Sibbes Study Session #2

Chapter 2: Christ Will Not Break the Bruised Reed

Chapter 2: Christ Will Not Break the Bruised Reed

2.1 Christ’s Dealings with the Bruised Reed

Sibbes stresses the tender loving nature of God, The Lord Jesus, toward us.

See the gracious way he executes his offices. As a prophet, he came with blessing in his mouth, Blessed are the poor in spirit' (Matt. 5:3), and invited those to come to him whose hearts suggested most exceptions against themselves,Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden’ (Matt. 11:28). How did his heart yearn when he saw the people `as sheep having no shepherd‘ (Matt. 9:36)! He never turned any back again that came to him, though some went away of themselves.

Sibbes, The Bruised Reed

Sheep and Shepherd

Sibbes notes above the reference to people of Israel as shepherd-less sheep, citing Matt. 9:36. So the imagery is that the people to whom Christ came are like sheep, known to to be weak, easily gone astray, desperately in need of a shepherd for their provisions and even survival against predators. But, further, these “sheep” are utterly without any shepherd. This calls out a grave dereliction of duty of who it was that was designated to be shepherd.

There is a recurring theme in Scripture of sheep / lambs cared for by a (or, The) shepherd.

• First, what significance can we take from such imagery here in the context of being bruised, that though bruised we are not objects of God’s judgment?
• Second, what is the significance of absence of any shepherd?

Sheep in the Bible

Just doing a simple search on the the word “sheep” using Biblegateway for the ESV yields nearly 200 cites: Genesis to Zechariah in the OT (156x cites in 27 of the 39 Books) and Matthew to Revelation in the NT (42x, with references in each of the four Gospels–12x in Matthew alone, also in Acts, three Epistles, and Revelation).

If we consider just the OT book of Psalms (13x), here are important examples:

You have made us like sheep for slaughter and have scattered us among the nations (44:11)

Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. (44:22)

Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. (49:14)

Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. (78:52)

He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds; (78:70)

But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise. (79:13)

For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, (95:7)

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. (100:3)

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments. (119:176)

Psalms (ESV)

Looking at Matthew’s Gospel, we find that in addition to his compassion for them (cited previously, Matt. 9:36) because they are sheep without a shepherd, we find:

• The Lord sends out the 12 to “the lost sheep of Israel” (10:6), and Jesus Himself was sent to such “lost sheep” (15:24), and gives us the parable of the “lost sheep” (18:12).
• That the 12 are themselves sheep–NOT shepherds: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves…” (10:16; and see also 26:31 cited below where the 12, then 11, are the sheep that are scattered upon the arrest of Jesus).
• Because it is Christ Himself Who is The Shepherd: “..and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (25:33) and “you will all fall away…for it is written ‘I will strike The Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ ” (26:32)
• And surrounding the sheep are predators: “I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves” (10:16); and they are commingled with goats, who are not His sheep (25:33).
• The sheep are themselves helpless: the one that goes astray from the 100 and is lost (18:12; also 15:24 references “lost”); and the parable of the sheep fallen and trapped into a pit (12:11).

All of these references did cause all hearers to recognize the many connections of Jesus as His claim to be Messiah (Christ in Koine Greek) to all the OT references and prophesies, including:

• “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
• “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:1)
• “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold.” (Jeremiah 50:6)
• “Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones.” (Jeremiah 50:17)
• “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.” (Ezekiel 34:11)
• “As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” (Ezekiel 34:12)
• “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 34:15)
• “I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep.” (Ezekiel 34:22)
• “And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 34:31)

And, importantly, also prevalent in Ezekiel’s prophecy are multiple references to the abandonment of the sheep by the assigned shepherds: Ezekiel 34:2, 3, 5, 10.

Finally, and importantly, the OT prophesies that the Messiah Himself will take upon Himself becoming the Passover Lamb–highlighted by John the Baptist’s identification of Him at His baptism: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, 36), and note He is The Lamb even in eternal glory as given in Rev. 7:9 and 14:1. This is the richest possible picture of Christ’s mission in His service of imputation (taking our place) on our behalf.

