Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and weighed the heavens with his palm? who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

“[Christ] … is of no reputation in the world but of illustrious fame in heaven, being betrayed by those who are ignorant [of his perfections] to those who know him not, being accounted as a drop from a cask. We, however, [Isaiah] says, are spiritual, who, from the life-giving water of Eu phrates, which flows through the midst of Babylon, choose our own peculiar quality as we pass through the true gate, which is the blessed Jesus.”

“The words "I AM THAT I AM" were clearly an adequate indication of God's infinity. But, in addition, we needed to apprehend the operation of his majesty and power. For while absolute existence is peculiar to him who, abiding eternally, had no beginning in a past however remote, we hear again an utterance worthy of himself issuing from the eternal and holy God, who says, "who holds the heaven in his palm and the earth in his hand," and again, "The heaven is my throne and the earth is the footstool of my feet. What house will you build me or what shall be the place of my rest?" The whole heaven is held in the palm of God, the whole earth grasped in his hand.Now the word of God … reveals a deeper meaning to the patient student.… This heaven that is held in the palm of God is also his throne, and the earth that is grasped in his hand is also the footstool beneath his feet. This was not written that … we should conclude that he has extension in space, as of a body.… It was written that in all born and created things God might be known within them and without, overshadowing and indwelling, surrounding all and interfused through all, since palm and hand, which hold, reveal the might of his external control, while throne and footstool, by their support of a sitter, display the subservience of outward things to One who, himself outside them, encloses all in his grasp.… Being infinite, he is present in all things. In him who is infinite all are included.”

“Who would deny that God has made these things, who spoke through the Prophet, saying: 'Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance, who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or who has been his counselor or instructed Him?' We also read elsewhere: Because it holds the circuit of the earth and has made the earth as nothing.”

“God sits in heaven and measures the heaven with his palm. Does the same heaven become broad when God sits in it and narrow when he measures it? Or, when God is seated, is he no wider than the palm of his hand? If this is the case, then God has not made us to his own likeness, for with us the palm of the hand is much narrower than the bodily part on which we sit. So, if God is just as broad in the palm of his hand as when he is seated, he has made our members quite different. Not in this does the likeness consist. For shame!”

“And in another place He repeated the great things which He had done, and the works which He had established by the nod of His Will, and how all created things hang upon the power of His word, and the natural things keep their bounds, and the creation is yoked beneath the dispensation of His Will; before Whom the mountains are placed in scales, and the hills in a balance, Who hath meted out heaven with His span, and hath comprehended the dust of the earth in His palm, and before Whom the nations and peoples of the world are accounted as nothing. These things He spake by the hand of the Prophet, that through them He might make His majesty known, and that by the report of His majesty he might work fear in those who listened unto him. For when God spake unto those who were in the condition of servants, He rehearsed before them the great and terrible things of His nature, but when [He spake] to those who were accounted by Him worthy of the grade of love, He set forth the doctrine of humility, and of love, and of meekness, and He humbled Himself and spake to them because they did not despise Him in His lowly estate, but rather loved Him the more because of it.”

“Who measured etc. He had the power to do all this, and surely He has the power to keep these promises. with his gait Heb. בְּשָׁעֳלוֹ, with his walking, as it is said (Habakkuk 3:15): “You trod with Your horses in the sea.” Comp. (Num. 22:24) “In the path (בְּמִשְׁעוֹל) of the vineyards, a path (for walking).” Another explanation is that שַׁעַל is the name of a receptacle. Comp. (Ezekiel 13:19) “For measures (בְּשַׁעֲלוֹ) of barley.” measured Amolad in O.F., an expression of measure and number. Comp. (Ex. 5:18) “And the number (וְתֹכֶן) of bricks you shall give.” and measured by thirds Heb. בַּשָּׁלִשׁ, and measured by thirds, one third wilderness, one third civilization, and one third seas and rivers. Another interpretation: בַּשָּׁלִשׁ, from the thumb to the middle finger, the third of the fingers. Menahem explains it as the name of a vessel. Comp. (Ps. 80:6) “And You gave them to drink tears with a vessel (שָׁלִישׁ) .” and weighed mountains with a scale Everything according to the earth, a heavy mountain He inserted into hard earth, and the light ones into soft earth.”

