makes a bold adventure who dares passe but an unpleasing thought against the waies or works of God Fourthly Not to be satisfied with what God doth is a degree of hardening our selves against God discontents and unquietnesses upon our spirits are oppositions Fiftly Not to give God glory in what he doth hath somewhat in it of hardening of our selves against God And lastly He that will not give God glory in what he commands is in a degree hardened against God We may see what it is to harden our selves against God by the opposite of it Prov. 28.14 Blessed is the man that feareth alwaies but he that hardeneth himself shall fall into mischief Hardnesse is contrary to holy fear holy fear is a disposition of heart ready to yeeld to God in every thing A man thus fearing quickly takes impressions of the word will and works of God and therefore whosoever doth not comply with God in holy submission to his will hardens himself in part against God That which is here chiefly meant is the grosser act of hardnesse when men either speak or go on in their way acting against God let him say what he will his word stops them not or do what he will his works stop them not They are like the adamant the hammer of the Word makes no impression upon hard hearts but recoyls back again upon him that strikes with it More distinctly this is either a sensible hardnesse of heart of which the Church complains Isa 63.15 Wherefore hast thou hardened our hearts c. or an insensible hardnesse which in some arises from ignorance in others from malice and obstinacy Further We read of Gods hardening mans heart and sometimes of mans hardening his own heart There is a three-fold hardnesse of heart First Naturall which is the common stock of all men we receive the stone of a hard heart by descent every man comes into the world hardened against God Secondly There is an acquired hardnesse of heart Men harden themselves and adde to their former hardnesse He stretcheth out his hand against God and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty Job 15.25 There is a growth in sin as well as a growth in grace many acts make hardnesse more habituall 2 Chron. 36.13 He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord. I know thy rebellion and thy stiffe necke Deut. 31.27 Thirdly There is a judiciary hardnesse of heart an hard heart inflicted by God as a Judge When men will harden their hearts against God he agrees it their hearts shall be hard he will take away all the means which should soften and moisten them he will not give them any help to make them pliable to his will or he will not blesse it to them He will speak to his Prophets and they shall make their hearts fat that is senslesse and their ears heavy that is heedlesse under all they speak Isa 6.10 Thus also God hardned the heart of Pharaoh and of the Aegyptians by the ministery of Moses and Aaron So then we having hardnesse of heart by nature doe by custome acquire a further hardnesse and the Lord in wrath inflicteth hardnesse then the sinner is pertinacious in sinning All these put together make him irrecoverably sinfull His neck is an iron sinew and his brow brasse Isa 48.4 Observe first There is an active hardnesse of heart or man hardens his own heart Exod. 5. We read of Pharaoh hardening his heart before the Lord hardened it Who is the Lord saith he that I should let Israel goe Here was Pharaoh hardening his heart and steeling his spirit against the command of God God sent him a command to let Israel goe he replies Who is the Lord I know not the Lord who is this that takes upon him to command me Am not I King of Aegypt I know no Peer much lesse Superiour Lord. It was true indeed poor creature he did not know the Lord Pharaoh spake right in that I know not the Lord if he had he would never have said I will not let Israel go he would have let all goe at his command had he known who the Lord was that commanded Thus Sennacherib 2 Chron. 32.14 blasphemes by his messengers Who was there among all the gods of those Nations that my fathers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people out of mine hand that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand These are hard words against God and hardening words to man Every act of sinne hardens the heart of man but the heat of blasphemy at once shews and puts it into the extremity of hardnesse Man hardens himself against God four waies especially First Upon presumption of mercy many doe evil because they hear God is good they turn his grace into wantonnesse and are without all fear of the Lord because there is mercy so much with the Lord. Secondly The patience of God or his delaies of judgement harden others because God is slow to strike they are swift to sin If the sound of judgment be not at the heels of sin they conclude there is no such danger in sin Solomon observed this Eccles 8.11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to doe evil or it is full in them to doe evil They have not some velleities and propensions some motions and inclinations some queries and debates about it but the matter upon this ground is fully stated and determined they are so full of it that they have no room in their hearts for better thoughts or counsels the summe of all is they are hardened and resolved to doe evil Thirdly Grosse ignorance hardens many 1. Ignorance of themselves And 2. Ignorance of God he that