make Yee have heard of the Patience of Job and what end the Lord made Could we but heare of the Repentance of England all the world I am perswaded should heare and wonder at the end which the Lord would make Even such an end as he made for Job if not a better he would give us twice as much in Temporals double Riches double Oxen and Sheepe double Bracelets and Earings double Gold and Silver double Sonnes and Daughters And hee would give us which is not specified in the Inventorie of Jobs repaire seven-fold more in Spirituals seven-fold more knowledge of his Truth purity in his worship order in his house he would make the light of our Moone to be like the light of the Sunne and the light of our Sunne to be seven-fold as the light of seven dayes in the day wherein he bindes up our outward breaches and heales the stroake of our wound Thus we may looke to be restored not only as Job to more in kind but to better in kind I am sure to better in degree We may looke that for brasse we shall have Gold or our Gold more refined that for Iron wee shall have Silver or our Silver more purified that for wood we shall have Brasse or our Brasse better furbished that for Stones we shall have iron or our Iron better tempered We may look that our Officers shall be peace and our Exactours righteousnesse that violence shall no more be heard in our Land wasting nor destruction within our borders but men shall call our Walls salvation and our Gates praise When these glorious issues of our troubles shall be is in his hand who held Jobs estate in his hand so fast that Satan could not touch a Sheepe nor a shoe-lachet till himselfe willed and who when his time came restored Jobs estate double to a Sheep and a shoe-lachet whether Satan and his Sabeans would or no. We have already seen in Job an Epitome of our former prosperitie and of our present troubles the good Lord hasten the latter part of our National likenes unto him in the doubled and O that it might be a seven-fold restauration of our Peace and Truth In the meane time these Meditations upon this Scripture well digested and taken-in may be through the blessing of God upon them a help to our patience in bearing these afflictions upon the Land a help to our faith in beleeving to our hope inwaiting for the Salvations of the Lord. Whatsoever things were written afore-time were written for our learning but this Booke was purposely written that we through patience and comfort of this Scripture might have hope Nor doe I doubt but that the Providence of God without which a Sparrow fals not to the ground directed my thoughts to this Booke as not onely profitable for all times but specially seasonable for these times It is a word in season and therefore should as a word upon the Wheeles making a speedy passage into all our hearts And how should it not While wee remember that these Wheeles are oyl'd with bloud even with the heart-bloud of thousands of our dearest friends and brethren I finde that this is not the first time that this Booke hath beene undertaken by way of Exposition in such a time as this Lavater a faithfull Minister of the Tigurine Church opened this Scripture in preaching and printed it in the Germane tongue which was afterwards published in Latine by Hartmanus Sprunglius as himselfe expresses in the Title to support and refresh the afflicted mindes of the godly in that last as he then supposed and saddest decliyyning Age of the world Ferus a Popish Fryer but very devout according to the Devotion of that Religion Preacher at Ments chose this Scripture in the time of Warre and publick Calamity as the Title also of his Booke holds forth to comfort his Citizens In his fourth Sermon hee makes this observable digression You know saith hee to his Hearers that I began to expound this Historie of Iob to the end I might comfort and exhort you to patience in these troublesome times This was and is my Intendment this mooved me to handle and explaine this Booke But now in my very entrance upon it the Storme grows so blacke that I see you amazed dejected and almost desperate Some are flying others are preparing to flie and in this great Calamitie no man is found to comfort his Brother But every one encreases his Neighbours feare by his owne fearefullnesse Hee prescribes as farre as their Principles will admit Cordials for the reviving of their spirits and medicine for the cure of these distempers The whole Booke of JOB is a sacred Shoppe stor'd with plentie and varietie of both that you may open your hearts to receive and with wisdome to apply the Consolations and Instructions here tender'd from this part of it is and through the strength of Christ shall bee the desire and prayer of November 8th 1643. Your very loving Friend and Servant for the helpe of your Faith IOSEPH CARYL ERRATA PAg 3. lin 33. for more particulars reade in particular Pag. 5. l 24 for sinneâ— sinne p. 9 l. 2. for distinctions r distinct ones p 27. l 39. for whence r. whom p. 30 l. 21. for all grace goes r. all graces goe p. 40. l. 21. dele But. p. 106. l. 8. r. former p. 118. l. 34. r. and before in such p. 124 l. 1. dele the. p. 179. l. 40. for garments r. garment p. 1â—3 l. 21 for we r. he p 206 l. 39. r. lesse love p. 207. l. 5. r. of a Fathers love p. 239 l. 39. for si r. as p 273. l. 39. for troublers r. troubler p. 306. l. 15. misplaced p. 323 l. 34 for ceise r. seise p. 338. l. 38. for sight r. site pag 371. l. 16. for the r. then p. 402. l. 40. for interrupted r. uninterrupted p. 424. l. 8. adde that p. 452. l. 38. for utmost his r. his utmost p. 454. l 35. for was r. were Divers errors have escaped in the Poyntings which the understanding Reader may easily correct where the sense is obscured as p. 321. l. 11 there wants a Colon after the word Counsell c. AN EXPOSITION Vpon the three first Chapters of the BOOKE of JOB The Introduction opening the Nature Parts and Scope of the whole Booke IT was the personall wish and resolution of the Apostle Paul I had rather speak five words with my understanding then ten thousand words in an unknowne tongue And surely it is far better to speake or heare five words of Scripture with our understandings than ten thousand words yea than the whole Scriptures while we understand them not Now what an unknown tongue about which the Apostle there disputeth is in reference unto all the same is the Scripture unto most even in their owne tongue that which they understand not For as an unknowne tongue doth alwayes hide the meaning of words from us so doe oft times the spiritualnesse
and mysteriousnesse of the matter While a man speakes in a strange language wee heare a sound but know not the words and while a man speakes in our owne language though we know the words yet we may not understand the meaning and then hee that speakes is to us in that reference so the Apostle calls him a Barbarian While the leaves of the booke are opened and read to such or by such the sense is shut up and sealed When the Apostle Philip heard the Ethiopian Eunuch reade the Prophet Isaiah as he traveld in his Chariot hee said to him understandest thou what thou readest The Eunuch answered How should I unlesse some man would guide mee He understood the language but the meaning was under a vaile The very same may we say to many who reade the Scriptures understand you what you reade And they may answer as the Eunuch did How can we except we had some man to guide us Yea and alas for all the guiding of man they may answer How can we except we have the Spirit of God to guide us He hath his Pulpit in heaven who teacheth hearts the heart of Scripture Paul we know was a learned Pharisee and much verst in the Law and yet he saith of himselfe before his conversion that hee was without the Law but when Christ came to him then the Commandment came to him I was once alive without the Law but when the Commandment came that is when Christ came and his Spirit came in or after my conversion and expounded the Commandment to my heart then the Commandment came sc to my heart in the power of it and I understood to purpose what the Law was So that the teachings of the Spirit the teachings of God himselfe are chiefly to be looked after and prayed for that we may know the mind of the Spirit the will of God in Scripture But he hath set up this ordinance the ordinance of interpretation to doe it by both that the Scripture might be translated out of the Originall into the common language of every Nation which the Apostle calls interpreting in that place before cited and also that the originall sense of the Scripture might be translated into the minde and understanding of every man which is the worke we aime at and now have in hand Before I begin that give me leave to beseech you in the Name of Christ to take care for the carrying on of this worke a degree further I mean to translate the sense of Scripture into your lives and to expound the word of God by your workes Interpret it by your feet and teach it by your fingers as Solomon speakes to another sense that is let your working and your walkings be Scripture explications It is indeed a very great honour unto this Citie that you take care for a Commentarie on the Scripture in writing but if you will be carefull and diligent to make a Commentarie upon the Scripture by living or to make your lives the Commentarie of Scripture this will make your Citie glorious indeed It is the Apostles testimonie of his Corinthians Yee saith he are our Epistle for as much as yee are manifestly declared to be the Epistle of Christ ministred by us written not with inke but with the Spirit of the living God not in tables of stone but in fleshie tables of the heart Give us we beseech you the same occasion of glorying on your behalfe that we may say You are our Expositions for as much as you are manifestly declared in your practise to be the exposition of the mind of Christ ministred unto you by us A walking a breathing Commentarie goeth infinitely beyond the written or spoken Commentarie And as the Apostle makes his conclusion before noted I had rather speake five words with my understanding than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue So I say I had rather know five words of Scripture by my own practise and experience than ten thousand words of Scripture yea than the whole Scripture by the bare Exposition of another And therefore let the word of Christ by these verball Explications dwell richly in your understandings in all wisedome And by a practicall application let it be held forth plentifully in your lives in all holinesse Adde Commentarie to Commentarie and Exposition to Exposition adde the Comment of works to this Comment of words and an Exposition by your lives to this Exposition by our labours Surely if you do not these Exercises will be costly indeed and will come to a deep account against you before the Lord. If you are lifted up to heaven by the opening of the Scripture which is either a carrying of you up to heaven or a bringing of heaven downe to you and then walke groveling upon the earth how sore will the judgement be But it is to me an argument and an evidence from heaven that God hath put it into your hearts to be more glorious in the practise of holinesse because he hath put it into your hearts to desire more the knowledge of holinesse To draw in my speech nearer to the businesse Having a booke full of very various matter before me give mee leave to premise some things in the generall and some thing more particulars by way of Preface concerning the booke before wee come to the handling of the text First for the generall That which God speakes concerning the whole worke of Creation We may speake concerning the whole booke of Scripture It is very good Solomon observes that wheresoever the wisdom of God spake it spake of excellent things And David to quicken our endeavours and excite our diligence to the study of the word preferreth it in worth above thousands of gold and silver and in sweetnesse above the honey and the honey combe And when he ceaseth to compare hee beginneth to admire Wonderfull are thy Testimonies And well may that bee called Wonderfull which proceedeth from the God of Wonders All Scripture is given by divine inspiration or by inspiration from God and I need not stay to shew you the excellencie of any part when I have but pointed at such an originall of the whole As therefore the whole Scripture whether wee respect the majestie of the Author the height or puritie of the matter the depth or perspicuitie of the stile the dignitie or variety of occurrences whether we consider the Art of compiling or the strength of arguing disdaines the very mention of comparison with any other humane Author whatsoever so are comparisons in it selfe as Booke with Booke Chapter with Chapter dangerous There is not in this great volume of holy counsell any one Book or Chapter Verse or Section of greater power or authoritie than other Moses and Samuel the writings of Amos the Shepherd and of Isaiah a Descendant of the blood Royall the writings of the Prophets and Evangelists the Epistles of Paul and this historie of Iob must be received to use the words
Job as constantly and as vehemently maintaineth both those questions in the contrary sense He acknowledged himself to be a sinner yet he stiffely denied that he was a hypocrite he disclaimed his own righteousnes in point of Justification yet he justified himselfe in point of uprightnesse And as for the sinfulnesse of his nature and of his life he was willing except knowne or wilfull insincerity to own both and charge himselfe faster then his friends could appealing to and triumphing in free-Grace for full pardon This one Syllogisme I say is the summe of all the dispute between Job and his three friends This is as it were the hinge upon which the whole matter turned But besides these there are many discourses falling in collaterally which concurre to make up the subject of this book For as it is with those that studie the Philosophers-stone the great thing they aime at is to make gold c. that 's the principall the chiefe end yet collaterally they find out many excellent things many profitable experiments have beene made many rare secrets have beene discovered in prosecuting of that great designe So although this be the principall subject of the booke yet collaterally for the carrying on of these disputes many other rare and excellent heavenly spirituall and usefull truths are handled and discovered As to give you some particular instances First We have the Character of a discreet and faithfull Master and Father in a family and the speciall duties which concern those relations The doctrine of the Oeconomicks is often touched in this Booke Secondly We have here the Character of a faithfull zealous and just Magistrate in the Common-wealth how he ought to behave himselfe and what his duty is set downe also plainly and clearly by occasion of this dispute Thirdly We have a great discovery made in the secrets of nature The bowels of nature are as it were ript open and the great works of Creation are here displayed In this you have discourses of the Heavens of the Earth of the Sunne Moone and Starres of those Meteors the Haile the Snow the Frost the Yce the Lightning and the thunder In this you have discourses of Jewels of Minerals and of Metalls In this of Beasts and Birds and creeping things So that by occasion of this dispute a discourse is carried about all the world in the whole circuit of naturall knowledge or Philosophy Fourthly Here are discourses of Christian Moralls of the duties of equity from man to man Of the duties of piety which man oweth to God of the duties of sobriety and temperance towards a mans own selfe Yea here we find the great duty of Faith the matter of beleeving in the Redeemer of the world our Lord Jesus Christ Lastly Here are many discoveries made of God in Himselfe and in his Attributes in his Power Wisdome Justice Goodnesse and Faithfulnesse yea whatsoever may be known of God in any of these is some way or other here discovered So then all being summed up together it may well be said concerning this Booke that it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Book containing all excellencies of wisedom and holinesse and what as some of the Jews and Rabbins say of it in other Books is here a little and there a little is all plentifully gathered together in this In a word it is a Summary a Compendium of all knowledg both humane and divine both concerning our selves and concerning God So much of the subject of this Book both principall and Collaterall The second generall to be considered is the division of this Booke We may consider it in reference to the division First as it is a Dialogue for so some call the whole Booke which is an interchangeable discourse concerning any subject or matter whatsoever And taking it in that notion wee may divide it by the Collocutors or Speakers and by the severall speeches which they made The Collocutors or Speakers in this Booke are Eight 1. God 2. Sathan 3. Job 4. Jobs wife Jobs three friends 5. Eliphaz 6. Bildad 7. Zophar 8. Elihu Who commeth in as a Moderatour of that dispute Their Speeches which they make are in the whole compasse of of the Booke 32. distinctions There are two Dialogues betweene God and Sathan One betweene Iob and his wife Three between Iob and Eliphaz Three betweene Iob and Bildad Two betweene Iob and Zophar Two betweene God and Iob. And then we have Elihu making foure distinct Speeches or Orations which have no Answer And lastly two severall Speeches or Parables as they are called of Iob one in Chapt. 