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And assured them of his readiness to impart whatsoever they stood in need of

He excepted none from his offers, provided they did but "thirst" for his blessings

What could have a more conciliatory effect on his bloodthirsty murderers?-]

Lest, however, his invitations should be slighted, he enforced it with

II. A promise

He first explained what he meant by "coming to him"

[It was not a mere outward, but an inward and spiritual application, that he wished them to make to himThey were to " believe in him," as possessing all fulness in himself

And as the person appointed of the Father to convey blessings to them"

In a full persuasion of this truth they were to come to him by faith

And to "draw water with joy from this well of salvation"-]

For their encouragement he promised them a rich effusion of his Spirit

[By "living water" our Lord meant the gift of his Spirit

That" rivers of this living water should flow out of his belly," imported, that the believer should have a constant spring of consolation within him, which should refresh all who came within the sphere of his influence—

Of this blessed truth the scriptures had abundantly testified

And our Lord now confirmed it to them by a most solemn promise

He assured them, as he had before done the Samaritan woman, that his communications to them should prove a source of unutterable and endless joy-]

We shall further IMPROVE this subject by addressing 1. Those who have no desire after spiritual blessings

e Col. i. 19.

d Ps. lxxii. 17.

e Ver. 39.

Some, because our Lord's words are not found in scripture, καθὼς εἶπεν η γραφη with ὁ πισεύων εἰς ἐμὲ; (translating εἶπεν, hath required) but there are many passages that speak to the same elfect, though not in his express terms. See Isaiah xliv. 3.

s John iv. 10, 13, 14.

[Alas! how many are there who are insatiable in their thirst after earthly things; but never once desire the blessings which Christ is exalted to bestow!

Perhaps too they think that they contract no guilt by their neglect of him—

But it is with no small indignation that God speaks of their conducth

Nor would their folly be hidden from themselves, if they only considered what "broken cisterns" the sources of their comfort have invariably proved

O that they would drink of the living fountain before they experience the want of one "drop of water to cool their tongues!"--]

2. Those who desire spiritual blessings, but know not where to go for them

[Many, like those whom our Lord addressed, look no further than to the outward duty

But he directed their eyes to himself as the true Siloam, the only fountain of good

Thus must we also direct you to faith in Christ, as the one means of obtaining blessings from him

Whatever delight you may take in duties, you must remember that ordinances are but the medium of communication between Christ and you—

And that the benefits you receive will be proportioned to the` faith you exercise on him-]

3. Those who desire spiritual blessings, but fear that Christ is unwilling to impart them

[Too many are discouraged because their prayers are not answered instantly

They conclude themselves so unworthy as to have excited nothing but aversion in the heart of Christ towards themBut are you unworthy? and were not they also to whom the text was addressed

Have you waited long in vain? and is there not a special promise given for your encouragement?.

Have you nothing to present to Christ in return? Then he bids you come without money and without price

Will it be an unparalleled act of mercy? Then is it that new thing which he has undertaken to perform"

Fear not then, but renew your application to him with increased fervour

And your soul shall ere long "be as a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not""-]

↳ Jer ii. 13.

Isaiah xli. 17, 18.
Isaiah xliii. 19, 20.

i John ix. 7.

1 Isaiah lv. 1. Rev. xxii. 17.*
Isaiah Iviii. 11.

CCCCXXX. THE HEAVY-LADEN INVITED TO

CHRIST.

Matt. xi. 28. Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavyladen, and I will give you rest.

IT is thought by many, that the gospel is a mere system of notions, which may be received without benefit, or rejected without loss. But it is rather proposed to us as a remedy for all the miseries, which sin has brought into the world. In it we are represented as guilty and undone: but Christ is set before us as a Saviour, and is exhibited under every figure that can unfold his excellency, or endear him to our souls. Under the Old Testament, he is shadowed forth as a brazen serpent to heal the wounded, as a city of refuge to protect the manslayer, and as a sacrifice to remove the sinner's guilt. In the New Testament, he speaks of himself as bread for the hungry, as living water for the thirsty, as a physician for the sick, and, to mention no more, as a kind and hospitable friend, who invites to him the weary and heavyladen.

