We wish you all a warm welcome in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and we pray his blessing and presence amongst us this morning. We are grateful, Lord, again for our pastor taking the Lord's services today and our evening service. Our prayer meeting is at 5.30 and the evening service will be at 6 o'clock. God bless us all. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his name, for the Lord is good, for his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations. Let us stand for prayer. O gracious God, we do come to thee, and we have come with our thanksgivings, O Lord, we thank thee most of all for the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the unspeakable gift. O, we thank thee for him and blessings in and through him. And we give thee thanks, O Lord, for many other things. O Lord, we come to thee, help us to worship thee this morning hour, to be mindful of thee, draw near, O Lord, We beseech thee, and help us now, forgive us our latest sins. O Lord, may we know thy fatherly mercy this morning hour. Touch our hearts, O Lord, warm us within. We beseech thee, say hear our prayer, in the name of the Saviour, and for his sake. Amen, amen, amen. If you would turn with me to our first praise, number 113. Number 113, and we're singing verses 1 through to verse 7, and the tune is St Gregory. Number 113, verses 1 to 7, and the tune is St Gregory. Praise God, ye servants of the Lord. O praise the Lord's name, praise. Yea, blessed be the name of God. From this time forth always, from rising sun to where it sets, God's name is to be praised. Above all nations, God is high. Above heavens, His glory reigns. Number 113, let us worship the Lord. Praise God, ye servants of the Lord, O praise the Lord in praise! Yea, blessed be the name of God, From this time forth always, from rising sun to where it sets, God's name is to be praised. Above all nations, God is high. Up heavens, his glory reigns. Unto the Lord our God that dwells on high, who can compare. Himself the Father there is to see, In heaven and the earth that are. He from the dust, the frail, the poor, At very load of life, And from the dying year, Lives a man oppressed with poverty. If you would tend with me for our consecutive reading this Thursday morning of Genesis 21, Genesis chapter 21, and we're reading from verse 17 through to verse 34. It'll say the word of the Lord. And God heard the voice of the lad, and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said unto her, What aideth thee, Hagar? Fear not, for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thy hand, for I will make him a great nation.' And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water, and she went and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad, and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an angel. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Philco, the chief captain of his host, spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest. Now therefore swear unto me here by God, that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son's son, but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of the well of water which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away. And Abimelech said, I what or I know not who have done this thing, neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but today. And Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them unto Abimelech, and both of them made a covenant. And Abraham set seven new lambs of the flock by themselves, and Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven new lambs which thou hast set by themselves? And he said, For these seven new lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me. that I have did this well. Wherefore he called that place Beersheba, because there they sware both of them. Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech rose up and Philcael the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines. And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God, and Abraham sojourned in the Philistine's land many days. Amen. May the Lord add the blessing to the reading of his precious word. Let's turn to our second praise, number 118, and we're going to sing verses 5 through to verse 9, and the tune is made. And you'll note these words in light of what we've just read there. When in distress, when Hirosalis was in distress, I in distress called on the Lord. The Lord did answer me. He in a large place did me stand. From trouble made me free. The mighty Lord is on my side. I will not be afraid. For anything that man can do, I shall not be dismayed. Number 118, the Psalter, verses 5 to 9, and the tune is made. I in distress call on the Lord, the Lord in answer be. Give a large praise, give me thanks, from trouble make me free. The mighty Lord is on my side, I will not be afraid. For anything that man can do, I shall not be dismayed. The Lord doth take my part with them, but help to succor me. Therefore, all those that do behave, I, my desire, shall see. Better it is to Dear God, that trust in man depends. Better to trust in God than make races a confidence. Our New Testament reading is to be found this morning in Luke 7, verse 36 through to verse 15. Luke 7, verse 36 through to verse 15. We're continuing our series this morning in the parables of the Lord Jesus and here in this reading We read of the parable of the two deserts. Luke 7, and we're going to commence the reading in verse 36. And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with her. And he went into the Pharisee's house and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an anabaster box of ointment. and stood his feet behind him weeping, began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bitten him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman desist a touch of him, for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have some what to say unto thee. And he said, Master, say unto me. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors. The one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house. Thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, But this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven. the shame that hath little. And ye should understand, thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee. Go in peace. Amen. May the Lord add the blessing to the meaning of his precious words. Let us continue now in prayer. Let us pray. Ever-blessed and merciful God, we come to Thee, and we would bless Thee on this Thy holy day, the Sabbath day, this day of rest when we can draw alongside and we can think particularly on Thee, and may we know much delight, the delight of the Sabbath day, as we read in Thy Word this day, nearness to Thee, thinking on Thee and Thy love, hearing Thy voice, in thy word. Oh may we know that blessing this day. We thank thee for what we have heard read in thy word this morning and we pray that we might be like that one of old calling upon thee whilst we are in distress. We think of the psalmist and we also think of our Lord here upon earth when he called on thee in distress. We thank thee that thou art a refuge We are able to go to Thee and pour out our hearts unto Thee. Hear our prayers, O Lord. We beseech Thee. Those who mourn this day, we pray that they would be helped. We pray for Jennifer and the family of Lance. We commit them unto Thee as they mourn the loss of Jennifer's mother. O may they know that comfort and for others this day who mourn over the loss of loved ones. Many can look back and consider those they have lost, even this day. O Lord, we come to thee, we thank thee for thy word, we thank thee there is forgiveness with thee. We've been reminded of that this morning as we read Luke 7. Oh, what pardon there is, what mercy. And oh may we respond as we consider the parable with much love in our hearts to thee this morning. What a blessing it is to be able to say I love the Lord. May it be something everyone here can say from the bottom of their heart. God blessing. Oh Lord we who love thee we would say it now. Oh to love thee more. O to love thee with a greater love within our hearts, when we consider our blessed Saviour, his love towards us, greater love have no man than this, that a man may down his life for his friend's what love, and our love will never compare to the love of Jesus, but O to love him. To be able to say with Simon Peter, yea, Lord, thou knowest, that I love thee. O Lord, we thank thee for thy word, bless thy word to us this morning, the preaching of it, O Lord, that we consider this parable and what we learn here in these surrounding verses as well. Teach us, O draw us, stir our hearts, may we have a greater love for thee and a desire to follow thee. May we honour thy peace in our hearts, we Think of those words of Jesus, go in peace. He said to that woman, who had many a doubt in her heart, oh me, we know peace in our hearts this morning. We thank thee for the young ones here, bless them, encourage them. Those in the school, go before them, undertake in every way. We pray for the younger ones, those in the hall, be with them, oh Lord. We pray for those that love Thee, encourage them, strengthen them. O Lord, it's a difficult country to live in. There's so much against the Bible. O Lord, we pray for the children that love Thee, that they will be strong in Thee, that they would know comfort and encouragement through the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. For those children who are not saved, open hearts, Lord, gather lambs for them. We pray for those unable to be with us today. We pray particularly for John, may he know thy restoring hand this morning hour. Would you pray for Dorothy here, be with her, may she know daily grace, O Lord, at this time. Lord, we thank thee for thy word. We thank thee for the freedom we have to read thy word, to come and worship thee. O Lord, we give thanks. Lord, remember us as thy people in the nation. Lord, come and revive us, strengthen us, O Lord. May we know that personal revival, but also church revival as well. We pray for the nation, O Lord. Thou hast been merciful to this nation in days past. Have mercy upon us today. Oh Lord, when we consider thee nation today, we are thankful that a number will hear thy word read. But Lord, as a nation, by and large we have forgotten thee. Oh, in wrath remember mercy. If ever we needed thee, we need thee today as a nation. Oh, have mercy we give thee our thanks, we call upon thee, we rejoice in thee, hear us, O Lord, for Christ's sake. Amen. If you would tend to meet our fair praise, number 116, and we're going to sing verses 1 to 8. verses 1 to 