418. Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity. I.
Have mercy upon me, O God,
according to thy lovingkindness;
according unto the multitude
of thy tender mercies
blot out my transgressions. Amen.
Gospel Lesson, Matthew 18, 23-35. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents: but forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants which owed him an hundred pence; and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not; but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
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God forgives every penitent sinner even his greatest debt; but they only who are willing to forgive others can receive and keep the grace of God.
By the ten thousand talents is meant our whole great debt to God by reason of our sins. When you have counted to 10 you return to the figure 1 and repeat the series of units; 10 is the symbol of completeness. Now ten thousand is 10 times 10 times 10 times 10; and a talent is equivalent to nearly 1,000 dollars. Ten thousand talents is therefore mightily significant of the enormity of our debt. This is one of the lessons taught by our Lord Jesus; but do we recognize its truth? When he adds that the servant “had not to pay,” he shows us that we have absolutely nothing of value with which to put in an appearance before God. You owe ten thousand talents; but you have nothing whatever with which to make payment. This is the true state of the case. — Now, justice demands that payment be made. For yourself, you shall receive the punishment which you have deserved, and your “wife and children” likewise. The servant, however, humbles himself; and the Lord’s mercy appears. If you acknowledge that God in justice should and could condemn you; nay that he must do it, if payment of your debt be not made; and if your heart sues for mercy; — then he is moved with compassion, and forgives you the whole debt. — The servant declares that he “will pay all.” The doctrine is sometimes preached that he who is to receive mercy must have made himself entirely free from self-righteousness, nor have even a thought of himself paying any part of his debt. If this were true, it would be all but impossible for any sinner to enter the state of grace; but Jesus does not teach this disheartening doctrine. To be sure, the Spirit in the faithful “counts all things but dung, that they may win Christ”; but self-righteousness is still extant, and ever stands in the way of a perfectly fearless faith. For it is not our humility, but our self-righteousness which makes our faith weak. When the sinner refuses to admit his guilt, it is his self-righteousness which shuts him out from the grace of God; for then he does not plead for mercy. When, on the other hand, you admit the debt, and acknowledge that God’s judgment is just, he forgives you everything, even though you still wish to make payment. Is not this distinctly taught in our gospel lesson? Even so David also declares, Psalm 32, 5: “I acknowledged my sin unto thee; and thou forgavest me the iniquity of my sin.” In like manner John: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1, 9). At the same time the Holy Ghost also teaches us, and ever more clearly, to know that forgiveness of sins is wholly grace on the part of God; so that we thus may leave behind us the Old Testament with its “patience” and “forbearance” of sin, and enter fully into the perfect “forgiveness” of the New Testament, a forgiveness which has its deep and living root in the righteousness of Christ. Give heed, now, to that which Christ here speaks to you: If you with upright heart confess your debt, all your sins are forgiven you; no matter how far you still may fall short of clearly discerning the true nature of justification.
See to it, now, that you forgive your fellow servant! If you do not, you again fall under the judgment of God’s wrath. In the spirit of meekness you must help your neighbor onward to a knowledge of sin. He cannot enjoy the consolation of forgiveness without making confession; but do not you be angry, nor wish for revenge on him. No matter who he is, or what he has done to you, it is your duty to forgive him with all your heart; so that you may be able to bless him, pray for him, feel the sorrow which love inspires for his unhappy condition, and the hope that he may repent; in order that he and you may be united in heaven. If your debtor pray to you to have patience with him, shall not you, whom so much has been forgiven, gladly forgive the little debt to yourself? What are an hundred pence as compared with ten thousand talents? — Truly, there must be a black pit of iniquity in us, since Jesus presents this servant to us as a glass in which we are to see ourselves reflected. And it must be a matter of supreme importance to forgive our debtors, since he has taught us to say it every time we pray the Lord’s prayer. When one who has an unforgiving spirit prays the fifth petition of this prayer, he invites God’s judgment upon himself; he refuses to forgive, and he prays God to deal with him in the same manner. The kingdom of Christ is the kingdom of forgiveness; in which mercy sits on the throne, and stretches out its scepter over all the people. The grace in the blood of Jesus, God’s eternal love in Christ for us lost sinners, is the sun that gives light and heat to the whole city of Zion. He whose heart cannot submit to this law, and who will not breathe this atmosphere, cannot have his home in this kingdom.
