Thus I have given you seven evidences of the wonderful patience of Christ, who hath stood, and still doth stand at the door and knock. Next we will enquire into the grounds and reasons of this marvellous |)atience of Christ, this astonishing long-suffering of God towai'ds sinners ; and there are divers obvious reasons of the long-suffering of God towards men.
Reason 1. The exercise of his patience is a standing testimony of his reCdntilable and merciful nature towards sinful man. This he shewed forth in his patience toward Paul, a great example of his irierciful nature, for a pattern to them that should hereafter believe on him, 1 Tim. i. 16. The long-suffering of God is a special part of his manifestative glory ; and therefore when Moses desired a sight of his glory, E^cod. xxxiv. 6. he proclaims his name, " The " Lord, the Lord God^ merciful and gracious, long-suffering, " and abundant in goodness imd truth."" He would have poor sinners lortk towards him as an atoneable Deity, a God willing to be reconciled, a God that retaineth not his anger for ever ; but if poor sinners will take hold of his strength, and make peace with him, they may have peace, Isa. xxvii. 4. This long-suffering is an attribute very expressive of the Divine nature ; he is wilHng sinners should know, whatever their provocations have been, there is room for pardon and peace, if they will yet come in to accept the! term?/ Thi& patience is a diadern belonging to the imperial crown of heaven ; the Lord glories in it, as what is peculiar to himself, Hos. xi. 9. I will not execute the fierceness of my anger; for I am " God and hot man ;" q. d. Had I been as man, the holiest, meekest, and mortifiedst man upon earth, I had consumed them long ago ; but I am God and not man, my patience rs above all created patience; no husband can bear with his mfe, no parent with his child, as God hath boi-ne with you. That is one reason of Christ's waiting upon trifling sinners, to give proof of his gra- cious, merciful, and reconcilable nature towards the worst of sinners.
Reason 2. The Lord exercises this admirable patieiice towards sinners, with design thereby to lead them to repentance ; that is the direct aim and intention of it. The Lord desires, and delights to see ingenuous relentings and brokenness of heart for sin ; and there is nothing like his forbearance and patience for promoting such an evangelical repentance. All the terrors of the law will not break the heart of a sinner, as the patience and long-suffering of God will do; therefore it is said, Rom. ii. 4. "That the good- " ness, forbearance, and long-suffering of God lead men to re- " pentance':'' these are fitted to work upon all those principles of humanity which incline men to repentance; reason, conscience, gratitude, feel the influences of the goodness of God herein, and melt under it; Saul's heart relented in this case, 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 hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded ^ thee evil." Thus the goodness and forbearance of God doth,
as it were, take a sinner by tlie hand, leads him into a corner, and saith, come, let thee and me talk together, thus and thus vile hast thou been, and thus and thus long-suffering and merciful have I been to thee ; thy heart hath been full of sin, the heart of thy God hath been full of pity and mercy : This puts the sinner 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 compassion ; the sobs and tears, the ingenuous thaws and relentings of a sinner's heart, under the apprehensions of the sparing mercy and goodness of God, is the music of heaven.
Reason 3. The Lord exercises this long-suffering towards sinners, to clear his justice in the damnation of all the obstinate refusers, of Christ and mercy. Christ waits at our doors now, that he may be clear in his sentence against us hereafter. This patience of Christ takes away all apologies and pleas out of the mouths of impenitent sinners ; the more Christ's patience hath been, the less defence or plea they will have for themselves.
Think with thj'self, sinner, what wilt thou answer in the great day, when Christ shall say. Did I riot stand at thy door from day to day, from sabbath to sabbath, from' year to year, calUng, wooing, per- suading thee to be reconciled, and accept pardon and mercy in the proper season of them, and thou wouldest not? Rev. ii. 21. "I gave " her space to repent, and she repented not.'' Well, the Lord gives you time now, a space for repentance, such a space as millions of souls, gone out of time into a miserable eternity, never had. With v/homsoever Christ hath been quick and severe, to be sure he hath not been so with you. This time of Christ's patience will be evi- dence enough to clear Christ and condemn you ; men and angels shall applaud the sentence as dreadful as it is, and say, righteous art thou, O Lord, in judging thus.
Reason 4. The Lord draws forth and exercises his admirable patience towards sinners for the continuation and propagation of the church. The church must be continued and propagated from age to age ; and if God should be quick in cutting off sinners as soon as ever they provoke him. Whence should the elect of God rise 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 such as reject him.
Now if God should cut off these in the beginning of their pro- vocations, How should the church be continued.? Where had good Abijah and Hezekiah been, if. wicked Jeroboam and Ahaz had been cut off in their first transgressions ? The Lord suffers many a wicked parent to stand for a time under his patience ; be*
cause children are to spring from them who will obey and embrace that Christ whom their wicked parents rejected : yea, the wicked do not only propagate the church, but are useful to preserve and de- fend it : as the useless chaff is a defence to the wheat, Rev. xii. 16. « The earth shall help the woman."
Reason 5. To conclude, The Lord exerciseth this long-suffering toward sinners, 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 Uke unto Gomorrha,'' Isa. i. 9.