THE PROMISE. To walk we want something like continuous, sustained evenness of conduct, progressing quietly and steadily day by day in the common round of life; not impulsive, not capricious, not changeable; without show, humble, and always the same. By waiting on the Lord the stream flows into its appointed bed. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper.3. )Renewing strengthHuman strength is of many kinds physical, mental, spiritual; but every form of human strength must of necessity spend itself. )Running and walkingF. Let us, therefore, see what there is in reserve for us in the large world into which Isaiah is prepared to conduct us We are at once made aware of its vastness, to the expanding and refreshing of our spirits, for we are brought face to face with God in all the majesty of His perfections: the infinite Greatness, to which the nations are as the small dust of the balance. --ISAIAH xl. The whole point is there. 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. But all forms of waiting on the Lord involve the personal, conscious, voluntary act of the mind or soul within us, for which no mere ceremony or ritual can be a substitute. What is the reason of all this? And away went those weary, dilatory carriages as fast as the rest. But they are only painted cloud. )The blessedness of Divine serviceD. )The power to realise idealsF. Is prayer less a privilege than it has John Ross MacduffThe Faithful Promiser"And the Redeemer Shall Come unto Zion, and unto them that Turn,"Isaiah lix. This sounds as if they were in danger of becoming weary and faint in their minds. A. But the prophet has a deeper thought than this. Cooke. 21 and 28. It is painful to be in that condition in which we feel that we can, and yet cannot; that we have faculty, yet lack inspiration; that we have wings of heavenward desire, with but little power to use them. I do not say "Do not pursue your ideal," but what I say is this, "If you ever really want to make your ideal, you must be endued with the power from on high."(F. --Isaiah 40:1. 2. All this renewal of vitality was the result of waiting on one of those wonderful healthfountains. But the strength spoken of in our text is evidently not corporeal strength; it is a power seated in the mind; but neither is it intellectual vigour. They diligently attend to, and take peculiar delight in, all His service and will.II. Enter your email address and we will send you a link to reset your password. He first became known as a preacher of the first rank during his pastorate over the large Presbyterian church in Evanston, Illinois. There are many things for which we can only ask and then wait in quiet stillness, things which we cannot help God to give us, things which God Himself bestows without our aid, if we are ever to possess them. V. 4. Clearer vision.3. That God will "renew our strength." The spiritual is so real. Although we have a perfect right to go to God and pour out every wish and longing of our hearts, worthy and unworthy alike, yet this is not by any means the whole or the highest part of communion with Him. The prophet, by the omnipotence of God18. xl. "Every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure. M. Donaldson, D. D.No man is as strong as he desires to be. A. It was his religious observance of the laws of the Nazarite which occasioned his extraordinary power. )The continued renewal of strengthR. So to-day in every Christian Church, in every Christian enterprise, in every modern fight for righteousness and truth, there are some men who never know when they are defeated; there are some men who, because of this, are invulnerable men; and the men who, when cast down always say there is lifting up, the men who can live and die for Divine ideas, the men who to-day are converting savage races into Christian peoples and working out in painful and prosaic details, and with much danger to their lives in some cases, the glowing dreams of ancient seers respecting the transformation of mankind, these are they who wait in secret on their God.(T. And indeed that is a great part of wisdom, to bring forth everything in its season, to discern when and where, and to whom it is pertinent and edifying, to speak such and such truths. It is the daily walk along the beaten path that reveals the depth and sincerity of our religion. It is a running and a walking. This large world, the spiritual, into which Isaiah has ushered us, includes all worlds, for it is as limitless as its Ruler. He first became known as a preacher of the first rank during his pastorate over the large Presbyterian church in Evanston, Illinois. Thence the word came to signify patience as opposed to worry and despondency. Then there is the "running," that is ready obedience a mark of the true servant. )Exhaustion and recoverySunday School Chronicle.1. This is what we all need in this weary world, whose toils and cares and temptations perpetually remind us of our weakness and the need of invigorating grace. There are many temptations to resist, and many afflictions to endure, and many duties to perform. )Strength renewed by waiting on the LordA. Horton, D. D.This it nearly concerns us to do upon these considerations.1. The truth lies the other way! A patient spirit has the wings of faith and hope. We are not to devote all our lives to lonely musing. "They that wait upon the Lord SHALL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH." If public worship helps you to this direct personal communion with God, I need not say you are bound to attend it; you are sure to do so of your own free will without any pressure. He has powers adapted to this exercise powers with which he can glorify his Maker; and he must not point those eagle faculties to the dust, but let them take wing and rise. The elements of this strength are (1) Faith, founded on Divine illumination. Faith can work miracles. Thence the word came to signify patience as opposed to worry and despondency. "The joy of the Lord is your strength."III. He first became known as a preacher of the first rank during his pastorate over the large Presbyterian church in Evanston, Illinois. 