September 3, Evening

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"The Lord trieth the righteous." — Psalm 11:5 · KJV

All events are under the control of Providence; so 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 iron armor 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, nor our valleys too low, for temptation — trials lurk on every road. Everywhere, above and beneath, we are beset with dangers. Yet no shower falls unpermitted from the threatening cloud; every drop has its orders before it hastens to the earth. The trials that come from God are sent to prove and strengthen our graces — at once to display 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 overflowing love, sets so high a value on His people's faith that He will not shield them from the very trials by which faith is strengthened. You would never have possessed the precious faith that now supports you if the trial of your faith had not been like fire. You are a tree that would never have rooted so firmly if the wind had not rocked you to and fro and made you take firm hold of the precious truths of covenant grace. Worldly ease is a great foe to faith; it loosens the joints of holy valor and snaps the sinews of sacred courage. The balloon never rises until the cords are cut, and affliction does 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 worth can be known. So it is well that Yahweh tries the righteous, for it makes them grow rich toward God.