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that he may establish Jerusalem. Isa. xxxiii. 20. Thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation.'

"Verse 6. Which shakes the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.'

"The Lord doth not only shake mountains, but he can take up the whole earth and shake and overthrow it. If kingdoms totter who can stand fast? But when the pillars of church and state are trembling and shaking, the saints who have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken, may stand without dismay.

"Verse 7. Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not, and sealeth up the stars.'

"At the command of God the sun riseth. But to stay the sun from rising is still a greater display of his power.

"As he can seal up the spiritual treasures, so he seals up the natural influences of the heavens, that the earth and the fruits of it shall receive no quickening, no refreshing from them.

"Job produces a proof of the omnipotency of God. He is great in power. Why? Because he can stop the sun. He that can stay the sun what can he not do?

"Verse 8. Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the

sea.'

"This spreading is either an exposition of the nature of the heavens, Gen. i. 8. or refers to the foregoing words, and shows that God can command the sun, and seal up the stars, for as he made so he can dispose of them.

For he created all things by the Word, and the Word was God, &c. He needs not the help of any creature to do work.

any

To sail or swim in the waters is ordinary. But to tread upon the waters is wonderful. He walks upon them as on a pavement.

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Though winds and waves are the most disobedient creatures in the world, yet a word from God calms them; when Christ rebuked the sea, by saying peace be still, as if one should hush a child, it is said the men marvelled, Mark iv. 38.

"The power of Christ is as eminent in stilling the rage of mystical as of literal waters, and we find them mentioned together, Psalm lxv.

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"Verse 9. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.' Having heard of the power of God in stretching out the heavens, we have here his skill displayed in adorning and beautifying these heavens. Or this verse may be connected with the last clause of the former, and is an answer to those that might say the motion of the seas is regulated by the rising and setting of the moon, and other planets and constellations. True, saith Job, yet the Lord treadeth upon the waves of the sea; it is he who orders them, and not the stars. He teaches us that though the heavens influence the seas, yet God works upon the heavens. He makes Arcturus,

&c.

"The power and wisdom of God appears in the magnitude, and multitude, and regular

moving of the stars. It may be very profitable to consider them. Only beware of confining the providence of God to second causes; avoid that, and the heart may be elevated to God by meditating on his works, Psalm xix.

"The sun, moon, and stars are universal preachers, the world is their charge. gathers all these into a general conclusion.

Job

"Verse 10. Which doeth great things past finding out, yea, and wonders without number."

"Mark in what a condition Job was when he spake thus honourably of the name and power of God. This shows the admirable frame of his spirit, in all his distempers his heart stood right, and he would speak good of God whatsoever evil befel him from the hand of God. He sees God as wise in troubling as

he is in delivering. A carnal man would be above God if at any time he puts forth his power against him. But an holy heart saith, Let God improve his power and wisdom which way he pleaseth, even to afflict and chasten me, yet still I'll say his be the power for ever. I extol his power.

"When we can honour God frowning as well as when he smiles upon us, then we have learned to honour God indeed.

"Job having exalted the power and wisdom of God in many instances, and concluded all with an admiring sentence in this verse, he in verses 11-13 seems to give a proof of these attributes of God's works, that they are innumerable and unsearchable, &c.

"Verse 11. For he goeth by me, and I

see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.'

"As if he had said, I am not able to reckon how often he works, for I cannot always perceive him. I am not able to search out all his great and wonderful doings, for I cannot see him in many of them. His motion is not local but providential. He destroys, he builds, he plants, he roots up; but I am not able to apprehend him, or unriddle the meaning of his wonderful works. He is a spirit, bodily eyes cannot behold him; therefore man is not able to contend with, much less to overcome him. God sees all, himself being unseen, and fills all places. His presence being unperceived, nothing is hid from him; yet he is hid to every thing but to the faith of his own people. God works round about and in us, yet we know little of him. Our blindness should abase us in our own eyes. This is a proof of man's ignorance and blindness; and the 12th and 13th verses is a proof of his weakness.

"Verse 12. Behold he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What dost thou ?'

"This shows how impossible it is for man to deal with God. He who cannot so much as ask God what he doth, cannot prevent any of his proceedings.

"Man is not only not able to stop the Lord from what he would do, but he has no right to put in a plea against what he hath done. No; not to ask what he has been doing, or why he did it. We may ask in a humble way

for information, not in a bold way of contradiction. We may, in zeal to his glory, not in discontent with our own condition, expostulate with him about what he has done. Josh. vii. 7-9. He is the sovereign Lord, there is no appeal from him. All our comforts are in his hand, and when he either by himself or by instruments takes them away, we must quietly submit.

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"Verse 13. If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.' Suppose any should come to help those whom God hath a mind to take away, shall they prosper? No; not only they but their assistants shall fall before him.

"Pride is one of the greatest weaknesses of man; but it is always grounded upon supposed strength. If a man have a little strength of body or mind, of memory or understanding, &c. he is under a strong temptation to pride. Whoever these proud helpers are, the meaning is, that except the Lord himself restrain his anger, no power in heaven or earth, how proud or strong soever, and however confident of success, is able to change him. Helpers shall not help themselves, much less those to whose help they come, against the mind and purpose of God. Prayer is said to appease the wrath of God, and stay his anger; yet it is an act of God's will which turns away his anger. He is infinitely free even when he acknowledges that we lay the most powerful restraint upon him. It is the command of God that prayer should be made to him, and he promises to

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