measure to trust in it that is to think our selves simply the better and the safer for it as our Saviour sheweth and this Disciples after some wonderment at length understood him so Mark 10.23 24. Hence that strict charge 1 Tim. 6.17 And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches Contrary to Jer. 9.23 This Psalm sets forth the better gloriation of a Beleever in the grace of God and in his blessed condition wherein he is lifted up above the greatest Worldings Vers 7. None of them can by any means redeem his brother And therefore all Mony that hath been given for Masses Diriges Trentals c. hath been cast away seeing Christ is the only Redeemer and in the other World Mony beareth no Mastery neither can a man buy off death though hee would give never so much Death will not regard any Ransome neither will he rest content though thou givest many gifts as Solomon saith in another case Prov. 6.35 Fye quoth that great Cardinal Beanford will not Death be hired Act. Mon. in H. 6. Will Mony do nothing Wherefore should I dye being so rich If the whole Realm would save my life I am able either by policy to get it or by riches to buy it c. Lewis the Eleventh would not hear of death all the time of his last Sickness but when he saw there was no remedy he sent for the Holy Water from Rhemes together with Aarons rod as they called it and other holy Reliques Epit. Hist Gall. Balth. Exner. Val. Max. Christ p. 391. thinking therewith to stop Deaths mouth and to stave him off but it would not be O Miser saith one thereupon hoc assidue times quod semel faciendum est Hoc times quod in tua mann est ne timeas Pietatem assume superstitionem omitte mors tua vita erit quidem beata atque eterna Vers 8. For the redemption of their soul is precious i.e. the price of life is greater than that any man how wealthy soever can compass it Mony is the Monarch of this World but not of the next And it ceaseth for ever i.e. The purchase of a longer life ceaseth there is no such thing beleeve it Job 36.18 19. Deut. 23.22 Zech. 11.12 To blame then were the Agrigentines who did eat build plant c. as though they should live for ever Vers 9. That be should still live for ever As every wicked man would if it might be had for mony for he knoweth no happiness but to Have and to Hold on the tother side the Grave he looketh for no good whereas a godly manholdeth mortality a Mercy as Phil. 1.23 he hath Mortem in desiderio vitam in patientin as Fulgentius saith he desireth to dye and yet is content to live accepting of life rather than affecting it enduring it rather than desiring it And not see corruption Heb. The pit of corruption The Chaldee understandeth it of Hell to the which the wicked mans death is as a trap-door Vers 10. For he seeth that wise men dye likewise the fool This to be a truth etiam muta clamant cadavera the dead Corpses of both do preach and proclaim by a dumb kinde of eloquence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Death maketh no difference Pallida mors equo c. It is appointed for all men once to dye It lieth as a mans Lot as the word signifieth Heb. 9.27 and all men can say We are all mortal but alas we say it for most part Magis us◠quam sensu more of custom than feeling for we live as if our lives were rivetted upon Eternity and we should never come to a reckoning Heu vivunt homines tanquam mors nulla sequatur Ant velut infernus fabula vana foret And the bruitish person perish His life and his hopes ending together But it would be considered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that wise men dye as well as fools good men dye as well as bad yea good men oft before the bad Isa 57.1 Jeroboams best Son dyed before the rest because there was some good found in him And leave their wealth to others Nec aliis solùm sed alienis to meer strangers this Solomon sets forth as a great vanity It was therefore a good speech of a holy man once to a great Lord who had shewed him his stately House and pleasant Gardens You had need make sure of Heaven or else when you dye you will be a very great loser Vers 11. Their inward thought is that their houses c. Some joyn this verse to the former and read the words thus Where as each of them seeth that wise men dye likewise the fool c. yet their inward thought is c. they have a secret fond conceit of their own immortality they would fain beleeve that they shall dwell here for ever The Hebrew runneth thus Their inwards are their houses for ever as if their houses were got within them as the Pharisees goods were Luke 11.14 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So here Internum vel interiora not the thoughts only but the very inmost of the thoughts of wicked Worldlings the most retired thoughts and recesses of their souls are about these earthly things these lye nearest to their hearts as Queen Mary said when she dyed Open me and you shall find Calice at my heart It was a pittiful case that a rotten town lay where Christ should and yet it is ordinary They call their Lands after their own names So to make them famous and to immortalize them at once Thus Cain called his new-built City Enoch after the name of his Son whom he would thereby have to be called Lord Enoch of Enoch This is the ambition still of many that take little care to know that their names are written in Heaven but strive to propagate them as they are able upon Earth Nimrod by his Tower Absolom by his Pillar Alexander by his Alexandria Adrian by his Adrianople c. But the name of the wicked shall rot Prov. 10.7 and those that depart from God shall be written in the earth Jer. 17.13 c. Vers 12. Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not Howsoever he think to eternalize himself and be grown never so great dye he must whether Lord or Losel and dye like a beast a carrion beast unless he be the better man but only for his pillow and bolster At one end of the Library at Dublin was a Globe at the other a Skeliton to shew that though a man was Lord of all the World yet hee must dye his honour must be laid in the dust The mortal Sythe saith one is master of the royal Scepter and it moweth down the Lillies of the Crown as well as the Grass of the field Perperam accommodatur bic versiculus saith another this verse is not well interpreted of the first man Adam to prove that he sinned the same day wherein he was Created and lodged not one night in Paradise He
he met with since his coming into the world if those doors being shut had shut him out of the world Man is no sooner born then born to trouble Job 5.7 yea man that is born or conceived of a woman is of few dayes and full of trouble Job 14.1 Miserable he is even so soon as he is warm in the womb as David phraseth it Psal 51.5 If he live to see the light he comes crying into the world and an untimely birth may be better then he Eccles 5.3 The Hebrews call him Enosh that is sorry-man Psal 3.21 or dolefull miserable and desperately diseased man whose living is but to lye a dying The Greeks when they would set forth one extremely wretched they call him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thrice-a-men that is thrice miserable And What is man faith Seneca He answereth Marbidum puâ—re cassum à fletu vitam auspicatum Ad Mar. cap. 11. a diseased rotten empty thing beginning his life with tears as if he wept to think upon what a shore of trouble he is landed or rather into what a sea of sorrowes he is lanching not unlike the Stâ—eights of Magellan a sea of that nature say Geographers that which way soever a man bend his course he shall be sure to have the wind against him Verse 11. Why dyed I not from the womb why did not I give up the Ghost c. Why was I not forthwith carried ab utero ad urnam from the womb to the tomb from the birth to the buriall True it is that infants have the seed of death in them and the principle of corruption Rom. 5.14 Every one say some Chymicks hath his owne balsame within him his own bane it is sure that he hath But why should Job be so weary of life and so wish to be rid of it Is not life a great mercy Doth not the Philosopher affirme that a pismire excelleth