44 The NEW and COMPLETE LIFE of our BLESSED God, requefted this fmall favour at her bands : had fhe been acquainted with his high dignity, the would certainly, without hefitation, have granted his requeft. But Jesus, perceiving her delay, proceeded to let her know, that he was well able to make her the moll noble and beneficial return for the favour he afked : If thou, raid he, kneweji the gift of God, and who it is thatfaith unto thee, give me to drink; thou . wouldit have afked of hint, and he would have given thee living water. The woman furprifed to hear fuch a declara- tion, and, no doubt, perceiving fomething awfully majeflic, and divinely amiable in the countenace of our Lord, without attending to his firft requeft, was touched with a curiofity to know who this ftranger was, and how he could come at the water he fpoke of: Sir, faid the, thou haft no- thing to drawwith, and the well is deep; from whence then haft thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himfelf, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus replied to this queftion, Whofoever drinketh of this water 'hall thirft again; but whofoever drinketh of the water that I fmall give him, (hall never thirft, but the water that I (hall give him, 'hall be in him a well of water fpringing up unto everlafling life. Thus this divine teacher, from the circumftances of fitting by the fide of a well, and the woman preparing to draw water, defcribed, in the moll beau- tiful allegory, the efficacy and effevs of divine grace, and at the 'fame time repre-' fented the plentitude and perpetuity of it's happy confequences, which remain to an eternal duration. But the woman, Rill underftanding the words of our Lord in their plain literal fenfe, requefled him to give her a draught of the water he fpoke of, that fhe might thirlt no more, nor have occafion to come daily to that well to draw. Our Redeemer then turned the difcourfe in fuch a manner, as gave him an opportunity of letting the woman un- derftand, that he was acquainted with her a former and prefent way of life, and all her circumflances and affairs. Sir, fays the, I perceive that thou art a prophet : and being convincedofhis fuperior know- ledge, the defined his opinion of a queflion, . which was a matter of contention between the Jews and Samaritans, whether the temple at Jerufalem, or mount Gerizim was the place where God would be wor- Whipped: Our fathers, faid the, wosfhìpped in this mountain : but ye fay, that in Je- rufalem is the place where men ought to wotJhip. Our Lord, in anfwer to her in- quiry, informed her, that the time would foon approach, when the worlhip of God would not be confinedeither to that moun- tain or Jerufalem ; but the great King of the univerfe would be willing to accept all true fpiritual worfhippers, without any regard to the place where they worfhip- ped. God, fáid he, is a Spirit; and they that worfliip him, msp worfhip him in, fpirit and in truth. The woman replied to this, that the fuppofed this point would be fettled by the Meffiah, who was thortly expelled to come, both by the Jews and the Samaritans. I know, Paid fhe, that the Me:ph cornea, which is called Chri't : when he is come, he will tell us all things. To this Jesus direblly replied, I that fpeak unto thee amhe. Juft at the moment when Jesus had told the woman that he, was the Meffiah, the difciples returned; and finding their Mailer in dole cònverfation with one that was a native of Samaria, and of confe- quence an enemy to the Jews, and to the temple worfhip at Jerufalem, they were very much furprifed : but the woman, ha- ving heard Jesus call himfelf the Meffiah, left her pitcher at the well, and ran to the city to publifh the glad-tidings, that the Redeemer was then fitting at Jacob's well, and had told her all the fecret tranfailions of her life. This declaration filled the liflening Samaritans with the higheft aflo- nifhment, and at the fame time railed their curiofity to fee this extraordinary perfon,
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