day_, thereby denoting that we are to desire to have our present
necessities supplied, as those who cannot be certain that we shall live
till to-morrow. How often does God break the thread of our lives in an
instant, without giving us any notice of it beforehand? And therefore we
may truly say in the midst of life, we are in death, and are advised to
take no thought for the morrow, but to leave that entirely to the
providence of God: Food nourishes but for a day, so that what we now
receive will not suffice us to-morrow. Nature is always craving
supplies, and therefore we are taught to have a continual recourse to
God by prayer for them: And, if we look farther than this present time,
it is to be with this condition, that the Lord has determined to prolong
our lives, and thereby renders it necessary for us to pray for those
things that will be needful for the support thereof: This seems to be
the meaning of that variation of expression, which the evangelist Luke
makes use of, when he says, _Give us day by day our daily bread_, Luke
xi. 3. And it may obviate an objection, as it will be inferred by some,
that if we are not to pray for what respects our future condition in
this world, we are not to make provision for it: Whereas, this is
contrary to what we are exhorted to do, by being led to consider the
provision which the smallest insects make for their subsistence; _The
ant provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the
harvest_, Prov. vi. 8. And the apostle says, _If any provide not for his
own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the
faith, and is worse than an infidel_, 1 Tim. v. 8. This therefore we
ought to do; and accordingly we are to pray, that God would succeed our
lawful endeavours, in order thereunto; though we must do it with this
limitation, as maintaining a constant sense that our times are in his
hand, so that if he should be pleased to grant us a longer or shorter
lease of our lives, which to us is altogether uncertain, we are to beg
of him, that we may never be destitute of what is necessary for our
glorifying him therein.
4. This petition is to be considered as respecting others as well as
ourselves; _Give us_, &c. whereby we express a concern for their
advantage in what respects the good things of this life. The blessings
of providence flow from an inexhaustible fountain; and therefore we are
not to think that, by desiring that others may have a supply of their
wants, there will not be enough remaining for us.
And this should always teach us to bear our part in relieving others,
that they may not, through our neglect, perish for want of the
necessaries of this life: Thus we are exhorted _to deal our bread to the
hungry_, to _bring the poor that are cast out to_ our _houses, and when
we see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide_ ourselves _from_ our
_own flesh_, Isa. lviii. 7. And Job having been severely accused by his
friends, as though all those afflictions that befel him, were in
judgment for his having oppressed and _forsaken the poor_, and
_violently taken away an house which he builded not_, as Zophar
insinuates, Job xx. 19. vindicates himself from the charge in the
strongest terms, when he says, _I have not withheld the poor from their
desire, nor caused the eyes of the widow to fail; nor eaten my morsel
myself alone_, so that _the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; nor seen
any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering_, chap.
xxxi. 16-19. This is not only to pray, that God would give others their
daily bread; but to help them, so far as it is in our power, which is
very agreeable to what we pray for in their behalf, as well as our own,
when we say, as in this petition, _Give us this day our daily bread_.
