Hebrews chapter 12, and we're looking at verse 5
down through verse 13. And the title of the message
this evening is, The Comfort of Chastisement. The Comfort of Chastisement. The Scripture says, "...and ye
have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto
children. My son, despise not thou the
chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him."
Four. Here's the cause, "...for whom
the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom
he receiveth." And here is the mark of one who is a son. He
says, "...if you endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with
sons. For what son is he whom the Father
chasteneth not?" But if you be without chastisement, whereof
all are partakers, all the sons of God are partakers of chastisement. If you're without it, he says,
then are you bastards and not sons. Furthermore, we have had
fathers of our flesh, which corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall not we much more rather
be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they
verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure.
But He, our Father, our God, for He does it for our profit. that we might be partakers of
His holiness. Now, no chastening for the present
seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth
a peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised
thereby. Wherefore..." Now, because of
this, because of this comfort that you who are sons are chastened,
He says, "...wherefore lift up your hands that hang down." and
feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, lest that
which is lame be turned out of the way, but let it rather be
healed." Now, a comfort of chastisement. Now, I want you to remember,
as we have read that passage, I want you to remember the motive
of the Apostle Paul in this book. It is to encourage believers,
these Hebrew believers, These people who lost everything for
the gospel, these people who suffered loss of their family,
they've forsaken all of their religion, they had left everything
for the cause of Christ. And now it is becoming heavy.
The burden has becoming great. And the Apostle Paul encourages
them, continue, continue, continue in the faith. This is his encouragement
throughout all the scripture. Continue. Why? Christ has died. Continue. Your sins have been
put away. Continue in the faith. Endure. These believers were experiencing
great trouble. He testifies that they had lost
everything, but Christ But listen, their faith in Christ and their
love and understanding for the gospel in no way delivered them
from suffering. Is that not right? No matter what it is for the
believer forsakes, no matter what it is we experience or have
to give up in this life for Christ, it is good that you do it, but
you understand that suffering is not exempt. We are not exempt
from any suffering in the flesh. by no means. These believers
suffered persecution, sickness, grief, sorrow, imprisonment,
and even death for the cause of Christ. And so then, if you
go back to Hebrews chapter 10, in this encouragement, Look at
verse 32. He said, "...But Calder remembers
the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured
the great fight of afflictions, partly while you were made a
gazing-stock both by the reproaches and afflictions, and partly while
you became companions of them that were so used." You had compassion
on me and my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your
goods, knowing in yourselves that you have in heaven a better
and an enduring substance." You see, they endured great afflictions
when they were young in the faith. Isn't that so with us? When we're
young in the faith, we feel like we can take on the world. But
over a period of time, we become what? Weary. We become heavy. These burdens, these sorrows
become greater and greater as we grow in the grace and knowledge
of Christ. So our sorrows are compounded. And these have gotten so low
and so weary, they've grown so tired, and the burden's so great,
and their faith seems so low, and the ways seem so long and
so hard. Do you not have any experience
in that? You've been a believer for any length of time. You have
some experience in that. The more we go on, the greater
the troubles, the greater the trials, the harder the climb. We can all identify with these
things. We have such struggles Just consider
the struggle in your own breast. Now I'm not even going to deal
with all the other ones on the outside. Just look at the one
on the inside. Has it increased or has it gotten better? You and I know it has not gotten
better. We thought it would. We thought
when we first believed that this thing should get better, but
God disshowed us. That's not how it is. He exposes
more and more of the old man. And what does this do? But weigh
us down. It burdens us about this old
man. And so, we as believers in Christ,
we become burdened with our struggles. Paul had that same struggle,
didn't he? He said, Oh wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver
me from this rotting corpse about my neck? And so every believer
has this kind of struggle, difficulty. Same as these believers here.
You have the same struggles. You have the same difficulties.
Same weight of that old man. Therefore we must always need
to be exhorted. Isn't that right? I daily must
be exhorted to what? To continue to believe in Christ,
to trust Him. These afflictions constantly
are pressing me to trust in Christ more, to believe on Him and look
to Him. Therefore, Paul says in that
same place, he said, don't cast this away. Cast not away therefore
your confidence, which you have great recompense of reward. For
you have need of what? Patience. Now what is all this
for? What is all this affliction for?
