By The Fountain

By The Fountain

DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 3, 1889,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose
branches run over the wall." Genesis 49:22.

"And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the
precious things of Heaven, for the dew and for the deep that couches
beneath" Deuteronomy 32:13.

DEAR friends, we long to have many converts. We count that Church happy
to which God adds daily of such as are being saved. But we are very
much concerned about the quality of our converts. We do not wish to
make up a Church with a number of shallow professors, whose religion
lies upon the surface, and is of a doubtful character. We are very
anxious that we should have those in our fellowship who are thoroughly
converted, richly experienced and fully instructed in the deep things
of God.

We would have as our associates people who are established by principle
rather than moved by passion. We would earnestly pray to have a company
of Believers added to the Church who shall be like Joseph in
character–fruitful trees growing by the well, whose branches ran over
the wall. Jacob describes Joseph as a fruitful offshoot and he explains
his fruitfulness by his position–he is fruitful "by a well." When a
vine grows near a well which is always full, and when it is able to
send its roots down to drink of the unfailing spring, it may very well
be fruitful and send forth many branches.

The point is, to get by the well. Or, to use our second text, to tap
"the deep that couches beneath." If we can reach the secret fountains
and say to God, with the Psalmist, "All my fresh springs are in You,"
then shall we find nourishment for our branches and our fruit and leaf
will never fail. "Dwell deep" is a prophetic word of much value to
Christians. To live upon land-drainage and casual rains may suffice for
ordinary plants. But the trees of the Lord which bring forth much fruit
need to penetrate below the topsoil and reach the secret fountains of
Divine Grace.

Upon that subject I am going to talk this morning. Our desire is that
we may each one of us abide in Christ Jesus and be in constant
fellowship with the Father through the Holy Spirit, so that we may, in
very truth, be rooted by the well and may drink from "the deep that
lies under." We would be grounded and settled by living and lasting
union and communion with the Eternal God. We would know the secret of
the hidden life and be filled with its fundamental principles, its
constraining influences, its spiritual powers. We would drink in such
supplies, by secret contact with God, that our outward life would bear
ample testimony to our private communion with Heaven.

May the Holy Spirit graciously aid us in our meditations while we first
notice that this figure describes Joseph's character–he was all that
Jacob styled him. Secondly, that this in itself was a great blessing,
for it was used as such by Moses in after years. And thirdly, that it
brings with it many other choice favors.

I. First, THIS DESCRIBES JOSEPH'S CHARACTER. He flourished near to God.
He was an offshoot of the old tree and he was rooted deep by a well
which always watered him. From his childhood until he died, the main
point in Joseph's character was that he was in clear and constant
fellowship with God–and therefore God blessed him greatly. He lived to
God and was God's servant. He lived with God and was God's child. He
looked up to Heaven for daily teaching and comfort. And God was with
him so as not only to bless him but to bless others for his sake–as,
for instance, the house of Potiphar, first–and afterwards Pharaoh, and
all the land of Egypt, and all the famishing nations.

In this respect his branches ran over the wall in scattering blessings
far and wide–and all this was the result of living in constant
communion with God. My dear Hearer, you profess to be a Christian, but
have you really had dealings with God? I know you have been baptized
and you come to the communion table. But have you pressed beyond the
signs

to the Lord Himself? Is there a root in your religion, and has that
root struck deep into spiritual Truth? And have you received the life
and power which come from the spiritual Fountain? Can you say with
David, "My soul, wait you only upon God. For my expectation is from
Him"?

The first blessing in the Book of Psalms is that the godly man should
be, "like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth his
fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither. And whatever he
does shall prosper." The great matter is being rooted by the Well–the
drawing of supplies from the eternal storehouse of Christ Jesus the
Lord–in whom it pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell.

How can we fail to be fruitful if we draw our life and all its vigor
from the Lord Jesus?

