Consider, O waiting soul, that the mercy is worth tarrying for. Is it
not salvation–thy soul’s deliverance from hell? A long tarrying at the
gate of mercy will be well repaid, if the King, at last, will give thee
this jewel of exceeding price.
Bethink thee, also, how utterly unworthy thou art of the mercy;
therefore be not loath to humble thyself, or patiently to abide the
sovereign will of Jehovah. Proud men must be noticed at once, or they
will depart; but thou hast nothing to boast of, and shouldst feel that
if He disregarded thee for a long season, thine unworthiness could
demand no apology for his delay. Moreover, remember that He will hear
at last. His promise would be violated, if one praying soul could
perish; for He has said, “Seek, and ye shall find”–“Whosoever calleth
on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The delay may be for thy
good, to lay thee lower in the dust of self-abasement, or to make thee
more earnest for the blessing. Possibly the Lord intends to try thy
faith, that, like the woman of Syrophenicia, thou mayst reflect honor on
Him by thy confidence in Him. Pray on, for “the Lord is good unto them
that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.”
“ Christ in You. ”
What is it to have “Christ in you?” The Romanist hangs the cross on his
bosom; the true Christian carries the cross in his heart; and a cross
inside the heart is one of the sweetest cures for a cross on the back.
If you have a cross in your heart–Christ crucified in you, the hope of
glory–the cross of this world’s troubles will seem to you light enough,
and you will easily be able to sustain it. Christ in the heart, means
Christ believed in, Christ beloved, Christ trusted, Christ espoused,
Christ communed with, Christ as our daily food, and ourselves as the
temple and palace wherein Jesus Christ daily walks. Ah! there are many
who are total strangers to the meaning of this phrase. They do not know
what it is to have Jesus Christ in them. Though they know a little about
Christ on Calvary, they know nothing about Christ in the heart. Now,
remember, that Christ on Calvary will save no man, unless Christ be in
the heart. The Son of Mary, born in the manger, will not save you,
unless He be also born in your heart, and live there–your joy, your
strength, and your consolation.