8, I love the Lord because my voice and prayers he did hear. Now we can consider the psalmist and rightly so, and the believer, but most of all consider the Lord Jesus Christ. He sang these words in the upper room after he had instituted the Lord's Supper, before he would go to the Garden of Gethsemane and then to the I love the Lord, because my voice and prayers he did hear. Number 116 in the Psalter, verses 1 to 8, and the tune is Canaan. I love the Lord because my voice and prayer to Him is clear. I, while I live, will call on Him, who bowed to me His ear. Of death, the cold, and sorrows, dear, About me compass round. The pain of hell turned cold on me, I'm grief and trouble found. Upon the name of God the Lord, then did I call and say, Deliver thou my soul, O Lord, I hear thee humbly pray. God merciful and righteous is, yea, gracious is our Lord. God saves the meek, I was brought low, He did me help aboard. O Thou my soul, do Thou return unto Thy quiet rest? For Thou didst love the Lord to Thee, His bounty hath expressed. For my distress and so from death Delivered lost by thee, Thou didst my morning eyes from tears, My feet from falling free. Just a reminder, there is the youth conference this coming Saturday in Salisbury. There are cards on the table. If you'd like to know any more, you can come to contact his director, Daniel Tribe, the assistant minister at Salisbury. So let's do remember the youth conference this coming Saturday. It was good to have Mr Tudor on Friday evening, just a couple of days ago to speak at the work. of the Trinitarian Bible Society, very informative. It was broadcast, if you haven't seen it yet, I do commend that to you, on the Church Facebook website page. And as we think it, I do pray for the distribution of the calendars soon in this area and further afield. not only in the community but also in this area to the prisons it's all being coordinated and we encourage with that do pray for the prisoners but also the ongoing work orders are coming in for the military as well do pray for those receiving God's word who are receiving God's Word in this area. For example, not too long ago, the Grekos in this area received Bibles from the Trinitarian Bible Society. How important it is that those serving in the armed forces have a copy of the Word of God as they are confronted with death so often. Well, let's continue this morning in our series, The Parables of the Lord Jesus, and we come to this. well-known parable, but perhaps in some ways a parable that's overlooked. Why do I say it's well-known? Because Luke 7 is often read and freaks from, but the actual parable often can be overlooked. It's the parable of the two debtors. Come with me to verse 41 and verse 42. Luke 7, verse 41 and verse 42. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors. The one owned 500 pence and the other 50. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. Dear congregation, upon a certain occasion in the home of Simon the Pharisee, our Lord declared this parable. One of the reasons was to humble Simon, because he had looked down on the woman that had come in, there was pride in his heart. Now it's evident, isn't it? that Simon the Pharisee understood the parable. It's a very simple parable, but he felt much. There was so much lacking in his heart. Had he shown great love like the woman who had come in? No. He had given lip service, but his heart was empty. And as many have said, his love truly could be Question let me just explain this there were many like the Pharisees religious men who would go through Times of worship they knew certain parts of the law They would know those words thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and so on and so forth Simon the Pharisee would have uttered those words He may have sung those words. We've just sung this morning. I love the Lord He knew that one was to love the Lord, but what was in his heart compared to the woman? Outward, but oh, what was in his heart? So many in our Lord's day outwardly said they loved the Lord. They would recite these words in the Old Testament. but they didn't know what it was truly to love the Lord. Turn with me to Mark 7, verse 5 and verse 6. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not the disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread and women, washing hands? Listen to the response of Jesus. Well have Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. There was an outward honouring, an outward respect given, but all the heart was far from the Lord. There was no true religion within. And today many have not true religion in their hearts. Well, our Lord responds and he makes known to Simon, where is the love like the love of this lady? Just notice what we read in verse 39. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is, the touch of him, for she is a sinner. He spake within himself. He muttered within, but his playing, it was heard. For we have it recorded here. But notice the pride. This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, for she is a sinner. He was offended that the Lord had allowed this woman to do such, to wash his feet with her hair and the tears that ran down his face. The Simon the Pharisee was offended. So the Lord declared this parable It's a simple parable, isn't it? The parable of the two debtors. What do we read in verse 41? The one owed 500 pence and the other 50 they owed. And when they had nothing to pay, the creditor, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? It's a simple parable. And Simon understood the parable. Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most And he said unto him, thou hast rightly judged. Now this is interesting, isn't it? Simon is listening to Jesus declare the parable, and he understood the parable. But he didn't love the Lord in his heart like the woman. And there's a lesson. There are those who can hear the parables or other parts of scripture, and they can understand them. A natural understanding, we could say. but then you haven't really grasped them. Says someone here, or listening online, you know the parables, but you don't know the Saviour who declared the parables. You understand this parable, but like Simon, there's no love in your heart truly for the Lord. Yes, maybe an outward honouring, as we read of in Mark 7, but the heart is far away. Well, we have the parable. There was a certain creditor, What's a creditor? A money lender. He had two debtors. They owed. Forgiveness was shown. Great love was shown by one of the debtors. That's the parable. Now we need to be careful, do we not? All are sinners, as we will consider in a moment. All are debtors, but not all are forgiven. So we need to be careful when we come to the parable, what the Lord is teaching and what the Lord is not. What the Lord is teaching here in light of the woman, that the woman was forgiven because of what he would do. And she had much love, but Simon the Pharisee, though he went through the motions, there was no true love in the heart and he was not truly forgiven like the woman was. So we need to consider the parable, what the Lord is teaching and what the Lord is not. Well let's come for the remainder of the time this morning and let's consider first of all, debtors to God. Secondly, pardoning mercy. Thirdly, great love. And as we come to our final point this morning, be considering, have I great love in my heart for the Lord Jesus? Well let's consider first to God. Let's read the parable again. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors. The one owed five hundred pence and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. That's the parable. What are we learning? Now it is true we can do others wrong. We can think of the parable. There was a creditor and there were two in debt. They weren't able to pay. They had failed. And it's true, we do others wrong. You remember the prayer which our Lord gave, the directory of prayer, the pattern of prayer, Matthew 7, Matthew 6, verse 12, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Forgive us our debts, we're addressing the Lord, but then you notice those words, as we forgive our debtors. So it's plain, others can do you wrong. Others, in light of the prayer there, can be debtors to you. However, all sin is against God, all sin is against God. Yes, others can do you wrong, but we all do wrong before the Lord. And David recognized this, Psalm 51, against thee, the only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest. Now David had wronged Uriah and Bathsheba, but he recognized above anything He had wronged the Lord. Do you recognise that? We do wrong, don't we? We do wrong to others. But do you recognise, above all, it is the Lord we fell and sin against? to God, debtors to God. It's His law that is broken. Let me just illustrate this. When you say something, well, when one says something unkind to another, they've done wrong to that person. But it's God's law that is broken. It's God's law that is broken. One is to have a love for the neighbours, we see in the second table. And that includes having loving words, so on and so forth. It's His law that is broken. We found His perfect standard of righteousness. And so one is a debtor to God. Now we've already heard from the lips of our Lord Jesus in Matthew 6, sin is called a debt. Let's go back to those words. Forgive us our debt. as we forgive our debtors. So the Lord makes it plain that we can think of sin as a debt. We'll come back to this in a moment. Forgivers are debts. As we think of the word debt there, that which is owed. That which is owed justly or legally, legally due, a debt. And then we can think of sin an offence. Years ago, if you got into debt, and you weren't able to pay quickly, you went to debtors' prison. The practice of throwing people into prison, into jail, children, if they couldn't pay their debts, dates back from medieval times. By the 18th and 19th century, thousands of people were imprisoned. We hear today that prisons are overcrowded. Well, years ago they were overcrowded, with people that could not pay their debts. Even people of higher classes found themselves in debtors' prison. They are spent to keep up the appearance, and we can think of certain ones, but it was just an appearance, and it caught up with them in time, and they were put into debtors' prison. Charles Dickens was well acquainted with debtors' prison, for his father, John Dickens, spent a few months in prison in 1824 because he owed a local baker £40. So debtor's prison. Many were found in debtor's prison in this country. They could not repay so they went into prison. Debts. We understand what a debt is. Now sins are so-called debts and