WAITING AT WISDOM'S GATES
John Gadsby, 1843
"Blessed is the man who hears Me, watching daily at My
gates, waiting at the posts of My doors" (Proverbs 8:34). In the Scriptures,
no more than two classes of people are declared to be in the world. The one
class is called "the blessed of the Lord," and the other "the cursed of the
Lord," or "the people of God's curse."
This latter class contains all the "vessels of wrath
fitted to destruction"; all "the generation that are pure in their own eyes,
and yet are not washed from their filthiness"; all the "generation of vipers
that cannot escape the damnation of hell"; in short, all "whose names are
not written in the Lamb's book of life," who are not among those whom Jesus
has "redeemed unto God out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and
nation."
The former class, to which the characters spoken of in
the text belong, contains all who are "chosen by God the Father in Christ
before the foundation of the world, that they should be holy and without
blame before Him in love"; all whom He "predestinated to the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His
will, to the praise of the glory of His grace wherein He has made them
accepted in the Beloved; in whom they have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:3-7); all
whom the Lord the Spirit "quickens into spiritual and eternal life" (Eph.
2:1); and all to whom Jehovah says, "I have loved you with an everlasting
love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you" (Jer. 31:3).
Of both these classes, or of the characters which make up
these two distinct families, the Holy Spirit has given in His Word plain and
striking descriptions. He has drawn their likenesses with His Divine and
unerring hand, and has clearly separated the sheep from the goats, "the
chaff from the wheat," and "the precious from the vile." In the text we have
exhibited to us the portrait of a blessed character, an heir of God, and a
joint-heir with Christ. His features are drawn from the life by the Spirit
of life with the pencil of Divine Truth, and happy are we if we can trace
any of these features in the fleshy tables of our hearts, and discover any
conformity to the image of Jesus in our souls. May it be our happiness to
feel that we are of the "blessed of the Lord," while attending to the
description of the blessed man of whom Wisdom speaks. May "the light of
life" shine upon the Word, and shine into our hearts, that although we may
only see through a glass darkly, we may be enabled to hear the still small
voice of the Lord saying to our souls, "Unto you is the word (and power) of
this salvation sent."
"Blessed is the man who hears Me, watching daily at My
gates, waiting at the posts of My doors."
The first thing to be attended to in endeavoring to enter
into these words, is to understand who is the speaker. By the context
we find that it is one whose name is "Wisdom," one who is holy, omniscient,
omnipotent, and eternal; one who was "before all things, and by whom all
things consist"; who, from everlasting, "from the beginning, before the
earth was, was with the Lord, as one brought up by Him; who was daily His
delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in the habitable parts of
His earth, and having His delights with, or His affections set upon, the
sons of men." In short, the speaker in my text is clearly the same with Him
of whom it is written, "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and
the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace" (Isaiah 9:6): "Christ, the power of God and the Wisdom of God unto
them which are called both Jews and Greeks" (1 Cor. 1:24).
Now this Divine, almighty, and all-wise Person is the
promised Prophet of whom Moses wrote—Jehovah the Redeemer, who teaches those
whom He calls to profit, and leads them in the way wherein they should go.
He is here exhibited to us as a wise and affectionate mother, in which
character He was well known to His people (Isaiah 49:15; 66:13), giving
instruction to her children, and encouraging them to be "patient continuance
in well-doing." Immanuel Jesus, says to all the elect family, "Hearken unto
Me, you children; for blessed are those who keep My ways, Hear instruction
and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that hears Me, watching
daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors."
By none but those who esteem themselves to be "fools" and
"simple ones" is the teaching of Wisdom really valued. The wise and prudent
of this world, the self-sufficient Pharisees, the unhumbled professor of the
Gospel, agree in despising and counting it as a thing of nothing. But Wisdom
makes all her blessed children to know and feel their great need of her
Divine instruction; she causes them to hear her voice, and to turn at her
reproof; she pours out her Spirit unto them, and makes known to them her
words (Proverbs 1:23); the entrance (or opening) of which gives light and
understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130). But does Wisdom speak with an
audible voice? Can the ears of the body catch the sound, and the natural
understanding comprehend her words? No! Wisdom's voice is audible only to
the new creature, which hears it in the impressions that she makes upon the
heart, and in the mysterious leadings of her providence. It is "with the
heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation." "When You said, Seek My face, my heart said unto You, Your
face, Lord, will I seek."
