The Great Duty of Waiting on God in our Difficulties, Sermon
Waiting on GOD IN OUR Straits and Difficulties.
The great DUTY OF Waiting on GOD IN OUR Straits & Difficulties, Explained and Inforced: IN A SERMON Preached at BOSTON on the Lord's-Day April 17. 1737.
By Benjamin Colman, D. D.
Publiſhed at the Requeſt of many that heard it.
Hoſea xii. 6. Therefore turn thou to thy GOD, keep Mercy and Judgment, and wait on thy GOD continually.
BOSTON: Printed by J. Draper, for J. Edwards and H. Foſter in Cornhill. 1737.
Waiting on GOD IN OUR Straits and Difficulties.
Jeremiah xiv. 22.
— Art not Thou He, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon Thee: for Thou haſt made all theſe things.
THESE Words are the Cloſe of the Chapter, and the firſt Verſe of it informs us of the particular Occaſion on which the whole was uttered: "The Word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the Dearth.
The Dearth here ſpoken of was caus'd by a great Drought, but God can bring Dearth upon us as well by Cold and Clouds, as by burning Drought.
The Prophet, in the Name of the Church, and from Love to it, humbly mourns, bewails, complains, confeſſes, ſupplicates, deprecates, and expoſtulates; in Words the moſt moving and affecting you ever read: See from the 19 Verſe, "Haſt thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy Soul loathed Zion? why haſt thou ſmitten us and there is no healing for us? we looked for Peace and there is no Good, and for the Time of healing and behold Trouble! We acknowledge, O Lord, our Wickedneſs, and the Iniquity of our Fathers; for we have ſinned againſt thee. Do not abhor us for thy Name ſake; do not diſgrace the Throne of thy Glory; remember, break not thy Covenant with us: Are there any among the Vanities of the Gentiles that can cauſe Rain? or can the Heavens give Showers? "Art not Thou He, O Lord our god? therefore will we wait upon Thee, for Thou haſt made all theſe Things."
In theſe laſt Words the Prophet firſt deſpiſes, diſdains, pours Contempt on, and rejects with Abhorrence the Gods of the Nations: "Are there any among the Vanities of the Gentiles that can give Rain? He gives to Idols their true Name Vanities; for we know that an Idol is nothing in the World. He affirms it univerſally, of all and every one of them, that they are but ſo many Vanities. He demands of them, if they can, only to give Rain: One of the greateſt things, it is true, in Nature; yet one of the moſt common things too, and moſt neceſſary for Man. If they can't do this, what is there they can do for us? and if they could do this, what elſe might they not do?
Secondly, He aſſigns to ſecond Cauſes their Place and Limits; "Can the Heavens give Showers? either the upper or lower Heavens! As for the upper Heavens and all their Hoſts, they are thus far concerned in our Rains, that the Sun exhales the Vapours by its fiery Rays, and the Moon influences our Waters both in the Air and Sea, and the Fluids in our Bodies, in a ſenſible but ſecret manner. And as for the lower Heavens, the Region of our Clouds, they gather not by any Knowledge or Deſign of their own, neither when they give their Showers do they mean any Benefit to us: For as Job ſaid very piouſly and juſtly, "if I beheld the Sun when it ſhone! ſo muſt we ſay, if I behold the Rain when it falls, with any religious Reſpect to the Creature itſelf, it were to deny the GOD that is above.
Thirdly, GOD the firſt Cauſe is devoutly acknowledged in the Government of all ſecond Cauſes, and in the Benefits done us by them; and all the Glory is render'd to Him alone, to Whom it is due: "Art not Thou He, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait on Thee; for Thou haſt made all theſe Things.
1. A Principle is laid down, in Form of Interrogation, but in Senſe a vehement Affirmation: Thou art He, and Thou only! Thou the Lord Jehovah, the God of Iſrael, thou only canſt cauſe Rain, and command the Heavens to give us Showers! Thou doſt it when and where thou pleaſeſt, and thy Will and Providence governs herein! Who art greater than the Heavens and above them, haſt made and ruleſt them.
2. A devout Reſolution is formed upon this Principle, a Reſolution of Dependance on God and of Application to Him at all Times: "Therefore will we wait upon Thee, for thou haſt made all theſe things: a good Reaſon for the Reſolution; while the gods that made not the Earth and Heavens, let them periſh from the Earth and from under theſe Heavens.
