Genesis xxxii. 25
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh teas out of joint as he wrestled with him.
( I KNOW, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.’ This confession is made by the writer of the cxixth Psalm, in the seventy-fifth verse. In the sixty-seventh, he had said, Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy word.’ The word afflicted implies being distressed, agonized, rendered poor and wretched, in consequence of which the individual is deprived of all presumption and boldness, and feels humble and abased. That which produced this effect upon the Psalmist, he calls the judgments of the Lord — that is, siftings and trials, which, though painful to the feelings, are salutary in their results, and he ascribes these afflictive events to the Lord; since, without his will, not a hair can fall from our heads. He calls them right or just, and is therefore far from believing any wrong has been done him; on the contrary he thinks there is sufficient reason existing for his being thus afflicted. He ackriowledges, that it is in faithfulness that the Lord has afflicted him, in order that he might fulfil his promises in him — not in wrath for the purpose of destroying him, which he probably apprehended when under the pressure; in faithfulness, that thus he might bestow upon him the most glorious blessings; although it seemed to him at the time that he was being led to destruction 5 in faithfulness, in order to heal him of his many infirmities; whilst his iniquities pressed hard upon him, and unrighteousness seemed to have increasingly the upper hand of him; in faithfulness, since he secretly held him fast and supported him; for though the Lord lays a burthen upon us, he also helps us to bear it; whilst he at one tune thought the Lord was no longer his help; but then again perceived the hand of the Most High; in faithfulness, as long as it was needful to abase him, however much he might pray, cry, sigh, and complain against it, and say, ‘Is thy mercy clean gone for ever but not a moment longer d,id the time of suffering last, and then appeared his powerful aid. The Lord afflicted him in faithfulness to the degree which was requisite, so that he. went bowed down, and bent beneath it, and the burden continued to increase until it became too heavy to be borne; but that very moment it was changed in such a wonderful manner, that it might be said, f Who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercy;’ whilst even under his burden he also thought he should yet praise him; faithful in attacking him just on that side where it certainly pained him the most, but where it was also the most necessary; although he might probably think, Ah, if it were only any thing else but that; and yet just that was requisite for him, whilst something different was required for other patients. In short, it is in faithfulness that God afflicts and humbles his children. Formerly they went astray, and with the best will and intention, began the work improperly; but their conduct is now conformable to the rule of the word. Certainly, he that has already passed through the furnace, may boast and declare the judgments of the Lord to be right. Let us be satisfied that we have an unspeakably faithful Lord and Master; and may this also become more apparent to us from the meditation we are at present about to resume on the subject.
We proceed with the consideration of Jacob’s conflict, and its results; after having, on a former occasion, made ourselves somewhat more acquainted with the two combatants.
‘When the Son of God saw that he could not prevail over him’ — such is the continuation of the wonderful narrative — victory declared itself for Jacob, and the Son of God is obliged to yield! Nor is this any wonder, since he had bound his own hands by the promise, * I will do thee good;’ and thereby pointed out to his Omnipotence the direction it ought to take. It was able to clear away those things which were a hindrance to Jacob, but not to accelerate his destruction; it was able to pour out benefits upon him, but not to divest him of them. Omnipotence is the minister of Divine truth, and could do nothing against, but every thing for the truth. It could have rent heaven and earth asunder; but it was under the necessity of preserving Jacob unconsumed. Omnipotence is a Divine attribute, the exercise of which depends upon the will of God, who can therefore exert or restrain it at his pleasure. But with his truth the case is different; for it is a constituent part of his being, and it is impossible for him to act contrary to it, or he would cease to be Jehovah — that is, to be what he is. He has often entirely renounced his Omnipotence; so that nothing but weakness was visible in him. Where was his Omnipotence, when he fled into Egypt before the face of Herod? What — is this the man who intends to save his people 1 Is this he who is to overcome the strong man armed, and bind him 1 Is this the child who is the mighty God? Where was his Omnipotence, when he was bound, and nailed hand and foot to the cross, and when he was laid in the sepulchre? He still indeed possessed it; but he restrained it for the truth’s sake, as he himself says, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. There was a necessity for it; for Omnipotence cannot be exercised against the truth, since God is willing to employ it only in favor of the truth. He had said of his sheep, ‘No man shall pluck them out of my hands;’ the power of God was therefore obliged to be immediately exerted, when it seemed as if Jesus’s assertion was about to be put to shame in the case of Peter, who denied his Master even with oaths and curses; the Lord then turned and looked at Peter, and regarded Satan, who was sifting him,Vith an omnipotent look: Omnipotence then became the servant of truth.
