and mysteriousnesse of the matter While a man speakes in a strange language wee heare a sound but know not the words and while a man speakes in our owne language though we know the words yet we may not understand the meaning and then hee that speakes is to us in that reference so the Apostle calls him a Barbarian While the leaves of the booke are opened and read to such or by such the sense is shut up and sealed When the Apostle Philip heard the Ethiopian Eunuch reade the Prophet Isaiah as he traveld in his Chariot hee said to him understandest thou what thou readest The Eunuch answered How should I unlesse some man would guide mee He understood the language but the meaning was under a vaile The very same may we say to many who reade the Scriptures understand you what you reade And they may answer as the Eunuch did How can we except we had some man to guide us Yea and alas for all the guiding of man they may answer How can we except we have the Spirit of God to guide us He hath his Pulpit in heaven who teacheth hearts the heart of Scripture Paul we know was a learned Pharisee and much verst in the Law and yet he saith of himselfe before his conversion that hee was without the Law but when Christ came to him then the Commandment came to him I was once alive without the Law but when the Commandment came that is when Christ came and his Spirit came in or after my conversion and expounded the Commandment to my heart then the Commandment came sc to my heart in the power of it and I understood to purpose what the Law was So that the teachings of the Spirit the teachings of God himselfe are chiefly to be looked after and prayed for that we may know the mind of the Spirit the will of God in Scripture But he hath set up this ordinance the ordinance of interpretation to doe it by both that the Scripture might be translated out of the Originall into the common language of every Nation which the Apostle calls interpreting in that place before cited and also that the originall sense of the Scripture might be translated into the minde and understanding of every man which is the worke we aime at and now have in hand Before I begin that give me leave to beseech you in the Name of Christ to take care for the carrying on of this worke a degree further I mean to translate the sense of Scripture into your lives and to expound the word of God by your workes Interpret it by your feet and teach it by your fingers as Solomon speakes to another sense that is let your working and your walkings be Scripture explications It is indeed a very great honour unto this Citie that you take care for a Commentarie on the Scripture in writing but if you will be carefull and diligent to make a Commentarie upon the Scripture by living or to make your lives the Commentarie of Scripture this will make your Citie glorious indeed It is the Apostles testimonie of his Corinthians Yee saith he are our Epistle for as much as yee are manifestly declared to be the Epistle of Christ ministred by us written not with inke but with the Spirit of the living God not in tables of stone but in fleshie tables of the heart Give us we beseech you the same occasion of glorying on your behalfe that we may say You are our Expositions for as much as you are manifestly declared in your practise to be the exposition of the mind of Christ ministred unto you by us A walking a breathing Commentarie goeth infinitely beyond the written or spoken Commentarie And as the Apostle makes his conclusion before noted I had rather speake five words with my understanding than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue So I say I had rather know five words of Scripture by my own practise and experience than ten thousand words of Scripture yea than the whole Scripture by the bare Exposition of another And therefore let the word of Christ by these verball Explications dwell richly in your understandings in all wisedome And by a practicall application let it be held forth plentifully in your lives in all holinesse Adde Commentarie to Commentarie and Exposition to Exposition adde the Comment of works to this Comment of words and an Exposition by your lives to this Exposition by our labours Surely if you do not these Exercises will be costly indeed and will come to a deep account against you before the Lord. If you are lifted up to heaven by the opening of the Scripture which is either a carrying of you up to heaven or a bringing of heaven downe to you and then walke groveling upon the earth how sore will the judgement be But it is to me an argument and an evidence from heaven that God hath put it into your hearts to be more glorious in the practise of holinesse because he hath put it into your hearts to desire more the knowledge of holinesse To draw in my speech nearer to the businesse Having a booke full of very various matter before me give mee leave to premise some things in the generall and some thing more particulars by way of Preface concerning the booke before wee come to the handling of the text First for the generall That which God speakes concerning the whole worke of Creation We may speake concerning the whole booke of Scripture It is very good Solomon observes that wheresoever the wisdom of God spake it spake of excellent things And David to quicken our endeavours and excite our diligence to the study of the word preferreth it in worth above thousands of gold and silver and in sweetnesse above the honey and the honey combe And when he ceaseth to compare hee beginneth to admire Wonderfull are thy Testimonies And well may that bee called Wonderfull which proceedeth from the God of Wonders All Scripture is given by divine inspiration or by inspiration from God and I need not stay to shew you the excellencie of any part when I have but pointed at such an originall of the whole As therefore the whole Scripture whether wee respect the majestie of the Author the height or puritie of the matter the depth or perspicuitie of the stile the dignitie or variety of occurrences whether we consider the Art of compiling or the strength of arguing disdaines the very mention of comparison with any other humane Author whatsoever so are comparisons in it selfe as Booke with Booke Chapter with Chapter dangerous There is not in this great volume of holy counsell any one Book or Chapter Verse or Section of greater power or authoritie than other Moses and Samuel the writings of Amos the Shepherd and of Isaiah a Descendant of the blood Royall the writings of the Prophets and Evangelists the Epistles of Paul and this historie of Iob must be received to use the words
Gender for another are frequently observed in Scripture by the learned in the Originalls Secondly The relative word is conjectured to be put in the Feminine gender because women were most usually called forth to that worke of mourning And it is further observeable that where the Scripture speakes of those actions of mourning or rejoycing or loving which are workes of affection it useth to ascribe them to women rather then to men because they are quicker in affection and faile of affection then men and so more ready to act or expresse such joyes or sorrowes then men are For the close of this point I shall adde the apprehension of a learned Expositor who taking the words in this last sense as referring to those solemne mournings yet conceive that the word Leviathan must stand here in the letter not as if Job had any intendment to speake of the fish Leviathan or to allude to fishing for Leviathan but either because Heathens in those execrations did invoke or provoke Leviathan that is the Devill Or because in those solemne songs of lamentation Leviathan was a word much used or Leviathan was the first word of some of those lamenting songs For in execrations strange uncouth dreadfull words were purposely used the more to affect and astonish the hearers Now there is no word more dreadfull then Leviathan whether we take it for that sea-monster the Whale or for that Hell-monster the Devill And so the meaning is this Let them curse it who curse the day who are ready to raise up Leviathan that is Let those mourners who sing that most passionate song of mourning which begins with or is entitled Leviathan It is ordinary among us to call for a song or to call a song by the generall subject matter of it or by the first word of it And so many bookes of Scripture have their names in the Hebrew from the first word as the booke of Genesis is called Beresith or In the beginning And Exodus Veele semoth that is And these are the names because both begin with those words in the Hebrew So the song which was the forme of those Lamentations might be called Leviathan because saith this Authour it began with that word and he alledgeth a proverbiall tradition for it out of Mariana which he had received from a Jew that it was forbidden upon the Feast-day to raise up Leviathan That is they might not take up that execratory song which beginneth with Leviathan I only present this opinion because it suites with and illustrates the former notion of solemne mourning Thus I have with as much speed and clearnesse as I could given you the meaning of these words That which favours their sense most who keepe to the word Leviathan is that this booke speakes afterward of Leviathan to shew the power of the creator in that powerfull creature And I find the very same phrase of raysing or stirring up Leviathan used in that place chap. 41. ver 10. None is so fierce that dare stirre or raise him up The Hebrew word which there we translate stirre in this third chapter is translated raise Leviathan Yet I rather encline to the latter exposition respecting mourning both because it hath the authority of our English Bible to countenance it our Translators putting mourning in the Text and Leviathan in the margin As also because it carries a clearer correspondence and agreement both with Antecedents and consequents both with the matter and with the frame of Jobs complaint and curse in this chapter Taking the words in this sense that Job calls to have his night cursed in such a solemne manner as those hired mourners used to lament and bewaile the dayes of humane calamities we may observe First That hope of profit will turne some spirits into any posture Lamenting and mourning is an unpleasant worke but profit and reward sweetens and makes it pleasant Some men will be in any action so they may get by it they will mourne for hire and curse for hire So did Balaam Balaam was sent for to curse the people of God Numb 22. He made many delayes and seemingly conscientious scruples yet at last he goâ—s about the worke as black and bad as it was But what overcame him and answered all his doubts about the undertaking of such a worke The Text in Peter resolves us he loved the wages of unrighteousnesse He that loves wages will quickly love any work which brings in wages Upon the stage you might have any passion for your money Joy and sorrow love and hatred all acted and personated beyond the personall temper or occasions of the men meerely for reward And which is the highest argument of a mercenary spirit some act holinesse for hire and are godly for outward gaine Secondly In that Job calls others to mourne over and condole that night Observe That some troubles exceed our own sorrowes And we may want the eyes and tongues of others to expresse them by My heart saith Job is not large enough and I have not art enough to act much lesse to aggravate my own afflictions let them doe it whose profession and practise it is to curse the day Sometimes the mercies which we receive and the joy that the soule conceives is more then we can expresse or be thankfull enough for and then we send to others both private Christians and whole Congregations desiring them to help us to lend us their hearts and their tongues their affections and their voices in that Angelicall worke the praises of our God Let them blesse God who blesse the day who are vers'd in dayes and duties of thanks-giving who are ready to raise up their rejoycings David saith Come and heare all ye that feare God and I will declare what he hath done for my soule Psal 66.16 He had not told them what God had done for his soule but to gaine the help of their soules in praising God for what he had done Sometime also a Christian is so engaged in prayer for the obtaining of a mercy and finds his heart so much below his suite that he calls out to all those who have any holy skill in praying pray for me pray with me the businesse is too bigge for me alone How earnestly doth Paul begge prayers Now I beseech you bretheren for the Lord Jesus Christs sake and for the love of the Spirit that ye strive together with me in prayers to God for me that I may be delivered c. Rom. 15.30 As it is thus in praying and rejoycing so it may be in mourning and in sorrowing And troubles are very deepe when they exceed our own sorrowes as mercies are very great when they are beyond our own praises Wee in this Nation have cause to feare such troubles even such as may cause us to invite the hearts and spirits the bowels and compassions of all the Christians in the world to come and lament over us we may be forced to send not only for the Husbandman
make Yee have heard of the Patience of Job and what end the Lord made Could we but heare of the Repentance of England all the world I am perswaded should heare and wonder at the end which the Lord would make Even such an end as he made for Job if not a better he would give us twice as much in Temporals double Riches double Oxen and Sheepe double Bracelets and Earings double Gold and Silver double Sonnes and Daughters And hee would give us which is not specified in the Inventorie of Jobs repaire seven-fold more in Spirituals seven-fold more knowledge of his Truth purity in his worship order in his house he would make the light of our Moone to be like the light of the Sunne and the light of our Sunne to be seven-fold as the light of seven dayes in the day wherein he bindes up our outward breaches and heales the stroake of our wound Thus we may looke to be restored not only as Job to more in kind but to better in kind I am sure to better in degree We may looke that for brasse we shall have Gold or our Gold more refined that for Iron wee shall have Silver or our Silver more purified that for wood we shall have Brasse or our Brasse better furbished that for Stones we shall have iron or our Iron better tempered We may look that our Officers shall be peace and our Exactours righteousnesse that violence shall no more be heard in our Land wasting nor destruction within our borders but men shall call our Walls salvation and our Gates praise When these glorious issues of our troubles shall be is in his hand who held Jobs estate in his hand so fast that Satan could not touch a Sheepe nor a shoe-lachet till himselfe willed and who when his time came restored Jobs estate double to a Sheep and a shoe-lachet whether Satan and his Sabeans would or no. We have already seen in Job an Epitome of our former prosperitie and of our present troubles the good Lord hasten the latter part of our National likenes unto him in the doubled and O that it might be a seven-fold restauration of our Peace and Truth In the meane time these Meditations upon this Scripture well digested and taken-in may be through the blessing of God upon them a help to our patience in bearing these afflictions upon the Land a help to our faith in beleeving to our hope inwaiting for the Salvations of the Lord. Whatsoever things were written afore-time were written for our learning but this Booke was purposely written that we through patience and comfort of this Scripture might have hope Nor doe I doubt but that the Providence of God without which a Sparrow fals not to the ground directed my thoughts to this Booke as not onely profitable for all times but specially seasonable for these times It is a word in season and therefore should as a word upon the Wheeles making a speedy passage into all our hearts And how should it not While wee remember that these Wheeles are oyl'd with bloud even with the heart-bloud of thousands of our dearest friends and brethren I finde that this is not the first time that this Booke hath beene undertaken by way of Exposition in such a time as this Lavater a faithfull Minister of the Tigurine Church opened this Scripture in preaching and printed it in the Germane tongue which was afterwards published in Latine by Hartmanus Sprunglius as himselfe expresses in the Title to support and refresh the afflicted mindes of the godly in that last as he then supposed and saddest decliyyning Age of the world Ferus a Popish Fryer but very devout according to the Devotion of that Religion Preacher at Ments chose this Scripture in the time of Warre and publick Calamity as the Title also of his Booke holds forth to comfort his Citizens In his fourth Sermon hee makes this observable digression You know saith hee to his Hearers that I began to expound this Historie of Iob to the end I might comfort and exhort you to patience in these troublesome times This was and is my Intendment this mooved me to handle and explaine this Booke But now in my very entrance upon it the Storme grows so blacke that I see you amazed dejected and almost desperate Some are flying others are preparing to flie and in this great Calamitie no man is found to comfort his Brother But every one encreases his Neighbours feare by his owne fearefullnesse Hee prescribes as farre as their Principles will admit Cordials for the reviving of their spirits and medicine for the cure of these distempers The whole Booke of JOB is a sacred Shoppe stor'd with plentie and varietie of both that you may open your hearts to receive and with wisdome to apply the Consolations and Instructions here tender'd from this part of it is and through the strength of Christ shall bee the desire and prayer of November 8th 1643. Your very loving Friend and Servant for the helpe of your Faith IOSEPH CARYL ERRATA PAg 3. lin 33. for more particulars reade in particular Pag. 5. l 24 for sinneâ— sinne p. 9 l. 2. for distinctions r distinct ones p 27. l 39. for whence r. whom p. 30 l. 21. for all grace goes r. all graces goe p. 40. l. 21. dele But. p. 106. l. 8. r. former p. 118. l. 34. r. and before in such p. 124 l. 1. dele the. p. 179. l. 40. for garments r. garment p. 1â—3 l. 21 for we r. he p 206 l. 39. r. lesse love p. 207. l. 5. r. of a Fathers love p. 239 l. 39. for si r. as p 273. l. 39. for troublers r. troubler p. 306. l. 15. misplaced p. 323 l. 34 for ceise r. seise p. 338. l. 38. for sight r. site pag 371. l. 16. for the r. then p. 402. l. 40. for interrupted r. uninterrupted p. 424. l. 8. adde that p. 452. l. 38. for utmost his r. his utmost p. 454. l 35. for was r. were Divers errors have escaped in the Poyntings which the understanding Reader may easily correct where the sense is obscured as p. 321. l. 11 there wants a Colon after the word Counsell c. AN EXPOSITION Vpon the three first Chapters of the BOOKE of JOB The Introduction opening the Nature Parts and Scope of the whole Booke IT was the personall wish and resolution of the Apostle Paul I had rather speak five words with my understanding then ten thousand words in an unknowne tongue And surely it is far better to speake or heare five words of Scripture with our understandings than ten thousand words yea than the whole Scriptures while we understand them not Now what an unknown tongue about which the Apostle there disputeth is in reference unto all the same is the Scripture unto most even in their owne tongue that which they understand not For as an unknowne tongue doth alwayes hide the meaning of words from us so doe oft times the spiritualnesse
of the Trent Councell in the fifth Session but to far better purpose Pari pietatis affectu with the same holy reverence and affection They use it about Traditions matching Traditions with the Scriptures but we may fully match all Scripture together and say all must be received with the same devotion and affection Yet notwithstanding as the parts of Scripture were penned by divers Secretaries published in divers places in divers ages on divers occasions for divers ends so the argument and subject matter the method and manner of composing the texture and the stile of writing are likewise different Some parts of Scripture were delivered in Prose others in Verse or numbers some parts of the Scripture are Historicall shewing what hath beene done some are Propheticall shewing what shall be done others are Dogmaticall or Doctrinall shewing what we must doe what we must beleeve Againe some parts of Scripture are cleare and easie some are obscure and very knotty Some parts of Scripture shew what God made us others how sinne spoiled us A third how Christ restored us Some parts of Scripture shew forth acts of mercy to keepe us from sinking others record acts of judgement to keepe us from presuming And because the way to heaven is not strewed with Roses but like the Crowne of Christ here upon earth set with thornes because not smiles and loving imbracements from the world but wounds and stroaks and temptations doe await all those that have received the presse-money of the Spirit and are enrolled for the Christian warfare because everie true Israelite must expect that which Iacob upon his death-bed spake of Ioseph that the Archers will shoot at him hate him and grieve him In a word because many are the troubles of the righteous therefore the Scripture doth present us with sundry plat-formes of the righteous conflicting with many troubles Now these considerations that are scattered severally thorow the whole Scripture seeme all concenter'd and vnited together in this booke of Iob which if we consider in the stile and forme of writing is in some part of it Prose as the two first Chapters and part of the last and the rest is Verse If wee consider it in the manner of deliverie it is both darke and cleare If we consider the subject matter of it it is both Historicall Propheticall and Doctrinall In it is a mixture of mercie tendred unto of judgements threatned against and inflicted upon the wicked In it is a mixture of the greatest outward blessings and the greatest outward afflictions upon the godly conâ—luding in the greatest deliverances of the godly from affliction In this last the booke is chief there was never any man under a warmer sinne of outward prosperitie than Iob was neither was there ever any man in a hotter fire of outward affliction then Iob was God seeming to give charge concerning this triall of Iob as king Nebuchadnezzar did concerning the three children to have the furnace heated seven times hotter than ordinary This in the generall concerning the book Now more particularly I will not detaine you in that Proemiall disquisition about the Author and Penman of this Booke there is great varietie of Iudgement about it some say it was one of the Prophets but they know not who some ascribe it to Solomon some to Elihu not a few to Iob himselfe but most give it to Moses That resolution of Beza in the point shall serve me and may satisfie you It is very uncertaine who was the Writer of this Book saith he and whatsoever can be said concerning it is grounded but upon very light conjecture And therefore where the Scripture is silent it can be of no great use for us to speake especially seeing there is so much spoken as will finde us worke and bee of use for us neither need wee trouble our selves being assured that the Spirit of God indited the Booke who it was that held the pen. Onely take this that it is conceived to be the first piece of Scripture that was written take it to be written by Moses and then it is most probable that hee writ it before the deliverance of the people of Israel out of Egypt while he was in Midian Neither will I stay you in the second place about the inquirie into or rather about the refutation of that fancie that this whole Booke is a Parable rather than a Historie like that of Lazarus in the Gospel not a thing really acted but only a representation of it Now this which was the dreame of many of the Iewes and Talmudists and is fastned with no small clamour upon Luther by the Iesuits may clearly be convinced both by the names of places and persons which we shall have occasion to open when wee come to the booke it selfe and also by those allegations of the Prophets and of the Apostles concerning Iob the Prophet Ezekiel quoting him with Noah and Daniel two men that unquestionably were extant and acted glorious parts in the world and therefore Iob also All that I will say in particular shall be in these three things 1. To shew you more distinctly the subject of this Book 2. The parts and division of it 3. The use or scope and intendment of it 1. For the subject of this Booke we may consider it either as principall or as collaterall The maine and principall subject of this Book is contained and I may give it you in one verse of the 34. Psalme Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of all Concerning this subject there are two great Questions handled and disputed fully and clearly in this Booke The first is this Whether it doth consist with the Iustice and goodnesse of God to afflict a righteous and sincere person to strip him naked to take away all his outward comforts Or whether it doth consist with the Iustice and goodnesse of God that it should go ill with those that are good and that it should go well with those that are evill This is one great debate the maine Question thoroughout the Book And then secondly here is another great dispute in reference to the former Namely whether we may iudge of the righteousnesse or unrighteousnesse of the sincerity or hypocrisie of any person by the outward dealings and present dispensations of God towards him That is a second Question here debated The friends of Job maintained the first Question negatively the latter affirmatively They denied that God in Justice could aflict a righteous and a holy man They affirmed that any man so afflicted is unrighteous and may so be judged because afflicted And so the whole argument and dispute which the friends of Job brought may be reduced to this one Syllogisme He that is afflicted and greatly afflicted is certainly a great open sinner or a notorious hypocrite But Job thou art afflicted and thou art greatly afflicted Therefore certainly thou art if not a great open sinner yet a notorious hypocrite
