A Godly Man Is a Patient Man

16. A godly man is a patient man,¹ Iam. 5. 11. Ye have heard of the patience of Iob. Patience is a star which shines in a dark night: There is a twofold patience.

17. Patience in waiting.

18. Patience in bearing.

19. Patience in waiting: A godly man, if he hath not his desire presently, he will wait till the mercy be ripe, Psa. 130. 6. My soul waiteth for the Lord. Good reason God should have the Timing of our mercies, Isa. 60. 22. I the Lord will hasten it in his time. Deliverance may tarry beyond our time, but it will not tarry beyond Gods time.

Why should not we wait patiently upon God. 1. We are servants; it becomes servants to be in a waiting posture. 2. We wait upon every thing else; we wait upon the fire till it burns; we wait upon the seed till it grows, Iam. 5. 7. Why cannot we wait upon God? 3. God hath waited upon (Isa. 30. 18) us: Did not he wait for our repentance? How often did he come year after year before he found fruit? Did God wait upon us, and cannot we wait upon him? A godly man is content to stay Gods leisure, though the Vision tarry, he will wait for (Hab. 2. 3·) it.

2. Patience in bearing: This patience is twofold. 1. Either in regard of man; when we bear injuries without revenging. Or 2. In regard of God; when we bear his hand without repining: A good man will not only do Gods will, but bear his will, Mica. 7. 9. I will bear the indignation of the Lord. This patient bearing of Gods will is not

3. A Stoical Apathy: Patience is not insensibleness under Gods hand; we ought to be sensible.

4. It is not patience upon force; to bear a thing because we cannot help it; which (as Erasmus saith) is rather necessity than patience. But, patience is a cheerful submission of our will to God, Act. 21. 4. The will of the Lord be done. A godly man doth acquiesce in what God doth, as being not only good, but best for him: The great quarrel between God and us is, whose will shall stand: Now the Regenerate will, falls in with the will of God: […]here are four things opposite to this patient […]ame of soul.

5. Disquiet of spirit: When the soul is discomposed, and pulled off the hinges, insomuch that it is unfit for holy duties; when the strings of a Lute are snarled, the Lute is not fit to make Musick; so when a Christians spirit is perplexed and disturbed, he cannot make melody in his heart to the Lord.

6. Discontent; which is a sullen dogged humour: When a man is not angry at his sins, but at his condition, this is different from patience: Discontent is the daughter of pride.

7. Prejudice, which is a dislike of God and his ways, and a falling off from Religion: Sinners have hard thoughts of God, and if he doth but touch them in a tender part, they will presently be gone from him, and throw off his Livery.

8. Self-vindication, when instead of being humbled under Gods hand, a man justifies himself, as if he had not deserved what he suffers: A proud sinner stands upon his own defence, and is ready to accuse God of unrighteousness, which is as if we should tax the Sun with darkness; this is far from patience: A godly man subscribes to Gods wisdome, and submits to his will; he saith not only good is the Word of the Lord, Isa. 3[…]8. but good is the Rod of the Lord.

Use. (Vse) As we would demonstrate our selves godly, let us be eminent in this grace of patience, Eccles. 7. 8. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit: There are some Graces which we shall have no need of in heaven; we shall have no need of Faith when we have full Vision, nor patience when we have perfect joy; but in a dark sorrowful night, there is need of these stars to (Heb. 10. 36) shine: Let us show our patience in bearing Gods will; patience in bearing Gods will is two-fold.

1. When God removes any comfort from us.

2. When God imposeth any evil upon us.

3. We must be patient when God removes any comfort from us: Doth God take away any of our Relations? Ezek. 24. 16. I will take away the desire of thine eyes with a stroak; yet it is our duty patiently to acquiesce in the Will of God: The loss of a dear Relation, is like the pulling away a Limb from the²body. —Homo toties moritur, quoties amittit suos.—

But grace will make our hearts calm and sedate, and work us to an holy patience under such a severe dispensation. I shall lay down eight considerations, which may be as spiritual Physick to kill the worm of impatience under the loss of Relations.

