But the " rod of the wicked " may mean that rod, with which he smites the wicked in his fierce anger. In this sense there is no rod fo.r the righteous. Such a rod never either lights upon them nor rests upon them. Their rod is not the rod of the wicked. It is the family rod. They have done with wrath. Over them no curse can ever rest. " There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." The rod may seem to speak of frowns and anger ; but it is only a seeming ; there is not a glance of vengeance in the chastener's eye. It is a correcting rod, but not a destroy- ing one. Its object is not to punish but to chasten ; not to injure but to bless. " God dis- tributeth sorrows in his anger,"* but these are not for his saints.
God has, however, not one rod for his chil • dren, but many. For each child he has a
* Job xii. 17.
THE FAMILY RODS. 67
peculiar rod, and at different times he uses different rods. It will be profitable for us to consider what those are, and how they are ap- plied.
1. Bodily sickness. The body operates very powerfully upon the soul both for good and evil. In what way or to what extent we can- not tell. Nor do I wish to discuss this ques- tion at all. But, knowing how the soul is acted on by the body, I cannot help thinking that one of God's designs in sickness is to ope- rate upon the soul through the body. We are not conscious of this ; we cannot analyze the process ; the effects are hidden from view. Yet it does seem as if sickness of body were made to contribute directly to the health of the soul in some way or other known only to God. Hence the apostle speaks of " delivering such an one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."* On this point, however, I do not dwell ; only it would be well for us to con- sider whether God is not by this intimating to us the exceeding danger of pampering the flesh : for the weakening of the flesh does help forward the strengthening of the spirit ; and
* 1 Cor. v. 5.
68 THE FAMILY RODS.
the mortifying of our members which are upon the earth, — the crucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts, — does tend to quicken and invigorate the soul. Apart, however, from this, there are other things to be kept in view.
Sickness prostrates us. It cuts into the very centre of our carnal nature; it exposes in all their deformity " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life." What vanity is seen in these upon a sick bed. These are our three idols ; and these, sickness dashes down into the dust.
Sickness takes us aside and sets us alone with God. We are taken into his private chamber, and there he converses with us face to face. The world is far off, our relish for it is gone, and we are alone with God. Many are the words of grace and truth which he then speaks to us. All our former props are struck away, and we must now lean on God alone. The things of earth are felt to be vanity; man's help useless. Man's praise, and man's sympa- thy desert us ; we are cast wholly upon God, that we may learn that his praise and his sym- pathy are enough. " If it was not for pain," says one, " I should spend less time with God. If I had not been kept awake with pain, I
THE FAMILY RODS. 69
should have lost one of the sweetest experi- ences I ever had in my life. The disorder of my body is the very help I want from God ; and if it does its work before it lays me in the dust, it will raise me up to heaven." It was thus that Job was '-'chastened upon his bed with pain, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain," that after being tried he might " come forth as gold."*
Sickness teaches that activity of service is not the only way in which God is glorified. / " They also serve who only stand and wait." Active duty is that which man judges most acceptable ; but God shews us, that in bearing and suffering he is also glorified. Perhaps we were pursuing a path of our own, and required to be arrested. Perhaps W7e were too much harassed by a bustling world and needed re- tirement, yet could find no way of obtaining it till God laid us down, and drew us aside into a desert place, because of the multitude press- ing upon us.
No one of the family rods is more in use
than this, sometimes falling lightly on in at
other times more heavily. Let us kisr the
rod. Let us open our mouth wide tp the
* Job xiiii. 10.
70 THE FAMILY RODS.