27.1 and the other in Chapt. 29.1 So that summe up all these together and you may divide the whole Booke into 32. distinct or severall Speeches either by way of position or answer or reply or determination God speakes foure times Satan twice Iobs wife once Iob thirteene times Eliphaz thrice Bildad thrice Zophar twice Elihu foure times Or if we should consider the Booke as a Disputation which is higher then a Dialogue so you may distinguish it by the Opponents by the Respondent and by the Moderators The Opponents are three Iobs three friends Iob himselfe is Respondent The Moderators are First Elihu he commeth in first as an Vmpire betweene them Secondly God himselfe at last out of the whirle-winde giveth the decisive determinative voice and sentence He states the question fully for Iob and reproveth Iobs friends as not having disputed and argued aright concerning him Yet further Wee may divide the Booke into five Sections whereof The first doth set forth the happinesse and fullnesse of Iobs outward estate and the integrity and perfection of his spirituall estate And that is conteined in the first 5 verses The second presents Iobs affliction Iobs fall the great and sore calamity which in a moment did overtake him with the occasion of it And this you have set forth from that 5th verse exclusively to the 9th verse of the second Chapter Thirdly We have the questions the debates and disputes which did arise upon and about the fall of Iob into that sad condition which are contained from that 9th verse of the second Chapter to the end of the 31. Chapter Fourthly We have the Moderation or determination of this dispute and of this argument first by Elihu and then by God himselfe from the beginning of the 32. Chapter to the 7th verse of the 42. All which is but as a determination or stating of the Question Fifthly and lastly Wee have the restitution of Iob his restoring and setting up againe and the repairing of his estate and making of it double to what formerly it had bin And that is begun and continued from the 7th verse of the 42. Chapter to the end of the Book So here you have a five-fold division of the Book Once more We may divide the Book into theee parts And so it sets forth 1. Iobs happy condition both in regard of externalls and internalls in the first 5. verses 2. Iobs fall
Iobs calamity Iobs trouble from that to the 7th verse of the 42. Chapter 3. Iobs restitution or restoring from thence to the end Take the Book in this division and it seemes to hold forth to us such a representation of Iob as is given us in the three first Chapters of Genesis concerning man In those 3. first Chapters we have man set forth 1. In the excellency and dignity of his Creation being Lord and Soveraigne of all adorn'd with that integrity and purity of nature which God had planted in and stamped upon him at his creation And in the beginning of this Book we have Iob like a man in innocencie shining in all his dignitie compass'd about with blessings of all sorts blessings of the body blessings of the soule blessings of this life and of that which is to come 2. There we find the Devill plotting the ruine of man and we find his plot taking for a while and in a great measure prevailing So here in this Booke we have the Devill begging Iobs ruine and having obtained leave so farre as concerned his outward estate and body quickly puts it in execution 3. There we have Adam by Gods free mercy and promise restored to a better estate in Christ through the grace of Redemption then he had before in himselfe by the goodnesse of Creation So here we have Iob through the mercy power and faithfulnesse of God restored to all he had and more we see him repaired and set up againe after his breaking not only with a new stock but a greater his estate being doubled and his very losses proving beneficiall to him This may suffice for the division or parts of the Booke which I conceive may shed some light into the whole Now for the third thing which I proposed which was the use or scope or intendment of this Book For that is a speciall thing we are to carry before us in our eye in the reading of Scripture It is possible for one to understand the subject and to know the parts and yet not to be attentive to find out or distinctly to find out what the mind of God is or whereat he specially drives and aimeth Therefore it will be very profitable to us likewise to consider what the tendency and intendment or as I may so speake the Uses of this Booke are First It aimes at our Instruction and that in divers things First Which much concernes every Christian to learne it instructeth us how to handle a Crosse How to behave our selves when we are in a conflict whether outward or inward What the Postures of the Spirituall Warre are and with what patience we ought to beare the hand of God and his dealings with us This I say is set forth by the Scripture in other places to be the maine and one of the principall ends or intendments or Uses of this Booke This the Apostle Iames speakes of You have heard of the patience of Job As if he should say doe you not know why the Book of Iob was written Why God in his providence did bring such a thing to passe concerning Iob It was that all men should take notice of his patience and might learne the wisedome of suffering that noble art of induring Iob was full of many other excellent graces and indeed he had all the graces of the Spirit of God in him But the Patience of Job was the principall grace As it is with naturall men they have every sinne in them but there are some sinnes which are the Master sinnes or some one sinne it may be doth denominate a wicked man sometimes he is a proud man sometimes he is covetous sometimes he is a deceiver sometimes he is an oppressor sometimes he is uncleane sometimes he hath a profane spirit and so the like some one great Master lust doth give the denomination to the man he hath all other sinnes in him and they are all raigning in him but one as it were raigneth above the rest and sits uppermost in his heart So it is with the Saints of God and here with Iob every Saint and servant of God hath all grace in him every grace in some degree or other for all the limbs and liniaments of the new man are formed together in the soule of those that are in Christ But there is some speciall grace which doth give as it were the denomination to a servant of God As that which gave the denomination to Abraham was faith and that which gave the denomination to Moses was meeknesse and so this which giveth the denomination to Iob is Patience and so the denomination too of this whole History as if that were the great lesson that were to be taken out the lesson of suffering and of patience So that what the Apostle makes to be the Use of all Scripture whatsoever things saith he were written afore-time were written for our learning that wee through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope That I say which the Apostle there makes to be the end and scope of the whole Scripture doth seeme to be in speciall the principall and chiefe end of writing this Book of Iob. 2. Another Instruction which we are to take from the whole Book is this God would have us learne that afflictions come not by chance that they are all ordered by providence in the matter in the manner and the measure both for the kinds and for the degrees they are all ordered even the very least by the wisedome by the hand and providence of God 3. Another thing which we are to learne generally from this Book is this The Soveraignety of God that he hath power over us over our estates and over our bodies and over our families and over our spirits that he may use us as he pleaseth and we must be quiet under his hand when he commeth and will take all from us all our comforts we must give all glory to him This Book is written for this especially to teach us the Soveraignty of God and the submission of the creature 4. It teacheth us That God doth sometimes afflict his children out of prerogative that-though there be no sinne in them which he makes the occasion of afflicting them such was Iobs case yet for exercise of his graces in them for triall of their graces or to set them up for patternes to the world God may and doth afflict them Though no man be without sinne yet the afflictions of many are not for their sinnes 5. There is this generall Instruction which God would have us learne out of this Book namely that the best gotten and the best founded estate in outward things is uncertaine that there is no trusting to any creature-comforts God would unbottome us quite from the creature by holding forth this History of Iob unto us 6. God would also shew forth this for our learning viz. The strength the unmoveablenesse of faith how unconquerable it is what a kind of omnipotency there is in
and solid reason The reprehension in these words Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh The reason of his reprehension in those which follow What shall we receive good at the hand of God and not evill To begin with the reprehension Thou speakest as one of the foolish women In the Hebrew Woman is not exprest it is only a Feminine as one of the foolish ones we translate it foolish woman That word commeth from Nabal which signifieth properly a thing fallen off like a dried leafe or blasted withered fruit without life without strength without sap and moysture exhausted and kill'd thorough excesse either of cold or heat and so by a Metaphor it noteth any one without the sap or juyce of wisedome goodnesse and honesty such a person we call a saplesse person Or it signifieth one that is vile and base and low one that hath a base withered low fallen spirit a spirit fallen below all noble or holy resolutions Nabal is such a foole as hath his judgement and understanding faded and corrupted in regard of any holy principles though he may be wise in regard of naturall principles Such the Prophet describes they are wise to doe evill but to do good they have no knowledge Jer. â— 22 Hence the Latin word Nebulo which signifies a Knave is by good Etymologists derived from the Hebrew Nabal because such are dull-heads in goodnesse and witty only in wickednesse Such was he 1 Sam. 25.25 Nabal is his name and folly is with him That proper name is the same with the Appellative here that 's the Masculine this the Feminine Thou speakest like a Nabalesse We find the word often used elsewhere to signifie wicked worthlesse and vile persons Psal 14.1 The foole hath said c. Deut. 32.6 21. at the 6th verse O foolish people and unwise doe ye thus requite the Lord And ver 21. They have provoked me to anger by those that are no gods and I will provoke them to jealousie by them which are not a people and move them to anger with a foolish nation by them which are not a people by a foolish nation A foolish people deserve not the name of a people Looke upon this word in the abstract folly is wickednesse and to worke folly is in the language of the Scripture as much as to worke wickednesse to worke the greatest wickednesse Hence it is sometimes translated villany Ier. 29.22 23. The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab whom the King of Babylon rosted in the fire because they have committed villany in Israel And throughout the Booke of Proverbs the foole and an ungodly man a wise-man and a godly man are Synonomaes words signifying the same thing Thus Job reproves his wife thou speakest as one of the foolish women like one of those who have no wisedome no goodnesse not any sense or sap of goodnesse in them But who were these foolish women at whom he aimes in this comparison that is not cleare some conceive he intends the women of Idumea Thou speakest as one of these heathen women these Idumeans I have heard indeed such language from them when things have gone amisse with them I have heard them cursing their Idols cursing their gods I have heard them raile at fate fall out and wrangle with fortune Thou speakest like one of them Thou takest thy patterne in this from the custome of the Heathen who use their gods coursely when they thinke they have but course usage from their gods If their gods be angry they will be angry with and revile their gods Thou speakest after the rate of these foolish women Thou diddest never heare such doctrine in my family or among those who feare and love the true and ever-living God Job you see is now somewhat warme in his speech Job had indured much and all his sufferings hitherto had not stirr'd any passion in him but that of sorrow as we saw in the latter end of the former Chapter Not an angry posture not an angry expression all along but now that God and the wayes of God are concerned Job can hold no longer this speech of his wife cast dishonour upon both and now passion begins to stir hee cannot forbeare her though his wife Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh Observe That Passion becometh us in the cause of God Our Lord Christ teaching his Disciples the true meaning of the Law tells them Mat. 5.22 He that is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement but he that is not angry when there is cause especially when there is such a cause as this he likewise is in danger of the Judgement Secondly Job is not only angry with her but he reproves her Thou speakest as one of the foolish women It is lawfull sometimes to expresse holy anger and passion by sharpe reproofes Christ who was meeknesse and humility it selfe yet when he hath to deale with Pharisees he can call them a generation of vipers painted Sepulchers blind guides an adulterous generation children of the Devill Anger can hardly be silent and that anger is admirable which speakes and sinnes not He that knowes not how to be angry knowes not how to love And he that knowes not how to reprove with love knowes not how to be angry You may discerne love in Job mingling with and moderating his reproof Job rebukes his wife but it is with the spirit of meeknesse First He doth not speake positively or down-right Thou art a foole but comparatively Thou speakest as one of the foolish women use to speake That seemes one mitigation or allay of this reproofe yet I confesse such speaking by way of similitude hath often in it the force and intent of a direct assertion Another thing observeable for the meeknesse of Job is this He doth not fall out with the whole Sex and say ye women are foolish and ignorant and impatient But thou speakest as one of the foolish women He doth not charge the whole Sex he knew there were wise women as well as foolish such Solomon describes Pro. 31.26 She openeth her mouth with wisedome and we know Abigail the wife was wise and her husband was Naball a foole Iob doth not lay it upon women in generall he falleth not out with all because he knew there were some foolish ones and because he saw his wife in that act imitating those foolish ones There is a third thing mitigating the sharpnesse of the reproof Iob doth not fall out with or disgust the ordinance of God because his wife spake thus he saith not who would marry to be yoak't with such a one as you It is enough to make one forsweare marriage to have or heare of such a wife better be in any condition then in a married condition How often doe husbands discover this folly if their wives displease them presently the ordinance of God displeaseth them who would be married It is very sad when mans
