as bright as any worn by
martyr-saint! Never was there greater need of Christian heroism than at the
present time.
I. IN THE PULPIT. The tide
of change
of insidious and seductive error
of worldliness and spiritual
declension
is rising high and beating fearfully against the old foundations of
faith
and spirituality
and a godly life. The pulpit of to-day is assailed by
more potent and dangerous influences than if we were in the midst of fiery
persecution. To stand firm for God and truth
and “the simplicity that is in
Christ”--to lift high the banner of righteousness and wage uncompromising war
with sin and error in every form--requires the heroism of apostles and martyrs.
Would to God our pulpits everywhere
in city and country.
responded to the
demand.
II. IN ALL THE WALKS OF PRIVATE
CHRISTIAN LIFE.
This a day that puts to a severe test the fidelity of the heart to Christ. Oh
there are so many false Christs in the world
false standards of duty
counterfeit experiences
“lying and seducing spirits
” evil examples and
declensions
and so much “conformity to the world
” and worship of “mammon
”
and lowering of the standard of discipleship
that to meet the full demands of
Christ-likenees and Christ’s service calls for more heroism than it would to
face the stake! Alas
how little of it
comparatively
do we see!
III. IN THE GREAT MISSIONARY WORK
TO WHICH GOD IS CALLING HIS PEOPLE.
IV. IN THE MART OF BUSINESS.
Terrible is the strain here
and how many fail and go down in the awful wreck
and rain of character
many of them
too
bearing the name of Christ; and all
because they have not true manliness
true courage
to face temptation and
disaster--have not heroism sufficient to live up to the principles of
righteousness.
V. IN PUBLIC LIFE
IN POLITICS
IN ALL PLACES OF HONOUR AND TRUST.
Heroism is here demanded
and heroism of the genuine stamp. Dare to do right
though office be lost
or election fail
or poverty come
or clamour assail. To
do right is to win! To do or connive at wrong is to lose
always! (J. M.
Sherwood.)
Nor worship the golden
image which thou hast set up.
Steadfastness in the Midst of Dangers
At the king’s command
the three Hebrew youths came forth from the
fire unscorched. The same scenes--differing simply in the lesser details--have
more than once been witnessed upon the earth. The whole world is one wide plain
of Darn
in which a golden image is set up. The God of Heaven proclaims His
sovereign will. Rival divinities set up their groundless claims. They all have
their due proportion of abject worshippers.
1. The man of the world bows down before the golden image. He adores
that which seems nearest to himself. Popularity
and power
and place are
foremost in his thoughts. He makes an idol of the world. Nothing is “real” in
his sight which cannot be coined into money
and which will not aid him in his
ambitious plans.
2. The Christian has full scope for the exercise of the determined
spirit manifested by the Hebrew youths
in a consistent walk with God. “All
that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” If you are what
you ought to be
no degree of prudence and reserve will free you altogether
from the opposition and malice of an ungodly world. It seems
at first thought
a hard lot; but it has its blessings. (John N. Norton.)
That they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was
wont to be heated.
The Fiery Furnace
I. THE PERSON WHO CAUSED IT TO BE MADE. This
Oriental despot was then in the zenith of his glory. He was the acknowledged
master of the world. The pomp and pageantry
of that religious gathering has
never been surpassed. In deep awe
“they stood before the image that
Nebuchadnezzar had set up” (v. 4).
II. THE PERSONS WHO WERE CAST INTO THIS BURNING FIERY FURNACE
AND WHY. These were Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego--“the three
Hebrew children
” who were carried to Babylon in captivity B.C. 606. They were of
royal birth. They first came into notice in refusing to eat the “king’s meat.”
Why were they cast into the burning furnace? It was because they refused to do
that which would offend the living God. Listen to the answer given by those
Hebrews: “Be it known unto thee
O king
that we will not serve thy gods
nor
worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (v. 18). What is our answer?
Observe
there is one great word in this verse now quoted. It is the word “not”!
“We will not serve thy gods”! O this word
“not”! How grand it is!
1. It contains all the decision of 5:16. There they say: “We are not
careful to answer thee in this matter.” “There is no need for talk on this
subject
O king. You are determined what to do; so
also
are we!” Glorious
decision! There is never any “not” where there is the least hesitation or
parleying with sin.
2. This word “not” contains all the faith of 5:17. “If it be so
our
God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning furnace.” This is what
the great Paul once said: “The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and
will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18). How glorious such a
trust!
3. The “not” before us contains the profoundest courage. It was
popular that day to bow to the image; the lend-mouthed “herald” proclaimed the
penalty of not worshipping. Yet the brave men spoke out courageously. With
decision
faith
and courage
we can alone stand against the evils of our day.
Because Shadrach and his friends said “net
” they were cast into the fire.
III. THE PERSON WHO DELIVERED THEM
AND WHY. It was
Almighty God (v. 28). Why? Because they “trusted in Him” (v. 28). This the
versereferred to in Hebrews 11:33-34 --“who through fire
subdued kingdoms”! It is faith that overcomes the world. Faith is the mighty
moral force of the age. The Apostles said unto the Lord
and so should we
“Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). Observe:
1. The completeness of this deliverance: “Nor was an hair of their
head singed” (v. 27). So God always saves--it is complete
or not at all.
2. They were thrown into the furnace “bound
” but soon they walked
through the flames “loose” (v. 24
25). O how Satan has tried to bind us in our
afflictions
but in the greatest sorrow--when the furnace has been heated
“seven times
” we have had both freedom and joy. “If the Son therefore shall
make you free
ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
IV. THE PERSONS BENEFITED BY THE FIERY FURNACE
AND WHY.
1. The three Hebrews were benefited by receiving another wonderful
evidence of the power of grace; by being promoted to a higher official rank in
the kingdom (v. 30). This was the result of decision
faith
and courage.
2. Nebuchadnezzar was benefited by being brought back to the
knowledge of God which
years before
he had professed (Daniel 2:47).
3. No doubt the great multitude which that day had worshipped the
golden image was benefited. They all saw that the true God was He whom the
Hebrews worshipped. Decision for the Lord Jesus is the best way to win the
wicked to His worship and service. (Alfred W. Moment.)
Religious Persecution
We have in this chapter an affecting case of an attempt to punish
men for holding certain opinions
and for acting in conformity with them. When
we read of an instance of persecution like this
it occurs to us to ask certain
questions.
1. What is persecution? It is pain inflicted
or some loss
or
disadvantage in person
family
or office
on account of holding certain
opinions. It has had two objects. One to punish men for holding certain
opinions
as if the persecutor had a right to regard this as an offence against
the state; and the other a professed view to reclaim those who are made to
suffer
and to save their souls. In regard to the pain or suffering involved in
persecution
it is not material what kind of pain is inflicted in order to
constitute persecution. Any bodily suffering; any deprivation of comfort; any
exclusion from office; any holding up of one to public reproach; or any form of
ridicule
constitutes the essence of persecution. It may be added that not a
few of the inventions most distinguished for inflicting pain
and known
as refinements of cruelty
have been originated in times of persecution
and
would probably have been unknown if it had not been for the purpose of
restraining men from the free exercise of religious opinions. The Inquisition
has been most eminent in this; and within the walls of that dreaded institution
it is probable that human ingenuity has been exhausted in devising the most
refined modes of inflicting torture on the human frame.
2. Why has this been permitted? Among the reasons may be the
following:
3. What have been the effects of persecution?
In the Fiery Furnace
Note the teachings of the miracle.
I. THOSE ONLY WHO LIVE ABOVE THE WORLD CAN AFFORD TO LEAVE IT
OR TO LOSE IT. The man who has temporal blessings without
fellowship with God cannot afford to disobey the world’s laws or customs (Hebrews 11:14).
II. THE MEANS TAKEN TO EXTINGUISH TRUTH WILL BE USED TO EXTEND
ITS INFLUENCE. The Philippian jailer
not content with beating
his prisoners
thrust them into the inner prison
yet into this prison he shall
come
and falling upon his knees
shall beseech help from his prisoners. The
very means taken in that city by the magistrates to silence Paul and Silas led
to their being more highly esteemed
and consequently to the words which they
had spoken receiving more attention.
III. ONE SPECIAL INTERPOSITION OF PROVIDENCE IN A LIFETIME WILL
NOT GUARANTEE EXEMPTION FROM AN ORDINARY FATE AT ANOTHER PERIOD.
Peter was saved from Herod’s sword
but he suffered martyrdom in later life.
IV. THE SERVANTS OF GOD WHO HAVE BEEN PUBLICLY CONDEMNED SHALL BE PUBLICLY
VINDICATED. The Son of God was publicly condemned and executed as
a malefactor by the Jews
but they will one day own Him as their Lord with “Lo
this is our God; we have waited for Him” Isaiah 25:9). (Outlines by a
London Minister.)
Verse 24
Then Nebuchadnezzar the
king was astonished.
The Astonishment of
Nebuchadnezzer as he looked into the Fiery Furnace
Consider the causes of his
astonishment.
