Exposition of the Whole Bible

end encouragement of ob, in his prefent circumftances: and fo dben Ezra interprets it, ‘* God « will exalt thee;” as he afterwards did, The Targum is, “ Behold, God alone is {trong in his might;” fee Pfal. xxi. 13. Who teacheth like him? He teaches by his providences, adverfe as well as profperous; he teaches by his word and ordinances; he teaches by his Spirit and grace, and none teaches like him, Minifters of the word teach men both doétrine and duty, but not like him they have their gifts for teaching, their wifdom and knowledge, their doétrine, and all the ufe they are of from him; none teach fo pleafantly, fo profitably, fo powerfully and effectually as he does: the Targum adds, “+ right things.”

y¥. 23. Who bath enjoined him his way? &c.] He teaches men his own ways,~the methods of his grace and mercy towards them; and he prefcribes to them the ways in which they fhould walk; but none can lead or prefcribe to him; as the way of governing the world, in what manner he fhould act in it; who has taught him in the path of judgment? or fhewed to him the way of underftanding? Ma. xl. 14. and particularly whom he fhould afflict, in what manner he fhould do it, when and how long he fhould continue it; all which he does according to his fovereign will, and is not to be controlled: and in a fpiritual fenfe, no man can or ought to enjoin and prefcribe to him whom he fhould fave, and in what way; he*faves whom he pleafes, and in his own way, even by his Son Jefus Chrift, and no other: or who bath viftted, or fhould vifit on bim, or with him bis way‘: who can take upon him to examine into his ways, and fcrutinize them and call him to an account for what he does? no man can overlook his ways and works, or cenfure him for any of his actions: or, who can fay thou baft wrought iniquity? this may be faid of every man, but it cannot be faid of God, by any without fin; for as there is no iniquity in his nature, there can be none in his works; not any in his works of providence, no not in the afflictions of his people; juft and true are all his ways.

y. 24. Remember that thou magnify his work, &c.] Or his works; his works of creation and providence, which are great in themfelves, and declare the greatnefs of God; and which though they can. not be made greater than they are, men may be faid to magnify them when they afcribe them. to God, and magnify him on account of them; when they think and fpeak well of them, and give glory:

to God: and particularly by his work, may be meant the chaftifement of his people, which is a rod in his hand, which he appoints, and with which he fmites; it is his own doing, and he may do what he pleafes this way; and it becomes his people to be {till and patient becaufe he does it; and then do they magnify this work of his, when they bear it patiently, quietly fubmit to it, and humble themfelves under the mighty hand of God. Which men behold; for the works of God are vifible, particularly the works of creation, and the glory of God in them; which men of wifdom and underftanding behold with admiration and praife; and fo the Targum is, “* which righteous men praife;” and fome derive the word here ufed from a root which fignifies to fing, and fo may be underftood of mens celebrating the works of God in fongs of praife; though his work here may chiefly defign the afflictions he lays on his people, and particularly which he had laid upon Fob, which were fo vifible, and the hand of God in them was fo clearly to be feen, that men eafily beheld it and took notice of it. ¥. 25. Every man may fee it, &c.] Not only was, to be feen by the wife and learned, the juft and good, but by the common people; whether it is to be underftood of the works of creation, or of the afflictive providences of God in general, or of 7ob’s afflictions in particular. Man may bebold it afar off; as to time, from the creation of the world to the prefent time, as archi; or as to place, from the heaven, fo diftant, where are the fun, moon, and ftars; and which, though fo far off, are eafily beheld; or as to the manner of feeing them, not darkly, imperfectly, and in a confufed manner, as things at a diftance are feen, fo fome underftand it; but rather clearly and plainly, as things eafy to be feen, are clearly difcerned at a diftance; and it fignifies that the work of God here meant is fo vifible that he muft be quite blind and ftupid that cannot fee; it it may be feen as it were with half an eye, and a great way off; he that runs may fee and read. y. 26. Behold, Ged is great, &c.} In his power and might, in his wifdom and knowledge, in his truth and faithfulnefs, in his love, grace, and mercy, and that to admiration; and it is worthy of notice and attention, which the word dehold, prefixed hereunto, is expreffive of: or is much or many‘; as he is in his perfons: for though his effence is one, his perfons are more, they are three, Father, Son, and Spirit; in his perfections, of which there is a fulnefs; in his thoughts, counfels, purpofes, and decrees, which refpect other perfons and things; in his works of creation, providence, and grace, and in the bleffings of his goodnefs, which are fo many as not to be reckoned up. And we know him ot; God is to be known by the works of creation, and even by the very heathen, though fuch is their inattention to them that they are faid not to know God; yea even the wifeft among them by all their wifdom knew not God; for though they might know there was a God, they knew not who and what he was. God is known by his word, among thofe who are favoured with a divine revelation of him, and efpecially by true believers in Chrift, who know God in Chrift, whom to know is life eternal; and yet thefe know but in part, there is no finding out the almighty to perfection; God is not known clearly, fully, and perfectly by any: or we know it not; the greatnefs of God; he is great, but we know not how great he is; his greatnefs is beyond all conception and expreffion. Nei ther can the number of bis years be fearched cut; years are afcribed to God, after the manner of men, otherwife properly {peaking they are not applicable to him; by which time is meafured, and which belongs not to the eternal God; however the number of his years in an eternity paft, and of thofe to come, cannot be fearched out and reckoned up: it requires no great fkill in arithmetic to reckon up the years of the oldeft man that ever lived; yea, the months, the days, the hours, and minutes of his life may be counted; but the years of the moft High cannot; this is a phrafe expreffive of the eternity of him which is, and was, and is to come, and who from everlafting to everlafting is God. He was before the world was, as the creation of it out of nothing fhews. Jehovah the Father had a Son, and he loved him before the foundation of the world, and all his people in him; he made an everlafting choice of them in him, before the world began; he made an everlafting covenant with them 1B

FIDVT VOY WPS 29 quis vifitavit fuper illum viam ejus, Montanus, Michaelis; cum €o, Tigurine verfion, i him, and gave them grace in him as early; he fet him up as Mediator from everlafting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was; and will be the everlafting and unchangeable portion of his people to all eternity. Cocceivs thinks that thefe words are expreffive of the conftant love of God to the church, and the continudnce of his kingdom in it; and of his moft fixed purpofe of love to men, and indefatigable care of them.

