OF THE LONGSUFFERING
OF GOD
John Gill
The longsuffering of God, the
same with his forbearance and patience, arises from his mercy, is a display of
it, or is one way in which mercy shows itself; and so, by the Cabalistic Jews,
it is said to belong to the predicament of "Chesed", or mercy, as they express themselves {1}; and it may be observed, that
wherever God is said to be longsuffering, he is represented as gracious and
merciful, or as of great mercy and kindness; and by this attribute, as by them
and with them, he is pleased to describe and make known himself, for the
encouragement of faith and hope in him, #Ex 34:6 Nu 14:18 Ps 86:15 and
therefore the consideration of it very properly follows that of mercy.
The Hebrew word Mypa Kra which literally signifies "long of both
nostrils", is sometimes rendered "longsuffering", as in the
places referred to; and sometimes "slow to anger", #Ne 9:17 Ps 103:8
and to which the Greek words makroyumew, and makroyumia, in the New Testament,
answer, #Ro 2:4 2Pe 3:9,15 the allusion is to the nose, the seat of anger,
which restrains or shows it, as it is long or contracted.
God is sometimes called,
"the God of patience", #Ro 15:5 not only because he is the author and
object of the grace of patience, and that is grateful to him; but because he is
patient, or longsuffering in himself, and towards his creatures, and is a
pattern of patience to them; for this is one of the attributes of God, in which
he may in some measure be imitated; see #Eph 4:1,2 Col 3:12.
This is not to be considered as a quality, accident, passion, or affection in
God, as in creatures; who bear with patience things grievous, distressing, and
torturing to them, #Col 1:11 but it is the very nature and essence of God,
which is free from all passion and perturbation, from all suffering, grief, and
pain; it springs from his goodness, and is as essential to him
as that, and is joined with it, #Ro 2:4 it is no other than a moderation of his
anger, a restraint of that, a deferring the effects of it, at least for a
while, according to his sovereign will; it is an extension and prolongation of
mercy for a season; for mercy is always in it and with it; and in this it
differs from it, that the mercy of God is from everlasting to everlasting; but
the longsuffering of God, as to the exercise of it, is only
for a time, until some certain end is answered, and in which it issues; either
in the damnation and destruction of the wicked, when they are fitted for it,
#Ro 9:22 or in the salvation of God's elect, #2Pe 3:15 for it is exercised
towards both, till each take place; which will be distinctly considered.
1. The
longsuffering of God is exercised towards his chosen people; they are the
"us" towards whom he is said to be "longsuffering", #2Pe
3:9 even who are called beloved, #2Pe 3:8 not only beloved of the apostle, and
by one another, but by the Lord; and the elect according to the foreknowledge
of God, #1Pe 1:2 for to the same persons are both epistles written; and
therefore being the beloved and chosen of God, it was his
will that none of them should perish, but come to repentance; even all of the
same character, and of the same company and society, the whole election of
grace; and until everyone of these are called and brought to repentance, God
is, and will be, longsuffering towards them; and longsuffering to the world for
their sakes; wherefore Christ's not coming to judgment sooner than he will, is
not owing to any negligence, dilatoriness, or slackness in
God, concerning the promise of it, but to the longsuffering of God; which has
been eminently displayed with respect to the people of God.
1a. In the saints of the Old
Testament dispensation, which time is expressly called "the
forbearance of God", #Ro 3:25. The case stood thus; Christ became the
Surety for them in eternity, engaged to assume their nature, pay their debts,
and make satisfaction for their sins: this was notified immediately after the
fall of Adam, #Ge 3:15 but it was four thousand years from thence to the time
fixed in Daniel's prophecy, "to finish transgression, to make an end of
sin, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in
everlasting righteousness"; to the fulness of time when Christ should come
to redeem all his people, and particularly, to obtain the redemption of
transgressions that were under the first Testament, #Da 9:24 Ga 4:4 Heb 9:15.
Now all this time was a time of patience, forbearance, and longsuffering with
God, in respect to his people under this dispensation; he did not stir up his
wrath, and execute it on them; but reserved it for his Son,
their Surety; he forbore to inflict the punishment on them their sins deserved;
he did not impute sin to them, place it to their account, charge it on them,
and demand of them satisfaction for it; but placed it to his Son's account, and
expected satisfaction from him: he accepted of the sacrifices of slain beasts,
as vicarious ones in their stead, though they had no true value,
nor real efficacy in them, to atone for sin; only were typical of Christ's
sacrifice; and were to continue, and did, until that should be offered up; God
waited till he should come and make his soul an offering for sin; and, upon his
credit, bore with them, and bestowed the blessings of his grace on them: they
were justified by him on the foundation of Christ's righteousness to be wrought
out; and their sins pardoned, through his atoning sacrifice
to be offered up; they were saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, even as we
are, and we as they; they were carried to heaven, and glorified, before the
payment of their debts were made by their Surety, before satisfaction for their
sins was given to justice, and before the actual redemption of them was
obtained. All which, as it shows the trust and confidence God put in his Son, so his forbearance and longsuffering towards Old Testament
saints; which also has appeared, and does appear.
