Middletown transcript., 1899-07-15


Dan. fiji, 17-C0mmentary Prepared
by the Rev. ID. NJ. Stearns.
copyright. 1899. by D. M. stearnsl
IA, Is. "Who is that God that shall de-
liver you out of my hands?" Thus said
Nebuchadnezzar to Daniels friends as he
gave them another chance for their lives,
threatening them with death in the fiery
furnace If they failed to worship the gold.
en- image which he had set up. He had
said to Daniel in connection with the dec
laration and Interpretation of the forgot
ten dream, "Of truth it is that your God
is a God of gods and Lord of kings"
(chapter ii, AZ, but in his pride he had
evidently forgotten this, and now there is
no one so great in his estimation as him.
self. The spirit of the plain Of Dura was
manifested on the plain Of Shinar (Gen.
xi, a, and long before it was seen in Cain.
1t shall be fully seen In the last days In
the anti Christ and his companions dan.
xi, 36-SS; III Thess. Ii, 4; Rev. xiii).
1918. "Our God whom we serve is able
to deliver us from the burning fiery fur
mace, and He will deliver us out of thine
hand, o kingP' So they did not wish @
second trial, for their purpose was firm
that they would not bow down to his gods
nor to his golden image which he had set
up, and they had no care as TO conse-
quences. What splendid confidence in
Godi What grand Indifference to man or
his poWerI They knew and practiced Ps.
xii, 5; xvii, 8. To no one but the liv-
ing God would they bow, and in Him
alone would they trust.
1922. The fury of the king, who knew
no one greater than himself, went forth
against them, and the most mighty men
in his army bound them and cast them
into the fiery furnace, which was heated
seven times more than ordinarily. The
king has now done his worst, and those
who dared to stand against him have, as
he thinks, perished. The mighty men
who cast them into the furnace died by a
spark (see margin) from the furnace, for it
is terrible thing to touch child of God
1t is like touching the apple of His eye
Czech. ii, 81. Then shall all perish from
before Him who dare to stand against
Him. The beast and false prophet shall
be cast alive into the lake of fire, and a
thousand years later the devil also shall be
cast into the same place, to be tormented
forever Rev. xix, 30; ~, 10).
30. "And these three men fell down
bound into the midst Of the burning fiery
furnace" If the fame or spark from
the furnace slew the mighty men who cast
them In, one would naturally expect these
three to have perished instantly, and the
king might have thought, or the beholders
have said, sit is all over with them" but
there are powers and agencies Of which
the mere natural man knows nothing.
Elisha's servant saw only the Syrian army,
but Elisha saw the chariots of God. The
angels are always ministering, and they
excel In strength, and nothing Is too hard
for Him whom they serve (Ps. Gill, 90; Jer.
Mxii, I'D.
"a, %. "Lo, see four men loose, walk
ing In the midst of the fire, and they have
no hurt; and the form Of the fourth Is like
the Son of God" This the king saw, and
thus he spake to his counselors, whom he
had hastily called together Itwould seem
that he had been watching the furnace
from afar and could see into it, and he
saw what he never thought to have seen,
living men walking in that seven times
heated furnace. This was something
greater than he knew anything about,
and the fourth person In the furnace had
something strangely supernatural about
him. Notice how the fire wrought upon
the three men; it only burned their bonds
and set them free to walk with God. That
is just what fiery trials do for believers.
26. "Ye servants Of the Most High God
come forth and come hither." Thus said
the king to the men against whom he had
q little before been SO furious How
changed his attitudel And the power of
God had done 1t. What literal fulfill
ment there had been Of lisa. xiii, Q, "When
thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt
not be burned; neither shall the flame
kindle upon thee" He can divide the sea
or walk upon it, still the stormy wind or
make it His chariot, quench the power of
the burning fame or ascend up in it (Judg.
xiii, 20). What became Of the fourth?
Whence he came, thither He returned
The three never found the fourth so real
as in that fiery furnace, and many be-
lever can testify that the Lord never
seemed SO real as In deepest trial.
81. All the rulers saw these men upon
whose bodies the fire had no power, nor
was hair Of their heads singed, neither
were their coats changed, nor the smell of
fire had passed on them. When these rulers
to their homes In the provinces
and told of the great image and it's dedica-
ton, the music and the worship, they
would doubtless speak Of these lightly in
with the story Of these three
and their wonderful experience and the
unseen God whom they worshiped and
His power over the fiery furnace, and thus
the God Of Israel would be magnif1ed.
But God does not always deliver this way.
Yet in the resurrection all shall be as free
from harm as were the bodies Of these
three
SO. Blessed be the God of Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego, who hath sent His
angel and delivered His servants that trust
ed in Him" Thus by refusing to worship
any God except their own God they had
seen His power and now see Him honored
by the king Of Babylon, who could not
otherwise SO have known Him. Conform
lty to the world. never honors God, but
separation from It for Christ's sake always
does. The reason that the church has SO
little power for God Is because she is SO
full of bowling to the world for the sake of
the world favor, when she should be seek
ing the favor Of God alone.
30. There Is no other god that can de-
liver after this s'sort. Thus confessed the
king, and he made decree that If any
pOcEAc1 AsAoAO Va ptAy
thing amiss against the God Of these three
men such should be slain. How we might
honor God, and how greatly He would be
honored in us If we would positively re-
fuse to bow to the world for the sake Of |
It's fayorl Yet people say, How could the
work go on ii we had not the good viii Of |
this one or that one, men and women Of |
means and OF influence. whose favor seems
80. "Then the king promoted Shadrach,
Meshaoh and Abednego In the province Of |
Babylon" Little did they think that the |
stand they took against the king would |
finally secure his favor. When we seek to |
stand only with and for God, He will |
without any seeking ON our part give us
ihe favor Of all whom we need and whom |
He can use. See how wondrously God |
works for and through such as are wholly |
Bis. st is God who worketh."
Many SCHOOL Children are sIckly.