Feb. 9
THE DROSS PURGED
"And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine
them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they
shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my
people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God" Zech. 13:9
Grace transmutes us into precious metal, and then the fire and the
furnace follow as a necessary consequence. Do we start at this? Would
we sooner be accounted worthless, that we might enjoy repose, like the
stones of the field? This would be to choose the viler part: like
Esau, to take the pottage, and give up the covenant portion. No, Lord;
we will gladly be cast into the furnace rather than be cast out from
thy presence!
The fire only refines, it does not destroy. We are to be brought
through the fire, not left in it. The Lord values His people as
silver, and therefore He is at pains to purge away their dross. If we
are wise, we shall rather welcome the refining process than decline
it. Our prayer will be that our alloy may be taken from us rather than
that we should be withdrawn from the crucible.
O Lord, thou triest us indeed! We are ready to melt under the
fierceness of the flame. Still, this is thy way, and thy way is the
best. Sustain us under the trial and complete the process of our
purifying, and we will be thine for ever and ever.