You’d expect a surgeon to bruise you and hurt you if they are to make you well. Do you really expect God to be any different? Yet Christ calls himself husband, shepherd and brother. He is humble, gracious and kind.
We learn:
1. To come boldly to the throne of grace in all our grievances. Don’t dally, go to him, ‘his presence makes any condition comfortable.’
2. Christ works by wounding first then healing. If he does that then don’t break yourself by despair.
3. Contrast with Satan who sets on us when we are broken hearted. He comes to bind us up. ‘. . . he puts an instinct in the weakest things to rely on something stronger than themselvs for support.’
Who are the bruised reeds? Those who realise their sin and are brought low by it. God may well bruise me so that I see my sin. p.11 some great thoughts on this.
How shall we come to this state of mind? Either God does it to us or we do it to ourselves. If he humbles us then lets not fight against it. If we do it then we need to be careful not to overdo it but remember this ‘that there is more mercy in Christ than there is sin in us.’
Isn’t it important to be more bruised over sin than the punishment? I think he’s saying no, not really, don’t be too tough on people. God was gracious to animals in the Bible don’t you think he’d be much more gracious to us.
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