Because Joseph lived near to God, he received and retained gracious
principles. There is a great difference between religious principle and
religious passion. Many persons are religious by starts and
fits–according to their company, their feelings, or their whims.
According to the influences under which they come, certain people
become good, bad, or indifferent. But when a man lives in the Presence
of the Lord, he has fixed principles which rule his heart and guide his
life. He fears God, not because others fear Him, but because God is "to
be had in reverence of all them that are about

Him."

He believes the revealed Truths of God, not because others believe
them, but because he is sure that the Lord has spoken them, and
therefore he knows them to be true. If anybody denies the faith, he
stands up to it, for it is precious to his heart. His moral conduct and
his spiritual life are upright, true, sincere and reverent–not because
of the prejudices of education, or the force of example–but because
the Lord has placed within him a new heart and a right spirit. He does
not resort to another man's religious cistern. For there is within him
"a well of water springing up into everlasting

life."

He discerns between the Truth of God and error. For he has learned the
Gospel for himself by the teaching of the Holy Spirit. He follows after
holiness because he walks with the God of Holiness and the Law of the
Lord is written upon the tablets of his heart. The Gospel of the Lord
Jesus he receives by the witness of the Spirit. It is true to him,
whether others receive it or reject it–he could part with anything and
everything sooner than quit his hold upon the everlasting Truth of God.
This it is to be a tree by a well, to have a religion based upon
principles, to live by vital contact with the Lord.

Many nowadays belong to this denomination or to that by pure accident
of birth or position. They have never weighed their opinions in the
balances of Scripture. Indeed, many have no idea what their principles
are. We have Protestants nowadays who never protest against anything
and Nonconformists who conform to everything which is in fashion. All
this is bad. Ignorance in reference to Divine Truth is a very fruitful
evil. We need an instructed people, if we are to have a fruitful
people. Unless we get hold

upon the Truth of God by the right hand of clear apprehension and hold
it as our heart's treasure, we shall neither know the joy of it in days
of calm, nor be held by it in nights of storm.

From where came martyrs in times of persecution, but from those who
were in living union with God? From where shall come bold confessors in
these apostatizing days, if not from among persons of like character?
Unless we get men and women into the Church who, like Joseph, take root
in the deep Truth of God's Word, we shall never see the Church in full
health and glory.

Joseph showed his character throughout the whole of his life. As a
child, his father loved him, as our translators say, "because he was
the son of his old age." It would be better to understand the words as
meaning, because he was a son of old age. He was old and wise in his
ways. He was a youth of great thoughtfulness and his thoughts were much
with God. You may judge your waking thoughts by those which come to you
in your dreams.

Joseph had dreams at night from God, because in the day he thought of
God. No doubt they were supernatural and prophetic dreams. But I now
speak after the manner of men–a dream is often the reflection of the
wakeful thought. Joseph, as a youth, dwelt very near to God, and
therefore he was forced to enter his protest against the evil conduct
of his brothers. "Joseph brought unto his father their evil report."
Soon he became a marked young man–his brothers felt he was not one of
themselves and they hated him–called him a dreamer–and took the first
occasion to get rid of him.

Jacob's household was in a very sad condition–even the grossest vice
was found among his sons. And young Joseph was a speckled bird among
them. By their malice he was sold for a slave into Egypt. But no sooner
is he there, than we

read, "And the Lord was with Joseph." Potiphar bought him but the Lord
made all that he did to prosper. It is difficult for a slave to become
the steward of a great man. But Joseph did so. His master took no
account of anything–he left it all absolutely in Joseph's hands and
God blessed the house for Joseph's sake.

And then there came in his way that great temptation. And you remember
his gracious answer, "How can I do this great wickedness and sin
against God?" God was evidently with him, keeping him in the way of
innocence–he could not grieve his God, for his God was his delight. By
false accusation he was cast into prison. But we read that "the Lord
was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of
the keeper of the prison." Soon he became the un-der-jailer and was
helpful to the prisoners. His branches were always running over the
wall in the form of usefulness to others.