¥.27. For he maketh finall the drops of rain, &c.] Elibu proceeds to give inftances and proofs of the greatnefs of God, and begins with fain, as Elipbaz does, chap. v. 9,10. a common phenomenon, what is very frequent, and well known in all ages and countries, and by all men more or Iefs; and yet there are fome things relative to it which are beyond the comprehenfion of men, and fhew the greatnefs and incomprehenfiblenefs of God: and the defign of this, and all other inftances of this kind, is to convince Fob of his folly in fearching out the caufes and reafons of God’s works of providence, when the common works of nature lie out of the reach of men; and to reconcile him to them, and bring him patiently to fubmit to the will of God, whofe ways are paft finding out: and fome render the words, be reftrains the drops of rain®; he withholds it from the earth, which caufes a drought, and fo brings on a famine; others, be fubtraéts, or draws out, or draws up the drops of water", which he exhales by the heat of the fun out of the earth and which are drawn up in fmall particles, but form large bodies of waters in the clouds; and which are let down again upon the earth in fmall drops, in an eafy and gentle manner, and fo foak into the earth and take it fruitful; which is what is meant by our verfion here: this is a wonderful inftance of God’s power, wifdom, and goodnefs, and is beyond our comprehenfion; for no mortal man can tell how the almighty parts and divides thofe large quantities of water in the clouds, that fometimes hang over our heads, into millions and ten thoufand times ten thoufand millions of drops, even innumerable; and caufes thefe waters in fuch a manner to defcend on the earth; lets them not fall at once, or in water-fpouts, which would wafh away the inhabitants of cities and towns, the cattle of the field, and the produce of the earth, as at the general deluge. They pour down rain according to the vapour thereof, the water drawn up and formed into large bodies in the heavens pours down rain in a gentlé and plentiful manner, according to the quantity of vapours exhaled out of the earth and fea; if a fimall quantity is drawn up, a {mall quantity is let down, and if a large quantity is attracted, a large quantity, or a plentiful fhower is given: fome think that a fmall rain is meant in the preceding claufe, and a great rain in this; for there is the mall rain and the great rain of his ftrength, chap. xxxvii. 6. The word tranflated pour has the fignification of liquefying, melting, and diffolving, and of purging and purifying; and which is applicable to clouds which melt ahd diffolve gradually as they defcend in drops upon the earth; and the water which they let down is of all the moft clear and pure, a8 Galen and Hippocrates‘, thofe eminent phyficians, have obferved; and a late celebrated ore tells us *, that rain water is fo truly diftilled by nature, that the chymift, with all his diftilling art, cannot produce purer water; for thougl: it is exhaled out of thé dirty earth, out of miry places, bogs, and ditches, yet being bound up in the clouds, as in a garment, and paffing through the atmofphere, it comes down _ to us pure as if it had been percolated or ftrained through a linen cloth; and though the water as drawn up out of the fea is falt, yet carried up into the air, and there, as in an alembic, diftilled, it de- {cends to us {weet and frefh, and has not the leaft brackifhnefs in it,

¥. 28. Which the clouds do drop and diftil upom mdn abundantly.] Not upon the perfons of men, which they take care as much as poffible to fhun and avoid, but upon the fields of men, and fo for the profit and advantage of men; and this denotes both the gentle manner in which the clouds let down rain, and the liberal profufton of them; they let it down both in an eafy and plentiful manner, and upon an abundance of men, or upon an abundance of fields and lands belonging to men; though fometimes rain falls upon the wildernefs where no man is, chap, xxxviii. 26. The Targum is * at “< the prayer of a fon of a great man,” or at the prayer of a man that has great intereft with God; that is famous for his faith and piety, as lijab was, to whom perhaps the Targumis may haverefpe&t. The rain is an emblem of the word of God, the gofpel of Chrift, which drops and diftils on the fouls of men like rain, and refrefhes them and makes them fruitful; and is difpenfed by the minifters of it, who are compared to clouds, according to thé meafure of the gift of grace received by them, and that freely and fully as they have received it.

y. 29. Alfo can any underftand the /preadings of the clouds, &c.] Or of acloud', a thick cloud, a fingle one; which fometimes at the beginning is very {mall, about the bignefs of a man’s hand, 1 Kings xviii. 44. and which in a little time fpreads all over the heavens, and covers them with blacle clouds and darknefs; none can underftand, defcribe and tell by what means fo fmall a cloud at firft ap= pearance is fpread to fuch a prodigious extent; and which is done partly for the ufe of God himfelf, to be a pavilion or tent around him, P/a/m xviii. 11. and xcvii. 2. and partly for the ufe of men, either to let down rain on the feveral parts of the world, or to be a fort of an umbrella to men, to thelter them from fcorching heat; nor can any underftand how the clouds, ftretched out to fuch a compafs, are poifed and balanced in the air, fo as to retain their pofition as long as it is the pleafure of God; fee chap. xxxvii. 16. Ben Gerfom, who is followed by others”, interprets this of the differences of the clouds, which are unaccountable, as to the form and colour of them being curious, and the matter which they containor what iffues from them; out of fome, rain, others hail, others fnow and fleet, others wind, others thunder and lightning; and yet all arife from the fame, even from vapours exhaled from the earth and fea; fome become moift and cold, others‘hot and dry. As clouds are emblems of gofpel-minifters, J/a. v. 6. this may lead us to obferve the different gifts of grace beftowed on them, and the different ufes they are of; fome are Boanergefes, fons of thunder; others Barnabafes, fons of confolation; and the extent of the gofpelminiftry all over the world, which firft began as a fmall cloud over the land of Fudea, and then was fpread throughout the Gentile world. Or the noife”

of bis tabernacle; the tabernacle of God, which are the clouds, which are laid as the flooring of his palace, and are drawn about him as a tent or pavi- fible, and from whence, as a general of an army, he iffues out his orders, and fends forth his artillery, rain, hail, fnow, thunder and lightning, and ftormy wind fulfilling his word; the noife hereof is either the noife of the waters in the clouds, the found of an abundance of rain, 1 Kings xviii. 41. or of the bluftring winds, by which the clouds are moved and portend rain; aor of the thunder that burfts out of them with a vehement noife, and which is ufually followed with rain; and the thunder of his power who can underftand? chap. xxvi. 14. This may be an emblem of the voice of God in his gofpel out of his tabernacle, the church, which the natural man underftands not; or the voice of

God in his providences, in which he {peaks to men once and twice and they perceive it not.

y. 30. Bebold, he fpreadeth his light upon it, &c.

Upon his tabernacle; that is, upon the clouds, which are his tabernacle; either the light of the fun, whereby the clouds are difperfed and blotted out; anemblem of the blotting out of fin, or the for givenefs of it, J/a. xliv. 22. which is like a clear fhining after rain, 2 Sam. xxiii. 4. or on a thin cloud whereby the rainbow is formed, an emblem of peace and reconciliation by Chrift; or lightning, which burfting out of the dark cloud is fpread over it, when it feems to be all in flames. Cocceius renders it, be fpreads the light about bimfelf, God fpreads it about himfelf, clothing himfelf with light as with a garment, and dwelling in light inacceffible to men: or he /preads it upon him, upon man; cauling his fun to thine on the juft and unjuft: or on it, the earth; fo it was {fpread when firft commanded to fhine out of darknefs, with which the earth in its primaeval ftate was covered; and fo it is fpread every morning upon the earth; as foon as day breaks, the morning is {pread upon the mountains, and in a fhort time it overfpreads the whole hemifphere; an emblem this of the fpread of the light of grace over the dark hearts of men, in converfion, which are like the earth in its chaotic ftate, or as in the night-feafon covered with darknefs; out of which they are called and brought by the grace of God, having thetruelight fprung and placed in their fouls; which at firft is but glimmering, and at beft im perfect in the prefent ftate, yet is fpreading and increafing, Prov. iv. 18. and of the fpread of the great and glorious light of the gofpel in the world in the times of the apoftles, and as it will be in the latter-day glory. And covereth the bottom of the fea, or the roots of the fea"; though one would think they fhould be rather covered with water and with darknefs, as they are; fee chap. xxxviii. 8, 9,10. Ifa. xi. 9. This is to be underftood either of the light of the fun, and the rays of it, which are fo piercing and penetrating as to reach to the bottom of the fea, and cover it and exhale waters out of its or of lightning, which is equally as piercing and penetrating or more, and ftrikes to the very roots of the fea, and covers them, or rather difcovers them, fo that the channels of waters are feen, and the foundations of the world are difcovered, Pfal, xviii. 14, 15. the Targum of this verfe is, ** he {preads upon it rain, and covers the rocks *¢ or foundations of the fea;’’ and the rain is called light according to Ramban, becaufe by the defcent of it the day is enlightened, and the darknefs of the clouds removed; and by this means the bottom of the fea is covered, fo that it paffes its bounds and covers the rocks, that is, the borders of it, as others explain it°.

