1. Why is sin called a debt ? 2. Where- in is sin worse than other debts we con- tract ? 3. \\'herein have sinners the pro- perty of bad debtors ?
Quest. JVhy is sin called a debt ?
OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER.
523
Ans. Because it so fitly resembles it.
1 . A debt ariseth upon non-payment of money, or the not paying that which is one's due. So we owe to God exact obe- dience, and not paying what is due, thus we come to be in debt. 2. As in case of non-payment, the debtor goes to prison : so, by our sin, we become guilty, and stand o- bliged to God's curse of damnation. Tliough God doth a while grant a sinner a reprieve, yet he stands bound to eternal death, if the debt be not forgiven.
Quest. 2. I?i what sense is sm the worse debt ?
Ans. 1. Because we have nothing to ])ay ; if we could pay the debt, what need we pray, " forgive us ?" We can't say, as he in the gospel, " have patience with me, and I will pay thee all ;" we can pay neither principal nor interest. Adam made us all bankrupts ; in innocency Adam had a stock of original righteousness to begin the world with, he could give God personal and pci*- fect obedience ; but, by his sin, he is quite broken, and hath beggared all his posterity. We have nothing to pay, all our duties are mixed with sin, and so we cannot pay God in current coin.
A. 2. Sin is the worst debt, because it is against an infinite majesty. An offence a- gainst the person of a king, is crimen icescB tnaj'estitatis, it doth enhance and aggravate the crime. Sin wrongs God, and so it is an infinite offence. The schoolmen say omne pe.ccatum contra conscientiam est quasi dicidiuni, i. e. Every known sin strikes at the Godhead. The sinner would not only unthrone God, but ungod him, this makes the debt infinite.
A. 3. Sin is the worst debt, because it is not a single, but a multiplied debt: forgive us " our debts ;" we have debt upon debt, Ps. xl. 12., " Innumerable evils have com- passed me about." We may as well reckon all the drops in the sea, as reckon all our spiritual debts ; we cannot tell how much we owe. A man may know his other debts, but we cannot Tuxm])er our spiritual debts. Every Viiin thought is a sin, Prov. xxiv. 9., "The thought of foolishness is sin." And what swarms of vain thoughts have we ? Tlie first rising of corruption, though it never blossom into outward act, is a sin ; then,
" who can understand his errors ?" We do not know how much we owe to God.
A. 4. Sin is the worst debt ; because it is an inexcusable debt in two respects ; I. There is no denying the debt. 2. There is no sliifting it off. ,
(1.) There is no denying the debt ; other del)ts men may deny. If money be not |)aid before witnesses, or if the creditor lose the bond, the debtor may say he owes him nothing ; but there's no denying this debt of sin. If we say we have no sin, God can prove the debt, Ps. 1. 21., I will set thy sins in order before thee. God writes down our debts in his book of remembrance, and God's book, and the hook of conscience do exactly agree, so that this debt cannot be denied.
(2.) There is no shifting of the debt ; o- ther debts may be shifted off.
1. AVe may get friends to pay them, but neither man nor angel can pay this debt for us : if all the angels in heaven should go to make a purse, they cannot pay one of our debts.
2. In other debts men may get a protec- tion, so that none can touch their persons, or sue them for the debt : but Avho shall give us a protection from God's justice? Job X. 7., " There is none that can deliver out of thine hand." Indeed the pope pre- tends that his pardon shall be men's protec- tion, and now God's justice shall not sue them ; but that is only a forgery, and can- not be pleaded at God's tribunal.
3. Other debts, if the debtor dies in pri- son, cannot be recovered, death frees them from debt ; but if we die in debt to God, he knows how to recover it ; as long as we have souls to strain on, God will not lose his debt. Not the death of the debtor, but the death of the surety, pays a sinner's debt.
4. In other debts men may flee from their creditor, leave their country, and go into foreign parts, and the creditor cannot find them ; but we cannot flee from God. God knows where to find all his debtors, Ps. cxxxix. 7, 8., " Whether sliall I flee from thy presence ? If I take the wings of the mor- ning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, there shall thy right hand hold me."
5. Sin is the worst debt, because it car
524
OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER.
rios men, in case of non-payment, to a worse prison than any upon earth, to a fiery pri- son ; and tlie sinner is laid in worse chains, chains of darkness, where the sinner is bound under wratli for ever.
QuKST. 3. Wherein have we the properties of hod debtors.