angry with my day and I shew you why because it shut not up the doores of my mothers wombe c. The reason or the argument stands thus There is cause I should curse that day and that night which not hindering my conception or my birth brought me forth upon the stage of the world to act a part in all these sorrowes But the day and the night did not hinder my conception or my birth therefore I have cause I have reason enough to breake out in such complaints and curse them I doe it because these shut not up the doores of my mothers wombe This is the argument or reason by which he defends his passion and this argument will be found to have more passion in it then reason if we examine it to the bottome For he complaines of that as the cause which was not the cause of his troubles what did the night or the day that he thus chargeth them They had no efficiency in bringing those evills upon him circumstances are not causes Effects are produced in time but time doth not produce effects Only this we may say to helpe it he doth not curse the day as if it could have shut the doores of his mothers wombe but because on that day those doores were not shut But leaving the reason of his speech we will consider the sense of it The Hebrew word for word is thus rendred Because it shut not up the doores of my belly And that the Chaldee Paraphrast renders thus by way of explanation Because it did not shut up the doores of my lips the mouth saith he being as it were the doore or the in-let to the belly or stomack every thing goeth in by that doore and so he carries the sense thus let that night be cursed because it did not stop my breath and so make an end of mee The Septuagint hath it thus because it shut not up the doores of my Mothers belly which answers our translation the doores of my mothers wombe Mr. Broughton to the same sense because it shut not up the doore of the belly that did beare me that is my mothers belly I shall in silence passe over that secret or mystery in nature which may be the ground of this expression There are two secrets in Divinity which are the grounds of it and of them I shall speake The first is this When God layes that affliction of barrennesse upon the woman he according to the phrase of Scripture is said to shut up the wombe And when he sendeth the blessing of fruitfulnesse he is said to open the wombe We have both Gen. 20.18 When Abimelech had taken Sarah Abrahams wife the Lord fast closed up all the wombes of the house of Abimelech The meaning of it is this he made all the women barren or withheld the blessing of conception The Jewish Expositors render the meaning in the very words of this Text that the Lord had shut up all the doores of the wombes of the house of Abimelech And so likewise for fruitfulnesse God is said to open the wombe as Gen. 29.31 And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated he opened her wombe but Rachel was barren Then to shut the doores of the wombe notes the power of God in denying and to open those doores the blessing of God in giving conception and making fruitfull Secondly It may referre to the birth for there must be an opening of those doores and that by an Almighty power for production as well as for conception And therefore David Psal 22.9 ascribes it to the Lord Lord thou art he who tookest me out of my mothers wombe It was not the Midwife did it It was not the womens helpe that stood about his mother but Lord thou didest it The hand of God only is able to open that doore and let man into the world Unlesse he as we may so speake turne the key the poore infant must for ever lye in prison and make his mothers wombe his grave In either or both these respects Job here speakes against the night because it shut not up the doores of his mothers wombe to stop his conception or stay him in the birth For then either he had not been or he had not been brought forth as the subject of all those calamities Hence observe first That fruitfulnesse or conception is the especiall worke and blessing of God God carries the key of the wombe in his own hand From him we receive life and breath Acts 17.25 yea in his booke are all our members written which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them Wee are fearefully and wonderfully made Our substance is not hid from God when we are made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth As the holy Ghost admirably and most elegantly describes the conception and formation of man in the wombe Psal 139.14 15 16. There are foure keyes of nature all kept in the hand of God First The key of the Raine The clouds cannot open themselves the flood-gates of Heaven cannot be unlocked nor those sluces opened to let downe a drop of raine untill God turne the key Deut. 28.12 The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure the Heaven to give the raine unto thy land in his season Secondly The key of Nutrition or of Foode Psal 145.16 Thou openest thine hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing The strength of the creature is shut up in the hand of God and untill he unlock his hand the creatures cannot strengthen or nourish us though we have our houses and our hands full of them Thirdly The key of the