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BE PATIENT, BRETHREN

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Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 10, 1856

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 8, No. 11.

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BE PATIENT, BRETHREN.

"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 the latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." Jas. v, 7, 8.
As we read the above passage, it seems that a more appropriate exhortation could hardly be given to the church of God at the present time. Not without reason are we exhorted to patience and constancy, in view of the peculiar trials that await us as we draw near the close of our pilgrimage. He that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Our present position is expressed in this one sentence of inspiration: "Here is the patience of the saints." And when we see the many difficulties to be overcome in promulgating Bible truth in a fallen and fast degenerating world, the trials and discouragements we are called to meet, and the seeming delay of the promises of God, it is cheering to think that the eye of the prophet has rested upon this very time, and it is designated as the patient waiting for Christ.
Another cheering consideration is, that the many exhortations to patience, applying especially to the present time, are accompanied with the assurance that the promises for which we are waiting will certainly be fulfilled. The next prophetic event after the announcement that here is the patience of the saints, and here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus, is no less than this: "And I looked and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man!" Rev. xiv, 12-14.
The apostle James, when exhorting the church to patience, appends to his exhortation this blessed assurance: "For the coming of the Lord draweth nigh!" And says Paul, [Heb. x, 36, 37,] For ye have need of patience that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise; for yet a little while and he that shall come, will come, and will not tarry. For the vision, says the prophet Habakkuk, [ii, 3,] is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and shall not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
We walk by faith, not by sight. We hope for the things we see not; and, says Paul, if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it; and he prays for his brethren, [2 Thess. iii, 5,] that the Lord would direct their hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
The import of all these passages is plainly this: that in the little tarrying time just before the Lord shall finally make his appearance, there is need of our exercising special patience. In the little moment of painful silence that just precedes the terrible outbursting of the storm, we have need to put forth special efforts to hold fast that we have, that no man take our crown.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise; only he is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish; but notwithstanding this long-suffering, notwithstanding he has waited long and patiently for rebellious man, his Spirit will not always strive with him; and therefore the inspired penman adds, The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. 2 Pet. iii, 9, 10.
We cannot exercise too great patience in the duties necessary to a preparation for the great event before us. We cannot dwell upon it too much. We cannot prepare for it too soon. We cannot warn the world of it too faithfully. We may seem to them, as Lot did to his sons-in-law, like those that mock; but as surely as destruction came upon Sodom, so surely it will come upon this wicked and adulterous generation. When they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them and they shall not escape. 1 Thess. v, 1-4.
Time in its onward flight lingers not. Then let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of our faith, remembering at all times, under all circumstances, whatever may be the prospect around us, and however the wicked may boast that all things continue as they were, that the word of God nevertheless is, that the great day of the Lord is near and hasteth greatly.