drawing back to perdition. Look at Israel in the wilderness. After their first experience at

Marah one would have thought that the next problem concerning water would at once

have thrown them back on the memory of the Lord's earlier intervention on their behalf,

and that they would have trusted in quiet confidence. But no, so far as they were

concerned, the discipline of Marah was wasted upon them;  they were `exercised'

thereby. O let us not pass through trials and reap no reward! Let us ever seek to be

`exercised' by the discipline of our pathway, and then it will turn to our profit and the

Lord's glory. This `exercise' is the mark of the `perfect': "But strong meat belongeth to

them that are perfect, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to

discern both good and evil" (Heb. 5: 14). A baby has senses, a man has senses exercised.

A true son of God is exercised by the chastening of the Lord: he is unworthy of the name

if he is indifferent or hardened.

It is not without bearing upon the theme of Heb. 12: that the word `exercise' is

gumnazo, which of course gives us the word gymnasium. The word actually means `to

be naked', because in the Greek sports the competitors were stripped. So we have

gumnos translated `naked' in Matt. 25: 36; II Cor. 5: 3; Heb. 4: 13 and other places.

Coming, as it does, after the exhortation to "lay aside every weight and the

easily-entangling sin, and run with patience the race set before us", the word gumnazo is

very apt.

Seeing then that chastening, though unpleasant, is fruitful, we are exhorted to: "Lift

up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your

feet, lest that which is lame be dislocated; but let it rather be healed. Follow peace with

all men" (Heb. 12: 12-14). In other words, we are not to seek martyrdom, we are not to

pose as sufferers, we are not to pick the roughest tracks and run the thorniest way. Rather

are we to gird up the loins and hope to the end; make the place for our feet as level as we

can, not aggravate the lame ankle, but rather get it well, that we may finish our course

with joy. Our discipline will sometimes come through the permitted oppression of man,

and when it does we must bow before the Father's good pleasure. On the other hand we

should not go out of our way to irritate our fellows or ask for trouble, but as far as in us

lies, we are to make for peace.

Another line of exhortation is discovered here by observing a parallel with Phil. 3: 19,

where the believer is urged to mark those who so walk that their end is perdition. So

here, those who were running the race are told to make a firm track so that others not so

strong or fleet of foot would be encouraged to continue.

This will cause us to run up against the elements of the world and the tradition of men,

and will probably provide all the chastisement that we can endure, but without it we are

warned that `no man shall see the Lord'.

The two words that should be emphasized in the whole passage under consideration

are `endure', and `exercise':