2 Samuel 23:15 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! This gift of water was associated with memories of early days. It is wonderful how little sometimes will bring back old times to those who have wandered far, in time or place, from the scenes of childhood's years. It is always so. "To this day," says a French writer, wearied with his work in Paris, and thinking longingly of a quiet holiday he once spent in algeria, "to this day I cannot think of that siesta in the tent without regret and longing; but on that afternoon, I must own, in that country, I thirsted for Paris." When in Paris he thirsts for Algeria, and when in Algeria he thirsts for Paris. So David, when in Bethlehem as a boy, hoped likely for better days, and now, looking back, he thinks there could not be anything better than those old times over again. Cherish your dreams by all means, but, at the time time, learn to prize the present, and to make the most and best of your opportunities now. Try to see the present — its beauty and its value — as you will be sure to see it if you are spared to look back from after years. 2. This gift of water would always be associated in David's mind with the love that brought it. What a splendid gift it was! Only a drink of water, but it was turned, as it were, into sacramental wine by the love that brought it. Just so is it that God values our gifts. The best of earthly gifts is poor, but if it is given with a hearty spirit it will be graciously accepted. Some one has said that God cares more for adverbs than for verbs; that is, more for how a thing is done than for what is done. "Do it heartily as to the Lord," says St. Paul. The important word is not the verb "do," but the adverb "heartily." 3. David felt that he must associate this gift in a special way with God. It was one of the finest things he had ever had done to him in his life. Men's lives had been in jeopardy to get it. It was too rich an offering to make use of only for his own gratification, and he poured it out unto the Lord. (J. S. Maver, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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! |
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