knows not what he ought to doe cares not much what he doth None are so venturous as they who know not their danger Pharaoh said I know not the Lord he knew not the Lord nor himself therefore he ran on blinde-fold and desperately hardened himself against the Lord. Fourthly Hardnesse of heart in sinning is contracted from the multitude of those who sinne They thinke none shall suffer for that which so many doe The Law of Moses said Thou shalt not follow a multitude to doe evil Exod. 23.2 There is a speciall restraint upon it because man is so easily led by many The heart is ready to flatter it self into an opinion that God will not be very angry when a practice is grown common this is the course of the world this is the way of most men therefore surely no great danger in it And examples harden chiefly upon three considerations Ego bomuncto non facerem Tâ—r. First If great ones go that way the Heathen brings in a young man who hearing of the adulteries and wickednesses of the gods said what Doe they so and shall I stick at it Secondly If some wise and learned men go that way ignorant and unlearned men conclude
and prospered That is did ever any man so weary out God by lengthening this warre that God was as it were forced at last to offer him terms of peace So it happens sometimes with men Ab aequipollente pacem aliquis pugnando obtinere potest licet enim eum superaâ—e non possit tamen assiâ—uitate pugnae eum fatigat ut ad pacem reducatur Aquin. Quis permansit aut perstetâ—t 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sep. with Nations and Kingdoms They not getting peace by victory but being spent and tired out with warre begin to thinke of treating Did ever any one put the Lord to offer a treaty with articles of peace to save himself from further trouble They who have not strength enough to overcome may yet have power enough to vex and weary their adversary But God can neither be vanquish'd by force nor vext with our policies into a peace with man Thirdly Others give this sense Who ever held out or was able to persist in a war against the Lord The wicked shall not stand before God in the day of judgement much lesse in the day of battell Who would set the bryars and thorns against me in battell I would go thorow them I would burn them together Isa 27.4 The most steely and and flinty spirits in the world can no more stand before God then briars and thorns can before a flaming fire The Lord soon breaks and destroies all opposing power And so there is a figure in the words for man doth not only not prosper but he is undone and crusht for ever by contending with God Shall man prosper in a warre with God No it shall end in his own ruine and utter destruction Whence observe That nothing can be got but blows by contending with God The greatest Monarchs in the world have at one time or other found their matches but the great God never found his match Hoc est signum evidens quod fortitu lo Dei omnem humanaÌ„ fortitudinem exoedit quia nullus cum eo paceâ— habere potest resist endo sed solum humiliter obediendo Aquin. Vicisti Galilae Pharaoh contended with him but did he prosper in it You see what became of him at last he was drown'd in the red sea Julian contended with Christ he scoffed at him he came up to the highest degrees he sate in the chair of the scorner and in the tribunall of the persecutour but what got he at last When he was wounded and threw up his bloud toward heaven said he not O Galilean thou hast overcome I acknowledge thy power whose name and truth I have opposed Christ whom he had derided and against whom he hardened himself into scorns and scoffs was too hard for him All that harden themselves against God shall be worsted Gather your selves together O ye people and ye shall be broken in peeces Isa 8.9 Gather your selves together against whom Gather your selves together against the people of God and ye shall be broken in pieces Why Emanuel the Lord is with us If no man can prosper by hardening himself against the people of God because the Lord is with them how shall any man prosper by hardening himself immediately against God If Emanuel will not let any prosper against his people certainly he will not let any prosper against himself Therefore Prov. 28.24 Solomon laies it down directly He that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief and Prov. 29.1 He shall be destroyed and that without remedy there is no help for it all the world cannot save him A hard heart is it self the forest of all judgements and it brings all judgements upon us A hard heart treasureth up wrath against the day of wrath Rom. 2.5 As a hard heart is Satans treasury for sinne so it is Gods treasury for wrath The wals of that fiery Tophet are built up with these stones with their hard hearts who turn themselves into stones against the Lord. Then take heed of hardening your selves against God You know the counsell which Gamaliel gave Act. 5.39 Refrain from these men and let them alone c. See how tremblingly he speaks lest you be found even to fight against God as if he had said take heed what you doe it is the most dreadfull thing in the world to contend with God he speaks as of a thing he would not have them come near or be in the remotest tendency to Man will not meddle with a mortall man if he be too hard for him how should we tremble to meddle or contend with the immortall God! Christ Luk. 14. warning his Disciples to consider afore-hand what it is to be his disciples gives them an instance of a King What King saith he going to make warre against another King sitteth not down first and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that commeth against him with twenty thousand Now I say to you if any such be here that have hearts steel'd or harden'd against God who challenge God the field and send defiance to heaven O sit down sit down consider whether you with your ten thousand are able to meet God with his twenty thousand that 's great odds half in half but consider whether one single simple man can stand against his twenty thousand whether a man of no strength can stand against infinite strength whether you who have no wisdom are able to stand against him that is of infinite wisdome Can ignorance contend with knowledge folly with wisdome weaknesse with strength an earthen vessel with an iron rod O the boldnesse and madnesse of men who will hazard themselves upon such disadvantages He is wise in heart and mighty in power who hath hardened himself against him and hath prospered And as God is so powerfull that no wicked man in the world can mend himself by contending with him so neither can any of his own people If they harden themselves against God they shall not prosper To harden the heart against God is not only the sin of a Pharaoh of a Senacherib and of a Julian but possibly it may be the sin of a believer the sin of a Saint And therfore the Apostle Heb. 3. gives them caution Take heed lest any of your hearts be hardened through the deceitfulnesse of sin and whose heart soever is hardned against God that man good or bad shall not prosper or have peace in it It is mercy that God will not give his own peace or let them thrive in sin Grace prospers not when the heart is hardened joy prospers not nor comfort nor strength when the heart is hardned the whole state and stock of a beleever is impaired when his heart is hardened And if the Saints harden their heart against God God in a sense will harden his heart against them that is he will not appear tender hearted and compassionate towards them in reference to present comforts he will harden himself to afflict and chasten when they harden themselves to
they may Thirdly If any godly men such as make more then ordinary profession doe such things then who may not The failings of the Saints are a countenance to wicked men in their follies They are apt to follow the dark side of the cloud and to approve those in what they doe ill whom they scorn in what they doe well They imitate their fals and sins whose repentance they never thinke of imitating How many harden their hearts by their doing what is evil whose hearts have been broken because they did evil From the sinne which a holy man commits against his purpose and resolution many purpose and resolve to commit it Upon these and the like grounds the heart of man is hardened against God Take a brief of the degrees of this hardnesse see by what steps the heart rises so high in sinning Man doth not grow hard at once much lesse hardest But wâ—â—n once he begins to harden himself where he shall make an end he knows not The first step is the taking time and leave to meditate upon sinne and roll it up and down in the thoughts A hard heart lets vain thoughts dwell in it A holy heart would not let them lodge with it A second step is some tastes of pleasure and delight in sinne It proves a sweet morsell under his tongue As the heart grows more delighted in sinne so more hardened in sinne Nothing should be so bitter as sinne in the act for nothing will be so bitter as sinne in the issue but when the act is pleasant the issue is seldome suspected The third step is custome in sinning It argues great boldnesse to venture often One said of him that had escaped danger at sea Improbè Neptunum accusat qui iterum naufragium sacit If you go again you have no reason to complain though you be wrack'd Mariners are fearfull of storms at first but through custome they play with them When a man comes ofs once safe from sinne he will venture again and so often till at last he thinks there is scarce any venture at all in sinne He growes bold and hardy By the fourth step of hardnesse he comes to defend and maintain his sinne He hath spoken so long in his heart against the word which forbiddeth him to sin that now he can speak against it with his tongue He hath a plea or an argument to make the evil he doth good He appears a Patron an Advocate for sin who was before but a practiser of it Fifthly The hard heart grows angry and passionate with those who give advice against sin he is resolved and a man that is resolved in his way is angry if he be desired to remove out of his way He that is resolved to sleep loves not to be awakened A touch or a jog from him that sits by provokes him he praies to be let alone We should love the man while we hate and reprove his sin But he that loves his sin will hate his reprovers Sixthly Hard hearts grow too hard for the Word they are Sermon-proof they can sit under the Preacher and hear from day to day but nothing touches them A man in armour feels not the stroak of a sword much lesse the smart of a rod. This hardnesse of heart is a steel armour to the heart it makes the man past feeling till he be past healing Some being often reproved hurden their hearts