Exodus 17:1  And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. 2  Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? 3  And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? 4  And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. 5  And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. 6  Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7  And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

I was recently reading in Exodus 17 along with Matthew Henry's commentary, and was actually looking ahead and looking forward to reading the last portion of the chapter, with Moses, Aaron and Hur, with its application to prayer, but I found myself rereading and reflecting on the first portion, and these words struck me:

thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.

Christianity is a blessed drinking!

"that the people may drink" -- Consider that! Consider Him! Who are we fallen mortals to deserve a single drop from a holy, eternal God? Ah! But the Rock was struck for us! Jesus Christ became sin for us. He was struck in our place, to bear the wrath of God which we deserved, so all who believe on Him might receive His perfect righteousness and be reconciled to God. Jesus Christ received the Holy Spirit without measure; He has been anointed with the oil of gladness above His companions! Christian, consider that our God is concerned about our supply, and how wholly dependent we are on Him for every single drink.

"that the people may drink!" – Consider the Creator God who sits upon the circle of the earth and who dwells in Light Inaccessible: He is ready and able and desiring to pour out of His fullness grace upon grace to poor, wretched, miserable sinners like us through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ! What unfathomable kindness He demonstrates toward us!

"there shall come water out of HIM!" – Just like these Israelites, we have no other recourse –– no other true and living supply is anywhere to be found. Any and all other sources will leave us thirsty and shriveling up –– but as we drink of Christ, we shall "never thirst." Though earthly supplies abound and seek to allure us with their siren songs, not one can truthfully make such an audacious claim.

My dear friends, if you remember nothing else from my blogging here, my prayer is that you might be enabled to remember this:

Christianity is a drinking! –– It is a blessed drinking of Jesus Christ for eternal life, unadulterated truth, full satisfaction, unrivaled love, unwavering faithfulness, holy pleasures, incomparable happiness, everlasting consolation, matchless beauty, unparalleled strength, purest refreshment, faultless contentment, perfect peace, Sabbath rest, and exceeding joy! ~ John 7:37-39, Psalm 16:11, Psalm 36:7-9, Psalm 65:3-5, Isaiah 55:1-9, John 4:1-26, Psalm 146, etc.... and oh, yes, we can't forget the Song of Solomon... and please don't demean the Lord Jesus Christ or His Holy Word by seeing that book as merely a treatise on human marriage and human sexuality!

the hidden Drink

The devil hides the truth from our eyes that Christianity is a blessed drinking, does he not? Remember he is a liar and the father of lies. He wants us to believe that the life in Christ is anything but all-satisfying and all-surpassing pleasure to our souls. He wants Christ's yoke to appear bitter, heavy, and oppressive –– while Christ Himself tells us that His yoke is easy and His burden light, and in Him we will find everlasting rest and true freedom for our souls. We too easily forget the Scripture references which liken our union with Christ to the great supper, a marriage feast, a banqueting table, a homecoming celebration, a banner of love, a river of life, etc.!

Isaiah 25:6  And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.

Joel 3:18  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.

And, in God's mysterious and inscrutable workings, God Himself hides this truth from us as well ~ Matt. 11:25-27. There is no revealing of what is hidden apart from the gracious working of His Holy Spirit (e.g. - see I Cor. 2; II Cor. 4:6).

When it's hid from our eyes, it's hid from our hearts! As our pastor has continued preaching through the book of Colossians, I've continued to consider those words "riches" and "treasures" found in chapters 1 and 2 (Col. 1:27; 2:2-3, and elsewhere in the Scripture ~ Eph. 1:7, 18; 3:8) ... and then was reminded of this spiritual reality: "in whom are HID..." (Col. 2:3  In whom [Christ] are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.). No wonder the apostle Paul prayed for the eyes of our hearts to be opened and enlightened so we might taste and see and savor the treasure of this holy, all-surpassing, all-satisfying, thirst-slaking Drink! (Eph. 1:18) And we need to do so likewise! I pray that for myself, and I pray that for you as well  –– so we might be able to sing with Isaac Watts in this life, in the here and now...

Religion never was designed,
To make our pleasures less...

