* Richard Sibbes was one of the noted Puritan preachers. Owing to his sweet presentation of the Gospel he was known as the “heavenly Richard Sibbes.” He died in 1635.
I.—Affliction.
AFFLICTIONS make a divorce between the soul and sin. It is not a small thing that will work sin out of the soul. It must be the spirit of burning, the fire of afflictions sanctified. Heaven is for holiness, and all that is contrary to believers affliction works out, and so fits the soul for further and perfect communion with God.
II.—Artificial Christians.
The weights of a clock move all the wheels, so artificial Christians are excited by things without them. They want an inward principle to do good freely. But the Spirit of God works a kind of natural freedom.
III.—True Zeal.
True zeal for God’s glory is joined with true love to men. Therefore, let all that are violent, injurious, insolent, never talk of glorifying God, so long as they despise the meanest of men.
IV.—The Discouragement of Unbelief.
Discouragement rising from unbelief and ill-report, brought upon the good land by the spies, moved God to swear in His wrath, that they should not enter into His rest. Let us take heed a spirit of faint-heartedness, rising from seeming difficulty and disgrace, cast upon God’s good ways, provoke not God to keep us out of heaven. We see here what we may look for from heaven. O! beloved, it is a comfortable thing to conceive of Christ aright, to know what love, mercy, strength we have laid up for us in the breast of Christ. . . . Lord Jesus, thou hast promised not to quench the smoking flax, nor to break the bruised reed; cherish thine own grace in me, leave me not to myself, the glory shall be thine. (To be continued.)