No one comprehended better than Abraham, Jacob’s grandfather, what he possessed in Divine truth, and what he might risk and expect, when he had the word of God on his side. A posterity had been promised to him in Isaac, which should be blessed and made a blessing. Yet him he was commanded to sacrifice. He boldly seized the knife, most firmly convinced, that God must keep his word, because he was able to do so; and thus he expected that his Omnipotence would minister to his truth, and that Isaac, though slain and burnt to ashes, would be raised from the dead, sooner than that God would suffer himself to be made a liar, for that was impossible; but otherwise every thing was possible with God, and through him, to him that believeth.
Jacob understood this also. The Lord had promised him, saying, ‘I will do thee good.’ Hence his Omnipotence could only be exercised towards him in so far as it was in accordance with this promise; and because ne adnered in it, the Almighty was unable tu expel him from the place, but succumbed in the conflict.
Where is there a God like unto him, and how does Eternal Wisdom sport with his children! We may well pray with David (Psalm cxix. 38), ‘Stablish thy word unto thy servant.’ We should then see the glory of God, and find in it a consolation which does not suffer us to perish in our misery. Has he not promised us every thing requisite for our salvation, joy, and prosperity 1 And is it not made doubly sure to us by letter and seal, by Baptism and the Lord’s Supper? What more can we desire? Will he not forgive transgression and sin? Why do we therefore suffer anxious fears to perplex us? The devil, and our own deceitful hearts, may murmur against it as much as they please. Will he not give us a new heart, and make such people of us, as shall walk in his commandments, keep his statutes, and do according to them? And yet we are foolish enough to fear that we shall be obliged to retain our depraved hearts, because we cannot change them ourselves. Christ himself has engaged to be made unto us wisdom; can it be possible, therefore, that we should always continue foolish? He has undertaken our sanctification, and can we continue impure 1 In reality, we ought justly to feel much astonished at not being perfect saints: for what is the reason that we are not so? I think the chief cause of it lies in this, that we are too proud and self-righteous to expect every thing from pure grace, and for the sake of the word and promise of God; and are still desirous of accomplishing too much of ourselves, and of becoming too much in ourselves. Does not the iru« a-iid laitniul Word tell us that the Lord careth for us, and enjoin us to cast all our care upon him 1 But who believes this cheering truth 1 He that does so, finds rest and peace and refreshment when he is weary. But almost all refuse to listen to it, and care for themselves instead of believing. Hence they experience so little of the glory of God, and torment themselves in vain with a burden which they have not strength to bear. We think it rational to trust to the creature, but absurd to hope in the living Creator. O what fools we are to act thus, seeing that we cannot change a single hair white or black! How happy we might be did we believe the words, He careth for you;’ therefore cast all your care upon him, both externally and internally. Were we at the same time humble, docile, and sufficiently resigned to his will, Jesus would not then put us to the blush by the example of the birds; but, like the lark in the storm, we should sing hymns of praise in the midst of difficulties; in short, in quietness and confidence would be our strength, and by returning and rest we should be saved. And is not his written word, whose minister and performer is Omnipotence, entirely of such a nature as to render us perfectly tranquil and easy? ( For though the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed: yet my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee.’
