.722 The Patience of God. Vol.!. i mine the length of his Patience ; and when his Patience is to no purpófe, when there is no hopes of our amendment, his Wifdom will then put a period to it ;, then the Patience of his Mercy will determine.. How often would I havegathered you, and you would not i therefore your hoofe is left unto you defolate. And the Patience of 'God's Judgments will then determine. Whyfhould they be (mitten any more they will revolt more and more. Yea, Patience it felf, after a long and fruitlefs ex- pe&ation, will expire. ASinner may continue fo long impenitent,' till the Pati- ence of God, as I may fay, grows impatient, and then our ruin will make hafte, . and deftrur;}ionwill come upon no in a moment. If Men will not come to repen- tance, the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, as it follows in the next Vetfe after the Text ; the Judgment ofGod will fuddenly furprizethofe whowill not be gained by his Patience. 3. Confider that nothing will more haften and aggravate our ruin, than the abufe of God's Patience. Ail this time of God's Patience, his Wrath is coming towards us ; and the more we prefume upon ir, the fooner it will overtake us; Luke la. 45,46. The wickedfervant, whoPaid his Lord delayed has coming, and fell to rioting and drunkenneß; our Saviour tells us, That the Lord of thatfervant will come in a day when he looks not for him. And it will aggravate our ruin ; the longer punifhment is a coming, the heavier it will be ; thole things which are long in preparation, are terrible in execution ; the weight of God's wrath will make amends for the flownefs of it, and the de., lay of) udgment will be fully recompenced in the dreadfulnefs of it when itcomes. Let all thofe confider this who go on in their fin, and are dead to the voice of God's Patience, which calls upon them every moment of their lives. There is a day ofVengeance a coming upon thofe who trifle away this day ofGod's Patience; nothing will fooner and more inflame the wrathand difpleafure of God againft us, than this abufed Patience, and the defpifed riches of his Goodnefs. As Oyl, tho' it.be foft and fmooth, yet when it is once inflamed, burns molt fiercely ; fo the Patience of God, when it is abufed, turns into Fury, and his mildeft Attributes into the greateft Severities. And ifthe Patienceof God do not bring us to repentance, it will but prepare us fora more intolerable ruin. After God hath kept a long indignation in his Breaft, h will at length break forth with the greater violence. The Patience of God increafeth his Judgments by an incredible kind of proportion Levit. a.b. 18. And ifyou will(till (lays God to the People of Ifrael) walk contrary to me ; and ifye will not be reformedby all thefe things, Iwill punifh youyetleven times more. And v. 1,7. Iwill bringfovea times more plagues uponyou, according toyour fins. At firft God's yuJlice accufeth Sinners ; but after a long time of Patience, his Mercy comes in againft us, and inftead of flaying his hand, adds weight to his blows; Rom.9. aa. What ifGodwilling toPhew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured withmuch longfuffering the vef els,of wrathfittedfor defiruilion i They upon whom the Pati- ence of God hath nogood effea, are vefJ'els of wrath, prepared andfittedfor de_ flruiion. If ever God difplayhis wrath, and make his anger known, he will do it in the moil fevere manner upon thofe who have defpifed and abufed his Pati- ence; for thefe, in a more peculiar manner, do treafure up for themfelves wrath againfl the day ofwrath, and the revelation ofthe righteous judgment of God. To conclude, Let us all take a review of our lives, and confider how long the Patience ofGod hath waited upon us, and born with us; with Come twenty, forty, perhaps fixty Years, and longer. Do we not remember how God fpared us in fuch a danger, whenwe gave our fe ves for loft? and how he recovered us in fuch a ficknels, when the Phyfician gave us up for gone ? And what the. have we made ofthisPatience and long - fuffering ofGod towards us ? It is the worft temper in the world, not to be melted by kindnefs, not tobe obliged by benefits, not to be ta- med by gentle silage. He that is not wrought upon, neither by the patience of his Mercy, nor by the patience of hisJudgments, his cafe is defperate and pall remedy. Confider this allye that forget God, left his Patience turn into fury ; forGod is nothlack, as fome men count flackneld; but longfuffering to limners, not willing that any fhouldpe -. rifh, but that all/houldcome to repentance. $ E R-
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