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“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
— Matthew 5:6
We begin where we must always begin: with the words of Jesus. The central theme of this song is spiritual hunger and thirst. Not a casual interest. Not a religious habit. But an intense, inward craving for righteousness and for the presence and power of the Living God.
The associated scriptures form a single, coherent message:
> “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
> — Matthew 5:6
> “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
> He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
> — John 7:37–38
> “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.”
> — Ephesians 5:18
> “My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the LORD;
> My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”
> — Psalm 84:2
These verses together describe:
This is not a marginal theme in Scripture. It is at the heart of what it means to walk with God: a life marked by holy desire and constant dependence on the Holy Spirit.
### Matthew 5:6 – The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5:6 is part of the Beatitudes, the opening section of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is speaking primarily to His disciples, with the multitudes listening (Matthew 5:1–2). He is describing the character of those who belong to the kingdom of heaven.
The Beatitudes follow a divine order:
1. Poor in spirit (v. 3) – recognizing spiritual poverty.
2. Those who mourn (v. 4) – grieving over sin and the ruin of man.
3. The meek (v. 5) – yielded, submitted to God.
4. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (v. 6) – deeply desiring God’s order and character.
So Matthew 5:6 comes after a recognition of need, sorrow over sin, and surrender to God. Then, and only then, does true spiritual hunger arise. This is not the curiosity of the unrepentant. It is the longing of a heart that has seen its own lack and bows before God.
### John 7:37–38 – The Feast of Tabernacles
John 7 places us at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stands and cries out:
> “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.”
At this feast, there was a daily water-pouring ceremony pointing to God’s provision of water in the wilderness and anticipating the outpouring of the Spirit in the last days. Against that backdrop, Jesus declares Himself to be the true source of living water.
John explains:
> “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
> — John 7:39
The thirst Jesus addresses is not physical but spiritual. The satisfaction is not mere emotional relief but the inward flow of the Holy Spirit.
### Ephesians 5:18 – The Spirit-Filled Life in a Corrupt World
Ephesians 5 was written by Paul to believers in a deeply immoral and idolatrous city. After warning them not to walk as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, he says:
> “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.”
He contrasts the false filling of wine—temporary, deceptive, leading to waste—with the true filling of the Holy Spirit—continuous, life-giving, leading to praise, submission, and holiness.
### Psalm 84:2 – The Cry of a Worshiper
Psalm 84 is a psalm of the sons of Korah, expressing intense longing for the house and presence of God:
> “My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the LORD;
> My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”
The psalmist is away from the sanctuary, yet his whole being—soul, heart, and even flesh—yearns for God. This is not merely a theological belief. It is an inward ache for God Himself.
These four passages together form a composite picture:
### “Hunger” and “Thirst” – Matthew 5:6
The Greek text of Matthew 5:6 reads:
> “μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι αὐτοὶ χορτασθήσονται.”
Key terms:
1. “Peinōntes” (πεινῶντες) – “those who hunger”
2. “Dipsōntes” (διψῶντες) – “those who thirst”
Jesus uses the strongest possible terms for desperate need. Spiritual life is not sustained by casual interest. It is sustained by deep, ongoing hunger and thirst.
### “Righteousness” – Matthew 5:6
The word “dikaiosynē” (δικαιοσύνη) is translated “righteousness.”
So Matthew 5:6 is not limited to a desire to be forgiven. It is a longing for:
This righteousness is not self-produced. It is imparted and worked out by the Holy Spirit in a cooperative relationship with the believer.
### “Living Water” – John 7:37–38
“Rivers of living water” in Greek:
In John 7:39, John reveals that this living water is the Holy Spirit.
So the picture is not a stagnant pond but active, flowing, abundant supply—enough not only for personal satisfaction but for overflow to others.
This deepens our understanding of the lyrics: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Jesus and drink…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” The thirsty man does not merely become less thirsty. He becomes a fountain.
### Chorus: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
This chorus is a direct quotation of Matthew 5:6. Notice two things:
1. The condition of blessing
In Scripture, desire is decisive. God meets people at the level of their desire.
The spiritually “rich”—those who feel no need—are sent away empty. The spiritually hungry are filled.
2. The certainty of fulfillment
So the chorus proclaims a law of the kingdom: where there is God-given hunger for righteousness, there is God-guaranteed fullness.
### Verse 1: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Jesus and drink.”
This is John 7:37 in simple form. Observe its universality and its conditions.
1. “If anyone is thirsty”
2. “Let him come to Me”
3. “And drink”
So: thirst, come, drink. That is the process of receiving the Spirit’s fullness.
### Verse 1: “He who believes in Jesus, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
John 7:38 moves from receiving to overflowing.
