the Fullness of God," no matter what the spiritual drain upon us may be; for now it is not a question of our capacity to contain, but a question of God's infinite supply for all our needs. This too is the explanation of the "overflow," the flowing "Rivers" of John vii. 38. It is the overflow, and only the overflow, that blesses. There is not a drop for thirsty souls till some one overflows. It is the overflow in the Sabbath School class, and in the pulpit, and, for that matter, in every other sphere of Christian service, that brings blessing; and this overflow is in direct proportion to the inflow. "Rivers" cannot flow out unless "Rivers" first flow in. An ordinary service pipe in our domestic water supply may serve to illustrate some of the points we have been considering. We take a bucket to the tap for water, and lo! there is none. Something is wrong. Either the authorities have cut off our supply because of some infraction of the law on our part, or there is an obstruction in our service pipe, or the pressure is insufficient to give us even a drop, or the supply is so deficient that it has been shut off for a time from us that it may be sent in another direction. Sometimes, alas! the "flowing" of the "living waters" from the soul of the believer ceases; but the ordinary round of duty, either in the district visiting, or in the Sabbath School class, or in the pulpit, has not ceased; a ceaseless stream of _talk_ may still be flowing on, but there is no "living water" in it all. Why? It is not that the pressure aback of us, the pressure in the infinite Reservoir away up among the hills of God, is insufficient, or that the supply is deficient, unable to meet our needs because it is supplying needy ones elsewhere. God's water supply never breaks down as we often find our city supply failing. If the "flowing" has ceased, it is from one of two reasons: either God has, in mercy and in judgment, cut off the supply, or there is an obstruction in us, and _sin_ is at the bottom of both reasons. "Search me, O God ... and see if there be any way of wickedness in me" (Ps. cxxxix. 23, 24). "Confession, cleansing" is the divinely-appointed method for putting right what has gone wrong.