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T H E By J O H N.B U N Y A N. L O N D O N, Sold by George Larkin, at the Two Swans without Bishopgates, 1692. |
[II. THE DOCTRINE, ASSERTION, DEMONSTRATION, AND CONCLUSION, THAT A BROKEN AND TRULY
CONTRITE HEART IS AN EXCELLENT HEART.]
ut we will demonstrate by several particulars, that a broken spirit,
a spirit RIGHTLY broken, an heart TRULY contrite, is to God an excellent thing.
First. This is evident from the comparison, 'Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would
I give it, thou delightest not in burnt-offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit, ' &c. Mark, he rejecteth sacrifices, offerings and sacrifices: that is,
all Levitical ceremonies under the law, and all external performances under the gospel;
but accepteth a broken heart. It is therefore manifest by this, were there nothing
else to be said, that proves, that a heart rightly broken, a heart truly contrite,
is to God an excellent thing; for as you see such a heart is set before all sacrifice;
and yet they were the ordinances of God, and things that he commanded; but lo, a
broken spirit is above them all, a contrite heart goes beyond them, yea, beyond them
when put all together. Thou wilt not have the one, thou wilt not despise the other.
O brethren, a broken and a contrite heart is an excellent thing. Have I said a broken
heart, a broken and a contrite heart is esteemed above all sacrifices; I will add,
Second. It is of greater esteem with God than is either heaven or earth; and that
is more than to be set before external duties. 'Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is
my throne, and the earth is my footstool, where is the house that ye build unto me?
and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and
all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to
him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word' (Isa 66:1, 2).
Mark, God saith, he hath made all these things, but he doth not say, that he will
look to them, that is, take complacency and delight in them; no, there is that wanting
in all that he hath made that should take up and delight his heart. But now, let
a broken-hearted sinner come before him; yea, he ranges the world throughout to find
out such an one, and having found him, 'To this man, ' saith he, 'will I look.' I
say again, that such a man to him is of more value than is either heaven or earth;
'They, ' saith he, 'shall wax old'; 'they shall perish' and vanish away; but this
man he continues: he, as is presented to us in another place, under another character,
'he shall abide for ever' (Heb 1:10-12; 1 John 2:17).
'To this man will I look, ' with this man will I be delighted; for so to look doth
sometimes signify. 'Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse, ' saith Christ
to his humble- hearted, 'thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes' (Cant
4:9). While it is as a conduit to let the rivers out of thy broken heart. I am taken,
saith he, 'with one chain of thy neck' (Can 4:9). Here you see he looks and is ravished,
he looks and is taken, as it saith in another place, 'The king is held in the galleries';
that is, is taken with his beloved, with the dove's eyes of his beloved, with the
contrite spirit of his people (Cant 7:5, 1:15). But it is not thus reported of him
with respect to heaven or earth: them he sets more lightly by, them he 'reserves
unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men' (2 Peter 3:7),
but the broken in heart are his beloved, his jewels.
Wherefore, what I have said as to this must go for the truth of God, to wit, That
a broken-hearted sinner, a sinner with a contrite spirit, is of more esteem with
God than is either heaven or earth. He saith he hath made them, but he doth not say
he will look to them. He saith they are his throne and footstool, but he doth not
say they have taken or ravished his heart. No, it is those that are of a contrite
spirit do this. But there is yet more in the words, 'To this man will I look': that
is, For this man will I care, about this man will I camp, I will put this man under
my protection; for so to look to one doth sometimes signify; and I take the meaning
in this place to be such (Prov 27:23; Jer 39:12, 40:4). 'The Lord upholdeth all that
fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down' (Psa 145:14). And the broken-
hearted are of this number; wherefore he careth for, campeth about, and hath set
his eyes upon such an one for good. This, therefore, is a second demonstration to
prove, that the man that hath his spirit rightly broken, his heart truly contrite,
is of great esteem with God.
Third. Yet further, God doth not only prefer such an one, as has been said, before
heaven and earth, but he loveth, he desireth to have that man for an intimate, for
a companion; he must dwell; he must cohabit with him that is of a broken heart, with
such as are of a contrite spirit. 'For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth
eternity, whose name is Holy, I will dwell in the high and holy place, with him also
that is of a contrite and humble spirit' &c. (Isa 57:15).
Behold here both the majesty and condescension of the high and lofty One; his majesty,
in that he is high, and the inhabiter of eternity; 'I am the high and lofty One,
' saith he, 'I inhabit eternity.' Verily this consideration is enough to make the
broken-hearted man creep into a mouse-hole to hide himself from such a majesty! But
behold his heart, his condescending mind; I am for dwelling also with him that hath
a broken heart, with him that is of a contrite spirit; that is the man that I would
converse with, that is the man with whom I will cohabit; that is, he, saith God,
I will choose for my companion. For to desire to dwell with one supposeth all these
things; and verily, of all the men in the world, none have acquaintance with God,
none understand what communion with him, and what his teachings mean, but such as
are of a broken and contrite heart. 'He is nigh unto them that are of a broken spirit'
(Psa 34:18). These are they intended in the 14th Psalm, where it is said, 'The Lord
looked down from heaven, - to see if any did understand and seek God'; that he might
find some body in the world with whom he might converse; for indeed there is none
else that either understand, or that can tend to hearken to him. God, as I may say,
is forced to break men's hearts, before he can make them willing to cry to him, or
be willing that he should have any concerns with them; the rest shut their eyes,
stop their ears, withdraw their hearts, or say unto God, Be gone (Job 21:14). But
now the broken in heart can tend it; he has leisure, yea, leisure, and will, and
understanding, and all; and therefore is a fit man to have to do with God. There
is room also in this man's house, in this man's heart, in this man's spirit, for
God to dwell, for God to walk, for God to set up a kingdom.