for all the rest The Booke begins with the description of his person in the first verse where Job is described by that which is accidentall and by that which is essentiall By accidentals so he is described by the place where he dwelt There was a man in the land of Uz. 2. By his name whose name was Job The essentials are foure qualifications which were essentiall to him not as a rationall man but as a holy man And that man was 1. Perfect 2. Vpright 3. One that feared God 4. Eschewed evill As they who write the Acts or Stories of great men usually give us some description of their persons before they set downe their undertakings or atchievements as you see in the 1 Sam. 17.4 5 6 7. how the great Giant Goliah is described So here the Holy Ghost by the Pen-man of this Booke being to record a glorious combate a combate not with flesh and blood alone but with Principalities and Powers a wrestling with mighty and strong temptations first gives us if we may so speake the Prosopographie of this divine Heroes soule the lineaments and abilities of his spirit This was the heighth and this the stature of the Combitant such were his limbes and such his weapons there he dwelt and this was his name There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job There was That referrs us either to the truth of the Story or to the time of the Story Such a man there was that 's certaine Such a man there was but the time when is uncertaine It referres us to the time onely indefinitely There was such a man but when is not exactly and precisely set downe The Scripture we know doth often keepe an exact account of yeares the Scripture is the guide and key of all Chronology and sometimes it leaves things in generall for the time and onely saith thus much such a thing was or such a person was So here Yet some have undertaken to define what the Spirit of God hath left at large the precise time wherein Job lived and tell us in what yeare of the world these things were done But I desire not to be so accurate unlesse the Rule were so too Onely thus much we may safely say that Job lived betweene the times of Abraham and Moses and nearer Moses than Abraham and for that I conceive there is ground sufficient There are these two speciall Reasons why it should be circumscribed within that limit 1. Because Job offered Sacrifice at that time in his owne Country which after the giving of the law and setting up of a publike worship was forbidden all both Jewes and Proselytes They that were acquainted with the wayes of God knew they must not worship by Sacrifice any where but before the Tabernacle or after the Temple was built at the Temple 2. Because in the whole booke there is not the least print or the least mention of any thing which did concerne those great and glorious passages of Gods providence towards the people of Israel either in their going out of Aegypt or in their journey thorough the wildernesse to Canaan Now in a dispute of this nature such as was betweene Job and his friends there would have been frequent occasion to have considered and instanced some of those things There is scarce any booke in Scripture that beares date after that great and wonderfull dispensation of God but it makes mention of or referrs to some passages concerning them Againe for the time that which some collect to cleare it is from the Genealogie of Job there are three speciall opinions concerning the line of his pedegree One that he descended from Nahor who was brother to Abraham Gen. 22.21 It was told Abraham behold Milcah shee hath borne children to thy brother Nahor Uz his first-borne and Buz his brother c. This Vz who was the first-borne of Nahor Abrahams brother is conceived to have given denomination to the land of Vz and so from him Job to be descended Another opinion there is maintain'd by many that Job was of the line of Esau and that he was called Jobab by Moses Gen. 36.33 And Bela died and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah raigned in his stead This Jobab who was a descendant or one of the Dukes of the line of Esau they say was Job But why the name Jobab should be contracted into Job I see little reason offered A third opinion for his descent is that he came from the children of Abraham by his second wife Keturah Gen. 25. where it is said that Abraham by her had divers sonnes and that hee gave them portions and sent them Eastward into the East country and from Midian who was the fourth sonne of Abraham by that second marriage our Genealogies doe positively and directly affirme that Job was descended That may suffice for the time for bringing of him within a narrower limit I have no grounds but conjecturall A man He is not called A man here barely as the Phylosophers Animal rationale c. as man is opposed to a Beast Nor barely is he called a man to distinguish his Sex as a man is opposed to a woman But there is somewhat more in the expression he is called a man by way of excellency And for the clearing and opening of that we may consider that there are 3. words in Scripture originall by which man is exprest 1. Man is called Adam That was the proper name of the first man and it became the common name for all men since So man was called from the matter of which he was made Adam from Adamah because as the reason is given Gen. 2.7 God made man dust out of the earth or as we translate of the dust of the earth 2. Man is called Enosh So he is called in regard of the infirmities weaknesses and sorrowes which he hath contracted by sinne since the fall sinne made the red earth weake and brittle earth indeed earth moystened with teares and mixt with troubles 3. He is called Ish which the Critticks in that language say comes from and hath allyance with two words One signifying Beeing or existence and the other heat or fire So that the excellency of mans being the heat courage and spirit that flames in him is set forth in that word and that 's the word here in the Text There was a man it is Ish an excellent a worthy man a man of an excellent spirit a man of men a man fitted to honour God and governe men And that it is so used in Scripture I will give you an instance or two that you may see it is not a bare conjecture In the 49. Psalme David as it were summons and divides mankind In the first verse he summons Heare this all ye people give eare all ye inhabitants of the world In the second verse he divides Both low and high rich and poore together The word in the Hebrew for high is Bene-Ish sons of Ish
feare of God that must be the spring of uprightnesse and perfection else they are onely Heathen vertues not Christian graces God delights in nothing we doe unlesse we doe it in his feare As Joseph said to his brethren when they feared some hard measure from him I feare God when this feare of God tyes our hands it shews the love of God fils our hearts Not to wrong man because we feare God is an argument of more then man Fearing God you may observe 2. Holy feare containes in it every grace we receive from God and all the worship we tender up to God Feare is a comprehensive word it is more then a particular grace When Abraham had offered up his sonne Isaac that was a worke of mighty faith and the faith of Abraham is wonderfully commended by it but God speakes thus Now I know thou fearest me Feare containeth faith and feare containeth love too Though perfect love cast out tormenting feare 1 Joh. 4.18 yet perfect love cals in obeying feare Heare the conclusion of all saith the Preacher Eccl. 12.13 Feare God and keep his Commandments for this is the whole duty of man or this is whole man Feare is all duty and every grace Fearing God and eschewing evill Hence this from the connexion 3. Holy feare keeps the heart and life cleane The feare of the Lord is cleane saith David Psal 19. Cleane not onely in it selfe formally cleane but effective it makes clean and keepes cleane the heart and life Feare is as an armed man at the gate which examines all and stoppes every one from entring that is unfit It stands as a Watch-man on the Tower and it lookes every way to see what 's comming to the soule If evill come feare will not admit it And therefore in Scripture you shall have these two often put together fearing God and eschewing evill Nay eschewing evill is not onely put as an effect of the feare of God but it is put into the very definition it selfe of the feare of God The feare of the Lord is to depart from evill He eschewed evill From hence observe also 1. Godly persons do not only forbeare sin but they abhorre sin They have not only their hands bound from it but they have their hearts set against it Holy enmity against sin is the temper of a godly mans heart he eschew's evill 2. A godly mans opposition of sin is universall it is against all sin Job eschewed evill all evill there was no picking of this or that particular evill to oppose but whatsoever came under the name and notion of sin Iobs spirit turned against it enmity is against the kind 3. Godly persons doe not onely avoid the acts of evill but all the occasions of evill Iob eschewed evill whatsoever led him to evill all the appearances of evill as the Apostle speakes we cannot avoid the sinne if we will not avoid the occasion When Solomon cautions to take heed of the path of the wicked he useth foure expressions and all to the same purpose Avoid it saith he passe not by it turne from it and passe away to shew unto us that if we would keepe from the acts ofâ—â—n we must keepe from the way of sin The second thing whereby his prosperous estate is set out unto us is what his possessions were You have a particular Inventory of his estate in the second and third verses and you have the totall summe cast up after all the particulars are set down and it amounts to thus much that Iob was the greatest of all the men in the East In the second verse you have the first part of his goods set down his jewels his children There were borne unto him seven sons and three daughters This verse contains the first part of Iobs outward happinesse the blessings of children Concerning whom we have 3. things offered 1. Their number 10. 2. The distinction of Sexes Sons and Daughters 3. Their mutuall love and concord v. 4. There is little in the words that needs explication therefore where the Scripture is plaine and cleare I will not spend time There were borne unto him His children were not borne against him but borne unto him given as comforts and blessings to him Seven sonnes and three daughters The number seven and the number three are numbers of perfection Some trouble themselves much about them But I will not stay upon numbers Verse 2. And there were borne unto him seven sonnes and three daughters Here observe 1. Children are the blessings of the Lord. They are put here as a part of his Inheritance Children are an heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the wombe is his reward They are speciall blessings Children as it is observed are a resemblance of our immortality because a man revives againe lives anew as it were in every child he is borne againe in a civill sence when others are borne to him There be some who account their children but bils of charges but God puts them upon the account of our mercies how holily and piously speakes Iacob concerning his children These saith he are the children which God hath graciously given thy servant 2. Observe this Children as they are blessings and great blessings so they are greater blessings than any outward thing else whatsoever When a description is made of Iobs goods the best is put first First his spirituall blessings are set downe then comes his outward now children are put in the very next degree to his graces What our Saviour Christ saith of a mans soule may be said of children What saith he shall a man give in exchange for his soule It is true that is spoken there of a mans owne soule that it is more to himselfe than the world but it is a truth here too if one have a soule given him and to have a child is to have a soule bestow'd on us for the present it is more than to have the whole world bestowed on him A whole world of riches is not so good not such goods as one child therefore children are put in the first place as his choisest and chiefest outward blessings Then from the number of his children he had many children he had 7. sons and 3. daughters Observe 3. To have many children is a great blessing and the more children the greater the blessing Some thinke themselves blessed if they may have one or two children one to inherit their estates one or two to delight themselves in to play with or to beare their name but if they come to a number to a great number then they thinke themselves exceedingly burthen'd then they are troubles When God casts up the estate of a blessed man in outward things he saith not onely that he hath a child that he is not barren but that he hath many children that he hath his quiver full of such arrowes as the expression is Psal 127.5 and that is made the blessednesse of a man there Happy is the
it is Gods due and our duty to dedicate the morning the first and best of every day unto God Psal 5.3 My voice shalt thou heare in the morning in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee and will looke up We have a saying among us that the morning is a friend to the Muses that is the morning is a good studying time I am sure it is as true that the morning it is a great friend to the Graces the morning is the best praying time Againe In that Job did rise so early in the morning to offer sacrifice and did this because he was afraid that his sonnes had sinned as we shall see afterward Hence Observe 2. That it is not safe to let sinne lye a moment unrepented of or unpardon'd upon our own consciences or the consciences of others If a mans house be on fire he will not only rise in the morning or early in the morning but he will rise at mid-night to quench it certainly when you have guilt on your soules you have a fire in your soules your soules are on a flame therefore you had need rise and rise early and get up as soon in the morning as you can to get it quenched and put out And offered burnt-offerings There were divers sorts of Sacrifices among the Jewes when the law or rules of sacrificing were established There were first Whole burnt-offerings 2. Trespasse-offerings 3. Sinne-offerings 4. Peace-offerings That which Job is here said to offer was a burnt-offering an Holacost or whole burnt-offering so called because it was altogether consumed there was no part of it reserved for the Priest or for the people but all was offered up unto God Of other Sacrifices as the sinne-offering and trespasse-offering there were parts and portions reserved for the Priest and part of the Peace-offerings for the people as you may see by that expression of the Harlot Prov. 7.14 I have at my house Shelamim Peace-offerings now they did feast upon the Peace-offering for she invited him to a feast But the burnt-offering was wholly consumed the word in the Hebrew doth signifie an ascension or a thing lifted up He offered burnt-offerings word for word out of the Hebrew it is He lifted-up an elevation he caused an Ascension to ascend elevabat elevationem or ascendere fecit ascensionem And it was so called because the Sacrifice which was a whole burnt-offering was all consumed upon the altar And did as it were evaporate or ascend up unto God It was called a lifting-up or a thing lifted-up for three Reasons 1. Because when the Sacrifice was offered the smoake of it did ascend and besides there were sweet odours put upon the Altar which did fume up also with the Sacrifice towards heaven and so the Sacrifice took it's denomination from ascending and going upwards 2. Because the Priest when hee offered the Sacrifice did lift it up upon the Altar and hold it toward Heaven to God 3. Because at that time when the Sacrifice was a burning all the people that were present did lift-up their hands and their eyes but especially their soules and their spirits heaven-wards and powred themselves forth in prayer unto God That of David in Psal 141.2 will give some light to this Let saith he my prayer be set forth before thee as incense and the lifting up of my hands as the evening Sacrifice David at that time as Interpreters note upon the Psalme was barred the enjoyment of the publike ordinances he could not come to sacrificing as formerly he had done now he seekes unto the Lord that he would accept of the lifting up of his hands and heart in stead of Sacrifice as if he should say Lord I have not a Sacrifice now to offer unto thee I am hindered from that worke I cannot lift that up but I will lift up what I have and what will please thee better then a Bullocke that hath hornes and hoofes I will lift-up my hands and my heart unto thee and let these be accepted for sacrifice and all Prayer which is a Sacrifice of the Gospell it is nothing else but A lifting up of the soule an elevation of the spirit unto God So some of the Ancients call prayer an Ascending of the soule unto God And in allusion unto this Hezekiah when he sent to Isaiah the Prophet to pray for him in that time of distresse and day of trouble saith Goe and desire the Prophet to lift-up his prayer for the remnant that are left alluding to the sacrifices which were wont to be lifted up The like expression of prayer you have Psal 25.1 Lord saith David I lift-up my soule unto thee Hence Prayers not answered not accepted are said to be stopt from ascending Lam. 3.44 Thou hast covered thy selfe with a cloud that our prayer should not passe through When you meet with such expressions in the old Testament concerning prayer you must still understand them to be allusions to the Sacrifices because the Sacrifices were lifted up and did ascend That for the Act. For the person It is said that Job offered these Sacrifices Job rose early and offered c. Was not this to usurpe upon the Priests office Was it not this for which King Vzziah was reprehended and told by the Priests It appertaineth not to thee to burne Incense unto the Lord but to the Priests the sonnes of Aaron and was he not smitten with leprosie for doing of it I answer in a word by that rule of the Ancients Distinguish the times and Scriptures will agree It was Job that offered and Job had right to offer The time wherein Job offered Sacrifice doth reconcile this it was before the giving of the Law as we have shewed in the opening of the former points about the time when Job lived now in those times the Father or the elder of the Family was as a Priest to the whole Family and he had the power and the right to performe all holy family duties as the duty of sacrificing and the like this you may see carried along in all the times before the Law was given in the holy Stories of the Patriarks they still offered up the Sacrifice But it may here be further inquired If it were before the Law was given who taught Job to offer Sacrifice Where had he the rule for it I answer this was not will-worship though it was not written worship For howsoever Job did offer Sacrifice before the Law of sacrificing was written yet he did not offer a Sacrifice before the Law of sacrificing was given for the Law of sacrificing was given from the beginning as all the other parts of worship used from the beginning were God could never beare it that men should contrive him a service therefore Job did not offer up an offering unto God according to his owne will a thing that he had invented to pacifie and to please God with God had been so farre from accepting that he could not have
