“Waters To Swim In”

A SERMON DELIVERED ON THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 25, 1872,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"Waters to swim in." EzekieI47:5.

THE whole vision, though bearing other meanings, may be applied to the
spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It began at Jerusalem as a tiny
rivulet. By our Savior's preaching, a few disciples, some of whom
became Apostles, were converted. These were the means of the conversion
of a still larger number. But at first the stream was very shallow, for
the whole Church could meet in one upper room. Even after the
Pentecostal increase it was but as a small brook. Herod thought that he
could leap across it, or could dam it up, but his persecutions swelled
the stream. Very shortly after, the watercourse grew broader and deeper
till it attracted the attention of the Roman Emperors and excited their
alarm.

They thought that it was time to drain the river lest it should become
a torrent so great as to sweep them away. Their attempts to stay its
course only added to its floods. Its current became stronger and wider
than before, and on it went from age to age till at last it had become
a mighty river, watering the whole earth and greatly blessing the
nations. It is destined to grow until it shall be like the main ocean
itself, for "the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the
waters cover the sea." We bless God that the day of small things which
dawned at Bethlehem has already grown to a day of great things–and our
faith fully expects to see greater things than these!

The vision might equally well be applied to the growth of Christian
experience. When we first know the Lord the Gospel is a very precious
thing to us. We rejoice in its pardon and the consequent salvation
which we expect to receive through it. But, compared with what we shall
know of it by-and-by, our knowledge of the Gospel at first is like a
tiny rivulet. As we advance in Grace it becomes a river flowing up to
the ankles. As we are further instructed, so that our faith is
confirmed and our Graces are developed, it deepens into a river up to
the knees–and by-and-by up to the loins. And farther on (with some it
has already happened–I trust it may happen to us all) it becomes
"waters to swim in." I shall speak of the text as illustrating the
Christian's experience when he arrives at that stage.

At the same time the vision might be applied to our knowledge of the
Gospel as well as to our experience of it. The Gospel was gradually
revealed, first, in outline in the Old Testament–in symbol and type to
the older saints–and then was taught by our Lord. Then the details
were, as it were, put into His outline by the Apostles under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit–and so, to our own soul, the knowledge of
the Gospel does not shine forth all at once. There is a daybreak before
the fullness of noon. There is a blade–a tender green blade–before
the full corn in the ear. The babe cries in penitence before the
perfect man in Christ Jesus sings the song of assurance.

Perhaps we have not yet come to know the height, and depth, and length
and breadth of the love of Christ–neither have we yet discovered how
exceedingly broad the Gospel is–but what we now don't know we shall
know hereafter. Contracted notions we shall leave behind as the bird
casts off the shell in which it was imprisoned! Dim ideas will vanish
as the trees walking were seen no more when the blind man's eyes were
fully opened. Childish knowledge makes us dream of comprehending the
Gospel in the hollow of our hand, but when we become men and put away
childish things we shall find in it "waters to swim in."

I see in the metaphor before us three ideas. The first is abundance.
The second is space. And the third is trust, for there are not only
great waters, but "waters to swim in."

I. The first thought of the text concerning the Gospel is this–the
idea of ABUNDANCE. Beloved, God has provided for His people, in the
Gospel of His dear Son, no stinted store. He has not killed a sheep and
invited one or two to His supper–His oxen and His fatlings are killed
and, "All things are ready." The provisions of God are on a royal
scale–on an infinite scale. There is so much provided at the Gospel
feast that none need keep back from fear that there is

not enough! Neither shall the greatest eater at that feast ever say, "I
have exhausted what was provided for me." The wine ran short at the
marriage feast at Cana until the Lord came in and then there was enough
and to spare.

As a king gives to a king so has God given to the poor ones of the
earth–to His afflicted–to sin-stricken souls who seek His face. Honey
out of the rock and oil out of the flinty rock He gives His people.
Moses spoke concerning Israel, "Butter of cattle and milk of sheep,
with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats with the
fat of kidneys; with wheat; and you did drink the pure blood of the
grape." But the food of the spiritual Israel is richer by far. The
child of God, as he advances in the Divine life rejoices in the
abundance of Covenant provisions. Let me mention some which strike me
as exceedingly abundant.

