extreame lye that was in the Minor in the Assumption namely that the profession and holinesse of Job was grounded onely upon outward things he I say perceiving that seekes to confirme what he had affirm'd by this motion If you doubt saith he whether it be so or no with Job let that come to the tryall touch all that he hath and he will curse thee to thy face The strength of the reason that lyes in the motion may be thus conceived That profession is grounded upon outward things which a man layes downe when outward things are removed and taken away but if those outward things be removed and taken away from Iob he will quicly lay downe his profession yea he will take up blasphemy he will curse thee to thy face therefore the profession of Iob is grounded upon outward things This now is the logick or the reason upon which Satan bottomes and inferres this motion that so he may bring Iob upon a further tryall Put forth thine hand now The Hebrew is send forth thy hand To put foorth the hand signifies sometimes to help and sometimes to hurt So in Ps 144.7 send forth thine hand and deliver me There is a sending forth the hand in a way of mercy And so Act. 4.30 there Peter prayeth that Christ would stretch forth his hand to heale So that stretching forth or sending forth or putting forth the hand for the words are all used in common to the same sense signifie to doe a thing for our good and preservation But usually this putting forth or stretching forth of the hand notes some affliction some punishment A man that standeth with his hand stretched out is in a posture to strike And so God himselfe is often described by having his hand stretched forth when he is about to punish as in the Prophecy of Isaiah divers times Chap. 5.25 Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people and he hath stretched forth his hand against them and hath smitten them and Chap. 9. three times vers 12. For all this his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still and so at the 17th verse and at the 21. verse His anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still that is the Lord is still smiting and afflicting them In the 6th of Esther verse 2. Two men were found in the Chronicle who sought to lay or put forth their hands on the King Ahasuerus scil they would have slaine him Then the meaning of Satan here is stretch foorth thine hand let him feele the weight of thine hand in smitings and sore afflictions Thy hand The hand of God in Scripture signifies First the purpose of God as that Act. 4.28 They have done whatsoever thy hand and thy counsell determined before to be done that is whatsoever according to thy purpose thou didst determine 2. The hand of God signifies the Spirit of God in the mighty actings and workings of it so a Spirit of prophecy is called the hand of God Ezek. 1.3 The hand of the Lord was there upon me And Ezek. 37.1 The hand of the Lord was upon me that is the Spirit of the Lord a mighty power of prophecy was upon me So likewise a spirit of strength that is upon a man is called the hand of God 1 King 18. ult The hand of the Lord was upon Elijah and he girt up his loynes and ran before Ahab Here the hand of the Lord is put for the power of the Lord put forth thy hand that is put forth thy power and so the hand of the Lord is used often Isa 59.1 The hand of the Lord is not shortened that is the power of the Lord is not abated The Lord hath a long hand and his hand is alwayes of the same length so stretch forth thine hand now that is doe thou put forth thy mighty power This hand of the Lords power to cleare that a little further is taken 3 wayes in Scripture First For his protecting power There is a protecting hand as Joh. 10.28 No man is able to plucke them out of my Fathers hand saith Christ God hath his sheepe in his hand and he will protect and safeguard them so that none shall be able to plucke them away This hand God put forth before for Job Againe It is put for his correcting-power as Psal 32.4 His hand was heavy upon me that is the afflicting hand of God was heavy upon me Let us fall into the hand of God David chose that 2 Sam. 24.14 that is into the afflicting hand of God rather than into the hands of men It is put thirdly for a revenging hand for a wrathfull hand by which he doth destroy and breake in peeces those who are his enemies Heb. 10.31 It is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the living God David desireth to fall into the hands of God sell into his correcting hand because he knew there was mercy but it is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of God when he commeth in wrath to take vengeance of those who contemptuously despise his mercy as there it is expressed Now here when Satan saith Put forth thy hand that is thine hand of power Satan intendeth not that God should put forth the hand of his power to protect nor barely to correct He desireth more then barely a correcting or chastising hand upon Job he would have his revenging hand his breaking his destroying hand as we shall see afterward Further Thy hand that is Gods owne hand as if he did desire that God himselfe would take Job into his own hand to chasten and punish him The hand of God his correcting or chastising hand sometimes is an immediate and sometimes a mediate hand Sometimes it is immediate when God by himself doth chasten or punish or afflict when no second cause doth appeare or interveene So it may seem Satan here meanes when he saith put forth thine hand that is doe it thine owne selfe let no other have the handling of Job but thy selfe God doth send such immediate afflictions a man is afflicted in his body in his estate and many other wayes and he cannot find any thing in the creature whence it should come it is an immediate stroke of God he cannot see how or which way or at what doore this evill came in upon him therefore it is called a creating of evill Isa 45.7 I make peace and create evill Now creation is out of nothing there is nothing out of which it is wrought So many times God bringeth evill upon a people or person when there is no appearance of second causes no matter out of which it is made but it comes as a creature formed by the only hand of God Sometimes likewise it is called Gods hands when it is the hand of a creature it is Gods hand in a creatures hand Gods hand when it is the hand of wicked men Gods hand when it is Satans hand So that
restore them not to boast or be proud of them Then secondly it will cure the rich of all contempt of others what the Apostle James observed and censured in the rich of those times is found by too much experience among the rich at this day Yee have despised the poore Chap. 2.6 Consider it is the Lord who gave and he gave as a Lord freely he might have given thine estate to that poore man and have left thee in that condition thou so much despisest in thy brother God gave him as much as his wisdome thought fit and it seemes he hath given thee more then thou art fit for 〈◊〉 despiâ—ing him thou doest asperse the dispensation of God and whilest thou woundest him in his poverty thou woundest God in his providence Consider it is the Lord that gives and then be unconvinc'd if you can that while you contemne man in his wants you question God in his wisdome busie thy selfe hereafter in praising him who gives All and leave despising him who hath received lesse Then likewise let the poore looke upon this Text and it will cure them of two diseases into which they often fall and by which they are much endanger'd even in the vitals of grace discontent and envy It is the Lord that giveth that shapes and cuts out your condition why then should you not be contented with his allowance and be thankfull in your lot If your estates be proportioned from above you ought to be content with your portion Ignorance or in advertency from whom we receive causeth murmuring at what we have Doe not thinke thou hast love from God because thou hast a lesse allowance from God The power of God is as much acted in making a Fly as in making an Elephant and his love may be as much and is often more acted in giving a penny then in giving a talent Know this thou who art a child of God if thy portion be but a penny it hath upon it the Image and Superscription a Fathers love which is better then life This also will cure the poore of envy many times the poore have an evill eye of envy at the rich they cannot beare it that others have so much and they so little Consider it is the Lord that giveth This argument Christ useth Mat. 15.20 to him that was angry that they who came at the latter end of the day had as much as he May not I doe with mine owne what I will Is thine eye evill because mine is good The envious eye is an evill eye envy is the disease of the eyes This Text is one of the best medicines that ever was prescribed Wilt thou be sicke because another is in health and make thy brothers happinesse the ground of thy miserie Doe not thinke that all is lost which is not cast into thy lapp or that thy estate is lesse or worse because thou seest one having a greater or a better Must God aske thee leave or aske thy councell how and in what measure to distribute his favours Were all but well catechised in this one principle that God gives all it would soone dispell this malignant vapour and all would rest satisfied not because they or others have received thus or thus but because God hath thus disposed to all Observe one thing more If the Lord gives us all then we should be willing to give back somewhat unto the Lord againe And this consideration that God gives us will make us willing to give unto God What is the reason that many are so unwilling to give somewhat unto God It is because they will not understand that they are beholding to God for all If they were perswaded of their receipts from him a little Oratory might perswade a gift from them in the cause of God especially when God intreates them who may of right command them when he is content even to take it as a courtesie who may send for it by authority and expect it as a duty God himselfe who fills and enjoyes all things hath sometimes in a sence need of your estates Christ who is Lord of Heaven and Earth is sometimes in want of a penny Christ tels you of his wants and poverty Math. 25. and shewes how and when he is releeved And as Christ wants in a member some particular beleever So he often wants in his whole body which is the Church or whole company of beleevers If you have any spirituall wisdome to discerne times and seasons you may know that now Christ wants mony as I have explain'd Now God in his cause hath need He goes about in those who solicit his cause and askes a reliefe at every one of your doores Now then doe but consider when any thing is asked for the Lords sake that the Lord gave all this will be a key to unlocke your chests this will at once untie your hearts and your purses Will you let Christ want shall the cause of God want while you have it whereas what you have God gave It is expresse concerning Nabal that this was the reason why he would not part with a loafe of bread to relieve David and his Army 1 Sam. 25.11 Shall I take my bread and my water and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers and send them to a fellow I know not who You see the man was all in his possessives my bread and my water and my flesh he never thought that God had any share or interest in his estate that God gave it therefore he would not give to a servant of God You shall see on the other hand how Davids munificence and that of the Nobles with him 2 Chr. 29. sprung from this root the acknowledgement that nothing was their owne it came in all from God when they had offered so willingly and bountifully towards the building of the Temple David shewes the mine which yeelded so much treasure even this we have digged in all this while All things come of thee and of thine owne we have given thee vers 15. They confessed that all came of God they were but Stewards he was the Owner and his owne they could not with-hold from him God giveth us the use of the creature but he keepeth the right to them in his owne hand when we have the possession of them he hath the property Wherefore let the consideration that God giveth all make us ready and open handed to give unto God when he calleth and requireth it at our hands And the Lord hath taken away When God gives it is an act of bounty and when he takes it is an act of justice for he is Lord soveraigne Lord in both But why doth Job here charge this upon God The Lord hath taken Was it not told him by the messengers that the Chaldeans and Sabeans came and tooke away his cattell plundered and pillaged his estate They told him that the fire consumed his Sheepe and the wind blew downe the house upon his children Why doth Iob say
dayes of their feasting were gone about Secondly Iob sent to sanctifie his children though they were in their own houses though they were at their own disposing for it appeares they had families and housholds of their owne though they were men and women growen Yet Iob sent to sanctifie them Observe hence That Parents must not cast off the care of their children though they are growen up though they are men and women Some thinke that if they looke to their children at Schoole and breed them up a while and have given them some instructions in their youth they need not then trouble themselves any further Whereas the care of parents ought to live as long as they and their children live together Iobs care went after his children to their houses He sent to them to bid them prepare themselves Thirdly Though these were as we say men and women growne yet as soone as their Father sends the message to them they all submit and all obey then Observe That Children that are growen up or have houses and families of their owne ought yet to yeeld all reverence and submission to the lawfull commands counsells and directions of their Parents Doe not thinke you have outgrowen obedience and honour to Parents when you are growen in yeares still we see these thought themselves under their Fathers command and counsell there is not one of them replies what need my Father trouble himselfe about us No but all willingly prepared themselves and came for he offred burnt offerings aocording to the number of them all therfore certainely they all came Fourthly From the matter of this Act what it was that Iob did the text saith he sent and sanctified them after their feasting he did not send a messenger to them to aske them how they were in health whether they had not surfeted themselves or had got any distemper he did not send to know how the accounts went in their families whether they had not spent too much but the matter that he had his eye and his heart upon was that they might be sanctified and fitted for holy duties From hence observe That A Parents maine and speciall care should be for the soules of his children The care of many Parents is onely to inrich their children to make them great and Honourable to leave them full portions and estates to provide matches for them but for sanctifying their children there is no thought of that Nay many are afraid their children should be sanctified some Parents cannot abide their children because they suspect them sanctifyed Such Parents are the Devills children Iobs greatest care was that his children should be sanctified And every Parent ought to say of his naturall children as the Apostle Iohn doth of his spirituall children Ep. 3. v. 4. I have no greater joy then to heare that my children walke in the truth Fifthly Iob was a holy person and you see which way his care lies that his children may be holy then take this Note in the generall Hee that is a holy person himselfe desires to make others holy too Holy Iob would have all his children holy As it is with the wicked a wicked man would faine have all wicked with him he would faine scatter his wickednesse and diffuse his poison unto others The drunkard would faine have companions with him in his drunkennesse c. And so the man that is truly godly would make others godly too As Paul said to K. Agrippa I would to God that not only thou but also all that heare me this day were both almost and altogether such as I am Grace is attractive It desires to draw others into fellowship A good man would not be happy alone Sixthly Sanctification you see here is ascribed unto Iob he sent and sanctified them and all that he did was but to give them counsell and warning to sanctifie themselves As if he should have said goe to my children and bid them prepare themselves warne them that they may be ready against the sacrifice that they fit themselves for it yet the text saith that Job sanctified them Then we may observe from this That The good which others doe by our advice and counsell is reckoned as done by our selves While we provoke others to goodnesse that good which they doe is set upon our account as if we had done it As the wickednesse the sin which another commiâ—s by the advice and counsell of any man is set upon the score of that man If another doe ill by thy advice the ill is reckoned to thee if one should come and say as Absolom said to his servants Marke ye now when Amnons heart is merry with wine and when I say unto you smite Amnon then kill him feare not have not I commanded you Not only did the servants kill Amnon but Absolom killed Amnon because he commanded them to kill him You know what is said of David he did but send a Letter concerning the death of Vriah and the charge cometh Thou hast slaine Uriah with the Sword of the children of Ammon All the evill others commit by thy counsell direction advice command or consent is as done by thy selfe So on the other side all the good others doe by our counsell advice promotion admonition instruction and the like that good shall all be reckoned to us If another be holy by thy advise it will be said thou hast made him holy thou hast sanctified him Lastly Observe That Holy duties call for holy preparation We must not touch holy things with unholy hands or with unholy hearts I will wash my hands in innocency and so will I compasse thine Altar O Lord was Davids resolution Psalm 26.6 therefore Job intending a solemne duty a sacrifice which did containe the summe of all Religion concerning the externall worship of God sends solemnely to his children to prepare themselves O come not to the sacrifice except you be sanctified It is a point so cleare that I shall need but only to name it to you How and wherein they should sanctifie themselves and what course they took for the sanctifying and preparing of themselves for that duty doth not appeare in this place but afterwards when God gave them the Law he prescribed them a rule what they must doe that they might be sanctified the Jewes had speciall directions for their preparations Some things were outward and some inward I will but touch For the outward they were commanded to wash their cloathes Exod. 19. that place before quoted Sanctifie them to day and to morrow and let them wash their cloathes Not that God regarded cloathes but he aymed at somewhat further if the cloathes must be washed certainely then the heart must be washed he pointed at that in the washing of their cloathes In Leviticus and Numbers other outward preparations are commanded as the abstaining from all things that were uncleane they must not touch any thing that was uncleane and then sometimes they were not only to wash their cloathes
those to doe it to whom he giveth his power strength and wisdom There is no meere creature could be strength and security enough for us against our great malicious and mighty enemies therefore God himselfe either is or makes the hedge There is no strength in man but Satan can over-match it Satan can over power all the strength and out-wit all the wisdome that is in the creature Flesh and blood are no match for a spirit And we wrestle not against flesh and bloud but against Principalities and Powers and spirituall wickednesse in high places Ephes 6.12 But if God makes an hedge about us it is not in the power of all the enemies in the world whether men or devils to make a gappe in it they are sure that are under the protection of God They that dwell in the secret place of the most high they shall abide safe under the shadow of the Almighty Ps 91.1 Fifthly You see here how farre the hedge goeth an hedge not onely about his person and houshold but about all that he hath Take the meanest thing that Job hath God protects it and hedgeth it about Then we may note this That God hath an especiall care and doth exceedingly price even the meanest thing that belongs to one of his servant God would not bestow an hedge about it if he did not prize it A man will not hedge or wall that about which he doth not value God highly values the meanest thing that belongs to one of his servants The Psalmist saith Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints But not only is the bloud the life of the Saints precious in the sight of God but every member every haire of their head is precious God numbers these Not only are their children precious but every thing that 's called theirs their servants their houshold their cattell their Oxen their Asses whatsoever they have is all precious in the sight of God Lastly Observe That Satan hath a deadly spight not onely against the persons of the godly but against every thing that belongs unto a godly man Satan would not only hurt and annoy them in their persons but in every thing that 's theirs If God if we may so speake with reverence should leave but a dogge that belongs unto one of his servants unguarded Satan would doe it a mischiefe Satan would be doing at the least thing rather then not doe mischiefe If he cannot destroy our soules he would be at the very haire of our heads therefore Christ to comfort the Disciples in the time of trouble assures them that the very haires of their heads were numbred As if he should say God will have an account of every haire the enemies cannot pull off a haire but God will call them to a reckoning for it And it notes too that the enemies will take hold of any thing that belongs to the people of God if they cannot get all they will get a haire if they can why else is it exprest that the very haires of their heads are numbred Those words at once intimate Gods care of all and Satans malice against all It followeth Hast thou not made an hedge about him c. Thou hast blessed the worke of his hands and his substance is increased in the Land Thou hast blessed The root Barac which from the word here used doth signifie to bow the knee as well as to blesse because men used to how the knee in blessing God or man Blessings are carryed three wayes First From man to man one man blesseth another There were Propheticall or extraordinary blessings as Isaack blessed Jacob and Jacob blessed his sonnes upon his death-bed and there is a popular or ordinary blessing to wish well to another is to blesse another every time we pray for our friends we blesse our friends So man from man Secondly Man blesseth God and then man blesseth God when he praiseth God when he takes notice of and returnes thankes for the blessings received from God Blesse the Lord O my soule c. Psal 103.2 and forget not all that is forget not any of his benefits Thankfully to remember benefits is to blesse the Lord. The Cup in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper is called the Cup of Blessing 1 Cor. 10.16 because therein we commemorate the death of Christ and render thanks to the Name of the Lord for the unspeakeable benefits conveighed to us by his blood Thirdly as here in the Text God blesseth man Now God blesseth man when he causeth that to prosper which man undertakes Mans blessing unto man it is only a wish an optative blessing but Gods blessing unto man is an operative blessing as Aquinas expresseth it Dei benedicere est benefacere when God wisheth us good he doth us good So then the sense is Thou hast blessed that is thou hast caused him to prosper and thrive in what he undertakes as we shall see in the object of the blessing Thou hast blessed the worke of his hands The worke of his hands We are not to understand it strictly for manuall or hand labours as if Job were a man imployed in ordinary manual services in the labour of his hands but according to an ordinary use of speech amongst the Hebrewes and likewise amongst other Nations by the worke of the hands is understood any kind of labour any kind of businesse whatsoever As it is said of Christ Isa 53.10 that the pleasure of the Lord did prosper in his hands Now the worke that Christ had to doe was not a handy worke yet it did prosper in his hands that is he managing and going about it it did prosper and tooke successe It was effectuall for the redemption and salvation of his people This was prospering of the worke in his hands In this sense the worke of the head may be called the worke of the hands the worke of the tongue the worke of the hands any worke any businesse that a man doth may be called the worke of his hands So then Thou hast blessed the worke of his hands that is thou hast blessed every thing that Job goeth about as a Magistrate as a Minister or as a Master of a Family in any of in all his relations thou hast caused his endeavours to prosper In the 28th of Deuteronomie an universall blessing is thus promised vers 6. Blessed thou shalt be when thou commest in and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out betweene those two are contained all the labours and undertakings of that people by their going forth is meant the beginning of their labours and by their comming in is meant the end and conclusion of their labours so that beginning and ending when they set their hands to a businesse and when they tooke their hands from a businesse they should be blessed that is they should have a through blessing upon all their labours So here Thou hast blessed the worke of his hands that is every thing he putteth