“Who hath measured, etc. There are some that ask, How is it possible that such a thing shall happen? The answer is that the same Supreme Being will cause it to pass, who has created the whole universe, who knows the quantity of the water in the sea, as if He had measured it with His hand. בשעלו In the hollow of His hand. Comp. כשעלי for handfuls (Ez. 13:19). And meted out heaven with the span. He knows the measure of heaven, which He has stretched out like a curtain; He has created it with His omnipotence, according to His wisdom, as if He had measured it with the span. The words of the text are an anthropomorphism. וכל And measured. Comp. וכלו, the Chaldean translation of וימדו and they measured (Ex. 16:18). בשליש In a measure. שליש is very likely derived from שלש three, but we do not know at present the capacities of ancient measures. Comp. בשליש in great measure (Ps. Ixxx. 6). three measures. בפלס In a balance. It is called in Arabic Kriston and consists of one long arm. The word פֶלֶס is of the same root as פַלֵּס weigh (Prov. 4:26). וגבעות במאזנים And hills in scales. He places two hills in the two scales and weighs them against each other. All this is said figuratively.”

“1 Be comforted, be comforted, and so forth. This is the second principal part of this book, in which he mainly intends the consolation of the people through many promised benefits. It is divided into two parts. In the first he leads them to the expectation of the things promised; in the second he carries out the promise of the divine benefits, below, chapter 45: "Thus says the Lord to my anointed," and so forth. The first is divided into three: in the first he comforts them through the power of the one promising; in the second through his love, chapter 41: "let them keep silence before me," etc.; in the third through the weakness of the idols, which might be believed able to resist, chapter 44: "and now hear, Jacob," and so forth. Concerning the first he does three things. First he leads them to consolation; second he promises a comforter, "the voice of one crying," etc.; in the third he shows the power of God who consoles, "who has measured with the fist," and so forth. Concerning the first, three things. First he leads the people into consolation: "be comforted," in spiritual things, "be comforted," in temporal goods granted. Ecclesiasticus 48: "he comforted," etc., Zechariah 1: "the Lord answered the angel," and so forth. Second he enjoins on the prophets and priests the announcement of consolation: "speak to the heart," namely by consoling; "call," away from sadness, away from idolatry. Hosea 2: "I will lead her into the wilderness." Third he assigns the reason: as to the remission of guilt, "for it is completed," etc., above chapter 27: "and here all the fruit," etc.; as to the ending of punishments, "she has received," etc. — he speaks according to the time after the captivity. Jeremiah 17: "with double destruction," etc. But on the contrary: Nahum 1: "a double tribulation shall not arise." And it must be said that they are called double as to the punishment of body and soul, just as guilt too is in both. "The voice of one crying," and so forth. Here he promises a comforter; and concerning this he does three things. First he sets forth the preparation; second he shows the firmness of the prophecy, "the voice of one saying," etc.; third he foretells the comforter to come, "upon a mountain," and so forth. Concerning the first, three things. First he enjoins the preparation: "the voice of one crying in the wilderness," namely of John the Baptist: this it will be, "prepare," through conversion from evils, "in the wilderness," of vices. Amos 4: "prepare to meet your God," and so forth. Second he foretells the fulfillment, "every valley," following the metaphor of a bad road: if it is mountainous, it causes toil — hence he says, the valley shall be exalted, so that it may be made level with the mountains, and the whole made plain; if it is crooked it causes wandering, and as to this he says, "crooked things shall be," etc.; if it is stony it causes pain to the feet, and as to this: "rough things into ways," by which is signified that faintheartedness will be turned into security, pride into humility, wickedness into uprightness, and cruelty into gentleness. Jeremiah 31: "direct your heart into the way," and so forth. Third he shows the usefulness of the preparation, "and the glory shall be revealed," that is, the Son. Jeremiah 33: "I will heal them," etc.; "shall see" — that is, he will show himself visible to all. Or he speaks of the day of judgment. Apocalypse 1: "every eye shall see him, and they who," and so forth. Some explain it thus. "The voice," of God, "crying," this is it, "prepare in the