Grave Eze. 37.13 I will open your graves and cause you to come out of your graves We are so fast lockt up in death that all the power in the world is not able to release us till God speake the word and turne the key of the graves-doore That place in Ezekiel is meant I know of a civill death But it is as true of naturall death And the argument is stronger for it If when a Nation as the nation of the Jewes then did lyes in the grave of bondage and captivity no man can unlock that doore without the key of Gods speciall providence much lesse can any hand or power but his open the doore and bring us out of the grave of our corporall dissolution There is this fourth key belonging to the doore spoken of in the Text the doore of the wombe Which was shadowed in that ceremoniall law among the Jewes of giving their first-borne unto God as a thankefull acknowledgement that the beginning of all propagation and increase was from him Further observe That our birth and production is the speciall worke of God Thou art he that tookest me out of my mothers wombe saith David And he apprehended the power of God so great in his naturall birth that he from thence takes an argument to strengthen his faith that God could doe any
the ghost The Hebrew is but one word which costs us five in English I give up the ghost the word signifieth that last act of those who are in the agonie of death In the Greeke and Latine that act is exprest by one word Luk. 23.46 Where it is said that Christ gave up the ghost The word is conceived to note a willing cheerefull resignation of our selves in death a dying without much reluctance or resistance a being active in death rather then passive we call it well a giving up the ghost Some apply it only to the death of the godly as Gen. 25.8 of Abraham c. whose lives are not violently snatcht from them but willingly surrendred When a godly man dyes a violent death he doth not dye violently Whereas a wicked man dies violently when he dies naturally and though sometimes being weary of his life or despairing of reliefe he drives out his ghost yet in a strict sense he never gives up the ghost It is said to the wicked rich man in the Gospell Luk. 12.20 Thou foole this night shall thy soule be required of thee demanded indeed but O how unwillingly doth the rich man pay this naturall debt who is so able to pay all civill debts Yet it must be confest that we find the word often used promiscuously applied as well to the death of the wicked as of the godly To Ismael Gen. 25.8 as well as Abraham to Annanias and Saphira Acts 5.10 Yea it is applied to the death of any or all living things Gen. 7.21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth both of fowle and of cattell and of beasts and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth and every man Then againe If I had not so much favour to die assoone as ever I came from the wombe or to die in the very birth yet Why did the knees prevent me or the breasts that I should sucke Here are two steps aggravating the cause of his curse against his day If I had not been borne dead saith Job or died naturally assoone as I was borne yet why was I not left to perish I should have died quickly if they had let me alone though I were born alive into the world that is the meaning of those words Why did the knees prevent me why was there any care taken of me why did the Midwife and the Assistant women take me upon their knees why did they wash me swathe me and bind me up If they had not been so kind it had been a kindnesse unto me if they had spared their labour they had done me a favour If they had omitted their care how many cares had I escaped Why did the knees prevent me or which is a further step and the fift step by which this speech ascends why the brests that I should suck As if he had said If they would needs be so favourable as to take me up upon the knee to wash me to binde me up and cloath me yet why was the brest presented to me why was I layed to the brest If they had kept me from sucking the brest I should have suckt but little breath I had died quickly So that in these words there are five gradations by which Job aggravateth the cause of this curse against his day First Because he was conceived Secondly Because the doore was opened for him to be borne Thirdly Because being borne he did not presently give up the ghost or die assoone as he came into the world Fourthly Because there was so much care taken for him as to take him upon the knee and bind him up Fifthly Because there was a brest provided and papps for him to sucke If any of these latter acts had been neglected Job had died and so escaped all these ensuing troubles of his life sorrow had been hidden from his eyes And it is observed especially in these latter acts of this gradation that Job alludes to the custome of those times wherein unnaturall women left their children upon the cold earth naked and helplesse assoone as they were borne or casting them out expose them to misery or the casuall nursery of nature lent them by beasts more mercifull then those beastly mothers who would not afford them knees to prevent nor brests to give them suck As in that place Ezek. 16.4 5. the wofull condition of