had learned to preferre opportunity before time There might be some by at this first banquet whose company she liked not or she might not yet have so clear an answer in her own heart to her former prayers and therefore desireth some farther time that night to seek God whatever the reason of not putting it off till dext day was Gods holy hand was in it that Mordecai might bâ— first so greatly honoured and Hamans high Gallowes prepared Illum utiquie magiâ—â—eoâ—rum Râ—geâ— autem magis benevoliâ—â— magisque fecit attentuâ— saith Rupertus Hereby she made Haman more secure and the King more kinde and attent Verse 9. Then went Haman that day forth joyful Saeculi laetitia est impunita nequitia saith an Ancient He looked upon himself now as no lesse favoured of the Queen then of the King and was puffed up with this new honour as a bubble is with a childes blast in a walnut-shell with a little sope but it shortly after falls down again into his eyes and vexeth him And with a glad heart But he rejoyced as many more do in a thing of nought Am. 6.13 And the end of this his mirth was heavinesse Prov. 14.13 It was risus Sardonius like that of those who being stung with the Tarantula a viper in Italy die laughing and capering Or as the Dolphin that sporteth most before a storme Or as the little fishes that swimming merrily down the silver stream of Jordan fall shortly after into the dead sea Haman doubtlesse held himself now the happiest man alive as having the royalty not of the Kings care only but of the Queens too as he foolishly fancied Ps 10.3 5 6. This wicked on boasted of his hearts desire and as for all his enemies he puffed at them He said in his heart I shall not be moved I shall never be in adversity Herodotus saith of Apryes King of Egypt Pharaoh-Hophrah Jeremy calleth him chapâ— 44. that he conceited and bragged that his Kingdome was better setled to him then that any Herod l 2. either God or man could remove him yet was he afterwards taken and hang'd by his own subjects Ael var. hist l. 2. Aelian tells us that Dionysius the Tyrant thought it impossible that he should have been cast out of Sicily but it proved otherwise How suddenly were Alexâ—nder the great Conquerour and Julius Caesar the perpetual Dictator cut off Ps 118.12 and quenched as the fire of thornes Sic transit gloria mundi The worlds greatest darlings are in no better condition then the Bull that goes to be sacrificed with garlands on his head and musick before him but suddenly fells the stroke of the murthering axe But when Haman saw Mordecai in the Kings gate There he sat and would not stir an inch for Hamans greatnesse as resolute he remained not withstanding the bloody Edict now published as was Rawlins White the Martyr in Queen Maries dayes The Bishop of Landaffe pretended to pray for his Conversion after which he said Now Rawlins how is it with thee Wilt thou revoke thine opinions or no Surely said he my Lord Rawlins you left me and Rawlins you finde me and Rawlins by Gods grace I will continue Act Mon. 1415. Ibid. 1430. The heavens shall assoon fall said another as I will recant This the mad world stiles stiffenesse self-willednesse fool-hardinesse c. as was before noted but the Saints do it out of Christian courage an invincible saith and zeale for Gods cause and Kingdome That he stood not up nor moved for him No not he ne minimo quidem obsequiolo he neither moved nor muted For he looked upon him first as a vile person and therefore fit to be slighted Pal. 15.4 Next as an utter enemy to God and his people a sworn sword-man to the devil Lastly Mordecai herein shewed himself constant to his principles and to his former practice which a good man may not easily alter left all be questioned Besides should he but have any whit yielded Haman would have been thereby hardened and his pride heightened He therefore very honestly persisteth in his purpose and giveth that wretch lesse respect then ever He was full of indignation against Mordecai Full as heart could hold of hot wrath so that he gloweth like a fire-coal Et ferè crepat medius So unsatisfiable is ambition so restlesse and so vindictive Verso 10. Neverthelesse Haman refrained himselfe Much ado he had to forbeare mischieving him he was faine to force himself thereunto as the word signifieth for his fingers even itched to be having him by the eares or to be bathing in his blood This he did not haply because he durst not because Mordecai was the Kings servant his door-Keeper as 't is thought and so went under his protection It would therefore have reflected upon the King himself if he should lay violent hands on him Most sure it is that God held his hands and preserved Mordecai for further good to his Church Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints neither will he send them to bed till they have done their work And when he came home he sent and called for his friends This had been a wise mans part if he had done it for any good purpose But as he was in an ill case to consult as being full of rage so he minded nothing but revenge and therefore advised with none but such as would say with him and thereby hasten his downfal And zeresh his wife Vt consiliariorum primam praecipuam That she was wife above her sexe See chap. 6.13 But had she been as wife as Pilates wife was She would not have given here such pestilent counsel but have warned her husband of medling with just men Have these workers of iniquity no knowledge that they eate up Gods people as they eat bread that they make account to make but a breakfast of them Psal 14.4 Verse 11. And Haman told them of the glory of his riches Favourites observing their mollissima fandi tempora get many times much wealth under Princes as did Sejanus under Tiberius Seneca under Nero that rich and wretched Cardinal Henry Beauford Bishop of Winchester and Chancellour of England in the reigne of Henry the sixth Cardinal Woolsey under Henry the eight That Haman had well-feathered his nest appears by his large offer to the King of ten thousand talents of silver c. Now riches render a man glorious in the worlds eye hence they go coupled together Prov. 3.16 and 8.18 Hence that of Labans grumbling sonnes Gen. 31.1 Quicquid non acquiritur damnum est Sen. Jacob hath taken away all that was our fathers nay not all but as avarice made Sejanus think all which he acquired not to be lost so did these losels and of that which was of our fathers hath be gotten all this glory But what were all this glory of his riches if for want of children Haman should leave it to those Quos vel
