exercise of fasting and prayer was of great service : for, beyond all doubt, it was the means of strengthen- ing his soul for the trial which he speedily afterwards sustained, when cast into the den of lions c. There is reason to suppose, too, that it prevailed in no small degree to bring down upon the whole nation the promised blessing.
The account here given us, will lead me to shew,
I. The concern which he manifested for the welfare of his own brethren —
Though himself placed in a situation of great honour, he was not unmindful of his Jewish brethren. He longed for their deliverance from their sore bond- age ; and he sought help for them from Him who alone was able to turn the hearts of kings. Let us mark,
1. The way in which he sought the Lord —
[" He set his face unto the Lord his God ; " doubtless turning towards Jerusalem, according to the direction given by Solomon at the dedication of the temple. In this we see his faith in the Lord Jehovah, whom, by this very act, he ac- knowledged, in the most appropriate manner, as Israel's God. To him he turned " in fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes." Though exalted to the highest station in the court of Darius, and though now at an advanced period of life, considerably above eighty years of age, he not only sought the Lord in prayer, but imposed on himself these austerities, for the pur- pose of deepening his humiliation before God, and of obtaining a nearer access to him in his supplications. In this he shewed the sincerity of his heart, and the ardour of his soul ; and has set an example to all future generations, of the way in which God is to be sought in behalf of a suffering people, and of the way in which national blessings are to be obtained.]
2. The views which he had of the Deity whom he addressed —
[He contemplated the Deity in all his diversified perfec- tions, as a God of infinite majesty and holiness, and at the same time of unchanging mercy and truth. " O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love nim, and to them that keep his command-
c Compare ver. 1. with Dan. vi. 1, 4, 16.