Commentary on the Gospels and Acts, Commentary 1 · Chapter 6 · Verse 12
Verse 12. And forgive us our debts, &c.]
Loose us (saith …) and let us goe free: for … sinners are in theforeign bond of …, as Simon …; and … is called a …, Rom. 3 25. The guilt of … is an …, binding … over to …. God hath against us, Matth. 5. …. … our hand-writing, which is contrary to us, Coloss. 2. 14. This … … against himself, Psal. 32. 5. and upon … praier obtained pardon. He only acknowledged the debt, and God … the book. God crossed the black lines of his … with the red lines of his Sonnes bloud. Thou forgavest me (saith David) the iniquity of my sinne; the maliguity of it, the … thing that was in it. For this shall every one that is godly pray … thee, by mine example, and obtain like favour. For our God is … sin-pardoning God, Nehem. 9. 31. none like him, Mica. 7. 18. He forgiveth sinne naturally, Exod. 34. 6. abundantly, Isa, 55. 7, constantly, Joh. 1. 27. He doth take away the sinnes of the world. … a perpetuall act of his, as the Sunne doth shine, as the spring doth runne, Zech. 13. 1. The … is not weary of seeing, nor the ear of …: …. … 8.No more is God of shewing mercy. All sins, yea, and … shall be forgiven to the sons of men, saith our Saviour:…. …. as the sea covers not only small sands, but huge rocks. Christ … foreignthe propitiation or covering for our sins, are they how many, and1 Ioh. …. how great soever, as was sweetly shadowed of old by the … Exod. 25. 17.covering the Law, the mercy-seat covering the Ark, and theforeign …. Cherubims over them, both covering one another. In allusion…, … …. 32. 1, …. whereunto, Blessed, saith David, is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sinne is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not sinne. A metaphor from merchants, who when they will forgive a debt, doe not put it into the reckoning, and so, doe not impute it. Sinne casteth men deep into debt and arrearages with God. It is called a debt of ten thousand talents.…. 18. 24 It casts a man into a … condition, makes himSo Luk 7. 47. hide his face for shame, as Adam, causeth a continuall sound ofLuk. 13 4. fear in his ears: so that he thinks every bush a bailiff, every shrub … sergeant, &c. An evil conscience hunts him, follows him up and down so close, like a bloud-hound, hot-foot, that he sometimes serves himself, as that Jesuite in Lancashire, followed by one that had found his glove, with a desire to restore it to him; but pursued inwardly with a guilty conscience, leaps over a hedge, plunges into a marlepit behinde it unseen and unthought of, whereinWards Serm. … was …. This and worse is the case of a poor …, … is caught and … up in prison, laid fast in bonds and … of …; and what can he give in exchange for his soul? …. 16 ….… the …, nor … off the arrest: … or …, … will serve him with a writ to appear, and … at the great …, … Gods tribunall. … doth … excuse him: for … is …, whether a man know of … or not, and will light so much the more heavily, by how much … is done upon him more unexpectedly. Now there … no way in the … of discharging this debt, but by the … of Christ …, who hath paid the utmost farthing for … elect. This good Samaritan hath discharged all for us: and … for … sake accounts of our sinnes, as if they had never … committed. He bindes them in a bundle, … them up as …, Dan. 9 24. and casteth them behinde him, as old … into the bottom of the sea, and all, because mercy pleaseth …, Mica. 7. 19. This he doth at first conversion, when he … … 3. 2.sinner, Rom. 3. And whereas in many things we sinne all, we … a pardon of course for those weaknesses, that are of daily …, included in that generall pardon, which we have upon … repentance. Only he looketh we should sue out our …, by daily prayer for it. Intreat we God to remit our …; and, sith he must be satisfied, to take it out of his Sonnes …, who is become surety for us; and saith unto his Father in …, as Paul to Philemon, If this Onesimus of mine hath wronged Philem. 18, 19.…, or … thee ought, put that on mine account.
As we forgive our debtours.]
Not as if God should therefore forgive us, because we forgive others; but this is the argument. We do and can, by Gods grace, forgive them, therefore God can … will much more forgive us; sith all our goodnesse is but a spark … his …, a drop of his ocean. No article of our Creed is so … by Satan, as that of the forgivenesse of … by …, which is the very soul of a Church, and the life of good soul. All the former Articles of the Creed are perfected in his, and all the following Articles are effects of this. Now one … of … us in the sound … of the pardon of … own debts, …, if we can forgive our debtours. He that can put … all purpose of …, and freely forgive his brother, may with boldnesse ask and expect forgivenesse at Gods hands. For … rejoyceth against judgement; and our love to others is but aJam. …. …. … of Gods … to us. It is a fruit of … faith, …. 17. 4, 5. It is … a sweet … of our …, Col. 3. 12, 13, … an effectuall … of our …. For … our … shall commend the righteousnesse of God, Rom. 3. 5. both in … of his … in pardoning so great sinnes, and our thankfull acknowledging of that grace in walking … of it.
Now if any ask, Why the petition for pardon of sin, is set … ….that for daily bread? It is answered,
1. In … four former petitions we pray for good things: Inforeign. the two later we pray against evil.
2. Our Saviour … herein to our infirmity, who … sooner trust God for pardon then provision, for a … a ….
3. That by an argument from the lesse to the greater, we … the more boldly beg spirituals.