his hands unto And his substance is increased in the Land That is the third thing which Satan doth observe here concerning Job that he was not only blessed in the estate wherein he was but God did mightily increase and multiply his estate He is increased in the Land The word which we translate increased signifieth not an ordinary increase but such an increase as breakes the bounds it signifieth so to increase in such and abundance as that the former place where those things were cannot containe nor hold them but they must seeke some new place more roome for them such a kind of increase is here meant So the word is used Exod. 1.12 concerning the people of Israel when they were in Egypt when they were afflicted the Text saith The more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew the same word is there used to shew the wonderfull increase of the people of Israel when they were in their affliction It was such as did breake the bounds As it is with a river the more it is stopped the more it swelleth and breakes all the bankes and bayes whatsoever is set to hinder the course of it So much is meant in that place of Moses when the people of Israel were stopped and hindered from their increase they like a river did swell over all they did increase so as they did breake all the bounds Thus of Job his substance is increased it is as if we should say in our language he had so much that there was no end of no roome for his substance as the rich foole said Luk. 12. when his estate was increased what shall I doe my barnes are not big enough I must pull them downe and build larger that they may hold my estate So Jobs estate was so increased that the compasse he had for that present could not containe it he must make new folds for his Sheepe they increased so and he must make greater barnes for his Corne his fields brought forth such plentifull croppes he must make larger stalles for his Oxen he must build bigger houses for his family he is increased he is broken forth in the Land Gen. 38.29 When Tamar brought forth twins the Text saith that one put out his hand and as he drew it back his brother came out and therefore they called his name Pharez the same Originall word that is here used because of the breach that he made So this signifieth the breaking forth of the estate of Job in the Land he increased wonderfully and exceedingly Thus Satan by the most emphaticall words still hightens the dealings of God with Job that he may the more debase the services of Job towards God Thou hast blessed saith he the worke of his hands and his substance is increased in the Land We may observe here first That all successe in businesse is from the blessing of the Lord. Satan speakes very good divinity here Thou hast blessed It is from the Lord. It is said of Joseph Gen. 39.23 That whatsoever he did the Lord made it to prosper We may doe much we may set our hands to doe many things but we cannot prosper any thing Working is our part but prospering is the Lords part As it was with the Disciples they could fish all night but till Christ came they could not catch when Christ came the blessing came and when the blessing came there was not only fishing but catching and there was catching in abundance So it is in all the workes of mens callings men may be labouring and sweating and toyling but there is no prospering no succeeding till God come with a blessing Thou hast blessed the worke of his hands Some take all to themselves and thanke their owne labours their owne wisedome policie and parts Others ascribe all to their good Fortune c. We see Satan himselfe here preacheth a truth that will confute them he is more orthodoxe then these practicall Atheists Satan acknowledgeth Thou hast blessed Then againe we may observe Thou hast blessed the worke of his hands Every one ought to be a man of imployment Every one ought to have some businesse to turne his hand unto In the former part of this Chapter we reade of Jobs piety and holinesse and of his zeale in the worship of God Here now we see Jobs care and diligence in his place and calling wherein God had set him which is called the worke of his hands Every one must have two callings and the one helpeth forward the other Job feared God and Job went on in the businesse which God set him Job is said to serve God continutlly and yet Job did worke continually These two continualls may well stand together for both the continualls are taken for their seasons continually that is seasonably according to the severall opportunities God called him to and put into his hands This rebukes those who have no labour who can shew no worke of their hands It was said to Adam and in him to man-kind not only as a curse but as a command In the sweat of thy face thou shall eate thy bread till thou returne to earth this is layed upon all In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eate thy bread Not that every man is bound to labour in such an employment as causeth the face to sweat But thereby is meant serious labour and imployment in some honest calling so here the worke of the hands is taken not strictly but for any imployment wherein Job was serviceable to God and his Country Put these 2 together Thou hast blessed and thou hast blessed the worke of his hands and we may observe from both That the Lord delighteth to blesse those who are industrious It is seldome that there is an industrious hand but there is a blessing of God upon it Hence as we find in one place The diligent hand maketh rich so in another The blessing of God maketh rich The blessing of God maketh rich and the diligent hand maketh rich neither of them alone but both conjoyned the blessing of God upon a diligent hand makes rich a diligent hand cannot make rich without God and God doth not usually make rich witâ— a diligent hand Therefore it is said here that God blessed the worke of Jobs hands Vp and be doing and the Lord shall be with you God will not be with us unles we be doing God doth not love to blesse those that are idle if we be doing God will be blessing his being with us is put for his assisting and prospering us So it is indeed in all things God doth not worke that we should sit still nor blesse to the intent that we should doe nothing As it is in the 7th of Judges They proclaimed the Sword of the Lord and of Gideon those two must goe together Would you be blessed with protection you must labour to protect your selves Doe not thinke that the Lord will protect you with your hands in your pockets and your
place is translated Psal 17.14 Deliver my soule from the wicked which is thy Sword you see a wicked man is Gods Sword and from men which are thy hand So that thy hand may be understood of an instrument Satan himselfe is Gods hand to punish in that sense as wicked men here are said to be Gods hand from the men that are thy hand though there be other readings of that place some reade it deliver me from men by thy hand and others Deliver mee from men of thy hand but our translation may very well carry the sense of the Originall in it from men which are thy hand as Nebuchadnezzar that wicked King is called Gods servant Jer. 43.10 I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar my servant God speakes of him as his servant or as his hand in the thing So then Put forth thine hand it may be understood I say either immediately or mediately doe it by thy selfe or doe it by Instruments strike him thy selfe or give me Commission or give others Commission to strike There is one thing further in this expression Put forth thine hand now Now. Some reade it put forth thine hand a little and some reade it I pray thee put forth thy hand The Originall word is translated to all these senses we translate it referring to the present importunity and instancy of Satan put forth thine hand now let not this businesse sleepe let it not be deferred a minute a moment let commission goe out speedily to afflict Job And touch all that he hath To touch notes sometimes a heavy and a sore affliction and sometime a light and a small affliction In the Scripture we find it both wayes used Sometimes I say to touch doth signifie the greatest and the sorest affliction or punishment that can be and so Job doth expresse all the afflictions that fell upon him at the last only by touching Job 19.21 Have pitty upon me have pitty upon me O yee my friends for the hand of God hath touched me Whereas Job at that time lay under the sorest and heaviest affliction that could be all his estate was gone and his body was full of diseases and his soule was full of horrour and all this he doth expresse by this the hand of the Lord hath touched me So Psalm 73.14 To be touched signifies the greatest affliction All the day long saith David have I been plagued That which we translate plagued is the same Originall word which we translate touch in the Text All the day long have I beene touched that is I have beene touched with the sorest plagues heavy afflictions have beene laid continually upon me So that to touch signifieth sometimes the greatest or the sorest stroakes of trouble Sometimes againe we shall find it signifies only a light affliction as Gen. 26. in two places of that Chapter at the 11th verse Abimelech charged all his people saying he that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death that is he that doth them the least hurt or wrong So at the 19th verse in that agreement betweene Abimelech and Isaac they conclude thus That thou wilt do us no hurt as we have not touched thee and as we have done unto thee nothing but good So that to touch notes the least ill or hurt that can be wee have not touched thee that is we have done nothing to thee but good Any thing on this side doing of good to them had bin touching of them We find the like expression in Ps 105.15 where the Psalmist speaking of Gods extraordinary care of his people He suffered no man to do them wrong he rebuked Kings for their sakes saying touch not mine annointed and doe my Prophets no harme Touch not mine annointed people that is the meaning of that place though in many other places we know Princes are called the annointed of God yet here it is meant of the people of God in generall they are Gods annoynted as the context clearely carries it for they have all received Unction from God an Unction of grace an Unction of the spirit and an Unction of Priviledge Touch not mine annoynted that is doe them not the least hurt And the sense that these words may beare Put forth thy hand now and touch all that he hath might be carried as if Satan here intended only a touch in the latter sense Give him but the least stroake lay but the lightest affliction upon him doe but touch him you are so confident of your servant Job that he is such a man do but give him the least touch and you shall see how he will discover himself So some expound it He doth not say wound him smite him breake him to peeces but touch him only Neither saith he touch him but his And if thou give him but a touch with the top of thy little finger thou shalt presently find the rottennes of his heart In that sense the word imports an extenuation of Jobs sincerity or heightning of Jobs hypocrisie as if he had been so rotten in his profession that the least touch would overthrow him and make him discover himselfe to be starke nought Like the Apples growing about Sodome which have faire out-sides but if you touch them they moulder away into dust and ashes Though the words have this sense in them and Satan carries it cunningly expressing himselfe in such ambiguous termes yet certainly Satan had a further intendment whatsoever his language may beare he had an intention that Job should be touched in the former sense namely that he should have a touch to the quicke as we say that he should have the sorest and deepest wound that his estate was capable of he would have him whippt not with cords but with Scorpions he would have the little finger of God heavier upon him than his loynes upon others Destroy him undoe him by your touching He speakes by the figure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is when we go lesse in our expressions then in our intentions when our words are lower then our spirits and that is proper for Satan who is the great deceiver the great jugler in word and deed to desire that Job should only be touched when he meant he should be utterly undone and ruined Touch all that he hath that is all his estate all his possessions his children his family his cattell whatsoever belongeth unto Job let all feele an undoing stroake from thy hand Before I come to that which he undertakes upon the affliction I shall observe two or three things from the words thus farre opened Put forth NOW thine hand We may note from that The extreame importunity of Satan to doe mischiefe He would not give God a minuts not a moments respite to consider this thing but doe it now presently let him presently be afflicted he makes haste to destroy he makes haste to shed bloud their feet are swift to shed bloud as the Psalmist speakes So Satan his feet are swift to
them honour in the eyes of all his servants There is another good So Satan while he setteth men a worke Sabeans Caldeans and others to doe mischiefe he doth a double mischiefe at once he doth mischiefe to Job or others whom he afflicts and he doth mischiefe to his instruments he makes these sin as he makes others suffer If he carry on the worke alone they suffer but others doe not partake in the guilt of the sin but now when he useth instruments to effect his wicked designes he makes one miserable and the other wicked This is one of Satans methods he will worke by meanes and do his businesse by the hands of men that he may at once doe a double mischiefe Thirdly In that these Sabeans and Caldeans are observed in Histories to be a people given much to robberies and spoile and these are the men whom Satan picks out for this businesse Observe That Satan suiteth his temptations to mans naturall temper and inclination Whensoever he tempteth he takes this advantage if he can discover or obtaine it He is wiser then to set saile against wind and tyde to row against the streame Therefore he labours all he can to find which way the streame of every mans affections runs and to what sins his relations his calling or his opportunities lay him most open and obnoxious accordingly hee layes his snares and spreads his net When he meets with a proud man him he tempteth with high thoughts When he meeteth with a covetous man him he tempteth to the love of the world he layes a golden bait of profit before his eyes The adulterous he leades to the Harlots house For howsoever it be true that every man hath in him a principle suiting to every sinne yet it is a truth too that every man is not equally active for or dispos'd unto every sin and every man hath not every particular sinne predominant in him now Satan when he seeth what is predominant in any man then he fashioneth and frameth a temptation sutable He perceived these Sabeans were given to rob and spoyle and he sheweth them a desirable booty And have slain thy servants with the edge of the sword This is a further aggravation of the affliction they did not onely fall upon Jobs cattell and tooke them away but they slew his servants A mans servants are nearer to him then his Cattell then his Oxen and his Asses servants are next unto our Children So that this was an heightning of Jobs sorrow not onely are your cattell gone but your servants are slaine and they are slaine saith he with the edge of the sword the word in the Hebrew is they are slain with the mouth of the sword We reade in Scripture sometimes of the face of the Sword and sometime of the mouth of the Sword As Isa 31.8 where wee translate they shall flee from the Sword the Hebrew is they shall flee from the face of the Sword The like Text you have Jer. 25.27 Now when the Scripture speakes of the face of the Sword it is meant of warre comming or warre preparing and approaching But the mouth of the Sword is warre inflicted warre acted This phrase the mouth of the Sword is used to shew that the Sword is a great devourer Deut. 32.42 I will make mine arrowes drunke with bloud and my Sword shall devoure flesh Warre hath a terrible face it hath a wide mouth and sharpe teeth They have slain thy servants with the edge of the Sword the mouth of the Sword hath devoured them At this day we have great cause to have our hearts deepely affected with this thing There hath been as it were the face of the Sword a great while looking towards us but now there is the very mouth of the Sword gaping at us yea tearing gnawing and devouring the flesh and bones of thousands amongst us Where the Sword comes it will devoure warre is a great judgement one of Gods sore judgements the sorest of all Gods outward judgements David chooseth the pestilence rather then the Sword the pestilence is a devourer but the Sword is a greater devourer And though the Prophet Jeremiah in his Lamentations makes famine a sorer judgement then the Sword Cap. 4.9 They that be slaine with the Sword are better then they that be slaine with hunger Yet the Sword is in this worse then famine because usually it is the cause of famine The Sword cuts off food the support of mans life as well as the life of man While the Sword is making it self fat it hath famine in the belly of it We need not goe to Jeremy or Josephus for the proofe of this in Jerusalems Babylonian or Roman desolations sad Germany bleeding Ireland are neare woefull witnesses and spectacles of it at this day The Sword hath open'd a way for famine to enter both and which of the two hath eaten most flesh is hard to determine Let us cry earnestly to God that the mouth of the Sword may be stopped or continued open only to devoure those who would devoure the man that is more righteous then they Let us pray that bloud may be spared or none but corrupt bloud spilt Spare thy people O Lord It is I confesse one of the saddest prognosticks in my observation against this Nation That God hitherto hath made little difference Our Sword hath not yet been taught from Heaven to distinguish of men Precious bloud hath been drawne and men whose very haires were all numbred that is highly priz'd by God have been numbred among the slaine It must satisfie us that the will of God is so The answer which David gave Joabs messenger is good setling councell now 2 Sam. 11.25 Let not this thing displease thee He speakes this after the fall of noble Vrijah for the sword not by accident but decree not casually but providentially devoureth so and such as the Hebrew elegance hath it one as well as another so we translate It is mercy we are not all consumed by this eater as in the Text yee may reade all the servants of Job were excepting one only one got out of the mouth of the sword it eat up all saving one and hee was saved that by the report of this destructive sword he might destroy Job himselfe And I onely am escaped to tell thee The word in the Originall is double Tantum ego solus ego only I I alone am escaped as if the man should have said between horrour and amazement much adoe I had to get away without loosing somewhat of my selfe I onely single single I got away and escaped The sword was very hungry when but one man of all Jobs servants escaped the teeth of it But how commeth it to passe that this one man escaped Certainely as I said before the hand of Satan was in this also For howsoever the Lord ordered and disposed all these things yet he let Satan worke in his circle in his compasse to contrive things as he pleased himselfe the
The Lord hath taken What will Job charge all those robberies upon God himselfe Doth not this looke like the blasphemy that the devill hoped would come out of Jobs mouth I answer when Job saith the Lord hath taken it doth but set forth the supreame power and soveraignty of God in ordering all things and as we opened before that God gave the Commission to Satan or leave to spoyle him or else Satan could not have touched one of the dogs of his Flocke Job knew that God had all men and devils fire and wind all creatures in his hand He saith the Lord hath taken because none could take but by the will of God and he was satisfied that God willed that in righteousnesse and in judgement which they acted with so much cruelty and injustice Is there any evill in the City and the Lord hath not done it Amos 3.6 Every evill of affliction or of trouble is said to be the Lords doing because it cannot be done without the Lord. Wicked men in all their plots and in all their successes are either the rod of God to chasten his people for their sins or else they are as Gods fornace to try his peoples graces and purge them from their sins Thus the hand of the Lord is in all our sorrows The Lord saith Job hath taken away We should from hence learne In all our afflictions to looke beyond the creature In all the evils we either feele or feare let our hearts be carried up unto God As then we rightly enjoy outward blessings when those blessings carry us up unto God when upon creatures our hearts are raised up to Heaven So then we make a right use of afflictions of crosses and troubles when we are led by crosses in our meditations unto God Job doth not say the Lord hath given and the Caldeans have taken away the Lord hath enrich'd me and Satan hath robb'd me but as if he had never heard any mention of Satan or Chaldeans of fire or winde he saith the Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken He doth not fall out with man or complaine of the devill he is not angry with chance or fortune with starres or constellations many in the troublesome evils which they suffer are apt to fly out upon all creatures and upon all causes rather then to cast an eye upon God whereas indeed we should not take either good or evill out of the hand of any creature There were some of old Marcion and his followers who could not relish this Doctrine nor endure that we should carry our evils and lay them before Gods doore and say the Lord hath done this Therefore they found out two beginnings that is two Gods rather then they would make the same God the authour of such extreames as they thought of good and evill They said There was one God that was a good God and another an evill God the one a giving God the other a taking God the one a loving God a mercifull God the other an angry God a severe God Many of the Heathen taught better divinity then those Heretikes For they feyned that their Jupiter had two great vessels placed at the entrance of his Pallace whereof the one was filled with Good and the other with Evill These he dispenced according to the dictate of his owne will among the sons of men And they painted Fortune in two formes with two faces of contrary colours the formost white the hindermost blacke to signifie that good and evill which they shadow'd under white and blacke came both from goddesse Fortune which comes neare that language in the Prophet Isa 45.7 I forme the light and create darkenesse I make peace and create evill And we are taught to looke upon the same God as the spring and fountaine of all good and of all this sort of evill Though it be a truth as the Apostle speakes that the same fountaine cannot send forth bitter water and sweet take it in a naturall or morall sense yet the same fountaine may send forth bitter and sweet take it in a civill sense that is the same may be the authour of outward corrections and of outward favours God is not the fountaine of good and of evill in a morall sense so nothing but good floweth from him but take it in a civill sense and so both good and evill bitter and sweet come from the same fountaine Consider the words as they are an argument and then see their strength to the purposes for which Job doth especially here apply them First the acquitting or justifying of God 2. The supporting and comforting of himselfe and so wee may note from them First That the absolute soveraignty of the Lord over us is enough to acquit him from doing us any wrong whatsoever he doth with us Job saith only this The Lord hath given and the Lord hath fallen He is the soveraigne Lord therefore I have no reason to complaine he doth it upon whom I have laid no ingagement upon whom I have no tie at all to doe this or that for me he doth it who may resolve the reason of all his actions into his owne will he is the Lord. God cannot injure his creature therefore the Apostle hath recourse to that onely in the 9th Rom. for the answer of all cavils and objections against Gods dealing with man Hath not the Potter power over the clay The soveraignty and supremacy of the Lord is enough to beare him out whatsoever he doth with or to his creatures O man who art thou that repliest against God Then againe it is as strong for the second end for the support of the soule in bearing evill consider that it is the Lord that giveth and the Lord that takes The thought of Gods soveraignty over us and over ours may quiet our spirits in all that he doth unto us or ours As it doth justifie God so it should quiet us heare David Psal 39 9. I was dumbe saith he and opened not my mouth because thou diddest it he doth not say I was contented because thou dealest thus and thus with me but I was dumbe I opened not my mouth because thou diddest it that it was the act of God the soveraigne Lord satisfied him he had not a word to say because God did it So Job here The Lord hath taken away is as if he had said I could not have borne this at the hands of any creature but at the hands of my soveraigne Lord that may dispose of me and mine and doe what he pleaseth at his hands I not only beare it but take it well Joseph had not a word of discontent to vent against his brethren being thus resolved It was not you that sent me hither but God Gen. 45. And David layes aside all revenge against rayling Shimei on this ground So let him curse because the Lord hath said unto him curse David 2 Sam. 16.10 A godly man cannot be angry at the doing or speaking of that which pleaseth
