to come while he saith My dayes are past My purposes are broken off 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cogitavit plerumque in malum ali quando in bonum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cujus singularis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod antiquitus legebant Zemma ferre scelus denotat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 autem quod ab eodem themate vocabulum est medium Drus Rupti sunt articuli cordis mei Sept. Convulsae sunt compages corporis mei Aug. The word which we translate Purposes signifies most usually an evill purpose or wicked designements yet it is used also as among the Rabbins so by the Penmen of Scripture in a good sense for a warrantable yea for a holy purpose In the Booke of Proverbs Chap. 1.4 Chap. 2.11 it is translated Discretion or Advisement proceeding from the teachings of wisedome which stirrs up gracious purposes in the soule towards God and every good My purposes are broken off The Septuagint render My heart strings are broken The heart-strings by a metaphor may be taken for purposes because purposes are as Bands or strings upon the heart and therefore when purposes are broken we may say the bands or strings of the heart are broken Another reads The bindings or fastnings of my body are loosned or torne asunder which translation as also the former taken literally notes onely his neernesse to death for when a man dyeth we say his heart-strings breake and his whole body is in a fit of convulsion My purposes are broken The word signifies a violent forcible breaking as if a Giant had broken them But what was it which broke his purposes The violence and continuance of his afflictions was this Breaker or his purposes were broken by the confused motions and troublesome representations of his owne fansie to which sick men are very subject Againe what were those purposes of his which were broken If they were evill purposes he had reason to rejoyce not to complaine if they were good purposes was it not his sin as well as his affliction that they were broken off I answer to that Purposes may be good and yet broken without the sin of the purposer if himselfe be not the cause of that breach and the impediment of their performance If our holiest purposes are broken off by the inevitable providence of God the holinesse of man receives no blemish by it The purposes of Job were good doubtlesse eyther spiritually good or civilly good and they may be taken eyther for those purposes of doing good which hee had before hee fell into trouble or for those which hee had layd up in his brest to doe when he should be againe restored and delivered out of trouble As if he had sayd I once had an expectation of life and I purposed with my selfe what to doe with or in my new life but now those purposes are all broken off for I see my life is ready to be broken off The next clause seemes to explaine this and in that wee shall see more fully what he meanes by these purposes Even the thoughts of my heart Every thought of the heart is not a purpose yet every purpose is a thought of the heart our thoughts are made up into purposes eyther what to doe or not to doe Hence it is usuall to say I thought to have done such or such a thing that is I purposed to doe it Therefore Job might well say My purposes are broken off even the thoughts of my heart because purposes are nothing else but a frame or pack of thougts there is an elegancie in that word which we translate Thoughts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Possessiones cordis a radice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cogitationes meae avulsae sunt quas possidere solebat animus meus Jun. The Hebrew is The possessions of my heart so we put it in the Margin of our Bibles A learned Translator renders it thus The thoughts which my minde was wont to possesse are puld or snatcht away he meanes it not of all his thoughts as if his power of thinking had been lost but of those speciall thoughts which he had or hopes which he nourished about his restoring to happy dayes these once possessed his heart but they were gone Thoughts are called the possessions of the heart two wayes Dicuntur cogitationes possideri a corde quid enim magis proprium aut innatum cordi quam suae ipsius cogitationes Drus Coc. First In a passive sense Secondly In an active sense Passively Because they are possessed by the heart the heart doth enclose and hold our thoughts The hear◠is the naturally proper vessell or receptacle of thoughts therefore they are called the possessions of the heart The heart is the soyle and seat of thoughts there they are planted and there they dwell Actively For as thoughts are possessed by the heart so thoughts possesse the heart thoughts are full of activity they trouble and they comfort the heart looke what our thoughts are such is the state of our hearts if our thoughts be quiet our hearts are quiet if our thoughts be unquiet our hearts are unquiet if our thoughts be