Thus there are men of the Night men of the Evening and men of the Morning or Morning Men. In this sense the Stars may be called Morning Stars because they were so early at that best work the praises of God When the Morning Stars 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gerundium est a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod inter aliâ— canere significat unde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 câ—ntus Drus Sang together Singing is an act of the voice and as there is a natural singing that of birds so an artificial But how could Stars sing either artificially seeing they have no reason or naturally seeing they have not so much as a life of sense I answer 'T is frequent in Scripture to attribute acts of life to liveless creatures and acts of reason to those things which have no sense The Earth is somewhere said to mourn Isa 33.9 The Trees of the Forrest as also the Hills and the Valleys are said to rejoyce and sing for joy Psal 65.12 13. And in the same senâ—e the Stars are here represented singing and in what sense they may be said to sing will be further shewed afterwards Nor did they onely sing but they sang Simul unico concentu unico consensu Together There was a kind of concord and harmony in their singing they sang as I may say with one consent or in consort Some translate They sang alone That is when there were no other creatures to jâ—yn with them yet as soon as they were in being they sang alone The word sometimes signifies only as well as together chap 34.29 Ezra 4.3 They did not sing every one of them alone but they all sang alone without any other creatures to joyn with them Thus they sang both alone and together Hence Note First Singing is an act of divine worship and praise They sang to the glory of God Note Secondly Singing is an expression of joy Is any one merry saith the Apostle Jam. 5.13 let him sing Though there are mouâ—nful songs and some sing in the very heaviness of their souls yet properly singing imports rejoycing When Christ told his Church Cant. 2 1â— The time of the singing of birds is come his meaning was rejoycing time is come sorrow and mouâ—ning are fled away Thirdly In that singing is attributed to the Stars Note Liveless creatures rejoyce and set forth the praises of God as they are able David saith All thy works shall praise thee O Lord Psal 145.10 All thy works that is the very lowest and least of thy works even the clods of the earth shall praise thee how much more the Stars of Heaven We find all the creatures called to sing the praise of the Lord quite through the 148th Psalm Praise him Sun and Moon praise him all ye Stars of light There 's the special instance of the Text. The Heavens declare the glory of God and the Firmament sheweth his handy-work Psal 19.1 There is a kind of dutiful conspiration among all Creatures even among the inanimate Creatures in their places to praise God And if you ask how they praise God or how they sing I answer in general after their manner More suo as they are able or as is suitable to their condition The Stars sing not formally and yet some say there is a harmony in the motions of the Heavens which being so constant concordant and uniform hath a kind of Musick in it but though they cannot praise God formally yet First They do it Materially That is they are that matter In caelestibus corporibus amplior occurrit dei collaundandi materia ideo illis cantus seu laeta proclamatio seu ovatio figurate tribuitur Merc for which God is to be praised they being such excellent and noble creatures The work praiseth the Workman That which is well done commends the Doer of it though all tongues be silent In this sense the Stars sing the praise of God They sing the praise of God as they are the objects of his praise or as they provoke Men and Angels to praise God for making them Secondly They praise God Vertually or equivalently they shew how praise-worthy God is Thirdly When we say the Stars praise God it intimates there is so much excellency in the Works of God that if the Stars could speak they would declare and shew forth his praise When the Disciples of Christ rejoyced and praised God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen saying Blessed be the King that cometh in the Name of the Lord peace in Heaven and glory in the Highest Luke 19.37 38. The envious Pharisees did not like the Musick and therefore â—aid to him from among the multitude Master rebuke thy Disciples vers 39. To these morose Masters Christ answered vers 40. I tell you that if these should hold their peace the stones would immediately cry out As if he had said you labour in vain to suppress or hinder the testimony given me by my Disciples for if they should be silent the stones would cry shame of them for neglecting their duty and God would rather cause senseless creatures to proclaim his praise in giving me an honourable testimony than I should want it Now as there was such a worth in the work of Redemption and in all the works of the Redeemer while here on Earth that the stones would have shewed forth his praise if men had not So there is such a worth in that Work of God the Creation of the Earth that rather than God should not have the glory of it the Stars would have done it by breaking out into joyful singing Lastly As Birds praise God by their singing so Stars may be said to sing the high praises of God by their shining by their brightness by their motion by their influence for all which God is to be praised and glorified And hence we may infer If not only irrational but inanimate creatures sing the praises of God at least by giving occasion of his praise then how much more should men set forth his praise who are not only living but reasonable creatures and if creatures without life and reason should provoke mankind in general as having life and reason to praise God how much more should godly men be provoked by them to sing his praise they having not only life which Stars have not and reason which Birds and Beasts have not but grace which the most of men have not Among visible creatures Men have most reason because they have reason to praise God and among Men Godly Men have most reason to praise God because they have Grace And therefore as soon as ever David had said All thy works shall praise thee O Lord Psal 145.10 11. he adds in the next words and thy Saints shall bless thee they shall speak of the glory of thy Kingdome and talk of thy power As if he had said As all thy works O Lord praise thee so Saints who are the choicest pieces
God is here compared to a Mother for the same reason for which he was before compared to a Father We are to note saith Aquinas upon this place that Cold is the cause of Ice which is a feminine or womanish quality but the cause of rain and dew is heat which is a masculine or manly quality And therefore the Lord speaking of the generation of rain and dew useth the word Father and about the generation of Ice and Frost he useth a word most proper to the Mother Out of whose womb came the Ice The word rendred womb signifies the whole belly yea the whole body Thus Psal 132.11 Of the fruit of thy body c. The Hebrew is belly so the word is used Gen. 15.4 2 Chron. 22.21 but according to our Translation it strictly relates to the Mother as if God would take upon him both sexes and be as the Father of the rain and dew so the Mother of the Ice and Frost The Ancients insist much upon this setting forth the glory of God in the former verse as a Father and here as a Mother out of whose womb the Ice comes and they tell us of some who never had Scripture light Clemens Alexandrinus l. 5. Strom. Docet Deum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ab Orpheo vocatum that yet did speak of God according to this Notion calling him Mother-Father They looked to God and honoured him as having not onely the power of a Father but the care of a Mother conceiving nourishing nursing and educating the Creature as a Mother doth her children and therefore called God Mother-Father and so much this change of the word in the Text doth imply Out of whose womb Came the Ice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gelu Radix evulsit pilos quia gelu terram gramine arbâ—res plantasquefolits dejectis quasi glabrat Yet this manner of speaking signifies no more than this that Ice and Frost are caused and brought forth by the power of God The word rendred Ice comes from a root which signifies to make bald or to pull off the hair because when Frost and Ice come they quickly pull off the leaves from the trees and the flowers from the hearbs they mâ—ke all bare-headed and so Ice hath its denomination from that effect Out of whose womb came the Ice And the hoary frâ—st of heaven who hath gendred it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Texit operuit The word rendred hoary frost signifies to cover over because the â—oary frost covers all over The trees and hearbs all things above ground aâ—e covered with the hoary frost therefore it hath its name from covering and here the Lord calls it The hoary Frost Of Heaven Because the cold which makes the hoary Frost comes from the Air which is oâ—ten in Scripture called Heaven Hence Note The Lord will be acknowledged as the Author of Ice and Frost They are the effects of his power and declaration of his glory and therefore the Lord calls such-like meteors to praise him Psal 148.8 as evidences or pâ—â—ofs of his power and wonderous works Psal 147.16 17. He scattereth his hoar Frost like ashes he casteth forth his Ice like morsels who can stand before his cold The Lord takes the Ice and Frost and Cold to be his it is not onely his Sun but his Ice and his Frost he scatters his hoar Frost like ashes The Frost is compared to ashes in a threefold respect first Because the hoar Fâ—ost gives a little interruption to the fight Iâ— you scatter ashes into the Air it darkens the light so doth the hoaâ—y Frost Secondly hoary Frost is like ashes because near in colour to ashes Thirdly 'T is like ashes because there is a kind of burning in it Fâ—ost burns the tender buds and blossoms Vnde pruinae nomen è perurendo quod fruges perurit vocant Carbunculationem iâ— nips them and dries them up The hoary Frost hath its denomination in the Latine Tongue from burning it diffeâ—s but a very little from that word which is commonly used in Latine for a coal of fire The cold Frost hath a kind of scotching in it as well as the hot Sun Unseasonable Frosts in the Spring scorch the tender fruits which bad effect of Frost is usually exprest by Carbunculation or blasting Frost is sometimes a great benefit and sometimes a great scourge when it comes opportunely and in season 't is a great benefit but if it comes in the spring of the year if it comes when the youth of the spring buds and blossomes are put forth it proves very detrimental and kills that hopeful spring of the Earth which the warmth of a benigne Sun and wind had invited out The Frost of a few nights hath spoiled the hopes of Husbandmen and Vine-dressers for the whole year Frost is both a benefit and a scourge whether it proves the one or the other it is God who gendreth it and must therefore be acknowledged in it As in this 29th verse Goâ— declares himself the Author of the Frost and of the Ice and in opening it somewhat hath been said of their effects so in the next verse one remarkable and very forcible effect of the Frost is held forth that we may learn and 't is no more than our exâ—erience and eye-sâ—ght have often taught us what Cold or Frost can do Why what can it do It can tuâ—n water into stones Such is the power of Cold that it hardens the liquid water like a stone Ice in its very first appearance hath the resemblâ—nce of a stone and being very thick as in long Frosts 't is like a rock like a mountain of stone Thus tâ—e Text speaks Vers 30. The waters are hid as with a stone That is when extream cold freezes the waters into Ice the waters are not seen they are loâ—kt up and as it were paved over with a stone or the waters seem to suffer a strange metamorphosis and leaving their natural liquidiâ—y and softness are condensed or hardened into râ—cks such is the force of cold Some express it actively not as we The waters are hid but the waters hide themselves like a stone Thus Mr. Broughton expresseth it Naturalists tell us that in some cold Countries Nives in Chrystallum durantur Plin. l. 37. c. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Aqua frigore conâ—reta where there are great falls of snow and rain the snow and rain grow into such a hardness that you cannot reduce them into waâ—er Chrystal say they is nothing but water hardened by câ—ld And thus water is more than hid as with a stone for it becomes a stone Hence Note The Lord can make wonderful changes in Nature What is more fluid than water more moveable than water it was of old grown into a divine Proverb Gen. 49.4 Vnstable as water yet this unstable body can the Lord change into a stone and make it hard as a rock Histories are full of strange reports concerning the effects
God having many Idol gods nor did he own them as his people and therefore the Apostle did not nor could he in truth say of the Gentiles They changed their glory c. But thus he saith They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things The Gentiles did not change the incorruptible God their glory into an image but they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image c. And in that respect the idolatry of the Jews a people knowing the true God yea and glorying in him was worse than the idolatry of the Gentiles who knew him not nor ever gloried in him nor accounted him their glory But to the point in hand As that is Gods glory which manifests his glory So in general any thing which maketh man shine forth commendably or honourably to others or gives him a preheminence above many others as neer relation to God specially doth may be called his glory Whatsoever is best in us or to us is our glory The soul of man is his glory because it is his best part The body is a poor thing to the soul the body is but a shell the soul is the kernel the body is but the sheath as the Chaldee calls it Deut. 7.15 the soul is the sword though usually we take more pains for the body than for the soul as if we prized it more When Jacob said Gen. 49.6 O my soul come thou not into their secret unto their assembly mine honour be not thou united he meant some say the same thing by his soul and by his honour or glory because the soul is the most glorious and honourable part in man and that which men should be most careful of Thus likewise the tongue of man is called his glory Psal 57.8 Awake my glory that is my tongue The tongue being that organ or instrument whereby the wisdom and prudence of man is held forth and he made glorious in the world 't is therefore called his glory The tongue of man is also called his glory because with that he giveth glory to God by praising him and confessing his name together with his truth unto salvation And as glory is the best of man so of any other creature 1 Cor. 15.61 There is one glory of the Sun and another of the Moon and another glory of the Stars for one Star differs from another Star in glory that is there is one excellency uâ—e or operation in this Star and another in that Or One Star differs from another Star in glory that is their light influences effects differ some being more others less operative upon sublunary bodies When the Lord said to Job Array thy self with glory his meaning is shew thy best and he means the same when he adds Array thy self with beauty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Beauty is the natural ornament of the body of the face or countenance especially These two words glory and beauty are often joyned together in Scripture Psal 21.5 Psal 45.3 where we render them honour and majesty We may thus distinguish between them taking the one for that which appears outwardly in vestures and gestures in actions and works and the other as importing that revâ—â—ence veneration which is given to such Verba originalia fero sunt synonima as appear in that splendor and dignity or which their splendor and dignity stirs up in others But we need not stand to distinguish them the words being often used promiscuously And here the Lord is pleased to imploy many words to the same purpose to shew what great state he had need be in that contends with him As if he had said O Job although thou didst not sit upon a dunghil or wert not bound to thy bed by the cords of thy affliction but didst sit upon a Kingly throne shining in robes of royalty couldst thou in all those ornaments equal thy self to me in majesty and excellency in glory and beauty Deck thy self with majesty and excellency c. Hence note First God himself is full of Majesty of Excellency of Glory and of Beauty I put them all together in one Observation because the tendency of them all is one The Scripture often sets forth the Lord thus adorned thus decked Psal 93.1 The Lord reigneth he is cloathed with majesty he is cloathed with strength wherewith he hath girded himself Again Psal 69.6 Honour and majesty are before him strength beauty are in his sanctuary Psal 104.1 Bless the Lord O my soul O Lord my God thou art very great thou art cloathed with honour and majesty This cloathing this array which the Lord called Job to put on is properly his own and though God will not give his glory to another yet here he bids Job take his glory and shew himself in it to the utmost if he could Many have affected or invaded Gods glory but none could ever attain or reach it God calls man really to partake of glory with him but man cannot take his glory upon him and be man The humane nature of Christ could never have received nor born that glory but as united to and subsisting in the person of the Son of God according to that prayer of his John 17.5 More distinctly If God be thus cloathed Then First We should tremble before him Majesty is dreadful The majesty of Kings who in nature are but men is very dreadful how much more the majesty of God who is King of Kings the King immortal and reigns for ever We have this trembling three times repeated with respect to the majesty of God Isa 2.10 19 21. where the mightiest and greatest of the world called there high Mountains and strong Towers Oaks and Cedars are said to go into the holes of the rocks and into the caves of the earth for fear of the Lord and for the glory of his Majesty when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth And though the people of God have great cause to rejoyce at his majesty as 't is prophesied they shall Isa 24.14 They shall lift up their voices they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord nothing causeth the hearts of the righteous to rejoyce more than the majesty of God yet they ought to rejoyce and so they do with trembling Psal 2.11 or with a holy awe of God impressed upon their hearts for the majesty of God is a very dreadful tremendous awful majesty And the more we have truly tasted the goodness and mercy of God the more shall we tremble at his majesty yea the Lord will have his majesty not only taken notice of but trembled at and therefore he reproves those Isa 26.10 who would not behold his majesty The majesty of the Lord like himself cannot be seen or beheld in it self yet it sheweth it self many wayes though few behold it or tremble at it and the reason why they tremble not at it is because they do not
or rather as the Prophet there speaks will not behold it no not when it shines in the plainest demonstrations whether of wrath against wicked men or of love and mercy to the godly as clearly as the Sun at noon day Secondly As we should tremble at the majesty of the Lord so admire his excellency they that excel others especially they who excel all others in any kind are much admired The Lord is cloathed with excellency how then should we admire him and say Who is a God like unto thee This God is our God Thirdly Seeing the Lord is cloathed with glory we should glorifie him and that First in his essential glory Secondly in the glory of his acts and operations We should glorifie him for the greatness of his power especially for the greatness of his grace because the grace and mercy of God are his glory as the Apostle spake in that prayer Eph. 3.16 That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory that is of his grace and favour towards you to be strengthned with might by his Spirit in the inner man And as the grace and goodness of God is his glory so also is his holiness Exod. 15.11 Who is a God like unto thee glorious in holiness Let us glorifie God in and for all his glories in and for the glory of his power mercy grace and holiness Fourthly God is arrayed with beauty Beauty is a taking thing then how should our souls delight in the Lord We delight in things that are beautiful we love beauty how should this draw forth our love our affections to God! All the beauty of the world is but a blot 't is darkness and a stained thing in comparison of the Lords beauty the beauty of his holiness and therefore if we have a love to beauty let us love the Lord who is arrayed with beauty even with the perfection of beauty Lastly In general Seeing the Lord is deckt with majesty and excellency arrayed with glory and beauty let us continually ascribe all these to God What God is and hath shewed himself to be we should shew forth 1 Chron. 29.11 Thine O Lord saith David is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty for all that is in heaven and in earth is thine David ascribed all to God there as also Psal 145.10 All thy works praise thee O Lord and thy Saints shall bless thee they shall speak of the glory of thy Kingdom and talk of thy power to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts and the glorious majesty of his Kingdom thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations Thus Saints are to blazon the name of God and to make his praise glorious The Apostle Jude concludes his Epistle with this Doxology To the only wise God our Saviour that is Jesus Christ be glory and majesty and dominion and power now and ever Amen Further to remember the majesty and excellency of God may and should be First an incouragement to serve him Who would not serve a Prince who is decked with majesty and excellency who is arrayed with glory and beauty who would not serve such a King as this How ambitious are men to serve those who are deckt with worldly majesty and excellency shall not we have a holy ambition to serve the Lord who is thus decked and arrayed Secondly This may exceedingly hearten and embolden us against all the danger we may meet with in the Lords service If we encounter with hardships and hazards in Gods work let us remember he that is cloathed with majesty and excellency c. can protect us in his service and reward us for it we can lose nothing by him though we should lose all for him life and all Thirdly This should fill our souls with reverential thoughts of God continually Did we know the Lord in these divine discoveries of himself in his majesty and excellency in his glory and beauty how would our hearts be filled with high thoughts of him we would neither speak nor think of God but with a gracious awe upon our spirits Fourthly This should provoke us in all holy duties to do our best The Lord reproved the Jews Mal. 1.8 when they brought him a poor lean sacrifice Offer it now unto thy Governour will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person Shall we put off God who is full of majesty and excellency of glory and beauty with poor weak and sickly services such as our Governours men in high place power will not accept from our hands but turn back with disdain upon our hands The worship and service of God consists not in a bodily exercise nor in any outward beauty he is a spirit and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth that is in truth of heart and according to the truth of his word which the Apostle calls the simplicity that is in Christ 2 Cor. 11.3 The glory and beauty of God is spiritual and the beauty that he must be served with is above all the inward beauty of faith and love and holy fear in our hearts Fifthly If God be thus deckt with majesty c. This may assure us in praying to him and calling upon him that we shall not seek him in vain It is worth the while to attend such a God and pour out our hearts before him We may safely depend upon God for all seeing majesty and excellency are his The Lords prayer by which we are to form or unto which we should conform all our prayers concludes with this thine is the kingdom power and glory all is thine and therefore we have great encouragement to ask all of thee Men can give to those that ask them according to the extent of their power There is a confluence or comprehension of all power in the majesty excellency and glory of God and therefore he can give whatsoever we ask Now as that God is thus deckt and arrayed with majesty and excellency is implied in this Text so 't is also implied that he hath thus deckt himself while he saith to Job Deck thy self with majesty and excellency Hence observe Secondly The majesty and excellency the glory and beauty of God are all of and from himself He is the fountain as of his own being so of the majesty and excellency of the glory and beauty of his being he decks and arrays himself he is not decked by others Moralists say honour is not or resides not in him that is honoured but in him that honoureth yet here honour is seated in him that is honoured We honour God and give glory to him but we cannot add any honour to him all is originally in himself he is the beginning without beginning of his own majesty And as Gods majesty is his own so of his own putting on he borroweth nothing from the creature nor needs he any creature to deck him He is not what others will make