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. Thine Arms, to whom I turn and cling With thirsting soul that longs for Thee; Frances BevanHymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and OthersHis Schools and Schoolmasters. I remember a sunset at sea, where the bosom of each wavelet that fronted the west was aglow with fiery gold, and the back of each turned eastward was cold green; so that, looking on the one hand all was glory, and on the other Alexander MaclarenExpositions of Holy ScriptureSalvation Published from the MountainsO Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid: say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Horton, D. D.This it nearly concerns us to do upon these considerations.1. )Waiting upon the LordJob Orton.I. on wings as eagles: they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. In short, it is a grace, just as much as the grace of faith, or love, or humility. As bodily health is only found in a well-balanced and healthy state of the corporeal functions, so spiritual strength can only be found in souls into which new life has been infused, and is in vigorous exercise. Harwood. In point of comfort. Love your Bible and fill your heart with it, but let God apply it in your daily life.3. B. MeyerJohn the BaptistImpiety of Attributing a visible Form to God. Untroubled quiet.4. His understanding is infinite; there is no searching it. Isaiah 40:31King James Version. Who, then, shall give wings to a heavy laden sinner, strong enough to sustain him in his upward flight? In so far as the spiritual life is one, it is a life in God. Then there is the triumph of grace in the soul. The prophet is not speaking of three rates of motion, but he is rather speaking of the active motion and then onward continuance. To walk we want something like continuous, sustained evenness of conduct, progressing quietly and steadily day by day in the common round of life; not impulsive, not capricious, not changeable; without show, humble, and always the same. M. Donaldson, D. D.)Waiting on GodT. As bodily health is only found in a well-balanced and healthy state of the corporeal functions, so spiritual strength can only be found in souls into which new life has been infused, and is in vigorous exercise. Who, of all men who ever lived upon the earth, was the One who had the sorrow of the world nearest to His heart? Let us, therefore, see what there is in reserve for us in the large world into which Isaiah is prepared to conduct us We are at once made aware of its vastness, to the expanding and refreshing of our spirits, for we are brought face to face with God in all the majesty of His perfections: the infinite Greatness, to which the nations are as the small dust of the balance. Trust in the Lord.II. (3) There is also "walking" to be done here on earth, the ordinary routine of life to be trudged through every day. The word does not say anything about the rate at which they go, and is used of the flight of the arrow through the air, or of the way of the ship driven before the wind, or of the gait of a swift-footed animal, or of the ordinary pace of man. If called upon to act a public part, he will seek to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, that thus, while serving the Master, his own character may continually grow. The expression "wait upon" is a most felicitous one, because while it includes prayer it means and covers so much more.1. We renew our strength to meet misfortunes and to carry our load of grief or bereavement, to keep a cheerful heart under the depression of disease, and when chilled by the cold shadow of death. 13. It is when all the romance is past, when all the effervescence of youth has subsided, when all incitements from without and all excitements from within are over, when life has settled into its groove, and, surrounded by the monotonous and the sordid, we find our horizon limited by "the daily round" and "the common task" it is then that faith rises to its true heroism, enabling us to maintain our spiritual level and hold our ground against the deadening inroads of formality and in. They could not suggest to the prophet his religious thought, but his inspired genius laid them under tribute to assist the utterance of a thought of higher inspiration. We are altogether dependent upon God for our natural, as well as for our spiritual strength. "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." L. Wiseman, B. If anything were needed to teach men the necessity for connecting their own spirits with the Divine, it is the quick exhaustion of individual resources. 31). "Oh to have watched thee through the vineyards wander, Pluck the ripe ears, and into evening roam!-- Followed, and known that in the twilight yonder Legions of angels shone about thy home!" )Godly optimismF. L. Wiseman, B. A.But is the prophet translated rightly? The word does not say anything about the rate at which they go, and is used of the flight of the arrow through the air, or of the way of the ship driven before the wind, or of the gait of a swift-footed animal, or of the ordinary pace of man. Hidden in that secret pavilion we see things as they really are. Full provision has been made to supply this need of the soul. As near as I can judge, this continued about an hour; and kept me the greater part of the time in a flood of tears and weeping aloud.. It is the period of disenchantment; when we discover the bounds of the practical, and when we have a stronger sense of life's limitations than of its possibilities. In point of comfort. The Church is a very powerful instrument, and will be indispensable through ages. The whole soul gets strength by such exercise.II. Truth and holiness and right abide for ever. This sense of entire dependence upon the grace of God will naturally express itself in prayer, and in a devout and regular use of the appointed means of grace. In so far as the spiritual life is one, it is a life in God. These are all comprehended in one expression, "waiting on the Lord."III. It implies patience. If they hear of a medicinal spring far off in the mountains they hesitate not to undertake the journey, and undergo the hardships of the rugged way, that they may test the efficacy of the mineral waters. And indeed that is a great part of wisdom, to bring forth everything in its season, to discern when and where, and to whom it is pertinent and edifying, to speak such and such truths. 