Hardened for Endurance - A. Maclaren.
Ezekiel 3:9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made your forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks…
Loose-braced, easy souls, that lie open to all the pleasurable influences of ordinary life, are no more fit for God’s weapons than a reed for a lance, or a bit of flexible lead for a spear point. The wood must be tough and compact, the metal hard and close-grained, out of which God makes His shafts. The brand that is to guide men through the darkness to their Father’s home must glow with a pallor of consuming flame that purges its whole substance into light.
(A. Maclaren.)