the heavens in dignity Eccl. 9.4 because it is a living creature Saith not the Scripture that a living dog is better then a dead Lion and why is living man sorrowful a man for the punishment of his sinne Lam. 3.39 q. d. Let him be never so much punished it is for his sinne and if a midst all he be yet a living man and have his life spared hee need not be so over-sorrowful and to make such an out-cry and a wishing himself out of the world as Job here doth Life alass in its utmost extent is but a little spot of time between two eternities before and after but it is a great consequence and given us for this end 2 Pet. 2.11 that glory may be begun in grace and we have a further and further entrance here into the Kingdome of heaven as Peter saith This if Job had seriously and sedately considered but now alass as in a hot sever all the humors were on an hurry he would rather have done as they say Themistocles did who though he lived till he was about 107 years of age yet when he came to dye he was grieved upon this ground Now I am to dye said hee when I begin to bee wise Verse 12. Why did the knees prevent me Why did the over-officious Midwife lay me on her lap and not let me alone to perish by my fatall helplessness Man is a poor shiftlesse creature and Pliny railes at nature for producing him so forlorn naked and unable to help himself but he knew not that this was a fruit of sinne Tully indeed could say whether he believed himself therein I know not Cum primùm nascimur in omni continuò pravitate versamur as soon as we are borne we are head and eares all over in wickednesse but Pliny was not so perswaded as I have elswehere shewed Or why the brests that I should suck Why did not my mother turn tygresse and cast me out when new born Why was she not cruell like the Ostriches in the wildernesse Lam. 4.3 that refuse to give suck to their young ones Rather we may ask why doth Job out of his deepest discontent think much of such a mercy and not rather blesse God first for filling two such bottles with milk for him ready against he came into the world and then for giving his mother an heart to suckle him which some nice or unnaturall women will not being therein worse then those Sea-monsters Lam. 4.3 that succour their young The Heathens called their Ceres Queene of plenty Mammosam as the Nurse of all living creatures And there are that derive Gods Name Shaddai from Shad a dug because as he openeth the hand so he drawes out the brest to every living thing And for his Saints they may suck and be satisfied with the full-strutting brests of his consolations the two Testaments Isai 66.11 And whatever Job now under an heavy temptation which like lead sunk downward and carried his soul with it may mis-judge they may sit and sing thankfully with David Lord thou and not the midwife art He that took me out of the womb thou and not my mother keptst me in safety when I hung upon the brests neither then only but afterwards for puerilitas est periculorum pelagus and the Preserver of men keepeth us still from a thousand deaths and dangers And is this matter of complaint and not rather of thankfulnesse Verse 13. For now should I have lien still and been quiet Why but is it not better to be preserved in salt then to putrifie in sugar to be emptied from vessel to vessel then to be at ease and so to settle on the lees Jer. 48.11 to be tumbled up and down as fishes are in the streames of Jordan then to perish in the dead sea It is not alwaies if at all an happinesse to lie still and to be quiet Life consists in action Isa 38.16 and in all these things is the life of my spirit saith good Hezekiah who had beene in deaths hands where Job so much desired to be and could therefore make a better judgment What haste then was there of his lying still and being quiet say that he were assured of his salvation for else death had been but a trap-door to eternal torments was there nothing more to be done but taking present possession nothing to be suffered with Christ Rom. 8.17 or ere we come to be glorified with him Ought not he himself first to have suffered and then to have entred into his glory Luke 24.26 And ought not we to be conformed to his image in sufferings also that he might be the first-born among many brethren Rom. 8.29 Let us run with patience running is active and patience passive the â—ace that is set before us looking unto Jesus c. and looking off our present troubles as the word there importeth which while Job beheld over-wishtly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 12.2 and was more sensible of then was meet he brake out in this fort and shewed himself too much a man
bear them out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But God acknowledgeth them not as such only of them to whom much is given much shall be required For they are all the work of his hands Both for their persons for they are all equally his creatures and for their conditions which God also hath cut them out and apportioned Thus he is said to have made Moses and Aaron that is to have advanced them 1 Sam. 12.6 and Christ is said to have made the twelve when he ordained them to the Apostleship Mar. 3.14 Verse 20. In a moment shall they die Be they mean or mighty they are when God pleaseth suddenly swept away by the hand of death as Chesse-men are into the bag without distinction of Kings Dukes Bishops or Common people And the people shall be troubled at midnight as were the Egyptians when their first-born were slain in their dead sleep Exod. 12.29 not without much terrour and tumult and as were the Army of Sennacherib 2 King 19.35 and Belshazzar with his Babylon Dan. 5.30 31. The people shall be troubled they shall be shaken as leaves in a great wind or be carried away as by a mighty torent when they were most secure and dreamt of no such danger Neither in all these alterations and various occurrences is God unrighteous sith he is debtour to none neither doth he any thing without reason and right And passe away Praeteribunt id est peribunt they shall passe into the grave as Eccles 1.4 One generation passeth and another cometh or they shall perish as when it is said Heaven and earth shall pass away The Vulgar hath it Pertransibunt It is not transibunt they shall passe saith Gregory but pertransibunt they shall pass thorow because the wicked are alwayes passing on to perdition throughout all their lives And the mighty shall be taken away without hand That is without seeing the hand that smiteth them which is saith One a divine force invisibly cutting asunder the thred of their lives in a moment Psal 76.12 The Lord cutteth off the spirit of Princes The Hebrew importeth that he slips them off as one should slip of a flower betwixt his finger or as one should slip of a bunch of grapes c. The Original here is They shall take away the mighty that is the Angels shall as Luk. 12.20 hurry them out of the world without hand that is without mans help without humane violence Verse 21. For his eyes are upon the wayes of man Gods Providence like a well-drawn picture that eyeth each one in the room observeth all things he seeth cause enough thus to proceed in judgement against a person or people though we see it not And although one man knoweth not another nor doth any man well know himself yet God following as it were all men hard at the heels doth with his eyes narrowly observe and mark what way every one walketh in he seeth all his goings Let not men therefore please themselves in their sinful practises as if God saw them not because for a time they scape unpunished Saculi laetitia est impunita nequitia but sin and punishment are tyed together with chains of Adamant and cannot long be asunder Verse 22. There is no darkness nor shadow of death c. Sinners would fain shroud and secret themselves from Gods all-seeing eye for which end they search all corners with Adam and hope that their evil pranks and practises shall never come to light but that cannot be for not only darkness and the shadow of death but Hell also is naked before him and destruction hath no covering Job 26.6 See the Note there See also Psal 