God's Provision

He waters the earth and makes it fruitful. On this instance of God's power and goodness the psalmist enlarges very much, the psalm being probably penned upon occasion either of a more than ordinarily plentiful harvest or of a seasonable rain after long drought. How much the fruitfulness of this lower part of the creation depends upon the influence of the upper is easy to observe. If the heavens be as brass, the earth is as iron, which is a sensible intimation to a stupid world that every good and perfect gift is from above.

We must lift up our eyes above the hills, lift them up to the heavens, where the original springs of all blessings are out of sight, and thither must our praises return, just as the firstfruits of the earth were in the heave offerings lifted up towards heaven by way of acknowledgment that thence they were derived. All God's blessings, even spiritual ones, are expressed by His raining righteousness upon us.

Now observe how the common blessing of rain from heaven and fruitful seasons is here described.

1. How much there is in it of the power and goodness of God, which is here set forth by a great variety of lively expressions.

(a) God that made the earth hereby visits it, sends to it, gives proof of His care of it. It is a visit in mercy, which the inhabitants of the earth ought to return in praises.

(b) God, that made the dry land, hereby waters it, in order to its fruitfulness. Though the productions of the earth flourished before God had caused it to rain, yet even then there was a mist which answered the intention, and watered the whole face of the ground (Genesis 2:5-6). Our hearts are dry and barren unless God Himself be as the dew to us and water us; and the plants of His own planting He will water and make them to prosper.

(c) Rain is the river of God, which Is full of water; the clouds are the springs of this river, which do not flow at random, but in the channel which God cuts out for it. The showers of rain, as the rivers of water, He turns which way so ever He pleases.

(d) This river of God enriches the earth, which without it would quickly be a poor thing. The riches of the earth which are produced out of its surface are abundantly more useful and serviceable to man than those which are hidden in its bowels; we might live well enough without silver and gold, but not without corn and grass.

2. How much benefit is derived from it to the earth and to man upon it.

(a) To the earth itself. The rain in season gives it a new face; nothing is more reviving, more refreshing, than the rain upon the new mown grass (Psalm 72:6). Even the ridges of the earth, off which the rain seems to slide, are watered abundantly, for they drink in the rain which comes often upon them; the furrows of it, which are turned up by the plow, are settled by the rain and made fit to receive the seed; they are settled by being made soft. That which makes the soil of the heart tender settles it; for the heart is established with that grace.

Thus the springing of the year is blessed; and if the spring, that first quarter of the year, be blessed, that is an earnest of a blessing upon the whole year, which God is therefore said to crown with His goodness, to compass it on every side as the head is compassed with a crown, and to complete the comforts of it as the end of a thing is said to crown it. And His paths are said to drop fatness; for whatever fatness there is in the earth, which impregnates its productions, it comes from the outgoings of the divine goodness. Wherever God goes, He leaves the tokens of His mercy behind Him (Joel 2:13-14) and makes His path thus to shine after Him.

These Communications of God's goodness to this lower world are very extensive and diffusive. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness, and not merely upon the pastures of the inhabited land. The deserts, which man takes no care of and receives no profit from, are under the care of the divine Providence, and the profits of them redound to the glory of God, as the great Benefactor of the whole creation, though not immediately to the benefit of man. We ought to be thankful not only for that which serves us, but for that which serves any part of the creation, because thereby it turns to the honor of the Creator. The wilderness, which makes not such returns as the cultivated grounds do, receives as much of the rain of heaven as the most fruitful soil; for God does good to the evil and unthankful.

So extensive are the gifts of God's bounty that in them the hills, the little hills, rejoice on every side, even the north side, that lies most from the sun. Hills are not above the need of God's providence; little hills are not below the cognizance of it. But as, when He pleases, He can make them tremble (Psalm 114:6), so when He pleases, He can make them rejoice.

(b) To man upon the earth. God, by providing rain for the earth, prepares corn for man. As for the earth, out of it comes bread (Job 28:5), for out of it comes corn; but every grain of corn that comes out of it God Himself prepared. Therefore He provides rain for the earth, that thereby He may prepare corn for man, under whose feet He has put the rest of the creatures, and for whose use He has fitted them. When we consider that the yearly produce of the corn is not only an operation of the same power that raises the dead, but an instance of that power not much unlike it (as appears by that of our Savior in John 12:24), and that the constant benefit we have from it is an instance of that goodness which endures for ever, we shall have reason to think that it is no less than a God that prepares corn for us.

Corn and cattle are the two staple commodities with which the husbandman, who deals immediately in the fruits of the earth, is enriched; and both are owing to the divine goodness in watering the earth. To this it is owing that the pastures are clothed with flocks. So well stocked are the pastures that they seem to be covered over with the cattle that are laid in them, and yet the pastures are not overcharged. So well fed are the cattle that they are the ornament and the glory of the pastures in which they are fed. The valleys are so fruitful that they seem to be covered over with corn, in the time of harvest.

The lowest parts of the earth are commonly the most fruitful, and one acre of the humble valleys is worth five of the lofty mountains. But both corn-ground and pasture-ground, answering the end of their creation, are said to shout for joy and sing, because they are serviceable to the honor of God and the comfort of man, and because they furnish us with matter for joy and praise. As there is no earthly joy above the joy of harvest, so there was none of the feasts of the Lord, among the Jews, solemnized with greater expressions of thankfulness than the feast of ingathering at the end of the year (Exodus 23:16). Let all these common gifts of the divine bounty, which we yearly and daily partake of, increase our love to God as the best of beings, and engage us to glorify Him with our bodies, which He thus provides so well for.

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen