so uncommon a manner. For the language of all these tears, and this humility, is plainly this. My sins were so many and great, that I had been for ever undone, had not God touched my heart with a sense of the danger I was in. By His grace, I see the evil, the folly, and the ingratitude, of sinning against so good and gracious a God and Father. By His Son, who sees the sincerity of my heart and repentance, I am sure that all my past offences are forgiven; and my heart is full of love and gratitude for so mighty a favour, which I cannot but express by all ways which I can hope will be acceptable to God.

This was the OCCASION of this parable.

And the REASON on which our Lord founded this sentence, "Thy sins are forgiyen thee," was this: she shewed that she was a true penitent, "by works meet for repentance;" such works as were most proper on that occasion to shew her sincerity. Our Lord knew the secrets of her heart, and so could pass a positive sentence; and yet He did not think fit to do so, until, by her behaviour, she did that which might convince every charitable observer that she was seriously resolved to lead a new life.

And this, no doubt, was to direct the ministers of His kingdom how to behave themselves upon the like occasion. He purposed to invest His ministers, to the end of the world, with a power of binding and loosing, of speaking peace to dejected penitents, and of giving them such assurances of pardon and forgiveness, as their repentance might warrant them to do. He, in His infinite wisdom, foresaw what ill use proud man might make of this power; He would therefore, by this instance, teach His faithful stewards not rashly to pronounce any sentence in His name, but to wait till God, by the powerful working of His grace, should so effectually convince the sinner of the error of his ways, that he should give proofs of his repentance by works answerable to amendment of life. Then His ministers need not fear passing a righteous sentence, nor the sincere penitent doubt of the truth and comfortable effects of all.

For this is a certain truth, that the grace of God evermore accompanies the ministrations of His servants, and attends His own ordinances, if there be nothing to hinder it on the

SERM. part of those that expect benefit by the use of them. And LXXVIII. therefore it is no small comfort and advantage (how much

soever it has been slighted) for such as are under afflictions of mind, to have the judgment of God's minister upon their case, and the benefit of absolution; for though none but God, the searcher of hearts, can pronounce this sentence, Thy sins are forgiven thee; yet His ministers, who have carefully studied His holy Word, can assure sinners of God's pardon, and can pronounce a righteous sentence upon what appears; which sentence a penitent may depend on to his great peace and comfort, provided he knows he has been sincere in discovering his malady, and in following the advice of his spiritual guide.

It is true, there are people who have abused this power, to the ruin, it is to be feared, of an infinite number of souls. When men rashly pronounce a sentence of pardon, upon a bare confession of sins, and upon a promise of better obedience, without waiting to see whether such promises are like to be followed by works meet for repentance, without which the pardon is rash, and the sinner deluded: this is indeed an usurped authority; but ought not to depreciate those true powers with which Christ has invested His faithful ministers, of pronouncing the sentence of truth on earth, which He will ratify in heaven.

But to return to the parable, upon which we may make these following observations:

First; that all mankind are in the condition and circumstances of one of these two debtors. We have all of us offended God more or less, and are all accountable to His justice.

Secondly; that the best of men have nothing wherewith to satisfy for their offences, or to appease the justice of God: we have nothing to pay.

Thirdly; notwithstanding this, God is so gracious and merciful, as to forgive all such as are sensible of their own inability, sorry for the debt they owe, apply to Him for His compassion and forgiveness, and will strive to regain and to deserve His favour. He frankly forgave them both.

Lastly; we have here a rule given us, whereby we may judge of the sincerity of our faith and repentance, and con

sequently of the certainty that our sins are forgiven. For if we love God, so as to do what will please Him, then are we sure our sins will never rise up in judgment against us. Her sins, which are many, are forgiven her, for she loved much.

I. Let us first consider, that we are all in the condition of one of these two debtors; that is, we have all offended God, and, without His favour and goodness, we are all undone. Hear what the holy Scripture teacheth us upon this head: "We are by nature the children of wrath; a generation of [Eph. 2. 3; Is. 1. 4; evil doers; we love darkness rather than light, because our John 3. 19, 20; Gen. deeds are evil, and will not bear the light; and the imagina- 6.5.1 tions of our hearts are evil continually;" that is, this is the way they naturally bend.

