said to be the midst or Center of the body now saith he keep the law in the very midst of thine heart in the safest place as the heart is the safest place the middle of the body so the middle of the heart is the safest place of the heart So vve may understand that of David I have hid thy Commandements in my heart Psal 119.11 And Deut. 6.6 These words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart that is thou shalt lay them up there Of this laying up the law in the heart vve are to understand Eliphaz here as if he had sayd O Job thou hast often heard of the law but thou hast been a forgetfull hearer now heare it and hold it now as the Apostle exhorts the Hebrewes Heb. 2.1 give the more earnest heed to the things which thou hast heard or shalt hereafter heare lest at any time thou shouldest let them slip or thou shouldest run out as we there put in the margin as a leaking vessel Further This laying up the vvord in the heart is opposd unto a bare barren knowledge it is not enough to have the vvord of God in our heads that is to know it it is not enough to have the word of God upon our tongues that is to speake of it but we must lay it up in the heart For though the heart in Scripture takes in the understanding and the whole soule yet chiefly it respects the affections lay up the word in thine heart that is let thy affections be vvarm'd with it vvhile thy memory retaines and keepes it and thy understanding is enlightened vvith a true notion of it Hence Observe First The word of God is a precious thing We doe not lay up trifles and trash but precious things and treasure vve lay up our Plate and Jewells our Gold and Silver the vvord of God should be more to us than thousands of gold and silver it is the most precious Jewell 't is treasure and therefore it must be laid up Secondly The heart is the Arke or Cabinet in which the word must be laid up There was an Arke or Chest provided for the law Exod. 25.21 and that Arke was Christ he was typified by it and indeed the law would be too hot for our hearts too hot to lye there if it had not first layne in the heart of Christ wee since fallen could never have been an Arke for it if he had not been The tables of the law were laid in the Arke and the Arke in which the lavv vvas put had a mercy-seat vvhich did cover it all over The dimensions of the Arke and of the mercy-seate were exactly the same two cubits and a halfe in length and a cubit and a halfe in breadth Exod. 25.10.17 so that nothing of the law could appeare or rise up in Judgement against poore sinners The propitiatory or mercy-seate covered all Now as Christ hath been the Arke of the law to protect and cover us from the condemning power of it so the hearts of beleevers must be the Arke of the law where it must be layd up with a readines of minde to yeeld our selves up to the commanding power of it David prophecying of Christ saith Psal 40.10 I have not hid thy righteousnesse within my heart yet he had said before I delight to doe thy will thy law is within my heart To cleare which Scripture take notice that there is a twofold hiding of the righteousnesse or vvord of God in the heart First so as to obscure or conceale it from others in that sence David saith I have not hid thy righteousnesse in mine heart I have declared thy faithfullnes and thy salvation and not concealed thy loving kindnesse and truth from the great Congregation And thus no man ought to lay up the truths the law the promises of God in his heart to conceale and stifle them there Secondly There is a hiding of the law in our hearts first that it may be safe lest Satan or the world should snatch it from us Secondly That we may further consider of it when a man hath got an excellent truth or Scripture he should lay it up in his heart to ponder and meditate more upon it to draw out the sweetnes and to experience the power of it Thirdly That vve may have it ready at hand for our use and so the Scribe instructed for the kingdome of heaven is described by bringing forth out of his treasury things both new and old How sad is the condition of many that have heard much but laid up little or nothing at all of all that vvord which they have heard Some having laid it up in their note books are satisfied with that 't is good and usefull to doe so but doe not let it lye there get a Copie of it in your hearts a few truths in your hearts are better to you then many truths in your bookes no man was ever saved by the vvord in his booke unlesse that vvord were also written in his heart God commanded the Jewes Deut. 6.8 9. to vvrite the law upon the post of their houses and on their gates to bind them as a signe upon their hand and as frontlets between their eyes They were commanded also to put fringes upon the borders of their garments Numb 15.38 vvhich our Saviour calls Phylacteries Math. 23.5 these were ribands of blue silke or as some say scroles of parchment upon which the law being first wrought or written and then bound upon their garments they were to looke upon it and remember all the commandements of the Lord Num. 15.39 Vanissimi profecto pharisaei illi qui cum ipsi non servarent in corde mandaâ—a at membranulas decalogi complicantes quasi coronaÌ„ capiri facientes phylacterium eoc sua proprictate Custoditâ—rium est Bold Now saith Christ they make broad their Phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their Garments as much of the lavv as you vvill upon theiâ— Clothes but none of it in their hearts Thus the proud Scribes and Pharisees went about as it were Clothed with the vvord of God but his vvord was farre from their hearts nor did it appeare in their lives it is a meere vanity to have much of the law in our bookes while vve neglect to keepe it in our hearts and act it in our wayes The former is good but it doth no good without the latter The want of this the laying up the vvord in the heart causeth the great want of Saints in the things of God and as many loose that Grace which they seemed to have so many are at a losse in the use of that Grace which they have because they have not laid up the vvord of God in their hearts so carefully as they ought We say proverbially Sure bind and sure find They who would surely finde the comfort of the word of God when they need it had need to bind it sure when they receive it JOB CHAP. 22. Vers 23 24.25
Hac ratione liber evaderem ab iniquis vitae meae Judicibus calumniatoribus ut ultra mihi disceptatione contentione opus non erit all their charges shall be reprobated and rejected God who hath once Justified a person will never lay any thing to his charge and what charge soever others bring against him Gods justification will take it off The Apostles challenge is universal Who shall lay any thing c It is universal two wayes First in regard of persons accusing he excepts none in earth heaven or hell Secondly in regard of crimes he excepts no sort of sinne let them seeke and finde what they can be they sins against God or man be they sins of omission or commission be they sins never so much aggravated or sadly circumstantiated though against both light and love yet they will not doe against a person Elect and Justified Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect wipes away all charges Accused they may be though justified but condemned they cannot be because justified The best of Saints on earth have much in them and much is done by them which might be matter of charge against them for he that saith he hath no sin in him hath indeed no truth in him 1 Joh. 1.8 but Justifying Grace is their full discharge Againe As the word Judge is expounded universally for all those that did or might accuse Job Observe The best and most righteous on earth meete with many harsh accusers and hard Judges David had those who layd to his charge things that he knew not Psal 35.11 The Jewes returned from Babylon to build their City and Temple were charged with sedition Jeremie was charged with treason Paul was called a pestilent fellow and the primitive Christians were generally loaded with slaunders by the Heathen Misreport and reproach are the portion of Saints from the world And how sadly Job was charged all along by his friends and how severely censured hath appeared every where in this Booke especially in the former Chapter ver 5 6 7. Is not thy wickednes great and thine iniquities infinite for thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought and stripped the naked of their cloathing c. Had not Job reason to looke upon it as a great mercy to be delivered from such a Judge And hath not every Godly man reason to make Davids choyce 2 Sam. 24.14 Let me fall into the