duly given Mat. 18.18 Whatsoever ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven Where man binds in Gods way God binds too and where man looses in Gods way God looses too but take it either in natural or spiritual things it is not in the power of man to bind where God looseth nor to loose where God bindeth Canst thou loose the bands of Orion If God appoint cold to bind the earth man cannot loose it and if God will bind man with the cords and cold iron of any affliction man cannot free himself In the hottest natural season of the year man may be in cold providential bands and under them he must abide till the Lord breaks the frost and set him free It is said of Joseph Psal 105.17 18 19. He was sold for a servant his feet were hurt with fetters he was laid in iron or as the Margin reads it His soul came into iron But how came he out did he himself loose the bands of that Orion who cast him into prison surely no the Text tells us otherwise he lay fast enough in bands until ver 19. the word of the Lord came the word of the Lord tryed him But what was this Word of the Lord some say it was the word of God to Pharoah in a dream concerning the seven years of plenty and famine which may be said to try Joseph none but he could interpret it that may be said to unloose his bands because it was the occasion of his deliverance and advancement But I rather conceive the word that came was the word of Gods decree and promise made to Joseph in a dream for his advancement above all his brethren Gen. 37.6 7 8. When once the time came that this Word of God must come to be fulfilled then the bands of Orion were loosed for then saith the Psalmist ver 20. The King sent and loosed him even the Ruler of the people and let him go free And as it was with Joseph so with Job and so will ever be If the cold winter blasts of any adversity bind up our comforts either in our callings or relations there is no unloosing them unâ—il the word of the Lord come Solomon giveth this counsel Eccles 7.13 14. Consider the work of God that is his working in the world The reason of this counsel follows For who can make that strait which he hath made crooked Solomon intends this specially of the dealings of God in the world not that there is any crookedness or unrighteousness any iniquity or injustice in the ways of God but he means by crooked that which is troublesom and grievous Now if God himself make a thing crooked till he himself make it strait it is not in the power of all the men in the world to do it The moral sense of that Text is the very same with the point in hand If God bind who can loose There is no striving no contending with the providences of God we must deal with and apply to God himself for the altering of them we cannot alter them our selves we must desire him to mend his work we cannot This Solomon plainly intimates in the next or 14. verse In the day of prosperity be joyful but in the day of adversity consider in a time of adversity things grow crooked and awry from what we would have and desire or from what is comfortable to us for God hath set the one over against the other to the end that man should find nothing after him Sometimes he makes things crooked sometimes strait sometimes he gives a day of prosperity sometimes of adversity that no man may be able to say directly what shall be next And seeing there is no loosing the bands of Orion till God himself loose them therefore let all who are companions in tribulation say one to another as they in a like case are represented Hosea 6.1 Come and let us return unto the Lord for he hath wounded and he will heal he hath torn and he will bind us up Oâ— as this Text speaks He hath bound us and he will loâ—sen us Thirdly From both the paâ—ts of the verse considered together these negatives upon man must be resolved into affirmatives as to God He can bind the sweet influences of Pleiades he can loose the bands of Oâ—ion Whence note God can both stop the ordinary course of our comforts and deliver us from our troubles when he pleaseth God can stop those things from comforting us and those persons from shewing us any favour whose dispositions are as benigne to us as Pleiades are to the earth and he can give us favour in their eyes who naturally are as churlish as Nabal and as sharp as Orion to the earth He can make a Wolf a Shepherd and those a safety to his servants whose hearts were to swallow them up The earth shall help the woman that is the worst of the world the Church God made Ravens feed Eliah 1 Kings 17.4 And he said of Cyrus whom he calls a ravenous Bird Isa 46.11 He is my Shepherd Isa 44.28 Thus the Lord looseth the bands of Orion And when he hardens their hearts against us who formerly were tender towards us or when he turns their hearts to hate us who formerly loved us and shewed us favour then the Lord may be said to bind the sweet influences of Pleiades What sweet influences of favour did the people of Israel receive from Pharoah and the Egyptians at their first coming thither and long after yet afterwards what grievous Task-masters were they to them their favours were all restrained and changed into yokes and bands whence was this The Psalmist answers fully Psal 105.25 He that is God turned their heart that is the heart of the Egyptians to hate his people to deal subtilly with his servants and cruelly too Thus the Power and Name of God is both wayes magnified Whenas we have the most benigne Pleiades dropping down sweet influences upon us God can stop them and when we have the hardest bands of Orion upon us the Lord is able to loose them This glory is due to God in all the changes which we meet with in this world whether from good to bad from the favours to the frowns of men or from bad to good from their frowns to their favours from their bands to their embraces all is of God And I conceive the scope of God in these questions was chiefly to bring Job to that conclusion The next verse bears the same sense Vers 32. Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season or canst thou guide Arcturus and his Sons This also is a denying Question Canst thou thou canst not bring forth Mazzaroth in his season The word rendred to bring forth is applyed First to the birth or bringing forth of children Gen. 15.4 Secondly to the earths bringing forth flowers fruits Judg. 13.14 Thirdly to the rising of the Sun or
and wicked men then saith the Lord ver 14. I will confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee that is I will yield thee the cause I will acknowledge that thou who canst thus bring down the pride of men in the height of their iniquity art also able to help thy self out of all thy misery yea that thou art able to contend with me who often have done and still can do these great things with ease with the turning of my hand with a word of my mouth yea then I will confess that thou art as I am that thou art God as I am But alas poor worm thou canst do none of these things therefore humble thy self and be quiet under mine afflicting hand This seems to be the general scope of the holy Ghost in these five verses even yet further to convince Job that he had not an arm like God nor could thunder with a voice like him forasmuch as he could not put forth such acts nor shew such effects of power as God both had and could put forth and shew in the face of all the world Vers 10. Deck thy self now with majesty c. Deck or adorn thy self the word signifieth to adorn to put on ornaments make as fair a shew of thy self as thou canst The Apostle Gal. 6.12 speaks of some who desired to make a fair shew in the flesh The Lord bids Job make as fair a shew of himself as he could in flesh Deck Thy self Let thy majesty proceed from thy self Thus it is with God he needs no hand to adorn and deck him to apparel him or put on his robes as the Kings and Princes of the earth need others deck them others adorn them and put on their robes but the Lord decks himself Now saith the Lord to Job Deck thy self as I do With majesty and excellency Kings and Princes are decked with majesty and excellency at all times a majestick excellency is inherent in their estate and when they shew themselves in state or shew their state they put on their Crowns and Robes Thus saith the Lord to Job Put on majesty and excellency Both words signifie highness exaltation and are often used to signifie pride because they that are high and exalted are usually proud and are alwayes under a temptation to be proud of their highness and greatness And these words which here in the abstract we translate majesty and excellency are rendred in the concrete proud vers 11 12. Behold every one that is proud vers 11. Look upon every one that is proud vers 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Majesty is proper to Kings and therefore we speak to them in that language Your Majesty Excellency belongs to persons of great dignity we say to Princes and great Commanders Your Excellency because they excel and exceed others in honour and power Moses spake so of God Exod. 15.7 In the greatness of thy Excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee In the greatness of thy Excellency or in the greatness of thy lifting up and exaltation the word notes both Gods high magnificence Psal 68.35 and mans pride or haughtiness Psal 10.2 The wicked in his pride or haughtiness of spirit persecutes the poor Deck thy self with Majesty as a King and with Excellency as a Prince put on thy Emperial robes and thy Princely garments Yea further Array thy self with glory and beauty Dicimus etiam nidui dedecore vel ignominia nam quare ornamur vel dedecoramur ea elegantèr niduâ— dicimur Diuâ— Here are two other ornamental expressions Glory and Beauty Glory is man in his best array or mans best array yea Glory is God in his best array or Gods best array The perfect happiness of man in heaven is called glory mans best suit is his suit of glory Grace Gloria est clara cum laude notitia Ambros 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Notat spendorem claritatem quae efficere potest assensum confessionem apud spectatores ad gloriam ipsius quòd omnia â—gat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Deus non habet circundatum decorem quasi superadditum ejus essentiae Sed ipsa essentia ejus decor est Aquin. which is our best suit on earth is sometimes called glory 2 Cor. 3.18 We are changed from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord that is fâ—om grace to grace Mans first change is from sin to grace his second is from grace to grace or from one degree of grace to another Grace is glory begun and glory is grace perfected Now as glory is mans best suit so glory is as I may say Gods best suit He is as the God of all grace 1 Pet. 5.10 so the God of all glory for all glory is to be given unto him and his glory will he not give to any other The glory of God is twofold First Essential and internal for ever unchangeably abiding in himself indeed the very Essence of God is glory Of this we read Exod. 33.18 I will make all my goodness pass before thee I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will shew mercy to whom I will shew mercy this kind of glory I will shew thee but thou canst not see my face and live that is my essential glory Secondly There is a providential or external glory of God the manifestations of God in his greatness goodness and power are his glory Thus 't is said at the dedication of Solomons Temple 1 King 8.11 The glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord that is there was a glorious and wonderful manifestation of the presence of the Lord in his house Whatever God manifests of himself whether his power or his goodness or his mercy or his grace or his patience or his justice is his glory The Lord often arrayeth himself with these glories that is he declares both by his word and by his works that he is powerful good merciful gracious patient and just towards the children of men The Scripture calleth God the glory of his people Psal 106.20 that is it is the glory of any people or that which they should glory in that God is known to them or that they are owned by God But the idolatrizing Jews changed their glory into the similitude of an Ox that eateth grass that is they changed God who was their glory and in whom they should have gloried into the form of an in-glorious beast while they either worshipped the image of a beast or their God in that image And it is considerable that the Apostle Rom. 1.23 at least alluding to as the reference in our Bible intimates if not quoting that place last mentioned in the Psalm whilst he speaks of the idolatrous Gentiles doth not say as there They changed their glory c. for the true God was not the glory of the Gentiles in those dayes they owned him not as their only
Earth alone The Lord can begin and finish how and when he pleaseth He is a rock and his work is perfect As in spirituals he is the Author and finisher of our faith Heb. 12.2 so in temporals he is the Author and finisher of all our comforts deliverances and salvations When we have no help at all in our selves nor in any creature there is enough to be had in God Hosea 14.3 With thee the fatherless find mercy that is they find mercy with thee and if mercy then help who are as helpless as a fatherless child they especially who look upon themselves as fatherless what help and strength what fathers or friends soever they have in this world if God be not their help and strength their friend and father When we are convinced that only God can help us when we have other helps then God alone will help us though we have no other helpers as he promised Judah Hosea 1.7 I will have mercy upon the house of Judah and will save them by the Lord their God and will not save them by bow nor by sword nor by battel by horses nor by horse-men As if the Lord had said I will do all for Judah my self alone though I could have others to do it by It is seldome that God hath as School-men speak an immediate attingence upon any effect he commonly useth instruments yet he sometimes hath and hath as often as himself pleaseth As our mercies are alwayes of grace only so sometimes they are wrought out by the power of God only And what power soever is seen working at them 't is his power that doth the work his wheel is in every wheel Sixthly What cause have we to magnifie the free grace and mighty power of God He is able to do for us though all oppose him and he is willing to do for us though none nor we our selves prevent him Such is the power of God that he can overcome all opposition in others against what he hath a mind to do for us and such is the freeness of his grace that it over-passeth or rather passeth by all those indispositions in us which might cause him to forbear doing or have no mind to do any thing for us Seventhly If none have prevented the Lord if all the good we have and all that we shall have floweth freely to us then we should be very thankful to God for every good we have received very full of purposes to praise him for whatever we shall further receive This Inference the Apostle makes in the last words of Rom. 11. Of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory for ever Amen Let us never be found sacrificing to our own net nor burning incense to our own drag as if by them our portion in spirituals or temporals were fat and our meat plenteous Let us put praise far from our selves and say with the Psalmist Not unto us not unto us but to thy name O Lord be praise and glory Lastly Let us be very humble The Lord puts this question to Job to humble him it was shewed in the beginning of the Chapter that the design of God in presenting this vast creature Leviathan to the view or consideration of Job was to humble him for seeing the Lord hath made all things and can do all things of himself and doth them for himself let us lye in the dust before him let us take heed of pride high thoughts and boasting words in any thing we have and are let us say as the Apostle Rom. 3.27 Where is boasting where is pride he answers It is excluded But by what Law why cannot boasting come in is it kept out by the Law of works by any thing that we have done No boasting would never be shut out if we could do any thing of our selves therefore saith he this comes to pass by the Law of faith by casting our selves wholly upon God both as to our justification and salvation That God doth all things of himself should render us nothing in our selves Who hath prevented me that I should repay him The Lord having made these uses of what he had said concerning Leviathan proceeds to a general assertion as was said in the close of this 11th verse Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine Possum illi amplam mercedem si velim reddereddere cum omnia quae sub coelo uspiâ—â— gentium sunt mea sint meum est aurum These words are interpreted by several of the Jewish writers in connexion with what went before thus Who hath prevented me and I will repay him As if the Lord had said Do not think that I have not enough by me to repay you for your counsel and assistance if you dare say I have had any from you for Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine That 's a good sense shewing the Lords sufficiency to make good his offer Some make great promises of what they will do when they have not wherewithal to do it Yet rather Secondly We may expound this assertion as carrying on the former Argument or further to prove that no man can prevent the Lord seeing all is his already Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine saith he The creatures are all mine I challenge all I lay claim to all whether therefore I give to one or take from another no man hath reason to question me or to ask of me a reason why I did or do so for all is my own And when the Lord saith Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine his mean-is not only that all under heaven but that heaven it self and all that is in heaven is his also The Lords Estate or Right is not confined to the things which are under the heaven So that when he saith Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine he saith in effect all is mine Thus Moses expoundeth this assertion Deut. 10.14 Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lords thy God the earth also with all that therein is The reason why the Lord speaks here only of this estate under heaven is because he was discoursing with Job of this inferiour world and the furniture of it and it was enough for him to understand as to the present debate that all under heaven was the Lords but in truth not only is the Earth the Sea the Air with all their fulness and furniture the Lords but the Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens is the Lords with all their beauty and glory Hence note The Lord is the great proprietour of all things in this world Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is the Lords or all is the Lords First by creation he hath given all things their being Secondly all is the Lords by preservation he keepeth all things in their being Jesus Christ upholds all things by the word of his power Heb. 1.3 that is by his powerful word The same commanding word which gave all
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
grounds and for right ends against another It is dangerous to stand in the way of their prayers who are accepted of God That man is more safe against whom a thousand are acting than he against whom any one godly man upon a just ground is praying The Lord hath done great things against evil men upon the prayers of the faithful as well as he hath done great things for good men at their prayer David by one ejaculatory petition spoyled the plot of Achitophel the Lord according to that short prayer turned his counsel into foolishness and so overturned the whole design laid against his servant David Thus far of the promise which the Lord gave Eliphaz and his two friends for their encouragement to go unto Job and entreat him to offer up a burnt-offering and to pray for them for him will I accept Now followeth a threat in case they did not Lest I deal with you according to your folly As if the Lord had said Do not slight this advice that I give you no nor forslow it make hast to make your address to Job I will accept him and I tell you I will not accept you alone therefore make hast and do as I have commanded else I shall deal with you according to your folly There is some difference in the reading of these words First Some read Lest I do or act folly to you But how can the Lord do or act folly towards any We may expound this translation by that Psal 18.26 where David saith of the Lord With the pure thou wilt shew thy self pure and with the froward or perverse thou wilt shew thy self froward or perverse But how doth the Lord shew himself froward with those that are froward there is no frowardness in the Lord he is alwayes in a composed and sedate frame infinitely beyond any passion or perturbation the meaning is only this The Lord will deal with men according to what they are the actings and effects of his providence shall be towards a froward man as if he were froward If a man deal perversely with God he will deal with him as if he were perverse and with the pure God will shew himself pure that is he will carry it purely towards them they shall receive good who are and do good Thus here go saith the Lord and do as I bid you Lest I deal folly to you In the Hebrew Language to do kindness with one is the same as to exercise or shew kindness to him That form of speech is used Gen. 20.13 Gen. 24.49 Gen. 40.14 And so to do folly with one is to shew or exercise folly to to him The Lord doth folly to them that do folly that is he makes them see by his wise doing how foolishly they have done Others express it thus Lest I deal foolishly with you or folly to you that is lest I do that which may be accounted foolishness in me You having appeared Advocates in my cause and pleaded for me 't is folly to pay any man with unkindness for the service he hath done us Well saith the Lord look to it I will not accept you but deal folly to you or foolishly with you in the sense of some men possibly but wisely in my own The Lord is alwayes to be admired in his wisdom holiness and in the serenity of his spirit yet in the opinion of the wise men of this world he may seem to deal foolishly or do folly Secondly The words may be rendred Lest I do that which may be disgraceful to you Thus the Chaldee paraphrase readeth Lest I put a disgrace or an affront upon you and make it appear to your shame that you have not carried it aright in this matter but have been shamefully out The word here used is several times used in Scripture to note the defiling or disgrace of a thing Nahum 3.6 I will cast abominable filth upon thee and I will make thee vile that is I will disgrace thee and as it followeth I will set thee for a gazing stock So Micah 7.6 when the Lord would shew the exceeding sinfulness of those times he saith Trust ye not in a friend put ye not confidence in a guide keep the door of thy mouth from her that lyeth in thy bosom for the son dishonoureth the father it is this word the son disgraceth the father he dealeth with his father as if he were a Nabal a very fool When a son knoweth not his distance nor performeth his dury he dishonoureth his father The Prophet Jer. 14 21. speaks in a way of deprecation Do not abhor us for tâ—y name sake do not disgrace the throne of thy glory The Lord is â—ometimes so angry with his people that he even casteth dirt upon the throne of his glory that is upon his Church in and by which he should be glorified as upon his Throne The Lord disgraceth his Church the throne of his glory when his Church disgraceth him and dishonours his gloriâ—us name Deut. 32.15 Jesurun waxed fat and kicked that is Israel the Church was waxen fat the Lord fed Jesurun his Church to the full they had not a lean seâ—vice of it but what did Jâ—surun he forsook God wh ch made him and lightly esteemed the rock of his salvation The word which we translaâ—e he lightly esteemed is the word of the Text Now when Jesurun did lightly esteem or disgrace the Lord he soon after disgraced Jesurun his Church The throne of his glory This is a good sense of the words do as I diâ—ect lest I put a disgrace upon you Thus folly is put foâ— the punishment of folly as sin often for the penal effects and fruits of sin as 't is said 1 King 13.34 This thing â—ecame sin to the house of Jeroboam even to cut it off Our reading saith Lest I deal with you according to your folly that is according to your sin and the hard censures which you have given of my servant Job and as it followeth In that you have not sp ken of me the thing that is right These things have been your folly and 〈◊〉 do not speedily repair with your sacrifice to Job and get him to pray for you what you can do your selves will not makâ— amends for your folly nor mend this breach but I will deal with you according to your folly you shall taste of the fruit of your doings the reward of your hands or of your tongues shall be given to you That 's the general sence of our translation As if the Lord had said Lest I make you understand by your sad experiences by the punishments and chastisements laid upon you that you have done very foolishly and were greatly mistaken in your apprehensions of me and of my providences concerning Job Or thus ye have declared much folly in the management of this matter with my servant Job ye have offended against the common Laws of friendship and humanity insulting over a man in misery and your folly hath been
