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[0:00] We have no need to go through all the intimations. I guess the highlights, things happening this week that wouldn't happen every week.

[0:13] One would be meeting at 4pm on Friday and at 10am on Saturday for various inside and outside maintenance duties, which should be a pleasure for us to be doing together.

[0:29] The cleaning rota, Nurse Marion and Peggy this week and Katrina and Alisane next week. And the rest of the church activities are as per normal.

[0:41] Next Sunday, Duncan McKellar will be preaching in the morning and Farrakhar in the evening. We have the pleasure again and would like to send thanks to you Dolan for being here ministering to us today for the morning service when we learn to see a little bit more clearly rather than dimly as to who Jesus is.

[1:03] And bless you as you take the service. Just now, I promise. Thank you. Now, I understand this evening the order is that you begin with a Gaelic psalm, a Gaelic prayer, and then the rest of the service is all in English.

[1:27] And I'm sure those of you who don't have Gaelic will be very grateful for that. So, we're going to sing in Psalm 143 in Gaelic and I'll read the verses in English, just in case there are some who don't have Gaelic.

[2:07] I call to mind the days of old, to meditate. I use on all thy works upon the deeds I of thy hands do muse.

[2:23] My hands to thee I stretch. My soul thirsts as dry land for thee. Haste, Lord, to hear.

[2:35] My spirit fails. Hide not thy face from me. These two verses in Gaelic. Nalaish o'cheon tocheynich me.

[2:47] Tam knoasochoch antaf doperguller. Sesmoanyoch er gneavarif dolaaf. Daraw egecho gyari.

[2:59] Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller.

[3:11] Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller. Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller.

[3:27] Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller. Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller. Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller. Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller. Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller. Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller.

[3:39] Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller. Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller. Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller. Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller. Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller. Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller. Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller.

[3:50] Sesmoanyoch antaf doperguller. Thank you.

[4:21] Thank you.

[4:51] Thank you.

[5:21] Thank you.

[5:51] Thank you.

[6:21] Thank you.

[6:51] Thank you.

[7:21] Thank you.

[7:51] Thank you.

[8:21] Thank you.

[8:51] Thank you.

[9:21] Thank you.

[9:51] Thank you.

[10:21] Thank you.

[10:51] Thank you.

[11:21] Thank you.

[11:51] Thank you.

[12:21] Amen.

[12:50] Thank you.

[14:20] I thirst for God, the living God. When can I meet with God anew?

[14:34] My tears have been my constant food, both in the night and in the day.

[14:49] While all day long, insistently, where is this God of your sin?

[15:02] As I pour out my soul in thee, these things I do remember still.

[15:18] How with the multitude I went up to God's house on Zion Hill.

[15:32] In their procession I would leave, as we approach with cheerful song.

[15:47] And shouts of joy and thankfulness, rejoicing with the festive throng.

[16:01] Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why are you so disturbed in me?

[16:15] Trust God, for I will praise him yet. My Saviour and my God is he.

[16:29] Let us now read from the Old Testament Scriptures from the second book of Samuel, chapter 23.

[16:42] Read from verse 1 to verse 17. Now these are the last words of David. The oracle of David, the son of Jesse.

[16:54] The oracle of the man who was raised on high. The anointed of the God of Jacob. The sweet psalmist of Israel.

[17:05] The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me. His word is on my tongue. The God of Israel has spoken. The rock of Israel has said to me.

[17:18] When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.

[17:39] For does not my house stand so with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure.

[17:51] For will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? But worthless men are like thorns that are thrown away, for they cannot be taken with the hand.

[18:07] But the man who touches them, arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire.

[18:18] These are the names of the mighty men whom David had. He was chief of the three.

[18:32] He wielded a spear against 800 whom he killed at one time. Next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar, the son of Dodo, son of Ahoy.

[18:45] He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword.

[19:04] And the Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain. Next to him was Shammah, the son of Agi, the Hararite, the Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines.

[19:29] But he took a stand in the midst of the plot and defended it, and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory.

[19:42] And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adalah, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.

[19:58] David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. And David said longingly, O that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate.

[20:17] Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and carried and brought it to David.

[20:32] But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord and said, Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this.

[20:43] Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives? Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

[20:58] Amen, and may God bless to us that reading from his truth. Let us again sing to his praise from Psalm 63, page 80 of the Psalter, if you're using the Psalter.

