Ch4p.t2. An Expoftion upon the Book, of JOß.Verf.i.4. -24I lock up the Heavens that it rain not, who can open them ? Eli- jah comes in as if he had the keyes of Heaven at.his girdle , (I Kings 17. i.)There(hall be (faith he)neither dew nor rain theft years but according to my word. We find in the Epifile of James what the word was,Elijah prayed that it might not rain,& it rain- ed not on the earth , for thefpace of three years andfixmoneths. .endElijah prayed again, and the Heaven gave rain. It was not an Imperative word, it was apetitionary word, that locked and unlocked the Heaven: none bath an Imperative word, a worn of command to lock and unlockHeaven,butGod himfel,Amos 3,7. 1 caufed it to rain upon one City, and caufed it not to rain upon ano- ther City. Again , If the Lord Phut up the womb , there is no bringing forth, Gen. áo, i8. the Lord hadfaff clofed up all tke ivombs of the houfeof .Abirnelech. If the Lord flout up the earth, it becomes as, iron, and brings forth no fruit ; if he shut a man up in ficknefs, in poverty, in difgrace, in trouble of fpirit , there is no unbinding, no opening. He loath concluded or put up all under fin, that every mouth may beflopped Rom 3.19. He hathflout themall in unbelief, that he may have mercy uponall, Rom .1 i ,32. They are flint up as a company ofprifoners in a dungeon, that they may receive, whatfoever they receive at the hand ofmercy; for who can open for thofe men ? who can unloofe thefe Seals ofunbelief, till mercy unloofe them ? As none could unloofe the Seals ofthat Book wherein the myfteries ofGod were con- tained but only Chriff, Rev.5.5 . So nore canopen the Seals of fin which are upon the heart ofan unbeliever but Chrift only t Chrift who opened the Book , opens to our Souls , Chrift who loafed the Seals, can loofe ús from our fins : HimGodhath ap- pointed to be the great Opener ofprifons and the Deliverer of thofe who are in bonds ; If the Son make us free, we (hall be rre indeed , and until he make us free, we are !laves indeed. Whom l d' ice locks up, mercy lets out. There is no opening either by the force or by thedefert of mar, where God Ihutteth up. The evilAngels have fo -much power that they are called powers, yet they could never ge: out ofprifon. They are re ferved inever- lafting chaines under darknefs to the judgement of the great day, . (lude v.6.) Theirchaínes will never war out , nor can they be filed off,whitherfoever thofe wicked fpirits go,they go in chains, like prifoners who are kept till the day ofSetlion. The Apoftle `Peter (i Pet.3 19.) affures us as muchof the fpirits or fouls of I i thofe
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