The first is the abundant provision for the removal of sin and for
making us accepted in the Beloved. To put away my sin there needed an
infinite Atonement. I do not marvel, therefore, that it should have
needed the Son of God to die for exceedingly great sin–but sometimes,
as my soul has stood at the foot of the Cross and considered who He was
that shed His blood for me, I have felt as if the price were too much.
When I have seen my sin I thought it impossible for it to be removed.
But when I have seen my Savior, I have thought it equally impossible
that there could be any conceivable sin which Jesus' blood could not
wash away. An infinite degree of merit must reside in the sufferings of
our blessed Lord! Such sufferings as they were, of body, of mind, and
of spirit–the suffering of being forsaken of man and of God, too– and
being left alone in utter desertion to die when He became obedient even
unto death.

It is the astonishment of all worlds that Christ should be the victim
for human sin, and, when we think of Him, we say, "O God, what waters
there are here of pardoning love–what 'waters to swim in.' Surely
whole hosts of sin shall be swept away by this mighty river of atoning
blood."–

"It rises high and drowns the hills Has neither shore nor bound. Now if
we search to find our sins, Our sins can ne 'er be found.

The wonder is, however, that while there is provision made to put away
our sin, there is equal provision made to impute righteousness to us.
We were guilty, for all broke the Law. God provided a Substitute who
suffered the penalty of our law-breaking, but, He has done more–He has
found a Representative who has kept the Law for us, so that after
washing us He clothes us. After taking away our guilt He makes us
positively righteous and praiseworthy before the Throne of Justice
through Jesus Christ, His Son, whose righteousness we wrap about our
loins and in it stand fair and comely before the eyes of infinite
Purity. Oh, this is right royal and truly Divine!

Here is blood most precious removing every spot, and a righteousness
most glorious conferring a matchless beauty, a beauty such as Adam in
his perfection never had, for his was but human righteousness! But this
day the children of God wear the righteousness of the Lord Himself–and
this is the name which Jesus is called, "The Lord our Righteousness"!
Brethren, here are "waters to swim in," if we only contemplate this one
particular of the arrangement for our justification in the sight of
God!

Turn next to God's stores for our sustenance and for our protection.
For our sustenance there is bread provided from Heaven such as angels
have never tasted. There is water leaping from the rock such as the
fathers drank not in the wilderness. There is no fear that either the
heavenly granary or the celestial fountain shall ever be exhausted. The
manna was without limit except according to the capacities of the
people–and so the bread which we eat, even Christ the Infinite One is
not measured out to us by weight, but each may have according to his
eating. We are never straitened in Him–if stinted at all, we stint
ourselves. After feeding millions of saints upon Himself for these
hundreds of years, Jesus is as full and as precious, and as
soul-satisfying as ever He was.

O blessed food! How well has God stored His granaries for all His
people! And the heavenly drink is equally abundant. Rivers are ours to
drink of–floods and standing pools of living water. Drought can never
befall us, for "the deep which lies under" has been broached for us.
And as for our protection, think, my Brothers and Sisters, how the
Lord's right arm is uplifted that His power may preserve the
saints–how His Wisdom goes to and fro in the earth watching for their
good–how His heart of love beats high with constant affection for
them. Just think how the whole of Godhead bows itself to protect the
chosen–for does He not compare Himself to the hen that covers her
chickens? Has He not said, "He shall cover you with His feathers, and
under His wings shall you trust: His truth shall be your shield and

buckler"?

God, even our own God, is both the sustenance and the preservation of
His people! And if we should need more, though more there cannot
be–yet, if our unbelief should think of more–is not all Providence on
our side? Blows there a wind that does not waft us blessings? Breaks
there a wave upon any shore which does not bear us good? The huge
wheels of Providence, as they are, are full of eyes–and these eyes
look toward the chosen of God. "All things work together for good to
them that love God." And don't you see? If your eyes are opened you
will see them–horses of fire and chariots of fire surrounding all the
saints! Invisible spirits of superior race are servitors to the beloved
sons of God! All Heaven's hosts are ready for our defense!

