Albert Barnes Commentary Daniel 6:28

"So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian." — Daniel 6:28 (ASV)

So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius—that is, to the end of his reign. It is fairly implied here that he was restored to his honors.

And in the reign of Cyrus the Persian—Cyrus the Great, the nephew and successor of Darius. For an account of Cyrus, see the note at (Isaiah 41:2). How long during the reign of Cyrus Daniel “prospered” or lived is not said. During a part of the reign of Darius or Cyaxares, he was busily occupied in securing the welfare of his own people by his influence and making arrangements for their return to their land. His high post in the nation, to which Divine Providence had doubtless raised him for this purpose, enabled him to render essential and invaluable service at the court.

In the third year of Cyrus, as we are informed in (Daniel 10–12), he had a series of visions concerning the future history and sufferings of his nation to the period of their true redemption through the Messiah. He also received a comforting direction to proceed calmly and peaceably to the end of his days, and then patiently await the resurrection of the dead (Daniel 12:12–13). From that period, the accounts concerning him are vague, confused, and even strange, and little or nothing is known of the time or circumstances of his death. Compare Introduction Section I.

From this chapter we may derive the following instructive

Practical Lessons

1. We have an instance of what often occurs in the world—of envy on account of the excellence of others, and of the honors they obtain by their talent and their worth (Daniel 6:1–4). Nothing is more frequent than such envy, and nothing more common, as a consequence, than a determination to degrade those who are the subjects of it. Envy always seeks in some way to humble and mortify those who are distinguished.

   It is the pain, mortification, chagrin, and regret we have at their superior excellence or prosperity, and this prompts us to endeavor to bring them down to our own level, or below it; to calumniate their characters; to hinder their prosperity; to embarrass them in their plans; to take up and circulate rumors to their disadvantage; to magnify their faults, or to fasten upon them the suspicion of crime. In the instance before us, we see the effect in a most guilty conspiracy against a man of incorruptible character, a man fully in the confidence of his sovereign, a man eminently the friend of virtue and of God.

   “Envy will merit, as its shade, pursue;
   But, like a shadow, proves the substance true.”
   - Pope’s Essay on Criticism.

   “Base envy withers at another’s joy,
   And hates that excellence it cannot reach.”
   - Thomson’s Seasons.

   “Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow,
   Thou shalt not escape calumny.”
   - Shakespeare.

   “That thou art blamed shall not be thy defect,
   For slander’s mark was ever yet the fair:
   So thou be good, slander doth yet approve
   Thy worth the greater.”
   - Shakespeare.

2. We have in this chapter (Daniel 6:4–9) a striking illustration of the nature and the evils of a conspiracy to ruin others. The plan here was deliberately formed to ruin Daniel—the best man in the realm, a man against whom no charge of guilt could be alleged, who had done the conspirators no wrong, who had rendered himself in no way amenable to the laws. A “conspiracy” is a combination of men for evil purposes; an agreement between two or more persons to commit some crime in concert, usually treason, or an insurrection against a government or state.

   In this case, it was a plot growing wholly out of envy or jealousy; a concerted agreement to ruin a good man, where no wrong had been done or could be pretended, and no crime had been committed. The essential things in this conspiracy, as in all other cases of conspiracy, were two:

   1. That the purpose was evil; and

   2. That it was to be accomplished by the combined influences of numbers. The means on which they relied, on the grounds of calculation on the success of their plot, were the following:

      1. That they could calculate on the unwavering integrity of Daniel—on his firm and faithful adherence to the principles of his religion in all circumstances, and in all times of temptation and trial; and

      2. That they could induce the king to pass a law, irrepealable from the nature of the case, which Daniel would be certain to violate, and to the penalty of which, therefore, he would be certainly exposed.

   Now in this purpose there was every element of iniquity, and the grossest conceivable wrong. There were combined all the evils of envy and malice; of perverting and abusing their influence over the king; of secrecy in taking advantage of one who did not suspect any such design; and of involving the king himself in the necessity of exposing the best man in his realm, and the highest officer of state, to the certain danger of death. The result however showed, as is often the case, that the evil recoiled on themselves, and that the very calamity overwhelmed them and their families which they had designed for another.

