12. Devotional: Thou Hast Tried Me

Devotional: Thou Hast Tried Me

Author: James Smith (1802-1862)

Thou hast tried me. (Psalm 17:3) 

    DAVID HAD TASTED THE GOODNESS OF GOD. Not only did He visit, uphold, and keep, but He also tried and searched the heart. In the process, discipline had been exercised. The Lord trieth the righteous, and his trials discover, strengthen, and improve his character. His fire is in Zion and His furnace in Jerusalem; there He tries His people. Every trial is necessary for our good; it is ordained by eternal love; and is continued just as long as required, but not one moment longer. Every saint needs trials and every saint is tried. If the Lord intends to make us holy He will put us through the fire. Every time we pray for holiness, we pray for trials; trials enhance the value of the promises, endear the throne of grace, render the law of God profitable, and make the Saviour exceedingly precious. In trials we learn to read our own hearts, see the vanity of the world, look more closely to our evidences, humble ourselves before our God, and look with a longing eye to the end of our course. The tried Christian is likely to be a mature and stable Christian; few who walk a smooth path are either remarkably spiritual or exceptionally useful for God. Trials, like the frosts of winter, prepare our hearts to receive the good seed of the word in the spring, and then we bring forth fruit for the Lord. "When He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." 

Brought into the fire, Thy wonderful power, 
Unburnt we admire, unhurt we adore; 
Brought thro' our temptation, we shortly shall prove 
Thy gracious salvation, Thy amazing love.