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His children, He might let us go on, and so be punished at the judgment. But, because He has loved us with an everlasting love, because we are His dear children, therefore as a man chasteneth His son, so the Lord our God, chasteneth us.

HOW DOES THE LORD CHASTEN US ? Sometimes by frowning upon the soul, which produces darkness, perplexity, and distress. Then we cannot read our evidences, we cannot claim or appropriate the promises, we cannot enjoy the public ordinances, we have no access with confidence to God in private. Then our graces wither, our comforts die, and our hopes decline. There is no peace of conscience, no joy in God, no rejoicing in salvation. We cannot see our way, trace out the work of God in our souls, or anticipate the coming of Jesus with any pleasure, We feel shut up, straitened, and filled with confusion, Then there is no life in prayer, no zeal for God, but the mind dwells on gloomy, sad, and depressing subjects. Sometimes by refusing to answer prayer; then the duty becomes wearisome, the heart hardens, and we draw rash and wrong conclusions, When I cry and shout, He shutteth out my prayer." Now, but for conscience, or the fear of the Lord, which is deeply im. bedded in the soul, prayer would be quite given up, and the form of religion thrown off. But, as we dare not do this, we go to duty as the criminal to the correction of

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the stocks, or the idle schoolboy to his difficult task. The heart has little sympathy with the lip, but is cold, hard, and gloomy. Now, we write bitter things against ourselves, listen to the suggestions of Satan, and full of self-love, grieve over our hard lot. Sometimes by leaving us to ourselves in ordinances. Then they become tedious, unsavoury, and unprofitable. We attend them, but not meeting with God in them, we soon weary of them, and perhaps begin to neglect them. Ordinances without God, are like wells without water, tables without food, and bodies without life. If we come to them hungry, we go away dissatisfied, or if we come expecting comfort, we depart disappointed. Ordinances without God, can never satisfy a living soul. Sometimes by the dispensations of Providence. Then we have losses, crosses, and afflictions. Every thing seems to go wrong with us. Everybody appears to succeed better than we do. Sickness, perhaps, seizes on the body, and we have strong pains, or great weakness, or nervous depression. Or trade declines, business falls off, bad debts are made, unexpected demands are made upon us, or the fluctuations of the markets try us. By various means, and in various ways, the Lord chastens His children; for, when He intends to correct, He is never at a loss for a rod; and the rod He selects, always ap

pears to pain us most; for when God strikes He intends that we should feel.

OUR CHASTENING IS FROM THE LORD HIMSELF. He never puts His children out to be flogged, nor keeps a drill-sergeant to do it. He chastens every son. He selects the instrument. He does not take up a rod that may chance to lay before Him, because it comes first to hand. No, no. He goes to the wood and chooses the most suitable rod to correct us. Nature always fancies that God has chosen the wrong rod, or strikes on the wrong place, or corrects at the wrong time. But depend upon it, it is all right. If He strike the body, or seize the property, or remove the relative, or alienate the friend, or afflict the soul, it is in infinite wisdom, and perfect love. He numbers the strokes. Not one too many, nor one too few, but just the right number is appointed. Less would not humble the proud heart, bend the stub. born will, or turn back the wandering feet. More would unduly depress, give Satan an occasion against us, or harden our hearts from His fear. Believer, thou shalt never have one more stroke than thy Heavenly Father has appointed; nor will He appoint one more than is necessary. He marks the effects. He watches to see the effect produced by every stroke. If we fall at His feet, humble ourselves before Him, confess our sins, and appeal to His mercy, we take hold of His strength, chastisement soon ceases. When the tear of penitence is seen

in the eye, the rod soon drops from His hand. Or, if the discipline is continued, such comfort, peace, and meekness, flow into the soul, that we call it sweet affliction, and bless His dear name for it. Nor can we then pray for its removal, but only for its deeper sanctification. We creep close to His feet, look up in His paternal face, catch His loving eye, and almost swoon with pleasure, humility, and love. He makes it salutary. He corrects us, not for His pleasure, but for our profit, that we may be partakers of His Holiness. He uses the rod to convince us of our folly, to keep us sensible of His authority, to make us smart for our inconsistencies, to bring us to repentance, and to make us cautious, tender, and humble. Whatever end He fixes upon is salutary, and whatever end He fixes upon He will bring to pass. So that we may well say, even when smarting under the rod, we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God; to them who are the called, according to His purpose."

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WHY DOES THE LORD CHASTEN US? Because He is our Father. He has adopted us, and placed us among His children. He has begotten us again to a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He has provided all things necessary for us on earth, and laid up an inheritance for us in heaven. He has given us His promises to trust, and His precepts to obey. When therefore we forget our obligations to

His grace, disbelieve His precious promises, or neglect to walk by His holy precepts, we grieve His loving heart, and, Father-like,

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He comes forth to correct us. "He chasteneth every son," just because every son needs chastening, and because His paternal heart yearns over every son. But He has no pleasure in correcting us, He does not use the rod, as an act of divine sovereignty, for He has assured us, that "He doth not af flict willingly or grieve the children of men.' We have had fathers of our flesh who corrected us for their pleasure; but our heavenly Father only corrects us for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. He loves us too well, to give us any unnecessary pain; and He is too wise to allow our follies to go uncorrected. Correction is intended also to exercise our graces. are required to believe that our Father loves us as much when He frowns, as when He smiles. That His promises remain true, and are not affected by the dispensations of His providence. We are also meekly to submit to the discipline, saying, with one of old, "It is the Lord, let Him do what seemeth Him good." Or, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." The rod is intended also to awaken sorrow for sin, so that while we believe in the immutability of His love, meekly bow to His painful dispensations, we must weep and mourn over our sins, which

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