01.6. The Dew of Israel
Chapter 6 THE DEW OF ISRAEL.
" I will be as the dew unto Israel ― that he shall flourish as the Rose." - Hosea 14:5
" Israel, return unto the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity." ― Such are the gracious words of the Lord to his people; and the promises which he annexes to this call of mercy, and by which he allures them to himself, are sweeter than honey and the honey-comb; (Psalms 19:10.) He will heal their backslidings. He will love them freely, for his anger is turned away from them. Yea, he will be as the dew unto Israel ― that he shall flourish as the rose. At this last promise to the spiritual Israel we will pause, to inquire into its import, and to refresh ourselves with the hidden manna which descends in this heavenly dew. (See Exodus 16:14.) Let US contemplate, 1. Christ under the similitude of the dew on Israel; and then, 2. The Church, as represented by a blooming rose.
1. CHRIST THE DEW OF ISRAEL.
I will be as the dew unto Israel. How beautiful the comparison! Many, doubtless, in this assembly, are now breathing the silent prayer ― " 0, my Lord and Saviour, be unto me as the dew of the early dawn."
Frequent allusion is made to dew in the sacred writings. Sometimes it represents great and special benefits; " Therefore," saith the aged Patriarch to Esau, " God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth." (Genesis 27:28.) Spiritual blessings are also thus described; " The fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine, also his heavens shall drop down dew." (Deuteronomy 33:28.) The fruitfulness and quickening power of the word of God is moreover set forth by this similitude; " My speech shall distill as the dew." (Deuteronomy 32:2.) Sometimes grace is signified; "The king’s favour is as dew upon the grass." (Proverbs 19:12.) At other times, it is expressive of peace and brotherly union of spirit; " Behold, how good, and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments. As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore." (Psalms 133:1-3) The morning dew, copiously diffused over the face of nature, brilliant, from the reflected light of heaven, as diamonds of the purest water, communicating freshness to the herbage, is an apt and beautiful emblem of the children of God, ― the converts of Zion, who are born from above, numerous as the drops of morning dew. (Psalm. ex.) The beauty of the Lord their God is upon them, and they are valued by Him as his precious jewels. (Malachi 3:17) The blessings vouchsafed to the places where they dwell, in answer to their fervent and constant prayers, descend as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the new mown grass. " The remnant of Jacob," it is said, " shall be in the midst of many people, as a dew from the Lord." (Micah 5:7) The Holy Ghost, also, with His manifold powers, gifts, and operations, is frequently represented by the same similitude. "Whenever the Lord is described as watering his vineyard, and causing clouds to pass over it, and sending rain from heaven; whenever we read of a river the streams whereof make glad the city of God, and refresh the wilderness and solitary place, the allusion is to the Holy Spirit, who is to the soul that which dew and rain are to the face of nature. " Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." (Isaiah 26:19.) When therefore, as in my text, the Lord thus speaks of Himself, we cannot mistake the meaning. He is Himself the dew; for he is one with the Spirit. " The Lord is that Spirit," says the apostle; and again, " We are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord;" or of the Lord the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18. See the marginal reading.) When Christ enters into a soul, the Spirit enters; and has fellowship with us; and so also has Christ, who is glorified in us, and gives himself to us with quickening power.
