I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.
Wilderness-knowledge
God knows His people where nobody else will take any notice of them. You do not know a man until you know him in the wilderness. There is but little revelation of character in laughter. So long as a man is living in rioting and wantonness, in great abundance and prosperity, having only to lift his hand to command a regiment of servants, you cannot really tell what his true quality is. Men show themselves in the darkness; men cry out of their hearts when they are in distress; it is in the nighttime of life’s bitter sorrows that men’s true quality is revealed. God never forsakes His people in wilderness and in desert places; He is more God and Father to them there than ever. No man knows God who only knows Him theologically. It is impossible to read much about God; you must read the writing in your own heart The world is within you; you carry the universe in your own bosom. Unless you have the faculty and genius of introspection, and the power to read the small print that is being daily typed upon your inmost life, you can never be scholars in the sanctuary of Christ, you can never attain to high degrees of wisdom in the school of heaven. Men seek God in the wilderness. The wilderness is the school of discipline. In the Bible there lies one great desert land, and it is called “that great and terrible wilderness.” There could not be two such in any globe; there could not be a duplicate experience in any life. Some things can be done only once; no man can be twice in Gethsemane; no man can be twice crucified. There are acts in life which, having been accomplished, enable the sufferer to say, The bitterness of death is passed; come what will now, it is but a day’s march into heaven. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
Known in time of distress
God knew Israel in the wilderness--
(1) In respect of their sin, which He visited.
(2) In regard of their wants, which He provided for.
Observe--
1. Man’s wickedness strangely contrasts with God’s goodness; God knew their sin and yet destroyed them not; they receive mercies, and yet sin.
2. It is a great mercy for God to know a man in time of distress. This is God’s way. Men know in prosperity; but let us make God our friend, He will be a friend otherwise than men win he.
3. We should not be dejected in times of trouble; that is the time for God to know thee: be willing to follow God in any estate.
4. God’s knowing us in distress is a mighty engagement. Let us look back to the times when we were in trouble.
5. Let us know God’s cause when it suffers, and know our brethren in their sufferings.
6. God’s knowledge is operative and working; it does us good. Our knowledge of God should be so too. To sin against our knowledge of God is evil, but to sin against God’s knowledge of us is worse. (Jeremiah Burroughs.)
God present with His people in the wilderness
I. The low and wilderness state of God’s people.
1. It refers to their spiritual wants, weaknesses, and troubles. In their first convictions of sin. In their first, beginning to walk in the ways of the Lord. In after temptations. In seasons of dejection.
2. To their temporal wants, weaknesses, and troubles. In poverty and want; in pain and sickness; in the dangers of life.
II. What kind of knowledge or notice is it that God takes of his people in that state?
1. It is with pity and compassion.
2. So as to manifest His love to them.
3. So as to bestow His comforts on them.
4. He grants His presence to them.
5. He affords them help.
III. Lay down the proof and evidence of this.
1. The Word of the Lord often declares it.
2. God’s dealings with His people in all ages further confirm it, e.g., Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Jonah, Hezekiah, ancient Israel.
Application--
1. Let us be concerned to have this God for our God.
2. When in a wilderness state, let us trust in our God.
3. Remember God’s kindness in appearing for you.
4. Despise not those who are in a wilderness state, but “weep with those who weep,” etc. (T. Hannam.)