Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. When I was growing up, my mother
used to have a little poem that she would delightedly recite
whenever my father exhibited some annoyance with the amount
of time being expended in some endeavor, which was usually getting
ready to go somewhere. I can still hear her in the back
pages of my mind reciting with a certain amount of glee. Patience
is a virtue. Possess it if you can. It's seldom
in a woman, and it's never in a man. Patience is, according
to the Scriptures, one of the hallmarks of true love. Charity
or love suffereth long in this kind. It is also one of those
fruits of the Spirit about which we are exhorted to exercise.
Be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for
evil unto any man. As with most lessons taught in
the Scriptures, there is a carnal application which is profitable
in this world in a natural sense. but there is a greater application
which can only be applied by the Spirit of God. We would not
desire to disdain that natural lesson of learning patience in
our carnal bodies, but we would more greatly desire to see that
truth which is eternal made applicable to us as He is pleased to work
in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. In the
book of the Revelation, John speaks of the patience of the
saints. The particular Greek word used here means a cheerful
or hopeful endurance. In Romans 2-7, this work is translated
as patient continuance. To them who by patient continuance
in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal
life. In 2 Corinthians 1.6 it is translated
as enduring. This word is concerned with the
exercise and manifestation of the gift of faith which is enduring
and not easily laid aside. The patience of the saints is
that which rests in the finished work of Christ. This is that
patience which surveys the work and perfections of Christ and
is completely satisfied. That man who has this patience
is seeking no other righteousness than that which is fully supplied
in the person and work which Christ has performed in His substitutionary
atonement, and in that which He presently performs as High
Priest over the house of God. This is that rest which is spoken
of in Hebrews 4. There remaineth therefore a rest
to the people of God. For he that is entered into his
rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from
his. Therefore he is our Sabbath,
that true rest, which no day of the week, time, nor season
upon this earth could ever be. The patience of the saints is
manifested as endurance in the face of trials and difficulty.
Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
This keeping has reference to a holding on to the teaching
of Christ, which is the faith of Jesus. They keep it because
it is their only hope. The Lord said, He that endureth
to the end shall be saved. If a man casts off the faith
of Jesus, upon what then would he have to stand? This endurance
is ensured by the giver of faith, whom the Scripture describes
as able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless
before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. This is of
great comfort to that man who desires to be found faithful,
but sees in himself an evil heart of unbelief. The patience of
the saints is that which is holding on to that which is precious.
A man's regard to the gospel of Christ and the priority of
it in his thinking is a testimony to the presence of the gift of
faith. That man who only has a divided interest in such matters
proves himself to be devoid of this gift, not having received
the love of the truth that they might be saved. The patience
of the saints is that which causes a man to desire to separate the
precious from the vile. Those who have a form of godliness
but deny the power thereof are said to be ever learning and
never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. These impostors
attribute a man's salvation to an act of his own free will,
rather than praising God for his sovereign grace. The saints
own no other message than Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The
patience of the saints is the same in all ages and in all circumstances. Christ, as the ruler of His kingdom,
is the very substance of all prophecy, and all prophecy has
its fulfillment in the manifestation of His glory. This is true whether
it was Abraham who sojourned in the land of promise, or Joseph
who, when he died, gave commandment concerning his bones, or Paul
saying, I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. They
confess that they look for a city which hath foundations, whose
builder and maker is God. This is the patience of the saints.
Do you have this patience, or do you seek to provide your own? If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.