..--:.. WAITING ON GOL. 375 hand of their masters; and as the eyes of a maiden un- to the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God until he have mercy on us." Psalm 123 : 2. Servants that wait upon their masters, and look to their hands, expect an intimation of their mind as to what they would have them do. St), says David, do we wait for mercy; not in a slothful neglect of duty, but in a constant readiness to observe the will of God in all his commands. An illustration of this we have in the spouse, when she was in the condition here described. Cant. 3 : 1, 2. She wanted the presence of her Beloved, and where the presence of Christ is not, there can be no sense of for- giveness. At first she seeks him upon her bed: "By night, upon my bed, I sought him whom my soul loveth, I sought him, but I found him not." And does she rest in merely desiring him l No, she resolves to use all means. In the city, streets and fields she would in- quire after him. And the blessed result is, " She found him, she held him, she wOuld not let him go." verse 4. This then belongs to the waiting of the soul. Diligence in the use of means, whereby God is pleased ordinarily to communicate a sense of pardon and forgiveness, is a principal part of it. 'What these means are, is known. Prayer, meditation, reading, the dispensation of the word and ordinances are all appointed to this purpose; they are all means of communicating love and grace to the soul. Be not then heartless or slothful ; up and be doing; attend with diligence to the word of grace ; be fervent in prayer, assiduous in the use of all ordinances, that thou mayest find him whom thy soul Ioveth; and God, through him, will speak peace unto thee.
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