their lives Not one whereof was lost in this hot encounter in this sharp revenge they took off their avowed enemies This was even a miracle of Gods mercy Who would not feare thee O King of Nations c. And had rest from their enemies Or That they might have rest from their enemies who would not otherwise be quieted but by the letting out of their life-blood but would make an assault upon the harmelsse Jewes though it were to die for it so that upon the matter they were their own deathsmen besides the wilful losse of their immortal soules which our Saviour sheweth Mat 16.26 to be a losse 1. Incomparable 2. Irreparable And slew of their foes seventy and five thousand Neither was it any dishonour to them to be God Almighties slaughtermen Even the good Angels are Executioners of Gods righteous judgements as they were at Sodom in Sennacheribs army and oft in the Revelation There cannot be a better or more noble act then to do justice upon obstinate Malefactours But they laid not their hands on the prey They would not once foule their fingers therewith No godly man in Scripture is taxed for covetousnesse that sordid sin See the Note on verse 10. Verse 17. On the thirteenth day of the moneth Adar On this day they stood for their lives that they might rest from their enemies And accordingly On the fourteenth day of the same rested they i. e. the very next day after their deliverance they would not defer it a day longer but kept an holy rest with Psalmes and sacrifices of praise those calves of their lips the very next day whiles the deliverance was yet fresh and of recent remembrance This they knew well that God expected Deut. 23.21 and that he construeth delayes for denials Hag. 1.2 4. he gave order that no part of the thank-offering should be kept unspent till the third day to teach us to present our praises when benefits are newly received which else would soon wax stale and putrifie as fish I will pay my vowes now now saith David Psal 116.18 Hezekiah wrote his Song the third day after his recovery Queen Elizabeth when exalted from a prisoner to a Princesse and from misery to Majesty before she would suffer her self to be mounted in her charet to passe from the Tower to Westminster Englands Eliz. she very devoutly lifted up her hands and eyes to heaven and gave God humble thanks for that remarkable change and turn of things And made it a day of feasting and gladnesse Exhilarating and chearing up their good hearts that had long layen low with a more liberal use of the creatures that they might the better preach his praises and speak good of his name and that sith they could not offer up unto him other sacrifices prescribed in the Law because they were far from the Temple they might not be wanting with their sacrifice of thanksgiving which God preferreth before an oxe that hath hornes and hoofs saith the Psalmist Words may seem to be but a poor and slight recompence but Christ saith Nazianzen calleth himself the Word and this was all the fee that he looks for for his cures Go and tell what God hath done for thee With these calves of our lips let us cover Gods Altar and we shall finde that although he will neither eat the flesh of bulls nor drink the blood of goats yet if we offer unto God thanksgiving and pay our vowes unto the most High Psal 50.13 14. it will be look't upon as our reasonable service Rom. 12.1 Verse 18. On the thirteenth day thereof and on the fourteenth What they could not do on one day they did it on another Men must be sedulous and strenuous in Gods work doing it with all their might and redeeming time for that purpose Eccl. 9.10 On both these dayes they destroyed their enemies They did their work thoroughly Let us do so in slaying our spiritual enemies not sparing any Agag not reserving this Zoar or that Rimmon but dealing by the whole body of sinne as the King of Moab did with the King of Edom Amos 2.1 burn the bones of it to lime destroy it not to the halves as Saul but hew it in pieces before the Lord as Samuel As Joshua destroyed all the Canaanites he could lay hold on As Asa spared not his own mother as Solomon drew Joab from the Altar to the slaughter and put to death Adoniah the darling so must we deale by our corruptions ferretting and fetching them out of their lurking holes as these Jewes did their enemies on the fourteenth day that had escaped the day before Sith we must either kill them up all or be killed by them for as that one bastard Abimelech slew all Gideons sonnes upon one stone so one lust left unmortified will undo the soul And as one sinner so one sin may destroy much good Eccl. 9.18 And on the fifteenth day of the moneth they rested So shall the Saints do after death which will be the accomplishment of mortification for he that is dead is freed from sin Rom. 6.7 and filled with joy Isa 35.10 The ransomed of the Lord shall then return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads they shall obtain joy and gladnesse and sorrow and sighing shall flee away Verse 19. Therefore the Jewes of the villages c. Pagani This is expounded in the next words that dwelt in the unwalled townes Such as is the Hague in Holland that hath two thousand housholds in it and chuseth rather to be counted the principal village of Europe then a lesser City Made the fourteenth day c. See verse 17. while the Jewes in Shushan were destroying the remainder of their enemies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Mac. 15.36 This day was afterwards called Mordecai's Holiday And of sending portions one to another See Nehem. 8.10 To the rich they sent in courtesie to the poor in charity and both these to testifie their thankfulnesse to God for their lives liberties and estates so lately and graciously restored unto them Verse 20. And Mordecai wrote these things He wrote with authority as a Magistrate say some that the Jewes should keep these dayes with greatest solemnitie He wrote the relation of these things before-mentioned say others as the ground of this annual festivitie Or else it may be meant more generally that Mordecai was the Pen-man of the Holy Ghost in writing this whole book of Esther as was before hinted And sent letters unto all the Jewes both night and farre Propinquis longinquis that they might all agree together about the time and manner of praising God and so sing the great Hallelujah See 2 Cor. 1.11 2 Chron. 20.26 27 28. Psal 124.1 2. and 126.1 Psal 136. penned for a recorded publike forme to praise God among the multitude Psal 109.20 and in the great Congregation Psal 22.22 25. David would go into the presses of people and there praise the Lord Psal 116.18
the Israel of God for only such are fit to praise God excellent words become not a fool the Lepers lips are to bee covered Vers 3. Let the house of Aaron now say Ministers are Chieftains Heb. 13.7 17. and should be as the chief Chanters in Gods praises Vers 4. Let them now that fear the Lord say See Psal 115.11 and observe that the Psalmist beateth upon the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as doth also the Apostle 2 Cor. 6. â— Now now now saith he because for ought we know t is now or never to day or not at all the dead praise thee not Psal 6.6 That his mercy c. This is the fourth time in four verses as Psal 136. in every one of those twenty six verses like as a Bird that having gotten a Note recordeth it over and over Vers 5 I called upon the Lord in distress Heb. out of distress q. d. I celebrate not God mercy of course but out of experience The Lord answered me Heb. Jah answered me with a large râ—â—â—â—th See Psa 4.2 Vers 6. I will not fear c. See Psal 36.4 11. Vers 7. The Lord taketh my part with them that help me Not only as one of my helpers but instead of all and more than all How many reckon yee me at said that General to his Souldiers who were afraid of their enemies numbers Cui adhaereo praest He whom I take part with must needs prevail Vers 8. It is better to trust in the Lord c. Luther on this text calleth it Artem artium mirificam ac suam artem