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A35538 An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-eighth, thirty-ninth, fortieth, forty-first, and forty-second, being the five last, chapters of the book of Job being the substance of fifty-two lectures or meditations / by Joseph Caryl ... Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673. 1653 (1653) Wing C777; ESTC R19353 930,090 1,092

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of counsel Great dangers even unhinge our reason and put it out of place The Disciples of Christ in a storm Mat. 8.25 were not only like men at their wits end but almost at their faiths end too crying out Lord save us we perish if thou help us not we are all undone And he said why are ye fearful O ye of little faith There is nothing but faith can keep down the prevailings of fear in great or prevailing dangers breakings and when once we are at our faiths end in a time of extremity we shall soon be at our wits end also yea even quite out of our wits A faithless man is no match for little fears he that hath but a little faith or is a man of little faith may soon be over-matcht with great ones As perfect love either the actings of our perfect love to God or the evidence and apprehensions of the perfect love of God to us casteth out fear 1 Joh. 4.18 that is all that fear which hath torment in it so also doth perfect faith in God that is a strong a well-foundation'd and a well and high-built faith 'T is either for want of faith or for some want in faith that mighty men by reason of breakings are not only afraid but wander as uncertain of their way That 's the first reading Secondly We say They purifie themselves What 's that there are two interpretations of this translation First Some interpret it of a bodily distemper Quando mare fluctibus intumescit nausea ●boritur qui sunt in navi fere vomu●● stomachum purguntes Drus Alvum solvit Bez. Rab. Levi. coming upon the mighty by reason of their fear In storms at sea passengers purge their stomacks usually by vomiting and sometimes by stool Thus I say some expound this Text that through extreamity of fear they are surprised with a suddein loosness The Prophet speaking of a dreadful day saith Ezek. 7.17 All knees shall be feeble we put in the Margin All knees shall go into the water the meaning is as all interpreters give it they shall not be able to hold there water And as some upon a suddain assault of fear cannot hold their water so neither can others their ordure The reason of it is plain in nature fear making a great dissipation of spirits weakens the retentive faculty Some look upon this as a sense too low and mean for the intendment of this place though in it self a truth And therefore 't is enough to mention it nor ought it to be left unmentioned seeing it may humble us to consider unto what pitiful exigents mighty ones may be brought when surprised with dangers But Secondly I conceive and upon that I shall insist these words Vox 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Piet Hiphtael expiationem à peccato importat unde vertitur expiabunt se seu paenitentiam agent remissionem à Deo petent praesenti mortis discrimino teriti Scult They purifie themselves are rather to be taken morally that is mighty men when they see themselves in such danger mighty Leviathan raising himself breaking all before him what do they they purifie themselves that is they betake themselves to prayer and repentance and then they will purifie themselves in all hast by confessing and vowing to put away their sins then they will in all hast make their peace with God this is a good interpretation And the word which we translate here to purifie is applied to this spiritual purifying by confessing of sin and tu●ning to God and promises of amendment Psalm 51.7 Purge or purifie me with hysop and I shall be clean only there 't is Gods act here mans But as God doth purge us by pardon so we may be said to purge our selves by repentance and earnest suing to God for pardon And how usual is it even with bad men when they are in great danger when they see nothing but death before them then to fall a praying and repenting then to confess their sins and promise amendment or to become new men Thus by reason of breakings when all is ready to be broken loft and spoiled they purifie themselves Hence Observe In great dangers which threaten present death or undoing at least even common men will confess their sins and make great shews or semblances of repentance When the mighty are afraid when they are in trouble and misery then they cry to God for mercy and cry out upon their sins as the procuring cause of their miseries and troubles How good how godly will they be for a fit and it may work further in a day of evil It is said of the Marriners in a storm Psal 107.28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their distresses Even such Marriners as seldom think of God nor pray to him in a calm being in a storm fall a praying they purifie thomselves Now they are for repentance now they will cast their sins over-board seing themselves almost swallowed up by the raging sea Thus Jon. 1.4 5. When the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea and there was a mighty tempest in the sea so that the ship was like to be broken Then the Marriners were afraid that was the first effect which the tempest wrought in them and what was the next that was a fit of devotion They cryed every man to his God Now they purified themselves by repentance and prayer Were not these Marriners grown very good when beset with evil Thus many pray repent make lamentations over their sins take up resolutions against their sins in a storm then or thus even carnal ignorant common men will purifie themselves in times of great danger We say well true repentances is never too late but late repentance is seldome true We may say also Repentance in a storm is good but repentance in a storm it not always good real dangers may produce but false feniged and forced repentance And they who repent only when they are in or because they are in a storm were never good as yet nor will they continue in that goodness which then they make shew of As a godly man purifies himself when he sees a storm so he purifies himself in a calm too or when he is in greatest safety And if we do not purifie our selves in a calm as well as in a storm our repentance is but the repentance of Heathen Marriners Be in a calm what you are in a storm be when you see Lambs what you were when you see or saw Leviathans Secondly Observe It is a duty to repent when we see great dangers or as the Text speaks great breakings To be sure we ought to repent in a time of trouble We are to repent at all times but then most Be careful you leave not that work undone at any time but do it very carefully at such a time It is said of those that were scorched with great heat Revel 16.9 they blasphemod the Name of God which hath power over