• “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)
• And, as we saw above in Psalms 78:70 there is specific reference made to David, and we know that the biological line of Jesus was from David. We recognize that connection as to the Covenant of promise to David, and the Kingship line of inheritance, but this verse in Psalms also links Jesus to the humble role shepherd which also was David’s experience.

Shepherds

Let us consider these four categories of shepherds.

• First we have the absentee shepherds, the one(s) who have abandoned their posts and even in some cases become wolves consuming the sheep.
• Then we have false shepherds (fakes)
• Then there are falsely claimed to be shepherds (such claims being made by others)
• Finally there is The Great True Shepherd.

As to the first category, clearly the NT identifies it as the Jewish leadership, reference (in my terms) to The Religion Industry (TRI) of the NT. They occupied all the titles and authorities but were not the true shepherds of Israel, an assertion that they would have found to be deeply offensive because it was the opposite of their claim and self-belief.

In what way were they absentee and even false and wolves? Because they seriously mis-represented the teachings of the OT, particularly The Law, with the Sabbath as being a recurring exemplar during the Lord’s ministry. TRI asserted that merit with God could, and should, be achieved by following TRI’s interpretation and application of the OT Law. This was fatally in error because the OT showed that no such law-keeping had any hope of meriting the righteousness of God and was rather all pointing to its ultimate fulfillment by the Messiah (the Christ).

As to the second category of false shepherds, these were those who were most adamant on their meritorious adherence to The Law, as exemplified by the Pharisees. The Sadducees, on the other hand, were more examples of absentee shepherds.

As to the third category of falsely claimed shepherds, there are examples given to us in the NT. IN Acts we see a man named Simon, not Simon Peter, who seeks to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit so he can be a leader. During Paul’s first missionary journey, he encounters a false prophet named Bar-Jesus (which means, literally, son of Jesus; Acts 13:6). In Corinth there were both false apostles “deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ” (2 Cor 11:13) and “false brothers” (2 Cor 11:26, as there were in Galatia, Gal 2:4). And Satan was then, and still is, a cause of false signs and wonders (2 Thes 2:9). And there were false teachers prevalent (2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1; Jude 8ff; Rev 2:2). And false prophets, teachers, and miracle workers will characterize the end of the age: Rev. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10; 21:27; 22:15.

Finally, there is but one Shepherd, and that is Christ who is the Redeemer of His sheep (flock). He is The Chief Shepherd (1 Pet 5:4) and The Great Shepherd (Heb. 13:20), but those are merely amplifications of His being The Shepherd.

Sheep, us, need The Shepherd. Teachers and other gifted ones in the church are used by God to point us to The Shepherd, never to become themselves shepherds of God’s people. (If there is such a claim in the Bible, I have yet to see it; and Eph 4:11 citing “pastor-teacher” or “shepherd-teacher” is about teaching who the true Shepherd is not the teacher himself becoming or behaving as our shepherd).

Compounding the confusion as to the identity of the “shepherd” is how the Latin translation of the Koine Greek has slipped into English. Briefly the situation is this. The NT is written in Koine Greek. The Koine word for shepherd is ποιμήν poimḗn (Strong’s G4166). In Jerome’s Vulgate translation (ca. 400 A.D.) ποιμήν poimḗn was translated into Latin as “pastor” (e.g., Matt 9:36). (So a “pastoral scene” of a painting just means there are sheep in it, and possibly a shepherd too). So all the references in Protestant churches to “a” or “the” “pastor” is simply using the Latin translation for a Koine Greek original word to create a distinctive title for primary platform speaker and atop the church’s organization chart. And, subsequently, the title has proliferated to become affixed to people on the payroll of the church, and others with certain leadership roles.