non fidere hominibus that is the Art of Arts and that which he had well studied not to put confidence in man as for trust in God he calleth it Sacrificium omnium gratissimum suavissimum cultum omnium pulcherrimum the most pleasant and sweetest of all Sacrifices the best of all services we perform to God Than to put confidence in man Quia mutatur aut fortuna aut voluntas aut vita saith Genebrard because either men may dye or their affections may dye or their wealth decay Vers 9. Than to put confidence in Princes In ingenuis Great mens words saith one are like dead mens shooes he may go bare-foot that waiteth for them Surely men of high degree are a lye Psal 62.9 Vers 10. All Nations compassed me about This is still the condition of Christs Church in this evil world to be hated of all and set against with utmost might and malice Haud perinde crimine incendii quam odio humani generis convicti sunt saith Tacitus of those Christians at Rome put to cruel deaths by Nero who having for his pleasure fired the City fathered it upon them as people hated of all men But in the name of the Lord i.e. by faith in Gods power and promises Wee might also do great exploits against our Spiritual enemies did we but set upon them with Gods arms and with his armour did we but observe the Apostles rule Whatsoever yee do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus c. Col. 3.17 Vers 11. They compassed me about yea c. They thought to make sure work of me indeed as Saul and his men when they hemmed him in at Mâ—on 1 Sam. 23.26 as the Churches enemies when they had gotten her as a Bird into the sâ—aâ—â— of the Fowler Psal 124.7 as when the adversaries said They shall not know neither see till we come in the middâ—st among them and stay them Neâ— 4.11 But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them Eâ—â—rvaâ—â— â—â—eidâ—â— The word signifieth Non 〈◊〉 dormiâ—uti â—â—â—iâ—gâ—râ— victâ—riâ—â— sed â—â—rtami prâ—lâ—aâ—â—i Moller Plat. in Syl. that hee foiled not his foes without pains and peril Towns were said to come into Thâ—â—thâ—us his toyls whiles he slept but that was but a fiction of those that 〈◊〉 him Vers 12. They â—â—â—possed me about like Bees Like so many swarms of Bees which being angred Venâ—â—â—m Morsibus inspirant spicula caca relinqnunt Affixa venis animasque in 〈◊〉 pâ—â—â—â—t Virgil. Bees to be revenged lose their stings Aristâ—t and therewith their lives or at least they become drones ever after Wicked men are no less spiteful they care not to undoe themselves so they may wrong the Saints yea they are not unlike the Scorpion of which Pliny saith that there is not one minute wherein it doth not put forth the sting They are quenched or kindled aâ— the fire of thorns Which is quickly kindled and as quickly quenched Ex spinis non â—â—un exbones 〈◊〉 leaving no coals behind it See Eccles 7.6 The enemies of the Church may make a blaze but they are but a blast Vers 13. Thou hast thrust sore at me Thou O Saul or thou Ishbibenob 2 Sam. 21.16 or thou O Satan setting such a work But the Lord helped mee Hee sent from heaven and saved mee hee came in the nick of time as it were out of an Engine Vers 14. The Lord is my strength and song i.e. The matter of my song and mean of my joy Trust in God shall once triumph Vers 15. The voice of rejoycing c. q.d. Though themselves are but travellers and their habitations tabernacles or tents yet are they not without the joy of their salvation which is unspeakable and full of glory so that they go merrily on their way feeding on this hony-comb as once Sampson and Gods Statutes are their songs in the house of their Pilgrimage Psal 119.54 The right hand of the Lord c. This and that which followeth is the righteous mans ditty which hee singeth uncessantly See on vers 4. Vers Haec est vox Epiniâ—il 16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted By right hand here some understand the humanity of Christ Gods hand and our handle whereby wee come to take hold of God The right hand of the Lord doth valiantly Thrice hee celebrateth Gods right hand to set forth his earnest desire to say the utmost or in reference to the sacred Trinity as some will have it Vers 17 I shall not dye but live This hee was well assured of by Faith as was also the Church in Habbakkuk chap. 1.12 Art not thou from everlasting O Lord my God mine boly One wee shall not dye Learned Keckerman lying on his death bed and desirous if it had so pleased God to have lived a while longer for the finishing of those excellent peeces hee had in hand made use of these words of the Psalmist I shall not dye but live and declare the works of the Lord hee was then upon his system of naturall Philosophy but God had otherwise appointed it and hee submitted Vers 18. The Lord hath chastened mee sore Corripuit me seria severa castigatione and yet David was his darling But hee hath not given mee ever to death It might have been worse may the afflicted Saint say and it will yet bee better
to perish Merdecai maketh use of the self-same termes that Haman had done chap. 3.13 that all men might know that his commission was altogether as large as the others and that they would vim vi repellere stand upon their guard slay all such as should seek their lives and fight stoutly pro aris foris This Cic. pro milone saith Tully is Lex non scripta sed nata ad quam non docti sed facti non instituti sed imbuti sumus c. that which uncorrupted nature teacheth every man Both little ones and women this seemeth spoken in terrorem that the enemy might forbear to meddle if not for their own sakes Yet for their wives and children whom many hold more deare to themselves then their own lives But the Text may be better read thus To destroy to slay and to cause to perish all the power of the people and Province that would assault them their little ones and women And to take the spoile of them for a prey This also would work much with those that had estates to lose For money is the Monarch of this present world and many had as live part with their blood as their good Verse 12. Vpon one day in all the Provinces c. That once fatal day but henceforth the brunt once past festival That long-looked-for day wherein the enemy hoped to revel in the Churches ruines to frame Comedies out of her Tragedies to wash their feet in her blood yea to ride their horses up to the Saddle-skirts therein as Farnesius the Popes Champion threatened to do in Germany and Minerius in France and the Papists here in England at the death of Queen Elizabeth and again upon the good success of the Powder-plot that great crack and black day as they called it For the speeding and furthering whereof they had a devillish ditty consisting of a seven-fold Psalmody which secretly they passed from hand to hand with tunes set to be sung for the cheating up of their wicked hearts with an expectation as they called it of their day of Jubilee This is one passage therein Spec. bell sacr 20◠Confirme your hearts with hope for the day of your Redemption is not far off The year of visitation draweth to an end and Jubilation is at hand c. The Psalter is hard to be had for they are taken up by the Papists as other books be that discover their shame But do what they can shame shall be the promotion of fooles as it was of Haman but the wise as Mordecai