The prison was brightened by his presence. And as soon as he was
prepared for the position, a straight path was opened for him from the
prison to the court of Pharaoh. In the hour of his elevation he did not
forget God. When about to interpret the royal dreams, he said, "God
shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace." He is a young man greatly
gifted, and he may miss preferment if he mentions his religion–but
this does not daunt him–again and again he says, "God has showed
Pharaoh what He is about to do." On the throne his God is still with
him and guides him in all things and he exclaims, "God has caused me to
be fruitful in the land of my affliction."

When he sees his aged father, their talk is concerning the Lord God.
When he comes to die, he says to his Brethren, "I die but God will be
with you." He gave commandment concerning his bones, that he should not
be buried in Egypt, for he was no Egyptian, though he had been lord of
the land. He would be carried away to the land of promise in the day
when Israel should quit the stranger's land. Always the Lord his God is
the star of Joseph. This is his character–he is in the fear of God all
day long.

He was a fruitful bough by a well and that well was his God. This
abiding near to God made Joseph independent of externals. His resources
were within, and therefore he was not to be injured by things without.
His springs were deep, and therefore not affected by circumstances.

He was not dependent upon family surroundings. At home, the society of
his father would nourish his early piety but he was just as gracious in
the house of Potiphar. The degrading idolatries of Egypt did not make
him unfaithful to the unseen God. Some of you young people not only owe
your religious impressions to your parents, but I fear that if you were
removed from them you would have no religion of your own. Are my fears
correct? It is an anxious time when a lad leaves his home to be
apprenticed, or to take his first place. If he has nothing but borrowed
religion, he will soon yield to ill company. But if he lives in God,
for himself, he will stand.

If he has lived upon his parents as a mistletoe lives on the oak, it
will be bad for him. But if he has root in himself and has lived upon
God, all will be well. Hereditary religion is hopeful when it is also
personal religion, but not else. If you are not living in God on your
own account, your religion may as well fail you at once. For it will
ultimately do so.

Many professing Christians are, I fear, very much dependent upon
revival excitement and the currents of godly society, which are often
sufficiently strong to bear with them those who have no living
principle. If religion seems to prosper, if many press into the
congregation, if large numbers throng the inquiry room, these people
are very happy and very earnest. But after the summer-tide is over,
where are they? This is the great burden which every earnest Evangelist
has to bear–so many seem born for God in the heat of a revival who,
nevertheless, die away when the warmth of zeal is gone.

Oh, that you, my Brethren, may be planted by a well, so that you may
never be dried up by drought! Bless God for revivals and never speak
against them. But do not live upon them, nor cause your spiritual
health to depend upon them. Those who grow upon hotbeds will not be far
from dung. There are evil tendencies connected with fanaticism which
are to be dreaded. Get down to the well and let your roots drink up the
fresh nourishment, which is essential to the sap of your life and to
the fruit of your usefulness. Touching the cool spring, you will know
where you are when others are so carried away as not to know what they
hear or do.

Say to yourselves, each one of you, "I want Christ in my own heart. I
want the love of God shed abroad in my own soul. I want not only to
talk about heavenly things, but to know and experience them. I desire
to be possessed by the Spirit of Truth and to know His power." Be not
content to live by the casual shower, or by the artificial watering-pot
of special means, or by the mechanical irrigation of routine. But send
down the roots of your being into the deep things of God till you tap
the great deep of Divine all-sufficiency.

Beloved Friend, I pray you will seek after a spiritual life which is
never dependent on outward ordinances. It is a great comfort to be able
to hear the Word faithfully preached. And if you hear it, but do not
hear it, you miss a great blessing and incur grievous loss. But suppose
you are placed where there is no preaching of the Word? Then it will be
a happy circumstance if your godliness can survive such a deprivation.

If you were away on some cattle ranch in South America, far from all
religious worship–it would be a grand thing to be able to go to your
Bible and to your knees and draw near to God alone–and so grow strong
enough to send your branches over the wall, by blessing others and
beginning to teach or preach for Christ. This is the true way in which
vigorous life shows itself. I know that the Lord's Supper is a sacred
ordinance and I would have you come to the Lord's Table as often as you
can, for He has said, "This do in remembrance of Me."

