is that when God comes to plead with Beleevers he pleads not against them with his power and righteousnesse seing Christ with both pleads for them He pleads for them not onely as he is Jesus Christ the righteous but as he is the mighty the All-powerfull God This is the chiefest ground of a beleevers confidence that God as Job here saith will not plead against him with his great power What then did Job beleeve would God doe with him the next words enforme us what his faith was in that particular But he would put strength in mee So we render the Hebrew is onely thus He will put in mee Veruntatem ille pones in me Heb. what he would put is not expressed in the Original which hath caused some variety of opinion what it should be that the Lord would put into him and I finde a threefold conjecture in the poynt First The supplement is made thus He would produce arguments or reasons against me and this is conceived most suitable to the context and scope of the place as also to the action of pleading before spoken of Poneret afferret in me suas rationes Merc. Ipse poneret coÌ„tentioneÌ„ in me id est non robore mecum ageret sed verborum contentione Ch would he plead with or against me with his great power no but he would shew me the reason of his dealings with me he would not proceed against me in a martiall but in a legal way not in a prerogative but in a discoursive argumentative way he would shew me the cause why he thus contendeth with me and hath so sorely afflicted me God would condescend so farre to my weaknes as to give me an account though I dare not presume to call him to an account and though he hath both power and right to deale with me as he pleaseth yet I am much assured that he would be pleased to tell me why he deals thus with me This interpretation is cleare to the generall scope of the context and argues nothing unbecoming that holy confidence which the Grace of the Gospel alloweth a beleever in yea encourageth him unto when in any distresse he approacheth unto God for the reliefe and comfort of his troubled Spirit Secondly Another thus Will he plead against me with his great power Fonet in me sc cor suum i e. compleâ—eretur me favoure Pisc no but he would put his heart upon me that is he would imbrace me with his favour and lay me in his bosome Though his hand hath been exceeding heavy upon me yet I believe his heart is towards me though he hath smitten me with the wound of an enemy yet he will receive me as a friend and give me signal testimonies of his love I should not feele the weight of his hand but see the tendernes of his bowels and his heart moving towards me This also is an interpretation full of truth and as full of comfort to a wearied soule Thirdly The supplement made in our translation reacheth both the former and suites also to the former branch of the Text with much elegancy Alij sub audiuÌ„t repetuÌ„t 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in me robur poneret ad consistendum coram sâ— â—e infiâ—mum fulciens roborans Merc. Would he plead against me with his great power no but he would put power or strength into me he will be so farre from putting out his strength against me that he will put his strength into me he knoweth my weaknesse how unable I am to contend with or beare up against his power and therefore he would put power into me Mr Broughton renders clearely to this sense Would he by his great power plead against me no but he would helpe me helpe is power and he that helpeth another administers power to him he either puts new strength into him or joynes his strength with him So then Job was assured that God would put strength into him or be his strength to helpe and carry him through all the difficulties that lay before him Hence Observe First A beleiver hath no opinion of his owne strength or that he can doe any thing in his owne strength He trusts no more to his owne strength or power then to his owne righteousnesse or worthinesse As our Justification before God is purely founded in the righteousnesse of Christ so all the actings of our sanctification are maintained by the strength of Christ Holy Job spake nothing of his owne strength yea he spake as having no strength of his owne A Godly man knows his owne strength is but weaknesse and that when he prevailes with God it is with a power which he hath from God Paul useth a forme of speech which we may call a divine riddle 2 Cor. 12.10 When I am weake then I am strong he predicates or affirmes one contrary of another weaknesse is contrary to strength how a weake man should be strong and then especially strong when he is weake is hard to conceive by those who are spirituall and is unconceivable by those who are carnal This assertion is enough to pose and puzle nature He that is weake is strong or the readiest way to get strength is to be weake The truth and the Apostle Pauls meaning is plainly this When I am weake in my owne sense and opinion when I am convinced that I have no power of my owne then I feele power coming in then Christ strengthens me and I am strong then I experience that word My grace is sufficient for thee When I finde the waters of my owne cisterne low and fayling then I have a supply from the Spirit So the Apostle spake Phil. 1.19 I know that this also shall turne to my salvation through your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ The first Adam received all his strength at once we now receive our strength by dayly fresh supplyes from the second Adam The word there used by the Apostle which we render supply signifieth an under-supply implying thus much that as the naturall body and each particular member of it is supplyed with sence and motion together with a suitable strength and ability from the head so beleevers who are altogether the mysticall body of Christ and each of them members in particular are supplyed from Christ their head by the Spirit with spirituall life motion and strength of Grace for every duty to which they are called or which is required of them And because as this is so in its selfe so beleevers are instructed in it therfore they disclaime and goe out of their own strength that the power of Christ may rest upon them Christ fills none but the hungry nor doth he strengthen any but the weake They who thinke they have any thing of their owne shall receive nothing from him unlesse Christ be all in all to us he will not be any thing at all to us Secondly Observe God himselfe puts strength into humbled sinners that they
is come upon us that is all these common calamities and afflictions yet have we not forgotten thee nor dealt falsely in thy Covenant our hearts are not turned back neither are our steps declined from thy way As if she had said These afflictions have been strong temptations upon us to cause us to decline from thy wayes but through grace we have kept our ground and remained constant in thy Covenant yea though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons and covered us with the shadow of death As many yea most of the Saints have improved under the crosse so there have been some who either through their present unbeleefe or forgetfulnes of the exhortation which as the Apostle saith Heb. 12.5 speaketh unto them as unto children have had their faintings and declinings under it Fifthly Others decline through prosperitie and worldly injoyments when they grow rich in temporalls they grow poorer in spiritualls As their outward man encreaseth so their inner man decayeth and as they flourish in the flesh so hey wither in spirit Hence holy Agur prayed Pro. 30.8 9. Give me not poverty least I be poore and steale and take the name of God in vaine that would be a sad declining give me not riches lest I be full and deny thee and say who is the Lord That 's a sadder declining then the former Povertie endangers grace much but riches more To be rich or great in the world is a great temptation Food convenient is the most sweet and most untemptationlesse condition As hypocrites fall quite off from God when they come onne much in the world so the sincere may be much hindred in their way And as many godly men have declined through their owne prosperitie so some have declined or at least have been in great danger of declining by the prosperitie of others David was readie to decline from God when he saw the prosperitie of ungodly men Psal 73.2 As for me my feete were almost gone my steps had well nigh slip't when I saw the prosperitie of the wicked David was almost downe when he saw the wicked up Their standing had almost given him a fall My steps sayth hâ—â— had well nigh slipt now if it put David a man eminent in godlinesse so hard to it to keepe his standing all the grace in his heart and assistance from God could scarce hold him up how much more may they who come farre short of David decline by seing the prosperitie of wicked men are not they readie to conclude surely we shall thrive and doe well enough though we doe as others doe who doe not trouble themselves in a strictnes about matters of religion as we have done Verily as it follows at the 13th verse we have cleansed our heart in vaine and washed our hands in innocency If we had spared our paines of labour we could not have endured more paine of trouble for all the day long have we been plagued and chastned every morning Such arguings as these shew great declinings Yet they who are sincere will soone recover themselves againe and say as David after he had reviewed this Temptation ver 15. If we say we will speake thus we should offend against the Generation of the righteous Now seing the Godly are so many wayes endangered to declining let us be warned of it and beware of it These are declining times many professors have shamed themselves and the profession of the Gospel He is a Christian indeed that can say in truth as Job did I have kept his words and not declined they that knew me many yeares agoe may finde me in as good yea in a better plight then I was then Hypocrites true beleevers may look act very like one another but as the nature of their estates have alwayes a vast difference to the understanding so the event gives a vast difference between them to the eye Hypocrites keep the word of God a while but they ever decline in the end finally from it and sometims throw it off in the way totally When they are in the way they grow weary of it a smal matter working either upon their hopes or fears will put them quite out of it Every difficulty every danger is to them a Lion in the way causing them to decline from it wheras to those that are sincere difficulties are not stops but incitements and spurres they doe but provoke their zeale they cannot quench it And hence the holy Apostle sends a challenge Rom. 8.35 to all the troubles afflictions and evills in the world he bids them doe their worst and when they have done it they shall not be able to seperate him from the love of God neither from the love wherewith Goâ—â—oved him or from that love wherewith he loved God I have kept his wayes and not declined Secondly Observe That sinne is a declining from the way of God That 's the Apostles definition 1 Joh. 3.4 Sin is the transgression of the Law And transgression is a going aside or a going over the line by which God hath chaulked us out our way God hath not left us at our liberty though he hath left us as the Apostle James calls it Chap. 1.25 a perfect law of liberty He hath not left us to travell over hedge and ditch but hath shewed us our way a high way and a way as the Prophet speakes Isa 35.8 And it shall be called the way of holines the way-faring men though fooles shall not erre therein Yet fooles are alwayes erring from it all their walkings are wandrings and their goings are goings astray who walke and goe on in a sinfull way The word which signifies sinne in the Hebrew imports most properly the missing of a mark because sinning is a missing of the mark and a declining from the way I have kept his way and not declined Vers 12. Neither have I gone backe from the commandement of his lips c. Job proceeds with his negative profession having said before I have not declined he saith the same thing againe in other words I have not gone backe from the commandement of his lips See how often he repeats and inculcates this poynt both that he might be beleived and that he might shew how confident he was in the uprightnes of his owne heart I have not declined neither have I gone backe By these various expressions and often repetitions Job sets forth in generall the exactnes of his care in keeping close to God neither have I gone backe The word signifies both to depart and to touch and some put both significations together here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 recessit decessit palparit tetegit Ita recedere a re aliqua ut tangi aut contrectari nequeat implying such a departure from a thing or person as not at all to touch or come neere it againe which is a totall apostacy or desertion from it As if Job had said I have not apostatised from the wayes of God But this seemes
treasure I need not stay to tell you The Judgements of God saith David Psal 19.10 are more to be desired then Gold yea then much fine gold And againe Psal 119.72.127 The law of thy mouth is better to me then thousands of Gold and silver And ver 127. when he saw how some made voyd the Law of God he sayth Therefore I love thy commandements above Gold yea above fine Gold As if he had sayd because I see some men esteeme and reckon thy law as if it were drosse and throw it up as voyd and antiquated or taking the boldnes as it were to repeale and make it voyd that they may set up their own lusts and vaine imaginations because I see both prophane and superstitious men thus out of love with thy Law therefore my love is more enflamed to it I love it above gold which leads the most of men away captives in the love of it and I esteeme it more then that which is most esteemed by men and gaines men most esteeme in this world Fine Gold yea as he sayd Psal 19. more then much fine Gold Secondly Observe A high and reverentiall esteeme of the word of God workes the heart and keepes it close to the obedience of the word Job having said before I have kept the commandements of his mouth I have kept his wayes and not declined I have not gone back now comes to the spring of all this constancy in obedience I have esteemed the words of his mouth c. Love is the spring of action and esteeme is the top of love we love nothing which we doe not esteeme and what we love much we thinke we can never esteeme enough And what we thus love and esteeme we strive to keepe close unto They that receive the truth and doe not receive the love of it quickly turne from it to beleive a lye yea God therefore sends them strong delusion to beleive a lye because they received not the love of the truth As not to love the truth is a sin so it is punished with another sin the love of error Though we have taken much truth into our understandings yet unlesse we take it into our affections also we cannot hold it long 'T is love which holds the heart and the word together No man willingly obeyes that Law which he doth not love Before David could say The Law is my meditation all the day he sayth O how I love thy law Ps 119.97 The hypocrite who hates instruction and casts the word of God behinde his backe that is slights and vilifies it to the utmost for so much to cast behinde the backe imports the hypocrite I say who thus casts the word of God behinde his backe will be talking of the word and have it much in his mouth yea he will mouth it so or be so talkative about it that God reproves or checks him for it Psal 50.16 Vnto the wicked saith God What hast thou to doe to declare my statutes or that thou shouldest take my Covenant in thy mouth So then the hypocrite was very busie with his tongue and he could speake much of that which he loved never a whit But was the hypocrite a man of his hands also was he busie in obeying the word which he had cast behinde his back The next words of the Psalme ver 18 19 20 21. tell us what he was busie about even this he was breaking the Law as fast as he could When thou sawest a theife then thou consentest with him and hast been partaker with Adulterers c. The inditement is large and upon many heads yet all true and is therefore closed with These things hast thou done ver 21. I the Lord am witnes and so is thy owne Conscience That Scripture is a cleare glasse wherein we may see how all they will use the Law of God who doe not highly esteeme the words of his mouth We may read Jobs text backward for their character Their feete have not held his steps his way have they not kept but declined they have gone back from the commandement of his lips And why so for they have esteemed the words of his mouth no more then their un-necessary food no more then the scraps that fall from their Table no more then as the Proverb saith their old shoes I have esteemed the word of his mouth more then my necessary food When Job saith I have esteemed the word of his mouth c. It is as if he had sayd this is enough for me that God hath sayd it to make me esteeme it Hence observe Thirdly Whatsoever God saith is to be esteemed for his owne sake or because he hath sayd it As God needs not borrow light from any what to speake so he needs not borrow testimony or Authority from any to ratifie what he hath spoken He is to be beleeved for himselfe His words need no sanction but ipse dixit I the Lord have sayd it or thus saith the Lord that is enough to silence all queryes and disputes both about the truth of what is delivered and the necessity of our obedience to it As the word of Gods mouth is to be obeyed so it is therefore to be obeyed because it is the word of his mouth That he hath sayd it must command our faith As he is the true God so he is the God of truth Every word of his mouth is pretious As what God hath spoken must be the rule of our faith so that he hath spoken it must be the reason of our faith I have esteemed the words of his mouth c. Lastly From both these verses we may take notice of the severall steps by which Jobs piety did arise to so eminent a hight First He strongly tooke hold of the steps of God Secondly He diligently kept his way Thirdly He declined not eyther to the right hand or to the left Fourthly He went not backe from the Holy commandement both which negatives may be resolved into this affirmative He walked very closely and exactly with God in utmost perseverance Fifthly He tooke a delightfull care about all those things which the word of God called him unto even beyond all the care which he tooke for those things which are most conducible to and necessary for the comforts of his body or natural life JOB CHAP. 23. Vers 13. But he is in one minde and who can turne hinc and what his soule desireth even that he doth IN this verse Job is conceived by some at once making discovery of his owne infirmitie and of the soveraignty of God But though all agree that they carry a full discovery of the soveraignty of God yet many are so farre from judging them a discovery of Jobs infirmitie that they rather discover the strength and hight of his Grace and holines To cleare the whole matter we may take notice That there are three apprehensions about the scope and sence of these words First As if in them Job renderd a reason
in this way of wickednesse Oculus Adulteri i. e. ipse Adulter The eye also of the adulterer waiteth that is the adulterer himselfe waiteth Job doth not say the Adulterer waiteth but the eye of the Adulterer waiteth because the eye is much in adultery The eye hath so great a share in that sin In re amatoria oculi sunt lenones prima amoris via Lucian Amoris principium Plato Amoris sedes Philostr Nihil in oculis est quod non sit lascivum petulans nihil in oculorum pupilla in esse dicas quam amicam cum potiri non possunt saltem conspectu se sanunt that the whole sin is here charged upon the eye The Apostle Peter 2 Pet. 2.14 speakes of a generation of evill men having their eyes full of adultery or as the Greeke Original hath it with much Emphasis full of an Adultenesse As if he had sayd they are persons so given up to uncleanenes that they have no desire to see any body with their eyes but an Adulteresse nor is any thing else to be seene in their eyes but Adultery They are as impudent as they are uncleane letting out the Adultery which is in their hearts at their eyes not caring who sees it Adultery is seated in the heart there 's the fountaine of it Math. 15.19 Out of the heart proceed evill thoughts murthers adulteries fornications thefts false witnesse blasphemy Adultery comes out of the heart but 't is first seene in the eye yea the eye often gives the first occasion of it to the heart Math. 5.28 Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart Wanton love usually ascends by these five steps First the eye sees secondly the heart desires thirdly the thoughts are plotting and contriving how to attaine what is desiered fourthly there is hope to attaine what is plotted and fifthly there is joy and delight in the attainement of what was hoped Thus usually the eye gives the occasion and leads the dance in all the meetings of vanity The Ancient Moralist in his booke of the long-comming revenges of God makes report that one Apollidorus being in a dreame saw his owne skin pull'd off by a barbarous Scythian Plutarchus de sera numinis vindicta who then presently threw him into a chaldron of boileing water where being tormented his heart whispered to him I am the cause of all this The heart is the cause of punishment and misery remotely because nextly it is the cause of sin especially of this sin of Adultery yet as the heart doth sometimes set the eye a worke to finde out objects so the eye meeting with objects sets the heart aworke yea it sets the heart a fire or all in a flame with vaine desires and adulterous lustings The eyes of some looke out continually for the fuel of those secret fires and the eyes of others meete with it unlooked for A good mans eye may meete with a vaine object but his eye doth not goe out to seeke or waite for it Against such active wickednes Job professed while he sayd Chap. 31.1 I have made a covenant with mine eyes c. A godly mans eye hath somewhat else to waite upon then such ensnaring objects And the Psalmist tells us upon what the Godly mans eye waites Psal 123.2 Behold as the eyes of servants looke unto the hand of their Masters c. so our eyes waite upon the Lord our God untill he have mercy upon us The eye of a Godly man waiteth to receive Good and the eye of a wicked man waiteth to doe evill The Adulterer hath a waiteing eye and this waiteing notes three things First That the Adulterer is very diligent and intentive to attaine his purpose he that waites is more then awake He is not onely awake but watchfull both these are put together Pro. 8.34 where the diligence of the Saints is spoken of in their waiteing upon Christ in his appointments Blessed is the man that heareth me watching daily at my gates waiteing at the posts of my doores they who waite at the posts of wisdome that is of Christ watch also at his gates they watch there and they waite there It is possible for a man to watch as watching is onely opposed to sleeping yet not to waite that is not to be diligent or attentive upon any busienes but he that watcheth as watching is opposed to Idling he is alwayes waiting as long as watching and he cannot but be watching who is indeed waiting Thus the Adulterer takes much paines to obtaine his forbidden pleasures his eye waiteth and watcheth he is a diligent servant or slave rather to his lust every man that commits sin is a servant to sin and every servant must waite it is the duty of a servant to waite for his Lord the adulterer waites upon his lust as upon his Lord every lust would be waited upon as a Lord. Saints watch at wisedomes gates and waite like servants at her posts to know her pleasure Adulterers watch at whoredomes gates and at her posts they waite for sinfull pleasures Secondly To waite implyeth the exercise of much patience he that waiteth expects long he must expect and stay till the opportunity comes Even the wicked have patience upon hopes of injoyment And shall not the Godly It may shame the Godly out of their impatience and loathnes to waite for an answer of prayer from God when they heare that The husband-man waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth and hath long patience for it untill he receave the early and the latter raine Jam 5.7 But it may shame them much more out of all their impatience in waiting for good things from God when they heare that the Adulterer waiteth for the whorish woman and hath long patience till he receave his longing Thirdly Waiteing implyeth the Adulterers fixednesse in and resolvednesse to sinne his eye waiteth he doth not sin by a sudden glance of his eye or upon a vehement gust of temptation or upon an unthought of hurry of wanton passions but he sins deliberately and as it were in coole blood He waiteth for and watcheth his season he is serious and studious about his wickednes Hence note A wicked man sinnes with resolution He that waiteth to doe any thing hath a resolution to doe it A Godly man sins but he doth not waite to sin or if at any time he doe so he at that time acts the wicked mans part in the godly mans state and so upon a strong temptation Godly men have done But usually he is a wicked man as to his state that waites for a temptation Afflictions waite every where for a godly man as Paul spake of himselfe Acts 20.23 and so also doe Temptations But the ungodly are every where waiteing for temptations They are not surprised or taken unawares by a sin but they are resolved to take their first opportunity of sinning What a godly man
issues of divine wrath While these sad dispensations are sent out and meete with Saints they are the issues of divine love For though a godly man may provoke God to anger and finde by many evidences that God as to his actings is angry with him yet as to his person he alwayes loves him And therefore as a wicked mans Table is made his snare so he is assured that his snare shall be made to him a Table that his darkness shall worke light his evills good to him He is also assured that the Lord will dâ—liver him out of these snares and cut the coards of the wicked Psal 129.4 That hee will deliver him from feare from darknes and bring him up out of the abundance of waters which cover him as David speaks Psal 32.6 For this that is because thou art so gracious shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayst be found The Hebrew is in a finding time which according to our translation notes the season when God may be found as the Prophet speaks Isa 55.6 Yet it may be well expounded for the time when trouble finds that is takes hold of the godly man And so the word is used Psal 116.3 The paines of hell gat hold of me we put in the Margin found me In which sence the word is used also Psal 21.8 Thine hand shall finde out that is take hold of and apprehend all thine enemies thy right hand shall finde out those that hate thee Now in this finding time eyther when God may be found or when trouble finds a godly man he setting himselfe to pray hath this promise surely in the floods of great waters they that is the floods of great waters by which are meant great dangers shall not come nigh him that is the Godly man to hurt or drowne him Sometimes prayer keeps the flood off and alwayes prayer delivers the Godly man out of the flood Wicked men have no minde to come nigh God with their hearts and so some enterpret the latter part of this verse in the Psalme nor will God admitt them nigh unto himselfe in the floods of great waters And the floods of great waters shall not which is the scope of our reading come nigh the Godly man for his hurt when he drawes nigh to God in prayer with his heart Thus wee have seene the sinnes of Job drawne out into a Charge and the Judgement of Eliphaz upon it what the event the sequell or Issue of those sinnes was snares and feares and waters and darkness There is yet one thing further that I shall here take notice of from the constant course of Jobs friends in dealing with him Wee see that still they charge him with sinne and still insist upon it that all his afflictions miseries were the fruits of his sinne Job as hath appeared in opening severall passages of this Booke hath as often disproved their inference and denied that his sufferings were caused by his sinne at least not by any such way of sinning as they charged him with Labouring also much to enforme them that God hath many other reasons why he afflicts his people and that God might take libertie to afflict him though he were no such kinde of creature as they rendred him yet notwithstanding all hee could say eyther to purge himselfe or better conforme them they persevered in the same opinion both concerning his person and the cause of his afflictions Whence Note It is hard to convince those who are under a mistake whether about persons or doctrines Error is as binding upon the conscience and as strongly embraced by the affections as truth is For it binds and is embraced not in the name of an error but in the name of truth And men are therefore wedded to and in love with their owne conceptions because how monstrous and hard-favoured soever in themselves yet nothing is more beautifull in their eye then they No man fayth the Apostle ever hated his owne flesh but loved and cherished it The flesh of our minds such are all false principles and positions is more loved and cherished by us then the flesh of our bodies Besides when men have once taken up an opinion they thinke it a dishonour to lay it downe againe 'T is rare to finde a man that will yeeld up his Judgement though it be a misguided one or acknowledge that he is in an error though he begins to take some knowledge or at least some suspition of it A light intimation or onely the Appearance of a probability will amount to a proofe against eyther persons or doctrines which we like not but the clearest demonstrations will hardly raise a Jealousie against what we like Let Job say what he will in his owne case he cannot be beleeved by his friends and his friends will say againe what once they had sayd though it had been more then once before fully answered The present age hath given us sad experiences of this thing For as many have been unstable and tossed to and fro with every winde of false doctrine so others have been stubborne and unmoved from their errors though the strongest winds of truth have breathed yea blowne hard upon them And those prejudices which have with so much severity been taken up by brethren against brethren how doe they remaine in many minds as mountaines unmoved to this very day I know not which is worse unsetlednes in the truth and an easiness to let it goe or tenaciousnesse in an error and a hardnes to let it goe Nor doe I well know which is worse a readiness to take up hard thoughts of our brethren or an un-readines to lay them downe Were the lawes of love to man and zeale for God observed these extreames would alwayes be avoyded Pure zeale for God would fixe us in the truth and make us more easie to be brought off from our most applauded errors True love to man would cause us to examine every ground of suspicion against a brother twice before we doe indeed suspect him once And it would cause us to rejoyce in any appearance of his innocence whereby we might discharge our owne Spirits of all suspicions concerning him Our love as the Apostle prayes Phil. 1.9 ought to abound in knowledge and in all Judgement That is wee ought to love Judiciously as well as affectionately or sincerely So that true love will not over-looke the faults of another nor will it approve against light Yet true love is ready to entertaine any light offered that grounds of suspition may be removed and we restored to a right understanding of our brethren JOB CHAP. 22. Vers 12 13 14. Is not God in the height of heaven and beholds the height of the Starres how high they are And thou sayest How doth God know can he judge through the dark cloud Thick clouds are a covering to him that he seeth not and he walketh in the circuit of heaven IN the former part of this
