their clothes. It gave them liberty. It brought them new experience. It put II new soept.re into their hands, and made them kings of nature. They were mightier mon than e'\"er. It admitted them into new society, and brought an angel into their circle. God himself gaYe them new evidence of his presence, his tender concern for them, and his all-sufficient power. Now it is evident that fire has no consuming property of its own. It is a property given and maint&ined by God. .All the forces of nature are like the manuals of an organ touched by a Divine hand. By faith in God these men "quenched the violence of fire." II. PERSECUTION OF THE SAINTS GIVES OOOASION FOR THE HIRAOULOl:S INTERPOSITION o! Goo.. All opposition, raised ~ainst God only brings out the greater resources of his ornmpotence. Satan s oppression of our race gave scope for the redemptive miracle, Creation is miracle, for the like was not before. Providence, which is but a continuous act of creation, is a miracle. Granting that there is a God, there is nothina unreasonable in miracle. Whenever God is pleased to work, if ordinary methods fail: cxtrnordinary methods are forthwith introduced. No occasion is more fitting for the introduction of miracle than persecution. God has identified himself with his people, and injury done to them is resented a.s injury done to him. Nor are we to think only of the miracle wrought on the material flame or on the living bodies of these men. That is a narrow· new of miracle. There was miraculous agency also displayed in the mind, the temper, and the conduct of these oppressed Hebrews. It was not natural that they should submit to human injustice without a word. It was not natural, but supernatural, that they showed no vindictive spirit nor indulged in any language of personal triumph. Their modesty and self-forgetfulness were as miraculous as their faith, With the ending of the persecution ea.me the ending of the angel's visit. Ill. PERSECUTION PATIENTLY ENDURED PBODUOES OONVIOTION IN TBE UNGODLY, The king himself was overcome by astonishment. He could not believe the evidence of his eyes. He could sca.rcely trust hlll memory. Hence he summoned his princes and counsellors to his assistance. He appeals to their recollections. He requires them to see, to investigate, and to understand these strange facts for themselves. In their presence the king himself (not a deputy) entreats these injured Hebrews to come out of the mystic flame. He prays to them whom just now he cruelly condemned. The king sty lcs them, not fanatics, mil:creants, traitors-he styles them "servants of the most high God." Yes, of that God whom he had awhile despised. The proof of Divine succour and of supernatural protection is complete, undeniable, overwhelming. And, with candour of mind, Nebuchadnezzar yields himself to the evidence,-'-D. Vers. 28-30.-Total reversal of Fortune'• wheel. During this momentous crisie, no change ha.d passed over the convictions, resolves, or characters of these godly men- except such advancement in strength and courage as was always in progress. But upon their outward condition a great change was impending. A quiet _revolution was proceeding outside them. , L A cH.A...>;GE IN THE PLACE .ACCORDED TO Goo. This was the central aim of the youna Hebrews' resistance, that Jehovah might be recognized II.II supreme. This quiet endw'.'ance for God had completely annulled the effect of the gigantic idol, its imposing ritual, and its pompous music. Truth is advanced in more quiet ways. 'l'his royal endowment of idolatry had been public contumacy of Jehovah; but three modest youths, sustained by Divine grace, were more than a match for all the sta:ely ceremoni~l appointed by the king. At the head of the nation, Nebuchadnezzar publicly recants his religious belief. .Awhile bis language was, "Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" Now his language is, "Blessed be the God of the Hebrews, who hatb . . . delivered his ECrvants that trusted in him I " II. A CHANGE IN THE MARTYRS' REPUTATION. Nebuchadnezzar had treated as weak and worthless the men who were accused of contumacy. He had regarded their con- ,·ictiuns as contemptible scruples. Now his opinions have suddenly undergone a complete change. He appreciates their nobleness; he applauds their loyal constancy to God. He perceives a glorious beauty in their character, to which he was blind before. He confesses that their quiet firmness was more mighty, and more majestic, than Lis tyrannic rage. Their patient fortitude has captivaU;d him.. He ,places them u1,on the pedestal of royal regard, and does homage to their super10r virtue. Well OIJ, 1'7, 1-37,] TUE BOOK OF DANIEL. 131
sl\ith the proverb, "Them the.t honour me, I will honour." The martyrs a, 0 cnnonized nnd worshipped ns Bl\ints. 111. A CHANGE IN 'l'HE ROYAL EDIOT. But just now the royal decree had been "Let the worshippers of Jehovah be degraded-be ce.st out as dogs I" Now a ne,.; edict issues, "Thnt every people, ne.tion, e.ad laaguage, which speak any thing arniss against tho God of the Jews shall be cnt in pieces, and their houses shall be marlc a dunghill." The tone and language of the king had undergone a complete chan;;e. This nmouated almost to a miracle. 'l'o repeal the king's decree was deemed an impossibility. The kings of the East pri,led themselves on the observance of their word, let the cost be what it might. But there is a conspicuous ahatement of pride in Nebuchadnezzar, and this new law will be a. protection for all the Jews against the blnsphemies of their foreign masters. IV. A OHANGE IN THE OUTWARD CONDITION OF THE SUFFEBBBS. Their attainder is removed, They are not only restored to their former place, but are promoted to higher office yet. Just as a swelling wave, rolling on the sea-beach, recedes for a. mome11t, but only to gather fresh force, and then rises higher on the shore than any point it has yet reached; so this transient degradation was but the mystic step to bigb~r honour. From the fiery jaws of death they suddenly rose to the dignity of princely life. The pathway to immortal renown is through the vale of suffering. "It 1s through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom." The cross was the Saviour's road to his mediatorial throne; and if we suffer with him, "we shall also be glorified together." The fire of suffering does not destroy the Christian ; it refines and purifies. He comes forth from the furnace ae gold well burnished. Real merit, sooner or later, finds its true level.-D.