was borne let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed Cursed be the man who brought tydings to my father saying a man-child is borne unto thee He doth not only curse his birth-day but the messenger of his birth And he curses both with a word of deeper detestation then Job imployed to ease or empty his troubled spirit by Jobs word signified but his disesteeme and himselfe regardlesse of his day but Jeremie imployes that very word through which God powred out his wrath and everlasting displeasure upon the serpent and the Devill Gen. 3.14 in each of these Jeremie went a straine of impatience beyond Job and yet holy Jeremie still The Lord saith the same Prophet Chap 8.14 hath put us to silence and given us waters of gall to drinke because we have sinned against the Lord. When we remember our own sinnes we have reason to be silent though the Lord feed us with waters of gall bitter waters And if we be silent and open not our mouthes because we have sinned he beares with our cry as we are pained He knowes whereof we are made and remembers that we are but dust A little thing troubles our flesh therefore it is no wonder if flesh and blood cry out in great troubles though they be subdued by grace unto the spirit And if God in this case beare with us we ought also to beare with one another and not be scandaliz'd or take offence when we see good men mourning and lamenting under the evills which they endure He that understands man will compassionate the sorrowes not question the sincerity of a complaining groaning brother Thirdly Job complaineth bitterly and he curseth but what doth he curse He curseth his day Observe from thence That Satan with his utmost power and policie with his strongest temptations and assaults can never fully attaine his ends upon the children of God What was it that the Devill undertooke for was it not to make Job curse his God and yet when he had done his worst and spent his malice upon him he could but make Job curse his day This was farre short of what Satan hoped Doubtlesse when the Devell heard the word cursed come out of Jobs mouth he then began to prick up his eares and triumph surely now the day is mine now he will curse his God but at the fall of that word cursed be the day Satans hope falls and downe goes he That word day was darkenesse to the Devill and as the shadow of death he failes of his end and is confounded he goes away ashamed and hath not a word more to say but leaves his friends to say the rest The gates of Hell shall never prevaile against those who are founded on free grace and the rock Jesus Christ Fourthly observe That God doth graciously forget and passe by the distempered speeches and bitter complainings of his servants under great afflictions Job spake this curse but when God comes to question with Job we doe not heare a word or title of this curse charg'd upon him God takes notice that hee had spoken of him the thing that is right Chap. 42.7 God commends him for what he had spoken well but Job doth not heare a word of what he had spoken ill When the iniquity of his speeches was sought for there was none and his failings they could not be found for God had pardoned them as the Prophet speakes of Israel and Judah Chap. 42.20 Our Lord Christ saith that of every idle word you shall give an account at the day of judgement and by your words you shall be justified and by your words you shall be condemned Math. 12.36 37. We had neede looke to our words God writeth what we speake and keepeth a booke of all we say You will say How then were Jobs distempered complainings forgotten and all taken for well spoken that he had spoken I answer First None of Jobs were idle words though there was errour in his words Secondly His right words were more then his erring words Thirdly His heart was upright when his tongue slipt Fourthly He repented of those slips and errours And lastly God forgiving blotted them out of his booke for ever Further in a sense we may say that God makes allowance to his people for such failings not an allowance of connivence and dispensation God doth not dispense with any to doe the least evill or expresse the least impatience in their speeches but he makes an allowance of favour and compassion considering their weakenesse and the strength of temptation he abates proportionably when in such a condition they speake impatiently though their actions and speeches want some graines of that weight which they ought to have yet weighing them in the scale of favour with his gracious allowance they go for currant and passe in account with God as good and full pay of that duty he expects from us and we owe unto his Majesty JOB 3.4 5 6 7 c. Let that day be darkenesse let not God regard it from above neither let the light shine upon it Let darkenesse and the shadow of death staine it let a cloud dwell upon it let the blacknesse of the day terrifie it As for that night let darkenesse seize upon it let it not be joyned unto the dayes of the yeere let it not come into the number of the moneths Loe let that night be solitary let no joyfull voice come therein WE have already given the Analysis and parts of this Chapter The subject of it is Jobs curse upon his day The first section of it in the nine first verses containes the matter and the method of that curse And he curseth his day First In generall ver 1. After this Job opened his mouth and curseth his day Secondly He curseth it in both the parts of it ver 3. Let the day perish in which I was borne and the night in which it was said there is a man-child conceived In these six verses which remaine appertaining to the first Section he affixes a particular curse to each part of his day taking a day for a naturall day and then dividing it into day and night he gives a speciall curse to each of these parts A curse upon the day and a curse upon the night The curse powred out upon the day lies in the fourth and fift verses of this Chapter Let that day be darknesse let not God regard it from above neither let the light shine upon it let darkenesse and the shadow of death staine it let a cloud dwell upon it let the blacknesse of the day terrifie it Here are six distinct branches of shis curse First Let the day be darkenesse Let the day Here we are to take day not for a naturall day but for the day as it is the continent of light the whole space of time from the rising to the setting of the Sun Now saith he Let the day be darkenesse Be darkenesse There is a great aggravation of misery in that as
they vers 6. and let this ruine be under thine hand that is be thou our Prince and take charge of us Not I saith he I will not be an healer for in mine house is neither bread nor cloathing make me not a Ruler of the people As if he had said I am but a poore man a man of a weake estate Princes must have treasure and great estates to beare up the dignity of their places As covetousnesse so poverty is very unbecoming in a Prince The Romane story tells us that when two great Consulls stood in competition for a great employment in the affaires of that Common-wealth One of the Senators being as'kt upon which of the two he would bestow his vote Answered upon neither And gives this reason One hath nothing and the other can never have enough One was so poore that he had nothing to support him and the other was so covetous that nothing would satisfie him Therefore as before Job joyned Counsellours with Kings so here he joyneth gold with Princes The next expedient for Princes to counsell and wisedome are gold and treasures We find indeed that God gives it in charge to the Kings of Israel concerning their gathering of treasures that they should not be excessive Deut 17.17 Neither shall he greatly multiply to himselfe silver and gold He doth not say your Prince or your King shall not multiply silver or gold but he shall not greatly multiply silver or gold that is he shall not set his heart upon them or thinke he never hath enough he shall not greatly doe it but let him be carefull to doe it proportionably to his occasions either of peace or warre Further It is added Who fill their houses with treasure The word which we here translate treasure is ordinarily translated silver The root from which it springs signifieth to desire and the reason is because treasure silver or gold are such desireable things or things upon which the desires of most men are set therefore the Hebrewes give silver a name proper to its own nature or rather to the nature of men whose desires are enflamed after it With this desireable thing Princes fill their houses What are these houses A house is a place wherein man liveth or inhabiteth while he liveth this is the ordinary acception of the word and so it may be taken here for the ordinary dwelling houses or Pallaces of Princes And then it is an heightning of the sense They had gold yea they had so much as they filled their houses with it Then againe That we may keepe in this clause to the exposition given in the last of the desolate places we may understand by the houses that these Princes filled with treasure the graves the Tombes wherein they were buried And it is the language of Scripture to call the grave a house mans house Two Texts I will give you for it one out of this booke Job 30.23 where Job speaking of the grave calleth it the house appointed for all living And Eccles 12.5 where Solomon calls it our long home Man dieth and goeth to his long home the word in the Originall is he goeth to the house of his age or to the house of age God is called the rock of ages because he is an everlasting strength Isa 26.4 The grave is called an house of age because it is a very lasting house an abiding house a house where man must abide till God sound him up by the voice of a Trumpet to the resurrection So then the grave is likewise called an house the house of all living because thither every one that is living is travailing man travailes to the grave as to his house And a long-home in opposition to our short home our uncertaine abode in those houses wherein we dwell upon the earth Princes saith Job that had gold and this is one use they make of it they fill their houses that is their graves or their tombes with this treasure In those times it seemes they did not only bestow great cost upon their Tombes and places of buriall but they put great store of treasure into the Tombes with them According to this interpretation the meaning of Job may be thus represented If I had died before and had been buried poorely and obscurely yet I should have done as well as Kings and Counsellours who with vast expence of treasure build stately Tombes for themselves yea as well as Princes that put their treasure into their Tombes with them That it was a custome to put in much treasure into Tombes is observed by Josephus in his 13th book of Antiquities and 15th chapter shewing how Hircanus opened Davids Sepulcher and tooke out three thousand Talents And in his 16th booke chap. 11. he notes that afterward Herod opened the Sepulchre of David and thought to have found a great deale of treasure there but found only some precious garments c. And the story is famous out of Herodotus concerning Semiramis That she having built a stately Tombe makes this inscription upon it Whatsoever King shall succeed here and wants money let him open this Tombe and he shall have enough to serve his turne Which Darius in after-ages being in streights for want of treasure attempting to doe in stead of money found only this reproofe written and laid up there Vnlesse thou hadst been extreamely covetous and greedy of filthy lucre thou wouldest not have opened the graves of the dead to seeke for money The Lord threatens by the Prophet Jeremie that the Chaldeans shall bring out the bones of the King of Judah and the bones of his Princes and the bones of the Priests and the bones of the Prophets c. out of their graves chap. 8.1 It is conceived that the reason why the Chaldeans digg'd up and raked in the graves of the Jewes was not so much from cruelty as from covetousnesse They having heard that the Jewes used to put rich ornaments upon the dead or riches into their graves with them Or this might be as a just punishment of that grredinesse after gaine so eminent in the Jewes that the Prophet in the very Chapter where this is threatned chargeth them thus ver 10. Every one from the least to the greatest is given to covetousnesse Thus it is cleare that there was a custome to put riches and treasure into the grave with the dead to which Job might allude in this place So much for the opening of the words from the sense given Observe first That neither power nor wisedome nor riches are any priviledge at all against the stroake of death Here are Kings men that have great power Counsellours men full of wisedome Princes that have riches so much gold that they can stuffe their graves with it yet these cannot defend themselves against death Death will not obey the authority of Kings nor doth it feare their frownes the subtilty or policy of Counsellours is not able to defeate it there is no eloquence no
