The Chastisement of the Spirit

‘*Yet many years didst Thou forbear them, and testifiedst agai st them by Thy Spirit.” — NEH. ix. 30.

BEG there not something strangely incongrue s oushere? God’s Spirit is said at one and the same time both to bear with man and to testify against him. How can these two attitudes be reconciled? Can the Spirit bear with me at the very moment when it is uttering an adverse testimony? Yes it can; its adverse testimony may be itself the proof of its forbearance. There is a chastisement which proves that I am carried in the bosom of the Father; it is the pain of conscience. I am often distressed by the adverse testimony of my conscience; it seems to say that I have been cast out from the presence of the Lord. In truth what it says is the contrary; it tells me that I am getting nearer to the heart of the Father. When I was far away I was unconscious of my distance, but now as I draw near, the distance seems illimitable. Before the

Spirit came I had perfect peace — the peace of the stagnant lake, the peace of the Dead Sea. But now that the Spirit has come, the lake has become a waving ocean and the Dead Sea is ruffled with storms. It is the increase of life that has brought the waves; it is the breath of the Spirit that has stirred the face of the waters. It is the dawn of day that has revealed my darkness; it is the sight of the Delectable Mountains that makes the mountains of earth seem small; it is the vision of the Son of man that has caused me to abhor the shadow of myself.

Spirit of Christ, teach me the prophecy of glory that lies in my own unrest. Reveal to me the promise of love that is hid in the rebuke of a heavenly Father. When I am oppressed by the weight of conscience, tell me that the weight which oppresses me is the burden of a Father’s care. When I am appalled by the impurities of my past life, tell me that the eye which reads the impurity has received its light from Thee. When I am overwhelmed with the conviction that I am growing more sinful day by day, tell me that the breath which dims the mirror is Thy breath — the breath that makes my dust a living soul. When I stand afar off and beat upon my breast and say “Unclean, unclean,” tell me that this is the time in which I go down to my house justified. Thou never lovest me more than when Thou chidest, Thou never holdest me dearer than when Thou chastisest. Thou hidest the heart of Calvary beneath the armour of Sinai; when Thou testifiest against me I know that Thou art bearing with me.