7.30.2013 THOSE WHO WAIT ON THE LORD SHALL RENEW THEIR STENGTH ISAIAH 40.31a

seeking light, direction this a.m. and greatly helped, reading in matthew henry a bit of comment on this verse.

'He will help the WILLING,
will help those who, in HUMBLE DEPENDENCE upon Him,
HELP THEMSELVES,
and will do well for those who DO THEIR BEST, (vs. 30-1).
those who trust to their own sufficiency
and are so confident of it
that they neither EXERT THEMSELVES TO THE UTMOST
nor SEEK UNTO GOD FOR HIS GRACE,
are the youths and the young men,
who are strong, but are apt
to think themselves stronger than they are.
and they shall faint and be weary,
yea, they shall utterly fail
in their services,
in their conflicts and
under their burdens;
they shall soon be made to see the folly of
trusting in themselve.
but those that wait on the Lord,
who MAKE CONSCIENCE (obs. consciousness, self knowledge) of their duty to Him,
and by faith RELY UPON Him
and COMMIT themselves to his guidance,
shall find that God will not fail them.

1. they shall have grace sufficient for them
they shall renew their strength as their work is renewed, as there is new occasion;
they shall be anointed and their lamps supplied with fresh oil.
god will be their arm every morning (isaiah 33.3))
if at any time they have been foiled and weakened
they shall recover themselves and so renew their strength.
they shall change their strength-
as their work is changed-doing work, suffering work;
they shall have strength to labour
strength to wrestle,
strength to resist,
strength to bear.
as the day so shall the strength be.

2. they shall use this grace for the best purposes.
being strengthened,
first, they shall soar upward, upward towards God....
in the strength of divine grace, their souls shall ascend above the world,
and even enter into the holiest.
pious and devout affections are the eagles wings...
secondly, they shall press forward, forward towards heaven.
they shall walk,
the shall run (in) the way of God's commandments,
cheerfully and with alacrity (they shall not be weary),
constantly and with perseverance (they shall not faint)
and therefore in due season they shall reap.
let jacob and israel therefore,
in their greatest distresses, continue waiting upon God
and not despair of
timely and effectual relief and succour from Him.