Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the
dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and
streams in the desert.--Isaiah xxxv. 6.
Blessed Jesus, we behold thee surrounded by the diseased and
wretched. We see thee attend that seat of misery, the pool of
Bethesda, whose cloisters oft resounded the plaintive voice of
sorrow; for within its porches were assembled many of the sons
and daughters of affliction. Amidst the group was one, who, for
thirty-eight long years, had sighed over his poor enfeebled limbs,
and who oft had heard the joyful sound of Bethesda's agitated
waters. But, alas! this Angel of Mercy brought no healing balm for
his diseased limbs. Oft had he seen a companion in misery hastily
rush into the troubled pool; and beheld their diseased bodies
healed by one plunge into those sacred waters. Yet his slow, though
anxious steps, never reached its brink, until some happier object
had possessed its healing properties. His case attracted the kind
attention of Jesus, to whom, when questioned, he tells his tale of
wo. But hark! a voice is heard, "Arise, take up thy bed, and walk."
The astonished cripple no longer needs the friendly crutch, but
treads with ease and joy his gladsome path. Yes, beneath the porches
of Bethesda's pool, the Godhead of Jesus darts forth its clear
and splendid rays. Well might the fame of this wondrous Physician
spread, and multitudes of the afflicted press to share his favours.
Behold, amidst the numbers who throng his door, a poor paralytic
cripple, borne by four. Every effort to force a passage through
the dense crowd is fruitless. Faith does not easily relinquish its
subject, and the roof is even bared to admit this subject of misery
into the immediate presence of the Healer of diseases. Nor were
their efforts unsuccessful. One word from him does more than the
united skill of all earth's physicians; and he, who, a few moments
before, required a couch to support his palsied frame, is now seen
forcing his passage through the astonished multitude, triumphantly
carrying his own bed. Surely "it was never so seen before," even "in
Israel," that land so famed for miracles. Jesus not only wrought
miracles himself, but when he sent forth his disciples to preach
the everlasting Gospel, he gave them authority to work miracles,
in order to prove their commission to be from Heaven. We behold
these fishermen of Galilee, in the name[59] of their divine Lord
and Master, Jesus of Nazareth, healing all manner of sicknesses,
diseases, and infirmities; testifying both to the friends and
enemies of the crucified Jesus, that God was with them, indeed
and of a truth, so mightily did the word of the Lord prosper. The
blessings of the Messiah's reign are frequently exhibited to our
view under the simile of water. Jehovah promises, "when the poor
and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth
for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not
forsake them; but will open rivers in high places, and fountains
in the midst of the valleys." He will make the wilderness a pool
of water, and the dry land springs of water. Rivers of water in a
thirsty wild, are not more acceptable to the fainting traveller,
than the salvation of Jesus is welcome to the convinced sinner; to
such who believe he is precious. The conditions of obtaining it are
inscribed by the finger of God; we behold them written in legible
characters: "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." Ezekiel, in vision,
beheld this holy water issuing from the temple of God. Its sovereign
efficacy was such, that whithersoever it flowed, healing and life
attended its course. John in the Apocalypse, describes it as the
"pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of
the throne of God and of the Lamb;" its banks adorned with continual
fruitfulness, and never-fading verdure. The salvation of Jesus is
also described as a "fountain which is opened to the house of
David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and uncleanness."
May _we_ know its purifying and refreshing qualities: may _we_ drink
deep of the living waters, which are "a well of water springing up
unto everlasting life." Jesus himself personally invites "all that
are athirst, to come unto him and drink."
[59] Acts iii. 6.
This fountain of life, is not of recent discovery; the antedeluvian
world beheld it as a small rivulet, which continued to increase
as it flowed down the patriarchal age, widened under the Mosaic
dispensation, and became broader and clearer, as it warbled along
the prophetic course, and now displays itself as the grand and
majestic fountain of living waters, whose streams make glad the city
of our God.