[21:15] O God, you are my God alone. I seek your face with eagerness. My soul and body thirst for you in this dry, weary wilderness.

[21:30] I've seen you in your holy place. Your power and glory held my gaze. For better is your love than life. And so my lips will sing your praise.

[21:44] And we'll sing down to the end of the verse marked 8. O God, you are my God. Alone. O God, you are my God alone.

[22:05] I seek your face with eagerness. My soul and body thirst for you In this dry, weary wilderness.

[22:23] I've seen you in your holy place. I've seen you in your holy place. I've seen you in your holy place.

[22:40] Your power and glory held my gaze. For better is your love than life.

[22:58] And so my lips will sing your praise. I'll bless you in your holy place. I'll bless you, Lord, throughout my life.

[23:16] And raise my hand to you in prayer. My joy who lives will sing your praise.

[23:35] My soul is fed with riches fair. Upon my bed I lie awake.

[23:54] And in my thoughts remember you.NINGNING! God, O hold your wings, I'll sing.

[24:40] You hold me up with your right hand. To you, O God, my soul will cling.

[24:58] Let us now turn to the passage that we read, the second book of Samuel, chapter 23, and reading again at verse 15.

[25:14] And David said longingly, O that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate.

[25:28] Just a little background information. According to commentators, when David spoke the words that I have taken our text this evening, he was a fugitive hiding in the cave of Adalem.

[25:50] The first book of Samuel, chapter 22, tells us how David came to be in this cave.

[26:02] David departed from Gath and escaped to the cave of Adalem. You may remember from your Bible reading how David played the role of someone who had totally lusted while he was in Gath.

[26:20] Not that everyone was taken in by his behavior. And however one might view David's behavior while in Gath, the Bible tells us that David was much afraid of Achish, the king of Gath.

[26:40] The statement could be understood to imply that David's fear was the real cause of his strange, irrational behavior in Gath.

[26:55] However, personally, I am not wholly convinced of that in my own mind. Why? Well, for this reason, I suspect that there is more than a possibility that David was not entrusting himself wholly with his whole heart to the Lord at that point.

[27:19] He was rather trusting to his own understanding. And because he was, that, in my view, accounts for the peculiar decision he made in going to Gath in the first place.

[27:38] Yet, despite David's failure, what comes across very powerfully and strongly is that God's mercy never fails.

[27:53] And that's surely cause for tremendous thanksgiving. That is surely seen in the way in which David's life was preserved and delivered while he was in the very heart of enemy territory.

[28:10] Perhaps you might recall how he describes his deliverance in Psalm 34. This poor man cried. He's referring to himself.

[28:21] And the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. His deliverance was the fuel that fed his praise.

[28:34] And often, praise is like that in the lives of those who are trusting in the Lord. And I think it is very likely that other believers can also relate to this experience of merciful deliverance giving rise to praise.

[28:54] Because it certainly seems to be implied in Psalm 34. Where the psalmist goes on to say in that psalm, Those who look to him are radiant.

[29:07] They are no longer despondent. They brighten up. And David, in that same psalm, goes on to explain how his protection and deliverance was effected.

[29:21] It was by enjoying the protection of the vigilant angel of the Lord. Remember what he wrote? The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.

[29:38] The angel of the Lord. I once read a description of the angel of the Lord. And it stayed with me.

[29:49] I thought it was summarized very cogently. Yehovah or Yahweh with his working clothes on.

[30:00] And I thought that was a description that said a lot about the angel of the covenant. Yahweh with his working clothes on.

[30:12] He camps around his people. Perhaps you too can relate very well this evening to the deliverance and protection of the angel of the Lord.

[30:25] When you too perhaps behaved irrationally in trusting to your own understanding rather than placing your trust in the Lord.

[30:38] Chapter 22 of 1 Samuel also records for us what I think is a very touching and descriptive word picture of family love.

[30:50] When his brothers and all his father's house heard it. That is when they heard that he was in the cave of Adela. They went down there to him.

[31:03] Surely evidence of the strength and love. Of the family bond that bound them to one another. No evidence of being afraid of being identified with David.

[31:19] And that posed plenty threats. Out of ostracizing him on their part. Despite the fact that he is being pursued as a fugitive.

