The Bruised Reed - Chapter 7

A couple quick thoughts on Chapter 7 of "The Bruised Reed" (and yes I know I skipped Chapters 4 - 6). The chapter was about help for the weak and the temptations that can come upon us and disrupt the peace we have in Christ. Regarding the effects of sinful thoughts, Richard Sibbes says:

"And if there were no devil to suggest, yet sinful thoughts would arise from within us, though none were cast in from without. We have a mint of them within. These thoughts, if the soul dwell on them so long as to suck and draw from and by them any sinful delight, then they live a more heavy guilt upon the soul, hinder our sweet communion with God, interrupt our peace, and put a contrary relish into the soul, disposing it to greater sins." (p. 47)

There are many good things to pull out of that quote, but I'll just choose one for now. Sibbes brings up the importance of guarding our hearts and minds from sinful thoughts. As he goes on to say later, all sin arises originally from a sinful desire or thought. Dwelling on these temptations and sinful inclinations also effects our experience of communion with God and can disrupt the peace of God in our souls. As he says, these thoughts are brought forth from the sinfulness in our own hearts, not to mention the thoughts that are thrust upon us from the outside world. As such, we need to be guarding our hearts and minds against these thoughts and, more than that, to be filling them with the things of God.

How are you seeking to fill your heart and mind with the promises of God in your daily life?

The Bruised Reed - Chapter 3

A couple quick thoughts and quotes from the three pages of Chapter 3 of The Bruised Reed.

Chapter 3 - The Smoking Flax

When Sibbes speaks of the smoking flax, he speaks of the evidence of Christ's grace in our lives and the ongoing work of sanctification. Often our growth seems weak at first and the steps we take seem so small, but Sibbes encourages us:

"Let us not therefore be discouraged at the small beginnings of grace, but look on ourselves as elected to be 'holy and without blame' (Eph. 1:4). Let us look on our imperfect beginning only to enforce further striving to perfection, and to keep us in a low opinion of ourselves. Otherwise, in case of discouragement, we must consider ourselves as Christ does, who looks on us as those he intends to fit for himself. Christ values us by what we shall be, and by what we are elected unto. We call a little plant a tree, because it is growing up to be so. 'Who has despised the day of small things?' (Zec. 4:10). Christ would not have us despise little things." (p. 17)

Even when it seems that our growth is slow, we can ultimately rest in God's promise to bring his work in us to completion. And yet, despite this growing amount of grace, there is corruption still present in some sense. Sibbes describes the smoking flax as the spark and light that represent the hope and grace within us and the smoke from the fire that represents the sin which still remains.

"But grace is not only little, but mingled with corruption; therefore a Christian is said to be smoking flax. So we see that grace does not do away with corruption all at once, but some is left for believers to fight with." (p. 18)

Why is there this mixture of the smoke of corruption and the light of Christ?

"The end of it is especially to preserve us from those two dangerous rocks which our natures are prone to dash upon, security and pride, and force us to pitch our rest on justification, not sanctification, which, besides imperfection, has some stains." (p. 19)

A strong reminder to consider both of these "dangerous rocks".

First, security. Where am I deriving my assurance? Is it based upon my works and growth? The gradual process of sanctification and the corruption that remains show us that our ultimate assurance cannot come from how we have grown and what we have done, but in what Christ has already done on the cross in securing our justification.

Second, pride. The fact that sanctification continues at the pace that God determines helps us to keep our pride in check. Even when we are doing all the right things growth can be slow because God is the one who gives the increase and he does so his timing and wisdom. And sometimes, as I have seen in my life, that can be because I start to claim areas where I see growth as a result of me rather than God. Growth is often at a pace that causes us to depend fully on God and contemplating the remaining corruption in our lives helps to sever pride that begin to spring up.

Are you resting in confidence in God's promise to finish the good work he has started in you? Do you see areas of your life where you can be tempted to crash into the dangerous rocks of pride and security?

The Bruised Reed - Chapter 2

I'm still playing catchup on the blog posting for the Puritan Challenge for last month, so here are some thoughts on the second chapter of The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes.

Chapter 2 - Christ Will Not Break the Bruised Reed

Sibbes starts out the chapter by describing Christ's tender care towards us as one who who will not break a bruised reed. He explains that a doctor sometimes causes pain in a treatment, but it is for the cure of the disease. He continues by pointing out that the titles Christ gives himself, as husband, shepherd and brother, reveal a relationship of care.

Christ is one who truly cares for us and desires to build us up even though we are put through trials and often are brought to a lower opinion of ourselves by conviction of sin. In light of a renewed awareness of Christ's tenderness and care, Sibbes says:

"What should we learn from this, but to 'come boldly to the throne of grace' (Heb. 4:16) in all our grievances? Shall our sins discourage us when he appears there only for sinners?" (p. 9)

So often I find I can withdraw myself from God when I feel that I have sinned, but he appears with open arms now as when he first drew me to him. His arms are open to sinners. Sibbes goes on to note that our confidence and comfort should not be drawn from our circumstances, but from the Lord himself.

