When he came near to the den to Daniel, he cried with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?”
Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me; because as before him innocence was found in me; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”
Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
The king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions mauled them, and broke all their bones in pieces, before they came to the bottom of the den.
Then king Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages, who dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you.
“I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; “for he is the living God, and steadfast forever. His kingdom is that which will not be destroyed. His dominion will be even to the end.
He delivers and rescues. He works signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27 WANT of time compelled me to break off our…
WANT of time compelled me to break off our last Lecture at the point where Daniel relates how the king approached the cave Now he reports his words, — O Daniel, servant of the living God! thy God whom thou worshipest constantly, has he been able to deliver thee? says he. Darius declares the God of Israel to be the living One. But if there is a living God, he excludes all those imaginary deities whom men fancy for themselves by their own ingenuity. For it is necessary that deity should be one, and this principle is acknowledged by even the profane. However men may be deluded by their dreams, yet they all confess the impossibility of having more gods than one. They distort, indeed, God’s character, but they cannot deny his unity. When Darius uttered this praise of the God of Israel, he confesses all other deities to be mere fictions; but he shews how, as I have said, the profane hold the first principle, but afterwards allow it to escape entirely from their thoughts. This passage does not prove, as some allege, the real conversion of King Darius, and his sincere adoption of true piety; for he always worshipped his own idols, but thought it sufficient if he raised the God of Israel to the highest rank. But, as we know, God cannot admit a companion, for he is jealous of his own glory. (Isaiah 42:8.) It was too cold, then, for Darius simply to acknowledge the God whom Daniel worshipped to be superior to all others; because where God reigns, all idols must of necessity be reduced to nothing; as also it is said in the Psalms, Let God reign, and let the gods of all nations fall before him. Darius then proceeded so far as to devote himself to the true and only God, but was compelled to pay the greatest respect to Israel’s God. Meanwhile he always remained sunk in his own superstitions to which he had been accustomed.
He afterwards adds, Thy God, whom thou worshipest continually, could he free thee from the lions? He here speaks doubtfully, as unbelievers do, who seem to have some ground for hope, but no firm or sure persuasion in their own minds. I suppose this invocation to be natural, since a certain secret instinct naturally impels men to fly to God; for although scarcely one in twenty leans upon God’s word, yet all men call upon God occasionally. They wish to discover whether God desires to assist them and to aid them in their necessities; meanwhile, as I have said, there is no firm persuasion in their hearts, which was the state of the mind of King Darius. Could God deliver thee? says he; as if God’s power could possibly be doubted! If he had said, Has God delivered thee? this would have been tolerable. For God was not bound by any law to be always snatching his people from death, since, we very well know, this rests entirely with his good pleasure. When, therefore, he permits his people to suffer under the lusts of the impious, his power is by no means diminished, since their liberation depends upon his mere will and pleasure. His power, therefore, ought by no means to be called in question. We observe, that Darius was never truly converted, and never distinctly acknowledged the true and only God, but was seized with a blind fear, which, whether he would or not, compelled him to attribute the supreme honor to Israel’s God. And this was not an ingenuous confession, but was rather extorted from him. It now follows: —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv20, 22, 23, 24, 26 This declareth that Darius was not touched with the…
This declareth that Darius was not touched with the true knowledge of God, because he doubted of his power.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv20–27 Dan 6:20 And when he came to the den,…
Dan 6:20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: [and] the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
Ver. 20. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice.] With a piteous distressed voice: far otherwise than did Daniel, {Dan 6:21} who chose rather to be cast into the den of lions than to carry about a lion in his bosom, an enraged conscience, as did Darius here, and afterwards Theodoricus, king of Italy, who had caused Boetius and Symmachus to be unjustly beheaded, but carried the horror of it to his grave. How good is it, therefore, to keep the bird in the bosom always singing as Daniel did, and as those primitive Christians, who chose rather ad leonem proieci quam ad lenonem, {a} to be thrown to lions without than to be left to lusts within, such fleshly lusts as war against the soul, {1Pe 2:11} against the peace of it principally.
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Is thy God, whom thou servest continually.] A far deal better than did Cardinal Wolsey, who yet, when he came in a morning out of his privy chamber, most commonly heard two masses; and whatever business he had in the daytime (when he was Lord Chancellor), he would not go to bed with any part of his service unsaid, no, not so much as one collect. {b} Nevertheless, when he was sent for up by Henry VIII to be put into the Tower, he bewailed himself, and said that if he had been as careful to serve God as he ever was to please the king, it would have been much better with him. To be a "servant of the living God" {c} is an argument of safety. {Dan 3:17 Psa 143:12}
{a} Tertul.
{b} The Life and Death of Cardinal Wolsey, p. 18.
{c} Semetipsam detestatus est quod Regi potius quam Deo placere studuisset. - Scult.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv20–26 Servant of the living God: this was a commendation…
Servant of the living God: this was a commendation both of Daniel and his God, though he served both very coarsely.
