'The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water,
springing up into everlasting life.'—JOHN iv. 14.
There are two kinds of wells, one a simple reservoir, another
containing the waters of a spring. It is the latter kind which is
spoken about here, as is clear not only from the meaning of the word in
the Greek, but also from the description of it as 'springing up.' That
suggests at once the activity of a fountain. A fountain is the emblem
of motion, not of rest. Its motion is derived from itself, not imparted
to it from without. Its 'silvery column' rises ever heavenward, though
gravitation is too strong for it, and drags it back again.
So Christ promises to this ignorant, sinful Samaritan woman that if she
chose He would plant in her soul a gift which would thus well up, by
its own inherent energy, and fill her spirit with music, and
refreshment, and satisfaction.
What is that gift? The answer may be put in various ways which really
all come to one. It is Himself, the unspeakable Gift, His own greatest
gift; or it is the Spirit 'which they that believe on Him should
receive,' and whereby He comes and dwells in men's hearts; or it is the
resulting life, kindred with the life bestowed, a consequence of the
indwelling Christ and the present Spirit.
And so the promise is that they who believe in Him and rest upon His
love shall receive into their spirits a new life principle which shall
rise in their hearts like a fountain, 'springing up into everlasting
life.'
I think we shall best get the whole depth and magnitude of this great
promise if, throwing aside all mere artificial order, we simply take
the words as they stand here in the text, and think, first, of Christ's
gift as a fountain within; then as a fountain springing, leaping up, by
its own power; and then as a fountain 'springing into everlasting
life.'