Part 2 Holiness, the Fruit of the Chastening of Love
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Then to approximate to the Divine will, is to assimilate with the Divine holiness. What God will, how God will, and when God will, defines the rule which should govern all the conduct and limit all the desires of the child of God. The instant the overwhelmed heart is brought into this state, the afflicted believer has planted his feet upon the rock that is higher than he. All is peace, all is composure, because all is submission to the will of God. "The Lord reigns" is the truth whose all-commanding yet gentle whisper has stilled the tempest, and calmed the waves. In its intense anxiety that the Divine will might be done, the chastened soul is but breathing after deeper holiness; and every fervent desire for the attainment of holiness, is holiness already attained. Blessed chastening of love, that produces in this bitter and uncongenial world, the buds and blossoms and fruits of heaven! A richer fruit grows not within the Paradise of God than HOLINESS. And yet, in the experience of a chastened believer, bleeding under the rod of his heavenly Father, there may be obtained such victories over sin, such purification of heart, such meekness of spirit, such Christ-like conformity, and such a discipline of the will, as to make him a rich "partaker of the Divine holiness."
But how shall we enumerate all the blessings which result from the chastening of love? We might tell how prayer is quickened, how pride is abased, how weanedness is attained, how charity is increased, how character is formed, how meditation and solitude are sweetened, how Christ is endeared, and how God is glorified. It will be recollected that in the ark of the covenant there was "Aaron's rod that budded." Our glorious covenant of grace has, too, its rod, its budding, its blossoming rod- and precious is the nature and rich the variety of the fruit which it bears. But in that ancient ark there was also the "pot of manna." "Mercy and judgment," bitter and sweet, light and shade, are blended in the covenant-dealings of God with His people. The rod and the pot of manna go together. If the one is bitter, the other is sweet. God will never send the rod unaccompanied with the manna. Jesus exhibited in the word, but unfolded by the Spirit, in the sweet sympathy of His nature, in the tenderness of His heart, as the "Brother born for adversity," is the manna, raising, sustaining, and strengthening the believer passing under the covenant rod of God. Thus, if afflictions be grievous, the fruit they bear is gracious.
In the history of the Jewish Church there is yet another type beautifully illustrative of God's dealings with the chastened Christian. I allude to the 'pillar' which guided the pilgrimage of the Church in the wilderness. By night it was a pillar of fire, and by day it was a pillar of cloud. The darkest night of weeping that can possibly enshroud the child of God, has its bright light- its alleviation, its promise, its guiding. And in the most prosperous period in the Christian's experience it is ordered by unerring wisdom and infinite love that there should be some counter-dispensation of trial to preserve the just balance of the soul. It has been well remarked that "Things never go so well with God's children, but they have still something to groan under; nor so bad, but they have still some comfort to be thankful for."
There are two portions of God's word so confirmatory of the leading principles laid down in this chapter, which, although probably familiar to the Christian reader, I would venture once more to recall to his attention. The passages to which I refer set forth the great truth before us- holiness, the fruit of Divine chastisement. "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." "Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes material for the refiner." Mark the great and glorious end of this fiery process- a righteous offering to the Lord; and a vessel formed, prepared, and beautified for the Refiner; a "vessel unto honor, fit for the Master's use." Blessed result! O the wonders wrought by the fire of God's furnace! Not only is 'God glorified in the fire,' but the believer is sanctified.
Have you ever observed the process of the sculptor in the preparation of his beautiful ornament? After removing it from its mold, skillfully and beautifully formed, he then traces upon it the design he intended it should bear, dipping his brush in varied hues of the brightest coloring. But the work is not yet finished. The shape of that ornament is yet to be fixed, the figures are to be set, the colors perpetuated, and the whole work consolidated. By what process? By passing it through the fire. The fire alone completes the work. Thus is it with the chastened soul- that beautifully constructed vessel, which is to adorn the palace of our King through eternity- the gaze, and wonder, and delight of every holy intelligence. God has cast it into the Divine mold, has drawn upon it the 'image of His Son,' with a brush dipped in heaven's own colors- but it must pass through the furnace of affliction, thus to stamp completeness and eternity upon the whole. Calmly, then, repose in the hands of your Divine Sculptor, asking not the extinguishment of a spark until the holy work is done. God may temper and soften- for He never withdraws His eye from the work for one moment; but great will be your loss if you lose the affliction unsanctified!