Is thy God able to deliver thee? is he omnipotent? surely if ever he will put forth his power, it will be in thy case, for thou servest him continually, thou wilt not be frightened from his service by savage beasts, by ramping and roaring lions; now it will appear what thy God will do for his servant. Ah, poor king, God is a better Master to his servants than thou art, even to Daniel.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v25 Darius here studies to make some amends for the…
Darius here studies to make some amends for the dishonour he had done both to God and Daniel, in casting Daniel into the lions' den, by doing honour to both.
I. He gives honour to God by a decree published to all nations, by which they are required to fear before him. And this is a decree which is indeed fit to be made unalterable, according to the laws of the Medes and Persians, for it is the everlasting gospel, preached to those that dwell on the earth, Rev 14:7. Fear God, and give glory to him. Observe, 1. To whom he sends this decree - to all people, nations and languages, that dwell in all the earth, Dan 6:25. These are great words, and it is true that all the inhabitants of the earth are obliged to that which is here decreed; but here they mean no more than every dominion of his kingdom, which, though it contained many nations, did not contain all nations; but so it is, those that have much are ready to think they have all. 2. What the matter of the decree is - that men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. This goes further than Nebuchadnezzar's decree upon a similar occasion, for that only restrained people from speaking amiss of this God, but this requires them to fear before him, to keep up and express awful reverent thoughts of him. And well might this decree he prefaced, as it is, with Peace be multiplied unto you, for the only foundation of true and abundant peace is laid in the fear of God, for that is true wisdom. If we live in the fear of God, and walk according to that rule, peace shall be upon us, peace shall be multiplied to us. But, though this decree goes far, it does not go far enough; had he done right, and come up to his present convictions, he would have commanded all men not only to tremble and fear before this God, but to love him and trust in him, to forsake the service of their idols, and to worship him only, and call upon him as Daniel did. But idolatry had been so long and so deeply rooted that it was not to be extirpated by the edicts of princes, nor by any power less than that which went along with the glorious gospel of Christ. 3. What are the causes and considerations moving him to make this decree. They are sufficient to have justified a decree for the total suppression of idolatry, much more will they serve to support this. There is good reason why all men should fear before this God, for, (1.) His being is transcendent. "He is the living God, lives as a God, whereas the gods we worship are dead things, have not so much as an animal life." (2.) His government is incontestable. He has a kingdom, and a dominion; he not only lives, but reigns as an absolute sovereign. (3.) Both his being and his government are unchangeable. He is himself stedfast for ever, and with him is no shadow of turning. And his kingdom too is that which shall not be destroyed by any external force, nor has his dominion any thing in itself that threatens a decay or tends towards it, and therefore it shall be even to the end. (4.) He has an ability sufficient to support such an authority, Dan 6:27. He delivers his faithful servants from trouble and rescues them out of trouble; he works signs and wonders, quite above the utmost power of nature to effect, both in heaven and on earth, by which it appears that he is sovereign Lord of both. (5.) He has given a fresh proof of all this in delivering his servant Daniel from the power of the lions. This miracle, and that of the delivering of the three children, were wrought in the eyes of the world, were seen, published, and attested by two of the greatest monarchs that ever were, and were illustrious confirmations of the first principles of religion, abstracted from the narrow scheme of Judaism, effectual confutations of all the errors of heathenism, and very proper preparations for pure catholic Christianity.
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II. He puts honour upon Daniel (Dan 6:28): So this Daniel prospered. See how God brought to him good out of evil. This bold stroke which his enemies made at his life was a happy occasion of taking them off, and their children too, who otherwise would still have stood in the way of his preferment, and have been upon all occasions vexatious to him; and now he prospered more than ever, was more in favour with his prince and in reputation with the people, which gave him a great opportunity of doing good to his brethren. Thus out of the eater (and that was a lion too) comes forth meat, and out of the strong sweetness.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv20–27 Then said Daniel unto the king,.... Whose voice he…
Then said Daniel unto the king,.... Whose voice he knew, though the tone of it was so much altered:
O king, live for ever; he does not reproach him for delivering him into the hands of his enemies, and suffering him to be cast into that place, which he might have prevented, had he had more resolution; he knew it was done with reluctance, though with weakness; which he does not upbraid him with, but freely forgives him, and wishes him health, long life, and prosperity.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv20, 22, 25 Able to deliver - What he doubted of, we…
Able to deliver - What he doubted of, we are sure of, that the servants of the living God, have a master who is able to deliver them and bear them out in his service.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 Verse 20. He cried with a lamentable voice] His…
Verse 20. He cried with a lamentable voice] His heart, full of grief, affected his speech.
