Eight ways to stay Spiritually Awake

Richard Sibbes (1577-1635) was among the warmest of the Puritans and a true heir to the Reformers, a man of affectionate, experiential, heart-centred evangelicalism continues to lay out the sweetness of Christianity in his series on the Song of Songs, Bowels Opened. There's not much of Sibbes online so I'm hoping this blog series fills a gap and introduce you to the man who was known as The Heavenly Doctor and The Sweet Dropper.


In the fourth sermon, having begun by showing the necessity of gospel wakefulness he asks: HOW DO WE KEEP OUR SOULS AWAKE, ESPECIALLY IN DROWSY TIMES?


1. "None will sleep when a thing is presented of excellence more than ordinary... What made Moses to fall from the delights of Egypt? He saw the least things in religion were greater than the greatest things in the court, even in the world. 'He esteemed the reproach of Christ better than the greatest treasures of Egypt,' Heb. 11:26."
2. Make the heart think of the shortness and vanity of life. Strive to be in grace even at the end.
3. Grace is necessary.
4. Keep faith awake: "It is not the greatness alone, but the presence of great things that stirs us.... Now it is the nature of faith to make things powerfully present to the soul; for it sets things before us in the word of Jehovah that made all things of nothing, and is Lord of his word, to give a being to whatsoever he has spoken, Heb. 11:1. Faith is an awakening grace. Keep that awake and it will keep all other graces waking... When faith apprehends, and sets this to the eye of the soul, it affects the same marvellously. "
5. "Labour for abundance of the Spirit of God... Christians should know, that there is a necessity, if they will keep themselves waking, to keep themselves spiritual... let us keep ourselves in such good ways, as we may expect the presence of the Spirit to be about us, which will keep us awake."
6. Keep ourselves in as much light as we can. Sleepiness comes with darkness.
7. Labour to stay in the fear of the Lord. "those are most gracious, spiritual, and heavenly, that are the most awful and careful of their speeches, courses, and demeanours; tender even of offending God in little things... he grows in the knowledge of the greatness of God, and the experience of his own infirmities, as he grows in the sense of the love of God. He is afraid to lose that sweet communion any way, or to grieve the Spirit of God. "
8. "Keep company with waking and faithful Christians.... It is one of the best fruits of the communion of saints, and of our spiritual good acquaintance, to keep one another awake... So, many men die by lawful things. They eternally perish in the abuse of their liberties, more than in gross sins. "

A Christian is what his heart is

Richard Sibbes continues from the Song of Songs in the fourth of his Bowels Opened series:

“I sleep, but my heart wakes, etc.” SONG 5:2.

He defines the heart as "all the powers of the soul, the inward man" and observes:
(1.) There is good and evil in a Christian. We are mixed. We can be sleepy. (2) A Christian may know how it is with himself. 

"In a dungeon where is nothing but darkness, both on the eye that should see and on that which should be seen, he can see nothing; but where there is a supernatural principle, where there is this mixture, there the light of the Spirit searches the dark corners of the heart. A man that has the Spirit knows both; he knows himself and his own heart. The Spirit has a light of its own..."

(3) We should acknowledge the good and the bad - not bearing false witness against ourselves, not denying God's work in us nor our sin. The Christian then (1) though sleepy knows themselves to be that (2) still sides with God (3) even when sleepy (4) has an awakeness of heart (5) remains inwardly awake

"there remains affection answerable to their judgment, which, though they find, and feel it not for a time, it being perhaps scattered, yet there is a secret love to Christ, and to his cause and side, joined with joy in the welfare of the church and people of God; rejoicing in the prosperity of the righteous, with a secret grief for the contrary."

What to do with this?
1. Magnify the goodness of God that continues in us by his Spirit. Consider God's mercy in doing good to us when there was nothing good in us.
2. Enter our hearts to find the grace of God. Like Peter say "Lord, you know that I love you".
(1) God's children never totally fall from grace: Though we may be drowsy our hearts are new. "There is always a seed remaining. An immortal seed that we are begotten by... there was life still in the root... a man may say of a Christian in his worst state, His life is in him still; he is not dead, but sleeps; 'his heart wakes.'"
(2) This is the testimony of Scripture and of God's people: "These two never fail on God's part, his love, which is unchangeable, and his grace, a fruit of his love; and two on our part, the impression of that love, and the gracious work of the new creature... There is always spiritual life... Let us comfort ourselves, therefore, in this for the time to come, that in all the uncertainty of things in this life we have today and lose tomorrow, as we see in Job, there is somewhat a saint may build on that is constant and unmoveable. 'I am the Lord, I change not; therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed,'"
3. A Christian is what his heart is. God does not just want the heart but "...A sound Christian does what he does from the heart; he begins the work there. What good he does he loves in his heart first, judges it to be good, and then he does it... The church says "I sleep" but "So far as he says he is asleep, he is awake. Now, the church confesses that she was asleep by that part that was awake in her. Other men do not complain, are not sensible of their sleepiness and slumbering, but compose themselves to slumber, and seek darkness, which is a friend of sleep."
4. Being awake is a blessed state.

