Thirtieth-First Day.

WAITING ON GOD:

Only.

'My soul, wait thou only upon God;

For my expectation is from Him.

He only is my rock and my salvation.'—Isa. 62:5,6.

It is possible to be waiting continually on God, but not only upon Him; there may be other secret confidences intervening and preventing the blessing that was expected. And so the word only must come to throw its light on the path to the fulness and certainty of blessing. 'My soul, wait thou only upon God. He only is my Rock.'

Yes, 'My soul, wait thou only upon God.' There is but one God, but one source of life andhappiness for the heart; He only is my Rock; my soul, wait thou onlyupon Him. Thou 146 desirest to be good. 'There is none good but God,' and there is no possible goodness but what is received directly from Him. Thou hast sought to be holy: 'There is none holy but the Lord,' and there is no holiness but what He by His Spirit of holiness every moment breathes in thee. Thou wouldest live and work for God and His kingdom, for men and their salvation. Hear how He says, 'The Everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He “alone” fainteth not, neither is weary. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.' He only is God; He only is thy Rock: 'My soul, wait thou only upon God.'

'My soul, wait thou only upon God.' Thou will not find many who can help you in this. Enough there will be of thy brethren to draw thee to put trust in churches and doctrines, in schemes and plans and human appliances, in means of grace and divine appointments. But, 'My soul, wait thou only upon God Himself.' His most sacred appointments become a snare when trusted in. The brazen serpent becomes Nehushtan; the ark and the temple a vain confidence. Let the Living God alone, none and nothing but He, be thy hope.

147 'My soul, wait thou only upon God.' Eyes and hands and feet, mind and thought, may have to be intently engaged in the duties of this life; 'My soul, wait thou only upon God.' Thou art an immortal spirit, created not for this world but for eternity and for God. O, my soul! Realize thy destiny. Know thy privilege, and 'wait thou only upon God.' Let not the interest of religious thoughts and exercises deceive you; they very often take the place of waiting upon God. My soul, wait thou, thy very self, your inmost being, with all its power, 'wait thou only upon God.' God is for thee, thou art for God; wait only upon Him.

Yes, 'my soul, wait thou only upon God.' Beware of your two great enemies — the World and Self. Beware lest any earthly satisfaction or enjoyment, however innocent it appears, keep you back from saying, 'I will go to God, my exceeding joy.' Remember and study what Jesus says about denying self, 'Let a man deny himself.' Tersteegen says: 'The saints deny themselves in everything.' Pleasing self in little things may be strengthening it to assert itself in greater things. 'My soul, wait thou only upon God;' let Him be all your salvation and all your desire. Say continually and with an undivided heart, 'From Him comes my 148 expectation; He only is my Rock; I shall not be moved.' Whatever be thy spiritual or temporal need, whatever the desire or prayer of thy heart, whatever thy interest in connection with God's work in the Church or the world—in solitude or in the rush of the world, in public worship or other gatherings of the saints, 'My soul, wait thou only upon God.' Let your expectations be from Him alone. He only is your Rock.

'My soul, wait thou only upon God.' Never forget the two foundation-truths on which this blessed waiting rests. If ever you are inclined to think this 'waiting only' is too hard or too high, they will recall thee at once. They are: your absolute helplessness; and, the absolute sufficiency of thy God. Oh! enter deep into the entire sinfulness of all that is of self, and think not of letting self have anything to say one single moment. Enter deep into thy utter and unceasing impotence ever to change what is evil in thee, or to bring forth anything that is spiritually good. Enter deep into thy relation of dependence as creature on God, to receive from Him every moment what He gives. Enter deeper still into His covenant of redemption, with His promise to restore more gloriously than ever what thou hadst lost, and by His 149 Son and Spirit to give within you unceasingly, His actual divine Presence and Power. And thus wait upon your God continually and only.

'My soul, wait thou only upon God.' No words can tell, no heart conceive, the riches of the glory of this mystery of the Father and of Christ. Our God, in the infinite tenderness and omnipotence of His love, waits to be our Life and Joy. Oh, my soul! let it be no longer needed that I repeat the words, 'Wait upon God,' but let all that is in me rise and sing: 'Truly my soul waits upon God. On Thee do I wait all the day.'

'My soul, wait thou only upon God!'