Daniel — Chapter 3
The three young men (Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego) refuse to worship the golden statue and are cast into the fiery furnace, where a fourth figure 'like the Son of God' (similis Filio Dei) walks with them. Lapide reads the furnace as martyrdom and tribulation; the fourth figure as Christ Himself, who is present with His martyrs in their suffering.
Verse 17
Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace: Lapide reads the young men's confident faith as exemplary — they do not bargain with God ('if you save us, we will worship you') but serve Him unconditionally. He cites this as a model of perfect abandonment to divine Providence, connecting to John of the Cross's 'nada' spirituality.
Verse 25
The fourth figure in the fire 'like the Son of God': Lapide argues vigorously that this is the pre-Incarnate Son of God, not merely an angel, citing Tertullian, Origen, Cyril of Alexandria, and Jerome. The expression 'Filio Dei similis' is too precise to refer to a created being; Nebuchadnezzar unwittingly utters a Christological truth..
Verse 28
Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants: Lapide reads Nebuchadnezzar's blessing as a type of the grace of initial faith — even pagan kings can be moved to acknowledge the true God through miraculous divine interventions. He cites this as evidence for natural theology's openness to supernatural revelation.
Verse 52
The Prayer of Azariah (Greek addition, vv. 3:24-90): Lapide defends its canonicity at length and reads the prayer as the model of the suffering just man's prayer — acknowledging sin, embracing punishment, and trusting in God's covenant mercy. He connects to the Psalms of lament and to Hebrews 12:5-11 on disciplinary suffering.