over the abufers of mercy. You do not only read in Scripture the finishing and ending of God's patience with men, but you may fee it every day with your own eyes. If you look into Scripture, you may find, the patience of God ended towards multitudes of finners, who poffibly had the fame prefump. tions, and vain hopes, for the continuance of it, that you now have if you look into 1 Pet. iii. 19, 20. you fhall there find, that Chrift went and preached to the spirits in prison, which jmetimes were disobedient, when once the long-fuffering of God waited in the days of Noah. The meaning of it is this, that in the days before the flood, Chrift by his Spirit ftrove with the disobedient and rebellious finners in the miniftry of Noah, who then were living men and women, as now we are, but now are spirits in prifon, i. e. damned fouls in hell, for their disobedience: and truly, brethren, you may frequently behold the glass of patience run down, the very last stand in it spent upon others. Whenever you fee a wicked, Chriftless man or woman die, you fee the end of God's patience with that man or woman; and all this for a warning to you, that you adventure not to trifle, and dally with it as they did. 4. Lastly, Do not try God's patience any longer (if you love your fouls) for this reafon, because when men grow bold, and encourage themselves in fin, upon the account of God's forbearance, and long-suffering towards them, there cannot be a more certain fign that his patience is very near its end towards that foul. It is time for God to put an end to his patience, when it is made an encouragement to fin; God cannot fuffer fo vile an abuse of his glorious patience, nor endure to fee it turned into wantonnefs: this quickly brings up fin to its finishing act, and perfection, and then patience is just upon finishing allo. That patience is thus abused, appears from Ecclef. viii. 11. and when it is fo abused, look for a fudden change. O therefore beware of provoking God, for now the day of patience is certainly near its end with finners, Prov. i. 24, 25, 26." Because I have called, and ye refused, I have "stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have "fet at nought all my counfel, and would none of my reproof: "I alfo will laugh at your calamity, and mock when your fear "cometh; when your fear cometh as defolation, and your de"Atruction cometh as a whirlwind." Ah, when finners fcoff, and mock at the threatnings of God, and bear themselves up upon his patience, as that which will never crack under them; then look out for a whirlwind, a fudden tempeft of wrath, which will hurry fuch fouls into hell. Then mifery comes like a ftorm blowing furiously from all quarters. Well, the hea Vens are yet clear over you, but a ftorm is nigh, and may certainly be prefaged from fuch vile abufes of the glorious patience of Chrift towards you. That is the first exhortation, try not the patience of Chrift, by any further delays. Exhort. 2. Admire Chrift's patience and forbearance of you until now, that he hath not cut you off in your fin, but lengthened out his patience unto this day, and brought about your falvation by his long-fuffering towards you. Here now I must change my voice, and turn it unto those whofe hearts the Lord hath opened: Stand amazed at the riches of his grace towards you, and fee that you account this long-fuffering of God to be your falvation; for in plain truth it is fo: your falvation was bound up in Chrift's forbearance. If Chrift had not borne as he did, you had not been where you are. I could heartily with, that all the time you can redeem from the neceffary employ ments you have in the world, may now be spent in an humble, thankful admiration of this admirable grace, and patience of Chrift, and anfwerable duties to the intentions, and ends thereof. To this end, I shall subjoin divers weighty confiderations, which, methinks, fhould melt every heart wherein the least dram of faving grace is found. Confid. 1. Bethink yourselves of the great, and manifold provocations you have given the Lord to put an end to all further patience towards you; not only in the days of your vanity, and unregeneracy, but even fince your reconciliation to him. Do you not believe thousands of finners are now in the depths of hell, who never provoked the Lord at a higher rate than you have done? Were you not herded once among the vileft of fire ners? Cor. vi. 11. "And fuch were fome of you ;” as vile as the vileft among them: yet you are washed in the blood of Christ, and your companions roaring in the lowest hell; or if your lives were more clean, fure your hearts and natures were as filthy as theirs. And certainly, your fins, fince the time of reconciliation, have had fpecial aggravations in them, enough to put an end to all further mercies towards you. Light and love have aggravated thefe fins, and yet the Lord will not caft you off. Confid. 2. How often have you been upon the very brink of hell, in the days of your unregeneracy? Every fickness, and every danger of life which you have efcaped in those days, was a marvellous escape from the everlafting wrath of God. Had thy disease prevailed one degree further, thou hadst been paft hope, and out of the reach of mercy's arm now. Doubtlefs fome of you can remember when, in fuch and fuch a disease, you were like a ship riding in a furious ftorm by one cable, and two or three of the strands of that cable were snapt afander. So it hath been with you, the thread of life how weak foever, hath held till the bonds of union betwixt Chrift and your fouls are fastened, and the eternal hazard over. This is admi rable grace. Confid 3. How often has death come up into your windows, entered into your houses, fetched off your nearest relations; but had no commiffion to carry you out with them, because the Lord had a defiga of mercy upon your fouls? This cannot but affect a gracious heart, that God should fmite fo near, and yet spare you. Confid. 4. Laitly, This is affecting, yea, very tranfporting, that God hath not only given you time beyond others, but in that time the precious opportunities, and means of your falvation, both external, and internal; there is the very marrow, and kernel of the mercy. Had God lengthened out his patience for a while, but given you no means of falvation, or afforded you the means, but denied you the bleffing, and efficacy of them; at the most it could have been but a reprieve from hell: But for the Lord to give you the gospel, and with the gofpel to fend down his fpirit, to perfuade and open thy heart to Chrift; here is the riches of his goodness, as well as forbearance. Exhort. 