you to take an Antidote to take a Preservative to seeke all the meanes you can to heale your soules and to make your peace with God And if Iob prayed thus when he only suspected his sons had sinned what shall we say of those Parents who are little troubled when they see and know their sons have sinned It is safest to repent even of those sinnes we only feare we have committed for then we shall be sure to repent of those we have committed A scrupulous conscience grieves for what it suspects a feared conscience is not grieved for what it is certaine either it selfe or others have done amisse Lastly Where had Iobs sonnes beene that he is thus suspitious Had they beene in any suspected place No it was only in their owne houses Had they beene about any unlawfull thing No it was only at a friendly meeting feasting of brothers and sisters together Yet Iob is affraid least his sonnes had sinned Hence observe That We may quickly offend and breake the Law while we are about things in their own nature lawfull especially in feasting It is an easie matter to sinne while the thing you are about is not sinnefull nay while the thing you are about is holy We may suspect our selves that we have sinned when we have beene praying much more then when we have beene feasting We may suspect our selves that we have sinned when we have beene hearing the word speaking the word just cause then much more we have to suspect our selves when we have beene trading buying or selling and working abroad in the world Lawfull things are oftentimes the occasion of unlawfull All the sinnes of the old world are described thus they eate they dranke they bought they sold they planted c. There is not one of these an act evill in it selfe yet they sinned away their peace and sinned away their soules in dealing about these things Therefore as you must be afraid of all things in their owne nature unlawfull so be jealous of your selves in things that are lawfull It followes And cursed God in their hearts Interpreters are much divided about the sence of these words First Some observe that the Hebrew word Barach doth signifie not only to blesse but to bow the knee So it is used 2 Chron. 6.13 Solomon at the dedicating of the Temple had made a brasen scaffold and upon it he stood and kneeled downe upon his knees before all the Congregation The word there kneeled downe upon his knees in the Originall is the same here used But Then further the word Elohim is used in Scripture not only for the true God for God himselfe but it is applied sometimes to Angels and sometimes to Idols to Devill gods to false gods Exod. 18.11 Now I know that the Lord is greater then all gods sc then all the Idols that the Egyptians did trust upon They observe further that the Hebrew Leb in their hearts Bilebabbam doth signifie not only the heart but the middle or center of a thing As when it is said in the Scripture they went downe into the middest of the Sea the word is they went downe into the heart of the Sea and in the middest of the earth it is the heart of the earth And so when it is said that Absolom was hanging in the middest of the Oake the Originall word is he was left hanging in the heart of the Oake From all all these acceptions of the single termes the sense is made up thus It may be my sonnes have sinned c. that is It may be my sonnes have sinned bowing downe to the false gods that are in the middest of them I confesse Feasting and false-worship sensuality and Idolatry goe often together Exod. 32.6 When the Golden Calfe was made they sate downe to eate c. And Moses foretells Deut. 31.20 When they shall have eaten and filled themselves and waxen fat then will they turne unto other gods Yet I cannot admit this of Jobs children surely he who had bestowed so much care in their institution and had them still under his eye could not suspect them of degenerating so soone into such palpable Idolatry Secondly Others take the word Barach in the Originall in its proper sense It may be my sonnes have sinned and blessed God and they expound and open it thus It may be my sonnes have sinned and instead of being humbled and seeking to God for the pardon of their sinnes they have rejoyced and blessed God Just as if a Theefe that hath sped well and hath got a good prey should thanke God that he hath prospered so well in his wickednesse So here as if Job should say my sonnes have done ill in their feastings and they are so farre from being humbled that they have blessed God in their hearts they have bin lifted up they have given God thanks for the plenty of creatures but have not repented for their abuse of the creatures So we may interpret it by that place Zach. 11.4 where there is such an expression the Lord speaking to Christ saith Feede the flock of the slaughter whose possessours stay them and hold themselves not guilty They that should have beene the feeders of the flock instead of feeding them have destroyed them yea they doe this and hold themselves not guilty and they that sell them say blessed be the Lord for I am rich They grew rich by selling soules as many since have lived by the same trade starving the people to feed themselves the just character of an idle Idoll shepheard and then they said Blessed be God we are growne very rich and have got much goods though we have done little good This is a second interpretation and a cleare one only me thinks it layes too high a staine of wickednesse on Jobs sonnes It is one of the greatest wickednesses for a man to blesse himselfe in his sinnes but for a man to blesse God in his sinnes is farre worse Thirdly Others interpret Benedicere by Valedicere blessing by departing Thus It may be my sonnes have sinned and departed from God in their hearts and they bring some Texts of Scripture wherein the word Barach signifies to depart or to take leave and goe away as Gen. 47.10 Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from before Pharaoh he blessed him and departed So it is said likewise of Joab 2 Sam. 14.22 when he had obtained what he desired he fell to the ground on his face and bowed himselfe and thanked or blessed the King and went out Now they would interpret this Blessed God in their hearts to the same sense It may be my sonnes have sinned and blessed God in their hearts that is have departed from God in their hearts Indeed every sinne is a departure from God as the Apostle speakes Take heed least there be in any of you an evill heart of unbeliefe to depart from the living God Sinne is a turning away from God yet every sinne is not nay few sins
are a farewell to God But I shall lay by this interpretation for the proofes come not home no nor neere the point In both those places blessing is not put barely for departing and besides departing in those Texts is taken in a good sense Jacob departed from Pharaoh not in a way of deserting him but in a way of saluting him So Joab departed from the King not that he did revolt from him as they would have the word to import a kind of revolting and apostatizing from God but onely he did obeysance and went away about his businesse therefore this interpretation cannot stand There is a fourth exposition much laboured by Sanctius and would it hold it were an excellent exposition according to the letter of the Text Thus It may be my sonnes have sinned and not blessed God in their hearts and so he makes those words to be exegeticall the explication of the former what the sinne of Jobs sonnes was It may be my sonnes have sinned and if you would know what they have sinned in I feare they have forgot to give God the glory for the refreshing they have had by the creatures they have not blessed God This were an excellent and cleare sense But the way he takes to make it out is very obscure For he doth it only by this rule when saith he there is a negative particle in the former a negative likewise is to be understood in the following clause His rule he cleares by divers instances But we find in thâ—s place no negative particle as Non or Ne or the like in the former part of the verse and how there should be a negative in the latter I cannot understand according to his rule Ne fortâ— It is here said It may be my sons have sinned that is a word of doubting not denyall rather an affirmative then a negative and have not blessed now saith he though that particle not be not in the Hebrew yet it must be understood of course because there is a negative particle in the former part How he can make ne forte peradventure a negative particle I doe not well apprehend yet the sense in it selfe is very good It may be my sonnes have sinned and not blessed God in their hearts Some would reade it with an Interrogation though I question whether the Grammer will allow it Thus It may be my sonnes have sinned and have they blessed God in their hearts As if he had said I feare they have not blessed God or not blessed him cordially Neglect of or slightnesse in such a duty calls for sacrifice Lastly That meaning which our Translation leads unto is most commonly taken by Interpreters both Ancient and moderne Namely That here in this Text the word Barach is to be expounded by cursing It may be my sonnes have sinned and cursed God in their hearts I shall present you with the grounds of this Interpretation and how it is made good And then leave it to the Readers judgement whether to choose this or those former which have had any countenance shewed them For in a Scripture which may without impeachment of any truth admit divers sences I would not be so positive in one as to reject all others Now this Translation is maintained by a figure either by an Antiphrasis which is the speaking of a thing sounding one way when it is meant another way when there is an opposition betweene the letter of the word and the meaning of the word Thus 1 King 21.13 Naboth is charged for blessing God and the King sc cursing Or by an Euphemismus that is when some filthy or execrable matter is expressed by a word of a fairer signification So in Scripture the uncleanenesse of some things is covered with a word that so the offensivenesse of it may be removed both from the eare and phancy As for example that vessell wherein nature doth unburthen it selfe it is called a vessell wherein there is no pleasure and so the word that the Hebrews use for a Harlot signifies properly a Holy woman as Gen. 38. when Judah asked whether they saw the harlot the word in the Hebrew Kedesah signifies a holy woman by an Antiphrasis or by an Euphemismus Yet some thinke a harlot so called because holinesse being the dedication of a thing or person such dedicate and give themselves up to or are possess'd with a spirit of uncleanenesse But to the Text take it by an Euphemismus or faire speaking It may be my sonnes have sinned and cursed God in their hearts they even abhorring to use such a word concerning God expresse it by blessing It may be my sonnes have sinned and blessed God in their hearts So the Latines use the word Sacrum pro execrandâ— that which is the most execrable thing they call a sacred thing Now taking it thus according to the common streame of Expositors upon the place it may yet be doubted how Job could suspect his sonnes of this that they should curse God I answer to that Here we are not to take cursing either for that abhominable act at which Heathens blush the casting of open reproach upon the Name of God or for a malitious and virulent though secret blaspheming of God and sending defiance to Heaven in their hearts But to curse God in the heart doth signifie any irreverent undue unfit unholy thought of God any thought unbecomming the Glory and Majesty of so great a God which how quickly the heart may send out especially at a feast who feeles not who findes not God is said to be cursed when he hath not that reverence and honour which belongs to him whose Name is Holy and Reverent In that sense only we are to understand the word cursing here And Mr. Broughton gives a translation which lets in some light to this It may be my sonnes have sinned and little blessed God in our hearts that is they have not had such high such holy thoughts of God as became them they have little blessed God carelesse thoughts of God are little blessing of God and both amount to a cursing of God So that the sense which results is this As if Job should have said I am well enough satisfied concerning my sonnes that they have not broadly blasphemed God that they have not beene such as have torne his Name with oathes cursings and execrations yet notwithstanding I know the heart is a deceitfull thing there are many starting holes in it it quickly conceives and closely conceales a sinne and therefore I am very doubtfull though my sonnes have carried it fairely and well in their actions and words while they feasted that yet their hearts have been loose and their affections vaine I am afraid they have cursed lightly regarded or little blessed God in their hearts Observe First That we ought to keepe our hearts with all manner of keeping in every thing we goe about If your hearts are disorderly it is a kind of cursing God Remember not only to keepe your
Lord speakes unto Spirits or Angels be they good or evill Angels you must not understand it of a voice formed or fashioned into audible words and syllables but it is a manifestation or a declaration of Gods will and mind unto the Angels mind good or bad as God willeth For the will of God to declare himselfe unto an Angell is the speech of God unto an Angell So much as God intendeth of his mind should be known to the Devill is a speaking to the Devill The intention of one spirit is as plaine to another spirit as the voice of one man is to another man there is the very same proportion So here in this place where it is said the Lord said unto Sathan this was only a manifestation of Gods will as he willed unto Sathan God did manifest himselfe thus farre to Satan that it was his pleasure to know of him whence he came this will was his speech To passe from the manner of speaking we will looke upon the matter spoken And the Lord said unto Sathan whence comest thou That 's the first question This question is here put not for information as if the Lord did not know whence he came as men usually question that they may be informed But questions in Scripture especially when the Lord putteth them are to be understood in some of these senses First to exact a confession from the mouth of the party He said unto Sathan whence comest thou Not that he needed an information but that he might receive a confession from the mouth of Sathan So he questioned Adam Gen. 3. Adam where art thou who told thee that thou wast naked Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee thou shouldest not eate These questions were not to informe God but only that Adam might give a confession out of his owne mouth concerning those things So he questioned Cain Gen. 4. Where is Abel thy brother It was a question only to draw a confession from Cain of what he had done There is a like question of Elisha to his servant Gebazi when he had runne after Naaman and had got a reward from him 2 King 5.25 Elisha saith to him whence commest thou or where hast thou bin He asked him this only to draw a confession from him for saith he afterward went not my spirit with thee when the man turned againe from his charet to meete thee He knew before where his servant had beene God had revealed the thing unto him only he questions him to make him acknowledge it So here the Lord questions Satan whence commest thou that he might have a confession from himselfe Though the Lord doth know all the actions wayes and thoughts of every creature yet God at the last will question every man that he may judge every man upon his owne confession Secondly this question may be understood as intimating a dislike of the thing or of the businesse that Sathan had beene about Questions are many times put not out of ignorance or nescience of what hath bin done but out of a dislike or abhorrence of the thing done When the man or the thing is not approved then God carrieth himselfe toward him and his action as if he knew not what he had bin doing and he must have it out by confession Thus Hiram 1 King 9.13 puts the question upon Solomon What Cities are these which thou hast given me my brother He saw and knew before what Cities they were but thus he question'd because they pleased him not vers 12. In the 8th of Hos 4. God is said not to know that they set up Kings They have set up Kings but not by me they have made Princes and I knew it not That is I did not like them I tooke no notice of them by way of approbation So God questions about things as if he did not know them when he doth not like them and we may conclude that this question holds out to us Gods dislike of the wayes and workes or Sathan Thirdly Questions and this question may be understood in a way of objurgation or chiding Sathan whence commest thou Thou hast beene a tempting thou art come now from murthers and thefts and adulteries and blasphemies from provoking men to all these wickednesses As that question Jona 4.4 was a chiding of Jonah Doest thou well to be angry So Whence commest thou As many times when you are angry with your servants you aske where have you been There is a reprehension in the question So God full of wrath toward Sathan saith whence commest thou Thou hast beene doing all the mischiefe thou canst abroad in the world I am sure Lastly For the better conceiving of the matter of this question proposed whence commest thou There is more to be understood then is expressed For God doth not only inquire here concerning the places where he had bin but concerning the busines and the work which he had done all is included in it Whence comest thou what hast thou bin doing in the world what hath thy businesse bin abroad Every man every creature every Angell good or bad must give an account of themselves unto God So much of the Lords question now let us examine Sathans answer Then Sathan answered the Lord and said from going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and downe in it If I am enquired saith Sathan whence I come I answer I come from walking up and downe in the earth from going to and fro in it Here againe it may be doubted How Sathan speakes to the Lord as before it was about the Lords speaking unto Sathan The speaking of Sathan and all spirits is according to the manner before explained of Gods speaking Then Angells speake one to another or unto God when they direct or intend such or such things to be known As a thought a conception in the mind is a word in the mind so the directing or putting forth or an intending to put forth that word or that thought is the speaking of the mind then the mind speakes As we know in our selves A man meditates he conceives such and such things he formes them all in his spirit under some words into such notions And he can put forth these by desires though he doth not speake And so we are said often in Scripture to speake unto God in our hearts when the mouth doth not speake at all as Moses Exod. 14.15 is said to cry unto God that was nothing but the directing or actuall intending of such and such secret desires unto God that was a crying unto God So it is said of Hannah 1 Sam. 1.13 that she spake to the Lord in her heart After this manner doe Angels and spirits speake As we can speake to God in our spirits by our hearts when we intend or lift up such and such thoughts unto God so they speake in the same manner by making knowne and revealing so much of their minds to God as they desire he should take notice
Job with when he questions doth Job feare God for nought Satan accuseth with a question doth Job feare God for nought The question may be resolved into this Accusation Job doth not feare God for nought The word which we translate for nought hath a threefold sense from the Hebrew First Some render it in vain Doth Job feare God frustra in vaine We are then said to doe a thing in vaine when we cannot attaine the end which we propose in doing of it The Egyptians helpe in vaine that is they cannot procure that salvation and deliverance which was desired or intended and so the sense here may be doth Job feare God in vaine No he doth not he hath his end he looked for riches that he intended in taking up the service of God and that he hath attained Secondly It is interpreted by without cause Doth Job feare God without cause so the word is translated Psal 35.7 where David complaining of his enemies saith without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit which without cause they have digged for my soule As if he should say I never gave them any cause why they should lay snares for me I never wronged or hurt any of them According to this sense when Satan saith doth Job feare God for nought namely without cause it is as if he had said The Lord hath given Job reason enough he hath given him cause enough to doe what he doth Job seeth reason in his Flocks and in his Heards in his many Children and in his great Houshold in his Substance and in his Honour he seeth reason in all these why he should feare God and be a very obedient servant having so bountifull a Master Doth Job feare God without cause Or thirdly The word is translated by Gratis as we expresse it to doe a thing gratis that is to doe a thing without any reward without any price or without pay I shall instance Scriptures wherein the word is rendred in that sense Gen. 29.15 Laban saith to Jacob when he was come to him to serve him Thou art my kinsman shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought that is shouldest thou serve me gratis or without wages as he explaines his meaning in the next words tell me what shall thy wages be So that to doe a thing for nought is to doe a thing without wages without price And so there is the same interpretation of the word Exod. 21.11 where Moses speaking of the Maid that was taken into the family and was not married saith If he doe not these three unto her then she shall goe out free without money she shall pay nothing she shall goe out gratis or for nought So here we may take in this sense to fill up the forme doth Job serve God gratis doth he serve God without price or without pay Surely no thou hast given him sufficient hyre wages sufficient for all his service Job doth not serve thee gratis out of good will and affection to thee but he serveth thee for hire because thou payest him so plentifully So the generall sense of the words Doth Job feare God for nought is as if Satan had bespoken the Lord in such words as these Lord thou doest enquire of me whether I had considered thy servant Job I confesse I have and I must needs acknowledge that he is a man very diligent and zealous in thy worship and service neither doe I wonder that he is so seeing thou hast out-bid all his labours and indeavours by heapes of benefits There is no question but thou mayest have servants enough upon such termes at such rates as these no marvaile if Job be willing to doe whatsoever thou commandest whenas thou bestowest upon Job whatsoever he desireth Thou seemest as it were to neglect all other men and only to intend the safety and prosperity of thy darling Job Is it any great matter that he who hath received a flocke of seven thousand Sheepe from thee should offer a few 7. or 10. to thee in sacrifice Is it any great matter that he should give some of his fleeces to cloath the poore who hath received from thee so many thousands to cloath and enrich himselfe Is it a strange thing that he should feede a few that hath 500 yoake of Oxen Is not Job well hired to worke for thee doth he feare God for nought who hath recived all these Yet a little more distinctly for the opening of this expression I shall give you Satans sense in three notable falsities or lyes which he twists up together in this one speech Doth Job feare God for nought First That riches will make any man serve God that it is no great matter to be holy when we have abundance a man that prospers in the world cannot choose but be good This Satan implyes in these words and this is an extreame lye for as there is no affliction so there is no outward blessing can change the heart or bring it about unto God They did not serve the Lord in the abundance of all things Deut. 28.47 Abundance doth not draw the heart unto God Yet Satan would inferre that it doth This might well be retorted upon Satan himselfe Satan why diddestnot thou serve God then thou diddest once receive more outward blessings from God then ever Iob did the blessednesse of an Angell yet that glorious Angelicall estate wherein thou wast created could not keepe thee in the compasse of obedience thou diddest rebell in the abundance of all blessings and diddest leave thy habitation Satan thou shouldest not have served God for nought Why then didst not thou serve him thine owne Apostacy refutes thy errour in making so little of Jobs obedience because he had received so much Secondly There is this in it Doeth Job feare God for nought Satan intimates that God could have no servants for love none unlesse he did pay them extreamely That God is such a Master and his worke such as none would meddle with vnlesse allured by benefits As if Satan should say you have indeed one eminent servant but you should not have had him unlesse you had beene at double cost with him Here is another lye Satan windeth up closely in this speech For the truth is Gods servants follow him for himselfe the very excellencies of God and sweetnesse of his wayes are the argument and the wages by which his people are chiefely moved and hired to his service God indeed makes many promises to those that serve him but he never makes any bargaines with them His obey him freely Satan makes bargaines to hire men to his service as he did with Christ Mat. 4.9 All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall downe and worship mee God makes many large and gracious promises but he never makes any such bargaine and agreement with men for their obedience Then there is a third sense full of falsehood which Satan casteth upon Iob Doeth Job feare God for nought that is Iob hath
