Psalm 40:1-17 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined to me, and heard my cry.… Some may remember the feeling of disappointment with which in their youth they read the last line of Longfellow's "Psalm of Life." "Learn to labour and to — wait." Any one could understand the difficulty of labour, but how easy if one had only to wait t But experience has taught us a great lesson, that all labour is light compared with the labour, the stress, the suspense and weariness of waiting. The word "patiently" is not in the Hebrew, but it is implied. Such waiting is full of heroic elements — fortitude, resignation, faith, expectation, perseverance. As long as anything can be gained by effort it will be active, for it is too earnest to sit and rest when it should stand and work; but when the desired good is something beyond its reach, when personal exertion proves unavailing and help from others is impossible, then its agitation will be calmed and its hope invigorated by its determination to wait patiently for the Lord. There are exigencies in life when comfort can come from no other source. The providences of God are often so dark and full of seeming menace that the soul perturbed by them is like the ship in which Paul sailed when no small tempest lay on it, and when for many days neither sun nor star appeared. A drifting soul is in more jeopardy than a drifting ship. Again, patient waiting for the Lord gives solace and strength to the Christian when disheartened by the slow growth of his own spiritual life. Such dissatisfaction with self, when accompanied by longing for a more entire conformity to the Divine image, is the sure evidence of a gracious state, though it be not recognized by the subject of it. To eradicate all that is dark and defiling from the soul, and to cultivate the plants of righteousness until they are laden with their mellow clusters, require not only diligence but time. "Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth," etc. So, too, wait patiently for the Lord when discouraged because you see so little fruit of your labour (Psalm 126:6). (M. D. Hoge, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: {To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.} I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.WEB: I waited patiently for Yahweh. He turned to me, and heard my cry. |
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