3. We have here a striking instance of what often occurs, and what should always occur, among the friends of religion, that no occasion can be found against them except in regard to the law of their God—on the score of their religion (Daniel 6:5). Daniel was known to be upright. His character for integrity was above suspicion. It was certain that there was no hope of bringing any charge against him that would lie: for any lack of uprightness or honesty, for any failure in discharging the duties of his office, for any malversation in administering the affairs of the government, for any embezzlement of the public funds, or for any act of injustice toward his fellow men.

   It was certain that his character was irreproachable on all these points. Furthermore, it was equally certain that he did and would maintain unwavering fidelity in the duties of religion. Whatever consequences might follow, it was clear that they could calculate on his maintaining with faithfulness the duties of piety.

   Whatever plot, therefore, could be formed against him on the basis either of his moral integrity or his piety, it was certain would be successful. But there was no hope in regard to the former, for no law could have been carried prohibiting his doing what was right on the subject of morals. The only hope, therefore, was in respect to his religion; and the main idea in their plot—the thing which constituted the basis of their plan—was, “that it was certain that Daniel would maintain his fidelity to his God irrespective of any consequences whatever.” This certainty ought to exist in regard to every good man, every man professing religion. His character ought to be so well understood, his piety ought to be so firm, unwavering, and consistent, that it could be calculated on just as certainly as we calculate on the stability of the laws of nature, that he will be found faithful to his religious duties and obligations. There are such men, and the character of every man should be such.

   Then indeed we should know what to depend on in the world; then religion would be respected as it should be.

4. We may learn what is our duty when we are opposed in the exercise of our religion, or when we are in any way threatened with loss of office, or of property, on account of our religion (Daniel 6:10). “We are to persevere in the discharge of our religious duties, whatever may be the consequences.” So far as the example of Daniel goes, this would involve two things:

   1. Not to swerve from the faithful performance of duty, or not to be deterred from it; and

   2. Not to change our course from any desire of display.

   These two things were manifested by Daniel. He kept steadily on his way. He did not abridge the number of times of his daily devotion; nor, as far as appears, did he change the form or the length. He did not cease to pray in an audible voice; he did not give up prayer in the daytime and pray only at night; he did not even close his windows; he did not take any precautions to pray when none were near; he did not withdraw into an inner chamber. At the same time, he made no changes in his devotion for the sake of ostentation. He did not open his windows previously closed; he did not go into the street; he did not call around him his friends or foes to witness his devotions; he did not, as far as appears, either elevate his voice or prolong his prayers in order to attract attention or to invite persecution.

   In all this he manifested the true spirit of religion and set an example to men to be followed in all ages. Not by the loss of fame or money; by the dread of persecution or contempt of death; by the threats of law or the fear of shame, are we to be deterred from the proper and the usual performance of our religious duties; nor by a desire to provoke persecution, and to win the crown of martyrdom, and to elicit applause, and to have our names blazoned abroad, are we to multiply our religious acts, or make an ostentatious display of them, when we are threatened, or when we know that our conduct will excite opposition.

   We are to ascertain what is right and proper; and then we are modestly and firmly to do it, no matter what may be the consequences. ; (Acts 4:16–20); (Acts 5:29).

5. We have, in the case of Darius, an instance of what often happens: the regret and anguish which the mind experiences in consequence of a rash act, when it cannot be repaired (Daniel 6:14). The act of Darius in making the decree was eminently a rash one. It was done without deliberation, at the suggestion of others, and probably under the influence of some very improper feeling—the desire of being esteemed as a god. But it had consequences he did not foresee; consequences which, if he had foreseen them, would doubtless have prevented him from giving sanction to this iniquitous law.

   The state of mind he experienced when he saw how the act involved the best officer in his government and the best man in his realm was just what might have been expected and is an illustration of what often occurs.

   It was too late now to prevent the effects of the act; and his mind was overwhelmed with remorse and sorrow. He blamed himself for his folly; and he sought in vain for some way to turn aside the consequences which he now deplored. Such instances often occur.

   1. Many of our acts are rash. They are performed without deliberation, under the influence of improper passions, at the suggestion of others who would be thought to be our friends, and without any clear view of the consequences or any concern as to what the result may be.

   2. As an effect, they often have consequences we did not anticipate, and which would have deterred us in each instance had we foreseen them.