God is working in us. Patience. Now why in the world
do you need patience? Why do you need to wait? Isn't
the flesh always give me now? That's the nature of man, is
I've got to have it now. I want it now. And what does
God say? Not now. Not now. Yours comes after. You know that foolish idiot,
that clown in Houston that wrote that book, he said the best life
now He can have it. We're waiting for something better.
How do we wait? With patience. But how do you
get patience? Tribulation worketh patience. Patience works what? Experience. Isn't that what you've
got some of? You've been through any trouble,
you've got experience of how God works this thing. You know
how it goes up and it goes down. And guess what? It goes back
up. And guess what? It goes back down. You've got
some experience as to how this thing goes and yet why are we
so surprised when it goes down? We're always surprised. God said,
you've been through this how many times and yet we're still
surprised. When it all goes to mess, we're
surprised. God said, no, I'm teaching you
something. I'm teaching you patience. Tribulation works with patience.
Patience, experience, experience. What? Hope, confidence. That's what I get after the trials.
Isn't that what we have after every trial? After God brings
us through every tribulation, after every distress, after every
pain and sorrow and grief, when God brings us through, what are
we? Confident. We're confident God can do anything. We see it time and time again.
God brought us through. God can do anything. Our hope
has stayed on Christ, fixed on Him, after every trial. During
the trial we're a lot shaky, aren't we? Very weak and feeble
knees. That's why we need to be encouraged
to lift up the hands and the feeble knees, because we have
a lot of that. Especially in trials and tribulations. So then,
so that we might have confidence. Now then, I want to give you
my purpose. My purpose in this message tonight
to you, this evening, is to encourage you. To encourage you, not according
to my word, but according to God's word. You don't need my
word. My word won't encourage you. You need the Word of God
to encourage you. These trials are just too hard.
They're just too difficult for humans to... for my Word. You don't just take my Word.
We're gonna go to God. And we're gonna see why these
chastisements, these troubles that we experience are to be
a comfort I want you to endure. It is my heart's desire that
you and I both endure to the end. For he that endureth to
the end, the same shall be saved. Only those who endure to the
end shall be saved. The Apostle says in that same
portion we just read at the very end, how then we are to endure,
we are to walk by faith. The just shall live by faith,
but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in
them. But we are not of them that draw
back into perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of
the soul. See the difference? Pretenders
cannot endure. They don't have enough strength
And since their faith is a product of their own imagination, their
faith will not last. But God's people will endure
every single trial. We are not of them that draw
back. Why? To whom shall we go? You see, believers have no place
to go but to Christ. And I tell you the truth, I don't
want to go anywhere else but Christ. He's my righteousness. He's my hope. He's my sanctification.
He's my wisdom. He's everything. And so then,
stating this purpose that you should endure that we should
continually, perpetually come to Christ. The Apostle Paul says
in our chapter, chapter 12, he says, looking unto Jesus. This is how we are to endure,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Not to live by law. There's no
comfort there. We don't ever turn. Trouble never
brings us to the law. Never brings us to law. Always
brings us to Christ. But now the Apostle here, he
again sets forth this same principle of encouragement in our text.
And he's going to encourage them by letting us understand what
these troubles and trials really are. They are the chastisement
of our Father. They are the chastisement of
our Heavenly Father. He says this, this is why you're
discouraged, this is why you're downcast, this is why your hands
are hanging down and your weak knees and you're feeble, this
is why. Look at verse 5, you have forgotten
something. You have forgotten the exhortation
that speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not
thou the chasing of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked
of him for whom the Lord loveth. He chasteneth. and scourgeth
every son that he receiveth. The Apostle is revealing the
true nature and cause of all our troubles, sorrows, and struggles.
It is the chastening, loving hand of the Father. The chastening,
loving hand of the Father. Our Lord directs earthly fathers,
does he not? The Word of God is very clear
concerning the duty of earthly fathers. Listen to this proverb. You know
it well. Train up, discipline up a child
in the way that he should go. And when he is old, he will not,
he shall not depart from it. Surely, we do not train up a
child in the way that they would go, do we? This is what's happening today.
