May - the Free Presbyterian church of Scotland

136
The Free Presbyterian Magazine
in many instances, people who have been considerably softened in time of
trouble relapse into their former carelessness when health returns. But be
sure that, sooner or later, your sin will find you out. It may be in the time of
sickness, in the hour of calm reflection; and it will be good if you find out
your sin while there is time for repentance, before the door of mercy is shut
and the awful sentence is passed: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and
he which is filthy, let him be filthy still”.
3. Various adverse changes in circumstances. We are born to trouble as
the sparks fly upwards. Besides bodily sickness, the differing conditions in
which we are placed in the world result, in providence, in suffering. In situations
of this kind, iniquity may be remembered and impressed on the sinner’s
conscience. We have a striking instance of this in the history of Joseph’s
brethren. Long after they had sold their brother into Egypt, a seemingly
adverse providence brought their unkindness to Joseph into their full view.
“And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother,
in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us, and we would
not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.” And again: “What shall we
say unto my Lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves?
God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants.”
The history of David provides another striking instance of the same instructive
truth. After his lamentable fall, David continued for a long time in
a state of awful hardness. While his outward circumstances prospered, he
seems to have had no idea of the greatness of his sin; he went on frowardly
in the way of his heart and perhaps secretly congratulated himself on having
escaped detection. But when the prophet Nathan was sent to rouse his conscience
to a sense of guilt, he assured David that the Lord had put away his
sin – that is, cancelled its guilt, granted him forgiveness. At the same time
he foretold several grievous calamities which should befall him as tokens of
God’s displeasure, every one of which would doubtless contribute to bringing
his sin to remembrance.
First of all, the child begotten in adultery was smitten with sickness and
cut off by death, an affliction in which David did perceive the hand of a
justly-offended God. Next, Tamar his daughter was defiled by her brother
Amnon, in revenge for which Amnon was treacherously slain by Absalom.
To fill up the measure of his sufferings, his beloved son Absalom rose in rebellion
against his too-indulgent father and died in his rebellion. David clearly
saw in these accumulated distresses the punishment of his iniquity, as we see
in his language when Absalom’s rebellion forced him to flee from Jerusalem
across the brook Kedron. “Carry back the ark of God into the city,” he told
Zadok the priest; “if I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring