close of the 32. Verse and in the 33. His branch shall not be greene He shall shake off his unripe Grapes as the Vine and shall cast off his flower as the Olive Having thus pressed his Doctrine by this powerfull motive he concludes his whole Sermon with a fresh assertion of his Doctrine against two sorts of wicked men in particular which yet may comprehend all wicked men First Hypocrites who corrupt the worship of God or are corrupt while they pretend to worship God Vers 34. For the congregation of Hypocrites shall be desolate Secondly Of oppressors who pervert Justice or deale falsly among men The fire shall consume the Tabernacles of bribery Under these two heads we may reduce all sorts of sinners sinners against God under the notion of Hypocrites And sinners against men under the notion of Oppressours who pervert Judgement by giving or taking Bribes All which Eliphaz concludes by a description of their evill actings the cause of all their sufferings under that elegant metaphor of Child-bearing They conceive mischiefe and bring forth vanity and their belly prepareth deceit Thus you have the resolution and scope of the latter part of this Chapter Vers 31. Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity These words containe the dehortation here are three termes to be explained First What is meant by being deceived Secondly What by trusting Thirdly What we are to understand by Vanity Let not him that is deceived The Originall word signifies either the turning of the foot or the turning of the heart or both out of the way Psal 119.176 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Deceptus usurpatar de errore cordis pedis I have gone astray like a lost Sheep That is I have been deceived and so have gone out of the way of thy holy Commandements Satan is an ill guide and our hearts are no better He that follows either quickly looseth himselfe And untill God seeketh us up as David prayes in the next words wee cannot finde our way when wee are once out of it Ezek. 44.15 The Priests the Levites the Sonnes of Zadock that kept the charge of my Sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me they shall come neere to me When the people walked in by places and were intangled in the bryars of their owne corruptions then the Priests kept the charge of the Lord It was a great mercy that when the people were deceived the Priests were not that when the Sheep went astray the Shepheards did not If Priests and people goe astray together who shall reduce them But to the poynt Israel went astray They who led them did not cause them to erre once they did as the Prophet complaines Who then did Many goe astray when none lead them astray Man can deceive himselfe fast enough if none else doe yet the word implyes also the cunning activity of an externall agent to lead poor soules out of the way We may take in both here Let not him that is deceived whether by the fallacious arguings of his owne heart or by the subtlety of any other whether Men or Devills Trust in vanity Or Let him not beleeve in vanity Trusting is an act of faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Credet ne credat in vanitatem and though a man may beleeve and not trust yet no man can trust who doth not beleeve We translate the word not as signifying onely bare beleiving but as it reaches that higher act of trusting He that is most deceived is most apt to trust that which will deceive him more and gives not onely his consent but confidence to that which either is not at all or is that least which it pretends to be fit to be trusted Vanity Let him not trust in vanity The word which we render Vanity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Temeritas falsitas menda cium eadem est vis vocis quae apud Latinos vocabuli Vani quod tam pro mendacio qua pro re â—â—dicuâ— accipi solet is not Habel used by Solomon Eccles 1.2 Vanity of vanities which signifies onely a light thing such as is a vapour rising from the earth a bubble swelling out of and floating a little upon the water or more strictly a puffe or breath of the mouth but it signifies rashnesse falsenesse a lye a deceite vaine things are false lying and deceiveable therefore one word serves for both Againe Vanity may be here taken two wayes either for the sâ—n or deceit with which a man is mislead and then the meaning is Let not him that is deceived by sin trust in sin Or secondly Vanity may be taken for any creature comfort and contentment especially those which are the revenue or income of sinfull practices Sin leads to profit to pleasure to honour to these fraile and transitory things sin leads us in hope of satisfaction by them and then the meaning is Let not him that is deceived trust in that which sin promiseth and professeth it will doe for him or advance him to Sin in its nature is vanity and all the fruits or issues of it are vaine too Therefore as nothing and nothing added together make nothing so vanity and vanity put together make but vanity The totall summ cannot exceed the Items or particulars Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity for vanity shall be his recompence Hence Observe First Man is very apt to be deceived so apt to be deceived that he is scarse ever undeceived Eliphaz speakes here not onely of a possibility to be deceived but of being actually deceived and this ariseth two waies first from the impotence and weaknesse from the blindnesse and ignorance that is in man he that is blinde and weake is easily mislead every man naturally how strong how wise how knowing soever he seems to be is yet weak blind and ignorant in a very great measure and therefore very deceivable Man is full of craft this makes him deceitfull he is empty of true wisedome this renders him deceiveable Secondly As man may quickly be deceived by reason of the ignorance which is in him so also by reason of those subtle enemies who are alwayes about him yea and within him We live as I may so speake among Cheaters and Cozenners and there is a great Cheater lives in us how hard is it then not to be deceived If a man be in a Croud among many Cut-purses and Cheaters he is in danger to lose his Money every moment it is so with us though carnall men are not at all aware of it nor they who are most spirituall so much aware of it as they should It is dangerous to live among deceivers though we know them and are aware of them it is most dangerous to live among deceivers and not to know them for then we cannot be aware of them but it is madnesse to know we live among deceivers and yet not to be aware of them There are three notorious Deceivers who labour to ensnare us we
the name of Christ in it As the Name of Christ is the greatest ornament of all Books where it is August lib. 3. Confess cap. 4. so the name of Christ is the essence of all prayers and that is no prayer where his Name is not John 14.13 Whatsoever yee aske in my Name I will doe it that the Father may be glorified in the Son whatsoever yee doe doe all in the Nome of Christ giving thanks to God through him Col. 3.17 To pray in the Name of Christ is more then to name Christ in prayer It is easie to name Christ in prayer but it is a hard thing to pray in the Name of Christ To pray in the Name of Christ is First To looke up to Christ as having purchased us this priviledge that we may pray for it is by the blood of Christ that vve draw neere to God and that a Throne of grace is open for us Secondly To pray in the Name of Christ is to pray in the strength of Christ Thirdly To pray in the Name of Christ is to pray in the vertue of the present mediation of Christ vvhich carries this acknowledgement in it That what we aske on earth Christ obtaines in Heaven To pray thus is no easie matter and unlesse vve pray thus vve doe not pray at all John 16.23 24. In that day yee shall aske me nothing Verily I say unto you what soever yee shall aske the Father in my Name hee will give it you Hitherto have yee asked nothing in my Name aske and yee shall receive that your joy may be full But how doe these parts of the Text consist Why doth Christ tell them that they shall aske nothing in that day and yet promise that vvhat they aske hee vvill give There is a twofold asking First By vvay of Question Secondly By way of Petition The former is asking that vve may know or be informed in vvhat vve doubt the latter is asking that vve may receive and be supplyed vvith vvhat wee vvant Now vvhen Christ saith In that day yee shall aske me nothing he had a little before promised such a manifestation of the minde of God to them by the spirit that they should not need to come and aske him as if he had said Now yee put questions as vve read they did about many things yee understand little of the mystery of the Gospel but in that day yee shall have so cleere a revelation about the things of Heaven that yee shall not need to propose your doubts and desire resolution for you shall be able to resolve your selves by the light within you This the Apostle John 1 Epist 2.20 tels the Saints But yee have an unction from the holy one and yee know all things And againe Vers 27. But the annoynting which yee have received of him abideth in you and yee need not that any man should teach you but as the same annoynting teacheth you all things and is truth and is no lye and even as it hath taught yee shall abide in him These Scriptures are both a cleere exposition and an illustrious verification of that promise of Christ In that day yee shall aske me nothing that is After my resurrection But when he saith Whatsoever yee aske the Father in my Name he will give it the meaning is Your prayers shall be heard vvhile you keep close to this essentiall forme Asking in my Name Besides this essentiall forme of prayer there is also another forme vvhich we may call in a quallified sense essentiall As vvhen the matter wee pray about is spirituall and absolutely necessary to salvation then to pray in an absolute forme If it be temporall and outward or if it be of a spirituall nature yet such as is onely necessary to the vvel-being of a Beleever as spirituall gifts yea and the degrees of grace are then to pray in a conditionall forme as submitting it to the will of God not onely for the time and manner and meanes and measure vvherein or by vvhich wee shall receive those things but also submitting the very things themselves to his good pleasure vvhether we shall receive them at all or no. Nor doth conditionall prayer hinder Faith but looks to the rule We may pray without doubting though we pray vvith a condition and vvhen we are fullest of submission vvee may be fullest of confidence yea without submission in those cases there can be no true confidence Fourthly Prayer is pure when the end vvhich we ayme at is pure The end denominates every action as to the quality or goodnesse of it The great end of prayer as of all other actions and vvithout vvhich neither those nor this can be called pure is the glory of God Hallowed be thy name is the first prayer and that hath influence into all our prayers we must pray for all that God may be glorified and pray for nothing that our lusts may be satisfied Though wee may pray that our vvants may be supplyed that may be an end yet never that our lusts may be satisfied James 4.3 Yee aske and receive not because yee aske amisse Where vvas the fault vvhich the Apostle found and specified in those prayers Not in the object they prayed to God not in the matter they prayed for things lawfull not in the forme they prayed in the Name of Christ but the fault was in the end yee aske amisse that yee may bestow it on your lusts It is possible for a man to pray not onely for evill things but for good things and not onely for outward good things but for spirituall good things to bestow upon his lusts some pray for spirituall gifts to bestow them on their lusts pride vaine-glory and covetousnesse yea it is possible for a man to pray for grace to bestow it on his lust so Hypocrites doe though it be impossible for any man who indeed receives grace to bestow it upon his lust Let your end be pure that your prayers may be pure also Fifthly Prayer is pure when it is mingled with and put up in Faith By Faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice then Cain Heb. 11.4 and without Faith it is impossible to please God Vers 6. Prayer is our comming to God He that comes to God must beleeve that God is and that hee is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Faith takes hold of Christ by whom only our prayers are purified and therfore there can be no pure prayer without Faith As God purifies our hearts by faith so our prayers are purified by Faith Faith doth not onely take hold of God for the granting of our prayer in which sense 't is said Jam. 1.6 If any one aske let him aske in Faith that is That he shall receive but Faith takes hold of Christ for the purifying of our prayer that so it may come up with acceptance before God Hee is of purer eyes then to behold evill he cannot looke on iniquity to approve of it or to like it
of which the wicked man beleeves he shall not returne First Some understand it of the darknesse of sin but a wicked man cannot be sayd to despaire of that about which he never had any hope Pii spe se armant in spem contra spem sperant Merc. or desire Secondly Some understand darknesse litterally and plainly of the darknesse of the night and interpret thus He beleeves not that he shall returne out of darknesse that is he is so haunted with feares every night when he lyes downe that he thinks he shall never live till the morning This is a good sense Thirdly Others understand this darknesse to be death he hath a perfect sound of dread when death comes because he beleeves not that he shall returne out of that darknesse The resurrection is the consolation of the Saints in the midst of greatest dangers and thickest darknesse because though they dye yet they beleeve they shall returne out of darknesse But a wicked man who beleeves or hopes for nothing beyond the time of this life if he be once cast into the Grave either thinkes he shall lye there for ever or if he beleeves he shall rise yet he doth not beleeve that he shall rise out of darknesse for he shall rise in darknesse and goe downe to everlasting darknesse Fourthly A fourth expounds it of internall darknesse the darknesse of his spirit or of those mists and clouds which hang about his minde A godly man falling into this darknesse doth not actually beleeve he shall returne out of it for such a faith were his returne out of it but a wicked man as he hath no ground so no possibility continuing in the state he is to beleeve it Saul had a wofull dark spirit and beleeved not that he should returne out of it by the helpe of God therefore he went to a Witch a Counsellour of the Prince of darknesse for helpe But fifthly I rather conceive as often elsewhere so here by darknesse is meant outward affliction When the destroyer comes upon him and he is cast into a sad darke condition he hath no faith for himselfe that he shall returne out of it or be delivered from it This is an extreame agravation of the miserable state of a wicked man who either hath no outward prosperity or his prosperity is nothing to him he enjoyes it not but if ever he fall into outward misery how great is his misery so great that he gives himselfe for gone a lost man for ever He beleeves not that he shall returne out of darknesse Observe hence That a wicked man neither doth not can beleeve deliverance from evill First He hath no ground to beleeve promises are the foundation of faith A wicked man may be under promises of conversion from his sin but he is not under any promise of mercy while he continues in his sin the whole Book of God yeelds him not in hat state any speciall promise for so much as a bit of bread when he hath bread he hath it from providence not from a promise or but from a generall promise He is fed as a Beast is fed the Lord being the preserver of Man and Beast He cannot have a speciall promise himselfe not being an heyre of promise Therefore when he falls into darknesse he hath no ground to beleeve Whereas a godly man never hath so much ground to beleeve as when he falls into darknesse because then he hath more promises then before his outward losses gaine him