Comfort for Christians
by Arthur W. Pink, 1952
HUNGERING
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after
righteousness; for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6)
In the first three Beatitudes we are called upon to
witness the heart exercises of one who has been awakened by the Spirit of
God. First, there is a sense of need, a realization of my nothingness and
emptiness. Second, there is a judging of self, a consciousness of my guilt
and sorrowing over my lost condition. Third, there is an end of seeking to
justify myself before God, an abandonment of all pretenses to personal
merit, a taking of my place in the dust before God. Here, in the fourth, the
eye of the soul is turned away from self to Another: there is a longing
after that which I know I have not got, and which I am conscious I urgently
need.
There has been much needless quibbling as to the precise
import of the word "righteousness" in our present text. The best way to
ascertain its significance is to go back to the Old Testament scriptures
where this term is used, and then turn on these the fuller light furnished
by the New Testament Epistles.
"You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the
clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let
righteousness grow with it; I, the Lord, have created it" (Isaiah 45:8). The
first half of this verse refers, in figurative language, to the advent of
Christ to this earth; the second half to His resurrection, when He was
"raised again for our justification." "Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,
you who are far from righteousness. I am bringing my righteousness near, it
is not far away; and my salvation will not be delayed. I will grant
salvation to Zion, my splendor to Israel" (Isaiah 46:12-14). "My
righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm
will bring justice to the nations." (Isaiah 51:5). "My salvation is close at
hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed" (Isaiah 56:1). "I will
greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has
clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe
of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10). These passages make it clear that God's
"righteousness" is synonymous with God's "salvation."
The above scriptures are unfolded in the Epistle to the
Romans where the "Gospel" receives its fullest exposition. In 1:16, 17, we
are told "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for
the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the
Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a
righteousness that is by faith from first to last." In 3:22, 24 we read,
"Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all
and upon all those who believe, for there is no difference: For all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Being justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." In 5:19 the blessed
declaration is made, "for as by one man's disobedience many were made
(legally constituted) sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made
(legally constituted) righteous." While in 10:4 we learn, "Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness to every one that believes."
The sinner is destitute of righteousness, for "there is
none righteous, no not one." God has therefore provided in Christ a perfect
righteousness for each and all of His people. This righteousness, this
satisfying of all the demands of God's holy law against us, was wrought out
by our Substitute and Surety. This righteousness is now imputed—legally
placed to the account of the believing sinner. Just as the sins of God's
people were all transferred to Christ—so His righteousness is placed upon
them, see 2 Cor. 5:21. Such is a brief summary of the teaching of Scripture
on this vital and blessed subject of "Righteousness."
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after
righteousness." Hungering and thirsting express vehement desire, of which
the soul is acutely conscious. First, the Holy Spirit brings before the
heart the holy requirements of God. He reveals to us His perfect standard,
which He can never lower. He reminds us that "unless your righteousness
exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall never
enter the kingdom of heaven."
Second, the trembling soul, conscious of its own abject
poverty, realizing his utter inability to measure up to God's requirements,
sees no help in SELF. This is a painful discovery, which causes him to mourn
and groan. Have you done so?
Third, the Holy Spirit now creates in the heart a deep
"hunger and thirst," which causes the convicted sinner to look for relief
and seek a supply outside of himself. The eye is now directed to Christ,
"The Lord our Righteousness" (Jer. 23:6).
Like the previous ones, this attitude begins before
conversion, but is perpetuated in the saved sinner. There is a repeated
exercise of this grace, felt at varying intervals. The one who longed to be
saved by Christ, now yearns to be made like Him. Looked at in its widest
aspect, this hungering and thirsting refers to that panting of the renewed
heart after God (Psalm 42:1), that yearning for a closer walk with Him, that
longing for more perfect conformity to the image of His Son. It tells of
those aspirations of the new nature for Divine blessing which alone can
strengthen, sustain and satisfy.
Our text presents such a paradox that it is evident no
carnal mind ever invented it. Can one who has been brought into vital union
with Him who is the Bread of Life, and in whom all fullness dwells, be found
still hungering and thirsting? Yes, such is the experience of the renewed
heart. Mark carefully the tense of the verb: it is not "Blessed are those
who have hungered," but "Blessed are those who do hunger and
thirst." Do you, dear reader? Or are you content with your attainments and
satisfied with your condition? Hungering and thirsting after righteousness
has ever been the experience of God's saints: see Psalm 82:4; Phil. 3:8, 14,
etc.
"They shall be filled." Like the first part of our text,
this also has a double fulfillment—an initial and a continuous. When God
creates a hunger and a thirst in the soul it is that He may satisfy them.
When the poor sinner is made to feel his need of Christ, it is that he may
be drawn to and led to embrace Him. Like the prodigal, who came to the
Father as a penitent, the believing sinner now feeds on the One figured by
the "fattened calf." He is made to exclaim "surely in the Lord, I have
righteousness."
"They shall be filled." Not with wine wherein is excess,
but "filled with the Spirit." "Filled" with "the peace of God which passes
all understanding." "Filled" with Divine blessing to which no sorrow is
added. "Filled" with praise and thanksgiving unto Him who has wrought all
our works in us. "Filled" with that which this poor world can neither give
nor take away. "Filled" by the goodness and mercy of God, until their cup
runs over. And yet, all that is enjoyed now is but a little foretaste of
what God has prepared for those who love Him. In the Day to come we shall be
"filled" with Divine holiness, for we shall be "like him" (1 John 3:2). Then
shall we be done with sin forever; then shall we "hunger no more, neither
thirst anymore" (Rev. 7:16).