true God now I say if they who do but set up a new worship for the true God make a strange God what then doe they who in their hearts set up a new God that is who frame Conceptions of God which himselfe never gave ground for in his word Such was the Conceit which Eliphaz had of Job when he presumes him saying How doth God know Can he judge through the dark cloud Secondly From the particular misapprehension of God imposed by Eliphaz upon Job And thou sayest How doth God know c. Observe Sinfull men fancie to themselves that God eyther doth not or cannot take notice of them in their sinfull wayes Thus they reason Can he see thorow the dark Cloud and conclude Thick Clouds are a Covering to him that he seeth not and he walketh in the Circuit of heaven What Eliphaz layes to Jobes charge falsely is often charged by the Holy Ghost upon wicked men truely Psal 10.11 Hee hath said in his heart God hath forgotten he hides his face he will never see it Who this He is whose heart speakes this language appeares clearely in the former part of the Psalme where he is more then once called The wicked ver 2 3. and where more then one of his wickednesses are described ver 7 8 9 10. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud under his tongue is mischiefe and vanity he sitteth in the lurking places of the villages in the secret places doth he murder the innocent c. After all this he sayth in his heart God hath forgotten that is he hath forgotten the poore whom I have under my power therefore I may safely oppresse them He hideth his face he will never see it that is God will never take any knowledge either of my doings or of their sufferings We have a sample of the same impiety Psal 73.11 And they say how doth God know and is there knowledge in the most high behold these are the ungodly in the world c. And againe Psal 94.6 ver They slay the widdow and stranger and murther the fatherlesse here are their workes of darknesse yet they say the Lord shall not see neither shall the God of Jacob regard Not onely did they presume that the Lord did not see but that he should not The Lord shall not see As if they could stop or blinde the eyes of God as easily as they had blinded their owne Consciences Take one Instance further Ezek. 8.12 Then said he unto mee Sonne of man Seest thou what they doe hast thou seene what the Ancients of the house of Israell doe in the darke Every man in the Chambers of his Imagery for they say the Lord seeth us not he hath forsaken the Earth Much like the language here He walketh in the Circuit of heaven hee hath other busines to doe then to minde us As God is sometimes sayd to forsake the Earth in wrath to punish the sin of Man so wicked men say he alwayes forsakes the Earth in neglect both of their sin and punishment And as Idolaters who have a minde to other gods are willing to beleeve that God hath forsaken the earth as to the protection of them Wee say they are in danger God takes no care of us therefore blame us not if we betake our selves to other Gods for protection If he had not forsaken us we had not forsaken him So all sorts of resolved transgressors who have a minde to any sinfull way are willing to beleeve that God hath forsaken the earth as to any observation of them Wee may doe what we list for God doth not minde or regard what we are doing If we thought he did indeed see us we durst not thus sinne against him But seeing he doth not trouble himselfe with any care about us why should we trouble our selves with any feare about him Now this Presumption that God doth not see us in what we are doing opens a doore to the doing of all Evill Security from danger is the great encouragement unto sin Though wicked men would not be lesse sinfull yet they would not sin so much or be so full of sin did they not vainely flatter themselves out of the sight of God Every Man would faine beleeve that God doth not see him when he is doing that which he would not have seene or be seene in doing it And how do men please themselves in this false hope that God doth not see them when they doe that which is displeasing unto God! From the Intendment of Eliphaz to Convince Job that the Clouds are no Covering to God and that the Circuit of heaven doth not Confine him Observe Thirdly God is omniscient hee knowes all things Thou sayest thus How doth God know I tell thee God doth know And thou hast an argument upon thy backe if thou hast none in thy heart to prove it thy sence or feeling may teach thee if thy reason or understanding doe not and by thy suffering thou mayest see that God seeth what thou hast been doing This great truth That God is omniscient or knowes all may easily be knowne and ought to be beleeved by all When the Lord had made the world in six dayes Gen. 1.31 He saw all that he had made All was in view at once hee had a Prospect of the whole Creation in his eye And as all his own Creatures so all our Creatures are seene by God hee seeth all that himselfe hath made and hee seeth all that wee have made or are making day by day Gen. 6.5 God saw that the wickednes of man was great in the earth and that every thought of the Imagination of the thoughts of his heart was onely evill Continually or every day The Lord saw that is the Lord knew fully infinitely more fully then we know those things which wee see every Imagination or figment of the thoughts of mans heart The figment of our thoughts is what the minde fashioneth or maketh up within it selfe by thinking corrupt nature keepes a constant mint of evill imaginations in the head as it hath a sinke of filthy affections in the heart The minde of man hath a formative faculty in it And the same word which the Holy Ghost useth to signifie the worke of God in making man Gen. 2.7 The Lord God formed man out of the dust of the earth or dust out of the earth the same word I say is used in the Noune Gen. 6.5 to signifie the imagination of man because that is alwayes shaping moulding or forming one sort of thoughts or other naturally none but ugly evill thoughts These are the creatures which man as fallen is the maker of and he maketh as I may say infinite creatures he is forming them continually in his imagination that 's the shop wherein there 's a dayly Creation such as it is of monstrous wickednesses till God by his new Creation changeth the frame and nature of it Now I say as God seeth his owne creatures so he seeth
all our Creatures though wee make them in the shop of our darkest imaginations And much more doth hee see all the Creatures which wee make without that is all our bodily and externall actions Jere. 17.10 I the Lord search the heart I try the reynes if he search our hearts then surely he searcheth all our wayes if he seeth our thinkings then surely he seeth our walkings Deus scientiarum phurale perfectam scientiam rerum omnium cognosibilium cognitionem indicat Therefore 't is sayd 1 Sam. 2.3 The Lord is a God of knowledge the Hebrew is The Lord is a God of knowledges that is all things fall under his knowledge he is perfect in all knowledges there is nothing knowable but the Lord knowes it and by him actions are weighed now the weighing of actions is more then the seeing of actions many see that which they cannot weigh Hee weigheth actions that is he takes not onely the action it selfe but every circumstance of it into Consideration he takes his Ballances and tryes fully how much each ingredient weighs and what it comes to Hee weighs whole States Kingdomes and Nations So it was sayd to the Babylonian Monarch Belteshazzar Dan. 5.26.27 Mene God hath numbred thy Kingdome and finished it Tekel Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting Thy councels thy policies thy undertakings the whole compasse all the contrivances of thy Government are weighed and found too light And as God weigheth the actions of Princes so of private persons Prov. 5.21 The wayes of a man that is of every man even of the meanest man are before the Lord and he pondereth all his pathes he puts them into a Ballance and doth not onely see them but ponder or weigh them David sayth of some wicked men that they weigh the violence of their hands in the earth Psal 58.2 though they doe violence yet they doe it not violently but with a kinde of skill and deliberation They doe wrong and oppresse with a shew of Justice whereof weights are the common Embleme Now as some men doe evill not hastily rashly or all at once but give it out by weight and with a seeming gravity and zeale for justice So the Lord doth never looke over the wayes of men rashly or hastily but weighs them out even to a graine yea to the dust of the balance he pondereth all their paths That is he knowes them throughout Therefore David Psal 139. having spoken much to this poynt of the Exactnes of Gods knowledge concludes at the 6th verse Such knowledge is too wonderfull for mee it is high I cannot attaine unto it Some expound this Text not of the knowledge of God concerning us but of our knowledge concerning God Thy knowledge or the knowledge of thee is too wonderfull for mee I cannot attaine unto it Others thus This thy knowledge namely that which he had before described is more wonderfull or more exact then that I should be able to deceive it We may impose upon and deceive the most knowing man but wee cannot impose upon or deceive God I conceave our reading to be most sutable both to the Text and context Such knowledge that is Such knowledge as thou hast of mee of the least and greatest things even of all things that I or any man doth is too wonderfull for mee For though we may know some actions of men yet wee cannot know them all and wee can hardly weigh any of them to the utmost And in this acknowledgement wee may take notice of the Psalmist modesty who though he had the immediate assistance of a Propheticall Spirit yet confessed that he was not only not able to know God but not to know himselfe his thoughts words and wayes as God knew them Such knowledge of my selfe as thou O Lord hast of me is too wonderfull for me I cannot attaine unio it Some perhaps may querie upon this if the Lord knoweth all the wayes of men and pondereth all their actions is not this a trouble to God is not this a disturbance of his peace and a distraction to him I answer as I said before this is to frame a God like our selves for to him that is omniscient it is all one to know all and to know but one thing it is no more distraction no more trouble to God to know all that we doe speak or thinke then to know any thing If two or three speake to a man together he is not able to take in their sence the variety of their discourse makes such a hurry and trouble in his spirits that he looseth all that is spoken But the application of thousands or of Millions at the same time in speaking to the eare of God is no more trouble then if but one did speake an infinite eare heares all and an infinite eye sees all without any the least distraction the infinite knowledge of God takes in all the actions of all men as easily as the single action of any one man Againe Others may say Surely the Lord will not take such exact knowledge of all the actions of men especially of mean men or surely not of the meane actions of meanest men possibly of some persons in great place of some great things done by those persons hee may take notice but to stoope to small things if it be not a trouble yet it cannot but be a dishonour to and too great a Condescention for the great God The Heathens sayd their Jupiter had no leysure to deale in small matters Non vacat exiguis rebus c. And may not we Christians say It is not honorable enough for our God to have to doe with small matters I answer This also is to frame a God like our selves as it doth not weary God to behold to try and ponder all the wayes of all men which was the feare concerning Moses that hee should be tyred out with the various cases and affaires of that great People and was therefore advised by Jethro to make more Judges that so the weightier matters onely might be brought before and Judged by him So it is no dishonour at all to God no it is his honour that he takes cognisance of the smallest matters as well as of the greatest of the lowest as well as of the highest concernments of the children of men Psal 113.5 6. Who is like unto the Lord our God who dwelleth on high who humbleth himselfe to behold the things which are in Heaven and in the Earth Who is like to God in this this is the honour of the high God that he will humble himselfe to behold the lowest things the things which are in the Earth as well as things in Heaven and the lesser the least things in earth as well as the greater or the greatest Though the Lord be high yet he humbleth himselfe unto the lowly Psal 138.6 and as to lowly persons so to the lowest things Indeed the Lord doth humble himselfe to behold the things which are
godly or onely in name and outward profession are called raine floods winds So saith the Text The raine descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon the house and it fell and great was the fall of it While it stood it stood to no purpose but for a shew but when it fell it fell to purpose The fall thereof was great Thus it is more then evident from Scripture phrase that raines and floods signifie all sorts of afflicting evils and therefore we need not restraine the word flood in the Text to a Deluge of Elementary water or of water in a proper sence but wee may Enlarge it to any kinde of afflicting Evill or trouble whatsoever that falls upon man And the Scripture is I conceave so frequent in the use of this metaphor of a flood and of waters where great calamities are set forth for these two reasons First To note the swiftnes and suddennes of the judgements of God Floods come often very suddenly and rise not onely beyond expectation but before there is any the least expectation of them Noahs flood was long foretold before it came but when the time came wherein it should come it came at once Though God give long warning of his judgements yet most men are surprizâ—d with them they come like a flood Secondly To note the Irresistablenes of the Judgements of God who or what can stand before mighty waters Great floods doe not onely wash and overflow all but ruine and overthrow all there 's no resisting Such are the Judgements of God they are a flood both for their suddain rising and breaking in upon sinners and likewise for their Irresistible violence in breaking and ruining them Further It is not to be passed by That Eliphaz doth not onely say They were overflowne but Their foundation was overflowne with a flood He calls it the overflowing of their foundation to note that they were totally or utterly ruined overthrowne for when the foundation is destroyed all is destroyed destruction to the foundation is the worst of destructions The cruel enemies of the Jewes cryed Rase it rase it even to the foundation thereof Ps 137.7 but to rase the foundation it selfe is more cruel then rasing to the foundation When the Lord threatned a full and final destruction of those foolish Prophets who had seene vaine visions for his people he sayd Ezek. 13.14 I will breake downe the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter and bring it downe to the ground so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered c. That is I will destroy it as farre as destruction it selfe can goe There shall not only not a stone be left upon a stone of this building above ground but even the under-ground stones shall not be left The very foundation shall be opened and discovered That which lyeth at the bottome or the bottome it selfe of those flattering prophecies all the wiles secret wayâ— of them shal be revealed David complaines of those irreparable breaches made upon the civill state in this stile Psal 11.3 If the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous doe The civill foundation of a Nation or people is their Lawes and Constitutions the order and power that is among them that 's the foundation of a People and when once this foundation is destroyed what can the righteous doe what can the best the wisest in the world doe in such a case what can any man doe if there be not a foundation of Government left among men There is no helpe nor answer in such a case but that which followes in the 4th verse of the same Psalme The Lord is in his holy Temple the Lords throane is in heaven his eyes behold his eyelids try the children of men As if he had sayd in the midst of these confusions when as it is sayd Psal 82.5 All the foundations of the earth are out of course yet God keepes his course still he is where he was and as he was without variablenes or shadow of turning Wee read in the vision of the fower Monarchyes Dan. 2.34 That The stone Cut out without hands smote the Image upon his feete that were of Iron and Clay and brake them to peeces The stone did not strike the Image upon the head or upon the breast the golden head the silver breast c. but upon the feete that were of Iron and Clay Now the feete are to a naturall body as the foundation is to an Artificiall body A mans feete are the foundation of his body if the feete be smitten and broken to pieces the body must needs fall And therefore as soone as ever it was sayd That the Stone brake the feete to peices The ruine of the whole Image is described in the immediately following words of the vision ver 35. Then was the Iron the Clay the brass the silver and the gold broken to peices together and became like the chaffe of the Summer threshing floore and the winde carried them away that no place was found for them The breaking of the feete was the breaking up of the foundation and so the breaking downe of all Whose foundation was overflowne with a flood Hence note First Wicked men thinke themselves very sure they have foundations they lay foundations The people of God are sometimes over-conceited about the strength and stability of their worldly foundations Holy David sayd In his prosperity I shall never be moved Lord by thy favour thou hast made my mountaine to stand strong Psal 30.6 7. And if a godly man may by the strength of temptation thus over-reckon the strength of an Earthly state what may they doe whose state yea whose minds are altogether earthly How often doe they judge themselves wise and politique enough to lay for themselves an everlasting foundation in things which cannot last and that they are so surely bottom'd in the favour of men that they shall never be removed Babylon thinks her selfe setled at this day upon such everlasting mountaines upon such perpetuall hills of power and policy that certainly her foundation shall never be overflowne Thus shee spake her heart out while shee sayd in her heart Rev. 18.7 I sit a Queene and am no widdow and shall see no sorrow Babylon is bottom'd foundation'd upoÌ„ so many hils that is upon so many Interests advantages of strength as render her to her selfe impregnable and unremoveable And as this vaine confidence beares up the Spirit of that Man of sin so of very many sinfull men who presume they are upon a sure foundation when indeed none but the godly mans foundation is sure Prov. 10.25 As the whirlewinde passeth so is the wicked no more but the righteous is an everlasting foundation The wicked man supposeth himselfe founded as on a Rock of ages an everlasting strength such as the righteous man hath in God or such as God is to a righteous man Esay 26.3 Yet as the whirlewinde bee passeth away but the righteous is an
everlasting foundation Wee finde not the Copulative word is expressed in the Hebrew there 't is onely but the righteous an Everlasting foundation So that I should rather read it thus But the righteous have an everlasting foundation wicked men seeme to have but the righteous man indeed hath an Everlasting foundation There is no earthly foundation everlasting For all earthly things passe away and are fo farre from lasting for ever that they last but as it were for a little for a moment What then is this everlasting foundation It is a foundation layd in heavenly things The foundation which is layd in things above shall abide The things which are not seene and they onely are eternal 2 Cor. 4.18 but the strongest foundation layd in things below endures but for a season The things which are seene are temporal as the Apostle speakes in the same place Such foundations are soone overflowne with a flood As will appeare yet further in the next observation Which take thus The flood and storme of Gods anger will overflow all the foundations the strongest foundations of wicked men Their riches their power their wisdome their Councels whatsoever they have imagined layd and made for a foundation to themselves eyther of honour or safety shall be overflowne and swept quite away yea all their refuges layd together will prove but a refuge of lyes Isa 28.17 Judgement also will I sayth the Lord lay to the line and righteousnes to the plummet and the hayle shall sweepe away the refuge of lyes and the waters shall overflow the hiding place That is those places wherein they thought to hide secure themselves against the overflowing scourge A wicked man is in greatest danger when he thinkes himselfe in greatest safety and then most ready to fall when he sayth in his owne heart or boasteth it out to others that he is upon a sure foundation For whatsoever opinion he hath of it yet the truth is his foundation is but sand and which makes his case more miserable though he be told so and others have found it so yet he will not beleeve it While as the Prophet speakes Isa 44.20 He feedeth of ashes a deceaved heart hath turned him aside that be cannot deliver his soule nor say is there not a lye or as the former Scripture hath it a refuge of lyes in my right hand Only the righteous is or hath as Solomon speakes an everlasting foundation A righteous man hath two foundations which shall never be shaken much lesse overthrowne who so are setled on those foundations may be as confident as confidence it selfe The first of these two foundations is Gods Eternall Decree his Decree of Election that 's an unmoveable foundation and that is the foundation upon which beleevers build their hopes The Apostle 2 Tim. 2.19 20. is proving that even in the house of God that is among the outward professors of the name of God there are of all sorts vessells of gold and silver vessells also of wood and of Earth Some to honour and some to dishonour and when he had said of Himeneus and Philetus that they had erred concerning the truth saying that the resurrection is past already and so had overthrowne the faith of some vers 18. Hee presently adds What though it be thus what though some men have fallen from their foundation yet the foundation of God standeth sure having this Seale The Lord knoweth who are his vers 19. Where we have first the foundation of God namely his decree of Election Secondly the Seale or assurance of it as to him even his owne certain knowledge of the Elect The Lord knoweth who are his So that while hypocrites or meere verbal formal professors back-slide and Apostatize from the faith yet the Elect are safe and stand fast in the purpose of God and while many discover themselves to be vessels of dishonour in the house of God wood and Earth of base and britle materials yet Saints indeed who are vessels of honour made of purest metal of Gold and Silver these shall abide for ever He that is once a vessel of honour shall alwayes be so For the foundation of God standeth sure having this Seale The Lord knoweth who are his Secondly As there is this more hidden foundation upon which Saints are sure and which no flood can overflow so there is another sure foundation and that is Jesus Christ upon which Saints are built and therefore the holy Prophet having discovered that refuge of lyes which he threatens should be swept away by the overflowing scourge subjoynes by way of Opposition in the next verse Isa 28.16 Therefore thus sayth the Lord God Behold I lay in Sion for a foundation a stone a tryed stone a precious corner stone a sure foundation and he that beleeveth shall not make hast Whom the Prophet means by this sure foundation the Apostle tells us expressely and by name 1 Cor. 3.11 Other foundation can no man lay then that which is laid which is Jesus Christ and they that are built on him the living Rock as all Beleevers are have eternal life and shall never perish This Christ himselfe teacheth us Matth. 7.24 25. Who soever beareth these sayings of mine and doth them I will liken him to a wise man that built his house upon a Rock And what 's the Rock that these wife men build upon This rock is Jesus Christ hee is the rock of Ages Hee fayles not nor can they fall who are in him as it followeth Then the raine descended the floods came the winds blew and beat upon the house and it fell not for it was founded on a rock Saints are lively stones and they comming to Christ by faith who is a living stone dissalowed indeed of men but chosen of God and precious are built up a spirituall house 1 Pet. 2.4 5. If this house should fall Christ must fall too for though Christ and this house are distinguished yet they are not divided Christ and this house are one So then though the floods of angry men of enraged Devils beate upon it yet they shall returne foaming out their owne shame when they have done their worst they shall but wash this house leaving it somewhat more cleane but no whit unsetled This is the glory and priviledge of Beleevers that while the strongest foundations of the Earth are overflowne with a flood They have a twofold foundation That of Election in the Love of God and that of Redemption in the bloud of Christ which cannot be overflowne by any the most violent and impetuous flood So then ungodly men are miserable when they appeare most happy and at their best estate are altogether vanity for eyther their estate hath no foundation or but such a foundation as cannot stand and that is as bad or rather worse then none at all It is better to have no appearance of strength then to have nothing but an appearance of it Further may we not from the opposite state of
eyther speaking his minde to their eares or sending it in to their consciences This light of God is not onely not pleasing but vexing They who love darknes cannot abide the light of direction much lesse the light of conviction So that if ever God be neere in their mouth neere in their eare or neere in their conscience yet as the Prophet speakes Jer. 12.2 He is farre from their reines that is though they speake heare or thinke of God yet they delight not in him they have no desirings no breathings after him yea the more he offers himselfe to them the more weary are they of him What David spake in a temptation they speake from their disposition Psal 73.3 I remembred God and was troubled It troubles them when they are put in minde of God it troubles them when God comes into their minde God is holy and they are unholy The holy God must needs be a burden to an unholy heart The Prophet puts the Question Amos 3.3 Can two walke together except they be agreed they cannot That company is alwayes unpleasant to us which is unsuitable to us They who are not at one are best pleased when they are furthest asunder The wayes of God are grievous to wicked men much more is God himselfe They say what a wearisomnesse is it to serve the Lord they say his yoake is heavy and his burden insupportable the very outside of heavenly and spirituall worke is burdensome to them how then can they maintaine communion with God in truth of spirit Who is a Spirit and will be worshipped in Spirit and in truth Thirdly Note Naturall men are blind and foolish they know not wherein their owne happinesse doth consist they forsake and throw away the mercies offered them for lying vanities They who are not taught of God are full of mistaken and false principles among which this is a principal one They suppose they can doe well enough without God whereas indeed there is nothing can doe us good without him who is the chiefe good Now that the natural man beleeves he can doe well enough without God is plaine from this abominable and hatefull motion which such make to God in the Text Depart from us No man would desire God to depart from him if this perswasion did abide upon his heart That he could not subsist without him or that he depended upon God for his subsistence Therefore this is their opinion though possibly they are as farre from acknowledging it as they are from the true knowledge and love of God That they can do well enough alone that they can stand upon their own bottome without God yea that they are selfe-sufficient as God is for whosoever doth not see an emptinesse and insufficiency in himselfe and so place his all in God makes himselfe a God This is the way of wicked men and this their way is their folly as the Psalmist speakes Psal 49.13 Though their posterity approve their sayings Who but they they can maintaine their being yea their well-being without God they can live and live happily whether he will or no. Surely if they thought they were beholding to him eyther for being or well-being eyther for life or a happy life they had never been heard saying to God depart from us And if this be a truth that they have sayd so and say so still every day wee need not stay to prove this a truth that they shew their blindnes and foolishnes in saying so Is not he foolish who would have the Sunne depart from him which enlightens him or who would have the Sheild depart from him which protects him or who bids the fountaine be gone which gives him drinke God is all this to all men in some degree or other and he promiseth himselfe such in the highest and best degree to all such as walke uprightly even to be their Sunne their Sheild their fountaine their spring Then can folly it selfe utter more foolishnes then this To say to God depart from us Further how foolish are they to refuse that as if it were a hurt to them which Saints who have the true wisdome have prayed for and still doe pray for as the greatest blessing and priviledge The presence of God with them How foolish are they who aske and desire that as a blessing which God the onely wise God threatens as the soarest curse Jer. 6.8 Be instructed O Jerusalem lest my soule depart from thee lest I make thee a Land desolate not inhabited Utter desolation is the consequent yea the effect of the Lords departure from a Land and when he ceaseth in regard of his favourable presence to inhabit a Land eyther none shall inhabit it or none shall have a comfortable habitation in it The Lord threatens this departure as the last and soarest or as the summe of all his judgements and wicked men desire this as if to be without God were the chiefe or summe of their enjoyments See another instance of this folly among all the threatenings of God against sinfull men this is one of the greatest that he will take away his Gospel and the light of his Word from them yet this a wicked man desireth let the Gospel goe let the light of the word goe He wisheth it gone 't is but a trouble to him he is sicke of it it is a death to him The best of good things is refused and the worst of evills chosen by those that are evill As their understanding is so blinded and distempered that they call evill good and good evill that they put darknes for light and light for darknes that they put bitter for sweete and sweete for bitter Isa 5.20 So their will and affections are so perverted that they choose embrace darknes for light evill for good and that which is most bitter for that which is sweeter then the honey and the honey-combe Observe Fourthly Wicked men are not onely foolish but wild and furious See at what a rate they speake even as if they had God at their command They say to God depart As if God could not be where he pleased as if God were at their limiting and disposing Here 's madnesse like madnesse it selfe As there is madnesse in the heart of man in the enjoyment of the creature I said of laughter it is mad sayth Solomon Some are so over-acted with joy and laughter in their creature-enjoyments that whereas laughter is the proper passion of a rational creature there is nothing more irrational then their laughter 'T is plaine down-right madnesse Now I say as some carnal men are mad in their manner of enjoying the creature so they are more mad in refusing the enjoyments of God the Creator Who can tell how mad they are who desire God to depart from them They are mad to purpose who would put God from them yet they more who thinke they can Fiftly Note That the godly and the wicked have quite contrary both desires and fears What are the desires and feares
