safe to do right though the heavens fall." It is ruin to do wrong though the world and all its powers were with; us. 3. "But if not" (if He let us burn) "we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." Wh at a sublime adher- ence to duty and conviction! E v en though God forsake them, they will not disobey Him. "Though He slay me yet will I trust in Him" (Job 13:15). "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vine: the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields'Shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will re- joice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Heb. 3:17, 18). VII. THE KING ASTONISHED. 1. The king's rage burned seven times hotter at this answer; he ordered a fire "seven times hotter" \V. 19). But "He who sitteth in the heavens laughed" (Psa. 2:4) as He will at the last antichrist and his blas- phemous host (Psa. 37:13; 59:8). 2. The king's mighty men were killed by the flames, but to the Lord's servants, "strong in faith" (Rom. 4:20), the fiery flame was a refresh- ing breath, and the King whom they served, who once came walking the w a t er to deliver His own (Mat. 14:25) now joined them in the fire, and is always with t h em t h at trust in Him in flood or flame (Isa. 43:2). 3. It was no surprise to faith, but an astounding wonder to the king and men of Babel. And greater wonders t h an these shall astonish t h em when "the Lord shall come with ven- geance, even God with a recompence; to save us" (Isa. 35:4). 4. The humbled mon- arch approached and called them forth as "the servants of the Most High God" —his own god was only 60 cubits high, but "the Lord is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens" (Psa. 113:4). VIII. THEIR ENEMIES' CHAGRIN. 1. They gathered round. The closest in- spection found no sign, no smell of fire, even on the garments. Their mean designs came to nothing. 2. They were obliged to see their victims rewarded by promotion. 3. They were compelled by the king's decree to rev- erence Jehovah. IX. THE APOSTATE JEWS. 1. They must have been ashamed of their unfaithfulness. 2. They must have wished that they, too, had stood the test, t h at thev might have shared the glory. 3. So It shall be with all parties "WHEN JESUS COMES TO REWARD HIS SERVANTS." i PIVOT. no middle ground. No place for compro- mise. The king threw the gauntlet down. "Who is t h at God that shall deliver you?" The whip is over them, his power is unlim- ited," his purpose unquestioned. It was a question of fealty. Two kings were before them—one visible, mighty, unrelenting, who hsd honored them with high honors, who now commanded them to worship his golden imaere. The other was the King invisible, omnipotent, who had said, "Thou Shalt have no other gods before me," "Thou shalt not bow down to t h em nor worship t h em ." W h a t would you have done? Wh at do you
IV. THE ACCUSATION OF THE JEWS. 1. "Accused the Jews." F r om the days of P h a r a oh (Ex. 1:22) a nd of H a m an (Est. 8:8, 9), Bisla-m, Mithredath, Tabeel, Rehum, and Shimshai (Ezr. 4:7-12) to the present day there have not been wanting men to ac- cuse the Jews. Unhappily, they ha,ve bowed so obsequiously and successfully to the golden image t h at they have waked the envy of the Gentiles. 2. It is not said that only three men refused to bow. Let us hope the f a i t h- ful r e mn a nt was not so reduced as that. B ut these three conspicuous n ames became the targets of their envious Babylonian fel- low-offlcials, who seized savagely on their opportunity to destroy their hated rivals. "There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affiairs of the province of Baby- lon . . . these men, O king, have not re- garded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." Such was the charge, and it was magnificently true in the letter, but false in its insinuation of disloyalty to their royal patron, and untrustworthiness in their of- fice. V. THE ARRAIGNMENT OF THE JEWS. 1. Led before the king, who challenged them, "Is it true?" rather, "was it of de- liberate purpose (R. V.) that you failed to bow?" Then, though he was full of "rage and fury," he offered t h em another test, for judges should not be hasty to condemn. "Now if ye be ready, etc., but«if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour Into the midst of a burning fiery furnace." Sure- ly "The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify It" (Prov. 16-14). For this reason we should "Kiss the Son,' the King of Zion (1 Psa. 2:6, 12), "not fearing the wrath of the king" (Heb. 11:27), who "after he had killed the body had noth- ing more that he could do," but "Him who after He hath killed hath power to cast Into hell" (Luke 12:4, 5). "Yea, I say unto you," said Jesus, "fear Him!" This was the wis- 1. ''O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not care- ful (need no deliberation) to answer thee in this matter." Questions of moral and re- ligious conduct require, nay, permit, no hesi- tancy, the only true and safe course is by a prompt a nd unequivocal "YES!" or "NO! 2. "OUR God is ABLE and WILL deliver." Wh a t a sublime faith! in the f a ce of a horrid death. "We are not called on "to resist unto blood" (Heb. 12:4), but ours is the same God, and should be the s ame faith. It is PITH AN While the king was satisfied to give to the Hebrew children a place of honor next to himself, he was not willing to give to the God of heaven the first place, and this is always the crucial test. He sought the glory for himself. This is the spirit of Satan t h at will find its largest development in the anti-Christ and his image. The Threat of the King. "A burning fiery furnace." The three Hebrew children were up against a red hot proposition. Bow or burn w as the ma n d a te of the king. There was dom of the following reply: VI. THE JEWS' ANSWER.
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