such an infant is exprest to shadow out the sinfully polluted and woefuly helplesse estate of that people and of all people by nature till the Lord prevents them by the knees of free grace and suckles them with the brests of his consolation Thy father was an Amorite and thy mother an Hittite of a barbarous people and what then In the day thou wast borne thy navell was not cut neither wast thou washed in water thou wast not salted at all nor swadled at all none eye pittied thee to doe any of these unto thee but thou wast cast out in the open field to the loathing of thy person in the day that thou wast borne Now this is a certaine rule that such parabolicall and allegoricall Scriptures are grounded upon known customes and things in use It is certaine there were some so unnaturall to their infants that they would bestow no care upon them when they were borne neither wash nor cleanse nor binde them up but cast them out as the Prophet speakes to the loathing of their persons The Heathen Romanes had a speciall goddesse or deity whose name imported her care and office that children when they were borne should be taken up from the earth and set upon the knee And for the preventing of this unnaturall cruelty very frequent as it seemes amongst them the Thebanes made an expresse law that infants should not be neglected or cast out when they were borne though the parents thought they would be a burden to them by reason of the charge or no delight to them by reason of their deformity Now saith Job I could wish I had had such a father or such a mother or such friends who forgetting naturall affection would have cast me out when I came first into the world Why did the knees prevent me From hence also we may observe first That an infant assoone as he liveth hath in him the seeds of death So Job speakes of himselfe Why died I not from the wombe why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of my mothers belly Or why was I not stifled in the wombe why was ever that doore opened to let me into the world I could have died as soone as I lived Not only is man acting sin but nature infected with sin the subject of and subjected to the power of death So the Apostle teacheth us Rom. 5.14 Death reigned from Adam to Moses even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adams transgression And who were those Even little infants they had life yet death reigned over them they were under the
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
curse God If he that touches them touches God then he that curseth them curseth God too And God is cursed in any of these senses two wayes first by detracting from himselfe his worship his workes or his servants the good they have or by fastning on them and aspersing them with the evill which they have not Hee will curse thee to thy face Observe two or three Points from this First Note this Satan can only guesse at the hearts of men Hee would undertake and enter warranty with God that Job would blaspheme if God did but touch him but he was deceived Satan did but conjecture at most and speake at a venture If he did not lie knowingly I am sure he did but guesse ignorantly Satan knowes not what is in the heart that 's Gods peculiar that 's Gods cabinet God knew there lay sincerity in the heart of Job all the while although Satan would stand to it that nothing was there but hypocrisie Secondly Wee may note seeing Satan accusing him of hypocrisie would have him afflicted That affliction is the tryall and touchstone of sincerity When God doth afflict you then he doth bring you to the touchstone to see whether you are good mettall or no he doth bring you then to the furnace to try whether you be drosse or gold or what you are Affliction is the great discoverer That unmaskes us Satan was not out in the thing he hit upon the rightest way that could be if any thing would discover Job affliction would Indeed some are discovered by prosperity and outward abundance The warme Sunne makes some cast off that cloake which the winde and the cold caused them to wrap closer about them Some when they have gotten enough from God care not for God when the fish is caught they lay by the net for they doe but goe a fishing with Holynes and the profession of Religion and when they have their ends ther 's an end of their profession Affliction and the crosse try others Some will hold on with God as long as the Sunne shineth as long as it is faire weather but if the storme arise if troubles come whether personall or publike then they pull in their heads then they deny and forsake God then they draw backe from and betray his truth what they such and such men no not they Trouble makes the great tryall bring professors to the fire and then they shew their mettall This course Satan took with Job He knew Job had bin abundantly tryed by fullnesse and abundance and these did not draw his heart from God he must therefore now try another way It is an excellent passage in the Church history concerning Constantius the father of Constantine that to the end he might try the hearts of his Courtiers he proclaimed that all they who would not forsake the worship of the true God should be banished the Court and should have heavy