his soule v. 26. He shall pray and God shall be favourable to him and he shall see his face with joy for he will render to man his righteousness Thus you have the parts and purpose of these words I shall now proceed to the particulars If there be a messenger with him Hypothetica locutio significat libertatem dei in conferendo hoc beneficio Indicatio contingit quibus deus vult Coc. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 inde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 missus legatus nuncius These words are Hypotheticall or by way of supposition if there be noting that it is not alwayes so every one hath not this mercy to have a messenger sent him it 's a speciall priviledge granted by God to some If there be A messenger What or who is this messenger The word in the Hebrew hath a three-fold signification all which are insisted upon by interpreters upon this place First It signifieth an Angel Now Angels properly taken are spirituall or incorporeall substances whose both office and high dignity it is to attend about the throne of God and to be sent forth upon his speciall service Psal 103.20 Bless the Lord ye his Angels that excell in strength that doe his commandements and hearken to the voyce of his word God hath thousand thousands of these servants ministring to him and ten thousand times ten thousand standing before him Dan 7.10 Some stay upon this exposition affirming that here we are to understand an Angel by nature And hereupon ground the ministring of Angels to those who are either sick in body or troubled in mind Yea the Popish writers would hence prove the intercession of Angels for man and mans invocation of Angels but though the exposition be granted yet it yeilds no ground for this Inference For what though God should send an Angel to instruct and comfort a sick man will it therefore follow that the sick man should pray to him and so give him the honour which is due to God Secondly The word is applyed in particular to Jesus Christ the uncreated Angel or the creating Angel the Lord of Angels who by way of eminency is called The Angel of his presence Isa 63.9 and the Angel or messenger of the Covenant Mal 3.1 He also was that Angel of whom the Lord spake to the children of Israel Exod 23.20 saying Vides quam clarè hoc loco Elihu de Christo concionetur per quem omnis conscientia quontumcunque per legem occisa vivificatur per quem omnis crux vitae et liberationis initium est Brent Behold I send an Angel before thee to keepe thee in the way and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared Beware of him and obey his voyce provoke him not for he will not pardon your transgressions if you persist in them for my name is in him that is he is of the same nature with my selfe and with that nature he hath my name Jehovah Thus some carry it here as if Elihu specially intended the ministration of Jesus Christ the Angel of the Covenant to the sick sinner for his restoring both as to the health of soule and body 'T is true Jesus Christ is the great Angel or messenger and he primarily and chiefly doth all the business for poore sinners he is the messenger sent from God and he is the interpreter of the mind of God he came from the bosom of the father and reveales the mysteries of heaven to us by his holy Spirit He indeed is the one of a thousand the chiefest of ten thousand to shew unto man his uprightness Yet I conceive that in this place not the Lord of Angels alone but some Angel of the Lord is also intended And therefore Thirdly The word Angel is applyable to every Messenger The Scripture gives it first to those that are sent by men about any errand or business 1 Sam 23.27 But there came a messenger unto Saul saying hast thee and come for the Philistims have invaded the land We read of an evill messenger Pro 13.17 who is either such a one as brings an evill message or is himselfe evill Isa 14.32 What shall one then answer to the messengers of the Nation the Lord hath founded Zion and the poore of his people shall trust in it And as it notes a messenger first by man so a messenger sent by God The ancient Prophets were in this sence the Angells of God his messengers and so are the Ministers of the Gospel at this day The Epistles to the seaven Churches are all directed to the Angells of the Churches that is to the severall Pastors or Ministers of the Churches respectively And thus we may conclude that by the messenger in this text we are to understand any faithfull Minister of Christ sent to convince convert or comfort a sick troubled soule And as was intimated before we may very well gather up both these latter interpretations into one that which applyeth it to Christ and that which applyeth it to the Ministers of Christ For so we have here both the author and the instrument of this comfort to the sick man Jesus Christ is the chiefe messenger and comforter of poore sinners and the Ministers of the Gospel are instruments in his hand sent out by him for the perfecting of that worke The word is applyed to both Mal 3.1 Nuncius est propheta aliquis seu doctor à deo missus Pisc Behold I will send my messenger or my Angel and he shall prepare the way before me John the Baptist was Christs messenger as Christ himselfe an infallible interpreter assureth us Math 11.10 And presently it follows The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his Temple even the messenger of the Covenant whom ye delight in Behold he shall come saith the Lord of hosts In the first part of the verse John is called the Lords messenger and in the latter part Christ is called the Lords messenger Both were messengers yet with a mighty difference and therefore John the messenger of Christ saith of Christ the messenger Math 3.11 He that cometh after me is mightier then I whose shoes I am not worthy to beare And againe John 1.26 He it is that coming after me is preferred before me whose shoes latchet I am not worthy to unloose If there be a messenger Hence note First The Ministers of Christ are the messengers of Christ Christ is the fathers messenger and they are messengers sent out by Christ As my father hath sent me so send I you said Christ to his Apostles John 20.21 And though that Title of Apostle which signifieth One sent or a Messenger be most properly attributed to those who were immediately called and inspired by Christ yet in an allayed sence it may be applyed commodiously enough to any true Minister of the Gospel for he also is sent he hath both his mission and commission mediately from Christ Yea the word Apostle is applyed in common to all or
breath bloweth away sickness if he doe but speak to a disease to a feaver to an ague to a dropsie to a consumption O killing malady spare him thou hast done enough any disease might prevaile to death did not God say spare him hold thy hand not a blow more not a fit more O killing malady Death it selfe much more sickness heareth the voyce of God And it may be said to heare him because it doth that which they who have the power of hearing ought to doe that is it obeyeth or yeildeth to the voyce and command of God will no longer afflict the sick man Diseases may be said to deliver a man from death the pit when they depart from him Yet Secondly I conceive this warrant for the deliverance of the sick man is given out to the messenger or interpreter to the one among a thousand that visiteth him in his sickness He having been with him and dealt with his conscience he having brought him into a good frame the Lord is gracious Sequestrem illum Jubebit ei renunciare impetratum esse sibi liberationem Bez and in answer to his prayer sets it upon his heart that he shall recover and warrants him to tell him so which is declaratively to deliver him from going downe to the pit This act of mans delivering the sicke is like that act of man pardoning the sinner John 20.23 that is 't is ministeriall or declarative not originall nor Authoritative The interpreter doth not deliver him but tells him God will We have the Psalmist speaking thus after his supplication and prayer made to the Lord for a sick State or Nation or for a sick Church that 's his scope Psal 85. Wilt thou not revive us againe that thy people may rejoycâ— in thee v. 6. Surely thou wilt and he expresseth his confidence that God would v. 8. I will heare what God the Lord will speake for he will speak peace unto his people and to his Saints When he had prayed he would harken for news or for a message from heaven whether or no the Lord would order him to speak peace to those for whom he had been praying and say deliver them from going downe to the pit Thus did the Prophet Habakkuk I will stand upon my watch and set me upon my tower and see what he will say unto me and what I shall answer when I am reproved Chap 2.1 In the next verse The Lord answered and sayd write the vision and make it plaine upon tables that he may run that readeth it And what was the answer surely deliverance for having sayd in the end it shall speake and not lye v. 3. he concludes v. 4. The just shall live by his faith Believing deliverance he shall at last be delivered from the pit of captivity and live Here in the text we must suppose this messenger had prayed and having prayed he did not neglect his prayer but was hearkning what the Lord would say Elihu was confident the Lord would give a gracious answer though not by an immediate voyce or revelation to his eare yet by an assurance of the mercy given into his spirit When that good king Hezekiah was not only sick unto death but had received an expresse message from the Lord Set thy house in order for thou shalt dye and not live 2 Kings 20.1 'T is sayd at the 2d verse He turned his face to the wall and prayed unto the Lord saying c. And at the 4th verse The word of the Lord came to Isaiah the Prophet saying turne againe and tell Hezekiah the Captain of my people Thus saith the Lord the God of David thy father I have heard thy prayer I have seene thy teares behold I will heale thee c. Here God gave a word formally and put it into the Prophets mouth Goe deliver him from going downe to the pit And though the Lord doth not thus now in such an explicite and open way nor may we expect it yet there is a virtuall saying of this word from the Lord and that sometimes mightily imprest upon the hearts of those who have prayed and sought unto him for the sick man whereby not by an ungrounded vaine confidence but by a scripturall holy confidence comparing the promise with the mans condition they are enabled to tell him The Lord hath delivered thee from going downe to the pit And he shall as certainly be delivered as if the Lord had sent an expresse from heaven to tell him so Then he is gracious to him and saith deliver him from going downe to the pit Hence observe First Death is a going to the pit a going to destruction Thus it is ordinarily with all who dye to the pit they goe Many dye and goe downe to the bottomless pit all who dye may be sayd to goe to the pit To goe to the bottomless pit is the circumlocution of eternall death as to goe to the pit is the circumlocution of temporall death Secondly Forasmuch as the man being sick the Lord gives out this word deliver him from going downe to the pit Note Sickness hath in it a tendency unto death The sick stand as it were upon the borders of the grave Some not only put death farr from them in health but in their sickness untill they are even dead they scarce thinke themselves dying It is good for us in our health and best strength to be looking into the pit and considering upon what grounds of comfort we can descend into the grave How much more should we be thinking of and looking into the pit when we are in a languishing and dying condition Thirdly Observe The word and work of deliverance is from God alone Then he will be gracious and say deliver him from going downe to the pit God can and God only can deliver from death no creature in heaven or earth can speak this but by commission from God none can open this secret till God interpret it Deliverance is the Lords salvation and the word of salvation from sickness as well as of salvation from hell comes out from the Lord. But is it not sayd Pro 11.4 Righteousness delivereth from death I answer when it is sayd Righteousness delivereth from death The meaning is God delivereth the righteous from death He delivereth them from the sting and terror from all that which is properly called the evill of corporall death and he delivereth them wholly from the least touch or shadow of eternall death And this righteousness which delivers from death is not our own but the righteousness of Christ made ours by the appoyntment of God and received as ours by faith 'T is neither any righteousness wrought in us nor any righteousness wrought by us but that righteousness which is wrought for us which delivereth from death and that delivereth us from death because God saith of such a righteous person deliver him as often from temporall death or going downe to the pit of the grave so alwayes from
and messengers of his word with his Spirit he will impower them from on high and so we shall learn his Statutes and understand his wayes David ascribes even his skill in Military affairs to Gods teaching Psal 144.1 Blessed be the Lord my strength who teacheth my hand◠to war and my fingers to fight God only teacheth a man powerfully to be a good Souldier Surely then it is God only who teacheth us to be good Christians to be Believers to be holy He hath his seat in heaven who teacheth hearts on earth Secondly As these words hold out to us the temper of an humble sinner Note A gracious humble soul is teachable or is willing to be taught As it is the duty of the Ministers of the Gospel to be apt to teach that 's their special gift or characteristical property so 't is the peoples duty and grace to be apt to be taught to be willing to be led and instructed naturally we are unteachable and untractable As we know nothing of God savingly by nature so we are not willing to know we would sit down in our ignorance or at most in a form of knowledge To be willing to learn is the first or rather the second step to learning The first is a sight of our ignorance and the second a readiness to be taught and entertain the means of knowledge Thirdly The words being the form of a Prayer Note It is our duty to entreat the Lord earnestly that he would teach us what we know not It is a great favour and a mercy that God will teach us that he will be our master our Tutor Now as we are to ask and pray for every mercy so for this that God would vouchsafe to be our Teacher Psal 25.4 5. Shew me thy wayes O Lord teach me thy paths Lead me in thy truth and teach me David spake it twice in prayer Lead me and Teach me Lead me on in the truth which I know and teach me the truths which I know not So he prayeth again Psal 119.26 Teach me thy Statutes make me to understand the way of thy precepts David was convinced that he could not understand the Statutes of God unless God would be his Teacher though he could read the Statutes of God and understand the language of them yet he did not understand the Spirit of them till he was taught and taught of God and therefore he prayed so earnestly once and again for his teaching When Philip put that question to the Eunuch Acts 8.30 Vnderstandest thou what thou readest He said how can I except some man should guide me Or unless I am taught Though we read the Statutes of God and read them every day yet we shall know little unless the Lord teach us Solomon made it his request for all Israel at the solemn Dedication of the Temple 1 Kings 8.37 Teach them the good way wherein they should walk God who is our Commander is also our Counseller Fourthly From the special matter wherein this penitent person would be taught which is plain from part of the latter verse If I have done iniquity Note A gracious heart is willing to know and see the worst of himself He would have God teach him what iniquity he hath done David was often upon that prayer Psal 139.24 Search me O God and know my heart and see if there be any wicked way in me Lord shew me my sin as I would not conceal my sin from thee so I would not have my sin concealed from my self A carnal man who lives in sin though possibly he may pray for knowledge in some things and would be a knowing man yet he hath no minde that either God or man should shew him his sin He loves not to see the worst of himself his dark part he as little loves to see his sin as to have it seen But a godly man never thinks he seeth his sin enough how little soever he sins he thinks he sins too much that 's the general bent of a gracious mans heart and how much soever he sees his sin he thinks he sees it too little And therefore as he tells God what he knows of his sin so he would have God tell him that of his sin which he doth not know That which I know not teach thou me If I have done iniquity I will do no more There are two special parts of repentance First Confession of sin whether known or unknown This we have in the former part of the verse That which I see not teach thou me There is the confession of sin even of unknown sin The second part of repentance is reformation or amendment a turning from sin a forsaking of that iniquity which we desire God would shew us we have this second part of repentance in this latter part of the verse If I have done iniquity I will do no more But why doth he say If I have c. Had he any any doubt whether he had done iniquity or no every man must confess down right that he hath sinned and done iniquity without ifs or an's Solomon having made such