This is crucial for understanding the Spirit-filled life:
1. The Holy Spirit is not given merely for personal relief but for corporate blessing.
2. The source is Christ; the channel is the believer.
### Verse 2: “Be continually filled with the Holy Spirit.”
This is drawn from Ephesians 5:18. In Greek, “be filled” is a present imperative: “be being filled”—an ongoing command.
Important observations:
1. It is a command, not a suggestion.
2. It is continuous.
3. It is contrasted with drunkenness.
Ephesians 5:19–21 shows the fruit of being filled:
The mark of a Spirit-filled life is not mere emotion but worship, gratitude, and yielded relationships.
### Verse 2: “My heart and my flesh cries out for the Living God.”
This reflects Psalm 84:2. It shows that true spiritual hunger is not a purely mental decision. It involves:
This is very important in the realm of spiritual warfare. Many believers are spiritually dull because their appetites are misdirected—consumed by entertainment, comfort, or fleshly desires. The psalmist presents the opposite: everything within him is oriented toward God.
“Living God” contrasts the true God with dead idols. The idols of this age—pleasure, materialism, self—are lifeless. Only the living God can answer the cry of the human heart.
### Verse 2: “The Spirit yearns for me and I yearn for Him.”
This echoes James 4:5:
> “Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, ‘The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously’?”
And also Galatians 5:17, where the Spirit and the flesh have contrary desires.
Two directions of yearning are in view:
1. The Spirit yearns for us
2. We yearn for Him
This two-way yearning is at the core of the Spirit-filled life. The Spirit longs to fill, lead, and transform us. We, in turn, must align our desires with His.
### Chorus Repeated: The Law of Satisfaction
Each return to the chorus reinforces a spiritual law:
Psalm 107:9:
> “For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.”
The problem in much of the church is not that God is unwilling to fill, but that His people are no longer truly hungry.
The message is not theory. It is intensely practical. How do we cultivate this hunger and live in this continual filling? We will consider four steps and frame each as a proclamation you can adopt.
### 1. Acknowledge Your Thirst and Poverty
First, we must renounce self-satisfaction and religious complacency.
Proclamation 1:
“I confess that in myself I am poor in spirit. I acknowledge my need. I refuse complacency and religious pride. I am thirsty for God’s righteousness in my life.”
### 2. Come to Jesus Intentionally and Personally
Second, we must come to the Person of Jesus, not merely to activities.
Proclamation 2:
“I come to Jesus as the source of living water. I do not trust in my efforts, my works, or my experiences. I come to Him to drink—freely, personally, continually.”
### 3. Drink and Keep Drinking – Yield to the Holy Spirit
Third, we must consciously receive and yield to the Holy Spirit.
Proclamation 3:
“I open my inner being to the Holy Spirit. I choose to be filled and refilled. I yield my mind, my will, my emotions, my body to His control. I welcome His rivers of living water to flow in me and through me.”
### 4. Align Your Desires and Disciplines with Your Hunger
Fourth, we must cooperate with our own hunger by arranging our lives accordingly.
Proclamation 4:
“I choose what increases my hunger for God and reject what dulls it. I set my heart to seek the Lord. I will feed on His Word, worship Him, and walk in fellowship with His people.”
In spiritual warfare, appetite is a battleground. The enemy seeks to exchange your desire for God for cravings of the flesh and the world. Your protection is to guard and direct your desires by deliberate choices.
### Proclamation
Speak this aloud with faith:
“I declare that I am one of those whom Jesus called blessed:
I hunger and thirst for righteousness.
I renounce self-satisfaction, complacency, and compromise.
I come to Jesus, the source of living water, and I drink by faith.
According to His Word, out of my innermost being flow rivers of living water—
the life and power of the Holy Spirit.
I obey the command to be filled with the Spirit.
I yield every area of my life to His control.
My soul longs, my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
The Spirit within me yearns jealously, and I respond with wholehearted surrender.
God satisfies my longing soul and fills my hungry heart with His goodness.
I shall be filled with His righteousness, His presence, and His power,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
### Prayer
“Lord Jesus Christ,
You said, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink,’ and,
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.’
I come to You now, acknowledging my need, my dryness, my poverty.
Father, I ask You, in the name of Jesus,
fill me afresh with the Holy Spirit.
Let Your living water flow into my innermost being and overflow as rivers to others.
Create in me a deep, enduring hunger for Your righteousness,
and deliver me from every false satisfaction that dulls my appetite for You.
Holy Spirit, I yield to Your jealous longing.
Search me, cleanse me, and take full possession of every part of my life.
Teach me to walk in continual filling, continual thirst, and continual satisfaction in God.
I receive Your promise of fullness by faith,
and I thank You that You are even now at work in me,
both to will and to do for Your good pleasure.
In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.”
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