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Octavius Winslow, 1856 (edited for
today's reader by Larry E. Wilson, 2010)
Bible Verse
"Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law" (Ps. 94:12).
Devotional
At present, we have only a partial understanding of God's will and ways concerning us. Now and then we may see a needs-be for his conduct. The veil is just sufficiently lifted to reveal a portion of "the purpose of the Lord" (Jas. 5:11).
He will make you acquainted with the evil that he corrects, with the backsliding that he chastens, with the temptation that he checks, and with the dangerous path around which he throws his hedge so that you cannot escape. You see it, and you bless the hand outstretched to save.
He will also cause you to be fruitful. You have mourned your leanness, have confessed your barrenness, and lamented the short distance of your walk and the little glory you bring to his dear name—and lo! the dresser of the vineyard has appeared to prune his sickly branch, "that it may bear more fruit" (John 15:2). "Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin" (Isa. 27:9).
The deeper teaching, too—the result of God's chastenings—has revealed to some extent "the purpose of the Lord" in his mysterious conduct. Oh, there is no school like God's school; for "God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him?" (Job 36:22). And God's highest school is the school of trial. All his true scholars have graduated from this: "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come? ... These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:13–14). Ask each spiritually, deeply taught Christian where he attained his knowledge, and he will point you to God's great university—the school of trial.
In thy wrath and hot displeasure,
chasten not thy servant, Lord;
let thy mercy, without measure,
help and peace to me afford.
Heavy is my tribulation,
sore my punishment has been;
broken by thine indignation,
I am troubled by my sin.
With my burden of transgression
heavy laden, overborne,
humbled low I make confession,
for my folly now I mourn.
Weak and wounded, I implore thee;
Lord, to me thy mercy show;
all my pray'r is now before thee,
all my trouble thou dost know.
Darkness gathers, foes assail me,
but I answer not a word;
all my friends desert and fail me,
only thou my cry hast heard.
Lord, in thee am I confiding;
thou wilt answer when I call,
lest my foes, the good deriding,
triumph in thy servant's fall.
Lord, my God, do not forsake me,
let me know that thou art near,
under thy protection take me,
as my Savior now appear.
(Ps. 38, The Psalter, 1912)
Be sure to read the Preface by Octavius Winslow and A Note from the Editor by Larry E. Wilson.
Larry Wilson is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In addition to having served as the General Secretary of the Committee on Christian Education of the OPC (2000–2004) and having written a number of articles and booklets (such as God's Words for Worship and Why Does the OPC Baptize Infants) for New Horizons and elsewhere, he has pastored OPC churches in Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio. We are grateful to him for his editing of Morning Thoughts, the OPC Daily Devotional for 2025.
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