wilderness," that is, in the land of Judah, once a wasteland, "the way of the Lord," namely for going to the temple, or in the wilderness that is between Babylon and Judah. "Every valley." By these words it is shown that all obstacles are removed, so that the people may return freely. "Glory," in the destruction of the Chaldeans, through which he will appear glorious. "The voice of one saying." In this part he shows the firmness of the prophecy, by comparison to human frailty: hence the Lord first enjoins the cry, which signifies an express and plain announcement. "Cry out." Below, chapter 58: "cry, cease not," etc.; second he enjoins the human frailty that is to be cried out, the prophet asking, "and I said, what shall I cry?" — fearing lest he be commanded to cry out something against his own people, as above chapter 6; and the Lord answering, "all flesh," and so forth. James 1: "for the sun has risen," etc.; third he shows the firmness of the divine word, "surely the grass," etc., Luke 21: "heaven and earth," and so forth. "Upon a high mountain," and so forth. Here he foretells the comforter to come; and concerning this he does three things. First the Lord enjoins upon the prophet the announcement; in the second he sets forth the promise of the coming, "behold, God"; in the third he shows the condition of the one coming, "behold the Lord." Concerning the first he determines who, to whom, and how he is to announce. Who: because it is the one who has the office, "you who bring good tidings." Romans 10: "how shall they preach, unless," and so forth. He designates the manner through three things. Through the height of the place, so that, announcing good things, he may be heard from far off, "upon a mountain," etc. — mystically, Christ, or heavenly conversation and contemplation. Above chapter 2: "come, let us ascend," etc., below chapter 42: "from the top of the mountains," etc.; through the loudness of the voice, "lift it up with strength," so that many may hear, by preaching plainly and steadfastly. Below chapter 58: "cry, cease not," etc.; through the security of the heart, "lift it up, do not," and so forth. Jeremiah 1: "be not afraid before the face," and so forth. To whom it is to be announced he determines as to three things: as to the province of the kingdom, "say to the cities," etc.; as to the metropolis of the province, "you who bring good tidings to Jerusalem"; as to the rulers of the city, "Zion," where the temple and the royal house were. Below chapter 41: "the first shall say to Zion," and so forth. Acts 13: "it was necessary that to you," and so forth. "Behold." Here he sets down the promise of God's coming, "behold," at hand, "your God" — "he will come." Above chapter 35: "God himself will come," and so forth. "Behold the Lord." Here he shows the condition of the one coming; and first he shows that he will come strong to deliver, "in strength." "Arm" — strength on the day of judgment; or in the first coming of Christ, in the power of miracles, or in the destruction of Babylon. Job 40: "if you have an arm like God," and so forth; second, that he will come just to reward, "behold, a reward." "Work before him," because it is in the ease of the will. Wisdom 5: "but the just for ever," etc.; third he shows that he will come merciful, to console, "like a shepherd." To feed the hungry, "he will feed his flock." Ezekiel 34: "in the richest pastures," etc., Jeremiah 3: "I will give you shepherds," etc.; to gather together those who dissent, "in the arm," etc., John 10: "other sheep I have," etc.; to carry the failing, "in his bosom," etc., Luke 15: "when he has found it," and so forth. "Who has measured," and so forth. Here he shows the divine power; and first he establishes it against the errors of the idolaters, who derogated from the divine power by making the creature equal to the Creator. Romans 1: "they served the creature," etc.; second, against the despair of the Jews, who derogated from the divine power by distrust, "lift up on high," and so forth. Concerning the first, two things: first he shows the power of God; second he excludes the error, "to whom then like," and so forth. Concerning the first, three things. First he shows the divine power, together with wisdom, in the easy measuring and creation of all things: for he made all things "in number," as to the multitude of principles; "in measure," as to determination under proper being; "in weight," as to inclination toward an end. Wisdom 11: "with the fist" — that is, easily, as things that are measured with the fist, which is the closed hand; "with the palm" — that is, easily, which is the open hand: "he hung it upon nothing," Job 26, because it is supported by nothing external; otherwise the earth's rest would be