every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters." Jesus by the well of Sychar said to the woman, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water." So to the jubilant multitude celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles, and perhaps at the very moment when the priest was filling the golden vial with water from the fount of Siloam, or was bearing it with great solemnity amid the clangor of trumpets through the gate of the Temple, "Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink."

What now is to be said of this gracious well?

I. It is near. Water at hand is a convenience; it may be as important as life. What Hagar needed was water there. Now Christ is this present well. It is said of the man in Bahurim that he "had a well in his court." This well is on our own premises; we have not to go to the neighbors, or One of the glorious

to seek a public fountain.

names of Christ is Immanuel, God with us. We have not to ascend, or descend, or go; we have only to open our eyes and see. It is said of a ship's crew whose fresh water failed, that, meeting

another vessel above the mouth of the Amazon, they applied for a supply, when they were told they were sailing in fresh water, and had only to cast out their buckets and take. So Christ is near; we can reach Him with a touch. Hagar despaired in opposition to experience, promise, and fact. She said, "Let me not see the death of the child." She forgot that God saw her, and she had no idea that water was near.

2. This well is easy to draw from. It would be tantalizing to have water near, but no way of reaching it. The woman of Samaria said, "Sir, Thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep." It is not so of this well. quire contrivances and effort.

It does not reNeither is it in

possession of an enemy, to be reached by violence. It is not like the well Esek, for which the herdmen of Gerar strove, or that of Bethlehem by the gate, for whose waters David in the cave of Adullam longed. There are those who place processes and ordinances between the soul and Christ. Sanctification is a work and growth, but justification is an act. Law-works are a hedge about the well. It is not the cup so much as the water in it, that one needs. We may point to the 8th of Romans, but it is better to point to Christ. Spurgeon has

a most excellent sermon on "The plain man's pathway to Peace." He speaks of an old fishwife who criticised Bunyan for making Evangelist ask, "Do you see that wicket gate? Do you see that light?" whereas he should have said, "Do you see Jesus Christ hanging on the cross?" Christ is a gift; the gospel is expressed in the two words, "Only believe."

3. This well is free; it is accessible to all. There are no restrictions or limitations in the offer. The cry is, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and lest any may think some price is to be paid, it is added, “And he that hath no money, come ye, buy wine and milk without money and without price. "Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." It is the glory of this well that it invites all to partake. It is not the well of the private garden; it is the spring by the wayside. It is not the fountain where fashion resorts and money is paid; it is the free, priceless beverage that God offers to all. The story is told of a group of little girls who sought to find the most precious word in all the Bible. It was "whosoever."

4. This well is satisfying; its water quenches thirst. Jesus said to the woman of Samaria,

"Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst." It is a common experience that the world cannot satisfy. Man has a soul of vast desires, and all that the world can offer riches, honors, pleasures like stimulants, that increase the thirst and make the fever rage the more. Solomon tried all, and he cried, "Vanity!" But he who comes to Christ finds all the desires of his soul met. Now he

sings,

"Oppressed with noonday's scorching heat,

To yonder cross I flee;

Beneath its shelter take my seat:

No shade like this for me!

"Beneath that cross clear waters burst,

A fountain sparkling free;

And there I quench my desert thirst:
No spring like this for me!"

are

5. The water from this well restores; it is lifeimparting. Not like the waters of Marah which needed Moses' tree, or those of Jericho which needed Elisha's salt, — it is a divinely opened well, full of purity, sweetness, and life. It heals the disorders of the soul; it raises the dying to life. The story of Mungo Park's suffering from thirst in Africa is familiar: the cattle fighting for the little

water that was to be had, or licking up the black mud from the gutters near the wells; the people of the camp but little better supplied, and none more poorly than himself. "At night," he writes,

my situation was like that of Tantalus. No sooner had I shut my eyes, than fancy would carry me to the streams and rivers of my native land. There, as I wandered along the verdant bank, I surveyed the clear stream with transport, and hastened to swallow the delightful draught; but alas! disappointment awakened me, and I found myself a lonely captive, perishing of thirst amid the wilds of Africa." Now, what a discovered well would have been to him, that is what Christ is to a perishing sinner. Oh, the glory of this Christ, whose grace is equal to man's greatest peril and direst need!

“Early, my God, without delay,

I haste to seek Thy face;

My thirsty spirit faints away,
Without Thy cheering grace.

"So pilgrims on the scorching sand,
Beneath a burning sky,

Long for a cooling stream at hand,
And they must drink or die."

6. This well is never dry. It is not like the wells of Judah in the days of Jeremiah, of which it is