by James Buchanan, D.D., LL.D.
“This is my comfort in mine affliction” Ps. 119:50
“Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” “No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness in them which are exercised thereby” Heb. 12:6-11
The Bible affords a solid ground of comfort under trial, in the views which it presents of the uses and ends of affliction, under the economy of redemption. While it declares, that all our afflictions proceed from the hand of God, and that he employs them as a means of manifesting the rectitude, and vindicating the honour of his government, it affirms, nevertheless, that he takes no pleasure in the infliction of suffering for its own sake, and that “he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.” Had the Bible presented no other than this negative view of affliction, it would still have cleared the character of God from the unworthy suspicion, that he takes a cruel or capricious delight in the infliction of suffering, and would have served so far to compose our minds under trial, by giving us the assurance, that no suffering would be inflicted without some reason which was satisfactory to infinite benevolence and wisdom. But the Bible is far from confining its consoling discoveries to this negative view of the subject: it not only denies that affliction is the result of caprice or cruelty, but affirms that, under the scheme of grace, it is the result of pure and comprehensive benevolence, and the means of positive good.
It is one of the grandest peculiarities of the scheme which is unfolded in Scripture, that it subordinates every thing to one great and beneficent end — that it educes from acknowledged evil the most substantial good — that it makes sin the occasion of a bright display of divine holiness, and suffering the occasion of a marvellous manifestation of divine love — and that, in its application to the hearts of men, it converts the very afflictions, which are the fruits of sin, into the means of progressive sanctification and eternal blessedness. The legal desert of “the old man” is thus made the moral discipline of “the new creature” — the penalty under the Law becomes a privilege under the Gospel — and those afflictions, which were awarded as the “wages of transgression,” are converted, by the scheme of redemption, into “means of grace.”
This is beautifully intimated in the 89th Psalm, where, in stating the terms of the covenant of grace, God makes affliction the subject of a promise to the Redeemer, as the head of that covenant, and through him to his believing people: “If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.” Being provided for in the covenant of grace, and made the matter of a promise to the Redeemer, these chastisements are to be regarded as among the privileges of God’s people. It is true, that had they not sinned, they would have been exempted from suffering; and their trials are, therefore, in one sense, the consequences of guilt. But it is equally true, that they are not now awarded as the wages or penal effects of transgression, but subordinated to a plan of mercy, and sent for purposes of good. They come from God, not as messengers of his avenging wrath, but as tokens of his paternal love; and in sending them, he acts, not as an offended judge, awarding punishment, but as a kind and forgiving father, meting out such discipline and correction to his children as they severally require.
It does not follow from these remarks, that every one who is visited with affliction is a child of God, or that, in every instance, affliction has the effect of instating the sufferer in that blessed condition. Like every other means, its effect will depend on the mode in which it is improved by the individual; and hence it is said to produce “the peaceable fruits of righteousness” only in those who are suitably “exercised thereby.” In many cases, as in that of Pharaoh, it may be the means of hardening the heart, and may leave it more insensible to every right feeling, and more callous to every sacred impression than before; but this is no reason why we should not admire the benevolence, as well as the wisdom of God, in sending affliction, any more than the neglect of the ordinary and prescribed means, on the part of men, should lead us to question the goodness of God in giving them his Word and ordinances. By these, God furnishes them with an opportunity of improvement and a means of salvation; and in like manner, by affliction, he summons their attention to divine things, and calls upon them to repent and be saved.
