The log cabin Democrat., 1908-02-06
Jesus and the Woman of Samaria Sunday School Lesson for Feb. 3. 1908 Specially Prepared for This Paper

GOLDEN TEXT.-"If any man thirst. let him come unto me, and drink. "-JohD 7:37.
 TIME.-Jesus had spent most of tho summer and autumn in Judea. The incl dent at Jacobs well was probably in December, A. D. 27. It was near the close of the first year of Jesus ministry, John still preaching at Enon, near the Jordan.
 PLACE.-Jacob's well, near Sychar, be- tween Mts. Ebal and Gerizm in Sa- maria.
 sCRIPTURAL REFERENCEs.-1. The soul full of thirsts Psa. 42:1-3; Matt. 5:6; 16:26; Rom. 7:23, 24; Psa 511-10; 63:1-3; Rev. BID. ?. Worldly things cannot sat isfy the souls thirsts Ger. 2:13; Isa. 55:2; Psa. 107:5; Feel 1:f2-4; 2:1-1; Rom. 7:1S-2D. g. The water of eternal life (Psa. 46:4; 421; 23:2; Matt 5:6; John 4:10, 14; 7:S7. 3S; Isa. 55:1-3, 1O-13; 41:17, IS; 44:3, S1. '; 12:3; Rev. 22:1, 2; Ezek.: 4:12; S6:25).
 Comment and Suggestive Thought.
 V. 6. Now Jacobs we'll was there" "One of the few sites about which there is no dispute" It is situated in the fork of the two roads that lead to Galilee from this region, one run northeast to the lords of the Jordan, a few miles south of the lake, the other going to the northwest by way of the south ern pass into the plain of Esdraelon directly toward Nazareth The well is 75 feet deep, but was originally much deeper, as the bottom has been filled Up with rubbish. The well is about seven feet six inches in diame- ntn hut hn Df row neck four feet long, and only large enough for a man to pass through with arms uplifted See Hast ings Bible Diet
 Near the place where Christ talked with the Samaritan woman now stands Baptist church, with regu- lar congregation of a hundred per sons. Jewish Messenger.
 Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey" He had probably been walking several hours, as the Orientals were accustomed to start early in the morning, and it was now about the sixth hour" or noon, ac- cording to Jewish reckoning Jo- sephus (Antiquities) describes Moses as sitting weary by well at midday Jesus was weary in his work, not of it.
 The wise approach by courteously rising and asking a favor that could easily be granted. The Syriac Cordex implies that Jesus rose and stood to meet politely the standing woman, and this standing was one thing that caused his disciples to marvel. Give me to drink" Jesus asked for water because he needed it, but he used the request as means of preparing the way for his teaching. A useless re- quest would have defeated his pur- pose
 13. "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again" This water satisfies only bodily thirst, and for brief periods-a type of all worldly supplies for the deeper thirst of the soul
 Every person is full of wants, long ings, desires, hopes, both of the body and of the soul. There are the thirsts for pleasure, for power, for money, for respect, for love, for knowledge. There are thirsts for the friendship and love of God, for forgiveness, immortal life holiness, happiness, usefulness, heaven, a larger sphere and broader life. The larger the soul the more and greater are it's thirsts.
 The greatness of any being is meas ured CD by the number of his de sires and thirsts CD by their qual- ity; (3) by their capacity, intensity.
 Dead and Living Water.-"The old Greeks believed that, before passing to the Elysian Field, all souls could drink from the River Lethe, and for get the sins and sorrows they had experienced in this world. The liv- ing water which Christ offers does not enable us to forget our sorrows, but it helps us to bear them. It is not a prelude to a life of ease, but a stimu- who follow Jesus.
 " 26. Jesus declares to the woman that he is the expected Messiah. 'I am he
 True eWorship.-(D God wants all men to worship him, because thus they be- come like him, near to him. CD Thus every heart may become hallowed ground. (3) Worship must be spiritual rather than formal. (4) It must be sin cere. (5) It is the fruit of love rath CT than fear (6) True worship can not be separated from morality, while formal worship can. CD Worship is essential to the religious life. (SJ Forms and rites are valuable only as they aid the spirit in it's worship. (9) It is not necessary to renounce forms (for some form is necessary in pub lie worship, but to fill the forms with the true spirit.
 Q0) Sir Matthew Hale found that prayer gave a "tincture of devotion to all secular emplOyments; that it was a Christian chemistry, converting those acts which are materially natu- ral and civil into acts truly and. for mally religious" He discovered in habitual devotion what Herbert calls