God has not only a work to be done, but He also has a time of doing it. His time is the right time; and no other time is. David was willing to build a house of worship for the Lord. But the time, which infinite wisdom prescribed for this great work, had not arrived. And in the spirit of acquiescence, he left it to his successor. In repeated instances the Savior expressed the sentiment, that "his hour was not yet come"; implying very evidently that the great events of his life, whether of action or of suffering, had their appropriate time. And neither the protestations of friends nor the dictation of enemies could induce Him to violate the maxims of true wisdom, by anticipating, even for a moment, that appropriate period. If, therefore, we gird ourselves for action, however good the object to be done may be, either before the appropriate time or after it, we do not cooperate with God, who always acts precisely at the right time.
This is a point, which it is very important to remember. Persons are more likely to fall into error here, than in the particular which was first mentioned. There is a sort of latent feeling, (a very unrighteous feeling it is,) that if God is permitted exclusively to designate the object, we should have some degree of liberty in exercising our own wisdom, either partially or wholly, in the designation of the time, In other words, we are apt to feel, that a less perfect submission is required in regard to the time, than in regard to the object. This tendency must be carefully guarded against.
— edited from The Interior or Hidden Life (2nd edition, 1844) Part 3, Chapter 5.
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