Exposition of Job 8-10, Commentary on Job · Chapter 9 · Verses 5-10 · Verse 5
He removeth mountains.foreign
That's the firſt inſtance. The word which we tranſlate to remove, Seneſcere; quia quae ſic inveteraſcunt forticra & robuſtiora cum tempore ſolent evadere, ideo idem verbum ſignificat roborari. foreign. Sept.ſignifies to wax old and ſtrong, becauſe things as they grow in age grow in ſtrength. There is a declining age, and an encreaſing age. Things very old impair, and things growing older encreaſe in ſtrength; we have the word in that ſenſe (Job 21.2.) Wherefore doe the wicked become old? yea, they are mighty in power; he putteth theſe two together, growing old and mighty in power. The Septuagint render, Who maketh the mountains wax old, becauſe, that which waxeth old is ready to vaniſh away (Heb. 8.13.) or to be removed and taken away, as the Ceremoniall Law was, of which the Apoſtle ſpeaks in that place.
And becauſe growing old implies a kinde of motion, therefore the word alſo ſignifies motion, even locall motion, a moving from or out of a place, Gen. 12.4. Abraham departed; he removed from the place, where he was. This locall motion is either naturall or violent: of this later underſtand the Text, Which removeth the mountains.
The mountains.
There are naturall mountains, and metaphoricall or figurative mountains: it is an act of the mighty power of God to remove either.
Some underſtand this of metaphoricall or figurative mountains, and ſo mountains are great men, men of eminency, or of preeminency, the Kings and Princes of the world.Chaldeus per montes intelligit reges, qui loco movet reges fortes, ut mont…s. Targ. The Chaldee is expreſſe for this ſenſe, He removeth Kings, who are as ſtrong and high as mountains. For as God hath ordered the ſuperficies of the earth, and made ſome parts of it plain, others mountainous, ſome valleys and ſome hils. So he hath diſpoſed of men, ſome men ſtand as upon levell ground, men of an ordinary condition; others are as the low vallies, men of a poor condition; others are as the high mountains over-topping and over-looking the reſt. The word is uſed in this metaphoricall ſenſe, Iſa. 41.15. I will make thee (ſaith the Lord to the Prophet) a new threſhing inſtrument having teeth; And what ſhall this new threſhing ieſtrument do? Thou ſhalt threſh the mountains and beat them ſmall, and ſhalt make the hils as chaff. Here is a Prophet ſent with a flail or a threſhing inſtrument, and his buſineſſe is to threſh the mountains, and to beat the hils: the meaning is, thou ſhalt deſtroy the great ones of the world, the hils, the mountains, thoſe that thinke themſelves impregnable or inacceſſible. But how could the Prophet threſh theſe mountains, and what was his flail? Gideon (Judg. 8.7.) threatens the men of Succoth, that he will tear or threſh their fleſh with the thorns of the wilderneſſe, and with briars. And Damaſcus is threatned, becauſe they threſhed Gilead with threſhing inſtruments of iron, Am. 1.3. That is, they put them to extreameſt tortures. Our Prophet could not thus torture men. His threſhing inſtrument having iron teeth, was only his tongue, the inſtrument of ſpeech, With this he beat thoſe proud mountains to duſt, that is, he declared they ſhould be beaten and deſtroied. Of ſuch a mountain, the Lord by his Prophet ſpeaks (Jer. 51.25.) Behold I am againſt thee, O deſtroying mountain, ſaith the Lord, which deſtroieſt all the earth. Behold, I will ſtretch out mine hand upon thee, and will roll th…e down from the rocks, and make thee a burnt mountain. This mountain was the proud State of Babylon, which was oppoſite to the Church of God, this devouring mountain ſhall at laſt be a devoured mountain, devoured by fire, therefore he cals it a burnt mountain. Thus (Zech. 4.7.) Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou ſhalt become a plain. The Prophet is aſſured, that all the power and ſtrength, which oppoſed it ſelf againſt the reformation and re-edification of Jeruſalem ſhould be laid levell with the ground.Per montes intelligit rege…, qui ſi ut mōtes, firmitate & …o hore perſtant. R…. Dav in Pſ 14….5. So we may interpret (Pſa. 144.5.) He toucheth the mountains and they ſmoke; the meaning is, when God doth but lay his hand upon great men, upon the mightieſt of the world, he makes them ſmoke or fune, which ſome underſtand of their anger, they are preſently in a paſſion, if God do but touch them. Or, we may underſtand it of their conſumption. A ſmoking mountain will ſoon be a burnt mountain. In our language, to make a man ſmoke, is a proverbiall, for deſtroying or ſubduing.