Thus concerning the matter of this petition, as explained in this
answer; of which we shall give a summary account in the following
meditation, which may be of use for the reducing our Saviour’s direction
into practice: Accordingly we address him in this manner, “Our eyes wait
on thee, O thou preserver of men, who givest to all their meat in due
season. We are poor, indigent creatures, whose necessities oblige us to
request a daily supply, for our outward as well as spiritual wants. Thou
hast granted us life and favour; and, having obtained help from thee, we
continue unto this day. Thou preparest a table for us; our cup runneth
over; we have never been wholly destitute of those outward blessings
which tend to make our pilgrimage, through this world, easy and
comfortable: We therefore adore thee for the care and goodness of thy
providence, which continues to us forfeited blessings. We have, by our
sins, deserved to be deprived of all the good things we enjoy, which we
have not used to thy glory, as we ought to have done. We acknowledge
ourselves less than the least of all thy mercies; yet thou hast
encouraged us to pray and hope for the continuance thereof: We leave it
to thine infinite wisdom, to chuse that condition of life which thou
seest best for us. It is not the great things of this world that we are
solicitous about, but that portion thereof which is necessary to our
glorifying thee therein. Thou hast made it our duty, and accordingly we
desire, to use that industry which is necessary to attain a comfortable
subsistence in the world; yet we are sensible that the success thereof
is wholly owing to thy blessing: We therefore beg, that thou wouldst
prosper our undertaking; since it is thy blessing alone that maketh
rich, and addeth no sorrow therewith. Keep our desires after the world
within their due bounds; and enable us to be content with what thou art
pleased to allot for us, that our hearts may not be turned aside
thereby, from an earnest pursuit after that bread which perisheth not,
but endureth to everlasting life. If thou art pleased to give us the
riches of this world, let not our hearts be set upon them; and if thou
hast ordained that we should be in low circumstances therein, may the
frame of our spirits be suited thereunto, and this condition of life be
sanctified, that it may appear, that we are not too low to be the
objects of thy special regard and discriminating grace; that having
nothing, we may really possess all things, in having an interest in thy
love. As to what concerns our future condition in this world, though
thou hast made it our duty to use a provident care that we may not be
reduced to those straits that would render the last stage of life
uncomfortable; yet we would do this with a constant sense of the
uncertainty of life, since our times are in thy hand, our circumstances
in the world at thy disposal, and we rejoice that they are so: Therefore
we earnestly beg, that if it be thy sovereign will to call us soon out
of it, that we may be as well pleased to leave, as ever we were to enjoy
it, as being blessed with a well-grounded hope of a better life: And, if
it be consistent with thy will, that our lives be prolonged in the
world, _Give us day by day our daily bread_, that we may, at all times,
experience, that thou dost abundantly bless our provision, and satisfy
us with those things which thou seest needful for us, till we come to
our journey’s end, and are possessed of that perfect blessedness which
thou hast reserved for thy saints in a better world.”
Quest. CXCIV.
QUEST. CXCIV. _What do we pray for the fifth petition?_
ANSW. In the fifth petition, [which is, _Forgive us our debts as we
forgive our debtors_] acknowledging that we, and all others, are
guilty both of original and actual sin, and thereby become debtors
to the justice of God; and that neither we, nor any other creature,
can make the least satisfaction for that debt. We pray for ourselves
and others, that God of his free grace would, through the obedience
and satisfaction of Christ apprehended and applied by faith, acquit
us both from the guilt and punishment of sin, accept us in his
Beloved, continue his favour and grace to us, pardon our daily
failings, and fill us with peace and joy, in giving us daily more
and more assurance of forgiveness, which we are the rather
emboldened to ask, and encouraged to expect when we have this
testimony in ourselves, that we, from the heart, forgive others
their offences.
Having been directed, in the former petition, to pray for outward
blessings; we are now led to ask for forgiveness of sin; and it is with
very good reason that these two petitions are joined together, inasmuch
as we cannot expect that God should give us the good things of this
life, which are all forfeited by us, much less, that we should have them
bestowed on us in mercy, and for our good, unless he is pleased to
forgive those sins, whereby we provoke him to withhold them from us:
Neither can we take comfort in any outward blessings, while our
consciences are burdened with a sense of the guilt of sin, and we have
nothing to expect, as the consequence thereof, but to be separated from
his presence; therefore we are taught to pray, that God would _forgive
us our sins_, as one evangelist expresses it, or our _debts_, as it is
in the other.
From whence it may be observed, in general, that sin is a debt. As it is
contrary to the holiness of God, it is a stain and blemish, a dishonour
and reproach to us; as it is a violation of his law it is a crime; and,
as to what respects the guilt which we contract hereby, it is called _a
debt_; which is the principal thing considered in this petition. There
was a debt of obedience demanded from us as creatures: and, in case of
the failure hereof, or any other sin committed by us, there was a
threatening denounced, pursuant to the sanction of the law, from whence
arises a debt of punishment; and in this respect it is that we are
directed, more especially, in this petition, to pray for forgiveness.
