Indeed, he says, creation belongs to God. Therefore when I see that people commit iniquities against each other, my heart is troubled and fades away, while I am astonished at their wickedness, and, on the other hand, at their resignation. ^[1] THE THUNDER OF PUNISHMENT. ISHO‘DAD OF MERV: [By] the words the judgment that comes from his mouth; under the whole heaven he will be praised, [the author] speaks about the thunder that is produced in the instant itself, in which punishment is inflicted on sinners; it is heard everywhere and everyone who hears it praises God. ^[1]

Behind him the thunder will roar. Certainly God transforms into tears the life of him whom he filled with his illumination, and the more he reminds the illuminated soul of eternal punishments, the harder he submits it to the groans for its past wickedness; and so a person feels the pain for what he has been, because he begins by now to see the good he did not do, he hates himself for what he has been, and he loves himself for what he should have been. . . . He will thunder with the voice of his greatness. God thunders with the voice of his greatness when he suggests to us, who are now well disposed through our tears, how great he is there on high.. . . And after hearing his voice, nobody will be able to investigate. The voice of God is heard when the soul perceives the inspiration of his grace. . . . But not even the soul illuminated by it can investigate this voice of the Spirit, which reaches and penetrates the ear of the heart.

This is the reason, he says, for the grandiosity of his creations, the reason for the cold and the heat, the reason for the irregularity of the winds. Was it impossible to produce a harmonious blend? [If God did not do that], it is because he wants to prevent by any means the pride and arrogance of thought. It is so that everyone may know his own weakness. Who can resist, Scripture says, before his cold?^[1] The entire universe has been created for this purpose, and everything exists for it. Since [pride] first of all drove away from us our trust in God, for this reason God has organized everything in view of its contrary, either the creation, or the fashioning of our body or the course of our life, so that all this exists for humility in order that we may learn to act with moderation and recognize our own weakness.

A tempest will come forth from the inner parts, and cold from Arcturus. When holy Scripture mentions the inner parts, in opposition to Arcturus, it designates the quarter of the south, opposite to the parts of the north. Hence it is written in this same book, Who makes Arcturus and the Orions and the inner parts of the south?^[1] Because then the sun pervades with greater warmth the inner parts of the south, but it does not pursue its course at all in the north, by the word inner parts in this place is expressed the Jewish people, and by the term Arcturus the Gentile people. For they who had known the one and invisible God and obeyed his law, at least carnally, were kept, as it were, in the warmth of faith, under the glow of the midday sun. But because the Gentiles had not attained to any knowledge of heavenly wisdom, they were remaining, as it were, in the cold without the sun under the north. Moreover, a tempest impels, but cold oppresses with torpor. It is now rightly said, A tempest will come forth from the inner parts, and cold from Arcturus. As if it were plainly said, From the Jews there arises persecuting malice, and from the Gentiles oppressing power.

Wheat desires the clouds. What else are the elected but God’s wheat destined to be stored in the heavenly barn?. . . But this wheat, up until it reaches the perfection of fruits, waits for the rain of the clouds in order to grow. The souls of the righteous are watered by the words of the preachers, in order that the sun of carnal desires may not dry the lymph of charity. . . .

And the clouds spread their light. The clouds spread their light in the sense that the holy preachers, by speaking and living, divulge models of life. Even though they diffuse the light of the call to salvation, they cannot convert all the hearts that they would like to convert.

[They traverse all things in a circuit wherever the will of their Ruler shall lead them. To everything that he shall command them upon the face of the earth, whether in one tribe, or in his own land, or in whatsoever place of his mercy, he shall order them to be found.]. . . God therefore leads his clouds, either in one tribe, or in his own land or in whatever place of his mercy, and shall order them to be found. In earlier times he conferred preachers of the Old Testament on the tribe of Judah only and rejected nearly the whole of Israel because of the wicked governing of their kings. At another time, he made these clouds to rain, even in his own land, because he recalled this same people of Israel to his former favor after correction in captivity. Then at another he wished them to shine forth from the place of his mercy when he made known even to the Gentiles, by holy preachers of the New Testament, the miracles of his power. By his sole mercy he thus freed those from the yoke of error who his wrath was weighing down in their innate unbelief.

But see, because Elihu has perceived future events by the spirit of prophecy, because he has uttered many sublime truths, the haughty man, wearied with the weight of his pride, is unable to bear the burden of what he says.

There are some who consider the wondrous works of God, but then they lie down, rather than standing up by acting rightly. They do not follow and respect the power of his doings. This is why Paul also said, Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he falls.^[1] They often indeed admire the judgments of heaven. They love the announcements of their heavenly country when they hear them and are astounded at the wondrous operations of his inward ordaining. But [they] still neglect to attain to these words by their love and their lives. They then become idle. Even while considering in their understanding the wondrous works of God, they do not love it in their lives.

They indeed turn the eye of their minds to thinking on these things, but yet do not manifest their intentions by lifting themselves up from the earthly. . . .

Elihu therefore, who did not believe that blessed Job had maintained the life that he professed, says, as if advising him, Stand, and consider the wondrous works of God. He still further examines him as to future events and adds, as if humbling him for his ignorance, Do you know when God commanded the rains to show forth the light of his clouds? If clouds are holy preachers, then the rain from the clouds are the words of their preaching. When clouds fly through the air, unless rain descends from above, we do not know what an immensity of water they carry. Unless the glittering sun breaks forth amid the rain, we cannot understand what brightness also is concealed within them. Doubtless, if holy preachers are silent and do not show by their words how great is the brightness of heavenly hope that they bear in their hearts, they seem to be like other people or far more despicable.

Here he may mean, You are now in the midst of afflictions, but later you will have rest—and there is also the proof given by divine wisdom, which has foreseen death as a solution and end to human tribulations. Or perhaps [he means], even in the midst of your trials, you remain out of the fight of the war and the troubles, and he punishes you in this manner.^[1]

Teach us what we shall say to him, so that we may not rejoice at the sight of darkness, that is, take heed that you do not hide anything from us.

But now they do not see the light; suddenly the sky is covered with clouds; and the passing wind will drive them away. With his words he demonstrates how they do not see the light he demonstrates with his words by saying, Suddenly the sky is covered with clouds; the splendor of the sun is hidden by thick clouds and a darkened sky, but it is called back for the use of mortals through the repelling of the clouds. From Aquilon comes gold.^[1] From Aquilon the golden-colored clouds [come], the great glory and honor of God is in them. From Aquilon gold comes. He said Aquilon for the east^[2] and gold for dawn, which imitates the appearance of the shining metal with its glowing color. And the timorous praise of God; certainly the service of praising him is not taken without fear because of the immensity of his fame.

Certainly, he says, as God is great in power and strength, so he is true in discernment and justice and cannot be described. Therefore, since this is his nature, he cannot be found by his creature that is so weak and feeble. As a consequence great and wise people must not assume that the incomprehensible [God] can be investigated. They must not try to observe his invisible nature.