often abused, and presumptuous sinners take occasion from thence to go
on, as they apprehend, securely therein, because God is merciful and
gracious, and ready to forgive, which vile and disingenuous temper the
apostle observed in some that lived in his days, and expresses himself
with the greatest abhorrence thereof, _Shall we continue in sin, that
grace may abound? God forbid_, Rom. vi. 1, 2. But does it follow, that
because it is abused by some, as an occasion of licentiousness, through
the corruption of their natures, that therefore it leads to it? The
greatest blessings may be the occasion of the greatest evils; but yet
they do not lead to them. That which leads to licentiousness, must have
some motive or inducement in it, which will warrant an ingenuous mind,
acting according to the rules of equity and justice, to take those
liberties; but this nothing can do, much less the grace of God. His
great clemency, indeed, may sometimes give occasion to those who hate
him, and have ingratitude and rebellion rooted in their nature, to take
up arms against him; and an act of grace may be abused, so as to make
the worst of criminals more bold in their wickedness, who presume that
they may commit it with impunity: but this is not the natural tendency,
or genuine effect thereof; nor will it be thus abused by any, but those
who are abandoned to every thing that is vile and ungrateful. As the law
of God prohibits all sin, and his holiness is opposite to it, so his
grace affords the strongest motive to holiness; it is therefore the
neglect or contempt of this grace, and a corrupt disposition to act
contrary to the design thereof, that leads to licentiousness. Grace and
duty are inseparably connected, so that where God bestows the one, he
expects the other; yea, duty, which is our act, is God’s gift, as the
power to perform it is from him: thus when he promises to give his
people _a new heart, and put his Spirit within them, and cause them to
walk in his statutes_, he tells them, that they should _remember their
evil ways and doings, and loathe themselves in their own sight for their
iniquities_; which is not only a prediction, respecting the event, but a
promise of what he would incline them to do; and when he adds, that _for
this he would be enquired of by them_, Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27, 31, 37. or
that they should seek them by fervent prayer, he secures to them, by
promise, a disposition and grace to perform this great duty, which is
inseparably connected with expected blessings. God himself therefore
will take care that, however others abuse his grace, it shall not lead
those who are in a distinguishing way, the objects thereof, to
licentiousness.
And to this we may add, that it is a disparagement to this divine
perfection to say, that, because some take occasion from it to continue
in sin, therefore its glory is to be, as it were, concealed, and not
published to the world. As some of old did not care to hear of the
holiness of God, and therefore, if the prophets would render their
doctrine acceptable to them, they must not insist on that perfection,
but _cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before them_, Isa. xxx.
11. so there are many who are as little desirous to hear of the free and
discriminating grace of God, which contains the very sum and substance
of the gospel, lest it should be abused, whereas the glory thereof
cannot be enough admired; and therefore it ought often to be
recommended, as what leads to holiness, and lies at the very root of all
religion.
And that it may be so improved, let it be farther considered, that it is
the greatest inducement to humility, as well as one of the greatest
ornaments and evidences of a true Christian. This appears from the
nature of the thing, for grace supposes its object unworthy, as has been
but now observed; and it argues him a debtor to God for all that he
enjoys or expects, which, if it be duly considered, will make him appear
vile and worthless in his own eyes, and excite in him a degree of
thankfulness in proportion to the ground he has to claim an interest
therein, and the extensiveness of the blessed fruits and effects
thereof.
4. We proceed to speak of God as long-suffering, or as he is styled by
the apostle, _The God of patience_, Rom. xv. 5. sometimes this attribute
is set forth in a metaphorical way, and called a _restraining his
wrath_, Psal. lxxvi. 10. and a _refraining himself_, and _holding his
peace_, or _keeping silence_, Isa. xlii. 14. and Psal. l. 21. and, while
he does this, he is represented, speaking after the manner of men, as
one that is _weary with forbearing_, Isa. i. 13. chap. vii. 13. Mal. ii.
17. and he is said to be pressed, under a provoking people, _as a cart
is pressed that is full of sheaves_, Amos ii. 13. By all which
expressions, this perfection is set forth in a familiar style, according
to our common way of speaking: but that we may briefly explain the
nature thereof, let us consider, in general; that it is a branch of his
goodness and mercy, manifested in suspending the exercise of his
vindictive justice, and in his not punishing in such a degree as sin
deserves. But that we may consider this more particularly, we shall
observe something concerning the objects thereof, and the various
instances in which it is displayed; how it is glorified; and how the
glory thereof is consistent with that of vindictive justice; and lastly,
how it is to be improved by us.