"We will wait upon thee: ſhould not a People wait on their God? They declare their Expectation to be only from Him, their Dependance to be ſolely on Him, and their Confidence to be ſtrong in Him. They apply, and ſeek and pray, and reſolve to continue herein, to Day, always and for evermore.
"For thou haſt made all theſe things: the Earth, Waters, Air, Clouds, Seaſons; and governeſt all for the Life and Good of Man. Thou haſt given Being to all things, and thou giveſt Laws to them, and they ſerve the wiſe and gracious Intentions of thy Providence! Thou with-holdeſt the Rain, or thou ſendeſt it in Judgment or for Mercy! "Therefore we will wait upon Thee; rely on thee, ſeek to thee, tarry thy Time, be found in thy Way, and reſign our Selves to thy Will.
The Doctrinal Obſervation from the Words might be this; "That the Supremacy, the univerſal Providence and Agency of the Lord our God, does ſtrongly oblige us, and ſhould engage and bind us, to be waiting upon Him at all Times and in every Caſe; more eſpecially in our Times of Trouble, Straits and Difficulties.
Or in the Words of Another, "The Sovereignty of God ſhould engage, and his Aſufficiency encourage our Attendance on Him, and our Expectations from Him at all Times."
I ſhall only enquire into the Nature of this great Duty of Religion, our waiting on God; and then briefly ſuggeſt a few Reaſons for it and Motives to it.
I. The Duty of waiting on God implies and includes in it the following Things,
1. Our fix'd Belief, our conſtant Remembrance, and actual Conſideration of God, his Perfection and governing Providence, and the Extent of it to every Thing in the World: that the Lord our God is one Lord, the living God and everlaſting King, in Heaven above and on Earth below; and that we and all things are under his moſt wiſe, good, powerful and perfect Rule and Ordering; without which not a Cloud gathers over us, nor a Ray of the Sun ſhines on us, nor a Spire of Graſs grows under our Feet. We muſt bear about with us always, wherever we are and whatſover we do, want and ſeek after, an abiding Senſe of our Dependance on God; who upholds all things by the Word of his Power, and the Eyes of all wait on Him; who holds our Soul in Life, feeds us every Day, and is our Life and the Length of our Days. Deut. xxx. 20.
This Belief in God is eſſentially requiſite to, and neceſſarily ſuppoſed in, our waiting on Him: For he that cometh to God muſt believe that He is, and have right and juſt Apprehreſions of his bleſſed Nature and ſupream univerſal Government; what He is in Himſelf and to us.
2. Conſequently, we cannot wait upon God, but with a Frame of Worſhip and high Adoration. The idea of a great and good God commands this from us, all his Works challenge it, and every Benefit we look for from Him. They are all vaſt in themſelves, and ſpeak his Eternal Power and Godhead, and declare an Infinite Dominion, Wiſdom, Goodneſs and Juſtice For Inſtance, Do we wait on God for the Light and Heat, or for the Shade and Moiſture; it muſt be in ſuch a Frame and Poſture of Soul as that, Pſalm cxxxv. 6, 7. For I know that the Lord is great, and that our God is above all Gods! Whatſoever the Lord pleaſed that did he in Heaven, and in Earth, in the Seas and in all deep Places: He cauſeth the Vapours to aſcend from the Ends of the Earth, he maketh Lightnings for the Rain, he bringeth the Wind out of his Treaſuries: And in the xxxiii Pſalm; By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made, and all the Hoſt of them by the Breath of his Mouth; He gathereth the Waters of the Sea together as an heap, he layeth up the Depths in Store-houſes; Let all the Earth fear the Lord, let all the Inhabitants of the World ſtand in Awe of Him!— Behold, the Eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his Mercy; to deliver their Soul from Death, and to keep them alive in Famine; Our Soul waiteth on the Lord, He is our Help and our Shield; for our Heart ſhall rejoice in Him, becauſe we have truſted in his Holy Name: Let thy Mercy, O Lord, be upon us according as we hope in Thee.
