Selected quad for the lemma: justice_n
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A35537
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An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh chapters of the book of Job being the substance of thirty-five lectures / by Joseph Caryl ...
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Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.
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1664
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Wing C776; ESTC R15201
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593,041
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687
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Trench Let me strike him at once and I will not strike him a second time The Lord threatned Nah. 1.9 to bâ—ing destruction upon those at once when he told them Affliction should not rise a second time as if he had said I will not strike another blow at them I 'le hit them home and do my woâ—k with one blow We need not fear how many or how mighty his enemies are he can rid himself of them with one stroke The Lord strikes some to take away their sin thus he strikes his own people others he strikes to take away their persons thus he strikes the wicked especially those who enemy-like designedly strike at Him his Name his Truth his Glory Elihu doth not say Beware least he strike thee but least he take thee away with a stroke The Lord often strikes his own faithful servants they receive many a stroke many a lash many a blow many a chastisement at his hands but he doth not take them away with a stroke as he doth the wicked The Lord strikes his servants to take away their sins and he strikes wicked men to take away their lives to destroy them utterly Secondly As the word signifieth taking away with clapping â—f the hands or with derision Note God will even laugh at the ruine of wicked men He will clap his hands at their fall We read Prov. 1.26 27. how Wisdome called and cried and none would answer all set her calls and counsels at naught what followed I said Wisdome that is Christ will laugh at their calamity and mock when their fear cometh as much as is said in the Text I will take them away with a stroke or with clapping my hands with a kind of deriding plaudite at their going off or rather at their being thrust off the Stage of this world They are in the most sad condition whom God not only destroys but derides they have most cause to mourn in their affliction at whose affliction God laughs It is said Job 9.23 God will laugh at the tryal of the innocent and why was shewed in opening that place I only touch it now upon this occasion The Lord knows the innocent will come off with honour will stand it out in their tryal bravely he sees what Courage Faith Patience they will manifest in and under their sufferings Now as the Lord even claps his hands and laughs when his chosen noble ones go forth to the tryal knowing they will honour him in their tryal so the Lord laughs at the destruction of the wicked knowing that his Justice and Righteousness shall have a full stroke at them and lay both their shame and sin open to all the world That the Lord in his wrath takes away with a stroke should make us all beware fear and tremble but that which followeth may make us wary fear and tremble much more for saith Elihu in the close of the verse Then a great Ransome cannot deliver thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Redemptionis Pretium quod 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Graeci appellant The word rendred a Ransome signifies that which is paid as a price for the deliverance of a Captive out of bondage Thus Christ gave himself a Ransome for sinners But here is a Case wherein no Ransome will be taken no though it be not a small petty Ransome but a great Ransome of that saith Elihu it cannot deliver thee As if he had said When once God is so far provoked that the Decree is gone forth to destroy thee then it will be in vain to think of getting off by Ransome Here it may be queried What is this great Ransom that will not deliver There is a twofold Ransome by one of which the people of God are somtimes delivered and alwayes by the other First The people of God are somtimes ransomed or delivered by the destruction and ruine of the wicked that 's their Ransom and that not seldom proves a great Ransome It is said expresly Prov. 21.18 The wicked shall be a Ransome for the righteous how a Ransome for the righteous will a wicked man pâ—y a Ransome for the righteous or will the wicked man offer himself a Ransome for him and say I 'le dye instead of the righteous man surely there 's no such thing to be expected from him Peradventure for a good man saith the Apostle Rom. 5.7 8. one would even dare to dye that is one good man may possibly be willing to lay down his life for another good man Scarcely for a righteous man would one dye that is for a man who only gives every man his due oâ— doth every man right but for a good man that is for a man that hath been very kind and bountiful to others some would even dare to dye yet he that doth so must be supposed to be a righteous and a good man himself For it cannot be thought that a wicked man would give himself a Ransome for the righteous that he would dye for him whom he doth not love yea whom he usually hates to the death How then is it affirmed by Solomon that the wicked shall be a Ransome for the righteous The meaning is God will destroy the wicked to save the righteous or he will save the righteous even through the blood and destruction of the wicked In that sence the wicked are many times a Ransome for the righteous rather than the righteous shall perish the Lord will destroy the wicked Thus the Lord spake by his Prophet of old Isa 43.3 I gave Egypt for thy Ransome Ethispia and Sheba for thee How was Egypt a Ransome for Israel had they any mind to deliver the people of God no but rather than God would not have Israel saved he destroyed Pharaoh and the Egyptians in the Red Sea Thus the Lord makes the wicked a Ransome for the righteous Though Egypt were a very goodly Country yet God destroyed it by ten Plagues that he might deliver Israel Though Pharaoh was a great Prince he drowned him in the Sea rather than his people should go back into Captivity Solomon gives us this sense of the Prophets words fully in his own Prov. 11.8 The righteous is delivered out of trouble and the wâ—cked cometh in his stead Secondly There is another a more excellent Ransome for the people of God and that is the Blood of Jesus Christ We are bought with a price dearly bought and that 's the Price with which we are bought 1 Cor. 6.20 that 's a Ransome which sets sinners fâ—ee and makes them free indeed Joh. 8.36 free fâ—om sin anâ— free unto righteousness Math. 20.28 He gave himself a Ransome for many for a great many for all who believe and take hold of his Name When Elihu saith A great Ransome cannot deliver ' â—is not to be understood of the Ransome which Christ hath paid that 's a Ransome so great so precious that it hath and doth and will for ever deliver the greatest the worst of sinners who run to it