There are several things which respect the nature of forgiveness, as
founded on the satisfaction given by Christ, as our Surety: which have
been largely insisted on under some foregoing answers[121]: Therefore,
the method we shall observe, in considering the subject-matter of this
petition, shall be,
I. To take a view of sinful man as charged with guilt, and rendered
uneasy under a sense thereof.
II. How he is to address himself to God by faith and prayer for
forgiveness. And,
III. The encouragement which he has to hope that his prayer will be
answered. Under which head we shall take occasion to consider how far
that disposition which we have to forgive others, is an evidence hereof.
I. Concerning the charge of guilt upon us, and that uneasiness which is
the consequence thereof. Here we consider the sinner as apprehended and
standing before God, the Judge of all; an accusation brought in against
him, in which he is charged with apostacy and rebellion against his
rightful Lord and Sovereign, and, as the consequence thereof, his nature
is vitiated and depraved, his heart deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked; from whence proceed all actual transgressions, with
their respective aggravations, which, according to the tenor of the law
of God, deserve his wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which
is to come[122]. And this charge is made good against him by such
convincing evidence, that he must be very much unacquainted with
himself, and a stranger to the law of God, if he does not see it: But if
we suppose him stupid, and persisting in his own vindication, through
the blindness of his mind, and hardness of his heart, and ready to say
with Ephraim, _In all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me,
that were sin_, Hos. xii. 8. yet the charge will, notwithstanding,
appear to be just, and every mouth shall be stopped, and they are forced
to confess themselves guilty before God: Upon this, conscience is
awakened, and trembles at the thoughts of falling into the hands of an
absolute God, who appears no otherwise to him than as a consuming fire;
his terrors set themselves in array against him, and this cannot but
fill him with the greatest anguish, especially because there is no
method which he can find out, to free himself from that misery, which he
dreads as the consequence thereof.
If he pretends to extenuate his crimes, it will not avail him; and if
his own conscience does not come in as a witness against him, as having
been a party concerned in the rebellion, it is an argument that it is
rendered stupid by a continuance therein: Nothing that it can allege in
its own vindication, will be regarded in the court of heaven, but rather
tend to add weight to the guilt he has contracted; for the omniscience
of God will bring an unanswerable charge against him, as being a
transgressor of his law, and thereby liable to condemnation, upon which,
vindictive justice will demand satisfaction.
If he makes an overture to pay the debt, he must either yield sinless
obedience, which is impossible, from the nature of the thing; or bear
the stroke of justice, and suffer the punishment that is due to him,
which, if he is content to do, he knows not what it is to fall into the
hands of the living God, or to be plunged into an abyss of endless
misery. If he thinks that he shall be secure by flying from justice,
this would be a vain attempt, since God is omnipresent; and _there is no
darkness or shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide
themselves_, Job xxxiv. 52.
Nothing therefore remains, but that he make supplication to his Judge,
that he would pass by the crimes he has committed, without demanding
satisfaction: But this is to desire, that he would act contrary to the
holiness of his nature; which would be such a blemish on his
perfections, that he is obliged to reject: What is this but to
relinquish his throne, deny his sovereignty, and act contrary to his own
law, which is the rule of his government, whereby sinners will take
occasion to transgress, expecting that they may do this with impunity?
But, is there no intercessor that will plead his cause, or appear for
him in the court of heaven? this cannot be done but by one who is able
to make an atonement, and thereby secure the glory of divine justice, by
having the debt transferred or placed to his account, and giving a full
satisfaction for it; but this belongs to none but our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has obtained redemption and forgiveness through his blood; and none
can take encouragement from hence, but he that addresses himself to God
by faith, which we are now considering the sinner as destitute of, and
therefore the charge of guilt remains upon him. And it is certain, that
the consequence hereof is such, as will tend to fill him with the
greatest uneasiness under the burthen that lies on his conscience, which
has a perpetual dread of the execution of the sentence that is in force
against him. This wounds his spirits; and it is impossible for any one
to apply healing medicines, but by directing him according to the
prescription contained in the gospel, to seek forgiveness in that way in
which God applies it, in and through a Mediator.