But when may a man be said to have heard the voice of
Wisdom? When does he give evidence of having received her Divine
impressions, her heavenly and powerful operations, through the Spirit, in
his heart? When a man is made to feel that he is in the hand of the holy,
just, and sin-avenging Jehovah, against whom he has sinned; when his
transgressions and iniquities are set before him in the light of God's
countenance; when he feels himself to be justly condemned (by the law which
he has broken) to the second death, and to the endurance of the wrath of God
forever and ever. When the depravity, deceitfulness, and desperate
wickedness of his heart is discovered to him, and he is left to cry in the
bitterness of his soul, "Woe is me, for I am undone; for I am a man of
unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my
eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty"; when, like the leper, he covers
his lip, and goes forth crying, "Unclean, unclean," and puts his mouth in
the dust, if so be, there may be hope; when like Hezekiah, he turns his face
to the wall, and weeps sore in secret before the Lord; when a sense of his
darkness, ignorance, impotency, and unprofitableness, makes him cry "O Lord,
I am oppressed, undertake for me"; when he finds all human cisterns to be
broken, and that vain is the help of man; when he feels that he is shut up
and cannot come forth; when a strong conviction of the ability of Jesus to
save and heal him is in his heart, and he cries unto Him to deliver him from
going down to the pit; when nothing short of the Lord the Spirit's
application of the love, blood, and righteousness of Jesus to his heart and
conscience will satisfy him; and the spirit of grace and supplication is
poured out upon him, enabling him to pour out his soul before God, to
acknowledge the iniquity of his transgression, to sue for mercy, to beg for
pardon, teaching, wisdom, light, and power, and to crave for one smile, one
look of love, one word from Christ's lips, more than for his necessary food.
I say, when he has experienced these things, he has heard more than the
voice of natural conscience; more than the word of man; more than the letter
of the oracles of truth. He has heard the voice of the Lord, which is
powerful and full of majesty, that breaks the cedars in Lebanon, and makes
the hinds to calve.
As one who was dead and in his grave, he has heard the
voice of the Son of God, and has been quickened by Him (John 5:25). He has
heard the words of Wisdom: her voice has sounded in his soul, and has
produced this wonderful change; and to him these words now apply, "The ear
that hears the reproof of Wisdom shall abide among the wise." Happy, says
Wisdom, is the man that is in such a state; yes, "Blessed is the man that
hears Me."
Again. When he who has climbed in over the wall, that has
taken up a profession of religion without feeling its power, whose religion
has hitherto been "feeding upon ashes," and who has never known the strait
gate and narrow way, is awakened by the solemn feeling that "that which is
born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit,
and that except a man be born from above, he cannot see or enter into the
kingdom of God"; when the sluggard awakens from his slumber, and the man
that was asleep upon the top of the mast has his eyes opened to see his
danger, and his heart and mouth opened to implore assistance, when the
Spirit Jehovah has blown upon the bosom, and all its glory withers away;
when natural knowledge of Divine truth, formal prayer, mock spirituality,
feigned love, and presumptuous confidence become "a heap and desperate
sorrow"; when examining himself whether he be in the faith, and trying
himself by the test of God's Word, his faith is found to stand not in the
power of God, but in the wisdom of man, his hope to be a false one, his love
only fleshly and excited feelings, his zeal a spark from the fire of his own
kindling, his wisdom folly; when he sees Tekel written upon his forehead and
he trembles lest he should be lost after all his profession; when he cannot
find that God has begun a good work in him, and yet lifts up his voice and
entreats the Lord to have mercy upon him, and lead him in the way
everlasting; when his spirit is broken with grief and sorrow, his strength
has failed him and is gone, his beauty is turned into corruption, his sweet
smell becomes a stink, and his girdle a rent; when, under these feelings, he
is constrained to sit alone and keep silence, to separate from those he once
walked with, and to esteem those to be the excellent of the earth that he
once despised; when he feels the vanity of all teaching but Divine teaching,
the folly of all wisdom which comes not from "the Spirit of Wisdom," and the
abomination of all religion that is not planted in the heart by God's own
hand; when he besieges the throne of grace with fervent petitions that he
may not go on deceiving and being deceived, but that he may know the only
true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent; that he may have godly sorrow
bestowed upon him, to work in his soul repentance not to be repented of; and
that he may have the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom, put into
his heart, with faith, hope, and love, a tender conscience, godly sincerity,
truth, uprightness, meekness, and humility. Then he may be said to have
heard the still small voice of Wisdom, to have heard her rod, and who has
appointed it. He has then the features of a "blessed" man; "Blessed is the
man that hears Me."
