John Calvin Commentary Daniel 9:22

"And he instructed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee wisdom and understanding." — Daniel 9:22 (ASV)

Here the angel prepares the Prophet’s mind by saying, he came from heaven to teach him. I went forth, he says, , to cause you to understand. For Daniel ought to understand from this angel’s duty what he himself ought to do. Since God had deigned to honor him so highly by setting before him one of his angels as his master and teacher, the Prophet ought not to neglect so singular a favor, so that he would not seem ungrateful to God.

We now understand why the angel testifies to his coming to teach the Prophet. And we also ought to reflect upon this whenever we enter God’s Temple, or read any passage of holy Scripture, and acknowledge that teachers are sent to us from God to assist us in our ignorance and to interpret the Scriptures for us.

We ought also to acknowledge that Scripture is given to us to enable us to find there whatever would otherwise be hidden from us. For God opens, as it were, his own heart to us when he reveals his secrets to us through the Law, and the Prophets, and his Apostles also. Thus, Paul shows that the gospel is preached for the obedience of the faith (Romans 1:5); as if he had said, we will not escape with impunity unless we obediently embrace the doctrine of the gospel. Otherwise, we do our utmost to frustrate the designs of God and elude his plans, unless we faithfully obey his word.