John 7:37

But My People hath changed their glory: whence no profit shall accrue to them: the heaven turned pale thereat" (and when did it turn pale? undoubtedly when Christ suffered), "and shuddered," he says, "most exceedingly; " and "the sun grew dark at mid-day: " (and when did it "shudder exceedingly" except at the passion of Christ, when the earth also trembled to her centre, and the veil of the temple was rent, and the tombs were burst asunder? "because these two evils hath My People done; Me," He says, "they have quite forsaken, the fount of water of life, and they have digged for themselves worn-out tanks, which will not be able to contain water.

What figure more manifestly fulfilled in the sacrament of baptism? The nations are set free from the world by means of water, to wit: and the devil, their old tyrant, they leave quite behind, overwhelmed in the water. Again, water is restored from its defect of "bitterness" to its native grace of "sweetness" by the tree of Moses. That tree was Christ, restoring, to wit, of Himself, the veins of sometime envenomed and bitter nature into the all-salutary waters of baptism. This is the water which flowed continuously down for the people from the "accompanying rock; "for if Christ is "the Rock," without doubt we see baptism blest by the water in Christ. How mighty is the grace of water, in the sight of God and His Christ, for the confirmation of baptism! Never is Christ without water: if, that is, He is Himself baptized in water; inaugurates in water the first rudimentary displays of His power, when invited to the nuptials; invites the thirsty, when He makes a discourse, to His own sempiternal water; approves, when teaching concerning love, among works of charity, the cup of water offered to a poor (child); recruits His strength at a well; walks over the water; willingly crosses the sea; ministers water to His disciples. Onward even to the passion does the witness of baptism last: while He is being surrendered to the cross, water intervenes; witness Pilate's hands: when He is wounded, forth from His side bursts water; witness the soldier's lance!

That the Jews would lose while we should receive the bread and the cup of Christ and all His grace, and that the new name of Christians should be blessed in the earth. In Isaiah: "Thus saith the Lord, Behold, they who serve me shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, they who serve me shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, they who serve me shall rejoice, but ye shall be confounded; the Lord shall slay you. But to those who serve me a new name shall be named, which shall be blessed in the earth." Also in the same place: "Therefore shall He lift up an ensign to the nations which are afar off, and He will draw them from the end of the earth; and, behold, they shall come swiftly with lightness; they shall not hunger nor thirst." Also in the same place: "Behold, therefore, the Ruler, the Lord of Sabaoth, shall take away from Judah and from Jerusalem the healthy man and the strong man, the strength of bread and the strength of water." Likewise in the thirty-third Psalm: "O taste and see how sweet is the Lord. Blessed is the man that hopeth in Him. Fear the Lord God, all ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him. Rich men have wanted and have hungered; but they who seek the Lord shall never want any good thing." Moreover, in the Gospel according to John, the Lord says: "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that trusteth in me shall never thirst." Likewise He saith in that place: "If any one thirst, let him come and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." Moreover, He says in the same place: "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye shall have no life in you."

But as often as water is named alone in the Holy Scriptures, baptism is referred to, as we see intimated in Isaiah: "Remember not," says he, "the former things, and consider not the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, which shall now spring forth; and ye shall know it. I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the dry place, to give drink to my elected people, my people whom I have purchased, that they might show forth my praise." There God foretold by the prophet, that among the nations, in places which previously had been dry, rivers should afterwards flow plenteously, and should provide water for the elected people of God, that is, for those who were made sons of God by the generation of baptism. Moreover, it is again predicted and foretold before, that the Jews, if they should thirst and seek after Christ, should drink with us, that is, should attain the grace of baptism. "If they shall thirst," he says, "He shall lead them through the deserts, shall bring forth water for them out of the rock; the rock shall be cloven, and the water shall flow, and my people shall drink; " which is fulfilled in the Gospel, when Christ, who is the Rock, is cloven by a stroke of the spear in His passion; who also, admonishing what was before announced by the prophet, cries and says, "If any man thirst, let him come and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." And that it might be more evident that the Lord is speaking there, not of the cup, but of baptism, the Scripture adds, saying, "But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive." For by baptism the Holy Spirit is received; and thus by those who are baptized, and have attained to the Holy Spirit, is attained the drinking of the Lord's cup. And let it disturb no one, that when the divine Scrip-lure speaks of baptism, it says that we thirst and drink, since the Lord also in the Gospel says, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; " because what is received with a greedy and thirsting desire is drunk more fully and plentifully. As also, in another place, the Lord speaks to the Samaritan woman, saying, "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall not thirst for ever." By which is also signified the very baptism of saving water, which indeed is once received, and is not again repeated. But the cup of the Lord is always both thirsted for and drunk in the Church.

