By James Smith, of Cheltenham, New York, 1869.
"Lead me in your truth, and teach me; for you are the God of my salvation; on you do I wait all the day." Psalm 25:5
The Lord intends to keep his people dependent upon himself. He has everything they can need. He intends to supply all their needs; but he will be applied to. He will have his people wait on him, and wait for him. In doing so, he will try their faith, fortitude, patience, and perseverance. He will sometimes put them to a severe test, but he will never fail them, forsake them, or leave them destitute. If they trust in him, plead with him, and wait on him, they will be raised to a state of comparative security, for they need not fear any man, or any circumstance, or any state they can be in. The Lord will be to them their God. He will do for them all that God can do; and that is, all they can require, all that is consistent with their welfare and his own glory.
Believer, you may be independent of all creation by realizing your dependence upon your God, and waiting upon him continually. You must believe the love he has to you, his watchful care over you, his delight in you, the promises he has given you, the provision he has made for you, the glory he will get by you, and the honor to which he intends to raise you. In so doing, the fear of man will die, joy in God will spring up, the peace of God will fill your heart and mind, your dependence on creatures will cease, and you will be happy in looking only to the Lord. "My soul, wait only upon God; for my expectation is from him." "Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt you to inherit the land– when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it"
Wait in all CIRCUMSTANCES.
You can be in no circumstances in which the Lord can not help you, in which he will not help you, if you look simply to him, rest on him, and wait for him. For every condition in which you may be placed, there is a promise; by that promise the Lord stands pledged to appear for you and help you; he is ever ready to deliverer you; only he will have you believe his word, exercise confidence in him, plead the promise at his throne, and wait for its fulfillment. Wait, then, on the Lord at all times. Times will change, creatures will vary, but the Lord remains always the same. In youth and health, in manhood and prosperity, in old age and its infirmities, we should wait on the Lord. He will adapt his mercies to us, make all his goodness pass before us, and cause all things to work together for our good. He will never leave us, change his views of us, or withhold his tender mercies from us. He is faithful to his word, true to his character, and full of love to his people.
Whatever change there may be in creatures, there is no change in him. Health may give way to sickness, plenty to poverty, strength to weakness, and life to death, but he is the same. With him there is no variableness, neither shadow of a turn. Therefore, "wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord."
Wait for LIGHT IN DARKNESS.
Dark seasons you will have, for it is the lot of all Christians. A cloud may come over your prospects, and the sentence of death may be passed on many of your comforts. Your gourd may be smitten and wither, and the Lord may take away the desire of your eyes with a stroke. He may seem to turn against you, to turn his hand against you all the day. There may be no sweet intimations of his love, no pleasant communion with him at his throne, no sensible communion with him in his ordinances– all within may be cold, cheerless, and dreary; and all without disheartening and discouraging. Instead of success, there may be losses; instead of comfort, trouble; instead of friendship, enmity and alienation. Business may decline; employment may fail; health may give way; all things may seem to be against you.
But however discouraging your circumstances may be, however dull and dreary you may be in your soul, or cast down on account of the difficulties of the way, still wait on the Lord, nor shall you wait in vain.
Deep and almost overwhelming were the trials, distresses, and soul troubles of David, but though his soul was cast down within him, he waited on the Lord, and he has recorded the result– "I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God– many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord."
However dark, then, your way, however trying your circumstances, however severe the exercises of your soul, still wait on the Lord; hold fast by the promise; so "shall your light rise in obscurity, and your darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought."
Wait for DIRECTION IN DIFFICULTY.
Difficulties often arise from our ignorance, or relations in life, or the duties that devolve upon us. These difficulties are often great, so that we know not what to do, or which way to take. Our wisdom is swallowed up, and our friends are unable to advise us. One rash step may ruin us. We appear to be impelled and urged to go forward, and yet are afraid to take a step. Every plan we have formed has failed; every effort has been abortive. We dare not go back; we fear to go forward– and yet we feel as if we could not stand still. We imagine that no creature was ever tried as we are. We have been sincere, and yet have gone wrong. We have tried our best, and yet have failed. We are tempted to envy others who succeed, to think that the Lord has dealt harshly with us, and even to become reckless. Before us are difficulties, seemingly as great as the Red Sea before Israel; behind us are obstacles, as fearful as the Egyptians behind them. Besides which, we have no Moses with the rod of God to make a way for us.
What can we do? Do as the prophet of old did, who said– "I will wait upon the Lord, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him." Yes, wait on the Lord, who has given you this precious promise– "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go; I will guide you with my eye." He will point out the way, he will teach you in the way, he will guide as a loving Father or a faithful friend. There are no difficulties with him. He sees the end from the beginning. He has directed thousands, millions, who have been in as great or greater difficulties than you are. What he has done for others, he will do for you. Hear his own word– "I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them." Wait, therefore, on the Lord, and say– "Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us."
Wait for POWER IN WEAKNESS.
The Christian, at best, is but weak; but, at times, his sense of weakness is truly painful. He feels weaker than a bruised reed. And very often he feels weakest when he has the heaviest burden to carry, the most difficult hill to climb, or the most arduous duties to perform. Also, it often happens that the strongest foes are allowed to assault us in our weakest seasons. So that what with foes opposing us, a heavy burden pressing upon us, corruption working within us, and a rough and trying road before us– we are at a loss what to do.
Now is the time to wait on the Lord, and to say with the Psalmist– "Truly my soul waits upon God; for my expectation is from him." Now the promise suits us, and is intended for us– "He gives power to the faint, and to those who have no might, he increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Precious promise for a dark day and a trying path! Wait on the Lord, then, however weak, faint, or weary you may feel– and all needful strength and courage shall be given you; for he will strengthen you with strength in your soul.
Wait for PROTECTION IN DANGER.
Every believer is exposed to foes, and is in danger from the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world will injure him, if it can; Satan seeks to worry or devour, to fascinate or terrify; and the flesh ever lusts against the spirit, and has mighty power to injure him. He is in danger from false doctrines, untried paths, and an evil heart of unbelief. He needs constant protection; for unless he is kept by One who is wise and vigilant, watchful and wary, powerful and present, he is almost sure to be overcome. Now the Lord says– "Fear not, I am your shield." And David could say– "You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your gentleness has made me great." With the eye fixed upon him, the heart resting on his word, and the voice calling to him in every danger, protection is certain. "For as the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so is the Lord round about his people from henceforth, even forever."
Nor does it matter what instruments may be devised or employed against them, if they wait on the Lord in faith and prayer; as it is written, "Your enemies will always be defeated because I am on your side. I have created the blacksmith who fans the coals beneath the forge and makes the weapons of destruction. And I have created the armies that destroy. But in that coming day, no weapon turned against you will succeed. And everyone who tells lies in court will be brought to justice. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken!" Isaiah 54:15-17
Wait, then, on the Lord; let whatever danger will threaten, commit yourself to his gracious keeping, and his powerful arm shall defend you, and his wisdom shall make a way for your escape. So that, however imminent the danger, though in the very grasp of the foe, you shall have to sing– "My soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken, and I am delivered."
Wait for WISDOM IN TRIALS.