I. HE WAS ASTONISHED AT THE NUMBER HE
BEHELD IN THE FURNACE “Lo! I see four men; and the form of the
fourth is like the Son of God!” Some have imagined that by the expression “Son
of God” Nebuchadnezzar meant a son of Jupiter
or of Baal
or of some other
heathen deity; but surely it is far more reasonable to suppose that by the
power of God
who “causeth the wrath of man to praise Him
” and of whom we
read
“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh
” the king was constrained to
utter a great truth in spite of the fury of his spirit and the darkness of his
soul. Does it not seem clear that Jehovah was then dealing with Nebuchadnezzar
in essentially the same way as He had
ages before
dealt with Balaam
when He
caused his opposition to praise Him
and when
in spite of “the madness of the
prophet
” he was constrained
instead of cursing Israel
to give utterance
under a power he could not resist
to truths he did not understand
when he
spake of the coming of “a Star out of Jacob
” and proclaimed: “I shall see Him
but not now: I shall behold Him
but not nigh”? Can we fail in the light of
Scripture to recognise the fourth in the furnace as “the Messenger of the
covenant” of whom we read: “In all their afflictions He was afflicted
and the
angel of His presence saved them”; “the Word” that was to be “made flesh and
dwell among men
the only-begotten of the Father
full of grace and truth”?
That cause of the king’s astonishment
seeing four in the furnace
becomes to
us illustrative of a precious truth--that God
our Saviour
is with His people
in the furnace of affliction. “The Lord loveth the righteous.” Loving man
He
prepares them for home; and affliction
“if need be
” is one of the preparatory
means employed by Him “whose fire is in Zion and His furnace in Jerusalem.” But
neither are others free from trial. The world has its furnaces. Was not Cain in
a furnace when he said
“My punishment is greater than I can bear”? Was not
Belshazzar
when
with trembling knees and a terrified soul
he quailed before
the writing on the wall: “Thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting”?
Was not Judas
when
casting on the ground the thirty pieces of silver
as if
burning not his fingers but his soul
he went out and hanged himself? And
multitudes now wandering in the ways of sin are in furnaces of affliction. But
when servants of the Lord are in the furnace of affliction they are in the
furnace that is “in Jerusalem
” and in it they are not alone. He who controls
and regulates its heat
and can
at His pleasure
take them out of it
is with
them in it
as “the consolation of Israel
the Saviour thereof
in time of
trouble.” “will not leave you comfortless.” “Lo! I am with you always”; “My
grace is sufflcient for thee.”
II. Another cause
of the king’s astonishment was this: “THEY HAVE NO HURT.” How illustrative of the
precious truth that God’s people receive no hurt in the furnace of affliction!
So the Psalmist seems to have felt when he said
“The Lord shall preserve thee
from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul.” To have discoveries made to us of
errors in the judgment
deceitfulness in the heart
self-righteousness in the
spirit
and manifold deficiencies previously unnoticed by us in our character
and life
may be most humiliating and painful for a season
but far from
hurtful to the soul; for such are some of the expressly intended results of
sanctified affliction which
injuring none of the Christian graces
gives new
vigour to faith
new brightness to hope
new ardour to holy affections
and a
tone of new devotedness to the whole spirit and life. Surely
then
it becomes
the people of God
amid the various trials of life
to “trust and be not
afraid
” and so “glorify in the fires” their covenant God and Father.
III. That the king
saw in the furnace “four men LOOSE
whilst unhurt
” was another cause of astonishment. Not power only
but thought
discrimination
and directing influence were acting amid the flames. He who
“directeth His lightning to the ends of the earth
” Lord of all the elements
the God of nature and nature’s laws
caused the fire to act only in such
direction and for such ends as He willed. It acted
but only to burn bonds.
That cause of astonishment illustrates another precious truth--that sanctified
affliction burns bonds--the bonds of sin
Satan
and the world. Children of
God
becoming entangled anew in bonds of various kinds
are often placed by the
unerring hand of a faithful and loving Father in the furnace of affliction; and
in due season
the bonds being burned
they are led out of the furnace to feel
anew and often far more than previously
“the glorious liberty of the children
of God.”
IV. Another cause
of the king’s astonishment seems to have been this: THEIR DEMEANOUR IN THE FURNACE--“walking in
the midst of the fire
” so calm
self-possessed
joyful. How illustrative of
another precious truth
that God’s people are not only supported but enabled to
be “joyful in tribulation.” Before the multitude of amazed spectators went away
they must surely have fixed their eyes very intently for a few moments upon the
king
the furnace
and the three faithful servants of “a great God.” Let us do
likewise.
1. The king. What is now the state of his mind? One thing he said was
this: “There is no other God that can deliver after this sort.” “True
O king.”
But is there any other god that can deliver at all? Where were thy gods
O
Babylon
when some of their self-denying votaries
those “mighty men
” were
being burned to death even outside the furnace? Sadly did Nebuchadnezzar fail
to turn to rational and right account that signally favourable opportunity of
looking fully at the question
“What is truth “? And not very long afterward he
was to be seen eating grass with the beasts of the field! What a lesson as to
the importance of improving every season of specially favourable opportunity
every day of specially merciful visitation.
2. The furnace. Read as in letters of light among the subsiding
glories
such lessons as these: “The path of duty is the path of safety”; “As
my days
so shall my strength be”; “Them that honour” God
He “will honour”;
“Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.”
3. The three tried ones that have come forth as gold’.
Verse 25
Lo
I see four men loose
walking in the midst of the fire.
Consolation in the Furnace
The narrative of the glorious boldness and marvellous deliverance
of the three holy children
or rather champions
is well calculated to excite
in the minds of believers firmness and steadfastness in upholding the truth in
the teeth of tyranny and in the very jaws of death. Let young men especially
since these were young men
learn from their example both in matters of faith
in religion
and matters of integrity in business
never to sacrifice their
consciences. To have a clear conscience
to wear a guileless spirit
to have a
heart void of offence
is greater riches than the mines of Ophir could yield or
the traffic of Tyre could win. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a
stalled ox and inward contention therewith. An ounce of heart’s-ease is worth a
ton of gold; and a drop of innocence is better than a sea of flattery.
I. The place WHERE GOD’S PEOPLE OFTEN ARE. In
the text we find three of them in a burning fiery furnace
and singular as this
may be literally
it is no extraordinary thing spiritually
for
to say the
truth
it is the usual place where the saints’ are found. The ancients fabled
of the salamander that it lived in the fire; the same can be said of the
Christian without any fable whatever. It is rather a wonder when a Christian is
not in trial
for to wanderers in a wilderness discomfort and privation will
naturally be the rule rather than the exception. It is through “much
tribulation” that we inherit the kingdom.
1. First
there is the furnace which men kindle. As if there were not
enough misery in the world
men are the greatest tormentors to their fellow
men. The elements in all their fury
wild beasts in all their ferocity
and
famine and pestilence in all their horrors
have scarcely proved such foes to
man
as men themselves have been. Religious animosity is always the worst of
all hatreds
and incites to the most fiendish deeds; persecution is as
unsparing as death
and as cruel as the grave. At times the Christian feels the
heat of the furnace of open persecution. Another furnace is that of oppression.
In the iron furnace of Egypt the children of Israel were made to do hard
bondage in brick and in mortar; and doubtless many of God’s people are in
positions where they are little better than slaves. There is also the furnace
of slander.
2. Secondly
there is a furnace which Satan blows with three great
bellows--some of you have been in it. It is hard to bear
for the prince of
thepower of the air hath great mastery over human spirits; he knows our weak
places
and can strike so as to cut us to the very quick. He fans the fire with
the blast of temptation. Then he works the second bellows of accusation. He
hisses into the ear
“Thy sins have destroyed thee! The Lord hath forsaken thee
quite! Thy God will be gracious no more!” Then he will beset us with
suggestions of blasphemy; for while tormenting as with insinuations
he has a
way of uttering foul things against God
and then casting them into our hearts
as if they were our own.
3. And thirdly
there is a furnace which God himself prepares for His
people. There is the furnace of physical pain. A furnace still worse
perhaps
is that of bereavement. Then
added to this
there will crowd in upon us
temporal losses and sufferings. The business which we thought would enrich
impoverishes.
4. The context reminds us that sometimes the Christian is exposed to
very peculiar trials. The furnace was heated seven times hotter; it was hot
enough when heated once; but I suppose that Nebuchadnezzar had pitch and tar
and all kinds of combustibles thrown in to make it flame out with greater
vehemence. Truly at times the Lord appears to deal thus with His people. It is
a peculiarly fierce heat which surrounds them
and they cry out
“Surely I am
the man that hath seen affliction--I may take precedence of all others in the
realm of sorrow.”
5. I do not like to leave this point without observing
too
that
these holy champions were helpless when thrown into the furnace. They ware cast
in bound; and many of us have been cast in bound
too
so that we could not
lift hand or foot to help ourselves. Pretty plight to be in! Who does not
shudder at it! Certainly none of us would choose it; but we have not the
choice
and as we have said with David
“Thou shalt choose mine inheritance for
me
” if the Lord determines to choose it for us among the coals of fire
it is
the Lord
lot Him do what seemeth Him good. Where Jehovah places His saints they
are safe in reality
although exposed to destruction in appearance.
II. WHAT THEY LOSE THERE.
Look at the text
and it will be clear to you that they lost something.
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego lost something in the fire--not their turbans
nor their coats
nor their hosen
nor one hair of their heads or boards--no;
what then?
1. Why
they lost their bonds there. Do observe: “Did not we cast
three men bound into the midst of the fire? Lo
I see four men loose
walking
in the midst of the fire.” The fire did not hurt them
but it snapped their
bonds. Blessed loss this! A true Christian’s losses are gains in another shape.
Now
observe this carefully
that many of God’s servants never know the fulness
of spiritual liberty till they are cast into the midst of the furnace. Shall I
show you some of the bonds which God looses for His people when they are in the
fire of human hatred? Sometimes He bursts the cords of fear of man
and desire
to please man. When persecution rages
it is wonderful what liberty it gives to
the child of God. Never a freer tongue than Luther’s! Never a braver mouth than
that of John Knox! Never a bolder speech than that of John Calvin! Never a
braver heart than that which throbbed beneath the ribs of Wickliffe!
2. Again
when Satan puts us in the furnace
he is often the means of
breaking bonds. How many Christians are bound by the bonds of frames and
feelings; the bonds of depend-once upon something within
instead of resting
upon Christ the great Sacrifice. Fierce temptations may be like waves that wash
the mariner on a rock--they may drive us nearer to Christ. It is an ill wind
which blows no one any good; but the worst wind that Satan can send blows the
Christian good
because it hurries him nearer to his Lord. Temptation is a great
blessing when it looses our bonds of self-confidence and reliance upon frames
and feelings.
3. As for the afflictions which God sends
do they not loose our
bonds? Doubts and fears are more common to us in the midst of work and business
than when laid aside by sickness.
III. WHAT SAINTS DO THERE.
“Lo
I see four men loose
walking in the midst of the fire.” Walking! They are
walking--it is a symbol of joy
of ease
of peace
of rest--not flitting like
unquiet ghosts
as if they were disembodied spirits traversing the flame; but
walking with real footsteps
treading on hot coals as though they were roses
and smelling the sulphureons flames as though they yielded nothing but aromatic
perfume. Enoch “walked with God.” It is the Christian’s pace
it is his general
pace; he does sometimes run
but his general pace is walking with God
walking
in the Spirit; and you see that these good men did not quicken their pace
and
they did not slacken it--they continued to walk as they usually did; they had
the same holy calm and peace of mind which they enjoyed elsewhere. Their
walking shows not only their liberty
and their ease
and their pleasure
and
their calm
but it shows their strength. Their sinews ware not snapped
they
were walking. These men had no limping gait
they were walking
walking in the
midst of the fire.
IV. WHAT THEY DID NOT LOSE THERE.
The text says
“And they have no hurt.” They did not lose anything there.
1. But we may say of them first
their persons were not hurt. The
child of God loses in the furnace nothing of himself that is worth keeping. He
does not lose his spiritual life--that is immortal; he does not lose his
graces--he gets them refined and multiplied
and the glitter of them is best
seen by furnace-light.
2. The Christian does not lose his garments there. You see their
hats
and their hosen
and their coats were not singed
nor was there the smell
of fire upon them; and so with the Christian: his garment is the beauteous
dress which Christ himself wrought out in His life
and which He dyed in the
purple of His own blood. As it is not hurt by age
nor moth
nor worm
nor
mildew
so neither can it be touched by fire. I know you dread that
furnace--who would not?--but courage
courage
the Lord who permits thatfurnace
to be heated will preserve you in it
therefore be not dismayed!
V. WHO WAS WITH THEM IN THE FURNACE.
There was a fourth
and he was so bright and glorious that even the heathen
eyes of Nebuchadnezzar could discern a supernatural lustre about him. “The
fourth
” he said
“is like the Son of God
” What appearance Christ had put on I
cannot tell
which was recognisable by that heathen monarch; but I suppose that
He appeared in a degree of that glory in which He showed Himself to His servant
John in the Apocalypse. You must go into the furnace if you would have the
nearest and dearest dealings with Christ Jesus. Whenever the Lord appears
it
is to His people when they are in a militant posture. The richest thought that
a Christian perhaps can live upon is this
that Christ is in the furnace with
him. I know that to the worldling this seems a very poor comfort
but then if
you have never drank this wine you cannot judge its flavour. What must it be to
dwell with everlasting burnings! One’s heart beats high at the thought of the
three poor men being thrown into that furnace of Nebuchadnezzar
with its
flaming pitch and bitumen reaching upwards its streamers of flame
as though it
would set the heavens on a blaze; yet that fire could not touch the three
children
it was not consuming fire. But
be ye warned
there is One who is “a
consuming fire
” and once let Him flame forth in anger
and none can deliver
you. He calls to you to leave your sins and look to Him
and then you shall
never die
neither upon you shall the flame of wrath kindle because its power
was spent on Him
and He felt the furnace of Divine wrath
and trod the glowing
coals for every soul that believeth in Him. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Two Aspects of Life
Now
what I want to derive from the passage as an illustration is
this--that there are two aspects of life; one which is here described
as
Nebuchadnezzar described it to his counsellors
and as they acknowledged that
it was; and the other as it appears to the eye of faith
which is represented
to us by this king
who had his eyes opened to see that which apparently his
counsellors did not see. The three men
then
being cast into the furnace of
fire
may be taken as instances of daily commonplace life; that which
Nebuchadnezzar himself was enabled to perceive may be taken as that
interpretation and glorification of the ordinary facts of everyday life which
the Bible
which religion
and which emphatically Christianity is enabled to
cast over all the circumstances of our existence here. Now this may be taken as
a pattern of all the circumstances of life. There is the ordinary
the
commonplace
the matter-of-fact
the prosaic way of looking at everything; and
as things are so looked at
they show very much as the natural features of this
city do on one of our dull
foggy November mornings. There is nothing to
delight
there is no poetry
there is no light about them; they all seem dull
and dead
and leaden. But
then
there is another aspect
and that is such as
the king had his eyes open to perceive; and you observe that what he saw was
something totally different from what things were to the eyes of his
counsellors
and from what they were as he thought they must be. He said
“Lo
I see four men.” There is another there. These men are not alone; they are
not left to grapple with the violence of the flame; they have a friend with
them; and
moreover
as they were cast bound
so now he perceives that they are
loosened
he sees them also walking in the midst of the fire. Observe that they
were there exposed to all these mighty flames. He allowed them to go down into
them
but they were walking about in the fire and they had no hurt. So it is
with Christian life. The Christian is not delivered out of temptation; he is
not one of those who are never exposed to trial; there is no exemption wrought
on his behalf; he has his lot with other men; he takes his part with other men;
and sometimes his lot and part are worse than those of other men
or at least
they appear to be so. But yet he is enabled to walk about in the midst of the fire.
Now there are those persons who always take the commonplace
matter-of-fact
view of life
and they are the tedious people. I know no people so tedious
so
difficult to get on with
as those who always see things in their dull
grey
light
precisely as they are; whereas those who can throw into the commonplace
and into the ordinary the glamour of a Divine existence and of a higher life
who can throw poetry into the scene--those are the people who are interesting
those are the people who know with whom it is a joy and a privilege to be.
Then
again
observe very often we may be in the midst of danger and not know
it. Who can tell how many dangers he has been preserved from? It is quite
possible that many of us from time to time walk over difficulties and dangers
of which we have no notion
and we probably never discover that we have been
preserved from difficulty and danger. Is not this the case with many of us? Or
on the other hand
it is possible for us to walk in the midst of danger and to
know that we are in the midst of danger
as these men knew they were; and then
sometimes we are not conscious of that unseen
invisible protection which is
nigh unto us. Now I want you to learn to see this
to believe in it. We
as
Christians
walk by faith
and not by sight
and there should be no emergency
and no trial into which the Christian comes in which he should feel himself
left alone; he should always know that there is someone there with him
a
mighty friend
the strongest of the strong
and that the form of that unseen
one is like the Son of God. Oh
it is only the Word of God
it is only the
power of religion
it is only the truth of Christianity and the presence of the
grace of God
which can thus throw into the ordinary
the dull
and the
commonplace the light of the glory of the Sun of Righteousness
which tips
everything with gold
and makes everything to shine as with the light of the
glory of Kenyon. That
and that alone
can make life glorious; that
and that
alone
can steel your heart so that you may bear up under all opposition
and
under all trials
and may quit yourselves like men in the day of the Lord. That
question
“Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” could
be answered only in one way--“True
O king!” But it was the grace of God
it
was the mystery of the promise of God and the presence of God which enabled
that great king to say
“Lo
I see four men loose
walking in the midst of the
fire
anal they have no hurt; the smell of the fire has not passed on them. It
had no power to damage or injure them because there was One with them who was
mightier than the flames
and the form of that fourth Mighty One was like the
Son of God.” Now
it is a very remarkable thing that in this Book of the
Prophet Daniel
the fourth and last of the four great prophets
we have such an
extraordinary foretaste
if I may say so
of the coming Gospel of Jesus Christ.
But when the king here says
“The fourth is like that of the Son of God.” it is
impossible
and we see ourselves that it is impossible
that he can mean one of
those persons who are called by a figure of speech “sons of God.” He must mean
the Son of God
who is
by eminence and excellence
the only begotten Son of’
God
the one who is made in God’s imago and God’s likeness
who is of God and
from God
and who stands in the exact relation to God that a child stands to
his father. Such
then
is the glorification which is offered to every
Christian for all the times of life. Life
no doubt
for everyone under the
most advantageous circumstances
has its dull aspect. “We all knew what it is
to travel along a road which has no variety
which is nothing but monotonous
from beginning to end
and we feel the effect of such journey on our spirit.
Life has such journeys for us all
even under the most favourable
circumstances. What we want is not to have those circumstances altered--because
it may be that they never will be altered
and certainly when we most feel
their monotony they are not so likely to be altered--but what we want is something
which will make us proof against their dulness and monotony
something which
will give us strength to cope with them
something which will shed the sunlight
of eternal day over the darkness and gloominess of the morning spread upon the
mountains
and will kindle for us by it a glorious day in which and through
which we may walk from hour to hour with the presence of Him whose form is like
that of the Son of God. Now
have you this presence of the Son of God with you?