   3. They often produce regret and anguish when it is too late, and when we cannot prevent the evil. The train of evils that has commenced is now too late to delay or prevent, and they now inevitably come upon us. We can only stand and weep over the effects of our rashness and folly, and must now feel that if the evil is averted, it will be by the interposition of God alone.

6. We have in this chapter an affecting instance of the evils which often arise in a human government from the lack of something like an atonement (Daniel 6:14 and following). As has been remarked in the notes, cases often arise when it is desirable that pardon should be extended to violators of the law (See the notes at Daniel 6:14).

   In such cases, an arrangement like an atonement—by which the honor of the law might be maintained, while simultaneously allowing for the merciful feelings of an executive to be indulged and the benevolent wishes of a community to be gratified—would remove difficulties now felt in every administration.

   The difficulties in this situation, and the advantage that would arise from an atonement, may be seen by a brief reference to the circumstances of the case before us:

   1. The law was inexorable. It demanded punishment, as all law does, for no law in itself makes any provision for pardon. If it did, it would be a burlesque on all legislation. Law denounces penalty; it does not pardon or show mercy. It has indeed become necessary to lodge a pardoning power with someone entrusted with the administration of the laws, but the pardon is not extended by the law itself.

   2. The anxiety of the king in the case is an illustration of what often occurs in the administration of law, for, as above observed, there are cases where, on many accounts, it would seem desirable that the penalty of the law should not be inflicted. Such a case was that of Dr. Dodd, in London, in which a petition, signed by thirty thousand names, was presented, praying for the remission of the penalty of death. Such a case was that of Major Andre, when Washington shed tears at the necessity of signing the death-warrant of so young and so accomplished an officer. Such cases often occur, in which there is the deepest anxiety in the bosom of an executive to see if there is not some way by which the infliction of the penalty of the law may be avoided.

   3. Yet there was in the case of Darius no possibility of a change, and this too is an illustration of what often occurs. The law was inexorable. It could not be repealed. So now there are instances where the penalty of law cannot be avoided consistently with the welfare of a community. Punishment must be inflicted, or all law becomes a nullity. An instance of this kind was that of Dr. Dodd. He was convicted of forgery. So important had it been deemed for the welfare of a commercial community that that crime should be prevented, that no one ever had been pardoned for it, and it was felt that no one should be. Such an instance was that of Major Andre. The safety and welfare of the whole army, and the success of the cause, seemed to demand that the offense should not go unpunished.

   4. Yet there are difficulties in extending pardon to the guilty:

      1. If it is done at all, it always does much to weaken the strong arm of the law, and if often done, it makes law a nullity; and

      2. If it is never done, the law seems stern and inexorable, and the finer feelings of our nature and the benevolent wishes of the community are disregarded.

   5. These difficulties are obviated by an atonement. The things accomplished in the atonement under the Divine government—which, we think, so far as this point is concerned, distinguish pardon in the Divine administration from pardon everywhere else, relieving it from all embarrassments felt in other governments—are the following:

      1. There is the utmost respect paid to the law. It is honored:

         1. in the personal obedience of the Lord Jesus; and

         2. in the sacrifice He made on the cross to maintain its dignity and to show that it could not be violated with impunity—more honored by far than it would be by the perfect obedience of man himself, or by its penalty being borne by the sinner.

      2. Pardon can be offered to any extent, or to any number of offenders. All the feelings of benevolence and mercy can be indulged and gratified in the most free manner, for now that an atonement is made, all proper honor has been shown to the law and to the claims of justice, and no interest will suffer though the most ample proclamation of pardon is issued. There is but one government in the universe that can safely to itself make an unlimited offer of pardon—that is, the government of God.

         There is not a human government that could safely make the offer which we meet everywhere in the Bible, that all offenses may be forgiven: that all violators of law may be pardoned. If such a proclamation were made, there is no earthly administration that could hope to stand; no community which would not soon become the prey of lawless plunder and robbery. The reason, and the sole reason, why it can be done in the Divine administration is, that an atonement has been made by which the honor of the law has been secured, and by which it is shown that, while pardon is extended to all, the law is to be honored, and can never be violated with impunity.

