Spring up, well, with water
| Mode: MP3/MIDI |
Dec. 29, 2008Hymnal.NetIn order to be filled with the Spirit, all the dirt within us needs to be dug away. One of our hymns says, "Dig Thou, Lord, completely" and "Dig the dirt entirely" (Hymns, #250). We must ask the Lord to dig us, to dig the dirt entirely. The way to dig is by praying and confessing, that is, by spiritual breathing. The more we pray and confess, the more we empty ourselves and the more we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Then we must continue to pray day by day. Every morning we must go to the Lord, contact the Lord, pray, and spend time in the presence of the Lord. After a certain time the Holy Spirit will be poured upon us. The early disciples prayed steadfastly for ten days (Acts 1:14), and the Holy Spirit was poured upon them, clothing them with power from on high.
Source: Experiencing Christ in Our Spirit for the Church Life, chapter 3. (LSM)
Mar. 31, 2008Hymnal.NetIn Numbers 21:17 and 18 Israel sang a song to the well: "Spring up, O well! Sing to it!/The well which the leaders dug,/Which the nobles of the people hollowed out/With the scepter and with their staves." (For a hymn on the spiritual significance of digging the well, see Hymns, #250.) According to this song, the well was dug by the leaders and the nobles. Those today who seek after the Spirit and take the lead to dig the well are noble and are leaders.
Source: Life-study of Numbers, chapter 31. (LSM)
Mar. 27, 2008Hymnal.Net...Hymns, #250, which is comparatively simple and easy to understand, was written based on Numbers 21:16-17. Stanza three says, "I will dig by praying, / Dig the dirt entirely, / Thus release the Spirit, / Let the stream flow freely." To say that we "will dig by praying" to "release the Spirit" may sound rather strange. It is common that we obtain water by digging a well, but how can we get the Spirit by digging? This matter is both wonderful and mysterious.
Source: Vessels Useful to the Lord, chapter 12. (LSM)
Mar. 27, 2008Hymnal.NetThen the Lord showed me that it is not adequate to have life and yet be without the Spirit. From then on I began to speak about the Spirit. At the same time, I also wrote a number of hymns. Under the Lord's leading eighty-five hymns were written within two months. Every morning when I rose up, the first thing I did after I prayed was to write hymns. At that time in my reading of the Bible, the light that came to me was all concerning the Spirit. I came to Numbers 21, which says that when the Israelites were thirsty in their journey, Moses told them to dig the well for water. While they were digging, they sang, "Spring up, O well! Sing to it! / The well, which the leaders sank, / Which the nobles of the people dug, / With the scepter, with their staffs" (vv. 17-18). As a result, they dug out the living water. I received an inspiration from this, seeing that today we also must dig the well. Thus, I wrote Hymns, #250: "Spring up, well, with water; / Dig Thou, Lord, completely; / Dig away all barriers / That Thy stream flow through me."
...
Dear brothers and sisters, simply speaking, this Spirit has already descended. The second stanza of Hymns, #250 says, "Christ, the Rock, is riven; / Living water's flowing." This Rock is the Lord Jesus, and the living water is the Spirit. Today the Holy Spirit is filling the whole earth. Whenever and wherever anyone would open his heart and his mouth to call, "O Lord Jesus!" there and then the Holy Spirit enters into him whether or not he knows it. This is the experience of our salvation, and this is the gospel of God. The gospel is that God created the heavens and the earth; then He became flesh and passed through death and resurrection to become the Spirit moving on the earth. When you hear the gospel and call on His name, the Spirit enters into you, and you become one spirit with the Lord. Then it is too late for you to change your mind, and you cannot give Him up even if you wanted to. Not only will He not leave you, but He will also be in you to transform you continually.
Source: Abiding in the Lord to Enjoy His Life, chapter 4. (LSM)
Mar. 26, 2008Hymnal.NetMany times the Scriptures speak of a fountain, a source, a well of water, a river, or a stream. From the very beginning, in the book of Genesis, to the very end, in the book of Revelation, there is the line of the river, flowing all the time with the living water. The river is in the second chapter of Genesis, and in Exodus 17 this living water flows out of the smitten rock. Then there is the well springing with water in Numbers 21, as we sing in Hymns, #250, "Spring up, well, with water." A well is a fountain of water. The Psalms many times say something concerning the living water, a living stream flowing all the time. There is also the flowing stream in Ezekiel 47. Then, when the Lord Jesus came, He told us that He has the living water which gushes up into eternal life (John 4:14). Christ is the spring of water, and the Holy Spirit is the flowing stream.
Source: Basic Principles of the Experience of Life, chapter 1. (LSM)
