Springs of Water

"A spring shut up, a fountain sealed." Sol. 4:12. Such is the spouse to the bridegroom. Hitherto we have been considering what God is for us and what springs of living water He provides for us, hut this verse gives us what we, as the spouse, are to Christ. The thought in "shut up and sealed" is similar to that of the "garden enclosed": something reserved for His special delight, something to be partaken of and used when and how He pleases. In John 4:14 our Lord Jesus speaks of the well of water springing up into everlasting life. Here the well-spring that He has put within the believer is opened, or unsealed, and in the power of the Holy Spirit springs up to God its source, in that worship in Spirit and in truth which He seeks for and which gives refreshment to His heart.
What a privilege that the overflowing of such hearts as ours, filled by Himself, can thus rise up in that which gives joy to Him, even our praises, worship and thanksgiving. In John 7:37-38 the Lord Jesus promises to give the thirsty one who comes to Him living water in abundance. When He opens the floodgates, "rivers of living water" flow outward to thirsty ones around in the power of the Holy Spirit that He was going to give them when He had been glorified. Thus, in the springing upward and flowing outward, the Lord is refreshed and glorified.