The Soul-Thirst of Jesus

George C. Grubb (uncle of Norman Grubb) travelled the world (South Africa, Ceylon, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South America, and Russia) preaching the gospel. The following address is taken from Keswick's Authentic Voice edited by Herbert F. Stevenson:

And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate! And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord. And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.--2 Samuel 23:15-17.

"I want to find out the reason why the Holy Ghost has been so careful to record this act done by these mighty men. We may be well assured that there are divine and eternal principles of action to be found underneath this deed. Bethlehem was in the hand of the Philistines: Bethlehem, the place where David was born, where the Christ was to be born King of the Jews, in the hand of God’s enemies! The land of Israel was in a sad state. The enemies had encroached upon that which was the king’s possession, and David was hemmed in by the Philistines, though he was also surrounded by a band of faithful followers. The battle had been very great, and David was tired, and, perhaps half forgetting what he said, he gave expression to the wish, 'Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate.'

"Great David has had a greater Son than himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, and I would wish you to notice what it is that your Lord and Savior longs for. I am deeply anxious that every one of you should have such a loyal heart as to be willing to go through the opposing host of the Philistines to try to get a cup of cold water for Jesus, to satisfy the terrible thirst that is upon His soul.

"What would please Him most for you to do this morning? What are His unutterable longings? Jesus, we read, came to Jacob’s well, and there came a woman to the well to draw water. He said to her, 'Give me to drink' (John 4:7). 'How is it that Thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans' (John 4:9). The Lord Jesus thirsted for the salvation of a single soul. And I want you to learn this, that the blessing you have received is of little use if, when you see a single soul passing you on the road, in the railway train, or in the tramcar, you do not thirst for that soul’s salvation. Learn, then, that the Lord Jesus wants to save every single soul; that a great thirst lies upon the soul of Immanuel. Does the great blessing of holiness that you have professed to receive, result in soul-thirst? If it does not, I fear you delude yourself.

"The time came when Jesus lay stretched between heaven and earth, a shameful spectacle to angels and devils and men. Here also an awful thirst lay upon the soul of the Christ. 'Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst . . . . And they filled a sponge with vinegar . . . and put it to His mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost' (John 19:28-30). There Jesus thirsted, not for the salvation of one poor harlot soul, but for the salvation of the whole world. There 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them' (II Corinthians 5:19). There Christ was made 'sin for us . . . that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him' (II Corinthians 5:21).

"Have you ever thirsted for the salvation of the whole world? This convention will do you little good until your soul is restless; until in your dreams at night, it may be, you hear a voiceless cry echoing from the millions in India, China, Africa, and the islands of the sea. Has the salvation of the world ever cost you a single tear in your prayers? Have you ever lain in agony before God, because the whole world lieth in the wicked one? Have you sympathy with Christ, or are you still going to give Him a draught of vinegar? He has got enough of that already, and He would like a cup of cold water from you now. The only thing the world ever gave to Christ was a draught of vinegar. You have given the Lord the bitterness of your sins, your selfishness and your lusts. Will you not, this morning, take and present to Him a cup of pure cold water, saying, 'Lord endow me with a quenchless thirst for the salvation of souls.' Your holiness is a delusion, a mockery, and a snare, unless it results in the desire to save everybody you meet. When will our hearts be so loyal as this?

"Now notice some of the eternal principles of action that underlie the drawing of this draught of water for David. The first thing is this--An expressed wish is law to a loyal heart. These men supremely loved King David, so his longing for the draught was enough for them. They did not begin to argue about the difficulties of going--about the Philistines in the valley: they just went and did it. Is there any expressed wish of Jesus to you that you are refusing to obey? Shall I keep silent a moment while we think it over? Has my Lord expressed a wish to me about any one thing in which I am slow to obey? If that be the case, I am not yet one of Jesus’ mighty men; my heart is not really loyal to Him.

"Another principle is this--Love does not wait for orders, but anticipates the desires of the loved one. It is a blessed thing to love like that, when you can tell by instinct what will please the person whom your heart adores. Oh yes, you can tell what will really please them. Love never waits for orders. What, then, are we to say of the love of the universal Church toward her heavenly Bridegroom? Christ has given most distinct orders about preaching the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles. The Church averts her eyes from the marching orders that have been written in letters of Holy Ghost fire. Indeed, her one raison d’être is to go to the uttermost parts of the world to witness for her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God turn our averted eyes toward our marching orders!