Prov. 29.1 till their hearts are too hard for all reproofes And then seventhly The heart is so hard that the sword of affliction doth not pierce it the man is judgement-proof let God strike him in his person or estate let God set the world a fire about his ears yet on goes he He is like the man of whom Solomon speaks Prov. 23.34 who lies sleeping in a storm upon the top of a mast Eightly The hard heart sits down in the chair of the scorner he derides the Word and mocks at the judgements of God When Lot spake to his sons in law about fire and brimstone ready to fall upon Sodome and consume it the text saith He seemed as one that mocked unto his sonnes in Law what tell us of judgements of fire descending from Heaven When the skie falls we shall have Larkes Lastly The hard heart gets up to the tribunall of the persecutour and from scorner commences opposer of good men and of the good waies of God he will doe them the uttermost mischief he can who would doe him all the good they can Get thee from me saith Pharaoh to Moses Exod. 10.28 Take heed to thy self See my face no more for in the day that thou seest my face thou shalt die Pharaohs hard heart spake hard words and was preparing to give hard blows he had only so much of honour and ingenuity left as to warn the Prophet to avoid the blow Which yet is more then hardnesse of heart leaves to all Many an hard heart uses the hand before the tongue and in stead of saying to his reprover See my face no more lest thou die cals him before his face that he may die or seek his death behinde his back and lies in wait for revenge And here hardnesse of heart is at hardest It is now a fit cushion for Satan He sits softest upon this stone The devil is never so much pleased as when man is most hardened the seed of his temptations takes root and prospers best in this stony ground But shall man prosper too Shall any man thrive or make a gain by hardening himself against God Shall he come off with honour or with profit Job answereth Who hath hardened himself against him and hath prospered Which may be resolved into this negative proposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Et pacatus suit vel in pace abiit i. e. foeliciter bene cesserit Merc. No man ever hardened himself against God and prospered The Hebrew thus Hath any man hardened himself against God and had peace Mr Broughton renders near it Hath any man hardned himself against God and found quietnesse To have peace or quietnesse and to prosper are the same in the language of the Jews and in a hundred Texts of the old Testament Nemo pertinax gloriari potest quod post consecutam victoriaÌ„ pace potitus fuerit Pined Nemo cum Deo pugnans sic eum assidua pugna fatigavit ut pacem accipiat ultro à Deo oblatam Idem We may understand Job either of these three waies First No pertinacious hard hearted man could ever glory that he got the better or the day of God and so prospered into a peace by warre that 's a way of prosperity in which he shall never tread Gideon told the men of Penuel When I come again in peace that is when I have conquered and return prosperous then c. No man ever conquered God and so returned in peace Peace was never the trophie of a war with him Secondly Who ever hardened himself against God
cals it a light matter in regard of common apprehension and observation The Sunnes motion is naturally forward and though it should mend it's pace many would not much regard it but all would stand and wonder at a retrograde motion or at the Sun going backward Hence Hezekiah cals it a light matter for the Sunne to goe forward comparatively to it 's going backward And from either the Lord would teach Hezekiah that the creatures will doe what he bids them even the Sunne will move miraculously at his Word How great a rebuke will it be to man if he move not at the command of God and as God commands Shall the Lord say to the Sunne Rise not and it riseth not and shall he say to man Swear not and he will swear pray and he will not pray shall the Lord have better obedience from creatures without life then from man who hath not only life but reason or from Saints who have not only reason but grace They who have grace give not such universal obedience as things without life for though there be a part in them active to obey yet there is a part in them backward to all obedience Let it shame us that there should be any thing in us who have life reason and grace resisting or not readily complying with all the commands of God when the Sunne which hath not so much as life obeies his voice He commandeth the Sun and it riseth not Thirdly Observe from the manner of this speech That The Lord hath a negative voice upon the motion of all creatures He commandeth the Sunne and it riseth not It is a royall Prerogative that the Lord commands the Sunne to rise but that the Lord hath a power to stay the Sun from rising lifts up his Prerogative to the highest In all disputes about power his is resolved to be greatest who hath the negative voice which checks and supersedeats all others This is the Prerogative of God he can stay the motion of the Sun and of man The Sun dares not do his office to the day nor the stars to the night if the Lord say No. The Sun is described Psal 19.5 like a bridegroom comming out of his Chamber drest and prepared and as a Giant rejoycing to runne his race but though the Sunne be thus prepared