THE RIVER OF GOD

“All from above!” A little proverb, but so extensive in meaning. It is as a whole volume of instruction and admonition. Our dear Bible in its entirety tells poor and dependent sinners, “All from above!” We and our children have been taught these things, but grace in the heart will make a sinner practice this important principle. Those are the poor and needy in self, finding nothing in self but an empty vessel, a corrupt vessel, will look on high in faith, hope, and prayer, saying with the psalmist, “Unto Thee lift I up mine eyes, O Thou that dwellest in the heavens.” It is the blessed Spirit of God Who draws praying souls on high, to Him enthroned above the skies, and makes them say by instruction and experience: “All from above!”

A certain minister wrote in his good book: “I will not; I can not; I know not; I have not; I am no good.” He looked up to the great Christ, saying, “All from above!” Soon all the vessels were full.

“All from above!” Do read Exodus 17 and behold Moses upon the hilltop. When he held up his hands to heaven, Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hands, Amalek prevailed. Do you understand what that means? And if you have learned this, you must learn it over and over again. Or are you too proud? O, to be a scholar at Jesus’ feet! Also a minister.

What is man? He forgets the “Above.” He is bowed down to the earth, expecting fulfillment from the earth and dust: he is a dust-creature, a man of sin, and does not know how to come to the heavenly Fountain. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The poor in spirit with his empty vessel cries, “It must all come from above!”

“All from above!” A dear old soul, who could neither read nor write, but who was taught from above, said upon her deathbed, it being her 89th birthday, “Nothing in me, but all in Him; so shall I enter Jerusalem.” The minister had many good lessons from her. Thanks to God.

“All from above!” This is what we also find in our text for this brief meditation. These words have great significance when Springtime has come or is on its way, and the husbandmen are making preparations to work their fields and to sow their precious seeds in the hope that it shall bear much fruit. What blessed sowers they are, who understand and have experienced in a natural and in a spiritual way the truth of the words we find in Psalm 126, “They that sow in tears, shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” O, my soul, may it be given thee to sow with tears as Paul, that thou mayest soon rejoice in reaping.

The psalmist gives all honor to the gracious God in his song. The Lord caused him to sing: “Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it,” etc. He often wept, was as a weeping willow, and could not sing. But if these pilgrims cannot sing in gladness, they may be able to weep and cry in sadness, although at times they cannot do either. The worldly sinner and superficial Christian, however, does not know either one. What wretchedness! May the great Teacher, Jesus, teach them to both weep and to sing with rejoicing.

When David sings about the Lord visiting the earth to water it, and that the river of God is full of water, he is certainly filled with wonder and admiration. Was the earth not cursed through the sin of man upon it? “Cursed is the ground for thy sake,” O fallen Adam! Gen. 3:17. All mankind, also David, are hellworthy sinners upon earth. The earth is covered with sinners, and with a flood of sin. The earth is not worthy of a drop of water to make it fruitful for man. David felt his utter unworthiness of a drop of water, yea, that he deserved to be without one drop in hell forever. Oh, blessed frame of unworthiness — of hell worthiness! Then no dissatisfaction nor murmuring even in ways of afflictions. In this frame Job said to his wife: “What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?”

Here we are directed at Christ Jesus, the Fountain opened for sin and uncleanness. A redeemer promised, Gen. 3:15. The Son of God shall come from heaven upon this earth. His feet shall stand upon this earth, He shall lay in the dust of this earth as a worm: He shall hang on a cursed tree upon this earth; He shall cry on the cross, “It is finished!” And, after deep humiliation upon this earth, He was exalted from this low earth to the heavenly paradise, where He yet remains as the glorious Fountain from Whom all blessings flow. In Him there is an everlasting fullness of blessings for sinners; the river is full of water, in and through Him, according to the eternal pleasure of the Father. Now there is a people who not only may and can weep and cry to Him above, but also sing in gladness of heart at times to God’s honor and the exaltation of Christ.

“Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it.” O blessed rains that the Lord sends down to soften the hard earth, and to make the barren earth fruitful for the good of man and beast. What inexpressible mercy and loving kindness from Him in heaven, Who is the God of Providence. The heavens will give rain and dew: “He watereth the hills from His chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Thy works. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that He may bring forth food out of the earth; and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengthened! man’s heart.” (Psalm 104).

“Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it,” and this in a twofold sense for His chosen inheritance, for those who are taught to pray as Agur (Prov. 30), and speak thus to Him, Who has all things in His hands: “Two things have I required of Thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”

Oh, He Who has promised to be as the dew unto Israel, that he may grow as the lily, shall visit the earth of their soul and shall water it that it may be as a watered garden. The blessed operations of the Spirit, to regenerate and quicken, the words of life, the graces of God poured out into the soul, the wonderful promises of God to comfort and encourage, the many tokens of love and affection, the deliverances granted, wonderful fellowship and communion, and the foretastes of heavenly joys in the soul — all these heavenly waters make the hard heart melt, make the unfruitful heart fruitful, and refresh that which is withered. Oh, how often the Lord’s people have feeble knees and slack hands! How often are they like a bruised reed and a smoking flax, as the prophet Elijah under the Juniper tree. O, that these blessed waters would come down upon Zion in our days, and we could sing as in Psalm 68: “Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby Thou didst confirm Thine inheritance, when it was weary.”

Thou enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water.” A writer says: “Rain is the river of God, which is full of water; the clouds are the springs of this river, which do not flow at random, but in a channel which God cuts out for it. The showers of rain, as the rivers of water, He turns which way soever He pleases. This river of God enriches the earth, which without it would quickly be a poor thing. We might live well enough without silver and gold, but not without corn and grass.”

O blessed river full of water, which is in God as a Fountain of blessings. Indeed, the river full of water may mystically denote the river of God’s everlasting love, which is full of blessings of grace, and which, flowing upon His people, makes them fruitful, and enriches them with the riches of grace and glory. Of this heavenly and spiritual river we read in Psalm 46: “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.” O blessed streams of living waters, blessings for both soul and body given in sovereign grace. Here are good words for thirsting souls: “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” (Isa. 55:1).

We must conclude, but it is hardly possible. Such blessed riches of sovereign grace appear before our spiritual vision.

In our text are good words to plead upon with the coming of springtime once again, considering what is needed for the earth. How righteously the great and holy God can withhold this blessing and bring famine upon man and beast, as we find in some countries. The earth is covered with wickedness, with corruption and violence. What an unthankful and backsliding generation we are, not worthy of a drop of water! May God grant that we may learn to know our iniquities, confess and bewail them, and beg Him for the early and latter rain, also spiritually for the welfare of our soul. May God do well unto us and our Children in Christ Jesus, and grant that we may sing with the Psalmist: “Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: Thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water.”

Always, yea eternally, there is a full river of water for poor and needy, crying and thirsting souls in God and Christ. He gives it freely and without price. Christ said to the Samaritan woman: “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4).

O precious Jesus, Fountain of living water, grant that we and our children may drink of that heavenly water, that we may not thirst in hell forever for a wet finger of Lazarus!

O, Lord, in wrath remember mercy!

JVZ

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