Chapter 5 from Gospel Remission by Jeremiah Burroughs

 

     Blessed is the man that hath his sins forgiven; for indeed, it is a mercy that passes through many difficulties before it comes to the soul; and that that passeth through many difficulties is strong and great indeed, and therefore makes the man blessed, because it is grace that doth pass through many difficulties, it is an argument of a great deal of strength of grace, when grace shall pass through many difficulties; as it is an argument of the great strength of sin, when sin passes through many difficulties to bring forth; a soul being set upon sin, there lies a  great many difficulties in the way, yet lust to that sin being strong, it will break through all difficulties to get to it; so in mercy, when God comes with mercy to forgive a soul, this mercy of God must go through abundance of difficulties before it gets to you, which argues it to be wonderful strong mercy, and therefore makes him blessed that partakes of it. When God made the World, it was done with a word speaking, God said, Let there be light, and there was light: But when God comes to pardon a sinner, Heaven and Earth must be moved; there must be a greater work of God in pardoning of a sinner, than in making of the world; certainly the work is greater and passes through more difficulties. As

     First, All the wrongs that ever thou hast done to God stand betwixt thee and pardon; never did any man in the world wrong another man as thou hast wronged God: How sin wrongs God has in part been held forth to you, in the evil of sin and how contrary sin is to the infinite holiness of God, yet mercy breaks through that, yea above all, that great and difficult work of the satisfying the infinite justice of God, yet mercy breaks through that, and there stands in that.

     This difficulty, that before thou canst be pardoned, God must be made Man, and yet must remain the same God he was before; thou criest for pardon of sin, or thou art undone; suppose now, that Gods bowels of mercy did even yearn towards thee for to pardon thy sin, yet before this is done, there must be this great work done; that God must be made man, and yet remain the same God he was before; here’s a mighty difficult work, a greater work than making of the world, and yet mercy breaks through this.

    Here’s this stands between sin and pardon, That when God is made Man, he must die and be made a curse; and not only so, but God the Father must do it; he must take his own Son and stab him for thee, he must himself take him and put him to death, and himself must pour out his wrath upon his own Son, before thy sins can be pardoned. Now that God the Father should take his own Son, the Son of his delight, stab him to the heart, and himself put him to death, this is a mighty great work; and yet this must be done before thou can’st be pardoned.

     There’s this difficulty stands in the way, That before sin can be pardoned, the blind, dead, wicked, carnal, sottish heart of Man, must be raised up to perform the most glorious Act that ever any creature did; which is an Act of believing: yet says God, that thy sin may be pardoned, I will put forth my infinite power to effect it, to raise that blind, dead, sottish, carnal, wicked heart of man so full of all wickedness, to perform the greatest work that ever any creature did, for so is believing; God’s mighty power is put forth to effect this: Now there is all these difficulties lying in the way, and yet mercy passes through them all to pardon sin; surely then, that soul must needs be blessed that hath his sin pardoned; that God sets his heart upon him so much, that rather than he will not shew mercy unto him, he will pass through all these great difficulties that lie in the way; and truly on consideration of this, before I pass any further, there are three Meditations that may be collected hence, and may come with a great deal of power upon all our souls. 

     First, Then it must needs be a great taking the Name of God in vain, for any man or woman to have slight thoughts of such a mercy, as pardon of sin is, that comes through so many difficulties.

     Secondly, This may come with power upon our hearts, if God’s mercy pass through so many difficulties for the pardon of thy sin thou mayst be content to endure much difficulty in seeking for the pardon of thy sin; thou seest what an evil sin is, and art more sensible of it than ever thou wert before; well, thou art seeking for pardon, and thou conplainest, thou hast waited long for pardon, it may be a quarter, or half a year, or it may be twelve months, and thou hast got little assurance of pardon, and thou findest it much more difficult than thou thoughtest it would be, temptations come stronger than ever, and the Devil suggests more evil thoughts than ever; thou findest duties hard to flesh and blood, and thou art wearied and tired with temptation, these are some difficulties; but yet art thou about that great work of seeking pardon of sin, be contented to suffer some difficulties, yea ten times more than thou hast; if God see good to lay it upon thee, for God’s mercies pass through difficulties to pardon thy sin, and if thou get’st through, though thou meetest with difficulties, thou hast no cause to complain at all; Why should not you be willing to pass through difficulties in seeking pardon, when as God’s mercies pass through many difficulties to come to thy soul; thou art going to God, and seeking to him for mercies, and there lies many difficulties in the way; when God was coming to thee, there lay many difficulties in the way, and yet he passed through them all; therefore thou mayst be content though thou meetest with some difficulties in seeking the pardon of thy sins.

