HE MAKES LIGHTNING WITH RAIN

He hath made the earth by His power, 
He hath established the world by His wisdom, 
and hath stretched out the heavens by His discretion. 

When He uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, 
and He causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; 

He maketh lightnings with rain, 
and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasures.  Jer 10:12-13



Matthew Henry comments:

"He is the God of nature, the fountain of all being; and all the powers of nature are at his command and disposal. The God we worship is he that made the heavens and the earth, and has a sovereign dominion over both; so that his invisible things are manifested and proved in the things that are seen. It and them he has made by his power; and it is by no less than an infinite power that it hangs upon nothing, as it does (Job 26:7) — ponderibus librata suis—poised by its own weight. The world, the habitable part of the earth, is admirably fitted for the use and service of man, and he hath established it so by his wisdom, so that it continues serviceable in constant changes and yet a continual stability from one generation to another. Therefore both the earth and the world are his, Psalms 24:1.

  

The heavens are wonderfully stretched out to an incredible extent, and it is by his discretion that they are so, and that the motions of the heavenly bodies are directed for the benefit of this lower world. These declare his glory (Psalms 19:1), and oblige us to declare it, and not give that glory to the heavens which is due to him that made them.

If we look up, we see his providence to be a continued creation. When he uttereth his voice (gives the word of command) there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, which are poured out on the earth, whether for judgment or mercy, as he intends them. 

When he utters his voice in the thunder, immediately there follow thunder-showers, in which there are a multitude of waters; and those come with a noise.  

He causes the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth, from all parts of the earth, even the most remote, and chiefly those that lie next the sea. All the earth pays the tribute of vapours, because all the earth receives the blessing of rain. 

  

And thus the moisture in the universe, like the money in a kingdom and the blood in the body, is continually circulating for the good of the whole. Those vapours produce wonders, for of them are formed lightnings for the rain, and the winds which God from time to time brings forth out of his treasures, as there is occasion for them, directing them all in such measure and for such use as he thinks fit, as payments are made out of the treasury. 

All the meteors are so ready to serve God's purposes that he seems to have treasures of them, that cannot be exhausted and may at any time be drawn from. Psalms 135:7 

God glories in the treasures he has of these (Job 38:22-23). There is no sort of weather but what furnishes us with a proof and instance of the wisdom and power of the great Creator."

A Rare Lightning Storm
U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Lindsay Switzer