THE REFRESHING by I. E. Kimball

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 19, 1902

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 12.

THE REFRESHING.

By I. E. Kimball

THERE is a gracious and glorious promise of a refreshing to be given to the people of God, in which time they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine; and a rich spiritual harvest will be given. Then the pastures of the wilderness shall spring; "for the tree beareth her fruit, and the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength." Through a prophet the Lord says, "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground." Rivers are "opened on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys." The wilderness becomes "a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water." God's people are then like a well-watered garden, and as springs which fail not.

Such gracious promises are given to all the poor and needy ones, who are seeking the waters of life, whose very tongues are failing them for thirst,—that thirst for the living God so beautifully set forth in the forty-second and sixty-third psalms. And it is also evident that those only who thirst indeed, whose souls are drawn out in unspeakable and unconquerable desire for God, and to be made partakers of His holiness, will attain unto the promise. Those whose interests center in temporal affairs, as houses and lands, can never receive the gift of all gifts,—that gift to which nothing may be added, the gift of the Spirit of God; for this is just what is embraced in these promises.

Christ spoke of rivers of living waters which were to flow forth from His followers, and John declares that Christ spoke this of the Spirit, which they that believed on Him were to receive. John 7:39. There is, therefore, in the refreshing the life-giving power of God. And the promise is to all who are needy. The weakest of all the weak may share in the gift. It is synonymous with the promise made through Joel, the prophet: "It shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth 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."

Christ is the everlasting fountain of life-giving waters.

Let us now consider how we may attain to the fulness of these promises. Those who thirst are to go unto Christ to drink, and they have the promise that they shall never-more thirst. They abide at the fountain, always to partake of the life-giving stream. The Lord in ancient times reproved His people for forsaking Him, the fountain of living waters. Jer. 2:13. Their broken, empty cisterns could not supply their necessities. They were therefore compelled to go thirsting and desolate. Now, we must abide perpetually in Christ, else our thirst will be unsatisfied.

Christ's words to the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar explain it all. The water of life which He gives becomes in each one as a life-giving fountain, springing up unto eternal life. It is the abiding presence of God in the soul. Christ sought to put Himself into the heart of that woman by putting His thoughts and purposes within her, through the words He spoke.

Thus the pure teaching of the Word of God becomes spirit and power to us, and we revive and grow under its influence. David told how Christ through the Word would "come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth." Ps. 72:6. And Moses said: "My doctrine shall drop as the rain, My speech shall distil as the dew; as the small rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb." Deut. 32:2, R.V. "As the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, and giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth," etc. Isa. 55:10, 11, R.V.

It is therefore sufficiently evident that the dispensation of the Word in its purity is the means of the refreshing. That Word received in the heart becomes spirit, and life, and power within, and more and more, day after day, the life of God is experienced in the soul.

This is beautifully shown in Isaiah 28, R.V., where the question is asked, "Whom will He [God] teach knowledge? and whom will He make to understand the message?" This is answered by showing that those who will know the message of God must come to feed on something stronger than milk, which is the food for babes: "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little." "To whom He [God] said: This is the rest, give ye rest to him that is weary; and this is the refreshing." R.V. Thus the refreshing comes to us personally, in the acceptance of line upon line, precept upon precept, until we grow into the fulness of fruit-bearing. Surely the Lord has been visiting us with this refreshing for many years. And this is the rest proclaimed to the weary, and received by daily communion with God, through drinking from the fountain-head of truth.

Those who are careless and indifferent, and have been so these many years, should now awaken to know that the refreshing is indeed being graciously given, and their present indifference to it and to God's rest is the result of not carefully treasuring every word of God. They have not been growing. They have been like the heath in the desert, not recognizing the good when it came; and now they inhabit the parched places, while those who have delighted in the Word are like trees planted by the rivers of waters. Your indifference to the Word is the measure of your indifference to the latter rain, which is now fast ripening the harvest.

Isaiah speaks of the Gospel day when "with joy shall ye draw waters out of the wells of salvation." The water Christ gives becomes in our souls as wells of living water, springing up, gushing forth, for thirsting, dying men. O then, thou who namest the name of Christ, why does your well go dry? Why these dry testimonies? Why no tribute of praise to the Saviour? Why those formal prayers? Why so little interest in the salvation of those about you? You were called to the rest of Christ; but you have not found it. Why?—Because you have been so inattentive to God, and now you can not point others to the rest of which you yourself are ignorant. Rivers of life-giving waters should be flowing forth through that lovely influence which looks through the eyes, and speaks through the mouth, and should ever be working in the life.

But here is the trouble. Your well is shallow. You have not yet pierced through the hard-pan of selfishness, pride, covetousness, and self-love, which mar the perfect working of the Spirit of God, and so shut Christ out of your life. Then dig and dig, until every selfish principle is taken away, and Christ has become the all in all, the first, and last, and best. Then no sacrifice will be accounted too great; Christ will be every possible good to you, and with Paul you will say, "To live is Christ." You will then be willing to labor in obscurity, unknown, unappreciated of men, unrecognized. Anywhere, everywhere, His presence becomes the light, and joy, and life of the soul.

Every one should dispense the pure, living waters. Who desires to drink from a shallow, muddy well, where the waters are contaminated with earthy material? But our conversation is earthly; many times it savors of earth more than of heaven. Surely this must not be. "Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well." Another's well can not suffice for you. Come into close communion with Christ, and turn not away; for he who turns aside for an hour's self-pleasing, is a troubled fountain, a corrupted spring.

Then do not depend on being revived and helped along by the testimony of the brethren, who may do their best to fill up your well. The result in the end will be unsatisfactory. Dig for yourself, dig until you strike the waters. Then pure, sparkling waters will be poured forth in pure, life-giving words and righteous acts. Many will then stop to drink, yea, they will drink, and drink again, and praise God for the fountain of the waters of life so freely given.

I. E. KIMBALL.