by the Holy Ghost was minded to put her away secretly and would not make her a publique example He was unwilling to bring her to justice or that others should see eyther her supposed sin or punishment But as God doth worke many glorious salvations for his people that the wicked may see it and be ashamed so he brings many visible destructions upon the wicked not onely that the righteous may see it and rejoyce or be glad which act follows next to be opened but that the wicked may see it and tremble to doe wickedly Hence observe First That the Lord sets up wicked men many times as examples of his wrathfull justice Not onely doe they feele wrath upon themselves but others see it The Lord sometimes chastens his owne people in the view of the world and sets them up as examples of his fatherly displeasure Thus Nathan speakes in the name of the Lord to David 2 Sam 12.12 Thou didst it secretly but I will doe this thing what thing I will afflict and chasten thee for this great offence before all Israel and before the Sâ—nne that is in plaine and cleare light Though thou hast done this evill in the darknes ot many close contrivances yet I will draw the curtaine and make the poenall effects of thy sinne as conspicuous as the actings of thy sin have been close and covert Againe Numb 25.4 when the people began to commit whoredome with the daughters of Moab and Israel had joynâ—d himselfe unto Baal peor so that the Anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel Then the Lord said to Moses take all the heads of the people that is the capital offenders or chiefe rulers who gave way or at best gave no stop to such wickednes and hang them up before the Lord against the Sunne that the feirce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel To hang them up before the Sunne is a phrase of speech importing the publicknes of their punishment as it is sayd of the seven Sons of Saul that they were hanged on the hill before the Lord 2 Sam. 21.9 for caution unto all whatsoever is done in the fight of all or so that all may see is sayd in the Language of the Jewes to be done before the Sunne To which sence also we may interpret that vision of the Prophet Zechariah Chap. 5 6. 9 10 11. at the 6th verse we reade of an Ephah and this lift up ver 9th between earth and heaven the Ephah was a measure of dry things among the Jewes and in that vision it signified that the sinne and punishment of the Jewes were measured and proportioned This Ephah being lifted up and carried I sayth the Prophet said whether doe these beare the Ephah ver 10. And he said unto me to build it an house in the land of Shinar and it shall be established and set there upon her owne base The building it a house in the land of Shinar that is in Babylon signified the lastingnes or continuance of their sinne in the sad consequents of it their punishment and banishment in strange lands not for the space of seventy yeares onely as by the Babylonians but as some of the Learned expound the vision for many seventyes by the Romanes and as this Ephah had a house built for it noting the setlednes and durâ—tion of the Judgement which should come upon them for their sinne so also it was set upon its own base to signifie the notoriousnes or conspicuousnes of the Judgement it being as a house set upon pillars for all to behold and take notice of as we see fullfilled to this day since the first overthrow of their estate by Titus Vespatianus and their final dispersion by Aelius Adrianus There are I grant other conceptions about that vision but as this suits wel with the poynt in hand so with the calamitous state of that people to this day And thus the Lord threatned the King of Tyrus Ezek. 28.17 Whose heart was lifted up because of his beauty and who had corrupted his wisdome by reason of his brightnesse Now what will the Lord doe what course will he take with him The next words enforme us I will cast thee to the ground and I will lay thee before Kings that they may behold thee He doth not say I will cast thee into the ground but to the ground and lay thee before Kings that is thou shalt he a spectacle for all the Kings of the Earth that they may behold as what thy pride and selfe-confidence have brought thee to so what their owne if they tread thy path eyther will or justly may bring them unto Thus also in the 7th verse of Jude Epistle the Apostle sayth that Sodome and Gomorrha and the Cities about them in like manner giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh are set forth for an example suffering the vengeance of Eternal fire The Judgements of God are not onely punishments to them who went before but premonotions to them who come after The righteous see it and are glad Here is the effect which that sight wrought upon the righteous The eye affects the heart and the heart is affected sutably to the object eyther with joy or with sorrow The destruction of men is a sorrowfull object and therefore we might rather expect that the righteous beholding it should be affected with sorrow but the Text affirmes a direct contrary effect of this fight The righteous see it and are glad Hence observe The judgements of God upon the wicked are matter of joy to the righteous It is the duty of the Saints to mourne with them that mourne and to rejoyce with them that rejoyce Rom. 12.15 But then we must understand these mourners and rejoycers to be such as themselves are Saints must mourne with mourning Saints and rejoyce with rejoycing Saint The godly are not bound eyther to joy the joyes or sorrow the sorrowes of the wicked The judgements of God upon the wicked have a twofold effect eminently noted in Scripture First they cause feare and secondly they cause joy When exemplary justice was to be done according to the law of Moses upon presumptuous transgressours it is sayd Deut. 13.11 All Israel shall heare and feare and shall doe no more any such wickednes David Psal 64. having complained to God in prayer of the cruelty of his enemies and begged protection from their malicious practises growes up to much assurance that downe they must v. 7 8. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow suddenly shall they be wounded and then ver 9. All men shall feare and shall declare the worke of God for they shall wisely consider of his doings Thus feare is the issue of divine judgement And yet joy is the issue of them at the 10th verse of the same Psalme The righteous shall be glad in the Lord and trust in him and all the upright in heart shall glory Feare is a common effect All men shall
when the ungodly fall and not fall into sin themselves I answer First The righteous rejoyce at the fall of the wicked as blessing God who hath kept their feete from those wayes in which the wicked have fallen As 't is a great mercy to be kept out of those ill wayes to be kept from fiding with those corrupt interests in the pursuit of which we see many broken so 't is a duty to rejoyce that we have not walked in their way whose end we see to be nothing els but destruction Secondly The righteous have cause to rejoyce blesse God when they see the wicked fall because themselves are saved keepe their standing because themselves have escaped the danger and the Lord hath been a banner of protection over them in the day when the wicked fell Moses after the destruction of Amaleck built an Altar and called the name of it Jehova-Nissi Exod. 17.15 that is to say The Lord is my banner And in like cases the joy of the Saints is not properly in the destruction of the wicked but in their owne deliverance through the mighty power good hand of God with them It is the presence of God with them the appearance of God for them which is the gladnes of their hearts Thirdly The righteous then rejoyce because the Church and people of God are in a fayre way to peace when the Lyons are destroyed the sheepe are in safety when the Wolves and the Beares are cut off the flock rests quietly so in this case when men of devouring cruell spirits wicked and ungodly ones are removed the flocke of God the sheepe of his pasture feed quietly none making them afrayd The fall of the enemies of Sion is the establishment of Sion yea in a great measure of mankinde As the Prophet most elegantly sets it forth Isa 14.6 7 8. He who smote the people in wrath with a continuall stroke he that ruled the Nations in anger is persecuted and none hindereth The whole earth is at rest and is quiet they breake forth into singing yea the firre-trees rejoyce at thee and the Cedars of Lebanon saying since thou art layd downe no feller is come up against us How often have wicked men in power felled not onely the Firre-trees and Cedars of the world but the goodly trees of righteousnesse in the Lords plantations have they not therefore reason to sing when such fall seing the Fellers themselves are then felled and fallen Fourthly Joy ariseth to the righteous because God is honoured in the fall of wicked men And that 's their chiefest joy That God is honoured is more joy to the righteous then that themselves are saved how much more then then that the wicked are destroyed There is a threefold honour arising to God when the wicked fall First God is honoured in his justice such a day is the day of the declaration of the righteous judgement of God as the Apostle speakes of the great day of Judgement Rom. 2.5 Thou after thy hardnesse and impenitent heart treasurest up to thy selfe wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God Some doe even question the justice of God when wicked men prosper but he is vindicated in his justice when wicked men fall It cannot but please righteous men to see the righteous God exalted or God exalted in his righteousnesse They know and beleeve that God is righteous when the wicked prosper Jer. 12.1 But when the wicked are punished they proclaime his righteousnes Then they sing the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lambe saying Great and marvailous are thy workes Lord God Almighty just and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints Who shall not feare thee O Lord and glorifie thy Name c. for thy Judgements are made manifest Rev. 15.3 4. The Lord is alwayes alike Just but it doth not alwayes alike appeare how just he it And as that God is just is the faith and stay of the Saints so the appearances of his justice are their joy and triumph Secondly God is honoured much in the attribute of his truth in the truth of his word in the truth of his threatenings when the wicked are punished God hath spoken bloudy words concerning wicked men not onely in reference to their future estate in the next life but to their present estate in this Say to the wicked it shall be ill with him the reward of his hands shall be given him But what is this reward There are two sorts of rewards First rewards of love and favour according to the good which we have done Secondly rewards of wrath and anger poenal rewards according to the evill which we have done Now when the Lord puts these poenal rewards into the hands of the wicked or powres them upon their heads he is honoured in his truth as well as his justice for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it As the promises are yea and Amen 2 Cor. 1.20 so also are the threatnings unto the glory of God by us But as when David saw his life in danger every day he began to question the truth of God in the promise that he should live to reigne and fit upon the throne of Israel for saith he Psal 116.11 when things went thus with him I said in my hast all men are lyars even Samuel among the rest who assured me of the Kingdome by expresse message from God but surely he also is deceived and hath fed me with vaine hopes Now as these words of David according to our translation of them and the truth of the thing in frequent experiences shew that Godly men are apt to question the truth of the promise when themselves are by seemingly contradicting providences much afflicted so they are apt to question the truth of the threatnings when they see outward providences prospering the wicked Therefore when the threatnings have their actuall yea and Amen that is when they are executed upon the ungodly this also is to the glory of God by us that is God is glorified by all his people who heare of it in the truth of what he hath spoken Againe as God is magnified in the truth of his threatnings when any particular wicked man is punished so when common calamities come upon the wicked the truth of God or God in his truth is magnified two wayes First As such calamities are a fullfilling of many Prophecies secondly As they are the answer or returne of many prayers The vengeance which falls upon the Enemies of the Church of God is drawne out by prayer Luke 18.7 8. And there is nothing wherein God is more honoured then when prayer is answered For as therein he fullfills our wants so his owne word Who hath not said to the seed of Jacob seeke ye mee in vaine Thirdly When the wicked fall the Lord is honoured in the attribute of his power How great is his power who puls downe great power It argues the Almightines
he is a God eyther he is talking c. Thus Hierusalem is expressed Isa 37.22 when Senacherib sent up that proud threatning message the Lord sent a comfortable message to his people by Isaiah the Prophet Thus saith the Lord God of Israel whereas thou hast prayed to me against Senacherib the king of Assyria this is the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning him the virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorne the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee The daughter of Zion and the daughter of Jerusalem are but one and the same shee was called a virgin not as some have conceived because she was never taken or forced by any enemy nor was she so called because he had preserved her selfe pure and chast in the worship of the true God For she had her faylings and Idolatrous dalliances before that day but she was so called because of that speciall care which God had of her to protect and save her against the insultations of the enemy then ready to assault her even as a virgin is protected from violence in her fathers house And the Prophet to assure them that it should be so speakes of the ruine of Senacheribs Army and Jerusalems laughter as accomplisht and come to passe already The virgin daughter c. hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorne and shaken her head at thee What God saith shall be done is as good as done already The Assyrians were yet in their Jollity laughing at Jerusalem and promising themselves the spoyle of the people of God yet saith the Lord Jerusalem hath laughed thee to scorne that is assuredly she shall And as the people of God doe sometimes formally and explicitly laugh at the downfall and whitherings of the wicked so they alwayes virtually and secretly laugh them to scorne even when they stand and flourish in their greenenes and prosperity For while the Godly are not daunted with the power and splendour while they are not terrified with the threats and high lookes of the wicked but in the singlenes and simplicity of their hearts keepe close to God his wayes and truths even this though they use the duest respect to them in regard of their authority both in word and gesture is a laughing them to scorne For this is as a thorne in the sides of evill men and as a pricke in their eyes when they see they will not stoope to their greatnes in any sinfull complyance with their commands This is a truth but the former is the truth intended in this Text. Hence note That wicked men are not onely miserable but ridiculous They are the laughter of the innocent upon more accounts then one First because they doe such childish and ridiculous things such things as can never reach the ends they desire and purpose they are justly laughed at whose counsells and courses are unsuitable much more when contrary to their designes Secondly Wicked men become ridiculous while the Lord frustrates their wisest counsels and blasts those hopes which were bottom'd upon the most probable principles and foundations while he takes them in their own craft and entraps them in the snare which they layd for others Thirdly While he over-rules all that they plot or act to serve his owne ends and fullfill his owne holy counsels Hence the enemies of God are said to pine away this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feete he doth not say that they shall all be slaine but their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feete and their eyes shall consume away in their holes and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth Zech. 14.12 which as some interpret of their bodily languishment that they shall live dying continually or that their life shall be a continuall death so all interpret the cause of this consumption to arise from vexation of spirit because they shall see themselves scorn'd and laughed at or that they are become ridiculous to all the world but chiefly to Jerusalem the Church and people of God whom they shall behold in good condition notwithstanding all the opposition which they have made against them which Eliphaz also clearely expresseth in the next words Vers 20. Whereas our substance is not cut downe but the remnant of them the fire consumes There are divers readings and renderings of this verse first some with an affirmative interrogation is not their substance cut downe that is it is cut downe And then this verse is a continuation of the former discourse concerning the utter extirpation of the wicked The righteous are glad they laugh them to scorne is not their substance cut downe and doth not the fire consume the remnant of them As if Eliphaz had said Whatsoever they had of any substance or moment is cut downe and if possibly there be any small inconsiderable remainder of them fire that is some devouring Judgement will meete with it and make an utter end of it Innocens subsarnabit eos quia non fuit succisa substantia nostâ—a c. q. d. ut qui se res suas salvas illos autem penitùs igne illo divino videant jure absumptos Bez Secondly Another understands this 20 â—h verse as a reason of the former the righteous are glad when the wicked fall the innocent shall laugh them to scorne because our substance was not cut downe as if he had sayd our safety will be matter as of praise to God who hath preserved us so of holy scorne and insultation over ungodly men who longed to see our destruction and sayd in their hearts that surely our day was not onely comming but hastning whereas indeed we see the day come upon them which burneth as an oven and themselves as stubble Wicked men are for the most part doubly disappointed first by their owne fall when they looked to stand secondly by the standing of the righteous when they looke yea and long for their fall This double disappointment doth at once double their sorrow and the joy of the Innocent who laugh them to scorne because their owne substance is not cut downe but the remnant of them the fire consumeth Innocens subsannabiteos dicens etsi non est succisa substantia nostra tamen excellentiam illorum consumpsit ignis Pâ—sc There is a third translation which makes these words the forme in which the innocent expresse their laughter at the wicked When The innocent laugh them to scorne they will thus bespeake them Whereas or Although our substance is not cut downe yet the remnant of them or the best the excellency of them the fire hath consumed There is a fourth reading which makes the second part of the Chapter begin with this verse For hitherto Eliphaz hath been describing the sinfulnesse of wicked men and the wrath of God upon them for their wickednes
come to such so to stay and abide with them As good comes so good continues according to the command and commission which it hath from God Thus he promised in the Prophet Isa 48.18 in case his people had harkned to his commandements Then had thy peace been as a River and thy prosperity as the waves of the Sea Thy peace and prosperity had not been as a Land flood or Brooks of water which faile in summer when we have most need of them all worldly things are apt to doe so but they should have flowed perpetually as a river doth which is fed by a constant Spring or as the Sea doth which is the feeder of all Springs A godly man gets not onely a large portion of good things but a lasting portion yea a portion of those good things which are everlasting by acquainting himselfe with God And because by acquaintance with God so much good comes to us Therefore Eliphaz presseth Job further to it in the next verse Vers 22. Receive I pray thee the Law from his mouth and lay up his words in thine heart Receive that is learne from his mouth he that teaches gives Dat Magister quando docet capit discipulus quando discit Drus and he that learnes receives and the Hebrew word which we render here to Receive signifies not ordinary receiving but receiving with an earnest desire yea it implyeth a kinde of violence in desire such as they have who take spoyles in warre They fly upon the spoyle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 verbum hoc ad praedam quae cum violentia tollitur referri potest and catch it with as much eargernes as they wonne it with courage So Receive the Law from his mouth David saith I have rejoyced in thy word more then they that finde great spoyles Psal 119.162 O how strongly did his heart run out to the word And there is an Elegancy also in it that this word which signifies to receive the Law Ex hac radice dicitur doctrina 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quase accepta vel accipienda quia sc lex debet accipi grato lubenti animo doth also signifie the Law or doctrine to be received Prov. 4.2 I give you good doctrine forsake you not my Law The word which is there used for doctrine is the same that â—s here rendred to receive the reason is because wholsome doctrine â—s worthy to be received and ought to be received willingly chearfully and gladly and therefore the Gospel which is the highest and most precious doctrine is called an Acceptable doctrine This is a faithfull saying and worthy of all Acceptation 1 Tim. 1.11 The Gospel is worthy not onely of Acceptation or of great but of all Acceptation and that from all men even from the Greatest And so also is the Law for as shall be opened further afterwards the Law in this place comprehends the Gospel also Receive the Law at his mouth Further The word which we expresse Receive is rendred by some to buy we may connect both sences here Receive the Law as a thing bought and carry it home with thee That of Solomon Prov. 23.23 suites it well Buy the truth and sell it not Truth is a Commodity the trade whereof goes but one way all Civill Trades and Merchandizes are continued by buying and selling but this spirituall trade is continued by buying onely without selling it will be our profit to have this Commodity alwayes upon our hands or rather alwayes in our hands Thus here Receive the Law at a price buy it and keepe it not that the Lord doth expect any price from us or that vve can bring any thing to him valuable for it We buy it when vve take paines for it vvhen vve doe our utmost endeavour to receive the truth vvhen vve receive the truth not onely as it is offered and brought home to us but vvhen we goe out for it and seeke after it in all the meanes vvhich God hath appoynted as conveyances of it that 's buying the Law of truth Receive the Law Againe We may profitably consider a double derivation of that word vvhich vve trenslate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a radice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 explorare aut circumquaque lustrare quia lex universa est diligentèr observanda ne qâ—is in uno offendat Law Some say it is from a roote that signifies to behold or Contemplate to Consider to looke about and the Lavv is vvell exprest by a word of that sence because the vvhole Law is diligently to be observed and considered looked into and meditated upon vvee are alwayes to behold it and that in every part For the vvhole Lavv is copulative and he that offends in one part offends in all David speaking of the righteous man Psal 1.2 saith hee meditates in the law of the Lord day and night What 's meditation but the Inward view of a thing or the beholding it with an Intellectuall eye meditation is the continuall turning of things over in the minde to behold the excellencies and perfections that are in them A radice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod est pâ—uere irrigare quare commune fere idem est nomen pluviae Doctoris legislatoris Secondly Say others it proceeds from another radicall vvord that signifies to raine and that not onely some small drissling dewing raine but full showers or as we say to powre downe and in the Hebrew the same vvord signifies to raine and to teach because teaching by the vvord is like raining or the sending dovvne of raine The Apostle Heb. 6.7 alludes to it For the earth which drinketh in the raine that commeth oft upon it c. by the earth he meanes those vvho heare the vvord or doctrine vvhich comes dovvne upon them like raine to soften their hearts and make them fruitfull There are tvvo other Texts of Scripture very suitable to this Exposition Esay 30.20 Though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction yet shall not thy teachers be removed into Corners any more but thine eye shall see thy teachers Thy teachers shall not be removed so wee render but strictly from the letter of the Hebrew we may read it thus 〈◊〉 elongabit â—â—viam Though the Lord give thee the bread of adversitie c. yet shall not thy raine be removed from thee It may seeme strange that they should have the bread of adversity and the vvater of Affliction and yet have also raine vvhich naturally causeth the earth to bring forth bread and fills the pooles vvith vvater But the Prophet vvho speakes of corporall bread and vvater in the former part of the verse speakes of spirituall raine in the latter making this so full a compensation to the people of God for the want of other tvvo that they should have no cause to complain of it As if the Prophet had said Though you are cut short in outward things yet you shall not
was the former promise Thou shalt be built up and all evill shall depart away from thy Tabernacle Iniquity which properly signifies the evill of sin is often put in Scripture for the evills of trouble and suffering and as all acknowledge this to be a truth so some judge it the truth specially intended in this place I shall therefore briefely note from it That when we truely returne to God from sin then suffering evills depart from us and ours For though the Lord be pleased to dispence variously for triall of his people and often suffers the evill of affliction to hang about their Tabernacles who desire sincerely and endeavour faithfully to put all iniquity farre from their Tabernacles yet this is the promise of God and this hath been often experienced by Godly men That God hath turned trouble out of their doores when they have humbly and zealously laboured to turne sin out of their hearts Eliphaz having incouraged Job by this generall promise he draweth it forth into particulars And that first in reference to outward things Vers 24. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brookes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 munire Aurum lectissimum quasi ab igne munitum aut quod sit hâ—mini munimentum Then that is when thou hast acquainted thy selfe with God then when thou hast laid up his law in thy heart then when thou hast returned to the Almighty thy selfe and put away iniquity farre from thy Tabernacle Then thou shalt lay up gold as dust c. The word which we render Gold signifies to fortifie or to defend and it is translated a defence at the 25th verse Solomon saith Eccl. 7.12 not onely That wisdome is a defence but that money is a defence that is it procures defence and Gold is the chiefe of money Though Gold be not a defence formally yet virtually it is Gold defends it selfe against all the forces of fire and it is a principall meanes of defending us against the fire and fury of the Greatest dangers Thou shalt lay up Gold as dust c. But Christ sayth Math. 6.19 Lay not up treasures for your selves on earth And it was a rule given concerning the King of Israel in the Leviticall Law long before Israel had a King Deut. 17.17 He shall not greatly multiply to himselfe silver and gold How then doth Eliphaz say that he who repents shall lay up gold as the dust is that fit worke for him I answer the words are not to be understood as an exhortation to bend his endeavours to the gathering of riches but as a promise from God that he shall by a blessing from above gather store of riches here below Thou shalt lay up gold as the dust By gold here and silver in the next verse we are to understand all manner of riches because gold and silver are the chiefe riches therefore all is contained under them And when he sayth Thou shalt lay up gold as the dust the words receive variety of renderings some thus Thou shalt lay up gold above the dust as if he should say thou shalt have more gold than dust which is a straine of rhetoricke expressing aboundance Others read Thou shalt lay vp gold upon the dust As Psal 24.2 He hath founded it upon the Seas A third renders Thou shalt lay up gold by the dust Like that Psal 1.3 A tree planted by the river side A fourth thus Et pone in pulvere Aurum Coc Noli animum auro apponere nimisque illud diligere sed nihili aestima deijce in terram unde ortum est aestima ut terram lapides petrae Scull Pone ubi deus Natura posuit Coc. by way of counsell And lay gold in the dust Which two latter readings are expounded as a direction given to Job how he should lay up gold he must not lay up gold in his heart and spirit but in the dust or by the dust As if he had said Put that purer dust that better concocted and refined dust in the common dust put the dust to dust put thy gold in its proper place where God and nature put it 'T is but dust and so a fit companion for the dust yea say some 't is as if Eliphaz had sayd Doe not so much as make roome for it in thy house provide not chests for it let it lie where it had its originall It came from the dust there leave it returne it backe to its owne Country to the place of its nativity A Heathen hath this notion concerning gold and silver c. And he labours much to shew that the site position of these things in nature holds forth how we ought to receive and estimate them Nulli nos vitio natura conciliat nihil quideÌ„ quod avaritiam nostram irritaret posuit in aperto pedibus aurum argentuÌ„ sub jecit calcandum ac premendum dedit quicquid est propter quod calcamur premimur Sen ep 94. Even nature by which he meanes the ordinary course set in nature draws us off from coveting Gold and silver there is nothing which may provoke or stirre up covetousnesse which God hath advanced or set up high in the order of nature Gold and silver are the chiefe objects of Covetousnesse now both these as also whatsoever else man is pressed about and as it were trodden underfoote in the dirt for by burdensome or covetous cares God hath thrust or trodden under our feete Gold doth not fall out of the clouds of heaven hut lieth under the clods of the earth there God hath put them to be trampled and trodden under our feete that we might scorne to have our affections trampled upon and trodden underfoote by them or such things as they So then All that this interpretation or translation aymes at in saying Gold must be put in the dust is onely to shew us that our estimations should be taken off from it or that we should place it as low in our thoughts as God hath placed it in the order of nature And this is a spirituall sense suiting that of our Saviour Lay not up for your selves treasures on earth make not great preparations to keepe your earthly treasures especially let them not be kept in your heart or lie there where Christ onely and the treasures of heaven ought to be layd up Put your gold in the dust or let it be esteemed as dust seing at best it is but wel concocted dust So Gold and silver are called Amos 2.7 That paâ—t after the dust of the earth upon the head of the poore So the Prophet describes their extreame covetousnes who will be rich though it be by empoverishing those who are poorest Yet I conceive in this place Eliphaz hath another ayme And that where be saith Thou shalt lay up Gold as the dust his meaning onely is thou shalt lay up plenty of Gold or â—â—ou shalt gather much riches for the
