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;
I ... made my confession - according to God's promises in Leviticus 26:39-42, that if Israel in exile for sin should repent and confess, God would remember for them His covenant with Abraham (cf. Deuteronomy 30:1-5; Jeremiah 29:12-14; James 4:10). God's promise was absolute; but prayer also was ordained as about to precede its fulfillment, this, too, being the work of God in His people, as much as the external restoration which was to follow. So it shall be at Israel's final restoration (Psalms 102:13-17). Daniel takes his countrymen's place of confession of sin, identifying himself with them, and, as their representative and intercessory, priest, "accepts the punishment of their iniquity."
Thus he typifies Messiah the Sin-bearer and great Intercessor. The prophet's own life and experience forms the fit starting-point of the prophecy concerning the sin-atonement. He prays for Israel's restoration, as associated in the prophets (cf. Jeremiah 31:4; Jeremiah 31:11-12; Jeremiah 31:22; Jeremiah 31:31, etc.) with the hope of Messiah. The revelation now granted analyzes into its successive parts that which the prophets, in prophetic perspective, heretofore saw together in one-namely, the redemption from captivity, and the full Messianic redemption. God's servants who, like Noah's father. Lamech (Genesis 5:29), hoped many a time that now the Comforter of their afflictions was at hand, had to wait from age to age, and to view preceding fulfillments only as pledges of the coming of Him whom they so earnestly desired to see (Matthew 13:17); as now also Christians, who believe that the Lords second coming is nigh, are expected to continue waiting. So Daniel is informed of a long period of 70 prophetic weeks before Messiah's coming, instead of 70 years, as he might have expected (cf. Matthew 18:21-22). (Auberlen.)
O Lord, the great and dreadful God - as we know to our cost by the calamities we suffer. The greatness of God and His dreadful abhorrence of sin should prepare sinners for reverent, humble acknowledgment of the justice of their punishment.
Keeping the covenant and mercy - i:e., the covenant of the mercy, whereby thou hast promised to deliver us, not for our merits, but of thy mercy (Ezekiel 36:22-23). So weak and sinful is man that any covenant for good on God's part with him, to take effect, must depend solely on His grace. If He be a God to be feared for His justice, He is one to be trusted for His "mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments." Keeping his commandments is the only sure test of love to God (John 14:15).