Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
The wormwood and the gall are misery and bitterness at their worst. To remember affliction and misery in those terms is to remember affliction as extreme bitterness. It is like an overflowing cup added to a life already bitter.
The experience applies to the grief of a mother whose son proves untrue to her. He takes a wrong course, imitates the dissolute around him, forms wrong habits, turns his heart from God, and bars his breast against the influence of the Spirit of God. That unfaithfulness quenches hope, destroys usefulness, and makes of no effect all previous labor for him. By contrast, following Christ and obeying His teachings gives rest and trust.
The wormwood and the gall are misery and bitterness at their worst. To remember affliction and misery in those terms is to remember affliction as extreme bitterness. It is like an overflowing cup added to a life already bitter.
The experience applies to the grief of a mother whose son proves untrue to her. He takes a wrong course, imitates the dissolute around him, forms wrong habits, turns his heart from God, and bars his breast against the influence of the Spirit of God. That unfaithfulness quenches hope, destroys usefulness, and makes of no effect all previous labor for him. By contrast, following Christ and obeying His teachings gives rest and trust.