Now, with regard to the first point, let me remind you to begin with,
that the idea of the word here is not that which we attach to a well,
but that which we attach to a spring. It does not describe the source
of salvation as being a mere reservoir, still less as being a created
or manufactured thing; but there lies in it the deep idea of a source
from which the water wells up by its own inward energy. Then, when we
have got that explanation, and the deep, full, pregnant meaning of the
word salvation as a thing past, a thing present, a thing future, a
thing which negatively delivers a man from all sin and sorrow, and a
thing which positively endows a man with beauty, happiness, and
holiness--when we have got that, then the question next cries aloud for
answer--this well-spring of salvation, is--what? Who? And the first
answer and the last answer is GOD--GOD HIMSELF. It is no mere bit of
drapery of the prophet's imagery, this well-spring of salvation; it is
something much more substantial, much deeper than that. You remember
the old psalm, 'With Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall
we see light'; and what David and John after him called life, Isaiah
and Paul after him calls salvation. And you remember too, no doubt, the
indictment of another of the prophets, laying hold of the same metaphor
in order to point to the folly and the suicide of all godless living:
'My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the
fountain of living waters, and they have hewn out for themselves broken
cisterns.' They were manufactured articles, and because they were made
they could be cracked, but the fountain, because it rises by its own
inherent energy, springing up into everlasting life, is all-sufficient.
God Himself is the well-spring of salvation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account