But are not the justice and holiness of God, such attributes as ought reasonably to render us timid in applying his promises to us; and will not the consideration that we are sinners, make a great alteration in the matter? If Jacob had thought thus, and acted accordingly, he would soon have fled from the scene of conflict; for what else was he but a sinner; and if he were otherwise, how did he become so — of himself or by the favor of him that called him? ‘Even before the twins were born,’ says Paul, ’ or had done either good or evil,’ in order that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said to Rebecca ‘The elder shall serve the younger.’ It is true we are sinners, but Jesus is come to save sinners; hence our right to the Savior increases — if I may so speak — in the degree in which we become conscious of our sinfulness. We ought also to know, that God did not give Canaan to the people of Israel for the sake of their righteousness — for I know, says he, that thou art a stiff-necked and rebellious people — and likewise that his promises are founded on free grace, and on the blood of Jesus Christ. If any one were to imagine that he had claims upon the Divine promises because of his good qualities and his good conduct, he would greatly deceive himself, and obtain little or nothing, because he did not understand how to buy without money. God knows what miserable sinners we are, much better than we do; and has so marked and designated us in his book, that it is difficult to think more highly of ourselves than we ought, according to the description there given. But notwithstanding this, he has, to the praise of the glory of his grace, vouchsafed the greatest and most precious promises to these very characters and Christ, by his obedience, sufferings, and death, has sufficiently provided for the manifestation of Divine grace towards us, without any opposition from Divine justice and holiness. Grace, so to speak, is older than justice. The tree of life also is mentioned before the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, with the threatening attached to it. The promise, according to the doctrine of Paul (Gal. iii. 17), is at least four hundred and thirty years older than the law, which revealed the righteousness and holiness of God, but which detracts as little from his promised grace, as a legal testament among men, which is in force on the death of the testator, can afterwards be set aside: and ’ this testament,’ says the Apostle, ’ that was confirmed before of God in Christ, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.’ We have therefore not to do with the law, which says, f Do this!’ but with the Gospel, which says, Ask of me; I will give thee.’ If the Ethiopian nobleman could say, ‘What doth hinder me to be baptized?’ — we ought reasonably to say, “What hinders my mind from the free exercise of faith and confidence, and from regarding itself in no other light, than as if every thing were already overcome, as if we were already in heaven, seeing that when we have once entered into the conflict of faith, and persevere in it, there is nothing to hinder us from obtaining the crown of life. For believers are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Oh, if we only understood aright what belonged to our peace, we would rejoice from gladness of heart, and the wicked one be unable to touch us!” Jacob understood it excellently — so excellently that he prevailed, even when the Almighty himself entered into conflict with him, but not before he had bound his own hands with the strong cords of love, and the firm bands of his faithful promises; for his omnipotence took the part of his antagonist, in order to bring him successfully through
every trial. O certainly, all things are possible to him that believeth! and assuredly if thou believest, thou shalt see the glory of God. If thou hast but one promise on thy side, thy glorious victory is rendered quite certain; even if it should seem as impossible as the restoring of Lazarus to his sisters, after being dead four days, and having become a prey to corruption.
Thus did Jacob act like a prince, even as God boasts of him by the prophet Hosea: just as it becomes a spiritual king, who does not cease to fight till the victory is decided. But what occurs? * When he saw that he prevailed not against him, it is said, c he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him.’ This was a new wonder; and was a remarkable one, for it is mentioned twice. The cause of the dislocation is stated in the words, i He touched the hollow of his thigh,’ and whilst depriving Jacob of all power to continue the combat, he proved his entire superiority, but at the same time added that which was incomprehensible, to that which was wonderful, by declaring himself, notwithstanding, to be vanquished, when he said to the Patriarch, ( Let me go.’
The hip, is, so to speak, the foundation of the edifice of our body. If dislocated, the body falls down. A dislocation of the hip is an extremely rare case, only practicable to astonishing strength; and almost inconceivable in the position which a person must assume in wrestling with another, who is seeking to drive him from his place, as was the case with Jacob. But if it occurs, and takes place by means of a mere touch, as in the present instance, it is a singular wonder. Such a dislocation is naturally attended with very violent pain. Whether the Son of God caused Jacob to experience the latter also, we know not; it depended upon his will, and the effect was in every case the same. The good man could wrestle no longer; nothing therefore was left him but to hold fast to his opponent by his arms, to cleave to him with all his might; and this he did likewise in such a manner, that his opponent could not remove from the place without dragging him along with him; hence it was that he said, * Let me go.’ But Jacob could no longer either stand or go; much less continue to wrestle; he was compelled to let himself be carried; and to this he was forced by the Son of God himself, who deprived him of all his strength, and left him no alternative but to hang upon his neck if he wished to be preserved from falling. But what is the meaning of this? Why did the Son of God put his hip out “of joint, and perhaps cause him violent pain by so doing? What was the object, the intention, the reason?