angry with my day and I shew you why because it shut not up the doores of my mothers wombe c. The reason or the argument stands thus There is cause I should curse that day and that night which not hindering my conception or my birth brought me forth upon the stage of the world to act a part in all these sorrowes But the day and the night did not hinder my conception or my birth therefore I have cause I have reason enough to breake out in such complaints and curse them I doe it because these shut not up the doores of my mothers wombe This is the argument or reason by which he defends his passion and this argument will be found to have more passion in it then reason if we examine it to the bottome For he complaines of that as the cause which was not the cause of his troubles what did the night or the day that he thus chargeth them They had no efficiency in bringing those evills upon him circumstances are not causes Effects are produced in time but time doth not produce effects Only this we may say to helpe it he doth not curse the day as if it could have shut the doores of his mothers wombe but because on that day those doores were not shut But leaving the reason of his speech we will consider the sense of it The Hebrew word for word is thus rendred Because it shut not up the doores of my belly And that the Chaldee Paraphrast renders thus by way of explanation Because it did not shut up the doores of my lips the mouth saith he being as it were the doore or the in-let to the belly or stomack every thing goeth in by that doore and so he carries the sense thus let that night be cursed because it did not stop my breath and so make an end of mee The Septuagint hath it thus because it shut not up the doores of my Mothers belly which answers our translation the doores of my mothers wombe Mr. Broughton to the same sense because it shut not up the doore of the belly that did beare me that is my mothers belly I shall in silence passe over that secret or mystery in nature which may be the ground of this expression There are two secrets in Divinity which are the grounds of it and of them I shall speake The first is this When God layes that affliction of barrennesse upon the woman he according to the phrase of Scripture is said to shut up the wombe And when he sendeth the blessing of fruitfulnesse he is said to open the wombe We have both Gen. 20.18 When Abimelech had taken Sarah Abrahams wife the Lord fast closed up all the wombes of the house of Abimelech The meaning of it is this he made all the women barren or withheld the blessing of conception The Jewish Expositors render the meaning in the very words of this Text that the Lord had shut up all the doores of the wombes of the house of Abimelech And so likewise for fruitfulnesse God is said to open the wombe as Gen. 29.31 And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated he opened her wombe but Rachel was barren Then to shut the doores of the wombe notes the power of God in denying and to open those doores the blessing of God in giving conception and making fruitfull Secondly It may referre to the birth for there must be an opening of those doores and that by an Almighty power for production as well as for conception And therefore David Psal 22.9 ascribes it to the Lord Lord thou art he who tookest me out of my mothers wombe It was not the Midwife did it It was not the womens helpe that stood about his mother but Lord thou didest it The hand of God only is able to open that doore and let man into the world Unlesse he as we may so speake turne the key the poore infant must for ever lye in prison and make his mothers wombe his grave In either or both these respects Job here speakes against the night because it shut not up the doores of his mothers wombe to stop his conception or stay him in the birth For then either he had not been or he had not been brought forth as the subject of all those calamities Hence observe first That fruitfulnesse or conception is the especiall worke and blessing of God God carries the key of the wombe in his own hand From him we receive life and breath Acts 17.25 yea in his booke are all our members written which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them Wee are fearefully and wonderfully made Our substance is not hid from God when we are made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth As the holy Ghost admirably and most elegantly describes the conception and formation of man in the wombe Psal 139.14 15 16. There are foure keyes of nature all kept in the hand of God First The key of the Raine The clouds cannot open themselves the flood-gates of Heaven cannot be unlocked nor those sluces opened to let downe a drop of raine untill God turne the key Deut. 28.12 The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure the Heaven to give the raine unto thy land in his season Secondly The key of Nutrition or of Foode Psal 145.16 Thou openest thine hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing The strength of the creature is shut up in the hand of God and untill he unlock his hand the creatures cannot strengthen or nourish us though we have our houses and our hands full of them Thirdly The key of the Grave Eze. 37.13 I will open your graves and cause you to come out of your graves We are so fast lockt up in death that all the power in the world is not able to release us till God speake the word and turne the key of the graves-doore That place in Ezekiel is meant I know of a civill death But it is as true of naturall death And the argument is stronger for it If when a Nation as the nation of the Jewes then did lyes in the grave of bondage and captivity no man can unlock that doore without the key of Gods speciall providence much lesse can any hand or power but his open the doore and bring us out of the grave of our corporall dissolution There is this fourth key belonging to the doore spoken of in the Text the doore of the wombe Which was shadowed in that ceremoniall law among the Jewes of giving their first-borne unto God as a thankefull acknowledgement that the beginning of all propagation and increase was from him Further observe That our birth and production is the speciall worke of God Thou art he that tookest me out of my mothers wombe saith David And he apprehended the power of God so great in his naturall birth that he from thence takes an argument to strengthen his faith that God could doe any
of sleepe sleepe is a short death and death is a long sleepe Many of them that sleepe in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life and some to everlasting contempt Dan. 12.2 Our friend Lazarus sleepeth saith Christ to his Disciples Jâ—h 11.11 but I goe that I may awake him out of sleepe In the 14th verse Jesus said unto them plainely Lazarus is dead Then had I beene at rest We usually say when a man goes to sleepe he goes to rest Yet rest is more then sleepe for sometimes a man sleepes when he doth not rest his very sleepe being troubled and he troubled in his sleepe But when rest is joyned with sleepe it is perfect sleepe The word here used signifies a very quiet setled and peaceable condition Hence Noah had his name And he called his name Noah saying this sonne shall comfort us concerning our worke and toile of our hands because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed Gen. 5.29 He was rest and comfort to the old world by preaching righteousnesse even the righteousnesse which is by faith which alone gives rest unto the soule and is able to refresh us in the midst of all those toyles and labours which that first curse brought upon the world both new and old Such rest and sweet repose had I found saith Job from all my toile in the house of death and bed of the grave Having thus foure words concurring in the same sense we may here not unprofitably take notice of that elegant multiplication of words in the holy Scriptures There store is no soare and variety is no superfluity yea there Tautologie is no superfluity It is the usuall rhetorick of the Holy Ghost to speake the same thing in divers words yea sometime in the same words We find such a congeries or heaping up of words used for the most part in some heate of passion or vehemency of spirit As first when God would expresse a great deale of anger and wrath against a people he speakes thus Isa 14.22 23. I will rise up against them saith the Lord of hostes and cut off from Babylon the name and remnant and sonne and nephew I will also make it a possession for the Bittern and pooles of water and I will sweepe it with the besome of destruction Here are a multitude of words and all tending to the same purpose setting forth the fiercenesse of Gods anger and the resolvednesse of his judgement for the ruining of Babylon The towring confused pride of the King of Babylon is presented to us in such a heape of words Isa 14.13 14. heare the pure language of pride from that Kings heart Thou hast said in thine heart I will ascend into Heaven I will exalt my throne above the Starres of God I will sit also upon the mount of the Congregation I will ascend above the heights of the clouds I will be like the most High The manifold apostacies and backslidings of Judah are described in many words by the Prophet Zephanie chap. 1.6 And them that are turned bank from the Lord and those that have not sought the Lord nor enquired for him Chap. 3.2 She obeyed not the voice she received not correction she trusted not in the Lord she drew not neere to her God When our Lord Christ would shew the extreame ignorance and darknesse of his Disciples in those great Articles of his sufferings death and resurrection having taken the twelve unto him and discoursed of those points he concludes Luk. 18.31 34. And they understood none of these things and this saying was hid from them neither knew they the things that were spoken As if Christ had said their ignorance in these mysteries was so great that they had not the least glimpse or glimmerings of light about them So here I should have lien still and been quiet I should have slept and been at rest and all to note the interrupted-quiet and tranquility of the grave As if he had said Had I died then not only had not these stormes been upon me nor these waves gone over me but the least breath of wind had never blowne upon me Hence we may observe First That in regard of all outward troubles death is the rest of man Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord for they rest from their labours And they who die out of the Lord rest from all that labour they have had in this world There is no worke nor device nor knowledge nor wisedome in the grave whither thou goest Eccles 9.10 This life is a day of working and death is a night of resting The Sunne ariseth man goeth forth to his labour untill the evening Psal 104.23 When the Sunne of our life ariseth we goe forth to our labour untill the evening of death This life is a continued motion death is a continued rest This life is but noise and tumult death is silence Our life is a stormy passage a tempestuous sea-voyage death bringeth us to the harbour There is a foure-fold rest which we obtaine in death First A rest from labour and travaile no working there Secondly There is a rest from trouble and oppression no warres no bloody battels there Thirdly There is a rest from passion no sorrow no griefe shall afflict us there In the grave there is a fourth rest better then all these a rest from sin a rest from the drudgerie of Satan a rest from the winnowings and buffetings of Satan a rest from the law of our members warring against the law of our minds When Saul went to the witch of Endor for advise with Samuel that Samuel or the Devill in the appearance of Samuel speakes as one disturb'd being raised from the grave Why saith he hast thou disquieted me to bring me up 1 Sam. 28.15 I was at rest why diddest thou call me up to a land of trouble It is the observation of an ancient Father and the resolution of an ancient Councell concerning Christs weeping over Lazarus Joh. 11. That not his death but his rising drew those teares When Christ came to the grave where Lazarus lay the Text saith that Jesus wept Why did Christ weepe saith Jerome in comforting a mother that had lost her daughter It is cleare that Christ wept over Lazarus that was dead but he did not weepe thy teares Christ did not weepe because Lazarus was dead but he wept rather because Lazarus was to be raised up againe he wept to thinke that his friend Lazarus should be brought back into so troublesome a world And it was the resolution of the third Toletane Councell that Christ did not weepe over Lazarus because he was dead but because he was to be raised up againe to feele the burdens and afflictions of this life that was their apprehension of it And it is a truth that whosoever lives the common life of nature lives in trouble But such is not the life of him who is raised from the dead The lives of such though here
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
it is Gods due and our duty to dedicate the morning the first and best of every day unto God Psal 5.3 My voice shalt thou heare in the morning in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee and will looke up We have a saying among us that the morning is a friend to the Muses that is the morning is a good studying time I am sure it is as true that the morning it is a great friend to the Graces the morning is the best praying time Againe In that Job did rise so early in the morning to offer sacrifice and did this because he was afraid that his sonnes had sinned as we shall see afterward Hence Observe 2. That it is not safe to let sinne lye a moment unrepented of or unpardon'd upon our own consciences or the consciences of others If a mans house be on fire he will not only rise in the morning or early in the morning but he will rise at mid-night to quench it certainly when you have guilt on your soules you have a fire in your soules your soules are on a flame therefore you had need rise and rise early and get up as soon in the morning as you can to get it quenched and put out And offered burnt-offerings There were divers sorts of Sacrifices among the Jewes when the law or rules of sacrificing were established There were first Whole burnt-offerings 2. Trespasse-offerings 3. Sinne-offerings 4. Peace-offerings That which Job is here said to offer was a burnt-offering an Holacost or whole burnt-offering so called because it was altogether consumed there was no part of it reserved for the Priest or for the people but all was offered up unto God Of other Sacrifices as the sinne-offering and trespasse-offering there were parts and portions reserved for the Priest and part of the Peace-offerings for the people as you may see by that expression of the Harlot Prov. 7.14 I have at my house Shelamim Peace-offerings now they did feast upon the Peace-offering for she invited him to a feast But the burnt-offering was wholly consumed the word in the Hebrew doth signifie an ascension or a thing lifted up He offered burnt-offerings word for word out of the Hebrew it is He lifted-up an elevation he caused an Ascension to ascend elevabat elevationem or ascendere fecit ascensionem And it was so called because the Sacrifice which was a whole burnt-offering was all consumed upon the altar And did as it were evaporate or ascend up unto God It was called a lifting-up or a thing lifted-up for three Reasons 1. Because when the Sacrifice was offered the smoake of it did ascend and besides there were sweet odours put upon the Altar which did fume up also with the Sacrifice towards heaven and so the Sacrifice took it's denomination from ascending and going upwards 2. Because the Priest when hee offered the Sacrifice did lift it up upon the Altar and hold it toward Heaven to God 3. Because at that time when the Sacrifice was a burning all the people that were present did lift-up their hands and their eyes but especially their soules and their spirits heaven-wards and powred themselves forth in prayer unto God That of David in Psal 141.2 will give some light to this Let saith he my prayer be set forth before thee as incense and the lifting up of my hands as the evening Sacrifice David at that time as Interpreters note upon the Psalme was barred the enjoyment of the publike ordinances he could not come to sacrificing as formerly he had done now he seekes unto the Lord that he would accept of the lifting up of his hands and heart in stead of Sacrifice as if he should say Lord I have not a Sacrifice now to offer unto thee I am hindered from that worke I cannot lift that up but I will lift up what I have and what will please thee better then a Bullocke that hath hornes and hoofes I will lift-up my hands and my heart unto thee and let these be accepted for sacrifice and all Prayer which is a Sacrifice of the Gospell it is nothing else but A lifting up of the soule an elevation of the spirit unto God So some of the Ancients call prayer an Ascending of the soule unto God And in allusion unto this Hezekiah when he sent to Isaiah the Prophet to pray for him in that time of distresse and day of trouble saith Goe and desire the Prophet to lift-up his prayer for the remnant that are left alluding to the sacrifices which were wont to be lifted up The like expression of prayer you have Psal 25.1 Lord saith David I lift-up my soule unto thee Hence Prayers not answered not accepted are said to be stopt from ascending Lam. 3.44 Thou hast covered thy selfe with a cloud that our prayer should not passe through When you meet with such expressions in the old Testament concerning prayer you must still understand them to be allusions to the Sacrifices because the Sacrifices were lifted up and did ascend That for the Act. For the person It is said that Job offered these Sacrifices Job rose early and offered c. Was not this to usurpe upon the Priests office Was it not this for which King Vzziah was reprehended and told by the Priests It appertaineth not to thee to burne Incense unto the Lord but to the Priests the sonnes of Aaron and was he not smitten with leprosie for doing of it I answer in a word by that rule of the Ancients Distinguish the times and Scriptures will agree It was Job that offered and Job had right to offer The time wherein Job offered Sacrifice doth reconcile this it was before the giving of the Law as we have shewed in the opening of the former points about the time when Job lived now in those times the Father or the elder of the Family was as a Priest to the whole Family and he had the power and the right to performe all holy family duties as the duty of sacrificing and the like this you may see carried along in all the times before the Law was given in the holy Stories of the Patriarks they still offered up the Sacrifice But it may here be further inquired If it were before the Law was given who taught Job to offer Sacrifice Where had he the rule for it I answer this was not will-worship though it was not written worship For howsoever Job did offer Sacrifice before the Law of sacrificing was written yet he did not offer a Sacrifice before the Law of sacrificing was given for the Law of sacrificing was given from the beginning as all the other parts of worship used from the beginning were God could never beare it that men should contrive him a service therefore Job did not offer up an offering unto God according to his owne will a thing that he had invented to pacifie and to please God with God had been so farre from accepting that he could not have
a byas in all that he doth he is carryed by the gaine of godlinesse not by any delight in godlinesse thus to serve God Job is mercinary he serveth God for hire Job hath not any desire to please God but to benefit himselfe Job doth not seeke the glory of God but he seekes his owne advantage This is the sense which the words have in reference to the person of Job that as once Satan accus'd God unto man so now he accuseth this man unto God He accus'd God unto man Gen. 3. When God had forbidden him to eate of the Tree of knowledge of good and evill and told him that in the day he did eate thereof he should surely die You shall not surely die saith Satan for God knoweth that in the day you eate thereof then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as Gods knowing good and evill As if he should say God hath not forbidden this tree because it will doe you any hurt but because he would be God alone he would have all the knowledge to himselfe he hath an ill intent he knowes that if you eate of it you will be like him as gods knowing good and evill So heere hee accuseth man to God Job serveth you indeed and offereth you sacrifice and obeyeth you but it is that he may get by you that he may receive more and more from you he likes the pay the reward not the worke he cares not for God but for the good that commeth from him This is the accusation which here the slanderer casteth upon all the holy services and duties of Job Thus in briefe you see the sense I shall give you some observations from it The first is this It is an argument of a most malignant spirit when a mans actions are faire then to accuse his intentions The Devill hath nothing to say against the actions of Job but he goes downe into his heart and accuseth his intentions Malice mis-interprets the fairest actions but love puts the fairest interpretation it can upon foule actions Malice will say when a man doth well it is true he doth it but it is for vaine glory it is to be seene of men it is for his own ends it is for gaine But when a man doth ill love will say this he hath done through ignorance or inadvertency or violent temptations love covers a multitude of sinnes as fairely as possibly it may with wisedome and with justice How faire a cover did Christ himselfe put upon the foulest act that ever was in the world upon his own crucifying Father forgive them they know not what they doe they doe it indeed but they doe it ignorantly So Peter afterward I wot saith he that through ignorance you did it as did also your Rulers Love excuseth what is ill done in another and malice accuseth what others doe well Let such men learne from hence that in so do â—â—â—y are the mouth and tongue of Satan Secondly We may observe from hence That it is an argument of a base and an unworthy spirit to serve God for ends Had this been true of Job in Satans sense it had indeed spoyled and blemished all that he had done Those that come unto God upon such termes they are not holy but crafty they make a trade with God they doe not serve God it is not Obedientia but Mercatura as one expresseth it it is merchandizing with God not obeying him There is reward enough in God himselfe there is reward enough in the very duties themselvs work and wages go together Therfore for any to be carried out to the service of God upon outward things argues a base an eartthly spirit As sin is punishment enough unto it selfe though there were no other punishment though there were no hell to come after yet to do evill is or will be hell enough unto it selfe So to do good is reward enough unto it selfe A Heathen Poet observed it as a brand of Infamy upon the age wherein he lived that most did repent that they had done good or were good gratis or for nought that the price of all good actions fell in their esteeme unlesse they could raise themselves If a Heathen condemn'd this how damnable is it among Christians But here a Question will arise and I shall a little debate it because it doth further cleare the maine point May we not have respect to our owne good or unto the benefit we shall receive from God Is it unlawfull to have an eye to our owne advantage while we doe our duty Must we serve God for nought in that strict sense or els will â—od account nothing of all our services I shall cleare that in five briefe Conclusions and these will I suppose fully state the sense of this Text and of this speech The first is this There is no man doth or possibly can serve God for nought God hath by benefits already bestowed and by benefits promised out-vyed and out-bid all the endeavours and services of the creature If a man had a thousand paire of hands a thousand tongues and a thousand heads and should set them all on worke for God he were never able to answer the ingagements and obligations which God hath already put upon him Therfore this is a truth that no man can in a strict sense serve God for nought God is not beholden to any creature for any worke or service that is done unto him Againe secondly this is further to be considered The more outward blessings any one doth receive the more he ought to serve God and the more service God lookes for at his hands That is another Conclusion Therefore we find still that when God hath bestowed many outward blessings upon any either persons or Nations he chargeth an acknowledgement upon them Hos 2.8 She did not know that I gave her corne and wine and oyle and multiplyed her silver and gold which she bestowed upon Baal therefore I will come and recover it saith God You having received this you ought to have served me with it You see how God upbraideth David 2 Sam. 12.7 8. I annoynted thee King of Israel and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul and I gave thee thy Masters house and thy Masters wives into thy bosome and if this had beene too little I would moreover have given thee such and such things How is it then that thou hast despised the Commandement of the Lord to doe evill in his sight As if he should say the more I bestowed upon thee the more obligations thou shouldest feele thy selfe under to obey me faithfully In the third place it is lawfull to have some respect to benefits both received and promised by way of Motive and incouragement to stir us up and quicken us either in doing or in suffering for God Moses Heb. 11.26 had respect to the recompence of reward therefore it is not unlawfull and Christ himselfe Heb. 12.2 looking at the joy that was set before him These
are examples beyond all exceptions that respect may be had to benefits and blessings received or exspected Fourthly Then reference unto benefit is sinfull when wee make it either the sole and only cause or the supreame and chiefe cause of our obedience This makes any thing we doe smell so of our selves that God abides it not when we respect our selves either alone or above God God hath no respect at all to us As Christ taxes those Joh. 6. You did not seeke me but the loaves to have respect to the loaves more then to Christ or as much as to Christ is to have no respect at all to Christ Thus when the Sichemites Gen. 34.23 admitted of circumcision and so gave up themselves as a Covenant-people to God here was all the argument they proposed to themselves Shall not their cattell and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours What beasts were these Sichemites what shadowes of Religion who would take upon them this badge of Religion for the gaine of beasts and worldly substance Such pure respects to our selves defile all our services and render our persons odious unto God Therefore in all our duties and holy services we must set the glory of God in the Throne that must be above and then we may set our desires of Heaven and glory on the right hand we may set the feare of hell and the avoyding of misery on the left hand we may set our desires of enjoying outward comforts here in the world at the foot-stoole Thus we must marshall and ranke respects to God and our selves And thus we may look upon outward things as motives and incouragements we must not make them ends and causes we may make them as occasions but not as grounds of our obedience Lastly We may looke upon them as fruits and consequents of holinesse yea as incouragements unto holinesse but not as causes of our holinesse or we may eye these as media through which to see the bounty and goodnesse of God not as objecta on which to fixe and terminate our desires So much for the clearing of the first part of Satans answer Doth Job serve God for nought Wherein you see he casts dirt upon Jobs sincerest duties and how we may carry our respects in the service of God to outward blessings whether received or promised It followeth Verse 10. Hast thou not made an hedge about him and about his house and about all that he hath on every side Thou hast blessed the worke of his hands and his substance is increased in the land Here Satan more fully expounds himself and what he meaneth by Jobs not serving God for nought You shall see it is not for nought He casts up the particulars of Gods benefits conferred on Job and they amount to a great summe 1. Hee hath an hedge about him that is somewhat 2. He hath blessed him that 's more 3. He doth increase and multiply there 's the highest degree of outward happinesse Here are three degrees of Gods dealing with Job These Satan reckons up in this verse that he may make Jobs goodnesse of no account and leave his person in no degree of acceptance with God Here is first Protection in the hedge Hast thou not made an hedge about him Secondly Here is a Benediction upon that which was protected It was not a bare keeping of that from spoyling but it was a blessing of it Thirdly here is also an increase or multiplication he was not only blessed to keepe himselfe and all he had in the state and plight wherein he stood but there was a daily increase and an augmentation Thou protectest him thou blessest him and thou doest increase all that he hath he is increased in the land That is the summe and sense of the words I shall now open them a little more distinctly First He speaks here of his protection hast thou not made an hedge about him Some render it Hast thou not made a wall about him Or Hast thou not made a trench about him It is an elegant Metaphor frequent in Scripture shewing that as when a field is well hedg'd or a Towne well wall'd and entrench'd then it is safe So when God is said to make an hedge or a wall about a man or about a Nation the safety of that man or Nation is assured by it Isa 5.2 We have this word used where God speakes of his vineyard He planted a vineyard in a very fruitfull hill and he fenced it or he made a wall or a hedge about it So verse 5. when God is angry with his vineyard and will destroy iâ— it is thus exprest I will saith he take away the hedge thereof that is I will take away my protection from it In the same sense Zach. 2.5 I will be saith God a wall of fire round about that is I will be a defence unto it So when it is said here that God had made a hedge about Job it notes divine Protection he was under the wing and safeguard of the Almighty This hedge of protection is two-fold It is said God made this hedge Hast thou not made an hedge about him First There is an hedge which is made immediately by the hand of God Sometimes God makes the hedge immediatly yea somtimes God expresseth himself to be the hedge or wall as Zac. 2.5 so Psal 18. all those are words of protection vers 2. Thou art my rocke and my fortresse my deliverer my strength my buckler the horne of my salvation and my high Tower c. There God was the hedge here God makes the hedge God hath not put out this hedg to others to make but he makes it himselfe Satan observes as much Hast not thou made an hedge about him Secondly Sometime the hedge of protection is made by the hands of others God sends out his Angels to guard his people Psal 34.7 The Angell of the Lord encampeth round about them that feare him Encamping and hedging are to the same purpose Gods hedge is as strong for safety as any wall as any trench Sometime God doth make one man to be a hedge or a defence to another The servants of Naball said of David 1 Sam. 25.16 That he had been a wall unto them both by night and day that is he had been a protection and a guard to them he had defended them all the while his Army was quarter'd in those parts God makes a good man to be as a wall to a wicked man How much more will he make men and Angels to be wals and hedges for the security of his owne people The Text further goes on and shewes the compasse of this hedge what ground it takes in how farre it reacheth and here we shall find that it was a very large hedge of a great extent We know there are some Cities that have not only a single wall but a double wall yea some strong Cities and places have a treble wall about them So wee finde a
