Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 18:26

"The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." — Matthew 18:26 (ASV)

Fell down, and worshipped him—The word implies simply the prostrate homage of a servant crouching before his master.

I will pay thee all—The promise was, under such circumstances, an idle boast, but it describes with singular aptness the first natural impulse of one who is roused to a sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. He will try to balance the account by a series of installments; he will score righteous acts in the future as a set-off against the transgressions of the past. In theological language, he seeks to be “justified by works.”