Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, the Martyr Missionary: Collated from his Diary by Benjamin FunkKline, John
Religion
Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, the Martyr Missionary: Collated from his Diary by Benjamin Funk
Kline, John
Kline, John, 1797-1864
"I will now quote one more text to show that this living water, or
life-giving water, also represents the Holy Ghost in his enlightening
power and love. '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.' Here,
it does seem to me, the believer in Christ is compared to a spring of
pure water. What makes a spring flow, and keep on flowing even in dry
weather? It must be that deep down in the veins of the rocks, away out
of sight, it is being constantly fed by an influx of pure water. What
a lesson we have here! Brethren, the Spirit, or what is the same thing
again, the truth of God's holy Word, must not lie dormant in us. We
must, as the passage quoted puts it, we must give out rivers of living
water. These rivers flow out of our hearts into everything of our
lives in a way to make others know that we are full of the water of
life.
"I very lately read about the Dead Sea. And how did it get its name? I
will tell you. It got the name 'Dead Sea' from its resemblance to a
human being who is constantly taking in God's gifts, and giving
nothing out in any visible way. If you will look at a map of Palestine
you will there see that the river Jordan is constantly pouring its
flood of fresh water into this sea; but with all this influx of fresh
water this sea is so full of all manner of impurities that even fish
cannot live in it, and no waterfowls, I am told, are ever seen on its
shores. Truly it deserves to be called 'Dead Sea.' It has no outlet;
no refreshing stream ever flows from its bosom.
"But, Brethren, if we are truly alive in the Lord we will be like the
garden of Eden that sent out a river to water the garden, whence it
was parted and became four heads, and each head was a river. Does not
all this throw some light on what our Lord meant in what he said to
the woman, 'It shalt be in him a well of water, springing up into
everlasting life;' and this: 'Out of his belly shall flow rivers of
living water?' There is nothing like a dead sea here. All, all is life
from the Lord. But water is beautiful. Who does not admire a clear,
flowing spring or river! In this respect water is an emblem of the
Lord's Word. Can any one read the Scriptures, and not be struck with
their beauty? Take, for an example, the story of creation. Even
children see its beauty and love it. Take the last two chapters of
Revelation. Who can read them without perceiving in them a beauty that
is all divine? The Bible opens in beauty and closes in beauty.
"And now, dear Brethren, whilst my subject has only been touched a
little, I will close by briefly directing your minds and hearts to the
river that John saw in vision, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the
throne of God and of the Lamb. I believe this river to be a symbol of
God's love and truth. It proceeded from the throne of God. Now,
'heaven is his throne, and the earth is his footstool.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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