First of all, we must know that God, by the prophet Isaiah, has replied to Jacob’s inquiry of his antagonist, ‘What is thy name?’ when he says, ‘His name shall be called Wonderful.’ There is doubtless ‘as much humility as wisdom, whilst inquiring why God acts in this or that particular manner, if we can perfectly satisfy ourselves with the reply, Because it pleases him to act thus; for in the sequel, we shall probably receive satisfactory light upon the subject. In his method of government, much that is incomprehensible occurs, and we must learn to humble ourselves under his mighty hand; he will then exalt us in due time. So long as Job continued to say, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!’ it is said, * In all this Job sinned not.’ But when he afterwards disputed with his friends upon the cause and intent of what had befallen him, they fell into a degree of confusion, from which they were unable to extricate themselves. Job wished to accuse God of injustice; his friends, to charge him with ungodliness; and both were in the wrong. At length God himself interfered, and said, If thou art so wise as to be able to fathom everything, gird up now thy loins like a man, for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.’ On which Job however reversed the matter, and said, ‘I have uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak; I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.’ It was then said, 6 My servant Job hath spoken right concerning me.’
If Abraham had been desirous of ascertaining first of all the object and intention of offering up his son Isaac, he would have frustrated them; but he believed that God could do nothing but what was in accordance with his word, and thus he ascended Mount Moriah, and obtained the high commendation expressed in the words, c Now I know that thou fearest God.’
When Christ began to wash the feet of his disciples, Peter wished first of all to know the intention of this act, before he would consent to give up his feet for that purpose; but he was told, ‘What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter;’ and when this proved unavailing, the Lord said, ( If I wash thee not, thou hast no part in me.’
e My sheep follow me,’ says Christ; but he not unfrequently leads them in such a manner, as if he were not a shepherd,, but was only conducting them to the butchery. Are these the people of God, it might be asked, who appear only to exist in order to be persecuted, slain, torn by dogs and wild beasts, and covered with pitch to illuminate the streets of Rome with the slow flame? But they counted not their li ves too dear to them, and are destined to shine in heaven as the stars for ever and ever. The Lord of his people wears, instead of a golden coronet, a crown of thorns; instead of a sceptre, a weak reed; and hangs on a cross, instead of sitting upon a throne. What a Lord! what a people!
True it is, that the preaching of such things seems foolishness, and that the natural man becomes quite foolish in consequence of it. But do thou only believe; wait for the Lord in the way of his judgments; the end of it all will be glorious — a glory which no eye hath seen, no ear heard, and which has never entered into the heart of man. His name is ‘Wonderful;’ and he is so in his works and guidance. Even if we were unable to discover any wisdom in his conduct towards Jacob, yet we ought still to believe, that he acted thus towards him for very wise and salutary reasons, although it may not have pleased him to reveal any thing to us respecting them.
It is, however, not difficult to discover some of the salutary intentions of such a procedure. The chief of them is this: that when God suffers us to become conscious, by inward experience, that we have no righteousness of our own, and that we are unable to acquire any: that by our own wisdom we cannot accomplish any thing: and that when he thus humbles us, it is a a path by which he conducts all his children, although the means are various by which he attains this end. These paths are painful to the old man, even as the 4* dislocation of his hip was to Jacob; but the pain is richly compensated by the fruits which follow.
At first we form to ourselves strange and unfounded ideas of religion. We imagine such a growth in it as we perceive in children, who have gradually less need of their mother’s care and attention, until they can at length entirely do without it. But Christ prefers comparing his people to the branches of the vine, which never bring forth fruit of themselves, but solely by their abiding in the vine. In like manner, says he, ‘Ye cannot bring forth fruit of yourselves, except ye abide in me; for without me ye can do nothing.’ The ideas we form of religion at the commencement, correspond little with this figure. We think of aged Christians, that they are far advanced; and they may have really advanced as far as Jacob, who could no longer stand nor go of himself, much less wrestle, and who had no alternative but to cling to the Son of God, that he might be sustained by him, or according to the expression of the Apostle, To live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved us, and gave himself for us. When they are weak he is their strength: they have nothing, and yet possess all things; are unable of themselves, even to think anything good, and yet are able to do all things; and many more such singular descriptions of the inward life, which may justly be called a continual riddle, which cannot be solved without personal experience.
