"And say, Brethren, did not this poor woman take the cup from the Lord's hand and drink of the Water of Life? I think she did, for she turned missionary right away, and if you will read the thirty-ninth verse you will see something of her success, for 'many of the Samaritans ... believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.'
"I will now quote one more text to show that this living water, or life-giving water, also represents the Holy Ghost in his enlightening power and love. 'He that believeth on me as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the spirit, which they that believe on him should receive.' Here, it does seem to me, the believer in Christ is compared to a spring of pure water. What makes a spring flow, and keep on flowing even in dry weather? It must be that deep down in the veins of the rocks, away out of sight, it is being constantly fed by an influx of pure water. What a lesson we have here! Brethren, the Spirit, or what is the same thing again, the truth of God's holy Word, must not lie dormant in us. We must, as the passage quoted puts it, we must give out rivers of living water. These rivers flow out of our hearts into everything of our lives in a way to make others know that we are full of the water of life.
"I very lately read about the Dead Sea. And how did it get its name? I will tell you. It got the name 'Dead Sea' from its resemblance to a human being who is constantly taking in God's gifts, and giving nothing out in any visible way. If you will look at a map of Palestine you will there see that the river Jordan is constantly pouring its flood of fresh water into this sea; but with all this influx of fresh water this sea is so full of all manner of impurities that even fish cannot live in it, and no waterfowls, I am told, are ever seen on its shores. Truly it deserves to be called 'Dead Sea.' It has no outlet; no refreshing stream ever flows from its bosom.
"But, Brethren, if we are truly alive in the Lord we will be like the garden of Eden that sent out a river to water the garden, whence it was parted and became four heads, and each head was a river. Does not all this throw some light on what our Lord meant in what he said to the woman, 'It shalt be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life;' and this: 'Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water?' There is nothing like a dead sea here. All, all is life from the Lord. But water is beautiful. Who does not admire a clear, flowing spring or river! In this respect water is an emblem of the Lord's Word. Can any one read the Scriptures, and not be struck with their beauty? Take, for an example, the story of creation. Even children see its beauty and love it. Take the last two chapters of Revelation. Who can read them without perceiving in them a beauty that is all divine? The Bible opens in beauty and closes in beauty.
"And now, dear Brethren, whilst my subject has only been touched a little, I will close by briefly directing your minds and hearts to the river that John saw in vision, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. I believe this river to be a symbol of God's love and truth. It proceeded from the throne of God. Now, 'heaven is his throne, and the earth is his footstool.'
"You know the Lord said to the Pharisees: 'The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?' They would not answer. But we can answer. It was from heaven. It was performed in the beauty and clearness of the truth that the Lord Jesus brought from heaven. It proceeded from the throne of God. What a high origin our baptism has! It is from heaven. And the immersion of our bodies three times in water symbolizes, in a way more impressive than anything else ever could, that we have implicit faith in the love, wisdom and power of the divine Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. There is a trinity in every good thing we do. There must be the love to prompt or make the start, the wisdom to direct this love intelligently, and the power to execute what is in the will and understanding to be done. Our trine immersion of the body in water, the beautiful emblem of truth, shows our acceptance of it internally and externally, in life, in death, in heaven.
"One more thought, and I will close. Once within the city, we shall thirst no more: 'For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall lead us to fountains of living water.' All darkness will be removed. What is obscure here will be light there. For now we know in part. There we shall know even as we are known. Amen!"
Saturday, May 17. Brethren Kurtz and Shively go to Lost River. Dine at James Fitzwater's, and stay all night at Celestine Whitmore's.
Sunday, May 18. Meeting at the Lost River meetinghouse. Matthew 7 is read. The brethren both take part in the speaking to-day. Dine at Jacob Motz's, then take leave of the dear brethren, Kurtz and Shively, and come home. Those two brethren and I were together three weeks, lacking only two days. The pleasant conversations we had, the unity of our faith, and the oneness of our aims in life have wrought in us an attachment for each other that made separation painful. But we parted not without hope of meeting again.
Friday, July 25. Harvest meeting at our meetinghouse to-day. Luke 16 was read. The singing of devotional hymns, the offering of thanksgiving prayers, with instructions as to the way in which the worldly gifts of our heavenly Father to us may be most wisely used, occupied the time we spent together.