W K Tweedie
Isaiah 32:2. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
How mysterious that announcement must have seemed to the carnal Jew, who neither understood nor cared for understanding his own religion! That a man should shelter him from troubles, sudden and severe like the sweep of the tempest – what so incredible? That a man should refresh and gladden him like rivers of water in eastern lands – what so impossible? Or that a man should be a source of safety and of joy, like the shadow of great rock in countries where trees are rare – that must have seemed as strange and unintelligible as speech in an unknown tongue.
But to us who live in “the last times”, all is transparently plain. A man, the Man Christ Jesus, is now our hiding place and shelter. When the floods come and the storms beat, His people are as safe under His shadow as in a stronghold of rocks: He is their Rock, their fortress and their high tower. “Immanuel, God with us,” solves that and a hundred difficulties besides. He who has seen the Son has seen the Father also; and glory to God is thus beheld in closest combination with peace and safety to the sons of men.
1Taken, with editing, from Tweedie’s volume, Glad Tidings of the Gospel of Peace.
Stand in awe then, O my soul, and contemplate what God has wrought. You are exposed to the tempest of wrath – here is your screen. You dwell in a dry, parched land – here is the river which gladdens it. The sun which scorches others need inflict no damage on you. No, like a tree planted by the rivers of water, fruit unto holiness may be gathered from you; like willows by the water-courses, you should prosper. The early and the latter rain is made sure by the promise of Him who hung the bow in the clouds as a pledge of His faithfulness for ever, and who undertakes to be the hiding place and shield of those who trust in His word. Trust then in Him, for “in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength”. The very word which commanded the universe to come into existence is the foundation of the believer’s hope. The truth of Him who is the same yesterday, today and for ever, is his guide. Who then is he that can injure such a soul?