WITH fondness the children go to the deer parks, and look through the bars at the deer and watch their graceful and quick movements. They are so timid, and fearful of coming too close. They are not as accustomed to the hand of man or his care as some other animals, and that no doubt is the reason for their timidity.
God’s word also speaks of this gentle and inoffensive animal in a number of places, and there is one of those places I would like to draw your attention to. It is— “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God.” Ps. 42:1.
This hart is a species of deer which is not now definitely known. Its desire for the water brooks is used as a symbol of a soul panting after God. I wonder if there are any of my young readers who are in this state, having learned that there is nothing in this world that can satisfy, and finding, also, that there is no good thing in self and are seeking for God?
If there are, I would say to such, God is now seeking after you, and asking you to come to Him through the Lord Jesus Christ, His beloved Son. So the Lord Jesus said, “I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE: NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME.” John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6). God has come out to man in all the love of His heart, revealing Himself in the Lord Jesus, and, now, if you desire God, you must come to Him through the Lord Jesus as the One who has died for you. You must accept Him as your own Saviour and then you will no longer be panting after God, as the hart panteth after the water brooks, but you will know what it is to be before Him, accepted in the Lord Jesus, and be able to address God as your Father.
ML 09/05/1909