It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything from Rutherford, so I thought I would remedy that today. On May 7, 1631, Rutherford wrote to his “favourite correspondent,” Marion M’Naught, the wife of the Provost of Kirkcudbright.
Before reading the quote, check out these two passages from the Psalms that demonstrate the character of our God. To describe God as “generous” seems so inadequate. Read the verses, then read the Rutherford quote, and I’ll try to take the quote apart one piece at a time.
Psalm 36:5-9
5 Lord, Your faithful love reaches to heaven, Your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountain; Your judgments, like the deepest sea. Lord, You preserve man and beast.
7 God, Your faithful love is so valuable that people take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
8 They are filled from the abundance of Your house; You let them drink from Your refreshing stream,
9 for with You is life’s fountain. In Your light we will see light.
Psalm 81:10
I am Yahweh your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Samuel Rutherford
“Daily I receive from him who is made of his Father a running-over fountain, at which I and others may come with thirsty souls and fill our vessels.”
First, Rutherford says that he receives from Christ “daily.” Do you and I receive anything from Christ “daily”? Do we read blogs and books and articles about Christ more than we spend time with Christ? It’s so easy in our hi-tech, sound-bite world to get busy to be satisfied with merely sipping from God’s refreshing stream or merely opening our mouths slightly to receive from God. And this we do less frequently than daily.
Rutherford says that he receives “from him who is made of his Father,” doing what Rutherford does so well–glorifying the Father through the Son.
He further describes the Son as “a running-over fountain.” Christ is not just a fountain; he is a “running-over fountain.” This is even greater news than it may seem on the surface! Just when I think that I can’t drink anymore from that fountain, he is a fountain that is running over. Just when I think I could not dive deeper into the fountain of my Savior, I find him to be a running-over fountain that does not end.
Rutherford tells me that he and I both may come “with thirsty souls.” How arrogant of me to think that I must be full first before I can come to Christ! How out of touch with grace must I be to imagine that I cannot come into Christ’s presence until I am clean and strong! He delights in taking weak, empty vessels and filling them!
Rutherford does not just say that we may taste at this fountain or even drink from the fountain, but he insists that we may “fill our vessels” from the fountain that is Christ!
May God grant that we would daily receive from him who is made of his Father a running-over fountain, that we would come to him with thirsty souls and fill our vessels!
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The Sunday after Christmas I preached a lesson, “The God who Satisfies” and Ps 36:5-9 was one of my references.
That quote from Rutherford is powerful. We must seek daily to be satisfied with God the Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.