An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh chapters of…

Hence note; First, The great goodness of God: that he who hath all power to command, should yet vouchsafe to instruct; that he who is the Judge, will also be the Teacher of his People.

This is the great Promise in the Covenant of grace, They shall be all taught of God (John 6.45.) Some things may be known ⟨p. 339⟩by the light of nature, of which knowledge God is the Author, in the same sense, as he is of all natural Powers and faculties. But here Eli••, intends a spiritual knowledge, both of God and of our selves, or a teaching of divine things by divine chastenings, both with respect to what we should do and desire, as also with respect to what we should shun and avoid, which is the work of God alone by his grace and Spirit. Thus David shows how God is teaching while he is chastening (Psal. 99.12.) Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest out of thy Law. God teacheth, First, by his Word, (that's his ordinary way of teaching) Secondly, he teacheth by his Works; and those both the works of Creation and of Providence, and by those, whether works of Mercy or of Judgement: By all these means God teacheth. But that which Elihu chiefly aimeth at in this place (speaking to afflicted Job) is his teaching by affliction, Who teacheth like him? As if he had said, God doth not lay his hand upon thee by affliction, only to make thee smart, but to make thee wise; he is instructing thee while he is afflicting thee. Further, as God teacheth by his Word and by his Works, so he teacheth most eminently by his Spirit, who alone maketh the teaching both of his Word and of his Works effectual upon the hearts of the hearers and beholders. Many are taught, but none to purpose, without the Spirit. Who teacheth like him?

This is the great P•omise in the Covenant of grace, They shall be all taught of God (