The men of grace have found,
Glory begun below.
Celestial fruits on earthly ground
Celestial fruits on earthly ground
From faith and hope may grow,
From faith and hope may grow.

The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets
Before we reach the heav’nly fields,
Before we reach the heav’nly fields,
Or walk the golden streets,
Or walk the golden streets.

(From Isaac Watts' "We're Marching to Zion")

In his exposition of Colossians ¹, John Davenant writes of the word hidden...

By which word is intimated, that what is precious and magnificent in Christ, or the Gospel of Christ, is not conspicuous, or directly meets the eyes of carnal men; but is so concealed, that it is discovered only by those to whom God has given a quick sight, i.e.  spiritual eyes to see. So Christ himself said, Matt xi. 25.  I thank thee, O Father, that thou hast hidden, &c. (360)

In making application of that truth, Davenant exhorts us to ...

... labour and toil in acquiring this treasure,. For this treasure is not placed in open view, it is hidden. We must not confide in our own industry or discernment; but diligently intreat God, that he would quicken our sight, and permit this hidden treasure to be seen by us: Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law, Ps. cxix.18. (361)

For what are you laboring and toiling? Are you pleading with God to quicken your sight so you might begin to behold in greater measure the treasure that Christ is, so you might esteem Him and glory in Him as you ought, and savor and enjoy Him as He intends? May we not be in the position of the older son who dutifully served in his father's house for years, and yet lacked the understanding that all that his father had was already his:  sadly, he never knew there was a feast available for him! Or, as John Elias put it:

There are many in the church that never had a kid - that never had a small portion of spiritual food to make merry - that know nothing of the spiritual feasts that are enjoyed on the return of prodigals!

May God be merciful and gracious to us, and quicken our sight and open our eyes to this treasure, so we might not be found wanting and guilty of the sin Israel was committing in the days of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 2:13  For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Have you ever considered that your forsaking Christ and drinking elsewhere is evil in the sight of God? As we forsake Him and hew out broken cisterns, we are not only robbing God of due glory, but we are also robbing our own souls of the wellspring of true joy and abundant life. May God have mercy upon us and enhance our hunger and thirst for Him alone... and show us the great folly and the evil in forsaking Him and drinking anywhere else. May God diminish our desire for "puddle water," so we might drink deeper and deeper of the "rock-water" –– God's spiritual delights.

Are you drinking puddle-water or rock-water?

From Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on Exodus 17...

"Let this [example in Exodus 17] direct us to live in a dependence... Upon Christ's grace: That rock was Christ, 1 Cor. x. 4. The graces and comforts of the Spirit are compared to rivers of living water, John vii. 38, 39; iv. 14. These flow from Christ, who is the rock smitten by the law of Moses, for he was made under the law. Nothing will supply the needs, and satisfy the desires, of a soul, but water out of this rock, this fountain opened.

The pleasures of sense are puddle-water;...

spiritual delights are rock-water, so pure, so clear, so refreshing--rivers of pleasure."

May God open our eyes to the spiritual reality that anything or anyone else apart from Christ is but puddle-water, so we might fly to His bosom to drink of the rock-water!

The Scottish divine Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) repeatedly drank of that rock-water. He drank abundantly of Jesus Christ . . . even as he was banished and exiled from his flock in Anwoth for a period of almost two years in Aberdeen. Rutherford's letters written from Aberdeen are the testimony of a soul overflowing with Living Water. For example, in Letter LXXVI.—To Robert Gordon of Knockbrex, he writes:

"How blind are my adversaries,
who sent me to a banqueting-house,
to a house of wine,
to the lovely feasts of my lovely Lord Jesus,
and not to a prison, or place of exile!"

After this, Rutherford's exultation in Christ arises even higher!

"Why should I smother my Husband’s honesty, or sin against
His love, or be a niggard in giving out to others what I get for nothing?"

That type of drinking is nothing less than that which the Lord Jesus Christ describes in John 7:

37  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Many of you may have professed a belief in Jesus Christ...
Many of you may have thought you came to Jesus Christ...

BUT...