II. We are now to consider, how a person is to address himself to God by
faith and prayer for forgiveness, which is the principal thing designed
in this petition. Here it is to be acknowledged, that when we draw nigh
to God, it is with a sense of guilt, and, it may be, with great distress
of conscience, arising from it; yet it differs very much from what was
observed under the last head, when we considered a sinner as standing
before an absolute God, without any hope of obtaining forgiveness, since
that cannot but fill him with dread and horror; whereas, this is an
expedient for his obtaining a settled peace of conscience; and, indeed,
there is nothing of greater importance, than our performing this duty in
a right manner. And, in order thereunto, let it be considered,
1. That when we pray for forgiveness of sin it is supposed, that none
can bestow this blessing upon us but God. No one has a right to forgive
an offence, but he against whom it is committed: This will appear, if we
consider sin as a neglect or refusal to pay a debt of obedience, which
is due from us, to God, and consequently it would be an invading his
right, for any one who had no power to demand it, to pretend to give a
discharge to the sinner as an insolvent debtor: This would be to act
like the person mentioned in the parable, who was appointed indeed, to
receive his lord’s debts, but not to cancel them; and therefore, our
Saviour calls him an _unjust steward_; and he is said to have _wasted
his lord’s goods_, by compounding the debts which were owing to him
without his order, Luke xvi. 1. _& seq._ Now, since obedience, as it is
a religious duty is due to God alone; it is only he that can give a
discharge to those who have not performed it: and since it belongs to
him as a judge and law-giver, to punish offenders, it would be the
highest affront to him for a creature to pretend to this prerogative;
and therefore God appropriates it to himself, when he says, _I even I am
he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake_, Isa. xliii.
25. which expression is to be understood of him exclusive of all others;
accordingly, when the Jews charge our Saviour with blasphemy on his
forgiving sins, and say, _Who can forgive sins but God only?_ the
proposition was true, how false soever the inference, which they deduce
from thence to disprove his Deity, might be. We shall now consider,
2. That all ought to pray for forgiveness, and in what sense this is to
be done,
(1.) All ought to pray for forgiveness: One would think, that this is so
evident, and agreeable to the condition of fallen man, as well as
founded on many scriptures, and expressly commanded in this petition,
which we are explaining, that it is needless to give a farther proof of
it; but this we are obliged to do, inasmuch as some have asserted that a
justified person ought not to pray for pardon of sin, since this is what
is already done: This is an inference from what they advance, who plead
for actual justification from eternity; and therefore it is, as they
suppose, equally absurd for such an one to pray, that God would forgive
him, as it is to pray that he would choose them to eternal life, or that
Christ would satisfy divine justice for the sins of his people, which he
has already done. It is, indeed, not very easy to understand what some
persons mean, when they insist on this subject, inasmuch as they lay
down propositions, without sufficiently explaining them; and whatever
they allege in their vindication, that they intend nothing else hereby
but what is agreeable to the sentiments of the reformed churches, it is
certain, that they advance several things, or, at least, make use of
such unguarded expressions as are altogether disowned by them; and, at
the same time, give occasion to some, to run into the contrary extreme,
who, for fear of being thought to assert eternal justification, deny the
eternal purpose of God relating thereunto.
But whatever they intend when they say, that a justified person ought
not to pray for pardon of sin; the contrary to this is sufficiently
evident from scripture. For every believer is a justified person;
therefore, if we have any instance of believers praying for the pardon
of sin, this sufficiently confutes that absurd notion which we are
opposing. Now that many have prayed for pardon of sin, who have, at the
same time, been true believers, is evident, from David’s praying for the
pardon of sin, as he often does: Thus he says, in Psal. xxv. 11. _For
thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great_; and
yet, at the same time, he expresses himself like a justified person; _O
my God, I trust in thee_, ver. 2. and ver. 5. _Thou art the God of my
salvation_: And, in Psal. cxliii. 2. he prays, _Enter not into judgment
with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified_;
yet, at the same time, he appears to be a believer; for he speaks, in
ver. 8. of his _trusting in_, and _lifting up his soul to God_, and
_fleeing to him_, that he would _hide him_, ver. 9. which are all acts
of justifying faith; and, in Psal. li. 1. he prays, _Have mercy upon me,
O God, according to thy loving-kindness; according to the multitude of
thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions_; and, in ver. 9. _Hide
thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities_: Whereas he had
an intimation before from God, that he had pardoned his sin, 2 Sam. xii.