3. We are in a more ſpecial and proper Senſe waiting on God in the regular Diſcharge of the Duty of Prayer; ſerious conſtant and fervent Prayer to God for all we want. What Prayer or Supplication ſoever we make to God, mental or oral, private or public, we are therein waiting upon God, lifting our Hearts and Eyes and Hands to Him; and He that ſearcheth the Heart knows the Mind of our Spirits. If we ask, and ſeek and knock, as our Lord directs us, Matth. vii. this to wait; but the prayerleſs Perſon profanely neglects God, waits not on him in his Cloſet from Day to Day, nor watches at his Gates, the Gates of Zion, his Houſe of Prayer to all People. — Our Text is it ſelf a fervent holy Prayer to God, as the Governour of the Seaſons, as the Father of the Rain. God expects to be thus acknowledged by us, to receive this Homage from us. Zech. x. 1. Ask of the Lord Rain,—and be will give Showers and Graſs. And if we want the Shining of the Sun after the Rain, it is the ſame thing; we muſt ſeek and cry to God for it. And in theſe Caſes the People of God are ready to pray, and enquire early after God; to howl to him for Corn and Wine and Oil, tho they do but flatter him with their Lips, and lie to him with their Tongues. Even the Prieſts of Baal in the Day of Drought waited on their deaf Idol, with loud Cries from Morning to Evening, to anſwer them either by Fire or Water; "O Baal hear us! Elijah made one loud and fervent Petition to the living God, and the Heavens gave Showers. — Generally, thro' the Book of God, the required Waiting on Him means Prayer and Supplications for Things agreable to his Will, and in a Manner
4. We muſt wait upon God with upright Hearts, true and ſtrong Deſire of Soul to his Name, with Affection and Earneſtneſs. The acceptable and effectual Prayer of the Righteous is the fervent one. St. James v. Cold and formal Praying is not meet to be called waiting on God. "Our Soul waiteth for the Lord; ſays the Pſalmiſt, more than they that watch for the Morning: and he repeats the Profeſſion to expreſs the Truth and Vehemence of his Deſire. The Dawn of the Morning-Light is not more earneſtly long'd after by One in Pain on his bed thro' a long reſtleſs Night; than is the Favour and Mercy of God by a Soul that waits on Him therefor. "I wait for the Lord, my Soul doth wait, and I hope in his Word; Lord hear my Voice, and let thine Ear be attentive to my Supplications. Such are the Breathings of the earneſt waiting Soul; "Lord all my Deſire is before thee, and my Groaning is not hid from thee; with my Soul have I deſired thee in the Night, and with my Spirit within me will I ſeek thee early. All the Powers and Affections of our Souls muſt be excited and engaged in our waiting on God.
5. Humble and ardent Hope, Expectation, Truſt and Confidence are implied in our waiting upon God. To wait on Him is to depend, rely, and expect from his Power and Goodneſs, according to the promiſes of his Word. We are directed to ask in Faith, and are told that believing we receive. Abraham was ſtrong in Faith, giving Glory to God; being fully perſwaded that what he had promiſed he was able to perſorm; and it was imputed unto him for Righteouſneſs; as it is to Us alſo, if we believe on Him that raiſed up Jeſus our Lord from the dead, Rom. iv. 20. God ſtill remembers his holy Promiſes, and Abraham his Servant: i. e. the like Faith of his ſpiritual Seed in their Supplications to Him, and waiting on Him; and they, in their meaſure are made Kings and Prieſts to God, as Abraham and Jacob were in their Day; as Princes before the Throne have Power with their King and prevail.
In ſuch a Spirit of Faith and Truſt the Prophet prays in our Context, "O the Hope of Iſrael, the Saviour of it in the Time of Trouble! Remember, break not thy Covenant! Do not abhor us for thy Name's ſake, diſgrace not the Throne of thy Glory! Art not Thou He, O Lord our God! Therefore we wait on thee.
This is waiting and praying thro' the Pſalms of David *Pſalms xxvii. 14, xxxiii. 20, &c. lxii. 5. cxxx. 5., My Soul, wait thou only upon God, for all my Expectation is from Him: He only is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Defence and Glory, the Rock of my Strength and my Refuge is in God! Truſt in Him at all Times ye People, pour out you Hearts before Him: Unto Thee O Lord, belongeth Mercy. Again, I had fainted unleſs I had believed to ſee the Goodneſs of God in the Land of the living; wait on the Lord, be of good Courage & He ſhall ſtrengthen thy Heart; wait I ſay on the Lord. Again, Our Soul waiteth on the Lord, He is our Strength and our Shield; for our Heart ſhall rejoice in Him, becauſe we have truſted in his holy Name.