Have you believed on Him in the sense in which Jesus speaks?
Have you come to Him in the sense in which Jesus speaks?
Have you drunk of Him in the sense in which Jesus speaks?
Have you believed on Him after the manner of Samuel Rutherford?
Have you drunk of Jesus Christ after the manner of Samuel Rutherford?
Are rivers of living water flowing out of you?
Are you drinking puddle-water or rock-water?

(My friends, after reading Rutherford's words, need you ask me why I repeatedly urge you to be reading Church history and Christian biography in addition to the Bible?!)

Is your drinking superlative: are you drinking abundantly / drunk with love / tipsy?

At the end of Song of Solomon 5:1, we read this exhortation from the Beloved:

 drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. (KJV)

Eat, friends, drink,
and be drunk with love! (ESV)

"Drink" and "drink" in the KJV, and "drink" and "drunk" in the ESV. There's a repetition there, so of course, that's important. But there's something else to notice:  those two words are actually two different Hebrew words (information below taken from Strong's Concordance).

The first word is shathah (8354) shaw-thaw' :  a primitive root; to imbibe (literally or figuratively):--X assuredly, banquet, X certainly, drink(-er, -ing), drunk (X -ard), surely.

The second word intrigued and excited me:  shakar (7937) shaw-kar':  a primitive root; to become tipsy; in a qualified sense, to satiate with a stimulating drink or (figuratively) influence:--(be filled with) drink (abundantly), (be, make) drunk(-en), be merry. (Superlative of 8248, which is shaqah  shaw-kaw' a primitive root; to quaff, i.e. (causatively) to irrigate or furnish a potion to:--cause to (give, give to, let, make to) drink, drown, moisten, water.

My emphasis here is that Jesus is calling on His own not to drink of Him in a superficial, surface, shallow, or cursory sense –– but rather in an intensive, ever-deepening, and fuller and fuller sense –– i.e. - in a superlative way! When it comes to Christ and the things of Christ, let us do nothing halfway or in a mediocre manner! Can we say He is our Beloved if our drinking is lethargic and careless and half-hearted?

Are we drinking of Christ in such a way that we might be considered "drunk with love?" Are we "tipsy," if you will excuse the word –– but when it comes to Christ, is there any restriction on how much, how zealously, or how fervently we should be drinking of Him?

Is that not what was happening to the 120 disciples on the day of Pentecost when they were accused by some of being drunk with new wine (Acts 2:13)? Would anyone accuse you (would anyone accuse me) of being drunk with new wine in terms of your (my) affections toward the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel? In response to the accusation of drunkenness, Peter explained that the bride of Christ had indeed drunk deeply, and she had indeed become drunk – but not as the world knows drunkenness!

14  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judæa, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15  For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Should there be any call for moderation in this spiritual drinking? God forbid! And yet in contrast, how often are we found with higher affections for the puddle-water than the rock-water?! God forgive us for Jesus' sake!

"Persons need not and ought not to set any bounds to their spiritual and gracious appetites." ~ Jonathan Edwards

Do we see our great lack in contrast to that of the early Church? Is Graham Scroggie's 20th century assessment not valid today?

"So many Christians live on the right side of Easter but on the wrong side of Pentecost."

If we were to honestly look at ourselves, must we not say with Oswald Chambers:

"But I knew that if what I had was all the Christianity there was, the thing was a fraud."

O! For grace that we might get down on our knees and pray for the Holy Spirit to descend and to baptize us afresh... not that we should be drunk with wine, but rather that we might be drunk with Christ's love, filled to overflowing with His Spirit!

We might render the Scripture in Song of Solomon as if the heavenly Bridegroom were wooing and exhorting His bride with words such as:

My bride, don't be deceived. Don't be satisfied with what you've already drunk of Me, but press in and press on and press ever-upward to know Me –– to experience a more abundant drinking of Me! O! My friends, don't be sluggish in your drinking of Me! I long for you to be diligent in your drinking of My rock-water, so you might drunk with My love, and come to see the puddle-water for what it really is! Show your profession of faith to be genuine –– drink! drink abundantly! drink superlatively! drink to the full! be drunk with love! –– so that rivers of living water bubble up from within you, and overflow out of you into a dry and thirsty world! So shall you be My witnesses!

