Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry
up
Or "lays a restraint in" or "on the waters" F19;
either in the ocean, as he did at the creation, when he gathered
the waters that were upon the face of the earth into one place,
and restrained them there, even in the decreed place he broke up
for them, called the sea, and set bars and doors to keep them
within bounds, whereby the places they left became dry and the
dry land appeared called earth; and so at the time of the flood,
when the waters which covered the earth and drowned the world
were called off again, the face of it was dry, and so it remains,
the waters of the great ocean being restrained from overflowing
it; and also when God rebukes the see, and smites the waves of
it, or withholds the ebbing and flowing of the tides brooks and
rivers of water dry up; see ( Nahum 1:4 ) ( Zechariah
10:11 ) ; or else this may be understood of God's withholding
and restraining the waters in the clouds, and not suffering them
to let down rain on the earth; when not only brooks dry up, as
the brook Cherith did, where Elijah abode for sometime, but the
fruits of the earth, trees, plants, and herbs dry up, wither and
die; see ( 1 Kings 17:7
) ( Joel 1:19
Joel 1:20 ) ;
and this is an emblem in a spiritual sense of God's withholding
the word and ordinances, the waters of the sanctuary the means of
grace, and of fruitfulness; which when he does, the consequence
of it is barrenness and unfruitfulness in kingdoms, cities,
towns, families, sad particular persons; and of his withholding
the communications of his grace, often compared to water in
Scripture, even from his people; the effect of which is, that
they are in, withering circumstances, the things that revive seem
ready to die, though they shall not; love waxes cold, faith is
ready to fail, and hope and strength seem perishing from the
Lord:
also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the
earth;
as at the time of the flood, when the fountains of the great deep
were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened, and such
vast quantities of water issued out as overflowed the whole
world, by which it was overturned; and as the Apostle Peter says,
"perished", ( 2 Peter 3:5 2 Peter 3:6 ) ; though
this is also true of inundations that may have been since, which
though not universal as that, yet so far as they have reached
have overturned all in their way, and carried off the fruits of
the earth, the habitations of men, and men themselves; whole
countries, cities and towns, have been carried away by the waters
of the sea, or sunk into it, particularly all that space. Where
now is the Atlantic sea, as Pliny {t}, from Plato, relates. It is
well when the grace of God flows, and overflows, and superabounds
abounding sin, and overpowers and overcomes carnal, earthly, and
sensual lusts, and reigns where sin did, and teaches to deny
ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to mortify the members on the
earth.