Why did Daniel ask God to "incline your ear and hear" in Daniel 9:18?

Confession having been made, and God's just judgment acknowledged in the punishment of His people, the prophet turns to the mercy and forgiving grace of God. It is one of the most touching appeals recorded in all the word of God (the high-priestly prayer of our Lord, in John 17, excepted). Daniel now breathes out the yearning of his heart for Jerusalem, God's holy mountain, and the down-trodden people called by His name. We must quote in full this precious portion:

"O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech Thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain. 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. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 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."

Chapter 9 shows us Daniel again in prayer, and deep humiliation before God, on account of the sins and transgressions of His people. "In the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: and I prayed to the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; we have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts, and from thy judgments" "Now, therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and 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. 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" (Dan. 9:2-5, 17-19). Nothing could exceed the moral beauty of this prayer. I beg you to read it all carefully. The man who is most clear of the sins confessed, is the one who confesses them most really to God. The sins of all Israel he owns as his; and while speaking in prayer is visited by Gabriel, and sweetly instructed as to Israel's full restoration (see Dan. 9:21-27). He really eats the sin-offering before God.

"And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly" (v. 15). "O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain" (v. 16). The words of Daniel are quite touching. He deeply felt that it was the sin of the people that had brought down all the evil. Nevertheless, he reiterates, It is a question of Thy name; he says nothing about the name of the people. He had truly felt their wretchedness and sin; moreover, he was humbled for it, but he insists upon this point, that Jerusalem is the city of God, and so he says "Let thine anger be turned away from thy city Jerusalem." In confessing the sins of his fathers, he could not bear the idea of the city of God being in desolation; but these sins being the cause, they must be forgiven before the city can be restored. It was called by God's name, and in the eyes of Daniel, his people were, so to speak, the name of God in the earth, as it is said, "This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob," Psalm 24:6.

165 This, then, was the pleading of Daniel; he confesses all the sins of Israel. Thus, "for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach," etc., etc. (v. 16). "O my God, incline thine ear and hear … for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies" (v. 18). "Defer not, for thine own sake, O my God, for thy city and thy people are called by thy name" (v. 19). God Himself is made the motive. That faith which perceives the sins of the people, by reason of the glory of God which identifies itself with such people, can claim deliverance from the results of these sins; because this very glory necessitates the forgiveness, God having identified Himself in goodness with the people: and so much the more, inasmuch as it is this glory on which faith feeds and with which it is pre-occupied, and which, as before said, causes the extent of sin and failure to be felt. But if God is to act for His name, He must deliver Jerusalem, for there was no other place on the earth which bore His name.

(Vv. 16-19). Having confessed the sin and failure of God's people and having, moreover, justified God in all His ways, Daniel now prays in the form of supplication. Remarkably enough, as we might think, his first plea is the righteousness of God, and later the "great mercies" of God. He realises that mercy must be based on righteousness. Already he had owned the "righteousness" of God in bringing all this sorrow upon this people (verse 14); now he pleads that in righteousness God would let His anger and fury be turned from Jerusalem.

The subjects of his supplication are the city, the holy mountain, the sanctuary and the people of God. He is not pleading for himself, his own personal interests, or the particular needs of his companions in captivity. His whole heart is concerned in the interests of God upon earth. Would that we knew more of the spirit of Daniel; that our hearts were so filled with that which is nearest and dearest to the heart of Christ that, rising above all personal and local needs, we could cry to God for His Church, His Name, His house and His people, confessing the common failure and feeling the common need.

The things that mark true confession come clearly to light here. The evil is acknowledged without any attempt at excuse or extenuation. The rightness of God's judgments and discipline are fully acknowledged, and the plea that God would grant deliverance, according to His word, is urged, 'not … for our righteousnesses, but for Thy great mercies'. Let us cultivate these excellent features in our day. We too can ask for nothing on the ground of merit, but only on the ground of mercy. As we contemplate the state of Christendom today, and of our own state too, let us cultivate the spirit of humble confession that marked Daniel.

