Category: ESV First Person

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Consider your Evil Sins in Light of your Moral Knowledge and Profession of Faith

Confession 2.15 | ESV

We must aggravate* our sins and take notice of those things which make them more heinous in the sight of God and more dangerous to ourselves.

I bewail before you all my iniquities, all my transgressions, and all my sins. Leviticus 16:21(ESV)

The more knowledge we have of good and evil, the greater is our sin.

I have known my Master’s will but have not done it, and therefore deserve a severe beating. Luke 12:47(ESV)

I have known the way of the LORD and the justice of my God, and yet have broken the yoke and burst the bonds. Jeremiah 5:4-5(ESV)

I have known God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, and yet have not only done them, but given approval to those who practice them. Romans 1:32(ESV)

I have taught others, and yet have not taught myself; Romans 2:21(ESV) and while I profess to know God, I have denied him by my works. Titus 1:16(ESV)

The greater profession we have made of religion, the greater has been our sin.

I call myself after the holy city and stay myself on the God of Israel and confess his name, but not in truth and in righteousness. Isaiah 48:1-2(ESV) For I have dishonored that worthy name by which I have been called, James 2:23(ESV) and given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. 2 Samuel 12:14(ESV)

I have named the name of Christ, and yet have not departed from iniquity. 2 Timothy 2:19(ESV)

* The author means that we must look at our sins in the worst light, to see just how evil they are, taking into account the persons we have offended, the nature of the offense, the circumstances of our sin, etc. See The Westminster Larger Catechism, Questions 150 and 151. Editor.

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Acknowledge that Sin is an Affront to the Holy God and Damages the Soul

Confession 2.14 | ESV

The offense which by sin I have given to the Holy God.

By breaking the law I have dishonored God, Romans 2:23(ESV) and given bitter provocation Hosea 12:14(ESV) to the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 1:4(ESV) And many a thing that I have done has displeased the Lord. 2 Samuel 11:27(ESV)

God has been broken over my whoring heart and my eyes that have gone whoring after my idols. Ezekiel 6:9(ESV)

I have put him to the test, and to the proof, and grieved him in the wilderness; Psalm 95:9-10(ESV) have rebelled, and grieved his Holy Spirit, Isaiah 63:10(ESV) and pressed him down with my iniquities, as a cart full of sheaves presses down. Amos 2:13(ESV)

I have grieved the Holy Spirit of God, by whom I was sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30(ESV)

The damage which by sin I have done to my own soul and its great interests.

For my iniquities I was sold; Isaiah 50:1(ESV) and in sinning against you, I have wronged my own soul. Proverbs 8:36(KJV)

My sins have made a separation between me and my God, Isaiah 59:2(ESV) and have kept good from me; Jeremiah 5:25(ESV) and by them, my mind and conscience have been defiled. Titus 1:15(ESV)

My own evil has chastised me, and my apostasy has reproved me; and I cannot but know and see that it is evil and bitter for me to forsake the LORD my God, and that his fear has not been in me. Jeremiah 2:19(ESV)

O what fools are they who mock at sin! Proverbs 14:9(KJV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Acknowledge the Great Evil of Sin, its Unprofitableness and Deceitfulness

Confession 2.13 | ESV

The unprofitableness of sin.

I have sinned and perverted what was right, and it did not profit me. Job 33:27(KJV)

What fruit am I getting from the things of which I am now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. Romans 6:21(ESV) And what am I profited if I should gain the whole world and forfeit my own soul? Matthew 16:26(ESV)

The deceitfulness of sin.

Sin has deceived me, and through the commandment killed me; Romans 7:11(ESV) for my heart has been hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, Hebrews 3:13(ESV) and I have been lured and enticed by my own desire. James 1:14(ESV)

It has promised me freedom, but has made me the slave of corruption; 2 Peter 2:19(ESV) has promised me that I shall not surely die and that I shall be like God, Genesis 3:4-5(ESV) but it has flattered me and spread a net for my feet. Proverbs 29:5(ESV)

The pride of my heart, particularly, has deceived me. Obadiah 1:3(ESV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Acknowledge the Great Evil of Sin, its Sinfulness and Foolishness

Confession 2.12 | ESV

We must acknowledge the great evil that there is in sin, and in our sin; the malignity of its nature, and its mischievousness to us.

The sinfulness of sin.

O that sin might be shown to be sin to me and appear in its own colors; and through the commandment may I see it to be sinful beyond measure, Romans 7:13(ESV) because it is lawlessness. 1 John 3:4(ESV)

By every willful sin I have in effect said, “I do not want this man to reign over me.” Luke 19:14(ESV) And, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice?” Exodus 5:2(ESV) And thus have I reviled the LORD, Numbers 15:30(ESV) and cast his law behind my back. Nehemiah 9:26(ESV)

The foolishness of sin.

O God, you know my folly; the wrongs that I have done are not hidden from you. Psalm 69:5(ESV) I was foolish in being disobedient, Titus 3:3(ESV) and my desires are senseless and harmful. 1 Timothy 6:9(ESV)

Folly was bound up in my heart when I was a child; Proverbs 22:15(ESV) for though vain man would be wise, he is born like the wild donkey’s colt. Job 11:12(KJV)

My path has been one of foolish confidence, Psalm 49:13(ESV) and in many instances I have done very foolishly. 2 Samuel 24:10(ESV)

I have been brutish and ignorant, and even like a beast toward God. Psalm 73:22(ESV)