June 11

"I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord."—Genesis 49:18.

LET mine be the heart which cannot be taken at unawares. Out of the trance of the prophet, out of the seventh heaven to which he has been caught up, Jacob is recalled to himself, to the weakness of a deathbed, to the cumbersome world. But he stands the test. He is not surprised into sin. He returns to the attitude of the pilgrim he has maintained so long. I pray that I may come forth as well from my moments of reaction.

And let mine be the heart which passes from earth unsatisfied. The patriarch is waiting for God's salvation, as he has been since he became God's child in Bethel seventy summers ago. How much grace I have not tasted yet! Oh the visions of my soul—a stainless manhood, and the land of promise, and the throne of God! I hope to see these things one day.

And let mine be the heart which distrusts human help. Jacob has been transported into stirring times. He sees the victories of the tribes. The lion of Judah, and the wolf of Benjamin, and the serpent of Dan—they will achieve much. But he needs a better Ally. He waits, he leans, on God. It is my sole and single hope. I am impotent without the Lord of Hosts.

And let mine be the heart for which God keeps some nobler thing. It is long since the patriarch has seen the salvation he coveted. On the other side of death his spirit has met with Christ, and he asks to-day for nothing more. When Galahad had finished his quest, he was crowned king in the spiritual city. So may it be with me at last.

Blessed are all they that wait for Him.