hand of the Lord for his mercies are great and let me not fall into the hand of men Now as men are for the most part over-severe executioners of Gods sentence so they are usually over-severe Judges in giving their owne whether sence or sentence concerning others And therefore Jobs faith did prophecy this good to himselfe That God having heard him and judged him he should be delivered for euer from man his Judge And let this be the comfort of the righteous who are oppressed with the hard opinions of men That God will at last deliver them for ever from every rigorous and unrighteous Judge In that Great day as the Apostle Jude calls it the cause of every righteous man shall be disputed before God and then they shall be delivered for ever from their Judge And this did exceedingly beare up the spirit of the Apostle Paul in the midst of the various censures and judgements of men concerning him he knew their judgement should be taken off at last 1 Cor. 4.3 4. With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or of mans judgement yea I judge not my owne selfe But he that judgeth me is the Lord therefore judge nothing before the time till the Lord come who both will bring to light the hidden things of darknesse and make manifest the counsells of the hearts and then shall every man have praise of God That is every righteous man though dispraised and despised though judged and condemned by men though blackt over with false reports and reproaches yet then every righteous man shall have praise from the most righteous God He will then doe all his people right who have been wronged and passe a just sentence upon those who have suffered much and long under unjust censures And so shall they be for ever delivered from their Judge JOB CHAP. 23. Vers 8 9 10. Behold I goe forward but he is not there and backward but I cannot perceive him On the left hand where he doth worke but I cannot behold him hee hideth himselfe on the right hand that I cannot see him But he knoweth the way that I take when he hath tryed mee I shall come forth as gold IN the two former verses Job exprest much Confidence of a good issue in his Cause could he but finde God and come to tryall And he reneweth this againe at the 10th verse Expressing the same Confidence When he hath tryed mee I shall come forth as gold But though he was thus Confident of a faire coming off in Case he could finde God yet he seemes in these words to cast off all Confidence of finding him forasmuch as yet he could not or had not Expressing himselfe here as a man that had travelled into all parts and quarters of the world East West North and South to finde a friend yet could not meet with him Behold I goe forward but he is not there and backward but I cannot perceive him On the left hand where he doth worke but I cannot behold him he hideth himselfe on the right hand that I cannot see him There is a threefold scope held forth about these words First As if Job did here deplore his fruitles paines in wishing for his appearing before God and in appealing to his Tribunal for as yet he saw himselfe unanswered and frustrated in his expectation God did not appeare to him in his troubles nor declare his purpose towards him Declarat Job se non posse ratione humana per res naturales quas per quatuor mundi plagas significat cognoscere certò clare rationes divinorum judiciorum Pined Secondly His scope may be to assert the hiddennes of the wayes of God or that the wayes of God are not to be found out nor understood by all the paines and industry by all the endeavours and disquisitions of man let him turne himselfe which way he will East or West North or South yet he must say I cannot behold him Thirdly Some conceive that Jobs intent is to declare his owne understanding or meaning in that earnest wish which he lately made Haec subjungit ad declarandū dei immensita tem ne quis putaret eum ex istimasse deum corporeum esse aut corporali loco circumscribi cum de illius tribunali loquutus est Id about his admittance to the Throne of God O that I knew where I might finde him that I might come even to his seat v. 3d He was not so grosse as to thinke that God was Confined to any
and terror as appeared like one In the Booke of the Revelation which hath as one of the Ancients speaketh as many mysteryes as words the dreadfull judgements prophecyed to come upon the world in the severall Ages of it are expressed by Thunder Revel 10.4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voyces I was about to write and I heard a voyce from heaven saying unto mee seale up those things which the seven thunders uttered and write them not And as elsewhere so especially in this booke of Job we find those things which carry the greatest strength and terror in them exprest by thunder Job 39.19 Hast thou given the horse strength hast thou clothed his necke with thunder that is hast thou made the horse who is so strong and terrible And at the 25th verse treating still of the horse he sayth among the trumpets Haec nos cogitata et levitèr cōmemorata obstupefaciūt quid si majora quae illius potestate continentur c. Pined Quis comprehendere potest ingentes domini virtutes quae velut vocem tonitrui more attollant prae magnitudine et multitudine Merc Quis satis consideret Pisc Tonitru fortitudinū vocat sermonem clarum fortitèr prolatum quod sit velut tonitru maximum Coc Tonitru potentiae i. e. Ipsum intonantem loquentem coram Argumentum est per comparationem majoris Jun Tonare eos dicimus qui orarationis et eloquentiae vi maximè pollent Novar ha ha and he smelleth the battaile afarre of the thunder of the Captaines and the shouting that is the horse is pleased to heare the Great Commanders speake with a loud voyce eyther directing threatning or encouraging their Souldiers Thus the Thunder of Gods power is some wonderfull act of his power which lifts up its voyce as it were like Thunder This who can understand none can The word signifyes also to weigh and consider so some render it here Who can sufficiently consider the Thunder of his power who can consider it as he ought eyther first according to the depth and mysteriousnesse of it or secondly according to the dignity and worthines of it Thirdly These words who can understand the thunder of his power may be expounded of the highest and clearest publication of his power The thundering of it out As if Job had sayd I have whispered a little to you but if God should thunder out himselfe or if his workes were spoken out as they deserve in thunder the minds of men would be amazed and their understandings confounded The thunder of his power who can understand 'T is usuall among the learned to expresse high eloquence and strong confidence of speech by thundering It was sayd of Alcibiades that hee thundred Greece He was a man so mighty in Elocution that he made his hearers tremble And hence Christ himselfe surnamed two of his owne Disciples James the son of Zebedee and John the Brother of James Boanerges which is The Sons of Thunder They did not speake as we say like a mouse in a cheese but with a great voyce and with a greater spirit they spake the messages of heaven as if it thundered from heaven There may be a great force in a low voyce while what is spoken comes with much clearenes of reason and strength of Authority or as the Apostle gives it in the evidence and demonstration of the Spirit but when all these are convayed by a mighty voyce a voyce like thunder how forceable are they Basil was sayd to Thunder in his doctrine and lighten in his life Such to the hight was that voyce of words in Mount Horeb at the giving of the Law Which voyce they that heard intreated that the Word should not be spoken to them any more Heb 12.19 that is that it should not be spoken to them any more in that manner or by an immediate voyce from God as appeares Exod 20. v 18 19. And all the people saw the Thunderings and the lightnings and the noyse of the Trumpet c. And they sayd unto Moses speake thou with us and we will heare but let not God speake with us lest we dye We cannot understand the Thunder of his power Hence note Man is not able to receave and beare those highest discoveryes of God God can speake in such a light as will blind the eyes of man and in such a language as will rather astonish then instruct him As among beleevers they who are carnal and babes in Christ are not able to eate strong meate they must be fed with milke as the Apostles speakes 1 Cor. 3.2 So wee may say of all Beleevers even of those that are strongest God doth onely whisper and speake gently to them the thunder of his power they cannot understand For as there is a peace of God which