a supposition in his prayer at the Dedication of the Temple 1 Kings 8.46 If they sin against thee presently puts it into this position for there is no man that sinneth not The Apostle concludes 1 John 1.8 If we say we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us Therefore this If I have done iniquity is not to be understood as if this or that man as if he or any man might be without sin but when the penitent is brought in saying If I have done iniquity h◠meaning is First What ever iniquity I have done I am willing to leave it to abandon it I will do so no more Secondly Thus If I have done iniquity that is if I have done any great iniquity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Perverse agere if I have acted perverseness or perversly as the word signifieth I will do so no more to do iniquity is more then barely to sin As if he had said though I cannot promise that I will sin no more yet Lord if thou dost discover to me any iniquity any gross sin or perversenesse I will do that no more I will engage my self against that sin with all my might and to the utmost of my power by grace received I will keep my self pure from every sin If I have done iniquity Hence Note First A godly man hath a gracious suspition of himself that he hath done evil yea some great evil that he hath done amiss yea greatly amiss though he be not able to charge himself with this or that particular iniquity He knoweth he hath sinned done evil though he knoweth not every evil he hath done nor how sinfully he may have sinned he doubts it may be worse with him then he seeth Possibly he hath done iniquity Job in reference to his children chap. 1.5 had an holy suspition that in their feasting
Spirit of his mouth that is Jehovah by his Eternall Son and Spirit made all things The heavens and their host are there expressed by a Synecdoche of the part for the whole creation or for all creatures both in heaven and in earth Againe Psal 104.30 Thou sendest forth thy Spirit they are created The Spirit of God creates every day what is it that continueth things in their created being but providence That 's a true axiome in Divinity Providence is creation continued Now the Spirit of God who created at first creates to this day Thou sendest forth thy Spirit they are created The work of creation was finished in the first six dayes of the world but the work of creation is renewed every day and so continued to the end of the world Successive providentiall creation as well as originall creation is ascribed to the Spirit The Scripture is full of arguments to prove that the holy Ghost is God Which because this fundamentall truth is blasphemously spoken against I shall a little touch upon First As the Spirit createth and makes the naturall man consisting of body and soule so he regenerateth which is a greater creation the whole into a spirituall man therefore he is God John 3.5 Except a man be borne againe of water and of the Spirit that is of the Spirit who is as water he cannot enter into the kingdome of God The holy Ghost is also call'd The sanctifier sanctification is regeneration in progress and motion regeneration is sanctification begun and sanctification is regeneration perfecting from day to day 2 Thes 2.13 We are bound to give thanks to God for you brethren beloved of the Lord because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and beliefe of the truth And the Apostle Peter writes to the Elect 1 Pet 1 2. according to the foreknowledge of God the father through sanctification of the Spirit Now who can doe these great things but God who can regenerate or give a new nature who can sanctifie or perfect that new nature but God alone Men and Angels must let these workes alone for ever or as we translate Psal 49.8 these acts cease for ever from men and Angels as much as the redemption of man from the grave or from hell from corruption or condemnation Secondly The Spirit is omniscient He knoweth all things 1 Cor 1.12 2 10.19 The Spirit knoweth all things yea the deep things of God He is not only acquainted with and privie to the surface and outside of things but he searcheth things to the bottom of them Nor doth he search only the deepe or bottome things of common men or of the chiefest of men Kings and Princes whose hearts are usually as much deeper then other mens as their persons and places are higher but the Spirit searcheth the deep things the bottome things of God the things of God that lye lowest and most out of sight the Spirit understandeth therefore the Spirit is God For as the Apostle argueth 1 Cor 2.11 No man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of a man that is in him even so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God or he that is God if the spirit that is in man were not man or the intellectuall power in man it could never know the things of man and if the Spirit of God were not God he could never search and know the deep the deepest things of God Thirdly As the Spirit of God knoweth all things as he searcheth the deep things even all the secrets and mysteries of God so he teacheth all things even all those secrets and mysteries of God which 't is needful or useful for man to know The Spirit is a teacher and he teacheth effectually Joh 16.13 When the Spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth for he shall not speak of himselfe that is he shall not teach you a private doctrine or that which is contrary to what ye have learned of me but whatsoever he shall heare that shall he speake and he will shew you things to come Which last words are A fourth argument that he is God As the Spirit teacheth so he foretelleth all things 1 Tim 4.1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressely that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devills The Spirit of God clearly foreseeth and infallibly foretelleth what shall be before it is therefore he is God The Lord by his holy Prophet Isa 41.23 challengeth all the false Idol gods of the Heathen to give that proofe of their Divinity Shew the things that are to come hereafter that we may know that ye are Gods As if he had sayd Doe that and we will yield the cause Men and Devills may guesse at but none can indeed shew things to come but God Fifthly The Spirit appoints to himselfe officers and ministers in the Church therefore he is God Acts 13.2 The holy Ghost said separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them Sixthly The holy Ghost furnisheth those Officers whom he calleth with power and gifts as he pleaseth that they may be fit for the work or ministery of the Gospel 1 Cor 12.8.11 To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdome to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit c. But all these worketh that one and the selfe-same Spirit dividing to every man severally as he will Now who can give wisdome and knowledge who can give them prerogatively following in this distribution or division of gifts no rule nor giving any other reason of it but his owne will except God only Seventhly The holy Ghost is sinned against therefore he is God Some possibly may object and say This is not a convincing or demonstrative argument that the holy Ghost is God because he is sinned against For man may sin against man All second table sins are sins against our Neighbour and the Apostle tells the Corinthians 1 Ep 8.12 that while they used their lawfull liberty in eating with offence they sinned against the Brethren I answer Whosoever is properly sinned against is God because God is the Law-giver And though many actions of men are direct wrongs to man yet in every wrong done to man God also is wronged and in strict sence he only is sinned against by man For the reason why any action is a wrong to man is because it is against some Law of God And if to be sinned against in strict sence be proper to God only then the argument stands good that the Holy Spirit is God because he is sinned against especially if we consider that there is such an Emphasis put upon sinning against the holy Ghost in the holy Scripture more if possible then upon sinning against the Father or the Son Math 12.31 Wherefore I say unto you saith Christ All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto
our encrease 'T is the breath of the Almighty that teacheth us and if we can but humbly enough that is heattily acknowledge it we shall be taught and learne enough So much of these words as they are a direct assertion I shall consider them a little in their connection and reference both to what went before and to that which follows after which was the second consideration of this verse at first proposed First This verse may be connected with the three former verses and then the sence appeareth thus As if Elihu had sayd O Job I have moved thee to heare me patiently and attentively and let it not seeme grievous to thee to doe soe For though I am thy inferiour in age and degree yet I am a man as well as thou and I have a soule and body like thine yea the Spirit of God that made me hath also furnished me I have rceeived ability from God as thou hast I stand upon even ground or equall termes with thee as to creation and I am not altogether voyd of instruction and therefore as a man I have a possibility to understand reason and as a man indowed by the Spirit of God I have a capability to direct thee about the wayes of God or how to understand and comport with his providences towards thee Thou hast been long under the hand of God and long in the hands of men who have rather entangled and troubled thy mind then eased it who knowes but that I who all this while have been but a looker on may see somewhat in thy case which hath hitherto been hid from thy former undertakers Therefore pray favour me it may prove in the issue a favour to thy selfe with an houre or two of patient attention Take this note from it The consideration of our common originall that we have all one maker or are all come out of the hand of God should make us willing to heare and learne of one another Thus Elihu argueth Heare me why Because the Spirit of God hath made me as well as thee doe not despise what I have to say as if you were a man of another mould or pedigree the same God out of the same matter by the same Word and Spirit hath form'd us both Some pictures are more highly prized then others of the same person because drawne by a better hand by An Apelles or A Michael Angelo The fame of the Artist or workman puts a value upon the worke And the title of the Authour doth sometimes commend a piece more then in truth either the forme or matter But come among the sons of men all their faces and features are drawne by one hand The same most exact hand of God hath wrought and fashioned them all both as to their outside and inside both as to the forme of these houses of clay and as to all the ornaments and beautifyings of them As we all walke upon the same earth drinke out of the same water breath in the same ayre as we are all covered with the same Canopy of heaven and lighted with the same Sun so we are all made with the same hand The Spirit of God hath made one as well as another This man hath not had a better pencill nor a more skilfull Limner then that Thus we may argue from the common condition of man in nature to a mutuall condiscension among men Indeed Christians who have higher principles have also higher topicks arguments then that why they should condescend one to another and as the Apostle directs Eph 4.4 5 6. Keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace Saints should be lowly and meeke with long-suffering forbearing one another in love as the Apostle there exhorts not only because one hand hath made all their bodyes but because they are one body though they are many naturall bodyes yet one mysticall body There is one body and one spirit As one Spirit hath made them so they are made one spirit There is also as it followeth one hope one Lord one faith one Baptisme one God and father of all who is above all and through all and in you all How should all Saints be one who are comprehended and united under this seven-fold oneness That we have all one maker in nature is a very moving argument to meekness love and unity but that all believers are made one by Grace is a much more moving argument Againe We may consider these words in connexion with the three following verses and then as in connection with the former they are a prevention of Job's pride so in this they are a prevention of his feare or an encouragement of him to a chearfull hearing of what Elihu had to say Job had been dealt severely with by his three friends and the terror of God was upon him he was under much dispondency of spirit Now saith Elihu Answer me if thou canst stand up set thy words in order before me for the Spirit of God hath made me and given me life I am a creature and I am but a creature I am no more then thou art I am made of God and thou art made of God as well as I I was made out of the dust as thou art I am not God to terrifie thee but I am sent of God to counsel and comfort thee my hand shall not be heavie upon thee I promise to deale tenderly with thee I am such a one as thy selfe as I am not worse so I am not better we stand alike together in this dispute therefore thou mayest freely come forth and answer me who am but a poore creature as thy selfe is Thus Elihu bespeakes Job in the sixth and seventh verses If thou canst answer me set thy words in order before me stand up Behold I am according to thy wish Speake freely and cleare thy selfe if thou art able thou hast free leave for me Vers 5. If thou canst answer me set thy words in order before me stand up This verse may have a four-fold respect First To the insufficiency or incompetency of Job's parts and intellectuals to deale with Elihu in this matter as if they were a daring challenge Answer me if thou canst doe thy worst And hence some of the Ancients charge Elihu as if he came upon Job boastingly and spake thus in the pride of his owne spirit and in the disdaine of Job at once to shew and slight his weaknesse If thou canst answer me As if like some irrefragable Doctor he had said I shall speak such reason as I know thou canst not answer doe what thou canst set all thy wits aworke and beate thy braines as much as thou wilt thou wilt but loose thy labour and weary thy selfe in vaine Thus the meaning of Answer me if thou canst is Thou canst not answer But I suppose Elihu though hot spirited enough was yet of a better spirit temper then to speak either thus proudly of himselfe or despisingly of so worthy a man as he
used as flaggs of pride and vanity nor doth pride appeare so much in praising our selves though there it appeareth much as it doth in scorning others Proud scorner is his name And as the scorner is a proud despiser of others so a quarrelsome contender with others and till he is separated from men there is nothing but separation no peace among men Prov 22.10 Cast out the scorner and contention shall goe out yea strife and reproach shall cease which plainly intimateth that strife cannot goe out till the scorner be cast out And therefore Solomon Pro 24.9 calleth the scorner an abomination to man Thus the Scripture sets the scorner among sinners of the chiefest rank and first forme I may say he is of the first three if not the first of that three Therefore take heed how ye drinke scorning especially take heed it be not your mornings draught for as it comes from the heart so it will fly up into your head and unfit you for any good worke at least that day Againe from the similitude here used to drink up scorning like water which as hath been shewed holds out the readiness and connaturallness of an action unto him that is charged with it Note The more easily any one sinneth the greater is his sin It is best to come hardly off in sinning and when it goeth hardly downe Many sin as easily as they eat or drink They eat up my people as bread saith God Psal 14.4 that is as we say they make no bones of it there 's nothing stickes in their throats nor troubles their conscience Where sin lives altogether unmortiâ—â—ed in any man it doth so in every meere naturall or unregenerate man 't is no more to him to sin then it is either to live or to eate and drink for the maintaining of life But they shall feele sorest paines for sinning who have sinned with greatest ease they shall drinke dammage by scorning like Gall and Wormewood who have drunke scorning like water Elihu having thus taxed Job with scorning at good men proceeds to tax him with overmuch freedome and familiarity with evill men Vers 8. Which goeth in company with the worâ—â—â—s of iniquity and walketh with wicked men Noscitur ex comite c. As if he had sayd you may know what he is by the company he keepes He goeth in company with the workers of iniquity or he associates and puts himselfe into the society of the workers of iniquity Elihu doth not say he dwelleth among the workers of iniquity The best man in the world may dwell among bad men Let dwelt in Sodome We must goe out of the world if we will not be among the wicked the world is every where full of the workers of iniquity But saith he he goeth in company with them Which intimates the activenes of his spirit with them yea the election of his spirit or that he chose their company Though a good man may be in the company of the wicked yet he doth not choose their company He is not of their body of their society or gang A wicked man doth not content himselfe to be among the ordinary sort of sinners he is for and best likes the worst of sinners workers of iniquity All are