Christ's Death as Satisfaction for Sin

John Owen writes on the human heart's need for a "resting place" and why believing that Jesus' death was, among other things, a satisfaction for sin before the demands of God's justice is so neeful:

God is abundantly willing that we should receive that strong consolation that comes from gospel faith; the root of such faith is plucked away by denying the satisfacatino that was made by Christ. It makes the poor soul to be like Noah's dove in its distress, not knowing where to rest teh soles of her feet.

When a soul is turned out of its self-righteousness, and begins to look abroad, and view the heaven and earth for a resting place, and perceives an ocean, a flood, an inundation of wrath, to cover all the world, the wrath of God revealing itself from heaven against all ungodliness, so that it can obtain no rest nor abiding, -- heaven it cannot reach by its own flight, and to hell it is unwilling to fall; -- if now the Lord Jesus Christ do not appear as an ark in the midst of the waters, upon whom the floods have fallen, and yet has got above them all for a refuge, alas! what shall it do?

When the flood fell there were many mountains glorious in the eye, far higher than the ark; but yet those mountains were all drowned, whilst the ark still kept on the top of the waters. Many appearing hills and mountains of self-righteousness and general mercy, at the first view, seem to the soul much higher than Jesus Christ, but when the flood of wrath once comes and spreads itself, all those mountains are quickly covered; only the ark, the Lord Jesus Christ, though the flood fall on him also, yet he gets above it quite, and gives safety to them that rest upon him.

From The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, Book 3, Ch. 9, section V.

BHT

John Owen on Prayer, Via Sinclair Ferguson

From Ferguson's John Owen on the Christian Life,

[The Spirit] inspires confidence and boldness in prayer. "...[this boldness] consists in a holy persuasion that God is well-pleased with [our] duties, accepts [our] persons, and delights in [our] approaches unto his throne." Prayer, then, is a covenant privilege, and draws its inspiration, both in content and manner from what the Christian learns of God as the God of promise in the covenant, and through the Spirit.

There are both legitimate and lillegitimate prayers,

...the sole end and legitimate use of prayer [is] that we may reap the fruits of God's promises... . For we perceive the [Psalmist in Ps. 119:38] allows not himself to wish anything but what God has condescended to promise. And certainly their presumption is great, who rush into the presence of God witout call from his word.

Owen also instructs us in the way in which we should 'wait' on God for answers to prayer,

Wait for it believing, wait for it praying, - wait for it contending. Waiting is not a lazy hope, a sluggish expectation. When Daniel knew the time was come, he prayer the more earnestly. You will say, perhaps, What need [has] he [to] pray for it, when he knew the time was accomplished? I answer, prayer helps the promise to bring forth. Because a woman's time is come, there shall she have no midwife? nay, therefore give her one. He that hath appointed their return [from Babylon], appointed that is should be a fruit of prayer.

Ferguson sums up thus,

In this way the Christian is to be exercised in prayer, knowing himself, as he searches his heart; knowing the Scripture as he searches its pages; meditating on the glory of God and the intercession of Christ; frequently and fervently in prayer through the ministry of the Spirit.

Would that such provocations remained with me, particular when I'm most forgetful and foggy-headed. In those moments, come, Lord Jesus.

John Owen, Sin, & Moths

From Sinclair Ferguson's John Owen on the Christian Life, Owen says that sin is like

a moth in a garment, to eat up and devour the strongest threads of it, so that though the whole hang loose together, it is easily torn to peices. (139)

There's nothing like a good mental image to drive the point home, eh?