05.03. David's Desire
David’s Desire
"Thee" -- "after Thee"; nothing else could satisfy David’s heart but David’s God. He had a heart for God, and Oh! wondrous mercy, he had God for his heart, though he did not realize it as he would. This is the essence of true faith; it is all in a Person. This is the essence of the Gospel. The Gospel of God is concerning His Son -- "A Saviour, Christ the Lord." "Ye shall be witnesses unto Me." This, I repeat, is the work of grace. All short of this is only religion, and you see it at every step. What is man (unregenerate man in search of? Pleasure, Fame, Reputation, Power, Riches, a name in the world. Man will have anything, everything, without God. So also with the religious man! He will have his creed, his sect, his belief, his responsibility, his zeal and his earnestness, but if he have not Christ he will be lost though he have all the appliances and all the forms and ceremonies of religion. What are these things to nay heart, without a knowledge of God in Christ as my God? Nothing but deception and delusion. So with the true Christian. The temptation is ever to add something to Christ, as if He were not enough, or to substitute something for Christ as if He were not necessary, instead of being All in all. We are told to seek ’’the blessing." But blessings without Christ are so many burdens which our poor, proud nature cannot carry. No! If Christ is our one object, then we have the Blesser with us, with all His Blessings with Him, making them to abound in us for our good and for His glory. We are told to rest upon the many "exceeding great and precious promises"; but promises without the Faithful Promiser to make them good in our experience, are but so many words -- meaningless words to make our hearts ache with an unsatisfied longing. "That I may know Him" was the prayer of the Apostle. "That I may know Him" will be the desire and prayer of every Spirit-taught child of God. Yes, Spirit-taught; for look at the first verse of the Psalm, ’’My soul thirsteth for Thee." Now compare this with Psa 65:9, "Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it"; but see the rendering in the margin, "After thou hadst made it to desire rain." This brings us to...