Search
In their experience many serving ones still cannot tell the difference between living according to feelings and living by faith. They may know the difference in words, but very few know the difference in their experience. Most still live in their feelings; it is hard to find a serving one who lives by faith. Some have served for a number of years, but not many have been delivered from their feelings, and even fewer can live by faith.
This conclusion is based on two conditions that we have observed among the serving ones. A few are living and fresh. They testify of the Lord’s presence and of touching Him and sensing His sweetness in prayer and in the Word. Most of the serving ones, however, have lost this sweet experience. They sense neither the Lord’s presence nor His sweetness. Instead of being fresh and living, they are down and oppressed and want to withdraw from the service. It seems that there is a difference between these two conditions and that the first condition is better than the second. However, both conditions show that the saints are living according to their feelings. Their spiritual journey is according to their emotions; that is, their relationship with the Lord is based on their emotions.
Those who have spiritual experience know that it is difficult to come out of the stage of living according to one’s emotions. This stage can last for a long time. Furthermore, believers in this stage are confused by the trials that they pass through. According to his biography, Brother Hudson Taylor experienced such trials. For a period of time he did not sense the Lord’s loveliness when he read the Word, prayed, or fellowshipped with the Lord. Brother Hudson Taylor did not understand the cause of this condition. Most believers have had such an experience. A brother might have wonderful fellowship with the Lord and feel sweet, fresh, and revived, but when he goes through a trial, he becomes low and oppressed and loses his freshness. It is possible for a believer to have this kind of experience many times, that is, to emotionally rise and fall like a wave in the ocean. The amount of rising and falling is related to his natural disposition. A believer who is very emotional tends to fluctuate more noticeably than a believer who is not very emotional. Some believers are delivered from such a life after a few experiences, but others remain in this stage even after numerous experiences.
I have a deep sense within that the Lord wants to lead us to experience something new and wonderful. He wants to lead us out of living according to our feelings, because such a life is a great hindrance.
According to Song of Songs, there are six stages in our spiritual experience. The first stage is from 1:2 through 2:7, the second stage is from 2:8 through 3:5, the third stage is from 3:6 through 5:1, the fourth stage is from 5:2 through 6:13, the fifth stage is from 7:1 through verse 13, and the sixth stage is from 8:1 through verse 14. The first stage is the fundamental stage. If we can understand the first stage, Song of Songs will be an open book to us. A particular point in the first stage is that there is not much revelation of the beloved to his seeker. The content of this stage is mainly the speaking of the seeker, based on her experience and feeling. At the beginning of her speaking, she says, “Your love is better than wine” (1:2). This is her experience as well as her feeling; it is not a revelation. Hence, our knowledge of the Lord in the initial stage is mainly from our experience; it is not based on revelation. The seeker says that her beloved is like “a bundle of myrrh,” “a cluster of henna flowers,” and “the apple tree among the trees of the wood” (vv. 13-14; 2:3). These words are based on feelings realized in her experience.
Hence, this stage of our spiritual pursuit is altogether involved with feelings. The seeker says, “Tell me, you whom my soul loves, Where do you pasture your flock? / Where do you make it lie down at noon? / For why should I be like one who is veiled / Beside the flocks of your companions?” (1:7). These words imply that those who do not pursue the Lord are starving and are wandering and that she also is not satisfied and does not have rest; hence, she is put to shame. She is not different from those who do not pursue the Lord. However, she feels that there is no reason to be put to shame. She should be fed and thus have satisfaction, and she should lie down where the Lord pastures His flock and thus have rest.
In the first stage a seeker’s praise to the Lord, knowledge of the Lord, and pursuit of the Lord originate from feelings. The seeker lacks objective vision and revelation. Her praises and pursuit are an expression of her subjective experience and subjective feelings. She lacks objective knowledge and utterance; everything is subjective. Believers who fall into subjectivity tend to become shallow. If we desire to be deep, we must have objective visions. Our knowledge and seeing must be from above; they should be apart from our feelings. In the first stage of spiritual experience portrayed in Song of Songs, the seeker does not have such a seeing. On the one hand, it is good that her words are based on her experience. She is not like most people who utter empty doctrines. On the other hand, however, her experiences are shallow and lack revelation.
