should come to him, and believe in him, should never hunger, never thirstb ;" that " of those who should come to him, he would never cast out onec ;" that " all who should see him and believe in him should assuredly have everlasting lifed;" yea, that they were at that very moment in actual possession of ite; that he had come down from heaven on purpose to bestow it on all who would seek it through himf : that, as the Jews had subsisted upon manna in the wilderness, so all who would eat his flesh, and drink his blood, should subsist by him g, and that not for a time only, but for everh. Now what could all this mean ? Could any declaration be more full, more rich, more suitable to men sojourning in this dreary wilderness ?
Thus, then, may every believer say : for the whole Scrip- ture teems with invitations and promises from this adorable Saviour, and especially to those who feel their need of mercy at his hands. " Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest !' " Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto your souls : for my yoke is easy, and my burthen is light1." " If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink : and out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waterk. Here is no exception: the only requisite for acceptance with him is, that we feel our need of him, and come to him to quench our thirst.
What can we want more ? Let our wants be ever so great, he has a fulness adequate to the supply of them : and let our unworthiness be ever so great, our sense of that unworthiness shall be our best recommendation to him : nor shall our inca- pacity to offer him any thing in return for these benefits be any bar to our acceptance : since they are all offered freely, " without money and without price1." Shall we then decline going to him ? or, having gone to him, shall we ever depart from him ? God forbid !]
But the Christian will yet more deter minately ad- here to him,
III. Because he is expressly appointed to that very office —
[Of this the Apostles were assured: "We believe, and are sure, that thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God." It had been foretold that the Messiah should appear, on pur- pose " to finish transgression, to make an end of sin, to make
b ver. 35. c ver. 37. (1 ver. 40.
e ver. 47. f ver. 51. ' e ver. 54 — 56.
h ver. 58. ' Matt. xi. 28 — 30. k John vii. 37, 38.
1 Isai. Iv. 1.