8 Bless our God, O peoples,
And [c]sound His praise abroad,
9 Who [d]keeps us in life
And does not allow our feet to [e]slip.
10 For You have tried us, O God;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
12 You made men ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water,
Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.
13 I shall come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke when I was in distress.
15 I shall offer to You burnt offerings of fat beasts,
With the smoke of rams;
I shall make an offering of [f]bulls with male goats. Selah.16 Come and hear, all who [g]fear God,
And I will tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And [h]He was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I [i]regard wickedness in my heart,
The Lord [j]will not [k]hear;
19 But certainly God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.
Anyone who expects following God to be smooth sailing hasn’t read the psalms–and if you’ve been following along any length of time, you know what I mean. But here we see a more vivid description by the psalmist in vv. 10-12. Surrounding this bit is a description of God’s blessings and protection, of prayers heard, and praise offered.
Yet to get there, the psalmist (along with all of Israel, and anyone who desires to follow God) had to go through some pretty difficult things. Silver isn’t refined by accident, it takes a great deal of effort, and some intense heat. The psalmist also describes their trials like being caught in a net or staggering under an oppressive burden.
It gets even “better” in verse 12 with men riding over their heads, and going through fire and water. All for what? Because God wanted to produce abundant fruit in their lives. He isn’t looking for a couple pears or apples, Jesus said to glorify the Father we must “bear much fruit”. David earlier described God’s blessings and said “my cup runs over”.
It takes a lot for some people to take notice, to “see your good works, and glorify your Father…” To get there, it takes a difficult road, a hard road with pain and even a good dose of suffering. Expecting sunshine and roses? That isn’t God’s way, and he doesn’t want the soft mushy fruit that comfort and complacency would produce.
God wants us to be better with Him than we are by ourselves–which sometimes isn’t saying much. But God’s plans are so much bigger than what we could imagine, and that means we need His help to get there, to grow and become more like him–to have His heart in us. He wants to refine us like silver, so that folks sit up and take notice, that we would draw all who see to turn from their own ways, and embrace their true calling in life.