But there are other ways in which the blessed man hears
the voice of Wisdom. "My people," says the Lord, "are bent to backsliding."
And there is no blessed man who is not sensible of the truth of this
declaration. Wisdom speaks to her backsliding children, and makes them know
that they have committed two evils: in forsaking her, the fountain of living
waters, and hewing out to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, which can
hold no water. Thus, when he who has backslidden in heart from Wisdom's
ways, who has got entangled in the snares of his sinful heart, the world
that lies in wickedness and the father of lies; when he who has "mingled
himself among the people," and has become as "a cake not turned," unsavory
to the world, and burdensome to the church, lukewarm, carnal, and careless;
when he to whom neither heavenly things nor earthly things afford
satisfaction; when he who has not heart for the former, and is condemned and
unhappy in the latter; when such a one begins to feel the error of his way,
to bemoan himself, to look upwards, and confess his sin to the Lord; to
loathe himself and to cry "Turn me, and I shall be turned"; to long for the
snare in which he is held to be broken, to be enabled once more to feel the
Lord to be near; to be permitted to draw near unto Him without alarm,
weariness, or aversion; to walk in His ways, to rejoice in His smiles, and
to tremble at His frowns; to delight himself in God, to seek His glory; when
he "accepts the punishment of his iniquity," "smarts under his wounds,"
groans under his hardness, roars like a bear, and mourns sore like a dove;
when he is brought to lie in the dust, covered with shame, and is sometimes
a little cheered by a word of encouragement for a moment resting upon his
drooping spirit, producing softness, contrition, self-abasement, and greater
desire to be permitted to touch the hem of Wisdom's garment; when his
conscience no longer lets him do violence to it without striking "a dart
through his liver," and every backward step adds "grief to his sorrow"; when
he is constrained to attend to and to obey the commands that are laid upon
his heart, although it mortifies his pride and debases him in the sight of
man so to do; when, though his prayer seems to be shut out from the Lord,
and a cloud is upon the Throne of Grace, he yet calls, cries, and shouts,
nor can give Wisdom any rest until she hears and answers; then he hears her
voice, and Wisdom, sooner or later, makes him feel that "blessed is the man
that hears" her.
Thus, then, Wisdom's voice is heard in conviction of sin,
in the breaking down and rooting up of false religion, and in the convincing
of the backslider that his ways are crooked and bitter. But has she no voice
to declare where are her footsteps in providence, and her ways in love,
mercy, grace, and faithfulness? Has this gentle, affectionate, and wise
mother no kind words for her children, no promises, no consolations for her
burdened and mourning family? She has! She does not use the rod alone; she
does not only wound, kill, and bring down; she has words of healing, words
of restoring, words of deliverance, words of gracious instruction, of tender
faithfulness. In providential trials she often causes her blessed children
to feel and confess that there was a needs-be for the affliction. She calls
them to her feet, to make known their wants, and puts words into their
hearts that they may plead with her and prevail. The blessed Spirit
enlightens their eyes to see her smiles in the parting of the clouds, and
sometimes to discern her good will where, to reason, there is no trace of
it.
Many have found, and still find, that seasons of temporal
calamity are made by Wisdom, the way of entrance to her chambers, and the
way of approach to her bosom. Greater nearness to her, more dependence upon
her almighty arm, more confidence in her mercy and goodness, a deeper sense
of her power to deliver, and of the fullness of her blessed words, are more
frequently found in adversity than were felt in prosperity. Something
secret, but strong, keeps the blessed man looking to his gentle mother for
help and protection, something causes him to take shelter under her
outspread wings; and although unbelief would sink him with despondency,
something is communicated to him which holds him up, and constrains him to
say, "I will trust You, though You slay me." He believes that he will be
extricated from his difficulty, but how, he cannot tell. He feels that he
cannot fall, but he sees not how he can stand. He believes that assistance
will be afforded but he cannot guess from what quarter it will come. Here he
often hangs, like a balance blown upon by the winds; sometimes the scale of
faith and hope is the more weighty, and sometimes that of fear and doubt.
And thus he is kept, until Wisdom suddenly comes to her temple, and causes
her voice to be heard in the deliverance which she brings.
