* Extract from an old Tract.—Editor.
Yet let us resolve to wait, how long soever it be; for though we know not now, we shall know hereafter, when the mystery of God shall be finished. Never was man more at a loss concerning the dealings of God with him, than was Job; “I go forward, but he is not there; backward, but I cannot perceive him; on the left hand, on the right hand, but I cannot see him,” Job xxiii. 8. Yet he sits down, verse 10, resolving to wait on God all the day, with a satisfaction in this, that though I know not the way that he takes, “He knows the way that I take; and when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold,” approved and improved. He sits by as a refiner, and will take care that the gold be in the furnace no longer than is needful for the refining of it. When God’s way is in the sea, so that he cannot be traced, yet we are sure that his way is in the sanctuary, so that he may be trusted. And when clouds and darkness are around about him, yet even then, justice and judgment are the habitations of his throne.
But is is not enough for us to begin every day with God; for on him we must wait not only every day, but all the day long. We must not only pray solemnly in the morning, but that desire which is the life and soul of prayer, like the fire on the altar, must be kept continually burning, ready for the sacrifices that are yet to be offered, the bent and bias of the soul must be toward God—the serving him in all we do—the enjoying him in all we have. And this is what is principally intended in the injunctions given us, to pray always, to pray without ceasing, to continue in prayer. Even when we are not making actual addresses to God, yet we must have habitual inclinations towards him as our chief good.
To be always waiting upon God is to live a life of delight in him. Something or other the soul has that it values itself by; something or other that it reposes itself in; and what is it? God or the world? It is the character of worldly people, that “they boast themselves in the multitude of their riches,” “of their own might,” “of the power of their own hands,” which they think has gotten them this wealth. It is the character of godly people, that in God they boast all the day long; waiting upon God is, having our eye always upon him, with a sacred complacency, as men have upon that which is their glory, and which they glory in. To wait upon God, is to live a life of dependence on him, as the child waits on his father, whom he has confidence in, and on whom he casts all his care. It is to expect all good to come to us from God, as the author of all good for us, and in us, the giver of all good, and our protector from all evil. Thus David explains himself, in Psalm lxii. 5, “My soul wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from him;” I look not to any other for the good I need, for I know that every creature is that to me, and no more than he makes it to be; for from him every man’s judgment proceeds. It is to live a life of devotedness to God as the servant waits on his master, ready to observe his will, to do his work, and in every thing to consult his honour and interest. To wait on God, is entirely and unreservedly to refer ourselves to his wise and holy directions and disposals, cheerfully to acquiesce in and comply with them. The servant who waits on his master does not choose his own way, but follows him step by step; and thus must we wait on God as those that have no will of their own, but what is wholly resolved into his; and must therefore study to accommodate ourselves to his. It is the character of the redeemed of the Lord, that with implicit faith and obedience they follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes.
To wait on God, is to make his will our rule, the will of his precept the rule of our practice, and to do every duty with an eye to that. David prays that God would shew him his way, and lead him, and teach him, and keep him, and forward him in the way of his duty; and the text intimates this, that those, and those only, can expect to be taught of God, who are ready and willing to do as they are taught. “If any man will do his will,”—be steadfastly resolved in the strength of his grace to comply with it,—he shall know what that will is. Lord, let the pillar of cloud and fire go before us.
A New World.
Great is the change produced by the converting grace of God. It has been justly said, that converting grace brings the sinner into a new world. There is then a new world created within, in the sinner’s soul; a world of light and order, of purity, joy and strength, where formerly was a horrible chaos of sin and misery.
Even with respect to the visible creation around him, the converted sinner seems to come into a new world; a new lustre, a new smile, shines over the face of nature, such as cannot be the effect of mere temporal prosperity, or philosophical information.
—Rev. John Love, D.D.
The late Mrs. Mary Macaskill, Edinburgh.
Mrs. Mary Macaskill was born in Balachladdich, Stoer, Sutherland, in the year 1880, and she died in Edinburgh in June of last year. She was the child of God-fearing parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. Murdo Mackenzie. An obituary of her mother appeared in an issue of the Free Presbyterian Magazine in 1924.
It was at the age of eighteen years that Mrs. Macaskill was brought under conviction of sin and this was brought about by the instrumentality of a sermon on Isaiah 33:14, preached by one of our late ministers. It seems that a sense of her lost condition, through sin, was so deeply impressed on her soul that she fainted at the time and the effect physically, as well as spiritually, was such that she was forced to keep to her bed for days. No record remains of what passage of God’s Word may have been used as a means of her deliverance from her sense of bondage, but many years after she was enabled to make a public profession of her faith in the Lord whom her soul loved. In 1913, at Lochinver, she became a member in full communion with the Free Presbyterian Church and the witness she raised that day she was enabled to uphold unto the end. As a young woman she emigrated to Canada and when referring to that part of her life she often spoke of the refreshing seasons she had when the deputies from the church visited Saskatoon. After spending some years in Canada she and her husband decided to return to the old country. It was at that time she was visited with a series of bereavements. Her husband, whom she left in Canada to wind up their business and who was to join her in this country, died shortly after she left for Scotland. This came as a terrible shock to his grief stricken widow. As she was recovering from the immediate effects of her husband’s death, she was bereaved of a brother to whom she had a very great attachment. That brother was D. J. Mackenzie, Ardgay, who was a highly respected Elder of the church. The loss of this brother was a stunning blow to Mrs. Macaskill. For the time being she lost interest in almost everything. It served to make this world emptier than ever to her. In addition to those bereavements she lost all her sisters and another brother. Indeed she was the last of the family to which she belonged. The death of her last sister was too much for her and her health, which was badly impaired by that time, showed signs of a rapid breakdown. After an illness in 1950 which necessitated a time in hospital, her health was never the same and it was obvious the earthly tabernacle was being dissolved. On New Year’s day, 1955, she prepared to go to church but had to return to bed. She was again taken to hospital but nothing could be done. Her end was fast approaching and she knew it. About that time her soul passed through much darkness in which she was sorely tried but this would seem to have been her last temptation. The darkness was dispelled and at the close of family worship, a few friends being present, she cried out “Saw ye Him whom my soul loveth?” From that moment her only desire was to depart and to be with Christ. In fact she longed to be away. A sense of the love of God shed abroad in her heart by the Holy Ghost, which was given unto her, weaned her away from this world and made her importunate in her desire for the salvation of her friends and others. The Lord’s people were her people. She loved their fellowship and was genuinely interested in their welfare.
Mrs. Macaskill was a most hospitable person. Her home was always open to strangers and in this way she made a wide circle of friends throughout the church. At communion seasons visitors from all parts partook of her hospitality and she was never happier than when on such occasions her house was full of those whom she believed were the people of God. She was a loyal member of the Free Presbyterian Church and was enabled to maintain her testimony to the end. By her death the Edinburgh congregation has sustained a great loss and this is more keenly felt inasmuch as within two years the congregation has been bereaved of six of its members. To her daughter, whose dutiful and loving care was of such great comfort to the mother, we offer our sincere sympathy. May she be comforted by the God of all comfort. “The King’s daughter is all glorious within.” D.C.