Morning, February 17
Go To Evening Reading
“Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi.”
Genesis 25:11
Hagar had once found deliverance there and Ishmael had drank from
the water so graciously revealed by the God who liveth and seeth the
sons of men; but this was a merely casual visit, such as worldlings
pay to the Lord in times of need, when it serves their turn. They
cry to him in trouble, but forsake him in prosperity. Isaac dwelt there, and made the well of the living and all-seeing God his constant
source of supply. The usual tenor of a man’s life, the dwelling of his soul, is the true test of his state. Perhaps the providential
visitation experienced by Hagar struck Isaac’s mind, and led him to revere the place; its mystical name endeared
it to him; his frequent musings by its brim at eventide made him familiar
with the well; his meeting Rebecca there had made his spirit feel
at home near the spot; but best of all, the fact that he there enjoyed
fellowship with the living God, had made him select that hallowed
ground for his dwelling. Let us learn to live in the presence of the
living God; let us pray the Holy Spirit that this day, and every other
day, we may feel, “Thou God seest me.” May the Lord Jehovah be as a well to us, delightful, comforting,
unfailing, springing up unto eternal life. The bottle of the creature
cracks and dries up, but the well of the Creator never fails; happy
is he who dwells at the well, and so has abundant and constant supplies
near at hand. The Lord has been a sure helper to others: his name
is Shaddai, God All-sufficient; our hearts have often had most delightful
intercourse with him; through him our soul has found her glorious
Husband, the Lord Jesus; and in him this day we live, and move, and
have our being; let us, then, dwell in closest fellowship with him.
Glorious Lord, constrain us that we may never leave thee, but dwell
by the well of the living God.