joyful our hearts rejoice if our thoughts be sad our hearts are sorrowfull 'T is sayd in the Gospel L. 24.38 Why are ye troubled why do thoughts rise in your hearts that is Why doe troublesome and disconsolate thoughts rise in your hearts 'T is as natural for thoughts to rise in the heart as it is for water to rise in a spring therefore Christ did not chide them because thoughts but because such thoughts did rise in their hearts We cannot hinder our hearts from thinking no more then wee can hinder the fire from burning or water from wetting but 't is our duty to hinder our hearts from undue or discourageing thoughts and to check them for thinking so Thoughts rule the heart and put it into severall frames and formes according to their owne likenesse and therefore it is both our wisedome and our holinesse to put and keepe our thoughts in the best likenesse The heart in a figurative sense is nothing else but the frame of our thoughts and our thoughts in a proper sense are nothing else but the possessions of the heart Tabulae cordis Chald. Further The Chaldee Paraphrase saith The Tables of my heart are broken so it is an allusion to writing The Law was written at first in Tables of Stone and now a heart of flesh not a fleshly heart is the Tables of the Law our hearts are Tables both for our owne writing and for Gods Job had written many purposes upon those tables therefore he might well say as in this case My purposes or all that was written upon the Tables of my heart are broken In my thoughts I had written and set downe many particulars which I purposed to have done Scriptura cordis nunc litura est Pined but now those lines are crossed or quite blotted out God writes many of his owne thoughts in
close of the 32. Verse and in the 33. His branch shall not be greene He shall shake off his unripe Grapes as the Vine and shall cast off his flower as the Olive Having thus pressed his Doctrine by this powerfull motive he concludes his whole Sermon with a fresh assertion of his Doctrine against two sorts of wicked men in particular which yet may comprehend all wicked men First Hypocrites who corrupt the worship of God or are corrupt while they pretend to worship God Vers 34. For the congregation of Hypocrites shall be desolate Secondly Of oppressors who pervert Justice or deale falsly among men The fire shall consume the Tabernacles of bribery Under these two heads we may reduce all sorts of sinners sinners against God under the notion of Hypocrites And sinners against men under the notion of Oppressours who pervert Judgement by giving or taking Bribes All which Eliphaz concludes by a description of their evill actings the cause of all their sufferings under that elegant metaphor of Child-bearing They conceive mischiefe and bring forth vanity and their belly prepareth deceit Thus you have the resolution and scope of the latter part of this Chapter Vers 31. Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity These words containe the dehortation here are three termes to be explained First What is meant by being deceived Secondly What by trusting Thirdly What we are to understand by Vanity Let not him that is deceived The Originall word signifies either the turning of the foot or the turning of the heart or both out of the way Psal 119.176 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Deceptus usurpatar de errore cordis pedis I have gone astray like a lost Sheep That is I have been deceived and so have gone out of the way of thy holy Commandements Satan is an ill guide and our hearts are no better He that follows either quickly looseth himselfe And untill God seeketh us up as David prayes in the next words wee cannot finde our way when wee are once out of it Ezek. 44.15 The Priests the Levites the Sonnes of Zadock that kept the charge of my Sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me they shall come neere to me When the people walked in by places and were intangled in the bryars of their owne corruptions then the Priests kept the charge of the Lord It was a great mercy that when the people were deceived the Priests were not that when the Sheep went astray the Shepheards did not If Priests and people goe astray together who shall reduce them But to the poynt Israel went astray They who led them did not cause them to erre once they did as the Prophet complaines Who then did Many goe astray when none lead them astray Man can deceive himselfe fast enough if none else doe yet the word implyes also the cunning activity of an externall agent to lead poor soules out of the way We may take in both here Let not him that is deceived whether by the fallacious arguings of his owne heart or by the subtlety of any other whether Men or Devills Trust in vanity Or Let him not beleeve in vanity Trusting is an act of faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Credet ne credat in vanitatem and though a man may beleeve and not trust yet no man can trust who doth not beleeve We translate the word not as