Isaiah 55:1

Second, he sets out the promise, promising future abundance in necessities: all you that thirst, that is, you among the Jews, who were thirsty because of your poverty, buy, without price, eat, bread and other necessities: if any man thirst, let him come to me …

It intimates that in Christ there is enough for all and enough for each, that ministers are to make a general offer of life and salvation to all, that in gospel times the invitation should be more largely made than it had been and should be sent to the Gentiles, and that the gospel covenant excludes none that do not exclude themselves.

Thirsteth - For the grace of God and the blessings of the gospel. This thirst implies a vehement, and active, and restless desire after it. No money - Those who are most worthless and wicked, if they do but thirst may be welcome.

Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,.... These are the words not of the prophet, but of the Lord, as what follows throughout the chapter shows; and are directed to the Gentiles, as Aben Ezra thinks: and indeed their conversion is manifestly spoken of in it; and who, Kimchi says, after the war of Gog and Magog, shall know that the Lord reigns, and shall come and be desirous of learning his judgments and laws.

Here is a gracious offer made of pardon, and peace, and all happiness, to poor sinners, upon gospel terms,

Ho - (הוי hôy). This word here is designed to call attention to the subject as one of importance. Every one that thirsteth - The word ‘thirst’ often indicates intense desire, and is thus applied to the sense of want which sinners often have, and to their anxious wishes for salvation. It is not improbable that the Savior had this passage in his eye when he pronounced the blessing on those who hunger and thirst after righteousness Mat 5:6. No needs are so keen, none so imperiously demand supply, as those of hunger and thirst.

We are bought, but not with a price paid by ourselves (1Co 6:20; In a different sense we are to "buy" salvation, namely, by parting with everything which comes between us and Christ who has bought it for us and by making it our own (Mt 13:44, 46;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

YOU see, I have something to sell this evening, I have to invite you to come and buy that which, in the gospel will this night be proclaimed. Now, it is usual when persons have anything to sell, to exhibit the article, to describe its character, and speak of its excellencies, for until persons are made aware of the nature of that which you exhibit, it is not likely that they will be prepared to buy it.

THERE is a thirst which is peculiar to the Believer. He can say with David, "As the hart pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after You, O God." Delightful thirst! Would God we had more of it! May we be longing and panting after our God in that sense until we shall be filled with His Spirit and shall dwell in His Presence to go no more out forever! But I wish now to speak of another kind of thirst to another class of thirsting ones, who thirst they scarcely know for what.

YOU see, I have something to sell this evening, I have to invite you to come and buy that which, in the gospel will this night be proclaimed. Now, it is usual when persons have anything to sell, to exhibit the article, to describe its character, and speak of its excellencies, for until persons are made aware of the nature of that which you exhibit, it is not likely that they will be prepared to buy it. That shall be my first business this evening Then the man who has aught to sell, in the next place, endeavors to bring those who hear him up to the price at which he desires to sell. My business tonight is to bring you down to the price—“Come buy wine and milk without money and without price.” I shall then conclude by addressing a few sentences of earnest persuasion to those who despise that glorious salvation which it is our privilege to preach, and turn away from those generous stipulations—“without money and without price.” I. In the first place, then, I have to preach, to-night, WINE AND MILK—“Come buy wine and milk.” There we have a description of the gospel—wine that maketh glad the heart of man; milk, the one thing and the only thing in the world which contains all the essentials of life. The strongest man might live on milk, for in it. there is everything which is needed for the human frame—for bone, for sinew, for nerve, for muscle, for flesh—all is there. There you have a double description. The gospel is like wine which makes us glad. Let a man truly know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and he will be a happy man, and the deeper he drinks into the spirit of Christ, the more happy will he become. That religion which teaches misery to be a duty. is false upon the very face of it, for God, when he made the world, studied the happiness of his creatures.

THE spiritual blessings promised and provided in the Gospel comprise all that man can need. They are described in the chapter before us as "water" refreshing and cleansing—the "Water of Life," of which if a man drinks he shall never thirst again. They are next described as "wine," the wine of joy—exhilarating, comforting, "making good the heart of man"—a wine in which is no woe, but fullness of holy delight.

THE spiritual blessings promised and provided in the Gospel comprise all that man can need. They are described in the chapter before us as "water" refreshing and cleansing—the "Water of Life," of which if a man drinks he shall never thirst again. They are next described as "wine," the wine of joy—exhilarating, comforting, "making good the heart of man"—a wine in which is no woe, but fullness of holy delight. These blessings are thirdly represented as "milk," for milk is almost the only article of diet which contains everything that is necessary for the support of man, and therefore it is a type of the satisfying qualities of the Gospel. He who receives the Gospel of Jesus Christ has all that his soul can possibly need for time and for eternity, so that water, wine and milk set forth a full supply of life, joy and satisfaction for our spirits. According to the text, this provision for our souls in presented to us free. We are to buy it, that is to say, we are to have it with as good as a right, and as full an assurance, as if we had purchased it—but the purchase is to be made "without money," and lest we should make mistakes and suppose that although money literally might not be brought, some other recompense must be offered to God, it is added, "without price." The double expression is most sweeping, clearing away, once and for all, from the mercies of God, all idea of their being purchasable by any method whatever. The Gospel is not to be bought with gold. Vain are your treasures if you should lavish them at the feet of Christ! What cares He for gold and silver? Neither are they to be procured by knowledge and wisdom, which are the mind's wealth, the money of the soul. A man may know much, but his knowledge may only puff him up, or increase his condemnation. Neither are the gifts of God's Divine Grace to be obtained by human merit.

