"Before I Was Afflicted I Went Astray, But Now I Obey YOUR Word!"

Our present sufferings
(Thomas Brooks)

"Before I was afflicted I went astray, 
but now I obey YOUR Word!" Psalm 119:67

"It was good for me to be afflicted, 
so that I might learn YOUR decrees." 
Psalm 119:71

"I know, O LORD, that YOUR laws are 
righteous, and in faithfulness YOU have 
afflicted me!" Psalm 119:75

Afflictions are called by some 

"the mother of virtue."

Manasseh's chain was more 

profitable to him than his crown.

Luther could not understand some 

Scriptures, until he was in affliction.

Oh, how sweet is . . .
  a harbor after a long storm, and
  a sunshiny day after a dark and tempestuous night,
  and a warm spring after a sharp winter! 

Just so, the miseries and difficulties that 

a Christian meets with in this world--

will exceedingly sweeten the glory 

of the eternal world!

"I consider that our present sufferings 
are not worth comparing with the glory 
that will be revealed in us!" Romans 8:18

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GraceGems has published John Newton's, 
"Four letters to a widow".