shall inherit glory Prov. 3.35 Verse 13. The Copy of the writing Transcripts of the Original were every where published and proclaimed as the contrary Edict had been before chap. 3.14 This must needs amuse and amaze the people but who durst say to their Monarch What doest thou Is it safe to take a Lion by the beard or a Beare by the tooth That the Jewes should be ready against that day God sometimes taketh notice in his vindictive justice as of the offending member Judg. 1.6 7. Luke 16.24 so of the place where 1 Kings 21.19 Henry the third of France was stabbed to death in that very chamber where he had contrived the Massacre of Paris and of the time when mischief should have been acted to prevent and punish it as Exod. 15.9 10. Ladislaus King of Bohemia and Hungary having conspired with other Popish Princes to root out the true Christians in Bohemia on such a day on his marriage-day was immediately before in the midst of his great preparations visited with a pestilent sore in his groine whereof within thirty six houres he died Henry the second King of France M. Clarks Examples the self-same day that he had purposed to persecute the Church and burne certain of his guard whom he had in prison for religion at whose execution he had promised to have been himself in person in the midst of his triumph at a Tourney was wounded so sore in the head with a speare by one of his own subjects that ere long he died Act Mon. 1784. The Duke of Guise threatened to destroy utterly the Town of Orleans but was himself slain that very evening The Constable of France made a vow that so soon as he had taken St. Quintons he would set upon Geneva but sped as ill as Julian the Apostate did Ib. 19.14 when going against the Persians he swore that upon his return he would offer the blood of Christians But the Galilaean as he called Christ in scorne took an order with him ere that day came the Carpenters sonne had made ready his coffin as was foretold him by a Christian in answer to that bitter jeare To avenge themselves on their enemies This was no private revenge but licensed by the chief Magistrates entrusted by God with the administration of his Kingdome upon earth by the exercise of vindictive and remunerative justice Rom. 13.4 And here Bonis nocet qui malis parcit He wrongeth the good that punisheth not the bad True it is that private revenge is utterly unlawful unlesse it be in a mans own necessary defence where the case is so sudden that a man cannot call in the help of the Magistrate but must either kill or be killed Otherwise that of Lactantius holdeth true Non minus mali est injuriam referre quà m inferre And that of Seneca immane verbum est ultio Revenge is a cruel word Manhood some call it but it is rather doghood The manlier any man is the milder and more merciful as David 2 Sam. 1.12 and Julius Caesar who when he had Pompey's head presented to him wept and said Non mihi placet vindicta sed victoria I seek not revenge but victory The Jewes here sought not revenge but safety If they had been sold for bondmen they had borne it in silence and sufferance the language of the Lamb dumb before the Shearer chap. 7.4 Verse 14. So the Posts that rode upon mules and camels went out Thus God provided that his poor afflicted should be speedily comforted and assured that their prayers were accepted when this good newes came flyng towards them as on the wings of the wind over the mountaines of Bether all lets and impediments Thy words were heard and I am come for thy words saith the Angel to Daniel chap. 10.12 yea as these Posts were hastened and pressed on by the Kings commandment so was the Angel Gabriel caused to flie swiftly chap. 9.21 or as the Hebrew hath it with wearinesse of flight to bring the Prophet an answer to his prayers Who would not then pray to such a God as maketh his Angels Spirits his Ministers a flame of fire to convey seasonable relief to his poor Suppliants Being hastened Heb. Frighted and headlonged by a solicitous celerity hasting and hurrying for life as we say being driven on to a dispatch with utmost expedition they threw themselves onward their way as the second word here used importeth
how old he was answered that he was in health and to another that asked how rich he was answered that he was not in debt q. d. He is young enough that is in health and rich enough that is not in debt Now all this Job was yet and therefore Satan ill apaid and unsatisfied And all that he hath will a man give for his life Life is sweet we say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aesop 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist and man is a life-loving creature saith the Heathen fond of life and afraid of death which is Natures slaughterman and therefore the most Terrible of Terribles as Aristotle stileth it The Gibeonites refused not to be perpetuall slaves so they might but live Those that are overcome in battle are content to be stript of all so they may have quarter for their lives Marriners in a tempest cast their lading into the sea though never so precious in hope of life If Job may escape with the skin of his teeth it is some favour he may not think much to sacrifice all that he hath to the service of his life his conscience only excepted Some good people have strained that too for love of life as when Abraham denyed his wife David changed his behaviour Camd. Elis fol. 325. Peter denyed his Master Qu. Elizabeth though afterwards she could say When I call to mind things past behold things present and expect things to come I hold them happiest that go hence soonest yet in Queen Maries time shee sometimes heard divine service after the Romish religion and was often confessed yea at the rigorous sollicitation of Cardinall Pool shee professed her self a Romish Catholick yet did not Queen Mary believe her saith mine Author remembring that shee her self for feare of death had by Letters written with her own hand to her father both renounced for ever the Bishop of Romes authority Ibid. Introd and withall acknowledged her father to be supreme head of the Church of England under Christ and her Mothers marriage to have been incestuous and unjust Those good soules did better that loved not their lives unto death Rev. 12.11 that by losing their lives saved them Matth. 