The second point is from the incident weakness, because of the delay of help : ' Mine eyes fail for thy word.' He had his eyes fixed upon the promise till they were quite wearied.
BocL 2. Though his people wait for him, yet God may so long delay and suspend the performance of the promises till they count it a hopeless business.
First, Suspend. The reasons are these : —
1. Not because he is unwilling to give, but because he will have us better prepared to receive : Ps. x. 17, ' Thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear.' We understand it usually of pre- paring the heart for prayer, to ask the mercy ; but it is also meant of preparing the heart to receive the mercy : 2 Chron. xx. 33, ' The high places were not taken away, because the people had not yet pre-
366 SEKMOKS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SePv. XC.
pared their heart to the God of their fathers ;' they were not fit to have a thorough reformation accomplished in their days. The baker watcheth when the oven is hot, and then puts in the bread. At another time it went on roundly, for God had prepared the people, 2 Chron. xxix. 36. When we are in a posture, mercy will not be long a-coming. Heaven, the great mercy, is not given us till prepared ; as heaven is prepared for us, so we for it : Eom. ix. 23, ' That he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory ;' and Col. i. 12, ' Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be part^akers of the inheritance of the saints in light.' So other mercies ; our unpreparedness lieth as a block in the way, and hindereth the free passage of God's mercy to us, till he send his work before him, &c. ; Isa. xl. 10, ' Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him : behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him."
2. To awaken fervency of prayer, and that the blessing may be the more earnestly sought after and highly valued. A thing easily come by doth not stir up such a desire after it. To eToifxov ek i^ova-lav apyov et? einOvixiav. We despise easy-gotten favours, but that which is long and earnestly sought is dearer to iis. Therefore the Lord, to commend his favours to us, and to set a price upon them, will have us pray much and long : 1 Sam. i. 27, ' For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me the petition which I asked of him.'
3. God doth it to prove and exercise our faith. Many of his ser- vants have gone to the grave and his promises not yet accomplished, and yet have gone to the grave in hope : Heb. xi. 13, ' These all died in faith, not having received the promises' (that is, things pro- mised), ' but having seen them afar off, were persuaded of them, and embraced them.' Then is faith tried when we can wait for the fulfill- ing of the promises : when we have no present enjoyment, and know not when we shall have, yea, likely never to see it in our days. The patriarchs lived and died believers ; delay and non-enjoyment did not break their hearts, nor could death itself extinguish their faith. Death might bereave them of their friends, and their temporal estate, and all their earthly comforts, but of faith it could not.
4. That patience may have its perfect work. It is marvellous patience that can yet wait for the word, when it will yield us the expected comfort, though our eyes fail in waiting. Then is the greatest discovery of its perfection, when difficulties are many, hope long delayed. It hath but a part of its work before, to still the mind under lesser or shorter evils. The perfection of a thing is never dis- covered till it be put to a full trial. Patience is seen in waiting as well aL suffering. To bear a little while is but the imperfect work of patience, some lesser degree of it ; as to know a letter or two in the book is but an imperfect kind of reading ; but to bear much and long, that is the perfect work. To lift up some heavy thing from the ground argueth some strength; but to carry it for an hour, or all day, is a more perfect thing.
5. God delayeth the accomplishment of his promises, because many times the frame of his providence requireth it. All God's works have their appointed hour and time, and God will not disturb the order of
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causes, or work sooner or later ; but as the beautiful frame of his pro- vidence doth permit : John ii. 4, ' Woman, what have I to do with thee ? mine hour is not yet come.' Our time wherein we would have him work, and his time wherein he will work, are often very different : for he will not manifest his help when it will please us best, but when his glory in working may be best seen : John vii. 6, ' My time is not yet come, but your time is always ready.'