In this message I would like to give a further word on Jeremiah 2:13; Lamentations 3:22-25; Jeremiah 23:5-6; and 31:33-34. The intrinsic content of these verses shows us God's economy.
Jeremiah 2:13 reveals that God is the fountain of living waters. Why does God desire to be the fountain of living waters for His elect people to drink that their thirst may be quenched and that they may be satisfied? God's purpose in wanting to be the fountain of living waters for His elect to drink is that He would be increased and enlarged. Many Christians have not paid attention to this matter. Have you ever heard that God wants to be enlarged? When some hear this, they say, "How can God be enlarged? Is He not already large enough? It is blasphemy to say that God can be enlarged." Concerning this matter of God's enlargement, let us come back to the Bible and see what the Bible says.
In the Bible there is the thought that God is the satisfying water to His elect. Psalm 36:8-9a says, "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life." Here fatness means food, or the life supply, and the river is the river of life. In typology the fatness of God's house refers to the rich produce of the good land. All the riches that were offered to God became the fatness of His house. As we enjoy this fatness, we drink of the river of life, the river of God's pleasures.
In the Bible there are a number of places where God is signified by a river. The first is in Genesis 2:10-14. God created man in His own image and then placed him in the garden of Eden in front of the tree of life. The tree of life is first mentioned in verse 9. Then verse 10 goes on to say, "A river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads." This river, therefore, is closely related to the tree of life. Another verse which speaks of a river is Psalm 46:4. "There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God." Ezekiel 47 tells of the prophet's vision of a river flowing out of the temple of God. In John 4 the Lord Jesus speaks of living water (v. 10) and of a spring of water gushing up into eternal life (v. 14); and in John 7, He speaks of rivers of living water (v. 38). In 1 Corinthians 10:4 we have Paul's word about spiritual drink. Finally, in Revelation 22:1 we have a word concerning the river of water of life proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. It is through the flow of this river that God's economy is accomplished.