After the rain, the sun. ‘The quality of mercy is not strained, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath’ wrote Will Shakespeare. Well, all I can say is, mercy may have that gentleness about it, but the way the rain droppeth at the moment hath been anything but gentle. Heavy showers with big blobs of very cold rain (particularly when one goes down your neck, as it did today), but then followed by beautiful blue sky and bright sunshine – with even a rainbow or two thrown in. There is a lovely reference to the earth after rain in 2 Samuel 23 which king David uses to describe a good and righteous ruler. Listen to this: The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me:
‘When one rules over people in righteousness,
when he rules in the fear of God,
he is like the light of morning at sunrise
on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain
that brings grass from the earth.’ 2 Sam 23:3-4
The brightness after rain – it is refreshing after a shower of rain, isn’t it? Everything looks fresh and renewed and there can be a pleasing aroma in the air. I’m not saying that continual showers, or downpours have that effect, but, as Matthias Claudias’ hymn that we’ll probably sing this month says:
He sends the snow in winter, The warmth to swell the grain, The breezes and the sunshine And soft refreshing rain. So we really should thank the Lord for the refreshment that breezes, sunshine and rain can bring. But look again at those words of David. He is comparing a good, righteous ruler before God to a cloudless sunrise and the brightness after rain that helps things grow. King David, I’m sure, would admit that his reign did not come up to that standard of perfection, yet surely in those words he is prophetically describing his greater Son, the Lord Jesus who, 970 or so years later would come whose rule will be perfect and righteous for ever. And what a lovely description it is of the King of kings, the Lord Jesus, who brings light and clarity into our sin darkened lives; he brings a brightness and freshness like the soft refreshing rain into our barren, dry souls. Have you experienced that, or do you need to come afresh to the Saviour to experience that
fresh work of his grace in your heart? I think I do.
Steve Piggott
Oct 2012
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