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. But how does He leave it? Rapid progress. 1. 4 [There all the heavenly hosts are seen, In shining ranks they move, And drink immortal vigour in, With wonder and with love. (vers. If you are to wait aright upon the Lord, you must learn to know Him, you must turn away your thoughts and eyes and heart and trust from everything, and set them upon God alone, My conduct in waiting for a man, or waiting on him, will depend entirely upon what I think of him. It will also lead us to exert our best endeavours, and put forth all our own strength, as we would not be chargeable with the guilt of affronting God by asking His help without them. 3), and more fully by St. Luke (Is. That God will "renew our strength." This service must be (1)Spiritual.(2)Supreme.II. )The strong in danger of exhaustionT. As near as I can judge, this continued about an hour; and kept me the greater part of the time in a flood of tears and weeping aloud.. WE SEE HOW A TRUE CHURCH MAY BE DESCRIBED. Some carriages standing on the middle line of rails were to be attached to our train. I have often gone to Saratoga, in the heat of the early summer, quite run down, and my vitality burned out as coal gets exhausted in the bunkers of a steamer. And the first thing that strikes us is the language used by the prophet language so far removed from mere formal expression. Our revisers have left this text exactly as, it stands in the A.V., "Mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and walk," and yet I do not think it is what the prophet meant. 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. There are various kinds of hopefulness, which differ greatly in their nature and their effects. We often say that "knowledge is power": certainly, ignorance of.the truth of God is weakness. God is so near. It is a running and a walking. xl. Horton, D. D.This it nearly concerns us to do upon these considerations.1. That their devotions shall become more elevated and intense. The bread of life for the hungry, the water of life for the thirsty.II. Holy hope is a wing that will bear the soul above to its anticipated possessions.III. But the Christian has had that care upon his heart daffy, and he knows how to bear it, and before whom to lay it. He who cleaveth to created things will fall with their slipperiness; but he who embraceth Jesus will stand upright for ever. 1. (1) The motion itself. They will run nimbly enough after pleasure, wealth and fame, but not after the things which God bids them run after. The word does not say anything about the rate at which they go, and is used of the flight of the arrow through the air, or of the way of the ship driven before the wind, or of the gait of a swift-footed animal, or of the ordinary pace of man. 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. And those who believe that their ordinary life has a Divine significance that it is as the rough scaffolding within which a very temple may be built and who are striving to live daily as under the eye of the heavenly Friend, have within their souls a peace which keeps them from "fainting."(T. The older Jewish commentators imagined they discovered here a reference to an ancient belief that at a certain time the eagle plunged into the sea and bathed off his worn-out plumage, and that afterwards new feathers grew. God never expects more from us than He has already given. 9. Thank God, too, for the running stage. V. Tymms.I. Cf. No doubt the allusion is to the velocity with which the eagle soars towards the sun, after the renewal of his feathers.(W. It was in this greater exigency that his inner ear caught the promise, "My grace is sufficient for thee."(J. I have often gone to Saratoga, in the heat of the early summer, quite run down, and my vitality burned out as coal gets exhausted in the bunkers of a steamer. We renew our strength in the battle with our besetting sin, in the conquest of fierce passions and unruly tempers, and in the maintenance and steadfastness of high resolve. THE ENCOURAGEMENT GIVEN. RENEWED VIGOUR. The pious man is compared in Scripture to the sun "his soul is as the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day." This is different, and surpassing the other. The guiding God: or the picture of the leading. are lost, but are hesitant to take God's direction to be found. Knight, M. A.I. It will also lead us to exert our best endeavours, and put forth all our own strength, as we would not be chargeable with the guilt of affronting God by asking His help without them. This seems to say that the life of communion with God is not a long series of vapid and unemotional hours, a dead level of mechanical and spiritless employments, but a life that has rare and glorious experiences, holy aspirations, ennobling thoughts, ecstatic emotions, spirit-stirring hopes.1. Heavenly-mindedness. Thomas, D. D.I. But they are only painted cloud. It seemed impossible that these few exiles could escape from those nations, and go back to their own land and restore their institutions, but they did. For this, earthly and human strength will not avail. When, in like manner, the spiritual strength of the Christian is impaired, and he is ready to sink under.the pressure of temptation or distress; when his consolations appear to be nearly exhausted; or when, through the prevalence of remaining unbelief and corruption, he becomes languid in duty, or faint under affliction his decays of strength are recruited from above; new fountains are opened for his comfort; he rises as from the ground, on which he was sitting in feebleness and sorrow, and no longer with faltering, but with firm and steady steps, pursues the course of active duty, or of patient suffering, in which he is appointed to move. Usually we have, at any rate, just a little strength, and then waiting upon Him means not only prayer and uplooking, but doing His commandments like the angels, who because they do them excel in strength. 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