Are we striving to drink abundantly of Jesus Christ, to be drunk with His love? Are we seeking to be found drinking of Christ in a superlative manner – or are we in mad pursuit of puddle-water? Have we ever drunk of that rock-water, of Jesus Christ, in such a way that during manifold trials and temptations (exiled like Rutherford or in prison like Paul & Silas), we have found there are rivers of living water rejoicing our souls, causing us to be filled up and bubbling over with joy unspeakable and full of glory? (See I Peter 1:3-9.)

"Does not a person who rejoices in the Lord and sings to Him exuberantly seem like a person who is drunk? I like this kind of intoxication. The Spirit of God is both drink and light” ~ Saint Augustine

our drinking is for the praise of God and the joy of the nations

Reading John 7:37-39, we have seen how Jesus Christ Himself equated believing with coming and with drinking (see also John 6), but not merely drinking, but a quality of drinking that causes us to be overflowing with the Holy Ghost! We must remember that God's people are always blessed to be a blessing. Our drinking of Christ is intended not only for our own soul's benefit, but also for the benefit others. Freely we have received, freely we are to give...

If we are hewing broken cisterns, if we drinking of dead puddle-water –– what life can flow out to dead world?

If we are hewing broken cisterns, if we are drinking of dead puddle-water –– how can the good news of great joy flow out of us to a lost world?

In contrast, should we not find ourselves in the position of the Psalmist (Psalm 45)?

1  My heart is inditing a good matter:
 I speak of the things which I have made touching the king:
my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
 2  Thou art fairer than the children of men:
grace is poured into thy lips:
therefore God hath blessed thee for ever...
17  I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations:
therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever. (KJV)

1  My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;
I address my verses to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
2  You are the most handsome of the sons of men;
grace is poured upon your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever...
17  I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
therefore nations will praise you forever and ever. (ESV)

In verse 1, the Hebrew word for "inditing" or "overflows" means to gush. That's exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ was speaking of in John 7! Just as the Father sent Jesus into this world, Jesus sends us out to be His witnesses in this world –– but we can only gush the Gospel through the power of His Holy Spirit (Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:5-8). We read in Psalm 4 how the world is crying out, "Who will show us any good?" As we are seeking to be drinking more and more deeply of Christ, we can trust that God's Spirit will fill us so we might overflow with the Gospel of Jesus Christ –– the Good News of great joy for all the peoples.

Isaiah 52:7  How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

If you look through the Bible, you'll find this testimony to the nations is expected as part of the supernatural outflow of the people of God. Once again in Psalm 40, notice the progression... the new song is given by God, praise is offered up to God, and testimony is presented to the nations.

1  I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2  He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3  And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

1  I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2  He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3  He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the LORD.

(See also Psalms 67 & 96; Isaiah 55:1-9; Isaiah 60 and 61.)

O! that God might quicken our sight, sanctify our thirst, and pour out upon His Church a fresh effusion of His Holy Spirit, so we might be filled with praise to our God, and be considered drunk with wine, as were the 120 on the Day of Pentecost... that we might show ourselves to be the bride of Christ, crying out with all sincerity by the power of the Holy Spirit of God this invitation to all the nations:

Revelation 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

 ² "John Elias: Life, Letters and Essays" by Edward Morgan (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1973, revised edition published in one volume), 139. (Please see my post here.)

Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated and marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Luke 24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high...

Acts 1:4  And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5  For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Today is the celebration of Pentecost Sunday, the day on which the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled His word to send the promise of the Father –– the day when He baptized His people with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Though the Church's understanding was lacking and deficient in some ways at that time, e.g. - her query to Jesus as to whether He was going to restore the Kingdom to Israel at that time (Acts 1:6) –– (and it's all too tempting for us to point fingers at them, isn't it?) –– yet these first century saints had a knowledge that many of us lack today... they were fully persuaded that without power from above, they could do nothing!

The early Church had been clearly impressed with the vital necessity to tarry in Jerusalem just as Jesus commanded. They had been humbled; they had been brought to see and to own their total insufficiency, and accordingly their need to receive the gift of the promised Holy Spirit. For those ten days between Jesus' Ascension and Pentecost, the 120 were in one accord in prayer and supplication:  the Bride of Christ was "leaning upon her Beloved!"

