What it is to Wait upon God (II)

II. For the second thing. Having shewed you what it is to wait on God, I come next to shew, that this we must do every day; and all the day long.

A. We must wait on our God every day. Omni die ([every day], so some. This is the work of every day, which is to be done in its day, for the duty of every day requires it. Servants come in the courts of princes have their weeks, or months of waiting appointed them, and are tied to attend only at certain times. But God's servants must never be out of waiting: all the days of our appointed time, the time of our work and warfare here on earth we must be waiting, Job 14:14, and not desire or expect to be discharged from this attendance, till we come to heaven, where we shall wait on God, as angels do, more nearly constantly.

We must wait on God every day.

1. Both on sabbath days and on week days. The Lord's day is instituted and appointed on purpose for our attendance on God in the courts of His house, there we must wait on Him, to give glory to Him, and to receive both commands,,, and favours from Him, ministers must then wait on their ministry, Romans 12:7 and people must wait on it too, saying as Cornelius for himself and his friends, now we are all here ready before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God, Acts 10:33. It is for the honour of God to help to fill up the assemblies of those that attend at the footstool of His throne, and to add to their number. The whole sabbath time except what is taken up in works of necessity and mercy, must be employed in waiting on our God. Christians are spiritual priests, and as such it is their business to wait in God's house at the time appointed. 

But it is not enough; we must wait upon our God on week days, too, for every day of the week we want mercy from Him, and have work to do for Him. Our waiting upon Him in public ordinances on the first day of the week, is designed to fix us to, and fit us for communion with Him all the week after; so that we answer not the intentions of the sabbath, unless the impressions of it abide upon us, and go with us into the business of the week, and be kept always in the imagination of the thoughts of our heart. Thus from one sabbath to another, and from one new moon to another, we must keep in a holy and gracious frame; must be so in the Spirit on the Lord's day, as to walk in the Spirit all the week.

2. Both on idle days, and busy days, we must be found waiting on God. Some days of our lives are days of labour and hurry, when our particular calling calls for our close and diligent application; but we must not think that will excuse us from our constant attendance on God. Even then when our hands are working about the world, our hearts may be waiting on our God, by an habitual regard to Him, to His providence as our guide, and His glory as our end, in our worldly business; and thus we must abide with Him in them. Those that rise up early, and sit up late, and eat the bread of carefulness in pursuit of the world, yet are concerned to wait on God, because otherwise all their care and pains will signify nothing; it is labour in vain, Psa. 127: 1, 2, no, it is labour in the fire.

Some days of our lives we relax from business, and take our ease. Many of you have your time for diversion, but then when you lay aside other business, this of waiting upon God must not be laid aside. When you prove yourselves with mirth, as Solomon did, and say, you will enjoy pleasure a little, yet let this wisdom remain with you, Eccl. 2:1, 3, let your eye be then up to God, and take heed of dropping your communion with Him, in that which you call an agreeable conversation with your friends. Whether it be a day of work, or a day of rest, we shall find nothing like waiting upon God both to enlighten the toil of our work, and to sweeten the comfort of our repose. So that whether we have much to do, or little to do in the world, still we must wait upon God, that we may be kept from the temptation that attends both the one and the other.

3. Both in days of prosperity, and in days of adversity, we must be found waiting upon God. Doth the world smile upon us, and court us? Yet let us not turn from attending on God, to make our court to it: If we have never so much of the wealth of the world, yet we cannot say we have no need of God, no further occasion to make use of Him, as David was ready to say, when in his prosperity he said he should never be moved; but soon saw his error, when God hid His face, and he was troubled. Psa. 30:6. When our affairs prosper, and into our hands God bringeth plentifully, we must wait upon God as our great landlord, and our own obligations to Him; must beg His blessing on what we have, and His favour with it, and depend upon Him both for the continuance, and for the comfort of it. We must wait upon God for wisdom and grace, to use what we have in the world for the ends for which we are intrusted with it, as those that must give account, and know not how soon. And how much soever we have of this world, and how richly soever it is given us to enjoy it, still we must wait upon God for better things, not only than the world gies, but than He Himself gives in this world. Lord put me not off with this for a portion.

And when the world frowns upon us, and things go very cross, we must not so fret ourselves as its frowns, or so frighten ourselves with them, as thereby to be driven off from waiting on God, but rather let us thereby be driven to it. Afflictions are sent for this end, to bring us to the throne of grace, to teach us to pray, and to make the word of God's grace precious to us. In the days of our sorrow, we must wait upon God for those comforts which are sufficient to balance our grief; Job, when in tears, fell down and worshipped God, taking away, as well as giving. In the day of our fear we must wait upon God for those encouragements that are sufficient to silence our fears; Jehoshaphat, in his distress waited on God, and was not in vain, his heart was established by it; and so was David's often, which brought him to this resolution, which was an anchor to his soul, what time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.

4. Both in the days of youth, and in the days of old age, we must be found waiting on God. Those that are young cannot begin their attendance on God too soon: The child Samuel ministered to the Lord, and the scripture story puts a particular mark of honour upon it; and Christ was wonderfully pleased with the hosannas of the children that waited on Him, when He rode in triumph into Jerusalem: when Solomon in his youth, upon his succession to the throne, waited upon God for wisdom, it is said, the saying pleased the Lord. I remember thee (saith God to Israel) even the kindness of thy youth, when thou wentest after Me, and didst wait upon Me in a wilderness, Jer. 2:2. To wait upon God, is to be mindful of our Creator, and the proper time for that is in the days of our youth, Eccl. 12:1. Those that would wait upon God aright, must learn betimes to do it; the most accomplished courtiers are those that are bred at court.

And may the old servants of Jesus be dismissed from waiting on Him? No, their attendance is still required, and shall be still accepted: they shall not be cast off by their Master in the time of old age, and therefore let not them then desert His service. When through the infirmities of age they can no longer be working servants in God's family, yet they may be waiting servants. Those that like Barzillai are unfit for the entertainments of the courts of earthly princes, yet may relish the pleasures of God's courts as well as ever. The Levites when they were past the age of fifty, and were discharged from the toilsome part of their ministration, yet still must wait on God, must be quietly waiting, to give honour to Him, and to receive comfort from Him. Those that have done the will of God, and their doing work is at an end, have need of patience to enable them to wait till they inherit the promise: and the nearer the happiness is which they are waiting for, the dearer should the God be they are waiting on, and hope shortly to be with, to be with eternally.

Matthew Henry 

A Method for Prayer, pp. 206-209