Thomas Case, a prisoner of the Lord during dark days for the gospel in England, believed that ‘Discourses on affliction can never be out of season . . . Providence has so ordered that whosoever will follow the Lord fully like Caleb (Num. 14:24) will be exposed to the world’s hatred, but the glorious Spirit will rest upon them (1 Pet. 4:14). With persuasive arguments drawn from God’s Word and verified by his own experience, he convinces us that God’s rod and God’s love may stand together, for ‘the Lord disciplines those he loves’. Here is sweet comfort for all of Christ’s cross-bearing disciples.