Now, as I said, the sinner at first is by the Spirit of God held under this bondage; that is, hath such a discovery of his sin and of his damnation for sin made to him, and also is held so fast under the sense thereof, that it is not in the power of any man, nor yet of the very angels in heaven, to release or set him free, until the Holy Spirit changeth his ministration and comes in the sweet and peaceable tidings of salvation by Christ in the gospel to his poor dejected and afflicted conscience.

The Spirit loveth to do what it does in private:  that man to whom God intendeth to reveal great things, he taketh him aside from the lumber and cumber of this world, and carrieth him away in the solace and contemplation of the things of another world.

This water of life is the very groundwork of life in us, though not the groundwork of life for us.  The groundwork of life for us is the passion and merits of Christ; this is that for the sake of which grace is given unto us, as is intimated by the text, Rev. 22:1.  It proceeds from the throne of God, who is Christ.  Christ then having obtained grace for us, must needs be precedent as to his merit, to that grace he hath so obtained.  Besides, it is clear that the Spirit and grace come from God through him.  Therefore, as to the communication of grace to us, it is the fruit of his merit and purchase.

But I say, in us grace is the groundwork of life; for though we may be said before to live virtually in the person of Christ before God, yet we are dead in ourselves, and so must be until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high; for the Spirit is life, and its graces are life, and when that is infused by God from the throne, then we live, and not till then.  And hence it is called as before, living water, the water of life, springing up in us into everlasting life.  The Spirit then and graces of the Spirit, which is the river here spoken of, is that, and that only, which can cause us to live; that being life to the soul, as the soul is life to the body.  All men therefore, as was said afore—­though elect, though purchased by the blood of Christ—­are dead and must be dead until the Spirit of life from God and his throne shall enter into them; until they shall drink it in by vehement thirst, as the parched ground drinks in the rain.  Now when this living water is received, it takes up its seat in the heart, whence it spreads itself to the awakening of all the powers of the soul.  For as in the first creation, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, in order to the putting of that creation into that excellent fashion and harmony which now we behold with our eyes, even so the new creation, to wit, the making of us new to God, is done by the overspreading of the same Spirit also.