mourn c. Behold in all these places the Spirit of Grace is intended and for our better understanding it is compared to Water to a Well of Water to Springs of Water and to Floods of Water 2. It is also called the Spirit of Life 1. More closely 2. More openly First more closely where it is called Living Water that Living Water and Water springing up to Everlasting Life Secondly Then more openly or expresly it is called the Spirit of Life And after three days and an half The Spirit of Life from God entered into them and they stood upon their Feet From hence therefore I conclude that by these terms Water of Life is meant the Spirit of Grace or the Spirit and Grace of the Gospel And the terms are such as are most apt to set forth the Spirit and Grace of the Gospel by For First By this term WATER an opposition to Sin is presented unto us Sin is compared to Water to deadly Waters and man is said to drink it as one that drinketh waters How much more abominable and filthy is man which drinketh iniquity like water So then that Grace and the Spirit of Grace is compared to Water it is to shew what an Antidote Grace is against Sin it is as I may call it Counter-Poison to it It is that only thing by the virtue of which Sin can be forgiven vanquished and overcome Secondly By this term WATER you have an opposition also to the Curse that is due to Sin presented unto you The Curse is compared to Water the Remedy is compared to Water Let the Curse come into the Bowels of the damned saith the Psalmist like water The Grace of God also as you see is compared to Water The Curse is burning Water is cooling the Curse doth burn with Hell-Fire cooling is by the Grace of the Holy Gospel but they that over-stand the Day of Grace shall not obtain to cool their Tongues so much of this Water as will hang on the tip of ones Finger Thirdly Water is also of a spreadieg nature and so is Sin wherefore Sin may for this be also compared to Water It over-spreads the whole Man and infects every Member it covereth all as doth Water Grace for this cause may be also compared to Water for that it is of a spreading nature and can if God will cover the face of the whole Earth of Body and Soul. Fourthly Sin is of a fouling defiling Nature and Grace is of a washing cleansing Nature therefore Grace and the Spirit of Grace is compared to Water I will says God sprinkle clean Water upon you my Spirit ver 27. and ye shall be clean and from all your filthiness and from all your Idols will I cleanse you Fifthly Water The Element of Water naturally descends to and abides in low Places in Valleys and Places which are undermost and the Grace of God and the Spirit of Grace is of that Nature also the Hills and lofty Mountains have not the Rivers runing over the tops of them no tho they may run among them but they run among the Valleys And God resisteth the Proud but giveth Grace to the humble to the lowly Sixthly The Grace of God is compared to Water for that it is it which causeth fruitfulness Water causes fruitfulness want of Water is the cause of barrenness and this is the reason why the whole World is so empty of Fruit to God-ward even because so few of the Children of Men have the Spirit of Grace in their hearts But Secondly As there is a special signification in this term Water so there is also in this term Life Water of Life He shewed me the Water of Life In that therefore there is added to this word Water that of Life it is in the general to shew what excellent vertue and operation there is in this Water It is aqua vitae Water of Life or Water that hath a Health and Life in it And this term shews us First That the World of graceless Men are dead dead in Trespasses and Sins Dead that is without Life and Motion God-ward in the way of the Testament of his Son. Secondly It also shews us That there is not any thing in the World or in the Doctrin of the World the Law that can make them live Life is only in this Water Death is in all other things The Law I say which is that that would if any thing in the whole World give Life unto the World but that yet killeth condemneth and was added that the Offence might abound wherefore there is no Life either in the World or in the Doctrine of the World 'T is only in this Water in this Grace of God which is here called the Water of Life or God's aqua vitae Thirdly It is also called the Water of Life to shew That by the Grace of God Men may live how dead soever their Sins have made them When God will say to a Sinner live tho he be dead in his Sins he shall live When thou wast in thy Blood I said unto thee live yea when thou wast in thy Blood I said live And again The Dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live That is when he speaks Words of Grace and mixeth those Words with the Spirit and Grace of the Gospel then Men shall live for such Words so attended and such Words only are Spirit and Life The Words that I speak unto you saith Christ they are Spirit and they are Life Fourthly In that this Grace of God is here presented unto us under the Terms of Water of Life it is to shew that some are sick of that Disease that nothing can cure but that There are many Diseases in the World and there are also Remedies for those Diseases but there is a Disease that nothing will can or shall cure but a Dram of this Bottle a Draught of this aqua vitae this Water of Life This is intimated by the invitation let him take the Water of Life freely And again I will give to him that is a thirst of the Fountain of the Water of Life freely This is spoken to the Sick to them that are sick of that Disease that only Christ as a Physician with his Water of Life can cure But few are sick of this Disease but few know what it is to be made sick of this Disease There is nothing can make sick of this Disease but the Law and Sin and nothing can cure but the Grace of God by the Gospel called here the Water of Life We come now to discourse of the second thing with which we are presented by the Text and that is The quantity that there is of this Water of Life It is a River He shewed me a River of Water of Life Waters that are Cordial and that have in them a Faculty to give Life to them that want it and to maintain
