In case you were going through Burroughs' Rare Jewel with us a couple of months ago, let me give you an update. We will be putting this study on hold right now until August. In August we will be doing this book as part of the Puritan Reading Challenge. We will then return to Burroughs' great book; probably this time with a new easier to read format.

In this second chapter Sibbes main point seems to be to set forth Christ as one that will "not only not break nor quench, but he will cherish those with whom he so deals." Again, Spurgeon is correct about the diamonds and pearls. I am tempted to photocopy the entire chapter and put it under the section of pearls and diamonds.

Quick Outline:

• Christ's Dealing with the Bruised Reed
• What Do We Learn from Christ Dealing's?
• Who Are the Bruised Reeds?

Summary:

It is difficult to summarize a chapter when you highlighted 40% of it. Sibbes begins this excellent chapter by showing the unbelievable mercy of Christ to his bruised reeds. He gives the example of our own mercy towards those that are "bruised" and then asks the pointed question, "Shall we think there is more mercy in ourselves than in God". He then shows just how true it is that Christ is full of mercy. He labors to show us all of the titles given to Christ to display just this.

Not only do Christ' titles display his tenderness and mercy but also the way in which he executed his office. A wonderful summary statement is: "He shed tears for those that shed his blood, and now he makes intercession in heaven for weak Christians, standing between them and God's anger".

Since we have such a merciful Savior what does this mean for us? Simply put, we learn to "come boldly to the throne of grace in all our grievances." We must not hide from this great Savior but rather, "open all before him". Not only does it bid us to come boldly to the throne of grace but it also supports us when we feel bruised. Furthermore, it sets Christ up as a wonderfully merciful master in contrast to the enemy.

Sibbes then asks three questions. The first of which is, "how shall we know whether we are such as may expect mercy". In other words, how do we know if we are bruised reeds? Sibbes gives eight evidences. The most foundational is that whenever the reality of your sin bruises you the most you can trust that you are a bruised reed of which Christ speaks. You can also see the evidence through a trembling of the word and a low esteem of self.

But how does this type of frame of mind come about? Does God do it? Do we do it? Sibbes says both. "When he humbles us, let us humble ourselves, and not stand out against him, for then he will redouble his strokes". Sibbes seems to be saying that as God works this bruising in us we must cooperate and feel the blows and begin delivering them in contrition ourselves. What must happen is that we must treasure Christ and seek to reform that which is amiss. This is how we cooperate in seeing this frame of mind come about.

Finally Sibbes asks a fitting question: "But are we not bruised unless we grieve more for sin than we do for punishment"? This is a fitting question and one which "The Heavenly Doctor Sibbes" gives an apt answer. He reminds us that the Lord knows our frame. And he gives very sound advice to those that might be questioning whether or not they be broken as they ought: "None are fitter for comfort than those that think themselves furthest off...A holy despair in ourselves is the ground of true hope."

Discussion:

The tenderness with which Sibbes ministers convicts me. You can see that the tender Christ of which Sibbes speaks has penetrated and crafted of Himself a tender Sibbes. As I read through the first section I was enlivened a new with a big vision of our great and merciful Savior, and could not help but praise Jesus for His great mercy. I was also driven, as the Spirit used Sibbes, to "conceal not your wounds, open all before him".

My heart leaped for joy as I read, "there is more mercy in Christ than sin in us". Wow! Oh, how freeing, empowering, cleansing, enthralling, and joyous is such a truth! Therefore, it causes me to seek a further bruising for my sin so that I might see and experience more and more of Christ' great mercy.

This is one is for you to discuss: Sibbes says on page 10, "The consciousness of the church's weakness makes her willing to lean on her beloved, and to hid herself under his wing". If that statement is true, what can be said about the modern church? Are we conscious of our sin? Would you say that the church is willing to lean on her beloved? Are she hiding herself under his wing? What are your thoughts on this?

Pearls and Diamonds:

"Shall we think there is more mercy in ourselves than in God..."(p.7)

"Conceal not your wounds, open all before him and take not Satan's counsel." (p.9)

"No sound, whole soul shall ever enter into heaven." (p.10)

"The consciousness of the church's weakness makes her willing to lean on her beloved, and to hid herself under his wing". (p.10)

"There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us..." (p. 13)

"It is better to go bruised to heaven than sound to hell." (p. 13)

"A holy despair in ourselves is the ground of true hope." (p. 14)

Disclaimer: In posting these thoughts, questions, and ramblings I feel it wise to give a disclaimer. There are many people that are far more knowledgeable and gifted in expositing the Word of God than I. These thoughts are not intended to be in-depth analysis of the text. They are thoughts. They are questions. They are ramblings. It will be a display of what God is teaching me through His Word. In depth study will be done at a different time. It is also good to know the author's goal. 1) To be accountable in reading through Scripture. 2) To share these thoughts with others. Possibly for someone else's edification; possibly for my own. 3) To glorify God through His Word. 4) To spur one another on in taking up Scripture and reading! So without further ado, here are today's readings:

Today I will try to finish Ezra, and start Nehemiah

Ezra 8:

I like the way that Ezra phrases (as God inspired) this statement: "And by the good hand of our God on us". You can see from this that God's hand is good. God's hand is necessary. God's hand is a blessing to be upon us. God's hand makes things happen. Therefore, I pray, may God's hand be upon us.

