Prayer for pardon.
In its tone and character, the ends it seeks and the pleas it urges, this prayer of Daniel's may be regarded as a model prayer for the forgiveness of sins.
I. ITS CHARACTER. The very atmosphere of this prayer is purifying and inspiring. It is marked by several important characteristics.
1. Contrition. It follows a confession of sin (verses 5-8), and frankly admits that the present calamities are the merited consequences of sin (verse 16). Forgiveness is only possible after repentance (Acts 3:19) and confession (1 John 1:9).
2. Earnestness. This is the most striking feature of the prayer Its short passionate phrases, its repetitions, its direct practical aims, are proofs of reality and intensity of desire. We may expect that God will attend to our prayers in proportion to our earnestness in offering them. Reverent importunity is expected by God, and attains its end, as with Abraham (Genesis 18:23-33), Jacob (Genesis 32:26), Moses (Exodus 32:7-14), and in our Lord's parable of the importunate widow (Luke 18:1-7).
3. Faith. In his distress the prophet seeks his God, though it is against his God that the sin has been committed. Faith confesses that there is no help but in God. Faith persists in pleading with God, and relies on his mercy.
II. ITS OBJECT. The object of this prayer is the pardon of sin. All our greatest evil comes from sin, and can only be removed when our sin is forgiven. Forgiveness brings in its train all the best blessings.
1. The turning away of God's anger. (Verse 16.) The worst effect of our sin is seen in the changed relations between our souls and God. God is angry with us. The essence of forgiveness is not the remission of penalties, but the restoration of friendly relations between God and man. It is personal reconciliation rather than legal acquittal.
2. The awakening of God's sympathy. The prophet prays, "Incline thine ear and hear; open thine eyes." Forgiveness is not merely the negative cessation of God's anger. It is the positive restoration of his sympathy.
3. The practical help of God. "Cause thy face to shine;" "hearken and do;" "defer not," are earnest practical petitions. After the spiritual reconciliation, we may naturally ask for help in the external calamities which our sins have brought upon us. Forgiveness is the preface to active help.
III. ITS PLEAS. The prophet has no plea of merit. We can ask for nothing for our own righteousness. All our pleas must be found, as Daniel found his, in the character and actions of God.
1. God's righteousness. This is a plea,
2. God's honour. Jerusalem is "God's holy mountain;" the city is "called by his name." God is dishonoured in the humiliation of his people, and he is glorified in their restoration (Numbers 14:13-16).
3. God's mercy. (Verse 18.) All prayer depends on the free grace of God. Prayer for pardon rests on that grace which pities misery and overlooks offences—the grace which we call mercy. This plea is expressed by the Christian phrase, "for Christ's sake," because Christ is both the Revelation of God's mercy and the Sacrifice by which it becomes attainable.