10.39 that held with that Martyr Julius Palmer that life is sweet only to such as have their souls linked to their bodies as a thiefs foot is in a pair of fetters Verse 5. But put forth thy hand now See notes on chap. 1.11 This God did at Satans motion yet non ad exitium Jobi sed ad exercitium Jobs temptation is of Satan but his triall and invincible constancy is of god God in a sense tempted Job Satan also even as the dog may be said to bait the beast and the owner of the beast too that suffered him to be baited And touch his bone and his flesh pinch him to the quick that not his flesh onely may feel it but the marrow also in his bones Psal 6.2 and 32.3 and 51.8 The bone and flesh are the chief materials of mans body which is fitly compared to a fabrick wherein the bones are the timber-work the head the upper-lodging the eyes as windowes the eye-lids as casements the browes as pent-houses the ears as watch-towers the mouth as a door to take in that which shall uphold the building and keep it in reparations the stomack as a kitchin to dresse that which is conveyed into it the guts and baser parts as sinks belonging to the house c. as one maketh the comparison Now in all these and the rest of his parts of body Satan would have Job to be smitten and then he made no question of a conquest Paine is a piercing shaft in Satans quiver of temptations hence he stirred up his agents to tympanize and torment the Martyrs with as much cruelty as the wit of malice could devise but all in vain Heb. 11.35 36. Apollonia had all her teeth pulled out of her head hence Papists make her the Saint for tooth-ach Blandina tired those that tortured her Theodorus was cruelly whipped racked Scerat Theodor. and scraped with sharp shells by the command of Julian but yeilded not Rose Allen had her hand-wrist burnt by Justice Tyrrell who held a candle under it till the sinews brake that all the house heard them and then thrusting her from him violently said ah strong whore wilt thou not cry thou shamelesse whore thou beastly whore c. But she quietly suffering his rage for the time at the last said Sir Acts Mon. 1820. have you done what you will doe and he said yea and if thou think it not well then mend it Mend it said she nay the Lord mend you and give you repentance if it be his will And now if you think it fit begin at the feet and burn the head also for he that set you a work shall pay your wages one day I warrant you As little got the divel by these worthies as he did by Jobs biles and carbuncles We are ashamed said one of Julians Nobles to him we are Ashamed O Emperour the Christians laugh at your cruelty and grow the more resolute And he will curse thee to thy face Heb. If he curse thee not to thy fade q. d. then damne me send me to hell presently This Satan holds in by an Aposiopesis being therein more modest then our desperate and detestable God-damn-mee's let them see how they gratifie the divel who curse and blaspheme or protest openly what they know to be false This the divel did not Verse 6. And the Lord said unto Satan who hath his request it is not alwayes a mercy to have what we wish Deus saepè dat iratus quod negat propitius Be sure we bring lawful petitions and true hearts Heb. 10.22 and then we shall have good things and for our greatest good Behold he is in thine hand Here God puts his child into his slaves hand to correct but not to destroy And surely if we give reverence to the fathers of our flesh who correct us for their own pleasure shall we not much more be in subjection unto the Father of Spirits Heb. 12 9 10. Busbeq chastning us for our profit and live The Turks though cruelly lasht are yet compelled to return to him that commanded it to kisse his hand and to give him thanks and to pay the officer that whipt them This last we need not do but the former we ought taking Gods part against our selves and resting contented though as Paul delivered up some to Satan that they might learn not to blaspheme so God deliver us up to him and his agents such as Satanically hate us and are divellishly bent against us Psal 32.21 causing us to suffer more then any ever did out of hell that we may learn not to be proud secure sensuall and may preach forth the vertues of him who hath brought us out of darknesse into his marvellous light 1 Pet. 2.9 Let us not say if God would take
of this and especially in this book which shewes that we are very apt to forget it A point this is easie to be known but very hard to be believed every man assents to it but few live it and improve it to reformation Mine eyes shâ—ll no more sâ—e good sc in this world for in the world to come hee was confident of the beatificall vision chap. 19.27 Hezekiah hath a like expression when sentenced to die I said in the cutting off of my dayes I shall not see the Lord even the Lord in the land of the living that is in this life present Psal 27.13 and 52 5. and 142.5 Isa 53.8 called also the light of the living John 9.4 Psal 56.13 I shill behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world Isa 38.11 And this both sick Job and sick Hezekiah tell the Lord and both of them begin alike with O remember Isa 38.3 God forgetteth not his people and their condition howbeit he requireth and expecteth that they should be his Remembrancers for their own and others good Isa 62.6 7. See the Margin Verse 8. Thâ— eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more In death we shall neither see nor be seen but be soon both out of sight and out of mind too It is storied of Richard the third that he caused the dead corps of his two smothered Nephews to be closed in lead and so put in a coffin full of holes and hooked at the ends with two hookes of iron and so to be cast into a place called the Black-deeps Speed 935. at the Thames mouth whereby they should never rise up nor be any more seen Such a place is the grave till the last day for then the sea shall give up the dead which are in it and death ad he grave shall render up the dead that are in them Rev. 20.13 then shall Adam see all his nephews at once c. Thine eyes are upon me and I am not Thou even lookest me to death like as elsewhere God is said to frown men to destruction Psalm 80.16 and Psalm 104.29 they are not able to endure his flaming eyes sparkling out wrath against them What mad men therefore are they that speak and act against Him who can so easily do them to death If God but set his eyes upon them for evil as he oft threatneth to do Amos 9.4 Job 16.9 they are undone Verse 9. As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away A cloud is nothing else but a vapour thickened in the middle Region of the aire by the cold encompassing and driving it together psalm 18.19 vessels they are as thin as the liquor that is in them but some are waterlesse the former are soon emptied and dissolved the later as soon scattered by the wind and vanish away See the Note on verse 7. So he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more sc to live and converse here with men as ver 10. Or he shall come up no more sc without a miracle as Lazarus and some others long since dead rose againe he cannot return to me said David of his deceased child 2 Sam. 12.23 God could send some from the dead to warn the living but that is not now to be expected as Abraham told the rich man Luk. 16. Those spirits of dead men that so oft appeared in times of Popery requiring their friends to sing Masses and Dirges for them and that drew this verse from Theodorus Gaza sunt aliquid manes lethum non omnia finit were either delusions or else divels in the shape of men That Job doubted of the Resurrection or denied it as Rabbi Solomon and some other both Hebrew and Greek writers conclude from this text is a manifest injury done to this good man and a force offered to the text as appeareth by that which next followeth Verse 10. He shall return no more to his house Either to dispatch businesses or to enjoy comforts he hath utterly done with the affaires of this world Melanchthon telleth of an aunt of his who having buried her husband and sitting sorrowfully by the fires side saw as she thought her husband coming into the roome and talking to her familiarly about the payment of certaine debts and other businesses belonging to the house and when he had