upward that is they shall speake basely of their King and of their God in whom they have trusted and whom they have followed he speakes of those wretches that did seeke to false gods or worship the true God falsely they shall curse their King and their God It is the very same that here Satan promiseth himselfe and undertakes with God that Job will doe Doe but make him hungry saith he and hard bestead and he will fret himself and curse thee It was very ordinary among the Heathen to doe so when their gods did not please them then they would curse their gods The Poets bring them in often raging against their gods as he speakes of the mother that found her sonne dead she calls the gods and the starres cruell she flies in the face of heaven presently who would serve such gods as these are that thus slay my son c. Satan interprets Job to be a man of the same temper Aquinas takes the word properly Touch all that he hath and he will blesse thee to thy face And endeavours to make out the sense thus touch all that he hath and thou shalt see he hath blessed thee to thy face he reades it in the Preterperfect tense that is if thou afflict him thou shalt find that all his former Religion was nothing but meere out-side formality that he served thee only from the teeth outward served thee to thy face he blessed thee pray'd unto thee and honour'd thee only to thy face He had no regard to thy worship in his heart he did not worship thee ex animo because he loved thee or delighted in thee but gave thee an outward complemental blessing because thou didst blesse him outwardly As the Apostle directs servants Eph. 6.6 Not with eye service as men pleasers Satan makes Job an eye-servant to God or as if like those of whom Christ complaineth Math. 15. in the words of the Prophet He had drawne nigh to God with his lipps while his heart was farre from him The heart of Job hath beene farre enough from thee he only blessed thee with his lips and to thy face Indeed this interpretation hath a faire face but touch it by a serious examination and it will be found without a heart The construction of Gramar is quite against it and for us to change the Text and make it to speake in the Preterperfect tense of a thing past whereas the words are in the future tense of an act to be done for the time to come is too much boldnesse with Scripture Therefore though that opinion hath a plausible sense in it yet I shall lay it by and take the ordinary translation that he indeed intended this that Job would breake forth into blasphemous revilings of God if God did but try him with an affliction And when he saith that Job would doe it to his face the meaning of it is that he would doe it openly he will curse thee openly he will curse thee boldly he will not goe behind the doore to tell tales of thee but he will speake of it before all the world that thou art a cruell God an unjust God and a hard master he will tell such tales of thee even to thy very face We have a like speech Gal. 2.11 When Peter was come to Antioch I withstood him to the face saith Paul that is openly I did not goe behind his backe to tell Peter his owne but I told him it to his face plainly openly before them all as it is explained vers 14. I said to Peter before them all that were then present Jerome because he would not have Peter receive such an open repoofe judging it would be a disparagement to Peter to be rebuked by Paul gives a quite contrary sense of those words of Paul I withstood him to his face that is saith he I did speake somewhat roughly to him before them but there was no such thing in my heart I did it but to his face very slightly least I should offend the Jewes whose Apostle Peter was and I did it to his face a little that I might satisfie the Gentiles who were scandalized by Peters walking otherwise in my heart I had no quarrell with Peter he and I agreed well enough As if Paul had made but a shadow fight ad faciendum populum to delude the people But we must not be thus wise I withstood him to his face is not opposed to withstanding him cordially but to a withstanding of him secretly or behind his backe So here he will curse thee to thy face that is he will curse thee as the Greeke Scholiast hath it openly and impudently himselfe indeed was afraid least his sonnes had cursed God in their hearts but for all his nicenesse and seeming feare of his childrens sinning in secret he will curse thee with impudence he will not only curse thee in his heart but the curse will breake out at his lipps Out of the abundance of his heart his mouth will speake blasphemie against God He will curse thee to thy face We may give some exemplifications what it is to curse God to blaspheme God thus to his face You may reade what it is Mal. 3.14 Your words have beene stout against me saith the Lord you have spoken to my very face why what had they spoken to the Lord What have we spoken say they so much against thee Ye have said It is vaine to serve God and what profit is it that we have kept his Ordinance and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts c. This is to curse God to his face when the wayes of God are blasphemed and the worship of God reported as unprofitable when men say it is in vaine to serve God when they cast aspersions and bring up an evill name upon any holy duty this is to blaspheme God They did only speake against the service of God and they thought they had not blasphemed God in it Wherein have we spoken against thee yes saith God you have spoken against me in that you have spoken against and discredited my wayes So if Job had said the wayes of God are unprofitable and I see now it is in vaine to serve God and to feare him this had beene blasphemy and cursing of God to his face David was neare upon the very brinke of this blasphemie Psal 73.13 when he said I have cleansed my heart in vaine and washed my hands in innocency because saith he I am plagued every morning the judgements and afflictions that were upon him began to make him breake out thus But he presently be fooles himselfe for such speeches and by that repaires God in his honour Secondly To quarrell and be angry with the Providence of God as if he were not wise or just or good in his dispensations either to particular persons or to the Church This I say likewise is a cursing a reproaching of God Thirdly To curse the servants and people of God is to
the souls under the Altar cry How long Lord how long They cry to God how long they knew that he only had the time in his hand he only could tell how long and it should be as long as he pleased How long Lord They cryed not to cruell tyrants how long will ye persecute but Lord how long will it be before thou come to revenge And so David Psal 31.15 My time it is in thy hand speaking of his afflictions There is no affliction but it is in the hand of God for the continuance of it as well as for the manner of it and as no enemie man or devill can make thy crosse greater or longer or heavier so no friend man or Angell can make thy crosse lighter or lesser or shorter then God himselfe hath appointed Onely upon himselfe shalt thou not put forth thine hand thou shalt not move an inch further not a haires bredth further As our afflictions for the matter of them are by the will of God as the Apostle speaks 1 Pet. 4.19 While you suffer saith he according to the will of God those words according to the will of God note not only the righteousnesse of suffering that it must be in a good cause but also the spring from whence those sufferings come they are Ex voluntate Dei so Mr. Beza translates it they are out of the will of God Now I say as they are out of the will of God or from the will of God springing from his will and flowing from his dispensation of things in the matter of them so also in every circumstance God himself gives thy crosse length and bredth and thicknesse he fills thy cup of sorrow he directeth how many drops to a drop shall be put into it thou shalt not have a drop more then God prescribes and which is more comfortable knowes will be for thy good Secondly Observe That Satan is boundlesse in his malice toward the people of God If God did not set him bounds he would set himselfe no bounds therefore saith God unto him Onely upon himselfe c. He had a mind to have gone further he would have been upon Job himselfe as well as upon his estate if God had not stop'd and curb'd him Therefore the Apostle gives that assurance for the comfort of the people of God 1 Cor. 10.13 God saith he is faithfull who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able As if he should say Satan would with all his heart lay more upon you than you are able to beare Satan would breake your backs if he were let alone but God will not suffer it Satan hath a boundlesse malice against the people of God Some observe this from his name Leviathan Isa 27.1 In that day the Lord with his great and strong Sword shall punish Leviathan the piercing Serpent Leviathan is put there for Satan and for all the instruments of Satan now Leviathan signifieth in the Hebrew an augmentation an addition or an increase And Satan is so called because say they he ever desires to lay more burdens upon to increase the afflictions troubles and temptations of Gods people he never thinkes he hath done enough against them His thirst to worke mischiefe is never quenched but still he desires to doe more he would faine have his Commission inlarged to doe more mischiefe in the world Therefore God is said not to strike after their stroake in the 7th verse of that 27. of Isa Hath hee smitten him as he smit those that smote him In the Hebrew it is Hee hath not smitten him according to the stroake of those that smote him according to their stroake noting that the stroake of Leviathan and the stroake of his instruments is an unmeasurable stroake a boundlesse stroake they would never give over striking They thinke the wound is never deepe enough nor blood shed enough but saith the Prophet verse 8. God doth it in measure so that he opposeth their striking to Gods afflicting by the measure of it God keepeth his afflictions in such a bound and compasse he afflicts in measure but Satans stroake and the stroakes of wicked men are without all measure that is without all moderation unlesse God stop them they would never make an end Lastly Observe how Satan is by this proved a deceiver he intended more than he spake you may see it plainly in this because God put a restraint upon him Touch all that he hath saith Satan that referred to his possessions outward estate as if that had bin the mind of Satan in the motion do but afflict him in his outward estate I desire no more to make this tryal now when the Lord saith All that he hath is in thy hand there he grants him the motion in the letter of it but the Lord God saw that Satan had a further reach when he said Touch all that he hath which words seeme to extend no further then his estate but had not God limited and restrain'd him he by an indefinite grant to his motion had likewise fallen upon his person that was the great morsell he gaped after all this while he would have been doing with Job himselfe else there was no need of this limitation Onely upon himselfe put not forth thy hand Satans fingers itcht to be medling with Job though his words called for what he had not for himselfe And Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. As soone as he hath leave and his Commission he is gone presently He went out from the presence of the Lord. The word is he went out from the face of the Lord Now the face of the Lord in Scripture it is taken sometimes for the essentiall glory of God that inaccessible Majesty of God Exod. 33. ult Thou canst not behold my face Sometimes the face of God is put for the favour and love of God Cause thy face to shine upon thy Sanctuary which is desolate Dan. 9.17 and cause thy face to shine upon thy servant So in many other places the face of God is put for the favour of God because as the favour and love of a man is seene and discovered in his face so there is somewhat in those dealings of God which discover God he is said to make his face to shine upon his people when he doth discover by any act of his that he loves and favours them that is the shining of his face upon them The face interprets the heart and shewes the meaning of the spirit so in those things which interpret somewhat of the love of God to us God is said to make his face shine upon us On the other side the face of God is put sometimes for the anger and wrath of God because anger is seene in the face too so in those things by which God discovereth his anger he is said to set his face against men there is an expresse place for it in this sense Lam. 4.16 The anger of the Lord the
them honour in the eyes of all his servants There is another good So Satan while he setteth men a worke Sabeans Caldeans and others to doe mischiefe he doth a double mischiefe at once he doth mischiefe to Job or others whom he afflicts and he doth mischiefe to his instruments he makes these sin as he makes others suffer If he carry on the worke alone they suffer but others doe not partake in the guilt of the sin but now when he useth instruments to effect his wicked designes he makes one miserable and the other wicked This is one of Satans methods he will worke by meanes and do his businesse by the hands of men that he may at once doe a double mischiefe Thirdly In that these Sabeans and Caldeans are observed in Histories to be a people given much to robberies and spoile and these are the men whom Satan picks out for this businesse Observe That Satan suiteth his temptations to mans naturall temper and inclination Whensoever he tempteth he takes this advantage if he can discover or obtaine it He is wiser then to set saile against wind and tyde to row against the streame Therefore he labours all he can to find which way the streame of every mans affections runs and to what sins his relations his calling or his opportunities lay him most open and obnoxious accordingly hee layes his snares and spreads his net When he meets with a proud man him he tempteth with high thoughts When he meeteth with a covetous man him he tempteth to the love of the world he layes a golden bait of profit before his eyes The adulterous he leades to the Harlots house For howsoever it be true that every man hath in him a principle suiting to every sinne yet it is a truth too that every man is not equally active for or dispos'd unto every sin and every man hath not every particular sinne predominant in him now Satan when he seeth what is predominant in any man then he fashioneth and frameth a temptation sutable He perceived these Sabeans were given to rob and spoyle and he sheweth them a desirable booty And have slain thy servants with the edge of the sword This is a further aggravation of the affliction they did not onely fall upon Jobs cattell and tooke them away but they slew his servants A mans servants are nearer to him then his Cattell then his Oxen and his Asses servants are next unto our Children So that this was an heightning of Jobs sorrow not onely are your cattell gone but your servants are slaine and they are slaine saith he with the edge of the sword the word in the Hebrew is they are slain with the mouth of the sword We reade in Scripture sometimes of the face of the Sword and sometime of the mouth of the Sword As Isa 31.8 where wee translate they shall flee from the Sword the Hebrew is they shall flee from the face of the Sword The like Text you have Jer. 25.27 Now when the Scripture speakes of the face of the Sword it is meant of warre comming or warre preparing and approaching But the mouth of the Sword is warre inflicted warre acted This phrase the mouth of the Sword is used to shew that the Sword is a great devourer Deut. 32.42 I will make mine arrowes drunke with bloud and my Sword shall devoure flesh Warre hath a terrible face it hath a wide mouth and sharpe teeth They have slain thy servants with the edge of the Sword the mouth of the Sword hath devoured them At this day we have great cause to have our hearts deepely affected with this thing There hath been as it were the face of the Sword a great while looking towards us but now there is the very mouth of the Sword gaping at us yea tearing gnawing and devouring the flesh and bones of thousands amongst us Where the Sword comes it will devoure warre is a great judgement one of Gods sore judgements the sorest of all Gods outward judgements David chooseth the pestilence rather then the Sword the pestilence is a devourer but the Sword is a greater devourer And though the Prophet Jeremiah in his Lamentations makes famine a sorer judgement then the Sword Cap. 4.9 They that be slaine with the Sword are better then they that be slaine with hunger Yet the Sword is in this worse then famine because usually it is the cause of famine The Sword cuts off food the support of mans life as well as the life of man While the Sword is making it self fat it hath famine in the belly of it We need not goe to Jeremy or Josephus for the proofe of this in Jerusalems Babylonian or Roman desolations sad Germany bleeding Ireland are neare woefull witnesses and spectacles of it at this day The Sword hath open'd a way for famine to enter both and which of the two hath eaten most flesh is hard to determine Let us cry earnestly to God that the mouth of the Sword may be stopped or continued open only to devoure those who would devoure the man that is more righteous then they Let us pray that bloud may be spared or none but corrupt bloud spilt Spare thy people O Lord It is I confesse one of the saddest prognosticks in my observation against this Nation That God hitherto hath made little difference Our Sword hath not yet been taught from Heaven to distinguish of men Precious bloud hath been drawne and men whose very haires were all numbred that is highly priz'd by God have been numbred among the slaine It must satisfie us that the will of God is so The answer which David gave Joabs messenger is good setling councell now 2 Sam. 11.25 Let not this thing displease thee He speakes this after the fall of noble Vrijah for the sword not by accident but decree not casually but providentially devoureth so and such as the Hebrew elegance hath it one as well as another so we translate It is mercy we are not all consumed by this eater as in the Text yee may reade all the servants of Job were excepting one only one got out of the mouth of the sword it eat up all saving one and hee was saved that by the report of this destructive sword he might destroy Job himselfe And I onely am escaped to tell thee The word in the Originall is double Tantum ego solus ego only I I alone am escaped as if the man should have said between horrour and amazement much adoe I had to get away without loosing somewhat of my selfe I onely single single I got away and escaped The sword was very hungry when but one man of all Jobs servants escaped the teeth of it But how commeth it to passe that this one man escaped Certainely as I said before the hand of Satan was in this also For howsoever the Lord ordered and disposed all these things yet he let Satan worke in his circle in his compasse to contrive things as he pleased himselfe the
God that it should be done or spoken And it takes away all complaining that the Lord hath taken away Blessed be the Name of the Lord. The Septuagint and so the Vulgar from them insert here another sentence betweene these two the Lord hath taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord reading it thus The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken away as it pleaseth the Lord so commeth things to passe blessed be the name of the Lord but we have no more in the Hebrew then our owne translation gives us Blessed be the Name of the Lord. This is the triumphant conclusion which floweth from the former Propositions this is the issue and result of them both A conclusion as opposite to Satans designe as the two Poles of the Heavens are one against the other Satan waited to heare Iob conclude with blaspheming the Name of the Lord and now he heareth Job conclude with blessing the Name of the Lord. How did this vex and sting Satan This one word of Iob did wound Satan more then all the afflictions which Satan procured wounded Iob. Though I return naked though all be taken from me yet blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the Name of the Lord. The Name of God in Scripture is taken first for God himselfe The name of a thing it is put for the thing named Psal 44.5 Through thee will wee push downe our enemies thorough thy Name we will tread them downe that rise up against us Thorough thy Name that is thorough thee Thorough thee and thorough thy Name are the same So Psal 48 10. According to thy Name so is thy praise that is thou art praised like thy selfe as thou art in thy selfe so thou art or oughtest to be praised by thy people the name is put for the person You have it clearly Act. 1.15 The number of names together were about an hundred and twenty that is the number of persons so many persons because numbred by their names Secondly the Name of God is often in Scripture put for the attributes of â—od Thirdly the Name of God is put for his Ordinances or worship Goe yee now to my place which was in Shiloh where I set my name at the first Jerem. 7.12 that is where I first set up my publike worship because as a man is knowne by his proper Name so is God by his proper worship And therefore false worship is the setting up of a strange god When we mistake the name we mistake the person Fourthly the Name of God is that reverence esteeme and honour which Angels and men give unto God As we know amongst us the report and reputation that a man hath among men is a mans name what men speake of him that is his name such an one hath a good name we say such an one hath an ill name that is men speake or thinke well or ill of such persons So Gen. 6.4 When Moses describes the Gyants he saith they were men of renowne the Hebrew is They were men of name because the name of a man is the opinion he hath amongst men as a man is esteemed so his name is carried and himselfe is accepted in the world So the name of God is that high esteeme those honourable apprehensions which Angels and men have of God such as the thoughts and speeches of men are for the celebration of Gods glory and praise such is his name in the world Blessed be the name of the Lord. By blessing God we are to understand either first what we expresse in word concerning God God is blessed by his creatures when his goodnesse and greatnesse and mercy and bounty and faithfulnesse and justice are published with thanks-giving and praise Or God is blessed likewise when we have high and great and glorious thoughts of God when we inwardly feare and reverence and love and honour God then we blesse God The one is to blesse with the tongue the other to blesse with the heart The tongue blessing without the heart is but a tinckling cimball The heart blessing without the tongue makes sweet but still musicke both in consort make that Harmony which fils and delights Heaven and Earth When Job saith here Blessed be the Name of the Lord we are to understand it both wayes that Job speakes out the blessing of God with his mouth and likewise he had high and reverent thoughts of God His heart and tongue met at this worke and word Blessed be the Name of the Lord. We may note from hence That God is worthy of all praise and honour not onely when hee doth enrich and strengthen us when he fills and protects us but also when he doth impoverish and weaken us when he empties and and smites us when he gives us up to the will of our enemies to the will of devils and wicked men even then God is to be blessed It is a good thing and it is our duty to blesse God when we are rich and when we are full as Deut. 8.10 When thou hast eaten and art full then thou shalt blesse the Lord But it is a farre better thing yet but our duty to blesse the Lord when we are poore and weake when we are empty and have nothing to eat then to blesse the Lord is the breathing of an excellent spirit indeed 1 Thes 5.18 In every thing give thankes Let God doe what he will with his children they have cause to thanke him As he is God in himselfe blessed for evermore When God thunders in judgements so loud that he breaketh the Cedars and shakes the Wildernesse then to give unto the Lord the glory due unto his Name and in his Temple to speake of his glory argues a spirit highly ennobl'd and glorious in grace Psal 29. Therefore his children should not rest in this that they beare afflictions but they should labour to bring their hearts to blesse and glorifie God in and for the afflictions that they beare And a soule that thus honoureth God shall assuredly receive honour from God That which the Apostle speakes of the Saints suffering persecution is true of them in any kind of holy suffering The Spirit of glory and of God doth rest upon them 1 Pet. 4.14 The Spirit of God is spoken of as if it were unsetled and unquiet and knew not where to fix it selfe till it had found such a soule like Noah's Dove that went hovering about and knew not where to rest the sole of her foot till it came to the Arke so the Spirit of God is exprest as hovering about from person to person from place to place as if it could not rest any where till it finde a soule triumphing and blessing God in affliction at least lying quietly under affliction till God takes it off and there the Spirit rests and settles it selfe Observe further that Job here blesseth God in his afflictions and that makes the difference his afflictions now are good unto him If we blesse God in our