      3. The plan of pardon by the atonement secures the observance of the law on the part of those who are pardoned. This can never be depended on when an offender against human laws is pardoned, and when a convict is discharged from the penitentiary. So far as the effect of punishment, or any influence from the act of pardon is concerned, there is no security that the pardoned convict will not, as his first act, force a dwelling or commit murder.

         But in the case of all who are pardoned through the atonement, it is made certain that they will be obedient to the laws of God, and that their lives will be changed from sin to holiness, from disobedience to obedience. This has been secured by incorporating into the plan a provision by which the heart shall be changed before pardon is granted: not as the ground or reason of pardon, but as essential to it. The heart of the sinner is renewed by the Holy Spirit, and he becomes in fact obedient, and is disposed to lead a life of holiness. Thus every hindrance which exists in a human government to pardon is removed in the Divine administration; the honor of law is secured; the feelings of benevolence are gratified, and the sinner becomes obedient and holy.

7. We have in this chapter (Daniel 6:16) an instance of the confidence which wicked men are constrained to express in the true God. Darius had no doubt that the God whom Daniel served was able to protect and deliver him. The same may be said now. Wicked men know that it is safe to trust in God, that He is able to save His friends, that there is more security in the ways of virtue than in the ways of sin, and that when human help fails, it is proper to repose on the Almighty arm.

   There is a feeling in the human heart that those who confide in God are safe, and that it is proper to rely on His arm. Even a wicked father will not hesitate to exhort a Christian son or daughter to serve their God faithfully and to confide in Him in the trials and temptations of life.

   Ethan Allen, of Vermont, distinguished in the American Revolution, was an infidel. His wife was an eminent Christian. When he was about to die, he was asked which of the two he wished his son to imitate in his religious views—his father or his mother. He replied, “His mother.”

8. The righteous may look for Divine protection and favor (Daniel 6:22). That is, it is an advantage in this world of danger, temptation, and trial to be truly religious. In other words, those who are righteous may confidently expect Divine interposition on their behalf.

   It is indeed a question of some difficulty, but of much importance, to what extent and in what forms we are now authorized to look for Divine interposition on our behalf, or what is the real benefit of religion in this world regarding Divine protection. On this point, it seems appropriate to lay down a few principles that may be useful and may be a proper application of the passage before us to our own circumstances:

   1. There is then a class of Scripture promises that refer to such protection, and that lead us to believe that we may look for Divine interference in favor of the righteous, or that there is, in this respect, an advantage in true religion. In support of this, reference may be made to the following, among other passages of Scripture: (Psalms 34:7), (Psalms 34:17–22); (Psalms 55:22); (Psalms 91:1–8); (Isaiah 43:1–2); (Luke 12:6–7); (Hebrews 1:14); (Hebrews 13:5–6).

   2. In regard to the proper interpretation of these passages, or to the nature and extent of the Divine interposition we may expect on behalf of the righteous, it may be remarked:

      1. That we are not to expect now the following things:

         1. The Divine interposition by miracle. It is the common opinion of the Christian world that the age of miracles is past; and certainly there is nothing in the Bible that authorizes us to expect that God will now interpose for us in that manner. It would be a wholly illogical inference, however, to maintain that there never has been any such interposition on behalf of the righteous; since a reason may have existed for such an interposition in former times which may not exist now.

         2. We are not authorized to expect that God will interpose by sending His angels visibly to protect and deliver us in the day of peril. The fair interpretation of those passages of Scripture which refer to that subject, as (Psalms 34:7); (Hebrews 1:14), does not require us to believe that there will be such interposition, and there is no evidence that such interposition takes place. This fact, however, should not be regarded as proof, either:

            1. that no such visible interposition has ever occurred in former times—since it in no way demonstrates that point; or

            2. that the angels may not interpose on our behalf now, though to us invisible. For anything that can be proved to the contrary, it may still be true that the angels may be, invisibly, ministering spirits to those who shall be heirs of salvation, and that they may be sent to accompany the souls of the righteous on their way to heaven, as they were to conduct Lazarus to Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16:22).

         3. We are not authorized to expect that God will set aside the regular laws of nature on our behalf—that He will thus interpose for us in regard to diseases, to pestilence, to storms, to mildew, to the ravages of the locust or the caterpillar—for this would be a miracle, and all the interposition which we are entitled to expect must be consistent with the belief that the laws of nature will be regarded.