[31:32] Many more also gathered to David in the cave. Now we are told everyone who was in distress. Everyone who was in debt. Everyone who was bitter in soul gathered to him.

[31:44] He became commander over them. And there were with him about 400 men. If memory serves me correctly.

[31:56] I think Charles Spurgeon used that gathering as an illustration of those who are gathered to Christ.

[32:06] Those in distress. Those in distress. Those in debt. Everyone who was bitter in soul. Descriptive of the various circumstances.

[32:22] Situations that sinners have in the world. And that is how I think Spurgeon elaborated upon that.

[32:33] Why did they gather to David? Because they needed him. And this chapter from which we read this evening. Sets before us.

[32:44] When this strong nostalgic desire arose in the mind of David. It was around harvest time. Three of the thirty chief men went down.

[32:57] And verse 13. And came about harvest time. To David at the cave of Adela. When a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.

[33:09] David was then in the stronghold. And the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. About harvest time. Why is the writer telling us that?

[33:20] Harvest time. In the Jewish calendar. Would be much earlier than in our calendar. Would be around May or June. That would be the hottest time of the year.

[33:34] The sun at its height. Is it possible that there was a shortage of water. At the cave of Adela. Was that the reason that David spoke about this desire.

[33:48] This yearning for a drink from the well of Bethlehem. That is by the gate. Well there is no evidence. As far as I can find.

[34:00] To support the thought. That there was any shortage of water. At the cave of Adela. So we can rule that out as a factor. In arousing this desire.

[34:12] In the mind of David. The fact that a garrison of Philistines. Was stationed in Bethlehem. Could have been a cause of great concern to David.

[34:23] It is not easy for him. To move around his own country. As one who had been chosen by God. And anointed by Samuel. To be king.

[34:34] Perhaps a vessel. Containing water from the well at Bethlehem. Might act as a source of encouragement to him. That he would not perish.

[34:45] By the hand of Saul. Because you remember. At one stage. He speaks about. Perishing. His fear of perishing. At the hand of Saul.

[34:56] As if he had lost sight. Of the great and glorious promise. That the Lord had given to him. So it could act as a further token.

[35:07] That the promise of God. Would be fulfilled. May have been. Voiced. Out of a sense of homesickness. And just. Sheer weariness.

[35:20] Because of the. Fugitive lifestyle. That he was living at that time. Well. Three thoughts this evening. From our text. First. First. The situation in Bethlehem.

[35:33] Secondly. The strong desire. And thirdly. The sequel. To the desire. First. The situation in Bethlehem.

[35:44] Bethlehem. You remember. Was David's hometown. You may remember. The genealogical line. From which he was descended. There were notable figures.

[35:57] Among his ancestors.NINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNING Succeeding generations will be godly too.

[36:32] Godliness doesn't run in our natural veins. However, we can say that David's route, routes run deep in the town of Bethlehem.

[36:45] Since there was a Philistine garrison in the town, that may have accounted for certain thoughts arising in the mind of David.

[36:55] A place where he himself imbibed the sincere milk of the word. And that town now under the command of Philistine forces.

[37:09] Bethlehem, literally the house of bread. Do similar situations from your own background give you food for thought?

[37:20] I don't mean that a hostile army has occupied places that are dear to you. But think of it in this way.

[37:31] Homes that were once occupied by believers. Perhaps even homes that were frequented by yourself. But today are occupied by those who have no place for the gospel in their lives.

[37:50] The walls of these houses, if they could but speak, could testify to hearing the sound of praise to the Most High, and to hearing fervent pleading at the throne of grace.

[38:10] But today there is a silence of worship in these homes that once echoed to vibrant praise, and no believing witness in them.

[38:25] Cause for deep sorrow and prayer, is it not? Again think of places that were erected for the worship of God, where the glorious message of salvation was proclaimed.

[38:40] Places where the Holy Spirit dealt savingly with sinners. But these buildings today closed down, sold and used for other purposes.

[38:54] Now, I wouldn't want you to think of the buildings themselves as being the source of blessing. But that the Holy Spirit blessed the message of truth that was proclaimed in these buildings to the salvation of souls, and to the building of his church in the world.

[39:16] Places where the presence of the Lord was experienced in a very real way. Again cause for sadness, isn't it, to think of these places.