Hebrew text 't is there onely when cast downe and because that word is not exprest therefore some supply out of the former clause Cum humiliatae fuerâ—nt viae tuae dicas elatio illis est i. e. mox senties conditionâ—m tuaÌ„ ex ima factam optimaÌ„ Contextus mirè concisus est ideo vaâ—ie intelligitur Merc. the word way The light shall shine upon thy way when it that is when thy way is cast downe though thou be now in a low condition and though thou shouldest hereafter be cast into a low condition againe yet thou shalt say there is a lifting up or thou shalt be lifted 〈◊〉 If at any time thy wayes be cast downe in darknes the light shall shine upon them thou shalt say in faith there is a lifting up The Apostle speakes in a language like this of himselfe and of his fellow-Apostles 2 Cor. 4.8 Wee are troubled on every side yet not distressed perplexed but not in despaire persecuted but not forsaken cast downe but not destroyed Thus here when there is a casting downe or when thy wayes are cast downe yet thou shalt say there is a lifting up Thou mayest be cast downe but not destroyed Yet I conceive that Suplement of the word men which we put into the Text is more suitable to the scope of it and then the sence is this When men are cast downe that is when sinners or ungodly men are cast downe when God comes to ruine his enemies and make them desolate then thou shalt say there is a lifting up A lifting up for me and for such as I am Thou shalt say This saying may be taken two wayes and in both 't is the voyce of faith First Thou shalt say in prayer or thou shalt pray O Lord Dices sc in tuis ad deum precibus exaltatio sit sc illi depresso i. e. exalta illum Odeus Piscaâ— let there be a lifting up Thus it is expounded as a promise to Job that when others were cast downe he should helpe them up againe by prayer thou shalt say There is a lifting up or O Lord let there be a lifting up namely of him who is cast downe lift him up O Lord. As prayer is in its owne nature a lifting up of the soule to God Psal 25.1 so prayer in the effect of it hath a mighty power and prevalency with God for the lifting up both of our owne bodyes and outward estates as also the bodyes and outward estates of others out of the deepes of misery and trouble Many a Godly man hath lifted himselfe and others out of the mire by prayer while seing a casting downe he hath sayd There is a lifting up or O Lord let there be a lifting up This sence carrieth a high priviledge but I rather conceive that intended in the next verse And therefore Secondly I shall take these words of Eliphaz as a promise When men are cast downe Pollicetur Jobo Eliphaz eximiam foelicitatem iâ—pijs alijs atque etiam hâ—stibus suis ad extâ—eâ—uÌ„ infelicitatis gradum praecipâ—tatis thou shalt say or confidently affirme this thing there is a lifting up that is I promise or assure thee O Job that when thou shalt see the Lord bringing vengeance upon the wicked when thou seest them fall on this side and on that when nothing is visible but the ruine and destruction of men and families yea of Nations that even then thou shalt sayâ— there is a lifting up that is thou shalt have faith for thy selfe that both thou and thine shall be lifted up or saved and delivered in a time when many wicked men or thine enemies fall and perish and shall never as to any worldly enjoyment rise any more Hence observe That a godly man may have much assurance when others are cast downe that yet he and others shall be preserved and lifted up When men were cast downe in Sodome when Sodome was overthrowne Lot was lifted up and assured of his preservation When all the men in the world were overwhelm'd and swept off the face of the earth with a Deluge there was a lifting up for Noah and his family he and his were safely housed in the Arke floating upon the waters Thus the Lord hath made provision for the preservation of his people when thousands have been undone and cast downe on the right hand and on the left by common calamities yea when they have been cast downe his people have been not onely preserved but exalted and lifted up Thou shalt say there is a lifting up And hee shall save the humble person That is the Lord shall save him the vulgar reads thus He that is humble shall be in glory 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sept Interior animi fastus tumor per oculos et per omnes externos gestus se prodit The Seaventy thus Because thou hast humbled thy selfe thou shalt be saved But I shall keep to our Reading hee shall save the humble person or according to the strictnes of the Hebrew He shall save him that is low of eyes 't is frequent in Scripture to expresse an humble person in this forme A man that hath low eyes as high lookes and lofty eyes are every where in Scripture the periphrasis of pride David sayd Psal 101.5 Non enim is supeâ—biae mos est qui latere aut dâ—ssimulari possit Pined him that hath an high looke and a proud heart will I not suffer for you may see pride in the eye pride sits upon the eye therefore David puts a high looke and a proud heart both together there And againe Psal 131.1 Lord mine heart is not haughty nor mine eyes lofty So that I say an humble person and a person of low eyes is the same as a proud person and a person of lofty eyes is the same in Scripture sence and both are very significant Expressions He shall save the humble person this humble person may be taken two wayes either passively or actively Passively Non tam modestuÌ„ qui sese submittit ut v rtuteÌ„ significet intelligo quam affictum etsi illad etiam senteÌ„tiae non repugnat imo utruÌ„que recte intellexeris Merc. so 't is he that is cast downe and layd low by affliction Thus the humble person is the same with the humbled person affliction is an humiliation however the afflicted take it or carry it and usually it makes men humble at least in appearance and lowly in their lookes whereas in prosperity men lift up their eyes usually and looke softily as if they would reach heaven with their heads while their hearts are farre from it But affliction makes men stoope We may understand the Text of a person who is humble when humbled who stoopes downe quietly to take up and beare his crosse and doth not in stoutnes slight it or in wantonnes play with it but is serious under the rebukes of God Hee shall save the humble person Secondly It may be taken actively
a cause to complaine Thanksgiving will be all our worke and the worke of all in heaven And by how much we are the more in thanksgiving and the lesse in complaining on earth unlesse it be of and against our selves for sinne the more heavenly we are When we are stricken we should complaine as little as we can and we should alwayes be able to say as Job here That our complaint is not greater then our stroake JOB CHAP. 23. Vers 3 4 5. Oh that I knew where I might find him that I might come even to his seate I would order my cause before him and fill my mouth with arguments I would know the words which he would answer me and understand what he would say unto me JOb having shewed in the former verse how bitter and how sad his Condition was even farre beyond his owne Complaint and that his stroake was heavier then his groaning he now turnes himselfe from earth to heaven from the creature to the Creator from man to God Job had been among his friends a great while they had debated the matter long but all in vaine and without fruit to his soule he had yet received no Comfort What will he doe next see here his address to God Vers 3. O that I knew where I might finde him that I might come even to his seat O that I knew The Hebrew is who will give me to know c. The words are a forme of wishing ordinary among the Jewes Who will give or who will grant mee this or that O that I knew c. And it Intimates or Implyes two things First A vehement and strong desire after somewhat much desierable who will give mee this or where shall I have it Secondly It Implyes selfe-Inability or selfe-Insufficiency to attaine and reach the thing desiered As if Job had said I am not able of my selfe to finde him O that I knew where I might finde him O that I eyther had the light of this knowledge in my selfe or that some body would enforme and teach mee O that I had a friend to Chalke mee out the way to lead mee by the hand and bring mee neer to God Quis mihi tribuat ut cognos cam inveni am illum Vulg. The vulgar latine Reading fixeth both those acts upon God as the Object O that some one or other would give mee to know and finde him As if his wish and longing desire were first to know God secondly to finde him or in finding to know him Our translation determines this knowing in Job and finding upon God O That I knew where I might finde him Who it is that Job would finde is not exprest in the text by name nor is there any Anticedent in the verse before with which we can Connect this relative him Yet 't is beyond question or dispute that he meanes God O that I might finde him that is God But why did he not say O that I knew where to finde God but O that I knew where to finde him I answer He doth it because his heart being full of God he supposed that those to whom he spake had their hearts full of him too and so would easily understand whom he meant or that he could mean none but God Wee finde such kinde of abrupt speeches as I may call them in other Texts of Scripture still arising from fullnes and strength of affection in the speaker See how Solomon begins his Love-song his Song of Songs The Song of Songs which is Solomons that 's the title of it How doth it begin Let him kiss mee c. Here is a strange Exordium to a Song none having been spoken of before Let him kiss mee with the kisses of his mouth by whom the Church would be kissed shee expresseth not but her heart was so full of Christ so full of love to Christ her Bridegroom her husband that shee thinks it needlesse to mention him by name when shee speakes of him whose kisses shee desiered Her love had passed through the whole Creation through men and Angels through all things here below and fixt it selfe onely upon Christ her Lord and Love Therefore shee never stood speaking personally of him but onely relatively and leaves all to understand whom she intended Thus saith Job O that I knew where I might finde him when as he had not spoken of any distinct person before in this Chapter And wee have a like passage flowing from a like abundant love to Christ in the 20 â—h of John ver 15. where Mary comes to the Sepulchre Christ being risen and the Angel seing her weepe asked her the reason of it To whom shee replyed Because they have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid him having thus said shee turned her selfe backe and saw Jesus standing and knew not that it was Jesus he saith unto her Woman why weepest thou whom seekest thou Shee supposing him to be the Gardiner said Sir if thou have borne him hence tell me where thou hast laid him Shee never names Christ but onely saith If thou have borne him hence c. because her heart was full of Christ shee thought his heart was full of him too and that hee understood her well enough whom she meant though shee sayd not whom shee meant Thus in the present text Job was to God at that time as Mary to Christ at a losse for him not knowing where to finde him God was as it were removed from him as Christ was risen from the Sepulchre Therefore he complainingly and affectionately enquires O that I knew where I might finde him My soule is a thirst for God my heart pants after him O that I knew where I might finde him The Hebrew word signifieth to finde Verbum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 significat saepius obviam habere quemquam vel alâ—cui obvium fieri by going out to meet a man or as we say to light upon him As Ahab said to Elijah 1 King 21.20 Hast thou found or met mee O mine enemy and he answered I have found or met thee So the word is used 2 King 10.13 Jehu mett with the Brethren of Ahaziah King of Judah In the Margin wee say Jehu found the Brethren of Ahaziah that is he mett them upon the way for he went out to meet them Read also 1 Sam. 10.3 As if the sence were thus given O that I knew where I might finde him that is whither I might goe to meet him though I should not finde him by accident or as wee say stumble upon him I would goe out I would travell and take paines upon hopes to meet him Secondly That word signifies so to finde as to take hold and apprehend to take fast hold of a thing and then O that I might finde him is O that I might lay hold on him if I knew where I might have him I would lay fast hold on him and cleave close to him So the word is used Esay 10.10 As
can give perfect boldnes in comming to the Throne of God but onely an Interest in Jesus Christ in whom the throane of God is become a Throane of grace to sinners Were it onely a Throne of Judgement and Justice no flesh could stand before it but being a Throne of grace the worst of sinners who wait for grace may come neer and the neerer they come the welcomer they are A godly man is never better then when he is neer God and then thinks himselfe best when he is neerest unto God all his happines in this life and his glory in that which is to come doth consist in his nearenes unto God Secondly Whereas Job saith O that I might come even to his Seat Observe A Godly man is willing that God should Judge both his Person and his Cause That 's the designe of Job he had appealed from the Judgement of his friends and begd the Judgement of God He was resolute in it to stand or fall according to his sentence But why was Job so desirerous of the Judgement of God why would he goe to his Throne and appeale to him When men make appeales from one Throne to another they have their reasons for it When Paul said I appeale to Caesar Act. 25.11 doubtless he was fully perswaded that he should find better termes with Caesar then among the Jews So when Job saith I appeale to God which is the highest appeale and beyond which there lyes no appeale doubtlesse Job was fully perswaded that he should finde better termes at Gods tribunal then he had found among his friends And Job might have many grounds of better termes from God For First God is wise even a God of Judgement who would not receive Judgement from a wise and understanding Judge especially from him who is wisdome and understanding Secondly God is Omniscient there are many wise Judges but no Omniscient Judges in the world Princes are said to have long hands and very cleare eyes they can reach farre and see farre but they cannot see all but God is able to Judge the secrets of all hearts for he sees all secrets and knowes what man cannot For that reason a godly man loves the Judgement of God because he knowes his heart And for the same reason wicked men hypocrites especially are afraid of the Judgement of God they know if their outward actons should come to be scan'd much more if their hearts should be turn'd outward it must needs goe ill with them Most hypocrites carry it faire onely for a while before the world they at last discover themselves the disease breaks out at their fingers ends or at their tongues end Their words or works discover the rottennes of their hearts and the formality of their profession But some hypocrites carry it fayre to the world all their dayes and feare not the Judgement of men yet even then a thought of the Judgement of God is dreadfull to them whereas the Saints even all who are sincere desire God to Judge them for indeed their hearts are better then their wayes and their affections then their actions and they know that God discernes with what heart and spirit every thing is done as well as what is done He doth not Judge by appearances as we ought not Joh. 7.24 and therefore his is a righteous Judgement God doth not judge things as they appeare but as they are unlesse they are as they appeare and whatsoever their appearance is he can judge them as they are He can judge by discerning what is in the deepe and follow a matter to the very spring of it therefore I 'le goe to God saith the upright heart my desire is that he should Judge my cause Thirdly The Lord is a gratious and a mercifull Judge he is as full of pity as he is of wisdome and as ready to relieve as he is quick-sighted to discerne Fourthly The Lord is very patient First patient to heare and secondly patient to beare Patience to heare is a great encouragement many Judges are weary of the worke they will not heare a poore man out but God will and God is patient also to beare with and passe by the faylings of his people whose uprightnes he knowes Lastly A Godly man knowes that God his Judge hath received an atonement that he is made for him and upon grounds of Justice and righteousnesse is become his friend Some who have bad Causes yet come up to the Throne of man boldly because they know the Judge is made for them by a bride and so will give sentence on their side be it right or wrong Saints know that the Judge is made for them but made in a holy manner not with base bribery to blinde his eyes to pervert justice but he hath received an atonement he is appeas'd and satisfied by a Mediator at his owne appointment If God should search the best of Saints narrowly they must needs fall in judgement yet they know they shall stand in judgement because the Judge is reconciled to them by Christ yea Christ who made the Atonement and is the reconciler is the Judge this encourageth Saints to come to God For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life Rom. 5.10 The case standing thus with beleevers who seeth not ground for their appeale from the judgement eyther of open enemies or as Job did mistaken Friends O that I might come even to his Seate In the two next verses Job tells us what he would doe if his appeale were granted and himselfe admitted to the seate of God Vers 4. I would order my Cause before him and fill my mouth with arguments Vers 5. I would know the words which he would answer mee and understand what he would say unto mee Thus he describes his intended behaviour before his Judge in allusion to legall proceedings where the Plaintiff brings in his bill and the Defendant his answer I would order my Cause before him The Hebrew word which wee translate to order 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est militare verbum atque dicitur de aciebus quae certa ratione ac ordine disponuntur is a military terme properly used for the ordering of an Army or the putting of them into a Posture for a battell we call it Marshalling an Army And hence it is applyed to the ordering of any other thing Psal 23.5 Thou wilt prepare a Table for mee in the midst of mine enemies to order a Table is to set dish by dish there is a kinde of method in setting dishes at great feasts Thou wilt prepare a Table for me Againe Ps 50.21 God speakes to the hypocrite about his sinfull doings I will set them in order before thee that is those sins and confused practices of which thou hast sayd in thy heart I shall never heare more of them shall be brought forth and set like a terrible Army in ranke and file
with him They who are most spirituall and of the largest understanding in spiritualls can no more comprehend God then a cockle-shel can containe the Ocean and many who are spirituall are so darke in their understandings or God is so darke to their understandings that they cannot so much as apprehend or discerne him see or perceive him Thirdly When Job sayth God hideth himselfe on the right hand or in the South so that I cannot see him This teacheth us That God doth sometimes purposely withdraw and reserve himselfe from his most pretious servants The Propher hath a strange description of God Isa 45.15 Verily thou art a God that hidest thy selfe as if he had sayd it is thy use and custome to doe so O God of Israel the Saviour hee was the God and Saviour of Israel yet Israel could not see him for he hid himselfe When God will conceale himselfe his Israel cannot see him And hence wee finde in Scripture so many earnest Deprecations that God would not hide himselfe and so many vehement Expostulations when he did Wherefore hidest thou thy face saith the Church Psal 44.24 and forgettest our affliction and oppression God hides himselfe five wayes or in five things from his people First He hides his favour and the light of his Countenance from his people And when this is hid God is hid hee will not let them see the love which he hath in his heart towards them yea possibly he lets them see anger wrath displeasure hee puts on the habit of an enemy and deales with them as with enemies Job complaines more then once that God hid his favour from him and shewed him nothing but his dread and terror Secondly God hides his workes from his people hee will not let them be seen nor be seene in them O how unsearchable are thy Judgements and thy wayes past finding out God hath wayes and Judgements which man cannot reach unto Some of his workes are acted as we say above bord they are done in a cleare light hee that runs may see and read them and God in them hee that runs may read love written upon some of them in letters of Gold or with beames of light And he that runs may read wrath written upon others of them in letters of blood or with streames of darknes and the very shadowes of death but some workes of God are so curtaynd about and vailed so hidden and obscured that we cannot perceive them Though all the works of God are works of light yet many of them are in the darke to man While judgement and righteousnesse are the habitation of Gods Throne clouds and darknes are round about him Psal 97.2 Thirdly God hideth the reason of his working His works are often hid but the reason of his working is oftener hid Jeremy complaines Why doth the way of the wicked prosper Hee would know a reason of it hee saw that God let the wicked prosper but the reason he saw not Fourthly The design or end of the worke of God is a hidden thing as God doth not let men see the reason why he doth this or that so not his aime and end what he would have or what he drives at in doing it When God afflicts a Godly man whether it be for the tryal of his graces or to chasten him for his failings or for the purging out of his corruptions is often his doubt and as 't is thus in personal workings so also in publique workings Whether God hath to doe with a Nation or with a man onely hee hath his secrets Fifthly As God hides what himselfe doth so he hides from us what he would have us doe he hides his owne will from us in some things we have indeed his Letters Patents his proclaimed lawes before us in all things needfull to salvation but there are some things which concerne particular actings in our lives wherein a godly man may be very ignorant of the will of God much puzzled in his Spirit what to doe whether this or that be the course which God would have him take God hides himselfe from us in the hidings of his will from us For as when the Apostle saith Ephes 4.20 Yee have not so learned Christ wee are not to understand Christ personally but Christ according to the Revelation of himselfe in the Gospel Christ there is the will or minde of Christ so when God hideth himselfe from or doth not discover himselfe to us the meaning may be this hee doth not discover his minde and will to us what he would have us doe as to our particular case and condition God keepes some long in suspence long in the darke about this poynt so that they often cry out with that good King in his dangerous strait We know not what to doe but our eyes are towards thee 2 Chron. 20.12 Many a man is in as great a strait what to doe in regard of the darknes of his condition as Jehosaphat was in regard of the dangerousnesse of it Fourthly Note That a Gracious soule useth all meanes to attaine what he desires especially to finde out the minde and will of God in his workings What else is the meaning of all this why else went Job forward and backward why went he on the right hand and on the left why did he thus traverse his ground and represent himselfe in these busie enquiries after God travelling in the multitude of his thoughts upon his bed from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth leaving no stone unturned as we say nor path untrodden that he might get his cause determined and his heart setled Obadiah tells Eliah after he had met him see how industrious the malice of Ahab against that holy man made him to to finde him out whom his soule hated 1 King 18.10 As the Lord thy God liveth there is no nation or kingdome whether my Lord hath not sent to seek thee c. Not that Ahab had sent Messengers into every quarter of the world but the meaning is that he had been very diligent and industrious to finde out Elijah And so saith Job there is not any Corner under heaven where I have not been seeking to finde him whom my soule loveth and longeth for Thereby importing his exceeding diligence to finde God They who have a desire after God indeed will take paines for him they will seek him East West North and South and never complaine of the length of their journey They will not stay till God comes home to their dores but out they will go to seek him For though it be a truth that no man can seek or looke after God till God hath first looked after and found him yet they whom God hath once found have such an impression left upon their hearts that when God seemes to leave them and to be as lost to them they will more then seeme to looke after and seeke him while he is absent from them that is while he hides