(1.) Concerning the objects of God’s patience. Since it is the deferring
of deserved wrath, it follows from hence, that an innocent creature
cannot be the object of it, inasmuch as vindictive justice makes no
demand upon him; nor has it any reserves of punishment laid up in store
for him; such an one is, indeed the object of goodness, but not of
forbearance; for punishment cannot be said to be deferred where it is
not due: and, on the other hand, they cannot be said to be the objects
thereof, in whom the vindictive justice of God is displayed to the
utmost, when all the vials of his wrath are poured forth. Whether the
devils are, in some sense, the objects of God’s forbearance, as having
ground to expect a greater degree of punishment after the final
judgment, is disputed by some, who contend about the sense of the word
_forbearance_; they are said, indeed, _to be reserved in chains, under
darkness, unto the judgment of the great day_, Jude, ver. 6. that is,
though their state be hopeless, and their misery great, beyond
expression, yet there is a greater degree of punishment, which they
bring upon themselves, by all the hostilities they commit against God in
this world: this farther appears, from what they are represented, as
saying to our Saviour, _Art thou come to torment us before the time?_
Matth. viii. 29.[63] By which it is sufficiently evident that their
misery shall be greater than now it is. However, this less degree of
punishment, inflicted on them, is never called in scripture, an instance
of God’s patience, or long-suffering, towards them; therefore we must
conclude that they are not, properly speaking, the objects of the glory
of this attribute. Patience then is only extended to sinful men, while
in this world: for it is called, in scripture, _The riches of his
goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering_, Rom. ii. 4. and it is
said to _lead_ those, who are the objects of it, _to repentance_;
therefore there must be, together with the exercise of this perfection,
a day or season of grace granted, which is called, in scripture, with a
peculiar emphasis, the sinner’s _day, or the time of his visitation_, in
which it ought to be his highest concern _to know the things of his
peace_, Luke xix. 42, 44. and the gospel that is preached, in this
season of God’s forbearance, is called, _The word of his patience_, Rev.
iii. 10. so that there is something more in this attribute than barely a
deferring of punishment. Accordingly God is said, to _wait that he may
be gracious_, Isa. xxx. 18. and the effects and consequences thereof are
various, (as may be said of all the other means of grace) so that
sinners, who neglect to improve it, have not only thereby a reprieve
from deserved punishment, but all those advantages of common grace,
which attend it: but, with respect to believers, it may be said, as the
apostle expresses it, _The long-suffering of our Lord is salvation_, 2
Pet. iii. 15. It is evidently so to them, and therefore God doth not
spare them, that he may take a more fit opportunity to punish them; but
he waits till the set time to favour them is come, that he may extend
salvation to them; and, in this respect more especially, the exercise of
this perfection is founded in the death of Christ. And inasmuch as the
elect, who are purchased thereby, were, by the divine appointment, to
live throughout all the ages of time, and to have the saving effects of
his redemption applied to them, one after another, it was necessary that
the patience of God should be so long continued, which is therefore
glorified more immediately with respect to them, as the result thereof;
and, in subserviency thereunto, it is extended to all the world.
(2.) The patience of God has been displayed in various instances.
_1st_, It was owing hereto that God did not immediately destroy our
first parents as soon as they fell; he might then, without the least
impeachment of his justice, have banished them for ever from his
presence, and left their whole posterity destitute of the means of
grace, and have punished them all in proportion to the guilt contracted;
therefore that the world is continued to this day, is a very great
instance of God’s long-suffering.
_2dly_, When mankind was universally degenerate, and all flesh had
corrupted their way, before the flood, and God determined to destroy
them, yet he would not do this, till his patience had spared them, after
he had given an intimation of this desolating judgment, an hundred and
twenty years before it came, Gen. vi. 2, 3. and Noah was, during this
time, a preacher of righteousness, while the long-suffering of God is
said to have waited on them, 2 Pet. ii. 5. compared with 1 Pet. iii. 20.
