We turn to God's Word this morning to Daniel chapter six. Daniel chapter six, let's read this entire chapter. We read it in connection with the closing of the Lord's Prayer, the sixth petition and the closing words that we'll read later in Lord's Day 52. Let's read together Daniel chapter 6. It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom, and over these three presidents of whom Daniel was first, that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find none occasion nor fault for as much as he was faithful. Neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, we shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king and said thus unto him, King Darius live forever. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counselors, and the captains have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for 30 days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O King, establish the decree and sign the writing that it be not changed according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Wherefore, King Darius signed the writing and the decree. Now, when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house and his windows being opened in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he did aforetime. Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. Then they came near and spake before the king concerning the king's decree. Hast thou not signed a decree that every man that shall ask a petition of any god or man within 30 days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, the thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him. And he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. Then these men assembled unto the king and said unto the king, no, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is that no decree nor statute which a king establisheth may be changed. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, thy God, whom thou service continually, he will deliver thee. And a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lord's, that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and passed the night fasting. Neither were instruments of music brought before him, and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel. And the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God whom thou service continually able to deliver thee from the lions? Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever. My God hath sent his angel and hath shut the lion's mouths, but they have not hurt me. For as much as before him innocency was found in me, and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives, And the lions had the mastery of them and break all their bones in pieces wherever they came at the bottom of the den. Then King Darius wrote unto all people, nations and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom, men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God and steadfast forever. And his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth. who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Thus far we read God's holy and inspired word. It's on the basis of this passage in scripture and others like it that we have the teaching of the Heidelberg Catechism in Lord's Day 52. Lord's Day 52 of the Heidelberg Catechism, which is the sixth petition, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. That is, since we are so weak in ourselves that we cannot stand a moment, and besides this, since our mortal enemies, the devil, the world, and our own flesh cease not to assault us, Do thou therefore preserve and strengthen us by the power of thy Holy Spirit, that we may not be overcome in this spiritual warfare, but constantly and strenuously may resist our foes till at last we obtain a complete victory. How dost thou conclude thy prayer? For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. That is all these we ask of thee, because thou being our King and Almighty, art willing and able to give us all good. And all this we pray for that thereby not we, but thy holy name may be glorified forever. What doth the word amen signify? Amen signifies it shall truly and certainly be. For my prayer is more assuredly heard of God than I feel in my heart that I desire these things of him. Beloved congregation, in our Lord Jesus Christ, when we bow our heads and close our eyes in prayer unto God, then we enter the throne room of God. And there the almighty God of heaven and of earth sits upon his throne. And we come into his majestic presence. And we do so with a spirit of reverence, It's the reverence of a citizen toward his king, the reverence of a child toward his father. We come with a spirit of humility, realizing that God is great and glorious and we are lowly. We come in confidence, knowing that he is my father, willing and able to give unto me all the desires of my heart. And in the past few Lord's Days, it's been a while since we've had a Lord's Day, but in the previous Lord's Days, as we've considered the petitions of the Lord's Prayer, we have come before God in prayer. We have lingered in His presence. And we've brought our petitions that His name be hallowed by us, that His kingdom come, petitioning God for our needs, all the need that we have for our daily bread, the need that we have for the forgiveness of all our sins. And now this morning, it's time for us to leave God's throne room. It's time for us to conclude our prayer. Now you understand we don't entirely ever leave God's presence. We never do that. God is everywhere present. But we do leave his throne room the very same way that we enter his throne room, with reverence and humility and confidence. And that's what we express in the final words of the Lord's Prayer. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory Forever. And we learn of that power and glory and kingdom of God, even as we learn of it from Daniel chapter six, in all the attempts of wicked men who come to assault God's people. And from the catechism as well, question and answer 127, which speaks of our mortal enemies. Daniel had his mortal enemies. A mortal enemy is an enemy that's out to destroy you and to vanquish you. A mortal enemy will do whatever it takes to make the child of God to go back on his confession and to deny the faith and that we would deny the power and the kingdom and the glory of God. And that's how we identify those two other presidents and all of those other governors and counselors and princes as we read of them in Daniel chapter 6, the mortal enemies of Daniel. And they wanted, they were jealous of Daniel. They wanted the power and the prestige of Daniel, but they couldn't find any occasion of fault in Daniel, because Daniel was a model citizen. Daniel was a law-abiding citizen. And so they come to the king, King Darius, and convince him, deceiving him to make a law that no man may ask any petition of any God or man except it be of Thee, O King, for thirty days. And that sounds familiar to us, because there are those attempts nowadays as well to ban prayer to God, or at least to ban the mention of Jehovah God, and especially of Jesus or Christ. And as time goes on, as the Kingdom of Antichrist is established, We know that to call upon the name of Jesus or to call upon the name of Christ or of Jehovah God would be to put oneself in danger of death. And yet Daniel, in full awareness of that danger that he would put himself into, in full awareness of what might come, Daniel prayed to his God. Was it because Daniel, that he was simply a very, very brave man? No, that's not the reason. Was it because Daniel was a nonconformist and he would not conform to the decrees and rules of the land? Some people nowadays exalt that kind of mentality, to be a nonconformist, but that's not behind the actions of Daniel. But here it is, Daniel knew the power and the glory of the God whom he served. Daniel knew what you and I confess when we pray the concluding words of the Lord's prayer. And so let that be a lesson for us. Let that be a lesson so that whether it be in times of plenty, when we go through those comfortable times in life, that we pray to Thee, O God, be the kingdom and the power and the glory, or whether it be in times of affliction and trial, in times of death and sorrow. And then this too is not outside the control of our heavenly Father, but during those times as well, we confess for Thine, O God, is the kingdom and the power and the glory. in all things and give me the eyes of God to see that and to confess thy goodness to me in that. We consider the last Lord's Day, Lord's Day 52, along with Daniel 6, taking as our theme, concluding our prayer. Let's note in the first place, the preservation in battle. Secondly, God's matchless glory. And then finally, the final amen, concluding our prayer. And first, the preservation in battle. And there I have my eye, especially on that first question and answer of this Lord's Day. Every day you and I are engaged in battle. Are we aware of that? Do we sense that? That every day we are put in that position of danger as we fight against our enemies. And that's why we pray, Jesus gives us the petition, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Deliver us from evil. And the catechism identifies three of the evils, three of the dangers, three of the enemies that would come to assault us. The devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. But first the devil, who is Satan. Originally given the highest ranking among all of the angels, from Revelation chapter 12 he's described as the great red dragon who took with him a third of all of the stars in heaven, a third of all the total number of angels. that went along with him and that he led in rebellion against God. And this Satan, this devil is opposed to God. His purpose is to overthrow God and to set himself up as ruler. And now in the New Testament, with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Satan doesn't have so much his eyes set on that woman who is great with child from the book of Revelation, the man-child that would be born because he has been born and he did die for our sins and raised on the third day But now, especially in the New Testament, Satan has his eyes set upon the church to deceive the people of God, to lead you and I away from our Savior, Jesus Christ, if Satan might overthrow our faith and destroy us altogether. And he's ceaseless in his assault, he's tireless in all his work in opposing God and God's people. The devil is the chief enemy of God and of the church. And then there's the world. The world refers to the majority of the human race outside of Jesus Christ, men and women and children who live and die in their sins. The reprobate world and this fallen world is under the spiritual power and dominion of the devil and therefore they also hate God and oppose God and his church so that the devil's cause is their cause. And then our third enemy, our own flesh, our sinful human natures. sinful human nature that you and I will have until the day that we die. It's what the Bible describes as the old man of sin. And that old man of sin is desperately wicked. And though we have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and have been given the new man, And yet that old man remains with us just as evil as he always was and always will be. The devil and the world find a tremendous ally in our own flesh. that sinful nature that we have. And these are all called the powers of darkness. And these are all called our mortal enemies. A mortal enemy is one who is out to seek to destroy you and to kill you. The mortal enemies for Daniel were those presidents and princes. The mortal enemy for Daniel was the anti-Christian kingdom in which he lived at that time. The kingdom of Babylon, the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians, and those presidents and princes will do anything and everything to secure the downfall of Daniel and to overthrow his faith. And so Jesus gives us this petition to pray. And especially when we are waging war against our threefold enemy, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And