"Who has divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; To cause it to rain upon the earth where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein is no man; To satisfy the desolate and waste ground: and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth? Has the rain a father? or who has begotten the drops of dew?" (Job 38:25-28) "Be astonished, O you heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be you very desolate, says the Lord. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the Fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." (Jeremiah 2:12-13) "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of your house; and You shall make them drink of the river of your pleasures. For with You is the Fountain of life." (Psalm 36:8-9) "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb." (Revelation 22:1) "And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God." (Revelation 5:6) "The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters." (Revelation 7:17) "You visit the earth, and water it; You greatly enrich it with the river of God, which is full of water; You prepare them corn, when You have so provided for it. You water the ridges thereof abundantly; You settle the furrows thereof; You make it soft with showers; You bless the springing thereof." (Psalm 65:9-10) "Righteousness and judgment [justice] are the foundation of your throne; mercy and truth shall go before your face." (Psalm 89:14,RV) "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne." (Psalm 97:2,RV) "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you." (Hosea 10:12) "Drop down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it." (Isaiah 45:8) "I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon." (Hosea 14:5)
The rain has a Father, for it is God himself who has begotten the drops of dew. "Has the rain a father? or who has begotten the drops of dew?" (Job 38:28)
He draws the drops of water to himself, and sends the rain upon the earth by His Word. God is the Fountain of living waters. "They have forsaken me the Fountain of living waters." (Jeremiah 2:13)
With Him is the fountain of life. "For with You is the Fountain of life." (Psalm 36:9)
This is not a figure of speech, but an actual fact, for out of the throne of God and of the Lamb proceeds the river of life. "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." (Revelation 22:1)
The Lamb slain,--Christ crucified,--is in the midst of the throne. "And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne...stood a Lamb as it had been slain." (Revelation 5:6)
Therefore the river of life proceeds from the crucified Saviour. So "the glorious Lord [is in reality] unto us a place of broad rivers and streams." (Isaiah 33:21)
All who live in Him cannot fail to be led unto "living fountains of waters. The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall" (Revelation 7:17) be their Shepherd. "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters." (Psalm 23:1-2)
Where does the rain come from? Read Psalm 65, and see: "You visit the earth, and water it: you greatly enrich it with the river of God, which is full of water." (Psalm 65:9)
God waters the earth and enriches it with the river of God, which is full of water. How is it that it is full of water? It is the life of God himself, who is infinite. Don't argue with this text, and try to reason it out, which means to reason it away. Believe what it says, that the rain which waters the earth and makes it fruitful comes from the river of God. The rain certainly does not create itself. It is not self-existent. No; it has a Father; it comes direct from the bosom of God. Truly, "The Life was manifested, and we have seen it." (1 John 1:2)
God is "the living God." (Deuteronomy 5:26, etc.) His throne is a living throne (see the 1st chapter of Ezekiel). "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne." (Psalm 97:2,RV)
God's law is His righteousness. "Hearken unto me, you that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law." (Isaiah 51:7)
So the foundation of the throne of God is His living law, His own life. See this indicated in the ark of the sanctuary, in which were the tables of stone. "At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which you broke, and you shall put them in the ark. And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in my hand. And He wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spoke unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the Lord gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me." (Deuteronomy 10:1-5)
Christ is in the midst of the throne. He is the "Living Stone." (1 Peter 2:4)
The law of God is in His heart. "I delight to do your will, O my God: yea, your law is within my heart." (Psalm 40:8)
So Christ, the life of God, is the foundation of His throne,--the Living Stone, on which is written the living law. It is from this "sure foundation" (Isaiah 28:16; Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believes shall not make haste) the Rock, that the river of life flows. "Behold, I will stand before you there upon the rock in Horeb; and you shall smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel." (Exodus 17:6) "And [they] did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." (1 Corinthians 10:4)
The river of life springs forth from the living law,--God's righteousness. Thus it brings the righteousness of the law--the righteousness of God--with it. "Drop down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it." (Isaiah 45:8)
The rain that waters the earth comes from the river of God. It is the life of God in visible form. So it is a literal fact that God rains righteousness upon us, and the skies pour it down. No soul has any excuse for ungodliness and unrighteousness, for "abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness" (Romans 5:17) has been bestowed on all. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6)
Why then are not all saved, whether they believe or not? Since righteousness is literally rained down upon all mankind, why is it necessary to believe in order to be saved? Because believing is receiving. Believing is breaking up the fallow ground. "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you." (Hosea 10:12)
If the ground is not broken up, then the rain runs off without producing any crop. "For the earth which drinks in the rain that comes oft upon it, and brings forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receives blessing from God: But that which bears thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation." (Hebrews 6:7-9) "The Lord is good unto all; and His tender mercies are over all His works." (Psalm 145:9)
See how abundantly, how lavishly, God bestows His gifts. He has enough, and to spare. He does not need, even if He had the disposition, to measure out the gift of life, lest the supply should run short. "God gives not the Spirit by measure." (John 3:34)
This He demonstrates to us, in that He causes it to "rain on the earth where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein is no man; To satisfy the desolate and waste ground." (Job 38:26-27)
He lets the rain fall on the barren rock, and on the wide expanse of ocean. So freely does He bestow His life upon mankind.--Present Truth, August 25, 1898.