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Reading Classics Together: The Bruised Reed (II)
- 04/22/10
- 24
Today we come to our second reading in Richard Sibbes’ The Bruised Reed. We are looking at chapters 2 and 3 today, seeing that Christ will not break the bruised reed and learning what God means by “the smoking flax.”
Summary
Sibbes looks first to Christ’s dealing with the bruised reed (and, to reiterate, a bruised reed is a person who is in misery of spirit so either he will come to Christ or be drawn closer to Christ). He points to Christ’s mercy, saying “he will not only not break nor quench, but he will cherish those with whom he so deals. … Shall we think there is more mercy in ourselves than in God, who plants the affection of mercy in us?” Because we know how to show mercy, we can be assured that Christ will show greater mercy to those who have been bruised. Through Christ’s humanity he is able to sympathize with us in our plights. Though he has now ascended to heaven, “His advancement has not made him forget his own flesh. Though it has freed him from passion, yet not from compassion towards us. … He will not show his strength against those who prostrate themselves before him.”
By way of application, Sibbes teaches that we should be bold to come before the throne of grace, trusting in God’s mercy. We should trust also that “Christ’s way is first to wound, then to heal.” So if we are wounded, we can know that Christ will also bring greater healing. And finally, we ought to “see the contrary disposition of Christ on the one hand and Satan and his instruments on the other.” Satan pounces upon us when we are at our weakest and seeks to destroy us then. Christ, though, mercifully attends on those who are weakest to bind up their wounds. “The consciousness of the church’s weakness makes her willing to lean on her beloved, and to hide herself under his wing.”
Sibbes then asks the reader to see that a bruised reed is one who has been brought low not only by a cross to bear, but by an awareness of his sin, which bruises more than all else. “When conscience is once awakened, all former sins and present crosses join together to make the bruise the more painful.” He also encourages us, in those moments of bruising, to lament our own condition that we should even need such pain in order to mold and shape us into the image of the Savior. “It is better to go bruised to heaven than sound to hell. Therefore let us not take off ourselves too soon, nor pull off the plaster before the cure be wrought, but keep ourselves under this work till sin be the sourest, and Christ the sweetest, of all things.” One last good quote: “none are fitter for comfort than those that think themselves furthest off.”
Sibbes then discusses the term “the smoking flax” saying “in God’s children, especially in their first conversion, there is but a little measure of grace, and that little mixed with much corruption which, as smoke, is offensive; but that Christ will not quench this smoking flax.” Later he says, “Let us not be discouraged at the small beginnings of grace, but look on ourselves as elected to be ‘Holy and without blame.’ Let us look on our imperfect beginning only to enforce further striving to perfection, and to keep us in a low opinion of ourselves.” Showing that grace is mingled with sin and corruption he says, “grace does not go away with corruption all at once, but some is left for believer to fight with. The purest actions of the purest men need Christ to perfume them; and this is his office.” And one last notable quote: “Broken hearts can yield but broken prayers.”
I wonder if we could work together to build a solid definition of “the bruised reed” and “the smoking flax”—definitions better than what I’ve offered. That might prove useful for reference as we continue through the book. Can someone take a stab at that?
Next Week
For next Thursday please read chapters 4 and 5.
Your Turn
The purpose of this program is to read classics together. So if there are things that stood out to you in this chapter, if there are questions you had, this is the time and place to have your say. Feel free to post a comment below or to link to your blog if you’ve chosen to write about this on your own site.
Posts in this Series:
- Reading Classics Together: The Bruised Reed (I)
- Reading Classics Together: The Bruised Reed (II)
- Reading Classics Together: The Bruised Reed (III)
- Reading Classics Together: The Bruised Reed (IV)
- Reading Classics Together: The Bruised Reed (V)
- Reading Classics Together: The Bruised Reed (VI)
- Reading Classics Together: The Bruised Reed (VII)
- Reading Classics Together: The Bruised Reed (VIII)
- Reading Classics Together: The Bruised Reed (Final)
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
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Comments (24)
Really benefited from the reading this week, especially chapter three on grace being mingled with corruption. Blogged a little piece about it here: http://bit.ly/doi9Qs.
My comments are here:
http://dailyonmywaytoheaven.com/2010/04/22/light-meets-daily-life-iii-br…
Thank you for the encouragement to read this book. It is a great book indeed!
Blessings.
Before I share specific lines that leaped off the page for me, can I just say (ask?!) who writes like this anymore?Sibbes’ English is so beautiful! Does he go one line without painting a picture in your mind of the idea he’s communicating?
Metaphors roll off his pen with seemingly no effort! So rich! We need a revival of writing like this in the church today.
(1) Jesus doesn’t kick a man when he’s down, and
(2) My bruising is mainly an inside job.
I am a bruised reed because of the sin in me.But I’m only bruised, not broken, because of the Lord in me.
This stood out to me:“There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.”
More on my blog:“Is bruising bad?”
Gaining much from this book so far. Another great pick, Tim.
I led a study through this book with a church men’s group. As far as definitions go, here’s a try.