1b. In and towards everyone of
his people in their state of unregeneracy, in every age and period of time, or
of whatsoever nation, or under whatsoever dispensation they
be; the Lord bears with them, while in a state of nature, and waits patiently
all that while, to be gracious to them, #Isa 30:18. There was much grace in his
heart, in his Son, and in his covenant, laid up for them. This is abundantly
displayed in conversion, when there is an abounding and a superabounding of it.
But then the calling and conversion of them is according to purpose; and as
there is a time for every purpose, for the execution of it,
so for this; and till that time comes, the Lord waits, forbears, suffers much
and long; he does not cut them off in their sins, as they deserve; but saves
them, and sometimes from very imminent dangers, to be called, #2Ti 1:9 and with
some he bears and waits a long time, who are called at the ninth and eleventh
hours, and, as the thief on the cross, at the last day and hour of his life; and he waits, as it were, in a longing manner; speaking after
the manner of men, "When will it once be?" #Jer 13:27.
1c. The apostle Paul is a
remarkable instance of God's longsuffering; which was exercised towards him
throughout all his blasphemy of Christ, his persecution of his people,
and the injuries he did unto them; he waited, through all, to be gracious to
him; his eye was upon him, and his heart was towards him; and hence such notice
is taken of him in that state, before the account is given of his calling; see
#Ac 7:58 8:1,3 9:1 yea, he himself says, "For this cause I obtained mercy,
that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern
to them which should hereafter believe on him to life
everlasting", #1Ti 1:16 meaning the people of the Jews, in the latter day:
his sense seems to be this, that as Christ bore much, and exercised great
longsuffering towards him, and at last showed him mercy; so he would bear with,
and show much longsuffering to the people of the Jews, of which that towards
him was a pattern, and which should issue in their salvation, as it had in his; when "all Israel shall be saved", #Ro 11:26
God's longsuffering towards them is very great and very remarkable; as it was
towards him; though they are under the marks of his displeasure, he has not
stirred up all his wrath, so as to cut them off from being a people; but has
reserved them for future times, and good things for them, and waits to be
gracious to them.
2. The longsuffering of God is
exercised towards the ungodly, even towards "the vessels of wrath"
whom he "endures with much longsuffering", till they are "fitted
to destruction", #Ro 9:22 and this appears by his supporting them in their
beings, notwithstanding their grievous provocations of him; which are such,
that it is amazing he does not at once strike them, dead,
as he did Ananias and Sapphira; or that the earth does not open and swallow
them up, as it did Dathan and Abiram. This can be attributed to nothing else
but, to his patience, forbearance, and longsuffering: and by the multitude of
his mercies bestowed upon them, who have many of them, more than other men; and
which are called "the riches of his goodness,
forbearance, and longsuffering"; see #Job 21:7-13 #Ps 73:4-7 Ro 2:4 and by
granting to many of them the outward means of grace, which are despised and
rejected by them; and by deferring his judgments on them; which, because they
are not speedily executed, their hearts are set in them to do evil; they are
more and more hardened, and promise themselves impunity in sin. Now the ends of
God's thus dealing with them, are partly for his own glory;
"to show his wrath, and make his power known"; to vindicate him from
all cruelty and injustice, when he righteously executes his wrath, and exerts
his power in their destruction: as in the instance of Pharaoh, #Ro 9:17,22 and
partly for the sake of his own people who dwell among them, that they may not
suffer with them; thus he would have spared Sodom, had
there been ten righteous men in it, for their sakes: and he forbears to take
vengeance on those that have shed the blood of his saints, until the number of
his elect, in like manner, is fulfilled; and he spares a wicked world from
being burnt up and destroyed, until all his chosen ones are brought to
repentance, #Ge 18:32 Re 6:11 2Pe 3:9 and another end is for their sakes, that
they may be rendered inexcusable, and the execution of
wrath on them at last, appear just and righteous, #Ro 2:1,4,5.
There are many instances of
the patience, forbearance, and longsuffering of God, with respect to the
wicked; as in the men of the old world, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, #1Pe 3:20 see #Ge 6:3 and in
the inhabitants of Sodom, daring sinners, who had first hints of God's
displeasure, yet had mercy shown them, a respite for a while, and then
destroyed by fire from heaven, #Ge 13:13 14:11,21 18:21 19:24 in Pharaoh,
refusing to let Israel go, whom God had spared some time, beginning with
lighter judgments, then executed heavier ones; and at last
drowned him, and his host, in the Red Sea, #Ex 5:2,7 &c. #Ex 14:17,18,28 in
the people of Israel, in the wilderness, whose manners God suffered and bore
with, and was grieved with them forty years, #Ac 13:18 in the Amorites and
Canaanites, until their sin was full, and till the land itself would bear them
no longer; but spewed them out of it, #Ge 15:16 Le 18:28 in the Gentile world,
during their times of ignorance, #Ac 17:30 in fruitless
professors of religion, signified by the barren fig tree, #Lu 13:6-9 and in
antichrist, during the time of his reign, and no longer, #Re 2:21 13:6 18:8.
{1} Lexic. Cabalist. p. 155.