Know How To Wait

Isa 28:16  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

He shall make haste to keep the LORD's commandments; but he shall not make haste in any impatient or improper sense.

He shall not haste to run away, for he shall not be overcome with the fear which causes panic.

When others are flying hither and thither as if their wits had failed them, the believer shall be quiet, calm, and deliberate, and so shall be able to act wisely in the hour of trial.

He shall not haste in his expectations, craving his good things at once and on the spot, but he will wait God's time.

Some are in a desperate hurry to have the bird in the hand, for they regard the LORD's promise as a bird in the bush, not likely to be theirs.

Believers know how to wait. 

He shall not haste by plunging into wrong or questionable action.

Unbelief must be doing something, and thus it works its own undoing;

But faith makes no more haste than good speed, and thus it is not forced to go back sorrowfully by the way which it followed heedlessly.

How is it with me? 

Am I believing, and am I therefore keeping to the believer's peace, which is walking with God? 

Peace, fluttering spirit! Oh, rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him!

Heart, see that thou do this at once!

~Charles Spurgeon~

Set Apart

Mat 14:23  And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

One of the blessings of the old-time Sabbath was its calm, its restfulness, its holy peace.

There is a strange strength conceived in solitude. Crows go in flocks and wolves in packs, but the lion and the eagle are solitaires.

Strength is not in bluster and noise. Strength is in quietness.

The lake must be calm if the heavens are to be reflected on its surface.

Our Lord loved the people, but how often we read of His going away from them for a brief season. 

He tried every little while to withdraw from the crowd. He was always stealing away at evening to the hills.

Most of His ministry was carried on in the towns and cities by the seashore, but He loved the hills the best, and oftentimes when night fell He would plunge into their peaceful depths.

The one thing needed above all others today is that we shall go apart with our Lord, and sit at His feet in the sacred privacy of His blessed presence.

Oh, for the lost art of meditation!

Oh, for the culture of the secret place!

Oh, for the tonic of waiting upon God!

~Selected~

It is well to live in the valley sweet, Where the work of the world is done, Where the reapers sing in the fields of wheat, As they toil till the set of sun.

But beyond the meadows, the hills I see Where the noises of traffic cease, And I follow a Voice that calleth to me From the hilltop regions of peace.

Aye, to live is sweet in the valley fair, And to toil till the set of sun; But my spirit yearns for the hilltop's air When the day and its work are done.

For a Presence breathes o'er the silent hills, And its sweetness is living yet; The same deep calm all the hillside fills, As breathed over Olivet.

Every life that would be strong must have its Holy of Holies into which only God enters.

From Obedience To Blessing

Hag 2:19  Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.

Future things are hidden from us. Yet here is a glass in which we may see the unborn years.

The LORD says, "From this day will I bless you." It is worthwhile to note the day which is referred to in this promise.

There had been failure of crops, blasting, and mildew, and all because of the people's sin.

Now, the LORD saw these chastened ones commencing to obey His word and build His temple, and therefore He says, "From the day that the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid, consider. 

From this day will I bless you.

If we have lived in any sin, and the Spirit leads us to purge ourselves of it, we may reckon upon the blessing of the LORD.

His smile, His Spirit, His grace, His fuller revelation of His truth will all prove to us an enlarged blessing.

We may fall into greater opposition from man because of our faithfulness, but we shall rise to closer dealings with the LORD our God and a clearer sight of our acceptance in Him.

LORD, I am resolved to be more true to Thee and more exact in my following of Thy doctrine and Thy precept; 

And I pray Thee, therefore, by Christ Jesus, to increase the blessedness of my daily life henceforth and forever.

~Charles Spurgeon~

"It Is Enough For The Disciple To Be As His Master"

No one will dispute this statement, for it would be unseemly for the servant to be exalted above his Master.

When our Lord was on earth, what was the treatment he received?

Were his claims acknowledged, his instructions followed, his perfections worshipped, by those whom he came to bless? No; “He was despised and rejected of men.”

Outside the camp was  his place: cross-bearing was his occupation.

Did the world yield him solace and rest?

Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

This inhospitable country afforded him no shelter: it cast him out and crucified him.

Such...if you are a follower of Jesus, and maintain a consistent, Christ-like walk and conversation you must expect to be the lot of that part of your spiritual life which, in its outward development, comes under the observation of men.

They will treat it as they treated the Saviour - they will despise it.

Dream not that worldlings will admire you, or that the more holy and the more Christ-like you are, the more peaceably people will act towards you.

They prized not the polished gem, how should they value the jewel in the rough?

If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

If we were more like Christ, we should be more hated by his enemies.

It were a sad dishonor to a child of God to be the world’s favorite.

It is a very ill omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout “Well done” to the Christian man.