If it were necessary, the new Jerusalem would empty out itself of its
thousands, as Thebes did of its myriads from all its hundred gates–and
every angel would, with sword drawn, assail our foes and put them to
utter rout–for the Lord will not allow one of the least of His own to
perish! See then, Brethren, what "waters to swim in" are here so that
for our provision and our protection we need not fear. Our needs are
great, but the supplies are greater. Our daily dangers are enough to
provoke our anxieties, but the Lord's eternal preservations lay those
anxieties at once to rest. Blessed Lord, we are poor feeble infants,
but when we lie on Your bosom we feel ourselves mighty in Your
strength. We are penniless beggars, but when we feast at Your table we
would not exchange our position for the banquets of Ahasuerus or the
feasts of Solomon! It is our bliss to be nothing and to find our all in
You.

We must not tarry, however, but remark that the same breadth and depth
will be found if we reflect upon the provision made for our training
and our perfecting. Beloved, the Lord will not merely keep us alive and
preserve us from perishing, but He means to make something of us. He
has great designs in view. The poor clay of the earth, when it is first
dug up for the brick maker does not know what is to become of it. It
passes through many processes and at last is built up into a goodly
house–a mansion for its owner. The clay of the pit may yet be built
into a palace for a king! And shall we, poor earthly things, ever be
living stones in the temple of God? I trust we are in some sense
already so! But shall we ever glisten and glow like rubies and
emeralds, each one after his own kind, as a portion of that city whose
jeweled light is enough to blind the eyes of mortals by its excess of
glory?

Shall we ever be a part of the radiance of Heaven? Shall we be
revealers in our measure of the Glory of God? Yes! We shall come to
that and though it may seem impossible, yet we shall believe it if we
reflect a moment. God has already done much for us by giving us the
inner life–a matchless miracle! It needs as much of His power to make
new hearts and right spirits as to create new worlds–yet He has done
that for us. He has, moreover, preserved us up to this moment amid a
thousand dangers, and has made those dangers contribute to our growth
in Grace. He has made our afflictions minister to our spiritual
advancement. I owe more than I can tell to the Engraver's tool, and yet
'tis sharp and I feel the lines of its cutting even now. Yet, let not
the Engraver stay His hand, for how shall His work be done if He does
not bear hard and cut deep? If there are no sharp cuts, surely there
shall be no working out of His grand idea!

Moreover, in addition to affliction He has provided all the Truth of
God in the Bible to sanctify us. He has given us the blood of Christ to
purify us. He has sent forth the blessed and eternal Spirit to refine
us, and, as subordinate agencies, He has provided all our comforts, as
well as all our trials–all our companionships with holy men and all
the beacons of unholy lives–that we may be educated for the skies. He
is putting forth His wisdom and His strength, and His prudence, and His
love–I must repeat myself–to make something of us, though we are
nothing by nature, and "it does not yet appear what we shall be."

I think, sometimes, when I see my own nature, that it were difficult
for me ever to become a vessel fit for the Master's use in the halls of
the golden house above. And then, when I think Who has begun to work us
to the same thing, and Who it is that still is persevering in the
work–why then I conclude that if I were even worse than I am, He could
yet make me what He would have me to be! And seeing the power that is
ready to work it out, my soul rejoices in hope of complete conformity
to the Divine ideal. Here, again, are "waters to swim in."

Brethren, take another view of God's great goodness to us. What "waters
to swim in" have we by way of consolations and strengthening. Are you
ever cast down? I hope you are not, but if you are, as some of us are
frequently bowed down into the very dust, what a relish you will have
for the promises of God! I am sure that a number of promises in the
Bible were written on purpose for me. You may dispute it and say, "No,
they were meant for me." I have no wish to contest the point, but I
still believe, as I have said, that they were meant for me, for they
fit my case so exactly even in

their very words that they appear as if my case were especially
intended. No doubt other Believers think the same, and will join with
me in blessing God for such a grand Bible. Well does our hymn-writer
put it–

"What more can He say than to you He has said You, who unto Jesus for
refuge have fled?"