"Another thing is this: that Christ values our gifts according to the motive, and according to the labour. According to the motive: 'Whosoever shall give . . . a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple . . . he shall in no wise lose his reward' (Matthew 10:42). Then according to the labor: 'For my name’s sake hast labored, and hast not fainted' (Revelation 2:3). Why do Sunday School teachers take up work, and a month afterwards come to the pastor and say, 'I have made a mistake; please take back my class'? Because they are not laboring for Christ’s name’s sake. When you do that, you do not grow faint and weary of the work. You know, fainting usually proceeds from weak action of the heart. A great many Christians are suffering from weak action of the heart toward the Lord Jesus Christ; and that is a very dangerous thing. Many Christians have heart disease and do not know it. Let us ask God to reveal to us the secret diseases of our hearts. But He only reveals them that He may heal them. One touch from the hand of Jesus heals the fainting soul. 'Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Jesus Christ . . . lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds' (Hebrews 3:1; 12:3). If there is any person inclined to faint at what lies before you, the reason is, you are not considering Jesus.

"God values our gifts according to what they cost us. These three mighty men poured out their lives at the feet of David. 'Shall I drink the blood of these men?' said David; and he poured the water out for the Lord. Have you ever poured out your life at the Master’s feet? Since I have come up to this convention a great many people have said to me in one way or another: 'I feel the want of love toward God, and I do not know how to get it.' I will tell you how. 'Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again' (John 10:17). When you have laid down your life at the feet of God, you will know that you have done it. I really do not think a person can do that without being conscious of it. The Holy Ghost will testify with your spirit that the deed is done. When the deed is done--not when you pretend to do it--then the love of the Father will come in and flood your soul in a way you never knew before. All the theories about holiness will be explained in having the reality.

"You remember how often Paul uses the metaphor 'poured out.' 'Yea, and if I be offered up (literally, "poured forth") upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me' (Philippians 2:17-18). We are not to be sorrowful because a Christian has to go through great privations, or persecutions, or destitution for Christ’s sake. It is to be a cause of joy to the universal Church. Says Paul, 'Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God' (Acts 20:24). Why do we see so many downcast believers? Because, we greatly fear, they have counted their lives dear to themselves. When the believer counts not his own life dear to him, whether he is thirty or eighty years of age, he will be as happy as the day is long. Oh that you older Christians might finish your course, not with gloom, but with joy, by testifying the Gospel of the grace of God. As Paul was about to lay down his life, what did he say? 'I am already being poured forth (literally), and the time of my departure is at hand' (II Timothy 4:6). From the beginning of his ministry to the end, he lived in the spirit of being continually poured out--his lifeblood being poured at the feet of his divine Master.

"Have you done this? Are you willing to be a drink-offering to Jesus today? What was to be done with the drink-offering? Where was it to be poured out? Look at Numbers 28:7, 'In the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto the Lord for a drink-offering.' In the place of communion and prayer, of holy intercession, of heart-communion with Jesus, pour out yourself. 'The strong wine': He would like the best you have. Do not give Him weak, washy stuff; He would like the strong wine of your life. Young man, give God your best!

"I close by referring to one more thing that Jesus would greatly desire to get from you. He longs for something else besides the salvation of souls. 'Jesus said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer' (Luke 22:15). That Passover was symbolical of the intimate communion, of the holy fellowship, of the constant intercourse that is to obtain between my soul and my Savior’s heart. There is nothing that the Lord desires, after the salvation of souls, more than to have constant realized communion with your soul. If this convention is to be a blessing, we must learn the secret of living in this constant communion with our Lord and Savior; unbroken communion from the time the morning sun awakes us till the going down thereof. For the Lord’s name is to be praised from the rising up of the sun to the going down of the same. Oh, soul, there is such a thing as living in constant, unbroken communion with Jesus, without a shadow on your soul.

I’ve reached a land of corn and wine,
And all its riches freely mine;
Here shines undimmed one glorious day;
For all my night has passed away.

"'There shall be no night there' (Revelation 22:5). Wherever Jesus is, He is the light of the world, the light of the heart. 'If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light' (Matthew 6:22)--not having two or three quarters of it dark. The light of God shall be in every corner of your being. Oh, a single eye means a great deal. Do not think that a single eye is a very easy thing to get. It means that you are to be searched until you are dead. 'I fell at his feet as dead' (Revelation 1:17). Then search me, O God, and lead me in the way everlasting.

"Then with this single eye upon the person of my glorified and once crucified Savior, the smallest wish that comes from His holy will, becomes eternal law to me. I will dart off as did the mighty three, in the alacrity of faith (for the King’s business requires haste), to do His holy will; and the Spirit of God will be with me; the chariots and horses of fire will be round me, to protect me from the hosts of the Philistines. Though you may be scarred and wounded in the battle--your lifeblood poured forth--you will bring your gift to the feet of your David, and give it to Him. He will in His turn pour it out to Jehovah. Then when He comes in His glory He will say, 'This my servant was faithful to me in the world. Now I write upon his forehead my new name, and I confess him before Thee, O Father.' Thus He will manifest Himself to you, and bid you enter into the joy of your Lord. And thou wilt rest thy weary head upon the breast of Him who has loved thee all along.

"'These things did these three mightiest.'"