vastness that all must confess the hand of God hath done it Thirdly We then magnifie the works of God when we freely submit to God in them as just and righteous when we accept and take them kindly at his hand not only when they are outward kindnesses but crosses All the great words and rhetorick we can bestow upon the works of God will not magnifie them unless we freely submit to them as just and righteous They that would magnifie the works of God must say Judgment and righteousness are the habitation of his throne while they can see nothing but Clouds and darkness round about him Psal 97.2 I saith the Psalmist am in the dark about all that God is doing at this day yet of this I am as confident as confidence it self Judgment and Righteousness are the habitation of his throne I know God doth nothing amiss no not in the least Thus John in the Revelation Chap. 15.3 saw them that had gotten the victory over the beast and over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name and they saith he sing the Song of Moses c. saying great and marvelous are thy works just and true are thy wayes The works of God in Judgment upon Babylon are full of justice and we magnifie them by proclaiâ—ing and crying them up as just yea the work of God in judgment upon Zion is exceedingly magnified when Zion submits to it and embraceth it as just and righteous It was the great sin of the house of Israel when they said Ezek. 18 25. The wayes of God are not equal As if they had said are these the Lords equal dealings that we his People should be given up to the hand of the enemy and suffer such things as these yea the house of Israel must say all the works of God not only his exalting works but his humbling works are equal just and righteous for we have sinned This is to magnifie the work of God Fourthly To magnifie the work of God is to look upon his work what-ever it is not only as having justice in it towards all men but as good and being full of goodness to his People Possibly it may be very hard work yet we must bring our hearts to say it is good work good to and for the Israel of God Thus the holy man of old magnified the work of God Psal 73.1 Truly God is good to Israel This he spake while he was bemoaning himself under very afflicting providences We magnifie the afflicting works of God when we submit to them as just much more when we embrace them as good And it was very much the design of Elihu to bring Job off from disputing about the evils with which God had so long exercised him to a ready yeeldance that they were good for him and that in all the Lord intended nothing but his good Fifthly To magnifie the work of God is to answer the end of it Every work is magnified when it receiveth its end if a work be done yet if it have not its effect if it bring not that about to which it was designed the worker receives no honour from it nor is the work honoured To work in vain is a debasing a lessening of any work not a magnifying of it The Apostle was afraid to bestow his labour in preaching the Gospel in vain When people still continue in their blindness and unbelief c. this layeth the preaChing of the Gospel low but when souls are convinced and converted and come flocking in then the Gospel is magnified and the word of the Lord glorified as the Apostle prayed it might 2 Thes 3.1 Now as the word of God is magnified when it attains its end so the work of God is magnified when we give him or come up to those ends for which he wrought it But if we let God lose the end of his work we do what we can to debase his work as if he had done it in vain We say he works like a fool that hath not proposed an end to every woâ—k he dotâ— and he appears not very wise at least not very powerful who aâ—taineth not the end or ends for which he began his work The most wise God hath his end and aim in all his works in this world and this is the honour we do his work when we labour first to know and secondly to give him his end in every work But if any ask What are the ends of God in his work I answer They are very various First The chief end of all that God doth is the advancement of his own Name and Glory As he made all things for himself in Creation so he doth all things for himself in Providence That which is the sin of man is the holiness of God to seek himself It is most proper for God who is the chief good and whose glory is the ultimate end of all things to set up himself in all things Prov. 16.4 The Lord hath made all things for himself saith Solomon And the Apostle faith as much Rom. 11.36 Of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory for ever Amen All things are of him therefore all things should return unto him If we would magnifie any work of God we must be sure to give him this end the glory of it Let it not satisfie us that we are advanced or get up by the works of God unless we our selves advance his glory by them Many advance themselves and are lifted up with pride when God works for them or by them not at all minding that which they should chiefly mind the glorifying of God in by what he hath w ought either for themselves or others Secondly God hath this in design by all his works to make us better If it be a work of Judgment it is to make us better and then we exalt his works of Judgement when we are bettered by them when we are more humbled and weaned from the world by them And as 't is the design of God to make us better by his works of Judgment so by all his works of mercy The Apostle beseecheth us by the mercies of God to present our bodies that is our whole selves a living sacrifice in all holy service to himself Rom. 12.1 What will it advantage us to be bettered in our outward enjoyments by what God works or doth for us unless we learn to be better and do his work better that is unless our hearts be more holy and we more fruitful in every good word and work Some will magnifie the work of God by keeping a day of thanksgiving because they are richer or greater by what God hath wrought for them who yet are not a whit more holy or spiritual by it Wo to those who magnifie the work of God because they think it shall go better with them when themselves are not better Enquire therefore what lust hath the work of God moved you to