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together for good". Job did not know many things; he did know, however, that the Lord
was over all; that although he could not discern the Lord's hand, yet the Lord knew the
way that he took, and in that confidence he found rest. So may we too, when before,
behind, and on each hand there is nothing but darkness and perplexity.
Job not only was confident that the Lord knew the way he took, but also that a purpose
was in it, "When He hath tried me". The trial that Job speaks of is likened to the refining
of precious metals, for he continues, "I shall come forth as gold". In Psalm 66: we
read of this kind of testing, "For Thou O God hast proved us: Thou hast tried us, as silver
is tried" (verse 10). Verses 11 and 12 detail the ways in which the Lord had refined and
tried them.
"Thou broughtest us into a NET.
Thou hast laid AFFLICTION on our loins.
Thou hast caused men to RIDE OVER OUR HEADS.
We went through FIRE and WATER."
The tangle and baffling nature of circumstances, likened to a net, the heavy affliction,
the tyranny of fellow-men, the variety of trials that were like fire and water, these were
the elements of testing. One blessed fact appears which is encouraging, and that is, the
Psalmist can say, "Thou broughtest", "Thou hast laid", "Thou hast caused". This is
parallel to Job's utterance, "He knoweth the way that I take", and like Job's conclusion,
"I shall come forth as gold", the Psalmist says, "but Thou broughtest us out into a
wealthy place".
Mal. 3: 3 says of the Lord, "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver". The
context speaks of the coming of the Lord, and its bearing upon Israel and the priesthood.
The words are true, however, in a wider sense; He sits as a refiner with regard to all His
own. The trial of faith still proceeds, and sometimes it is a fiery trial, yet if it be found
unto praise and glory and honour in the Lord's presence, the fiery tests will have been
justified.
One very precious thought is suggested by viewing the eastern refiner at work. He
sits, skimming the surface of the molten metal, removing the dross that rises under the
effect of the fire, UNTIL HE CAN SEE THE REFLECTION OF HIS FACE! There is
no need to explain the bearing of this upon our subject, it is so evident. May every trial
through which we may be called upon to pass be borne in the strength and the joy
supplied by the thought that He will refine and purify until He too shall see His own
image reflected in us, and then shall we say like Job, "I shall come forth as gold".