Merit and Mercy

Okay, morning folks. Lovely to be with you today and special welcome to those who are joining us

this morning as visitors. It's so lovely to have you with us. What a passage you have picked to

drop in on. We need God's help with this this morning. If ever there was a passage that we do

is this one. So why don't we pray and then we'll get into it together.

Heavenly Father, we think of the words of Psalm 119, that you would open our eyes to behold

marvelous things in your word. So Father, I'm so aware this morning of my inadequacy.

I'm so aware this morning, Lord, of our limited understanding. And we pray that your spirit would

come and would he illuminate these words so that we would leave this morning with a bigger

vision of Jesus and a deeper affection for him. And we pray these things in his name. Amen.

Well, if you've got the passage open in front of you, let me try and get us to the big word

that's at the heart of this chapter. And it's the words that gets us to the heart of the Christian

faith. And it's a word that I think doesn't come naturally to us in the 21st century West.

So before we moved to Edinburgh 12 years ago, we lived in a city in the south of England called

Bristol. And I remember when I first moved to Bristol, I'm a bit of an extrovert, loved to get out

there, started walking around the city to get to know the sites. These were kind of before Sat Nav was

popular, was trying to work out where everything was in the city. And I got to the middle and there

was a statue that had stood there for years of this man in Bristol called Edward Colston.

Now, he was one of the greatest contributors to the city's prosperity. And yet he was a highly

controversial figure because so much of his wealth came from his involvement in the slave trade during

the 17th and 18th century in Britain. And that's why, if you know his name, it's probably because of

the scenes that hit our news screens about four years ago. Because this volcanic outcry came against

this man from the local Bristolians that justice needed to be done. That this man needed his just

desserts for what he'd done in history. And what they did is they took his statue, they toppled it,

and they threw it in the river because this man needed to get what was coming to him.

Now, let me ask you, how did you feel in that moment as you remember those scenes?

Some people might have had questions over how it was done, but I think all of us resonated with why

it was done. And here's what I think it shows. The very fact that that phrase, just desserts,

if you Google it, it's got nothing to do with ice cream. Actually, it's all from that French word,

desiree, isn't it? Meaning to get what you deserve. The fact that that phrase has been around, I think,

since the 15th century, we're still using it today. I think it tells us something about human beings.

I think it tells us that we are hardwired for justice.

Justice, wanting justice for others comes really naturally to us. And what we're going to see,

what we thought about the last few weeks, what we're going to see right at the end of this morning

is that this God, right at the heart of his heart, is justice. But here's what Daniel 9 says to us in a

world where we can so easily want justice on others, where we are encouraged to take on the role of

judge, jury, and particularly the victim. It asks us to consider, have you ever thought of yourself as the

accused? Have you ever thought about the fact that you might be, we might be guilty? And it stems from

the fact that so often we make the wrong comparison, right? We play our own little game of comparethemarket.com

and what we do is we look horizontally when it comes to judging morality, don't we? We think, well, I'm not

as nosy as my neighbours. I think about the fact that my kids aren't as, aren't as misbe, they don't

misbehave as much as other peoples do. We think about the fact that in the office, I'm not the one

that gets up to all these crazy things. And yet the Bible would say, friends, that we make all the

wrong comparisons when we look vertically, horizontally rather. And it tells us that we need to be looking

vertically. And with that, we arrive at the difference between Christianity and every other

religious system in the world. A difference that you can sum up in two five-letter words beginning with

them. And we want something to hold on as we go through this. Grab these two words. See, in every

other religious system, how it works is the word merit. And it's intuitively how we think it should

work with any kind of God of the universe. If he does exist, that he should reward us on the basis of

what we do, of how we perform, of how much effort we put in. But you come to the pages of the Bible and

you soon discover that the word at the heart of the gospel, and it's the word that's draped right

across this chapter, if you're looking for something to hang your coat on, it's the word mercy. And

you'll notice it there. It comes five times, I think, in Daniel's prayer from right at the end,

from verses 18 to 20, sorry, 16 to 20. It's the word mercy.

Of course, Jesus tells the Pharisees, doesn't he, to stop looking at the speck that's in other

people's eyes. And I take it in a little bit of kind of first century comedy, he says, well, all the

while you've got the log in yours. And what Daniel 9 is, right at its heart, is this man Daniel, he's

owning the speck in his own heart. And he's owning the speck in the people's hearts.

And God, as he speaks about the future, here's what Daniel realizes, and I think this is what

is to be drilled down into the hearts of God's people. The only way, friends, as glorious as the

future is, that we can have a share in it, is as we seek this God for forgiveness and mercy.

