Category: ESV First Person

Categories
ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Understand the Condemning Nature of your Sin

Confession 2.18 | ESV

We must judge and condemn ourselves for our sins, and own ourselves liable to punishment.

And now, O my God, what shall I say after this, for I have forsaken your commandments? Ezra 9:10(ESV) I have sinned; what have I done to you, you watcher of mankind? Job 7:20(ESV)

I know that the law curses everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and do them; Galatians 3:10(ESV) that the wages of every sin is death; Romans 6:23(ESV) and that for these things’ sake the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 5:6(ESV)

And I am accountable to God; Romans 3:19(ESV) the Scripture has imprisoned me under sin; Galatians 3:22(ESV) and therefore you might justly be angry with me until you consumed me, so that I should neither be of your remnant, nor able to escape. Ezra 9:14(ESV)

If you should make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line, Isaiah 28:17(ESV) you might justly separate me to all evil, according to all the curses of the covenant, and blot out my name from under heaven. Deuteronomy 29:20(ESV)

You might justly swear in your wrath that I should never enter your rest; Psalm 95:11(ESV) might justly strip me naked and bare, Hosea 2:3(ESV) and take back my grain in its time, Hosea 2:9(ESV) and put into my hands the cup of staggering, and make me drink even to the dregs of that cup. Isaiah 51:17(ESV)

You have been righteous in all that has come upon me, for you have dealt faithfully and I have acted wickedly. Nehemiah 9:33(ESV) Indeed, my God has punished me less than my iniquities deserved. Ezra 9:13(ESV)

You therefore shall be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment; Psalm 51:4(ESV) and I will accept of the punishment of my iniquity, Leviticus 26:43(ESV) and humble myself under your mighty hand, 1 Peter 5:6(ESV) and say, “The LORD is righteous.” 2 Chronicles 12:6(ESV)

Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? Lamentations 3:39(ESV) No, I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him. Micah 7:9(ESV)

Categories
ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Consider your Evil Sins in Light of the Corrections you have Received and the Vows you have Made

Confession 2.17 | ESV

The greater afflictions we have been under for sin, the greater is the sin if we go on in it.

You have struck me down, but I have felt no anguish; I have refused to take correction and have made my face harder than rock, Jeremiah 5:3(ESV) and the rod has not driven the folly out of my heart. Proverbs 22:15(ESV)

You have disciplined me with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men, 2 Samuel 7:14(ESV) yet I have not turned to him who struck me, nor have I inquired of the LORD of hosts. Isaiah 9:13(ESV)

When some have been overthrown as Sodom and Gomorrah were, I have been as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet I have not returned to you, O LORD. Amos 4:11(ESV) And when your hand has been lifted up, I have not seen it. Isaiah 26:11(ESV)

The more vows and promises we have made of better obedience, the greater has been our sin.

I have not kept the terms of the covenant that I have made before you; Jeremiah 34:18(ESV) but as a traitor, I have betrayed. Isaiah 24:16(ESV)

Did I not say, “I would not transgress, Jeremiah 2:20(KJV) I would not offend anymore?” Job 34:31(ESV) I did, and yet I have returned with the dog to its own vomit; 2 Peter 2:22(ESV) I have returned to folly after God has spoken peace. Psalm 85:8(ESV)

Categories
ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Consider your Evil Sins in Light of the Mercies and Warnings of God

Confession 2.16 | ESV

The more mercies we have received from God, the greater has been our sin.

You have reared and brought me up as a child, but I have rebelled against you. Isaiah 1:2(ESV)

I have ill repaid you, O LORD, as a foolish and senseless person: You are my Father who created me, who made me and established me, yet my mark has not been the mark of one of your children. Deuteronomy 32:5-6(KJV)

I have not made return according to the benefit done to me. 2 Chronicles 32:25(ESV)

The fairer warning we have had from the word of God and from our own consciences concerning our danger of sin and danger by sin, the greater is the sin if we go on in it.

I have been often reproved, and yet have stiffened my neck, Proverbs 29:1(ESV) and have gone on backsliding in the way of my own heart. Isaiah 57:17(ESV)

You have sent to me, saying, “Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!” But I have not listened or inclined my ear. Jeremiah 44:4-5(ESV)

The word of God has been to me precept upon precept and line upon line; Isaiah 28:13(ESV) and though I have looked intently at my natural face in a mirror, yet I have gone away and at once forgotten what I was like. James 1:23-24(ESV)

Categories
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.

Categories
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)

Categories
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)

Categories
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)

Categories
ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Bewail your Sins of the Tongue and Spiritual Sloth

Confession 2.11 | ESV

Our tongue sins.

