(6) The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. (7) The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. (8) He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them.
These are all so many beautiful repetitions of the same important doctrine, in asserting God's sovereignty over all things, both in the kingdoms of providence, and of grace. And it is sweet when the heart finds a cordial assent, in all the circumstances of our own warfare. Reader! what can afford more solid joy, than the contemplation of the Lord Jesus, in the character which John saw him in, and which corresponds to what is here said: He hath the keys of hell and death. Revelation 1:18.