Daniel 3:18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up. 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.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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