Albert Barnes Commentary Job 26:14

"Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways: And how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?" — Job 26:14 (ASV)

Lo, these are parts of his ways - This is a small portion of his works. We see only the outlines, the surface of his mighty doings. This is still true. With all the advances that have been made in science, it is still true that we see but a small part of his works. What we are enabled to trace with all the aids of science, compared with what is unseen and unknown, may be like the analysis of a single drop of water compared with the ocean.

But how little a portion is heard of him? - Or, rather, “But what a faint whisper have we heard of him!” Literally, “What a whisper of a word,” - דבר וּמח־שׁמץ yuvmah shėmets dâbâr.

The word שׁמץ shemets means a transient sound rapidly passing away, and then a whisper; see the notes at Job 4:12. A “whisper of a word” means a word not fully and audibly spoken, but which is whispered into the ear.

The beautiful idea here is that what we see of God, and what he makes known to us, compared with the full and glorious reality, bears about the same relation that the gentlest whisper does to words fully spoken.

The thunder of his power who can understand? - It is probable that there is a comparison here between the gentle “whisper” and the mighty “thunder.” The idea is that if, instead of speaking to us in gentle whispers and thus giving us some faint indications of his nature, he were to speak out in thunder, who could understand him?

If, when he speaks in such faint and gentle tones, we are so much impressed with a sense of his greatness and glory, who would not be overwhelmed if he were to speak out as in thunder?

Thus explained, the expression does not refer to literal thunder, though there is much in the heavy peal to excite adoring views of God, and much that to Job must have been inexplicable. It may be asked, even now, who can understand all the philosophy of the thunder?

But with much more impressiveness it may be asked, as Job probably meant to ask, who could understand the great God, if he spoke out with the full voice of his thunder, instead of speaking in a gentle whisper?