Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-09-28
INTERNATIONAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON SEPT. 80

miiar story of Daniel in the den or
lions. You remember how it was his
loyalty to God which brought him into
| that danger, and it was Gods loyalty
to him which delivered him from it. 1t
was in the first year of Darius that that
| incident occurred DO you know what
Daniel was praying about? L think we
have the answer to that question in
the ninth chapter of Daniel, which we
study today, for that is dated in this
same year.
! Daniel was now a man fully eighty
five years of age; he had been cap
Tive sixty-eight years. Those years had
been full of responsibility, for it was
after nearly three years training when
he. had come to Babylon that he was
given a government position, and prac-
! ticaIly ever since he had been obliged
| to shoulder heavy governmental re-
Isponsibilities. Just now he was one OF
three presidents; and it was in the
heart of Darius to make him prime
minister.
DANIEL, THE PRAYER.
| l do not suppose that there is man
today who is any buster than he was.
In spite of that fact, he took time TO
study the scriptures diligently, and to
commune with God in prayer. In his
study of the scriptures, he had learned
from Jeremiah's prophecy that the cap
| tiVity would last seventy years.
| He had also learned from Levtticus
26 and Deuteronomy 2S that God would
be inquired of for His people; that He
! would hear their prayers and answer
them when they turned to Him and re-
pented of their sins, no matter where
they might be- Since the seventy years
were nearly up, he began to inquire OF
| God whether it would be, that at this
time He would restore Judah to their
native land and fulfil all the glorious
] promises which every Jew looked for
ward to in the Golden Age to be. IN
the beginning Of his prayer, he had a
vision We do not know what that
vision was, but we do know the inter-
probation of it which Gabriel gave him
after this prayer was over
DANIELS PRAYER.
| Daniels prayer was one of the most remark
| able on record. One of the students Of Bengel
| the commentator, once secreted himself In Bel
| gels room; for he said If be could hear Ben
| gel pray he might find the secret Of his power.
He waited until late in the night watching Ben,
| gel as he pored the Scriptures, until
| finally he closed the book, lifted his eyes and
| said Lord Jesus, we are on the same Ola
| terms" and went to bed. That the secret
! of Bengels power, and here we might Ino' Dy
hearing Daniel pray, the secret Of his power.
| The way in which he addressed God shows
/ that he knew God for he mentioned the two
attributes of Deity-Justice and Mercy, He
| did not demand anything from Him on the
basis of their own need or because or what
| God had done for Moses any of the other
| worthless; on the contrary he confesses his own
sin and the sin of His people, identifying Him
| self with them in the most complete way, not
| leaving them a stone to stand on. To them be-
| long confusion OF faces. There was no right
tOusness in them. They had reoelled against
| Him and continued to rebel until there was
| nothing left for God to do but to bring upon
| them the threatened disaster. he Justified
God absolutely and made attempt to justi-
~ hiS Onla aVanf n he
he called attention to their condition, asking
! that Gods anger be turned away from them,
glory. 1t is Thy city Thy Holy noun
| tain ''Thy people, Thy sanctuary "for
the Lords sake" and 1.-THE city which is
called by Thy name" these are the expressions
he uses. He is pleading for them to be de-
livered because God is being reproached by the
heather, and it is for His glory, not their need
that he asks for their def1verance.
So intense is his desire for Gods glory, that
in the climax of this earnest appeal, he cries
go Lord, near; Lord, forgive Lord. heark-
! and do: defer not, for thine own sake o my
| God; for the city and thy people are called by
thy name" Such prayer cannot fail of an
answer: When a man goes seeking to know
his sin. and asks for the glory of God, he
| will get an answer surely.
THE SEVENTY WEEKS.
! IT day about o'clock in the after
noon. while he speaking, praying and
| Tossing his sins, that the man Gabriel, whom
! he had seen in the beginning of the vision
came flying swiftly, touched him and said to
him, go Daniel, / am come forth TO give
! thee skill and understanding. At the begin
ming of thy applications. the command come
] forth, and | am come TO show thee, for thou
! art greatly beloved
God started the answer to Daniels prayer
! Immediately. The realization of it did not
/ take place until later when Gabriel appeared.
/ IT is rather interesting to note that the angel
! spoken OF here is the man Gabriel, and also
/ interesting to note that angels in the scrip
lures always apnear as men. and not white
! rohed winged ladies. that in art.
Here was Gabriel's message which was the
answer to Daniefs prayer, and the interpre-
tation which he had seen. Not seventy years,
! said Gabriel, but seven seventies of years are
determined upon thy people and upon thy holy
CITY No Daniel IL is not going TO be at the
end Of this seventy years which is nearly
! up. that what you want is going TO happen.
But inasmuch I have shown you other things
which relate 10 the times of the Gentiles. with
which Won have been connected. win show
you this further matter which relates to thy
people. Seventy weeks determined upon
| thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish
| the transgression, and to make and end Of
sins, and TO make reconciliation for iniquity.
and to bring in everlasting righteousness. and
TO seal mp the vision and prophecy. and TO
anont the most Holy"
Study that twenty fourth very careful
! ~ and you will what Daniel had been
praying about. Then Daniel went and gave
| further detail. "KnOw therefore and under
| stand. that from the going forth OF the COM
mandment to restore and to build Jerusalem
unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven
weeks, and three-score and two weeks; the
/ street snail De Duilt again. and the wall, even
! In troublesome times. And after threescore
mad two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but
! not for HIMSELF and the people Of the prince
! shall come and shall destroy the city and the
sanctuary; and the end of the desola lions
are determine"
As a matter Of fact when the commandment
was given to restore and build Jerusalem by
! Artaxerxes nehemiah p, until the end of
! prophecy was seven seventies Of years: from
/ then until the day that Jesus presented Him.
self the Messiah in the so-called Triumphal
! Entry into Jerusalem. three score and
/ two weeks GO of years: then tho
Messiah cut off. but not for Himself.
There has ben interval OF nearly two thou
! sand years between the Goth week and the
( 10th week The 10th week begins when ''the
Prince that shall come" shall make a cove
pant with the Jews for one week The END Of
Tint time shall be with an Overflow or
flood, and unto the end OF the war, desOla-
tons.
So Daniel was given therefore q vision Of
what would happen in the succeeding years and
down to the latter days. We believe that
in the latter DAYS now and that the
flood overflow which Daniel mentioned then
/ Is the present world war. which has involved
all hut 1877. OO0, coo Of the 700. 600 900 people
/ I'm the world. We look for the last week To
begin soon. and after that Is over there will
come to pass the complete fulfilment Of the
vision Daniel had and which Gabriel inter
preted TO him: when everlasting righteousness
will be brought in. the Most High One anont-
/ ed. and Daniels people come into their own.
4 naufa1 no MAJ efatn