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I. THE WATER. The entire text refers to the great work of God in saving sinners by the obedience and death of His Son.

1. Water is essential to life.

2. Water is purifying in its influence.

3. It has refreshing and fertilising properties. In this country where water abounds we can hardly appreciate this. In the East a draught of cold water was frequently invaluable. It was not only valuable to the body of man, but fertilising to the earth. In this part of the world we have too much water, and our ingenuity is taxed to drain the land, but in the East ingenuity would be stretched to irrigate it.

4. It is a thing of universal adaptation. There are some persons who cannot take milk, others cannot take different kinds of food, and some cannot take vegetables to any amount; and so on. But you never found anyone who could do without water. It is a fact that not only can none of the human race do without it, but all the human race can take it. In like manner, the Gospel is for every class and condition of men.

II. THE WELLS OF SALVATION. Wherever the pure Gospel is preached, it may be considered one of the wells of salvation.

1. Properly speaking, the Deity is the well of salvation. Christ is the great medium, the great procuring cause, the great efficient cause, and the Holy Ghost is the water of life.

2. Again, the Scriptures of truth may be considered wells of salvation. We moreover observe that in an emphatic manner, all through the Holy Scriptures of revealed truth, Christ is preached, and they are thus wells of salvation.

3. Further, Christ is essentially and emphatically the well of salvation.

III. THE DRAWING OF THE WATER.

1. If you want to draw water, you must come near to the well. If you want to understand something about Christ, you must come to the Bible; you must listen to the Gospel faithfully preached, or, rather, you must come to Christ Jesus Himself.

2. There must be a personal application.

3. This drawing of the water must be continuous. That is a remarkable passage in 1 Peter 2:4 — "To whom coming." "Coming" denotes continued application. We must not only come for justification and sanctification to Christ, but we must continue to come.

IV. THE JOY. "With joy," etc. No wonder when you consider —

1. The unrestricted freeness of the Gospel.

2. The gratuitousness of this great blessing.

3. That this joy inspires a glorious hope of eternal bliss.

(Hugh Allen, M. A.)

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KJV: Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

WEB: Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation.