“When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.” Psalm 27:8
Probably one of the greatest neglected realities of the Christian life is the call of Christ to the individual heart to true, and profound communion with God. Why is this so? The great teachers and expositors of the Word of God, realizing something of the inestimable value of knowing Christ, keep before them the directive, and the responsibility to “feed the sheep,” Christ’s sheep. The reason for this is simple and singular. It is for the purpose of bringing the “sheep” into communion, or fellowship with God by the Spirit. We know from Scripture that God’s ways are not those of men, as they are high and holy, unique, and divine, as opposed to the feeble, failing efforts of men by their own devisings, to enter into fellowship with God. It is for this reason that the truth of the Gospel, indeed, the entirety of Scripture, should be taught to all who will hear. God’s “chariot” is His word. By His word, its revelation to the heart, and grasp by the soul in believing faith, true communion with God is born, maintained, and increased. So, when we look at the life of David, and the basic reason for which he was a great man of God, it is not because of his gifts or exploits. It is fundamentally because of a single desire, “…to behold the beauty of the Lord, and inquire in His temple.” (Ps. 27:4) David was a man who sought God, whose great and singular purpose in life was not to become something great, nor of accomplishing something great, though God gave him great things to trust Him for. God revealed to David that the hightest and greatest calling was to fellowship with HIm, true communion with God, that receiving from Him of Life by the Spirit, and that response of worship towards God in loving adoration, devotion, and obedience.
The whole of the gospel message and power has its realization in the matter of “oneness,” oneness with the Father and the Son, by the Spirit. The Spirit makes all of this possible, for He is the one by whom the believer was baptized into the Lord Jesus, crucified in HIm, buried, raised, and now seated at the right hand of God. Why? It is so that, by the work of Christ alone, and the energy and power of the Spirit, in Jesus’ name, the believer can truly “draw nigh to God,” and know the rewarding experience of fellowship with the Father in the quiet place. Even David, in Psalm 27, reveals to us that the most wonderful part of salvation is not just deliverance from our enemies, but the blessed fellowship with God, a fellowship which was initiated by God, and brought to pass, by the words: “Seek ye My face.”
But how is this to be? How can it be reaized, when the hymnwriter, Bimney, wrote: “And how shall I, whose native sphere Is dark, whose mind is dim, Before the Ineffable appear, and on my naked spirit bear the uncreated beam?” What is Bimney saying? He is basically revealing to us that it is impossible to know and worship God, unless we come God’s way, boldly by Christ, in full assurance of faith. (Heb.10:22) As God’s commandments are God’s enablements, so it is encouraging the grasp that since the Lord has commanded the believer, and all men, to “…seek My face,” He will give “grace and glory” for its accomplishment. He will give the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,” of Christ, and then strengthen the soul according to the truth revealed in the gospel, to believe, receive, and choose to live by faith in His faithfulness.
David’s greatest spiritual discovery was that of realizing that God, His Creator, Shepherd, Lord, Life, and Love, had called him to KNOW Him, to commune with Him, and that this was that nothing compared to this “one thing.” One day in God’s courts, the great blessing.
Dear Father, Receive us this day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.