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{The Application
Application for the Godly
Advantages of Holy Duties
We Obtain New Supplies and Fresh Influence from God}
In holy duties we obtain new supplies and fresh influence from God. The flourishing state of a Christian is described as “a watered garden” (Isaiah 58:11). It is promised, “They will come … and flow246 together to the goodness of the Lord for wheat and new wine and oil … their souls will be as a well-watered garden …” (Jeremiah 31:12). In this passage, observe these three things.
First, the watering of the soul is from the goodness of the Lord. All of the dew247 and showers of grace are from above. Our own springs do not rise in our gardens from ourselves; “All my springs are in you” (Psalm 87:7).
Second, all of the influences of the grace and goodness of the Lord are brought down by your applying yourselves to Him in duty. That is the meaning of the expression “They will … flow together to the goodness of the Lord.” They will assemble and come together to seek the Lord.
Third, the people of God, in their addresses to Him in duty, though it is for a supply of temporal things, do get something for their souls. “They will come … for wheat and new wine … their souls will be as a well-watered garden.” We never come to pray for any temporal mercy (and pray we ought) without our souls thereby being gainers. A Christian cannot come near the throne of grace for anything without his heart having a share in the blessing. There are three reasons for this.
First, a Christian never prays for temporal mercies without also some words to plead for his soul as well.248
Second, prayer, whatever it is for, is the soul’s drawing near to God and interacting with God. And the soul never goes to God without bringing back something of God on it, even when it may be denied the temporal mercy it seeks. For example, when a saint is praying for a sinner and God will not grant his prayer for that sinner, the saint does not lose his prayer, but has it returned into his own bosom. So when the soul is praying for the concerns of the outward person, although it is denied in a particular request, yet the soul’s prayer will not be lost to itself.
Third, temporal mercies obtained as a return of prayer are soul-blessings. But now, what if the matter of our requests is particularly for our souls? What if we come for grace and seek love, life, zeal, and spiritual strength? What if we seek the watering of a dry and barren heart or refreshment for a weary heart? Will our souls then be sent away barren, weary, and empty? Our hearts are like cisterns. Sometimes they may be full of water, but at other times, if there is not a supply from the well,249 the water in the cistern will become waste and mud and finally dry up. Duties are our laboring at the pump handle; they will keep our cisterns full. “Therefore you will joyously draw water From the springs of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3 NASB). Christian, you complain that your heart is barren, dead, dry, and fit for nothing. Why, is there not a well next to you where there is enough water to refresh and fill you? Why do you not let down your bucket or labor at the pump more often? Why are you not more often with your God? Your heart needs watering; get you more often to the well. More praying, fasting, conversing with Christ, studying the Gospel, and searching and sucking up the promises would quickly get you into a better state. He who is much with God is rich in grace. However so confined and hampered and however so poor, lean, and miserable you may be, you know where there is enough to lift you up again. You know where there is a Well that not only has enough water, and healing water at that, but wine, milk, and honey enough. But you must go more often for it if you want to get the benefit of it. Go therefore and let down your bucket; you need not fear its coming up empty. During holy duties, however, take care not to mistake the bucket for the well. Take heed that you do not fix your eye on the duty as if it were your Christ, your spring out of which you may be supplied. Duties are just pipes; it is the Lord who is the spring from which all the water comes.
246The Hebrew נָהַר [nahar] may be translated as “flow” or “stream,” or as “beam” or “be radiant.” Alleine, KJV, and NKJV use “flow to,” and other translations use “radiant” or “radiant over.” Commentaries consulted by the editor favor the former meaning.
247In the Near East, substantial day/night temperature swings often create heavy dew; dew was thus an important water source for crops.
248Everything the Christian does must be set in an eternal context. Our prayers should reflect this.
249We think of cisterns as being fed by rain water, but since shallow wells can go dry, cisterns may be used as storage reservoirs until the well begins producing again.
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