thus talked with her a long time he bid her give him her hand she at first refused but was at length perswaded to do it he taking her by the hand so burnt it that it was as black as a coal and so he departed Was not this the divel Neither shall his place know him any more His place of habitation or his place of honour and ruledome these shall no more acknowledge him and welcome him back as they used to do after a journey Death is the conclusion of all worldly comforts and relations Hence wicked people are so loth to depart because there is struck by death an everlasting parting-blow betwixt them and their present comforts without hope of better spes fortuna valete said one great man at his death Cardinall Burbon would not part with his part in Paris for his part in paradise Fie said another rick Cardinall will not death be hired will mony do nothing Never did Adam go more unwillingly out of paradise the Jebusites out of the strong-hold of Zion the unjust steward out of his office or the divels out of the demoniack then gracelesse people do out of their earthly tabernacles because they know they shall return no more and having hopes in this life only they must needs look upon themselves as most miserable Verse 11. Therefore I will not refraine my mouth Heb. I will not prohibite my month sc from speaking I will bite in my grief no longer but sith death the certaine end of all outward troubles is not farre from mee I will by my further complaints presse the Lord to hasten it and not suppresse my sorrowes but give them a vent I will speake in the anguish of my spirit Heb. In the straitnesse or distresse of my spirit which is almost suffocated with grief I will complaine in the bitternesse my soul his greatest troubles were inward and if by godly sorrow for his sinnes he had powred forth his soule in an humble confession as some understand him here he had taken a right course but thus boisterously to break out into complaints savoureth of humane infirmity and sheweth quantae sint hominis vires sibi à Deo derelicti what a poor creature man is when God leaveth him to himself Mercer and subjecteth him to his judgments Verse 12. Am I a sea or a whale Can I bear all troubles as the sea receives all waters and the whale beares all tempests This as is well observed was too bold a speech to God from a creature for when his hand is on our backs our hands should be upon our mouths as Psalm 39.9 I was dumb or as others read it I should
nor bestow upon them thy crown of righteousness Vers 28. Let them be blotted out c. Wherein they were never indeed written among those living in Jerusalem Isa 4.3 those first-born whose names are written in Heaven Heb. 12.23 but they accounted themselves of that number and were so esteemed by others This was a mistake and the Psalmist prayeth God to make it appear so No videantur in alhum tuorum velats quibus vgra vita 〈◊〉 destinasâ—i Vers 29. But I am poer and sorrowful The Church is usually so and may sing as here Vaâ—nignant c. but her comfort is 1 That Christ saith unto her as Rev. 2.9 I know thy sorrow and poverty but that is nothing Thou art rich 2 That her poverty is not penal but Medicinal Gods dispensation is sit her for better riches As a wise Physician purgeth a foul body till he bring it almost to skin and bone But why That having made it poor there may bee a spring of better bloud and spirits Vers 30. I will praise the Name of God i. e. aquitum Deum I will thankfully agnize and recognize Gods great goodness to me in this deliverance with mine uttermost zeal and skill Vers 31. This also shall please the Lord better c. True thankfulness is epimum optimum sacrificium those calves of our lips Hos 14.3 Heb. 12 1â— These Calves or Bullocks as in the Text must 1 Have burnt and hoofts bee young and tender the very best of the best 2 They must bee slain our thanks must proceed from a mortified minde 3 They must be sacrifised where is required 1 An Altar our praises must be tendred in the mediation of Christ 2. Fire our hearts must be enflamed with zeal and ardency 3 Our hands must be laid on the head of the Bullock That is we must in all humility confess our unworthiness c. This will surely please the Lord better than an Oxe or Bullock that hath â—erns and hâ—â—ofâ— Vers 32. The humble shall see this and be glad Davids great care was for others confirmation and comfort much more Christs witness that holy prayer of his Joh. 17. Your 〈◊〉 shall live Which before was all 〈◊〉 Pray that yet may joy David did so often Psal 6. c. Vers 33. For the Lord he 〈◊〉 the poor He is the poor mans King the wronged mans refuge Trajan the Emperour is renouned for this Aeli spart that when he was mounted for a battel he alighted again to hear the complaint of a poor Woman that cried unto him for Justice and our Edw. 6. for this that he would appoint certain hours to sit with the Master of the Requests Engl. Elis only to dispatch the Causes of the poor God is much more to be magnified Vers 34. Let the heaven and earth praise him As they do in their kind and have good cause so to do for their resstaâ—ration by Christ Rom. 8.11 Vers 35. 〈…〉 The Church universal And will build the Cities The paâ—â—â—dâ— at Churches That they may dwell there viz. The seed of his servants vers 36. 〈◊〉 after them shall be incorporated into the Church and 〈◊〉 thing to all perpetuity PSAL. LXX A Psalm of David Made likely or rather made use of from Psal 40.14 15 c. when Shaba the Son of Bichri was up in rebellion after Absoloms death 2 Sam. 20.1 c. See Psal 69. title To bring to remembrance Worthy to be remembred and followed as a pattern of prayer Some make this Psalm an Appendix to the former as Psal 43. is to Psal 42. Others make it a part of the next Psalm which is therefore say they without a title Vers 1. Make haste O God to deliver me As a Father â—ans without leggs when his childe is hazarded Vers 2. Let them be ashamed See Psal 40.14 35.26 27. Vers 3. Let them be turned back for a reward Vel ficit per insidias vel supplantationem more Athletarum a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let them be supplanted defeated That say Aha aha Augustine rendreth it Enge Enge that is Well done and giveth this Note upon it Plus persequitur lingua adulator is quà m manus interfectoris The tongue of a Flatterer may mischief a man more than the hand of a Murtherer The Apostle Heb. 11.37 ranketh their tempting and flattering promises among their bloudy deeds their is sing tongues with their terrifying jaws Vers 4. Let all those that seek thee c. Piorum characteres saith one a godly man caracterized by his search after God his joy in him his love to him his praises of him Let God be magnefied In illo quicquid ego ille non ego saith Augustine Vers 5. But I am poor and needy See Psal 69.29 with the Note PSAL. LXXI VErs 1. In thee O Lord do I put my trusts See Psal 31.1 with the Note It appeareth by vers 9.18 that this Psalm was written by David in his old age when Absolom or Sheba was in rebellion against him though haply for haste and in that fright he could not superscribe it as he did the rest The Greek title viz. of David A Psalm of the Sons of Jonadab and of them that were first captived hath no footing in the Original Hebrew Vers 2. Deliver me in thy righteousness Let