Is it not? You can see it in your own families,
you see it among your kin. They are training up the children
in the way the child wants to go. You heard of helicopter parents? They said they're lawnmower parents.
Lawnmower parents are the parents that try to cut away all trouble
from the path of their children. They don't have any trouble.
I'm a lawnmower parent. My son mows the grass every week. Because I've got to train him.
It's my job as a parent to train him to work. It's my job as a
parent to train him, and this is not something that he desires.
It's not something my daughter desires. It is something necessary. And if I love them, I will train
them up in the way that they should go. But this is something more than
just training them to work or to be moral or to be upright.
Rather, this is training them up in the gospel. It is my duty,
it is my responsibility to train them up in the gospel of Jesus
Christ. I should teach them to respect
the things of God. I should teach them to worship. I should teach them to read the
scriptures, teach them to pray. I should teach them all things
that concerning Christ and I should point them to Christ constantly
as a parent this is my job to train them up. Now you suppose
this is how they want to go? It's not how I wanted to go.
It's not how you wanted to go. Now would I be a loving parent
if I did not train them up in the way they should go? Now the
world would think so. He that spareth the rod, you
listen, God said this, he that spareth the rod hateth his son. Hateth his son. We should be an example to our
children to love Christ. We should desire for their salvation. But how then should they be saved
except we set them under the gospel? Is there any other place
that they're going to hear or believe on Christ? They're just
going to be walking down the street and one day, no, we know this.
It's the gospel that is the means that God has chosen to save.
And we should have them here at every opportunity. Why? Training
them up. Training them up in the way they
should go. What's the way they should go? They should believe
on Christ. That's how they should go. I
say every day I do this. Every day it is my desire. Not
like I want to. I am not as good a parent as
I desire to be. But listen, training up a child
is never without affliction or suffering for the child. Is that
right? It's necessary that they have
pain. Pain is a good teacher. And so then, if we would not
allow them to go where they would, we should train them up to believe
on Christ, to respect the worship of God. But now then, this last
part, and they shall not, when they are old, shall not depart
from it. This is not a promise, but rather a general precept. A general precept. We know this.
I know men who have trained their children up under the gospel
and did the best that they, an earthly man, could. And they
went their own way. They went their own way. And so then we confess as parents,
we cannot save our children even if we do the best that we can
do. But listen, now then apply this to God. God being our father,
who gave this instruction, should he not train up his children
in the way they should go? And you pay attention, when they
are old, they will not depart from it. Not one of His children
shall be lost. Not one of them. Look at God
as our Father. He who has chosen us to be His
sons. He has purposed our salvation.
Jesus Christ has already accomplished our salvation. The Holy Ghost
has come and quickened us to life and faith. So now we are
the sons of God. And so now, you sons of God,
if you should train up your children, how much more then should God
train you? So what is all this suffering?
It's God training you. That's what it is. It's God training
you. God training you. Now listen, when we are chastened,
we are not being punished for sin. Our punishment for sin has
already been done in Christ. chastisement is correction. Not by a judge, but rather a
loving father. A loving father. Spurgeon said
this, God doth not afflict willingly or grieve us for nothing. But
out of love and affection, because he perceives that if he leaves
us unchastened, we shall bring upon ourselves misery ten thousandfold
greater than we shall suffer at his slight rebukes and gentle
blows. Isn't that right? He does it
out of affection. This should comfort you to understand
that your trials, that though they are the chastening of God's
hand, they are chastened for your good. His hand is intended,
His blows of chastisement are intended to keep you in the way,
to keep you in Christ. That's all He's doing every day.
And you know what? I'm so grateful for this. He's
faithful. He never slacks off. We as earthly parents, we can
get fed up. We can just get to the breaking
point and say, well, man, I don't care. Fall off the cliff. God's
never that way with you. He never loses patience. He's
always persistent, always constant. Now, I've got four things here.
First of all, I want you to see this. For your comfort, since
you're being chastened, for your comfort, I want you to know this.
