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an hand, a foot, or an eye, than by any indulgence or sensual gratification, to give offence to the disciples of CHRIST, or prevent the success of his gospel: and, as the disciples of CHRIST were appointed to preach the glorious gospel to a wicked world, to shew all nations the stupidity and folly of their idolatry, to teach the uncorrupted worship of the true God, and the practice of every virtue, JESUS exhorted them to be particularly careful of their conduct and behaviour, for, if their lives were dishonourable to the cause of the gospel, they would be useless and despised, like salt which had lost its savour. But amongst all the vices which prevail in the hearts of mankind, there is none more contrary to the nature and genius of the religion of JESUS, or more likely to prevent the usefulness of the preachers of his gospel, than a spirit of pride; of this, therefore, our Lord particularly cautioned his disciples to beware; for, he assured them, that the meanest person is an object of the paternal care of the great Creator, and is supported and defended by his particular providence; such, therefore, are not to be despised; for our Lord declared, that their angels do always behold the face of his heavenly Father.

And to shew the particular notice and care which his eternal Father takes of his people, and with what tender regard he always beholds the believers in his Son, our great Redeemer proceeded in this manner, 'How think ye,' said he, if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if it be, that he find it, verily, I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so, it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.'

Our Lord having declared the heavy vengeance which would certainly fall on all who injured his disciples,

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and opposed the propagation of his gospel; and ob. served the tender care with which his Almighty Father beholds his people, and their certainty of protection and defence; he proceeds to warn them of taking their cause into their own hands, and pursuing, with hasty and unreasonable resentment, any who had offended them. If thy brother,' said he, 'shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man, and a publican.'

Our Saviour then proceeds to inform them, that the Supreme Judge of heaven and earth will interest himself in their behalf, when they are justly offended, and the sentence which they pass on such offenders will be ratified in heaven: Verily, I say unto you,' proceeded he, 'whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' The meaning of this is, that if the method you take with an offending brother is blessed to the end you designed, and he is brought to a repentance, he is loosed from the guilt of his sin, and stands acquitted at the bar of supreme justice: but, on the other hand, if all methods are used in vain, and the offender still continues impenitent, and persists in his evil ways, he is bound by the chains of his guilt, and cannot escape deserved punishment.

Our blessed Saviour then proceeded to lay down some considerations, which ought to encourage good men to use their utmost endeavours to convince sinners of the error of their ways, and bring them to sincere repentance, and to offer up their earnest and persevering prayers to the God of all grace, for his divine assistance in so great a work, by which only it can be

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effected: for our Lord informs them, that his heavenly Father would always hear their prayers, and grant their petitions, if consistent with the designs of his providence, and the methods of his grace. Again, I say unto you,' said he, that if two of you shall agree on earth, as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven: for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.'

Peter had carefully attended to the doctrine of forgiveness of injuries, as inculcated by his master; doubtless, he saw the beauty and dignity of such a rule of conduct, and desired it to be further explained: "Lord,' said he, 'how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him, till seven times? It seems by this question, that, however great and noble he apprehended this rule of conduct to be, he thought it was necessary to observe some restrictions in the practice of it; but his Master informed him, that it must not be limited to seven times, but carried on to seventy times seven, if the case required it.

In order to shew the beauty and dignity of this ex. cellent moral precept, and the necessity of forgiving the greatest injuries in every case, where the offending person is sensible of his fault, and promises amend ment; our Lord, by way of illustration, proposed the parable of two servants, debtors to one lord: "Therefore,' said he, 'is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand tal

But, for as much as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant, therefore, fell down, and worshipped him, say. ing, lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt,

But the same servant went out, and found one of his. fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence; and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, pay me that thou owest. And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison till he should pay the debt.'

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So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him unto the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.'

By this affecting narrative, our Lord beautifully displays the extent of divine forgiveness, and the obligations which the sons of men, to whom God hath forgiven so much, are under to forgive one another. God is the great king and sovereign of all creatures, to him all are accountable, as servants are to a master; he keeps a register of their actions, as a tradesman keeps an account of his debts, and a day will surely come when they will be called to a reckoning. The servant who owed ten thousand talents, represents every man that lives in the world: the enormous debts which men owe to their Creator, is but faintly described by that prodigious sum; for their sins of thought, word, and deed, which the most correct and regular of mankind commit, exceed all conception, and may justly be compared to the stars of heaven for multitude, or the sand on the sea shore. The plea of the insolvent debtor 'Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all,' is an elegant description of the expectations of men in general, to obtain the divine forgiveness, by their future good behaviour, and thinking to perform such good

deeds as may make amends for their former guilt; but the Lord, knowing how impossible it was for this servant to pay this enormous sum, had compassion on him, and freely forgave the debt. Hence we learn the freeness of divine forgiveness; it is not on account of any thing which has been done, or can be done by the sons of men, that the great Jehovah is induced to pardon their iniquities; but his forgiveness flows from the rich fountain of his own infinite mercy, that mercy which he hath magnified, and fully manifested to the world in the gospel of his Son: and whosoever is made partaker of the rich blessing of divine forgiveness, is laid under the highest obligations to forgive his fellowcreatures, and to extend that forgiveness, if required, beyond the limits prescribed by our Lord, even beyond the number of seventy times seven: but such is the corruption and depravity of the human heart, that we are too prone to forget, or carelessly overlook the mercies received, and consider not how justly the great Judge of heaven and earth might call us to a strict account for our numerous offences, while we are pursuing our fellow-creatures with implacable resentment; nor do we consider how much we are indebted to the supreme Lord of universal nature, while, like the unmerciful servant, we take our fellow-creature by the throat, with, Pay me what thou owest.' But whosoever duly considers the vast debt they owe to God, and are enabled to rely on his infinite mercy for forgiveness; if they have a just view of their unworthiness and insolvency, and are enabled to seek forgiveness in the way which God hath appointed, will, in a greater or less degree, be careful to cultivate a placable forgiving frame of mind; especially when they consider those remarkable words with which our Lord concludes this narrative: for having declared, that the lord delivered the cruel scrvant 'to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him;' he adds, so likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not one another your tresspasses.'

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