But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
We must not suppose from those expressions at the close of the LORD'S prayer, as if the condition of our forgiveness was suspended upon our forgiving of others. Our glorious Lord could not be supposed to mean this, because our pardon and acceptance with GOD is wholly on CHRIST'S account. But it is meant as a blessed evidence of grace. Paul, his servant, marks the feature of a renewed heart as a precious token of Jesus' love reigning there; be ye kind (saith he) one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for CHRIST'S sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32.