Here, therefore, is suitableness. 'Can two walk together, ' saith God, 'except they
be agreed?' (Amos 3:3). The broken-hearted desireth God's company; when wilt thou
come unto me? saith he. The broken-hearted loveth to hear God speak and talk to him.
Here is a suitableness. 'Make me, ' saith he, 'to hear joy and gladness, that the
bones which thou hast broken may rejoice' (Psa 51:8). But here lies the glory, in
that the high and lofty One, the God that inhabiteth eternity, and that was a high
and holy place for his habitation, should choose to dwell with, and to be a companion
of the broken in heart, and of them that are of a contrite spirit. Yea, and here
also is great comfort for such.
Fourth. God doth not only prefer such a heart before all sacrifices, nor esteems
such a man above heaven and earth; nor yet only desire to be of his acquaintance,
but he reserveth for him his chief comforts, his heart-reviving and soul-cherishing
cordials. 'I dwell, ' saith he, with such to revive them, and to support and comfort
them, 'to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite
ones' (Isa 57:15). The broken-hearted man is a fainting man; he has his qualms, his
sinking fits; he ofttimes dies away with pain and fear; he must be stayed with flagons,
and comforted with apples, or else he cannot tell what to do: he pines, he pines
away in his iniquity; nor can any thing keep him alive and make him well but the
comforts and cordials of Almighty God (Exo 33:10, 11). Wherefore with such an one
God will dwell, to revive the heart, to revive the spirit. 'To revive the spirit
of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'
God has cordials, but they are to comfort them that are cast down (2 Cor 7:6); and
such are the broken-hearted; as for them that are whole, they need not the physician
(Mark 2:17). They are the broken in spirit that stand in need of cordials; physicians
are men of no esteem but with them that feel their sickness; and this is one reason
why God is so little accounted of in the world, even because they have not been made
sick by the wounding stroke of God. But now when a man is wounded, has his bones
broken, or is made sick, and laid at the grave's mouth, who is of that esteem with
him as is an able physician? What is so much desired as are the cordials, comforts,
and suitable supplies of the skilful physician in those matters. And thus it is with
the broken-hearted; he needs, and God has prepared for him plenty of the comforts
and cordials of heaven, to succour and relieve his sinking soul.
Wherefore such a one lieth under all the promises that have succour in them, and
consolation for men, sick and desponding under the sense of sin and the heavy wrath
of God; and they, says God, shall be refreshed and revived with them. Yea, they are
designed for them; he hath therefore broken their hearts, he hath therefore wounded
their spirits, that he might make them apt to relish his reviving cordials, that
he might minister to them his reviving comforts. For indeed, so soon as he hath broken
them, his bowels yearn, and his compassions roll up and down within him, and will
not suffer him to abide afflicting. Ephraim was one of these; but so soon as God
had smitten him, behold his heart, how it works towards him. 'Is Ephraim, ' saith
he, 'my dear son?' that is, he is so; 'is he a pleasant child?' that is, he is so;
'for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still; therefore my bowels
are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord' (Jer 31:18-20).
This therefore is another demonstration.
Fifth. As God prefers such a heart, and esteems the man that has it above heaven
and earth; as he covets intimacy with such an one, and prepares for him his cordials;
so when he sent his Son Jesus into the world to be a Saviour, he gave him in special
a charge to take care of such; yea, that was one of the main reasons he sent him
down from heaven, anointed for his work on earth. 'The Spirit of the Lord God is
upon me, ' saith he; 'because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;
he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, ' &c. (Luke 4:18; Isa 61:1). Now
that this is meant of Christ, is confirmed by his own lips; for in the days of his
flesh he takes this book in his hand, when he was in the synagogue at Nazareth, and
read this very place unto the people; and then tells them that that very day that
Scripture was fulfilled in their ears (Luke 6:16-18).
But see, these are the souls whose welfare is contrived in the heavens. God consulted
their salvation, their deliverance, their health, before his Son came down from thence.
Doth not therefore this demonstrate, that a broken- hearted man, that a man of a
contrite spirit, is of great esteem with God? I have often wondered at David that
he should give Joab and the men of war a charge, that they take heed that they carry
it tenderly to that young rebel Absalom his son (2 Sam 18:5). But that God, the high
God, the God against whom we have sinned, should, so soon as he has smitten, give
his Son a command, a charge, a commission to take care of, to bind up and heal the
broken in heart; this is that which can never be sufficiently admired or wondered
at by men or angels.