Here's Australian evangelist Glenn Scrivener, I love this. He perceives this about God's people. He says,

other kingdoms would sing of their greatness, but Israel's songs were full of their faults.

So what you see is you go through the Psalms, full of their faults.

Come with me to chapter 9 in, let me give you the key to unlocking the safe that is this chapter.

And the key to it is understanding when Daniel 9 happens. Have a look at verses 1 and 2 if you've

got it there. This is the first year of Darius. Now that means we're about year 539 BC.

And that means two things for God's people. It means firstly that the Babylonian empire,

the very people who had brutally dragged them into exile in the first place, have been defeated

by the Medes and the Persians. So that's the first thing that it means for Daniel at the beginning

of chapter 9. But the second thing to see, and you get this at verse 2, is that the 70 years of exile

that Jeremiah had spoken about are almost up. So we're roughly about year 66 or 67 of those 70. And

you see how that's what Daniel perceives as he reads his Bible, as it were, that in terms of history,

it's almost time for God to take his people home. And here's what I reckon would be the real temptation

for Daniel and his contemporaries at this moment. It's to think that God is taking us home because he is

vindicating us in the eyes of the Babylonians. Because we are his special people, because he had made the

promises to us. And it's almost as if Daniel leads himself and the people in repenting and saying that the

only way we have got to share in God's future is nothing to do with our merit. And it's everything

to do with his mercy. And this chapter invites us, friends, to come to this God for forgiveness.

That's what's on offer for God's people here. As we think about the glorious future, the only way that

it's ours is if we come to the cross, come to Jesus and plead to him for forgiveness.

And so here's the two points this morning that will take us through this chapter today. Here's the

two invitations that God makes to his people. Here's the first one. And it's to take his mercy to heart.

And Daniel's a wonderful example here, isn't he, of prayer. And may God just stir in us this year

prayer. A real desire to seek him in prayer. Would that not be wonderful if this was the response

that we make to this today, amongst other things, that there was just a real desire to declare our

dependence on our God in prayer. What we get in chapter 9 may well be the template prayer that

Daniel's been praying all the way through this book, all the way through his time in Babylon,

the kind of which gets him thrown in the lion's den at chapter 6. So this may well be the prayer that

he's been praying for 70 years. Notice two things about his prayer, and it's a prayer that's

bookended, verse 3 and verse 18. Do you see it? 3 and 18.

With a plea for mercy.

Notice, firstly, this is always a great thing if you're wondering how to structure a Bible study.

Think about these two things. What does the passage tell me about me and about humanity?

And what does it tell me about God? That's what we're going to do with this prayer.

Notice, firstly, what he knows to be true about him and his people, verse 7. Just track with me,

verse 7. Daniel says,

To us belongs open shame.

We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord. In fact, verse 8,

we have sinned against you. Daniel talks in this prayer, do you see it? Verse 11,

about the curses which him and his people deserve. Now, what he's doing there

is he's telling us that he understands the exile, not politically.

He understands it theologically.

Daniel's thinking in his mind there about the covenant curses that God had said he would

bring on his people if they disobeyed him.

And that means that if Daniel perceives the problem to be a theological one,

it means that the answer is a theological one, not a political one.

Because if that's what Daniel knows to be true about him and his people,

if he's owning the speck,

do you see what Daniel knows in stark contrast to be true about his God?

Right, verse 4. Take these in. Breathe them in.

Verse 4. The great and awesome God

who keeps, and get this word,

who keeps covenant and who keeps steadfast love.

To him belongs, verse 7, righteousness.

Verse 19.

This God, it's his right to forgive.

And here's the question, maybe just a pit stop at this point.

The question to ask ourselves is,

what role does repentance play in our lives?

You know, I came down to Alex last night,

and the kids were misbehaving.

I went up, and I said,

you know what, I lost my cool.

And it just struck me.

It was like,

should that not be something that we do in our lives,

just to put our hands up as Christians and say,

I got it wrong.

And to seeking God for forgiveness,

and then seeking the kids this morning for forgiveness as well.

Friends, what role does repentance play in our lives?

When was the last time that we put our hands up and said,

I got it wrong?

And when was the last time we put our hands up and said,

will you forgive me?

Does our heart break over our sin like it does Daniel's?

You know, I always joke about my mum.

Years and years, years of raising three boys,

she has what we call in our culture asbestos fingers.

Do you know that?

She's just got this inability to be able to take things out of the oven

without wearing any gloves and not feel a thing.

