Albert Barnes Commentary Daniel 9:4

"And I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made confession, and said, Oh, Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments," — Daniel 9:4 (ASV)

And I prayed to the Lord my God - Evidently a set and formal prayer. It would seem probable that he offered this prayer, and then recorded the substance of it afterward. We have no reason to suppose that we have the whole of it, but we have doubtless its principal topics.

And made my confession - Not as an individual, or not of his own sins only, but a confession on behalf of the people, and in their name. There is no reason to suppose that what he says here did not express their feelings. They had been long in captivity—far away from their desolate city and temple. They could not help but be aware that these calamities had come upon them on account of their sins; and they could not help but feel that the calamities could be removed only by confessing their sins and acknowledging the justice of the divine dealings toward them.

When we have been afflicted—when we are called to pass through severe trials—and when, borne down by trial, we go to God and pray that the evil may be removed, the first thing that is demanded is that we should confess our sins and acknowledge the justice of God in the judgments that have come upon us. If we attempt to vindicate and justify ourselves, we can have no hope that the judgment will be averted. Daniel, therefore, in the name of the people, began his prayer with the humble and penitent acknowledgment that all that they had suffered was deserved.

O Lord, the great and dreadful God - A God great, and to be feared or venerated—הנורא hanôrâ'. This does not mean dreadful in the sense that there is anything stern or unpleasant in his character, but mainly that he is to be regarded with veneration.

Keeping the covenant and mercy - Keeping his covenant and showing mercy. This is often ascribed to God: that he is faithful to his covenant; that is, he is faithful to his promises to his people, or to those who sustain a certain relation to him and who are faithful to their covenant vows. If there is alienation and estrangement, and lack of faithfulness on either side, it does not begin with him. He is faithful to all his promises, and his fidelity may always be assumed as a basis in all our intercourse with him.

See the word covenant in Cruden’s Concordance. The word mercy seems to be added here to denote that mercy enters into his dealings with us even in keeping the covenant. We are so sinful and unfaithful ourselves that if he is faithful to his covenant, it must be by showing mercy to us.

To them that love him ... - The conditions of the covenant extend no further than this, since, in a compact of any kind, one is bound to be faithful only while the terms are maintained by the other party. So God binds himself to show favor only while we are obedient. We can plead his covenant only when we are obedient—when we confess our sins and plead his promises in this sense: that he has assured us that he will restore and receive us if we are penitent. It was this that Daniel pleaded on this occasion. He could not plead that his people had been obedient and thus had any claims to divine favor; but he could cast himself and them on the mercy of a covenant-keeping God, who would remember his covenant with them if they were penitent, and who would graciously pardon.