The sanctuary in all its desolation is next presented and the ground of his prayer and supplications that God would cause His face to shine upon His sanctuary, is, "for the Lord's sake," a ground of appeal which could not be refused. In the following verse (18) the subject of his petition is "our desolations, and the city which is called by Thy name," and for this he urges yet another plea: "We do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousnesses, but for Thy great mercies."

These then are the three pleas Daniel urges before the Lord — His righteousness, His own sake, and His mercies; and having laid these out in His presence, he gathers up all his desires and pours them forth in one last earnest entreaty: "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." Here was the secret of his strength; he was concerned most of all for the name of his God, and for His interests in His sanctuary, His city, and His people. He has not one single thing to ask for himself, or even for his companions in captivity; but his whole heart goes out in supplication for the honour of the name of his God, and for the interests of God upon the earth. It is a prayer, therefore, which might well be often studied by those who desire, in any measure, to be in fellowship with God's heart concerning the sorrowful condition of His church in the world.

It is significant that in pleading for the city, the mountain, the sanctuary and the people, he views them not in relation to himself or the nation, but as belonging to God. He does not say our city, or our sanctuary, or our people, but "Thy city," "Thy holy mountain," "Thy sanctuary," and "Thy people." Rising above all the failure, he turns to God and pleads, "We are Thine."

First, he pleads the righteousness of God (verse 16). Then he pleads "the Lord's sake" (verse 17). Following this, he pleads the "great mercies" of God (verse 18). Finally, he pleads the "Name" of the Lord (verse 19). Basing his prayer on such pleas, he can definitely ask the Lord to "hear," to "forgive," to "do," and "defer not" to act on behalf of His people.

Fourth, another great principle that flows from turning to God in prayer and confession is, not only that we recognise God's hand in dealing with us in discipline, but, that we have turned to the One who alone can gather and bless His people. So that in the acknowledgement of God's hand in discipline lies the only hope of any reviving or any measure of recovery, for in setting our faces toward God we are looking to the One who can not only divide but unite, not only scatter but gather, not only break up but heal. (Hosea 6:1). Man indeed can scatter, and divide, and break up, but he cannot again gather and unite, and heal. God can do both and do both righteously. This is clearly seen in Daniel's confession, for he says, "O Lord righteousness belongs to Thee … Thou hast driven them etc;" then again he says, "The Lord watched upon this evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all His works which He does" (vv. 7, 14). Then for a third time he appeals to the righteousness of God; but this time it is to bless and shew mercy, for he says, "O Lord according to all thy righteousness, I beseech Thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away" (v. 16).

Daniel bases his appeal upon the fact that however much the people might have failed, and God may have had to discipline them, yet they are His people. It is, says Daniel, "Thy city Jerusalem," "Thy holy mountain," "Thy people" that are in reproach, "Thy Sanctuary that is desolate," and it is "Thy servant that prays" (vv. 16, 17). Then he pleads that the blessing might be granted "for the Lord's sake" (v. 17). Thirdly, he pleads the Lord's "great mercies;" and finally, he pleads the Lord's Name, for he says, "Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy Name" (v. 19).

The principal petitions of Daniel on this occasion were: (1) That the anger of the Lord might be turned away from His city, Jerusalem (v. 16); (2) That the face of the Lord might shine upon His sanctuary which lay desolate (v. 17); (3) That God would behold the desolations of the people and of the city called by His name (v. 18).

The sanctuary in all its desolation is next presented and the ground of his prayer and supplications that God would cause His face to shine upon His sanctuary, is, "for the Lord's sake," a ground of appeal which could not be refused. In the following verse (18) the subject of his petition is "our desolations, and the city which is called by Thy name," and for this he urges yet another plea: "We do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousnesses, but for Thy great mercies."

These then are the three pleas Daniel urges before the Lord — His righteousness, His own sake, and His mercies; and having laid these out in His presence, he gathers up all his desires and pours them forth in one last earnest entreaty: "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." Here was the secret of his strength; he was concerned most of all for the name of his God, and for His interests in His sanctuary, His city, and His people. He has not one single thing to ask for himself, or even for his companions in captivity; but his whole heart goes out in supplication for the honour of the name of his God, and for the interests of God upon the earth. It is a prayer, therefore, which might well be often studied by those who desire, in any measure, to be in fellowship with God's heart concerning the sorrowful condition of His church in the world.