none other but the spotless and glorified Humanity of the Son of God. This Throne is the Lord Jesus this Grace comes from the Divine Majesty as dwelling bodily in the Lord Jesus Wherefore let us fall down before the Throne and cast our Crowns at the foot of the Throne and give thanks to him that sits on the Throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever O how should Jesus be esteemed of The Throne of the King is a Royal Seat. 'T is said of Solomon's there was not its like in ANY Kingdom but of this it may be said there is not its like in Heaven and Earth At the setting up of this Throne the Angels flocked round about it and the Beasts and the Elders gathered together to see it When this Throne was set in Heaven there was silence all the Heavenly Host had no leisure to talk they were surprized with sight and wonder When this Throne was set in Heaven what talk there was it was as the Musick of the Trumpet And behold says John a door was open in Heaven and the first voice that I heard was as it were of a Trumpet talking with me which said come up hither and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter And immediate y I was in the Spirit and behold A THRONE WAS SET IN HEAVEN and one sate upon the Throne This Throne was Jesus Christ exalted SET that is lifted up not as upon the Cross to the contempt and scorn of his Person but as I said to the wonderment of the four Beasts and the Elders and all the Angels in Heaven A Throne was set in Heaven and one sate on the Throne that is God. And this intimates his desirable rest for ever for to sit is to rest and Christ is his rest for ever Was it not therefore well worth the seeing yea if John had taken the pains to go up thither upon his Hands and Knees I say to see the Lord Jesus as a Throne set in Heaven and the glory of God resting and abiding upon him and giving out by him all things not only his Word but all his Dispensations and Providences to the end of the World and this blessed thing among the rest Even a pure River of Water of Life clear as Crystal But I leave this and proceed to the fourth and last thing namely to the Nature and Quality of this Water 'T is said to be pure and clear pure and clear as Crystal And he shewed me a pure River of Water of Life clear as Crystal I know that there is a two-fold quality in a thing one with respect to its nature the other with respect to its Operation The first of these is inherent and remaineth in the Subject being as such and so for the most part useless The other is put forth then when it meeteth with fit matter on which it may freely work As to instance Aqua vitae the very Metaphor here made use of hath a quality inherent in it but keep it stopt up in a Bottle then who will may faint notwithstanding but apply it apply it fitly and to such as have need thereof and then you may see its quality by the Operation This water or River of Grace is called I say The Water of Life and so consequently has a most blessed inherent quality but its Operation is seen by its working the which it doth only then when 't is administred and received for those ends for which it is administred For then it revives where life is and gives life where it is not And thus far in the general have we spoken to it already We will therefore in this place more particularly tho briefly speak a few words unto it First then This Water of Life is the very ground-work of Life in us tho not the ground-work of Life for us The ground-work of Life for us is the Passion and Merits of Christ this is that for the sake of which Grace is given unto us as is intimated by the Text It proceeds from the Throne of God who is Christ. Christ then having obtained Grace for us must needs be precedent as to his merit to that Grace he hath SO obtained Besides 't is clear that the Spirit and Grace come from God through him therefore as to the Communications of Grace to us it is the Fruit of his Merit and Purchase But I say in us Grace is the ground-work of Life For tho we may be said before to live virtually in the Person of Christ before God yet we are dead in our selves and so must be until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high for the Spirit is Life and its Graces are Life and when that is infused by God from the Throne then we live and not till then And hence it is called as before living Water the Water of Life springing up in us into Everlasting Life The Spirit then and Graces of the Spirit which is the River here spoken of is that and that only which can cause us to live that being life to the Soul as the Soul is life to the Body All men therefore as was said afore tho elect tho purchased by the Blood of Christ are dead and must be dead until the Spirit of Life from God and his Throne shall enter into them until they shall drink it in by vehement thirst as the parched Ground drinks in the Rain Now when this living Water is received it takes up its Seat in the Heart whence it spreads it self to the awakening of all the Powers of the Soul. For as in the first Creation the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the Waters in order to putting of that Creature into that excellent fashion and harmony which now we behold with our Eyes even so the new Creation to wit the making of us new to God is done by the over-spreading of the same Spirit also For the Spirit as I may so say sitteth and broodeth upon the Powers of the Soul as the Hen doth on cold Eggs till they wax warm and receive life The Spirit then warmeth us and bringeth the dead and benummed Soul for so 't is before Conversion to a godly sense and understanding of States of States both natural and spiritual and this is the beginning of the work of the Spirit by which the Soul is made capable of understanding what God and himself is And this drinking in of the Spirit is rather as the ground drinks in Rain than as a rational Soul does through sense of the want thereof The Spirit also garnisheth the Soul with such things as are proper for it to the making of it live that life that by the word of God is called for It implanteth Light Repentance Faith Fear Love Desires after God Hope Sincerity and what else is necessary for the making the man a Saint these things I say are the fruits and effects of this Spirit which as a River of Water of Life proceedeth