Servant of the living God] The king was convinced that, unless his God saved him, his destruction was inevitable.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv21, 24, 25 Dan 6:21-23. Then said Daniel — Daniel knew the…
Dan 6:21-23. Then said Daniel — Daniel knew the king’s voice, though it was now a doleful voice, and spake to him with all the deference and respect that was due to him. O king, live for ever — He does not reproach him for his unkindness to him, and his easiness in yielding to the malice of his persecutors; but, to show that he has heartily forgiven him, he meets him with his good wishes. Observe, reader, we must not upbraid those with the unkindnesses they have done us, who, we know, did them with reluctance, for they are very ready to upbraid themselves with them. My God hath sent his angel — The same bright and glorious being that was seen with Shadrach and his companions in the fiery furnace, (see note on Dan 3:25,) had visited Daniel; and, it is likely, in a visible appearance, had enlightened the dark den, kept Daniel company all night, and had shut the lions’ mouths that they had not in the least hurt him. This heavenly being made even the lions’ den Daniel’s strong hold, his palace, his paradise; he never had a better night in his life. See the power of God over the fiercest creatures, and confide in his power to restrain the roaring lion, that goes about continually seeking to devour, from hurting those that are his! See the care God takes of his faithful worshippers, especially when he calls them out to suffer for him. If he keep their souls from sin, comfort their souls with his peace, and receive their souls to himself, he doth, in effect, stop the lions’ mouths that they cannot hurt them. Forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me — Daniel, in what he had done, had not offended either against God or the king. Before him, to whom he had prayed, he had been continually upright and conscientious in the discharge of his duty, endeavouring to walk unblameably before him. And also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt — He was represented to the king as disaffected to him and his government, because he had not obeyed the new law; but he could appeal to the Searcher of hearts, that he had not disobeyed it out of contumacy or stubbornness, but purely to preserve a good conscience, which is the only true principle of loyalty and obedience: see Rom 13:5. On this subject, as far as we find, Daniel had said nothing before in his own vindication, but had left it to God to clear up his integrity as the light, and God had now done it effectually, by working a miracle for his preservation. Then was the king exceeding glad — To find him alive and well; and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den — As Jeremiah was taken out of the dungeon: for as the decree had now been complied with, and its penalty suffered, even Daniel’s persecutors could not but own that the law was satisfied, though they were not; or, if it were altered, it was by a power superior to that of the Medes and Persians. And no manner of hurt was found upon him — He was nowhere crushed, or torn, or scared, or hurt in any way whatever; because he believed in his God — In God’s power, and love, and faithfulness; because he confided in him for protection, while he lived in obedience to his commandments.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv20–27 He cried with a lamentable voice - A voice…
He cried with a lamentable voice - A voice full of anxious solicitude. Literally, “a voice of grief.” Such a cry would be natural on such an occasion.
O Daniel, servant of the living God - The God who has life; who imparts life; and who can preserve life. This was the appellation, probably, which he had heard Daniel use in regard to God, and it is one which he would naturally employ on such an occasion as this; feeling that the question of life was entirely in his hands.
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Whom thou servest continually - At all times, and in all circumstances: as a captive in a distant land; in places of honor and power; when surrounded by the great who worship other gods; and when threatened with death for your devotion to the service of God. This had been the character of Daniel, and it was natural to refer to it now.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv22–24 Offence, as I neglected thy decree to obey a…
Offence, as I neglected thy decree to obey a higher Master. (Calmet) --- The king had sense enough to approve of this distinction. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26 living God--having life Himself, and able to preserve thy…
living God--having life Himself, and able to preserve thy life; contrasted with the lifeless idols. Darius borrowed the phrase from Daniel; God extorting from an idolater a confession of the truth.
thou servest continually--in times of persecution, as well as in times of peace.
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is thy God . . . able--the language of doubt, yet hope.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv22–25 22. Hath sent his angel — On Daniel’s view…
22. Hath sent his angel — On Daniel’s view of angels see Dan_8:16. (The primitive LXX. omits this statement.) The Persian kings would naturally interpret such a reference as this as applying to the “messenger” (angel) of Ormuzd. (See Speaker’s Commentary.) Daniel ascribed his deliverance to the fact that he had been true to his God while he had also been true in his allegiance to his king. “See how ready the angels are to minister to the heirs of salvation.” — Wesley.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv20–27 20. when he came] as he drew near.
20. when he came] as he drew near.
with a lamentable voice] or, with a pained voice. The same expression (with an inappreciable difference of form) occurs in the Targ. (Ps.-Jon.) of Exo_12:31, and in that of Est_4:1.
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and the king, &c.] the king answered and said.