He may begin to look to his character, and wonder whether he has not been doing wrong, when the unrighteous give him their approbation.

Let us be true to our Master, and have no friendship with a blind and base world which scorns and rejects him.

Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor where our Lord found a coronet of thorns.

~Charles Spurgeon~

The Largest Slice Of The Well-Sugared Cake

Many profess that they are strangers and pilgrims here below. But they take care to have as much of this world's comforts as they can scrape together by hook and by crook.
 
They talk about being 'strangers', yet can be in close friendship with men of the world.

And could you see them at the exchange, at the market, behind the counter, or at home with their families - you would not find one mark to distinguish them from the ungodly!
 
Yet they come to chapel and if called upon to pray, they will tell the people they are "poor strangers and pilgrims in a valley of tears"...

While all the time their hearts are in the world and their eyes stand out with fatness and they are as light and trifling as a comic actor and have no concerns except to get the largest slice of the well-sugared cake that the world sets before them!
 
It is not the 'mere profession of the lips' but 'grace in the heart', that makes a man a stranger and a pilgrim.
 
God's people are strangers and sojourners...the world is not their home nor can they take pleasure in it.

Sin is often a burden to them - guilt often lies as a heavy weight upon their conscience...

A thousand troubles harass their minds, a thousand perplexities oppress their souls.

They cannot bury their minds in business and derive all their happiness from their successes, for they feel that this earth is not their home.

They are often cast down and exercised, because they have to live in such an ungodly world.

Hebrews 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

~J. C. Philpot~

O LORD, Remind Us That All Below Is Passing Away

O merciful and heavenly Father, receive us graciously as we kneel before You this day. 

Every day we have to thank You for Your unfailing goodness toward us, and to confess before You our perpetual backslidings.

Deliver us, O Lord, from being burdened by earthly cares and anxieties, and may we cast them continually on You.

Deliver us from making an idol of worldly gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

Break every chain that binds us too closely to the world, and knit our hearts to You, that we may love You above all.

O Lord, remind us that all below is passing away, and that we must soon enter upon our eternal state.

O that we may ever keep eternity in view!

It will profit us nothing to gain the whole world, if we lose our own souls and Your everlasting kingdom.

Keep us, we beseech You, in the way of life. 

Cleanse us from all our iniquities in the blood of the Lamb.

We bless You for every comfort and every mercy which You have provided for us.

But we beseech You to enable us to set our affections on those things which are above, and not on things below.

Keep us from being dazzled by the world's attractions, or turned away from You by its riches or its honors.

We would choose the pearl of great price as our treasure, and be willing to sell all rather than lose it.

Help us to count all things but loss that we may win Christ, and reckon His reproach greater riches than any earthly good.

If by one sinful word or deed we might gain the whole world, give us grace to refuse the tempting prize.

May we love You with supreme affection, and long for nothing in comparison of Your presence here and Your glory hereafter.

Teach us to seek those things which are above, and may we live as strangers and sojourners on earth.

Most gracious Father, teach us that we are strangers and sojourners upon earth. 

Here we have no continuing city. But lead us onward to the better country.

We shall soon lie down to rest awhile beneath the sod but You will call us forth from the grave to live forever in Your Presence!

O teach us to look forward in blessed hope.

Enrich us with all the grace of Your Holy Spirit, and in due season receive us to Your glory and kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

~George Everard~

The Shield Of Faith~Faith Is Given To Guard Life In Everything; Not From Everything

Ephesians 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.                                                   

But if faith be a protecting shield, what then of the apostle's own experience?

So far from being defended from life's ills, he knew them all in an abounding measure.

He was not protected from cold or heat or hunger, nor from shipwreck, nor from the hand of robbers (2Co 11:1-33).

He was not protected from bodily infirmity, for he suffered from his lacerating thorn (2Co 12:1-21).

Everything that makes life bitter was mingled in the cup of the apostle, and yet he dares to speak of faith's protection.

I think there are many who have still to learn that faith was never intended for exemption.

Faith is not given to guard the life from anything; it is given to guard the life in everything.

It empowers one to bear, and to bear cheerfully, what otherwise would break the heart and darken the loving ordering of God.

To pass through the very worst that life can bring, undismayed in soul, and unembittered;

To tread the darkest mile and sing in it; never to lose heart, or hope, or love;

That is what faith achieved for the apostle and can achieve for everyone of us, and that is the shielding power of faith.

So was it with our blessed Lord. When He came here, He was offered no exemption.

He was a man of sorrows, and He suffered, and He was tempted in all points like as we are.

Yet to the end, in a faith that never faltered, He was loving, tranquil, and forgiving and under the cross spoke about His peace.

~George H. Morrison~