we are seen then as debtors. What does this mean? Is sin something we should be giving or performing? No, of course not. So what does it mean? Why are sins seen as deaths? Now God's justice demands perfect obedience. That's what we should be giving. And we can think further, we owe Him our obedience, we owe Him our love. Thou should love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. But we fail, don't we? We commit many sins. And so sin, in light of the words of our Lord, is called death. But then further, because we fail, because we sin, we owe the debt of punishment by nature. We are under condemnation. God's law must be satisfied. And it's justice. When we fell, we're answerable, liable to punishment. The debt of punishment. So in light of these things, that's why sins are called debt. Now think of Simon the Pharisee. He thought himself to be a good, law-abiding citizen, compared to the woman. Just come back to me, come back with me to verse 39. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, for she is a sinner. You see, Simon? He thought himself not to be too bad, and she was the sinner. She was the one in great debt. She had failed much. Oh, what pride in this heart. Now consider the lady, she came in, she came in weeping. We've considered this on previous occasions. She had love in her heart because faith had been put within, but she also weeped over her sins, her deaths. She knew she had failed the Lord. She had failed to do that which was required. And she was guilty, she knew it, she felt it. And so she came in, weeping, and she was found there weeping. What does the Lord say to Simon? Seest thou this woman? Seest thou this woman? Verse 44, there she is. She feels her sin. She feels she's done wrong. She's mourned. Have you felt you've done wrong? You haven't done what was required? You haven't fully obeyed? We can't do it, can we? But do you mourn over that? And are you aware that without Christ, there's the debt of punishment, and you can't fully pay that? Oh, here's the lady mourning. Have you felt your sin? If not, oh, that you would go to the Saviour. He is the only hope. In true gospel repentance, one grieves and mourns over their sin, and they turn to the Lord. Have you? You think of this lady, and like Simon the Pharisee, she's gone, she's found the feet of Jesus, and she's weeping, she's mourning, she feels she's done wrong. Oh yes, as we consider the scene faith is put within. But there's doubts in her heart. On another occasion we could consider that. She feels her sin. Have you felt your sin? You may know that there is something called sin. Simon the Pharisee knew that. He would read the Ten Commandments. He knew why the Ten Commandments were given. One may know the Ten Commandments, like Simon the Pharisee, but never mourn over sin. Never turning to the Lord. Oh, we consider this lady, she was a debtor. So too was Simon the Pharisee, but he didn't truly grasp it. We're all debtors to God. Have you grasped it? You who love the Lord, what a blessing. Your sins are forgiven because of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a blessing. He kept the law perfectly. He did what I could not do. And then he suffered the penalty for the broken law as a substitute in my place. What a Saviour! He did it that I might know the forgiveness of sins, that I might be justified, all my sins forgiven, and accepted as righteous, no longer under condemnation, not seen as guilty. Oh, what a blessing! We're debtors to God. but there's forgiveness to be found with the Lord. Have you known that forgiveness? We'll consider this in a moment. Men by nature, they're debtors to God, guilty. What does the Lord Jesus Christ say to guilty, heavy laden sinners? Come unto me, O ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Heavy laden, we think first of all, of one who has their sins charged to them, laden with sins. We read of that. Jesus says, come. By nature, we're debtors to God. Jesus says, come. Why does he say come? Because there's no one else. It's only through him, through me. What a lovely invitation, come unto me. I was guilty in the sight of God, God being a judge. Jesus says, come, said, come unto me and rest. My sins are forgiven. Oh, what a blessing. Do you know that rest this morning? Your sins are forgiven. Yes, we need rest in other situations, but primarily that, that rest, all is well for my soul. Now think of the lady here. She was troubled quickly. Jesus said at the end of the chapter, go in peace. And she knew rest in her heart. Or as we think of this this morning, debtors. Debtors to God. We fell, we break the commandments. By nature we are debtors to God. You remember the commandments? Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make any graven image. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Remember the Sabbath day. honour thy father and thy mother, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not commit. The Ten Commandments, and not one of us has kept them perfectly, have we? By nature we're guilty, debtors, but there's mercy in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. All one's sins are forgiven. That is, the one who believes in Jesus. And why? Because of God's grace, and because what Jesus has done. How amazing is the Saviour. Through Him, there is forgiveness. No condemnation. We read of in Romans chapter 8. What a blessing. Can you say that this morning? There is no condemnation. I've been set free. I fell the Lord, yes. and I need fatherly forgiveness, but I've been set free. There's no condemnation. Well, let's consider secondly more briefly as time is passing, pardoning mercy, first of all debtors to God, by nature we are, and even as believers we're not perfect, darling, but we have been forgiven. They come and meet at the parable again. There's 41. