"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:for they shall be filled" (Matt.
5:6).

This is grace. The Lord’s answer meets the felt need of the soul. He creates the desire that He
may satisfy it. When the heart desires that which is good, we may be sure that His grace is there.
As there is nothing spiritually good in the natural heart, every good desire must come from God.
"I will arise and go to my father" was the effect of grace working in the heart of the prodigal.

Surely there is great encouragement in these facts to those who are earnestly seeking the Lord,
as they say, but who are fearful and doubting as to whether they have found Him. In actuality it
is just the opposite; Christ has sought and found them and is causing the heart to feel that nothing
can ever satisfy it but Himself. The world, its pleasures, its riches, its society, are all too small
to fill it. Even a Solomon found that all under the sun could not fill his heart. At the same time
he is made to tell us, in his beautiful song, that when a poor slave finds the Messiah, or rather is
found by Him, her heart overflows with His love. "Thy love," she says, "is better than
wine"_better to me now than all the social joys of earth. This must be the work of His grace. No
true desire for the Christ of God can ever spring from our depraved hearts; and we are sure that
neither the world nor Satan has put it there. From whence, then, must it come? From the grace
of God alone. And the longing desires and expectations He has awakened He waits to fulfill.

Let us now return to our Beatitude. To hunger and thirst after righteousness .evidently means an
earnest desire of the renewed mind to do the will of God in this world; and this desire is increased
from finding the world opposed to what is right in the sight of God. Hence the intensified feeling
of hungering and thirsting. The effect of thus seeking to maintain that which is according to the
will of God is great blessedness to the soul. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness." But though blessedness is the sure reward of righteousness, the righteous path will
be one of great trial and many difficulties. The maxim of the world is, not what is right before
God, but what is convenient, profitable, or suitable to self. What the mind of God may be on the
subject is never thought of; and he who would suggest the inquiry would be set down as unfit for
the practical realities of this life.

But whatever others may do, the maxim of the man of God must ever be, Is it right? Is it in
harmony with the revealed will of God? Not merely is it most practical, most likely to gain the
end in view, but is it right? As a test of the real character of much that we allow and do, it would
be impossible to over-estimate the value of this short and simple question, Is it right? Not that we
are to expect an express passage of scripture for everything we do or allow; but we may seriously
inquire, is this in accordance with the revealed will of God in Christ? Are we sure that it has His
approval? If not, what is it worth? It is worse than useless; it is wrong. It may be a religious
observance, or an acknowledged principle in the affairs of this life; but if it has not the sanction
of God, better give it up. To hunger and thirst after righteousness is the earnest desire to maintain
what is right in the sight of God, though it may expose us to the opposition and oppression of the
world, or to that of worldly-minded Christians.

But would not this seeking to walk in conformity to a rule or given standard tend to a spirit of
legalism? Not in a Christian point of view; on the contrary, the Word of God is "the perfect law
of liberty" to the divine life which we have as Christians. But this leads us to the root of this great
subject, on which we would do well to meditate deeply and prayerfully for a little while. Here we
will discover the secret of real, holy liberty.

The life of Christ, which is ours, and in which we are to walk, can never dislike or be opposed
to His Word. The new nature delights in the words or commandments of Christ; they are but His
authority to do what the divine life desires to do. Let us suppose a case. A young Christian, from
purest motives, has an intense desire to go to the prayer meeting; this would be right_according
to the mind of Christ_righteousness. But the way is not clear, for he is under the authority of
another person. He quietly waits on God. By and by he is told to go. This is what his heart was
desiring. He rejoices to obey; it is the law of liberty. The bent of his new life and the Word of
Christ are one. Thus it is that obedience, walking in righteousness, is perfect liberty, holy joy, and
divine power to the life of Christ in the soul. True, the Holy Spirit is the power, but we cannot
separate the power of the Spirit from the authority of the Word. The desires of the new life, the
authority of the Word, and the power of the Spirit go together.

The First Epistle of John, especially the second chapter, is a divine exposition of this great
practical principle of Christianity. "Whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God
perfected; hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also
so to walk, even as He walked." The words of Christ were the expression of His life when here
on earth. And that very life is ours_wondrous, precious, blessed truth! And this shall be the life
of every true believer forever; it shall be the basis of our happy fellowship and divine intimacies
with Christ throughout the countless ages of eternity. "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear,
then shall ye also appear with him in glory." But in the meantime, may we let His words so guide
and direct us that we may walk even as He walked.