Job 40:11

unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 7 Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. 8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? 9 Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? 10 Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty. 11 Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him. 12 Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. 13 Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. 14 Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee. Job was greatly humbled for what God had already said, but not sufficiently; he was brought low, but not low enough; and therefore God here proceeds to reason with him in the same manner and to the same purport as before, v. 6. Observe, 1. Those who duly receive what they have heard from God, and profit by it, shall hear more from him. 2. Those who are truly convinced of sin, and penitent for it, yet have need to be more thoroughly convinced and to be made more deeply penitent.

40:6-14 Those who profit by what they have heard from God, shall hear more from him. And those who are truly convinced of sin, yet need to be more thoroughly convinced and more humbled. No doubt God, and he only, has power to humble and bring down proud men; he has wisdom to know when and how to do it, and it is not for us to teach him how to govern the world. Our own hands cannot save us by recommending us to God's grace, much less rescuing us from his justice; and therefore into his hand we must commit ourselves. The renewal of a believer proceeds in the same way of conviction, humbling, and watchfulness against remaining sin, as his first conversion. When convinced of many evils in our conduct, we still need convincing of many more.

Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath,.... Work thyself up into a passion, at least seemingly; put on all the airs of a wrathful and enraged king on a throne of state, whose wrath is like the roaring of a lion, and as messengers of death; pour out menaces plentifully, threatening what thou wilt do; and try if by such means thou canst humble the spirit of a proud man, as follows; and behold everyone that is proud, and abase him; look sternly at him, put on a fierce, furious, and menacing countenance, and see if thou canst dash a proud man out of countenance, and humble him before thee, as I am able; among the many instances of divine power the Lord settles upon this one, and proposes it to Job to try his skill and power upon, the humbling of a proud man.

Verse 11. - Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath . "Give vent," i.e. , "to thy anger against the wicked, and let it be seen what thou canst do in the way of restraining evil and punishing transgressors." Behold every one that is proud, and abase him . If my moral government does not satisfy thee., Improve upon it. Put down those wicked ones whom thou sayest that I allow to prosper ( Job 24:2-23 ); "abase" them in the dust; do what thou accusest me of not doing. Then wilt thou have established something of a claim to enter into controversy with me. Job 40:11

Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath - That is, as God does. Show that the same effects can be produced by "your" indignation which there is in his. God appeals here to the effect of his displeasure in prostrating his foes as one of the evidences of his majesty and glory, and asks Job, if he would compare himself with him, to imitate him in this, and produce similar effects. And behold every one that is proud, and abase him - That is, "look" upon such an one and bring him low, or humble him by a look. It is implied here that God could do this, and he appeals to it as a proof of his power.

10 Deck thyself then with pomp and dignity, And in glory and majesty clothe thyself! 11 Let the overflowings of thy wrath pour forth, And behold all pride, and abase it! 12 Behold all pride, bring it low, And cast down the evil-doers in their place; 13 Hide them in the dust together, Bind their faces in secret: 14 Then I also will praise thee, That thy right hand obtaineth thee help. He is for once to put on the robes of the King of kings (עדה, comp. עטח, to wrap round, Psalm 104:2), and send forth his wrath over pride and evil-doing, for their complete removal. הפיץ, effundere, diffundere, as Arab. afâda, vid., Job 37:11. עברות, or rather, according to the reading of Ben-Ascher, עברות ,rehcsA, in its prop. signif. oversteppings, i.e., overflowings. In connection with Job 40:11, one is directly reminded of the judgment on everything that is high and exalted in Isaiah 2, where beטמנם בּעפר also has its parallel (Isaiah 2:10). Not less, however, does Job 40:14 recall Isaiah 59:16; Isaiah 63:5 (comp. Psalm 98:1); Isaiah I and II have similar descriptions to the book of Job. The ἁπ. λεγ. הדך is Hebraeo-Arab.; hadaka signifies, like hadama, to tear, pull to the ground. In connection with תמוּן (from טמן; Aram., Arab., טמר), the lower world, including the grave, is thought of (comp. Arab. mat-murât, subterranean places); חבשׁ signifies, like Arab. ḥbs IV, to chain and to imprison.

Try it only for once - this is the collective thought - to act like Me in the execution of penal justice, I would praise thee. That he cannot do it, and yet venture with his short-sightedness and feebleness to charge God's rule with injustice, the following pictures of foreign animals are now further intended to make evident to him: -

the east wind scattered upon the earth?] [Chapter 39] She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers; her labour is in vain, without her concern. For +God hath deprived her of wisdom, and hath not furnished her with understanding. What time she lasheth herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider. Hast thou given strength to the horse? hast thou clothed his neck with the quivering mane? Dost thou make him to leap as a locust? His majestic snorting is terrible. He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in [his] strength; he goeth forth to meet the armed host. He laugheth at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from before the sword. The quiver rattleth upon him, the glittering spear and the javelin. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage, and cannot contain himself at the sound of the trumpet: At the noise of the trumpets he saith, Aha! and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. Doth the hawk fly by thine intelligence, [and] stretch his wings toward the south? Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make his nest on high? He inhabiteth the rock and maketh his dwelling on the point of the cliff, and the fastness: From thence he spieth out the prey, his eyes look into the distance; And his young ones suck up blood; and where the slain are, there is he. Chapter 40 And Jehovah answered Job and said, Shall he that will contend with the Almighty instruct [him]? he that reproveth +God, let him answer it. And Job answered Jehovah and said,