Christians are too often living in surface and exposed
places. Indeed, it may be said, that most Christians
choose to live out in the open, and thus upon the sur- face of things, even though this does expose them to storm and tempest. There is not so much sunshine in
deep caverns, and not so much companionship there.
But God would have us understand that these con- siderations arc not the final ones in the case. The
last question with us should be: What has He, in
mercy, commanded; and where is the place of safety?
And the answer is: "Flee ye, get you far off, dwell
deep!" There is heavy judgment upon superficial
living. But there is rich blessing upon any man who
will get into the depth of things, and so reach the
hidden fastnesses of God. And in a word, these cavern depths are found in God Himself. There, and
there only, is safety; and in that place there is such
safety, that there also, is peace. "Your life is hid
with Christ in God." "The peace of God, which
passeth all understanding, shall garrison your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus." It will be worth while
then to consider in what special respect, spiritually
speaking, we need to dwell deep.
First, we need to dwell deep in the person of
Christ. Every Christian who knows Christ at all,
knows Him as a Savior. And very blessed knowledge
this is. It is a wonderful experience to come to Calvary's cross, and to see there more than a Man, to see there also, the Son of God ; to see more than a martyr,
to see also, the Substitute. Such perception means
eternal salvation. But when we have so learned
Christ, we have not come to an end of Him. On the
contrary, this is but the beginning of our knowledge
of Christ and of our experiences in Him. So then, we
need to go deeper down into His wonderful being.
We need to learn that He is also the Keeper of the
soul; that He is also the Sanctifier of the spirit; that
He is the One who gives peace, joy, power and like- ness to God ; that He is, in short, our "all and in all."
There are unsearchable depths in Christ ; and hence,
we should not be content until we have sought these
out, and have found that in Him are hidden all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Second, we need to dwell deep in God's Word.
There are a number of ways of studying the Scriptures. First, there is the theological way, where great
doctrines are taken up and considered, such as the Inspiration of the Scriptures, the Trinity, the Deity of
Christ, the Atonement, etc. This is a very profitable
way of studying the Word, especially in these days
of declension, when personal safeguarding in doctrine
is so much needed. Then there is the devotional way.
where different portions of the Word are meditated
upon, thoughtfully and persistently, until one obtains such an application of truth to one's life that
it is like meeting with Jesus Himself, hearing His
voice, and being blessed by Him. And this, too. is a most profitable way of studying the Word, as those two men found out who went with Jesus to
Emmaus, who heard Him expound the Scriptures,
and who were constrained to testify that their hearts
had burned within them ;is lie spoke to them by the
way. Rut. whether we take these ways of study, or other ways, there is need thai we go still deeper down.
Theological study may prove to minister only to our
pride: and devotional study may prove to minister
only to our emotions. Large knowledge does not nec- cessarily empower, and sweet feelings do not necessarily sanctify. Spiritual things, after all, are most
practical. Therefore, we must make sure that we are studying the Word for the set purpose of putting into
instant and full effect all thai we learn from it. A
little study and a little knowledge with this end obtained is worth much more than long study and great
knowledge without such an end secured; and no emotions at all but with determined obedience in the life,
is worth infinitely more than tears, which end with
weeping and with nothing accomplished for God.
This is thi' reason why some humble saint may know
more of God's Word than some great theologian, and
why some quiet, unobtrusive follower of Christ may
be preparing for himself a far greater reward than
some well known and much talked about preacher.
What God wants, of all things, is obedience, and no
scriptural study is worth anything which does not re- sult in such. It is indeed then, our personal need to go down into the depths of God's Word, and never
to pause in our search until that Word is to our souls
like a "great rock in a weary land," holding us fast
and complete in all the will of God.
Third, we need to dwell in the life of prayer.
Judging from the condition of the church and the
world, many Christians know little about the deeper
things of prayer. If they did, surely the church
would not be where she is to-day, rich and yet poor,
and large in numbers but weak in power; and surely
the world would not be where it is to-day, with the
larger half wholly ignorant of the fact that Christ
died for sinful men. Plainly, a prayer revival is needed, one which will bring Christians to their knees
in confession of sin, one which will liberate them
from selfish and small petitioning, one which will
make them intercessors for all men everywhere, and
one which will so empower them that they will be
able to prevail with God. We live too often upon
the surface of the prayer life, being personal, local,
and at best, denominational and national in our in- terceding, and not knowing the true vitality of
prayer, namely, prayer in the ?iame of Christ, in the
power of the Spirit, and for all mankind. Therefore,
God calls us to go deeper down in prayer, that in the
"secret place," we may touch the depths of God's
enabling and so be able to do exploits for Him.
Fourth, we need to dwell deep in the life of the
Holy Spirit. That was a wonderful day for us when
we came to know that the Spirit is a person. Before
that time, we had thought of Him as an influence, and
we had spoken of Him as "it," But suddenly, we
came to recognize Him as a Being, who was full of
life, love and power, and who occupied a personal
relationship to us, with whom we could have holy
intercourse. And that was another wonderful day
when we learned about the filling of the Spirit, that
is, that the Spirit who was in us was willing to
possess and use us. These discoveries were like new
conversions to us. and we rejoiced accordingly. And
yet, here too we need to £0 deeper down: for the
Scripture makes it plain that there is for the saint,
not only the experience of knowing the Spirit as a person, and being filled with Him, but also of actually