Preached by retiring Moderator, Rev. Lachland MacLeod,
Greenock, at Inverness on 18th May, 1965
Text: Psalm 37, verse 34—”Wait on the Lord, and keep his way,
and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked
are cut off, thou shalt see it.”
In most of the psalms of David we have him either praying or praising the Lord—or both. Psalm 37 is somewhat different in that it is a psalm of most profitable instruction. David wrote this psalm in his old age as we can see from the twenty-fifth verse, after having experienced much of the goodness of the Lord from his youth (Psalm 71, v. 17). Here we have then a psalm written by a man of great spiritual experience and under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost—a psalm that is truly well suited to teach and instruct the Church of God in every age and generation.
The psalms are always up-to-date, like the rest of the Word of God, and Psalm 37 is as useful for the Church of God in the twentieth century as it was in David’s day. There is little doubt but that the people of God, tried and persecuted down through the centuries, have found great relief and solace in Psalm 37.
The great lesson or doctrine here is to teach the people of God that their God is ruling and that He is the God of Providence as well as the God of grace. They are taught here not to be envious of the wicked, when they see them getting on in the world and at the same time living ungodly and sinful lives. God is not in all their thoughts and still they prosper in the world. On the other hand good men very often suffer many afflictions and troubles in the world and are reproached and persecuted for His name’s sake.
This has often been a stumbling-block to the people of God and has caused them at times to cry out “Has God forgotten to be gracious?” “How doth God know and is there knowledge in the Most High?” “Behold these are the ungodly who prosper
in the world; they increase in riches.” (Psalm 73, vv. 11 and 12). Ah! but “shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18, v. 25). Yes! for at verse 28 of the psalm we are considering we see that “the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.” Thus we are taught that God does see the wicked and that in His own time and way He will deal with them. As this same psalm says “The Lord shall laugh at him: for He seeth that his day is coming.” (verse 13). But notice also that the Lord’s eye is on the righteous and “He knoweth the days of the upright and their inheritance shall be for ever.” (verse 18).
It is not a blind fate that gave you your portion in this day and age. It was foreordained from all eternity, for He hath “determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation.” (Acts 17, v. 26). He knows your exact circumstances and difficulties. He knows full well how difficult it is to be a true follower of Christ in this our day, but David here has the right approach to the problem. He advises the Lord’s people to commit their way to Him and to believe that He is right in all His ways and holy in His works all.
But let us notice now more particularly the first part of verse 34 “Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and He shall exalt thee to inherit the land:”
Firstly let us notice the two-fold duty (a) Wait on the Lord, and (b) Keep his way. Secondly let us notice the Promise “and He shall exalt thee to inherit the land.”
First of all then let us consider one or two things concerning this “waiting on the Lord.”
(i) It must be a waiting in Faith. This is absolutely necessary for “without faith it is impossible to please God” and “whatever is not of faith is sin.” If we look to the eleventh chapter of Hebrews we see how that “great cloud of witnesses” waited upon God in faith. David in the 27th Psalm said that he would have fainted had he not believed to see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Then in the next verse he goes on to say “Wait on the Lord, be of good courage and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say on the Lord.” This was waiting on God in faith. It is by faith that the believer lays hold upon the promises of the Word of God for “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” There can be no waiting upon the Lord apart from faith.
(ii) Then again this waiting must be a patient waiting upon the Lord. This is not easy on the flesh and blood especially when
“the wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.” (verse 32). Yet David says at the 7th verse “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him,” but our old nature says “Should I wait for the Lord any longer?” (2 Kings 6, v. 33). This is one of the great temptations of the Lord’s people, not to leave things to the Lord, not to wait patiently for Him. It was Saul’s sin as that is clearly brought before us in I Samuel 13, vv. 8-14. Again in Exodus 32 we see how the children of Israel sinned against the Lord by not waiting patiently on Him until Moses came down from the Mount. They had to act—no matter how ridiculous and God-dishonouring their action was. But how like ourselves these instances are, if we are not kept by the Most High! How often we too do things in our own strength and look to our own wisdom, but the Lord can give us grace to wait on Him. His people know their need of this grace to wait on Him and will be often found on their knees pleading for it. It was not easy to wait patiently in the “fearful pit” and in “the miry clay” and yet we find the man of God saying in Psalm 40 that he did just this.
(iii) This waiting is also a waiting in hope. They may be walking in darkness and have no light, yet He enables them to wait upon Him. We find the righteous saying at one time, “I will wait upon the Lord that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him.” (Isaiah 8, v. 17). Here indeed is a waiting in hope. “It is good that a man hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3, v. 26). The enemy will try and discourage the people of God and if possible take their hope from them. He tries to cast doubt in their mind. As he said to Eve in the garden, he still says to the Lord’s people “Yea, hath God said?” He knows perfectly well that they hope in His Word and that if he can destroy their confidence in this Word they will become an easy prey for him. But though the vision tarry the people of God will wait for it. They have all their hope in the unchangeable truth and power of God. They know in Whom they have believed. They know that all their hope and confidence is placed in God alone, and that hope and confidence will never be put to shame.
