The Patience Of God # 1

 The Patience Of God # 1

Far less has been written upon this attribute, than the other excellencies of the divine character. Not a few of those who have expatiated at length upon the divine attributes have passed over the patience of God without any comment. It is not easy to suggest a reason for this, for surely the patience of God is as much one of the divine perfections as is His wisdom, power, or holiness, and as much to be admired and revered by us.

True, the actual term will not be found in a concordance as frequently as the others, but the glory of this grace itself shine forth on almost every page of Scripture. Certain it is that we lose much if we do not frequently meditate upon the patience of God and earnestly pray that our hearts and ways may be more completely conformed thereto.

Most probably the principal reason why so many writers have failed to give us anything, separately, upon the patience of God was because of the difficulty of distinguishing this attribute from the divine goodness and mercy, particularly the latter. God's patience is mentioned in conjunction with His grace and mercy again and again, as may be seen by consulting Exodus 34:6, Numbers 14:18, Psalm 86:15, etc. That the patience of God is really a display of His mercy, that it is indeed one way in which it is frequently manifested, cannot be denied. But that patience and mercy are one and the same excellency, and are not to be separated, we cannot concede. It may not be easy to discriminate between them, nevertheless, Scripture fully warrants us in affirming some things about the one which we cannot about the other.

Stephen Charnock, the Puritan, defines God's patience, in part, thus: "It is part of the divine goodness and mercy, yet differs from both. God being the greatest goodness, has the greatest mildness; mildness is always the companion of true goodness, and the greater the goodness, the greater the mildness. Who so holy as Christ, and who so meek? God's slowness to anger is a branch... from His mercy: "The Lord is full of compassion, slow to anger" (Psalm 145:8). It differs from mercy in the formal consideration of the object - mercy respects the creature as miserable, patience respects the creature as criminal; mercy pities him in his misery, and patience bears with the sin which engendered the misery, and is giving birth to more."

Personally, we would define the divine patience as that power of control which God exercises over Himself, causing Him to bear with the wicked and forbear so long in punishing them. In Nahum 1:3 we read, "The Lord is slow to anger and great in power," upon which Mr Charnock said: "Men that are great in the world are quick to anger, and are not so ready to forgive an injury, or bear with an offender, as one of a lower rank. It is a lack of powr over that man's self that makes him do unfitting things upon a provocation. A prince that can bridle his passions, is a king over himself as well as over his subjects. God is slow to anger because He is great in power. He has no less power over Himself, than over His creatures."

It is at the above point, we think, that God's patience is most clearly distinguished from His mercy. Though the creature is benefitted thereby, the patience of God chiefly respects Himself, a restraint placed upon His acts by His will; whereas His mercy terminates wholly upon the creature. The patience of God is that excellency which causes Him to sustain great injuries without immediately avenging Himself. He has a power of patience as well as a power of justice. Thus the Hebrew word for the divine patience or longsuffering is rendered "slow to anger" in Nehemiah 9:17, Psalm 103:8, etc. Not that there are any passions in the divine nature, but that God's wisdom and will is pleased to act with that stateliness and sobriety which is befitting His exalted majesty.

In support of our definition above let us point out that it was to this excellency in the divine character that Moses appealed, when Israel sinned so grievously at Kadesh-Barnea, and there provoked Jehovah so sorely. Unto His servant the Lord said, "I will smite them with the pestilence and disinherit them." Then it was that the mediator Moses, as a type of the Christ to come, pleaded, "I beseech You, let the power of my Lord be great, according as You have spoken saying the Lord is patient" (Numbers 14:17). Thus, His patience is His power of self-restraint.

Again, in Romans 9:22 we read, "What if God, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much patience the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." Were God to immediately break these reprobate vessels into pieces, His power of self-control would not so eminently appear, by bearing with their wickedness and forbearing punishment so long, the power of His patience is gloriously demonstrated. True, the wicked interpret His patience quite differently. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:11) - but the anointed eye adores what they abuse.

"The God of patience" is one of the divine titles. Deity is thus denominated, first, because God is both the Author and Object of the grace of patience in the saint.

Secondly, because this is what He is in Himself: patience is one of His perfections.

~A. W. Pink~

(continued with # 2)