Monday February 15th 2021
ichard Sibbes was a Puritan theologian who has been given the nickname of the "sweet dripper", because he was known for extolling the goodness and kindness of God toward His children, using words of comfort and gentleness to strengthen and encourage believers.The Bruised Reed is a small book offering comfort to the bruised reeds or dimly flickering wick ("the smoking flax") of Isaiah 42:3 - "A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench". Here Sibbes identifies the bruised reed as Christians who are new believers, suffering, poor in spirit, discouraged or weary in the struggle of combat with sin. He also speaks about how our attitudes can mirror Christ's to such people. I appreciate this book because I think this is an attitude toward fellow-believers to be worth striving for, and is a rightly ordered manner as we pursue Christlikeness, since as Psalm 34:18 says "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."
Sibbes makes on observation concerning instances of weak and small beginnings of grace, that:
"Christ will not quench the smoking flax. This is so for two principal reasons. First, because this spark is from heaven: it is his own, it is kindled by his own Spirit. And secondly, it tends to the glory of his powerful grace in his children that he preserves light in the midst of darkness, a spark in the midst of the swelling waters of corruption." (20)In another place Sibbes offers words of advice on bearing with a fellow believer who might be a bruised reed, as Jesus bore the infirmities of the weak in his ministry on earth and for humanity on the cross:
"Men should not be too curious in prying into the weaknesses of others. We should labour rather to see what they have that is for eternity, to incline our heart to love them, than into that weakness which the Spirit of God will in time consume, to estrange us. Some think it is strength of grace to endure nothing in the weaker, whereas the strongest are readiest to bear with the infirmities of the weak." (33)Further:
"He that pronounces them blessed that consider the poor will have a merciful consideration of such himself." (45)When Sibbes speaks of not prying into weaknesses, he is not advocating excusing or overlooking sin, or avoiding pastoral care. In other places he says quite the contrary:
"...all comfort should draw us nearer to Christ. Otherwise it is a lying comfort, either in itself or in our application of it."Â (68)And in another place:
"True peace is in conquering, not in yielding." (72)And again:
"There can be no victory where there is no combat." (118)As to our own selves when we strive and grow weary in our efforts to live as disciples of Jesus, Sibbes urges:
"Let us not be cruel to ourselves when Christ is thus gracious. There is a certain meekness of spirit whereby we yield thanks to God for any ability at all, and rest quiet with the measure of grace received, seeing it is God's good pleasure it should be so, who gives the will and the deed, yet not so as to rest from further endeavors. But when, with faithful endeavor, we come short of what we would be, and short of what others are, then know for our comfort, Christ will not quench the smoking flax, and that sincerity and truth, as we said before, with endeavour of growth, is our perfection." (52)In closing, the following words from Sibbes on grace:
"It is one thing to be deficient in grace, and another thing to lack grace altogether. God knows we have nothing of ourselves, therefore in the covenant of grace he requires no more than he gives; but gives what he requires, and accepts what he gives." (36)
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