One of the most reflective songs we sing at Providence is "Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted" by Thomas Kelly. It is a hymn that invites us to consider the gravity of Christ's appointed sacrifice, which inevitably leads us to reverent and joyful expressions of gratitude. However, it is also an occasion for us to consider if we have in any way grown dull to sin. "Ye who think of sin but lightly, nor suppose the evil great," writes Thomas Kelley, "here [at the Cross] its guilt may estimate." God's grace to us in Christ is brightly fanned into flame when we consider the death that could only be borne by one Perfect Lamb. Marvelous love is truly what we've been shown.
It is possible, though, to grow cold in our appreciation of the substitutionary work of Christ. As a result, our vigor for striving in his likeness wanes. In times like these, we must humbly and boldly return to the scene of the Cross to consider the reality of what took place to secure our redemption. In other words, a healthy dose of introspection may be what is required to return to vibrant striving toward growth in Christlikeness.
Richard Baxter knew well the value of this discipline. The prolific 17th century author and theologian exhausted himself laboring in his massive Christian Directory to detail the malignity of sin and its God-ordained antidotes. It is beyond the scope of this post to offer all 40 of Baxter's points covering the poison of sin, but allow me to offer 10:
1. Sin is a denial or contempt of the authority, or governing power, of God.
2. It is a usurping the sovereign power to ourselves of governing ourselves.
3. It is a denying or contempt of the wisdom of God, as if he had unwisely made us a law which is unmeet to rule us.
4. It is a preferring our wickedness before his goodness, as if we would do it better, or choose better what to do.
5. It is a contradicting, fighting against, and in that act prevailing against the sanctifying office and work of the Holy Ghost, that moves us against sin, and to obedience.
6. It is a contempt of holiness, and a defacing in that measure, the image of God upon the soul, or a rejecting it: a vilifying of all those graces which are contrary to the sin.
7. It is a pleasing of the devil, the enemy of God and us, and an obeying him before God.
8. It is the fault of a rational creature, that had reason given him to do better.
9. It is a robbing God of the honor and pleasure which he should have had in our obedience; and the glory which we should bring him before the world.
10. It is a contempt of the attractive love of God, who should be the end, and felicity, and pleasure of the soul. As if all the love and goodness of God were not enough to draw or keep the heart to him, and to satisfy us and make us happy; or, he were not fit to be our delight.
The list goes on, and so would the soul's meditations. In God's faithfulness to the spiritual growth of his people, he allows us to feel the numbing effects of our sin. We feel the sting of disobedience. We even face significant consequences to decisions made in opposition to Christ. What a kindness, though, that such experiences lead us not away from pursuing Christ but more intently help us depend on him as we take strides toward his likeness.
If you need to feel the weight of your sin to avoid cooling off in your pursuit of Christ, I hope the points offered are helpful. Christ is lovely. His ways are lovely. They are not burdensome or grievous. They are food. They are life.
If you are tempted toward despairing in your sin, believer, travel about 60 years beyond Baxter's Directory, roughly 100 years beyond Kelly's "Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted," and introduce yourself to Julia Johnston. Her hymn, "Grace Greater Than Our Sin," does not shy away from the darkness of sin, yet absolutely cements the overwhelming brightness of God's grace in the path of our introspection. Side by side, Kelly and Johnston offer a musical portrait of the severity of both man's rebellion and God's magnificent redemption. May we keep pursuing Christ; may we keep growing in Christ.
What's keeping you from listening right now?
"Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted," as performed by Fernando Ortega
"Grace Greater Than Our Sin," as performed by Sovereign Grace Music
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