Romans 9:1

Daniel 9:1 says, In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;  We have now moved forward to the reign of Darius, who had defeated Belshazzar and the Chaldeans.  This was the fulfillment of the prophecy found earlier in the book of Daniel.  Verse two adds, In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.  Matthew Henry says that we found Daniel doing the business of Belshazzar, the earthly king at the end of the last chapter, but now we find him concerned with God's business.  I don't think Daniel really divided the two, but here we find him more concerned with the status of God's people.  He was particularly concerned with Jeremiah's prophecy concerning the seventy years in which God would accomplish the desolation of Jerusalem.  Though Daniel was a great prophet, he still consulted the written word of God.  We never know enough that we can ignore God's written word for us, the Bible.  Verse three continues, And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:  Daniel said he set his face before God and humbled himself.  He prayed and fasted with his total focus on God.  When we come to God in prayer, we need to come humbly and sincerely.  Daniel was a prophet of God and a powerful man in the world, but he knew he was nothing before God.  Verse four states, And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;   We, like Daniel, must pray to God from a personal relationship.  He must be our God if our prayers are going to be effective.  Also, we must recognize the greatness of God.  We will never be God's equal.  As Daniel said, God is the keeper of His covenant.  God has never failed in His part of the covenant with mankind.  God does show mercy to those who love Him and keep His commandments.  Verse five adds, We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have thy judgments:  This has never changed.  We all sin and come short of the glory of God.  Under God's judgment, we are all guilty, but by His mercy we are set free of the penalty of sin through our faith in the sacrifice of Christ.  Each person must choose whether to accept God's judgment or His mercy.  Verse six continues, Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.  Daniel said that those who were called God's people would not listen to God's servants the prophets when they spoke for Him.  There are many people today who profess to be Christians who do not listen to God's word, whether written or proclaimed by His preachers and teachers.  Verse seven says, O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.  Daniel proclaimed God righteous and His people sinful and scattered because of their sinfulness.  As stated earlier, God had not failed in keeping the covenant, but those who called themselves His people had.  God will never fail in His covenant with us today.  Verse eight adds, O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.  When we sin against God, we can expect nothing more than confusion in life.