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Mat. 5.25, 26. Agree with thine Adversary quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him; lest any time the Adversary deliver thee to the Judg, and the Judg deliver the to thee Officer, and thou be cast into Prison. Vers. 26. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost Farthing.
Mat. 18.24. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which ought him ten thousand Talents.
IN both these Places Sin is called a Debt, and the Sinner a Debtor. The Reason of which is shewed under the Head of Metaphors con∣cerning Sin, where Sin is compared to a Debt; unto which we refer you.
Metaphor. | Parallel. |
A Debtor is one that oweth Money, Duty, &c. to his Neighbour; also one that is a Tres∣passer, an Offender, or guilty Per∣son. A Man may be a Debtor by Office, Gal. 5.3. by Duty, Rom. 8.12. by the Law of Charity, Rom. 15.27. by trespassing or offending, whether God or Man, Mat. 6.12. | MAn oweth all that he is, hath, or can do, unto God; he having re∣ceived his very Being, and all other good Things that he enjoys, from God, as so many Talents lent him, which he must be accountable to God for in the great Day, &c. Man is a Trespasser,* 1.1 an Of∣fender, or a guilty Person, having broken the Law, the Penalty of which is eternal Death; so that as a Traitor, or flagitious Person, by his hainous Crimes he is be∣come a Debtor to everlasting Punishment. |
II. An evil Debtor is unwilling to be called to an Accompt; nothing is worse to him, than to hear the News, Give an account of thy Stew∣ardship.* 1.2 Hence 'tis said, One was brought that owed ten thousand Ta∣lents; as if it were by Force; he was haled before his Master to rec∣kon with him. | II. So wicked Men do not love to think upon the Day of Judgment, care not to hear of those large Bills and Hand∣writings that are against them. How grievous will that Voice from Heaven be to ungodly Men,* 1.3 Give an Account of your Stewardship; Arise ye Dead, and come to Judgment! Give an Account of all the Oaths you have sworn, the Lies you have told, the Times you have been drunk, the Days of Grace you have neglected; give an Account of all the hard and reproachful Words you have spoken against your godly Neighbours, and of all the Wrongs and Injuries you have done them; give an Account of all those Talents that were lent you; what Improvement have you made of your Knowledg and Parts, your Seasons and Sabbaths, and of those many Years you have had in the World? This (I say) is grievous to wicked Men to think upon. They shall be brought forth in the Day of Wrath; they will not come willingly,* 1.4 but shall therefore be as it were haled before the Judg of Heaven and Earth. |
III. Ill Debtors are attended with Shame. Ambrose speaketh of some, who for the Shame and Distress thereof, have made away with them∣selves,* 1.5 fearing more Opproprium Vitae, than Mortis Periculum, the Re∣proach of Life, than the Punish∣ment of Death. | III. Sinners are such vile Debtors, that they are attended with great Shame, and therefore, Adam-like, hide their Sins, do not love, nay, they are ashamed any should know how black and notorious in Wickedness they are; they have got ma∣ny Ways to cover their Iniquity. |