King saith Christ Luke 14.31 going to make Warr against another King doth not first sit downe c. As if he had sayd The Kings of the Earth are not so foolish so brainlesse and counsellesse to contend with those whom they cannot match they will hardly venture a Battell with ten thousand against twenty thousond they will rather make a disadvantageous Peace then proceed in a Warr upon such disadvantages The King of Israel reproved the challenge which the King of Judah sent him by the Parable of the Thistle in Lebanon aspiring to match with the Cedar in Lebanon 2 Kings 14.9 What 's a Thistle to a Cedar Then what is man to God See then what a reasonlesse yea senselesse creature man is who will needs goe out against God to Battell though all the number he can muster is not onely as disproportionable as ten thousand to twenty thousand as a Thistle to a Cedar but more then one single man is to a Million of men or then a bruised Reed to the strongest Oake God with ease made all the power of man alone and he though alone can more easily destroy it it cost him but the speaking of a word to set it up and he can pull it downe with yea without a word speaking Many men have been styled The great The strong The mighty But no man ever durst owne this style The Almighty This title of God in the Text The Almighty should make the mightiest of men the Nimrods of the World afraid to meddle yea to think a thought of medling with God The absurdity of men in strengthening themselves against the Almighty may appeare yet more distinctly in three particulars First He that is Almighty is stronger then All there cannot be two Almighties Hence the Apostle argues 1 Cor. 10. Will you provoke the Lord to anger are you stronger then he It is base and cowardly to provoke those that are weaker then our selves it may give us trouble enough to provoke those who are as strong as our selves but it is either madness or desperatnesse to provoke those who are stronger then our selves And when the Apostle demands or rather expostulates Are yee stronger then he His question cals for this positive assertory answer we are infinitely weaker then he and therefore there is no prevailing against him not onely not in all things but not in any thing It is possible for a weake Enemy to prevaile sometimes upon a mighty Enemy The Romans who commanded the world for many ages and were too strong for any Nation did yet receive some foyles though they were never conquered yet they were somtimes worsted not only by surprisals and Ambuscadoes but in the open field and even petty Princes gave checks for a while to some of their designes But El-Shaddai the Almighty God never received any defeat nor is he within the possibility of a surprize Secondly Not onely cannot the Lord be defeated but he cannot be endammaged he never lost as we say so much as a haire of his head nor did he ever suffer so much as the scratch of a Pin. The Romans obtained some Victories with such extreame losse and hazzard that it hath been sayd Two or three more such Victories would utterly undoe them they who were never defeated or foyled have yet been greatly endammaged in Battel and their clearest gains have not bin without some losse but the Almighty never lost the worth of a thread or drop of blood in all those innumerable Victories which he hath gained Thirdly Man cannot so much as hinder or retard the designes of God He transcends all the impediments and throws open all the Barracadoes that are set in his way He will worke and who shall let him Isa 43.13 There is no putting of a barr in his way and therefore if any should answer the question Who shall let it Yes there are some will let it the great men the Nobles of the Earth say no they will let it But they shall not saith God in the next Verse Vers 14. For your sake speaking to his people in Captivity I have sent to Babylon and have brought downe all their Nobles The Originall word for Nobles signifies also Barrs the Barrs of a door or Castle gate as we put in the Margin of our Bibles to note that Nobles and great men should be the strength of a People and a stop to the entrance of any evill among them but if in stead of that they prove like Barrs onely to hinder the good of a People and to lye crosse in all publike proceedings then the Lord the Lord of Lords and King of Kings brings them down and breaks them all to peeces I will worke and who shall let it The Nobles the Bars shall not though Bars of Iron to Gates of Brasse It was sayd in opening the words that stretching out the hand is the posture of a madd man Consider this and then say Is it not the maddest madnesse to stretch out the hand against God or to strengthen our selves against the Almighty to oppose him against whom it is impoâ—sible not onely to prevaile but to doe him the least hurt or give him the least check or stop in his way If wee should see a man set his shoulder against a Wall of Brasse or blow a Feather against it hoping to overturne and batter it downe would not we say this man is either a Fool who never had the use of reason or a Mad-man who hath lost his reason He that opposeth the counsells and wayes of God can no more overthrow them then a Feather can a Wall of Brasse or the touch of a little finger the strongest Tower The Psalmist represents us with these simple attempts Psal 2.1 2 c. Why doe the Gentiles rage and the people imagine a vaine thing The Kings of the earth take counsell c. Come let us breake their bands and cast their cords away from us What followes He that sits in Heaven shall laugh the Lord shall have them in derision He sees how poore how inconsiderable these motions and commotions both of the Many and of the Mighty are to give check to that Decree of his Almightinesse to set his Son upon the holy Hill of Sion Eliphaz hath not yet done with his description of the impotent rage of man against the Almighty God O sinfull vaine man whither wilt thou goe What wilt thou doe next The next Verse tells us Vers 26. He runs upon him even on his necke upon the thick Bosses of his Bucklers This 26. Verse is an amplification or aggravation of the madnesse of a wicked man who when he hath strengthened himselfe against God as he thinks and hopes sufficiently then he runs upon him c. Eliphaz carrieth on the metaphor of a Battell which before it is fought Armies are mustered and drawne up in view of each other and then to shew their courage they stretch out their hands draw their Swords and as soone as the Signall
day upon the earth whom I shall see for my selfe and mine eyes shall behold c. Job believed that he should see this Redeemer with humane eyes and therefore he did believe that his Redeemer should have a humane Nature or be The Son of man Jesus Christ was A Son of man in reference to his participation with us in all things which concerne created nature And he was The Son of man by way of Eminency in reference to his freedome from any participation with us in corrupted nature otherwise then in the paenall effects of that corruption as the Apostle states it Heb. 2.17 chap. 4.15 In all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren and he was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sinne He that is in all things like man except sinne is rightly called The Sonne of man for sinne is not at all the forme but all the deformity of man Hence Jobs faith prophesied The Sonne of man will plead For his friend The word in the Hebrew comes from a root which signifies to feed either our selves or others because friends use often to feed together and sometimes one friend seeds or provides and offers food to another It is taken sometimes largely for a Neighbour and not seldome strictly for a speciall friend Deut. 13.6 if thy friend who is as thine own soule entice thee c. that is if the nerest and friend that thou hast in the world entice thee c. in this strict sense the word is to be taken here Job was not one of Christs friends at large he was a special a Bosome-friend Job was not according to the known use of that word among us A friend of Christ extraordinary but he was Christs friend in ordinary a man who dayly convers'd with Christ and Christ with him a man who dayly performed Offices of dutifull love to Christ and a man to whom Christ dayly performed the Offices of bountifull and mercifull love Hence his holy assurance that Christ would perform that Office of mercy for him The Son of man will plead for his fiend The vvords thus opened are as I may say An Epitome of the Gospel a little gospel yea I may cal them the whole Gospel what is the Gospel but this good newes that Christ God-man mediates for his people All that Christ was is expressed in this what so-Christ did more then this on earth is implyed in this and this is all Christ now doth for us in Heaven He ever lives to make intercession for us saith Saint Paul Heb. 7.25 which is the same in effect with what holy Job professeth in this Text Hee will plead for a man with God and the Sonne of man for his Friend There is one thing further to be noted for the clearing of this Text For possibly the Reader may scruple how the same words should be rendred by some as a wish O that one might plead for a man with God and by others as a conclusion He will plead with God for a man Againe how the latter branch should be rendred by some in the forme of a similitude As a man for his neighbour and by others as a direct assertion And the Son of man for his Freind I answer to the first That the same word may be thus diversly rendred according to differing Moods of Grammar and so the signe of the Optative Moode which is in the forme of a wish is by some judged most sutable to the scope of this place So that a wish may here be understood and safely supplyed though it be not expressed To the second scruple I answer that the particle Vau in the Hebrew placed at the beginning of a word though it be usually taken as a Conjunction knitting one sentence to another yet according to the exigence and scope of the Scripture it undergoes diverse other significations As first A disjunctive Exod. 12.15 Ye shall take it out from the Sheep or from the Goates The Hebrew is And from the Goates but because the Law did not command both but gave a liberty to chuse eyther of the two therefore we render not And but Or from the Goates So Judg. 11.31 See the Margin of our Bibles which shewes that Jepthtah did not binde himselfe to offer up whatsoever should meet him in Sacrifice but one of the two he did binde himselfe to eyther to dedicate that to the Lord or to offer it up for a burnt Offering Secondly It is often used Adversatively and is rendred But Gen. 42.10 Psal 44.17 c. Thirdly Causally and it is rendred For Psal 60.11 Isa 64.5 c. Fourthly Besides diverse other acceptions of it which I shall omit it is used Comparatively or as a Note of likenesse Prov. 25.25 As cold water to a thirsty soule so is good newes from a farr Countrey The Hebrew is And good newes So Pro. 26.7 and very frequently in that Book Thus in the Text the particle Vau is taken by some as a note of likenesse comparing the two parts of the Verse with each other but by others it is taken onely as a conjunction copulative knitting both parts of the Verse together He will plead for a man with God and the Son of man for his Freind From the words according to this latter readinâ—â— Observe First There is an Advocate between God and Man Sin hath made a breach there needs a Mediator to heale it God and sinfull man are as we speake Two and they cannot be made One but by a Third Man was created in a state of amity with God that state needed no Mediatour man being restored is in a state of reconciliation unto God that state needs a Mediatour both to settle and continue it And hee who is the Mediatour betweene both parties is an Advocate a pleader a Patron for the one partie There was need of a Mediatour even in regard of God himselfe that both his State might be preserved and his Justice satisfied But there was need of an Advocate onely in regard of man that so his wants and miseries might be declared and that mercy together with helpe in the time of need might be obtained The Apostle Gal. 3.20 describing the nature of a Mediatour saith A Mediatour is not of one or as we supply not a Mediatour of one A Mediatour is of two yea and for two But an Advocate though he be betweene two yet he is but for one or of one eyther of one individually taken or of one specifically taken eyther of one man or of one sort or company of men who though they are many in number yet their state or case is one Thus Christ is an Advocate for one or of one all that he is an Advocate for being in one and the same condition for the maine though some particulars in every mans case may vary The Greek word which is rendred Advocate in the New Testament is applyed to the holy Ghost But there is a great difference betweene
Noah and his Sonnes who indeed had the World to themselves for the Flood having swept away all mankinde except that Family to him and his Sons the earth was given alone these were the wise men saith this opinion from whom Eliphaz received the Doctrine which he communicated to Ista phâ—asi circumlo â—uitur mihi patriarcham Noe cum tribus ejus filiis Bold Methodius aliique patres antiqui vocant Noe tres filios Mundi chiliarchos and pressed upon Job there was never such a Monarch except Adam the first man as Noah was he had the whole World given him Hence the Ancients stile Noahs three Sonnes The Commanders and Colonels of the whole World But I conceive we need not determine it upon those though possibly Eliphaz might have an aime at them Most Interpreters take it in generall of the old good Princes of whom it may be said The earth was given to them and to them alone Abraham was a great Prince and to him The earth in one sense was given alone But who made this great deed of gift even the most high God whom Abraham calls Gen. 14. The possessor of Heaven and Earth He it is that then gave and still gives the earth and he gives it two wayes first by an act of common providence thus as Job expresseth it Chap. 9.24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked Secondly he gives the earth by an act of speciall providence or by vertue of a promise so Canaan was given to Abraham and his seed the people of Israel and thus the Kingdome of Israel and Judah was given to David and his seed When it is said here that the earth was given to such alone Sapientibus solis terra data esse dicitur quia bonorum terrenorum ipse sunt domini utentes iis ad suum bonum Aquin. in loc the meaning is not that none had any of the earth given them but they but none had the earth given them as they by peculiar promise and speciall providence Further the giving of the earth may be considered either as the giving that which is good or as the giving it for good as a gift of bounty or as a gift of mercy in the latter considerations the earth is given to good men alone None have it for good but they who are good and they onely make a good use of it Hence Observe That the earth or earthly things are disposed to the Sons of men by a deed of gift from God Secondly Wise holy men receive the earth and the things of the earth by speciall gift These alone receive the earth from a Fathers hand and good will it comes to them in the Covenant of grace to which the promise of the earth belongs as well as of Heaven Godlinesse hath the promise of this life and of that which is to come Optimorum principum circumloqutio est quorum administratio respublicas suas tuebatur omnemque hostium injuriam propulsabat Pined Authoritate sua usi sunt ad jus bonum aequum tuenduÌ„ ad injustum quodvis alienum propulsandum Jun. in loc Saints have the earth and all earthly things given to them in reference to their being in Covenant with God and thus the earth is given to them alone Againe we may expound that terme Alone by the next clause To whom alone the earth was given that is as they had great possessions in the earth so they had those possessions to themselves without any to trouble vex or molest them which Eliphaz thus expresseth And no stranger passed among them Some read No strange thing passed among them Both readings are a description of wise and godly Princes who having the earth given them No stranger or no strange thing passeth among them Strangers are here taken under a double notion First no stranger that is no enemy To cleare which notion of the word Stranger we must remember that as the Grecians conceiting themselves the best bred people in the World called all other Nations Barbarians so the people of Israel the stock of Abraham being Gods peculiar Covenant-people called all other Nations aliens or strangers and because they were hated and maligned by all other Nations therefore they called all professed strangers enemies so the word is used Isa 1.7 Your land strangers shall devoure that is enemies shall invade and prevaile over you Psalm 144.7 Deliver me out of the hand of strange Children or out of the hand of strangers that is Alienus hoc loco idem est qui hostis Sanct. Hostis apud majores nostros quem nunc peregrinum dicimus Cic. lib. 1. Offic. out of the hand of mine enemies The Latine word Alienus is often put for Hostis and the Roman Oratour telleth us That he who is now called a stranger was called an enemy by our Ancestors The reason was because strangers proved unkinde to yea turned enemies against those that entertained them As formerly Kings were called Tyrants but because many Kings oppressed their people therefore now oppressing Princes onely are called Tyrants So then to say no stranger passed among them is as much as to say no enemy none to molest or afflict passed among them Satis apparet non de hoste temporali sed de eo qui alteri quam verae religioni addictus est vel qui numina extranea â—olit Bold Againe the word Stranger is taken for one that is erroneous or idolatrous for a man unsound in Doctrine or superstitious in Worship Wise men to whom alone the earth was given had no such stranger passing among them they were not mixed with idolatrous and uncircumcised Nations they did not communicate with them in worship as in after times the people of Israel did This notion of the stranger is an advantage to Eliphaz as if he had sayd The wise men whose authority I produce in this cause were sound in judgement and pure in worship they did not mingle themselves with Idolaters and Hereticks they neither learned their workes not received their Doctrines and are therefore witnesses worthy of credit and against whom there lyes no just exception No stranger passed among them If we take stranger in the first sense for an enemy then the word Passed signifies as much as invaded and may well be translated to a military motion No stranger or enemy passed that is none matched among them or through their Land to disturbe or plunder them when God is sayd to give Laws to the Sea or set it bounds which it should not passe this imports that the Sea like an enemy would march through the earth and overwhelme all unlesse bridled by a Divine decree But if we take Stranger in the second sense for an Idolater or a man of unsound Principles then No stranger passed among them is such were not received and embraced by them nor admitted among them From the first Observe That it is as the honour of a people to releive oppressed
