The Church is a Hospital

Jesus, our Great Physician, said, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matt. 9.12-13). And the place where he calls us to be, where he has instituted the means of grace and healing for sin-sick souls, is the church, which is a spiritual hospital.

John Chrysostom, Homilies on Repentance and Almsgiving 3.4.19:

Have you sinned? Enter into the church and wipe away your sin. The number of times you fall down in the marketplace equals the number of times you rise up. Likewise, as many times as you sin, repent for your sin: do not become discouraged. And if you sin a second time, repent a second time....And if you are in the depths of old age and you sin, enter into the church and repent, because the church is a hospital, not a court of justice.

Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax, in Works, Vol. 1, p. 57:

The church of Christ is a common hospital, wherein all are in some measure sick of some spiritual disease or other; that we should all have ground of exercising mutually the spirit of wisdom and meekness.

Simon Patrick, The Heart's Ease; or, A Remedy Against Trouble, in Works, Vol. 3, pp. 504-505:

...over the Gospel we may write what the Egyptians did over their library, ..., 'this is the hospital for sick souls.'

A Prayer for Difficult Times

Simon Patrick, The Works of Symon Patrick, Vol. 9, pp. 317-319:

A Private Prayer to be Used in Difficult Times

O ALMIGHTY GOD, who art the refuge and strength of all those that truly fear thee, and put their trust in thee; we thy servants, who have had long experience of thy goodness, and found thee a present help in the needful time of trouble, most earnestly flee unto thy infinite mercies, to implore thy grace and favour towards us in this distressed church: who know not what to do, but only lift up our eyes unto thee, from whom cometh our salvation.

Our sins indeed testify against us, that we justly deserve to be forsaken by thee, and given up as a prey to those that hate us. For we have done very wickedly, and been so far from bringing forth the fruits of the gospel of thy grace, (which we have long enjoyed in its purity,) that too many of us have turned it into wantonness, and the best of us have not been so zealous of good works as our most holy religion and the singular benefits we have enjoyed by it required from us.

Our contempt or neglect of thy divine service, our unrighteousness and uncharitableness one towards another, our riot and intemperance, our filthiness and uncleanness, our insensibleness of our brethren's miseries, and all our other high provocations call for vengeance upon us. And it is of thy mere mercy, thy longsuffering mercy, that we are not already laid waste, and made the scorn and derision of those who are round about us.

Unto that inconceivable mercy and most tender compassion we still betake ourselves, and sue for further patience and forbearance towards us; beseeching thee with earnest cries, Spare us,' good Lord, spare thy people, and give us not up unto a reproach.

Remember not our sins nor our transgressions, but according to thy mercy remember thou us for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.For thy name's sake pardon our iniquity, though it be great.

Look upon our affliction and our trouble, and forgive all our sin.

Consider our enemies, for they are many; and they hate us with a cruel hatred. But do not thou forsake us, O Lord; O our God, be not thou far from us: but preserve us in the free and undisturbed profession of thy holy religion, here established among us.

Suffer not the doctrine of the gospel to be here again corrupted, thy worship and service adulterated, the holy communion of Christ's body and blood depraved and maimed, the just rights and liberties of this church to be oppressed by any of those who have evil will unto it.

But preserve us, O Lord, from their evil designs, for thy mercy's sake, for thy holy truth's sake, (here reformed from many superstitions wherewith it was defiled,) for the sake of thy faithful people, who cry day and night unto thee, for the sake of Jesus Christ, who died for us, and suffered upon the cross to testify to that truth which we maintain, whom we own for our only Mediator and Advocate, whose sacrifice, once offered, we believe to be an all-sufficient satisfaction for us; whose merits alone we mention to thee, and depend upon; by whose agony and bloody sweat, his cross and passion, resurrection and intercession, we beg to be delivered by thee.

Deny not, blessed Lord, the suits of such supplicants; let them never be put to confusion, but deliver them in thy righteousness; bow down thy ears unto them, and make haste to deliver them.Be thou their strong rock and house of defence, that thou mayest save them.

And for that end, stir up the hearts of all thy people to be more than ordinary zealous in their religion, more fervent and frequent in prayers and supplications, more serious in their repentance and humiliations; more constant and devout in receiving the holy communion ; more strict and careful in their whole Christian conversation.

Endue all the ministers of our religion with integrity, wisdom, and courage. Bless their labours, and protect them in the faithful discharge of their duty. And give all the people grace to follow their godly instructions, that they may be preserved from all dangerous errors and delusions.

Quicken the magistrates in their several places to maintain truth as well as execute justice.

Restore a happy unity among us, that we may standfast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.