in praying that petition, we are praying that God not lead us into such temptation that we're overwhelmed by that temptation and that we would fall into that sin We're asking God, don't lead me into that temptation that I won't be able to handle it. And in such temptation that I would actually fall under the power of the evil one. But instead, oh God, when I must experience temptation, sustain me. When I must go through that hard time, sustain my loved ones and sustain the church in the difficult times that we must go through so that we are able to face temptation and emerge victorious and walk in a godly way unto thee. This is a petition that God preserve us in a life of sanctification, so that we would not despair of His mercy and grace, even when we must go through that hour of temptation. We find here in Daniel 6 in verse 10 that Daniel prayed, in verse 10, giving thanks before his God. And you can be sure that part of that thanks that Daniel gave to his God was God preserving Daniel in Babylon and keeping him amidst all the attacks on his faith. And that's our prayer in life as well. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Keep us, O God, faithful to Thee. Keep us in our life of sanctification so that we stand strong in the Lord Jesus Christ. And even amidst all the attacks of the wicked one, the devil, the world, and our own flesh, that we would confess the name of Jesus Christ and live godly in this godless world. And we're confident, we're confident in making this petition because Jehovah God is willing and able. And that's what we confess when we get to those final words in the Lord's Prayer. For thine is the kingdom and the power and especially now focusing on that word power. We ascribe all power to Jehovah God. Thine is the might, thine is the ability, the power of God to accomplish all his purposes, to accomplish all his good desire. And this is something that God compels that even King Darius would see, that even that wicked king would come to see the glory and come to confess the power of Daniel's God. We see that in verse 27, King Darius must confess, he delivereth and rescueth. And he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. And this is something that we have to understand. especially as we read Daniel chapter 6, because the story of Daniel being delivered from the mouth of the lions is not just amazing history. Yes, it is that. It is very gripping history, it's a gripping story, but this was a miracle. performed by the power of God himself. And you think of those lions in that den, in that pit. Darius kept those lions for that exact purpose of punishment. And then those lions, you think of them, they were kept hungry. And any wild animal, when it's hungry, is twice as dangerous. And we see this was their nature and this was their power when, lastly, King Darius cast those princes and presidents along with their families into the lion's den. The lions had the mastery over them, even before they got to the bottom of that pit. So that when Daniel says, My God hath sent an angel to stop the mouth of the lions, that Daniel isn't just describing to God some measure of providential control, although of course this was in God's providence, but Daniel is confessing God's power, that Jehovah God has just performed this great miracle, a feat of strength, in stopping the mouths of the lions. And so you and I come to God in the consciousness that if God is able to stop the mouths of hungry lions to save his people, then God is able to do everything necessary for you and for me. And God is able to give us all things that we ask for because not only is he willing to do so, being our father, but he is strong and powerful and able to accomplish all his good desire. And the central demonstration of both of those points, the willingness of God to deliver us, to help us, and the power of God to do it, Then we see that God sent his only begotten son into our flesh. And there you see the willingness of God to go to those lengths to save us. And you see the power of God to accomplish his purposes that the second person of the Trinity would come in our flesh in the incarnation. What power of God And then you think of Jesus, His miracles, His preaching, Jesus bearing all our curse to such a degree that He becomes a curse for us. Arising the third day, what power. And this is why you and I pray to God, is it not? It's because you and I know this powerful God as our Father. who loves us with an eternal love, who is willing to do all things good for us, but if he's only willing and not able, then he's not the God that we need. But this God is not only willing, but strong and powerful to avert all evil or to turn it to our profit. Amazing that even before Daniel saw the power of God in delivering him from the lion's den, that Daniel believed and Daniel knew. Daniel believed that God was not only willing to help him and save him, but that God was powerful to do those things, even before he saw the manifestation of that miracle. And in that confidence, Daniel prayed to God. So that when we consider Daniel falling upon his knees and coming before Jehovah God, do you think that Daniel would have prayed if he were only aware of God's willingness, but not of God's power? And then Daniel might've thought, well, I'm glad that God wants to deliver me, and I'm thankful that God is willing to do it, but who knows if he actually will? Who knows if God actually will manifest his power to deliver me? But Daniel prays. He gives thanks to God. He makes his supplication as he has in the past, And Daniel does so because he has seen the power of God already. Daniel has seen the power of God in creation. Daniel has seen the power of God in giving him the ability to interpret dreams. Daniel has already confessed, King Nebuchadnezzar, this is the power that it's not of me, but it's been given to me by God. Daniel has already come to see The power of God in delivering his three friends from the fiery furnace. The power of Jehovah God in preserving his people