Dan. iii. 28. Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshech, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's tvord, and yielded their bodies that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
A BRIGHTER example of fidelity to God than that before us is not to be found in all the records of antiquity. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, full of pride and vain-glory, determined to erect an image of gold that should be worshipped as a god. The image was above thirty yards in height, and three in breadth ; and all covered over with plates of solid gold. The expense of making this image must have been immense ; and it puts to shame the worshippers of Jehovah, who grudge to expend their money for the promotion of his glory. The image being erected, the chief men in all the provinces of the empire were summoned to attend at the dedication of it, and, at a given signal, to bow down and worship it. The three Hebrew youths mentioned in our text, having been set over different provinces, were necessitated to be present at the ceremony ; but, being convinced of the sinfulness of idolatry, they would not them- selves be guilty of it. As far as they could consci- entiously obey their king, they would : but where there remained no alternative but to disobey him, or to offend their God, they determined to " obey God rather than man."
To bring their history more fully under our view, let us notice,
I. Their fidelity —
They were certainly under great temptation to comply with the wishes of the king —
[They were under far different circumstances from the rest of the governors that were assembled on this occasion. They were not merely subjects, but captives, who were entirely at