Alright, Psalm 2521 says, Let integrity and uprightness preserve me. We've already looked at that. And now David gives a reason why he wants God to preserve him through his integrity and uprightness. For, or because, I wait on thee. I wait on thee. So what's that tell us? His hope or his trust was in the Lord. Notice, he doesn't say I'm waiting on people or I'm waiting on circumstances or situations to change. I'm waiting on God himself. And so he was doing the right thing, waiting. He's waiting for the right person, for God. So we're going to talk about waiting on God today. And waiting on God is one of the most difficult, and yet always rewarding, of spiritual exercises. Waiting on God is something that always brings blessing and benefit. God never fails us when we wait on Him. And we already saw earlier in this psalm that waiting upon God was David's constant state of soul, verse 5. lead me in thy truth, and teach me, for thou art the God of my salvation. On thee do I wait all the day." He said he waited on God all the day. Now what does it mean to wait upon the Lord? Well, the word wait means to hope strongly, to trust, to expect anything or to wait for anything. It means he was looking to God. He was expecting from God. He was biding God's time. He was anticipating God to work for him. Now what are some of the things we wait upon God for? Well, we might wait on Him for provision of a need for comfort and strength, for guidance, for an answer to prayer, for healing of our bodies or minds, for deliverance from trouble, for victory over sin or temptation, for answers to questions we may have, or even, ultimately, for God to call us home to himself, to bring us to heaven. These are all things we might be waiting upon God for. Now, why should we wait upon God? Well, we're going to look at some things about waiting upon God. First reason is because God commands it. In Zephaniah, one of the minor prophets, in chapter 3, Verse 8, it says, Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord. There it is, it's commanded. Wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey. For my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them my indignation, even all my fierce anger, for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. But there you have it. God clearly demands it. Wait ye upon me, saith the Lord. All right, that's his command. So how do we fulfill it? Well, first of all, we need to make sure that we are indeed waiting upon the Lord. We're to wait only upon God, not on someone or something else. Psalm 62 and verse 5. Psalm 62, verse 5, David says, My soul. So here he is exhorting himself. This is a self-admonition. He's stirring himself up to his duty. My soul, wait thou only upon God. Why? For my expectation is from Him. Right? What I'm looking for, what I need, I expect to come from Him. And so I'm waiting only upon Him. Only He can help me, and only He is worthy to be waited upon. And so my whole hope or trust is in the Lord alone. And we should wait upon Him. Why? Because He's our Creator. He's able to do for us what we need. Jeremiah 14. You know, God is unique. he alone is God there's none like him and so our duties to God are to be rendered only to him and not to anyone else Jeremiah 14 verse 22 are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that means the false gods or the idols that can cause rain Or can the heavens give showers? Art not thou he, O Lord our God? Therefore we will wait upon thee. Why? For thou hast made all these things. Only God, who made the world, controls all the events of this world, whether it be natural forces like rain or whatever. So we have to wait upon him as our creator, the maker and sustainer of all things, and he who rules the world by his providence. We wait on God's name, Psalm 59 verse 2. When we talk about God's name, what are we talking about? Well, it speaks of God himself, Psalm 52, verse 9. God himself, his character, his attributes, in other words, all that God is, causes us to wait upon him because he's worthy and able. I will praise thee forever because thou hast done it. In other words, he's already had experience of God working for him. And I will wait on thy name for his good before thy saints. Oh, how good God's name is. It's like sweet ointment poured forth. Therefore, the virgins love it. We love his name. We wait on his name, for his name declares God's nature and his works. And we wait on him for that. We see God's works in the world, but where else is God's character and his works revealed? In his word. Psalm 130. And verse 5, Psalm 130 verse 5, we wait on God in his word. I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait. And how do we wait? And in his word do I hope. In other words, God's word tells us about himself and what he will do for us and we wait on him based on what he says. In other words, it's a scriptural hope. A hope formed by the inspired word of God. I wait in his word. In other words, God's word tells me what it is I can expect from the Lord and it molds and fashions my waiting, and directs my waiting. It's His Word that causes us to hope. Faith comes by hearing by the Word of God. I wait for Him and His Word. Also in His