these hidden things of darknes and Counsels of the heart wee are to understand not onely evill things and wicked counsels sure enough God will bring them to light but even those righteous things and good Councels of the heart which have layne in the darke or unrevealed God will bring to light all the hidden things of darknes the good as well as the bad and then shall every man that is every good man every godly man have praise of God The praise of man is very pleasing unto man but O how unspeakeably pleasing is the praise of God! And this opens a vast difference between the hypocrite and the sincere Can a hypocrite rejoyce in secret saying thus God knoweth the way that I take Hee cannot say thus and I may say three things of the hypocrite in opposition to this First The hypocrite endeavours to hide and put his wayes out of the sight of God as much as he can As he hath not the light of Gods countenance or of his favour shining upon him so he desires not to have the light of his knowledge shining into him Isa 29.15 the Prophet describes some seeking deep to hide their Councels from the Lord and their workes are in the darke both in natural and moral darknes and they say who seeth us and who knoweth us The endeavour of the hypocrite is that he may be hid And Secondly He cryes all 's hid as it is his endeavour that God should not so it is his hope that God doth not know his wayes much lesse his heart He is often sure that men doe neither see nor know he alwayes presumes that God doth not and therefore as one out of doubt he puts his doubts who seeth and who knoweth Though flashes of feare come in upon him sometimes yet he flatters himselfe with presumptious hopes and false perswasions that God knowes him not sees him not and that his dark way shall never be discovered and as in that place of the Prophet they speake indefinitely thereby inferring that God doth not see them so wee have them in the Psalme speaking directly that God shall not Psal 94.5 6 7. They breake in pieces thy people O Lord and slay the widdow and stranger and murther the fatherles yet they say the Lord shall not see neither shall the God of Jacob regard it As if they had sayd though God should set himselfe to search us out and would never so faine see what we are doing yet he shall not We will carry it so closely and cunningly that the eye of God shall not reach us Their workes were so foule and bloody that the Sunne might be ashamed to looke upon them and they were so close that they beleeved God could not look upon them or bring them to shame for them Thirdly 'T is a terror to an hypocrite to remember that God knoweth his wayes That which Job saith of the wicked in generall is most proper to hypocrites Chap. 24.17 The morning is to them even as the shadow of death if one know them they are in the terrours of the shadow of death The Hebrew is very concise if know we make up the sence thus if one know them that is if God or man know them and their wayes if they be apprehended and discovered any way in their abominable wayes they are in the terrours of the shadow of death that is they are ready to dye with the fright and terror of it Hypocrites are so farre from rejoycing in this that God knowes the way which they take that to be knowne eyther of God or man is their torment Thirdly Consider why doth Job appeale to God in this Cause depending between him and his friends The reason was because he knew his friends mis-judged him through their ignorance Therefore he desiered to be heard by a Judge that perfectly knew his wayes and so was able to make a righteous judgement of him Hence Observe God is every way fitted to be a righteous Judge There are two things especially that fit a man to be a Judge First That he hath a principle of righteousnes in him that he be not byassed and turned aside from doing right indifferently without respect of persons Secondly That he hath a principle of light in him that he be as Jethro adviseth Moses a man of knowledge Both these meete perfectly in God He is just and righteous in all his wayes and hee knowes all our wayes Some Earthly Judges erre for want of a Principle of righteousnes and so in things which they plainely know and see as cleare as the light are ready to be drawne and wrought off by respects and interests Againe there are other Earthly Judges who are right and honest enough in their Principles nothing can take them off or mislead them to the right hand or to the left but they want knowledge and understanding to discerne between good and evill right wrong they cannot see into the merit of the Cause or the integrity of the person before them and thereupon stumble in Judgement Indeed the best of Earthly Judges cannot alwayes when they have done their best finde out who hath the good Cause and who hath the bad and many times they that plead blinde them with their Rhetorick setting a faire glosse upon a foule Cause or making a faire Cause looke foule and so the Judge is deluded seing he judgeth of things as witnessed and represented as alledged and legally proved and so it may fall out that while he judgeth righteously his judgement may not be right But we as Job here have cause to rejoyce that we have to doe with a Judge who as he is both righteous and knowing so he knowes all things and persons in themselves and not from others He needs not that any should testifie of man for he knoweth what is in man Joh. 2.25 Hee knowes the way that is in me or the way that I take and as it followes When he hath tryed mee I shall come forth as gold Mr. Broughton reads thus Tryed he me I should come forth Gold that is if God as I desire would vouchsafe to try me I should appeare what I am indeed not what I now appeare When he hath tryed mee There are divers wayes of tryall three especially God tryes first by prosperity that 's a tryall a full estate discovers a man as well as a low and empty estate doth To know how to abound is as high a poynt of grace as how to want Phil. 4.12 to have power in our hands discovers us as well as to be opprest by power Magistracy shewes the man and it shewes many to be but men Magistratus indicat virum Great power over men is a great temptation to man and so likewise is the praise of men 2 Cor. 6.4 But in all things approving our selves as the Ministers of God in much patience in afflictions in necessities in distresses c. and by what else by the Armour of righteousness on the
their workes and graces will abide when they come to the Test or tryall God who puts away all the wicked of the earth as drosse will gather up all the godly of the earth as Gold when he hath tryed them and try them he will We read Dan. 7.9 10. how dreadfully God comes to Judgement I beheld till the thrones were cast downe and the ancient of dayes did sit his Throne was like the fiery flame and his wheeles as burning fire a fiery streame issued and came forth from before him the judgement was set and the bookes were opened Which whether it be meant of the last Judgement or of some speciall Judgement upon a particular state or oppressing power comes all to one as to the poynt in hand while it shewes that God in the tryal of men will examine their persons and their actions as by fire Of every such tryall it may be sayd as Mala. 3.2 3. Who may abide the day of his coming and who shall stand when he appeareth The Prophet speakes of the coming of Christ in the flesh at which time he was also mighty in Spirit for he is like a refiners fire and like fullers soape and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver When Christ came in the flesh to redeeme us he came with fire also to purge and sanctifie us and he comes with fire whensoever he comes in the Spirit to comfort and enlighten us and at last when he comes in glory he will come with fire to try examine and judge us When he comes to try us thus All the faithfull shall come forth as Gold but the wicked and their works will burne and be consumed When Saints come to tryal at last they will stand and when they are tryed here they will mend first their Corruptions will be the more outed and secondly their graces will be the more acted We may read this issue of their tryal Zech. 13.9 And it shall come to passe that in all the Land saith the Lord two parts therein shall be cut off and dye but the third shall be left therein Whether we take the Land in particular for Israel and the people of the Jewes or typically for all professors thorowout the world two parts shall be cut off and dye but the third shall be left therein And what will God doe with them or how will he deale with them We may see what at the 9th verse And I will bring the third part thorow the fire of affliction and examination and I will refine them as silver is refined and try them as gold is tryed and what will be the issue of this And they shall call on my name and I will heare them Here faith and prayer in which all graces are exercised are put for all graces When they are in this fire they shall call on my name In igne deum amantèr invocant candido germano sunt erga illum studio Theod. and I will heare them and I will say when they are in the fire it is my people and they shall say the Lord is my God They who pray in the fire of tryall or in the fiery tryall declare evidently that they are Gold in the fire but they to whom God saith in the fire of their tryalls yee are my people and they who being still in the same fire can say the Lord is our God are declared both by God and themselves eminently that they are gold in the fire They are as the choycest gold as the Gold of Ophir of whom the Lord saith by an act of distinguishing love yee are my people and who can say to God by an act of appropriating faith the Lord is our God Surely then Saints lose nothing in the fire but what is not worth the holding while God finds and owns them and they finde and owne God in the fire Further Some read this latter part of the verse as an offer Let him try mee Probat me and I shall come forth as gold as if Job had said I doe not refuse but desire a tryall God knowes my way the way that is in me let him come and try mee yea I am ready to come to him for my tryall Hence note A sincere heart is willing to be tryed 'T is a great part of the worke of a godly man to try himselfe and his workes and it is one of his greatest wishes that God would try him and his workes They who are sincere are much in trying themselves Let us search and try our wayes say they and turne againe unto the Lord. And they who are much in selfe tryal and Examination are willing to be tryed and examined both by God and man sure enough They that try themselves much are not afraid of the tryal of man no nor of the tryal of God If we compare the first verse of the 139th Psalme with the 23◠we shall see what an answer there is in them as to this poynt At the first verse David saith O Lord thou hast searched mee and knowne mee at the 23 verse hee prayes Search mee O God and know my heart why did David pray thus to God Search mee and know my heart having said before Thou hast searched mee and knowne mee Seing David knew that God had searched him what needed he to pray that God would search him why did he begge God to doe that which hee had done already The answer is at hand David was a diligent selfe-searcher and therefore he was so willing to be searched yea he delighted to be searched by God and that not as was said because himselfe had done it already but also because he knew God could doe it better Hee knew by his owne search that he did not live in any way of wickednes against his knowledge and yet he knew there might be some way of wickednes in him that he knew not of And therefore he doth not onely say Search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts but he adds ver 24. see if there be any wicked way or any way of paine and griefe in me The same word signifies both because wicked wayes lead in the end to paine and griefe and lead me in the way everlasting As if he had said Lord I have searched my selfe and can see no wicked way in me but Lord thy sight is infinitely clearer then mine and if thou wilt but search me thou mayest see some wicked way in me which I could not see and I would faine see and know the worst of my selfe that I might amend it and grow better therefore Lord if there be any such way in me cause me to know it also O take that way out of me and take me out of that way lead me in the way everlasting David had tryed himselfe and he would againe be tryed by God that he being better tryed might become yet better He found himselfe Gold upon his owne tryall and yet he feared there
yea these are not yet dead but alive and in force against you If we doe not take hold of the preceptive part of the Law by obedience the poenal part of the Law will take hold of us for our disobedience Thus the Lord professeth Mal. 3.5 And I will come neare to you to Judgement and I will be a swift witnes against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against false swearers and against those that oppresse the hireling in his wages the widow and the fatherlesse and that turne aside the stranger from his right and feare not me saith the Lord of hosts for I am the Lord I change not I will certainly be not onely a Judge but a witnesse and that a swift one against such wicked ones There is no evading my Judgement seing I am both witnes and Judge as a witnes I know all that ye have done and as a Judge I have power not onely to condemne you but also to give you up into the hand of the executioner for I am the Lord of hosts I have all the Armyes of heaven and earth at my command and bidding Thus I will doe and be ye assured of it that I will doe so for I am the Lord I change not Sixthly God is unchangeable or of one minde in his gifts Rom. 11.29 The gifts and calling of God are without repentance That is The gifts of his effectuall calling shall never be repented of As they who receive them will have no cause to repent yea they will have cause to reioyce in them for ever so God who gives them will not repent He is in one minde he will not alter his gifts As Pilate when he was moved to alter his writing upon the Crosse of Christ answered What I have written I have written that is what I have written shall stand so what motion soever should be made to God to recall the gifts of effectuall calling he would surely answer What I have given I have given my gift shall stand There are gifts of a meere outward calling which God takes away againe His gifts doe not stand with such because they stand still with his gifts That was the doome of the idle servant who had one talent given him Take the talent from him and give it to him that hath ten Talents Math. 25.15.28 But the gifts of effectuall calling shall not be taken away Jam. 1.17 Every good gift and every perfect gift such is the gift of effectuall calling is from above and cometh downe from the father of lights with whom is no variablenes nor shadow of turning And as there is no variablenes in God as to the matter or generall nature of the gifts which he bestoweth they are all good and perfect gifts in their kinde though they are not all in the same degree of goodnes and perfection God doth not give his people sometimes bread and sometime a stone now an egge and anon a scorpon now I say as there is no variablenes in God as to the nature of the gifts which he bestoweth so there is no variablenes in him as to the act of giving or bestowing As the Lord giveth liberally and upbraydeth not Jam. 1.5 so he giveth liberally and repenteth not Thus we see he is not onely one but in one minde He is unchangeable And that not onely in his essence and glorious attributes or perfections but in his counsels and decrees in his promises and threatnings in his gifts and bounties to all his people He giveth and repenteth not Before I passe from this poynt it will be needfull to answer some Objections which are raised against it from those Scriptures which seeme to say that God is not of one minde or that his minde doth alter and change First That report which Moses makes of God seemes to say so Gen. 6.6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart What is repentance but the change of the mind therefore he that repents is not in one mind Seing then God repents how is he unchangeably in one minde A like appearance of contradiction we find 1 Sam. 15. not onely with this text in Job but between the 11th verse compared with the 29th of the same Chapter The 11 â—h verse speakes thus Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel saying it repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be King c. ver 29. And also the strength of Israel will not lie nor repent for he is not a man that he should repent The strength or victory of Israel is God for it was by his strength that Israel had all his victories and of him Samuel saith He will not repent when as himselfe had sayd a little before It repenteth me c. To these Scriptures we may adde 2 Kings 20th which in words holds out a great change in the minde of God concerning Hezekiah if we compare the first and the fift verses of that Chapter together ver 1. In those dayes Hezekiah was sicke unto death and the Prophet Isaiah the son of Amos came to him and said unto him thus saith the Lord set thine house in order for thou shalt dye and not live Here is a strong affirmation that Hezekiah should dye And to the affirmative the negative is also added Thou shalt dye and not live 'T is the strongest manner of asserting any thing when the contrary is denyed As it is sayd of John the Baptist John 1.20 And he confessed and denied not but confessed I am not the Christ c. So here Thou shalt die and not live Yet we read vers 5. And it came to passe before Isaiah was gone out of the middle Court that the word of the Lord came to him saying Turne againe and tell Hezekiah the Captain of my people thus saith the Lord the God of David thy father I have heard thy prayers I have seene thy teares behold I will heale thee on the third day thou shalt goe up unto the house of the Lord and I will adde unto thy dayes fifeene yeares Doth not this import an evident change in the minde of God Having dispatcht the Prophet to tell Hezekiah that he shall die and not live He presently after even before he was got out of the Court sends the same Prophet backe to tell him that he shall live and not die We have the same difficulty in that knowne place in the Prophesie of Jonah Chap. 3.4 Jonah is sent to Nineveh with a direct message Yet fourtie dayes and Nineveh shall be overthrowne Notwithstanding as soone as the fast was proclaimed and kept and the Ninevites had repented and turned from their evil wayes The Lord also repented of the evil denounced against them ver 10. And God saw their workes that they turned from their evil way and God repented of the evil that he had said that he would doe unto them and he did it not Here God repented of his threatning He had said
cutting off of my dayes that is when I thought I lay a dying Job was troubled because he was not cut off Before the darknes or from the face of darknes Death it selfe is darknes Quòd me non interemerit auferens a conspectu non tantam hanc caliginem tot mala Merc and yet Job would faine have dyed before the darknes There is a darknes of affliction and trouble spoken of often in this booke and elsewhere which is more bitter to man then death it selfe Some had rather be taken out of the world then endure the troubles of it This is the first part of the reason I am troubled why because I was not cut off before the darknes or before this trouble came As if he had sayd I should have been glad or it had been good for me if death had prevented these troubles this troubles mee that I dyed not that I went not to the grave before these troubles came upon mee Thus Job gives way againe to his passion hee broke out much in this straine or language at the third Chapter where at large he openeth his wish for death either that he had dyed before or presently after hee was borne into this world that hee might have been at rest and so out of the reach of those evills and calamities that did encamp against or beset him round about The reader may consult what hath been done upon that Chapter of which this verse is an Epitome and there finde the nature of this wish for death explained as also what lively desires Job had of death or as this text speakes that he had been cut off before the darknes I shall here onely take notice That to some the sorrowes of this life are much more bitter then death it selfe yea that God himselfe hath sometimes in a way of mercy and favour called some out of the world before he would let great troubles in There was a promise made to Josiah King of Judah that God being resolved to bring trouble upon that people yet he should be cut off before the darknes 2 Kings 22.20 Because thy heart was tender c. Behold therefore I will gather thee unto thy fathers and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace and thine eyes shall not see all the evill which I will bring upon this place And when Ahab had humbled himselfe before the Lord even he went not without a reward for it and his reward was this 1 Kings 21.29 I will not bring the evill in his dayes Hee shall be cut off before the darknes Jerom speaking of the troubles that came upon the Church Foelix Nepotianus qui haec non vidit Hier doth as it were applaud the death of Nepotian upon that Consideration Happy he that dyed before these troubles lived It hath somewhat of mercy in it to goe out of the world before extraordinary affliction comes in yet in these things wee must take heed of being our owne Carvers it is one thing to have a promise from God that the Cloud shall not breake in our time and another thing for us to wish and desire to be out of the world before the Cloud breakes The former argueth the tendernes and care of God towards us but the latter must needs argue eyther our unwillingnes to suffer eyther from or for God Or our distrust of his assistance and presence with us to support us in our sufferings If God will not cut us off by death before the darknes wee should be willing to live in the darkest darknes of outward calamity that ever fell upon this world Job adds a second reason of his troubled spirit in the last words of this verse and Chapter Neither hath he Covered the darknes from my face I am troubled because I have lived in troublesome dayes but though I have yet God could have hidden me from those troubles or those troubles from me but as hee hath let me live in the darknes of trouble so he hath not at all covered the darknes of ttouble from me I doe not onely live in troubles but I am alwayes looking troubles in the face Mr Broughton renders thus Nor he yet hideth gloomines from my face which he also paraphraseth in these words Because I finde neyther death nor ease of sicknes that I should not feele these afflictions So that as he complaines because he dyed not before the darknes came so because God did not hide the darknes from him when it came but let him have such sad visions of it This still imports that Job had not that fullnes of submission to the dispensations of God as duty called him to and for this Elihu reproves him yea God himselfe chid and rebuked him because he tooke upon him so often to give the rule and did not sit downe more quietly under his appoyntment and portion for him Though Jobs patience was great yet he had not all patience or all of patience And though I doubt not but his patience had a perfect worke yet he did not attaine to the perfection of patience This according to our translation is the sence and summe of these words concerning which many things have been spoken in the former part of the Booke whether I referre the reader yet before I passe them quite out of my hands I shall gather up some other Renderings of this verse and leave them to the readers Judgement and consideration First Thus when I was onely not Cut off by darknes Nam ubi tantum non excisus sum propter tenebras a facie mea se operit caligine Coc hee hath hid himselfe in darknes from my face This translation the Originall may beare with some little supplement which is usuall in like Cases when there is no straine upon the generall scope of the place and the meaning is clearely this Whereas I am onely not cut off by darknes that is whereas my troubles are such as have onely not extinguished my life when I am in this pitiful miserable plight Hee that is God hath hid himselfe from mee in darknes So that here he speakes of a twofold darknes or evill that was upon him first affliction upon his body secondly desertion upon his spirit and so the negative particle not is rendered by some onely not it is onely not death with mee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 non 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tantum non q. d. hoc effecit in me absconsio ejus ut non quidam exscinderer sed excisiom proximus essem Coc yet the Lord is pleased to hide his face from mee whereas wee say Hee hath not Covered the darknes from my face this translation saith Hee hath Covered his owne face with darknes or Covered himselfe with darknes from my face First thereby intimating that God doth often joyne spirituall troubles with corporall the hidings of his face with the troubles of our flesh Secondly that outward troubles are then most grievous to us when God hides or
probable that they who know him should know times too for to whom should God communicate his secrets but to those who are neere to him to those that are his As if he had sayd Give me a reason if you can why God to whom all things and times are knowne from eternitie should not make knowne these times to those that know him And so the argument may be formed in this manner Such as know God should know his dayes if any know them But they that know God doe not know his dayes therefore God keepes his dayes close to himselfe so that whereas Eliphaz supposed Job as doubting the providence of God Chap. 22. ver 12 13 14. and asks the question ver 15th Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have troden Job answers here I deny not the providence of God but I deny that all the wayes of Gods dealing with wicked men are obvious to the eye of Godly men and shew me reason if you can seing God knoweth all times why the way of his judgements are so little visible to them which know him But who are they that are described by this circumlocution They or the men that know God We may take them in a twofold notion First More Generally for all godly men for all who are truly such know God Secondly More specially for those Godly men who know God more then others there are some who have a peculiar knowledge of him and dayly intimacy with him who live as it were in his bosome and see what is in his breasts comparatively to others And further because words of knowledge comprehend the affections in Scripture by those that know him much we are to understand those that love him much that delight in him much that feare him much and obey him much Now though we may expound this text of truely Godly men at large yet the latter sort are chiefly meant why seeing times are not hidden from the almighty doe not they that know him godly men yea his favourites who know most of his minde who as they are after his heart so in his heart eminently why doe not they who know him thus See his dayes Diem domini appellamus cum judicium suum exercit in impios Whose dayes and what dayes doth Job here intend The former part of the verse answers the first question They are the dayes of God And to the second question I answer The dayes of God are those dayes wherein he worketh or brings forth some great worke whether it be a worke of Judgement or a worke of mercy For as Times in the former part of the verse so dayes here include the things done in those dayes and hence Mr Broughton renders wayes not dayes None sayth he that know him see his wayes Whensoever God doth somewhat among men which declares him in an eminent manner to be God that in Scripture is called the Day of God Thus the Prophet speakes Isa 2.12 The day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty and upon every one that is lifted up and he shall be brought low And upon all the Cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up c. Thus the day of the Lord is the day of his judgement among men I passe not for mans day or for the judgement of man sayth Paul 1 Cor. 4.3 And when he saith 1 Cor. 3.13 The day shall discover it He meanes a day of tryall will discover every mans worke whether it be silver gold hay wood or stubble The day of discovery will be a Glorious day of God The Civilians have an expression which reacheth this notion of a day They say of a man that hath had judgement in the highest Court from whence there is no appeale Summum obijsse diem dicunt Jurisconsulti vid Bold He hath passed his last day that is his highest and greatest triall because then there is no more medling with him or bringing the suite about againe Such are the dayes of God of which Job here speaketh Why seing times are not hidden from the Almighty doe they that know him not see his dayes From the former part of the verse Note First That times are knowne perfectly knowne to God Yea not onely are times perfectly knowne to God but firmely fixed and most wisely disposed of by him men may know that which they have no power to dispose of but the knowledg of God and his power run paralel through all times and things So that as when the text sayth Times are not hidden from the Almighty it notes that they are fully knowne to him so also that they are uncontrouleably disposed and ordered by him And as times are knowne to God so he makes them knowne when and to whom he pleaseth When Joseph had revealed to Pharaoh both the matter and the time concerned in his dreames then saith Moses Gen. 41.45 Pharaoh called Josephs name Zaphnath paaneah which say some signifies in the Egyptian language The Saviour of the world Which name say they Pharaoh might give him because by his advice in laying up stores of corne in the yeares of plenty such a world of men or so great a part of the world was saved from perishing by famine in the yeares of scarcity But say others deriving the word from an Hebrew roote it signifies a revealer of secrets Which title of honour Joseph well deserved and was most proper to him seing he had revealed that Great secret unto Pharaoh both that there should be a famine as also the time and season of it But where had Joseph this secret was it from any astrologicall skill of his owne He tells us plainely whence it was at the 15th and 16th verses of the same Chapter for when Pharaoh had sayd to Joseph I have heard say of thee that thou canst understand a dreame to interpret it He presently answers first Negatively It is not in me and then affirmatively God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace See the like in that most remarkeable passage Den. 2.17 18 19 20 21. From all which we learne that God knoweth times and changeth times that is makes great changes in times according to the counsell of his owne will First If we take time for the succession of dayes weeks months yeares and ages thus the Lord knoweth times The number of the dayes of man the precise number of the yeares and ages wherein any worldly state or power shall continue are not hidden from him Secondly Times are not hidden from God as times are taken for the seasons and opportunities of action The Lord knowes what time will be as a wheele or as a socket fitted for the carrying on or establishing of every worke We are often troubled at this and misse our season but God knoweth every season he knoweth the times and therefore can time every worke exactly And the Hebrew word here used 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 denotat congruum tempus properly signifies