Even though some of these disciples had had intimate fellowship with Jesus, even though many of them had walked with Jesus and learned from Him and of Him for a period of three years, yet each and every one of them had come to understand they were ill-equipped for the commission Christ had given them – to go and make disciples of all nations. Therefore, they fully obeyed Jesus' command to wait:  they did tarry in Jerusalem, and they did continue in prayer (imagine a ten-day round-the-clock prayer meeting at your church?!) –– until the blessing was poured out –– until they were baptized with the blessed Holy Spirit.

O! that we in the Church today might have a Spirit-imparted sense of our total insufficiency and our poverty and our need to receive the outpouring of the Spirit as did they, so we might persevere with one accord in prayer and supplication as did they!  Luke 11:13 "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds us:

"There is only one sense in which what happened on the day of Pentecost cannot be repeated and that is simply that it did happen to be the first of a series. And, of course, you cannot repeat the first. But the fact that you cannot repeat the first does not mean for a moment that what happened on the first occasion cannot happen again. And every revival of religion, I say, is really a repetition of what happened on the day of Pentecost. It is really almost incredible that people should go on saying that what happened at Pentecost was once and for all."

~ from Chapter 16 (What Happens in Revival) in "Revival" (Wheaton: Crossway, 1987), 199-200.

The following is an excerpt from George Smeaton's "The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit" (orig. published 1882, second edition 1889; Fourth Banner of Truth Trust reprint 1997), pages 287-290...

As to the peculiar mode of praying, we may say that in every season of general awakening the Christian community waits just as they waited for the effusion of the Spirit, with one accord in prayer and supplication, in the interval between the Ascension and Pentecost. No other course has been prescribed; and the Church of the present has all the warrant she ever had to wait, expect, and, pray. The first disciples waited in the youthfulness of simple hope, not for a spirit which they had not, but for more of the Spirit which they had; and Christianity has not outlived itself.  Ten days they waited with one accord in prayer, when of a sudden the Spirit came to give them spiritual eyes to apprehend divine things as they never knew them before, and to impart a joy which no man could take from them. It was prayer IN THE SPIRIT (Eph. vi. 18), and prayer FOR THE SPIRIT, the great promise of the Father. But the prayer which brought down the Holy Ghost was not that style of petition which ceases if it is not heard at once or if the heart is out of tune. The prayer which prevails with Him who gives the Spirit is that which will not let go without the blessing. When the spirit of extraordinary supplication is poured out from on high,––when an ardent desire is cherished for the Holy Ghost,––when the Church asks according to God’s riches in glory, and expects such great things as God’s promises warrant and Christ’s merits can procure, the time to favour Zion, the set time, is come (Ps. cii. 16-18).  When we look at the prayers in Scripture, we find that God’s glory, the Church’s growth and welfare, her holiness and progress, were ever higher in the thoughts and breathings of the saints than personal considerations (Ps. lxvii. 1-7). And if we are animated with any other frame of mind, it is not prayer taught by the Spirit, nor offered up in the name of Christ (Isa. lxii. 1-7).

The praying attitude of the Church in the first days after the Ascension, when the disciples waited for the Spirit, should be the Church's attitude still. I need not refer to the copious references of the apostles to the urgent duty of praying in the Spirit and praying for the Spirit, nor shall I refer at large to the habits of all true labourers, such as Luther, Welsh, Whitefield, and others, in proof of the great truth that prayer is the main work of a ministry.  And no more mischievous and misleading theory could be propounded, nor any one more dishonouring to the Holy Spirit, than the principle adopted by the Plymouth Brethren, that because the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, the Church has no need, and no warrant, to pray any more for the effusion of the Spirit of God. On the contrary, the more the Church asks the Spirit ¹ and waits for His communication, the more she receives. ²  The prayer of faith in one incessant cry comes up from the earth in support of the efforts put forth for the conversion of a people ready to perish. This prayer goes before and follows after all the calls to repentance. The company of labourers associated together in such work, come to feel as they proceed that they are encircled with a mighty power, and have an authority not their own. The interest taken in the work of advancing the Redeemer’s Kingdom thus has much of a personal concern, and is far elevated above the vague and pointless efforts of mere official routine.

