The Bruised Reed

by Richard Sibbes

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! And what a comfort is this, that seeing God’s love resteth on Christ, as we pleased in him, we may gather that he is as well pleased with us, if we be in Christ! For his love resteth in whole Christ, in Christ mystical, as well as Christ natural, because he loveth him and us with one love. Let us, therefore, embrace Christ, and in him God’s love, and build our faith safely on such a Saviour, that is furnished with so high a commission.

See here, for our comfort, a sweet agreement of all three persons: the Father giveth a commission to Christ; the Spirit furnisheth and sanctifieth to it; Christ himself executeth the office of a Mediator. Our redemption is founded upon the joint agreement of all three persons of the Trinity.

the fig-leaves of morality will do us no good.

after conversion we need bruising, that (1) reeds may know themselves to be reeds, and not oaks; even reeds need bruising, by reason of the remainder of pride in our nature, and to let us see that we live by mercy.

Peter was bruised when he wept bitterly, Matt. xxvi. 35. This reed, till he met with this bruise, had more wind in him than pith. ‘Though all forsake thee, I will not,’

The heroical deeds of those great worthies do not comfort the church so much as their falls and bruises do.

And shall there be more mercy in the stream than in the spring? Shall we think there is more mercy in ourselves than in God, who planteth the affection of mercy in us?

If Christ be so merciful as not to break me, I will not break myself by despair, nor yield myself over to the roaring lion Satan, to break me in pieces.

The consciousness of the church’s weakness makes her willing to lean on her beloved, and to hide herself under his wing.

It is better to go bruised to heaven than sound to hell.

A holy despair in ourselves is the ground of true hope,

things of greatest perfection are longest in coming to their growth. Man, the perfectest creature, comes to perfection by little and little;

Let us not therefore be discouraged at the small beginnings of grace, but look on ourselves, as ‘elected to be blameless and without spot,’ Eph. i. 4.

The ground of this mixture is, that we carry about us a double principle, grace and nature. 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, hath some soil.

Christ chose those to preach mercy, which had felt most mercy, as St Peter and St Paul; that they might be examples of what they taught.

Those fiery, tempestuous, and destructive spirits in popery, that seek to promote their religion by cruelty, show that they are strangers to that wisdom which is from above, which maketh men gentle, peaceable, and ready to show that mercy they have felt before themselves.

Authority is a beam of God’s majesty, and prevaileth most where there is least mixture of that which is man’s. It requireth more than ordinary wisdom to manage it aright.

Let us be watchful in the use of our liberty,

Looseness of life is cruelty to ourselves, and to the souls of others.

Men must 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,

The Holy Ghost is content to dwell in smoky, offensive souls. O that that Spirit would breathe into our spirits the like merciful disposition!

The church of Christ is a common hospital, wherein all are in some measure sick of some spiritual disease or other; that we should all have ground of exercising mutually the spirit of wisdom and meekness.

What is the gospel itself but a merciful moderation, in which Christ’s obedience is esteemed ours, and our sins laid upon him, and wherein God of a judge becometh the father, pardoning our sins and accepting our obedience, though feeble and blemished!

Heavenly truths must have a heavenly light to discern them. Natural men see heavenly things, but not in their own proper light, but by an inferior light. God in every converted man putteth a light into the eye of his soul, proportionable to the light of truths revealed unto him. A carnal eye will never see spiritual things.

The best actions will smell of the smoke. The mortar wherein garlic hath been stamped, will always smell of it; so all our actions will savour something of the old man.

But thus he yielded himself to be tempted, that he might both pity us in our conflicts, and train us up to manage our spiritual weapons as he did. Christ could have overcome him by power, but he did it by argument.

thoughts are seeds of actions.