The word which wee translate adverbially foolishly is a Noune in the Originall yet it is fully enough to the sense Hee charged not God foolishly or hee charged not God with folly so it is rather in the Originall That word which is here translated folly signifieth in the generall any thing that is indebite dispositum any thing that is unduely disposed any thing in disorder And wee finde it in Scripture referred divers wayes First It is put for unsavoury meat without salt or sawce as Job 6.6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt The word unsavoury there is the same with this here rendered folly or foolishly Secondly It is used for morter that hath not a due temper or mixture in it as Ezek. 13.14 I will breake downe the wall that yee have dawbed with untempered morter morter that is not well tempered is unfit for use Thirdly It is put for any rude undigested or indiscreet speech as La. 2.14 Thy Prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee They have seen foolish and unsavoury things for thee Hence the word is used to expres madnes because madnes is the height of folly being without any seasoning without any temper a thing that hath no taste of wisdom or goodnes in it Jer. 23.13 I have seen folly in the Prophets of Samaria that is they are unsavoury their speeches are untempered morter they are foolish and vaine So then he did not charge God with folly or charge God foolishly hath this sense Job did not speake any thing rashly or unbecomming the Majesty of God or charge him in the least to have dealt unwisely or unjustly with him As if the Lord had said Satan thou diddest expect that Job should now at this time have charged me home and have laid load upon me with complainings for dealing thus with him thou expectest that he should have broken out into the dialect of hell it selfe such words as these Why what have I done against God that he should deale thus with me Is this the wages that I shall receive for the worke and service I have done him Will he discourage and dishearten others from comming on to his service by my sad example Is it justice in God that I who have lived so innocently should be thus extreamely afflicted Could the Lord finde out no swearers no drunkards no adulterers in the world to let Satan loose upon but he must needs turne him loose upon me Had he no other Butt in the world to shoot the arrowes of his indignation at but at an innocent breast Is this a just God who uses his servants thus Or if he be omniscient and omnipotent why then did he not protect me from Satans rage Why did he not defend me from the violence of those evill men Such kind of speeches or to this effect Satan expected Job would have uttered rashly against the Lord but he is deceived Job hath no such thought much lesse did hee speake such words either against the justice or wisedome or power of God hee charges no folly upon God the only wise God but gives him glory saying Blessed be his Name whatsoever hee doth with me or mine Learne from hence first what blasphemy is or what it is to curse God To curse God is to charge God with folly or with doing things foolishly and rashly For these expressions expound one another Satan said Job would curse God the Holy Ghost saith Job hath not charged God foolishly therefore that is a definition of Gods owne making plainly declaring what it is to curse God Yet every speech or act unbecomming the Majesty wisdome and power of God doth not presently denominate a man a blasphemer There may be blasphemy in what is spoken and yet the person speaking not a blasphemer Job himselfe spake many things afterward unadvisedly in the heat of dispute but he blasphemed not Blasphemy or cursing of God properly taken is ever joyned with an intent to cast reproach upon God As every one is not a lyar that telleth what is not true but he that telleth an untruth knowing it to be an untruth with an intent to deceive and wrong others So he that thinkes or speakes a thing unbecomming God with an intent to reproach or slander God and his wayes this is blaspheming indeed Secondly observe Impatience under and murmuring at the crosse which God laies upon us is a charging of God with folly Murmuring against God questions the wisdome of God Complaints have a charge in them We taxe what is done while we submit not to what is done When we lie under Gods hand quietly and silently then we speak the praise of God then our carriage ascribes all wisdome honour and glory unto him Thirdly In that it is here said by way of excellency concerning Job that in all this Job sinned not referring it to his behaviour under these afflictions as if the Holy Ghost had said it is matter of admiration that in this in all this Job should not sinne Note from hence That it is an high act one of the highest acts of grace to be composed in thought and word under great afflictions In all this Job sinned not as if he had said it had not been much for Iob not to sin in other things but in this affliction in this distresse being so put to it being thus tryed in all this not to sinne is Grace almost to a miracle Lastly Note this What is well done by us shall be sure to receive a faire testimony from God When Iob had carried himselfe discreetly and spoken discreetly the Lord hides not this in darknesse hee shuts it not up in silence but proclaimes the innocency and uprightnesse of his carriage in this present passage of his life as he had done before concerning the whole course of his life and conversation that he was perfect and upright The Apostle publisheth Glory and honour and peace to every man that worketh good Rom. 2.10 They that carry themselves well either in suffering or in working for God shall have glory and honour and peace from God No man needs blow a trumpet in his owne praise when he hath done well as the Pharisees did Math. 6. What we doe well the Lord himselfe will report to all the world In all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly And so wee have done with this third part of the Chapter and with this whole Chapter which containes as you have heard those three generals the description of Iobs prosperous estate The description of his tryals and afflictions and the description of his carriage under those afflictions Now when he is come off from this assault without wound without any touch of sinne Satan perceiving himselfe defeated and frustrated in this attempt will not yet give it over he is restlesse he will attempt him once more We shall finde him in the next Chapter at the Assembly againe renewing his motion for a second assault that hee may have leave
from the seat of life to save the skin of that member which is so neare the seat of life Secondly by skin in the former place some understand all the outward estate that Iob had It was usuall in those times to expresse all riches by the word Skin and the reason of it was this because as was observed before their substance was cattell and so from the skin of their cattell they did denominate their estates Or as others because their mony was made of skins and so they did expresse their wealth and riches under the word skin Answerable to which custome the Latin word for houshold-stuffe or household goods is derived from that word which properly signifies a skin because either they were wont to wrap up their goods in skins or because they did put a great value upon skins and so their whole outward personall estate was comprehended under that notion Hence that common Proverbe amongst the Ancients Thou spendest out of another mans skinne To be liberall out of another mans estate was called a being lavish upon another mans skinne And then skin in the second place doth signifie the man himselfe or the person of a man the thing containing or that which covereth being put for the whole by a Synecdoche the skin for the whole man And it is usuall in good Authours to put the skin for the whole man as to looke to the skin is to looke to the whole body Take it thus that skin in the first place is all outward things and skin in the second is taken for the skin that covereth the body and so the sense runs thus Skin for skin c. that is a man will give all his outward estate to save the flesh upon his backe that is to save his life As if Satan had said this act of Iob which is so cryed up and made a matter so considerable being examined will be found as ordinary as the High-way It being common to a Proverbe for a man to part with all that hee may preserve himself There is a third exposition much labour'd by a learned Interpreter who by skin in the first place understands not generally all his estate but more especially his apparrell his cloathing which at the first were made of skins and were used long after for cloathings by Princes and great men in divers Countries from which the sense of the Proverbe is thus given skin for skin c. A man will part with his cloathes cast them off willingly easily that he may save the skin of his body save his life And so he expounds it by that act of Iob in the former Chapter vers 20 where it is said that Job rent his mantle and cast it off as if Satan had alluded unto that and said no marvell if Iob humbled himselfe to the dust and renting his garment cast that away when he heard all was taken from him Iob parted with the skin his garment that he might move thee to compassion and so save his other skin the garment which cloathes his flesh which he feared thou wouldest rent by wounding and so let out his trembling soule his beloved life A fourth gives this interpretation of the words Skin for skin c. The Originall Preposition which we translate for is often in Scripture likewise translated upon as in 2 Kingâ— 5 The widdow went from Elisha and shut the doore upon her and upon her sonne So in other places then the sence is made out thus Skin upon skin and all that a man hath will he give for his life that is if a man had never so many skins if it could be supposed he had an hundred skins one upon another he would let all be taken oft to save his life That place is expounded as a paralell Iob. 1.16 where it is said That of Christs fullnesse we receive grace for grace that is grace upon grace or abundance of grace all the grace we have this grace and that grace faith and love and patience and humility every grace all grace you receive from Christ Thus some illustrate these two places one by another So Satan saith of Iob here Skin for skin that is skin upon skin a man will give all his skins suppose he had many he would part with all or take skin for never so much of his outward estate he will let all goe to save his life There is yet another interpretation given of this Skin for skin ye all that a man hath wil he give for his life take the words comparatively we translate it yea all he hath That copulative particle in the Hebrew is rendered sometime and sometime yea sometime so according to which last exception the sense standeth thus as a man will give skin for skin so a man will part with all he hath for his life We finde some Scriptures wherein this particle is taken in the very same sense To give you instance Prov. 25.3 there the Hebrew reades it thus The heavens for height the earth for depth and the heart of Kings is unsearchable Now this is cleare that the sense is comparative and it is thus to be given as the Heaven is unsearchable for height and the earth for depth so the heart of the King is unsearchable So verse 25. of the same Chapter it is thus read out of the Originall word for word Cold water to a thirsty soule and good newes from a farre country now we translate it according to the sense and make it a comparison thus As cold water to a thirsty soule so is good newes from a farre country Thus also we may interpret this place and it carries a good sense Skin for skin and all c. As a man would give skin for skin one outward thing for another for they take skin in both places for outward things for the goods of this life as a man would give or barter away one commodity for another So a man will give all outward things for his life life is more valuable to all outward things than any one particular thing is to another It is ordinary to a Proverbe among men in danger to say spare my life and take my goods How willingly doth the Mariner in a storme unlade his Ship and cast all his rich wares over-board that he may preserve that precious jewell his life As a godly man will give life upon life a thousand lives if he had them rather then loose his soule So a natural man will give skin upon skin gold upon gold treasure upon treasure that he may save his life Let life lie at the stake and a man will give all things he hath in the world for it and thinke he hath a good bargaine Here are 5. expositions you see offered The two latter to me seeme the most cleare howsoever every one of them hath a faire sense in it and so we are agreed upon the generall which is onely to set forth the excellency and preciousnesse
he had many weakenesses upon him yet he preached the Gospell And then it followes in the next verse My temptation which was in my flesh you despised not observe he calleth his bodily infirmity a temptation The afflictions of the body are great temptations to the soule It is very considerable to this purpose what the Apostle James saith when he speaks of the severall conditions of the Saints and their duties in them Chap. 5. v. 13 14. Is any man afflicted let him pray he speakes that in generall Is any man merry let him sing Psalmes Is any man sick Is he pained by sicknesse in his body What shall he doe then He doth not say Is any man sick let him pray but Is any man sick let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him As if he should say A sick man is very unfit to pray himselfe though for himselfe he hath need to call others to pray with him and for him he hath enough to doe to wrastle with his pain and conflict with that affliction In other afflictions let him pray but if he be sick let him send for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him A diseased body unfits the mind for holy duties The prayer of sick Hezekiah is called chattering like a Crane or Swallow so did I chatter Isa 38. it was rather chattering then praying such a disquietnesse and uncomposednesse was upon his spirit thorough or by the infirmity of his flesh Paine is a piercing shaft in Satans quiver of temptations Though the spirit of a man will sustaine his infirmity yet oftentimes a wound in the body wounds the soule and the diseases of the flesh make the spirit sick A wounded spirit no man can beare and a wound in the body is a burden too heavy for many men And if it be so Then the pain and the weaknesse of the body is no advantage to repentance and returning unto God How pittifully are they mistaken who put off repentance till their bodies be in paine till they are sick and weake they doe it upon this ground because when they are in paine they thinke they shall repent with more ease Observe if Satan thinks to have such an advantage upon a holy man as to make him blaspheme when he is in paine doest thou thinke paine will be an advantage to thy repentance It is said that at the powring out of the fourth Viall Rev. 16.9 when God did smite the inhabitants of the earth and scorched them with great heat that they blasphemed the Name of God they did that which Satan presumed Job would doe and they repented not to give him glory It is a woefull thing to put off repentance to a pained body paine in its own nature fits us rather to blaspheme and turne from God then to returne to him Never thinke to have helpe for the cure of your soules by the diseases of your bodies usually we find that either sick persons repent not or theirs is but a sickly repentance At the most paine can but restraine your lusts it can never heale them The actings of some sins are quickned by diseases At the most a disease can but abate the acts of sin it can never destroy the life of it Death it selfe cannot kill sin The sins of wicked men live when they are dead the grave cannot consume them no nor the fire of Hell wast their strength the sins of unbeleevers shall remaine not only in their guilt but in their power to all eternity So much of Satans motion But put forth thy hand now and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse thee to thy face Verse 6. And the Lord said unto Satan Behold he is in thy hand but save his life Here we have the Lords grant unto that motion of Satan He is in thy hand but save his life Thou mayest doe with his bone and his flesh what thou wilt He is in thine hand We have opened what it is to have a thing put into the hand in the former Chapter where the same expression is used therefore I shall passe those words here Note only this that the Lord saith here He is in thy hand to prevent Satans cavill as if he had said Thou movest me to touch his bone and his flesh well lest thou shouldest say that I have dealt too gently with him and have smitten him with favour I will put the rod or staffe into thine hand doe thou with 〈◊〉 bone and his flesh what thou canst spare him not We know the Lord is able to strike stronger stroakes and give deeper wounds infinitely then Satan can if he pleaseth yet the love of God to his children stops his hand and breakes the blow He corrects in judgement and debates in measure Isa 27.8 when he strikes his children he strikes them as children gently Thus 2 Sam. 7.14 speaking of Davids family If he commit iniquity saith God I will chasten him with the rod of men the word there used is Enosh which signifies a weake man I will chasten him with the rod of a weake man of one that hath but a weake arme or hand the hand of a sickly fraile man A weake a sickly man cannot strike very hard Thus saith God I will chasten thy children if they commit iniquity they shall rather see my care then feele my power in their corrections Now I say lest Satan should pretend partiality God puts Job into Satans hand and gives him liberty to lay on as hard as his hand acted with utmost malice could smite him thou hast liberty to smite him into the very valley of the shadow of death to bring him so neere death that he may looke into the graves mouth but no further Save his life Here is Satans chaine the limitation or restraint of his power When God puts any of his servants into Satans hand he keepes Satan in his owne hand And as all the Elect are in Gods hand to keepe them from taking hurt so the Devill is in Gods hand to keep him from doing hurt to his Elect. Save his life The word Nephesh here used signifieth properly the soule and the soule is in Scripture often put for the life because the soule is the spring the fountaine of life life is derived or diffused into the body from or by the soule and as soone as the soule is parted from the body life departs Hence both this Hebrew word and the Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 have their names from breathing or respiring For life goes out when breath goes out when we cease breathing we cease living Our life is but a blast a breath the Lord formed man out of the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrills the breath of life and he became a living soule Gen. 2.7 This is that vitall spirit by which all quick things move therefore Beasts Birds Fish and creeping things are called living soules Gen. 1.20 24. And
and solid reason The reprehension in these words Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh The reason of his reprehension in those which follow What shall we receive good at the hand of God and not evill To begin with the reprehension Thou speakest as one of the foolish women In the Hebrew Woman is not exprest it is only a Feminine as one of the foolish ones we translate it foolish woman That word commeth from Nabal which signifieth properly a thing fallen off like a dried leafe or blasted withered fruit without life without strength without sap and moysture exhausted and kill'd thorough excesse either of cold or heat and so by a Metaphor it noteth any one without the sap or juyce of wisedome goodnesse and honesty such a person we call a saplesse person Or it signifieth one that is vile and base and low one that hath a base withered low fallen spirit a spirit fallen below all noble or holy resolutions Nabal is such a foole as hath his judgement and understanding faded and corrupted in regard of any holy principles though he may be wise in regard of naturall principles Such the Prophet describes they are wise to doe evill but to do good they have no knowledge Jer. â— 22 Hence the Latin word Nebulo which signifies a Knave is by good Etymologists derived from the Hebrew Nabal because such are dull-heads in goodnesse and witty only in wickednesse Such was he 1 Sam. 25.25 Nabal is his name and folly is with him That proper name is the same with the Appellative here that 's the Masculine this the Feminine Thou speakest like a Nabalesse We find the word often used elsewhere to signifie wicked worthlesse and vile persons Psal 14.1 The foole hath said c. Deut. 32.6 21. at the 6th verse O foolish people and unwise doe ye thus requite the Lord And ver 21. They have provoked me to anger by those that are no gods and I will provoke them to jealousie by them which are not a people and move them to anger with a foolish nation by them which are not a people by a foolish nation A foolish people deserve not the name of a people Looke upon this word in the abstract folly is wickednesse and to worke folly is in the language of the Scripture as much as to worke wickednesse to worke the greatest wickednesse Hence it is sometimes translated villany Ier. 29.22 23. The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab whom the King of Babylon rosted in the fire because they have committed villany in Israel And throughout the Booke of Proverbs the foole and an ungodly man a wise-man and a godly man are Synonomaes words signifying the same thing Thus Job reproves his wife thou speakest as one of the foolish women like one of those who have no wisedome no goodnesse not any sense or sap of goodnesse in them But who were these foolish women at whom he aimes in this comparison that is not cleare some conceive he intends the women of Idumea Thou speakest as one of these heathen women these Idumeans I have heard indeed such language from them when things have gone amisse with them I have heard them cursing their Idols cursing their gods I have heard them raile at fate fall out and wrangle with fortune Thou speakest like one of them Thou takest thy patterne in this from the custome of the Heathen who use their gods coursely when they thinke they have but course usage from their gods If their gods be angry they will be angry with and revile their gods Thou speakest after the rate of these foolish women Thou diddest never heare such doctrine in my family or among those who feare and love the true and ever-living God Job you see is now somewhat warme in his speech Job had indured much and all his sufferings hitherto had not stirr'd any passion in him but that of sorrow as we saw in the latter end of the former Chapter Not an angry posture not an angry expression all along but now that God and the wayes of God are concerned Job can hold no longer this speech of his wife cast dishonour upon both and now passion begins to stir hee cannot forbeare her though his wife Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh Observe That Passion becometh us in the cause of God Our Lord Christ teaching his Disciples the true meaning of the Law tells them Mat. 5.22 He that is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement but he that is not angry when there is cause especially when there is such a cause as this he likewise is in danger of the Judgement Secondly Job is not only angry with her but he reproves her Thou speakest as one of the foolish women It is lawfull sometimes to expresse holy anger and passion by sharpe reproofes Christ who was meeknesse and humility it selfe yet when he hath to deale with Pharisees he can call them a generation of vipers painted Sepulchers blind guides an adulterous generation children of the Devill Anger can hardly be silent and that anger is admirable which speakes and sinnes not He that knowes not how to be angry knowes not how to love And he that knowes not how to reprove with love knowes not how to be angry You may discerne love in Job mingling with and moderating his reproof Job rebukes his wife but it is with the spirit of meeknesse First He doth not speake positively or down-right Thou art a foole but comparatively Thou speakest as one of the foolish women use to speake That seemes one mitigation or allay of this reproofe yet I confesse such speaking by way of similitude hath often in it the force and intent of a direct assertion Another thing observeable for the meeknesse of Job is this He doth not fall out with the whole Sex and say ye women are foolish and ignorant and impatient But thou speakest as one of the foolish women He doth not charge the whole Sex he knew there were wise women as well as foolish such Solomon describes Pro. 31.26 She openeth her mouth with wisedome and we know Abigail the wife was wise and her husband was Naball a foole Iob doth not lay it upon women in generall he falleth not out with all because he knew there were some foolish ones and because he saw his wife in that act imitating those foolish ones There is a third thing mitigating the sharpnesse of the reproof Iob doth not fall out with or disgust the ordinance of God because his wife spake thus he saith not who would marry to be yoak't with such a one as you It is enough to make one forsweare marriage to have or heare of such a wife better be in any condition then in a married condition How often doe husbands discover this folly if their wives displease them presently the ordinance of God displeaseth them who would be married It is very sad when mans