the advantage of many sweet promises which till then he could not plead for the succour and nourishment of his faith As a wicked man hath no promise of God in the sense explained at any time so a godly man hath most promises of God in evill yea in the worst of times And as a wicked man hath no ground to beleeve so he usually hath no heart to beleeve as he hath no reason to hope for better things so he hath no courage his spirit sinks and fails when his state doth Abigall had no sooner told Nabal that the destroyer was comming upon him in his prosperity but his heart sunke within him like a stone and he dyed away presently Secondly The best of a wicked mans faith that he shall returne out of darknesse is but a presumptuous fansie or meer Foole-hardinesse A good man is like a Childe in his Fathers house who takes no care but casts all upon his Parents in the greatest storme he commits the helme to Christ as Pilot he can say as David Psalm 42. when he is in trouble Why art thou disquieted O my soule He cals his soule to question and would have his soule give him a reason Why art thou troubled my soule hope in God for I shall yet praise him But a wicked man hath no God to hope in therefore he cannot say I shall yet praise him That man cannot cast his burden of cares upon the Lord Psal 55.22 who cares not how he burdens God with his sins therefore he must beare and sinke under both burdens himselfe He cannot beleeve that he shall returne out of the darknesse of trouble who delights and sports in the darknesse of iniquity Againe Consider this is brought as a proofe of the wofull condition of a wicked man It is misery enough that the destroyer shall come upon him but this is more miserable he cannot beleeve deliverance from destruction Hence Observe That want of faith in time of affliction is more greivous then affliction It is worse not to beleeve deliverance then to fall into trouble as the life of faith is the best life so the life of unbeleife is the worst life Despaire of good is the greatest evill Faith is not onely the support and reliefe of the soule in trouble but it is the victory and tryumph of the soule over trouble Faith doth not onely keep the soule alive but lively Faith keeps the soule fat and in good plight Faith is a sheild both against temptation and affliction But every blow falls upon the bare skin of an unbeleever Faith is a sheild both against the fiery darts of the Devill and with a difference against the fiery darts of God also Let God himselfe cast his darts at a Beleiver Faith secures him from hurt though not from wounds yea his very wounds through a worke of faith shall worke his good It is the comfort of a man that feareth God and obeyeth the voyce of his Servants that while he walketh in darknesse and hath no light he is bid to trust in the name of the Lord and to stay upon his God Isa 50.10 But while a man that doth not feare God walkes in darknesse and hath no light his misery is that he can neither trust in God till light comes nor that light will ever come How happy are the righteous to whom light ariseth in darknesse How unhappy are the wicked who being in darknesse conclude that the light will never arise Faith makes all
account as idle Now if unprofitable talke be sinfull and speeches that can doe no good then what is prophane talke and speeches which doe hurt infection gets quickly in at the eare defiling the minde and corrupting the manners of those that heare them The Apostle gives us the rule of speaking both in the negative and in the affirmative Ephes 4.29 Let no corrupt communications proceed out of your mouths but that which is good to the use of edifying which may administer grace to the hearer Againe Colos 4.6 Let your speeches be alwaies with grace that is such as testifieth that there is grace in your heart never speake a word but such as may stand with grace yea speake such words as may be a witnesse of grace wrought in your selves and a meanes of working grace in others Let your words be seasoned with salt the salt of our words is holinesse and truth prudence also is the salt of words good words and true spoken unseasonably may doe hurt Prudence teaches us the time when and the manner how to answer every man Belial ex 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 non 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod in hiphil significat prodesse ut denotet inutilem qui nec sibi nec alijs prodest Thirdly observe It is matter of just reproofe against every man to be unprofitable and to doe no good Every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewen downe and cast into the fire Matth. 3.10 Some conceive that the word Belial comes from Beli which in Hebrew signifies Not and the word Jagnal which here in the Text signifies to doe good Because a Belialist or a Son of Belial is such a one as neither doth good to himselfe nor to any other The unprofitable Servant who hid and did not improve his Talent shall be condemned And he who uses his talent unprofitably and vainely shall not escape Should he reason with unprofitable talke Thus farre we have seen Eliphaz reproving Job of folly in speaking unlike and below a wise man he proceeds to reprove him for acting unlike and below a godly man This he sets home with a particle of aggravation Vers 4. Yea thou castest off feare and restrainest Prayer before God As if he had said besides or above all this that thou hast uttered vaine knowledge words that cannot profit thou hast also cast off the feare of God c. The word which we translate to cast off signifies to make voyd to scatter to dissolve 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Labefactasti irritum fecisti dissolvisti fregisti to break in peices to make as nothing or to make nothing of It is often used in Scripture for breaking the Commandements of God imploying such a breach as makes the Commandements voyd which is the proper character of an evill heart A godly man may sin against the Commandements but a wicked man would sinne away the Commandements he would repeale the Law of God and enact his owne lusts Such is the force of the word here Thou castest off feare There is a naturall feare and a spirituall feare we are not to understand this Text of a naturall feare which is a trouble of spirit arising upon the apprehension of some approaching evill but of a spirituall Feare is here put alone but we are to take it with its best adjunct the feare of God for as the word sometimes is put alone to signifie the word of God as if there were no word but his and as the word Commandements is put alone to note the Commandements of God as if no Commandements deserved the name but onely the Commandements of God so feare is put alone by way of excellency for the feare of God as importing that his feare is excellent and no feare to be desired but his This Divine feare comes under a double notion First it is taken for the holy awe or reverence we beare to God in our spirits which is the worship of the first Commandement and the sanctifying of God in our hearts Secondly For the outward acts of Religion which is the worship of the second Commandement Their feare is taught by the precepts of men Isa 29.13 that is their outward worship and Religion is such as men have invented not such as God hath appointed Some take it here in the first sense onely thou castest off feare that is thou castest off that awe reverence and regard thou owest to the Name of God others understand it in the second Thou castest off feare that is the outward worship and service of God but I conceive we have that expressed in the next clause Timor hoc loco pro reverentia tremore potius quam pro religione cultu licet utrumque cohaereat Pined And restrainest prayer before God there he taxeth him with neglect of outward worship and here with neglect of inward Thou casteth off feare feare is as the bridle of the soule feare holds us in compasse it is the bank to the Sea feare keeps in the overflowing of sinne Thou casteth off feare But what cause had Job given Eliphaz to charge him with casting off the feare of the Lord we finde Eliphaz touching upon this point before and upbraiding Job Chap. 4.6 Is this thy feare Nullo pudore loquutus es coram Deo Symmach Is this thy confidence As if he had sayd Is all thy profession come to this here he chargeth him expresly thou hast cast off feare Job had not given him any just cause to speak or thinke thus hardly of him but Eliphaz might possibly ground this accusation upon those words Chap. 9. v. 23. This is one thing therefore I sayd it he destroyeth the perfect and the wicked c. Which Eliphaz did interpret as a casting off the feare of God hath he awfull and reverent thoughts of God who affirmeth that God laugheth at the afflictions and tryals of his people Againe Chap. 12.6 The Tabernacles of Robbers prosper and they that provoke God are secure into whose hands God bringeth abundantly Hath not this man cast off all feare of God who dares say the wicked prosper and are secure Is God become a freind to those that professe themselves enemies to him Others referre the ground of this to Chap. 13.21 22. where he seemes to speake boldly and as some have taxed him impudently Doe not two things to me withdraw thy hand from me c. Then call thou and I will answer or let me speake and answer thou me Hence Eliphaz concludes surely the man hath cast off the feare of God he speaks to God as if he were Gods fellow Speake thou and I will answer or let me speake and answer thou me are these words becomming the great God of Heaven and Earth art not thou growne over bold with God doest thou speake as becomes the distance that is betweene the Creator and the Creature the Greek translates to this sense Thou speakest to God without any modesty thou hast put on a brasen
worth in thee that exempts thee from this generall rule or way of comfort Doest thou so abound in thy owne sense that thou hast no need of our Notions Is all we speake below thee Thirdly they are supposed to aime at some secret sinne or guilt which hindered and unfitted Job to take in their Cordialls and consolations till it were purged out or vomited up by sound repentance So one renders the Text Doth any thing hide them with thee The word signifies to hide and cover 2 Sam. 19.4 David covered his face so here doth somewhat hide wrap up and cover these consolations that thou canst not receive them or what vayles the eye of thy minde that thou canst not behold what we hold out to thee or not finde out the meaning of it If our Gospell be hid saith the Apostle it is hid to those that are lost in whom the God of this World hath blinded the eyes of them c. 2 Cor. 4.3 4. Thus Eliphaz seemes to bespeake Job If the consolations of God be small to thee doth not somewhat blinde thy eyes Doth not some cloud hide them from thee Doth not prejudice against us or some close sin in thy selfe interrupt thy sight This is hinted by the old Latine Translator who saith Thy evill words or the evill matter that is in thee hinder this One of the Rabbins glosseth it thus and the Originall reaches it Some lye some inchantment or witchery hath seized upon thee though thou pretendest truth The Apostle speakes to this sense Gal. 3.1 O foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you that you should not receive the truth Witchery or Inchantment gives a secret wound Is there any secret thing with thee Hast thou any secret comfort for thy selfe any secret conceit of thy selfe any secret sinne in thy bosome hindering the effectuall working or due prizing of those cordialls which we have given thee The first of these secret things never stands in the way of receiving consolation he that hath hidden comfort in him will not refuse spoken comforts nor doe I thinke that Eliphaz aymed at that unlesse in scorne as some resolve it Malo in bonum sumi licet hoc in eum Eliphaz dicat eum ridens Merc. but rather at one of or both the latter though mistaken in both Yet his suspition gives us a ground for these two Observations First That a man who is full of his owne wisedome is not fit to receive instruction counsell or consolation from others Intus existens prohibet alienum that which is within hinders that which comes from without When a man thinks himselfe wiser then his teachers he will not be taught nor learne wisedome by them Some might have knowne much if they had not presumed they knew enough There is no greater impediment of knowledge then an opinion of it Secondly Observe A sinne kept close or secret within us hinders the effect and working of the Word Though comforts and counsels are given they will not operate where secret corruption lyes at heart the filthinesse and corruption of the stomach hinders digestion till it be purged out Physitians remove ill humours before they prescribe Cordialls else they doe but nourish the discase 'T is so in Spiritualls the Apostle Peter gives the rule 1 Epist 2.1 Wherefore laying aside all guile hypocrisie and envy and evill speaking as new born Babes desire the sincere milke of the Word that yee may grow thereby As if he had said Till you cast out these you will never thrive under the Word if a man be to sow Seed in his Garden he will pull up the Weeds and throw away the Stones else the Seed will not spring up to perfection The Prophet tells the Jewes Jer. 5 25. Your sins hinder good things from you as sin hinders good from comming to us so it hinders the Word from working good in us Though the proper businesse of the Word be to cast out or pull up this secret sin yet there is a great stop given it while any secret sin is nourished or not cast out That 's the reason why so many precious promises take not upon the heart some sin some corruption obstructs their operation and like the theefe in the Candle wasteth away their strength and light As the Lord sayd to Joshua when the people of Israel fled before the men of Ai There is some accursed thing among you therefore they cannot stand before their Enemies So I may say when any stand up against the Word of God or resist the consolations which are offered them sure there is some accursed thing some hidden Wedge of stolne Gold or some Babylonish Garment treasured in or wrapt about your hearts and therefore yee can neither see nor submit to the counsells of God for your good This is a usefull truth for us though an undue charge on Job and yet his Freind proceeds if a higher charge can be to charge him higher as will appeare in the two Verses following JOB CHAP. 15. Vers 12 13. Why doth thine heart carry thee away and what doth thine eyes wink at That thou turnest thy spirit against God and lettest such words goe out of thy mouth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 admirantis est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Capere sumere capit pro rapit flectit allicit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est animus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 q. d. permittis te abripiendum transversion agendum affectu tuo nimis animoso Quis te furor cordis exagitat quae te extra te rapit sapientiae jactantia Pined Tam superbus apud te es ut vix temet ipsum capere possit nec quidem tui ipsius capax es Bold ELiphaz insists still upon that unpleasant subject of reproofe the fifth ground whereof here proposed is Jobs over-confident sticking to his owne Principles or his overweening his owne opinion This reproofe is couched in the 12. and 13. Verses Vers 12. Why doth thy heart carry thee away He speakes by way of Question or as some expound him by way of admiration as if he had sayd It is strange even a wonder to me that thy heart should thus carry thee away The word which we translate to carry away signifies to take up or barely to take and lay hold upon Why doth thy heart the heart is the whole inward man here more specially the affections Why doe thy affections master thy judgement why are thy passions too hard for thy reason Others give the sense thus How can thy heart hold thee As if Job had growne too big for himselfe as if he had been so proud and arrogant so transported with selfe-conceit that he could not containe himselfe and keep his bounds or as if he had not stowage enough for his owne thoughts A third thus which comes neere the same sense What doth thy heart attribute or ascribe to thee Sure thy heart doth give thee some great titles such as these Job the wise Job the holy the