And our hearts can so easily do that with our sin,

that we just become numb

to what it is doing in our lives

and how it offends our holy creator God.

Can I encourage us to embrace the fact that repentance

in the Christian life is a really healthy thing?

Because it reminds us of the one place that we can run with our sin.

Knowing that we do not need to pretend to be sorted

when we run to Jesus and run to the cross

and know what he's done to deal with our sin

and free us from the bondage of our sin.

But friends, when we grieve and when we lament over our sin,

when we call it for what it is,

when we own the speck,

how have you ever thought about the fact

that that longing,

that this just would not be true in my life,

that I wouldn't struggle with the things

that I keep struggling with,

is a little longing for the perfect world

which we were made for.

It's a longing for heaven.

When we own our sin,

and we say,

God, would you be merciful to us,

it is a longing for heaven.

When these things will not be true,

when the sin that plagues our lives

will not be a thing anymore

because Jesus will have banished it.

Here's the key thing to see.

This is the only place in the book of Daniel

over your intifacts

that the covenant name of God is used.

Covenant name of God,

capital L,

capital O,

capital R,

capital D.

This is the God who has revealed himself

as the mighty warrior.

The God who has saved his people from Exodus.

It's the name of the God who makes promises

and he keeps them.

It's the name of the God who has plans and purposes

to redeem a people and bring them to be with himself.

When Daniel pleads the name of the Lord in this prayer,

it's him saying that our only hope

is that the Lord is the Lord.

It's our only hope that the Lord is the Lord.

First invitation, friends,

is to see that God wants us to take his mercy to heart.

Second invitation that God makes to us here

is to keep his timeline in mind.

Because I think Daniel realizes

as he ends this prayer

and as he thinks about God

taking his people back to the land,

that what's going to happen

is just Groundhog Day.

You ever watch that film?

Was it Bill Murray?

I can't remember did that film called Groundhog Day.

I can't work out if the film came before the phrase

or the phrase came before the film.

But it's this thing about,

we use this phrase, don't we,

Groundhog Day,

every day is the same.

History is just going to keep repeating itself

and repeating himself

because Daniel understands

that while a change of scene

is wonderful,

the sin in our hearts

is just the same.

You know, we always talk about,

don't we, in our culture

about booking a holiday

so that we can get away from it all.

Right?

As if going on holiday

is going to help us escape our problems.

And it helps a little bit,

don't hear me wrong.

But how often have you gone on a holiday

and you've realized

that the problems in your mind

and the regrets and issues

that are still in your hearts

are still there?

Yeah?

I met a friend I had

after university

that went on a gap year

to find themselves

and then came back early

and realized,

actually,

we couldn't escape the things

that were going on in our lives.

Change of scene

isn't the answer.

What follows from verse 20

is God's answer

to Daniel's realization.

And what's going on here

is God telling Daniel

about what he's going to do

to deal with Daniel

and his people's greatest problem.

And it's God telling Daniel

about a greater home

that he's taken his people to.

And because of that,

it's God telling Daniel

about the longer road

that he's going to take

his people on.

Do you see,

this God is not just

after getting his people

back to their homeland,

as important as that is.

No, no, no.

This is about this God

and his desire

to make a way

to bring his people

back to himself.

And that's what God sends Gabriel

to tell Daniel.

Do you see,

this man who is greatly loved

by God.

And as we journey

through this section,

friends,

if you get lost,

keep coming back

to verse 24.

Because this is what God

is saying he's going to do.

Do you read the phrases there?

He's going to finish

the transgression.

He's got to put an end

to sin.

He's going to atone

for inequity.

He's going to establish

everlasting righteousness.

That's the plan.

That's what God's going to do.

And that's what the number,

I think,

if you're freaking out

at this point,

that is what the number 70,

77 is there to communicate.

This number,

number seven in the Bible,

that's always symbolic,

isn't it,

of perfection.

In fact,

you can probably go

a bit further than that

and say actually it's the number

that indicates

perfect completion

of God's rest,

of God's shalom,

of God getting his people

to enjoy eternally

his rest.

God's going to finish

this work.

And you say,

finish what?

He's going to finish

the stuff that's there

at verse 24.

Because our God

is a finisher.

He doesn't have loose ends.

He will finish things.

And I think

where we've gone wrong

in the church

over the years

is that we've read

these verses

and make no mistake,

they're some of the most

difficult to understand

in the Old Testament.

But what we've done

is we thought,

I think,

that this is God

giving us

a microscope.

And what we have done

is we've gone straight

in there for the details.

