Daniel 3:23

Accordingly, after these things happened, Scripture says, "And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, fell into the midst of the furnace while bound and that they were walking in the midst of the flame, hymning to God and blessing the Lord." [Daniel 3:23; Song of the Three Children 1] And so the bonds which the king put around them, these the fire consumed immediately, yet it did not singe their garments and cloaks so that even in this event the great work of God may be shown. For since the garments were clad around the bodies of the boys, these also with them were made holy and were not consumed by the fire, so that God, with the boys, may be honored in their witness. Let the arch-heretics, who deny the resurrection of themselves, tell me, how do they say there is no resurrection of the flesh, when the perishable garments and sandals, which came from the death of living creatures, are not destroyed by fire on account of the holiness which clothes their bodies? How also does the flesh, which is perishable and which clothes the holy soul, not also with the soul be made holy and be changed into incorruptible? For if what is corruptible in nature did not receive corruption, how does what is incorruptible in nature, but has died through disobedience, again having been made alive by the power of God, not actually be made alive? So that the Scripture persuades us in every way to believe in God from a whole heart, in which way those who are perfect, who have believed, may be preserved from the furnace of fire as perfect along with their garb and cloaks. For if then the fire did not tame them, how is the eternal fire able to master the saints and they who similarly believe?

Verse 23. "But these three men, (here the Vulgate inserts: "that is,") Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell fettered into the midst of the furnace of flaming fire. And they were walking about in the midst of the flames praising God and blessing the Lord. And Azariah stood and prayed after this fashion, opening his mouth in the midst of the fire and saying..." It was a great miracle for men to be cast into a furnace bound and to fall headlong into the midst of the fire, only to have the bonds burn up by which they were bound, the bodies of the fettered withal remaining untouched by the timid flames. The Hebrew text goes only up to this point and the intervening passage which now follows as far as the end of the Song of the Three Youths is not contained in the Hebrew. Lest we seem to pass over it altogether, we must make a few observations.

The pain of damned sinners is more exquisite, and the smoke of their torment ascends for ever and ever, and those have no rest, no intermission, no cessation of their pains, who have worshipped the beast and his image ( Rev. xiv. 10, 11 ), whereas their pain would be soon over that were cast into this furnace for not worshipping this Babylonian beast and his image.

Fell down - All this is exprest with emphasis, to make the power of God more glorious in their preservation; for that shame that slew the executioners, might much more easily have killed them, even before they fell down.

We are not careful - Hebrew. We care not: there is no need of any answer in this case for it is in vain for us to debate the matter; the king is resolved to have his will of us, and we are resolved on the contrary. But if not - It was therefore all one to them, which way God would honour himself; they were resolved to suffer rather than sin, and leave the cause to God.