or to renounce that pardon they themselves want from the divine mercy. They put the iffue of their fuccefs upon this condition, and defire upon no other terms to be forgiven, than as they forgive others.

The Petition is fuch as every one may understand, and if they knew their own finful state, should earnestly with to have granted; but they do not attend to the condition with which they ask. They feem by their practice to think, that the forgiveness of their brethren is not fo neceffary but that they may be heard without it; and they vainly hope, that in asking the pardon of their fins they may unconditionately defire, that their malice and revenge may be pardon'd too. There is indeed fo little of this Christian duty seen in common practice, that it is taken for a virtue of an uncommon fize, for fomething above both the capacity and obligations of mortals; and it is not fufficiently confider'd, that they profess it in their daily Prayers.

The uncharitable and revengeful, do by these words condemn themselves out of their own mouths; and by asking pardon upon the condition of charity, for want of that charity disclaim God's mercy. Our refentments are not to be our companions when we come before God, and we must refolve to

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lose the bleffing of this and all other Prayers, or we must send them up with a spirit of meekness and reconciliation. Our Saviour here fets forth the merciful tenor of his Gofpel, and as that is founded in the reconciliation of all mankind; so he expects we should do that for each other, which he in a much higher degree hath done for all.

The words then are a fort of mutual ftipulation and covenant between God and man; and as one part contains the Petition of what we defire him to do for us, fo the other fets forth a profeffion of what we are ready to do for him; the Petition, with the condition annex'd to it, may justly bear this fense: "Let thy favour, O Lord, be to me "in proportion to my affection to my bre"thren; blot out my fins, as I for thy fake "have done their injuries: let my Prayers "for pardon have the fame acceptance at thy

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Tribunal, which their intreaties have had with me: I am willing to be accepted or rejected at the last day upon thefe terms, and defire to meet with no more mercy "in the next world, than I have practis'd

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in this." Thefe are the profeffions which every Christian makes, when he asks for the forgiveness of his trefpaffes, and his everlasting happiness depends upon the

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truth and fincerity with which he makes

them.

Secondly, The fecond particular is to fhew the measure and degree of that forgiveness which is made the condition of this Prayer.

The measure of forgiveness which is here profefs'd to our brethren will be beft understood by that proportion of pardon which we are fuppos'd to ask for our felves. We do not, in asking God forgiveness, only ask the remittance of punishment, but we go on to defire perfect friendship and reconciliation with him. We defire, in the language of the Gospel, to be justify'd; that is, to be fo treated, as tho' we had been originally just, and never finn'd at all. We, with all the demerit of finners, yet by the merits of our Redeemer, fue for the rewards of unfpotted innocence; that thus accepted by his mercy, and fanctify'd by his Spirit, we may have our fruit unto holiness, and the end of it everlasting life.

As therefore we defire the benefit of this full forgiveness from God, we profess, by defiring to be forgiven as we forgive, to practise it in the fame degree to each other. As the pardon of fins doth not confift only in the remittance of the punifhment, but in blotting out the memory of them, and ma

king

king us the children of Grace, fo we cannot be faid to have forgiven an injury, by only fufpending the resolution of revenging it. We ask much more in this Petition for our felves, and therefore must be fuppos'd to profess more to others.

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If our profeffions then be anfwerable to this Petition (and that the rule fuppofes) we must not only not feek for revenge against an offending brother, but receive him with fome degree of Christian kindness. We must not think, that we have perform'd the whole condition of this request for pardon, by only not returning like for like; but, if occafion be, by doing good for evil, by blessing them that curfe, and praying for them that deSpitefully use us. A fmooth carriage and a cold distance, whereby an offended neighbour feems rather not to be in war, than to be at full peace, fall very fhort of this rule, which requires all the latent feeds of malice and hatred to be rooted out. In short, as the forgiveness from God brings along with it a thorough reconciliation, fo that is only to be obtain❜d, by practising it in as full a manner to each other.

There are fome who think themselves entitled to the rewards of this virtue, who have no fhare in the merit of it; a predominancy

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of flegm, a want of fire in their complexion, makes them incapable of any warmth of paffion, and thereby very cold either in their love of friends, or hatred of enemies.

Others want not fire for paffionate refentments, but thofe, like fire compos'd of hafty fuel, foon expire. Their revengeful refolutions without any other reason wear off with time, and, notwithstanding all their endeavours to keep them alive, expire with as much weakness as they were born. The forgiveness of enemies, which upon a Christian principle is the greatest perfection of human mind, is, in them, the disease of it, and is wholly owing to the natural levity of their tempers, which fuffers them not to purfue the fame thing for a long time.

But the mercy of God in Chrift Jefus is to be both the principle and the measure of this duty, and it is the sense of this only, which can entitle those that use this Prayer to the fuccefs of it. If any other accidental cause tyes up our hands, or disarms our affections; the effects of it are not to be plac'd to God's account. The only test for Christians to distinguish these false pretences from the reality is to try, whether they in their Prayers for all mankind are not inclin'd to make fome revengeful exceptions, whether they can of M their