None can comfort a child like a mother. The mother knows exactly the
child's state, and by her very love she throws a sweetness into what
she says which another could not successfully imitate. There are no
comforts like the comforts of God. The Comforter puts into the Inspired
Word a singular sweetness which the most able ministers cannot arrive
at, even though they should be, like Barnabas, sons of consolation.
Brothers and Sisters, let us think over our comforts now, for a minute,
and our consolations. Have we not this for consolation–that God has
loved us with an everlasting love, even the Lord who cannot change? Up
to now He has never failed us–He has promised that all good things
shall be ours as we need them, and it has been so.

Have we not this for a consolation–that He has given us Christ, and
therein has given us all things? Can He deny us anything now, after
having given to us His own dear Son? Let us think how dear we are to
Christ, how much we cost Him, how precious we are in His sight. Can He
leave us? Can He be unkind to us? Let us reflect upon the way in which
the Lord has always appeared for us in times of difficulty, and rescued
us in days of jeopardy. Turning to the Book and finding it written, "I
am God: I change not," let us be consoled for the future and go on our
way confident that all shall be well. All the Covenant promises are
meant to console us. All the gifts of Sovereign Grace are intended to
give us joy! The attributes of God are springs of consolation for us.
The Human Nature of Christ in which He comes near to us is a source of
bliss! The gentleness and tenderness of the Holy Spirit who dwells in
us on purpose to be our Comforter are dear subjects of delight! Indeed,
if we are down cast we must blame ourselves. "Why are you cast down, O
my Soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope you in God: for I
shall yet praise Him." The consolations of the Spirit are "waters to
swim in."

Beloved, we must draw to a close upon this one thought of
abundance–just think of what God has done for us by way of making us
happy and noble! He has not only pardoned us, but He has received us
into His family. And He has taken us there, not to be His hired
servants as we once thought He might do, but He has made us His own
sons! And what is more than that, He has made us heirs–and not
secondary heirs either–but "joint-heirs with Christ Jesus," so that we
have come right up from the place of the slave into the position of the
heir of all things! Our Lord Himself, our dear and ever blessed Savior,
was not content to pluck us like brands from the burning–not content
to make us His sheep whom He should watch over with tender care–but He
has taken us to be His spouse and He calls us His beloved.

Yes, and He has done more. He has taken us to be members of His body,
and we are of His flesh and of His bones. Was there ever such an
exaltation as this? When Scripture speaks of lifting a beggar from the
dunghill and setting him among princes, surely it falls short of this
wonder–that of taking a worm of the dust, a sinful wretch that was
only fit for Hell–and putting him into union with Christ Jesus, so
that he should be a part of the mystical body of the Son of God! This
is marvelous, and as I think of it, I feel that I have brought you to
the sea shore and shown you an ocean to swim in–the depth of which you
cannot fathom! Oh the depths of the mercy of God!

Now, in all this nobility which God has given us there is not a single
piece of unhappiness. I should imagine that to rise into some positions
in society must entail sorrow instead of happiness, for, as you ascend
the heights the air grows chillier and the frosts are more perpetual.
But the nobilities which God bestows are, all of them, of that
happy–what if I should say–homely, divinely comforting sort, that the
nobler we are, the happier we are? If He makes us sons, our sonship is
not all responsibility–it means love. And if He makes us heirs, oh,
what happiness to be possessors of earth and Heaven! And if He makes us
His own spouse, the chief thought of our marriage union is not service,
but love! God is not to us, "Baali," but, "Ishi shall His name be
called." Not, "lord," but "husband"–duty is there, but love is in the
forefront. We become members of His body–it is an honor, but it is
much more than that–it is a bliss to be vitally, eternally united to
Christ, our Covenant Head!

