and clear is the water. Fetch then thy doctrine from afar, if thou
canst not have it good nearer hand. Job 36: 3. Thy life lies at
stake; the counterfeit of things is dangerous; every body that is
aware, is afraid thereof. Now a counterfeit here is most dangerous,
is most destructive; wherefore take heed how you hear what you hear;
for, as men say of the fish, by your color it will be seen what
waters you swim in. Wherefore look you well to yourselves.

The grace of God is called a river, to show that it is only suited
to those who are capable of living therein. Water, though it is that
which every creature desireth, yet is not an element in which every
creature can live. Who is it that would not have the benefit of
grace, of a throne of grace? But who is it that can live by grace?
even none but those whose temper and constitution is suited to
grace. Hence, as the grace of God is compared to a river, so those
that live by grace are compared to fish; for that, as water is that
element in which the fish liveth, so grace is that which is the life
of the saint. "And there shall be a very great multitude of fish,
because these waters shall come thither; for they shall he healed,
and every thing shall live whither the river cometh." Ezek. 47: 9.
Art thou a fish, man--art thou a fish? canst thou live in the water?
canst thou live always, and nowhere else hut in the water? is grace
thy proper element? The fish dieth if she be taken out of the water,
unless she be timely put in again; the saint dieth if he be not in
this river. Take him from his river, and nothing can make him live;
let him have water, water of life enough, and nothing can make him
die.

I know that there are some things besides fish that can make a shift
to live in the water; but the water is not their proper, their only