just the sincere thy heart sets thee out sure Possit per dativum ita verti quid attribuit tibi cor tuum Bold Quid docet te cor tuum Rab. Sol. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 significat doctrinam sed ita dicitur a discendo potius quam a docendo Drus Quid docuit te cogitatio tua Targ. and gildes thee over with attributes beyond thy deserving Master Broughton following one of the Rabbins presents us with a different translation from either of these What Doctrine can thy heart give thee or what can thy heart teach thee The word which we render to take to carry or hold up a thing signifies also to learne or teach Doctrine but rather to learne then to teach as Grammarians tell us which somewhat abates the clearenesse of that version yet the Chalde Paraphrase followes the same sense What hath thy owne thought taught thee What learnest thou there as if Eliphaz had sayd Thou hast an evill heart and surely an ill Master will teach but ill Doctrine when the heart is inditing of a good matter Psal 45. then we may learne good lessons from the heart and then we speake most effectually to the hearts of others when we speak from our owne hearts they having first been spoken to by the spirit of God But a corrupt heart can teach no better then it hath and that is corrupt Doctrines These are truths yet too much strained for upon this Text and therefore I passe from them and abide by the ordinary signification of the word as we read it Why doth thy heart take thee up or carry thee away as if he had sayd Thy heart hath seized upon thee and arrested thee thou art led away prisoner or captive by the violence and impetuousnesse of thy owne spirit The word is applyed Ezek. 23.14 to the motion of the spirit of God sent unto Ezekiel to instruct him The spirit lifted me up or caught me away that which the good spirit did unto Ezekiel not onely upon his spirit but upon his body for hee was corporally carryed away from the place where he was that the heart of Job as Eliphaz conceived did unto him it lifted him up and carryed him away There is a kind of violence in the allurements and inticings of the heart As a man is sayd to be carryed away by the ill counsells of others so also by his owne In the former sense the word is used Prov. 6.25 Where Solomon advising to take heed of the Harlot saith he Keep thee from the evill Woman from the flattery of the tongue of a strange Woman lust not after her in thy heart neither let her take thee with her eye lids There he makes use of this word let her not take thee or let her not carry thee away upon her eye lids let not her wanton eye flatter thee to the sin of wantonnesse and uncleannesse As the eye of a whorish Woman so the whorish heart of a man often takes and carryeth him away Hence observe The heart hath power over and is too hard for the whole Man Passions hurry our hearts and our hearts hurry us and who can tell whither his heart will carry him or where it will set him downe when once it hath taken him up This is certaine it will carry every man beyond the bounds of his duty both to God and man Take it more distinctly in these three particulars The heart quickly carryeth us beyond the bounds of grace Secondly the heart often carryeth us beyond the bounds of reason When passion workes much reason workes not at all Thirdly it may carry us beyond the bounds of honesty yea of modesty 'T is very dangerous to commit our selves to the conduct of passion that unlesse kept under good command will soone run us beyond the line both of Modesty and of Honesty of Reason and of Grace He that is carryed away thus farre must make a long journey of repentance before he can return and come back either to God or to himselfe Some have been carryed visibly away by the Devil by an evill spirit without them if God give commission or permission the Devill can easily doe it very many are carryed away by the evill spirit within them An evill heart is as bad as the Devill the evill spirit without and the evill spirit within carry us both the same way and that is quite out of the way Consider further how the heart carryeth us away even from spirituall duties and holy services and this is not only the case of carnall men who are given up to their hearts lusts but of the Saints their hearts are continually lifting at them and sometimes they are carryed quite away from Prayer and from hearing the Word the heart lifts the man up and steales him out of the Congregation while his body remaines there the body sits still but the minde which is the man is gone either about worldly businesse and designes or about worldly pleasures and delights He stirres not a foot nor moves a finger and yet he is carryed all the World over He visits both the Indies yet steps not over his own threshold Thus the heart being carryed away carryeth the man away And that 's the reason why God calls so earnestly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cum omni custodia My Son give me thy heart for where our hearts goe we goe or wee are carryed with them Keep thy heart with all diligence Prov. 4.24 or With all keeping or above all keeping it must have double keeping double guards keep keep watch watch thy heart will be gone else and thou wilt goe with it if thou looke not to thy heart thy heart will quickly withdraw it selfe and draw thee along also Why doth thy heart carry thee away is a deserved check upon every man when his heart doth so and Let not thy heart carry thee away is a necessary caution for every man lest his heart should doe so Jobs heart was too busie with him though not so busie as Eliphaz judged when he thus checkt him with Why doth thy heart carry thee away And what doth thine eye wink at But is it a fault to wink with the eye 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nutu utor quia nutus ficri solet vel capite vel oculis it is sayd Joh. 13.24 that Peter beckned to or winked at John the Greeke word signifieth an inviting gesture by the whole head or by the eye he winkt at him I say to aske Christ who it was of whom he spake There was no fault in that but Eliphaz findes fault with this What was the supposed fault There is a twofold faulty winking First When wee wink at faults our owne faults or the faults of other men to beare with or approve them Secondly When we wink at the vertues and good deeds of others to slight or undervalue them possibly Eliphaz taxeth Job for both these as if he winked at his owne faults 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
is there betweene these two sorrow and winking that the one should cause the other These words he that winketh with his eye are the description of a deceitfull man such a one may cause sorrow enough Qui annuit oculo suo cum fraude both to himselfe and others Solomon intends not a simple but a subtill sly winking with the eye and so the Syriake readeth it He who winketh with his eye deceitfully causeth sorrow Deceit makes the deceived sorrowfull and it will make the Deceiver sorrowfull he must either be sorrowfull to repentance or feele the sorrow of punishment Fifthly This winking with the eye is conceived to be a metaphor taken from those who shoot with Guns or Bowes Quid collimant oculi tui Jun. Metaphora a jaculatoribus sumpta id Gunners and Archers winke when they shoot that they may take aime the better The contracting of the sight strengthens it So here What dost thou wink at that is what dost thou aime at The eye of a mans minde aimes at some marke in meditation and hence it is usuall for a man in vehement meditation to wink with his eye As if Eliphaz had sayd surely thou hast some great designe some grand plot in thy braine thou pretendest to some deep wisedome or unheard of policies thou hast set up some faire marke before thy fancie and thou wilt be sure to hit it what is it that thou aymest at We finde the phrase used in this sense Prov. 16.30 He shutteth his eye to devise froward things moving his lips he bringeth evill to passe he shutteth his eyes as if hee would make his thoughts more steddy and fixt to hit or reach that froward device which he is casting about how he may effect And as a wicked man shuts his eyes to devise froward that is sinfull things so a good man shuts his eyes lest variety of objects should divert or call off his minde when he is devising and studying what is best both for himselfe and others Et quasi magna cogitans attonitos habes oculoâ— Vulg. The rendring of the Vulgar Latine though it be farre from the letter of the Originall and is rather a Paraphrase then a Tranasltion yet it reacheth this sense fully Wherefore doth thy heart carry thee away Oculos in caelo defigere solent cogitabundi quibus gravis inest solicitudo Sanct. and why liftest thou up thine eyes as if thou wert thinking of some great matter Or as if the affaires of Kingdomes and States depended upon thy care or were committed to thy trust All these interpretations are serviceable to the Text before us and though we cannot positively and particularly resolve which of them was here intended by Eliphaz yet considering that his scope was to reprove Job we may take in the sense of them all and conclude that he censured Job in this one word of all those miscarriages of the heart which may be signified at the eye as appeares by the inference which he makes in the next Verse For having sayd What doth thy eye wink at he presently subjoynes Vers 13. That thou turnest thy spirit against God and lettest such words goe out of thy mouth So that this Verse is an explication of the former Explicationem continet praecedentis versiculi Bold and gives us more clearely what Eliphaz meant by the Carrying away of the heart and the winking of the eye His heart is carryed out of all bounds who turneth his spirit against God His eye winks sinfully whose mouth presently upon it speakes unduely Thou winkest with thy eye thou art very thoughtfull and what the fruit or birth of thy thoughts is we may discerne by thy speech while thou lettest such words goe out of thy mouth Thou turnest thy spirit against God As if he had sayd In stead of humbling thy selfe under the punishment of thy sin thou with an incensed minde contestest against God himselfe and though while he saith against God he doth not meane God directly but God in his judgements and counsells in his Word or in his Workes yet this is a very high charge one of the highest that is in the whole Booke but very unjust Indeed Job used some passionate speeches to his Freinds and these Eliphaz judgeth to proceed from an opposition against God Thou turnest thy Spirit against God There is a twofold turning the spirit against God First Naturall Rom. 8.7 Enmity is the turning of the spirit The wisedome or lust of the flesh is enmity against God Secondly Improved when we heighten this opposition in our practice and are enemies to God in our mindes or Gods hearty enemies by wicked workes Col. 1.21 Quod rediri feceris ad Deum spiritum tuum Heb. Quia respondit ad Deum spiritus tuus Mont. Pedire facit verbum qui re spondet Drus The Hebrew is Thou makest thy spirit to returne to God which is expounded two wayes first thou makest thy spirit to turn upon or against God Secondly thy spirit answers or replyeth upon God both meet in one meaning for though there may be a turning away of the spirit without answering yet in one sense all answers are the turning of our spirit if any man aske a question the answer is the returne of his minde who makes the answer so some render Why doth thy spirit returne answer to God as if he rebuked him for his boldnesse in replying Thy spirit returnes upon God if he speak one word thou wilt have two in that sense the word is used Titus 2.9 where the Apostle giving rules among other relations to Servants charges them Servants be obedient to your owne Masters and please them well in all things not answering againe But is it a fault for a Servant when asked a question to make an answer no it were a fault not to answer The meaning is that a Servant being reproved for a fault must not answer that is his spirit must not rise and returne against his Master or if a Servant be directed to doe any warrantable worke he must not answer againe that is hee must not contradict or murmure at the orders which he hath received but addresse himselfe to the fulfilling of them this is the answering againe reproved as a fault in Servants which is rather gain saying then answering as we put in the Margent of our Bibles in which sense answering is taken here according to this interpretation Thy spirit answers God or turnes against him We may cleare it also by that of the Apostle Rom. 9.20 Where having shewed the absolute soveraignty of God in his Decrees and purposes by the example of Jacob and Esau as also by that of Pharoah He concludes Vers 18. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will he hardneth Saint Paul soresaw that this Doctrine would rayse a great deale of dust and cause many to turne their spirits against God which he thus represents Vers 19. Thou wilt say unto me
Why doth he yet finde fault for who hath resisted his will Nay but O man who art thou that replyest against God What wilt thou chop logick with God himself Wilt thou as the Margent saith answer againe or dispute with God Hold thy peace quiet thy selfe What 's the matter that thou turnest thy spirit against God Spirit is here put for the will thoughts and counsells Spiritus pro arrogantia Latine diciur magnos gerere animos qui superbia tumet Merc. Quid tumet adversus Deum spiritus tuus Vulg. Quid torva convertis in caelum Lumina quid in Deum refundis stomacum evocas conceptam iram Pined Animum indignatione accensum Jun. Omnem spiritum suum depromit stultus i. e. iram Aben Ezra Rege animum i. e. iram Horat of Man cloathed and elated with arrogancy stoutnesse and pride In all languages Spirit imports that which is high And to say Such a one is a man of spirit notes not onely the activenesse of that man but often his pride and haughtinesse Besides Spirit is sometimes put for indignation for fury and wrath in all which acceptions the word may be rendred here Thou turnest thy spirit that is thy anger and wrath thy fury and indignation against God So the word is used Isa 25.4 When the spirit or blast of the terrible ones is as a storme against the Wall that is while the fury of the terrible ones is in its highest march and motion God promiseth to be a strength to the poore a strength and a refuge to the needy in his distresse So Prov. 29.11 A foole uttereth all his minde or all his spirit that is all his anger he lets it out and discovers himselfe presently but a wise man if there be cause of anger keepeth it in till afterwards that is till a fit season He hath a retentive faculty which a Foole hath not Now in which sense soever of these explained we understand Spirit in the present Text the charge is as high as it can goe upon any man when 't is sayd Hee turneth his Spirit against God Hence Observe To turne the spirit against God is the very spirit of ungodlinesse there is no greater wickednesse then this A godly man may doe an act which is against God but his spirit cannot act against God that 's the character of the wicked A godly man delights in the Law of God according to the inward man whilst the outward man sins against the Law of God an ungodly man turnes his inward man against the Law of God while his outward man pretends obedience to it and as it is an act of highest disobedience so of the proudest pride to turne the spirit against God The Vulgar Latine translates it well Why doth thy spirit swell against God Thou hast an impostumation in thy spirit against God yea it is not onely an act of the proudest pride but of the maddest madnesse to turne the spirit against God Furorem erupisti ante dominum Sept. so the Septuagint gives it Thou hast caused thy fury or thy madnesse to breake forth before God he that acts against God is a mad man indeed Will yee provoke the Lord are you stronger then he is the Apostles chiding question to such mad men are you so mad after your lusts hath sin made you so foolish Have you lost both grace and reason at once that you dare thus provoke the Lord and challenge the Almighty God resists the proud and the proud assault him Grace turnes the spirit to God repentance is the returne of our spirits to God then what is the turning of our spirits against God but a cleare demonstration of a totally impenitent and gracelesse Spirit Againe when Eliphaz saith Job turned his Spirit against God he doth not meane it of a direct or professed opposition against God as if Job had openly defied him and blasphemed his Name but his meaning is that Job shewing so much impatience and unsatisfiednesse of spirit under the dealings of God with him did not submit to God as he ought Eliphaz I conceive did not so much as suspect that Job turned his spirit immediately or as wee say poynt blanke against God himselfe but onely against his dispensations Hence observe That while we speake or our hearts rise up against the dealings of God with our selves or others we may be sayd to turne our spirits against God himselfe Many who think they have not neglected Christ will be found to have neglected him because they have neglected those by whom or that wherein Christ is offered The Evangelist brings in Christ speaking thus Matth. 