Soul Thirst: When Only God is Enough

7/28/2019 Soul Thirst: When Only God is Enough

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1 0 5 t h A v e n u e , G l o v e r s v i l l e , N Y 1 2 0 7 8

2013

Soul Thirst

When Only God Is Enough

Douglas Blanc, PhD

New Life Bible Fellowship


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Dr. Douglas A. Blanc, Sr. June 2013 New Life Bible Fellowship

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SOUL THIRSTPsalm 42:1-11

INTRODUCTIONRevival is the state of the soul in distress for God and for God alone. This is the truth derived

from a familiar psalm which focuses on the worshippers desire for God. The psalmist depicts

this desire for God with a figure of speech (simile). In terms of his own experience and that of

his fellow worshippers, he describes the worship of God as a deer thirsting for water.

1. The deer does not learn to thirst.2. The deer needs only trust its natural intuition (sense) to be led to the thirst-quenching

water.

In his timeless classic The Pursuit of God(1948),1

Christian and Missionary Alliance Pastor A. W.

Tozer (1897-1963) describes the need for such yearning after God in his day:

In this hour of all-but-universal darkness one cheering gleam appears: within the

fold of conservative Christianity there are to be found increasing numbers of

persons whose religious lives are marked by a growing hunger after God Himself.

They are eager for spiritual realities and will not be put off with words, nor will

they be content with correct interpretations of truth. They are athirst for God,

and they will not be satisfied till they have drunk deep at the Fountain of Living

Water. This is the only real harbinger of revival which I have been able to detect

anywhere on the religious horizon. It may be the cloud the size of a mans hand

for which a few saints here and there have been looking. It can result in a

resurrection of life for many souls and a recapture of that radiant wonder which

should accompany faith in Christ, that wonder which has all but fled the Church

of God in our day.

Written 65-years-ago, these words emphatically describe the spiritual climate of our day.

A mere glance at the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount rewards us with similar

language to describe the souls pursuit of God. The so-called Beatitudes (from the Latin

beatus =blessed) section of the Sermon contains declaration of Jesus, Blessed are those who

1Available for download at:http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25141/25141-h/25141-h.htm.
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hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled (Matt 5:6 TNIV). The term filled is

better rendered satisfied (ESV) and refers to the souls inward satisfaction.

Jesus is saying that the truly satisfied soul is one which craves righteousness as the body

naturally craves food and water to sustain natural life. In other words, a follower of Jesus is

blessed with an inner supernatural craving to satisfy the desires of the soul.

The soul thus awakened toward God does not need to be taught to crave after righteousness,

but is intuitively prompted to do so. The Christian craves righteousness because his/her eyes

have been opened to the Savior who alone is the Righteous One (1 John 2:1) and in whom we

are entirely satisfied and every craving to please God ceases. This brings to mind the often-

mentioned quote of John Piper: God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

Thus, Jesus is the end (goal) of the Mosaic Law according to the apostle Paul (Rom 10:1-4). He

did not come to abolish the scriptures known to the Jews, but to fulfill its precepts and

promises (Matt 5:17-20). In Christ, a righteousness exceeding the standard of fulfillment

required by the former Law and modeled by its leading practitioners (e.g. the Pharisees) is

discovered (Matt 5:20).

From this we learn that within mankind is an impulse for God. Once awakened, the soul cannot

rest until it rests in God. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD), one of the early church Fathers

declared of his own longing: Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless

until it finds its rest in thee (Confessions).2

As creatures of the living God, we are made by him and for him and will never be satisfied

unless we are rightly related to him and live in a meaningful relationship with him. Truly, this

world offers much in material possessions and the personal realization of comforts, status, and

achievement which dull the edge of the souls craving for God.

1. Jesus told a parable of such a man (Luke 12:16-21).2. Jesus also warned of the high cost assoc iated with living ones life in terms of this world

only (Matt 16:26).

