Ito Chap.t4 Of Patience and its contraries. Com,i CHAP. XIV. OfPatience. How it arifes from love of God. The neceffity and excellencyof Patience. Afflttlions are either correEbions, or tryals. ReaEonsof Patience in both. Of counter- feit Patience in Hereticbs and others. Stupidity in true Patience. Cures thereof. Of fainting under theCrofs. Means of Patience. Signs of Patience. Of worbingPa- tience inothers. HE fecond principal fign or property of Love is Patience, and it might be corn- z Cor. 13. 4, prehended under obedience ; for they ufe tocall it, obedientiam cruet's. It is afruit of Love, cbaritaspatient eft, faith the Apoftle : for if it be aElive, itproduces obe- dience, if paffive Patience. The Heathenman bath a ftrange fpeechto this purpofe Nonnowquenquam, nifsoffeudat, I love no man, but he that offendsme; the reafon is becaufe bearing and forbearing is an argument of love, he that lovethwill hear much, If not, he loveth not. Qui deftnit fuftinere definiraware, faithSr. Auguftine, leaveof to rravk from-.7 forbear, and leave of to love : and St. Gregory, Patientia vera ipfa amat, gampertat, true Patience loves him who is aburden to him. In refpefl of our felves being natural, nothing canbe trulier faid, than durumpati, It goeth againft fiefh and blood to fuller ; and the objeft of Patience is evil. But the fpirituai mans glories in tribulation, knowing that tribulation worketh Patience : and Rom,5.3,w. why ? becaufe Patience worketh experience, and that hope. So that Patience never bearsevil propter fe, fed propter mugis bonum, for it fclf, but for a greater good. The evil we (offer by it will be recompenfed with the greater good. Labour is durum, a hard thing, and cafe good, but if abetter thing (as learning ) may beattained by the privationof that good, we will take pains and endure labour. So the fufferingof want, trouble, and the like, conducing toa greater good, puts a will into us to endure them. Ardor de, dereorum, faith St. Gregory, facie tolerantiam labarum, thecarneft- nefs of our deft'cs caufeth usto endure labour. This greater good is the glory of God; and that as we faid of obedience, bothdireflly by our felves, when weglorifie him, by our fufferings, and altoby others,who take occafion by our Patience in fuffering to glorify God. Though the Devil afflidedgob with fundry crofï'es,yet he continued firm and endured them patiently, andby his fervants patience was God glorifiedeven over Job z. the Devil : God triumphs over the Devil by the patience of lob. Seeft thou not, faith God,my fervant 7ob, that there is none like him in the earth, &c. Beams 7ob quovoces patientia in laudemDei precuffus rediddit, quali tot in adverfarii pefíore jaeula intorft, er acriora multa quamfuffinuit, inflixit, blefi'edSob by his often expreffions of Patience to the honourof God in his im shim, were many the fofome of his advefart', and infifdu hmore upon th n he endured him Heb, io. 36. The Author to the Hebrews tellsus, that we need this vertue, and our Saviour gives us the reafon. We cannot poffefs our Souls without ir. How?Thus;if any crofs befall us,either it is too great forus to bear,and fo wde fall into exceeding great world- . Cor.7. io, ly forrow, which worketh death, as it hapned with Achitophel, awife man : or elfe a Salo. t7.o3. without this gift of Patiencewe fet our felves againft that partie in paffron, that we conceive didoffer us the injury, and fo fall to hatred, and than to injurieus dealing, or if it be from Gods hand, to murmuring and impatient repining, and fo lofe your Souls. But if with patience we bear the afftiaions 5 f this life, and thereby overcome the Taft enemy with is death, t Corinthians i 16. then we are fure to fave our Souls. inconfederation whereof, as we faid, that in the Chriftian ftruäure faith was fundamentum the foundation of all vertues, foPatience is teitum the roof orcovering of all vermes to keep and defend them from the florins of afili lions; without which forms would beat, and rain would defcend into thebuilding anel rot it. And this may well be warranted by that of our Saviour in the Gofpe!, were Iakse4it he faith ( defcribing the fpirituai harveft ) that they brought forth fruit with Patience. The fruit is after the bud and bloffome, the fruit mull come through pr T. both. But more plainly in the Apoftle; that thereforePatience mutt have her perfect work, that we may be perfeft and want nothing, and the building be
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