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the Most High. When we are brought out of prison, let us remember to do the same. 1 waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Psal. xl. 1-3.

How many doubts and fears prevail,

In my bewildered mind!

What sad anxieties I feel;

My chains how fast they bind!

Ten thousand griefs, ten thousand cares,
Like billows round me roll;
Whilst not a ray of light appears,
To cheering my drooping soul.

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Free Forgiveness.

SERMON XV. ̧ ̧

LUKE Vii. 42.

And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly
forgave them both.

WE have here a poor woman weeping at the feet

of Jesus, hereby expressing her love to him, and the sense she had of her own unworthiness. Simon the pharisee, at whose house this was done, took offence on account of the former character of this penitent: but Christ vindicates both himself and her, by uttering a parable of which the text is a part. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed him five hundred pence, and the other fifty: and when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both.

We are all debtors to God. We owe him a debt of obedience as creatures, from which we can never be discharged, nor would the good man desire it. We owe ourselves and all we have to God; and if our obedience were as perfect as the law requires, yet we should merit nothing by it, having done no more than was our duty to do. But alas, we are debtorsalso as sinners, in having come short of the glory of God. We owe a debt of punishment, a debt which we can never discharge; and though in a future state

it will ever be paying, yet will never be fully paid. Finite beings can never satisfy the demands of infinite justice, nor make atonement for infinite transgressions.

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Though all are thus involved in debt and ruin, yet there is a difference between one sinner and another: some owe five hundred pence, and others fifty. Some men sin more openly, presumptuously, and desperately, and continue longer in the practice of it than others: yet it is said by our Lord, that when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both.-Let us here attend to the following remarks.

I. It is an unspeakable mercy to have our sins forgiven.

This is the first desire and prayer of an awakened sinner, and a principal blessing in the covenant of grace. It is a blessing which all need, for all have sinned; and without which none can be happy in this world, nor in that which is to come. It is first in the train of spiritual blessings, and with respect to many of them it is first in order of time as well as dignity. Without it our temporal mercies are no marks of the divine favour, and are likely to be abused so as to encrease the divine displeasure. The forgiveness of sins is a peculiar blessing: it is not one of those all things which Solomon speaks of, and which come alike to all; but is that which distinguishes one man from another, and fallen men from fallen angels. Under the same degree of guilt, one is taken and another left; one is eased of his burden, and another sinks into eternal misery. All do not feel their need of forgiveness, neither do all obtain it. Some die in their sins, and go down to the grave under the curse, while others are pardoned, and stand before the throne. It is also a comprehensive blessing it removes all obstructions to the exercise of

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divine mercy, which then flows freely into the soul. It unseals as it were the fountain of goodness, and causes its streams to descend. It adds a sweetness to all the common mercies of life, and supports us under all its afflictions. It produces inward peace, affords a motive to watchfulness and activity, and inspires with courage and fortitude in the prospect of death. It is also a permanent blessing, and shall last for ever. An act of oblivion once passed, shall never be recalled. The infinite grace which bestows a pardon, and the infinite merit which procures it are still the same. Pardon is one of those gifts of God which are without repentance, and he will never cancel the deed to which his hand is set. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. The remission of sins makes an everlasting separation between us and death, between us and the wrath of God; and forms an everlasting connexion between us and happiness, between us and heaven.

II. It is the sole prerogative of God to forgive sin.

None can pass by an offence but the party offended, and none can discharge a debt but the person with whom it was contracted. If ministers have power to forgive sin, it is only declaratively, shewing from scripture who are the objects of pardoning mercy. Accordingly we find, that though the apostles, after the ascension of Christ and the out-pouring of the Spirit, healed all manner of diseases, cast out devils, and did many wonderful works, yet they never presumed to say to any one, as their Master did, Thy sins be forgiven thee! It is God, and God alone, who can pardon sin authoritatively; and therefore for any one to pretend to this power, is an instance of great ignorance or presumption. The Jews, who did

mot acknowledge Christ as a divine Person, put that question; and had he been a mere man, as they supposed him to be, it would have been a pertinent one: Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only? The Lord claims this right to himself, exclusive of all others: I, even I am he ⚫that blotteth out thy transgressions, for mine own name sake, and will not remember thy sins. And this right has always been acknowledged by his people : Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? Sometimes it is spoken of as an act of power: Now let the power of my Lord be greatPardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people. Sometimes as an act of mercy: According to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Sometimes it is ascribed to his faithfulness and truth: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But whichever of the divine perfections are glorified by it, the remission of sin can only be expected from God, and must always be ascribed to him. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercy. Mark ii. 7. Isai. xliii. 25. Mic. vii. 18. Num. xiv. 17, 19. Psal. li. 1. ciii. 2, 3. 1 John i. 9.

III. Those to whom God forgives sin have nothing to pay.

The whole creation is become insolvent. As we cannot perform the duties required, so neither can we make satisfaction for sins committed, either in whole or in part. Our future obedience will not compensate for past neglects: nay, we increase the debt by the very means we take to discharge it. If

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