When words are many, transgression is not lacking; Proverbs 10:19(ESV) nor can a man full of talk be judged right. Job 11:2(ESV)

While the lips of the righteous feed many, Proverbs 10:21(ESV) my lips have poured out folly, Proverbs 15:2(ESV) and known what is perverse. Proverbs 10:32(ESV)

Much corrupt talk has come out of my mouth; that foolish talking and crude joking, which are out of place, Ephesians 5:4(ESV) and little of that which is good and to the use of building up, and which might give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29(ESV)

If people will give account for every careless word they speak, and if by my words I will be justified and by my words I will be condemned, Matthew 12:36-37(ESV) woe is me! For I am lost; for I am of unclean lips and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Isaiah 6:5(ESV)

What would become of me, if God should make my own tongue turn against me? Psalm 64:8(ESV)

Our spiritual slothfulness and decay.

I have been slothful in zeal for religion and not fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11(ESV)

The things which remain are about to die, and my works have not been found complete in the sight of God. Revelation 3:2(ESV)

I have observed the winds, and therefore have not sown; have regarded the clouds, and therefore have not reaped; Ecclesiastes 11:4(ESV) and with the sluggard have frightened myself with the fancy of a lion in the road, a lion in the streets, and have turned on my bed as a door on its hinges, Proverbs 26:13-14(ESV) still crying, “A little sleep, a little slumber.” Proverbs 6:10(ESV)

I have lost my first love, Revelation 2:4(ESV) and what then has become of the blessing I felt? Galatians 4:15(ESV)

My love has been like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. Hosea 6:4(ESV)

And that which is at the bottom of all is the evil, unbelieving heart in me, which inclines me to fall away from the living God. Hebrews 3:12(ESV)

Categories
ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Bewail your Lack of Love for Others

Confession 2.10 | ESV

Our uncharitableness towards our brethren, and unpeaceableness with our relations, neighbors, and friends, and perhaps injustice towards them.

I have been very guilty concerning my brother; Genesis 42:21(ESV) for I have not pursued what makes for peace or for mutual upbuilding. Romans 14:19(ESV)

I have been ready to judge my brother and to despise him, forgetting that I must shortly stand before the judgment seat of God. Romans 14:10(ESV)

Contrary to the royal law of love, I have boasted and been arrogant, have been rude and insisted on my own way; I have been irritable, have rejoiced at wrongdoing, 1 Corinthians 13:4-6(ESV) and been secretly glad at calamities. Proverbs 17:5(ESV)

I have been conceited, provoking others, envying others, Galatians 5:26(ESV) when I should have considered how to stir up others to love and good works. Hebrews 10:24(ESV)

My heart has been closed against those who are in need; 1 John 3:17(ESV) and I have hidden myself from my own flesh. Isaiah 58:7(ESV) Indeed, perhaps my eye has looked grudgingly on my poor brother, Deuteronomy 15:9(ESV) and I have dishonored the poor. James 2:6(ESV)

And if in anything I have transgressed and wronged my brother, 1 Thessalonians 4:6(ESV) if I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hastened to deceit, Job 31:5(ESV) and if any spot has stuck to my hands, Job 31:7(ESV) Lord, discover it to me, that if I have done iniquity, I may do it no more. Job 34:32(ESV)

Categories
ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Bewail your False Security, Fretfulness, and Impatience

Confession 2.9 | ESV

Our security and unmindfulness of the changes we are liable to in this world.

I have put far from me the day of disaster; Amos 6:3(ESV) and in my prosperity have said, “I shall never be moved,” Psalm 30:6(ESV) as if tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure. Isaiah 56:12(ESV)

I have encouraged my soul to relax, to eat and drink and be merry, as if I had goods laid up for many years, when perhaps this night my soul may be required of me. Luke 12:19-20(ESV)

I have been ready to set my hope on the uncertainty of riches, more than on the living God; 1 Timothy 6:17(ESV) to say to the gold, “You are my hope,” and to the fine gold, “You are my confidence.” Job 31:24(ESV)

Our fretfulness and impatience and murmuring under our afflictions, our inordinate dejection and distrust of God and his providence.

When you have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, I have been like an untrained calf; Jeremiah 31:18(ESV) and though my own folly has brought my way to ruin, yet my heart has raged against the LORD; Proverbs 19:3(ESV) and thus, in my distress I have become yet more faithless to the LORD. 2 Chronicles 28:22(ESV)

I have either despised the LORD’s discipline or been weary of his reproof; Proverbs 3:11(ESV) and if I faint in the day of adversity, my strength is small. Proverbs 24:10(ESV)

I have said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight”; Psalm 31:22(ESV) and, “The LORD has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me”; Isaiah 49:14(ESV) as if God would never again be favorable, Psalm 77:7(ESV) as if he had forgotten to be gracious and had in anger shut up his compassion. This has been my infirmity. Psalm 77:9-10(ESV)