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors. The one owed 500 pence and the other 50. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Now right at the outset as we consider this here, love is not the cause that one is forgiven. We must be careful when we come to the parable. Notice what we read at the end of verse 42. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? We're thinking of love, but love is not the cause why one is forgiven. Love is an evidence that one is forgiven. We'll come to this as we close in a moment. What mercy has been shown because of God's mercy. Mercy displayed at Calvary, and mercy in the time of effectual calling when one's saved. That's why one is saved. That's why one is justified. Now the lady was troubled. The lady knew doubts in her heart. What did Jesus say to her in verse 48? Thy sins are forgiven. What a word of mercy. Can I ask you, have you heard Jesus say that to you? Thy servants are forgiven. As you hear these words read this morning, are you listening to Jesus? Can you say yes? Thou hast shown me such mercy, such pardoning mercy. I am forgiven. I'm not like Simon the Pharisee going through the motions and just saying words on my lips, but I know I'm forgiven. I love thee, Lord, thou hast shown great mercy. What a word of comfort, thy sins are forgiven. What a word of mercy. We need to be reminded of it. It's interesting, this lady, faith had been put within, the Lord speaks of her faith. Verse 50, but she's troubled, isn't she? Jesus comes to comfort her. Thy sins are forgiven me. It's true. And there's times when someone Has the devil been coming to you with fiery darts? Listen to Jesus, dear child of God, thy son. Oh, forgive me. You listen. You turn a deaf ear to the devil. We don't do it enough, do we? We don't lift up the shield of faith enough, do we? We see a fiery dart coming and oh, we're slow to lift up the shield of faith. Oh, turn a deaf ear to the devil. Why do we listen to him at times? Particularly in this area when we may be struggling with doubts, turn a deaf ear, listen to Jesus. Have you ever heard him say to you, thy sins are forgiven? As you read these words this morning, has it entered your soul? Those words did not enter the soul of Simon the Pharisee, but they entered the soul of the poor woman. What mercy, pardoning mercy. The act of forgiving a sinner belongs to the Lord. Micah 7, verse 18, these are precious words. Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. Who is a God? There's no one like the Lord. Now just consider this. What was the first point? Debt is to God. We failed him. We've broken his law, and he hates sin. You remember that, he hates sin. But we read in Micah 7 verse 18, who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity? Who, there's no one else like him, that pardoneth iniquity. He does it, and he's doing it today. He's done it for me, he's done it for many of you. Has he done it for all of you? We've all felt him. Has God shown great mercy in pardoning? The writer at the outset, I said, we need to be careful with the parable. The parable isn't to be used to teach that everyone is forgiven. No. The Lord's using this parable to humble Simon. He'd been proud. Not all are forgiven. It's only those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Upon the event of faith, one is forgiven all their sins because of the precious blood of Jesus and of God's grace. Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, that he interposed, because he delighteth in mercy. That's amazing, isn't it? You know, I can truly say this. I observed my mother at times. Liking saying, I forgive you, Ellen. I don't know if she always found it easy to say it because I used to trouble her often. But I can remember certain times my mother smiling, I forgive you. She found it hard when I did wrong. But when I said sorry, there were times when she smiled. What do we mean? He delighteth in mercy. He hates sin, and he hates my sin as a believer, but he delights in mercy. That's amazing, isn't it? He delights in forgiving those who've lifted a fist against him, not believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's amazing, isn't it? No wonder we read, who is a God like unto thee? You who left the Lord here this morning, How many days, how many years was it you did not believe in Jesus? You broke the first commandment. How many years you had no true regard to the Sabbath day? You broke the fourth commandment. But then you were brought to faith. How amazing is God's mercy and grace. He delights to forgive. And if you're about Christ, and if you're led to Him, you believe in Him, you hear those words of Jesus, come unto me, I can assure you, He will delight in mercy. That's how great God is. He's so holy, but He's also infinite in His mercy. And we who love the Lord, Remember the pattern