"The Bible Is As Tender Grass
"My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass." Deuteronomy 32:2
"His word was in my tongue . . . as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. " II Samuel 23 :2, 4
Here we have a striking symbol drawn from nature of the refreshing and reviving influences of the Scriptures. What a promise of spiritual quickening there is in the truths of the Bible being able to revive and quicken our parched hearts and the dry, barren condition of the church, just as the continuous rain brings new life to fields and lawns! How we need these showers of blessing!
Such a promise of blessing can be found in these verses--
"Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shall find it after many days" Ecclesiastes 11:1
"As the rain cometh down . . . watereth the earth . . . so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth." Isaiah 55:10,11
God has declared that His life giving Word will not return unto Him void. What authority there is in the declaration.
"It shall accomplish that which I please and shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."
Here, then, is the promise to cheer our drooping spirits when we feel that our preaching of His Word is in vain--It shall accomplish! Then, as Sidney Collett has reminded us in his comment on the rains and snow of which Isaiah speaks: Here are wonderful symbols for the Bible, rising like vapour from the mighty ocean of God's eternal love; wafted by the breath of His spirit over this world of ours; regarded by men as a dark cloud which seems only to mar their enjoyment; yet falling on barren hearts at all seasons with enriching showers from the bounteous hand of Him who 'sendeth rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:43). How beautiful also to remember that the sun and rain together make the rainbow of God's covenant promise."