The word ποιμήν poimḗn occurs 18x in 17 verses in the Koine NT (the Textus Receptus), 15x in the Four Gospels, but only 3x in all the Epistles, namely (citing KJV):

• And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors ^G4166 and teachers (Eph. 4:11)
• Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd ^G4166 of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, (Heb. 13:20)
• For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd ^G4166 and Bishop of your souls. (1 Peter 2:25)

None of the uses of “pastor” in the Gospels are in reference the Apostles, or any disciples. And of the three above references from all of the Epistles plus Acts and Revelation, only the Ephesians one has any connection to a human, and then just in that specific context of a teacher (as discussed above). So in all the many references to local church bodies in the Book of Acts, and in all the of the 12 (or 13) Pauline Epistles, all the “General” Epistles, and all the references to the Seven Churches in Revelation Ch 2 and 3, there is no mention, none, zero, of any human as “a” or “the” “pastor.”

Why does this matter? Because there is one connecting point, one unique one, between us and God the Father, and that is our Redeemer / Shepherd, who is the fulfillment of the vast OT promises of His coming to collect us from the wolves and false claimants to be shepherds and He did not do so to deliver us to some other NT version of a shepherd. Further we can understand the full revelation of both the OT and NT texts themselves, and the manner in which they have been taught, to their having been a ‘shepherd’ leading us to grasp our absolute need for Messiah and recognizing the identify of Jesus Christ as having been, and eternally Being, our unique Shepherd-Messiah.

Sheep, Pastures

Although we are not here making a complete examination of the Bible’s teaching on “shepherds,” I want to note that there are many other passages that have relevant key words but do not include “shepherd(s).” For instance, consider the below text also from the Psalms.

ESV	NASB95	LEB	NKJV	YLT	VUL
Ps 79:13 But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.	Ps 79:13 So we Your people and the sheep of Your pasture Will give thanks to You forever; To all generations we will tell of Your praise.	Ps 79:13 Then we, your people and the flock of your pasture, we will give thanks to you forever. Generation after generation we will tell of your praise.	Ps 79:13 So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, Will give You thanks forever; We will show forth Your praise to all generations.	Ps 79:13 And we, Thy people, and the flock of Thy pasture, We give thanks to Thee to the age, To all generations we recount Thy praise!	Ps 78:13 nos autem populus tuus et oves pascuae tuae confitebimur tibi in saeculum in generationem et generationem adnuntiabimus laudem tuam

Note first that we do not have the explicit word “shepherd” in the above though we clearly have reference to it “the sheep of YOUR pasture,” and such reference is to God, not any human in the Levitical Priesthood or the Kingship of David.

The context of the above verse (79:13) in Psalm 79 is God / Lord (Yahweh) is shown below:

Psalm 79, context of “You” and “Your” of Ps 79:13

Psalm 79:1	English Standard Version O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.  New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update O God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance; They have defiled Your holy temple; They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.  The Lexham English Bible O God, the nations have entered your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have reduced Jerusalem to ruins.  The New King James Version O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.  Young’s Literal Translation A Psalm of Asaph. O God, nations have come into Thy inheritance, They have defiled Thy holy temple, They made Jerusalem become heaps,  Biblia Sacra Vulgata psalmus asaph Deus venerunt gentes in hereditatem tuam polluerunt templum sanctum tuum posuerunt Hierusalem in pomorum custodiam
Psalm 79:5	English Standard Version How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?  New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire?  The Lexham English Bible How long, O Yahweh? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?  The New King James Version How long, Lord? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire?  Young’s Literal Translation Till when, O Jehovah? art Thou angry for ever? Thy jealousy doth burn as fire.  Biblia Sacra Vulgata usquequo Domine irasceris in finem accendetur velut ignis zelus tuus
Psalm 79:9	English Standard Version Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake!  New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; And deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name’s sake.  The Lexham English Bible Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; and deliver us and forgive our sins for the sake of your name.  The New King James Version Help us, O God of our salvation, For the glory of Your name; And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, For Your name’s sake!  Young’s Literal Translation Help us, O God of our salvation, Because of the honour of Thy name, And deliver us, and cover over our sins, For Thy name’s sake.  Biblia Sacra Vulgata adiuva nos Deus salutaris noster propter gloriam nominis tui Domine libera nos et propitius esto peccatis nostris propter nomen tuum

