And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Ver. 12. And forgive us our debts, &c.] Loose us (saith the original) and let us go free, (αφες): for unpardoned sinners are in the bond of iniquity, as Simon Magus, Acts 8:23; and remission is called a relaxation (παρεσις), Romans 3:25. The guilt of sin is an obligation, binding us over to condign punishment. God hath against us, Matthew 5:23, even our handwriting which is contrary to us, Colossians 2:14. This David confessed against himself, Psalms 32:5, and upon his prayer obtained pardon. He only acknowledged the debt, and God crossed the book. God crossed the black lines of his sins with the red lines of his Son's blood. Thou forgavest me, saith David, the iniquity of my sin; the malignity of it, the worst thing that was in it. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee, by mine example, and obtain like favour. For our God is a sin pardoning God, Nehemiah 9:17, none like him, Micah 7:18. He forgiveth sin naturally, Exodus 34:6; abundantly, Isaiah 55:7; constantly, Job 1:22. He doth take away the sins of the world. It is a perpetual act of his, as the sun doth shine, as the spring doth run, Zechariah 13:1. The eye is not weary of seeing, nor the ear of hearing, Ecclesiastes 1:8; no more is God of showing mercy. All sins, yea, and blasphemies, shall be forgiven to the sons of men, saith our Saviour, Matthew 12:31. As the sea covers not only small sands but huge rocks, Christ is the propitiation or covering for our sins, are they how many and how great soever, as was sweetly shadowed of old by the ark covering the law, the mercy seat covering the ark, and the cherubims over them, both covering one another. In allusion whereunto, "Blessed," saith David, "is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not sin." a A metaphor from merchants, who when they will forgive a debt, do not put it into the reckoning, and so do not impute it. Sin casteth men deep into debt and arrearages with God. It is called a debt of ten thousand talents, Matthew 18:24; Luke 7:47. It casteth a man into a comfortless condition, makes him hide his face for shame, as Adam, causeth a continual sound of fear in his ears; so that he thinks every bush a bailiff, every shrub a sergeant, &c. An evil conscience hunts him, follows him up and down so close, like a blood hound, hot foot, that he sometimes serves himself, as that Jesuit 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 clay pit behind it unseen and unthought of, wherein he was drowned. This and worse is the case of a poor bankrupt sinner, he is caught and clapped up in prison, laid fast in bonds and chains of darkness; and "what can he give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:26. There is no feeing the sergeant, nor shifting off the arrest: sooner or later conscience will serve him with a writ to appear and answer at the great assizes before God's tribunal. Neither doth ignorance excuse him: for debt is debt, whether a man know of it or not, and will light so much the more heavily, by how much the execution is done upon him more unexpectedly. Now there is no way in the world of discharging this debt, but by the satisfaction of Christ our surety, who hath paid the utmost farthing for his elect. This good Samaritan hath discharged all for us; and God for Christ's sake accounts of our sins as if they had never been committed. He binds them in a bundle, seals them up as in a bag, Daniel 9:24, and casteth them behind him, as old evidences, into the bottom of the sea, and all because mercy pleaseth him, Micah 7:19. This he doth at first conversion, when he justifieth a sinner, Romans 3:23. And whereas in many things we sin all, James 3:2, we have a pardon of courses for those weaknesses that are of daily incursion, included in that general pardon, which we have upon our general repentance. Only he looketh we should sue out our pardon, by daily prayer for it. Entreat we God to remit our debts; and since he must be satisfied, to take it out of his Son's coffers who is become surety for us: and saith unto his Father, in effect, as Paul to Philemon: If this Onesimus of mine hath "wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account," Philemon 1:18,19, so long as he prays in my name for daily pardon. But whether shall we think less excusable, those Anabaptists b in Germany that omit this petition, "Forgive us our trespasses" (as conceiving themselves to be pure, and to have no more need of remission of sins); or those Atheists in father Latimer's days, who being not willing to forgive their enemies, would not say their Pater Noster at all. See Trapp on " Mat 6:15 "
As we forgive our debtors] Not as if God should therefore forgive us, because we forgive others; but this is the argument. We do and can, by God's grace, forgive them, therefore God can and will much more forgive us; since all our goodness is but a spark of his flame, a drop of his ocean. No article of our creed is so much opposed by Satan as that of the forgiveness of sin by Christ's merits, which is the very soul of a church and the life of a good soul. All the former articles of the creed are perfected in this, and all the following articles are effects of this. Now one main means of settling us in the sound assurance of the pardon of our own debts, is, if we can forgive our debtors. He that can put away all purpose of revenge, and freely forgive his brother, may with boldness ask and expect forgiveness at God's hands. For mercy rejoiceth against judgment, James 2:13; and our love to others is but a reflex of God's love to us. It is a fruit of justifying faith, Luke 17:4,5. It is also a sweet seal of our election, Colossians 3:12,13, and an effectual expression of our thankfulness. For hereby our unrighteousness shall commend the righteousness of God, Romans 3:5, both in respect of his admirable goodness in pardoning so great sins, and our thankful acknowledging of that grace in walking worthy of it.
Now if any ask, why the petition for pardon of sin is set after that for daily bread? It is answered,
1. In the four former petitions we pray for good things, in the two latter we pray against evil.
2. Our Saviour condescends herein to our infirmity, who can sooner trust God for pardon than provision, for a crown than a crust.
3. That by an argument from the less to the greater we may the more boldly beg spirituals.
a ιλασμος, 1 John 2:2. כפית Exodus 25:17. επιθεμα, Sept. Tectorium, operculum, Psalms 32:1,2 .
b Bullinger, cont. Anabapt. lib. i. cap. 1.