忍耐之恩是什么What the Grace of Patience Is

SECTION II: What is Patience & How is it Wrought I HAVE three general heads to treat of:—

I. What patience is.

II. How patience is wrought.

III. What it is for patience to have a perfect work.

1ST GENERAL HEAD

What the grace of patience is

Take it at large,—that is, in the full comprehension of it,—it is a constant persisting, whether to do the will of God without fainting, or to suffer the will of God with submission, and quietness, and cheerfulness, to the end of a man's days. And thus taken, it respects doing as well as suffering. The good ground is said to bring forth its fruit, all its fruit, with patience, in the parable of the sower. It respects—

First, Doing the will of God: Rom. 2:7, 'To them who by patient continuance in well-doing'—the Greek is, 'the patience of a good work'—'seek for glory and honour,' &c.

And the reason why patience is required to every good work is because there is a difficulty that accompanies every duty; and to the putting forth of every grace, that we need have patience to perform the duty constantly, and to continue in the practice of that grace. There is a difficulty, not only from our own corruption, unto which the commands of God are grievous, but from the circumstances of times, places, persons we live in and amongst, though they should not persecute; as not to 'run into the same excess of riot,' to speak or do what we know doth not please the company we are in. Thus, to be chaste in Sodom was to Lot a trial: to condemn the world by a different carriage, as in being stricter than others on the Lord's day, or in family duties, &c., to cross the stream: to be singular, Matt. 5:47, and the like. Heb. 12:12, 'Lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees:' wherein I observe that in doing good in any kind, we are not only lame creatures, and walk as those that halt, which breeds an awkwardness unto any duty; but further, we are apt by reason thereof to turn out of the way, as there, if rugged. The members we should walk withal are feeble; our hands we should act with are hanging down; and so the performance hath a difficulty. To go up the hill of good duties (though private and personal) without weariness, to keep straight paths, not to

pick and choose our way, and not to baulk the way or work which God finds us to do, Eccles. 9:10; especially not to faint towards the end, when we come to the brow of the hill; these all have a wearisomeness in them. Now, that which principally heartens and strengthens us to all this is patience, as in ver. 1 he had prefaced, 'Let us run with patience the race that is set before us;' we need patience for every step of it, in doing as well as in suffering. And in the verse immediately before that exhortation now opened, (it is ver. 11,) the Apostle puts and devolves an even and quiet walking upon patience, obtained first by suffering, in these words, 'Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.' So as a quiet, resolute, and strong performance of all the duties of righteousness is from patience, and is much the fruit of that patience we get by chastisements. The suffering life helps and contributes much to the active life; for as there is a patience required in doing God's will, so suffering his will fits the heart for it.

But this of patience in well-doing is not, in strict sense, that patience which is here in my text to be understood.

Patience is therefore, secondly, the suffering the will of God in any kind. And this doth patience eminently respect. And that is the renowned patience which we almost everywhere meet with, and which the text calls for; such as when sudden and unexpected trials and tentations, which they fall into, fall out, as ver. 2. And so is not meant of the difficulties that accompany our ordinary constant way of personal walking, in performing the duties of our holy profession.

Obj.—But you will say, My sufferings are not for the gospel, as theirs here intended were, but they are mere providential accidents that have fallen upon me, out of common providence, and but such as befall wicked men. They are not from outward persecution, for Christ's sake or my profession, but from God's hand.

Ans.—I shall answer this, here, once for all.

1. The words of this very text may somewhat relieve us herein; for it is

'tentations' at large that are spoken of, and tentations arising from sudden downfalls into miseries, and so of any kind. He doth not altogether restrain it to temptations by persecution, though they are mainly intended, but it may, and ought to be, extended to other providential occurrences; and the word ὑπομονὴ, used for patience, signifieth a remaining under any pressures unbroken and whole, be they of what kind soever. It respects, indeed, afflictions mainly for the gospel, yet not exclusively to afflictions in common.

2. In the prosecution of this argument, the Apostle doth manifestly carry in his eye other tentations or sufferings than from persecution, as appears from the examples he allegeth to press them to this patience. For among others, and above all others, he brings the instance of Job and his, by name only, as well as of the prophets in general, whom, Christ says, they persecuted, Matt. 5:12. Thus, chap. 5:11, 'Ye have heard of the patience of Job.' His alleging the prophets is but a general: ver. 10, 'Take the prophets'—not naming any—'for an example of suffering and of patience.' But that of Job singularly, and by name. Now, surely he would not cite his most eminent example, to confirm his exhortation to this patience he intended, of one whose case did not come within the compass and dint of his exhortation. Let us, therefore, have recourse to Job's case and story. His losses were but providential from God. The Sabeans and Chaldeans plundered him of his goods, and slew his servants. And 'the fire of God,' or from God, 'is fallen from heaven,' so his messengers tell him, chap. 1:16. It is true it was the devil, out of spite, that moved them that did it; but they did it, not in a way of persecution, but as common enemies, as when the clans of one country break in upon another. But it was God and the devil agreed it together; yea, and it was God gave first occasion to the devil to move him to have leave to do it. So as that was not for the gospel's sake in way of persecution. Nor did Job at all know of that transaction between God and Satan, not all that while his patience was in the exercise of it, but took all as the hand of God, though extraordinary.

If you now ask a description of patience, as it thus respects suffering the will of God, we must give it as it is in the word of God in the height, for that is the rule itself that directs to it, and not lown it to what is found in our hearts. And yet that which afterwards follows, and will confirm every

tittle of it, is drawn mostly from examples of the saints, either in the Old or New Testaments, which shew that it is attainable, though with allowance to defects, which accompany all graces in this life.