For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth; and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

“Let us then also pray for those who have fallen into any sin, that meekness and humility may be given to them, so that they may submit, not unto us, but to the will of God. For in this way they shall secure a fruitful and perfect remembrance from us, with sympathy for them, both in our prayers to God, and our mention of them to the saints. Let us receive correction, beloved, on account of which no one should feel displeased. Those exhortations by which we admonish one another are both good [in themselves] and highly profitable, for they tend to unite us to the will of God. For thus saith the holy Word: "The Lord hath severely chastened me, yet hath not given me over to death." [Psalm 118:18] "For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." [Hebrews 12:6] "The righteous," saith it, "shall chasten me in mercy, and reprove me; but let not the oil of sinners make fat my head." [Psalm 141:5] And again he saith, "Blessed is the man whom the Lord reproveth, and reject not thou the warning of the Almighty. For He causes sorrow, and again restores [to gladness]; He woundeth, and His hands make whole. He shall deliver thee in six troubles, yea, in the seventh no evil shall touch thee. In famine He shall rescue thee from death, and in war He shall free thee from the power of the sword. From the scourge of the tongue will He hide thee, and thou shalt not fear when evil cometh. Thou shalt laugh at the unrighteous and the wicked, and shalt not be afraid of the beasts of the field. For the wild beasts shall be at peace with thee: then shalt thou know that thy house shall be in peace, and the habitation of thy tabernacle shall not fail. Thou shall know also that thy seed shall be great, and thy children like the grass of the field. And thou shall come to the grave like ripened corn which is reaped in its season, or like a heap of the threshing-floor which is gathered together at the proper time." [Job 5:17-26] Ye see, beloved, that protection is afforded to those that are chastened of the Lord; for since God is good, He corrects us, that we may be admonished by His holy chastisement.”

“Let us urgently pray and groan with continual petitions. For know, beloved brethren, that I was not long ago reproached with this also in a vision, that we were sleepy in our prayers, and did not pray with watchfulness; and undoubtedly God, who "rebukes whom He loves, when He rebukes, rebukes that He may amend, amends that He may preserve. Let us therefore strike off and break away from the bonds of sleep, and pray with urgency and watchfulness, as the Apostle Paul bids us, saying, "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same." For the apostles also ceased not to pray day and night; and the Lord also Himself, the teacher of our discipline, and the way of our example, frequently and watch-fully prayed, as we read in the Gospel: "He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." And assuredly what He prayed for, He prayed for on our behalf, since He was not a sinner, but bore the sins of others. But He so prayed for us, that in another place we read, "And the Lord said to Peter, Behold, Satan has desired to sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." But if for us and for our sins He both laboured and watched and prayed, how much more ought we to be instant in prayers; and, first of all, to pray and to entreat the Lord Himself, and then through Him, to make satisfaction to God the Father! We have an advocate and an intercessor for our sins, Jesus Christ the Lord and our God, if only we repent of our sins past, and confess and acknowledge our sins, whereby we now offend the Lord, and for the time to come engage to walk in His ways, and to fear His commandments. The Father corrects and protects us, if we still stand fast in the faith both in afflictions and perplexities, that is to say, cling closely to His Christ; as it is written, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine or nakedness, or peril, or sword? None of these things can separate believers, nothing can tear away those who are clinging to His body and blood. Persecution of that kind is an examination and searching out of the heart. God wills us to be sifted and proved, as He has always proved His people; and yet in His trials help has never at any time been wanting to believers.”

“In truth, tribulations are, for those well prepared, like certain foods and exercises for athletes which lead the contestant on to the hereditary glory, if, when reviled, we bless; if when maligned, we entreat; if ill-treated, we give thanks; if afflicted, we glory in our afflictions. It is indeed shameful for us to bless on propitious occasions but be silent on dark and difficult ones. On the contrary, we must bless even more at that time, knowing that "the Lord disciplines him whom he loves and chastises every son whom he receives."”

“"For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." Thou canst not say that any righteous man is without affliction: even if he appear to be so, yet we know not his other afflictions. So that of necessity every righteous man must pass through affliction. For it is a declaration of Christ, that the wide and broad way leads to destruction, but the strait and narrow one to life. If then it is possible to enter into life by that means, and is not by any other, then all have entered in by the narrow way, as many as have departed unto life.”