     Thirdly, This may make us willing to go through any services, though they be hard, if thou art in getting of pardon; Suppose God set us about some hard work that hath many difficulties in it, do not complain as if God were a hard Master, when he sets you about any hard work; for be it known unto you, thou art never set about any such hard work in all thy life for God, that hath so many difficulties in it, as the work of God in pardoning thy sin hath; there are more difficulties when God comes to pardon thy soul for sin, than in any service whatever that God requires of thee; thou look’st upon the service of God, and there are many difficulties in it; be contented, do not complain, for God passed through many difficulties to pardon thy sin; and this is another consideration, the difficulties God passes through to pardon sin, is a great Argument that that soul is blessed that hath his iniquities forgiven.

From TREASURY OF DAVID

Compiled by Charles Spurgeon

Psalms 131:2

 

     “Surely I have behaved and quieted myself.” The original bears somewhat of the form of an oath, and therefore our translators exhibited great judgment in introducing the word “surely;” it is not a literal version, but it correctly gives the meaning. The Psalmist had been upon his best behavior, and had smoothed down the roughnesses of his self-will; by holy effort he had mastered his own spirit, so that towards God he was not rebellious, even as towards man he was not haughty. It is no easy thing to quiet yourself: sooner may a man calm the sea, or rule the wind, or tame a tiger, than quiet himself. We are clamorous, uneasy, petulant; and nothing but grace can make us quiet under afflictions, irritations, and disappointments. “As a child that is weaned of his mother.” He had become as subdued and content as a child whose weaning is fully accomplished. The Easterns put off the time of weaning far later than we do, and we may conclude that the process grows none the easier by being postponed. At last there must be an end to the suckling period, and then a battle begins: the child is denied his comfort, and therefore frets and worries, flies into pets, or sinks into sulks. It is facing its first great sorrow, and it is in sore distress. Yet time brings not only alleviations, but the ending of the conflict; the boy ere long is quite content to find his nourishment at the table with his brothers, and he feels no lingering wish to return to those dear fountains from which he once sustained his life. He is no longer angry with his mother, but buries his head in that very bosom after which he pined so grievously: he is weaned on his mother rather than from her.

 

“My soul doth like a weanling rest,

I cease to weep;

So mother’s lap, though dried her breast,

Can lull to sleep.”

 

     To the weaned child his mother is his comfort though she has denied him comfort. It is a blessed mark of growth out of spiritual infancy when we can forego the joys which once appeared to be essential, and can find our solace in him who denies them to us: then we behave manfully, and every childish complaint is hushed. If the Lord removes our dearest delight we bow to his will without a murmuring thought; in fact, we find a delight in giving up our delight. This is no spontaneous fruit of nature, but a well-tended product of divine grace: it grows out of humility and lowliness, and it is the stem upon which peace blooms as a fair flower. “My soul is even as a weaned child;” or it may be read, “as a weaned child on me my soul,” as if his soul leaned upon him in mute submission, neither boasting nor complaining. It is not every child of God who arrives at this weanedness speedily. Some are sucklings when they ought to be fathers; others are hard to wean, and cry, and fight, and rage against their heavenly parent’s discipline. When we think ourselves safely through the weaning, we sadly discover that the old appetites are rather wounded than slain, and we begin crying again for the breasts which we had given up. It is easy to begin shouting before we are out of the wood, and no doubt hundreds have sung this Psalm long before they have understood it. Blessed are those afflictions which subdue our affections, which wean us from self-sufficiency, which educate us into Christian manliness, which teach us to love God not merely when he comforts us, but even when he tries us. Well might the sacred poet repeat his figure of the weaned child; it is worthy of admiration and imitation; it is doubly desirable and difficult of attainment. Such weanedness from self springs from the gentle humility declared in the former verse, and partly accounts for its existence. If pride is gone, submission will be sure to follow; and, on the other hand, if pride is to be driven out, self must also be vanquished.

                            Charles Spurgeon

 

 

     “As a child that is weaned of his mother.” Though the weaned child has not what it would have, or what it naturally most desireth, the milk of the breast yet it is contented with what the mother giveth; it rests upon her love and provision. So are we to be content with what providence alloweth us: Heb. 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have;” and Phil. 4:11, “I have learned, in whatsover state I am, therewith to be content.” Whatever pleaseth our heavenly Father should please us. The child that is put from the breast to a harder diet is yet contented at last. The child doth not prescribe what it will eat, drink or put on. Children are in no care for enlarging possessions, heaping up riches, aspiring after dignities and honors; but meekly take what is provided for them. The child, when it has lost the food which nature provideth for it, is not solicitous, but wholly referreth itself to the mother, hangeth upon the mother. So for everything whatsoever should we depend upon God, refer ourselves to God, and expect all things from him: Ps. 62:5, “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.” With such a simplicity of submission should we rest and depend upon God. Let us take heed of being over wise and provident for ourselves, but let us trust our Father which is in heaven, and refer ourselves to his wise and holy government.

     Thomas Manton