¥. 31. For by them judgeth be the people, &c.] That is, by the clouds; which the Lord ules both in a way of judgment, as exprefied in this claufe, and in a way of mercy, as in the following; by thefe, and what iffue out of them, as rain, hail, winds, thunder and lightning, he fometimes punifhes the inhabitants of the earth, as he did the old world by a deluge of water, which came partly from the foundations of the great deep, and partly from the windows of heaven, which deftroyed man and beaft, and the increafe of the earth; he punifhed the Egyptians by a violent ftorm of hail; and flew many of the Canaanites with hail-ftones; Pharaoh and his hoft funk like lead when he blew with his wind; and Sodom and Gomorrah, with the cities of the plain, were deftroyed with thunder and lightning, fire and brimftone from heaven; as the army of the Philiftines were difcomfited by thunder in the times of Samuel, and the captains of fifties, with their men, were confumed by lightning in the times of Elijah; and as the heavens and the earth will be burnt with fire at the end of all things. He giveth meat in abundance; very plentifully, or to a multitude of creatures, both men and cattle; who have a liberal fupply of food by means of the clouds and rain, which falling upon the earth make it fruitful, fo that it gives bread to the eater, and feed to the fower; caufes grafs to grow up for the beafts of the field, and produces bread-corn, oil, and wine, for the benefit of men; an emblem of the variety and plenty of fpiritual food difpented ta the churches of Chrift, through the miniftry of the word, and by the minifters of it. ¥. 32. With clouds be covereth the light, &c.] Hither the lightning which is hid and covered in the black dark cloud until it burfts out of it; or the light of the fun, which is wonderful, that waters naturally clear and tranfparent, when formed inta clouds, fhould obftruct the rays of the fun and darken it; fee Ezek. xxxii 7. and thus it was in the {torm and tempeft the apoftle Pau/ was in many days, which was fo thick and dark, that the fun and ftars did not appear of a Jong time, 4é3 xxvii,20. dnd - commandeth it not to fhine, by the cloud ¢hat cometh betwixt; that is, commands the fun that it fhines not, or hinders it from fhining, by reafon of the intervening clouds; this is an emblem of fin interpofing between God and his people, which caufes him to hide his face from them and not fhine upon them: fins are comparable to clouds for numbers, being more than can be told; and for their nature and quality, like clouds they rife out of the earthly and carnal heart of man; and which is alfo like a troubled fea which cannot reft; and which reach up unto heaven and bring down wrath and vengeance from thence on wicked men; and in God’s, own people like the clouds they intercept the light of his countenance, the bright fhining of the fun of righteoufnefs, the comfort, peace, and joy of the holy Spirit: the words may be rendered, with bands he covers the light, and commands that it fhine not by reafon of what comes between, and they are underftood by fome, as by Schmidt particularly, of the eclipfes of the fun and moon, when God as it were covers them with hands, and fuffers them not to fhine by intervening bodies; fo the eclipfe of the fun is occafioned by the moon’s coming between that * In Bar Tzemach in loc, that and the earth, and the eclipfe of the moon by the interpofition of the earth between that and the fun; the Targum is, ‘* becaufe of rapine of hands “¢ he reftrains rain, and commands it to defcend be- & caufe of him that prays,” who comes between and intercedes for a finful people as Elijah did; or as others, he commands the lightning that it hurts not becaufe of him that comes between and intercedes with his prayers.

¥. 33. The noife thereof foeweth concerning it, &c.

The rain, that it is coming; it is a prefage and prognoftic of it, namely, the noife of the clouds in the air, the found of abundance of rain there; or the noife of the winds, which is often a forerunner of it; or the noife of thunder when rain frequently follows, Jer. x. 13. The cattle alfo concerning the vapour; that is, the cattle likewife fhew figns of rain, being fenfible of the vapours which rife up out of the earth, and are drawn up into the air and form clouds there; thefe, through their fharp fight, difcern the vapours rifing out of the earth infenfible by men; or by their quick fimell ” or tafte difcern them, thefe leaving fome tincture upon the

-grafs they are feeding on; and which occafion fome motions and gefturés in them by which hufbandmen, and thofe that are accuftomed to them, know that the rain is at hand: and there are various things obfervable in brutes, fowls, and cattle, and other creatures, which are figns of approaching rain; as the kawing of crows, the croking of frogs, the flying about of cranes and fwallows, the motion of ants, the retire of cattle to places of fhelter, and the like; ben’ Ezra obferves that fheep lyin on their right fide portends rain; the above things with others are moft beautifully exprefled by Vir= gil‘, and which with many others are collected to-= gether by Pliay'; and though there are various interpretations given of this paffage, this feems to be the moft agreeable, and which fuits with our verfion; unlefs the following, which I only propofe, fhould be more eligible, Ae, that is, God, dy it, the rain, declares bis good-will to men, likewife to the catile, and alfo towards what rifes up out of the earth, the herbs and plants; all which receive much benefit by the clouds and rain.

E LIHU in this chapter proceeds to fhew the greatnefs of God as it appears in other of his works of nature, which greatly affected him, and to an attention to which he exhorts others, y. 1, 2. particularly thunder and lightning, the direction, extent, and order of which he obferves, y. 3, 4. and then fuggefts that befides thefe there are other great things done by him, incomprehenfible and unknown in various refpects; as the fnow, and rain, leffer and greater, which come on the earth at his command, and have fuch effect on men as to feal up their hands, and on the beafts of the field as to caufe them to retire to their dens, and there remain, ¥. 5—8. and then he goes on to take notice of wind, and froft, and the clouds, and the difperfion of them; their ufe and ends, whether in judgment or mercy, ¥.9g——13.,and then calls on Fob to confider thefe wondrous works of God, and remark how ignorant men are of the difpofition of clouds for the rainbow; of the balancing of them; of the heat and quietnefs that come by the fouth wind, and of the firmnefs of the fky, ¥.14—21, And from all this he concludes, the terrible majefty, unfearchable nature of God, the excellency of his power and juftice; and that men therefore fhould and do fear him, who is no refpecter of perfons,

y. 1. At this alfo my heart trembleth, &c.] At the greatnefs and majefty of God, not only as difplayed in thofe works of his before obferved, but as difplayed in thofe he was about to fpeak of: fuch terrible majefty is there with God, that all rational creatures tremble at it; the nations of the world, the kings and great men of the earth, and even the devils them{elves. Good men tremble in the worlhip of God, and at the word of God; and even at the judgments of God on wicked men, and at the things that are coming on the churches of Chrift. But Hizbu has a particular refpeét to thunder and lightning, which are very terrible to many perfons *, both good and bad*. At the giving of the law, there were fuch blazes of lightning and claps of thunder, that not only all the people of Jrael in the camp trembled, but Mo/es himfelf alfo exceedingly feared and quaked. It is very probable, that at this time Z/zbu faw a florm gathering, and a tempeft rifing; fome flafhes of lightning were feen, and fome murmurs " of thunders heard, which began to affect him; fince quickly after we read that God fpoke out of the whirlwind or tempeft, chap. xxxviii. 1. dnd is moved out of bis place; was ready to leap out of his body, Such an effect had this phenomenon of nature on him; as is fometimes the cafe with men at a fudden fright or unufual. found, and particularly thunder ”. 2 y. 2. Hear attentively the noife of bis voice, &c.