wicked man when he awakes hee is still with sin And if hee cannot awake naturally soone enough to sin hee will force himselfe to awake And so he may be sayd to awake to sin before he is awake for as some nurse up and feed their sleepe when they are a little awakened like the sluggard yet a little slumber yet a little sleepe so others offers violence to or breake their sleepe that is as the text sayth they rise betimes even before the usuall time of rising that they may get a prey It is no wonder if they who sticke not at breaking the lawes of God breake also the lawes of their owne rest Diligence is good about that which is good it is good to be zealously affected alwayes in a good matter but zeale and diligence misplaced how evill are they it is better to creep in a good way then to run in a wrong way Even idlenes is better then such diligence yet they who misplace their zeale and diligence are commonly more in both then they who place them right and they who are in a false way make more hast then they who are in a true The Scripture notes the extream Intensenes of the builders of Babel upon their worke And that 's the straine of most men in such worke as theirs was the building of a Babel or in doing that which will be but a monument of their owne pride and folly or of their rebellion against and contempt of God Gen. 11.6 This they begin to doe and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have Imagined to doe if they have but a minde to it they will doe it let it cost what it will neyther difficulty nor danger shall restraine them See also how Industrious the ten Tribes were in their Idolatrous worship which Jeroboam had set up 1 Kings 12.30 And this thing became a sin for the people went to worship before the one even unto Dan that is they went a great way to worship for howsoever Jeroboam pretended the ease and accommodation of the people in setting up those Calves ver 28. It is too much for you to goe up to Jerusalem Behold thy Gods O Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt as if he had sayd thy Gods are at hand or in thine eye thou needest not toyle thy selfe in going so farre to serve them yet Jerusalem was neerer unto most of the Israelites then eyther Dan or Bethel were For Bethel one of those places of worship was in the utmost bounds of the South Josh 18.22 Dan the other place of worship was in the utmost bounds of the North Josh 19.47 so that they were willing to take more paines to follow the Idolatrous inventions of man then to keepe to the Institutions of God Jerusalem was neerer to most of the ten Tribes then either Dan or Bethel yet thither they would goe All the way to sin whether in ordinary practice or worship is downe-hill to Nature we have both the winde and tyde of the world with us will we set our faces hel-ward and to be sure Satan will never checke their diligence who are doing his worke nor take them off from their pace who are going or Galloping his way We have a cleare evidence of this in the case of the worshippers of those two Calves in Dan and Bethel and it is further observed by some that the Israelites grew so zealous in a short time in that abomination that they who dwelt neer Bethel did even disdain to worship at Bethel they disdained to serve their God at their owne dores and therefore they that dwelt at or neere Bethel would goe to Dan and worship and they that dwelt at or neer Dan would goe to Bethel to worship The heart of man is so mad upon Idolatry that he is willing to be at any cost or paines for it He scornes to serve a false God at an easie rate nor is he pleased which is the onely thing which pleaseth some who pretend to the true religion with a cheape religion You may lay what tax you will upon him eyther of paynes or purse and he is willing yea even ambitious to pay or performe it Thus the blinde votaryes among the Papists at this day will needes goe a Pilgrimage to remotest places they will travayle to Jerusalem and visit the Sepulchre c. these long Journeyes they glory in it is but a step to them hard penances not onely fastings but whippings they glory in The nature of man will carry him two miles at his owne bidding rather then one at Gods How may it shame Godly men for their sloath in doing the will of God when they heare how industrious evill men are in doing their owne how may it shame them that they should take lesse paines to keepe a righteous law then many doe to satisfie a filthy lust Who like wild Asses goe forth to their worke rising betimes for a prey And whereas it followes The wildernes yeeldeth food for them and for their Children Note Wicked men will have it if it be to be had above ground They that live by rapine will live any where every mans estate is theirs if they can but get it They finde a harvest in the wildernes and riches in the desert Againe Note Wicked men lay up for theirs as well as for themselves by the spoyle of others The light of nature teacheth parents to lay up for their children and they who get an estate by wronging others yet thinke they are bound to provide for more then themselves Nahum 11.12 Where is the dwelling of the Lyons and the feeding place of the young Lyons where the Lyon even the old Lyon walked and the Lyons whelpe and none made him afraid The Lyon did teare in peices enough for his whelps and strugled for his Lyonesses What did the Lyon the Lyon did teare in peices and how much did he teare in peices not onely enough to fill his owne belly but to feed his whelps and his Lyonesses Hee filled his holes with prey and his dens with ravine Thus the Prophet describeth wicked men providing not onely for themselves but for theirs their young Lyons and Lyonesses The wildernes yeeldeth food for them and for their Children Further Some note the Consent of the whole family in wickednesse from these words The wildernes yeeldeth food for them and for their Children that is they all agree together Master and Servants and Children all agree together to doe mischeife to spoyle and oppresse all they can Where Parents and Masters are evill Children and servants are seldome good It is rare to see hearts united about that which is good but they are often and easily united in that which is evill Thus the Lord speakes to Jeremie Chap. 7.18 Seest thou not what they doe in the Cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem The Children gather wood and the fathers kindle the fire and the woemen knead their dough to
therefore shew the worke of the law written in their hearts Against this internal light the wicked rebel Secondly There is a light of divine Revelation which shines into the soule from the Scriptures or written word of God The word of God is so often called light in Scripture that I need not give particular Instances Divine truths inspired and directed by the Spirit of God are there written as with the beames of the Sun Yet the wicked man rebells as against the light of nature so against the light of Scripture against the clearest and fullest discoveryes of the minde of God Further Some by the light against which they rebelled understand God himselfe who is light as the Apostle John calls him 1 Ep 1.5 and in him is no darknes at all All that rebel against God must needs rebel against light seing God is light And the very reason why the light of nature and the light of Scripture are rebelled against is because the former hath somewhat of God in it and the latter much of God in it For as God is light so all light is of God And that light which is of God must needs be rebelled against by wicked men seing they most of all rebel against God who is light and the fountaine of it for as the Apostle John argues about love 1 Ep 5.1 Every one saith he that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him So we may argue about hatred and the effect of it rebellion He that hateth and rebelleth against him that begetteth light so God doth whence also he is called the Father of lights Jam 1.17 he I say that rebelleth against him that begetteth light hateth and rebelleth against that light which is begotten of him They are of those that rebell against the light Hence observe First Divine truth is as light As the Sunne gives light to the eye or outward man so the Spirit of truth gives light by the word to the inner man When God sends his word to a people he sends light to a people Christ is light and the word is light Christ in person is the light of the world the word in doctrine is the light of the world The truth of Divine Revelation is many wayes answerable to the light First Light is pure and beautifull and the light is so pure that you cannot impure or defile it so is truth Though many have attempted to corrupt the truth and word of God and shall at last be dealt with and judged as they who have corrupted it yet the truth remaines incorruptible and ever shall The beauty of it fades not nor is the purity of it stained by all the filth of false doctrine which hath been cast into the face of it from the beginning of the world unto this day Secondly Light is pleasant and delightfull Light is sweet saith Solomon Eccl. 11.7 and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the Sunne So truth is sweete and it is a pleasant thing to behold and receave the Sun-light of Divine Revelations where truth is taken in it doth even ravish the soule and fill it with unspeakeable delights Truth is as sutable and pleasant to the understanding as good is or can be to the will and affections David found not onely delight this or that single delight but all sorts and degrees of delight in the Law of God And therefore he speakes plurally Psal 119.92 Vnlesse my delights had been in thy law I had perished in my trouble And againe ver 143. Trouble and anguish have taken hold of me yet thy commandements are my delights All his troubles were over-ballanced and conquered by his delights in the law and all his delights and contentments were Center'd in the Law That light was so much his delight that it overcame all worldly darknes and did even extinguish all his worldly lights Thirdly Light hath heate in it and light is accompanied with influences or conveighes them with it All living creatures here below are cherished and refreshed yea and things without life as Gemms and mineralls are concocted and refined with the warmth and vertue of it And so hath truth The light of the word carrieth heat and Influences with it to warme the heart and comfort it to concoct the grossenes of mans minde and sublimate it into an heavenly purity Did not our heart burne within us while he talked with us by the way and while he opened to us the Scriptures sayd the Disciples of Christs discourse with them Luk. 24.31 Fourthly Light discovers and makes manifest so doth truth Joh 3.20 21. Every one that doth evill hateth the light neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved or as we put in the Margin discovered Light makes manifest the word of God as the Apostle speakes Heb. 4.12 is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart it discovers that to us not onely in others but in our selves which wee saw not before wee are much if not altogether unknowne to our selves till we see our selves in the Glasse of the Word Hence observe Secondly The light of truth is Clothed with Authority the truths of God have a Soveraignety over man Wee cannot be said to rebell against any thing but that which hath power and authority over us a man may oppose and contend with his equall but hee cannot be said to rebell against his equall wee rebell onely against those that are above us If a childe opposeth his father it is rebellion if a servant opposeth his Master it is rebellion because fathers and masters have authority over their children and servants All rebellion is the breaking of the bands of subjection And all the bands of subjection are broken when the light is rebelled against because the light of heavenly truth is invested with all power and authority over us it hath a power to lift up and a power to humble or cast downe It hath a power to convince and a power to comfort It hath a power to kill and it hath a power to make alive all these powers the light of the word hath But it hath two powers more especially and eminently First It hath the power of a rule or power to rule and governe both the hearts and lives of men the light of the word doth not onely offer advice and give Councell but it gives out a Command what the word speaketh we are not upon poynt of Indifferencies whether we Will receive it or no but upon poynt of duty Therefore not to receive it especially to resist it is rebellion the light of the word is as a King and where the light of that word comes there is power and no man may say What doth it Secondly It hath the power of a Judge It gives both Law and Judgement He that rejecteth me saith Christ Joh 12.48 and receaveth not my words The not receiving of the word of Christ is the rejecting of Christ himselfe and he that rejecteth
Christ hath one that Judgeth him the word that I have spoken the same shall Judge him in the last day The word is now the rule of living and it shall be hereafter the rule of Judging Now it is the rule by which we must live to Christ and then it shall be the rule by which Christ will Judge us Thirdly Where it is sayd They are of those who rebell against the light Observe Wicked men cannot abide to be seene in what they doe nor doe they love to see what they doe They would neyther see their wicked practices nor be seene in them They are darknes and they walke in darknes As they walke in the darknes of sin so they would walke in the darknes of secrecy that others should not see what evill they doe and in the darknes of ignorance that they might not see that what they doe is evill They are like those uncouth Creatures Batts and Owles that come abroad onely in the night knowing that if they doe but stirre out in the day all the birds in the ayre will gather about them and hoote at them because of their strangenes and deformity And doubtlesse if wicked men did but see the mishapen and ugly visage of their owne wayes in the light of the word they would abhorre and run from themselves as the most abhorred monsters in the world and so would all men who see the uglynes of sin in the glasse of the word abhorre them and poynt at them as monsters did they but see them in their sinfull workes And hence the Apostle hinting the general disposition of sinners saith 1 Thes 5.7 They that are drunken are drunken in the night And againe Ephes 5.12 For it is a shame even to speake of those things which are done of them in secret that is when they are out of the sight of men and possibly had it not been that they were out of sight or in secret themselves would not have done those things for shame For though some wicked men as they have cast off their honesty so their modesty too and act not onely wickedly but impudently the shew of their faces testifying against them they declaring their sin as Sodom yet as the most of sinners presume God doth not see them when they doe evill so they are unwilling that men should for though their Conscience puts no barre to their sinning openly yet their credit doth So that as every wicked man would be glad he did not know that what he doth is evill and doth what he can to hinder or extinguish the light of that knowledge in him so most wicked men would be glad that no man knew of the evill which they doe and they doe what they can to hinder others from knowing it as hypocrites love to be seen in all the good they doe and would doe no good were it not as Christ assures us Math. 6.5 to be seene of men They fast and pray and give Almes and all to be seene of men that is that men may applaud them and poynt at them with a Behold of admiration There goe the men The charitable men The humble men The devout men and if men see them not or applaud them not they are as in the shadow of death they are dead-hearted to every good word and worke Now I say as all grosse hypocrites love the light or to be seene while they are doing good so the most prophane and wicked usually avoyd the light and love not to be seene when they are doing evill For though they are not troubled at the dishonour they doe to God by sinning yet to be dishonoured among men is a trouble to them They can easily venture their soules as to the life to come but they are afraid to doe wickedly in the sight of men lest they endanger their ease and safety in this present life That God seeth them not is their hope that men may not see them is their care and that they may not see themselves is their desire They are unwilling to know their duty lest their consciences should check them for not doing or for doing that which is not their duty Thus in every sence They are of those who rebell against the light Fourthly As rebelling against the light is an argument as hath been shewed that wicked men desire not to know what they ought to doe so it teacheth us Further That wicked men will doe against that which they know Men will have fellowship with the workes of darknes while their eyes are dazzled with light if their hearts have not been changed by it They would be glad if they might never be troubled with the light but suppose the light doe come as many times it doth come whether they will or no suppose the light darted upon them so clearely and convincingly that they cannot but see and know what they ought and what they ought not to doe yet they rebell against it eyther they will not doe what they know or they will doe contrary to their knowledge When some of the Pharisees were offended at those words Joh. 9.39 For Judgement am I come into this world that they which see not might see and that they which see might be made blinde What say they are we also blind Jesus said unto them if ye were blind ye should have no sin but now ye say we see therefore your sin remaineth that is it remaineth in the guilt and aggravations of it For as they eonfessed that they saw so Christ would convince them that they acted against what they saw or that though they had the light and so knew their duty yet they had done contrary to duty Man breakes through all the light that stands in his way he breakes through the light both of nature and Conscience both of the Spirit and Scripture till himselfe be made light The Apostle demonstrates the former in the example of the old Gentiles who though they were under a conviction of the power and presence of God by the workes of Creation and so were sayd to know God yet they did not like to retaine God in their knowledge nor did they glorifie him as God ver 21.28 but rebelled against that light which shone into their understandings from the creature And in the second Chapter of the same Epistle to the Romans the Apostle demonstrates the latter in the example of the old Jewes who though they were under a conviction not onely of the power and and presence of God but of the minde and will of God also by a divine Revelation or by the light of the word yet they rebelled against that word which they boasted of and while they judged themselves onely in the light and all the rest of the world in darknes they walked in darknes Behold saith he v. 17 18. thou art called a Jew and restest in the law and makest thy boast of God and knowest his will c. But how did the Jew answer this knowledge and this
boast read that v. 21 22 23 24. Thou therefore which teachest another teachest thou not thy selfe Thou that preachest a man should not steale doest thou steale Thou who makest thy boast of the law through breaking the law dishonourest thou God for the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you So that wicked men doe not onely rebell against the light to hinder the coming of it or to keepe it off as long as they can that so they may not know what to doe but they rebell against it when it is come and will doe against what they know Fifthly When 't is sayd They rebell against the light Observe Wicked men are not onely no friends but professed resolved enemies of the light they hate and oppose holy truths or the discoveries of the minde and will of Christ They are in open actuall hostility they take up armes and maintaine a warre against it not that all wicked men doe expressely send forth their defiance against God and his word but all wicked men carry this defiance in their hearts and it is to God as an openly profest defiance though it be not so to man God heares the language of their hearts and he knowes that the wisdome or best of the flesh is Enmity against himselfe that it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be Rom. 8.7 That is while a man continues as to his spirituall state under the power teachings of the wisdome of the flesh and is unregenerate as he is not so it is impossible he should continuing in that state be subject to the law of God The law of God will ever continue as holy as it is and if the heart of man continue as unholy as it is how shall they agree A wicked man stands not upon termes of neutrality with the law and light of God but he is a direct opposite or enemy he rebells against the light Sixthly Seeing Job when he had described all those wickednesses which he saw done adds this description of the wicked who did them they are of those that rebell against the light This may be Considered two wayes as I intimated before first as the discovery of a new and a greater sin then any of those particular sins already instanced in or as a reason why they did breake out into those enormous sins the former consideration yeelds this Note To resist or rebell against the light of truth the word of God is wickednes in perfection or wickednes wrought and boyld up to the very height As God sometimes brings Judgements upon men in perfection so men sin against God sometimes in perfection And if any doe so surely they doe so who rebell against the light That speciall sin against the Holy Ghost of which Christ sayth It shall never be forgiven what is it but rebellion against the light the highest and clearest light and the more cleare and high the light is the more danger there is of falling into that sin And hence some conceive that before Christ came in the flesh though there were very high and presumptuous sins committed that yet none of them did amount to that which the Gospel calls The sin against the Holy Ghost There was Gospel-light in those times but it was under types and shaddowes there was not that cleare light that clearest light which was shed abroad at the coming of Christ and therefore there was not light enough to sin against for the production of that sin against the holy Ghost which is not onely the greatest rebellion against light but is also a rebellion against the greatest light And here consider by what degrees sinning against light riseth unto its full height of rebellion First It is very sinfull and extreamely dangerous not to love the light See how Christ thunders against such as doe not Joh. 3.19 This is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men loved darknes rather then light He doth not say men rebelled against the light he onely charges them with this crime that they did not love it but loved darknes rather This saith he is the Condemnation that is this will certainly be matter of condemnation against sinners that when light came to them their hearts did not close with it and embrace it Now if it be so sinfull not to love the light what is it to rebell against it It is very possible for a man not to love that thing or person against which yet he doth not rebel Secondly Not to obey not to submit to the light is exceedding sinfull Jesus Christ shall at last be revealed from heaven personally in flaming fire to take vengeance on them that obey him not as revealed doctrinally that is who obey not the Gospel 2 Thes 1.7 8. yet it is possible not to obey the Gospel that is to forbeare an active obedience to that which is Commanded in it and not to rebell against it actively these are distinct in themselves though seldome if at all distinct in those that doe them Now then if there be aboundance of wickednes in not obeying the light in not doing every thing that the light directs us to then it must needs be a more abounding wickednes when the heart rises up and rebells against it For though as was even now intimated we can hardly divide these in their existences yet we may distinguish them in their natures or at least in their degrees for barely not to obey the light in doing the will of God is a sin of a lower stature then a profest rebelling against it though in every not doing according to light there is somewhat of rebelling yet in that which is properly rebelling there is more then not doing Thirdly It is a great sin not to set a great price upon the light or not to value it according to its worth that is not to value it highly not to have a high esteem of it not to have a higher esteem of it then of all the Enjoyments and Comforts of this world is a high provocation What is it then to rebell against it it is sinfull not to let all goe not to suffer the loss of all for the light not to suffer even the loss of life it selfe for the light this is extreamly sinfull Therefore saith Christ Luk. 14.26 He that will be my Disciple must forsake father and mother c. yea and his life too that is hee must be ready to let all these goe if called to it rather then let goe the light or truth of the Gospel Now if it be so great a sin not to be willing to suffer any losse or to endure any torment in standing up for the light what is it for any soule to rise up against the light or knowingly to withstand it Fourthly The Apostle saith that our neglect of the light of the Gospel subjects us to outer darknes Heb. 2.3 How shall we Escape if we neglect so great salvation which at the first began to
for a love to the truths and wayes of God which they practice for want of this they often apostatiâ—e and fall back even from the practice of them No bonds can hold us alwayes to the duties of obedience but those of love to God and to the things wherein duty calls us to obey And as want of this love is the reason why man is so apt to backslide and is so far as a Negative may be the very seed and principle of backsliding so it is the reason why God gives such up to the power and spirit of backsliding 2 Thes 2.10 11. Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should beleeve a lie What is not begun in our affections will not abide long in our actions Secondly Observe Not to abide in the pathes of truth and holines is the marke of an ungodly man They who are not what they appeare in goodnesse will not alwayes so much as appear good They that are as Jacob spake of his eldest Son Reuben Gen. 49.4 unstable as water shall not excell nor are they to be numbred among the excellent ones The Apostle exhorts Saints 1 Cor. 15.58 To be stedfast and unmoveable alwayes abounding in the worke of the Lord. Saints move in the worke of the Lord but they must not move out of the worke of the Lord Bee ye stedfast and unmoveable but in what in the worke of the Lord That is the sphere in which Saints move the sphere of their activity and use and out of that they dare not move The Sun in the firmament is moving continually but it is in his proper line called by Astronomers The Eclipticke line So a godly man is alwayes moveing in the way of godlines that 's his proper line and he never moves out of it wholy Hee may have through the power of corruption and temptation his wandrings and goings astray but then he hath his repentings and returnings into the way againe he cannot abide long much lesse alwayes in the pathes of darknes Hee comes to himselfe with the prodigal and then he comes to his father he bethinkes himselfe where he is and comes backes into the path where he ought to be if at any time he walke in the counsel of the ungodly the gradation is made in the first Psalme which thing he ought not to doe yet surely he will not as it followes stand in the way of sinners or if he stand a while in that way yet he will not sit downe in the seat of the scornfull he will not rest nor stay there Now as it is an argument and a marke of Godlines when a man findes that though he hath many faylings and wandrings yet he abideth not in the pathes of darknes so it is an argument of the noughtines of a mans heart and state when though he now and then hits upon the doing of a good thing yet he abides not in the pathes of light Vaine thoughts as the Prophet Reproves the Jewes lodge in the wicked so long that the Lord complaines How long shall vaine thoughts lodge in you But as good thoughts seldome come to an ungodly man so they lodge not at all with him they are great strangers to him and he useth them as the worst of strangers yea as enemies he quickly turnes them off yea he thrusts them away from him he abideth not in the pathes of light Job having thus set forth the Spirit of a wicked man by his rebellion against the light by his unaffectednes with and unstayednes in the wayes and pathes of it proceeds to give us a further account of his wicked courses and workes of darknes Vers 14. The murtherer rising with the light killeth the poore and needy and in the night is as a Theife The murtherer is hee that killeth a man without warrant and authority every slaying of a man is not murther but to slay a man or to take away the life of a man without warrant that 's murther And that 's the grosse sinne forbidden in the sixt Commandement Thou shalt not kill or thou shalt doe no murther And this is usually committed eyther in malice to the person or in Covetousnesse after the spoyle Some take away the life of a man in malice to his person they hate him deliberately as Cain did Abel and therefore they kill him Others have no quarrel to the man possibly they never saw him before but they covet his goods and that they may rob him of his goods they rob him of his life They are such as live upon the spoyle and they will spoyle though they cause the innocent to dye for it and themselves too in the end In eyther of these wayes wee may understand the murtherer here The former because 't is sayd in the next words He slayes the poore and needy and there is little gaine in their blood when they goe downe into the pit The latter because 't is sayd in the latter part of the verse That in the night he is as a theife But Job first shewes us that this murtherer is a diligent man Rising with the light That is rising as early or as soon as the light riseth The murtherer is no sluggard the light doth not finde him in bed he takes the prime of the morning he will loose no time Men who love hunting rise early So doe these hunters of men When the morning is light they practice it saith the Prophet Mich. 2.1 Honest men rise early to goe about the workes of their Calling and wicked men rise early to fulfill the lusts of their hearts David saith Psal 101.7 I will early destroy all the wicked of the Earth As if David had sayd I will rise with the light to destroy the wicked and here you see how the wicked are described riseing Early to destroy the righteous to murther the Innocent So the next words expresse the designe of his early rising He riseth with the light what to doe no good I warrant you 't is To kill the poore and needy That 's his busienes He begins his mornings worke with a worke of cruelty you heare of killing presently The murtherers heart is full of blood and it will not be long ere his hand be full too for their feete are swift to shed blood Rom. 3.15 and they are skilfull to destroy But it may seeme that they are not very wise for themselves though they are very bloody against others For Job doth not say they slay the fat and full ones but The poore and needy There are some who distinguish between these two and tell us that in these two words two yea all sorts of poore are Included The first word they say intends those poore who heretofore were rich but now empoverished or fallen into poverty and that by the second word are meant those who have been born and alwayes bred up in a low condition But wee
