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YV2
NO
FAIN
AMOItTG
THE BLESSED.
DISC.
IXe
pleasure
to the
hand of
God
who smites
us,
and
be
bet
-
ter
composed to
endure
the
plins
which he inflicts upon
us
for our trial and improvement
in grace.
Innocence
and
piety,
and
a
peaceful conscience,
are an
admirable
defence to
support
the
spirit
against the
overwhelming
efforts
of
bodily pain
:
But
when
inward
reproaches
of
mind,
and a racking
conscience
join
with
acute
pain
in
the
flesh,
it
is
double
misery, and aggravated wretched-
ness.
The
scourges
and
inward remorse
of
our
own
hearts,
joined
to the
sorrows
of
nature, add torment
to
torment.
How
dreadful
is
it
when
we
are
forced to
confess,
"
I
have
procured all
this to myself
by
intem-
perance,
by my rashness, by
my
obstinacy against the
advice
of
friends,
and rebellion against the
commands of
God
!"
Probably
it
was
such
circumstances
as these,
that
gave
the soul
of
David
double anguish,
"
when
his
bones
waxed
old,
through
his
roaring
all the day long, when
day
and night
the
hand
of God
was
heavy
upon
him,
and
his
moisture
was
turned
into the
drought of
summer
:
when
he. complained unto God, thy
arrows stick fast in
me,
and
thy
hand presseth
me sore
:
There
is
no soundness
in my
flesh,
because
of
thy anger
;
nor
any
rest
in
my
bones,
because
of
my
sin.
My iniquities
are
gone over
my head
as
a
heavy
burden, they are too
heavy
for me.
Deep
calls
unto deep
at
the noise
of
thy water- spouts, all
thy
waves
and
thy billows
are gone
over
me." The
deep
of
anguish
in my
flesh
calls
to
the deep
of
sorrow
in my
soul,
and makes a tremendous
tumult
within
me.
"My
wounds
stink,
and are corrupt, because
of
my-
foolish-
ness
:
I
am
feeble
and
sore broken
I
have
roared
by
reason
of
the disquietness
of
my
heart
;"
nor could
he
find
any
rest
or
ease till he
acknowledged
his
sin
unto
God,
and
confessed
his
transgressions,
and
till
he
had
some
comfortable hope
that God had
forgiven
the
ini-
quity of
his
sin.
See
this sorrowful scene exemplified
in
a very
affecting
manner
in
Ps.
xxxii.
and
xxxviii.
Happy
is
the man
that
walks closely with
his'
God
in
the
days
of health and
ease,
that
whenever
it
shall please
his
heavenly
Father
to try
hirn
with
smarting
pain,
he
may
findsweet
relief
from
a
peaceful conscience,
and
humble
appeals
to God
concerning
his
own
sincerity
and
watch
fulness.