THE HILL COUNTRY
C. F. Dadd
Luke 1: 39–This scripture, beloved brethren, will serve to direct our thoughts toward the realm of the Spirit. It says, “And Mary, rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste”. The hill country would suggest to us what is spiritually elevated, and it is an area of things regarding which we need to know more. We want to learn to frequent the hill country. What was proceeding was a marvellous line of things. Christ was about to come into manhood. The angel had brought the word to Elizabeth as to certain matters as to herself and, too, word had come in as to Mary. The angel had come and spoken to her in relation to the incoming of Christ. Heaven was proceeding with a marvellous line of things. In the next chapter He does come in, and the angel says, “This is the sign to you—ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and lying in a manger” (Luke 2: 12). Marvellous things were
proceeding, one of the focal points in the history of time, and the way these women move, I think, is very suggestive. Their conversation is in relation to what is spiritual, what is spiritually elevating. Paul says, “Seek the things which are above, where the Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God: have your mind on the things that are above”, Colossians 3: 1, 2. As he speaks that way he is thinking of what is morally elevated, and he would encourage us to train our minds, and learn to discipline ourselves, so that we know what it is to frequent the realm of the Spirit.
Scripture speaks much about mountains and hills and the Lord works along that line in Matthew. Then, of course, there is Bethany, and the thought of the elevation of the mount of Olives. All these suggest the areas of the Spirit of God, where He is free, where what is of Him is made way for. I think it is of note that “Mary, rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste”. What would be the conversation in the hill country? I believe, beloved, that it would be along the very elevated line of what heaven was doing. We have had that suggestion in what our brother has been saying to us. It is something that we want to get into and experience increasingly. It certainly whets my appetite. What do we understand by “in Christ Jesus”? What do we understand about the realm of the Spirit and what proceeds in it? You would thus have persons speaking in the power of the Spirit, speaking by the Spirit. It says of Elizabeth that she “was filled with the Holy Spirit, and cried out with a loud voice”. Here is a person in that area of things and she was filled with the Spirit.
I believe that as we frequent this area, the thought of being filled with the Spirit and speaking
in the power of the Spirit will be increasingly current amongst us collectively, and will raise the level of things amongst us, which we need, I believe, because, as has been suggested, the experiences of the last few years might tend to get us down a bit. But the realm of the Spirit suggests an area of things where we are lifted up, where it is a question of spiritual elevation; and there is no limit to it. Two sisters here in Luke 1 stand out in a peculiar way. We can thank God for our sisters because I believe they provide very much in our localities along this line. We know what it is locally here. There is the element with our sisters which provides this line, I believe, which is spiritually elevated, which would be the product of the knowledge of the Spirit’s area.
So I just leave this thought of the hill country with us to think about. It is good, I believe, that, as we have opportunity, we know what it is to repair into that area. We want to learn to repair into the presence of Christ, and into the presence of the Spirit of God, to know what it is to feed and to be in communion. We need to learn the power and freshness and the resource of communication with the Spirit of God. I believe we would learn this in the hill country, which is available to every one of us. May we be encouraged along this line, for His name’s sake.
Word in meeting for ministry, Plainfield, N.J.
4 November 1975