of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar, the king, had set up and they stood before the image :then an herald cried aloud, to you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sacbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar, the king, hath set up; and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace."

It may, at first view, be difficult to account for this solemn farce, and most extravagant requisition. Had such a project been formed, and such an edict been issued, posterior to the time, when the king was afflicted with insanity, we should imagine, that they proceeded from a residue of the disease. There is one supposition, however, which will explain his conduct; which is the more probable, as it is founded upon the natural workings of the human mind, in given circumstances.

We may be assured, that the triumphant success of Daniel, would excite the envy and jealousy of the astrologers, and magicians, whose ignorance had been so fully detected, and exposed and their rage was doubtless rendered

the more implacable, by the fearful apprehensions, that their whole craft would be in danger, and that they would sink into permanent contempt. As it was universally the opinion of Pagans, that they could create their own gods, and that the work of their own hands would be able to save them, these magicians, soothsayers, and astrologers, were resolved to make one grand effort to recover their credit with the sovereign and his subjects; and, estimating the beneficence of their gods according to the value of the materials of which they were made, and their power, according to the magnitude of their sizes, they concluded, that an image of gold, threescore cubits in height, and six cubits in breadth, would become a very potent rival to this wonder-working deity of the Hebrews. That the plan was theirs, and that the king issued his commands by their suggestion, is plain, from their not being included in the injunction to worship the image, to which it was enjoined upon all the princes and nobles of the land that they should yield obedience.

Although Nebuchadnezzar had been com pelled to acknowledge the superiority of Daniel, and of Daniel's God, to his magicians, and the deities they professed to serve, he was still a polytheist. His concession, that the Jehovah

of Israel, was the God of Gods, contained also an avowal, that there were other Gods, besides him. The early habits of superstition, and the accustomed influence of the Pagan priests, over the mind of the king, on the one hand, and the miraculous interposition of this strange god of the Hebrews, on the other, might, possibly, , create such an embarrassment in his mind, as would dispose him to bring the contest to an issue, by complying with the earnest desires of the surrounding magi: and he was determined to have the contest conducted with all possible solemnity.

This view of the subject appears to be well calculated to explain the reason of those stupendous miracles, which have surprised multitudes, and staggered the faith of some.

The Hebrew chiefs did not obey the edict. Nor could they consistently obey it, for their principles were adverse to a plurality of gods, although their Jehovah should be allowed to preside over them. They remembered the great command, "thou shalt have no other Gods but me: thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them."

The absurdities of superstition, may accord together. One error may, possibly, be less than

another, or less injurious in its consequences, without being fatal to its existence. But truth cannot asssociate with error; and to this obvious impossibility must be ascribed, that very unpleasant and unaccommodating character, with which unbelievers are disposed to stigmatise, both the Jewish and the Christian dispensation.

The king condescended to expostulate with the recusants: He warned them of the punishment threatened to disobedience, and asks "who is that God, that shall deliver you out of my hands?" They firmly answer, "if it be so, our God whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thine hand, Oh king: but if not, we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."

"Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. And he commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated." And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army, to bind the recusants and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace; "and because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the

flame of the fire slew those men that took them to the furnace."

These minute particulars are indications of a determined trial, and, as it were, a defiance of the power of Jehovah, to deliver the offenders from his resentment. But again, as in the contest between the prophets of Baal, and Elijah, did the God of the Israelites prevail. The triumph of Jehovah over Pagan superstition, and the malice of impostors was complete. When "the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed; neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them; Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants, that trusted in him, and have changed the king's words, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve, nor worship any God except their own. Therefore, I make a decree that every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss, against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other God, that can deliver after this sort.

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