prayer, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, Matthew 6, our debts, as we forgive those that are indebted to us, debtors to us. Every day, you go every day, and you go humbly every day, mourning over your sin, but believing in fatherly mercy. Why do we go? Why do we confess our sins to the Lord? Because we believe He is a heavenly Father who delighteth in mercy. And what an encouragement we fell Him. Remember the parable of the prodigal son? There's the Father. He runs and embraces. Oh, consider God, He comes and He delights in mercy. delights in mercy. How amazing is pardoning mercy. When he forgives the sinner, as we see in this chapter, the guilt is removed in his sight. One is free from the obligation to punishment. There's no condolation. What a blessing. Are you sad this morning? Forgiven. There's no condemnation, how amazing it is, His amazing grace. Now just come with me as we draw to a close, verse 42. And when He had nothing to pay, and when they had nothing to pay, He frankly forgave them both. That's interesting, isn't it? Frankly. Sometimes we think of that word, we're messing around. Frankly. One of my father's middle names is Frank. Sometimes he's frank in that sense, but that's not the meaning here. What do we have here? When they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Now this is something precious in the parable, which teaches us something about the Lord. Frankly, literally from the Greek, to pardon. In kindness, pardon. That's interesting, isn't it? In kindness, pardon or rescue. Did you know that was the word frankly meant? I learned there this week more of that word. To pardon in kindness. In kindness to rescue. We can think of certain ones who in times of war would go and rescue those who laid injured on the beaches. In kindness they were rescued. But all consider here the kindness of the Lord. to grant mercy, forgiveness. He frankly forgave them both. Such kindness. We were so unkind to the Lord, weren't we? He gave the first commandment, thou shalt have no other gods before me. Yet we didn't put the Lord first, did we? We didn't put God the Son first. We didn't believe in him. We broke the commandment. We were so unkind. But God is so kind. If you learned one thing this morning, learn of the kindness of mercy from this parable. He frankly forgave them. He frankly, in such kindness. Oh, there's so much there. Pardoning mercy. Wonderful is the grace of God. Wonderful is the mercy of the Lord. He forgives all in such kindness. All one's sins. We often sing those words in Psalm 103, verse 3, who forgive him all thine iniquities. You know, you think of certain ones who do you wrong, and they come and they say sorry, and you forgive them that particular wrong. You consider all the things you've done wrong, and then the other things you've done wrong that you're not aware of. In great kindness, God forgives every sin. He had to. If he didn't forgive all sin, no one would be going to heaven. No one would be forgiven. But he forgives all sin. That's great kindness, isn't it? Pardoning mercy. Oh, how wonderful it is to be forgiven. And as I close now, time has gone for the great love. Great love. Now let me say again as we come to the parable, we need to understand what the Lord is teaching and what the Lord is not. Just come with me to the parable one more time. There was a great certain creditor, which had two debtors. The one owed 500 pence and the other 50. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most, and he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. You're right, Simon, but there's much lacking in your heart. Do you understand the parable? Simon did. Is there something missing in your heart? Love to the Lord Jesus. We thought earlier of those Pharisees, scribes, honored the Lord, with their mouth, but their heart was far from the Lord. They would recite certain parts of the Old Testament. They knew the commandments. They would know those words. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. They would speak those words, but they didn't love Jesus. One can read of love, but not have love in the heart. But the woman was an example of great love in the soul. Hereby he intimates to the Pharisee that his love to Christ was so little that he had reason to question whether he loved him in all sincerity and consequently whether indeed his sin, though comparatively little, was forgiving him. You see the reasoning here? There were many Jews. They said they loved the Lord. What do we read in verse 47? Her sins which are many are forgiven for she loved much. Love was an evidence and she had much love towards the Lord. Now just notice those words in verse 45 to Simon. The Lord's questioning him about love compared to the lady. Thou gavest me no curse. There's no love there. Does the Lord say that to you, thou gavest me no kiss, or are you saying, I love thee, Lord Jesus? I do love thee, I fell thee as a believer, but I do love thee. I want to love thee more. I do love thee. Sometimes my love is small, but other times it's a little greater. But just pause and consider this. Compared to the unbeliever, your love is great, isn't it? Compared to the one who goes through the motion, your love is great. The unbeliever has no true love. Those who go through the motion, though they may speak of love, they have no true love. Your