Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A30118
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The acceptable sacrifice, or, The excellency of a broken heart shewing the nature, signs and proper effects of a contrite spirit / being the last works of that eminent preacher and faithful minister of Jesus Christ, Mr. John Bunyan of Bedford ; with a preface ... by a eminent minister of the Gospel in London.
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Bunyan, John, 1628-1688.
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1689
(1689)
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Wing B5480; ESTC R4996
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69,020
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270
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28. and doth all of free Cost of meer Mercy and Compassion But what 's all this to one that neither sees his Sickness that sees nothing of a Wound What is the best Physician alive or all the Physicans in the World put all together to him that knows no Sickness that is sensible of no Disease Physicians as was said may go a begging for all the healthful Physicians are of no esteem save only to the Sick or upon a supposition of being so now or at any other time Why this is the cause Christ is so little set by in the World God has not made them sick by smiting of them his Sword has not given them the wound his Dart has not been struck through their Liver they have not been broken with his Hammer nor melted with his Fire So they have no regard to his Physician so they slight all the provision which God has made for the Salvation of the Soul. But now let such a Soul be wounded let such a mans heart be broken let such a man be made sick through the sting of guilt and be made to wallow himself in ashes under the burden of his Transgressions and then who but Christ as has been shew'd afore Then the Physician then Wash me Lord then Supple my Wounds then Pour thy Wine and Oyle into my Sore Then Lord Jesus cause me to hear the Voice of Joy and Gladness that the Bones which thou hast broken may Rejoyce Nothing now so welcome as healing and so nothing no man so desirable now as Christ His name to such is the best of names His Love to such is the best of Love himself being now not only in himself but also to such a Soul the chiefest of Ten Thousands Song 5. As Bread to the Hungry as Water to the Thirsty as Light to the Blind and Liberty to the Imprisoned So and a thousand times more is Jesus Christ to the Wounded and to them that are Broken Hearted Now as was said this must needs be Excellent in Gods Eyes since Christ Jesus is so glorious in his Eyes To contemn what a man counts Excellent is an offence to him but to vallue esteem or think highly of that which is of esteem with me this is pleasing to me such an opinion is excellent in my sight What says Christ My Father loveth you because ye loved me Who hath an high esteem for Christ the Father hath an high esteem for them Hence 't is said He that hath the Son hath the Father the Father will be his and will do for him as a Father who receiveth and sets an honourable esteem on his Son John 16. 27. But none will none can do this but the Broken-Hearted because they and they only are sensible of the want and worth of an intrest in him I dare appeal to all the World as to the truth of this and do say again That these and none but these have hearts of esteem in the sight of God. Alas the heart of the wicked is little worth Pov. 10. 20. for it is destitute of a precious esteem of Christ and cannot but be destitute because it is not wounded broken and made sensible of the want of mercy by him Fourthly A Broken Heart is of great esteem with God because it is A thankful heart for that sence of sin and of grace it has received The Broken Heart is a sensible heart This we touched upon before It is sensible of the dangers which Sin leadeth to yea and has cause to be sensible thereof because it has seen and felt what Sin is both in the guilt and punishment that by Law is due thereto As a Broken heart is sensible of Sin in the evil nature and consequences of it so it is also sensible of the way of Gods delivering the Soul from the day of Judgment consequently it must be a thankful heart Now he that Praises me glorifies me saith God and God loves to be glorified Gods glory is dear unto him he will not part with that Psal. 50. 23. Isa. 42. 8. The Broken-Hearted say I forasmuch as he is the sensible Soul it follows that he is the Thankful Soul. Bless the Lord O my Soul said David and all that is within me Bless his holy Name Behold what Blessing of God is here And yet not content here with he goes on with it again saying Bless the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his Benefits Psal. 103. 1 2. But what 's the matter Oh he has forgiven all thine Iniquities and healed all thy Diseases He has redeemed thy Life from Destruction and Crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender Mercies Verse 3. 4. But how came he to be affected with this Why he knew what it was to hang over the mouth of Hell for Sin Yea he knew what it was for Death and Hell to beset and compass him about Yea they took hold of him as we have said and were pulling of him down into the deep this â—e saw to the breaking of his heart He saw also the way of Life and had his Soul relieved with faith and sence of that and that made him a thankful man. If a man who has had a broken Leg is but made to understand that by the breaking of that he kept from breaking of his Neck he will be thankful to God for a broken Leg. 'T is good for me said David that I have been Afflicted I was by that preserved from a great danger for before that I went astray Psal. 119. 67. 71. And who can be thankful for a mercy that is not sensible that they want it have it and have it of Mercy Now this the Broken-Hearted this the man that is of a Contrite Spirit is sensible of and that with reference to Mercies of the best sort and therefore must needs be a thankful man and so have an heart of esteem with God because it is a thankful heart Fifthly A Broken Heart is 〈◊〉 great esteem with or an excellent thing in the sight of God Because 't is an heart that desires now to become a receptacle or habitation for the Spirit and Graces of the Spirit of God. It was the Devils hold before and was contented so to be But now it is for entertaining of for being possessed with the holy Spirit of God. Create in me a clean heart said David and renew a a right spirit within me Take not thy holy Spirit from me uphold me with thy free Spirit Psal. 51. 10 11 12. Now he was for a clean heart and a right Spirit now he was for the sanctifyings of the blessed Spirit of Grace A thing which the uncircumcised in heart resists and do despite unto Acts 7. 51. Heb. 10. 29. A Broken Heart therefore suiteth with the heart of God a Contrite Spirit is one Spirit with him God as I told you before covets to dwell with the Broken in Heart and the Broken in Heart desireth communion with him Now here 's an agreement an
