"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. My soul
thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?" (Psalm 42:1,2).

Many a saint has turned to these words for refreshment, and found in them an expression of his
own feeling. Here is the longing soul in thirst after God. It is a fine illustration which the author
uses. The deer leaves his haunts in the densest woods, perhaps chased by a pack of fierce dogs.
His tongue protrudes from his mouth; he pants for some water brook. He rushes hither and
thither, panting still more, almost to sheer exhaustion. "So," we read, "my soul panteth after
Thee, O God!" Yet how many children of God know anything of such thirsting and panting after
the living God? How little of real soul thirst there is in these days of materialism and luring
pleasures. Yet the fact remains that only the living God and "the water brooks" of the Holy Spirit
can satisfy.

(From The Book of Psalms.)