Ask, Seek, Knock

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9).  Some of Richard Sibbes’ thoughts on this great promise are really good: “If we pray, this is always sure: ‘If we ask, we shall receive.’  The Lord has said it; it is so, it must be so.  Consider how God has been faithful in past times.  If once he has heard you in mercy, he will hear you always.  Fathers on earth care for their children, how much more pity, love, and mercy may we expect from our heavenly Father?  Our great God has planted this affection in earthly parents as a type and picture of his own great love.”  Whatever our condition, we will find Him exceedingly merciful.  Whatever we might wonder about such a promise, we cannot doubt the love behind it.  It was good to read Sibbes’ straightforward assertion: “The Lord has said it; it is so, it must be so.”

To Will What He Wills

“For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).  Yesterday I read something in Richard Sibbes’ sermon on this verse that was very profound.  He said that God does not deal with us as human authorities do.  Governments and human authorities on all levels lay down laws and commands, and then expect people to comply.  Most religions work the same way.  They use rules and laws to compel or force people to obey.  One of the great glories of biblical Christianity is that it operates differently!  God does not constrain our wills, or force our wills to do what we really do not want to do.  God works in us to will what He wills.  Don’t miss this!  God gives us new desires, so that we now want to do what He commands.  Philippians 2:13 tells us that the Lord not only gives us the ability to obey His commands, but also the will or desire to do them.  It would be more accurate to say that He gives us the power to obey by giving us the will to obey.  That is the glory of the Gospel.  This is one of the primary blessings of the New Covenant.  Thank you, Richard Sibbes, for pointing this out with such clarity.    

Mercies in Christ

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).  It is very encouraging to read that God is the “Father of mercies,” which means He is the source of all mercy.  Likewise, it is most blessed to read that all comfort comes from Him.  Richard Sibbes points out that before God is the “Father” of all mercies and blessings to us, He is the “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  This emphasizes the all-important fact that God can show us mercy only because of Christ.  Outside of Christ there is only justice for guilty sinners.  Every single encouragement and blessing and mercy we ever experience in life is ours only because we have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.  We owe everything to Him, and the proper response is expressed by Paul in verse 3: “Blessed be the God and Father.”  We bless God by praising and thanking Him; He blesses us by abundantly giving us all that we need. 

The Father of Mercies

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).  Richard Sibbes, one of the finest of the Puritan teachers, gave a series of sermons on the first chapter of 2 Corinthians that comprise an entire 500 page book.  The Puritans had tremendous respect for the written word of God, and as a result were always very thorough in their teaching.  They considered every verse infinitely precious.  And I consider every page of Sibbes’ sermons on 2 Corinthians 1 to be of great value.  That chapter is one of the most encouraging in all of Paul’s letters.  But, in order to enjoy the comfort this passage of God’s word has for us, we must have two things.  More accurately, God does two things.  First, from His written word He gives us the ground or basis of our comfort, which is expressed in the promises of Scripture.  Second, by His Holy Spirit in us, He prepares and fits our hearts to receive and embrace these promises.  Emphasizing either one of these, to the limitation or exclusion of the other has been the source of many problems in the history of the Church.  If truth is not kept in its proper biblical balance, very harmful errors in understanding will result.  There are so many wonderful things to see in this chapter.  I am presently reading the Sibbes’ sermons, and by God’s grace, I hope to point out some of its highlights as I go along.       

When Ordinary Means Fail

“Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.  But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9).  I found Richard Sibbes’ thoughts on this verse compelling, and an exciting challenge to faith: “God’s providence extends to the smallest things, to the sparrow and to the hairs of our heads.  He governs every particular passage in our lives.  This should teach us to look up to heaven for permission, power and perseverance in all the affairs of life.  We should not do anything in which we cannot expect God’s guidance.  We must be able to trust him for a blessing upon all that we do.  If we could live by faith as we should, we would not worry about anything.  God often allows his children to come to great extremities and desperate circumstances, even to the jaws of death itself.  When it comes to pass that all natural and ordinary means fail, we must look to a more durable and constant help—God’s own good will and power.  God is never nearer than in our extremities.  He allows these to test us that he might exercise his grace in us.”  Sibbes’ insight here displays spiritual genius.  There is so much we can learn from Puritans of the caliber of Richard Sibbes!    

Sorrow—A Curse or a Blessing

There is one more very important lesson we can learn from the subject of yesterday’s meditation.  I think Richard Sibbes’ analysis of discouragement, and how the sorrow we experience in afflictions can be either a curse or a blessing, is simply brilliant!  Of course, spiritual brilliance in the handling of Scripture is par for the course with Puritans of Sibbes’ caliber.  The writings and sermons of the Puritans are as good as it gets!  Now, back to Sibbes’ particular brilliant point for today.  In Psalm 43, David is expressing the discouragement and sorrow he is experiencing in his afflictions.  Every believer goes through the same feelings at various times.  Any properly instructed Christian will agree with Sibbes when he says that being too discouraged in afflictions is sinful.  But how much is too much?  How can a Christian know when the amount of sorrow turns from a normal human reaction to a sinful one?  Sibbes’ reply to this question reveals the spiritual genius that marks so many Puritan teachers: “The soul is cast down too much when our sorrow does not bring us to God, but away from God.”  That is it exactly.  The person who blames God for the affliction will drift away from the Lord in bitterness and unbelief.  Hebrews 3:12 warns us about “an evil, unbelieving heart” that falls away from God.  But those who look to God for comfort in their sorrow will find Him an ever present source of help in troubles.