Teach us, O God, to know our sin with heart-felt contrition; and forgive us all our trespasses, for Jesus’ sake. Teach us also to believe thy mercy in Christ; and give us kind and gentle hearts, that we may gladly forgive one another as in thy sight. Yea, grant that in truth we may “from our hearts forgive every one his brother their trespasses.” Amen.*
Lord, we confess our numerous faults,
How great our guilt has been:
Foolish and vain were all our thoughts,
And all our lives were sin.
’Tis not by works of righteousness
Which our own hands have done;
But we are saved by sovereign grace
Abounding through his Son.
419. Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity. II.
The God of all grace make us perfect,
stablish, strengthen, settle us. Amen.
Epistle Lesson, Philippians 1, 6-11. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
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There is danger, dear Christian, — we will not hide it, — that you may fall; fall from grace, and away from God. You have not as yet reached the end of your journey; there may be many a dangerous piece of road yet before you. Bileam and Saul and Solomon and Demas, as well as the servant in the day’s gospel lesson, are presented as examples for our warning, in order that none may feel secure and cease to watch and pray. On the other hand, there is a confidence and trust of the spirit in God, a firm feeling of assurance that he will keep us unto the end; and this assurance, or certainty, we will encourage in one another. That which Paul says on this subject here and elsewhere God wants us to hear and keep in our hearts. Paul declares that he is “confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Can you think that God would begin a thing, and only half finish it? Now, it is God who has begun the good work in you; and “he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us, and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Cor. 1, 21. 22). We “are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1, 5). God shall keep us in the fellowship with himself, and ever shed abroad his love in our hearts. This fountain is always full; its waters never cease to flow through the holy Christian church; and the Lord ever creates thirst after it in our souls. By this means we shall grow; and our love abound yet more and more, become ever more rich, full, strong, and prove itself in the practical affairs of life, “in knowledge and in all judgment,” that we may shun every appearance of evil, “be sincere and without offence, and filled with the fruits of righteousness,” filled with them so entirely that there may be room for nothing else. And these fruits “are by Jesus Christ”; not by you or me, but by “the Amen, the faithful and true witness,” the eternal God. “It is for me,” says the apostle, “to think this of you all”; not of some of you, but of you all. For I love you so well that “ye are in my heart to die and live with you”; but this is Christ in me, his love and mercy; and who shall be able to separate you from this love? — The plain purpose of the Holy Ghost in all this is to create in our soul full confidence in the power of the grace of God to sustain and keep us. He who acknowledges that himself can do nothing, but who trusts in God alone, and relies on the power of his grace, fully assured that he will perform the good work which he has begun; such an one is able to obey the admonition of the apostle in this same epistle: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” God does not cease to work in you; God awakens in your soul the desire to pray and struggle; God gives you ever new strength unto holiness and every good work; God gives you continually the spirit of fear and of confidence. Therefore none may say: “I know not, if I can endure to the end.” Rather let each declare: “I am confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in me will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Thus we “resist the devil stedfast in the faith”; and thus we fight. We do not sleep, but watch and fight in “the power of the Lord’s might.” — Lord, help us herein. Keep us, O God, that we fall not from thee; hold us fast to thee, thou strong God. Give us grace to say with thy apostle: “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” Teach us more and more to know our own weakness, and to trust in thee, our God, alone. Give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of thee. Work in us the fruits of righteousness; and let us be filled with them until the day of Christ, unto the eternal praise of thy name. Amen.*
In vain would boasting reason find
The path to happiness and God;
Her weak directions leave the mind
Bewildered in a doubtful road.
Jesus, thy words alone impart
Eternal life; on these I live;
Here sweeter comforts cheer my heart,
Than all the powers of nature give.
[ELH 254; sheet music here, listen here]
* Here the head of the family says a short morning or evening prayer in his own words, and closes with the Lord’s Prayer and the Benediction. This is to be done every day. If the stanzas are not sung, they may be read in their proper place before the impromptu petition and the Lord’s Prayer.
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