THE BURNING BUSH
by: GEORGE WHITEFIELD — 1714-1770
"And he looked, and, behold,
the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I
will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not
burnt"—Exodus 3:2-3
IT IS
A COMMON SAYING, and common sayings, are generally founded on matter of fact,
that it is always darkest before break of day; and I am persuaded, that if we
do justice to our own experience, as well as consider God's dealings with his
people in preceding ages, we shall find that man's extremity has been usually
made God's opportunity, and that "when the enemy has broke in like a
flood, the spirit and providence of God has lifted up a standard against
him": and I believe at the same time, that however we may dream of a
continued scene of prosperity in church or state, either in respect to our
bodies, souls, or temporal affairs, we shall find this life to be chequered, that the clouds return after the rain, and the
most prosperous state attended with such cloudy days, as may make even the
people of God sometimes cry, "all men are liars, and God has forgotten to
be gracious."
The chapter in which is our text, is an instance of this. What
a glorious day of the son of man was that when Joseph sent for his father to
Egypt; and the good old patriarch, after he had thought his son had been dead
many years, agreeably surprised by a message from him to come to him, with all
his family, and are by him comfortably settled in Goshen; where the good old
patriarch, after many a stormy day, died in peace, and was highly honored at
his funeral by Pharaoh and his servants, and attended to the sepulcher of his
fathers in Canaan by all his sons. After which, Joseph continued to live in
splendor, lord of all the land of Egypt; and his brethren, doubtless, in the
height of prosperity: but how sadly did the scene change at Pharaoh's death,
soon after which, "another king arose that knew not Joseph,"
verifying the observation, New lords, new laws, by whom the descendants of
Jacob, instead of reigning in Goshen, were made bond slaves; many, many long
years, employed in making bricks, and in all probability, had what we call their
bibles taken from them, by being forced to conform to the idolatry of Egypt,
and so were in a worse state than the unhappy Negroes in America are at this
day.
No
doubt, numbers of them either wondered that ever they had been prospered at
all, or that God had forgot them now; but what a mercy it is that "a
thousand years in God's sight are but as one day," and therefore when
God's time is come, the set time that he has appointed, he will maugre all the opposition of men and devils, he will come
down and deliver his people, and in such a manner, that the enemy shall know,
as well as friends, it is the Lord's doing. A deliverer is born and bred in
Pharaoh's court, a Moses is brought up in all the learning of the Egyptians,
for Pharaoh intended him for a high and exalted post: but when offers of the
highest preferment are made to him, he did not catch at them as some folks now
do, who are very good and humble till something occurs to take them from God.
Young as he was, he refused the highest dignity, and spurned at it with an holy
contempt; and chooses rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than
enjoy all the grandeur and pleasures of , perhaps, one
of the greatest courts on earth.
Forty
years continued he in this state of obscurity, in which time he acquired such a
competent degree, and variety of knowledge, as qualified him for every thing
God intended him for: the occasion of this was his kind attempt to compose a
difference between two of his brethren, one of whom accused him of murder, on
which he that was to be king in Jeshurun, is forced
to fly into a strange land; there he submits to the humble office of a servant,
marries, and lives in a state of subjection for forty years, as was said
before.
At
length when he was eighty years old, dreaming of no such thing, behold God
calls, and commands him to go and deliver his people: as he himself informs us,
who is the author of this book, verse 1. "Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, priest of Midian":
he might have said, what such a scholar as I keep a
parcel of sheep! such a learned man as I am employed
in such a menial service! some proud hearts would
break first, but you never knew a truly great man but would stoop; some that
are called great men, swell till they burst; like sturdy oaks, they think they
can stand every wind, till some dreadful storm comes and blows them up by the
roots, while the humble reed bends and rises again. Moses was one of the latter, he keeps the flock of Jethro
his father-in-law, and leads them to the
The
manner of this angel's appearing is taken particular notice of, it was to Moses
when nobody was with him: I do not hear he had so much as a boy, or one
companion; and I mention this, because I believe we have often found that we
are never less alone than when with God; we often want this and that companion,
but happy they that can say, Lord, thy company is enough. Moses was startled at
the sight, and I don't know that he is to be discommended for it, it was not to
gratify a bare curiosity, but seeing a bush burning it engaged his attention,
and made him think that something was uncommon; "the bush burned with fire
and yet was not consumed": this startled him, as it was intended to do;
for where God designs to speak, he win first gain attention from the person
spoken to; Moses therefore says, "I will now turn aside and see this great
sight, why the bush is not burned"; he did not know but the bush might
take fire by some accident; he saw no fire come from above, he saw no fire
round the bush, yet that did not so much startle him, as to see, though it did
burn, it was not consumed, or in the least diminished; it was a strange sight,
but it was, my brethren, a glorious one; a sight which, I pray God, you and I
may behold with faith and comfort this evening; for, my dear hearers, this
bush, and the account of it, was given for our learning; and I win venture to
say, could Moses arise from the dead, he would not be angry with me for telling
you, this is of no private interpretation, but is intended as a standing
lesson, as a significant emblem of the church, and every individual child of
God, till time itself shall be no more.