my deliverance be the fruit of thy promise and of my prayer and so it will be much the sweeter Vers 3. Thou hast given Commandement sc To thine Angels and all other thy Creatures or thou hast commanded that is thou hast promised Vers 4. One of the hand of the unrighteous That seeketh by fraud to undermine me and by force to overturn me And cruel man Qui totus in fermento jacet soure as leaven sharp as vineger Vers 5. For thou art my hope Helpless I may seem but hopeless I am not Vers 6. Hâ— thee have I been bolden us from the womb As in the Womb I lived upon thee so from the womb The same that breede thus feedeth us that matter that nourisheth the Childe in the Womb striking up into the breasts and by a further concoction becoming white is mode milk for it Thou ar◠〈…〉 me out infamy to other bowels Else I had never been born alive That a childe is bound 〈…〉 saith Galen Sed quomoda fiat admotoritar 〈…〉 calleth it 〈◊〉 supra mirabiloâ— muja mirabila the greatest wonder in the World Surely if a Childe were born but once in an hundred years space we should all then to see so strange a work saith another Vers 7. I am as a wonder 〈◊〉 Or 〈◊〉 the great ones a Monster to the mighty Quia credo 〈…〉 glosseth because I beleeve what I yet see not viz. that this storm shall blow over and I he reâ—â—â—ed in my Throne Vers 8. 〈…〉 Vers 9. Cast me not off in the time of old age For now I have most need of thee The white Rose is soonest cankered so is the white Head soonest corrupted
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
upon him as silver and although he now crushed him together and brake him to pieces as the silver-smith doth an old piece of plate which he means to melt yet that he would in the grave as in a furnace refine him and at the Resurrection bring him out of a new fashion Lo this is the right Logick of faith to make conclusions of life in death and of light in darknesse to gather one contrary out of another Verse 16. For now thou numbrest my steps Or But now thou numbrest c. thou keepest an exact account of every sin of mine of every step that I have trod awry yea though it be but some wry motion of my mind as the Septuagint here translate so curious art thou and critical in thine observations of mine out-strayes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 See chap. 10.14 But is this Job that speaketh or some other How confident was he 〈◊〉 while and comfortable in the hope of a glorious resurrection but now down again upon all four as we say and like an aguish man in a great fit of impatiency which holdeth him to the end of the chapter But for this who knoweth not that every new man is two men that in the Saints the flesh is ever lusting against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh that in the Shulamite is as it were the company of two armies maintaining a continual contest Cant. 0.13 â—said I am cast out of they sight yet I will look againe toward thine holy Temple Jon. 2.4 See the Note there Dost thou not watch over my sin This is the same with the former but without a figure The Rabbines have a saying that there is not any doubt in the law but may be resolved by the context the Scripture is its owne best Interpreter Verse 17. My transgression is sealed up in a bag As the writings or informations of a processe which is ready to be sentenced Deut. 32.34 Hos 13.12 Thou hast as it were sealed up and made sure work with all my sins saith Job to have them forth-coming for the increase of my punishment Look how the Clark of Assizes saith one seals up the indictments of men and at the Assizes brings his bag and takes them out to read the same against them so God dealt with Job in his conceit at least The truth is God had not sealed his transgressions in a bag but had cast them behind his back a bag God hath for mens sins and a bottle he hath for their tears Psalm 56.8 Now Job was one of those penitents that helped to fill Gods bottle and therefore he saw at length though now he were benighted all his sins bag and all thrown into the sea and sinking as a waighty milstone in those mighty waters of free-grace and undeserved mercy And thou sowest up mine iniquity Adsuèsne aliquid iniquitati meae so the Tigurines translate i. e. Wilt thou sew or adde any thing to mine iniquity wilt thou tye to it that tag as a Martyr phraseth it of the Lawes malediction conjoyning the punishment to the sin Adsuere ad iniquitatem est poenas poenis continenter adjungere Merl. Some make this an explication of the former q. d. the bag is not only sealed but for more surety sewed too and that purposely for a purchase of punishment as some sense it Verse 18. And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought q. d. If thou Lord proceed to deal thus rigidly with me viz. to number or cipher up my steps to watch over my sins to seal them up in a bag c. and all this in fierce wrath that thou mayest lay load upon me what mountain what rock what other creature is ever able to abide it chap. 6.12 chap. 7.12 Job had said before Is my strength the strength of stones Am I a sea or a whale Were I these or any the like robustuous creatures yet could not I expect to stand before the displeased Omnipotency who takest the hills like tennis-balls and crackest the rocks like a Nut-shell See Hab. 1.4 5 6. with the Notes And the rock is removed out of his place As in earth-quakes it sometimes falleth out See on chap. 9.5 or by reason of the sea underlaking it decayeth in time and waxeth old as the Hebrew word signifieth Verse 19. The waters weare the stones Gutta cavat lapidem c. the weakest things wear out the hardest by often falling upon them or continual running over them so doth Gods wrath though let out in minnums secretly but surely consume Hos 5.12 I will be unto Ephraim as a moth and to the house of Judah as rottennesse or that little worm teredo that eats into the heart of wood and rots it Thus he plagued the Egyptians by lice and flies There may be much poison in little drops Thou washest away the things that grow out of the earth Or Thou ever-flowest as once in the general deluge when the face of the earth was grown so foul that God was forc'd to wash it with a flood and frequently since we see that after great rains there are huge floods that marre whole meadows and corne fields not only discolouring but drowning all their beauty and plenty This is the fourth comparison used in this and the former verse where a man would wonder saith an Interpreter Olymp. audire Jobum in medus â—rumuis philosophantem to hear Job in the midst of his miseries making use of his philosophy and travelling thus in his thoughts for illustrations of his own case over mountains and rocks c. Thou destroyest the hope of man viz. In destroying the things above-mentioned or so thou destroyest c. though some reserve the raddition to the next verâ—â— so Thou prevailest against him c. i.e. So thou never ceasest with thy might to cast down sorry men till such time as they changing countenance and departing with an heavy and sorrowful heart thou violently throwest them out their lives and hope ending together if they have been wicked as if godly yet their vain and groundlesse hopes of prosperity and plenty c. come to nothing though over the red sea yet Gods people may be made to tack about two and forty times in the wildernesse Verse 20. Thou prevailest for ever against him This and the rest of the words to the end of the Chapter some make to be the Application of the Similitudes Others an Amplification only of what he had said Thou destroyest the hope of man Thou must needs when thou overmatchest and over-masterest him and art never worsted Exod. 15.3 the Lord is called A Man of War the Chaldee there hath it The Lord and Victor of Wars And the word here rendred Ever cometh from a root that signifieth to finish conquer and triumph And he passeth scil Out of the world by a violent or untimely death Violenâ—â— mortâ— aut certe immaturà Merlin with as ill a will many times as the unjust Steward did out