as the testimonie of God against us is more terrible than that of our owne hearts 1 Joh. 3.20 If our heart condemne us God is greater than our hearts and knoweth all things and therefore knoweth more evill by us and every evill more than our owne hearts doe so the testimony of God for us is more comfortable than that of our owne hearts If our hearts acquit us God is greater than our hearts and knowing all things he knoweth more good by us and every good more than our owne hearts doe who can expresse or tell how pleasant it is to receive this testimonie from God that wee please God Behold saith David Psal 133.1 how good and pleasant a thing it is for Brethren to dwell together in unitie But O how good and pleasant a thing it is for God and man to dwell together in unitie for man to be alwayes giving witnesse to God that he is good and gracious and for God to be alwayes giving witnesse to man that he is upright and righteous When conscience speaks us fair we have peace and a continual feast but when God speaks us faire and gives us an euge from Heaven Well done good and faithfull Servants wee have peace which passeth all understanding and not only a joyfull feast but a feast of joyes which are unspeakable and full of glory Yea vvhen wee are at the fullest Tables of this world this is the sauce in our dish and the sugar in our cup Goe thy way saith the Preacher Eccl. 9.7 eate thy bread with joy and drinke thy wine with a merry heart why what 's the matter now For now God accepteth thy workes Thou hast a witnesse in Heaven Thirdly Observe A good man dares appeale and put his cause to God A wicked man will sometimes appeale and put his cause to God out of presumption and impudence but a good man appeales to God in faith and holy confidence As it is an act of grace or favour in God to receive an appeal from man so it is an act not only of grace but of courage in man to make an appeale to God It is an act of grace as it is a part of the worshipp of God but it is an act of courage or as I may call it a daring worke as it is a putting our selves under the justice of God yea an implicit imprecating of the vengeance of God in case wee speake untrue Thus to appeale or sweare is a daring worke and such as no man durst doe if he knew what he did but in a good cause It is a fearefull thing thus to fall into the hands of the living God Some have ventured upon false oathes and appeales to God only for feare of men Such say commonly They had rather trust God with their soules by swearing falsely then man with their estates lives or libertyes by confessing the truth Which is not only as if a man should flee from a Lyon and a Bear should meet but infinitely more than if a man for feare of the biting of a Whippet or of the stinging of a Bee should willingly offer himself to the mouth of a Lyon and to the sting of a Serpent To sweare is not only to set our naked breasts before the Cannons mouth but with our owne mouthes to give fire to it if wee utter falshood Fourthly Observe It is the joy and comfort of an upright heart that there is a God in heaven who knowes his heart and beares witnesse of all his wayes It is the terrour of wicked men to thinke that there is a witnesse in Heaven and a record on high Hypocrites may pretend they rejoyce that God is their vvitnesse but it s only a joy of the tongue and from the teeth outwards or to serve their turne but an upright heart rejoyceth indeed at this he riseth every morning and walks all the day long and at night lyes downe and rests upon this thought God is my record God is my witnesse he hath searched me and knowne me he knoweth my down sitting and my uprising he understands my thoughts a farr off he compasseth my path and my lying downe and is acquainted with all my wayes In the mid'st of all the clamours misapprehensions and mis-judgings of men it is an aboundant refreshing and consolation to the Saints that there sits one in heaven who as he knowes them fully so he judgeth all men rightly and will render to every man according to his vvords Lastly consider the place into which Jobs faith ascended while he speakes of God My witnesse is in Heaven my record is on high Who is in Heaven who is on high you may know whom he meanes when he saith He that is in Heaven he that is on high though his name be not exprest There are Angels in Heaven but they are nothing compared to God there are the soules of just men departed and made perfect in heaven but they are nothing compared to God there 's no name in heaven but God God is all in all in heaven and he should take up all our hearts and thoughts while we are on earth especially when wee discourse of heaven Hence observe Though God be every where yet he is especially in heaven God is upon the earth yea God is in hell If I make my Bed in hell thou art there Psal 139.8 yet when Job acts faith upon God he saith not I have a witnesse on earth but my witnesse is in heaven Psal 2.4 He that sitteth in heaven shall laugh the Lord shall have them in derision God doth not sit as circumscribed in heaven but there the scripture describes him sitting Psal 123.1 Vnto thee lift I up mine eyes O thou that dwellest in the Heavens Christ teacheth us to pray Matth. 6. Our Father which art in heaven and when he himselfe prayed He lift up his eyes to Heaven and said Father the houre is come glorifie thy Sonne c. Joh. 17.1 Jesus Christ speakes to God as in that place and he speaks of heaven as of a place as of a speciall and distinct place to vvhich he lifted up his eyes when he prayed to his Father There is a new Divinity which tels us that Heaven is every place and every place is Heaven But why did Christ ascend why was he carryed up Luke 24.51 when he went to Heaven If Heaven be every where there 's no need of ascending to get into Heaven and wee may as properly descend into Heaven as ascend up to Heaven if Heaven be every where Peter Martyr lying upon his death bed and having many Freinds about him discoursed sweetly of Heaven and heavenly things Bullenger standing by alleadged that of the Apostle Phil. 3.20 Our conversation is in Heaven True sayd the sick man it is in Heaven but not in the Heaven of Brentius Non in caelo Brentij quod nusquam est Vit. P. Mart. which is no where He that makes Heaven every where makes it no where Though God be in all
places and wheresoever God is Heaven is yet there is more in Heaven then is common to all places That 's Heaven properly where the glory of God shines most and where there is the speciall revealings of his honour and power therefore it is called The habitation of his holinesse and of his glory Isa 63.15 Heaven is as we may speake the place of Gods glorious residence This Heaven is not every where for though God be every where yet he doth not manifest himselfe equally every where God hath built Heaven as that great Monarch Dan. 4.3 spake boastingly of Babylon for the house of his Kingdome and for the honour of his Majesty Quasi a natura insitam suisse opinionem Deum in caelo habitate asserit Aristoteles lib. 1. de Anima cap. 3. A meere Naturalist hath told us That this principle is stampt upon the nature of man that God hath his dwelling place on high or in Heaven Heaven is so proper to God that God is often by a Metonimy called Heaven in the holy Scriptures Thy Kingdome saith Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar Dan. 4.26 shall be sure unto thee after that thou shalt have knowne that the heavens doe rule that is When thou shalt be humbled and brought to this acknowledgement that the God whose Throne and dwelling place is in Heaven sits also upon all earthly Thrones and is King in all the Kingdomes of Men. Christ puts the Question to the Jewes Matth. 21.25 The baptisme of John Whence was it from Heaven or of Men that is Was it from God or from Men Was it a humane invention or a Divine Institution The prodigall Son cryes out Father I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight that is Both against my earthly and heavenly Father Some because these and the like Scriptures call God Heaven and because it is sayd after the resurrection when all the Saints shall be gathered into Heaven That God shall be all in all upon these mistakes I say they have run into that grosse errour That Heaven is God But when the Scripture calls Heaven the habitation of God the Throne of God the City of God the building of God an house not made with hands it cannot be but a perverting of Scripture and a throwing up of reason to call it God or to say that God and Heaven are the same Nor doth it at all follow that God is Heaven because God shall be all in all to us in Heaven Paul was not teaching the Corinthians there what Heaven is but wherein the happinesse of the Saints shall consist when they shall all be called up to Heaven after the generall resurrection from the dead Then Christ shall resigne up his Kingdome as Mediator to his Father then God shall be all in all in All that is There will be no more need of a Mediator betweene God and Man there will be no more need of Preaching nor of making prayers nor of using Seals All the glasses through which we saw God and the outward Ordinances in which vve enjoyed God in this life shall be layd aside when vve see him face to face and then God will be King and Teacher light and life glory and happinesse to his Saints immediately and for ever 'T is granted That Heaven is nothing to us without God yet God is something yea he is infinitely more then Heaven Solomon bespeakes God thus in his prayer at the dedication of the Temple 1 Kings 8.27 Behold the Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens cannot containe thee how much lesse this house that I have builded If Heaven even the Heaven of Heavens cannot containe God then it is not God That which doth containe a thing is not the thing contained much lesse is that which cannot containe a thing the thing which it cannot containe Againe that which Job cals heaven in one part of the verse he cals high in the other My witnesse is in Heaven my record is on high God dwels in the high and holy place Isai 57.15 And Christ after he had finished the work of mans redemption is said To sit downe on the right hand of the Majesty on high Heb. 1.3 This high place is the highest place all that wee call Heaven is high but all that wee call Heaven is not alike high Heaven is a building of three Stories The aire is called heaven The fowles of the aire are said to flye above the earth in the Firmament of heaven Gen. 1.20 The Clouds are called Heaven Lev. 2.19 I will make your Heaven as Iron and your Earth as Brasse that is I will make the clouds which are soft like Spunges hard like Iron they shall not yeeld a drop of water to refresh the wearyed earth The second Storie is the starrie Heaven where the Sun and Moon move and where those other glorious lights are set like golden studs to adorne comfort and direct the World His going for this from the end of Heaven and his circuit unto the ends of it Psal 19.6 The third is called The habitation of God the heaven of heavens the third Heaven the highest Heaven The Apostle saith of Christ that He ascended farr above all Heavens Ephes 4.10 And yet he then ascended into Heaven the meaning is Christ ascended above all the visible heavens into that which is invisible to us who are on earth This Heaven Job pointed at while he said My record is on high Take foure deductions from it First If Heaven be highest then there is nothing but serenety in Heaven The highest places in a civill sense are full of stormes and so are high places in a naturall sense but the highest places in nature are free from clouds stormes and vapours Naturalists tell us of Olympus a very high Mountaine lifting up its head beyond the middle Region whither no breath of winde ever comes you may draw Letters and Figures in the Sand and come many yeares after and finde them no more stirred then if they had been written in Marble and if the highest places in nature are alwayes serene how serene is the high place of glory When you are once in Heaven you are beyond not onely proper but figurative stormes and winds for ever Secondly Heaven is high therefore it is a pure place Every thing in nature the more high it is the more pure it is Earth is the lowest and the grossest of the Elements the Water next to that is more grosse then the Ayre the Ayre is more grosse then the Fire which Philosophers call the highest of the Elements The higher wee goe the more purity wee finde and when we are in altissimis at the highest there is nothing but purity perfect purity there is not the least mixture of drosse nor the least spot of dirt in Heaven Heaven is all pure and none shall come thither but such as are pure Pure persons are fit for a pure place and only they art fit No uncleane thing shall enter there and he that hath this hope
whom God comforts shall say Thou hast comforted me and I was comforted This the Apostle speaks out to the praise of God 2 Cor. 1.3 4. Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of mercies and the God of all consolations all consolation belongs to God he hath all comfort in his owne power and dispose there is not any creature in the World can give out the least dram of comfort to us without the commission or leave of God it is possible for one man to give another man riches but he cannot give him comfort man may give honour to man but he cannot give him comfort A man may have a pleasant dwelling a loving Wife sweet Children and yet none of these a comfort to him The consolation of all our possessions and relations is from God Whosoever would have comfort must trade to Heaven for it that 's a commodity can be found upon no earthly coast you may fetch in wealth from many coasts of the earth but you cannot fetch in comfort till you addresse your selves to the God of Heaven We can procure our owne sorrow quickly but God onely makes us to rejoyce our releife from outward affliction or inward griefe is the gift of God He onely can comfort us in outward afflictions who can command the creature and he onely can comfort us against our inward griefes who can convince the conscience None can doe either of these but God therefore consolations are from God Luther spake true It is easier to make a World then to comfort the conscience the Hebrew phrase to comfort used in diverse places of the old Testament is To speake to the heart Now God onely can speake to the heart man can speake to the eare he can speake words but he can goe no further Therefore the act and art of comforting belongs properly to God Christ is the true Noah Lamech saith of Noah Gen. 5.29 This man shall comfort us concerning our worke and the toyle of our hands it was not in Noah to comfort but as God made him a comfort and he was said to comfort as a type of Christ Christ is true comfort He is comfort cloathed in our flesh he is as it were comfort incarnate Noah sent a Dove out of his Arke which returned with an Olive branch Jesus Christ sends the holy Ghost who is called the Comforter with the Olive branch of true peace to our wearied souls and to shew that it is now the highest act of Christs love care as mediator to give comfort he promised to send the holy Ghost when himselfe was taking his leave of the Church in regard of any visible abode or bodily presence being ready to ascend and step into Heaven he sayd I will send the comforter When God rained fire and brimstone from Heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah it is sayd by some of the Ancients that he sent a Hell out of Heaven But when he powres the holy Spirit from Heaven upon his Sion we may say he sends a heaven out of heaven Heaven above is nothing else but holy comfort and the comforts of the holy Spirit are the onely Heaven below How highly then ought we to esteeme how carefully to maintaine communion with God who hath all comfort seeing comfort is more to us then all we have If wee have comfort let our estate be what it will we are well enough comfort is as the spring of our yeare as the light of our day as the Sun in our Firmament as the life of our lives Have we not reason then to draw yea to presse neerer unto God who hath all comfort in his hand and without whom the best things cannot comfort us Not our riches nor our relations not Wife nor Children not health nor beauty not credit nor honour none of these can comfort us without God and if God please he can make any thing comfort us he can make a crust of dry bread a feast of fat things a cup of cold water a banquet of Wine to us And as he can make our comforts crosses so our crosse a comfort as David speakes Psal 23.4 Thy rod and thy staffe comfort me not onely the supporting staffe but the correcting rod shall comfort if God command it to be a comforter Who would not maintaine communion with this God who can make a comfort of any thing who can answer every crosse with a comfort If we have a thousand crosses God hath ten thousand comforts hee can multiply comforts faster then the World can multiply crosses Againe if God be the God of all consolation then goe to God for consolation as the Angel said to the women when they came to the Sepulcher enquiring for Christ Why seek yee the living among the dead he is risen he is not here So I may say Why seek yee living comforts among dead or dying creatures Seeke them there no longer Job complaines in this Booke When I sayd my bed shall comfort me then thou scarest me with dreames Chap. 7. Job went to a wrong place when he went to his bed for comfort most soules misse of comfort because they goe to a wrong place for it one goes to his bed another to his freind for comfort a third to his wife and Children these saith he shall comfort me alas why seeke yee the living among the dead none of these can comfort though these may be meanes of comfort Who or whatsoever is the instrument God is the author of all our comfort whatsoever hand brings it God sends it God saith Paul who comforteth those who are cast downe comforted us by the comming of Titus 2 Cor. 7.6 Titus was a good man and brought good tydings yet Paul doth not say that the comming of Titus did not comfort them but saith Paul God comforted us by the comming of Titus T is not your freind who comforts you but God who comforts you by the comming of such a freind when you are in sorrow by sending in such reliefe when you are poor by sending such medicines when you are sick such salves when you are sore such counsell when you are in doubt and know not what to doe Once more It is happy for Saints that consolation is in the hand of God if it were in the hand of the creature sure they should have but little of it but it is in the hand of God There are these foure considerations which may comfort Saints that comfort is in the hand of God First Considering his nature he is willing and ready to do good he is full of compassion and to shew mercy pleaseth him more then it releeveth us Secondly Considering his relation to his people he is a Father Will a Father let a Child lye comfortlesse when he can help him he is our Husband he is our Freind all relations provoke God to give out comfort to the Saints Thirdly Considering his Omniscience and Omnipresence he knowes where the shooe wrings he knowes what comfort we want a