I am quite sure you want Him. I am sure there is no one whose heart does not
yearn after a friend. Sometimes one solitary friend is worth a mine of wealth
to us
and if we have got one such friend we may count ourselves rich. Now
there is such a friend for every one of us in the person of the Son of God
who
is also the Son of man
“so pitying found.” That Son of man and Son of God is
very near to every one of us; and if we would see Him we must have our eyes
open as this great king’s eyes were opened. It is only by faith that we can
behold Him. We are not told that these three men even knew that there was a
fourth with them. It was only given to one man to see that fourth
and it was
only given to him to recognise in Him the form “like that of the Son of God.”
The Son of God may be with us now. He is with us now
because He has promised
to be with us. What we want to make us strong is to know that He is with us
and to feel that the form of that Son of God is indeed the form of the Son of
man
who was crucified for us
who rose from the dead for us
and who now
sitteth at the right hand of God
evermore to make intercession for us. But
pray that your eyes may be opened
that in every want that you have in this
life
in every trial and temptation
you may ever feel that the Son of God and
the Son of man is with you. (Dean Stanley.)
And the form of the fourth
is like the Son of God.
Folly of Polytheism and Pantheism
There can be no confidence nor firm trust where men suppose that
there is a multitude of gods. For one god may have to yield to another
or may
find his power limited by another’s dominion. The Greeks of old believed that
there wore quarrels and feuds and divisions among the inhabitants of their
Olympus
and that one deity might have to sacrifice the interests of his
devotees in order to obtain some concession for other favourites. Happy was
Israel of old in the belief in one God
and many were the deeds of heroism
wrought in the strength of this conviction. Nor can there be peace of mind and
calm fortitude where the one god is the mere sum of the being of the universe.
To the pantheist God is not a person
omniscient
omnipresent
almighty
who
sees and knows and takes interest in all he does. To him God is a blind power
the mere aggregate of the working of nature and man
of whom he is himself
part
and into whom he will be finally absorbed. Such a deity has no separate
existence
no separate action
no separate knowledge
no personal will
no
special sphere of duty. The man may see
but the god
who is the mere sum of
all human and animal seeing
himself sees not. Man may work
and nature may
employ her physical and vegetative energies
but the sum of all this working
can do nothing. Whatever it be
it has not even an existence for and in itself
and can inspire no hope
can give man no courage in danger
no consolation in
sorrow
no strength for right action. Such a god is a name
and not a being
and there is no such thing as responsibility to him. And absorption into him at
death simply means the ceasing to have a separate existence. In life we are the
acting
thinking
energising part of the pantheistic god
to be absorbed into
him at death is to fall into unconsciousness. In neither Polytheism nor
pantheism is there any nobleness of thought
or anything to make man better and
aid him in becoming godlike on earth. It is responsibility to an almighty
omniscient
and just Judge which raises man to the true height of his dignity
as a being endowed by God with free will and a conscience; and the answer to
the question why God has made this world such as it is
and placed man in a
position so full of difficulty
is to be found in the thought that only by
bearing the burden of responsibility can man be made fit for God’s service in
Heaven. Here
on earth
men rise in moral worth and social influence by
responsibility rightly borne; and the whole doctrine of a future judgment
and
of eternal rewards and punishments
has for one great purpose the impressing
the minds of men with a sense that they are responsible to a righteous Judge
for all they think and say and do. It was this sense of responsibility to a
personal God which gave these three Jewish martyrs their high courage
their
strength to resist a despotic monarch
their calmness and joy in the hour of
suffering. (Dean Payne-Smith
D.D.)
The Son of God in the Fiery Furnace
The concluding words should read not “the Son of God
” but “a Son
of God.” Nebuchadnezzar was a heathen
ignorant of the high religious teachings
of the Jews
and certainly not acquainted with the Christian doctrine of the
second Person in the Trinity. The fourth figure in the furnace struck him as
Divine in its beauty
majesty
glory
a godlike form.
I. A REVELATION IN A FIERY FURNACE.
Whether the startling appearance were an angel
or Christ before His
incarnation
or any other mode of Divine manifestation
it was in any case a
revelation of God.
I. God only needs
to be revealed to be seen. He exists always; He is seen at rare intervals. He
is not more existent when seen than when unseen. The veil hides His light
but
does not extinguish it. All we need is that the veil should be lifted. Then the
ever-present God will be recognised.
2. God is revealed in the fiery furnace of trouble. Invisible writing
starts into appearance when held to the fire. Characters suddenly flash out in
their true light at seasons of storm
terror
and pain. God reveals Himself in
critical moments of agony and need.
3. The revelation in the fiery furnace is seen by the outside world.
The three youths are not alone favoured with the cheering vision of the
Heavenly presence. Nebuchadnezzar also sees the wonderful appearance. Indeed
it is he only who is expressly stated to have observed this additional figure
in the furnace. God was revealed by means of the faithful Jews
but so that the
heathen world might behold Him. The vision of God in the passion of Christ is
open to the gaze of the world
and may arrest the attention of those who are
blind to the daily revelation of the Divine in nature. May not this fact be an
explanation of the mystery of suffering? We take too narrow and personal a view
of the mission of pain. It has larger and wider ends than the sufferer’s own
private advantage. May not others be called to endure pain that through the
flames that kindle about their own souls the light of Goal may flash out upon
their fellow-men?
II. DIVINE FELLOWSHIP IN HUMAN TROUBLE.
1. God is with His people in their troubles. He does not only look
down from Heaven. Pity from the serene altitude of perfect bliss may only
aggravate the torture of those who are writhing in the torture-chamber of
affliction. But we are told of God that in all His people’s afflictions He is
afflicted. Christ came into the world to suffer with men. He was with St.
Stephen in the council chamber
with St. Paul in the gaol at Philippi.
2. The comforting Divine presence is dependent on the fidelity of
God’s people. There are troubles in the midst of which we dare not expect to
see the cheering radiance of our Saviour’s countenance. If He appears in them
at all
our consciences tell us that it must be with a look of grief or anger
and a voice saying
“What doest thou here?” The trouble which we bring upon
ourselves by heedless indifference or culpable disobedience to the will of God
invites no comforting Divine fellowship.
3. The Divine
presence in trouble is a security against all real harm. The cruel flames play
about their would-be victims as harmlessly as forest leaves. Sects the presence
of Christ and all will be well. (W. F. Adeney
M.A.)
A Son of God in the Fire
Sceptical criticism has railed out against all this
as showing
too much of the wonderful to be believed. But with the Almighty one thing is no
harder than another. He can make a blazing sun in the heavens with as much ease
as make a daisy in the meadow. Some have urged that it was unfitting the Deity
to show such wonders here. But who can decide what is
and what is not
becoming to a Being whose thoughts no man can fathom? And when we consider that
millions of His chosen people were then in servitude in that empire; that the
great object of their being there was to purge them of their idolatries; that
no ordinary ministries for this purpose existed; that here was a great and
mighty people that knew not God
destitute of any effectual means of being made
acquainted with His superior majesty and power; and that here was an assembly
of all their heads and chiefs
who would thus be made to see His signs
and to
become the attestors and heralds of the miracle to all parts of the mighty
realm--there certainly would seem to be reason enough that here and now
if
anywhere or ever
the greatest wonders of the God of Heaven should be enacted.
Who can say that there was not ample occasion for just such a display of the
Eternal omnipotence? And see also the effect. A decree went forth from the
throne to “every people
nation
and language
” reciting the wonder
proclaiming the majesty of Jehovah
and forbidding
on pain of death
the
speaking of “anything amiss against the God of Shadrach
Meshach
and
Abed-nego.” And these men were thenceforward promoted and honoured by the
empire as the living witnesses of the living God. (Joseph A. Seiss
D.D.)
True Souls
I. IMMENSELY TRIED.
“Walking in the midst of the fire.”
II. MORALLY UNCONQUERABLE.
Not all the influence of the monarch and his ministers could break their
purpose
or make them unfaithful to God. You can’t conquer a true soul.
III. ESSENTIALLY UNINJURABLE.
“And they have no hurt.” “Who is that will harm you if ye be followers of that
which is good!” “Fear not him that can kill the body.”
IV. DIVINELY ACCOMPANIED.
“The form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” What a sight for the monarch!
Did it not rouse his conscience
think you? God always accompanies His people.
“Lo
I am with you alway.” (Homilist.)
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
I. THEIR TEMPTATION.
II. THEIR FAITHFULNESS.
1. They stood alone (v. 7). Might they not fall in with the current
and perform the outward act with inward reserve?
2. Then the terrible alternative: “Ye shall be cast the same hour
into the midst of a burning fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:15). Nothing more calculated to
inspire terror. But
like St. Polycarp
they “preferred the fire which lasts an
hour and then cools
to the perpetual torment of eternal fire.” In the same
way
the Christian martyrs
St. Lawrence and others
were prepared to undergo
terrible tortures of gridiron and flame rather than lose the favour of God by
denying Christ. But these “three children” were faithful in the days of the old
covenant
when God’s love to man had not been made known by Christ
nor did the
Spirit of God as yet personally dwell among men; this accentuates their
courage.