Of the voice of God in the clouds; and of thunder, which is his voice, chap. xl. 9. Elibu being affected with it himfelf, exhorts the company about him to hearken and liften to it, and learn fomething from it. And the found that goeth out of bis mouth: as the former claufe may have refpeét to loud thunder, a more violent crack or clap of it; fo this may intend fome leffer whifpers and murmurs of it at a diftance; or a rumbling noife in the clouds before they burft; fince the word is fometimes ufed for private meditation. Now the voice of God, whether in his works of nature, or in the difpenfations of his providence, or in his word; whether in the thunder of the law, or in the ftill found of the gofpel, is to be attentively hearkened to; becaufe it is the voice of God, the voice ag 9 Aut tive; and on fufpicion of a ftorm rifing, would betake himfelf to fome fecret and covered place. And to Tiberius, who wore

* Tonitruorum unum genus grave murmur —— aliud genus eft acre quod crepitum magis dixerint. Seneca Quett. w Attonitos, quorum mentes fonus ille cceleftis loco pepulit. Ibid, ' ae

and hide himfelf under it. Sueton.

Ch.xxxvit: ¥.3—3. of the God of glory, majeftic and powerful, and is attended with various effects; of which fee P a/.

XXIX, 3—9. ¥.3. He direfteth it under the whole beaven, &c.)

out the decree concerning them, the order and difpofition for them: or rather the rain and hail;

_thefe are not ftayed, but quickly follow the flath of lightning and clap of thunder: for when be utters

His voice of thunder, which rolls from one end of 42s voice of thunder, there is a multitude of waters the heaven to the other: he charges the clouds with it, and direé&ts both it and them where they fhall go and difcharge; what tree, houfe or man, it fhall trike; and where the rain fhall fall when the clouds burft: yet Pliny atheiftically calls thunder and lightning chance-matters. the word, who are compared to clouds, J/ai. v. 6. are charged with it by the Lord: they are directed by him what they fhall fay, where they fhall go and declare it, and he directs where it fhal] fall with power and weight;. yea, he directs it into the very hearts of men, where it pierces and penetrates; and is a difcerner and difcoverer of their thoughts and intents. And his lightning unto the ends of the earth: it cometh out of the eaft, and fhineth to the welt, Matt. xxiv. 27. and {wiftly moves to the further parts of the earth: and fuch a direction, motion and extent, has the gofpel had; the glorious light of it, comparable to lightning, it firft broke forth in the eaft, where Chrift, his forerunner and his difciples, firft preached it, and Chriftian churches were formed; and from thence it fpread into the weftern parts of the world, and before the deftruction of Ferufulem it was preached unto all nations; it had a free courfe, ran and was glorified; the found of the voice of it went into all the earth, and the words and doétrines of the apoftles unto the ends of the world. | 4. After it a voice roareth, &cc.} After the lightning comes a violent crack or clap of thunder, which is like the roaring of a lion. Such is the order of thunder and lightning, according to our fenfe and apprehenfion of them; otherwife in nature they are together: but the reafons given why the lightning is feen before, and fo the fame in the flafh and report of a gun, are, becaufe the fenfe of feeing is quicker than the fenfe of hearing*; and the motion of light is quicker than that of found; which latter is the trueft reafon’. The roaring voice of thunder may be an emblem of the thunder of the law; its dreadful vollies of curfes, vengeance, and wrath on the breakers of it, as de livered out by Boanergefes, fons of thunder: or, the loud proclamation of the gofpel, made by the minifters of it; and the alarming, awakening found of the word, when attended with the Spirit and power of God, to finners afleep and dead in trefpafies and fins; upon which they awake, hear, and live. He thundreth with the voice of his excellency: that is, God thunders with fuch a voice, an excellent and majeftic one; for his voice of thunder is full of majefty, P/al. xxix. 4. So is the voice of Chrift in the gofpel; he fpake when on earth as one having authority, and he comes forth and appears in it now with majefty and glory; and {peaks in it of the excellent things which he has done, of the excellent righteoufnefs he has wrought out, of the excellent facrifice he has offered up, and of the excellent falvation he is the author of. And he will not flay them when bis voice is beard either the thunder and the lightning, as fome; which he does not long defer after he has given in the heavens, and thefe quickly come down and are not ftopped, Fer. x. 13. The word for Stay, fignifies to fupplant, or act deceitfully; the name of Facob is derived from this root, becaufe he fupplanted his brother; and fo it may be rendered

Thus the minifters of | here, be will not fupplant, or deceive them’, when his voice is heard; that is, either he does not fubvert them, the heavens and earth, but preferves them; though he makes them to tremble with his voice of thunder*: or he does not aét the part of a fecret, fubtil and deceitful] enemy, when he thunders; but fhews himfelf openly as a King, executing his decrees with authority >: or rather, he deceives none with his voice; none can miftake it; all know it to be the voice of thunder when it is heard: fo Chrift’s fheep know his voice in the gofpel, and cannot be deceived the voice of a ftranger they will not follow. ¥. 5. God thundreth marvelloufly with bis voice, &c.| Or marvels‘, or marvellous things, which may refpect the marvellous effects of thunder and lightning: fuch as rending rocks and mountains; throwing down high and ftrong towers; fhattering to pieces high and mighty oaks and cedars, and other fuch like effeéis, mentioned in?/a/. xxix. and there are fome things reported which f-em almoft incredible, were they not well attefted facts 3. as that an ege fhould be confumed thereby, and the fhell unhurt; a cafk of liquor, the liquor in it fpoiled, and the cafk not touched; money melted in the purfe, and the purfe whole; the foetus in the womb killed, and the woman preferved; with other things of the like kind mentioned by various writers “°; and which are to be accounted for only by the fwift motion, and piercing and penetrating nature of lightning. So the voice of God in the gofpel thunders out and declares many wonderful things; as the doctrines of the trinity of perfons in one God; of the everlafting love of the three perfons; of the perfon of Chrift, and the union of the two natures in him; of his incarnation, of redemption and falvation by him; of regeneration by the Spirit of God; of union to Chrift, and communion with him; and of the refurrection of the dead: and it produces marvellous effects, attended with a divine power; as quickning finners dead in trefpaffes and fins; enlightning thofe who are darknefs itfelf; bearing down all oppofition before it; cafting down the ftrong-holds of fin and Satan, and reducing the moft ftubborn and obftinate to the obedience of Chrift. Great things doth be, which we cannot comprebend; or know*: great things in creation, the nature and caufes of which lie greatly out of the reach of man; and which he rather guefies at than knows, and ftill lefs comprehends, Great things in providence; in fuftaining all creatures and providing for them; and in the government of the world, and in his difpenfations in it; his judgments being unfearchable, and his ways paft} finding out: and great things in grace; as the falvation of finners by Chrift, and the converfion of their fouls by his Spirit; and even what is known Y The noife is commonly about feven or eight feconds after the flath, that is, about half a quarter of a minute; but fometimes much fooner, in a fecond or two, or lefs than fo, and almoft immediately upon the flafh: this is when the explofion is very near us. Philo- known of them, is known but in part and very imperfectly. This is a tranfition to other great things done by the Lord, befides thofe before mentioned, and particular inftances follow.