of their hearts is to God and they love God with all their hearts which is the fulfilling of the Law So that the obedience of the Angels in Heaven is made the copy and patterne of our obedience here on earth as Christ hath taught us to pray though I say the Angels are thus perfectly righteous in reference to the Law yet there is a higher righteousnesse and holinesse in God There 's but the holinesse of obeying a Law God hath the holinesse of being a Law They have a holinesse without spot yet it is but a finite a created holinesse now what comparison is there betweene finite and infinite created and uncreated therefore though there be no blemish in the obedience of Angels none in their nature none in their lives yet God puts no trust in them he cannot lay the weight of his confidence upon them because they are creatures The next clause doubles this point And the Heavens are not cleane in his sight There is a difference among Interpreters what these Heavens are The Chaldee Paraphrast and some of the Ancients understand the Angels as in the former part of the Verse and they say the Angels are called the Heavens under a twofold consideration First Because Angels are like the Heavens in their spirituality and incorruptibility in their order and subordination among themselves as also in their power over sublunary or earthly bodies Secondly By a Synechdoche because the Angels have their habitation in Heaven that 's their dwelling place so Master Broughton translates Nor they of Heaven be cleane in his eyes that is the Inhabitants of Heaven are not cleane in his eyes Caeruleus Tibris caelo gratissimus amnis i. e. diis vel caelicolis Virg. l. 8. The Heathen Poet calls those whom he supposed dwellers in Heaven by the Name of Heaven describing a pleasant River he calls it A River pleasant to Heaven that is to those who are in Heaven Others by Heaven understand the Saints in Heaven not the Angels and that also upon a twofold reason First Because God is said to dwell in the Saints Sancti in quibus tanquam in caelis habitare dicitur Deus caeli dicuntur quae allegoria frequentissima est inter antiquos patres Pined they are his habitation and wheresoever God dwels he makes a Heaven Secondly Because the Saints not onely those in Heaven but they on earth have their conversation in Heaven Phil. 3.20 As carnall and earthly minded men are called Earth because their hearts and conversations are fixed to the earth so spirituall and heavenly minded men may be called Heaven because their hearts and conversations are fixed in Heaven Thirdly We may rather understand it in a proper sense the heavens that is The heavenly bodies are not cleare in thy sight the heavens are the most excellent and purest part of the Creation And therefore this interpretation or rather plaine construction of the words suites the scope of Eliphaz fully who as he spake before of the Angels who are the purest of all rationall creatures so here of the heavens which are the purest of all inanimate creatures Caeli qui maxÃmè sunt lucidi suas habent maculas partesque crassiores magisque opacas materiales in re igitur er fectissima vidit Deus ma ulas Pineâ— yet these are not pure in the sight of God therefore no man is The heavens have a kinde of uncleannesse in them the Moone hath her spots yea the Moone is but a spot if Philosophers may be credited who tell us that all the Stars in their sense the Moone is a Star are but as the spots of Heaven A Starre as they define being the thicker and grosser part of its Orbe The heavens themselves are so fine and liquid so thin and fluid that they cannot hold the light therefore the Lord made those Celestiall bodies the Sunne Moone and Stars more compact and grosse that so they might both receive and retaine the light as also transmit and give it out to the World here below These are spots in the Heavens and though they appeare as the glory or Beauty-spots of Heaven to our sight and are so indeed yet these are not cleane in the sight of God Againe the heavens are furthest removed from all earthly dregs and drosse In conspectu ejus Aliud est purum esse simpliciter aliud purum esse coram Deo ut justus justus coram Deo differunt Luc. 1. 6. Drus so that they are cleane not onely in regard of their nature and constitution but also in regard of their site and position being placed so far from the sinck of the World the earth they never received any staine or defilement from it yet these heavens are not cleane in his sight God doth not make that which is cleane not cleane by his seeing it but his sight is infinitely above all the cleannesse which he sees That may be cleane considered simply or in it selfe which before God or to the eye of God is as an uncleane thing Hence Note God is so clear-sighted that the cleanest creatures are uncleane in his sight the very cleannesse of the creature is uncleannesse before him much more compared to him For if one creature may be so cleane that another creature which is cleane may be sayd to have no cleannesse in comparison of it Then surely God is so cleane that the cleanest creatures have indeed no cleannesse in comparison of his The Stars are very beautifull bodies and full of light yet the Sunne hath so much light that it darkens all the Stars and causeth them to disappeare when it appeareth Now if the Stars have no light in the sight of the Sunne what light hath the Sunne in the sight of God he that puts all the perfections that the creature hath into the creature hath infinitely more perfection in himselfe Those excellencies which are divided and scattered all the Creation over are not onely contracted and united in God but unconceiveably exceeded by him Job having thus layd downe the former part of his argument he applyes it Vers 16. How much more abominable and filthy is man who drinketh iniquity like water Concerning the Saints he sayd onely God puts no trust in them and concerning the Heavens They are not cleane in his sight But now that he speakes of man he doth not say God puts no trust in him or he is not cleane in his sight but he layes load upon him He is abominable and filthy and as if that were not enough he aggravates it with How much more abominable c. If he put no trust in glorified Saints in whom yet there is no iniquity then no marvell if man be called abominable who drinketh iniquity like water The whole Verse is a description of mans sinfulnesse First of the sinfulnesse of his nature in those words He is abominable and filthy Secondly of the sinfulnesse of his life He drinketh iniquity like water How much more
beggar when he hath abundance A coveteous man is an unsatiable gulfe He only is well who hath enough and he is best who hath in temporalls the least enough But a coveteous man hath not enough though he hath more then enough and much more then needs he always dreams of dearths and suspects the Earth will be barren with these feares he pines yea martyrs himself and is not at all enriched with all his riches he hath sufficient to maintaine twenty yet is told by his unbeleife that he hath not sufficient for one This is vanity and vexation of spirit The life of man doth not consist in what he hath but in what he is and hopes to be his life doth not consist in abundance either for the continuance of it or for the comfort of it A man doth not live more dayes nor more cheerfully any day because he lives plentifully The creature were a God to us if it could do this to us but this God hath reserved in his owne hands how much soever of the creature he gives out that we may know our dependance on him Secondly Observe That imaginary wants or to have an unquiet spirit in the midst of our injoyments is more afflictive then to be in reall want The worst worldly poverty is to be poore when we are rich as it is the excellency of our spirituall estate to be poor in spirit in our greatest spirituall plenty to be little or nothing in our own eyes when we have a great stock of grace So it is the misery of our temporall estate to be thus poor in spirit when we have plenty in the Purse to say we have little or nothing when we have a great stock of worldly goods Zophar concludes of the Hypocrite Chap. 20.21 In the fulnesse of his sufficiency he shall be in streights which may be understood either first That when he is full troubles shall empty him or secondly That while his fulnesse continues even in his fullest fulnesse he shall live as if he were indeed as empty of wealth as he is of goodnesse alwayes spending himselfe with feares that all will be suddenly spent and saying in his heart This will not hold out I shall never be able to bring the yeare about or bring as we say both ends together Hence his cares are endlesse and he grudges himselfe ordinary comforts his worldly sorrow consumes him and he is willing to dye onely to save charges That man is in an ill case who is grudged what he eates or spends by others but it is farr worse for a man to grudge himselfe his necessary expences Some worldly men whose Barns are full are ready to say every one to his soule as he Luke 12.19 Soule take thine ease thou hast goods layd up for many yeares Another hath his Barnefull and yet saith This will not hold one yeare and so gives his soule no ease at all What the Apostle saith of himselfe is true of all those who have an interest in Christ 2 Cor. 6.10 As poore yet making many rich as having nothing yet possessing all things But there are some rich who make many poore and themselves poorest of all for though they have all those things yet they are as if they possessed nothing It is an affliction to be poore for want of riches but it is a curse to be poore in the possession of riches Hee that loves Silver shall not be satisfied with Silver Eccles 5.10 To be satisfied is more then to be rich and he is alwayes poor who is unsatisfied he that expects satisfaction from the creature shall never finde contentation in the creature and he that expects no satisfaction from the creature hath contentation in any portion of the creature A godly man learnes in every estate to be content a carnall man is content in no estate when he is poor he sees he hath nothing and when he is rich he saith he hath not enough Thus he wanders as well when he is rich as when he is poor and is therefore never satisfied Againe He wanders about for bread Where Or saying Where is it Hence Observe A man that is not good is uncertaine where to receive any good Where is it Though a Beleever want bread yet he knowes whither to goe for it and where it is to be had The earth is the Lords and the fulnesse thereof he goes to Heaven for bread as well as for grace he knowes there is bread in the promise and to the promise he goes The promise hath all things both concerning life and godlinesse Christ who is the bread of life gives us bread for this life and having Christ with him we have all things else Bread and cloathing Gold and Silver are layd up in Christ An Unbeleever as hath been shewed hath nothing to doe with promises nor with Christ the fulfiller of promises and therefore he is ever in doubt when he is in want and saith Where is it He knowes not whither to goe nor to whom for the supply of his wants A wicked man is never in his way and in one sense he is never out of his way They may goe any where who know not whither to goe They are never out of their way who have no home East West North or South it is all one to them which way the Staffe falls they goe they have no rule nor line to goe by but though a wicked man know not his particular way yet he often knowes his generall end and that is misery as the next words tell us He knowes the day of darknesse is ready at hand At the 22. Verse Hee beleeves not that he shall returne out of darknesse that is as was opened in case he falls into evill he thinks he shall never get out of it he hath no faith that he shall recover out of trouble but he hath a strong faith that he shall fall into trouble He knowes that the day of darknesse is ready at hand Here are three things to be cleared First What is meant by knowing Secondly What by the day of darknesse Thirdly What by being ready at hand To know it is here opposed to an uncertaine guesse or to conjecture to know is as much as to be fully perswaded to know is to be assured the highest act of faith is often expressed by knowledge Novit in seipso quod maneat in ruinam Certo sibi persuadet atque hujus rei praesagium ex sui cordis sensu sacit Hereby we know that we know him 1 John 2.4 that is hereby we are assured that we know him so here He knowes that is he is assured it is setled upon his spirit that the day of darknesse is ready at hand This knowledge riseth not from reports abroad but from his owne breast so the Septuagint translates Hee knowes in himselfe that evill shall be upon him As a godly man hath a witnesse for him in himselfe so a wicked man hath a witnesse against him in
well as to the quality of our works and that 's a worke of wickednesse in Folio or of the largest size which is done with a hand stertbhed out What revenge is bigg enough for a sin thus bigg He stretcheth out his hand against God Here are three things to be opened Tanto supplicio nunc scelus dignissimum explicat Pined First What is meant by the hand Secondly What is meant by stretching out the hand Thirdly How the hand may be stretched out against God The hand may be taken properly or improperly properly for that member of the body which is so usefull and instrumentall in all the services of this life and then to stretch out the hand must be taken in a proper sense for so wicked men sometimes doe they stretch out the hand of the body against God by acting sins of violence and by acting violently in many sins The outward members especially the hand and tongue are made the weapons of unrighteousnesse both against God and Man Theod. l. 3. cap. 20. Niceph l. 10. cap. 35. The Church-Historian reports of Julian the Apostate that when he was wounded in the Battell against the Parthians he tooke of his blood and threw it up to Heaven he stretched out his hand against God saying in derision of Christ O Galilaean thou hast overcome This outward gesture of his body expressed the secret indignation of his minde And it is observed by Jerom Amalachitae Israelitas in Exitu de Egypto vel ob lassitudinem vel ob legalem immunditiem extra castra degentes occiderunt eorum circumcisionem amputatam in subsannationem Dei projecerunt in caelum Hieron who saith he received it from the Tradition of the Jewes that the Amalakites who were professed Enemies to the Jewes did lye upon the watch to take all advantages against them in their march from Aegypt to Canaan and when at any time they turned aside out of the way either because of legall uncleannesse or upon any naturall necessity they would fall upon them and slay them which being done they cut off that member which had the Seale of the Covenant Circumcision upon it and with their hands stretched out threw it up towards Heaven as if they would challenge God himselfe to revenge their blasphemy of him and the contempt of that sacred Institution Secondly The hand is taken improperly or metaphorically so the power of a man is his hand the strength of his whole body state and minde may be called his hand his riches are his hand his credit is his hand his wit and parts Learning and Eloquence are his hand as there is a power in all these And when it is sayd here He stretcheth forth his hand against God we may understand it in that latitude for a wicked man improves the strength of his body the power of his Estate his Credit his Wit all his accommodations in the way of Rebellion against God A man is sayd to stretch out himselfe Extendere manum est omnem adhibere conatum ad percutiendum hostem aut aliquid aliud aggrediendum when he doth his utmost to attaine his end and makes the most of himselfe to any purpose In such cases he stretcheth all that he is as we say upon the Tenters and this all of his put together is his hand stretched out against God Further To stretch out the hand imports foure things First To doe a thing with the utmost intention of minde and body to doe it with all our might and fullest resolution Joshua being resolved to bring totall destruction upon the men of Ai Drew not his hand back wherewith he stretched out his Speare till he utterly destroyed all the Inhabitants of Ai Josh 8.26 The stretching forth of his hand was emblematicall speaking or implying that his spirit kept up to the height of resolution for the ruine of that City and people When the Scripture speaks of God acting towards Man either in a way of judgement or mercy this phrase is often used Exod. 6.6 Wherefore say to the Children of Israel I am the Lord and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Aegyptians and I will rid you out of their bondage and I will redeeme you with an out-stretched arme Exod. 14.8 The Children of Israel went out with an high hand and at the sixt Verse of the same Chapter the Lord bid Moses Stretch his hand over the Sea to shew that he was purposed to worke a Miracle for the deliverance of his people The Prophets are frequent in this language Isa 5.25 Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people and he hath stretched forth his hand against them Read Chap. 9. Verse 12 17.21 Chap. 10.4 Jer. 51.25 Ezek. 14.13 Chap. 15.7 In all these places when the Lord went with full purpose to punish he is said To stretch out his hand Now as when God stretcheth out his hand against Man it shews his resolvednesse to smite so when man stretcheth out his hand against God it shews his resolvednesse to sin or his actuall sinning with full intention and strength of spirit Secondly Mans stretching out his hand Extendere manum est habitus considentis potentiam viresque ostendentis speaks the confidence of a man that he shall carry all before him and win the day it is usuall with contenders especially with Souldiers before they joyne Battell to stretch their hands out to draw and brandish their Swords in token both of their courage to fight and of their confidence to prevaile Obstinate sinners are full of false hopes that they shall obtaine what they designe and prosper in their projects of wickednesse and therefore they are sayd to stretch out the hand against God Thirdly Stretching out the hand is a posture of pride and impudence pride is written upon a stretched-out-hand To sin presumptuously Anima quae in manu superbiae Sept. is in the Originall to sin with a high hand Numb 15.30 The Septuagint render that place The soule that in the hand of pride thinkes so shall be cut off The Caldee Paraphrase gives it thus He that sins with an uncovered head An uncovered head is an argument of boldnesse and that he who acts cares not who sees him Modesty causeth us to hang downe or cover the head when we have done ill and shame makes us cover the head when we receive evill or are punished Jer. 14.4 The Plowmen were ashamed they covered their heads because the ground was chapt for there was no raine in the Earth So that to do or suffer with an uncovered head is like doing or suffering with a high or stretched-out-hand boldly presumptuously and as it were hanging out a Falg of defiance against the God of Heaven Fourthly Stretching out the hand is the posture of a furious maddman he that wants the use of his reason makes this use of his hand laying about him as if he would doe wonders such madnesse