3. Then note their readiness to endure the torture.
III. THEIR RESCUE.
1. It was miraculous. An old writer enumerates eight miracles in this
lesson; but
without going into minutiae
that they were not consumed by the
flames could certainly only be owing to Divine intervention.
2. It was the fulfilment of prophecy
“When thou walkest through the
fire
thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” Isaiah 43:2). “The flame
” says St.
Chrysostom
“set free the captive
and itself was bound by the captive.” The
reality of the fire was shown by the molten chains; and the deaths of those who
cast the three children into the flames; but the Divine promise was evidenced
by their preservation.
3. The mode of the rescue was through the instrumentality of an
angel: “The form of the fourth is like the Son of God”; “a son of the gods”
(R.V.)
that is
an angel. Some ancient interpreters thought Christ Himself was
here meant (Tertullian
St. Augustine)
of whom Nebuchadnezzar had heard from
Daniel
and thus it would be classed with the “theophanies”; but St. Jerome
says
“It was in truth an angel.” The visible presence of the angel was proof
to the king that the deliverance of the three youths was the result of God’s
protection
and from no deception. Similarly
God
delivered Jerusalem from the power of the Assyrians by the
ministry of an 2 Kings 19:35); the Apostles from
prison (Acts 5:19; Acts 12:7); and St. John from the
cauldron of flaming oil.
4. The deliverance was complete. Completeness marks all the works of
God. There are no half-measures or imperfect contrivances--only the chains are
destroyed
not their garments
nor their hair singed
nor the smell of fire had
passed upon them (v. 27).
IV. LESSONS.
1. Temptation may be strong
but faithfulness to conscience should be
stronger. Temptation
though strong
is never overwhelming or an excuse for sin
(1 Corinthians 10:13). The three
children were faithful unto death; they were
like St. John
martyrs in will (Revelation 2:10).
2. What Nebuchadnezzar designed is unconsciously carried out by
multitudes amongst ourselves. They fall down before the golden image; they
worship wealth
and make a god Of “the mammon of unrighteousness”; and this
covetousness “is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5; Ephesians 5:5).
3. Let us admire and imitate the courage of the three children in
disobeying the royal mandate
and take the side of Christ and His Church
if
ever obedience to the powers of the world should involve a violation of the
Laws of God.
4. Let us rejoice in the Divine deliverance. “The angel of the Lord
encampeth round about them that fear Him
and delivereth them” Psalms 34:7). The furnace of
Nebuchadnezzar is an image of the “fiery trial” of persecution
of sensual
passion
and of affliction; but to those who are faithful
like the three
children
temptation and tribulation are times of Divine manifestation
of
refinement and election
and of more entire self-surrender. “Behold
I have
refined thee
but not as silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of
affliction” (Isaiah 48:10
R.V.). (The Thinker.)
The Three Children in the Furnace
This transaction is typical. It sets forth the security of God’s
saints in the hour of their greatest peril--together with the reason of that
security. Fire represents trial
persecution
for fire consumes
devours
destroys. A furnace is the very image of destruction in its wildest shape. To
have fallen down bound into such a furnace
and straightway to be seen walking
about there loose
is the liveliest picture possible of perfect security amid
tremendous danger. The presence of a companion
and he the Son of God
explains
the rest of the marvel
for it accounts for that safety which before was simply
inexplicable.
1. In every trial the victory is promised to faith; the same faith
which on the plain of Dura “quenched the violence of fire.”
2. The fire of temptation is illustrated by the security of the three
children in the furnace. The man is safe
because the Lord is with him.
3. We are here taught to behold the safety of God’s elect children in
that tremendous day when “the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his
mighty angels in flaming fire.” God Almighty so preserve us in adversity; so be
with us amid temptation; so absolve us in that tremendous day--even for His own
mercy’s sake! (Anon.)
The Divine Presence in the Fire
This story has a far-reaching suggestiveness. It represents an
oft-repeated conflict. It stands as the picture of man in the face of the
fierce elements which oppose him--man in his agony
man in his heroism
man
also
in his consolation. It does not need much insight to perceive one aspect
of the universality of the story. Man and the fire--that is life. All too soon
we say
man is thrust into the fire of pain and suffering. It needs some
insight
or some reflection
to perceive the other aspect of its universality.
If man and the fire shall be described as life
man and the fire and the Divine
presence walking with man in the fire--that is religion. It is something that
we are given the power of perceiving a greater than man with man in the fire.
Look again at man in the fire. I take man first as an intellectual being. It is
by reason of the understanding which the beasts do not possess that there comes
an added keenness to human suffering. We have memory
we have anticipation; and
out of these come fierce fires to increase our agony. Pain
which comes to the
sons of men
comes with an appeal to their consciousness. Man can anticipate
and he knows that the pain which enters into his life to-day is the indication
of something which is working there
and he lives in constant dread of its
recurrence. From memory and anticipation there comes the agony of retrospect
and the agony of suspense. By the very law of our intellectual being we suffer
more than the beasts. But would you part with it? Though you know that the
capacities with which you are endowed make you capable of the greater
suffering
you will not forego the painful gifts. It is precisely as we grow in
the scale of being that our power of suffering grows with it. We are reasonable
beings
and because we are so we suffer the more. Take man as a moral being.
These Hebrews suffered because of their allegiance to a law higher than the law
of self-preservation. Why is it that a man who is conscientious must suffer? It
is just because he is conscientious. He cannot demoralize himself
and the law
within asserts itself
and makes him face the greater pain. But this proclaims
his greatness. He is the greater because he is the witness to a law which is
larger
truer
deeper than any of the outside laws that touch the physical
world. In another way his sense of right makes him suffer. He must do right
though the world frown
because the Divine law within him is asserting itself
over the law outside. His suffering springs from this--his capacity to
understand the allegiance which he owes to the higher law. Take man as a
spiritual being. Men
in the history of religion
have exhibited a spiritual
conscientiousness. There are things which
though not wrong
are wrong to them.
The cause is within themselves. Others cannot understand. The man has recognised
a law of his being
which is deeper than the law of the Decalogue. Whatever
seems to him to drag him down is wrong for him
because hostile to his better
life. He is grieved with anything which hinders the spiritual development of
his being. In all this the Lord Jesus is our model. Mark Him in His temptation;
see the moral standard. Suffering seems to me as Heaven’s subpoena
compelling
men to bear witness to the Divine which is within
and underneath
to the
eternal laws of right
and to the manifestation of a presence like unto the Son
of God. What shall be the law by which a man shall pass through the fire
and
the smell of fire shall not pass upon him? How few having gone into the fire of
life come out unsinged
untouched
the smell of fire not passing on them! Are
not men tainted so that you know that they have suffered? They have been singed
in the fire. How noble and great seem the few souls that pass through the fire
and come forth unharmed! They are the men who held their own in the battle!
What is the law? In every universal thing there is some law. The men at whose
side the Son of God walks
who are triumphant over the fierceness of the flame
are the men who have had a victory previous to that. Their victory over the
fire was preceded by their victory over the multitude. They would not bow down.
We must go back further. These men have first been victors over themselves. The
man who is victorious over self is the man who is victorious over the world;
and the man who is victorious over the world is victorious over the fire that
is in the world. That is the law. But when you have discovered a law you are
very far from having discovered all you need. Is is not always easy to put the
law into operation. What force is at work behind law? In the midst of the fire
there was revealed a fourth figure
and his form was like unto the Son of God.
In the midst of the fire was the Divine presence. The motive force was the
Divine energy
the Divine life
the Divine presence. The law of success is
self-control
but the power to make the law effective is in the Divine
presence. Life has little meaning unless I recognise that wherever the fire is
kindled
there the Divine presence is also. To recognise that is the part of
faith; to work and live by that is the power of faith. Another question this
truth may answer. We are called upon to suffer
and who will unriddle its pain?
The pain is given that the Divine may be made manifest. The cross was to be the
symbol of the world’s agony
and of the Divine presence also . . . Then let us
cultivate self-control as a protest against the frivolity of life which
destroys the heart
against the sensuality of life that corrupts the
conscience
against the intellectual dishonesty which disturbs the pure vision
of what life ought to be. As we do this
we shall not be alone. He who wore our
nature walked before us in the ways of suffering. When the flame shall kindle
upon us He will be with us. (W. Boyd-Carpenter
D.D.)
Standing Fire
I. THEIR PREPARATION FOR THE DAY OF TRIAL.
It came not unawares. Duty is easy when no lion is in the way. In the narrative
we only see the valiant three in the day of trial. Their heart was fixed before
it came. With no wavering mind went they out to the plain of Dura. They stood
in the evil day because they were well prepared
well-equipped for it. Great
men are not known by the world till they are great. So trials are to come on
us; sharp temptations. They will reveal our character
of what sort it is. Let
us every day be pure
unselfish
Christ-trusting
Christ-copying men. Then
every day will be a preparation for the terrible time when temptation will
assail us like fire; and we shall stand in the evil day.
II. THE CONDUCT OF THE THREE IN THE DAY OF
TRIAL. They stood in apparent isolation. To do good is easier
when we go with the multitude. But when we stand alone
then is the agony.
Alone
yet not alone. Christ is the maker of great men
great hearts. Many a
young man He is making brave
daring to stand alone amid terrible temptations
to impurity.
III. THEIR DELIVERANCE IN THE DAY OF TRIAL.
The king’s eye is on the furnace
and he sees a fourth
one looking like a son
of the gods. We identify with the angel Jehovah the messenger of the covenant.
