Daniel 9:17-19

Cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate.

The Christian’s Duty to the Church in the Present Times

I. THE STATE OF THE CHURCH WHEN DANIEL WROTE WAS ONE OF RUIN AND DESOLATION. Jerusalem, the city of God was desolate and without inhabitant, and the temple, which was the dwelling-place of the mysterious glory, was desolate. The whole nation and the whole church had gone into captivity. But does God ever forsake His people, or desert His church? The promise of God, on which the church of Israel was founded, was made to Abraham, and it was an unconditional promise. This promise was strengthened and confirmed by an oath. Such being the promise of God on which the church was founded, it is evident he could not utterly forsake His church. He might, for wise reasons, withdraw His countenance for a season from it. But the undisturbed possession of the land of Canaan, and safety from all their enemies round about them in that land--all these were no part of the original promise to Abraham. They were in a subsequent promise; a conditional promise--a promise on the condition of obedience. Wherever these temporal blessings are alluded to, it is always connected with this condition of obedience. God never suffered His truth or His faithfulness to fail. God sent His people into captivity. They had sinned; they ,were disobedient. God will never forsake His people, but for their sins He will suffer them to lose all their temporal prosperity. Our only remedy against such judgments is that of Daniel--going like him before God, humbling ourselves in His sight, confessing our sins, and asking forgiveness.

II. THE CHARACTER OF THE PRAYER OF THE PROPHET. It is characterised by a deep sense of sin, a most bumble acknowledgment of the sinfulness of the nation and of the church; and although the prayer has general reference to Israel as a nation, it is impossible to read it without feeling that the prophet is also confessing his own sins while he confesses the sins of the people. Here is a spirit of heartfelt penitence, a spirit of confession, a full and ample acknowledgment that all the captivity of the nation, and all the desolation of the church, ware fully and amply deserved. He also acknowledged that God’s dealings had been all foretold and forewarned, and, therefore, the sins were sins against light and knowledge and warning, and thus the judgment of God was consistent with all the justice of God and faithfulness to His own word. In the prophet’s prayer there is also a spirit of deep humility, deep self-abasement, and at the same time an earnest spirit of pleading with God, that he would spare, and pity, and restore, the church of Israel. And if we plead the righteousness of God as Daniel did, we shall never plead in vain. Ask what you will, it shall be granted. .. There is an impressive lesson to us in connection with the general history of Israel. We ought to think a little of the blessings, and consider a little the sins, of our own nation of England, and our own Church of England. (M. Hobart Seymour, M.A.)

Prayer for the Church

A true-hearted believer does not live for himself. Where there is abundance of grace, and great strength of mind in the service of God, there is sure to be a spirit of unselfishness. No presence of mighty monarch or of his festive guests could turn him aside from delivering his fateful message. Yet Daniel was not satisfied. Whatever might be his own condition, he remembered what Jerusalem was, and what the people to whom he belonged were; and, in the depths of his soul, he sorrowed notwithstanding all that God’s grace had wrought within himself. I firmly believe that, the better a man’s own character becomes, and the more joy in the Lord he has in his own heart, the more capable is he of sympathetic sorrow; and, probably, the more of it he will have. Daniel was also a man of many visions. With the exception of John, whom Daniel greatly resembles, it has scarcely fallen to the lot of any man, unless it be Ezekiel, to have so many wondrous visions of God; yet his visions did not make him visionary. There are many persons who could not be trusted to see the tip of an angel’s wing; for they would become so proud, ever afterwards, that there would be no holding them; but he who is fully consecrated to God may see vision after vision, and he will make a practical use of what he sees, and try to find out something to be done, something to be repented of, something to be prayed for, something that shall be for the good of the Church of God. Daniel had also been studying the prophecies, and he knew, by what he had discovered, when certain predictions would be fulfilled; but he was not, like some students of prophecy in our day, utterly unpractical. They seem to be so taken up with the future that they do nothing in the present. What Daniel learned from the study of the Sacred Books he turned to practical account; and finding that a certain time was near, of which good things were foretold, be set his face toward the Lord, and began to pray--not for himself, but for his people, many of whom were at Jerusalem, hundreds of miles away from him or scattered in various places all over the face of the earth. For them, he used that bright and sparkling eye which had looked up into the fires supernal. Let it never be said that the Church of God has no feeling of patriotism for the Holy City, for the Heavenly Land, and for her glorious King enthroned above. To us, Christian patriotism means love to the Church of God.

