The Puritan writer, Thomas Watson, said in his book The Great Gain of Godliness: “Some complain that they have no joy in their lives; and truly, no wonder, when they are such strangers to heavenly contemplation.” This is very true. All our woes, all our sins, all our discouragements arise from lowly thoughts of God. The Psalmist taught this same truth when he describes the wicked man: “God is not in all his thoughts (Psalm. 10:4).”
If God is in all your thoughts, He will also be in all your actions. If your mind does not dwell on God, your actions will wander into sorrowful paths of lust, fear, envy, and anger. So God, in His great mercy, faithfully sets the glory of His Son before you. If you will learn your heavenly Father’s lesson, your mind will be filled with three simple signs. Water. Bread and Wine.
Are you fearful? Think that God has removed His wrath from you because you are baptized into Christ. Is your soul cast down? Drink this wine of God’s innumerable tender-mercies to you. Have you felt the pull of carnal cravings of improper sexual desires, or greed for earthly gain? Then eat this bread of heaven. This bread satisfies, for this bread is a sign of covenant union with Him that fills heaven and earth with His presence.
The Lord is your shepherd. He summons you to green pastures of His provision & peace. He lays a joyful feast before you, in spite of surrounding armies of enemies. You must muse upon Christ. You must fill your meditations with the Gospel. You must look upon the salvation signified here. By thinking upon these immense glories, all rivals are expelled, all idols cast down, and all heathen altars in your heart are burned to ash.
So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ…
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