y. 6. For be faith to the fnow, Be thou on the earth, &c.] In the original it is, be thou earth: hence one of the Radbbins formed a notion, that the earth was created from fnow under the throne of glory, which is juftly cenfured by Maimonides *; for there is a defect of the letter 5 as in 2 Chron. xxxiv. 30. as Aben Ezra obferves; and therefore rightly fupplied by us, on the earth, ‘This is one of the great and incomprehenfible things of God. What is the caufe of it, how it is generated, what gives it its exceeding whitenefs and its form, we rather guefs at than certainly know; and there are fome things relative to it not eafy to be accounted for: as that it fhould be generated in the lower region of the air, fo near us, and yet be fo cold; and be fo cold in its own nature, yet be like a blanket warming to the earth; and that being fo cold, it fhould fall in hot countries, as in many parts of Africa, as Leo Africanus afferts®; and though fo eafily melted, yet lies continually upon the top of a burning mountain, mount na, as obferved by Pineda and others. God has his treafures of it, and he. brings it forth from thence; it is at his command, it goes at a word {peaking; it is one of the things that fulfil his word, Pfa/. cxlviii. 8. And if what Pliny * fays is true, that fnow never falls upon the high feas or main ocean; the expreffion here is with great exa¢tnefs and propriety, be thou on the earth. However, this is certain, that to the earth only it is ufeful, warming, refrefhing and fructifying; it has a wonderful virtue in it to fatten the earth. Olaus Magnus’ reports, that in the northern countries, where it falls in great plenty, the fields are more fruitful than any others, and fooner put forth their fruits and increafe, than other fields prepared and cultivated with the greateft labour and diligence: and that they are often obliged to drive off the cattle from them, left they fhould eat too much and burft, the fields and meadows becoming {fo luxurious by it; and frequently they mow off the tops of herbs and grafs with their fcythes, to prevent their growing toorank. The word of God, as for its purity, fo for its warming, refrefhing and fructifying nature, is compared unto it, //ai, lv. 10, 11. Likewife to the fall rain, and to the great rain of his firength: that is, God fays to thefe as to the {now, Be upon the earth; and they prefently are, whether leffer or larger fhowers: the leffer or more gentle, according to Seneca*, fall in the winter, and the larger in fpring; the former when the north wind blows, the latter when the fouth; but whenever they come, they fall by the direction of God, and at his command, He and he only gives rain, the vanities of the Gentiles cannot; and thefe are fent to water and refrefh the earth, and make it fruitful; for which reafon alfo the word of God is compared thereunto, Deut. xxxii. 2. J/ai, lv. 10, 11. The Targum is, ‘to the rain after rain in «* fummer, to ripen the fruits; and to the rain af- “ ter the rain, to caufe the grafs to bud in winter «in his ftrength.” So a fhower of rain in the fingular number, fignifies rain that falls in fummer; and a fhower of rain in the plural, what falls in winter.

y.7. He fealeth up the band of every man, 8c.) That is, by deep fnows and heavy rains being on the earth; where, as travellers are {topped in their journies, and cannot proceed, fo various artificers are hindered from their work, and hufbandmen e- ~

{pecially from their employment in the fields; fo that their hands are as it were fhut up and fealed, that they cannot work with them. Sephorno interprets this of the fruits and increafe of the earth being produced and brought to perfection by means of the fnow and rain, and fo gathered by and into the hands of men; whereby they are led to obferve the work of God and his goodnefs herein, and fo to love and fear him; which he takes to be the fenfe of the following claufe, that all men may know bis work: either their own work; what they have to do at home when they cannot work abroad; or that they may have leifure to reflect upon their moral ways and works, and confider how deficient they are: or rather the work of God;

that they may know and own the fnow and rain’

are his work, and depend upon his will; or that they may have time and opportunity of confidering and meditating on the works of God, in nature, providence and grace. Some choofe to read the words, that all men of bis work may know'; may know him the author of their beings, and the God of their mercies. For all men are the work of his hands; he has made them, and not they themfelves; and the end of all God’s dealings with them is, that they may know him, fear, ferve, and glorify him.

¥. 8. Then the beafts go into dens, &c.] When {now and rains are on the earth in great abundance, then the wild beafts of the field, not being able to prowl about, betake themfelves to dens; where they lie in wait, lurking for any prey that may pafs by, from whence they fpring and feize it. ud remain in their places; until the fnow and rains are gone of. As for other beafts, O/aus Magnus ™ obferves, that when fuch large fnows fall, that trees are covered with them, and the tender branches bend under the weight of them. they will come and abide under them, as in fhady places, in great fecurity, fheltered from the cold wind. ‘The former may put us in mind of great perfonages, comparable to beafts of prey for their favagenefs and cruelty, who, when the day of God’s wrath and vengeance is come, will flee to rocks and mountains, dens and caverns, there to hide themfelves from it; Rev. vi. 15, 16, 17.

¥.9. Out of the fouth cometh the whirlwind, 8ec.} Or from the chamber”, from the chamber of the cloud, as Ben Gerfom, from the infide of it; or from the treafury of God, who bringeth the wind out of his treafures; alluding to chambers where treafures are kept; or from the heavens, fhut up and veiled around with clouds like a pavilion: but becaufe we read’ of the chambers of the fouth, chap. ix. 9, and the fouthern pole was like a fecret chamber, fhut up, unfeen,and unknown very much -to the ancients; hence we render it, and others interpret it, of the fouth; from whence in thefe countries came whirlwinds. Hence we read of the whirlwinds of the fouth, J/ai. xxi. 1. Zech. ix. 14. Aud cold out of the north; cold freezing winds from thence; or from the featterers®: Aben Exra interprets them of ftars, the fame with the Mazzaroth, or northern pole, as fome: or rather the northern winds are defigned, which fcatter the clouds, drive away rain, Prov. xxv. 33. and bring fair weather,

¥. 11. Alfo by watering he wearieth the thick cloud, &c.) By filling it with a multitude of water, it is as it were loaded and made weary with it; and efpecially by fending it about thus loaded place to place before difcharged, when it becomes as a weary traveller; and then by letting down the water in it, whereby it {pends itfelf like one that is weary; an emblem of minifters that {pend and are fpent for the good of men: fome render it by ferenity or fair weather, and fo Mr Broughton, « by *< clearnefs he wearieth the thick vapours;” by caufing a clear fky he difpels them, He /fcattereth bis bright cloud, thin light clouds that have no thing in them, and are foon difperfed and come to nothing, and are feea no more; an emblem of fuch as are clouds without water, Fude, W. 12. fee drop down or withhold the rain of gofpel doctrine and carry it into the feveral places of the world, as the Lord direéts them; fee La. v. 6. Ads xiii, 46. Matt. xxviii. 19, 20.