Why, dear saints of God, however poor you may be, and however low in
spirits, and however sickly in body, you have a whole sea of happiness
before you! You have a drop of bitterness now and then, but you have an
Atlantic of sweetness, rivers of wine and milk. "Rejoice, rejoice,"
says the Scriptures, and that most fitly, too, because there are, after
all, more reasons for rejoicing than arguments for sorrow. And then,
beyond! Beyond! Think of that which remains

in Immanuel's land beyond Jordan! Open your eyes a moment. Do not let
them rest upon that stream which is not near so wide as you have fabled
it, whose waves are not so rough as your fears have made them. Look
beyond that narrow stream of death–what do you see?

Moses' sight from Nebo is nothing compared with the view which faith
gets of the Glory to be revealed! We shall see Him, and shall be like
He is and shall be with Him eternally! His glory is our soul's delight
on earth–it shall be our soul's transport in Heaven! What will it be
to see the shining ranks of the glorified, and hear their blessed song
and join with them and with the angelic choirs forever and forever?–

"Far from a world of grief and sin,

With God eternaIIy shut in."

Oh, Beloved, here are "waters to swim in!" Let us bathe our weary souls
in them by faith before we leave this place. The Lord grant it, in the
power of His Holy Spirit, and He shall have the praise.

II. But now, secondly, our text gives us the idea of space, amplitude,
room. "Waters to swim in." Room enough. And here, let us remark that in
the Gospel, when our experience and our knowledge have deepened, we
shall find a place of broad rivers and streams under the following
aspects. First, as to thought. Many persons have the notion that the
Gospel is very contracted and narrow. I am afraid that a large number
of our members have not yet obtained a comprehensive idea of the
Gospel–no, I am half afraid that they never will under some preachers
who do not seem to have any clear view of the Gospel system themselves,
or, if they have, they fail to communicate it.

Some deny the need of a system at all, but, somehow or other,
everything we know throws itself into a systematic shape. And though we
ought, beyond all things, to deprecate a cast-iron creed and the
attempt to force every Truth of God into one circle, yet it is a good
thing to have a definite idea of what we believe in the things of God.
Some have a tolerably clear idea, but it is a very narrow and
contracted one.

Now there is nothing contracted in the Bible–it is a great Book of a
great God, inspired by a great Spirit and calculated to give men great
minds–for it is, in the great subjects of holy thought, "waters to
swim in." Think only for a moment of one or two subjects of thought,
and you will see the "waters to swim in." Think of God as He is
revealed in Holy Scripture. The Father ordaining all things, according
to the council of His will–take the whole line of Truth which connects
itself with the Father. Then consider the Son as Man and as God, the
Surety of the Covenant, the Substitute for His people, the Intercessor,
Prophet, Priest, and King–the Lord who is yet to come. You have a wide
range of thought.

Then consider the Holy Spirit. Dr. John Owen has written a massive
volume upon the work of the Spirit, and you might write a thousand such
volumes and not exhaust the mighty theme! He dwells upon the work of
the Spirit in creation. The work of the Spirit in sustentation. The
work of the Spirit in inspiration. The work of the Spirit upon the
human body of Christ. The work of the Spirit upon our Lord in His
ministry. The work of the Spirit in regeneration, in illumination, in
consolation. Here are "waters to swim in" Brethren! Indeed, the waters
are so broad that I cannot attempt even to number them or make a map of
them. Take only those lines of thought which come from the Trinity–
Father, Son, and Spirit–and you have boundless Truth before you!

Young man, you need never say, "I need to get a thought-breeding book."
Man alive, was there ever such a thought-breeding book as the Bible?
You need never say, "I found myself stinted for need of subjects." Oh,
if you know anything at all in your soul about the things of God, you
will admire the infinity of Scripture and never complain of having
slender room for thought! Then think of the doctrine of election and
all those stupendous Truths of God which spring out of predestination.
If you love deep subjects you certainly will find "waters to swim in"
there! But if you are not a child of God, you are likely to find them
waters to drown in as well as waters to swim in, for it needs a man to
be taught to swim by God's own Grace in such waters as these! But when
he once knows how to swim, it is one of the most delightful exercises
in the world to take a bold stroke into the Everlasting Covenant and
dive into the deep things of

God.

