JOHN vii. 37. “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood
and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me,
and drink.”
THESE are bold words, and they would be as false as they
are bold if He who speaks them were no more than a man.
All human need, all human desire are expressed in this one
word, thirst. I will now speak of different kinds of thirst,
and try to show how coming to Jesus Christ and how only
such coming, will quench and satisfy.
I. The thirst for happiness. This may be called the
commonest, lowest of all. If any man thirst for happiness,
let him come to Jesus Christ and drink. He may come
with nothing but nature’s craving, with nothing beyond
a great longing, a dumb desire. If it is not a spiritual
desire at first, coming to Christ will make it so.
II. The thirst for righteousness. A man coming to
Christ begins to thirst for personal rectitude, for conformity
of heart and habit and life to the holy will of God. God
sent Jesus to save us, how? By turning every one of us
from our iniquities. His righteousness is in us as a prin-
ciple, and upon us as a robe.
III. The thirst for love. This desire may fall back upon
itself and does; or it may shrink back and yearn and pine
in the lonely heart; but satisfied it cannot be unless it
finds the fountain and the fulness and the flow of love in
Him. His love sanctifies, ennobles, fulfils all other.
IV. The thirst for life. This thirst is profounder, vaster,
more awful. Back from the dark realm of eternal oblivion
the living soul recoils and cries for life. On towards the
realm of life it stretches wherever that realm may seem to
be. Ah, but where shines the sun that never sets? Where
rolls the pure river of life eternal? Who can give us this
stupendous faith in life—future eternal happy life? Who
but He who is the Life—and who brings life and immor-
tality to light by His gospel. Will you try to live on
without Him? Are you so in love with misery? Is the
covenant with death so dear?
Alexander Raleigh, D.D.