of the Trent Councell in the fifth Session but to far better purpose Pari pietatis affectu with the same holy reverence and affection They use it about Traditions matching Traditions with the Scriptures but we may fully match all Scripture together and say all must be received with the same devotion and affection Yet notwithstanding as the parts of Scripture were penned by divers Secretaries published in divers places in divers ages on divers occasions for divers ends so the argument and subject matter the method and manner of composing the texture and the stile of writing are likewise different Some parts of Scripture were delivered in Prose others in Verse or numbers some parts of the Scripture are Historicall shewing what hath beene done some are Propheticall shewing what shall be done others are Dogmaticall or Doctrinall shewing what we must doe what we must beleeve Againe some parts of Scripture are cleare and easie some are obscure and very knotty Some parts of Scripture shew what God made us others how sinne spoiled us A third how Christ restored us Some parts of Scripture shew forth acts of mercy to keepe us from sinking others record acts of judgement to keepe us from presuming And because the way to heaven is not strewed with Roses but like the Crowne of Christ here upon earth set with thornes because not smiles and loving imbracements from the world but wounds and stroaks and temptations doe await all those that have received the presse-money of the Spirit and are enrolled for the Christian warfare because everie true Israelite must expect that which Iacob upon his death-bed spake of Ioseph that the Archers will shoot at him hate him and grieve him In a word because many are the troubles of the righteous therefore the Scripture doth present us with sundry plat-formes of the righteous conflicting with many troubles Now these considerations that are scattered severally thorow the whole Scripture seeme all concenter'd and vnited together in this booke of Iob which if we consider in the stile and forme of writing is in some part of it Prose as the two first Chapters and part of the last and the rest is Verse If wee consider it in the manner of deliverie it is both darke and cleare If we consider the subject matter of it it is both Historicall Propheticall and Doctrinall In it is a mixture of mercie tendred unto of judgements threatned against and inflicted upon the wicked In it is a mixture of the greatest outward blessings and the greatest outward afflictions upon the godly conâ—luding in the greatest deliverances of the godly from affliction In this last the booke is chief there was never any man under a warmer sinne of outward prosperitie than Iob was neither was there ever any man in a hotter fire of outward affliction then Iob was God seeming to give charge concerning this triall of Iob as king Nebuchadnezzar did concerning the three children to have the furnace heated seven times hotter than ordinary This in the generall concerning the book Now more particularly I will not detaine you in that Proemiall disquisition about the Author and Penman of this Booke there is great varietie of Iudgement about it some say it was one of the Prophets but they know not who some ascribe it to Solomon some to Elihu not a few to Iob himselfe but most give it to Moses That resolution of Beza in the point shall serve me and may satisfie you It is very uncertaine who was the Writer of this Book saith he and whatsoever can be said concerning it is grounded but upon very light conjecture And therefore where the Scripture is silent it can be of no great use for us to speake especially seeing there is so much spoken as will finde us worke and bee of use for us neither need wee trouble our selves being assured that the Spirit of God indited the Booke who it was that held the pen. Onely take this that it is conceived to be the first piece of Scripture that was written take it to be written by Moses and then it is most probable that hee writ it before the deliverance of the people of Israel out of Egypt while he was in Midian Neither will I stay you in the second place about the inquirie into or rather about the refutation of that fancie that this whole Booke is a Parable rather than a Historie like that of Lazarus in the Gospel not a thing really acted but only a representation of it Now this which was the dreame of many of the Iewes and Talmudists and is fastned with no small clamour upon Luther by the Iesuits may clearly be convinced both by the names of places and persons which we shall have occasion to open when wee come to the booke it selfe and also by those allegations of the Prophets and of the Apostles concerning Iob the Prophet Ezekiel quoting him with Noah and Daniel two men that unquestionably were extant and acted glorious parts in the world and therefore Iob also All that I will say in particular shall be in these three things 1. To shew you more distinctly the subject of this Book 2. The parts and division of it 3. The use or scope and intendment of it 1. For the subject of this Booke we may consider it either as principall or as collaterall The maine and principall subject of this Book is contained and I may give it you in one verse of the 34. Psalme Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of all Concerning this subject there are two great Questions handled and disputed fully and clearly in this Booke The first is this Whether it doth consist with the Iustice and goodnesse of God to afflict a righteous and sincere person to strip him naked to take away all his outward comforts Or whether it doth consist with the Iustice and goodnesse of God that it should go ill with those that are good and that it should go well with those that are evill This is one great debate the maine Question thoroughout the Book And then secondly here is another great dispute in reference to the former Namely whether we may iudge of the righteousnesse or unrighteousnesse of the sincerity or hypocrisie of any person by the outward dealings and present dispensations of God towards him That is a second Question here debated The friends of Job maintained the first Question negatively the latter affirmatively They denied that God in Justice could aflict a righteous and a holy man They affirmed that any man so afflicted is unrighteous and may so be judged because afflicted And so the whole argument and dispute which the friends of Job brought may be reduced to this one Syllogisme He that is afflicted and greatly afflicted is certainly a great open sinner or a notorious hypocrite But Job thou art afflicted and thou art greatly afflicted Therefore certainly thou art if not a great open sinner yet a notorious hypocrite
grace God would have all the world take notice of this in the Booke of Job that a godly person is in vaine assaulted by friends or enemies by men or devils by wants or wounds Though he be even benighted in his spirit though God himselfe take away the light of his countenance from him yet God would have us learne and know that over all these a true beleever is more then a conquerour For here is one of the greatest battels fought that ever was betweene man and man betweene man and hell yea betweene God and man yet Job went away with the victory True Grace is often assaulted it never was or ever shall be overthrowne 7. This also we may learne That God never leaves or forsakes his totally or finally 8. Lastly The booke teacheth this generall lesson That the iudgements of God are often times very secret but they are never uniust That though the creature be not able to give a reason of them yet there is infinite reason for them These are the generall Uses from the generall scope and intendment of this booke by way of Instruction Secondly This booke serves to convince and reproove that slander of worldly men and of Satan who say that the people of God serve him for their owne ends that they follow him for loaves that they attend upon him for an estate for creature-comforts and concernements The Lord did on purpose cause these things to be acted and this History to be penned for ever to stop the mouth of Saâ—an and of all iniquity and to shew that his people follow him for love for the excellency they find in him and in his service Though he strip them naked of all they have yet they will cleave to him Here is one Confutation 2. It is to convince and reprove all those who judge of the spiriâ—uall estate of those that are under the hand of God in sore afflictions â—y some unbecoming and rash speeches which may fall from them â—n the time of those their conflicts when troubles and sufferings are â—pon them 3. To convince and confute those who judge of mens spirituall eâ—â—ates by Gods dealing with them in their outward estates 4. To convince and confute that cursed opinion that a man â—ay fall finally and totally away from grace and from the favour of God God hath shewed by this History that such an opinion is a â—e If ever any man were in danger of falling quite away from â—race received or might seeme to have lost the favour of God forâ—erly shewed surely it was Job and if he were upheld in the grace â— holinesse and continued in the grace of Gods love notwithstanding all that came upon him Certainly God would have all the world know that free-grace will uphold his for ever 5. To convince all those of pride and extreame presumption who thinke to find out and to trace the secrets of Gods counsell the secrets of Gods eternall decrees the secrets of all his workes of providence Whereas God sheweth them in this Booke that they are not able to find out or comprehend his ordinary works those which we call the workes of nature the things of creation the things that are before them which they converse with every day which they see and feele and have in their ordinary use They are not able to find out the secrets of the aire of the Meteors of the waters of the earth of beasts or birds every one of these puts thâ— understanding of man to a stand and pose his reason they are noâ— able to comprehend the workes of Creation how are they ablâ— then to find out the counsels of God in his Decrees and purposes anâ— judgements And for that end it is that God sets forth heere sâ— much of the workes of nature that all men may be stopp'd in thaâ— presumptuous way of searching too farre into his counsels Hereâ— another Use or scope of this Booke Thirdly there is much for Consolation 1. That all things doe worke for the good of those that loâ—â— God 2. Consolation is this That no temptation shall ever take hoâ—â— of us but such as God will either make us able to beare or make way to escape out of it We can be in no condition cast so low but the hand of Goâ— can reach us find us out send in deliverance and raise us up aâ—gaine Lastly here are two generall Exhortations 1. We are exhorted to the Meditation and Admiration of tâ—â— power and wisdome of God from all the Creatures This is a duâ—â— which this Booke leads us unto for that is the end why so much spoken concerning the workes of Creation that as the Aposâ— saith The invisible things of him from the Creation of the Worâ— may be clearly seene being understood by the things that are maâ— even his eternall power and God-head 2. To glorifie God in every condition to have good thoughts God to speake good words for God in every condition We 〈◊〉 drawne to this by considering how Job though sometimes in â—hemency of spirit he over-shot himselfe yet hee recovers agaiâ— and breaths sweetly concerning God shewing that his spirit was full of sweetnesse towards God even when God was writing bitter things against him as when he saith Though hee kill me yet I will trust in him than which what could expresse a more holy and submissive frame of heart in reference to the dealings of God with him Surely he thought God was very good to him who had that good thought of God To trust him even while hee slew him These things being proposed concerning the Booke in generall will helpe to cast a light thorough the whole at one view And though at this time I shall not enter upon expounding of the Text it selfe yet you have had in some sense the Exposition of the whole Text. If you carefully lay up these Rules they will much advantage and advance your profiting when we come to the Explication of any part IOB 1.1 2. There was a man in the land of Vz whose name was IOB and that man was perfect and upright and one that feared GOD and eschewed evill And there were borne unto him seven sonnes and three daughters c. THis Chapter may be divided into three parts whereof the first containes a description of Job in his prosperous estate from the first to the end of the fifth verse In the second we have the first part of Jobs affliction set downe from the sixth verse to the end of the nineteenth In the third Jobs carriage and behaviour in or his Conquest and Victory over that first tryall are discovered this concludes in the three last verses of the Chapter The description of his prosperous estate is given us in three points First What he was in his person vers 1. Secondly What in his possessions we have an Inventory of his goods vers 2 3 4. Thirdly What in his practise of holinesse verse 5. Where one example or instance is set downe
for all the rest The Booke begins with the description of his person in the first verse where Job is described by that which is accidentall and by that which is essentiall By accidentals so he is described by the place where he dwelt There was a man in the land of Uz. 2. By his name whose name was Job The essentials are foure qualifications which were essentiall to him not as a rationall man but as a holy man And that man was 1. Perfect 2. Vpright 3. One that feared God 4. Eschewed evill As they who write the Acts or Stories of great men usually give us some description of their persons before they set downe their undertakings or atchievements as you see in the 1 Sam. 17.4 5 6 7. how the great Giant Goliah is described So here the Holy Ghost by the Pen-man of this Booke being to record a glorious combate a combate not with flesh and blood alone but with Principalities and Powers a wrestling with mighty and strong temptations first gives us if we may so speake the Prosopographie of this divine Heroes soule the lineaments and abilities of his spirit This was the heighth and this the stature of the Combitant such were his limbes and such his weapons there he dwelt and this was his name There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job There was That referrs us either to the truth of the Story or to the time of the Story Such a man there was that 's certaine Such a man there was but the time when is uncertaine It referres us to the time onely indefinitely There was such a man but when is not exactly and precisely set downe The Scripture we know doth often keepe an exact account of yeares the Scripture is the guide and key of all Chronology and sometimes it leaves things in generall for the time and onely saith thus much such a thing was or such a person was So here Yet some have undertaken to define what the Spirit of God hath left at large the precise time wherein Job lived and tell us in what yeare of the world these things were done But I desire not to be so accurate unlesse the Rule were so too Onely thus much we may safely say that Job lived betweene the times of Abraham and Moses and nearer Moses than Abraham and for that I conceive there is ground sufficient There are these two speciall Reasons why it should be circumscribed within that limit 1. Because Job offered Sacrifice at that time in his owne Country which after the giving of the law and setting up of a publike worship was forbidden all both Jewes and Proselytes They that were acquainted with the wayes of God knew they must not worship by Sacrifice any where but before the Tabernacle or after the Temple was built at the Temple 2. Because in the whole booke there is not the least print or the least mention of any thing which did concerne those great and glorious passages of Gods providence towards the people of Israel either in their going out of Aegypt