CHAP. 61. The First Argument: Manifesting the exceeding willingness of God to be reconciled to sinners.
FOr the First, The willingness of God for Reconci∣liation with sinners; Why God manifests this, To begin a little low, and then to rise higher; God mini∣sters this, first by his patience towards sinners, in that the Lord is long suffering toward sinners, he doth ma∣nifest thereby that he is willing to be reconciled: the Scripture draws an argument from thence, in Rom. 2.4. as if the Apostle should say, the patience of God holds this forth unto you; that you should come in, and re∣pent, that so you might obtain mercy from God, or o∣therwise it doth lead you to repentance. Except it should hold forth Gods willingness to be reconciled, it could not draw the heart to repentance; but it leads: and this hath a great deal of force to draw the heart of man to repentance, Because it holds forth the willingness of God to be reconciled unto sinners. If God were not willing to be reconciled to you, he would take you off, and there were an end of you, or at least he would ex∣cercise such patience that should not lead you to repen∣tance: as he did with the Devils, as soon as they had sinned, he clapt his chains upon them, and reserves them in chains of darkness; there is no such patience of God towards them as to be any argument to draw them to repentance: therefore they cannot draw any encourageing conclusion from any work of Gods patience, as to bring