Metaphorical Whirlwind in those three senses opened But Thirdly with others I take the Whirlwind here in proper sense that is for such a Whiâ—lwind as is often heard and felt sounding blustering and making great disturbance in the ayre blowing up Trees by the roots and overthrowing Houses to the very foundation Ex nube obscura Rab. Levi. Ex Nimbo Bez. Ex procella venti turbine horrifico Eturbine i. e. e nube e qua erupit turbo seu ventus turbineus Pisc Di nube aliqua praeter naturae ordinem facta Grot. De ipsa caligine in qua sc videtur nobis Deus delitescere Vatabl. One of the Rabbins calls it a dark cloud several of the Moderns express it by a rainy or watry cloud out of which issued that dreadful Storm called a Whirlwind Doubtless some sudden extraordinary Wind exceeding the constant order and common course of Nature gathered the clouds at that time Thus God at once hid the glory of his Majesty and testified it much after the same manner as he did at the promulgation of the Law upon Mount Sinai when he answered Job out of the Whirlwind But it may be questioned why did God answer Job out of a Whirlwind First Such a way of answering was most proper to the dispensation of those Old Testament Times when the Covenant of Grace lay covered with Legal Shadows and was usually administred in a clothing or shew of terror especially as was said before at the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai Exod. 19. Deut. 4.12 when so terrible was the sight that Moses said I exceedingly fear and quake Heb. 12.21 And surely the Lord appeared and spake very dreadfully to some of the Prophets in those Elder Times especially to the Prophet Habakkuk who thus reports the consternation of his mind chap. 3.16 When I heard my belly trembled my lips quivered at the voice rottenness entred into my bones and I trembled in my self that I might rest in the day of trouble Now Gospel Times being more clear and calm Christ speaks more clearly and calmly as it was phophesied Isa 42.2 3. He shall not cry nor lift up his voice in the street Christ did not speak out of a Whirlwind A bruised reed he shall not break and the smoaking flax shall he not quench he shall bring forth Judgement unto Victory That is he shall with all tenderness condescend to the weakest souls and deal with them most sweetly gently and compassionately Secondly The Lord spake in a Whirlwind that he might shew the greater State and Majesty to awaken Job yet more or to make him more attentive as also to affect him yet more deeply with the apprehension of his Power and Glory and to leave a greater impression upon his spirit of his own vileness weakness and nothingness Job was yet too big in his own eyes the Lord would annihilate or make him nothing the Lord would beat him out of all conceit with himself out of an opinion of his own integrity and righteousness that he might see and confess there was no way but to lie at his foot abhorring himself and repenting in dust and ashes Such to this day is the pride and stupidness of mans flesh that he hardly attends the Word or Works of God unless awed by some extraordinary Ministration Thirdly We may conceive the Lord appeared and spake in this Whirlwind Aerumnoso homini conformem exhibens aspoctum Munst that he might therein suit his appearance to the state and condition of Job at that time or that he might as it were symbolize with Jobs troubled estate Job as I toucht before was in a Storm and now God declares himself in a storm and that is the reason which some give why the Lord appeared to Moses Exod. 3.2 in a burning bush it was say they that his apparition might answer their present condition The Children of Israel were then in the fire of affliction and entangled in the bush of cruel bondage they were scratcht and torn with briars and thorns and the Lord spake out of a burning bush to Moses as here to Job out of the Whirlwind Fourthly and lastly I conceive the reason why the Lord spake o him in a Storm or Whirlwind was to let him know that he was not well pleased with him but purposed to reprove and chide him De turbine indignationis indice Though Job was a precious servant of God yet God was not well pleased with many passages under his affliction and therefore he would not flatter but humble him For though Job spake from an honest heart and what he said was truth yet God did not like his manner of defence and pleading for himself He was not pleased to see him hold up the Bucklers so long when he should have laid them down rather and submitted David to shew how greatly the Lord was displeased with his enemies tells us what dreadful effects followed the hearing and granting of his prayer against them Psal 18.7 8 9 c. Then the Earth shook and trembled the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken because he was wroth there went a smoke out of his nostrils and fire out of his mouth devoured coals also were kindled by it he bowed the Heavens also and came down and darkness was under his feet c. Thus the Lord appeared in an Earthquake in smoke in fire and darknesse to make the proud opposers of his faithful Servant David know how much his anger was kindled against them Thus also when the Lord revealed himself to Elijah 1 Kings 19.11 it s said a great and strong wind rent the mountains and brake the rocks and after the wind an Earthquake and after the Earthquake a fire before the still voice was heard And why all this but to shew that the Lord was highly displeased with the doings of the Kings of Israel at that time and with that idolatrous generation therefore he appeared in such a dreadful manner while he purposed to conclude all in a still voice Though the Lord was not in the Wind in the Earthquake nor in the Fire yet these were fore-runners of his appearance and signified that the Lord would shake that people with a mighty Wind and Earthquake of Judgement yea even consume them with the fire of his wrathful jealousie for their superstitious following after Baal and deserting his appointed Worship When the lusts of wicked men grow fiery and stormy God will convince them with fire and stormes and if his own servants grow too bold with him he will make them sensible of it as here he did Job by speaking to them out of a Whirlwind though he be intended to speak to them at last as he did to Elijah in a still voice and to Job with favour and approbation Thus much for the opening of these words Then the Lord answered Job out of the Whirlwind and said Hence Observe First The great goodness of God who condescends or lets
to the former instance of the power of God the Stars and Angels rejoycing at the laying of the foundations of the earth And the general reason why the Lord bâ—ings in the stars and the sons of God rejoycing at the laying the foundations of the earth and finishing that work we may conceive to be this that the Lord would thereby convince Job of his murmuring and complaining or of the unquietness of his spirit under the works of his providence As if he had said The stars and all the sons of God rejoyced at the founding of the Earth extolling the work Monetur Jobus ut exemplo angelorum dei opera miretur laudet non sugillet Scult and congratulating the appearances of my power and glory in it Now who art thou that when I have put forth my power and wisdom in this work of my providence towards thee thou shouldst complain and find fault with what I have done instead of resting and rejoycing in it Surely O Job thou thinkest my works of providence are imperfect though my work of Creation was not but consider was the Creation in the very first part of it such as caused all the sons of God to rejoyce and wilt thou who sayest thou art a son of God sit unsatisfied with any of my works Thus the Lord handles Job and from that testimony which the stars and his sons gave of the Works of Creation reproves him for his unquietness under his Works of Providence So much for the general state of the words Yet to clear them farther in general before I come to the particulars there are three veins of interpretation opened about them First Some interpret this whole verse concerning the stars or the heavenly bodies not only taking the first part of the verse literally for the stars in heaven but by the sons of God in the latter part of the verse they understand the stars in a figure as I shall shew more fully when I come to the opening of those words Thus they expound the whole verse concerning the glory and praise which the stars in heaven gave to God for the Work of Creation at the laying of the foundations of the Earth Hieronymus Gregorius Beda A second sort of Interpreters expound the whole verse of the Angels and not of the Stars properly at all they suppose the morning Stars to be Angels in a figure and the Sons of God to be Angels in the letter and so expound the whole verse of the Angels as if the words were a description only of that joy which the Angels of Heaven only expressed when they saw God beginning the Work of Creation or laying the foundations of the Earth The third sort of Interpreters divide the sense expounding the first part of the verse properly for the Stars those studs of light with which the Heavens are adorned whâ—ch in their kind are brought in singing at the Creation of the Earth and by the Sons of God in the latter part of the verse they understand the Angels those spiritual substances who are the Native Inhabitants of Heaven they especially are represented shouting for joy when that work was begun I cannot adhere to the first sort of Interpreters giving all to the Stars nor to the second giving all to the Angels though that hath many learned Authors who press it hard but following the middle way shall take the former part of this verse for the Stars of Heaven and the latter for the Angels in Heaven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sunt steâ—â—ae quaedam singulares quae non aliis admistae solae feruntur Sydora vero quae in aliquod signum stellarum plurium composita feruntur Macrob. l. 1. c. 14. Matutinas nominat meo judicio quod sub auroram magis splendere videantur Merc. When the morning Stars sang together There are single Stars and Stars as I may say in a combination commonly called a Constellation There is an Evening Star and a Morning Star which yet are but one called by the Greeks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and by the Latines Lucifer The light bringer because that Star appears very bright immediately before day-break or before the Sun riseth and the same Star which ushered or led in the Sun in the morning comes behind the Sun in the evening and is then called Hesperus The Evening Star Here the Lord speaks in the plural number of the morning Stars not in the singular of a morning Star And the Lord calls them morning Stars say some because the Stars appear most clearly and shine most brightly near the approach of the morning or break of the day Secondly Others conceive them so called Sydera summo mundi mane lucentia mequâ— suo formoso splendore landantia because they were created or formed in the very morning of the World they were early made For though as I shall touch afterward as to their perfection the Stars were made the fourth day yet their Creation is comprehended in the work of the first day under those general words Gen. 1.1 In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth the Heavens contained all the Stars in their materiality though not yet formally produced for the Stars being but the thicker part of the Heavenly Orb when the Heavens were made the Stars were also made and may therefore be called Morning Stars as being made in the Morning of the World early made Thirdly They may be called Morning Stars because they according to their manner exprest their joy early or betimes in the Morning of the World or as soon as the Lord had laid the foundations of the Earth Those things which are done early Qui mane aliquid aggrediuntur opus Matutini dicuntur Nec minus Aeneas se matutinus agebat Virg l. 8. Idem est matutina astra laudant atque mane laudant Sanct. are done in the morning and they who do things in the morning have the denomination of the morning upon them The Poet anciently said Aeneas was Matutinus A Morning Man because he was early at his work so these may be called Morning Stars because they were early at work singing the praise of God Thus the reason why the Wolf hath this Epithite An Evening Wolf is because he doth his work he comes forth for his prey in the evening Hab. 1.8 Zeph. 3.3 In the former Prophet the Chaldean Horse-men are compared to Evening Wolves for fierceness and in the latter the Judges of Israel are set under the same comparison for blood-sucking cruelty And as thus upon different accounts some are called Morning Men others Evening Men so 't is upon no good account that any are called Night-men though the general reason of it be the same with the former because they do their bad work or works of darkness under the shadow and favour of the Night The Thief the Murderer the Adulterer are Night-men all these are wont to do their work in the Night Job 24 13 14 15 16.
utmost of the depth Hast thou walked there We walk on dry land and in pleasant fields Et in novissimis abyssi deambulasti Vulg. i. e. in infimis ejus partibus Aquin. Some artificial parts of the earth are by way of eminence called walks because they are purposely fitted by art to walk in But who can walk in the searches of the depth Are there any under-water-walkes Vox 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 significat aliquid quaerere investigare usque ad fundum nâ—vissimum To clear these words a little further we may consider two other readings or translations of them First Thus Hast thou walked in the depth by search that is Hast thou found out a way to go to the bottom of the sea by curious search and diligent enquiry Hast thou by thy skill discovered how deep the sea is Hast thou let down thy line and plummet to fathom it and then descended into it I know thou hast not An ad dimetiendum abyssum ambulasti Heb. in investigatione i. e. ad investigandum Codurc Secondly Hast thou walked to search the deep that is Hast thou gone down to the bottom of the sea and there discovered the secret and hidden paths of it I know thy answer must be Thou hast not Hast thou entred into the springs of the sea or hast thou walked in the search of the depth Hence Note First There are secrets or depths in the sea beyond mens searching or finding out The sea in many parts of it may be searched Some have been at the bottom of it many have let down a line to the bottom of it yet it is usual in Scripture to speak of the sea as a thing unsearchable or so deep that none can find the depth of it The sea is so deep that it is sometimes called the depth chap. 28.1 The depth saith that is the Sea saith it that is wisdom is not in me 'T is also called the deep Luke 5.4 chap. 8.31 That is very deep which is called the deep and that 's of an unsearchable depth which is called the depth Such a depth so deep is the sea that no man knows how deep or what the depth of it is Now if we cannot reach the depth of the natural sea then which is the scope of this place surely there are depths and secrets in the ways and counsels of God which no man can earch or find out David Psal 139.9 speaking of the Omso presence of God saith Whither shall I go from thy presence If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea there shall thy hand find me There is no depth no breadth but God can find it out but how little of the depth or breadth of God can we find out Psal 36.6 Thy judgements are a great deep that is thou O Lord dost terrible things in judgement as angry yet such righteous things as just and wise that 't is very hard for any and impossible for the many or most of men to see the reason of them And doubtless it was the deep of his own divine judgements that God intended to lead Job to when he spake here of the depth of the Sea We read what the Apostle was forced to when he was but as it were dipping his feet into this sea of the Counsels and Judgements of God even to cry out O the depth Rom. 11.33 As if he had said I dare not enter into the springs of this sea nor into the search of this depth O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgements and his ways past finding out This was Davids express Confession concerning the providential way of God His way is in the sea and his path in the great waters and his footsteps are not known Psal 77.19 Goings upon the water leave no print behind them we cannot observe a track in the sea God walks sometimes as upon the land we may easily discern his footsteps and see wheâ—e he hath gone But he often walks as upon the sea where no man can see his paths nor are his footsteps known The Lord is known by the judgement which he executeth Psal 9.16 Profunditas maris rei obscurissimae ignotissimae humanae intelligentiae soli deo perspectae symbolum yet his judgements are seldome known they are a great deep a sea The sea is a clear emblem of all obscure and unknown things especially of those ways of God which are too deep for our discovery and lie beyond the reach of our knowledge And indeed as soon may we hold the sea in the hollow of our hand or lade it dry with a Cockle-shell as comprehend the deep counsels of God and the mysteries of providence by which they are acted and effected in our shallow understanding Onely what we cannot attain either by sense or reason we may understand by faith as the Apostle saith We do that the worlds were made by the Word of God Heb. 11.3 Who is able any other way than by believing to enter into those springs or walk in the search of those depths Secondly Learn this from it There is nothing a secret unto God That which here is denied to Job is to be affirmed of God Job knew not those secrets but God knew them Job himself said chap. 9.8 God treadeth upon the waves or as the Hebrew is the heights of the sea Here the Lord intimateth that he walketh in the depth of the sea Both set forth his glory God commands from top to bottom he treads upon the waves aloft he walks in the depths below nothing can escape either his Power or his Eye It is the sole priviledge of God to walk in the search of the sea that is to find out and plainly to discern the most secret things And by him the most unsearchable depths are searched out or rather are known to him without search He knoweth even the depth of mans heart which is the greatest depth in the world next to the depth of his own heart God enters into the springs of that sea the Sea of mans heart and walketh in the search of that depth There are innumerable springs in the heart of man which bubble up and send forth their streams of good or evil continually all which the Lord sees more plainly than we see any thing that is done above ground or in the open light Moses doth not onely report Gen. 6.5 That God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth that is that his outward practises oâ— conversation was very wicked buâ— that he saw every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was onely evil continually Consider God saw not onely the thoughts of man but every imagination which is the least thing imaginable of mans thoughts He saw as the word which we render imigination properly signifies every figment every little creature which the thoughts of mans heart was
or trouble the light or darkness of thy condition than thou canst dispose of light or darkness in the air All our changes from darkness to light from light to darkness proceed from the unchangeable God And as light and darkness have their constant turns in the air so they have very frequent turns in the life of every man Therefore they who when God causeth darkness to cover and compass them about do not acquiesce and rest in his good pleasure but murmur and are tumultuous these I say do as if they would take upon them to order the course of light and darkness in the world these do no otherwise than as if at midnight they should call for day or at mid-day for night Discomposed souls are like sick bodies they who are sick or ill at ease cannot bear either night or day in the day they desire night and in the night day so it is with them of sickly souls Such are often heard saying in the morning Would God it were evening and in the evening Would God it were morning Nothing pleaseth them Did we acknowledge the hand of God in making it night we should sit down quietly in our darkest night as to impatience even while we are most earnestly praying for the return of morning light Impatience was in a great measure Jobs failing though he had a great measure of patience He made as we say an ado in the night of his trouble as if he would have made it day when God had made it night and darkness with him O remember the way of light and the place of darkness the bounds and paths of both are in the hand or at the command of God Thirdly In that the Lord put this among his own great works and takes it out of the hand of Job or of any other creature to order light and darkness Note The work of God in ordering light and darkness is wonderful And we cannot but be convinced that it is so if we consider First The constant succession of day and night in all places As sure as the day cometh the night will come and as sure as the night is come day is coming There is an unchangeable change between light and darkness they milâ—â—or a moment in their comings or returnings Secondly If we consider light and darkness as to their increase or decrease in any place thus Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night sheweth knowledge Pâ—al 19.2 which some think was a well known Adage or Proverbial Speech among the Jews importing the power of God over and his guidance of them both God brings the light to the bound of it to day at this hour or minute of the hour to morrow at that There is a constant inconstancy an uneven evenness between light and darkness upon the face of the earth We never have light or darkness twice of the same length in the same place and season yet they ever keep their place and season all the world over where you had them the last year upon such a day there you may have them this without a moments variation though they have varied their course many moments every day since Thus exactly doth the Lord take or lead the light to it s bound and knows the paths to the house thereof And as there is a great glory coming to God in ordering light and darkness as to the outward face of things so there is a greater as to the inward state of his people their soul-state And though the Lord doth not keep such a constant course in that yet he observeth a rule in all the revolutions of it We have sometimes light and sometimes darkness in our souls Now the light of comfort increaseth towards us and anon the night of sorrow darkeneth upon us Our souls meet often with these turns and changes Let us adore the wisdom and submit to the holy will of God in all For though soul-light be alwayes desirable as well as comfortable yet soul-darkness may sometimes be useful and this use it hath as often as it comes even to try how we can trust God in the dark as also to let the world know that we are resolved through grace to keep close to the light of commandements how long soever we are kept from or are at a loss for the light of promises Lastly We may consider from this Text that as light hath its special houses or dwellings so it hath a special way to its dwelling chalked out as it were and appointed by God And is there not a way a path to spiritual to eternal light The way to these lights is Christ He is the Way the Truth and the Life John 14.6 He is the true the onely way to life to spiritual life and light yea he is the way to eternal light and life Holiness and faith in Christ are the passing way to this light but Christ himself is the way procuring light Without faith it is impossible to please God and without holiness no man can see God Christ is the meriting way faith and holiness are the qualifying way leading us to the house and dwelling of this light As sin and unbelief or the sin of Unbelief is the way leading to eternal darkness O how many go this way to the generation of their fathers where they shall never see light Psal 49.19 so faith and holiness or holy Faith is the way the path to everlasting light and life Thus much of the enquiry made about the way and path of light and darkness which as they are literally to be understood of natural light and darkness so by them God led Job and in him us to consider his disposure of all sorts of light and darkness Now That Job might be convinced of his own ignorance in and insufficiency for an answer to these questions God calls him to consider the late beginning and shortness of his life knowledge being gathered up by experience and length of days affording both time and opportunity for the gathering up of experiences Job was but of yesterday in comparison of the day wherein the interchanges of light and darkness were appointed and therefore should it be supposed that days could teach him how these things came to pass yet he could not but be much unprepared for a ready and satisfying answer to these questions Vers 21. Knowest thou it because thou wast then born Or because the number of thy days is great The question still proceeds about the natural light and darkness Knowest thou it That is what I last put to thee If thou knowest it how camest thou by thy knowledge Knowest thou it Because thou wast then born The Tygurine Translation renders the words thus Habesnè cognitum tempus quo nasceboris Tygur Dost thou know the time when thou wast born As if the Lord had argued thus with Job Thou dost not know the hour of thy own Nativity or when thou wast brought forth how much less the way or manner either of
shadow of a great rock in a weary land Isa 32.2 All which metaphors signifie one and the same thing that Christ will be comfortable to his people either immediately or by provision of means in the most troublesome times there intended by wind and tempest by a dry place and a weary land And that he had been all this to his in such a day the same prophet assures us chap. 25.4 Thou hast been a strength to the poor a strength to the needy in his distress a refuge from the storm a shadow from the heat when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall The History of the taking of Jerusalem by the Babylonians set down by Jeremy tells us that he was fully heard and answered when he pâ—ayed chap. 17.17 Be not thou a terror to me thou art my hope in the day of evil Jeremy found the Lord very favourable to him and giving him favour in the eyes of the enemy when that evil day the day of battel and war came upon Jerusalem Thus sometimes God stayeth his rough wind in the day of the East-wind Isa 27.8 that is he forbeareth to shew himself rough harsh or grievous to his people when great troubles are otherwise upon them noted by the East-wind which naturally is a blasting blustring and boisterous wind and therefore a day of great trouble is elegantly expressed or called a day of the East-wind When the Psalmist had described the fained humiliations of the people of Israel in the Wilderness which he calls their flattering God with their lips and lying unto him with their tongues This was enough to provoke God to make their day of trouble terrible to them yet saith that Scripture He being full of compassion forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not yea many a time turned he his anger away and did not stir up all his wrath Psal 78.38 Though they all stirred him to wrath yet he did not stir up all his wrath when it was worst with them that would have made it a terrible day indeed This is the Lords way with his people in an evil day But when it is a day of battel and war with the wicked world or with the wicked of the world he opens his treasures of wrath and will let them see and feel what stores of snow and hail he hath reserved against that time And hence it is that such are represented in the day of the Lord going into the clifts of the rocks and into the tops of the ragged rocks for fear of the Lord and for the glory of his Majesty when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth Isa 3.21 Lastly Note Snow and hail are Gods weapons and artillery with which he sometimes fights against sinful man The Lord of Hosts hath such instruments of war in his Armory as no Prince can produce nor make use of either to offend his enemies or to defend himself An ancient Poet said of Theodosius the Emperour Onimium dilecte dei cui militat aether Et conjurati veniunt ad classiâ—a venti Claudian Euseb Eccl. Histor l. 5. c. 5. O thou greatly beloved of God for whom the heavens sight and at the sound of whose trumpets the winds the confederate winds present their service and assistance The Thundering Legion in the Army of Aurelius the Emperour is famous in the Church History and hath been mentioned before upon other passages of this Book together with the occasion of that honourable Title bestowed upon them in that age The Scriptures give frequent instances of the Lords avenging himself upon his and his peoples enemies by storms of hail This was one of the ten grievous plagues which God sent upon Pharaoh and the Land of Egypt Exod. 9.17 18. As yet exaltest thou thy self against my people that thou wilt not let them go behold to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof and until now It was with hail-stones that God fought against and discomfited the Army of five confederate Kings in the days of Joshua Josh 10.11 The Lord cast great stones from heaven upon them and they died they were more which died with the hail stones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword There are two things singular and extraordinary if not miraculous in this passage of providence First The magnitude and weight of these hail-stones together with the violence of their motion was such that like bullets discharged from Canon or great Ordnance they slew them out-right or dead on the place upon whom they fell Secondly That the Israelites being in pursuit of these Canaanites and doubtless mixed with them as in a barrel where they come to handy stroaks it must needs be that yet none of them were hurt by the hail stones but the Canaanites onely God who â—o shew his goodness causeth his Sun to shine and his rain to fall indifferently upon the good and upon the bad knows how that he may shew his Justice to cause his hail to fall distinctly upon the bad and not upon the good Deborah saith in her song Judg. 5.20 The stars in their courses fought against Sisera Joseph lib. 3. Antiquit. Judaicarum c. 6. It is reported by Josephus describing this battel that as soon as the armies joyned battel God sent a violent shower of hail which say some being naturally caused by the influences of the stars or heavenly bodies the stars may be said to have fought in their courses like souldiers drawn up in battalia against Sisera and his army And thus by great thunder the Lord discomfited the host of the Philistins in the days of Samuel 1 Sam. 7.10 The prophet gives out several threatnings under the notion of hail Isa 28.17 chap. 30.30 and so doth that last prophesie Rev. 16.21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven every stone about the weight of a talent All which places though not taken literally and properly but metaphorically and symbolically for great and sore judgements of one kind or other yet are a clear proof that proper hail stones have sometimes been the instruments of Gods sorest revenge upon his hardned enemies So then sometimes God doth as it were pitch his Military Tent or Râ—yal Pavilion in the Air there he seems to muster his Army to bring forth his weapons and from thence to confound his foes God useth the clouds both as his shield to protect his people Exod. 14.19 and as his bow to shoot at and wound the wicked Armamentaria Coeli Juven Satyr 16. From thence Psal 11.6 He rains upon the wicked snares fire and brimstone and an horrible tempest this shall be the portion of their cup That is they shall have nothing else in their cup to drink but this and of this they shall drink deep even the very dregs and wring them out Psal 75.8 A heathen Poet called the Clouds