1. The Lord never takes away any comfort from his people, but he gives them that which is better: The Disciples parted with Christs corporal presence, and he sent them the Holy Ghost: God eclipseth one joy, and augments another, he doth but make an exchange, he takes away a Flower, and gives a Diamond.

2. Godly friends dying are in a better condition, they are taken away from the evil to come, Isa. 57. 1. They are out of the storm, and are gotten to the Haven, Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, Rev. 14. 13. The godly have a portion promised them upon their marriage with Christ, but the portion is not paid till the day of their death: The Saints at death are preferred to Communion with God, they have that they so long hoped for, and prayed for; why then should we be impatient at our friends preferment?

3. Thou that art a Saint, hast a friend in heaven which thou canst not lose: The Jews have a saying at their³ Funerals, Let thy consolation be in heaven. Art thou a close Mourner, look up to heaven, and fetch comfort thence, thy best kindred are above, Psa 27. 10, When my Father and Mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up: God will be with thee in the hour of death, Psa. 23. 4. Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me. Other friends thou canst not keep, God is a friend thou canst not lose; he will be thy Guide in life, thy Hope in death, thy Reward after death.

4 Perhaps God is correcting thee for a fault, and it so, it becomes thee to bee patient; it may bee thy friend had more of thy love than God, and therefore God did take away such a relation, that the stream of thy love may run bak to him again. A gracious woman having been deprived, first of her Children, then of her Husband, Lord (saith she) thou hast a plot upon me, thou intendest to have all my love; God doth not like it, to have any Creature set upon the throne of our affections, hee will take away that comfort, and then he shall lye nearest our heart. If an Husband bestow a jewel upon his Wife, and she doth so fall in love with that jewel, as to forget her Husband, hee will take away the jewel, that her love may return to him again; a dear relation is this jewel, if we begin to idolize it, God will take away the jewell, that our love may return to him again.

5 A Godly Relation is parted with, but not lost, that is lost, which wee are out of hope ever of seeing again; religious friends are but gone a little⁴ before. A time will shortly come, when there shall bee a meeting without parting, 1 Thes. 5. 10. How glad is one friend to see another, that hath been long absent? Oh what glorious acclamations shall there bee, when old relations shall meet together in heaven, and be in each others embraces? when a great prince lands at the shore, the guns go off, in token of joy; when godly friends shall be all landed at the heavenly shore, and shall congratulate one anothers felicity, what stupendious joy will there be? what musick in the quire of Angels? how will heaven ring of their praises? and that which is the crown of all, they who were here joyned in the flesh, shall bee joyned nearer than ever in the mystical body, and shall lye together in Christs (1 Thes. 4. 17) bosome, that bed of perfume.

6 Wee have deserved worse at Gods hands; hath hee taken away a childe, a wife, a parent? hee might have taken away his spirit; hath he deprived us of a relation? he might have deprived us of salvation; doth he put wormwood in the cup? we have deserved poyson, Ezra. 9. 13. Thou hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve; wee have a sea of sin, and but a drop of suffering.

7 The patient soul doth most sweetly enjoy it self; an impatient man is like a troubled sea, that cannot rest; he tortures himself upon the wrack of his own griefs and passions, whereas patience calms the heart, as Christ did the sea, when it was rough, and now there is a sabbath in the heart, yea, an heaven, Luk. 21. 19. In your patience possess yee your souls: By faith a man possesseth God, and by patience hee possesseth himself.

8 How patient have many of the Saints been, when the Lord hath broken the very staff of their comfort, in bereaving them of Relations; The Lord took away Iobs children, and he was so far from murmuring, that he falls a blessing, Iob 1. 21. The Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. God fore-told the death of Elies sons, 1 Sam. 2. 34. In one day they shall dye both of them; but how patiently did he take this sad news, 1 Sam. 3. 18. It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good: See the difference between Eli and Pharoah, Pharoah saith, who is the (Exod 5. 2) Lord? Eli saith, it is the Lord: When God struck two of Aarons sons dead, Lev. 10. […] Aaron held his peace; patience opens the ear, but shuts the mouth, it opens the ear to hear the Rod, but shuts the mouth that it hath not a word to say against God, Behold here the patterns of patience; and shall not wee write after their fair Copies? these are heart-quieting considerations, when God sets a deaths-head upon our comforts, and removes dear relations from us.

