Refuge, Refreshment, and Rest in Christ

[anna274]

Isaiah 32:2
And a man shall be
as a hiding place from the wind;
and a covert from the storm,
as rivers of water in a dry place,
as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

excerpts from the writings of William Bacon Stevens
based on Isaiah 32:2

In a language, peculiar to oriental countries, the prophet sets forth the security, refuge, refreshment, and rest that the believer shall find in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

...

Christ having "satisfied the law and made it honorable,"  "having borne our sins in His own body on the tree"  --has redeemed us from the curse of the law, has effected a reconciliation with God, has made it possible for Him to be just and yet a justifier of him who believes in Jesus.  And the simple condition upon which we are put in full and eternal possession of all the blessings of this scheme of redemption -- is to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved."  To believe in Him in such a way as
to commit to Him the undivided interest of our souls,
to look to Him alone for salvation,
To cast away every other help and refuge,

...
when the sinner has done this he has, in the emphatic words of the Bible,
"fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before him in the gospel"
he has "put on Christ,"
he had "hidden his life with Christ in God,"
he has "made the Lord his stronghold and tower of defense,"
he has found a "covert from the storm,"

[anna274]

Isaiah 32:2
And a man shall be
as a hiding place from the wind;
and a covert from the storm,
as rivers of water in a dry place,
as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

excerpts from the writings of William Bacon Stevens
based on Isaiah 32:2

In a language, peculiar to oriental countries, the prophet sets forth the security, refuge, refreshment, and rest that the believer shall find in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

...

Christ having "satisfied the law and made it honorable,"  "having borne our sins in His own body on the tree"  --has redeemed us from the curse of the law, has effected a reconciliation with God, has made it possible for Him to be just and yet a justifier of him who believes in Jesus.  And the simple condition upon which we are put in full and eternal possession of all the blessings of this scheme of redemption -- is to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved."  To believe in Him in such a way as
to commit to Him the undivided interest of our souls,
to look to Him alone for salvation,
To cast away every other help and refuge,

...
when the sinner has done this he has, in the emphatic words of the Bible,
"fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before him in the gospel"
he has "put on Christ,"
he had "hidden his life with Christ in God,"
he has "made the Lord his stronghold and tower of defense,"
he has found a "covert from the storm,"

[anna274]

Psalm 23:   AMP
v 2.  He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and RESTFUL waters.

A picture of rural beauty expands before us.  We see a happy flock RESTING in calm quietness in fields rich in luxuriant plenty; we see them guided to meadows through which REFRESHING streams glide tranquilly.  The scene is perfect.  Here is repose amid abundance.  Nothing disturbs the calm enjoyment.

The antitype is the believer secure from all alarms, peaceful in knowledge of the Lord's protection, feasting on the rich provision of His Word, regaled with sustaining promises, nurtured by the Spirit's rich supplies, reposing under the shadow of the cross, drinking the cooling streams of scriptural teaching.

This picture also exhibits Jesus.  Amid His many troubles He could calmly REST in the assurance of His Father's love ...

short meditation from gracegems.org