Life is called a River to intimate to you by what store of the same 't is supplyed All Rivers have the Sea for their Original All the Rivers run into the Sea yet the Sea is not full unto the place from whence the Rivers came thither they return again And so this River of Water of Life is said to proceed out of the Throne as out of a place where it breaketh out but the Original is the Sea the Oceon of Grace which is in an infinite Deity Thou wilt cast all our Sins into the depths of the Sea into the depth of the Sea of thy Grace Rivers when they are broken up do with their glideing Streams carry away a great deal of the Filth which from all Parts of the Countries thorow which they run is conveyed into them and they carry it away into the Sea where 't is everlastingly swallowed up And oh the Filth that is cast into this River of God and oh how many dirty Sinners are washed white therein for by their continual gliding away they carry that filth into the mid'st of the Sea. A River will take away the very stink of a dead Dog nor doth all the Soil and Draught that is cast into Rivers cause that those that can should be afraid to make use thereof All that have need do betake themselves to this River notwithstanding But how much more virtue is there in this sweet River of Grace that is designed yea opened on purpose to wash away Sin and Uncleanness in to carry away all our Filth and to remain as vertuous still IV. It is called a River to shew that it yields a continual supply as I may call it of new and fresh Grace Rivers yield continually fresh and new Water For tho the Channel or Water-course in which the Water runs is the same yet the Waters themselves are always new That Water that but one Minute since stood in this place or that of the River is now gone and new and fresh is come in its place And thus it is with the River of God which is full of Water it yieldeth continually fresh Supplies fresh and new Supplies of Grace to those that have Business in these Waters And this is the reason that when Sin is pardoned it seems as if it were carried away These Waters have with their continual Streams carried away the filth of the Sinner from before his Face It is not so with Ponds Pools and Cisterns they will be foul and stink if they be not often emptied and filled again with fresh water We must then put a difference between the Grace that dwelleth in us and this River of Water of Life We are but as Ponds Pools and Cisterns that can hold but little and shall also soon stink notwithstanding the Grace of God is in us if we be not often emptied from Vessel to Vessel and filled with fresh Grace from this River But the River is always sweet nor can all the filth that it washed out of the World make it stink or infect it It 's water runs with a continual gliding Stream and so carries away all annoyance as was said into the depth of the Sea. V. The Grace of God is called a River to shew That it is only suited to those who are capable of living therein Water tho it is that which every Creature desireth yet it is not an Element in which every Creature can live Who is it that would not have the benefit of Grace of a Throne of Grace but who is it that can live by Grace even none but those whose temper and constitution is suited to Grace Hence as the Grace of God is compared to a RIVER so those that live by Grace are compared to FISH for that as Water is that Element in which the Fish liveth so Grace is that which is the life of the Saint And there shall be a very great Multitude of Fish because these Waters shall come thither for they shall be healed and every thing shall live whither the River cometh art thou a Fish Man art thou a Fish can'st thou live in the Water Can'st thou live always and no where else but in the water Is Grace thy proper Element the Fish dieth if she be taken out of the water unless she be timely put in again the Saint dieth if he be not in this River Take him from his River and nothing can make him live Let him have water water of Life enough and nothing can make him die I know that there are some things besides Fish that can make a shift to live in the water but the Water is not their proper their only proper Element The Frog can live in the Water but not in the Water only the Otter can live in the Water but not in the Water only Give some Men Grace and the World Grace and Sin admit them to make use of their Lusts for Pleasure and of Grace to remove their Guilt and they will make a pretty good shift as we say They will finely scrabble on in a Profession but hold them to Grace only confine their Life to Grace put them into the River and let them have nothing but River and they die the word and way and nature of Grace is to them as light Bread and their Soul can do no other but loath it for they are not suited and tempred for that Element They are Fish not Frogs that can live in the River as in their only proper Element Wherefore the Grace of God and Spirit of Grace is compared to a River to shew that none but those can live thereby whose Souls and Spirits are suited and fitted thereto VI. The Grace and Spirit of Grace of God is called or compared to a River to answer those unsatiable desires and to wash away those mountainous doubts that attend those that indeed do thirst for that drink The man that thirsteth with spiritual thirst fears nothing more than that there is not enough to quench his thirst All the promises and sayings of Gods Ministers to such a man seem but as Thimbles instead of Bowls I mean so long as his thirst and doubts walk hand in hand together There is not enough in this Promise I find not enough in that Promise to quench the drought of my thirsting Soul. He that thirsteth aright nothing but God can quench his thirst My Soul thirsteth for God for the living God. Well what shall be done for this man will his God humour him and answer his desires Mark what follows When the Poor and Needy seek water and there is none and they can find none when all the Promises seem to be dry and like Clouds that return after the Rain and their tongue fails for thirst I the Lord will hear them I the God of Israel will not forsake them Ay but Lord what wilt thou do to quench their thirst I will open Rivers saith he in high places and Fountains in the midst of