creatures? "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." No one who is acquainted with the Scriptures, will suppose from this phraseology, that the forgiveness which it is our duty to grant to our fellow-creatures, can operate, by virtue of inherent merit, as an inducement with God to pardon our sins. If an act of devout worship, of which the Divine Being is the immediate Object, has nothing in it to merit his favour, we cannot with any decency plead for that blessing on the ground of a virtue which, though indispensable, is confessedly inferior. Nevertheless, the privilege of receiving forgiveness from God, and the duty of bestowing forgiveness on an offending brother, are connected by a mutual fitness, and still more by the purpose and declaration of God. The very construction of this petition evinces consummate wisdom; for it places our obligation in such a light as utterly to discourage every attempt to unite the hope of mercy with an allowed violation of the Divine commands. It teaches us that we have no reason to expect pardon from God, if we indulge an implacable spirit towards our fellow-men; and that a disposition to forgive, from proper motives, is a proof that we are influenced by gracious principles, and have ourselves obtained forgiveness from above. S The religion of Jesus Christ is a religion of love. It is intended not only to give us humbling views of our own defects, but to render us compassionate to the weaknesses and faults of others, to suppress a censorious temper,to cultivate all the mild and amiable virtues,— and to do to all men as we would that they should do to us. Revenge is wholly at variance with the christian character. The unhappy person who fosters it resembles the worst of fallen spirits, and of course is in perfect contrast to all those lovely and benevolent beings who reflect the image of their Creator. He is as unlike the Saviour as the blackness of midnight is unlike the brightness of a summer's noon. Let the man thus agitated attempt to pray if he venture to breathe a petition for pardon, his conscience, unless in the last stages of indifference and apathy, will charge him with gross presumption, and impress the gloomy conviction, that God will not hear his prayer: he must be persuaded, that the forgiveness of his sins, till he renounce his malevolent feelings, is a matter, not only of doubt, but of impossibility. But what if he should, while meditating revenge, persist in offering this prayer,-Forgive my debts, as I forgive my debtors! Does he not say, in effect, "Let the justice of Heaven rigorously mark all the faults which I have committed,-let me receive the full reward of my sins,-never let the yearnings of Divine mercy melt over my guilty soul,―let no heart pity me,—but let the arrows of the Almighty drink up my spirit, and make me the victim of God's eternal displeasure?" Such, virtually, are the imprecations of an unforgiving man, who petitions God to forgive his trespasses, as he himself forgives those who trespass against him. You well know the design of that parable which portrays the character of the unmerciful servant; it may not, however, be unprofitable to remind you of his punishment, and of the awful admonition with which it was improved. "Then his Lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desirest me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." But you are furnished with a still higher motive to animate you to the cultivation of a placable and forgiving temper. Think, for a moment, on the condescension and benevolence of your Redeemer. Think on what he endured, to put you in possession of pardoning mercy,what provocations he atoned for,-what guilt he cancelled, and with what tenderness he received you and blessed you. Do you speak of injuries? Approach his cross: see the Lord of life and glory covered with shame and disgrace,-suffering the death of a slave,-made the victim of ingratitude, envy, malice, and cruelty, derided by the great,-abused by the populace, and regarded by all as an object of execration. Is it difficult for you to forgive injuries? Contemplate him in the midst of this humiliation and anguish, looking around on those monsters who had demanded his crucifixion, and on those who had mocked and smitten him, and on those who had tortured him with the scourge, and on those who had pierced and nailed his limbs to the tree, and on those who were triumphing in his distress and bitter wailings. Instead of calling for legions of angels to avenge his cause,-instead of beseeching his Father to pour out the vials of wrath on his inhuman murderers, behold him raise his dying eyes to heaven, and hear him say, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Let these recollections impress your hearts; and, as you retire from the af |