WHAT I DO THOU KNOWEST NOT NOW.

 

What I do thou knowest not now.
John 13:7

 
WE walk by faith, not by sight.
 
We are to believe when we cannot see;
  and to believe when we cannot understand.
 
The Lord is now working in nature, providence, and grace;
  and he does many things which we do not understand at present.
 
But when his work is complete, and
  it lies stretched out before us in the light of eternity,
  then we shall comprehend the design,
  admire the wisdom, and
  adore the divine agent.
 
In the meantime,
  we must give the Lord credit
  for wisdom, kindness, and veracity;
  his work must correspond with his word,
  the one is but the counterpart of the other.
 
Beloved, is God cleansing you by fiery trials, or
  causing you to pass through the waters?
 
Are you at a loss to know what is his design, or
  where the present dispensation will end?
 
Be still.                        Wait his time.
 
There is a working time,
  which is the present; and
  there is a revealing time,
    which is to come.
 
The wisest are often in the dark now,
  but the simplest will see all things clearly by and by.
 
A little more patience,
  a little more faith, and
      all will be well.
 

Do what thou wilt; it should be so;

Thy works I shall hereafter know,

(When death the veil remove,)

Unwind the providential maze,

And gladly own that all thy ways

Are wisdom, truth, and love.

 
James Smith 1849