See the love of God also commended by the vast and boundless good to which, in this mysterious way, he would raise the lost and perishing. That good commences upon earth. The undone sinner, when led to Christ, is "justified," has "peace with God," possesses all good in his favour, becomes his child, and partakes of his tender love. In Christ, having become a humble believer, he has a Saviour all-compassionate and almightya Shepherd that safely guards all his flock-an Advocate that ever lives to intercede for him; and in the Holy Spirit he has a helper, a strengthener, a teacher, and comforter. All the promises belong to him. Poor in himself, he is rich in Christ. Mansions await him in his Father's house, and he will rest waiting the fulfilment of all his Saviour's promises at the resurrection and the judgment-day. When that day comes, his happiness and triumph will be perfected. The newly-raised body will bear the image of its heavenly Lord, and be fashioned like his glorious body, 1 Cor. xv. 49; Phil. iii. 20, 21. He yet will confess his followers before the assembled world, and give to each the "crown of life," "glory," and "righteousness,"" that fadeth not away." And all this holiness and happiness will continue through eternity. A criminal condemned to death was reprieved. The kind friend who conveyed the message of mercy, fearful of too much excitement, merely told him that it would be better for him to live for another week. "A week !" said the poor convict, "a week! that is a long time!"—and fainted away through excess of joy. And if such was his joy when supposing that but one week was added to a forfeited life, what should be our feelings of rapture and thankfulness for salvation from eternal death, and the sweet hope of eternal life, through the sufferings of God's beloved Son? Blessed God, how cold is our most fervent gratitude! how feeble our loftiest praise! The views thus taken every reader should bring home to himself. I am a criminal for whom Jesus suffered. God commended his love towards me, in that, while I was a sinner, Christ died for me-died to save me from those depths of woe, and to raise me to those heights of endless life. Shall he not have my heart? Blessed Jesus, take it now. Shall not my soul be committed to him? O Lamb of God, receive it into thy care and keeping now! Shall I forget thee? Let my right hand forget its cunning, if I do. "God forbid that I should glory save in thy cross, Lord Jesus Christ!" "Were the whole realm of Nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all!" "COME YE TO THE WATERS." IN the Bible, spiritual truth is often taught by figures suggested by the country in which the writers dwelt. Thus, in the 55th chapter of Isaiah, waters, as well as wine and milk, are spoken of in order to point out spiritual blessings, or those good things which man, as a sinner, wants, and which God is able and willing to give. To these blessings every reader is now invited in the words, "Come ye to the waters." Will you not accept them? Come to the waters and be cleansed. Your mind and heart are unclean in the sight of God; and if you saw yourself as he sees you, you would cry out, "Unclean! unclean!" and would. loathe your abominations. In such a condition you cannot have communion with God in this world, nor behold his glory in another. Only the pure in heart shall see God, Matt. v. 8. And without holiness no man shall see the Lord, Heb. xii. 14; Rev. xxi. 27. But that you may not perish in your sins, God bids you come, through Jesus Christ, that you may be cleansed from all your defilement. These waters have cleansed multitudes, who are now before the throne of God without spot. Come ye and be washed from your sins. Thus there will arise peace and joy in believing, and you will abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost, Rom. xv. 13. Come to the waters and be refreshed. Are you weary of the world-tired of its follies and pleasures? Are you weary, in passing through it, from trials, privations, and sufferings? Are you weary through a sense of sin and guilt? Have you found out that you have been living all your life in rebellion against God, and that you are therefore every moment liable to be cast into hell? Or if, by believing in Christ, you have already obtained forgiveness, and are now numbered with his children, yet, nevertheless, are weary because of the conflicts and temptations of life,-then come to the waters and be refreshed. Come to the waters and be satisfied. "If any man thirst,” said Jesus, "let him come unto me, and drink," John vii. 37. For "unto him that is athirst I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely," Rev. xxi. 6. You have within you a sense of want. You are needy. You are craving something, though perhaps you scarcely know what it is you want; but you are restless and uneasy. Many, in your state of mind, have sought for satisfaction in worldly amusements-sinful indulgences; but they have always been disappointed. The tap-room, the gambling-table, the theatre, the ball-room, the fair, the horse-race, never have yielded, and never can yield, pure delight to the human heart. The heart wants God, and the blessings of his salvation. "Whosoever," saith the Saviour, "drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life," John iv. 14. And this water he will give to you if you ask him for it, John iv. 10. He never denies it to the poor and the needy who call upon him for it in sincerity and faith, Isa. xli. 17, 18. Do you need encouragement or help to accept this merciful invitation? Surely the invitation itself is a sufficient warrant to come to come now, just as you are, with all your wants, and with large