_3dly_, The Gentiles, who not only worshipped and served the creature
more than the Creator, but committed other vile abominations, contrary
to the dictates of nature, and thereby filled up the measure of their
iniquity, are, notwithstanding, said to be the objects of God’s
patience, though in a lower sense, than that in which believers are said
to be so; accordingly the apostle observes, _that in times past, God
suffered all nations to walk in their own ways_, that is, God did not
draw forth his sword out of its sheath, by which metaphor the prophet
sets forth the patience of God; he did not stir up all his wrath, _but
gave them rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts
with food and gladness_, Acts xiv. 16, 17. Ezek. xxi. 3.
_4thly_, The church of the Jews, before the coming of Christ, had long
experience of the forbearance of God. It is said, that _he suffered
their manners forty years in the wilderness_, Acts xiii. 18. and
afterwards, when they often revolted to idolatry, following the customs
of the nations round about them, yet he did not utterly destroy them,
but, in their distress, raised them up deliverers; and when their
iniquity was grown to such a height that none but a God of infinite
patience, could have borne with them, he, notwithstanding, spared them
many years before he suffered them to be carried away captive into
Babylon; and afterwards, when their rebellion against him was arrived to
the highest pitch, when they had crucified the Lord of glory, yet he
spared them some time, till the gospel was first preached to them, and
they had rejected it, and thereby _judged themselves unworthy of eternal
life_, Acts xiii. 46.
_5thly_, After this, the patience of God was extended to those who
endeavoured to pervert the gospel of Christ, namely, to false teachers
and backsliding churches, to whom he gave _space to repent, but repented
not_, Rev. ii. 21. And to this we may add, that he has not yet poured
forth the vials of his wrath on the Antichristian powers, though he has
threatened, that _their plagues shall come in one day_, chap. xviii. 1.
(3.) We are next to consider the method which God takes in glorifying
this attribute. We have already observed that, with respect to
believers, the patience of God is glorified in subserviency to their
salvation; but, with respect to others, by whom it is abused, the
patience of God discovers itself,
_1st_, In giving them warning of his judgments before he sends them. _He
speaketh once, yea twice, but man perceiveth it not_, that he may
_withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man_, Job xxxiii.
14, 17. and, indeed, all the prophets were sent to the church of the
Jews, not only to instruct them, but to warn them of approaching
judgments, and they were faithful in the delivery of their message. In
what moving terms doth the prophet Jeremiah lament the miseries, which
were ready to befal them! And with what zeal doth he endeavour, in the
whole course of his ministry, to bring them to repentance, that so the
storm might blow over, or, if not, that their ruin might not come upon
them altogether unexpected!
_2dly_, When the divine warnings are not regarded, but wrath must be
poured forth on an obstinate and impenitent people, this is done by
degrees. God first sends lesser judgments before greater, or inflicts
his plagues, as he did upon Egypt, one after another, not all at once;
and so he did upon Israel of old, as the prophet Joel observes, _first
the palmer-worm, then the locust; after that, the canker-worm, and then
the caterpillar, devoured the fruits of the earth, one after another_,
Joel i. 4. So the prophet Amos observes, that God first sent a famine
among them, which he calls _cleanness of teeth in all their cities_, and
afterwards _some of them were overthrown, as God overthrew Sodom and
Gomorrah_, Amos iv. 8, 18. Some think, that the gradual approach of
divine judgments is intended by what the prophet Hosea says, when the
judgments of God are compared to the light that goeth forth, Hos. vi. 5.
which implies more than is generally understood by it, as though the
judgments of God should be rendered visible, as the light of the sun is;
whereas the prophet seems hereby to intimate, that the judgments of God
should proceed, like the light of the morning, that still increases unto
a perfect day. And it is more than probable that this is intended by the
same prophet, when he represents God as speaking concerning Ephraim,
that he would be to them as a moth, which doth not consume the garment
all at once, as when it is cast into the fire, but frets it by degrees,
or like rottenness, which is of a spreading nature, chap. v. 12. Thus
the judgments of God are poured forth by degrees, that, at the same
time, there may be comparatively, at least, a display of divine
patience.
_3dly_, When God sends his judgments abroad in the world, he often
moderates them; none are proportionate to the demerit of sin; as it is
said of him, that being full of compassion, he forgave the iniquity of a
very rebellious people, that is, he did not punish them as their
iniquity deserved, and therefore he destroyed them not, and did not stir
up all his wrath, Psal. lxxviii. 38. so the prophet Isaiah says
concerning Israel, that God _hath not smitten him, as he had smote those
that smote him; nor is he slain according to the slaughter of them that
are slain by him; but that he would debate with them in measure, who
stayeth his rough wind in the day of his east wind_, Isa. xxvii. 7, 8.
