John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that said to you, Give me to drink… I. THE GIFT OF GOD. 1. There is nothing that is not a gift of God. "Every good and perfect gift is from above." But what are all earthly gifts combined compared to the gift of God's only-begotten Son? 2. The greatest gift sanctifies all minor ones: as the sun beautifies the tamest landscape. Christ is like the numeral which, put before the unmeaning cyphers, invests them with value. 3. While feelingly alive to God's goodness in His other gifts we can heartily join in the estimate of the apostle, "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift." With this, "Having nothing we possess all things." II. LIVING WATER — the purchased blessing of Christ's salvation, beginning with pardon here, and culminating in glory. Observe, it is — 1. Living water. The tiniest stream has more true glory than the stagnant lake: the smallest flower than the inanimate trunk of the giant tree. So with all dead things wherein the soul has no part, and which are earthy, the mere accident of fleeting existence. They are streams, but not living streams — they evaporate as they flow; but the blessings of salvation are as deathless as the God who gave them. 2. The fountain head of this water is living. The gift of God is not dry doctrine, but a living Being. III. THIS VERSE IS A GOLDEN GATE, TO OPEN WHICH THERE ARE TWO KEYS. 1. The key of faith. Had the woman apprehended Christ's meaning, what a barrier there would have appeared between her and mercy — how often must she climb Gerizim to load its altars with sacrifices! Christ says, "If thou knewest the gift of God." Faith brings the soul into immediate contact with the Saviour without the intervention of preparations and penances. 2. The key of prayer. "Thou wouldst have asked." How many blessings are lost for the want of this I How often is the Divine saying verified, "I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye my face in vain!" (J. R. Macduff, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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