the living God] The same emphatic and significant title, found in Deu_5:26; Jos_3:10; 1Sa_17:26; 1Sa_17:36; 2Ki_19:4; 2Ki_19:16; Jer_10:10; Jer_23:36; Hos_1:10; Psa_42:2; Psa_84:2.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv20, 22, 26 (20) Is thy God . . . able?—The faith…
(20) Is thy God . . . able?—The faith of this king is very weak. In Dan_6:16 he expressed a vague hope that God would protect His servant. That hope seems now to have died out, though afterwards (Dan_6:26) it appears stronger than that of Nebuchadnezzar. (Comp. Dan_4:37.) The phrase “living God” is remarkable, coming as it does from a heathen king. (See 1Sa_17:36.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv21–25 Vers. 21, 22. Then said Daniel unto the king,…
Vers. 21, 22. Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions" mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. The Syriac construction, malleel "ira, is to be observed. The rendering of the LXX differs from the Massoretic text in a way that can scarcely be due to differences merely of reading, "Then Daniel called with a loud voice and said O king, I am yet living, and God hath saved me from the lions according to the righteousness found in me before him, and before thee, O king, was neither ignorance nor sin to be found in me; but thou didst hearken to men who deceive kings, and hast east me into the den of lions for my destruction." It is not impossible that the opening clauses of the Massoretic and the LXX respectively, "O king, I am yet living." and "O king, live for ever," have been derived from the same source. The last clause is to all appearance an expansion. Theodotion and the Peshitta agree with the Massoretic text. Daniel answers the king, and declares his safety. The angelology of Daniel is an interesting subject, but here the question is complicated by the fact that there is no reference to angelic interference in the Septuagint. Still all through Scripture God does most of his works through the intervention of angels. To Darius, if he had any such beliefs as afterwards are found associated with Zoru astrianism, the ascription of deliverance to an angel would be natural enough. It is doubt ful whether Cyrus and his followers were not idolaters. The rebuke implied in the state merit that not only before God was Daniel innocent, but in the sight of the king, is sufficiently clear without passing beyond the lines of courtly decorum. The expansion in the LXX is unnecessary, and mars the stately picture; though, on the other hand, the simple answer to the king"s question is more likely than the courtly "O king live for ever."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv20, 21, 24, 26, 27 O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy…
Dan_6:20
O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
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The Lions Den
The empire of Babylonia and Chaldea passed into the hands of a new dynasty, and King Belshazzar was slain in a night-assault upon his capital. On that very night he had clothed Daniel in scarlet, and made him the third ruler in the kingdom. This was providential; for, had Daniel been in obscurity, he would have been little likely to attract the notice of Darius; but, observing him in the palace, clothed in scarlet, Darius would naturally ask who he was, and enquire into his antecedents. The fame of his wisdom would he quickly told. Hence it was not at all surprising that Darius took great notice of Daniel, weighed his character, observed his conduct, and, after a while, exalted him to be prime minister of his realm. Daniels prosperity and honours excited the envy of the courtiers. Can they discover a flaw in his accounts? Can they question the impartiality of his judgment? Can they detect a lack of loyalty in the administration of his government? Can they find fault with his private life? Nay; but is there nothing against him? Is Daniel such a four-square man that he is more than a match for them? At length the devil, who does not often run short of devices, puts them up to a fresh plot. O Satan, thou art full of all subtlety! Let us contrive a new law, say they, that shall bring his piety and his patriotism into conflict. They managed to involve the king himself in their iniquitous device, and to entangle him in such a way that he must either sacrifice his favourite courtier, or compromise his own truthfulness, and violate the sacred traditions of the empire. A royal statute was framed, and a decree published, forbidding any petition to be asked of God or man for thirty day. How preposterous! But when was there ever a despot who was not, sooner or later, deserted of his wits? The passion for power, when indulged without restraint, will lead a man to the utmost foolishness, and urge him to a madness of vanity. There are many, nowadays, who hate nothing so much so a religious man. All the epithets in the catalogue of scandal are too good for the man who offers homage to God in everything. An infidel may be reputed honest, intelligent, and worthy of respect; but a genuine Christian is at once denounced as a hypocrite. So they told the king that the laws of his empire must be kept inviolate; good, loyal souls as they were, that would not have a statute broken for the world! There is an end to your monarchy if your royal proclamations are not to be respected! God, in his providence and grace, preserved his servant.