Think, again, of the subject which lifts itself aloft from the opposite
point–human responsibility, and turn that over–a rugged subject,
assuredly, but most true, and as certainly taught in the Scripture as
the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty in election. There are many who will
not believe both these Truths of God, but rest assured, you will have
to put out one eye, and you will practically lose one arm unless you
will believe both, for they are both taught in the

Scriptures, and both sides of the Truth will furnish you with "waters
to swim in." If a man should have the largest mind that ever existed
upon the face of the earth–if he should be a Newton or a Locke–still,
if he would set himself down and prayerfully study Scripture, he would
find that the themes for meditation are altogether boundless "waters to
swim

in."

I could enlarge, but that might not be so profitable to you as to go
forward. Brothers and Sisters, there are "waters to swim in," next, not
only as regards subjects of thought but matters of faith. There are
topics in Scripture which one can hardly think of very long
together–they are too perplexing. If we bend towards them and fix our
eye upon them, we may strain our eyeballs before we shall see with
understanding. There are mysteries beyond us. I thank God–I bless God
that He has given me a Gospel, much of which I cannot understand! For I
am sure if I were able to grasp all revealed Truth and I met the devil
in my vestry tonight, and he said, "Why, you have comprehended it all
in your small brain: therefore, it cannot be from God"–I should not
know how to answer him.

But now, if he ever meets me and tauntingly enquires, "How do you make
these two doctrines square? How do you make them consistent?" I answer
him thus, "Are you, also, omniscient? Is nothing too hard for you?" It
is no business of mine to make God's teaching consistent in man's
judgment! If the Lord has revealed a Truth, all I have to do is to
believe it. I will look at it as long as ever I can–I will pry into it
as far as I can go–but, when God locks the door and does not leave me
the key, I shall not attempt to break the door open. And if He does not
tell me, I believe it is my wisdom not to need to know. Going to Heaven
does not lie in untying Gordian knots.

Oh, how sweet to have something to believe where you get right out of
reason's depths! We thank God that in the Scriptures there is a good
deal which you cannot reason on–which you could not explain to a man
who has only reason to go upon–something which he scoffs at because he
cannot see what it means by his blind carnal eyes. I am glad to think
that there is something for higher faculties to grasp–something for
the spirit, the new-born spirit, to lay hold upon! I thank God that
there are great things to be believed as well as great things to be
understood. And if I were now to try and show you the vast area which
is opened up to faith, I am sure you would exclaim in the words of the
text, "There are, indeed, 'waters to swim in.'"

Then, blessed be his name, there are "waters to swim in" not only for
thought and faith, but also for love. Some make the doctrines of the
Gospel a cold stream, like the waters of the Arctic pole, and love
would be frozen if she were to venture into them. But the Scriptures
are like the gulf stream, warm, as well as deep, and love delights to
plunge into them and swim in them. Time would fail me if I were to try
and show you the room there is for love in the Scriptures. We will
therefore dwell only on one thing. Think of the love of Christ to
us–the love which nailed Him to the Cross–the love which made Him
give up His reputation on earth as well as His royalties in Heaven.
Think of the love which made Him become a worm and no man, despised of
men and a reproach of the people for our sakes!

A certain writer has written two volumes upon the sufferings of Christ
upon the Cross. He has managed to write a chapter upon the nails, and
upon the sponge, and upon the thorns, and upon the vinegar. And I must
confess I have read his book with no small delight, and I have thought
that he did not make too much of anything he handled. And, if he did
seem to strain a point here and there too much one way, he might have
gone a great deal farther the other way if he but had his eyes more
open.