3. Instead, Jesus taught to place the kingdom of God and his righteousness as first inordering our priorities for daily living (Matt 6:33).

4. James refers to this kind of living as presumptuous, reckless, and foolish (Jas 4:13-17).5. James seems to imply that knowledge of the good is possessed by those who willfully

reject its intuitive craving for God and his righteousness (Jas 4:17).

2http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/augconf/aug01.htm.
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6. John warns that the souls craving for God can be desen sitized by passionately cravingthe things of this world (1 John 2:15-17).

7. Such craving, when focused on worldly affairs (see of Demus in 2 Tim 4:10), displacesthe hearts devotion to God with an idolatrous affection for something deemed of

greater value (Exod 20:3; 32:8).

How often do our passions become captive to craving some possession, status, or personal

achievement, only to discover its inferior capacity to meet the most fundamental needs of the

soul? We are left with a sense of emptiness that further intensifies the need to acquire more

things, greater status and accomplishments!

Many people today, even professing Christians, are living unfulfilled lives, because they are

trying to quench their thirst (inner) by something other than the water of life (John 4:13-14).

The psalmist elsewhere describes this spiritual condition in terms of a cause-effect relationship.

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness craving things other than God in order to experience

what they deemed would bring satisfaction. Instead, the psalmist writes: So he [God] gave

them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease among them (Ps 106:15 TNIV).

The Christian life, lived to the full, is described by Jesus in terms of an inner spring that bursts

forth. This seems to suggest that a life fully satisfied in Christ cannot be contained within the

human soul (John 7:37-39). This agrees with the city set on a hill metaphor used by Jesus in

the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:14a). The city is a shining luminary which cannot be hidden

(Matt 5:14b).

1. This is the normal Christian life, the life to which we must aspire and the life we havereceived through the new birth experience (John 17:3; Phil 3:10).

2. Christ makes his dwelling place in us and through us he radiates his presence to theworld (Eph 3:16-19).

3. There is also an internal diffusion of his love that spills forth to others (Rom 5:5; John13:34-35; 1 Cor 13:1-13).

What can we learn from the simple metaphor used by the psalmist to instruct worshippers

about how to live a life that thirsts for God alone?


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. THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP IS NOT CREEDAL ORCONFESSIONAL, BUT DEVOTIONAL AND EXPERIENTIAL.

From the Psalms title we may adduce several pertinent truths.

1. Those to whom its authorship is ascribed (the sons of Korah) were moved by aprofound experience of God (2 Chr 20:19).

2. As an expressive musical device (maskil), the psalm suggests the need for an outlet torelease profound spiritual experience.

3. The Sons of Korah produced a collection of songs (psalms) by which they delighted in the praise of God the King who sat enthroned in the Jerusalem (temple); a God who

alone is deserving of sincere and tender emotional tribute (see Pss 42-49, 84, 85, 87,

and 88).

4. The psalmist has been removed from the temple against his will and surrounded byungodly people who mock him to the point of feeling forsaken by God (Ps 42:11 and

43:5).

So often worship is considered something to be performed and not something to be

experienced. Another psalmist recognizes that worship is a verb and commands the people of

God accordingly (Ps 100:2). In this case the act of worship is the result of profound and deep

spiritual influences (gladness and joyful songs, Ps 100:2).

In other words, the soul erupts in praise and song (worship) because it has meaningfully andprofoundly encountered God. This tells us that much of our corporate worship, though

endowed at times with rich liturgical performance, may not be worship at all if it does not

express what the soul cannot contain or no longer can hide.

We worship because we must worship. We must pour forth from our lips what we can no

longer contain within the recesses of our bosom. Perhaps this is the meaning behind Jesus

declaration to the woman at the well in Samaria (John 4:23-24).

One of the key instruments used by God during the Welsh Revival of 1904-05 was Evan Roberts

(1878-1851). At 26, Roberts possessed none of the typical attributes deemed necessary foreffective ministry (maturity of age, education, and oratory). Instead, he experienced a dramatic

and personal move of God through the influence of the Holy Spirit. The dynamics of the

encounter during a corporate worship describes the uncontainable experience to which we

refer.


