Many weary years I vainly sought a spring

After World War II there was a desire in the United States for new things; consequently, many new tunes were written for hymns. After twenty or thirty years, however, no one is singing the new tunes; people prefer the traditional tunes. Our hymnal includes almost all the good tunes for hymns. The old tunes are more solemn. This is evident with the tunes for "Rock of Ages, cleft for me, / Let me hide myself in Thee" (Hymns, #1058) and even for "Many weary years I vainly sought a spring" (#322), which has a little faster tempo. Proper tunes for hymns should be neither light nor embellished; on the contrary, they should be solemn and weighty. Brother Nee was very much against embellishing the hymns, because this does not build up our spirit. It is good to write new hymns, but we must adhere to the principle of mainly presenting the truth. I hope that we would understand the fine distinctions here.

At the beginning of a meeting, a brother can call Hymns, #322. According to our old practice, we would sing immediately after a hymn was called. Now we have changed our way; instead of singing the hymn right away, we may first speak it to one another. First, we may ask the brothers to speak corporately to the sisters, and then the sisters can speak in return. The brothers can say, "Many weary years I vainly sought a spring," and the sisters can reply, "Yes, one that never would run dry." Then the brothers can continue, "Unavailing all that earth to me could bring," and the sisters can respond, "Yes, nothing seemed to satisfy." This kind of speaking to one another is wonderful. If at the beginning of the meeting everyone exercises his spirit to speak, the spirits of the saints will be greatly moved and inspired. When we come to the chorus of the hymn, the brothers can say, "Drinking at the Fountain that never runs dry," and the sisters can reply, "Hallelujah! Drinking at the Fountain of life am I." The brothers can then continue, "Finding joy and pleasure," and the sisters can respond, "Hallelujah! In abounding measure." Then everyone can say at the same time, "I am drinking at the Fountain of life. Hallelujah! Amen!" How wonderful this would be! The inspiring power from speaking a hymn is much greater than from merely singing it.

We need to praise the Lord for bringing us to the church, where there is a fountain which is God Himself, the source of living water. This living water flows unceasingly so that it fills us to the point of overflowing. It is when we are full of this thirst-quenching water that we can easily overcome whatever comes across our path. By the living water out of this spring, we can overcome all things.

The Lamb, who today is in the heavens, is the One who is shepherding us. He exercises His rulership over the universe, the nations, and the Jews. Yet He also leads His seekers to God as the springs of waters of life. The following chorus from one of our hymns speaks of our enjoyment of the springs of waters of life:

Drinking at the Fountain that never runs dry,
Drinking at the Fountain of life am I;
Finding joy and pleasure
In abounding measure,
I am drinking at the Fountain of life.

Hymns, #322

In the church we find a never ending, sure supply. In this drink we find joy and pleasure in abounding measure. By His heavenly ministry, the Lamb has brought us to a wonderful fountain.

In 1963 and 1964 with much effort I compiled a hymnal in America. One of the hymns that was included is "Drinking at the Fountain That Never Runs Dry" (Hymns, #322). I admire this hymn because it speaks of human experience. The writer thoroughly examined the experience of human life and turned human experience into a hymn. If your grandparents, parents, or classmates have not yet believed in the Lord, you can sing this hymn to them and then, based on this hymn, preach the gospel and speak the truth to them. This hymn is excellent and very inspiring.

When we preach the gospel, we should also be familiar with hymns on the assurance of salvation, such as Hymns, #309. It is not difficult for young people to sing hymns, because many of them have a good foundation in music. It is especially not difficult for the sisters to sing hymns, because God created them in this way. In Ecclesiastes 12:4 Solomon is referring to the vocal chords when he mentions "the daughters of song." When young people sing, there truly is music.

Among the hymns on the assurance of salvation, Hymns, #322, which is about "the Fountain that never runs dry," is a good hymn. Another good hymn is #296, which was written by Charles Wesley. This is not an emotional hymn; it is very elegant. The first stanza says, "And can it be that I should gain / An int'rest in the Savior's blood? / Died He for me, who caused His pain? / For me, who Him to death pursued? / Amazing love! how can it be / That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?" The fourth stanza is also very good. When the young saints invite their professors to a meeting, it is good to sing hymns with them. We can choose a stanza that we like and lead our professors to sing with us. This will help them to receive the Lord Jesus. When we sing a hymn, others should be touched. We should then sing with them according to how they are touched. Hymns, #499 is also a good hymn to sing. If we are always singing these hymns, it will be difficult for our gospel friends not to be touched and to believe in the Lord.

In Revelation 2:7 the Lord said, "To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." According to the entire book of Revelation, the paradise of God in 2:7 is the New Jerusalem (3:12; 21:2, 10; 22:1-2, 14, 19), of which the church is a foretaste today. The paradise of God is today's church and tomorrow's New Jerusalem. Today we are the church, and in the future the church will be the New Jerusalem. Today's church life is God's paradise. In the church life, we have some taste that we are in the paradise of God. At times we may be arguing or speaking corrupt things. But while we are meeting together, singing, praising, and praying, we have the feeling that we are in paradise. Sometimes in the church meetings we are in a kind of ecstasy. When I look at the faces of the saints in a meeting, nearly every face is smiling. This is because we are happy in the paradise of God. This world is a terrible place. Even many of the unbelievers agree with this. In today's human society, one does not have the taste of paradise; instead, one may have the taste of hell. But when we are in the church life, we are in paradise. The paradise of God is located in the local churches! To be in the church life is to live a life in paradise. Eventually the consummation of the church life in the age to come and in eternity will be the New Jerusalem. In the New Jerusalem is the tree of life growing in the river of water of life for our eating and drinking. That will be our enjoyment in eternity. Even today we have the privilege of eating the tree of life and of "drinking at the Fountain that never runs dry" (see Hymns, #322). In the church life, we are in the paradise of God enjoying Christ as the tree of life.

Hallelujah for the day the Lord brought us to the church! To the church where there is a fountain which is God Himself, the source of living water! Day and night this water flows, too much for us to contain it all! It is when we are full of this thirst-quenching water that we can easily overcome whatever comes across our path. By the living water out of this spring we overcome all things.

The Lamb who today is in the heavens is the One who is shepherding us. He exercises His rulership over the universe, over the nations, and over the Jews. But us who are His seekers He leads to the very God, to the springs of waters of life. That is why we enjoy singing:

Drinking at the Fountain that never runs dry,
Drinking at the Fountain of life am I;
Finding joy and pleasure In abounding measure,
I am drinking at the Fountain of life.

Hymns, #322

We can surely testify that here we have found a never ending, sure supply! In this drink we find joy and pleasure in abounding measure! What a fountain the Lamb has brought us to by His heavenly ministry!