The Bruised Reed (3)

The third chapter is the shortest so far, yet what an encouragement. Sibbes addresses the “smoking flax” and fleshes out the types represented by Isaiah’s prophecy. He uses the smoking flax to demonstrate the Savior’s care for the growth in faith.

Where the bruised reed is our humbling for sanctification, the smoking flax is a picture of the seed of faith growing in the midst and in spite of a sinful nature. The Saviour’s care in keeping the spark glowing and growing is a picture of our security in His salvation. We can be confident, despite the smoke, that what He has begun, He will finish.

[I]n God’s children, especially in their first conversion, there is but a little measure of grace, and that little mixed with much corruption, which, as smoke, is offensive; but [Christ] will not quench this smoking flax.

What a great encouragement on the days that we put out lots of smoke. Christ is fanning that little spark into a glorious flame. Someday there will be pure and holy fire, but for now, the fire is burning off remaining corruption. As offensive as the smoke is now, Christ sees and rejoices over the end product.

Let us not therefore be discouraged at the small beginnings of grace, but look on ourselves as elected to be “holy and without blame” (Eph. 1:4). Let us look on our imperfect beginning only to enforce further striving to perfection, and to keep us in a low opinion of ourselves.

It is easy to drift toward one extreme or the other. If I see what I perceive to be a little progress in spiritual growth, I tend to become confident in myself, trusting my natural response to be pleasing to God. Sit back and watch for smoke. If I am painfully conscious of my own failures to the point of despairing if I am even saved, again, I have taken my eyes off of my Savior.

The reason for this mixture is that we carry about us a double principle, grace and nature. The end of it is especially to preserve us from those two dangerous rocks which our natures are prone to dash upon, security and pride, and to force us to pitch our rest on justification, not sanctification, which, besides imperfection, has some stains...

From this mixture arises the fact that the people of God have so different judgments of themselves, looking sometimes at the work of grace, sometimes at the remainder of corruption, and when they look upon that, then they think they have no grace.