or in their journey thorough the wildernesse to Canaan Now in a dispute of this nature such as was betweene Job and his friends there would have been frequent occasion to have considered and instanced some of those things There is scarce any booke in Scripture that beares date after that great and wonderfull dispensation of God but it makes mention of or referrs to some passages concerning them Againe for the time that which some collect to cleare it is from the Genealogie of Job there are three speciall opinions concerning the line of his pedegree One that he descended from Nahor who was brother to Abraham Gen. 22.21 It was told Abraham behold Milcah shee hath borne children to thy brother Nahor Uz his first-borne and Buz his brother c. This Vz who was the first-borne of Nahor Abrahams brother is conceived to have given denomination to the land of Vz and so from him Job to be descended Another opinion there is maintain'd by many that Job was of the line of Esau and that he was called Jobab by Moses Gen. 36.33 And Bela died and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah raigned in his stead This Jobab who was a descendant or one of the Dukes of the line of Esau they say was Job But why the name Jobab should be contracted into Job I see little reason offered A third opinion for his descent is that he came from the children of Abraham by his second wife Keturah Gen. 25. where it is said that Abraham by her had divers sonnes and that hee gave them portions and sent them Eastward into the East country and from Midian who was the fourth sonne of Abraham by that second marriage our Genealogies doe positively and directly affirme that Job was descended That may suffice for the time for bringing of him within a narrower limit I have no grounds but conjecturall A man He is not called A man here barely as the Phylosophers Animal rationale c. as man is opposed to a Beast Nor barely is he called a man to distinguish his Sex as a man is opposed to a woman But there is somewhat more in the expression he is called a man by way of excellency And for the clearing and opening of that we may consider that there are 3. words in Scripture originall by which man is exprest 1. Man is called Adam That was the proper name of the first man and it became the common name for all men since So man was called from the matter of which he was made Adam from Adamah because as the reason is given Gen. 2.7 God made man dust out of the earth or as we translate of the dust of the earth 2. Man is called Enosh So he is called in regard of the infirmities weaknesses and sorrowes which he hath contracted by sinne since the fall sinne made the red earth weake and brittle earth indeed earth moystened with teares and mixt with troubles 3. He is called Ish which the Critticks in that language say comes from and hath allyance with two words One signifying Beeing or existence and the other heat or fire So that the excellency of mans being the heat courage and spirit that flames in him is set forth in that word and that 's the word here in the Text There was a man it is Ish an excellent a worthy man a man of an excellent spirit a man of men a man fitted to honour God and governe men And that it is so used in Scripture I will give you an instance or two that you may see it is not a bare conjecture In the 49. Psalme David as it were summons and divides mankind In the first verse he summons Heare this all ye people give eare all ye inhabitants of the world In the second verse he divides Both low and high rich and poore together The word in the Hebrew for high is Bene-Ish sons of Ish
translated perfect in other Texts is rendered upright But when we have both the expressions together as here we must distinguish the sense It is not a tautologie Then the former being taken for inward soundnesse plainenesse and sincerity This latter to be upright may be taken for outward justice righteousnesse and equity respecting all his dealings in the world He was a perfect man that is he was plaine hearted and he was plaine dealing too which is the meaning of He was upright So the one referres to the integrity of his spirit the other to the honesty of his wayes His heart was plaine and his dealings were square This he expresseth fully in the 29. and 31. Chapters of this Booke which are as it were a Comment upon this word upright There you may reade what is meant by uprightnesse his fairenesse in all parts both of Commutative and Distributive Justice In those things that concerned Commutative Justice when Iob bought or sould traded or bargained promised or covenanted hee stood to all uprightly Take him as he was a Magistrate when Iob sate in Judgement or had any businesse brought before him he gave every one his due he did not spare or smite upon ends he did neither at any time justifie the wicked or condemne the godly but was upright in Judgement He was not byast by affection or interests he was not carried away by hopes or feares but kept the path of Justice in all his dispensations towards that people among whom he lived This is to be an upright man and so the Prophet tells us Isa 26.7 The way of the Iust is uprightnesse that is they are upright in their wayes and more uprightnesse in the abstract We have a like expression Prov. 29.27 Those that are upright in the way are an abomination to the wicked Uprightnesse doth referre to the way wherein a man goes in his outward dealings and dispensations towards men There is a two-fold uprightnesse of our wayes 1. Uprightnesse of words 2. Of works so upright walking is expounded and branched forth Psal 15.2 3. He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousnesse and speaketh the truth in his heart He that back-biteth not with his tongue This is the second part of Iobs description He was perfect and upright Thirdly He was One that feared God Fearing God The feare of God is taken two wayes Either for that naturall and inward worship of God and so the feare of God is a holy filiall affection awing the whole man to obey the whole will of God That is feare as it is an affection Or the feare of God is put for the externall or instituted worship of God So that a man fearing God is as much as this A man worshipping God according to his owne will or according to his mind and direction Now when as Iob is said to be a man fearing God you must take it both these wayes He had that holy affection of feare with which we must worship God as we are taught Heb. 12.28 Let us have grace whereby wee may serve God with reverence and godly feare And serve the Lord with feare and rejoyce before him with trembling Psal 2. Feare is that affection with which we must worship and serve God And Iob likewise did performe that worship to God which he required this is called Feare and the exercise of it fearing God Fearing God is worshipping God As you may see clearely by two Texts of Scripture compared together In the fourth of Math. v. 10. Christ saith to the Devill It is written thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only thou shalt serve Compare this with Deut. 6.13 and there you shall have it thus exprest Thou shalt feare the Lord thy God That which in the one place is worship in the other is feare Againe Mat. 15.9 In vaine saith Christ doe they worship mee teaching for doctrine the commandements of men Now the Prophet Isaiah from whence that is taken Chapt. 29.14 expresseth it thus Forasmuch as their feare toward mee is taught by the precepts of men They worship me according to the precepts of men saith Christ Their feare is taught by the precepts of men saith the Prophet So that feare and worship are the same Fearing God doth include both the affection of a worshipper and the duty or act of worshipping The fourth part or line of Iobs character is his Eschewing evill Evill is here taken for the evill of sinne before sinne came into the world there was no evill in the world God saw every thing that he had made and behold it was very good But when sinne came which was the first and is the chiefest evill it brought in with it all other evills Sinne hath in it the whole nature of evill and all the degrees of evill and from it proceed all evill effects Hence is eminently called evill Sicknesse and death and Hell are called evill how much rather that but for which these evills had never bin how much rather that with which these compared may be called good Further evill is put here indefinitely He was one that eschewed evill not this or that evill but evill that is all evill this indefinite is universall And then further we are to take evill here as himselfe afterward expoâ—nds it in his practise not only for the acts of evill but all the occasions the appearances the provocations and incentives of or unto evill for whatsoever might leade him into evill for thus he instanceth in one particular I made a covenant with mine eyes why then should I thinke upon a maide Chap. 31.1 Eschewed In this word the prudence of Iob shines as bright as his holinesse who having received a great stock and treasure of grace now watches to preserve it and opposes whatsoever was destructive to the life or growth of the inner man That man shewes he hath both money and his wits about him who suspects and provides against Theeves Job eschewed evill There is much in that expression It is more to say a man doth eschew evill then to say a man doth not commit evill It had bin too bare an expression to say Iob did not commit evill but when it is said Job eschewed evill this shews that not only the hand and tongue of Iob did not medle with evill but that his heart was turned from evill For eschewing is a turning aside with reluctancy and abhorrency so the Hebrew Sar imports Iob did abhorre evill as well as not commit evill As there is a great deale of difference betweene these two the doing of good and a delight in doing good betweene being at peace and following of peace A man may doe good and not be a lover of good a lover of the Commandements of God a delighter in them he may be at peace and not be a lover and follower of peace So a man may be one that commits not such and such sinnes he may doe no hurt and yet in the meane time he may be one
in that sense to please men with sinning against and provoking God Secondly My Servant by way of speciall right and property So Job and all godly persons are called Gods servants First by the right of election they are Gods chosen servants as Paul is called a chosen vessell that is a chosen servant to carry the name of God 2. They are Gods servants by the right of purchase my servant whom I have bought and purchased so in the 1 Cor. 6. You are bought with a price be not the servants of men that is you are bought with a price to be my servants therefore be not the servants of men in opposition to me or to my disservice in any thing So Job was Gods servant by way of purchase God buyeth every one of his servants with the bloud of his sonne Thirdly My servant by way of Covenant Job was Gods Covenant servant God and he had as it were sealed Indentures Job entered into Covenant with God that he would performe the duty of a servant and God entered into Covenant with him that he should enjoy the priviledge of a servant Now that which is Gods by right of Covenant is his by speciall right Then again We may further understand this and all such like expressions When God saith my servant he doth as it were glory in his servant God speaks of him as of his treasure my servant as a man doth of that which he glorieth in As the Saints glory in God when they use this expression my God and my Lord my Master and my Christ this is a kind of glorying and triumphing in God So this expression carieth such a sense in it Hast thou not considered my servant Job there is one that I have honour by one that I rejoyce and glory in one that I can speake of with much more then content even with tryumph my servant Job Ther 's a man It is mans honour to be Gods servant and God thinkes himselfe honoured by the service of man It was once a curse and it is a great curse still to be the servant of servants as it is said of Cham but it is an honour the great honour of the creature to be a servant to God He that is a servant of Christ is not only free but noble And Christ reckoneth that he hath not only worke done him but honour done him by his willing people and therefore he glories in any such my servant My servant Job There is somewhat also to be considered in that When God speakes of his people by name it noteth two things in Scripture First A speciall care that God hath over them Secondly A speciall love that God hath to them Joh. 10.3 He calleth his owne Sheepe by name this noteth a speciall care Christ hath of his sheepe and a speciall love that he beareth to them So Isa 49.1 The Lord hath called me from the wombe from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name it noteth the speciall care and the speciall love that God had of and bare to Christ See it eminently in that place Exod. 33.12 where Moses speakes thus unto God Yet thou hast said I know thee by name now what it is to know by name is by way of Exposition added in the end of the verse And thou hast also found grace in my sight So that to be knowne by name is in a speciall manner to find grace in the sight of God when it is said here My servant Job it shewes that God did take an extraordinary care of and did in an extraordinary manner love Job above all that were upon the Earth There is a great deale of difference betweene these two expressions to know the name of a man and to know a man by name It is a truth that God knoweth all your names and the names of all the men in the world but he doth not know all by name Therefore the Scripture assures us that God hath the names of none written but the names of his owne as Moses saith in the former Chapter If thou wilt not forgive the sinne of this people blot me I pray thee out of thy Booke which thou hast written Thou knowest me by name my name is written in thy booke So Luk. 10. Christ bad his Disciples that they should not rejoyce so much that they had the spirits subject unto them but in this they should rejoyce that their names were written in heaven Note from hence That God doth take care of his elect children and servants in a speciall manner above all other men in the world The names of Princes or Emperours or Potentates if they belong not to God are not vouchsafed a place in his booke but the names of the meanest of his Saints are recorded for ever and shall be had in everlasting remembrance Hast thou not considered my servant Job that there is none like him in the Earth c. We reade before at the end of the 3d. verse that Job in reference to his riches was the greatest of all the men of the East Now he goeth beyond that in reference to his holines he is the greatest upon the earth there is none like him in the earth This we may understand first as a cause or reason why Job fell under the speciall consideration or observation of Satan Hast thou not considered my servant Job because so some render that particle or in a much or for that there is not the like to him in the Earth As if God should say there is reason why he must needs be taken into thy consideration because there is not such another man as he in the earth You know that a man is quickly taken notice of when there are none like unto him in the place or company where he is If a man walke in the streets or come into a house who is of an extraordinary tallnesse some will aske the question did you not observe such a man for there was never a man in the company never a man in the street so tall as he So one that is extraordinary in beauty or extraordinary in rich apparrell every one hath an eye upon such The reason why many are observed is because they are not like to others they are beyond others in quality or in habit So here Hast thou not considered my servant Job that there is none like unto him in the Earth thou must needs take notice of him Or againe it may be understood thus as the matter which Satan should consider and observe in Job Hast thou not considered my servant Job sc in this thing that there is not a man upon the earth like to him Hast thou not taken notice of this in him Thou who hast looked over all men and hast as it were sifted all mens manners hast thou not observed thus much that there is not such a man upon the earth as Job Hath not that fallen under thy observation So now in the words There is
the house of the Lord the people shewing their willingnesse and readinesse exprest it thus Let us rise up and build that is let us build as we say out of hand speedily Secondly To arise implyes the courage constancy and strength of those who undertake or goe about a businesse they arise and doe it that is they doe it with spirit So here it may import as much concerning Job in his sufferings He arose and rent his mantle that is though he heard all these sad relations yet his spirit was not overwhelmed he was not drowned in those sorrowes he did not sinke downe under them but he arose and rent his mantle c. as if he had raised himselfe up to wrestle with the temptation and the tempter to wrestle with Satan himselfe In this sense the Lord is said to arise Isa 33.8 9. where there is that sad description of the Land The Earth mourneth and languisheth Lebanon is ashamed c. Now will I rise saith the Lord now will I be exalted that is now will I come and shew my selfe with a mighty power for the deliverance of my people I will be exalted and they shall rejoyce That prayer of the old Church Arise O Lord and let thine enemies be scattered hath the same intendment desiring the Lord to goe forth armed with strength for the helpe of his people and the subduing of their enemies Thus Job arose bound with a four-fold cord of affliction he raised himselfe up like Sampson though in humility yet with strength and courage And so it is opposed to the sinking of the spirit under troubles as you know the spirit of Eli did 1 Sam. 4.18 There was sad tydings brought to Eli concerning the death of his sonnes and the taking of the Arke the Text saith As soone as he heard these things he fell downe backward he had no spirit no strength left in him he did not arise and rend his garment but he sunke downe and brake his necke When Nabal heard of the danger that his churlish and inhospitable answer had almost drawne upon him 1 Sam. 25.37 His heart dyed within him and he became as a stone When all that Job had was dead and gone his heart lived yea he was erecto animo of a raised spirit not only when he arose but when he fell upon the ground for then he worshipped and worship is the lifting up of the soule to God In the worship of God while the body is upon the knee the mind is or ought to be upon the wing And rent his mantle That is the second act Renting or garments is very often spoken of in Scripture and wee finde it especially in these two cases In case of extreame sorrow and in case of extreame indignation In case of extreame sorrow and that of two kinds either in the sorrows of afflictions or in the sorrowes repentance in both these we find renting of the garments For the sorrowes of outward affliction so we reade frequently of renting garments When Jacob heard of the death of Joseph when his sonnes brought him home the bloudy Coat saying but falsely that surely their brother was torne with wilde beasts he presently rent his garment And when the relation of the death of Saul was brought to Davids eare to expresse his sorrow He tooke hold on his cloathes and rent them and likewise all the men that were with him and so againe afterward at the funerall of Abner David rent his cloathes and gave order to all the people that were with him to do the like In great funeral or fatall mournings it was usuall among the Hebrews to rent their garments This also was a frequent custome among the Heathen as the Poet describes a mourner in his mixt lamentations for private and publike losses he went with his garments torne being astonished at the death of his wife and the ruine of the City Many such instances there are amongst their ancient Historians Secondly It was used in token of Repentance when sorrowes for sinne brake forth and multiplied Josh 7.6 When Joshua humbled himselfe upon the defeat flight and slaughter of the Israelites before Ai it is said he rent his cloathes and fell to the Earth This renting was of their garments in respect of the outward affliction but withall in token of repentance for Joshua and the people humbled themselves with fasting So when the booke of the Law was read to Josiah and he saw how farre they had departed from the rule and word of God it is said He rent his clothes and he was afraid he humbled himself and his heart was tender before God But it may be objected that in the 2. Joel 13. when we are exhorted to rent the heart we are stop'd from renting the garment Rent your hearts and not your garments in the case of Repentance For answer to that I say the Not there is not an absolute prohibition of renting the garment it is not so much a negation as a direction Rent your hearts and not your garments that is Rent your hearts rather then your garments or Rent your hearts more then your garments or be sure that you rent your hearts whatsoever ver you doe with your garments Negations doe not alwayes quite deny a thing in the 2 Cor. 3.6 take an instance for it where the Apostle treating of the preheminence of the Gospell in the new dispensation saith Who hath made us able Ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit Not there doth not deny as if the Ministers of Christ did not speake and publish the letter of the word for the letter of the word is the vessell wherin the Spirit is contained and unlesse we speake the letter to the eare the Spirit cannot in an ordinary way come into the heart therefore understand the Apostles meaning thus he hath made us able Ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit that is he hath made us Ministers rather of the spirit then of the letter or more of the spirit then of the letter because of the promise of the plentifull effusion of the Spirit after the ascension of Christ A further instance we have in that speech of God I will have mercy and not sacrifice That is rather mercy then sacrifice Sacrifice is not rejected but mercy is preferr'd So Rent your hearts and not your garments that is rather rent your hearts then your garments For otherwise you find that not only it was lawfull as in the former places in times of repentance and sorrow to rend the garments but they are taxed because they did not repent and rend their garments The not renting the garment is charged as a conviction of an un-rent heart When the roull of curses that Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah was read before Jehojakim and his Courtiers the King cut the roll with a pen-knife and cast it into the fire their impenitence is thus described yet they were not afraid nor rent
And as the enmity of the serpent was mans scourge so also was the barrennesse of the earth That barrennesse in bringing forth good fruit that fertility in bringing forth bryars and thornes were both as rods for the back of man Thirdly the irrationall or sencelesse creatures are cursed in reference to that which man suffers Thus David cursed the mountaines of Gilboa 2 Sam. 1.21 because there Saul and his beloved Jonathan were slaine by the sword of the Philistines because there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away the sword of Saul as if he had not been anointed with oyle In this sense as David cursed a place so Job curses a time his day the day which either gave occaâ—ion to his sufferings or the day in which he actually suffered such a world of evills Thus also Jeremie curses his day with a vehement curse Jer. 20.14 Cursed be the day wherein I was borne let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed And not only so but he curses the man who first reported his birth verse 15 16. Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father saying a man-child is borne unto thee making him very glad And let that man be as the Cities which the Lord overthrew and repented not and let him heare the cry in the morning and the shooting at noone-tide c. And why so bitter a curse was it against the day for it selfe or against the man himselfe Jeremie shewes it was not verse 18. Wherefore came I out of the wombe to see labour and sorrow that my dayes should be consumed with shame To curse any thing under the notion of a creature or as it is the worke of God is to blaspheme God to curse any unreasonable or insensible creature in themselves or to take revenge on them is to be if not sencelesse yet I am sure in that act unreasonable So farre of this cursing his day in generall It followes Verse 2. And Job spake and said This verse is only a transition into the matter of the next it is as if the holy Ghost had said Job cursed his day and would you know how he cursed it He did it after this manner or in this forme of words Job spake and said thus c. Only note that the word which we translate spake is in the originrall answered and so often in Scripture he is said to answer who begins to speake Job answered and said We shewed you before that his day in generall was the object of this curse now he curses it in the parts of it the day and the night Let the day perish c. At which words the stile alters that which you reade forward to the sixt verse of the 42 Chapter is sacred Poetry Job breathes out his passion in verse and in verse receives his answer It is questioned whether Job at that time opened his mouth and vented his sorrowes in verse or whether it were after contrived so by the pen-man of this booke As I see no profit in moving this question so I think there is no possibility of resolving it And therefore I leave it as I found it a quere still Only this is observeable that writing in verse is most sutable where the matter written is deepely steep't in and chiefely wrought out of our affections Hence we find That those parts of Scripture which set forth strongest affections are composed in verse As those holy flames of spirituall love betweene Christ and his Spouse in the Canticles of Solomon The triumphant joy of Deborah after deliverance from Sisera's Army Of Moses and Miriam after the destruction of Pharaoh The afflicting sorrowes of Hezekiah in his sicknesse And the Lamentations of Jeremie for the captivity of the Jewes The booke of Psalmes is as it were a throng of all affections Love joy sorrow feare hope anger zeale every passion acting a part and wound up in highest straines by the Spirit of God breathing Poeticall eloquence into that heavenly Prophet So this Booke of Job whose subject is sorrow hath a composure answerable to the matter Passion hath most scope in verse and is freest when tyed up in numbers The words follow Let the day perish What this day was we shewed you before It was the day of his nativity the day saith he wherein I was borne How should this day perish To perish signifies first not to be A thing is said to perish when it is annihilated when it returnes to nothing As the Psalmist speakes Man being in honour and understandeth not is compared to the beasts that perish The perishing of a beast is the non-entity of a beast when a beast dieth it perisheth it is not A beast is no more but vanisheth quite and is gone for ever Then such mens likenesse to a beast is not in perishing but in the want of true understanding He doth not say man perisheth like a beast but he is like a beast that perisheth A wicked man how honourable soever is a bruitish man ver 10. For he knowes nothing spiritually and what he knowes naturally in that like a bruit beast he corrupts himselfe as the Apostle Jude speakes ver 10. of his Epistle But betweene the perishing of a foolish man and a beast there is a vast difference A beasts perishing is a not-being A foolish mans perishing is a miserable being For secondly To perish signifies often a miserable being as in Joh. 3.16 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten sâ—n that whosoever beleeveth should not perish c. Not perish the meaning of it is not that all unbeleevers shall loose their very beings become a nothing and with their existence part from their essence Some wicked beastly men would be glad of this that they might live here wickedly and afterward die like beasts in that sense eternally If this were the perishing that is threatned unbeleevers many of them would be ready to say out of love and liking to their lusts as Esther did out of love and zeale to the cause of God If we perish we perish If this be to perish let us perish But that perishing is of another nature They that beleeve not shall perish that is they shall live and perish they shall be and be miserable for ever the wrath of a displeased God and the sting of a polluted conscience shall torment them to all eternity Thirdly To perish is to be empaired or loose former dignity and respect So let the day perish may be taken in this sense let not that day be solemnized let it not be remembred with wonted joy and gladnesse A day which hath usually bin solemnized may be said to perish when that solemnity is layed downe and utterly disus'd In ancient times and the custome in some places remaines to this day Great men and Princes kept the memory of their birth-dayes with feasting and triumph Thus we reade Gen. 40.20 And it came to passe the third day which was Pharaohs