(iv) Those that wait upon the Lord have great and precious promises. We need mention but two at this time, (a) “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40, v. 31). There can be no doubt but that the righteous are often cast down through manifold temptations. The Lord teaches them their weakness and keeps them very conscious of it. “Without Me ye can do
nothing.” (John 15: 5) but they are also enabled to look by grace, through faith, to the Lord Himself, in whom is everlasting strength, and then they know what the Apostle experienced when he said “When I am weak then am I strong.” Then they too can say “I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.” Abel in his day waited on the Lord and was strengthened to suffer even unto death, and from his day down to our own day many of the dear people of God have out of weakness been made strong to suffer the loss of all things for their Lord and Saviour. This has been true in a very outstanding way concerning our own land. Scotland was highly honoured by the Lord at the time of the Reformation and often since, to suffer persecution for righteousness’ sake. How did these noble men and women get strength to suffer and die for what was more precious to them than life itself? Was it not that they waited upon the Lord? They knew the Lord and loved the Lord for, for them to live was Christ and they were persuaded that to die would be gain. And we do not hesitate to say that it was through strength found in this way, that the late Rev. Donald MacFarlane was able to stand alone at the Free Church General Assembly in May, 1893, in defence of the Word of God, and protest and separate from the Declaratory Act Free Church. When others utterly failed, he, out of weakness, was made strong, because he waited on the Lord.
(b) Then there is the promise “For they shall not be ashamed that wait for Me.” (Isaiah 49, v. 23). Those who are ignorant of God and of themselves see nothing in such a promise as this. Such are not conscious of the fact that shame and confusion of face belongeth to them; but to those that are taught from on high and who know something of the desperate wickedness and vileness of their own hearts, how absolutely lost they are, how nothing belongs to them but shame and confusion of face, to such this promise is wonderful and precious indeed.
The enemies of the Lord are to rise at the great Day of Judgment “to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12, v. 2).
You may be very unconscious, here to-night, of any sense of shame, but I tell you, on the authority of the Word of God, if you are not changed by the almighty power of God and made a new creature in Christ and taught to “wait on the Lord,” shame and everlasting contempt will be your portion in Hell forever. On the other hand, you who are conscious of shame because of your sins, and who confess this before the Lord, as Daniel did (Daniel 9, v. 7) will never be put to shame.
(v) This waiting on the Lord must be in the means of grace. The Lord has taught us in His Word how we are to do this.
First of all we are to make use of the public means of grace. The Lord’s Day is the day set apart by God Himself to be kept holy to Him and on this day we are in a special manner to wait on Him in public. It was a joy to David when they said to him “Let us go into the House of the Lord.” (Psalm 122, v. 1)) and blessed be the Lord, there are still those left in our midst who experience this joy in their souls when going to the public means to worship the Lord there. The public means, so much despised in our day, have still a drawing power for the people of God. Sad to say, there are multitudes in this once God-fearing nation who are without any church connection whatever. In a desperate effort to attract congregations, church services are cut to the minimum; socials, films and all sorts of worldly entertainments brought in, while the preaching of the pure gospel is practically done away with.
But there is also the waiting on the Lord in private. How precious the family worship is to His own people! Here the Lord has often been pleased to meet with them and to open their understandings to understand the Scriptures—very often enlightening their minds on portions they could not understand before. What a loss that this practice of family worship is fast disappearing in our land. The claims of the world and its vanities have edged God out of many family circles altogether. They do not begin the day with God and they do not end the day with God, so that generally speaking we, as a people, are without God and without hope in the world.
Then of course there is the waiting on God in secret, where the child of God enters into his closet and shuts the door and prays to his Father in secret, and the Father Who seeth in secret, will in His own time and way reward him openly. Many a time the gracious soul will be found wrestling at the throne of grace in secret. May we be given much of this wrestling spirit! As a nation and a generation how much we stand in need of it! Oh! that the Lord would in His infinite grace and compassion, raise up in our day men and women and boys and girls who would be mighty pleaders at the Throne of Grace; who would say with holy boldness, “I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me.” (Genesis ch. 32, verse 26).
How much the Cause of Christ needs such people in our day! It is low but we must not conclude that there is nothing we can do. You consider how very discouraging matters were in Nehemiah’s day. What a burden the cause was to that man of God but he did not say “There is nothing I can do.” There was something he could do, and he did it. He waited on the Lord in
prayer, and how wonderfully the Lord worked for him. Here indeed was secret prayer rewarded openly, the Lord doing exceeding abundantly above his asking or thinking.
In Nehemiah 2, verse 4 we have brought before us another way of waiting on Him, namely, ejaculatory prayer. There was no time here to go to his closet, but Nehemiah knew the Lord and knew that he could pray to Him in his heart while going on to address the King. He knew that the God of Israel was the God who could hear the prayer of the destitute, who could understand the sighing of the needy, and who would not hide His ear at his breathings. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5, verse 16).
Now let us consider the second part of this twofold duty which is “And keep His way.” What are we to understand by the words “His way”? In giving sinners the true religion God has set before them the way of salvation from sin and everlasting ruin. The way that leadeth unto Life is called the narrow way in the Scriptures, and what is that but God’s way of salvation?