of his Office as the Jebusites did out of the Fort of Zion or as the Devil out of the Demoniack Sâ—d voluntas Dei necessitâ—s rei he passeth because he can neither will nor chuse as they say Thou changest his countenance and sendest him away Eleganter vero mors notatur immutandi verbo saith one Elegant is death set forth by changing the countenance for death taketh away the faire and fresh colour of a man and makes him look wan and withered pale and ghastly It is easâ—e to see death many times before it come in the sick manâ—face in his sharp nostrils thin cheeks hollow eyes c. Facies Hippocratica those Harbingers of death whereby God sendeth for him and so sendeth him away extrudit amandet as once he did Adam out of Paradise Lavaters Note here is Propone tihi semper horribileus speciem mortis ut eò minus pecces Set before thy self alwayes the horrid face of death to restraine thee from sin Verse 21. His sons come to honour and he knoweth it not Whilst he lyeth sick Omnis in Ascanio chari statcura parentis Vir. he regardeth no earthly thing no not what becometh of his children formerly his greatest care whether they be advanced or impaired in their outward condition As when he is dead he can take no knowledge of any thing done in this world Isai 63.16 Eccles 2.19 and 96. be his children or friends rich or poor high or low he is both ignorant and insensible It was a base slander published by a Jesuit some years after Queen Elizabeths death That as she died without sense or feeling of Gods mercies Cambd. Eliz. Prefat so that she wished she might after her death hang a while in the Aire to see what striving would be for her Kingdome As for that opinion of some Papists That the dead do sometimes returne into the Land of the living that they know how things go here and make report thereof to those in heaven it is contrary to the whole Scripture Verse 22. But his flesh upon him shall have pain That is say some But as long as he is living his body is afflicted with a thousand evils and though his soul by the condition of her creation be exempt from them yet she beares a part in them and becomes miserable with it A dying man hath sorrow without and sorrow within the whole man is in misery as Job here felt himself Others hold Aben-Ezra Mercer Deodate that this Poetical representation hath no other meaning but that the dead have no manner of communication with the living Broughtou rendreth it His flesh is grieved for it self and his soul will mourn for it self q.d. he takes no thought or care for his children or neerest relations CHAP. XV. Verse 1. Then answered Eliphaz the Temanice and said LApides locutus est In this second encounter Eliphaz falls upon Job not so much with stronger Arguments as with harder words reproving him sharply or rather reproaching him bitterly Facundiâ quadam caninâ with more Eloquence then charity So hard a thing is it saith Beza espetially in disputing and reasoning to avoid self-love as even in these times experience daily teacheth us He hinteth I suppose at the publick Conference betwixt himself and Jacobus Andreas at Mompelgard Lib. 35. Hist whereby the strife was rather stirred then stinted as Thuanus complaineth Or else at the Disputation at Possiacum wherein Beza Speaker for the Protestant party Hist of Counc of Trent 453. before the Queen Mother of France the young King Charles and many Princes of the Blood entring into the matter of the Eucharist spake with such heat unlesse the Historian wrongs him that he gave but ill satisfaction to those of his own side so that he was commanded to conclude Such meetings are seldome successeful saith Luther because men come with confidence and wit for victory rather then verity In this reply of Eliphaz to Job we may see what an evil thing it is to be carried away with prejudice and pertinacy which make a man forget all modesty and fall foule upon his best friends Here 's enough said to have driven this sorrowful man into utter despaire had not God upheld his spirit whiles he is fiercely charged for a wicked man Non affert ullaâ—â— consolationem non invitat eum ad panitentiam sed potiâ—â— ad desperationem complelas Lav. and hated of God neither doth any of his friends henceforth afford him one exhortation to repentance or one comfortable promise as Lavater well observeth Verse 2. Should a wise man utter vain knowledg Heb. Knowledg of the wind light frothy empty discourses that have no tack or substance in them but only words that are no better then wind a meer flash or Aiery nothing Solomon thinks a wise man should beware of falling into this fault lest he forfeit his reputation Eccles 10.1 Dead flyes cause the Oyntments of the Apothecary to send forth a stinking savour so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour as spots are soonest observed in the whitest and finest garments and envy like wormes and moths doth usually feed on the purest cloth Neh. 6.11 A great many dead flies may be found in a Tar-box and no hurt done but one of them falne into a pot of sweet Odours or precious Perfumes may soone taint and corrupt them And fil his belly with the East-wind Per ventrem mentem intellige per ventum Orientalem vanam opinionem saith Vatablus By belly understand the mind and by the East wind a vain conceit or frothy knowledg blown forth out of a swelling breast to the hurt of others for the East wind is destructive to herbs and fruits Hos 12.1 Gen. 41.6 But doth not Eliphaz here by these bubble of words and blustering questions betraying much choler and confidence fall into the very same fault which he findeth with Job Doth not he also fill his belly with heat so the Vulgar rendreth this Text which kindling in his bosom blazeth out at his lips Doth not this angry man exalt folly and shew himself none of the wisest though he were the oldest in all the company Verse 3. Should he reason with unprofitable talk Why But if he do should he therefore be thus rippled up and rough-hewed And not rather reduced and rectified with hard Arguments and soft words Man is a cross crabbed creature Duci vult trahi non vult Perswade him you may compel him you cannot A fit time also must be taken to perswade him to better for else you may loose your sweet words upon him The Husbandman soweth not in a storm The Mariner hoyseth not sail in every wind Good Physicians evacuate not the body in extremity of heat and cold A brother offendâ—d is harder to be 〈…〉 a strong City Prov. 18.19 This Eliphaz should have considered and not so rashly censured Job for a fool and his talk for trash but