Some are able to drink from the fountain without the pitcher. Rebekah, which means steadfastness in the good, stepped down to the fountain and scooped the water with the pitcher in order to give the thirsty servant [of Abraham] to drink, but she herself drank from the fountain without the pitcher.… The imperfect knowledge and the imperfect prophecy are the pitcher filled from the fountain. When the imperfect will pass away, the pitcher is broken. Its content, however, is not lost.… When one does not need to drink from the pitcher anymore because the Savior has given to drink and prepared in the person who drinks a spring of living water, then the pitcher is not needed for the person who has the fountain of living water inside.

(Hom. l. 3) They did not mean, that our Lord was going to the Gentiles for their hurt, but to teach them. Their anger had subsided, and they believed what He had said. Else they would not have thought of asking each other, What manner of saying is this that He said, Ye shall seek Me, and shall not find Me: and whither I am, ye cannot come.

(Hom. l. 1) The feast being over, and the people about to return home, our Lord gives them provisions for the way: 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.

Which lasted seven days. The first and last days were the most important; In the last day, that great day of the feast, says the Evangelist. Those between were given chiefly to amusements. He did not then make the offer on the first day, or the second, or the third, lest amidst the excitements that were going on, people should let it slip from their minds, He cried out, on account of the great multitude of people present.

(Hom. li. 1) If any thirsteth: as if to say, I use no compulsion or violence: but if any have the desire strong enough, let him come.

(Hom. li. 1) He is speaking of spiritual drink, as His next words shew: He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But where does the Scripture say this? No where. What then? We should read, He that believeth in Me, as saith the Scripture, putting the stop here; and then, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water: the meaning being, that that was a right kind of belief, which was formed on the evidence of Scripture, not of miracles. Search the Scriptures, He had said before.

(Hom. li. 1) He says, rivers, not river, to show the copious and overflowing power of grace: and living water, i. e. always moving; for when the grace of the Spirit has entered into and settled in the mind, it flows freer than any fountain, and neither fails, nor empties, nor stagnates. The wisdom of Stephen, the tongue of Peter, the strength of Paul, are evidences of this. Nothing hindered them; but, like impetuous torrents, they went on, carrying every thing along with them.

(Hom. li. 1) The Apostles indeed cast out devils by the Spirit before, but only by the power which they had from Christ. For when He sent them, it is not said, He gave them the Holy Spirit, but, He gave unto them power. With respect to the Prophets, however, all agree that the Holy Spirit was given to them: but this grace had been withdrawn from the world.

(Hom. li. 2) Or thus; By the glory of Christ, He means the cross. For, whereas we were enemies, and gifts are not made to enemies, but to friends, it was necessary that the victim should be first offered up, and the enmity of the flesh removed; that, being made friends of God, we might be capable of receiving the gift.

They who come to the divine preaching and give heed to the faith, must manifest the desire of thirsty men for water, and kindle in themselves a similar longing; so will they be able also very carefully to retain what is said. For as thirsty men, when they have taken a bowl, eagerly drain it and then desist, so too they who hear the divine oracles if they receive them thirsting, will never be weary until they have drunk them up. For to show that men ought ever to thirst and hunger, "Blessed," It saith, "are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness" (Matt. v. 6); and here Christ saith, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink." What He saith is of this kind, "I draw no man to Me by necessity and constraint; but if any hath great zeal, if any is inflamed with desire, him I call."