And beſides, there are mountains (in this figurative ſenſe) within us, as well as without us. The ſoul hath a mountain in it ſelf, and it is an act of the great power of God, yea, of an higher and greater power of God to remove inward, than it is to remove outward mountains, Iſa. 40.4. The Prophet fore-ſhewing the comming of Chriſt, and the ſending of the Baptiſt to prepare his way, tels us, Every mountain and hill ſhall he made low. Chriſt did not throw down the outward power of men, who withſtood him: he let Herod and Pilate prevail, but mountains and hils of ſinne and unbelief in the ſoul, which made his paſſage into them impaſſible he overthrew. Theſe mountains of high proud thoughts, the Apoſtle deſcribes (2 Cor. 10.14.) Caſting down imaginations, and every high thing, and bringing into captivity every thought (every mountainous thought) to the obedience of Chriſt.
Theſe are metaphoricall mountains, the power of ſinfull men without us, and the power of ſinne, the pride of our own hearts within us. It is a mighty worke of God to remove theſe mountains.
But theſe are not proper to the Text, for the inſtances which follow, being all given in naturall things, ſhew, that thoſe here intended are naturall mountains.
Taking mountains for earthly, materiall mountains, it is doubted how the Lord removes them.
There are different opinions about the point. Some underſtand it of a naturall motion.*Montes naturae ſua generabiles ſunt & corruptibiles, additione partium generan…ur & detractione partiū corrumpuntur. Aquin & Caj. Minimè mirandum eſt, fi qua… terrae partes, quae nunc habitantur, olim mare occupabat, & quae nunc pelagus ſunt, o…im habitabantur, ſic campos & montes par eſt invicem commutari. S…b l 17. Philoſophers diſputing about mountains and hils, conclude that they are ſubject to generation and corruption; by the addition of many parts they are generated, that is, kneaded or gathered together, and become one huge heap of earth; and by the detraction, falling and crumbling off, or taking away of theſe parts, they are removed again. Thus we may expound that (Job 14.18.) And ſurely the mountain falling cometh to nought.
Yet this cannot be the meaning of Job here. For though we grant that doctrine of the Philoſophers, that there is a generation of mountains, and ſo a corruption of them, yet that corruption is ſo inſenſible, that it cannot be put among thoſe works of God, which raiſe up the name of his glorious power.*Divina pote… tia in …a…longa & ſegni montium remotione non ſe praebet vald… mirabilē, cu… remo fere …, qui eam rem videat. Pined. That which fals not under obſervation, cannot cauſe admiration. Slow and imperceptible motions make ſmall impreſſions either upon the fancie or underſtanding.
That here ſpoken of, is quick and violent, and by it's eaſie repreſentation to the eye, cauſeth wonder and aſtoniſhment in the beholders.