" I will be as the dew unto Israel." How deep is the condescension which is intimated by this comparison. It is as if the great design of the existence of God were the life and well-being of his people. And the same grace was manifested in the humiliation of Jesus during his sojourn upon earth. " The Son of man," said our Lord, " came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28.) And again, "I lay down my life for the sheep." (John 10:15.) He laid it down once upon the cross, and in another, and spiritual sense, he lays it down daily for us now. He lives for us, to make us partakers of his life, that we may live in him. The Lord of heaven and of earth, under whose feet are put all things, even He will be to us a dew ― a refreshing shower poured upon the withered field of fallen nature; O think, brethren, of this condescension, this love. The Lord will be as a dew. This also intimates, that there is a thirsty and fainting land, which he will render fruitful. And such are we, till we have received life from on high. In vain shall we seek for any fruit in a soul, before Christ has given it life. How is the beautiful garden laid waste, the planting of the Lord within us. The fire of rebellion against God has devoured the green foliage. It is a desolation, a dry and dreary desert, where only dragons and vipers dwell ― thoughts and desires opposed to the God of heaven. Let any one seek there for the beauteous plant of heavenly love; it is utterly destroyed. Let him search for the luxuriant growth of filial confidence, of ardent devotion, and heart-felt delight in prayer; let him ask for the fragrant but lowly floweret of humility, whether it yet blooms? for the little plant of patience, whether it now grows? for communion with God, whether it is still cherished? Let a man inquire for power, and zeal, and inclination to do the will of God; for heavenly-mindedness; for the upward soaring of the soul. ― Alas! how have we become a wilderness! That is fulfilled in us, which is spoken of by the prophet, "Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory and sit in thirst." (Jeremiah 48:18) Our strength is withered away, as in the drought of summer. There is no verdure, no life in us. And should any one seek to restore the lost verdure, as long as the wonder-working dew of God is withheld, his efforts are unavailing as water poured upon the burning sand. Let a man form good resolutions; let him preach or hear the word; let him read and pray; let him retire into solitude, or seek the society of the pious; it is all to no purpose, unless the Lord be with him: it is as when the rain or dew falls upon the paving-stones of the streets. But the Lord can even of stones raise up children to Abraham. He can make the wilderness blossom as the rose.
I, saith the Lord, I will be as the dew unto Israel. ― Blessed be God that He will be as the dew. The dew is wont to fall, in the sultry night of summer, when the fields are dry and languishing; and, in like manner, doth Jesus visit the thirsty soul. Go abroad into the fields on an early summer’s morning. See how the dew sparkles in the valleys, how it lies upon the meadows as a sea of pearls; but none has fallen upon the lofty hills. Thus, whosoever would receive Christ must first he brought low; must, like David, cry unto God out of the Depths. (Psalms 130:1.) " Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly, but the proud he knoweth afar off.’’ (Psalms 138:6) " To this man will I look, saith the Lord, even to him that is poor and of a contrite heart, and that trembleth at my word." (Isaiah 66:2.) God is wont to make a man lowly before he visits him with his quickening and refreshing power. Every mountain and hill shall be brought low before Him. The Saviour of men loves the valley of humiliation. ― How well did He know how to bring down the pride in the woman of Samaria; " Thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband." (John 4:18.) At once she was convicted of sin; and sensible of her poverty and wretchedness, she looked around for a deliverer from among the people. Then it was that Jesus said unto her, "I that speak unto thee am He;" (John 4:26.) and from that time she was renewed in the spirit of her mind, and changed both in heart and life. She was the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified. And it is ever thus. The dew of God falls from above. He opens the clouds of heaven, and wherever he finds valleys and depths among the hills, empty, and helpless souls, there he sheds abroad his sacred influences. " The hungry he filleth with good things, but the rich he sendeth empty away." As Joseph was a type of Christ in his whole life, so was he also in this, that he was cast into a pit which was empty.