judgments, Isaiah chapter 26, Isaiah 26 verse 8. Now God's judgments can mean two things. That can be word for the word of God his judgments means his mind his sentence his opinion his determination regarding something as he reveals his his mind and will in the scriptures his judgments his judgments can also mean his works in the world you know he rewards the good and punishes the evil his judgments are abroad in the earth Isaiah 26 verse 8 it says Ye in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee. The desire of our soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee." They have a desire for God. How do they express that desire? How do they show that they remember him in all their ways? They walk in his judgments. In the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee. In other words, we can't go out of God's way and expect to wait for Him and have Him come through for us. We have to keep to His way. And as we keep to His way, we're in His will, and we can look to Him to do what He says He'll do, and we can wait for Him to do that. So, His Word sets out our path, and it's in His judgments, as they are revealed in His Word, that we wait on Him. We wait on Him keeping His way. Psalm 37, 34. We can't say we're waiting on God when we go about our own path and we do our own will and we try to serve Him in our own strength or according to our own counsels. That's not waiting on God. A lot of people, they don't know what to do and they do it anyway. It's not waiting on God. We have to be following his word. Psalm 37, 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. See, waiting on the Lord has to be attended with keeping his way. We have to do both or else we're not really waiting on him. Well, So we're not idle when we're waiting on the Lord. We're living in obedience to his word. We're keeping his way. We're following his judgments. We're also in prayer for what we're waiting for. In Micah chapter 7. Does God answer our prayers immediately? I don't think so. Sometimes. Sometimes he hears us before we call on him. And he answers while we're yet speaking. But why do I say I don't think so or not usually? Well, what's the Bible say? We're to pray and wait. By faith and patience we inherit the promises. In other words, there's a time factor. We have to exercise patience. in prayer and in waiting for our answers. Micah 7, therefore I will look unto the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation, my God will hear me. It's not a question of will God answer our prayer, it's a question of when. My God will hear me, but in the meanwhile I'll wait for him. He's the God of my salvation, so I can trust him to answer. Yeah, he says, ask and it shall be given to you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened. That seems to be a series or a progression, a time interval. You know, it says, whatsoever you ask in prayer, believe that you shall receive it and you shall have it. In other words, believe, ask, believe and then receive there's a time of faith and patience what does psalm 40 verse 1 say about this psalm 40 verse 1 i waited patiently for the lord ah how are we to wait patiently remember that old cartoon of the guy pacing back and forth in a little closed room And there's a fellow sitting there watching him pace, and the fellow finally couldn't hold back anymore. He says, why are you pacing like that? He says, because I'm in a hurry and God isn't. So he felt like he was at least going somewhere or doing something. No. I waited patiently for the Lord. And what was the response from God? What was the result? And he inclined unto me and heard my crying. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings." Notice, I was crying to him. But I waited patiently as I cried. He did incline to me, and he did hear me and answer my prayer. So, what is involved in waiting patiently for the Lord? We have to wait. patiently and in a state of soul rest. We are not to be anxious. We're not to be worried. We're not to be fretful. We're not to be in a hurry. He that hasteth with his feet sinneth. The Bible says, he that believes shall not make haste. In other words, we're not supposed to be rushing headlong like a horse in the battle. We're to be waiting patiently on the Lord until his time comes. Psalm 37 verse 7 and 9. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Notice rest or be silent to the Lord. He wants us to be quieted and still before him. Be still and know that I am God. Threat not thyself because of him who prospers in his way. because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. Verse 9, for evildoers shall be cut off, but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. In other words, the evildoers seem to be prospering, and they're attacking us. They seem to be winning, and we feel like we're going to lose. God says, you wait patiently. Don't fret. Don't in any wise do evil. Don't take things in your own hand. Wait on me patiently. You'll inherit the earth. The evildoers shall be cut off. Romans 8, 24 and 25 talking about waiting for the Lord's return. Now what's the relationship between faith and hope? Faith believes God's promise. Hope waits for its fulfillment. In other words, we