Serrrl.:XCVrI. The Longfufferisag ofGod. 729 . From the Patience of God and the delay of puniihinent, Men are apt to , conclude, that God is not fo fevere in his Nature as he is commonly, reprefented. 'Tis true, he hath declared his difpleafure againft fin, and threatn'd it withdread- ful punifhments, which he may do, in great Wifdom, to keep the World in awe and order ; but great things are likewife fpoken of his Mercy, and of the won- derful delight he takes in the exercifeof his Mercy ; fo that notwithftanding all the threatnings which are denounced againft fin, it is to be hoped, that when Sentence cones to be paff, and fudgment to be executed, God will remember mercy in the midff of judgment, and that mercy will triumph overjudgment ; and that aS now his Patience flayshis hand, andturns away his wrath, fo at the laff, the mil- der Attributes of his Goodnefs and Mercy will interpofe and moderate the rigor and feverity of his Juftice ; and of this, his great Patience and Long-fuffering to- wards Sinners for the prefent, Teems to be tome kind of, pledge and earneft ; he that is fo flow to anger, and fo loth to execute punifhment, may probably bepre- vail'd upon by his own Pity and Goodnefs to remit it at the Taft ; and this is the more credible, becaufe it is granted on all hands, that no perfon is obliged to eX- ecute his threatnings, as he is to make good his promifes ; he that promifethpat- feth a right to another, but he that threatnethkeeps the right and power of do- ing what he pleafeth in his own hands. I !hall fpeak a little more fully to this, becaufe it is almoft incredible, how much Men bear up themfelves upon vain and groundlefs hopes of the boundlefs Mercy of God, and biefs themfelves in their hearts, faying, They /hall have peace, tho' they walk in the imaginationof their hearts, to adddrunkenneft to thirfi, that is, tho' they (till perfift in their vices, and add one degree of fin to another. Now for anfwer to this ; (z.) Let it be granted, that a bare threatningdoes got necetfarily infer the cer: tainty of the event, and that the thing threatned (hall infallibly come to pats; no perfon is obliged to perform his threatnings, as he is his Promifes ; the threat- nings of God declare what fin deferves, and what the Sinner may juftly expel if he continue impenitent and incorrigible. But then we are to take notice, that repentance is the only condition that is implyed in the threatnings of God, and will effelually hinder the execution of them, Ter. 0. 7, 8, y, io. At what je- fiant I fpeak (fays God) concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, topluck up, and to pull down, and to defray it ; If that nation again!? whom 1 havepronounced, turn from their evil, Iwill repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. Andat what inflant F(ball fpeak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and toplant it ; if it do evil in my fight, and obey not my voice, then will I repent of the good, wherewith Ifaid Iwould benefit them. Now if whenGod hath promifed to do good to a people, finwill hinder the blefïing promifed, and bring dówn Judg= ments upon them, much more when it is particularly threatned. But as to the cafe of final impenitency and unbelief, God, that he might ftrengthen his threatnings, hath added a fign of immutability to them, having, confirmed them with an Oath, I have (worn (faith the Lord) that they (hall not enter into my ref? ; which tho' it was fpoken to the unbelieving Yews, the Apoftle to the Hebrews applies it to final unbelief and impenitency under the Gofpel, of which the infidelity of the Ifraelites was aType and Figure. Now tho' God may remit of his threatnings ; yet his Oath is a plain declaration that he will not ; becaufe it lignifies the firm and immutable determination of his Will, and there- by puts an end to all doubts and controverfies concerning the fulfilling of his threats nin s.. ( 'L.) It is certainly much the wifeft and fafeft way, tobelieve the threatnings of God in the ftri6tnefs and rigor of them, unlefs there be fome tacit conditi- on evidently implyed in them ; becaufe if we do not believe them, and the thing prove otherwife, the confequence of our miftake is fatal and dreadful. 'Tis true indeed, that God by his threatnings did intend tokeep finners in awe, and to de- ter them from fin ; but if he had any where revealed, that he would not be ri- gorous in the execution of thefe threatnings, fuch a revelation wouldquite take off the edge and terror of them, and contradia the end and defign of them ; Aaaaa for
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