of the Battell is given by sound of Trumpet beat of Drum or discharge of Cannon they run on upon one another and when the Battell comes to the heat and hight they charge home even upon the necks of one another and upon the Bosses of their Bucklers Here 's the description of a fierce charge This wicked one is a Champion for Hell he challenges the God of Heaven and runs upon him c. with utmost violence Quia impius manum in Deum extendit ideo currit in eum Deus ad collum in densitate dorsorum clypeorum ejus q.d. in ea quibus ille maxime roboratur Rab. Lev. Vatabl. Beza Multo aptior est ut describatur adhuc ille impiorum conatus adversus Deum Pined Inauditam impii temeritatem describere prosequitur Bold That 's the sum of the words I shall now open them a little further He runs upon him even upon his neck There is a difference among Interpreters about that Antecedent some understand God As it the meaning were God runneth upon a wicked man like a strong Warrier with incredible swiftnesse and irresistible force to cast him downe The wicked man having stretched out his hand and strengthned himselfe against the Almighty now the Almighty runs upon his necke even upon the thick bosses of his Buckler Come saith God I will have about with thee if thou darest I will try it out with thee I am not afrayd of thy stiffe necke though it hath Iron sinews nor of the thick bosses of thy Buckler though they be of Steele Thus some both later Writers and ancient Rabbins give the sense but I rather conceive with others that Eliphaz still prosecutes the strange progresse and hightned wickednesse of man who having strengthned himselfe by hardning his heart against God runs upon him even upon his necke c. Taking this sense there is a different reading thus He runs upon him with his necke we say the wicked man runs upon the neck of God they say A wicked man runs upon God with his neck their meaning is He runs upon him audaciously and proudly The neck lifted up is a token of pride and presumptuous boldnesse And to run with the neck is to run with the neck lifted up or stretched out Currere collo est collo duro erecto sunilia sunt cum lana ponitur pro lana alba c. Drus which is indeed the periphrasis of pride Psalm 75.5 Speake not with a stiffe necke that is with a spirit unwilling to submit to my dispensations The Prophet Isaiah complaines and threatens Isa 3.16 Because the Daughters of Sion are haughty and walke with stretched out necks That is because they testifie the pride of their hearts by the gate and postures of the body as much as by the vaine attire and apparrell of the body Therefore the Lord will smite c. The Lord tells Moses Exod. 32.9 I have seen this people and behold it is a stiffe-necked people He complaines by the Prophet Isa 48.4 I knew that thou art obstinate and thy neck is an Iron sinew Stephen the Proto-Martyr gives a breviate of all their rebellions Acts 7. and concludes Vers 51. Yee stiffe necked c. The stiffe neck and the proud hard heart are the same all the Bible over Thus the wicked man runneth upon God with his stiffe In erectione colli fastus agnoscitur Merc. that is his proud daring spirit As before Hee stretched out his hand so now which is more his necke against God The metaphor is taken either from Souldiers in battell Metaphora a milite Fortissimo in hostem impetum faciente Metaphora a lascivienti procaci vitulo Pined who to shew their valour hold up their heads and stretch out their necks running head to head and shoulder to shoulder when they come to close fight Or It is a metaphor taken from a Bullock unaccustomed to the yoake who therefore will not submit his neck to bear it Wicked men are called Children of Belial because they endure not the yoak of obedience when God would put his yoak upon their necks they lift up their necks or run upon him with their stiffe necks Hence Note It is pride of spirit which causeth man to oppose God The Apostle James saith God resisteth the proud Jam. 4. which intimates yea and speakes out that the proud assault God As the wicked in his pride persecutes the poore Psal 10.2 So in his pride he opposeth God And as he that loveth God follows yea runs after God to obey him so he that hates God runs upon him by disobedience An act of ignorant disobedience is a going froâ— God Per superbiam homo maximè deo resistit superbus propter praesumptionem spiritus contra Deum currere dicitur Aquin. an act of knowne disobedience is a running upon God Running upon God is not onely sinning but impudent sinning The Angels in Heaven cover their faces before God dâ—â—ing not to behold him Humble sinners on earth such as the poor Publican Luke 18. venture not to lift up their eyes to Heaven but proud sinners lift up their necks against God They who care not what God saith to them care as little what they doe to God And they who have no faith in God seldome have any feare of him these run upon him with their necks But I returne to our Translation He runs upon him even on his necke That is on the neck of God that is he sins fiercely and fearelessely he doth not dare God at a distance or like a Coward speak great words and vaunt of what he will doe when his Adversary is out of sight and hearing but he charges on boldly in his very face It is sayd of the Ramm by whom the Prophet meanes Alexander the Great King of Greece That when he saw the Hee-Goat that is Darius King of Persia he ran upon him That is he assaulted him speedily and boldly overthrowing his whole estate and so making himselfe sole Lord of Asia The whole course of his Victories are described by this word He ran upon him Dan. 8.6 And when Job would shew how fiercely the Lord handled him he gives it in this language I was at ease but he hath broken me asunder he hath also taken me by the necke and shaken me to peeces Job 16.12 Cum eo concurrens collum invadet Tigur As God in a way of highest punishment or chastisement is sayd to take a man by the neck so man in a way of highest sinning and rebelling is sayd to take God by the neck or to run upon his neck He that ventures upon the necke cares not where he ventures and he that runs upon the neck of God cares not on whom he ventures And as in height of love a freind runs and falls upon the neck of his freind thus Joseph did on his Brethrens necks Gen. 45.14 and the Father of the Prodigall Luke 15.20 Ran and fell upon
enjoy more fully the presence of God Yet God himselfe sayd at the first when man was created It is not good for man to be alone There was no morall evill in that alonenesse for when God spake this word there was no such evill in the visible World but God called it evill because it was so inconvenient for the civill well-being and inconsistent with the naturall propagation of man And therefore as in reference to both these evils God sayd with his own mouth It is not good for man to be alone so in reference to the former of the two God sayd by Solomon Two is better then one and woe to him that is alone Eccles 4.9 10. Job puts his alonenesse among his woes Thou hast made desolate all my company But it may be said Had Job no company Were not his Freinds about him Did not these three come to mourn with him and to comfort him And had they not been in discourse with him all this while Yes he had company but it was not suitable company he had evill ones about him as he complaines Chap. 19. and Chap. 30. and though his three Freinds were good men yet to him they were no good company because so unpleasant in their converse with him Hence Note Some company is a burthen We say of many men Wee had rather have their roome then their company Man loves company but 't is the company of those he loves The comfort of our lives depends much upon society but more upon the suitablenesse of society It is better to dwell in the corner of a house top then with a brawling Woman in a wide house Prov. 21.9 And it is better to be in a Desert among wilde Beasts then in a populous City among beastly men This made the Prophet desire a lodging in the Wildernesse Jer. 9.2 The Countrey about Sodome was pleasant like the Garden of God yet how was the righteous soule of Lot vexed with the filthy and unrighteous conversation of the Sodomites How uneasie are our lives made to us by dwelling among either false Freinds or open Enemies In the Creation when God said It is not good for man to be alone he subjoynes Let us make him a helpe meet for him Adam had all the beasts of the earth about him but they were no company for him man knowes not how to converse with beasts or employ his reason with those that have none As it is not good for man to be alone so to be in company that is not meet for him is as bad or worse then to be alone Therefore saith God Let us make him a helpe meet for him the making of a Woman brought in meet company for mankinde yet some men are as unmeet company for men as beasts are and are therefore in Scripture called Beasts Paul fought with such beasts at Ephesus there are few places free of them and many places are full of them David cryes out Woe is me that I am constrained to dwell in Mesech c. There was company enough but it was wofull company The Primitive Saints associated themselves they continued in fellowship one with another as well as in the Apostles Doctrine or in breaking of bread and prayer Acts 2.42 They were all of one minde and were therefore fâ—t to make one body The communion and fellowship of the Saints is the lower heaven of Saints And the making of such a company desolate is the saddest desolation that can be made on earth Communion of Saints in Heaven is one great accession to the joy of Heaven And 't is a great comfort to the Saints in the midst of all the ill neighbourhood which they meet with here to remember that they shall meet with no ill neighboures there none but Freinds there none but loving Freinds There shall not be a crosse thought much lesse a crosse word or action among those many millions of glorified Saints for ever nor shall there be any among them there but Saints no tares in that feild nor chaffe in that floore no Goates in that Fold no nor any Wolves in Sheep-skins no prophane ones there no nor any Hypocrites there Uunsutable company would render our lives miserable in Heaven it self If God should say to the godly and the wicked as David once did to Mephibosheth and Ziba Thou and Ziba divide the Land divide Heaven among you might they not answer with reverence as Mephibosheth did to David Nay let them take it all to themselves O our soules come not into their secret and unto their assembly let not our honour be joyned if Swearers Adulterers Lyers should be our company in Heaven Heaven it selfe were unheaven'd and everlasting life would bee an everlasting death And that which further argues the burdensomness of unsutable company is that even wicked men themselves cannot but confess that they are burdned with the company of those who are good if such come in presence where they associate in any sinfull converse how weary are they of their company How do they even sweat at the sight of them And how glad are they when such turne their backs and are gone the onely reason why they like them not is because they are not like them and they are not good company because they are good All company is made desolate to us which is not made suitable to us Job had many about him yet he complaines Thou hast made desolate all my company Job goes on yet to describe his troubles he wanted desireable company about him but he had store of witnesses against him he was emptyed of his comforts but filled with sorrowes as might be seen in the symptomes and effects of sorrow Vers 8. Thou hast filled me with wrinckles which is a witnesse against me and my leannesse rising up in me beareth witnesse to my face As if he had sayd Though I hold my peace and say nothing Si vellem caelare aut verbis extenuare dolorem meum rugae meae testimonium daub c. though I doe not aggravate my griefe yea though I should extenuate and hide it yet there are witnesses enow of it my wrinkles speake my griefe and my leannesse shewes that I am feasted with the sowre hearbes of sorrow That 's the generall sense of this Verse Thou hast filled me with wrinkles It is but one word in the Hebrew we might render it Thou hast wrinkled me or as Master Broughton Thou hast made me all wrinkled The word is not found in this sense any where else in Scripture 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rugas contraxit active corrugavit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 corrugastime Non alibi quam in hoc libro in scriptura reperitur Quod succidisti me testimonio est Merc. but very frequently among the Rabbins There are also two other significations of it which Interpreters have taken in here First It signifies To cut off or to cut downe Chap. 22.15 16. Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have troden
the name of Christ in it As the Name of Christ is the greatest ornament of all Books where it is August lib. 3. Confess cap. 4. so the name of Christ is the essence of all prayers and that is no prayer where his Name is not John 14.13 Whatsoever yee aske in my Name I will doe it that the Father may be glorified in the Son whatsoever yee doe doe all in the Nome of Christ giving thanks to God through him Col. 3.17 To pray in the Name of Christ is more then to name Christ in prayer It is easie to name Christ in prayer but it is a hard thing to pray in the Name of Christ To pray in the Name of Christ is First To looke up to Christ as having purchased us this priviledge that we may pray for it is by the blood of Christ that vve draw neere to God and that a Throne of grace is open for us Secondly To pray in the Name of Christ is to pray in the strength of Christ Thirdly To pray in the Name of Christ is to pray in the vertue of the present mediation of Christ vvhich carries this acknowledgement in it That what we aske on earth Christ obtaines in Heaven To pray thus is no easie matter and unlesse vve pray thus vve doe not pray at all John 16.23 24. In that day yee shall aske me nothing Verily I say unto you what soever yee shall aske the Father in my Name hee will give it you Hitherto have yee asked nothing in my Name aske and yee shall receive that your joy may be full But how doe these parts of the Text consist Why doth Christ tell them that they shall aske nothing in that day and yet promise that vvhat they aske hee vvill give There is a twofold asking First By vvay of Question Secondly By way of Petition The former is asking that vve may know or be informed in vvhat vve doubt the latter is asking that vve may receive and be supplyed vvith vvhat wee vvant Now vvhen Christ saith In that day yee shall aske me nothing he had a little before promised such a manifestation of the minde of God to them by the spirit that they should not need to come and aske him as if he had said Now yee put questions as vve read they did about many things yee understand little of the mystery of the Gospel but in that day yee shall have so cleere a revelation about the things of Heaven that yee shall not need to propose your doubts and desire resolution for you shall be able to resolve your selves by the light within you This the Apostle John 1 Epist 2.20 tels the Saints But yee have an unction from the holy one and yee know all things And againe Vers 27. But the annoynting which yee have received of him abideth in you and yee need not that any man should teach you but as the same annoynting teacheth you all things and is truth and is no lye and even as it hath taught yee shall abide in him These Scriptures are both a cleere exposition and an illustrious verification of that promise of Christ In that day yee shall aske me nothing that is After my resurrection But when he saith Whatsoever yee aske the Father in my Name he will give it the meaning is Your prayers shall be heard vvhile you keep close to this essentiall forme Asking in my Name Besides this essentiall forme of prayer there is also another forme vvhich we may call in a quallified sense essentiall As vvhen the matter wee pray about is spirituall and absolutely necessary to salvation then to pray in an absolute forme If it be temporall and outward or if it be of a spirituall nature yet such as is onely necessary to the vvel-being of a Beleever as spirituall gifts yea and the degrees of grace are then to pray in a conditionall forme as submitting it to the will of God not onely for the time and manner and meanes and measure vvherein or by vvhich wee shall receive those things but also submitting the very things themselves to his good pleasure vvhether we shall receive them at all or no. Nor doth conditionall prayer hinder Faith but looks to the rule We may pray without doubting though we pray vvith a condition and vvhen we are fullest of submission vvee may be fullest of confidence yea without submission in those cases there can be no true confidence Fourthly Prayer is pure when the end vvhich we ayme at is pure The end denominates every action as to the quality or goodnesse of it The great end of prayer as of all other actions and vvithout vvhich neither those nor this can be called pure is the glory of God Hallowed be thy name is the first prayer and that hath influence into all our prayers we must pray for all that God may be glorified and pray for nothing that our lusts may be satisfied Though wee may pray that our vvants may be supplyed that may be an end yet never that our lusts may be satisfied James 4.3 Yee aske and receive not because yee aske amisse Where vvas the fault vvhich the Apostle found and specified in those prayers Not in the object they prayed to God not in the matter they prayed for things lawfull not in the forme they prayed in the Name of Christ but the fault was in the end yee aske amisse that yee may bestow it on your lusts It is possible for a man to pray not onely for evill things but for good things and not onely for outward good things but for spirituall good things to bestow upon his lusts some pray for spirituall gifts to bestow them on their lusts pride vaine-glory and covetousnesse yea it is possible for a man to pray for grace to bestow it on his lust so Hypocrites doe though it be impossible for any man who indeed receives grace to bestow it upon his lust Let your end be pure that your prayers may be pure also Fifthly Prayer is pure when it is mingled with and put up in Faith By Faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice then Cain Heb. 11.4 and without Faith it is impossible to please God Vers 6. Prayer is our comming to God He that comes to God must beleeve that God is and that hee is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Faith takes hold of Christ by whom only our prayers are purified and therfore there can be no pure prayer without Faith As God purifies our hearts by faith so our prayers are purified by Faith Faith doth not onely take hold of God for the granting of our prayer in which sense 't is said Jam. 1.6 If any one aske let him aske in Faith that is That he shall receive but Faith takes hold of Christ for the purifying of our prayer that so it may come up with acceptance before God Hee is of purer eyes then to behold evill he cannot looke on iniquity to approve of it or to like it
