25 He answered and hath said, `Lo, I am seeing four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the appearance of the fourth `is' like to a son of the gods.'
When thou passest into waters, I `am' with thee, And into floods, they do not overflow thee, When thou goest into fire, thou art not burnt, And a flame doth not burn against thee.
he then, indeed, having shaken off the beast into the fire, suffered no evil,
For He delivereth thee from the snare of a fowler, From a calamitous pestilence. With His pinion He covereth thee over, And under His wings thou dost trust, A shield and buckler `is' His truth. Thou art not afraid of fear by night, Of arrow that flieth by day, Of pestilence in thick darkness that walketh, Of destruction that destroyeth at noon, There fall at thy side a thousand, And a myriad at thy right hand, Unto thee it cometh not nigh. But with thine eyes thou lookest, And the reward of the wicked thou seest, (For Thou, O Jehovah, `art' my refuge,) The Most High thou madest thy habitation.
A messenger of Jehovah is encamping, Round about those who fear Him, And He armeth them.
And the day is, that sons of God come in to station themselves by Jehovah, and there doth come also the Adversary in their midst.
Nebuchadnezzar hath answered and hath said, `Blessed `is' the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who hath sent His messenger, and hath delivered His servants who trusted on Him, and the word of the king changed, and gave up their bodies that they might not serve nor do obeisance to any god except to their own God.
serpents they shall take up; and if any deadly thing they may drink, it shall not hurt them; on the ailing they shall lay hands, and they shall be well.'
In the singing together of stars of morning, And all sons of God shout for joy,
And lo -- not! be it known to thee, O king, that thy gods we are not serving, and to the golden image thou hast raised up we do no obeisance.'
And the messenger answering said to her, `The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also the holy-begotten thing shall be called Son of God;
who is marked out Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of sanctification, by the rising again from the dead,) Jesus Christ our Lord;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Daniel 3
Commentary on Daniel 3 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 3
In the close of the foregoing chapter we left Daniel's companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in honour and power, princes of the provinces, and preferred for their relation to the God of Israel and the interest they had in him. I know not whether I should say. It were well if this honour had all the saints. No, there are many whom it would not be good for; the saints' honour is reserved for another world. But here we have those same three men as much under the king's displeasure as when they were in his favour, and yet more truly, more highly, honoured by their God than there they were honoured by their prince, both by the grace wherewith he enabled them rather to suffer than to sin and by the miraculous and glorious deliverance which he wrought for them out of their sufferings. It is a very memorable story, a glorious instance of the power and goodness of God, and a great encouragement to the constancy of his people in trying times. The apostle refers to it when he mentions, among the believing heroes, those who by faith "quenched the violence of fire,' Heb. 11:34. We have here,
Dan 3:1-7
We have no certainty concerning the date of this story, only that if this image, which Nebuchadnezzar dedicated, had any relation to that which he dreamed of, it is probable that it happened not long after that; some reckon it to be about the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, a year before Jehoiachin's captivity, in which Ezekiel was carried away. Observe,
Dan 3:8-18
It was strange that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, would be present at this assembly, when, it is likely, they knew for what intent it was called together. Daniel, we may suppose, was absent, either his business calling him away or having leave from the king to withdraw, unless we suppose that he stood so high in the king's favour that none durst complain of him for his noncompliance. But why did not his companions keep out of the way? Surely because they would obey the king's orders as far as they could, and would be ready to bear a public testimony against this gross idolatry. They did not think it enough not to bow down to the image, but, being in office, thought themselves obliged to stand up against it, though it was the image which the king their master set up, and would be a golden image to those that worshipped it. Now,
Dan 3:19-27
In these verses we have,
Dan 3:28-30
The strict observations that were made, super visum corporis-on inspecting their bodies, by the princes and governors, and all the great men who were present upon this public occasion, and who could not be supposed partial in favour of the confessors, contributed much to the clearing of this miracle and the magnifying of the power and grace of God in it. That indeed a notable miracle has been done is manifest, and we cannot deny it, Acts 4:16. Let us now see what effect it had upon Nebuchadnezzar.