Preface

'TUMt Gbou onty upon (Boo/

^'My Ioqi, wait thon only upon God.'—Ps. lxii. 6.

'A God . . which worketh for him that waiteth f« Him.'—Isa. lzir. 4 (B.Y.).

'XTTAIT only upon God;' my tool, be itill,

W And let thy God unfold His perfeot will, Thou fain woold'at follow Him throughout this year, Thou fain with listening heart His Toioe would'it hear, Thou fain would'it be a passive instrument Possessed by God, and erer Spirit-sent Upon His serrioe sweet—then be thou still. Tor only thus can He in thee fulfil His heart's desire. Oh, hinder not His hand from fashioning the Teasel He hath planned. 'Be silent unto God,' and thou shalt know The quiet, holy calm He doth bestow On those who wait on Him; so shalt thou bear His pressnos, and His life and light e'en where The night is darkest, and thins earthly days Shall show His lore, and sound His glorious praise. And He will work with hand unfettered, free. His high sad haly purposes through thee.

First on thee must that hind of power be turned,

Till in His love's strong fire thy dross is burned,

And thou come forth a vessel for thy Lord,

So frail and empty, yet, sinoe He hath poured

Into thine emptiness His life, His love,

Henceforth through thee the power of God shall more

And He will work for thee. Stand still and tee

The victories thy God will gain for thee;

So silent, yet so irresistible,

Thy God shall do the thing impossible.

Oh, question not henceforth what thou canst do;

Thou canst do nought. But He will carry through

The work where human energy had failed

Where all thy best endeavours had availed

Thee nothing. Then, my soul, wait and be still;

Thy God shall work for thee His perfect will.

If thou wilt take no less, His lest shall be

Thy portion now and through eternity.

EXTRACT

raoii
ADDRESS IN EXETER HALL

May 31st 1895

'I Hatk been surprised at nothing more thai at the letters that have come to me from missionaries and others from all parts of the world, devoted men and women, testifying to the need they feel in their work of being helped to a deeper and a clearer insight into all that Christ could be to them. Let us look to God to reveal Himself among His people in a measure very few have realised. Let us expect great things of out God. At all our conventions and assemblies too little time is given to waiting on God. Is He not willing to put things right in His own divine way t Has the life of God's people reached th» utmost limit of what God is willing to do for them t Surely not . We want to wait on Him; to put away our experiences, however blessed they have been; our conceptions of truth, howio EXTRACT FROM ADDRESS

ever Bound and scriptural we think they seem; out plans, however needful and suitable they appear; and give God time and place to show us what He could do, what He will do. God has new developments and new resources. He can do new things, unheard of things, hidden things. Let us enlarge our hearts and not limit Him. 'When Thou earnest down, Thou didst terrible things we looked not for; the mountains flowed down at Thy presence,'

A. M.

PREFACE

PREVIOUS to my leaving home foi England last year, I had been much impressed by the thought of how, in all our religion, personal and public, we need more of God. I had felt that we needed to train our people in their worship more to wait on God, and to make the cultivation of a deeper sense of His presence, of more direct contact with Him, of entire dependence on Ttithj a definite aim of our ministry. At a 'welcome' breakfast in Exeter Hall, I gave very simple expression to this thought in connection with all our religious work. I have already said elsewhere that I was surprised at the response the sentiment met with. I saw that God's Spirit had been working the same desire in many hearts.

The experiences of the past year, both per sonal and public, have greatly deepened the conviction. It is as if I myself am only beginning to see the deepest truth concerning

God, and our relation to Him, centre in this 11

waiting on God, and how very little, in our life and work, we have been surrounded by its spirit. The following pages are the outcome of my conviction, and of the desire to direct the attention of all God's people to the one great remedy for all our needs. More than half the pieces were written on board ship; I fear they bear the marks of being somewhat crude and hasty. I have felt, in looking them over, as if I could wish to write them over again. But this I cannot now do. And so I send them out with the prayer that He who loves to use the feeble may give His blessing with them

I do not know if it will be possible for me to put into a few words what are the chief things we need to learn. In a note at the close of the book on Law I have mentioned some. But what I want to say here is this: The great lack of our religion is, we do not know God. The answer to every complaint of feebleness and failure, the message to every congregation or convention seeking instruction on holiness, ought to be simply, What is the matter: Have you not God t H you really believe in God, He will put all right. God is willing and able by His Holy Spirit . Cease from expecting the least good from yourself, or the least help from anything there is in man, and just yield yourself unreservedly to God to work In you: H« will do all for you.

How simple this looks 1 And yet this is th« gospel we so little know. I feel ashamed as I send forth these very defective meditations; I can only cast them on the love of my brethren, and of our God. May He use them to draw us all to Himself, to learn in practice and experi ence the blessed art of Waiting Only Upon God. Would God that we might get some right conception of what the influence would be on a life spent, not in thought, or imagination, or effort, but in the power of the Holy Spirit, wholly waiting upon God.

With my greeting in Christ to all God's saints it has been my privilege to meet, and no less to those I have not met, I subscribe myself, your brother and servant,

ANDREW MURRAY. Wellikotos, 3rd March 18M.