I. First, then, Daniel speaks of THE HOLY PLACE: “thy sanctuary.” Of course, he refers to the temple at Jerusalem, which was then in utter ruin. It had been broken down and burned by the Chaldeans; and Daniel, therefore, rightly calls it desolate, but fervently prays that God would cause His face to shine even upon its ruins. My first remark is, that the temple at Jerusalem was typical of the Church of God. So we learn that, as the temple was typical, so also it was unique. There was but one temple, and there is but one Church. The temple at Jerusalem was, further, the fabric of wisdom. It could only have been built by a Solomon; and Solomon found a band of men, whom God had prepared to carry out the extraordinary work of the temple; for, from its marvellous foundations, which have been lately uncovered, even to its topmost pinnacle, it excelled all the architecture which the world had ever seen. But the Church, which God is erecting, is a far more wonderful work of a wisdom infinitely superior to that of Solomon. When it shall be all finished, it will be the marvel of all intelligences as they see what a matchless sanctuary God, and not man, has reared, and note how, in every single detail, His infinite wisdom is manifest. The temple that Solomon built was also the result of great cost. Immense wealth was lavished upon it; and you do not need that I should try to tell you at what cost the Lord is building up His true sanctuary here among men. The cost of any one of us, if we are indeed living stones, no arithmetic can ever calculate. Again, the temple, of old, was the shrine of God’s indwelling. It was the one place, under the old dispensation of types, now done away with, where God dwelt in visible manifestation amongst his ancient people. We are told that a peculiar light shone between the wings of the cherubim over the ark of the covenant, and from that pillar, which looked like a cloud by day, and flamed like a mighty beacon by night. It was there that men must go, or, at least, to that spot that they must look, if they sought the Lord; and therefore it was that Daniel worshipped and prayed with his windows open towards Jerusalem. At the present time, the one place, in all the world, where God dwells, is His Church. You can find Him anywhere upon the earth as the Creator; but the glory of the Godhead comes out most brilliantly in redemption, for it is of His redeemed people that it is written, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” The temple at Jerusalem was also the place of God’s peculiar worship; and where is God worshipped now but in His living Church? The temple at Jerusalem was also the throne of Jehovah’s power. It was out of Zion that He sent forth His rod; and from that sacred shrine that He spoke, by His ancient prophets, the Word that was full of power. Who could stand against Him when He was angry, and spoke in His fury out of His holy place? And Christ’s power, through the Holy Ghost, still goes forth from His Church.

