From the out-of-print book Too Much: The Filled to Overflowing Experience by William Booth-Clibborn. Used by permission.
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Too Much: The Filled to Overflowing Experience4. A Liberal God
"Let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally."
-- James 1:5.
Did I say that nature was prodigal? Yes! Everything God does is stamped with His largeness of heart. There is a greatness, a vastness or minute infinity in all creation characteristic of the Hand that brought it forth. Snowflakes by the centillion, clouds as armies unnumbered, the sands on a thousand coral strands strewn with shells without count, boundless oceans with waters of unfathomed depth. Who can tell it all? It has taken six thousand years to identify and classify the millions of earth's creatures and yet they are not all listed! The forests, the ferns, the flora and fauna in thousands of species taxes the skill and challenges the intellect of man. A myriad marvel stars, like fields of countless sparkling diamonds wait to dazzle the eye that intrudes into the secrets of the nocturnal heavens through the telescope. The immensity, the enormity of it all is incomprehensible, unutterable! But all of this eternal abundance is not necessarily benefit. We see the liberality of God in those places where the earth produces the wherewithal of life. But this entire globe is by no means a garden.
The Best Climes Are Generous
Wherever creation bows deepest under its curse, it belies its Creator. There is
nothing kindly about an unending desert, a useless swamp or an eternal barren
land of lava rocks. The Sahara sands do not express God's thought of an ideal
country. That which approximates God's first thought is where the climate is
most congenial and the zone temperate. Here nature wears gorgeous apparel and
is extravagantly munificient, bearing the imprint of God's own character of
generosity. Its soil is rich and rolling, its vegetation luxuriant, its waters
cataract down a hundred mountainsides, crystal pure and plenteous. Here the
rain falls in copious showers, the sunshine smiles with seven guiles, and on
every breeze is borne a blessing. That was the kind of country that the Lord
our God brought the children of Israel into. A land worthy and willing, where
earth's broad breast breathed an Eden rest and disclosed the fullness of her
generous heart. Where the ground was different from that of any other region,
and with the encouragement of man's hand to dress it, would become lavishly
fruitful in its benefits.
Listen to the promises of its opulence, the wonderful descriptions of its
bountiful qualities and quantities. All this language is in the superlative
degree. While you hear -- ask yourself this question -- "Am I living in the
promised Land of the New Testament or am I merely professing a Canaan
experience whilst still dragging my feet in the Wilderness?"
A Milk and Honey Land
"I am come down to deliver them out of the land of the Egyptians, and to bring
them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land
flowing with milk and honey." Exodus 3:8.
"For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks,
of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land
of wheat and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of
olive oil and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness,
thou shalt not lack any thing in it." Deut. 8:7-9.
There was nothing small about this. There is nothing mean about such words as
-- large, flowing, without scarceness.
"For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of
Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it
with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: but the land, whither ye go to possess it,
is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: a
land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are
always upon it from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the
year." Deut. 11:10-12.
In other words there was to be none of that everlasting treading of water
wheels, a wearisome work of lifting the Nile waters up into little irrigation
channels by foot power -- a slow laborious process that gave scant reward --
but God would supply a superabundance of heavenly rain and regularly too. For
He furthermore promised:
"And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy
body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the
land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. The Lord shall open
unto thee His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in
his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and THOU SHALT
LEND UNTO MANY NATIONS AND THOU SHALT NOT BORROW."
More Than Their Needs
Such was to be the magnanimity of God's providence to them that they were to
become a wealthy resourceful people, so that from their surplus stores and
reserve treasure they could become creditors to all nations. For this scripture
continues, "And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and
thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath" Deut. 28:11-13.
That means that they were to sit a-top of the world. A people without a
national debt, living on such an affluent scale that there would not be a poor
person in the length and breadth of their land.
What a contrast to their position in the bondage of Egypt! These promises they
proved true to the letter. When they tasted the enormous grapes of Eschol,
sampled the new corn and wine they rejoiced to know the benevolence of
their Saviour-Redeemer. Such recompense made it well worth-while serving Him
with faithfulness. In the wilderness they had known all their needs supplied.
