2. The forbearance of God —
[What does God behold ! All the iniquity that is com- mitted upon the face of the whole earth is seen by him com- pletely, in all its bearings, and with all its aggravations. How wonderful must be his patience, that he can bear thus with us, under such an accumulated load of guilt ! We wonder not that he once destroyed the earth with a deluge, or once poured fire and brimstone on the cities of the plain : the wonder is, that these judgments have not been so repeated, as utterly to destroy the whole human race. To go no further than to our own individual state : that man can know little of himself, who is not utterly amazed that he is at this moment an inhabitant of earth, and not doomed, long since, to endure all the pains and miseries of hell. Let then " this patience and long- suffering and forbearance no longer be despised ; but let the goodness of our God lead us to repentance x."]
3. The wonders of redeeming love —
[This is the world for which God has given his only- begotten Son. This is the world for which the Lord Jesus Christ left the bosom of his Father, and came down to earth, that he might bleed and die. Nor in this whole world is there a single individual, who, if he repent and believe in Jesus, shall not find acceptance with his God. Not one should be cast out ; no, not one : " Though his sins were red as crimson, they should be white as snow." What wonders of love are here ! Who can ever comprehend their height and depth, their length and breadth ? Search into them ever so deeply, and contemplate them ever so minutely, and we will say without hesitation, " Turn again, and you shall see greater wonders than these." Indeed, to all eternity will they be unfolding to us, with ever-augmented light and evidence ; and to all eternity will they be to us an ever-increasing source of joy and blessedness. To contemplate them here, is the way to be filled with all the fulness of grace y ; and to con- template them in heaven, will be to us a fulness of glory for evermore2.]
* Rom. ii. 4. y Eph. iii. 18, 19. z Rev. v. 8—13.