Not many saints have seen a vision or received revelation. Most saints live according to their emotions. Hence, their relationships with others and with the Lord are based on emotions. Just like the maiden in the first section of Song of Songs, they lack objective vision.
The objective and higher vision begins in Song of Songs 2:8 and 9: “Now he comes, / Leaping upon the mountains, / Skipping upon the hills. / My beloved is like a gazelle or a young hart.” Before this time the seeker has spiritual experiences, but she lacks vision. Her utterances in her praises and prayers come from the feelings that she gains in her experiences. Although this is precious, she cannot go forward if she remains in these experiences.
Hence, at the beginning of the second stage the beloved comes in. The seeker did not ask the beloved to come, but he comes to remind her. In the first stage a seeker has an affectionate and loving fellowship with the Lord, having tasted His sweetness and enjoyed His abundance. This is portrayed in the words of the seeker in Song of Songs: “While the king was at his table, / My spikenard gave forth its fragrance. / My beloved is to me a bundle of myrrh / That lies at night between my breasts. / My beloved is to me a cluster of henna flowers / In the vineyards of En-gedi... / As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, / So is my beloved among the sons: / In his shade I delighted and sat down, / And his fruit was sweet to my taste. / He brought me into the banqueting house, / And his banner over me was love” (1:12-14; 2:3-4). This description shows that she enjoys the beloved’s abundance and experiences his sweetness. At the same time, however, she retreats into a room and unknowingly shuts her beloved out. This room is not completely closed, because it has a window, an opening, through which she can see her beloved. He is leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills like a young hart (vv. 8-9). There is no feeling of sweetness or enjoyment from rest and satisfaction in these verses. What the seeker sees is the expression of strength, vitality, and power. She sees her beloved leaping and skipping upon the mountains and hills like a young hart. Mountains are high, but a young hart is able to leap and skip upon them. Instead of being impressed by something subjective or experiential, the seeker sees an objective vision.
The serving ones, in particular, need to see this vision. Most of the saints still live according to feelings. We expect to be satisfied with the Lord’s sweetness, but instead of having fresh and sweet feelings, we are low, oppressed, and deadened. Therefore, we think that we either have a problem, have fallen, or are no longer useful in the Lord’s hand. In addition, our environment is full of “mountains” and “hills.” Some of us have health problems, some have family problems, and some have problems at work, problems with the co-workers, or problems in the church. Formerly, everything in our living and our service was smooth, and our way was straight, level, and full of light. But it is no longer so. There are hills and high mountains everywhere; there is no way out. Our situation is truly difficult. It is in this kind of situation that we need a vision, an objective seeing, a further knowledge of the Lord.
We seem to be advancing in our knowledge of the Lord, but our experiences are still in the first stage of Song of Songs. Our praises, thanksgiving, prayers, and testimonies indicate that our relationship with the Lord is still in the first stage. In our experience we know that the Lord is lovely and satisfying. But such knowledge of the Lord is insufficient; we must know the Lord in more ways. We need to experience the Lord in the second stage of Song of Songs.
The experience of the second stage is not a matter of the Lord giving us rest and satisfaction but of our seeing Him as the resurrected Lord, who has the power and vitality to leap upon the mountains and skip upon the hills in His move. In the first stage the seeker wants to go to the beloved in order to receive satisfaction and rest. Now, instead of her asking, the Lord calls her, saying, “Rise up, my love, / My beauty, and come away” (v. 10). This is a matter of moving, not of enjoyment. For our enjoyment we need satisfaction and rest, but for our move we need power and vitality. The beloved says, “Rise up...and come away; / For now the winter is past; / The rain is over and gone. / Flowers appear on the earth; / The time of singing has come, / And the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. / ...come away” (vv. 10-13). In such an atmosphere of resurrection and freshness the Lord wants His seekers to rise up and come away with Him.