I would
therefore observe to you, that this bush, In the first place, is typical of the
church of God in all ages; the bush was burning, why might it not be a tan
cedar, why might it not be some large or some glorious tree, why should the
great God choose a bush, a little bush of briars and thorns, above any other
thing? but because the
"The
bush burned," what is that for? it shewed that
Christ's church while in this world, will be a bush burning with fiery trials
and afflictions of various kinds; this was a lively emblem of the state of
religion, and liberty of Israel at that time: they were busy making of brick,
and there consequently were burning continually; as though the Lord had said,
this bush is burning with fire, so my people are burning with slavery. Ah, but
say you, that was only the case of the Israelites when they were under Pharaoh;
pray is not that the case of the church in all ages? yes, it has been; read
your Bibles, and you may instantly see that it is little else than an
historical account of a burning bush; and though there might be some periods
wherein the church had rest, yet these periods have been of a short date; and
if God's people have "walked in the comforts of the Holy Ghost," it
is only like a calm that precedes an earthquake. If you remember, before the
last earthquake, it was a fine morning, and who when they arose in the morning,
would have thought the earth should shake under them before night; and so with
the church when they are in a calm, and all seems safe there, then comes a storm:
God prepare us for it.
But
this is not the only case with the
I
heard a person not long ago say, I have no enemies. Bishop Latimer came to a
house one day, and the man of the house said, he had not met with a cross in
all his life; give me my horse, says the good bishop, I am sure God is not here
where no cross is.
But
suppose we are not persecuted by the world, is there one Christian but is
persecuted by his friends; if there is an Isaac in the family, I warrant there
is an Ishmael to mock at him. "Woe is me," says David, "that I
must dwell with Mesheck, and in Kedar":
and in one's own family, one's own brothers and sisters, one's own dependants,
though they wait for our death, and perhaps, long to have us gone, that they
may run away with our substance, to have these persons mock at us, and if they
dare not speak out, yet let us see they hate the God we worship; if this be thy
case, why, God knows, poor soul, thou art a burning bush: but if we have no
such things as mocking, yet if we are surrounded with afflictions, domestic
trials, the loss of dear and near friends, the bad conduct of our children, the
dreadful misconduct of those that are dependant upon us; O there is many a
parent here that is a burning bush; burning with what? with
family afflictions; some don't care what becomes of their children; O, I thank
God, I have left my boy so much, and my daughter a coach, perhaps; ah! well
your son and daughter may ride in that coach post to the devil: but the godly
man says, I want an eternal inheritance for my son; I want God's blessing for
him; this is the poor man's prayer, while the poor deluded youth mocks him: or,
supposing this is not the case, a person may burn with inward temptation; you
have heard of the fiery darts, of the devil, and were you to feel them, I
believe you would find them fiery darts indeed! and
you have great reason to suspect your experience, your having any interest in
the love of the Son of God at all, if you never found the fiery darts of the
devil.
O,
says one, I never felt the devil; I am sure thou mayest
feel him now; thou art dadda's own child; thou art
speaking the very language of the devil, and he is teaching thee to deny thy own
father; therefore graceless child of the devil, you never felt the devil's
fiery darts, it is because the devil is sure of thee; he has got thee into a
damnable slumber; may the God of love wake thee before real damnation comes!
The fiery darts of Satan are poisoned, and wherever they stick they fill the
persons with tormenting pain like fire; this I mention, because there are some
poor souls perhaps here tonight, whom the devil tells, thou hast committed the
unpardonable sin; you are afraid to come to sacrament, you are afraid to go to
prayer, because at these seasons the devil disturbs thee most, and tempts you
to leave these seasons; and there are some go on thus burning a great while. My
brethren the time would fail, and I shall draw this discourse to too great a
length, and hinder you from your families, if I was to mention but a few more
of those thousands that the believer burns with, the trials without, and what
is still worse, their trials within.
