Commentary on Prayer of Azariah

Severian of Gabala (d. 425)

God commands the fire to consume the Chaldeans, so they would not believe that the fire's energy had been weakened by the miracle and deny its truth. For this reason those who were inside remained unhurt, while outside the fire attacked the Chaldeans, to firmly convince the onlookers that, in regard to the saints, the fire was not ignorant of its own nature but rather honored piety. Thus also the lions did with Daniel.

Consider the godless person, how he stumbles over the same things by which the faithful are justified. He sees the moon and worships it. He sees the stars and venerates them. He sees the sea and calls it divine. Those who entered the furnace in Babylon after their salvific and laudable confession praised God through his works in a hymn, saying, "Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord." Having said this, they could have ended the hymn. God does not pay attention to the length of the hymn but to the intention of those who sing. By saying "all you works," everything was in fact included, and there was no need to add anything else. But since they were not proclaiming this to themselves but praising God, and with the hymn they also taught the Chaldeans who were…

See also

• More works by Severian of Gabala

Enable JavaScript to read the full text and search the library.