Wisdom can speak by an angel; by the ravens and brook; by
a prophet; by fire from Heaven; by preserving her children unhurt in the
flames; by shutting the mouths of the lions; by slaying Goliath by the hand
of a stripling, armed with a sling and a stone; by multiplying the loves and
fishes; by restoring the sick child to health; by opening the eyes of the
blind, making the lame man to leap as a deer, and the tongue of the dumb to
sing. Wisdom never lacks for means, nor can any deafness prevent her voice
from being heard when she deigns to speak. Sweet is her voice to those who
hear it; powerful is her arm unto those in whose behalf it is revealed;
loving is her heart to those that lie near her bosom; and full of
consolation are her breasts to those whom she causes to seek and be
satisfied therewith.
Wisdom's voice, then, drives fear away and brings comfort
and thankfulness, in providential things; and does it not effect the same in
spiritual concerns? Yes! Here too she speaks; here is she heard. When bowed
down under an accumulation of guilt, sin, and misery, and the soul is faint
within, because Wisdom has so long kept silence, and has seemed inattentive
to the groaning and sighing of the prisoner; when fears of destruction are
many, and the cable is strained to the utmost, and seems just ready to snap
and sever the vessel from the anchor by which it is held; then does Wisdom
speak, then her "fear not" is heard; then does she sprinkle her
peace-speaking blood upon the guilty conscience, or give power to the faint,
to lay hold upon some merciful declaration, gracious invitation, or cheering
promise. She speaks away all the guilt, and fills the soul with peace and
joy in believing, or helps it with a little help, and strengthens it with a
little strength, as she sees good.
To some she speaks with more, and to some with less
power. Some hear her voice of love and mercy frequently and clearly, and
some rarely and faintly. But all her children do hear her voice, and
experience, in measure and degree, the blessedness of her words to the
weary, heavy-laden, destitute, guilty, and forlorn. Some hear it on their
knees, and some when walking by the way and conversing or meditating on the
things pertaining to salvation. Some hear it under the preached Word, and
some in reading the Word. Some hear it in a text applied verbatim, and some
in the substance of a text gradually distilling its dew upon the soul. But
in whatever degree or in whatever way Wisdom's voice is heard, the like
effects are produced, the like spices flow out; sensible relief, grace,
mercy, and goodness are felt, which lead the soul to repentance; brokenness
of heart, humility, and abasement of self are found; the sinner is brought
low, and the Savior is exalted; the creature lies in the dust, and the
Creator fills the throne; unbelief is silenced, and faith is heard; pride is
stained, and a meek and lowly spirit is put on; fear and torment are cast
out, and love is shed abroad in the heart; Christ is All and in all, and the
creature is nothing. O blessed is the man who hears this voice, who has come
to the blood of sprinkling, which speaks better things than that of Abel;
for says Wisdom, "Blessed is the man who hears Me." None but the blessed
long to hear this voice; they alone hear Wisdom speaking, in reproofs and
pardon, in chastisement and mercy, in darkness and in light, in sorrow and
in consolation, in warnings and in promises, in death and in life.
But another thing is said of the blessed man. He does
more than hear Wisdom's voice: he watches at Wisdom's gates. "Blessed is the
man who hears Me, watching daily at my gates" (Proverbs 8:34). And
what are these gates at which the blessed man watches? By Wisdom's gates I
understand those places where Wisdom speaks by those whom she calls her
maidens—ministers called and taught by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation
in the knowledge of Christ. Among the Jews, counsels were held in the gates
of the city; causes were heard and decided, and judgment was given; the
oppressors were condemned, and the oppressed were delivered; property was
redeemed, and contracts were entered into.
So, also, in Wisdom's gates, where Wisdom presides and
speaks, teaches and directs, these things spiritually, are done, and
heavenly business is transacted. At her gates she assembles and gathers
together her children, to speak to them and to give them good counsel. Here
she reveals the secrets of their hearts; passes judgment upon what is false
and evil; takes away their rotten props; drives them out of their refuges of
lies; exposes the deceit of their hearts; opens them to receive the truth,
and to attend unto the things that are spoken by her; brings redemption into
the soul; saves it from the oppressor, from the delusions of Satan, and the
accusations of conscience; and sweetly reveals her pardon and peace. Here
she strengthens the weak hands, and confirms the feeble knees; comforts the
distressed, satiates the longing soul; fills the empty soul with good
things; opens blind eyes, unstops deaf ears, circumcises the heart; and
makes the lame to leap as a deer, and the tongue of the dumb to sing. Here
righteous judgment is given; a true balance is held, and right and just
weights are put therein; and the Lord is known to be a God of judgments, by
whom actions are weighed.
