that will in time be taken from them; yours is the good God himself, blessed and blessing you for ever. He is so at present, and he will be so to all eternity; a portion of which you can never be plundered. Impoverished you may be, but not undone; discouraged, but not disinherited. Your flesh perhaps, yea, and your hearts too may fail, but " God will be the strength of your hearts, and your portion for ever.. I shall add no more, but only remind you of what is written in the hundred forty and sixth psalm," Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.*

EXERCITATION IV.

The first Inference grounded upon Isaiah lv. 1, 2. by way of invitation, backed with three encouragements to accept it, viz. The fulness of that soul satisfaction which God giveth, the universality of its tender, and the freeness of its communication. The second by way of expostulation, and that both with worldings and saints. A conclusion by way of soliloquy.

§ 1. In the synagogues of old upon the eighth day of the feast of tabernacles, called by the

Psal. cxlvi. 5.

Jews Hosanna Rabbah, the great Hosanna, and by the evangelist, "The last day, the great day of the feast,"* four portions of scripture were wont to be read, viz. The close of the fifth book of Moses, called Deuteronomy, the last words of the prophet Malachi, the beginning of Joshua, and that passage concerning Solomon's rising up from his knees after his prayer, and blessing the people with a loud voice in the eighth chapter of the first book of Kings. Then did Jesus, who was the end of the law and the prophets, the true Joshua and Solomon, stand up, saying, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." But why did he then speak of waters? Tremellius giveth this account of that out of the Talmud. The Jews, saith he, upon that day used with much solemnity and joy to fetch water from the river Siloah to the temple, where, being delivered to the priests, it was by them poured upon the altar, the people in the meantime singing out of Isaiah, "with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."S Our Saviour therefore to take them off from this needless, if not superstitious practice, telleth them of other and better waters, which they were to have of him, according to what he had elsewhere

* John vii. 37. vid. Ludov. de Dieu in loc.

+ John vii. 38.

Annot. in loc.

§ Isa. xii. 3.

said by the ministry of the same prophet in these most emphatical words, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat, yea come; buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not ?"* Words that, be sides an intimation of the forementioned truths concerning the creature's inability, and the sufficiency of God in Christ, to satisfy souls, clearly hold forth a double improvement thereof, one by way of invitation, the other by way of ex postulation.

2. The invitation is set on with vehemence and importunity, Ho come, but as not content with that, he doubleth it, yea come ye, and tripleth it, yea come. Not come and look on, or come and cheapen, but come and buy, buy and eat. They may be rationally said to come who frequent the ordinances, wherein Christ is usually to be found; they to buy, who part with somewhat, are at some cost and pains in pursuit of him; they to eat, who feed on him by a lively faith. Careless wretches will not so much as vouchsafe to come, by reason of their oxen, or farms, or some other impediment, the Lord must have them excused. Formal professors come indeed, but refuse to buy, will lay out no

Isa. lv. 1, 2.

E

serious endeavours in searching the scriptures and their own deceitful hearts, but are merely superficial in such undertakings. Temporary believers (whose hearts are really, though not savingly wrought upon) seem to have bought, yet do not eat, for want of that spirit of faith, which ingrafts men into Christ, and makes them as truly one with him as the body is with the meat it feeds upon. Want we encouragements to accept of this invitation? The place itself sents us with three.

pre

§ 3. One from the fulness of that satisfaction which is here tendered under the metaphors of water, wine, milk, and bread: the last whereof is implied partly in those terms of opposition, for that which is not bread, (as if he had said, ye might have had that of me which is bread indeed,) partly in the word eat, which cannot so properly be applied to any commodity here mentioned, water, wine, and milk being liquids, as to bread. Now there is somewhat in Christ to answer each of these. His flesh is bread, his blood is, wine, his spirit is waters,* his doctrine is milk. But because I conceive the Holy Ghost in this place doth not so much intend a parallel of these, as a declaration of that sufficiency which is to be found in Christ and his benefits for sav ing to the utmost of all those that shall come

John vi. 51.

Matth. xxvi. 28, 29.
1 Pet. ii. 2.

John vii. 38, 39.

unto God by him; I shall only pitch upon that consideration, and by adding unto this a like place in the revelation, briefly demonstrate from them both how all-sufficient a Saviour he is. This in Isaiah holds forth somewhat proper to every sort of true believers, Milk for babes, water for such as are young and hot, wine for the aged,* bread for all. The other is that of Christ to the angel of the church of " Laodicea, I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve that thou mayest see," where he commends his gold for such as is tried in the fire, his raiment for such as will take away shame, and his eye-salve for a special virtue to make the blind see. Take them together, and there is in them enough to supply our principal defects, viz, unbelief in the heart for which there is here gold tried in the fire, whereby we may probably understand the grace of faith, concerning which we read in Peter

that the trial of your faith, being much more "precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise." And unholiness in the life, for which there is the white raiment, if by it we understand inherent righteousness, according to that in the + 1 Pet. i. 7.

* Vinum Lac senum.

+ Rev. iii. 18.