and drest and ready yet if the Lord send a writ and a prohibition to the Sunne to keep within his chamber he cannot come forth his journey is stopt Thus also he stops man in his neerest preparations for any action If the Lord will work who shall let it Isa 43.13 That is there is no power in heaven or earth which can hinder him But if the Lord will let who shall work neither Sunne nor stars nor men nor devils can work if he forbid them The point is full of comfort God tels Abimelech in the case of Sarah Abrahams wife whom he took into his house I know that thou didst it in the integrity of thy heart but I with held thee and I suffered thee not to touch her Gen. 20.6 And when Laban pursued Jacob with hard thoughts against him and strong resolutions to deal harshly with him The Lord gave a negative voice Gen. 31.24 Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad Laban had not the use of his own tongue He could not speak either good or bad Not good or bad Was there any hurt for Laban to speak good to Jacob And the story tels us that Laban spake many words and some bad enough to Jacob charging him with a double theft First for stealing himself away vers 27. Wherefore didst thou steal away from me Secondly for stealing his Idols vers 30. And now though thou wouldest needs be gone because thou longest sore after thy fathers house yet wherefore hast thou stoln away my gods Foul language all though God charged him not to speak a bad word to Jacob. For answer know We must restrain that restraint to the point of bringing Jacob back again Thou shalt not speak either good or bad to him to stop or turn him from his way thou shalt use no threatnings to bring him back to thee no nor any promises or allurements thou shalt make no offers of better entertainment to winne him to thy service which was the thing he so much desired Good and bad are the two terms of all that can be spoken and where the utmost extreams of speaking are forbidden all speaking to that purpose is forbidden When the ancient people of God were few in number yea very few and strangers in the land when they went from one Nation to another from one Kingdome to another people one would thinke that all the world would have been upon them but here was their protection God had a negative voice Psal 105.15 He suffered no man to doe them wrong Many had as we say an aking tooth at the people of God their fingers itcht to be dealing with them and the text shews four advantages the world had against them First They were few Secondly Very few Thirdly Strangers Fourthly Unsetled What hindered their enemies It was the Lords negative voice He reproved Kings for their sake saying Touch not mine anointed and doe my Prophets no harm We see an instance of this Gen. 35.5 when Jacob and his family journeyed the terrour of God was upon the Cities that were round about them and they did not pursue after the sonnes of Jacob They had a minde to pursue after them to revenge the slaughter of the Sichemites but God said Pursue not and then they could not pursue they must stay at home And when his people the Jews were safe in Canaan he encourages them to come up freely to worship at Jerusalem by this assurance No man shall desire thy Land when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year Exod. 24.34 God can stop not only hands from spoiling but hearts from desiring Our appetite whether concupiscible or irascible is under his command as well as our actions The Prophet asserts this by way of question Lam. 3.37 Who is he that saith and it cometh to passe when the Lord commandeth it not That is if the Lord doth not concurre if the Lord vote against the saying or command of any man in the world what he saith shall never come to passe We should consider this to help our faith in these times God hath a negative voice upon those counsels and conclusions which are carried with one consent of men And the wrath of man shall either turn to his praise or all that is beyond that he will stop the remainder of wrath namely so much as remains over and above what turns to the praise of God shalt thou restrain Psal 76.6 The sword is in motion amongst us even as the Sunne and the sword seemeth to have received a charge to passe from one end of the Land to the other yet a counter-command from God
When I pray I should believe but as my case stands I cannot believe clouds and darknesse are upon me Faith is the strength of praier Whatsoever ye ask in praier believing ye shall receive Mat. 21.22 Praier without faith it is like a Gun discharged without a bullet which makes a noise but doth no execution we may put out a voice in speaking but except we put out faith in speaking we doe but speak we doe not pray As the Word of God comming upon us doth us no good prevails not upon our hearts unlesse it be mixed with faith Heb. 4.2 The word preached did not profit them not being mixed with faith in them that heard it So the word that goes out from us the word of praier prevaileth not at all with God obtaineth nothing from him unlesse it be mixed with faith All the promises are made to believers All things are possible to them that believe Mar. 9.23 Ask in faith nothing wavering for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the winde and tossed Jam. 1.6 To ask in faith is to ask resting upon the power of God whereby he is able upon his truth whereby he is