Isaiah 44:3-5 For I will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground: I will pour my spirit on your seed… Foremost among the judgments which followed Israel's idolatries was the visitation of drought. Dwelling, as we do, under milder skies, and in a sea-girt isle, we enjoy copious supplies of fertilising rain. Yet, even in our own land, a sensible reduction of the rainfall in spring is followed by empty shocks in August. But in the sunny climes of Syria, if the half-yearly gift of rain failed, the effect was disastrous in the extreme. In the footsteps of famine marched dark-robed pestilence, and grim Death with his scythe of keenest edge. Nor was this all. Towns and hamlets, stripped of strong men, became an easy prey to the marauder. Successful raids paved the way for desolating war; and defeat, oppression, national ruin, came in swift procession. Hence, impiety, must have grown bold indeed, if the Hebrews did not earnestly ask for the 'early and the latter rain." Now if drought is so injurious in the fields of nature, is it not equally injurious in the Church? I. A STATE OF BARRENNESS DESCRIBED. The ground is said to be "dry" — that is, in a parched and impenetrable condition. This is not its normal state: this is deadly to vegetable growth. For some reason the land has been deprived of dew and rain. No seed, however big with latent life, can break its rigid shell; much less spring up or prosper. With such homely imagery as this the prophet leads our thoughts from the outer world to the inner. There is a sense of need expressed. Here is a marked improvement. The soul is athirst; the insensibility is guns. The rigid hardness of winter is at an end. II. A GENEROUS GIFT PROVIDED. A promise from God is as good as its performance. 1. The Source of the supply. It must come from above. The great folly to which all men are prone, is to seek the supply of their wants apart from God. 2. The suitableness of the means. What can be more suitable than showers of rain for a thirsty soil? Yet equally suitable is every gift of God to satisfy the wants of dependent man! 3. The copiousness of the gift. If showers will not suffice, there shall be floods. 4. The range of the promise. It shall not terminate with ourselves: it shall extend to our children — ay, to our children's children! III. ABUNDANT FERTILITY FORESEEN. There shall be a revival of life in the Church, as in the parched fields after a copious shower — as in nature, at the advent of spring. 1. Multiplicity of conversions is here predicted "They shall spring up as amongst the grass." 2. Rapidity of growth shall be another feature of this era. 3. Constancy of verdure will be enjoyed. They shall be "as willows by the water-courses." In the arid deserts of the East you will find here and there — conspicuous for their rarity — bright spots of luxuriant herbage, fruitful palms, flagrant flowers, in the midst of scorching sand. The secret is here, — that far down beneath the surface, a fount bubbles from the riven rock, which, watering the roots of trees and grass, produces beauty, shade, and fruit. So have we seen a man, placed in a very desert of privation — exposed to a scorching sun of trial — yet retaining all the freshness of his piety, and yielding fruits of wisdom, patience, hope. For the roots of his faith were nourished from a secret spring. (Dickerson Davies, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: |
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