Turn with me to Daniel chapter
9. Daniel 9 verse 19. Listen to Daniel's prayer here.
Look at verse 19. He says, O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, hearken and do. Defer not for thine own sake,
O my God, for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. Let's go to our Lord in prayer. Our God and Father in heaven,
we thank you for this thy word. Lord, we pray that you'd be pleased
to teach us. Teach us from your word here
this morning. Lord, that you would grant us
your presence Lord, as you've brought us here to this place, Lord, cause us to hear thy word.
Cause us to rest in our Savior. Lord, we pray for those of our
number in a time of trouble and difficulty. Lord, we thank you,
especially of our brother Ron and sister Earlene. Lord, that
you would be with them and be with their family in days to
come. That you would comfort and strengthen
and uphold them by thy might. Lord, bless us again as we've
gathered here. Lord, cause us to set aside the
thoughts and cares of this world And Lord, grant it that we might
see the Savior. Grant it that we might see the
Lord Jesus Christ. For it's in his name we pray
and give thee thanks. Amen. Here in Daniel 9, look again
at verse 19. Now this is, Lord willing, this
is where we'll finish up. Listen to these words of Daniel.
He says, O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, hearken
and do. Defer not for thine own sake.
O my God, for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. Now in the preceding verses,
we'll see Daniel cries out for mercy. that the Lord would turn
away his anger, turn away his fury from the city of Jerusalem. When I read this, I began to
think about this was Daniel's prayer for his country, for his
nation. And oh, that he would make it
our prayer, not just for ourselves, for our community, but for our
nation as a whole. In this prayer, we see some things.
We see the confession of sin, those sins for which we are guilty
of, but also a confession of our faith in God and our dependence,
our dependence upon him. We see something in these words
of sorrow for sin and a desire not to continue, not to continue
in sin. Daniel's humility here, his serious
and devout address to Almighty God. And you'll notice he gives
glory to him as a God to be feared, a God to be trusted. You know,
in prayer, we look to God for his greatness and for his goodness. We see something of his majesty
and his mercy towards sinners. In prayer, there's a confession
of sin. Isn't that the cause of, truly
the cause of all our trouble? The root of it all, sin? And
Daniel, in seeking God's mercy, confesses his sins. We see here
an acknowledgment of the righteousness of God. He's just and righteous
in all that he does. Afflictions are often sent to
bring, brought to men to turn us turn us from our sin and cause
us to look to Christ. Look back at verse three of Daniel
nine. He said, I sent my face unto
the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplication with fasting
and sackcloth and ashes. He said, I set my face to seek
the Lord. Seek the Lord. Isn't that what
Isaiah said? Seek ye the Lord. Seek him while he may be found.
Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way
and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord,
for he will have mercy upon him. And our God, for he will abundantly
pardon. Seek, seek the Lord. And Daniel says, I set my face
to seek him, to seek him through prayer and supplication, with
fasting, with sackcloth and ashes, to approach him with a humble
spirit, to approach him in humiliation, knowing something of his greatness
and knowing something of my sin and my unworthiness. Verse four,
and I prayed unto the Lord my God." It'd be easy to skip over. Daniel prayed unto the Lord God. He didn't go to a priest. He
didn't go to an idol. Recently, I've seen, on this topic of idols, I've seen
these little rubber figures that people put all over the place.
And they refer to it, this should give it away that it's an idol.
They call it a little Jesus. That's blasphemy. Our high priest, is holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners. He's made higher than the heavens. The thought that he could be
placed in a man's pocket or a glove box is utter foolishness. The heaven of heavens can't contain
him. He didn't go to a priest. He
didn't go to an idol. He didn't go to, I hear men say
this, the man upstairs. He approached the Lord God of
heaven and earth. The God who hears and answers
prayer. David wrote this in Psalm 34.
He said, this poor man cried, And the Lord heard him and delivered
him out of all his troubles. Daniel prayed unto the Lord. He said, I prayed unto the Lord
my God, God who is omniscient. He's all-knowing. Nothing is hid from God. He's
omnipresent. He's everywhere. Listen to these
words from Psalm 135, 139. Let me just read them to you.