A bruised reed is someone who is very aware of their own sin. Sibbes tells this person to look to Christ for aide and comfort. He knows that one the one hand we are to all be bruised and it’s a good thing to know the weight of sin. But we must not stay there for long, or be so bruised that we are crushed.
The smoking flax is actually way more interesting to me. Sibbes intends to answer why we so often sin in the midst of doing good. A smoking flax is good (fire) mingled with sin (smoke). For example, we tend to think of noted pastors like Piper as super-Christians, but Sibbes knew instinctively that pastors, in the midst of preaching can struggle with pride. It can be a confusing thing to sin and do good almost simultaneously, and Sibbes helps make sense of it. He has an uncanny ability to get inside my head and know how Christians generally struggle.
The following are a few quotes that were especially meaningful to me:
Again, a man truly bruised judges sin the greatest evil, and the favor of God the greatest good.
He thinks that those who walk in the comforts of God’s Spirit are the happiest men in the world.
A holy despair in ourselves is the ground of true hope.
Things of greatest perfection are longest in coming to their growth.
Christ values us by what we shall be, and by what we are elected unto.
Lisa- I was just listening to Carolyn Mahaney on the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Women and she used that quote from Sibbes: ” There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.” Thought that was pretty cool. Ok, back to listening.
I agree completely Paul. We have lost much of the power of language, not only in our churches, but every where. I enjoy not only the pictures he paints for us, but his economy of words as well. Sibbes writing isnt puffed up.
Is it possible that Tweets and IM’s are flattening our use of language?
My most memorable quotes were:
“We must lay siege to the hardness of our own hearts, and aggravate sin all we can. We must look on Christ, who was bruised for us, look on him whom we have pierced with our sins. But all directions will not prevail, unless God by his Spirit convinces us deeply, setting our sins before us, and driving us to a standstill. Then we will cry out for mercy. Conviction will breed contrition, and this leads to humiliation. Therefore desire God that he would bring a clear and a strong light into all the corners of our souls, and accompany it with a spirit of power to lay our hearts low.”
This needs to be my daily prayer and devotion. I need to be aware of this all the time.
“The purest actions of the purest men need Christ to perfume them”
Even when I think I am doing ok, I am still a wretch.
Tom
As a pastor, this is such a good reminder of what true pastoral ministry is all about. What a joy it must have been to his flock to have the pastor come around sharing truths such as this. It’s been commented on several times already, but is it not a great statement of encouragement - There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us. Hallelujah. I’m also finding this a tremendous comfort to my soul as a pastor. I can speak with “bruised reed-ishness” to other bruised reeds and they’ll know I really do know what I’m talking about!
Here’s a few more thoughts I posted earlier this morning:
http://insidepastorkevinshead.blogspot.com/2010/04/bruised-reed-reading-…
Being a “good Lutheran girl”, so much of these two chapters remind me of CFW Walther’s work in helping us make the proper distinction between Law and Gospel. In effect those who are aware of their sin (bruised) need to hear the Gospel: “Jesus loves you and saves you.” Those who are unaware of their sins need to be bruised with the Law: “You are not cutting it, in God’s view.”I am loving this journey. Thanks, Tim.
PS: OK, I’m not always good, but I am a Lutheran girl. :-)
The quotes that I appreciated the most were:
“It is better to go bruised to heaven than sound to hell.”
“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 to force us to pitch our rest on justification, not sanctification, which besides imperfection, has some stains.”
I must admit I’m still struggling a bit with the meaning of “smoking flax”. Could be I’m just not thinking clearly due to this headcold. I’ll have to reread these chapters when I feel better.
I read the smoking flax as a metaphor for the sin/grace mixture in our sanctification. There are just a few sparks of grace to get the flax going, producing enough light to see, but not a blazing fire so that everything is illuminated. The smoke (the sin in our life) makes it hard to see the way.
What’s really interesting, and deep, is that with smoking flax, it’s the fire that causes the smoke! Does the grace and mercy of God through Christ make us aware of the smoke, whereas before we were oblivious to our sin?
Thank you Tim for providing the impetus for me to get back to reading a Puritan author, something I haven’t done for a very long time!
Several passages that really stuck in my mind have been mentioned, but one that hasn’t yet (I think… I haven’t read the blog posts referred to) is the sentence prior to a passage that Tim quotes near the beginning of his post:
” ’ Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?’ cried the Head in heaven, when the foot on earth was trodden on (Acts 9:4).”
He then goes on, as Tim, quotes above, “His advancement has not made him forget his own flesh. Though it has freed him from passion, yet not from compassion towards us.”
I loved that Head and foot picture! Sibbes certainly does have a way with words!
I focused on the bruising we receive, and what we ought tothink about. this information came primarily from chapter. I also brought in a few thoughts from Owen on mortification.
You can read it here: http://quercuscalliprinos.blogspot.com/2010/04/reading-classics-with-cha…
Wow! I agree; that is pretty cool.