But if it shall come to pass that you are where no Christian person is
near with whom you could break bread–may you have Divine Grace to feed
on Jesus Himself! When the tokens of His flesh and blood are denied
you, may you be driven to Jesus Himself! Spiritual life loves the
outward ordinances, but if it is deprived of them, it survives their
absence. For in very deed, heavenly life draws its food from Heaven.
Get to God. Oh, get to God through Jesus Christ! An hour's communion
with Him means renewed life. Surely, the cluster of Eshcol must have
grown near waters which were ever running. If you would glorify God,
live upon God.

I believe–and I am very sorry to have to say it–that a great many
nominal Christians live very much upon the minister. I have seen it to
be so beyond all question. I have noticed a Church flourish and
increase while a certain good man has lived and preached. But when that
servant of God has departed, then they have grown cold and have been
thinned out and sadly scattered. The weaker sort were drawn and held
together by the good man's preaching. And as they cannot hear him, they
will hear no one else, and their seats are empty. May this calamity
never happen to this congregation. And yet I fear it would be so with
many.

In the days of the Judges, the people seemed wonderfully good while the
judge lived. But as soon as he was gone they wandered after idols. O my
beloved People, may you become so indoctrinated with the Truth of God
that you will never leave it! Be it your resolve that you will never
hear anything but the Gospel. Love Christ so well that you will never
follow any pretended shepherd who would lead you away from Him. Keep to
Christ and Him crucified and live on the Doctrines of Grace when your
present leader lies asleep in his grave. Keep to the great Lord of
love, whoever the preacher may be. Let it be seen that you have struck
your roots too deep, and are fed by supplies too permanent, for you to
be dependent upon any man–however much esteemed that man may be.

Above all, it is a great blessing to be so rooted and watered that you
can live graciously and uprightly, despite personal interest. There was
a time when it seemed the loss of everything for Joseph to keep close
to God. A young man can get on well with elder brothers if he will
please them by dropping into their habits. But if he opposes them, he
will have a sorry time of it. "Joseph, if you want to be happy with
Reuben and Simeon and Levi, you must hold your tongue when you see them
making free in their morals, or you will bring a hornets' nest about
your head."

If you would be happy at home, you must remember the old proverb, that
when you are at Rome you must do as Rome does. This is the wisdom of
this world. But Joseph scorns it. No, he cannot help it. He must abide
with God and with holiness. What is the result? The Ishmaelites carry
him away for a slave. Poor encouragement this for holy youth! In the
house of Potiphar, compliance with his mistress seemed an easy way to
honor and pleasure. But he could not yield to her base suggestion. He
had rather bear the consequences of her hate. She falsely charges him.
He comes under his master's anger, loses his place and is put in
prison. But he cannot help it, he must obey his God.

Are you of this true kind? Many will gladly walk with Christ when He
wears silver sandals and a golden girdle. But if He walks barefoot
through the mire, they seek other company. Oh, for that godliness which
will strengthen you to quit your situation, to lose your wealth, to
sacrifice your credit, and to part with your friends sooner than grieve
your Lord! Oh, that you may never be unstable as water. For, if so, you
will not excel! Your bow will only abide in strength if, like Joseph,
the arms of your hands are made strong by the mighty God of Jacob.

You must draw your soul's nourishment from secret fountains and wait
upon the Lord where no eye sees you, or you will soon prove barren and
unfruitful. To follow your Savior wherever He goes, you must daily
derive your life from Him. I cannot close this first head without
saying that while Joseph thus was placed in a position of very high
independence of all outward things, he was very conscious of his entire
dependence upon God. Take the well away and where was

the fruitful bough? Remove "the deep that lies under," and then the
resources even of so great a character as that of the Prime Minister of
Egypt would have been dried up.

We can stand alone with God. But we fall without Him–we can bear the
brunt of the battle without a friend or an armor-bearer–but if the
Lord does not cover our head we are undone. Like Samson, we can slay
the Philistines–

"Butif the Lord is once withdrawn,

And we attempt the work alone,

When new temptations spring and rise,

We find how great our weakness is." Dear young Friends, I exhort you to
think for yourselves, and judge for yourselves, and act for yourselves
with a holy independence of others. Yet never forget where your
strength lies and never rely upon yourselves.

