Jehovah is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul [that] seeketh him.
Jeremiah writes as a man who has been through deep trial with Jerusalem. He turns from his own affliction to what he has found God to be. The verse names two people God is good to: the one who waits, and the one who seeks. Why do those two belong together?
Goodness Proved, Not Guessed
This is not a general remark about God. It is a report from a man who had been through the worst.
Jeremiah tells what he gained from the Lord's ways with him in his trouble, and what it all did to his heart. "The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in Him." That is how a man can speak who had seen affliction under the rod of God's wrath. Having passed through seasons of trial, he can tell Jerusalem what he has found, a knowledge of great value. Had he only entered into trial with Jerusalem, he might have stated what he looked for. His expectations might have been right, and his view of the future correct. But that would have given no comfort like the experience he actually gained. So he goes on, "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him."
The same writer adds where all this comfort comes from.
All the comfort here is drawn from the Lord's known character — a wonderful rock to stand on, when everything that has happened has been richly deserved.
Waiting Tested by Seeking
The second half of the verse is not just a repeat of the first. It tests it.
These words cherish confident expectation. At the same time they expose and judge a false claim to be waiting for Him. A careless spirit might pretend to wait for Him. But could anyone think of such a person as a soul that seeks Him? This implies activity.
What Waiting Actually Is
If waiting is not idleness, neither is it self-managed action. One writer, commenting on a psalm whose subject is waiting on God, describes the two things it holds together.
Waiting on God is the subject of this psalm. It implies dependence and confidence — and both in such a way that we wait for God's time. Dependence, because we cannot do anything without Him, and ought not to. What He does is the only thing the soul desires. Action without Him, even in self-defence, is only the action of our own will, and so far it is our being without God. Saul did not wait on God. He waited nearly seven days. But if he had felt that he was dependent, and that nothing could be done without God, he would have done nothing till Samuel came. He did not. He acted for himself, and lost the kingdom. But waiting implies confidence too, for why should we wait if God would not come in? The soul is sustained in the meantime. And this confidence is such that we wait for the Lord's own good time.
Why So Few Prove It
The verse promises goodness to those who wait. One writer says that few Christians ever do it.
These truths are so little grasped for one reason: waiting on God is largely a "lost art" among Christians today. The rush and hurry of the age, "the lust of other things" — in a word, the worldliness that marks this hugely important period in the Church's history — effectively shuts out all desire to wait on God. This, it is to be feared, is true of a large number of those who confess the name of Jesus as Saviour and Lord. As a result, they know little or nothing, in a practical way, of His goodness in meeting felt need, or of His power to satisfy the soul that seeks His face.
The same writer is careful not to overpromise what the waiting soul receives.
The Lord has nowhere promised immediate relief from sorrow and suffering. Sometimes, in His righteous government, He allows His people to suffer affliction. Then it is good that they seek His face at once, and wait on Him. It may not be His will to remove every thorn in the flesh. If not, He will give the waiting soul grace to endure, and to endure with joy.
Where It Shows in Daily Life
This verse turns practical when people speak against us and we want to answer back.
How good it is for us to follow in His steps. When men speak malicious words, from whatever quarter they come, how good to keep silent and know that the Lord is our resource. It is good for us to take up the words of the prophet and say, "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him."
Summary
- Proved: Jeremiah is not predicting God's goodness. He reports it after coming through affliction, and that is why his words comfort.
- Waited for: Waiting joins dependence and confidence. We cannot act without Him, and we wait for His time because we trust He will come in.
- Sought: The second half of the verse tests the first. A careless spirit may claim to wait, but it does not seek. Real seeking is active.
- Lost: The rush and worldliness of the age crowd out waiting. Those who never wait never taste His goodness in real need.
- Given: He does not promise to remove every thorn. He does give the waiting soul grace to endure, and to endure with joy.