mentions only the Peacock and Ostrich others adde the Stork Bochartus de animalibus scriptura parte poster lib. 2. cap. 16. Yet 't is the opinion of a very late and learned Author that the whole context of these six verses contains the description of one Fowl only and that the Ostrich It cannot be denied but that the first verse of this context or the 13th of the Chapter hath as various translations by all sorts of Authors as any if not more than any in this book yet he grants that most who have translated it into Latine and all that ever he saw who have translated it into the Mother language of any Country render it the Peacock And therefore referring the Reader to the perusal of his reasons and authorities which are many and cogent why he interprets the word Renamim the Ostrich I shall only touch at some of them in passage as I proceed to open the Text as 't is expressed in our own translation Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the Peacocks That the Hebrew word here used signifies a Peacock is clear in all those Lexicographers that I have met with Another word is used 1 Kings 10.22 which yet Buxtorfius saith is by some rendred Parrats and they are often brought in ships from far Countries This I desire the Reader to take notice of that there is a wonderful variety and difference of opinion among Interpreters about the proper names of Animals Plants and Gemms and therefore no wonder if some render the word Chasidah in the following part of this verse which is usually taken for a Storke the Ostrich and others the word Renanim at the beginning of it Ostriches which we and almost all others render Peacocks The Peacock is described only by his wings in the former part of the 13th verse Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the Peacock The Ostrich is described not only by her wings and feathers in the same 13th verse but by four distinct qualities in the context of the five verses following First By her carelesness and forgetfulness of that which she should be very tender of her eggs when she hath laid them this we have in the 14th and 15th verses Which leaveth her eggs in the earth and warmeth them in the dust and forgetteth that the foot may crush them c. Secondly She is described by her unnaturalness to her young ones when her eggs are hatched this we have at the 16th verse She is hardned against her young ones as though they were not hers Thirdly She is described by that which is the reason of both the former her want of wisdom and understanding at the 17th verse which verse tells us also whence it comes to pass that she hath so little of these excellent endowments even Because God hath deprived her of wisdom c. As if he had said if you would know a reason or have an account why the Ostrich is thus forgetful of her eggs thus unnatural to her young ones it is this God hath deprived her of wisdom neither hath he imparted unto her understanding The Fourth thing which she is described by is her swiftness of foot or wing for both are here to be taken in testified by her scorn and contempt of her swiftest pursuers When she lifteth up her self she scorneth the Horse and his Rider at the 18th verse Thus you have the parts of this context with respect to these two winged Creatures or Fowls of the Air here according to our reading described the Peacock and the Ostrich Thus the Lord having shewed his unsearchable wisdom shadowed in those other creatures formerly enquired of proceeds still in the same argument though upon a different subject The power wisdom and providential care of God is manifested in and about all his creatures as much in and about the feathered-fowls of the Air as the four-footed beasts of the earth of one kind or other Vers 13. Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the Peacocks Hebraei subaudiunt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 num dedisti Merc. An fecisti Pisc Those words gavest thou are not exprest in the Hebrew Text that 's marvelous concise which hath occasioned both differences and difficulties in the explication of it The Text is only this goodly wings to the Peacocks we say gavest thou the goodly wings unto the Peacoks The Jewish Doctors generally make the same supplement Some expositors express it thus hast thou made the goodly wings of the Peacocks I conceive the difference is not great whether we read hast thou given or hast thou made for doubtless God in giving made or in making gave The goodly wings unto the Peacocks Master Broughton translates proud wings The Peacock is a beautiful bird and a proud one too The Peacock is gorgeously clothed as I may say by the hand of God Gavest thou the goodly wings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ter tantum occurrit semel in Cal. cap. 20. l. 8 semel in Hiphtael Pro. 7. 18. hic in Niphal est autem lascivire exultare gloriari Alis pavo exultat Merc. no it was I the Lord not thou O Job that gave the goodly wings unto the Peacocks The word which we translate goodly is very proper to the Peacock the root of it signifies to exult to boast to glory and therefore many translate gavest thou the exulting or the rejoycing wings unto the Peacock Though the Peacocks wings cannot properly exult or boast yet because they are an occasion of exulting and boasting to this creature therefore they may be said to do so Hence Master Mercer translates The Peacock boasts with his wings or of his wings he is filled as it were with joy beholding his wings And this gives one reason why the learned Bochartus is perswaded that the Ostrich is here intended because the Peacock hath not goodly wings as the Ostrich hath all the most beautiful feathers of the Peacock being placed in his tail or train which is richly painted and adorned with various well-shadowed colours to the eye when he spreads his tail and prides himself in his plumes But we need not stay upon this objection the wing may well be taken for any feathered part As Moses saith Gen. 7.14 every bird of every sort or as the Hebrew is of every wing came into the Ark. And though the Peacock boasteth chiefly in his train Penna struthionis similis est pennis herodii accipitris Vulg. Quis haec legens non miretur novitatem interpretationis Drus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 deducitur à radice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod est cantare gloriari laetari ovare Quare proprié est penna vel alâ— laetantium ovantium Pavo est animal gloriosum Gemmantes quippe cum laudatur expandit colores adverso maximè sole quia sic fulgentius radiunt quos spectari gaudet Plin. Quem non gemmata volucris â—unonta caudâ— Vinceret as being most beautiful yet he hath beauty in his wings too Gavest thou
strength yet is serviceable to man for very many and very necessary uses as was toucht before not only for pleasure for hunting and racing but for burden and for travel for draught and for war Hence note The power and goodness of God is much seen and much to be acknowledged in making a creature so strong yet subject to and useful for man Some creatures have great strength yet are noâ— nor will be subject nor serviceable to man It is said at the 10. verse of this Chapter concerning the Unicorn Canst thou bind the Vnicorn with his band in the furrow or will he harrow the valleys after thee The Unicorn hath great strength but man can get no service from him he cannot bind him in the furrow nor make him do him any other work Why is it that the Horse who is of great strength though possibly not of so great strength as the Unicorn is so serviceable surely the reason is only this Because God by his power hath subdued the strength of the Horse to and for the service of man Who could break the Horse who could handle and manage him if God himself had not brought him to hand The Elephant greater in strength than the Horse or Unicorn is yet made subject to the use of man by the power and appointment of God Take five Inferences from both these considerations That the strength of the Horse is of God and that the Horse though mighty in strength is by God subdued to the use of man First If the strength of horses be the gift of God then do not glory in their strength though they are very strong yet rejoyce not in their strength but in God who hath given them their strength David saith Psal 147.10 The Lord delights not in the strength of the Horse The Lord gives the Horse strength but he delights not in it no nor in the legs of a man The Lords delight is in them that fear him The Lord tells us he doth not delight in them to teach us that we should not delight in them The Lord delights not in the strength of a horse much less in the strength of those men who are like Horses and Mules of whom David speaks Psal 32.9 whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle lest they come neer unto us to do us a mischief Some men are strong in body and strong in mind too they have strong understandings and strong memories yet aâ—e but like strong horses that must be held in with bit and bridle else they will do more mischief with their strength than the strongest ungoverned horses In these the Lord delights not he cannot delight in the strength of any who are strong to sin and to do wickedly or to give it in the words of the Prophet Isa 5.22 Who are strong to drink wine and to mingle strong drink such a strength some men glory in but the Lord abhors all that strength which is used and issued to the darkning of his glory Secondly As we are not to delight in the strength of horses but in God who hath given them their strength so whatever strength we see in the horse or in any other creature we should give God the glory of it Do not glory in the strength of creatures but in God who gives them their strength that which he hath given or cometh from him should return unto him in daily praise or in the due acknowledgement of his power and goodness Thirdly Vse the strength of horses I say also your own strength for God and not against him We should take heed of imploying the strength which God hath given a beast against God much more should we take heed of using our own strength against him When men imploy the strength of a beast or their own against God they imploy the gift against the giver and so fight against God with his own weapons Fourthly If the strength of horses be of God or be his gift Then trust not in the strength of horses Use the strength of horses but do not trust the strength of horses If you trust that strength which God hath given to horses you make them your God How often doth God foâ—bid trusting in the strength of horses as knowing that we are apt to trust in any thing that is strong though but a beast Psal 33.17 A horse is a vain thing for safety neither shall he deliver any by his great strength As if God had said you think a horse can save you but know he is a vain thing And when the Psalmist saith A horse is a vain thing he doth not mean it of a weak horse but of such a horse as is here described a horse of the greaâ—est strength imaginable such a horse is a vain thing to save a man neither can he deliver any by his strength and therefore the Lord when he promised great deliverances to his people lest they should expect it by the strength of horses faith Hos 1.7 I will save them by the Lord their God and will not save them by bow nor by sword nor by battel by horses nor by horse-men As if he had told them do not look after creature strength to be saved by a horse will be a vain thing to save you and I can save you effectually without horses yea I will Hence the people of God Hos 14.3 when beaten off from all outward helps and trusts are brought in speaking thus Ashur shall not save us we will not ride upon horses neither will we say any more to the work of our hands ye are our gods Heretofore we thought to be saved by this and that we thought if we could have horses enough they would save us but now Ashur shall not save us nor will we ride upon horses We may collect from Psal 20.7 how the spirit of man runs out this way Some trust in chariots and some in horses but we will remember the name of the Lord our God The Law of Moses gave great caution about this thing limitting even the King in this case and that Law was made for the King some hundred of years before they had a King Deut. 17.16 He shall not multiply horses to hâ—mself nor cause the people to return to Egypt to the end that he should multiply horses As if it had been said take heed you do not put your confidence upon the strength of horses though the Law deny not your King the use of horses both for civil and military affairs yet it limits him that he shall not multiply them lest having many of them he should look upon them as more than they are or can be his help and so put confidence in them Hence also is that reproof Isa 31.1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help and stay on horses and trust in chariots because they are many and in horse-men because they are very strong We see how the spirit of man runs out to the horse which God hath
Horse of Darius neighed first and so got his Master the Empire the Persian histories will inform the Reader But to the point in hand 'T is evident from what hath been said that 't is no uncouth nor far fetcht much less forced metaphor to express the neighing of a furious fretting Horse by thundering And as the word rendred thunder signifies in the Verbe to be moved with choler and indignation so a noble-spirited Horse charging an enemy shews a high strain of rage and indignation in which respect together with his neighing his neck may seem to be cloathed with thunder And though it be said that as the neck is not reckoned among the instruments of speaking in man so it cannot be conveniently reckoned among the instruments of neighing in a Horse that properly belonging to the throat and though I grant that when the Scripture saith Psal 75.5 Speak not with a stiff neck the word neck is not there to be taken for the means or instrument of speech but notes only the manner of speaking namely that there the Lord forbids wicked men to speak scornfully pertinaciously or as Hannah expresseth it in her Song 1 Sam. 2.3 that they should talk no more so exceeding proudly nor let arrogancy come out of their mouth Yet the throat being placed in and being a part of the neck we may by a common synecdoche of the whole for the part avoid that difficulty Nor doth the metaphor of cloathing though I confess it most sutable to the first interpretation that of the mane oppose this third of neighing For when a Horse neighs strongly the sound coming out of his mouth compasseth him his neck especially round about as with a garment David describing a wicked man saith he cloathed himself with cursing Psal 109.18 Cursing goes out of the mouth of a wicked man as neighing out of the mouth of a Horse and therefore as when a man is much in cursing he may be said to cloath himself with cursing as with a garment so a Horse which neigheth much may I conceive be said to have his neck cloathed with neighing Having thus far drawn out these expositions of this second question which the Lord put to Job about the Horse Hast thou cloathed his neck with thunder I shall submit them to the Readers judgment and only say that the first if that word Ragnemah may signifie a Horses-mane is the clearest and most literal of them all and that among the second sort of expositions the third is most received and approved From the first interpretation we learn God hath bestowed not only strength but ornaments upon the Horse The mane of a Horse is of little use and therefore some cut it quite off but it is a great ornament to the Horse From the two last interpretations Observe First The Horse in his heat and rage is very terrible Thunder is so and so must he needs be whose neck is cloathed with any thing resembling thunder Note Secondly It is of God that the Horse is terrible The Horse hath thunder about his neck but it is God who hath cloathed his neck with it If any Horse or any other creature be delightful to us God hath made it so and if any Horse or any other creature be thunder dreadful and terrible to us it is the Lord who hath made it so This we find more clearly held out in the next verse Vers 20. Canst thou make him afraid as the Grass-hopper the glory of his nostrils is terrible In the first part of this verse we have the courage of the Horse set forth That creature is full of courage that cannot be made afraid Thus the Lord speaks to Job concerning the Horse Canst thou make him afraid as the Grass-hopper The Chaldee with whom one of the Rabbins joyns rendereth Canst thou cause him to make a noise like a Grass-hopper Abenefra ut senitim edat Vehement motion causeth a sound or noise in the air When many grass-hoppers fly together they make a kind of rushing noise This exposition agrees well enough with the word which at second hand signifieth to make a noise that being caused by motion Yet other considerations hinder from resting in this interpretation For seeing the whole discourse here insists upon the descripâ—ion of a generous horse and his qualifications the noise or sound which a Horse makes in running makes nothing to that purpose for as much as it is common to all Horses even the basest sort of them to make a sound with their feet when they run And if it should be granted that great and generous horses have somewhat peculiar in this and make a greater sound than common horses in running yet to take the comparison from the sound which Grass-hoppers make in flying doth easily refute this exposition We know indeed what Pliny saith Grass-hoppers make such a sound with their wings in flying Lib. 11. cap. 29. that they may be thought some other kind of fowls Yet we cannot therefore believe that it is a proper similitude to compare the sound which horses make in running who as Poets use to phrase it make the earth tremble and groan with that crassing noise which Grass-hoppers make while they fly in the air For if the comparison may at all be taken from flying-fowls great fowls were much fitter for it who use to fly in flocks together Yet these greater fowls make no very great noise in flying much less can Grass-hoppers And therefore the Poets both Greek and Latine though they affect to shaddow great sounds and clamours by a similitude taken from flying-fowls yet they do not take the resemblance from the sound which their flying makes with their wings but from the sound or chattering which they make with their bills while they fly Bootius animad sacrae of which the Reader may find many instances given by the learned Author named in the Margin Seeing then fowls do not make any such noise in flying as may serve for a sutable resemblance of any great sound surely that small noise which Grass-hoppers make in flying cannot be a proper resemblance of it Further here is nothing said of many or of a troop and body of horses but of a single horse or of horses singly and a part considered Now that some one horse should be compared with one Grass-hopper as to the sound which the one and the other makes in their motion were no small absurdity This therefore may suffice for the laying aside of that first interpretation of the whole clause though the force of the word doth not oppose it Secondly Others read the Text thus An commovebis eum in morem locustae Drus Canst thou make him move leap or skip like the grass-hopper As if the Lord had said It is not of thee O Job but of me that the horse hath this property to move himself like a Grass-hopper The motion of a horse may be compared to that of a Grass-hopper in two respects
artus animosa fatigat He diggeth in the valley The pawing of a horse is a kind of digging for he hollows the earth and makes a cavity in it by pawing A mettl'd horse cannot keep his feet but will be traversing his ground and pawing with his feet as vext at any delay or stop of the battel he cannot endure to be curb'd by the bit having such a mind as was toucht before to be upon the spur in a full carreer against the enemy Of such pransings or as the Margin hath it tramplings or plungings of the horse Deborah spake in her triumphant song Judg. 5.22 He paweth in the valley Hence note What we would fain have or be at we are very unquiet and think long till we are at it This we may take in a spiritual sense A soul which hath a mind to do good how impatient is he when he is stopt from doing it A soul that hath a desire to have communion with God on earth how much troubled is he to be hindred And a soul that hath a great mind to be with God in heaven how doth he paw in the valley of this lower world till he get higher and ascend up to him Austin said My heart is unquiet I can have no rest till I am with thee again So the Apostle Phil. 1.23 I desire to depart I would fain be out of this world why am I thus wind-bound in the harbour let me hoise sail and be gone the Sea-man is troubled to lye at an anchor when he would be under sail Thus the generous Horse paweth in the valley and Rejâ—yceth in his strength Sibi placet in suo robore Bez. And because of that he rejoyceth in the battel and because of that would fain be at the battel A horse being confident of his strength goeth on chearfully 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Et vires denotat alias praeterea doles The word rendred strength signifieth not only bodily robustiousness but any other abilities or excellent endowments In which larger notion it is used Dan. 1.4 where it is said The children that were to be chosen and bred up for the King were such as had ability to stand in the Kings Palace that is such as were well qualified for that service and attendance In strength of both kinds a well disciplined horse may be said to rejoyce The word rendred rejoyceth may rather say some be here translated Exulteth which imports somewhat more than rejoycing or great rejoycing may not unfitly be attributed to beasts especially to horses chiefly to such horses as this Text speaks of Exultation is the expression of any inward joy by some outward act or gesture of the body and to do that is very usual with brave horses who being proud of at least much pleased with themselves are often seen pransing and jetting as they go and even artificially forming and composing their bodies their heads and legs especially at every step they take So that these words He rejoyceth or exulteth in his strength seem to imply that the horse knoweth his own strength and powers It is commonly said If a horse knew his strength he were not to be dealt with but whether this be true or no it appears by these words in the Text that he hath some knowledge of his strength else he could not be said to rejoyce in it And this is very aptly inserted here because hence it comes to pass that the horse rusheth so fiercely and fearlesly into the battel which is the great scope of the whole description given of him in this context He rejoyceth in his strength Hence note First They that have much strength for any work or service are joyful to go on to it David Psal 19.5 compares the Sun to a strong man that rejoyceth to run a race A strong man is not afraid of nor troubled at the race but rejoyceth exceedingly in it Secondly Note What we have much of or excel in we are apt to rejoyce in The horse hath much strength and he rejoyceth in it This appears in all things If we have much riches how apt are we to rejoyce in them If we have much wisdom or understanding or parts how apt are we to rejoyce in them and therefore the Lord gives us that caveat Jer. 9.23 Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom as if he had said If a man have a great deal of wisdom or but a little more than his neighbour he will be glorying in it as the horse in his strength and let not the mighty man glory in his might nor the rich man glory in his riches All these stops upon glorying shew that what we have much of we are apt to glory in Note Thirdly To rejoyce in any strength or in any thing but in God and his favour or as we enjoy God in any thing is bruitish 't is to rejoyce as the horse They only rejoyce as Christians who rejoyce in their strength and in their riches and in their graces as they find God in them and as they flow from God The Gospel way of rejoycing is to rejoyce in the Lord not in our graces not in our wisdom not in our righteousness but in the Lord. The horse rejoyceth in his strength He goeth on to meet the armed men The Hebrew is He goeth on to meet the Armour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arma significat sed propriè tela at que ea quibus adorimur congredimur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est Graecè 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 omne teli armorum genus Merc. Hinc 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 osculari salutare quod salutare quod salutantes dextra petant atque occurrant invicem Codurc or rather Armes that is offensive weapons pikes and spears which gall horses rather than defensive such as shields bucklers and helmets which only preserve men from hurt wounds or we may take it in both and so the meaning is the armed men He goeth on to meet them he needs not be beaten nor whipt nor spurred on to the battel The couragious horse goes on he retreats not he retires not he is a volunteer in the War he is prest by nothing but the nobleness and height of his own spirit he goes to meet the armed men though they meet him with deadly arms with sword and spear yet he goes to meet them The word which we translate Armed men properly signifies to kiss or to salute because they who come to battel do as it were joyn hands and salute one another though very coursely rudely and roughly He goeth on to meet the armed men Hence observe The sence of ability much more confidence in ability puts on to activity The horse rejoyceth in his strength he is sensible of or finds his strength for the war and therefore he puts on Secondly Note Whatever any man hath a mind or a delight to do that he will go on in or is free to do The horse goes on to
