4. 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,' saith God, 'sprinkle clean water upon you, [my Spirit, v 27] and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you' (Eze 36:25).
5. 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 running over the tops of them; no, though they may run 'among them.' But they run among the valleys: and 'God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace unto the humble,' 'to the lowly' (John 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5; Prov 3:34).
6. The grace of God is compared to water, for that it is it which causeth fruitfulness; water causeth fruitfulness, want of water is the cause of barrenness; and this is the reason why the whole world is so empty of fruit to Godward, even because so few of the children of men have the Spirit of grace in their hearts. But,
[Second. The term LIFE.]
As there is a great special signification in this term WATER, so there is in this term LIFE, water of life. 'He showed me the water of life.' In that, therefore, there is added to this word water, that of life, it is, in the general, to show what excellent virtue and operation there is in this water. It is aquae vitae, water of life, or water that hath a health and life in it. And this term shows us,
1. That the world of graceless men are dead; dead in trespasses and sins (John 5:21,25; Eph 2:1; Col 2:13). Dead, that is, without life and motion Godward, in the way of the testament of his Son.
2. It also shows us that there is not any thing in the world, or in the doctrine of the world, the law, that can make them live. Life is only in this water, death is in all other things.[3] The law, I say, which is that that would, if anything 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. It is only in this water, in this grace of God, which is here called the after of life, or God's aquae vitae.[4]
3. It is also called the water of life to show 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,' though 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' (Eze 16:6). And again, 'The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live' (John 5:25). 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' (John 6:63).
4. In that this grace of God is here presented unto us under the terms of water of life, it is to show 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 aquae vitae, this water of life. This is intimated by the invitation, 'let him take the water of life freely' (Rev 22:17). And again, 'I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely' (Rev 21:6). This is spoken to the sick, to them that are sick of the disease that only Christ, as a physician, with his water of life, can cure (Mark 2:17). But few are sick of this disease, but few know what it is to be made sick of this disease.[5] 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.