This picture of a sealed fountain reveals the inner life of every believer. And the first thing we see is secrecy. A spring shut up! In the ancient East, they would build structures over precious springs, hiding them completely. Only those who knew the secret entrance could find the water. So it is with the believer's heart when grace transforms it—there is a mysterious life inside that no human skill can touch. It's a secret no other man knows. No, even the very man who possesses it cannot tell it to his neighbor!

But the text shows us more than secrecy—it shows separation. This is not the common spring where every passer-by may drink! This fountain has been kept and preserved from all others. It bears a particular mark—a king's royal seal—so that all can perceive this is no common fountain, but one owned by a proprietor, placed specially by itself alone.

So it is with the spiritual life. The chosen of God were separated in the eternal decree. They were separated by God in the day of redemption. And they are separated by the possession of a life which others have not. It is impossible for them to feel at home with the world or to delight in its pleasures.

There is also the idea of sacredness. The spring shut up is preserved for some special person's use. Such is the Christian's heart—it is a spring kept for Jesus. Every Christian should feel that he has God's seal upon him, and he should be able to say with Paul, "From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."

But here's what stands out most—security. Oh! how sure and safe is the inner life of the believer! If all the powers of earth and hell could combine against it, that immortal principle must still exist, for he who gave it pledged his life for its preservation. And who "is he that shall harm you," when God is your protector?