passeth all understanding Phil. 4.7 they that have it not understand nothing of it and they that have it understand but little of it it passeth all understanding not a naturall understanding onely but also a spirituall And as there is a love of Christ passing knowledge Eph. 3.19 which yet we should labour to know a love which hath an incomprehensible height and length and bredth and depth in it which yet all the Saints are labouring to comprehend so there is a manifestation of the will and workes of God a Thunder of his power which were it made and spoken out to us our understanding could not graspe nor comprehend how much soever we should desire and labour to comprehend it And therefore God is pleased to put the treasure of his minde and messages in earthen vessells not onely as the Apostle gives the reason 2 Cor 4.7 That the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us but he doth it also condiscending to our weakenes lest if he should give out this treasure immediately from himselfe or should put it into some heavenly vessel we should not be able to beare the excellency or as Job here speakes The Thunder of his power Thus after a very long ventilation of the Question between Job and his friends wee are arrived at the Conclusion of their dispute Job hath answered two of his friends thrice the third Zophar I meane onely twice He it seemes gave out and sate downe whether satisfyed or wearyed whether having no more to say or being unwilling to say any more or thinking that enough had been sayd already I determine not But though Jobs friends have done arguing against him yet he hath not done arguing for himselfe Which he doth in five entire Chapters twice called the continuation of his Parable In what sence he calleth his ensuing speech a parable together with the subject matter of it may through the Gratious presence and supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ who hath helped hetherto and hath not suffered that little oyle in the Cruse to fayle shine forth with a clearer light A TABLE Directing to some speciall Points noted in the
issues of divine wrath While these sad dispensations are sent out and meete with Saints they are the issues of divine love For though a godly man may provoke God to anger and finde by many evidences that God as to his actings is angry with him yet as to his person he alwayes loves him And therefore as a wicked mans Table is made his snare so he is assured that his snare shall be made to him a Table that his darkness shall worke light his evills good to him He is also assured that the Lord will dâ—liver him out of these snares and cut the coards of the wicked Psal 129.4 That hee will deliver him from feare from darknes and bring him up out of the abundance of waters which cover him as David speaks Psal 32.6 For this that is because thou art so gracious shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayst be found The Hebrew is in a finding time which according to our translation notes the season when God may be found as the Prophet speaks Isa 55.6 Yet it may be well expounded for the time when trouble finds that is takes hold of the godly man And so the word is used Psal 116.3 The paines of hell gat hold of me we put in the Margin found me In which sence the word is used also Psal 21.8 Thine hand shall finde out that is take hold of and apprehend all thine enemies thy right hand shall finde out those that hate thee Now in this finding time eyther when God may be found or when trouble finds a godly man he setting himselfe to pray hath this promise surely in the floods of great waters they that is the floods of great waters by which are meant great dangers shall not come nigh him that is the Godly man to hurt or drowne him Sometimes prayer keeps the flood off and alwayes prayer delivers the Godly man out of the flood Wicked men have no minde to come nigh God with their hearts and so some enterpret the latter part of this verse in the Psalme nor will God admitt them nigh unto himselfe in the floods of great waters And the floods of great waters shall not which is the scope of our reading come nigh the Godly man for his hurt when he drawes nigh to God in prayer with his heart Thus wee have seene the sinnes of Job drawne out into a Charge and the Judgement of Eliphaz upon it what the event the sequell or Issue of those sinnes was snares and feares and waters and darkness There is yet one thing further that I shall here take notice of from the constant course of Jobs friends in dealing with him Wee see that still they charge him with sinne and still insist upon it that all his afflictions miseries were the fruits of his sinne Job as hath appeared in opening severall passages of this Booke hath as often disproved their inference and denied that his sufferings were caused by his sinne at least not by any such way of sinning as they charged him with Labouring also much to enforme them that God hath many other reasons why he afflicts his people and that God might take libertie to afflict him though he were no such kinde of creature as they rendred him yet notwithstanding all hee could say eyther to purge himselfe or better conforme them they persevered in the same opinion both concerning his person and the cause of his afflictions Whence Note It is hard to convince those who are under a mistake whether about persons or doctrines Error is as binding upon the conscience and as strongly embraced by the affections as truth is For it binds and is embraced not in the name of an error but in the name of truth And men are therefore wedded to and in love with their owne conceptions because how monstrous and hard-favoured soever in themselves yet nothing is more beautifull in their eye then they No man fayth the Apostle ever hated his owne flesh but loved and cherished it The flesh of our minds such are all false principles and positions is more loved and cherished by us then the flesh of our bodies Besides when men have once taken up an opinion they thinke it a dishonour to lay it downe againe 'T is rare to finde a man that will yeeld up his Judgement though it be a misguided one or acknowledge that he is in an error though he begins to take some knowledge or at least some suspition of it A light intimation or onely the Appearance of a probability will amount to a proofe against eyther persons or doctrines which we like not but the clearest demonstrations will hardly raise a Jealousie against what we like Let Job say what he will in his owne case he cannot be beleeved by his friends and his friends will say againe what once they had sayd though it had been more then once before fully answered The present age hath given us sad experiences of this thing For as many have been unstable and tossed to and fro with every winde of false doctrine so others have been stubborne and unmoved from their errors though the strongest winds of truth have breathed yea blowne hard upon them And those prejudices which have with so much severity been taken up by brethren against brethren how doe they remaine in many minds as mountaines unmoved to this very day I know not which is worse unsetlednes in the truth and an easiness to let it goe or tenaciousnesse in an error and a hardnes to let it goe Nor doe I well know which is worse a readiness to take up hard thoughts of our brethren or an un-readines to lay them downe Were the lawes of love to man and zeale for God observed these extreames would alwayes be avoyded Pure zeale for God would fixe us in the truth and make us more easie to be brought off from our most applauded errors True love to man would cause us to examine every ground of suspicion against a brother twice before we doe indeed suspect him once And it would cause us to rejoyce in any appearance of his innocence whereby we might discharge our owne Spirits of all suspicions concerning him Our love as the Apostle prayes Phil. 1.9 ought to abound in knowledge and in all Judgement That is wee ought to love Judiciously as well as affectionately or sincerely So that true love will not over-looke the faults of another nor will it approve against light Yet true love is ready to entertaine any light offered that grounds of suspition may be removed and we restored to a right understanding of our brethren JOB CHAP. 22. Vers 12 13 14. Is not God in the height of heaven and beholds the height of the Starres how high they are And thou sayest How doth God know can he judge through the dark cloud Thick clouds are a covering to him that he seeth not and he walketh in the circuit of heaven IN the former part of this
