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ed, though alas! many eat it chearfully. Like the rich man, Luke xii. they eat, they drink joyfully, while the fword of juftice hangs over their head by a hair. It is because they fee it not. The looks of an angry judge, the frowns of a Fa ther, in giving the bread to us, will make it very faplefs, to thofe who difcern them. A pardon is the beft feafoning to any meal, Eccl. ix. 7. Compare Acts ii. 37. 46.

II. Let us confider the petition itself, wherein we pray, that God, for Chrift's fake, would freely pardon all our fins; which we are the rather encouraged to afk, becaufe by his grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others." In which we may fpeak of two things.

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1. The thing petitioned.

2. The argument backing it.

FIRST, Let us confider the petition itself, Forgive us our debts. This is the petition ftrictly speaking. Upon which I am to inquire,

1. What is meant by debts.

2. What is meant by our debts.

3. Who are meant by us.

4. What is meant by forgiveness.

5. What is the import of this petition.

First, What is meant by debts? Sins are the debts here prayed to be forgiven, Luke xi. 4. the worst debts in the world.

1. Why is fin called a debt? Not because it is a non-payment of God's dues, a non-performance of duty, as fome fay; these things anfwer not the notion of debt: far lefs becaufe we owe it to God. But fin is called debt, because it is a taking away from God fomething for which we owe him an equivalent, an as-good, Pfal. Ixix. 4. Then I reftred that which I took not away. This notion is the common notion of debts. Sin is a robbing God of his honour, and an owing him a reparation.

So in fin as a debt four thing are to be confidered. (1.) The debtor, which is the finner. Every finner is a debtor, owing more than he is able to pay. (2.) The creditor is God, at whofe mercy the finner lies. (3.) The valuable thing which the finner has got away from God for his own ufe or rather abule, is God's honour. (4.) The as-good which the finner owes on that account to God, is the reparation of God's ho

nour.

2. What fort of a debt is fin?

(1.) It is a drowning debt, a debt fo great as no mortal is

able to pay, Matth. xviii. 24. 25. And all mankind had died in it, if a cautioner able to pay it had not been found, Pfal. lxxxix. 19

(2.) It is a difheartening debt for the prefence of God. As. an infolvent debtor has no will to come in his creditor's fight; fo the finner has no will to come into God's fight till he be brought, Matth. xvi 24. This is the eafon why many otherwife jovial and merry, when they come into God's prefence in dutie, are quite heartlets.

(3.) It is a debt that the finner is very ready to count down, Luke xvi. 6. As he is unable to pay, fo naturally he is unwilling to confefs it, and make fail count.

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(4.) It is a debt that in end will be fairly and exactly stated, and not the leaft article forgotten or miscounted. The cre ditor has given his oath upon it, Amos viii. 7. The Lord hath fworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely, I will never forget any of their works. And the debtor, nill he will he, fhau be convinced of the juftnels of the accounts.

(5.) It is a debt that must be paid one way or other. The debtor has but three choices, Pay, Find a cautioner, or Go to prifon, Matth. v. 25. None can pay, few will employ the

cautioner, therefore moft go to piiion.

(6.) It is a growing debt. While it is not taken course with, the intereft runs on, and the great fum to-day becomes greater to-morrow, Rom. ii 5.

Laftly, When it is purfued, it is pursued on the debtor's ex- 1 pence. The purfuit is at the finner's coft, and he is made to bear the weight of it.

Secondly, What is meant by cur debts, or fins? All fins which we are any manner of way chargeable with, and account able for before the Lord. Now, fin becomes ours four ways. . By imputation. So Adam's fin is our fin, Rom. v. 19... and therefore must be pardoned to us, otherwife we will be ruined by it, as the heir is ruined by his father's debt.

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2. By inhefion in us. So the fin of our nature conveyed to us from Adam, confifting in a bent to evil, and backwardness to good, is our fin as fubjećted in us, Pial li. 5. This will ruin. us alfo, if it be not forgiven as to the guilt of it; for the wages of fin is death, Rom. vi. 23.

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3. By perfonal omiffion or commiffion, Jer. xvi. 10, Thus all our omiffion or duties, and commiffion of fins, are our fins, which we abfolutely need to be forgiven, as treafon perfonally done by us against the King of heaven.

4. By acceffion any manner of way to the fins of others, 1 Tim. v. 22. Thus other mens fins which we become ac ceffory, to by commanding, courfelling, approving, and the

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like, become our fins, and involve us in guilt, which we need to be forgiven.

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Thirdly, Who are meant by us, for whom forgiveness is afked?

1. Ourselves; for every man is in the first place to be concerned for his own pardon. Yet not ourselves only;

2. But others alfo; not only those who are already of God's family, but all forts of men living, 1 Tim. ii. 1. thofe only excepted who have finned the fin unto death, 1 John v. 16. The faints are daily orators at the throne of grace, for the rest of the world, and are concerned for pardon to those who are not concerned for it to themfelves. Thus our Lord caft the copy, Luke xxiii. 34. Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And Stephen the firft martyr followed it, Acts vii. 60. Lord, lay not this fin to their charge.

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Fourthly, What is meant by forgiveness or pardon? It is the removal of guilt, which is an obligation to punishment. Guilt is twofold; the guilt of eternal wrath, and the guilt of temporary fatherly anger. Guilt is removed two ways, formally and declaratively. Pardon is threefold.

1. Pardon of the guilt of eternal wrath. Thus every foul, upon its first clofing with Jefus Chrift in the gofpel, is pardoned, Rom. v. 1. The condemning fentence of the law, binding them over to vindictive juftice, to go to the prifon of hell, and lie there till they have paid the utmost farthing of their own debt, is removed, Rom. viii. 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Chrift Jefus.

2. Pardon of the guilt of temporary ftrokes and fatherly anger, 2 Kings xxiv. 4. The law of grace fays, If his chil dren forfake my law, and walk not in my judgements; if they break my ftatutes, and keep not my commandments: then will I vifit their tranfgreffion with the rod, and their iniquity with firipes. Nevertheless, my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor fuffer my faithfulness to fail, Pfal. Ixxxix. 30. —33. So the children of God who are beyond the reach of eternal wrath, are oft-times liable to temporary fatherly wrath, which they need a pardon for, as the child needs the father's pardon. And upon their frefh application to the Lord Jefus Chrift, they obtain it.

3. A declarative pardon, which is the pardon manifefted to the foul, a fenfe of pardon, Luke vii. 47. 48. Wherefore I fay unto thee, Her fins, which are many, are forgiven; for he loved much but to whom little is forgiven, the fame loveth little. And he faid unto her, Thy fins are forgiven. She was a pardoned finner before, for that is evident from her love to

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Chrift; but now the pardon is intimated to her. The debt is not only forgiven, but the debtor gets the discharge of it.

This threefold pardon is here meant, and each of them is given for Chrift's fake, and we obtain them by faith appre hending his obedience and death, Eph. i. 6. 7. Therefore the fea of glass is reprefented as betwixt the throne and the elders, Rev. iv. 6. See Zech. xiii. 1.

Fifthly, Let us confider the import of this petition. This we take up in these three things.

1. A confeffing of debt. The faints own themfelves and all others God's debtors, Dan. ix. 5. We have finned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts, and from thy judgements. They will not deny the debt, nor mince it. They fee that God is fpoiled of his honour by themselves and others, and that they are bound to a reparation. They confefs their folly with fhame and forrow.

2. A pleading poverty, an utter inability to pay the debt, Pfal. cxxx. 3. 4. If thou, Lord, shculaft mark iniquities; 0 Lord, who fhall fand? But there is forgiveness with thee; that thou mayst be feared. Who among all the fons of Adam is able to repair God's honour taken away by fin? There is an infinite evil in the leaft fin, which no creature is able to expiate, far lefs Adam's broken family, where the party has nothing to pay, whether he be owing ten talents or ten thoufand.

3. A defire of free forgiveness for Chrift's fake, Dan. ix. 17. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy fervant, and his fupplications, and cause thy face to fhine upon thy fanc tuary that is defolate, for the Lord's fake. What can the debtor do who is not able to pay? He must plead to be forgiven, or he is a ruined man. And it is to free forgivenefs that the faints do all turn, Pfal. cxxx. 3. 4. forecited. And it is a forgiving of the debt to us, tho' Chrift merited it; for we can do nothing to procure it to ourselves. Our pardon indeed ftood dear to Chrift, but it cofts us nothing, Rom. iii. 24. We are juftified freely by his grace, thro' the redemption that is in Jefus Chrift. Now the pardon which the faints are taught here to defire daily, is to be confidered agreeably to the state of the parties for whom it is.defired.

1. Pardon of the guilt of eternal wrath, is defired for thofe who are yet out of Chrift, and in an unjustified state. Not for the faints themfelves, who being already juftified can never be more actually liable to eternal wrath, Rom. viii. 1. forecited. They are not under the law, but under grace, the threatenings of which extend no farther than rods, &c. Pfal.

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lxxxix. 30. &c. forecited. It is one thing, what a faint may pray for apprehending himself liable to eternal wrath, and another what Chrift bids him pray for.

2. Pardon of the guilt of temporal ftrokes is defired for the faints themselves. For under that guilt they may fall; and being duly confidered it is dreadful, as comprehending all miferies confiftent with the love of God.

3. Declarative pardon is alfo defired for themfelves, that they may be delivered from doubts, and fears of eternal wrath, Pfal. iv. 6. Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance up

on us.

SECONDLY, Let us confider the argument backing the petition, as we forgive our debtors. This is not put in our mouths, to move God to forgive us, but to move ourselves to believe that our prayer fhall be heard, and fo to encourage us.

Here I fhall fhew,

1. Who are meant by our debtors.

2. What is meant by forgiving them.

3. What is meant, by our forgiving as we forgive.

4. What encouragement one can draw from his forgiving others, to hope that God will give the forgiveness defired.

Firft, Who are meant by our debtors? All fuch as have finned againft, or wronged us any manner of way, 1 Sam. ii. 25. For fin may reach both God and man at, once; and in refpect of the injury done to us by the fin of others, they are our debtors, owing us a reparation of the injury, which many times they either cannot or will not do.

Secondly, What is meant by our forgiving them? It is our hearty forgiving them the injury done to us, (to forgive the injury against God is not in our power), entertaining no hatred or malice against them, but loving them with a love of good-will, hearuly wishing their good, and being ready to do them good, Matth. v. 44. 45. But I fay unto you, Love your enemies, blefs them that curse you, do gosd to them that hate you, pray for them that defpitefully ufe you, and perfecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven, for he maketh his fun to rife on the evil and on the good, and fendeth rain on the juft and on the unjust. But it does not extend to a love of complacency and delight in them, in whom there appears no ground for that, either as men or as Chriftians, Pfal. xxvi. 4. I have not fat with vain perfons, fays David, neither will I go in with diffemblers.

Thirdly, What is meant by forgiving as we forgive?

1. It does not denote the defire of a perfect equality or likenefs betwixt God's forgiving and ours, for at beft ours is but

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