I. First, I want to set before you DANIELS EARLY AND ENTIRE CONSECRATION TO THE SERVICE OF GOD. The king said, Thy God whom thou servest continually. This was no empty compliment. His scrupulous uprightness had become so habitual that it was like an instinct of his nature. Daniel began to serve God in his youth. They, who give their morning to God, shall find that, in beginning early, they can keep pace with their work all the day. Happy Daniel, thus continually to serve his God from his youth up! For a while, Daniel retires into the shade. You hear nothing of him till Belshazzar ascends the throne, but he is still serving his God; I doubt not, sometimes ministering to his poorer brethren, and visiting the sick; but often in his chamber, by prayer and by study of the Scriptures, seeking and finding communion with the Most High. On a sudden, Belshazzar summons him to his presence. There is a mysterious writing on the wall, which can be read by no eye, and interpreted by no lip, but his. How confidently he speaks, This is the writing! And again, This is the interpretation. His word commends itself to the conscience; no man dares to gainsay it. He is promoted to the highest honour in the realm; now what will he do? There has been a change of monarchs, but there is no change in Daniel. No time-server, he stand to his principles at all times. Servant of the living God is still his title. He had taken for his motto, when he began life, I serve God and he retains the motto to his lifes close. The glory of his God was his one object throughout all his days; he never swerved. He is prime minister of the greatest monarch of the age; yet he abhors the idolatry of the heathen, and maintains his allegiance to him who ruleth in the heavens. They can find no flaw in him, though the eyes of envy watch him from early morning to dewy eve. O, it is a hard thing to serve God in high places! Many a man did seem to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour when humbly earning his livelihood by the toil of his hands, and eating his bread in the sweat of his face; but, afterwards, when advanced to ease aria opulence, he turned his back upon his friends, and forsook the Lord. Be very jealous of yourselves If you are rising in the world. Now note the effect of what Daniel did. It is comparatively easy to follow the Lord in bright days; but the sun of prosperity suddenly darkens, and the man of God is encompassed with perils. If he continues in his holy course, he will forfeit the kings favour, and lose his life in the most dreadful manner. What will Daniels determination be? Oh, the true grit is in him! He is a blade of the true Jerusalem manufacture, and is not to be broken. He will do just as he did before. Ah! some of us little know what these pinches mean. There are a few of you who do; you have endured torture without accepting deliverance. Witness the man who has a shop, which brings him in more profit on a Sunday than it does all the rest of the days of the week; and who says, It must be one thing or the other; I cannot go to the Tabernacle, and keep my shop open too; which shall it be? His faith proves stronger than his fear. The shutters are closed on the first day of the week. I daresay, had Daniel gone to consult Mr. Prudent Thrifty, and asked his advice, he would have said, Well, you see, it is a very important thing for us to have you at the head of affairs; I do not think you ought to throw away such an opportunity as you have of doing good. It is not absolutely necessary for you to pray for thirty days! Would it not be better for you to trim a little, and yield a point or two? You do distinguished service to our cause; and, by keeping your position, you will be putting yourself to the non-plus. By compromise you will obtain concessions. Worldly wisdom is worth your study. At the call of duty, never parley with danger. Here I would remark that the only service to God which is real, genuine, remunerative, is this continual service that sticks at nothing. Any hungry dog will follow you in the streets if you but entice him with a piece of meat, or a bit of biscuit. How closely he keeps to your heels! But, after a while, the bait is gone, and the dog retreats. That is like many a professor. There is some little pleasure in religion, or some advantage, and so he follows Christ but, after a while, there is an attraction elsewhere; and, impelled by greed rather than gratitude, he pursues it. Oh, those time-servers, who look one way and pull the other, like the wherry-men upon the stream! As for Lord Fair-Speech, Lord Time-Server, Mr. Smooth-Man, Mr. Anything, Mr. Facing-both-Ways, Mr. Two-Tongues and all the members of their club, Mr. By-Ends included, the entire company of them will be swept away when the Judge comes with the besom of destruction. I know you feel the force of this truth. How you loathe a friend who will not stick to you in dark times! This is but a picture of yourselves if you try to follow Jesus Christ only when you are in the society of his people, and as easily lend yourselves to sing a frivolous or lewd song when you are with the ungodly. That faith which lives on Jesus only, rests on Jesus solely, builds on Jesus wholly, and shows itself in earnest prayer, will give you a consistency and decision of character that will make you like Daniel in your days.
II. Now, secondly, WHO WAS THIS GOD WHOM DANIEL SERVED CONTINUALLY? Let me ask,--Is Daniels God worthy of our worship? I ask the question in all earnestness, because I feel positive that multitudes of men have a religion that, in their own judgment, is hardly worth debating about, far less worth dying for. Is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ worthy of our love and our life? Words are wanting to tell the gratitude and joy that we cherish towards God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins. By faith, I understand that the blessed Son of God redeemed my soul with his own hearts blood; and, by sweet experience, I know that he raised me up from the pit of dark despair, and set my feet on the rock. He died for me; this is the root of every satisfaction I have. You must be the best judges of your own religion, whether or not it is worth suffering for. If it is not full of immortality, I would not advise you to risk your reputation on retaining it. If it is only a fair profession, you may well blush for it as a foul delusion. Then there comes another question,--Is Daniels God able to deliver us from the lions? You who are suffering just now for the cross of Christ, you who know what it is to be losers for Jesus, to stand out and to endure pains and penalties as Daniel did,--you are well aware that the lions are fierce and furious creatures. They are not stuffed animals, having the name without the nature of those beasts of prey. So, the sufferings of a Christian are not sentimental, they are real. The lions have sharp teeth, and they would have devoured you, only divine grace has found a means of delivering you out of their mouths. I ask the man, who has given up a profitable appointment because he would not be false to his convictions, whether, on shorter commons, he has not found the sweeter