sinners naturally but some are sinners artificially they study sin they contrive and plot mischiefe They devise iniquity upon their beds saith one Scripture They weave the spiders webb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith another Here 's artificiall sinning The Greekes call such sin-workers and crafts-men in evill I have had occasion to speake of these from other passages of this Booke Here Elihu to highten the charge against Job saith He goeth in company with such or chooseth such kind of company the workers of iniquity And walketh with wicked men As our holinesse is expressed by walking with God so our sinfullnesse by walking with wicked men To walk with God is all the commendation of Enoch who was so holy on earth that God tooke him up to Heaven Gen. 5.22 He had this testimony faith the Apostle Heb. 11.15 before his translation that he pleased God To walk with God is to please God or to give up our selves wholly to God Can two walk together except they be agreed is the Prophets question Amos 3.3 They who walke together are supposed to have one will as they are seen to have one way What God willeth they will and what God willeth not they will not who walk with him To walk with wicked men implyeth an agreement with them and a conformity to them as being of their fraternity company and livery They that walk with wicked men declare their familiarity with them or that their mind and manners are the same The Apostle tells the Corinthians 1 Cor. 3.2 Whereas there is among you envying strife and divisions are ye not carnall and walk as men that is as men in their naturall and sinfull condition walke Though ye are spirituall in your state yet ye act as carnall men Now as it is sinfull for a godly man to walke as a man or according to man as our Margin hath it for he should walk as God so it is much more sinfull to walk with wicked men or according to the worst of men Thus the Apostle describes the conversation of the Ephesians before conversion Eph. 22. And you hath he quickened who were dead in sins and trespasses in which sometime ye walked according to the course of this World That is according to the tide current and streame of the times and places wherein ye lived Qua itur non qua â—undum Man naturally doth not walk where he ought to goe but where he seeth the most goe He is led by the worst of examples such are the examples of the most or of the many rather then by the best of rules It is our duty and it should be our delight to walk with those who delight in the Law and in the way of God David saith of his deceitfull friend but reall enemy Psal 55.14 We walked unto the house of God in company As if he had said time was when he and I were as if he had been I both of us but one in that one thing necessary the worship and service of God It is a good argument that man hath an heart for God who walks with good men in the wayes of God To converse much with or to be much in the company of good men is a probable signe of goodnesse but when we walke with them to the house and worship of God or converse with them in the dutyes of holinesse this is a great though no infallible argument of goodnesse And to be sure to walk with evill men especially to joyne with them in doing evill is an argument that the man is evill Therefore Elihu may seeme to bring a demonstration against Jobs godlinesse that he intended it not so I shall shew afterwards but I say he seemes to say so while he saith
turnest man to destruction and sayest Return ye children of men Here 's man turning and returning upon the saying of God man turneth to death he returneth to dust and shall at last return from the dust and all this when God saith he must Our life is a very frail thing and it is in the hand of God to continue or take it away to let us hold it or gather it home to himself Thirdly From the manner of speaking If he gather to himself his spirit and his breath Note When man dieth he is gathered to God When as Solomon allegorizeth the death of man Eccl. 12.6 7. The silver cord is loosed and the golden bowl broken c. Then shall the dust that is the body return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return to God who gave it that is each part of man when he departeth this world shall go its proper way and return to that which is most congenial to it his body to the earth from whence it is his soul to God of whom it is God is a Spirit the creating Spirit and our created spirits are gathered to God when they are separated from the body yet remember there is a two-fold gathering or returning of the spirit to God First To abide and be blessed with him for ever thus the spirits of believers or saints only are gathered to God when they depart out of this world Secondly There is a gathering of the spirit to God to be judged and disposed of by him to receive a sentence of life or death from him And thus the spirit of every man or woman that dieth is gathered to God be they good or bad believers or unbelievers Heb. 9.27 It is appointed for men once to die but after this the judgement 'T is the Statute Law of God man must die and the sound of Judgement is at the heels of death That Text saith but after this the Judgement The general day of judgement shall not be till the resurrection of man from the dead But there is a personal judgement or a determining of every mans state when he dieth and for that end every mans spirit is gathered to God to receive his sentence The spirits of wicked men are gathered to him and condemned the spirits of the righteous are gathered to him and acquitted We are come saith the Apostle Heb. 12.23 to God the Judge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect David knew he must be gathered to God but he earnestly deprecated such a gathering as most shall have Psal 26.9 Gather not my soul with sinners nor my life with bloody men It is this word when sinners die they are gathered but David would not be gathered as they are gathered They are gathered to God but it is that they may be for ever separated from him they are gathered to a day of vengeance and wrath Therefore David prayed Gather not my soul with sinners Death is called a gathering in a threefold reference First A gathering to our people Thus it is said of Aaron Num. 20.24 Aaron shall be gathered unto his people for he shall not enter into the land c. Death separates the people of God from their people that is from those that are like them on earth but it will be a means of bringing them into the society of their people or fellow believers who are gone before them into heaven Secondly Death is called a gathering to our Fathers 2 Chron. 34 28. Behold I will gather thee to thy Fathers and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace There 's a gathering to a more special company and that with other like Scriptures are an argument that we shall know our relations in heaven For to be gathered to our Fathers spoken of in the first part of the verse is more then to be gathered to the grave spoken of in the latter and by our fathers we are to understand more of our fathers then the grave hath in its keeping which is but their bodies even their souls which are kept in heaven Thirdly According to the phrase of this Text death is called a gathering to God If he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath Whence Note Fourthly The spirit or soul of man hath its original from God It is of him to whom it returneth The soul or spirit of man is of God in a more special way then his body is for though God giveth both yet the Scripture in the place before named speaks of the soul as the gift of God but passeth by the body Eccles 12.7 The dust shall return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return to God who gave it 'T is God not man alone who hath given us these bodies but 't is not man but God alone who hath given us these spirits therefore men are called the fathers of our flesh that is of the body in way of distinction from God who is the father of spirits Heb. 12.9 We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us and we gave them reverence shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live that is shall we not rather be subject to God then to man Father of spirits is an Attribute or Title too high and honourable for any but God One of the Ancients in his gracious breathing after God brake out into this holy Passion My soul O God came from thee and my heart is unquiet or restless until it return to thee again God is our center and our rest He gathereth to himself mans spirit and when he doth so what then what 's the issue of it Elihu tells us what in the next verse Vers 15. All flesh shall perish together and man shall turn again to his dust As if he had said As soon as ever the spirit is gathered the flesh is consumed or as we render perisheth All flesh may be taken in the largest sence not only for all men that live but for all living creatures Thus largely Moses extendeth it Gen. 6.17 Behold saith the Lord I will bring a flood of water to destroy all flesh that is all the Beasts of the earth and Fowls of the ayre together with Mankinde except a few of each in the Ark so Psal 136.25 Who giveth food to all flesh that is to man and beast for his mercy endureth for ever Yet some understand this first part more narrowly for all flesh except man because he addeth in the latter part of the verse and man shall return again to his dust But I conceive we are to take all flesh here for all men and only for men it being usual in Scripture to put the same thing twice under different expressions So then All flesh that is every man be he who he will shall perish Thus as all flesh is restrained to man so it extendeth over all men yea over all things of man Isa 40.6 All flesh is grass and all the
