Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. (8) Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. (9) Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. (10) Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. (11) Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
We have within the compass of these verses, some very precious views, for the child of God, and especially the exercised child of God, to ruminate upon: and, if the Reader will indulge me, and God the Holy Ghost will teach both Writer and Reader, very sure I am, that we shall rise up from the review of them with much spiritual profit.
And, first. By the command to the brethren, who are regenerated in Christ, to be patient unto the coming of the Lord; the child of God is taught to expect exercises. There will be, there must be, many dark and trying seasons. And in those seasons, the best taught children of God will be hard put to it, unless faith is always in lively exercise, to trust God where we cannot trace God. The Holy Ghost therefore begins this sweet portion, after he had told the Church in the verses going before, the sure ruin of the ungodly; that though their patience should be exercised, yet they should rest in this one grand and unalterable conclusion, the Lord is coming. And when he comes, all will be fully and clearly explained. Therefore, saith the Lord, patiently wait this time, and be assured of this one thing, the Lord's ways, and the Lord's heart, are towards thee for good in all things. Romans 8:28
Secondly. Having gained this great point, and set it down as a truth perfectly clear and impossible to be questioned, that God's dealings with his redeemed in Christ, are full of love, and conducted with unerring wisdom; we are next taught, that the best way, and the only way, by which we can rightly interpret the Lord's dealings towards his people, is, to do as the husbandman doth, in waiting for the precious fruit of the earth. What a beautiful and striking similitude the Lord, hath chosen to represent this sure harvest by, of the fruits of his everlasting love? What, to the human eye, apparently more unpromising, or more unlikely to bring forth, than when the seed is not only cast into the earth and buried over, but must absolutely rot and die before there can be any product. See John 12:24. and Commentary. Such then is the harvest of grace. When the Lord hath totally thrown to the ground, and buried over all our designs, and plans, and exertions; yea, even to our prayers, as in the case of Israel, no answers have been given, and matters have appeared darker than before: (see Exodus 5:1 throughout), then most blessed it is, to behold, of a sudden, light rise out of obscurity, and hope against hope come in to our joy and delight? Reader! say, (if you know the Lord), hath the Lord at any time, when bereaving you of earthly comforts, when withering your gourds, and breaking your cisterns, when stripping you like the oak of its leaves in the winter; you have stood, as in the midst of the forest, desolated, and forlorn; hath Jesus, during those seasons of nature's sorrows, refreshed in grace your soul? Hath the Lord given you increasing faith, increasing spiritual strength, hath he blessed you with the more frequent visits of his love, opened to you his covenant, shewn you his secrets, said unto you, Fear not, I am with thee, I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine? Surely, here is the fullest testimony to what the Apostle hath said, and encouragement enough to be always on the watch-tower for such manifestations of his grace, in the expectation of the coming of the Lord drawing nigh.
Once more. The Apostle beautifully sums up the argument, in proposing to the Church the example of the Prophets, and particularly in the instance of Job, by way of shewing the blessedness of suffering afflictions with patience. Behold! (saith he), we count them happy which endure. Yes! The people of God do count the Lord's exercised ones under trial, when found faithful, as eminently distinguished with the divine favor. It is indeed a mark of the Lord's regard for them. They are thereby called to high dignity and honor. Paul told the Church of the Corinthians, that they were babes in Christ, and could not, from their tender age, bear the strong food of the Gospel. Children, truly and savingly regenerated, they were; but yet only children, 1 Corinthians 3:1-2. But, when the Lord calls an old veteran in the holy army to sharp and trying conflicts, and blesseth him with strength in the battle, this is an high honor on the saint! And the Apostle saith, Behold, we count them happy which endure.
But what is the world's estimate of good? Alas! the very reverse. Ask men of the world, what they conceive; a goodly portion? They will make no hesitation to decide, and decide so positively, as though their maxims were undeniable. We count them happy, they will say, which have all this world's good; riches, titles, mansions, and a profusion of all creature comforts. But, who shall cast the lot? Who shall determine with whom the advantage is? Reader! it is already determined, and God himself hath decided. It is hardly possible to read the 49th Psalm (Psalms 49:1); Job 21:13. or the 73 rd Psalm (Psalms 73:1), where the characters of the prosperous worldling is drawn in his full colors, without trembling. And when from the Word of God, we turn to the contemplation of the world, and behold such awful departures going on, from one generation to another, the child of God cannot but arise up, under all his exercises, how pressing soever to flesh and blood they may be, and say with him of old, Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law, that thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity until the pit be digged for the wicked, Psalms 94:12-13.