Night Watches by John McDuff. The Wisdom of God. His understanding
is infinite. Psalm 147 verse 5. How baffling often are God's
dispensations. The more we attempt to fathom
their mystery, the more are we driven to rest in the best earthly
solution. Your judgments are a great But
where sense says, all these things are against me, faith has a different
verdict. All things are working together
for good. This is the province of faith,
confidingly to lean on the arm of God and to say, the Lord is
righteous in all His ways. We speak of God foreseeing. There
is no such thing. The past, present, and future
are with him all alike. He sees the end from the beginning. We can discern but a short way,
and that short way through a false and distorted medium. In a piece
of earthly mechanism, we seldom can discover beauty in the incomplete
structure. The mightiest works of science,
while in progress, are often a chaos of confusion. It is only
when finished we can admire the relation and adjustment of every
part to the whole. So also with the mechanism of
God's moral administration. At present, how much mystery! But, when in the light of eternity
we come to contemplate the completion of the mighty plan, how shall
we be brought to own and exclaim, the works of the Lord are right! But patience, there may come
a time when these dull ears shall scan aright strains that outring
earth's drowsy chime as heaven outshines the tapers light. Believer,
are the dealings of your God at present wearing a mysterious
aspect to you? Are you about to enter some dark
cloud exclaiming, verily you are a God that hides yourself
Do you fear to enter the cloud? Take courage. It will be with
you as with the disciples on their mount of transfiguration.
Unexpected glimpses of heavenly glory unlooked. For tokens of
the Savior's presence and love await you. If your Lord leads
you into the cloud, follow Him. If he constrains you to get into
the ship, obey him. The cloud will burst in blessings.
The ship will conduct you. It may be over a stormy sea,
to a quiet haven at last. It is only the surface of the
ocean that is rough. All beneath is a deep calm, and
in every threatening wave there is a needs being. O trust him
who is emphatically the wisdom of God. He is your counselor,
combining the infinite knowledge of God with the experience and
sympathy of man. He thus pre-eminently knows his
client's case. He is pledged to use a discipline
most wisely suited for each. O you whose wisdom guides my
way, though now it seems severe, forbid my unbelief to say there
is no wisdom here. Lord, if you bend my spirit low,
love only I shall see the very hand that strikes the blow was
wounded once for me. under the blessed persuasion
that a day of disclosures is at hand when in your light I
shall see light. I will trust the wisdom I cannot
trace and repeat each night as the shadows of evening gather
around me until the nights of Earth's ignorance vanish before
the breaking of an eternal day. I will lie down and sleep in
peace. For you alone, O Lord, make me
dwell in safety. Psalm 4 verse 8. I lie awake thinking of you,
meditating on you through the night watches. Psalm 63 verse
6.