But, how do we keep our souls awake? (Tomorrow)

Bigger Dreams for the Church

Gospel Wakefulness with Richard Sibbes

In the third sermon of Richard Sibbes' Bowels Opened he preaches Song 5:1 on the invitation to the feast and then the dangers of becoming sleepy, rather than having a gospel wakefulness (a phrase I'm borrowing from Jared Wilson). I'm finding the series very helpful and I share these highlights and a pdf of the whole for your benefit.

DOWNLOAD PDF: Bowels Opened (3 of 20): Gospel Wakefulness

Sibbes sets the scene:

 "From this mutual delight between Christ and his spouse we observe next, that there is a mutual feasting between Christ and his church. The church brings what she has of his Spirit; and Christ comes with more plenty."

The church is invited to feast with Christ.

 "This is an invitation to the most magnificent feast: The comforts we have from Christ are the best comforts; the peace, the best peace; the privileges, the highest privileges... What could Christ give, better than himself to feed on?"

Sibbes shows the excellence of communion with Christ, and his Father, the Spirit, the church. And there is music "At a feast, because it is intended for rejoicing, there is music; and what music like to the sweet harmony between God, reconciled in Christ, and the soul, and between the soul and itself, in inward peace and joy of the Holy Spirit, shedding the love of Christ in the soul"

The feast is brilliant. And it is the ministers of the word who invite the church to come, and so she should - joyfully accepting the invitation. Why would we refuse? We should keep up our appetite, exercising ourselves so that we will eat while we can... "There is no danger of taking too much. Where the spring is infinite, we can never draw these wells dry..." Come and eat joyfully, knowing he will welcome us - like the Father to the prodigal. Welcomed as friends of God. Sibbes shows us friendship.

(1) Friendship is the sweetness, intimacy and strength of love.
(2) In friendship there is mutual consent, a union of judgment and affections. "one soul in two bodies."
(3) There is liberty which is the life of friendship; there is a free conversation between friends, a free opening of secrets.
(4) In friendship, there is mutual solace and comfort one in another. "Christ delights himself in his love to his church, and his church delights herself in her love to Christ."
(5) In friendship there is a mutual honour and respect one of another; but here is some difference in this friendship. "Christ's honouring of us is his putting honour upon us. Our honouring of him is the giving him the 'honour due to his name,'"

The second half of the sermon concerns the danger of becoming sleepy after feasting. Abraham, David, Job and Peter stand as examples. The church though can be open about how she is - frank about her sin. Such openness at our sin (1) give honour to God (2) shame Satan (3) prevent accusation from the world (4) ease our souls (5) be delivered. 

Only the gospel gives us the freedom to show our weaknesses. We can become sleepy from (1) A full stomach (2) Sorrow (3) Weariness (4) Music (5) Lack of exercise  (6) Disease (7) Poison (8) Yawning company. Each has it's spiritual parallel.

Sleep makes us want to (1) Be alone "Those likewise that are disposed to take a spiritual nap, will avoid company, especially of such as would awake them. They will hardly endure rousing means." (2) Shut others out (3) Live in dreams and fantasy. This is illustrated from the history of the church, with a warning that even the best of men can become sleepy.

What are the signs of sleepiness?
(1) If we differ from that we were, then all is not well
(2) The true rule is, that description that is in the word, of a waking and living Christian.
(3) Look to the examples of others that are more gracious.
(4) It is evident that we are growing on to a sleepy condition by this, when we find a backwardness to spiritual duties, as to prayer, thanks giving, and spiritual conference.
(5) When the soul begins to admire outward excellencies;

Motives against sleepiness
(1) Consider the danger of a secure and sleepy estate.
(2) A sleepy man can lose everything.
(3) God meets some with crosses in this world that gain nothing from them.
(4) Sleepiness is an odious temper to God.
(5) Sleepiness is irksome to our own spirits.

Finally... "A man is not a man, a Christian is not a Christian, when he is not awake. He so far degenerates from himself...  A Christian as a Christian, that is, in his right temper, should be in the act an exercise of what is good in him, upon all occasions; as we say of God, he is a pure act, because he is always in working....  What a deal of ill might they escape and avoid that they lie in, if they would rouse up their souls to be as Christians should be, and as their soul and conscience tells them they ought and might be, did they rightly improve the means they have!"

Jesus brings a new day

Twice this summer former Exeter CU presidents have preached at our church - so much for people involved in CU not being committed to or sticking with church. Another former CU president wrote this:

"the most important thing that happened to me at Uni? I fell in love with the local church"

But anyways, today was last years CU president and our new church administrator Dan Partridge on the parable of new and old wineskins in Luke 5:33-39. It was a great morning of being church family, meeting with God, hearing testimony of salvation and healing, and Dan gave us an excellent end to our parables series. Two things really struck me. One was the need to replace old wineskins with new ones. Illustrated from the film Anchorman (verbally):

Repenting of our old life isn't add in Jesus to what you already have. Jesus wont fit and he'll ruin the old (as in the Pharisees failure to understand why the disciples of Jesus-the-bridegroom weren't fasting). Don't sew Jesus onto the old life, the old needs to be dropkicked off the bridge like Baxter the dog...

Secondly, the seduction of the old way in 5v39. Once you've tasted old wine you think it tastes better. This has explanatory power for why it's particularly the old wine connoisseur Pharisees who the parables always seem to bite. The new has come - the feast of the bridegroom, yet they tragically cling on to the old.

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