Jeremiah 47:6-7—O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? (R.V.)
O sword of the Lord; thou hast wounded us sore! Like a two-edged sword, the Word of God has pierced to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, of the joints and marrow. How deeply it has penetrated; how sharply it has cut! And even now it cannot rest. The work of discrimination and separation is still going on within us. We are constantly seeing new depths of our own utter worthlessness and evil. Possibilities of our own bad hearts, of which we had not dreamed, arise to confront us; and immediately the Divine sword sets itself to hack and hew and cut away the evil growth of selfishness, of which we have caught a glimpse.
There are times in our lives when we cry, "O thou sword of the Lord, how long ere thou be quiet: rest and be still." Will the process of purification and deliverance never be complete? Will not the destructive work of God soon end? The operation has lasted months and years; when will the Divine Surgeon lay down the knife? O knife of God, rest thee!
But how can it be quiet, seeing that the work is not done? We are not yet rid of the last remains of sin. The wound is not yet probed to the bottom. The roots of the cancerous growth of selfishness have not yet been entirely removed; and if any one of them remains, all the work will have to be done again. How can it be quiet, seeing that God loves us too well to allow us to bear with us into eternity aught that will hinder our perfect fruition of bliss? How can it be quiet, seeing that this is the only world where pain can reach his saints? and He must do his work quickly, ere we reach the land where the sword is placed in its scabbard, and stilled for ever.