at the last day Our late Annotators dealing with these words as reported Luk. 17.37 say that by the flight of the Eagle is signified the sudden assembling of the Saints unto Christ coming unto judgement answerable to that of the Apostle 1 Cor. 15.52 as also to that 1 Thes 4.17 Now though according to this allegorical interpretation of the Texts in St. Matthew and Luke Christ is the carcass and believers the Eagles yet I shall close my interpretation of thâ—s Text in Job to which both the Evangelists allude by shewing that in other Scriptures such things are spoken of Christ himselâ— as hold out a likeness between him and the Eagle in many respeâ—â—s First As the Eagle is the royal bird the Princess or Queen of birds so Jesus Christ is the Prince of the Kings of the earth Rev. 1.5 And again Rev. 19.16 King of Kings and Lord of Lords As the Eagle among birds so Christ among both men and Angels hath the preheminence Secondly As the Eagle mounts up so also did Jesus Christ Psal 68.18 Thou hast ascended on high yea so high hath Christ ascended that the Eaglâ—â—annot follow him The Heaven to which natural Eagles mount is as I may say but a pavement to that which Jesus Christ ascended to Christ had a high slight he mounted up to the heaven of heavens far above all visible heavens Eph. 4.10 he is made higher than the Heavens Heb. 7.26 Thirdly Hath the Eagle a piercing eye so hath Jesus Christ he not only from the height of the clouds whither the Eagle mounts but from the highest heavens can look into the secret of every mans heart even into the hell of a bad mans heart and see what 's doing there what 's lying there It was said of Christ while on earth John 2.25 He needed not that any should testifie of man for he knew what was in man and still he looks quite through man through the wisest closest and most reserved among the sons of men All things are naked and open before the eyes of him this Eagle with whom we have to do his eyes behold afar off Fourthly Historians tell us the Eagle fights or wars with Dragons and Serpents and overcomes them Jesus Christ this Eagle hath fought with that great dragon the devil and bruised the head of the Serpent Gen. 3.15 Fifthly The Eagle is very tender and careful of her young ones Now as an Eagle saith Moses Deut. 32.11 12. stirreth up her nest that is those in her nest fluttereth over her young spreadeth abroad her wings taketh them beareth them on her wings so the Lord alone did lead him and there was no strange God with him God bare the Israelites on Eagles wings out of Egypt and brought them to himself Exod. 19.5 that is he brought them speedily and safely and so he bore them all the years of their journeying in the wilderness The Eagle beareth her young ones upon her wings that they may be safe she must be hurt before her young ones can while she bears them there Thus Christ bears his people on his wings yea in his bosome The eternal God is their refuge and underneath are the everlasting Arms Deut. 33.27 Sixthly Naturalists tell us the Eagle gives her young ones of her own blood Aelian l. 14. cap. 14. when she cannot get other blood for them to drink or suck This is most true of Christ he suffered himself to be wounded for us his hands and feet yea his very heart was pierced that we might have his blood to drink in believing My blood saith he Joh. 6. is drink indeed Seventhly The Eagle is long lived Aquila vocatur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 propter longae vitatem vivit annos centum Epiphan The Greek expresseth her by a word signifying longevity and some give the reason not only from the excellent temperament and constitution of her body but also because she lives in such pure air free from ill vapours and noisom smells Jesus Christ is not only long lived but he lives for ever he was from everlasting and will be to everlasting he is the King eternal 1 Tim. 1.17 the eternal father Isa 9.6 Thus we see how Christ is like the Eagle in these seven particulars I shall shew seven more wherein true Christians also are like the Eagle First Doth the Eagle flie high so do they by the wings of faith They mount up saith the Prophet Isa 40.31 with wings as the Eagle Secondly Hath the Eagle a clear sight doth she see far off so Saints by faith can see far off Isa 33.17 Their eyes see the King in his beauty they behold the Land that is very far off Which Scripture though it be properly and litterally meant of beholding King Hezekiah in his earthly glory yet it is much more verified of a believers seeing his King the Lord Jesus Christ in his heavenly glory and of his beholding Heaven which may well be called the Land of farness and distances or as we translate The Land very far off Stephen the Protomartyr had a clear intellectual spiritual eye when he said Acts 7.56 Behold I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God Believers have a clear Eagle-eye here and they shall have a much clearer eye hereafter when they shall see Christ as he is 1 John 3.2 All Saints will be more than eagle-eyed in glory Thirdly Doth the Eagle dwell on a rock so doth every true believer Isa 33.16 His place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks bread shall be given him his water shall be sure The Apostle tells us who the rock is 1 Cor. 10.4 The rock which followed them was Christ Fourthly Doth the Eagle renew her strength So do believers when any oldness is coming upon the new creature as it doth sometimes then they renew their strength by looking to Jesus Christ who is at once their righteousness and their strength He satisfieth their mouth with good things so that their youth is renewed as the Eagles Psal 103.5 As the Lord often bâ—ings his people low by bodily sickness and weakness and then renews their natural health and strength So when there are decays and declinings upon their souls he renews their spiritual health and strength Isa 40.31 They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strengh and then as was said before they shall mount up with wings as Eagles The Eagles youth is renewed by the growth and succession of new feathers of the same kind in the place of the old but a believer reneweth his youth or strength by casting off gradually the remainders of the old man which is corrupt and by putting on more of the new man who is quite of another kind created after God in righteousness and true holiness Eph. 4.24 Fifthly Can the Eagle look fully upon the Sun Surely helievers have not only as clear but as strong a sight as the Eagle they can look upon Jesus Christ the
him or have him to be but what he is he is of and from himself Thirdly Observe The majesty and glory of the greatest among men is the gift of God Deck thy self with majesty saith God to Job but Job could not deck himself he could not pâ—t a clothing of majesty and excellency of glory and beauty upon himself All that man hath is received from God and is but a ray from his unconceiveable light As all our spiritual aâ—ray deckings and ornaments are put on us by God Ezek. 16.10 11. I cloathed thee with broidered work I covered thee with silk I decked thee also with ornaments I put a jewel on thy forehead c. So all civil ornaments are put on man by God I girded thee said God of Cyrus Isa 45.5 though thou hast not known me that is I gave thee all thy power and greatness thy honour and dignity though thou tookest no notice of me in doing it nor that I did it Thus it is said of Solomon 1 Chron. 29.25 The Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel And thus spake Daniel to Belshazzar concerning his father Nebuchadnezar Dan. 5.19 And for the majesty that he that is God gave him all Nations People and Languages trembled and feared before him All the majesty and excellency all the glory and beauty of the greatest Monarchs is derived from God Fourthly Observe The majesty and excellency the glory and beauty of man is nothing to Gods Christ saith Mat. 6.29 Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these Solomon was a King in the greatest majesty and excellency glory and beauty of any that ever was in the world yet saith Christ he was not decked like one of these Lillies then how far short did his glory fall of the glory of God! how doth all the glory of the world vanish and disappear at the appearance of the glory of God even as the lustre of the moon stars doth at the rising of the thrice illustrious Sun And as mans glory is nothing to Gods while it lasts or endures so it is nothing to his in the lastingness and duration of it Dominion and majesty are Gods and shall be ascribed to God everlastingly It is said of Ahasuerus Esther 1.4 that he shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent Majesty many days even a hundred and fourscore days but the Lord sheweth his excellent Majesty for ever and ever for it abides for ever and if so what is the majesty of man compared with the Lords Isa 40.6 All flesh is grass and the goodliness of it as the flower of the field The majesty and excellency the glory and beauty of man is but the goodliness of flesh or the best of a fleshly earthly state and what is that but the goodliness of a fading flower or of the grass that is cut down and withers yea which sometimes withers before it is cut down as David saith Psal 129.6 7. the grass doth upon the house tops which withereth afore it groweth up wherewith the mower filleth not his hand nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosome Fourthly note The way to lay the creature low is to consider the Majesty of God Why doth the Lord call Job to deck himself with humane majesty and excellency was it not to bring him to a due consideration of his own divine majesty and excellency Job must compare himself with God in his glory that he might fall down convinced that himself had no glory Thus the Lord shewed Job his own meanness and exility by bidding him imitate the divine Majesty and excellency Secondly The Lord calls him further to imitate him if he could in the mighty effects of his power or in his powerful works against proud and wicked men Vers 11. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath As if he had said let me see now what a man thou art or rather what a God thou art when thou art enflamed with anger Cast abroad That is furiously disperse and scatter thy rage or rages The word signifies a scattering after breaking to pieces Psal 2.9 As a Potters vessel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 notat confractionem cum dispersione 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 indignatio à transeundo vel quod citò transeat Ira furor brevis est when it is broken is scattered abroad so saith the Lord scatter abroad the rage of thy wrath the Hebrew word is The passing of thy wrath Rage makes a speedy passage it hath a swift motion and do thou cast it abroad while 't is stirring and in motion let it not cool cast it abroad hot The word notes a violent hurrying along Scatter abroad the rage Of thy wrath Or as the Hebrew hath it of thy nostrils Raging appears by breathing or in the quick stirring of the nostrils when we breath but why would the Lord have Job shew his rage The answers is do it to the destruction of the proud Behold every one that is proud and abase him Go look upon proud ones in thine anger deal with them as they deserve The word implies more than bare beholding There is a twofold beholding of things or persons First With favour delight and pleasure Psal 33.18 and 34.15 In both places the Lord is represented beholding or casting an eye upon his people with grace and favour for their good and comfort Secondly There is a beholding with anger and displeasure that is the meaning here behold every one that is proud behold them all not only to take notice of them who they are but behold them as I do in wrath and anger Behold Every one that is proud Be they few or many great or small shew thy self against every one that is proud and Abase him Every proud man is as a mountain Go shew thy self like me behold those that are as mountains among men and make them valleys abase them that 's the Lords work and the meaning of his word here as if he had said I have a power that though proud ones are as great mountains yet I can make them as valleys The Lord speaks this again at the beginning of the Vers 12. Look on every one that is proud and bring him low Here is an elegant repetition of the same thing almost in the same words meerly to inforce the matter look on every one that is proud bend thy brows look frowningly upon him as if thou wouldst look him thorough And bring him low The Septuagint say quench him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Superbum extingue Sept. The proud man is all in a flame now saith God behold this proud man and quench him extinguish him put him out Thus the Lord calls Job to express his displeasure in these effects against proud men that he might appear in wrath like him As if the Lord had said I behold the proud man and I abase
him I look upon the proud man and bring him low now let me see you do so too Canst thou with a look only abate their pride and bring down the pomp of man Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath Hence note First There is wrath in God God knoweth how to cast forth his wrath as well as to send forth his love Habet ira Domini suam energiam nunquam egreditur vana or shed it abroad as the Apostles word is Rom. 5.5 in the hearts of his justified ones by the holy Ghost which is given unto them The wrath of God saith the same Apostle Rom. 1.18 is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness The wrath of God is such as we can neither First withstand nor Secondly avoid there 's no out-running no making an escape from it but only by Jesus Christ and therefore the Apostle gives that glory to him alone 1 Thess 1.10 Even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come There is a wrath to come which God will scatter over all this sinful wicked world blessed are they that are delivered from it Yea not only is there wrath in God but a fierceness of wrath terrible wrath such as will cause the wicked as was said before to run into the holes of the rocks and into the caves of the earth for fear of the Lord and for the glory of his majesty when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth Isa 2.19 Let us mind this wrath and the fierceness of it and let us bless the Lord who hath sent Jesus Christ â—o deliver us from this wrath and from the fierceness of it When wrath shall be cast abroad upon the wicked world that it falls not upon the godly is the fruit of highest and freest love And though they sip of the cup yet that they drink not the dregs of it is rich mercy Psal 75.98 In the hand of the Lord there is a cup and the wine is red it is full of mixture and he powreth out the same in this powring out possibly a godly man may drink somewhat of it especially in a time of common calamity but the dregs thereof all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink them It is of the Lords mercy and because his compassions fail not that we are delivered from the fierceness of his wrath and from drinking the very dregs of the cup of his displeasure Consider further upon whom this wrath will be exercised Cast forth the rage of thy wrath behold every one that is proud and abase him This the Lord bids Job do to shew what himself usually doth Hence note First The Lord takes special notice of proud persons He beholds them he locks upon them As it is said Saul 1 Sam. 18.9 He eyed David from that day forward that is which was his great sin he cast a revengeful envious eye upon him Thus when the holy God seeth wicked men gâ—ow lofty and proud he eyeth and beholdeth them from that very day with an eye of just revenge or with a purpose to break them and be revenged on them God beholds them as I may say with an evil eye that is with an intent to bring evil upon them He saith David Psal 138.6 knoweth the proud afar off As it is said of the Father of the humbled Prodigal in the Parable Luke 15. When he was yet a great way off his father saw him and had compassion So God quickly spies out a proud man even a great way off and hath indignation against him or as we may rather expound the Psalm He knoweth the proud afar off that is a proud man shall never come near him he will not admit him into his presence much less into his imbraces To be known afar off is to be far from the favourable or respectful knowledge of God yea to those whom the Lord knows afar off in this world he will say in the next I never knew you depart from me ye workers of iniquity Mat. 7.23 Secondly Note God is able to and will cast down proud men That which he would have Job do he himself as was said usually doth He beholdeth the proud and abaseth them he layeth them low Nebuchadnezzar that proud Monarch was brought to that confession Dan. 4.37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and honour and extol the King of Heaven all whose works are true and his ways judgment and those that walk in pride he is able to abase If men will be proud and lofty the Lord both knoweth very well how and is able very easily to bring them down And as he knows how and is able to deal with proud men so he desires and delights to deal with them above all sorts of sinners his greatest contests are with the proud Isa 2.12 13 14. The day of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty and upon every one that is lifted up in his own conceit especially and he shall be brought low and upon all the Cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up and upon all the Oaks of Bashan and upon all the high mountains c. What meaneth the Prophet by these is the Lord angry with trees and mountains These are but the shadows of great and proud men the day of the Lord shall be upon every one of them and his hand will be heavy upon them in that day Proud men look upon themselves much above others but as God is above them so he loves to shew himself ahove them especially when they shew out their pride As Jethroe said to Moses Exod. 18.9 11. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them God sheweth himself above all when he acts above proud men and acts them down in their proudest actings And as the Lord delights to bring proud men down so he will certainly do it he is resolved upon it He looketh upon every one that is proud to abase him The Angels that fell were proud they kept not their first estate but left their habitation they did not like the state wherein God had placed them and therefo e God cast them down and he hath reserved them in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day Jude 6. When man in Paradise began to be proud and would be more than God made him God made him above all earthly creatures but he would be as God as his Creator he would be as it were the founder of his own happiness pride and unbelief at once took hold of him and led him to his sin-fall and then followed his fall his judgment-fall God cast him down God abased him and not only that proud man but man-kind for his pride they being in him his pride was theirs And to this day God hath all along set his face against all proud men and the pride
of all men James 4.6 God resisteth the proud The proud contend with God they as it were wage war with God and therefore God will wage war and contend with them he resisteth the proud Prov. 3.34 Surely he scorneth the scorner but he giveth grace to the lowly The Lord hath two great works to do in the world The first is to lift up and exalt the humble The second is to humble and pull down the proud These two are the daily products of divine providence And the Lord is so much an enemy to pride that if he see it in any of his own servants he will abase them and lay them low for it as we see in the case of that good King Hezekiah His heart being lifted up not in thankfulness nor in zeal for the ways and things of God as once it was but in pride there was wrath upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem 2 Chron. 32.35 The Lord will not bear it when his own bear or behave themselves proudly Prov. 29.23 A mans pride any mans pride shall bring him low that is he shall be brought low for his pride or his pride will bring him into such extravagant wayes as will be a means to bring him low Thirdly Note God can easily abase and cast down proud ones If any ask how easily can he do it I answer He can do it with a look Look upon every one that is proud and bring him low saith God to Job shew thy self like me in this I can do it as easily as look upon him God by a cast of his eye can cast down all proud men as the Lord can help his people with a look David desired no more for his portion but that God would lift up the light of his countenance upon him Psal 4.6 that is that God would look upon him favourably And that prayer is made three times Psal 80 4 7 19. Cause thy face to shine upon us and we have enough we shall be saved we shall be delivered we shall be protected A good look from God is all good to man God with a good look can save us and if God withdraw his eye from any and will not look upon them if he turn his back upon them or hide his face from them his favour is withdrawn and they are helpless Now as God can save his people with a smiling look so he can destroy his enemies with a frowning one His look is as powerful and effectual to destroy as it is to save though to look savingly be much more the delight of God if I may so speak than to look destroyingly It is said God looked through the pillar of fire and the cloud upon the Hosts of Pharoah and troubled them and took off the chariot wheels Exod. 14.24 Surely God abaseth the proud men of the world easily when he doth it with a look He indeed as the holy Virgin spake in her song Luke 1.51 52. Sheweth strength with his arm or the strength of his arm when he scattereth the proud in the imaginations of their hearts and puts down the mighty from their seats and exalteth them of low degree yet all this the Lord can do with a look from heaven The habitation of his Holiness and of his Glory Now If the Lord deal thus with proud men take these inferences from it First Hath God such an evil eye upon proud men will he cast them down will he certainly do it and can he easily do it Then woe to proud men 't is the word of the Prophet Isa 28.1 Woe to the crown of pride to the drunkards of Ephraim that is to those who crown themselves with pride and make that their glory and their honour which will pâ—ove their shame and downfal and these the Prophet calls the drunkards of Ephraim I conceive he means not those that drink themselves drunk with wine but those that are drunk with their own presumptions with the pride of their spirits or as many also are with vain hopes and expectations We have vain confidents and expectants so expressed Nahum 1.10 While they are folded together as thorns and while they are drunken as drunkards they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry that is while they are drunken with pride and self-confidence to carry all before them while they are thus folded together like thorns in their plots and contrivements while they are drunken with false hopes they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry that is they shall be utterly consumed and devoured Secondly If there be such a woe to proud ones if the Lord hath such a bad eye upon them and is able to lay them low and will certainly do it and can easily do it we had need consider who are the proud ones Pride is an evil weed yet it groweth many times in the best soyl even in a good heart and it is no easie matter to find out who are the proud men intended in this Text and Point yet I answer In general First All they are proud who value themselves very highly yea they are proud who put any undue value upon themselves we can scarcely value our selves any thing at all but we shal over-value â—ur selves for we are worms and no men saith David He said also What is man O Lord that thou art mindful of him Man is so small a thing that the Psalmist could hardly tell what he is or what to make of him sure enough man is no such thing as most men make of themselves Doubtless if we have any high thoughts of our selves we over-think our selves and usually they that have least true worth have greatest thoughts of their own worthiness Man hath lost all is stript of all as he cometh into the world yet he is proud as if he had all As they that have much are proud or in great danger of pride so it is a truth that they who have nothing are often proud too The Apostle bids Timothy 1 Tim. 6.17 Charge them that be rich in this world that they be not high-minded And among rich men they who as I may say according to the phrase of the world have raised their own fortunes are most apt to be proud and there are two reasons of it First Because of the change of their state they were low and empty but now they are high and full This change of their condition changeth their disposition and as we say Their blood riseth with their good Secondly That which they have is say they of their own getting they think their skill and their diligence hath got it Hence Job protested If I rejoyced because my hand hath gotten much Nebuchadnezzar boasted of his great Palace because he had built it Is not this great Babel that I have built Now as they are apt to be proud who have much especially when it is of their own acquisition though indeed we have nothing meerly of our own acquisition so they who have little or nothing are not out of