Lord is God of the hills and not of the valleys therefore will I deliver this great multitude into thy hand As if he had said however you deserve not in the least that I should owne you or assist your cause yet that I may confute the blasphemous and derogatory principles of these Syrians I will give you a second victory against them even in the valleys where they suppose they have you at an advantage and shall deale with you beyond the extent of my power and Territory Though God had no cause to respect the honour of the Israelites yet he could not forget the honour of his owne name which was obscured by those superstitious Syrians The most received Doctrine Divinity of the Heathens confined their Gods to certaine places some to this City some to that some to the hills some to the plaines some to the Sea others to the Land 'T is sayd that the same night in which Alexander the Great of whose Conquests Daniel Prophesied was borne that the Temple of Diana at Ephesus was burnt to the ground And the Heathens gave this as the reason of it because Diana was absent from hir Temple being gone to assist at the birth of Alexander implying that their Goddess was so in one place as she could not attend what was done elsewhere Such were the grosse conceits which they had of their Gods and they imagined the God of Israel to be such a one as their owne The veriest Idolater in the world presumes his God as good as any is But Jehova the living God hath taught us to say Who is a God like unto thee and our experiences have sealed to it that there is none like the God of Jesurun who rideth on the heavens for thy helpe and in his excellency on the skyes Deut. 33.26 And wee have learned to comfort our selves in all places and streights in this assurance that he is the God of the hills as well as of the valleys of the Sea as well as the dry Land and that he is as truely present in the lowest depths as in the highest heavens Is not God in the height of heaven And behold the height of the Starres how high they are The Hebrew is Behold the head of the Starres The head of a man is the highest part of him and the head of any thing is the top of it Behold the head or height of the Starres how high they are Starres are high but God is higher many creatures are high but God is high above all creatures The creature is strong but God is stronger the creature is wise but God is wiser the creature is glorious but God is infinitely more glorious The glory wisdome strength and highest height of the creature is but a glimpse of what God is The Starres are high I shall not enter into an Astronomicall Discourse about the Starres or the height of Starres I shall not meddle with a Jacobs staffe to take the elevation of the Starres no need of such Discourse here all that is intended by Eliphaz is a proofe that God is infinitely exalted in his highnes and majesty above the Starres Behold the height of the Starres how high they are This word behold in Scripture is often applied to things of wonder To say behold is not a calling for the bare act of the eye to see the height of the Starres but it calls for a worke of the minde duly to consider of and to wonder at their height Some creatures especially the heavenly are not onely usefull but wonderfull and 't is as hard to understand them as it is comfortable to enjoy them The Hebrew word for Heaven cometh from a roote which signifies to amaze and astonish And indeed there are naturall wonders and mysteries enow in the heavens to astonish any considering man And the true reason why we are no more astonisht at them or doe no more admire them is because we doe so little consider them We often see or looke upon the Starres but we seldome behold them And therefore David saith Psal 8.3 When I consider the heavens the worke of thy fingers the Moone and the Starres which thou hast ordained what is man that thou art mindfull of him As the beholding and consideration of our owne workes will make us ashamed because they appeare so bad so the consideration and beholding of the works of God will make us astonisht because they appeare both so good and great Behold saith the Apostle 1 Joh. 3.1 what manner of Love the father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God even this transcendent Love of God in our Adoption is passed by as a small matter by those who will not take the paines or rather the pleasure and leysure to behold and consider the manner of it No mervaile if the power of God in making the highest Starres be passed by as a low thing by those who doe not behold that is diligently consider them Behold the height of the Starres how high they are Wee are called to consider this Hence note That it is our duty to contemplate the excellency of the creature God hath not onely given us the booke of the Scripture but of the creature and we must attend to the reading of this as well as of that even to the reading of every lease and line of it There are foure great leaves of this booke First the heavens secondly the earth thirdly the Sea fourthly the aire These are the foure great leaves of this booke of the creature in every one of which we should labour to be expert Scholars and spel out the name and minde of God in them For though as I said before beholding notes wondering yet wee must not behold them to wonder at them like children but we must behold them to learne somewhat from them or to be instructed by them as men Behold the Starres First In their number As God said to Abraham Gen. 15. 5. Looke now towards Heaven and tell the Starres if thou be able to number them and he said unto him so shall thy seed be 'T is matter of wonder that God should make so many of those eminent Lights that he should set up so many flaming torches in heaven for man to see his way and worke by on earth That God who hath spread this Canopie over our heads should also embroyder it with such a multitude of Golden spangles which render it as much our delight as it is our duty to behold them Secondly Behold the Starres in their order they move by rule they keepe their rankes none of them goe out of their place or forsake their station They who are skilled in the motion of the Starres know where to have them a hundred yeare hence In the 5th of Judges it is said The Starres in their courses fought against Sissera Thirdly We should consider the Starres in their magnitude what vast bodyes they are Some of them are bigger then the whole body
cause at the throane of Grace when God puts strength into us Job who had received great strength from God in all the former cases was assured that he should receive strength also in the last were he admitted to the seate of God Would he there plead against me with his great power No but he would put strength in me to plead with him And as he was thus assured that God would put strength into him to plead his cause so also liberty and freedome to doe it as appeares more fully in the next verse Verse 7th There the righteous might dispute with him so should I be delivered for ever from my Judge There where he meanes at the seate of God as if he had said Could I but once come to the throne or seate of God I should have free leave and liberty enough to open and argue to state and debate my case my long controverted and yet unresolved case with him He would not plead against me with his great power of Authority but he would give me the power of liberty to dispute and reason out that matter with him Severall passages in the former part of this Booke clearely hold out this sense Chap. 9.34 35. Let him take his rod away from me and let not his feare terrifie me then would I speake and not feare him but it is not so with me as yet God pleadeth against me with his great power Againe Chap. 13.21 22. Withdraw thy hand farre from me and let not thy dread make me afraid as if he had sayd Plead not against me with thy great power then call thou and I will answer or let me speake and answer thou me Those Texts already opened are of the fame generall scope and tendency with this underhand There that is All things being put into such a posture the righteous might dispute with him Some read the text in the first person There I being righteous might dispute with him Others thus I should be found righteous if I did dispute with him As if he had sayd I make no doubt of proving my selfe righteous or innocent in this controversie with my friends There I should not be found a false-hearted hypocrite God who knowes both my thoughts and my wayes would judge otherwise of me then men have done We reade the text indefinitely not restraining it to his person but as taking in any that are righteous The righteous that is any righteous man might