4. That waiting is full of divine desire to help. It is not the waiting of indifference, which says: 'If you will have it--well and good. If not, it does not matter to Me.' But 'more than they that watch for the morning,' God waits 'that He may be gracious unto you.' II. Man's waiting. Our attitude is to be in some real sense analogous to His. Its main elements are firm anticipation, patient expectation, steadfast desire, self-discipline to fit us for the influx of God's grace. We are not to prescribe 'times and seasons which the Father hath put in His own power.' The clock of Eternity ticks more slowly than our short-pendulumed timepieces. 'If the vision tarry, wait for it.' We may well wait for God when we know that He waits for us, and that, for the most part, when He sees that we are waiting, He knows that His time is come. But it is to be noted that the waiting desire to which He responds is directed to something better and greater than any gifts from Him, even to Himself, for it is they who 'wait for _Him_,' not only for His benefits apart from Himself, however precious these may be, who are blessed. The blessedness of such waiting, how it calms the heart, brings into constant touch with God, detaches from the fever and the fret which kill, opens our eyes to mark the meanings of our life's history, and makes the divine gifts infinitely more precious when they do come. After all, the time of waiting is at the longest very short. And when the perfect fruition is come, and we enter into the great spaces of Eternity, it will seem as an handbreadth. 'Take it on trust a little while, Thou soon shalt read the mystery right In the full sunshine of His smile.' THREE PICTURES OF ONE REALITY 'As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also He will deliver it; and passing over He will preserve it'--ISAIAH xxxi. 5.