might declare himself in Leviathan Hence note The parts powers and comely proportions of the creature clearly evidence the excellencies of God The Lord chiefly proclaimed his own name when he proclaimed the name of Leviathan Rom. 1.20 The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and Godhead The unseen God hath made all things that he may be seen in them When he makes a Comment upon his own works why is it but that he may make a Comment upon himself and expound his own glory in them And as the excellencies of the Lord are seen in the works of creation so in the works of providence and he hath therefore made so many declarations of them to us that his power wisdom and justice may shine through them to us Psal 75.1 That thy name is neer thy wondrous works declare And he said to Pharaoh Exod. 9.16 For this cause have I raised thee up for to shew in thee my power and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth All that the Lord doth to or in the creature is to get himself a name and a glory therefore let us give God the glory of his power wisdom and goodness in all his works Negare Pagaganus Christum potest negare Deum omnipotentem non potest August ser 139. de Temp. It was the saying of one of the Ancients A Pagan may deny that there is a Christ but a Pagan cannot deny Almighty God A Pagan may deny Christ for that 's meerly matter of faith but sense will lead a Pagan to believe there is a God or some omnipotent power that hath wrought all these things If we see a stream that assures us there is a Spring or Fountain if we see a goodly Palace built that assures us it had a builder a maker And if the stream be full what is the fountain If the Palace built be great and magnificent how great how magnificent was the builder Every house as the Author to the Hebrews said upon another occasion Chap. 3.4 is builded by some man but he that built all things is God Fourthly Seeing the Lord is pleased to read such a natural Phylosophy Lecture upon this creature we may take this Observation from it God would have man know the parts and powers of the creatures Why doth the Lord in this book speak at large of them and of their powers but that we may take notice of them and understand them or that we should search and study them What the Psalmist speaks concerning the works of providence is true of the Lords works in nature Psal 111.2 The works of the Lord are great And vers 4. He hath made his wonderful works to be remembred that is that they should be spoken of and memoriz'd And therefore having said at the beginning of the second verse The works of the Lord are great he adds in the close of it Sought out of all them that have pleasure therein His work is honourable and glorious c. The works of God are to be searched to the bottom though their bottom cannot be found by all those that have pleasure and delight either in God or in his works and they therefore search them out also because they encrease and better their knowledge of God the Creator by encreasing and bettering their knowledge about the creature From the whole verse we may infer First If God will not conceal the parts the power and comliness of his creatures then let not us conceal the power the glory and the excellency of God Yea let us with heart and tongue declare the glorious perfections of God how holy how just how wise how merciful how patient and long-suffering a God he is When God makes the creature known to us he would much more have us know himself and make him known Davids heart was set upon this duty Psal 9.14 Thou hast lifted me up from the gates of death that I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Sion As if he had said This O Lord was thy design in lifting me up from the gates of death that is from deadly dangers or killing diseases that I might declare thy praise in Sions gates or that I might declare how praise-worthy thou art to all who come into the gates of Sion And again Psal 118.17 I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord. In the 40th Psalm which is a Prophecy of Christ he speaks in the words of the Text vers 10. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation I have not concealed thy loving kindness and thy truth from the great congregation As the Lord saith here concerning Leviathan I will not conceal his parts so saith the Prophet I will not conceal his loving kindness and truth c. Which as it is most true of Christ whose work it was to do so as also the end of all his works so it sheweth what we ought to do and what should be the end of all our works not to conceal the righteousness and goodness of God but declare them in the great congregation And as Christ declared the glory of the Father so should we the glory of Christ We read the Church engaged in this As I shewed before Christ could not conceal the parts of the Church so the Church could not conceal the parts of Christ Cant. 5.9 There the question is put to the Church What is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou dost thus charge us The Church being asked this question will not conceal the parts nor the power nor the comely proportion of Christ her Beloved but gives a copious Narrative of his gracious excellencies vers 10. My Beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest among ten thousand his head is as most fine gold his locks are bushy and black as a Raven his eyes are as the eyes of Doves by the rivers of waters washed with milk and fitly set his cheeks are as a bed of spices as sweet flowers his lips like Lillies dropping sweet smelling myrrh his hands are as gold rings set with Beryle his belly is as bright Ivory overlaid with Saphyres his legs are as pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold his countenance is as Lebanon excellent as the Cedars his mouth is sweet yea he is altogether lovely This is my beloved and this is my friend O daughters of Jerusalem Thus as Christ concealed not the parts of the Church so the Church concealed not the parts the power and comely proportion of Christ And did we more consider who Christ is and what he is both in himself and unto us we should be more both in admiring within our selves and in reporting to others his parts his power and comely proportion Secondly If God hath not concealed the knowledge of his creatures from us if