It is in the stillness of the night that the dew descends from heaven. "We hear no sound, we see no brightness; but in the morning it is suspended from the leaves, and we know not whence it came, nor how it was placed there. So is it also with Christ. The manner of his coming is hidden in darkness; who can lift up the veil? His approach is also, for the most part still and noiseless; not with sound and ceremony, not with visions and wondrous manifestations, not with a voice from heaven, and pomp and parade apparent to the senses. Or ever the sighing and waiting sinner is aware, He says to him. Behold, I am He. No host of angels has entered his chamber, no audible voice has been heard through his window: he has seen no vision, nor has any light from heaven shone around him, as around the shepherds on the field of Bethlehem; but within his soul he has heard the gracious announcement, " Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy, for to you is born this day the Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." The Spirit beareth witness with his spirit; and this is the witness that God hath given unto us eternal life, and that this life is in his Son. His conscience also testifies that he has partaken of the fountain of grace opened to the house of David and inhabitants of Jerusalem: he knows that Christ is his Saviour. The dew has gently fallen in the calm and silent season of the night; but in what manner we know not; yet the sinner feels that it is there: and we also perceive, in the whole course of his life and conversation, that Divine grace has descended on his soul. The dew upon the tender grass is distinguished for its brightness. It reflects the light of heaven. And thus also, when Christ has found admission into our soul, amidst the deepened sense of our sinfulness, He appears glorious in our eyes; and the more close our communion with him, the more do our misery and utter helplessness become apparent. Hence the cry of the believer: " Alas! what am I, my Saviour: I daily discover more evil in my state." But thanks be to God, as the dew adorns and beautifies that on which it falls, so does Christ cover our misery with his righteousness, which is glorious like the curtains of Solomon. (Song of Solomon 1:5) There is no condemnation, saith the apostle, to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1) And how fertilizing is this dew! It gives life to the dead soul. It makes the wilderness to rejoice and blossom as the rose. How great is the change which is effected, when, after a long and sultry summer’s day, the morning dawn unfolds itself, and sheds abroad its blessings upon the fields. We see nothing then faint and withered; the flowers and herbage lift up their heads; all things are adorned with beauty, as in the season of spring, and the fragrance of life is wafted through the air! But yet greater and more glorious is the change, when Christ, the dew of God, descends upon a heart, or upon a whole household, as in the case of Cornelius.
How wretched and barren the heart of man, till Christ is there. How unhappy and lifeless its condition. The world possesses all ― the mind, the will, the affections. The thoughts are winged only toward the flesh-pots of Egypt. The desires and hopes go upon the ground, like the serpent, and eat the dust. The mouth speaks only of the gratifications and employments of time. The whole life and being of man ― his joys and griefs, his hopes and sorrows, are estimated by this world and its vanity; his entire state is mean and groveling, without God, without light, destitute of heavenly mindedness, full of sin. Angels cannot endure such a sight.
But, behold! Salvation comes to this house. The Saviour sheds his blessings from on high. Now come and see what a change has been effected. " The glory of the Lord filleth the house." How sacred has the place become; worldly mindedness is expelled, and the gentle spirit of humility and love occupies its room, and the conversation is in heaven; earthly inclinations are dislodged, and the thoughts, wishes, and desires are now wings, wherewith to fly upward. The treasure is now elsewhere, the heart is elsewhere also. Other bread and water are now known, and other is the thirst and hunger. The man has attained another state and condition, and his language and course of life are consequently different. He is spiritual, and all things are now spiritually discerned and estimated; and his chambers are perfumed with the frankincense of prayer and praise, ascending day and night as a sweet smelling savour before the Lord. His state was before dreary, and void, and desolate, and darkness was upon the face of the deep: but the Spirit has now moved upon the face of the waters, and light has broken in, and the soul stands glorious in the bloom and beauty of the new creation. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the work of Him who says, in my text, I will be as the dew unto Israel. That he were such to all of us! But observe, my brethren, that dew, precious as it is, may become injurious to the fields. This is the case, when it falls on a cold and chilly atmosphere. Then, congealed into frost, it destroys, vegetation. And thus has Christ been unto many the savour of death unto death. So, for example, did he become to Judas a chilling frost. Of this the wintry atmosphere of opposition and obstinacy in Judas was the cause. All that Jesus did by word or example, by gentle allurements or by warnings, to gain an entrance into the heart of Judas, hardened his heart more and more, and accelerated his destruction. Christ was not the cause of this, but Judas himself. May God preserve every one of us from such a state! God forbid that that which alone can give life eternal, should in the evil atmosphere of our soul be changed into a withering frost!
