isg The NEW and COMPL So when his fellowfervants law what wa `done, they were forry, and came and told 'sento their lord all that -was done. The his lord, after that he had called him, laid unto him, 0 thouwickedfervant, I forgave thee all that debt, becaufe thou defiredit me: Jhouldeft not thou alfo have had compa on on thy fellow- fervant, even as I'had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and de- livered him unto the tormentors, till he flzouldpay all that was due unto him. By this affecting narrative, our Lord beautifully difplays the extent of divine 'forgivenefs, and the obligations which the fops of men, to whomGod bath forgiven To much, are under to forgive one another. Cod is the great king and fovereign of all creatures, to him all are accountable, as fervants are to a matter; he keeps a regif- ter of their actions, as a tradefman keeps an account of his debts, and a day will furely come, when they will be called to a reckoning. The fervant who owed ten thoufand talents, reprefents every man that lives in the world : the enormous debt which men owe to their Creator, is but faintly defcribed by that prodigious fum ; Tor the fins of thought, word, and deed, which the molt correct andregular of man- kind commit, exceed all conception, and may juftly be compared to the Oars of heaven for multitude, or the fand on the fea fhore. The plea of the infolvent debtor, Have patience with me, and Iwill pay thee all, is an elegant defcription of the expe&ations of men in general, to ob- tain the divine forgivenefs, by their future good behaviour, and thinking to perform fuch good deeds as may make amends for their former guilt but the lord, knowing how impoffible it was for this fervant to pay this enormous fum, had compaffion on him, and freely forgave the debt. Hence, we learn the freenefs ofdivine forgivenefs; it is not on account of any thing which has been done, orcan be done by the fons of men, that the great Jehovah is induced to pardon their iniquities ; but his forgive- lids flows. freely from the rich fountain of ETE L I F E of OZIr BLESSED u his own infinite mercy, that mercy which he bath magnified, and fully manifefted to rs the world in the gofpel of his Son : and whoever is made partaker of the rich bief fing of divine forgivenefs, is laid under the higheft obligations to forgive his fellow_ creatures, and to extend that forgivenefs, if required, beyond the limits prefcribed by our Lord, even beyond the number df feventy times (even : but fuch is the cor- ruption and depravity ofthe human heart, that we are too prone to forget, or carelefsly overlook the mercies received, and con- fider not how jufily the great Judge of heaven and earth might call us to a'firiO account for our numerous offences, while we are purfuing our fellow-creatures with implacable refentment ; nor do we confider how much we are indebted to the Supreme Lord of univerfal nature, while, like the unmerciful fervant, we take our fellow- creature by the throat, with, Pay me what thou oweft. But whofoever duly confiders the vaft debt they owe to God, and are enabled to rely on his infinite mercy for forgivenefs ; if they have a juft view of their unworthinefs and infolvency, and are enabled to Peek forgivenefs in the way which God bath appointed, will, in a greater or lefs degree, be careful to cultivate aplacable forgiving frameof mind; efpecially when they confider thofe remarkable words with which our Lord concludes this narrative for having declared, that the lord delivered the cruel fervant to the tormentors, till he jhouldpay all that was due unto him; he adds, fo likezoife'hall my heavenly Father do al/6 unto you, ìfye from your hearts forgive not one anotheryour trefpeA. Having delivered thefe precepts, our great Redeemer departed into Galilee, pallingthrough the country beyond Jordan; by that means giving the Jews which inha- bited that country an opportunity to hear his heavenly difcourfes, and to receive the benefit of his all -healingpower: and after having taken a tour through thofe diftant parts, he returned to his own city Naza- reth, The
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