Morning, December 31
Go To Evening Reading
“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.”
John 7:37
Patience had her perfect work in the Lord Jesus, and until the last day of the feast he pleaded
with the Jews, even as on this last day of the year he pleads with
us, and waits to be gracious to us. Admirable indeed is the longsuffering
of the Saviour in bearing with some of us year after year, notwithstanding
our provocations, rebellions, and resistance of his Holy Spirit. Wonder
of wonders that we are still in the land of mercy!
Pity expressed herself most plainly , for Jesus cried , which implies not only the loudness of his voice, but the tenderness
of his tones. He entreats us to be reconciled. “We pray you,” says the Apostle, “as though God did beseech you by us.” What earnest, pathetic terms are these! How deep must be the love
which makes the Lord weep over sinners, and like a mother woo his
children to his bosom! Surely at the call of such a cry our willing
hearts will come.
Provision is made most plenteously ; all is provided that man can need to quench his soul’s thirst. To his conscience the atonement brings peace; to his understanding
the gospel brings the richest instruction; to his heart the person
of Jesus is the noblest object of affection; to the whole man the
truth as it is in Jesus supplies the purest nutriment. Thirst is terrible,
but Jesus can remove it. Though the soul were utterly famished, Jesus
could restore it.
Proclamation is made most freely , that every thirsty one is welcome. No other distinction is made
but that of thirst. Whether it be the thirst of avarice, ambition,
pleasure, knowledge, or rest, he who suffers from it is invited. The
thirst may be bad in itself, and be no sign of grace, but rather a
mark of inordinate sin longing to be gratified with deeper draughts
of lust; but it is not goodness in the creature which brings him the
invitation, the Lord Jesus sends it freely, and without respect of
persons.
Personality is declared most fully . The sinner must come to Jesus, not to works, ordinances, or doctrines,
but to a personal Redeemer, who his own self bare our sins in his
own body on the tree. The bleeding, dying, rising Saviour, is the
only star of hope to a sinner. Oh for grace to come now and drink,
ere the sun sets upon the year’s last day!
No waiting or preparation is so much as hinted at. Drinking represents
a reception for which no fitness is required. A fool, a thief, a harlot
can drink; and so sinfulness of character is no bar to the invitation
to believe in Jesus. We want no golden cup, no bejewelled chalice,
in which to convey the water to the thirsty; the mouth of poverty
is welcome to stoop down and quaff the flowing flood. Blistered, leprous,
filthy lips may touch the stream of divine love; they cannot pollute
it, but shall themselves be purified. Jesus is the fount of hope.
Dear reader, hear the dear Redeemer’s loving voice as he cries to each of us,
“IF ANY MAN THIRST,
LET HIM
COME UNTO ME
AND DRINK.”