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Whither shall I flee from thy
presence? If I ascend into the heaven,
thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold,
thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall
thy hand lead me. and thy right hand shall hold
me." He's omnipotent. He's all powerful. He doeth according to his will
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth
and none, none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? He's just. He's holy. He's sovereign
in all that he does. He's the Lord my God. And Daniel says, that's who I
pray to. I prayed unto the Lord my God. I prayed and made confession
and said, oh Lord, the great and dreadful God, keep in the
covenant and mercy to them that love him and to them that keep
his commandments. The great and dreadful God. a God to be feared, a God to
be revered, and we are to stand in awe of Him. Verse five, we've
sinned. Isn't that the truth? We've sinned
and committed iniquity and have done wickedly and have rebelled,
even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments. This is a confession true of
the nation Israel, and it's most certainly true of our nation, true of its inhabitants, true
of ourselves. We've sinned. We've done wickedly. David said, against thee and
thee only have I sinned and done this wickedness in thy sight. Let's read on, verse six. Neither
have we hearkened unto thy servants, the prophets, which spake in
thy name to our kings, to our princes, to our fathers, and
to all the people of the land. Daniel goes on here, he says,
we haven't hearkened, we haven't listened. we haven't heard, we
haven't obeyed. In every generation, God has
been pleased to raise up prophets, to raise up men to preach his
word, his gospel, to declare the truth about man, to declare
the truth about God, about sin, about death and hell and judgment,
about salvation in his son. And yet men refuse to hear. His word is going to go forth. Our Lord spoke to his disciples.
He said this. He said, go ye into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature. An everlasting gospel
preached unto them that dwell on this earth, to every nation,
kindred, tribe, Tongue and people under heaven. Aren't we thankful that some
hear, that some believe? And yet there are those who refuse
to hear. Look at verse seven. Oh Lord,
righteousness belongeth unto thee. but unto us confusion of
faces as it is this day to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem and to all Israel that are near and that are far
off through all the countries whither thou hast driven them
because of their trespasses that they have trespassed against
thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion
of face, to our kings, to our princes, to our fathers, because
we have sinned against thee. We've sinned. All, all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. Verse nine, to the Lord our God
belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against
him. Think about that. We have rebelled
against him. And yet, he's merciful. The word says he delights in
mercy, that he is abundant in mercy, that he's plenteous in
mercy. We read of the multitude of his
tender mercies. To the Lord our God belongs mercy
and forgiveness. Though we've rebelled against
him, he's still merciful. He is still merciful and forgiving. David said, according to the
multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Verse 10, neither have we obeyed
the voice of the Lord our God to walk in his laws, which he
has set before us by his servants and the prophets. Yea, all Israel
have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might
not obey thy voice. Therefore the curse is poured
upon us and the oath that is written in the law of Moses,
the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. And he hath confirmed his words
which he spake against us and against our judges that judged
us by bringing upon us a great evil. For unto the whole heaven
hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is
written in the Law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us,
yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might
turn from our iniquities and understand thy truth. Therefore the Lord hath watched
upon the evil and brought it upon us, and the Lord our God
is righteous in all his works which he doeth. for we obeyed,
not his voice. Like that thief on the cross,
we're getting what we deserve. He's righteous in all his works,
for we've obeyed, not his voice. And now, oh Lord, our God, that
has brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with
a mighty hand, and has gotten thee renowned, as it is this
day, We have sinned. We have done wickedly. Is that not a description of
us? I love this country in which
I live. I can think of no other place
in this world I'd rather live. But isn't that a description
of our nation? Over and over in scripture we
read this, that we have sinned. We have done wickedly. A confession, a confession here
of sin. Now look with me, beginning with
verse 16. Oh Lord, you see that he cries
out, oh Lord, oh my God. According to all thy righteousness,
I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from
the city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain." Thy holy mountain. The old writers
say this is a reference to Mount Moriah. Thy holy mountain. It was at Mount Moriah, the old
writers say, where Abraham offered up his son, Isaac. You remember that story? Take
now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, and offer him
up for a burnt offering. And it was there on that mountain
Abraham was prepared to take the life of his son. and all that beautiful picture,
that ram. As Abraham raised up that knife
to take his son's life, over there's that ram caught in the
thicket. God stopped him, didn't he? And
he took that ram and he offered it up in the place of his son,
the holy mountain, Mount Moriah. Many believe that's Mount Calvary,
where the Lord Jesus Christ died, where he suffered and died on
the cross for the sins of his people. Oh, look to thy holy mouth, right?