[39:31] I can think of one place that is still dear to myself. A little church in Aberdeen was on D Street. It was a kind of gloomy building, but that building echoed to the sound of the gospel under the late Reverend J.D. Macmillan.

[39:53] And in my student days, it was a mecca on earth for those of us who were privileged to be under his ministry and to hear the gospel proclaimed by such a fervent evangelist.

[40:10] Well, that church is no longer a church building. The congregation moved to a new building. So, I'm sure you can all think of buildings like that in your own time.

[40:24] Places where the presence of the Lord was experienced in a very real way. And I'd like to suggest another thought. What about buildings that are still being used, at least nominally for worship, but another gospel being taught that is not the good news?

[40:47] That too is cause for sadness and mourning before the Lord. Remember what the Apostle Paul wrote? That even if we, he says, are an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one preached to you, let him be accursed.

[41:07] Then he went on to write, For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. And he gives the reason.

[41:17] I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

[41:35] Is that not the message that we would all love to continue hearing until the present hour and right into the future? Now the Bible does not say that such thoughts arose in the mind of David, but I do believe that he would not be happy in the knowledge that Philistine forces had a garrison in Bethlehem, the situation in Bethlehem under Philistine dominion.

[42:05] Secondly, a strong desire. You know, sometimes when something you would like is unobtainable, you desire it even more.

[42:17] Is that not the case? That's the kind of grasping nature that belongs to man. Given the situation that prevailed in Bethlehem, water from the well there seemed rather unlikely.

[42:38] And so that makes me ask the question, did that make the water from the well at Bethlehem even more alluring, more attractive to the mind of David?

[42:51] And I don't really have an answer. What I can say is this, that his desire speaks of a nostalgic longing for something that was precious to him in the past.

[43:08] I think we can all follow that kind of nostalgic longing. Water from various sources can have a different taste.

[43:18] David would have been very familiar with the area of the well. It's one who grew up in Bethlehem. He may even have been a regular visitor to this well.

[43:30] And without spiritualizing, it was a place where thirst was quenched. A place you would associate with refreshing. The well was an essential part of life in the town for man and animal.

[43:50] Now, older people present will remember how essential a well was in the lives of people prior to receiving piped water into the homes.

[44:04] I will remember in the village where I was born, where I spent many happy holiday periods as a youth, how important the local well was.

[44:16] It was a daily chore. Perhaps you didn't really like the chore sometimes. It was a daily chore to draw water from the well because my grandparents' house, although they had long gone, it was on the top of a hill.

[44:34] The well was at the bottom of the hill. You had to struggle up the hill with the pails. It wasn't always something that you cherished, but it was part of daily life.

[44:46] The well was an essential part of life. And perhaps you remember from your Bible knowledge of a very good example of the place wells played in the lives of people in Old Testament times.

[45:03] I refer to one example, the example in the days of Isaac. And you remember what happened then. The Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.

[45:20] The Bible tells us that envy lay behind that act of sheer vandalism on the part of the Philistines. They were jealous of the wealth and the standing of Isaac.

[45:34] But in acting in that way, they were trying to do away with what was essential to sustaining natural life.

[45:47] Water. Famine had caused Isaac to settle in Gerar and there the Lord had prospered him causing, as I said, great envy resulting in these acts of vandalism against Isaac's wells which were so necessary to sustaining his large flocks.

[46:09] The Philistines carried out a program of sustained harassment and we're told in the Bible, Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham.

[46:24] Now, that is in my view illustrative or an example of what the enemies of the gospel are doing to the present out, trying to suppress the very message that poor, needy, sinners require.

[46:44] And you know, it is often done under the cloak of something else. Water was essential to sustain life, hence the need for wells.

[46:55] Isaac believed he would find water in the same place as his father before him found water. And in applying the lesson, where will you and I get the spiritual sustenance that we also require?

[47:09] Is it not in the truths of the word of God? These are the truths that were blessed to our forbearers. It is still his own word that God has promised to bless today and to the end of time.

[47:26] You know, there is always the temptation to dilute the truth and replace it with something else. There is no substitute for the infallible word of God.

[47:38] So let us ask ourselves the question, can we find in our individual lives an insatiable thirst for the word of God? The desire to drink from the well of Bethlehem was in the mind of David.