sorrowes 2. To communicate unto him their comforts First To mourne with him And secondly To comfort him The former of these two ends viz. their mourning with him we have largely set downe in the two latter verses they put that end into act presently as soone as they came they fell a mourning with him And we may observe 5. distinct acts of Jobs friends solemnly condoling or mourning with him The first act is this They wept And to shew that it was no ordinary weeping the Text saith They lift up their voice and wept The second act of their mourning was their renting of their Mantles And they rent every one his Mantle The third act was the sprinckling of dust upon their heads and the sprinckling of dust toward Heaven which was another aggravating circumstance of their sorrow The fourth act was their sitting downe with him upon the ground seven dayes and seven nights The fifth act of their mourning with him was their silence And none spake a word unto him The Cause or the reason of this solemnity in their mourning the reason of these 5. Acts but especially of the last of their silence is given us in the latter words of the verse For they saw that his griefe was very great therefore it must have great sorrow and great silence to waite the fittest season for the administring of counsell and consolation Thus for the parts and resolution of the words contained in these 3. verses I shall come to the opening of the particulars And when Jobs three friends The word which we translate friends springs from a root which signifieth to feed a mans selfe or others or to eate together as Sheepe eate together and so from the same word a Pastor or a feeder of Sheepe is derived Psal 21.1 The Lord is my Shepheard and feeder And by a Metaphor it is translated for a friend because friends doe usually feed together eate and converse together So David describes a friend Psal 49.9 My familiar friend that did eate of my bread Jobs visitants are thus exprest his friends or familiars The word sometimes notes only a friend at large or any neighbour So in the Law Exod. 20 16. Thou shalt not beare false witnesse against thy neighbour or it is the same word against thy friend there it is taken in a large sense for a neighbour that is for any besides thy selfe to whom offices of love are due as Christ expounds it Luk. 10.30 But usually it is put strictly for a speciall friend as in Deut. 13.6 when he speakes of inticers to Idolatry If thy friend saith he who is as thine owne soule there is the same word and he shewes by a circumlocution whom he meanes by such a friend namely such a one who is as thine own soule one that lieth in thy bosome and is as neere and deare to thee as thy selfe I suppose here in this place Jobs three friends were not friends at large but intimate and speciall friends or as we use to say bosome friends And therefore when it is said Jobs three friends we are not to understand it as if Job had but three as if these were all the friends Iob had but amongst all his friends these carried away the name these were the chiefe and choice Jobs three friends As it is said concerning Davids Worthies 2 Sam. 23 David had many Worthies but there was a first three a chiefe three among them all So here Iob doubtlesse had many friends a large catalogue of friends but in these you have the toppe of his friends the chiefe hree the first three These three speciall friends came to visit Iob to mourne with him and to comfort him The occasion of this visit presents it selfe next When these three friends heard of all this evill that was come upon Job When they heard of it The troubles of Iob were noysed all the Country over yea into strange Countries Two things are swiftly carried about upon the wings of fame and poasted about by reports First The sinnes Secondly The afflictions of godly men If they fall into any sin it will be heard of all a Country it may be all a Kingdome over It shall be told in Gath and publish'd in the streets of Askelon Againe if they fall into any great affliction every one descants upon it and many will passe deepe censures It becomes matter of wonder that men eminent in godlinesse great professors such as have held forth the name and upheld the truth of Christ that they I say should fall into great afflictions is reported discours'd admir'd all a Country over There is nothing that is more talked of then the trouble that befalleth godly men When the three friends of Job heard of all this evill that was come upon him When this report about Iob came to them they came to Iob. They came saith the Text every one from his owne place The word Place is often used in Scripture to signifie a Country a City or a Region Now here it is conceived that the place from whence they came was not only the place where they dwelt but the place where they governed It is frequently asserted by the Iewish Doctors with whom the Septuagint agree and most of the Jesuits are in it to that these three friends of Iob were Kings either Reges or Reguli such as had the governement of those Countries where they lived Beza rejects this as a Fable and telleth us that this opinion hath no footing or foundation in Scripture but is grounded only upon that usuall boldnesse of the Iewish Doctors But whether they were Kings or subjects whether they came from their private dwellings or from the places of their dominion needs not trouble us This is cleare that they were great men eminent persons in their Country and the disputes which follow testifie that they were men of very great wisedome and understanding according to all the learning of those times These three friends of Job are here set forth by name by a double name By the name first of their persons Secondly by the name of their Country or of their Family For that 's a question whether the additionall name be derived from the Country where they dwelt or from the Family out of which they were extracted Eliphaz the Temanite he is the first We reade Gen. 36.11 that Esau begat Eliphaz that Eliphaz was the eldest sonne of Esau and Eliphaz begat Teman This Teman descending from Esau is supposed to be the Father or the Ancestor of this Eliphaz from whom he is called Eliphaz the Temanite and so Temanite is a note of the Family from whence Eliphaz descended It is usuall likewise in Scripture to give such additionall names from the Countries or places and so Eliphaz the Temanite may be from Teman of which we reade often in Scripture Teman signifies the South It was a Southerne Country Further Teman was a place wherein it is observed that the Schooles
upon themselves or upon their Land Further the sprinckling of dust upon the head was a memento of mortality They put dust to dust that man might remember himselfe to be but dust And they sate with him upon the ground seven dayes and seven nights Here is the third ceremoniall act of their sorrow In the 20th verse of the former Chapter it is said Job fell upon the ground these sate upon the ground As falling so sitting upon the ground is the posture of a mourner of a mourner greatly humbling himselfe under the hand of God and the sense of his own or other mens afflictions When God layes us low he can lay us lower and therefore it is best for us to lay our selves as low as we can so doth he who sits upon the ground if his heart sit downe with him too It is possible for the body to lye groveling upon the earth when the spirit is nestling among the starres not in faith as the Saints doe but in pride as Lucifer did Isa 14.13 However he either is or appeares to be humbled to the lowest and emptied to the full of worldly comforts who with Jobs friends sits downe upon the ground especially if he sit long there as Jobs friends did seven dayes and seven nights The time seemes almost incredible How could they hold out to sit so long or how could Job a sick and diseased man For it is said They sate downe with him seven dayes c. I answer We need not interpret it for seven continued dayes and nights without any intermission it is frequent in Scripture to put a part especially a greater part for the whole that which is often done is said to be alwayes done as Luk. 24.53 The Disciples were continually in the Temple praising and blessing God And Luk. 2.37 It is said That Anna the Prophetesse departed not from the Temple but served God night and day Not that she was there without any intermission but the greatest part of night and day or at the usuall time both of night and day Paul testifies before the Church of Ephesus that by the space of three yeares he ceased not to warne every one night and day with his teares Act. 20.31 Did he therefore actually preach three yeares night and day without intermission That had been a long Sermon indeed Then his meaning is but this that in those three yeares he watched and made use of all possible opportunities both by night and by day to preach the Gospell So we may understand it here they sate downe seven dayes and seven nights that is a great part of seven dayes and seven nights or all the time of those seven dayes and seven nights which were fitting for such a visit Origen will have it seven nights and seven dayes without intermission In maintenance of which assertion he saith they were preserved by miracle without sleep and without meate all that time But here is plaine truth without a miracld Secondly Whereas it is said seven dayes and seven nights we may note further that the number seven as other numbers may be understood indefinitely a certaine time being put for an uncertaine as Jer. 15.9 The Prophet saith She that hath borne seven that is many children languisheth And Eccles 2.7 Give a portion to seven that is to many Thus we may interpret it here they sate downe seven dayes and seven nights that is many dayes and many nights as it is expre'st of Nehemiah chap. 1.4 That when he heard of the calamity of Jerusalem he mourned many dayes Thirdly We may take it strictly for seven precise dayes and nights and then it referres to the ceremony of mourning for the dead it was a custome to mourne seven dayes for the dead Jobs friends looked upon him as a dead man and so they mourned for him according to the manner of mourning for the dead Joseph made a mourning for his father Jacob seven dayes Gen. 50.10 We have the like time of mourning mentioned 1 Sam. 31.13 The time of mourning varied both in times and places The Egyptians mourned for Jacob threescore and ten dayes Gen. 50.3 The Israelites mourned for Moses thirty dayes Deut. 34.8 which custome of mourning thirty dayes for the dead continued long after among the Jewes For Josephus reports that when the Jewes thought he had been killed they mourned thirty dayes for him So that we may take it here precisely for seven dayes and seven nights and referre it to the custome of mourning for the dead or in cases of extreame sorrow among that people It followeth And none spake a word unto him This is the fourth ceremony of their mourning their silence In great mournings silence makes up the solemnity So Lam. 2.10 These are joyned together The Elders of the daughters of Zion sit upon the ground there is the former ceremony and keepe silence Now whereas it is said they kept silence we need not understand it so strictly as if for seven dayes and seven nights they never spake a word It is usuall likewise in all languages and very frequent in Scripture that what is but seldome done or done but a little is said not to be done at all as in Acts 27.33 Paul saith of those that were in the Ship that for fourteene dayes they had fasted having taken nothing a thing beyond the strength of man take it strictly to fast foureteene dayes taking nothing But it is usuall to say that is not done at all which is but a little done They tooke nothing to eate that is they tooke very sparingly they did eate only so much as would according to our language keepe life and soule together In Isa 20.3 it is said that Isaiah walked naked and barefoote for three yeares Now it cannot be conceived that the Prophet walked as we say starke naked for three yeares together He is said to walke naked because he had not such or so much cloathing as formerly and usually he had worne So here they spake not a word to him that is they did not speake much they spake very little to him Or secondly thus Restrictively to the matter they spake not a word by way of dispute or argument which was the businesse they fell upon afterward either to convince him or reprove him The reason of this fourth ceremoniall act of mourning their silence is added in the last words of the Chapter For they saw that his griefe was very great The word here used for griefe though it had bin alone without any epithite to heighten the sense notes a very intensive a deepe and great sorrow And it is put sometimes for griefe and sorrow arising from the paine of the body and sometimes for griefe and sorrow of mind Now here I conceive it may carry both senses they saw that the griefe and paine of his body was very great his body was in a wofull plight and they saw that his spirit was much perplext too his mind was troubled But if this
And as the enmity of the serpent was mans scourge so also was the barrennesse of the earth That barrennesse in bringing forth good fruit that fertility in bringing forth bryars and thornes were both as rods for the back of man Thirdly the irrationall or sencelesse creatures are cursed in reference to that which man suffers Thus David cursed the mountaines of Gilboa 2 Sam. 1.21 because there Saul and his beloved Jonathan were slaine by the sword of the Philistines because there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away the sword of Saul as if he had not been anointed with oyle In this sense as David cursed a place so Job curses a time his day the day which either gave occaâ—ion to his sufferings or the day in which he actually suffered such a world of evills Thus also Jeremie curses his day with a vehement curse Jer. 20.14 Cursed be the day wherein I was borne let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed And not only so but he curses the man who first reported his birth verse 15 16. Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father saying a man-child is borne unto thee making him very glad And let that man be as the Cities which the Lord overthrew and repented not and let him heare the cry in the morning and the shooting at noone-tide c. And why so bitter a curse was it against the day for it selfe or against the man himselfe Jeremie shewes it was not verse 18. Wherefore came I out of the wombe to see labour and sorrow that my dayes should be consumed with shame To curse any thing under the notion of a creature or as it is the worke of God is to blaspheme God to curse any unreasonable or insensible creature in themselves or to take revenge on them is to be if not sencelesse yet I am sure in that act unreasonable So farre of this cursing his day in generall It followes Verse 2. And Job spake and said This verse is only a transition into the matter of the next it is as if the holy Ghost had said Job cursed his day and would you know how he cursed it He did it after this manner or in this forme of words Job spake and said thus c. Only note that the word which we translate spake is in the originrall answered and so often in Scripture he is said to answer who begins to speake Job answered and said We shewed you before that his day in generall was the object of this curse now he curses it in the parts of it the day and the night Let the day perish c. At which words the stile alters that which you reade forward to the sixt verse of the 42 Chapter is sacred Poetry Job breathes out his passion in verse and in verse receives his answer It is questioned whether Job at that time opened his mouth and vented his sorrowes in verse or whether it were after contrived so by the pen-man of this booke As I see no profit in moving this question so I think there is no possibility of resolving it And therefore I leave it as I found it a quere still Only this is observeable that writing in verse is most sutable where the matter written is deepely steep't in and chiefely wrought out of our affections Hence we find That those parts of Scripture which set forth strongest affections are composed in verse As those holy flames of spirituall love betweene Christ and his Spouse in the Canticles of Solomon The triumphant joy of Deborah after deliverance from Sisera's Army Of Moses and Miriam after the destruction of Pharaoh The afflicting sorrowes of Hezekiah in his sicknesse And the Lamentations of Jeremie for the captivity of the Jewes The booke of Psalmes is as it were a throng of all affections Love joy sorrow feare hope anger zeale every passion acting a part and wound up in highest straines by the Spirit of God breathing Poeticall eloquence into that heavenly Prophet So this Booke of Job whose subject is sorrow hath a composure answerable to the matter Passion hath most scope in verse and is freest when tyed up in numbers The words follow Let the day perish What this day was we shewed you before It was the day of his nativity the day saith he wherein I was borne How should this day perish To perish signifies first not to be A thing is said to perish when it is annihilated when it returnes to nothing As the Psalmist speakes Man being in honour and understandeth not is compared to the beasts that perish The perishing of a beast is the non-entity of a beast when a beast dieth it perisheth it is not A beast is no more but vanisheth quite and is gone for ever Then such mens likenesse to a beast is not in perishing but in the want of true understanding He doth not say man perisheth like a beast but he is like a beast that perisheth A wicked man how honourable soever is a bruitish man ver 10. For he knowes nothing spiritually and what he knowes naturally in that like a bruit beast he corrupts himselfe as the Apostle Jude speakes ver 10. of his Epistle But betweene the perishing of a foolish man and a beast there is a vast difference A beasts perishing is a not-being A foolish mans perishing is a miserable being For secondly To perish signifies often a miserable being as in Joh. 3.16 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten sâ—n that whosoever beleeveth should not perish c. Not perish the meaning of it is not that all unbeleevers shall loose their very beings become a nothing and with their existence part from their essence Some wicked beastly men would be glad of this that they might live here wickedly and afterward die like beasts in that sense eternally If this were the perishing that is threatned unbeleevers many of them would be ready to say out of love and liking to their lusts as Esther did out of love and zeale to the cause of God If we perish we perish If this be to perish let us perish But that perishing is of another nature They that beleeve not shall perish that is they shall live and perish they shall be and be miserable for ever the wrath of a displeased God and the sting of a polluted conscience shall torment them to all eternity Thirdly To perish is to be empaired or loose former dignity and respect So let the day perish may be taken in this sense let not that day be solemnized let it not be remembred with wonted joy and gladnesse A day which hath usually bin solemnized may be said to perish when that solemnity is layed downe and utterly disus'd In ancient times and the custome in some places remaines to this day Great men and Princes kept the memory of their birth-dayes with feasting and triumph Thus we reade Gen. 40.20 And it came to passe the third day which was Pharaohs