And ſo it imports a removing them by ſome violent motion. Thus the Lord is able to remove, and hath removed mountains, ſometimes by earthquakes: ſometimes by ſtorms and tempeſts, ſometime thoſe mighty bulwarks are battered with thunder-bals diſcharged from the clouds (Pſal. 97.5.) The hils melted like wax at the preſence of the Lord. Hils melt down when he appears as a conſuming fire (Pſal. 104.32.) He looks upon the earth, and it trembleth, and he toucheth the hils, and they ſmoke. Thoſe rocky mountains are as ready to take fire, as tinder or touch-wood, if but a ſpark of Gods anger fall upon them, God by a caſt of his eye (as we may ſpeak) can caſt the earth into an ague-fit, he makes it ſhake and more, tremble with a look; He by a touch of his mighty arm, hurls mountains which way he pleaſeth, as man doth a Tennis-ball. We read (Iſa. 64.1.) How earneſtly the Prophet praies, O that thou wouldſt rent the heavens and come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy preſence: Where he is conceived to allude to Gods comming down upon Mount Sinai at the giving of the Law, Exod. 19. which is ſaid, To melt from before the Lord God of Iſrael, Judg. 5.3. Some underſtand it of that day of Chriſt, when he ſhall come to judge the world; others of that day when Chriſt came in the fleſh to ſave the world; then the mountains were levell'd according to the preaching of the Baptiſt; but rather, the Prophet being affected with the calamitous condition, which he fore-ſaw the Jews falling into, entreats the Lord to put forth himſelf in ſome notable works of his providence, which ſhould as clearly manifeſt his preſence, as if they ſaw the heavens (ſpeaking as of ſolid bodies) renting, and God viſibly comming down; then, thoſe difficulties which lay in the way of their deliverance, and looked like huge mountains of iron, or of adamant, would preſently diſſolve like waxe, or ice before the Sunne or fire. The Prophet Micah deſcribes the effects of Gods power in the ſame ſtile (Chap. 1.3, 4.) Behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth, and the mountains ſhall be molten under him, Ex quo & hoc loco non abſurde colligitur fuiſſe proverbium ad ſignificandum maximam oli que Deo convenietem potentiam. Bold.and the valleys ſhall be cleft: as wax before the fire, and as the waters which are poured down a ſteep place. So, to remove mountains is uſed proverbially, Job 18.4. Shall the earth be forſaken for thee, or ſhall the rock be removed out of his place; that is, ſhall God work wonders for thee? or, God will alter the courſe of nature, as ſoon as the courſe of his providence. To ſay God can remove mountains, is as much as to ſay, he hath power to doe what he will: and the reaſon is, becauſe mountains are exceeding great and weighty bodies: mountains are firmly ſetled, now, to remove a thing, which is mighty in bulk, and ſtrongly founded, is an argument of greateſt ſtrength. The ſtability of the Church is compared to the ſtability of mountains, Pſal. 125.1. They that truſt in the Lord ſhall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but ſtandeth faſt for ever. The righteouſneſſe of God is compared to a great mountain (Pſal. 36.6.) becauſe his righteouſneſſe is firm and unmoveable, Thy righteouſneſſe is like the great mountains, or the mountains of God. And (Pſal. 46.2.) the doing of the greateſt things,Iſa. 54.10. the mountains. and the making of the greateſt changes that poſſibly can happen in any Nation, or in the whole world are expreſt by the removing of mountains, Though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the Sea, yet will we not fear, &c. That is things which carry the greateſt impoſſibility to be done, or which are ſeldomeſt done, ſhall be done, before we will doe this. As men, when they would ſhew how farre they are from ſubmitting to ſuch a thing, ſay, We will die firſt, &c. So here, Who, we fear? No, mountains ſhall be removed firſt. He breaths out the higheſt confidence of the Church, in the loweſt, not only of her preſent, but poſſible dangers. As faith can repreſent to us better things then any we enjoy, to raiſe our joy: ſo it can repreſent to us worſe things (and put us harder caſes) then any we feel, and yet carry us above fear. A faith removing mountains, is put for the ſtrongeſt faith, Though I had all faith, ſo that I could remove mountains (1 Cor. 13.2.) that is, though I had the ſtrongeſt faith, the faith of miracles. When Chriſt (Mat. 21.21.) would ſhew to the utmoſt what faith can doe, he faith, If ye have faith and doubt not, ye ſhall not only doe this which is done to the fig-tree, but alſo, if ye ſhall ſay to this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the ſea, and it ſhall be done. As if he had ſaid, if you have faith, ye may doe the greateſt things imaginable or deſirable, ye ſhall remove mountains. A mountain is immovable by the meer power of a creature. Faith takes that in hand, becauſe faith acts in the power of the Creatour. And as the faith of man removing mountains, notes a faith of miracles; ſo the power of God removing mountains, notes a miraculous power.
So then, taking this ſpeech either for the removing of naturall mountains, or taking it proverbially, as it noteth the doing of the greateſt things, and putting forth of the greateſt power, it proveth the point, which Job hath here in hand, viz. That God is mighty in ſtrength; Why? He is able to remove mountains. Obſerve from hence,
Firſt, That the Lord if he pleaſeth can alter and remove the parts of the earth, and change the frame and fabrique of nature.
