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CHASTENING

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Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 26, 1861

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 16, No. 15.

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CHASTENING

“But ye have forgotten,” says the apostle [Heb. xii, 5], “the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him.” The slightest thought upon such texts as this, is sufficient to reveal to us the fact that they were dictated by some intelligence which was intimately acquainted with the secret springs of the human heart. There are two ways in which the heart of man is naturally inclined to treat the chastening of the Lord, against both of which we are directly warned in this exhortation of the apostle. The chastening here referred to is evidently such as is included in being “rebuked of him.” That being corrected and rebuked of the Lord, is called a chastening is evident from many scriptures. See Job v, 17. “Behold happy is the man whom God correcteth; therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.” Here being corrected of the Lord is called his chastening, and such seems to be the kind referred to in the text at the head of these remarks.
But how are mankind disposed to receive this chastening? The first, and perhaps most common promptings of the natural heart are to rise up against it. We revolt against the application of the reproofs, corrections, and rebukes of the Lord to ourselves. We would fain prop ourselves up in the idea that we are not deserving of such sharp correction, that it is not applicable to us, and hence we will not receive it, but cast it from us, and trample it under foot. But what says the voice of inspiration to us under these circumstances? Unexasperated by the rash course we would too often pursue, the affectionate exhortation comes to us, My son, treat it not thus: “despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.”
Well, if we do not despise it, if we heed this part of the exhortation, and receive the reproof, acknowledge its application, and feel its force, what is the next leap the impulsive heart is inclined to make? It plunges to the opposite extreme, and says, Well if I am in a condition to be thus rebuked and chastened of the Lord, if such is my case, surely it is of no use for me to try longer to serve him; I never can overcome; I will lay down my armor, give up the struggle, cast away my profession, and make no further efforts to gain the prize. But inspiration anticipates this very movement of the chastened spirit, and meets us with the firm and plain exhortation, My son, “faint not when thou art rebuked of him.”
Thus the two extremes of revolt and despair are shut against us. We can indulge in neither one nor the other without directly violating this plain declaration of scripture. There is a better way for us to act, a better course for us to pursue. It is the medium course between these two extremes. It is to endure the chastening, receive the reproof, and profit by the correction. If we do this, it will not be long before we shall feel the assurance that “God dealeth with us as with sons.” Heb. xii, 7. We shall feel that it is good to “be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live” [verse 9], and that “happy is the man whom God correcteth.” Job v, 17.