dispute with him there his Court his tribunal is free and open for all that are upright or righteous In what sense the word righteous is used in this Booke hath been opened more then once In a word the righteous man is not he that is legally righteous but righteous in a redeemer or righteous as opposed to an hypocrite In both these senses we may take the word here The righteous may dispute with him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est apud alium ita argumentari ut petas responsio nem qua vicissim si quid erraveris redarguaris Merc. The word is properly applyed to scholasticke exercises where questions being put arguments are brought by the opponent which the respondent takes away and the Moderator states between them both This is the nature and manner of a strict dispute But in a large or vulgar sence every discoursing and reasoning about a doubtfull poynt is called disputing There the righteous may dispute with him Hence note God is free and ready to heare the pleadings and reasonings of those who are upright and righteous As the prayer of the upright is the delight of God so their modest and humble disputings are not displeasing to him A righteous man may plead with God freely but he must not plead with God proudly eyther crying up and boasting in his owne righteousnesse or laying the least imputation of unrighteousnesse upon the wayes of God in dealing with him The righteous dispute with God yet they know and keep their distance and while they doe so God is willing they should and welcomes them when they doe draw nigh to him disputing as wel as praying In opposition to which 't is sayd Psal 5.5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight thou hatest all workers of iniquity The foolish that is the wicked man the hypocrite with his false-hearted and flattering tongue are an abomination to God The foolish man that the Psalmist meanes is not the man low in parts but unsound in spirit This foolish man shall not stand in the sight of God nor will God heare him eyther disputing or praying but reject him with his disputes and prayers Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity and to the wicked God saith what hast thou to doe to declare my statutes or that thou shouldest take my Covenant in thy mouth Psal 50.16 God will not endure it that wicked men should speake of him much lesse will he endure that a wicked man should dispute with him God will have nothing to doe in way of arguing and reasoning eyther with a person or with a people while he or they continue in their sinnes Isa 1.15 16. When ye spread forth your hands I will hide my eyes from you yea when ye make many prayers I will not heare your hands are full of blood that is eyther of bloody sinnes in speciall as murder and oppression or of sinnes in generall for every sin is blood and bloody every sin may be called blood and while the hands are full of blood in eyther sence God will not heare that is he will not graciously heare or accept so much as one of many prayers But are the wicked and their prayers and their disputings excluded for ever while they continue such or to doe such things they are and therefore in the next words the Lord by his Prophet gives them this counsel Wash ye make ye cleane put away the evill of your doings from before my eyes cease to doe evill learne to doe well seeke judgement releive the oppressed judge the fatherlesse plead for the widdow here 's a description of a righteous person righteous in his way upright with God and men and with such God will speake such may dispute with him as it follows v. 18. Come now and let us reason together We know saith the blind man after he was healed Joh. 9.31 that God heareth not sinners that is such as plead for or please themselves in any sin but if any man be a worshipper of God and doth his will him he heareth him he heareth praying and him he heareth disputing Whereas of the prayings of the wicked he saith they are but meere bablings and of their disputings they are but vaine fanglings If saith David Ps 66. 18. I regard iniquity in my heart God will not heare me God will not regard his prayers therefore not his disputes who regards iniquity but to the righteous and to such as repent of and turne from their unrighteousnesse the Lord saith Come let us reason together let us
make Cakes to the Queen of heaven c. All were at worke busie very busie they were about an Idolatrous service the Children the fathers and the woemen act their severall parts So here eyther they rob'd for their children or their children were robbers as well as themselves The wildernes yeeldeth food for them and their Children Job proceeds in his narrative of their sin Vers 6. They reap every one his Corne in the field and they gather the vintage of the wicked In the former verse Job spake of the oppression of persons in this he speakes of the spoyling of lands and fields They that is the wicked reap every one his Corne that is by their servants whom they set aworke They reap every one his Corne in the field But you will say what hurt is there in that The meaning is they reap the Corne which doth not belong to them Agrum non suum ante tempus demessiverunt Sept Agrum non suum demetunt The Septuagint give that sence of the text expressely They mowe or reap the ground or feild which is not theirs And so Mr Broughton They reap the field that is not their owne Or if we keepe to our reading They reape every one his Corne in the field the sence is wheresoever they finde a field of Corne for their purpose they pretend some title or other to it they must have it as if it were their owne This is their sin and the affliction of those who are their neighbours Note from it That it is a great sin to reap the Corne which we have not sowne and a great affliction when the Corne which we have sowne is reapt by others Job imprecates this punishment upon himselfe in case he had done or were guilty as his friends had charged him then let mee sow and let another eate Chap. 31.8 And this is threatened Isa 1.7 Your land strangers devoure in your presence that is they devoure the fruits of it the Corne which ye have sowed and and the Cattle which ye have bred Micha 6.15 Thou shalt sowe but not reap thou shalt tread the Olives but not anoynt thy selfe with the oyle and sweet wine but shalt not drinke wine others shall come and take it from thee That Idle servant charged his Master Math. 25.24 Thou reapest where thou hast not sowne It is the misery of some that what they have sowne is reapt by others and 't is a wickednes to reap where we have not sowne And they gather the vintage of the wicked That is the grapes that grow in their vineyards Mr Broughton renders The wicked snap off the vineyard grapes they were in the Corne-fields before now they are got into the vineyards But how is it sayd They gather the vintage of the wicked it seemes strange that they being wicked should gather the vintage of the wicked Some take it plainly thus they oppresse those that are as bad as themselves And so we may take this note from it One wicked man will oppresse another Wicked men spare neyther good nor bad Lupus lupum non edit neyther friend nor foe They spoyle those that are as bad as themselves wee say a Wolfe doth not prey upon a Wolfe nor a Lyon upon a Lyon but it is otherwise with brutish men they prey upon and devoure one another Secondly They gather the vintage of the wicked that is of those whom they Count to be wicked and so fit to have their goods taken from them they accuse them of wickednes and put their names in their blacke booke as if they were dishonest that 's a truth also Wicked men often oppresse the Innocent under a pretence that they are wicked Wee have a great Instance of this about the taking of a vineyard 1 Kings 21.13.15 Naboth was Innocent and honest Inter omnia simillimum videtur vineaÌ„ impij ejus scilicet quem illi habent pro impio ideo opprimendum sibi Juâ—icant Merc Vâ—neam ejus quem oppresserunt Vulg but Jezabel hired two men to make Oath that he had blasphemed God and the King and he was presently cast out and stoned his was the vineyard of the wicked because the wicked had a minde to it Thus under a pretence of some evill done they really do evill And having brought a false accusation against a man they proceed to condemn his person and confiscate his estate as if all were true There is yet another reading which wee put in the margin of our Bibles so plaine in the letter that it needs none of these Interpretations to make it out The wicked gather the vintage As they tooke away the Corne so the wine also Wee need not wonder that they were so injuriously