The apostles, in their various Epistles, when referring to their own unceasing exercise of prayer, hold up the mirror to others; and never do men more realize than in a time of revival that in all their previous career they have been scarcely half-awake. In such a time the conviction is borne home upon them that no fitful exercise of prayer will avail to obtain the blessing. And their purpose, as they seek to take the kingdom by force, is to do violence to the lethargy and disinclination of nature, and to act as the Lord's remembrancers, who keep not silence and give Him no rest, till He establish Jerusalem and make her a praise in the earth.

____________

¹ As I do not deem it proper to exceed the limits of the required six lectures; I would take occasion to direct attention to the great work of [John] OWEN, The Work of the Holy Ghost in Prayer, and also to [William] GURNALL'S discussion of the same theme in The Christian in Complete Armour.

² A remarkable passage on prayer, and on working by the power of prayer, occurs in [John] Foster's essay on the application of the epithet “Romantic:" [in Essays in a Series of Letters, published in 1826] “I am convinced,” says he, “that every man who, amidst his serious projects, is apprised of his dependence on God, as completely as that dependence is a fact, will be impelled to prey, and anxious to induce his serious friends to pray, almost every hour. He will as little without it promise himself any noble success, as a mariner would expect to reach a distant coast by having his sails spread in a stagnation of air. I have intimated my fear that it is visionary to expect any unusual success in the human administration of religion unless there are unusual omens; now a most emphatical spirit of prayer would be such an omen; and the individual who should solemnly determine to try its last possible efficacy, might probably find himself becoming a much more prevailing agent in his little sphere. And  if the whole, or the greater number of the disciples of Christianity were, with an earnest, unalterable determination of each to combine that heaven should not withhold one single influence, which the very utmost of conspiring and persevering supplication would obtain, it would be the sign that a revolution of the world was at hand."

Instead of following the latest worldly trends, instead of implementing 21st century solutions, and instead of leaning upon our own power, let us give due glory and honor to the Godhead by returning to the Scripture, by returning to the apostolic doctrine, and by returning to the apostolic practice of full reliance upon the Holy Spirit of God by prevailing in prayer and not letting go until we receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit pouring down from on high in reviving fire!

Let us repent and return to the Lord with weeping, and seek the Lord of hosts and entreat the Lord, and wrestle with Him in unceasing prayer and wait for our God, that He might pour down His favor upon us –– to pour out His Holy Spirit upon us –– just as He did for the saints of old... because, as George Smeaton reminds us, "no other course has been prescribed."

The mirror is being held up to us today, my brothers and sisters... May God have mercy upon us, and may the Spirit give us an ear to hear what these examples in the Bible and throughout Church history have to say to us today, so we might be found faithful in prayer along with the great cloud of remembrancers... for we have the warrant "to wait, expect, and, pray" for more of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 18:1  And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2  Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3  And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4  And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5  Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6  And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7  And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Hosea 12
3  In the womb he [Jacob] took his brother by the heel,
and in his manhood he strove with God.
4  He strove with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor.
He met God at Bethel,
and there God spoke with us—
5  the LORD, the God of hosts,
the LORD is his memorial name:
6  “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
(ESV)

Acts 1
14  These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication,
with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren...

Acts 2
1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come,
they were all with one accord in one place.
2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven
as of a rushing mighty wind,
and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire,
and it sat upon each of them.
4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,
and began to speak with other tongues,
as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Related posts...