And let it not be in the power of any of our enemies to overthrow that blessed work of reformation of religion which was brought about by the long study, and labours, and prayers, and sufferings, and blood of many of thy faithful servants; but perfect and complete it, we beseech thee, by making us all so sensible of the inestimable value of that blessing, that it may be more and more effectual in the reformation of all our lives.

Continue thy protection also over all other reformed churches, which, hitherto, are in safety. And where they are laid waste graciously restore them, after they have suffered a while with patience, to their lost liberties and enjoyments.

Hear their cry, O Lord, and arise for the sighing of these poor distressed Christians; and set them in safety from those who swell against them.

Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, and establish thou the just.

Break the arm of wicked and evil men; seek out their wickedness till thou find none.

So we thy people and sheep of thy pastures will give thee thanks for ever; we will show forth thy praise to all generations, saying,

Blessed be the Lord God our Saviour and Deliverer, who only doth wondrous things.

And blessed be his glorious name forever, and let the whole earth be filled with his glory, Amen and Amen.

Divine Arithmetic

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. (Ps. 90.12)

John Calvin on Ps. 90.12:

It indeed seems at first sight absurd to pray that we may know the number of our years. What? since even the strongest scarcely reach the age of fourscore years, is there any difficulty in reckoning up so small a sum? Children learn numbers as soon as they begin to prattle; and we do not need a teacher in arithmetic to enable us to count the length of a hundred upon our fingers. So much the fouler and more shameful is our stupidity in never comprehending the short term of our life. Even he who is most skillful in arithmetic, and who can precisely and accurately understand and investigate millions of millions, is nevertheless unable to count fourscore years in his own life. It is surely a monstrous thing that men can measure all distances without themselves, that they know how many feet the moon is distant from the center of the earth, what space there is between the different planets; and, in short, that they can measure all the dimensions both of heaven and earth; while yet they cannot number threescore and ten years in their own case. It is therefore evident that Moses had good reason to beseech God for ability to perform what requires a wisdom which is very rare among mankind. The last clause of the verse is also worthy of special notice. By it he teaches us that we then truly apply our hearts to wisdom when we comprehend the shortness of human life. What can be a greater proof of madness than to ramble about without proposing to one’s self any end? True believers alone, who know the difference between this transitory state and a blessed eternity, for which they were created, know what ought to be the aim of their life. No man then can regulate his life with a settled mind, but he who, knowing the end of it, that is to say death itself, is led to consider the great purpose of man’s existence in this world, that he may aspire after the prize of the heavenly calling.

Charles Howe, Devout Meditations, pp. 34-35:

XXXIII. Most men are ready enough to reckon up the income of their estates, and compute how it will answer their several expences: but few employ their arithmetic to calculate the value and income of their life and time, or consider how they may be expended to the best advantage. In these the beggar has as large a revenue as the king, though they are justly accounted the more valuable treasure. The gracious God has distributed equal portions of these to all degrees and conditions of men, though not to every particular man the same proportion; and the sum total of this is threescore and ten years, all beyond that being labour and sorrow; and many years also on this side of it. Now we have to consider how much of this is likely to be spent in happiness and enjoyment, and how much will be employed to less pleasing purposes; which may be thus easily computed: twenty years may be deducted for education, which is a time of discipline and restraint, and young people are never easy till they are got over it; and the last ten years of the seventy may be deducted for sickness and infirmities, which very often is the portion of those years: so that these thirty, taken out of life, there remain but forty; out of which a third part, being at least eight hours in the four and twenty, which amounts to be about fourteen years more, must be deducted for sleep, that sister and image of death; and then there remain but twenty-six; and then there remain but twenty-six; out of which, when the requisite allowances are taken for the time we are made uneasy with our own passions, and tormented with other peaople's; for what passes in sickness, pain, loss, and affliction, what we consume in anxiety for things that must inevitably happen, and what in anguish for accidents irrecoverably past; what passes in stupid and insipid amusements, or brown studies, without either trouble or pleasure; when this is summed up, the poor inconsiderable remainder, I doubt, we shall not account much better for; it being generally unprofitably wasted in vice and vanity.

Simon Patrick, Divine Arithmetic; or, The Right Art of Numbering Our Days, in Works, Vol. 7, pp. 505, 514-515, 517-518:

The right numbering of our days is earnestly and diligently to be inquired out. It is plain enough from the prayer of this man of God. For his prayer for learning show that we are highly concerned in the numbering of our days;...

We must reckon our days by our work, and not by our time, by what we do, and not by what we are. Let us account that the longest day which is best spent, and that the oldest life which is most holy....A long life is not the best, but a good life. As we do not commend (saith he) him that hath played a great while on an instrument, or made a long oration, but him that hath played and spoken well...They are the worthiest persons, and have lived longest in the world, who have brought the greatest benefit unto it, and made the great advantage of their time to the service of God and of men. Le our conscience therefore be the ephemeris or diary of our life. Let us not reckon by the almanack, but by the book of God, how much we live. And let us account that he who lives godlily lives long; and that other men live not at all....

