Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 6:14-15

"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." — Matthew 6:14-15 (ASV)

The condition implied in the Prayer itself is asserted more distinctly. As we have seen, it is not an arbitrary condition but the result of the eternal laws of the divine order. Repentance is the condition for being forgiven, and the disposition that does not forgive is ipso facto incompatible with the disposition of the penitent. As if for greater emphasis, the truth is presented in both its positive and negative aspects.