In the words here addressed to us, we may notice I. The characters invited

Under the description of the weary and heavy-laden we must certainly include those, who groaned under the burthen of the Mosaic law

[The ceremonial law required a great multitude of ritual observances, which, to those who saw not their typical use and tendency, must have appeared frivolous and arbitrary; and, even to those who had some insight into their meaning, they were an irksome task, and an intolerable burthen. From this yoke however the Messiah was to deliver them; he was to annul the old covenant with all its ceremonies, and to establish a better covenant in its stead. When therefore our Lord proclaimed himself to be the Messiah, he invited to him all that were weary and heavy-laden with the Mosaic law, and assured them, that the yoke which he would impose upon them was light and easy-]

There is however a further reference to those who laboured under temporal afflictions

* Heb. viii. 8, 13.

[None are such strangers to the common lot of mortality, as not to know that mankind are subject to many grievous troubles. Indeed, such are the calamities incident to life, that few, who have been long in the world, can cordially "thank God for their creation." But more especially when the hand of God is heavy upon us, and we feel the weight of great and multiplied afflictions, we are ready to hate our very existence, and to "choose strangling rather than life." Many probably of those, to whom Jesus addressed himself, had drunk deep of the cup of sorrow: for their encouragement therefore he promised, that, whatever their trials were, whether in mind, or body, or estate, if only they would come to him, they should find a relief from all, or (what would be of equal value) support and comfort under their pressure-]

But doubtless we must principally understand by these terms those who are oppressed with a sense of sin

[Though all are sinners, all do not feel the weight of sin, because they know not what tremendous evils it has brought upon them. But when any are awakened from their lethargic state, and see what a good and holy God they have offended, they begin to tremble, lest the wrath of God should break forth upon- them to consume them utterly. Perhaps they obtain a transient peace by means of their repentance and reformation; but their subsequent falls and backslidings rend open the wounds afresh, and make them feel how hopeless their condition must be, if they be left to themselves. Even after they have attained peace through the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus, so that they no longer tremble for fear of condemnation, they groan more than ever under the burthen of their indwelling corruptions, saying, "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me?" These are the persons for whose relief our Lord came into the world, and whom, above all, he invited to him in the words before us-]

To ascertain more fully the import of his address, we proceed to consider

II. The invitation itself

By the expression, "Come unto me," our Lord could not mean to call them nearer to him, because they were already round about him: but, as he himself explains the words, he called them to believe on him; or, in other words, to come to him in the exercise of faith, of hope, and of love.

Its import will best appear in a short paraphrase

b Rom. vii. 24.

⚫ John vi. 35, 37, 44, 45, 65.

["To impart rest unto you all is the great end of my appearance in the world. Seek it therefore in me, and come to me, that ye may receive it at my hands. Turn not away from me as an impostor; for I am the very person referred to in your prophecies, and sent unto you by the Father. Go not any longer to the vanities of this world in search of rest; for it is not in them; it is a gift which none but myself can impart unto you. Keep not back, from an apprehension that you can make satisfaction for your own sins, or cleanse yourselves from your iniquities: for you can never have redemption, but through my blood; nor can you ever subdue your lusts, but by my all-sufficient grace. Neither delay your coming on account of your own unworthiness, as if it were necessary for you to bring some meritorious services as the price of my favour: come, just as you are, with all your sins upon you; stop not to heal yourselves in part; but come instantly to your Physician: come and receive all my blessings freely, "without money, and without price." Come in faith, believing me able to save you to the uttermost, and as willing as I am able. Come also in hope: let your expectations be enlarged: "ye are not straitened in me; be not straitened in your own bowels." Count up all the blessings of time; survey all the glories of eternity: stretch your imagination to the uttermost; ask all that eye ever saw, or ear heard, or heart conceived; and I will not only grant your requests, but give "exceeding abundantly above all that ye can ask or think:" open your mouths wide, and I will fill them." Come moreover in love. Be not like persons driven to me through mere necessity, and influenced by nothing but a dread of condemnation; but contemplate my character, meditate on my kindness, strive to comprehend the heights and depths of my love; and let a sense of my love constrain you to walk with me, to depend upon me, to delight yourselves in me.

Such may be supposed the import of the invitation. And every one who is weary and heavy-laden, whatever his burthen be, may consider it as addressed to himself in particular, as much as ever it was to those, who waited on the personal ministry of our Lord. Let us then hear him thus inviting us, as it were, with his dying breath, and from his throne of glory: and let us go to him with one accord; yea, let us fly to him on the wings of love, even as the doves to their windows"-]

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That nothing might be wanting to give efficacy to his invitation, our Lord added

III. The promise with which it is enforced

The world are glad to see us in our prosperity, and

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