Ch3}p.6. according to St M A T)'1-1E, v v he was drowned. This and worfe is the cafe of :a poor ta; krupt fanner, he is caught and clapt tip in prifon, laid fail in bonds and chains of darkn: ff:; and t hnt can hsgive in exc ange far his Foul ? 1i,t6;z6., There's nofeeing the S_rg:a it, nor (lifting off the; art : faon- er or later, confcience will f rvehimwith a writ to appear, and atefwer at the great atlizes, befsre Gods tribunal!. Neither dotti ignorance excufc him : ç r debt is debt, whether a man know of: it or not, and will light fomuch the more heavily, by how much theexecution is done upe '. iin more unexpectedly. Now there is no way in the world ofdiic harging this debt, but by the fatisfa- dion of Chr f cur furety, who hath paid the =matt farthing for his eleer. T his good Samaritan bath difchar ged a'l for us : and God for Chr;ftsfake accounts cfvur finnes, as if they had never been committed. He binder them in a bundle, f als them up as in abag, Dan,924., and cafteth them behinde him, as old evi- dences into thebottom of the fa, and all, becaufe mercy pleafeth him, .Micu,7.19. This he doth at firfi conversion, when he julli- fieth a (inner, Rom, 3. And whereas in many things wefïnneall, we lam ;. a. have a pardon of courfe for thofweakneffrs, that arc of daily in- curfion, included in that generall pardon, which we have upon our generell repentance. Only he looketh we fhould fueout our pardon, by daily prayer for it. Intreat we God to remit our debts ; and, lath he muff be fatisfied, to take it out of his Sonnes. offirs, who isbecome furety for us;, and faithuntohis Father in elf tc, asTim/ .to Philemon, If this Onefmus of mine hath wronged Phemelsitrb. thee, or owetb theeought, put that 04 mineaccount. Aswe forgive our debtonrs.] Not as if God fhould therefore forgiveus, becaufe we forgiveothers; but this is the, argument. We do and can, by Gods grace, forgive the in, therefore God can and will much more forgive us ; fith all our goodnefl'i is but a fpark ofhis flame, .a drop of his ocean. No article of our Creed is much oppofed by Satan, as that of the forgivenefl' of fi.nne by C,hriffs merits, which is the very foul ofa Church, and the life of a good foul. Alltlie former Articlesof theCreed arc perf eied in this, and all the following Articles are cf itsofthis. Now one main means of fettling us in the found afferance of trie pardon of: our own debts,is,if.we canforgive our debtourt. He that canput away all purpofeof revenge, and freely forgive his brother, may with holdnef'e ask and expel fòrgiven:ffe at Gods hands.. For mercyrejoycethaaainft judgement_; and our love to others is but a jam, :a reflex:, 207
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