Being Brought Into A Good Land

For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil, olive, and honey; A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.

Deuteronomy 8: 7-10

We are entering upon a new year – surely we cannot but believe, a new age. If we have rightly learned the lessons of the past, there lies before us a heritage of unspeakable blessing, which none of these vivid metaphors can too strongly describe; infinite sources of blessing, for the fountains and waterbrooks are but the figures of God’s illimitable grace. For with Him is the fountain of life.

A Fountain Fed By Eternal Springs!

They tell us of boundless supply: “Bread without scarceness,” the olive oil that speaks of the Holy Ghost, the honey that tells of the sweetness of His love, and the pomegranates that are the seed fruit which speak of a life that reproduces itself in the blessing of others.

They tell of the “nether springs” which flow from the depths of sorrow, in the hard places, in the desert places, in the lone places, in the common places which seem farthest from all that is sacred and divine.

How delightful it is to have His gladness in the low places of sorrow, and to be able to glory even in tribulation also.

They tell us of pleasures that come out of the very heart of trial, treasures wrung from the grasp of the enemy.

How precious the springs that flow unto the places of temptation, for there is nothing in life so trying as the touch of Satan’s hand, and the breath of the destroyer. Oh, how sweet it is, even there, to find that the light is as deep as the shadow, and heaven is nearest when we are hard by the gates of hell, so that we can count it all joy when we fall into divers temptations, and can say, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him.”

How blessed to drink from the springs of health, and find our strength renewed day by day, and the life of God flowing into even our physical organs and functions …

Beloved, God has for us these springs, and we need them every day. Let us drink the living waters. Nay let us receive them into our very hearts, so that we shall carry the fountain with us wherever we go.

• A.B. Simpson from Springs in the Valley (1968) by Cowman Publications, Inc.