3. This doctrine of the patience of Chrift exhorts all that have felt it, to exercise a Chrift-like patience towards others; as you have found the benefit of divine patience yourselves, see that you exercise the meekness, and long-fuffering of Chriftians towards those that have wronged, and injured you. Who fhould fhew patience more than thofe that have found it? Do not be fevere, fhort, and quick with others, who have lived yourselves fo many years upon the long-fuffering of God. We are poor, fhort-fpirited creatures, quick to revenge injuries; but O had God been fo to us, miferable had our condition been: Christ hath made this duty the very scope of that excellent parable, Mat. xviii. from ver. 25. onward, where the king takes an account of his fervants, reckoning with them one by one, and amongst them finds one which owed him ten thousand talents, and having not to pay, commands him, his wife and children, and all he had to be fold, and payment to be made; but the fervant falling down, and begging patience, his Lord was moved with compaffion, and loofed him, and not only forbore, but forgave the debt: One would think the heart of this man should have been a foundation of compaffion towards others; but fee the deep corruption of nature, the fame fervant finding one of his fellow-fervants which owed him but a hundred pence, laid hands on him, and took him by the throat. Alas, the wrongs done to us are but trifles, compared with our injuries done to God; where others have wronged you once, you have wronged God a thousand times. Methinks the patience of Chrift towards you, should melt your hearts into an ingenuous eafinefs to forgive others; efpecially, confidering that an unforgiving spirit is a dreadful fign of an unforgiven perfon. Exhort. 4. Burden not the patience of Chrift after your admiffion of him, and reconciliation to him; let it fuffice that you tried his patience long enough before, give him no new exercises now he is come to dwell in, and with you for ever. There are two ways wherein God's own people do greatly provoke him after their reconciliation. 1. By fluggishness in duty. f. By fluggishness, and deadnefs of fpirit, in the ways of duty and obedience, turning a deaf ear to the calls and motions of Chrift's fpirit exciting them to the fweet and pleasant duties of religion. We have had a fad inftance of this in the spouse, Cant. v. 2, 3. "It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, faying, open to me, my fifter, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks "with the drops of the night." One would think that Chrift might have opened the heart of his own spoufe with lefs follicitation, and importunate arguments, than he here useth; what wife could fhut the door upon her own dear husband, and bar him out of his own houfe? And yet fee the lazy excufe she makes, ver. 3. "I have put off my coat, how fhall I put it on? "I have wasted my feet, how fhall I defile them?" O the fluggishnefs of the flesh, even in regenerate perfons! thofe that have opened the door to Chrift by regeneration, even they do often shut the door against Christ in the hours and seasons of communion with him. Strange, that fuch a fuitor as Chrift fhould be put by, moving, and calling to fuch heavenly, pleafant exercises, as communion with him is; but flesh will be fleth, even in the most spiritual Chriftians: Little do we know what a grief this is to Chrift, and loss to us. 2. Many grieve Chrift's fpirit, and forely try his patience, even after reconciliation, by finning against light and love: That caution, Eph. iv. 30. is not without weighty cause. "And VOL. IV. PPP grieve not the holy fpirit of God, by which you are sealed to "the day of redemption." Do we thus requite the Lord? Is this the return we make him for all his admirable kindneis, and unparalleled love towards us? Certainly Chrift can put up a thoufand injuries from his enemies, eafier than fuch affronts from his own people. Did you not promife him better obedience? Did you not engage to more holiness and watchfulness, in the day that you fued out your pardon, and made up your peace with him? Are all those vows and covenants forgotten? If you have forgotten them, God hath not. Exhort. 5. Improve the time that remains in this world with double diligence, because you made Chrift wait fo long, and cast away fo great a part of your life, before you opened your hearts to receive him. The morning of your life, which was certainly the fresheft and freeft part of it, was no better than time lost with many of us; all the days of your unregeneracy Christ was fhut out, and vanity fhut into your hearts: you never began to live till Chrift gave you life, and that was late in the day with many of you. How should this provoke to extraordinary diligence in thofe few remains of time we have yet to enjoy? It was Auftin's lamentation, O Lord, it repents me, faith he, that I loved thee fo late. This confideration excited Paul to extraordinary diligence for Chrift. It made him fly up and down the world, as a Seraphim, in a flame of holy zeal for Chrift." Those that have much to write, and are almost come to the end of their paper, had need write clofe. Friends, you have fomething to do for God on earth, which you cannot do for him in heaven, Ifa. xxxviii. 18, 19. You that have carnal relations, have fomething to do for them here, which you cannot do in heaven. You can now counfel, exhort and pray, in order to their converfion and falvation; but when you are gone down to the grave, these opportunities of service are cut off. Exhort. 6. Let us all be ashamed and humbled for the base-' nefs of our hearts and natures, which made Chrift wait at the door fo long, before we opened to him. O what wretched hearts have we! that were no more affected with the groans of Chrift's heart, than with the groans of a beaft, nor fo much neither, if that beaft were our own. O the vileness of nature, to make the prince of the kings of the earth, bringing pardon and falvation with him, to ftand to long unanfwered! Let who will cry up the goodness of nature, I am fure we have reafon to look upon the vilenefs of it with amazement and horror. You could not have found in your hearts to make the pooreft beggar |