lives in any knowne sinne unrepented of Secondly That which is unquiet and unsetled about the pardon of those sins which we have repented of We should get both these evil consciences but especially the first cured and removed by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ before we draw nigh to God in prayer as also our bodies washed in pure water which is either an allusion to the old Ceremonies among the Jewes who before they came to worship at the Tabernacle purged themselves with diverse outward washings leading them to the consideration of that morall puritie both of heart and life in which God is to be worshipped or it is an allusion to Baptisme in speciall in which there is an externall washing of the body signifying the washing of the soule by the blood of Christ and by the effectuall working of the spirit The sum of all is unlesse the person be pure his prayer is not pure These are the ingredients which constitute pure prayer all these met in Job and therefore he concluded not onely confidently but truely My prayer is pure And as these are the ingredients of prayer so they are all necessary ingredients so necessary that if any one of them be wanting the whole prayer is impure They are necessary by a double necessity First As commanded by God in prayer Secondly As meanes without which man cannot attaine his end in prayer The generall end of prayer is that prayer may be heard accepted and answered God heares accepts answers no one prayer without some concurrence of all these The Incense of the Ceremoniall Law was a shadow of prayer which is so great a duty of the morall Law But if this Incense had not been made exactly according to the will of God both for the matter and the manner of the composition prescribed Exod. 30.34 35 36. If after it had been thus made it had not also been offered according to those rules given Levit. 16.12 13. it had been an abomination to the Lord or as the Prophet Isaiah speaks Chap. 66.3 Such a burning of Incense had been but as the blessing of an Idol We may conclude also That if prayer be either composed or presented in any other way then God himselfe hath directed it is not onely turned away but turned into sin That man hath spoken a great word who can say in Jobs sense My prayer is pure Thus Job justifies the prayer he made to God and mainetaines his justice towards men There is no injustice in my hands also my prayer is pure A high profession yet in the next words he goes higher and makes both an imprecation against himselfe if it were not thus with him and an appeale to God for his testimony that it was thus with him JOB CHAP. 16. Vers 18 19. O Earth cover not thou my blood and let my cry have no place Also now behold my witnesse is in Heaven and my record is on high JOB having with much confidence asserted the integrity of his heart and the righteousnesse of his way both towards God and Man confirmes what he had thus confidently asserted by a double Argument First By a vehement imprecation Vers 18. O earth cover not thou my blood and let my cry have no place Secondly By a free appeale an appeale to God himselfe Vers 19. Also now behold my witnesse is in Heaven and my record is on high He shewes the necessity of this appeale Vers 20. My Freinds scorne me therefore I am constrained to goe to God When men have done us wrong and will not doe us right it is both time and duty to appeale to God Upon this ground Job appeales Est juramenti deprecatorii forma quo asseverat nullius sibi iniquitatis consâ—ium esse Aben. Ezra and he concludes according to our translation his appeale with a passionate yet holy wish Vers 21. O that one might plead for a man with God as a man pleadeth for his Neighbour The reason both of his appeale and wish is given us further Vers 22. he looked on himselfe as a man standing upon the very confines of death the Grave was ready for him therefore hee beggs that this businesse might be dispatched and his integrity cleared before hee dyed Hee was loath to goe out of the World like a Candle burnt downe to the Socket with an ill savour He that hath lived unstained in his reputation cannot well beare it to dye with a blot and therefore he will be diligent by all due meanes to maintaine the credit which he hath got and to recover what he hath lost This was the reason of Jobs importunity discovered in these two Verses now further to be opened Vers 18. O earth cover not thou my blood and let my cry have no place There are two branches of this imprecation or rather these make two distinct imprecations The first in these words O earth cover not thou my blood The second in these Let my cry have no place Job engages all upon the truth of what he had sayd being willing that his worst might be seen and his best not heard if he had not spoken truth O earth cover not thou my blood Poeticum sane patheticum in dolore aut re alia gravissima res mutas mortuasve omni sensu audituque carentes testes auditores compellare Job speaks pathetically or as some render him Poetically while he bespeakes the earth and makes the inanimate creature his hearer The sacred Pen-men doe often turne their speech to the Heavens and to the Earth Thus Moses Deut. 32.2 in the Preface of his Sermon his last Sermon to that people Give eare O yee Heavens and I will speak and hear O earth the words of my mouth So the Prophet Isaiah Chap. 1.2 Heare O Heavens and give eare O Earth I have nourished and brought up Children and they have rebelled against me God speaks to that which hath no eares to heare eyther to reprove those who have eares but heare not or to raise up and provoke their attention in hearing Thus Job O earth c. as if the earth were able to take his complaint and returne an answer as if the earth were able to make inquisition and bring in a verdict about his blood O earth cover not thou my blood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 texit operuit abscondit The word signifies not onely common but a twofold metaphoricall covering First Covering by way of dissimulation to dissemble a matter is to cover a matter In that sense Solomon speakes Prov. 12.16 A fooles wraâ—h is presently knowne but a prudent man covereth shame that is He dissembleth his wrath or his anger he will not let it alway break forth for that would be a shame to him Secondly The word signifies to cover by forgetfulnesse That which is not remembred is hid or covered Eccles 6.4 He commeth in with vanity speaking of man and departeth in darknesse and his name shall be covered with darknesse that
that is One wickednesse is heaped upon another There is an aggregation Aggrâ—gant peccata peccatis Chald. or a combination of many sins together their sins are so thick set that there is not the least space eyther of time or place betweene them they sin continually and they sin contiguously sin toucheth sin Thirdly By blood in this active sense we may understand those speciall sins which draw blood the sin of oppression and the sin of murder The Scriptures last cited include these principally though not these alone or not these exclusively to other sins Sins of cruelty are often called blood by name and such are named bloody men who commit such sins Psal 55.24 Blood-thirsty and deceitfull men shall not live out halfe their dayes that is Murderers and Oppressours shall not When Shimei cursed David he sayd Goe thou bloody man thou Son of Belial 2 Sam. 16.7 8. He calls him bloody man in reference to that particular act with which David had stained his hands the murder of Vriah Hab. 2.12 Woe to him that buildeth a Towne with blood that stablisheth a City with iniquity that is By the iniquity of oppression Hee builds with blood who to set his owne nest on high throwes downe the right or takes away the lives of others Under this third as also the second notion of blood wee may best interpret Jobs imprecation O earth cover not thou my blood that is The oppressions and cruelties which I have committed if I have committed any Some conceive that Job referrs to the story of Cain and Abel Gen. 4.10 The earth would not cover Cains blood that is the blood of Abel which Cain had spilt Eliphaz told Job before in a third person that his Tabernacle was a Tabernacle of bribery as much as to say That hee had done wrong in his place Si quam caedem maleficiumvè quod objicitis patravi illud revelet testificetur terra Jun. O Tellus ne celes scelera mea capitalia Tygur and had been a grinder of the faces of the poore Now saith Job O earth cover not my blood if I have been an oppressour if I have drank the blood of the poore or am guilty of such like abominations I desire that the earth would not cover or dissemble it but let it be published to my shame and brought forth to my judgement Master Broughtons note is full to this sense If there be any injury in my hands let the earth reveale it And the Tygurine O earth doe not conceale my capitall crimes The second branch of the imprecation fals crosse to this for in this Job prayes that his evill deeds might be discovered in that he prays that his very prayers which were his best deeds might not be accepted if he had eyther been or done as was suspected And let my cry have no place The word signifies a loud cry a greevous cry the cry of a man extreamely pressed yea even utterly opprest This cry is expounded three wayes First For the very cry of griefe or for a cry caused meerly by griefe Let my cry have no place that is Let not my paines and sorrows my groanes and sighes in midst of all these evills be regarded either by God or Men if I have done such evils as I am accused of 'T is a great affliction which puts a man to his cry whether to God or Man but it is a greater affliction to cry and not to be heard neither by God nor man The cry of a poore man is then said to have no place with a Judge when he will not heare it or take notice of it Secondly Others expound this for the cry of sin Great sins are called a cry not onely because they make others cry but because themselves are very clamarous and crying Clamat quia innocens effusus est dicitur inter pellare dominum non prosecutione Eloquii sed indignitate commissi Ambros Sin hath a tongue to speake and it hath teeth to bite every sin speakes but some sins have a loud voice they cry The blood of thy Brother which thou hast spilt cryes unto me saith God to Cain Gen. 4.10 The sin of Sodome cryed up to Heaven Gen. 18.20 Oppression causeth a cry so here Let my cry that is my crying sins or the cry of my sins have no place that is none to hide or shelter themselves in And then this clause of the imprecation is of the same sense with the former O earth cover not thou my blood Thirdly By this cry we may understand Jobs prayer and that of two sorts First Prayers Petitions or complaints to men let not any Freind regard my cry Secondly Prayers to God for as there are crying sins so there are crying prayers The Lord sayd to Moses Wherefore cryest thou unto mee Exod. 14.15 Asa cryed unto the Lord 2 Chron. 14. The Ninevites were commanded to cry mightily to God John 3.8 and Christ himselfe prayed with strong cryes Heb. 5.7 As there are two things especially which make sins crying sins First When they are earnestly committed Secondly When they are constantly committed So two things make prayers crying prayers First When we pray with earnestnesse Secondly When we pray with continuance or perseverance Ne in Caelum efferatur suscipiaturce clamor meus si sim eâ—â—smodi Jun. We find David often crying to God in prayer so that when Job saith Let my cry have no place his meaning is Let not God hear my most earnest prayer A dreadfull imprecation When wee who have no helpe on earth shall wish that we may have none in Heaven neither what can wee wish worse to our selves then this From the words in generall Observe It is lawfull to use imprecations Job did not sin in this There are imprecations of two sorts First Upon others when we wish them evill or curse them this in some rare cases may be done David useth imprecations against the incorrigible enemies of the Church and so may we but in reference to personall injuries the Gospel-rule is Blesse them that curse you pray for them that despitefully use you Matth. 5.44 Secondly Upon our selves such are the imprecations intended in this point Job cals downe mischeife upon his owne head in both parts of the Verse Let all my sins be discovered let all my prayers be refused if ever I have done this thing Imprecations or wishes of evill upon our selves may proceed upon a double ground First For the assuring of what we promise or engage our selves to doe As to say I will doe such a thing or I promise to doe it if I doe it not I wish evill may befall me This is to put our selves under a curse which we doe at least implicitely in taking any promissory Oath There are two sorts of Oaths First Assertory Oaths when we affirme such a thing to be true Secondly Promissory Oaths when wee promise to doe such a thing calling God to witnesse and laying our selves under a penalty
spoke my conscience and the truth The Jewes accused Christ falsely yet called for his blood upon their heads therefore God gave them their wicked wish and they lye under the weight of this imprecation to this very day they prayed that the blood of Christ might be upon them and it is upon them As God poures the blood of Christ upon some in mercy so upon others in wrath The blood of Christ is upon Beleevers to wash and cleanse them from their sins but the blood of Christ hath been upon the Jewes to condemne and scatter them as a vile people all the World over for their sin The Lord hath been most exact in answering this cry even in the very place where they made it The History of the Jewes reports that about thirty eight years after this dreadfull curse upon themselves Herod called the Jewes together and demanded a summ of Money of them for making a water-course which they refusing to give he sent for Souldiers to come secretly armed who slew great multitudes of them in that place where they cryed Let his blood be upon us c. At another time Florus who was Generall of the Common Souldiers made a second and that a more bloody massacre of them there And when Jerusalem was taken by Vespasian the blood of Christ was powred upon the heads of many hundred thousands who were slaine by Fire and Sword Famine and Pestilence besides more then seven thousand of them who were led Captive And the Story informes us further that Caesar sold the younger and common sort of those Captives at that contemptible rate of thirty a penny as they or their Fathers sold Christ for thirty pence so by the just judgement of God thirty of them were sold for a penny There was never any people in the World who tasted more justly or more deeply of that cup of self-cursing then the Jews have done yet many persons have tasted deeply of it too besides the Jewes This sin hath so much not only of wickednesse but boldnesse in it that God never lets it goe altogether unpunished though being repented of it may be pardoned Master Perkins in his Booke of the right government of the tongue touching upon this point tels us of certaine English Souldiers in the time of King Edward the sixth who were cast upon the French shore by a storme in which stresse they went to prayer that they might be delivered but one Souldier in stead of praying cryed out Gallowes take thy right or claime thy due and when hee came home he was hanged indeed Master Fox in his Booke of Acts and Monuments hath a notable example to this purpose of one John Peters Keeper of Newgate who was wont at every ordinary thing he spoke whether it were true or false it made with him no great matter to averr it with this imprecation if it be not so I pray God I may rot before I dye and so it came to passe I might give many such instances of rash imprecations which God hath followed with severest vengeance I shall add one more which is fresh in the memory of many yet living of a Gentleman of quality a Knight Sir Gervaise Ellowayes that suffered at the Tower-hill about the death of Sir Thomas Overburie who confessed it was just with God that hee should undergoe that ignominious death for oft in Gaming sayd he I have used this wish I pray God I be hanged if it be not so I wil conclude this point with a neerer instance A Woman who accidentally came into the Congregation while this word was Preached did afterwards by writing certifie me that shee being convinced in conscience of her sin in wishing evill upon her selfe thereby to cover a sin which shee had committed but denyed did feele the sad effects of it according to her wish begging earnest prayers that it might be forgiveâ— her and that God would be entreated to take off his hand Let those wretches heare and feare and doe no more so presumptuously who feare not to wish The Devill take them and God damne them lest indeed God let the Devill loose upon them and take them at their word And here it may be observed that such as are most guilty are most apt to imprecate vengeance upon themselves that they may appeare guiltlesse They have no way left to perswade others that they are good or have not done evill but by wishing evill to themselves Such is the stupidity of a misled conscience that when it is deepest in sin it dares defie Gods justice to gaine an opinion among men of its owne innocency O earth cover not thou my bloood More particularly Observe Great sins bloody sins especially this sin of shedding innocent blood shall not passe undiscovered God will give a tongue to the earth he will make speechlesse creatures speak rather then blood shall be concealed Blood may be concealed a long time but blood shall not alwayes be concealed Gen. 4.7 What hast thou done The voyce of thy Brethers blood cryeth to me from the ground The blood had no voyce and the ground was silent blood hath no more voyce of its owne then water hath or then a Fish that lives in the water hath these did not speake formally but the Lord speakes thus to shew that hee will certainely bring bloody sins chiefely the sin of blood to light The justice of God in all Ages hath sent out his Writ of enquirie after bloody men and for the blood of the innocent Psal 9.12 When he maketh inquisition for blood he remembreth them he forgetteth not the cry of the poore But doth not the Lord make inquisition for all sin Or is there any sin that God doth not enquire after Surely no there was never any sin committed in the World but the Lord inquired hath after it sin shal not be lost God wil finde it out and keep it upon record But when it is sayd God makes inquisition for blood it argues the greatnesse of that sin For while that act of God which extendeth to every sin is appropriated to some one particular sin it is an argument that God takes speciall noâ—ice of it or that it is a very provoking sin Though God makes inquisition for all sin yet as if he would let all other sins passe unsought and un enquired after it is sayd onely of this sin that he makes inquisition for it we finde not the like expression about any other particular sin in all the Book of God though it be a truth that hee enquires for all sin Thirdly Observe O earth cover not thou my blood Innocency feares no discovery Come who will Angels from Heaven Devils from Hell Men on Earth let all creatures be summoned into one Jury of grand Inquest an innocent person will neyther run nor hide his head for it He whose heart beares witnesse with him feares no witnesse that can be brought against him While conscience acquits the matter is not much who accuseth