And what that's led to

is unnecessary speculation.

I think what it's led to

is division.

And ultimately,

I don't think

it's why it's there.

Because this,

God telling Daniel this,

is not to promote

speculation

in Daniel's heart

is to encourage him.

So this is not about

God giving us

the microscope

so that we can zoom in.

Actually,

this is God giving us

not the microscope

but the telescope

so that we can look

right through

down to history

where God says

he is taking his people.

And we can know

what the future holds.

And what does a telescope do?

Does it make things

smaller or bigger?

Answer.

Come on.

Not rhetorical.

What does it do?

Oh, come on.

What does it do?

Makes it bigger, right?

So this is what

God is doing here.

He's saying,

I'm going to finish it.

I'm going to finish this work

that's so much greater

than anything

you could get

your head around, Daniel.

I don't want it

to be smaller

in your mind.

I want to encourage you

that it's bigger.

It's not the microscope.

It's the telescope

that he's giving them here.

And it seems to me

that what we get here,

if you remember

that 70,

how we're to understand it,

theologically,

what we have here,

I think,

is three periods.

In other words,

this is God telling Daniel

how he's going to do this

down the line

in the future.

And we've got a seven,

we've got a 62,

and we've got a one.

Now, I'm no math genius,

but what do those

three numbers add up to?

70, yeah?

So this is God telling Daniel,

this is what I'm going to do

to bring about the completion,

to bring about the end of sin,

to bring about the fact

that I want you,

my people,

to be with me

in my presence.

70.

So this is how God

is going to complete

the work

that he's mentioned

at verse 24,

which I think is why

we need to understand

these numbers,

not literally,

but theologically.

Now, here's my stab at it,

and if you disagree

with me, friends,

I come at this

humbly and gently,

and we can thumb war it

out of the back

of the service

once we're done,

and I'm good at thumb wars,

okay?

You've got three things

in here,

and maybe this is about

God saying how

he's going to do this.

You've got these seven weeks

to see that

in verse 25,

which start with

the going out of a word.

I think that's the moment

when Cyrus,

the king of Persia,

says to God's people,

you can go home.

It's just about to happen.

Cyrus says,

you can go home.

Cyrus may well be

the anointed one

that's referred to here,

because he's referred to elsewhere

in Scripture

as the anointed one.

But as joyous a moment

as that is going to be,

as God's people are told

they can go home,

God's got greater

and he's got longer plans.

And then we get these 62 weeks,

and this is a time

when you see it,

when the temple

will be rebuilt,

and that's going to be

a wonderful,

a glorious moment

in the lives

of God's people.

You can read about that

in Ezra,

Nehemiah,

but it's going to happen

with great opposition.

Again,

that's what you'll find

as you read those books.

People around about

opposing the work

that's going on.

But as joyous a moment

as that is,

God has got greater

and he's got longer

and he's got bigger plans.

And then we get the one week

at verse 27,

and let me tell you

there are more opinions

on this than there are

on England's shocker

of a performance

the other night,

okay?

And here's my best guess,

said with humility

and respect.

May it well be the case

that verses 26 and 27

are to be read

not in a sequential manner,

but a parallel manner.

In other words,

26, 27,

they're talking about

the same things.

The same two things,

in fact.

Do you see

how what we have here,

we have this figure

called the Anointed One

who's going to appear

on the scene,

who'll be cut off,

who'll make a strong covenant

with many,

and from there

we get the second half

of the one week,

he'll make an end

to the need for sacrifice

and for offering.

And it seems to me

that that is a very good description

of the person and work of Jesus,

who died for our sin,

and who's done away

with the need

for the Old Testament sacrifices.

This second half

of the first week,

the church age

you can understand it as.

That's big thing number one,

the person and work of Jesus, right?

Big thing number two

is the destroying of Jerusalem,

the destroying of the city,

most likely the Romans

who destroy it in AD 70.

Now, why mention that?

Well, this is going to

completely rock

the lives of God's people

when this thing is destroyed

by the Romans.

But God wants his people

to know that everything

that needed to be done

to deal with our sin

has been done

by the work of this Anointed One.

And this is why

if you look back

right to the start

about God's justice,

that this is what

it is telling us about God,

that God does not just sweep

our sin under the carpet.

His mercy is not about

overlooking all the wrongs

that us, we have done

and are in the world.

Actually, the cross is the place

where Jesus bore

the full wrath of God

that we deserve on himself.

And that is why God

is both the just

and the justifier.

He is perfectly just.

Jesus bore the wrath of God

for us, friends.