Swords rusting in your sheathes while you labour in these times of danger to defend your selves you may expect defence from the Lord How unbecomming is it for you now to stand still and say Lord helpe us We must indeed stand still as Moses counselled the people Exod. 14.13 in regard of feare and diffidence but beware of standing still in regard of care and diligence as ever you hope to see the salvation of the Lord. The Sword of the Lord and of Gideon must be cried up at once those two must goe together There is a fourth point that we must observe also from the connection of the two sentences in the Text. Thou hast blessed the worke of his hands and his substance is increased in the Land The blessing of God where it falleth is effectuall If God doth but blesse wee shall increase there is no question of it if God doth but blesse we shall increase mightily Thou hast blessed him and he is increased It is the word that followed the first blessing after the Creation Gen. 1.28 God blessed them and said unto them be fruitfull and multiply Blessing and multiplying goe together the blessing of God is a powerfull blessing It is mighty in operation and carrieth all before it You know what a strong opinion Balak had concerning the blessing of Balaam Numb 22.6 I wot saith he that he whom thou blessest is blessed and he whom thou cursest is cursed A strong conceit and but a conceit As there are many at this day as strongly conceited of the blessing of that Balaam of the seven hills that blessing but cursed Prophet If they can get but a blessing from the Pope they thinke all is safe If they can but get a blessed Sword such some have obtained to doe a cursed act to cut the throats of Gods people or of their Prince it must needs be effectuall You know there was a blessed Standard or Banner given to them that came against us in 88. and when that Standard was lifted up that Banner displayed with the Popes speciall blessing they accounted nay called themselves Invincible Such was their invincible Ignorance till they were taught better with Bryars and Thornes or rather with stormes and winds fighting against them And though they have bin often cozzen'd yet still they retaine such an esteeme of the Popes blessing that they travell and throng for it as for their lives more then for all manner of riches I may say to them as once that great Cardinall did on the same occasion seeing this people will be deceived let them be deceived But I desire to raise your esteeme of Gods blessing for it is a certaine truth That whom God blesseth they are blessed Gods blessings are fixed and effectuall blessings if he blesse we shall be blessed indeed His blessings are irreversible as Balaam was forced to confesse Behold hee hath blessed and I cannot reverse it If once God hath blessed it is not in Satan nor in all his lying Prophets nor in all the power of the creature to alter it no nor to retard or hinder it for a moment If God now give us the mercy of protection if he make the hedge about us and blesse us in these times we shall be continued and established in the Land yea we shall be increased in the Land we shall breake forth abundantly to the amazement of all hearers and beholders Though Rome curse though Hell plot yet if God blesse we are safe This is the thing therefore that we should labour for to be under the influence of the blessing of God If we have but that we have all let meanes be what they will great or little or none at all if God blesse he can make any thing serve the turne any thing with a blessing will doe it any thing with a blessing will make us increase yea make us a strong a mighty an invincible people So that Satan and his instruments for very envy shall be forced to acknowledge that there is a hedge about us which they cannot breake through that there is a wall about us which they can neither scale nor batter with all their Engins and Artillery In these two verses we have had the answer which Satan makes to the Lords question Hast thou considered my servant Job You see the slander that is in it and how he doth advance the blessings of God upon Iob that he might debase the services of Job toward God Now lest God should take him off presently with a denyall and tell him that all this is false that Job is no such man as he represents him to be that he hath most presumptuously intruded into Gods peculiar namely the secrets of the heart for Satan had nothing to accuse him of that was in sight onely he guesseth at his heart lest God I say should presently come and check him thus for his boldnesse and impudence both in contradicting his testimony and in charging Job with insincerity Satan makes a motion in the next verse Put forth thine hand now and tauch all that he hath and he will curse thee to thy face As if Satan should have said Lord if you be not satisfied that thus it is with your servant Job if you will not take my word that he is an hypocrite and that he doth serve you only for ends doe but stretch forth your hand c. Doe but take away that which you have given him and you shall see presently he will take away that which he hath given you if you will withdraw his riches he will quickly withdraw his service JOB 1.11 12. But put forth thine hand now and touch all that he hath and he will curse thee to thy face And the Lord said unto Satan behold all that he hath is in thy power onely upon himselfe put not forth thine hand So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. THis 11th verse containes Satans motion which he subjoynes to his Answer vers 10. But put forth thine hand now By his Answer before he had wounded all the holy services of Iob and now he seekes to wound his estate and possessions His answer was full of malice and his motion is as full of cruelty Whom before he had falsely accused he in these words desireth may be causlesly afflicted Put forth thine hand now As if he should have said There is great question concerning Jobs integrity this one experiment will quickly decide and determine it Touch all that he hath c. This motion is grounded as was before noted upon on feared deniall of his answer in the former words For there Satan had argued after this manner That is an unsound and an hypocriticall profession which is grounded onely upon outward benefits but all the profession of Job is grounded only upon the outward benefits therefore it is unsound Doth Job serve God for nought This is the strength of Satans argument Now he perceiving the weaknesse or rather indeed the falsenesse the
curse God If he that touches them touches God then he that curseth them curseth God too And God is cursed in any of these senses two wayes first by detracting from himselfe his worship his workes or his servants the good they have or by fastning on them and aspersing them with the evill which they have not Hee will curse thee to thy face Observe two or three Points from this First Note this Satan can only guesse at the hearts of men Hee would undertake and enter warranty with God that Job would blaspheme if God did but touch him but he was deceived Satan did but conjecture at most and speake at a venture If he did not lie knowingly I am sure he did but guesse ignorantly Satan knowes not what is in the heart that 's Gods peculiar that 's Gods cabinet God knew there lay sincerity in the heart of Job all the while although Satan would stand to it that nothing was there but hypocrisie Secondly Wee may note seeing Satan accusing him of hypocrisie would have him afflicted That affliction is the tryall and touchstone of sincerity When God doth afflict you then he doth bring you to the touchstone to see whether you are good mettall or no he doth bring you then to the furnace to try whether you be drosse or gold or what you are Affliction is the great discoverer That unmaskes us Satan was not out in the thing he hit upon the rightest way that could be if any thing would discover Job affliction would Indeed some are discovered by prosperity and outward abundance The warme Sunne makes some cast off that cloake which the winde and the cold caused them to wrap closer about them Some when they have gotten enough from God care not for God when the fish is caught they lay by the net for they doe but goe a fishing with Holynes and the profession of Religion and when they have their ends ther 's an end of their profession Affliction and the crosse try others Some will hold on with God as long as the Sunne shineth as long as it is faire weather but if the storme arise if troubles come whether personall or publike then they pull in their heads then they deny and forsake God then they draw backe from and betray his truth what they such and such men no not they Trouble makes the great tryall bring professors to the fire and then they shew their mettall This course Satan took with Job He knew Job had bin abundantly tryed by fullnesse and abundance and these did not draw his heart from God he must therefore now try another way It is an excellent passage in the Church history concerning Constantius the father of Constantine that to the end he might try the hearts of his Courtiers he proclaimed that all they who would not forsake the worship of the true God should be banished the Court and should have heavy penalties and fines layed upon them presently upon this saith the story all that were base and came to serve him only for ends went away forsooke the true God and worshipped Idols by this meanes he found out who were the true servants of God and whom he meant to make his owne such as he found faithfull to God he thought would prove faithfull to him What this exploratorie decree of Constantius effected in his Court the same did that which the Apostate Julian set forth in good earnest against the Christians He no sooner caused it to be proclaimed that whosoever would not renounce the Faith should be discarded his service and forfeit both life and estate to his high displeasure But presently upon the publication of that decree they who were indeed Christians and they who had only the title of Christians presented themselves as it were on a common stage to the view of all men Such as these are Willows not Oakes And as it was with Naomi and her two daughters in law Orpah and Ruth All the while that she was Naomi beautifull and had enough they both stayed with her but when once Naomi became Marah bitter and empty then Orpah tooke her leave of her but Ruth abides with her Here was the tryall whether Orpah or Ruth had the sincerer affection to Naomi Ruth loved her mothers person Orpah her estate and outward preferments While Religion and prosperity goe together it is hard to say which a man followes but when once they are forced to a separation where the heart was will soone be manifest The upright in heart are like Ruth whatsoever becommeth of the Gospell they will be sharers with it in the same condition be it affliction or be it prosperity be it comfort or be it sorrow be it faire weather or be it foule be it light or be it darknesse they will take their lot with it This is a cleare truth that whatsoever was the cause of our doing a thing that being removed we cease to doe it if outward comforts and accommodations in the world be the cause why we follow Christ in the profession of his Gospell then as soone as ever they faile our profession will faile too When zeale is kindled only with the beames of worldly hopes when worldly hopes faile our zeale is extinct and our indeavour is cut off with our expectation Wee are next to consider the Lords grant of Satans motion And the Lord said unto Satan behold all that he hath is in thy power only upon himselfe put not forth thine hand So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. We have in this verse First Gods Commission or his permission unto Satan Behold all that he hath is in thine hand And Secondly His limitation of the Commission Onely upon himselfe put not forth thine hand Thirdly Satans speedy execution of his Commission So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. The Lord said unto Satan all that he hath is in thy hand in thy power so we translate it the word in the Originall is all is in thy hand Satan mooved that God would put forth his hand against Job and God puts Job into Satans hand Least Satan should cavill that God had toucht him but lightly he puts him into Satans power and le ts him doe it himselfe who would doe it throughly The hand as we before noted is put for power and when any thing is put into the hand it is put into the power or disposition of another Exod. 4.21 Thou shalt doe all the wonders before Pharaoh which I have put into thy hand And Joh. 3.35 The Father loveth the Sonne and hath given all things into his hand This phrase of giving or putting into the hand is taken either for good or for evill Sometime the putting of a thing into ones hand is only for the managing and disposing of it for good As Gen. 39.7 8. Joseph said that his master had committed all that he had into his hand that is to take care of it and to order it for his masters
benefit profit and honour But often to put or to give into the hand is for evill to doe what you will with persons or things to punish or to afflict them Judg. 6.1 God delivered the Israelites into the hand of Midian that is he left them to the power of the Midianites to tyrannize over and vexe them And verse 7. God delivered Midian into the hand of Israel that is hee gave Israel power over them to destroy or afflict them So here he gave all into the hand of Satan that is he gave Satan leave to dispose of Jobs estate as he pleased As if God had said to Satan Thou hast leave to doe what thou wilt with Jobs outward estate spoile it plunder it destroy it consume it fire it thou hast free leave all that he hath is in thy hand We shall note a point or two from that You see as soone as ever Satan had made his motion God presently answereth all that he hath is in thy hand It is not alwayes an argument of Gods goodwill and love to have our motions granted Many are heard and answered out of anger not out of love The children of Israel required meat for their lusts and God gave it them he did not withhold from them their desire they were not shortned of their lusts they had it presently many times his owne servants call and call againe move and move againe and obtaine no grant For this thing I besought the Lord thrice saith Paul yet Paul could not have what he sought Satan did but move once and presently all that Job had was in his hand But further that which is chiefely here to be observed is That untill God gives commission Satan hath no power over the estates or persons of Gods people or over any thing that belongs unto them Neither our persons nor our estates are subject to the will either of men or Devills Christ must say All that he hath is in thy hand before Satan can touch a shoe-latchet As Christ said Joh. 19.11 unto Pilat when he spake so stoutly knowest thou not that I have power to crucifie thee and power to release thee He thought that he had all power in his hand but Christ tells him Thou couldest have no power at all against me unlesse it were given thee from above If the Devills could not goe into the swine much lesse can they meddle with a man made after Gods Image till God gives them leave Every soule that hath interest in Christ may suck comfort and consolation in the saddest in the sorrowfullest day from the breast of this truth If Satan and wicked men cannot move till Christ saith goe nor wound till Christ saith strike nor spoile nor kill till Christ saith their estates their lives are in your power surely Christ will not speake a word to their hurt whom he loâ—â— nor will he ever suffer his enemies to doe a reall dammage to his friends Besides it may fill the soule with unspeakeable joy to remember that while a man is suffering the will of Christ is a doing Thirdly Satan doth very wickedly according to his nature in moving that Job may be afflicted He moveth in malice and in spight God knew what his heart and intent was and yet grants it We may note from hence That which Satan and evill men desire sinnefully the Lord grants holily The will of God and the will of Satan joyned both in the same thing yet they were as different as light and darkenesse their ends were as different as their natures Though it were the same thing they both willed yet there was an infinite distance betweene them in willing it The will of Satan was sinfull but the power given Satan was just Why Because his will was from himselfe but his power was from the will of God Satan had no power to doe mischiefe but what God gave him but his will to doe mischiefe was from himselfe Therefore we find that the same spirit is said to be an evill spirit and to be a spirit from the Lord and yet the Lord doth not partake at all in the evill of the spirit as 1 Sam. 16.14 The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an evill spirit from the Lord troubled him An evill spirit from the Lord how was it an evill spirit if it were from the Lord can the Lord send forth any evill from himselfe who is only good In that he was evill that was from his own will but that he had power to trouble Saul that was from the Lord So here Satans will and intent were most wicked these were from himselfe his power to afflict Job was from God and that was good Satan willeth Job should be afflicted for his destruction God willeth it only for his tryall and probation Satan desireth it that God may be blasphemed but God willeth it that himselfe might be glorified Satan willeth it that so others in his example might be scandalized and disheartned from entring into the service of God seeing how ill he sped But God willeth it that others might be strengthned and incouraged to enter into his service beholding a man under such heavy pressures and yet not speaking ill of God or of his wayes Satan willeth it hoping thereby Job would discover his hypocrisie but God willeth it knowing that he would therein discover his integrity So then though the same thing was willed yet there was a vast disproportion in their ends and intentions and though the power by which Satan did afflict Job was from God yet the evill intent with which he afflicted him was from himselfe Thus we see how God without any staine or touch of evill grants this which Satan did most wickedly desire It followeth Onely upon himselfe thou shalt not put forth thy hand God gives a commission but it is with a limitation there is a restriction in it Onely upon himselfe c. that is not upon his person not his body thou shalt not afflict that with diseases not his soule thou shalt not afflict that with temptations Hence note That God himselfe sets bounds to the afflictions of his people he limits out how farre every affliction shall goe and how farre every instrument shall prevaile as he doth with the Sea Hitherto saith he thou shalt come and no further here thou shalt stop thy proud waves so he saith to all the afflictions of single persons or whole Nations hither you shall come and no further Onely upon himselfe thou shalt not put forth thine hand This limitation respects First The degree or measure thus farre you shall afflict that is in such a degree to such a height and no higher Secondly It respects the time thus farre that is thus long so many yeares or so many dayes you shall have power and no longer God leaves not either the measure or the time the degree or the continuance of any affliction in the hand of Satan or his adherents Wee reade Rev. 6.10 That
the souls under the Altar cry How long Lord how long They cry to God how long they knew that he only had the time in his hand he only could tell how long and it should be as long as he pleased How long Lord They cryed not to cruell tyrants how long will ye persecute but Lord how long will it be before thou come to revenge And so David Psal 31.15 My time it is in thy hand speaking of his afflictions There is no affliction but it is in the hand of God for the continuance of it as well as for the manner of it and as no enemie man or devill can make thy crosse greater or longer or heavier so no friend man or Angell can make thy crosse lighter or lesser or shorter then God himselfe hath appointed Onely upon himselfe shalt thou not put forth thine hand thou shalt not move an inch further not a haires bredth further As our afflictions for the matter of them are by the will of God as the Apostle speaks 1 Pet. 4.19 While you suffer saith he according to the will of God those words according to the will of God note not only the righteousnesse of suffering that it must be in a good cause but also the spring from whence those sufferings come they are Ex voluntate Dei so Mr. Beza translates it they are out of the will of God Now I say as they are out of the will of God or from the will of God springing from his will and flowing from his dispensation of things in the matter of them so also in every circumstance God himself gives thy crosse length and bredth and thicknesse he fills thy cup of sorrow he directeth how many drops to a drop shall be put into it thou shalt not have a drop more then God prescribes and which is more comfortable knowes will be for thy good Secondly Observe That Satan is boundlesse in his malice toward the people of God If God did not set him bounds he would set himselfe no bounds therefore saith God unto him Onely upon himselfe c. He had a mind to have gone further he would have been upon Job himselfe as well as upon his estate if God had not stop'd and curb'd him Therefore the Apostle gives that assurance for the comfort of the people of God 1 Cor. 10.13 God saith he is faithfull who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able As if he should say Satan would with all his heart lay more upon you than you are able to beare Satan would breake your backs if he were let alone but God will not suffer it Satan hath a boundlesse malice against the people of God Some observe this from his name Leviathan Isa 27.1 In that day the Lord with his great and strong Sword shall punish Leviathan the piercing Serpent Leviathan is put there for Satan and for all the instruments of Satan now Leviathan signifieth in the Hebrew an augmentation an addition or an increase And Satan is so called because say they he ever desires to lay more burdens upon to increase the afflictions troubles and temptations of Gods people he never thinkes he hath done enough against them His thirst to worke mischiefe is never quenched but still he desires to doe more he would faine have his Commission inlarged to doe more mischiefe in the world Therefore God is said not to strike after their stroake in the 7th verse of that 27. of Isa Hath hee smitten him as he smit those that smote him In the Hebrew it is Hee hath not smitten him according to the stroake of those that smote him according to their stroake noting that the stroake of Leviathan and the stroake of his instruments is an unmeasurable stroake a boundlesse stroake they would never give over striking They thinke the wound is never deepe enough nor blood shed enough but saith the Prophet verse 8. God doth it in measure so that he opposeth their striking to Gods afflicting by the measure of it God keepeth his afflictions in such a bound and compasse he afflicts in measure but Satans stroake and the stroakes of wicked men are without all measure that is without all moderation unlesse God stop them they would never make an end Lastly Observe how Satan is by this proved a deceiver he intended more than he spake you may see it plainly in this because God put a restraint upon him Touch all that he hath saith Satan that referred to his possessions outward estate as if that had bin the mind of Satan in the motion do but afflict him in his outward estate I desire no more to make this tryal now when the Lord saith All that he hath is in thy hand there he grants him the motion in the letter of it but the Lord God saw that Satan had a further reach when he said Touch all that he hath which words seeme to extend no further then his estate but had not God limited and restrain'd him he by an indefinite grant to his motion had likewise fallen upon his person that was the great morsell he gaped after all this while he would have been doing with Job himselfe else there was no need of this limitation Onely upon himselfe put not forth thy hand Satans fingers itcht to be medling with Job though his words called for what he had not for himselfe And Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. As soone as he hath leave and his Commission he is gone presently He went out from the presence of the Lord. The word is he went out from the face of the Lord Now the face of the Lord in Scripture it is taken sometimes for the essentiall glory of God that inaccessible Majesty of God Exod. 33. ult Thou canst not behold my face Sometimes the face of God is put for the favour and love of God Cause thy face to shine upon thy Sanctuary which is desolate Dan. 9.17 and cause thy face to shine upon thy servant So in many other places the face of God is put for the favour of God because as the favour and love of a man is seene and discovered in his face so there is somewhat in those dealings of God which discover God he is said to make his face to shine upon his people when he doth discover by any act of his that he loves and favours them that is the shining of his face upon them The face interprets the heart and shewes the meaning of the spirit so in those things which interpret somewhat of the love of God to us God is said to make his face shine upon us On the other side the face of God is put sometimes for the anger and wrath of God because anger is seene in the face too so in those things by which God discovereth his anger he is said to set his face against men there is an expresse place for it in this sense Lam. 4.16 The anger of the Lord the
