Not So in Haste My Heart

Not so in haste my heart!
Have faith in God, and wait;
Although He linger long,
He never comes too late.

He never cometh late;
He knoweth what is best;
Vex not thyself in vain;
Until He cometh, rest.

Until He cometh, rest,
Nor grudge the hours that roll;
The feet that wait for God
Are soonest at the goal.

Are soonest at the goal
That is not gained with speed;
Then hold thee still, my heart,
For I shall wait His lead.

I want to thank Dr. Jay McCluskey for this week’s hymn.  I had never heard it before, but when I read the lyrics, I really enjoyed them, and knew I had to add it to my list.

This hymn is unique in the sense that there is a connectedness between the verses.  Not just a connectedness of thought.   That is fairly typical in hymns.  But a connectedness in words where the ending of one verse mirrors, almost exactly, the beginning of the next verse.  This reminds me of the journey of the Christian.  We often times move from a mountaintop to a valley.  From a trial, to a victory, to another trial.  God does not abandon us in the down times although sometimes it may feel that way.  But He takes all of our experiences, trials, and tribulations, and connects those experiences and uses those times to draw us closer to Him.  If you take a step back, you can see God weaving a tapestry in our lives.  Sometimes with bright threads and other times with dark threads.  God uses the good, the bad, and the ugly for His glory.  There is a connectedness, or more Scripturally accurate, an orderliness to our Christian walk.  The Bible says “The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord.” Our challenge during these times is to “wait” and “rest.”  To take to heart the verse of Scripture that says “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.”  To trust the Word when it says “Come unto me all ye that are heavy ladened and I will give you rest.”  I hope this hymn encourages you today to slow down, to wait, to rest, and to tell your heart “Not so in haste.” 

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “Although He linger long” – Do you feel like this today?  Do you feel like God has lingered too long in your situation?  That He hasn’t moved fast enough, healed quick enough, or resolved a problem soon enough for your liking.  How often in life does our timing and God’s timing get off kilter!  Oh, to have the patience and faith to wait and rest.  To endure 40 years of wilderness wandering, yet have the faith of Caleb.  To endure the 70 years of captivity, yet plant gardens, build houses, and marry (Jeremiah 29).

• “That is not gained with speed” – In an era where we want instant responses on our phones, our computer, our internet, and our televisions, we become pretty accustomed to rapid responses.  We have been conditioned by these electronic devices to respond immediately to our requests.  But there are many things in life that are not gained with speed.  There are learning experiences that take days, weeks, months, and even years.  Training children is not a sprint.  It is a marathon.  Memorizing Scripture is a long term process.  Many of the qualities that God is trying to perfect in our lives comes from patient endurance….that is not gained with speed.

Now a little history about the hymn and it’s writer.  Bradford Torrey was born in New England in the 1840’s, and this is the only hymn that he wrote that is known at all.  Mr. Torrey is actually more famous for being an ornithologist and naturalist.  An ornithologist is a fancy word for a bird watcher.   He wrote several books including “Birds in the Bush,” “Nature’s Invitation,” and he also edited Thoreau’s Journal – the journal of Henry David Thoreau.

I wondered to myself – “What could one learn about the Christian life by observing and studying birds?”  A couple of things came to mind:

“Birds do not worry” – Have you ever heard of a bird having a nervous breakdown?  Have you ever seen a bird with gray hair caused by worrying and fretting?

“Birds are busy working” – There’s a reason for the old country phrase “bird working.”  We recognize that birds diligently go about the day’s business.  Building nests.  Finding food.  Taking care of their young.  Journeying from north to south and back.  They are busy about their work. 

“Birds sing” – And lastly, birds sing praises.  As the dawn breaks, you can hear them in the trees singing praises.  Maybe the night before had a storm that was fierce.  Birds still sing.  Maybe a strong wind has destroyed their nest.  Birds still sing.  As the sun comes up, they pause to praise their Creator.

I hope you too can learn a few things by bird watching.  Now, let me close today with the words of Jesus found in Matthew 10:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”