Identification of the Godly # 2

Identification of the Godly # 2

"Salvation" is here to be taken in its widest sense, and not limited to the pardon of sins, or cancellation of guilt. In its fullness, "salvation" includes all the mercies of the everlasting covenant. It is viewed here not from the judicial but the experiential side, and therefore, as an object of longing - unto a soul which is sensible of its deep needs and sees in God's salvation, a complete supply for them.

"I have longed for your salvation, O Lord" was said by David not as one who had not yet tasted that He is gracious, but who yearned for a fuller acquaintance with Him. David now sat upon the throne of Israel, yet that contented him not. Have you found every earthly possession and pleasure to be vanity? Have your eyes been opened to see your wretchedness, your heart been made to feel its deep needs? Is there a hungering and thirsting in your soul after righteousness? Then do you not exclaim, "I have longed for your salvation, O Lord."?

That longing has several degrees. At first, it may be like a smoking flax, where one can hardly discern a spark of fire, because it is choked by the prevalence of unbelief. But if it is inspired by the Holy Spirit, ti will become more lively and vivid, and break forth into ardent prayers. Yes, it will eventually obtain such strength as to make its possessor say, "As the deer pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after You, O God" (Psalm 42:1), and He has promised "the desire of the righteous shall be granted" (Proverbs 10:24).

Such longing marks the character of all quickened souls. It is an evidence of a work of grace, for it springs from love to its Author. But the thoughtful and disseminating reader may ask, "Do not some of the unregenerate have a longing for God's salvation - that they may be delivered from the wrath to come?" At times they think so, and perhaps say so, but their actions prove the contrary. Even so, how am I to distinguish my "longings" from theirs? By its very nature. Is your longing actuated only by a sense of dread of the everlasting burnings, or mainly by a desire to be delivered from the power and pollution of sin? Is your desire constant and persistent, something more than a passing fancy? Is it serious and earnest, and not just a superficial and fickle notion? Is it an influential one which leads to action, to diligent seeking - and not merely an idle whim? Is it a predominant one, so that all other interests are subordinated to its realization, and not one which is overcome by the opposition of the flesh and allurements of the world? If so, there is good reason to believe God is its Author.

But let the inquiry be pressed still more closely. David not only declared, "I have longed for your salvation, O Lord," but he added, "and your law is my delight." If your longing be for holiness, then it is necessarily accompanied by an approbation of God's scepter, for subjection thereto is the way unto its realization. A spiritual desire for God's salvation issues in a delight of His precepts, and such delight is the very pulse of the spiritual life. Delight in God's commandments is not found in the unregenerate, for "the carnal mind is enmity against God," and is "not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7). But the language of one who is born of God is "I will delight myself in your commandments, which I have loved" (Psalm 119:47). The two things cannot be separated: "Lord, I have hoped for your salvation, and done your commandments" (Psalm 119:166) - not perfectly so, but with a sincere and real endeavor to conform unto them. The hearts of all God's children are in the same mold: they love what He loves - and hate what He hates. Though when they "would do good, evil is present" with them; nevertheless, each one can truthfully aver, "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man" (Rom. 7:21-22).

"I have longed for your salvation, O Lord" - not "I have not fully attained unto it." Such a longing arises from a sense of insufficiency in ourselves. At the close of his eventful life, Jacob declared, "I have waited for your salvation, O Lord. A like submissive expectation befits us. "It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord" (Lam. 3:26). "We ourselves also, who have received the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves do groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption" (Romans 8:23). So long as we are in this earthly scene, our longings are unsatisfied; necessarily so, for we yearn for and press unto perfection. If you can truthfully say, "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalm 42:2), then you need not have the slightest hesitation in declaring, "As for me, I will behold your face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with your likeness" (Psalm 17:15).

~A. W. Pink~

(The End)