signifying onely bare beleiving but as it reaches that higher act of trusting He that is most deceived is most apt to trust that which will deceive him more and gives not onely his consent but confidence to that which either is not at all or is that least which it pretends to be fit to be trusted Vanity Let him not trust in vanity The word which we render Vanity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Temeritas falsitas menda cium eadem est vis vocis quae apud Latinos vocabuli Vani quod tam pro mendacio qua pro re â—â—dicuâ— accipi solet is not Habel used by Solomon Eccles 1.2 Vanity of vanities which signifies onely a light thing such as is a vapour rising from the earth a bubble swelling out of and floating a little upon the water or more strictly a puffe or breath of the mouth but it signifies rashnesse falsenesse a lye a deceite vaine things are false lying and deceiveable therefore one word serves for both Againe Vanity may be here taken two wayes either for the sâ—n or deceit with which a man is mislead and then the meaning is Let not him that is deceived by sin trust in sin Or secondly Vanity may be taken for any creature comfort and contentment especially those which are the revenue or income of sinfull practices Sin leads to profit to pleasure to honour to these fraile and transitory things sin leads us in hope of satisfaction by them and then the meaning is Let not him that is deceived trust in that which sin promiseth and professeth it will doe for him or advance him to Sin in its nature is vanity and all the fruits or issues of it are vaine too Therefore as nothing and nothing added together make nothing so vanity and vanity put together make but vanity The totall summ cannot exceed the Items or particulars Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity for vanity shall be his recompence Hence Observe First Man is very apt to be deceived so apt to be deceived that he is scarse ever undeceived Eliphaz speakes here not onely of a possibility to be deceived but of being actually deceived and this ariseth two waies first from the impotence and weaknesse from the blindnesse and ignorance that is in man he that is blinde and weake is easily mislead every man naturally how strong how wise how knowing soever he seems to be is yet weak blind and ignorant in a very great measure and therefore very deceivable Man is full of craft this makes him deceitfull he is empty of true wisedome this renders him deceiveable Secondly As man may quickly be deceived by reason of the ignorance which is in him so also by reason of those subtle enemies who are alwayes about him yea and within him We live as I may so speake among Cheaters and Cozenners and there is a great Cheater lives in us how hard is it then not to be deceived If a man be in a Croud among many Cut-purses and Cheaters he is in danger to lose his Money every moment it is so with us though carnall men are not at all aware of it nor they who are most spirituall so much aware of it as they should It is dangerous to live among deceivers though we know them and are aware of them it is most dangerous to live among deceivers and not to know them for then we cannot be aware of them but it is madnesse to know we live among deceivers and yet not to be aware of them There are three notorious Deceivers who labour to ensnare us we
up Zerubbabel and others of the Jewish line to reassume the Government of Judah But this Prophesie was chiefely intended and verified in a spirituall sense when God sent Jesus Christ A Governour proceeding from the midst of them of whom Zerubbabel was but a type for of him the Lord speakes chiefely in this admiring Question Who is this that engageth his heart to approach â—nto me Or who is this that with his heart that is with so much chearefulnesse and willingnesse hath put himselfe as a surety for this people with me to approach to me in their cause and to take upon him the dispatch of all their affaires and concernments with me in the Court of Heaven Who is this great this forward Engager but he who also sayd Loe I come to doe thy will O God What will came he to doe Even this To be a Surety and so a Sacrifice to God for sinners Heb. 10. Thus the whole businesse of our deliverance and the first motions to it lay quite without us God appointed and put in Christ our surety with him and Christ freely condiscended to be our surety knowing that the whole debt must lye upon his discharge Put me in a surety with thee But here it may be doubted how this notion of a Surety suites with this place seeing Jobs controversie was with man not with God and himselfe also had professed that all was cleare for him in Heaven I answer That although men accused Job yet their accusation reacht his peace with God for had he been such a one as they represented him he must needs have fallen under the divine displeasure more then he did under theirs And therefore while he pleaded Not-guilty to their charge he beggs further discoveries of the