“And David
longed and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of
Bethlehem” (1 Chron. 11:17). Such was the breathing of David’s heart—a
breathing that met with a speedy and hearty response from three members of his
devoted and heroic band. “And the three broke through the host of the
Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem … and brought it to
David.” There was no command issued. No one in particular was singled out and
commissioned to go. There was the simple utterance of the desire, and this it
was which afforded the opportunity for genuine affection and true devotedness.

Mark the
response of David in this most touching scene:“But David would not drink of
it, but poured it out to the LORD. And said … Shall I drink the blood of
these men who have put their lives in jeopardy?” It was a sacrifice too costly
for any save Jehovah Himself, and hence David would not permit the sweet odor
of it to be interrupted in its ascent to the throne of God.

How little did
those three mighty men imagine that their act of loving devotedness should be
recorded on the eternal page of inspiration, there to be read by untold
millions! They never thought of this. Their hearts were set on David, and they
counted not their lives dear unto them so that they might gratify him or
refresh his spirit. Had they acted to get a name or place for themselves, it
would have robbed their act of all its charms and consigned it to its merited
contempt and oblivion. But no; they loved David. This was the spring of their
activity, and they proved that he was more precious to their hearts than life
itself. They forgot all in the one absorbing object of serving David, and the
odor of their sacrifice ascended to the throne of God while the record of their
deed shines on the page of inspiration, and shall continue to shine so long as
that page endures.

Oh! how we long
for something like this in reference to the true David in this day of His
rejection. We do greatly covet a more intense and self-sacrificing devotedness
as the fruit of the constraining love of Christ. It is not, by any means, a
question of working for rewards, for a crown, or for a place, though we fully
believe in the doctrine of rewards. No! the very moment we make rewards our
object, we are below the mark. We believe that service rendered with the eye
upon the reward would be defective. But then we believe also that every jot or
tittle of true service will be rewarded in the day of Christ’s glory, and that
each servant will get his place in the record, and his niche in the kingdom
according to the measure of His personal devotedness down here. This we hold to
be a great practical truth and we press it as such upon the attention of the
Christian reader. We must confess we long to see the standard of devotedness
greatly raised among us, and this can only be effected by having our hearts
more entirely consecrated to Christ and His cause. O Lord, revive Thy work!

(From Short
Papers, Vol. 2, Copyright 1975 by Believers Bookshelf, Sunbury,
Pennsylvania; used by permission.)