The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1888-02-17
TEACHING FORGIVENESS.
LESSON VII, INTERNATIONAL SUM-
DAY SCHOOL SERIES, FEB. 10.

Seventy times seven, OF indefinitely for go
times; clearly mark the unlimited exercisecf
forgiveness. Take account, see how much
they owed. Servants, officers, or those in
charge of some trust Talents, a talent was
3 600 shekels, and shekel Of silver was about
fifty cents Went out, |. e., from his Lords
presence. Hundred pence, pence was the
Roman denarius, valued about fourteen
cents. wroth, very angry. Tornientors,
officers of the prison. Likewise, in the same
way. Trespasses, sins or wrongs against
you.
V. 81 Moved by our Lords directions -
to the treatment by his disciples OF their Of
Tending brethren, Peter comes with the very
practical question as to the extent that for
giveness might be required of him. He
wanted TO know how often he must forgives
Clearly he thought there was limit TO it,
exercise and a point beyond upon which he
could not be required togo. Now the rabbis
taught that three was that limit. Peter,
therefore, doubled that number and added
one to it, and then thought that even tho
master could ask no more. We can smile a.
the earuestness Of the man, the darkness that
still shut him in and his struggling toward
the truth But just here, how far-how very
far-do many of the protesting people Of tho
Lord stand even in this dispensation Of tho
spirit below Peters ''seven timesp
V. q. How heavenly these words ara
Clearly seventy times seven"-490 times
are an unlimited numberi Even as had
pity on thee" Is the divine measure And
until that is reached we must forgive ss
freely as we have been forgiven.
V. %. The whole doctrine of forgiveness ID
illustrated in this parable. Gods forgive
ness of us is tine reason why we should for
give.
" "a No doubt these servants were
officers to whom some public trust had been
confided. And this special one had prob
ably farmed out some portion Of the king's
domain. In no other way is IL easy to SEQ
bow such an enormous debt could be created
For a talent of silver would be about 81 500,
and 'ten thousand talents" would sum up TO
Sl5,OO0,OO0. talent of gold would, Of
course, be proportionably greater. And IL
by this enormous sum the master meant 70
represent our sins against God, it is most
telling point that this great debtor was found
when "he had begun to reckon" No ex-
tended search was needed The proof lay
upon the surface. The records of the case at
once revealed it. There was the proof of the
debt. And there was no escape from It.
And if that great debt represent our sins be-
fore God, how fitting is the statement lone
mas I'LL ,,os i.ua c,,,,a ., birossIf tn r;nr,.
,1-e.,s.o,. ,,ro,,,,tt III, And so l., t,a 80
~ e. The Ltr,r h.s ,,,arr r,assa,,>,s-s
70 bring ns into his presence and omen befcrs
" ~ =, tta tae raon,J 81 onr sins Amd ss -
s,,r,,a,, u t,,e racord thsra is no |. .rsvsr 20
A. astion ,.I, not thv ,vici,adr.ss
,r,oa+ ~ ond th,. ipiouitv inanitar Joh
$500 '
W os o. Aut,oso i,,c;dor,s avn necossorx
30 ~ ,,arah,o as il,ustratino , bnm.n ttsns-
80, a,,d ny. not -, ho raeTe rdad .s ,nsas,r.
;mo tha div;ne mode Of forg;venes~ Two
- e tr,,tl,s arr. iIInstrated hv the n.r..
e.
There ia no limit To the exercise Of for.
oivanass and
He who has received forgiveness frouA
God will always extend IL TO man.
v 2s-3O II is a most significant point
that II was when the SERVANT went ont y d a
from His lords spresence-tbat he found his
;rdeltad fellow servant He had no time for
s,,ch seorcb when be stood bafore his lord
His own great need occ,ipied him then But
when he went ont from, his presence. ne could
look I'M the little matters of his fellow serv-
ants indebtedness to himself. And what a
contrast Is hsrel "Ten thousand talents, on
the one side. and n .sbundred pencen ON the
other. Yet this taking by the throat. this
Paw me that thou owest: this casting into
prison-how clearly all this tells of one who
has no sense of forgiveness in his own ex-
nerience.
v. 31-4 Here again we have the human
side of the parable. the operations OF the
"man king" Beyond question, v. "a mod
ifies and explains V. 27 Clearly the debit
that was forgiven could not be enforced. and
the debit that was enforced could never have
l. 4.
involved is that the reality of the divine for
oiveness IN q given case will be shown by the
reality of our forgiveness of those who sin
against us There is no such thing ss re-eu-
forcing the penalty of sins that had onc,,
been FORGIVEN. The unmercifui servant was
not troubled by his great debt. He would
willingly have made it larger. If be had not
been brought to the king. 1t was ouly the
penalty that troubled him. And be whom
that servant represents is the man who
Thought he was converted when he was only
terrified. and who had no use for the love Of
God bevond the fact that in some wav IL
could save him from the penalty of hi, sin
And when he goes out from the Lords pres
ence: when his sense of danger is lost In tho
promises of the Gospel the current Of his old
natu,V flows ON as before WHY should ho
not have his hundred pence, Why should he
NOT claim that which is his duet And so hia
claim 70 he forgiven is proved by the ruling
spirit of his life TO have been utterly without
foundation. The principle, therefore. holds
good in every case. that he who refuses Ia
| forgive shows that he himself had never been
| forgiven. And now, in reviewing this para
| Tbottbofutv of corg;veness 10 abeo,r..,v
rrI;r,itsd How irdeod can II he othsr,yiss
| 10 IL eo,yS out of what cod hos dane Tor ne
% E,,an nc Ih.d nit1, or thaa y 10 tho d,v;,,s
rrla Tborafore 70 ono who has haen hin, al,
fo,Ti,,en tho rioht IN rafuse for,;yeness DO.
NOT e,iet uoTy can wa reach fba limit n,
o,r :. seventy times saven ~
| . Our sins AGAINST God are nract;col,x
,,ithout rur,har Is NOT thie iust tho ,,,o,,,
inc of the ton thousan1 talents ~ the oh,e
| ,,yvo connot answer him ono of n thorsand
Q ,rha ofrorses of ou,, fallorv man oca;ns
ourselves are in connorisop insignifcont
| Viewed in opv other IiGbt n.aosured NV an,
other standard thev may he very graat Dn
tha parable sets the ono over against Nh
other, our 10 OOo talents with onr fe,loy
servants 1O0 nance And that omnariso,
remains And the nractical oneration Of tbi
t,ntb Is that because God has forpiv.n n
we ought also to forgive one another II fol
Lows from, this that tho novvar Load
inc 70 forpiveness is moi one of th
| forcas Of our nature II is not native am
| ,,,,. -. =. :. -, -,