That is why there's forgiveness

on offer this morning

for all the things

that we have done.

For all the things

that Daniel owns,

the open shame

that is his, friends.

Do not wallow in your shame.

Come to the cross

for forgiveness.

This is what it's telling you.

But regardless of where you are

on those weeks

and it's worth thinking

about these things,

don't run away from them.

Have a think about it.

What we need to see here

is the final thing

that God says needs to be done

to complete all this work.

Do you see verse 27?

He calls it the decreed end.

When God,

the righteous judge,

hands all authority

to the Son of Man,

this figure who we've been

thinking about

in the book of Daniel

and for whom

the finishing play

in all of history

is of this Son of Man,

banishing evil

and opposition to him

and bringing about

God's people,

being with him

in the new heavens

and in the new earth,

the place where no more death

and there's no more sin.

This is the place

where Jesus rules.

And this is the thing

that we wait for today.

God's people,

by very definition,

we are a people

who are waiting.

We are waiting

on this Son of Man

coming back

to usher in

this decreed end.

And this is all

because of his mercy.

Not because of our merit.

All because of his mercy

that he is going to bring about

the return and completion

of the 77s.

Now, just as we close,

let me help us think

about what this calls us to do

and how we should

respond to this.

You know,

a letter arrived

three days ago

in the post for Alex.

And it said,

due date

for baby number four,

the 1st of July.

Now, I'm terrible

at birthdays,

so I'm really glad

if that is the case,

it turns out to be

on the 1st of a month.

I am seeing that

as a win.

I'm not great on dates.

And yet,

every time this

has rolled around,

I'm remembered about

what it is to wait

on the next one.

Right?

And I say this,

this is the whole

pregnancy journey

and I say this with

sensitivity because I know

for many of us

this has been

a painful experience.

And we want to be a church

that speaks about these things.

Happened to us

before Chloe was born.

It's really painful.

But all of this is to say

the pregnancy journey.

What happens?

You find out

you're having a baby.

And what happens next

is you look forward

to what?

The 12-week scan.

And once you get

to the 12-week scan,

what's the next thing

on the horizon?

It's the 20-week scan.

And after the 20-week scan,

what happens to you

is you start thinking

about the day

when this is going

to be completed.

Waiting.

And the thing about waiting

is it's never

a passive thing,

is it?

It's what you do

as parents, isn't it?

It's about this thing

that we call nesting.

Right?

Get the cot,

get the changing table,

get the sous de creme,

make sure it's all in,

get the overnight bag.

We know what it is

to prepare ourselves

for the next big thing.

And it totally changes

how you wait.

It's not about

kind of waiting for a bus

and twiddling your thumbs,

refreshing your phone

to see when this bus

is going to come.

Waiting in the Bible

is always an active thing.

It's about trust,

it's about hope,

and it's about expectation.

And what God

is giving us here

is the next big thing.

The next big thing,

friends,

is for Jesus to return.

Like we've been singing about,

and bring in

this new heavens

and the new earth.

How do we respond

to his mercy?

Well, I love,

and this is where

we're going to finish,

what Paul says

in Romans 12, 1 and 2.

In view of God's mercy,

what do we do?

We offer our bodies

as living sacrifices

that are holy

and pleasing to God.

That is our true

and proper worship.

And here's Stephen McAlpine.

He's written a great book

called Future Proof.

And I read this quote recently.

I thought this is

bang on the money.

We finish with this.

He says this,

we need a deep conviction

that King Jesus

is calling us

to a holy,

patient life.

of remembrance.

A deep interest in

and commitment

to our eschatological hope,

I mean,

the future, right,

is not defined

by the end time charts

we embrace

or the prepper bunkers

we own,

but by godly lives

of hope

centered around

the total victory

that Jesus will bring

his people.

let's just finish

by corporately

praying this together.

And these are great things

that the church

have done down the ages.

Just use these prayers,

prayers of confession

and repentance,

but also of assurance

about who our God is

and what he's done.

So just thought it would be

great off the back of today

just to pray this together

and then we'll close

our service by singing.

So just on my lead,

if you want to pray this,

let's do it together.

Gracious God,

our sins

are too heavy

to carry,

too real

to hide

and too deep

to undo.

Forgive what our lips

tremble to name,

what our hearts

can no longer bear

and what has become

for us

a consuming

fire of judgment.

Free from a past

that we cannot change,

open to us

a future

in which we can

be changed

and grant us grace

to grow more

and more

in your likeness

and image

through Jesus Christ,

the light of the world.

Amen.