"His presence makes any condition comfortable." (p. 9)

This is something I truly desire, to in the midst of crisis or trial direct my gaze upon Christ and delight and take comfort in his work, his person and his promises. Sibbes then asks who are the bruised reeds. He describes them as people who see that God and his favor are the greatest good and that sin is the greatest evil. The bruised are people who are challenged and grieved not only by trials and circumstances, but of their sins most of all. How do we come to this state of thinking? Sibbes offers some thoughts on working with God to bruise ourselves:

"There is a dangerous slighting of the work of humiliation, some alleging this for a pretence for their casual dealing with their own hearts, that Christ will not break the bruised reed; but such must know that every sudden terror and short grief is not that which makes us bruised reeds; not a little 'bowing our heads down like a bullrush' (Isa. 58:5), but a working our hearts to such a grief as will make sin more odious unto us than punishment, until we offer a 'holy violence' against it." (p. 12)

That challenges me, I pray that more and more over time I would fight sin primarily because of its evil rather than merely for fear of punishment. This seems a daunting task for sure and would be if we had to do it by ourselves, but God provides grace. Fighting sin with this 'holy violence' is tough and often taxes our spirits. However, here Sibbes encourages us:

"But if we have this for a foundation truth, that there is more mercy in Christ than sin in us, that there can be no danger in thorough dealing. It is better to go bruised to heaven than sound to hell." (p. 12)

What a great truth to meditate on and remember. Truly our sin is great, but the mercy and grace of Christ and the cross are far far greater.

The Bruised Reed - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - The Reed and the Bruising

The main scripture passage that Sibbes is working from over the course of the book is Isa. 42:1-3:

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.

Sibbes begins by describing Christ as the servant who the Father delights in. Before even digging into discussing the bruised reeds, he makes a great statement about focusing on Christ during our trials and temptations.

"In temptations it is safest to behold nothing but Christ the true brazen serpent, the true 'Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world' (John 1:29)" p.2

This refers to Numbers 21:4-9, where the people of Israel complained that Moses and God had brought them out of Egypt to die for lack of food and water in the wilderness. God sent serpents among them that bit and killed some of the people. The people repented and Moses prayed to the Lord, who instructed him to make a serpent and put it on a pole. When people were bitten by the serpents, they would look upon the bronze serpent that Moses had made and they would live.

Similiarly, now we look upon Christ, focus on him and live. He is the bronze serpent that takes away our sins as Sibbes says. This is a necessary reminder to focus on Christ at all times, good or bad. We can so easily be distracted by our circumstances during our trials or become self-confident during times of blessing, but life comes through keeping our eyes focused on Christ.

Sibbes also mentions God's pleasure in his redemptive plan:

"What a support to our faith is this, that God the Father, the party offended by our sins, is so well pleased with the work of redemption." p. 2

This is a glorious and amazing thought. God's work in redemption was not "Plan B" or a quick fix when things went badly with creation. Rather, redemption was planned by God from the beginning and carried out by his hand, and he is pleased with the work of Christ.

Lastly, Sibbes begins to describe what is meant by the "bruised reed". He describes Christ's coming as modest and mild. Both his birth and his interactions with people show his humility and caring nature towards sinners. Those Christ was coming to deal with are described as bruised reeds and smoking flax. This brusing can occur both before and after conversion and differs from person to person. Sibbes speaks of God emptying us of ourselves before utilizing us for his service.

What exactly does it look like to be bruised? A bruised reed is a man who is in misery and comes to see his sin as the cause of it. The smoking flax refers to the spark of hope that is kindled when one sees that help for this situation must come from outside. Sibbes states that these two components are what make one what Christ calls "poor in spirit" in Matt. 5:3. Sibbes describes the man who is a bruised reed and smoking flax:

"He has no means of supply from himself or the creature, and thereupon mourns, and, upon some hope of mercy from the promise and examples of those who have obtained mercy, is stirred up to hunger and thirst after it." p.4

What is the purpose of being bruised? Well, the bruising levels our pride prior to conversion and makes way for the Holy Spirit. Also, this bruising causes us to place a higher value on Christ and to be more grateful for what God has done. Bruising also makes us aware that God's plan and purpose is far greater than our own. The bruising continues after conversion in order that our pride might be kept in check. It conforms us to the image of Christ, who suffered for us. This also helps to encourage other believers who may be weaker in the faith. Reflecting on the weakness we see in great figures of the Bible, like David and Peter, Sibbes says:

"The heroic deeds of these great worthies do not comfort the church so much as their falls and bruises do." p.5

We should be encouraged that God used these great men despite their weakness and imperfection. Similiarly, when we feel weak and insufficient we remind ourselves that our strength comes from God and he has the ability to use us even in our weakness 2 Cor. 12:9.