violent. "Upon the waters," in Psalm 28, as to position, because it is surrounded by waters. Psalm 103: "upon its own stability," as to its own cause of rest, which is its own nature: "with three fingers" — easily; or by three properties, gravity, dryness, and immobility, "he weighed" — he made them balanced by their own weight. Second he shows the sufficiency of his power, because he needs no helper, "who helped" — against the philosophers who held that, through the mediation of the first things caused, the last things were created; of wisdom, because he needs no counsel, "or who," that he might give him counsel; "with whom," that he might ask of him; "instructed him" — the form of the work; "the path of justice" — of natural justice, which he prefixed to all things, so that no thing might exceed the bounds of its own nature; "knowledge" — concerning the cognition of created things, both universal and particular, against the philosophers; "the way of prudence" — as to the governance of the world. Job 26: "whose helper are you? is it not," and so forth. Third he shows his excellence: because he exceeds the whole multitude of the nations, "behold the nations." "As a drop" — a small drop — "of the bucket," falling from the bucket, which is a water vessel fit for the thirsty, which is reckoned as nothing; "the moment" which is between the arms of the scale, which easily inclines to either side. Job 26: "when scarce a small drop," etc.; he shows also that he exceeds every fitting honor, and especially as to offering. "And Lebanon" — that is, the wood of Lebanon, with which it abounds, because it is wooded, and the animals, with which it abounds, because it is full of pasture. Micah 6: "what worthy thing shall I offer to the Lord," etc.; he shows also that he exceeds every perfection of creatures: both the natural, because their being, with respect to God, is non-being — for Dionysius says, in the book On the Divine Names, chapter 12, that by as much as things participating exceed things not participating, and the participations exceed the things participating, by so much does he who is the principle of the participations exceed both the participations and the things participating. "All nations are as if they were not," etc.; and as to the perfections superadded, which in a certain way are filling — "and as nothing," etc., Jeremiah 4: "I beheld the earth," and so forth. "To whom then," and so forth. Here he excludes the error; and first he derides the error as to the intention of the one working, because they wanted to make God. Therefore, since he is so powerful, "to whom like?" He speaks according to the error of those who thought the very likenesses themselves were gods. "Or what image?" As to those who thought that the things of which they were likenesses — such as the sun or the moon, etc. — Exodus 15: "who is like you among the strong," etc.; and as to the foolish working, because they wanted to induce a most noble form into vile matter, "has the graven image," etc., Wisdom 14: "the incommunicable name," and so forth. Second he convicts the one in error; and first from the natural law dictating, "shall you not know?" — by natural reason, that idols are not gods; and from the written law forbidding, "has it not been declared?" Romans 10: "have they not heard," and so forth. He convicts also from the consideration of creatures: of earthly things, as to creation, "have you not understood the foundations of the earth?" — that they were founded by him; that is, that part of the earth which is near the center. Proverbs 8: "when he weighed out the foundations," etc.; and as to the creator, who "sits upon the circle" — because it is spherical — as one governing; and "the inhabitants" are "as locusts," with respect to the greatness of the earth, or of God himself. From the creation also of the heavenly creatures: "who stretches out" — as to the magnitude of the heaven — "as nothing" — as to the subtlety of its substance — "as a tent" — for himself, as that in which his power first shines forth among bodily things, as to power. Or as for the habitation of the angels and saints, as to dignity; or also of the whole lower creation, as to its brightness. Jeremiah 10: "he prepares the world in wisdom," and so forth. Third he convicts them as to the subjugation of the great, setting forth the destruction of those who are great. Whether according to knowledge, "who gives" — of secrets, namely the philosophers; or according to power, "the judges" — that is, the princes. Psalm 63: "they have failed that search," etc.; and he shows the ease of the destruction through the likeness of grass, or of a tree that does not have firm roots in the earth. "And indeed not even," etc., Job 13: "against a leaf