I can really relate to v21-23. Verse 22 really shows the humanity of Ezra. He has told the king that the hand of God is upon them. But now he is scared that God might not come through. He knows that he cannot go back to the king and ask for protection. Therefore, Ezra and his company are brought to "implore God for this". I want to "stick my foot in my mouth" like Ezra did here. Put myself in such situations that I have no hope but to trust God. I wonder what I would have done? Would I have went back to the king and defamed God's glory for my own personal comfort? I would like to think not, only the Lord knows the depths of my heart.

God answers their pray in verse 31. Again we see that God's hand was upon them.

Ezra 9:

Verse 3. Ouch! These men took sin serious. Beard pulling hurts. Sin should hurt more.

I absolutely love Ezra's prayer here. We see our appropriate posture before God (even though told to approach his throne of grace with boldness). Ashamed and blushing to lift our face to God. I too have felt like Ezra, that I'm drowning in the filth of my sin. God has granted mercy, and here are the people again, drowning in the filth of sin. I wish that many downtrodden Christians might turn to Ezra 9 to see the great mercy of God in forgiving sin after sin after sin. Can you feel the heart behind verse 10? "What shall we say after this?" I've got nothing to say. We've messed up. We are silence before you. All we have left is your mercy. It would be a marvelous grace to have this posture before the Lord rather than continual excuse making.

Verse 13, "You have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this". You've punished us less than we deserve (mercy) and you have lavished upon us your kindness and blessings (grace). Wow! I pray dear Lord that I might live in light of this great truth. That I am doing far better than I deserve. Help me to see your grace in EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, and at ALL TIMES!

Verse 15. If we really thought like this we would be far more thankful for the Cross. "We are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this."

Ezra 10:

Something about verse 1 stirs my heart. Ezra is crying out to God, confessing, weeping, casting himself down...and a great assembly come and join him. This is the type of manifestation of the grace of God that I believe our church needs. God in his great wisdom knows exactly what we need. I pray that he might apply it speedily. If it be this, then let me weep, confess, and cast myself down before our people.

verse 2...even now there is hope. God is so merciful!

Is divorce here permitted? What does he mean by putting away wives? I guess their marriage was never valid so now it is permitted. (NOTE: If you are harboring a thought that this is speaking against intermarriage in our culture, please do not. Intermarriage for us is much different than for the people of Israel. It is not sin for us; unless by intermarriage you mean a believer and an unbeliever).

verse 8..."church" discipline

"Trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain". That verse makes me laugh. It almost like Ezra is saying, "I'm pretty sure they were trembling because of the weight of our sin was upon us and we were in fear before a holy God....but it could have been the rain". (In the context, I really doubt the validity of this interpretation...but at first it struck me as funny)

How great would it be if people in our churches said, "We need to repent for a few days"?

How would you like to be Jonathan, Jahzeiah, Meshullam and Shabbetahi? The only four people in all Israel opposing the work of God. Sometimes being in the minority is right (the Reformers). Sometimes being in the minority is plain stupid and obstinate.

I wonder how they put away their wives and children. This hardly seems right to do, but the Lord's ways are much higher than mine. Certainly it is never wise to continue in sin. What are your thoughts on this?

Tim Challies continues his blog tour, and today he stops by Justin Taylor's Between Two Worlds. Here is JT's question for Challies: "Having now extensively studied the concept of biblical discernment, I wonder what implications you think this has for “discernment blogging”? In part, I’m thinking of “watchdog” blogs and bloggers that have “discernment” as their primary focus. Speaking generally, what are they doing right, and where do they need correction?" Great question! You can find the answer here.

The Puritan Reading Challenge is fun. Timmy Brister seems to be quite astonished by the "success" of his challenge. It's awesome seeing how many people are on board to read these books of hundreds of years ago. May God be honored through our reading of the Puritans. Today Timmy gives us a few links to others that are blogging on the Puritan Reading Challenge. (I was excited to see Borrowed Light on there). Brister also gives a few cool stats on the Reading Challenge. I can't believe it's only 2559 pages to read everything. Only reading 7 pages a day seems quite an easy task. Understanding all 7 pages might be a little more difficult.

John MacArthur has an excellent post on preaching out of season: From Athens to L.A. His solution? Tell them that God is, who God is, and what God says. Even though that sounds simple that is difficult and loaded. You are encouraged to check out the specifics of this article.

One of my favorite blogs is Pyromaniacs. Often times Dan Phillips will give us a quote or a simple sentence and ask a significant question attached to it. It's great for making us think. Today he asks about an excerpt from a card left on his doorstep. "Faith in Christ can help you resolve personal and family challenges". Dan's question is, "What can you surmise about the church that left this"? Good question, Dan. When you click on the link be certain to check out the comments. It is interesting that many are saying it's Mormon and others are crediting it to various Christian denominations or churches. What does that tell us about "our" gospel presentations if it can barely be distinguished from Mormonism?

Brian Thornton asks, What is the Gospel Good For?

Randy Alcorn has an excellent post on Longings of the Heart.