It was true that she did not know him; but could He be greater than Jacob? Could this new spring of living water be better than the well Jacob had dug for himself and for his children?

Verses 13, 14. "Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again : But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."*

15. "The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw."

She knew her bodily wants, but the wants of her soul she did not know. The heat of the climate made thirst a terrible evil, a real pain; and well she knew the fatigue of drawing the quantity of water that was needful for herself and her family; but she had not yet thirsted for the waters of life, and she did not know the sins of her soul that needed to be washed away. To make her feel this new need,

16-18. "Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly."

The woman at once saw that He who spoke with her was no common man, since He knew the secrets of her life; but still it was not her heart that was touched, she cared not so much about the sins of her life, and her need of pardon, as about

* If this number is here divided, it will be necessary to read from the sixth to the fifteenth verses of John iv. before beginning the Second Part.

the disputes between the Samaritans and the Jews. She saith unto him :

Verses 19, 20. "Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem men ought to worship."

Instead of taking any part in the dispute, or even giving an opinion as to which was right,

21. "Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet in Jerusalem, worship the Father."

"Ye worship ye know not what." The place was of little consequence. The time was fast coming when the disputes between the Jews and the Samaritans about the right place of worship would be ended by both their temples being destroyed, and their people scattered. The only thing to be really anxious about was, whether they worshipped the true God, and to this the Lord Jesus led her thoughts; for, as I told you before, the religion of the Samaritans was not pure. He said unto her,

22.

"Ye worship ye know not what we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews."

To the Jews were God's promises given, and from the Jews was to come the Saviour of all mankind.

23, 24. "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

Jesus, standing by the well of Samaria, foresaw all that was fast coming upon the world. A few more years, and names and places will be done away with. Why then waste the time in

vain disputes? The hour was come when the all-seeing God, who cannot be deceived by outside shew, sought for his temple in the heart of man. "God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." The woman did not deny the truth of our Lord's words. They put her in mind that the Samaritans expected one to come who would teach them more clearly what they ought to do.

Verses 25, 26. "She saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, (which is called Christ :) when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He."

How solemn, how clear, these words! Not to the Pharisees, not to the worldly-minded crowds, who looked for the Messiah to come and be a king among them, did the Lord Jesus thus plainly speak; but to a sinful woman, whose hope in the Messiah was simply this, that He would teach her where she was wrong, that He would tell her all things.

Scarce were the words spoken when the disciples, having bought what they wanted in the town, returned to the place where they had left their Lord.

27. "And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman."

They were as full as she had been of the disputes between the two countries, and they wondered to find him talking with a woman of Samaria; for though the Jews might buy and sell with the Samaritans, they believed it to be unlawful to have any words or dealings with them, more than they could help. Yet so great was their reverence, that "No man said, what seekest thou? or why talkest thou with her?" Perhaps they had heard his last words. A silence seems to have followed them, for the woman spoke not again; but leaving her water-pot, she has

tened away to the city to carry there the glad news that the long-looked-for Messiah was come.

Prayer.

O Holy Jesus, we bless thee that thou didst in thy tender love to man, take upon thyself our nature, so truly, so completely, that thou dost know and feel for all our bodily wants and weakness. Thou wast thirsty and weary as we are; and thou dost pity all who suffer. O help us in our time of need, and let the thought of thee be as streams of living water to our fainting souls. Give us that water of life that shall be within us a well of water springing up into everlasting life, that we may thirst no more for the vain joys of earth; but having found thee, the Messiah, let us only love what thou dost command, and desire what thou dost promise. Amen.

XXXIII.

The Saviour was thirsty, and the woman of Samaria gave him no water to drink; she had been careless of his need, but He had thought of her's. He had taught her that there was a need far greater even than the need of water in the burning heat of the day; He had told her of a well of living waters, that would never be dry, and that He could give it to her, for He was the Messiah. And she was so glad at what He had told her, that, leaving her water-pot, she had made haste to her home, that she might tell the good news to others. But she had given him no water to drink, and all this time the Saviour was thirsty!

Still faint and weary He sat upon the well; but his spirit was cheered, for the sinful woman had gladly listened to his words; and He knew that through her, many more would believe his gospel of peace, and that their souls would be saved.

So when the disciples brought to him the food they had bought in the town,

Verses 31-34. " And prayed him, saying, Master, eat. He said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, hath any man brought him aught to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."

His meaning was this,—that much as his body needed food, He longed still more to see that work done for which He had come into the world. He had come to destroy the works of the devil, by turning sinners from sin to holiness, by saving them from the power of Satan, and making them again the children of God. This was his Father's will, and his own will. To do this He had come into the world; and hungry and weary though He was, He had been so cheered by seeing this his work thriving, that He no longer cared about the wants of his body.

Jacob's well was, and is still to be seen, in a valley at the foot of Mount Gerizim.* It is one of the most beautiful places in all the land of Israel, and from it is seen a noble plain covered with fields and orchards. Jesus and his disciples stood by the well, and the valley and plain lay stretched out before them they could see the fields full of the springing corn, and they could see the people flocking from the city to hear him. Jesus said to his disciples

35. "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." Summer must ripen this harvest of grain before it can be * Robinson's Biblical Researches, Vol. III. p. 95, 112.