25. I was hungry and yee fed me not thirsty and yee gave me no drinke they to whom hee speakes wonder at this Lord say they when saw we thee hungry and gave thee no meat or thirsty and gave thee no drinke surely we have not been guilty of such a wickednesse Yea saith Christ In as much as yee did it not to one of these yee did it not to me when yee refused to feed these yee refused to feed me I was in these and these were in me Now in the same manner many will say when wee charge them with turning their spirits against God with fighting against and opposing God Who we oppose God we never opposed God as we know of yea peradventure they will say we have honoured God and doe you charge us that we have turned our spirit against God to many such God will say In as much as yee opposed my word and murmured against my workes in as much as yee were angry with my dispensations and discontented with what I have done ye have turned your spirit against me We may become guilty of this sin before we thinke of it for as there is a direct and litterall contending with God so an equivalent or constructive contending with him As some men commit plaine open Treason against a State but others commit only constructive Treason 'T is so here the God of Heaven knowes when spirits turne against him directly and when by consequence and he will take vengeance not onely of direct and avowed but also of consequentiall and constructive Treason against his Soveraignty unlesse the offender repent and be humbled before him He will judge thousands at the last day for opposing him who it may be in some things have pleaded for him yea who have in some things not onely acted but suffered for him though usually when the spirit of any man turneth against God that mans workes and words turne against him too So Eliphaz further taxeth Job in the latter clause of the Verse And lettest such words goe out of thy mouth As if he had sayd Such stuffe as thou hast in thy heart even such flowes out of thy mouth the word Such is added by most Translators the Hebrew is And lettest words goe out of thy mouth it is no fault to let words goe out of the mouth 't is no sin to speak
us either as possessed or used but as adored and trusted Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity Thirdly Observe Man must and will have somewhat to trust to or leane upon And therefore rather then fayle he will trust that which cannot but fayle Vanity Like one that 's ready to drowne he catcheth at any thing a rotten stick or a straw and would support his whole body by that which is not able to beare the weight of his little finger Man is a weak creature sense and nature are enough to make him sensible of his naturall weaknesse and these also are enough to prompt and provoke him to seek helpe without himselfe though they are utterly insufficient to direct him whither to goe for the surest helpe It is the priviledge of God alone to have nothing to trust to or to be above trust He who is all strength needs not trust As he doth not put trust in his Saints Vers 15. because he knows they are frayle and mutable so he hath no need to trust them because he knows himselfe not onely strong but immutable God is all that he is from himselfe and therefore he ever continues to be what he is by himselfe But man who is not a spring to himselfe of Being cannot be a support to himselfe for the continuance of his Being much lesse for the continuance of his well-being And as mans necessity calls him to trust so his duty calls him to trust God Man fell at first by his desire to stand alone he would be independent and men fall every day because they desire to stand by that which cannot stand alone It is a speciall part of that worship which we owe to God to trust him and whatsoever we trust besides God we make a God of it He that trusts not in the God that made him makes many Gods such as they are by trusting them While Job puts that negative supposition as to his owne case Chap. 31.24 If I have made Gold my hop◠or have sayd to the fine Gold thou art my confidence He more then implyeth that many had Man ought to trust God but few will many will trust in Creatures but none ought Man will be trusting in somewhat and he is so forward to trust in vanity which indeed is nothing that it is the hardest thing in the World to take him off We cannot presse either our selves or others too much to trust God and we cannot represse them enough from trusting vanity Man is very ready to exercise and put forth an act of trust and he is as ready to mistake the object of trust Lastly Observe Man is apt to trust that which hath deceived him or man being once deceived trusts that which will deceive him againe Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity We say Such a man hath deceived me once but he shall not deceive me the second time But carnall hearts being deceived once by sin and vanity are willing to be deceived a thousand times being once deceived they care not how often they are deceived That of the Prophet is an eminent Testimony to this too much experimented truth Isa 44.20 He feedeth on ashes that is he is as much deluded as a man is who eates ashes thinking it to be bread or other good cheare or his Idoll which promised him great matters and much joy hath given nothing but ashes sorrow and misery of which ashes and especially feeding upon ashes was an embleme Now though it were thus with him yet saith the Prophet A deceived heart hath turned him aside that he cannot deliver his soule nor say is there not a lye in my right hand that is Though he sees himselfe deceived yet he hath no power to withdraw from the deceiver nor to question the deceit he is so bewitched with the sorcery of sin that he cannot deliver his soule from the snares of it but being deceived he is willingly deceived and looks upon his deceiver as his trusty Friend God never deceived no nor fayled any man that trusted in him Ps 9.10 yet the hearts of the most will not be perswaded to trust God sin and the creature deceive all that trust in them yet we can hardly call or beat the heart off from trusting them Sin seldome looses its credit sin hath broken and undone thousands yea all who have trusted it yet still it hath credit among thousands and can be trusted with more then this World is worth the precious soule of man for the asking But let not him that is deceived trust any longer in vanity if he doe he shall never be a gainer no nor a saver by it For vanity shall be his recompence Vanity fills both parts of the Verse and meets us at every turne yet with a difference In the former part by vanity was signified either sin or the creature in this latter part vanity notes misery Vanitatis nomen variè hic sumitur quam ob rem sorsan varie scribitur priore loco sig vanas res quibus fidebant scopes gloriam posteriori loco vanitatem in quam haec omnia redigenda sint dum ex his decidens miser siet Merc. or the effect and fruit of sin Hence Observe The vanity of misery overtakes all those who are deceived by the vanity of sin Vanity is their recompence There are two sorts of recompence First Of wrath Secondly Of favour Evill deeds have their recompence as well as good To me saith the Lord Deut. 32.35 belongeth vengeance and recompence that is the recompence of vengeance as the Apostle expounds it Heb. 10.30 For we know him that sayd Vengeance belongeth unto me I will recompence saith the Lord God will not live long in any mans debt As holy Gospell-confidence hath a great recompence of reward Heb. 10.35 So every disobedience of the Law received a just recompence of reward Heb. 2.2 And God is so exact in giving the recompences of punishment that he will not spare his owne when they are so foolish as to trust in vanity Prov. 11.31 Behold the righteous shall be recompenced in the earth much more the wicked and the sinner that is A righteous man shall be corrected though he sin of infirmity how then shall the wicked be punished who sin with presumption and delight As a wicked man hath all his recompences of good on the earth Matth. 6.2 They have their reward so a righteous man hath all his recompences of evill or affliction in the earth he hath none beyond But we may strongly argue that the wicked who trust in vanity shall be recompenced with sorrow for ever seeing the righteous if they doe but a little turne aside to vanity shall be recompenced with sorrow here That 's the Apostle Peters way of reasoning 1 Epist 4.18 If the righteous scarcely be saved where shall the ungodly and sinner appeare Surely as the Prophet concludes Isa 59.18 According to their deeds accordingly he will repay fury to his adversaries recompence
to his enemies to the Islands he will repay recompence Secondly as vanity in the former clause is taken for the Creature Observe The Creature is most vaine to those who trust it The Creature is a vaine thing in his hand who beleeves and trusts in God but it is exceeding vaine in his hand who trusts on it and the more it is trusted the more vaine it is If we make it our staffe it will be our scourge if we leane upon it as our rock it will run into our hands like a broken Reed The best way to keep up our comforts in the Creature is to keep our distance from the Creature And they shall finde most content in the World who live furthest off it and expect least from it God is good and the more we trust him the better he is to us yea he is not good at all to us unlesse we trust him But the best of creatures trusted to become evill yea an Idoll to us Trust not in vanity such are all creatures in their best estate for vanity shall be your recompence Againe The word which we translate recompence signifies a change or the exchange which is made of one thing for another While Job exalts the value and excellency of wisedome above all created excellencies he saith Chap. 28.17 The Gold and the Chrystall cannot equall it and the exchange of it shall not be for jewells of fine Gold So some render it here Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity A radice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mutavit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 commutatio vanitas erit commutatio ejus i. e. in nihilum redigetur for vanity shall be his change Whensoever he changeth he shall change into vanity or when he hath driven a trade in sinfull vanity to the highest the best exchange which the Merchandize thereof yeelds him is miserable vanity Vanity can produce nothing to us but vanity The effect is not better then the cause nor the fruit then the Tree and that which we receive in exchange though it may be of another kinde yet it is of no better value then that we give in exchange Hence Observe That a wicked mans state never changeth for better but from good to bad or from bad to worse Till the man himselfe be changed from bad to good his state can never change from bad to good And suppose his outward state be good then the worst thing that can befall him is this that his state should not change His setlednesse in that which is civilly good doth but more settle him in that which is morally evill They have no changes therefore they feare not God Psal 55.19 What can be worse for man then this nâ—t to feare God who is the chiefest good Who would not feare to be without changes when he heares that being without them keeps out this feare Suppose further That the wicked mans outward estate be evill then it is worse to him when he changes to outward good if he change from sorrow to joy from povery to riches from sicknesse to health from a prison to liberty in all these or in any other of like nature with these he changes to his losse That man can never change for good who continues evill Such a mans outward estate often changes from bad to worse if it change from bad to good that is bad for him and if being good it change not at all that is worst of all It is a part of the misery of man that his state is changeable but that is incident to the best of men We shall not be unchangeable in our state till we come into the presence of God who is unchangeable in his nature We may say also considering the many troubles which we are subject to in this life that it is a part of our happinesse that our state is changeable Those changes which are from evill to good or from good to better are to be numbred among our blessings such are the changes of the Saints all their changes are for the better yea those changes of the Saints which are from joy to sorrow from riches to poverty from health to sicknesse from liberty to a prison from life to death in a word their changes from any kinde of outward temporary good to outward temporary evill are yet for their good He cannot change but for his good who is good and who abides alwayes under this promise that all shall work together for his good An evill and a good man differ in nothing more then in their changes nor should any selfe-consideration provoke an evill man more to desire that he may be changed to good then this that his changes may be for good Who would continue or trust in vanity were he perswaded that vanity shall be his change Secondly Observe That such as our way is such will our end be If we walk and trust in vanity we shall have vanity for our recompence or our change Every mans end is virtually in his way So the Apostle argues ellegantly Gal. 6.7 Be not deceived God is not mocked whatsoever a man sowes that shall he reape he that sowes to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption he that sowes to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting If the Husband-man sow tares he must look to reap tares A seed time of tares and a Harvest of Wheat were never heard of in the same ground As the seed is such is the crop Isa 3.11 Woe to the wicked it shall be ill with him for the reward of his hand shall be given him There is nothing worse for some then to have their reward brought in and all that is owing to them payd The very receiving of their debts and rewards is their undoing for ever All the misery of a wicked man is summed up in this He shall have the reward of his hands Wrath and death and Hell are his rewards and all the wages which the work both of his hands and heart can earne and these he shall have fully payd to him Vaine he hath been and vanity shall be his recompence Some read this Verse not as a dehortation Let not him that is deceived trust or beleeve in vanity but as a negative proposition for that particle in the Hebrew which sometimes carryeth a prohibition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Malo simpliciter negare quam prohibere Merc. Non credet qui vanitate errat quod vanitas erit permutatio ejus Merc. Non credet fore ut ejus faelicitas permutetur ad meâ—am vanitatem deveniet Vatâ—bl notes also a bare negation so here He that is deceived with vanity will not beleeve the same word signifies both to beleeve and trust that vanity shall be his recompence He will not beleeve a change much lesse such a change This is a cleare sense and it hints us this Observation That a wicked man is full of infidelity or unbeleife that his estate is evill or shall