As God's own testimony so their experience: "These forty years the Lord thy God
hath been with thee: thou hast lacked nothing" Deut. 2:7. "Thy raiment
waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years" Deut.
8:5. But in Beulah they were to find "an exceedingly good land" (Num. 14:7) --
"A large place" (Ps. 18:19), and everything there was to be on a magnificent
scale. Not merely their actual needs, as in their wanderings, but much more
was to be their inheritance when at last they should be at rest.
"The fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his
heavens shall drop down dew" (Deut. 33:28).
"Your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto
the sowing time; and ye shall eat your bread to the full" Lev. 26:5.
No scantiness here; no meagre existence this! And Nehemiah centuries after
reminded them of those manifold mercies and abundant blessings in these words:
"They took the strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses
full of goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees
in abundance: so they did eat and were filled, and became fat,
and delighted them selves in THY GREAT GOODNESS" Neh. 9:25.
All that concerned the conquest of Canaan occurred on this completely ample
scale. They were more than a match for their enemies, more than capable, more
than conquerors. Every force of nature did them homage. Jordan's waters were
stayed in their course. Jericho's walls fell prostrate at their feet, the sun
and moon saluted them for a double day. Not a single soldier suffered on their
side. Their armies were stronger after each test of strength. Five chased a
hundred and a hundred put ten thousand to flight. Thus in a glorious, exalted,
overwhelming, rapid campaign, their victorious banners over-ran the whole
country, sweeping every obstacle and opposition before them.
The Grace That Does Much More Abound
Their whole experience is analogous to ours if we will but believe our God
today. What a throb and thrill there is in militant aggressive Christianity.
Its rewards are never small nor its fare scrimpy and the Captain of its battle
permits the full enjoyment of all legitimate spoil. But why is it that so much
of modern faith is so feeble and so faint? Surely Jehovah has not changed. If
He treated natural Israel so generously all the more should we expect Him to
so treat spiritual Israel, we who are His children born of the Spirit. Ours
is a greater inheritance than theirs; and whereas they were able only to
obtain a good report through faith, we can receive the full promise, the
pentencostal power, the life more abundant, "God having provided some better
thing for us" Heb. 11:40. It seems to me we have never properly gripped the
truth that God is inexhaustible in His liberality. This is one aspect of His
nature we hear so little about, but it was one of the first attributes
proclaimed as He made His Name to pass before Moses. Let it inspire faith in
your hearts as I quote it, "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed,
The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and ABUNDANT IN
GOODNESS and PLENTEOUS IN MERCY" Ex. 34:6. Glory to God! That should make us
all rejoice! Especially in relation to His tolerance of the wicked and the
unrepentant is this true. "He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil" Lu.
6:35.
"He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the
just and on the unjust" Matt. 5:45.
"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in
mercy" Ps. 103:8.
"For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive... all them that call
upon thee" Ps. 86:5.
"With Him is plenteous redemption" Ps. 130:7.
"God who is rich in mercy..." Eph. 2:4.
"In whom we have redemption through His blood; the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of His grace" Eph. 1:7.
"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: And let
him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, FOR
HE WILL ABUNDANTLY PARDON" Isaiah 55.7.
All these scriptures attest the ample "too much" in God's providence and pardon
for sin and transgression. Paul saith in Romans 5:20, "Where sin abounded,
grace did much more abound." That is God's handsome way of doing things.
Why it is God's very nature to be liberal. It is part of His divine consistency
and character! No wonder that when He gives, He gives freely, excessively,
extravagantly, and ungrudgingly! James writes that God "gives with openhand to
all men and without upbraiding" James 1:5 Weymouth.
A Wrong Approach and Attitude
Now if God goes to such lengths with a sinner that comes to seek His salvation,
if He much more than covers his iniquity, if He abundantly pardons, then surely
He will mete out in the same liberal measure, if not in a greater, the
necessities of His saints. He already overlooks so much in them, He is so kind
and gentle and forgiving with His own, as the Psalmist says, "He hath not dealt
with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities" Ps.