faithfull and upon his goodnes in Christ whereby he is ready to make good his promises He that asks thus doth not waver Few are without doubting but all sound believers are without wavering The Greek word signifies to question or dispute a thing a degree beyond doubting as when a man is at no certainty with himself being sometime of one minde sometime of another The judgement being so carried that the man is at variance with his own brest or is between two vvaies not knowing vvhich to take We translate the word in the 4th of the Romans vers 20. by staggering Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief The similitude vvhich the Apostle James uses illustrates this sense He that wavereth is like a wave of the sea vvhich by tempestuous vvindes is sometimes carried up to heaven and anon down to the deep A man vvho is tossed with such vvaves of unbelief staggers like a drunken man in his practice and profession he is now on this side to morrow on that he doth not only stagger or halt in his vvay but he staggers and halts between two vvaies and is therefore called vers 8th A double minded man The praiers of such a man are faithlesse praiers and therefore fruitlesse praiers Let not that man think he shall receive any thing unlesse a rebuke and a deniall of the Lord vers 7. There are no promises made to such and therefore no mercies convaied to such Believing praier is gaining praier yet they vvho believe least presume most Hence the Apostles check Let not that man thinke as if he had said I know such vvill flatter themselves into a perswasion of great matters They will have high thoughts but they shall receive nothing Observe Fourthly That how strongly soever a godly man acts faith for the answer of his praiers yet he hath no faith that his praier deserves an answer I would not believe that he had hearkned to my voice Christ calleth the Spouse to praier Can. 2.14 Let me see thy countenance let me hear thy voice for sweet is thy voice and thy countenance comely Christ loves praier The praiers of the Saints upon earth are musick in heaven That invitation to the Spouse Let me hear thy voice seems to be an allusion to those vvho loving musick call upon a friend vvho hath a good voice or exquisite skill to play upon an instrument Come sing us a song play us a lesson let us have a fit of mirth Thus I say Christ speaks to the Church Come let me hear thy voice 't is sweet I know thou hast a sweet one But the Saints judge their own voices harsh and unharmonicall they are apt to thinke their praiers jarrings and discords at the best but a rude noise not a composed air in the ear of God Faith makes our praiers melodious because it carries us out of our selves A believer lives not in the sound of his own praiers but of Christs intercession What are vve that vve should expect any acceptance upon our own account or say this We have gained this We have obtained thus God hath heard us or thus vve have vvrestled it out vvith God As when we have performed all our duties we must say We are unprofitable servants so when we have obtained all our sutes we must say We are unprofitable petitioners I will not believe that God had hearkned unto My voice What 's mans voice that God should hear it Observe Fifthly That a godly man sometimes cannot believe his praier is heard when it is heard Though he cals and God answers yet like Job he believes not that God hath hearkned to his voice He cannot think his praier is heard though one should come and tell him it is heard When the Jews returned from Babylon the mercy was so great Forsan hoc dicit quia saepe prae nimia laetitia non credimus verum esse quod maxime verum esse optamus Drus that they could not believe they had it when they had it When thou didst turn our captivity we were as them that dream Psal 126.2 The deliverance was incredible they could not thinke they vvere delivered Their return to Jerusalem was suspected for a dream of it in Babylon The Church praied vvithout ceasing for Peter vvhen he was in prison Act. 12.5 yet when the Lord brought him out of prison and he vvas knocking at the door of the house where they were assembled while they vvere knocking at the door of heaven for his deliverance yet they would not believe the report of the damosell who said he stood before the gate They tell her she is mad vvhen she affirmed it with sobriety as well as vehemency then they have another help for their unbelief It was not Peter but his Angel Thus it is to this day with the Saints in their great personall sutes and petitions both about spiritual things and temporal they are so overcome astonished and amazed at the goodnesse of God that though they see the thing done yet they can scarce believe it is done As if a Prince should send a message to a poor man by some great Lord and tell him he hath bestowed honour and favour upon him the poor man is ready to say I cannot believe it the blessing is too big for him to digest and let down into his narrow heart no saith he sure it is not so Though the people of God ever preserve a high respect and esteem of the works of God towards them yet their faith is often below his workings and they cannot receive or take in mercy so fast as it commeth faith widens the vessels of the soul to receive much but God can pour in faster then faith can widen the soul to receive Sixthly Observe Faith hath it's decaies Faith doth not keep
