An old writer quaintly says:"As frankincense when it is put into the fire giveth the greater perfume; or as spice pounded and beaten smelleth the sweeter; as the earth when torn up with the plow becometh more fruitful; as the long vine branches pruned near to the stock yield finer and better grapes; and as linen, washed and wrung and beaten, is made fairer and whiter:even so the children of God receive great benefit through trials; for by it God washeth and scoureth, schooleth and nurtureth them, and makes them partakers of His holiness."