St. Tammany farmer., 1909-01-02
ms of the kings wrath to thelr

Tins of the kings wrath IL theiF
doom.
For the time being everything elss
was forgotten, but when the black
ened, misshapen bodies had been re-
moved from sight the king and people
again turned their eyes toward the
fiery furnace.
With cry of fear and astonishment
the king suddenly arose from his place
and, with tense face and shaking fin
ger, he pointed towards the furnace.
His court officials quickly gathered
round him, and to them cried the
king in alarm,
Did we not cast three men bound
into the midst of the furnace? Lo, 1
see four men loose walking in the
midst of the fire, and they have no
hurt. Is not the fourth the God whom
these Hebrews declared was able to
deliver them from the fiery furnace?
True, it may be-" rejoined his OH"
cials.
Make haste" shouted the king.
Call them forth from the midst OF the
fiery furnace"
Instantly the officials fastened to do
the bidding of the king, and as the
three men, Shadrach, Meshach ana
Abednego stepped forth from the
midst of the raging flames the people
gave a great shout which fairly shook
the heavens. And the counsellors or
the king quickly surrounded the three
men and led them towards the king,
who, in his eagerness to receive them'
threw aside his royal robes and de-
scended to the plaza below.
But where is the fourth man, thy
companion in the furnace?" cried the
king, as he reached the approaching
group. WAS it not thy God? would
bow before him"
Thou mayest indeed bow before
him, but to meet him familiarly face
to face is not vouchsafed to any man.,
spoke up one Of the three men.
Tell me of thy God? Is he the
same God as the God whom Daniel
worships? the God who revealeth
dreams?' urged the king, almost
breathlessly. Il thought to make an
image whose glory should fill all
earth I sent heralds through all the
lands over which l hold dominion
commanding that there be sent those
who should worship before the image.
| sought thus to magnify my name and
my glory, and behold, now, /, Nebu-
chadnezzar, king of Babylon, have
been brought low. For surely what
god is there like to thy God, who can
deliver from the devouring fiame?"
Then spoke up Shadrach, saying:
"Be it known unto thee, oh, king.
that we worship the same God whom
Daniel worships, for the God of the
Hebrews is but one God. He it is who
ruleth in the heavens, who setteth
kings upon thrones and taketh king
doms away He it Is who giveth wis
dom and careth for them who put their
| trust in him.
But thou art far from thy land ex-
claimed the king. The land where
thy God has his dwelling place. Com
eth he thither into the midst of Baby
ion, where the great god Bel rules?"
THE great god Bel is no god at all
before Jehovah-God, the God of heaven
and EARTH" was the bold response.
HE is everywhere and his ear is al
ways open to the cry of his children" !"
But, why, then, hath such evil
fallen upon people who have such
great God, God who Is everywhere,
and God who is able to deliver?'
Thou hast spoken, oh, king, Of Is
raers folly, for it is the wickedness of
the people, and their going after
strange gods which hath brought this
evil upon us. The God Of Israel hath
chosen thee as the instrument of his
wrath and hath given into thy hands
his disobedient people. But he is able
to deliver and hath saved thy servants
from the fiery furnace
Blessed be thy God!" exclaimed the
king, fervidly, that hath sent his
angel and delivered his servants that
trusted in him. Now, therefore, I de-
cree that every people, nation and Ian
guage which speaketh anything amiss
against the God of Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego shall be cut in pieces,
and their houses shall be made dung
hill; for there is no other God that can
deliver after this sort"
And suiting the action to the word,
he dispatched heralds at once through
all that vast throng to proclaim the
decree. And the people took up the
cry, and there, before the gold image,
as though by way of febuke, they
| shouted:
Great is the God. of Shadrach, Me-
shach and Abednego."
| cLII n SPOKE WITH Authority