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

What it is to Wait upon God (1)

...To wait on God is to live a life of desire towards Him, delight in Him, dependence on Him, and devotedness to Him.

A. It is to live a life of desire towards God; to wait on Him, as the beggar waits on his benefactor, with earnest desire to receive supplies from him; as the sick and sore in Bethesda’s pool, waited for the stirring of the water, and attended in the porches with desire to be helped in and healed. When the prophet had said, Lord, in the way of Thy judgments we have waited for Thee, he explained himself thus in the next words, the desire of our soul is to Thy name, and to the remembrance of Thee; and with my soul have I desired Thee, Isa. 26:8, 9. Our desire must be not only towards the good things that God gives, but towards God Himself, His favour and love, the manifestation of His name to us, an the influences of His grace upon us. Then we wait on God, when our souls pant after Him, and His favour, when we thirst for God, for the living God: O that I may behold the beauty of the Lord! O that I may taste His goodness! O that I may bear His image, and be entirely conformed to His will! For there is none in heaven or earth, that I can desire in comparison of Him. O that I may know Him more, and love Him better, and be brought nearer to Him, and made fitter for Him. Thus upon the wings of holy desire should our souls be still soaring upwards towards God, still pressing forwards, forwards towards heaven.

We must not only pray solemnly in the morning, but that desire which is the life and soul of prayer, like the fire upon the altar, must be kept continually burning, ready for the sacrifices that are to be offered upon it. The bent and bias of the soul in all its motions must be towards God, the serving of Him in all we do, and the enjoying of Him in all we have. And this is principally intended in the commands given to us to pray always, to pray without ceasing, to continue in prayer. Even when we are not making actual addresses to God, yet we must have habitual inclinations towards Him; as a man in health, though He is not always eating, yet has always a disposition in him towards the nourishments and delights of the body. Thus we must be always waiting on God, as our chief good, and moving towards Him.

B. It is to live a life of delight in God, as the lover waits on his beloved. Desire is love in motion, as a bird upon the wing; delight is love at rest, as a bird upon the nest; now though our desire must still be towards God, as that we must be wishing for more of God, yet our delight must be so in God, as that we must never wish for more than God. Believing Him to be a God all-sufficient, in Him we must be entirely satisfied; let Him be mine, and I have enough. Do we love to love God? It is a pleasure to us to think that there is a God, that He is such a one as He has revealed Himself to be, that He is our God by creation to dispose of us as He pleaseth, our God in covenant to dispose of all for the best to us; this is waiting on our God, always looking up to Him with pleasure.

Something or other the soul has that it values itself by, something or other it reposes itself in, and what is it? God of the world? What is it that we pride ourselves in? Which we make the matter of our boasting? It is the character of worldly people, that they boast themselves in the multitude of their riches, Psa. 49:6 and of their own might, and the power of their own hands, which they think has gotten them this wealth; it is the character of godly people, that in God they boast all the day long, Psa. 44:8. That is waiting on God; having our eye always upon Him with a secret complacency, as men have upon that which is their glory, and which they glory in.

What is it that we please ourselves with, which we embrace with the greatest satisfaction, in the bosom of which we lay our heads, and in having which we hug ourselves, as having all we would have: the worldly man when his barns are full of corn, saith, soul, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry; the godly man can never say so till he finds his heart full of God, and Christ; and grace; and then, return unto thy rest, O my soul, here repose thyself; the gracious soul dwells in God, is at home in Him, and there dwells at ease, is in Him perpetually pleased; and whatever he meets with in the world to make him uneasy, he finds enough in God to balance.