ever be worse then it is The unbeleife of man is as strong against the threatnings as against the promises The Saints are hardly brought to beleeve that glory shall be their recompence that the purchase which Christ hath made of Heaven and eternall happinesse belongs to them A wicked man will not beleeve that tribulation and anguish shall be upon him or that the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against his unrighteousnesse he will not beleeve that he shall goe to Hell and be damned or that everlasting fire shall burne him or the worme that dyes not feed upon him he that is deceived will not beleeve these things and the Devill hath as great an advantage upon men by making them strong in unbeleife As God hath by making his people strong in Faith The first assault that ever the Devill made against man was to weaken Faith or strengthen unbeleife about the threatnings While he laboured to deceive the Woman he laboured as much to perswade her That vanity should not be her recompence God had sayd peremptorily In the day that ye eate thereof yee shall surely dye The Devill denyed as peremptorily Yee shall not surely dye Gen. 3.4 The people were commanded to say Amen to every branch of the Curse Deut. 27.16 17 c. Though it be the lowest way of obedience to obey because we beleeve the truth and certainty of the Curse yet it is a high act of obedience to beleeve it And Satan is as busie against our faith in the threatnings as he is against our faith in promises This unbeleife opens the way to the committing of sin and sweetens sin while we are committing it Were it not for this unbeliefe sin could not be bread much lesse as it is to many pleasant bread Sin would be Gall and Wormewood in the acting of it did we beleeve that it will be bitternesse in the end Who would doe the worke of sin did he beleeve that vanity should be his recompence Because this threat is not beleeved therefore the Law which forbids sin is not obeyed As Faith is a sheild to the new Man so unbeleife is a sheild to the old Man as Faith quenches the fiery darts of the Devill or his allurements to sin so unbeliefe quenches all the fiery darts of God or his threatnings of punishment Tush say they We shall never see Sword nor Famine we need not feare which is so much talked of death or Hell Vanity shall not be our recompence There is a third reading of the Text Rab. Kimchi exponit Sheve pro aequali seu aequalitate q.d. Ne credat qui deceptus est aequalem semper sui similem fore sibi statum vel eodem semper modo res sibi cessuras Merc. The former word which we render Vanity is translated by some of the Rabbins Equality or a thing that is equall the latter as we a lye or Vanity This varies the whole straine of the Verse and yet the Exposition given upon it is cleare both to the generall scope and to the sense given immediately before Let not him that is deceived beleeve that he shall be alwayes equall or of the same estate for vanity shall be his recompence He thinkes to carry it smoothly and with an even thred but he is deceived Things will not alwayes stand at the same point and poyze with him and therefore let him not feed himselfe with groundlesse ayery hopes that they will His affaires will not alwayes have the same face nor beare the same aspect toward him now they smile and looke pleasantly but annon they will frowne and look sowre Lastly Keeping neer the same sense still Non credet verbo aequo qui errat sed mendacium erit loco ejus Pagn q. d. qui errat non credet verbo recto sed ponet mendacium loco illius hoc pacto credet the words are thus translated He that is deceived will not beleeve the right word or the word of truth but he will beleeve a lye in stead of it As if Eliphaz had thus school'd and caution'd Job I have told you this as from God but I know he that is as you are misled and deceived will not beleeve the word of God who cannot lye he will beleeve a lye rather As the carnall heart changes the glory of God into a lye so the truth of God into a lye or embraceth a lye for truth he that beleeved not the right word will soon beleeve that which is wrong As they who receive not the love of the truth are by the just judgement of God given up to strong delusions to beleeve a lye So also are they who receive not the truth As the not doing of good is not onely it selfe an evill but leads us also or layes us open to the doing of many evills yea of any evill So the not receiving of truth is not onely an error but it leads us also or layes us open to the receiving of many yea of any error Eliphaz having thus pressed his dehortation upon Job not to trust in vanity lest he finde vanity the reward and recompence of that unholy faith and trust proceeds yet further to presse his dehortation by the same argument for the matter though varyed in the manner of expression in the beginning of the next Verse Vers 32. It shall be accomplished before his time c. These words are a strong enforcement of the motive layd downe in the former Verse Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity Why what if he doe Vanity shall be his recompence That 's the first part of the motive The second is In non die suo complebitur Mont. Vers 32. It shall be accomplished before his time What shall be accomplished There is no expresse Antecedent in the Hebrew we may understand either first the life of the wicked man himselfe of whom Eliphaz had before discoursed Or secondly Compleri ante diem c. est potius perire quam ullum complementum perfectionem accipere Pined Antequam dies ejus implâ—antur peribit ut sit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 succido Morte immatura praevâ—nietur vel gladio vel morbo vel aliqua alia violenta causa In die non suo implebitur sepulchrum ejus Taâ—g the estate of the wicked man Or thirdly the designes and plots of the wicked man Taking in all three the meaning is That himselfe and all that he hath gotten and all that he hath projected Shall be accomplished before his time and what 's this but vanity for his recompence To be accomplished before the time is not to be accomplished at all it notes rather perdition then perfection The word which we translate to accomplish signifies also to cut off as we put in the Margin of our Bibles It shall be accomplished or cut off before his time The Vulgar translation fills up the sense thus Before his dayes can be filled he
to a godly heart The reason why a godly man chuses rather to be smitten by the righteous then the wicked is because they have somewhat possibly much of God in them therefore much more doth hee say Let the righteous God smite me It is a mercy if we must needs be chastised when God will chastise us himselfe and not give us into the hands of men whose mercies are cruell There are two things which make it so greivous to the people of God when they are delivered up into the hands of the ungodly First Their cruelty Their mercies are cruell how unmercifull then are they in their cruelties As they know no measure in sinning against God so they keep none in vexing man The Lord promiseth Psal 126.3 The Rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous implying that by the good will of evill men it should rest there they would never take it off if God did not Secondly which troubles more then the former Their blasphâ—my And that first against God himselfe as if he either could not deliver out of their hands 2 Chron. 32 14. What is your God that he should be able to deliver you out of my hand Psal 42. Where is now their God Thus the wicked Jewes into whose hand God delivered his Son did even dare God to come to his rescue Mat. 27.43 or as if he took their part and favoured the cause which they have in hand Secondly They blaspheame or speak evill both of the wayes and people of God What 's become of your prayers now Where 's your fasting now Of which you boasted that it would doe such wonders It is a soare affliction to be under the rule of wicked men much more to be under their rage that prophetick curse which David denounceth against his Enemy is thus expressed Psal 109.6 Set thou a wicked man over him A wicked man were better be under the power of good men then of the wicked for a good man cannot be so severe to a wicked man as one wicked man is to another but if a wicked man be so cruell to wicked men who are so like him how cruell must he needs be to godly men who are altogether unlike him Fourthly Note Godly men looke through all second causes to the first As they rest not in the creature for the good which they receive so they stay not in the creature when they receive evill they see a hand of God in and over all Note Fifthly We glorifie God as much in acknowledging afflictions as in acknowledging mercies and blessings to come from him He is the Author of both he takes it as much upon him that he creates darknesse as that he formes light that is As the next words expound it That hee creates evill as well as makes peace Isa 45.7 Now if the Lord challenges this as a part of that glory which he will not give to Idols then we give him the glory of the onely true God while wee acknowledge this Sixthly Note There is no way to settle or quiet the heart till it looke up to God as the disposer of our troubles This was Jobs last resort And this was Davids when Shimei cursed him God hath bid Shimei curse This kept downe those angry motions which must else have boyled up as high in his spirit as they did in Abishaes himselfe being more deeply concerned in it then Abishai was Job having discovered this frame of spirit more then once before I here onely touch upon it Lastly Take this comfortable Corolary from the whole Though God doth often deliver his choycest Servants into the power of wicked men yet he never delivers them up to the will of wicked men They cannot doe with his people what they please they shall onely doe what God himselfe pleaseth though they displease God highly in doing it God never turnes the least of those who beleeve in his Name out of his owne hand though he turne them over into the hand of the ungodly as God keeps his title to them still so hee still keepes the possession of them Saints in the hand of the vilest men are in the hand or possession of God two wayes First They are in the hand of his power he can fetch them out of the hands of men when he will Secondly They are under the hand of his care and this five wayes First To provide that though they endure much hardship in their hands yet they shall receive no hurt God doth not turn his into the hands of evill men for evill but for good Secondly He hath them in the hand of his care to furnish them with strength to suffer Thirdly To teach them how to profit by sufferings Fourthly To moderate the hands of the wicked towards them their hands shall not be heavier then he hath appointed they shall not give you a stroak more then hee hath numbred out Lastly As to order how much so likewise how long they shall suffer Our times are in Gods hand when we are in the hand of men As they cannot add a drop to our cup so not a Sand to our Glasse beyond what the Lord hath appointed out JOB Chap. 16. Vers 12 13 14. I was at ease but he hath broken me asunder hee hath also taken me by my neck and shaken me to peices and set me up for his marke His Archers compasse me round about he cleaveth my reines asunder and doth not spare he powreth out my Gall upon the ground He breaketh me with breach upon breach he runneth upon me like a Giant JOB still prosecutes the same argument setting out his afflictions in their darkest colours to the seventeenth Verse of this Chapter and then with highest confidence attesting yea calling Heaven and Earth to attest both the righteousnesse of his wayes towards men and the rightnesse of his worship tendered unto God These three with the two Verses following containe two generall points First He tels us how and in what manner he was handled by God in those dayes of his affliction Vers 12 13 14. Secondly He tels us how he behaved himselfe under the hand of God or how he was affected with these afflictions Vers 15 16. I have sowed sackcloath upon my skin and defiled my horne in the dust c. As Gods hand was heavy upon him so he held out all the demonstrations and emblemes of a heavy heart I sowed sackcloth upon my skin He begins with or rather prosecutes the description for he had spoken much of it before of his sad afflictions And because contraries illustrate and set forth one another therefore he first shewes what condition he had been in secondly what he then was in Our present wants and evills are aggravated by our former comforts and enjoyments This course and method Job takes to aggravate his First Telling us that he was once whole and at ease Secondly What hee at that time was pained and broken to peices I was at ease But
causing others to fall before them In so much that the very name of a Giant was dreadfull And when those unbeleeving Scarchers of Canaan brought up an evill report of that Land the worst which they could say of it to the discouragement of their Brethren was this Numb 13.33 And there we saw the Giants the Sons of Anak which came of the Giants and we were in our owne sight as Grasse-hoppers and so we were in theirs Men of strength and courage were as much afrayd at this story of Giants as Children are of Bug-beares and Fayries So then when Job sayd That God did run upon him as a Giant his intent was onely to shew with how much terrour God was pleased to cloath himselfe and how much strength he put forth while he thus contended with him The truth is God needs not lay out his strength to afflict man he can crush the strongest of men as a moth with the touch of his finger The weaknesse of God is stronger then man yet God in afflicting his people will sometimes personate a mighty man exercising his power to the utmost and arming himselfe from head to foot while he combates with an enemy which still confirmes the generall Observation That God doth not onely afflict such as he loves but he afflicts them sorely Doth he not so when he shaks them in peices Doth he not so when he sets them as his mark When a multitude of skilfull Archers compasse them about when he cleaves their reines asunder when he powres out their Gall upon the ground Doth he not so when he sets Engines of battery to make breach upon breach and then runs up as a Giant to the assault Thus God hath dealt with many precious soules and thus he dealt beyond his dealings with many with his precious Servant Job And as no man eyther in his estate or health either in his credit or comforts is so strong a wall but God by his Artillery can quickly make a breach upon him so who is able to stand in the breach or make it good when God comes up to the assault Can thine heart endure or can thine hands be strong in the dayes that I shall deale with thee saith the Lord Ezek. 22.14 When the Lord as a Giant runs upon man the strongest Giant among the sons of men is but as a Pigmie yea but as a Pismire he is but as the Chaffe before the winde or as the potters Vessell before the Iron Rod. But though flesh and blood cannot stand in the breach when God assaults yet Faith and patience can Moses by Faith stood in the breach and turned away the wrath of God when he came to destroy Israel Psal 106.23 Job by patience stood in the breaches which God made upon him when he seemed utterly to destroy him For what did Job to God when God did all this to him Did he oppose Did he strive with his Maker The two next Verses shew that prayers and teares were all the Weapons he used in this holy Warr with God JOB CHAP. 16. Vers 15.16 17. I have sowed sack-cloth upon my skin and defiled my horne in the dust My face is foule with weeping and on my eye-lids is the shadow of death Not for any injustice in my hands also my prayer is pure THE former words shewed in what manner Job was afflicted and because the manner of his afflictions did almost exceed words therefore he strained himselfe to the highest pitch of holy rhetorick to make his unkinde Freinds sensible of it And as there he told us what God had done to him so here he tells what he did or how he behaved himselfe under the hand of God he tells us how he took those tearings and those wounds how he received those showres of Arrows from the Almighties Bow Eliphaz taxed Job in the fifteenth Chapter with height and haughtinesse of spirit in his low estate Vers 12.13 Why doth thine heart carry thee away And what doth thine eyes winke at that thou turnest thy spirit against God and lettest such words goe out of thy mouth And Vers 25. he more then intimates that Job stretched out his hand against God and strengthened himselfe against the Almighty In both passages he is severely charged not onely with impatience under the hand of God which is bad enough but with opposition against the hand of God which is farre worse Job refutes these unfreindly censures and professeth another kinde both of spirit and practice in this Text. As if hee had sayd I am not so madd as thou takest me to be to runn upon God or to stretch out my hand against him while he smiteth me I have learned better then to shoot the arrowes of blasphemy against God whilst he shoots the arrows of calamity against me and if you desire to know what I have been doing seeing I deny that I have been doing what you suggest This is the account which I give of my selfe and of my behaviour Vers 15. I have sowed sack-cloth upon my skin and defiled my horne in the dust That is I have humbly submitted my selfe to receive and entertaine those saddest dispensations Hence Observe That the surest way to confute the censures and wipe off the aspersions which are cast upon us is to shew our selves doing contrary to what others are speaking of us A practicall answer is the strongest answer we may speak more for our selves by our hands then we can doe by our tongues in many cases The Papists mouths are stopt who call us Solifidians when they see Protestants forward in and zealous for good workes He that is accused of uncharitablenesse may best free himselfe from that charge by giving freely to the poore and he that is accused of injustice may soonest doe himselfe right by shewing that he hath done right to every man Bare denyals that we have done evill are nothing but when our doing of good appeares who can deny it The old Philosopher answered him that denyed motion by rising up and walking not by arguing Job answered Eliphaz who affirmed that he turned his spirit and stretched out his hand against God by falling downe and submitting to it I have sowed sack-cloth upon my skin c. And this Job offers as to remove and take away that objection of mis-behaviour towards God Hoc assert ut ad miserecordiam socios moveat paenitentiam sc suam humilitatem quod sese in his afflictionibus non extulerit Merc. so to move his Freinds to better behaviour even to compassion and pitty towards him He was in a sorrowfull case and he had acted the part of a sorrowfull man God had layd him low and hee layd himselfe low this might have taught them moderation why should they speake so harshly against him who had dealt but coursely with himselfe Sowing sack-cloth upon his skin and seeing he abased himselfe even to the defiling of his horne in the dust why should they abase him too It stirrs up pitty
Hab. 1.13 Seeing then there is much iniquity in our holy things we must doe all by our High Priest who as the typical High Priest did for the Children of Israel Exod. 28.38 beares the iniquity of our holy things that we as they may be accepted before the Lord. Sixthly That and onely that is pure prayer which is breathed in and breathed out by the spirit of God Edifie your selves in your â—ost holy Faith pray in the holy Ghost Jude Vers 20. Or praying by the holy Ghost as some translate that is by the strength and helpe of the holy Ghost We cannot make pure prayer with our owne breath parts and gifts the holy spirit breathes holy prayer into and draws it out of our hearts As we know not what to beleeve or doe aright till the spirit teacheth us so we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the spirit it selfe maketh intercession for us Rom. 8.26 The spirit maketh intercession not as Christ doth the spirit doth not mediate between God and us but as it is the office of Christ to intercede for us with God so it is the office of the holy Ghost to make those intercessions in us which we put up to God So that the spirit is said to make intercession for us because the intercessions and prayers which we make are made by the spirit the spirit formes them in us As some duller Schollers in a Schoole who cannot make their Exercises get their exercises made for them by those that are more pregnant so the spirit makes intercession for us We are dull and low 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 particula 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ad nos laborantes refertur quorum tamen vis omnis ab eo spiritu proficiscitur qui sicut nos penitus collapsos erexit ita etiam erectos regit ideoque dicitur ipse vicissim onus attollere ne sub eo fatiscamus Bez. in Epist ad Rom. and straitned wee cannot make a prayer the spirit makes them for us in our hearts Hence it is said in the beginning of the Verse The spirit also helpeth our infirmities The Greek word signifieth to helpe as a Nurse helpeth a little Childe to goe or as a weake decrepid old man is upholden by a staffe or rather as the composition of the word implyes The spirit helpeth together And then it is a Metaphor taken from those who lift a weight or a peece of Timber too heavy for one together The spirit lends us his hand in this duty and they who have received grace act also with the spirit Thus the spirit helpeth together The Spirit and a Beleever are both at it to carry on this praying worke yet all that strength which we put to the worke flowes from the spirit who as he raiseth us when wee are quite fallen so hee assists us when we are raised and then wee make good worke pure worke of it in prayer Lastly That is a pure prayer which comes from a pure person And there is a double purity of the person necessary to a pure prayer First There is the purity of his state he must be a converted and regenerated person otherwise his prayer is abominable though he should be right in as many of the forementioned requisites as it is possible for an unregenerate man to be as suppose he not onely prayeth to God and for such things as are agreeable to the will of God but also as he thinks for the glory of God yet the mans prayer is impure because himselfe is impure God hath respect to the person before he hath respect to his supplication Prov. 15.8 The prayer of the wicked is an abomination to God but the prayer of the upright is his delight And againe Hee that turnes away his eare from hearing the Law even his prayer shall bee abomination Prov. 28.9 Secondly As there must be purity of state before there can be a pure prayer so also purity of life that is he must be renewed in purity not lying or continuing in any sin 1 Tim. 2.8 I will that men pray every where lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubtings Holy hands note the purity of our actions as a holy heart notes the purity of our state To lift up the hands is to pray the signe being put for the thing signified The meaning is let your prayers be holy First without wrath to men come not to seeke the favour of God with anger and revenge in thy heart against man Secondly pray without doubting that respects God and is opposed to Faith As if the Apostle had sayd Pray both in actuall Faith and Love Yet the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there used is rendered by some Disceptation or wrangling as if the Apostle had in that specified one effect of wrath 'T is expounded also by others for any internall distraction or distemper of the mind for the minde of man is often carryed away from God in prayer and maintaines secret Dialogismes discourses and conferences in and with it selfe when it should be wholly taken up with God The covetous mans heart talkes of Gold and the voluptuous mans heart talkes of pleasures when hee seemes to pray yea these Foules will often come downe upon the Sacrifice of an Abraham onely as soone as hee espies them hee drives them away yet by these interruptions in prayer as well as by any sinfull action unrepented of before prayer the holinesse of prayer or the lifting up of holy hands in prayer is hindred and defaced even in those whose persons are holy David was a man that was pure in state he was a converted person yet he saith Ps 66.18 If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not heare my prayers Though I am pure in state yet if I am impure in life the eare of God will shut against my suites Isa 1.14 15. God rejects the prayers of his owne people because their hands were full of blood and hence his counsell Wash you make you cleane put away the evill of your doings from before mine eyes c. Come now let us reason together saith the Lord Vers 18. As if he had said while I see your sins I cannot heare your prayers while your iniquities are before mine eyes your supplications cannot enter into mine eare nor will I answer them How can any soule expect with Faith that God should doe what he requests when hee will not doe what God commands Or that God should fulfill our desires while wee in any thing neglect his rules As the prayer of an unholy person is turned into sin so the sin of a holy person may cause the Lord to turne away his prayer Then take that counsell of the Apostle writing to and of Saints Heb. 10.22 Let us draw nigh to God with a true heart in full assurance of Faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evill conscience and our bodies washed with pure water There is a twofold evill conscience First That which
lives in any knowne sinne unrepented of Secondly That which is unquiet and unsetled about the pardon of those sins which we have repented of We should get both these evil consciences but especially the first cured and removed by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ before we draw nigh to God in prayer as also our bodies washed in pure water which is either an allusion to the old Ceremonies among the Jewes who before they came to worship at the Tabernacle purged themselves with diverse outward washings leading them to the consideration of that morall puritie both of heart and life in which God is to be worshipped or it is an allusion to Baptisme in speciall in which there is an externall washing of the body signifying the washing of the soule by the blood of Christ and by the effectuall working of the spirit The sum of all is unlesse the person be pure his prayer is not pure These are the ingredients which constitute pure prayer all these met in Job and therefore he concluded not onely confidently but truely My prayer is pure And as these are the ingredients of prayer so they are all necessary ingredients so necessary that if any one of them be wanting the whole prayer is impure They are necessary by a double necessity First As commanded by God in prayer Secondly As meanes without which man cannot attaine his end in prayer The generall end of prayer is that prayer may be heard accepted and answered God heares accepts answers no one prayer without some concurrence of all these The Incense of the Ceremoniall Law was a shadow of prayer which is so great a duty of the morall Law But if this Incense had not been made exactly according to the will of God both for the matter and the manner of the composition prescribed Exod. 30.34 35 36. If after it had been thus made it had not also been offered according to those rules given Levit. 16.12 13. it had been an abomination to the Lord or as the Prophet Isaiah speaks Chap. 66.3 Such a burning of Incense had been but as the blessing of an Idol We may conclude also That if prayer be either composed or presented in any other way then God himselfe hath directed it is not onely turned away but turned into sin That man hath spoken a great word who can say in Jobs sense My prayer is pure Thus Job justifies the prayer he made to God and mainetaines his justice towards men There is no injustice in my hands also my prayer is pure A high profession yet in the next words he goes higher and makes both an imprecation against himselfe if it were not thus with him and an appeale to God for his testimony that it was thus with him JOB CHAP. 16. Vers 18 19. O Earth cover not thou my blood and let my cry have no place Also now behold my witnesse is in Heaven and my record is on high JOB having with much confidence asserted the integrity of his heart and the righteousnesse of his way both towards God and Man confirmes what he had thus confidently asserted by a double Argument First By a vehement imprecation Vers 18. O earth cover not thou my blood and let my cry have no place Secondly By a free appeale an appeale to God himselfe Vers 19. Also now behold my witnesse is in Heaven and my record is on high He shewes the necessity of this appeale Vers 20. My Freinds scorne me therefore I am constrained to goe to God When men have done us wrong and will not doe us right it is both time and duty to appeale to God Upon this ground Job appeales Est juramenti deprecatorii forma quo asseverat nullius sibi iniquitatis consâ—ium esse Aben. Ezra and he concludes according to our translation his appeale with a passionate yet holy wish Vers 21. O that one might plead for a man with God as a man pleadeth for his Neighbour The reason both of his appeale and wish is given us further Vers 22. he looked on himselfe as a man standing upon the very confines of death the Grave was ready for him therefore hee beggs that this businesse might be dispatched and his integrity cleared before hee dyed Hee was loath to goe out of the World like a Candle burnt downe to the Socket with an ill savour He that hath lived unstained in his reputation cannot well beare it to dye with a blot and therefore he will be diligent by all due meanes to maintaine the credit which he hath got and to recover what he hath lost This was the reason of Jobs importunity discovered in these two Verses now further to be opened Vers 18. O earth cover not thou my blood and let my cry have no place There are two branches of this imprecation or rather these make two distinct imprecations The first in these words O earth cover not thou my blood The second in these Let my cry have no place Job engages all upon the truth of what he had sayd being willing that his worst might be seen and his best not heard if he had not spoken truth O earth cover not thou my blood Poeticum sane patheticum in dolore aut re alia gravissima res mutas mortuasve omni sensu audituque carentes testes auditores compellare Job speaks pathetically or as some render him Poetically while he bespeakes the earth and makes the inanimate creature his hearer The sacred Pen-men doe often turne their speech to the Heavens and to the Earth Thus Moses Deut. 32.2 in the Preface of his Sermon his last Sermon to that people Give eare O yee Heavens and I will speak and hear O earth the words of my mouth So the Prophet Isaiah Chap. 1.2 Heare O Heavens and give eare O Earth I have nourished and brought up Children and they have rebelled against me God speaks to that which hath no eares to heare eyther to reprove those who have eares but heare not or to raise up and provoke their attention in hearing Thus Job O earth c. as if the earth were able to take his complaint and returne an answer as if the earth were able to make inquisition and bring in a verdict about his blood O earth cover not thou my blood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 texit operuit abscondit The word signifies not onely common but a twofold metaphoricall covering First Covering by way of dissimulation to dissemble a matter is to cover a matter In that sense Solomon speakes Prov. 12.16 A fooles wraâ—h is presently knowne but a prudent man covereth shame that is He dissembleth his wrath or his anger he will not let it alway break forth for that would be a shame to him Secondly The word signifies to cover by forgetfulnesse That which is not remembred is hid or covered Eccles 6.4 He commeth in with vanity speaking of man and departeth in darknesse and his name shall be covered with darknesse that
