Deuteronomy 4:20

"Handfuls of Purpose"

For All Gleaners

"The Lord hath brought you forth... out of the iron furnace." Deu 4:20

Imagery is sometimes the most real method of representation. There was neither furnace nor iron in the case in any literal sense, and yet the moral experience of the people could not better be represented than that of having spent no small portion of their life in a burning fiery furnace. Sorrow creates its own imagery. What is exaggeration to one man is literal truth to another. We are indebted to sorrow for the sublimest imagery. The Psalms are full of proof that such is the case. The divine power is always magnified by spiritual worshippers. They do not look upon history as a scries of chances, but as a line along which the divine Being moves with dignity and beneficence. He allows men to be thrown into the iron furnace, and has profound reasons for so doing; it is not his pleasure that they should be there, but it is certainly for their good that they should know the ministry of fire: the Lord knows exactly how long we have been in the furnace: he knows precisely what benefit has arisen from our being there: he knows when to liberate us from distress and despair. There is no furnace too deep for the Lord to penetrate. Though the furnace be of iron he can melt it and lead forth the captive with a new song in his mouth. Do not regard furnaces as of men's construction, or as expressing the triumph of evil principles. There hath no temptation happened unto you that is not directly sent of God, in the sense of trial and discipline. He who has come out of the furnace can speak most tenderly of the power and compassion of God. Not to have been in the furnace is not to have been in one of the most fruitful schools appointed by Providence for the education of mankind. To have been in the furnace is to have learned the holy art of sympathy. To have been comforted ourselves is to be qualified to give comfort to others. He who has dug most graves can speak most tenderly to the bereaved. He who has stood in the midst of desolated acres without losing his confidence in God is by so much qualified to preach the duty and the joy of resignation. The whole human race will one day be led out of the furnace, but not until the lessons of that tremendous discipline have been fully learned and applied in all the progress and duty of life. Throughout the whole of the Scriptures it is the Lord who is magnified and not man who is praised for having found out some secret way of escape. To know the Lord as a Deliverer in great crises and straits is to be assured that, in all the minor difficulties and trials of life, his presence shall be our protection and our hope.