PETITIONS AND REQUESTS
OF THE THIRD PART OF PRAYER, WHICH IS PETITION AND SUPPLICATION FOR THE GOOD THINGS WHICH WE STAND IN NEED OF
Having opened the wounds of sin, both the guilt of it, and the power of it, and its remainders in us, we must next seek unto God for the remedy, for healing and help, for from Him alone it is to be expected, and He will for this be enquired of by us. And now we must affect our hearts with a deep sense of the need we have of those mercies which we pray for, that we are undone, for ever undone, without them; and with a high esteem and value for them, that we are happy, we are made for ever, if we obtain them; that we may like Jacob wrestle with Him in prayer as for our lives, and the lives of our souls. But we must not think in our prayers to prescribe to Him, or by our importunity to move Him. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and knows what He will do. But thus we open our wants and our desires, and then refer ourselves to His wisdom and goodness: And hereby we give honour to Him as our protector and benefactor, and take the way which He Himself hath appointed of fetching in mercy from Him, and by faith plead His promise with Him; and if we are sincere herein, we are through His grace qualified according to the tenor of the new covenant to receive His favours, and are to be assured, that we do and shall receive them. Ezekiel 36:37. John 6:6. Mark 11:24.
ND now, Lord, what wait we for? Truly our hope is even in thee: Deliver us from all our transgressions, that we may not be the reproach of the foolish. Psalm 39:7, 8.
Lord, all our desire is before thee, and our groaning is not hid
from thee; even the groanings which cannot be uttered: For he that searcheth the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit. Psalm 38:9. Romans 8:26, 27.
We do not think that we shall be heard for our much speaking; for our Father knows what things we have need of before we ask him; but our Master hath told us, that whatsoever we ask the Father in his name he will give it us. And he hath said, Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. Matthew 6:7, 8. John 16:23, 24.
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 1 John 5:14, 15.
WE MUST EARNESTLY PRAY FOR THE PARDON AND FORGIVENESS OF ALL OUR SINS
L0RD, we come to thee, as the poor publican, that stood afar off, and would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast; and we pray his prayer, God be merciful to us sinners. The God of infinite mercy be merciful to us. Luke 18:13.
0 wash us throughly from our iniquity, and cleanse us from our sin, for we acknowledge our transgressions, and our sin is ever before us. 0 purge us with hyssop and we shall be clean, wash us and we shall be whiter than snow: Hide thy face from our sins, and blot out all our iniquities. Psalm 51:2, 3, 7, 9.
Be thou merciful to our unrighteousness, and our sins and our iniquities do thou remember no more. 0 forgive us that great debt. Hebrews 8:12. Matthew 18:32.
Let us be justified freely by thy grace through the redemption that is in Jesus, from all those things from which we could not be justified by the law of Moses. Romans 3:24. Acts 13:39.
0 let not our iniquity be our ruin; but let the Lord take away our sin that we may not die, not die eternally: that we may not be hurt of the second death. Ezekiel 18:30. 2 Samuel 12:13. Revelation 2:11.
Blot out as a cloud our transgressions, and as a thick cloud our sins; for we return unto thee because thou hast redeemed us. Isaiah 44:22.
Enter not into judgment with thy servants, 0 Lord, for in thy sight shall no flesh living be justified. Psalm 143:2.
Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously; Heal our backslidings, and love us freely, and let thine anger be turned away from us; for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. Hosea 14:2, 4, 3.
Though our sins have been as scarlet, let them be as white as snow, and though they have been red like crimson, let them be as wool, that being willing and obedient, we may eat the good of the land. Isaiah 1:18, 19.
We will say unto God, Do not condemn us, but deliver us from going down to the pit, for thou hast found the ransom. Job 10:2. Job 33:24.
For the encouraging of our faith, and the exciting of our fervency in this petition for the pardon of sin, we may plead with God,
1. The infinite goodness of His nature, His readiness to forgive sin, and His glorying in it.
Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and rich in mercy to all them that call upon thee. Thou art a God full of compassion and gracious, long-suffering and plenteous in mercy and truth. Psalm 86:5, 15.
