"THOU HAST TRIED US, AS SILVER IS TRIED, BUT THOU BROUGHTEST US OUT INTO A WEALTHY PLACE." Every man's profession shall be tried, and everyone's principles shall be proved. It is easy to talk of faith, but it is not easy to exercise it. It is easy to boast of what we will do under certain circumstances, but it is the circumstances which try us. Boasters always fail. A haughty spirit goes before a fall. We are never safe, but as we renounce our own strength, and rely on God's faithful word. The dark night, the fierce foe, the fire and water, the much tribulation, will prove us. Many appear to start well, but when they come to be proved, they have not the root of the matter in them: in the time of trial they fall away. Many young Christians, in the warmth of their love, sadly reflect on more advanced believers; but when they come to be tried they are not more eminent. We do not know what we are, but as God shows us; for the heart is deceitful above all things, and grievously infirm. By the teachings of the Holy Spirit, by the temptations of Satan, and by the mysterious dispensations of His providence, He proves us and shows us what our profession is worth. He says, "I will melt them and try them. I will bring the third part through the fire." But the end of the trial is a wealthy place.

For Meditation:
O Lord! how wondrous are Thy ways,
To try our faith, our souls refine;
So, passing through the fiery blaze,
The silver flows more pure to shine.