attuned to His call. In the words of the loving disciple,
“My sheep hear my voice,... and they follow me;
...neither shall any man pluck them out of my
hand.” [5]
God is a consuming fire. He separates the dross from
the gold, purifies the human character, through the
furnace of affliction. Those who bear fruit He purgeth,
that they may bear more fruit. Through the sacred law,
He speaketh to the unfruitful in tones of Sinai: and, in [10]
the gospel, He saith of the barren fig-tree, “Cut it down;