or condemnes He that is righteous knowes that all his sins are covered by the freegrace of God in the righteousnesse of Jesus Christ and he knowes that he hath not covered his sin as Adam by excuses nor sewed the Fig-leaves of carnall reasonings together to hide his nakednesse he knowes also that he lives not in any knowne sin nor hath wickedly departed from the Lord. Now because in all these respects he knowes nothing by himselfe therefore he cares not who knows him he cals not for Masks or Visors for Curtaines or coverings to obscure or disguise himselfe or his actions under eyther from the sight of God or man but is willing to stand forth in the open light For though the best of men may have done some act which is not fit for the open light yet considering the whole frame of their hearts and lives towards God together with what hath past betweene God and their soules about that act they are not afrayd that the worst act which ever they have done should stand forth in the open light and as for those crimes which men uncharitably charge upon them every honest heart speakes boldly the sense of this first part of Jobs imprecation O earth cover not thou my blood From the second branch of Jobs imprecation Let my cry have no place Observe Not to have prayer heard and accepted by God is the greatest misery that can befall man God is the last refuge of a distressed soule and the meanes by which we make God our refuge or flye to him for refuge is beleeving and servent prayer Prayer is a duty and yet it is a priviledge it is a priviledge not onely to receive an answer of prayer but to put up our requests in prayer he therefore that askes a stop upon his owne prayers hath at once asked a stop upon all his mercies he cannot looke to be releeved who tells God he doth not looke to be heard and when prayer hath no place of acceptance in Heaven wee can have no place of contentment on the Earth Upon this account we may conclude That Man cannot bespeake any thing worse for himselfe then not to be heard when he speakes to God As it is one of the highest honours done to God that men make prayers to him so it is one of the deepest afflictions of man for God not to heare his prayers Such was Sauls condition 2 Sam. 28. God doth not answer me neither by dreames nor by Vrim nor by Prophets He could get no answer from God his cry had no place This troubled him more then the invasion of the Philistims I am sore distressed saith he the Philistims make Warr upon me and God is departed from me When trouble comes and God goes away man is in a wofull estate We have no promise to receive unlesse we aske and though we doe aske wee cannot receive unlesse our prayer be received God receives the prayer of man before man receives any thing from God in prayer All our treasure lies in Heaven our comfort is in Heaven our protection is in Heaven and prayer is the messenger which we send to Heaven in the name of Christ for all things or for whatsoever else we need on earth Now if prayer cannot get in if God will not heare prayer if hee send back our messenger without audience what can wee receive The sinfulnesse of man appeares in nothing more then in this That he calleth not upon God Psal 14.4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge Who eate up my people as they eate bread and call not upon the Lord Now as the sin of man appeares exceedingly in not calling upon God so the wrath of God appeares exceedingly in not hearing man when he cals Prov. 1.20 Then shall they call upon me but I will not answer they shall seeke me early but they shall not finde me God will powre out wrath upon the Families that call not upon his name Jer. 10.25 but hee powres out most wrath upon those Families whom he heares not when they call upon his name All our mercies are shut out at once when prayer is shut out nor shall that person have any place or roome in Gods heart whose cry hath no place in his eare Holy Job was sensible enough of this nor durst hee have imprecated that his cry should have no place but that being conscious of no evill hee was assured that his cry had place and therefore as in the sincerity of his soule he made that imprecation so in the confidence of his soule he proceeds to make his Appeale to God in the next words Vers 19. Also now behold my witnesse is in Heaven and my record is on high As if he had sayd I feare no evidence that can be brought against me on earth and I rejoyce in the witnesse I have in Heaven though I have none to testifie for me here yet I have one that will testifie for me above My witnesse is in Heaven and my record is on high Vtitur testificatione caeli postquam terrae testimonium produxit Eugub Some conceive that as Job had spoken to the earth before so now he speakes to Heaven O earth cover not my blood O Heaven witnesse for me But he saith not my witnesse is Heaven but my witnesse is in Heaven nor doth he call the Heavens to witnesse for him but he cals him who is in Heaven to witnesse and that is God There are two branches of this appeal Idem bis dicit conscientiae suae integrae declarandae causa Lavat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Synonymum est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hieron in Trad. and they both intend the same thing My witnesse is in Heaven and my record is on high The words witnesse and record are of the same signification though they differ in the letter The one is properly an Hebrew word and the other Syriack When Jacob and Laban were in that contest Gen. 31.47 Jacob tooke a Stone and set up a Pillar for a witnesse And Jacob sayd to his Brethren Gather stones and they made an heape and they did eate there upon the heap and Laban called it Jegar-sahadatha that is a heap of witnesses as it is in the Margin but Jacob called it Galeed or Gilead Jacob speaking the pure Hebrew and Laban the Syriack language they take in both the words of Jobs appeale My witnesse is in Heaven my record is on high Est forma juramenti quo deum invocat innocentiae suae testem atque conscientiae spectatorem Cajet Job speakes the same thing twice to shew how strongly he beleeved that the Lord would be witnesse for him My witnesse is in Heaven my record is on high Heaven and high are the same as witnesse and record are And when he saith on high or in the high place he useth not the word Bamoth by which those high places are expressed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In excelsis malimin altissimis quia excelsa
of two sorts First When wee are called by others who have lawfull power to testifie the truth such is swearing before a Magistrate Secondly When we offer it our selves for the removall of such jealousies as are cast upon us and wee have no other way left to free or vindicate our selves from This latter was the occasion of Jobs Oath as also of those alleadged concerning Paul and Abraham but whether it be an Oath of the one sort or of the other both meet in this that God is appealed to and called to witnesse by such as use them and seeing he is a jealous God who will not hold them guiltlesse that take his name in vaine I shall add some cautions for the bounding and directing of our practice First We may call God to witnesse in weighty matters and unlesse the matter be weighty eyther in it selfe or in the consequents of it wee may not God is my witnesse and God is my Judge are not for common much lesse for vaine things There are two things in every Oath or appeale to God which shew this First An Oath is for confirmation Heb. 6.16 vaine things are not worthy the mentioning much lesse are they worthy the confirming we ought not to strive at all about them much lesse ought we to sweare about them which is an end of all strife Secondly In every Oath or appeale to God there is an invocation of the Name of God but the name of God must not be taken in vaine which it cannot but be when it is taken into our mouthes about a vaine thing Secondly We may call God to witnesse when men give a wrong witnesse of us or will not give a right witnesse for us but if we can have testimony upon earth wee must not goe to Heaven for it God must be our last resort Job found none on earth to witnesse for him and his afflictions were looked upon as sufficient witnesses against him and therefore he was necessitated to make his addresse to God Thirdly When the matter is not onely such as others will not testifie when they might but such as no man can testifie none being privy to it but onely God and our owne soules then wee have a just ground of appeale to God who will bring to light the hidden things of darknesse and will make manifest the counsels of the heart Jobs sincerity was suspected and that is such a secret as man hath no accesse unto and therefore can give no witnesse to it Who is sincere and who is an hypocrite is resolved onely by the testimony of God and of our owne soules Fourthly We must be sure to call God to witnesse in truth Thou shall sweare the Lord liveth in truth in righteousnesse and in judgement Jer. 4.2 Vnlesse we have a witnesse within us wee must not call God to witnesse who is above us God is ready to witnesse with our consciences but woe to those who call God to witnesse against their consciences Holy Paul called God to record upon his soule 2 Cor. 1.23 that is He did as it were which is also done in every Oath engage or pawne his soule and salvation upon it that he spake the truth When our soules beare record with us we may venture to call God to record upon our soules But some when they have no witnesse from their soules yea when their soules witnesse against them will yet venture to call God to record upon their soules They will needs be tryed by God who dare not abide the just tryall of men such would make God who cannot lye witnesse to a lye They use the glorious God as some doe a sort of miscreants called Knights of the Post who for a Fee will not onely say but sweare what you will This is highest prophanation of the name of God For as he that beleeves not the truth of God makes him a lyar so also doth he that appeales to God for the witnesse of an untruth More partiularly My witnesse is in Heaven my record is on high Job speakes this not onely because he wanted the witnesse of men but because of the high esteeme hee had of the witnesse of God Hence Observe The witnesse of God is the most desirâ—â—ble witnesse The witnesse wee have on 〈◊〉 is nothing worth unlesse we have a witnesse in Heaven Iâ— we have not the inward witnesse of our owne conscience it is little advantage though we have a thousand outward witnesses conscience is more then a thousand witnesses but God is more then ten thousand consciences Therefore never rest in any witnesse till you have the witnesse of God We labour saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 5.9 and that word signifies not onely an earnest or an industrious but an ambitious labour that whether present or absent we may be accepted of him As if he had sayd Possibly we might gaine acceptation and applause among men would wee but study to please and apply our selves to them but the favour of men will not serve our turne nor can we sit downe and rest our selves under their shadow Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight O Lord was Davids prayer Psal 19.14 David could not beare it that a word or a thought of his should misse acceptation with God It did not satisfie him that his actions were vvell vvitnessed unto by men on earth unlesse his very thoughts were witnessed to by the Lord in Heaven Some as it is sayd of those Rulers John 12.42 Love the praise of men more then the praise of God So long as they have a record here below they little regard his record who is on high There is no greater argument of a carnall minde then this He that loves the praise or testimony of men as much as he loves the praise or testimony of God doth indeed love it more Seeing there is nothing more unequall then an equall partition of our esteeme betweene God and Man Where our obligation unto two is unequall wee can never be discharged by paying each of them an equall summ We have cause to blesse God when we have vvitnesse among men but the witnesse of men should be of no price with us in comparison of the witnesse of God Not onely may wee have recourse to the vvitnesse of God vvhen we cannot obtaine the witnesse of men but wee must preferr the single witnesse of God before a throng of humane witnesses and when wee have enough on earth yet say with Job My witnes is in Heaven The witnesse of the men of this world or of evill men while wee keepe a good conscience is a mercy But as the witnesse of good men is more desireable than the witnesse of all other men and the witnesse of a good conscience is more desireable than the witnesse of good men so the vvitnes of God is more desireable than without which we cannot have it and with which we shal have it the witnesse of a good conscience For
of entring there purifies himselfe not onely as Heaven is pure but as God is pure in whose sight Heaven it selfe is impure Chap. 15.15 Thirdly Heaven is high Then Heaven is a safe place High places are secure places the high places of the earth are so accounted and when God promises safety to his people he tels them they shall dwell on high while they are here below Isa 33.16 He shall dwell on high his place of defence shall be the munition of rocks and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth Isa 58.14 When those builders of the Tower of Babell thought to make themselves safe they sayd Let us build a Towre whose top may reach to Heaven If there should come another flood they hoped to be dry and to get above the danger Once in Heaven and we are out of Gun-shott not onely beyond the reach of man but of Devils too They who are got into that high place shall neyther feele nor feare the Destroyer any more Fourthly Heaven is a high place then it is a large and capacious place As a Sphericall or round Figure is the most capacious so the utmost round of that Figure is the most capacious round in Heaven there is roome enough though we are crouded here yet there we shall not We may call Heaven as Isaac did the Well about which there was no contention betweene his Herdmen and the Herdmen of Gerar Rehoboth roome Gen. 26.22 In Heaven we shall not contend for roome Christ assures us that in his Fathers house are many mansions John 14.2 He had sayd before to his Disciples Chap. 13.33 Whither I goe yee cannot come And when Peter troubled at this speech put the Question Vers 36. Lord whither goest thou Jesus answered him Whither I goe thou canst not follow me now but thou shalt follow me afterwards Christ perceived his Disciples more plunged in their spirits with this answer and promise to Peter and therefore adds a prohibition of their feares at the beginning of this Chapter Let not your hearts be troubled yee beleeve in God beleeve also in me in my Fathers house are many mansions As if he had sayd Doe not thinke that I told you yee cannot follow me now and that Peter shall follow me afterwards as if the place I goe to were onely large enough for me and Peter for beleeve me there are many mansions I tell you not how many neyther can they be told but there are enow not onely for my selfe and Peter but for you all yea for all those who eyther have or shall beleeve on my Name if it were not so I would have told you I would not delude you with vaine hopes I am well acquainted with all the roomes in my Fathers house and though when I came into the World for your sakes there was no roome in the Inn for me to be borne in but a Stable among Beasts yet I will take care that when you come to my Fathers house you shall not be straitned for Quarters I who am your Redeemer will also be your Harbinger I goe to prepare a place for you and I am certaine my Fathers house will hold all his houshold Tophet is prepared of old it is deep and large Isa 30.33 Hell is large enough for a Prison there 's roome for all the Children of disobedience to lye bound for ever But Heaven is large as a Pallace or as a Paradise there 's roome enough for all the heyres of promise to walke at liberty for ever JOB Chap. 16. Vers 20 21 22. My Freinds scorne mee but mine eye powreth out teares unto God O that one might plead for a man with God as a man pleadeth for his neighbour When a few yeares are come then I shall goe the way whence I shall not returne JOB having strongly asserted his owne integrity at the seventeenth Verse of this Chapter and thereupon as strongly imprecated the heaviest vengeance upon his owne head 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Verbum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in hiphil significat Eloqui facundum esse su mitur etiam pro illudere quia id non sine sermonis venustate fieri solet Merc. Collâ—quutores mei Vatab. Rhetores Pagn Cum amici mei Rhetorica oratione contra me agunt manâ—ntibus lachrymis Dei opem imploro Tygur in case he had not spoken truth Vers 18. Having also made his appeale to Heaven calling God to witnesse that it was truth which hee had spoken Vers 19. Here at the twentieth Verse he gives us a reason why hee made that appeale and the reason was he found no comfort in the creature he had no hope of helpe on earth and therefore he resorts to Heaven Vers 20. My Friends scorne me but mine eye powreth out teares to God There is some variety in the translation but the sense of all meets in one My Freinds scorne me or Scorners are my Friends The word signifies to deride or scorne not in a rude homely way but to doe it with quaintnesse of speech or in refined language to doe it wittily and cunningly close and home Hence the word signifies a Rhetorician or an Orator and is so translated here by diverse of the Learned My friends play the Rhetoricians they speake eloquently they compose fine orations and set speeches against me but alas I onely speak teares Yet further it signifies to interpret Gen. 42.23 Joseph spake unto his Brethren by an Interpreter it is this word That 's the interlineall reading of this Text Interpretes socii mei Mont. My Friends are Interpreters or rather for that must be the meaning Misinterpreters they put wrong expositions upon all my speeches and corrupt my Text with their unfreindly glosses We read in the ordinary acception of the word My freinds scorne me or My freinds are scorners As if Job had sayd These my freinds whose profession and relation call them to administer serious and wholesome counsell to my troubled minde even they breake forth into scorne they powre the Vinegar of their sharpest censures into my already wrankled wounds in stead of the suppling skinning Oyle of comfort and consolation Quis talia fando temperet a lachrymis and therefore mine eye is pressed to powre out teares to God Who can forbeare weeping while hee is but reporting my sufferings How then should I who suffer My freinds scorne me c. Hence Observe The best of freinds may prove unfreindly Men are but men and so they act There is no repose eyther upon the wisedome or strength or affection of the creature they are all mutable and may doe that which is most opposite both to their profession and relation A Freind a Scorner What more unsutable And that may be a second Note Scorne is wholly opposite to the Law of love He departs farr enough from the rules of freindship who doth not pitty and assist his afflicted Freind how farr is hee gone from it who scornes and derides