139.12 and Amos 9.2 3. Heb. 4.13 with the Notes Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves Either from Gods all-seeing eye or punishing hand Adam is pulled out of the thicket Manasseth from among the thorns Zedekiah and his family from between the two walls many Jews out of the privies and other lurking-holes where they lay hid at the last destruction of Jerusalem Verse 23. For he will not lay upon man more then right Plus quà m par est Nam non sâ— virum poncâ— trà He cannot over-do likely no though he should inflict upon him all the torments here and tortures in hell sith death in the utmost eâ—tent of it is the just hire of the least sin Romans 6.23 See Ezr. 9.13 with the Note That he should enter into judgement with God Commence a suit against him or challenge him into the schools to argue it out with him as thou Job hast offered to do but unadvisedly sith God hath justice on his side as the very Heathens also saw when they set Themis their goddesse of Justice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 next of all to Jupiter their chief god Verse 24. He shall break in pieces mighty men c. Infinitè conterit validos so Tremellius rendreth it He infinitely mawleth the mighty and breaketh them in pieces like a potters vessel Psal 2.9 Without number Or Without inquisition as knowing all things afore-hand and not needing any evidences or examination of witnesses Or without end because their ruine is endlesse Ruina majorum sit cantela minorum And set others in their stead As is to be seen in the rise reign and ruine of the four mighty Monarchies and others not a few that had their times and their turns as the Kingdom of the ten Tribes which in a few years fell into nine several Families and few of those Kings died a natural death No more did the Emperours of Rome till Constantine See Dan. 2.21 Psal 113.7 8. Verse 25. Therefore he knoweth their works It appeareth by their punishment that God took notice of their wicked works though they thought otherwise yea when they know not or are not aware of it he overthroweth them therefore This he doth in the night i. e. suddenly and unexpectedly Others render it Assoon as he hath changed the night they are crushed that is as soon as he hath brought forth the light which revealeth all things Ephes 5.13 and layeth them open to publick view who before were taken for better men they are destroyed as publick Pests Verse 26. He striketh them as wicked men c. Complodit eos saith Junius scilicet ut inflatas vesical in sun ipsorum sede he striketh upon them as blown bladders in their own seat This is an elegant similitude setting forth the sudden overthrow of graceless great Ones as with a kind of noise and not without publick notice for it followeth In the open sight of others Heb. In the place of beholders in proscenio as upon a Stage or Scaffold Discant justitiam moniti non temnere â—imen others may hear and fear and do no more so God is pleased for this purpose to hang up some notorious offendors as it were in gibbets as Pharaoh Sennacherib Antiochus Herod Julian c. See those Writs of Execution 1 Cor. 10.5 6 7
Elihu Cave tibi ne conjicias oculos ad vanitatem Beware thou cast not an eye towards such a vanity or iniquity as that is This was very good counsel and it is very well observed that this whole following Treatise to the end of the thirty seventh chapter is as it were a gentle lenitive of that foregoing sharp rebuke which otherwise was likely to drive Job beside all patience For this thou hast chosen rather then affliction That is this forementioned iniquity of speaking rashly and wickedly against Gods proceedings with thee this thou hast chosen rather then to bear thine affliction or thy poverty patiently Now this was an ill choice for Epist 3. quas non oportet mortes praeligere saith Zuinglius What deaths ought not a man rather to make choice of what torments not rather undergo yea into what deepest gulf of hell it self not rather enter then wittingly and willingly to sin against God The ancient Martyrs would not be delivered upon base termes Heb 11.35 Tertul. Daniel chose rather to be thrown to the Lions then to violate his conscience and so to have a Lion roaring in his own bosome The Primitive Christians cryed out Ad Leonem magis quam Lenonem I had rather enter into hell being clear from sin and innocent quam peccati sorde pollutus coelorum regna tenere then go to heaven if I might besmeared with the filth of sin faith Anselm I had rather leap into a Bonfire and be burnt said another of the Ancients then commit any sin against God Pintâ— ir Daniel Some write that there is a certain little beast called the Mouse of Armenia which will rather dye then be defiled with any filth insomuch that if her hole be besmeared with dirt she will rather chuse to be taken then polluted Such ought the servants of God to be Verse 22. Behold God exalteth by his power Vulg. God is high in his strength He both exalteth himself and others whensoever he pleaseth Beza reads it Behold God in his strength is above all q.d. It is he that must restore thee if ever thou beest restored Who teacheth like him Vulg. None amongst the Law-givers is like unto him But the word Moreh signifieth a Doctor or a Teacher as Moreh Nebuchim a Teacher of perplexed things an unriddler of Riddles He knowes all things exactly and does all things with singular skil and understanding He hath many wayes of teaching people and making them to profit Isai 48.17 and one is by afflictions which Luther therefore fitly calleth Theologiam Christianorum the Christians System of Divinity as hath been before noted Mr. Ascham was a good School-Master saith one to Q. Elizabeth but affliction was a better Verse 23. Who hath enjoyned him his way q.d. Wilt thou take upon thee to teach this great Teacher how to govern the world This were a strange kind of arrogancy Or Who can say Thou hast wrought iniquity Gods judgements are sometimes secret but alwayes just Let not men reprehend what they do not yet comprehend but content themselves with a learned ignorance till God shall further discover himselfe saying of Gods Works as Socrates did of a certain Book that he had read What I understand therein is very good and so I think is that I understand not When we come into an Artificers shop we see many Tooles the use whereof we know not and yet we conclude they are of some use Why then should men rashly censure Gods proceedings which are many times in mediis contrariis In Genes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Naz. in Cypr. as Luther was wont to say brought about by contrary means that he may be the more admired as Nazianzen giveth the reason The Artificer with a crooked Tool makes straight work The Apothecary maketh of a poisonful Viper a wholsome Triacle so here Far be it from us therefore to charge God with iniquity for this were with those mad Manichees to affirme Manichaeorum diabolicus sarcasmus Paraeus That till he had created light he dwelt in darkness as if God were not an eternal Light 1 John 1.5 1 Tim. 6.16 Verse 24. Rememember that thou magnifie his works His work of Creation wherein the wisdome power and goodnesse of God is clearly manifested Rom. 1.19 in that glorious structure of the heavens especially which men behold Or his work of Administration and Gubernation whereof David saith All thy Works praise thee O Lord that is they yeeld matter of magnifying thee and thy Saints shall blesse thee Psal 145.10 Remember that this be done saith Elihu Junius by Gods Works here understandeth Noahs Flood Which men behold Or Whereof men do sing saying Id quod prudentes viri olim veluti gnomâ quadam communi sententiâ jactarunt dicentes Omnis homo aspicit c. Brent as in the next verse Verse 25. Every man may see it scil In quo est vel mica bonae mentis for a brutish man knoweth it not Psal 92.6 7. But stupidus est dignus cui oculi eruantur saith Plato He is a very blockhead and worthy to have his eyes pulled out of his head who looketh not above him and about him that he may magnifie and admire the wisdom of the Creator of all and Preserver of mankind