So very very clearly, this 79th Psalm is claiming the God, and “The Lord.” (“The Lord” is the Covenant-Making manifestation of God in the OT, always a referenced to Yahweh, which is translated in the Septuagint as “kurios” and into English when the same word recurs in the NT as “LORD” in reference to Jesus Christ, hence the clarity that Jesus Christ of the NT is Yahweh of the OT, and is the New Covenant-Making manifestation of God). As Ps 79:13 states, such Shepherd – Sheep relationship, between the Lord God and His people, was, is, and will eternally be so.

In the Latin Vulgate of Psalm 79:13 we see the phrase: oves pascuae tuae.

• oves is plural noun, nominative, that comes from the Latin root ovis, which means “sheep”
• pascuae is a singular noun, in the genitive (possessor case), from the Latin root pascua. This word pasture, grass, that is a field for feeding sheep, and is closely related to the Latin word for being fed and is etymologically related to the Latin word “pastor” where “pas” relates to “shepherd” and the suffix “-tor” is a common addition to Latin loan words that form personal agent nouns and verbs (like actor, janitor, orator, victor).
• tuae is a singular noun, also a genitive, from the Latin root tuus which simply means “You,” in the singular, meaning clearly God alone.

I know the challenge to these texts will be John 21:15-17 where the resurrected Lord restores the braggart-coward Peter, who though proud deserted the Lord upon His arrest on the Mount of Olives and then denied knowing Him three times and fled into the night, weeping bitterly. In the context of John 21, Peter has returned to Galilee and more-importantly to his native profession of fisherman. So we have this unique exchange with Peter that does not occur with any other Apostle then or with Paul later, nor does it occur as directed to any other NT leader subsequent to this Gospel.

We have two wonderful epistles written by Peter, located in most translations very near the end of the NT texts that precede Revelation. What does Peter say of this text in John 21:15-17? Nothing. What does he claim of himself as being a “shepherd?” Nothing. In what way does anyone else recorded in the NT, in Acts and all the Epistles, and in Revelation refer to Peter as “shepherd?” Not one. How then does Peter refer to himself in these two important epistles which he himself wrote? “An apostle” (1 Peter 1:1, namely one of the category “apostles,” not “The” apostle as the leader or even exemplary). He further refers to himself as a “fellow elder” (1 Peter 5:1, G4850), which means literally “old man,” and is freighted with the idea of age and spiritual maturity, and as “a witness” (G3144, also in 1 Peter 5:1), which generally means “eye witness” as opposed to someone only proclaiming what they believe to be true but did not apprehend it directly and personally. Further in the very next verse, 1 Peter 5:2, Peter makes reference to a verb of responsibility–“to shepherd”–with respect to “the sheep” but of those sheep which belong to God. There is, importantly, no reference here to the elders being addressed in 1 Peter 5:1 that either he, Peter, nor the elders, are themselves “shepherds,” but only to be pasture-seekers / providers on behalf of The Shepherd, God Himself. All this is to be done as “examples” (1 Peter 5:3), not as rule ‘lords’ (kings / princes) which again introduces the Shepherd (1 Peter 5:3) by a single word in the Koine Greek “archipoímēn” (G750) where the prefix “arch” means chief (the idea of the ‘top’). Then in the very next verses, 1 Peter 5:5ff, Peter admonishes his readers that they submit to “elders” in their fellowship–not to Peter himself, not to even other apostles who may have then been still alive, not to so-called apostolic successors (to which there is no Biblical reference), nor to “shepherds” of any kind or status (such as “under-shepherds,” as no such term exists in the Bible).