He caujeth it to come, &c.| The cloud and rain by it. Whether for correction, for the reproof and chaftifement of men for their fins, by fuffering fuch quantities to fall as wafh away, or corrupt-and deftroy the fruits of the eatth: or for @ ¢ribe*, as the word fometimies fignifies; the rain is fent, and comes only to a particular part or fpot of ground, to one city and not another, Amos iv.7. a/. | or for his land; fome particular Jand he has a favour for, as the land of Canaan he cared for from one end of the year to another, and therefore fent on it rain in due feafon, though as yet it did not appear to be the object of his peculiar regard; or for the whole earth, which is his, and wherever rain comes feafonably and in proper quantity, it is for the benefit of it; though fome think the land which no man has a property in but the Lord is meant, even the wildernefs where no man is, chap. xxxviii. 26, 27. or fer mercy; to fome particular fpot, and to fome particular perfons; and indeed it is a kindnef§ and benefit both to good and bad men; hereby the earth is watered and made fertile and fruitful, to bring forth feed to the fower and bread to the eater, fee Matt. v. 45. déis xiv: 17. the word of God is for the correétion of fome, and for the comfort of others, 2 Tim. iii. 16. yea the favour of death unto death to fome, and the favour of life unto life ta others, 2 Cor. ii. 16. The Targum paraphrafes the words, ‘‘ either a rain of vengeance on the feas and « deferts, or an impetuous rain on the trees of the «« mountains and hills, or a {till rain of mercy on «« the fruitful fields and vineyards.” from y. 14. Hearken unto ibis, O Fob, &c.| Either to the prefent clap of thunder then heard; or rather to what Elihu had laft faid concerning clouds of rain coming for corre€tion or mercy; and improve it and apply it to his own cafe, and confider whether the affliGtions he was under were for the reproof and correction of him for fin, or in mercy and love to his foul and for his good, as both might be the cafe, or to what he had farther to fay to him, which was but little more, and he fhould conclude. Stand /till; ftand up, in order to hear better, and in reverence of what might be faid; and with filence, that it might be the better received and underftood: and confider the wondrous works of God s y. 10. By the breath of God froft is given, &c.| By the word of God, as the Targum, at his command it is, at his word it comes, and at his word it goes, P/alm cxlvii. 15-18. or by his will, as Ben Gerfom interprets it, when it is his pleafure it fhould be, it appears; it may be underftood of a freezing wind frém the Lord, fora wind is fometimes exprefied by the breath of his noftrils, P xviii. 15. and as the word God added to things, increafes the fignification of them, as mountains of God, are ftrong mountains; fo the breath of God may fignify a itrong wind, as Sephorno notes, the north wind’. Aud the breadth of the waters is firaitned; by the froft they are reduced and brought into a narrower compafs; or made bard, as Mr Broughton renders it; fo hard as to walk upon, to draw carriages on, and lay weights and burdens very great upon; or become compact or bound together, like metal melted, poured out, and confolidated; though fome think it refers to the thawing of ice by the fouth winds‘, when the waters return to their former breadth; which is done by the breath or commandment of God, as appears from the place before quoted from the Pfalmift; for it may be rendered, and the breadth of the waters in pouring out, fo the Targum, when thawed; or thro’ the pouring down of rain, fo the Syriae and Arabic verfions, be fends forth plenty of water.

Zech. xi. 17. or be fcatters the cloud by bis light*; by the fun, which difpels clouds and makes a clear not prodigies and extraordinary things, which are out of the common courfe of nature, fuch as the iky; an emblem of the blotting out and forgivenefs of fins, and of reftoring the manifeftations of diwonders in Egypt, at the Red fea, in the wildernefs, and in the land of Canaan, but common.things 5 vine love, and the joys of falvation; fee I/aiab fuch as come more or lefs under daily obfervation, xliv. 22. for of fuch only he had been fpeaking, and conti-

¥. 12. And. it is turned round about by bis counfels, &c.} The cloud,is, and that by the wind, which is turned about to all points of the compafs, nued to fpeak; fuch as winds, clouds, thunder, lightning, hail, rain, and fhow; thefe he would have him confider and reflect upon, that though they according to the will of God; by the counfels of him who fits at the helm, as the word fignifies, and were fo common and obvious to view, yet there were fome things in them marvelous and beyond

orders all things according to the counfel of his

own will; to which are owing every fhifting of the wind, and the various motions of the clouds. Tat the full comprehenfion of men; and therefore much more mutt be the works of providence, and the hidden caufes and reafons of them.

they may do whatfoever be commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth; as all his creatures y¥.15. Doft thou know when God difpofed them?

&c.] The clouds, that part of the wondrous do; the feveral meteors in the air, clouds, ftormy wind, fire, hail, fnow, and vapour, all fulfilling his works of God he was fpeaking of; when he decreed concerning them that they fhould be, when he put word; and which they do every where in the feveral parts of the world whither they are fent, P/a. | into them and ftored them with rain, hail, fnow, cvii, 25, 29. and cxlviii, So minifters of the word

Fc. difpofed of them here and there in the heavens, and gave them orders to fall on this and the other fpot of ground; waft thou prefent at all this, and knew what God was doing fecretly in the clouds, and before heard what would break out of them, or fall from them? and if thou art ignorant of thefe things, canft thou imagine that thou fhouldft be made acquainted with the fecret {prings of God’s providential dealings with the children of men? And caufed the light of bis cloud to fhine, either the lightning to break through the cloud, or.rather the light of the fun to fhine upon his cloud, prepared to receive the light reflected on it, and form the rainbow; which, as it is called his bow, the cloud in which it is may be called his cloud; which is one of the wondrous works of God, and is called by the heathens the daughter of wonder‘; formed in a femicircle, with various colours, and as a token that God will drown the earth no more; an emblem of the covenant of peace, and of Jefus Chrift, faid to be clothed with a cloud, and with a rainbow about his head, Rev. x. 1.

¥. 16. Doft thou know the balancings of the clouds?

&c.] How thofe ponderous bodies, as fome of them are very weighty, full of water, are poized, and hang in the air, without turning this way or the other, or falling on the earth. The wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge, of God who is a God of knowledge, of knowledges, 1 Sam. ii. 3. who knows himfelf and all his works, all creatures and things whatever, fee chap. xxxvi. 4. and this is another of his wondrous works which none but he, whofe knowledge is perfect, and is the author and giver of knowledge, can know, even the poizing and balancing of the clouds in the air; we fee they are balanced, but we know not how it is done.

y. 17. How thy garments are warm, when be guieteth the earth by the fouth wind?] One fhould think there is no great difficulty in accounting for this, that a man’s clothes fhould be warm, and he fo hot as not to be able to bear them, but obliged to put them off in the fummer feafon, when only the fouth wind blows, which brings heat, a ferene fky, and fine weather, Luke xii. 55. and yet there is fomething in the concourfe of divine providence attending thefe natural caufes, and his bleffing with them, without which the garment of a man will not be warm, or at leaft not warming to him, Haggai i. 6. or *¢ how thy garments are warm when the << Jand is ftill from the fouth,’” as Mr Broughton renders the words; that is, how itis when the earth is {till from the whirlwinds of the fouth; or when that wind does not blow which brings heat, but northerly winds in the winter time; that then a man’s garments fhould be warm, and keep him warm, y¥. 18. Haft thou with him fpread out the fy? &c.] Watt thou concerned with him at the firft fpreading out of the fky? waft thou an affiftant to him in it? did he not fpread it as a curtain or canopy about himfelf, without the help of another? verily he did; fee chap. ix. 8. Ifa. xliv. 24. Which is frrong, for though it feems a fluid and thin, is very firm and ftrong, as appears by what it bears, and are contained in it; and therefore is called’ the firmament of his power, Pfal. cl. r. looking-gla/s, clear and tran{fparent, like the looking-glafies of the women, made of molten brafs, Exod. xxxviii. 8. and firm and permanent"; and a glafs this is in which the glory.of God, and his divine perfections, is to be feen; and is one of the wondrous works of God, made for the difplay of his own glory, and the benefit of men, P/al. xix.1.