that God is not sayd to forme man of the water or ayre or fire but of the dust of the ground Gen 2.7 though all those as well as earth were ingredients in the composition and formation of mans body As man with respect to his spiritualls and moralls is denominated from that which is chief in him so with respect to his naturalls Every man hath the seeds and principles of all sin in him yet many men are knowne and expressed by some speciall sin Thus one is called a covetous man another a malicious man c. because covetousnesse and malice are their predominant sins in practice though the principles of all other sins are in them So for grace one is sayd to be a patient man and another an humble man and a third a self-denying man Though where any grace is all graces are yet a godly man is knowne by that grace which acts most eminently and vigorously in him In this notion man is sayd to be of the dust and to returne to dust as if he were nothing but dust because dust is the predominant Element in the naturall constitution of man And if so then this is an humbling consideration Some walke as if they thought the ground or earth not good enough for them to goe upon Moses setting forth the dreadfullness of famine as a punishment threatned the Jewish nation in case of disobedience tells us it shall fall on all sorts both of men and women Deut 28.56 The tender and delicate woman among you which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness c. Some are loth to put their feet to the ground whereas the best foote that ever trod upon the ground is dust as wel as the ground trodden on and 't is but dust to dust when they are in the dust and dirt to dirt if they fall into the dirt The Apostle among other reasons for this also calleth the body of man a vile body Phil 3.21 Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body Our bodies are vile chiefly from the contagion of sin that hath made them most vile But they are comparatively vile with respect to the very matter out of which they were all representatively made when the first man was made without the least taint or touch of sin Man at best as to the body is but a little breathing dust or moving clay And did we spiritually look upon the matter of our bodyes it would exceedingly humble our spirits and keep them low even when like Jordan they are ready to over-flow all the banks of modesty and moderation We heare of a bird who priding himselfe in spreading and perusing his fine feathers is presently as it were ashamed by looking down upon his owne black feete Surely did man often consider that his whole body is of the earth it would be an excellent meanes to keepe his heart in a lowly frame how highly soever himselfe is exalted in the earth And as man while he lives is from the dust so when he dyeth that 's another humbling consideration his body not only returneth unto dust but turneth into dust David as the figure of Christ cryed out Psal 22.15 Thou hast brought me into the dust of death Dust and death are neere acquaintance and all that dy grow quickly into neerer acquaintance with the dust It is sayd Psal 103.14 The Lord knoweth our frame he remembreth that we are but dust But what advantage is that to us that the Lord knoweth the one and remembreth the other I may answer as the Apostle doth to another question Rom 3.2 much every way chiefly because he will pitty us and spare us and deale tenderly with us as considering how frayle we are Now as it may be our comfort that God remembreth we are but dust so 't is our duty to remember that we are but dust and that we must to the dust Shall God remember that we are dust and shall not we remember it our selves Did we more remember that we are dust we should more prepare for our return to the dust Yea I may say we should be more in heaven if we were more in our dust that is the gracious and serious meditation of our naturall vilenes and infirmities would provoke us to looke heaven-wards and prepare for heaven where these our naturall bodyes shall become spirituall 1 Cor 15.44 that is they shall be like spirits though not turned into spirits living without food or sleep living free from weariness and sickness from paines and languishments yea free from the remotest feare of ever dying or returning againe into dust Such as these and many more would be our soules advantages did we often as becomes us remember that our bodyes are of the earth and must shortly be earth againe Thus to be earthly minded is the way to be heavenly minded Many are earthly minded that is they mind earthly things but few mind that themselves are earth In what holy heights and elevations of spirit should we be if we could spiritually remember how low we once were and how low as to our bodyes we within a few dayes shall be Lastly This truth should take us off from all creature-confidence from trusting in man Cursed is the man saith the Lord Jer 17.5 that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arme 'T is a cursed thing for man to trust in man becausâ— trust is an honour proper to God he alone is to be trusted And as it is a cursed so it is also a foolish thing to trust in man David a Great Prince giveth us this counsel from God Psal 146.3 4. Put not your trust in Princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no help his breath goeth forth he returneth to his earth or to his dust in that day all his thoughts perish happy is the man that hath the God of Jacob for his help What can dust do for dust what can dust get by dust that which is weake may become strong by trusting to or leaning upon that which is strong the weakest man is strong enough while he trusteth upon the strong God but if weake trust upon weake how shall it be made strong Therefore let all flesh hearken to the words of the holy Prophet Isa 2.21 Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrills for wherein is he to be accounted of Man himselfe is a soone-ceasing creature David useth the noune of this verbe to expresse himselfe so Psal 39.4 and therefore we have reason to cease from man to cease from any high estimation of the highest men much more from any confidence in them What can we assure our selves of from any man living seeing he hath no assurance of his owne life The Prophet would have us understand that while he saith his breath is in his nostrills Mans life is gone as soone as his breath is gone and how soone may that be
And if we look into the first of John ver 2 3. we read thus In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God the same was in the beginning with God all things were made by him and without him was not any thing made that was made There our maker for the making of all things is attributed to him is the Son the second person in the holy Trinity or the Word who as it followeth in that Chapter was made flesh Why then doth Elihu here ascribe his making to the Spirit And how are these Scriptures reconciled I answer By that received Maxime in Divinity The workes of the holy Trinity towards the creature are undevided So that while this Scripture ascribes the making of man to the Spirit or Third person in the Trinity it doth not at all crosse those which ascribe it to the first or second the Father or the Son The Spirit of God hath made me Hence note First Man as to his bodily making or the making of his body is the workmanship of God As we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to good or holy workes Eph 2.10 so we are his workmanship created to common and naturall workes We have heard of that divine consultation or resolution rather Gen 1.26 Let us make man The Father made man and the Son made man and the holy Spirit made man The Father by the Son through the holy Spirit made man What a glorious what a mighty power is put forth for the production of such a poore