Lecture 2 — God is infinitely wise

^9:8^ He alone takes the measure of the heavens and treads upon the waves of the sea.

^9:9^ He made Arcturus, Orion, the Pleiades and the deep constellations of the South.

^9:10^ He makes great, unfathomable, marvelous things which cannot be numbered.

158. He alone takes the measure of the heavens. After blessed Job has shown the firm character of divine power, he here begins to show the depth of divine wisdom. However, he proceeds in an inverse order to the preceding one. Before, he began by showing the divine power in human affairs and proceeded to the heavenly bodies, whereas here, he begins with the heavenly bodies and proceeds to human affairs. He does this reasonably, for the wisdom of a maker is shown in the fact that he makes things which endure, and so, to show the wisdom of God, he begins from the creatures which are more stable, namely those manifesting divine wisdom more clearly. The power of someone’s strength is shown by the fact that he can change things from their condition, and so men are usually tested in lifting and hurling stones, by the size of the men they can pin to the ground, and things of this sort. On that account, since he was demonstrating the force of the power of God, he began from those things in which this change appears more clearly.

159. So, to show divine wisdom, he begins with heavenly bodies, saying, he alone takes the measure of the heavens. Note here that the wisdom of God seems especially praiseworthy in three things.

First, of course, in the fact that he can measure something great with his understanding and wisdom. He takes up this theme, saying, he alone stretches out the heavens: for in the extension of the heavens is expressed their greatness of quantity. Thus, God alone is said to have extended the heavens in as much as he alone could give the heavens such great quantity, measured by his wisdom.

Second, the wisdom of God appears praiseworthy in the fact that he reduces things which are variable and in uncertain flux to a certain order, and makes them subject to his guidance. To show this point, he says, and treads upon the waves of the sea. For the waves of the sea seem to be the most disordered things in themselves, in as much as they are born about, now here and now there, by shifting winds, and yet God treads upon them inasmuch as he subjects them to his government.

Third, the wisdom of God seems praiseworthy from the fact that God has established many things according to the reasonableness of his wisdom, things which appear marvelous to men, whose nature they cannot investigate. This appears especially in the position and disposition of the stars, which nevertheless have been fixed wisely and reasonably by God. He enumerates these marvels beginning with the North Pole and proceeding to the South Pole. So he says, he made Arcturus. Arcturus is a constellation in the heavens which is called Ursa Major and has seven bright stars which never set for us, but always circle the North Pole. Next comes Orion, for Orion is a very clear constellation in the sky because of its size and the bright clarity of its stars, which are found in Taurus and Gemini. Next comes the Pleiades, which are stars existing on the breast of Taurus, as it is called, and which are also very clear to the naked eye. The text continues, and the deep constellations of the South.

Here we should note that to those who live on the equator, if indeed there are people there, both poles are visible, since their horizon divides the equator at right angles. Thus, it is necessary that the horizon should transverse each pole at the equator. So both poles are visible to those living on the equator, as I have said. To those living north of the equator and going towards the North Pole, the North Pole is elevated above the horizon and the South Pole lies hidden in proportion to the distance they live from the equator. So to us who live in the Northern Hemisphere, the South Pole is never visible, and in the same way, the stars near it are hidden from us in direct proportion to the distance which we live from the equator. These are called **the deep constellations of the South **because they are hidden from us, as though hidden under the horizon.

160. Lest someone should believe that divine wisdom has manifested itself only in the things just explained, he shows next that God made many other similar things which cannot be numbered by us, saying, he makes great things, in which the wisdom of God appears praiseworthy, from the uniformity of their great size. This corresponds to the text already cited, he alone stretches out the heavens (Job 9:8). Unfathomable things, because men cannot discover them as a result of their instability, and yet they are still ordained by divine government. This corresponds to what he has already said, and treads upon the waves of the sea (Job 9:8). Marvelous things, whose natures men cannot consider, although they are made according to reason by God. This corresponds to what he already said, he made Arcturus, and so on (Job 9:9). The fact that he adds, which cannot be numbered, must be referred to each attribute, so that men cannot count the divine actions, but God can count them who makes all things according to number, weight, and measure (Wis 11:21).