Man may behold it afar off For heaven is far above earth and it is a wonder that we can look to so admirable an height and that the very eye is not tired in the way And for things that are neerer to us we see them but as through a glass obscurely our knowledg of them is very imperfect 1 Cor 11.13 the reason of many things is above our reach We read of one who had spent above forty yeares in finding out the Nature and Property of Bees and yet was not fully satisfied of many things therein Verse 26. Behold God is great Yea he is maximus in minimis Greatest and most of all seen in the meanest creatures as in Ants more then in Elephants c. Brent God sheweth in his works of all sorts se aliquantum esse sed quantus sit ruâ—sus operibus involuit that he is very great but how great he is that appeares not Neither can the number of his years be searched out How should they say when as his countenance is beyond all count Psal 102.24 27. Dan. 5 Yeares are here ascribed unto him and he is elsewhere called Ancient of dayes and the haires of his head are said to be white like snow Rev. 1.14 but all this is spoken of God after the manner of men and should teach us neither curiously to enquire into his counsels nor discontentedly to complain of his doings Verse 27. For he maketh small the drops of water Here Elihu beginneth to instance the greatnesse of God in his works and particularly in the Meteors many of which Aristotle confesseth he understood not And this I dare say saith a learned Interpreter here that there
As a dutiful and docible Scholar who should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will ask thee questions and hang upon thy holy lips for an answer Verse 5. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear God hath ordained that as death entred into the world at first by the ear poisoned by that old Man-slayer Genes 3. so life shall enter into the soul by the same door for it is Hear and your soul shall live Isai 55.3 And The dead in sins and trespasses shall hear the voice of the Son of God sounding in his Ordinances and shall live the life of grace here and of glory hereafter John 5.25 This great mercy Job had received and he thankfully acknowledgeth it But behold a greater But now mine eyes hath seen thee Not only in the temple and whirl-wind those clear testimonies of thy presence but by some other special glorious apparition so some think and by a Spirit of Prophecy as the Hebrewes would have it by the inward teaching of thy Spirit howsoever as Vatablus senseth it Et quando Christus Magister quà m citò discitur quod docetur saith Austin When God by his Spirit taketh in hand to teach a man he soon becometh a skilful Scholer Nescit tarda molimina Spiritus Sancti gratia saith Ambrose The Spirit is not long in teaching those that commit themselves to his tuition The hypocrite knowes God but by hear-say as a blind man knoweth colours such may say as those in the Psalm Audivimus famam something we have heard and some confused notions we have got concerning God and his will but they are meerly disciplinary but not intuitive id est Per speciem Propriam c. Such as transformes the soul into the same Image it is not that claritas in intellectu quae parit ardorem in affectu That light in the understanding that kindleth the affections Job was such witnesse his next words Verse 6. Wherefore I abhor my self Aspernor illa so Tremellius I utterly dislike those my former base and bald conceits of thee my hard and unsauoury speeches mine impatient and imprudent carriages Horreo quicquid de meo est ut meus sins as Bernard expresseth it Reprobo meipsum so Brentius I do utterly reject my selfe I condemn mine own folly I eat those words of discontent at thy righteous proceedings Dignasanè quae per jugulum redeant Abiicio vitam meam so Mercer and Lavater render it Displiceo mihimetipsi ac pervelim ut aliter dixissem ac fecissem Lavat Jerem. 6.26 and 25.34 Virg. Aeneid lib. 12. I cast away my life and look upon it as lost if thou shouldst take the forfeiture I humbly put my self into the hands of justice yet in hope of mercy I repent in dust and ashes As in an expresse and publick pennance I throw my self here upon the ground I put my mouth in the dust Lam. 3.24 Canitiem iâ—â—mundo perfusam pulvere turpo I sprinkle dust and ashes upon mine head in token that I have deserved to be as far under ground as now I am above ground I repent my presumptuous misbehaviour with as lowly a spirit as ever I sinned with an high Lo this was paenitentiam agere quod est pro malo bonum reponere saith Brentius This was true repentance to change evil for good as piety for blasphemy chastity for fornication charity for envy humility for pride Christ for Satan And Reformation is the best Repentance saith Luther Such as so repent are sure of comfort The word here rendred I repent signifieth also to take comfort as Ezek 32.31 It is repentance unto life Acts 11.18 and such as accompanieth salvation Hebr. 6.9 Neither is it wrought in any man but by a saving sight of Almighty God in his Greatness and Goodness such as may make him at once to tremble and trust as Job did here and Isaiah chap. 6.1 5. Verse 7. And it was so that after the Lord had spoken these words to Job And Job those other again to God it soon repented the Lord concerning his servant Pro magno delicto parum supplicii sat is est patri A little punishment is enough to a loving father for a great fault Comfort ye comfort ye my people saith the Lord for alass they have received of my hand double for all their sins Terent. Isai 40.1 2. So it seemed to him who is all bowels and who in all their afflictions is equally afflicted God weeps on his peoples necks tears of compassion they weep at Gods feet tears of compunction Oh beautiful contention The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite Because he was the ancienter man of greatest Authority and he that passed the heaviest censures upon Job doing enough to have driven him into desperation My wrath is kindled against thee Thus God passeth not sentence on Jobs side till he had first angerly repressed and reprehended those three friends of his who had assailed him without all right and reason Let Gods servants hold out faith and patience sooner or later they shall be righted And against thy two friends Bildad and Zophar Who stuck so close to thee and chimed in with thee against a better man then any of you all As for Elihu he is neither commended here nor condemned He spake well for the main but many times took Job at the worst and misconstrued his speeches He is therefore punished as Ambassadors are used to be when they commit undecencies with silence which is the way royal to correct a wrong The other three had great cause to be much troubled and terrified at that short but sharpest speech of God My wrath is kindled against you for Who knoweth the power of Gods wrath saith David It is as the Messenger of death Psalm 90.11 and Harbinger of hell God never said so much to Job in all those long and large speeches he made unto him for he knew that milder words would do and he loveth not to over-do Ille dolet quoties cogitur esse ferox By the way observe That although these three had offended more then Job yet he was afflicted and they escaped free Judgement beginneth at Gods house neither have any out of hell ever suffered more then those Worthies of whom the world was not worthy Heb. 11. For ye have not spoken the thing that was right And yet they seemed to be all for God and to plead his Cause against Job throughout But as in some things they were much mistaken so they had their self-respects and were much byassed in their discourses Hypocrites and Heretikes saith Gregory here seem unto men more righteous but God accepteth them not for all their plausible pleas and specious pretences Luke 16.15 Ye are they said our Saviour to the Pharisees who justifie your selves before men but God knoweth your hearts for that which is highly esteemed amongst men is abomination in the sight of God As my servant Job hath They also were Gods servants but because they had lent