Why,
says one, it is very strange you talk thus tonight; I am sorry it is strange to
any of you; sure you are not much acquainted with your bibles, and less with
your hearts, if you know not this. Why, sure, say some, you make God a tyrant;
no, but having made ourselves devils incarnate, we are now in a state of
preparation, and these various trials are intended by the great God to train us
up for heaven; and therefore, that you may not think I am drawing a picture
without any life, give me leave to observe, that it is particularly remarkable,
that though "the bush burned, it was not consumed": it was this
struck Moses,' he looked to see why the bush was not consumed. But the burning
I have been here painting forth to you is not a consuming but a purifying fire;
is not that enough to answer the shade that has been already drawn; it is true
the bush burns, the Christian is persecuted, the Christian is oppressed, the
Christian is burned with inward trials, he is perplexed at times, he is
"cast down but" blessed be God, "he is not destroyed," he
is not in despair.
Who is
that, that says he has got into such an estate that nothing disturbs him? vain man! he discovers an ignorance
of Christ; are you greater than the apostle Paul? some
people think that the apostles had no trials; so they think, perhaps, of some
ministers, that they are always on the mount, while, perhaps, they have been in
the burning to get that sermon for them. We that are to speak for others, must expect to be tempted in all things like to our
brethren, or we should be only poor whip syllabub preachers, and not rich men's
hearts. But whether ministers or people burn, the great God, the angel of the
everlasting covenant, spoke to Moses out of the bush; he did not stand at a
distance from the bush, he did not speak to him so much as one yard or foot
from the bush, but he spoke to him out of the bush; he said, Moses, Moses, my
people shall burn in this bush to the end of time, but be not afraid, I will succour them; when they burn, I will burn too. There is a
scripture vastly strong to this purpose, in which it is not said, "the
good will of him that" was "in the bush," but "the good
will of him that" dwelt "in the bush."
Amazing!
I thought God dwelt in heaven; but as a poor woman who was once in darkness
fourteen years, before she was brought out of it, said, God has two homes, one
in heaven, the other in the lowest heart. He dwells in the bush, and I am sure
if he did not, the devil and their own cursed hearts would burn the bush to
ashes. How is it that it is not consumed? why, it is because God has declared
it shall not be consumed; he has made an everlasting covenant, and I pity those
that are not acquainted with an interest in God's covenant; and it would be
better that people would pity them, than dispute with them: I really believe a
disputing devil is one of the worst devils that can be brought into God's
church, for he comes with his gown and book in his hand, and I should always
suspect the devil when he comes in his gown and band, and this is the cause
they agree and disagree. Some, who it is to be hoped are God's children, if you
tell them that God has loved them with an everlasting love, they are afraid to
suck it in, and especially if you pop out the word election, or that hard word
predestination, they will be quite frightened; but talk to them another way,
their dear hearts will rejoice.
God
has said, "As the waters of Noah shall cease forever, so he will not
forget the covenant of his peace: nothing shall pluck them out of his
hand." Ah! say some, the apostle has said,
"that neither things present, nor things to come, shall separate us from
the love of Christ": but he has not said an evil heart shall not; I fancy
that is one of the "present things." The bush is not consumed,
because if the devil is in the bush, God is in the bush too; if the devil acts
one way, the Lord, the Spirit, acts another to balance it, and the Spirit of
God is engaged to train up the souls of his people; and God has determined the
bush shall not be consumed; his Spirit stands near believers to support and guide,
and make them more than conquerors: all that are given to Jesus Christ shall
come, he will not lose one of them; this is food for the children of God; a bad
mind will turn every thing to poison; and if it was not for this, that God had
promised to keep them, my soul within these thirty years would have sunk a
thousand times over.
Come
then, O suffering saints, to you the word of this salvation is sent. I don't
know who of you are the followers of the Lamb; may the
Spirit of the living God point them out, may every one be enabled to say, I am
the man. O, says one, I have been watching and very
attentive tonight, but you have not mentioned my burnings; what do you think of
my burning lusts? what do you think of my burning
corruptions? what do you think of my burning pride? O,
perhaps some of you will say, thank God, I have no pride at all; like the
bishop of Cambray, as mentioned by Dr. Watts, who
said, he had received many sins from his father Adam, but, thank God, he had no
pride. Alas! alas! we are all
as proud as the devil. Pray, what do you think of passion,
that burns not only themselves but all around them? what
do you think of enmity? what do you think of jealousy,
is not this something that burns the bush? and there
are some people that pride themselves, they have not got so much of the beast
about them, they never got drunk, scorn to commit murder, and at the same time
are full of enmity, of envy, malice, and pride, as the devil: the Lord God help
such to see their condition.
