(1.) The grant of a pardon, that God would accept the satisfaction of Christ for our sins, and look upon us as righteous in him. Jesus Christ himself was to sue out the fruits of his purchase : Ps. ii, 8, ' Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.' Though he had a right to be received into heaven, to sit down at the right hand of God, and administer the kingdom for the comfort of his elect ones, yet ' ask of me.' And so we are to sue out our right : Ps. xxxii. 5, * I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord ; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.' What then ? ' For this cause shall every one that is godly pray unto thee.' Thougli God be so ready to forgive — as soon as we conceive a purpose he gives out a pardon — yet we are to call upon God. God will have us to sue out the grant of a pardon. Why ? Because he would deal with us as a sovereign, therefore
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178 AN EXPOSITION OF [Mat. VT. 12.
doth he require the submission of our faith. It was of grace that he would appoint a satisfiiction for us, which he did not for the fallen angels ; and it was much more grace that he would give that satis- faction, give that price, out of his own treasury. Christ was not a mediator of our choosing, but God's ; and therefore, though justice be fully satisfied, yet the debt is humbly to be acknowledged by the creature, and we are to sue out terms of grace. And again, the application to us is merely grace, when so many thousands perish in their sins ; therefore we are to beg, to sue out this grace, that we may have the benefit of Christ's death. God doth it, that in begging we may acknowledge our own misery, and how unable we are to make satisfaction : Ps. cxliii. 2, ' In thy sight no flesh can be justified ;' and Ps. cxxx. 3, 4, ' If thou shouldest mark iniquities, 0 Lord, who shall stand ? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.' Before God will give us an interest in this forgiveness, we are to come and confess ourselves utterly to be insolvent, and also to own Jesus Christ as the means, that we may solemnly and explicitly own our Redeemer, who was appointed by God, and procured this benefit for us : 1 John ii. 1, ' And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.' God hath required we should sue it out, and own our advocate, as well as confess our- selves unable to satisfy, that we might know who is our advocate. In the type of the brazen serpent, Num. xxi. 8, ' And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole : and it shall come to pass, that every one tliat is bitten, when helooketh upon it, shall live.' Mark, though God set up a sign of salvation (as it is called elsewhere), yet when you shall look upon him you shall live. So God would have us sue out the grant by looking to Christ, that so our interest may be established : John iii. 14, 15, ' And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up ; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.' That whosoever ' believeth in him,' that was the intent of looking upon it, that M^e might fix our faith on Christ, and come under the shelter of his wing. We beg, upon a sense of our own unworthiness, the acceptance of Christ's satisfaction for us.
(2.) We pray for the continuance of pardon ; though we are already justified, yet ' Forgive us our sins.' As in daily bread, though we have it by us, and God hath stored us with blessings in our houses, yet we beg the continuance and use of it; so whatever right we have to pardoning mercy, yet we beg the continuance of it, for two reasons : — Partly because justification is not complete until the day of judg- ment, but mercy is still in fieri, that is, God is still a-doing : Acts iii. 19, ' That your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refresh- ing shall come from the presence of the Lord.' Then are our sins blotted out, then is this privilege complete. We read of forgiveness in this world, and forgiveness in the world to come, Mat. xii. 32. Forgiven in this world, when accepted to grace and favour with God ; and forgiven in the world to come, when this privilege is com- plete, and fully made up to the elect. Some eflfects of sin remain till then ; as death, which came into the world by sin, remains upon the body till then — then our sin is blotted out, when all the fruits of it
Mat. VI. 12.] the lord's prayer. 179
are vanished and done away. So that whilst any penal evils that are introduced by sin remain, we ought to pray for pardon, that God would not repent of his mercy. Look, as when we are in a state of sanctification, we pray for the continuance of sanctification, as well as the increase of it, because of the relics of sin, though our persever- ance in grace and sanctification be as much secured by God's promise as our perseverance in God's favour, and the gift of justification ; so we pray for the continuance of pardon, because the evils of sin yet remain in part. And partly, because God, for our exercise, will make us feel the smart of old sins, which are already pardoned ; as an old bruise, though it be healed, yet ever and anon we may feel it upon change of weather. Accusations of conscience may return for sins already pardoned ; as Job xiii. 26, ' Thou makest me possess the iniquities of my youth.' Though a man be reconciled to God, and in favour with him, yet the sins of his youth will trouble him after he hath obtained the j^ardon of them. God may make these return with a horrible and frightful appearance upon the conscience ; their visage may be terrible to look upon. Though these sins are blotted out, Satan may make the remembrance of them very frightful ; and God, in his holy, wise dispensation, may permit it for our humiliation. Though this be no intrenching of the pardon already past, yet it may exceedingly terrify the soul, and overcloud our comfort, and therefore we must beg the continuance of this benefit. Go to God as David did : Ps. XXV. 6, 7, ' Kemember, 0 Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindness, for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions.' He begs God's ancient mercies would continue with him. He acknowledged he had received mercy of old ; he could run up to eternity, that had been for ever of old ; yet, Lord, remember not against me the sins of my youth. When the sense of old sins are renewed, we must renew petitions for the pardon of them. It is usual with' God, when we are negligent, to permit the devil to make use of affliction to revive old sins, that they may stare afresh in the view of the eye of conscience ; therefore we had need to beg the continuance of this privilege, for it is not com- plete. Though the pardon itself be not abrogated, yet the comfort of it may be much intrenched upon, and old sins may come and terrify the soul with a very hideous aspect.