Although the beloved is calling, the seeker lingers in herself. She says, “My beloved is mine, and I am his; / He pastures his flock among the lilies” (v. 16). She has not forgotten that the beloved is her enjoyment; she cannot drop the matter of enjoyment. This picture can be applied to our situation. Many saints are old and deadened because they have been living according to their emotions for so long but are still unwilling to come out of their emotions. Some say, “Our situation was better five years ago when it was so sweet to pray and fellowship with the brothers, but it is no longer like that. The feeling of sweetness is no longer strong.” This shows our unwillingness to part with the past. Such sentiments are in the self and are based on our feelings.
Such lingering thoughts are useless. If we remain in the past, we will also lose the Lord’s presence, because He cannot remain in the past. Hence, the experiences from the first stage of Song of Songs are useless in the second stage. What the seeker sees at the beginning of the second stage is something not within her self — not in her feelings and not in her imagination. She sees a vision that is outside of the self: “Now he comes, / Leaping upon the mountains, / Skipping upon the hills. / My beloved is like a gazelle or a young hart” (vv. 8-9). Such a vision shows that the Lord wants us to stop living according to our emotions, that is, to stop caring for our enjoyment, satisfaction, and rest. We must break away from these things and see that the Lord is in resurrection. By such a seeing, we will take a further step and know the Lord’s resurrection.
It is not so easy for those who live in the experiences of the first stage to be delivered from their feelings. In the second stage the beloved gives his seeker a vision of himself as a young hart leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills, and he also calls her to rise up and come away with him (vv. 8-13). However, the seeker remains in the feelings of her former experiences (v. 16). As a result, the beloved leaves. In 3:1 the seeker is on her bed lingering in her spiritual enjoyment, but she cannot find her beloved. Hence, she is compelled to leave the place of her enjoyment and go out into the streets to seek him (v. 2). At first she cannot find him, but he later appears to her, and she holds on to him and drags him into her enjoyment (v. 4). Thus, it is not easy to break away from living for our enjoyment.
It is possible for us to remain in the stage of living according to our feelings for a long time. Perhaps some of us will now experience something new and have a new revival. However, I am concerned that those who are revived will repeat the mistake of holding on to the Lord and forcing Him to stay in their past experiences. The period of silence in verse 5 is rather lengthy. The seeker stays there for a long time. In other words, she returns to living according to her emotions. The seeker’s condition changes at the beginning of the third stage, which is after this long period of silence. In the third stage she is like pillars of smoke, soaring and transcendent (v. 6). She is also Solomon’s palanquin (v. 9), meaning that she is able to move. Hence, in the third stage we are delivered from living according to our enjoyment and are in the Lord’s move. We experience this change after we have further knowledge of resurrection.
We all need to see this vision of resurrection. Only then can we leap upon the mountains and skip upon the hills, that is, overcome our environment. The problems in our heart, in our family, in our environment, and in the church are mountains and hills that cannot be overcome merely by our enjoying the Lord’s sweetness and abundance. These problems require that we have the vision of resurrection and see the transcendence of our resurrected Lord, who is undeterred by any problem. This is the only way that we can overcome our problems.
I believe that some saints will see such a vision. The Lord will bring us out of living according to our emotions so that our relationship with Him will be based on revelation and vision, not on emotions. We will see that He is in resurrection and that He dwells in us. This resurrected Lord is the power of resurrection. Once we see this vision, we will be delivered, and we, like the Lord, will be able to leap upon mountains and skip upon hills. Then strong opposition, burdensome troubles, grave sickness, and great turmoil and torment will not restrict us, because we no longer experience the Lord merely as a bundle of myrrh or a cluster of henna flowers. Rather, in our experience He will be like a young hart leaping upon mountains and skipping upon hills; He cannot be deterred by any environment. A bundle of myrrh may be fragrant, and a cluster of henna flowers may be beautiful, but they are powerless. Power rests with the young hart and is in resurrection.