Hebrew is the face of the Lord hath divided them that is the Lord hath done such things as have the character of anger upon them that doe represent and hold forth nothing but the anger of the Lord unto a people and that anger of the Lord is called the face of the Lord unto a people Thirdly by the face of the Lord in Scripture we may understand the ordinances and the worship of God because in them and by them God is revealed manifested and knowne to his people as a man is knowne by his face So in the old Testament comming to God in those institutions was called appearing before God because in them God had promised to manifest himselfe unto his people Lastly the face of God is put for the common and generall presence of God in the world by which he filleth Heaven and Earth Psal 139.7 Whether shall I go from thy presence Now when it is said that Satan went forth from the face of God or from the presence of God it cannot be understood in the first or in the second sense for he cannot so come into the presence of God or before the face of God before his face of glory or before his face of favour Satan never came nor ever shall And as the presence of God is taken for his worship so Satan cares not to come into his presence Lastly as the face of God signifies his common and generall presence in the world so Satan cannot possibly goe out from his face Whether shall I goe from thy presence nor men nor devils are able to go out of the presence of the Lord in that sence for he filleth Heaven and Earth Then these words He went out from the presence of the Lord are spoken after the manner of men When a servant commeth to his Master to receive Commission to doe some businesse and hath his errand given him then he goeth out from the presence of his Master about his businesse So Satan comes here upon a businesse unto God he makes a motion and desireth to have such power put into his hand to doe such and such things the Lord grants it and so soone as ever he had his dispatch he goeth out of the presence of the Lord. So that the meaning is only this that Satan left off speaking with God left off moving God any further at that time and went out to execute that which he got commission to doe as servants goe out from the presence of their Masters when they have received warrant or direction what to doe While a servant is in expectation of his message or errand so long his eyes are upon his Master Our eyes wait upon thee O God as the eyes of servants looke unto the hands of their Masters Psal 123.3 The eyes of servants wait upon the face of the Master till they have received their message and then they goe out from their presence It notes the speed that Satan makes when he receives power from God to afflict or to chasten and try any of his children he makes no stay presently he goeth out from the presence of the Lord. Satan is speedy and active in executing any power that is committed unto him against the people of God against any particular member or against the Church in generall As soone as ever he hath but his Commission to afflict he is gone about it instantly As the good Angels in Heaven are described to have wings because as soone as ever they have received a command from God they are upon the wing they fly as it were to fulfill the will of God and in that sense goe out of his presence So Satan and the wicked Angels are upon the wing too in that sense as soon as ever they have received power they presently put it in execution And we may in this make Satan himselfe our patterne As we pray that the will of God may be done on earth as it is in heaven in heaven by the good Angels So in this sense I say we may desire that we may doe the will of God with as much speed as the evill Angels It is not unwarrantable to learne from Satan speedily to be doing about the will of God JOB 1.13 14 c. And there was a day when his sonnes and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brothers house And there came a messenger unto Job and said The Oxen were plowing and the asses feeding besides them And the Sabeans fell upon them c. IN the former context we shewed you the affliction of Job mooved by Satan and permitted by God Touch all that he hath is Satans motion All that he hath is in thine hand is Gods permission From this 13th verse to the end of the 19th the afflictions of Job are particularly described and we may observe 6 particulars in the Context concerning his afflictions 1. The time or season of his afflictions And there was a day when his sonnes and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brothers house ver 13. 2. The instruments or the meanes of his afflictions Satan who undertooke the afflicting of Job stands as it were behind the doore he doth not appeare in it but sets on others His instruments were first cruell and bloody minded men the Sabeans verse 15. The Chaldeans verse 17. Secondly those active creatures devouring fire and stormy windes the fire verse 16. the winde verse 19. 3. The matter of his affliction or in what he was afflicted it was in his outward estate 4. The variety of his afflictions he was not smitten in some one thing in some one part of his outward estate but he was afflicted in all his Oxen his Asses and his Camels violently taken away his Sheep burnt up by the fire his sons and his daughters over-whelmed and crushed by the fall of an house all his servants attending upon these slaine consumed destroyed excepting only one from every stroke to be the sad relator or messenger of these calamities 5. The suddennesse of his afflictions they came all upon him in one day 6. The uncessantnesse of the report of these afflictions the sound of them all was in his eares at once as they were all brought upon him in one day so they are all told him in one houre yea by the story it doth appeare there were but very few moments betweene the first and the last For the Text saith that no sooner had one messenger ended his dolefull news but another begins nay they did not stay so long as to let one another make an end but the Text saith While the former was yet speaking there came another and said and so while the next was yet speaking there came another and said while he was yet speaking another c. So that Satan did not give Job so much as the least minute of intermission to breath a while or recollect himselfe His troubles both in the acting and in the reporting were close
the Asses feeding beside them There came a messenger The Jewish Rabbins and some of the Fathers tell us that these messengers were Devils evill spirits in the likenesse of men But surely the opinion hath little likenesse with the truth therefore with Beza I lay it by and reject it amongst the tales of the Rabbins These messengers were really the escaped servants of Job as we shall see afterward Now the messenger bespeakes Job thus The Oxen were plowing they were hard at their worke and the Asses were feeding besides them The word in the Hebrew is this the Asses were feeding at their hand or at hand to be at hand doth note neerenesse in our language we say such a thing is at hand or such a man is at hand the day of our feare is at hand when we meane they are neare The Lord is at hand Phil. 4.5 sc nigh unto us for our helpe So 2 Thes 2.2 It is applied also to neerenesse of place as well as of time Neh. 3.2 where the building of the wall of Jerusalem is described it is said Next unto him built the men of Jericho the Hebrew is at the hand of him built the men of Jericho that is next to him in place Now the messenger describeth all in such a posture The Oxen were plowing and the Asses feeding by this to assure Job of the care and diligence of his servants about his businesse for the securing of his Cattell and improving of his ground as if he should have said This sad affliction which is come upon thee did not come through our negligence or improvidence we were about our businesse according to our severall places The Oxen were plowing and the Asses were feeding by them they were not carelesly left to danger but our eye was upon them yet notwithstanding they were all surprized and taken away From this relation of the posture of Jobs servants and Cattell at the time when this affliction fell upon them we may observe thus much That all our care and diligence cannot secure outward thing unto us Afflictions may take us in the middest of our best and most honest endeavours A man may be looking to and ordering his estate and yet at the very time while his eye is upon it he may see it take its flight like an Eagle towards Heaven while he is ordering of it he may see disorder and confusion comming upon it while he is setling of it by honest care he may quickly see it unsetled removed and all broken to peeces as it was here with Job he was in a very good way his servants were honestly employed but suddenly all is gone The Oxen were taken away and the Asses that fed by them But who made this attempt The messenger informes that in the next words And the Sabeans fell upon them The Sabeans The Hebrew is Saba fell upon them the Countrey put for the people Saba for the Sabeans As we use to say Spaine made warre and France made warre that is the Spaniards made warre or the French made warre so it is such an expression Saba fell upon them that is the people inhabiting Saba Fell upon them The word noteth a mighty violence they came upon them as from above they came powring downe upon them like a storme There is such a phrase in warre when they goe violently upon a place they are said to storme the place to storme the gates of a Castle or of a City so here they fell upon them that is they came violently upon them like a storme In Prov. 1.27 destruction is described to come upon wicked men like a whirle-wind The Sabeans were a people as it is concluded by most interpreters inhabiting Arabia felix neare the Countrey where Job dwelt And for the manners of this people it is observed by Historians that they were a people famous onely for robberies a people that lived by pillage and by plundering of their neighbours Such a people they were These Sabeans fell upon them they tooke away thy Cattell and have slaine thy servants with the edge of the Sword Here it may be questioned How or why these Sabeans at such a time should fall upon the estate of Job what hurt had Job done them Job lived in a faire way with all his neighbours and kept good quarter and correspondence with them he was not a man of warre or contention how then commeth it to passe that these fell upon Jobs estate and tooke it away and upon that day too in this nick of time As when the Widdow of Tekoah had told a faire tale to David about the bringing backe of Absolom the King asked her Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this So when you see such men Sabeans and Chaldeans falling upon the estate of Job you may demand Is not the hand of Satan in all this Yes no doubt These Sabeans fall upon Jobs estate but Satan first fell upon the Sabeans and by strong temptations provoked them to doe this service But how could he prevaile upon the Sabeans that they should come and doe his businesse now at this time The Apostle telleth us that wicked men are led captive by Satan at his will Satan doth lead men captive at his will while they are as they conceive conquerours riding in triumph doing their owne will These Sabeans came to execute their own designes but Satan had a designe upon them he brought them thus to spoile the estate of Job But what could Satan doe How could Satan prevaile with these Can he force men to be his instruments to execute his designes upon the people of God Or hath he Sabeans and Caldeans Nations and people at his beck or under his command No Satan cannot force or compell them against their wills but as that Scripture saith he leads them captive at his will and as another Scripture he is a Prince of the power of the ayre and he workes in the children of disobedience yea hee workes like a Prince mightily and powerfully in the children of disobedience Though he cannot constraine them yet he can worke mightily in them to effect what he hath to doe But how doth he bring them about thus readily and suddenly to act what he projects Thus First He finds out the temper and disposition of the persons That Satan can doe he is a great Naturalist and hath a great deale of helpe to his skill long experience by both he can goe very farre in discovering the dispositions of men which way their spirits tend and he found out that these Sabeans were a people given to robbery and spoile and so fit ministers for him to worke by in his designe of spoiling the estate of Job Secondly When he hath found out the naturall temper or state of a mans heart he can lay a baite of temptation sutable to that inclination and desire finding out a people given to spoile he presently sets before them rich spoiles these are a taking
most aptly he could imagine to afflict and trouble Job therefore there is somewhat in it no good will I beleeve to Job that this one man had the favour of quarter or the mercy of an escape It was not out of any compassionate respect to Job that one of his servants comes home alive It was rather to increase the affliction of Job and for the perfecting of his sorrowes this man was not slaine that Job might be more deeply wounded There are two reasons which may be assigned why one man escaped out of every one of these calamities First That the report of this affliction might come suddenly to him A man that escapes out of such a danger needs no driving his feare will adde wings to his feet he will runne home amaine Secondly For the certainty of it Reports fly abroad they may be false Fama mendax fame is a lyar Job might have had such reports from his neighbours in the country all your cattell are seized upon and all your servants are slaine and Job might sleight it and say this might be but a rumour I give no credit to it therfore Satan lets one of his owne servants come frighted home with the news one that was there one that was an eye-witnes one that Job knew one that had no reason much lesse the boldnes to bring false tales to him that so the report comming speedily and certainly his heart might be smitten presently It is some abatement of an evill to have but a colour to doubt of it If we can but lay hold of any circumstance which renders an evill report improbable and may for a while strengthen our unbeleefe of it we may in that interim get more strength of faith to beare it when we see it is certaine and unquestionable There was no mercy in such a sparing And we may observe out of it that which Solomon speakes of the mercies of the wicked is most true of Satans The very tender mercies of Satan are cruell the best of his mercies his sparings are woundings he never spareth but with an intent to doe further hurt Jobs afflictions had not gone so deep if this man had not bin left to bring the message It followeth Verse 16. While he was yet speaking there came also another and said the fire of God is fallen from Heaven and hath burnt up the Sheepe and the servants and consusumed them and I onely am escaped alone to tell thee In this verse we have the second charge which this great enemy gives Job While he was yet speaking there came also another Afflictions seldome goe alone And therefore when one affliction is ended looke another should begin and labour to prepare for it Job having received this message of the losse of his cattell and death of his servants while the messenger was yet speaking a second comes with a sadder story then that Satan would not give him the least breathing or intermission while hee was yet speaking one evill treads upon the heele of another as wave overtakes wave in the sea so it was here here was wave after wave to overwhelme his spirit And as it is said in the Revelation concerning him that sate on the white horse that he rid out conquering and to conquer there was no intermission of his victories so Satan goeth forth afflicting and to afflict vexing and to vexe tempting and to tempt he will never give over While hee was yet speaking there came also another and said the fire of God is fallen upon thy sheepe The fire of God Why is it here called the fire of God Some conceive it is called the fire of God because sent from God that is ascribed to God which comes from God as that Gen. 19.24 where it is said that the Lord did raine fire and brimstone upon Sodome out of Heaven from the Lord or Jehovah did raine from Jehovah fire upon Sodome to consume it And Levit. 10.2 it is said That a fire went out from the Lord and consumed Nadab and Abihu Elijah procures fire from Heaven to consume the Captaines that came from the King to take him 2 King 1.10 12. The Psalmist speaking of the plagues of Aegypt Psal 105.32 saith that the Lord sent flames of fire in the land So some expound that place Psal 104 3. He maketh his Angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire that is he useth flames of fire for his ministers for his messengers God sometimes sends a fire on his errands though we know that place is applyed to the Angels by the Apostle Heb. 1.7 But here rather it is called the fire of God in another regard for howsoever this fire was sent of God as all afflictions are yet because the immediate kindler of it was Satan he had the power put into his hand therefore this was not a fire in that sence as those other fires are said to be sent from God But it may be called as usually in Scripture the fire of God because of the strangenesse of the fire it was a wonderfull an extraordinary fire and so it is very ordinary in the Hebrew to use the name of God El Elohim or Jehovah as an Epithite as an additionall word to heighten the excellence or rarenesse of things Wee find that phrase often A man of God the Hebrewes say to call one a man of God is as much as to say he is an extraordinary man a man of an excellent spirit a Prophet a holy man In that Psalm where the Church is shadowed under the similitude of a Vine It is said She did send forth her branches like the goodly Cedars So we translate it the Originall word is She sent forth her branches as the Cedars of God that is excellent Cedars tall and extraordinary Cedars In Psalm 36.6 comparing the love of God to great Mountaines Thy loving kindnesse is as the great mountains the word is like the mountaines of God Psalme 65.9 Thou refreshest it with the river of God that is with an excellent River Cant. 8.6 speaking of love and of jealousie Love is strong as death jealousie is cruell as the grave the coales thereof are coales of fire which hath a most vehement flame the word in the Originall is a flame of God the coales thereof are coales of fire the flame of God that is as we translate it a vehement flame So here the fire of God that is a strange fire an unheard of an unusuall fire a vehement fire such a fire as had not been seen nor observed before Therefore the Hebrewes call extraordinary things the things of God because indeed all the wonders and excellencies all the glory and goodnesse that is in creatures is but a foot-step a print or drop of that excellency and glory and power that is in God therefore every thing that is most excellent is ascribed unto God It is most equall that his name should be stampt upon all excellent things in the creature who is the cause of all
begot a sonne mortall and subject to death he did but look backe to the common condition of man and supported himselfe But now I say this second argument is higher it is not an argument bottomed upon the frailty of nature but upon the soveraignty of God This argument is grounded upon the equity of divine providence and dispensations The Lord saith he hath given and the Lord hath taken away The Lord hath given Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above Jam. 1.17 What gifts doth Job here meane He meanes good and perfect gifts in their kind but not the best and most perfect kind of gifts The Lord once gave me those Oxen those Sheepe all these outward things that now I am stripped of The Lord hath given A gift is any good freely bestowed when we receive a thing which another was not ingaged to bestow that is a gift Now God doth not onely give us those transcendents grace and glory faith in Christ here and full fruition of Christ hereafter not onely are these gifts I say sent in from God and undeserved by us but outward things riches and honour children and servants houses and lands these are the gifts of God likewise we have not the least creature-comfort of our owne we have nothing of our owne but sinne What hast thou that thou hast not received is a truth concerning every thing we have even to a hoofe or a shoe-latchet Wee are indebted unto God for our spiritualls for our temporals for all We must say of all little or much great or small The Lord hath given How did the Lord give Job all his riches and estate The Lord doth give either immediately or mediately When Job saith the Lord hath given we are not to understand it as if the Lord had brought such a present to him and said here take this estate take these cattell these servants but God gave them mediately by blessing the labours of Job So when the Lord prospereth us in our honest endeavours and labours and callings then the Lord giveth us outward things The Lord hath given Job doth not say by my strength and diligence by my policy and pradence I have got this estate as the Assyrian said Isa 10.13 by the strength of my hand have I done this and by my wisdome for I am prudent Iob takes no notice of himself he was not idle yet he speaks as if he had done nothing the Lord hath given This should teach us in the first place to acknowledge the Lord as the fountain and donor of all our outward comforts When you get wealth doe not say this I have gotten such language is barbarous in divinity but say this the Lord hath given Wee find an expresse caution to this purpose given by Moses from God not onely against the former language of the tongue but of the heart When the Jewes should come to Canaan and should grow rich and great there When thou hast eaten and art full then thou shalt blesse the Lord. Beware thou forget not the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee and say in thy heart my power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth but thou shalt remember the Lord thy God for it is hee that giveth thee power to get wealth It is he that giveth thee power Many who are perswaded that God gives them grace that God gives Heaven and Salvation are hardly perswaded or at least doe not so well consider it that God gives riches c. their their hearts are yet ready to say that they have gotten this wealth they have gotten this honour It is a sweet thing when a man lookes upward for these lower things and can say on good grounds that his earth hath dropt down to him from Heaven The Lord hath given Further when Job saith the Lord hath given it is an argument of his owne justice and equity in getting Job did not enrich himselfe by wrong by grinding the faces of the poore If he had done so he could not have said the Lord hath given So much as we get honestly we may looke upon as a fruit of Gods bounty Looke into your estates and whatsoever you have got by wrong dealing take heed of saying this is of Gods giving for so you make God himselfe a partner in your sinnes God sometime gives when we use no meanes but he never gives when we use unlawfull meanes What God said concerning the setting-up of those Kings Hos 8.4 They have set-up Kings but not by me he saith of all who enrich themselves by wrong they have gotten riches but not by me When men leave the rule of justice God leaves them And though unlawfull acts are under the influence of his blessing Wicked men thrive often but they are never blessed their prosperity is their curse Thirdly it is observable that when Job would support himselfe in the losse of his estate he cals to mind how he came by his estate and finding it all given in by the blessing of God upon his honest labours and endeavours he is satisfied Note That what we get honestly that we can part with contentedly He that hath got his estate by injustice can never leave it with patience Honesty in getting causeth quietnesse of spirit in loosing outward things Keepe a good conscience in getting the world and you shall have peace when you cannot keepe the world Wheras a wrong-doer and a wrong-dealer is in such a day under a double affliction he is afflicted with his present losse and he ought to be afflicted for his former gaine Fourthly These words the Lord hath given being rightly handled will be as a Sword to cut-off foure monsters or monstrous lusts which annoy all the world or as a medicine to cure foure diseases about worldly things Two of these lusts are strongest in the rich and the other paire assault the poore The poore pine either with discontent because they have so little or with envy because others have so much The rich swell with pride because they have aboundance or they are fil'd with contempt of those that are in want Let the rich seriously weigh this speech it will cure them of pride Charge them that are rich saith the Apostle 1 Tim. 6.17 that they be not high-minded You see how subject rich men are to this inflammation of pride But with what doth he pricke this bladder It is with this thought that God gives all riches Let them trust in the living God who giveth us all things richly to enjoy That argument of the Apostle 1 Cor. 4.7 If thou hast received it why dost thou boast is as strong and as true in regard of temporals as of spirituals Consider seriously that your estates are the gift of God and downe fals pride If you come honestly by them they are the gift of God If you come dishonestly by them they are the gifts of Satan and you ought to be ashamed of them and