Christ his being a Paraclete or an Advocate and the spirits being an Advocate John 16.7 If I goe not away saith Christ the Comforter or the Advocate will not come unto you that is The holy Ghost will not come unto you One Advocate goeth away that the other Advocate may come Christ is an Advocate by way of impetration the spirit is Advocate by way of application Christ is an Advocate vvith God to get mercy for us the spirit is an Advocate with us to prevaile on our hearts to receive that mercy Though Christ be our Advocate in Heaven pleading for us with the Father yet if we had not the spirit to plead in our hearts on earth we â—ould never receive the good that Christ hath purchased for us of his Father Christ appeares for us in Heaven Heb. 9.24 He appeares as an Atturney in Court for his Client he is gone to Heaven to appeare for us the spirit comes from Heaven and appeares in us Christ began the worke of his intercession here John 17. Hee is gone into Heaven to continue and perfect it The spirit doth both begin and perfect his intercession here he doth not plead for us but in us or the spirit makes intercession for us by stirring us up to prayer by teaching us how to word and mould or rather how to sigh and groane our prayers Christ makes intercession for us by presenting and tendering those prayers to the Father which the spirit helpes us to make or by making prayers for us himselfe to the Father Some dispute how they inquire much after the manner how Christ makes intercession or performes the office of an Advocate for us but it is enough for us to know that hee is an Advocate or that he makes intercession for us though we are not able to describe the manner how Whether it be First Onely by presenting himselfe to the Father and his appearing for us which is an equivalent if not a formall intercession Or secondly By the tendering of his righteousnesse and merits as satisfaction to the Father Or thirdly By expressing our wants and his desires for us Whether by all these or by which of these or whether by some other way is not determinable by us yet this is cleare that he performes the office of an Advocate for us and that we receive every good thing from the hand of God through his hand Further Christ may be considered First As an Advocate for the whole Church There are some causes of common concernement to all the people of God Thus he was an Advocate for Jerusalem when under bonds and captivity in Babylon Zech. 1.12 Then the Angell of the Lord not a created but the creating Angell or the Angel of the Covenant who is the Son of God answered and sayd O Lord of Hosts how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the Cities of Judah against which thou hast had indignation these three score and ten yeares And as Christ pleads for the whole Church so for every particular member of the Church and that also under a twofold notion He is Advocate first to take away our sins If any man sin saith the Apostle John 1 Epist 2.1 we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous c. Secondly Christ is an Advocate for us with the Father in our sufferings and troubles to get them taken off from us or sanctified to us Doubtlesse Job made use of Christ continually as an Advocate to take off the guilt of sin yet here he makes use of Christ as an Advocate to get off his sufferings especially these misjudgings of his Freinds who deeply censured and aspersed him because of his sufferings yea a Beleever makes use of Christ as an Advocate to get any good thing whether little or great whether for soule or for body as much as he doth for the removing of any evill whether of sin or trouble Secondly Observe The Doctrine of a Mediator betweene God and Man was knowne and beleeved in the World long before Christ came into the World Many saw Christ by Faith before he was seene in the flesh Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seene Heb. 1.1 And as it is the evidence of things so of persons that are not seen Christ tells the Jewes John 8.56 Your Father Abraham rejoyced to see my day and he saw it and was glad And when the Jewes quarrelled at this Thou art not yet fifty yeares old and hast thou seen Abraham Jesus sayd unto them Verily verily I say unto you before Abraham was I am As Abraham saw his day by Faith so David in spirit called him Lord Mat. 22.43 And as these persons with all the holy Elders saw Christ by Faith in the promise so the whole Ceremoniall Law was a representation of Christ to faith by sense Every slaine Sacrifice spake the death of Christ and the sprinkling of that blood the sprinkling of their consciences and ours for the remission of sins Yea They did all eate the same spirituall meat that is the same which we now eate and did all drinke the same spirituall drinke for they dranke of that spirituall Rock that followed them and least we should mistake what was meant by that Rock the Apostle expounds it himselfe And that Rock was Christ The Rock did not follow them but Christ who was signified by that Rock did follow them They who are built upon Christ the Rock shall never be moved yet Christ is a moving as well as a living Rock to those who are built upon him whither soever they move he follows them Thus Jesus Christ was meate and drinke to the Jewes as well as to us for he is the Lamb slaine from the foundation of the World Revel 13.8 that is The vertue ot his death saved all who have been saved from the foundation of the World As Christ was slaine from Eternity in the counsell of God so he was slaine from the beginning of time in the promise of God Gen. 3.15 which was the publication of his death he was then also slaine as to the heart of Beleevers whose Faith having once a word for it makes that which is absent in regard of place spiritually present and that which is not in regard of time truely to be Thirdly Observe The Mediatour betweene God and man hath beene knowne and beleeved in all Ages under a twofold nature both God and Man We have both in this profession of Jobs Faith He beleeved the Mediatour to be God for he saith Mine eye powreth teares to God There is the divine nature He beleeved that the Mediatour should be man and therefore adds The Son of man for his freind there is his humane nature so that not onely the generall Doctrine of the mediatorship of Christ but this particular about the constitution of his person as Mediator was also knowne Had not our Advocate been man he could not have suffered for us and had hee
not been God he could not have satisfied for us These points of Gospel Catechisme are so necessary and fundamentall that in every Age Beleevers have in some measure been instructed about them And whereas the Apostle saith 1 Tim. 2.5 There is one Mediatour betweene God and men or of God and men the man Christ Jesus He doth not add man to exclude the Divine nature from the Mediatorship but emphatically to demonstrate that nature in which he gave himselfe a ransome for us of which he speakes in the next Verse For though the ransome was paid by him who is God or had a divine nature yet it was paid in the Manhood or humane Nature onely The humane ture was the matter of our ransome but from the Divine nature gave worth and value to it Further Job speakes with much confidence and assurance both of Christs willingnesse to undertake his cause and of the successe or good issue of his cause if once Christ did but undertake it He will plead for a man with God Hence Observe Fourthly Christ is very ready to speake for and plead the cause of poore sinners before God his Father He will doe it saith Job Christ is easie to be entreated hee is found of those that seek him not then surely hee will be found of those that seek him His promise is John 6.37 Him that commeth unto me I will in no wise cast out As if hee had sayd Whatsoever I doe I will not doe this And when he saith he will not doe this his meaning is that he will doe much more for them then the not doing of this comes to hee will readily receive their persons and undertake their suites though they have no Fee to give him nothing to move him but the need they have of him Fifthly Observe Christ is a powerfull and an effectuall Mediatour with the Father He carries the day he is a prevailing Mediatour Christ is such a Physitian that no man ever dyed under his hand and he is such an Advocate that no mans cause ever miscarryed under his hand The Arminians maintaine a propitiation made or a Sacrifice offered by Christ for all yet they dare not say it is effectuall for all but the intercession of Christ in their opinion is effectuall for all Christ dyed say they for those that hee doth not save but Christ prayeth for none but those that shall be saved They are not for universall Intercession though they are for an universall Sacrifice or propitiation and their reason is because they cannot deny but many shall perish for ever which yet they could not did Christ but pray for them We beleeve that his Sacrifice is as effectuall as his Intercession and that therefore he dyed for none but those for whom he prayes his Intercession being for the drawing out and bringing home the benefit of his Sacrifice to those and to all those for whom he offered himselfe to God But to the point in hand The Arminian who leaves the death of Christ in the hand of mans free will assisted onely by generall Grace to make it effectuall to himselfe or not he I say asserts the Intercession of Christ not onely sufficient but effectuall for all in whose behalfe he intercedes So that we are sure all shall goe well with us in the Court of Heaven while we have Christ our Advocate with the Father And that we may have fulnesse of confidence to come to God by Christ let us consider these five things First Christ is most wise to mannage our cause so wise that he is the wisedome of the Father If we had an Advocate at the Barr furnisht with as much wisedome as the Judge it were a great step to obtaine in a right suite Secondly Christ is an eloquent Advocate a powerfull Orator As the Lord hath given him the tongue of the learned that he should know how to speake a word in season to him that is weary Isa 54.4 So he hath a learned tongue to speake a word for him that is weary Christ is the Essentiall word and the flower of all declarative words is with him when he spake on earth he spake with authority Matth. 7.29 All wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth Luke 4.24 Yea his hearers somewhere testifie never spake man as this man speaketh And as no man ever spake like him to man so no man ever spake like him to God Thirdly Christ is a faithfull Advocate his intercession is a part of his Priestly office wee have a faithfull high Priest saith the Apostle therefore a faithfull Advocate He will never eyther desert our cause or betray it he is as sure to us as our owne soules yea hee and the soules of his are one Fourthly Christ is a mercifull Advocate hee layes our cause to heart our cause is his cause Hee hath espoused the Interests of his people and doth all for us upon his owne account When Saints are persecuted we may tell him that he is persecuted and that hee is afflicted when they are The Church may plead with Christ to plead for the removing of her sufferings under the title of his sufferings he being the head of the Church and the Church being his body Christ is as a faithfull so a mercifull high Preist Heb. 2.17 and the Apostle saith That in all things it behoved him to be like his brethren that he might be so Christ had an ability of sufficiency to be mercifull to us as God though hee had never been made like unto us by becomming man but hee had not that ability as some speake of Idoneity or fitnesse to be mercifull His being made like unto us hath given him a double Idoneity for the tendernesse of his heart towards us First In that he himselfe hath suffered being tempted Heb. 2.18 His passions in the flesh were great Secondly In that himselfe suffers still in all our temptations his compassions with our flesh are great Now an Advocate who eyther hath had an experience of trouble in his owne person or is full of the sense of his Clients trouble and feeles his smart will certainely doe his utmost to releeve him because in his releife himselfe is releeved also Fifthly Christ is the Favorite of the Judge it is a great advantage to have one pleading for us at the Barr who is in favour with the Bench Christ is highly in favour with the Bench God hath testified from Heaven This is my wel-beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Matth. 3.17 The Judge is our Advocates Freind and Father Lastly That we may be further assured that he will doe his utmost for us Our Advocate calls us his Freinds As the Judge is his Freind before whom he pleads so every Saint is his Freind for whom hee pleads Some will doe more for freindship then for a Fee We know it is so with Jesus Christ he pleads for his people because they are his Freinds This Job makes use of here Hee
but as Parties putting in their accusation and pleading against him Hence Observe It is an honour and an exaltation to win the day in any cause or to get the better Whatsoever the contention be or in what way so ever mannaged whether by the Sword or by the tongue or by the Pen to be victorious in it is honourable and hee that loses his Causes loses much of his credit also And though prevailing or successe doth not at all justifie the matter it is the matter which must justifie the successe yet successe doth alwayes exalt the man He that overcomes in a dispute carries away the honour though possibly he carry not away the truth Lastly From the connexion of this with the former part of the Verse Observe They who maintaine errour among men shall not finde favour with God A heart hid from understanding is hid from the truth God loves his truth so well that he will not exalt those who depresse his truth Jobs Freinds being left in the darke as to that point in question Did not speake of God the thing that was right Chap. 42.7 And therefore the Lord sayd to Eliphaz My wrath is kindled against thee and against thy two Freinds Though an error be held unknowne and in zeale for God as they did yet the jealousie of God waxeth hot against such These repenting were and such as they repenting may be pardoned but they shall not be exalted And if they who for want of light of knowledge and in much heat of honest zeale defend a lesser error such was theirs shall not be exalted how will the Lord cast them downe who broach and spread blasphemous errors and damnable Doctrines in a time of cleere light and against frequent admonitions if not convictions Whosoever saith Christ Matth. 5.19 shall breake one of these least Commandements and teach men so Joyning the error of his practice with or turning it into the error of his opinion he shall be called least that is nothing at all or No-body in the Kingdome of Heaven And he who is nothing in the Kingdome of Heaven is not exalted how high soever he may get in the Kingdomes of the earth And if the teacher of error against the least Commandement of the Law shall have no place in Heaven where vvill their place be who teach errors against the greatest Commandements of the Law yea against the most precious and absolute necessary principles and foundations of the Gospell Vers 5. He that speakes flattery to his freind even the eyes of his Children shall faile There is some variety in expounding these words because of the severall notions into which the Originall is rendred As we read the Text it is a plaine affirmation of judgment upon the posterity of Flatterers The word vvhich we translate Flatterie signifies in the Verbe to divide into parts and hence in the Noune 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Divisit in partes in Hiphil emollivit laevigavit blanditus fuit a lott or portion because every lott or portion is divided from the whole it signifies also a prey or booty which men take in Warr or which Theeves and Robbers take from Travellers upon the high way and that upon the former reason because when a prey is taken they divide or cast it into severall portions or parts Hence also say some it signifies to flatter because the tongue of a flatterer is divided from his heart Further It signifieth to smooth and pollish or as wee say to make a thing very glib and neate This comes neerest our translation for a flatterer hath a smooth pollished tongue and his trade is to smooth or sooth both things and persons The flatterers tongue is like the Harlots tongue to whom this word is applyed Prov. 7.21 With much faire speech shee caused him to yeild with the flattering of her lips with the smoothnesse or as some translate with the lenity of her lips shee forced him Flattery seemes to be farr from force yet nothing puts or holds men under a greater force then flattery He that speakes flattery to his freind Flattery is a speciall language though it be spoken in all languages 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Men learne to speake flattery even as we learne to speake Latine French Italian Spanish or any other language Flattery is an Art it hath rules of its owne and termes of its owne he that speakes flattery Master Broughton in this place calls it Vaine-goodly-speech And the Apostle Paul calls it Good words and faire speeches Rom. 16.18 The expressions which the Apostle useth are most proper to the description of flattery they are both Compounds as the spirit of the Flatterer also is He hates simplicity or singlenesse of heart making a shew of much goodnesse in word but is voyd of deed and substance Hee promiseth faire and when hee speakes you would thinke hee minded nothing or were sollicitous about nothing but the Honour and advantage of him to whom hee speakes when indeed he minds nothing but himselfe and selfe-concernements as the Apostle in that place desciphers him He serves not our Lord Jesus Christ Haec est blandities quae a Graecis vocatur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aristoteles vulgo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 appellari docet eos qui comiter cum omnibus conversantur sed veram amicitiam cum nemine colunt Arist l. 8. ad Nicom Pertinax Imperator dictus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod blandus esset magis quam benignus Bez. in loc ex Aurelio Vict. but his owne belly and by his good words and faire speeches he deceives the hearts of the simple The Greeks have another characteristicall word for this sort of men by which they meane all such as seeme to carry it faire with all men but maintaine true freindship with no man wee may call them Men-pleasers but Selfe-seekers As also one of the old Emperours had his Sir-name from that word used by the Apostle in the place last mentioned because hee was observed very ready to give all men good words but had no regard to doe good yea he did very much evill or as another gives the reason because he was a Fanning Prince rather then a kinde one Job seemes to charge his Freinds that they were men of such a temperament and had rather faund upon him then been reall freinds to him But here it may be questioned Why doth Job speake his Freinds speakers of flattery Hee had little reason to complaine he was flattered and wee finde him often complaining that he was roughly dealt with Job heard few pollished or buttered words but bitter words great store why then doth he say He that speakes flattery to his freind We may understand it two wayes In reference to Job God First His Freinds had spoken flattery to him for though in some things they were very severe and harsh yet in other things he might interpret their sayings to be but soothings Is est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 qui