Man-slayer who lendeth the wicked man his seven Heads to plot and his ten Horns to push And gnasheth upon him with his teeth Saying unto him when he hath laid hold on him Nunc inveni te as Kimchi Paraphraseth Now I have found you and shall be even with you Art thou come thou Villain said Stephen Gardiner to Doctor Taylour Martyr when he first appeared before him Act. and Moâ— How darest thou look me in the face for shame Knowest thou not who I am Thus that proud Prelate gnashing his teeth and boasting great matters with his tongue and he was bravely answered as hath been before related Vers 13 The Lord will laugh at him See Psal 2.4 the righteous also shall have a time to laugh at him Psal 52.6 and mean while comforteth himself with this that God laugheth at him and that therefore himself hath no great cause to cry sith riden do irritos reddit by laughing at them he blasteth all their designs and that with disgrace men love not to be laughed at For he seeth that his day is coming His dismal day his Deaths day which wil also be his Dooms-day that day wherein God hath determined to slay them with their own sword and to save the Righteous as it is in the two next verses But especially that last and great day of the World wherein Dicetur reprobis Ite Venite probis Vers 14. The Wicked have drawn out the sword and have bent their how That they may assault the Righteous both cominus nearer hand and eminus at a distance for which purpose they come against him like a walking Armorie with sword how and other instruments of death as resolved to kill and slay We are counted as sheep to the slaughter Rom. 8. Vers 15. Their sword shall enter into their own heart As did Sauls and his armour-bearers 1 Sam. 31. See Psal 7.16 Per quod quis peccat per idem punitur ipse And their bows shall be broken Neither their bowes only but their armes also Vers 17. They shall utterly be disarmed and disabled when once God takes them to do which is commonly when they are at the strongest and most confident Vers 16. A little that the Righteous man hath c. Whereas it was said before The meek shall inherit the earth some man might object that such are commonly poor enough and that 's no small affliction as the Heathens Menander Euripides Alcaeus c. have affirmed and experience assureth it Hereunto is answered that a little that the Righteous man hath is better c. as a box of pearles is more worth than many loads of pibbles And as a bird with a little eye and the advantage of a wing to soar with may see farre wider than an Ox with a greater so the Righteous with a little estate joyned with faith tranquillity and devotion may have more pleasure feel more comfort see more of Gods bounty than one of vast possessions whose heart cannot lift it self above the earth as One well observeth Some render it thus Better is the little of one Righteous man than the plentious Mammon of many Wicked The Bee is as well if not better content with feeding on the dew or sucking from a flower as Behemoth that grazeth on the Mountaines Here the Psalmist speaketh saith Vatablus of the secret blessing of God Quia etsi in diem victitent è caelotamen non secus ac Manna pascuntur for although they have but from hand to mouth yet they are fed from Heaven as it were with Manna Vers 17. For the armes of the wicked shall be broken i.e. His power valour all that wherein they think their strength and help standeth See vers 15. the strongest sinew in the arm of flesh cracks But the Lord upholdeth the Righteous Though seemingly never so weak and wealthlesse Vers 18. The Lord knoweth the dayes of the upright In bâ—num novit Psal 1.6 id est prolongat saith Kimchi he knoweth that is he acknowledgeth approveth hath a gracious regard unto their dayes and the events thereof he hath decreed to a minute how long they shall suffer and what happinesse shall succeed their sufferings And their inheritance shall be for ever Here long and hereafter eternal What they want here shall be there made up abundantly Vers 19. They shall not be ashamed c. They shall hold up their heads when others droop neither shall they be without comfort in times of common calamity as Noah was media tranquillus in unda And in the dayes of famin they shall be satisfied God will work wonders rather than they shall want any thing that is good for them as he fed the Israelites in the Wildernesse Eliah by the Ravens Jeremy by a special providence in the siege As Rochel was relieved by an extraordinary shoal of fish cast in upon them by divine providence And as Leiden besiedged by the Duke of Alva and forced for their sustenance to search and scrape dunghills to boil old leather c. was rescued by the turning of the Winds and swelling of the Tide which forced the Duke to raise the siege and be gone Vers 20. But the Wicked shall perish In the midst of their wealth and greatest abundance their mony shall perish with them And the enemies of the Lord These are worse than those Wicked aforementioned saith Theodoret they are such as go on still in their trespasses Psal 68.21 Shall be as the fat of Lambes which in sacrifices was wholly to be burnt and consumed Levit. 3.15 16 17. Into smoak shall they consume away Smoak the higher it ascendeth the sooner it vanisheth Quanto fuerit globus ille grandior tanto vanior saith Austin They shall be consumed in the smoak of Gehenna or Hell saith the Chaldee here Vers 21. The Wicked borroweth and payeth not again Either because he cannot he is so unable or because he cares not he is so unconscionable But in the midst of his wealth he is many times wanting in the fullnesse of his sufficiency Non sunt 〈◊〉 dendo he is in straits and to supply his necessities sticketh long in the Usurers furnace which leaveth him at last neither metall nor matter But the Righteous sheweth mercy and giveth Of that which is his own to which end he hath a great care to pay his debts When Archb. Cranmer discerned the storm which after fell upon him in Queen Maries dayes he took expresse order for the payment of all his debts which when it was done a most joyfull man was hee How hospitable he was and liberall Tremelius testifieth in his Epistle before his comment on Hosea Vers 22. For such as be blessed of him c. See Vers 9. 11. Shall be cut off In hoc seculo futuro saith Kimchi Or this verse may be taken as a reason of the former viz. why are Wicked rich men so necessitated and Righteous men so enabled enlarged God curseth the one but blesseth the other
wasted the Fig-tree Christ cursed so forcible is his curse Vers 37. Mark the perfect mâ—n c. As we must treasure up experiences our selves so we must stir up others to do the like There is a wo â—o such as consider not the operation of Gods hands Isa 5.12 For the end of that man is peace Though his beginning and middle may bee troublesome yet his end his after-and at least shall be peace He shall by death enter into peace rest in his bed Isa 57.2 Vers 38. But the transgressours c. Here the end is worse than the beginning Sin ever ends tragically The end of the wicked shall be cut off Their end is not death but destruction they are killed with death Rev. 2.23 life and hope end together Vers 39. But the salvation of the righteous c. 〈◊〉 ut paâ—oâ—i◠〈◊〉 coâ—â—lectar their salvation temporal and eternal is of the Lord so is also the destruction of the wicked as is here necessarily implied He is their strength c. That they faint not sink not under the heaviest burden of their light afflictions which are but for a moment Vers 40. And the Lord shall help them c. He shall He shall He shall Oh the Rhetorick of God! the safety of the Saints the certainty of the Promises PSAL. XXXVIII A Psalm of David to bring to remembrance Made purposely for a memorial both of what he had suffered and from what he had been delivered See 1 Chron. 