Favorites:Under “Who are the bruised reeds?” #7 “He trembles at the Word of God (Isa.66:2).” Whoa! I respect God’s Word tremendously, but do I TREMBLE when I hear it?
“There is a dangerous slighting of the work of humiliation, some alleging this for a pretense for their casual dealing with their own hearts…”
“And when God’s hand is upon us in any way, it is good to divert our sorrow for other things to the root of all, which is sin.”
A question: What does #3 under “Who are the bruised reeds?” mean? “”He would rather hear of mercy than of a kingdom.”
= “… brusing is required before conversion, that so the Spirit may make way for itself into the heart…” (chp II, pg. 19). God has to “help” be lost confidence in myself so my confidence can be placed in Him.
= “What should we learn from hence, but to come boldly to the throne of grace” (chp. III, pg 23). God created us for relationship, Christ died for relationship, and the Spirit enlivens spirit so the relationship is possible… and brusing is needful to draw attention back to God.
Based on Isa 61:1 Sibbes writes, “He is a physician good at all diseases, especially at the binding up of a broken heart.” I love the phraseology “…binding up of a broken heart.” To me, the “broken heart” spoken of here is a bruised heart.
Tim, I’ll take a stab at defining “a bruised reed” although tomorrow I’ll undoubtedly see its shortcomings.
A Bruised Reed leading to Conversion: Soul trembling awareness of who we are before a Holy God and that the blackness of our hearts (our sin) separates us from our Creator. (“Soul trembling” may not be strong enough language. I like your use of the word “misery.” Perhaps it should be incorporated into the definition)
A Bruised Reed Subsequent to Conversion: The magnitude of one’s sin is heightened by sickness of soul or body.
You are right about the richness of the language used by Sibbes. The Puritan writers wrote so beautifully and succinctly. Another writer who really impressed me in the past few weeks is Stephen Charnock in A Discourse of Delight in Prayer, a fine example of the literary genius of the writers of this genre.
“A Christian’s heart is in secret ravished into heaven. There is a delight in coming near God, and warming the soul by the fire of his love.The angels are cheerful in the act of praise; their work is their glory. A holy soul doth so delight in this duty, that if there were no command to engage him, no promise to encourage him, he would be stepping into God’s courts. He thinks it not a good day that passeth without some intercourse with God. David would have taken up his lodgings in the courts of God, and regards it as the only blessedness, Psalm 65:4. And so great a delight he had in being in God’s presence, that he envies the birds the happiness of building their nests near his tabernacle. A delight there is in the holiness of prayer; a natural man under some troubles may delight in God’s comforting and easing presence, but not in his sanctifying presence. He may delight to pray to God as a store-house to supply his wants, but not as a refiner’s fire to purge away his dross. “Prayer, as praise, is a melody to God in the heart,” Eph. 5:19. And the soul loves to be fingering the instrument and touching the strings.”
I would define the bruising as being aware of your sin and having true remorse for having sinned against a holy God. Before I was saved, I would sin without a thought. The sin wouldn’t bother me, the consequences would. Now, when I sin, I actually experience sorrow over sinning against God. Bruising is a gift from God that leads us to repentance.
The smoking flax was more confusing to me. It looks like chapter 4 will clarify things, but I haven’t read it yet. Grace is the flame, the pure flame. The smoke is a reminder of our sin. It makes me think of a campfire. The smoke gets in your eyes and lungs and is unpleasant. You have to get up and move to get out of the smoke. God makes you more aware of your sin and helps you to notice more sins that you wouldn’t have noticed before. Then you make changes in your life and grow in sanctification.
I hope that makes sense . It makes sense in my head. :)
Thank you all for your comments. They are a manifest of our fellowship to me.
As I reflected on Sibbes’ writing, “He has wounded, and he must heal. The Lord who has bruised me deservedly for my sins must bind up my heart again.” -I was confronted with my inclination to look to things, or to other imperfect creations, or worse of all to myself, to heal the pain and my broken heart. It is in these moments that I cling to my heart of stone as I lament my circumstances (bruising) and not my transgressions. I focus on my desire to remove the pain, instead of the work of my Father in chipping at my heart so that He may replace it with one of flesh (Ezek. 36:26).
Sibbes describes my prideful heart well - “Men, for the most part , are not lost enough in their own feeling for a Saviour.”
Praise God! “There is more mercy in Christ then sin in us.”
Read the chapters, but was on vacation in the woods of Virginia where there was no internet connection. It was nice to be away from it for a few days. Will be back commenting next week.
I’ve puzzled over that one myself. This probably is not what Sibbes intended, but it is what I finally was able to make of it: That the “man truly bruised” would rather hear of the mercy of God in Christ than hear of a kingdom granted to himself - God’s mercy over his personal advancement/temporal well-being.
(I apologize, first, for the delayed response. I’ve been away, then overwhelmed upon returning home. And, second, someone further down the response list may have already replied; I just haven’t finished reading all of the comments yet.)
Ooops! Sorry! In #23 I meant to be responding to #16 above. I’m basically ignorant of how these response things work….