Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this
people,
according unto the greatness of thy mercy
Intimating, that though the sin of this people was great, the
mercy of God to pardon was greater; and therefore he entreats
that God would deal with them, not according to the greatness of
their sins, and the strictness of justice, but according to the
greatness of his mercy, who would, and does, abundantly pardon;
and as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even until
now;
which shows both that these people had been continually sinning
against the Lord, ever since they came out of Egypt,
notwithstanding the great goodness of God unto them, and that he
had as constantly pardoned; and therefore it was hoped and
entreated that he would still continue to pardon them, he being
the same he ever was, and whose mercy and goodness endure for
ever: he had pardoned already sins of the like kind since their
coming out of Egypt, as their murmurings for bread in the
wilderness of Sin, ( Exodus
16:1-7 ) , and for water at Rephidim, ( Exodus
17:1-7 ) , and even a greater sin than these, idolatry, or
the worship of the calf, ( Exodus
32:1-10 ) .