Happy
is it, Christ can dwell in the bush when we cannot dwell ourselves there; there
are few Christians can live together, very few relations can live together
under one roof; we can take that from other people that we can't bear from our
own flesh and blood; and if God did not bear with us more than we bear with one
another, we should all have been destroyed every day. Does the devil make you
say, that you will give all up; I will go to the Tabernacle no more; I will lay
on my couch and take my ease; Oh! if this is the case
of any tonight, thus tempted by satan, may God rescue
their souls. O poor dear soul, you never will have such sweet words from God as
when you are in the bush; our suffering times will be our best times.
I know
we had more comfort in Moorfields, on Kennington Common, and especially when the rotten eggs, the
cats and dogs were thrown upon me, and my gown was filled with clods of dirt
that I could scarce move it; I have had more comfort in this burning bush than
when I have been in ease. I remember when I was preaching at Exeter, a stone
came and made my forehead bleed, I found at that very time the word came with
double power to a laborer that was gazing at me, who was wounded at the same
time by another stone, I felt for the lad more than for myself, went to a friend,
and the lad came to me, Sir, says he, the man gave me a wound, but Jesus healed
me; I never had my bonds broke till I had my head broke. I appeal to you
whether you were not better when it was colder than now, because your nerves
were braced up; you have a day like a dog-day, now you are weak, and are
obliged to fan yourselves: thus it is prosperity lulls the soul,
and I fear Christians are spoiled by it.
Whatever
your trails are, let this be your prayer, Lord, though the bush is burning, let
it not be consumed. I think that is too low, let it be thus; Lord, when the
bush is burning, let me not burn lower as the fire does, but let me burn higher
and higher: I thank thee my God, for trouble; I thank thee, my God, for putting
me into these afflictions one after another; I thought I could sing a requiem
to myself, that I should have a little rest, but trouble came from that very
quarter where I might reasonably expect the greatest comfort: I thank thee for
knocking my hands off from the creature; Lord, I believe, help my unbelief; and
thus you will go on blessing God to all eternity: by and by the bush shall be
translated to the paradise of God; no burning bush in heaven, except the fire
of love, wonder, and gratitude; no trials there; troubles are limited to this
earth; above our enemies can't reach us. Perhaps there are some of you here are
saying, "burning bush, a bush burnt and not consumed!" I don't know
what to make of this nonsense: come, come, go on, I am used to it, and I guess
what are the thoughts of your hearts: I pray God, that
every one of you here may be afraid of comfort, lest they should be tossed
about by the devil. What is it I have said? how have I
talked in such an unintelligible manner? why, say you,
what do you mean by a burning bush? why, thou art the
very man, how so? why, you are burning with the devil in your hearts; you are
burning with foppery, with nonsense, with "the lust of the flesh,"
with "the lust of the eye, and pride of life"; and if you do not get
out of this state as Lot said to his sons-in-law, e'er
long you shall be burning in hell, and not consumed: the same angel of the
covenant who spake to Moses out of the bush, he shall
e'er long descend, surrounded with millions of the
heavenly host, and sentence you to everlasting burnings.
O you
frighten me! did you think I did not intend to
frighten you? would to God I might frighten you
enough! I believe it will be no harm for you to be frightened out of hell, to
be frighted out of an unconverted state: 0 go and
tell your companions that the madman said, that wicked men are as firebrands of
hell: God pluck you as brands out of that burning. Blessed be
God, that there is yet a day of grace: Oh! that this
might prove "the accepted time"; Oh! that
this might prove "the day of salvation"; Oh! angel of the everlasting
covenant, come down; thou blessed, dear comforter, have mercy, mercy, mercy
upon the unconverted, upon our unconverted friends, upon the unconverted part
of this auditory; "speak, and it shall be done: command, O Lord, and it
shall come to pass": turn the burning bushes of the devil into burning
bushes of the Son of God: who knows but God may hear our prayer, who knows but
God may hear this cry, "I have seen, I have seen the afflictions of my
people: the cry of the children of Israel is come up to me, and I am come down
to deliver them": God grant this may be his word to you under all your
trouble; God grant he may be your comforter.
The
Lord awaken you that are dead in sin, and though on the precipice of hell, God
keep you from tumbling in: and you that are God's burning bushes, God help you
stand to keep this coat of arms, to say when you go home, blessed be God,
"the bush is burning but not consumed." Amen! even
so, Lord Jesus.
Amen!