The King in the wilderness

Isaiah speaks of a king who reigns in righteousness, a man who will be will be as a hiding place from the wind, and a cover from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land."

Without denying the physicality of the imagery, or the possibility of other righteous kings who were, in some respects, a blessing to their people, we take this language primarily of Christ. What, then, are the storms and tempests, the dryness and the weariness, that the saints face? And what is the hiding place, the shelter, that Christ is to his people? In what way is he rivers of water and a great rock to those who trust in him?