"As the hart panteth after the water brooks so pantest my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God." --- Psalm 42:1, 2.
Divine Answer: "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price. Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." --- Isaiah 55:1, 2.
There is a great difference between a legal and a faint-hearted soul: the former is puffed up with self-righteousness; the latter humbly thirsts after Christ's righteousness; therefore, he is not under the law, but has grace already. It is only the child, or the new actually born, that can cry and thirst. And though he cannot so fully believe it, yet to have grace is one thing, and to feel and enjoy it is another.
Therefore, let not the weak be confounded, which is done very easily, the enemy himself contributing to it as much as he can; but let it be declared, even to the weakest, that they have saving grace when they are brought to be earnestly panting, and made truly willing to receive all without price. Matthew 5:3.
Eternal wisdom has prepared
A soul reviving feast,
And bids our longing appetites
The rich provision taste.
Jesus, the Lord, invites us here,
To this triumphal feast;
And brings immortal blessings down
For each redeemed guest.
O glorious God! what can we pay,
For favours so divine?
We would devote our hearts alway
To be for ever thine.