July 16, 2011 – Daniel 3:46 - 3:100

First of all, the protestant Bible takes a large chunk out of Chapter 3 of Daniel.  All of the prayer of Blessing that is said to the Lord by the three in the fire and the part where the king sees them surviving and tells them to build the fire up more. 

The blessing is a beautiful prayer calling for all things to bless the Lord.  From earth to sky, night to day, everything bless the Lord.  It is a wonderful song of praise and reminds us of our obligation to not only petition the Lord, but to praise the Lord.  I think sometimes we may forget that.  I was thinking about the different between thanking the Lord and praising the Lord.  These three are not singing a song of Thanksgiving, but a song of Praise.  I think maybe the difference is in the recognition that you have received something.  Praising is just done for the Lord, with no sense of receiving anything.  Although these three were being saved, it is not as if they had any sense that they were being saved.  It is as if they would have been singing this song with their dying breath if they were being consumed by fire.  It goes back to this sense that they did not know what was going to happen.  They were safe at this point, but maybe to be consumed at any moment.  This was a time for them to praise their God in front of everyone.  The time for Thanksgiving may come later, but here they are offering praise to God because He is God and no other reason.