'Voices From The Past' Vol. 1 — May 1

Those who enjoy God are in pursuit of still more. They are always breathing after him, and desire to enjoy more communion with him. The wicked are always running from God and seek refuge away from his company. The whole tendency of our soul towards God is expressed by verbs of motion: running, our earnestness to enjoy God; and seeking, our diligence in the use of means. The great care of our souls is to find God, that he may direct, comfort, strengthen, sanctify, and teach us to sweetly enjoy his grace. If we are to find him, we will find him where he is to be found: in his Word, prayer, and in the assembly of his people. Enjoying fellowship with Christ is the goal of all our effort. To serve God is one thing, but to seek him is another. To serve God is to make him the object of worship, to seek God is to make him the end of worship. There are many who hover about the palace that do not speak with the prince. A formal person goes from ordinance to ordinance, and is satisfied with the work. The godly man seeks to go away with God. If God is not found in the ordinance, we must continue seeking that we find him in the next. Sometimes, God will not be found in public, that he might be found in private. In prayer, we come most directly to enjoy God. But if you cannot find God in prayer, look for him in the supper, or in the Word. If he is not comfortably present in the Word, seek him by meditation. When we have sought him in public worship, and he is silent, he might be found in the night as we meditate. We must follow on. It is great pride in carnal men, if God does not meet us presently, to throw it all away. We must keep seeking, like Jacob; ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me' (Gen, 32:26).

Devotional Readings taken from Puritan Devotional Readings 'Voices From The Past Vol.1.'
Thomas Manton, Psalm 119, I:16-18
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