'Forgiving,' and yet not suffering them to go unpunished.
(1) God _forgives_, and yet He does not leave sin unpunished, for He
will 'by no means _clear_ the guilty.'
The one word refers to His love, His heart; the other to the
retributions which are inseparable from the very course of nature.
Forgiveness is the flow of God's love to all, and the welcoming back to
His favour of all who come. Forgiveness likewise includes the escape
from the extreme and uttermost consequences of sin in this life and in
the next, the sense of God's displeasure here, and the final separation
from Him, which is eternal death. Forgiveness is not inconsistent with
retribution. There must needs be retribution, from--
_(a)_ The very constitution of our nature.
Conscience, our spiritual nature, our habits all demand it.
_(b)_ The constitution of the world.
In it all things work under God, but only for 'good' to them who love
God. To all others, sooner or later, the Nemesis comes. 'Ye shall eat
of the fruit of your doings.'
(2) _God_ forgives, and therefore He does not leave sin unpunished. It
is divine mercy that strikes. The end of His chastisement is to
separate us from our sins.
(3) Divine forgiveness and retributive justice both centre in the
revelation of the Cross.
To us this message comes. It was the hidden heart of the Mosaic system.
It was the revelation of Sinai. To Israel it was 'proclaimed' in
thunder and darkness, and the way of forgiveness and the harmony of
righteousness and mercy were veiled. To us it is proclaimed from
Calvary. There in full light the Lord passes before us and proclaims,
'I am the Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious.' 'Ye are come ...
unto Jesus.' 'See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh.' 'This is my
Beloved Son, hear Him!'