God only chastens sons. Nobody else. He chastens only
sons. Second of all, do not despise
it. Do not murmur at His chastisement. Thirdly, it's always for your
good. And fourthly, I want you to see
that You should be encouraged, not hurt by his chastisement. Encouraged and not hurt. First
of all, only sons are chastened. Look at this in our text. Read
it with me. It says this, You have forgotten the exhortation
that speaketh unto you as unto children. Listen to the first
two words. My, what? Son. My son. My son. despised thou not the chastening
of the Lord? My son, faint when you are rebuked
of Him. Why? For whom the Lord loveth,
He chasteneth. Sons, this exhortation is for
sons. Don't forget that all your suffering
and all your sin that has brought you so low, I want you to understand
God by His own hand has done it. and brought you to your point
of suffering. God himself is the first cause
of your affliction. God. Don't forget that. Remember and
let this be set as a pillow so as to absorb the blows. I remember
as a child, I was getting a whip and I'd try to put a book or
something back there so I would absorb the blow. Listen, this
should absorb all the blow. God's doing this and He's your
Father. This should absorb a lot of the
pain of our affliction. is that our Father has allowed
it, and He is very aware of it, and will use it to teach you
patience and endurance in faith and love for Him. And the reason
you are chastened is because you are sons. As many as received
Him, to them gave He the right to be called the sons of God. which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but you
are sons by the will of God, by the will of God, my son. And so you sons, speaking to
believers, don't you know that your adoption is eternal? It's an eternal adoption. How important and vital to faith
is our eternal adoption? How necessary is it for us to
never forget the grace of God who predestinated us in love
to become the sons of God? This adoption was decreed by
the immutable will of God. It was motivated by the eternal
love of God. It was secured by Jesus' blood
and righteousness. Even before you ever experienced
it, you were His son. You were always His son. Always
His son. You were forever His son. Do
you realize that there was never a time you were not His son?
You were always His son. There was a time that you and
I did not know or experience our sonship. But when the Holy Ghost came
and gave us a new heart by which we believed on the Son of God,
we were then born sons. Manifest. It is now manifest
that we are the sons of God. Now what John said, we are the
sons of God. We are. The fullness of time God appointed
that time. He came to us. I love that illustration
of the infant child polluted in his own blood. That is a beautiful
picture of exactly how God came to us. We were the bastard child
cast out, polluted in our own blood, left to die, useless. We could not please God. We could not merit any favor
with God, and yet His eye pitied us. His eye came to us and He
picked us up from the dunghill. He washed us in the blood of
His Son. He robed us in the righteousness
of His Son. He gave us a new nature in our
hearts. We are His sons. Now then, as
sons, what should you expect from your father? You should
expect discipline. You should expect discipline. Is that good or bad? What would you be without it? We should bow down and thank
God for such a faithful, loving hand to chasten us. Isn't that
what we did with our fathers when they chastened us? We were
angry. It was only when we grew up that
we really began to appreciate what they did in chastening us,
in disciplining us. It's the same with us, with our
Father. He does it for our good. Our
Lord loves us. Isn't that what the text here
says? For whom the Lord loveth, He
chasteneth. He chasteneth. And this is the second thing,
then, if God is your Father and has done all this for you, if He promises to chasten you
for your good, are you to despise it? He said, remember. This is needful,
isn't it, to remember? Because what's our first knee-jerk
reaction to every trouble? It is to despise it. It is to
murmur is our first reaction of the flesh. It is to murmur
It is to complain. And yet God says, for your benefit,
don't do it. Withhold every instinct you have
against it. Despise not the chastening of
the Lord. Now we know that no chastisement
is pleasant. Nobody is asking... God never
asks you to pretend it's okay. Friends, when it hurts, cry. When it's painful, cry. To who? When you need to be delivered,
you should seek deliverance. But from who? The arm of flesh. No. God. Listen, His ear is always open
to your cries, isn't it? He's not asking you to pretend
this doesn't hurt. He knows it hurts. He's the one
that did it. And so then, don't despise it.
Why? Because He scourges every son.
Nobody's exempt from it. That's a good point to remember,
isn't it? No believer in Christ is exempt from chastisement. You look at some of these great
men that we've known, that we read about, that great preachers
of the Gospel. I guarantee you they're the most
chastened. They're the most afflicted. And they've suffered the most.