But why hath the Evangelist remarked that it was "on the last day, that great day"? For both the first day and the last were "great," while the intermediate days they spent rather in enjoyment. Wherefore then saith he, "in the last day"? Because on that day they were all collected together. For on the first day He came not, and told the reason to His brethren, nor yet on the second and third days saith He anything of this kind, lest His words should come to nought, the hearers being about to run into indulgence. But on the last day when they were returning home He giveth them supplies for their salvation, and crieth aloud, partly by this showing to us His boldness, and partly for the greatness of the multitude. And to show that He spake not of material drink, He addeth, "He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." By "belly" he here meaneth the heart, as also in another place It saith, "And Thy Law in the midst of my belly." (Ps. xl. 10; Theodotion.) But where hath the Scripture said, that "rivers of living water shall flow from his belly"? Nowhere. What then meaneth, "He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture saith"? Here we must place a stop, so that the, "rivers shall flow from his belly," may be an assertion of Christ. For because many said, "This is the Christ"; and, "When the Christ cometh will He do more miracles?" He showeth that it behooveth to have a correct knowledge, and to be convinced not so much from the miracles as from the Scriptures. Many, in fact, who even saw Him working marvels received Him not as Christ, and were ready to say, "Do not the Scriptures say that Christ cometh of the seed of David?" and on this they continually dwelt. He then, desiring to show that He did not shun the proof from the Scriptures, again referreth them to the Scriptures. He had said before, "Search the Scriptures" (c. v. 39); and again, "It is written in the Prophets, And they shall be taught of God" (c. vi. 45); and, "Moses accuseth you" (c. v. 45); and here, "As the Scripture hath said, rivers shall flow from his belly," alluding to the largeness and abundance of grace. As in another place He saith, "A well of water springing up unto eternal life" (c. iv. 14), that is to say, "he shall possess much grace"; and elsewhere He calleth it, "eternal life," but here, "living water." He calleth that "living" which ever worketh; for the grace of the Spirit, when it hath entered into the mind and hath been established, springeth up more than any fountain, faileth not, becometh not empty, stayeth not. To signify therefore at once its unfailing supply and unlimited operation, He hath called it "a well" and "rivers," not one river but numberless; and in the former case He hath represented its abundance by the expression, "springing." And one may clearly perceive what is meant, if he will consider the wisdom of Stephen, the tongue of Peter, the vehemence of Paul how nothing bare, nothing withstood them, not the anger of multitudes, not the risings up of tyrants, not the plots of devils, not daily deaths, but as rivers borne along with a great rushing sound, so they went on their way hurrying all things with them.

How then did the Prophets prophesy and work those ten thousand wonders? For the Apostles cast not out devils by the Spirit, but by power received from Him; as He saith Himself, "If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?" (Matt. xii. 27.) And this He said, signifying that before the Crucifixion not all cast out devils by the Spirit, but that some did so by the power received from Him. So when He was about to send them, He said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" (c. xx. 22); and again, "The Holy Ghost came upon them" (Acts xix. 6), and then they wrought miracles. But when He was sending them, the Scripture said not, that "He gave to them the Holy Ghost," but that He gave to them "power," saying, "Cleanse the lepers, cast out devils, raise the dead, freely ye have received, freely give." (Matt. x. 1, 8.) But in the case of the Prophets, all allow that the Gift was that of the Holy Spirit. But this Grace was stinted and departed and failed from off the earth, from the day in which it was said, "Your house is left unto you desolate" (Matt. xxiii. 38); and even before that day its dearth had begun, for there was no longer any prophet among them, nor did Grace visit their holy things. Since then the Holy Ghost had been withheld, but was for the future to be shed forth abundantly, and since the beginning of this imparting was after the Crucifixion, not only as to its abundance, but also as to the increased greatness of the gifts, (for the Gift was more marvelous, as when It saith, "Ye know not what Spirit ye are of" (Luke ix. 55); and again, "For ye have not received the Spirit of bondage, but the Spirit of adoption" (Rom. viii. 15); and the men of old possessed the Spirit themselves, but imparted It not to others, while the Apostles filled tens of thousands with It,) since then, I say, they were to receive this Gift, but It was not yet given, for this cause he addeth, "For the Holy Ghost was not yet," that is, "was not yet given."

Calling the Cross, "glory." For since we were enemies, and had sinned, and fallen short of the gift of God, and were haters of God, and since grace was a proof of our reconciliation, and since a gift is not given to those who are hated, but to friends and those who have been well-pleasing; it was therefore necessary that the Sacrifice should first be offered for us, that the enmity (against God) which was in our flesh should be done away, that we should become friends of God, and so receive the Gift. For if this was done with respect to the promise made to Abraham, much more with respect to grace. And this Paul hath declared, saying, "If they which are of the Law be heirs, faith is made void-because the Law worketh wrath." (Rom. iv. 14, 15.) What he saith, is of this kind: God "promised that He would give the earth to Abraham and to his seed: but his descendants were unworthy of the promise, and of their own deeds could not be well-pleasing unto God. On this account came in faith, an easy action, that it might draw grace unto it, and that the promise might not fail."

