1358. A Thirsty Soul

A Thirsty Soul

"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Mat_5:6, A. S. V.).

Christ is both the Bread of Life, and the Water of Life to hungry and to thirsty souls.

1. We have before us the fact of thirst. Some one has said, "There is an aching void in the heart of man, the world can never fill." This is another way of saying that there is a thirst the world can never satisfy. That men are unsatisfied and thirsty, no one can doubt. What else is the meaning of the mad rush on the part of young and old, as they press their way in the search of pleasure?

A clown is reported to have cried out to his expectant crowd; "I know what you all want, you want something to make you happy." The clown was right, the whole world is athirst for happiness.

The great difficulty lies in the fact that the hungry, thirsty world does not know that Christ is the supplement of its need; it does not know that in Him, and in Him alone, rest is to be found.

Men do not know that in His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures for evermore.

2. We have before us the new call of thirst–a thirst for righteousness. The world is thirsty for fun, and happiness, and this can be found only in its enduring quality, in Christ. However, there is a deeper sense of thirst which all do not possess.

It is a thirst for righteousness.

(1) Righteousness is a primal need. The Lord Jesus said, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness" (Mat_6:33).

The quest for righteousness should take precedence over everything that a man has or can desire; it is more important than the quest for riches.

So long as Naaman was a leper, what advantage did he find in his victories, as captain of the hosts of Syria?

So long as a man is polluted in his sins, he has lost everything even though he gain the world.

(2) Righteousness is found in Christ. The Lord Jesus, when He died upon the Cross, became "sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2Co_5:21).

Our sins are His, His righteousness is burs. He is made unto us righteousness.

The Apostle Paul said, "That I may * * be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the Law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith" (Php_3:9).

3. We have before us a blessed result–satisfied. They that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled (see Mat_5:6).

The 23rd Psalm presents a picture of rest–"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside still waters" ("waters of rest," A. S. V., marg.)

A hungry or a thirsty sheep will never lie down; particularly would he not lie down mid green pastures and with the still waters close at hand. The picture is a picture of satisfaction and rest in Christ. It is an illustration of our key verse.

The demoniac who had been restless and wild, came to Jesus and drank. The result was that they found him "sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind" (Luk_8:35).

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR