September 4

The leadeth me beside the still waters. — PSALM xxiii. 2.

If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. — JOHN vii. 37, 38.

STRONGER symbol of intense unrest it would be difficult to find. The shipwrecked sailor, wave-tossed, under the burning heat of tropical sun, knows its full meaning. Fevered blood, throbbing temples, parched lips, burning throat, swollen tongue, — these combine to produce a climax of agony. Than extreme thirst, there is no worse physical torment. It wrings from the divine One the only expression of bodily anguish as he hangs upon the cross. "I thirst!" This is the material culmination. Dives looking up out of his place of torment and seeing Lazarus at rest in Abraham's bosom, begs for a drop of water to cool his thirsting tongue. Thirst, thirst! Fit symbol is it of the fevered unrest of a sin-driven soul. But what if a bubbling fountain has been opened beside the way? Surely thirsty men will halt and drink. What ecstasy as they quaff the crystal liquid and lave their dusty hands and bathe their weary brows! But Christ is such a fountain providentially opened beside life's tortuous way for thirsting souls. He is not some desert mirage, but a "well of living water." They who drink of this water shall cease thirsting. Art thou thirsty? Hark! The mighty Christ tenderly calleth, "Come unto me and drink!"

Henry A. Powell

Come, then, with all your wants and wounds,

Your every burden bring.

Here love, unchanging love abounds,

A deep, celestial spring.

SAMUEL MEDLEY (altered).