March 4

John iv.—1. When, therefore, the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,

2. (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples.) 3. He left Judæa, and departed again into Galilee. 4. And he must needs go through Samaria. 5. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6. Now, Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well; and it was about the sixth hour. 7. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 9. Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of

me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

10. Jesus answered and said unto her, 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. 11. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence, then, hast thou that living water? 12. Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13. Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14. But whosoever 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. 15. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

In going northward from Judæa into Galilee, our Lord would necessarily pass through the central district of Palestine, then perpled by the descendants of the colony sent by the king of Assyria to occupy the cities from which he had carried away the Israelites into captivity. These "Samaritans," originally idolaters, had embraced in part the Mosaic law, and set up a temple of their own upon Mt. Gerizim. Between this mountain on the south, and Ebal on the north, about one-third of a mile in width, lies the Vale of Shechem, a lovely valley of groves, gardens, and orchards, kept green and fresh by springs and rivulets, and shaded with the soft gray tints of the olive. In the midst of this enchanting verdure, and surrounded by fountains and purling brooks, stands a picturesque town of white houses, crowning the upper end of the valley; and at the mouth of the valley, barely two miles below, is the well which saved history and unbroken tradition identify with the name of Jacob. By the side of this well Jesus halted at noon

to rest, while his disciples went up to Sychar to buy provisions.

How tenderly is the Saviour brought home to our sympathies by the fact that he was weary and thirsty?—"a poor wayfaring man of grief;" and how wondrous that union of divine grace with human weakness which made this weary, thirsty man the source to us of full and abiding strength and consolation! He who receives Christ has within himself the power of an endless life. Whatever his earthly privations and wants, he possesses an inward satisfaction which nothing can disturb; a supply of strength, comfort, hope, joy, that nothing can exhaust. The well is within him, and it is deep; but it bubbles up with its perennial fulness, and causes the eye and the lip to sparkle with the exuberant life and strength and joy within. May Christ be to every one of us the all-sympathizing and the all-suffering Saviour!

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 3, 192, 195.

O God, who art the fountain of life and light, the source of all blessing! we give thee thanks for the light of this morning; for the gifts of thy kind providence; for the continuance of our reason; for the throne of the heavenly grace. We praise thee for the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. May his word dwell in us richly in all wisdom and spiritual understanding! For him we bless thee; for all he taught and did and suffered; for his glorious doctrines, and perfect righteousness, and atoning death; for the example he has left, the promises he has made to his Church, and his intercession at thy right hand; and for the certainty that all who come unto thee by him shall be saved with an everlasting salvation. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. Oh that each one of us may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death! May

Christ be in us the hope of glory! May his truth and grace satisfy all the longings of our souls, and be in us a well of living water!

Give us this day, we beseech thee, the favors of thy good providence, and keep us in thy love. Prepare us for the duties of the day. Let those who remain at home, and those who resort to business, study, or recreation, be continually mindful that the omnipresent One is round about them. Be gracious to all our friends. Take this household, we pray thee, under thy protection: keep us all from sin, from danger, and from death. [Oh! teach these children the blessedness of trusting Jesus as their Saviour; of knowing, loving, serving him as their Friend.] Be continually in our home. Evermore make a temple of our hearts; and let us at last reach the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, for His sake who died, and rose again, and ever liveth to make intercession for us. Amen.