here the deepest project of infinite wisdom, and the richest gift of free-grace, wherein God commends his love to men, are vilely undervalued as fmall things: and thus have you done days without number; and yet his hand is not stretched out, to cut thee off in thy rebellion: Who is a God like unto thee! What patience like the patience of Chrift! 4. The length of time the patience of Chrift hath endured thee, fpeaks the perfection and riches of patience towards thee. Confider finner, what age thou art of, how many years thou canft number, and that all this hath been a time of patience, for thou waft a tranfgreffor from the womb, Ifa. xlviii. 8, 9. yet for his name fake hath he deferred his anger, and hath not cut thee off. How foon did the wrath of God break forth upon the angels when they finned in heaven! And how long hath it borne with thee, whilft thou hast been provoking him on earth? Was there ever patience like the patience of God! Ma ny thousands have been fent away to hell fince thy day, but thou art yet fpared; O that the long-fuffering of God might be falvation to thee! 5. It is a great evidence of the power of divine patience that may be drawn from the grievoufnefs of our fins to God, during the whole time of his forbearance: it is true, there is no proper paffion in the divine nature, no real perturbation, his anger is a mild and holy flame; yet the contrariety of fin to the holiness of his nature is what makes his patience miraculous in the eyes of men. The fcripture fpeaking in a condescending language to the understanding of the creature, reprefents God as wounded to the heart by the fins of men; fo in Ezek. vi. 9. I am "broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from "me;" and Amos ii. 13. "Behold I am pressed under you, as a cart is preffed that is full of fheaves," when the axle-tree is ready to crack under the load: and 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16. it is faid, "The wrath of the Lord arose against his people till "there was no remedy;" his patience would bear no longer, and therefore when he executes his wrath upon provoking finners, that execution is represented in the nature of an ease or relief to his burdened patience and justice, Ifa. i. 24. " Ah, faith "he, I will cafe me of my enemies, and avenge me of my ad "versaries." Yet, obferve, it comes in with an (ab) with a kind of regret and reluctancy; fo in Ha. x. 25. Yet a very "little while and the indignation fhall ceafe, and my anger is " in their deftruction." God could have given ease and rest this way to his anger long ago, but he chufes rather still to bear with thee, than on these terms to ease himself of thee. Evidence 6. The vaft expences of his riches and bounty upon us, during the whole time of his forbearance and patience towards us, fpeak him unconceivable and infinite in his long-fuffering towards us, Rom. ii. 4, 5." Despisest thou the riches of "his goodness, and forbearance, and long-fuffering, not know"ing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" q. d. Vile finner, canft thou compute the treafures of bounty and goodness, thou hast been riotoufly fpending and wasting all this while? Doft thou know what vast fums Christ hath spent upon thee to preserve thee fo long out of hell? There be two treasures spending upon finners all the time of God's forbearance of them; there is the precious treafure of thy time wafted, and the invaluable streams of gofpel-grace running all this while at the waste spout: thy time is precious; the whole of thy time, which is betwixt thee and eternity, is but little, and the most thereof has been wafted in fin, and caft away upon vanity: but that is not all, the treasures of gospel-grace have been wasting all this while upon thee, In Zech. iv. 12, it is compared to golden oil, maintaining the lamps of ordinances; so it is fet forth to us in that ftately emblem. Who would maintain a lamp with golden oil for wanton children to play by? Yet this hath God done while thy foul hath dallied and trifled with him. The witnesses and minifters of Chrift, in Rev. xi. 3, 4are compared to those olive-trees that drop their precious oil, their gifts, graces, yea, and their natural fpirits with them, into this lamp, to keep it burning; all this while the blood of Chrift hath been running in vain, the minifters of Chrift preaching and befeeching in vain, the Spirit of Christ striving with you in vain. You burn away golden oil, and yet your lamp is not gone out. O marvellous patience! O the riches of God's forbearance! 7. Laftly, The riches of divine patience towards you, are greatly heightened and aggravated by the quick dispatch the Lord hath made of other finners, whilst he hath spared and paft over you. This comparative confideration calls upon you in the apoftle's language, Rom. xi. 22." Behold the goodness and "feverity of God; on them which fell, feverity; but towards "thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness, otherwise thou shalt be cut off." Some finners have been cut off in the beginning of their days, many in the very acts of fin, and thofe not greater than thy fius; they are gone to their own place, and thou ftill left for a monument of the patience and forbearance of God. The fin of Achan was not a greater fin than thy covetoufnefs, and the earthlinefs of thy heart is ; the fin of Nadab and Abihu, in offering up ftrange fire, than thy fuperftition, and offering up uncommanded fervices to God: yet the hand of God fell upon them, and fmote them dead in the place; in the day and place wherein they fioned, they perished; they were taken away in their iniquities, but thou referved. O that it might be for an inftance and example of the riches of divine patience, which may at last lead thee to repen tance ! Thus I have given you seven evidences of the wonderful patience of Chrift, who hath flood, and still doth ftand at the door and knock. Next we will enquire into the grounds and reafons of this marvellous patience of Chrift, this aftonishing long-fuffering of God towards fianers; and there are divers obvious reasons of the long-suffering of God towards men. 66 Reason, 1. The exercife of his patience is a standing testimony of his reconcileable and merciful nature towards finful man. This he fhewed forth in his patience toward Paul, a great example of his merciful nature, for a pattern to them that should hereafter believe on him, 1 Tim. i. 16. The long-fuffering of God is a special part of his manifeftative glory; and therefore when Mofes defired a fight of his glory, Exod. xxxiv. 