172 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. in that summary of all prayer which he has givenus, is, "Forgive us our debts, our trespasses, our sins." Matt. 6 11. Some contend . that this is a form of prayer to be used in the prescribed words, of it ; all grant that it is a rule of prayer, comprising the heads of all necessary things that we are to pray for, and obliging us to make supplications for them. So then, upon the authority of God, revealed to us by Jesus Christ, we are bound in duty to pray for pardon of sins, or forgiveness. On this supposition, it is the highest reproach of God to conceive that there is not forgiveness with him for us. Indeed, if we should undertake, without his war- rant and authority, to ask any thing at his hand, we might well expect to meet with disappointment; for . what should encourage us to any such boldness 1 But now, when God himself commands us to come and ask any thing from him, so making it our duty, and its ne- glect our sin against him, to suppose he has not the thing in his power to bestow . on us, or that his will is wholly averse from so doing, is to reproach himwith want of truth, faithfulness and sincerity. Could God thus deceive and delude his creatures To put this whole matter out of question, God bas promised to hear our prayers, and in particular those which we make to him for the forgiveness of sin. Our Savior has assured us, that what we ask in his name shall be done for us; and has, as we have showed, taught us to ask this very thing of God. But I need not insist on particular promises to this purpose; they are, as you know, multiplied, in the Scriptures. What has been said may suffice to establish our pre- sent argument, namely, that God's prescribing religious worship to sinners undeniably proves that with him there is forgiveness. And the design of all this is to encourage poor sinners to believe, and show how inex- cusable they will be if, through the power of their lusts
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