13. which, as appears by the preface to this Psalm, was the occasion of
its composure; so that the Spirit of God hereby put words into his
mouth, and taught him, notwithstanding the assurance he had from him of
his having obtained forgiveness, to pray for it: And the apostle Paul
was in a justified state, when he expressed his earnest desire of being
_found in Christ, not having his own righteousness, but that which is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by
faith_, Phil. iii. 9. This might also be argued from all those
scriptures, that represent believers as praying for salvation, which
cannot be done without praying for forgiveness of sin, as being
inseparably connected therewith. I shall therefore add no more
concerning the obligation which all are under, to pray for the pardon of
sin, but proceed to consider,
(2.) In what sense we are to pray for it. This may, without much
difficulty, be determined, if we rightly state the doctrine of
justification, which, if it be considered as an immanent act in God, or
the eternal purpose of his will, not to impute sin, which is what
divines call decretive justification, it is to be allowed, that this is
no more to be prayed for than eternal election; neither are we to pray,
that Christ may be constituted the Head and Surety of his elect, or,
that he might finish transgressions, make an end of sin, and bring in an
everlasting righteousness, for that is already done. But, inasmuch as
the scripture often speaks of justification as consisting in the
application of Christ’s righteousness, or that right we have to lay
claim to it, which is styled justification by faith, and is the only
foundation on which we build our hope, that we have an interest in what
Christ did and suffered, and are thereby discharged from guilt and
condemnation. This cannot be before we believe; and in this sense we
pray that God would justify us: Now since forgiveness of sin is a branch
of justification, it is, in this sense that we pray for the pardon of
sin. And this includes in it,
[1.] An earnest desire that God would not lay those sins to our charge
that we daily commit; or, that he would not, as the Psalmist says,
_enter into judgment_ with us, Psal. cxliii. 2. And, as the consequence
hereof, we pray, that God would not punish us as our iniquities deserve.
This is to pray for the application of Christ’s righteousness as the
ground and foundation of our claim to forgiveness.
[2.] We are to pray for the comfortable fruits and effects of
forgiveness, that _being justified by faith, we may have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ_, and _access by faith, into this grace
wherein we stand_, Rom. v. 1, 2. or, that we may be able to conclude,
that our persons and services are accepted in the Beloved; and that
Christ hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.
[3.] We are to pray for the assurance or comfortable sense hereof, that
hereby we may rejoice in hope of the glory of God: And, inasmuch as we
daily contract guilt, we are to pray that this blessing may be daily
applied to us, and that, both living and dying, we may be dealt with as
those who are interested in Christ’s righteousness as our Surety and
Redeemer.
If it be objected, that pardon of sin is a blessing that every believer
has; and therefore he ought not to pray for it. To this I answer, that
there are many privileges which God does, or will certainly bestow upon
his people, which they are, nevertheless, to pray for; otherwise they,
who are in a state of grace, are not to pray for perseverance in grace;
because they are assured that it shall be maintained unto salvation,
according to God’s promise: And, indeed, whatever promises are contained
in the covenant of grace, a believer ought not, according to this method
of reasoning, to pray that God would apply them to him, and so glorify
his faithfulness in accomplishing them, since he is certainly persuaded
that he will do it; whereas, all allow that we are to pray for this
privilege: Therefore, if we have a full assurance that God has forgiven
our sins; yet, inasmuch as we daily contract guilt, we are daily to
pray, that he would not lay it to our charge, or deal with us as our
iniquities deserve.