expectations. Still, through a sense of your unworthiness, or because of Satan's temptations, you may doubt your right to come, and may even think that if you do come, you will be sent away unblessed. If so, think of the Being who invites you. Isaiah speaks in the name of the Lord, and the invitation comes from God himself. And can you hesitate when He calls? If a hungry man were invited to a feast, would he not go? If a poor man were invited by a rich one to share his wealth, would he not most readily accept the offer? If the Queen were to invite a number of her subjects to be entertained after a royal manner, would they not attend? Indeed they would. Why, then, do you not come to the waters at God's bidding? God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit invite you. The church, those believers who have drunk of the waters, invites. "The 66 COME YE TO THE WATERS." 3 Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely," Rev. xxii. 17. Consider also who are invited, as well as who invites. God calls-but whom? Oh! this is a most important question. It is not the worthy, the good, the pure, the faithful, the righteous, who have never sinned against him,-for there are none such ; nor is it those whose hearts have been cleansed, and who are now his loving, obedient children. The poor, the wretched, the miserable, the wicked-in a word, the lost and the undone, the impenitent and the perishing, these are all invited. Read the Scriptures, and see that it is so: "Ho, every one that thirsteth,"-and as the thirst is inward, anxious and longing minds, without respect to character, are called-" come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money"-he that is so spiritually poor as to be unable to pay the smallest possible price for any one of God's gifts-" come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not?" that is, you are toiling for that which, if you obtain it, has no power to satisfy the soul. Therefore, says the Lord, "Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon," Isa. Iv. 1-7. Who, then, after reading all this, can say, I am not invited to the waters? And for the waters themselves, be assured they are accessible, and ever at hand. One earnest prayer, one godly effort, through the teaching and help of the Holy Spirit, will take you to the wells of salvation, whence you may draw large supplies. These waters, too, are deep and plentiful. They never fail; like the rock in the wilderness, they follow the disciples of the Lord all their journey through. They are waters of mighty efficacy. They not only cleanse, refresh, and satisfy, but they heal, they quicken, they make fruitful, they secure growth, and they enliven. Reader, will you not come to them? Perhaps YOU HAVE NO INCLINATION to come. If so, Christian faithfulness demands that your case should be plainly stated. Have you not yet come to the waters? What must we infer from this? You have no taste for spiritual blessings; the appetite of your heart is depraved. And what a sad, fearful state is this to be in! It should make you tremble, and fill you with shame. The blessings of salvation, which Christ died to procure, and the pleasures of sin to the joys of God. About an interest in Christ, the favour of God, and the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit, you are unconcerned. The affairs of this life take up all your time and thought. In the world you are alive and active; but with regard to the everlasting welfare of the soul, you are sleeping the sleep of death. But "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light," Eph. v. 14. "What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God," Jonah i. 6. You care not to forego all the privileges, enjoyments, and honours of true Christians, both in this world and the next; just as if real religion were a foolish dream, as if the unsearchable riches of Christ were lying vanities, and as if the descriptions of heaven and glory in the Bible were nothing more than idle tales. You are deceived-indeed you are. The god of this world has blinded your eyes, and hardened your heart, and he is leading you on to perdition. Consider your way. Turn to the Lord. Cast off the yoke of sin. Look to Jesus. Study his word. Believe the gospel. Build on the foundation which God has laid in Zion. Can any earthly blessings be a substitute for the salvation of the Lord Jesus, and for the life and peace which he gives? "What will it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his soul?" To reach the living fountains of waters in the paradise of God, in another world, depends on your coming to the waters of salvation in this. "He that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him," John iii. 36. Then come, oh! come, and " come now to the waters." Reader! it may be that you HAVE COME to the waters. Happy being! Have you ever regretted coming to the waters? No, never. Your only regret is that you did not come before. Had you accepted the invitation earlier, many sinful practices would have been prevented, many evil companions would have been avoided, and you would have been spared many bitter reflections. Have you not been amply repaid for coming to the waters? Yes. You parted with sin, but you found holiness. You gave up the world, but you obtained Christ. You incurred, perhaps, the displeasure of relatives and friends, but you have enjoyed the presence and friendship of God. To come to Christ is to be blessed for time and for eternity. This you know. Rejoice then, yourself, and invite others to the waters which have afforded you so much refreshment and delight. Ho, ye that pant for living streams, 66 And pine away and die; Here you may quench your raging thirst |