Peter’s second Epistle is completely consistent with the above. In 2 Peter 2:1 he refers to himself as “a bondservant and an apostle of Jesus Christ” where “bondservant” is the translation of doúlos (G1401), meaning a slave who is in permanent servitude to some person (here, clearly Christ). It was literally the very idea we find abhorrent today, namely that of some of slave status. The connection with “apostle,” which means one sent with a message, is that he is one of such messengers of God, and with the other apostles was an actual eyewitness (witness), but he is such messenger with the status of a slave (of Christ), not a co- or under- shepherd (of Christ). His 2nd Epistle, and his final earthly words to us, closes with: 2 Peter 3:18 “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” (NKJV)

One further, and concluding, thought on this matter of Peter and “shepherd.” As noted, the reference to the Lord’s restoration of Peter after his denial, and departure back to Galilee and fishing, was written by the Apostle John. John later wrote three epistles, which are part of our inspired Bible text, and the entire Book of Revelation, all of which writing almost certainly post-dates Peter’s two epistles. Although we do not have an inspired revelation of the life-timelines of each of the Apostles, it is generally accorded that both Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome during the 60’s A.D., preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.. These events would then have occurred late in the reign of Emperor Nero (who reigned 54 to 68 A.D.), likely shortly after the Great Fire of Rome in 64 A.D. (which legend has it that Nero blamed on the Christians). In such chronology, it is believed that the Apostle John lived into the 90’s A.D., and perhaps even beyond 100 A.D., so he lived some 30 years after the deaths of Peter (and Paul), and late in his early life also wrote the three epistles and the Revelation. John as an eyewitness of the exchange between the Resurrected Lord Jesus and Peter on the shores of Galilee, and the only record of such exchange that we have in any of the Gospels, would have connected such event and the Lord’s words with his later writings (his epistles, and The Revelation), but there’s not a word in such reference. Of course we understand that God the Holy Spirit is the true author of all the Bible, and especially the NT, as promised by the Lord in the Upper Room Discourse. Regardless of this distinction, if the text of John 21 cited above was to teach an eternity verity as to uniquely Peter himself, or to all the Apostles, or to any who would follow the apostles to the present day, it is not reasonable to to believe that the silences of these Johannine texts is anything other than signifying the scope of John 21 was to Peter’s restoration and not a hierarchy of subsequent church order (ecclesiology).

2.2 For Ourselves

Sibbes opens this section of Ch 2 as the sub-section 1, below:

1. What should we learn from this, but to `come boldly to the throne of grace’ (Heb. 4:16) in all our grievances? Shall our sins discourage us, when he appears there only for sinners? Are you bruised? Be of good comfort, he calls you.

Sibbes, Ch 2, Sec 2

Sibbes quotes the below passage from Hebrews (shown in five translations and the original Koine Greek). The key phrase that motivated Sibbes citation is translated “draw near with confidence” {NASB95}, “come boldly to” {NKJV}, “come near with freedom” {Young’s Literal, YLT}, “adeamus [adeo, approach] therefore with fiducia [trust, confidence, faith reliance, courage]” {Latin Vulgate}, and “prosérchomai [come, present tense / indicative verb, Strong’s G4334] then with parrēsía [freedom in speaking, even frankness, G3954]” {Koine Greek NT}.

ESV	NASB95	LEB	NKJV	YLT	Newberry Interlinear	VUL
Heb 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.	Heb 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.	Heb 4:16 Therefore let us approach with confidence to the throne of grace, in order that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.	Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.	Heb 4:16 we may come near, then, with freedom, to the throne of the grace, that we may receive kindness, and find grace—for seasonable help.	Heb 4:16 προσερχωμεθα [prosérchomai] ουν μετα παρρησιας [parrēsía] τω θρονω της χαριτος ινα λαβωμεν ελεον και χαριν ευρωμεν εις ευκαιρον βοηθειαν	Heb 4:16 adeamus ergo cum fiducia ad thronum gratiae ut misericordiam consequamur et gratiam inveniamus in auxilio oportuno

It is too easy to pass by the great significance of this verse. We need to be reminded that one did not in the OT saunter unto any representation / presence of God in any sense of proper access. We would not, most of us, do such to an important person in government, industry, or in some religious context. God is of utmost holiness. Anyone who encountered some direct apprehension of God was struck down physically, psychologically, with blindness, and even sudden death. It would be well to meditate on these examples.