Or this may refpect the fpreading out a clear ferene _ fky, and fmoothing it after it has been covered and ruffled with ftorms and tempefts; which is fuch a wonderful'- work of God, that man has no hand in. y¥. 19. Teach us what we fall fay unto bim, &e.] To this wonder-working God, of whofe common works of nature we know fo little; how we fhould reafon with him about his works of providence, when we know fo little of thefe: for we cannot order our fpeech by reafon of darknefs, by reafon of darknefs in themfelves, which is in all men naturally, and even in the faints in this ftate of imperfe€tion; and by reafon of the clouds and darknefs which are about the Lord himfelf, who is incomprehenfible in his nature and perfections; and by reafon of the darknefs caft about his providential dealings with men, fo that they are unfearchable and paft finding out; and the beft of men are at a lofs how to order their fpeech, or difcourfe with God concerning thefe things.

¥. 20. Shall it be told bim that I fpeak? &c.] And what I fpeak? there is no need of it, fince he is omnifcient and knows every word that is fpoken by men; or is any thing I have faid concerning him, his ways, and his works, worthy relating, or worthy of his hearing, being fo very imperfeét? nor can the things I have fpoken of, though common things, be fully explained to any; or fhould it be told him, the Lord, that he, Z/ba, had fpoke as Fob had done, and arraigned his juftice, and complained of his dealings? God forbid; he would not have it faid they were fpoken by him for all the world: or ball it be recorded unto him what I

[peak? as Mr Broughton, or that I fpeak; fhall it be recorded in a book, and that fent to God; that I, will fpeak in thy caufe, and be an advocate for thee, and endeavour to juftify thee, in all thou haft.

foall be fwallowed up; if he {peaks of the being and perfections of God, he is foon loft; his effénce, and many of his attributes, are beyond his comprehenfion; if he fpeaks of his works of nature and providence, he is prefently out of his depth; there is a bathos, a depth in them he cannot fathom: if he {peaks of his love, and grace, and mercy, in the falvation of man, he is fwallowed up with admiration; he is obliged to fay, what manner of love is this! it has heights he cannot reach, depths he can-. not get to the bottom of, lengths and breadths immea{urable: or fhould he undertake to difpute with God, to litigate a point with him concerning his works, he could not anfwer him in one thing of a thoufand; and particularly Exbu fuggefts, was he to undertake Yob’s caufe, it would foon be loft and all over with him; fo Mr Broughton renders the words, would any plead, when he fhould be undone? who would engage in a caufe he is fure would be loft, and prove his utter undoing?

¥. 21. And now men fee not the bright light which is in the clouds, &c.) Here Elibu returns to his

fubjeét it, may be, occafioned by black clouds ga- - thering in the heavens, as a preparation for the whirlwind, ftorm and tempeft, out of which the Lord is faid to fpeak in the next chapter. And this is to be underftood, not of the lightning in the cloud, which is not to be feen until it breaks out of it; nor the rainbow in the cloud, formed by the rays of light from the fun, which difappears when the wind pafits and clears the fky i cloud in which it is; nor of the Galaxy, or milky “way, as Sephorno, which isnot to be feen in a cloudy night; but of the fun, which is the great light and a bright one, and fhines brightly; yet fometimes not to be feen by men, becaufe of interpofing clouds, until they are cleared away by winds. Though rather this refpeéts the fun fhining in its brightnefs, and in its full ftrength, in the fkies or ethereal reions, in a clear day, when men are not able to look Fall at it: and how mucn lefs then are they able to behold him who is light itfelf? and in whom is no darknefg at all, nor fhadow of turning? who dwells in light, which no mortal can approach unta; into whofe nature and perfeétions none can fully look, or behold the fecret {prings of his actions, and the reafons of his difpenfations towards men. But the wind paffeth and cleanfeth them, the clouds, and clears the air of them, which obftruét the light of the fun: or when a wind paffeth and cleareth it; the air, as Mr Broughton, then the fun fhines fo brightly that it dazzles the eye to look at it. ¥. 22. Fair weather cometh out of the north, &c.} Or gold *, which fome underftand literally; this being found in northern climates as well as fouthern, as Pliny relates’; particularly in Colchis and Scythia, which lay to the north of Palefine and Arabia, and is thought by a learned man ”, to be here intended: though to underftand it figuratively of the ferenity of the air, bright and pure as gold; or of fair weather, which is golden weather, as Mr Broughton renders it, ** through the * north the golden cometh,”’ feems beft to agree with the fubject Elibu is upon 5 and fuch weather comes from the north, through the north winds, which drive away rain, Prov, xxv. 23, With God is terrible mafefty + majefty belongs to him as he is King of kings, whofe the kingdom of nature and providence is; and he is the governor among and over the nations of the world. His throne is preared in the heavens; that is his throne, and his Bestia ruleth over all: and this majefty of his is zerrible, commanding awe and reverence among all men, who are his fubjects; and efpecially among his faints and peculiar people; and ftrikes a terror to others, even to great perfonages, the kings and princes of the earth; to whom the Lord is fometimes terrible now, and will be hereafter; fee P al.

Ixxvi. 12. Rev. vi. 15, 16, 17. and to all chriftlefs finners, efpecially when he comes to judgment; fee J/ai. ii. 19. 2 Cor. v.11, Or terrible praife*, for God is fearful in praifes, Exod. xv. 14. which may refpect the fubject of praife, terrible things, and the manner of praifing him with fear and reverence, P/al. cvi. 22. and il. 11. ¥. 23. Touching the Almighty, &c.} Or with refpeé&t to God, who is almighty; with whom nothing is impoffible; who can do and does do all things he pleafes, and more than we can afk or think; and who is all-fufficient, as this word is by fome rendered; has enough of every thing in himfelf and of himfelf to make him happy; and needs not any of his creatures, nor any thing they can do or give him, but has a fufficiency for himfelf and them. We cannot find him out; found he may be in his works, and efpecially in his Son, the ex- cerus and Drufius, “ fome in Drnafius.

prefs image of his perfon; in whom he makes himfelf known as the God of grace: but he is not to be found out to perfection; neither by the light of nature, which is very dim, and by which men grope after him, if haply they may find him; nor even by the light of grace in the prefent ftate: and there are many things in God quite out of the reach of man, and ever will be, fully to comprehend; as the modes of the fubfiftence of the three perfons in the godhead; the eternity and immenfity of God; with all fecret things, which belong not to us to inquire curioufly into. He is excellent in power; or great and much in it; which is difplayed in the works of creation and fuftentation of the world; in the redemption and converfion of his people; in the fupport, proteétion, and prefervation of them; and in. the deftruction of his and theirenemies. And in judgment; in the government of the world in fo righteous a manner; in the judgments he executes on wicked men; and as he will appear to be in the general judgment of the world, at the great day, which will be a righteous one, And in plenty of juftice; being moft juft, righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works; diftributing juftice to all, ating according to the rules of it, in all things and towards all perfons; fo that though he is great in power, he does not abufe that power, to do things that are not juft. He wall not afi 5 without a juft caufe and reafon for it; nor willingly, but with réluce tance; nor never beyond deferts, nor more than he gives ftrength to bear; and only for the good of his people, and in love to them. — Some render it, be will not anfwer®; or give an account of his matters, or the reafon of his dealings with ~ men.

