| The Christian Life | June 1940 |
I Shall Be Satisfied
“As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness.”—Psalm 17:15
TO BE SATISFIED is the legitimate goal of every intelligent creature. Understanding the character of the Creator as it is revealed to us through His plan for the blessing of the human creatures, we conclude that it was the divine intention that all those created in His image should continuously enjoy a state of full satisfaction and happiness. We recognize, furthermore, that the cause of all the unhappiness and dissatisfaction in the world throughout the past and today, is because mankind is alienated from God and is seeking the legitimate goal of happiness and satisfaction in all sorts of illegitimate ways.
The world seeks satisfaction along selfish lines. To acquire all one can, and to retain what one acquires, is considered by the world the only sure method of obtaining satisfaction. The spirit of acquisition permeates all the phases and attitudes of the worldly life. It manifests itself in efforts to attain wealth along monetary and other material lines. It is seen in the efforts of the worldly to acquire eminence of position, influence and prestige in the world, often to the disadvantage of others. There are very few in the world, however, who attain the goal of happiness and satisfaction for which they strive.
Some gain wealth, to be sure, but find that with the gaining of it, true happiness and satisfaction are still remote and, like an elusive bubble, just beyond their reach. Some gain influence and power among the worldly only to find that with them come counteracting experiences which destroy the satisfaction they hoped would accompany their promotion. Thus it is that throughout the centuries fallen man has been fruitlessly searching and striving for a happiness and satisfaction that was lost six thousand years ago when God turned His back upon His human creatures because they had disobeyed His laws. Only with the restoration of man to Divine favor during the thousand years of the Messianic Kingdom will God’s earthly creatures actually find true satisfaction and lasting joys.
THE JOYS OF FAITH
The followers of Christ are in the world, and according to the flesh share many of the experiences of the world, but they are not inspired by its selfish ambitions. Rather, their goal of satisfaction is one which they visualize by the eye of faith. Not a faith which assures them that God will bless them in a material way during the present life, but a faith rather, which lays hold of the promises of God that assures them of a glorious future reward, provided they continue to joyfully sacrifice the temporary advantages and questionable pleasures which might be theirs while in the flesh.
It is this contrast of future joys with present advantages that is brought to our attention in our text. In the verse preceding our text, the prophet speaks of those which, “have their portion in this life, and whose belly Thou fillest with Thy hid treasures: they are full of children [margin: ‘their children are full’], and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.” In these few words is summed up that which fallen man considers to be essential to happiness and satisfaction.
The worldly do not take to the idea of waiting for the attainment of future joys. Rather than to rejoice in the hope of “the sweet by and by,” they utilize all of their energy to the attainment of that which they erroneously suppose will bring them happiness and satisfaction now. As the prophet shows, these accumulate all they possibly can to satisfy present needs and ambitions with the thought that what they cannot now use themselves they will leave for the enjoyment of their posterity.
But such is not the viewpoint of the truly consecrated. The sentiments of all such are expressed in the inspired contrast presented by the prophet when he says, “As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness.” These words apply primarily to Jesus. The reason it was prophetically said of Him that He would be satisfied when He awoke in the presence of the Father is stated in the closing verse of the preceding Psalm, which says, “In Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”—Psalm 16:11
In the experiences of Jesus, we have a true illustration of how His followers should look upon earthly advantages and worldly associations. Jesus, like His followers, was in the world, but He did not participate in its selfish orgies, nor was His life guided by the unrighteous standards set by fallen man.
Jesus realized that true happiness in this present evil world was not based upon the abundance of things which a man may possess. When tempted of the Devil to turn stones into bread in order to satisfy His natural craving for food, the Master replied saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4) In quoting these particular words from the Old Testament, Jesus realized that their significance in His own life meant that He was to sacrifice all material things, to lay down human life itself, in the doing of the Father’s will.
So fully did Jesus enter into and fulfill the divine requirements concerning His own sacrificial ministry, that it is said of Him that while “the birds of the air have nests, and the foxes have holes, the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.” (Matt. 8:20) Not only did Jesus refrain from the accumulation of material wealth, but He also sacrificed the further human privilege of becoming the father of children who would live to perpetuate His name. The prophet says of Him that He would be cut off from the land of the living and that none should declare His generation.—Isa. 53:8
We can see, therefore, that from every standpoint Jesus turned His back upon worldly standards and ambitions. Instead of seeking joy and satisfaction in a worldly way, He found His great joy in doing the Father’s will. This brought joy to Him, not only because He realized that it was the Father’s way, but also because He knew that in obedience to the divine arrangements He was proving Himself worthy of the glory that should come to Him when He returned to the heavenly courts as a glorious divine being. His joy, therefore, sprang from an inward peace resulting from the full assurance of faith which enabled Him to have complete confidence in the Father’s ability to cause all things to work together for His good. It was, also, the joy that was set before Him which enabled Him to endure the cross and despise the shame. Because of such endurance, He is now set down at the right hand of the Majesty on High.—Heb. 12:1,2
The great joy which the Master possessed throughout the course of His earthly ministry was the joy of faith. He could thus be joyful in spite of all the unfavorable circumstances with which He was surrounded. He realized at the same time, however, that the real satisfaction for which He was striving would not be attained until He was glorified with the Father. He was content in the experiences which the Father’s wisdom and love permitted to come to Him, because He realized that through these experiences He was being prepared to later enter into the actual presence of His Father, where there would be fullness of joy, and where there would be pleasures for evermore.