He that made the mountains unmoveable to us, can himſelf remove them. The Hiſtories and Records of former times, tell us how God hath miraculouſly toſſed mountains out of their places. Joſephus in his ninth book of Antiquities,Mons in Burgundia a proximo monte dehi…cens, valleſ que proximas co…rcta…s, multa agricolarum millia oppreſſit, &c. Ʋvernerus in faſciculo Joſephus Ant. l 9. c 12. Vide Sen…cam, l. 5. c 15 & l. l. … 15. Natur. Queſt. Plinium Nat. Hiſt l. 8. c 38. Cum in agro Mutinenſi montes duo inter ſe concurrehāt crep…tu maximo oſſultantes, &c. Eo concurſau villae omnes …liſae ſunt, &c. cap. 11. mentions the removing of a mountain; and Pliny in the eighth book of his naturall Hiſtory, Cap. 30. A later writer reports that in Burgundy, in the year, 1230. there were mountains ſeen moving, which overthrew many houſes, to the great terrour of all the inhabitants of thoſe countries. Joſephus alſo reports the like done by an earthquake. And another tels us of Mount Oſſa joyned to Olympus by an earth-quake. So that take it in the letter, the Lord is able to remove mountains.
It ſhould make us fear before the Lord, and give him glory while we remember that even the outward frame of the world, is ſubject to ſudden changes; there is no mountain, no rock, but the little finger of God can move or pull it down. As David ſpake of his metaphoricall mountain, his great outward eſtate. Lord, thou hadſt made it ſtand ſtrong, yet thou didſt hide away thy face, and I was troubled, Pſal. 30.6. his mountain began to ſhake, and became a very mole-hill, uſeleſſe to him, when God was diſpleaſed. If the Lord with-draw himſelf from our civill mountains, we are troubled, and if he touch the naturall mountains they are troubled. Our mountains will skip like Rams; and the little hils like Lambs, (Pſal. 114.4.) when he is displeaſed.
Secondly, obſerve, That the power of God is made viſible to us in the changes which he works in the creature, as well as in the conſtitution of the creature.
The power of God made the mountains and created the hils; the ſame power removes mountains, and turns them upſide down. It argues as great a power to deſtroy the world as to ſettle the world. As the Apoſtle ſhews what divinity the Gentiles might have learned in that great book of the worlds creation (Rom. 1.20.) The inviſible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly ſeen, being understood by the things which are made, even his eternall power and Godhead; So we may ſay on the other ſide, The inviſible things of him from the confuſions which are in the world, are clearly ſeen; or, they may be underſtood by the things which are removed and changed, in theſe you may read his eternall power and God-head. When God breaks the laws and courſe of nature, he ſhews his power as well as when he ſetled the laws and courſe of nature. He ſhews his power when he lets the ſea out of it's place to overflow the earth, as well as when he bounded the ſea, that it ſhall not overflow the earth. Some things are with farre leſſe power deſtroied, then made, removed then ſetled, but no power can deſtroy the world, but that which made it, or ſuddenly remove a mountain, but that which ſetled it. The power of God muſt be acknowledged in altering as well as in ordering the naturall courſe or conſtitution of the creature.
And if we look to the change of Metaphoricall mountains, it is a truth, an illuſtrious truth, that the Lord diſplaies his mighty power, in removing and over-turning the great eſtates and eſtabliſhments of men or kingdoms. When God removes the mountain of our peace, of our riches, the mountain of outward proſperity, and of civill power, it becomes us to ſay, He is mighty in power, who doth all theſe things.
God hath given us great tokens and teſtimonies of his power in this. How many mountains, great mountains, men who were mountains, and things which ſtood like mountains in our way, how many (I ſay) of theſe hath the Lord removed? Our eies have ſeen mountains removing, and mighty hils melting: the power of God, and the faith of his people have wrought ſuch miracles in our daies, He removeth the mountains.
And they know it not.