of all carnal Men in their Wildness or Estranged-ness from God. Hence 't is said of the Prodigal at his Conversion That he came to himself then implying that he was Mad Wild or out of his WITS afore Luke 15. 17. I know there is a Difference sometimes betwixt ones being wild and mad Yet sometimes wildness arriveth to that Degree as to give one rightly the Denomination of being mad And 't is always true in Spirituals namely that he that is wild as to God is mad or besides himself and so not capable before he is tamed of minding his own Eternal good as he should There are these several things that are tokens of one Wild or Mad and they all meet in a Carnal Man. 1. A wild or mad Man gives no heed to good Counsel The Frenzy of his Head shuts all out and by its Force leads him away from men that are Wise and Sober and thus it is with Carnal Men. Good Counsel is to them as Pearls are that are cast afore Swine It is trampled under Foot of them and the man is despised that brings it The poor Man's Wisdom is despised and his Words are not heard Mat. 7. 6. Eccl. 9. 16. 2. A wild or mad Man let him alone and he will greatly busy himself all his Life to accomplish that which when it is compleated amounts to nothing The Work the Toyl the Travel of such an one comes to nothing save to declare that he was out of his Wits that did it David imitating of such an one Scrabled upon the Gate of the King as Fools do with Chalk and like to this is all the Work of all Carnal Men in the World 1 Sam. 21. 12 13. Hence such an one is said to labour for the Wind or for what will amount to no more than if he filled his Belly with the East-Wind Eccles. 5. 16. Job 15. 2. 3. A wild or mad Man if you set him to do any thing and he does it he will yet do it not by or according to your bidding but after the folly of his own wild fancy even as Jehu Executed the Commandment of the Lord he did it in his own madness taking no heed to the Commandment of the Lord 2 Kings 9. 20. Chap. 10. 31. And thus do carnal Men do when they meddle with any of God's matters as Hearing Praying Reading Professing they do all according to their own wild Fancy They take no heed to do these after the Commandment of the Lord. 4. Wild or Mad Men if they deck or array themselves with ought as many times they do why the Spirit of their Wildness or Frenzy appears even in the mode and way in which they do it Either the things themselves which they make use of for that purpose are very Toyes and Trifles or if they seem to be better they are put on after an Antick manner rather to the rendring of them ridiculous than to bespeak them sober judicious or wise And so do natural Men array themselves with what they would be accepted in with God. Would one in his Wits think to make himself fine or acceptable to men by arraying himself in Menstruous Clothes or by painting his Face with Dross and Dung And yet this is the Finery of carnal men when they approach for Acceptance into the presence of God Isa. 64. 6 Phil. 3. 7 8. O the Wildness the Frenzy the Madness that possesses the Heart and Mind of Carnal Men They walk according to the course of this World according to or after that Spirit which is in Truth the Spirit of the Devil which worketh in the Children of Disobedience Eph. 2. 1 2 3. But do they believe that thus it is with them No they are in their own Account as other mad men are the only ones in the World. Hence they are so taken and tickled with their own frantick Motions and deride all else that dwell in the World. But which is the way to make one that is Wild or a Mad man Sober To let him alone will not do it to give him good Words only will not do it No he must be tamed means must be used to tame him He brought down their Heart with Labour or by continual Molestation as you have it Psal. 107. 10 11 12. He speaketh there of Mad-men That are kept up in Darkness and bound in Afflictions and Irons because they Rebelled against the Words of God and Contemned the Counsel of the most High. This therefore is the way to deal with such and none but God can so deal with them They must be taken they must be separated from men they must be laid in Chains in Darkness Afflictions and Irons They must be blooded half starved whipped purged and be dealt with as mad People are dealt with And thus they must be dealt with till they come to themselves and cry out in their Distresses And then they cry to the Lord in their Troubles and he saveth them out of their Distresses Then he brings them out of Darkness and the Shadow of Death and breaks their Bands in sunder Psal. 107. 13 14 15. Thus I say God Tames the Wild and brings Mad Prodigals to themselves and so to him for Mercy Ninthly Man as he comes into the World is not only a Dead Man a Fool Proud Self-willed Fearless a false Believer a Lover of Sin and a Wild Man but a Man that Dis-relishes the things of the Kingdom of God. I told you before that Unconverted man is such as did not taste things But now I add that he disrelishes things he calls bitter things sweet and sweet bitter he judges quite amiss These are they God threatneth with a Wo. Wo to them that call Evil Good and Good Evil that put Darkness for Light and Light for Darkness That put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter Isa. 5. 20. This latter part of this Text shews us evidently that the things of God are Disrelished by some They call his sweet things bitter and the Devils bitter things sweet and all this is for want of a broken Heart A broken Heart relishes otherwise than an whole or unbroken one doth A man that has no Pain or Bodily Distress cannot find or feel Vertue or good in the most Sovereign Plaister were it applied to Arm or Leg no he rather says Away with these stinking daubing things O! But lay the same Plaisters where there is need and the Patient will Relish and Taste and Savour the goodness of them yea will prize and commend them to others Thus it is in Spirituals The VVorld they know not what the Anguish or Pain of a broken Heart means They say Who will shew us any good that is better than we find in our Sports Pleasures Estates and Preferments There be many says the Psalmist speak after this sort But what says the distressed man VVhy Lord lift thou up the Light of thy Countenance upon us And then adds Thou hact put Gladness in our Heart