Our problems exist because we know only how the Lord satisfies us and gives us rest. We have yet to see that He is the resurrected Lord, that He is in resurrection, and that His resurrection power is in us. Therefore, we continue to live according to our feelings, in the ups and downs of our emotions. When we feel good, we are excited, but when we do not feel good, we are oppressed. We rejoice when we touch the Lord’s presence, but we are miserable when we cannot touch His presence. We praise and give thanks when the environment is smooth, but we murmur and complain when the environment is rough. These reactions prove that we urgently need an objective vision of Christ in resurrection. When we see this vision, we will transcend our difficulties. We will be able to soar and to move like a pillar of smoke. We will not be restricted by a desolate situation, nor will we be troubled by our outward environment. The turmoils and disturbances will be under our feet; we will be above them, skipping upon the mountains and leaping upon the hills. How we urgently need such a vision and experience!
When the Lord calls us to come out of our feelings, He wants us to come out of the self. In chapter 3 the beloved compels his seeker not only to rise from her bed but also to come out of her house (vv. 1-2). In these verses the beloved is compelling his seeker to be delivered from living according to her emotions, which is to be delivered from the self.
Many of us are shut in the “room” of the self. Many are locked in the self. We are often closed when we attend meetings and when we visit the saints, because we still live according to our emotions. When we came together seven or eight years ago, we were open and released because we had a sweet feeling, but we no longer have such a sweet feeling, and the taste of freshness and vitality is gone. As a result, we are closed in the self and are not willing to open. Both our past and present situations prove that we have not been delivered from living a life according to our feelings, which is to live in the self.
The only way to have a revival, a new beginning, is to be open. This is the only way to be fresh. We need to open and be released instead of being locked inside the self. It is very simple to open ourselves. For example, instead of being shut within our oppressed self, we can tell a brother that we feel oppressed and old. If we would open to one another whenever we meet together, there would be a revival among us. There are many serving ones in the churches. On the one hand, we know one another because we see one another nearly every day, but on the other hand, we do not know one another, because we are closed. I do not open my inner spiritual condition to you, and you do not reveal your inner spiritual condition to me. How can there be a revival among us under such circumstances?
Throughout church history those who sought for a revival always prayed for power from heaven to rain on them. However, the believers who experienced being revived testified that genuine revivals do not come from heaven. Revivals come from within us, because the resurrected Lord is now the Spirit indwelling us. The Spirit is filled with all the riches of Christ and dwells even in the most desolate believer. Hence, the power of revival does not descend from heaven, from an objective position. This power is already dwelling in us. The question is whether this power can come forth, that is, whether we will let this power come forth.
We often do not understand the Lord’s word. Romans 10:6-9 says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ that is, to bring Christ down; or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ that is, to bring Christ up from the dead...‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart,’...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” A person who desires to be saved does not have to ascend into heaven or descend into the earth in order to find Christ, because the word is near him, in his mouth and in his heart. Therefore, once a person believes and confesses, he is saved. This word is for those who have not experienced salvation and do not have the Holy Spirit within them. If it is so easy for them to be saved, how much easier would it be for those who are saved and have the Spirit dwelling in them to be revived? We should not think that the revival will come to us from heaven or from the abyss; it simply needs to flow out of us. The impression that we receive from reading the history of revivals in the church is that believers anticipate that revivals would descend from above. However, those who have experience realize that the power they thought would descend from above actually flows out of their inner being. Hence, the key to revival is being open. The power in us is an explosive force. As long as we are willing to open and let it explode from within us, we will have a prevailing revival.
