nd began to rebuke Him, saying, "Be it far
from Thee, Lord, this shall not be unto Thee." Here was the feeling of
one who was as yet a mere child in grace; "When he was a child, he
spake as a child, he understood as a child, he thought as a child,"
before he had "become a man and had put away childish things."

This is St. Paul's language, writing to the Corinthians, and he there
furnishes us with another description, under the name of charity, of
that same heavenly temper of mind in which Christian manhood consists,
and which our Lord had already described in the sermon on the Mount; He
says, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have
not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." And
then He describes it as suffering long, kind, envying not, vaunting
not, behaving seemly, unselfish, rejoicing in the truth, slow to be
provoked, bearing all things and hoping all. And with this agrees St.
James's account of wisdom, that it is "pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to
be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and
without hypocrisy[5]."

In all these passages, one and the same character is described
acceptable to God, unacceptable to man; unacceptable to man both in
itself, and because it involves a change, and that a painful one, in
one shape or other. Nothing short of suffering, except in rare cases,
makes us what we should be; gentle instead of harsh, meek instead of
violent, conceding instead of arrogant, lowly instead of proud,
pure-hearted instead of sensual, sensitive of sin instead of carnal.
This is the especial object which is set before us, to become holy as
He who has called us is holy, and to discipline and chasten ourselves
in order that we may become so; and we may be quite sure, that unless
we chasten ourselves. God will chasten us. If we judge ourselves,
through His mercy we shall not be judged of Him; if we do not afflict
ourselves in light things. He will afflict us in heavy things; if we
do not set about changing ourselves by gentle measures, He will change
us by severe remedies. "I refrain my soul," says David, "and keep it
low, like as a child that is weaned from his mother." "I keep under my
body, and bring it into subjection," says St. Paul. Of course Satan
will try to turn all our attempts to his own purposes. He will try to
make us think too much of ourselves for what we do; he would fain make
us despise others; he will try to ensn