2 We must be patient, when God inflicts any evil upon us, Rom. 12. 12. Patient in Tribulation.

1 The Lord sometimes laies heavy affliction upon his people, Psal. 38. 2. Thy hand lies sore upon me. The Hebrew word for⁵ afflicted, signifies to bee melted; God seems to melt his people in a furnace.

2 God doth sometimes lay divers afflictions on the Saints, Iob 19. 17. Hee multiplieth my wounds: as wee have divers waies of sinning, so the Lord hath divers waies of afflicting; some hee melts away their estates, others hee chains to a sick bed, others hee confines to a Prison; God hath various arrows in his quiver, which he shoots.

3 Sometimes God lets the affliction lye long, Psal. 74. 9. There is no more any Prophet, neither is there among us any that knoweth how long: As it is with diseases, there are some Chronical, that linger and hang about the body several years together, so it is with afflictions, the Lord is pleased to exercise many of his precious ones with Chronical afflictions, such as lye upon them a long time; now in all these cases, it becomes the Saints, patiently to rest in the will of God; the Greek word for⁶ patient, is a metaphor, alludes to one who stands invincibly under a burden. This is the right notion of patience, when we bear affliction invincibly without fainting, or fretting.

The trial of a Pilot is seen in a storm; so is the tryal of a Christian seen in affliction; hee hath the right art of navigation, who when the boistrous winds blow from heaven, doth steer the ship of his soul wisely, and not dash upon the […]rock of impatience; a Christian should alwaies keep a decorum, not behaving himself unseemly, or disguising himself with intemperate passion, when the hand of God lies upon him. Patience adorns suffering; affliction in Scripture is compared to a net, Psa. 66. 11. Thou broughtest us into the net. Such as have escaped the Devils net, yet the Lord suffers them to bee taken in the net of affliction, but they must not be as a wild Bull in a net, Isa. 51. 20. to kick and fling against their maker, but lye patiently till God break the net, and makes away for their escape. I shall propound four cogent Arguments, to excite patience under those evils which God inflicts on us.

Argu 1. 1 Afflictions are […], for our benefit. Heb. 12. 9. Hee for our profit, wee pray that God would take such a course with us as may do our souls Good, when God is afflicting us, hee is hearing our prayers, he doth it· for our⁷ profit: not that afflictions in themselves do profit us, but as Gods Spirit works with them· For as the waters of Bethesda could not give health of themselves, unless the Angel descended and stirred the water, Iohn 5. 4. So the waters of affliction are not in themselves healing till Gods Spirit co-operates and sanctifies them to us: Afflictions are many ways⁸ profitable.

1. They make men sober and wise: Physitians appoint distracted persons to be bound in Chains, and to be dieted, and have hard fare to bring them to the use of reason: Many run stark mad in prosperity, they neither know God nor themselves; the Lord therefore binds them with cords of affliction, that he may bring them to their right (Chrysost) understandings, Iob 36. 8. If they be held in cords of affliction, then he shews them their transgression, he openeth also their ear to discipline.

2 Afflictions are a friend to grace.

1 They beget grace; Beza acknowledged God laid the foundation of his Conversion in a violent sickness at Paris.

2 They augment grace, the people of God are beholding to their troubles, they had never had so much grace, if they had not met with such sore trials; now, the waters run, and the spices flow forth. The Saints thrive by affliction, as the Lacedemonians grew rich by war; God makes grace flourish most in the fall of the leaf.

Argu 2. 3 Afflictions quicken our pace in the way to heaven; it is with us, as with children sent on an errand, if they meet with Apples or Flowers by the way, they linger and make no great haste home, but if any thing fright them, then they run with all the speed they can to their fathers house; so in prosperity, we are gathering the Apples and Flowers, and do not much minde heaven, but if troubles begin to arise, and the times grow frightful, then we make more haste to heaven, and with David; run the way of Gods commandements. Psa. 119. 32.