things their being in the beginning hath hitherto preserved their being and will to the end And not only so but Thirdly all things are his in possession the Lord hath all in his hand In whose hand soever the things of the world are they are all in the Lords hand As Abraham said in his Treaty with the King of Sodom Gen. 14.22 I have lift up my hands to the most high God the possessor of heaven and of earth Psal 24.1 The earth is the Lords and the fulness thereof the world and they that dwell therein that is they are all at his dispose And again The world is mine and the fulness thereof saith the Lord himself Psal 50.12 and therefore if I were hungry that is if I needed any thing I would not tell thee that is complain to thee or go a begging to thee who art but a beggar I can help my self and take what and where I will There is a fourth title by which all things under heaven are the Lords even by Redemption The Lord hath restored the whole world to a kind of new life by the death of his Son Jesus Christ is the Saviour of all men especially of them which believe 1 Tim. 4.10 All have some benefit by redemption and so whatsoever is under the whole heaven the whole Systome of heaven and earth is the Lords by redemption though the specialty of redemption be theirs only and intended to them only who believe who as they have a peculiar portion a Benjamins Mess in the grace of redemption so the Lord calleth them his peculiars Exod. 19.5 Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people for all the earth is mine And they are called the Lords portion Deut. 32.9 The Lords portion is his people Jacob is the lot of his inheritance Thus as all under the whole heaven is the Lords so all is his by a fourfold title by the titles of creation and sustentation and possession and redemption All things visible and invisible have been created are sustained and possessed by him as their great Lord and all things visible have been redeemed by him from present perishing and a world of them in this world that they should never perish but have everlasting life John 3.16 From this general Assertion That whatsoever is under the whole heaven is the Lords take these following Inferences First Then the Devil is a lyar a great lyar for Mat. 4. in his last assault against Christ he boasted that he would give him all the Kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them whereas the truth is he hath not a shoe latchet at his dispose While the Devil saith all is mine the truth is nothing is his but a lye of that he is the father As he hath not given a being to the least worm so he cannot dispose of the least worm he is not worth a straw for all is the Lords Secondly Hence we learn That there is a lying spirit in most of the children of men even in all them who look upon any thing they have as their own There is a sense in which we have a right to and a propriety in what we have and may call it ours but that spirit which moves in most of the children of men is a lying spirit when they say this and that is their own David Psal 12.4 brings in the wicked saying With our tongue will we prevail our lips are our own who is Lord over us What have not we who have so many Lordships the Lordship of our selves the Lordship of that little piece of our selves our lips But were not their lips their own not in the sense they spake it as if they were accountable to none for them for their next word was Who is Lord over us Thus most do they look upon their lips and all the members of their body as their own but what saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 6.20 Glorifie God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods And vers 19. Ye are not your own Your body is not your own but it is the Lords then much less are the things that you have your own your Land is not your own nor your cattel your own the beasts of the earth are not your own nor the fishes of the Sea your own nor is a hair of your head your own nor a pin upon your sleeve they are all the Lords Is it not then a lying spirit which possesseth very many among the children of men who look upon themselves and what they have as their own Their houses and lands are their own their gold and silver are their own who is Lord over them or theirs O let such remember that themselves their houses and lands their gold and silver are the Lords and that the Lord saith expressly The silver is mine and the gold is mine Hag. 2.8 Thirdly If all be the Lords then the Lord is able to supply the wants of all who wait upon him and to supply them plentifully The Lord supplieth the wants of all creatures The Lord keepeth a great house he feedeth all that he hath made he provideth food for Leviathan he satisfieth every living thing Psal 145 16. and Psal 115.16 The heaven even the heavens are the Lords but the earth hath he given to the children of men that is whatsoever of the earth the children of men that is men in common or mankind have the Lord hath given it to them and seing his own children have need of it surely he will not deny it them The Lord I say hath given the earth to the children of men and if the Lord hath bestowed the earth on men as men then much more hath he the earth to bestow upon his own children Christ in his Sermon upon the mount Mat. 6.32 assureth them of it Your heavenly father knoweth that ye have need of these things Food and cloathing is in your fathers hand your father is rich he is rich indeed and therefore he can supply your wants If children do but remember that their father hath such and such lands and houses they think they shall be well provided for how much more may a godly man say my father hath a great deal of land the whole earth is his and therefore I shall be provided for The Apostle improves this position twice 1 Cor. 10. First to makâ— use of our liberty in eating whatsoever is fold in the shambles asking no question for conscience sake for saith he the earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof vers 26. He makes use of it Secondly to perswade us not to abuse our liberty ver 28. But if any man say unto you this is offered in sacrifice unto idols eat not for his sake that shewed it do not offend him and for conscience sake do not offend thy self The earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof As if he had said why shouldst thou trouble thy self or others by eating such meat seing there is enough
he hath not concealed the parts c. of Leviathan from us Then certainly he will not conceal the knowledge of himself and of his Son from us We may get to heaven or be saved though we know not the creatures thus distinctly but without the knowledge of God in Christ we know no salvation Acts 4.12 If therefore the Lord hath acquainted us thus particularly with the knowledge of the creatures which is an inferior and not so necessary a knowledge doubtless he hath acquainted us with the knowledge of himself which is altogether necessary This is life eternal to know thee the only true God Deus non deficit in necessariis and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent John 17.3 It is an useful knowledge to know the creature to know the Leviathan but it is of absolute necessity to know God the Father Son and Spirit God hath not concealed himself from us nor his will from us neither what he would have us do and believe nor what he will do for us The Apostle Paul could say to the Church at Ephesus I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God Acts 20.27 The Lord hath not shunned to declare his counsel for our direction for our instruction for our caution and for our consolation he will not conceal the knowledge of himself from us in what is needful for us to know unto salvation The Lord having thus prefaced his purpose to declare the parts c. of Leviathan comes in the next words to declare his parts Vers 13. Who can discover or uncover as some the face of his garment That is his garment The word rendred face is redundant As to flie from the face of a man is to flie from a man and to flie from the face of the sword is no more than to flie from the sword The face of any thing strictly taken is the superficies of a thing or that which is uppermost The face of the earth is the upper part of the earth not the whole earth But here the face of Leviathans garment is his whole garment But then the question is what is this garment Quis potest illam è mari in siceum adducere nudam fistere coram hominibus Jun. Pisc Indumentum ceti vocat cutem qua tanquam indumento tegitur q. d. quis detraxit ei cutem quis exâ—oriâ—vit cum Drus Merc. I may give you a fourfold answer First Some learned Interpreters are of opinion that the Sea it self is here intended by this garment because the Whale doth as it were wrap himself in the waters as we do in a garment The Sea is his garment saith Mr. Broughton who can take that from him and bring him to Land Secondly Others conceive that by this garment we are to understand the skin of the Leviathan The natural garment of every creature is his skin At first mans not only natural but only garment was his skin and afterward his artificial garment was made of skins Who can discover the skin of the Leviathan that is who can fley off his skin and so strip him of his garment De balena scribitur quod oculi ejus gravi supercilâ—orum pondere operiuntur prominentia illa quasi vestiuntur nemoque audat corium illud quod facies indumenti appellatur attollere confestim à belluo vorandus Paraph. Paraemialis locutio esse videtur q. d. quis audet vel cuticulae ejus particulam detrahere ut de homine superbo iracundo dicimus ne pilum quidem barbae audes ei extrahere Bold Thirdly Others who interpret this garment the skin yet conceive it spoken not of the skin of his whole body but the skin about his face and which hangeth over his eyes which no man is so hardy unless he be fool-hardy as to open and take away Fourthly Some take these words as a proverbial speech who can take away a piece of his skin or touch his skin As we commonly say of a proud and wrathful man who dares touch him or pull off so much as a single hair from his beard I shall pitch upon the second interpretation that by the garment of Leviathan is meant his skin which is his natural garment There are many remarkable things spoken afterwards in this Chapter about the skin of Leviathan Here 't is called his garment Whence note God hath given every creature some kind of garment or covering The Whale hath his garment he could not abide the water without it All trees and plants have a garment the rind or bark they could not abide the air without it Every beast and bird hath a garment they could not abide either heat or cold without it 'T is said of man in the state of innocency that he was naked Gen. 2.18 And the man and the woman were both naked and were not ashamed yet they were not quite naked they had a natural garment though not an artificial one their skin yea they had a better natural garment than their skin their innocency and that was the reason why they were not ashamed Since the Fall mans natural garment is not enough to keep him from either cold or shame he must have an artificial garment over that nor is any artificial garment how thick or rich or costly or fashionable soever enough to keep him from shame he must have a spiritual one he must as the Apostle exhorts Rom. 13.14 Put on the Lord Jesus Christ he must put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness Eph. 4.24 else he hath reason to be ashamed All are naked till they put on this garment Christ and his Graces And they that have put on this garment shall be cloathed with the garment of joy and glory Being cloathed thus we shall not be found naked as the Apostles word is 2 Cor. 5.3 The Lord hath bestowed a garment upon every creature and upon man garments of beauty and glory Who can discover the face of his garment Or who can come to him with his double bridle There is much contending about the meaning of these words or what is meant by this double bridle but I shall not make any stay about it The text may be read thus Who can come within his double bridle The Geneva translation is near ours Who can come to him with a double bridle But what is this double bridle First Some understand this double bridle as a part of Leviathan Intelligit oâ— aut labia quae diducta fraene duplicati spâ—ciem habent Drus Who can come to his double bridle or into the doubling of his bridle As the verdure or greenness of grass is put for green grass so say some the duplicature or doubling of his bridle is nothing else but his double bridle that is his jaws or mouth which have some resemblance to a bridle when they are opened or at their end Now according to this reading the meaning is who
him It is said of that Land-leviathan Alexander the Great before mentioned that he even leaped for joy when he was engaged in great dangers and hazardous attempts then he would say exultingly Now I see danger suitable to the greatnss of my spirit Jam video animo meo par periculum In such a sense it may be said here of Leviathan sorrow is turned into joy before him But whence was this surely from his strength and the confidence he had in it Hence note They who have great strength think themselves above sorrow and danger Leviathan is so strong that sorrow is turned into joy before him how full of joy or how joyful then is he as Christ saith Mat. 6 23. If the light that is in thee be darkness how great is that darkness so if our sorrow be turned into joy to us how great is our joy Some good men have found it so according to their faith and most stâ—ong men hope it shall be so to them according to their pre umption A st ong man rejoyceth to run a race whereas a weak man is afraid of it going is grievous to him much more running Whatsoever we have strength to do if we have hearts also to do it we rejoyce to do it yea we are so apt to rejoyce in our carnal strength of any kind that the Lord by his Prophet Jer. 9.23 forbids it in every kind of strength in strength of understanding Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom he forbids it also in strength of estate Let not the rich man glory in his riches and lastly he forbids it in this particular strength of body Let not the mighty man glory in his might And there is great reason we should take heed of being found Leviathans in this seing none have been more oppressed and weakned with sorrow than they who upon confidence in self-strength have thought themselves above it or that it should certainly be turned into joy before them Further It will not be unuseful to consider That as here it is said Leviathans sorrow is turned into joy before him so it is promised to and the priviledge of all true believers to have their sorrows or that their sorrows shall be turned into joy before them John 16.20 Verily I say unto you said Christ himself that ye shall weep and lament and the world shall rejoyce here 's the case of Christs Disciples in this world they shall weep and lament that is they shall have cause to weep and many times shall actually weep and lament but your sorrow shall be turned into joy As ye shall rejoyce in spirit under those dispensations which have the greatest occasion and matter of sorrow in them or as Eliphaz said Job 5.22 At destruction and famine ye shall laugh ye shall laugh at destruction it self so at last all the very matter of your sorrow shall be turned into joy The most sorrowful things shall not now be able to swallow you up with sorrow and at last you shall not know by any then present experience any sorrowful thing All your tears shall be not only wiped off from but out of your eyes Christ will then renew that miracle in a metaphorical sense which be once wrought in a natural of which we read John 2. he will turn water into wine the waters of sorrow and tribulation into the wine of joy and consolation Which blessed priviledge is also clearly prophesied Isa 65.13 14. Lastly If by reason of Leviathans strength his sorrow is turned into joy surely the faithful who have the Lord for their strength may turn their sorrow into joy into such joys as none shall take from them or turn back or again into sorrows Thus far concerning the strength of Leviathans neck and the effect of it his joyful or merry life The next words shew him strong all over or in all the parts of his body Vers 23. The flakes of his flesh are joyned together they are firm in themselves they cannot be moved This compactness of Leviathans flesh argues an universal strength His flesh is so compact as if it were a molten thing or as the word rendred firm in the latter paâ—t of the verse signifies like brass or bell-mettal moulton in a furnace and cast into a body Such is the force of the Hebrew The flakes of his flesh are joyned Though Leviathan be a fish an inhabitant of the waters yet the Scripture calls the bulk of his body flesh So Levit. 11.10 11. All that have not sins nor scales in the seas and in the rivers of all that move in the waters they shall be even an abomination unto you ye shall not eat of their flesh In Scripture sence fish is flesh the Apostle useth the same language 1 Cor. 15.39 All flesh is not the same flesh that is it is not of the same kind but there is one kind of flesh of men and another flesh of beasts another of fishes The fish of the sea have flesh as well as the beasts of the earth And that which Job denied of his flesh Chap 6.12 we may affirm of Leviathans flesh His strength is as the strength of stones and his flesh as of brass As the scales of Leviathan without so now his whole flesh within is spoken of as if it were made of solid brass The very refuge the vilest parts of his flesh as the word which we translate flakes is rendred Amos 8.6 are firm and strong being joyned or glued fast together as the Septuagint express the significancy of the word by us rendred joyned And as it followeth They are firm in themselves they cannot be moved That is one part of his flesh cannot be taken from the other or he cannot be moved that is Leviathan is so strong that nothing can stir him or cause him to give ground unless himself pleaseth And as his flesh covering his bones is thus firm so is his heart covered and defended by both Vers 24. His heart is as firm as a stone yea as hard as a piece of the nether mill-stone Corin omnibus animantibus spissum nervosum bend compactum est Arist l. 3. do part c. 4. Superior molo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dicebatur ab inequitando The heart is the principal internal part of any creature and the flesh of the heart in every creature is harder than the flesh of any other part of his body the heart is a very compact and hard piece of flesh And the Lord would have us know that the heart of Leviathan is so hard that the heart of any other creature in comparison of his may be called soft and tender His heart Is as firm as a stone That is 't is extraordinary hard which is further intended by the last words of this verse Yea as hard as a piece of the nether mill-stone Mills have two stones an upper which in Hebrew is expressed by a word which signifies to ride because it seems to ride moving
afraid Hence Note First Great dangers may put the stoutest into a fear Natural fear is a passion or perturbation of the mind raised by the appearance or our apprehension of some eminent or imminent evil ready to take hold of us or fall upon us And as some are of so fearful a nature or are made so fearful by a secret judgement of God upon them that they are afraid where no fear is Psal 53.5 and being pursued with their own guilt flee when no man pursueth Prov. 28.1 or as another Scripture speaks At the sound of a shaken leaf so it is natural to all men to fear in case of real and apparent danger especially if the danger be like a Leviathan very great or if a Leviathan raise himself against them And therefore Jesus Christ himself being in our nature and cloathed with flesh though sinless flesh began not only to be afraid but amazed Mark 14.33 a little before his passion when he saw that greatest Leviathan the Devil together with many great Leviathans raising themselves to swallow him up And if when a Leviathan raiseth up himself the mighty are afraid how shall the mighty be afraid when God raiseth up himself that 's the design of God in this passage The holy Prophet gave this caution to all men Zach. 2.13 Be silent O all flesh before the Lord for he is raised up out of his holy habitation As if it had been said the Lord now shews himself he was before as one asleep or laid down upon his bed but now the Lord is raised up What then Be silent O all flesh The mightiest have reason then to be silent How silent There 's a twofold silence First from speaking Secondly from boasting That charge in the Prophet is not to be understood of a silence from speaking but from boasting as if it had been said Be in fear and reverence for the Lord is raised up out of his holy habitation Another Prophet tells us that at the Lords appearances the mighty shall tremble and be afraid Isa 2.19 having said a little before The loftiness of man shall be bowed down and the haughtiness of man shall be made low He adds They shall go into the holes of the rocks and into the caves of the earth for fear of the Lord and for the glory of his Majesty when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth When the Lord ariseth to shake this world by his judgements he will make the mighty tremble and run into the holes of the rocks to hide themselves from his dreadful presence If a creature a Leviathan causeth the mighty to fear when he ariseth how much more may the mightiest of the world fear when God ariseth and therefore that prayer of David Psal 68.1 Let God arise let his enemies be scattered let them that hate him flee before him may well be resolved into this conditional proposition If God ariseth his enemies shall be scattered and all that hate him shall flee before him This may teach the mean and poor of the earth to fear him who can make the mightiest afraid When God is angry the mighty cannot then much less can mean underlings stand before him When Leviathan raiseth himself the mighty are afraid And by reason of breakings they purifie themselves Mr. Broughton saith by reason of shiverings But what are these shiverings or breakings Leviathan breaks the waves and waters The waves of the Sea Confractiones vocat quando Leviathan elevando se fluctus excitat qui propterâ—◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 appellantur quod se invicem frangant are expressed in the Hebrew tongue by a word which signifieth breakin gs because they break themselves one against another as also possibly because Ships are broken by the waves And when 't is here said By reason of breakings they purifie themselves the meaning may be this by reason of the waves and troubled waters which Leviathan makes when he bestirs or raiseth up himself they purifie themselves Nor doth Levithan break the waves and waters only but whatever comes neer him he breaks and shivers to pieces if a Ship be in his way he breaks it as some have been taught to their cost by sad experience By reason of breakings They purifie themselves The mighty are afraid when he raiseth himself up and seeing him make such work they purifie themselves What 's that There are various understandings and expositions of this clause Aliqui verbum purgant exponunt aberrant i. e. Ita percelluntur metu ut animis toti cancidunt nec sciunt quid agant Merl. Peccant i. e. errore se obstringunt ut nesciant quid faciant Nam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ut Graecè 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dicitur qui aberrat à scopo Drus First The word rendred to purifie properly signifies to erre or to wander out of the way and it notes as outward erring or wandring that of the body when we know not whither to go so inward wandring that of the mind when we know not what to do The mind or understanding wanders often and roves up and down we know not whither In this sense several understand the words By reason of breakings they wander they are struck with such a fear and amazement that they run about like men distracted and out of their wits or they suppose it of Mariners know not how to guide the Ship nor how to handle their sails and tacklings Some chiefly insist upon this interpretation By reason of breakings they wander or know not what to do next to help or save themselves from perishing A man in streights usually saith I know not what to do They who are in much fear of suffering in any kind seldom know what to do in any way for their own safety and often take the unsafest way running themselves further into danger while they endeavour to escape it This is a proper and profitable exposition and we may note this from it Great fears causeth great distractions Every worldly fear hath somewhat of distraction in it and in proportion to the fear is the distraction therefore great fear must needs cause great distraction When men in a storm mount up to heaven and go down again to the depths 't is said Psal 107.26 27. their soul is melted because of trouble they reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man and are at their wits end their wit cannot go a step further with them nor their reason conduct them any longer We say in the margin All their wisdom is swallowed up He that fears Leviathan will swallow him up may soon find his wisdom swallowed up Wise and mighty men may be mightily puzled in great dangers and utterly disabled to make use either of their wisdom or of their might Good Jehoshaphat 2 Chron. 20.12 when a great enemy was invading him cryed out O our God wilt thou not judge them for we have no might against them neither do we know what to do we are bereft