luxury of contentment? I asked him whether he has not enjoyed, on a harder pillow, more refreshing sleep! But should we even dwell among lions till we die, what joy it shall be to leave the lions, and be linked with saints and holy angels in the beatific hereafter! Is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? And with a cheerful shout, loud as the voice of thunder, they cry, In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. I look down upon another lions den. There, sons and daughters of sorrow are tossed on beds of sickness. Thus they have lain for months, perhaps for years, all hope of health extinguished, all prospect of pleasure passed; their limbs paralyzed, their sight failing, their hearing dull; calamities of every kind have befallen them. God has permitted the great lions of affliction to come howling round. Tell me, ye Daniels, has your God been able to deliver you out of the mouths of the lions? And I hear each one say, Bless the Lord, O my soul! and all in chorus sing, saying Not one good thing hath failed of all that the Lord our God hath promised; our shoes have have been iron and brass, and as our days so has our strength been. Shall I strain my parable too far if I turn my eye upon another lions den? It lies in a deep valley. We call this place the valley of the shadow of death. Methinks I am gazing now on the forms of shivering men and women as they are dragged down by the lions. One after another my familiar friends descend into the grave; and I ask them, in the hour of their departure, Is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Calm is their countenance, and clear their voice, as each one chants his solo, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! So, at length, this lions den loses all its terror. Then I look into another den; it is almost empty. There is a lion in it,--a grim old lion, but I do not see so much as a bone to tell the tale of itsvictims. Of a sudden, I look upwards, and, lo! I see myriads of immortal souls, and they all tell me, Our God delivered us from the grave, and rifled the tomb of its prey. By a glorious resurrection, he has brought all his ransomed people forth to meet their Lord at the great day of his appearing. There shall they stand before the throne of God, for he hath broken the teeth of the lion, and rescued all his children from the power of the adversary. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Servant of God Delivered
I. THE KINGS DENOMINATION OF DANIEL is worthy of remark. He does not address him as first of the presidents; but says, O Daniel, servant of the living God. This was an honour above any official station--angels and archangels can occupy no higher position. It was better for Daniel to have been a servant of the living God than to have been the first president of Persia. His piety was not a sickly, fitful, feverish, fashionable thing; his devotion was deeply rooted; he served God continually, not occasionally. His religion was so natural to him that he could not hide it; everything he did proved him to be a man that feared and loved God. O, what a living power there would be in religion if it were acted out in our social walks and public conduct, and not shut up to mould all week within the walls of our churches! Why should your labour and talents, influence and time, be principally devoted to the world which is passing away? The surest way to peace, and honour, and usefulness, is in the service of God.
II. THE REASON FOR GODS INTERFERENCE IN DANIELS BEHALF WAS NOT THAT HIS CONDUCT REALLY MERITED SUCH AN INTERPOSITION. The meaning is, that God, being a witness of his innocence, indicated it by this interposition. You may learn, therefore, from this case, that God is the vindicator of his people.
III. THE PERSONAL PROPERTY IN GOD, referred to both in the kings words and in Daniels reply, is remarkable. The king said to Daniel, Is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? And Daniel replies, My God hath sent his angel and shut the lions mouths, that they have not hurt me. Mark the difference. Darius had heard of God by the hearing of the ear, Daniel was acquainted with him as a friend and father. (W. A. Scott.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v24 SECT. XXI.—THE JUDGMENT IN BABYLON (Chap. Dan_6:24-28)
HOMILETICS
SECT. XXI.—THE JUDGMENT IN BABYLON (Chap. Dan_6:24-28)
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The deliverance of Daniel was a signal display of the power of Jehovah and His presence with His people. Even the king, who seemed to have some idea that God might possibly interpose on His servant’s behalf, was probably taken by surprise; like the believers in Mary’s house when Peter, released in answer to their prayer, stood before the door. No sooner was Daniel taken up out of the den than judgment began on his enemies. “The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.” Sooner or later “judgment taketh hold of the wicked.” Conspicuous reward also awaited God’s faithful servant. The whole scene exhibits one of judgment, and affords a picture of another on a larger scale yet to come. We notice separately—
I. The judgment on Daniel’s enemies (Dan_6:24). That judgment was not long in following Daniel’s deliverance. According to the king’s command, they are immediately taken and cast into the den from which Daniel had been taken. Digging a pit for their friend, they fall into it themselves. Virtually guilty of murder, they suffer the murderer’s doom. Though hand joined in hand, they were not allowed to escape. Their rank and their number no screen from justice. Showing no mercy themselves, they receive none. Haman must be hung on his own gallows. The extension of the punishment to the wives and children, who were innocent, according to the custom of the time and people [148]. Great crimes sometimes made, by special command of God, to involve a man’s house and family as well as himself, even among the early Israelites (Num_16:27-33; Jos_7:24-25). Forbidden, however, by the law of Moses that children should suffer for the sins of fathers (Deu_24:16; 2Ki_14:6). Tradition relates, what is probable enough in itself, that these princes would not believe that any miracle had been wrought in Daniel’s favour, the lions having been abundantly fed before he was thrown in. To convince them of the contrary, “the lions brake all their bones before even they reached the bottom of the den.” Infidelity will believe in nothing supernatural till it finds itself in the hands of Him who says, “Consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver” (Psa_50:22).
[148] “Them, their children, and their wives.” Keil observes: By the accusers, we are not (with Hitzig) to think of the 120 satraps, together with the two chief presidents, but only of a small number of the special enemies of Daniel, who had concerned themselves with the matter. The condemning to death of the wives and children along with the men was in accordance with Persian custom, as is testified by Herodotus, 3:119, Amm. Marcell. 23:6, 81, and also with the custom of the Macedonians in the case of treason (Curtius, Dan_6:2), but was forbidden in the law of Moses (cf. Deu_24:16).