But while these words do not affirm that every one who is severely afflicted is a child of God, they do, on the other hand, assure us, that no amount, and no continuance of sorrow, can be a proof that we are not members of his family; and this discovery may well be regarded as a very valuable and a very consoling one. For, when a believer is visited with severe affliction, and especially if his trials be numerous as well as severe, and if they be continued in his person, or in his family, for a great length of time, while many around him are enjoying uninterrupted prosperity, or speedily relieved from slighter trials, he will be too apt to entertain the awful thought, that God would not thus deal with him if he were really one of his children, and either despondingly to question his own interest in the divine favour, or, through the malignant suggestions of Satan, to cherish hard thoughts of God. Many have experienced this sore trial of their patience and faith; but let it be impressed on our hearts, that it is not from the outward dispensations of providence, but from the inward qualities of our own character, that we are to draw the evidence of our state in the sight of God — that no pressure of affliction, however severe, and no continuance of it, however protracted, can prove that we are not the objects of God’s fatherly love, or that we are cast out of his favour; and that, although the aspect of a frowning providence may well be improved as a call to vigilant self-inspection, that we may discover whether God has any controversy with us, and for what cause, we should not, on any occasion, venture to regard affliction as a proof of reprobacy. On the contrary, “whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth;” and if our chastisements seem to be more grievous, and more protracted than those of others, we may rest assured, either that our corruptions are so strong as to require a severe remedy, or that God is thereby preparing us for some great end, for some fiery temptation, or some eminent service in his Church on earth, or, perhaps, for a speedy translation to his own presence in heaven. But whatever may be the immediate reasons of his dealings with us, let us rest assured, that every affliction which he sends on any of his children is the fruit of paternal love — that he has a most holy, wise, and benevolent purpose in view — and that, either here or hereafter, we shall have reason to acknowledge with many who have gone before us, that “God hath done all things well,” and that “in very faithfulness he hath afflicted us.”
We are taught in these words, not only that divine love is the source from which the afflictions of God’s people proceed, but that the end for which they are designed is the gradual improvement and ultimate perfection of their moral character.
According to the Scriptures, all suffering, under God’s administration, has a moral end. Were we to view affliction by itself, and without reference to its results, it would necessarily appear a very dark and mysterious part of divine providence. Physical evil, apart from its moral uses, cannot be an object of pleasing contemplation to any rational being in the universe; but, in connection with these uses, it may be one of the brightest manifestations of divine wisdom, and one of the clearest proofs of his comprehensive benevolence.
We are not, indeed, at liberty to suppose, that suffering under the divine government is merely corrective. On the contrary, it is, in the case of the impenitent, judicial, penal, and exemplary, in the strictest sense of the terms. But even in that case, although the party immediately subject to it be not benefited, yet the infliction of punishment on account of sin, may, nevertheless, conduce to the moral instruction of unnumbered myriads of intelligent creatures, and to their confirmation in those habits of holy obedience, which, without such moral lessons, might be in danger of being broken by the power of temptation — since, to the power of temptation, we have reason to believe, they are exposed in common with those who have already fallen. God’s government is conducted by means — to his rational creatures he presents rational inducements; and, in this view, the final punishment of some may be the result of the most comprehensive benevolence to his subjects at large, just as the incarceration, or capital punishment, of a few in this kingdom, is the means, if not of reclaiming them, yet of impressing on the minds of others the great distinctions of morals, and the obligations of social duty.
But here we speak of affliction in reference to its bearings on God’s people; and, in their case, not only is there a moral influence exerted on others by means of their afflictions, but a direct moral end contemplated in their own blessed experience. God visits them with affliction, that, “by the sadness of the countenance the heart may be made better;” and just in proportion as moral improvement and perfection are superior to mere physical enjoyment or worldly prosperity, in the same proportion ought our gratitude for the benefit conferred, to exceed our sorrow for the suffering inflicted. To a mind which is sensible wherein the true nobility and happiness of its nature consist, there can be no difficulty in perceiving, that whatsoever tends to subdue unruly passion, or to implant, invigorate, and cherish the higher principles and affections of the soul, should be valued in proportion to the greatness of its design, however painful it may be in itself. And if the nauseous draught be received with eagerness, when the restoration of bodily health is expected from it, how much more should we be willing to taste of that cup of sorrow, however bitter, by which our immortal spirits are to be restored to a state of moral healthfulness and vigour.