Serm. XCV. The Patience of Gorl, 713 deferring and moderating of Temporal punifhment, but the adjourning of the Eternal Mifery of Sinners, is a principal Inftaoce of God's Patience ; fo that the Patience of God takes in all that (pace of Repentance which God affords toSin-. ners in this life ; nay, all Temporal Judgments and Afiûions which befall Sin- ners in this Life, and are fhort of cutting them offand turning them into Hell, are comprehended in the Patience of God. Whenever God punifheth, it is ofhis great mercy and patience that we are not confirmed, andbecaufe his compajions' fail not. I proceed to the II. Thing I propofed, which was to (hew, that Patience is a Perfection of the Divine Nature. It is not neceffarily due to us, but it is due to the Perfection of the Divine Nature, and effentially. belongs to it. It is a principal branch of God's Good- nefs, which is the higheft and moft glorious Perfe&ion of all other; and there- fore we always find it in Scripture, in the company of God's milder and fweeter Attributes. When God would give the moft perfect defcription of himfelf, and as he Pays to Mofes, .make all his glory topafs before us, he ufually does it by thofe Attributes which declare his Goodnefs ; and Patience is always one of them. Exod. 34. 6. The LordpajJed by before Mofes, and proclaimed, The Lord, theLord God, merciful andgracious, longfuffering, abundant ingoodnefs and truth. Pfal. 86. a f. But thou, O Lord, art a God fullof comps /ion, andgracious, long- fuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. Pfal. 503. 8. The Lord is merciful and gracious, flow to anger, andplenteous in mercy. And the fame you find, Pfal. 145. 8. 3onah 4. z. Ioti 3. 53. Sometimes indeed you find a feverer Attribute added to thefe, as that he will by no means clear the guilty, Ex. 34. 7. But'tis always put in the lati place, to de- clare to us, that God's Goodnefs, and Mercy, and Patience, are his firft and pri- mary Perfections; and it is only when thefe fail, and have no effefk upon us, but are abufed by us to the encouragement of our felves in an impenitent courfe, that his Juftice takes place. Nay, even among Men it is efleemed a Perfe&ion to be able to forbear andto reftrain our anger ; Paflion is impotency and folly, but Patience is Power and Wifdom ; Prov. 54. 2.9. He that is hafly offpirit exalteth folly ; but he that is flow to wrath, is of great underftanding. Prov. 16.3 z. He that is flow to wrath, is bet- ter than the mighty : and he that ruleth his fpirit, than he that conquereth a city. Rom. 12. zr. Be not overcome of Evil: but overcome Evil with good. To be im.' patient is to be overcome, but to forbear anger and revenge is vitlory. Patience is an argument of great powerand command of our felves, and therefore God him- felf, who is the moft powerful Being, is flowto anger, and of infinite Patience; and nothing doth more declare the Powerof God, than his Patience, that when he isprovoked by fuch vile and defpicable Creatures as we are, he can with-hold his hand from deftroying us. This is the argument which Mofes ufeth Numb. 14. 57, 18. that the Power of God doth fo eminently appear in his Patience ; And now, f pray thee, let the power of my Lord be great, as he bath fpoken, flying, the Lord is gracious and longfuffering. And yet Power where it is not reftrained by Wifdom and Goodnefs is a great temptation to anger ; becaufe where there is Power, there is fomething to back it and make it good. And therefore thePfal- doth recommend and fet off the Patience of God, from the confiderationof his Power ; Pfal. 7.11. God is fìrong and patient, God is provokedevery day ; God is flrong andthereforepatient ; or he is infinitely patient, notwithftandinghis Al- mighty Power to revenge the daily provocations of his Creatures. Among Men, anger and weaknefs commonly go together ; but theyate ill matched, as is excellently obferved by the Son of Sirach, Eccles. i o. 58. Pride was not made for man, nor furious anger for him that is born of a woman. So that anger and impatience is every where unreafonable ; where there is Power, impa- tience is below it, and a thing too mean for Omnipotency ; and where there wants Power, anger is above it ; it is too much for a weak and impotent Crea- ture to be angry. Where there is Power, Anger is needlefs and of no ufe ; and YYYY where_ a
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