_4thly_, When God cannot, in honour, defer his judgments any longer, he
pours them forth, as it were, with reluctancy; as a judge, when he
passeth sentence on a criminal, doth it with a kind of regret, not
insulting, but rather pitying his misery, which is unavoidable, because
the course of justice must not be stopped. Thus the prophet says, that
_God doth not afflict willingly_, that is, with delight or pleasure,
_nor grieve the children of men_, Lam. iii. 35. that is, he doth not
punish them, because he delights to see them miserable; but to secure
the rights of his own justice in the government of the world: so when
Israel had been guilty of vile ingratitude and rebellion against him,
and he threatens to turn his hand upon them, and destroy them, he
expresseth himself in such terms, speaking after the manner of men, as
imply a kind of uneasiness, when he says, _Ah! I will ease me of mine
adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies_, Isa. i. 24. and before God
gave up Israel into the hands of the Assyrians, he seems, again speaking
after the manner of men, to have an hesitation or debate in his own
mind, whether he should do this or no, when he says, _How shall I give
thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel? How shall I make
thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as Zeboim? Mine heart is turned
within me, my repentings are kindled together_, Hos. xi. 8. and when our
Saviour could not prevail upon Jerusalem to repent of their sins, and
embrace his doctrine, when he was obliged to pass a sentence upon them,
and to tell them, that the things of their peace were hid from their
eyes, and that _their enemies should cast a trench about the city, and
should lay it even with the ground_, he could not speak of it without
tears; _when he beheld the city, he wept over it_, Luke xix. 41, &c.
(4.) The next thing to be considered, concerning the patience of God,
is, that the glory of it is consistent with that of his vindictive
justice; or how he may be said to defer the punishment of sin, and yet
appear to be a sin-hating God.
It is certain that the glory of one divine perfection cannot interfere
with that of another; as justice and mercy meet together in the work of
redemption, so justice and patience do not oppose each other, in any of
the divine dispensations. It is true, their demands seem to be various;
justice requires that the stroke should be immediately given; but
patience insists on a delay hereof, inasmuch as without this it does not
appear to be a divine perfection; if therefore patience be a divine
attribute, and its glory as necessary to be displayed, as that of any of
his other perfections, it must be glorified in this world, and that by
delaying the present exercise of vindictive justice in the highest
degree, or it cannot be glorified at all: justice will be glorified,
throughout all the ages of eternity, in those who are the objects
thereof; but patience can then have no glory, since (as has been
observed) the greatest degree, either of happiness or misery, is
inconsistent with the exercise thereof; therefore this being a
perfection, which redounds so much to the divine honour, we must not
suppose that there is no expedient for its being glorified, or that the
glory of vindictive justice is inconsistent with it.
Now this harmony of these two perfections must be a little considered.
Justice, it is true, obliges God to punish sin, yet it does not oblige
him to do it immediately; but the time, as well as the way, is to be
resolved into his sovereign will. In order to make this appear, let us
consider, that the design of vindictive justice, in all the punishment
it inflicts, is either to secure the glory of the holiness of God; or to
assert his rights, as the governor of the world; now if the deferring of
punishment doth not interfere with either of these, then the glory of
God’s patience is not inconsistent with that of his vindictive justice.
But more particularly,
_First_, The glory of his holiness is, notwithstanding this,
sufficiently secured; for though he delays to punish sin, in the highest
degree, yet, at the same time, he appears to hate it, by the
threatenings which he hath denounced against sinners, which shall
certainly have their accomplishment, if he says, that _he is angry with
the wicked every day_, and that _his soul hateth them_, is there any
reason to suppose the contrary? or if he has threatened that _he will
rain upon them snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest_,
which shall be the _portion of their cup_, and that because, as _the
righteous Lord, he loveth righteousness_, Psal. vii. 11. and xi. 6, 7.
is not this a sufficient security, for the glory of his holiness, to
fence against any thing that might be alleged to detract from it? If
threatened judgments be not sufficient, for the present, to evince the
glory of this divine perfection; then it will follow, on the other hand,
that the promises he has made of blessings not yet bestowed, are to be
as little regarded for the encouraging our hope, and securing the glory
of his other perfections; and then his holiness would be as much
blemished in delaying to reward, as it can be supposed to be in delaying
to punish.