Some think, when they begin once to be troubled with the smoke of corruption more than they were before, therefore they are worse than they were. It is true, that corruptions appear now more than before, but they are less. For, first, sin, the more it is seen the more it is hated, and thereupon is the less. Motes are in a room before the sun shines, but they then only appear. Secondly, contraries, the nearer they are one to another, the sharper is the conflict betwixt them:

In time of temptation, rather believe Christ than the devil, believe truth from truth itself, hearken not to a liar, an enemy, and a murderer.

When we are troubled in conscience for our sins, his manner is then to present him to the afflicted soul as a most severe judge armed with justice against us. But then let us present him to our souls, as thus offered to our view by God himself, as holding out a sceptre of mercy, and spreading his arms to receive us.

In Christ all perfections of mercy and love meet; how great then must that mercy be that lodgeth in so gracious a heart? Whatsoever tenderness is scattered in husband, father, brother, head, all is but a beam from him, it is in him in the most eminent manner.

Who ever neglected his own members because they were sick or weak? None ever hated his own flesh. Can the head forget the members? Can Christ forget himself?

Let us therefore abhor all suspicious thoughts, as either cast in or cherished by that damned spirit, who as he laboured to divide between the Father and the Son by jealousies, ‘If thou be the Son of God,’ &c., Matt. iv. 6, so his daily study is, to divide betwixt the Son and us, by breeding mispersuasions in us of Christ, as if there were not such tender love in him to such as we are. It was his art from the beginning to discredit God with man, by calling God’s love into question, with our first father Adam; his success then makes him ready at that weapon still.

If God should bring us into such a dark condition, as that we should see no light from himself, or the creature, then let us remember what he saith by the prophet Isaiah, ‘He that is in darkness, and seeth no light,’ Isa. l. 10, no light of comfort, no light of God’s countenance, ‘yet let him trust in the name of the Lord.’ We can never be in such a condition, wherein there will be just cause of utter despair; therefore let us do as mariners do, cast anchor in the dark.

The eyes of our souls cannot be towards him, but that he hath cast a gracious look upon us first. The least love we have to him is but a reflection of his love first shining upon us.

he suffered in his own person whatsoever he calleth us to suffer, that he might the better learn to relieve and pity us in our sufferings.

Our discord is our enemy’s melody.

it is the first thing that we desire when we pray, ‘Thy kingdom come,’ that Christ would come and rule in our hearts.

A little thing in the hand of a giant will do great matters. A little faith strengthened by Christ will work wonders.

When chaff strives against the wind, stubble against the fire, when the heel kicks against the pricks, when the potsherd strives with the potter, when man strives against God, it is easy to know on which side the victory will go.

That Christ’s work, both in the church and in the hearts of Christians, often goeth backward, that it may go the better forward. As seed rots in the ground in the winter time, but after comes better up, and the harder the winter the more flourishing the spring, so we learn to stand by falls, and get strength by weakness discovered—virtutis custos infirmitas—we take deeper root by shaking;

Failings, with conflict, in sanctification should not weaken the peace of our justification, and assurance of salvation.

We should be ready at all times to depart hence, and to live in such a condition as we would be content to die in. We should have hearts prepared for every good duty, open to all good occasions, and shut to all temptations, keeping our watch, and being always ready armed.

therefore in all, especially difficult encounters, let us lift up our hearts to Christ, who hath Spirit enough for us all, in all our exigencies, and say with good Jehoshaphat, ‘Lord, we know not what to do, but our eyes are towards thee,’ 2 Chron. xx. 12; the battle we fight is thine, and the strength whereby we fight must be thine. If thou goest not out with us, we are sure to be foiled. Satan knows nothing can prevail against Christ, or those that rely upon his power; therefore his study is, how to keep us in ourselves, and in the creature: but we must carry this always in our minds, that that which is begun in self-confidence will end in shame.

Let us not look so much who are our enemies, as who is our judge and captain, nor what they threaten, but what he promiseth.

What coward would not fight when he is sure of victory?

Let us then bring our hearts to holy resolutions, and set ourselves upon that which is good, and against that which is ill, in ourselves or others, according to our callings, upon this encouragement, that Christ’s grace and power shall go along with us.