inlightners of the day Then he understands by them that stir up Leviathan the winds those words who stirre up Leviathan are saith he a pariphrasis or description of the winds The reason which he gives is because when great winds arise and blow strongly that mighty fish the Whale or Leviathan lying at the bottome of the sea by the motion of the waters is roused and stirred up and so mounts to the superficies or top of the water or appeares above it Thus the windes raise up Leviathan His sense from both is that Job sets the Starres and the windes against this night and bids them combine to make it troublesome and tempestuous This opinion for the reverence of the Authors name deserveth to be looked upon with respect but I should not neither doe I apprehend that to be the meaning of Job in this place Thirdly The difficulty is resolved by making these words an allusion to Fisher-men as if Job here did but describe the condition of those or shew what by accident doth befall those whose trade and art it is to catch Leviathan or the Whale These take the word Leviathan in the proper sense for that mighty fish described in the 41th of this Booke of Job Canst thou draw out Leviathan with an hooke or his tongue with a coard which thou lettesh downe c. Leviathan is derived from Lavah which signifieth joyned or coupled together whence to note it by the way the word Levi the name of the third son which Jacob had by Leah She called his name Levi For now saith she will my husband be joyned unto me because I have borne him three sons Gen. 29.34 The same reason is given why that dreadfull fish is called Leviathan His description cleares this Job 41.15 His scales are his pride shut up together as with a close seale one is so neere to another that no aire can come betweene them they are joyned one to another they sticke together that they cannot be sundred He hath his name Leviathan from the close joyning or compactednesse of the scales that cover or harnesse him like an impenetrable armour of proofe Now taking the word thus properly for the fish Leviathan Job is conceived to allude to the custome of those who hunt for the Whale who observing the night to be most advantagious for that worke are troubled at the approach of light and therefore the Fisher-men as soone as ever they saw day begin to breake cursed the day as an enemy to their successe in pursuing and killing the Whale That Fishing is a businesse of the night is evident from that speech of Peter to our Saviour Christ Luk. 5.5 Master we have fiâ—hed all night and have taken nothing According to which allusion the meaning of Job must be As if he had said I will not strive any longer for words to expresse my passion against this night let it be blasted with the curse of those who are most skillfull in the dialect or language of execrations even with such a curse as those sea-hunters the fishermen use to powre forth upon the day when it breakes too soone for their profit so that they are hindred in catching of Leviathan or the Whale There is a Proverbe amongst us If you sweare or curse you will catch no fish And it seemes these were wont to sweare and curse when they could not catch And hence it was a Proverbe in other Countries when they would set out an enormious swearer or one given to prophane cursing they said He sweareth or he curseth like a fisherman A generation of men whom that age had branded on the tongue whose mouthes were full of cursings and their ordinary discourse as much oathes as words But against this exposition experience is objected that the usuall time of fishing for the Whale is in the day not in the night If it be so then the ground of this opinion is quite overthrowne That some kind of fishing is a night-worke the words and practise of Peter before mentioned are proofe enough Whether Whale-fishing were exercised in the night I shall not much contend to prove seeing I approve but little of that interpretation which is bottom'd and built upon it Besides I find others who sticking to this translation the stirring of Leviathan doe yet wave and passe by this conceit of night-fishing And they say that the curse here is not to be referred to their rage against the light because it brings the day but to the day because it brought them no successe So that day is not opposed to night but a good or successefull day to a bad or successelesse day of fishing And then the sense is to this effect that Job calls for such a curse upon his day as prophane fishermen who attempt to catch the Whale usually spend upon that unhappy day wherein they loose their labour and after all their hazard and cost come home empty And when it is objected against this opinion Why doth Job mention Leviathan or the Whale if that be his meaning to allude unto the sinfull passion of disappointed fishermen for vaine men in that imployment are as apt to curse and be passionate when they misse of their intendments in labouring to catch any kind of fish To this answer may be given in two things First This businesse of fishing for the Whale is a businesse of great charge and greater danger and because greatest losses raise greatest passions and the higher our disappointments are the higher is our language therefore Job who intended here the highest and greatest curse wishes it paralel with that which the greatest cursers belch forth when as they pretend they have greatest occasion yea as they call reason reason to curse And who should these be but ignorant or idolatrous fishermen and they at such a pinch when they have lost the hope of their greatest gaine As if Job had said let as bigge a curse fall upon that night as ever fell from the mouthes of those prophane fishers not only when they have bin successelesse in fishing for a Herring or a Sprat but when after all their paines and cost they cannot take Leviathan Micahs mother cursed when the eleven hundred shekels of silver were stollen from her Judg. 17.1 2. To loose what we hope for vexes corrupt nature as much as the losse of what we have They who have not treasure in Heaven and to whom godlinesse is not more the earthly gaine cannot but be enraged when the hope of their gaine is gone upon the earth Secondly We may say he nameth the Leviathan by a Senechdoche one principall for all or for any the chiefest of a kind is put for all of a kind And then it is appliable to those sea-hunters whatsoever game they pursue I shall touch one way more of illustrating the opinion of those who take Leviathan in this Text for the Whale We may conceive it thus that Iob doth not here allude to fishing for the
Gender for another are frequently observed in Scripture by the learned in the Originalls Secondly The relative word is conjectured to be put in the Feminine gender because women were most usually called forth to that worke of mourning And it is further observeable that where the Scripture speakes of those actions of mourning or rejoycing or loving which are workes of affection it useth to ascribe them to women rather then to men because they are quicker in affection and faile of affection then men and so more ready to act or expresse such joyes or sorrowes then men are For the close of this point I shall adde the apprehension of a learned Expositor who taking the words in this last sense as referring to those solemne mournings yet conceive that the word Leviathan must stand here in the letter not as if Job had any intendment to speake of the fish Leviathan or to allude to fishing for Leviathan but either because Heathens in those execrations did invoke or provoke Leviathan that is the Devill Or because in those solemne songs of lamentation Leviathan was a word much used or Leviathan was the first word of some of those lamenting songs For in execrations strange uncouth dreadfull words were purposely used the more to affect and astonish the hearers Now there is no word more dreadfull then Leviathan whether we take it for that sea-monster the Whale or for that Hell-monster the Devill And so the meaning is this Let them curse it who curse the day who are ready to raise up Leviathan that is Let those mourners who sing that most passionate song of mourning which begins with or is entitled Leviathan It is ordinary among us to call for a song or to call a song by the generall subject matter of it or by the first word of it And so many bookes of Scripture have their names in the Hebrew from the first word as the booke of Genesis is called Beresith or In the beginning And Exodus Veele semoth that is And these are the names because both begin with those words in the Hebrew So the song which was the forme of those Lamentations might be called Leviathan because saith this Authour it began with that word and he alledgeth a proverbiall tradition for it out of Mariana which he had received from a Jew that it was forbidden upon the Feast-day to raise up Leviathan That is they might not take up that execratory song which beginneth with Leviathan I only present this opinion because it suites with and illustrates the former notion of solemne mourning Thus I have with as much speed and clearnesse as I could given you the meaning of these words That which favours their sense most who keepe to the word Leviathan is that this booke speakes afterward of Leviathan to shew the power of the creator in that powerfull creature And I find the very same phrase of raysing or stirring up Leviathan used in that place chap. 41. ver 10. None is so fierce that dare stirre or raise him up The Hebrew word which there we translate stirre in this third chapter is translated raise Leviathan Yet I rather encline to the latter exposition respecting mourning both because it hath the authority of our English Bible to countenance it our Translators putting mourning in the Text and Leviathan in the margin As also because it carries a clearer correspondence and agreement both with Antecedents and consequents both with the matter and with the frame of Jobs complaint and curse in this chapter Taking the words in this sense that Job calls to have his night cursed in such a solemne manner as those hired mourners used to lament and bewaile the dayes of humane calamities we may observe First That hope of profit will turne some spirits into any posture Lamenting and mourning is an unpleasant worke but profit and reward sweetens and makes it pleasant Some men will be in any action so they may get by it they will mourne for hire and curse for hire So did Balaam Balaam was sent for to curse the people of God Numb 22. He made many delayes and seemingly conscientious scruples yet at last he goâ—s about the worke as black and bad as it was But what overcame him and answered all his doubts about the undertaking of such a worke The Text in Peter resolves us he loved the wages of unrighteousnesse He that loves wages will quickly love any work which brings in wages Upon the stage you might have any passion for your money Joy and sorrow love and hatred all acted and personated beyond the personall temper or occasions of the men meerely for reward And which is the highest argument of a mercenary spirit some act holinesse for hire and are godly for outward gaine Secondly In that Job calls others to mourne over and condole that night Observe That some troubles exceed our own sorrowes And we may want the eyes and tongues of others to expresse them by My heart saith Job is not large enough and I have not art enough to act much lesse to aggravate my own afflictions let them doe it whose profession and practise it is to curse the day Sometimes the mercies which we receive and the joy that the soule conceives is more then we can expresse or be thankfull enough for and then we send to others both private Christians and whole Congregations desiring them to help us to lend us their hearts and their tongues their affections and their voices in that Angelicall worke the praises of our God Let them blesse God who blesse the day who are vers'd in dayes and duties of thanks-giving who are ready to raise up their rejoycings David saith Come and heare all ye that feare God and I will declare what he hath done for my soule Psal 66.16 He had not told them what God had done for his soule but to gaine the help of their soules in praising God for what he had done Sometime also a Christian is so engaged in prayer for the obtaining of a mercy and finds his heart so much below his suite that he calls out to all those who have any holy skill in praying pray for me pray with me the businesse is too bigge for me alone How earnestly doth Paul begge prayers Now I beseech you bretheren for the Lord Jesus Christs sake and for the love of the Spirit that ye strive together with me in prayers to God for me that I may be delivered c. Rom. 15.30 As it is thus in praying and rejoycing so it may be in mourning and in sorrowing And troubles are very deepe when they exceed our own sorrowes as mercies are very great when they are beyond our own praises Wee in this Nation have cause to feare such troubles even such as may cause us to invite the hearts and spirits the bowels and compassions of all the Christians in the world to come and lament over us we may be forced to send not only for the Husbandman
especially not those who beleeve For in the person of such the Apostle speaketh 2 Cor. 5.2 We know that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God an house not made with hands eternall in the Heavens All that rich worldlings and ungodly great ones can say when they die is We know when the earthly house of this Tabernacle shall be dissolved we have a building of man a stately Tombe made with hands and with all the skill of the cunning artificer We have seene it done already or we have taken order in our wills to have it done The beleever erects his pillar in Heaven and his whole life is a preparation for his house which is above And often he settles the businesse so that he can say I know that when this house of my body is taken downe I have a building c. And he can say I know with farre greater assurance then any worldly man who hath sealed it in his will that thus and thus his body shall be entombed It is a sad thing to take care for a rotting carkasse and forget an immortall soule Job having thus paraleld or compared himselfe in death with Kings Counsellours and Princes notwithstanding all their pompous funeralls and curious Tombes passeth as it were in the next verse to the other extreame Verse 16. Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not beene as infants which never saw light As if he had said if any thinke that I have strained too high in making my selfe equall in death with Kings c. yet surely I should have beene as those that never knew themselves to be in this world or as those that the world never knew to be that is As an hidden untimely birth or as infants which never saw light An hidden untimely birth The word Nephel in the Hebrew for an untimely birth comes from Naphal which signifieth to fall downe or to fall off as untimely fruite falls off from a Tree which falling off before it is ripe is unprofitable and uselesse When the mother miscarries her fruit is like the fruit of a tree shaken off and falling downe before it be ripe or in the blooming And the same word is used in the Hebrew to signifie a Giant There were Nephilim Giants in the earth in those dayes Gen. 6.4 and the reason why they are so called is as some apprehend because they were Apostates such as fell off from God from true worship and Religion Or because they did fall upon men as that phrase is applied to cruell men they did fall upon the poore So the word is used chap. 1. ver 15. of this Booke The Sabeans fell upon Jobs Oxen c They who fall from God by impiety will quickly fall upon men by cruelty Or because the dread and terrour of them made men to fall downe for feare before them It is very observable that the same word should signifie an infant of lesse then a span long and a Giant it may be of more then six cubits and a span 1 Sam. 17.4 and both upon equall reason and with equall significancy Further we may take notice that the Hebrewes expresse any dead body or carkasse by the same word the dead body of the oldest man is called Mappeleth from the same roote and reason too in part from which they denominate an untimely birth that never lived a day When the old man dies he falls as well as the newly conceived embryon The one falls off as a blossome from the tree the other as the fruitfully ripe which if you pull it not off must fall off The Greeke word for a dead body and the Latine have the same reason of their derivation namely from falling So saith Job I had been as one of these untimely births that fall to the earth before their time The Apostle Paul saith concerning himselfe 1 Cor. 15.8 I was as one borne out of due time I was an untimely birth Some of the naturalists say that word signifies such abortions as are after the seventh and before or at the fortieth day after conception Others that it signifies those who are borne the eighth moneth which usually as they are untimely so they die Now Paul calleth himselfe an untimely birth to