2. Show that these riches are bestowed upon all human beings.
Therefore, my intention is to unlock and guide you into the treasury of outward mercies, a more familiar place, and lead you through its various rooms, all of which continuously guide you towards repentance. By reflecting on our ungrateful waste and abuse of these numerous mercies in our sinful actions, every sin, no matter how small, will appear even more sinful to us, who are less than the least of all these mercies.
Understand, then, that in addition to the unique treasure of "unsearchable riches of grace" stored up in Christ, which, when neglected and despised, contribute to our sinfulness to an extent beyond what can be described—like the vast difference between heaven and earth—there is another unspoken mine of riches that the earth is filled with, as the Psalmist states in Psalm 104:24, and as the apostle here affirms. These Gentiles only heard of this treasure, but we also partake in it just as much as they do. Just as there are inexhaustible riches of grace offered to you, there are also abundant riches of patience that have been poured out upon you, but in the end, you will deplete these riches through your actions. The cost of these riches, when calculated, amounts to an immense treasure of guilt in you and wrath in God, as these words inform us.
To assist you in understanding this matter, I will:
1. Firstly, explain what goodness or bounty, patience, and longsuffering mean in relation to God.
2. Show that these riches are bestowed upon all human beings.
3. Demonstrate how these attributes lead people to repentance.
And then, 4. I will reason with you and emphasize the sinfulness of continuing to despise these attributes through unrepentance, just as the apostle does here.