Whoever God uses, He brings great suffering. Why? They have to learn just like
you. Isn't that what He says? He says up here in our text,
He said, If you be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers? Nobody
is exempt from this. Don't despise a believer. Don't
despise it. Have you considered what we would
have been if He had not chastened us? If all we had was prosperity,
joy, and outward peace, no affliction, no temptation, no vexing of our
souls, would we desire to leave this place? The other day I was in great
peril, great difficulty, and I sat at my desk weeping and
crying and lamenting my troubles. And I prayed, Lord, why would
you bring such a thing upon my soul? And it came so sweetly to me.
If I didn't do it, would you now be crying unto me? I wouldn't. But because of his
hand, there I was crying at his feet. where I should have been the
whole time but I never would have been had he not chastened
me. You see the purpose? Don't despise
it. Didn't Paul say we glory in tribulation? Should we not glory in our tribulation? Why? Because it has benefit. It has great benefit to those
who are chastened. It causes us to look up to God. Go to Psalm 121. And when you
are chastened, this would be a good psalm to run to. David, in his affliction here,
gives us a determination. He determines this. I will lift
up mine eyes unto the hills whence cometh my help. Where is he looking? He's looking to God. He's looking
to Zion, the place where the blood was shed. He's looking
to Christ. My help cometh from the Lord
which made heaven and earth. And listen what he says, He will
not suffer thy foot to be moved. Oh, that's good news. No matter
what moves about me, my feet will not move from the rock of
ages that I'm founded on. I will not be moved from Christ.
I will not be moved from Him who loved me. He that keepeth
thee shall not slumber. That's why I won't be moved.
He keeps us. Behold, he that keepeth Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep. There's again that faithful,
perpetual, continual keeping of the Father of us in Christ. The Lord, listen how close he
is. The Lord is thy keeper. The Lord is the shade on thy
right hand. The sun shall not smite thee
by day, nor moon by night." Listen, the sun and the moon won't even
touch your skin without His permission. That's good news, isn't it? Not
one thing shall light upon you except the Father give it to
you. When Israel was led all those
years in the wilderness, who led them? Numbers tells us that when the
Israelites, they said that cloud, when the cloud stayed above the
ark, above the tabernacle, they pitched their tents and they
stayed. Whether it was one day, one week, one month, one year,
whatever it was, they did not move until the cloud moved. And
when the cloud moved, they moved. And when the cloud stopped, they
stopped. Can you not see the correlation?
We are Israel. And listen, we only move when
the cloud moves. When that cloud stays, we stay one month, one
week, one year, whatever it is. Where did God lead them? He led
them to affliction, didn't he? Isn't that what he did when he
led them out of Egypt? When he led them, they shed that blood
of the Lamb, and they delivered them out of Egypt, and they said,
oh boy! They had a good time. It was enjoyable. They were being
delivered. All those jewels they were given
and everything. They thought, whoo! Man, we're
high people. Oh, we're favored of God. The
sun's shining on us. And then God took them. Where'd
He put them? He put them in the midst of that place where the
sea was before them, the mountains to the right, the valley to the
left, and there comes Pharaoh right behind them. He put them
in a place where they could not move. Now who did that? So you're in a place that you
can't move? Who did that? And yet what happened? Stand
still. and see the salvation of the
Lord. And he parted that Red Sea, and they went through on
dry ground, and God destroyed their enemies. Then where did
he take them? He took them to the waters of
Marah, didn't he? Where there was no water, the
water was bitter. And what did they do? They began
to despise the chastening of the Lord. Why have you brought
us out here to die? Why have you left us? We were
better off where we were. Murmur, complain, murmur, complain. What'd God say? He said, take
that tree, put it in the water, and the waters became sweet.
Now every time they were delivered, how were they delivered? by giving
them a picture of Christ. So how is it that we are able
to endure all of this chastisement without despising it? By looking
to Christ. By looking to Christ. When God
is bringing you through something, He's going to show you more of
His Son. That's what He's going to do.
He's going to show you more of His love, more of His grace,
more of His mercy, than you ever experienced before. Prince, we, this is against every
fiber in our nature. We should be excited when we're
in trials. Because of what comes next? Deliverance. Deliverance. More about Jesus
would I know. More of his grace to others show. More of his saving fullness see.