They, who? who or what is the antecedent to this, They? Neceſciunt, ſcil. montes, tribuitur rei inanimatae ſenſus. Merc.are the mountains? So ſome underſtand it, and then the word know, or the act of knowing is by a figure aſcribed (as many times in Scripture to creatures without reaſon, ſo) to creatures without life, Pſal. 58.8. before your pots can feel the thorns; the Hebrew is, before your pots can underſtand or know the thorns, that is, before they are ſenſible of the heat of the fire to make them boyl, &c. An act of ſenſe, and is aſcribed to pots,Puto eſſe modū loquendi inde terminatum, cui ſupplen…um eſt ſubjectum homines. Bold. which are things inſenſible.
But others take the antecedent to be man, He removeth the mountains, and they know it not; that is, men know it not. So Maſter Broughton tranſlates, He removeth the mountains that men cannot mark how he hath removed them out of their place in his anger.
Vatabius ſuppoſitum verbi ne ſcie…unt, ita ſupplet, nec agnoſcunt (ſc. homines imperiti) quis ſubvertit eos furore ſuo.Suppoſing men to be the antecedent, there is yet a difference about the interpretation. Men, that is, ſay ſome, unskilfull men, ignorant men, they know not the meaning of this, they cannot give a reaſon why or how mountains are removed; if God doth it they know it not. Others reſtrain it to men, inhabiting the mountains, they were ſecure, and thought their dwellings ſo ſafe, that God removed their mountain before they dream'd of, much leſſe feared any ſuch thing; they had no thought that God would remove their mountain. Places ſtrongly fortified either by art or nature, make men ſecure, and dangers unſuſpected. The deluge in Noahs time prevailed over the higheſt mountains;Locus ſive ab arte, ſive à natura munitus, reddit homines ab omni bellorū aut ruinae ſuſpicione ſecuros. Sanct. but his ſinfull poſterity hoped to make an artificiall mountain, wherein they might even dare a ſecond deluge. Come, let us build us a City and a Tower, whoſe top may reach to heaven (Gen. 11.4.) and then (except the ſtars and firmament be flouded) we ſhall be dry, how much or how long ſo ever it rains. Such towering thoughts, as theſe, were (ſurely) laid in the foundation of that intended Tower.
Take the text either of naturall or of figurative mountains, and to remove them, ſo, that man knows it not, may have a double meaning.
Firſt, That it is done with great ſpeed.
Secondly, That it is done with great ſecrecy.
God is able to doe great things in a little time, in ſo little time, that men ſhall not know he is doing them, till they are done. He can doe great things ſecretly, ſo ſecretly, that the way of their diſpatch ſhall not be viſible to the eye, or open to the underſtanding of man, till they are di…patcht.
Again, this clauſe [And they know it not] notes not only the ſecurity of men before the hand of God is upon them, but their ſtupidity, while it is upon them. So (Prov. 23.35.) They have ſtricken me, ſhalt thou ſay, and I was not ſick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not; the Hebrew is, and I knew it not. Hence obſerve,
The works and judgements of God, are often unſuſpected and unobſerved by men.
He removeth mountains, even their mountains, and they know it not.
'Tis true in reference to naturall, but eſpecially to civill mountains. The rich, the mighty are caſt down from their ſeats, or their ſeats are caſt down before they ſaw any hand touching them; the whore of Babylon, and mother of fornications, who ſits upon ſeven mountains (Revel. 17.9.) ſaith in her heart, I ſit a Queen and am no widow, and ſhall ſee no ſorrow, (Revel. 18.7.) Therefore ſhall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning and famine, &c. (ver. 8.) If her plagues come in one day, ſhe (doubtleſſe) thought not of them a day before. Babylons ſeven mountains ſhall be removed, ſhe not knowing it; and as Babylons mountains ſhall be removed, when ſhe ſhall not know, that is, ſuſpect it; ſo, which is more ſtrange, Jeruſalems mountain was removed, and ſhe did not know, that is, perceive it. The Prophets are expreſſe (Iſa. 42.25.) Therefore he hath poured upon him (namely, Jacob or Iſrael) the fury of his anger, and the ſtrength of battell, and it hath ſet him on fire round about, yet he knew it not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart. They were unobſervent of thoſe terrible things the Lord did among them. Some little anger paſſes often without notice, but here was the fury of anger; ſome ſleight skirmiſhes make no great noiſe, but here was the ſtrength of battell; and not ſome few drops of both theſe, but either of them poured upon him, by whole bucket fuls, and theſe buckets of burning fury ſet him on fire, and that not in ſome one corner or out-houſe, but round about, yet he knew it not. Which is expounded in the next words, It burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.