Christ’s presence can make even a furnace into paradise. Their deliverer was
strong. He will be ours
and save us
if we seek it
from sin
all evil
all
that will harm us. Then trust in Him. (G. T. Coster.)
A Sermon to Firemen
The events here recorded probably occurred in the eighteenth year
of Nebuchadnezzar. He had just returned from triumphant war
bringing with him
the spoil of subjugated nations
and captives without number. At this juncture
he was inclined to make a pause. He thought the time was come for the
inauguration of a new era. First
however
he must be certain of the allegiance
of these races. The foundation must be firmly laid before he proceeds to erect
the superstructure on it. So he decided on the ceremonial which took place on
the vast plain of Dura. He was known to be a devout man in his way; an
enthusiastic worshipper of his god Merodach. The ceremony was no mere idle
pageant; it was not only a matter of state policy
it was an act of gratitude
due to the deity to whom he believed himself to owe his victories and his
throne. It is well to bear this in mind if we would enter into the real
difficulties of both the monarch and his recalcitrant Jewish monarchs. The line
of conduct to which the three Jews felt themselves compelled was looked on by
Nebuchadnezzar as open rebellion
and an insult both to himself and his god.
These Jews had a most painful and distressing alternative before them--either
to act in opposition to their own deepest convictions by worshipping an idol
or else to submit to a horrible death. We can imagine their mutual anxiety
conference
and prayer. When the public refusal was made the monarch was
infuriated. To be bearded by his own officials at such a moment
in presence of
such a multitude
would have tried the patience of more patient men than he
was. He had a passionate temper. The king felt that he was committed to a
struggle with the God of the Hebrews.
1. We are inclined to praise the indomitable resolution of these
young men; but we must go behind them
and realise their trust in the unseen
Jehovah
and in the promises of His word. It was that made them manly. The
three young men found their way into a spiritual position
which enabled them
to endure the wrath of the king
because they could see a greater
although an
invisible King behind him.
2. In this chapter we have a duel between the world-power and the
Lord God himself. We have in it the Church of God almost at its lowest ebb. We
have the world in all the plenitude of its power
and in all the insolence of
its authority. Can we over-estimate the value of such a testimony as this to
the faithfulness of God? Take away this story of the three children from the
Bible
and how infinitely great would have been the church’s loss!
3. A thought for ourselves. In some shape we may all of us have to
pass through the fire. Any one of us may be tried by the seductions of his
senses; the snares of business life
bitter loss and dissappiontment
or the
keen edge of long-protracted bodily agony. Let us see to it that we have with
us
as we may have
the presence of the personal Christ
of Jesus the great
High Priest
the Angel of the Covenant. Then we shall pass through the flame
and it will not gather upon nor burn us. So shall we
in our small way
bring
glory to God and strength be ether people. (Gordon Calthrop
M.A.)
Safety with the Master of the Elements
The flame recogised the presence of Him that made it
and bowed
reverently before the Son of God
just as on other occasions the waters of the
sea owned Him
the winds heard Him
and all nature responded to Him
and obeyed
Him. The flame lost its power to consume
because it was commanded not to do so
by Him that kindled it at the first. Nature is all pliant in the hand of Jesus.
He is the Lord of creation; He has but to speak
and all things will respond in
ten thousand echoes
“Speak
Lord thy servants hear.” These Hebrew youths
we
are told by the apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews
“quenched the
violence of fire” by their faith. (J. Cumming.)
Jesus with us in the Hour of Trouble
Thou wilt not
Christian
have to pass through the river without
thy Master. We remember an old tale of our boyhood
how poor Robinson Crusoe
wrecked on a foreign strand
rejoiced when he saw the print of a man’s foot. So
it is with the Christian in his trouble; he shall not despair in a desolate
land
because there is the foot-print of Christ Jesus on all our temptations
our troubles. Go on rejoicing
Christian; thou art in an inhabited country; thy
Jesus is with thee in all thy afflictions
and in all thy woes. Thou shalt
never have to tread the wine-press alone. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 28
Then Nebuchadnezzar spake
and said
Blessed be the God of
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
who hath sent His angel and delivered His
servants.
The Persecuting Spirit
The occasion of these words must be too well known to be repeated
in all its circumstances.
I. THE PARTICULAR CAUSE OF THE GREAT
DANGER WHICH THESE MEN WERE BROUGHT INTO. They would not serve or
worship any god except their own God. There is no one who has any conception of
God but must allow Him to be infinite in all His attributes. But infinity
implies unity; and if this being is One
Divine worship must be due to Him
alone. This made God forbid the Jews the serving any of the gods of the
neighbouring nations
under such severe penalties. As God showed his
approbation of those Jews’ refusal to worship the image by the miracle He
wrought in their deliverance
so
I doubt not
but He has showed so many wonders
in delivering this nation so often for its constancy in the same refusal
though
in all other respects
most unworthy of the least of His mercies.
II. EXAMINE THE PRETENCES OF RELIGIOUS
CRUELTY. They are
either to promote God’s glory or our neighbour’s
good. Cruelty is not proper for either of these purposes. By God’s glory is
probably meant the improving that notion of God which men have by the light of
nature; or making His revealed will to be more readily embraced by them. With
mankind in a state of nature
fear forced the acknowledgment of a superior
being
so their worship was cruel and their manners were barbarous. When they
began to settle into societies
and when they reflected upon the first cause of
the benefits they enjoyed
and discovered the goodness of God
then love grew
as the principle of their glad obedience
and their worship was bloodless and
cheerful
and their manners innocent and endearing. The improvement of human
nature consists in the notions of goodness in the Divine. But if
when men had
got thus far by the light of nature
anyone should have started up and
pretended to have offered violence to his neighbour
by a particular commission
from God and for His glory
then love must at once have given place to fear
and human nature turned savage and wild again. Take the other pretence
that
violence is intended to promote the Gospel. How contradictory and absurd is
this! This is to recommend love by hatred
mercy by cruelty
and forgiveness by
destruction. That which distinguishes the Gospel is its being so admirably
disposed to beget love and peace
justice and charity
among all men. Here
forgiveness is improved into beneficence
and humanity exalted into charity.
Here injuries are returned with prayers
and curses with blessings. The
Pharisees taught that it was lawful to hate enemies. The Cynics renounced all
humanity. The Stoics reckoned compassion an infirmity. All other sects were
deficient in this particular. But Christianity improved human nature into the
likeness of the Divine. Our Lord’s disciples were to be distinguished from the
whole world by their “loving one another.” And what examples did the great
Master leave us? Shall men
then
dare to imprison
impoverish
and murder
their brethren in the name of this Jesus? Another pretence of religious cruelty
is that it may promote the good of our neighbour. This is generally disguised
under the specious pretence of zeal. But true zeal ought first to be employed
upon ourselves. Zeal is as necessary to the life of devotion as the natural
heat is to that of the body. Religion must be a free consent of the soul; it
can be acceptable to God only as it is voluntary. How can full conviction be
wrought but by gentle usage
calm reasoning
and good example. The will can
never be forced to give a sincere assent
after all the violence that can be
offered. Beside
all error
considering the vanity of mankind
is of a nice and
tender nature; it requires a great deal of management and address to make
people own that they are in the wrong
especially in matters of religion. The
utmost we can expect from force is an outward compliance. Violence may extort
confession from the mouth
but will not hinder curses
at the same time
in the
heart. It may fright people into counterfeiting
but not persuade them into
believing. One particular reason against the rashness of zealous cruelty is
because the good should not suffer with the evil. The true causes of religious
cruelty are:
1. The pride and haughtiness of power.
2. The endeavouring to recommend ourselves to man rather than to God.
3. The opinion that such violence is meritorious for the expiation of
former sins.
III. COMPARE THE DELIVERANCE MENTIONED IN
THE TEXT WITH OUR OWN. These men trusted in God. (J.
Adams.)
The Fiery Trial
First
the idolatry is costly. The chapter tells us of an high
statue and idol of gold erected by the King of Babylon. Superstition and
idolatry will be no niggard
it will spare no cost; but be expensive and
sumptuous to maintain an invented and superstitious worship.
1. Nebuchadnezzar must have no petty diminutive god; six cubits in
breadth
sixty cubits in height. What’s this to the infinite immensity of our
God
that fills Heaven and earth?
2. It must be of metal
too
lasting and durable. A mock imitation of
the true God’s eternity.
3. It must be rich and costly
all of beaten gold. “Their idols
”
saith David
“are silver and gold.” It may shame us Christians
that are so
basely penurious in maintaining and beautifying the worship of our God.
Secondly
the erecting of this idol is done with the greatest authority.
Thirdly
it is done with great pomp and solemnity. Fourthly
it is done with
great content and universality. All the governors and princes of the provinces
are gathered together
all engaged in this idolatrous worship. This sin of
idolatry
it hath been an over-spreading evil. Fifthly
it is imposed with all
strictness and severity; nay
it is pressed upon the people with cruelty and
tyranny. Blood and fire and persecution
they are the great promoters of
idolatry. Cruelty
‘tis the brand of the malignant church. Such are the
enforcements of idolatry; far from the temper of true Christianity. Sixthly
notwithstanding all this violence in pressing
and this great generality of
submitting to this idolatrous injunction
yet
here a few
three men
that deny
their conformity
and refuse to engage themselves in this public impiety. In
the greatest universality and prevailing of impiety
yet God hath some that
withstand superstition and give testimony to His truth. St. Paul speaks it to
another purpose
but it is true in this case also
God leaves not Himself
without witness. Seventhly
upon these the penalty of the law is inflicted in
all extremity.
1. Though but three.
2. They
men of great place and employment
set by the king over the
affairs of the province of Babylon
useful to the State.
3. Peaceable
no raisers of sedition and tumult.
4. No blasphemers of this new-made god
but only bare refusers
and
that for conscience sake.
Here is the rage of idolatry. Well
what is the success? that is
extraordinary and miraculous. God gives way to these men of blood
lets them do
their utmost; He saves not these three holy men by rescue
or prevention; He
keeps them not from the fire
but preserves them in it. They are
like Moses
his bush
burning
but not consumed
The voice of the Lord divides the flames
of fire. And this deliverance
it is not secret
but conspicuous in the eye and
observation of Nebuchadnezzar. So
then
this passage of Scripture reports to us
a solemn testimony given by Nebuchadnezzar to this miraculous deliverance of
these three holy men. And this
his testimony
will appear in three evidences
and manifestations of it. First
it appears in a thankful benediction of
Almighty God for this gracious deliverance (v. 28)
“Blessed be the God of
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego.” Secondly
it appears in a strict injunction
and provision for His glory
prohibiting all men
upon severe penalty
to
blaspheme or say anything amiss against the God of these holy men (v. 29).
Thirdly
it appears in an honourable promotion and advancement of these three
worthies to places of dignity and authority in the province of Babylon (v. 30).
And here we have: First
The action of blessing
. together with the agent
Nebuchadnezzar.
Secondly
the Object or Person to whom he ascribes this blessedness
that is
the God of Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
Thirdly
the benefit for which he
blesses Him
that is
the sending of His angel to work this deliverance. And
fourthly
The motives acknowledged for which God delivered them
They are four:
I. Quia servi.
They were His servants.
II. Quia
confidentes. Because they trusted in Him.
III. Quia
constantes. They were resolute and constant in holy profession. They
changed the king’s word.
IV. Quia
martyres. They chose to suffer death for their God and their religion; they
would rather die than dishonour Him. They yielded their bodies that they might
not serve nor worship any god except their own God. They loved not their lives
to death that they might be true to Him. Come we to the First
Nebuchadnezzar’s
act of benediction and blessing
the thankful acknowledgment he makes of this
great deliverance. It is much to hear praises and benedictions of God out of
such a man’s mouth. Well
this blessing of Nebuchadnezzar hath some sparks of
humanity in it. To be glad and well pleased for the saving of men’s lives
for
the sparing of bloodshed
such thanksgivings are comely. To take a more
particular notice of this benediction and blessing of Nebuchadnezzar’s
let us
consider it in a double notion.
I. Let us see
what was good and commendable in it.
We have seen what is commendable in this benediction; but yet it
hath its defects; something is wanting here in Nebuchadnezzar
more would have
been expected from him.
I. Implies three
errors in him.
II. Implies three
truths in itself.
But look upon this speech in itself
and so it carries with it an
intimation of three truths.
I. What is the
mercy?--deliverance.
II. What is the
minister and instrument? how is it wrought 7--by the dispatch of an angel.
I. The great work
here is deliverance
and riddance of these men from a mischief and destruction.
Indeed
deliverance is the work that God delights in
by which He will make
Himself known to be the true God. Samuel makes it the proof of a false god
“That they cannot profit or deliver” 1 Samuel 12:21). And the prophet
upbraids Amaziah for choosing those gods that could not deliver their own
people out of his hands (2 Chronicles 25:15). And this
deliverance
it is the more admirable
II. For the
instrument
it was the sending and dispatch of an angel.
I. See now he
speaks honourably of these men
accounts them the servants of the Most High
God. Before
he esteemed them factious
refractory
turbulent men
such as will
be wiser
forsooth! And this consideration
that they are His servants; it is a
well-alleged motive why they are delivered
His faithful service; it is a safe
protection.
1. To His servants God promises protection.
2. His servants
upon this title
they plead for protection.
II. Because they
trusted in Him
therefore He delivered them. And faith hath this prevailing
power with God:
III. Because they
were constant in their religion. That is expressed in these words
“They have
changed the king’s word.” They would not be overborne by the king’s command and
so sin against God. There is greater duty and greater safety to obey God rather
than man. We come to the last motive that graciously inclined God to work this
deliverance; that is:
IV. They yielded
their bodies that they might not serve nor worship any other god but only their
own God. And the goodness of this
their pious adhering to God
will appear in
two things: First
in their absolute refusal of this idolatrous command.
Secondly
in their ready yielding to the penalty of it upon their refusal.
First
see the fulness of their refusal.
Thirdly
this mixture in religion
to serve the Lord
and yet
withal
to conform to the worship of any other god; it is contrary
Hence it is that
And this
their yielding
hath four things observable in it:
There is no other God that can deliver after this sort.
The Great Deliverer
These are the words of a heathen king. They are not the less
welcome to us on that account
but perhaps the more so. The testimony of a
saint has
of course
its special value
but the witness of a sinner has a
worth all its own
especially when it has been compelled from him by the power
of God Himself. This unwilling testimony seems to me to exceed in worth the
testimony of those from whom we should expect such witness. You may be sure
that Nebuchadnezzar was not prejudiced in favour of Jehovah. This he said only
through compulsion
yet he spake it with the accent of conviction. It was a
matter not of theory but of experience with him. It is true also that this
testimony is very far from satisfactory. We find ourselves wishing that
Nebuchadnezzar had gone much further. I wish he had left out those last three
words: That would have beans grand utterance
“There is no other God that can
deliver.” But suppose he had left out three other words
and simply said
“There is no other God
” what an improvement that would have been. Oh
but he
was a young beginner
you must remember; he was only just commencing to come
under Divine influences. This is a repeating of the alphabet
and he gets
through it wonderfully well considering. Wait till God has done with him
and
you will find he has made wonderful progress. Read his testimony after he has
been humbled by being driven into the fields to eat grass like the ox. Before
God and you have done with him he may have given such a record as
Nebuchadnezzar did towards the close of his career--“Now I
Nebuchadnezzar
praise
and extol
and honour the King of heaven
all whose works are truth
and
His ways judgment; and those that walk in pride He is able to abase.”
I. THERE IS NO OTHER GOD THAT CAN DELIVER FROM SUCH
OVERWHELMING PERIL. There are many features connected with this
case that make it special. We may extend the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s
phrase.
1. There is no other God that can deliver from such strong
temptations. Try to put yourselves in the position of these three young men.
2. Moreover
these men were delivered from their accusers
for you
will remember that “certain Chaldeans came near
and accused the Jews.” I
expect they had been on the look-out
for this opportunity. Now see--for you know the end of the story--how
wonderfully the Jews were delivered from the hands of those who were trying to
trip and destroy them. Hear me
if you are here who
if you told your story
would have to say
“One of my greatest troubles is that I am so watched; they
compass me about like bees; I get no rest or peace! they want to trip me up
to
catch me in my words
to entangle me in my talk
if they could only find an
occasion against me--and I am half afraid they will.” I charge you
do not be
afraid that they will succeed. If you are afraid
they will; but if you simply
trust in God and do the right He will deliver you from the hands of your accusers.
You need not fear what man can do unto you. “If God be for you
who can be
against you?”
3. Again
the holy children were delivered from the wrath of the
king
and I warrant you it was wrath of no ordinary nature. There are
indications that Nebuchadnezzar was a fair-minded man
at least to some degree.
He gave these offenders an opportunity to recant
and up to a certain point
seems to have treated them with a commendable humanity. But when he did get
angry
there was no mistaking it. Now read the sequel of the story. The lion
has become a lamb; he who was like to leap upon them from the thicket now
cringes before them
cowed and cowardly. He who had blasphemed their God now
praises Him; He who had threatened to destroy them now sets them on high in the
province of Babylon. I wonder if there is anybody present who has to deal with
those who give way to evil temper. Well
I am not very much surprised that you
are a little fearful of it
but oh
if God is with you and you with Him
He can
make the wrath of His enemies praise Him.
4. From the fierceness of the fire also these young men were saved.
Oh
how gloriously God delivers! They may do their worst--it only gives God an
opportunity to do His best. Let them heap on the fuel
let them say all manner of
evil against you falsely for His sake. God is a match for them
and more than
equal to the emergency. I wonder what the difficulty is under which you labour
just now. Is it the power of inbred sin? “There is no other God that can
deliver after this sort.” You may see on every hand men and women who have been
delivered from the power of sin. Do not suppose that the seas of sorrow must
overwhelm you. God can turn your sighing into singing.
II. THERE IS NO OTHER GOD THAT DELIVERS BY SUCH MARVELLOUS
MEANS. Think of the methods God employed in this case to set His
servants free from their extremity.
1. He first of all inspired their confidence. Did you not admire them
and rejoice in them as we read the story of their behaviour before the king?
They were not in the least cowed by his august presence
nor frightened by his
fearful threat. Well
that is God’s way of working with the hearts of men. He
is fitting them for the ordeal through which they are going to pass. God never
sends us through any ordeal without first preparing us.
2. Was it not God also who prompted them to a heroic confession of
their faith? I can imagine a man full in his heart with holy boldness
and yet
failing to speak it forth. They were altogether regardless of consequences. Yet
they were not alone
for God was with them.
