God intermixes mercy with affliction. He steeps his sword of justice in the oil of mercy. There was no night so dark but Israel had a pillar of fire in it. There is no condition so dismal but we may see a pillar of fire to give us light. If the body is in pain and conscience is at peace, there is mercy. Affliction is for the prevention of sin; there is mercy. In the ark there was 'a rod and a pot of manna', the emblem of a Christian's condition: 'mercy interlined with judgment (Psa. 101:1). Here is the rod and manna.  ~Thomas Watson, The Godly Man’s Picture