These are the gates of righteousness, the gates of
Wisdom; and here the righteous resort, and here the blessed man "watches."
Yes, he watches. He does not go out of form or custom, or merely to hear a
fine orator, or to satisfy conscience. No; he watches. As the criminal on
the gallows watches and strains his eyes, looking to the skirts of the crowd
and to the distant hills, if perhaps he may see the messenger of mercy,
dispatched from the king's presence with the wished-for reprieve; as the
sick patient anxiously looks toward the door, in expectation of the
far-famed physician; as the shipwrecked mariner watches the dim spot in the
horizon, in hopes it may prove to be a sail approaching for his deliverance;
as the suitor watches the face of him to whom he presents his petition; or
the beggar the opening of the gate in hopes of receiving an alms; even so
does the blessed man watch at Wisdom's gates. He watches for some token for
good, some message of peace, some sweet consolation; some sensible and
powerful manifestation of love and freedom, mercy and grace; some
interpretation of his case, and unraveling of his dark and difficult
experience; some light on his path, some crumbs from the bread of life, some
shinings and beams from the Sun of righteousness; some instruction in
righteousness, some promise of good things; some proof that his spots are
the spots of God's children, that he is not deceived, that he is in the way
of life, and that he is among the jewels of the Lord.
He watches attentively, he longs earnestly, for these
blessings. He goes to Wisdom's gates in hopes of hearing glad tidings; of
being filled and rejoiced, of having pardon and peace sealed in his heart;
of hearing Wisdom's voice, seeing her arm revealed, feeling her healing
power—not to have his judgment only informed, but to have his heart
affected; not to be seen of man, but to see the Lord's face and to have the
light of His countenance lifted up upon him. Thus he watches at Wisdom's
gates, in expectation of seeing and receiving from her hands a good and
perfect gift.
"Blessed is the man who hears Me, who watches daily
at my gates." The blessed man is said to attend daily, to hear and watch
for Wisdom. Thus these blessed watchers watch daily, and wait for some hope,
some comfort, some promise, some light and blessing from Wisdom. They are
found at Wisdom's gates as often as they open, and they are able to come.
There is no need to exhort them to go there. They require no entreaties.
They are hungry and want food; needy and poor, and want to be enriched;
naked, and want clothing; cold, and want to be warmed; miserable, and want
to be comforted; guilty, and want to be pardoned. They do not mind walking a
few miles to hear the Word, for the desire of their soul is towards it. They
endure affliction, and watch continually, sometimes with more, and sometimes
with less fervor.
Those who are very unlike Wisdom's watching children can
be kept from hearing and watching because the road is long and rough, the
weather cold or damp, or because some trifling obstacle is in the way. But
observe the word "My": "who watches daily at My gates." "My sheep
hear My voice, and a stranger they will not follow," says Christ. Thus
blessed hearers and blessed watchers cannot sit under a legal or dry
doctrinal ministry, in which Wisdom's voice is not heard, and be satisfied
therewith. Though they would feign fill their belly with the husks which the
swine eat, they cannot. It will not do for them; they must "eat good grain,
its chaff having been blown away" (Isaiah 30:24). They cannot sit under a
dead minister who exalts the creature, and exhorts him to do, what he feels
he cannot do; for he has "the sentence of death" in himself, that he should
not trust in himself (2 Cor. 1:9).
The blessed hearers and watchers will never be content
with a legal preacher, or a dry though correct letter preacher. They want
power, unction, experience, interpretation of their cases, and to have the
footsteps of the flock (Song. 1:8) traced out, that they may go forth their
way by them. There are thousands who are very attentive and regular at their
churches and chapels, are very fond of being there early, and never miss
when the doors are open, who are far from being among the number of the
blessed hearers and watchers—for they can hear and watch like strangers,
which blessed hearers and watchers cannot do. They can delight in the gates
of Satan, transformed into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14); but blessed
hearers and watchers can approve of Wisdom's gates only.