And though we should hope that God may overlook this untowardness of our nature, entailed upon us by the sin of our first parents, yet what a debt do we all owe for the many, very many actual transgressions of our lives? the effects either of base principles, or a loose education, or evil custom; or from a love of the world, or sensual pleasures; by which God has been dishonoured, His laws despised, His infinite love abused, and His power and justice, as it were, defied.

And though we should any of us escape (as many, no doubt, have) those sins which lay waste the conscience, and are by all acknowledged to be damnable in their nature; yet we are still accountable, the very best of us, for the many opportunities we have lost of doing good, of promoting the glory of God by our good lives and good works.

For these two things are certainly true: that God has ordained good works, in which we should walk, and that the unprofitable as well as the wicked servant, will be cast into outer darkness.

So that we are accountable to God, not only for the sins we have committed, but for the duties we have omitted. In short, we are all DEBTORS TO GOD, not only for the pardon of our sins, but also for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

It is by the favour of God, and through the means of grace which He has appointed, that we know our duty; that we are enabled to perform it acceptably, if it is not our

LXXVIII.

SERM. own fault; that, when through our own default we have broken the laws of God, we are not left without hopes of mercy and pardon, but that God will accept of our repentance if it be sincere, receive us into favour again, and treat us as if we had never offended Him; and, what is the most astonishing instance of His goodness, He has given us an assurance of eternal life and happiness after death, if we will but suffer ourselves to be governed by Him during this short life of trial, which is designed to fit us for heaven. This is the mighty debt we owe.

II. Let us now see, what we have, how we are able, to discharge it? Why truly, as we are in the condition of these debtors with respect to our obligations, so are we with regard to our ability-WE HAVE NOTHING TO PAY.

This is a circumstance which ought to affect us very sensibly. That God, knowing our inability, and that the very best of men have no merits, nothing of their own, whereby to satisfy for the debt they owe, does not expect from us what we have not to give,-a full satisfaction for the blessings we have received. He knew our poverty, and therefore He Himself found out a way to satisfy His own justice and demands.

Let us consider this circumstance of the love of God towards us more particularly.

We have many ways offended God, we have no way of making Him amends. He, whom we have provoked to punish us, is the first who proposeth a reconciliation. He does not only offer to forgive us upon the most reasonable terms, upon terms which He Himself will enable us to perform; but He has given us His faithful word and promise, that, if we will be persuaded and governed by Him, He will make us happy beyond our greatest expectations. He sent His only Son into the world, to assure us of this; who would never have left the joys of heaven, nor taken the nature of man with all its miseries upon Him, had not He known for certain, that if men were left to themselves, and to their own wild inventions, they would be most miserable both in this life and the next.

For what strange ways did they, with all their boasted reason, take to satisfy the justice of God, and to appease His

anger, whom they had provoked by their sins? They sacrificed the best of their substance, they often sacrificed their very children, to make their consciences easy under the burden of their offences; and yet, after all, their minds were not satisfied.

The merciful God saw and pitied this mournful condition of His helpless creatures, and knowing their inability to help themselves, He therefore Himself found out a way for their redemption; He sent His only Son with terms of pardon, freely forgiving all such as with hearty repentance and true faith turn unto Him, and accept of the terms of their deliverance.

III. THE GREAT CREDITOR OF THE WORLD FORGIVES US FRANKLY forgives, not only those who have committed the fewest offences, but even those whose sins are great and innumerable; not only those offences which are the effect. of our infirmities, but even wilful presumptuous sins, for which, under the Law of Moses, there was no atonement. a word; He is ready to forgive us those sins, which, if we are in our right mind, we can never be easy, until we have some reasonable hopes, and even assurance, that they will be forgiven.

In

But can we have any such assurance? Yes, most certainly; as much as this happy penitent had, that her sins were forgiven her. And this brings us to the next inference from the text:

IV. That we have here a rule, a test, given us, by which we may be able to judge of the sincerity of our faith and repentance; that is, of our religion, and consequently of our salvation.

For if indeed we love God; that is, if we endeavour to keep His commandments (for that is the only way of expressing our love of God, as He is our Lord and Lawgiver), then may we be well assured, that we believe in Him as we ought to do, and that we have truly repented of those sins, which, by the grace of God, we resolve never to repeat again. And happy it is for us poor mortals, that the terms of our salvation are so easy to be understood.

Christians might be confounded with the nice disputes concerning Faith and Repentance; but there is no manner