C. It is to live a life of dependence on God, as the child waits on his father, whom he ha confidence in, and on whom he casts all his care. To wait on God is to expect all good to come to us from Him, as the worker of all good for us, and in us, the giver of all good to us, and the protector of us from all evil. Thus David explains himself, Psa. 62:5 My soul wait thou only upon God, and continue still to do so, for my expectation is from Him, I look not to any other for the good I need; for I know that every creature is that to me, and no more than He makes it to be, and from Him every man’s judgment proceeds. Shall we lift up our eyes to the hills? Doth our help come from thence? Doth the dew that waters the valleys come no further, than from the tops of the hills? Shall we go higher, and lift up our eyes to the heavens, to the clouds? Can they of themselves give rain? No, if God hear not the heavens, they hear not the earth; we must therefore look above the hills, above the heavens, for all our help cometh from the Lord; it was the acknowledgment of a king, and no good one neither, if the Lord do no help thee, whence shall I help thee out of the the barn-floor, or out of the wine-press?

And our expectations from God as far as they are guided by, and grounded upon the word which He hath spoken, ought to be humbly confident and with a full assurance of faith. We must know and be sure, that no word of God shall fall to the ground, that the expectation of the poor shall not perish. Worldly people say to their gold, thou are my hope; and to the fine gold, thou art my confidence, and the rich man’s wealth is his strong city; but God is the only refuge and portion of the godly man here in the land of the living; it is to him only that he saith, and he saith it with a holy boldness, thou art my hope, and my confidence. The eyes of all things wait on Him; for He is good to all; but the eyes of His saints especially, for He is in a peculiar manner good to Israel, good to them. They know His name and therefore will trust, and triumph in Him, as those that know they shall not be made ashamed of their hope.

D. It is to live a life of devotedness to God, as the servant waits on his master, ready to observe His will, and to do His work, and in everything to consult His honour and interest.To wait on God, is entirely and unreservedly to refer ourselves to His wise and holy directions, and disposals, and cheerfully to acquiesce in them, and comply with them. The servant that waits on his master, chooseth not his own way, but follows his master step by step: thus we must wait on God, as those that have no will of our own, but what is wholly reserved into his; and must therefore study to accommodate ourselves to His. It is the character of the redeemed of the Lord, that they follow the Lamb wheresoever He goes, with an implicit faith and obedience. As the eyes of a servant are to the hand of his master, and the eyes of a maiden to the and of her mistress, so must our eyes wait on the Lord, to do what He appoints us, to take what He allots us; Father, Thy will be done; Master, Thy will be done.

The servant waits on his master, not only to do him service, but to do him honour;  and thus must we wait on God that we may be to Him for a name, and for a praise. His glory must be our ultimate end, to which we, and all we are, have, and can do, must be dedicated; we must wear His livery, attend in His courts, and follow His motions as His servant, for this end, that He may in all things be glorified.

Matthew Henry

A Method for Prayer, pp. 201-203

Waiting for God

18 MARCH

Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul. Psalm 109:20

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Isaiah 30:18-26

David did not rashly or unadvisedly utter curses against his enemies but strictly adhered to what the Spirit dictated. I acknowledge that many people pretend to have similar confidence and hope, but who nevertheless recklessly rush beyond the bounds of temperance and moderation. But what David beheld by the unclouded eye of faith, he also uttered  with the zeal of a sound mind; for, having devoted himself to the cultivation of piety under the protection of Gods hand, he was aware that the day was approaching when his enemies would experience the punishment they had earned.

We learn that David's trust was placed in God alone. He did not look to people to direct his course according to whether the world smiled or frowned upon him. We can be sure that whosoever places his dependence on people will find that the most trifling incident will annoy him.

Therefore, even if the whole world abandons us, we, like this holy man, should lift up our heads to heaven and look there for our defender and deliverer. If God intends to use human instruments for our deliverance, He will soon raise up people to accomplish that purpose. But if He chooses to try our faith by depriving us of all earthly assistance, we should not regard that as any negative reflection upon the glory of His name. Rather, we should wait until the proper time when God fully  makes known His decision in which we can calmly acquiesce.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: Patience in waiting for an answer to prayer, especially a prayer for deliverance, must be consciously cultivated if we are to avoid losing confidence in God and His ways. But while waiting is a challenge, the Spirit often uses it to teach us to look to heaven, not people, for deliverance. What lessons have you learned about the Lord or about yourself while waiting on Him in prayer?

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and Edited By Joel R. Beeke