• The Day of Pentecost ... the first of a series (Martyn Lloyd-Jones on revival)
• Naphtali News: the Ministry of the Word & Prayer (see the second portion on prayer)
• Here I stand & from here I cast (devoted to prayer & the ministry of the Word)
• Revival resources, etc.
• More revival resources: opportunity and eyes to see the ruins, a burden from God
• Silent Night ~ Not!
• 492 years later: You say you want a reformation? (my theses and a call to prayer)
• the lost treasures of Christianity & the call to pray for revival (Bible reading: Ezra 1)
• postcards from England: "The Burden for Revival" (ML-J)
• Postcards from England: Do you care?
• postcards from England: are we excited over a dead fish and a car wreck?
• an advent of a different sort for the "glorious progress of the work of God"
• Are you storming heaven – or are you sleeping?
• Prayer & Revival in Ireland (R.A. Torrey) & Livingstone in Africa: Are we in our closets?
• "It is a dark night on the church, the depth of winter ..." ~ John Elias
• Why not pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
• Phinehas's wife: the mother who opened her mouth with wisdom
• "Brother, we are only half awake" ~ Legh Richmond

Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Emphasis mine.

Photo credits:

Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacob_Wrestling_with_the_Angel.jpg / {{PD-Art|PD-old-75}}
Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:El_Greco_006.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0

Work found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Line_of_young_people_at_a_commencement_ceremony.jpg / PD

We're in the midst of graduation season now, and earlier today our youngest son graduated from college. As I was "grazing" once again through "John Elias: Life, Letters and Essays" (e.g. - see my recent posts here, here & here), I reread a letter which Elias (1774-1841) had written to his son John when John was around 18 years of age. I thought it was a fitting letter for my son and for the rest of the 2013 graduates... as well as a necessary exhortation to the rest of us (no matter our age or our stage in life) –– because as Christians, each and every one of us is prone to wander, we are too easily distracted, lured away from, and lose sight of that knowledge which is to be treasured, sought and savored, and that knowledge which leads us to the highest felicity . . .

   A letter was written by Elias to his son at school on education; it shows his mind on that important subject fully and distinctly, especially as to its value. It is the following:

Llanfechell 14 August 1819

I hope that thou now beginnest to take pleasure in thy learning. This is thy harvest, and if thou shouldest neglect this, thy treasure-house will be empty, as long as thou livest, of the greatest worldly wealth, that is, learning! What are gold and silver, houses and land, without knowledge? Nothing! Man is like the brute beast, without education. A person that is unlearned, cannot well enjoy the pleasures that human nature is capable of, especially under the influence of religion. Learning is very important, inasmuch as it teaches the mind to delight in true knowledge, and in making greater attainments in it; - to view the excellencies of others and to follow them, being never satisfied till we acquire them, - to observe the faults of others, and to flee from them. I have said a little respecting the value of learning, being sensible of my own deficiency in that respect. I think if I had to make a choice, whether to have all India, or Sir William Jones's learning, I should prefer the latter.

   It is not in an easy, careless manner that we can get learning, understanding, and knowledge; no, it must be by labour, industry, and toil. It is necessary 'to cry after knowledge, and lift up the voice for understanding - to seek her as silver, and to search for her as for hid treasure' (Proverbs 2.3, 4). We are not to be disheartened and cast down, in not succeeding to obtain knowledge of things at the commencement; it is the work of time. It is not at once that flowers, animals, or mankind, arrive at full maturity; they grow gradually, and that by having a nourishment and support: so learning and knowledge; it is not at once and quickly they are attained, but by application, labour, and hard study. It is true that many a person wishes to be a scholar, and learned, but may not like the pains that are necessary to attain that end, and never enjoys what he desires. How true it is, 'the desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour. But the hand of the diligent maketh rich‚' (Proverbs 10.4; 21.25).

   Having spoken thus of the value of human learning and knowledge, I must say that there are more excellent attainments; the teachings of the Holy Ghost, and the knowledge of Christ and the Father. The Spirit has been promised, to teach us all things respecting Christ. It is the anointing of the Holy One, that is, Jesus: he teacheth us the knowledge of all things as they are, enabling us to know God, ourselves, and the Mediator; he instructs us how to live godly, to acquire every virtue and excellency, to hate the evil and to flee from it, to die happy, and to obtain eternal felicity. Every knowledge in comparison of that of Christ, is but loss and dung; to know him is everlasting life.

   My dear son, be not disheartened as to the attainment of this knowledge: Christ, the great Prophet, makes the simple wise unto salvation. He is a kind teacher to those that are willing to learn of him, though slowly. It is not all at once that he instructs his disciples, but gives them line upon line, and precept upon precept; a little here and a little there, and that very patiently. So be thou diligent and constant in his school, sitting at his feet, to receive the words that drop from his lips.

