Bring Your Vessels, Not a Few

Are you looking for the fullness
Of the blessing of the Lord
In your heart and life today?
Claim the promise of your Father;
Come according to His Word,
In the blessèd, old time way.

Chorus
He will fill your heart today to overflowing.
As the Lord commandeth you,
“Bring your vessels, not a few.”
He will fill your heart today to overflowing
With the Holy Ghost and power.

Bring your empty earthen vessels,
Clean through Jesus’ precious blood.
Come, ye needy, one and all;
And in human consecration
Wait before the throne of God
Till the Holy Ghost shall fall.

Like the cruse of oil unfailing
Is His grace forevermore,
And His love unchanging still;
And according to His promise,
With the Holy Ghost and power
He will every vessel fill.

This is another Red-back hymnal song, however, I don’t recall singing it as a child growing up.  I did come across it however on a Bluegrass album by The Issacs.  I loved their version of the song, searched for it in my hymnals, found it, and decided to share it.

You may be wondering where this particular hymn title came from.  It is based upon the King James Version of a story in 2 Kings Chapter 4 verse 1-7.  A widow came to Elisha in desperation.  Her husband had died.  She had creditors coming to take her two sons to be bondservants.  Elisha asked what she had in her house. She replied “nothing, save a pot of oil.”  Elisha commanded her to go get some empty vessels, borrow them from her neighbors, and bring those vessels to him, but he told her don’t just borrow a few.  The widow collected as many vessels she could find, and began to pour the oil she had into the empty pots.  God performed a miracle.  She was able to fill all the vessels to overflowing, was able to sell the oil, and then paid off her creditors.  I like this story because it is an example of God taking someone who had nothing, or next to nothing, and turning her weeping and hopelessness, into joy and provision.  This widow followed the prophet’s instruction, no matter how strange it seemed, and God showed up in a miraculous way, and did “exceedingly, abundantly more than she could ask or think.”

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “Bring your empty earthen vessels, clean through Jesus precious blood” – There are two important adjectives/thoughts in this line – “empty” and “clean.”  The first is that our earthen vessels are empty.  They either should be emptied, or will be emptied, if we want to be used by God.  The second is that they are clean – not through our own doing.  Not through a self-help checklist or list of do’s and don’ts.  But we have been cleaned through Jesus’ precious blood.  The prophet asked the widow to bring what she had, and God is asking us to do the same.

• “Like the cruse of oil unfailing”  – This phrase relates to another Old Testament miracle.  One involving the prophet Elijah that is found in I Kings 17, and is often referred to as the story of the Widow at Zarepath.  This widow too had no money, no food, and was in a state of desperation.  She told the prophet that all she had was a little meal, and a cruse of oil.  She was going to fix her and her son a final meal, and then die.  Elijah told her to bake him a cake, and promised her that the meal would not waste and that the cruse of oil wouldn’t fail.  Once again, God got involved in a moment of desperation, asked someone to give sacrificially, and then blessed this person miraculously.  What a story of His unfailing provision!

Have you ever been asked – Are you a “half-full” or “half-empty” type person?  This is one of those questions used to determine if someone is an optimist or a pessimist.  Is the glass half-full or half-empty?  I wondered “Shouldn’t Christians always be “half-full” people? Optimistic people?”  This hymn, however, reminded me that we as Christians should be 100% full, and a 100% empty at the same time.  In one sense, we are to empty ourselves in service to the Lord.  Empty ourselves of selfishness.  Empty ourselves of our wants and desires, and the “sin that so easily besets us.”  But we are also to be full – filled with the Spirit.  Not give the Lord access to a couple of rooms, or parts of our life.  But to be filled completely with Him.  100% full and 100% empty at the same time.

So I encourage you today to “bring your vessels, not a few.”  Let the Lord empty them, clean them, and then be willing to say “Lord, fill me and use me.”  That is a prayer the Lord will hear, and answer.