penalties and fines layed upon them presently upon this saith the story all that were base and came to serve him only for ends went away forsooke the true God and worshipped Idols by this meanes he found out who were the true servants of God and whom he meant to make his owne such as he found faithfull to God he thought would prove faithfull to him What this exploratorie decree of Constantius effected in his Court the same did that which the Apostate Julian set forth in good earnest against the Christians He no sooner caused it to be proclaimed that whosoever would not renounce the Faith should be discarded his service and forfeit both life and estate to his high displeasure But presently upon the publication of that decree they who were indeed Christians and they who had only the title of Christians presented themselves as it were on a common stage to the view of all men Such as these are Willows not Oakes And as it was with Naomi and her two daughters in law Orpah and Ruth All the while that she was Naomi beautifull and had enough they both stayed with her but when once Naomi became Marah bitter and empty then Orpah tooke her leave of her but Ruth abides with her Here was the tryall whether Orpah or Ruth had the sincerer affection to Naomi Ruth loved her mothers person Orpah her estate and outward preferments While Religion and prosperity goe together it is hard to say which a man followes but when once they are forced to a separation where the heart was will soone be manifest The upright in heart are like Ruth whatsoever becommeth of the Gospell they will be sharers with it in the same condition be it affliction or be it prosperity be it comfort or be it sorrow be it faire weather or be it foule be it light or be it darknesse they will take their lot with it This is a cleare truth that whatsoever was the cause of our doing a thing that being removed we cease to doe it if outward comforts and accommodations in the world be the cause why we follow Christ in the profession of his Gospell then as soone as ever they faile our profession will faile too When zeale is kindled only with the beames of worldly hopes when worldly hopes faile our zeale is extinct and our indeavour is cut off with our expectation Wee are next to consider the Lords grant of Satans motion And the Lord said unto Satan behold all that he hath is in thy power only upon himselfe put not forth thine hand So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. We have in this verse First Gods Commission or his permission unto Satan Behold all that he hath is in thine hand And Secondly His limitation of the Commission Onely upon himselfe put not forth thine hand Thirdly Satans speedy execution of his Commission So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. The Lord said unto Satan all that he hath is in thy hand in thy power so we translate it the word in the Originall is all is in thy hand Satan mooved that God would put forth his hand against Job and God puts Job into Satans hand Least Satan should cavill that God had toucht him but lightly he puts him into Satans power and le ts him doe it himselfe who would doe it throughly The hand as we before noted is put for power and when any thing is put into the hand it is put into the power or disposition of another Exod. 4.21 Thou shalt doe all the wonders before Pharaoh which I have put into thy hand And Joh. 3.35 The Father loveth the Sonne and hath given all things into his hand This phrase of giving or putting into the hand is taken either for good or for evill Sometime the putting of a thing into ones hand is only for the managing and disposing of it for good As Gen. 39.7 8. Joseph said that his master had committed all that he had into his hand that is to take care of it and to order it for his masters
no rest till he establish and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the Earth Isa 62. ver 6 7. This duty is now doubled on us by the great afflictions and greater feares of Sion When Christ was in his agony he prayed more earnestly Luk. 22.44 And when his Church is in an agony we ought to pray more earnestly At such a time we must mingle more fire with our prayers we must pray more fervently At such a time we must mingle more water with our prayers wee must pray more repentingly We must with Jacob Hos 12. weepe and make supplication At such a time we must mingle more faith with our prayers we must pray more beleevingly In a word at such a time every prayer must be a pleading yea a wrestling with God a wrestling with resolution not to let him goe untill wee have got a blessing till wee prevaile with God to destroy his Churches enemies as Satan in the text moved God to destroy Job his servant and his friend So it followes Thou movedst me against him to destroy him To destroy him The word Destroy signifieth to swallow up or to devoure You have it Gen. 41.4 where it is said that the seven leane eares and seven leane kine did devoure or eat up the seven full eares and the seven fat kine And Exod. 7.12 the text saith That Moses his rod did swallow up the rods of the Magicians Psal 124.3 Vnles the Lord had been on our side they had swallowed us up quicke In all these places it is