or condemnes He that is righteous knowes that all his sins are covered by the freegrace of God in the righteousnesse of Jesus Christ and he knowes that he hath not covered his sin as Adam by excuses nor sewed the Fig-leaves of carnall reasonings together to hide his nakednesse he knowes also that he lives not in any knowne sin nor hath wickedly departed from the Lord. Now because in all these respects he knowes nothing by himselfe therefore he cares not who knows him he cals not for Masks or Visors for Curtaines or coverings to obscure or disguise himselfe or his actions under eyther from the sight of God or man but is willing to stand forth in the open light For though the best of men may have done some act which is not fit for the open light yet considering the whole frame of their hearts and lives towards God together with what hath past betweene God and their soules about that act they are not afrayd that the worst act which ever they have done should stand forth in the open light and as for those crimes which men uncharitably charge upon them every honest heart speakes boldly the sense of this first part of Jobs imprecation O earth cover not thou my blood From the second branch of Jobs imprecation Let my cry have no place Observe Not to have prayer heard and accepted by God is the greatest misery that can befall man God is the last refuge of a distressed soule and the meanes by which we make God our refuge or flye to him for refuge is beleeving and servent prayer Prayer is a duty and yet it is a priviledge it is a priviledge not onely to receive an answer of prayer but to put up our requests in prayer he therefore that askes a stop upon his owne prayers hath at once asked a stop upon all his mercies he cannot looke to be releeved who tells God he doth not looke to be heard and when prayer hath no place of acceptance in Heaven wee can have no place of contentment on the Earth Upon this account we may conclude That Man cannot bespeake any thing worse for himselfe then not to be heard when he speakes to God As it is one of the highest honours done to God that men make prayers to him so it is one of the deepest afflictions of man for God not to heare his prayers Such was Sauls condition 2 Sam. 28. God doth not answer me neither by dreames nor by Vrim nor by Prophets He could get no answer from God his cry had no place This troubled him more then the invasion of the Philistims I am sore distressed saith he the Philistims make Warr upon me and God is departed from me When trouble comes and God goes away man is in a wofull estate We have no promise to receive unlesse we aske and though we doe aske wee cannot receive unlesse our prayer be received God receives the prayer of man before man receives any thing from God in prayer All our treasure lies in Heaven our comfort is in Heaven our protection is in Heaven and prayer is the messenger which we send to Heaven in the name of Christ for all things or for whatsoever else we need on earth Now if prayer cannot get in if God will not heare prayer if hee send back our messenger without audience what can wee receive The sinfulnesse of man appeares in nothing more then in this That he calleth not upon God Psal 14.4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge Who eate up my people as they eate bread and call not upon the Lord Now as the sin of man appeares exceedingly in not calling upon God so the wrath of God appeares exceedingly in not hearing man when he cals Prov. 1.20 Then shall they call upon me but I will not answer they shall seeke me early but they shall not finde me God will powre out wrath upon the Families that call not upon his name Jer. 10.25 but hee powres out most wrath upon those Families whom he heares not when they call upon his name All our mercies are shut out at once when prayer is shut out nor shall that person have any place or roome in Gods heart whose cry hath no place in his eare Holy Job was sensible enough of this nor durst hee have imprecated that his cry should have no place but that being conscious of no evill hee was assured that his cry had place and therefore as in the sincerity of his soule he made that imprecation so in the confidence of his soule he proceeds to make his Appeale to God in the next words Vers 19. Also now behold my witnesse is in Heaven and my record is on high As if he had sayd I feare no evidence that can be brought against me on earth and I rejoyce in the witnesse I have in Heaven though I have none to testifie for me here yet I have one that will testifie for me above My witnesse is in Heaven and my record is on high Vtitur testificatione caeli postquam terrae testimonium produxit Eugub Some conceive that as Job had spoken to the earth before so now he speakes to Heaven O earth cover not my blood O Heaven witnesse for me But he saith not my witnesse is Heaven but my witnesse is in Heaven nor doth he call the Heavens to witnesse for him but he cals him who is in Heaven to witnesse and that is God There are two branches of this appeal Idem bis dicit conscientiae suae integrae declarandae causa Lavat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Synonymum est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hieron in Trad. and they both intend the same thing My witnesse is in Heaven and my record is on high The words witnesse and record are of the same signification though they differ in the letter The one is properly an Hebrew word and the other Syriack When Jacob and Laban were in that contest Gen. 31.47 Jacob tooke a Stone and set up a Pillar for a witnesse And Jacob sayd to his Brethren Gather stones and they made an heape and they did eate there upon the heap and Laban called it Jegar-sahadatha that is a heap of witnesses as it is in the Margin but Jacob called it Galeed or Gilead Jacob speaking the pure Hebrew and Laban the Syriack language they take in both the words of Jobs appeale My witnesse is in Heaven my record is on high Est forma juramenti quo deum invocat innocentiae suae testem atque conscientiae spectatorem Cajet Job speakes the same thing twice to shew how strongly he beleeved that the Lord would be witnesse for him My witnesse is in Heaven my record is on high Heaven and high are the same as witnesse and record are And when he saith on high or in the high place he useth not the word Bamoth by which those high places are expressed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In excelsis malimin altissimis quia excelsa
as a man not as his enemy but as a wicked man and as an enemy to God The foundation of this holy Warr was layd in that word of God Gen. 3.15 I will put enmity betweene thee and the Woman between her seed and thy seed As there is an enmity de facto in wicked men against the righteous they will ever be opposing them So there is an enmity de jure of right and duty in the righteous against the wicked they ought ever to oppose them that quarrell those feudes must not be layd downe and therefore the Apostle John who though he was the beloved Desciple and was most pressing and perswasive to love among Saints and Brethren yet he forbids the love of wicked men Love not the World 1 Epist 2.15 which referrs as well to worldly persons as worldly things And the Apostle James is direct Chap. 4.4 The freindship of the World is enmity against God Our peicing in or making peace with the World is a proclaimed Warr against God himselfe It is our duty and it is our spirituall safety to stirr up our selves spiritually against the wicked As we deny not civill peace with Hypocrites and the worst of men so there is a spirituall warfare which wee are bound to continue how chargeable soever it may prove to us against all Hypocrites and vvicked men And if they say of this Sword as Jer. 47.6 O thou Sword of the Lord how long will it be ere thou be quiet We must answer as the Sword doth there How can I be quiet seeing the Lord hath given me a charge against Askelon The Sword of that Warr receives its Commission from God and is designed now to one coast anon to another The Sword of this Warr hath long since received its Commission from God against all the coasts of sin and powers of darknesse nor can it be quiet or put it selfe up in its Scabbard while there is an Hypocrite appearing upon the face of the Earth Gods quarrell must be perpetuated it can never be taken up Let them returne to thee but returne not thou to them was the Prophets charge Jer. 15.19 There 's no compounding of this difference they must returne and give themselves up to God and his wayes else we cannot give them an inch of ground or make truce with them for an houre much lesse may we make peace with them or give them the right hand of fellowship Secondly Here we have the Hypocrite in his flourish and the innocent in his affliction the Hypocrite aloft and the innocent below yet when it is thus even then the innocent is described stirring up himselfe against the Hypocrite Hence Observe A godly man afflicted doth not at all approve or applaud the Hypocrite but opposeth him in his greatest pompe and worldly splendour When the wicked are at the highest even as happy as the World can make them yet a godly man will not change states with them or as we say turne Tables with them he would not have his outward prosperity with his heart if it were worth ten thousand Worlds He sees and knowes there is more excellency and worth in afflicted grace then in the most prosperous wickednesse The love of God is better then life and if so what are all the things of this life compared to it Hence a godly man hath no better opinion of the wicked in riches then in poverty and hee hath no worse opinion of himselfe when he is poore then when he was rich Hee doth not account grace the lesse glorious because it hath so little of outward glory upon it And seeing he will not change states with him he cannot envy him We envy those only whom we judge in a better condition then our selves David under a temptation was envious at the foolish when he saw the prosperity of the wicked Pâ—al 73.2 3. and his feet were almost gone his steps had well-nigh slipt but when he recollected himselfe and went to the Sanctuary such thoughts were quickly downe and envy was extinct he saw much matter enough to pitty wicked men but none to envy them they stand in slippery places and are suddenly cast downe How are they brought into desolation as in a moment they are utterly consumed with terrours And as he doth not envy them so thirdly much lesse doth he imitate them he is so farr from imitating them that hee sets himselfe to oppose them and he opposeth them all those ways and with all those weapons that God hath put into his hand He opposeth ever him by counsell and conviction by reproofes and prayers And as he fights against the Hypocrite by prayer so by prayer he fortifies himselfe against all sinfull complyances with him Thus David prayed Psal 141.4 Incline not my heart to any evill thing to practice wicked workes with men that worke iniquity and let me not eate of their dainties As if hee had sayd Though wicked men be fine-fed and dyet upon dainties every day though they devoure the fatt and drinke the sweet and have all things that their hearts can desire yet Lord ever keep me from the practice of wicked workes with men that worke iniquity and let me not eate of their dainties who finde a sweetnesse in sin and take pleasure in unrighteousnesse It is the counsell of the wise man Prov. 1.10 11. My Son if sinners entice thee consent thou not Doe not associate with them they will tell thee of great matters they will say Come let us lay wait for blood we shall fill our houses with spoyle cast in thy lot among us let us all have one purse My Son walke not thou in the way with them refraine thy foot from their paths for their feet run to evill c. He that would refraine his foot from walking in must first refraine his heart from approving of the paths of wickednesse This the innocent doth and more while he stirreth up himselfe against the Hypocrite And as he sets himselfe against the way of the Hypocrites so he labours to set forward with all his might in the way of holinesse for that 's his way as appeares in the next Verse Vers 9. The righteous shall hold on his way and he that hath cleane hands shall wax stronger and stronger The righteous Ex tanti viri exemplo atque memoria incrementum accipient singulare Sanct. Tenebit mordicus Merc. Apprehensam tenebit firmiter non discedet ne latum quidem unguem sed haereâ—it firmior in suo vivendi instituto pietatem audentius colet It is the same man still who should be encouraged by Jobs example to a vigorous progresse He the righteous man Shall hold on The word signifies to hold with strength to hold toughly to hold as with the teeth resolving never to let goe but ever to goe onn In his way What way It may be taken eyther particularly for that way of opposition which hee maintained against the Hypocrite or secondly for the way of
at once makes them fruitfull and makes them firme he that stands by this strength shall stand and he that is fruitfull by these roots shall be fruitfull still and bring forth more fruit in age The righteous shall hold on his way As Christ speakes terribly to the wicked that they shall hold on their way Revel 22.11 He that is unjust let him be unjust still he that is filthy let him be filthy still These are not permissions to wicked men to be wicked still much lesse are they perswasions unto wickednesse but they are dreadfull comminations wicked men are threatned with this plague to be given up to the wickednesse of their owne hearts Now as Christ speakes terribly thereto his Enemies so he speakes comfortably and encouragingly to his Freinds He that is righteous let him be righteous still and he that is holy let him be holy still which carries not onely the force of a command upon them or the direction of a rule to them but also the sweetnesse of a gracious promise or of a speciall priviledge that they shall be maintained in righteousnesse and holinesse unto the end or that they shall hold on their way Hypocrites may make a faire flourish and stand some brunts they may endure for a season but they endure not long much lesse to the end They went out from us saith the Apostle John 1 Epist 2.19 they had once an appearance and a presence with us but they were not of us that is They had no reall communion and fellowship with us their bodies were with us but not their hearts and when we lost them we lost no more then the Corne doth vvhen the Chaffe is winnowed away or then the body doth vvhen hurtfull humours are purged away Who were these Hee meanes the Apostate professors of that age Ebion Cerinthus c. These were not of us How did the Apostle know that Hee tells us how in the next vvords For if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us Saint John puts it beyond all dispute and himselfe had not the least doubt of it that they who are once in Church shall continue in it and that they who depart doe not depart from grace but from a shadow of grace They doe not fall from what they were but manifest what they were not They went out from us that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us But vvhy doth the Apostle say they were not all of us Were any of those Apostates of them Not all is a knowne Hebraisme for none Psal 143.2 In thy sight not all men that is no man living shall be justified So 1 John 3.15 Ye know that every murderer hath not that is as we translate no murderer hath eternall life abiding in him So here They were not all that is None of them were of us Many have forsaken a profession of Faith but hee that hath Faith will not forsake the profession of it The righteous shall hold on his way and not onely so but He that hath cleane hands shall wax stronger and stronger To continue in the right way is very good but to encrease in it is farr better he that holds his owne in sad times is to be commended but he that thrives and gaines in godlinesse in sad times is to be admired And who is that Job tells us He that hath cleane hands The words are a Circumlocution describing the same person who vvas before called upright innocent and righteous And yet surely it is not a bare repetition of the same person under another title for though vvee must take this cleanenesse of hands in conjunction with cleannesse and uprightnesse of heart and though it be not so hard a matter to shew a paire of