2 God intermixeth mercy with affliction, hee steeps his-sword of justice in the oyl of⁹mercy, there was no night so dark, but Israel had a Pillar of fire in it; there is no condition so dismal, but we may see a Pillar of fire to give light, if the body be in pain, conscience is in peace, there is mercy; affliction is for the prevention of sin, there is mercy: In the Ark there was a rod and a pot of Manna, the Emblem of a Christians condition, mercy interlined with (Psa. 101. 1) judgement, here is the rod and Manna.

3 Patience evidenceth much of God in the heart;¹⁰ patience is one of Gods titles; Rom. 15. 5. The God of patience; thou that hast thy heart cast into this blessed mould, it is a sign God hath imparted much of his own nature to thee, thou shinest with some of his beams.

Impatience evidenceth much unsoundness of heart; as it is in the body, if the body bee of that temper, that every little scratch of a pin makes the flesh to rancle, you will say, sure this mans flesh is very unsound; so for every petty cross to flye out in impatience, and quarrel with providence, it is the sign of a distempered Christian; if there be any grace in such an heart, they must have good eyes that can see it; but he who is of a patient spirit, is a graduate in Religion, and doth much participate of the divine nature.

4 The end of affliction is glorious;¹¹ the Iews were captive in Babylon, but what was the end? they departed out of Babylon with vessels of silver, with gold and precious things, Ezra. 1. 6. So, what is the end of affliction, it ends in endless glory, Acts 14. 22. 2 Cor. 4. 17. how may this rock our impatient hearts quiet: who would not willingly travel through a little dirty way, and ploughed lands, at the end whereof is a fair Meadow, and in that Meadow, a golden Mine?

Quest. How shall I get my heart tuned into a patient frame?

Answ. 1 Get faith; all our impatience proceeds from unbelief; faith is the breeder of patience, when a storm of passion begins to arise, faith saith to the heart, as Christ to the Sea, peace, be still, and there is presently a calm.

Quest. How doth faith work patience?

Answ. Faith argues the soul into patience; faith is like that Town-Clark in Ephesus, who allayed the contention of the multitude, and argued them soberly into peace, Act. 19. 35, 36. So when impatience begins to clamour and make an hubbub in the soul; faith appeaseth the tumult, and argues the soul into holy patience: Saith faith, Why art thou disquieted O my Soul? art thou afflicted? is it not thy Father hath done it? he is carving and pollishing thee, and making thee fit for glory, he smites that hee may save; what is thy tryal, is it sickness? God shakes the Tree of thy body, that some fruit may fall, even the peaceable fruit of righteousness, Heb. 12. 11. Art thou driven from thy habitation? God hath prepared for thee a City, Heb. 11. 16. Dost thou suffer reproach for Christs sake? a spirit of God and glory rest upon thee, 1 Pet. 4. 14. Thus faith argues and disputes the soul into patience.

2 Pray to God for patience, patience is a flower of Gods planting; pray that it may grow in your heart, and send forth its sweet perfume: Prayer is an holy charm, to charm down the evil spirit; prayer composeth the heart, and puts it in Tune, when impatience hath broken the strings, and put all into a confusion: Oh go to God, prayer delights Gods ear, it melts his heart, it opens his hand; God cannot deny a praying soul; seek to him with importunity, and either he will remove the affliction, or which is better, he will remove thy impatience.

Footnotes

1. 16 Character. ↩

2. Quae arden er diligimus habita graviter suspiraemus ablae[…]ae. ↩

3. Sit consolatio tua in caelis. ↩

4. Non sunt amissi sed pr[…]misse Cypr. ↩

5. […] ↩

6. […]. ↩

7. Domine hic ure, hic seca ut in aeternum parcas. Aug. ↩

8. Quod mundus noxium esse putat, exitum utilem parit. Calv. ↩

9. Vindictae gladium misericordiae oleosemper exacuit. ↩

10. 3 Argument. ↩

11. 4 Argument. ↩