And as this was his commission, so he acted; as is evidently set forth by the parable
of the man who fell among thieves. He went to him, poured into his wounds wine and
oil; he bound him up, took him, set him upon his own beast, had him to an inn, gave
the host a charge to look well to him, with money in hand, and a promise at his return
to recompence him in what farther he should be expensive while he was under his care
(Luke 10:30-35). Behold, therefore, the care of God which he has for the broken in
heart; he has given a charge to Christ his Son, to look well to them, and to bind
up and heal their wounds. Behold also the faithfulness of Christ, who doth not hide,
but read this commission as soon as he entereth upon his ministry, and also falls
into the practical part thereof. 'He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up
their wounds' (Psa 147:3).
And behold again into whose care a broken heart and a contrite spirit hath put this
poor creature; he is under the care of God, the care and cure of Christ. If a man
was sure that his disease had put him under the special care of the king and the
queen, yet could he not be sure of life, he might die under their sovereign hands.
Ay, but here is a man in the favour of God, and under the hand of Christ to be healed;
under whose hand none yet ever died for want of skill and power in him to save their
life; wherefore this man must live; Christ has in commission not only to bind up
his wounds, but to heal him. He has of himself so expounded it in reading his commission;
wherefore he that has his heart broken, and that is of a contrite spirit, must not
only be taken in hand, but healed; healed of his pain, grief, sorrow, sin, and fears
of death and hell-fire; wherefore he adds, that he must give unto such 'beauty for
ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,
' and must 'comfort all that mourn' (Isa 61:2, 3). This, I say, he has in the commission,
the broken-hearted are put into his hand, and he has said himself he will heal him.
Hence he says of that same man, 'I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will
lead him also, and restore comforts unto him, and to his mourners; - and I will heal
him' (Isa 57:18, 19). And this is a fifth demonstration.
Sixth. As God prefers such a heart, and so esteems the man that has it; as he desires
his company, has provided for him his cordials, and given a charge to Christ to heal
him, so he has promised in conclusion to save him. 'He saveth such as be of a contrite
spirit, ' or, as the margin has it, that be 'contrite of spirit' (Psa 34:18).
And this is the conclusion of all; for to save a man is the end of all special mercy.
'He saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.' To save, is to forgive; for without
forgiveness of sins we cannot be saved. To save, is to preserve one in this miserable
world, and to deliver one from all those devils, temptations, snares, and destructions
that would, were we not kept, were we not preserved of God, destroy us body and soul
for ever. To save, is to bring a man body and soul to glory, and to give him an eternal
mansion house in heaven, that he may dwell in the presence of this good God, and
the Lord Jesus, and to sing to them the songs of his redemption for ever and ever.
This it is to be saved; nor can any thing less than this complete the salvation of
the sinner. Now, this is to be the lot of him that is of a broken heart, and the
end that God will make with him that is of a contrite spirit. 'He saveth such as
be contrite of spirit.' He saveth such! This is excellent!
But, do the broken in spirit believe this? Can they imagine that this is to be the
end that God has designed them to, and that he intended to make with them in the
day in which he began to break their hearts? No, no; they, alas! think quite the
contrary. They are afraid that this is but the beginning of death, and a token that
they shall never see the face of God with comfort, either in this world or that which
is to come. Hence they cry, 'Cast me not away from thy presence'; or, Now I am 'free
among the dead whom God remembers no more' (Psa 51:11, 88:4, 5). For indeed there
goes to the breaking of the heart a visible appearance of the wrath of God, and a
home charge from heaven of the guilt of sin to the conscience. This to reason is
very dreadful; for it cuts the soul down to the ground; 'for a wounded spirit who
[none] can bear?' (Prov 18:14).
It seems also now to this man, that this is but the beginning of hell; but as it
were the first step down to the pit; when, indeed, all these are but the beginnings
of love, and but that which makes way for life. The Lord kills before he makes alive;
he wounds before his hands make whole. Yea, he does the one in order to, or because
he would do the other; he wounds, because his purpose is to heal; 'he maketh sore,
and bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole' (Deut 32:39; 1 Sam 2:6; Job
5:18). His design, I say, is the salvation of the soul. He scourgeth, he breaketh
the heart of every son whom he receiveth, and woe be to him whose heart God breaketh
not.
And thus have I proved what at first I asserted, namely, that a spirit rightly broken,
an heart truly contrite, is to God an excellent thing. 'A broken and a contrite heart,
O God, thou wilt not despise.' For this say I, First. This is evident; for that it
is better than sacrifices, than all sacrifice. Second. The man that has it is of
more esteem with God than heaven or earth. Third. God coveteth such a man for his
intimate and house companion. Fourth. He reserveth for them his cordials and spiritual
comforts. Fifth. He has given his Son a Charge, a commandment to take care that the
broken-hearted be healed; and he is resolved to heal them. Sixth. And concluded,
that the broken-hearted, and they that are of a contrite spirit, shall be saved,
that is, possessed of the heavens.
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