suite the humble thoughts which he had of himselfe with an humble expression of himselfe which reason he seemes to give in the next words ver 9. For I am the least of the Apostles that am not meete to be called an Apostle c. Even as an untimely birth is not fit to be called a birth or because children that are so borne are very imperfect they are lesser and weaker then those of full growth So saith he I am as a poore abortive as a child borne out of due time I am the least of the Apostles and I am lesse then the least of all Saints Ephes 3.8 I am not come to that stature and growth of a timely birth Secondly He calleth himselfe an untimely birth or one borne out of due time probably for this reason because of the suddennesse or violence of his conversion For you know every abortion or untimely birth comes from some suddaine danger into which the mother falleth some straine or violence causeth abortion Paul in this sense was an untimely birth his conversion was a wonderfull violent conversion Christ came upon him of a suddaine whereas the other Apostles were a great while a forming a shaping a fitting to an Apostleship but Paul was as it were in a moment conceived and borne brought forth and perfected an Apostle and so from the suddennesse and violence of his new-birth he may call himselfe an unimely birth But to passe on from that to the words of Job As an hidden untimely birth I had not been Here are two things distinct about this birth First It is called an untimely birth Secondly a hidden birth An untimely birth is called a hidden birth because it is hid from the eyes of others Abortives are unpleasing and undesireable spectacles therefore they are covered and laid by there is no remembrance of their forme or likenesse therefore Salomon speaking of an untimely birth Eccles 6.4 thus describes it He commeth in with vanity and departeth in darkenesse and his name shall be covered with darkenesse As a hidden untimely birth I had not beene An untimely birth is said not to have been A not being is taken two wayes First Strictly for that which never had any life at all and so some interpret this for there are abortions or untimely births before quickning or before there is any life Secondly Not to be is not to subsist or not to live When that which hath lived dies it is said not to be The Prophet brings in Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they were not Jer. 31.15 that is because they were dead Josephs bretheren pleading before unknowne Joseph tell him thy servants are
to teach them subjection was not this madnesse what cared the waters for stripes or why should Zerxes take revenge upon the waters And was not Iob as mad what cared his day for the curse or why should Iob take revenge upon his day But as the Prophet saith Hab. 3.8 Was the Lord displeased against the rivers was his wrath against the sea Should the Lord set his anger against irrationall creatures Doubtlesse he doth not Therefore enquire further into the matter So did Iob fall out with his day was he angry with his day This is yet further to be enquired into and answered There are some who on the one hand prosecute the impatience of Iob with much impatience and are over passionate against Iobs passion Most of the Iewish writers tax him at the least as bordering upon blasphemy if not blaspheming Nay they censure him as one taking heed to and much depending upon Astrologicall observations as if mans fate or fortune were guided by the constellations of Heaven by the sight and aspect of the Planets in the day of his nativity as if Iob had observed some malignant conjunction of the Starres upon that day As if like the superstitious Heathen he divided dayes into lucky and unlucky good dayes and bad dayes as if he had denied the providence of God at least the particular providence of God in guiding individuall persons or passages of our lives here below There are others who carry the matter as farre on the other hand altogether excusing and which is more commending yea applauding Iob in this act of cursing his day they make this curse an argument of his holinesse and these expostulations as a part of his patience contending first that these did only expresse which he ought the suffering of his sensitive part as a man and so were opposite to stoicall Apathy not to christian patience to a stone not to a man Secondly That he spake all this not only according to the law of sense but with exact judgement and according to the law of soundest reason And which is farre more that he spake all this not out of impotent anger against his day but out of perfect love unto his God That he spake this curse not in his owne but in the behalfe of God pleading for the providence of God againct the surmises of men For say some he feared least his friends seeing him whom they ever tooke for a godly man thus afflicted should accuse the providence of God As if he had said I would I had never been borne or it had been better for me not to have been borne rather then I should be an occasion for any to take up hard thoughts against God or that his Name through my sufferings should suffer So that the love of God not wearinesse under or unwillingnesse to be under the crosse constrained him thus to speake And if he was besides himselfe as the Apostles word is It was to God 2 Cor. 5.13 I doe not say but that Iob loved God and loved him exceedingly all this while but whether we should so farre acquit Iob I much doubt especially seeing Iob himselfe saith Chap. 42. I have spoken and I will speake no more If Iob had spoken so much from the love of God and to the honour of God in this curse having spoken once he ought to have spoken againe and againe And had it been so surely Job might have spared his repentance as to this point and needed not have said Now I abhorre my selfe and repent in dust and ashes If Iob had spoken all this according to exact reason and the exactnesse of holinesse he had no reason to repent especially to repent in dust and ashes for what he had thus spoken No man needs abhorre himselfe for that wherein he both intentionally and actually honours God We must therefore state it in the middle way that Job is neither rigidly to be taxed of blasphemie or prophanenesse nor totally to be excused especially not flatteringly commended for this high complaint I conceive it must be granted that Job discovered much frailty and infirmity some passion and distemper in this complaint and curse yet notwithstanding we must assert him for a patient man yea for a mirrour of patience and there are five things considerable for the clearing and proofe of this assertion As first consider the greatnesse of his suffering his wound was very deepe and deadly his burden was very heavy only not intollerable The sufferings of Christ being exceeding great caused him to complaine that his soule was exceeding sorrowfull even unto death Mat. 27.38 Yet in this complaint there was not the least imaginable touch of impatience When he hung upon the crosse he cried out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me verse 46. yet in this cry no impatience To cry out for every light touch argues indeed a vaine and an impatient spirit But he that sometimes fetches a groane under a weight of sorrow is yet untoucht either in his wisedome or in his patience In such a case to cry out is a discovery of humane frailty but not of sinfull frailty grace doth not take away sence it heightens nature but it doth not abolish it Consider how much Job endured and then you will find little impatience though he complained much Secondly Consider the multiplicity of his troubles They were great and many many little afflictions meeting together make a great one how great then is that which is composed of many great ones Many pebble stones will make a heavy burden how then is he burdened who hath if such a thing may be supposed many mil-stones upon his back Jobs afflictions came upon him as an Army and encompast him round about He had many particular afflictions any one of which might make a very patient man complaine then Job who bare them all was not impatient though he complained Thirdly Consider the long continuance of these great and many troubles they continued long upon him some say they continued divers yeares upon him We use to say a light burden is heavy if the journey be long a man may beare any thing for a brunt or for a spurt but to have a sad load continued upon the shoulders all the day pinches soare Jobs load lay upon him day and night day after day yea moneth after moneth chap. 7.3 I am made saith he to possesse moneths of vanity yea as some have calculated them his troubles continued yeare after yeare for seven yeare Though a man make some yea great complainings under many great long lasting afflictions an easie apologie may acquit him of impatience Fourthly Consider this that his complainings and acts of impatience were but a few but his submissions and acts of meeknesse under the hand of God were very many Now we know that one or a few acts though evill doe not denominate a person especially when they are ballanced by many acts of good in the same person and about the same thing How
often doth Job in this Booke breath forth patience humility faith love and stedfast trust in God whatsoever he should doe with him these ballance his complainings yea indeed they over-ballance them so much for the setling of our judgements about Jobs patience that they leave not so much as an opinion of the contrary Fifthly Take this into consideration that though he did complaine and complaine bitterly yet he recovered out of these complainings he was not overcome by impatience though some impatient speeches came from him he recalls what he had spoken and repents for what he had done See how he submitteth himself Cap. 42. how low he lies before God even in the dust and saith I will speake no more If I have been impatient I will use no more impatient speeches If I have been impatient I repent of it I repent of it in dust and ashes To repent of impatience takes away the imputation of impatience and to say I will doe evill no more gaines through the mercy of God in Christ an acceptance of us as if we had done no evill A man is a conquerour though in the battell he suffers many foiles and receiveth many wounds and looseth much blood though for a great while in the day a man be worsted yea though a whole Army be worsted yet if in the evening in the close of the day he and they keep the field and foile the enemy the day is wonne and victory goes on this side Job was in a great battell in a sore fight of afflictions though it be granted that he received some wounds and had some foyles and sometimes lookes as if he had been beaten and speakes as if he had been overcome yet in the close in the evening in the making up of all he went away a conquerour the conclusion was victory and glory Iob had the victory and God had the glory Therefore as the Apostle Iames Chap. 5.11 when he speakes of enduring with joy referres us to the end of Iobs day of trouble to the end which the Lord made yee have heard saith he of the patience of Job and have seene the end of the Lord. So looke to the end of Iob to the end which through the strength of the Lord Job made and there you shall see patience having a perfect worke or the perfect worke of patience Looke not alone upon all the actings of Iob when he was in the height and heate of the battell looke to the onset he was so very patient in the beginning though vehemently stirred that Satan had not a word to say looke to the end and you cannot say but Iob was a patient man full of patience a mirrour of patience if not a miracle of patience a man whose face shined with the glory of that grace above all the children of men So much for that Question I shall now adde two or three points of Observation The first thing then that we may observe from hence is this If we compare Iob in the two former Chapters with Iob in the third we shall find that the case is altered with him he scarce speakes like the same man Hence observe in the generall That the holiest person in this life doth not alwayes keepe in the same frame of holinesse There is a great deale of difference betweene what he spake in the former chapters when he heard of and felt these things first and what he speakes now The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. Shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evill This was the language we lately heard but now cursing certainely his spirit had been in a more holy frame more sedate and quiet then now it was At the best in this life we are but imperfect yet at some time we are more imperfect then we are at an other Faith is never very strong yet at some time faith is weaker then at an other Our love to Christ is never very hot but yet at some time it is colder then at another we cannot keepe it in the same degrees of heate A man at one time can both doe and suffer and a while after he can neither doe nor suffer as he could at that time he is out of frame and bungles in both Take the life of a Christian all together it is a progresse it is a continuall growing yet take his life apart consider him in every circumstance and stage of his life then there are many stops and stands in his life yea many declinings As it is with a child Take a child and his life from his birth to his full age is in a growing condition yet consider him at some particular time and the child may abate the child may not only not be stronger but much weaker then he was a yeare or a moneth before So it is with us from the first houre of our spirituall life till we attaine full stature of it in Christ Onely this is our comfort that in Heaven our soules shall be set up in such a frame of holinesse as shall never be moved nor abated in the least degree Looke in what frame the hand of God sets us up in that day we shall continue so to all eternity and that will be the highest and most exquisite frame both of holinesse and of delight But now wee are up and downe one day patient and another day impatient now beleeving and another day distrusting now the heart melts and is very tender anon it is very hard and relentlesse How meeke a man was Moses not such a man for meekenesse upon the face of the whole earth and yet at one time passionate and at another so angry that he spake unadvisedly with his lips How full of faith was Peter at one time how resolv'd to stick close to Christ yet shortly after how full of feare and for feare denying Christ We who receive good gifts and perfect guifts are subject to turnes and variations onely he from whom every good and perfect guift comes is without variablenesse or shadow of turning Secondly observe That great sufferings may fill the mouthes of holiest persons with great complainings Job was not only afflicted but afflicted greatly Job did not only complaine but he complained greatly You see what complainings David made in his great troubles Psal 77.2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord my sore ran in the night and ceased not my soule refused to be comforted So Heman Psal 88.3 My soule is full of troubles and my life draweth nigh unto the grave and verse 15. I am afflicted and ready to dye from my youth up while I suffer thy terrours I am distracted Hezekiah under the greatnesse of his affliction Isa 38.14 saith Like a Crane or Swallow so did I chatter I did mourne as a Dove c. Jeremie a holy Prophet speakes if not out-speakes Job in his complaint Chap. 20.14 Cursed be the day wherein I