My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him {h} innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done {i} no hurt.

(h) My just cause and uprightness in this thing in which I was charged, is approved by God.

(i) For he disobeyed the kings's wicked commandment in order to obey God, and so he did no injury to the king, who ought to command nothing by which God would be dishonoured.

Wesley's Notes

6:22 His angel - The same that was with the three children in the fiery furnace, whose presence made even the lion's den a strong - hold, his palace, his paradise. See the power of God over the fiercest creatures! See the care God takes of his faithful servants, especially when they are called to suffer for him! See how ready the angels are to minister to the heirs of salvation!

Scofield Reference Notes

Margin angel

See Scofield Note: "Heb 1:4".

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

22. his angel-the instrument, not the author, of his deliverance (Ps 91:11; 34:7).

shut . lions' mouths-(Heb 11:33). So spiritually, God will shut the roaring lion's mouth (1Pe 5:8) for His servants.

forasmuch as before him innocency-not absolutely (in Da 9:7, 18 he disclaims such a plea), but relatively to this case. God has attested the justice of my cause in standing up for His worship, by delivering me. Therefore, the "forasmuch" does not justify Rome's doctrine of works meriting salvation.

before thee-Obedience to God is in strictest compatibility with loyalty to the king (Mt 22:21; 1Pe 2:17). Daniel's disobedience to the king was seeming, not real, because it was not from contempt of the king, but from regard to the King of kings (compare Ac 24:16).

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

6:18-24 The best way to have a good night, is to keep a good conscience. We are sure of what the king doubted, that the servants of the living God have a Master well able to protect them. See the power of God over the fiercest creatures, and believe his power to restrain the roaring lion that goeth about continually seeking to devour. Daniel was kept perfectly safe, because he believed in his God. Those who boldly and cheerfully trust in God to protect them in the way of duty, shall always find him a present help. Thus the righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead. The short triumph of the wicked will end in their ruin.