When God called Abraham from his idolatry he taught him the true religion (Gen. 12). In connection with this the Lord says in Genesis 18, v. 19, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, that they shall keep the way of the Lord,” that is, that Abraham would teach them the holy and good way which had become so precious to himself. Moses, in giving his last address to the children of Israel, says “See, I have set before thee this day, life and good and death and evil. In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways and to keep his commandments and His statutes . . .” (Deut. 30, v. 15). Moses, as the servant of God, had set before the people life and death, told them it would be well with the righteous and that it would be ill with the wicked—in other words, he taught them the way of the Lord, the true religion.
In several other places we find the gospel spoken of as the way. In Acts, chapt. 19, verse 9, we find the word used in such a manner that it cannot mean anything else but the gospel. In 2 Peter chapt. 2, v. 2, we find the words “By reason of which the way of Truth shall be well spoken of.” Here again we see the word “way” used when it is quite evident that the gospel is intended.
All who are ignorant of this way are ignorant of God as the Saviour of sinners. Such may be very satisfied with their own way and their own religion or else satisfied without any religion whatsoever; but all who do not know personally God’s way of salvation are on the broad way that leadeth to destruction.
“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14, v. 12).
How thankful we ought to be as a people to have the knowledge of this blessed way still in our midst, that we have the Word of God and that there are yet the ambassadors of Christ left with us, who shun not to declare unto us the whole counsel of God. We are not, however, to take those things for granted. We are to keep His way. We are to walk worthy of the vocation with which we are called. “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1, verse 10). “Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: as ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory.” (Thessalonians 2, v. 10, 11, 12). This was one way in which the Apostle kept the way of the Lord and would have us keep it also. There is a principle implanted in the regenerated soul which desires to keep the way of the Lord—a principle that says:
“Teach me O Lord the perfect way of Thy precepts divine,
And to observe it to the end, I shall my heart incline.”
—Psalm 119, v. 33.
But we are also to keep His way by holding fast the testimony. The Apostle in writing to the Hebrews, says “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” (Hebrews 2, v. 1) and again, when writing to Timothy, very near the end of his life in this world, he says “Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing, which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.” (2 Timothy, chapt. 1, v. 13 and 14). “The form of sound words” and “that good thing” which was committed to Timothy, was nothing else but the gospel—God’s way of salvation. Paul was anxious that Timothy would “keep” and “hold fast” this glorious doctrine and that he would commit the same to faithful men who would be able to teach others also. “Thou therefore,” he says, “endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” This holding fast and keeping of the good thing committed to Timothy was to involve him in warring and struggling, but it had to be done at all costs. Paul himself was no stranger to this conflict. He knew what it was to suffer for the gospel of Jesus Christ. For it he had gladly suffered the loss of all things as we see from Philippians 3, v. 8,
In writing to the Church of God in Philippi he says that he was set for the defence of the gospel and he comforts that persecuted church by drawing their attention to the fact that, not only was it given them of God to believe on the Lord Jesus, but that it was also given them, or gifted to them, as a special honour, on the behalf of Christ, to suffer for his sake. The Church of God in her best days considered it an honour to suffer shame and persecution for Christ’s sake, while endeavouring to keep His way. We are to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude, verse 3).
It is because there were men and women in Scotland in other days who did this, that we in our day, have, in the good Providence of the Lord, God’s way of salvation still left with us. The Lord raised up faithful witnesses at the time of the 1st and 2nd Reformations, and in the days of the Covenanters, who contended earnestly for the faith, even unto death.
We are here this evening as the true representatives of the Church of the Reformers and the Covenanters. We may be small numerically and to the world insignificant, but it is not to the world we are to look, for the world was never a friend of the true Church of Christ and certainly has never shown itself friendly to the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland from its beginning. As it was true of the Apostolic Church, that everywhere it was spoken against, so it was and has been to this day true concerning our church. As long as we remain faithful to His word and testimony, and keep His way, we can expect the enmity of the world, but “Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in Heaven for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (Matt. 5, v. 11, 12).
Let us now consider very briefly the Promise “He shall exalt thee to inherit the land.” As you can see this promise is given to those who wait upon Him and keep His way, and we believe that the Lord is speaking to us, as a Church, in these words, setting before us our duty to be faithful and giving us this precious promise that He will exalt us to inherit the land.
Now what are we to understand by the words “He shall exalt thee to inherit the land”? When God will arise to plead the Cause that is His own in our land, men will again turn to the Word of God and its blessed doctrines. The Westminster Confession of Faith will once again be honoured in this land. The Declaratory Act will then be a dead letter. When that day will come, and come it will, there will be a turning to the Church of
the Reformers and of the Covenanter—the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The doctrines which we uphold, as our forefathers did, the doctrines of free and sovereign grace, will again be preached in the pulpits of Scotland. Surely that is the only exaltation we look for, the only inheritance we covet; that the people of our beloved land would once again be turned to the Lord, and the words again be heard in our midst, “Lo, this is our God, we have waited for Him and He will save us, this is the Lord we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” (Isaiah 25, verse 9).