The Compleat Chri fiiarí: another Argument, and that is this A Chriftian cannot be perfe& without tha-, ,Without which he cannot keep that grace he bath. Look what ever grate is in the Soul, a man cannot keep it washout Patience. Bypatience pc/fefs yoe r Sour. The Soul which is the feat and Cubje& pf Grace, cannot it feif be kept without peel- Lakear.rq, ence, therefore neither can any Grace be kept in the Soul .without patience : Be- caute as the riches and treafures ina Caftle cannot be kept,when the Walls arebeaten down, fo thofc treafures of grace in the heart of man cannot be kept, when once patience, which is as thewall of the Sòul, that keeps it from the Battery of 'Fence. ticn,crom the Enemy that would heal them away while men fleep ; I fay,unlefs theft evalis,'thefefupportinggraces, fpecially this of patience be inche Soul, it cannot Rand incite, ' For indeed let impatience once into the Soil, and you let in all lin with it ; i m- patienceis a deftroying of all grace, a pulling down of the wall. Nay, what is lin indeed, but impatience in a relate ? What is pride, but the impatience of humili:y t What is Uticleannefs, but the impatience of Chaftity ? What is Deunisennefs, but the impatience of Sobriety? Every fin beginneth in impatience, when aman cannot bear with that abf pence, and forbearance as formerly, cannot keep chat ftriá courfe in his ways, but groweth inpatient againft the ruled God, he runneth into a courfe of fin prefently. ',So you' fee that for the very prefcrving the Soul, the fubje& of grace, and grace the creatureof theSoul, it is necelfary that we fhould have patience: And then again thirdly ; It will appear thus to you,that a Chriftian cannot be per_ Reef 3 feel withput patience; becaufe he cannot dó his work without patience; he cannot do the works ofReligion, thetask thatGod layes upon him without patience. Look in what meafurepatience isdefe&ive, in that meafure he halteth in his duty, in the very a &ions of Religion he goeth about. Take any one duty of Religion that you can name, fee whether aman can do that No duty can without patience. Suppofe it be Prayer; How can a man goon in the duty of prayer be rightlyPer- without patience? Sometimes God delayeth thegrant of a mans petition : Aman will formedwith- now fink andgive over indifeouragement p ifhe have not atience to fu PP No ort the Soul. our e tience. The Canaanitifh woman, when (he came toChrifl, and fpake onceto him, and hedid math. rs not anfwera word ; the had fo much patience as to make her flank the fecond time to him, then he anfwered her, but churlishly ; but yet her patience held her to the third tryal,at laft (hereceived her define : Had the not beenpatient togo onwith her requefl, the had loft her Petition, The Apoftle Paul in z Cor. s z. For this thing ( faith he) 2,Cuts. I befougbt the Lord thrice, Hewould have given over at thefirft feeking of the Lord, ifhe had not had patience CO uphold him tothefecond,and third petition,to the renew- ingof his fuit twice, nay thrice. Come from praying to hearing the Word preached ; how can a man hear theword Í Not hearing. profitably withoutpatience ? Therefore the good ground is faid to hear the word, And to bring-forthFruit withpatience : And it lathe commendation of theChurch of Phi- Luke S, is. ladelphia,Thost hag f,ept the word ofmfpatience. There in anecellì :y of patience, if Rev. i so. a mats will profit by theword. For firft, if a man will obey the word, he(hall Cure to have many fet againlihim in the world, he had need of patience then, or elfe he will leave the rule of the word, becaufeof thereproachesof the world. Again,, thereare many fecret Coreeptionstn his own -heart that will bemet with in the preaching of the word, which a man cannot abide to hear of, but he will be vexing and fretting, and difcontented at it (as we fee in Ahab and divers others ) unlefshe have patience to keep him from raging againft the Preacher, and preach- ing of the word. You have need of patience then (as the Apoftlefaith) that you may bear the Reproofs, and Exhortations of the word. Therefore faith the Apoftle fames, Receive with Patience the ingrafted wend, or receive with Meeknefs, the iii- Iieb.ro. ;s. graftedWord,rbas ie able tofaveyour Souls. Teere is no ingrafting the Word in the Iames r, ar. heart, except thofe forms of impatience, chofe hinderances of the growth of the Word be taken away. Hz But
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