Never resolve to do anything apart from the Lord. Never say, "I am
sufficient," but always, in conscious insufficiency, fall back upon
that Divine Grace which never fails. Self is a mocker, pride is raging
and whoever is deceived thereby is not wise. All your usefulness and
all your faithfulness will come to an end unless you fix your entire
dependence upon Jehovah, the Beginning and the End of all that is good.
Keep by the deep Well of boundless love. Draw from the Fountain of
all-sufficiency and may the Lord bless you from now on and forever!

II. This brings me now to notice, under my second head, that THIS IS OF
ITSELF A GREAT BLESSING. Moses, in my second text, mentions "the deep
that couches beneath," as having its own form of blessing. This was for
Joseph's race a blessing. It is a high favor to know the deep things of
God, and to enjoy the far-down securities, enjoyments, and privileges
of the children of Heaven.

In deep union to God are to be found the very truth and life of
godliness. As for outward religion, what is it? You may practice all
the ordinances without fault, and yet you will be godless unless your
spirit has had converse with the Lord. A good man in Scripture is said
to be a godly man. He is a man of God–God's man–he lives for God, he
lives with God, he lives on God. If you do not believe in God, love
God, glorify God–all the outward forms on earth, all the rites that
God has given–cannot make up a religion for you that is worth a single
penny.

You may be orthodox in creed, as I hope you will be. But unless you
really grasp and apprehend the things of orthodoxy and so come to the
God of Truth and the Holy Spirit of Truth, you have a set of words and
nothing more. A man may possess the catalogue of a library and yet be
without a book. And so may you know a list of doctrines and yet be a
stranger to the Truth of God. You may have in your hand a map of a fine
estate and a list of all the treasures in the mansion–yet you may not
have a place where to set your foot. A knowledge of the technicalities
of theology is of small use unless you enjoy the Truths of God to which
they refer. You must know the Lord and abide in Christ.

Do not say, "I have joined the Church, Sir, and attend the Prayer
Meetings, and take my share among the workers." Yes, I know. But true
religion is more than this. It is repentance towards God. It is faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
"Dear Sir," cries one, "I accept what you say. And dispute none of your
teaching." That may be. But this does not content me. If you receive my
teaching as the Truth of God, I am sorry. I desire you to receive it as
the Word of God. Go to the Bible for yourself. Seek to be taught by the
Spirit of God. Ask to have the Truth of God written upon your heart by
the Holy Spirit. You have not received the Truth of God rightly unless
it comes to you with power as the Word of the living God.

When a man like Joseph can be compared to a fruitful tree by a well
because he is rooted in fellowship with God, he has the blessedness of
drawing his supplies from secret but real, sources. His life is hid and
the support of his life is hidden, too. The world knows him not. But
the secret of the Lord is with him. There is the tree, and there is the
fruit–these can be seen by all. But none can see the roots which are
the cause of the clusters, nor the deep that lies under, from which
those roots derive their supply. God's hidden Ones are a wonder unto
many. Oh, to dwell with Him who is invisible and so to become ourselves
partakers of an unseen life!

The things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. Oh, to have eternal life and to be heirs of an
eternal heritage! It is a great thing to cultivate the inner life, for
it is the true life. But unless a man dwells with God in secret, he
forgets the inward life–he is so taken up with washing the outside of
the cup and the platter, that his inward part remains very wickedness.
This will never do, for the Lord looks at the heart. We must see to the
inward. And we shall fail to do so unless we abide near to God.

The supplies of such a man are inexhaustible. The well is not drawn
dry, and the deep that lies under is never emptied. Plants dependent
upon irrigation may pine in the drought of summer. But a tree that
strikes its roots into the well does not see when heat comes but its
leaf is green. It can never exhaust the great fountains. It may drink
on and on and yet never diminish its supplies. "God all-sufficient" is
a glorious name. Infinite mercy is a storehouse for a starving world.
The Lord's own word is, "My grace is sufficient for you."

