xxvi. 8, 9. _Yea, in the way of Thy judgments . . . will I
seek Thee early._
In this verse the prophet expresses the confiding trust of God's
people amid times of judgment. It is as though they had said, "When
the pathway assigned for Thy people was rough with judgments,--sore
inflictions of national calamity,--even then, Lord, did we wait still
on Thee in patient, trustful hope, and our desire was toward the
remembrance of Thy name." Note the view this passage affords of the
character and experience of God's people.
+I. They wait upon him.+ Wait in the most unpromising circumstances.
"Yea, in the way of Thy judgments have we waited for Thee." When all
is dark and threatening; when the promised mercy is long delayed and
all seems settling into gloom and desolation; when the dungeon has no
lamp and the night no star, even then does the Church wait for God
(chap. viii. 17). It is a genuine mark of grace to trust a
withdrawing God and never forego confidence in Him, but look for Him
as in the darkest night the shivering sentinel looks for the morning
star; as the husbandman amid the severest winter believes in the
returning spring. Such was the faith of Habakkuk (Hab. iii. 17-19).
So, like Aaron's rod, the Christian's hope will bloom in the midst of
barrenness. "Yea, in the way of Thy judgments have I waited for Thee."
+II. Their desires centre in Him.+ "The desire of our soul is to the
remembrance of Thy name." God's _name_ is a compendious expression
for the fulness of His perfections. God's people are concerned for
the honour of God's name whatever becomes of their own. Religion
consists much in holy desire. "Thy servants who desire to fear Thy
name." They desire to live in the fear of God, in His love and in His
service. Desire is love on the wing; delight is love at rest. David
combines both (Ps. xxxvii. 4). Making God our heart's delight, He
will not fail to give us our heart's desire. This desire, if genuine,
will never be satisfied without God. As well offer lumps of gold or
strains of music to one dying of thirst, as offer the world's best
gifts to that soul which truly thirsts for God and His righteousness
(Ps. lxxiii. 25). 1. _Where genuine, this desire is the fruit of
implanted grace._ It is an evidence of a renewed nature. The beating
of the pulse proves life. That which aspires to God has come from
heaven. If the iron, contrary to its nature, moves upward, it is a
sign that some magnetic force attracts it; and if the soul aspires to
God, that is a sign that the grace of God has visited that soul.
2. _Genuine desires after God are influential._ Real desires govern
our conduct (Prov. xxi. 25). It is useless to pretend that we thirst
for grace, if by devout prayer and holy resolve we do not let down
the bucket into the well.
+III. They seek Him diligently night and day.+ "With my soul have I
desired Thee in the night, yea, with my spirit within me will I seek
Thee early." Our Lord gives it as the distinctive mark of God's elect
that they cry night and day to Him. This habit of prayer prompting to
duty, tests the sincerity of our desires, &c.--_Samuel Thodey._