The Prophet Hoſea (Chap. 7.9.) ſpeaks as much of Jeruſalem under the name of Ephraim. Strangers have devoured his ſtrength, and be knoweth it not, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth it not. Strangers devour his ſtrength, that is, according to the language of Job, the mountains wherein his ſtrength did conſiſt, were devoured and overthrown by ſtrangers, and yet he knew it not, he did not obſerve the hand of God in the hand of man againſt him. Gray hairs are here and there upon him; gray hairs are a great change; gray hairs note the moſt diſcernable change of a mans life. There are two ſtates of a man, eaſily diſtinguiſhed, Youth, and old-age, and gray hairs make the moſt viſible diſtinction between theſe two; ſo that to ſay, Gray hairs are upon him, is to ſay there is ſuch a change upon his eſtate, as is between a young man and an old man, and yet he knows, he obſerves it not. Of all things a man is moſt apt to take notice of his own naturall gray hairs: and many are ſo troubled at the firſt ſight of them (becauſe they tell us we begin to be old) that they will pick them out; but ſuch is the ſenſleſneſſe of many about the dealings of God with them, that when great changes are upon them, changes like that of youth into old-age, they are not affected with it; providentiall or judiciary gray hairs are not often known.
Surely many of theſe gray hairs are upon us at this day: it will be ſad if England be like Ephraim, and know it not. It is worſe not to know we have gray hairs, then to have them. The one is but our affliction, the other is our ſinne. Gray hairs are upon us, ſtrangers have devoured our ſtrength; as many oppreſſing mountains are removed (for which we ought to bleſſe God, and admire his power) ſo ſome ſupporting mountains have been removed, and others ſhake terribly, for which we ought to mourn, and be humbled under the mighty hand of God. If we know not what God hath done, he can quickly doe enough to make himſelf known. They who will not ſee the hand of God, when it is lifted up (that they may be humbled) ſhall ſee it and be aſhamed (Iſa. 26.11.) if the removing and ſhaking of our mountains doe not awaken us, the overturning of them ſhall; That's the next act of divine power in this noble deſcription.
And overturneth them in his anger.
foreign Vertit, ſubvertit ſignificat verſionem, vel in nibilum, vel in formam, aut qualitatem aliam, vel in locū alium.The word ſignifies to over-turn a thing, ſo, as to change the form and faſhion of it, yea, to bring it to nothing; not only to remove a thing out of its place, but to take away the very being of it, and to remove it out of the world. He not only turns mountains into mole-hils, but into plains, yea into pits, they ſhall not be mountains any longer, nor any thing like a mountain.
It is much to remove a mountain, and ſet it in another place: but more to crumble it in a moment all to duſt, that you ſhall not finde a piece or a clod of it. The Prophet threatens the obſtinate Jews in ſuch a language (Iſa. 30.13, 14.) Therefore this iniquity ſhall be to you as a breach ready to fall, ſwelling out in a high wall, whoſe breaking commeth ſuddenly at an instant, and he ſhall break it as the breaking of the Potters veſſel, &c. So that there ſhall not be found in the burſting of it, a ſheard to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withall out of the pit.
He overturneth them in his anger.
Anger in man is a mixt affection made up chiefly of theſe two ingredients, ſorrow and revenge. Some call anger the boiling of the bloud about the heart, or the boiling of the heart in bloud; The fumes whereof riſe ſo faſt into the brain,Ira ſuror brevis. that anger ſometimes diſlodges reaſon, and is therefore called by others a ſhort madneſſe.