The Epistle to the Hebrews connects many dimensions of the Person and Work of Jesus Christ (“Christ” is Greek for Hebrew “Messiah”) with Yahweh / Jehovah (YHWH) of the OT, because they are in terms of Divine Being (Nature) the same Person. In the imagery of Heb.4:16 above, the locus is God’s Throne, and in particular that aspect of His Throne associated with “the Grace.”

Here we have the essence of our being as “bruised reeds.” Self-recognition of our being as such, is a great sign of God’s Love, exactly as we saw with the first four of the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount in the preceding discussion. And it is exactly, that recognition, that invites us to draw near to that Throne of Grace, even in boldness / confidence, despite being “bruised” because we have grasped an essential truth from the Gospel, the central testimony of the NT, namely: that Jesus Christ came to save sinners, and ever sinner is one in the condition of a bruised reed.

However, such “boldness” (or “confidence,” more on this below) is not because we have become victorious or sin or our sin nature, on the one hand, nor because God is utterly indifferent to sin, as though one could attend a wedding feast wearing filthy clothes (as per one of the Lord’s parables), on the other hand. There is a third explanation, and the only possible one by which we have such admission to God’s Throne and it is this: God has by Grace alone, satisfied His Righteousness by the Redemption / Imputation / Reconciliation imparted through the finished Work of Jesus Christ. And by this means, and only by this means, not only do we have access to God’s presence, and to His love, we have it even by boldness, as the young son or daughter of some prominent, inaccessible major figure can be reached by their little beloved child.

A brief word study on the Koine Greek word parrēsía is helpful on this point, as given below:

Strong’s G3954. παρρησία parrēsía;… fem. noun from pás (3956), all, and rhḗsis (n.f.), the act of speaking. Freedom or frankness in speaking. NT meanings: freedom in speaking all that one thinks or pleases (Mark 8:32; John 7:13, 26; Acts 4:13, 29, 31); confidence or boldness, particularly in speaking (Acts 2:29; 28:31; 2 Cor. 7:4; Eph. 3:12; 6:19; Phil. 1:20; 1 Tim. 3:13; Phile. 1:8; Heb. 3:6; 10:35 [cf. 1 John 2:28; 3:21; 4:17; 5:14]); plainness or exactness of speech (John 10:24; 11:14; 16:25, 29; 2 Cor. 3:12; Sept.: Prov. 13:5); openness, speaking publicly (John 18:20); freedom, liberty (Heb. 10:19); being in the public eye rather than being concealed (John 7:4 [cf. John 7:10]; John 11:54; Col. 2:15). Especially in Hebrews and 1 John the word denotes confidence which is experienced with such things as faith in communion with God, fulfilling the duties of the evangelist, holding fast our hope, and acts which entail a special exercise of faith. Parrēsía is possible as the result of guilt having been removed by the blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:19 [cf. vv. 17, 18]; 1 John 3:21; 4:17) and manifests itself in confident praying and witnessing (Heb. 4:16; 1 John 5:14).

Deriv.: parrēsiázomai (G3955), [the root verb form of the noun] to speak boldly or freely.

Syn.: pepoíthēsis (4006), persuasion, assurance, confidence; phanerṓs (5320), manifestly, openly; orthṓs (3723), in a straight manner; alēthṓs (230), truly, indeed, verily; thársos (2294), courage; aphóbōs (870), without fear.

Ant.: phóbos (5401), fear; trómos (5156), trembling; deilía (1167), cowardice; ptóēsis (4423), shaking, alarm.

 Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). AMG Publishers.

Sibbes’s next sub-section of Sec.2.2, is 2, which opens as below:

2.2 Let this support us when we feel ourselves bruised. …. No sound, whole soul shall ever enter into heaven. …. If Christ be so merciful as not to break me, I will not break myself by despair…

Sibbes, Ch 2, Sec. 2.2

Finally, in Sibbes’s sub-section 3 of Sec. 2:2 we see:

3….He `binds up the broken hearted’ (Isa. 61:1). As a mother is tenderest to the most diseased and weakest child, so does Christ most mercifully incline to the weakest. Likewise he puts an instinct into the weakest things to rely upon something stronger than themselves for support.

Ibid.

2.3 Who Are the Bruised Reeds?

In this final Section of Ch 2, Sibbes’s opens with a battery of key points about the healing, deliverance we have from our bruised reed condition beginning with the recognition that it, the bruising, began with God, and from God, and was / is to our benefit. We are actually, and indeed, “blessed” (Makarios) by our being bruised (poor, mourn, meek, hunger / thirst):

(1) By the bruised here is not meant those that are brought low only by crosses, but such as, by them, are brought to see their sin, which bruises most of all….He has wounded, and he must heal (Hos. 6:1). The Lord who has bruised me deservedly for my sins must bind up my heart again.

(2) Again, a man truly bruised judges sin the greatest evil, and the favor of God the greatest good.

(3) He would rather hear of mercy than of a kingdom.

(4) He has poor opinions of himself, and thinks that he is not worth the earth he treads on.

(5) Towards others he is not censorious, as being taken up at home, but is full of sympathy and compassion to those who are under God’s hand.

(6) He thinks that those who walk in the comforts of God’s Spirit are the happiest men in the world.

(7) He trembles at the Word of God (Isa. 66:2), and honours the very feet of those blessed instruments that bring peace unto him (Rom. 10:15).

(8) He is more taken up with the inward exercises of a broken heart than with formality, and is yet careful to use all sanctified means to convey comfort.

Sibbes, Ch 2, Sec. 2.3

Sibbes concludes Ch 2 highlighting the great reverse of recognizing ourselves as being bruised, and continuing to do so, because it is then and continually that which draws us to the Throne of God’s Grace, knowing we can so approach because it solely by Grace, but Grace which is completely sufficient. Amazing Grace.

…our encouragement to a thorough work of bruising, and patience under God’s bruising of us, let all know that none are fitter for comfort than those that think themselves furthest off.

Men, for the most part, are not lost enough in their own feeling for a Saviour.

A holy despair in ourselves is the ground of true hope. In God the fatherless find mercy (Hos. 14:3)

Ibid.

And in these days of political, legal, economic, social uncertainties–and worse than uncertainties–Sibbe’s quote above of Hos. 14:3 should give us great comfort. (Remember, that Assyria, was a terrifyingly powerful middle-eastern imperial army bent on destroying Israel and enslaving God’s people:

ESV	NASB95	LEB	NKJV	YLT	VUL
Ho 14:3 Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.”	Ho 14:3 “Assyria will not save us, We will not ride on horses; Nor will we say again, ‘Our god,’ To the work of our hands; For in You the orphan finds mercy.”	Ho 14:3 Assyria will not save us; we will not ride on horses, and we will say no more, “Our God,” to the work of our hands because in you the fatherless child finds mercy.	Ho 14:3 Assyria shall not save us, We will not ride on horses, Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’ For in You the fatherless finds mercy.”	Ho 14:3 Asshur doth not save us, on a horse we ride not, Nor do we say any more, Our God, to the work of our hands, For in Thee find mercy doth the fatherless.’	Ho 14:4 Assur non salvabit nos super equum non ascendemus [take credit] nec dicemus ultra dii nostri opera [operation] manuum [hands] nostrarum quia eius qui in te est misereberis pupilli

Sibbes Ch 3 is here: