Chapter XLIV.
Of Patience, Which Triumphantly Endures The Cross, And Waits For The Promised Glory.
Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.—Heb. 10:36.
True Christian patience is that virtue by which, in all afflictions that cannot, by ordinary means, be avoided, we resign ourselves to the divine will, and submit entirely to it; choosing rather to suffer the greatest evils, than murmur against God, or let go our dependence on him.
2. The first reason or ground of this virtue is, the counsel and gracious will of God, by which we are appointed to sufferings and afflictions; according to Rom. 8:29: “Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.” As, therefore, God appointed his own beloved Son to the sufferings of the cross, that thereby he might bring him to glory; so also has he appointed all the true members of Christ to bear the cross, without which they cannot be his body. Eph. 5:30. To each of these he has marked, measured, and, as it were, weighed out, his [pg 319] exact portion of affliction, which cannot be escaped, much less shaken off by impatience; but may be alleviated by obedience and humble submission, and overcome by the power of Jesus Christ.
3. The second reason why we ought to be patient is the approaching consummation of all things; at which time, as our blessed Lord has told us, “iniquity shall abound, and love shall wax cold.” Matt. 24:12. The consequence of this must be that sincere Christians will be exposed to various afflictions, crosses, injuries, and sundry kinds of death; for “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 2 Tim. 3:12. Christ assures us that the righteous must expect tribulations and persecutions for the testimony of a good conscience. John 15:20; 16:1. And the whole Revelation of St. John testifies that Antichrist shall persecute the Church of God till the last coming of the Lord; then the conflict will at last end, and the dragon and false prophets be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. Do not, therefore, deceive thyself with golden dreams of felicity, but possess thy soul in patience, and strengthen thyself against the approaching calamities.
4. Thirdly, the hope of the restitution of all things, and the expectation of everlasting happiness, is another argument to support our patience. For as “the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain” (James 5:7), comforting himself under all his toils with the hopes of a plentiful harvest, so should Christians also learn to “possess their souls in patience” (Luke 21:19), and to persuade themselves that the great and universal harvest of the long-expected day of the Lord shall repair all our losses, and give to every one of us the fruit of our labors. For as the husbandman by no means reckons his seed lost, though it is for a while buried in the earth, but only sows it there in hopes of a harvest, so when Providence is pleased to take from us our lives, our friends, our estates, or honor, we must not look upon them as lost, but be assured that they are sown in hope of the great day of harvest, when we shall reap abundantly, “if we faint not.” Gal. 6:9. So also afflictions are compared to seed-time: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Ps. 126:5, 6.
5. Fourthly, another support of patience is the coming of Jesus Christ; when all our sorrows shall be done away, yea, be turned into joy (John 16:20), and the just judgment of God shall fall upon our enemies; and then “shall every man have praise of God.” 1 Cor. 4:5. And this day is at hand: “the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” James 5:8. “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.” Rom. 12:19. The time of the cross is short, but the glory that follows it will be eternal. And that day of deliverance cannot be far off.
6. The fifth support of patience is the truth and faithfulness of God; by the consideration of which “we ought to stablish our hearts,” as St. James says, so that they may not waver. James 5:8. For as we tie a tender tree to a post, that it may not be broken by the winds; and as we cast anchor in a storm, to hold the ship, that it may not be driven by the tempest; [pg 320] so ought we to apply our faint and weak hearts to the firm pillar of God's word, and hold the ship of our souls by the anchor of hope, that it sink not. Heb. 6:19. For how many and great promises of divine assistance have we in the Holy Scriptures! How many instances of strange deliverances have we daily before our eyes! And what variety of methods has God to deliver us! How many has he preserved in pestilence and famine (2 Kings 6:25; 7:16), and delivered from the peril of the sword! 2 Chron. 20:22; 14:12. For God can turn the hearts of enemies to unity and peace, or disappoint the designs of the adversary, as appears in the history of the blessed Jesus: “for,” says the angel, “they are dead which sought the young child's life.” Matt. 2:20. God can also convert an adversary, as he did St. Paul. Acts 9: 3, etc. How often does he disappoint the bloody intentions of wicked men! Saul had a design upon the life of David, and thought he was so penned in that he could not escape; but God recalls him by the message of a new incursion of the Philistines into his country. 1 Sam. 23:27. And the chief priests having sent their officers to lay hold on the blessed Jesus, the latter were so affected by our Lord's discourses, that they could not find in their hearts to touch him. John 7:44. Sometimes God smites the enemies of his servants with blindness, as in the cases of Elisha (2 Kings 6:18) and of Lot. Gen. 19:11. Consider, too, the innumerable legions of angels that guarded the Christians of old time, and miraculously preserved them from imminent dangers, as in the case of St. Peter. Acts 5:19; 12:7-11. And how often was St. Paul wonderfully preserved, and the designs laid against his life discovered! Acts 23:16. At length, by a temporal death, God puts an end to the miseries of his servants.