Real growth, which must certainly take place in every real Christian, does not consist in an increasing facility in the performance of religious duties in and by ourselves; but it is rather an increase in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ; an increasing facility in making use of Christ in the manner in which he is made and given unto us of God, and this can naturally be learnt in no other manner than by the destruction of our own wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, by which we decrease, but Christ increases.
The hip, if I may so speak, on which the whole body of a natural godliness rests, the foundation that supports it, is nothing else than confidence in ourselves. Hence the upright are proud of their uprightness, and have reason to be so, because it is a consequence of their diligence; they are indebted for it to their discernment, their own reflection, or to the understanding which they possess, and their commendable conduct is the result of the good resolutions they formed, and which they were strong enough to carry into effect. The noise which is made about human inability, they regard as idle talk, by which nothing else is demonstrated than the individual’s own slothfulness; or else they look upon it as an artifice, designed to cover his worthlessness, and to enable him to reject, in a hypocritical manner, a strictly moral deportment; and the appealing to grace is, in their eyes, little more than blaming God because we are not better than we are. Both, in their opinion, are equally abominable; and they thank God that they are not enthusiasts and nominal Christians, like these people. These are the strong who need not a Physician.
Natural men, who lead an ungodly life, and therefore cannot appeal to their virtues, always excuse themselves, because they have not committed this or that particular sin, or else deceive themselves with the idea that when once they find it necessary to amend, they shall soon be able to accomplish it; but that there is still time enough for such a purpose. With that real religion, to which they will not concede the appellation, both of these classes refuse to have any thing to do, but are opposed to it, since the greatest part of it appears to them extremely irrational and absurd, so that a sensible man has reason to be ashamed of it. They rely upon their own understanding and their own strength, and do not comprehend upon what a person can otherwise depend. But let them go; for they are blind! When the Lord, however, begins to wrestle with a soul — by which we mean, when he begins his work of grace in a man — he struggles with him in such a manner, that to a certainty, either earlier or later, the hip will be dislocated, and so put out of joint, that no other choice will be left him than that which was left Jacob — that of embracing with the arms of faith the Son of God; there will be no alternative but to let himself be borne and carried by him. By degrees he is entirely brought off from from his previous method of existing and acting, and conducted into a path, of which he must himself confess that flesh and blood have not revealed it to him; that he has not learned it from books, from sermons, from other men, or from his own wisdom; but that wondrous grace first reduced him to the state of a little ‘child, and then began to reveal to him the mystery of the kingdom of God. He now learns to believe from the heart those passages of Scripture, where it is said, ‘Not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy;’ and others of a similar nature, which had secretly given him offence before, but which now become wisdom itself to him. He now experiences how much reason Peter had to call the light, to which the chosen generation is called out of darkness, ’ a marvellous light.’
We could still say much in pointing out how the Lord, in repentance, commences the destruction of the false ground of self-confidence, and then carries it on and completes it by a variety of trials, and in a very strange manner, until the sinner, stripped of everything, casts himself into the arms of his blessed Lord and Savior. But we break off, and leave the subject to a future opportunity.
We only ask, in conclusion, What becomes of our wisdom according to the wisdom of the Christian religion, wThich, as the way to wisdom, directs that we should become fools according to the maxims of the world, and affirms, that he who thinks he knows any thing, knows yet nothing as he ought? What becomes of our strength, when Christ is only mighty in the weak, and we without him can do nothing? What becomes of our righteousness, since we are all declared to be unrighteous, and that there is no difference amongst us, except what is made by -the grace of God,? What becomes of our labor and efforts, since we are saved by grace? Lord, open our eyes, that we may behold wondrous things out of thy law!