Thus there is no real praying, or waiting on God, without Faith, Hope & Truſt in ſome good Exerciſe; I wait for the Lord, my Soul doth wait, and I hope in his Word.
6. We muſt wait upon God with great Fear and holy Trembling, becauſe of his Holineſs, Juſtice and terrible Majeſty. We muſt ever think of God, and bow before Him, as the great and dreadful God, who keepeth Covenant and Mercy; remembring our many and mighty Sins againſt Him, by which we have ſo often forfeited our daily Mercies, and highly merited his Wrath, that all the Vials of it ſhould be poured out upon us, by Land and alſo on the Sea. So that ſhould God order the Sun to withdraw it's Heat, and cover our Heavens with Clouds that our Prayers may not paſs thro', it were leſs than our Sins deſerve. Our Lives and Livelihood are every Day in his Hand, and ſhould we not be afraid of the Power? A righteous, ſovereign and judicial Power, Jer. v. 20.—24. Declare this in the Houſe of Jacob, and publiſh it in Judah, ſaying, Hear now this, O fooliſh People and without Underſtanding, which have Eyes and ſee not, which have Ears and hear not! Fear ye not me, ſaith the Lord? will ye not tremble at my Preſence, which have placed the Sand for the Bound of the Sea, &c.? Neither ſay they in their Heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God that giveth Rain, both the former and the latter in his Seaſon; He reſerveth unto us the appointed Weeks of the Harveſt: Your Iniquities have turned away theſe things, and your Sins have witholden good things from you.
O ſay unto GOD, how dreadful art thou in thy Works! He commands the Sun and it ſhines not, and he ſealeth up the Stars: He bows his Heaven and comes down, and Darkneſs is under his Feet: He makes it his ſecret Place, even dark Waters and thick Clouds of the Sky: Again, He commandeth the Clouds and they rain no Rain; Nor can there be either Dew or Rain from Year to Year but according to his Word: He ſends too the great and long Rains of his Strength and ſets his Church, at leaſt, a trembling: Let all the Earth fear the Lord, let all the Inhabitants of the World ſtand in Awe of Him *Job ix. 7. Iſai. v. 6. 1 Kings xvii. 1. Ezra x. 9. Pſal. xviii. 9, 21..
7. We muſt always wait on God with an entire Reſignation of our ſelves, and of all that concerns us to his Wiſdom and Sovereignty. His Will muſt be ours, which is the abſolute Perfection of Spirits. The Angels of Light are thus waiting about the Throne on high, infinitely remov'd from Self-Denial. That belongs only to our State of of Sin, in the Puniſhments whereof our Obedience is Submiſſion. Where the Pſalmiſt profeſſeth, "Truly my Soul waiteth upon God; the Hebrew is—"My Soul is ſilent to God, or before Him. Not that it did not ſpeak and pray, but becauſe it ſaid nothing againſt what God did, but was quietly expecting what he would do, and reſolved to acquieſe therein. This is the Way of Duty and Comfort, when we chearfully refer all our Affairs to the good Pleaſure of God, and accommodate our ſelves to his Diſpenſations — The waiting Soul in a Time of Trouble, or doubting Expectation, prayes the more fervently; but it ſays, Father in Heaven thy Will be done; not as I will, but as thou will. "I will be ſtill and know that it is God! Let the Lord do what ſeemeth good to him. So in the Way of God's Judgments we muſt wait on Him: He bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty City he layeth it low, even to the Ground; he bringeth it to the Duſt, Iſa. xxvi. 5, 8.
8. We can wait on God only in the Way of Obedience, having Reſpect unto all his Commandments, and in a devout Obſervation of all his Ordinances. This is the royal and perfect Rule to us, and the ſure Way of God's Bleſſing; "Wait on the Lord and keep his Way; Let Integrity and Uprightneſs preſerve me, for I wait on thee. "All the Paths of the Lord are Mercy and Truth, unto ſuch as keep his Covenant and his Teſtimonies. "Depart from Evil and do Good, and dwell for evermore. Sins of Omiſſion as well as thoſe of Commiſſion, are a Departure from God: So are ſecret as well as open Sins; both againſt the firſt or ſecond Table of the Law; any one Inſtance of allowed Sin; for he that offends in one point is guilty of all. Neither may we add unto the Word which the Lord our God has commanded us, nor diminiſh from it. We muſt take heed to our ſelves, and keep our Souls diligently, that we forget not any of the Statutes and Judgments ſo righteous, as all the Laws of our God; that they depart not from our Heart all the Days of our Life, but that we teach them to our Sons and their Children. Then God will be nigh to us in all that we call upon Him for. For therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious to us, and therefore will he be exalted in having Mercy on us; for the Lord is a God of Judgment; and bleſſed are all they that wait for Him. Iſai. xxx. 18.
