Luke 7:42

“And when they had nothing to pay, etc.] Neither the lesser nor greater debtor; for though not alike in debt, yet both insolvent: man has run out his whole stock, which the God of nature gave him, in his original creation and primitive state; and is become a bankrupt and a beggar, is poor, wretched, and miserable; he has no money, he has nothing to offer for a composition, much less for payment; he has no righteousness, and if he had, it would be nothing to pay with; since that itself, even in perfection, is due to God, and cannot discharge a former debt: sin being committed against an infinite being, is in some sense an infinite debt, and requires an infinite satisfaction, which a finite…”

“Frankly forgave - Freely forgave, or forgave entirely without any compensation. This is not designed to express anything about the way in which God forgives sinners. He forgives - forgives freely, but it is in connection with the “atonement” made by the Lord Jesus. If it was a mere “debt” which we owed to God, he might forgive, as this creditor did, without an equivalent. But it is “crime” which he forgives. He pardons as a moral governor. A parent might forgive a “debt” without any equivalent; but he cannot pardon an offending child without regarding his own “character” as a parent, the “truth” of his threatenings, the good order of his house, and the maintenance of his authority. So our…”

“when: Psa 49:7, Psa 49:8; Mat 18:25, Mat 18:26, Mat 18:34; Rom 5:6; Gal 3:10 he: Psa 32:1-5, Psa 51:1-3, Psa 103:3; Isa 43:25, Isa 44:22; Jer 31:33, Jer 31:34; Dan 9:18, Dan 9:19; Mic 7:18-20; Mat 6:12; Act 13:38, Act 13:39; Rom 3:24, Rom 4:5-8; Eph 1:7, Eph 4:32; Col 3:13 Luke 7:43”