creature as man is And this is true not only of the first man in his creation but of every man since the creation there is a concurrence of a divine power and workmanship in the setting up of man as man Psal 100.3 It is he that made us and not we our selves God doth not only make us holy men but he makes us men Hence David Psal 13 9-14 I am fearefully and wonderfully made He speaks there of the frame of his body though that be much more true in reference to the admirable frame of the new creature which is set up in the soule so indeed we are fearefully and wonderfully made Isa 27.11 This is a people of no understanding But did God ever make a people without naturall understanding Surely no but they were a people without spirituall understanding they did not understand what the mind and meaning of God was and what their owne duty was Such are a people of no understanding how wise soever they are in their owne eyes or in the eyes of the world what followeth Therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them and he that formed them will shew them no favour That is God who made and formed them both in their naturall capacity as men as also in their civill and spirituall capacity as a Church and Nation or as a Nationall Church understanding it of the Jewes will not have mercy on them will not favour them We read the same Church at once looking to God as their maker and most earnestly moving and imploring his pity upon the same account Isa 64.8 9. But now O Lord thou art our father we are the clay and thou our potter and we all are the work of thy hand As if they had sayd Thou O Lord hast moulded us as thy creatures and fashioned us as thy Church when we were but a rude masse or heape without forme or comeliness therefore doe not marre thy owne worke doe not breake the vessels of thine owne making or as it followeth in the same Chapter Be not wroth very sore O Lord neither remember iniquity for ever behold we beseech thee we are all thy people Hence consider First That we owe not only our well-being but our very being unto God And therefore Secondly No man ought to looke upon himselfe as his owne So the Apostle argues 1 Cor 6.19 Know ye not that your body is the temple of the holy Ghost which is in you which ye have of God and ye are not your owne No man is his owne he is Gods who hath made him Saints and believers especially are not their own in that repsect as also because their bodies are the temple of the holy Ghost that is the holy Ghost hath sanctified them for himselfe for his peculiar service and for his habitation Now as the bodyes of Saints are the temple of the holy Ghost because he doth sanctifie them so they are the temple of the holy Ghost because he hath reared them up and built them That consideration should urge us to duty our bodies are temples built as well as temples sanctified by the holy Ghost And therefore we are not our owne at all nor in any respect and if we are not our owne at all but the Lords then we ought to be alwayes for the Lord. Hence Thirdly Hath the Spirit of God made us as Elihu saith then let the Spirit use us how sad is it that when the Spirit of God hath made our bodies and soules we should let the wicked spirit use either as he doth both the bodies and soules of carnall men to his base services The evill spirit did neither make your bodies nor your soules why should he have the command of either Therefore as your members have been weapons of unrighteousnesse to sin so let them be instruments of righteousnesse unto God Seeing the holy Spirit hath made us let not the evill spirit use so much as a little finger of us for he hath not made not only so much as a little finger of our hand but so much as the least haire of our heads as Christ saith we our selves cannot Math 5.36 white or blacke And therefore let not the evill spirit make use of one haire of our heads white or black as a flagge of pride and vanity or to be an occasion of sin to others He that maketh the house ought to have the possession and service of it either to dwell in it himselfe or to receive rent and profit from him that dwells in it The spirit having made us should not only have the rent and revenue but the full possession of us for ever That which is of God should be for God for him alwayes and only for him Secondly In that the making of man is attributed to the Spirit Observe The Spirit of God is God The holy Ghost is not only a power of God or a word gone out from God but the holy Ghost is God This is cleare from the efficiency of the holy Spirit The Spirit of God hath made me The work of creation is attributable to none but God That power which at first set up man in his creation continueth him to this day this power and great prerogative is given to the Spirit therefore the Spirit is God Psal 33.6 By the word of the Lord his substantiall Word or Son were the heavens made and all the host of them by the breath or
stile Psal 67.1 God be mercifull to us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us that is give us tokens and pledges of his favour Secondly How see we the face of God Doth not God tell Moses No man can see my face and live How then can the face of God be seene I answer The face of God which was touched before as taken for the essence of God or for his essentiall glory cannot be seene That 's too transcendent a glory for man to behold What we see of God is but some ray or beaming out of light and glory from himselfe we cannot see himselfe The essentiall or personall glory of God is that face which cannot be seene but the declarative glory of God is a face of God which may be clearely seene by faith in the light of his word and workes And to see the face of God is nothing else but for a man to know in himselfe as the Apostles word is in somewhat a parallel case Heb 10.34 that God is gracious to him that is to have an assurance of his favour or a reflect act of faith about it The holy Spirit sheweth us what God is and what the things of God are 1 Cor 2.12 We have received not the spirit of the world but the Spirit which is of God that we may know the things that are freely given to us of God that is that we mayâ—e enlightned with the knowledge of the grace goodness and favour of God to us discovered in the Gospel The Spirit sheweth us this blessed face of God and we see it by the actings of our faith all our visions of God in this life are visions of faith upon whose wings all our intellectuall powers soare aloft and are carried up to God Faith is not only a worke of the will in consent and application but a worke of the understanding by assent and knowledge Thus we see God as a Spirit is only to be seene with a spirituall eye The vision of God is intellectuall the vision of faith Videre faciem dei nihil aliud est quam sentire apud animum suum deum propitium Coc In Jubilo i. e. in quodam inexplicabili gaudio Aquin Thus the reconciled sinner finding God favourable to him he seeth his face with joy The word signifies joyfull acclamation or shouting for joy such as men use after great favours done them and benefits or rather bounties bestowed upon them There is a seeing of the face of God with terror so the wicked shall see God that is they shall have manifestations of Gods displeasure they shall be made to see him with shame and sorrow They shall say when they see him to the mountaines and rockes fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lambe They who never saw the face of God with joy shall see it with horror amazement Saints see it with joy they have unexpressible comfort and contentment in beholding God they shall rejoyce with shouting as in the yeare of Jubile when they sounded out their joyes with trumpets or made a joyfull noyse 'T is no ordinary but a triumphant joy with which the godly see the face of God Extraordinary sights affect with extraordinary joy Now the face of God being the highest and most glorious sight in the world it must needs affect the beholder with a glorious with a Jubilean joy He shall see his face with joy First It being sayd He shall see his face with joy upon his prayer and the humbling of himselfe before God Observe God hides or vayles his face till we humble our soules and seeke his face God will not be seene at all times no not by his owne people There are severall cases in which he turneth away his face in anger or drawes a curtaine as it were yea a cloud between himselfe and the soule And this he doth First and most usually to try his people how they can beare his withdrawings and to see whether or to what they will betake themselves when he takes himselfe so much from them that they cannot see him Secondly He doth it often to chasten and correct man for sin To be under the hidings of Gods face is the saddest effect of sin to a sencible or an awakened soule