“One thing have I desired.” Ps. 27:4.
WE see singleness of eye, in perfection, only in the Lord Jesus. He was at all times full of light, having no part dark. He did always those things that pleased the Father. Self-will never had a place in His heart; it was His meat to do the will of Hun that sent Him. He knew no sin. Rebellion was very far from His mind. He never “turned away back.” He gave His back to the miters, and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; He hid not His face from shame and spitting. (Isa. 1.) The one object that pervaded the soul of Jesus was the Father’s glory. He was, emphatically, Jehovah’s “Righteous Servant,” “The Faithful Witness,” the “Beloved Son,” in whom the Father was well pleased. We never find that Christ was occupied in seeking anything for Himself. When His soul was sorely troubled, His one desire was, “Father, glorify Thy name.” (John 12) And when the bitterest of all sorrows was in immediate prospect, and the cup of unutterable anguish before Him, still it was “Not My will, but Thine, be done;” “The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?” (Luke 22:4242Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. (Luke 22:42); John 18:1111Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? (John 18:11).) In singleness of heart too, the “one thing” with Jesus was, not seeking His own will, but the will of Him that sent Him; so that even the words that He spike were always for the glory of the Father― “The word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me.... I have not spoken of Myself, but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment what I should say, and what I should speak.” (John 5:30; 14:24; 12:4930I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. (John 5:30)
24He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. (John 14:24)
49For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. (John 12:49).)
It is in the same path that the Spirit of God leads us. We are not our own, but bought with a price. Our members must be “instruments of righteousness unto God,” for we are His, redeemed by the blood of His beloved Son. We are liable to forget this, and, therefore, to live unto ourselves; but if we walk in the Spirit, we shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Much of our unhappiness and weakness arise from forgetting that we are redeemed, and also the cost of our redemption, hence double-mindedness, instability, seeking our own things, and being careful and troubled about many things, not considering that “one thing is needful.”
When the children of Israel were secure within the blood-sprinkled lintel and door-posts, there was “one thing” which was to occupy them, before their deliverance from Egypt actually came. They were to “eat” the flesh of the Lamb, “roast with fire,” with unleavened bread. Not that this would make their deliverance more certain, but this was the obedient and God-glorifying service they were called to. Their safety was in the sprinkled blood― “When I see the blood I will pass over you;” but they were to obey God in eating the roasted Lamb.
There is also “one thing” now set before us, it is to “glorify God”― “to live not unto ourselves, but unto Him who died for us, and rose again.” Present temporal blessing is remarkably connected in the Scriptures with this spiritual path― “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:3333But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33).) It is important to notice this. Our temptation is to attempt to serve two masters, but this cannot be. We have often tried to please ourselves and to please God, but in such a course, the one or the other is despised. If we do not hate self-will, we shall despise God. To trifle on this point is the backsliding path, and is sure to bring darkness―great darkness―into our souls. “If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”
To be “careful and troubled about many things,” is a sure indication that our hearts are not fully taken up with Christ. Hence the “one thing” needful for us, at all times, is to be in entire dependence on Him, sitting at His feet and hearing His word, having all our springs in Him. When this is the case, we shall know Him, not only as the Maker of all things, and Heir of all things, but also as the Upholder of all things, and that by Him all things consist; we shall, therefore, take all things that befall us, whether painful or pleasant, from His hands, learn in everything to give thanks, being assured that, while He works all things after the counsel of His own will, He also makes “all things work together for our good;” for He is the Head of all principality and power, having all power in heaven and in earth. How “needful” then is it that we should take our proper place before the Lord as receivers—helpless, ignorant, and unworthy, so as to learn of Him, wait upon Him, and glory in Him.
O let Thy grace inspire
My soul with strength divine;
Thy glory only to desire―
To live, to walk as Thine.
We may be well assured, that we are no losers by seeking the glory of God. He is able to do for us exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. Them that honor Him, He will be sure to honor. When the Lord proposed this question to Solomon, “Ask what I shall give thee?” he did not reply, long life, or riches, but he desired “one thing:” “Give Thy servant,” said he, “an understanding heart, to judge Thy people, that I may discern between good and bad... And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself ... behold, I have done according to thy word, and have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honor; so that there shall not be any among the kings lie unto thee all thy days.” (1 Kings 3:5-135In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 6And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. 8And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 9Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 10And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 12Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 13And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. (1 Kings 3:5‑13).)