6. he proclaims his name, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-fuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth." He would have poor finners look towards him as an atonable Deity, a God willing to be reconciled, a God that retaineth not his anger for ever; but if poor finners will take hold of his ftrength, and make peace with him, they may have peace, Ifa. xxvii. 4. This long-fuffering is an attribute very expreffive of the divine nature; he is willing finners fhould know, whatever their provocations have been, there is room for pardon and peace, if they will yet come in to accept the terms. This pa tience is a diadem belonging to the imperial crown of heaven; the Lord glories in it, as what is peculiar to himself, Hof. xi. 9. "I will not execute the fiercenefs of my anger; for I am "God and not man :" 9. d. Had I been as man, the holiest, meekeft, and mortifiedst man upon earth, I had confumed them Jong ago; but I am God, and not man, my patience is above all created patience; no husband can bear with his wife, no parent with his child, as God hath borne with you. That is one reason of Christ's waiting upon trifling finners, to give proof of his gracious, merciful, and reconcileable nature towards the worft of finners. Reafon 2. The Lord exercises this admirable patience towards finners, with defign thereby to lead them to repentance; that is the direct aim and intention of it. The Lord defires, and delights to fee, ingenuous relentings and brokenness of heart for fia; and there is nothing like his forbearance, and patience, for promoting fuch an evangelical repentance. All the terrors of the law will not break the heart of a finner, as the patience and long-fuffering of God will do; therefore it is faid, Rom. ii. 4. "That the goodneis, forbearance and long-fuffering of God "lead men to repentance:" these are fitted to work upon all thole principles of humanity, which incline men to repentance; reafon, confcience, gratitude, feel the influences of the goodDefs of God herein, and melt under it; Saul's heart relented in this cafe, 1 Sam. xxiv. 17. "Is this thy voice, my son David? "and Saul lift up his voice, and wept: and he said to David, "Thou art more righteous than I, for thou haft rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil." Thus the goodnefs and forbearance of God doth, as it were, take a finner by the hand, leads him into a corner, and faith, come, let thou and I talk together; thus and thus vile haft thou been, and thus and thus long-fuffering and merciful have I been to thee; thy heart hath been fail of fin, the heart of thy God hath been fulf of pity and mercy: This puts the finner into tears, breaks his heart in pieces; if any thing in the world will melt a hard heart, this will do it. O how good hath God been to me! How have I tried his patience to the uttermost, and still he waiteth to be gracious, and is exalted that he may have compaffion; the fobs and tears, the ingenuous thaws and relentings of a finner's heart, under the apprehenfions of the fparing mercy and goodness of God, is the music of heaven. Reafon 3. The Lord exercifes this long-fuffering towards finDers, to clear his juftice in the damnation of all the obstinate retufers of Chrift and mercy. Chrift waits at our doors now, that he may be clear in his fentence against us hereafter. This patience of Chrift takes away all apologies and pleas out of the mouths of impenitent finners; the more Chrift's patience hath been, the lefs defence or plea they will have for themselves. Think with thyfelf, finner, what wilt thou answer in the great day, when Chrift fhall fay, Did not I ftand at thy door from day to day, from Sabbath to Sabbath, from year to year, calling, wooing, perfuading thee to be reconciled, and accept pardon and mercy in the proper feafon of them, and, thou wouldnt not? Rev. ii. 21. "6 [ gave her space to repent, and the "repented not." Well, the Lord gives you time now, a space of repentance, fuch a fpace as millions of fouls, gone out of time into a miferable eternity, never had. With whomhfoever Chrift hath been quick and fevere, to be fure he hath not been fo with you. This time of Chrift's patience will be evidenceenough to clear Chrift and condemn you; men and angels fhall applaud the sentence as dreadful as it is, and fay, righteous art thou, O Lord, in judging thus. Reafon 4. The Lord draws forth and exercises his admirable patience towards finners for the continuation and propagation of the church. The church must be continued and propagated from age to age; and if God fhould be quick in cutting off finners as foon as ever they provoke him, Whence should the elect of God rife in this world! There are thousands of God's elect in the loins of God's enemies. Many that will heartily embrace Christ, must rise from fuch as reject him. Now if God fhould cut off thefe in the beginning of their provocations, How fhould the church be continued? Where had good Abijak and Hezekiah been, if wicked Jeroboam and Ahaz had been cut off in their first tranfgreffions? The Lord fuffers many a wicked parent to ftand for a time under his patience; because children are to spring from them who will obey and embrace that Chrift whom their wicked parents rejected: yea, the wicked do not only propagate the church, but are useful to preferve and defend it: as the ufelefs chaff is a defence to the wheat. Rev. xii. 16." The earth fhall help the woman." Reafon 5. To conclude, The Lord exercifeth this long-fuffering towards finners, in a gracious condescension to the prayers of his people. "Were it not that the Lord had left a small remnant, we had been as Sodom, we had been like unto "Gomorrah," Ifa. i. 9. The prayers and interceffions of the faints are a fkreen betwixt wicked men and the wrath of God for a time," Job xxii. 30. The innocent preferve the island. The world ftands by the prayers of the faints; what multitudes of rebellious, Chriftdefpifing fioners fwarm this day in every part of this nation? Such as declare, by their open practice, they will not have Christ to reign over them, who contemn his offers, defpife his méffengers; but bleffed be God, yea, and let them blefs him too, that there are others mourning to the Lord for them, befeeching his forbearance towards them. Little do the wicked know how much they are beholden to the prayers of the faints. These and fuch like reafons prevail with the Lord Jesus to ftand in a waiting, patient posture, at the doors of finners. Ah, how |