sayth when he is in a right frame in reference to the wayes of holynes Psal 108.1 O God my heart is prepared or fixed A godly man doth not good upon a sudden or by chance as we say but he sets himselfe to it his heart is fixed or prepared and his face is set heaven-ward or for heavenly duties So Daniel spake of himselfe Dan. 9.3 I set my face unto the Lord God to seeke by prayer and supplications and as a godly man is in the wayes of God so the wayes of God are in him Thus David describes him Psal 84.5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee in whose heart are the wayes of them that is the wayes which Godly men walke in and they are the wayes of God Now as this is the true state of godlinesse when the heart is in it and prepared for it so the true state of wickednesse is when a mans heart is in it and prepared for it This is the proper character of a wicked man The eye of the Adulterer waiteth for the twilight Every word hath weight in it the twilight is the Adulterers season It is not sayd he waites for the night or for the day but he waiteth for the twilight which is neither day nor night but between both We have such a description of time in reference to the mixt and uncertaine state of things Zach. 14.6 7. And it shall come to passe in that day that the light shall not be cleare nor darke But it shall be one day which shall be knowne to the Lord not day nor night Such a thing is Twilight it is neyther cleare nor darke neyther day nor night but between both There is a twofold twilight first the morning twilight and secondly Diluculum Crepusculū the evening twilight the morning twilight begins when the night ends the evening twilight begins when the day ends The Latines have two distinct words to expresse these distinct twilights by but our language is not so well stored and therefore we must distinguish them by the matter spoken of or the scope of the speaker Thus here when 't is sayd in the text he waiteth for the twilight we are to understand it of the evening twilight not for the morning twilight and the reason is because the morning twilight is not for the adulterers turne or purpose for then the light prevailes upon the darkness but it is the evening twilight for then darkness prevailes upon the light And that this is the Adulterers twilight is cleare Prov. 7. v. 6 7 8 9. Nox et tenebrae administrae sunt impijs suarum libidinum Ipsa nox alioquin caeca infandarum tamen libidinū oculatus testis est At the window of my house saith Solomon I looked through the casement and behold among the simple ones I discerned among the youths a man voyd of understanding passing by the way to her house and he went neere her corner in the twilight in the evening or in the evening of the day in the blacke and darke night And behold there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot c. His eye waited for the twilight and in the twilight he was taken Hence note The doing of evill hath its proper seasons as well as the doing of good Though sin be never in season yet it hath some times which are more seasonable for it to sin is never in season as to the lawfullnesse of committing it but sin hath its seasons as to the conveniency of committing it The Adulterer takes his season he waiteth for the twilight Whence note secondly Evill men are very carefull to hit their seasons for the doing of evill It were desireable that the godly were as carefull to hit their seasons and take their times as the ungodly are To every thing saith the Preacher Eccl 3.1 there is a season and a time for every purpose under the Sunne And because it is so saith the same Preacher Eccl 8.6 The misery of man is great upon him But why doth this make the misery of man great upon him I answer The reason of this misery upon man is not because there is a season but because eyther of his ignorance or negligence to find it There are a thousand wayes to misse a season and but one to hit it And were there as many wayes to hit as to misse it were a thousand to one but man would misse rather then hit and therefore the misery of man is great upon him Because if once he misse his season it cannot be recovered and then he must needs be miserable Good men are miserable as to some cases because they are often so carelesse to hit their season of doing good and doe so often misse it notwithstanding all their care Wicked men are for ever miserable because they are so carefull not to misse their season of doing evill and doe so often hit it The eye of the Adulterer waiteth for the twilight and he seldome as to his own end waites in vaine But why is he so greedy for the twilight The next words say why where he brought in Saying no eye shall see me Where sayth he this he sayth it in his heart this is his discourse in his owne breast and to whom sayth he this he sayth it to himselfe there is a dialogue between the Adulterer and his owne heart and thus he concludes I will waite for the twilight and then no eye shall see me And when he sayth no eye shall see me his meaning is There is not any eye that shall see me Thus he playes the foole at All 's hid Yet further this no eye may have a threefold reference First No eye of common men shall see me I will doe this in secret I will have such a cover of darknesse over me that my neighbours and friends shall not be able to take any notice of mee Secondly No eye may referre to men in chiefe that is Verba quae sequuntur exigunt ut ista de Magistratus justitiaeque ministris intelligantur Bold Quisquis aut officio aut quovis alio modo super alios inspicit actusque eorum observat vocatur oculus no eye of the Magistrate nor of any Minister of Justice shall see me Magistrates are the eyes of a Nation they should overlooke all places eyther by themselves or their Officers to observe what is done As the adulterers eye watcheth so there should be an eye of Justice watching to catch Adulterers Some interpret this Text especially of the adulterers hope or selfe-perswasion that he shall escape the eye or knowledge of the Magistrate who is appointed to oversee the manners of that people over whom he is placed and to be a terror yea a Minister of vengeance to them that doe evill for he beareth not the sword in vaine Rom. 13.3 4. Magistrates should so much marke and eye the state of a people that they are called eyes in Scripture Isa 29.10 For the Lord
so cares not who sees him some are ambitious to be seene while they doe so and though any should be so modest that they doe not desire to be seene while they doe so yet no man that doth so is affrayd to be seene and usually such come to the light to the light of other mens knowledge and they would come further into the light of their own knowledg such are free to come to light of all sorts that their deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God when a man comes to the light he gives a fayre evidence that his workes are wrought in God how ever it argues both that he desires they should be such as are wrought in God as also that he is willing they should come to the tryall whether they are wrought in God or no that is whether they be so wrought as if God did worke in him or whether there be any appearance in them that he hath wrought them in the light and love in the strength and helpe of God Now as when a man comes willingly to the light it shewes that he hath an honest perswasion in his breast that his workes are good So when we see any seeking corners and shunning the light by which others may see them or that light by which they may see themselves this shews that they have a troublesome conviction upon their consciences that their workes are so farre from being wrought in God that they are wrought against God that is against his mind and will This the Apostle teacheth in the example of the old Gentiles Rom. 2.15 They shew the worke of the Law written in their hearts their conscience bearing them witnesse and their thoughts in the meane while accusing or excusing one another Were there not an unextinguishable light in nature by which even a natural man may have some glimmerings of and discernings between good and evill he would no more avoyd the sight of others when he doth evill then when he doth good And seeing he thus naturally avoydes the view and sight of all men when he doth evill This doth more then intimate that there is a Judge above nature who without respect of persons will reward every man according to his workes Conscience is Gods Deputy in man and what that being rightly enformed doth in man God will doe too Wee are so assured by the Apostle John 1 Joh. 3.21 If our heart condemne us God is greater then our heart and knoweth all things As if he had sayd this is an argument that there is a God to condemn because the heart condemnes For God is greater then the heart God is the supreame Judge the infallible Judge the heart is but an under-officer unto him Why should the heart of a man smite him why should he be troubled when he hath done evill why should he be so troubled to be seene in doing evill were it not that there is a God who judgeth both the hearts and wayes of men While the foole saith in his heart there is no God Psal 14.1 the heart of a foole sayth there is a God while he saith in his heart there is no God to see my sin his heart saith to him cover thy sin that it may not be seene and what English can we make of this saying of his heart but this There is a God For though Job spake here of such grosse sinners as have reason enough to hide themselves and their doings from the eyes of men lest they should bring them both to shame and punishment yet even those sinners are fearefull to have their sins discovered who need not feare any punishment but from the hand of God Secondly Observe Sin befools the sinner or sinners are very foolish They are glad if they can escape the eye of man when as their sins are alwayes under the eye of God What is the eye from which darknesse can hide us to that eye which seeth through darkenes If one see them saith the text they are in the terrors of the shadow of death and yet they are not terrifyed that One seeth them That One seeth them alwayes who is more then all men and yet they are satisfyed if they are not seene of men That which they would not doe if a little childe did see them they dare doe though the Great God of heaven and earth see them What the Prophet speakes of feare in reference to suffering wee may say much more of feare in reference to sinning Isa 51.12 13. Who art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that shall dye and forgettest the Lord thy Creator Who art thou surely thou art so far from being a Godly man that thou art lesse then a man in this thing even a foole and a beast What doest thou feare to sin in the presence of a man or when a man who shall dye seeth thee and forgettest that the Lord thy maker seeth thee that he seeth thee who hath stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth Well might the Apostle 2 Thes 3.2 joyne these two together unreasonable and wicked men and give the reason of both in the words which follow for all men have not faith Where there is no faith there is much wickednesse and he who is much in wickednesse is nothing in reason Faith is above reason but not against it wickednesse is not onely below reason but quite against it They who act against that rule which is given by God to man act also against that reasō which is given by God to man No man acts so much against faith as he who doth not beleeve that God seeth him in all his actings nor doth any man act more against reason then he who beleeveth that God seeth him and yet is more afraid to be seene of men then he is to be seene of God JOB CHAP. 24. Vers 18. He is swift as the waters his portion is Cursed in the earth he beholdeth not the way of the Vineyards THere are foure Apprehensions concerning the general scope of these words First Job is conceived here describing a fourth sort of wicked men or the same men acting a fourth sort of wickednes for having as hath been shewed from the former words first drawne out the doings of the murtherer and secondly of the Adulterer and thirdly of the theife at land digging through houses he in the fourth place as some Interpret the text proceeds to discover the Pyrate who is a theife upon the water a Sea-theife He is swift as the waters or he is swift upon the waters The letter of the Hebrew is He is swift upon the faces of the waters he moves in and upon all waters It is usuall in Scripture to call the outward part of any thing the face of it as the face of the heavens is that part of the heavens which doth outwardly appeare to us or is next to our eye O ye hypocrites sayth Christ Math. 16.3 ye can discerne the face of
is no sinning in Gods account and comparatively to the sinning of others So they who are borne of the Devill as Christ saith those contradicting Jewes were Joh. 8.44 doe nothing but commit sin and sin so as if they and their like alone did sin For as no godly man sins as a wicked man doth so somâ— wicked men sin at such a rate that it may be said they only sin eveÌ„ in respect of the generality of wicked men Thus also some Godly men doe so farre exceed and out-strip other Godly men in holynes and the acting of their Graces as if they onely were Godly as if they onely had the acting of those graces Abraham beleived as if he onely had been a beleever and Job was patient as if none had patience but he David was a man so upright as if onely he had been upright or a man after Gods owne heart There are Saints like Abraham and David none like them and there are sinners like Jeroboam and Ahab none like them So doth the grave those that have sinned Observe They who are extreamely sinfull make themselves sevenfold more subject to death then other men They who sin as if none did sin but they are so subject to death as if none were subject to death but they For if every sin the least sin doth put us into the hand or under the power of death then great sins multiplyed and continued in put us into the hand and under the power of death much more The Psalmist saith of wicked worldly men Psal 49.14 Like sheepe they are layd in the grave death shall feed on them and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling or as we put in the Margin the grave being an habitation to every one of them shall consume their beauty But some may object Is not this true of Godly men too are not they thus handled by death and the grave doth not death feed on them and doth not the grave consume their beauty I answer though it doth yet it doth not so feed upon nor consume them as it feedes upon and consumes wicked men For the Psalmist speakes here of death as it were triumphing over the wicked whereas the Godly triumph over death For first he saith The wicked are layd in the grave like sheepe They lived like Wolves or Lyons but they are layd in the grave like sheepe If it be asked why like sheepe I answer not for the innocency of their lives but for their impotency in death as if it had been sayd when once death took them in hand to lay them in the grave they could make no more resistance then a sheepe can against a Lyon or a Wolfe And when death hath thus layd them in the grave then secondly saith the Psalmist death shall feed on them as a Lyon doth upon a sheepe or any wild beast upon his prey which is a further degree of deaths triumph over the wicked And thirdly their beauty shall consume in the grave that is all their bodily and natural beauty and that is all the beauty which they have shall consume in the Grave whereas the Godly have a beauty and they count it their onely beauty which the grave cannot consume and that is the beauty of their graces the beauty of holynes the spirituall beauty of the inner man yea and the spirituall beauty of their outward holy actings shall not consume in the Grave For blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord for from henceforth saith the Spirit they rest from their labours and their workes follow them Rev. 14.13 that is their good workes follow them not to death but into life and will be both beauty and blessednes to them from the Lord for ever Whereas cursed are the dead that dye in their sins for from henceforth they shall be denyed rest for ever and none of their workes wherein they tooke pleasure in this world shall follow them into the next to give them any pleasure All their beauty and outward blessednes ends in the grave If in this life onely we have hope in Christ sayth the Apostle of beleevers 1 Cor. 15.19 we are of all men most miserable then how miserable are they who have no hope beyond this life or if they have both that and their present beauty consume together in the grave Thus it is plaine that though godly men dye yet death hath not such a hand over them as over the wicked And as wicked men are more under the hand of death then the Godly when they dye so they are continually more lyable unto death Sin which unfits men to dye comfortably fits them as it were to dye naturally The more sinfull any man is the sooner may death surprise him Holynes hath not onely a promise of eternall life hereafter but of a long life here Psal 34.12 13. And sin is not onely under a threat of eternal death hereafter but of a speedy death here Psal 55.23 But thou O Lord shalt bring them that is wicked men downe into the pit of destruction But when it may be long first the next words make answer Bloody and deceitfull men shall not live out halfe their dayes That is not halfe the dayes which as others doe so they naturally might live eyther the Justice of God or of man shall cut such men off in the midst of their dayes The grave gapes for those who have thus sinned So then though there are many spirituall reasons referring to eternal life which may move the sons of men to take heed of sin Pro sepalchruÌ„ est cur malim infernus aut inferi Nam sepulchâ—um rapit etiam bonos iâ—feri solos eos rapiunt qui peccaverunt i e. improbos Drus yet there is a strong motive from the concernments of this present temporal life and that not onely as to the comforts of it but also as to the very continuance of it They hasten themselves to the grave who make hast to sin and so at once endanger the hopes of the next life and the enjoyment of this Lastly Some because the Grave in a general sence consumes the Godly as wel as the sinner in the sence last expressed doe therefore restraine the word Sheol in this place to hell as it signifyes the place or state of the damned which is proper onely to those who have sinned and dye in their sinnes So the whole verse is thus rendred Vt terra torri da calor absumunt aquas invales ita infernus eos qui peccaverunt Tygur As dry earth and heate consume the snow waters so hell consumeth those that have sinned All that sin and turne not shall be turned to hell But shall hell consume them they shall ever be consuming but never consumed Hell shall consume them as to a comfortable being but it shall not consume them as to a being they shall be allwayes dying but never dead Hell is the portion and all the portion of all wicked men
to the widow That is he administers no helpe to the widdow in her wants no counsel to her in her straites nor any Comfort to her in her sorrows And this Negative he doth not good to the widow hath an Affirmative in it hee doth her wrong hee grieveth and vexeth the widow For as Negative Commandements alwayes containe the Affirmative while we are forbidden to doe any evill wee are enjoyned to doe the contrary good so negative practices usually imply the affirmative and while we neglect to doe good we are active in doing evill Or as the Negative threatnings of God containe affirmatives Exod. 20.7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vaine for the Lord will not hold him guiltles that taketh his name in vaine that is hee will hold him very guilty or look upon him as very sinfull and punish him accordingly that takes his name in vaine and as Negative promises containe affirmative promises Psal 51.17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken and a contrite heart O God thou wilt not despise that is thou O God wilt highly esteem accept of and delight in a broken heart and as negative conclusions imply the affirmative Prov. 17.21 The father of a foole hath no Joy that is hee hath much sorrow and griefe Prov. 28.21 To accept persons in Judgement is not good that is to accept persons in Judgement is very bad so negative practices of sin containe the affirmative as elsewhere so here in the Text hee doeth not good to the widow that is he wrongeth and troubleth the widdow the widdow who is helples is hurt by him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ab 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod significat câ—llâ—gare obmutescere The word which we render widow signifies in the verbe both to binde and to be silent Both which significations are complicated in the widows Condition For first the widow is bound though shee be loose from her husband shee is bound and that two wayes first with troubles that 's her affliction secondly shee is bound to be or stay much at home that 's her duty secondly as the widow is home-bound so she is tongue-bound too the widows eloquence is silence she speakes most to her owne commendation when she speakes little The Apostle Paul reproves widows about two things which discover two faylings in them opposite to both these latter bindings 1 Tim. 5.13 And withall they learne to be idle wandering from house to house As if he had sayd it is not comely for the widow to wander abroad she should stay at home the widow should be a fixed starre not a planet Not that the widow is to be a prisoner in her house but she should be so much there that shee may deserve the name of a House-keeper not of a wanderer from house to house The Apostle proceeds in his charge against the faulty widow And not onely Idle but which is the second vice Tattlers also and busie bodyes speaking things which they ought not Tattlers are such as use their tongues overmuch and usually much more then their hands whereas the widow should be much in busienes little in discourse alwayes doing seldome speaking We see the wisedome of God in teaching proper dutyes in common names in which thing the Hebrew language is most exact fruitfull But I shall returne from this digression if it may be so called about the word when I have onely added that the sence given from this Etymologie of the word doth not onely shew the widow much of her duty but aggravates the sin of the wicked man in the neglect or omission of his duty unto hir He doth not good to the widow no not to the widow who is bound downe with many sorrowes he speakes not a good word for the widow who is as David speakes in another case Psal 39.2 even dumbe with silence I have already both in this Chapter as also in the 22d shewed how sinfull it is eyther to neglect or afflict widows yea that to neglect them is to afflict them therefore I shall not prosecute those poynts here Onely from the forme of speaking Note Not to doe good is sinfull as well as to doe evill yea as sinfull as to doe evill Not to doe what we are enjoyned is as bad as to doe what we are forbidden We are not onely forbidden to wrong the widow Jer. 22.3 but we are often enjoyned to relieve and helpe her to visit her and doe her good therefore the widow hath wrong done to her when good is not done to her The spirit of wickednes is not yet drawne to the full length see the wicked man still at worke in the next verse Vers 22. Hee draweth also the mighty by his power hee riseth up and no man is sure of his life In the former verse the wicked man had to doe with the weake with the barren with the widow but now he grapples with the strong mighty Hee draweth also the mighty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 traxit per traxit occulto impetu aliquem impellere quo velis verbis atque rationibus aliquem trahere Drus The word may denote a twofold drawing First drawing by a secret hidden imperceptible power a moral power the power of perswasion working upon the heart and influencing the affections There is an internal atractive vertue which draweth the mind as the loadstone doth iron when nothing is seene nor so much as a word heard The word is used in that sence Judg 4.6 7. where the people of Israel being sore oppressed by Jabins Army under the conduct of Sisera Deborah the Prophetesse who at that time Judged Israel sent and called Baruch and said unto him Hath not the Lord God of Israel Commanded saying goe and draw toward mount Tabor and take with thee ten thousand men of the Children of Napthali and of the Children of Zebulun Thus God bid them draw to that place But what had God promised Deborah tells him what in the next verse And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera the Captaine of Jabins Army with his Chariots and his multitude and will deliver him into thine hand But it may be questioned how God would draw Sisera with his Army thither It was not by any outward force onely God put a purpose into his heart to draw up his Army to that place that so he might fall into the snare Sisera had a secret motion or impulse upon his spirit which he could not withstand though he fell by obeying it Thus also God draweth soules to himselfe by the invisible power of his Spirit in their effectuall vocation and Conversion Joh. 6.44 No man can come to me except the father which sent me draw him how doth God draw hee drawes by perswasion not by compulsion his perswasion carryes a mighty commanding power with it This drawing is not a bare moral perswasion by the proposal of an object before them and so leaving
safety 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ad fiduciam nomen Batach insignē importat fiduciam confidentiam sine ullo pavore Dat ei securitatem i e. dat ei quod ipsum reddere potest securum that is though he rise up and put downe all that oppose him though God give him this safety yet c. The word which wee translate to be in safety signifies the most secure safety or safety accompanyed with the highest Confidence that is when there is not so much as the least mixture of any feare not so much as the least Jealousie or suspicion of a change Babylon is described presuming upon such a safety Esay 47.8 I sit a Queene and am no widdow and shall see no sorrow and the wicked are spoken of as possessing and enjoying such a safety Job 21.9 Their houses are free from feare neitheir is the rod of God upon them they are free not only from the rod of God but from the feare of the rod though the wicked man live thus Confidently and all things are with him according to his wish though God seemes to crowne him with loving kindnes and tender mercies which are the proper portion of the Saints Psal 103.4 Though hee give him his hearts desire which is a promise peculiar to the godly man Psal 37.4 though it be given him to be thus in safety wherein or whereon hee resteth that is though as hee seeth no danger so hee suspecteth none but rests in his state and sayth all 's sure all 's well though the Condition of a wicked man be thus safe and prosperous and all this by the gift of God yet c. Before I explicate Jobs exception upon this great gift Take two or three notes from the consideration of the Author and nature of this gift as also from his rest upon it First To be in safety is a great outward mercy We finde it promised among many other speciall mercyes to the Church in her best estate Ezek. 34.27 The tree of the feild shall yeild her fruit and the earth shall yeild her encrease and they shall be safe in their land And such was their old promise Lev 26.5 Ye shall eate your bread to the full and dwell in your land safely Deut. 33.28 Israel shall dwell in safety alone Though Israel be alone he shall dwel in safety or Israel alone shall dwell in safety He shall have safety when others are in danger Thou saith David Psal 4.8 makest me dwell in safety and saith the Lord concerning the poore man Psal 12.5 I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him Pro. 21 3◠Safety is of the Lord. Yea Secondly The safety even of a wicked man is of the Lord. It is given to him by way of common providence to be in safety as God takes care of his owne servants in mercy so 〈◊〉 takes care of a wicked man in wisedome hee is the preserver both of man and beast hee is the preserver not onely of good men but of evill men who are as beasts How bad soever any man is his good whatsoever he hath is from the Lord. They may have safety who shall never have salvation And they who are neere to eternal damnation may be farre from danger Thirdly Whereas it is sayd Though he be in safety wherein hee resteth Note Outward prosperity is the foundation of a wicked mans peace God giveth him safety and he makes his safety his God He resteth in the safety which God giveth him not in God who giveth him safety Carnal men loose God in the creature and whereas they should trust in God because he sendeth them good things they trust upon the good things which God sendeth In whatsoever besides God we place our trust that we put in the place of God David was much overshot in this poynt Psal 30.6 In my prosperity I said I shall never be moved God made David prosper and David rested in his prosperity When David was right he sayd in his adversity and every godly man may say in his deepest adversity I shall never be moved God is as strong to us in our greatest weakenes as when he makes our mountaine strongest and they who thinke themselves more immoveable when their mountaine is strong then when it is weak rest in their mountaine not in God Now if David a man after Gods owne heart set or rested his heart so much upon his mountaine that is his worldly prosperity because it was strong how much more may carnal men grow into an admiration of their earthly mountaines and rest under their shadow and shelter as if they could never be moved Worldly men doe this so much that this is made the description of worldly men Psal 49.6 They that trust in their wealth and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches Who these are is not expressed as if every one must needs know what sort of men they are who trust in their wealth that is who see all well with them and who say all shall be well with them because of the multitude of their riches For that is properly to trust in riches when a man sayth to himselfe as the rich 〈◊〉 sayd Luke 12.19 Soule take thine ease thou hast much goods laid up for many yeares Eate and drinke and be merry Job had another spirit in the midst of his prosperity Chap. 3.26 I was not in safety neither had I rest c. he spake there of his Condition before he was in trouble when hee had some thousands of sheepe some hundreds of oxen with a multitude of Camells and Asses when hee had many sons and daughters with servants in great number When it was thus with him when no Cloud had in the least darkened his day nor so much as a graine of gall or wormewood embittered his cup when he was thus safe yet hee sayd I was not in safety When the Devill said hee was so safe that hee could not touch him Thou hast made a hedge about him yet hee sayd I was not in safety neyther had I rest that is hee looked upon his hedge as upon that which might quickly be broken through upon his mountaine as that which might not onely be quickly moved but quite removed he saw all he had shakeing and tottering and so could not have any rest in any thing which he had he had rest in opposition to murmuring and discontent about the things of this world but he was restlesse in opposition to confiding in and satisfaction with the things of this world In this respect his very safety was unsafe and his rest restlesse to him Only the carnal man when God giveth him to be in safety resteth in it he sits downe and concludeth that he hath enough at present and that his Enough will last for Ever He resteth in his safety not onely as being out of danger but above it Job having thus set forth the outward state of the wicked man he is in safety as
