and the water, was the same that still nourishes the Church of God. To elucidate this we may observe, it was the same,
1. In its nature and substance —
[As their bodies could not have maintained their vigour without the daily use of bread and water, so neither could tlieir souls flourish, unless they daily fed upon Christ, the living bread, and received from him renewed communications of his Spirit. And are there any other means of subsistence for our souls? Has not our Lord expressly told us, that " except we eat his flesh and drink his blood, we have no life in us ? " Has not St. Paul also assured us, that none can belong to Christ unless they be partakers of his Spirit'? We are as destitute of strength in ourselves as the Israelites were ; and need the same direction, support, and succour. If any man could be sufficient of himself, surely the great Apostle of the Gentiles was : but he corrects himself instantly when he appeared to have suggested an idea that was capable of that interpretation ; " I live," says he, " yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me^." This is precisely what the believers in the wilderness did, when they subsisted on their spiritual food; and it is what every believer must do as long as the world shall stand.]
2. In its use and tendency — [The daily supply of manna, and of the water from the rock, continually reminded them of their dependence upon God, and encouraged them to serve him with a willing mind. But the conveyance of spiritual blessings to them under these symbols would go further still, and actually produce the dis- positions, which the outward blessings could only tacitly recommend. And what are the dispositions which the eating of the bread of life, and the drinking of the living water uni- formly create? Do they not lead us to a dependence on God's care, and a devotedness to his service? The very end for which our Saviour died, was, that they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them : no doubt therefore his love, when shed abroad in the heart, will incline us to do this^; and his grace communicated to the soul, will enable us to do it.]
We may learn from hence,
1. In what spirit we should attend the ordinances of the Gospel —
i Rom. viij. 9. '^ Gal. ii. 20. ' 2 Cor. v. 14, 15.