SEEKING THE KINGDOM FIRST
The disciples of Jesus are to follow His example in all things. This means that, like Him, their hearts will not be set upon the material things with which they are surrounded. It means that, like Him, the great goal for which they strive will be the attaining of a position in the glory of the Kingdom as joint-heirs with Him, partaking of the divine nature. This means that, like the Master, Christians’ sentiments will be that full satisfaction is to be realized only when awakening in His likeness and in the presence of God, in the first resurrection.
The disciples of the Master will, of course, realize that certain necessities of life, such as food and clothing, are to be given proper consideration in harmony with the regulations prescribed in God’s Word, but they will realize, also, that their first concern is to be that of the Kingdom. Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things [material things] shall be added unto you.”—Matt. 6:33
Jesus’ own sentiments as expressed in our text, were, “As for Me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness.” Possibly the Master had this in mind when He admonished His followers that instead of being concerned with the material things of life, which were of so vital importance to the worldly, they should seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness. That is to say, they were to keep their hearts and minds fixed upon God, seeking to attain and maintain His full favor and the richness of His blessing, as here implied in. the thought of beholding His face. While the worldly minded spend all their energies to lay up treasures on earth, where, as Jesus said, moth and rust corrupt, the followers of Jesus with an unselfish viewpoint, and with a clear vision of the divine will, renounce these earthly aims and ambitions and by seeking first the kingdom of God, lay up for themselves treasures in heaven. The Apostle Paul gives us a similar thought, saying, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above.”—Col. 3:1
That St. Paul understood clearly the grandeur of those things which are above, and for which the Christian is to seek, is shown by his explanation, “Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” Here again, then, we have the thought that just as Jesus was inspired by the glorious hope of entering into the presence of God and being seated at His right hand in the glories of the Kingdom, so His followers are also to strive for the same glorious goal. That is, they are to set their affections on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God.
Due to the selfish cravings of the fallen flesh, the Christian will find, however, that to once set his affections on things above is not sufficient. He will find it necessary to keep setting and resetting his affections on the heavenly things. He will find that the forces of the world and the flesh and the, adversary will combine to draw his attention and his affections away from the heavenly things and cause him to be overcharged with the cares of this life. Spiritual “setting up exercises” are a daily necessity to Christian success.
The Christian, by turning his back upon the world and worldly pursuits, will, by so doing, bring upon himself the adverse criticism and persecution of the worldly minded. This will but cause him to lay hold more firmly upon the exceeding great and precious promises of God’s Word: those promises by which he is made a partaker of the divine nature. Through these precious promises, joys will be caused to spring up in his life as flowers in a desert. These joys will be such as the poor world in its wilderness condition could not produce nor imagine.
From the standpoint of the world it might appear that those who have made a full consecration of self and every earthly interest to the Lord and His cause thereby put themselves in a position where every joy is lost. But every member of the New Creation knows to the contrary, and can testify that though some earthly joys once held very dear are sacrificed, in their places come heavenly joys that far more than compensate for the loss.
Christians must all taste of the bitter cup which the Lord drained to the dregs, because they are partakers of His sufferings. They must all be tested concerning their loyalty to the Heavenly Father, and their willingness to sacrifice every earthly thing as the interests of His cause and faithfulness thereto demand. But rich blessings come through all such trials and testings—the blessing of the realization of divine approval. This is a joy superior to that of the natural man—the joys of the Lord, fellowship and communion with the Heavenly Father.
There could be no such joys were it not for our blessed hope—the hope of glory. This glorious hope of being with our Heavenly Father and with our elder brother, Christ Jesus, is a hope that enables us to rejoice with joy unspeakable even while passing through the trials and difficulties incident to our present earthly pilgrimage. But the present joys of faith and hope are not the ultimate objective of Christian endeavor. These joys are a compensation for the trials and sorrows of the present time, but the Christian will not be fully satisfied until, like the Master, he awakes in the actual presence of the Father, clothed with the new house from heaven, and made free from all earthly imperfection and equipped to co-operate with Jesus in dispensing the Messianic blessings of life to all mankind. That will be joy and glory indeed. That will be true and lasting satisfaction.
We cannot now even appreciate all that such high divine favor will mean. The Apostle John says, “It doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.”—I John 3:2
“If I in Thy likeness, O Lord, may awake,
And shine a pure image of Thee,
Then I shall be satisfied when I can break
The fetters of flesh and be free.”
—Hymns of Dawn