two-fold demanding First as a Disputant Secondly as a Supplicant Job would now demand as a Supplicant unto God M◠interrogantem doce benignè qui me tuae disciplinae planè submitto Merc. not as a Disputant with God We may be said to demand or enquire of God when we consult his word not humane reason It an innocent person as Job be afflicted where shall he enquire the reason of it if he only respect his affliction and compare that with his own innocency he will quickly murmure at and complain of the dealings of God with him But if he look to the Word of God which tells him that God is a Soveraign Lord and that God hath promised not only to be with his in trouble but that their troubles shall work their comforts he will not only be patient under but glory in his tribulations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 interrogobo tc sc petendo orando pulsando Aquin. The Hebrew word which we translate demand may well be rendred petition or crave The common sense of the word demand seems too high for Jobs spirit and condition Master Broughton renders I will make petition unto thee or an humble suit unto thee as if he had said I will pray for and beg this favour of thee that thou wouldst teach and inform me better It is not an authoritative demand Qui regat nescit Interrogare sapientem dimidia sapientia est Apotheg Arab. which is a kind of command but a submissive demand this demanding is the asking of a question not the requiring of a right He that asks a question implyeth that he stands in need of information and that he is desirous to learn And to put questions to a wise man is half wisdom I will demand or put questions unto thee Declare thou unto me The Hebrew is make me to know make me a knowing man As if Job had said Lord if thou wilt teach me I shall soon get knowledg and understanding and therefore I resign my self wholly to thy teachings The true submission of mans will to Gods will is to hearken to the counsel or wisdom of God and not to sit down in our own But as it was questioned at the first verse how Job could answer seeing he had said I will answer no more so here it may be questioned why the Lord spake no more to Job seeing here he desired to receive further instruction from him I answer First Job made this suit to God upon this condition that God would please to enform him if he saw need or should think fit to do it Secondly Job spake this doctrinally to shew what he and others ought to desire submit to even the teachings of God Thirdly I answer that the Lord seeing his submission saw there was no need of speaking any further to him but broke up the whole disputation determining for Job and giving him the day against his three friends as will appear further in the sequel of the Chapter From this verse Observe First The sence of our wants puts us upon prayer When Job was sensible that he wanted understanding and knowledge he came to God for it Give me to understand cause me to know True and fervent prayer floweth from a sence of our wants If we see not our selves in need why should we pray And when really we shall have no need as in heaven there will be no need of prayer all will be praise and all shall be in everlasting praises Secondly The person to whom Job maketh his application for teaching being God himself Note We know nothing of God nor of our selves aright till God teacheth us till he declareth and maketh it known to us Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father of lights c. Jam. 1.17 As no man can either make or redeem himself so no man can teach or instruct himself What we know of God we know from God 'T is in his light that we see light The light may shine round about us and we see it not unless God enlighten us as well as send us the light we are never the better As in conversion the Lord first opens the eyes and then turns from darkness to light Acts 26.18 So under every dispensation we are in the dark till God opens our eyes and give us by his own immediate or mediate teachings light about it Thirdly note If we desire God should teach us or if we would be taught of God we must ask it of him We find the godly often putting up this request to God David was much in this petition Psal 119.33 34. Teach me O Lord the way of thy statutes and I shall keep it unto the end Give me understanding and I shall keep thy law He did not only desire God that he would teach him but give him a faculty to receive his teachings vers 35. Make me to go in the path of thy commandement See how the Psalmist joyneth these petitions together First Teach me the way of thy statutes Secondly Give me understanding as if he had said else thy teachings will do no good Thirdly Make me to go in the path of thy commandement as if he had said though I understand thy statutes yet unless thou help me I shall not be able to walk in them no nor to take one right step in them therefore Make me to go in the path of thy commandement Again Psal 143.10 Teach me to do thy will for thou art my God thy spirit is good lead me into the land of uprightness As the Lord teacheth us our way and hath promised to teach us always in all things needful for us to know and do so he hath taught us by the written practise of many as well as by his written precept that we must pray for his teaching Fourthly Job was humbling himself and now he begs of God that he would teach him Hence note Humble souls desire and give up themselves wholly to be taught by God They hang upon his mouth for instruction and renounce their own wisdom Eliphaz gave Job that advice Chap. 22.22 Acquaint thy self now with him and be at peace and good shall come unto thee Receive I pray thee thee law from his mouth and lay up his words in thy heart Fifthly In that Job prays for teaching in this form according to the Hebrew make me to know Observe The teachings of God are effectual they make us know Men may teach others knowledge but they cannot make them know God can make a very dullard quick of understanding Men may instruct the understanding but they cannot give understanding God doth both The teachings of God are effectual to all purposes First to enlighten the ignorant Secondly to convince gain-sayers Thirdly to convert sinners Fourthly to comfort those that are sorrowful Fifthly to resolve such as are doubtful Sixthly to encourage the fearful And Seventhly to raise up and recover those that are fallen Thus Job is become a
took impression upon my heart heretofore but I never had such an impression as in this tempest I never heard God speaking thus immediately to me nor did he ever give me any such visible demonstration of his presence as he hath vouchsafed me at this time speaking out of the whirlwind And from all we may conclude that as Job had a powerful illumination of the Spirit so an outward apparition of the Glory and Majesty of God or of Gods glorious Majesty to convince and humble him So that though Job had a saving knowledge of God formerly yet this discourse of God with him and discovery of God to him had made him a better Scholar than all his earthly teachers I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear But now mine eye seeth thee That is now I have as clear a sight or knowledge of thy mind and will of thy justice and goodness of thy power and soveraignty as if I had seen thee with mine eyes and had seen or looked into thy heart Or thus Not only hast thou graciously instructed me by speaking so much to me but thou hast manifested thy self present with me by an aspectable sign Mine eye hath seen thee that is thou hast given me to see that which assures me thou art neer unto me namely the Cloud out of which thou hast been pleased to speak and make known thy mind to me who am but dust and ashes The Lord may be seen these four wayes First In his Word Secondly In his works Thirdly In outward apparitions Fourthly And above all God is seen in his Son our Lord Jesus Christ whom the Apostle calls Heb. 1.3 The brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and in whose face the light of the knowledge of God shineth 2 Cor. 4.6 And hence Christ saith John 14.9 He that hath seen me hath seen the father The invisible father is seen in his Son who was made visible in our flesh John 1.18 Thus God may be seen But in his nature God is altogether invisible he cannot be seen Moses saw him that is invisible Heb. 11.27 that is he saw him by an eye of faith who is invisible to the eye of sense I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now mine eye seeth thee Hence note First It is a great mercy and much to be acknowledged that we have the word of God sounding in our ears Faith cometh by hearing Rom. 10.17 The Prophet saith Isa 55.3 Hear and your soul shall live Now if faith and life come by hearing to have the word of God sounding in our ears must needs be a great mercy Though to have the word only sounding in our ear will do no man good yet 't is good to hear that joyful sound Though that sad Prophesie mentioned by Christ Mat. 13.14 be fulfilled in many By hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand and seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive Yet he said to his faithful followers vers 16. Blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear They receive a blessing by hearing whose ears are blessed when they hear O how many souls are blessing God that ever they heard of himself and his Son our Lord Jesus Christ by the hearing of the ear To have an ear to hear is a common blessing but to have an hearing ear or to hear by the hearing of the ear is a special blessing Observe Secondly We should hear the Word very diligently That phrase I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear as the Hebrew Writers note signifieth a very attentive hearing Every hearing is not an hearing with the ear nor every seeing like that we intend when a man saith I saw it with my eyes One may see and not see hear and not hear The Word of God is to be heard with a hearing Such doublings in Scripture have a great emphasis in them As when the Lord saith They are cursed with a curse it notes a great and a certain curse is coming so to hear by the hearing of the ear implyeth fruitful hearing and a laying up of that in the mind which hath been heard Psal 44.1 We have heard with our ears O God our fathers have told us what work thou didst in their dayes in the times of old They who thus hear with their ears treasure up in their hearts and do with their hands what they have heard The Lord charged Ezekiel Chap. 44.5 Son of man mark well and behold with thine eyes and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee that is mind diligently what I shew and say unto thee The Lord called for the exercise of both senses in attending to what he spake to the Prophet He did not only say Hear with thine ears but see with thine eyes that is hear as if thou didst even see that which thou hearest For though possibly the Lord presented somewhat to the eye of the Prophet as well as he spake to his ear yet the former notion may well be taken in yea and intended in that command Many hear as if they had no ears and see as if they had no eyes One of the Ancients taking notice of that saith Such kind of hearers are like Malchus in the Gospel who had his ear cut off From those words But now mine eye seeth thee taken distinctly Observe Thirdly God revealeth himself more clearly and fully at one time than at another Seeing is somewhat more than hearing though it be attentive hearing As the full and clear manifestation which we shall have of God in the next life is expressed by seeing and called vision so the fullest and clearest apprehension which we have of God and the things of God in this life is a degree of seeing both him and them 't is the sight of faith and may also be called vision A true and strong believer tasts and feels and sees the truths of the Gospel which he hath heard his faith which is the eye of his soul is the evidence of those things to him which are not seen nor can be seen by an eye of sense He by the help of the Holy Ghost looks stedfastly into heaven and with this eye seeth the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God in his measure as blessed Stephen did Acts 7.55 This sight of God and spirituals hath three things in it beyond that ordinary though real knowledge which comes in by the hearing of the ear First a surpassing clearness Secondly an undoubted certainty Thirdly a ravishing sweetness and the overflowings of consolation Fourthly Note According to the measure of Gods revealing himself to us such is the measure of our profiting in the knowledge of God The word is spoken to all in the publick Ministry of it it is scattered upon all but they only learn to know God themselves truly to whom God doth inwardly reveal it whose hearts he toucheth and openeth by
I wished so often for death that I wooed the grave and so haâ—tily called for my return to the dust in the day of my affliction Thirdly I abhor that ever I despaired of my restauration or that I gave up my self as a man utterly lost for this world Fourthly I abhor that I used so many complaints of the severity of the Lords dealings with me Fifthly I abhor that I was so bold as to desire to plead with God Sixthly I abhor that I was so much in setting out my own righteousness and innocency Seventhly I abhor that ever I spake any word which should in the least darken or reflect upon the goodness mercy faithfulness righteousness and soveraignity of God in his dispensations towards me These are the things which had unwarily passed him in the heat of disputation with his friends and these he now abhorreth Take it either way I abhor my self or these things it comes all to one for the truth is he did abhor himself for those things which he had spoken with so much imprudence and impatience while he was under the hand of God I abhor my self neither is that all And repent Job was not only affected to abhorrence but to repentance The word translated repent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Niphal significat consolari in Piel poenitere Drus signifies two contrary things in Scripture First To grieve which is proper to repentance sorrow and repentance ought to go together Secondly To comfort or to take comfort thus it is rendered Gen. 24.67 Isaac was comforted concerning the death of his mother 2 Sam. 13.39 David was comforted concerning Amnon Psal 77.2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord my sore ran in the night and ceased not my soul refused to be comforted It may seem strange that the same word which signifies sorrow and repentance should signifie also comfort and to be comforted but sorrow and comfort meet in true repentance godly sorrow doth not hinder much less quite exclude and shut out joy in God Repentance is ushered in by godly sorrow and grief of heart for sin and it concludes with comfort and joy of heart in God who pardoneth sinners and therefore the same word which signifies to repent may well signifie both to grieve and to take comfort Repentance is a change from a bad state to a good and a turning from the worst of evils sin to the chiefest good God himself and therefore must needs be followed if not accompanied with much sweetness and comfort 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Et consolationem accepi in pulvere cinere A Greek translator renders it expressly so in this place Wherefore I abhor my self and take comfort in dust and ashes and doubtless while Job was repenting in floods of sorrow his comforts came flowing in There is a laughter in the midst of which the heart is sorrowful and the end of that mirth is heaviness saith Solom Prov. 14.13 and there is a sorrow that 's a blessed sorrow in the midst of which the heart laughs and the end of which heaviness is mirth To repent in the general nature of it is to change both the mind and way and so take up new principles and new practices A man that truly repenteth is not the same man he was before he repented he can say I am not I. And as in true repentance there is a change from a bad to a good mind and from a perverse to a right and righteous way so in repentance there is a change from a troubled to a quiet mind and from a painful to a pleasant and delightful way So then there is a two-fold change in repentance First A change of the mind from sin Secondly A change in the mind from sorrow Many are the griefs and gripes the troubles and perplexities with which the conscience of an awakened sinner is followeth till he hath unburdened himself by confession and repentance when once he hath truly done so how great is his peace how sweet are his consolations And therefore when the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 7.10 Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of his meaning is the repentance which it works is matter of great rejoycing or fills the soul of an humbled believing sinner with great joy I abhor my self saith Job and repent But how did Job repent his was no ordinary repentance therefore he adds I repent In dust and ashes That is either First Throwing my self upon the ground Jer. 6.26 Jer. 25.34 2 Sam. 12.16 or Secondly Sitting upon the ground in the dust as Job 2.8 Isa 58.5 Jonah 3.6 or Thirdly Casting dust upon my head Job 2.12 Dust cast upon the head was the embleme of an afflicted heart And to sit in the dust or to cast dust upon the head was anciently the ceremonial part of repentance Job doth not leave that out I repent saith he in dust and ashes Solitis ceremoniis poenitentiam agâ— and so some express it I repent with outward wonted ceremonies But I conceive we need not take it strictly to repent in dust and ashes being only a proverbial speech implying very great solemn and serious repentance There is another rendring of this latter part of the verse thus I repent as looking upon or accounting my self dust and ashes 't is an argument of much humility and humiliation to do so Abraham gave himself no higher a title before the Lord Gen. 18.27 I have begun to speak who am but dust and ashes If we take it thus I abhor my self and repent looking upon my self but as dust and ashes it is a good sence also and reacheth the purpose which Job was upon or which was upon Jobs spirit in that day and duty of repentance There is no difficulty in the words they yield many useful observations Wherefore I abhor my self First As the word wherefore refers to that signal discovery which Job had of God who did not only manifest himself to him by the hearing of the ear but by the seeing of the eye that is more fully than before Observe The clearer manifestations we have of God the greater and deeper are our humiliations Job saw more of the power more of the soveraignity more of the holiness of God in himself and more of his goodness to him Qui Deum vidit fieri non potest quin seso accuset contemnat despiciat non enim certiâ— noveris tuam impuritatem quam si divina puritas op osita fuerit Brent than he had done before and therefore he abhor'd himself That place is parallel to this Isa 6. where as soon as the Lord had declared himself in his holiness and glory the Prophet cried out ver 5. Wo is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of hosts that is my bodily eyes have see the signs of his presence and
greater while against the Laws of piety ye have judged of a mans holiness by his outward unhappiness and have censured him as a bad man because he hath in this world endured so much evil This hath been your sin ye have in this dealt foolishly with my servant Job therefore hasten to him and do as I have said Lest I deal with you ac-according to your folly Hence note First Sin is folly And not only is it simple folly which a man committeth for want of wit or because he hath little understanding what a man doth for want of wit and understanding is simple folly but sin is wicked folly which is the abuse of wit and parts and gifts yea the overflowing of lust And though we cannot charge these men that they did intentionally use their wit and parts to grieve Job yet it proved so though it was not the end or design of them that spake yet it was the issue of their speech they did him a great deal of wrong and doubtless Satan stirred much or provoked them to use their parts and gifts to imbitter the spirit of the poor man and God left them to do it This was their folly and all such actings or speakings are no better nor do they deserve better or softer language This word folly is often applied in Scripture to sin especially to great sins Another word is used in the Proverbs of Solomon but in several other places sin is expressed by this Gen 34.7 When that great affliction fell upon Jacob the ravishing of Dinah her bretâ—â—â—â— came home very wroth saying He hath committed folly in â—â—â—â—â—l So Judges 19.23 Judges 20.6 the abusing of the Levites Concubine is called the committing of folly Whoredom is expressed by folly Deut. 22.21 And this word with reference I conceive to the sin of whoredom which is spoken of in that place is translated villany Jer. 29.23 All sin is folly especially any great sin is so For First It is a folly to hurt our selves No man can hurt us if we do not hurt our selves by sin The Apostle Peter saith 1 Epist 3.13 Who is he that will harm you if ye be followers of that which is good 'T is strange that any should Though it be true enough that many have had not only a will to harm them that follow good but have actually done them many and great outward harms yet this is a great truth none can indeed harm them that follow good because all harms turn to their good Nothing can hurt us but our sin Secondly Sin is folly for in sinning we strive with one that is too hard for us Do we saith St. Paul 1 Cor. 10.23 provoke the Lord to jealousie are we so simple are we stronger than he Thirdly It is folly to do that by which we can get no good that 's the part of a fool Rom. 6.21 What fruit have ye of those things whereof ye are now ashamed What have ye got by them have ye made any gains or earnings to boast of the end of those things is death is it not folly to begin that which ends in death and that a never-ending an eternal death Fourthly It is folly to sin for by that at best we run a hazard of our best portion for fading pleasures and perishing profits If we have any pleasure by sin it is but pleasure for a season and that a very short one too What a foolish thing is it to venture things that are incorruptable for perishing things It were a great folly for a man to venture gold against grass they do infinitely more foolishly who sin against the Lord for all that they can get by it is not so much to what they hazard as grass to gold Mat. 16.26 What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul As all flesh is grass so all that flesh lusteth after is no better What kind of Merchants what kind of Exchange-men are they that will traffick or truck away their souls for the profits or pleasures of sin and 't is for one of these that most if not all men traffick away their souls Secondly Observe When God dealeth mâ—st severely with sinners he dealeth justly with them What rod soever he layeth upon their backs what shame what poverty what sickness he affl cts them with It is but according to their folly they have but their own they have no reason to complain The Prophet told the people of Israel as one man when under grievous affl ctions Jerem. 4.18 Thy ways and thy doings have procured these things unto thee Thou hast no reason to complain for thy punishment is of thy own procurement that is thy sin is visible in thy punishment thou eatest but the fruit of thy own doings how bitter soever it is Another Scripture saith Num. 32.23 Your sin shall find you out that is you shall suffer according to what you have done and reap what ye have sowed And is it not folly to sow to the corrupt flesh when of the flesh we shall reap corruption Gal. 6.8 The flesh is a corrupt thing and can yield us no better a thing than it is the effect is like the cause corruption that is a miserable condition both here and hereafter now and for ever Thirdly Note The Lord will not pass by nor spare no not a godly man when he sinneth and repenteth not All this is included in the going of these men to Job As if the Lord had said I will punish you Eliphaz and Bildad and Zophar for your folly unless ye repent They that are in a state of grace cannot expect favour from the Lord unless they turn from their sin and give him glory by repenting and believing Good men doing evil may suffer for it as well as the worst of men The Lord will see a work of repentance and selâ—-humbling a work of faith looking to Christ the sacrifice else he will deal with them even with them as he threatned these good men according to their folly But what was the folly of Eliphaz and his two friends for which the Lord threatned to deal so severely with them The latter part of the verse tells us what God accounted and called their folly In that ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right The Lord had told them as much at the seventh verse My wrath is kindled against you because ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right Here the Loâ—d pointeth them to their sin again and layeth his finger afresh upon the soar But why doth he so Take these three reasons why Probably the Lord repeated these words First To shew that he was very sensible of their sin in speaking amiss of him and very angry with them for it They provoked the Lord much when they measured him as it were by themselves or by their own meet-wand in his ways of
judgment and procedure with Job and therefore they must hear of it a second time or as we say at both ears Secondly The Lord telleth them again of it that he might fasten the sense of their sin more upon them We very hardly take the impression of our follies and failings we are ready to let the thoughts of them wear off and slip from us they abide not but glide away as water from a stone or from the swans-back unless fixed by renewed mindings and for this reason the Lord repeateth the mention of sin so often in the the ears of his people by the ministry of his word that the evil of it may more fully appear to them or that they may the more clearly see and the better know how bad how base how foolish a thing it is to sin against him Thirdly I conceive the Lord repeated these words to confirm the judgment which he had given before concerning them in those woâ—ds Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right Quicquid in divino colloquiâ— reâ—etitur robustius confirmatur Greg. lib. 35. moral c. 8. As if the Lord had said that which I said before I say again I do not change my opinion either concerning you or my servant Job and therefore I say it once more the repâ—â—ting of a matter is for the confirmation of it as Joseph told Pharaoh about the doubling of his dream Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right Like my servant Job These words also are a repetition yea a triplication and more than so this is the fourth time that the Lord hath called Job his servant in the compass of two verses three times in this 8th verse and once in the 7th But what should be the meaning of this why did the Lord call Job his servant so often even four times as it were in one breath I answer First It intimates that Job was the Lords steady servant that what he was at first he was then at last and what he had been long ago he was still Some have been called the servants of God who have given it over in the plain field but here the Lord calleth Job his servant over and over four times over as being his sure servant Secondly It was to shew that as Job retained the same duty and respect to the service of God so God retained the same opinion of Job and of his service then as at first Thirdly The Lord in repeating this relational title servant so often would assure us that he knew not how if I may speak so to speak more honourably of him The Lord gave no other title to Moses Num. 12.7 nor to Caleb Num. 14.24 nor to David 2 Sam. 7.5 8. The Lord did not speak this so often because he wanted other titles to give him or because he had not variety of phrases to express himself by but as if he knew not where to find a more honourable title I grant that title of relation Son is more noble and more endearing but that is not at all spoken of in the Old Testament nor is it given to any particular person in the New Believers as to their state are all the sons of God but no one believer is spoken either to or of under this title Son The Apostle Paul still called himself only a servant of God He that is the Lords servant is the best of free-men We have enough to glory in when we are his servants The History reports of the French King That the Ambassador of the King of Spain repeating many great titles of his Master the King of France commanded this only to be mentioned of him King of France King of France implying that this single title King of France was as honourable as that large roll of titles given the King of Spain Thus the Lord calleth Job his servant his servant his servant to shew that all honour is wrapt up in this word A servant of God Fourthly This repetition may signifie That Job had been a very great good and faithful servant to the Lord not only a servant but a laborious and profitable servant to the Lord so the Scripture calls those who are laborious in his service though at best as to the Lord we are unprofitable servants nor can any be profitable unto him Fifthly The Lord multiplieth this title upon him because whatsoever a godly man doth is service to the Lord. This word service is comprehensive of all duties to hear the Word is to serve the Lord to pray to fast to give almes is to serve the Lord all is service to the Lord. Job was every way a servant of the Lord. First As he was a Ruler To rule well in a family is to serve the Lord to rule Nations is to serve the Lord much more Job was a ruler and he ruled well in both capacities as was shewed in opening the 29th 30th and 31st chapters Secondly Job was a great servant of the Lord as he was a worshipper Thirdly Job was a great servant of the Lord as he was a sacrificer he had the honour of the priest-hood Fourthly Job was a great servant of the Lord as a teacher of the truth he had instructed many as Eliphaz acknowledged chap. 4.3 And as he was a great servant of the Lord in teaching the truth so in opposing error he stood firm to his own opinion the truth against the tenent of his friends Fifthly Job served the Lord as he was a sufferer To suffer is very great service especially as he did to suffer greatly We serve the Lord as much with his cross upon our backs as with his yoke upon our necks or his burden upon our shoulders Job was a great servant of the Lords as in holding forth the doctrine of the cross or maintaining that God afflicts his choicest servants so in bearing the cross himself Sixthly Job was a great servant of the Lord in praying for his friends and in being so willing to be reconciled to them and therefore the Lord having had so many services of him and so many ways repeateth my servant Job my servant Job as if he could not say this word often enough My servant Job Thus we have the Lords command or charge given to Eliphaz and his two friends what they must do for the quenching of that fire which was kindled in his breast against them for their folly in dealing with his se vant Job How they answered that command will appear in the next words Vers 9. So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did according as the Lord commanded them the Lord also accepted Job This verse holds out the obedience of Eliphaz and his two friends to the charge and command which the Lord gave them in the eighth verse where the Lord said to these three men Take to you seven bullocks and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up for your selves a burnt offering
