Expositions Upon Matthew 1-10, Treatise · Chapter 5 · Section 21
Motives to Forgiveneſs.
1 Our ſelves ſtand in daily need of forgiveneſs from God, Matth. 18.35.
2 Gods forgiveneſs of us, as the Wall being heated with the Beams of the Sun, warms them that ſtands by.
Object. If it were once or twice I could forgive.
A. We are to forgive till ſeventy times ſeven times, that is, four hundred and ninety times, a definite number for indefinite.
Object. But he had no cauſe to do me wrong.
Anſw. Thou hadſt as little cauſe to ſin againſt God, yet he forgave thee.
Verily thou ſhalt not come out thence till thou haſt paid the uttermoſt Farthing] There is no Allegory to be ſought here,
1 Becauſe of the foregoing dependance and connexion.
2 Becauſe Chriſt preached it to the people and multitudes.
OnelyOnly Chriſt would teach us from vvhat vve ſee done among men, to conjecture vvhat vve may expect from God, Luke 12.58. they make better conditions vvith their adverſaries, that yield in time, then they that ſtand out, but the ſcope of the place aims at reconciliation with men, leſt we ſtanding out, they uſe extremities againſt us, by impriſonment or otherwiſe.
Adverſary] By adverſary he means our neighbour, who is offended at us, whether by our fault or his, and the ſcope is, that beſides the miſchief coming unto our ſelves by his ſuing of us, we do not fulfill the ſixth commandement, unleſs we be reconciled to him.
Ob But this will take away all courts of juſtice, and what will become of Lawyers?
Anſw. Chriſt ſpeaks of compoſing common offences, which will never be wanting in this world: for titles of land, &c. he leaves them to Magiſtrates. Beſides Chriſt aims principally to inſtruct diſciples, not citizens or civil men, for Chriſt would have no diſturbance of civil peace among his followers.
Whiles thou art in the way with him] Here is an argument to reconciliation, from the opportunity; this life is a ſhort paſſage, and thou knowes not whether thou ſhalt live till to morrow.
Leaſt the adverſary deliver thee to the judge] Chriſt had brought two reaſons moving to agreement, 1 Becauſe ſtrife and hatred defile the worſhip of God. 2 From the opportunity. A 3 reaſon is from the danger of deferred reconciliation, leaſt the adverſary deliver thee to the judge; its dangerous both in reſpect of God and man to defer reconciliation.
Paid the utmoſt farthing] Here's a fourth reaſon, from the extremities that will come upon ſtanders out, they ſhall be made pay to the leaſt mite; quadrans is the leaſt coyn, hence that phraſe of meretrix quadrantaria for a farthing whore.
To ſeek for allegoricall expoſitions, as to make this adverſary to be Satan, or our fleſh, or our conſcience, which bites till we agree with it, or the law of God, is frivolous. Such is that, to make the judg to be Chriſt, the officer to be the devil, the priſon to be hell, or purgatory, as if the leaſt debt of offence were to be paid in purgatory, all which is to ſeek a knot in a bulruſh, as the proverb is.
V. 27. Ye have heard that it was ſaid by them of old time, Thou ſhalt not commit adultery.
V. 28. But I ſay unto you, Whoſoever looketh on a woman to luſt after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Chriſt comes to ſhew how the Phariſees had depraved the ſeventh Commandement concerning adultery.
Concerning ſtrumpets, that they have been of old, appears Gen. 38.14. onelyonly they did not live in the Cities but in the Country, and went veiled, whereas honeſt women were uncovered. When Judah ſaw Tamar in the high way, he thought her to be an harlot, becauſe ſhe had covered her face, Gen. 38.15. and deſired to come in to her.
Adultery is the breach of wedlock, when one of the parties are maried. And therefore adulterium, quaſi ad alterius thorum acceſsio, the coming to another mans bed, as to the relation of husband and wife they are equally obliged, having power of one anothers body, 1 Cor. 7.4.
We may ſee the greatneſs of this ſin, in that it was not onelyonly forbid by the Phariſees, but by Chriſt.
To diſſwade from this ſin, conſider, beſides that burning concupiſcence burns up this natural heat; the adulterer ſins againſt his own body, 1 Cor. 6.17. he doth as it were dip his body into a filthy ſink, and mi…es himſelf; and withal, he alludes unto a cuſtome that they had, who when they came from their beds of uncleanneſs, uſed to waſh themſelves all over, as Chryſostom obſerves. Such perſons though they eſcape the judgement of the Magiſtrate, yet ſhall they not eſcape Gods judgement, Heb. 13 4.
This ſin by the Law of nature was capital; God threatens he would ſlay Abimelech if he committed it with Abrams wife, and hence Abimelech threatned death to any of his ſervants that ſhould defile Abrams wife, Gen. 20.11. Judah ſentenced Thamar for this ſin, Gen. 38.24. Nebuchadnezzar, Jer. 29.22, 23. cauſed two adulterous Prophets to be burnt in the fire, their names were Zedekiah and Ahab.
To diſſwade from this ſin, conſider;
1 It's exceeding difficult to be recovered from this ſin; It's as hard as to get out of a narrow pit, Prov. 22.14. ſo that Solomon ſaith, One man among a thouſand have I found repenting of this ſin, but not one woman, Eccleſ. 7.26, 27, 28. The reaſon why is, becauſe this ſin takes away the underſtanding, Hoſ. 4.10. and transforms a man into a bruit, ſo that Jer. 5.7, 8. the Jews are compared to horſes neighing after mares, and as if fornication had been an indifferent action, as the heathens counted it, they aſſembled themſelvs by troups in harlots houſes.
2 Other ſins carry ſingly to hell, this draws others with it, which increaſes trouble to the conſcience, that though the adulterer himſelf hath repented, yet hath he drawn another into that ſin whereof ſhe perhaps hath not repented.
3 The miſchief it brings to a man; to his eſtate, Thy labours will be in the houſe of a ſtranger, Prov. 5.10. Yea thy ſelf hereby will be brought to a morſel of bread. Pro. 6.26. Alſo it deſtroys reputation, which will hardly ever be made up, Prov. 5.9. yea it deſtroys life, Prov. 5.9. Prov. 6.26. The adultereſs hunts for the precious ſoul, alſo Prov. 5.10, 11, 12. Yea it brings conſumption to the fleſh and bones, and horrour to the conſcience, Job 24.17.
4 Whoredome inſlaves a man. Of all things we are moſt jealous of our liberty, Sampſon with Dalilah, Herod with Herodias, Solomon with his Concubines, how inſlaved were they, to come upon the call of a ſtrumpet, to have all that he hath at her command, to be afraid of her diſcovering of him, to have inſolent carriage towards him, what a ſlavery is this?
5 The dignity of Chriſtians, their bodies are for the Lord, 1 Cor. 6.13. are members of Chriſt, v. 15. Temples of the holy Ghoſt v. 19. bought with a price, v. 20.