Matthew Henry Commentary Isaiah 32:1-8

"Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in justice. And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as streams of water in a dry place, as the shade of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. And the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. The fool shall be no more called noble, nor the churl said to be bountiful. For the fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise profaneness, and to utter error against Jehovah, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. And the instruments of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the meek with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. But the noble deviseth noble things; and in noble things shall he continue." — Isaiah 32:1-8 (ASV)

Christ our righteous King, and his true disciples, are evidently intended here. The consolations and graces of his Spirit are like rivers of water in this dry land. Just as the overhanging rock provides refreshing shade and shelter to the weary traveler in the desert, so his power, truth, and love provide the believer with the only real protection and refreshment in the weary land through which he journeys to heaven. Christ bore the storm himself, to shield us from it.

Let the trembling sinner flee to him for refuge, for he alone can protect and refresh us in every trial. See what efforts sinners make in sin; they labor at it, their hearts are intent on it, and they artfully work iniquity. But this is our comfort: they can do no more harm than God permits. Let us seek to have our hearts more freed from selfishness.

The generous soul devises generous things concerning God, and desires that God will grant wisdom and prudence, the comforts of his presence, the influence of his Spirit, and in due time the enjoyment of his glory.