to lay his siedge nearer and closer to Iob presuming that though he had not prevailed at the first yet he shall at the second charge let me charge him but once more and then see his fall He will curse thee to thy face JOB 2.1 2 3 4 5 6. Verse 1. Againe there was a day when the sonnes of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came also among them to present himselfe before the Lord. 2. And the Lord said unto Satan from whence commest thou And Satan answered the Lord and said from going too and fro in the earth and from walking up and downe in it 3. And the Lord said unto Satan Hast thou considered my servant Job that there is none like him in the Earth a perfect and an upright man one that feareth God and escheweth evill and still he holdeth fast his integrity although thou movedst me against him to destroy him without cause 4. And Satan answered the Lord and said skin for skin yea all that a man hath will he give for his life 5. But put forth thine hand now and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse thee to thy face 6. And the Lord said unto Satan Behold he is in thine hand but save his life AS the Prophet Ezekiel when in vision he had beene shewed one abomination was led forward to a second and a third and a fourth with Come see a greater abomination than this or these Or as the Angell proclaimeth in the Revelation One woe is past and another woe is at hand The same may we say concerning this History of Jobs sorrowes Having shewed you his first affliction in the former Chapter I must now leade on your attentions with Come behold a second a greater then that and having shewed you one woefull day I must now shew you a second Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves This whole Chapter presents us in the generall with Jobs second tryall About which wee may observe these particulars 1. The occasion of it 2. The causes of it 3. The manner of it 4. The consequents of it 1. The occasion of it was Satans appearing at that heavenly Session and being there questioned about that former affliction of Job he answers with slander and desireth that Job may be brought about to a second tryall 2. The causes of this affliction as of the first are two 1. God And 2. Satan 1. God permitting and limiting it 2. Satan provoking and then inflicting it Both are laid downe in the words of the context now read to the end of the sixth verse 3. The manner of this affliction was the striking and smiting of Jobs body with a sore and noysome disease which you have contained in ver 7 8. 4. The Consequents of this affliction or what followed upon it and those are three 1. His wives sinfull councell ver 9. As soone as she saw him thus smitten What saith shee doest thou still retaine thine integrity Curse God and die There 's her counsell 2. His wise and holy reply ver 10. 3. His friends loving visit vers 11 12 13. They hearing of the affliction of Job came from a farre country to see him and to comfort him These are the distinct parts of the whole Chapter These six verses descipher the occasion and the causes of Jobs affliction Satan inciting and provoking the Lord and the Lord permitting and limitting Satan The three first containe the same matter which we have opened and explained in the former Chapter and they are almost word for word the same therefore I shall not need to stay long upon them Only I shall enquire a little further about two things First about the day of this great appearance And secondly about the persons appearing who are said to be the sons of God To the former of these the Jewish Doctors contend much That this was the first day in the recourse or returne of the yeare intimating if not contending that the first day of every yeare was as Gods day of generall Audit in which he conveen'd or called together his Angels to give him an account of all the passages and dispatches of the yeare past and to give them instructions what to doe the yeare comming which opinion I leave under the censure of a learned Interpreter as grosse and groundlesse Others fixe it upon the last day of the weeke affirming that this was the Sabbath day And that this was a convention or Assembly of the Church on Earth for the solemne worship of God upon that day which is here called A presenting themselves before the Lord in concurrence with which opinion the sonnes of God must needs be interpreted holy men I find some affirming that men are not called the sons of God in all the old Testament but the Angels only And so they take that Text Gen 6.2 The sons of God saw the daughters of men c. for the Angels either good or bad who being taken with the beauty of those daughters assuming bodies came into them of whom came the Giants A conceit as monstrous as those Giants and fitter for a fabulist then a Divine On the other extreame Chrysostome denyes that the Angels are at all called the sonnes of God We may walke safely in a middle way betweene these two For both Angels and men are called the sonnes of God Why Angels are called the sons of God hath been shewed Chap. 1. v. 6. Men are called the sons of God for two reasons either for their power or greatnesse so they Gen. 6.2 might be called the sonnes of God because great and powerfull on the earth Or rather secondly for their piety and holinesse by which they resemble God and in which they serve God as a sonne doth the Father Indeed the Apostle affirmes that the priviledge of sonship was brought-in by the Incarnation of Christ who is said In the fullnesse of time to be made of a woman c. That we might receive the adoption of sonnes Gal. 4.5 But in Scripture a thing is spoken of as newly done when it is more fully done Joh. 7.39 The Holy Ghost is said not to be given at that time because he had not been so plentifully given And the Apostle to the Hebrewes speakes as if the way into Heaven had been but then opened because it was then more clearly opened Heb. 9.8 So we are said to receive the adoption of sons when Christ came in the flesh because then our son-ship was more apparant though before it was as reall So then according to this Interpretation the sence of the words is That upon the Sabbath day when the servants of God the faithfull of that age and place were met together to celebrate the publick worship of God Satan the evill spirit who is ever ready to oppose and resist us to interrupt and hinder us when we appeare before the Lord in holy duties came also among them to
the soule is more worth then a thousand lives What will it advantage a man to gaine the world and loose his soule Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soule The truth is a man should not gaine much to get the whole world and loose his life that losse is a losse irreparable irrecompensible from the creature Nature teacheth us to prize our lives above the world and grace teacheth us to value our soules above our lives Therefore how unnaturall are they that preferre a little profit before their lives but O how ungracious are they who preferre a little profit before their soules Some will sinne as we say for six-pence selling their owne soules as those false Prophets did the soules of their people for hand-fulls of barley and for peeces of bread Ezek. 13.19 And whereas a man should give all for his life they will give their soules for a thing of nought Know therefore the worth of your soules Jesus Christ thought soules worth his life and therefore dyed to save soules How much then doe our soules transcend our owne lives And if Christ laid downe his life to ransome soules doe you rather lay downe a thousand lives if you had them then indanger your soules either by acting sinne or by submitting unto errour In that case let estate goe let liberty goe let life let all goe for life hath not so much preheminence over all as the soule hath over life Fourthly If your lives are worth so much then what is the Gospell worth If a man would give all for his life what should he give for his Religion to maintaine and uphold that in the purity and power of it Life is a precious thing a thing of great value but when the Gospell comes in competition then life is a poore commodity and our breath but a perishing vapour Such was the judgement of that great Apostle Act. 20.24 when the Holy Ghost had witnessed in every City that bonds and afflictions did abide him in preaching the Gospell he thus resolves But none of these things move me neither count I my life deare unto my selfe so that I might finish my course with joy and the ministery which I have received to testifie the Gospell of the grace of God His life came to a low rate in his esteeme how cheape was life when the Gospell was spoken of I count not my life deare saith Paul as all other outward things are meane and low compared with life so life it selfe is a meane a low thing in comparison of the Gospell This life is but the life of the body but the Gospell is the life of the soule Many men live but no soule lives on this side or without the Gospell Now if you will offer much to save your lives will not you offer much more to save the Gospell In and about this we may make the best improvement of Satans argument Skin for skin and all that a man hath should he give for the Gospell for Gospell ordinances for Gospell priviledges for Gospell light Where or for what will you venture and bid high if not for the precious Gospell Lastly If life be worth all then hereby we may take measure of the love and bounty of Christ to poore sinners who not onely spent himselfe in all to his life but spent life and all that they might not perish the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ was exceeding great towards us That though he was rich yet for our sakes he became poore 2 Cor. 8.9 That though he was in the forme of God and thought it no robbery to be equall with God yet he made himselfe of no reputation Phil. 2.6 7. But how superabundant was his grace towards us that though he was the Prince of life Act. 3.15 Yet became obedient unto death even the death of the crosse Phil. 2.8 that we might live If a man loves his life so that he will give skin for skin and all that he hath to redeeme it then O how did Christ love his Church who gave not only his riches and his reputation but his life also for it's redemption JOB 2.5 6 7 8. But put forth thine hand now and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse thee to thy face And the Lord said unto Satan Behold he is in thine hand but save his life So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boyles from the sole of his foote unto his crowne And he tooke him a pot-sheard to scrape himselfe withall and he sate downe among the ashes IN this fifth verse Satan goeth on and makes a motion unto God as we observed his method in the former Chapter but put forth thine hand now and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse thee to thy face This is Satans motion In the sixth verse we have a grant of this motion bound up yet with a limitation as it was in the former Chapter For the motion But put forth thine hand now and touch c. What it importeth to put forth the hand that was opened in the former Chapter vers 11. where we have the same expression therefore we shall not stay upon it here Consider now only that which is differing a new object upon which the hand must be put forth and which Satan desireth might now be touched It is the laying of his hand not upon his Cattell or upon his estate or upon his children but upon his flesh and his bone Touch his bone and his flesh that is afflict his body The bone and the flesh are the two chiefe parts the materiall parts of the body of them the whole Fabrique doth consist the bone it is as the timber in this house and the flesh it is as the lime and morter filling of it up Touch this saith Satan And in that he saith touch his bone and his flesh he intends and requires a deepe and a sore affliction upon his body for if he had said only thus Touch his flesh that had beene an affliction upon his body For we know often in Scripture the flesh is put for the whole body and sometimes for the whole man therefore Satan is not satisfied with an expression generall but he putteth it in direct and expresse termes Touch his flesh and his bone that is touch him so as that the paine and the distemper may sinke into his very bones into his very Marrow touch him thus and then you shall see what he will doe The Bone it selfe is a part without feeling yet to touch the bone imports the greatest paine that can be felt Touch his bone and his flesh and then saith he He will curse thee to thy face What it is to curse to the face hath bin opened already in the former Chapter at the eleventh verse and I must referre you thither for the sence of this phrase only in a word take it thus Hee will curse thee to thy face is as if
he had many weakenesses upon him yet he preached the Gospell And then it followes in the next verse My temptation which was in my flesh you despised not observe he calleth his bodily infirmity a temptation The afflictions of the body are great temptations to the soule It is very considerable to this purpose what the Apostle James saith when he speaks of the severall conditions of the Saints and their duties in them Chap. 5. v. 13 14. Is any man afflicted let him pray he speakes that in generall Is any man merry let him sing Psalmes Is any man sick Is he pained by sicknesse in his body What shall he doe then He doth not say Is any man sick let him pray but Is any man sick let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him As if he should say A sick man is very unfit to pray himselfe though for himselfe he hath need to call others to pray with him and for him he hath enough to doe to wrastle with his pain and conflict with that affliction In other afflictions let him pray but if he be sick let him send for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him A diseased body unfits the mind for holy duties The prayer of sick Hezekiah is called chattering like a Crane or Swallow so did I chatter Isa 38. it was rather chattering then praying such a disquietnesse and uncomposednesse was upon his spirit thorough or by the infirmity of his flesh Paine is a piercing shaft in Satans quiver of temptations Though the spirit of a man will sustaine his infirmity yet oftentimes a wound in the body wounds the soule and the diseases of the flesh make the spirit sick A wounded spirit no man can beare and a wound in the body is a burden too heavy for many men And if it be so Then the pain and the weaknesse of the body is no advantage to repentance and returning unto God How pittifully are they mistaken who put off repentance till their bodies be in paine till they are sick and weake they doe it upon this ground because when they are in paine they thinke they shall repent with more ease Observe if Satan thinks to have such an advantage upon a holy man as to make him blaspheme when he is in paine doest thou thinke paine will be an advantage to thy repentance It is said that at the powring out of the fourth Viall Rev. 16.9 when God did smite the inhabitants of the earth and scorched them with great heat that they blasphemed the Name of God they did that which Satan presumed Job would doe and they repented not to give him glory It is a woefull thing to put off repentance to a pained body paine in its own nature fits us rather to blaspheme and turne from God then to returne to him Never thinke to have helpe for the cure of your soules by the diseases of your bodies usually we find that either sick persons repent not or theirs is but a sickly repentance At the most paine can but restraine your lusts it can never heale them The actings of some sins are quickned by diseases At the most a disease can but abate the acts of sin it can never destroy the life of it Death it selfe cannot kill sin The sins of wicked men live when they are dead the grave cannot consume them no nor the fire of Hell wast their strength the sins of unbeleevers shall remaine not only in their guilt but in their power to all eternity So much of Satans motion But put forth thy hand now and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse thee to thy face Verse 6. And the Lord said unto Satan Behold he is in thy hand but save his life Here we have the Lords grant unto that motion of Satan He is in thy hand but save his life Thou mayest doe with his bone and his flesh what thou wilt He is in thine hand We have opened what it is to have a thing put into the hand in the former Chapter where the same expression is used therefore I shall passe those words here Note only this that the Lord saith here He is in thy hand to prevent Satans cavill as if he had said Thou movest me to touch his bone and his flesh well lest thou shouldest say that I have dealt too gently with him and have smitten him with favour I will put the rod or staffe into thine hand doe thou with 〈◊〉 bone and his flesh what thou canst spare him not We know the Lord is able to strike stronger stroakes and give deeper wounds infinitely then Satan can if he pleaseth yet the love of God to his children stops his hand and breakes the blow He corrects in judgement and debates in measure Isa 27.8 when he strikes his children he strikes them as children gently Thus 2 Sam. 7.14 speaking of Davids family If he commit iniquity saith God I will chasten him with the rod of men the word there used is Enosh which signifies a weake man I will chasten him with the rod of a weake man of one that hath but a weake arme or hand the hand of a sickly fraile man A weake a sickly man cannot strike very hard Thus saith God I will chasten thy children if they commit iniquity they shall rather see my care then feele my power in their corrections Now I say lest Satan should pretend partiality God puts Job into Satans hand and gives him liberty to lay on as hard as his hand acted with utmost malice could smite him thou hast liberty to smite him into the very valley of the shadow of death to bring him so neere death that he may looke into the graves mouth but no further Save his life Here is Satans chaine the limitation or restraint of his power When God puts any of his servants into Satans hand he keepes Satan in his owne hand And as all the Elect are in Gods hand to keepe them from taking hurt so the Devill is in Gods hand to keep him from doing hurt to his Elect. Save his life The word Nephesh here used signifieth properly the soule and the soule is in Scripture often put for the life because the soule is the spring the fountaine of life life is derived or diffused into the body from or by the soule and as soone as the soule is parted from the body life departs Hence both this Hebrew word and the Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 have their names from breathing or respiring For life goes out when breath goes out when we cease breathing we cease living Our life is but a blast a breath the Lord formed man out of the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrills the breath of life and he became a living soule Gen. 2.7 This is that vitall spirit by which all quick things move therefore Beasts Birds Fish and creeping things are called living soules Gen. 1.20 24. And
this life is called the blood because 〈◊〉 contained or carried in the blood Gen. 9.4 Further it is 〈◊〉 observable that the Hebrewes call the Body seperated from 〈◊〉 soule or a dead corps Nephesh Numb 5.2 c. 9.10 c. 19.11 Hag. 2.14 Though the life be quite gone out departed from the carkasse or body of a dead man yet that dead body is called life or soule to note that it shall live againe and that the soule shall returne unto it The mistery of the Resurrection from death was implied in the name of the dead Wee find also that the Heathens called a dead body a soule possibly from some glimpse of the resurection We lay up a soule in the grave saith the Poet. Animamque sepulchro condimus But how is this worke put into Satans hand The saving of his life What is Satan become a saviour what salvation can we expect from him whose name is Apollyon and Abaddon Rev. 9.11 both which signifie a destroyer Shall we send to the Wolfe to save the Sheepe or to the Vulture to save the Dove Destruction is the delight of Satan and it is his way as he hath no hope to be saved himselfe eternally so no will to save others temporally Observe then That here to save life notes only a sparing from death not a delivering from destruction but a forbearing to destroy Satan saved his life negatively that is he did not take it away he can not save positively or restore that which was ready to perish he doth not save as a deliverer but as a murtherer who would kill his brother but cannot He saves not for want of will but for want of power when he is forced to spare his nature is to devoure This devouring Lyon hunts for the pretious life even when God saith Save his life It may be questioned here Why Satan for that is implyed desired so to destroy the life of Job God would never have limited and chained him up but that Satan had a mind to suck his blood or afflict him unto death These two reasons may be given why Satan would have his life The one might be this Because it was a thing doubtfull with him though he bragged much of it whether he should attaine his end or no to make Job curse God when therefore he saw he could not overcome his spirituall life it would have bin some revenge to him to destroy his naturall life As some wicked ones his agents when by all their threats or flatteries they cannot make a 〈◊〉 sin which is to destroy his spirituall life their revenge breakes 〈◊〉 against his naturall life to destroy that This is the method of persecution first to attempt the death of the soule by drawing or terrifying unto sin and if they faile of that then death is inflicted on the body Or againe in the second place he being doubtfull in himselfe though he made no doubt in words whether his plot would be successefull to make Job curse God he I say doubting this designe might not draw him to sin resolved to take away his life that so Job might never have told tales of his victory or have reported his conquest to the world At least by his death he might obscure the businesse and bury it with some slander saying that Job died with discontent and griefe that he blasphemed God when he died that he wished for death and could not hold out any longer Much like that device of some Jesuits who have blowne it abroad that our most zealous opposers of Romish errours whom they could never move either by writing or disputing while they lived have yet recanted all when they dyed Wherefore least Satan should have drawen a curtain over the glory of Jobs victory by aspersing him after his death the Lord saith Save his life Job shall survive his troubles that matters may come to light and a true report be made and left upon record both of thy implacable malice and enmity and of his invincible patience and sincerity And this may lead us yet further to consider why God was so carefull of that precious part his life For some may say Had it not been glory to God and honour to Job like that of Martyrdome if he had died under the hand of Satan holding fast his own integrity blessing God even unto death I grant this but yet God knew that the saving of his life would be more advantagious both to himselfe and his Job for those ends wherefore he saith Save his life destroy him not First thus God intended to make Job a Monument of mercy as well as a Monument of suffering he intended to set him up to all the world as one in whom they might behold the goodnesse of God in raising up mixt with his wisdome in casting down that men might learn hope from Job as well as patience from Job Therefore saith God Save his life I have somewhat else to do with him I will raise him up again and in him an everlasting Monument both of his patience in suffering and of my own power in restoring Indeed if he had died in the conflict and left his bones in the field he had been a wonderfull example of constancy but he had not been such an example of mercy if his life had not been saved There may be this in it too Save his life saith God I will have him preserved in this combate his courage and carriage in it is my delight God loveth to see his people holding out tugging and continuing in such assaults and temptations If any thing in the world gives delight to God this is the thing that delighteth him The Heathen thought this the sport of their gods Seneca in his Book of Providence speaking of Cato and other gallant Romane spirits saith the gods delighted to look upon them in their conflicts with fortune To see them wrastle with some great calamity with some great danger was such a spectacle as would draw off Jupiter from his greatest businesse It is a most certain truth that the most true God doth love and delight to see his children wrastling with some great calamitie to see a poor man man who is but flesh and bloud wrastling with principalities and powers with the devill and powers of darknesse this is a sight that God himself as we may so speak rejoyceth in When Abraham had finished that great combate about sacrificing his sonne he calleth the place Jehovah-jireh the Lord will see or the Lord doth see the Lord doth behold as if that had been a sight which God himselfe came down to look upon As when some great man or strange shew passeth by we goe out to see it so God cometh down upon mount Moriah to see a sight And what was it To see Abraham in that great temptation assaulted and overcomming Here was a spectacle for the great Jehovah and therefore he cals the place Jehovah-jireh the Lord hath seen I doubt not but this place
