the source of this river, so it is to Him likewise—the infinite God-that all its streams do tend. Just as the contents of the clouds, after being evaporated from the deep, and after refreshing and fertilising the thirsty earth, return to the sea again through the channels of the rivers; so all the branches of this river of life shall at length be swallowed up and lost in the ocean of divine love, where they had their first original.

But it may be asked, in what respects does a river gladden a city? In various respects, as, for example, by its cleansing and refreshing influences. What could a city do any where but especially in the scorching climate of the East-without water, that precious and all-important necessary of human life? Hence it was one of the most ancient stratagems of war to cut off from a beleaguered fortress its supply of water, according to the proud boast of Rabshakeh, "with the sole of my foot I have dried up all the rivers of besieged places." Now, under no figure of speech are the leading spiritual blessings of the gospel -pardon and purity-comfort and holiness-more frequently set forth than under the figure of water, whether used externally for ablution or internally to allay thirst. "Wash me," said David, in allusion to the ceremonial washings under the law, "wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and purge me from my sin." "Then," saith God, in answer to prayer, "will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean-from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you." From the pierced side of the crucified Jesus there runs a stream of water and of blood — the blood of justification—the water of

sanctification-it flows forth freely to all the ends of the earth. But the virtue of this river of God's city is no less refreshing than it is purifying. Are there any souls here to-night who, amid the dust and toils of this nether world, are eagerly panting for happiness as the hart panteth for the water brooks? "When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I, the Lord, will hear them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water." He who has promised to be as rivers of water in a dry place, cries, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink; yea, whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." How unspeakably tender do these urgent invitations of the Saviour appear when we recollect how well He knew in his own experience the agonies of bodily thirst!

(2.)

Thou who did'st sit on Jacob's well,

The weary hour of noon,

The languid pulses thou can'st tell,
The nerveless spirit tune;

Thou from whose cross in anguish burst

The cry that owned thy dying thirst!
To thee we turn, our first and last,

Our sun and soothing moon.

A river gladdens by its salubrity. It is not the turbid and sluggish rivulet, nor the stagnant and putrescent marsh, spreading pestilence and death, but the river whose limpid waters, in continuous motion, diffuse freshness and health all around. In the church of Christ blow the gentle but invigorating gales which

impart to the soul spiritual strength and spiritual beauty. And often is it seen in the Christian's experience, that at the very time when the outward man is decaying, the inward man is renewing day by day. Yea, and does not that best deserve the name of health which is convalescence of spirit,-the soul casting off with triumph the death-struck form which encumbers it ? for what is that but the commencement and * earnest of the glorious and unfading youth which shall be enjoyed in the paradise of God? Beloved, we wish above all things, that your souls may be in health and prosper.

(3.) A river gladdens by suggesting the association of peacefulness. This is a leading idea in the text, the peaceful flow of the river of God being contrasted with the raging of the seas mentioned in the foregoing verse. It is not beside the tempestuous ocean whose waves roar and are troubled, the very hills shaking with the swelling thereof, it is not on the stormy mountain brow by the banks of a swollen and impetuous torrent, it is not even by the smooth current of the brook just before it is dashed over the precipice; but it is in a sheltered and peaceful vale, where gentle streams wind along in a placid and equable course. And thus saith Jehovah of his Zion, "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream." And to the sinner, who by impenitence and unbelief refuses to be numbered among Zion's sons, He says, "Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments, then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the regular, swelling, majestic waves of the sea, when unchafed by ocean's storms. But the wicked are

like the troubled sea, when driven into tumult by the wind; it cannot rest, and its waters cast forth mire. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”

(4.) A river gladdens by its fertility. It is not an arid and barren tract—a dry and thirsty land where no water is—but a spot where the soil is irrigated and rendered productive, like the plain of Jordan, wellwatered in every part, even as Eden, the garden of the Lord, with its four rivers. In the spiritual Jerusalem flows that river of God which is full of water, with which he abundantly refreshes and greatly enriches his vineyard. The moisture it imparts to the trees of righteousness, clothes their foliage with perennial verdure, and loads their branches with seasonable fruit. Under its genial influence, even the young shall spring up as willows by the water-courses, and the aged, flourishing as the palm-tree in the spots of living green, shall still bring forth fruit and be fat and flourishing. O God! thou canst change the glowing sand into a pool, and make the desert land springs of water. Send down thy Spirit on those parts of the earth that have hitherto been the most barren of thy praise. Even in the dry places that have too long been the habitation of unclean spirits, let there be grass, with reeds and rushes. And at home and abroad do thou so water thine Israel, that it may be again acknowledged by their enemies, "As the valleys are they spread forth; as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters."

(5.) A river gladdens by its beauty, combined with its utility. We need not go far from the place where we are met we need only survey the fair face of

nature in our immediate neighbourhood, to perceive what loveliness and interest are imparted to a landscape by a deep river gradually expanding its bosom towards the sea, and pouring into it incessantly the tribute of is many waters. And our pleasure is greatly enhanced when, in addition to this, we see it rendered subservient to the great purposes of navigation, and witness on it the ever busy scenes of commerce, and sometimes the more gay and airy exhibitions of naval pageantry. It is not always the picturesque in nature that is the most useful, but here, by the ingenuity of man, both are combined. In man's ingenuity let us adore his Maker's wisdom. Christians! have you no pleasing prospects, no enchanting landscapes when walking by the side of your streams? Rather how various, how attractive, how endearing, how impressive and improving, are the objects which every where in the Gospel strike the eye and fix the heart! And these living waters are useful as well as pleasant, for is it not by means of them that you carry on profitable intercourse with the land that is afar off, the merchandise of which is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold?

(6.) A river gladdens by its abundance and the perpetuity of its supplies. It is not an insignificant rill from a broken cistern,-it is not a summer brook, irregular in its flow and speedily dried up,-it is not one stream merely, but the river of many streams coming from springs whose waters fail not, but which continue to hold on their undiminished and majestic course from age to age. What can be more descriptive of the abundance and perpetuity of all the various spiritual blessings which we have described as consti