THERE is a semicolon in our translation, but we need not take notice of it. It should not be there, since the text is the second of two parallel sentences arranged according to the method of Hebrew poetry— "Ho, everyone that thirsts, come you to the waters, And he that has no money, come, buy, and eat." We have before us the figure of a merchant selling his wares and crying like a chapman in the market, "Ho!" To attract attention he calls aloud, "Come! Come! Come!" three times; and he adds to this the cry of, "Buy! Buy!" Shall the Great King thus liken Himself to a trader in the market, earnest to dispose of His goods? It is even so and I, therefore, call upon you to admire the mercy of the Lord! In the 53rd and 54th chapters, this Divine Merchantman has been spreading out His wares. What treasures they are! Look at the 53rd chapter—what do you see there? Behold that Pearl of great price, the Lord Jesus Christ! Behold Him wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities! This is so costly a treasure that Heaven and earth could not match it! Where else could we find a Sacrifice for sin, a Justifier of many? This Anointed One of God, upon whom the chastisement of our peace was laid—who would not have Him to be his Savior? Surely with such a treasure to display, we ought not to cry long for buyers, for every truly wise man will exclaim, "This is what I need! Not only a Savior, but a great one! An atonement for sin is the one thing necessary for me." To this you are invited in these words, "He that has no money, come, buy, and eat." In the 54th chapter the Divine Merchantman sets forth the rare possession of His everlasting love. Read from verse seven, "For a small moment have I forsaken you; but with great mercies will I gather you.

THERE is a thirst which is peculiar to the Believer. He can say with David, "As the hart pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after You, O God." Delightful thirst! Would God we had more of it! May we be longing and panting after our God in that sense until we shall be filled with His Spirit and shall dwell in His Presence to go no more out forever! But I wish now to speak of another kind of thirst to another class of thirsting ones, who thirst they scarcely know for what. They have a sense of unrest, of longing, of yearning—yet they have a very indistinct idea of what it is their souls are pining for. It may be that they will find out presently what it is their thirst requires. Better still, if perhaps, by God's blessing, that thirst shall be quenched by their drinking that Living Water of which they are bidden freely to take. I shall not detain you with a long preface, nor, indeed, with a long discourse. I will try to make each portion of my address brief, practical and pointed. May the Holy Spirit make it effectual! Learn from my text that God has made plenteous soul-provision and that to every thirsty soul this provision is perfectly free and gratuitous. I. In the first place, GOD HAS MADE AN ABUNDANT SOUL-PROVISION. We read here of "water." Water has been pronounced the simplest, purest, fittest drink for all persons of all ages and temperaments. Now, there is a thirst in man's body which makes him require drink. He drinks and that thirst is removed. There is a similar thirst in man's spiritual'nature. He needs something and he feels uneasy until he gets it. The Grace of God, which is proclaimed to us in Christ Jesus, is that which meets the longing of man. That is the spiritual water for man's spiritual thirst.

THERE is a semicolon in our translation, but we need not take notice of it. It should not be there, since the text is the second of two parallel sentences arranged according to the method of Hebrew poetry— "Ho, everyone that thirsts, come you to the waters, And he that has no money, come, buy, and eat." We have before us the figure of a merchant selling his wares and crying like a chapman in the market, "Ho!" To attract attention he calls aloud, "Come! Come! Come!" three times; and he adds to this the cry of, "Buy! Buy!"

Ho, every one that thirsteth - “Water,” says Zimchi, “is a metaphor for the law and wisdom: as the world cannot subsist without water, so it is impossible that it can subsist without wisdom. The law is also compared to wine and milk: to wine because wine rejoiceth the heart, as it is written: ‘The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart,’ Psa 19:8. It is compared also to milk, because milk is the subsistence of the child; so are the words of the law the nourishment of his soul who walks in the Divine teaching, and grows up under it.” Come, buy wine and milk - In ancient times our forefathers used what is now called the old third person singular, ending in eth, for the imperative mood. We have a fine example of His in the first verses of this chapter. I shall present them as they stand in my old MS. Bible: - Alle gee thirstinge cummeth to wateris: and gee that han not sylver, goth forth and bieth, and etith. Cummeth, bieth without silver, and without eny chaungyng, wyn and mylc. Heerith gee, heering me and etith gode thinge, and deliten schal in fattnesse your soule. Bowith in your eie and cummeth to mee, heerith and liven schal your soule. And I shall smyten with gou, everlastynge covenant, the faithful mercies of David.