9. Uſing indirect Means to extricate our ſelves out of Evils real or imaginary, felt or fear'd, or uſing unlawful and wicked Means, is utterly inconſiſtent with our waiting upon God.
Certainly God may bring us into Difficulties for our Trial, as he pleaſes. So he did by the Patriarchs who were dear to him, and for the moſt part they behav'd admirably, yet ſometimes fail'd ſtrangely. So did David in his latter Trials, after he had acted a more than royal Part in his firſt fiery Temptation, thro' the many Days of Saul's bloody and barbarous Perſecution of him. And long after this, when Shimei rav'd at him and curs'd him, he behav'd moſt piouſly, with a glorious Meekneſs and perfect Humility before God and Men. The Comfort hereof he carried to his Grave, and the Fame of it endures in the Church for ever. He gives God the Glory, and triumphs in the Remembrance of his Conqueſt over Himſelf and his Enemy, in the Eighteenth Pſalm: He Sings there, How the Lord rewarded him according to his Righteouſneſs, according to the Cleaneſs of his Hands did he recompenſe him; for he had kept the Ways of the Lord, and had not wickedly departed from his God; for all his Judgments were before him, and he did not put away his Statutes from him: Therefore the Lord recompenſed him according to his Righteouſneſs, according to the Cleaneſs of his Hands in his Eye-Sight: For with the merciful (ſays he) Thou wilt ſhow thy ſelf merciful, with an upright Man thou wilt ſhew thy ſelf upright; with the pure thou wilt ſhow thy ſelf pure, and with the froward thou wilt ſhow thy ſelf froward: For thou wilt ſave the afflicted People, but wilt bring down high Looks; for thou wilt light my Candle, the Lord my God will enlighten my Darkneſs: As for God, his Way is perfect, the Word of the Lord is tried He is a Buckler to all that truſt in Him.
A People alſo are very prone, and more eſpecially the Inferiour ſort of People, to take indirect, raſh and very ſinful ſteps, provoking to God and injurious to their Rulers, rebellious againſt Providence and humane Government, when for their Sins and Humiliation God brings them into Straits which it is not in the Power of Man it may be to deliver them out of, or at leaſt not preſently.—This was often the Caſe and Tranſgreſſion of the Children of Iſrael in the Wilderneſs, under the Conduct of Moſes the Man of God: As often almoſt as God bro't the Congregation into the Want of Bread or Water, or puniſh'd them for their paſt Murmurs and Mutinies, they fell into new and ſeditious Clamours, charging their Rulers with the moſt inimical Intentions toward them, even of deſtroying them & their Children. You know the Ruin they brought on themſelves hereby, we read their Sin in it's Puniſhment: Pſal. xcv. Had they humbly, meekly and prayerful waited on God; believing, fearing, reſigning and repenting; they had been timely extricated out of their pinching Straits, and led directly to their Reſt in Canaan: but they ran out of God's Way, and he left them to their own, and ſware in his Wrath that they ſhould never enter into his Reſt.
10. We muſt be waiting upon God in the Exerciſe of deep Repentance for our Sins againſt Him, and of lively Faith in the Name, Merits and Righteouſneſs of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, for Pardon and Acceptance; and for the Beſtowment of the leaſt, even the moſt common outward Favours of Providence.