More of his coming Prince of Peace. Isn't that what you want?
More about Jesus, more? Well listen, get ready. You're gonna
get some trials. You want more patience, more
faith, more love, more hope? Guess what? The chastening hand
of the Lord will be upon you soon, and you'll get exactly
what you want. Why despise it? Why despise it? Despise not the chastening hand
of the Lord. And so then, are you afflicted?
Don't despise it. Why? For whom the Lord loveth
he chasteneth and scourgeth every son. Well, let's see this, that not
only are we not to murmur at it or despise it, we're to understand
that it's for our good. Look at verse 11. Now no chastening
for the present time seemeth joy, but grievous nevertheless
afterward. It yieldeth a peaceable fruit
of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby. Friends, our Lord is chastening
us not because He hates us. He's chastening us so that we
should grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. It's a painful experience. Growing
is a painful experience. But a necessary one. Listen,
if you're not growing, because you're dead. God's children grow. Why? Because God is the gardener.
God is the gardener. He planted us. He shines the
light on us. He sends the rain on us. And
we grow at His hand. And we get what we get. Every
measure of faith, is it not because God gives you that measure? What
measure you have? You have exactly the measure
God gives you. And if He intends to give you
more, He's going to bring you through this way. This is good. It's good that the Lord try... Didn't Peter say that the trial
of your faith is much more precious than gold that perisheth? Do
you believe that? May God give us grace to see
the truth in that. God intends only always for your
good, everything. He is faithful to do you good. And so whatever it is that you're
doing, it's good because God intends it for that. Now it may
not seem it, But remember, it's working together with multiple
other things are happening at the same time you're doing through
this. Many other things are happening and it's all working together
for our good. It will. So then, wait. Are you chastened of the Lord?
Has he led you to the wilderness of sin? Have you been through
the thorns and the thickets of this world? God is working in
you for a peaceable fruit of righteousness, so that He might
use you. Anybody want to be used of God?
I know His servants do. We want to be used of our Father. then we must endure the chastening
hand of our God. Therefore, Paul says this in verse 12, lift up the hands
which hang down and the feeble knees. These trials are heavy. They just are. And we're so weak, we become
weary. But listen, to faint under these
trials is just as big a sin as it is to despise it. Despise
not the chastening of the Lord, neither faint when thou art rebuked. Don't faint! Understand what
He is doing and you won't faint. Don't forget that He's treating
you like a son. Lift up your hands and your weak
knees and do what? Set your feet in the right way,
in the straight way. What is that? Christ. Christ. Christ. Always, only, constantly
Christ. Christ. Set Him before you. Look
to Christ. The author and the finisher of
your faith. Make your path straight. Where are you going? We're going
to glory. That's where we're going. Lest
that which is lame... What is that? That's the old
man, isn't it? I think of Mephibosheth when
I thought of that. You remember what he said? He said he ate
at the king's table, but he was lame on his feet. We still have
this old lame nature that's trying to draw us out of the way. Don't
let that happen. He says, set your feet straight.
Go to Christ. Always looking to Christ. We're
going to glory. We're not staying here. We're
not going to be turned aside by these things. Why? Because our God chastens us. That's why. The reason we've
not turned aside? Why is it you're here? Why is
it you're here? Why are you still here? Because God has chastened you
as a loving father and kept you all this way. Make your feet straight. Let
it rather be healed. Friends, one day this thing is
going to be healed. Isn't it? This whole man is going
to be healed. One day. Until then, let us set our feet
straight. Not despising the chasing of
the Lord. Why? Because it's for sons. Only sons
are chastened. God lets the world do what they
do. He directs them and moves them only as they benefit His
sons and His glory. But for us, we should expect
chastening. Expect it. Why? Because God's
going to train up His children. And they're going to go the way
they should go. And when we are old, we will not depart from
it. That should give you some comfort. I should give you some
comfort, if God the Holy Spirit give it to us. I confess my weakness,
I don't... Would to God I'd be able to see
this clearly. May God give us comfort concerning
his chastening hand. The stand be dismissed.