"We need not ask for suffering: when its test
Comes, we may prove too faithless to endure
We need not ask for suffering- it were best
We wait God's holy orderings, to insure
Our highest good. But we may ask from Him
That not one throb of grief, one dart of pain,
One burning pang of anguish, pierce in vain
This feeble being, in its faith so dim,
This fainting frame, or this over-burdened heart
We may implore Him He would grace impart,
And strength, to suffer still as the beloved
Of His own bosom. For, of all below,
The one affliction in this world of woe,
Most sad- is an affliction unimproved."
Oh! could we with a clearer vision of faith but see the reason and the design of God in sending the chastisement, all marvel would cease, all murmuring would be hushed, and not a painful dispensation of our Father would afford us needless trouble. David's pen never wrote more sweetly than when dipped in the ink of affliction; and never did his harp send forth deeper, richer melody than when the breath of sadness swept its strings. This has been the uniform testimony of the saints of God in every age. "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; for before I was afflicted I went astray, but now have I kept your law."
Learn to see a Father's hand, yes, a Father's heart, in every affliction. It is not a vindictive enemy who has chastened you, but a loving Friend; not an unfeeling stranger, but a tender Father, who, though He may cast you down in the dust, will never cast you off from His love. The Captain of your salvation- Himself made perfect through suffering- only designs your higher spiritual promotion in His army, by each sanctified affliction sent. You are on your way to the mansion prepared for you by the Savior, to the kingdom bestowed upon you by God. The journey is short, and time is fleeting; what though the cross is heavy and the path is rough- you have not far nor long to carry it. Let the deep-drawn sigh be checked by the throb of gladness which this prospect should create. "He will not always chide, nor remain angry forever." The wind will not always moan, nor the waters be always tempestuous; the dull vapor will not forever float along the sky, nor the sunbeams be forever wreathed in darkness. Your Father's love will not always speak in muffled tones, nor your Savior hide Himself forever behind the wall, or within the lattice. That wind will yet breathe music; those waters will yet be still; that vapor will yet evaporate; that sun will yet break forth; your Father's love will speak again in unmuffled strains, and your Savior will manifest Himself without a veil.
Pensive child of sorrow! weary pilgrim of grief! timid, yet prayerful; doubting, yet hoping; guilty, yet penitent; laying your hand on the head of the great appointed Sacrifice, you look up with a tear, confess your sin, and plead in faith the blood of sprinkling. O rejoice that this painful travail of soul is but the Spirit's preparation for the seat awaiting you in the upper temple, where the days of your mourning will be ended. You may carry the cross to the last step of the journey- your tear, even up to heaven's gate- but there you shall lay that cross down, and the last bitter drop shall there be wiped away forever! "Therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you; and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all those who wait for him." Truly we may exclaim, "Blessed is the man whom you chasten, O Lord, and teach him from your law!" "He chastens us for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness."
"Lord unto You I lift a troubled heart,
A tearful eye;
But if Your hand has sent the sting, the smart,
If You be near,
Near, though unseen- upon my knees I'll pray,
Dry not those tears- take not that sting away."
"Clothe me with sackcloth, mingle my food
With ashes-still
I'll bless the hand that is 'educing good
From seeming ill'
Should I thus walk in darkness if my sight,
Could bear undazzled more of Heaven's own light?"
"Not until the molten gold be purified
Do you ease the flame;
Give me but grace Your will to abide.
To see Your aim,
To know that You are with me in the fire,
I need no more, and nothing else desire."
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