vvhen great dangers encompasse us we cannot believe deliverance Doe vve not make God like to our selves Doe we not shorten his hand to our own measure and thinke it cannot be done because men cannot doe it And for mercy about the pardon of sin man being awakened sees how he hath provoked God sin stares upon his face and he findes out many aggravations upon his sin then he begins to collect thus certainly if a man had so provoked his neighbour he could never pardon or forgive him Can then such sins as these be forgiven by God Mans mercy cannot reach so high as this therefore surely the mercies of God will not We have a very gracious promise backt with a caution to prevent these jealousies Isa 55.6 7. Let the wicked for sake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon Now as when God cals upon man to obey his will and doe his Commandments he is apt to say at least in his heart the duties are too many and the burdens too great to be born So when the Lord calleth upon wicked men the worst of wicked men to repent or turn unto him and he vvill abundantly pardon or he will multiply to pardon as it is in the originall they are ready to object What Pardon such as vve are We are too filthy and vile for washing Surely he vvill not pardon us These mercies are too many for us and these favours too great for us to receive Well saith God I preconceive your conceits of me ye are measuring me by your selves ye think it cannot be done because ye cannot doe it your hearts are too narrow to passe by so many so great provocations therefore ye say mine is too narrow also Doe ye thus measure me the Lord O foolish people and unwise I would have you know My thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your waies my waies for as the heavens are higher then the earth so are my waies higher then your waies and my thoughts then your thoughts vers 8 9. As if he had said Your thoughts are as much below my mercy as your waies were below my holinesse Cease then from doubting vvhat I have promised as I vvould have you cease from doing vvhat I have forbidden Your unbelief that I vvill not pardon your sin dishonours me as much as your disobedience did in committing sinne Till vve believe God is holy above us vve fear not to sinne and till vve believe God is mercifull above us we cannot believe he will pardon our sin Thus we see how the lifting up of our selves in our thoughts to an equality or to some similitude vvith God or the drawing down of God to an equality or some similitude vvith our selves is the ground and cause of all our unequall carriage towards God of our boldnesse in sinning of our boldnesse in pleading with and complaining against him of our extreme unbelief in the point of deliverance from troubles or of the pardon of our sins Secondly Observe There is no comparison between God and man He is not a man as I am Man is like to man face answers face and heart answers heart strength answers strength and vvit answers vvit Solomon concludes this Eccles 6.10 That which hath been is named already and it is known that it is man A man it but a man be he never so great in vvorldly vvealth or honour as he bears the name so he hath the nature of man still Nor can he contend with him that is mightier then he i. e. vvith God If he venture beyond his line or move out of the sphear of his activity if he vvould act more then a man he shall quickly finde that he is but man He cannot contend with him that is mightier then he Man vvas indeed made in the likenesse of God Gen. 1.27 In the image of God created he him yet vve must not say God is like man he is not in our image God put some impressions of himself upon man but he took no impressions of man upon himself He is not a man as I am He hath given us some of his own excellencies but he hath not taken upon him any of our vveaknesses God hath honoured man to give him somewhat of himself but God should dishonour himself to take anything of man Thus man is in the likenesse of God but God is not in the likenesse of man Take heed of such thoughts It is as dangerous to frame a likenesse or a similitude of God to our hearts as to frame a likenesse or a similitude of God upon a wall Exod. 15.10 Who is like unto thee O Lord amongst the gods That is there is none like unto thee None amongst the gods neither among those who are falsly called gods the Idols of the Heathen nor among those who are truly called gods for God cals them so the Angels in heaven and Magistrates here upon the earth among these truly called gods there is none like the true God much lesse is there any among the meer pure mortals like unto the immortall God Who is like unto thee glorious in holinesse fearfull in praises doing wonders So Mic. 7.18 Who is a god like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage Who is a god like unto thee Not only is there no man that can pardon as God but there is no God that can pardon like God he puts it upon that Who is a god like unto thee Not as if he granted that there were any other gods besides the Lord but to meet with the thoughts of men with those sinfull principles and conceits which lodge in man and make other gods To say of God only this He is God is to say all we cannot say more good of God then to call him God as we cannot say more evil of sin then to call it sin when we have called it sin vve have called it all The Apostle