Prayer Meeting 19/11/2024
Overcoming Weak Grace – Part 2
(William Bridge)
Watch The Full Sermon HERE
Tonight we continue look at a teaching from puritan William Bridge, from his work on ‘A Lifting Up for the Downcast’.
Bridge was born in Cambridge, 1600. He went to my favourite college, Emanual College Cambridge. Others who attended this college of course included Jerimiah Burroughs, whom Bridge co-pastored with for a time (what a force that must have been), also Thomas Brooks.
He preached in Great Yarmouth.
Of course, like most puritans he was ejected for non-conformity, and in time he went to live in Rotterdam, Holland for a period and then returned to Yarmouth where he pastored again. He was known to be a brilliant preacher and prolific writer.
He would rise every day at 4am and spend hours confessing his sins before searching scripture up to 17 hours a day. Yet he was a pastor who could relate to the people. His church was apparently full by 7am in morning waiting for him to come and preach. He died in 1670/ 1671 - the Banner of Truth have published a full five volumes of his work.
Before we start, let me read our puritan prayer. One that could arguably been written by Bridge on this very subject. It is from page 284 (158 of the paperback) of ‘The Valley Of Vision’, entitled ‘Privileges’.
O Lord God, Teach me to know that grace precedes, accompanies, and follows my salvation, that it sustains the redeemed soul, that not one link of its chain can ever break. From Calvary's cross wave upon wave of grace reaches me, deals with my sin, washes me clean, renews my heart, strengthens my will, draws out my affection, kindles a flame in my soul, rules throughout my inner man, consecrates my every thought, word, work, teaches me thy immeasurable love. How great are my privileges in Christ Jesus! Without him I stand far off, a stranger, an outcast; in him I draw near and touch his kingly sceptre. Without him I dare not lift up my guilty eyes; in him I gaze upon my Father-God and Friend. Without him I hide my lips in trembling shame; in him I open my mouth in petition and praise. Without him all is wrath and consuming fire; in him is all love, and the repose of my soul. Without him is gaping hell below me, and eternal anguish; in him its gates are barred to me by his precious blood. Without him darkness spreads its horrors in front, in him an eternity of glory is my boundless horizon. Without him all within me is terror and dismay, in him every accusation is charmed into joy and peace. Without him all things external call for my condemnation; in him they minister to my comfort, and are to be enjoyed with thanksgiving. Praise be to thee for grace, and for the unspeakable gift of Jesus.
In ‘A Lifting Up For The Downcast’ Bridge preached 13 sermons on the subject, which he shared in 1648 while preaching in Stepney, London.
As I said last time I will only be sharing from one sermon - sermon 5. This one Bridge calls ‘A Lifting Up In Case Of Weak Grace’.
In the sermons he draws from the base text from:
Psalm 42:11
Why are you cast down, o my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise him, the help of my countenance and my God.
The words of David as he wrestles with discouragement and negativity and fear, yet in that, whom he looks to and seeks.
That ‘disquieted’, is the opposite of being at peace and still. In Hebrew its ‘Hawmaw’, which means internal wrestling; loudness of our soul.
Last time we got through half the sermon. I won’t go into it, as you all have access to the notes from last time.
This time I will share thoughts on the second part of Bridge’s sermon, where he predominately is addressing excuses for being weak and discouraged, which he dispels throughout. Because if we are saved by grace, nothing can separate us, not even our weakness. It can limit us, but not separate us.
But let me ask, who wants to be limited?
What do we mean by, or what does Bridge mean by weak grace? He is referring to weak faith; weak as in immature, weak as in easily downcast, easily discouraged, easily tempted, easily burdened.
All that sounds like a terrible burden, and at times for many it is.
As Bridge says:
Those that easily fall find it easier to fall again.
He also said:
They are more easily quenched by comforts, than a strong Christian is.
However, and Bridge points this out in great detail, which we spoke on last time: all who are saved have the same wisdom. They have the exact same tools to deal with all things.
So there is no need to feel like a victim, or feel discouraged. We all have Christ in us, we all have the same Holy Spirit to draw understanding and strength from.
In the second half of the sermon, Bridge is mostly challenging the excuses that those with weak grace make, that those who are discouraged make.
Are we not masters of excuses at times?
Too often those with weak grace forget all they have been taught and have learned. It’s like they have no memory of what they have been taught when trials, and pain, and temptation arise.
Yet as Bridge rightly points out:
The spiritual battle is not always to be strong, because the victory lies not in ourselves and our own habitual strength, but in Christ’s fresh assistance.
So no excuse for not being as strong, or mature, or as faithful as others.
Isn’t that profound? It’s not in us, it’s in His assistance; continued and renewed assistance.
Surely all our discouragement truly comes from relying on self. Even Paul says ‘when I am weak, I am strong.’
Yet it’s what we do when we are weak. Those with weak grace often double down on self-effort to feel satisfied and secure, yet that always takes them away from Christ’s assistance.
‘A weak Christian’, Bridge points out, ‘is apt to rest upon his own doings.’
Others, as Bridge says, are not discouraged by weakness, but by their own sinning, or as Bridge calls it ‘guiltiness’.