II. Now, secondly, I must speak upon THE EARNEST PRAYER: “Cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary.” And, first, I note that it is a prayer quite free from selfishness. Daniel does not even say to the Lord,” Cause thy face to shine upon me.” Have not you sometimes felt that you could almost forego the light of God’s countenance yourself if He would but bless His Church? Further, Daniel’s prayer was the child of thought. He had thought over the condition of the temple at Jerusalem; and, thinking over it, he had become troubled in hie mind. It was lying desolate, but he knew that there was a promise that it should be rebuilt. He thought over these two things; he let his soul lie a-soak in the truth about God’s sanctuary, and then he prayed. It was also, a prayer which cast itself entirely upon God: “Cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary.” He does not say, “Lord, send more prophets”; or, “Raise up new kings”; or, “Do this or that”; but only, “Cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary.” Oh, that we might learn how to pray so that God should be the subject as well as the object of our supplications! O God, thy Church needs thee above everything else! There was also great faith in this prayer: “Cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary.” Daniel seems to say, “Lord, it scarcely needs thy command, it only wants thee to smile upon thy sanctuary, and all shall be well.” But, Daniel, the temple is all in ruins. “Ah!” saith he, “that is true; but, Lord, cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary.” The face of God is as the sun when it shineth in its strength. The favour of God is not merely something to His Church, but it is everything; the revelation of His love to Hie people is not simply a blessing, but it is all the blessings of the covenant in one. It was, however, a very comprehensive prayer; because, wherever God’s face shines upon His Church, note what happens. First, her walls are rebuilt. Desolations, when God shines upon them, glow into perfection. When the Lord shines upon a church, then its worship will be acceptable unto Him; even the humblest form of it will he acceptable in His sight. Then, too, truth will be proclaimed in all its clearness. We shall not have to complain of the cloudy preaching of which we hear so much nowadays. Then, too, we shall see the beauty of holiness in all the members of God’s spiritual Church. O Lord, cause thy face to shine upon thy Church, that all thy people may walk in the beauty of holiness! Then, also, there will be delightful fellowship. And, then, there will be power in the testimony. With God’s face shining upon His sanctuary, His Word goes forth from His servants with energy and force which none can resist. Join in this prayer. Do it for the Church’s own sake. Join in this prayer also for the world’s sake. If the Church has not the Lord to shine upon her, what is the poor world to do? And, then, for God’s sake, for Christ’s sake, for the Holy Spirit’s sake, for a lifeless church is a dishonour to God.

III. THE CONDUCT THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THIS PRAYER. Well, first, we shall consider the state of the Church. Some professing Christians do not seem to me as if they ever thought of the Church at all. The next thing for us to do is to lay to heart the evil or the good of Zion. Consider it well, and then he grieved if you see sin triumphant, or error rampant, and do not perceive that the cause of God is advancing in the world. Then, if we begin to think, and begin to care, we shall try to do what we can for God’s Church. It is all very well for a man to pray, but the value of his prayer very much depends upon its sincerity, and that sincerity will be proved by his doing something that will help to answer his own prayer. The little finger would be missed if it were cut off, and there is not a tiny valve near the heart, nor a minute vessel anywhere in the human system, which could he taken away without inflicting an injury upon the whole body. Just so is it in the Church of Christ; we cannot afford to spare any part of the mystical body of Christ. But what use are you for the well-being of your fellow-members? But when we have done all that we can, let us pray much more than we have ever done. Oh! for a praying Church! (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Depressed State of the Cause of God Deplored

1. Observe how Daniel deplores the desolations of Zion, and confesses his sins which had caused them. Daniel felt more as a saint for the ruin of the church than as a patriot for the desolations of Judea.

2. Observe how fervently Daniel prays for the restored favour of God to his people, and for the fulfilment of His gracious promises to them. He found in prayer his resource and refuge. Every good man has a steadfast assurance of the efficacy of prayer. This conviction causes them to fly to prayer, and to persevere till they succeed. Note what a prevailing plea Daniel employed--he appeals to God’s own honour, to His own interest in His Church. (A. W. Coggeshall.)

The Christian in Time of National Calamity

1.. What God is here entreated to behold. “Our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name.” However the developments may vary, the principles of God’s administration are, like His nature, immutable. Desolations are still the punishment of iniquity, deliverance is still vouchsafed in answer to prayer. The desolations of Jerusalem, as we are expressly told, were the direct consequence of her sin. Who can deny that the prophet pourtrayed but too faithfully our own metropolis when he said concerning the doomed and devoted city, no longer holy to the Lord--“In thee, have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger; in thee have they vexed the fatherless and widow; thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my Sabbaths.” Happily for us, the correspondence is not complete. In Jerusalem the degeneracy was total, the delinquency was universal. But it is not so among ourselves. And if the “effectual fervent prayer of even a single “righteous man availeth much,” how can we doubt that the combined and concurrent supplications of the Church will find entrance into the ears of the Lord God of Sabaoth?

2. The manner in which we should entreat the Lord. Our special entreaty this day, whether in the house of prayer, in the domestic circle, or in the solitude of the inner chamber, should not only be that of contrite and lowly supplication, but of earnest intercession also. (T. Dale, M.A.)