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He visited a meeting where Seth Joshua was preaching and heard the evangelist

pray Lord, bend us. The Holy Spirit said to Evan, Thats what you need. At the

following meeting Evan experienced a powerful filling with the Holy Spirit. I felt

a living power pervading my bosom. It took my breath away and my legs

trembled exceedingly. This living power became stronger and stronger as eachone prayed, until I felt it would tear me apart. My whole bosom was [in] turmoil

and if I had not prayed it would have burst. I fell on my knees with my arms

over the seat in front of me. My face was bathed in perspiration, and the tears

flowed in streams. I cried out Bend me, bend me!! It was Gods commending

love which bent me what a wave of peace flooded my bosom. I was filled

with compassion for those who must bend at the judgment, and I wept.

Following that, the salvation of the human soul was solemnly impressed on me. I

felt ablaze with the desire to go through the length and breadth of Wales to tell

of the Saviour.3

It is beneficial for us to think of occasions for corporate worship as extensions and expressions

of daily personal spiritual experience. It is such worship that the author of the book of Hebrews

demands as necessary to the mutual encouragement (better, exhortation) of the gathered

people of God (Heb 10:25). We are to encourage in the sense of exhorting one another.

Perhaps such exhortation has in view declarations of what God has done and is doing in our

lives. The collective witness of the profound and transformational workings of God will certainly

encourage every heart!

. WORSHIP IS YIELDING TO AN IMPULSE THAT SEEKS THEEXCLUSIVE SOURCE OF THE SOULS SATISFACTION.So much of this world is alluring to the soul which knows nothing greater in terms of

satisfaction and fulfillment. To know God is to be held captive by a sense of longing after that

which cannot be exceeded by worldly endeavors and experience.

We must clear the debris of sin and worldly affection in order to see Christ enthroned in

majesty. Archaeological digs uncover treasures from the ancient past which lie covered by

layers of debris. It takes a persistent and meticulous search to uncover a treasure!

1. The psalmist, deprived of temple worship, laments in agony for such a time when he canbe restored to the presence of God (v. 1).

2. Thus deprived, he describes his soul as parched from the lack of fresh and frequentencounters with God (v. 2).

3http://www.revival-library.org/pensketches/revivalists/robertse.html
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3. Without watering the soul withers. Desperation is the experience of the soul whichattempts to live without fresh encounters with God (v. 3).

4. The sense of despair is heightened when the means for such encounters are notavailable and public ridicule is present (vv. 4-5).

Note that in expressing in the inner longing of his soul to be in the presence of God, the

psalmist does not yield to the despair aroused by his present circumstance. His desire for God is

a driving force. He presses through the emotional torment to confess to God the supreme

allegiance of his soul. Suffering becomes a platform for praise! The psalmist refuses to permit

his plight to extinguish his zeal for God. Rather, the extremity of his circumstances drive him

relationally closer to the God he considers geographically distant. James words ring true,

Come near to God, and he will come near to you (Jas 4:8a). Press through the valley of tears,

and without fear, and with God beside you, he will attend to your every need (Ps 23:4).

. THE WORSHIP OF GOD IS JUSTIFIED BY HIS CHARACTER ANDNOT BY OUR CIRCUMSTANCES.

If we would trust in the character of God, we would find rest from so many of the

circumstantial pressures of life. Abraham is a great biblical example of this truth. He trusted in

the character of God amidst circumstances that defied logic and common sense (see Gen 22:1-

19). We should consider the strength of Abrahams faith in the context of the covenant God

made with him (see Gen 12:2-3; 15:5; 17:1-8, 17-19). Notice that Abrahams faith in God was

tested (Gen 22:1). This test came some time later (Gen 22:1). That is, some time after he

planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and worshiped the Eternal-God (Gen 21:33; see also Ps90:2).

