Psalms 42:2. My soul thirsteth for God, -
It was a soul thirst, not a throat thirst; the thirst had got as far down as the soul, till the inner spirit was as dry as a man’s throat after a long journey through the desert. "My soul thirsteth for God,"
Psalms 42:2. For the living God:
David had thirsted, you remember, for water from the well of Bethlehem that is within the gate, and he said, "Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!" But that was not living water; he had drunk of it before, yet he thirsted again, but now his soul thirsted for God, for the living God. Nothing but the cool refreshing living water of the living God can ever effectually quench human thirst.
Psalms 42:2. When shall I come and appear before God?
He valued the assembly of God’s people because he believed that, there in an especial manner, he was "before God." What a rebuke this is to those who despise public worship! We know some who say, "Well, we can read a good sermon at home, we can study the Scriptures there." David was a great lover of God’s Word, and read it both day and night, yet even he could not dispense with the outward means of grace, the public assembly of the saints. "When shall I come and appear before God?" Brothers and sisters, let us look upon our gatherings for worship as an appearance before God. You do not merely come to listen to the Lord’s minister, or to join in the sacred song of the congregation, but you come to "appear before God," that you may show yourself to him as his servants, and that he may reveal himself to you as your Lord. When you and I have been tossing upon the bed of languishing, or have been detained upon the sea, or have journeyed abroad, then we have learned to prize the means of grace more than ever.
Psalms 42:2. My soul thirsteth for God, -
It was a soul thirst, not a throat thirst; the thirst had got as far down as the soul, till the inner spirit was as dry as a man’s throat after a long journey through the desert. "My soul thirsteth for God,"
Psalms 42:2. For the living God:
David had thirsted, you remember, for water from the well of Bethlehem that is within the gate, and he said, "Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!" But that was not living water; he had drunk of it before, yet he thirsted again, but now his soul thirsted for God, for the living God. Nothing but the cool refreshing living water of the living God can ever effectually quench human thirst.
Psalms 42:2. When shall I come and appear before God?
He valued the assembly of God’s people because he believed that, there in an especial manner, he was "before God." What a rebuke this is to those who despise public worship! We know some who say, "Well, we can read a good sermon at home, we can study the Scriptures there." David was a great lover of God’s Word, and read it both day and night, yet even he could not dispense with the outward means of grace, the public assembly of the saints. "When shall I come and appear before God?" Brothers and sisters, let us look upon our gatherings for worship as an appearance before God. You do not merely come to listen to the Lord’s minister, or to join in the sacred song of the congregation, but you come to "appear before God," that you may show yourself to him as his servants, and that he may reveal himself to you as your Lord. When you and I have been tossing upon the bed of languishing, or have been detained upon the sea, or have journeyed abroad, then we have learned to prize the means of grace more than ever.