Spurgeon: September PM
* 09/03/PM
"The Lord trieth the righteous."
--Psalm 11:5
All events are under the control of Providence; consequently
all the trials of our outward life are traceable at once to the
great First Cause. Out of the golden gate of God's ordinance the
armies of trial march forth in array, clad in their iron armour,
and armed with weapons of war. All providences are doors to
trial. Even our mercies, like roses, have their thorns. Men may
be drowned in seas of prosperity as well as in rivers of
affliction. Our mountains are not too high, and our valleys are
not too low for temptations: trials lurk on all roads.
Everywhere, above and beneath, we are beset and surrounded with
dangers. Yet no shower falls unpermitted from the threatening
cloud; every drop has its order ere it hastens to the earth. The
trials which come from God are sent to prove and strengthen our
graces, and so at once to illustrate the power of divine grace,
to test the genuineness of our virtues, and to add to their
energy. Our Lord in His infinite wisdom and superabundant love,
sets so high a value upon His people's faith that He will not
screen them from those trials by which faith is strengthened.
You would never have possessed the precious faith which now
supports you if the trial of your faith had not been like unto
fire. You are a tree that never would have rooted so well if the
wind had not rocked you to and fro, and made you take firm hold
upon the precious truths of the covenant grace. Worldly ease is
a great foe to faith; it loosens the joints of holy valour, and
snaps the sinews of sacred courage. The balloon never rises
until the cords are cut; affliction doth this sharp service for
believing souls. While the wheat sleeps comfortably in the husk
it is useless to man, it must be threshed out of its resting
place before its value can be known. Thus it is well that
Jehovah trieth the righteous, for it causeth them to grow rich
towards God.