that is carried away by the wind," and so forth. Third he sets down the conclusion, "and to whom have you likened," etc., Psalm 88: "who among the clouds shall be equaled," and so forth. "Lift up," and so forth. Here he establishes the same thing against those who despair; and first he establishes the divine majesty from the creation of things, "who created these," namely the heavenly things. Psalm 32: "he spoke, and they were made," etc.; from the perfection of knowledge, "who brings out," to fulfill his own will, "in number," determined in his own knowledge, "their host" — namely, of the heavens, the stars or the angels — "by name," determining for each its own proper nature, whence it might be named. Psalm 146: "who numbers the multitude," etc.; from the fullness of dominion, "because of the greatness of his might" — for attacking; "of strength" — for resisting; "of power" — for working: "was" — from his lordship. Job 25: "is there any number," and so forth. Second he excludes the error. And first he sets down the error, "why do you say." "Hidden" — he does not see the evils I suffer, otherwise he would defend me. "Judgment" — that is, the power of judging, which he formerly had. Ecclesiasticus 16: "say not, I shall be hidden from God," etc., Ezekiel 9: "they said, he has forsaken," and so forth. Second he sets down the refutation of the error; and first the confirmation of the proof from the law: "do you not know?" — by the natural law; "or have you not heard?" — by the written law — these things that follow. Second he sets down the refutation, first showing the greatness of God from those things which he has in himself, namely, the eternity of dominion, "the everlasting God," etc., Exodus 15: "the Lord has reigned forever," etc.; the unfailing power, "he shall not faint" — so as to be unable to do all things — "nor labor" — so as to be able only with difficulty, Daniel 7: "his power," etc.; the incomprehensibility of knowledge, "nor is there any searching out." Romans 11: "how incomprehensible are," and so forth. Second, through the great things which he does in others: and first in those whom he comforts — their former weakness — "who gives to the weary," as to him who was formerly strong and has failed; and "to those who are not," as to those who were never strong, above chapter 25: "made a strength to the poor," etc., Romans 4: "calls the things that are not," 1 Corinthians 1: "has chosen the things that are weak." Second he shows the greatness of this strength by comparison with natural strength, which he first shows to fail: "the children shall faint" — those who are in the state of growing; "the young men" — who seem robust. 1 Kings 2: "not in his own strength," and so forth. Second, the greatness of the strength given by God: "but they who hope shall change their strength" — namely, natural strength into divine — so that they are not wearied by ascent, "they shall take wings," Proverbs 23: "they shall make themselves wings," etc., nor even by swift running, "they shall run," nor even by continuous walking, "they shall walk," etc., above chapter 5: "there is none that is faint nor labors," etc. (Collationes, chapter 40). The spirit of the Lord is helped (not in creation but in justification — Augustine: "he who created you without you," etc.): through preaching, 1 Corinthians 3: "God's helpers," etc., through preparation, James 4: "draw near to the Lord," etc., through cooperation, Hebrews 12: "watching, lest anyone be lacking," and so forth. The saints are compared to eagles: because of the height of their flight, Job 39: "is it at your command," etc. — in which is the eminence of contemplation, above chapter 33: "the king in his beauty," etc.; because of the keenness of their scent, Luke 16: "wherever the body shall be," etc. — in which is the fervor of love, Song of Songs 1: "draw me after you," etc.; because of the loftiness of their dwelling place, Proverbs 30: "there are three things to me," etc. — in which is the zeal for heavenly conversation, Philippians 3: "our conversation," etc.; because of the swiftness of their movement, Lamentations 4: "they were swifter," etc. — in which is the readiness for good work, Proverbs 22: "you have seen a man," etc.; because of their renewal, Psalm: "it shall be renewed as the eagle's," etc. — in which is the zeal for amendment and progress, 2 Corinthians 4: "although he who is outward," etc.; because of the beauty of their limbs, Ezekiel 17: "a great eagle," etc. — in which is the beauty of the virtues, Song of Songs 4: "you are all fair," etc.; because of their solicitude for their young, Deuteronomy 32: "as an eagle provoking," etc. — in which is the solicitude of the saints, 2 Corinthians 11: "who is weak," and so forth.”