103:10.
It seems to me that multitudes of saints make their requests known unto God
with little gratitude, and approach Him in a wrong attitude. They disregard
God's generosity, and a hundred promises proclaiming it -- these are the very
horns of the altar that they should lay a hold of! The majority of people have
the idea that God is stingy and that He only deigns to give reluctantly. Their
prayers degenerate into a groveling, ceaseless begging; their supplications
become much like the pitiable repetitions of the heathen.
The strain of such an attitude reveals itself but too plainly in the whole
spirit of our worship, especially in the protracted service after the altar
call and in the seeker's meetings. How we set about with exhausting efforts to
overcome God's apparent unwillingness! What a complex problem the chronic
seeker becomes as nightly he resigns himself to his fate and sets about his
previous task of seeking God with grim determination only to be further
disappointed and discouraged. This whole attitude is contrary to the sense and
teaching of God's word. For, is He not more willing to give than we are to
receive? The fault is in us, not in Him. We fail to really grasp His readiness,
we fail to take hold of His willingness. We should draw near happily,
boldly, with the intimate confidence that children have in their parents.
For it is written: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children; HOW MUCH MORE shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask Him?" Lu. 11:13. Notice that "Much More" and imagine your
children around Christmas time in their hilarious expectancy of receiving
presents. Is it reasonable to think that our Heavenly Father would deliberately
tantalize us by dangling before us a coveted place of holy relationship, or
some long desired gift or blessing and then deny it to us? No! No! Never! Lay
hold on that MUCH MORE.
Brought to the Banqueting House
Our Lord invites us to an unending dinner, a feast! The invitation "Come all
things are ready" declares the meal already prepared and laid. How could the
occasion be but the happiest festive celebration with the Provider of all good
things at the head of the table? Why the very thought of it ought to make your
mouth water and your tongue hang out. Do not delay, come in and sit down to
this sumptuous repast. He "satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy
youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Ps. 103:5), and He serves but the best
quality. Skimmed milk and crackers are not on the menu. Nor is the miserable
food of Egypt. No cucumbers, garlic or onions, no leeks and melons. Oh! Horrors
no! No smelly, greasy flesh-pots but the Bread of Life is there, made with "the
finest of the wheat" Ps. 147:14. And it is buttered on both sides. All helpings
are five times the size of any you have ever seen -- Benjamin portions all, Gen.
43:34. You settle down to "eat and worship" (Ps. 22:29), at the same time.
Isaiah foresaw this time of spiritual plenty when he prophesied, "In this
mountain (Christ's present Kingdom) shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all
people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full
of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined" Isa. 25:6. You will soon realize
that it is an everlasting "banqueting house" that He has brought you to, and
that His love and hospitality know no bounds. Flagons are produced, gorgeous
apples, and over you He has placed His banner of Love. S.o.S. 2:4, 5. The
rarest fruits beguile your lips, the flavour of figs, the blood of
pomegranates. Each platter is filled to excess and drips its glory all over the
golden tablecloth. Every cup overflows and spills its life on your fingers and
hands.
There is no need to ask for second and third helpings for no dish is ever
drained. The large cruses can not be emptied, every chalice is charmed. When
you sample each beautiful bowl of dessert, the level of the contents never
lowers, it bubbles up again and brims over with blessing. An ecstasy seizes
your soul, fragrant oil comes pouring down upon your head, your teeth seem to
melt together, your lips drop as the honey-comb (S.o.S. 4:11), honey and milk
mix under your tongue. Then your mouth is filled with laughter; you sing a new
song so sacred and sweet that your whole being is transported. Marvel not if
your tongue is loosed and stammers a speech unknown. Many would obtain that
language of heaven if they would only linger longer at the table of God! Do you
not wish to be entertained "in the secret of His pavilion" (Ps. 31:20), and
feast there with your Lord?