The man who dwells near to God has supplies which can never be cut off.
We have heard of cities which have been surrounded by armies and were
never captured by assault but were compelled to surrender because the
besiegers cut off the water supply–broke down the aqueducts–and so
subdued them by thirst. Jerusalem was never thus captured, for there
were deep wells within the city itself which never ceased to flow. Ah,
my Brethren, he that has a well of living water within him is beyond
the enemy's power!

We can go to God when we are not allowed to go to the service. The
priest took away the boy's Bible. "Yes," said the child, "but you
cannot take away those twelve chapters of John which I have learned."
The malice of man may deny us a place of worship, but it cannot prevent
our worshipping the Lord, wherever we may be. Every means of Divine
Grace may be denied the Believer, but the Grace of the means will still
come to him. God grant that neither sickness, nor traveling, nor
watching at the bedside may keep us away from the assembly of His
people. But if ever it should so happen, may we then so dwell in God
that the upper springs may flow freely and feed the very roots of our
spirit!

Supplies gained by nearness to God Himself are constant. Grace is not
intermittent. It is not a land spring, but a well. Joseph had Divine
Grace as an old man, even as he had it as a youth. A religion that ebbs
and flows is a poor thing. We should desire the constancy of the sun
and not the changing of the moon. We may have Grace day by day, every
day and all day. If yours is a spring from off the deep that lies
under, it will be so. I do not say that your root can always take in
the same measure of water from the well of life. But I do say that it
will always be there for you to take. And I think, also, that to a
large extent, you will be able to partake of it with constancy.

Your root will be always in the well and so you may always drink to the
full. It is wonderful how trees will grow if planted close by abundant
water. I hope to see, before long, a palm which was planted in my
presence some years ago. It was one of a number of palms which make a
long line in a friend's garden. They were all of one size when I saw
them brought from the nursery, and the next year they all seemed pretty
much upon an equality. But very soon this particular palm outstripped
its fellows, and now it towers high above all the rest, till you might
suppose it to be many years older.

My very good friend, the owner of the garden, said to me, "You know why
this palm has so far outgrown the rest? It has sent its roots down
below, into that large reservoir and so its life is powerful." The
Arabs say that the palm tree loves to have its roots in the water and
its head in the fire–it would have a flowing river below and the
burning sun above. Ah, Beloved, may we also grow as the palm tree! And
if we get our roots down into the Divine fountains and can sun
ourselves in the love of the Lord, we shall grow rapidly and surely.

The supplies of the Believer who dwells deep are pure, as well as full.
Grace through the means is apt to be diluted. But when we receive it
from God alone, it is Grace, indeed. The best of pipes are apt to mar
the water's taste. All common watercourses mix earth with the water.
But "the deep that lies under" is out of reach of defilement. If you
can draw from the pure well of the undefiled Gospel, you will do well.
Among the Alps how often have I wished to drink! And the guide has
forbidden me and told me to wait a little. And then we have come to a
leaping fount, most cool and delicious–far better than the streams
which, as they ran along, had gathered earth, and decay and evil life.

Did you ever know a stream in England that ran for half a mile without
someone turning it into a sewer? And so it would seem at this time, as
if God's own Truth could not be found in the teachings of the
pulpit–pure and undefiled as given forth in Scripture by His Spirit.
Do we not fear, lest with all our care, we should tincture the
infallible Revelation with our thoughts? O Believer, go at once to your
God for teaching! Again I remind you of David's words–"My soul, wait
you only upon God. For my expectation is from Him."

Draw your supplies at first hand. Do as he did who had been made ill
with impure milk–he kept a cow of his own. Instead of expositors, read
the Bible for yourself. In Bible light the Bible is best seen. If the
human water pot fails, it will not matter if you are "a fruitful bough
by a well."