Look to the sacrifice. Read on in verse 16, because
for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and
thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Verse 17, now therefore, O our
God, this being my miserable case,
in spite of who and what I am, hear the prayer of thy servant
and his supplications and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary
that is desolate." Daniel's reasoning here, his
rationale, the justification for this request, what is it? Daniel, how is it, how is it
that you expect the Lord to hear you? How is it that any of us
would expect the Lord to hear us. As a sinner, how is it when I
call on God, I would ever expect him to hear me? Look at these few words in verse
17. He says, hear my prayer, hear
my supplication, cause thy face to shine on the sanctuary, How's
that? For the Lord's sake. For Christ's
sake. Verse 18, oh my God, incline
thine ear and hear. Open thine eyes and behold our
desolations. In the city which is called by
thy name, For we do not present our supplications before thee
for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies. We don't come pleading our good
works. We don't come pleading our righteous
acts. We don't have any. Anything that we might even remotely
think would be good in the sight of God is nothing but filthy
rags in his sight. What's my plea? What is my plea? For thy great mercies. The abundant grace and mercy
of God in the Lord Jesus Christ Mercy, not merit. The very righteousness, we come
pleading the very righteousness of his son. The righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We plead his grace and we dare
not approach him in any other manner. Now quickly, look at
verse 19. Listen here to Daniel's prayer.
Oh, Lord, hear. Oh, Lord, forgive. Oh, Lord, hearken and do. Defer not for thine own sake. Oh, my God, for thy city and
thy people are called by thy name quickly. He says, hear, hear. That's David's request, or Daniel's
request. He says, hear. David made the
same request. He said, Lord, hear my voice. Let thine ears be attentive to
the voice of my supplication. Hear. What's Daniel's next request? Forgive. Forgive. Be merciful. Pardon. Be propitious. That was the prayer of the publican
when he said, God, be merciful to me. Cover my sin. Atone for my sin. Pardon my iniquity. For the wrath of God to be appeased,
For His justice and holiness to be satisfied, Christ must die. That God might be just and justifier. The Lord Jesus Christ died in
the place of His people. He's the propitiation. That word
means sin offering. He's the sin offering for believers
of every generation, for every believer throughout this whole
world. Hear, forgive. And then he says, hearken and
do. Hearken and do. Do for us what
no one else can do. And then he says, defer not.
Don't delay. Lord, don't delay. Don't tarry. David prayed in Psalm 40. He
said, make no tarrying. My need is urgent. Don't delay. Just like Peter,
when he prayed to the Lord, as he began to sink, Huh? Lord, save me. That was an urgent
cry, wasn't it? Huh? Defer not. Don't delay. Look again at our
text here. Daniel 9, 19. Oh, Lord, hear. Oh, Lord, forgive. Oh, Lord, hearken and do. Defer not. For thine own sake, for thine own sake, for Christ's sake. A plea for
forgiveness, a plea for mercy, my cry for mercy, my petition
for pardon, for salvation. Hear it. Not for anything I've
done. Not for anything in me. Lord,
put away my sin. Restore to me thy love and thy
mercy. For Christ's sake. Jesus Christ, who is Lord of
all. For his sake. For his sake. Make thy face to shine upon us. Cause me to see my sin, cause
me to repent, cause me to turn to Thee for Christ's sake. Oh, make that
my, make that my plea. To go in the strength of the
Lord, to make mention of Thy righteousness, even of Thine
only. Lord, save me for Christ's sake. His sacrifice. His blood, His righteousness,
His salvation. And last, Daniel prays, do this
for thy people. Do this for thy church. Those that call upon His name. Those that are called by His
name. Let me close with this prayer
of our Lord. There in the garden, he prayed
for his church, his bride, his people. Again, those that call
upon his name and those that are called by his name. Turn
with me to John chapter 17. Our Lord said this, he said,
I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me. For they are thine, and all
mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I'm glorified in them,
and now I am no more in the world. But these are in the world, and
I'm come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine
own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one
as we are. While I was with them in the
world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, his
church, his bride, his people, I have kept. And none of them
None of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that the scripture
might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee, and these
things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled
in themselves. I've given them thy word, and
the world hath hated them, because they're not of this world, even
as I'm not of the world. I pray not that thou should take
them out of the world, but that thou should Keep them from the
evil. They are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth.
Thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the
world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for
their sakes, I sanctify myself that they also might be sanctified
through the truth. Neither pray I these for alone,
but for them also, which shall believe on me through their word,
that they all may be one. As thou, Father, art in me, and
I in thee, and they also may be one in us. That the world
may believe that thou hast sent me, and the glory which thou
gavest me have I given them, that they may be one even as
we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made
perfect in one, and the world may know that thou hast sent
me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Father, I will
that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I
am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for
thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. Oh, righteous father,
the world hath not known thee, but I've known thee, and these
have known that thou hast sent me, and I have declared unto
them thy name, and I will declare it, that the love wherewith thou
hast loved me may be in them, and I, I in them. All right, Mike, come lead us
in a closing hand.