also of Jobs triall might have born the same name As the Lord will be seen in the mount of our afflictions to provide for us so he will see us in the mount of our afflictions to please himself The Psalmist describeth God looking down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand that did seek God Psal 53.2 Surely then if any do seek God much more if they suffer from him or for him in a holy manner he will look downe from Heaven to see them Thirdly I will note that as another ground why God would have his life spared because he had much use of him when he was in that condition full of sores and scabs A godly man is never in such an estate but God hath some use of his life Therefore saith God Save his life though he be full of sores or rather from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot one continued sore though he be a most lamentable creature and cannot wag hand or foot in any service of man yet spare his life for he may thus stand me in great stead and do me more service then many thousands who as we speake are sound winde and limbe and have not one blemish upon the whole body A godly person is ever usefull to God though he cannot stirre a limbe yet his life may be usefull to God whereas a wicked man though strong and healthy though furnisht with outward comforts and accommodations is altogether unserviceable he will not doe God a stroake of worke though he have received great pay and wages afore-hand A godly man will serve God in and by his poverty in and by his sicknesse when diseased when distressed when nothing is to be seen upon him but scabs and boiles Grace will work through all the defects and decayes of nature And when the life of nature can scarce move one member of the outward man upon the earth the life of grace moves all the members of the inward man toward Heaven Though the outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed day by day 2 Cor. 4.16 Lastly God saved his life as a punishment and vexation upon Satan The Talmudists are vouched to affirme that it was not so grievous to Job to be afflicted in his body as it was to Satan when God restrained him from destroying his life As if a man should be permitted to crack the glasse but he must not spill the wine That his life must be kept whole in him was Satans wound It is a torture to malice not to do the utmost mischiefe So much for the clearing of these words Behold he is in thine hand but save his life From the Lords grant observe first That God doth oftentimes give up the bodies of his faithfull servants to be abused and tormented by Satan and his instruments He is in thine hand thou maiest do with him what thou wilt on this side death Touch his flesh and his bone or touch his flesh to the bone strike as hard wound as deep as thou canst It is said Revel 2.10 that Satan should cast some of them that is of the servants of God into prison God gave up their bodies to irons and fetters to the stocks and shackles He permits those bodies which are Temples of the holy Ghost to be thrust into dungeons and the chambers of death Therefore doe not thinke it strange to see the bodies of the children of God put into cruell and bloudy hands though they are vessels of honour and Temples of the holy Ghost yet God may give up those bodies to be defiled and polluted with the outrages of the most abominable wretches consider what the Apostle speakes of the Jewish Martyrs Heb. 11. How were their bodies abused and mangled They were stoned they were sawn asunder they were slaine with the sword they wandered about in sheep skins and goat skins being destitute afflicted tormented of whom the world was not worthy Their bodies had not a house to dwell in nor garments to put on in whose soules God himselfe dwelt and had put upon them the garment of Salvation Who is able to expresse yea to conceive what strange inventions of crueltie have been brought into the world to vex and torment the bodies of the Saints The stories of the Primitive times are full but the fathers of the Romish inquisition have exceeded them all Satan here invents a strange disease as an engine to torture Jobs body in that he mixt the rack and the wheel the sword and the saw the fiery gridiron and the boyling oil The pain of a thousand deaths was heightn'd in that malignant distemper Secondly he is in thine hand but save his life saith God The matter wherein Satan is limited is life then note That life and death are in the hand of God It is truth that all we have is in the hand of God but God keeps our life in his hand last of all and he hath that in his hand in a speciall manner So David expresses it Thou holdest my soul in life though the soul continue life may not continue there is the soul when there is not life life is that which is the union of soul and body Thou holdest my soul in life that is thou holdest soul and body together So Daniel describes God to Belshazzar Dan. 5.23 The God in whose hand thy breath is and whose are all thy wayes hast thou not glorified The breath of Princes is in the hand of God and the same hand holds the breath of the meanest subject This may be matter of comfort to us in such times as these are times of danger and times of death when the hand of man is lifted up to take thy life remember thy life is held in the hand of God And as God said here to Satan Afflict the body of Job but save his life so God saith still to bloudy wretches who are as the limbs of Satan The bodies of such and such are in your hands the estates of such and such are in your hands but save their lives The life of a man is never at the mercy of a creature though it be a common speech of men when they have a man under them Now I have you at my mercy though some brag as Laban did to Jacob It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt yet God often checks them as he did Laban from so much as speaking hurt Gen. 31.29 but the God of your father spake unto me yester-night saying Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad Creatures though full of love cannot speak good and though full of malice they cannot speak bad if God forbid then much lesse can they do us hurt and least of all hurt our lives if God with-hold David triumphs in his interest in such a God Psal 68.20 Our God is the God of salvation that is of deliverance of outward deliverance for that is
especially there meant and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death or the goings out from death that is God hath all wayes that lead out from death in his own keeping he keepeth the key of the door that lets us out from death when a man is in the valley of the shadow of death where shall he issue out where shall he have a passage No where saith man he shall not escape but God keepeth all the passages when men think they have shut us up in the jawes of death he can open them and deliver us To him belong the issues from death It is an allusion to one that keepeth a passage or a door And God is a faithfull keeper and a friendly keeper who will open the door for the escape of his people when they cry unto him It is exprest so in Psal 141.7 Our bones are scattered at the graves mouth as when one cutteth or cleaveth wood upon the earth that is we are even ready to die to be put into the grave What then But mine eyes are upon thee O God the Lord in thee is my trust leave not my soul destitute Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me Let the wicked fall into their own nets whilest I withall escape that is make me a way to escape As if he should say Thou hast the key of the gate by which we may issue out from death Lord I look that thou shouldest now open it for me Let it comfort us that God hath our lives and the issues from death in his own hand When Satan thought he had Job fast enough lockt up in the valley of the shadow of death God kept him safe he opened a door and let him out Thirdly note that as God hath life in his hand in a speciall manner so he takes speciall care of the lives of his people Save his life saith God I will look to that Psal 116.15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints Precious is their death not that death it self is precious a privation hath no preciousnesse in it but their life is precious therefore he will have a great price for their death God puts off the life of a Saint at a deare rate Woe unto those who violently and unjustly take away that which is so precious in the esteeme of God at one time or other he will make them pay dear for such Jewels Fourthly observe It is mercy to have our lives though we lose all things else You see here God saith concerning Job Save his life I have given thee his estate thou hast spoiled that now I will leave his body in thine hand wound that afflict that but save his life Here was mercy Therefore it was a speciall promise and priviledge made and granted to some in times of great publike sufferings and common calamities as to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian Jer. 39.18 and to Baruch the Scribe Jer. 45.5 that their lives should be given to them for a prey as if God had said It is no ordinary favour in times of common danger to have your lives for a prey you complain for this losse and that losse and you have cause too but think withall that you have your lives And why is it said that they should have their lives for a prey A prey you know properly is that which we take out of the hand of an enemie that which was in his possession the lives of these persons were said to be given to them for a prey in those perillous times because God by his care and providence did as it were fetch back their lives from the hand of the enemie their lives in naturall reason were in their enemies hands but God undertakes to fetch them back and recover them out of their hands and so they were promised to have their lives for a prey Thus God giveth to many of his people their lives for a prey and they are to blesse God in this behalfe whatsoever afflictions and troubles are upon them that yet they have their lives Lastly we may hence raise our meditations to consider the wonderfull love of God to us in Christ when God sent Christ into the world to save sinners he put him into the hands of Satan and his instruments yet he doth not say as here to Satan Save his life Afflict him as thou wilt persecute him in his cradle despise him slander him revile him accuse him crowne his head with thornes scourge him buffet him spit in his face c. but save his life No this bound is not set to the malice of Satan or the rage of men God gives them leave to take life and all Concerning his servant Job God saith to Satan Spare his life but when he sendeth his Son he gives no order to have him spared but gives his cruell enemies full scope How wonderfull is the love of God who for our sakes was so expensive of his Sons life when as he thus spared the life of a servant If Satan had been chained up from taking the life of Christ he had been at liberty to triumph over our lives to all eternity We had all died if God had said to Satan concerning Christ Save his life Thus we see the Commission of Satan against Job and the limitation of it Satan was not tyed up so short as he was in the former Chapter and yet still he is tyed There he might meddle with Jobs estate but not with his body here he may meddle with his body but not with his life Though God lengthen Satans chain yet he never lets Satan loose though he be at more liberty then before yet he is in custody there is a But of restriction upon him still It is our comfort that though Satan as Philosophers speake of liquids water and the like cannot keep himself in his own bounds yet he is easily kept in bounds by the word and power of God Verse 7. So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boiles from the sole of the feet unto his crowne Verse 8. And he took him a potsheard to scrape himselfe withall and he sate down among the ashes So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. He is presently upon execution as soon as he hath his commission We have explained these words in the former Chapter See then what he doth He smote Job with sore boiles from the sole of his feet unto his crown He smote Job saith the Text. In the former afflictions Satan had instruments to work by He stirred up the Caldeans and Sabeans he moved the fire and the winde into a conspiracie against Job Here he that he might be sure it should be done fully doth it himselfe He smote Job When the devil smiteth he smiteth thorowly he smiteth home When Angels strike they strike to purpose It is said Act. 12. that an Angel of the Lord smote Herod and he was eaten of wormes and
another and it is an abatement of our troubles to see those whom we love in peace Two are better then one saith Solomon for if one fall the other may helpe him up but if both fall who shall helpe And if every member suffer there is passion in all but compassion in none much lesse support or helpe Thirdly observe Job in this condition was left of all Doe not thinke it strange if you be brought into such straights as to be left alone when you have most need of assistance Job was as a man friendlesse Physitianlesse wifelesse servantlesse all forsooke him It is the comfort of the people of God that they know how to be alone and yet can never be alone though they be left of all visible friends yet they have an invisible friend who will visit them stay with them by day and watch with them by night for he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee In the Greeke there are five negatives to affirme this that God will not leave his Heb. 13.5 And he that hath him alone hath infinitely more then all the world in one When friends and Physitians will not come neere when wife and children take their leave or stand afarre off when servants hold their noses being not able to beare the stinch and ill savour that cometh from the body yea when a man comes to be an abhorring to himselfe yet at that time God delights in him Christ at that time imbraceth him and takes him in his armes and kisseth him with the kisses of his lips which are better then wine yea better then life Job was never so neer God so in the bosome of God as when no creature in the world would so much as touch him Job was never so beautifull in the eye of God as when he had nothing but boiles upon him Fourthly I may present you with Job as he was upon his Ashhill in want of all things from thence be admonished That the children of God his dearest servants may come to uttermost outward extremities When a man is among the ashes then he is at the lowest what can a man be lesse then that The Apostles were made as the filth of the world as the off-scouring of all things as sweepings and off all which are cast out upon the dunghill So was Job in the sense of many interpreters They who are of most worth may be used as if they were worth nothing Job was a pearle though upon a dunghill They who were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghils saith Jeremie in his Lamentation for Jerusalem chap. 4.5 We may say They who are brought up and clothed in better then scarlet even in the robes of righteousnesse and in the Garments of Salvation may yet be brought to embrace a dunghill There is no judging by Appearance No man knowes love or hatred by all that is before him or upon him Eccles 9. Lastly looke upon Job sitting in the ashes as a voluntary act and then observe which is of much concernement and use for us now in regard of the present condition we are in That as the afflicting hand of God doth increase upon a people or upon a person so ought the humiliation and repentance of that person or people to increase When the hand of God was upon Job before he rent his Mantle he shaved his head these were acts of great humiliation but now Job having a neerer and a deeper affliction upon him humbleth himselfe yet more Then he fell upon the ground but now he sitteth among the ashes Greater afflictions call to greater humiliation We ought not only to be humbled when God afflicteth but to be humbled in a proportion to the affliction As it is in regard of sin committed Great sins call for great sorrow And as it is in regard of mercies received Great mercies call for great praises so Great troubles call us to great humiliations and still the greater troubles are the greater our humiliation ought to be This is one way of accepting the punishment of our iniquities and of improving present evils for our everlasting good Consider whether this be not the work of this day We have had the hand of God upon the Nation in lesser judgements heretofore we have had warning-peeces shot of amongst us but now we heare the report of murthering-peeces every day Divers yeeres God made warre upon us with the sword of the Angel by which thousands have fallen in our streets but now God hath put a sword into the hands of men The former sword was a favour compared with this Those wounds a kisse compared with this Both David and experience resolve it thus Many of our dear brethren are slain and fallen by the sword their bloud hath been spilt like water and their bones have been scattered as when one cleaveth or cutteth wood upon the earth The spoyled cry to us for bread the sicke and wounded for helpe and healing Many towns have been plundered many Matrons and Virgins have been ravished many families have been scattered many wives and children deprived of their husbands and parents many parishes bereft of faithfull Pastours some of our dwellings turned to ashes And is it not time for us not only to rent our garments but to sit in ashes do not these things call us to eat ashes like bread and mingle our drink with weeping Is it not time for us not only to write but to act a Lamentation and to say For these things I weepe mine eye mine eye runneth down with water There is one thing yet which may and ought to be a Lamentation to us beyond all our own sufferings namely this God is dishonoured his name is blasphemed his people are reproched The enemies strike this sword in their bones A scornfull enquirie Where is now your God Psal 42.10 Should not teares be our meat day and night as they were Davids while they say continually Where is now your God Psal 42.3 our not sitting in the ashes for such things as these will bring us unto ashes and if we will not sit upon the dunghill of our sins in humiliation our sins will bring us and our land unto a dunghill of desolation In this day as of old by his faithfull Prophet Isai 22.12 doth the Lord God of hosts call to weeping and to mourning and to baldnesse and to girding with sackcloth And not only to these but to Jobs posture of sorrow sitting in ashes the voyce of the rod calleth to this the voyce of the trumpet heard daily in our streets cals to this We have cause to cry out as the Prophet Jeremie in his fourth chapter ver 19. My bowels my bowels I am pained at the very heart my heart maketh a noise in me I cannot hold my peace because thou hast heard O my soul the sound of the trumpet and the alarm of war And because the sound of the trumpet among us like that on mount Sinai Exod. 19.19 doth not only sound long
but also lowder and lowder It becomes us not only to continue our mourning and our crying unto God but to cry lowder and lowder If we increase not our humiliations God will yet increase our judgements if we will not sit in ashes he will bring us to ashes and punish us yet seven times more for our sins Wherefore receive the counsell of the Apostle James in these your afflictions Be afflicted and mourn and weep let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heavinesse Humble your selves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up God lifts them up who cast themselves down and if in this sence we be afflicted we shall not be afflicted Christ hath purchased Free Grace bestowes deliverance and we receive it when we returne repent and beleeve JOB 2.9 10. Then said his wife unto him Doest thou still retaine thine integritie Curse God and die But he said unto her Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh what shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil In all this did not Job sin with his lips WEE have already considered out of the former parts of the Chapter Jobs second affliction First in the occasion of it secondly in the causes of it and thirdly in the manner of it together with those aggravating circumstances which made his sorrowes out of measure sorrowfull And now we must look upon that Jewell among the ashes and consider what befell him there These things make the fourth part of the Chapter namely the consequents of his affliction These consequents are three 1. His wives unseemly and sinfull counsell vers 9. 2. His wise and holy reply vers 10. 3. His friends visit to comfort him verses 11 12 13. First we will discusse his wives unseemly and sinfull counsell Then said his wife unto him c. There are two Questions raised concerning Jobs wife 1. Who she was 2. How it came to passe that she was spared when all his outward comforts were removed For the first in a word It is the opinion of many among the ancient Jewes that Job lived in the time of Jacob the Patriark And that he took to wife Dinah Jacobs daughter but I leave the Rabbins to prove that if they can Why she was spared in the time of so generall a calamity may beare some further inquirie For seeing a wife is the chiefest of creature comforts and the very reason why God at the first did institute that relation was that man might have a help meet for him it may seeme somewhat strange why Satan going about to bring upon Job trouble in its perfection should leave him that which is the perfection of all outward comforts a wife What were Jobs Oxen and Asses and Sheep and Camels to a wife And what were his children to a wife When Adam had not only such a number of cattell but all the cattell and riches in the world in his possession and under his dominion God saw him defective till he provided him a wife a wife was the complement of all How then cometh it to passe that when Satan would afflict Iob to the uttermost he leaves him his wife To cleare this before we come to examine the words that she spake The Jewes which are the Authors of that afore-named opinion that his wife was Dinah tell us to lengthen out the dreame that she was spared for Iacob her fathers sake It is a truth That children doe often fare the better for holy Fore-fathers It is no mean privilege to be born of those that are in Covenant As God visits the iniquitie of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate him so he shewes mercy to thousands of those that love him c. Exod. 20.5 6. but in this place we have no stock to graft this truth upon but a meere imagination I passe on Secondly some conceive that his wife was out of Satans Commission that he had nothing to do to meddle with her she being comprehended under that clause of exception in the first Chapter vers 12. All that he hath is in thy power only upon himselfe put not forth thine hand his wife they say was a part of himself according to that Gen. 2.24 And they viz. the husband and the wife shall be one flesh So that Satan could not smite her but he must smite Iob too therefore she was exempted say they and set beyond the reach of Satans stroake Though this may have some shew of wit in it and somewhat of reason too referring unto the first part of Iobs affliction yet there is no shew of either in reference unto the second where Satan had a Commission to afflict his bodie his flesh and his bone for then she also take it in the sense before was comprehended under the Commission of Satan being though not as Eve from Adam bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh yet according to the law of marriage given to all One flesh with him Gen. 2.24 Therefore in the third place that which I conceive and agree with others in for the true reason why she was spared is this That she might be a further instrument of her husbands affliction Satan meant to make use of her for his owne purpose to drive on the main designe and whereas she should have been a help to her husband Satan employes her against her husband this was his aime and therefore she was spared Hence one of the Ancients cals her the strongest and fittest weapon with which Satan did assault the choisest Arrow in his Quiver by which he wounded the soul and spirit of Iob. She that should have had her hands busied in the washing suppling curing and healing of his wounds smites him with her tongue a piercing and a poyson'd instrument The rib was not smitten that it might smite the head Another compares her to a Ladder by which Satan hoped to scale this impregnable tower that death might creep in at the window of his eares by hearing and consenting to her sinfull perswasions Seeing then Satan spared Jobs wife that she might be the instrument of this additionall affliction which most conclude to be as the sting of all his afflictions First note this That Satans mercies have alwayes somewhat of crueltie in them He spareth the wife but it was that she might further vex the husband His mercies are like the mercies of wicked men Their tender mercies are cruell that is they are no mercies at all Prov. 12.10 There is a punishing mercy and there is a sparing cruelty among men Such are Satans sparings ever lined with cruell and bloudy intendments Secondly observe That the greatest outward blessings may prove the greatest outward afflictions A wife is made a crosse a snare Our greatest danger may be from our helper And that which was given for our good may be to us an occasion of falsing Satan can
is the profit of integritie that thou holdest and huggest it so fast Doest thou still retaine thine integritie This I conceive is the summe of the question it is an upbraiding a reproaching question and from that we may observe First That those things which commend us most to God usually render us most contemptible before the world Doest thou still retain thine integritie She slighteth him and scorneth him for this whereas God highly commends him speakes it to his praise That which is highly esteemed amongst men is abomination in the sight of the Lord. And that which the Lord esteemes highly man abominates Secondly this It is the endeavour of Satan and his instruments to perswade that the profession of holinesse is vain and unprofitable Satan hath taught wicked ones and they like forward Schollars say it without book say it openly It is a vain thing to serve the Lord Satan would faine infuse this cursed principle into the hearts of Gods own people and make them beleeve their faith is also vain Doest thou still retain thine integritie Come take a little counsell at the last work like a wise man wilt thou hold a thing thou canst get nothing by Take it on my word thou canst not thrive this way thou canst make nothing of it what dost thou meane to go on madding in such a course as this Thou shalt never get bread by it to put in thy head no nor water to wash thy hands All thou gettest by it will be a knock a rod upon thy back a dishonour upon thy name And wilt thou still be so strait-lac'd and hold fast thy integritie Thirdly observe further from Satans intendment in putting such words as these into the mouth of Iobs wife That his great designe is to take advantage from outward troubles and ill successes to discourage the hearts and weaken the hands of Gods people in holy duties That was his project quite to discourage Iob and from the ill successe he had in the service of God to get him put off his Livery and give over his service It is the course that the world instructed by Satan as here Iobs wife was still holdeth with the people of God Their language is Why are you so precise why so not c Doe you not observe you get nothing by your prayers nothing by your fasting nothing by your holinesse All that you have got you may put in your eyes and see never the worse Shew us some of your gaines what have you got where are your deliverances where are your victories where is your Salvation you have prayed till you are almost undone you have fasted till all is almost lost things are worse then they were will you still goe on in these duties of fasting and praying of humbling and seeking of waiting and beleeving This is the language of Satan this the divinity of Hell And I shall answer it in one word It is far better to die praying then to conquer blaspheming Such doctrine may stop up a hypocrites mouth and weaken his heart from duty But it will more open the mouths enlarge the hearts of those who are sincere Will the hypocrite alwayes call upon God will he delight himselfe in the Almighty saith Job No he delights in God no longer then God gives him worldly delights nor calls upon God any longer then sensible blessings are sent in unto him If God stayes his hand he stopps in duty he quickly takes out Satans lesson and will no longer hold his integrity But Grace shewes us wages in the worke A godly man hath his fruit in holinesse and therefore though he receives no outward fruit he still holds fast his integrity But what would Jobs wife advise him to doe in case he should let goe the holinesse of his life That followes in the next words having endeavoured to take him off from one course she directs him to another Curse God and dye Here is the second part of her counsell cursed counsell indeed Curse God and dye It is the same Originall word which we have opened before and met with two or three times already In the proper signification it noteth blessing and so the word is by many expositors rendred in this place Blesse God and dye Mr. Broughton translates it so in one entire sentence Doest thou still retaine thine integrity blessing God and dying We must therefore examine both sides that we may find out more fully the sense of these words Some take the words in a good sense and some take them in an ill sense Some take the words in a good sense Blesse God and dye And others who translate Blesse God and dye doe yet expound it to an ill sense First Some make a good construction out of these words of Jobs wife affirming that she gave her husband wholesome advice and so they render the words Blesse God and dye to this sense What doest thou still stand upon termes with God wilt thou not humble thy selfe shouldest thou not rather Blesse God that is pray unto God humble thy selfe and seeke his face so to blesse signifies to pray to make supplication Thou seest in what a dolefull condition thou art therefore blesse God make thy humble prayer before God and die that is desire him to take thee out of this miserable world to release thee of thy paine begge that he would cut the thred of thy life which to appearance is the only remedy of all thy troubles death will be thy best friend Thou mayest die with more ease then live as thou doest Thy life is a continuall death it were better for thee to die once then to die daily Mr. Beza is very strong in this opinion excusing yea acquitting Jobs wife in making this motion to her husband He grants indeed that she being deceived and over-wrought by Satan did work strongly for him yet denies that either the counsell in it selfe or in her intendment was evill He layes the whole matter thus That she observing her husbands silence under the hand of God in these great afflictions suspected that he stood too much upon his own integrity that he was too well opinionated and conceited of his own worth or that this proceeded from fearednesse of conscience and insensiblenesse of Gods dealing and his own condition and therefore she adviseth him to consider that surely God was very angry with him to consider that God had brought all this evill upon him to humble him and should he now defend his owne innocencie should he either be silent and not acknowledge his sin or stand upon termes with God in defence and justification of himselfe Doest thou persevere in those high thoughts of thy selfe will not all this bring thy stomack down what will not thy uncircumcised heart be humbled Doest thou still retaine thine integrity doest thou still leane upon that broken reed thy owne integrity Blesse God that is confesse thy sins and acknowledge thy transgressions Indeed confessing of sin is a blessing of God
