Who will show us any good?

(Bonar, The Two Cries and the Two Answers")

Many are asking, "Who will show us any good?"
Psalm 4:6

1. This is the cry of EMPTINESS. They feel that
there is something lacking. They were not made
for this perpetual hunger and thirst. They are
empty, and therefore they cry. They are poor
and needy; but find no supply.

2. This is the cry of WEARINESS. They who
utter it are seeking rest, but finding none; they
labor and are heavy laden. They would sincerely
rest, but know not how or where. UNREST! This
is their portion. Unrest here; sad prelude of the
eternal unrest, the never-ending weariness.

3. This is the cry of DARKNESS. All is darkness
and blindness. They grope about, not knowing
which way to look, or to turn; and they cry,
'Show us something; for our eyes are blind;
we have tried in vain to see.'

4. This is the cry of HELPLESSNESS. They have
tried many expedients; tried to create good for
themselves, or to get it from others; but in vain.
They find themselves helpless.

5. This is the cry of EARNESTNESS. It comes forth
often amid bitter tears and groans. Men are bent
on being happy; they would do or give anything for
happiness. They are mistaken, yet in earnest. They
would take any good, if they could get it.

6. This is the cry of DESPAIR. Who, who, who?
They have tried every one, everything. All in vain.
They are emptier, hungrier, thirstier, sadder than at first.

7. This is a LOUD AND UNIVERSAL cry. Many.
Yes, the whole world. It is Esau's loud and bitter cry
reverberating through the earth. It is the cry of the
many, not of the few. The world is unhappy. It has
no rest. It is thirsty, and knows not where to drink;
it is hungry, and knows not where to find bread. It
weeps, and knows not how to get its tears dried!
Every man walks in a vain show; going about asking,
Who will show us any good?

O, how long will you love vanity? How long will you
doat upon this vain world, and worship it as your idol?
How long will you treat its broken cisterns as if they
were the fountains of living water? Oh, love not the
world! What will its good things profit in the day of
the Lord? Will its pleasures cheer a death bed, or
brighten the gloom of the grave? What is the ball
room when "its flowers are fled, its garlands dead?"
What can the music and the dance do for you when
sickness comes, or the last trumpet sounds? Will
that gay dress of yours do for a shroud?

How will these "revelings and banquetings" appear
to you in the retrospect of time, still more in the
retrospect of eternity? What will you think of your
"idle words," your "foolish talking and jesting," your
"filthy communication," your riotous mirth, your
luxurious feasting, when you stand confronted with
the last enemy, or before the Judge of all? You have
gone from scene to scene, from gaiety to gaiety,
from party to party, from vanity to vanity, from novel
to novel, from ball to ball, in the dreary emptiness
of your poor aching hearts, crying, "Who will show
us any good?" and when the end comes, what is your
gain? Is it heaven, or is it hell? Is it joy, or is it woe?

Many are asking, "Who will show us any good?"
Psalm 4:6