If therefore the truth of God, which will certainly accomplish his
threatenings, be a present security for the glory of his holiness, it is
not absolutely necessary that vindictive justice should be immediately
exercised in the destruction of sinners, and so exclude the exercise of
God’s forbearance and long-suffering.
And to this it may be added, that there are many terrible displays of
God’s vindictive justice in his present dealing with sinners; as it is
said, _The Lord is known by the judgments which he executes_, as well as
by those he designs to pour forth on his enemies; the wicked are now
_snared in the work of their own hands_, but in the end they shall be
_turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God_, Psal. ix. 16,
17. If vindictive justice takes occasion to inflict many temporal and
spiritual judgments upon sinners in this world, then the glory of God’s
holiness is illustrated at the same time that his patience is prolonged.
This may be observed in God’s dealing with his murmuring and rebellious
people in the wilderness which gave him occasion to take notice of the
abuse of his patience, and to say, Numb. xiv. 11, 18-21. _How long will
this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for
all the signs which I have shewed among them?_ Upon this, justice is
ready to strike the fatal blow; _I will_, says God, _smite them with the
pestilence, and disinherit them_; which gives Moses occasion to
intercede for them, and plead the glory of God’s patience, _The Lord is
long-suffering, and of great mercy; Pardon_, says he, _I beseech thee,
the iniquity of this people, as thou hast forgiven them from Egypt, even
until now_; by which he means, as I humbly conceive, spare thy people,
as thou hast often done, when, by reason of their provocations, thou
mightest justly have destroyed them; and God answers him in the
following words, _I have pardoned, according to thy word_; but he adds,
_As truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the
Lord_, that is, with the report of the glory of his vindictive justice,
which should be spread far and near; and then he threatens them that
they should not see the land of Canaan, _viz._ those who murmured
against him; so that vindictive justice had its demands fulfilled in one
respect, while patience was glorified in the other; on which occasion
the Psalmist says, Psal. xcix. 8. _Thou answeredst them, O Lord_,
namely, Moses’s prayer for them, but now mentioned, _Thou wast a God
that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions._
_Secondly_, Consider the vindictive justice of God, as tending to secure
his rights, as the governor of the world, and being ready to take
vengeance for sin, which attempts to control his sovereign authority,
and disturb the order of his government: now the stroke of justice may
be suspended for a time, that it may make way for the exercise of
patience, provided there be no just occasion given hereby for men to
trample on the sovereignty of God, despise his authority, or rebel
against him, without fear: but these consequences will not necessarily
result from his extending forbearance to sinners; for we do not find
that the delaying to inflict punishment among men is any prejudice to
their government, therefore why should we suppose that the divine
government should suffer any injury thereby; when a prince, for some
reasons of state, puts off the trial of a malefactor for a time, to the
end that the indictment may be more fully proved, and the equity of his
proceedings more evidently appear, this is always reckoned a greater
excellency in his administration, than if he should proceed too hastily
therein; and we never find that it tends to embolden the criminal to
that degree as impunity would do; for he is punished, in part, by the
loss of his liberty, and if he be convicted, then he loses the privilege
of an innocent subject; his life is forfeited, and he is in daily
expectation of having it taken away. If such a method as this tends to
secure the rights of a government, when a prince thinks fit to allow a
reprieve to some for a time; may not God stop the immediate proceedings
of vindictive justice for a time, without the least infringement made,
either on his holiness, or his rectoral justice? Which leads us to
consider,
(5.) How the patience of God is to be improved by us; and,
_1st_, Since it is a divine perfection, and there is a revenue of glory
due to God for the display thereof, this should put us upon the exercise
of those graces, which it engages us to. Some of the divine attributes
tend to excite our fear, but this should draw forth our admiration and
praise: and we have more reason to adore and admire the divine
forbearance, when we consider,
_First_, How justly he might destroy us. The best man on earth may say,
with the Psalmist, _If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O lord, who
shall stand?_ Psal. cxxx. 3. He need not watch for occasions, or
diligently search out some of the inadvertencies of life, to find matter
for our conviction and condemnation, since the multitude and heinous
aggravation of our sins, proclaim our desert of punishment, which might
provoke, and immediately draw down, his vengeance upon us; and that
which farther enhances our guilt is, that we provoke him, though laid
under the highest obligations to the contrary.