believe it before we see it, and hope expects it to be fulfilled until it actually is. Well, we believe Jesus is coming and we're hoping for his return, and we're waiting for him to come back. Verse 24, for we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. But what a man sees, why does he yet hope for? Hope is something that is still future. It's not yet in our hand. We do not yet have it. We're waiting for it. But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it? Right? We're to patiently wait for that which we see not, which has not yet come to us, that we're waiting on God for. Well, does that mean we need to be moping and discouraged and depressed like God's not going to do it? Or what's the use? He hasn't done anything yet. So it's not going to happen. It's taking too long. I might as well give up, you know, and we get discouraged and we fall into despair. No, we're to wait expectantly and with great anticipation. Psalm 130 verse six. Hope is an eager anticipation, a great expectation. In other words, we strongly believe that God is going to do what he said he'd do, and we look forward to that. Psalm 130, verse 6. My soul waits for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning. In other words, it's an earnest yearning, a strong desire. Like a watchman waiting for the end of his shift, when the sun rises at break of day, I say more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. So, with eager expectation, great anticipation, God is going to do this, I can't wait. I do wait, and I patiently wait, but yet I wait with full confidence that God's going to come through. And how much should we wait continually? Hosea chapter 12. Hosea is the first of the minor prophets. Hosea chapter 12 verse 6. Here's some commands. Therefore turn thou to thy God I turn to the Lord, repent, keep mercy and judgment, in other words, have pity and compassion on those who are needy and hurting, give everyone their proper due, treat everyone fairly and justly, and wait on thy God continually. It makes me think of a servant that has a master. They're always ready to be commanded, always waiting for orders. Wait on thy God all the time. But wait, there's times when it's very difficult. Sometimes God hides His face from us. We can't see Him. We can't find Him. He seems to be gone. It appears He's not working, that He's abandoned us, that He's nowhere to be found. Wait on Him even then with expectation. Isaiah chapter 8 and verse 17. This is the hardest time to wait on God. when he seems to have departed from us, withdrawn from us, when he seems to be absent, gone, what do you do? Oh, the Lord is... No, he hasn't forsaken you. He says, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. Still wait. Still expect. Still hope. Isaiah 8, 17, And I will wait upon the Lord that hides his face from the house of Jacob, And I will look for him. In other words, he's hiding. I'm going to look for him until I find him. He says, you'll seek me. And you shall find me when you search for me with all your heart. What should we wait on God for? First of all, for help. That's a general term. Psalm 33, verse 20. Psalm 33 verse 20. Our soul waited for the Lord. Why? He is our help and our shield. God is the one who helps and defends us. We wait on Him for that. What else? We wait on Him for grace. Isaiah 33. For grace. for him to show favor to us, to show his love and kindness and goodness to us. Isaiah 33 verse 2, O Lord be gracious unto us, we have waited for thee. Now we need God's grace for everything. We need to wait on him for that grace. Be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble. Be gracious unto us, we have waited for thee. What for? Well, what does God's grace give us? Well, one thing it gives us is strength. Isaiah 40, verse 31. We need strength to do God's will and work. To labor and suffer for Him. We need strength to wait on Him. He gives that. Isaiah 40 31 he says well even in verse 30 even the youth shall faint and be weary the young men shall utterly fall but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as eagles they shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint All right, promise of strength, so as to be able to do God's will and work without fainting. Oh, how we need His strength. We also look to God for salvation, Isaiah 25. You know, God's grace saves us, by grace we are saved. We have to wait on God for that grace of salvation, Isaiah 25 and verse 9. You know, we say, wait only on God, only God can save us. Salvation is what we need more than anything else. And so, if we're going to be saved, we have to receive it from God, and wait on Him for it. Verse 9 of Isaiah 25, And it shall be said in that day, 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. Notice, our waiting will not be in vain. God will save us and we'll rejoice in that. Proverbs 20, 22, it says there, say not thou I will recompense evil, but wait on the Lord and he shall save thee. There it is. Wait on the Lord and he shall save thee. Nothing could be clear as a promise. Or what Jacob said. Genesis 49, 18. Jacob knew this and he practiced it himself. In Genesis 49, 18 he said, I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord. And