SER M. " in wickedness," and "the earth is overspread CXLVIII. « with violence," and " is full of the habitations of "cruelty?" when he who is " of purer eyes than "to behold iniquity," and is fo highly offended at the fins of men, hath yet the patience to look upon "them that deal treacherously, and to hold his peace?" when the "wicked perfecutes and de"vours the man that is more righteous than he?" when even that part of the world, which profeffeth the name of God and CHRIST, do, by their vile and abominable lives, "blafpheme that holy and glorious "name whereby they are called?" Every moment God hath greater injuries done to him, and more affronts put upon him, than were ever offered to all the fons of men: and, furely, provocations are trials of patience, especially when they are fo numerous, and fo heinous; for if offences rife according to the dignity of the perfon injured, and the meannefs of him that doth the injury, then no offences are so great as those that are committed by men against GOD, no affronts like to those which are offered to the divine majefty by the continual provocations of his creatures. And is not this an argument of God's patience, that the glorious majefty of heaven fhould bear fuch multiplied indignities from fuch vile worms? that he who is the former of all things, fhould endure his own creatures to rebel against him, and the work of his hands to ftrike at him? that he who is our great benefactor fhould put up fuch affronts from thofe who depend upon his bounty, and are maintained at his charge? that he, in whose hands our breath is, fhould fuffer men to breathe out oaths, and curfes, and blafphemies against him? Surely these prove the patience of God to purpofe, and are equally trials and arguments of it. 2. The patience of God will farther appear, if we SERM. confider how, notwithstanding all this, GoD deals CXLVIII. with us. He is patient to the whole world, in that he doth not turn us out of being, and "turn the "wicked together into hell, with all the nations that "forget GOD." He is patient to the greatest part of mankind, in that he makes but a few terrible examples of his juftice, "that others may hear and "fear, and take warning by them." He is patient to particular perfons, in that, notwithstanding our daily provocations, he prevents us daily with the bleffing of his goodnefs, prolonging our lives, and vouchfafing fo many favours to us, that, by this great goodness, we may be led to repentance. But the patience of GoD will more illustriously appear, if we confider thefe following particulars, which are fo many evidences and inftances of it. 1. That God is not obliged to fpare and forbear us at all. It is patience, that he doth not furprize us in the very act of fin, and let fly at us with a thunder-bolt fo foon as ever we have offended; that the wrath of God doth not fall upon the intemperate person, as it did upon the Ifraelites, "whilft "the meat and drink is yet in their mouths;" that a man is not ftruck dead or mad whilft he is telling a lie; that the foul of the profane and false fwearer does not expire with his oaths and perjuries. 2. That GOD fpares us, when it is in his power so easily to ruin us; when he can with one word command us out of being, and, by cutting asunder one little thread, let us drop into hell. If GOD were difpofed to feverity, he could deal with us after another manner; and as the expreffion is in the prophet, "eafe himself of his adverfaries, and be avenged of "his enemies." 3. That CXLVIII. SERM. 3. That God exercifeth this patience to finners, flagrante bello, while they are up in arms against him, and committing hoftilities upon him; he bears with us, even when we are challenging his juftice to punish us, and provoking his power to destroy us. 4. That he is fo very flow and unwilling to punish, and to inflict his judgments upon us. As for eternal punishments, GoD defers them a long while, and by all proper ways and means endeavours to prevent them, and to bring us to repentance. And as for those temporal judgments which God inflicts upon finners, he carries himself fo, that we may plainly fee all the signs of unwillingness that can be; he tries to prevent them; he is loth to fet about this work; and when he does, it is with much reluctance; and then he is easily perfuaded and prevailed withal not to do it; and when he does, he does it not rigorously, and to extremity; and he is foon taken off, after he is engaged in it. All which are great instan. ces and evidences of his wonderful patience to finners. (1.) GOD's unwillingness to punish appears, in that he labours to prevent punishment; and that he may effectually do this, he endeavours to prevent fin, the meritorious caufe of God's judgments. To this end, he hath threatened it with fevere punishments, that the dread of them may make us afraid to offend; and if this will not do, he does not yet give us over, but gives us a space of repentance, and invites us earnestly to turn to him, and thereby to pre vent his judgments; he expoftulates with finners, and reasons the cafe with them, as if he were more concerned not to punish, than they are not to be punished: and thus, by his earnest defire of our repen→ tance, he fhews how little he defires our ruin. (2.) He is long before he goes about this work. Judg and hardly CXLVIII. Judgment is in fcripture, called " his ftrange work;" SER M. as if he were not acquainted with it, knew how to go about it on the fudden. presented as not prepared for fuch a work, Deut. xxxii. 41. “ If I whet my glittering fword:" as if the inftruments of punishment were not ready for us. Nay by a strange kind of condescension to our capacities, and to fet forth to us the patience of God, and his flowness to wrath, after the manner of men, he is represented as keeping out of the way, that he may not be tempted to deftroy us; Exod. xxxiii. 2, 3. where he tells Mofes, that "he would fend an "angel before them; for I will not go up in the "midst of thee, left I confume thee in the way.' At works of mercy he is very ready and forward. When Daniel prayed for the deliverance of the people of Ifrael out of captivity, the angel tells him, that," at the beginning of his fupplication, the com"mandment came forth," to bring him a promise of their deliverance. The mercy of GoD, many times, prevents our prayers, and outruns our wishes and defires: but when he comes to affliction, he takes time to do it; he paffeth by many provocations, and waits long in expectation, that, by our repentance, we will prevent his judgments; "he heark ened and heard, (faith God in the prophet Jeremiah) "but they spake not right: no man repented "him of his wickedness, faying, what have I done?" He is represented as waiting and liftening, to hear if any penitent word would drop from them; he gives the finner time to repent and reflect upon his actions, and to confider what he hath done, and space to reason himself into repentance. For this reafon the judgments of GOD do often follow the fins of men at a great diftance, otherwife he could eafily make SE R.M. make them mend their pace, and "confume us in a CXLVIII. 66 moment." (3.) When he goes about this work, he does it with much reluctance: Hofea xi. 8. "How fhall "I give thee up, Ephraim? how fhall I deliver "thee, Ifrael? mine heart is turned within me, and my repentings are kindled together." He is reprefented as making many effays and offers before he came to it: Pfal. cvi. 26. "Many a time lifted "he up his hand in the wilderness to destroy them." He made as if he would do it, and let fall his hand again, as if he could not find in his heart to be fo fevere. GOD withholds his judgments till he is weary of holding in, as the expreffion is Jer. vi. 11. till he can forbear no longer; Jer. xliv. 22. "So that "the LORD could no longer bear, because of the " evil of your doings, and because of the abomina"tions which ye have committed." (4.) GOD is easily prevailed upon not to punish. When he feemed refolved upon it, to destroy the murmuring Ifraelities, yet how often, at the inter. ceffion of Mofes, did he turn away his wrath? That he will accept of very low terms to fpare a very wicked people, appears by the inftance of Sodom, where, if there had beeen but ten righteous perfons, he would not have deftroyed them for the ten's fake. Yea, when his truth feemed to have been pawned, (at leaft in the apprehenfion of his prophet) yet even then repentance took him off, as in the cafe of Nineveh. Nay, how glad is he to be thus prevented! with what joy does he' tell the prophet the news of Ahab's humiliation! "Seeft thou how Ahab hum"bleth himself? Because he humbleth himself, I will "not bring the evil in his days." (5.) When he punifheth, he does it very feldom |