Christ, and reconciliation with God through him, it is privileged to claim God as its own peculiar por- tion : it is entitled to say of Christ, " My Beloved is mine, and I am his :" " He has loved ^ne, and given himself for me." And to the Father himself also, as now reconciled to him, he can say, " O God, thou art MY God." It is no wonder then, that from hence- forth God becomes the one object of his desire.
The soul now finds no satisfaction in earthly things —
[This whole world appears to it as *^' a land where no water is." The whole creation seems to be but " a broken cistern,'* which, whilst it promises refreshment to the weary and heavy- laden, is never able to impart it.
If it be objected, that, though David under his peculiar trials found the world so barren of all good, we may find it a source of comfort to us ; we answer. That there is nothing in this world that is suited to satisfy the desires of an immortal soul; and that, the more we have of this world, the more fully shall we be con- vinced, that it is altogether an empty bubble, a cheat, a lie; and that "vanity and vexation of spirit" is written by the finger of God himself upon all that it contains. The carnal mind cannot credit this: but the renewed soul needs no argument to convince it of this truth.]
Its desire therefore is after God alone —
[" Early will I seek thee," is the language of every one that is born of God. In the secret chamber his first waking thoughts will be, *' Where is God my Maker?" where is Jesus my Re- deemer ? where is the blessed Spirit my Sanctifier and my Com- forter ? In the public ordinances also especially will his soul desire communion with its God. It has beheld somewhat of God's power and glory in the manifestations of his love, and in the communications of his grace; and it bears those seasons in remembrance, and longs to have them renewed from time to time. The bare ordinances will not satisfy the Believer, if God be not in them : it is not to perform a duty that he comes up to the sanctuary, but to meet his God, and enjoy sweet converse with him : and if he meet not God there, he is like a man who, with much ardent expectation, has gone to a distant city to meet his friend, and has been disappointed of his hope: or rather he is like those of whom the prophet Jeremiah speaks, who in a season of extreme drought "^ came to the pits and found no water | and returning with their vessels empty, were ashamed, and con- founded, and covered their heads ^" They know by sad expe- rience
' Jer, xiv. 3,
377.] THE believer's DISPOSITIONS TOWARDS GOD. 215
rience that " there is no water " elsewhere ; and if they find not access to " God, the living fountain," their very " flesh " sym- pathizes with their " souls," and fainteth by reason of the painful disappointment. This is beautifully described in another psalm ^': and it is realized in the experience of every Believer, in proportion to the integrity of his soul before God, and to the measure of grace with which he is endued ~\
In perfect correspondence with the desires of a renewed soul, are,
II. Its purposes —
The Believer determines to praise and glorify his God—
[The language of his heart is, " My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed ; I will sing and give praise." He knows what God hath said, " Whoso offereth me praise, glorifieth me :" and he determines to offer unto God the tribute that is so justly due. Nor will he do this in a cold and formal manner: no; as a man of warm feelings expresses with his body the emotions of his soul, so will he, together with his heart, lift up his hands also in the name of his God. Nor will he pour forth these effu- sions only on some particular occasions, or during any one par- ticular season : he will do it continually; he will do it to the latest hour of his life. He considers " praise as comely for the upright;" and he wishes it to be the constant language of his lips.]