of course we know that he was a saved man and went to heaven. Many will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God. I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord. And if people understood their true condition and their true need, and that salvation was what they needed more than anything else, and if they were desperate for it, they would seek God and wait on Him without ceasing till they received it. Another thing we can wait for God from Upon God for us for protection from our enemies. We see it in Psalm 59 verse 9 Psalm 59 verse 9 Because of his strength Will I wait upon thee? Now there's a great reason to wait upon God. Because of His strength, He's almighty. He can do for us whatever we need. There's no lack of power or ability in Him. Or of willingness, because He's good. For God is my defense. God is my defense, and because of His strength, I wait on Him to protect me from my enemies who are stronger than me. We also wait on God for provision. A lot of times we're waiting on people or organizations to give us some money. Well, we need to wait on God. Psalm 104, 27. Even the animals wait on God. These wait all upon thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. All that we have in this world, all that we enjoy, even our very food and drink, comes to us from God. We have to wait on Him for it. Give us this day our daily bread. Psalm 145 verse 15. God may use people and organizations, but ultimately it comes from Him. It says the eyes of all wait upon thee. And thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thy hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. Isn't that great? And we know the desire of the righteous shall be granted. God will meet his every need. They shall not be forsaken, nor will their seed be found begging bread. Now give us then their meat, so they wait on you for it." Both physical and spiritual. Psalm 123 verse 2. We need to wait on God for His mercy. No, if it were not for the Lord's mercies, we would be consumed. We're utterly dependent upon His mercy for all things. For salvation and for every blessing. We desperately need His mercy. We need to cast ourselves at His feet, throw ourselves upon His mercy, and wait upon Him to show us mercy. Not to give us what we deserve, but to withhold from us what we deserve. You know, we deserve judgment, and to give us grace, mercy. Psalm 123, verse 2. Behold, as the eyes of servants, look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God until that he have mercy upon us. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. Will our eyes wait upon the Lord our God? How long, even until What? What are we waiting for? Until the day of mercy upon us. Oh, how we need His mercy. Because it's not by words of righteousness, which we have done, that He saved us, but according to His mercy. And we need to wait on Him however long it takes. How long should we wait on Him? However long it takes. We can't give up. We can't quit. We can't fall short of God's time. Habakkuk. Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 3 I'll read 1 and 3 Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 1 and 3 I will stand upon my watch and set me upon the tower and will watch to see what he will say unto me. That's what we're doing. Lord, what's your word to us? What do you say? What do you want us to do? And what I shall answer when I am reproved. Verse three, for the vision is yet for an appointed time. God has an appointed time to speak to us, but at the end it shall speak. In other words, it will come eventually in God's good time and not lie, because it won't fail. God will always come through. Though it tarry, even if it's a long time in between, wait for it. Why? Because it will surely come. It will not tarry, or it will not go one second beyond the appointed time. Even if it tarry, wait for it, because it will come, definitely. Absolutely, without doubt, it will come. But it won't tarry, because it's going to come in the perfect time. So then, God is good to those who wait on Him. Not only at the end of their waiting, but even while they're waiting. He's good to them as they wait. Lamentations 3. Lamentations 3. Verse 25 and 26. The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. The Lord, I'm waiting, nothing's happening. He's good to you for waiting and while you wait. That's a good enough reason to wait in itself. And as you seek Him. So it says, it is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. It's good for us to do it because God's good to us as we do it. And in the end, He'll reward us for it by doing what we ask. Well, why shouldn't we wait on God? After all, God waits for us, too. He's waiting on us. Did you know that? Isaiah 30, verse 18. God's waiting for us. How many times... The reason things take so long is not because God's dragging His feet. It's because we're dragging our feet. Because we are holding back. And yet, even then, God has a gracious purpose. He has good in store for us. Isaiah 30 verse 18, Therefore will the Lord wait that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted that He may have mercy upon you. Why is He waiting? To be gracious and merciful, and to exalt