Thou art a God of pardons, merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; that dost not always chide, nor keep thine anger for ever. Nehemiah 9:17. Psalm 103:9.
Thou, even thou art he that blottest out our transgressions for thine own sake, and wilt not remember our sins; which we are here to put thee in remembrance of, to plead with thee and to declare that we may be justified. Isaiah 43:25, 26.
And now we beseech thee, let the power of our Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Pardon, we beseech thee, the iniquity of thy people, according unto the greatness of thy mercy; and as thou hast forgiven, even until now. Numbers 14:17, 18, 19.
For who is a God like unto thee, that pardonest iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of thine heritage; who retainest not thine anger for ever, because thou delightest in mercy. O that thou wouldest have compassion upon us, and subdue our iniquities, and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:18, 19.
2. The merit and righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we rely upon as our main plea in our petition for the pardon of sin.
We know that as thou art gracious and merciful, so thou art the righteous God that loveth righteousness, and wilt by no means clear the guilty. We cannot say, Have patience with us, and we will pay thee all; for we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. But Jesus Christ is made of God to us righteousness; being made sin for us, though he knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Psalm 11:7. Exodus 34:7. Matthew 18:26. Isaiah 64:6. 1 Corinthians 1:30. 2 Corinthians 5:21.
We have sinned, but we have an advocate with the Father, JESUS CHRIST THE RIGHTEOUS, who is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:1, 2.
It is God that justifieth, who is he that shall condemn? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, and now is even at the right hand of God; who also maketh intercession for us, and whose blood speaks better things than that of Abel. Romans 8:33, 34. Hebrews 12:24.
We desire to count every thing loss for Christ; and dung that we may win Christ, and be found in him, not having any righteousness of our own, but that which is through the faith of Christ. Philippians 3:7, 8, 9.
This is the name whereby we will call him, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. In him, Lord, we believe, help thou our unbelief. Jeremiah 23:6. Mark 9:24.
Lord, remember David and all his troubles; the Son of David. Remember all his offerings, and accept his burnt sacrifice; and turn not away the face of thine anointed; who by his own blood is entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Psalm 132:1. Psalm 20:3. Psalm 132:10. Hebrews 13:12. Hebrews 9:24.
Hast not thou thyself set forth thy Son Christ Jesus to be a propitiation for sin through faith in his blood, to declare thy righteousness for the remission of sins, to declare at this time thy righteousness, that thou mayest be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus; And we now receive the atonement. Romans 3:25, 26. Romans 5:11.
3. The promises God hath made in His word to pardon and absolve all them that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe His holy gospel.
Lord, is not this the word which thou hast spoken, that if the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and return unto the Lord, even to our God, that thou wilt abundantly pardon, wilt multiply to pardon? Isaiah 55:7.
To thee the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against thee. Daniel 9:9.
Is not this the covenant which thou hast made with the house of Israel, that thou wilt take away their sins; that thou wilt forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more; that the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found? Romans 11:27. Jeremiah 31:34. Jeremiah 50:20.
Hast thou not said, that if the wicked will turn from all his sins which he hath committed, and keep thy statutes, he shall live, he shall not die, all his transgressions shall not be mentioned unto him? Ezekiel 18:21, 22.
Hast thou not appointed that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in Christ's name unto all nations? Luke 24:47.
Didst thou not promise, that when the sins of Israel were put upon the head of the scapegoat, they should be sent away into the wilderness, into a land not inhabited? And as far as the east is from the west, so far dost thou remove our transgressions from us. Leviticus 16:21, 22. Psalm 103:12.
O remember these words unto thy servants, upon which thou hast caused us to hope. Psalm 119:49.
4. Our own misery and danger because of sin.
For thy name's sake, 0 Lord, pardon our iniquity, for it is great; for innumerable evils have compassed us about, our iniquities have taken hold upon us, so that we are not able to look up. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver us; O Lord, make haste to help us. Psalm 25:11. Psalm<