as they are captive in a strange land. And so you can be sure that this same Daniel prays now to God in Daniel chapter 6, even before being delivered from the mouth of the lions. But Daniel prays knowing that God is willing and able to do all things. And if there's ever a time in your life or mine when prayer is forbidden us, like it was forbidden Daniel, then pause and ask yourself the question, but to whom else can we go? Who else can hear? Who else is powerful to grant me what I stand in need of? And even as Jesus says to the disciples, Will he also go away? And Peter answers on behalf of himself and the disciples, Lord, to whom can we go? Thou has the words of eternal life. The disciples knew the willingness and the power and the glory of Jesus Christ. And let this be a reason why in the difficulties of our lives that we too, that we turn to God in prayer. Because after all, I need grace to be content with my position in life. I need grace to hold me up and to preserve me when my heart aches. And when I go through sorrow, when I go through distress, when I feel I have no strength to continue, in those times especially, let me turn to God in prayer. He is willing and He is strong and powerful to give that sweet grace to hold us up. And beloved, we've seen that power of God already. the power of God to strengthen us. to do His will even as the angels do in heaven. We've seen that power of God to give us our daily bread, the power of God to take all our sins away and to cast them into the depths of the sea so that they are forgiven in the cross of Jesus Christ. We've seen that power of God to raise up the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead so that death could not hold Him and the grave could not contain Him. And therefore we have no doubt that this my God and my Father and my King is strong and powerful to avert all evil or to turn it to my prophet. And that's what we confess when we pray, for thine is the kingdom and the power. God is willing and God is strong and able to do all these things for his people. And then Jesus teaches us in the Lord's Prayer to confess God's matchless glory. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. And here we ask, what is God's glory? We ascribe it all to him. What is God's glory? In the first place, the glory of God is the brightness and it's the radiation of all of God's attributes. It's the splendor of His love. It's the beauty of His holiness. It's the greatness of His power. And now you take all the other attributes of God as well, grace and mercy and peace and long suffering and all of the rest, and you combine them all together. And what you have at the end is the brightness and the glory of Almighty God. But then in the second place, there's another way to understand that word glory. Not only who God is in and of himself, he is a glorious God, but then glory is also something that we give unto God. Not in the sense that we add something to God, that we give him more of something that he already has. No, but when we glorify God, that speaks of us rendering unto him praise and honor and worship. And we glorify the God of our salvation. Knowing that this our father whom we approach in prayer. is all glorious, gives us confidence when we come to God in prayer. Because why do we pray to God? Because His is the glory. His alone. His is the greatness. His is the honor. His is the worthiness. Not over and above all other gods, but because there are no other gods, all glory, honor, and praise belongs to Him. But that speaks to the shamefulness of us as earthly creatures at times, because we are so ready to ascribe glory and honor to the rich and talented in this world. Perhaps that professional athlete who can run a long distance in a short amount of time or that weightlifter who can lift hundreds and hundreds of pounds or whatever sport you might think of. And you can see that athlete playing basketball or making a wonderful play in hockey and men and women stand in awe of that person and of their ability and of what they can do. But then we say, But what kind of a glory is that? Well, it's an earthly glory. It's a temporal glory. It's the kind of glory where only earthly men stand amazed. But when we speak of the glory of God, it's here where even the glorious angels themselves cannot even stand before the brightness and the glory of Jehovah God, so that even those angels who of themselves have a great degree of glory, they cover their own faces with their wings and they cry out, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of His glory. And beloved, we know that glory of God as we have beheld it in the face of Jesus Christ. Justice and mercy, grace and peace, a glory that lasts and endures. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Our God is the only all-glorious God. And then the questions come to us. Knowing that we have this glorious God who lives and reigns forever and is our heavenly Father, then why is it that we pray to God in times of sickness? And we do. Now we go to the doctor. But we also go to God in times of difficulty, distress, and sickness. Why do we pray to God? Because His is the glory when He gives us those healing mercies. Or if God doesn't heal us, then He gives us a measure of His glorious grace so that we are able to stand and endure that trial. Why do we pray to God when it pleases him to take a loved one unto himself in death? Whether some time ago or even recently, why do we pray to God? Why will we pray when in due time we all will be on our own deathbed? It's because God's is the glory. in giving us the hope and the comfort of the resurrection of the body. God's is the glory in giving us the hope of eternal life. Why do we pray to God in poverty? Because his is the glory when he gives to us that which we stand in need of. Why do we pray to God in times of health and prosperity? because His is the glory in giving us that which we have so that we are ever more thankful to Him who is our God and Father. You see, in all our prayers and in all our