“The scope of these verses is to show what a great and glorious being the Lord Jehovah is, who is Israel's God and Saviour. It comes in here, 1. To encourage his people that were captives in Babylon to hope in him, and to depend upon him for deliverance, though they were ever so weak and their oppressors ever so strong. 2. To engage them to cleave to him, and not to turn aside after other gods; for there are none to be compared with him. 3. To possess all those who receive the glad tidings of redemption by Christ with a holy awe and reverence of God. Though it was said (Isa 40:9), Behold your God, and (Isa 40:11) He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, yet these condescensions of his grace must not be thought of with any diminution to the transcendencies of his glory. Let us see how great our God is, and fear before him; for, I. His power is unlimited, and what no creature can compare with, much less contend with, Isa 40:12. 1. He has a vast reach. View the celestial globe, and you are astonished at the extent of it; but the great God metes the heavens with a span; to him they are but a hand-breadth, so large-handed is he. View the terraqueous globe, and he has the command of that too. All the waters in the world he can measure in the hollow of his hand, where we can hold but a little water; and the dry land he easily manages, for he comprehends the dust of the earth in a measure, or with his three fingers; it is no more to him than a pugil, or that which we take up between our thumb and two fingers. 2. He has a vast strength, and can as easily move mountains and hills as the tradesman heaves his goods into the scales and out of them again; he poises them with his hand as exactly as if he weighed them in a pair of balances. This may refer to the work of creation, when the heavens were stretched out as exactly as that which is spanned, and the earth and waters were put together in just proportions, as if they had been measured, and the mountains made of such a weight as to serve for ballast to the globe, and no more. Or it may refer to the work of providence (which is a continued creation) and the consistency of all the creatures with each other. II. His wisdom is unsearchable, and what no creature can give either information or direction to, Isa 40:13, Isa 40:14. As none can do what God has done and does, so none can assist him in the doing of it or suggest any thing to him which he thought not of. When the Lord by his Spirit made the world (Job 26:13) there was none that directed his Spirit, or gave him any advice, either what to do or how to do it. Nor does he need any counsellor to direct him in the government of the world, nor is there any with whom he consults, as the wisest kings do with those that know law and judgment, Est 1:13. God needs not to be told what is done, for he knows it perfectly; nor needs he be advised concerning what is to be done, for he knows both the right end and the proper means. This is much insisted upon here, because the poor captives had no politicians among them to manage their concerns at court or to put them in a way of gaining their liberty. "No matter," says the prophet, "you have a God to act for you, who needs not the assistance of statesmen." In the great work of our redemption by Christ matters were concerted before the world was, when there was one to teach God in the path of judgment, Co1 2:7. III. The nations of the world are nothing in comparison of him, Isa 40:15, Isa 40:17. Take them all together, all the great and mighty nations of the earth, kings the most pompous, kingdoms the most populous, both the most wealthy; take the isles, the multitude of them, the isles of the Gentiles: Before him, when they stand in competition with him or in opposition to him, they are as a drop of the bucket compared with the vast ocean, or the small dust of the balance (which does not serve to turn it, and therefore is not regarded, it is so small) in comparison with all the dust of the earth. He takes them up, and throws them away from him, as a very little thing, not worth speaking of. They are all in his eye as nothing, as if they had no being at all; for they add nothing to his perfection and all-sufficiency. They are counted by him, and are to be counted by us in comparison of him, less than nothing, and vanity. When he pleases, he can as easily bring them all into nothing as at first he brought them out of nothing. When God has work to do he values not either the assistance or the resistance of any creature. They are all vanity; the word that is used for the chaos (Gen 1:2), to which they will at last be reduced. Let this beget in us high thoughts of God and low thoughts of this world, and engage us to make God, and not man, both our fear and our hope. This magnifies God's love to the world, that, though it is of such small account and value with him, yet, for the redemption of it, he gave his only-begotten Son, Joh 3:16. IV. The services of the church can make no addition to him nor do they bear any proportion to his infinite perfections (Isa 40:16): Lebanon is not sufficient to burn; not the wood of it, to be for the fuel of the altar, though it be so well stocked with cedars; not the beasts of it, to be for sacrifices, though it be so well stocked with cattle, Isa 40:16. Whatever we honour God with, it falls infinitely short of the merit of his perfection; for he is exalted far above all blessing and praise, all burnt-offerings and sacrifices.”

“Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?.... The following account of the power, wisdom, and all sufficiency of God, and which is to be understood of Christ, is to show that he is equal to the work of redemption and salvation he has engaged in, and was about to come and perform, and that he is able to do it, as well as to execute his office as a shepherd; and also to observe, that though his rich grace and goodness he had condescended to take upon him the work of a saviour, and the office of a shepherd, yet this was not to be interpreted as if he had lost his dignity and glory as a divine Person, or as if that was in the least diminished; for he was no other than that infinite Being, "who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand"; the waters of the seas, for which he has provided a receptacle, where he has collected and put them together; the dimensions of which are exactly known to him, and the vast confluence of water is no more in his hands than so much water as a man can hold in the hollow of his hand, in his fist, or hand contracted: and meted out heaven with the span; which he has stretched out as a curtain, Isa 40:22, and the measure of which is but one hand's breadth with him; and is no more to him than stretching out a carpet or canopy; and as easily measured by him as a piece of cloth is by a man with the span of his hand, or any measuring rule or yard: and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure; the word (r) used signifies the third part of some larger measure, as of a sextarius, as some; or of an ephah, or bath as others; or of some other measure not known; See Gill on Psa 80:5. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "with three fingers"; and the sense may be, that the dust of the earth, or the earth itself, which is but dust, is no more with the Lord than so much earth or dust as a man can hold between his thumb and two fingers; and in like manner is the whole earth comprehended by the Lord: and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance; as easily as a man can throw in his goods into a pair of scales, and take the true weight of them, with equal ease did the Lord raise the mountains and the hills in a proper proportion, and has so exactly poised them, as if he had weighed them in a pair of scales; this seems to hint at the use of mountains and hills to be a sort of ballast to the earth, and shows the original formation of them from the beginning. The answer to the above question is, that it was the same divine Person of whom it is said, "behold your God, and who should come with a strong hand, and feed his flock." (r) "in mensura ternaria", Montanus; "trientali", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Vitringa.”

“Lest the Jews should suppose that He who was just before described as a "shepherd" is a mere man, He is now described as GOD. Who--Who else but GOD could do so? Therefore, though the redemption and restoration of His people, foretold here, was a work beyond man's power, they should not doubt its fulfilment since all things are possible to Him who can accurately regulate the proportion of the waters as if He had measured them with His hand (compare Isa 40:15). But MAURER translates: "Who can measure," &c., that is, How immeasurable are the works of God? The former is a better explanation (Job 28:25; Pro 30:4). span--the space from the end of the thumb to the end of the middle finger extended; God measures the vast heavens as one would measure a small object with his span. dust of the earth--All the earth is to Him but as a few grains of dust contained in a small measure (literally, "the third part of a larger measure"). hills in a balance--adjusted in their right proportions and places, as exactly as if He had weighed them out.”

“In order to bring His people to the full consciousness of the exaltation of Jehovah, the prophet asks in Isa 40:12, "Who hath measured the waters with the hollow of his hand, and regulated the heavens with a span, and taken up the dust of the earth in a third measure, and weighed the mountains with a steelyard, and hills with balances?" Jehovah, and He alone, has given to all these their proper quantities, their determinate form, and their proportionate place in the universe. How very little can a man hold in the hollow of his hand (shō‛al)! (Note: The root שׁל, Arab. sl has the primary meaning of easily moving or being easily moved; then of being loose or slack, of hanging down, or sinking-a meaning which we meet with in שׁעל and שׁאל. Accordingly, shō‛al signifies the palm (i.e., the depression made by the hand), and she'ōl not literally a hollowing or cavity, but a depression or low ground.) how very small is the space which a man's span will cover! how little is contained in the third of an ephah (shâlı̄sh; see at Psa 80:6)! and how trifling in either bulk or measure is the quantity you can weight in scales, whether it be a peles, i.e., a steelyard (statera), or mō'zenayim, a tradesman's balance (bilances), consisting of two scales. (Note: According to the meaning, to level or equalize, which is one meaning of pillēs, the noun peles is applied not only to a level used to secure equilibrium, which is called mishqeleth in Isa 28:17, but also to a steelyard used for weighing, the beam of which consists of a lever with unequal arms, which flies up directly the weight is removed.) But what Jehovah measures with the hollow of His hand, and with His span, is nothing less than the waters beneath and the heavens above. He carries a scoop, in which there is room for all the dust of which the earth consists, and a scale on which He has weighed the great colossal mountains.”