LIFE IN SCRIPTURE SIMILES.
By William Covert
To EVERYTHING, as to every intelligent being, there is given a work. Every creature has its mission, and every object has its voice. The rocks and the rills, the hills and the dales, the mountains and the plains, the rivers and the seas, the days and the nights, the clouds and the storms, the heavens and the earth with all their elements, instruct in divine lore, and none are misguided who rightly comprehend and heed their lessons. David, while hiding among the ramparts of nature from king Saul, said, “The Lord is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my Strength, in whom I will trust; my Buckler, and the Horn of my salvation, and my high Tower.” Ps. 18:2. By faith David beheld the power of God as an impenetrable rock, upon every side protecting him from his jealous pursuer. Nature surrounded him with visible fortresses, and the psalmist saw in these similes of invisible protection. Through all these means the Lord was speaking to His servant of deliverance from a foe more wily than the Benjaminite king, and from a fate more to be feared than death by sword or javelin. Every object that served him as shield or tower, spoke to him of salvation from sin and final triumph over death. He saw life from God manifested in His preserving care. In the midst of constant danger,325he was led to praise the Lord for manifold blessings. The last Old Testament prophet spoke of the sun as an emblem of Christ’s righteousness, and restoration from the effects of sin. Through him the Lord says to His people, “The Sun of Righteousness” shall “arise with healing in His wings.” The coming up of the morning sun to dispel the darkness of the night, renews the assurance of salvation day by day. The driving away of the clouds of night and the warming of the earth by day tells anew from sun to sun the story of redemption. To Judea’s weeping prophet the gushing spring spoke of the Saviour as a “Fountain of living waters.” Jer. 17:13. Each time he quenched his thirst at the living stream that flowed from the rock, his mind by faith applied the blood of salvation which came from the stricken Saviour. To Solomon, the teacher and admirer of nature, the “rose of Sharon” and the “lily of the valley” were object lessons, illustrating to his mind the beauty of character possessed by the Lord. The blooming althea among the graceful shrubs spoke to his mind of the supreme goodness and excellent glory of Jesus. The lily of the valley, in its exquisitely bright hue, told him of the Carpenter of Nazareth and the peculiar richness of the graces which adorned His life. Christ said of Himself, “I am the true Vine.” With Him there was no variation in the quality of life. In this Vine all branches bear fruit. He is the “good Olive Tree.” His quality of life is so vigorous that all wild scions grafted into this stock are so changed as to bear tame fruit. He is “that great Shepherd of the sheep,” the one Shepherd of all other shepherds, and the One who owns all the sheep in every fold. He is Priest, and He is King. He is man’s Peace and his Joy. He is man’s Song and exceeding great Reward. He is Friend, Helper, Father, Creator, Redeemer, and everlasting Father. He is wisdom, sanctification, righteousness, and redemption. He is “Alpha,” the beginning, and “Omega,” the ending,—the source and the sum of all things. One of the most beautiful emblems of the Lord’s grace is the rainbow. After the flood of waters had receded from the earth, to assure Noah and his family of God’s love, and of their safety in dwelling upon the earth, the Lord said to them:— “This is the token of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations; I do set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.” Gen. 9:12–16.
The shining of the sun through the falling raindrops, makes the rainbow, but there must be a cloud to produce the rain, else the bow is not seen. This transient picture, which seems like a glorious crescent of the sky chasing away the storm, is a visible representation of the glory that illumines God’s throne in the heavens. The gorgeous coloring of the bow behind the departing storm most pleasantly and gracefully illustrates the wonderful beauty and richness of the righteousness, mercy, and love of God. It is a vivid reflection of that glory which the heavenly host constantly behold as they come to the throne. From that throne the life of God sends forth beams of light, shining with marvelous brilliancy, of which the pen of Inspiration writes: “As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” Eze. 1:28. John, in vision, beheld the same glory, and, in attempting to picture it, said, “Behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. . . . And there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.” Rev. 4:2, 3. The emerald is one of the most precious stones, and is greatly prized for the pureness and richness of its coloring, being a six-sided prism of green or bluish green. As the glorified arch in the wake of the receding storm has a dark background, so does the bow about the great white throne have behind it a cloud to intensify the glory. For, says the Lord, “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins; return unto Me, for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein; for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel.” Isa. 44:22, 23. Hezekiah, praising God for his recovery, says: “Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” Isa. 38:17. These sins are dark clouds, which have spent their fury and are being borne away. The Lord has so ordered nature that man can look upon the bow of promise in the cloud, and by faith see the glorious bow of eternal peace around the throne in heaven. It is to men the bright symbol of the everlasting covenant—a visible token of his salvation. The rainbow in the visible heaven is the Lord’s painted ensign of redemption. It is hung out in plain view for man to behold with his natural eyes, and study its significance. The bow announces that the storm has abated, and that the sun is shining again. It is the Lord’s memorial of peace; a variegated banner of love stretching across the sky; a token in the window of heaven inviting us home; a light on the shore to guide the traveler to the haven of rest. Every Christian should place these Bible similes in as beautiful setting in practical life as the Christian teacher, in love for his school, is pictured in Goldsmith’s “Deserted Village”:— “To them his heart, his love, his griefs were given,
But all his serious thoughts had rest in heaven;
As some tall cliff that lifts its awful form,
Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm;
Tho’ round its breast the rolling clouds are spread,
Eternal sunshine settles on its head.”