24© Chap. 38. e/írn Expofition upon the Book of 3 o B. Vert. i4 powers belong, to God alone. Yet in one feníe manmay. Iift up his voice to the clouds,, and abundance of wafers will, cover him. There, is a twofold voice of man : A command- ing voice; And fecondly, A praying voice. Let man lift úp his commanding voice to the clouds,as long as he will he (hall gec down no rain, but if man by faith lift up his p: ay ìng voice to the clouds, that is, to God, in whole hand the clouds are, he may get rain, yea, abundanceof waters ro cover him, (Zach, 1o.1.) k ye of the Lord'rain, in the time of the latter rain, fo the Lard (hall make bright clouds, and give them fhowers of rain, to every one grafs in the field. At the voice of man humbly praying, the Lord snakes bright clouds; or ( as our Margin bath it ) l-ghten- ings, which fore-run black clouds; to thole God gives fhowers of rain, and thole 6-towers of rain give every one grafo, that is, this caufe all forts of Vegetables to fpring and flourifh in the field ,, both for man - and beats. This was one of thecafes which Solom'n put in his prayer, at the dedication of the Temple for the Lords anfwering of prayer. (i Kings 8. , 5,) When heaven it Put up, and thereù no rain, becaufe they have finned againff thee ; if they, pray towards this place, and coofefs thy name, and torn from-their fins when thou afil c#eft them ; then hear thou in heaven, and forgiz e the fn of thy fervants, &c, and give rain upon 'thy land. When the clouds are lockt up, when they are as brats over our heads, prayer moves the Lord to open them, or to melt themdownioto fhowers,for the refrefhing and friktifyingof the earthTheApofile fames (Chap.g. i7,.18,) tells us, that Elias covered the earth with abundance of rain, by lifting up his voice in prayer. Elias (faith he) was aman fubjeli to 1 ke paffions at we are, and he prayed earnerly that it might not rain, and it rain- ed.' not on the earth by the fyace of three years and fin months: Ánd -he prayed again, and the heavensgave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. The h>ly hiflory makes the fame re- port (1 Kings s S. 45,) And it came to pats in the meanwhile that the heaven was black with doted' and wind, and there was a great rain, &c. If we would have rain, we mull ask for it, and lift up a praying voice to God, who complands the clouds ;_ it is a. vain thing for us to lift up a voice to the clouds in our own name, ,tocommand them to give us rain in the feafon of ir. Andas this is true 9ff the clouds and rain, f4of all creatures, Their
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