We must not account all days alike: or we must not measure our time by the length, but by the weight; not by its greatness, but by its worth. Let us not measure our days (as we do) by the motion of the sun which we see, but by the shining of the Sun of righteousness upon our souls; not by the celestial bodies, but by the celestial inspirations. Think that a long time wherein there were many days of grace, and mind that time and improve it above all the rest....A day of grace, a Lord's day, when God shall move upon our souls, such an opportunity as this, if God affect our hearts, is worth all our days beside, when we are left unto ourselves....Let us therefore employ such time well, and set ourselves to our business, earnestly entreating more of such time, and that God's Spirit will visit us more frequently with its company....We must value time hereafter as mariners do at sea, by the win that blows upon us, and then we most [hoist] up our sails. We must look at some as harvest days, and then we must gather and lay up in store by hard labour: or as market days, and then we must buy what we want, and lay in provision for the following days. Yea, the blackest day of affliction, if we were well skilled, might be numbered among the best times of our life; for God chasteneth us for our profit, that we may be made partakers of his holiness.

MHCC 28: Bishop Patrick

In Matthew Henry's Commentary, he often refers to the "learned bishop Patrick." For those reading along in the Matthew Henry Commentary Challenge, and for others who may be interested, it is worthwhile to note that Henry is not referring to St. Patrick, Bishop of Ireland, but Bishop Simon Patrick (1626-1707), the Biblical commentator. The reader will note that Henry refers to, often quotes, and relied significantly upon, Patrick's Commentary on the Historical and Poetical Books of the Old Testament (1693-1727) which covers from Genesis to the Song of Solomon. In the preface to the first volume of his commentary, Henry writes:

The learned have of late received very great advantage in their searches into this part of holy writ, and the books that follow (and still hope for more), by the excellent and most valuable labours of that great and good man bishop Patrick, whom, for vast reading, solid judgment, and a most happy application to these best of studies, even in his advanced years and honours, succeeding ages no doubt will rank among the first three of commentators, and bless God for him.

Patrick was convinced of episcopal church government, despite being trained by men such as Herbert Palmer, the Westminster divine, and yet, as an irenic man, he was friendly towards nonconformists, even in the post-Restoration era. His commentary and devotional works have long been appreciated for their gospel flavor. Patrick himself was a patron of Matthew Poole's Latin Synopsis Criticorum.

The Comprehensive Commentary upon the Holy Bible refers to Patrick thus:

He was a sincere Christian, an excellent scholar, a judicious commentator, an able writer, and a worthy, honest man. His style of writing was easy and pleasant; his attachment to truth inviolable and active. His works are replete with sound sense and true religion; and his 'Sermons,' 'Tracts against Popery,' and 'Paraphrases and Commentaries upon the Holy Scriptures,' justly entitle him to the eulogy of [Gilbert] Burnet, 'that he was an honor to the church, and to the age in which he lived.'

As a young man, as he records in his Autobiography, found in his Works, Vol. 9, pp. 424-425, he wrote "in a little book that...set out a great many rules and admonitions to himself, which argue...to be well disposed to do God service." These provide a window into his soul and are therefore worth noting here:

Remember thy promises when made a minister. Remember the preciousness of a soul; how much we should do for its good. Read St. Chrysostom xxix. Hom. in Rom. Observe every good motion in thy spirit, and cherish them. Let them not die, lest God's Spirit depart from thee. Consider often how long thou hast lived, and how ignorant still thou art: now almost twenty-seven years old, and yet a child. Pray to God to learn thee the divine skill of working truths into thy heart as principles of life; that they may be as fixed and settled there, as the understanding and will, and all the natural faculties are.

Remember my father's saying, "The more you spend, the more you have; viz. in spiritual things."

Look upon prayer as that which, in the very act of it, brings thee the blessing thou most desirest. For when we beg any heavenly quality, if our mind be intent towards it, that very intention works and frames our soul into that disposition. We become more able to act any virtue, by desiring it earnestly in prayer.

Embrace that which is good in any man, and look not strangely upon him because he differs from thee in some opinions.

Be moderate in thy desires of what thou hast not; and moderate in the use of what thou hast.

Be sure to mend that in thyself which thou observest dost exceedingly displease thee in others.

By such meditations as these, (which I shall not further relate,) I find my endeavour was, blessed be God, to frame myself to a holy temper of mind; having no other design in the world (as it there follows in a pious desire) but to be good and to do good; no other interest but to please God, and to enjoy him and glorify his name.

And now you know a little about the "learned bishop Patrick" to whom Matthew Henry alludes.