Succored, or slapped?

“The paradox of the Bible is this:

At the same time it is the most comforting and the most discomforting book in the world. It lifts up the lowly and casts down the proud. The Word succors the suffering as a mother hugs a weeping child; but it also slaps us in the face. It says those who are alive are dead, but those who are dead “in Christ” are alive. This Wonder Book repels men, yet it draws men. It offers men hope, yet it casts them into despair. It says men who have everything have nothing, yet those who have nothing (but Christ) have everything. It declares that men who say they “know” do not know, and the men who the world says know nothing can triumphantly say, “We know that we have passed from death unto life.”” Meat for Men by Leonard Ravenhill