John Calvin Commentary Daniel 9:23

"At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment went forth, and I am come to tell thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision." — Daniel 9:23 (ASV)

Here the angel not only requires teachableness from the Prophet but also exhorts him to greater attention. We will later perceive that this singular and extraordinary prophecy required careful study. This is the reason why the angel not only commands Daniel to receive his message with the obedience that comes from faith, but also to pay closer attention than usual, because this was an important and singular mystery.

He states first of all—the word went forth from the time when the Prophet began to pray. I will not take time to recite the opinions of others, because I think I understand the true meaning of the passage; namely, God heard the prayers of His servant, and then promulgated what He had already decreed.

For by the phrase “went forth,” he expresses the publication of a decree that had previously been made; it was then issued just as the decrees of princes are said to go forth when they are publicly proclaimed. God had determined what He would do as soon as Daniel had ceased, for God’s counsel would never fail to be accomplished. But he here points out that the prayers of His saints cannot be in vain, because He grants them the very thing He would have bestowed even if they had not prayed for it, as if He were obedient to their desires and approved of their conduct.

It is clear enough that we can obtain nothing by our prayer unless God has previously determined to grant it; yet these points are not contradictory. For God attends to our prayers, as it is said in the Psalms—He performs our wishes, and yet executes what He had determined before the creation of the world (Psalms 145:19).

God had predicted through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:11), as we have remarked before, the end of the people’s exile in seventy years. Daniel already knew this, as he related at the beginning of the chapter, yet he did not become lax in his prayers, for he knew that God’s promises give us no reason or occasion for laziness or apathy.

The Prophet, therefore, prayed, and God shows how his desires were by no means futile, as they concerned the welfare of the whole Church. He next states—the word went forth as soon as Daniel began to pray; that is, as soon as he opened his lips, he was divinely answered.

He later adds, he came to make this known, because, says he, you are a desirable man. Some interpret the word “desirable” actively, as if Daniel glowed with intense zeal; but this interpretation is forced and contrary to the usage of the language. Without doubt, the Prophet uses the word in the sense of acceptance with God, and the majority of interpreters fully agree with me.

The angel therefore announces his arrival for Daniel's sake, because Daniel enjoyed God’s favor. And this is noteworthy, for we gather from the passage that our vows and prayers cannot acquire favor for us before God unless we are already embraced by His regard; for we find God propitious in no other way than when we flee by faith to His loving-kindness.

Then, relying on Christ as our Mediator and Advocate, we dare to approach Him as sons to a parent. For these reasons, our prayers are of no avail before God unless they are, to some degree, founded in faith, which alone reconciles us to God, since we can never be pleasing to Him without pardon and remission of sins.

We also observe the sense in which the saints are said to please God even when they sometimes fail to obtain their requests. For Daniel was subject to continual groaning for many years and was afflicted by much grief; and yet he never perceived himself to have accomplished anything worthy of his labors.

He might indeed conclude all his labor to be utterly lost, after praying so often and so perseveringly without effect. But the angel meets him finally and testifies to his acceptance with God, enabling him to acknowledge that he had not suffered any rejection, although he had failed to obtain the object of his earnest desires.

Hence, when we become anxious in our thoughts and are induced to despair by the absence of all profit or fruit from our prayers, and by the lack of an open and immediate answer, we must derive this instruction from the angel’s teaching: Daniel, who was most acceptable to God, was eventually heard, even without being permitted to see the object of his wishes with his own eyes.

He died in exile and never witnessed the fulfillment of the Prophet’s prophecies concerning the blessed state of the Church, as if it were immediately preparing to celebrate its triumphs.

At the end of the verse, as I have already mentioned, the angel stirs Daniel to greater zeal and urges him to apply his mind and all his senses attentively to understand the prophecy that the angel was commanded to bring before him.