¥.24. Men do therefore fear bim, &c.| Or fhould, becaufe of his greatnefs in power, judgment and juftice; and becaufe of his goodnefs, in not afflicting for his pleafure’s fake, but for the profit of men; and therefore they fhould reverence and adore him, fubmit to his will, patiently bear affictions, ferve him internally and externally, with reverence and godly fear. He refpecteth not any that are wife of beart; that are wife in a natural fenfe: thefe are not always regarded by God, or are his favourites; neither temporal bleffings, nor fpecial grace, or the knowledge of {piritual things, are always given to the wife and prudent, Ecclef. ix. 11. Matt. xi. 25. Or that are wife in their own conceit; there is a wo to fuch; and there is more hope of a fool than of them, J/ai. v. 21. Prov. xxvi. 12, Or he is not afraid of them‘, as fome choofe to render the word; he fears not to reprove them, and correct them for their faults, or the fchemes they form to counterwork him; for he can take them in their craftinefs, and carry their counfel headlong. Or every wi/é in heart fall not fee bim*: the world by wifdom knows him not; nor can any look into his heart, his thoughts, purpofes and defigns, and into the caufes and reafons of his actions; nor have thofe that are truly wife perfect vifion and knowledge of him now, i Cor, xiii. g, 12.

* Non videbit eum omnis fapiens corde; fo

N this chapter the Lord takes up the controverfy with fob; calls upon him to prepare to engage with him in it, and demands an anfwer to pofing queftions he puts to him, concerning the earth and the fabric of it, y.1—7. Concerning the fea, compared to an infant in embryo, at its birth, in its fwadling bands and cradle, y. 8——11. Concerning the morning-light, its fpread and influence, ¥. 12—15. Concerning the fprings of the fea, the dark parts of the earth, the place both of light and darknefs, y. 16—21. Concerning the various meteors, fnow, hail, rain, thunder, lightning, and the influences of the ftars, ¥, 22—38. and concerning provifion for lions and ravens, y. 1. Then the Lord anfwered Fob out of the whirlwind, &c.}] As foon as Elibu had done {peaking, who faw the tempeft rifing, and gave hints of it, chap. xxxvii. 2, 14. and haftened to finifh his difcourfe. This was raifed to give notice of the Lord being about to appear, and to difplay his majefty, and to command reverence and attentiqn. The Targum calls it the whirlwind of diftrefs, as it might be to 7b; and a reprefentation of the diftrefied and difturbed ftate and condition in which he was. The perfon that fpoke out of it is Febovab the Son of God, the eternal Word, who very probably appeared in an human form; for there was an object feen, chap, xlii. 5. and fpoke with an articulate voice to fob. And faid, in anfwer to ‘his frequent wifhes and defires, that the Lord would appear and take his caufe in hand.

y.2. Who is this, &c.] Meaning not Elihu the laft fpeaker, as fome think; and there are fome who fuppofe not only that thefe words are directed to him, but all that is faid in this and the following chapter: but it was 7ob the Lord fpoke to and anfwered, as expreffed in the preceding verfe; and thefe words are taken by 7ob to himfelf, chap. xlii. 3. Concerning whom the Lord inquires, not as ignorant of him, who he was; but wondring that fuch a man as he fhould talk as he did; and as angry with him, and rebuking him for it. That darkneth counfel by words without knowledge; either his own counfel, his fenfe and fentiments of things, which were delivered in fuch an obfcure manner, as not to be intelligible by thofe that heard them; whereby they were led, as Yob’s friends were, into fome miftaken notions of him: or rather the counfel of God, his works of providence, which are done according to the counfel of his will, and were mifreprefented by ob, as not being wife and good, juft and equitable; fee chap. xxxiv. 35, 37- y. 3. Gird up now thy loins like a man, &c.| Like a man of valour that girds on his harnefs for battle: ¥ob is bid to prepare for the controverfy the Lord was entring into with him; and bring forth his {trong reafons, and moft powerful arguments in his own defence. The allufion is to the cuftom in the eaftern countries, where they wore long garments, to gird them about their loins, when the engaged in work or war. ob had bluftered what he would do, and now he is dared to it; fee chap.

,: act if A XXXVIII. ee. e1 US XXiii. 4, 5, 6. and xxxi. 37. For I will demand of thee, and anfwer thou me; put queftions to him, to which he required a direct and pofitive anfwer. Febovah takes the part of the opponent in this dif= pute, and gives that of the refpondent to Job; fince fob himfelf had put it to his option which to take, chap. xill. 22. ¥. 4. Where waft thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? &c.| The earth has foundations, and fuch firm ones that it cannot be mcved; but what are they, fince it is hung in the air on nothing! No other than the power and will of God, who laid thefe foundations, and the Son of God, who has created and upholds all things by the word of his power, Heb. i. 3, 10. Where was ‘Fob then? Ina {tate of nothingnefs, a mere non-entity: he was not prefent when this amazing work of nature was done, and faw not how the Lord went about it; and yet takes upon him to dive into the fecret works and ways of providence, for which he is rebuked by this queftion and the following. Declare, if thou baft underfianding: ‘Fob had the underftanding of a man in things natural and civil, and of a good man in things {piritual and divine; but he had no underftanding of this, of what he is queftioned about; could not declare in what place he was, and where he ftood, when the earth was founded. ¥. 5. Who hath laid the meafures thereof, if thou knoweft? &c.] Did God or acreature? The Lord, no doubt. He laid them out in his divine mind, and Jaid them forth by his divine power;:who does all things by weight and meafure. He fixed the dimenfions of the earth, how long, how thick, and how broad it fhould be; he fettled the borders and boundaries of it. ‘This ob might know that the Lord did; but how he laid them, and what they are that are laid, he knew not. Mathematicians pretend to give us the circumference and diameter of the earth; but in their accounts are not agreed, but widely differ; which fhows they are at no certainty about them‘; and od and the men of his age might be {till lefs knowing: though the words may be rendered, for thou knoweft‘; furely fuch a knowing man as thou art, muft needs know this; and fo are a fevere farcafm upon him. Or who hath Stretched the line upon it? The meafuring line being formed according to rule, with exaét fymmetry and proportion, This may be the fame with the circle of the earth, and the compafs fet upon the face of the deep or terraqueous globe, Prov. viii. 27. J/ai,xl.22. And with the fame exaétnefs and juft proportion are the ways and works of providence, which 7ob ought to have acquiefced in, as being well and wifely done, y¥.6. Whereupon are the foundations thereof faftened? &c.] Or the pillars of it, as Ben Gerfom interprets it; fee P/fal. lxxv. 3. and which ben Ezra underftands of the mountains: but be they what they may; on what can they be faftened or funk into, when the earth hangs on nothing, and there is nothing vifible to fupport it, nothing but the mighty hand of God? Or who laid the corner= _ Jtone thereof 2 which unites, cements, and py t

¢ The mathematicians in Ariftotle’s time, reckoned the breadth of the earth a little lefs than 40 myriads of furlongs, and circum on the word EartTH, Broughton.