Christ speakes Mat. 6.23 If the light that is in thee be darkenesse how great is that darkenesse While Job wisheth that his very day which is light should be darkenesse how great a darkenesse doth he wish unto it And if the day be darkenesse how darke must the night of that day be Then againe Let the day be darkenesse he doth not say let the day be mistie or cloudy or duskie or darke he doth not wish it like that day described Zech. 14.6 It shall come to passe in that day that the light shall not be cleare nor darke but he saith Let it be darkenesse Both in Scripture and common language Abstracts are emphatically significant and carry more then an ordinary sense in them When David saith Psal 27.1 The Lord is my light there is more in it then if he had only said the Lord doth enlighten me So to set forth the wofull condition of those who are unregenerate or in the state of nature the Apostle tells them Ephes 5.8 Ye were sometimes darkenesse not only in the darke but darkenesse So here to expresse how great a curse he wishes upon his day Job saith Let the day be darkenesse it selfe Now darkenesse may be taken two wayes Either Properly or Improperly Proper darkenesse is nothing else but a privation of light it is no positive creature it hath no cause in nature but is the consequent of the Sunnes absence When Job wishes let that day be darkenesse we may understand it of this darkenesse as if he had said whensoever that day commeth about in the recourse and revolution of the yeare let it be darkenesse or a very darke and gloomy day This had bin a great evill upon his day This kind of darkenesse was one of the 10 plagues with which God smote Egypt And yet there is darkenesse which is a greatet evill then this I meane darkenesse improperly taken and so frequently in Scripture any sorrowfull troublesome sad condition is express'd by darkenesse A condition of darkenesse is a sad condition a darke day is as much as a sad day So then Let that day be darkenesse that is let it for ever be accounted a sad and sorrowfull day Thus the Prophet Joel Chap. 2.2 calls a day of great trouble a day of darkenesse and gloominesse a day of clouds and of thicke darkenesse When Solomon Eccles 12.2 would shew by way of Antithesis the sad and evill condition of old age comparatively to youth he unfolds it by darkenesse remember now thy creatour in the dayes of thy youth make haste serve God betime But what needs such haste I tell thee why as times change so thy estate will change Evill dayes will come I therefore counsell thee to doe it while the evill dayes come not nor the yeares draw nigh when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them while the Sunne or the light or the Moone or the Starres be not darkened A day without pleasure is a day without the Sunne take away the joy of a day and you take away the light of a day Young-men have the Sunne and the Moone and the Starres all kind of light and comfortable influences upon them but these will be darkened and ecclipsed when old-age cometh that will put out or at least obscure your light your day will be gone and your night will have neither Moone nor Starre in it therefore worke while you have light that is while you have health and strength of body while you have freedome and activity of spirits fit for that great service remember that is know and serve your Creatour So in the Text we may take darkenesse improperly as darkenesse notes an uncomfortable estate and it is used in Scripture to note a two-fold uncomfortable estate First An estate of sinne Secondly An estate of misery This latter darkenesse is the daughter of the former The Prophet Isay Chap. 9.2 speakes of the people that sate in darkenesse which is repeated Mat. 4.16 that is in the darkenesse of ignorance of sin and guilt They had naturall light enough and they had civill light enough aboundance of outward comforts they had health and strength and riches and peace and plenty but they had not a Christ to take away their sins and cleanse their consciences and therefore they were a people that sate in darkenesse Jobs curse intends not this darkenesse of sin but that other improper darkenesse the darkenesse of sorrow the darkenesse of penall evill As if he had said let sorrow and sadnesse over-shadow let mourning and teares overwhelme let calamity and trouble for ever possesse the day upon which I was borne Let not God regard it from above Here is a second part of the curse and a more grievous curse then the former Let not God We may observe here the Name whereby God is expressed it is Eloah The learned Hebricians observe ten severall Names of God in Scripture three of which note his Being Jehovah Jah Ehejeh Three his Power El Eloah Elohim Three his Governement Adonai Shaddai Jehovah Tsebaoth One his Excellency or Super-excellency Gnelion The Name Eloah here used is derived from El which signifieth Mighty and so by that addition to the word there is an addition made to the sense Eloah is Most Mighty or Almighty This word in the singular number is very rare the Name Elohim which is the plurall is very frequent in holy Scripture Christ upon the crosse cryes out to God by this Name in the singular number Eloi Eloi my God my God as calling for the Almighty power of God to support and carry him through his sufferings David useth it in the 18th Psalm ver 31. Who is a God save the Lord. Who is Eloah save Jehovah that is who is a mighty strong God save the Lord Jehovah so the next words explaine it Who is a rocke save our God So Job being about to impleade and accuse his day calls to the mighty God as it were to judge this day to his everlasting neglect Let not God regard it from above Regard it from above The word signifies sometimes to inquire and search after or to take an account of a thing exactly and judiciously as they that are called to reckoning or to judgement are enquired after and so it hath relation to that Name of God Eloah a powerfull or mighty Judge Let not God regard it is let not God take any account of it or enquire after it let it passe as not worth the looking after Secondly The word signifies to have a care of a thing to have a thing or person in account as well as to call unto account to take care and be watchfull over another for good is our regarding of it In this sense the word is used Deut. 11.12 where Moses speaking concerning the Land of Canaan saith It is a Land which the Lord thy God careth for Careth for is the same word with this and this Text may well be expounded by that which followes as the
only begotten sonne that whosoever beleeveth on him should not perish here is the removing of evill but have everlasting life here is the bringing in of good And this is the better part of the blessing So on the other side to have all good light and life removed is the most bitter part of the curse Let darknesse and the shadow of death staine it Darknesse and the shadow of death These words are the fourth branch of the curse upon his day he repeates the former curse but with new additions He had said before let this day be darknesse now he saith let darknesse and the shadow of death staine it The shadow of death The word considered in the composition of it may be translated image of death And because the shadow of a body gives us the image of a body as in the shadow of a man you have the image and proportion of a man in the shadow of a Tree you have the image and representation of a Tree because I say the shadow gives the image of a body therefore the Hebrewes by a Metonymie call an image a shadow So that the shadow of death is such darknesse as is like death the very image of death He was not contented in generall to say let darkenesse staine it but if any would know what kind or degree of darknesse he intends these words expound his meaning to be the worst darknesse that can be Any darknesse is evill but darknesse and the shadow of death is the utmost of evils David put the worst of his case and the best of his faith when he said Psal 23.4 Though I walke in the valley of the shadow of death I will feare no evill that is in the greatest evill I will feare no evill The estate of those men who lived beyond the line of the Gospell and that is a very dolefull place to live in though a paradise for outward pleasure is thus described by the Prophet Isa 9.2 The people that walked in darknesse have seene a great light Jesus Christ they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death upon them hath the light shined Againe The shadow of a thing in Scripture notes the power of a thing and to be under the shadow of a thing is to be under the power of a thing The bramble Judg. 9.15 said unto the trees if in truth yee anoint me King over you then come and put your trust in my shadow that is trust to that helpe which I am able to afford you So likewise to be under the shadow of the Almighty under the shadow of his wings is to be under the power of the Almighty for safety and protection Thus we may conceive it here to be under the shadow of death is to be so under the power or reach of death that death may take a man and seize upon him when it pleaseth Though I walke in the valley of the shadow of death that is though I be so neere death that it seemes to others death may catch me every moment though I be under so many apparances and probabilities of exreame danger that there appeares an impossibility in sence to escape death yet I will not feare Thirdly To be under the shadow of death is to be under the influences of death the influences of death are those feares and doubtings divisions and vexations of spirit those distractions and distempers of mind which fall upon man in times of imminent and unavoidable danger Let the shadow of death staine it that is let it be filled with those feares and cryes and confusions which usually accompany or prepare the way for death Fourthly Let darknesse and the shadow of death staine it that is such darknesse as dwells with death such darkenesse as fills the house of death the grave The grave is a darke house We use to say of that which we would have forgotten let it be buried in darknesse There is no worke in the grave and therefore there needs no light in the grave neither indeed can there be Lastly thus Darknesse and the shadow of death that is deadly darknesse thick stifling darknesse such as is in deepe pits and mines under the earth where vapours and noysome dampes doe many times strike men with death We may here take notice how Job heapes up words words very like in sound and all alike in sense or concurring to make up one sense Such amplifications in Scripture are vehement asseverations As Joh. 1.20 It is said of the Baptist He confessed and denied not but confessed I am not the Christ And those phrases Thou shalt dye and not live I shall not dye but live Thou shalt be below and not above So Job of his day Let it be darkenesse let not the light shine upon it let darknesse and the shadow of death staine it The word which we render staine signifies properly to redeeme a thing either by price or by power to redeeme a thing by paying for it or to redeeme a thing by rescuing of it Hence among the Jewes he that was to redeeme his deceased brothers land and marry the widdow was called Goel from this word as we may reade in the fourth of Ruth So the avenger of blood was called Goel Numb 35.12 because he likewise did redeeme the blood of his brother fetch it back againe as it were by a price in the execution of justice The learned Junius with some others translates according that sense of the Originall word O that darknesse and the shadow of death had redeemed that day or fetched back that day he referres it to the day past upon which he was borne and so takes it for an allusion to the first state of things we know at the first darknesse had dominion over all over all that Chaos or rude matter which God made at first Darknesse saith Moses was upon the face of the deepe Gen. 1.2 Then God gave a command to light saying let there be light ver 3. presently light went forth and rescued the creature from under the power of darknesse Now saith Job here Oh that darknesse and the shadow of death had redeemed that day or fetched againe that day out of the hands of light Oh that darknesse had recovered that which in the beginning was under its power that so my day being wrapt up in darknesse might be without forme and voide But the word is frequently translated and well here to pollute or to staine a thing as Mal. 1.7 Yee offer polluted bread upon mine altar and ye say wherein have we polluted thee And that of lamenting Jeremie They have polluted themselves with blood so that men could not touch their garments Lam. 4.14 So darknesse is said to staine or pollute the day as filthinesse or blood staines and pollutes discoulours and defiles the beauty of a garment Darknesse obscures and blindes the beauty of the most glorious creatures naturall darknesse doth it Suppose you should come into a roome furnished with
of sleepe sleepe is a short death and death is a long sleepe Many of them that sleepe in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life and some to everlasting contempt Dan. 12.2 Our friend Lazarus sleepeth saith Christ to his Disciples Jâ—h 11.11 but I goe that I may awake him out of sleepe In the 14th verse Jesus said unto them plainely Lazarus is dead Then had I beene at rest We usually say when a man goes to sleepe he goes to rest Yet rest is more then sleepe for sometimes a man sleepes when he doth not rest his very sleepe being troubled and he troubled in his sleepe But when rest is joyned with sleepe it is perfect sleepe The word here used signifies a very quiet setled and peaceable condition Hence Noah had his name And he called his name Noah saying this sonne shall comfort us concerning our worke and toile of our hands because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed Gen. 5.29 He was rest and comfort to the old world by preaching righteousnesse even the righteousnesse which is by faith which alone gives rest unto the soule and is able to refresh us in the midst of all those toyles and labours which that first curse brought upon the world both new and old Such rest and sweet repose had I found saith Job from all my toile in the house of death and bed of the grave Having thus foure words concurring in the same sense we may here not unprofitably take notice of that elegant multiplication of words in the holy Scriptures There store is no soare and variety is no superfluity yea there Tautologie is no superfluity It is the usuall rhetorick of the Holy Ghost to speake the same thing in divers words yea sometime in the same words We find such a congeries or heaping up of words used for the most part in some heate of passion or vehemency of spirit As first when God would expresse a great deale of anger and wrath against a people he speakes thus Isa 14.22 23. I will rise up against them saith the Lord of hostes and cut off from Babylon the name and remnant and sonne and nephew I will also make it a possession for the Bittern and pooles of water and I will sweepe it with the besome of destruction Here are a multitude of words and all tending to the same purpose setting forth the fiercenesse of Gods anger and the resolvednesse of his judgement for the ruining of Babylon The towring confused pride of the King of Babylon is presented to us in such a heape of words Isa 14.13 14. heare the pure language of pride from that Kings heart Thou hast said in thine heart I will ascend into Heaven I will exalt my throne above the Starres of God I will sit also upon the mount of the Congregation I will ascend above the heights of the clouds I will be like the most High The manifold apostacies and backslidings of Judah are described in many words by the Prophet Zephanie chap. 1.6 And them that are turned bank from the Lord and those that have not sought the Lord nor enquired for him Chap. 3.2 She obeyed not the voice she received not correction she trusted not in the Lord she drew not neere to her God When our Lord Christ would shew the extreame ignorance and darknesse of his Disciples in those great Articles of his sufferings death and resurrection having taken the twelve unto him and discoursed of those points he concludes Luk. 18.31 34. And they understood none of these things and this saying was hid from them neither knew they the things that were spoken As if Christ had said their ignorance in these mysteries was so great that they had not the least glimpse or glimmerings of light about them So here I should have lien still and been quiet I should have slept and been at rest and all to note the interrupted-quiet and tranquility of the grave As if he had said Had I died then not only had not these stormes been upon me nor these waves gone over me but the least breath of wind had never blowne upon me Hence we may observe First That in regard of all outward troubles death is the rest of man Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord for they rest from their labours And they who die out of the Lord rest from all that labour they have had in this world There is no worke nor device nor knowledge nor wisedome in the grave whither thou goest Eccles 9.10 This life is a day of working and death is a night of resting The Sunne ariseth man goeth forth to his labour untill the evening Psal 104.23 When the Sunne of our life ariseth we goe forth to our labour untill the evening of death This life is a continued motion death is a continued rest This life is but noise and tumult death is silence Our life is a stormy passage a tempestuous sea-voyage death bringeth us to the harbour There is a foure-fold rest which we obtaine in death First A rest from labour and travaile no working there Secondly There is a rest from trouble and oppression no warres no bloody battels there Thirdly There is a rest from passion no sorrow no griefe shall afflict us there In the grave there is a fourth rest better then all these a rest from sin a rest from the drudgerie of Satan a rest from the winnowings and buffetings of Satan a rest from the law of our members warring against the law of our minds When Saul went to the witch of Endor for advise with Samuel that Samuel or the Devill in the appearance of Samuel speakes as one disturb'd being raised from the grave Why saith he hast thou disquieted me to bring me up 1 Sam. 28.15 I was at rest why diddest thou call me up to a land of trouble It is the observation of an ancient Father and the resolution of an ancient Councell concerning Christs weeping over Lazarus Joh. 11. That not his death but his rising drew those teares When Christ came to the grave where Lazarus lay the Text saith that Jesus wept Why did Christ weepe saith Jerome in comforting a mother that had lost her daughter It is cleare that Christ wept over Lazarus that was dead but he did not weepe thy teares Christ did not weepe because Lazarus was dead but he wept rather because Lazarus was to be raised up againe he wept to thinke that his friend Lazarus should be brought back into so troublesome a world And it was the resolution of the third Toletane Councell that Christ did not weepe over Lazarus because he was dead but because he was to be raised up againe to feele the burdens and afflictions of this life that was their apprehension of it And it is a truth that whosoever lives the common life of nature lives in trouble But such is not the life of him who is raised from the dead The lives of such though here
troubles turne a Pallace into a desolate place so riches and plenty power and peace meeting together in Kings and great men turne desolate places into Pallaces Kings and Counsellours are of such wealth and power that they can alter the most desolate and ruinous places into delicate edifices and stately dwellings Or lastly Which doth best suite with the subject of Jobs discourse or curse in this Chapter He speaking so much of death by the desolate places we may understand Tombes and Sepulchers places of buriall which Kings and Counsellours build to or for themselves And so taken the sence may be given thus as if Job had said if I had died I should have lien in the grave with as much ease and quiet as those great Princes and Kings of the earth who build themselves stately monuments to lie in It would have been as well with me as with any of them though interr'd under stately tombes We know it was an ordinary thing for Kings and great men especially in ancient times to prepare for themselves costly monuments while they lived as houses for their bodies being dead Which grew to such excessive charge among the Romanes that they were forced to make a Law to restraine it The Egyptians bestowed more care and cost in building their tombes then their houses Even Abraham Gen. 23.16 bought him a burying place before he built himselfe a house though while he lived he dwelt in a moveable tent yet he would be as sure as he could of a certaine grave And good Joseph of Arimathea had made himselfe a sepulcher in a rock Math. 27.60 And it is said of Absolom 2 Sam. 18.18 That in his life time he had taken and reared up a pillar that is he had artificially raised a great pile of goodly stones in the Kings dale For he said I have no sonne to keepe my name in remembrance And he called the pillar after his own name Now as this pillar was to keepe his name so he intended it likewise to keepe his body when he should die For it being related in the verse before how as soone as he was slaine they made no more adoe with him but cast him into a great pit in the wood and layed a very great heape of stones upon him The holy Ghost to shew us the vanity of man in preparing for a dead body while he neglects an immortall soule and how God disappoints the vaine conceits of men in supposing to perpetuate their own name and greatnesse The holy Ghost I say to shew this presently subjoynes in the sacred story Now Absolom in his life time c. As if he had said Doe ye observe how this ambitious Prince was buried even tumbled into a pit with a rude heape of stones cast upon him This man had prepared himselfe another kind of monument even a sumptuous pillar c. So that under or by that pillar he had archt a curious vault for himselfe to be buried in called Absaloms place namely his burying place And the word which we have here for desolate places is in Scripture clearely applied to the grave or a place of buriall We have it in Ezek. 26.20 where the Prophet foreshewing the destruction of Tyre speakes from the Lord thus When I shall bring thee downe with them that descend into the pit and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth in places desolate of old There are three words in that verse and they are all Synonima's words of the same signification First The pit Secondly The low parts of the earth Thirdly The desolate places and all these are but severall expressions for the grave or for a place to bury in It is no more but this When I shall bring thee downe even with those that lie buried in the grave So that the word which we translate desolate places being also in other places used for the grave or a place of buriall we may very well expound it so here that desolate places are the graves or sepulchers of Kings and Princes and Counsellours of the earth which we may doe especially because Job treats in this place about death and the state of the dead Now Tombes and Monuments may be called desolate places in two respects First Because when the body is layed in there all company and all friends leave it you shall have a mighty traine following their friend to the grave but there they leave him Kings and Counsellours have stately Funerals but when their subjects or friends favourites or flatterers have brought them to the tombe and opened the doore of the grave they goe no further they will not goe in with them and dwell with their bodies in the dust of death as much as they honour'd or ador'd them when they lived so that they are in desolate places Secondly Graves may be called desolate places because Tombes and Sepulchres were in desolate places they were made in some high Mountaine or caved Valley in some place remote from the company and habitations of the living for in former times they did not bury in Cities or in Townes but in places where few came till they were carried and therefore properly called desolate places It is observed that among the Romans the first Emperour that was buried in Rome was Traian And the law of the twelve Tables did prohibit both the buriall and the burning of the dead within the City So then it is cleare that anciently Tombes and Monuments were erected in desolate places and that great cost was bestowed in building and beautifying of them both which favour and illustrate the exposition given It followes in the Text Or with Princes that had gold who fill their houses with treasure The word Sar a Prince in the Hebrew as in most other languages signifies the chiefe the head the first Some Criticks conceive that our English word Sir comes from it it is very neere in sound and so is the French word Mounsier to this Originall for a Prince or Chiefe Job describeth Princes thus they are such as had gold noting both what the study and indeavours of Princes are namely to lay up gold and likewise what is requisite for them Gold is of great use in a high estate Treasures are necessary for Princes Princes that had gold Therefore Solomon that wise Prince saith of himselfe Eccles 2.8 And he putteth it among his Princely workes I gathered me also silver and gold and the peculiar treasure of Kings When the Wise-men came to Christ the first thing they offered him was gold and they did wisely for he was a Prince gold being the chiefe and as it were the prince of Mettals is a very proper offering for Princes And howsoever wisedome and goodnesse justice and clemency are farre more necessary requisites in Princes then gold yet there is such a necessary conjunction of these two that we find him in the Prophet Isa 3.7 refusing the governement because he was poore Be thou our Ruler say