16.4 Exod. 30.16 Lev. 2.2 6.15 Recordatâ—â—â— autem intelligitur miserie ex misericordia Psal 132. Isa 62.6 63.7 It is probable that David had so laid to heart the Rape of his Daughter Tamar the Murther of his eldest Son Amnon the flight of his next Son Absolom and other troubles that befell him Basil thinks Absoloms conspiracy Ahitophels perfidy Shimeies insolency c. that it cost him a great fit of sickness out of which hardly recovering he penned this and some other Psalms as the 35.39 40. but this especially for a Momento to imminde him of his own late misery and Gods never-failing mercy to him Both these we are wondrous apt to forget and so both to lose the fruit of our afflictions by falling afresh to our evil practices as Children soon forget a whipping and to rob God our Deliverer of his due praises like as with Children eaten bread is soon forgotten Both these mischiefs to prevent both in himself and others for we are bound not only to observe Gods Law but also to preserve it as much as may be from being broken David composed this Psalm for to record or to cause remembrance See the like title Psal 70. and for a form for a sick man to pray by as Kimchi noteth not to be sung for those in Purgatory as some Papists have dreamed Vers 1. O Lord rebuke me not in thy wrath He beginneth and endeth the Psalm with Petitions filleth it up with sad complaints wherein we shall finde him groaning but not grumbling mourning but not murmuring for that is not the guise of Gods people He beginneth with Eheu Jehova non recuso coargui castigari Correct me O Lord but with Judgement not in anger lest thou bring me to nothing Jer. 10.24 See Psal 6.1 with the Notes Vers 2. For thine arrows stick fast in me i. e. Sicknesses of body R. Obadiah Deus amatquod sagittat Aug. and troubles of minde Job 6.4 Psal 18.14 the Jew-Doctors say that he had a Leprosie for fix Months and that the Divine presence was taken away from him so that he complained not without cause But these were sagitta salut is saith Chrysostom Arrows of Salvation Love-tokens from the Lord not unlike Jonathans arrows 1 Sam. 20.36 and he had been fore-warned of them by Nathan the Prophet 1 Sam. 12 and so bore them the better Praevisa jacula minus forinnt Darts fore-seen are in a manner dintless And thine band presseth me sore Heb. Thou lettest down thy hand upâ—s me Now Gods hand is a mighty band 1 Pet. 5.6 and the weight of it is importable but that Vna eademque manus c. Vers 3. There is no soundness in my flesh because of 〈…〉 This was the immediate cause of Davids misery it came from â—ove displeased and 〈…〉 sins seldom â—â—â—pe better But blessed be our Almighty 〈…〉 who 〈◊〉 health out of sickness by bringing thereby the body of death into a Consumption Neither is there any rest in my bones â—is repetit mere lâ—gentium He saith the same thing twice as Mourners use to do but with an aggravation of his pain reaching to his very bones Because of my sin This was the remote cause of his present sufferings and is the true Mother of all mans miserie Now when these two Gods wrath and mans sin meet in the soul as physick and sickness in the stomack there must needs be much unrest till they be vomited up by confession T is as naturall for guilt to brâ—â—d disquiet as for putrid matter to brâ—â—d vermin Let God therefore be justified and every mouth stopped Vers 4. Sicut aquae praevalentes in quibus erat absorptus Kimchi For mine iniquities are gone over my head So that I am even overwhelmed by them and almost drowned in perdition and destruction The Gospel is post naeufragium tabula and assureth us that God hath cast all our sins into the bottom of the Sea and this keepeth the head of a sinking soul above water As an heavy burden How light soever sin seemeth in the committing it will lye full heavy even as a Talent of lead Zach. 5.7 or as an huge Mountain Heb. 12.1 A facie irae tuae A facie peccati mei A facie stulritiae meae when once we come to a sight and sense of it when Gods wrath and mans sin shall face one another as the former verse hath it according to the originall Vers 5. My wounds stink and are corrupt What his grief or disease was we read not some say the Leprosy some take all this allegorically the word rendred wounds Livores vibices turnices signifieth stripes scarres wailes mattery soares running ulcers the effects of the envenomed arrowes of the Almighty Could we but foresee what sin will cost us we durst not but be innocent That we do not is extream foolishnesse as David here acknowledgeth Because of my foolishnesse In not considering aforehand the hainousnesse of my sinâ—nor the heavinesse of the divine displeasure The word signifieth unadvised rashnesse Prov. 14.17 and t is probable he meaneth his great sin with Bathsheba wherein he was miscarried by his lusts to his cost See Psal 107.17 18. Because of my foolishnesse i.e. Quia non praveni Nathanons confessione saith R. Obadiah because I prevented not Nathans comming by a voluntary confession of my sin unto the Lord. Vers 6. I am troubled Heb. wryed I am bowed down c. Incurvus et prorsuâ— obstipus arroque vulâ—u squallidus
and a type of Christ the great Mediator of his Church Aben-Ezra calleth him Cohen baccoâ—aniâ—â— the Priest of Priests And Philo writing his life concludeth This was the life and death of Moses the King the Lawgiver the prophet and the chief Priest And Samuel A man that could do much with God like wise Jer 15.1 and is therefore as some conceive called Pethuel that is a perswader of God Joel 1.1 Alsted Vers 7. They kept his testimonies And so shewed that they called upon God with a true heart in full assurance of faith Heb. 10.22 Vers 8. Thou wast a God c. A sin pardoning God Neb. 5â— 17 So thou wast to them under the Law so thou wilt be to those under the Gospel Though thou tookest c. Though Moses might noâ— enter for his unbeleef and Samuel smarted for indulging his sonâ— Vers 9. Exalt the Lord Versus amaelaus See Vers 5. PSAL. C. A Psalm of prcise Suavis gravis short and sweet appointed likely to be sung at the Thank-offerings quando pacifica erant offerende say the Italian Levit. 7. â—â— and Spanish annotators See vers 4. Enter with Thanks-giving or with Thank-sacrifice Vers 1. All ye lands Both Jews and Gentiles Rom. 15.10 11. for your common salvation Vers 2. Serve the Lord with gladness The Caâ—balists have a Proverb The Holy Ghost singeth not but out of a glad heart Cheerfulness is much called for in both Testaments God loveth a cheerful server Vers 3. Know ye that the Lord he is God Be convinced of it ye Heathens whose fantasies have forged false gods and ye Jews acknowledge the true God to be Three in One and One in Three It is he that hath mode us And new made us for we are his workmanship a second time created in Christ Jesus unto good works Eph. 2.10 The word signifieth saith Kimchi Ornate beneficiis afficere donis gratiis cumulaâ—e confer 1 Sam. 12.6 and so is distinguished from Barâ— to create and Jaâ—sar to form William of Malmsbury telleth of a certain Emperor of Germany who coming by chance into a Church on the Sabbath day found there a most mis-shapen Priest penè portentum natura insomuch as the Emperor much scorned and contemned him But when he heard him read those words in the Service For it is beâ— that bath made us and not we our selves the Emperor checkt his own proud thoughts and made in quiry into the quality and conditions of the man and finding upon examination that he was a very learned and devout man he made him Archbishop of Collen which place he discharged with much commendations We are his people and the sheep See Psal 95.7 This is a priviledge proper to the Communion of Saints Vers 4. Enter into his gates c. As sheep into his sheepfolds frequent his publick Ordinances wait at the posts of the gates of Wisdome there as at an heavenly Exchange the Saints present duty and God confers mercy Vers 5. For the Lord is good Though we be evil he giveth us all these good things graâ—â—e and although we provoke him daily to punish us yet his mercy is everlasting like a fountain it runneth after it hath run And as the Sun which shineth after it hath shined See Zach 13.1 Job 1.27 And his truth endureth to all generations Heb. to Generation and Generation He saith not for ever saith an Interpreter because his promises are true but under a condition which perhaps the following Generations will not observe The condition