You can lead a horse to water

I was out jogging the other day listening to a sermon on Psalm 1:

¹Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

²But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

³He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

⁴Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

⁵Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish,

when the saying, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink,” ran through my mind. My first reaction was, “Why in the world did this come to my mind?” But, the saying was resounding in my thoughts and was persistent, so I paused the sermon and allowed my mind to run with the thought.

The thought ran between the two doctrinal paths of soteriology and sovereignty. These two doctrines are so intriguing to ponder together. I have found you cannot stuffy these two doctrines a part from one another and yet I find at their intersections the mystery of God Scripture speaks of in passages like 1 Corinthians 4:1, Colossians 1:27; 2:2, 4:3, and Revelation 10:7. Further, I find myself thinking of 1 Corinthians 2:11 along with Isaiah 40:28 and Romans 11:33.

So, for an interlude I settled into these thoughts. I thought of Christ, the Living Water. I thought of how I find myself planted like a tree by the streams of still waters. I thought of the truth of verse 3, how even when the scorching heat of daily life surrounds me, I do not wither. I thought of how I through grace alone had been offered refreshment in the cup of the new covenant.

I thought and lingered here…Oh, how it is true, In that day you will say: “I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. ²Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” ³With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12:1-3)!

And then I thought, “Why doesn’t everyone drink from the well of salvation?” For Scripture teaches every man thirsts. But fallen humanity does not look to God for drink, rather he tries and fails to quench his thirst with wickedness. The Lord Almighty declares, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water, (Jeremiah 2:13).

And oh, don’t I know the truth which is that all men do cup of a cup. For some it is the live saving and giving water of new birth, but I cannot forget the cup of wrath. The cup of judgment and condemnation. I am filled with humble fear when I think of Jesus’ own prayers before laying His live down for me; ³⁴“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” [Jesus] said to them… ³⁵Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ³⁶“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will,” (Mark 14:34-36). It was the silence that followed that rings of the truth found in Romans 8:32, “[God the Father] did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all.”

I was moved to think of the cost of the cross and my thoughts shuddered at the thought of the cup of wrath. That cup is not refreshing; it leads to eternal unquenchable thirst. I felt sick thinking of the rich man and Lazarus, because I know the rich man is my own father. “ ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ ²⁵ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us,’ (Luke 16:24-26). “Oh,” I cried in my head, “Why won’t my father drink?”

That thought brought me back around to leading a horse to water. I thought only the Father can create a thirst for Christ, only Christ is sufficient to quench the thirst, and by faith alone given of the Holy Spirit will a God-hater be drawn into the baptismal pool of new birth. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day,” (John 6:44). You may be able to lead a horse to water or plant a tree near water, but Jesus said, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots,” (Matthew 15:13).

Praise to you Christ Jesus, lover and Lord of my soul, who drank the cup of wrath meant for me, so that I would drink from the cup of the new covenant!

My thoughts ended with my taking heart in His complete sovereignty and plan of redemption. I will continue to pray earnestly for the lost. I will continue to share the live giving Gospel. I will continue to lead those who cross my path to the Living Word and Water, but I will not force any man to drink. Instead, I will rejoice when the Lord draws one unto Himself.

Grace and peace be with you.