Dr Paul Allen

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman; Paolo Veronese and workshop (1585);  (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” ( Isaiah 12:3 ) This beautiful verse is in the midst of a psalm of praise for God ’s deliverance of His people “in that day” (v. 4)—the coming day when the Lord shall return to the earth and reign “in the midst of thee” (v. 6). Until “that day” comes, however, we can appropriate its spiritual blessings right now. The word translated “wells” is more often translated “fountains,” denoting flowing springs of water that never run dry. It is first used at the time of the great Flood when in one “day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up” ( Genesis 7:11 ). On that day, the primeval fountains provided by God for the perpetual supply of living waters to the inhabitants of the “very good” world He had created were cleaved open, the living waters became lethal waters, and “all that was in the dry land, died...

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church credit: Wikipedia ) ..but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.— John 4:14 We do have many professing Christians in our day who are not joyful, but they spend time trying to work it up. Now, brethren, I say that when we give God His place in the church, when we recognize Christ as Lord high and lifted up, when we give the Holy Spirit His place, there will be joy that doesn't have to be worked up. It will be a joy that springs like a fountain. Jesus said that it should be a fountain, an artesian well , that springs up from within. That's one characteristic of a Spirit-filled congregation. They will be a joyful people, and it will be easy to distinguish them from the children of the world. I wonder what the Apostle Paul would say if he came down right now and looked us...

“When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep.” ( Proverbs  8:27 -28 ) This chapter contains a beautiful description of some of God ’s works during the creation week when God, in Christ , was creating and making all things. Christ Himself, personified as the divine wisdom, the word of God, is speaking. Verse 27 speaks of His pre-existence before the creation of the space/time universe itself. At first the “earth” matter was “without form,” with only a great “deep” of water. Then God “set a compass” on the face of the deep, activating the gravitational forces which brought it into spherical form. The Hebrew word for “compass” means “sphere.” It is the same word used in  Isaiah 40:22 , where it is said that God “sitteth upon the circle [i.e., ‘sphere’] of the earth.” Then God “established the clouds above.” The word for “clouds” mea...