So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
Ver. 17. Forgive, I pray thee now.] In this case a man is bound, not only to let fall all wrath and desire of revenge, but to make a solemn profession of hearty forgiveness. Luk 17:4 If the wrongdoer say, "I repent," you must say, "I forgive," as ever you hope to be forgiven of God. Our Saviour Luk 11:4 seems to make our forgiving our trespassers the intervenient cause - that which they call, sine qua non - of God's forgiving us. Mark this, lest we be constrained to do, as Latimer reports of some in his days, that being not willing to forgive their enemies, would not say their pater noster, lest they should therein curse themselves, but instead thereof, took their lady psalter in hand, because they were persuaded that, by that they might obtain forgiveness of favour [ex gratis] without the putting of so hard a condition as forgiveness of their enemies.
For they did unto thee evil.] Joseph had long ago seen their sorrow; never, till now, heard their confession, and is abundantly satisfied. Think the same of God. Do but confess, and he must forgive, upon his faithfulness. 1Jn 1:9 In the courts of men, it is the safest plea, saith Quintilian, to cry, Non feci; not so here. "Take away the iniquity of thy servant," saith David and to prove himself so, he adds, "For I have done foolishly." 2Sa 24:10 Acknowledge the debt, and God will forthwith cross the book.
Forgive the trespass of the servants of the God, &c.] Nothing should more persuade to unity than religion. Eph 4:3-5 Others may cleave together, as the clay in Nebuchadnezzar's image, but the saints only incorporate into each other.