[47:55] it. I am not convinced that every person who has legitimate desires are willing to make their desire public, to let your fellow mortals know what your desires are.

[48:13] You keep these desires hidden, but you bring them to the Lord, don't you? for example, the psalmist says, O Lord, all my longing is before you.

[48:27] My sign, not even a sign, was hidden from the Lord. But David didn't hide his longing. Nor are we told that he brought his desire before the Lord.

[48:38] That of course doesn't mean that he didn't. But he did make his desire known to his companions in the cave. And I seem to remember that Matthew Henry was very critical of David for making known this desire.

[48:58] Henry was persuaded that it was some kind of weakness on the part of David that caused him to speak as he did, that he was dissatisfied with his providence.

[49:12] Well, who am I to disagree with such a distinguished commentator as Matthew Henry? But I will say this, that although the word longingly in the context here often denotes an improper craving, that is not how it is used in this context.

[49:34] It speaks of a legitimate desire. And there are legitimate desires which are in accord with the mind of God. for example, as a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.

[49:49] My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? Says the psalmist. Now, that must not be misunderstood as a desire to be glorified on the part of the psalmist in the first instance.

[50:07] It speaks of the psalmist's desire to be in a place where his thirst might be satiated. His acute longing was not so much for the ceremonial aspect of worship, important as that may have been to him, but his yearning for the presence of God himself.

[50:27] And as one commentator put it rather eloquently, in my view, truly pious people are never satisfied with the ordinances of God without the God of the ordinances.

[50:43] And that is so true. You're never satisfied with the ordinances as they are in and of themselves, coming and meeting together.

[50:54] You want God to be present in the ordinance. That's the important part of the worship. And so the psalmist's thirst in that instance arose from the effect of the grace of love in a soul.

[51:08] And applying no reflection on David's acute longing, let me suggest that it is illustrative, at the very least, of the kind of nostalgic yearning that arises in the hearts of God's children in life.

[51:26] Those who have experienced in past times the effect of the power of God's right hand in their own lives and have also seen that power at work in the lives of others.

[51:44] You know that you cannot turn the clock back and relive those days. But if you are in the older age bracket, many of those with whom you shared fellowship in these times have perhaps been removed from the sin of time.

[52:05] But is this not true? Do you not still pray fervently that you might see similar displays of God's power at work as you saw in the past?

[52:22] The psalmist certainly had that prayer in his own life. You remember it in the metrical psalms that I thy power may behold and brightness of thy face as I have seen thee here to fall within thy holy place.

[52:39] I am sure every believer can follow that. That your soul may again know and experience rich, refreshing showers from on high, removing your feeling of drought so that your parched soul is refreshed and revived again.

[52:59] The Bible tells us of the location of this well. It was by the gate. That suggests the possibility that there were other wells in Bethlehem, but it was from this specific well from which David desired a drink, the well that is by the gate.

[53:21] If that reference of gate refers to the gate of the town, that was a highly significant place in Old Testament times.

[53:34] That was the place where the elders would gather and transact the business of Bethlehem. It was at the gate of the city that all the official business was conducted and so on.

[53:50] And you may remember that this is where Boaz met with the elders in his day to resolve the matter of Naomi's inheritance and the place of the Moabitess Ruth.

[54:05] That was where justice and righteousness were upheld and where judgments were transacted. At the gates of the city, the claims of God's law were applied to the lives of his people.

[54:19] Zion. And the psalmist reminds us the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. God delights in the gates of Zion.

[54:29] Why? Because he is a just God. And righteousness, justice, and truth belong to him. I stated that the well, a well was a place where thirst was satiated.

[54:43] This well had a specific location. Let me try to apply that spiritually. Let me ask the question, is there anyone listening who remembers with great delight, and yes, even with a sense of nostalgia, places where your spiritual thirst was ministered to?

[55:09] Times when your soul was revived and refreshed through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in applying the truth to your life.

[55:22] And perhaps when you reflect on those times and you remember where the Lord met with you and refreshed your soul, you possibly think of those who were with you in these gatherings.

[55:40] You could say that such places and times were like spiritual wells, perhaps even places where you erected a memorial stone to the effect, the Lord met with you.

[55:57] For through the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, you learned that only Christ and Christ alone could satiate the spiritual thirst that was aroused in your life.