the same word we have here thou movedst me to destroy him In the former Chapter where Satan desired God to touch Job I shewed what kind of touches Satan desired to lay upon the people of God you see it now cleared by God himselfe Thou movedst me to destroy him to swallow him up Thy words were moderate and diminitive doe but touch him but thy intentions were bloody and destructive thou movedst me to destroy him to make an end of him that was thy meaning Without cause But will the Lord the wise God doe any thing without cause A wise a prudent man will not doe any thing without cause though Satan may be so brutish and unreasonable to move God to doe a thing for which there is no cause would the Lord be so perswaded by his motion to doe it without cause The text seemeth here to speake so thou movedst me to destroy him without cause and God hearkned to his motion before and gave him up all his estate to doe with it what he pleased Briefly to cleare this Without cause It is the same originall word used in the former Chapter Doth Job serve God for nought or without cause as was then opened so here Thou movedst me against him to destroy him without cause or thou movedst me against him for nothing or for nought We may consider this phrase of speech without cause three wayes First in reference unto Satan Secondly in reference unto God Thirdly in reference unto Job himselfe From each of these considerations light will shine into this point First in reference unto Satan God tells Satan thou movedst me against him without cause that is Job never gave thee any cause why thou shouldest make such a motion against him Job had never wronged thee or done thee any hurt as David saith of his enemies they are mine enemies without cause I was never injurious or unjust unto them So Satan was Jobs enemy without cause Job never gave him occasion Indeed the holinesse and goodnesse of Job was Satans griefe and Satans trouble but for any other trouble or wrong Job never did him therâ—fore without cause it was in reference unto Satan 2. In reference unto Satan without cause that is Thou didst not alleadge any sufficient cause or charge him with any particular crime thou didst onely bring in a generall suspition against him there was not so much as a common fame as you know it was a course to accuse men upon common fame So saith God here it was nothing but a suspition raised out of thine owne braine as indeed those common fames that we heard of not long since upon which many were accused yea condemn'd were only suspitions borne in the brains of those men So here Job was charged meerly upon the suspition of Satan there was no crime directly alleadged nor any evill report in the world against him cause was not shew'd legally therefore without cause thou movedst me against him 3. In reference unto Satan without cause that is it now appeareth upon the tryall that thou didst move me against him without cause that which thou didst pretend to be the cause was not found in Job thou pretendest he was an hypocrite and served me for himselfe now thou seâ—st thy selfe confuted it appeareth he did serve me for nought sincerely and not for his owne endâ— He is no painted sepulcher no rotten self-seeker If we consider the words in the second place with reference unto God Thou didst move me against him without cause then we must take heed of thinking that God doth any thing without cause No the wise God doth every thing in number weight and measure he doth every thing upon great reason upon the highest reason God will not doe the lowest thing but upon the height of reason he doth the least thing upon greater reason than the greatest Polititians in the world doe the greatest Therefore God had reason important reason to give Job up to be afflicted He did it for the tryall of Job he did it for the magnifying of his free-grace and the graces of his free Spirit in his weake creature he did it that Job might be set up as an example of patience he did it to discover the slander of the devill therefore he did it for strong reasons it was not without cause in reference unto God himselfe Lastly If we consider it in reference unto Job it was not absolutely without cause neither for though there was not that cause in him which Satan pretended namely grosse hypocrisie yet if the Lord should search and sift him narrowly as if he should search and sift the holiest of his servants his pure eyes and holy nature would find sinne enough in them which might justifie him or shew to his justice sufficient cause take the sinne in it selfe not onely to afflict them temporally but to lay his hand upon them for ever Should God I say have tryed him thoroughly and looked upon sinne in it selfe he might finde cause to afflict him in regard of his sinne So then absolutely in reference unto Job it was not without cause God might have found cause in regard of his sinne But there were other causes in reference unto Job it was to try Iob to exercise Iob it was that Iob might have further honour after the tryall There might have been a reason in sinne if the Lord had marked iniquity And there were many reasons in referrence to his good why
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