The word in the text ſignifies the Noſtrils; and the Scripture frequently applies that to anger,foreign Ira, inde tranſfertur a l naſum, qui eſt inſtrumentum trae & in quo ira precipuè apparet. Fames & morabilèm in naſum conciunt. Plaut. becauſe anger is ſeen and made viſible in the noſtrils. Quick breathing is a ſign of anger. God is without parts and paſſions, he is not angry as man: but is ſaid to be angry when he doth like man in his anger. The Lord is not moved or ſtirred by anger, but he is angry, when he makes motions and ſtirrings in the creature; he lets out the effects of anger, but himſelf hath not the affection, much leſſe the perturbation of anger. Hence obſerve,
That the troubles and confuſions which are in the creature, are tokens and effects of the anger of God.
As the ſetling and eſtabliſhment of the creature, is an effect or ſign of his goodneſſe, or as theſe tell us, that God is pleaſed: So when the Lord hurls the creature this way and that way, when he toſſes it up and down, as if he cared not how, this is an argument of his anger; when Moſes came down from the Mount, and ſaw what the people of Iſrael had done, how they had made a golden calf and polluted themſelves with idols, ſuch a paſſion of anger came upon him, that he threw the Tables of the Law out of his hand, and brake them. So, when the Lord would ſignifie his diſpleaſure, he throws the creature out of his hand, and breaks man againſt man, Nation againſt Nation (as a Potters veſſell) one againſt another. The comfort and well-being of the creature, conſiſt in this, that God holds it in his hand; if he doe but let it goe out of his hand it periſhes, much more when he caſts it with violence out of his hand. The Prophet (Hab. 3.8.) deſcribing the great confuſions which God made in the world, queſtions thus, Was thine anger againſt the rivers? Was thy wrath againſt the ſea, that thou didſt ride upon thine horſes, and thy chariots of ſalvation? God being angry with the enemies of his people, made ſtrange work amongſt them; Rather then his people ſhall not be delivered, the world ſhall be confounded, Was the Lord angry with the ſea? when he compelled the rivers to change their courſes, and diſcover the bottome of their chanels, as in the paſſage of his Iſrael thorow the red ſea? No, God was not angry with the ſea, but with Pharaoh and his hoſt, with the oppreſſours and troublers of his Iſrael; and when he was thus angry, he check'd the courſe of nature, and turned things up-ſide-down. When David was in a diſtreſſe, and his enemies encompaſt him round about: what then? Then the earth ſtrook and trembled, Tanta extiti… divinae irae vis pro Davide contra hoſtes defendendo, ut videbatur orbē invertere, omnia miſcere, &c. Pined.the foundations of the hils were moved and were ſhaken, becauſe he was wrath (Pſal. 18.7.) That, God might reſcue David out of the hand of trouble, he troubled the foundations of the earth; he made the world ſhake and Kingdoms tremble, that his David might be ſetled upon his throne. The Lord threatneth (Hag. 2.6.) that he will ſhake the heaven and the earth, and the ſea and the dry land; he will move all creatures, why ſo? He ſhakes them for the ſetling of his Zion (verſ. 7.) I will ſhake all Nations, and the deſire of all Nations ſhall come, and I will fill this houſe with glory, ſaith the Lord of hoſtes. When the Lord comes againſt the ſuperſtition, and idolatry, and profaneneſſe, and wickedneſſes of the world in anger, no wonder if Kingdoms ſhake: yea, he therefore ſhakes Kingdoms, that he may eſtabliſh Jeruſalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that ſhall not be taken down, not one of the ſtakes thereof ſhall ever be removed, neither ſhall any of the cords thereof be broken, Iſa. 33.20. We are waiting when God will ſhake Babylon, and in his anger overturn the ſeven mountains thereof; Babylon is built upon mountains, upon ſeven mountains, to note the ſtrength and power of it, yet the Lord will remove Babylon out of her place, and overturn thoſe mountains in the fierceneſſe of his anger, and in jealouſie poured out, Then every Iſland ſhall flee away, and the mountains ſhall not be found, Revel. 16.20. That is, the remoteſt and ſtrongeſt places which owned and maintained Babylon, ſhall either be converted or confounded; they ſhall appear no more under that ſpirituall notion, though in a naturall and civill they doe remain. That which is not as it was, is spoken of, as if it were not: A great change in our condition, is called a change of our very being. The anger of God overturns things, as if it did annihilate them. Job goes on.