Responding to Christ's Kindness
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.—Rom. 12:1
Let us think to ourselves: when he is so kind to us, will we be cruel against him in his name, in his truth, and in his children? It cannot but cut the heart of those that have felt this love of Christ to hear him wounded who is the life of their lives and the soul of their souls. This makes those who have felt mercy weep over Christ whom they have pierced with their sins. The apostle could not find a more heartbreaking argument to enforce a sacrifice of ourselves to God than to appeal to us 'by the mercies of God' in Christ (Rom. 12:1).
This mercy of Christ should also move us to commiserate the state of the poor church, torn by enemies without, and rending itself by divisions at home. What a joyful spectacle is this to Satan and his faction, to see those that are separated from the world fall in pieces among themselves! Our discord is our enemy's melody. So far as men are not of one mind, they will hardly be of one heart, except where grace and the peace of God bear great rule in the heart (Col. 3:15). Open show of difference is only good when it is necessary, although some, from a desire to be somebody, turn into byways and yield to a spirit of contrariness in themselves. If it be wisdom, it is wisdom from beneath: for the wisdom from above, as it is pure, so it is peaceable (James 3:17). Our blessed Saviour, when he was to leave the world, what did he press upon his disciples more than peace and love? In his last prayer, with what earnestness did he beg of his Father that ‘they all may be one' as he and the Father were one (John 17:21).
Further, what spirit will we think them to be of who take advantage of the infirmities of men's spirits to relieve them with false peace for their own worldly ends? A wounded spirit will part with anything. Spiritual tyranny is the greatest tyranny, especially when it is where most mercy should be shown.
This mercy of Christ should also move us to commiserate the state of the poor church, torn by enemies without, and rending itself by divisions at home. What a joyful spectacle is this to Satan and his faction, to see those that are separated from the world fall in pieces among themselves! Our discord is our enemy's melody. So far as men are not of one mind, they will hardly be of one heart, except where grace and the peace of God bear great rule in the heart (Col. 3:15). Open show of difference is only good when it is necessary, although some, from a desire to be somebody, turn into byways and yield to a spirit of contrariness in themselves. If it be wisdom, it is wisdom from beneath: for the wisdom from above, as it is pure, so it is peaceable (James 3:17). Our blessed Saviour, when he was to leave the world, what did he press upon his disciples more than peace and love? In his last prayer, with what earnestness did he beg of his Father that ‘they all may be one' as he and the Father were one (John 17:21).
Further, what spirit will we think them to be of who take advantage of the infirmities of men's spirits to relieve them with false peace for their own worldly ends? A wounded spirit will part with anything. Spiritual tyranny is the greatest tyranny, especially when it is where most mercy should be shown.
Devotional Readings taken from Puritan Richard Sibbes 'Refreshment for the Soul.'
The Bruised Reed, pp. 73-78 [81-84]
Banner of Truth has granted permission for the use of this material.
The Bruised Reed, pp. 73-78 [81-84]
Banner of Truth has granted permission for the use of this material.
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One Thing (1)One Thing (2)Our Thoughts and Desires Reveal Who We AreThe Christian's Desire for God's House (1)The Christian's Desire for God's House (2)What the Soul Was Made ForGod Makes the Heart TenderMaintaining a Tender Heart (1)Maintaining a Tender Heart (2)Maintaining a Tender Heart (3)Maintaining a Tender Heart (4)Test to See if Your Heart is TenderHow to Recover a Tender HeartBenefits of a Tender HeartKings Must Humble Themselves Before GodHow to Humble Ourselves (1)How to Humble Ourselves (2)How to Humble Ourselves (3)Proneness to PrideHumilityTrue versus False Humility (1)True versus False Humility (2)True versus False Humility (3)Both Outward Devotion and Inward AffectionWeeping for the ChurchWeeping and Rejoicing Mixed (1)Weeping and Rejoicing Mixed (2)God Hears Our Prayers--His PartWhen It Seems God Doesn't HearThe Privilege of PrayerGod Hears Our Prayers--Our Part
February
Death Is a Gathering (1)Death Is a Gathering (2)The Righteous Preserve their NationGod's Righteous JudgmentThe Importance of Knowing God Loves Me (1)The Importance of Knowing God Loves Me (2)Abundance Is Not an Accurate Sign of God's LoveRun to GodChristian UnityChrist In Us (1)Christ In Us (2)Christ In Us (3)Christ In Us (4)Christ In Us (5)Christ the Servant: the MediatorThe Bruised Reed and the Smoking Flax (1)The Bruised Reed and the Smoking Flax (2)The Bruised Reed and the Smoking Flax (3)The Bruised Reed and the Smoking Flax (4)God Knows Our FrameLittle at First (1)Little at First (2)Sometimes Tender, Sometimes Tough (1)Sometimes Tender, Sometimes Tough (2)Avoiding Unnecessary RulesThe Weaker BrotherExtend Grace to One AnotherThe Covenant of GraceThe Light of God Compared to Fire (1)
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