provided for, most faithfully watched : and I may be most sweetly soothed by this fond and unwearied care : yet, if there be no power to heal, no resistless energy, such as sweeps all hindrances before it, then I may still lie hope- less there : but, if the power to heal be pre- sent, the power that makes all diseases fly its touch, the power that, if need be, can raise the dead, then I know, of a truth, that all is well. Oh, it is blessed and comforting' to remember that it is the discipline of power that is at work upon us. God's treatment must suc- ceed. It cannot miscarry or be frustrated even in its most arduous efforts, even in refer- ence to its minutest objects. It is the mighty power of God that is at work within us, and upon us, and this is our consolation. It is the grasp of an infinite hand that is upon us, and nothing can resist its pressure. All is love, all is wisdom, and all is faithfulness, yet all is also power. The very possibility of failure is thus taken away. Were it not for this power there could be no certainty of blessing, and were it not for this certainty, how poor and partial would our comfort be. He, Ah yes, He who chastises us is " ABLE to do exceed-
THE FAMILY DISCIPLINE. 51
ing abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."*
Hence to a soul, conscious of utter helpless- ness, and weary of the struggle within, be- tween the spirit and the flesh, there is " strong consolation'*5 in remembering the power of him whose hand is now grasping him so firmly on every side. His sore-tossed spirit finds peace in calling to mind " the years of the right hand of the Most High ;" all the " works of the Lord c«nd his wonders of old." The " strength of Israel" is the name he delights in, as the name of his chastener. He thus bethinks himself — " The God that made these heavens and stretched them out in their vast- ness and majesty ; who moves these stars in their courses and arrests them at a word, is the God that is chastening me. He who raises and stills the mighty deep with all the multi- tude of its waves, the God of the tempest and of the earthquake, ' the framer of light and dark, the wielder of the lightning and the builder of the everlasting hills, is the God who is now laying his rod so heavily upon me." Thus each new proof or aspect of Jehovah's
» Eph. iii. 20.
52 THE FAMILY DISCIPLINE.
power, becomes a new source of consolation in the day of chastisement and sorrow.
Such, then, is the nature of the family dis- cipline when viewed in reference to God. Love, wisdom, faithfulness, and power unite to devise and carry it out. It must, then, be perfect discipline, the completest and most successful that can be thought of or desired. It is well to look at it in this light ; for it is thus that we become entirely satisfied with all that comes to pass, and feel that " it is well." But let us consider it in another aspect. We have seen what it is when flowing out of God ; let us see what it is when operating upon man.
As we observed before, God's object in chas- tisement is the education of his children, the training up of the saints. It is their imper- fect spiritual condition that makes this so ne- cessary. And now we proceed to inquire in what way it works, and towards what regions of the soul it is specially directed. For while, doubtless, it embraces the whole soul in all its parts and powers, it may be well to consider it as more especially set to work upon its mind, its will, its heart, and its conscience.
1. It is the training of the mind. We are
THE FAMILY DISCI! LINE. 53
naturally most untcachable as well as most ignorant; neither knowing any thing nor will- ing to know. The ease of prosperous days augments the evil. God at length interposes and compels us to learn. " The rod and re proof give wisdom."* He sends trial, and that makes us willing to learn. Our unteachable- ness gives way. We become aware of our ignorance. We seek teaching from on high. God begins his work of instruction. Light pours in on every side. We grow amazingly in knowledge. We learn the meaning of words now which we had hitherto used but as familiar sounds. Scripture shines out before us in new effulgence ; it flashes into us ; every verse seems to contain a sunbeam ; dark places become light ; every promise stands out in illu- minated splendor; things hard to be under- stood become in a moment plain.
How fast we learn in a day of sorrow ! It is as if affliction awoke our powers, and lent them new quickness of perception. We ad- vance more in the knowledge of Scripture in a single day than in years before. We learn " songs in the night," though such music was unknown before. A deeper experience has
* Prov. xxix. 15. 5*
54 THE FAMILY DISCIPLINE.