Job 38:25

"Who traced, with impetuous rains, the bed of a river, delivered passage to the cries of the storms? Let us see here with brevity the Lord enumerates in three words all that must be despised in temptation by those who build on the rock, which, on the contrary, those who build on the sand must fear. He names the rain, the riverbed, the voice of the storm or the wind. To be tempted by the rain is to expose oneself to sin, misunderstanding what is most pointed out in the holy Scriptures; if, for example, on the occasion of this passage: "The one to whom he is less pardoned loves less," 2 someone would say, "Let us do evil, so that good may come." ), and that he should remain in sin in order to make grace abound (4). There are a host of other passages in which the reckless misinterpret the word of God, and lose themselves by promising themselves impunity, under the pretext that the Scriptures continually exalt divine goodness. To be tempted by the river is to follow the authors of these fatal interpretations. He calls the river the torrent formed by the waters of the rain. "Who has traced," said he, "the bed of a raging river," that is to say, the bed where they gather and flow? There are, then, vessels of anger prepared for perdition, 1 which hear the Scriptures as we have just said. They give free rein to the floods of their pernicious teachings, which nevertheless the fertile fields know how to repel; they agitate overthrow and drag away all that is without consistency with all the more impetuosity, that they seem led by the authority of God. To be tempted by the winds is to listen to the voice of the proud, whose empty speeches have no other support than their feeble reason. When a man, by resisting divine precepts, has prepared his condemnation to the judgment of God, and built on the sand, he will not be able to resist the breath of these winds, and his fall delivers passage, to the voices of the storm. I believe that these words, "impetuous rains," designate passages difficult to fix, to understand.

Who hath given a course for the most violent shower, and a way for the sounding thunder? If, as we said before, that persecution in the regions of Judaea is designated by the name of divided heat, because this very fierceness of persecution kept not from their office of preaching, through any fear, the holy preachers, who were assisted by the gift from on high, He fitly subjoins; Who hath given a course for the most violent showers? As if He were saying, Except Myself. For to have given a course to the most violent showers, when the heat was divided, is to have strengthened the force of preaching, amid the very difficulties of persecution, in order that the power of preachers might the more increase, the more the cruelty of persecutors stood in their way, so that they might bedew the thirsty hearts of their hearers with drops of rain, and water more abundantly the drought of unbelief; and that though the heat of cruelty was glowing against them, yet the voice of grace might not through them be silent. Paul was both enduring and watering this heat of persecution, when saying, I labour even to bonds, as an evil doer, but the word of God is not bound. Of this shower it is said elsewhere; I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. Of this course of the shower which is going on in the hearts of the Elect, the Psalmist witnesses, saying; His word runneth swiftly. But it is generally a shower only, and has no course; because preaching comes to the ears, but inward grace not acting, it passes not through to the hearts of the hearers. And of the words of this preaching it is said, on account of the Elect; For thine arrows passed through. For the arrows of God pass through, when the words of His preaching descend from the ears to the hearts. And because this is effected solely by Divine grace, the Lord witnesses that He has given a course to the shower. But I see it must be observed, that He calls this same shower not 'violent,' but 'most violent.' A violent shower is great force; but a most violent one, is the boundless power of preaching. For it was a violent shower, when holy preachers were advising the belief of eternal joy. But 'most violent,' when they were advising men that on account of their hope their interest should be abandoned, all visible objects despised on account of invisible, and that the pains and tortures of this present world…