God Prepares the Table
The "too much" experience is the fulness of the Spirit of God. The Baptism of
the Holy Spirit initiates you, introduces you, as it were, to that "abundant
overflowing life" but in itself is no guarantee to your continued attendance
at that table. But the chances are that once you eat and drink your fill
there you will never cease to be a guest. "Blessed be the Lord who daily
LOADETH us with benefits" (Ps. 68:19), will be your every day experience
for: "The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the
Lord shall not want any good thing" Ps. 34:7. And "the blessing of the Lord, it
maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it. The desire of the
righteous shall be granted" Prov. 10:22, 24. If you decide to claim God's best
and refuse to be denied you shall be made rich too.
Speaking to the world He saith, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any
man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with
him, and he with Me" Rev. 3:20. Think of it, He presides at the meal. More, He
waits upon us Himself and personally prepares the soul-satisfying sweets. He
lays the table providing the Heavenly food for a never-ending feast. David
declares in the twenty-third Psalm, "THOU PREPAREST a table before me in the
presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; My Cup Runneth
Over."
"My Cup Runneth Over"
In the original this phrase reads "My inebriating wine cup overflows" -- Glory
to God! Now, wine is symbolic of joy -- so this must be the "joy unspeakable
and full of glory" Peter speaks of, I Peter 1:8. When we have this spilling
cup, then it is we have a surplus for him that is athirst, a refreshing quaff
for those who are ready to faint. No marvel David shouted and danced harder
than they all and chased his enemies on every side. His enthusiasm, enterprise
and daring valor was tireless. His exploits of strength and skill were
phenomenal. Why? Because he was full of the joy of the Lord -- "For the joy of
the Lord is your strength" Neh. 8:11.
In the face of all these facts what is the matter with Christianity all around
us? For the most part it is weak, vacillating, apathetic and dull. If
Christians could see themselves as God does, they would be horrified. Some are
gaunt specters creeping about emaciated and starved like famine victims. Others
chase around, the power and delight long since departed from their experience.
They are looking for some preacher, revival or circumstance to resuscitate
them. Their faith is the most pitiful, pathetic confession of failure. Why? God
said His people "shall grow up as calves of the stall" Mal. 4:2.
Again, "The trees of the Lord are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon,
which He hath planted" Ps. 104:16.
It is astonishing that many believers survive at all on the starvation diet
they seem contented with. With no exuberance in their lean lives they become
confirmed pessimists and look askance and with suspicion at everyone that is
happy. Our formal churches have them in legions, spiritual paupers subsisting
on humanitarianism, preaching of good morals, or merely on external
ceremonialism and other substitutes for the true Gospel. That they can stand
the continued prostitution of the pulpit without protest is astonishing indeed.
What they are given in the preaching soon manifests itself in their life and
conduct which patterns after the world.
Every saint should be prosperous in soul, rich in Christ Jesus. Paul admonished
the early church, I would "that ye come behind in no gift" I Cor.
1:7. His commandment to all the churches is found in Ephesians 5:18, "Be not
drunk with wine, wherein is (a tendency to run to) excess, but be ye filled
with the Spirit." The best reading of that text renders it "Be ye filled to
overflowing with the Spirit." When we are fully controlled and subdued by
the Power of God, we are made partakers of His attributes and graces -- we are
filled with love, with grace, with faith and with joy. For all these are the
fruits of the Spirit. Scores of scriptures come to mind for this truth
permeates the Bible.
There is a blessed type of Full Salvation in the instance where Moses brought
forth water from the rock. We read: "Water came out abundantly and the
congregation drank" Num. 20:11. Thus it is with the infilling of the Holy
Spirit "the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us
abundantly" Titus 3:5,6. It is all given copiously -- OUR GOD is a
LIBERAL GOD. In these days of the Latter Rain, when God is pouring out His
Spirit upon all flesh -- as was prophesied by Joel and quoted by Peter
following the first Pentecost -- there is no excuse for us to live in any other
place than in a spiritual Canaan of abundant power and plenty.
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