“Above, the Apostle led us to bear evils patiently by the example of the ancient fathers and of Christ; here he admonishes to the same thing from the authority of Scripture. Hence concerning this he does three things. For first he sets forth the authority; second he shows its sense, at the place persevere in discipline; third he argues to his proposal from what has gone before, at the place but if you are without discipline. He sets forth the authority, which is found in Prov. III, 11; but under other words than our text has. For there we have it thus: My son, reject not the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by him. For whom the Lord loves he reproves, and, like a father, takes pleasure in a son. But because the Apostle introduces this authority for the sake of consolation, therefore he uses other words. Hence he says, and you have forgotten the consolation, as if to say: it is a wonder if you have forgotten. Ps. XCIII, 19: according to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, thy comforts have given joy to my soul. The same: I will never forget thy justifications. But he says, of consolation, that is, of God consoling, and it is an emphatic expression. II Cor. I, v. 3 s.: blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our tribulation. There follows, which speaks to you, that is, the God of consolation, speaks to you as to sons. Therefore if he punishes, he does not hate: but his punishment is ordered to good, because he speaks to you as to sons. Then he sets forth the words of the author, saying, my son, etc. And he adds the reason, at the place for whom he loves, etc. But in the authority he forbids two things; for he forbids hatred of discipline, and impatience toward it. On account of the first he says, my son, do not neglect, as certain ones who hate discipline, of whom it is said, Prov. IX, 8: do not rebuke a scorner, lest he hate thee. Amos V, 10: they have hated him that speaks in the gate, and have abhorred him that rebukes perfectly. The Apostle therefore says, do not neglect the discipline of the Lord, as if to say: when God scourges you for the sake of discipline, do not neglect it, that is, do not hold it negligently by loathing it. Wis. III, 11: he who rejects wisdom and discipline is unhappy. On account of the second he says, and do not grow weary while you are reproved by him. For some, even if they do not hate harsh correction, nevertheless bear it impatiently, and therefore he says, neither be weary, etc. For then a man is spiritually wearied, when he is saddened to such an extent that he faints. Above, the same: that you be not wearied, fainting in your minds. Ecclus. VI, 26: do not grow weary in her bonds. Then, when he says, for whom the Lord loves he chastises, he assigns the reason. But as the Philosopher says, the term chastisement is commonly used of children and of concupiscence. For we call a man chaste whose concupiscence has been chastised. Likewise a boy is called chastised who is well disciplined. For what of itself has a proneness to evil needs something to restrain it. But such is concupiscence, and children, who of themselves follow their own impulses; therefore they need one who chastises. He therefore who chastises does this so that they may not tend toward evil. And because our senses and our thought are prone to evil, as is said in Gen. VIII, 21, therefore the Lord chastises us, that he may draw us back from evil. Ps. CXVII, 18: the Lord chastising has chastised me, and has not delivered me over to death. Ier. XXXI, 18: thou hast chastised me, and I have been instructed, like an untamed young steer. In this he chastises, because he scourges, not indeed unto condemnation, but unto salvation. Hence he says that he scourges every son whom he receives. And therefore, they who are not scourged are not of the number of sons. Ps. LXXII, 5: they are not in the labor of men, and shall not be scourged with men — whence this is a sign, as it were, of eternal reprobation. Ez. XVI, 42: my zeal shall be taken away from thee. Nor is it a wonder if he scourges every son whom he receives by adoption: because he did not spare his own Son. Lc., last chapter, v. 26: it behooved Christ to suffer. Consequently, when he says, persevere in discipline, he shows the sense of the authority already alleged: and first he shows the sense of the admonition; second he assigns the sense of the reason, at the place as to sons; third he shows that this reason is fitting, at the place for what son. But the Apostle's admonition had been that they ought not to neglect the discipline of the Lord, nor even grow weary. But he comprehends both in these words. For not to neglect, nor even to grow weary under discipline, is nothing other than to persevere in discipline. Hence Iob VI, 10: this be my comfort, that afflicting me with sorrow, he spare not. Ps. II, 12: take hold of discipline, etc. But why we ought not to neglect it, he had said, because whom the Lord loves, etc.; hence here he says, as to sons, God offers himself to you. As if to say: therefore persevere, because he offers himself as to sons. Ier. III, 19: thou shalt call me father, and shalt not cease to walk after me. Consequently he shows that this reason is fitting, saying, for what son is he whom the father does not reprove? For it pertains to a father to correct his son. Prov. XIII, 24: he who spares the rod hates his son: but he who loves him instructs him diligently. Ecclus. XXX, 8: an untamed horse turns out stubborn, and a son left to himself turns out reckless. And therefore correction is necessary: as a sting of the flesh was given to Paul, lest he should fall through pride, II Cor. XII, 7. Then, when he says, but if you are without discipline, etc., he argues from what has gone before: and first by leading to an absurdity; second from a certain example, at the place then, the fathers, etc.; third from the resulting benefit, at the place now all discipline, etc. Concerning the first he makes such a reasoning: all the saints who pleased God passed through many tribulations, through which they were made sons of God. Therefore he who does not persevere in discipline is not a son, but rather a bastard, that is, born of adultery. Of this reasoning he sets forth only the conclusion, saying: if you are without discipline, you are not sons, but bastards: because all, namely the saints, were made partakers of discipline. II Tim. III, v. 12: all who wish to live godly in Christ shall suffer persecution. Iudith VIII, 23: all who pleased God, the faithful, passed through many tribulations. Nor is it necessary that the saints always have exterior tribulations, since they are afflicted inwardly by the evil conduct of the perverse. II Petr. c. II, 8: Lot dwelling among them, who from day to day tormented the just soul with unjust deeds. But a son is properly so called who is from a legitimate father. Our mother is the Church, whose spouse is God himself. Os. II, 20: I will espouse thee to me in faith. But the adulterer is the Devil and the world. Therefore they who are born of the spirit of the Devil, or of the world, are children of adultery. Is. LVII, 3: draw near hither, sons of a diviner-woman, and of an adulterer, and of a harlot. It is clear therefore that properly none are sons, except those born of a legitimate father. Consequently, when he says, then, the fathers, etc., he sets forth the second reason, taken from that which we have experienced, namely from paternal correction. This reasoning indeed proceeds from a twofold difference, which is between God the Father and a carnal father. Now this is the first difference of God the Father to a carnal father. For man begets man as to the body, not as to the soul, which is through creation, and is not transmitted. II Mach. VII, 22: for neither did I give you spirit and soul. Hence he says that we have had the fathers of our flesh as instructors. Ecclus. VII, 25: hast thou sons? Instruct them. And we reverenced them. Ex. XX, v. 12: honor thy father and mother, etc. But God is our father in a more excellent way, namely as to the soul, which he creates immediately. Eccle., last chapter: the spirit return to God, who gave it. Likewise he justifies the soul, adopting us as sons. Rom. VIII, 16: the Spirit gives testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God. Therefore he says, shall we not much more obey the Father of spirits, that is, of our souls, which are called spirits because they are not from matter, and live? For the end of obedience is eternal life. Io. c. VIII, 52: if any man keep my word, he shall not taste death forever. Above, V, 9: he became to all who obey him the cause of eternal salvation. But the second difference is of human correction to the divine, which differ in two things: first as to the end, because the end of human correction is something transitory: for it is unto conducting oneself well in this life, which is of few days. Second as to the rule, because man corrects according to his own will, which can be deceived and err, and yet we obey him. But in divine correction it is not so: because he instructs us unto something useful forever, namely unto receiving sanctification, which is indeed God himself. Is. VIII, 13 s.: the Lord of hosts, him sanctify. Let him be your fear, let him be your dread, and he shall be unto you for a sanctification. And therefore he says, and they indeed instructed us for a time of few days, and this as to the first; and according to their own will, and this as to the second; but he, unto that which is profitable. Is. XLVIII, 17: I am the Lord, teaching thee profitable things. And this in receiving sanctification, that is, unto sanctification to be received from him; and therefore we ought the more to receive his discipline. There follows, now all discipline, etc. This is the third reason, which is taken from the usefulness of correction. But since punishments are a kind of medicine, the same judgment seems to hold concerning correction and concerning medicine. But as medicine in the taking is indeed bitter and abominable, yet its end is very sweet and desirable, so also is discipline, because it is grievous to bear but brings forth the best fruit. But it must be known that discipline is named from learning. But children, who are learning, are instructed by scourges. And therefore discipline is sometimes taken for knowledge, as at the beginning of the first of the Posterior Analytics: all teaching and all discipline, etc., which in Greek is called epistemon. But sometimes it is taken for correction, and in Greek is called paedia, but in Latin it does not have names so distinct. He says therefore that all discipline, namely which is instruction through scourges and troubles, in the present seems to be not of joy, but of grief, because outwardly it has sadness in the bearing, but inwardly it has sweetness from the intention of the end. And therefore he says seems, and does not say is. II Cor. VI, 10: as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. Io. XVI, 21: a woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow, etc. II Cor. IV, v. 17: for that which in the present is momentary and light of our tribulation works in us, beyond measure, in sublimity, an eternal weight of glory. And therefore he says afterward, it yields fruit. For fruit implies sweetness; hence to enjoy is to be delighted in an end attained. Most peaceable. For fruit is had here with the disturbance of external inconveniences, and of interior temptations, and therefore it is not most peaceable, as it is there. In glory indeed there will be nothing inwardly gnawing at conscience, nor impelling to fault, nor outwardly saddening. For there, as Augustine says, there will be whatsoever you will: therefore that fruit is most peaceable. Peaceable indeed in tranquility of conscience, more peaceable in the receiving of the first robe, but most peaceable in the receiving of the second. Is. XXXII, 18: my people shall sit in the beauty of peace, in the tabernacles of confidence, in wealthy rest. Prov. III, 14: the first and purest fruits thereof. He will render therefore the fruit of justice, that is, which justice merits. For to him that sows justice is a faithful reward, Prov. XI, 18; likewise: the fruit of the just is a tree of life. Or of justice, unto justice to be apprehended. Os. X, 12: sow for yourselves justice in truth, and reap in the mouth of mercy. Ps. CXXV, 7: going they went and wept, etc. But fruit is not rendered, except to those exercised by it, that is, by discipline. Above, V, 14: solid food is for the perfect, those who by custom have their senses exercised.”

