All suffering not a punishment for sin.

We should not conclude from this, however, that all suffering or natural
evil bears the characteristic of a punishment for moral evil. This seems
to be a great mistake of certain theologians, who pay more attention to
the coherency of their system than to the light of nature or of
revelation. Thus, says Dr. Dick: "If our antagonists will change the
meaning of words, they cannot alter the nature of things. Pain and death
are evils, and when inflicted by the hand of a just God, _must be
punishments_: for although the innocent may be harassed and destroyed by
the arbitrary exercise of human power, none but the guilty suffer under
his administration. To pretend that, although death and other temporal
evils have come upon us through the sin of Adam, yet these are not to be
regarded as a punishment, is neither more nor less than to say,--they must
not be called a punishment, because this would not agree with our system.
If we should concede that they are a punishment, we should be compelled to
admit that the sin of the first man is imputed to his posterity, and that
he was their federal head. We deny, therefore, that the labours and
sorrows of the present life, the loss of such joys as are left to us at
its close, and the dreadful agonies and terrors with which death is often
attended, have the nature of a penalty. In like manner, a man may call
black white, and bitter sweet, because it will serve his purpose; but he
would be the veriest simpleton who should believe him."

Now, we do not deny that the agonies and terrors of death are sometimes a
punishment for sin: this is the case in regard to all those who actually
commit sin, and sink into the grave amid the horrors of a guilty
conscience. But the question is, Do suffering and death never fall upon
the innocent under the administration of God? We affirm that they do; and
also that they may fall upon the innocent, in perfect accordance with the
infinite goodness of God. In the first place, we reply to the confident
assertions of Dr. Dick, and of the whole school to which he belongs, as
follows: To pretend that death and other temporal evils are _always
punishments_, is neither more nor less than to say, "they _must_ be called
punishments, because this would agree with our system. If we should
concede that they are _not_ a punishment, we should be compelled to admit
that the sin of the first man is not imputed to his posterity, and t