To speak out of a whirlwind, is a dreadful manifestation. The whirlwind, and speaking out of it, notes a legal dispensation, or a ministration of terror, such as the Law was published in, of which we read in the 19th of Exodus, which was so terrible (saith the Apostle, Heb. 12.) that Moses himself said, I exceedingly fear and quake. The Lord hath his Mount Sinai dispensations, in thunder and lightning, and with a terrible voice; and he hath also his Mount Zion dispensations in sweet and precious promises, and Gospel-Ordinances; he hath his beseechings, his entreatings, his wooings, his invitings. Divine dispensations vary. 'Tis said (1 King. 1.6.) in the History of Elijah, that when the Lord appeared, there was an Earth-quake, and the Lord was not in the Earth-quake; there was a mighty wind, and the Lord was not in the wind; there was fire, and the Lord was not in the fire: At last, there came a still small voice, and there the Lord was. The Lord waved the dreadful manifestation of himself, by winds, tempest, thunder, fire, Earth-quake, and came only in a still voice. The reason why the Lord doth thus variously dispense himself, sometimes in a whirlwind, sometimes in a gentle gale, is to answer the several tempers and spirits of men; where the spirits of men will not bow, the Lord knows how to break and bring them down; and where the spirits of men are already bowed and broken, humbled and melted, the Lord knows how to comfort and confirm them: He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax. And when it is said, He will not ⟨p. 531⟩break, the meaning is, he will bind up and strengthen the bruised reed; And when it is said, he will not quench, the meaning is, he will blow up and kindle the smoking flax, that is, weak believers, or souls afflicted under the sense of their own weakness and sinfulness, or sinful weaknesses.
To speak out of a whirlwind, is a dreadful manifestation. The whirlwind, and speaking out of it, notes a legal dispensation, or a ministration of terror, such as the Law was published in, of which we read in the 19th of Exodus, which was so terrible (saith the Apostle, Heb. 12.) that Moses himself said, I exceedingly fear and quake. The Lord hath his Mount Sinai dispensations, in thunder and lightning, and with a terrible voice; and he hath also his Mount Sion dispensations in sweet and precious promises, and Gospel-Ordinances; he hath his beseechings, his intreatings, his wooings, his invitings. Divine dispensations vary. 'Tis said (1 King. 1.6.) in the History of Eliah, that when the Lord appeared, there was an Earth-quake, and the Lord was not in the Earth-quake; there was a mighty wind, and the Lord was not in the wind; there was fire, and the Lord was not in the fire: At last, there came a still small voice, and there the Lord was. The Lord waved the dreadful manifestation of himself, by winds, tempest, thunder, fire, Earth-quake, and came only in a still voice. The reason why the Lord doth thus variously dispense himself, sometimes in a whirlwind, sometimes in a gentle gale, is to answer the several tempers and spirits of men; where the spirits of men will not bow, the Lord knows how to break and bring them down; and where the spirits of men are already bowed and broken, humbled and melted, the Lord knows how to comfort and confirm them: He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoaking flax. And when it is said, He will not ⟨p. 531⟩break, the meaning is, he will bind up and strengthen the bruised reed; And when it is said, he will not quench, the meaning is, he will blow up and kindle the smoaking flax, that is, weak believers, or souls afflicted under the sense of their own weakness and sinfulness, or sinful weaknesses.