[56:14] Maybe this evening you are more aware of drought in your life than times of refreshing. That can be a painful experience, to be in spiritual drought.

[56:30] But even if you, that is your condition this evening, is your whole being crying out with the psalmist, O God, you are my God alone.

[56:42] I seek your face with eagerness. My soul and body thirsts for you in this dry, weary wilderness. You may remember how the Bible tells of a certain woman who was expelled from the family home, worn by the name of Hagar.

[57:03] The Bible tells us she wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water that she had in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes.

[57:15] And then the Bible tells us this, how gracious God is. Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water and she went and filled the skin with water, gave the boy a drink.

[57:30] See, there are times in our experiences places when we are oblivious to the close proximity of the source of life, so prone to conclude that there is nothing for us.

[57:44] And time and time again we are so wrong in our conclusions. One can imagine the well to be a place of much conversation when people gather to draw water.

[58:01] are not the means of grace places of fellowshipping for the Lord's people one with another. Oftentimes the fellowship together can be a means of refreshing and encouraging one another in the life of grace as you exchange your varying experiences of your Savior's love in your own life with others.

[58:30] can you not testify how that frequently was a means of arousing, a further desire to drink from the well of truth as you continue your journey along the path of life.

[58:50] To your sorrow there may have been times when you did not appreciate or value the privileges that were yours then and perhaps this evening you are mourning their loss.

[59:06] Strangely the Lord permits us to suffer deprivation in order to appreciate more his provision for you and as I referred this morning he brings his people into the wilderness and speaks tenderly to them.

[59:25] one of the reasons he does so is that they may really understand who alone is able to satiate their thirst and how. Remember how the prophet Isaiah wrote of a group to whom a precious promise was given a group whom he designates as the poor and needy a people who have nothing and are in desperate need.

[59:55] Is there anyone here this evening confined themselves amongst that group? What message did the Lord give to his prophet about such a grouping?

[60:08] When the poor and needy seek water and there is none and their tongue is parched with thirst I the Lord will answer them and there is great emphasis in the original there on that phrase I the Lord will answer them.

[60:26] I the God of Israel so there is no dubiety in the mind of anyone. Who is the I here? The Lord the God of Israel will not forsake them.

[60:38] They are even incapable of enunciating their plight. Their tongue is parched with thirst sort of stuck to the top of their mouth. They cannot really speak.

[60:51] But the Lord as one from whom their desire is not hidden answers their wordless prayer in a most unexpected way.

[61:03] You know sometimes people worry that they don't have words for their prayers. It doesn't always have to be in words.

[61:15] Some of the most efficacious prayers are sometimes without words. And do you remember what the prophet wrote about the Lord?

[61:27] I will open rivers on the bare heights, fountains in the midst of the valleys I will make the wilderness a pool of water, the dry land springs. So what a generous response on the part of God.

[61:39] Rivers on the bare heights, that is in the most unpromising locations that were once characterized by a lack of water. There will be copious quantities.

[61:51] And the basic reason that the Lord acts as he does, that they may see, says the Bible, and know, may consider and understand together that the hand of the Lord has done this.

[62:05] The Holy One of Israel has created it. All has our perception of our depth of need, constrained us to cry out to the God of great power, the God of creative potential, giving us the assured conviction along with the psalmist when he penned these lines, because of life, the fountain pure remains alone with it, and that purest light of thine, we clearly light shall see.

[62:35] A well, then, physically a place to satiate thirst, a place of refreshing, so essential to life in Old Testament times. Does the truth in Christ have the place of a well in our lives, bringing satiation and refreshing to our needy souls?

[62:55] A well, even symbolic of times, ah, when you met with Christ, and you raced to tell others, like the woman of Samaria, well, you know, the Bible warns of the danger of turning our back on the means, or on the well.

[63:17] Remember, the prophet Jeremiah gives a word of war, and they have forsaken me, says God, through Jeremiah, the fountain of living waters, shewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

[63:33] In other words, trying to put something else in place of what can really satiate spiritual thirst. And that brings the time as going.

[63:45] The sequel to this. Three of the companions of David were told when to procure what he desired. I suppose the best way of describing it would be it was an act of devotion, an act of love for their leader.

[64:06] You could even describe it as a zealous, sacrificial act on their part. I'm sure we all know of some who will bypass their own needs to minister to the needs of others.

[64:21] And that too flows from love. The New Testament reminds us love is patient and kind. It is more than likely, given that David was living as a fugitive, that he required a ministry that was affectionate, considerate, and selfless.

[64:46] He required encouragement. You know, I suppose we're prone to think that of David as a kind of superhuman individual.

[64:57] He was the one who fearlessly confronted the giant Goliath. But we must remember that he was a man, with all the frailties of a man.

[65:10] The Bible speaks of another prominent fearless service of the Lord, the Apostle Paul. And when he was a prisoner at Rome, remember he wrote to Timothy, do your best to come to me soon.

[65:21] Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me. He longed for the touch of human friendship and help in his journey on the lonely narrow way.

[65:35] And don't we all need such friends? Few are those who journey on the narrow way. We need these friends. We need that encouragement.

[65:47] The Bible reminds us, to whom Christ will extend a warm welcome on the day of his second coming. He doesn't say those who were necessarily strong in battle, although they're certainly not excluded.

[66:01] But you remember what he said? Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of, I was hungry, and you gave me food.

[66:12] I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me. And you remember these people as if they didn't recognize themselves in the description that he gives of them.

[66:31] For you find them asking the question, Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you, or thirsty, and give you drink? And you remember the response of the Lord.

[66:43] The King will answer them, truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least, of these my brothers, you did it to me. You cannot help but wonder how the three who had put their lives on the line reacted to what David did with the water that they brought back.

[67:07] Were they amazed? Were they displeased? Were they puzzled? were they not told? Because remember, he didn't drink it.

[67:18] He poured it out to the Lord. But what David did surely tells us two things. One, how humbled David felt as one who acknowledged his complete unworthiness sacrifice, of such a selfless, sacrificial act of devotion.

[67:46] His desire led these men to place their lives in acute danger, running the risk of death. death. And secondly, what I would highlight is that in pouring the water out as a drink libation to the Lord, David wasn't despising what they had done.

[68:09] He was engaging in an act of worship, an act of praise, and that was a higher use of the water than drinking it. He made a special consecration of the event in offering it to God.

[68:27] The water for David was the equivalent of the blood of the man. He could not drink it. He must give it in worship and praise to the Lord.

[68:38] And what I see in what he did is that his action to my mind in some ways parallels the action of the woman who broke the box of alabaster, poured its contents on the head and feet of the Savior.

[68:55] And you remember what Christ said about it when others were highly critical of her act of devotion and love. She has done, says Jesus, a beautiful thing to me.

[69:08] How much it still pleases the heart of the Savior, though he is now exalted! to God's right hand, when we pour out precious things for his glory.

[69:22] And showing our devotion and love to him. When the infusion of grace into your heart makes you willing to give yourself in service to him, he gives you much, much, much more in return.

[69:44] How much more worthy is he to receive our all and in all. The situation in Bethlehem, pretty dire, a strong desire, even a nostalgic desire, oh, that I would get a drink from the well that is by the gate in Bethlehem, and then the sequel to the matter.

[70:10] Let us pray. Oh, Lord, you are able to make us thirsty, and when you stir up that thirst in the heart of man, it will not be satiated with anything less than yourself.

[70:35] Grant, oh, Lord, that we might know something of that thirst in our lives, and the satiation that is provided by thee, and the glory shall be thine.

[70:48] In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. Let us conclude by singing to God's praise from Psalm 65, page 297, if you're using the psalm book, at verse 4, Blessed is the man whom thou dost choose and make approach to thee, that he within thy courts, O Lord, may still a dweller be.

[71:18] We surely shall be satisfied with thy abundant grace, with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy place. I will sing down to the end of the double verse, marked five.

[71:32] Blessed is the man whom thou dost choose. blessed is the man whom thou dost choose and makes approach to thee, that he within thy courts, O Lord, may still and forever be.

[72:12] We surely shall be satisfied with thy abundant grace, and with the goodness of thy house, in all thy holy bliss, O God, all and salvation, thou in thy righteousness, be fearful works unto our prayers, thine answer those experts, that for the ends of all the earth, and those afar that be, upon the sea let come to the earth,

[73:43] O Lord, will place in thee. Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit, rest on and abide with you all, now and forever.

[74:06]  Amen.