petitions, this is what we are doing. We are glorifying God who is strong and able. The hard part, of course, is to guard our hearts so that when we do pray to God that we come unto him sincerely and genuinely as we give him all the glory. And here we see the hypocrisy in those presidents and princes in Daniel chapter six. They come unto King Darius and they are prepared to glorify the king and to say all kinds of nice things to the king. But at bottom, those words of glory to the king were nothing but empty words. Those words were nothing but flattery. and they had no desire in their hearts really to glorify the king. All they had were thoughts of envy and jealousy and receiving the power that Daniel had. But God knows our hearts. He knows the sincerity of our hearts and he demands sincere adoration in prayer. And beloved, let us go to God in prayer, consciously glorifying him. And as we leave the throne room of God, the final word that we say is amen. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, amen. And this is something that even you children know, you children know what that word amen at least does not mean. That word amen does not mean that now my prayer is finished. The word amen does not mean the end. The word amen does not mean I'm all done with my prayer and now I can go do my thing. But the word amen means it's true. It's certain. The word amen means that all of these things, all of these my petitions I have made of God, that I've made them truly, I've made them sincerely. I haven't played the hypocrite. I haven't brought empty words to Jehovah God, but I meant them and I desire these things of God. The word amen means and God is powerful to give me these things because he is Jehovah God and I'm certain that God will do it for me. This is a word This word, amen, is a word that Jesus used many times during his earthly ministry. And Jesus didn't use it at the end of a prayer, but Jesus would often use it at the very beginning of a parable. When the King James Version translates, verily, verily, I say unto you, how the parable, many of the parables begins, that word verily is simply the word amen. so that we would not be wrong at all in understanding those verses. Amen, amen, I say unto you. Truly, certainly, these things are sure, and I now speak them unto you. We find this word amen used so many times in the Old Testament, in a context even outside of prayer. So that in Deuteronomy chapter 27, the Israelites having come into the land of Canaan, and half of the Israelites are on Mount Ebal, and the other half on Mount Gerizim, and the Levites in the middle crying out what they have to say with a loud voice. Cursed is the man that maketh a graven image. Cursed is the man that perverteth judgment. Cursed is the man that slays another man. And then each side is to respond, Amen, Amen, let it be, let those words ring true. Nehemiah chapter 8, Ezra the scribe, reading the law of God to the people. Nehemiah 8 verse 6, And all the people answered, Amen, Amen. with lifting up their hands and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord. And then you have so many times, so many times in the book of Psalms, the word amen used. I give you three verses, Psalm 41 verse 13. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen. Psalm 72, 19, and blessed be his glorious name forever and let the whole earth be filled with his glory, amen and amen. Psalm 89, verse 52, blessed be the Lord forevermore, amen and amen. And whenever we use this word, amen, and oftentimes, more often than not, we use it at the ending of our prayers, we are expressing our confidence that God will hear and answer our prayer. And that he will answer our prayer in accordance with his will. Not always what we want, And sometimes again, we have to realize that His answer was not the exact sort of answer that we looked for. We wish that it were a little different, but God answered nonetheless. And His answer, if it was not pleasing according to the flesh, and yet we know that this is good. This is good for my soul. And we hear God speak to us. Yes, you are my child and I love you. Yes, I will give you good and not evil all the days of your life. And now you trust in me as I lead you through this valley of tears and through all these trials and afflictions. And in due time, I will glorify you as well. And because the word amen denotes that confidence then it's very fitting that it be spoken by us at the very end of our prayers. It's fitting to close on this note. In fact, we ought not to end our prayer until we are ready to say amen, meaning I am confident, knowing that God is willing and able to grant me my petition and my supplication. And so let us ascribe to God the kingdom, the power and the glory. Even if you yourself find yourself to be in the den of lions, even if you are threatened with death because of your confession of Jesus Christ, then let us bring to God all our petitions And He will hear. He is our Father, willing and able to give us all good. And let all our prayers be brimming with confidence so that we say, Father, hear me in my need. I come to Thee in the name of Jesus Christ and to Thee be all glory, power, dominion, both now and forevermore. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father which art in heaven, we thank Thee that Thou art Jehovah God. We are confident that as our Father and King, that Thou art the one with all power and all glory. and that thou wilt not only hear our petitions, but that thou wilt answer our heart's request. Give us what we stand in need of, thou knowest our needs better than we do ourselves. Teach us to pray according to thy will, and use us that in all of our lives, we would render to thee the power, the glory, and the dominion. both now and forevermore. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. We sing Psalter number 434. 434. which is the Lord's Prayer. will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Let us extend our daily bread. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all. Amen. Yeah.