III. Lastly, I would remind you that THIS BRINGS WITH IT OTHER
BLESSINGS. If you are by the well, sending your roots into its waters,
you will obtain fruitfulness. A fruitful tree is one which is well
sustained at the root. Dear

Friends, it is by no means wisdom to cry, "I will work hard and try to
bear fruit." Fruit is not produced by work. No vine toils to produce
grapes. It buds and blossoms and bears fruit in the order of its
nature.

We have a great deal of fruitless working nowadays. Religion is pumped
up. Devotion is too often mechanical. Godliness is supplanted by
artificial excitement. And love to God by perpetual fussiness. Zeal for
God is counterfeited by "much ado about nothing." If the inner, secret
life, is in good order, precious fruit is brought forth both by sun and
moon. The gardener never says, "It is time for me to go and work a
hundredweight of grapes out of my vine." Oh dear, no! Beginning early
in the year he spies a shoot, and by-and-by there is a tiny flower. And
then leaves appear and so on, in regular order–and only at last can he
hope to gather the rich cluster from the vine.

There is no noise in the production of the vintage. You never heard a
vine groaning, nor saw it sweating, nor noticed it straining a single
shoot. If vines get their roots down into good soil, they bring forth
fruit, as it were, naturally. May the Lord make us bring forth holiness
through the force of the new nature! May He put into us immortal
principles and may He sustain them by His own Personal power! And then,
naturally and joyfully, in its season, we shall bring forth fruit to
His praise and glory, by His Grace.

The next blessing that came with this was unselfishness. Joseph was a
bough whose "branches ran over the wall." He extended his influence
beyond his own family. We shall bear but little fruit if our branches
are kept within the narrow space of self and relatives. Cultivate
godliness for the sole sake of yourself and you will never be very
godly. But abound in it for God's sake, and for love of those whom
Jesus has redeemed, and you will be godly, indeed. Live to love. For to
love is to live when the love is set upon God. You should go over the
wall to your ungodly neighbor, to the infidel without Christ, to the
heathen and the castaway. You should extend your usefulness where none
expected it to grow. Then you will be a blessing to many who were far
off from you and your God.

I heard of one whose last petition was that God would bury his
influence with him. An awful prayer! It was good only so far that it
evidenced a recognition of his life's mistake and some sort of
repentance for it. But he was asking for that which could not be
granted. For not even God Himself ever kills a man's influence. The
world's poet truly says, "The evil that men do lives after them." Most
surely the evil lives, even if the good expires. Yet, when we are dead
and buried, if we have lived unto God and lived upon God, our branches
will run over the wall of the cemetery and our voices will be heard
from amid the silence of the sepulcher. Is it not written, "He being
dead yet speaks"?

A third blessing that comes with this is fixedness. A fruitful tree by
a well, sending its roots down to the water, is well-rooted and cannot
be torn from its place. It would not be fruitful if it were not stable.
If a tree has no living root, you may pull it up, if you please. But if
it is living and growing and drawing up its nutriment from the depth,
its roots will furnish it with mighty anchorage. Can you stir a man who
has once received into his heart the doctrine of the atoning sacrifice?
Not if he has found in it a refuge for despair.

The logician may prove that the death of Christ did not mean
Substitution and Propitiation. A fig for his logic– "we have received
the Atonement," and know better. The Doctrines of Grace which I have
preached to you, have a hold upon the heart and intellect, like that of
certain colors when the wool is dyed ingrain. But when these doctrines
have not been sufficiently preached, people are easily carried away
with every wind of doctrine. Brethren, the old evangelical doctrine of
Luther and Calvin had about it power to create enthusiasm. See how the
Huguenots mustered to a sermon when it was death to hear a reformed
preacher!

Geneva sent forth men who could gather crowds in regions crimsoned with
the blood of their Brethren. Why did the multitudes come together?
Would any man jeopardize his life to hear a "modern-thought" sermon? My
Brethren, there is something in the old Gospel worth hearing–there is
an Election of Grace most precious, a Redemption which really redeemed
and a work of Divine Grace within which assures Final Perseverance and
eternal Glory. The wish-wash of today's preaching would have gained the
preacher in "the desert" no congregation. But when untold treasures are
displayed, saints will come to hear of them.