~ Excerpt from:  "John Elias: Life, Letters and Essays" by Edward Morgan (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1973, revised edition published in one volume), 63-65, boldface mine.

John Baillie includes the following letter of the Scottish minister W.H. Hewitson (1812-1850) as evidence of Hewitson's "earnestly ... continu[ing] to 'lay hold on eternal life,'" and in it, we're charged to do likewise –– to use our time here wisely, ever-mindful that "this is our time of education for heaven."

Linlithgow, March 20, 1848.

"My Dear Mother,

   "I received father's letter before leaving Edinburgh. Yesterday I communicated in Mr Baillie's church, but did no ministerial work whatever. The season was to me a very refreshing one, and the Lord was sensibly present; the Lord was at His table. Always when I go to the church seeking Christ himself there, and, as it were, to keep tryst with Him—always when I go expressly for the purpose of meeting Christ, and having intercourse with Him,—I experience sweetness in the ordinances of His house, and have reason to return with the voice of thanksgiving. We fail of being blessed in family worship and in public worship, if we do not seek, while so engaged, to meet with Jesus, and to enjoy His Word and fellowship in the exercise of faith and love. It is Christ in the Word, and in all the ordinances of worship, that makes them refreshing and quickening to our souls. Religion is not a form, but a life; and it is not a solitary, friendless life, but a life of intercourse and company-keeping with God in Christ. To be religious, is to be the friends of God—to realise a sense of His presence, love, and favour—to acknowledge Him as a living Person who is always near us, always ready to bless us, and always looking to us for a living obedience.

   "This is our time of education for heaven — these are our school-days; and, alas! how many, who profess to believe, and to look for eternal life, neglect their soul's education, and play the truant's part, instead of attending the school of God! Time is near its end—eternity is at the door. O to be ready—all ready! For many will mourn and weep, when the time to make ready is past for ever!

   "Next Sabbath, God willing, I shall be in the pulpit myself. Till the house be ready, I go into lodgings. I intend to leave Edinburgh on Friday or Saturday, and afterwards remain with my people. My health is not worse —strength returning, but slowly.—With love to dear father and all the rest, I am, my dear mother, your very affectionate son,

"W. H. Hewitson."

Excerpt from:  "Memoir of the Rev. W.H. Hewitson: late minister of the Free Church of Scotland at Dirleton" by the Rev. John Baillie, 4th edition, 1853, 309-310, boldface mine. (HT for the text: http://books.google.com/books?id=bRVMAAAAYAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s)

Holy Spirit, enlighten the eyes of our understanding to the excellency and surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ! Strengthen us, pour out upon us grace upon grace, that we might fight the good fight of faith and earnestly continue to lay hold of eternal life.

May we show ourselves to be genuine professors, and be diligent to make our calling and election sure. May we not be stagnant, sluggish, and sleeping, may we not play the truant's part, but rather may we be awake and alert and make ourselves ready –– all ready! –– attending the school of God –– looking carefully and walking circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, understanding that the Lord's will for us is to know Him (because every knowledge in comparison of that of Christ, is but loss and dung; to know Him is everlasting life!) –– and redeeming the time, pressing on to know Him and to look for and to lay hold of eternal life: –– to be diligent and constant in His school, to make every effort to sit at His feet, to receive the words that drip from His lips, to educate our souls, to take full advantage of the blessed means God provides –– (O! He is a kind teacher to those who are willing to learn of Him!).

Our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, we acknowledge we cannot obtain or understand one ounce of spiritual truth apart from it being given to us from above. O! Send to us the gift of Your Holy Spirit to teach us line upon line, and precept upon precept; a little here and a little there (will you not give the Holy Spirit to those who ask You?!), so we might be growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, because the days are evil, and to know Him is everlasting life and blessing! –– and not to know Him is everlasting death and cursing! To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen! (~ See Ephesians 1:16-22; Philippians 3; I Tim. 6:11-16; Ephesians 5:14-17; II Peter 3:18; II Peter 1:1-11; Deuteronomy 30:15-20.)