'For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the
desert. And the glowing sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty
ground springs of water.' ISAIAH xxxv. 6, 7.
What a picture is painted in these verses! The dreary wilderness
stretches before us, monotonous, treeless, in some parts bearing a
scanty vegetation which flourishes in early spring and dies before
fierce summer heats, but for the most part utterly desolate, the sand
blinding the eyes, the ground cracked and gaping as if athirst for the
rain that will not fall; over it the tantalising mirage dancing in
mockery, and amid the hot sand the yelp of the jackals. What does this
dead land want? One thing alone--water. Could that be poured upon it,
all would be changed; nothing else will do any good. And it comes.
Suddenly it bursts from the sand, and streams bring life along the
desert. It gathers into placid lakes, with their whispering reeds and
nodding rushes, and the thick cool grass round their margins. The foul
beasts that wandered through dry places seeking rest are drowned out.
So full of blessed change will be the coming of the Lord, of which all
this context speaks. Mark that this burst of waters is when 'the Lord
shall come,' and that it is the reason for the restoration of lost
powers in men, and especially for a chorus of praise from dumb lips.
This, then, is the central blessing. It is not merely a joyful
transformation, but it is the reason for a yet more joyful
transformation (chap. xliv. 3). Recall Christ's words to the Samaritan
woman and in the Temple on the great day of the Feast.
Then this is pre-eminently a description of the work of Christ.