That Truth of God, which is a matter of life and death to you, will
take hold of your heart and soul and you will never part with it. I
long to see a race of real men who will know the Truth and believe it
in real fashion–men who have received a kingdom which cannot be
moved–palaces of God whose foundations are in the rock.

Another privilege of personal nearness to God–such men enjoy safety.
Hear how Jacob puts it–"The archers have sorely grieved him and shot
at him and hated him." If you live near to God you will be the target
of the ungodly, and the

hatred of the world will cause you grief of heart. It cannot be
avoided, for the seed of the serpent will nibble at the heel of the
seed of the woman. Even to this day is Joseph sold into Egypt and
separated from his Brethren–

"No slacker grows the fight,

No feebler is the foe."

Keep close to God and His Word and you will be counted a Nazarene among
your Brethren. But this shall not harm you. For it is added, "His bow
abode in strength and the arms of his hands were made strong by the
hands of the mighty God of Jacob." Deriving his strength from God,
Joseph lived above the rage of men. He who keeps His people neither
slumbers nor sleeps. Only live upon God–let your expectations be from
God only–and you cannot be overcome of adversaries.

They that trust in princes will find them fickle. They that rely upon
the multitude will find them lighter than vanity. But they that trust
in the Lord shall not be ashamed, nor confounded, world without end.
Therefore, strike deep and draw your life from the well. Besides that,
Joseph received enrichment. Notice how Moses puts it–he mentions quite
a treasury of jewels. The best pearls come out of deep seas. He
mentions the precious things of Heaven, the precious fruit brought
forth by the sun, the precious things put forth by the moon, the chief
things of the ancient mountains, the precious things of the earth–and
the fullness thereof–and the goodwill of him that dwelt in the bush.

All these blessings came upon the top of the head of him who was a
fruitful bough by a well. Many of you religious people know nothing
about precious things. Many professors live on the mere skins and husks
of Divine Truth. They have never tasted the sweet kernels. A little
religion is a mournful thing–they that drink deep get down to the
sweetness. Many people have religion enough to make them wretched. If
they had seven times as much, they would be joyful. The restraints and
duties and formalities of religion have in them none of the fat things
full of marrow, nor of the wines on the lees well refined.

The best wines in God's House are in the cellar. Those who never go
downstairs have no idea of the secret sweetness. A deep experience is a
precious experience. The Lord fills certain of His people with pain and
grief, that they may know His choicer consolations. We are too apt to
let our roots run along just under the surface and so we get no firm
footage. But trouble comes and then we grow downward, rooted in
humility. Then we pierce the treasures of darkness and know the deep
things of God. If you want a rich Christian, find a man who lives with
God in secret and goes deep into Divine

Truth.

A shallow Believer is a poor and weak Believer. But the strong
Christian is the man who lives on God and will not be put off with
anything short of fellowship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This
benediction, with which we close our public service, should be the
perpetual benediction of every day. Dear Friends, I might add a
thousand things but I will not. I will only say this–do, I pray you,
dive into the depths. You that are beginning with holy things, begin
deep and take sure root. See how soon buildings fall if they have
insufficient foundations! Find your foundation in the Rock.

You that have long known the Lord, endeavor to know more and more of
Him. Send out more roots into yet deeper and richer ground. Get more
nearly to the very heart of God. In an evil time like this, take firm
hold. You cannot overcome the drift of an ill current unless you let
down your anchor. Yes, and at such a time you may be unusually careful
and let down four anchors from the stern, as well as the one in the
proper place. We need to be anchored stem and stern in these days. We
need to be held to Christ by hooks of steel. Heart, and head, and hand,
and every other power had need take hold on the everlasting Truths of
God.

For such are the winds that blow today, that we shall be carried about
by them like thistle upon the hills, if we have nothing but our own
strength to rely upon. God grant us to get closer to Him than ever and
to stay there. And may He grant us yet further to use all our
opportunities for usefulness, and all our life for fruitfulness to His
glory! Amen.