is to the promise as an Oar in a Boat or stern of a Ship which turns it another way PSAL CI. A Psalm of David Wherein he promiseth and pre-ingageth that whenever hee came to the Kingdome he will be a singular example both as a Prince and as a Master of a Family In which respect this Psalm should be often read and ruminated by such that their houses may be as the house of David Zach. 12.8 and as the Palace of George Prince of Anbaâ—â— which was saith Melanctben Ecclesia Academia Curia a Church Act. Mon. fol. 1559. an Academy and a Court. Bishop Ridley read and expounded this Psalm oftentimes to his houshold hiring them with money to learn it and other select Scriptures by heart A good Governour is like that Noble-man who had for his Impress two bundle of ripe Miâ—â—et bound together with this Mâ—tto Servare Servari meâ—â— est for the nature of the Miâ—â—et is both to guard it self from all corruption and also those things that lye near it That is a rare commendation that is given the late Reverend and Religious Dr. Chatterton that he was an house-keeper three and fifty years and yet in all chat time he never kept any of his servants from Church to dress his meat His life by Mr. Clark saying That he desired as much to have his servants know God as himself Vers 1. I will-sing of Mercy and Judgement â— Davids Ditty was composed of discords Mercy and Justice are the brightest stars in the sphere of Majesty the main supports of a Throne Royal How heit there should be a preheminence to Mercy as one well observeth from Micah 6.8 Mercy must be loved and not shewn onely Justice must be done and no more The sword of Justice must be bathed in the oyl of Mercy A well-tempered mixture of both preserveth the Commonwealth Rom. 13.34 Vnto thee O Lord will I sing Acknowledge thee alone the bestower of these graces and thy glory â—s the end These are matters that Philosophers and Politicians mind not Vers 2. I will behave my self wisely I will begin the intended reformation at my self and then set things to rights in my family which while Augustus did not he was worthily blamed by his subjects and told that publick persona must carefully observe Aedibus in prâ—priis quae recta 〈◊〉 prava gerantur Pluâ—â— Cate said that he could pardon all mens faults but his own But Cate the wise wanted the wisdome from above and was therefore short of David who promiseth here so be merry I will sing and yet wise I will behave my self wisely in a perfect way that is in an upright conversation and in a faithful discharge of the great trust committed unto me Oâ— when wilt then come unto me In the performance of thy promise concerning the Kingdom For I am resolved not to â—â—â—evert thee but to wait thy coming Est suspirium 〈…〉 ex abrupto like that of Juâ—â—â— I have waited O Lord for thy salvation Gen. 49 18. Or When wilt thou come viz. to reckon with me For come thou wiles I wilt walk within my house with a perfect heart And although my house â—â— not sâ— with God 1 Sam. 23.5 yet this is all my desire and shall be mine endeavour although be make it not to grow ib. Indesinentes â—mâ—ulabo Kimchi I will walk uncessantly walk in the midst of mine house 〈…〉 2 King 4.35 and this I
peculiar To touch these is to touch the apple of Gods eye Zach. 2.8 they are sacred persons And do my Prophets no harm The Patriarchs were such Gen. 20.7 so are still all godly Ministers whom they who harm by word or deed have not so much knowledge as Pilats wise had in a dream See Psal 14.4 Vers 16. Moreover he called for a Famine How easie is it with God soon to stawe us all by denying us an harvest or two If he do but call for a Famine it is done He brake the while staff of bread Either by withdrawing bread that staff of mans life or his blessing from it for man liveth not by bread alone or at all but by every word c. Mat. 4. without which bread can no more nourish us than a clod of clay In pane conclusus est quasi baculus qui nos sustineat See Hag. 1.6 with the Notes Vers 17. He sent a man before them An eminent and eximious man Cujus vita fuit coelum queddam lucidissim is virtutum stellis exornatum to be their friend in the Court and to provide for their livelihood No danger befalleth the Church but God before-hand provideth and procureth the means of preservation and deliverance 2 Pet. 2.9 Even Joseph whom they had sold God ordereth the disorders of the world to his own glory and his peoples good Vers 18. Whose feet they hurt with fetters God hereby fitting him for that great service as he did afterwards Moses by forty years banishment in Miâ—ian and David by Sauls persecution till his soul was even as a weaned child Psal 131.2 He was laid in iron Heb. His soul came into iron or the iron entred into his soul but sin entred not into his conscience See a like phrase Luke 2.35 Vers 19 Until the time that his word came The time that Gods purpose and promise of deliverance was fulfilled This word of God prophane persons call Fate Fortune c. The word of the Lord tried him That he was Affliction-proof and still retained his integrity 1 Pet. 1.7 Vers 20. The King sent and loosed him By his own Master Potiphar who had laid him there at his wives in stance such as are bound ignominiously for righteousness sake shall be one way or other loosed honourably Vers 21. He made him Lord of his house Thus for his short braid of imprisonment where of he never dreamt Joseph hath eighty years preferment more than ever he dreamt of God retributions are very bountiful Vers 22. To bind his Princes at his pleasure To over-aw and to over-rule them to bind them in prison if need so required as himself had been bound and that at his pleasure or according to his own soul sine consensu Pharaoh saith Rabbi Solomon without Pharaohs consent as he dealt by Potiphar say other Rabbins And to teach his Senators wisdome Policy and piety which yet the Egyptians long retained not Vers 23. Israel also came into Egypt Whither he feared to go till God promised him his presence and protection Gen 46.3 4. God saith the same in effect to us when to descend into the grave Fear not to go down I will go down with thee and be better to thee than thy fears Jacobs best and happiest dayes were those the spent in Egypt Vers 24. And be increased his people greatly Against all the power of Egypt set against them And made them stronger than their enemies They were not so for present but the Egyptians conceited and feared they would be so Vers 25. He turned their hearâ— to hate Mens hearts are in Gods hands and he formeth and fashioneth their opinions of and affections to others at his pleasure yet without sin To deal subtilly with his servants Seeking to imbase and enervate their spirits by base drudgeries imposed upon them So afterwards dealt the Persian Tyrant with Hormisaus and the great Turk with the Christians Vers 26. He sent Moses his servant Quande duplicantur lateres venit Moses say the Jews as this day And Aaron c. God usually sendeth his by two and two for mutual helps and comfort Vers 27. They shewed his signs Heb. The words of his signs for Gods wondrous works are vocal they are real sermons of Gods power and justice See Exod. 4.8 Vers 28. He sent darkness Palpable darkness by reason of most black and thick vapours of the earth mingling themselves with the air such as Aben-Ezra said that hee once felt sayling upon the Ocean the gross vapours there putting out the light of fire and candle and not suffering them to be re-inkindled And they rebelled not against his word They that is the plagues called for came immediately with an Ecce me Or They that is Moses and Aaron refused not to denounce and inflict those plagues though Pharaoh threatned so kill them where a man would wonder at Pharaohs hardness and hardiness that being in the midst of that deep and dreadful darkness he could rage against God and threaten with death his servant Moses The Arabick reading 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rendreth it Et irritarunt sermonem ejus And they the Egyptians provoked his word or rebelled against it Vers 39. He turned their waters into blood A just