The Canvas:

Today we consider the ninth characteristic of a godly man: a godly man is a lover of the Word. A godly man loves the Word written, and he loves it because of the efficacy that it has had upon him. He loves all of the Word, not merely a part. He loves the counseling parts, the threatening parts, and the consolatory parts. All of it. But how, you ask, does one know whether he loves the word or not? Watson gives eight ways a godly man shows his love to the Word:

1. By diligently reading it
2. By frequently meditating on it
3. By delighting in it
4. By hiding it
5. By defending it
6. By preferring it above things most precious
7. By talking about it
8. By conforming to it

The godly man does these things because of the excellence of the Word. He understands that it is the pillar of fire to guide us and a spiritual mirror to display our hearts, he embraces the word as a sovereign comfort in distress. He loves it because of its efficacy upon his heart. He not only loves the Word written, but also the Word preached.

Let us then, test whether or not we are godly by this characteristic: are we lovers of the Word? Do we love the Word written? Do we love the Word preached? We will know that we love the Word written and preached when we desire to sit under its heart-searching ministry, when we pray it may meet with our sins, and when we are thankful for this reproof. Do we love the Word?

Discussion:

Do you agree with Watson that many "hide the Word in their memory, but not in their heart"?

Keeping in mind that Watson is not saying this is the purpose of preaching...do you agree with his assessment that "the Word is preached to beat down sin and advance holiness"?

Since Watson says that a "godly man does not choose to sit under a ministry that will not work upon his conscience", do you think he is saying he ought to leave? What if the problem is with the person and not the preacher? Or does Watson have a belief in the efficacy of the Word that perhaps we do not in our day? Is Watson saying, if your conscience is not pierced then the Word is not preached?

Strokes of Genius:

"Those who will not be taught by the Word shall be judged by the Word". (p61)

"How can those who are seldom conversant with the Scriptures say they love them?" (p65)

"The two testaments are hung up like rusty armor which is seldom or never made use of." (p65)

In the sermon from Wednesday night I gave this analogy:

Imagine a beggar. He has no cash. His clothes are tattered and torn. His breath is smelly. His hair is unkempt. His biggest hope is to get a few coins to get a coffee or a beer to drown out his pain. Every afternoon around 3:00 he waits outside a successful law firm, hoping to get a few coins from the wealthy employees.

One day a young businessman exits the law firm. It has been a relatively tough day and his mind is wandering and his heart is betting a little excited about his plans for the evening. Suddenly, he is awakened from his day-slumber. He notices the man. The beggar. The tattered clothes. He reaches in his pocket for a few quarters, but something hits him. Perhaps it was a Sunday school lesson from his childhood, maybe it was the Mexican food he had for lunch. He decides to really bless this beggar. Rather than giving this man a few dollars to get him through the night. The man decides to lavish riches upon the beggar. He stoops down to the old man, and asks him if he would like to go for a ride. Of course, the beggar is a little reluctant, but with a little pleading he follows the man. What happens next is almost unbelievable. The rich lawyer goes to the closest 5th Avenue store and buys the beggar an expensive suit. They get a haircut. He takes the man to get a shower. He takes him out for a really nice dinner. Then at the end of the night he gives the beggar a key chain. On the key chain is a key to his new car, his new house, and to the building of his new office. He has taken the beggar off the street and set him in the lap of luxury.

Now, how does the beggar give gratitude to the rich man? If we can speak this away, how would
the beggar glorify the rich man? How would he magnify the works of the rich man? What could the beggar do to make the rich man shine the brightest? As I stated in the sermon Wednesday night, our answer to that question, will dictate whether or not we understand thanksgiving and gratitude towards God. We are the beggar, God is the "rich man". How are we to give Him thanks for what He has done?

The first point that Burroughs draws out of his definition of contentment is that it is an "inward heart thing." It is not a mere outward conformity but a quiet of the soul. As Burroughs says, "many may sit silently, refraining from discontened expressions, yet inwardly they are bursting with discontent". If we are to truly have contentment then it must be inward and not merely outward. To drive home this point we are given a fitting analogy: "A shoe may be smooth and neat outside, while inside it pinches the flesh".

Some are unable to hide the raging sea within. Others are able to hide it. Both are in the same state--discontentment. Therefore, the goal of contentment is not to merely clothe the outward turbulences, but to calm the war within. This will require a work of God. As Burroughs says, "If the attainment of true contentment were as easy as keeping quiet outwardly, it would not need much learning...It is a business of the heart".

Admonishment: Worry about the inside of your shoe as much as the polish on the outside.

For Your Consideration: Only through a firm grip on the gospel will we be bold enough to display (as well as deal with) that which is on the inside. May the gospel have roots deep enough in our lives to cause us to be bold sinners and not polished hypocrites.

Continue to our discussion of section 2, Chapter 1 of The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

Can you say with the Apostle Paul, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content'? It is the hope of Jeremiah Burroughs that through expositing this text, that we may, along with Paul, learn the mystery of Christian contentment. The doctrine which comes from this text, and that which will guide this work, is that "to be well skilled in the mystery of Christian contentment is the duty, glory, and excellence of a Christian".

Burroughs goes on to further define what he means by Christian contentment: "Christian contentment is that sweet inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition." The entire first chapter is given to its description. "Nine distinct things are opened up" in accordance with this definition:

1. Contentment is a sweet, inward heart-thing
2. It is the quiet of the heart
3. It is an inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit
4. Contentment is the gracious frame of the heart
5. It freely submits to and takes pleasure in God's disposal
6. Contentment is freely submitting to and taking pleasure in God's disposal
7. Contentment is taking pleasure in God's disposal
8. Submitting, and taking pleasure in God's disposal
9. True contentment is in every condition

Hopefully, after the first chapter you feel a little overwhelmed. Take heart, this is our author's goal. He hopes to show that this is, indeed, a great mystery. This mystery is where Burroughs will spend his time in the second chapter.

The Canvas:

Today we will consider the eight characteristic of a godly man: that he is an evangelical weeper. This may seem like a strange characteristic. After all, aren't believers supposed to be joyous? Why is weeping a grace? Watson will give us six reasons why a godly man weeps:

1. He weeps for indwelling sin
2. A godly man weeps for clinging corruption
3. A child of God weeps that he is sometimes overcome by the prevalence of corruption
4. A godly heart grieves that he can be no more holy
5. A godly man sometimes weeps out of the sense of God's love
6. A godly person weeps because the sins he commits are in some sense worse than the sins of other men

This godly sorrow also has three qualifications: it is inward, it is ingenuous, and it is influential. (By the way, what Watson means here by ingenuous is that the godly man weeps for the evil that is in sin more than the consequences of sin). How then are we to use this doctrine?

One use is to ask yourself, if you be one that never sheds a tear, whether or not you are actually godly. Can a man really be in love with Christ and not shed a tear for his adulteries with sin? Therefore, our second use is that we ought to pursue this characteristic. As Watson closes, "let us give Christ the water of our tears and he will give us the wine of his blood."

Discussion:

Do you agree that the sins of a believer are in some sense worse than the sins of other men? Remember Watson's reasoning: because the believer acts contrary to himself, because it is a sin of unkindness, because it causes reproach upon the name of God.

How would one go about pursuing the discipline of being an evangelical weeper?

Strokes of Genius:

"The sins of the wicked pierce Christ's sides, the sins of the godly wound his heart." (p.58)

"Divine tears not only wet but wash; they purge out the love of sin." (p.59)

"It was a greater plague for Pharaoh to have his heart turned into stone than to have his rivers turned into blood." (p.59)