and glorify Himself. For the Lord is a God of judgment. Blessed are all they that wait for Him. There is a benediction pronounced upon those who wait for God. They're blessed. as they wait. We often think the waiting time is not a blessed time. Come on, what's taking so long? Why isn't anything happening? What good is waiting? God's not doing anything. It's a waste of time. God says, blessed are they that wait for Him. What are we waiting for? Well, if God works for those who wait for Him, and we don't even know what we're waiting for because we're looking for unexpected things god does wonders without number great things that we know now in other words god is so great and he has things in store for us that are so wonderful we can't even know what's coming it's too good psalm 39 verse 7 psalm 39 verse 7 David says, and now, Lord, what wait I for? Lord, I'm waiting. I don't even know what you're going to do. I can't even figure this situation out. I can't imagine what you have in store for me. What am I waiting for? Well, whatever it is, my hope's in thee, so I know my hope's in the right place, and so I'll have something good from you, something wonderful. Isaiah 64, Verse 3 and 4, he's praying for God to come down. He says, When thou didst terrible things, which we looked not for, thou camest down, and the mountains swoll down at thy presence. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eyes seen O God beside thee what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him." You can't even imagine what God has in store for us. It's so good. And so we wait on Him, put our hope in Him, and look forward to what He does. If we do, we'll never be ashamed. Psalm 25, remember earlier on, David said in verse 3, we'll never be disappointed. God will never fail our hope. It's a hope that makes not ashamed. Psalm 25 verse 3, yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed. Let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. If you wait on God, you'll never be sorry. You'll never be disappointed. He will not fail you. That's a promise. Isaiah 49, 23. God says there, King shall be thy nursing fathers, and thy queens thy nursing mothers. He'll have kings and queens serving his people. They shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lift up the dust of thy feet, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. How will we know it? For they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. God works for those who wait for him, and he never disappoints them. What are we mainly waiting for? For Jesus. We're waiting for Christ to come back. What did Jesus say? I will come again. and receive you unto myself so we're expecting his return based on his promise his sure word of promise 2 Thessalonians 3 verse 5 it says and the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patient waiting for Christ we're patiently waiting for Christ to come back from heaven in great power and glory to take us unto himself, that where he is we may be also. And that's a hope that makes not ashamed. And in the meanwhile, the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given unto us. Romans 8.23 says, And not only they, but ourselves also which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, Even we ourselves groan within ourselves waiting for the adoption. What's this adoption? It's the manifestation or the public revelation and unveiling of the sons of God. To wit, the redemption of our bodies. When Jesus comes back at the last day to raise us from the dead with bodies like unto his glorious body and to be like him, when we see him as he is, That's our great hope. Our glorious hope. Blessed hope. The glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. That's what we're waiting for. And in the meanwhile, we wait for God to work on His will in our lives until Jesus comes. And for our conclusion, we'll read Psalm 27 and verse 14. This is our conclusion. Here's what God says. If all these things are true, If this is what he tells us, and this is what we can expect from him, then this should be our determination. Alright, I'll read 13 and 14. I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Alright, what kept David going through all his trials and adversities? He believed God's promise, and he expected God to fulfill it. and it carried him through. He would see ultimately God's goodness even in the land of the living. So wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. He shall strengthen my heart. Then he repeats it. Wait, I say. Who? On who? On the Lord. That's God's command and exhortation. That's David's advice. He proved it over and over in his experience. We see it in the records of his life, and we'll find it to be true in our own life because God is the same today. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. He's the same God he was for David, and if we wait on him as David did, he will do for us what he did for David, who was also a believing child of God as we are, as believers in Jesus Christ. And so, again, He says, let integrity and uprightness preserve me. Why? For I wait on Thee. If we wait on Thee, on God, integrity and uprightness will preserve us as well. So we thank God for that.