We can wait upon God only as Penitents, and by Faith in Chriſt. Theſe two muſt always come together in every Prayer we make to God. The Prophet prayes in the Words before my Text, with great and holy Mourning for Sin, and with a ſtrong Faith in the Covenant-Mercy of God! "We acknowledge, O Lord, our Wickedneſs, for we have ſinned againſt thee; do not abhor us for thy Name ſake, do not diſgrace the Throne of thy Glory, break not thy Covenant, but remember it for us. The Throne of the Mediator is the Throne of God's Glory; He looks on that and remembers his Covenant-Mercy for penitent Sinners. All the Favours and Bounties of God in the Courſe of his Providence come to us for the ſake of Chriſt. The Kingdom of Providence is in his Hand, even the whole Adminiſtration of it, for the Good of his Church and the World. It is for His ſake that the World ſtands. In his Sacrifice it is that God ſmells the ſweet ſavour, as in the Day of Noah whoſe Offering of every clean Kind was but the Type of Chriſt's one Offering; and the Curſe is no more executed on the Earth till the Conflagration to which it is reſerved.
We pray to God only in the Name of his Son Jeſus Chriſt, by Faith in his Mediation and Interceſſion, and in the Promiſes, which are all in Him Yea and Amen: We look for his Mercy, whether it be on temporal Accounts or ſpiritual. We have no Acceſs unto the Father but by Him. On his Name therefore it is we wait, who has purchas'd for us all we need for Soul and Body, and by his Hand it is beſtowed on us. It is good before his Saints to receive all of Him and thro' Him; to whom be Glory for ever.
11. We muſt wait on God with Patience and Conſtancy, Continuance and Perſeverance. We muſt continue in Faith, Prayer, Hope, Truſt, Reſignation, Repentance and univerſal Obedience. This is waiting. Pſal. xxv. 5. On Thee do I wait all the Day. All the Days of our Life, this is our Work, every Day the Work of the Day. Pſal. xxxvii. 7. Reſt in the Lord and wait patiently for him. It is good for a Man to hope and quietly wait for the Salvation of God. We muſt wait God's Time as well as keep his Way: The Viſion has its appointed Time, if it tarry wait for it; it will ſurely come and not tarry. We muſt not be ſhort-ſpirited. The Rule and Precept to us is, Patient in Tribulation, continuing inſtant in Prayer, and rejoicing in Hope. There is no practical Religion and Godlineſs without a patient Continuance in Well-doing. Patience muſt have its perfect Work, whether it be in bearing and ſubmitting, or in praying and obeying. Waiting reſpects both the active and paſſive Exerciſe of Grace. "The Fooliſhneſs of Man perverteth his Way, and his Heart fretteth againſt the Lord. As the profane and impatient King ſaid, "This Evil is of the Lord, why ſhould I wait on the Lord any longer? and into what deſperate Outrages was he running againſt the beſt Friend and Father among the Iſrael of God? 2 Kings vi. 31.
12. And laſtly, We muſt wait upon God with Reſolution and holy Fortitude, in the Strength of God. Without Him we can do nothing, nor may preſume to reſolve on any thing; but the leaſt Believer may ſay, "I can do all things thro' Chriſt helping me.
The Prophet forms a mighty, juſt and reaſonable Reſolution in my Text; "Therefore we will wait upon Thee. We muſt reſolve to wait upon God, and reſolutely ſet our ſelves to do it. There needs a good and ſtrong Reſolution to perform this Duty. Who ever did any thing great and good, without a Firmneſs and Conſtancy of Soul in undertaking it? It is a good Thing that the Heart be eſtabliſhed with Grace; to be able to ſay with the Pſalmiſt, "My Heart is fixed, O God, my Heart is fixed. This is the Heart and Property of a Saint in every point of Duty. His Heart is fixed in this eſpecially, to be waiting on his God continually. Grace has thus wro't in the Saints of every Age, Pſal. lii. …. I will wait on thy Name, for it is good before thy Saints. Here's Inclination and Reſolution, and a good Reaſon for it, Iſai. viii. 17. I will wait upon the Lord who hideth himſelf from the Houſe of Iſrael, and will look for Him. Micah vii. 7. Therefore I will look unto the Lord, I will wait for the God of my Salvation; my God will hear me. How poſitively do they reſolve, one and another of them, as Men determined and fixed thro' Grace; "I will, I will?
To reſolve is a rational Act of the humane Soul, whereby it freely and firmly determines and binds it ſelf to do, that which it judges to be it's Duty, Wiſdom and Intereſt. But conſidered as an Act of Religion, it ſuppoſes a Mind divinely illuminated from the Word of God, under the Influence and Power of the Holy Spirit, with a full Purpoſe of Heart determined for a holy Life. Joſh. xxiv. 27. Nay, but the Lord our God we will ſerve, and his Voice we will obey.
