dry, and drietl1 up nll the ri"rers," etc. Here is a ·description of God's powor unrivalled in its suhlimit~ anrl ~nul-Btirring force. "Power belongeth unto God." It is absolute, inexhaustihlc, en,r nnd everywhere operative. "He fainteth not, neither is ,weary." His J"\OWC'r is lwrr presented in two aspects. I. As 0l'EnA1'TNG IRRESISTIBLY 1N NATURE. 1. It works in the air. "The Lord hnth his wa_,- in ihe whirl wind and in the storm, and the clouds a.re the dust of his feet." He is in tllC' "whirlwind" and in the" storm," and has his way in the clouds. As men w~ll, on the dust of tbe earth, he walketh upon the clouds of heaven. He creates tlie 1d1irh.,in<l and the etorm; he controls the whirlwind and the storm; he uses the whirlwind and t.he st.orm. "He maketh the clouds his cha.riot, a.nd rideth upon the wings of t.he wind." He awakes the tnrna.do and simoom, he forges the thunderbolts, and he kindles the lightnings. 2. It w01·ks'in the sea. "He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers." There is undoubtedly an allusion to the Red Sea and the Jordan. "He boldeth the winds iu his fists, and the waters in the hollow of his hands." His "way is in the sea," and his "path in the great waters." The billows that rise into mountains, as well as the smallest wavelets that come rippling softly to the shore, are the creatures of his power and the servants of his will. 3. It works on the earth. "Basban languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth." No spots in Palestine were more fruitful than • these three; .. they abnunded in vigorous vegetation and majestic forests. But their· life and their growth de, ended on the results of God's power. All the blades in the 'fields, all. the trees in the forest, would :!anguish and wither did his power cease to opera.te. : Nor ·is his power less active in the inorganic parts of the world. "The mountains quake a.t him, and the hiUs melt, and the earth is burned at bis presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein." "He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he-toucheth the hills, and they smoke." He piles up the mountains, and again makes them a. .plain;. he kindles the volcanoes and quenches them at his pleasure. God's power is seen in all· the phenomena of the material world. How graphically and beautifully is this presented in Ps. -eiv. ! The fact that God's power is ever acting i-n the material universe iij: (1) The most philosophic explanation of all its phenomena. The men who a.scribe.all the operations of nature to what they call laws fail to satisfy my intellect. For what are those laws? (2) The most haJJ,owing aspect of the world we live ins God is in alL "How dreadful is this place! it is none other than the house of God." Walle the earth with re"erence. "Take your shoes from off your feet, for the.-place whereon thoa standest is holy ground." II. AB IRRESISTIBLY OPPOSED TO THE WICKED. "Who can stand before his indigna- tion? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks a.re thrown down by him." The mightiest rocks are but as pebble!! in his hands. "He taketh up the isles as a very little thing; he weigheth the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance" (Isa.. :xl. 12, 15) His anger, as.we have said, is his determination to crush the wrong; a.nd there is no power in the universe that -can thwart him in this. Who can stand before this? , Were, .all the cxeatures in the universe to stand up against it, ihe attempt would be as feeble and as- futile as the attempt of a child to turn back the advancing tides with his little spade. Sinner, why attempt to oppose him? Yon must submit, either against your will or by your wilt If yon continue to resist, the former is a. necessity. He will break you in pieces like a potter's vessel The latter is your duty and your interest. Fall -down in penitence before him, yield yourselves to his service, acquiesce in his will, and you a.re saved.-D. 'l',
Vers. 7, 8.-0:pposite types of ltuman character, and opposite lmes o/Divi11,e procedure. "The Lord is good, a Stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. But with a.n overrunning flood he will make am utter end of the place thereof, a.ad darkness shall pursue his enemies." The previous verses were intro- ductory to the subject which the prophet now takes up, namely, the safe keeping of the Jews by Jehovah, in view of the tremendous atta.ck the King 'of Nineveh was about making on their conntry and their city, and also to announce the terrible doom of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyria.a foe. In these verses there is a very striking anil significant contra.et (1) between the characters of men, and (2) between the lii:ies of Divine procequre i11 relation to them. Here we have- THE BOOK OF NAHUM, 21