John Calvin Commentary Daniel 2:23

"I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known unto me what we desired of thee; for thou hast made known unto us the king`s matter." — Daniel 2:23 (ASV)

Daniel turns his address to God. I confess to you, he says, O God of my fathers, and praise you. Here he more openly distinguishes the God of the Israelites from all the fabrications of the nations. Nor does he use this epithet in vain when he praises the God of his fathers, for he wishes to reduce to nothing all the inventions of the Gentiles concerning a multitude of deities.

Daniel rejects this as a vain and foolish thing, and shows how the God of Israel alone is worthy of praise. But he does not found the glory of God on the authority of their fathers, as the Papists do when they wish to ascribe supreme power to either George or Catherine, or any others, by counting up the number of ages during which the error has prevailed.

Thus they wish for whatever the consent of humankind has approved to be received as oracular. But if religion depended on the common consent of humankind, where would its stability be? We know nothing more vain than the minds of men. If man is weighed, says the Prophet, with vanity in a balance, vanity itself will preponderate (Psalms 62:9).

Nothing, therefore, is more foolish than this principle of the king—that what has prevailed by the consent of many ages must be religiously true. But here Daniel partially commends the God of their fathers, as their fathers were those whom God had chosen. For that sacred adoption prevailed among the Jews, by which God chose Abraham and his whole family for Himself.

Daniel, therefore, here does not extol human beings, as if they either could or should add anything they pleased to God. Rather, this is the reason he says, the God of Israel is the God of their fathers, since he himself belonged to that race which the Almighty had adopted.

On the whole, he so contrasts the God of Israel with all the idols of the Gentiles that the mark of separation lies in the covenant itself and in the heavenly doctrine by which He revealed Himself to the sacred fathers. For while the Gentiles have no certain vision and follow only their own dreams, Daniel here deservedly presents the God of their fathers.

He afterwards adds, because you have given me wisdom and strength. As far as wisdom is concerned, the reason is clear enough why Daniel thanks God, since he had obtained, as he soon afterwards says, the revelation of the dream. He had also previously been endowed with the prophetic spirit and with visions, as he related in the first chapter (Daniel 1:17).

We may inquire here what he means by strength? He was not remarkable for his honor among men, nor was he ever a commander in military affairs, and he had no superior gift of magnificent power to cause him to return thanks to God.

But Daniel regards this as the principal point: that the God of Israel was then acknowledged as the true and only God, because whatever wisdom and virtue exist in the world, they flow from Him as their only source. For this reason, he speaks of himself as well as of all others, as if he had said—If I have any strength or understanding, I ascribe it all to You; it is Yours entirely.

And truly, though Daniel was neither a king nor a prefect, yet that unconquered greatness of mind which we have seen was not to be esteemed as without value. Hence he very properly acknowledges something of this kind to have been conferred upon him by Heaven. Lastly, his intention is to humble himself and to attribute to God His own; but he speaks concisely, as we have said, since under the phrases “power” and “wisdom” he had previously encompassed the proof of His divinity.

He afterwards adds, You have revealed to me what we demanded of You; You have made known to us the king’s inquiry. There seems here a slight discrepancy, as he praises God for granting him a revelation of the dream, and then includes others with himself. Yet the revelation was not common to them, but peculiar to him.

The solution is easy, for he first expresses that this was given to him specially, so that he might know the king’s dream and understand its interpretation. When he has confessed this, he extends the benefit to his companions, and deservedly so. Although they did not yet understand what God had conferred upon Daniel, yet Daniel had obtained this in their favor: they were all snatched from death, and all their prayers were attended to.

And this contributed greatly to the confirmation of their faith, as it assured them they had not prayed in vain. For we said that there was no ambition in their prayers, as if any one of them desired any special gift by which he might acquire honor and esteem for himself in the world.

Nothing of the kind. It was enough for them to show forth God’s name among unbelievers, because by His kindness, they had been delivered from death. Hence Daniel very properly says the king’s dream was made known to him with its interpretation, and this benefit he would afterwards extend to his companions.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, since we have so many testimonies to Your glory daily before our eyes, though we seem so blind as to shut out all the light by our ingratitude; grant, I pray, that we may at last learn to open our eyes; yes, You open them by Your Spirit. May we reflect on the number, magnitude, and importance of Your benefits towards us; and while You set before us the proof of Your eternal divinity, grant that we may become proficient in this school of piety. May we learn to ascribe to You the praise of all virtues, until nothing remains but to extol You alone. And the more You deign to show Yourself liberal towards us, may we the more ardently desire to worship You. May we devote ourselves to You without reserving the slightest self-praise, caring for this only: that Your glory may remain and shine forth throughout all the world, through Christ our Lord. Amen.