white cleane hands as it is to have an upright or a cleane white heart yea though it be true that cleane hands will not wax stronger and stronger in a day of affliction unlesse joyned with an upright heart yet I say these cleane hands imply somewhat else not onely besides that uprighâ—nesse but also besides that innocency and righteousnesse spoken of before The hand is the instrument of action and cleane hands are an embleme of holy actings So that Job seemes to intimate that he who besides the uprightnesse of his heart and the generall innocency and righteousnesse of his way is also carefull to keep himselfe free from every spot which might foule his hands He I say who is thus compleat and spotlesse is fullest of courage vvhen troubles and sorrowes are upon him 'T is true a mans generall uprightnesse and innocency vvill mightily uphold him in the maine yet if hee have got a visible blot or defilement upon the face or hand of his conversation or dealings with men this will be a dampe upon his spirit and a deadning to his heart though the bent of his heart stands faire towards God Againe this may be added in answer to a Plea vvhich some make vvhen they are taxed vvith the uncleannesse of their hands say they O we have good hearts we are upright towards God we confesse we faile many times but we have good meanings and we would both doe and be better Is thy hand uncleane Thy heart is a thousand times more uncleane Is thy vvay evill Thy spirit is vvorse How câ—n any man have a good meaning or a good heart vvhen himselfe is evill No man can There is no excuse for the uncleannesse of the hands by saying the heart is cleane For vvhere there is a cleane heart there vvill be cleane hands Many have cleane hands that have uncleane hearts but no man hath a cleane heart whose hands continue uncleane much lesse will such a one plead the cleannesse of his heart in excuse for the uncleannesse of his hand nor is there any ground for such a Plea Should a man say here is a Tree that beares ill fruit but it hath an excellent root I am sure it is of a right kind but I confesse the fruit is naught would not any man of reason condemne such reasoning Would he not say This is to bely nature For every good tree brings forth good fruit Is it not also a belying of the spirit of grace to say The heart is upright but the hands are uncleane For an upright heart makes a cleane hand as cleane hands are a probable evidence of an upright heart He that hath not both these hath neyther of them to purpose which we may conceive was Jobs scope while hee puts them here together Further while Job speakes in the third person Hee that hath cleane hands he answers Eliphaz for himselfe who in a third person charged him with the uncleannesse both of his heart and hands Chap. 15.14 from which he also vindicates himselfe Chap. 16.17 As if hee had sayd You have often charged me with the uncleannesse of my hands but
considered his owne body as dead too much and so attained not to Abrahams strength of Faith Yet we have three things to say for him First there was a great difference between his case and Abrahams Job had no such ground of Faith as Abraham had Abraham received a speciall yea an absolute promise from God that he should have a Son but Job received only a conditionall promise from man grounded upon the generall promises of God that he should be restored This consideration abates much from the objection of his unbeleife though it cannot be denyed but his Faith might and should have risen higher upon the power of God who as he was Al-sufficiently able so he did afterwards actually raise him up Secondly The designe of God being in Jobs example to set forth a patterne of patience as his designe was in Abrahams example to set forth a patterne of Faith he was pleased to let Jobs Faith run it selfe out about spirituals and eternals not minding temporals that so his patience might have a perfect worke in bearing the full weight of his affliction to the end while his Faith did not so much as put under a little finger to ease him with the least beleife that it should as to this life be taken off or have an end Lastly As 't was hinted Job had much Faith to some purposes though none to this hee had a full trust in God though he should kil him but he had no trust that God would not kill him he beleeved God loved him while he did afflict him though hee did not beleeve that God would deliver him from his afflictions As no mans Faith workes alike at all times so 't is rare that any mans Faith workes alike to all things Some who beleeve and hope mightily for the things of Heaven have but little eyther Faith or Hope for earthly things Not because a Faith which serves for Heaven is not enough 't is rather more then enough to serve for Earth But because most of those whose Faith is strong and much enlarged for Heaven take so much satisfaction there and are there so much at home that they account themselves Pilgrims and strangers here and are not much mindfull as the Apostle speakes Heb. 11.15 or desirous of their earthly Countrey and concernments What wee doe not much desire to have wee doe not much beleeve though we beleeve that we shall have it A full soule saith Solomon loatheth the Honey combe Those soules which are full of Heaven though they doe not loath yet they are not hungry after though they can thankfully receive and enjoy any Honey-combe of this World No man having drunk old Wine straightway desireth new for hee saith the old is better Luke 5.39 Doubtlesse Job had drunk the old Wine of Gods favour and love in the Redeemer and so his thirst was much slacked if not totally quenched towards the new Wine of a temporall restauration And hence we may not onely charitably but more then probably conclude That it was not for want of Faith that Job did not beleeve or hope for what his Freinds promised him but because he had employed his Faith upon better and more pleasing pâ—â—â—ises Thus Job hath finisht his answer to the second charge of Eliphaz And through the helpe of Christ somewhat is here tendered for the illustration and exposition of it His other two Freinds Bildad and Zophar stand ready to enter the Lists with him and to renew their charge what they sayd and what answer they received shall if God continue life and strength with these peaceable opportunities in convenient time be presented to publick view A TABLE Directing to some speciall points noted in the precedent EXPOSITIONS A ABominable what that is which is called abominable or an abomination p. 65 66. Sinfull man how abominable to God 66 67. Abundance cannot satisfie 113. Advocate between God and man 389. How the holy Ghost is an Advocatâ— 389 390. In what manner Christ performes the offiâ—e of an Advocate 390. Christ is an effectuall mediatour or Advocate 393. Five things to shew the effectualnesse of Christs pleading for us as an Advocate 394. Affections of men and their opinions of others are very variable 452. Affliction great afflictions hinder the sense of tendred mercies 39. Some afflictions bring a wearinesse boâ—h upon soule and body 247. Some afflictions distract 248. A godly man may grow extreame weary of affliction 249. Great afflictions like great sins leave a mark 261. Great afflictions how made witnesses of sin against a man 262. The witnesse which affliction gives censured two wayes 262 263. God afflicts his owne severely 290. God seemes to take pleasure in afflicting his 294. Affliction comes not by chance but by speciall direction 295. God hath many wayes to afflict 297. He sends breach upon breach 309. Great afflictions have three things in them in reference to others 451. Age old age three degrees of it among the Jewes 31. Amalekites their enmity against the Jewes 126. Angels how imperfect 62. Angels by some called Heavens and why 63. Answering two things alwayes may two things usually doe embolden men to answer 222. Antiochus Epiphanes his painefull life 89 Appetite of the end infinite 207. Appeales to God lawfull 363. It is a daring worke to appeale to Gâ—d 368. Apis the Aegyptian Idol why his Preists did not give him the water of Nilus to drinke 147. Apostacy from profession worse then continued prophanenesse 286. Archers seven Archers shot at Job 297. Arminians why they deny the Intercession of Christ for all 393. Assurance of approaching miseries how great a trouble to the minde 118. A wicked man may have this assurance 118. Arrhabo an earnest whence it comes 420. Astonishment at the dealings of God 468. Augustus Caesar his peircing eye 266. Aygoland a King of the Moores why he refused baptisme 471. B. Barathrum why it signifies Hell 455. Begging or wandring for bread a great affliction 111. Beleeving a wicked man hath neyther a ground nor a heart to beleeve 104. A wicked mans beleeving is presuming 104. Belial whence derived 10. Who is Belial 85. Blood what it signifies in Scripture 347. Bloody sins shal not passe undiscovered 357. Why God is sayd to make inquisition for blood in speciall 358. Body to minde the seeding of it sinfull 148. They take little care for their soules who take overmuch care for their bodies 150. Branch what it signifies in Scripture 189. Bread what it signifies in Scripture 111. Breath of God what it signifies in Scripture 164. Breath of man 167 168. Breath of man taken three wayes 402. The breath of man is corruptible 403. Breath is not the soule ibid. Bribe-takers and Bribe-givers both alike wicked 195. Bribery is an odious sin 197. That which is got by bribery will not hold long 197. By-word to be made a by-word notes two things 447. Great sufferers are usually made a by-word 447 448. It is very burdensome to the spirit of a man
intends unto us Sinne deales with us as Dallilah with Sampson takes us into its bosome and embraces but then it hath a plot to cut the lock of our strength to deliver us over to the Philistims to call in Legions of Devills to seize upon us and make us grinde at the Mill of their basest drudgery More distinctly sin deceives by a threefold promise First By a promise of profit Prov. 1.13 Come cast in thy lot with us let us lye in waite for blood c. We shall find all precious substance we shall fill our houses with spoyle but this precious substance proves onely a pernicious shadow and these spoiles taken spoyle those who take them Secondly Sin deceives by promising content and sweet delight what thoughts had Ahab concerning Naboths Vineyard If he could but get it he were a made man what pleasure should he have in those shady walkes what Grapes and Wine from those fruitfull Vines Sin promiseth as largely as God doth to give us not onely delight but satisfaction that we shall not have so much as an empty corner in our soules all shall be filled whereas in truth there is nothing but emptinesse and dissatisfaction in any creature especially when sin leads or helps us to the enjoyment of it Thirdly At least sin promiseth and gives its word for it that we shall be free from trouble and feele no evill That we shall have peace though we walke in the imagination of our heart Deut. 29.19 That as they flattered themselves in the Prophet wee shall not see Sword nor Famine These vanishing dreames of plenty of good things and immunity from evill carry thousands of soules captive to the basest bondage of sin Further This vanity from trusting which the deceived soule is called off by Eliphaz is conceived to be worldly riches and the fullest possession of the creature these are vanity That they are is a common theame and yet though it be much spoken of it is very little beleived we are apt to over-rate the things of the World and under-rate the things of Heaven The creature is vanity not onely in regard of the nothingnesse of it but vanity in regard of that which we call the somthingnesse of it or the best of it The Prophet Jonah makes the word which we here translate vanity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vanitates mendacii sive mendaces the Epethite of that which is commonly translated vanity Jon. 3.8 They that observe lying vanities Idolls are vanity and a lye because though they can doe no good at all yet they promise much Riches are vanity and a lye because they cannot doe so much good as they promise Solomon saith in his Ecclesiastes That Money answereth all things Chap. 8.10 And so it doth as the value of all earthly things is made by Money and as Money is the price of all earthly things But though Money answereth all things by satisfying our engagements yet it answereth nothing to the satisfying of its owne engagements Money and riches have payd many a mans debts and enough of them will pay any mans debts but they have never payd their owne debts no more then Idols have and therefore they justly beare the brand of this reproach Lying vanities That they are so appeares clearely in two particulars First In the report which they make of themselves Secondly In the promises which they make to us First In the report which they make of their owne worth if you look upon the bil of the creature it puts down not only a hundred for fifty but a million for a mite For how much soever it is worth yet it beares no proportion to that which it would be esteemed worth As some rich men are not halfe so rich as they desire to be reckoned so riches themselves are not so rich by thousands of thousands as they would be reckoned There is indeed a created worth in the creature for it is the work of God but since the sin of man hath as to us both imbased and imbittered the creature it is worth nothing comparatively to that at which it is rated both in its owne and our Books Secondly The creature in this notion is a lying vanity while it perswades us that in the enjoyment thereof we shall be happy whereas our happinesse doth not consist in any creature-enjoyment unlesse God himselfe be our portion we are both poor and miserable in the fullest possession of the creature God is the living streame the creature at the best was but a Cisterne and now it is but a broken Cisterne which leaks out all the waters that passe into it unlesse God stop the chinks and mend the cracks of it by Jesus Christ Againe The creature promiseth to ease us of our cares yet it doth but multiply them The creature promiseth to satisfie our desires yet it doth only encrease and enrage them Riches are not food but fewell to our desires they doe not allay our appetite as bread doth when received into the stomack but enflame our appetite as wood doth when it is cast into the fire Further The creature promiseth to protect us hence that of Solomon Prov. 10.15 The rich mans wealth is his strong Citie That is it promiseth to be so and tells him it will doe that for him which a strong City doth for its Inhabitants defend him against all Commers and Invaders yet the same Solomon assures us in the next Chapter Vers 4. That riches profit not in the day of wrath And Ezekiel threatens the Jews That their Silver and their Gold shall not deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. Lastly The Creature promiseth to continue with us Riches tell us that though Father and Mother forsake us yet they will not though Wife and Children forsake us yet they will not they make us beleeve that they will stick closer to us then Christ himselfe and yet they are upon the wing presently they flye away as the Eagle and are gone out of sight they doe not onely perish in the using but perish from our use Is not all this and a thousand times more which might be sayd of their lying and vanity enough and more then enough to justifie those titles which the Spirit of God hath bestowed upon them that they are vanity and a lye or as Jonah calls them Lying vanities And yet to close the point we must remember that creature-riches are not a lye nor deceitfull in themselves There 's no more deceit in the greatest abundance of Gold and Silver then there is in a wholsome savory peece of bread Riches are not vaine and deceitfull as our hearts are sayd to be deceitfull Jer. 17.9 nor as lust is sayd to be deceitfull Eph. 4.22 for these things are deceitfull onely through the deceitfulnesse of our hearts and lusts Or they are deceitfull Objectively not Actively we are deceived about them not by them They doe not deceive us till we are deceived nor doe they deceive