The attitude of soul set forth in this lovely passage, is one of perfect repose and complacency. It is not the attitude of one who has found a partial rest, rest for a day, a month, or a year. The soul that has really found rest in Christ, has found a rest which is divine in its character, and eternal in its duration. “I sat down.” Precious attitude!
There is no more toil for the sinner. Plenty of toil for the saint—plenty of toil for the servant. There is no more labor in the brick-kilns of Pharaoh, but abundance of labor in the vineyard of Christ. The believer’s labor comes after rest, not before it.
And, observe, it is “under His shadow.” It is not under the shadow of my doings, my feelings, my frames, my experiences. Neither is it the shadow of ordinances, however valuable; nor of doctrines, however true; nor of institutions, however important. All these things have their proper place, and their proper value; but we had better not venture to sit down under their shadow, for, if we do, they will prove no better than Jonah’s gourd, which sprang up in a night, and perished in a night.
No, my reader, it must be Christ Himself—Christ only—Christ always. It must be “I”, my very self, “sat down,” found my sweet repose and resting place, my shade and satisfaction, “under His shadow.” Then all is right—right now—right forever.
And, let me ask, how much shade does a soul enjoy that is resting simply in Christ?
Just as much as Christ can afford. If I sit down under the shadow of a tree or a rock, I enjoy just that amount of shade which the tree or the rock can yield me. So, when the soul reposes, by faith, in the shadow of Christ, the whole question is, how much shade can He furnish? Faith knows the answer.
Dear reader, are you enjoying “the shadow of the apple tree?” Are you plucking its mellow fruit, which hangs in rich clusters around you? Is that fruit “sweet to your taste?” Are you allowing Jesus to conduct you into “His banqueting house”? Do you find “His banner over you” to be love? Be assured of it, it is in His banqueting house, and under His shadow, that the soul can prosper, and there alone.
May you prove this, in your own happy experience, day by day. May you taste more of the living freshness of His grace, and be thus led on in zeal, energy, and personal devotedness, until you are called to take your place beside the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God, to go no more out forever.
“Behold the Rose of Sharon here,
The Lily which the valleys bear;
Behold the tree of life that gives
Refreshing fruit and healing leaves.
“Among the thorns the lilies shine;
Among wild gourds the noble vine;
So in mine eyes my Saviour proves,
Amid a thousand meaner loves.
“Beneath His cooling shade I sat,
To shield me from the burning heat;
Of heavenly fruit He spreads a feast,
To feed mine eyes and please my taste.
“Kindly He brought me to the place
Where stands the banquet of His grace;
He saw me faint, and o’er my head
The banner of His love He spread.
“With living bread and gen’rous wine
He cheers this sinking heart of mine,
And opining His own heart to me,
He shows His thoughts how kind they be.”
It is the happy privilege of the believer to be continually in the shade, and yet never out of the sunshine of His love.