vulgar and improper sence even those things that never had life may be called dead Mr Broughton renders strictly not dead things but things without life are formed under the waters The Hebrew word may come from a twofold roote and so hath a twofold signification First to heale and cure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dolorem mitigavit sanavit transferturper MetaphoraÌ„ a corpore ad animam ut sig remittere peccata and in Scripture it is transferred from the healing of the body to the healing of the soule in the remission of sins because as the wound of the body is healed by the salve so is the soules wound namely sinne healed by remission or forgivenesse The word is used in this sence Isa 6.10 Make the heart of this people fat and make their eares heavy and shut their eyes least they see with their eyes and heare with their eares and understand with their heart and convert and be healed that is pardoned Secondly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 debitis dissolutus laxus languidus it signifies to be dissolved or loosened to be weake and languishing wee translate it dead because things that are dead are weakened and dissolved and therefore death is called a dissolution As Paul sayd Phil. 1.23 I desire to depart or to be dissolved that is to dye and the same phrase is used for death 2 Cor 5.1 Wee know that when the earthly house of this Tabernacle shall be dissolved c. Againe by the figure Antiphrasis frequent in Scripture this word as it signifies dead and weake things so also strong and lively things yea those that are strongest or most lively and therefore Gyants who are the strongest of men are expressed by this word Deut. 2.11 The Enims dwelt therein in times past Ecce Gigantes gemunt sub aquis Vulg a people great and many and tall as the Anakims which also were accounted Giants c. And the vulgar translates so here Behold The Giants groane under the waters Giants are called Rephaim in the Hebrew which word in the roote signifies to weaken not from their nature but from their effects not because they are weake but because they weaken others Giants are so strong that the very sight of them makes others weake and faint or pulls downe men of strength and might It is sayd that Saul and the whole Army of Israel were dismayed when they saw Goliah and greatly afraid they were weake before the Giant There is much labouring to make out this sence of the word here some understand it of the Giants before the flood Behold the Giants groane from under the flood Those Giants were indeed overthrowne by the waters and so they conceave that Job alluded unto them but I shall not stay upon that interpretation Others expound the text of those Gyants whose proper element is water the mighty fishes of the Sea the Whale the Leviathan spoken of in this booke of Job Leviathan is a Sea-monster a Sea-gyant of huge dimensions Naturall Historians and travellers describe the vastnes of the Whale or Leviathan to wonder and amazement And 't is granted that in these Gods power is much seene But I shall lay by this exposition also because I conceive fishes are spoken of in the next words where they are called the inhabitants thereof that is of the Sea or waters Againe this word Rephaim is often put for the dead or those that are departed this life Psal 88.10 Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead shall the dead arise and praise thee There are two words used for the dead in that verse one is the ordinary word the other is that of the Text. Solomon Pro. 2.18 shewing how dangerous it is to have to doe with the adulteresse sayth Her house inclineth unto death and her paths unto the Rephaim or the dead The house of Adultery and uncleanenes is the Gatehouse to death it is not a house raysed up but bowed downe her house enclineth unto death and she who is the governesse of rather the miss-governeness of the house will by her ill life bring thee among the dead even among those who are twice dead corporally dead at present and spiritually dead for ever But that which I shall rather pitch upon according to our translation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is that by these dead things are meant such things as never had any life Mr Broughton expounds his translation Things without life of those precious things that are formed under the waters Amber and pearle and goodly stones These dead things are found under the waters and there they are formed Gods providence reacheth to the furthest places even to the bottome of the Sea and lowest earth which seeme to be as cast off So he glosseth and so doe other Interpreters Incipit dei providentiam poâ—entiam describere a rebus subterraneis initio sumpâ—o Merc concluding that Job is here setting forth the power of God in forming minerals and pretious stones under the waters or in the deepes and so riseth in his discourse by degrees to higher things As if he had sayd O Bildad what doest thou shewing me the power and providence of God in the high places where he maketh peace I can tell thee that the same power and providence of God are extended to those things which are wrought in the bowels of the earth and at the bottome of the Sea and so are furthest removed from our sight And whereas we say Dead things are formed there that word properly signifies to bring forth children or any living creature Job 39.1 2. Knowest thou the time when the wilde Goates of the rock bring forth or canst thou marke when the Hindes doe calve Canst thou number the moneths that they fulfill or knowest thou the time when they bring forth yea The Eternall Word and Wisdome of God speakes of himselfe in the language of this Word Pro. 8.25 Before the mountaines were setled before the hils was I brought forth It signifieth also to be in paine and groane for paine because child-bearing causeth much paine and groaning So the word is used in a metaphoricall sence Deut 2.25 This day will I begin saith the Lord to put the dread of thee and the feare of thee upon the Nations that are under the whole heaven who shall heare report of thee and shall tremble and be in anguish because of thee they shall be in anguish as a woman travelling with child and pained to bring forth Whence that translation takes its ground The Gyants groane under the waters And as it signifies to forme and fashion the child or any living thing in the womb and then to bring forth so it is applyed to the forming of things that have no life Ps 90. â—2 Before the mountaines were brought forth or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God Dead things are formed But by whom here is no power exprest Job sayth onely they are formed
covering then our actions heere have no covering Hypocrites put many coverings upon their actions they have many policies to vaile and screene them from the eye of man but the actions of men have no covering before God yea the hearts of men have no covering before God As Solomon in the Proverbs which place was lately toucht upon argues from this reason because hell and destruction are before him Prov. 15.11 Hell and destruction are before the Lord how much more then the hearts of the children of men As if he had sayd God who looketh into hell which is not onely darkenes but outer darkenes that is darkenes without any thing that hath the least ray or similitude of light in it God I say who looketh into this hel can looke into the hearts of men much more There are some men I grant whose hearts are a very hell a very deepe and they hope to hide themselves in the depth of their owne hearts from the sight of God as the Prophet telleth us Isai 29.15 Woe unto them that seeke deepe to hide their councell from the Lord and their workes are in the darke and they say who seeth us and who knoweth us And what doth he meane by the deeps which they seeke doe they seeke caves and dens of the earth to take counsel or consult together in no they may be in the open ayre and yet seeke deepe to hide their counsells from God so that the meaning is they seeke to keepe their counsels close lockt up in their hearts but woe unto them that digge thus deepe to hide their counsells from God for they cannot be hid for even hel is before him and destruction hath no covering how then shall these destroyers cover themselves or any of their counsels from him As the reason of all things is naked and manifest before God so are the motions and actions of all persons Thirdly When 't is sayd Hell and destruction are before him that word before doth not onely imply that God hath a view or sight of what is in hel but also that hee hath power in and over hel and can doe what he will there hell is naked before him that is hee hath hell at his dispose Hence note The power and providence of God reaches to those things that are most remote He orders all things in hell as well as upon the earth his power rules there where there seemes to be least order yea where there is no order at all They who are cast into hel kept no order while they were upon the earth nor are they in any willing order there when we see confusions in the world wee say what a hell is there or we say Hel is broken loose hell is a place of confusion yet hell is before God he keepes hell in order And when by reason of troubles and confusion among men wee are ready to say there is a hell in the world yet this hell is naked before God he disposeth and orders those places persons and things which are most confused hell and destruction are before him Before I passe from these words I shall onely take notice that there are many words in Scripture by which hell is exprest The Rabbins number seven or eight heere are two First Sheol or the grave because we lye as it were buried there in a second death Secondly Abaddon or destruction because all are there in a perishing state or as given up into the hand of destruction Thirdly Hel is called Tsalmaveth or the shadow of death and by the shadow of death is not meant a smal appearance of death as the word shadow is used Jam 1.17 where the Apostle exalts the glory of the Lord in his unchangeablenes that he is the Father of lights from whom every good gift and every perfect gift cometh downe with whom is no variablenesse neither shadow of turning that is he is not subject to any turning at all but hel is called the shadow of death as shadow is put for strength and power and so to be under the shadow of God or man is to be under their protection Thus hell is the shadow of death that is the strength and power of it Death never triumphs so much in its strength as it doth in hell Fourthly Hel is called Erets tachith which signifyes first the earth under or the lowest and most inferiour earth whence in Scripture hell is called the bottomlesse pit and the way to it is described by descending and going downe as heaven is described by ascending and hight heaven is high and the highest ascending is our ascending to heaven so hell is low and the lowest descending is descending into hel Secondly it imports feare vexation and trembling hell is a land of trembling it is a land of feare it is sayd of Caine that when he went out of the presence of God after he had murthered his brother he went into the land of Nod that is into a land of trembling which some expound not of any speciall place that he went to but that every place where he went was to him a land of trembling hee having much feare and dread upon his conscience after he had embrewed his hands in his brothers blood Hel is indeed the land of Nod a Trembling land They who have not rejoyced with trembling in this world shall sorrow with trembling for ever in the world to come Fifthly Hel is called Bershiachathith that is the piâ—â—â— corruption not that the bodyes of the damned shall corrupt in hell as they doe in the grave for though we cannot say that the bodyes of the wicked shall be raysed incorruptible as the bodyes of the Saints shall yet they shall be raysed immortall and in that sence incorruptible that is they shall never dye but they shall be corruptible that is filthines and corruption shall be upon them The bodyes of Saints onely shall be raysed so incorruptible that nothing of corruption shall be seene upon them or felt by them but the bodyes of the wicked shall ever feele corruption and beare the markes of it without total corrupting or perishing as corrupting and perishing are taken for not-being The wicked would be glad that they might perish so but they shall not hel will be a pit of corruption to them for whatsoever is painefull and grievous to the flesh shall dwell in their bodyes and therefore it is called the pit of corruption and it may also be called a pit of corruption in a morall sence because all their sins and lusts shall remaine upon them for ever hel-fire cannot purge the soule from sin nor free any man from the power of that old man who as the Apostle speakes Eph 4.22 Is corrupt according to the deceitfull lusts Nothing but the blood of Christ can purge the soule from corruption Hell is for the punishment of corruption but not at all for the purging of it and therefore it is well called the pit of corruption Sixthly It is called Erets
least able to strengthen them for the bearing of the punishment of sin And hence by way of Coralary or inference consider First If the pillars of heaven tremble before God if pillars whose nature is to stand still move at the presence of God what shall become of weake man of man who is a worme if the pillars of heaven tremble at the reproofe of God then certainly the pillars of the earth cannot stand fast at his reproofe The pillars of heaven are the stroâ—gest pillars When Jehu sent Letters to Samaria unto the rulers of Jezreel advising them to set up one of the Sons of Ahab King and fight for him the text saith 2 King 10.4 they were exceedingly affrayd and sayd Behold two Kings stood not before him how then can we stand And thus may the strongest pillars on earth cry out with feare at the displeasure and reproofes of God Behold the pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproofes how then can we be established Some men are or are esteemed to be like James Cephas and John pillars in the Church Gal. 2.9 and others are pillars in States and Common-wealths So we may expound that of Hannah in her song 1 Sam. 2.8 The pillars of the earth that is earthly powers or Magistrates are the Lords and he hath set the world upon them for indeed the world would soone fall into confusion and shatter to peices as to its civil capacity if the Lord had hot founded it upon pillars of Government and Magistracy or set up Magistrates and Governours as the pillars of it And yet how often have these pillars of the earth trembled how many of them have fallen and been broken at the rebukes of God There is a sort of pillars that shall never be moved How great an honour is it to be made such a pillar and Christ hath taught us who shall be made such a one Rev 3.12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the Temple of my God Such pillars shall not tremble they shall not be astonished when all the pillars of the world are cast downe with trembling and astonishment David hath a strange expression Psal 75.3 The earth and all the inhabitants of it are dissolved if so whence was it that they were not utterly ruin'd and destroyed He answers I beare up the pillars of it But how could David beare up the pillars of the earth when all was dissolved he meanes it not of a natural but civill dissolution things were out of order the bands and ligaments of government were sorely broken men were divided into partyes and factions Thus the earth and inhabitants thereof were dissolved which is the saddest condition a people can be in when it was thus when there was such a rupture among the people Then David the chiefe Governour under God laboured to heale the breaches and to be a pillar to those shaking pillars He by his great wisedome Justice moderation and faithfullnesse bore up the bearers of the people and supported their supporters whether persons or things As if he had sayd though there be much confusion in the earth yet the Lord enables me to keepe things together so that they fall not to the ground and are not utterly ruined It is a Great honour to be a pillar bearing up the building but it is a greater honour to be a pillar bearing up the pillars All good Magistrates have the former honour and all supreame Magistrates if good have the latter yet both these honours doe originally primarily belong unto God who as he maketh the pillars of heaven tremble so he can firmely setle and will while they willingly serve his ends and interests the pillars of the Earth though but earthly pillars Secondly Take this also by way of Corrolary from the text If the pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at the reproofe of God what shall we say of those men or of the hardnesse of their hearts First Who heare the reproofes of God dayly yet tremble not What doe the pillars of heaven tremble at the reproofe of God and shall not men yet thus more then bruitish are many men They heare reproofes severe reproofes against sin yet they tremble no more then the stones they stand upon nor are moved any more then the seates they sit upon let God thunder and lighten and chide and threaten they are not stirred with it The pillars of heaven shall rise up in judgement against this dedolent and obdurate generation The Prophet Jere 36.24 reports a sad story of this a threatening rolle was sent to Jehoiakim king of Judah written from the mouth of Jeremiah by Barucke the King caused it to be read as he sate at the fire and then whereas it might have been expected that he should be cut at the heart with Godly sorrow and contrition for his sin he cut it with the Pen-knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth untill all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth yet they were not afraid nor rent their garments neither the king or any of his servants that heard all these words as if it had bin sayd what a wonderfull hardnesse was there upon the hearts of these men that they could heare such words read words so full of terrour words cloathed with such reproofes words which spake nothing but death wrath destruction ruine and desolation yet notwithstanding all this they were not afraid neither the King nor any of his servants regarded it The heart of man is more hard then hardnesse it selfe till God soften it or breaketh it man moves not he relents not let God reprove and thunder let God doe what he will and say what he will let God make as it were a hell upon the earth and in the greatest earnest cast abroad his firebrands arrows and death in the dreadfullest representations of wrath and judgement yet man trembles not nor is he any more astonished then if all this were spoken in jest Secondly What shall we say of those who as they tremble not when they heare the reproofes of God so they tremble not when they see his reproofes When God makes his reproofes visible and writes them in blood when he brings forth his reproofes in wofull effects For as all our mercyes and comforts are nothing else but the promises made visible so all the judgements which God brings upon the world are nothing but his reproofes and threatnings made visible when I say he brings forth his reproofes in wofull effects how desperately and indeed though it may seeme a contradiction how presumptuously are they hardned in sin whose ey never affects their heart who can see such reproofs of God yet never tremble It is said in the Law of Moses that punishment should be openly executed upon the presumptuous sinner Deut. 17.13 that all the people should heare and feare and doe no more presumptuously if all upon the hearing should feare and feare so as to
oughtest of these truths that the Lord is in the height of heaven and that he hath made those high and glorious lights in heaven that indeed thou doest quite pervert his meaning in making them Thou sayest how doth God know In stead of honouring God who formed these lights thou art darkning his honour and ecclipsing the light of his omniscience For whereas thou shouldest have sayd seeing God is on high and hath made the Starres which are so high surely nothing can be hid from his knowledge Thou sayest How doth God know And there is a twofold saying of this first a saying with the tongue secondly with the heart The vaine heart of man hath many sayings and this among the rest Dicis 1 verbis prolatis 2 mentis cogitatione falsa persuasione How doth God know Psal 14.1 The foole hath said in his heart there is no God And he that saith in his heart How doth God know speakes as foolishly as that foole doth who saith There is no God To deny that or doubt whether God knoweth all things is not onely to doubt but to deny that God is at all He is not God who knoweth not all things And thou sayest how doth God know The conjunctive particle And is here put as a causal And thou sayest that is therefore thou sayest how doth God know So the sense is more cleare Is not God in the height of heaven c. He is And what then The use thou makest of it is this Thou sayest how doth God know so the particle is used Gen. 49.16 He saw that rest was good and he gave his shoulders to the burthen c. that is therefore he gave his shoulders to the burthen Thou sayest How doth God know Wee may answer First Negatively Not by sence as wee eyes and eares are ascribed to God improperly in Scripture nor doth God know by discourse drawing one thing from another but in the Affirmative he knowes intuitively he knowes every thing nakedly in it selfe Againe Some read What doth God know how farre doth his eye extend what are the objects of his knowledge To this we may answer God knoweth all things even the hearts of all the children of men There are no secrets to God But whether wee expound it of the manner or matter of divine knowledge the sence is the same eyther an affirmation that God did not know all things or at least a doubt whether he did or no. Thou sayest How doth God know But where and when did Job say this Job might challenge Eliphaz bring your proofes and witnesses against me why doe you impute such thoughts to me and frame such imaginations in my breast certainly Job never spake this and as surely Job never thought this yet Eliphaz puts it directly upon him What was his ground Existimabet haec consequi ex Jobi dictis quasi necesse sit eum qui dicat improbos prospere agere existimare etiam deum res humanas noncurare Merl. onely as the former crimes of uncharitablenesse and injustice his breaking the armes of the fatherlesse c. were fastned upon him because of the feares snares and darknesse in which he was as if he must needs have done those evills because he endured so much evill Jobs sufferings were great and therefore according to the Logicke of Eliphaz his sinnes must needs be very great So here he hath onely this to prove his supposition that Job said How doth God know because Job had sayd that God doth sometime prosper wicked men and afflicts the righteous As if he who sayth that God suffers wicked men to prosper in this life must needs also say that God regards not the things of this life so that Eliphaz seemes to speake thus We have heard thee saying that the wicked prosper and that the godly are afflicted what need we any further witnes that thy opinion is God neyther takes notice nor care of the things here below Out of thine owne mouth we condemne thee as Guilty of this blasphemy That Thou sayest How doth God know Hence observe First That good men are sometimes charged with saying and doing the worst and vilest things Thus 1 King 21.13 Naboth was accused of blaspheming God and the King Christ himselfe was taxed with blasphemy more then once Matth. 9.3 And behold certaine of the Scribes said within themselves this man blasphems There they did not openly averre it but they said it within themselves At other times they spake it openly Joh. 10.33 The Jewes answered and sayd for a good deed we stone thee not but for blasphemy because thou being a man makest thy selfe God And againe Matth. 26.65 He hath spoken blasphemy ye have heard his blasphemy To speak or doe well and heare ill was the portion of Christ and may be the portion of the holyest of those who are Christs Secondly Note That when men are heated in dispute they are apt to make false inferences from the tenets and sayings of their opposers Eliphaz sayth Job denied providence whereas Job adored it that he denyed Gods knowledge of the good and evil done in the world because he maintained that good men receive evill and evill men good in the world When we deny transubstantiation or that the bread is changed into the very substance of the body of Christ Papists inferre that we deny that Christ spake truely when at his Last Supper he said This is my body and they will hence force it upon us that we say God is not omnipotent because we affirme that it is inconsistent with the nature of a true humane body such as Christ hath now in heaven though glorified and spirituall to be in many places at once For as some deny the omnipresence of the divine nature so Papists affirme the omni-presence of the humane nature And say they while we deny this we deny the omnipotency of God Others charge us that we make God the author of sinne and that according to our tenet all the impiety and wickednesse that is in the world lyeth at his doore because we affirme That God hath passed an Eternal absolute and unchangeable decree concerning all the sonnes of men When all other arguments fayle how usuall is it to make the divinest truths guilty of the most uncomely and ugly consequences that are imaginable Further Thou sayest How doth God know Take it eyther of the inward or of the outward saying eyther of the tongue or of the heart saying so Eliphaz would prove from it that certainly Job was a wicked man And his inference had been true if he could have proved it true that Job had sayd so Hence observe That to have evill thoughts or to speake evill of God is the character of a wicked man He that is good must needs both thinke and speake good of God David doth often aggravate the wickednesse of his enemies from the language of their hearts and tongues Psal 10.11 He hath said in his heart God hath forgotten he
hides his face he will never see And againe Psal 144.7 8 11. Send thy hand from above rid me and deliver me out of great waters from the hands of strange children whose mouth speaketh vanity and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood If the mouth speaketh vanity the hand is full of falsehood we may even feele deceite in their hands whose mouthes speake any kinde of vanity but especially this which is the vainest vanity of all How doth God know or surely God doth not know Such the Psalmist rebukes Psal 94.4 5.7 How long shall they utter and speake hard things What things were those The next words shew us They breake in peeces thy people c. yet they say the Lord shall not see c. understand ye brutish among the people he that formed the eye shall he not see There is no greater argument of brutishnes and ignorance then to question the knowledge of God or to say How doth God know And which is the same in other words can he judge through the dark cloud As if Job had further argued thus I am safe enough from the knowledge of God for as he is high above me so there are dark clouds between him and me Can he judge through the dark cloud My opinion is he cannot For knowledge goeth before judgement Si non novit ergo nec judicare potest ad rectū enim judicium requiritur cognitio causae He that knoweth not certainly can never judge rightly Justice is pictured blind in reference to persons but not in reference to things or causes Justice must take no notice of this or that man whether he be great or little high or low a neere friend or a stranger Justice is blinde as to all these considerations and knoweth no man but Justice must know every mans case and cause unlesse man know that how can be judge and if God know not that how can he judge He must have light to see what is done before he passe Sentence upon what is done therefore Can he judge through the darke cloud Surely he cannot Thus the Atheist concludeth indeed and thus Eliphaz represents Job concluding in his owne heart there is not onely a great distance between God and me not onely is he in the height of heaven and I below on earth but there are many gloomy clouds between him and me As he is high above me so there are such impediments in the way that he cannot see me The Vulgar reads Et quasi per caliginum judicat Vulg. He judgeth as through darknes Now the best of Saints see God through a Glasse darkly or in a ridle 1 Cor. 13.12 And secure sinners thinke that God seeth them onely through a cloud darkly or as Eliphaz speaketh through a dark cloud he knoweth not clearly but dimly To judge through a cloud is to judge of things confusedly not distinctly by guesse or conjecturally not exactly or face to face This is all the sight which an evill heart alloweth God if he allow him any concerning his wayes and actions They who doe things which cannot abide the light are willing to beleeve that all they doe is in the darke Theirs are works of moral darknes and therefore they please themselves with thinking that their works are hid eyther in natural or artificiall darkness It is sayd of the Lord in Scripture Psal 97.2 Clouds and darknes are round about him while judgement and righteousnesse are the habitation of his throne but these imagine that God cannot proceed in judgement and righteousnesse because clouds and darkness are round about him It is sayd 1 King 8.10 11 12. The cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the Priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. Then spake Solomon the Lord said that he will dwell in the thick darkness Reade Exod. 20.21 Deut. 5.22 Psal 18.11 God is light saith the Apostle John 1 Ep 1. and he dwelleth in light which no man can approach unto 1 Tim. 6.16 How then can he be said to dwell in thick darknes I answer those Scriptures which say that God dwells in darknes that clouds and darknesse are round about him teach us that God and his wayes are much hid from us we are not able to look up to him or see clearely what he doth much lesse can we see what his counsells are The clouds and darknesse which are about him doe not hinder his sight of us but our sight of him Our darknes is no darknes to him but his darknes yea his light is darknes to us Againe God is sayd to dwel in a cloud to reprove our boldnes and curiosity who are too apt to pry into what is not to be knowne and to neglect our duty in what we know or to neglect the knowledge of our duty God hath some reserves in counsells some of his providences are wrapt up in clouds Hee will be trusted and honored in what he is not seene or knowne Not to know these things is indeed our nescience but not our ignorance and not to seeke after the knowledg of these things is our duty not our sloath Thus God who dwels in light dwels also in a cloud for he dwells in light that no man can no nor ought to approach unto Wee may come neere his light by faith but wee cannot come neere his light by knowledge There is such an infinite such an overcomming light in God that it is a darknes to us the most Eagle-like eyes of a humane understanding are not onely dazzel'd but quite blinded with his brightness Now as no man can judge through this light of God so some men are ready to say and thus Eliphaz brings in Job saying that God cannot judge through dark clouds through clouds and darknes Nor doth Eliphaz bring in Job saying thus only by way of doubt or question but by way of averrement and resolution in the next verse Vers 14. Thick clouds are a covering to him that he seeth it not This verse is but an explication of the 13th Can he see through the dark cloud There he puts the question here he gives a peremptory answer he cannot certainly for Thick clouds are a covering to him that he cannot see The Hebrew for thick clouds is but one word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nubes dictae sunt a densitate a radice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 densum esse q d. sicut nos latet deus ita deum latent nostra coelestia illi tantum patent which in the roote signifies Thickness or to be thicke Some clouds have a kinde of thinnes in them and are as it were transparent Others are more grosse and opacous quite hindering and intercepting our sight of all that is beyond them with these saith Eliphaz thou O Job vainely conceitest that the sight of God also is intercepted so that as we cannot see God so God cannot see us A vayle