RIVERS OF LIVING WATER.

RIVERS OF LIVING WATER.
In John 7:1-53 the Spirit of God is brought before us again under the figure of Living Water, but the circumstances and instruction for our souls are different.
The feast of Tabernacles had come round, and all were going up to Jerusalem to keep it. It is noticeable in John's gospel that the feasts are always called "the feasts of the Jews" (John 2:13; John 6:4; John 7:2; John 11:55), whereas in Leviticus 23:1-44 they are declared to be "the feasts of Jehovah." This altered way of speaking of them is not without meaning; they had become mere forms; they were no longer occasions when loyal hearts gathered up to God's centre, because moved by a sense of His goodness. This had faded completely, and the feasts had degenerated into merely ritualistic observances. There was no longer anything in them for God.
The Lord's brethren urged Him to go up to the feast, to avail Himself of the opportunity of making Himself known to the world (John 7:1-5) They had no faith in His person. They saw not in Him the sent one of the Father, here for the accomplishment of the Father's will and glory. Their counsel was purely carnal; what else could be expected from them? The Lord did not go up when others did, but in the midst of the feast He went up, as it were in a private way. He went up, not to join in the hollow rejoicings of the season, but to meet the longing of any individual seeker who might happen to be among that religious crowd.
The feast of Tabernacles was a memorial of Israel's passage through the wilderness, and typifies the coming kingdom of Messiah when all Israel shall be restored, and be found in the land of their fathers, filled with the goodness of Jehovah. How solemn therefore, that the Lord Jesus should have to take His place entirely outside of its celebrations!
God hates mere forms. He cannot bear men who honour Him with their lips, while all the time their hearts are far from Him. Thus it was at Jerusalem. The feast was running its course; ritual was in full swing; all were filled with rejoicing; but the Son of God held Himself entirely aloof.
"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink" (John 7:37). It is possible there were some thirsty souls in the throng. Hearts in whom divine craving has been created by the Holy Spirit cannot be satisfied with the mere forms of religion. These satisfy flesh. Too often they serve as a veil to hide from the soul its true condition in the sight of a holy God. Flesh loves religion, and the more pompous it is the more it is loved. But true hearts want something more; whether they know it or not, Christ alone can satisfy them. Here we see the rejected Jesus outside all the display and religiousness of the hour, inviting any thirsty souls to come to Him and drink. What these could not find in mere religion, they would find in Him. And is it not so to-day? Can all the carnal forms and display of Christendom slake the thirst of a soul who is feeling after God? Nay, they keep the soul at a distance; they cast a cloud over it, and plunge it into distress and doubt. But Jesus can satisfy every longing. He is still outside. Those who really seek Him must go forth to Him without the camp, as Hebrews 13:13 speaks. Having found Him the heart is divinely satisfied. It never thirsts again. How can one thirst, knowing deliverance and acceptance, being assured of the Father's love, enjoying liberty of access to God through the rent veil, filled with the Holy Ghost, and taken up with Christ?
The Lord adds more. "He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake He of the Spirit which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified" (John 7:38-39). Here we have more than satisfaction for our souls, the gift of the Holy Spirit as an overflowing power. Observe, there could be no such thing until Jesus was glorified. He had received the Spirit personally at Jordan, as an expression of the infinite delight of the Father in Him; but He must go into death and accomplish redemption ere He could receive the Spirit in a new way for those who believe in His name (Luke 3:22; Acts 2:33).
Having thus the Spirit of God, we are responsible to be channels of blessing while passing through this arid scene. But I must be satisfied myself, yea, more than satisfied, ere I can impart to others. I cannot give away if I have not enough myself. What a test for all our hearts! Have we enough? Have we found in Christ risen and glorified sufficient to satisfy every desire of our souls? He was enough for Paul, everything else in comparison was as loss and dung (Php_3:1-8). "Freely ye have received, freely give." All around are needy souls. The world cannot meet their need, religion cannot meet it; those who have the truth can, by presenting Christ in all the glory of His person and the efficacy of His work. But it must flow from the inward parts, or but little blessing will result. That which comes from the head, while it may please the ear and charm the intellect, leaves the poor famished soul where it was before, unsatisfied, unfed. May the Spirit of God work so uninterruptedly in us all, ministering Christ to our souls, that we may overflow in happy, holy service, to the Lord's glory, and the blessing of man.