01.04. OUR TRIALS ARE FROM GOD

4. OUR TRIALS ARE FROM GOD "Affliction comes not forth of the dust, neither does trouble spring out of the ground." Job 5:6 To a godly man, such doctrine is a great comfort. It is for a joy that God’s government over evil is as perfect and constant as it is over good. "When disaster comes to a city—has not the Lord caused it?" (Amos 3:6). Thanks be to God for so clear a revelation on this point. The rebellion had broken out. Ahithophel was among the insurgents. Absalom had many friends. David was a fugitive from his own house. He is fleeing for his life, and a man of the house of Saul comes forth and rails at him. At this, one of David’s friends is highly incensed, and says: "Why should this dead dog curse my lord, the king? Let me go over and cut off his head!" But David was of quite another mind. He knew that when Israel left Egypt, not a dog wagged his tongue (Exodus 11:7). He knew that Shimei had been let loose upon him as a part of his humiliation, and he said to Abishai, "Let him curse, because the Lord has said unto him—Curse David. If the Lord has told him to curse me, who am I to stop him?" (2 Samuel 16:9-10).

Surely, we should never forget that all our trials are by the appointment of God, who numbers the very hairs of our heads. Without Him, not a sparrow falls to the ground. He controls even chance itself. He cuts short the life of the guilty Ahab by a bow drawn at a venture, just as certainly as if it had been aimed at his person. "We may throw the dice—but the Lord determines how they fall." (Proverbs 16:33).

Satan could do nothing against Job until he obtained permission from God. He is the god of this world—but only so far as Jehovah chooses to lengthen his chain. The Most High says to His Church, "I have refined you but not with silver; I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction" (Isaiah 48:10); and, "I will leave in the midst of you an afflicted, poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord" (Zephaniah 3:12).

"Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love. For He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men" (Lamentations 3:33). This truth was a great comfort to dear Dr. Nevins in his sore bereavements. It may well encourage every humble soul. Owen says, "God never afflicts nor grieves men, but it is for some other reason and cause than merely His own will." God no more rejoices in misery, than He does in iniquity. There is a cause for all the sorrows He sends. His justice or His love requires every stroke of His rod or His sword. He never acts inconsistently with His wisdom, His holiness, or His goodness. He never acts capriciously, but has good cause for all His decisions and actions. The fact that He is over and above all, acting with sovereign authority, shows how fit it is that He give no account of His matters to us, who are but worms, and vile worms at that. Sin is the cause of all our misery. To cure this, and rescue us from its power, God mercifully and lovingly chastens us—yes, chastens us severely.

It impairs not the quality of the gold to put it in the fire. It only takes away its dross, and at the same time shows the genuineness of the metal tried. This is the very form of thought in the mind of the man of Uz, when he said, "When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

Let us therefore promptly admit that we deserve all our afflictions, and say, "Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail" (Lamentations 3:22) Yes, after our sharpest trials, let us freely say, as the Jews when returned from Babylon, "You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve" (Ezra 9:13); or as the Church in all ages has said, "He has not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities" (Psalms 103:10).

Let us also submit entirely to the sovereign will of God, saying, "Why does a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?" (Lamentations 3:39). The child that falls into the arms of fatherly correction does by that act diminish the force of the stroke. Let us never forget that rebellious thoughts are sinful, and that the least sin is a greater evil than all our sorrows.

Let us constantly plead God’s tender mercies and hide ourselves under the shadow of His wings. Like as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him.

I believe it is Paul Gerhardt who sings of the sufferings of Christ, and then adds:

"And if the pure and sinless One Could thus to sorrow know, Shall I, who so much ill have done, Resist the cross? O Thou In whom does perfect patience shine, Whoever would fain be counted thine
Must wear your likeness now. "Yet, Father, each fresh aching heart
Will question, in its woe, If you can send such bitter smart And yet no anger know. How long the hours beneath the cross! How hard to learn that love and loss From one sole Fountain flow!"