Commentary upon the Prophecy of Isaiah

Vers. 26. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, and bringeth out their armies by number, and calleth them all by their names: by the greatness of his power and mighty strength^* nothing faileth.

Vers. 26. Lift vp your eies on high, and behold who hath created these things, and bringeth out their armies by number, and calleth them all by their names: by the greatnes of his power and mighty strength^* nothing faileth.

1. *Or, none shall fail.Or, none shall faile.

IT seems the Prophet stands too long upon this point, seeing there is none will deny it. For he repeats one thing often, (which none doubts of) but must needs be constrained to confess the admirable power and wisdom of God in the comely order of nature. But we must observe what hath been said heretofore. We in our selves are so untoward, and do value Gods power at so low a rate, that we sometimes afford him not the honour which we will give to a mortal man:¹ yea, the appearance of a silly worm of the earth, puts us sometimes into so great mammering and fear, that all the promises of the Almighty in the holy Bible, can scarcely comfort us. For this cause the Prophet hath just cause to repeat it so often, that God is defrauded of his honour, if his power ravish us not so as to admire it. Thus he makes no idle repetitions you see, because we are so dull and slow of hearing, that we have need to be awakened and pricked at every turning with the spur. Men daily behold the heavens and the stars, but where is he that thinks seriously of the author of these things? We see the shape of man so artificially formed by God, that he was put into this world to behold the heavens, that he might acknowledge the Lord of them: for God hath bowed down the faces of beasts towards the earth, and hath made man to go upright; to stir him up to view the place of his abode. And this was well described by a profane Poet, who saith: