Yates:

Q. What is his patience?
A. Whereby he bears the reproaches of sinners, and defers their punishment: He does not present step forth, as a mighty enemy to be revenged of such as provoke him. Psal. 50:21. God is silent when he is patient, Acts 17:30, and dissembles the time, when he forgets not the sin, Rom. 3:25. A forbearance, till the appearance of justice, Rom. 9:22. Leniency to prevent all extremity of just anger.

Q. What is his long sufferance?
A. Whereby in bearing he expects a long time for repentance, Isa. 55:7, Lam. 3:22, Eccl. 8:11, Joel 2:12, 13, 2 Peter 3:9, 15. God does wait, and put out the hand to receive sinners: yet let us beware, for he that does always give pardon to repenters, will not ever give repentance to the sinner. At what time soever a sinner repents, he shall find mercy; Ere vengeance begin, repentance is seasonable; but if judgement be once gone out, there is no hope of pardon. While the gospel solicits us, the doors of the Ark are open. If we neglect the time of grace, in vain shall we seek it with tears. God holds it no mercy to pity the obstinate. He gave an hundred and twenty years respite before the deluge, and if the old world had not been willful, it should never have been so wasted with waves and water. How loath is he to strike, that he threatens to long? Surely, he that gives so long warnings, desires to be prevented. Swine for seeing a storm, run home crying for shelter. Lions, tigers, and bears, by an instinct from God, come to see the Ark: only men refuse to be saved; thus reason once debauched, is worse than brutishness, 1 Pet. 3:20.

Q. What is God’s bountifulness?
A. Wherein by being rich in mercy pours forth his good gifts upon sinful creatures, notwithstanding they offend him, Math. 5:45. Adam after he was fallen, had diverse hours to bethink himself of his misery, for God came late unto him, Gen. 3:8. God gave him life, time to repent, yet he sought not for grace, till God came to call him. It may be probably be conjectured, that Eve was created in the after-noon of the sixth day, all the fore-noon being employed, in the creation of beasts, and man himself, the placing of him in paradise, the bringing of the creatures unto him as their lord, the appellation of them, and the not finding of a companion for Adam amongst them all. Adam therefore having been thus busied as was Abraham, Gen. 15:10,11, 12, even at the height of the sun, as he at the fall, fell into a dead and deep sleep, and after his awakening had the woman brought unto him, and she was given unto him for his wife. And it was the cool of the day when God came again to them both, which in Hebrews interpret of the even-tide, and the Greek version follows it, and S. Ambrose gives the reason, for that man came late to his repentance, God as before, so now trying him, whether he would come to a sight of his sin, which he should have prevented. It is also probably, that when God ended his works, and left man some preparation for the sabbath, he sent his angels to be their companions, and to try them both together in the sanctification of his name, for all his works and benefits now bestowed upon them. They being met together, are so far from hallowing the name of God, that presently they fall into the profanation of it, and before the day of confirmation was come, had lost all; yea, and were so destitute of all understanding, as they had not so much grace left them, as to call to God for mercy. O the bounty of our creator, that would come himself, after he had waited a time, and call them to an account, and enter with man into a further covenant of grace and mercy.

John Yates, A Model of Divinity, Catechistically Composed. Wherein is Delivered the Matter and Method of Religion. According to the Creed, Tenne Commandements, Lords Prayer, and the Sacraments (Printed by John Legatt, for Faulke Clifton and are to be sold on New-fish streete Hill, Under St. Margrets Church, 1623), 190-191. [Some reformatting; some spelling modernized; and italics original.]

Yates:

Etmisericordia
vbi interim

Q. What is mercy?
A. Whereby he uses compassion also towards his creatures offending. Gen. 6:3, and 8:21, Psal. 78:38, 39. Mercy is more common than grace, for he pities all, though he but receive some again into favour. He feeds the filthy as well as the faithful with his hid treasures, and makes his sun to shine, and his rain to fall on the just and unjust. He vouchsafes them (ill deserving) common mercies, that they might seek him for more special graces. Thus mercy is offered before the sentence be executed, and then justice, which was all this time burning, flames out upon sinners that would not come at his call.

Clementia

Q. How manifold is this mercy?
A His clemency and bounty: God is both gentle and kind to all sinners, mild in mercy, and bountiful in his benefits. Rom 2:9, 2 Chron. 36:15,Isa. 55:7,8,9.

