with David of old, when He forgave the sin, and yet punished it by the death of his child. Let Him do what He will by us, provided He does—what He will do—make us good men.
All Saints-Day Sermons.
My belief is that God will punish (has He not punished already somewhat?) every wrong thing I ever did unless I repent—that is, change my behaviour therein; and that His lightest blow is hard enough to break bone and marrow. But as for saying of any human being whom I ever saw on earth that there is no hope for them; that if ever, under the bitter smart of just punishment, they opened their eyes to their folly and altered their mind, even then God would not forgive them; as for saying that, I will not for all the world
and the rulers thereof. I never saw a man in whom there was not some good, and I believe that God sees that good far more clearly, and loves it far more deeply, than I can, because He Himself put it there, and therefore it is reasonable to believe that He will educate and strengthen that good, and chastise the holder of it till he obeys it, and loves it, and gives himself up to it; and that the said holder will find such chastisement terrible enough if he is unruly and stubborn I doubt not, and so much the better for him. Beyond this I cannot say.
Letters and Memories.
If a man really believed himself to be a son, under a father’s education, he would believe everything which happened to be a part of that education. And such a
man, I believe, so praying and so working, keeping before him as his lode-star—“Our Father, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;” and asking even for his daily bread for that purpose and no other, would find selfishness and self-seeking die out of him, and active benevolence grow up in him. He would find past sorrows and falls turned unexpectedly to practical use for his own and other’s good; and discover to his delight, that his Father had been educating him, while he fancied he was educating himself; and he would neither have leisure nor need to torment himself about the motives of his actions, but simply whatever his hand found to do, do it with all his might.
Letters and Memories.
Let us forward. God leads us; though blind, shall we be afraid to follow? I do not see my way; I do not care to; but I know that He sees His way, and that I see Him, and I cannot believe that in spite of all one’s sins He will forget His gracious promises. “They had an eye unto Him, and were lightened. They that put their trust in Him shall not be ashamed.”
I know the miserable, peevish, lazy, conceited, faithless, prayerless wretch that I am, but I know this too, that One is guiding me, and driving me when I would not be guided, who will make me, and has made me, go His way, and do His work, by fair means or by foul.