Jehovah's Chastisement of the Backslider (Psalm 32:3-5) by Rev. Martyn McGeown
I. Painful Chastisement
II. Necessary Chastisement
III. Effectual Chastisement
William Hendrickson: "Sin, being a destructive force, must not be pampered. It must be put to death. Temptation should be flung aside immediately and decisively. Dillydallying is deadly. Halfway measures work havoc. The surgery must be radical. Right at this moment and without any vacillation the obscene book should be burned, the scandalous picture destroyed, the soul-destroying sin condemned, the sinister yet very intimate social tie broken, and the baneful habit discarded. In the struggle against sin the believer must fight hard. Shadow boxing will never do" (Commentary on Matthew, p. 303).
Zacharius Ursinus: "The repentance of the godly differs from that of the ungodly as it respects the efficient cause of it. The repentance of the ungodly proceeds from distrust and despair, so that their disquietude and hatred to God increase. The repentance of the godly, however, proceeds from faith, or the confidence which they have in the mercy of God, and in a gracious reconciliation with Him by and for the sake of Christ" (Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, p. 476).