Hast Thou Not? For even before conversion there is a kind of strength which does appear, and that also in reference to religion, and the duties of it, but it is not such a strength as any are to rest themselves contented with. (b)But a little time, and much time lost already. (2) Our manifold afflictions (Hebrews 12:5). But the prophet has a deeper thought than this. The Christian makes a hopeful start in his course of service when he clearly realises the spiritual security of his own position.2. "They shall mount up. Too soon the wings, like those of Icarus, melt, and we drop to mother earth again. Nature has its springs, and so has grace. When by faith the regenerated soul draws near to God, the earth appears to recede; all its objects are seen to be diminutive; and the realities of the heavenly state are perceived, and operate with power on the susceptible mind. In an indirect manner, then, this encouraging passage of Scripture reminds us of the cause of our spiritual declensions. If not, some other hope will be cherished, for not to hope is not to live. So a heaven-bound soul flies in company with God.(T. THE HIGHEST STRENGTH IS DERIVED FROM THE HIGHEST SERVICE.1. But the period comes when these youthful impulsions give place to the more restrained and disciplined energies of life, like those of the runner who has trained himself to maintain his pace, and to maintain it by not exceeding it. My soul! How much of meaning is couched in those two words, "My people!" Horton, D. D.)Strength for strengthT. Luther calls it: "The doctrine of a standing or a falling church," i.e., as a church holds fast and appropriates this doctrine she remains pure and firm, and as she departs from it, she becomes corrupt and falls. I may be very busy in connection with the Church of Christ and the advancement of the knowledge of Christ. If we trust and obey, obey and trust, we rise into a purer atmosphere, and have a clearer vision we live in the very presence of God. H. The figure of one flying through the heavens, coupled strangely with the promise of running without being wearied, represents the godly man as ever having courage to entertain great hopes. This sense of the word gives us another part of the character of those that wait upon the Lord. When love to God is ardent and constant in its exercise, then there is real strength. Howells.I. And the first thing that strikes us is the language used by the prophet language so far removed from mere formal expression. But how does He leave it? There is the eagle again keen-eyed and strong as before, but soaring now into the blue, bearing itself up on exultant wing, and gazing into the heavenly radiance! Did the prophet put this last in his brief summary because patience is one of those Christian graces that has its perfect work the latest?(J. But waiting on the Lord implies much more than this. If we hope for His interposition, we are to be diligent in the use of those means which He hath appointed, and to which He hath promised His blessing.II. Like all Gospels, THIS GOSPEL OF THE EXILE IS GOD'S. 3. All Videos Images Commentaries Devotionals Other Translations Sermons Related Scriptures Podcasts Blogs. How is this renewing influence, then, to be obtained? To wait upon God. In common daily duty we are to run in the ways of God's commandments; but the word is more frequently employed to denote some direct obedience to some special command. He receives strength to confess his sins to the God of truth from the hope of pardon founded on God's merciful promise.2. Enter your email address and we will send you a link to reset your password. Once more, if I am to wait upon the Lord aright I must study well what this word "wait" in itself implies. Therefore the prophet had suggested to Israel this thought, that "the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary." 2. By waiting on the Lord the stream flows into its appointed bed. How can you do it? There are divers things which we are liable to faint at, which yet the Scripture takes us off from fainting at. "They shall mount up with wings as eagles," is God's preliminary; for the next promise is, "They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint." Strength for to-day does not insure strength for to-morrow. Watch it a bit and down it comes again; the power has spent itself. The elements of this strength are (1) Faith, founded on Divine illumination. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. L. Cuyler, D. D.)Waiting on the LordC. New strength will come to us for all holy enterprise in proportion as we trust in God for results. What is the reason of all this? Among all the doctrines of our holy Christian faith, the doctrine of Justification by Faith alone, stands most prominent. The machinery of the steamship, the locomotive, or the factory may be perfect in itself, its parts exquisitely adjusted, and all ready for action; yet it is inoperative until the steam is generated and applied. 13. )Exhaustion and recoverySunday School Chronicle.1. 9. The prophet, by the omnipotence of God18. In point of comfort. After a brief general preface (Is. So it is in the spiritual life: we can make no provision of grace for the future; we are called to depend upon God day by day. Dickson, D. D.)Waiting on GodD. Spurgeon. Whilst troubled days and years go by, In stillness hushed from stir and strife, Within Thine Arms I lie. All things are possible to him that believeth. )The continued renewal of strengthR. 3), and more fully by St. Luke (Is. -- ISAIAH xl. He receives strength to confess his sins to the God of truth from the hope of pardon founded on God's merciful promise.2. But this is not true of all. Heavenly-mindedness. The more willing we are o wait upon God the better it is for us; for He pays for time and gives us the more because we have waited.(T. Such strength of rising as this can only come by closest communion with God. But how does God reveal Himself when He calls upon us to wait upon Him? Nor does it wait in vain. This sounds as if they were in danger of becoming weary and faint in their minds. One part was taken on by the engine to the higher end of the platform, the other and hinder remained where it was. Truth and holiness and right abide for ever. If we have failed, or have been foiled, God will put us on our feet again. (vers. A. Becoming weak as water, he shall not excel (Genesis 49:4).2. )Waiting upon the LordJ. That word "become," in the new version, is full of deep meaning in this connection. "They that wait upon the Lord SHALL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH." And this is true to life" "They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run; they shall walk." In vain all my lonely musing, in vain all my bustle in the kingdom of Christ, if consistency of daily life does not accompany the whole. Then the engine and carriages of the detached front part of the train came back and all were coupled up. Anderson. xl. There is something very grand in these august and mysterious voices which call one to another in the opening verses of this chapter. Although every degree of spiritual strength is a precious possession, and we are not permitted "to despise the day of small things," yet it is the duty and privilege of every believer to aim at high attainments in the Divine life, and to encourage and aid others in doing the same. And the man who waits upon God enters into that eternal calm and blessedness.