AP

Review of David B. MacKinnon (ed.), Refreshment for the Soul: Daily Devotional Readings from Richard Sibbes, Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2022.

            The ‘heavenly doctor’, Richard Sibbes (1577-1635), is probably best known for his tender work, ‘The Bruised Reed’, which greatly helped Richard Baxter and Martyn Lloyd-Jones when they were struggling. Mark Dever, a modern expert on Sibbes, commends reading him aloud. That might be good advice in using this volume as a set of daily readings.

Sibbes’ outlook is thoroughly Trinitarian: ‘The Father gives a commission to Christ; the Spirit furnishes and sanctifies it, and Christ himself executes the office of a Mediator. Our redemption is founded upon the joint agreement of all three persons of the Trinity.’ Some of his sayings are memorable because of the way Sibbes expresses himself, but others are memorable because of the stimulating way he presents a theological truth.

To give some examples: ‘Heaven would not be heaven without the presence of God’; ‘The best men are severe to themselves, tender toward others’; ‘A weak hand may receive a rich jewel’; ‘All is not ill in a bad action, or good in a good action’; ‘Nothing is stronger than humility, which goes out of itself; nothing is weaker than pride, which rests on its own foundation.’

            Sibbes takes seriously the need to aim for a deep conviction of sin, and also a compassionate approach to the Christian life. Something many modern evangelists could think about is Sibbes’ observation that ‘Often the cause of relapses and apostasy is because men never smarted for sin at the first; they were not long enough under the lash of the law.’ Yet, noting Peter’s threefold denial of Christ, and verses like Psalm 32; Isaiah 38:13; and 2 Corinthians 12:7, Sibbes comments: ‘The heroic deeds of those great worthies do not comfort the church so much as their falls and bruises do.’ At a less exalted level, he could even preach that ‘Recreations are lawful; who denies it? To refresh man’s self is not only lawful, but necessary.’

            The Puritans were never shallow or banal. Sibbes called himself ‘a lump of sin’, and considered that ‘A holy despair in us is the ground of true hope.’ These men were physicians of the soul. ‘There is no man that comes to gross sin suddenly. But he falls little by little; first to slumber, from slumber to sleep, and from sleep to false security. Sleepiness is the inlet to all sins, and the beginning of all danger.’ The place of faith is crucial ‘Faith is an awakening grace. Keep faith awake, and it will keep all other graces awake.’

            One of the great dangers for the Christian is a lack of contentment: ‘There are no men more subject to discontentment than those who would have all things after their own way.’ ‘No man is hurt but by himself first … In all discouragements a godly man has most trouble with his own heart.’ So, says Sibbes: ‘What we are afraid to do before men, we should be afraid to think before God.’ ‘No one can come to heaven who does not first strip himself of himself.’ All of life is to consist of being aware of all things in the sight of God. ‘God often disposes little occasions to great purposes.’ ‘Every experience of God’s love should refresh our faith for any new onset of trouble or distress.’

Sibbes’ treatment of what Charles Wesley later described as the ‘mystery all: the Immortal dies‘, is about as helpful as any summary I have read: ‘When Christ died, it was in his own person; Christ died whole and was crucified. But the death was limited to the human nature – the human nature died and not the Godhead. Yet by reason of the union, all of Christ died and was crucified: the “Lord of glory” was crucified (1 Cor.2:8).’

Sibbes’ view of preaching did not fall for a soft-headed wooing in the name of grace nor for a succession of heavy-handed demands for obedience to law. He argued: ‘Because people are in a contrary state to Christ, to preach Christ we must first begin with the law, to show to people their state by nature.’ Yet he also urged that ‘Preaching must be of Christ. Some may question, “But must nothing be preached but Christ?” Yes, nothing but Christ, or that which tends to Christ. Whatever is done in preaching to humble men, it is to raise them up again in Christ. When men are dejected by the law, we must raise them up again in Christ. Whatever we preach, it must lead to Christ. Once men have been taught Christ then they must also be taught to “walk worthy of Christ, and of their calling” (Col.1:10)’.

This life is lived before God, and leads onto death and judgment. ‘If we mean to enter heaven hereafter, we enter into the suburbs here.’ Death is ‘a grim sergeant’ who lets us into ‘a glorious palace’. The final piece of advice in this set of readings is: ‘At the end of each day, go over all that was done that day.’

Spend the year with a Puritan, and Richard Sibbes would be one of the best guides along the way.

– Peter Barnes