Spirit in it and therefore it must needs make great turns God turned the captivity of Job when he prayed Sixthly Jesus Christ presents such prayers the prayers of faith the prayers of repentance unto God his Father Christs intercession gives effect or gets answer to our supplications The Father hears the Son always John 11.42 and so he doth all them whose prayers are offered to him by the Son Revel 8.3 The angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censer and there was given unto him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne The angel there spoken of is the angel or messenger of the Covenant prophesied of Mal. 3.1 that is Jesus Christ 't is he he alone who offers the incense of his own prayers with the prayers of all Saints upon the golden altar which is before the throne and being there represented doing so presently as it followeth ver 5. There were voices and thunders and lightenings signifying the wonderful effects of prayer till it should come after many turnings in the world or as I may say after a world of turnings to the Lords turning of Sions captivity as here of Jobs Seventhly Jesus Christ doth not only present the prayers of believers to God but also prayeth in them when saints pray he prayeth in them for he and they are mystically one And as Christ is in believers the hope of glory Col. 1.27 so he is in them the help of duty and so much their help that without him they can do nothing John 15.5 Now a believers prayer being in this sense Christs prayer it cannot but do great things Lastly As Jesus Christ presents the prayers of believers to the Father and prayeth in them or helps them to pray by the blessed and holy Spirit sent down according to his gracious promise into their hearts so he himself prayeth for them when they are not actually praying for themselves For saith the Apostle Heb. 7.25 He ever liveth to make intercession for them The best believers do not always make supplications for themselves but Christ is always making as well as he ever lives to make intercession for them The Apostle speaking of Christs intercession useth the word in the present tense or time which denoteth a continued act Rom. 8.34 Who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us The sacrifice of Christ though but once offered is an everlasting sacrifice and this other part of his priestly-office his intercession is everlasting as being often yea always or everlastingly offered The way or manner of Christs making everlasting intercession for us is a great secret it may suffice us to know and believe that he doth it Now it is chiefly from this everlasting intercession of Christ that both the persons of the elect partake of the benefits of his sacrifice and that their prayers are answered for the obtaining of any good as also for the removal of any evil as here Jobs was for the turning of his captivity Thus I have given a brief accompt of this inference that if prayer prevails to turn the captivity of others then much more our own Prayer hath had a great hand in all the good turns that ever the Lord made for his Church And when the Lord shall fully turn the captivity of Sion his Church he will pour out a mighty spirit of prayer upon all the sons of Sion The Prophet fore-shewed the return of the captivity of the Jews out of Babilon Jerem. 29.10 After seventy years be accomplished at Babilon I will visit you and perform my good word towards you in causing you to return to this place for I know the thoughts that I think towards you saith the Lord thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end But what should the frame of their hearts be at that day the 12th verse tells us And ye shall go and pray unto me and I will hearken These words may bear a two-fold sense First The sense of a command Then shall ye call upon me and then shall ye go and pray That is your duty in that day Secondly I conceive they may also bear the sense of a promise then shall your hearts be inlarged then I will pour out a spirit of prayer upon you And ye shall go and pray unto me and I will hearken We may conclude the approach of mercy when we discern the spirits of men up in and warm at this duty Many enquire about the time when the captivity of Sion shall fully end we may find an answer to that question best by the inlargement of our own hearts in prayer David speaking of that said Psal 102.17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute the meanest and lowest shrubs in grace as the word there used imports and not despise that is he will highly esteem and therefore answer their prayer How much more the prayer of the tall cedars in grace or of the strong wrestlers when they call upon him and cry unto him with all their might day and night The Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends Nor was it a bare turn As Job did not offer a lean sacrifice to God in prayer but the strength of his soul went out in it so the Lord in giving him an answer did not give him a lean or slight return but as it followeth Also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before The Hebrew is The Lord added to Job to the double Some translate too barely The Lord made an accession or an addition but that doth not reach the sense intended For a little more than he had before had been an addition to what he had before but double is more than a little or the common notion of an addition the Lord gave him twice as much or double to that great estate which he had before This doubling of his estate may be taken two ways First Strictly as four is twice two and eight twice four See the wild conceits of the Jewish Rabbins about the doubling of Jobs estate in Mercer upon the place In that strict sence it may be taken here as to his personal estate but as to persons it will not hold the number of his children was the same as before If we compare this chapter with the first chapter ver 3. we find his estate doubled in strict sence Whereas Job had then seven thousand sheep now saith this chapter ver 12. he had fourteen thousand sheep and whereas before he had three thousand camels now he had six thousand camels and whereas before he had five hundred yoke of oxen now he had a thousand yoke of oxen and lastly whereas before he had five hundred she asses now he had a thousand she asses Here was double in the letter In duplum i. e. in plurimum Quam plurimum numerus finitus pro infinito
Pulcritudo terrenae faelicitatis eximia portio est ad dispensationem veteris testamenti pertinens the fairness here spoken of was that of the body and we must reckon it as a part of Jobs renewed felicity not only that he had three daughters as he had before but that his daughters were fairer than any in the land Hence note The bodily beauty of our children is a gift of God and no small one Beauty is not only one of the excellencies of nature but some part of Gods image in man and much respected in women Species corporis simulacrum est mentis figura probitatis Amb. l. 2. de virgin The beauty of the body bears the image of a beautiful mind and is a figure of holiness hence that Scripture phrase The beauty of holiness It is said of Moses He was a goodly child and of Sarah that she was a very beautiful woman so beautiful that Abraham was afraid her beauty might endanger him among strangers Rebeccah also was beautiful and very fair Gratior est pulchro veniens è corpore virtus and though beauty is no grace yet it is a grace to grace Beauty is and duly may be a great attractive of love and affection Though we know it is often an incentive to lust yet it is an attractive of true love What is said of the Church Psal 45.11 So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty thy spiritual or inward beauty is true also of outward or corporal beauty Beauty to some is a portion among men to others a favour from God Beauty is a silent eloquence a tacit perswasion it works much But consider I speak of that beauty first which is natural not artificial I speak not of beauty out of a box but of that which is laid on by the hand of God that 's a blessing and a mercy then especially when it is joyned with better beauty Only remember though bodily beauty be a blessing it is but an inferior blessing it is a gift of God yet an inferior gift And there are many considerations which may keep them humble in their own thoughts who are most beautiful in the eyes of others For First As beauty is a blessing so it is a snare oftentimes and that in two respects First It proveth a snare to them that have it Fastus inest pulchris sequiturque superbia formam If they have not grace it maketh them proud and vain such are often given up to new-fangled inventions their natural beauty will nor serve them they must have artifical set-offs Again much beauty maketh many disdainful of others and they who are so are under the disdain of God and it had been much better for such if they had been the veriest Doudes as some call unhandsome ones or the most deformed creatures in the world Therefore I say remember there is a snare in beauty to those that have it yet by how much beauty hath the more temptation in it by so much are they the more to be commended who being beautiful overcome those temptations and continue humble modest chast discreet and diligent avoiding evil with all the occasions of it turning from every vanity and doing good Secondly Beauty is often a snare to others When the Persian Captive Ladies were presented to Alexander the Great he called them The sores or pain of the eyes He was afraid they might wholly conquer him who had conquered so great a part of the world What reason have any to be proud of that which may insnare and so undo both themselves and others Secondly Consider there is nothing more frail nor sooner lost than bodily beauty A little sorrow a few tears spoil and fully a a fair face a fit of sickness withereth beauty and inevitably old age will do it Est exigui donum breve temporù Sen. in Hippol. at best 't is quickly gone and every day when once at best abates it the longer you have it the less you have of it Some conceive as I toucht before that Job called his eldest daughter Jemima Day because beauty lasteth but as it were a day one day bloweth it and another day blasteth it Formae omnes insidiantur Thirdly Beauty endangers the weaker sex to become a prey to the lusts of adulterous men who often lye in wait for such a booty So then though beauty be a blessing yet we have little reason to be proud of it if these three things be true as who can deny the truth of any one of them which have been said of it and three times three things more might be said of it with as much truth to take all off from over-much valuing it or to abate our valuation of it Therefore above all look to the beauty of the mind that 's a beauty worth the striving after and that is truest bodily beauty which is adorned with soul-beauty or when the beauty of comeliness is associated with the beauty of holiness It had been no great matter of commendation to Jobs daughters that they were the fairest women in all the â—nd if they had not been the holiest The beauty of the mind is ten thousand times more commendable than that of the body the King of heaven desires such beauty It is not a naturally fair face that will make the Lord Jesus desiâ—e you and as for an artificially fair that will cause the Lord Jesus to abhor you The Kings daughter is all glorious within Psal 45.13 her glory is a spiritual glory Solomon hath told us what natural beauty is without spiritual Prov. 11.22 As a jewel in a swines snout so is a fair woman which is without discretion especially that fair woman is so who as the Margin hath it departeth from discretion They are truly beautiful and lovely who have beautiful dispositions and follow beautiful and lovely actions The Lord said of the Jewish Church Ezek. 16.14 Thy renown went forth among the heathen for beauty for it was perfect through my comeliness which I had put upon thee But what was the comeliness which God had put upon her It was the comeliness of divine gifts and graces planted in her and exercised or held out by her That 's the ornament with which the Apostle Peter saith the good women in the old time adorned themselves even the hidden man of the heart a meek and quiet spirit 1 Epist 3.4 5. And let men as well as women strive for these ornaments They that are deformed in person may more than make it up by being conformed to Christ in their ways and works Better be deformed in body and conformed to Christ than to have a well-proportion'd comely body and no conformity unto Christ It hath been said of some wise and worthy men that their souls were ill-housed that is they had ill shap'd or unhandsome bodies But though the house of the body be mean and despicable yet if the inhabitant or the soul be wise and good that makes a mends for
Can I said he to David who invited him to a Court-life Can I any more tast what I eat or drink c. That 's a blessed old age when we live long and enjoy comfort with our lives chiefly when we enjoy the comforts and act the duties of a spiritual life Thirdly Consider Job was afflicted but a few months we are sure not many years but God gave him an hundred and forty years of prosperity in this world after his affliction Hence note God sometimes doth and alwayes can recompence our short sufferings with long comfortable enjoyments even in this life Joseph for his thirteen or fourteen years slavery and imprisonment in Egypt had fourscore years liberty and high advancement there And though the Lord doth nor alwayes nor often make such compensations in this world yet he will compensate all the sufferings of his faithful servants with longer not only comfortable but glorious enjoyments yea with an eternal enjoyment of glory in the world to come 2 Cor. 4.17 Fourthly Note The Lord can make our old age our extream old age even a youth to us or as comfortable to us as our youth He can give health and strength to the very last he can give a spring in the winter of our age Thus it was with Job he did not only live long but flourished in the health of his body as much as in the plenty of his estate The Lord can forbid diseases he can forbid the Gout the Stone or any other pain to touch the person of an old man if he pleaseth Some are even afraid to be old because of the infirmities of old age but God who continues life can prevent or preserve us from the natural as well as the providencial evils of it Solomon Eccl. 12.1 calleth old age the evil day and the years wherein there is no pleasure and he useth it as an argument to move those who are young to remember their Creator yet God is able to make old age a good day to us and to lengthen out our pleasures those pleasures that are sutable to old age as long as he is pleased to lengthen out our lives so that the comforts and contentments of our lives shall run parallel with the length of our lives to the end of our lives Thus Job lived he lived comfortably he lived healthfully the Lord preventing the decays or usual dilapidations of his house of clay as will appear further in the next words After this Job lived an hundred and forty years And saw his sons and his sons sons even four generations That is Job lived to be a great great Grandfather he saw his sons Quartam generationem intelligo inclusivè ita ut intelligatur vidisse etiam abnepotes hi enim sunt in quarto gradu à progenitore scil Abavo Pisc and his Grand-children and his great Grand-children and his great great Grand-children four generations Joseph Gen. 50.23 lived to see but the third generation he was only a great Grand-father Many among us live to be great Grand-fathers and great Grand-mothers but to be a great great Grand-father that is to see the fourth generation is very rare This is recorded of Job not only to set forth the greatness of his age but also to shew the greatness of his blessing and the exceeding greatness of the mercy and goodness of God to him in multiplying his Family he saw a numerous issue to take comfort in all that latter part of his life He saw saith the Text his sons and his sons sons even four generations The learned in that Language take notice Verbo videndi pucundissimus filioram ac nopotum conspectus significatur that the Hebrew word rendred saw implieth delight and doubtless Job had a most delightful sight of his sons and his sons sons It is no where said that Job saw his sheep or his oxen or any of his riches to take delight in them but Job saw his sons and his sons sons this sight was thousand times more pleasing to him than the sight of his fourteen thousand sheep or of his thousand yoak of oxen Hence note To have and enjoy a numerous family is greatly contentful to man and a great blessing of God Job received a great blessing when he had sons and daughters of his own as many as before but when he saw his sons and his sons sons even to the fourth generation that was the crown of all his outward blessings Eliphaz fore-spake this of him upon supposition of his repentance and profiting under the correcting hand of God Chap. 5.25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great and thy off-spring as the grass of the earth The children of all men or all the children of men are as grass for fadingness Isa 40.6 But when Eliphaz said Thy off-spring shall be as the grass of the earth his meaning was they shall flourish as the grass and they shall be many very many as the grass of the earth David Psal 127.3 4 5 speaks of this great blessing the multiplying of the seed of the righteous as their great contentment Lo children are the heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward As arrows in the hand of a mighty man so are children of the youth happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them that is he hath a great outward happiness Many children may contribute to our happiness many wayes though some have had many unhappinesses in one The next Psalm insists upon the same mercy under other metaphors Thy Wife shall be as the fruitful Vine by the sides of thy house thy children like Olive-plants round about thy Table Lo thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. And vers 6. Yea thou shalt see thy childrens children and peace upon Israel It is a great affliction a grief of eyes yea a breaking of the heart to behold bad children but how sweet a sight is it to behold good and obedient children and them many There are two conditions very grievous to see our children in First to see them in misery Rachel Jer. 31.15 Mat. 2. mourned for her children and would not be comforted because they were not she saw them murdered before her eyes Such a sight had Zedekiah Jer. 50.10 the King of Babilon brought his children and slew them before his eyes he made him see that horrid spectacle and then put out his eyes vers 11. Secondly to see children sin and going on in a course of sin that is a greater a far greater affliction than the former It is said Gen. 26.34 When Esau was forty years old he took to wife Judeth the daughter of Berith the Hittite which was a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebecca To see their son match among the prophane and uncircumcised both in heart and flesh was a cut a wound a deep wound in their spirits Again Chap. 27. ult Rebecca said to Isaac I am weary of my life because of the daughters
the eye of my soul is so over-prest with the present weight of his glory that I cannot in this frail condition bear it but must sink under it Wo is me I am undone As the wicked shall at last cry wo and alass at the angry presence of God and shall indeed be undone for ever So a godly man may now cry Wo is me at any unusual appearance of the holiness and glory of God and cry out I am undone I know not how to bear it Isaiah was not only a Prophet and a true Prophet but a very holy Prophet an Evangelical Prophet one that spake glorious things of Christ to come yet he had never seen so much of God before nor was he ever so deeply humbled before he never cried out before I am undone which word implieth the greatest sence of his own nothingness vileness and wretchedness The true reason why men carry it so high at any time with God is because their notions and apprehensions of God fall so infinitely below him Did we know God more how should we fear before him and stand as men astonished at the presence of his majesty It is our darkness about God which emboldens us beyâ—nd our bounds or the line of creatures The Prophet Habakkuk faith of himself chap. 3.16 When I heard my belly trembled my lips quivered at the voice rottenness entered into my bones and I trembled in my self that I might rest in the day of trouble When I heard that is when God revealed himself to me by that speech at the 2d verse of the chapter O Lord I have heard thy speech and was afraid then said he at the 16. verse When I heard my belly trembled The reason why carnal men and hypocrites carry it so stoutly before God is because they know not God aright they may boast of their knowledge but as the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 8.2 He that thinketh he knoweth any thing knoweth nothing as he ought The Scripture tells us what that knowledge is which a carnal man hath of God He knows God in his own light not in the light of God or he judgeth what God is by what himself is Psal 50.21 Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thy self Not that he thought God was a man he had not such gross thoughts of God but he thought God as to his holiness was such a one as himself who was indeed notwithstanding his pretentions to holiness a very unholy a meer carnal man When the Lord said to him Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thy self it is as if he had said Thou measuredst me by thy self and because such things pleased thee thou wouldst needs conclude that they pleased me too Had men a clear knowledge of God as he hath revealed himself they would soon be convinced that God is not only not altogether but not at all such a one as themselves We never see how imperfect we are till we see our selves in the light of Gods perfection and when we duely see our selves in that glass we greatly abhor our selves for we cannot but see much deformity in our selves Nusquam so melius deprohendit modus humanae imperfectionis quam in lumine vultus Dei in speâ—ulo divinae visionis ubi in die qui est plus plus videns quid sibi deest â—mendâ—t indies similitudine quicquid deliquit dissimilitudine Similitudine appropinquans ei à quo longè factus est dissimilitudine August l. 11. Confess c. 9. when we behold the beauty and glory of God And as when we behold that beauty we shall abhor our selves for our deformity and defilements so we shall be daily mending and cleansing our selves from them according to that matchless beauty which we behold in him As we have departed from God by our unlikeness so we shall get nearer to him by getting more of his image and likeness Secondly This wherefore in the Text refers to the fight that Job had of himself as well as of God When Job saw more of himself or himself more then he said I abhor my self Hence Observe The more we see and know our selves the more we shall be abased and lye low in our selves and abhor our selves The reason why we are so proud of our selves is because we are so ignorant of our selves Did we know our own ignorance and mis-understandings as Job now at last did we should strike sail and come lower much more did we know all those abominations that are in our hearts did we know what pride and coveousness and earthly-mindedness lye there what inordinate creature love what passions lye there what envy lyeth there did we understand how deceitful and false our hearts are both towards God our selves and towards one another we should abhor our selves exceedingly There are two things which we should study that we may walk humbly First To know God Secondly To know our selves A Heathen said that word know thy self came down from heaven and did we once know our selves aright what frail and blind and sinful creatures we are how humble and heavenly should we be rightly to know that we are creatures would cause us to live more like new creatures David s eing some men do things so unlike men Psal 9.20 prayed thus Put them in fear O Lord that the Nations may know themselves to be but men There are such in the world as know not themselves to be but men they behave themselves as if they were gods and not men as if they were all-sufficient or as if all their sufficiency proceeded of themselves and they the founders of their own greatness and power The Assyrian said in plain terms I will be like unto the most high Isa 14.14 I do not reckon my self amongst mortals There are many who never attained that Assyrian Princes height who yet have much of his spirit and speak as if they knew themselves to be more than men at least as if they knew not themselves to be but men nor considered themselves as frail dying and accountable creatures Did we remember that we are but creatures that we are the work of Gods hand this would keep us low and humble but did we know what sinful polluted creatures we are we should soon come not only to a lower estimate but an utter abhorrence of our selves We over-think our selves because we do not know our selves we over-rate our selves because we do not understand our selves Even Job was too high in his own thoughts in his own books till he came to know and understand that he had uttered things that he knew not that he understood not Wherefore I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes Observe Thirdly True repentance is joyned with self-abhorrence and with an abhorrence of all that we do of all that we are True repentance is joyned with an abhorrence First Of sinful self or of our selves for sin The Prophet speaking of their repentance who had gone a whoring from God saith