favour of God to him through the Mediatour by the remembrance of whose Suretiship his heart was confirmed in the pardon of all his sinfull faylings against God vvhereof he was guilty as well as his heart told him that hee was not guilty of those wilfull sins wherewith hee was accused by men When we lye under wrongfull accusations of which we indeed need no surety to acquit us it is good to view and renew our Interest in the Surety who will acquit us where there is need Job proceeeds to re-inforce the reason why he desired God to undertake or to provide a Surety for him Vers 4. Thou hast hid their heart from understanding therefore shalt thou not exalt them Or Thou hast hid understanding from their heart As if he had sayd Thou hast cast such a mist before the eyes of these men who mocke me and judge me wicked that they are unfit to be trusted with the determination of my cause for did they not want a due light of understanding they might quickly discerne my integrity and cleare me from their owne suspitions God sometimes as it were wraps or folds up the hearts of the Children of men in ignorance blindnesse and darknesse and so hides not onely understanding from their hearts but their hearts from understanding As God is sayd to circumcize the heart to open the eyes to take away the vaile when he gives the knowledge of his truth so he is sayd to blinde the eyes to cover the heart with fat and to cloud the understanding vvhen hee denyes or withholds the knowledge of the truth Thou hast hid their hearts from understanding 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Est mens ratio intellectus dexteritas in agendâ— The vvord which we translate Vnderstanding signifies any of or all the intellectuall powers together with a readinesse or activity for dispatch in any service we are called unto Thou hast hid their heart from understanding therefore they doe but bungle at the businesse and cannot judge aright they cannot discerne the manner of thy dispensations towards me nor see the bottome of my condition Job did not censure his Freinds as fooles or ignorant as if they were witlesse or worthlesse men they were wise and learned yea honest and godly too But when Job saith Thou hast hid their heart from understanding we are to restraine it to the matter in hand or to his particular case As if he had sayd Thou hast hid the understanding of what thou hast done to me from their hearts thy providences are mysteries and riddles which they cannot unfold and as they know not the meaning of what thou dost so they know not my meaning when I sayd Chap. 9.17 He hath multiplyed my wounds without cause Nor vvhen I sayd Vers 22. He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked These sayings are secrets to my Freinds Now Lord for as much as these men have no true insight in this present controversie therefore I begg that thou wouldest undertake for me or put me in a surety with thee Further For the clearing of this Scripture it may be questioned First how God is sayd to hide the heart from understanding God doth this foure wayes First By speaking darkely or in such a manner as the understanding cannot easily finde a passage to the things that are spoken A Parable is a darke saying And when Christ Preached in Parables His Disciples came and sayd unto him Why speakest thou to them in Parables Matth. 13.10 Now among other reasons which Christ was pleased to give of that dispensation this was one Vers 14. In them is fulfilled the Prophesie of Isaiah which saith By hearing yee shall heare and shall not understand and seeing yee shall see and shall not perceive As if Christ had sayd These men have justly deserved to be punished with spirituall darknesse which is not Vnderstanding and therefore I have spoken to them in a darke way They did not heare to obey vvhat was plaine and easie to be understood and therefore now they shall heare what they cannot understand Secondly God hides the heart from understanding by denying or not giving light and that a twofold light First The outward light of his word Thus all those people are sayd to sit in darknesse that is To have no understanding in the things of God where the Gospell is not published Secondly By denying or not giving the inward light of his spirit though the light of the World abound For as a man may have the Sun shining in his face and yet be in the darke if he wants eyesight So as the Apostle speakes 2 Cor. 4.3 4. the Gospell is hid in the most glorious shining of it to those whose mindes the God of this World hath blinded Now every man is borne spiritually blinde or he is blinde by nature and he is blinded by the God of this Worlds till the God of all Worlds sends his spirit with the Word for the opening of his eyes Thirdly God hides the heart from understanding as by not giving so by vvithdrawing the light vvhich he hath given Many have forfeited their eye-sight and their light and God hath taken the forfeiture of them Which he doth first when men are proud of the