buisie to take that which was not their owne for they were wicked and they that are so make no bones of doing wickedly a wicked man is ready for any sinne the vile person will speake villany and act villanously too Vers 7. They Cause the naked to lodge without Cloathing that they have no Covering in the Cold. Their progress in wickednes is further described by their incompassionatenes and Cruelty when wee see any naked wee should Cloath them but they caused the naked to lodge without Cloathing And they might be sayd to doe this two wayes First by not giving them Cloathing secondly by taking away their Cloathing for by naked wee may understand not onely those that are quite naked but as was shewed Chap. 22.6 those also that have but little Cloathing they tooke away even that little from them and so Caused the naked to lodge without Cloathing Wee see by what steps of wickednes they proceeded they not onely spoyled them of their Corne and Wine but pulled their very Cloaths from off their backs 't is bad enough not to cloath the naked but to take away their cloathing and make them naked that 's worse And which they also did to let them lodge without cloathing is worst of all To lodge without cloathing notes their continuance in that distressed state The Prophet rebuking the Jewes for their vaine thoughts puts them this question How long shall vaine thoughts lodge within thee Why doe ye as it were make ready a roome and a bed for them So while the naked lodge without cloathing they continue in nakednes It is a great injury to take away a mans day-cloaths from his back but to take away his night-cloaths from his bed is yet more afflictive and injuririous If a man have not cloathing for his body by day yet if he have cloathing for his bed he may helpe himselfe but to cause the naked to lodge without cloathing what Cruelty is this And therefore the Law of God provided against it Deut. 24.12 13. Thou shalt not sleepe with his pledge In any Case thou shalt deliver him the pledge againe when the Sunne goeth downe that he may sleepe in his owne rayment that is in his night-cloaths or bed-cloaths and blesse thee and it
troublesome unto others Sin and folly are more then like one another for they are the same They have no seasoning in them who have no Goodnesse in them Righteousnesse is the wisest and the most savory thing in the world in the account both of God and good men The wisedome which is from above sayth the Apostle James Chap. 3.17 is first pure then peaceable gentle and easie to be entreated full of mercy and good fruits without partiality towards men without hypocrisie towards God But the wisedome that is troublesome and vexatious rough and harsh to others is earthly sensuall devilish indeed down-right madnes absurdnes folly Solomon sayth Oppression makes a wise man mad but it will appeare at last that the wisest oppressors have been mad foolish saltlesse and brainlesse men Such use to flatter themselves and are often much flattered by others in their projects and policies for the onely wise men in the world but in the end they dye like fooles Observe Secondly God suffers oppressours to goe on long before he punisheth them and he suffers the oppressed to cry long before he releives them God is often pleased to winke while the wicked sin and he as often seemes to be asleepe while the righteous suffer Hence that sad complaint of the Church Psal 44.23 24. Awake why sleepest thou O Lord arise cast us not off for ever wherefore hidest thou thy face and forgettest our affliction and our oppression This also caused David to cry out Psal 13.1 How long wilt thou forget me O Lord for ever how long wilt thou hide thy face from mee how long shall mine enemies be exalted over mee What under the oppression of an enemy for ever while God assures his people in that parable of the importunate widdow and the unjust Judge Luk. 18. that he will deliver them yet he more then intimates that it may be very long before he doth it ver 6 7. And the Lord sayd heare what the unjust Judge saith and shall not God avenge his owne elect who cry to him night and day though he beare long with them that is though he exercise much patience towards those tyrants who oppresse his elect yea and much patience also towards his elect in regard of their doubts and despondencies of their feare and unbeleefe about his comming to avenge and helpe them against those Tyrants Further Folly imports not onely sin but the greatnes of sin so that when it is sayd God layeth not folly to them the sence according to this notion of the word folly is that though they sin greatly yet God makes no great matter of it or he doth not charge their sin upon them nor punish them for their sin answerably or in proportion to the greatnes of it Non ponit stultitiam i. e non imputat hoc iis tanquam graude peccatum hoc enim stultitia vocatur but passeth it by as if it were onely some infirmitie or small offence he doth not lay folly to them nor doth he let them feele what egregious fooles they have been The word folly is used often in Scripture in this sence to note a notorious sinne Gen. 34.7 when the sonnes of Jacob came out of the feild and heard how their sister had been dealt with they were exceedingly grieved and they were very wrath because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacobs daughter that is because he had committed a great wickednes in Israel We have the same sin so exprest againe by folly 2 Sam. 13.12 And she answered him nay my brother doe not force me for no such thing ought to be done in Israel doe not thou this folly As if she had sayd This is a grievous sin therefore doe it not And when the Lord would shew Jobs three friends the Greatnes of their error and mistake in their dispute with Job he calls it folly Job 42.9 My servant Job shall pray for you for him will I accept lest I deale with you according to your folly in that ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right like my servant Job Thus we see that great sins whether in practice or opinion come under this censure in Scripture onely we may note that the three texts mentioned expresse folly in another originall word then the present text doth There is folly enough great folly in every the least sin but Great sinnes deserve more to beare the name of folly in their foreheads Taking folly under this peculiar consideration We may observe That as The Lord in this life doth not punish any no not the worst of sinners according to the just demerit and dimension of their sinnes so he punisheth some whose sins are very great but very little Though he layeth their sinne to them yet he doth not lay it to them in the folly of it or as it is their folly He doth onely touch them with his little finger while it might be thought he would breake them with his iron rod. He doth but chastise them with whips while their sin calls for scorpions The Time will come when God will lay folly to every wicked man and make their sin appeare in the punishment of it what now it is in the nature of it out of measure sinfull Every impenitent sinner shall then finde that his sin is folly that is that his sin is very great Yet a late learned Expositer upon this Booke conceaves thar the sence is abated and diminished in the word folly as if it were Non ponit stultitam i. e. non dico scelera sed ne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quidem aut faecta illepida insulsa iliis impatat Coc a terme of extenuation God doth not lay folly that is the least sinne to them he doth not so much as charge them to have done irrationally vainely childishly or unhandsomely he doth not onely not deale with them as if they had sinned haynously but he doth not deale with them as if they had done foolishly But whether we take the word Folly as implying the Greatnes or the littlenes of their sinne whether we expound it as a terme of diminution or of aggravation the sence of the text is not altered in which Job intends onely to shew that though men have done very wickedly yet God doth not presently render to them according to what they have done This is true in the first sence of the word if God doe not lay folly to them as it signifies a great sin and this is much more true if God doe not lay folly to them in the second sence as it signifies a little sin And this sence of this latter clause of the verse corresponds fully with the generall scope of the Chapter and of the whole Booke For Job argues with his friends thus Ye charge me with folly and wickednesse because I suffer yet God suffers the wicked and doth not charge them with folly Lastly Et tamen insulsitatem non designat deus Jun i.