“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,.... All men are not the objects of God's love, only a special people, whom he has chosen in Christ; for whom he has given his Son, when they were sinners and enemies; whom he quickens and calls by his grace, justifies, pardons, and accepts in Christ; and whom he causes to love him; these he loves with an everlasting and unchangeable love, and in a free and sovereign way, without any regard to any motive or condition in them. Now these are chastened by him, and loved while they are chastened; their chastening is in love, as appears from the nature of God's love to them, which changes not; from the nature of chastening itself; which is that of a father; from the divine supports granted under it; from the ends of it, which are, among others, that they might be more and more partakers of holiness, and not be condemned with the world; and from the issue of it, which is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. So the Jews (p) often speak of , "chastisements of love", in distinction from evil "chastisement", or vindictive ones: and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth; by whom are meant, not any of the angels, nor all the sons of men, but such whom God has predestinated to the adoption of children, and in the covenant of his grace has declared himself a father to; for whom Christ has a special regard, as children, and therefore partook of human nature, and died to gather them together, and redeemed them, that they might receive the adoption of children; and who appear to be the children of God by faith in Christ; and who have the spirit of adoption, witnessing their sonship to them; this is a valuable blessing of grace, and springs from love: and such are received by God into his heart's love and affection, with complacency and delight; and into the covenant of his grace, to share all the blessings and promises of it; and into his family, to enjoy all the privileges of his house, and into communion with himself; and they will be hereafter received by him into glory: now these he scourges; he suffers them sometimes to be scourged by men, and to be buffeted by Satan; and sometimes he scourges them himself with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men, but always in love. (p) Zohar in Gen. fol. 39. 3. & 102. 4. & in Exod. fol. 98. 2. & 102. 2. & in Lev. fol. 19. 3.”