“Well I’ve sinned, I’m always getting it wrong, I just can’t get it right, I’m weak, I’m useless.” ….This is the excuse by many.
Again Bridge points out that there is no need to be discouraged, nor excuses to be justified. Because if we are truly saved, Bridge points out:
We shall never be annihilated.
He goes on:
Now your grace was created by God also, if true, though small, and therefore, cannot be annihilated and brought to nothing.
Therefore he says:
There is no reason to be discouraged or cast down, in respect to this.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
The next excuse Bridge talks of is when people say:
My grace is so little, it is as well being none at all.
(My faith is so weak, my actions are so far from God, it is little different from none at all.)
I’m sure many of us have thought this from time to time, or in certain moments. However, no matter how small, if it be grace, saving grace, it can never be small.
Christ doesn’t save us a ‘wee bit’, or give us a little of Him. We are given all of Christ in all our needs to be saved.
How do we know if its saving faith, how do we tell the difference from a common grace and a saving grace? Maybe you who are weak ask that question internally?
The outward call, from the effectual call. Truly saved, from being under common grace -surrounded by those who may be stronger and have real grace.
Well I’m sure we could talk about this from many angles. However, Bridge is coming from it based on his content, and he puts it this way, and it’s stunning. Its wordy, so I will read it out:
It works according to the proportion of its own weakness; it staggers at the promise, yet it goes to the promise; it doubts of Christ s love, yet it doth run to Christ; it stumbles, yet it doth keep its way; it is ignorant of Christ, and not so forward in the knowledge of Christ as it should be, yet it is laying of the foundation, Heb. vi. 1. It is the fault of a weak Christian, that he is always laying the foundation, yet he is laying of the foundation ; though it works weakly, yet it works according to the proportion of its weakness; but the common, false grace doth not so.
It is willing to learn of others ; for, says a weak Christian, I am but a babe in Christ, and therefore why should not I be willing to be carried in others arms ? The less I can do, the more I will receive: as the strong Christian is much in doing, so must I be much in receiving : it is not thus with that false and common, counterfeit grace. But as the natura lists do report and write of the lion, that he will not eat of any prey, but what he hath hunted down himself;* other beasts will, they will prey upon what is killed by others ; but the lion, king of the beasts, is so proud, that he will not eat of that which is killed by another. So, men that are strong in parts and gifts, and have no grace withal, will not eat of that which they do not hunt down themselves; if they hunt it down, then they will close therewith, else not. A strong- graced Christian will, and a weak-faithed Christian will, but he that hath parts and gifts alone, cannot relish that so well, which is brought to hand by another.
Isn’t that astounding?
Bridge adds:
Although you may be weak in regard to others, yet you may be strong in regard to your former self.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote a book called ‘Growing In Grace’. It may well be one of his first books, wrote back in 1981. In the book he has a great chapter called ‘The Spiritual Appetite’. Where he draws from a verse:
Psalm 42:5
Why are you cast down, o my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
On that verse Sinclair Ferguson writes:
Here is someone who is longing to know God! This is the essential part of all true spiritual growth. Of course growing as a Christian involves gaining more knowledge of God’s word; it implies a life of prayer and witness. But these are all results of something more basic. Being a Christian means knowing God. Growing as a Christian, means increasing in our desire to know God.
I’ve no doubt Sinclair has for sure read William Bridge.
Bridge, as he brings his sermon to a close, which I will do also, shares 3 points to consider in order to grow in grace.
I will be brief.
- The more extensive a man’s obedience is unto God’s commandments, the more he will grow in grace.
He adds:
Weak Christians are much in some duties, and therein are most intense, but they do little or nothing in others.
I’ve found those with weak grace can be so intense and devoted at times to one thing, but they seem to lack the discipline and devotion and neglect other parts. Often I would say this is down to the thing they are focussed on feeding their flesh more than their soul.
- The more exact and accurate a man is in his duty, the more he will grow in grace.
By this Bridge means that he doesn’t just do more, he just does things more deliberately and exactly. He keeps trying to improve in knowledge, in speech, in writing, and tries to be more and more accurate in the truth as he goes.
Those that don’t grow in grace don’t spend enough time improving what they know and how to learn to walk in their knowing.
- The more a man sees and understands his Christian liberty, and yet doth walk the more strictly, the more he doth grow in grace.
The truth is the more we know how liberated we have become through the work of grace in our lives, the more strictly we desire to live. Those that are Christians who live so loosely, are those that have lost sight of the liberty, not found it.
Look how loose an unbeliever lives, would you say they are free? Not at all.
Even if you do have weak grace, that which you are strict on now, is it not proof of your liberty, of your saving grace?
That you will be restrained by will, and by choice to not do what you once did. Those that have no restraint, truly are the ones who are not liberated. They are the ones who have no liberty, no freedom. They are driven solely by the flesh.
Yet God, due to saving grace, won’t even discourage those that do sin, if indeed they are His. What He will do instead is utterly humiliate them.
Bridge says:
All discouragement weakens, humiliation weakens not.
Bridge concludes:
Be strong oh my soul, and fear not. Be thankful for your little, and in due time you shall have much: labour also for much, yet be content with little, even with little grace, if God will have it so.
Amen.
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