love, though you may show it is small, is great. But all to love Jesus more and more. Oh, she had doubts, the Lord had to come and speak to her, thy sins are forgiven thee, but she was forgiven, she had great love, she was crying, tears of love, that was the evidence, the evidence. that she was forgiven. Children, let me use an illustration. You cannot see the wind, but have you done what I used to do as a boy? Go and kick leaves, and they'd been piled up. We used to go to the Isle of Wight in October, and we used to walk back to the place we were staying, my uncle's house, guest house, and there were these piles of leaves along the side of the road, and every time I went through and I kicked them. Well, the leaves on the side of the road is evidence that the wind has blown. Because they've all been blown up in a pile. Think of snowdrifts. May see the snow this year, we're told. Sometimes it just lies over the garden. But if the wind come, it can be blown up and you get snowdrifts. Go to America or Canada, you'll see what snowdrifts are there. It's the evidence of the wind, isn't it? Is there the evidence that you've been forgiven in your heart this morning? Love. Love for Jesus. Faith is put within. There will also be love. 1 Peter 1 verse 8. Whom have you not seen ye love? In whom though now ye see him not yet believing, ye rejoice with joy, unspeakable and full of glory. You haven't seen the Lord, but are you looking to him by faith? Are you loving him? Lovely testimony, isn't it, of the believer? Whom having not seen, ye love. Is that you this morning? Can you say to Jesus who's listening here, I love thee, Lord Jesus. I love thee because thou didst come into the world. Thou didst keep the law perfectly to me. Thou didst go all the way to the cross of Calvary. Thou didst shed thy precious blood. I love thee. I love Thee that Thou hast come near to me in the time of effectual calling, the time of love. Thou dost speak to me, Thou dost forgive me. I love Thee, Lord Jesus. And with the psalmist I say, I will love Thee. I love Thee now, and I'm going to love Thee tomorrow. And I'm going to love Thee all my days and throughout all eternity. Verse 47, her sins which are many are forgiven for she loved much. What a blessing to love the Lord Jesus. Do you love him? Are you thankful for the forgiveness of sins? Are you thankful for his great love? What do we mean, greater love? Have no man done this that a man lay down his life for his friend? We can think of those who have sacrificed their lives in times of disaster or war, but most of all we consider Jesus. What now? Are you thankful for his love? Do you love him? If you do, you're going to love him forever. And when you see him at death, Your love will even increase more and more and throughout all eternity. We fail God greatly, but we who love the Lord, we're going to love the Lord forever. And in heaven and in Emmanuel's land, we're going to have such a great love in our hearts that will not fluctuate. You know what it is when your love grows a little cold, when your love is a little less? But in heaven and Emmanuel's land, your love will just increase and increase, and you'll be so thankful, and you'll say, worthy is the land that was slain. You won't be moved to tears of sorrow, but you'll be moved in thankfulness for Jesus, and you'll love him forever and ever, and your love will just increase. What a prospect. We think of many of the Jews in our Lord's earthly ministry who said they loved Thee, but they didn't, like Simon the Pharisee. But Lord, we thank Thee we love Thee. What a blessing to be forgiven. Oh, to love Thee more. Our love doesn't match the greatness of Thy love and mercy, but we do love Thee. For any without Christ here or missing on life they may have understood the parable, like Simon the Pharisee. May they yet understand the cross, and the precious blood of Jesus shed, and God's amazing love. May they know it in their hearts. May they be able to say, I love the Lord. Oh, we thank thee for those words of Jesus to that woman who had come to faith, but she was troubled And may it be, all of us will go in peace this morning, knowing our sins forgiven. Lord, we pray for the Spirit now to continue to speak to our souls on these wonderful, precious things. Hear us, O Lord, for Christ's sake. Amen. We conclude by turning to Psalm 51, And we're going to sing from verse 1, verse 17, that was from last week, that was my mistake. Verse 1, just the first couple of verses, Psalm 51. We're going to sing from verse 1 down to verse 4. After thy loving kindness, Lord, have mercy upon me. For thy compassion's great blot out all mine. iniquity. And you see the psalmist, he's just taken up with the grace of God in all its aspects, love, kindness, compassion. It's all there in the Hebrew. After thy loving kindness to me, have mercy upon me. Psalm 51, verses 1 through to verse 4, and the Tunisian killed her. After Thy lovingkindness, Lord, have mercy upon me. For Thy compassion's great worth have all mine iniquity. Being cleansed from sin and truly washed from mine iniquity, For my transgressions I confess, My sin I have not seen. Gainst thee, legally, have I sinned In thy sight on this hill, But when thou speak'st, thou may'st be just, And live in judgment still. The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Amen.