Page:Sermons on the Lord's Prayer.djvu/88

 and submission, and their power over us will be broken. And then will the Lord by his Holy Spirit remove them, and introduce heavenly affections in their stead, and inspire love to God and man, and re-mould our spirits, and regenerate our hearts, and prepare us for our heavenly home. Thus will our sins truly be pardoned, by our evils being removed. Such and no other is the order of man's regeneration; such is the true manner of the remission of sins.

But now we have to consider the second part of this petition, which will be found to have an important bearing on the first. The words are, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." "As," means here, "according as," or "in proportion as:" "Forgive us our trespasses, in proportion as we forgive the trespasses of others against us." That such is the meaning, is evident from the Lord's comment, immediately following—(and what is remarkable, it is the only part of the Prayer which he does comment upon, showing thus, it would seem, his view of its importance). "For," he says, "if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Here, now, is a very important subject for reflection: here is a condition laid down in regard to the forgiveness of sins, which needs to be well considered.

Why is it that the Lord will not forgive our trespasses, unless we forgive the trespasses of others against us? Because he cannot. We know that the