(F. In the power to endure it. He will come. --The Setting up of Idols a Defection from the True God. "(5) The only other ingredient of spiritual strength is zeal, zeal according to knowledge. Our spiritual strength seems to include chiefly three things 1. Our whole future is mapped out with tests and trials, but we need not be afraid of these things if we are in the stream of the Divine supply. 3. "He is Faithful that Promised." Halsey.The spiritual teaching of this verse is, that for all the stages and moods of our life-pilgrimage Heaven's grace is available and sufficient.(J. There is no need for the word of inspiration to tell us that you can begin with a big inspiration and go on fast for a time, and then slow down to the ordinary tramp. )Strength of soul made perfect by hope in GodW. )Mounting up; running; walkingF. H. GerberdingThe Way of Salvation in the Lutheran ChurchThe Humble Worship of Heaven. They shall grow more steady and established in religion. So it is possible for the Christian to be moving on by a power that very soon expends itself, and by a process of exhaustion he falls back again under the gravitating influence of his evil tendencies. But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. In the weary pilgrimage which they have to finish, in the sore warfare in which they are engaged, He will strengthen and uphold them. And for them, too, the promise holds good, "They shall renew their strength, they shall walk and not faint." (1) The first typifies lofty aspiration and heroic action. L. Wiseman, B. A. At a certain junction the train by which I was travelling was divided into two parts. And the first thing that strikes us is the language used by the prophet language so far removed from mere formal expression. Whilst troubled days and years go by, In stillness hushed from stir and strife, Within Thine Arms I lie. On the other hand, Divine strength never fails. They wait His time, acquiesce in His methods. This reputation led to his being called to the Central Church, Chicago, in which he succeeded Dr. David Swing, and where from the first he attracted audiences completely filling one of the largest auditoriums in Chicago. Who, then, shall give wings to a heavy laden sinner, strong enough to sustain him in his upward flight? I. Thank God for the flying stage while it lasts, for we do get visions in those flights that abide with us long after our wings have dropped off, and we have learned that the ether is not our element; visions whose memory helps to cheer us as hereafter we trudge along the monotonous and dusty ways of life's hard routine. With glowing ardour and intense enthusiasm these elect souls go forth on this service, seeking to establish a knowledge of the true God, urging the heathen to accept the light they enjoy, and sharing with them as proselytes the peace and prosperity, brought by truth and righteousness. WHAT IS MEANT BY WAITING UPON THE LORD? II. S. Plumptre, M. A.I. Dickson, D. D.I. When we have done flying, we go on running. A. )Strength helping weaknessF. He never is weary. But, in order to obtain aid from on high, we must make use of the appointed and appropriate means. Let us not be impatient of them. 25-29). Among all the names that reveal God, this, the "God of all comfort," seems to me one of the loveliest and the most absolutely comforting. The man of God, the man who waits on God, is equal to any emergency, is equal to any strength. Free shipping for many products! It is far easier for some of us to run than to walk. WHAT IS THE ISSUE OF SUCH WAITING UPON GOD? )The Christian's walkJ. who can bring life out of decay? )Untiring progressF. 13. (1) There are some cases and conditions, especially wherein a Christian has most need of having his strength renewed unto him; as, against a new service; against some new temptation and conflict with Satan; against some new trial and affliction. Rapid progress. In the power to endure it. 3 I'd part with all the joys of sense To gaze upon thy throne; Pleasure springs fresh for ever thence, Unspeakable, unknown. )Life's order and the Divine sufficiencyJ. Once more, the Christian is prompted to strenuous and persevering action by the appeal made to his desires. Who does not know the temptations of reaction, and the days when the lights burn low?2. The prophet, by the omnipotence of God18. All men are influenced and governed by some kind of faith; but worldly men have no true faith in things spiritual and invisible. God is opposed to idols, that all may know he is the only fit witness to himself. The guiding God: or the picture of the leading. This is that which does for the most part extend itself to the outside and form of religion. Xl. True piety has no greater enemy than fanaticism, which some are so undiscriminating as to confound with the fervours of true religion. It is a grand thing that there is one time in our lives when we have wings. When love to God is ardent and constant in its exercise, then there is real strength. But when the Holy Spirit enters into any man, his thoughts and affections are raised to those things which are above. To speak of a man as able to strengthen himself, so as to dispense with Divine aid, is as unreasonable as it is unscriptural As well might you talk of a leafless tree clothing itself with verdure without the vernal sun as well of an enfeebled body recovering tone and energy without the reviving air of heaven. All things are possible to him that believeth. Horton, D. D.)Waiting in patienceT. Our burdens become more than we can bear. SPIRITUAL STRENGTH, HOW IS IT TO BE OBTAINED? Our utter impotence. "Mount up with wings as eagles." Our Lord refers to a similar thought in John 4:14, "The water that I shall give him shall become in him." This leads us to notice the three degrees of moral and spiritual activity presented to us in the figurative language of the prophet:. But such seasons of elevated devotion and delightful contemplation are not constant. 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