And now I live in Him.
III.
The Drawing of Water.
How are we to draw water from the wells of salvation ?
1. By Prayer. And prayer is asking. To the Samaritan woman Jesus said, " Thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." Prayer is coming. To the crowds in the Temple He said, "Let him come unto me, and drink." Prayer is believing. To the listeners by the Sea of Galilee He said, " He that believeth on me shall never thirst."
2. By the Word and Sacraments. " The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption are His ordinances, especially the word, sacra-
152 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE
ments and prayer." How the Word and Prayer are associated Dr. Whyte shows by quoting from M'Cheyne's Letter to a Boy. " You read your Bible regularly, of course ; but do try to under- stand it, and still more to feel it. Eead more parts than one at a time. For example, if you are reading Genesis, read a Psalm also ; or if you are reading Matthew, read a small bit of an Epistle also. Turn the Bible into Prayer." And how the Word and the Sacraments agree together he shows by quoting the old Scotch preacher, Bruce. " It wald be speered, Quherefore are sacraments annexed, seeing we gat na mair in the sacrament nor we get in the word ? Thy hart cannot wist nor imagine a greater gift nor to have the Sonne of God, quha is King of heaven and earth. And, therefore, I say, quhat new thing wald thou have ? The sacrament is appointed that we may get a better grip of Christ nor we get in the simple word. The sacraments are appointed that I might have Him mair fullie in my saul ; that He might make the better residence in me. This, na doubt, is the cause quherefore thir seales are annexed to the evident of the simple word."
The Samaritan woman said, "Sir, give me this water that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw." But she was alto- gether mistaken. Por as long as we are in the body we will thirst. And the oftener we have been at the ordinances before, drawing water, the greater will be our longing to come again. " When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing" (Ps. cxxvi. 1, 2).
Why ? Because once more they would have the opportunity of ascending the hill of Zion for God's worship. It was because he had been there before that the psalmist said, " I was glad when they said unto me. Let us go into the house of the Lord " (cxxii. 1).
II Many years ago some skylarks were liberated on Long Island, and they became established there, and may now occasionally be heard in certain localities. One summer day a lover of birds journeyed out from the city in order to observe them. A lark was soaring and singing in the sky above him. An old Irishman came along and suddenly stopped as if transfixed to the spot. A look of mingled delight and incredulity came into his face. Was he indeed hearing the bird of his youth ? He took off his hat and
ISAIAH 153
turned his face skyward, and with moving lips and streaming eyes stood a long time regarding the bird. " Ah," thought the student of science, " if I could only hear that song with his ears ! " To the man of science it was only a bird-song to be critically com- pared with a score of others, but to the other it brought back his youth and all those long-gone days on his native hills.^
IV.
With Joy.
1. The discovery of the well is an occasion of joy. Professor William James defines conversion. His definition is a conclusion drawn from the experience of a multitude of persons who had been converted. This is his definition : " Conversion is the pro- cess, gradual or sudden, by which a self hitherto divided, and consciously wrong inferior and unhappy, becomes unified, and consciously right superior and happy, in consequence of its firmer hold upon religious realities." ^ The Philippian jailer " rejoiced in God, believing with all his house."
IT The opening of a well is a time of rejoicing. " The night is passed in dancing and festivity. A goat is sacrificed at the mouth of the well. The Sheyks and Marabouts of Tamerna, and the leading men of the neighbouring villages, gather round it to recite their prayers. The musicians of Tuggurt and Temacin range themselves in the midst. The young girls surround them dancing. The men, according to their wont, fire their guns in the air. All the inhabitants give themselves up to a manifestation of triumph and delight, such as only those, perhaps, who are acquainted by experience with what the word water means in the desert can understand." ^
2. And every time that we come hither to draw is a time of rejoicing, until the Christian character becomes a character of joy. Phillips Brooks points out that there is often a buoyancy and freshness in indifferent, unregenerate and thoughtless people which may be woefully lacking in intelligent, conscientious and patient men. The intelligent man turns into a pedant, the conscientious man turns into a drudge, the patient man grovels