is said ver 7. How much she hath glorified her self and lived deliciously so much torment and sorrow give her Now as no man can tell nor imagine how much she hath glorified her self nor how deliciously she hath lived so no man can tell how much torment and sorrow she shall have Yea we read not only of a double and quadruble but of a seven-fold reward of wrath for evil men Psal 79.12 Render unto our neighbours seven-fold into their bosome And surely that Scripture means bad neighbours Now as the Lord doth plentifully reward the proud and evil doers in a way of wrath so he will plentifully reward well-doers and well-sufferers whether under his own hand or the hand of man in ways of mercy And if so then First Fear not to lose by God and that in a two-fold respect First When he cometh to borrow of you for the poor He that hath pity on the poor lendeth to the Lord Prov. 19.17 Every time we are asked to give to the poor upon due occasion God sends to borrow of us and he will surely repay what he hath borrowed therefore fear not to lose by God when he borrows of you for the poor Secondly Fear not to lose by God when he takes all from you and makes you poor Sometimes God doth not come a borrowing but he cometh a taking he will have all whether you will or no He will sometimes take all away by fire by losses at sea or land in these and such like cases fear not ●o be losers by God But First Trust him as Job did Secondly Be patient as Job was They that have an interest in God and a portion in the promise need not fear they shall lose a thread or a shoe-latchet by God though his providence takes all away and strips them as it did Job naked What God takes from his servants he keeps for them and will restore to them either in the same kind with much more as he did to Job at last or in some other kind which is much better as he did to Job at first While Job was deprived of his all worldly good things God gave him much patience at first so that when all was lost and gone he could say Naked came I out of my mothers womb and naked shall I return thither The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken blessed be the name of the Lord. While this frame of heart lasted it was better than all that he had lost and though through the extremity of his pains and temptations it was somewhat abated and his patience somewhat ruffled yet it was never wholly lost and when it was worst with him his faith failed not which was best of all Now what the Apostle spake concerning those troubles which befel the Israelites in the wilderness They happened for examples 1 Cor. 10.11 So all these troubles and takings away happened to Job as our example or which the Greek word signifieth as a type that we should be patient under the Lords hand in taking and remember for the encouragement of our faith the Lords bounty in restoring For this end the Apostle James calleth us to consider this dealing of God with Job Jam. 5.11 Ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord. What is that to us may some say that Job was patient Yes all the matter is to us it was written for our example and admonition and saith the Apostle ye have not only heard of the patience of Job but have seen the end of the Lord. Here is an exercise of those two noble senses Hearing and Seeing mentioned and doubtless for great purposes both But why doth he adde ye have seen the end of the Lord Some interpret these words as a second instance the Apostle mentioning Job in the former words and Christ in these Ye have seen the end of the Lord that is how it was with Christ in his sufferings The Lord Jesus Christ was well rewarded for all that he suffered God highly exalted him Phil. 2.7 because he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross 'T is a truth if we take those latter words of the verse Ye have seen the end of the Lord for the issue of Christs sufferings But I rather conceive that the whole verse relateth unto Job and so the end of the Lord in the latter part is the end which the Lord made with Job As if the Apostle James had said Hath it not been set before your eyes what end the Lord made with him or how he gave him double in the end Be not afraid to lose by God either borrowing or taking for he is a bountiful rewarder Secondly As we should not be afraid to lose by God when he comes either to borrow a part or as the case was with Job to take all from us so let us not be afraid to lose for God which was toucht before together with the former Inference upon the 11th verse of the 41 Chapter We have no ground in the world of fear when all that we have in the world is taken from us for Gods sake that is for righteousness sake seeing God who here restored to Job double all that himself had taken from him hath also promised to give his faithful servants double for all that is taken from them upon his account by men or which they lose for him That 's the meaning of the Prophet Isa 61.7 For your shame ye shall have double that is ye having suffered shame or been put to shame for Gods sake or for doing that which is honourable and commendable in it self shall receive double What double As by shame we are to understand any evil suffered so by double any good promised as a reward for suffering that evil especially such good as stands in direct opposition to that evil As if it had been said ye shall have double honour for shame and double riches for poverty and double health for sickness and and double liberty for imprisonment and captivity 'T is much to have double reparation of any loss yet this doubling is a poor matter to what is promised in another place to those who lose for God We have Christs word with an asseveration for it Mat. 19.28 29. Verily I say unto you that ye which have followed me in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel And every one that hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my name sake here are great sufferings but behold a greater reward followeth not like Jobs twofold but an hundred-fold so saith that Text shall receive an hundred-fold and which is ten-thousand-fold more than that shall inherit everlasting life Be not afraid to lose for God Job had double who lost by God and so may you but if ye lose