bitter in soule We may frame his argument thus out of his words as they are here couched There is no reason or if there be shew me a reason why his life should be prolonged who liveth miserably and would die willingly But I am the man who live miserably and I would die willingly wherefore then where is the reason or shew me a reason why my life is prolonged That is the force of his argument The maine Proposition of the argument is contained in the 20 21 22 23. verses namely that there is no reason why a man that liveth miserably should be denied to die wherefore is light given to a man that is in misery He endeavours to prove the Assumption at the 24th verse where he shewes that he lived in great misery which he doth amplifie in the two last verses of the Chapter This may serve for the summe and scope or intendment of this last Section To the words themselves Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery Wherefore There is a wherefore in Scripture first of doubting and secondly there is a wherefore of mourning and thirdly a wherefore of complaining In this wherefore in this question we may include all three Job doubteth and Job mourneth and Job complaineth Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery Wherefore is light Light Some take light here for knowledge Wherefore hath a miserable man so much knowledge to see himselfe and to know himselfe miserable It is some abatement to the sense of misery not to know that we are miserable Wherefore is light given If I did not understand the sadnesse of my condition it would be lesse to me There is a truth in that and it is the thing that will so much torment and vex the damned to all eternity that while they are in the darknesse of hellish misery they shall have so much light in Hell I meane the light of knowledge concerning their own condition whreby they shall fully and clearely discerne their unhappinesse If they were ignorant and did not know how miserable they were their estate were farre lesse miserable On earth the light of the knowledge of Gods will encreases the sin of men in Hell the light of the knowledge of their own woe will be an encrease of their punishment As Christ saith to the Jewes Joh. 9.41 If ye were blind ye should have no sin but now ye say we see therefore your sin remaineth So we may say of those who are seperated from Christ for ever if ye were blind ye should have no sorrow but now because in that estate of utter darknesse ye shall have both eyes and light to see your misery therefore your sorrow shall remaine When a wicked man goes to the generation of his fathers where he shall never see light sc of comfort Psal 49.19 even then he shall have light enough and more then he would have to see his sorrow And in Hell he shall be as much pained with and hate the light of his own condition as upon earth he hated and was pained with the light of divine revelation Joh. 3.20 c. So that the damned shall for ever cry out Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery Yet I take not this to be the sense here Wherefore is light by light here understand naturall light and then it is no more but this Why doe mine eyes yet behold the Sunne Wherefore doth the light shine upon me whenas I am under the clouds and in the darknesse of this condition Or by light we may understand life and so the sense is Wherefore is life continued which is expressed in the next clause to him that is in misery To be in misery is more then to be miserable As to be in the flesh notes a meere carnall man and to be in the spirit notes a very spirituall man so to be in misery notes a very miserable man The Hebrew word properly signifies labour At the tenth verse it was translated sorrow And it notes any toilesome melestation which either we our selves endure Psal 25.18 or cause others by guile or mischiefe done them to endure Hence it is translated guile Psal 55.11 and mischiefe Psal 94.20 because by these one man troubles and vexes another to the making of him miserable And life to the bitter in soule Life is the union of soule and body when life departeth soule and body take leave and part the Philosopher defines life to be the bond or colligation of soule and body together Now saith Job why is this life why is this bond continued to a man whose soule is in bitternesse while my life was pleasant it was pleasant to live while my soule was sweet it was sweet to have it knit to my body but now my soule is in bitternesse or I am bitter in soule and what sweetnesse or pleasure can I find in my body To be bitter in soule notes deep intrinsicall or inward sorrow the greatest sorrow makes the soule bitter As in Scripture when we find Soule added respecting the evill of an estate or the good of an estate evill and good are meant in the highest degree As when Christ saith Mat. 26.38 My soule is exceeding heavy or exceeding sorrowfull even unto death that is I am in the lowest deepes of sorrow Sorrow unto death is sorrow within one step or degree of death My soule is sorrowfull there can be no sorrow but in the soule the body take it as a distinct from the soule is not capable of sorrow sorrow is a passion or an affection of the soule an affection of the mind and therefore all sorrow is seated in the mind yet when our Lord Christ saith My soule is exceeding sorrowfull It is farre more then to have said there is sorrow or exceeding much sorrow in my soule So here this phrase To him that is bitter in soule or whose soule is bitter Notes the most bitter and grievous sorrow When the Psalmist would set forth the great sorrow of Joseph in prison Psal 105.18 One translation saith that the iron entred into his soule and the Hebrew word for word is this his soule came into iron We know the soule is so pure and spirituall that iron cannot enter it We know that only the body can be bound with chaines The soule could quickly slip from the most watchfull keeper and breake out from the strongest irons were it not to keepe company with the body Whereas then it is said his soule came into irons it is only to shew that Joseph was under very sore affliction even the sorest affliction of the body As on the other side when Mary said My soule doth magnifie the Lord my spirit rejoyceth in God my Saviour We know nothing properly can magnifie the Lord or rejoyce but the spirit or the soule yet when she saith my spirit doth rejoyce this notes a deepe pure internall spirituall joy with which she was ravish'd at that time And as
bitter in soule that they account the very bitternesse of death sweetnesse They say not as Agag 1 Sam. 15.32 Surely the bitternesse of death is past but O that the sweetnesse of death would come To be rid of sin makes us long for death spiritually to be rid of paine makes us desire death naturally therefore he saith the bitter in soule long for death The word which we translate by longing signifieth a very vehement desire as you know in our tongue to long for a thing is the highest and hottest acting of desire after a thing It signifieth properly to gape or to breathe Hence by a Trope it signifieth strong desire because they who desire a thing much are said to gape or breath after it just as an hungry man gapes after meate wheresoever he sees it and his mind runnes upon it when he cannot see it that is the force of the word Hence also the word is used in Scripture to note the strong actings of faith and vehement expectations of hope in God when the soule is raised up mightily to beleeve the word of promise then it longs after and opens its mouth wide as it were to receive the thing promised As in Isa 8.17 I will waite upon the Lord who hides his face from the house of Jacob and I will looke for him The Prophet Hosea applies the word to robbers and theeves who stand watching and longing for the traveller and looking at every turning chap. 6.9 As troopes of robbers waite for a man Yet further to cleare this we may take notice that in the Hebrew there are two words which come from this roote whereof the one signifieth the Palate of the mouth because the palate is the part affected with the tast of such meates as we long for Hence we say the mouth waters after such or such a pleasing dish The other word signifies a Fish-hooke and the reason is double either because those hookes are pleasantly baited which when the fish sees he longeth after it and greedily swallowes it downe Or because when the angler hath cast in the hooke he is in great expectation waiting and looking earnestly when the fish will be enticed and bite By all these uses of the Originall word we may collect the exceeding intensivenes of that desire which is here exprest by longing for death They long for death even as a hungry man longeth for any meate or as a woman with child longeth for some speciall meate as a fish longs for the baite or as an angler longeth till the fish bites or as a beleever which as it is the most spirituall so the most ardent desire of all desires to have any promise fulfilled upon which he hath pitch'd his faith and anchors at by hope Which long for death and it cometh not that is it cometh not so soon as they would have it for death will come at one time or other but death doth not come at their time or their pace It cometh not in the Hebrew it is only thus which long for death and it is not we supply it cometh not And dig for it more then for hid treasures To illustrate the greatnesse of this desire after death he adds a similitude of those who seeke for treasures if there be any naturall desire more strong then that of a woman with-child or a longing woman it is the desire of a covetous man the desire of gaine or treasure covetousnesse is the strongest appetite Observe but what a gradation there is in this expression to set forth the greatnesse of their desire after death they doe not only long for it but they dig for it digging you know is no ordinary labour it is an extraordinary worke a hard labour As longing is a strong desire so digging is strong labour hard labour And then it is no ordinary digging neither but digging for a treasure men will dig hard for treasure you see men will dig hard for a stone for iron for coales how then will they dig for a mine of gold or silver A man will dig the earth for a little money but when a man diggeth hoping to find money in the earth that will make him worke indeed now they dig after such a manner And beyond that he saith they dig for it as for hidden treasure that 's a further degree of their endeavour after it That which we translate hidden treasure is but one word in the Hebrew It signifies any hidden thing especially treasures because treasures use to be hid or close layed up And there is a two-fold hiding of treasures There is a naturall hiding and there is an industrious and artificiall hiding There is a naturall hiding so treasures are hid that lie in the bowels of the earth they are naturally hid Then treasures are hid by industry and by art when we are afraid we shall be spoiled of our treasures or that they shall be taken away then there is a hiding them and often a digging to hide them in the earth As now in these times of spoile and violence if a rich man heare that those spoilers are nigh he presently hides his treasure Now either as robbers digge and search for treasures industriously hid or as miners dig and search for treasures naturally hid so saith Job with such earnestnes doe these dig for death There is one thing here to be resolved by way of question before we come to the Observations Namely whether it be lawfull to wish for or to desire death Job here proposeth such as long for death Is it lawfull to desire death doth he speake here only de facto of a thing which some doe or of that which may be done I answer first That death in it selfe is no way desireable and it is not an object of desire We cannot desire that for it selfe which is an enemy or destructive unto us If any should desire death as death or under the notion of death they should desire that which is destructive that which is their enemy so the Apostle calls death 1 Cor. 15. The last enemy which shall be destroyed is death Death is an enemy therefore as death no man can desire it Indeed many have desired death but still we find somewhat else at the bottome of that desire But what bottome or ground makes the desire of death lawfull I answer First It is a holy desire of death if we desire death to be free from sin when the soule saith thus because I see only the end of living will be the end of sinning therefore I long for death that I may sin no longer Secondly It is lawfull to desire death that we may have more full communion with Christ the Lord of life I desire to be dissolved saith Paul but why not that he desired dissolution but that he might be with Christ Phil. 1.23 Christ is life and Christ is our life It is better to enjoy life then to live How much better then is
the workes of his providence argue the greatest folly p. 289. Sin the greatest folly p. 290. Friend unkindnesse from a friend troubles most p. 273 274. A friend who p. 301. It is an act of true friendship to mourne with and comfort our afflicted friends p. 305. G GArments Renting of garments in what cases used p. 179. Gaine will make some doe any thing p. 381. Ghost giving up the ghost what it imports p. 396. Giants and infants are expressed by a word coming from the same roote in the Hebrew p. 421. Gift what it is p. 203. Every outward as well as spirituall good thing is Gods gift p. 203 204. God gives no more then we get honestly p. 205. That God gives all destroyes 4 Monsters at once two in the rich two in the poore p. 205 206 c. That the Lord gives should make us willing to give to the Lord p. 207. A godly man the most considerable object in the world page 93 94. Such are most aimed at and assaulted by Satan p. 95. A godly man will not let nature worke alone p. 193. He acquits God in all his dealings with him p 202 A godly man can never be in so ill a condition but God hath use of his life p. 254. Godlinesse hath the promises of this life performed to it p. 45. Time spent in duties of godlinesse no hinderance to our calling p. 45. Gold and silver how proper and necessary for Princes p. 414 415. Good and evill how alike from the hand of God p. 292. Grace preserves it selfe pure among the impure p. 24. Grace the best blessing p. 29 c. where one grace is every grace is p. 30. Holy practise makes grace visible p. 52. It encreases by opposition p. 229 Grace and the favour of God are sweete to us when all other things are bitter and burdensome p. 444. Graves and Sepulchers called desolate places p. 412. Care and cost anciently bestowed in building of them p. 413. Why called desolate places p. 414. Grave called a house p. 416. Much treasure formerly put in graves p. 416 417. Some take more care for their graves and sepulchers then they doe for their soules p. 420. H HAnds worke of the hands may be applied to any businesse though a worke of the head p. 117 118. To put forth the Hand what it meanes p. 124. Hand of God what it signifies in Scripture p. 125. Either mediate or immediate p. 126. To put into the hand what it notes p. 137. Health a great blessing p. 266. Yet quickly blasted ibid. Heart must be especially looked to p. 74. Man can but guesse at the heart of another p. 75. The heart continually evill p. 76. Satan can but guesse at the heart p. 135. Hedge what it imports when God makes a hedge about a man p. 111 112. Job had a three-fold hedge p. 113. There is a hedge of affliction and a hedge of protection p. 460. Holinesse Holiest persons doe not alwayes keepe the same degree of holinesse p 342. Honesty what we get honestly we can loose patiently p. 205. Hope The want of that afflicts us most which we hope for most p. 385. A hopelesse condition is the worst condition p. 386 462. Honour God will honour them who honour him p. 225. What it is to honour God or man p. 327. Humiliation must encrease as afflictions either personall or publick doe encrease p. 268 c. I IGnorance How God is said to winke at times of ignorance p. 352 351. Impatience is a charging of God with folly p. 219. Infants weepe as soon as they are borne p. 393. They have the seed of death in them as soon as borne p. 398. Intentions It argues a malitious spirit when a mans actions are faire then to accuse his intentions p. 108. Integrity to hold integrity in evill times is not only good but admirable p. 229. The world would perswade that the holding of integrity and profession of holinesse are vaine p 276. Job when he lived p. 18. Joy Godly joy and sorrow mutually cause one another p. 305. What at one time is our feare at another time may be our joy p. 454. Justice in our dealings honours our profession of godlinesse p. 31. K KNowledge wicked men hate it and why p. 373. Knowledge of misery which we cannot be delivered from makes us more miserable p. 440. Keyes four keyes specially in the hand of God p. 390. L LEviathan why so called p 369. What it is to rayse up Leviathan ib p. 370 c. Two other significations of the word p. 378. The name of a song p. 380. Life Our life here is but a coming and a going p 201. Life is the most pretious treasure in nature p. 240. Not to be parted with for a trifle p. 241. The soule far more pretious then life p 243. So also is the Gospell ib. c. The love of Christ in parting with life for us p. 244. What life is in the naturall consideration of it p. 251 441. Life and death are in the hand of God p. 256. Mercy to have life though we loose all else p. 257. Likenesse of quality and of equality p. 100. All the Saints on earth like one another and like Christ in quality but unlike in equality ib. Light a great blessing the sorts of it p. 353. Light-haters who p. 373. Longing for a thing notes the strongest desire p. 447. M MAn the word man in Scripture signifies more then a reasonable creature or the nobler sex p. 20 c. 3 Hebrew words for Man their difference ib. Man taken 1. for any Eminent man 2. for a Magistrate p. 20 21. Mercies Some mercies received exceed our own praises as some troubles exceed our own mournings p. 381. In sad times small comforts passe for great mercies p. 384. Every step of our lives needes a step of mercy p. 399 445. Morning to doe a thing in the morning is to doe a thing diligently p. 59. Morning best praying-time p. 60. Mourne To mourne with those that are in affliction our duty p. 306. The report of others sufferings should cause us to mourne p. 307. Great troubles warrant solemne mournings p. 319. Mourning a profession p. 375 c. Mouth to open the mouth what p. 325. A foole doth not open his mouth and speake but his speech opens his mouth p. 326. N NAkednesse two-fold p. 197 c. Every man borne a naked helplesse creature p. 200. Name what it importeth when God knoweth a man by name p. 97 98. Name of God taken 4. wayes p. 212. What it is to blesse the Name of God p. 213. Nature Changes in the course of nature are full of terrour p. 360. Negative words in Scripture are not alwayes denialls p. 180. O OPpressors of three sorts p. 430. The words of oppressors are wounding words p. 432. They who will not heare the voice of the Preacher may justly be given up to heare the voice of the oppressor p. 433. P
PAine of the body very powerfull to disquiet the mind p. 248. Parable what it is p. 326. Parables grounded on known customes p. 398. Passion It is lawfull to shew passion in the cause of God when his glory is concerned p. 288. We may expresse our passion by reproofes ib. Patience A man may be patient and yet complaine under his afflictions p. 339. Five things in afflictions to cleare this p. 340. Perfection or to be perfect what p. 24. The kinds of it ib. In what sense the Saints are perfect in this life p. 25 26. Perish What it is to perish p. 335. How a day may be said to perish ib. p. 336. Perseverance that which a man doth out of conscience he will doe with perseverance p. 76. Possession of good things without the enjoyment of them is a great evill and trouble p. 444. Poverty is Gods gift as well as riches p. 292. Power Neither men nor Devils have any power to hurt till God give commission p. 138. Prayer how it may be said to move God p. 231. We must pleade with God in prayer p. 232. Prayer Satan would discourage us one of prayer and holy duties p. 276. Praise They who doe well shall be sure to have praise from God p. 219. Preparation Holy duties call for holy preparation p. 57. Prisoners of two sorts p. 430. Theirs iâ— a sad condition p. 431. To visit Prisoners a worke very pleasing to Christ p. 431. Sighing is the language of Prisoners p. 431. Punishment of losse worse then the punishment of sense p. 354. Q QUantity Naturall and civill p. 434. Questions What it imports when God askes a question p. 86 87. R REason We are apt to thinke there is no reason for that for which we see no reason p. 443. Repentance Renewed sins must have renewed repentance p. 76. Repentance not to be put off to a pained body p. 249. Reproofe lawfull 288. How to be qualified with meeknesse ib. c. Reproofe prevailes most when backe with reason p. 292. Resurrection a birth p. 200. Rest of confidence and rest of contentation p. 474. Riches Three reasons why the Holy Ghost is so exact in describing Jobs riches p. 41 42. To be rich and holy argues much riches of holinesse p. 42. Riches are the blessing of God p. 43. Honest dealing no stop to the getting or keeping of riches p. 44. Riches and all outward comforts may be lost in a day when we least suspect p. 150. All our care cannot secure them p. 151. Roaring under affliction notes extreame affliction p. 464 c. S SAcrifices foure sorts of them under the Law p. 61. Why the whole burnt-offering is called an ascention three reasons of it p. 61 62. The Father of the Family was as Priest before Moses p. 62. The law of sacrificing given though not written from the beginning p. 63. Wherein the benefit of a sacrifice did consist and what made it effectuall to man p. 63 64. Sanctification How one man may be said to sanctifie another p. 53. To sanctifie notes two things ibid. He that is holy desires to make others holy p. 56. Satan what the word imports p. 81 82. How Satan comes into the presence of God p. 82. He that opposes good is the Devils picture p. 84. Satan is in a two-fold chaine though he walke all the world over p. 89. His going to and fro what it imports p. 91 92. Satan No place free from his temptations p. 92. Very active to doe mischiefe p. 92 93. Satan boundlesse in malice p. 140. Satan is speedy in executing where he hath power to hurt p. 143. How the will of God and Satan may meet about the same thing p. 138. He cannot compel p. 153. Wicked men doe his will while they are doing their own p. 155. He loves to worke by instruments p. 156 Satan labours to worke in us hard thoughts of God p. 163. Satan very powerfull page 175. Meere malice moves Satan against the people of God page 235. When one meanes will not prevaile he tries another p. 247. And more prevalent or strong ibid. He makes use of such instruments to teâ—pt by as are most effectuall p. 273. Scriptures the excellency of them in themselves p. 3. and above all other writings p. 4. Scripture in all parts of equall power and authority p. 4. Scripture many wayes difference'd p. 4. Sepulchers See Graves Seasons and opportunities Satan is very watchfull to take the fittest time in doing mischiefe p. 147. We should be as wise to doe good p. 143. Servants of God God hath servants in the worst places p. 24. It is an honour to serve God faithfully among the wicked ibid. What it is to be Gods servant Godly men are his servants three wayes p. 96 97. Servants of God surrounded with enemies therefore surrounded vvith protections p. 115. God is the guard of his servant 〈…〉 And of the meanest thing 〈…〉 them ibid. Servants of two sorts p. â—â—7 Sinne brought in servility p. 438. No servant at his own dispose ibid. Shadow of death what p. 355. Shiloh why Christ was so called p. 472. Shaving the head what it imports p 183. Sincerity commends us unto God p. 30. Sincere persons are in Gods esteeme perfect persons p. 31. Where there is sincerity toward God there will be honesty toward men p. 31. It is most opposed by Satan p 227. A godly man will hold that whatsoever he looses ibid. It is our armour p. 228. Sinners in three degrees p. 425. Sinne Not safe to let sin lye a moment upon the soule p. 60 61. In what sense a man may be said not to sin p. 66. Three degrees of sinning p. 67. We may quickly sinne while we are about lawfull things p 69. Sinne spoiles us of all both honour and comfort p. 84. In what sense we may be said not to sinne in this life p. 215 c. Silence is best in great sorrowes for then a man is unfit either for counsell or comfort p. 320. Solitarinesse is a sad condition p. 363. What solitarinesse good p. 368. Sonnes of God who p. 223. In what sense son-ship is said to be brought in when Christ was borne ibid. Sorrow is good only as it tends to joy p. 310 311. Great sorrowes hinder speech p. 324. Man sees sorrow as soone as he is borne p. 392. Soveraignty of God should silence all complaints p. 〈…〉 God can doe us no wrong p â— Soule Tâ—â—â—etiousnesse of it p. 243. Starres a three fold benefit to the night p. 383. Suspition It is no breach of charity to suspect ill of others while it leades us to doe them good p. 68. A suspition that we or others have sinned is ground enough to seeke for pardon ibid 69. Sword A terrible judgement p. 157. How worse then Famine p. 158. T TEmptation Foure steps of Satans worke in temptation p. 153. Satans suits temptations to mans temper and condition p. 158. The most violent temptations are reserved to the