723 the fifth word Rather, may the ever-burning desire for the salvation of souls, which the Son of God always so strongly felt, be for each one an incentive [for conversion]. It is precisely this desire that I wish to present at length. I invite you, kind reader of this discourse, to endeavor to please God ever more if the grace of God has [already] taken you to the highest degree of perfection. But if, through love of created things, you have withdrawn from your Creator, I beg you: “Turn around! This is not a good path; turn around! All who have followed this path have died.” Turn around and give to the thirsting Jesus a drink from the chalice of your conversion so desired [by Him]. As the Holy Scriptures81 recount that famous David — the most ideal among the fallen kings — when hiding out of fear of the persecutors in the caves of Adullam, felt an intense desire to drink from the purest fountain [located] near the gates of his native Bethlehem. The fountain attracted men to its crystal water. However, it was then occupied by the Philistine enemies. And thus, not hiding that he was thirsty, in the presence of his fellow soldiers he cried out in these words: “O that some one would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!” (2 Sam 23:15). Someone may be surprised at such a slight mortification, and on the other hand, such a coarse and overt carnality of this very manly — and also very saintly — king, on account of which he exposed three valiant heroes of his army to a very obvious jeopardy. To get to the cistern, they had to break through the circle of enemy lines so that they might indulge the palate of the king. In addition, someone could have censured David — an experienced warrior as he was — that he chose such a place for himself and the army, where they had to suffer the lack of the most necessary thing, namely, water. However, I perceive a great mystery here. David is the righteous, the type of the world’s Savior. Among the various Fathers, St. Remigius indicated this quite clearly in these words: “The 81 Cf. 1 Chron 11:15-19.
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