"Blessed is the man who hears Me, who watches daily at My
gates, who waits at the posts of My doors." Here is another mark of a
blessed man: he waits at the posts of Wisdom's doors. But what are those
doors? A door is that which we pass through to obtain entrance into a house,
chamber, or private enclosure, and is the only lawful and proper inlet to
those who come in a direct and blessed way. The Lord Jesus said of Himself,
"I am the door" implying that none can enter into the fold, or bond of the
covenant, but through Him. They must not only have a sight of Him afar off,
but in experience or nearness to and entry into Him, before they can, as His
sheep, lie down and feed in the fold of the covenant of grace, and delight
themselves in God's everlasting, electing, redeeming, renewing, and
preserving love.
Christ is Himself the Covenant, as it is said in Isaiah
42:6; and He is one of the Divine Covenaters (Zech. 9:11). In Him are hidden
all the covenant stores of wisdom and knowledge, salvation and
righteousness, mercy and truth, peace and life. Therefore, the soul that
would enjoy these blessings must have more than a letter knowledge of them.
He must handle and enjoy, taste and feast; and this he cannot do until, by
the blessed Spirit, he has such a revelation of Jesus as to assure him he is
"a man in Christ." The blessed man, who hears Wisdom, and watches at her
gates, at which are laid up all manner of precious fruits (Song. 7:13),
knows and feels this; he has such a savor of the preciousness which Jesus is
and has in Himself, that he pants after the enjoyment thereof. He is not
content to "go about Zion" and to "mark her walls and bulwarks," as
thousands are; but he wants to find an entrance into Zion, to be brought
into the citadel of safety, and the banqueting house of love, and therefore
his eyes are up unto the Lord (Psalm 123:1, 2).
He is "looking unto Jesus" (Heb. 12:2), and waiting with
anxiety and longing desires, in hope that He will put forth His hand, and
take him in to Him, as Noah put forth his hand, and took into the ark the
dove which had been fluttering over the waste of waters and drowned bodies,
and could find no rest for the sole of her foot; not being able to rest on
that which had destroyed so many, nor on the corruption which floated on
every side.
He waits and knocks also at the posts of the doors of
love, mercy, and salvation. He knows what they are in the letter, and has
sometimes had glimpses and rays of the Sun of righteousness darting through
them into his soul. He has been very near the free enjoyment of what his
soul desires, even at "the posts." But he wants more than this: he wants to
find an entrance into the doors, by assurance entering into him. He wants
the witness of the Spirit, and the love of God shed abroad in his heart by
the Holy Spirit. For these he begs and knocks, with sighs and groans, and
hungerings and thirstings. Sometimes he fears the doors will never be opened
to him, he is so vile and foul, unbelieving and hardhearted. He sees there
is a "door of faith" (Acts 14:27) and a "door of hope" (Hosea 2:15), and
hears that they are opened to waiting and troubled souls in the wilderness
(Hosea 2:14). But he must have more than hearing these things as truths and
blessed realities: he must enjoy and enter into them as such.
Now such a waiter has faith in Christ; but it is only
like a drop of oil under the muddy water, which is struggling to rise to the
top, or like cork caught in the seaweeds and held down thereby. Though it is
in its nature to rise and ascend, it cannot. He has, then, faith to believe
his need of these things, and to cry to the dear Lord to open to him, to let
him in. He has faith and hope sufficient to keep him knocking and calling
for admission; like a storm-beaten and shivering traveler at the door of an
inn, the keeper whereof is in bed and asleep, and who, if he hears his
voice, appears not inclined to rise and open to him. He waits for God to
enable him to receive "the end of his faith, the salvation of his soul" (1
Peter 1:9); to convince him that he has "faith of the operation of God"
(Col. 2:12). He cannot conclude that he has true faith, and that his is a
good hope through grace (2 Thess. 2:16), until he can feel thereby assured
he is elected, and born of God.
False professors, who are left-hand goats and not
right-hand sheep, and so never hear the voice of Wisdom, get into the full
assurance of faith very easily. Nothing is more simple to them. They say,
"you have only to believe." But only to believe is as impossible to Wisdom's
waiting children, as for them to grasp the whole sky with their hands, or to
lay hold upon and enter into the sun. They feel their helplessness,
weakness, unbelief, darkness, and blindness. They are like wayfaring men,
who, although they may perchance be in the right way, cannot be assured
thereby, because all behind and before, above and around them, is thick
darkness; and they know not where they are, and are afraid to proceed, or go
backwards lest they should fall into a bog or pit, or over a precipice; but
they call and shout, in hopes of being heard and directed in the way. They
stand still, and wait and watch for the break of day, for the light to visit
them.
Thus Wisdom's watching, waiting children feel what David
was experiencing when he said, "O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be
attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O
Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are
feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more
than watchmen wait for the morning" (Psalm 130:2-6). Now a soul in this
state is a "blessed" soul. He is a wise son; an heir of God, and a
joint-heir together with Christ. Though under tutors and governors until the
time appointed by the Father (Gal. 4:2), yet is he a true son, and not a
bastard (Heb. 12:8); although he is but at the posts of Wisdom's doors,
holding on by only a little hope, a little strength, a little light, a
something which will not let him give up watching, but which keeps him
looking for the morning, for the day-star to arise in his heart (2 Peter
1:19), and the Sun of righteousness with healing in his wings (Mal. 4:2), he
is manifestly, though not to himself, one of God's children; yes, though he
is like the chapped ground, which, parched with the droughts of summer,
cleaves into deep fissures, and can only open its many mouths, and gape for
the refreshing and reviving rain. For it is the blessed Spirit who has
taught him that without Jesus he can do nothing; and that has made him open
his mouth wide, that He might fill it (Psalm 81:10).
He may wait long, and seemingly in vain; but in the set
time (Psalm 102:13) God will pour water upon him who is thirsty, and floods
upon the dry ground (Isaiah 44:3). He will show him that He has set before
him an open door, and no man can shut it (Rev. 3:8), while like Hannah, he
speaks and prays only in his heart (1 Sam. 1:13). God hears the voice of
trembling, of fear, and not of peace (Jer. 30:5). Wisdom sees him at the
posts of her doors, though he cannot see that. Wisdom observes and cares for
him. Wisdom will keep him watching as long as it is good for him, but not a
moment longer.
There is a "set time to favor Zion," and it cannot be
hastened nor retarded. The vision, says the Lord, is for an appointed time,
but at the end it shall speak, and not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it;
because it will surely come, it will not tarry (Hab. 2:3). Those who, like
Simeon, are found waiting for the consolation of Israel (Luke 2:25), like
Simeon will, before the earthly house of their tabernacle be dissolved, be
blessed with holding their Savior in the arms of their faith, and will be
enabled to say, "Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, according to
Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation" (Luke 2:28-30).
Thus a waiting soul is a blessed soul. "Blessed is
(not shall be) the man who hears Me, who watches daily at My gates, who
waits at the posts of My doors." He is a saved soul, though he cannot say my
God and my Savior. He is not blessed because he hears, and watches and
waits; but because he is blessed, therefore a hearing, watching and waiting
spirit is given him. Patience is the fruit of the Spirit, and the Spirit
puts forth no fruits but in elect souls. He who groans within himself,
waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body (that is, who
waits until he shall be brought into the full enjoyment of the redemption of
his body, which is redeemed as well as his soul; or who waits, longing to be
rid of his body of death and corruption; who waits, desiring to be freed
from sin, and to enjoy the full fruition of the adoption of the sons of
God), is a blessed man (Romans 8:23).
And so is the man who, though sorely oppressed and cast
down, is not destroyed, nor bereft of hope, nor able to consent to evil, but
endures temptation (James 1:12). "Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord"
(Psalm 128:1). "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted, etc., etc.
(Matt 5:3-12).
Now in some one or more of these states all who are born
of God are found; and all such though differing in the depth of their
feelings and experience, are blessed persons, and hear Wisdom (not the mere
words of man), nor or taken up with fine, empty oratory; not hear this or
that good man, for Wisdom says "Blessed is that man who hears Me, who
watches (not lounges listlessly) daily at My gates, who waits at the posts
of My doors." Happy, blessed man that waits in the spirit for Jesus! God
says he is blessed. He has blessed him, and none can curse him; neither
Satan, nor the law, nor sin, nor man. Blessed is everyone who blesses him,
and cursed is he who curses him. God will never be tired, however long the
time may be to the watching, hearing soul. He may fear he will be cut off,
but God declares He will preserve and keep him. "He who trusts in the Lord
shall never be confounded or put to shame"; and therefore will the Lord
wait—that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted,
that He may have mercy upon you. For the Lord is a God of judgment, and
leads in the way of righteousness, and in the midst of the paths of judgment
(Proverbs 8:20). "Blessed are all those who wait for Him" (Isaiah 30:18).