In the agonies of Christ there is, to the contemplative mind, a
fullness of love unspeakable which makes the heart feel, "now I can
love here without stint." I can love the dear companion of my life. I
can love my children. But there comes the thought, "I may make them
idols, and I may thus injure both them and myself." That is not "waters
to swim in." But, if we loved the Lord 10,000 times more than we do, we
should transgress no command in so doing–no, rather, the only
transgression lies in falling short! Oh, that we could love Him more!
There can be no excess of love in loving Him supremely. The coolest
logic can justify the most intense enthusiasm towards Christ. If a man
had no heart, but were all head, he might reasonably act towards the
Savior as those do whose whole nature is on a blaze with affection for
Him, and who seem, sometimes, to have forgotten the dictates of reason
in the impulses of love. Oh, what "waters to swim in" is the love of
Christ us!

But, it is just the same with the love of the Father. And, (I think I
have told you once or twice lately), I am sure it is so with the love
of the Holy Spirit. While it was most gracious of the Lord Jesus to
come and live with men, is it not quite as gracious of the Holy Spirit
to dwell in men? I marvel at Christ among sinners, but I marvel quite
as much at the Holy

Spirit in sinners, for the best of saints are still sinners! To live in
us, indwelling in these poor bodies of ours–oh, the love of the pure
and Holy Spirit to do so! Here are, indeed, "waters to swim in."

Yet, once again. I have not exhausted this thought of space. There is
room here for the exercise and expansion of every faculty within the
range of the Gospel. These are days of "modern thought." As you are all
aware, men have become wondrously wise and have outgrown the
Scriptures. Certain unhappy children's heads are too big, and there is
always a fear that it is not brain, but water on the brain–and this
"modern thought" is simply a disease of wind on the brain–and likely
to be a deadly one if God does not cure the Church of it. Within the
compass of the orthodox faith– within the range of the simple
Gospel–there is room enough for the development of every faculty,
however largely gifted a man may be!

It doesn't matter, though the man is a Milton in poetry, though he is a
master in metaphysics and a prince in science–if he is but pure in his
prose, accurate in his metaphysics, and honest in his science–he will
find that the range of his thought needs no more space than Scripture
gives him. It has been thought by some that these persons who run off
to heretical opinions are persons of great mind. Believe me, Brothers
and Sisters, it is a cheap way of making yourself to be thought so, but
the men are nobodies! That is the sum of the matter. We are satisfied
with the theology of the Puritans and we assert this day that when we
take down a volume of Puritan theology we find in a solitary page more
thinking and more learning–more Scripture, more real teaching–than in
whole folios of the effusions of modern thought!

Modern men would be rich if they possessed even the crumbs that fall
from the table of the Puritans. They have given us nothing new, after
all. A few variegated bladders they have blown–and they have burst
while the blowers were admiring them! But, as for anything worth
knowing which has improved the heart, benefited the understanding, or
fitted men for service in the battle of life–there have been no
contributions made by this "modern thought" worth recording. Whereas
the old thought of the Puritans and the Reformers, which I believe to
be none other than the thought of God thought out again in man's brain
and heart, is constantly giving consolation to the afflicted,
furnishing strength to the weak, and guiding men's minds to behave
themselves aright in the house of God and in the world at large.

There are "waters to swim in," in the Scriptures! You need not think
there is no room for your imaginations there. Give the coursers their
reins–you shall find enough within that Book to exhaust them at their
highest speed. You need not think that your memory shall have nothing
to remember–if you had learned the Bible through and through, and knew
all its texts–you would have much to remember above that! You would
still need to remember its inner meaning, and its conversations with
your soul, and the mysterious power it has had over your spirit when it
has touched the strings of your nature as a master harper touches his
harp strings and has brought forth music which you knew not to be
sleeping there.

There is no faculty but what will find room enough in the Word of God,
if we will but obediently bring it to the service of the Lord. There
are, in this respect, "waters, to swim in."

III. But now, lastly, the text has the idea of TRUST, at least, to my
mind. I think it will have to yours, also. "Waters to swim in." I
should like to swim very much. When I have been at the seaside I have
had a great passion for swimming, and I think I should have been able
to swim by this time, but I could never persuade myself to take both
feet off the bottom at one time. I have gone into the bath and when I
have felt a little of the buoyancy of the water I have lifted one foot,
and I have been half inclined to remove the other, but somehow it was
not done. I could not, after all, quite trust the liquid element.