II. The royal decree (Dan_6:25-27). The deliverance of Daniel was followed by a decree similar to that of Nebuchadnezzar on the return of his reason. The decree was in honour of the true God, who had delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. He is declared to be the living God and steadfast for ever, the Ruler of a kingdom that shall not be destroyed, and the possessor of an everlasting dominion; a God that rescueth and delivereth, and who worketh signs and wonders in heaven and earth. Men were to tremble and fear before Him in every part of his realm, which at least implied that they were to treat His name, worship, and religion with reverence and respect. This exaltation of Jehovah one of the objects of this as well as the other miracles recorded in the book, tending, at the same time, to the welfare of the people in general, and to that of the Jews in particular, as well in providing full toleration for their religion during their dispersion, as in preparing the way for their restoration to their own land. The great object of all God’s dealings in providence that men may fear Him, that fear being at once their excellence and their happiness. Such the final issue of the judgments yet to be displayed. “Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy; for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest” (Rev_15:4). The deliverance of Daniel as a faithful servant of Jehovah proclaimed in the decree, as a testimony at once to His power and faithfulness, and an encouragement to all to make Him their trust in like manner, as the God that delivers and rescues those who serve and trust in Him. Thus Daniel himself was honoured through all the widely-extended realm of Persia. “Them that honour me I will honour.” So at last in reference to those who fear the Lord and think upon His name in a God-forgetting age. “They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not” (Mal_3:17-18).
III. Daniel’s prosperity and extended life (Dan_6:28). Externally Daniel had seen the last of his trials. He lived to see the end of the short reign of Darius—how much is uncertain—and a portion, at least, of the longer reign of Cyrus, his successor [149]. During the whole of that last period of his life he prospered. He continued probably in his high office as chief of the three great presidents of the empire. At the accession of Cyrus, his influence at court was such that Cyrus, doubtless as the result of it, issued the decree recorded in the end of 2 Chronicles and the beginning of Ezra, giving permission to the Jews to return to their own land and rebuild their Temple at Jerusalem. It is said that the aged minister pointed the king to the passage in Isaiah, where he is mentioned by name as the conqueror of Babylon and the chosen deliverer of Jehovah’s covenant people (Isa_44:28; Isa_45:1). The prosperity of Daniel to be noted in connection with the fiery trial which had tried him and the death which had threatened him. “This Daniel;” the same whom his enemies had nearly swallowed up; the same who had been faithful unto death, and had been only delivered from the mouths of the lions by a divine interposition. “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” The happiness of believers to be able to say with Paul, “Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver; in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us” (2Co_1:10). Observe among the lessons of the passage—
[149] “In the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” בְּמַלְכּוּת (bemalcuth), “in the reign,” the word denoting both reign and kingdom. From the repetition of the word before Cyrus, observes Keil, it does not follow that Daniel separates the Persian kingdom from the Median; for מַלְכּוּת here does not mean kingdom, but dominion, i.e., reign. The succession of the reign of Cyrus the Persian to that of Darius the Median does not show the diversity of the two kingdoms, but only that the rulers of the kingdoms were of different races. From this verse, taken in connection with the last of the preceding chapter, it appears that the Chaldean kingdom, after its overthrow by the Medes and Persians, did not immediately pass into the hands of Cyrus; but that between the last of the Chaldean kings and the reign of Cyrus, Darius, descended from a Median family, a son of Ahasuerus (Dan_11:1), held the reins of government. This Darius and his reign are not distinctly noticed by profane historians; and hence modern critics have called in question his existence, and thence derived a supposed argument against the historical veracity of the whole narrative. The account given by Xenophon in his Cyropedia, differing somewhat from that of Herodotus, shows that this Darius the Mede is the same person whom he calls Cyaxares II. According to him, the Median king Astyages, son of Cyaxares I., gave his daughter Mandane in marriage to Cambyses, king of Persia, who was under the Median supremacy, of which marriage Cyrus was born. When Cyrus arrived at man’s estate, Astyages died and was succeeded by his son Cyaxares II., the brother of Mandane and uncle of Cyrus. When, after this, Crœsus, king of Lydia, concluded a treaty with the king of the Assyrians (Babylonians), with a view to the overthrow of the Medes and Persians, Cyrus received the command of the Medo-Persian army; and when, after a victorious battle, Cyaxares was unwilling to proceed farther, Cyrus carried forward the war by his permission, and destroyed the host of Crœsus and the Assyrians; at the report of which Cyaxares fell into a passion, and in a threatening letter to Cyrus, ordered the Medes to be recalled. These declaring their desire to remain with Cyrus, the latter entered on the war against Babylon independently of Cyaxares. Having driven the Babylonian king back upon his capital, he sent a message to Cyaxares, desiring him to come and decide regarding the vanquished and the continuance of the war. Cyaxares accordingly came to the camp, where Cyrus exhibited to him his power by reviewing his army before him, treated him kindly, and gave him a large share of the plunder. After this, the war against Babylon was carried on in such a way