The Gilded Potsherd

A glided potsherd may shine till it cometh to scouring, then the varnish is speedily worn offP May this never be my character, but may I be solid gold, which will bear not only rubbing but burning. Alas, when I am impatient under affliction, or cowardly under persecution, or weary in holy service, have I not good reason to suspect myself.? It may be that my religion is only a mere surface film, and not part and parcel of my being; and if so, it will go ill with me. I shall ere long be like a broken vessel, cast away upon the dunghill of everlasting contempt.

O Lord, of thy mercy save me from being a mere piece of gilded clay, by giving me truth in the inward parts.