Among the dissensions and doubtings of the Jews concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, among other things which He said, by which some were confounded, others taught: "On the last day of that feast" (for it was then that these things were done) which is called the feast of tabernacles; that is, the building of tents, of which feast you remember, my beloved, that we have already discoursed, the Lord Jesus Christ calls, not by speaking in any way soever, but by crying aloud, that whoso thirsts may come to Him. If we thirst, let us come; and not by our feet, but by our affections; let us come, not by removing from our place, but by loving. Although, according to the inner man, he that loves does also move from a place. But it is one thing to move with the body, another thing to move with the heart: he migrates with the body who changes his place by a motion of the body; he migrates with the heart who changes his affection by a motion of the heart. If thou lovest one thing, and didst love another thing before, thou art not now where thou wast.

(Tract. xxxii. 1) The feast was then going on, which is called scenopegia, i. e. building of tents.

(Tract. xxxii. 2.) For there is an inner thirst, because there is an inner man: and the inner man of a certainty loves more than the outer. So then if we thirst, let us go not on our feet, but on our affections, not by change of place, but by love.

Hold on to the gift but acknowledge the giver. When the Lord promised he was going to give his Spirit, he said, "If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, rivers of living water will flow from his belly." Where does this river in you come from? Remember your former dryness. I mean, if you had not been dry, you would not have been thirsty. If you had not been thirsty, you would not have drunk. What do I mean when I say: if you had not been thirsty, you would not have believed in Christ? Unless you had discovered how empty you were, you would not have believed in Christ. Before saying "rivers of living water will flow from his belly," he first said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come and drink." The reason you will have a river of living water is that you drink. You do not drink if you are not thirsty.

We must search well in this too, what it is the most wise Evangelist is hinting with some extreme great care, calling the last day of the feast great, or what it was that induced our Lord Jesus Christ, as of some needful reason and belonging to the time, to say on it to the Jews, If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink. For He might have used other words, such as, I am the Light, I am the Truth. But turning His explanation to the matters of believing, He hath introduced the word, let him drink, as something necessary and due to the matters of the feast. And the aim in what is before us I will endeavour briefly to say.

When therefore God was ordering what belongs to the feast of tabernacles, He says thus unto Moses, On the fifteenth day of the seventh month a feast of tabernacles unto the Lord, and ye shall offer whole burnt sacrifices and sacrifices seven days, and the first day shall be notable holy. Then after enjoining besides the mode of the sacrifices, He added again, And in the fifteenth day of this seventh month, ye shall offer whole burnt offerings unto the Lord seven days, and the first day a rest and the seventh day a rest. And on the first day ye shall take you boughs of palm trees and thick branches of a tree and fruit of a goodly tree and willows and branches of agnus from the brook to rejoice withal. Having then already in the second book gone through every portion of the above cited passage and expended much discourse thereon, we will yet again make mention of it briefly. For we said that the feast of tabernacles signified the thrice longed for time of the resurrection: that the taking boughs and the fruit of a goodly tree, and the other things besides, meant a recovery of Paradise about to be given us again through Christ. But that since it is put at the end that one ought to take every thing out of the brook, and again to rejoice thereof, we said that our Lord Jesus Christ was compared to a brook, in Whom we shall find all delight and enjoyment in hope, and in Him shall delight us Divinely and spiritually. And that He is and is called spiritually a Brook, the most wise Psalmist too will testify to us, saying to God the Father about us, The children of men shall hope in the shadow of Thy wings: they shall be inebriated with the fatness of Thy House, and Thou shalt give them drink of the Brook of Thy delights. And the Lord Himself somewhere in the prophets says, Behold I am inclining to them as a river of peace and as an overflowing brook.

Since then the Law used to call the first and the seventh day of the great feast notable, the holy Evangelist himself too called it great, not disregarding, it seems, the accustomed habit of the Jews. There being then in the ordinances about the feast a mention too of the brook, the Saviour shewing that He is Himself that brook which was fore-declared in the Law, says, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. For see how He removes the mind of the Jews away from the types in the letter and transfers fitly the things in figure, if at all they aid for the truth. For I (He says) am the Brook which by the Lawgiver was fore-proclaimed in the account of the feast. And if one must needs take branches of willow and agnus and thick branches of trees from the brook, and Christ is not strictly a brook, neither yet is the fashion of the feast really in these, but they will rather be symbols of spiritual things which shall be given to the pious through Christ.

But seeing that we discussed these things more at large in the second Book, as we have already said, we will not repeat ourselves, but will rather follow on to the next.

(super Ezech. Hom. x.) When sacred preaching floweth from the soul of the faithful, rivers of living water, as it were, run down from the bellies of believers. For what are the entrails of the belly but the inner part of the mind; i. e. a right intention, a holy desire, humility towards God, mercy toward man.

To make Himself audible, inspire confidence in others, and show an absence of all fear in Himself.