A tamarisk is an evergreen tree. Known for its well-developed root structure (sometimes taking

as much a 200 gal. of water/day), it thrives in arid regions. The sustainability of the plant is in its

seed production, up to 500,000/plant. Seeds are dispersed by the wind and can germinate

within 24 hrs. This means that a single tamarisk shrub can overwhelm a region quickly.

1. Perhaps for Abraham, the lone shrub would multiply even as God revealed in thecovenant of his descendants (Gen 15:5).

2. Perhaps Abraham was memorializing the life-giving nature of God. If so, this seems tosquare with the writer of the book of Hebrews commentary on Abraham (see Heb

11:19).


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We can learn from Abraham that he did not attempt to reconcile his faith with his

circumstances. Instead, he reconciled his circumstances with the character-nature of God. In so

doing, the patriarchs faith was strengthened.

The psalmist would have us to follow Abrahams example and perform similarly. The psalmists

yearning after God exceeded any desire to be exonerated before his mocking tormenters (vv. 3,

10). His soul could only be satisfied by the very thing responsible for its turmoil; restored access

to the presence of God. By presence we infer that a longing for a direct encounter with God

satisfies the thirsting soul as the parched deer lapping the cool waters of the flowing brook.

So often, if not most often in our day, worship is something we do and not something we

experience. We perform the liturgy of readings, testimonies, songs, and preaching. But, where

is the presence of God? Isaiah cried, Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,

that the mountains would tremble before you! (Isa 64:1). Isaiahs cry was uttered in desperate

times. Yet, it is in desperate times that we are taught how to worship. It is in the hour ofgreatest need that the soul rightly related to God longs for communion with him and can be

satisfied by a touch from him.

Note that the psalmist refers to God as my Rock (v. 9). He complains to God, wondering why

God has left him in the hour of need. He is oppressed by those who mock his life of faith

(Where is your God?). The psalmist here is a type of our Lords suffering at the cross (Ps 22:1;

see also Mark 15:33-36). But, why does he use the metaphor of a rock to describe God? The

metaphor appears elsewhere in the Bible with reference to God. It translates two Hebrew

terms. God as uls# (selah) pictures the cleft of the rock and not the rock itself. It refers to God

as a hiding place where one finds protection from an enemy (1 Sam 23:25, 28; Pss 18:2; 31:3;

Isa 32:1-2). This is the Psalmists God intended use here. God as rWx (tsur) refers to a massive

rock to suggest his awesome power (Ps 18:31; Isa 26:4). The hymn Rock of Ages (Augustus M.

Toplady, 1740-1778) borrows from the prophet Isaiah and combines both senses of God as

Rock.

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee;

Let the water and the blood,

From Thy wounded side which flowed,Be of sin the double cure;

Save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labor of my hands

Can fulfill Thy laws demands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears forever flow,

All for sin could not atone;

Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to the cross I cling;

Naked, come to Thee for dress;

Helpless look to Thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me, Savior, or I die.


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While I draw this fleeting breath,

When mine eyes shall close in death,

When I soar to worlds unknown,

See Thee on Thy judgment throne,

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee

CONCLUSIONAnother song, written by A. J. Simms,The Unseen Hand(click on the link) seems a fitting close

to this study. We long for what we cannot see in order to experience what we know is there.

That which is hidden from our eyes is revealed to the soul by faith. Note that the lyric offers

hope in God alone and not in being temporarily relieved from lifes pain and disappointments.

There's an unseen hand to me

That leads through ways, I cannot see

While going through, this world of woe

This hand still leads me as I go

I long to see, my Savior's face

And sing the story, of his grace

And there upon, that golden strand

I'll praise him for, his guiding hand

I'm trusting to, the unseen hand

That guides me through, this weary land

And some sweet day, I'll reach that strand

Still guided by, the unseen hand
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Soul Thirst: When Only God is Enough

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