The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 578

but it eeem11 to be.ve been a new idea in the days of Job, and a fresh revelation for him and hie friends. It is not the less important to us because we are well acquainted with it: Still, we h11._ve to enter into_ the mea1;1in_g ~f i~ and employ it ae the key for unlockmg the myst,er1es of our expenence. D1sc1phne 1e very different from punish- ment. 1. It u for the good of the sufferer. Punishment may be so; kind parents pu~ieh. their ?hil~ren to benefit them. But this !B not the sole object of punishment, which 111 also mst1tuted to deter bad men from crime by the fear of its infliction, and to warn others by the wholesome leseon of its enmple. Discipline, on the other hand is wholly schooling, entirely for the benefit of those who are subjected to it. 2. It~ f'IOI neces•arily consequent u1-on sin. Punishment is only for guilt; but discipline is for education. It may be the more needed on account of sin ; but it is not confined to its effect on sin. Christ the Sinless was made perfect by the things which he su1fered (Heb. v. ti, 9). n. DrBCIPLINE MUST BE RIGHTLY BEOElVED IF IT IS TO PROFIT, It is quite possible for it to be entirely thrown away upon the sufferer, Gold is purified by the fire becau1.1e gold is but a dead metal. But souls are living, and the effects of the fires of affliction upon them are dependent on voluntary action. They may harden, they may consume, they may purify, they may strengthen. If they are to benefit as disci- pline they must be received in the right spirit. Now, this spirit is indicated by the open ear. The discipline brings a message from God. It does not only affect our feel- ings. It aims at reaching our thoughts. Probably it will do us no good at all if it does not lead us to think. An intelligent appreciation of God's dealings with us is valuable for discipline to work its right end. Then we need to think about our own way in life. Affliction arrests our attention and helps us to search our heart and see whether we have not been doing wrong; it encourages us to survey our whole life with a view to improving it for the future. III. Gon HELPS ms PEOPLE TO RECEIVE DISCIPLINE A.BIGHT, We need to pray for grace to make the beet use of affliction. When our hearts are right with God he will aid us to do this. 1. He will incline the heart to learn. When we are stubborn and self-willed, discipline is of little use. It may tend to break down the obstruction; but as long as that is standing it does little good. The disciple must be docile. Now, the iuward influence of the Holy Spirit helps us to become docile under discipline. 2. He will aB8iat t1I£ understanding to comprehend. We want to know what God is teach- ing us by his discipline. Our own wild, prejudiced ideas may lead us quite astray, Therefore it is well to fall upon our knees and pray that God will show us what he means by the special discipline he is putting 118 through-what he is teaching us, and whither he would lead us.-W. F. A. ' Ver. 15.-.tijftictioo aa a deU'lle1'er. Elihu says that God delivers the afflicted by hie affliction. We have been accustomed to look on affliction as an evil, from which some deliverer may set us free. Elihu startles us with a very different view of it. In hie opinion the affliction is itself a deliverer. L AFFLICTION IS NOT TBE GREATEST EVIL. In our selfish cowardice we look for some escape from pain, as though that were our supreme foe. But sin is worse than suffering -more hurtful, more objectionable in itself. Any escape from trouble that leaves wickedness untouched is no salvation; bnt any process, however painful, that frees us from the power of sin is salvation. IL A7FLJCTION JUY BE NO EVIL AT ALL. In itself, of course, it is undesirable. Bnt its "peaceable fruits of righteousness" may be so wholesome and profitable that, on the whole, the affliction must be accounted a good thing. We should judge of any experience by its results, not by its passing phases. We have to learn that the pain that ble88e8 is really itself a blessing. 'fhe black cloud that brings a refreshing shower is not a threatening storm. The spur that drives us from the desert where we would perish to the streams of living water is not a cruel instrument of torture, The heavy blow that aws.keIIB us when we are sleeping in the snow the sleep that would end iu death is nothing lees than an angel of mercy. III. AJi"J'LICTION MAY BE A BEAL DELIVERER. We have now to ask how this paradox can be true. 1. By humbling :pruu. When all is well we arc tempted to be _eelf- 1111fficieut and self-satisfied. But in suJrering we are cast low, and then our lowlmees  CH. xxxvr. 1-33.J THE DOOK OF .JOn. 593