John Calvin Commentary Daniel 6:11

"Then these men assembled together, and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God." — Daniel 6:11 (ASV)

Here the nobles of Darius display their fraud when they observe Daniel and unite in a conspiracy against him: for no other purpose than Daniel's death could have induced them to dictate this edict. Therefore, they agreed and found Daniel uttering prayers and supplications to his God. If Daniel had prayed with even the slightest secrecy, he would not have been a victim of their snares; but he did not shrink from the prospect of death.

He knew the purpose of the edict and expected the arrival of the nobles. We see, then, how willingly he submitted to instant death for no other purpose than to retain the pure worship of God, along with its outward profession. Come now, you who desire to excuse your faithlessness, pretending that you should not incur danger rashly, even when the wicked surround you on all sides!

You become cautious, lest you rashly throw away your lives! For Daniel, in their opinion, was to be blamed for excessive simplicity and folly, since he willingly and knowingly encountered certain danger. But as we have already said, he could not escape from their snare without indirectly rebelling against God, for he might have been immediately reproached:

"Why do you stop your customary practice? Why do you close your windows? Why do you not dare to pray to your God? It would appear, then, that you consider the king more important than the reverence and fear of God."

Because God’s honor would have been sullied in this way, Daniel, as we have already seen, spontaneously offered himself to death as a sacrifice.

We are also taught by this example how snares are prepared for the sons of God, however circumspectly they act and however soberly they conduct themselves. But they should conduct themselves so prudently that they are neither too cunning nor too anxious; that is, they should not focus so much on their own security that they meanwhile forget God’s requirements, the preciousness of his name, and the necessity of confessing their faith at the proper place and time.

It now follows: