TRIALS -of Young Believers-Charles Spurgeon

Duncan in his sacred philosophy of the seasons, tells us, — there is an inset [anti pugilism), which is accustomed to deposit its eggs in the very core of the plumage, or primary shoot of wheat, so that this shoot is completely destroyed by the larva. Did the plant possess no means within itself, no means of repairing this injury, the whole previous labor of the husbandman would, in this case, have been in vain. But this destruction occurs in the ring of the year, when the vegetable power of the plant is in its greatest vigor, an effect is produced somewhat analogous to that of heading down a fruit tree. Shoots immediately spring up from the knots, the plant becomes more firmly rooted, and produces probably a dozen stems and ears, when but for the temporary mischief it might have sent forth one only. Thus may it often occur that those early trials which appear almost to destroy the faith of young believers are their best friends, since they never would have been so useful had they been left to flourish as their heart desired.