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Denotatur in illo verbo activa provocatio indignatio irritatio Caligavit ab indignatione oculus meus Vulg. or tropically for the understanding Some interpret Job of the eye of the minde and that hath complyance with the translation vvhich is also given of the latter clause as I shall shew vvhen I come thither But I rather take it literally for the eye of the body Mine eye that is That Organ of sight which is as the Glasse or light of the vvhole body even that is dim by reason of Sorrow The word signifies more then ordinary sorrow it signifies sorrow vvith indignation or from provocation Jobs sorrow had a touch of indignation and it stirred him up to some undue provocations Sorrow is taken two wayes Actively Passively Actively for the sorrow sorrowing Passively for the sorrow sorrowed Magna cogitatio obcaecat adducto intus visu in morbo comitiali aperti nihil cernunt animo caligante Plin. lib. 11. c. 37. de oculis lachrymis Sorrow is the affliction it selfe or sorrow is that passion vvhich moves in us vvhen vve are afflicted By reason of sorrow mine eye is dim Sorrow is a wast both to the vitall and visive powers Psal 6.7 Mine eye is consumed because of greife Againe Psal 31.9 10. Have mercy on me O Lord for I am in trouble mine eye is consumed with greife yea my soule and my belly This effect of greife hath been toucht before Chap. 16.16 Mine eye is dim by reason of sorrow And all my members are as a shadow 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Formavit Members That is First all the members of my body Secondly the Hebrew beares it all the creatures and imaginations of my minde are as a shadow The same word is used Gen. 6.5 The thoughts of the imaginations of mans heart that is The figments Creata in◠ea quasiuinb a omnia Merc. Per creata alij membra alii cogitationes volunt Rab. Lev. Vocabulum illud quadrat in illa omnia quae externa figura aut interna cogitatione effigiantur hinc multi legunt cogitationes phantasias Pagn Reg. Vatabl. or features of things vvhich are formed up there are evill and onely evill continually Wee put All my thoughts in the Margine of our Translation As if he had sayd My minde is so enfeebled that I can scarse thinke or frame any solid notion my minde is so unsetled that I know not how to make up my thoughts or bring them to a rationall issue about any point Sorrow weakens the intellective part as vvell as the sensitive As if hee had sayd My minde which heretofore was apt to conceive and to bring forth the exactest Ideas and platformes of truth I who could shape and fashion excellent meditations am now so weak-headed that I can scarse put two thoughts together and all I doe is but a shadow to what I have been able to doe This is a faire sense yet considering the context I rather understand it of the members of his body vvhich vvere so decayed and poore that he look'd like a Skeleton or as vvee say of such an Anatomy nothing being left but skin and bone nothing but a pack of bones so that hee vvas rather the shadow and appearance of a man then a man Hence Observe The sorrowes of the minde breake the body as well as the minde This effect of sorrow hath been met with in other places and particularly Chap. 16.16 I shall onely add that although godly sorrow as was there shewed may worke deeply to the expence of bodily strength yet there is a very gracious promise Isa 58.11 that God will make the bones of such fat that is Fill them with marrow vvhich is the strength of the vvhole outward man And they who are weakned by the continuall exercises of godly sorrow here are in preparation to an estate vvhere they shall sorrow no more There will be no dimm eyes in Heaven nor members like a shadow Our vile body shall be fashioned like unto his glorious body and all teares and mourning shall flee away Perfect happinesse is inconsistent vvith a blubbered eye And though in Heaven a Saint may be called Adam because his body for the substance of it shall be the same that it was here on earth though extreamely refined and sublimated yea spiritualiz'd yet earth still now I say though a Saint in Heaven after the resurrection may in this sense be called Adam made of Earth yet no Saint can be there called Enosh that state being incapable of the least mixture of sorrow JOB CHAP. 17. Vers 8 9. Vpright men shall be astonied at this and the innocent shall stirr up himselfe against the Hypocrite The righteous also shall hold on his way and he that hath cleane hands shall be stronger and stronger IN the two former Verses Job shewed the greatnesse of his affliction from a twofold effect In these two Verses he shewes two reasons vvhy his afflictions vvere so great not as Eliphaz and his Associates had suggested because hee was a great sinner or had sinned beyond the common line of man but First That men even upright men might be astonied at the strangenesse of this dispensation of God and of his strength supporting a vveake creature under it and carrying him through it God will doe some things which shall at once teach and astonish his people and gives them not onely matter of instruction but cause of wonder Secondly That the innocent and righteous might be encouraged by my example to proceed vigorously in the vvayes of holinesse notwithstanding all the opposition they finde from men and the afflictions layd upon them by the hand of God for as much as the favour of God shines in upon mee through all these Clouds and I have no doubt of his love though I feele all this smart Naki non tam in conscientia purum a peccato quam ab omni passione humanoque respectu immunem virum hic significat Bold Vers 8. Vpright men shall be astonied at this Who is an upright man hath been opened before yet here the upright man is a man free from passion and prejudice as well as from hypocrisie and false-heartednesse The word which we translate Astonied signifies astonishment with admiration or such an admiration as leaves a man astonied and senselesse or puts him quite beside himselfe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tacitu miratus est prae admiratione stupuit when naturall reason is much overpowred we act as if we had had no reason Vpright men shall be astonied Master Broughton reads it in the Imperative Mood Let upright men be astonied at this Hee carries the same forme to the end of the context Let upright men be astonished at this and let the innocent stirr up himselfe against the Hypocrite Let the righteous hold on his way and let him that hath cleane hands be stronger and stronger As if the words contained a use of exhortation or direction
reason of darknesse Hae meae cogitationes noctem mihi in diem convertunt Merc. But who was it that made this change They change the night into day and the day into night Who Some ascribe it to his troubled thoughts of which hee had spoken before his thoughts were so torne and distracted that their confusions turned the night into day and the day into night that is a plaine sense as if he had sayd By reason of my continuall cares and distractions I take no comfort neyther night nor day Others referr it to his Freinds They that is Praesentium malarum cogitationes efficiunt ut dies quamvis lucidus mihi sit nox Jun. my Freinds turne the night into day and the day into night and if his Freinds be the Antecedent it comes much to one for his Freinds did it by filling him with troublesome thoughts and unquiet reasonings his Freinds did it by filling his heart and head as we say with their Proclamations Hence Note When the minde is unsetled the man cannot rest Waking nights and wearisome dayes are the portion of a troubled spirit There is a further elegancy considerable in the latter branch of this Verse The light is short because of darknesse The Originall is The light is neere because of darknesse Propinquum pro brevi exponit Rab. Sol. The word signifies neernesse whether in time or place and it is usually put in Scripture for short for that which is of short continuance Job 20.5 The tryumphing of the wicked is short The Margin is The tryumphing of the wicked is from neere that is It is hard by it began but lately and it will soone be over or at an end In this elegancy the holy Ghost speaks of false gods Deut. 32.17 They sacrificed to Devils and not to God Idola dicuntus dij ex propinquo i. e. qui diu non durant vel qui de novo pro diis haberi ceperint Merc. to Gods whom they knew not to new Gods that were come newly up The Hebrew is to neere Gods it is this word to short Gods Gods that are neere that is Gods short or neer in their originall they have been but a little while they are newly come up as we translate Whom your Fathers knew not nor feared Idols are new Gods neer Gods we need not travell farr to finde out their descent and pedigree the oldest of them are but of a late date or of a new Edition upstart Gods as they are compared with Jehovah the true God who is from everlasting And as they are called neer Gods in regard of their originall and rise so likewise in regard of their continuance they are not for eternity we shall see an end of those Gods shortly they are not long-lived much lesse are they to everlasting The true God is the same for ever false Gods are nothing Idols are nothing in the World and they shall in short time be thrust out of the World and all the neere Gods shall be put farr away What the Lord speakes of these night-Gods the Gods of the darknesse of this World Job speakes of the comforts or light which he once received from God The light is short because of darknesse that is It is ready to end and expire We may say of all the light which wee have in this World that it is short because of darknesse Spirituall light or the light of Gods countenance shining in or upon his people hath a darknesse attending upon it in this World The experiences of most Christians answer that of one of the Ancients about this heavenly light Rara hora brevis mora Bern. It comes but seldome and it is soone gone We have but some glimpses and glaunces of divine favour here not a steady sense of it that except to a very few is reserved for Heaven 'T is so also about temporall light the light of Gods providence towards us hath a darknesse attending upon it yea a darknesse mixed with it When our comforts have scarse saluted us or spoken with us they are interrupted and taken off by approaching sorrows Those creature enjoyments and relations which have most light in them have also much darknesse hanging about them and hovering over them Man at the best estate is altogether vanity And his longest light here is short because of darknesse But Job speakes not this in reference to the generall state of man much lesse to the best estate of man in this life he applyes it specially to an afflicted estate and particularly to his owne How short is the light of an afflicted soule how quickly doe Clouds come over him and Ecclipses shut the shining from him when the light of a man in prosperity is but short and his day in danger of a night every moment All our light on earth dwells upon the borders of darknesse the light of Heaven hath no neighbourhood with it and therefore is not onely long but everlasting Illae tenebrosae cogitationes a mente mea discedentes pro nocte jucundum quietis diem pro tenebris licem matutinam i. e. optatam pacem constituunt Bold Yet I finde a learned Interpreter making this Verse speake the returne of Jobs light The changing of night into day is to be understood saith he in a good sense And the breaking of his thoughts and purposes is according to this Interpretation nothing else but the scattering of his darke and melancholly thoughts and purposes which being removed and gone the night of sorrow was turned into a day of joy and the morning light here called the neere light because it immediately succeeds the darknesse which the Noon-light doth not this morning light saith he came before the face of darknesse To which sense the Vulgar Latine translates the last clause After darknesse I hope for light Et rursum pâ—st tenebras spero lucem Vulg. or though I be now in darknesse I hope for lighâ— As if Job had sayd After this darke night and dreadfull storme God hath spoken to the angry Sea of my tempestuous thoughts and behold there is a great calme But though the Author of this Exposition be so much in love with it that he counts all other spurious yet I rather persist in and stick to the toâ—â—â— â—eeing the whole context runs upon the aggravaâ—â— of Jobs present troubles with which this Interpretation holds no agreement Nor is there any necessity as the Author supposeth to take it up for the avoyding of that imputation of a low weak and sinking spirit which the former exposition in his apprehension subjects Job unto for though we say that Job doth as often elsewhere so here againe make report of his sorrowes in highest straines of holy Rhetorick yet we are so farr from saying that he desponded or sunke under them that we doubt not to say which is all that this Author would say or have others take notice of in his singular Interpretation that he was more
considered his owne body as dead too much and so attained not to Abrahams strength of Faith Yet we have three things to say for him First there was a great difference between his case and Abrahams Job had no such ground of Faith as Abraham had Abraham received a speciall yea an absolute promise from God that he should have a Son but Job received only a conditionall promise from man grounded upon the generall promises of God that he should be restored This consideration abates much from the objection of his unbeleife though it cannot be denyed but his Faith might and should have risen higher upon the power of God who as he was Al-sufficiently able so he did afterwards actually raise him up Secondly The designe of God being in Jobs example to set forth a patterne of patience as his designe was in Abrahams example to set forth a patterne of Faith he was pleased to let Jobs Faith run it selfe out about spirituals and eternals not minding temporals that so his patience might have a perfect worke in bearing the full weight of his affliction to the end while his Faith did not so much as put under a little finger to ease him with the least beleife that it should as to this life be taken off or have an end Lastly As 't was hinted Job had much Faith to some purposes though none to this hee had a full trust in God though he should kil him but he had no trust that God would not kill him he beleeved God loved him while he did afflict him though hee did not beleeve that God would deliver him from his afflictions As no mans Faith workes alike at all times so 't is rare that any mans Faith workes alike to all things Some who beleeve and hope mightily for the things of Heaven have but little eyther Faith or Hope for earthly things Not because a Faith which serves for Heaven is not enough 't is rather more then enough to serve for Earth But because most of those whose Faith is strong and much enlarged for Heaven take so much satisfaction there and are there so much at home that they account themselves Pilgrims and strangers here and are not much mindfull as the Apostle speakes Heb. 11.15 or desirous of their earthly Countrey and concernments What wee doe not much desire to have wee doe not much beleeve though we beleeve that we shall have it A full soule saith Solomon loatheth the Honey combe Those soules which are full of Heaven though they doe not loath yet they are not hungry after though they can thankfully receive and enjoy any Honey-combe of this World No man having drunk old Wine straightway desireth new for hee saith the old is better Luke 5.39 Doubtlesse Job had drunk the old Wine of Gods favour and love in the Redeemer and so his thirst was much slacked if not totally quenched towards the new Wine of a temporall restauration And hence we may not onely charitably but more then probably conclude That it was not for want of Faith that Job did not beleeve or hope for what his Freinds promised him but because he had employed his Faith upon better and more pleasing pâ—â—â—ises Thus Job hath finisht his answer to the second charge of Eliphaz And through the helpe of Christ somewhat is here tendered for the illustration and exposition of it His other two Freinds Bildad and Zophar stand ready to enter the Lists with him and to renew their charge what they sayd and what answer they received shall if God continue life and strength with these peaceable opportunities in convenient time be presented to publick view A TABLE Directing to some speciall points noted in the precedent EXPOSITIONS A ABominable what that is which is called abominable or an abomination p. 65 66. Sinfull man how abominable to God 66 67. Abundance cannot satisfie 113. Advocate between God and man 389. How the holy Ghost is an Advocatâ— 389 390. In what manner Christ performes the offiâ—e of an Advocate 390. Christ is an effectuall mediatour or Advocate 393. Five things to shew the effectualnesse of Christs pleading for us as an Advocate 394. Affections of men and their opinions of others are very variable 452. Affliction great afflictions hinder the sense of tendred mercies 39. Some afflictions bring a wearinesse boâ—h upon soule and body 247. Some afflictions distract 248. A godly man may grow extreame weary of affliction 249. Great afflictions like great sins leave a mark 261. Great afflictions how made witnesses of sin against a man 262. The witnesse which affliction gives censured two wayes 262 263. God afflicts his owne severely 290. God seemes to take pleasure in afflicting his 294. Affliction comes not by chance but by speciall direction 295. God hath many wayes to afflict 297. He sends breach upon breach 309. Great afflictions have three things in them in reference to others 451. Age old age three degrees of it among the Jewes 31. Amalekites their enmity against the Jewes 126. Angels how imperfect 62. Angels by some called Heavens and why 63. Answering two things alwayes may two things usually doe embolden men to answer 222. Antiochus Epiphanes his painefull life 89 Appetite of the end infinite 207. Appeales to God lawfull 363. It is a daring worke to appeale to Gâ—d 368. Apis the Aegyptian Idol why his Preists did not give him the water of Nilus to drinke 147. Apostacy from profession worse then continued prophanenesse 286. Archers seven Archers shot at Job 297. Arminians why they deny the Intercession of Christ for all 393. Assurance of approaching miseries how great a trouble to the minde 118. A wicked man may have this assurance 118. Arrhabo an earnest whence it comes 420. Astonishment at the dealings of God 468. Augustus Caesar his peircing eye 266. Aygoland a King of the Moores why he refused baptisme 471. B. Barathrum why it signifies Hell 455. Begging or wandring for bread a great affliction 111. Beleeving a wicked man hath neyther a ground nor a heart to beleeve 104. A wicked mans beleeving is presuming 104. Belial whence derived 10. Who is Belial 85. Blood what it signifies in Scripture 347. Bloody sins shal not passe undiscovered 357. Why God is sayd to make inquisition for blood in speciall 358. Body to minde the seeding of it sinfull 148. They take little care for their soules who take overmuch care for their bodies 150. Branch what it signifies in Scripture 189. Bread what it signifies in Scripture 111. Breath of God what it signifies in Scripture 164. Breath of man 167 168. Breath of man taken three wayes 402. The breath of man is corruptible 403. Breath is not the soule ibid. Bribe-takers and Bribe-givers both alike wicked 195. Bribery is an odious sin 197. That which is got by bribery will not hold long 197. By-word to be made a by-word notes two things 447. Great sufferers are usually made a by-word 447 448. It is very burdensome to the spirit of a man