This is a very ſerious and awful thing, and muſt be done with Underſtanding and Knowledge, with Deliberateneſs and Conſideration, fervently and zealouſly, for without Counſel Purpoſes are diſappointed. To uſe the Apoſtle's Words, it muſt be done devoutly and with Solemnity: 2 Cor. i. 17. When I therefore was thus minded, did I uſe Lightneſs? or the Things that I purpoſe, do I purpoſe according to the Fleſh? that with me there ſhould be Yea, Yea, or Nay, Nay! As God is true our Word was not Yea and Nay. Religion is founded on certain and unchangeable Principles and Reſolutions, and there muſt be no ſaying and unſaying, promiſing and changing in it. But then neither may we make any religious Reſolutions in our own Strength, but with an entire Dependence on the Grace of God, which worketh in us both to will and to do. We muſt be very humble if we wou'd be ſtrong, and have a godly Jealouſy of our ſelves, that our Hope may be in God. Pſal. cxix. 8. I will keep thy Statutes, O forſake me not. We muſt alſo reſolve upon the Means, together with the End; and up and be doing that the Lord may be with us.
And thus I have ſpoken of the Nature of the Duty, what it is for us to wait upon God.
II. I come briefly to mention a few Reaſons, Motives and Arguments, for our reſolving on and engaging in this Duty.
1. God is great and it is meet we ſhould wait on Him. Kings and Princes expect much waiting on them. It is the leaſt Homage to the King Eternal, Immortal, the bleſſed and only Potentate. Should we not daily attend his Levee? not in Ceremony and Compliment, or for any Need of our Services, but to expreſs a ſincere Loyalty and humble Allegiance, and to acknowledge an abſolute Subjection and Dependance. Zeph. iii. 8. Therefore wait ye upon me, ſaith the Lord, until the Day that I riſe up. Luke xii. 36. And be ye your ſelves like unto Men that wait for their Lord.
2. The Favour, Gifts and Bounties of a God are well worth our waiting for. Inſtance if you pleaſe in the Light and Rain from Heaven, do they not deſerve more than all the Pains that we can be at in our Dependance on God, or Supplications to Him? Do they not pay us well for our repeated urging Prayers? Doth not the Husbandman wait for them with long Patience, after much Toil and Labour, that he may receive the Fruits of the Earth? James v. 7. And when he has reap'd a good Harveſt, thinks himſelf well recompens'd for his Summer's Work! But how great and good are the Bleſſings of Grace, which our God eſpecially requires us to be waiting on him for! Luke xii. 23: It is your Fathers good Pleaſure to give you the Kingdom.
3. All things wait upon God, and he is glorified in them. In this Way it is that we give him Honour, and do him Glory. So we acknowledge his Power, Goodneſs and Sovereignty, and teſtify our Dependance on Him, Subjection to Him, and Receipts from Him. Pſal. cxxiii. 2. 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. We wait as Beggars for an Alms, as Children for a Father's Regard and Bleſſing, and as Subjects on their Prince for his Favour and Reward, and at the ſame Time to know his Pleaſure and do his Will. Pſal. lix. 9. Becauſe of his Strength will I wait on thee, the God of my Mercy ſhall prevent me.
4. It is highly profitable and beneficial to us to be waiting upon God. "A Servant that waiteth on his Maſter ſhall be honoured. We do not ſerve God for nought. It is good for a Man to hope and quietly wait; Good in it ſelf, good in us, good for us; good before his Saints, good in their Account, good in their Experience as well as Conſcience, Pſal. xxv. 3. O my God I truſt in thee, let me not be aſhamed. Iſai. xxxiii. 2. O Lord be gracious to us, for we have waited on thee. As Kings diſtribute Riches and Honours among them that wait in their Preſence, ſo doth the King of Heaven the Bleſſings of his Providence and Grace here, and all ſpiritual Bleſſings in heavenly Places, among them that religiouſly wait on and ſerve Him.
