^ G, H. Morgan, Modem Knights-Errant, p. 104.
ISAIAH 239
with the faith that binds my poor, sinful heart to the Christ that died and that lives for my redemption and salvation. ^
H Waiting upon the Lord is not merely a passing call, but an abiding in Him. Waiting is not so much a transient action as a permanent attitude. It is not the restless vagrant calling at the door for rehef, it is rather the intimacy of the babe at the breast.-
3. It means Service. Waiting upon the Lord means not only praying and trusting, it means doing His commandments, like the angels, who because they do them excel in strength, hearkening to the voice of His Word. These winged messengers of His are waiting upon God as truly when they fly to the utter- most parts of His dominions as when they veil their faces with their wings before the central throne ; and so the man who is filled with the Lord, and relies upon Divine help, is as truly waiting on the Lord when he goes out from his chamber strengthened in purpose to do the right and to obey the golden rule to keep God's name hallowed in business, and wherever he may be to do nothing which shall add to the burdens of his neighbours, nothing to make faith harder for the unbeliever, nothing to make life harder for the saint. The man who goes out to do the common work of the world, trusting in God to help him to endure the hardness and the temptation, and to come off more than conqueror, is waiting on the Lord when he engages with all his heart and mind and strength, in the discharge of these common duties, as when in a locked chamber he kneels with clasped hands before the unseen Throne of Grace.
Waiting is not an idle and impassive thing. When the Bible speaks of waiting upon God, it means something difiierent from doing nothing. We commonly contrast waiting with working, and there is a sense in which the contrast is a just one ; but if it leads us to think that waiting is not working, it has done wrong to a great Bible word. Think, for example, of the Cabinet minister whose duty it is to wait upon the king. Is that an idle or a sauntering business ? Can it be entered on without a thought ? Will it not rather claim the whole attention, and make the statesman eager and alert ? For him, at any rate, waiting is not idleness ; rather it is the crown of all his toil. I
^ A. Maclaren, The Unchanging Christ, p. 17. * J. H. Jowefbj TAe Silver Lining, p. 131.
240 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE
have heard soldiers say that in a battle the hardest thing is not the final rush. In that wild moment a man forgets himself and is caught into a mad tumult of enthusiasm. The hardest thing is to stand quiet and wait, while the hail of the enemy's fire is whistling round — to wait in the darkness and in the face of death, and be forbidden to return the fire. It is that which tries the nerves and tests the heart. It is that which shows the stuff that men are made of. In such an hour a man is not asleep — he is intensely and tremendously alive.
IF Sometimes we do not know what to do — it is not clear ; you possibly have come to a cross, to a division in the road, and you are at a loss clearly to see the way and to decide upon what you ought to do ; it wants strength of mind to be content to wait, to be content to be still.
There is a great deal in that expression of St. Paul's, " Study to be quiet." Why, one might think, we may certainly be quiet without any very great study. It is a great thing to learn to be quiet : " He that believeth shall not make haste." Do not take God's work into your own hands ; when a thing is not clear, and you are really in doubt, and when you do not know what it is right to do, do not be in a hurry, do not make things worse by pre- cipitancy; "it is good for a man patiently to wait." You may Like to be at work, you feel as if you had gifts that should not be idle ; it may be necessary, you know, that you should just be quiet for a time, and God will show you by and by what you ought to do.
God doth not need
Either man's work, or his own gifts. Who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state Is kingly ; thousands at his bidding speed.
And post o'er land and ocean without rest ;
They also serve who only stand and wait.
IF You get up in the morning, and before you do anything else, you go and place yourself on your knees, and you " wait " a few minutes for the Father's blessing. You seek an audience of the King of kings. You pay duty to God. You recognise your relationship to God — your dependence upon God — your trust in God. That is " waiting upon the Lord." Then, all the day, feeling your weakness, and ignorance, and danger, you are constantly in little secret acts of communion — by silent prayer and silent praise. That is carrying on the "waiting upon the Lord." Then, you carry about with you — whatever you are doing — whomever else you are serving — the thought, " I am doing this for Christ. I am