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him. If Israel be not gathered, yet shall we be glorious in the eyes of the Lord. However, let this be a caution to you that hear, that you cast not our souls under such discouragements. If I may speak the sense of others from my own experience, I can assure you that the fixedness of your hearts in the ways of sin, and your untractableness to the calls of God, are a greater burden and discouragement to ministers than all the sufferings they meet with from the world; yet are they contented to pray and preach in hope, encouraging themselves the Lord grant it be not without ground-that a crop shall yet spring up, which shall make the harvest-men rejoice.

4. From the patience and long-suffering of Christ, we may learn the invaluable preciousness of souls, and the high esteem Christ has for them. Though your souls be cheap in your own eyes, and you are contented to sell them for a trifle, for a little sensual pleasure and ease, yet cer tainly Jesus Christ has a high estimate of them, else he would never stand knocking with such importunity, and waiting with such wonderful patience for their salvation. Christ knows their worth, though you do not; he accounts, and so should you, one of your souls of more worth than the whole world. Matt. 16:26. The soul of the poorest child or meanest servant is of greater value in Christ's eye, than the whole world; and he has given three great evidences of it.

(1.) That he thought it worth his blood to redeem and save it. "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold; but with the precious blood of Christ." 1 Pet. 1:18, 19. Had they not been precious in his eyes, he would never have shed his most precious blood to ransom them.

(2.) Were they not highly valuable in his eyes, he would never wait with such unwearied patience to save them. He has borne thousands of repulses and unreasonable denials

from you. Sinner, Christ has knocked at thy door in many a sermon, in many a prayer, in many a sickness—in all which thou hast denied him or delayed him; yet still he continues knocking and waiting. Thou couldst not have made the poorest beggar in the world wait at thy door so long as thy Redeemer has been made to wait, and yet he is not gone; at this day his voice sounds in thine ears, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Here is clear demonstration of the preciousness of thy soul in the Redeemer's eyes. And then,

(3.) When Christ ends the treaty, and gives up the souls of men for lost, with what sorrow does he part with them. Never did one friend part from another with such demonstrations of sorrow as Christ parts with the souls of sinners. The bowels of his compassion roll together; for he knows what is coming upon them, and what that eternal misery is into which their wilful rejection of him will cast them. You read of the Redeemer's tears shed over the obstinate inhabitants of Jerusalem: "And when he was come near, he beheld the city and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes." Luke 19:41, 42. Like unto this is that expression, Isa. 1:24,"Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies." Though it be an ease to his justice, yet he cannot give them up without an "Ah," an interjection of sorrow; so in Hos. 11: 8, "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel?" I must do it, but how shall I go about it? All these expressions show the great value God has for your souls; and did you know it also, you would not make Christ wait one hour longer.

5. Hence it follows, that greater is the sin, and severer will be the condemnation of them that perish under the gospel, than of all others. Let me speak freely to you of this. Jesus Christ has spent more of the riches of his

patience upon you in one year, yea, in this very day, than he has spent upon the heathen in all their lives. They never heard of Christ and the great salvation-they have had no calls to faith and repentance as you have had; do not think God has dealt in this way with other nations. You have his Sabbaths, ministers, calls; "He hath not dealt so with any nation; and as for his judgments, they have not known them." Psalm 147:20. God has dealt in a peculiar way with us, and these special favors will make dreadful accounts. He told the Jews, among whom he had preached and wrought his miracles, it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah, in the day of judgment, than for them; and in his name I will tell you this day, that barbarous Indians will have a milder hell than you. The Lord told Ezekiel, "Thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted." Ezek. 3:5-7.

Ah, had a heathen people had your Sabbaths, your ministers, and Bibles, they would not have dealt by Christ as you have done. But look you to it, for certainly the severity of his justice will at last recompense the expense of his patience. There are two glasses turned up this day, and both are almost run down the glass of the gospel running down on earth, and the glass of Christ's patience running down in heaven. Be sure of it, that for every sand of mercy, every drop of love that runs down in vain in this world, a drop of wrath runs into the vial of wrath which is filling up in heaven.

6. If Christ hath exercised such wonderful patience and long-suffering towards you, before he could gain entrance into your hearts, then you have reason to exercise

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your patience for Christ, and account all long-suffering to be your unquestionable duty. Christ was not weary in waiting upon you, be not you weary in waiting upon him, or for him. There are three things wherein the people of God will have much occasion to exercise their patience with respect to Christ.

(1.) You will need patience to wait for the answers of your prayers: you knock and wait at the door of mercy, and no answer comes; hereupon discouragement and weariness seize your spirits. Possibly some of you have prayers many years gone upon the file in heaven, some upon spiritual accounts and some upon temporal; and because the answer is not sent, your eyes are ready to fail with waiting for the Lord may bear long with his own elect. Luke 18:7. The seed of prayer lies under the clods, and will at last spring up. He never said to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain. Isa. 45:19. None seek God in vain, but those who seek him vainly. You should not be too short-breathed in waiting on God for the returns of prayer, considering how long you made Christ wait on you.

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(2.) You will have occasion to exercise your patience in bearing the burden of reproaches and sufferings for Christ. 'For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake." Phil. 1:29. Sufferings, you see, are the gift of Christ; the comfort of suffering is his gift, and so is the ability to suffer also; and that which will increase your suffering ability, will be the consideration of Christ's long suffering towards you, and the hard things he endured for you and from you.

(3.) You will have occasion to exercise your patience for the day of your complete redemption and salvation. If you love Christ fervently, the time of your separation from him will be borne with difficulty; vehement love needs the allay of patience. "The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ."

2 Thess. 35. Others need patience to die, but you will need as much patience to live; but wherever the exercise of your patience shall be, whether in waiting for the returns of your prayers, in bearing the cross of Christ, or in waiting for the day of your complete redemption and enjoyment of Christ, this single consideration, that Christ stood and waited so long on you, is enough to fortify your patience against all the difficulties it can encounter.

7. If Christ thus patiently wait upon trifling and obstinate sinners, then let no godly persons be discouraged because their unregenerate relatives have not yet made their first step towards Christ, in the way of repentance and faith. It may be you have laid up a stock of prayers for them the believing husband has prayed for his unbelieving wife, and the believing wife for her unbelieving husband; godly parents for their ungodly children, and the pious child for his ungodly parents; and yet no returns of prayer appear. Many cries are gone up to heaven like that of Abraham, "O that Ishmael might live before thee." Gen. 17:18. Be not discouraged, Christ waits, and therefore well may you. Those cries of parents, "Lord, my poor child is in the state of nature, look in mercy upon him, open his eyes, break his heart for sin, draw his will to Christ," may not be lost, though the fruit of them yet appear not. Consider how long Christ waited on you. There are three things that encourage hope.

(1.) That your hearts and theirs were of the same natural character; and the same power which opened your hearts, can open theirs: thy understanding was once as dark, thy heart as hard, and thy will as inflexible as thy relatives' The same hand that opened thy heart can open theirs. Do not think Christ had an easier task to win thy heart than he will have to win theirs. Almighty power wrought upon you, and the same power can work effectually upon them; "the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it can

now are.

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