1. We must earnestly pray for the pardon and forgiveness of all our sins.

Lord, 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.

O wash us thoroughly from our iniquity, and cleanse us from our sin, for we acknowledge our transgressions, and our sin is ever before us. O 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 our iniquities. Ps 51:2;.

Be thou merciful to our unrighteousness and our sins and our iniquities do thou remember no more. O forgive us that great debt. Heb 8:12. Matt 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. Rom 1:24. Acts 13:39.

O 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. Ezek 18:30: 1 Sam 12:19. Rev 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. Isa 44:22.

Enter not into judgment with thy servants, O Lord, for in thy sight shall no flesh living be justified. Ps 143:2.

Take away all our iniquity, and receive us graciously ; heal our backslidings, and love us freely, and let thine anger be turned away from us ; for thee the fatherless findeth mercy. Hos 14:2, 4.

Though our sins be 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. Isa./i. 18: Isa 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.

Under this head

• 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.
• The infinite goodness of his nature, his readiness to forgive sin, and his glorying in it.
• 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.
• The promises God hath made in his word to pardon and absolve all them that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel.
• Our own misery and danger because of sin.
• The blessed condition which they are in, whose sins are pardoned.

‹ Opening words · For the encouraging of our faith, and the exciting of our… ›

Pray now: a guided prayer in six parts, with the next heads each day.

Henry’s text is in the public domain. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, No. 265 Chestnut Street. Undated, about 1840 to 1860. The preface is dated Chester, March 25, 1710. From the Internet Archive scan. The KJV text is in the public domain.