that Cyaxares, sitting on the Median throne, presided over the councils of war, while Cyrus, as general, had the conduct of it. After conquering Sardis and taking Crœsus prisoner, Cyrus returned to Babylon, and during a nocturnal festival of the Babylonians took the city, upon which the king of Babylon was slain. After the conquest of Babylon the army regarded Cyrus as king, and he began to conduct his affairs as if he were so. He went, however, to Media to present himself before Cyaxares, brought presents to him, and showed him that there was a house and palace ready for him in Babylon, where he might reside when he went thither. Cyrus now went to Persia and arranged that his father, Cambyses, should retain the sovereignty of it so long as he lived, and that then it should fall to him. He then returned to Media and married the daughter of Cyaxares, receiving with her the whole of Media as her dowry, Cyaxares having no son. He next went to Babylon, and placed satraps over the subjugated peoples; and so arranged that he spent the winter in Babylon, the spring in Susa, and the summer in Ecbatana. “This account given by Xenophon regarding Cyaxares,” says Keil, “so fully agrees with the narrative of Daniel regarding Darius the Mede, that, as Hitzig confesses, ‘the identity of the two is beyond a doubt.’ ”
1. The certainty of divine judgments. “Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.” Daniel’s enemies in fancied security after the king had affixed his seal to the stone over the mouth of the den. The night probably spent in pleasure and mutual congratulations. So on the slaughter of the Two Witnesses (Rev_11:7-11). But “the triumphing of the wicked is short.” The wicked sometimes punished in this world, that men may know there is a God that judgeth; only sometimes, that they may know there is a judgment to come.
2. The godly ultimately delivered out of trouble. Daniel delivered a second time from imminent death when no human power could rescue him. “In six troubles He shall deliver thee, and in seven no evil shall befall thee.” Trouble and deliverance the common experience in the way to the kingdom. “Thou knowest what persecutions I endured; but out of them all the Lord delivered me” (2Ti_3:10-11). “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation) ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Rev_2:10). The angel that redeemed Jacob from all evil, the Angel of the covenant, stands engaged to deliver the Israel of God from every evil work, and to preserve them to His heavenly kingdom (2Ti_4:18).
3. Events in providence made to promote the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom. “The Lord hath made all things for Himself.” The course of the world is but the course of divine providence, and divine providence is only God’s government of the world He has made, and His conducting it to the end for which He made it. In that providence He makes the wrath of man to praise Him, while the remainder of wrath He restrains. The decree of Darius a foreshadowing of the time when the kingdoms of the world shall become “the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev_11:15). All things made to tend to this ultimate consummation. This the Redeemer’s reward, as it is the result of His redeeming work. “He shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied.” Adequate power provided for the object. “Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power.” What was done at Pentecost at the commencement of the Christian dispensation, only an earnest and pledge of what shall be done at its close. “I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh.”
4. The power and preciousness of divine grace. That grace seen in Daniel to be able to preserve the godly in a course of high-toned morality and religion during the course of a long life, in the midst of diversified temptations and in the most unfavourable circumstances. Daniel an example of Psa_92:12-15. “As perseverance is the one final touchstone of man, so these scattered notices combine in a grand outline of one, an alien, a captive, of that misused class (the eunuchs) who are proverbially the intriguers, favourites, pests of Oriental courts, who revenge on man their ill treatment at the hand of man; yet himself in uniform integrity, outliving envy, jealousy, dynasties; surviving in untarnished, uncorrupting greatness; the seventy years of the captivity; honoured during the forty-three years of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign; doing the king’s business under the insolent and sensual boy Belshazzar; owned by the conquering Medo-Persians; the stay, doubtless, and human protector of his people during those long years of exile.… Such undeviating integrity beyond the ordinary life of man, a worshipper of the one God in the most dissolute and degraded of the merchant cities of old, first minister in the first of the world-monarchies, was in itself a great fulfilment of the purpose of God in converting the chastisement of His people into the riches of the Gentiles.”—Pusey.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv22, 25 (See Scofield "Heb 1:4").
angel
(See Scofield "Heb 1:4").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv21, 23, 24, 26 For I was found blameless
For I was found blameless
This can be stated in active form. AT: "He knows that I have done nothing wrong" (See: Active or Passive)
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I have done you no harm
"I have not harmed you at all"
translationWords
eternity
messenger
blameless
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv20, 21, 25, 27 6:20 Was your God . . . able? There…
6:20 Was your God . . . able? There was no question about whether Daniel had served God faithfully, so if God didn’t rescue him it would have told the king that God was not able to do so. • living God: The king probably knew what Daniel’s God had done during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. The expression living God is particularly used in the Bible to contrast the Lord with lifeless idols (see, e.g., Deut 5:26; Josh 3:10; Isa 37:17-18).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.