In patientia & longanimitata

Q. What is his gentleness, or clemency?
A. Whereby in justice he remembers mercy, kindly inviting sinners to repentance. He bears the reproaches of sinners, and a while stays and waits for their repentance. Erech appajim in Hebrew is one that has a long nose; and it is frequently given to God, for is patience and longanimity. The nose is the seat of anger, and a long one is not easily contracted. God is slow to frowning upon sinners, and he is hardly provoked. Numb. 14:18, Psal. 86:13, and 103: 8 and 145:8, Joel 2:13, Nah. 1:3, Jon. 4, verse 2, Rom. 2:4 and 3:25, and 9:22, 1 Pet. 3:20, 2 Pet. 3 verse 15. These places say not that God is without anger, or wrath, but that he is not easily, quickened, or rashly moved thereunto. Yet most true is that God is not subject to anger properly called, being simple in his nature and so free from all passion and alteration.

John Yates, A Model of Divinity, Catechistically Composed. Wherein is Delivered the Matter and Method of Religion. According to the Creed, Tenne Commandements, Lords Prayer, and the Sacraments (Printed by John Legatt, for Faulke Clifton and are to be sold on New-fish streete Hill, Under St. Margrets Church, 1623), 189. [Some spelling modernized; italics original; and marginal references included.]

Perkins:

We have Redemption, i.e. the faithful, God’s elect, which are members of Christ’s mystical body. The Angels, which fell from that pure estate wherein they were created, could never attain unto it again. But such was the rich favor of God towards Man, that he united human nature to Christ’s divinity, and gave to men that dignity, to be called his sons. Shall we think, that God has endued man with so many excellencies more, not only than any, but than all the creatures of the world besides, to leave them in such estate, that they had been happier if they had never been born. We have a righteous judge, and rather than he proceeded in rigor of judgement, he will provide a sacrifice for himself, to be offered up in our names, and all the benefit shall redound to us and our posterity. Yet all men are not redeemed but some of all sorts. Christ died sufficiently for all, but effectually only for some. In his death he intended a price of such extent in value and worth, as should be of power to save all, and therefore should be offered indifferently to all, but in his eternal counsel and love, he paid this price only for them, to whom in love he intends the fruit and benefit thereby. There is a world of men, of whom John 17. verse 9, Christ says, “I pray not for the world, but for them that thou hast given me out of the world.” If all men had the gifts of grace, and the merits of Christ’s passion, where were God’s justice? If no man had redemption, an hope of salvation, where were his mercy? Deus in suâ misericordiâ voluit per Justitiam. In his mercy he might save all, but in his justice he could not. Neither is God the cause why any man does perish. For Christ is the sufficient sacrifice to save all men. But death and destruction came from the incredulity and unbelief of man. As the sun is in itself sufficient to enlighten all men, yet the blind for want of sight cannot enjoy the use thereof. So Christ’s death was a sufficient ransom for all, but the reprobate (for want of faith) cannot apprehend it. An easy condition of so great a benefit. He requires us not to earn peace, but to accept it of him. What could he give more? Would could he require beside of us? With men, it is a good rule to try, and then to trust. With God, it is contrary: We must first trust him (as most wise, omnipotent, merciful) and try him afterwards.

Joseph Perkins, The Redemption of Mankind by the Passion of Our Lord. A Sermon Preached on Palm-Sunday at Kintbury, in the County of Berks (London: Printed, and are to be Sold by Randal Taylor, near Stationers-Hall), 7-8. [Some reformatting; some spelling modernized; and italics original.]

Read the rest of this entry »

Beverley:

The ends of God’s constituting this one man as a common head, even his Son our Lord Jesus Christ are:

1. That he might have in human nature an adoption of many sons to glory in this great Son of God and Son of Man, Heb. 2:10.

2. There is a redundancy of benefit, Common Grace, other advantages upon all parts of human nature in preserving so much of the remains of conformity to the Law of Righteousness in the world, which would only condemn as in hell, and not guide any thing good, but turn the world into a hell, were it not for Christ, in whom also much of patience, and bounty is vouchsafed to men in outward blessings, essaying their return to God by repentance [Rom. 2:4, 2 Pet. 3:9.] in hopes of his mercy, to which this patience, and bounty give so great encouragements.

This shows the admirable congruity to our case, to have our help laid upon so mighty, and near a mediator, as Emmanuel, God with us.

Thomas Beverley, A Brief View of the State of Mankind in the First Adam and in the Second Adam ([London : s.n., 1690]), 38-40. [Some minor reformatting; marginal references cited inline; and italics original