David made a grievous complaint because of this what ever the cause or occasion of it was Psal 13.1 The absence of God from him though possibly but for a short time was so tedious to him that he cryed out How long wilt thou forget me O Lord for ever How long wilt thou hide thy face from me Even Jesus Christ while he stood in the place of sinners bare the hiding of his fathers face as the summe of all those punishments which were due to and deserved by our sin This pressed him more then all bodyly sufferings and made him cry out while he hung upon the Crosse My God my God not why hast thou left me to be crucified but why hast thou forsaken me Math 27.46 Thirdly God hideth his face from some because the manifestations of it have not been received thankfully nor improved rightly We ought to give thankes for the light of the Sun shining in the ayre and also doe our worke in it Is it any wonder if God cloud and eclipse the light of his countenance towards those who neither prize it nor improve it If you would alwayes see the face of God then be ye alwayes seene at the worke and in the wayes of God Secondly Observe It is the sole priviledge of Gods Favourites or of those to whom he is favourable to see his face As no man can see that face of God his essentiall presence so none but Godly men shall see this face of God his comfortable or blessed-making presence Without holiness no man shall see the Lord Heb 12.14 There is a two-fold vision or sight of God and that negative assertion may be understood of either or of both There 's first a vision of God on earth thus we see his face as was shewed before in the actings of faith For though the Apostle opposeth these two faith and sight We walke by faith and not by sight 2 Cor 5.7 yet faith hath its sight we walke not by sight as the worldly men walk who doe as they see and make their eyes both the guide of their consciences and the in-bringers of their comforts we walke not by outward sight nor doe we make conclusions how to guide our conversations by what we see We walke by faith and that 's the sight which we have of God while we are here on earth which cannot possibly be without holiness faith being so great a part of our holiness and by drawing vertue from Christ dayly the maintainer of it all Secondly there is a sight of the face of God in glory And if none can enter into glory but holy men then no man without
holiness can see the face of God there Thus Christ saith of the Angells They alwayes behold the face of my father which is in heaven Math 18.10 Now we see the face of God darkly as in a glasse 1 Cor 13.12 that is in his word and workes in his ordinances and appoyntments in these we have glimpses of the face of God but we shall see him face to face that is as fully and comprehensively as creatures can we can never comprehend God but we shall have comprehensions of God so farre as finite can take in the fruitions of Infinite We shall see his face with joy Thirdly Note It is the greatest joy and happiness of man imaginable to see the face of God Any manifestation of God is a joyfull favour and a full manifestation of him fills the heart with joy Lord lift up the light of thy countenance upon us saith David Psal 4.6 7. thou hast put gladness in my heart more then in the time their corne and wine increased As if he had sayd I rejoyce in thy favour more then worldlings doe in their best enjoyments Shew us the father and it sufficeth us sayd Philip John 14.8 let us have but that favour and we desire no more we have enough we can have no more if we may but see the father True joy stands not in any sights nor in the sight of any thing here below but in the sight of God above while we are below and in a hope that we shall at last get above too and there have an everlasting sight of him in whose presence is fullness of joy and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore We read in the Leviticall Law of the shew-bread which was to be set in the holy place upon a Table Exod 25.30 The Hebrew is the bread of faces There are two reasons of this denomination First Because that Bread did shew the gracious provision that God made for them all the way they journeyed from Egypt to Canaan or that he spread a Table for them in the wilderness where they had no harvest To which the Prophet may allude Jer 2.2 I remember saith the Lord the kindness of thy youth the love of thy espousalls when thou wentest after me in a land that was not sowne that is when thou didst trust me for thy dayly bread Secondly It was called the shew-bread to testifie the speciall presence of God with them and that his eye was alwayes upon them ready to do them good upon all occasions This was the high priviledge of the Jewes then they had the bread of faces and this is the joy of the people of God now that what ever good they have it is the face of God to them their bread is the bread of faces and their wine is the wine of faces c. that is they are a signification of the favour and love of God to them or they look upon the love and favour of God manifested in those things much more then upon the things themselves Now if it be so great a mercy to have some manifestation of the face or favour of God or that we are alwayes in the sight and view of God What will it be to us when we shall alwayes abide in the presence of God and see his face with joy Lastly Note A justified person hath confidence to looke up to and thinke of God He doth it with joy and that 's the fruit of a well-grounded confidence Where the Spirit of the Lord is saith the Apostle 2 Cor 3.17 there is liberty a liberty of addresse and approach to God a liberty also of speech and prayer to God True godliness hath much well regulated boldness with God and as a Godly man ought with reverence so he can with a wel-grounded confidence looke God in the face For he will render unto man his righteousness This latter part of the verse giveth an account of the ground of that joy which the sick man found in seeing the face of God He shall see his face with joy saith Elihu for he that is God shall render unto man his righteousness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a radice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He shall render The Hebrew is he will make to returne The word signifieth First to returne to a place from whence we have departed Gen. 18.10 Secondly to return or turn from that displeasure which was once conceived When the Lord is as it were in a hot pursuit of sinners he returns or turns from his anger The Prophet speakes in the negative Isa 5.25 For all this his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still or he is not returned from his anger Thirdly The word is used to note mans return unto God by repentance Deut 30.28 We by sin turn away from God and by repentance we return to him Fourthly It signifieth to returne by way of requitall Psal 116.12 What shall I render unto the Lord It is this word or What shall I return to the Lord for all his benefits David was in an holy muse or maze what testimony of thankfulness he should bring to the Lord. What shall I render And in that sence it is attributed both to God and man sometimes in relation to evill done and then it notes to render punishment or revenge Psal 28.4 Render to them their desert so the word is used by Josephs brethren Gen 50.15 He will certainly requite us all the evill which we did unto him they were jealous of their brothers love when their father was dead And as it notes a return of evill done in way of revenge so also a return of good done in way of reward thus here He will render unto man It is an indefinite assertion not to this or that man but to man With God there is no respect of persons but he that worketh righteousness let him be who he will is accepted of him To man that is to every man God will render his righteousness Righteousness is of two sorts First There is the righteousness of our sanctification which consists First in our turning from or leaving to doe evill Secondly in our doing good this is a righteousness wrought by us and dwelling or inherent in us The Hebrewes by this word often expresse that which we call almes or charity and the reason is two-fold why almes or acts of charity are expressed by that word which signifieth righteousness First because our charity or our almes must be given of those things that are rightly gotten We must not doe unjustly that we may be charitable nor wrong some to relieve others Secondly because charity and almes is a due or right to the poor that are in want we call it charity but it is a work of duty Prov 3.27 therefore 't is well expressed by righteousness He shall render unto man his righteousness or beneficence We may take it in this large sence for this also is a part of our sanctification And when it