tbe thorny path of disease and bodily pain,—are permitted, in the good providence of the Lord, to pass through much distress and suffering both of body and mind and through the fiery trials of earthly adversity; in order that they may come forth at last, purified and perfected, and fit for the kingdom of heaven: "Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth."
The case of infant sufferers is a different one. It is, indeed, distressing to witness bodily sufferings in a little innocent, who we feel can have done nothing to deserve or bring upon itself such pain; and the afflicted parent feels, at such times, almost disposed to complain and to cry out, "Why, O God, dost thou permit this,—why dost thou not put a stop to this agony?" And why does He not stop it? Why does He not cause it to cease? Think you it is because the All-wise and All-merciful God either is ignorant of, or indifferent to, it? It cannot be; for He has expressly declared, in His own Word, that His love is more tender than that even of a mother for her offspring:—"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee."[1] Indeed, from whom does the tender mother receive her love for her children, as well as every other good affection, but from Him who is Love itself, and the one Source of all pure love? How then can our Heavenly Father be indifferent to the cries of His children in distress (whether infant or adult)? He is not indifferent; nor, being Omniscient and Omnipresent, can He be either ignorant or unobservant of it. Why, then, does He not prevent or put an end to it? Because He is a God of
- ↑ Isaiah xlix. 15.
