The Divine Power Is Infinite

"The Divine Power Is Infinite" – Job 26:10 Job writes this in his worst estate: covered with leprosy, his sons and daughters killed, his herds stolen, everything of his destroyed. And in that state he declares that God set a bound upon the face of the waters. It was as if he thought: if God is the one who sets order in the world, why will He not set an order in my life? The order of the world is proof of the greatness of God even in the midst of suffering; and that order is the foundation of creation, because everything exists under the word God spoke. Chaos never has the last word.

I. He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end (Job 26:10).

A. God fixed a boundary and a natural cycle.

1. Genesis presents the beginning of creation, showing how God brings order to what was chaos: there were no trees, there was nothing, the earth was wholly empty.

2. And we see in what order God began to make the earth: so that you and I might be here today, and might have the benefit of Christ's death and be washed by His blood.

3. This day was already predestined. Heaven knows it; we did not, but heaven had already written it. See to it that your name is in those books.

4. And there is no middle ground: it is heaven or it is hell. Two, and no more.

B. Job writes it in his worst estate.

1. It was leprosy; his sons and daughters were killed, his herds stolen, and everything destroyed. Job was in the worst situation.

2. He had three friends who came to grind him down for what he said. For Job wanted to know why he was going through it: he had done good to all and sought God.

3. There was nothing in Job to criticize or to point at. But God, whom He would prove, He proves.

4. And it was as if he thought: if God sets the order of the world, why will He not set an order in my life?

5. He lost everything, and his wife said to him: now you, die, for I am going. She is described by how she acted: she was not able to join him in the fight.

6. Say whether we have learned from Job or not. He had to suffer it, and we learn from him.

II. The order of the world is the foundation of creation.

A. Everything exists under the word God spoke.

1. When God said, it was done; and in that absolute authority the world was made. The foundation of creation God made with the power that is His.

2. How is the earth arranged? If we say the mango, how many kinds are there? God created without limit, in abundance; and that good is not for one alone.

3. God did not only create it, but keeps constant bound and control over the universe.

4. The stars are not to adorn the throne of God; God has archangels and can create all glory. The stars are for you and for me, that we may see them. And whom do we see in them? God.

5. The sun rises in an order no one can alter. God divided the water from the land so that from it they would have their harvest, would eat, and would build their houses.

6. The earth is always God's; and if the devil wants to roam, they have a specific place, and it is not the earth. The earth was created for the man and for the woman.

B. Chaos never has the last word.

1. The waters are separated and the darkness is separated, and light comes. Creation is under the authority of God.

2. Psalm 104 joins Job 26:10 as an affirmation of that order: even in the midst of suffering, the world remains under God's control.

3. The earth is broken, we begin to suffer and to doubt; then we must see that God ordered the earth, and that there was a reason: He meant to bring us here.

4. And why did God make it all? So that we might know the Word and be men and women of faith, of profit on this earth.

5. The earth is not for boasting: it is for being brave and pressing forward; it is not for living troubled. How is it that, having so much good from God, we spend ourselves complaining?

6. If He ordered the earth, He will order. God always comes out on behalf of what He created; and with God one cannot meddle. What happened to Judas? He loses his mind, and destroys himself.

III. Who shut up the sea with doors? ... Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further (Job 38:8, 11).

A. God answers Job out of the whirlwind.

1. He reminds him of the sea as a mighty force. In antiquity the sea stood for chaos, an uncontrollable energy.

2. Shut up with doors is the poetic image of how God set a bound to the sea, as though it were a prisoner behind doors.

3. When it brake forth refers to the moment of creation, when the waters covered the earth. God is Creator; and besides Creator, He is absolute governor of your life.

4. And why do we complain? When the one who does evil on the earth is man. You did wrong and you were found out: then bear it.

5. This back must be bent; for otherwise everything goes to your head and fills it with a thousand thoughts, a thousand rebellions, and a thousand rumors.

6. Why does the sea not overflow? Because God told it this far. The sea could overflow; and what does it do? It obeys. And if the sea comes out, the voice was not nature's: it was God's.

B. The pride of thy waves.

1. Of God I do not give opinions: of God I learn. If He lifted the boundary and the sea passes and takes what it will, who can stop Him?

2. God must be feared. You quarreled with everyone and go on quarreling; but remember that one day you will quarrel with God, and that is a great danger.

3. Nature is not autonomous: it does not govern itself nor become its own leader.

4. The waves poetically stand for arrogance or uncontrolled power; and even so God restrains them.

5. If God sees pride in the waves, what of us? In a human being, pride is the pleasure of pretending; and pride is arrogance. The Bible counsels us to be meek.

6. If we think ourselves an empire, life will prick us on every side and destroy us. It is the meek whom God blesses.

IV. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses (Psalm 33:7).

A. God has the storehouses of the water.

1. Gathering the waters as a heap is a poetic way of saying how God masters and orders the sea, as if He gathered its waters into one place.

2. The deep waters are under His control: those great and unreachable depths, which He keeps as though He had storehouses for them.

3. If the water reaches your house, that is a crisis of nature which God is permitting; the one who moved those waters is God.

4. Who shakes the earth? People say it is because there is so much sin. Well, yes; and what happens is the finger of God, not nature itself.

5. Nothing to fear; not even the sea, which stands for force and chaos. If the earth were to swallow me, it would be because God commanded it.

6. But look how you live: anxious, full of nerves and fears, seeing monsters where none exist. Why do you not have Christ, who washed you with His blood and fills you with peace?

B. When he gave to the sea his decree (Proverbs 8:29).

1. Here wisdom is personified, and Wisdom is God, describing His presence in the creation.

2. God fixed limits for the sea, a law it can never cross; and even the waters obey the divine order.

3. And we human beings jump the fence so easily, not knowing that the dog is there to eat us.

4. Nothing is autonomous, nothing governs itself. You say: I go to church because I like it, sometimes the messages do not please me. But you cannot be autonomous: this is the body of Christ.

5. If the waters crossed over, they would be punished; and they are lifeless matter, yet they do hear the voice of God.

C. Creation is wise and ordered because God made it with purpose.

1. Creation is not chaotic nor confused, but established upon an order already given. The wisdom of God is prior to creation.

2. Hard times do not come in December: they come in their season. All nature keeps its season.

3. And if something happens that breaks with nature, it is a message God sends to the country where it occurs.

4. That power of God is infinite, and it is infinite in the way He has dealt with our lives. We have seen days of chaos; but God is infinite in mercy toward us. Amen.