upon sin before so now the worme shall have a sweete morsell of him Which some interpret also as a circumlocution of an ignominious or at least a vulgar buryall as if he had sayd he shall not have the buryall of the noble and honourable who usually are secured from wormes by spices and imbalmings spice and perfume fence the dead body against the worme But though he lived honourably death shall overtake him and he shall be buryed ignominiously or he shall be buryed among common men he shall not have that priviledge which appertaines to his state preservation from the wormes And which is a greater misery then both the former Thirdly He shall be no more remembred that is he shall be no more spoken of with honour but his name shall rot as a man that is not worth the remembring His name shall not be registerd with honour nor kept upon the file with men of credit and renowne So that as the first part of the verse shewes how his neerest relations and lovers shall forget him so this latter part shewes that he shall be remembred no more of any others The Original word which we translate to remember Meshciim secretarij zichronoth memoriae historiae monumenta zacha◠Masculus taken in other formes signifyes a history or a monument of record as also a recorder or register who writes and sets downe things for memory And hence also a man-childe in the Hebrew is called Zachar because the family is reckoned by the males they only being named in genallogyes and registred in the monuments of antiquity so that these words He shall be no more remembred sound thus much he shall be a man whose name is quite blotted or rased out of all memorialls And This curse of being no more remembred may be taken as was intimated before eyther first absolutely he shall not be thought of named or remembred at all or secondly relatively he shall no more be remembred with honour his name will smell worse then his rotten carkasse when he is dead and whensoever he is mentioned it will be like rakeing in a dunghill which raiseth up a filthy stench and vapour Possibly while he lived he was spoken of with honour he had many flatterers who crept to him bowed to him adored him and called him a gracious Lord but when he dyeth his reputation dyeth too he shall be no more remembred with honour when any man ceaseth to be remembred as he once was he may be said not to be remembred at all The worst and wickedest men that ever were in the world may be still remembred but when they are remembred it is with some marke of infamie or with a blacke brand upon their name Hence note Not to be remembred at all when we are dead or to be remembred with dishonour is the portion of the wicked Many pretious Saints have both lived in obscurity and being dead 't is scarse remembred that they ever lived but none of the knowne Saints did ever live in disgrace unlesse in their opinion who had no grace and being dead they are remembred by all who have grace with honour But They who have been most famous for wickednesse while they lived in this world the most famous oppressours adulterers and robbers have dyed undesiered and their name◠hath rotted being dead Prov. 10.7 David Psal 69.28 powreth out this curse upon his enemies Let them be blotted out of the booke of the living and not remembred among the righteous The Jewes were wont to number their familyes and to take their names so they did when they came out of Egypt In which sence the booke of numbers may be called The booke of the living and we may take the booke of the living in a double notion eyther first for the booke of those who lived naturally or secondly of those who lived spiritually and so were such as should live eternally Phil. 4.3 Rev. 3.5 David seemes to intend this booke of the living because he addeth let them not be remembred among the righteous As if he had sayd These men made an outward profession and seemed once to be in the list and catalogue of the righteous they had once an esteeme and a name among the people of God as all hypocrites have till they are unmasked but they have discovered themselves to be of another alliance therefore let them be no more named nor remembred as having any relation to that society Thus we may interpret that imprecation of Moses Exod. 32.32 when the Lords wrath waxed hott against the people of Israel and would have destroyed them Moses prayed Yet now if thou wilt forgive their sin and if not blot me I pray thee out of the booke which thou hast written that is out of the booke which thou hast commanded to be written as a record of the people of Israel As if he had sayd Voluit Moyses de libro legis deleri nomen suum ne unquā ulla in ea plus mentio fieret nec legislator haberetur vel dux populi Rab Sol Ex pungi se voluit ex catalogo quasi scriptorum patrum i. e. principum virorum populi Hebraei sc patriarcharum c. qui vocabatur liber Justorum Bold Ab ipso populi dei catalogo radi poscebat ut nulla deinceps inter fidelium nominis sui mētio fieret quamvis fidissimus dei servus esse perseveret Haec deletio nominis a libro viventium populi dei opprobriosa nimis erat infamis sceleratorum poena Id let me be reckoned no more for an Israelite especially let me not have a glorious honourable name in Israel such a one Moses had being the leader of that people Blot me out of the booke which thou hast written let not my name stand upon that record The Lord had sayd ver 20. Let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them that I may consume them and I will make of thee a great nation And Moses besought the Lord c. As if he had said I stand not upon my own name I am so farre from being ambitiously desirous to be the head of a greater nation then these that rather then thy name should suffer I care not to be taken notice of as the head of this nation no nor as the meanest member of them no nor to be accounted so much as a common Israelite Blot me out of the booke which thou hast written This also is a fayre interpretation of Pauls meaning Rom. 9.3 when he wished himselfe accursed from Christ for his brethren his kinsmen according to the flesh We may suppose that Moses and Paul were moved with the same Spirit of zeale for the Glory of God in both their wishes And that when Moses wished upon that account to be blotted out of the Booke which God had written he wished the same thing which Paul did when he wished to be accursed or an anathema from Christ That is to be as a person separated
or excommunicated from the society or communion of the faithfull and so no more to be remembred among the Saints or to have his name blotted out of the Church-records though he had been so great a planter and propagater of the Churches There are two Scriptures that speake of such writings or holy records Isa 4.3 It shall then come to passe that he that is left in Sion and he that remains in Jerusalem shall be called holy even every one that is written among the living or to life in Jerusalem Many might live in Jerusalem who were not written among the living or to life in Jerusalem Thus to be written to life or among the living is to be written in the Catalogue of those who are reckoned to have a life of Grace holynes and sanctification here as also to be heyres and expectants of a life of Glory hereafter Againe we have a like evidence of this Ezek. 13.9 My hand shall be upon the Prophets that see vanity and that divine lies they shall not be in the assembly of my people neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel As when the Lord brought the people of Israel out of Aegypt he commanded them to be mustered or numbred Num. 1.2 3. Thus also when they returned from the Babylonian Captivity they were numbred againe Ezr Chap. 2. Neh. Chap. 7. Now those records in which their names were written are conceaved to be the writings of the house of Israel mentioned in this 13th of Ezekiel as also the Booke of the living or to life in the fourth of Isaiah at least that both these Scriptures allude to those records And it was the custome of the Jewes that when any of them acted wickedly his name was rased out of those records as unworthy to be remembred among the people of God and was looked upon as a dead man yea as a damned man who hath no name in the booke of life so often mentioned in Scripture or whose name might be sayd to be blotted out of it From all which it appeares how great a curse it is to be no more remembred with respect and honour which Job affirmes shall be the condition of wicked men Which he further confirmes in the last clause of the verse And wickednesse shall be broken as a tree Here the abstract as elsewhere frequently in Scripture is put for the concrete That man who obstinately perseveres in sin is not onely wicked but wickednesse it selfe Psal 107.42 All iniquity shall stop her mouth that is such men as are full of iniquity shall have nothing to say or object against the righteous dealings of God but shall be silent in darkenes So Job 35.13 men extreamely vaine are called vanity and we usually call crafty men craft covetous men covetousnesse and proud men are called pride So a man much given to peace is in Scripture-language called peace Psal 120.7 I am peace or I peace but they make themselves ready for warre They who are much carryed to or in any thing are sometimes called by the name of that thing or they take the name of it upon themselves Thus David spake Ps 109.4 For my love they are my adversaries but I give my selfe to prayer The Hebrew is I prayer David was so much set upon prayer that he was prayer it selfe and a wicked man is so set upon wickednesse that he is wickednesse it selfe Wickednesse shall be broken as a tree What tree The text determines not but speakes indefinitely as a tree We may understand it first of a barren tree barren trees