Tested and Tried: Psalm 66-Supplication through the Scriptures
Tested and Tried Psalm 66 The reason the Lord holds you to the fire is not to punish you, but to reveal the splendor of Christ through your life. Mary Kassian Proverbs 25:4 says, “Take away the dross from the silver and there comes out a vessel for the smith.” The purification of silver happens when silver goes through the process of heating. The dross, the worthless part and impurities, separates from the pure silver and can then be poured off. Through this process the silversmith obtains a useful substance, a vessel fit for the task of its master. Throughout Scripture God uses this analogy to describe His work in our lives. He tests us in the furnace of affliction (Isaiah 48:10). In the afflictions of life, He is refining us, purifying us. Peter tells us that though we are distressed by various trials, it is to show the genuineness of our faith, a faith more precious than gold or silver, tested by fire, to result in praise and honor and glory (1 Peter 1:6-7). And in Psalm 66, th...