Luke 11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation… I. Let us consider THAT GOD IS THE SOURCE OF ALL FORGIVENESS. This is His right. It belongs to Him; it is His property; and He is jealous of it. "To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses." "It is God that justifieth; who is he that condemneth?" But not only is it the right and prerogative of God: it is His glory. It floweth out of His mercy. Forgiveness is but the stream, and it ariseth from the goodness and the mercy of God. And the reason why I lay stress on this, and I do it often, is because I see so frequently, and find so often in my own heart, this principle — a sort of harsh principle as it regardeth God; a loving principle as it regardeth Jesus, but some stem view as it regardeth the Father; whereas the glory of the gospel is, that if we have free forgiveness, it floweth out, like the bubbling stream from the overflowing fountain; it cometh forth from His glory; it is His glory. And yet it flows in a pure and unsullied channel; if you and I love God as we ought to love Him, we should say, I would not have mercy at the expense of Thy holiness. I want no exhibition of God's goodness upon the ruins of His holiness; I do not want to see the wreck of God's holy law, in order that He may exhibit His forgiving love. It emanates forth from the glory of God; and gloriously does He exercise it. It is indeed a bubbling fountain, ever full and ever running over. Hast thou ever seen the honeycomb drop honey out of its fulness? Did any argument of thine persuade it to drop? Why did it drop? Because it was full of honey. And why doth God forgive? Because He is God; and that which He doeth, He doeth like Himself, gloriously. Oh! yes, what God doth, He doth as God; and when He forgiveth, He forgiveth as God. And when one asks what are those sins that He forgives, see how the Holy Ghost describes them: sins deep as scarlet, and red as blood. II. HE LEADS THEM TO PRAY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF THEIR SINS — "Forgive us our sins." And there seems, too, I think, involved in this petition, an imploring of God for all the blessings that spring out from forgiveness. III. THE PLEA WHICH OUR LORD PUTS INTO THE HEARTS OF HIS DISCIPLES — "For we also forgive every one that is indebted to us." (J. H. Evans.) Parallel Verses KJV: And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. |
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