The text speaks, of "waters to swim in," and swimming is a very
excellent picture of faith. In the act of swimming it is necessary that
a man should float in the water–so far as he is passive and the water
buoys him up. You must keep your head above water if you are to swim.
We are told that the body is naturally buoyant, and that if a person
would lie quite still upon the water he would not sink–but if he kicks
and struggles he will sink himself. The first sign of faith is when a
man learns to lie back upon Christ–to give himself up entirely to
Him–when he ceases to be active and becomes passive! When he brings no
good works, no efforts, no merits to Jesus by way of recommendation,
but casts his soul upon the eternal merit and the finished work of the
great Substitute. That is faith in its passive form–floating faith.

In the heavenly river you must float before you can swim. I pray God to
teach every sinner here to rest upon Jesus. You need to save yourself,
do you? You will drown, Man! You will drown! As surely as you live you
will drown! Will you give up and let Christ save you? Will you believe
that He can save you? Fall back into His arms. You will float, then.

There is no drowning a soul that gives itself up to Christ, and trusts
entirely to Him. But the text does not speak of waters to float in,
though this is essential. Many people never get beyond that floating
period, and they conclude that they are safe and all is well because
they fancy their heads are above water.

But the man who is really taught of God goes on from the floating to
the swimming. Now swimming is an active exercise. The man progresses as
he strikes out. He makes headway. He dives and rises–he turns to the
right, he swims to the left, he pursues his course–he goes where he
wills. Now, the holy Word of God and the Gospel are "waters to swim
in." You know only what it is to float–many of you. You are resting in
the Truth of God for your salvation, but making no advance in heavenly
things. Oh, Beloved, let us learn to swim in those waters–swim in
them! I mean let us learn to trust God in active exertions for the
promotion of His kingdom–to trust Him in endeavors to do good.

How blessedly our friend, Mr. Miller of Bristol, swims! What a master
swimmer he is! He has had his feet off the bottom many years and as he
swims he draws along behind him some 2,000 orphan children, whom, by
God's Grace, he is saving from the floods of sin and bringing, we
trust, safe to shore. Dear Brother, dear Sister, could you not swim,
too? "Oh, but I have no money." You need to walk, I see. "But I have
very slender gifts compared with what I need." Cannot the Lord give you
gifts and graces? Will you not trust Him? Dear Brother, are you called
to serve God in a very difficult sphere of labor? Cannot you go on? "I
have nobody to hold me." Oh, I see, you are all for walking on the
bottom. Brethren, it is "waters to swim in." Cannot you swim without
any help except the help of the All in All?

See how the arch of Heaven stands without a pillar? See yon lamps of
Heaven how they burn? Who gives them oil? See how they are swung in
Heaven without a golden chain to hold them in their place? Yet they
flicker not! Neither do they fall from their sockets–neither does the
arch of Heaven tremble! May the Holy Spirit teach us to trust! Oh, may
God teach us not only the passive trust which leans on Christ and
floats, but the active trust which manages the waters– walks them,
swims them, dives into them at will, as God helps it! We are not
trustful enough of the invisible God. We are young eaglets, born of God
to mount up to the sun, but we stand shivering by the nest, not daring
to try our wings.

Young eaglets, trust the invisible air–trust it and rise aloft! It
shall bear you up, and you shall not fall. Trust it more! Put out all
your wing strength. Lean on it more and it will bear you up, up, up,
beyond clouds and mists, up to the very sun itself! He shall rise
highest who can trust most. He shall have most who can believe most in
God. If you will treat with the Eternal on His own terms of boundless
credit, and trust yourself without reserve to Him, there are great
things in store for you!

Blessed Master, give us "waters to swim in." Though they should be
stormy waters. Though they should be drowning waters to our
unbelief–they shall be swimming waters to our faith! And as we swim to
Heaven we will rejoice in You, "having no confidence in the flesh." May
God bless these few words to you, beloved Friends, and comfort us all
with His own consolations, and be unto us ever more and more God All
Sufficient. Amen.
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Ingratitude of Man