It is right to say that we need to pray in order to have a revival. However, I must repeat that the key, the secret, of having a revival is not in our asking the Lord to give us something from above but in our opening to Him and letting Him flow out. Being open is the basic principle for allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us. The more we are reserved and closed, the less likely we are to receive grace. More than twenty years ago the Pentecostal movement was popular in northern China. This movement focused on people receiving the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Although many things in this movement were extreme and even heretical, it encouraged those who were closed and reserved to open.
For example, a helper would kneel down with someone and lead him to confess his sins. The helper would ask, “Do you have sins?” and the person would say, “Yes, I do.” Then the helper would ask, “What kind of sins?” and the person might answer, “I offended my parents.” The helper would further ask, “How did you offend your parents?” This questioning and answering would continue until the person finished confessing his sins. As a result, his entire being would be open, and he would receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We might say that this was human work; nevertheless, human work ushers in the work of heaven so that the Holy Spirit can be poured out upon man. Some of the people who experienced such an outpouring were delivered from their addictions or forsook their bad habits and sins. This is an important principle: it is easy for a person who is open to receive grace.
This is where our problem lies. When we come together for fellowship or in the meetings, we are closed. Most of the saints who come to the prayer meeting on Tuesday night come with a closed attitude. They have made up their mind not to open their mouth to pray. How can we have a strong prayer meeting? Perhaps in the prayer meeting and the bread-breaking meeting we should give messages concerning being open in order to encourage the saints to open. Some saints might feel reluctant to speak because they are not “inspired” by the Holy Spirit. However, as long as we are open, inspiration will come. The less we open, the more difficult it will be to open, and the more we wait for inspiration, the less inspiration we will receive.
We have a treasure in us, but it is locked up. It does not matter whether we are weak, strong, cold, or burning. When we are burning, this rich source is in us, and when we are cold, this rich source is still in us. This source never changes. The question is whether we would let it flow out.
When I was young, I liked to play with firecrackers. I would get about a dozen firecrackers and use a pin to open the paper wrapping around the fuse so that the gunpowder was exposed. Then I would set off a couple of firecrackers and let them explode. The sparks from these firecrackers would touch other firecrackers and kindle the gunpowder. As a result, all the firecrackers would explode. This analogy is fitting for Christians. Each of us is a firecracker, and Christ is our gunpowder. Our problem is that Christ is securely wrapped within us, and we are neither willing to be broken nor to open. We pray for a revival, but we keep ourselves tightly closed. Hence, we cannot “explode,” and even our earnest prayer does not avail. If we want to pray, we should pray that the Lord would cause us to open.
We must submit to the Lord and humbly ask Him to give us a vision. We should not merely have enjoyment, satisfaction, and a sense of sweetness in our pursuit of the Lord. We need to see that the Lord is in resurrection. We need a vision of resurrection so that we would be able to leap upon the mountains and skip upon the hills. In spite of the things pressing on our spirit and the difficulties in our environment, we need to see that the Lord is living and strong in us; He is leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills. If we would know resurrection and be open, we would be like unwrapped firecrackers. Once one firecracker explodes, it can kindle the others. If I am open, I can burn someone else until he is open, and then he can burn me. As a result, we will have a genuine revival. Both lingering in our past experiences and remaining closed will result in death. The more we linger in our past experiences and remain closed, the more deadened we will be. We must learn to be open. Even if we are skeptical, we should still practice to be open in every occasion. Then the unlimited supply will gush up from within us, and we will experience a spiritual revival.
To be open does not mean to speak a frank word or to rebuke others. That is to spread death. To be open is to pour out and speak forth our true condition. If we feel weak, corrupt, deficient, old, stale, or dead, we should open our situation. The Lord is in us, and when we open in this way, He comes forth. This is the secret to having a revival. If we study the revivals in church history, we will find that this is the secret. We need to pray more so that we would be open, and we need power so that we may help others to open. Once a person opens, he will be revived. If we know this key and are willing to be open in every meeting and in our times of fellowship, we will be living, and the Lord will have a way to move.
I hope that these words will cause us to open and let the Lord flow forth. This principle will bring in a revival.