hand of God upon them for their cruelty in drowning the Hebrew Infants and a real forewarning if they could have seen it of the death of their first-born and their final overthrow at the red Sea And slew their fish Which was a great part of their food Piscis à pascendo dictus Vers 30. The land brought forth frogs in abundance Like grass that grows upon the ground or as fishes spawned in the Sea as the word signifieth Gen. 1.20 Some think they were not common frogs sed venenat as hâ—rrendas quales sunt rubetae bufones Ab. Ezra but Toads and Lizards Crocodiles some think came out of the River and destroyed people In the chambers of their Kings Regis regulorum inter medias enseâ— medias custodias This was the finger of God as it was likewise when a Town in Spain was overturned by Conies and another in Thessaly by Moles a City in France undone by Frogs Plin. l. 8. c. 29 and another in Africa by Locusts c. Vers 31. He spake and there came divers sorts of Flyes Heb. a mixture so of Waspes Hornets Dog-flyes the most troublesome of all other 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all sorts of Insects And Lice in all their coasts This the Magicians could not do Quid ciniphe vilius c saith Philo What 's baser than a Louse yet hereby God can tame the sturdiest of his rebels Some Kings and other Grandees have dyed of the lousie disease as Herod Philip of Spain c. Vers 32. He gave them Hail for Rain Rain was geason in Egypt but now they had hail for rain a giftless gift Heb. He gave their rain hail Exod. 9.23 And flaming fire in their land That they
name of Sana to hate the word here used because it is most of all to be hated as the greatest evil as that which setteth us furthest from God the greatest good This none can do but those that love the Lord Christ in sincerity for all hatred comes from love A naturall man may be angry with his sin as a man is sometimes with his wife or friend for some present vexation but hate it hee cannot yea he may leave it for the ill consequents of sin but not loathe it If he did he would loathe all as well as any for hatred is ever against the whole kind of a thing saith Aristole 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rhetor. lib. 2â— Vers 11. Light is sown for the Righteous The Righteous is haeres cruc â—â— the Heir of the Crosse and many are his troubles A Child of light may walk in darknesse and have no light Isa 50.10 yet Christ will not leave him comfortlesse Joh. 14. Light is sown for him 't is yet seeding-time and that is usually wet and dropping and the seed must have a time to lye and then to grow ere a crop can be expected there must be also weeding and clodding c. behold the Husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth and hath long patience for it By ye also patient stablish your hearts c. Jam. 5.7 8. We look not to sow and reap in a day as He saith of the Hyperborean people far North that they sow shortly after the Sun-rising with them and reap before the Sun-ser so because the whole half year is one continuall day with them Heresbach dâ— rerust Deliverance will come in Gods good time and as before the morning-light is the thickest darknesse as the seed that lyeth longest under ground commeth up at length with greatest increase so here Semen modicum sed me ssis faecunda saith Aben-Ezra on the Text. And gladnesse for the upright This clause expoundeth the former Vers 12. Rejoyce in the Lord See Psal 32. ult with the Note At the remembrance of his holinesse That is of himself for whatsoever is in God is God as also of his works and benefits whereby he giveth you so good occasion to remember him PSAL. XCVIII A Psalm The Greek addeth of David A man might think it were rather of John Baptist pointing out Christ and his Kingdom as it already come with the great good thereby accrewing to the Saints Vers 1. O sing unto the Lord a new song See Psal 96.1 and observe how the compiler of the Psalms hath hereabout set together sundry Psalms of the same subject His right hand and his holy arm His is emphatical and exclusive q.d. Christ alone hath done the deed he is our sole Saviour Isa 59.16 63.5 In the justification of a sinner Christ and faith are alone saith Luther Tanquam sponsus sponsa in thalamo As Wax and Water cannot meet together so neither can Christ and any thing else in this work Away then with that devillish Doctrin of the Saints Merits 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aristot in Meteor Quibuscunque tandem pigmentis illita obtrudatur If any commend or go after any other way to Salvation besides Christ hee doth according to the Greek Proverb draw mischiefs to himself as the Wind Caecius doth Clouds Vers 2. The Lord hath made known his salvation His way of saving his people by his Som Christ Mat. 1.21 this Mystery so long kept secret is now made known to all Nations for the obedience of faith Rom 16.25 26. His Righteousness Made ours by imputation this the Jews to this day deride and the Papists call it putative in a jeer Vers 3. He hath remembred his mercy and his truth His Mercy moving him to promise and his Truth binding him to perform 2 Sam. 7.18 21. and hence all our happiness Vers 4. Make a joyful noyse Bless God for a Christ The Argives when delivered by the Romans from the tyranny of the Macedonians and Spartans Quae gaudia quae vociferationes fuerunt quid florum in Consulem profuderunt what great joys expressed they what loud out-crys made they the very Birds that flew over them fell to the ground Plut. in Flamin assonied with their noyses They Cryer at the Nemean Games was forced to pronounce the word Liberty Iterumque iterumque again and again Vers 5. Sing unto the Lord with the Harp Tum cithararum tum vocum mutuis vicibus do your utmost in the superlativest manner you can devise Vers 6. Make a joyful noyse By the repeating and inculcating of this exhortation is intimated our dulness and backwardness to a business of this nature the necessity of the duty and the excellency of the mercy that can never be sufficiently celebrated Vers 7 8 9. See the Notes on Psal 96.11 12 13. PSAL. XCIX VErs 1. The Lord reigneth Even the Lord Christ as Psal 97.1 Let the people tremble Let them serve the Lord with fear and rejoyce with trembling by the people some understand the Jews and by the Earth all other Nations let there bee a general subjection yeelded to the Scepter of his Kingdom Vers 2. The Lord is great in Zion In his Church he giveth many great testimonies of his power and presence and is therefore magnified by his people And he is high above all people In the things wherein they deal proudly he is above them Exod. 18.11 Vers 3. Let them praise thy great and terrible Name Nomen illud Majestativum Some hereby understand the name Jehovah of which Josh 7. What wilt thou do to thy great Name And Jer. 44. I have sworn by my great Name But Gods Name is usually put for Gods self For it is Holy And therefore to be sanctified in righteousness Isa 5.16 Vers 4. The Kings strength also loveth judgement i.e. abest à Tyrannide God abuseth not his Kingly power to Tyranny but Joyneth it with his Justice and Uprightnese Regiment without Righteousness is but robbery with authority The Ara bick hath it Magnificentia Regis est ut diligat aequitatem Vers 5. Exalt the Lord our God Have high apprehensions of him and answerable expressions Set him up and set him forth to the utmost And worship at his footstool i.e. At his Temple saith the Chaldee At the Ark of the Covenant say the Rabbins Austin interpreteth it of Christs humanity which although of it self it is not to be adored because it is a creature yet as it is received into unity of person with the Divinity and hath a Partner-agency with the God-head according to its measure in the works of Redemption and Mediation 1 Tim. 2.5 it is to be worshipped But how hard driven was that second Synod of Niâ—e when they abused this Text among many others to prove the worshipping of Images and Pictures Vers 6. Moses and Aaron among his Priests or chief Officers as 1 Chron. 18.17 Moses was if not a Priest yet a continual Intercessor for the people