3. Then God helped them to marvellous patience. It was the spirit of
peace and patience that kept them gentle as well as brave. “There is no other
God that can deliver after this sort.” Some men can fight their way through
difficulties
but the men whom God helps can stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord.
4. Let it be noted
too
that God allowed these young men to be put
into the furnace. God has permitted it
but only with the purpose that His
strength may be made perfect in your weakness
and that he may eventually bring
you out into a wealthy place.
5. Remember
too
that Nebuchadnezzar
to his great surprise
saw the
form of a fourth walking amidst the flames. He did not know who it was. He used
an expression which has
I think
been somewhat misunderstood. He had no idea
that it could be God’s dear Son
our blessed Saviour. It is not likely that he
had even heard of such an One. He really said
“The form of the fourth is like
a Son of God
” and later he said that God had sent His angel to save His
servants. Oh
if he could have known what I believe is the actual fact
that
Jesus Himself
the second Person in the Trinity
put Himself side by side with
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
he would have wondered infinitely more. Oh
this is the wonder of wonders
that in the hour of our extremity
Christ comes
right down to us
walks by us
holds us by the hand and does
by His presence
cheer and save us. Oh
what a gracious God is ours!
III. THERE IS NO OTHER GOD THAT CAN DELIVER IN SUCH A
REMARKABLE MANNER. His methods are remarkable and strange
but
the nature of the delivery still more surprises us.
1. No other God saves so readily. There is no sign in all this story
of any particular stretching forth of the Divine arm. There is no visible and
ostensible exhibition of Divine might. There is
for instance
no sudden burst
of a waterspout to quench these flames; no mighty rushing wind to blow the fire
away. God wrought a miracle
I gladly own
but the forces He employed were
silent and secret. God often works that way. You hope He will deliver you. Yes!
but do not dictate to Him the manner of deliverance. He knows in every detail
what is best
and we are wise to leave them all to Him.
2. You may be sure He work effectually. There is no other god that
does his work so thoroughly as the Hebrews’ God. So complete was the delivery
that the king was astonished at it. I expect that the fetters were forged to
the strongest point of resistance
but the fire seems to have centred all its
force upon the fetters which the king had put upon his prisoners. Oh
welcome
fires of persecution
and of temptation too
if the ultimate end is to set me
freer than I was before
to burn the bonds that bound me. But upon themselves
the fire had no power. And not so much as the smell of fire passed on them.
There is an old legend to tee effect that they sang in the midst of the flames.
I do not know whether that was really so
but I know that they did not singe in
the flames
for God took the power out of the fire
so that they walked
unharmed. All things are possible with Heaven.(Thomas Spurgeon.)
Then the king promoted Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego in the
province of Babylon.
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
Whenever we hear of anyone’s appointment to a Government place
the first question we ask is
How did he get it? generally
in order to
ascertain whether or not we have at command any interest like that which has
proved successful. And so it is interesting to enquire how these men
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
came to be promoted in the province of that Babylon
which
after all
is not so unlike this Babylon. Of course
we know how it came
to pass
as we have read it in the lesson over and over again. But let us try
to place ourselves in the position of persons who did not know any more than
the fact that they had been promoted. What would be your conjecture as to the
way in which they obtained royal favour? I venture to say that you would at
once make up your mind that the promotion had been the result of “trimming” of
some kind
or of what is pleasantly called sensible and wise “compromise.” I
see the spirit everywhere. The genius and the man of principle in politics is
nowhere
except he be wanting to do work in a crisis. And
in the most
worldly-wise church on earth
the asserting diplomatist is everything and the
argumentative genius is nothing. The one is laden with honours; the other is
reserved for use
to be turned on and turned off according to circumstances. If
you say
“The miracle made all the difference; let there be as much
time-serving and compromise as you please in the present day; still
if
anything like what we read in the chapter before us actually took place even
now
no Government--Liberal or Conservative--could resist the claims of such
men as Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego.” Even admitting that
which I do not
for a moment
I ask what caused the startling occurrence which you say would
have established their claims and ensured their promotion? It did not come down
from Heaven as something to mark its favourites
and to terrify the heathen
monarch
and cause him to act in a conciliatory spirit towards the subjects of
a superior power. No; what did it effect? This only as far as the king was
concerned. It impressed upon him the character of the men with whom he bad to
deal. The deliverance called attention to and attested the character of these
men; but it was the character thus attested which secured their promotion. To
understand their characters we must
I think
do two things:
1. We must get rid of the very prevalent idea that those who are
spoken of with approval in the Bible were good as a matter of course
and
breathed in and exhaled piety
virtue
and self-denial
in the ordinary course
of things; while
on the other hand
those who are condemned
being
by
supposition
in the same atmosphere
are much more inexcusable than we should
be for not being good! I cannot attempt to prove the absurdity of this notion;
I can only remind you that it is absurd. But besides getting rid of the idea
that it was easy for these men to do as they did
I think that
in order to
appreciate their character
we must try to ascertain how they could have done
otherwise--with a view to “promotion”--if they bad lived in our own
“enlightened” days. How could they have proceeded to reason with their
consciences if they had had the advantage of our superior knowledge? They had
many ways of escape. As loyal subjects
it was their duty to do what the king
commanded; and
of course
this strong loyal feeling would be somewhat
strengthened by the consideration of the alternative of the fire in the event
of its repression! These men might
then
have reasoned themselves into
compliance on the grounds that they ought to obey the powers that be; and their
loyalty might have been stimulated and confirmed by the contemplation of the
alternative furnace. When I hear or read the case of these men quoted as
instances in which “the Church” opposed “the State
” and received Divine
sanction
and am asked to regard Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego as prototypes
of modern violators of the law as declared by the courts to which they
voluntarily submitted themselves when they entered the ministry of the English
Church
by virtue of which they hold their position and emoluments
and from
which they can withdraw when they please--I feel myself unable to argue with
those who can be deluded by that fallacy. The parallel to Shadrach
Meshach
and Aben-nego is not the man who receives position or emolument
or both
from
State and from Establishment
and then disobeys the law as declared
constitutionally by the State; but the dissenter who refuses to worship what he
considers the golden image set up by the State
and who refuses position and
emolument rather than be under the control of the State
or
in other words
of
the House of Commons. Whether he be right or wrong is another question. But he
is intelligible; he may quote Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
because he gets
nothing from Nebuchadnezzar the king; but if I disobey the law
I cannot claim
martyrdom on such Scriptural authority. I am the recognised officer of
Nebuchadnezzar
and my duty is to obey his law
which I accepted with my eyes
open
or to cease to be under that law
which I can do when I please. You must
bear with me here when I say that my argument will not be touched by saying
that these were men serving the true God
and that they were asked to worship
an idol. They were asked under pressure to do what they thought to be wrong.
Whether or not they judged rightly is not the question. They were men who had
no contract with the State. But setting aside the “loyalty” plea altogether
if
they had consulted me as to how they had best manage their conscience in view
of the objectionable furnace; I mean if they had consulted me as one whose sole
business it was to get them out of the difficulty and keep them out of the
fire
I should have said
“Look at it in this way; the whole thing is a ‘matter
of form.’ Why should you be burnt for a form? Bow down with your body; that is
nothing; you are not bowing down with your heart; that is everything.” What
would be the answer to this plea about mere form? Simply this: Form is nothing
and heart is everything; but the association of ideas is such
with such beings
as we are
that when a form becomes associated width an idea
it will be a
matter of much time and much labour to sever them. The British flag is so much woollen
material
but if you insult it
you insult the great nation which is in idea
associated with it. And so
if these men had there and then bowed down--no
matter what was in their heart--they would simply have created a wrong
impression
sacrificed principle
or
to put it in plainer words
acted a lie.
Again
they could have said that they might “cause a disturbance by disobeying
the royal command
” and that as Jehovah’s servants they ought to “promote
peace.” What is the answer? Certainly peace
but not at the price of principle.
Again
they might have said that “everyone was going
” and that they had better
not be singular. I say they might have said this
for it would be no argument.
And looking for a practical answer in this eminently practical age
I should
like to know how many of the reforms of various kinds of which we are all proud
were brought about and worked by men who were not singular for many a long day.
But they might have had a still more subtle and refined reason for obedience.
By this single compliance
they might have said in their hearts and said to one
another
they should “conciliate” the king
and so be able to do him spiritual
good afterwards! But
after all
the very best of their conceivable arguments
would come to this. They must sum it up into this simple question
“Shall I do
evil that good may come?” They said “No.” What was right they knew; what might
be the result of doing it they did not know
and it was no concern of theirs.
Obedience is our business. Its result
with all reverence I say it
is God’s
business. Our next step He generally makes plain enough. This was their
practical faith
and this must be ours
if we would have the form who walks
with us in the midst of our fiery trials--whether seen or hidden--to be “the
form of the Son of God.” Thesemen were promoted to place; why? Because they had
shown themselves to be “a power.” And “a power” they would have been--in spite
of Nebuchadnezzar and every other king who ever lived before or since
whether
they got the places or not. Why? Because against royalty
against public
opinion
and in the face of death
they acted according to their conscience
and trusted to that God whose candle within them they knew that conscience to
be. The alternative presented to Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego is
essentially the same as that which presents itself often to everyone
high and
low
young and old. We all have to face it
not once
but ten thousand times in
life. And we do know that when that Book is opened
the dead--amongst whom you
and I must one day be numbered--shall be judged
as we now judge Shadrach
Meshach
and Abed-nego
“according to the things that are written in that
Book.” (J. C. Coghlan
D. D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》