are broken and cut downe The word broken imports violence and so a violent breaking wicked men shall be broken violently Christ sayth of the Barren tree Luk. 13.8 Cut it downe why cumbereth it the ground Fruitfull trees adorne and beautifie the ground but barren trees doe onely burden and cumber it As good not to be as to be good for nothing The wicked shall be cut downe and broken as a barren tree secondly which provokes more to breaking they shall be broken as a tree that bringeth forth distastfull bitter poysonous fruite It is not good to let a tree live which brings forth evill and deadly fruit If they deserve to be broken who bring forth no fruit then much more they who bring forth none but noughty fruit Now as the wicked are alwayes barren of good fruit so they are alwayes bearing evill fruit nor can they beare any other Doe men gather grapes of thornes Thirdly they shall be broken as a tree that is rent and shivered both body and boughes with a tempest or storme of thunder and lightening Thus many tall and goodly trees are broken and thus the wicked shall be broken a storme a tempest from heaven shall breake them The downefall and destruction of wicked men hath been insisted upon from other passages of this booke and therefore I forbeare to adde any thing further here JOB CHAP. 24. Vers 21 22 23. Hee evill entreateth the barren that beareth not and doeth not good to the widdow Hee draweth also the mighty with his power hee riseth up and no man is sure of his life Though it be given him to be in safety whereon hee resteth yet his eyes are upon their wayes JOb having shewed the miserable conclusion of wicked men begins afresh to describe their further progress in wickednesse in the 21th and 22th verses Vers 21. Hee evill entreateth the barren Here 's another part of his wickednesse having robbed and murthered the innocent having committed adultery where he could have opportunity and admittance Nos putamus explicari non quid improbus faciat sed quibus supplicijs deus ipsorum posteros etsi ad tempus stare videantur deijciat Merl Consociat sc deus ei sterile non parituram viduam non afficit bono Jun Neque vivo ei neque mortuo uxor◠benedicit Jun Tollit deus sc è medio liberos ejus vel opibus potestate honore florentissimos Jun hee proceeds to afflict the barren and vexe the widdow The word which wee render to evill entreate hath severall significations and I finde Interpreters accordingly varying about the sence of the whole verse First The word signifies to associate or joyne together Thus Mr Broughton to whom others joyne renders it he adjoyneth the barren which hath not borne childe whereas our translation holds out the further actings of wicked men in sin this shews the further progress of God in punishing them for sin For the relative hee in the text is not referr'd to the wicked man but to God himselfe hee that is God joyneth the barren that hath not borne childe or that shall not beare and he doth no good to his widdow that is God sendeth him a barren wife and when he dyes his widdow shall live in misery This gloss Master Broughton gives upon his own translation God sendeth after him a barren wife that hee should have no helpe by Children and
wherein with respect to Christ apprehended by faith hee absolveth the beleever from sin and death and doth repute him just and righteous unto eternal life Of this the Apostle treates at large in the 3d 4 â—â— and 5th Chapters of the Epistle to the Romanes and in that to the Galatians This doctrine of free justification is the foundation and corner stone of all our comfort For whereas there is a double change in the state of a sinner first a relative change secondly an absolute and reall change The one is made in sanctification the other in Justification Sanctification is a reall change subduing corruption destroying the power of sin in us but Justification is not a Physicall or real change in the person it doth not make him that is unrighteous righteous in himselfe nor is man at all Justified in this sence by any selfe-righteousnes but it is onely a relative change as to his state To Justifie is a Law-terme signifying the pronouncing or declaring of a man righteous So that Justification is an act of God upon us or towards us Sanctification is an act of God in us This blessed Grace of Sanctification alwayes followeth the grace of Justification as an effect or fruit of it and though it may easily be distinguished from it yet it can no more be separated or divided from it then heate from fire or motion from life Yet I concave that Bildad in this place doth not speake of Justification in that strict Gospel sence as it imports the pronouncing of a man righteous for the sake of Christ or as if he supposed Job looked to be pronounced righteous for his owne sake But Bildad speakes of Justification here as to some particular act As for instance If any man will contend with God and that Bildad chargeth Job with as if God had done him some wrong or had afflicted him more then was need is he able to make this plea good and give proofe of before the Throne of God How can man be Justified with God There is a fourefold understanding of that phrase with God First Thus If any man shall presume to referre himselfe to the Judgement of God shall he be justified all at last must appeare before the Judgement of God whether they will referre themselves to him or no but suppose a man referre himselfe to God as Job had done by appealing to him can he be Justified Will God upon the tryall examination of his cause give Judgement or sentence for him But in this sence it is possible for a man to be justified with God and thus Job was justified by God at last against the opinion and censures of his three friends Secondly To be Justified with God is as much as this If man come neere to or set himselfe in the presence of God shall he be justified Man usually lookes upon himselfe at a distance from God he looks upon himselfe in his owne light and so thinkes himselfe righteous but when he lookes upon himselfe in the light of God and as one that is neer God will not all his spots and blemishes then appeare or rather will not he himselfe appeare all spot and blemish When he is once with God will he be any thing with himselfe but an impure and wretched creature In this sence Bildad might check Jobs boldnes in desiering to come so neere God even to his seate which would but have made him more vile in his owne eyes and discovered to him his owne impurities as it did to the Prophet Isayah Chap. 6.5 and as it did also to Job himselfe when he attained his wish and got so neere to God that he called it a seeing him with his eye Chap 42.5 Then we have not a word more of pleading his cause before God His mouth was stopt and he abhorred himselfe repenting in dust and ashes Thirdly Can man be justified with God that is if man compare himselfe with God an he be justified one man may compare himselfe with another and be justified And thus the fâ—ithfull people of God are called righteous and just in Scripture comparatively to wicked and unrighteous men But how can any man be just or righteous compared with God in comparison of whom all our righteousnesse is unrighteous and our very cleanenes filthy Fourthly To be justified with God is against God that is if man strive or contend with God in any thing as if God were too hard and severe towards him eyther by withholding good from him or bringing evill upon him can man be justifyed in this contention or will God be found to have done him any wrong without all question he will not From the words taken in a generall sence observe Man hath nothing of his owne to Justifie him before God There are two things considerable in man first his sinne secondly his righteousnesse his worst and his best all grant man cannot be justified by or for his sins nor can he at all be justifyed in or for his owne righteousnesse And that upon a twofold ground First Because the best of his righteousnesse is Imperfect and no Imperfect thing can be a ground of Justification and acceptance with God For though God doth justifie those who are imperfect yet hee never justified any man upon the account of that which is Imperfect God never tooke cockle-shels for payment he must have pure gold and he seeth wel enough what poore stuffe what base coyne the best of our righteousnesse is and therefore cannot admit any of it in justification For the purpose of God is to exalt himselfe in Justice as wel as in mercy by the justification of sinners And therefore the Apostle sayth Rom. 3.25 26. That God hath set forth Christ to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousnesse and he is not content to say it once but saith it againe To declare I say his righteousnesse that he might be just and the justifier of him that beleeveth in Jesus Secondly All the righteousnesse wrought by man is a due debt how can wee acquit our selves from the evill wee have done by any good which we doe seeing all the good we doe we ought to have done though we had never done any evill When we have done our best we may be ashamed of our doings we do so poorly But suppose we had done richly and bravely suppose our workes which indeed are full of drosse were pure gold and silver were precious stones and Jewels yet they are already due to God Wee owe all and all manner of obedience as wee are creatures And wee can never justifie our selves from our transgressions by satisfying could we reach them our obligations There is enough in Christ to justifie us but there is nothing in our selves All that Christ did was perfect and Christ was under no obligation to doe any thing but what he willingly submitted to doe for us This booke of Job beareth as great a testimony to this truth as any How often doth