“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth - Here is the reason why we should neither neglect correction, nor faint under it: it is a proof of the fatherly love of God Almighty, and shows his most gracious designs towards us; from which we may be fully convinced that the affliction will prove the means of good to our souls, if we make a proper use of it. And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth - Μαστιγοι δε παντα υἱον, ὁν παραδεχεται. This is a quotation, literatim from the Septuagint, of Pro 3:12, of which place our version is: Even as the father the son in whom he delighteth. But, howsoever near this may appear to be the Hebrew, it bears scarcely any affinity to the apostle's words. The Hebrew text is as follows: וכאב את־בן ירצה uchab eth-ben yirtseh. Now, וכאב may be a noun, compounded of the conjunction ו vau, "and," the comparative particle כ ke, "as" or "like;" and אב ab, "a father:" or it may be the third person preterite kal of כאב caab, "he spoiled, wasted, marred, ulcerated," compounded with the conjunction ו vau, "and." And in this sense the Septuagint most evidently understood it; and it is so understood by the Arabic; and both readings seem to be combined by the Syriac and Chaldee versions. And as to רצה ratsah, one of its prime meanings is to accept, to receive graciously, to take into favor; the translation, therefore, of the Septuagint and apostle is perfectly consonant to the Hebrew text, and our version of Pro 3:12 is wrong.”