         4. We are not authorized to expect that the righteous will never be overwhelmed with the wicked in calamity—that in an explosion on a steamboat, in a shipwreck, in fire or flood, in an earthquake or in the pestilence, they will not be cut down together. To suppose that God would directly interpose on behalf of His people in such cases would be to suppose that there would be miracles still, and there is nothing in the Bible, or in the facts that occur, to justify such an expectation.

      2. The Divine interposition which we are authorized to expect may be referred to under the following particulars:

         1. All events, great and small, are under the control of the God who loves righteousness—the God of the righteous. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without His notice; not an event happens without His permission. If, therefore, calamity comes upon the righteous, it is not because the world is without control; it is not because God could not prevent it; it must be because He sees it best that it should be so.

         2. There is a general course of events that is favorable to virtue and religion; that is, there is a state of things on earth which demonstrates that there is a moral government over men. The essence of such a government, as Bishop Butler (Analogy) has shown, is that virtue, in the course of things, is rewarded as virtue, and that vice is punished as vice. This course of things is so settled and clear as to show that God is the friend of virtue and religion, and the enemy of vice and irreligion—that is, that under His administration, the one, as a great law, has a tendency to promote happiness; the other to produce misery. But if so, there is an advantage in being righteous; or there is a Divine interposition on behalf of the righteous.

         3. There are large classes of evils which a man will certainly avoid by virtue and religion, and those evils are among the most severe that afflict mankind. A course of virtue and religion will make it certain that those evils will never come upon him or his family. Thus, for example, by so simple a thing as total abstinence from intoxicating drinks, a man will certainly avoid all the evils that afflict the drunkard—the poverty, disease, disgrace, wretchedness, and ruin of body and soul which are certain to follow from intemperance. By chastity, a man will avoid the woes that come, in the righteous visitation of God, on the debauchee, in the form of the most painful and loathsome of the diseases that afflict our race. By integrity a man will avoid the evils of imprisonment for crime, and the disgrace which attaches to its committal. And by religion—pure religion—by the calmness of mind which it produces, the confidence in God, the cheerful submission to His will, the contentment which it causes, and the hopes of a better world which it inspires, a man will certainly avoid a large class of evils which unsettle the mind, and which fill with wretched victims the asylums for the insane.

         4. There are cases where God seems to interpose on behalf of the righteous directly, in answer to prayer, in times of sickness, poverty, and danger—raising them up from the borders of the grave; providing for their wants in a manner which appears to be as providential as when the ravens fed Elijah, and rescuing them from danger. There are numerous such cases which cannot be well accounted for on any other supposition than that God does directly interpose on their behalf, and show them these mercies because they are His friends. These are not miracles. The purpose to do this was a part of the original plan when the world was made, and the prayer and the interposition are only the fulfilling of the eternal decree.

         5. God does interpose on behalf of His children in giving them support and consolation; in sustaining them in the time of trial; in upholding them in bereavement and sorrow, and in granting them peace as they go into the valley of the shadow of death. The evidence here is clear, that there is a degree of comfort and peace given to true Christians in such seasons, and given in consequence of their religion, which is not granted to the wicked, and to which the devotees of the world are strangers. And if these things are so, then it is clear that there is an advantage in this life in being righteous, and that God does now interpose in the course of events, and in the day of trouble, on behalf of His friends.

9. God often overrules the malice of men to make Himself known and constrains the wicked to acknowledge Him (Daniel 6:25–27). Darius, like Nebuchadnezzar, was constrained to acknowledge Him as the true God and to make proclamation of this throughout his vast empire.

   So often, by His providence, God constrains the wicked to acknowledge Him as the true God and as ruling in the affairs of men. His interpositions are so apparent, His works are so vast, the proofs of His administration are so clear, and He so defeats the counsels of the wicked, that they cannot but feel that He rules, and they cannot but acknowledge and proclaim it.

   It is in this way that from age to age God is raising up a great number of witnesses, even among the wicked, to acknowledge His existence and to proclaim the great truths of His government. It is in this way, among others, that He is constraining the intellect of the world to bow before Him.

   Ultimately all this will be so clear, that the intellect of the world will acknowledge it, and all kings and people will see, as Darius did, that he is the living God, and steadfast forever, and his kingdom what shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be unto the end.