It is well also to notice what abundant honor and blessing God bestowed upon Elisha, after he also had chosen “one thing.” The prophet Elijah said unto him, “Ask what I shall do for thee,” and he replied, “Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” (2 Kings 2:99And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. (2 Kings 2:9).) The sequel tells us the blessed result. May we be delivered from all the miserable influences of self, and seek honestly to live unto God!
The Psalmist desired “one thing” of the Lord, and that, said he, “will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” (Psa. 27:44One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4).) This is blessed. There is no fruit of nature’s barren soil here. It surely is the breathing of the Holy Spirit in the soul, and had its full utterance in the heart of Jesus. But it is written for our learning, and we may well ponder the lesson. It seems with the deepest emotions of affection; we may say, it is one of the finest specimens of “singleness of heart.” And, beloved, do not our souls sympathize with the desire for this “one thing,” this thirst for fellowship and joy in the Lord? Or, are the things of earth so earnestly sought after by us, as to hinder our saying, “One thing have I desired of the Lord?” The Apostle Paul wept over those who were minding earthly things in his day, and spoke of them as “enemies of the cross of Christ.” Surely, “the beauty of the Lord” is above all created excellence, whether visible or invisible; it is both unchangeable and eternal; and the soul anticipates no higher delight than “seeing Him as He is:” it is the consummation of the saint’s desire, and also of the desire of Christ concerning us. “Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory.” (John 17:2424Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24).) The fervent utterance of the heart of Paul was, “that I may know Him;” and so the souls of those who have beheld “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,” who know their standing in grace, and have proved the vanity of the world and themselves, find that the one object of their desire and affection is CHRIST HIMSELF. They search the sacred oracles, and thirst for closer, happier, deeper fellowship with Him of whom they testify. This “one thing” they seek after, never being weary of considering the “beauty of the Lord,” never aspiring to a higher position than that of enquirers and learners at His feet. The more believers learn of Jesus, the more earnestly they “follow on” to know Him. They find increasingly, that His flesh is bread to strengthen, and His blood wine to cheer; and the droppings of the anointing of the true Aaron coming down to the skirts of His garments, they find to be the oil that makes their face to shine. (Ps. 104:15.) They call upon all that is within them to bless His holy name, and feel, if they had ten thousand crowns, they would count it their highest honor to cast them all at His feet. If our souls are not desiring and seeking after this “one thing,” it is because we have forgotten Him who did, by Himself, purge our sins.
The Apostle Paul, when writing to the saints at Philippi, felt his heart so fired with the love of God in Christ, that he tells us that the “one thing” prevailing in his soul, was to hasten onward to the possession of the promised glory. “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13, 1413Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13‑14).) He had experimentally proved while feeling “less than the least of all saints,” that he possessed in Christ an all-sufficiency of strength and wisdom to glorify God. He had also so experienced the vanity of things here, and the inestimable value and preciousness of Christ, as to “desire to depart, and to be with Him.” To be with Christ in resurrection life, was the “one thing” on which his heart was set; for this he fervently longed, and his soul earnestly pressed onward to this fullness of joy.
Had we, beloved, more perfect knowledge of Christ, and the power of His resurrection, there would be more of this energy of life, and intensity of love, working in our hearts. The Divine assurance, that there is the most “perfect peace” between God and our own souls, that we are in Christ, that He who went down into death, under the full weight of God’s wrath for our sins, is alive again, and exalted “far above all heavens,” that “our life is hid with Christ in God,” that “as He is, so are we in this world,” that “we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones,” so “joined to the Lord,” that nothing can possibly separate us from the love of God, will alone enable us to count all things but loss for Christ, to forget the things that are behind, and to find one thing animating our hearts. The enjoyment of our standing “complete in Him,” practically separates us unto God.
HEART-TROUBLE. ―When our Lord said to Peter, “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:11Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. (John 14:1)), He did not mean, do not be troubled about your sin of denying Me with oaths and curses, but do not be troubled about your salvation; for “ye believe in God, believe also in Me.” He knew that Peter would be troubled about his sin, and it was well that he should be; for we afterward see that “the Lord turned and looked upon Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly.” (Luke 22:61, 6261And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. 62And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:61‑62).) May we know much of heart-trouble and weeping before the Lord over our sins and failures as disciples, while we experience the reality of His everlasting salvation of our souls!