O let him who has received this refreshing and fructifying gift, rejoice and give thanks to God. But some of you, perhaps, mourn the absence of the dew after which you thirst. For many days and weeks, it may be, you have not been able to perceive its sweetness, nor rejoice in its communications from on high. See that, under such circumstances, you mistake not your state. For the dew is not unfrequently withheld from the souls of God’s dear children. Then do the plants of love and peace, of confidence and joy, droop and hang down their heads. There is no life for prayer, praise, or giving of thanks. But only wait awhile. God would now show you the value of the dew. When his hour is come He will return again to you, and give you inwardly to experience its gracious effects. And how great the joy when the treasures of heaven are poured forth after a long, sultry season! Then you first learn rightly how to estimate the mercies conferred on you, and by faith perceive and acknowledge in your own soul, that the Lord alone is as the dew unto Israel.
2. THE CHURCH A BLOOMING ROSE. As Christ represents himself in my text under the similitude of the dew, in like manner does he compare the church, and also each individual believer, to a rose. " I will be as the dew unto Israel ― that he shall flourish as the rose." This expression is also highly significant. The rose is a lovely flower, second to none in sweetness and beauty. As the nightingale among birds, the rose is among flowers, the most eloquent in the praises of the Creator. It utters no vocal sound, nor does it rustle, as the palm of Elias, or the cedars of Lebanon, and yet it seems to be formed to give glory to its maker. Thus, too, Israel, whose seed shall live for ever, a rose in the great wilderness of man, created for God’s honour and glory. " The Lord hath redeemed Jacob," saith the prophet, "and glorified Himself in Israel." (Isaiah 44:23.) And St. Paul declares, that God hath " predestined us unto the adoption of children, by Jesus Christ, to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved." (Ephesians 1:5-6.) Believers are his workmanship, born of his Water and his Spirit. His is the light which enlightens them; His the grace which is made manifest in their conversation. Yes, all that is bright and lovely in their character is from God, the darkness only belongs to themselves. The Urim and Thummin, which they bear upon their breast, has been placed there by God; and the language of their hearts is, " Not unto us, Lord, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth’s sake." (Psalms 115:1.) The power of His grace is displayed in all who are born again to his honour and glory. " We have this treasure," it is said, " in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (2 Corinthians 4:7.)
How wondrous, how mysterious, are the ways of God. For observe who are they that shall flourish as the rose. Poor, contrite sinners, who are conscious of nothing good in themselves; miserable outcasts, such as took refuge with David in the cave; weak, dispirited men by nature, who have neither power nor will of their own to make any effort ― the lame, the blind, the destitute, who lie in the street at the threshold of His door, and live on the crumbs of bread which fall from His table. And the great and the rich, the honorable and the powerful, (namely, those who deem themselves as such) are but as weeds. A believer, however deep may have been the dye of his sins; a poor Lazarus lying in his leprosy; a publican pricked to the heart, and crying, God be merciful to me a sinner; a penitent thief upon the cross ― Such sinners He receiveth (Luke 15:2.) From these he ordaineth praise. Such is the wonder-working power of God. But, truly, they are not saved by Him for the sake of any thing in themselves, nor for any humility or piety they may be supposed to possess; but He regards them as his own, because they are found in Christ, and are clothed with the garment of his perfect righteousness. By his grace he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. The rose has a delightful fragrance. Thus the Lord says by Ezekiel, " I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered, and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen." (Ezekiel 20:41.) And it is said, respecting the church, in the Song of Solomon, "the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon." (Song of Solomon 4:11.) This reminds us of Jacob, when, by subtlety, he obtained the blessing. He clothed himself in the " goodly raiment " of Esau, and drew nigh unto his father; (Genesis 27:15.) then, it is said, Isaac smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, " See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed." (Genesis 27:27.) And this is it with regard to ourselves. We are as a sweet savour unto the Lord, only when clothed in the beautiful garments of our elder brother; we are accepted in the Beloved. The rose is red; in this respect also is it an emblem of the spiritual Israel. St. Paul