Let what has been ſaid reprove thoſe among us, who are irreligious and prayerleſs, and ſo far from waiting on God in this Day of Trouble and Rebuke, on private and perſonal Accounts as well as publick; that they are indeed murmuring againſt Him in their Hearts and with their Mouths, and mutinying againſt him with their Hands, in open Defiance of that Government which God has ſet over them. Theſe things bring great Guilt upon a People, and ſhould be matter of Mourning and great Humiliation to us; they are greatly to be repented of and openly teſtified againſt. Pſal. xii. 4. Who have ſaid, with our Tongues will we prevail, our Lips are our own, who is Lord over us? We cry out of Wrongs, and of Oppreſſion, we cry to Men and againſt one another, and we cry againſt Thoſe (it may be) who never wrong'd us, but are publick Benefactors; but we cry not to God that binds us, to whom we ſhou'd cry out againſt our ſelves and our own Sins: we do not wait upon Him with our Secret and Publick mournful Prayers for our Families and our People.
To this let us be humbly directed and exhorted in the Fear of God; to carry all our Difficulties to God, ſenſible of his puniſhing Hand in them, and humble our ſelves under it. Job xxi 4. Is my Complaint to Man? If it were ſo, why ſhould not my Spirit be troubled? x. 1, 2 I will leave my Complaint upon my ſelf, I will ſay unto God do not condemn me. God will hear the Deſire of the Humble, he prepares their Heart and bows his Ear. Curſed is the Man, that truſteth in Man, and maketh Fleſh his Arm, and whoſe Heart departeth from the Lord; But bleſſed is the Man that truſteth in the Lord, and whoſe Hope the Lord is: the One ſhall not ſee when Good cometh, nor the other when Heat cometh.
But let us eſpecially be waiting on God for the ſpiritual Bleſſing, the Bleſſings of his Grace, for the Effuſion of his Holy Spirit, for broken and contrite Hearts, and for the Pardon of our Sins. Seek firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs, and all other Things ſhall be added to us, by our Heavenly Father, who knows our Need of them. Our anxious Fore-tho't, diſtracting Cares and immoderate Fears, are our Miſery and Crime. We need the Spirit of Humiliation and Repentance, of Prayer and Reformation, more than the very Light, or Rains of Heaven. We need to care for our Souls, more than for our Bodies; that theſe may feed and flouriſh under the Word of Life: This Bleſſing is more than the Dew of Heaven, the Fatneſs of the Earth, or Plenty of Corn and Wine. O if the Lord would make his Face to ſhine upon his Sanctuaries, in the Efficacy of his Word and the Converſion of Souls! This is the Conſolation we ſhould be waiting for in the Temple! theſe the richer Dews of Hermon deſcending on the Mountains of Zion, where the Lord commands the Bleſſing, even Life for evermore.
Let us wait on God in all his Ordinances that his Doctrine may drop as the Rain, and the Light of the Knowledge of his Glory ſhine into our Hearts by and with his Word. Let us lift up our Eyes and Hearts to Him that is above the Heavens, and pray — "Drop down ye Heavens from above, ond let the Skies pour down Righteouſneſs! It follows, Let the Earth open and let them bring forth Salvation, and let Righteouſneſs ſpring up together: I the Lord have created it! Wo unto him that ſtriveth with his Maker; let the Potſherd ſtrive with the Potſherds of the Earth; ſhall the Clay ſay to Him that faſhions it, what makeſt thou? Men are but broken Potſherds (ſays One on the Place) and are often made ſo by their mutual Contentions, daſhed in pieces one againſt another.
What faith the Apoſtle? Galat. v. 5. We thro' the Spirit wait for the Hope of Righteouſneſs by Faith. There is nothing worthy of a Chriſtians waiting for like this; nothing in Compariſon of it. It is highly pleaſing to God to ſee us waiting on him for this, and his Promiſe is full on this point, Luke xi. 13. Shall not your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? This Bleſſing of Bleſſings is the Hope of Believers, and it is the Hope of Righteouſneſs; the Promiſe of the Father which Chriſt left with his Apoſtles in his Farewell Diſcourſe with them: who when He ſhould come would convince the World of Sin, of Righteouſneſs and of Judgment: A Hope founded on the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt, ſanctifying to us and keeping us in the Ways of Righteouſneſs. Faith in Chriſt allows us not to hope on any other Ground, nor in any other Way, but warrants us in this. And it is thro' the Spirit, under his Direction and Influence, that we are begotten unto the lively Hope, and are kept waiting for it. And they that thus wait upon God, that wait on Him for this, ſhall never be aſhamed of their Hope.
FINIS.
End of the text · Benjamin Colman, The Great Duty of Waiting on God in our Difficulties (1737)