miscarriage makes us question or disrelish the institution of God In the fourth place Iob is not only not angry with the ordinance of God in generall but he is not angry with the speciall act of Gods providence in his own particular choice There are many will say if their wives trouble them I wish we had never seene the faces one of another we may curse the houre we ever met together Iobs spirit was farre from this he was indeed angry with his wife but he was not angry because this woman was his wife He doth not reject her because she was bad but labours to make her better To convince another of folly is the readiest way to make him wise Thus we see though there were sharpenesse in the reproofe to search the wound yet there was none to exasperate the person This reproofe was an exact compound of love and anger of zeale and knowledge From the ground of her counsell and this reproofe compared together we may Observe That it is an argument of a low and of a foolish spirit to judge of any mans condition by Gods outward dealings with him For this was it that she grounded her counsell upon seeing his outward condition she thought him as a miserable man and therefore adviseth him to curse God and die Thou speakest saith he as one of the foolish women It is an argument of folly and madnesse to judge a man miserable because poore or unhappy or unhealthy Againe observe That unworthy and low thoughts of God argue a low and a foolish spirit Thou speakest as one of the Nabalesses Thou hast such low thoughts of God and speakest so poorely of God that at present I cannot but number thee among the fooles for as there is nothing ought to be so high in our thoughts as God and his wayes so we ought to have high and reverent thoughts of God and his wayes whatsoever he doth with us though we change yet he and they change not God is the same and his service the same for ever Lastly Observe That to doe or speake wickedly is to doe or speake foolishly Sin is the greatest folly in the world sin is a declining from the rule of right reason both from spirituall reason and from naturall Loe they have rejected the word of the Lord and what wisedome is in them Jer. 8.9 True wisedome is to walke by a right rule to a right end While we sin lust in some degree or other is the rule and selfe is the end In both which we joyne hands with folly and are the companions of fooles Thou speakest as one of the foolish women c. From the reproofe it selfe we come to consider the reasons of the reproofe Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh what shall we receive good at the hand of God and not evill Here is the reason upon which he grounds his reproofe Shall we receive good at the hands of God c. The Hebrew runnes thus in the letter shall we receive good from God c. The emphasis of the words carry it thus shall we receive good with hand or heart at the hand of God and shall we not in the same manner receive evill The word Cabal whence this is derived signifieth the receiving of a thing with the hand and with the heart that is to receive gladly and thankfully as it were to kisse the hand and receive a thing Or to receive a thing with much reverence and veneration Hence the Iewes call the Doctrine which is received and transmitted from hand to hand namely their traditionall Doctrine Caballa That which the word Tradition imports among the Papists the word Caballa imports among the Iewes Then the meaning of Job is That good and evill are to be a like received and entertained as from God that is they are to be received with the same reverence and chearfullnesse We receive good things chearefully thankfully reverently we kisse the hand and take them And shall we not receive evill The words doe not referre to the act of receiving but to the manner of receiving We shall receive evill whether we will or no but shall we not receive it namely so and so as we receive good cheerefully thankfully reverently respecting God and his wayes of providence towards us And then the question may be resolved into this affirmative conclusion That looke in what manner we receive good from the hand of God in the same we ought to receive evill Or thus Where we have our good thence we must have our evill One and the same hand moderates and dispenseth both Wherefore shall we receive good and not evill Shall we receive good Some interpret the good here to be meant of the good of the next life shall we be in expectation of everlasting good shall we be in expectation of enjoying Christ and seeing the face of God for ever in Heaven shall we be at least in hope of a crowne of glory layed up in store for us and shall we not be willing to receive evills and digest troubles to beare the crosse a few dayes while we are here I saith the Apostle Paul Rom. 8.18 reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed Shall we have glory in the eye of our faith and shall we not endure a little trouble in the eye of our sence But rather by good here we are to understand the good things of this life shall we receive good sc outward comforts and prosperity and shall we not receive evill from whom Evill from the hand of God What Evill Sooner shall the Sun send forth a cloud then God send forth any evill properly taken therefore evill here is only afflictions as contradistinct to the good before named So the sense is shall we receive comforts at the hand of God and shall we not receive afflictions Afflictions are evill not morall evill not naturall evill but they are called evill either first because they are usually esteemed so or secondly because they are so to sense or thirdly because they are many times abused and so in the event they prove evill unto us lastly they are often evill negatively that is they doe us no good but they are never evill positively in themselves or relatively as they are received from God We may take notice for the further clearing of this passage of the forme of the argument It is proposed by way of question or expostulation as we render it What shall we receive good c. There is a great deale of force in the manner of proposing questions are full of quicknesse and spirit Job doth not only give his wife a Logicall reason but a Rhetoricall reason words with life to convince her by What saith he shall we receive good c. As if he had said this were an absurd thing once to imagine a blind man may see this it is so plaine and a foole
may understand it the reason lyes all in sight That if we receive good from the hand of God we must at least with patience receive evill From this reason in generall Observe That reproofes come then most strongly upon the heart when they are backed with reason Some reprove with rage and not with reason with passion and not with wisedome they reprove with their wit rather then with their spirit Job mixes reason with his passion and gives her an argument as well as a rebuke More particularly from the matter of this reason Observe first That good and evill are both from the hand of God Give me neither poverty nor riches saith Agur Prov. 30.8 both are the gift of God Poverty is Gods guift as well as riches If God doe not give us poverty all the 〈◊〉 will not make us poore I forme the light and create darkenesse 〈◊〉 â—â—ke peace and create evill I the Lord doe all these things 〈◊〉 45.7 The same Prophet teacheth us that these two are equally the pâ—aitve of God and such a prerogative as equally distinguisheth 〈◊〉 from all Idols and false gods Shew the things that are to comâ—â—eafter that we may know that ye are gods yea doe good or doe eâ— that we may be dismayed and behold it together No creatuâ—â— hath ever answered this challenge or ever shall Isa 41.23 Creatures doe good and evill as ministers of Gods will not as masters of their owne Good of every kind and all kinds of poenall evill come forth from God Indeed God usually conveyes these to us by the hand of man but it becomes us to receive them as from the hand of God Much both good and evill comes to us at the second hand but we ought to take it as from the first This truth well wrought upon our hearts will make every good wee enjoy better and every evill wee feele not so bad This latter branch shall be cast into a second Observation Which may be this To looke on evill as coming from the hand of God will quiet the heart in bearing of evill Shall wee receive good at the hand of God and not evill And this in two respects First because of the soveraignty of God he being supreame Lord may doe what he will and his will being the supreame rule of Justice he can doe no wrong This notion of God assures us that whatsoever we receive from the hand of God is just and right hence the inference is naturall If God send evill I must receive it quietly for he sends it justly Secondly because of the assured faithfulnesse and love and goodnesse of God to his even when he sends them which are all he sends this sort of evills As if Job had said any thing is welcome that cometh from one that loves me and hath done me good as God I know doth and hath done often and will doe for ever Will not a man take a nominall evill kindly at his hand from whom he hath received much reall good While we looke only upon creatures and what they doe the burthen of trouble is intollerable but as it cometh from God from a God that loveth us we cannot but receive it in love Afflictions coming from the creature are as the rod of Moses upon the ground a biting a stinging serpent but considered in the hand of God they are as the serpent in the hand of Moses a rod to correct and a staffe to comfort us David we know fled from Saul in feare of his life envious bloody Saul had threatned to kill him In his flight David meetes with his beloved Jonathan and saith unto him 1 Sam. 20.8 Jonathan if there be any iniquity in me slay me thy selfe for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father He would die rather by the hand of Ionathan then by the hand of Saul death from the hand of Ionathan who loved him was sweete whereas from Saul it had bin a bitter cup indeed Take another instance Elijah flyeth from Iezabel 1 King 19.4 and why doth he flie from her She seekes my life saith he to take it away Thoughts of this pressed him so hard that when he came into the wildernesse the text saith hee sate downe under a Juniper tree and requested for himselfe that he might die and said It is enough now O Lord take away my life But Elijah if thou be so willing to die why doest thou flie from Jezabel she would have given thee thy wish presently and satisfied at once her own malice and thy longing I but death from the hand of a Iezabel was his feare not his desire He could welcome it from the hand of God but not from the hand of a spightfull woman But you will say death is from the hand of God though it come by the hand of the creature True but as every good we receive is so much the more sweete by how much the more we see of the hand of God in it and lesse of the creature so every evill is so much the more bitter by how much we see lesse of God and more of man in it If God will take away my life I am pleased but I beg deliverance from the hand of Iezabel He fled for his life for feare of Iezabel but he calleth upon God to die We may exemplifie this in Christ Ioh. 18.11 The cup which my Father hath given me saith he shall I not drinke it It is poculum charitatis a grace cup to poore sinners a cup though bitter in it selfe though mixt with the wrath of God as a judge due to sinners yet temper'd and sweetned with a Fathers love everlastingly assured unto me I cannot but drinke it it cometh from my Father But it may be objected that I lately assign'd it as one reason why Satan spared Jobs wife namely That she who was his neerest friend being made an instrument of his affliction the affliction might be more afflictive and vexatious And David complaines most of a friend that smote him Psal 55. I answer when love turnes to hatred and friendship to unfaithfullnesse when former kisses like that present one of Judas are changed into trecherie this is very wounding and grievous indeed But when God strikes his friends he is their friend still when he afflicts it is in faithfulnesse Psal 119.75 He is good to us when he sends us evill and he sends us evill for our good To be smitten by a friend whose very smiting is friendship and who heales us by wounding cannot be offensive Hence Davids choice Let us fall now into the hands of the Lord for his mercies are great and not into the hand of man 1 Sam. 24.14 Hence a third Observation from the strength of the argument and reason may be thus framed To consider that all the good we have descends from God makes it both reasonable and equitable that wee should beare evill quietly when he is pleased to send it Shall we receive good and not evill saith he It is
upon the rock unshaken unmoved He that is held up by everlasting armes shall stand fast for ever In all this Job sinned not The words referre to what was past For Job afterward did faile and sinned with his lips through vehemency of paine and heate of disputation he spake some things rashly though nothing blasphemously So he confesses Chap. 42.13 I have uttered things that I understood not But in all this so farre as Job had gone he had not sinned with his lips As Samuel after many victories and deliverances sets up a stone or a pillar with this inscription Eben-Ezer The stone of helpe saying Hitherto hath the Lord helped us 1 Sam. 7.12 So here the holy Ghost doth as it were erect a pillar raise a monument of Jobs compleate and glorious victories over Satan Thus engraven Hitherto In all this Job hath not sinned Yet you may remember that such speeches concerning the Saints are to be understood in a qualified sense not in an absolute sense For who can bring a cleane thing out of that which is uncleane Perfection out of imperfection Not to sin is here our duty and should be our endeavour it shall be our reward in Heaven On earth we are said not to sin when we desire not to sin as hath bin more at large shewed upon those words of the last verse of the former Chapter In all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly There reade the point handled more distinctly For the opening of these words note only this that when it is said In all this Job sinned not There is more to be understood then is exprest for Job did not only not sin but he overcame and triumphed gloriously over Satan he did excellently and he spake excellently in all this So then these words carry the sense not only of a bare acqittall but of a high approbation In all this Job sinned not with his lips With his lips Some of the Jewes inferre from hence that he sinned in his heart because it is said he did not sin in words they conceit there was some irregularity in his thoughts Surely if his heart had been disorder'd his tongue would have been disorder'd too for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh therefore it is rather an argument that his heart was free from sin because his tongue was In all this Job sinned not with his lips That is he did not murmure or repine or blaspheme these are the sins of the lips Observe first Not to sinne is the highest and truest the most honourable and lasting victory of all This victory God himselfe applauds the holy Ghost will cry you up for strength and valour when you come off from a temptation untouch't you shall be recorded for it among Christs worthies In all this Job sinned not And secondly To governe the tongue under great and sore afflictions is a high act of grace It is spoken as matter of wonder In all this Job sinned not with his lips Moses you know was a meeke man yet he was so put to it that he spake unadvisedly with his lips He opened his lips so unadvisedly that God shut him out of the temporall Canaan for it rash words cost him deare David was a very holy man and very carefull over his tongue Psal 39.1 I said I will take heed to my wayes that I sinne not with my tongue I will keepe my mouth with a bridle And knowing though as the Apostle James teacheth us we put bits into the Horses mouthes that they may obey us we can turne about their whole body Jam. 3.3 that no bridle of his putting could keepe his mouth he puts this worke into the hand of God praying with all earnestnesse Set a watch O Lord before my mouth keepe the doore of my lips Notwithstanding all this we find him sinning with his lips more then once Psal 73.13 Verily I have cleansed my heart in vaine and washed my hands in innocency And againe Psal 116.11 I said in my hast all men are lyars Job had the preheminence in this he sinned not with his lips no not when he was afflicted and smitten with bitter words He that offendeth not in words saith the Apostle James is a perfect man he is a perfect man indeed who can rule his tongue and so keepe the doore of his lips as that he offends not either by silence or by speech The lips doe offend both wayes negatively as well as positively by speaking and by not speaking Sometimes silence is a loud sinne not speaking is to some on some occasions a crying sin Job sinned not with his lips either by being silent when he should speake or by speaking wherein and when he should be silent And so much concerning this second consequent of Jobs affliction His wives sinfull counsell with his prudent and gracious answer sharpely yet moderately rebuking strongly yet lovingly convincing her folly In and by both faithfully indeavouring at once to discover and cure her errour The third consequent of his affliction now followes namely the visit of his friends described in the three last verses of this Chapter which leads us into the body of the Booke with all the debates disputes and arguments held and maintained with much acutenesse of wit and strength of reasoning between him and these three his friends and visitants JOB 2.11 12 13. Now when Jobs three friends heard of all this evill that was come upon him they came every one from his owne place Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuite and Zophar the Naamathite for they had made an appointment together to come to mourne with him and to comfort him And when they lift up their eyes afarre off and knew him not they lifted up their voice and wept and they rent every one his mantle and sprinkled dust upon their heads towards Heaven So they sate downe with him upon the ground seven dayes and seven nights and none spake a word unto him for they saw that his griefe was very great THese three verses containe the third generall consequent of Jobs second affliction In the division of the Chapter we called it his friends visit In which visit we may here observe First The number of the visitants They were three Now when Jobs three friends Secondly We have here the names of these visitants Eliphas the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite Thirdly We have the occasion of their visit And that was the report of all the evill that was come upon Job Now when Jobs three friends heard of all this evill that was come upon him then they came Fourthly We have the ground of this visit It was a mutuall agreement or a compact made betweene them so saith the text For they had made an appointment together to come Fifthly We have the end or the intendment of their coming what they aimed at in visiting Job And the end is exprest in the Text to be two-fold 1. To communicate with him in his
the workes of his providence argue the greatest folly p. 289. Sin the greatest folly p. 290. Friend unkindnesse from a friend troubles most p. 273 274. A friend who p. 301. It is an act of true friendship to mourne with and comfort our afflicted friends p. 305. G GArments Renting of garments in what cases used p. 179. Gaine will make some doe any thing p. 381. Ghost giving up the ghost what it imports p. 396. Giants and infants are expressed by a word coming from the same roote in the Hebrew p. 421. Gift what it is p. 203. Every outward as well as spirituall good thing is Gods gift p. 203 204. God gives no more then we get honestly p. 205. That God gives all destroyes 4 Monsters at once two in the rich two in the poore p. 205 206 c. That the Lord gives should make us willing to give to the Lord p. 207. A godly man the most considerable object in the world page 93 94. Such are most aimed at and assaulted by Satan p. 95. A godly man will not let nature worke alone p. 193. He acquits God in all his dealings with him p 202 A godly man can never be in so ill a condition but God hath use of his life p. 254. Godlinesse hath the promises of this life performed to it p. 45. Time spent in duties of godlinesse no hinderance to our calling p. 45. Gold and silver how proper and necessary for Princes p. 414 415. Good and evill how alike from the hand of God p. 292. Grace preserves it selfe pure among the impure p. 24. Grace the best blessing p. 29 c. where one grace is every grace is p. 30. Holy practise makes grace visible p. 52. It encreases by opposition p. 229 Grace and the favour of God are sweete to us when all other things are bitter and burdensome p. 444. Graves and Sepulchers called desolate places p. 412. Care and cost anciently bestowed in building of them p. 413. Why called desolate places p. 414. Grave called a house p. 416. Much treasure formerly put in graves p. 416 417. Some take more care for their graves and sepulchers then they doe for their soules p. 420. H HAnds worke of the hands may be applied to any businesse though a worke of the head p. 117 118. To put forth the Hand what it meanes p. 124. Hand of God what it signifies in Scripture p. 125. Either mediate or immediate p. 126. To put into the hand what it notes p. 137. Health a great blessing p. 266. Yet quickly blasted ibid. Heart must be especially looked to p. 74. Man can but guesse at the heart of another p. 75. The heart continually evill p. 76. Satan can but guesse at the heart p. 135. Hedge what it imports when God makes a hedge about a man p. 111 112. Job had a three-fold hedge p. 113. There is a hedge of affliction and a hedge of protection p. 460. Holinesse Holiest persons doe not alwayes keepe the same degree of holinesse p 342. Honesty what we get honestly we can loose patiently p. 205. Hope The want of that afflicts us most which we hope for most p. 385. A hopelesse condition is the worst condition p. 386 462. Honour God will honour them who honour him p. 225. What it is to honour God or man p. 327. Humiliation must encrease as afflictions either personall or publick doe encrease p. 268 c. I IGnorance How God is said to winke at times of ignorance p. 352 351. Impatience is a charging of God with folly p. 219. Infants weepe as soon as they are borne p. 393. They have the seed of death in them as soon as borne p. 398. Intentions It argues a malitious spirit when a mans actions are faire then to accuse his intentions p. 108. Integrity to hold integrity in evill times is not only good but admirable p. 229. The world would perswade that the holding of integrity and profession of holinesse are vaine p 276. Job when he lived p. 18. Joy Godly joy and sorrow mutually cause one another p. 305. What at one time is our feare at another time may be our joy p. 454. Justice in our dealings honours our profession of godlinesse p. 31. K KNowledge wicked men hate it and why p. 373. Knowledge of misery which we cannot be delivered from makes us more miserable p. 440. Keyes four keyes specially in the hand of God p. 390. L LEviathan why so called p 369. What it is to rayse up Leviathan ib p. 370 c. Two other significations of the word p. 378. The name of a song p. 380. Life Our life here is but a coming and a going p 201. Life is the most pretious treasure in nature p. 240. Not to be parted with for a trifle p. 241. The soule far more pretious then life p 243. So also is the Gospell ib. c. The love of Christ in parting with life for us p. 244. What life is in the naturall consideration of it p. 251 441. Life and death are in the hand of God p. 256. Mercy to have life though we loose all else p. 257. Likenesse of quality and of equality p. 100. All the Saints on earth like one another and like Christ in quality but unlike in equality ib. Light a great blessing the sorts of it p. 353. Light-haters who p. 373. Longing for a thing notes the strongest desire p. 447. M MAn the word man in Scripture signifies more then a reasonable creature or the nobler sex p. 20 c. 3 Hebrew words for Man their difference ib. Man taken 1. for any Eminent man 2. for a Magistrate p. 20 21. Mercies Some mercies received exceed our own praises as some troubles exceed our own mournings p. 381. In sad times small comforts passe for great mercies p. 384. Every step of our lives needes a step of mercy p. 399 445. Morning to doe a thing in the morning is to doe a thing diligently p. 59. Morning best praying-time p. 60. Mourne To mourne with those that are in affliction our duty p. 306. The report of others sufferings should cause us to mourne p. 307. Great troubles warrant solemne mournings p. 319. Mourning a profession p. 375 c. Mouth to open the mouth what p. 325. A foole doth not open his mouth and speake but his speech opens his mouth p. 326. N NAkednesse two-fold p. 197 c. Every man borne a naked helplesse creature p. 200. Name what it importeth when God knoweth a man by name p. 97 98. Name of God taken 4. wayes p. 212. What it is to blesse the Name of God p. 213. Nature Changes in the course of nature are full of terrour p. 360. Negative words in Scripture are not alwayes denialls p. 180. O OPpressors of three sorts p. 430. The words of oppressors are wounding words p. 432. They who will not heare the voice of the Preacher may justly be given up to heare the voice of the oppressor p. 433. P