speaks, in the tenth chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews, of our " boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus;" and again, in the twelfth chapter, he makes mention of " the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." As Moses sprinkled all the people with the blood of the sacrifice, so are the children of God sprinkled with the blood of Christ, their passover, that the destroying angel may not touch them. (Hebrews 9:19; Hebrews 9:23; 1 Peter 1:3) Their faith looks to His atoning blood. " The shield of the mighty men is made red," saith the prophet Nahum 2:3 This may be regarded as applying to the shield of faith. Their hope springs out of the obedience of the Saviour, his obedience unto death. Their prayers and praises are sprinkled with his blood, for thus only do they draw nigh unto God. The fountain of their love is the bleeding cross. They would glory in nothing else, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He is their all and in all. All their works are done in the believing apprehension of the blood of the cross. Thus do they possess the colour as well as the fragrance of the rose. When a rose has lost its lovely hue, it is a sign that it is hastening to decay. This holds good also with reference to the Christian. If he cease to cry, with David, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow;" (Psalms 51:7.) if he neglect to have recourse to the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness; if he begin to think lightly of the offering of the Mediator, and venture without it to approach the Father, it is an evil token― a sign that the worm of pride is gnawing at the root. The more rich the coloring, the greater is the indication of life; the more indispensable appears to us the blood of the covenant, the better is the state of our soul. The rose is seldom without a thorn. And what says the bridegroom in the Song of Solomon? " As the rose among the thorns so is my beloved." But what are the thorns? They are the many afflictions, both external and with-in, to which the children of God are subjected in this world. And thus must it needs be. They are hedged in, that they may not wander out of the right way, and that they may be protected from many dangers. Without his sufferings the graces of Lazarus would not have shone forth so brightly; and Paul, without a thorn in his flesh would have been exalted above measure. Whenever the church of God has been subjected to severe persecution, the beauty of the Lord has been most upon her, and her comeliness unfolded to the view. And now observe, in the last place, the source whence the rose derives its loveliness and growth. It toils not, neither does it spin, but it waves gently in the sun-beam, and opens its cup to the dew of the early dawn; thence its fragrance and beauty, in which it surpasses every flower of the field. Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of them. Here do we receive instruction. Our toils and labours are of no avail: we cannot change and renew ourselves. In this consists our life; that we walk in the light of Jacob; that the day-star from on high visits us; that we "lift up our eyes unto the hills from whence cometh our help;" (Psalms 121:1.) that we repair to no fountain but that which is opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, (Zechariah 13:1.) and daily and hourly draw from thence living water. (John 4:10.) Happy are they who have no other care than every moment to abide under the beams of the Sun of Righteousness, and be moistened with the dew which distills from heaven. Happy are they whose eyes rest continually on the good Shepherd, that he may give them their portion of meat in due season; that he may open his hand and satisfy them with good things. They shall never be permitted to want. Their bread shall be given them, and their water shall be sure.
Wouldst thou, Israel, flourish and blossom as the rose? Unfold thine heart under a deep sense of thy need to Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness, and to the dew of heaven which descends gently from on high. So wilt thou be, as the rose in the season of spring, lovely, fresh, and fragrant; and in thy words and actions, in thy prayers and praises, and thy holy conversation, will men recognize the brightness and the glory of the heavenly dew.
O come, then. Lord and Saviour, be unto us as the dew! On all those who are still as withered plants, and, continuing such, must at length be cast into the fire and burned, let the power of thy Spirit be manifest, as once on the rod of Aaron, which though dry and lifeless, yet, in one night, "brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds." (Numbers 17:8.) May we all flourish as the rose. And whenever Thou shalt come to us to call a soul hence to thy eternal mansions, may it be said in heaven, " Behold, my Beloved is gone down into his garden to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather roses." (Song of Solomon 6:2.)
Amen.