Rom. 7.13 puts that upon it as the worst he could say of it Sinne that it might appear sinne We cannot represent it in a worse likenesse then its own All men say they sin but sin appears sin to very few And when the Apostle would put a disgracefull title or epethite upon sin he invests it with its own name sinfull sin Thus to the point in hand we cannot call God more then when we call him God Nothing can be predicated of him better then himself When God appears to be God all excellency appears All men almost acknowledge God but God appears to very few 'T is but little of God that can be known and there are not many who know that little very many know but little of that little and most know nothing of it at all Thus also to say that man is man is proof and aggravation enough of his depraved condition Hos 6.7 They
our visiting God as providence is Gods visiting of us we should visit God by praier not only as they Isa 26. in trouble but in our peace we should desire him to visit our estates our families but especially our souls and spirits in their most flourishing condition The Apostle useth it as an argument to keep us from distracting thoughts Phil. 4.2 Let your moderation be known unto all men The Lord is at hand be carefull in nothing but in every thing by praier and supplication let your requests be made known unto God The Lord is at hand let not your hearts be troubled Visit God in duty who is at hand to visit you in mercy Though there be an infinite distance between God and man yet God is not farre from any man and he is ever near some men Let not us be strangers to God when we hear he maketh continuall visits to us Thy visitation doth preserve my spirit Verse 13. And these things hast thou hid in thine heart I know that this is with thee Some read the first clause which adds sharpnesse to it with an interrogation And hast thou hid these things in thine heart Is it so with thee or hast thou dealt so with me indeed The heart of God is the will purpose or decree of God These are a vast repository wherein all things are laid up And these things hast thou hid c. What things what is the antecedent to these things 1. Some say His afflictions These things that is these afflictions which thou hast now laid upon me were hid in thine heart thou hast shewed me many favours while in secret thou didst prepare rods for me 2. The antecedent to these things is mercy life favour and visitation spoken of before say others As if Job had spoken thus This bill of blâ—ssings now read these priviledges now reekoned up were hidden in thiâ—e heart thou hast had gratious intentions towards me while thou hast been smiting me I know all this is with thee Scio quia universorum me mâ—eris Vulg. That is Thou remembrest all this and keepest a record of it by thee The Vulgar makes this the text I know thou remembrest all things or all men Some supposing the antecedent to be his afflictions make out this harsh and unbecoming sense Quasi haec mala velut in animo recondita in tempus opportunum asservasset ut nec opinanteÌ„ opprimeret Atrox querimonia Merl As if Job had thus uttered his minde to God I now perceive thou hast had coles of anger raked up in the ashes while those warm beams of love did shine upon me Thou hast held out mercy in thine hand but somewhat else lay in thine heart This interpretation in the common understanding of it is most unworthy of God It is the wickednesse of men to speak fair and to doe some courtesies while cruelty and revenges are hid in their hearts When Esau Gen. 27.41 saw himself defeated of the blessing by his brother He said in his heart The daies of mourning for my father are at hand then will I slay my brother Iacob Here 's the character of malice he gave neither brother nor mother ill language but he said in his heart The holy God never speaks good to them to whom he intends evil The Creatour needs not daub or pervaricate with his creatures I grant indeed that the Lord giveth wicked men many outward favours and speaks them fair in his works but he never speaks them fair in his Word Say Woe to the wicked it shall be ill with him for the reward of his hands shall be given him Isa 3.11 Men are apt to flatter but flattery is much an abomination to the Lord as it is below him I grant also That the Lord giveth his own people many favours and speaketh reall kindenesses to them while he hides affliction in his heart What evil soever he brings upon them he hath thoughts to do them good and hath nothing but good for them in his thoughts We understand by those hidden things the mercies which Iob with his last breath had enumerated then the words import two things First An argument to move the Lord not to destroy him or or to assure his own heart that he would not As if he had said Lord I know thou remembrest well what thou hast done for me what cost thou hast been at in making me at first and in preserving me hitherto surely then thou wilt not pull all down in a moment Secondly The words may import that the Lord in afflicting Job had used only a kinde of sacred dissimulation A dissembler carrieth himself as if he had no intent to do what he is resolved to do It is usuall with men thus to dissemble hatred and so have some their love He that purposeth much good to another hideth it sometimes under sowre language and unkindest usage Ioseph had most endeared affection toward his brethren yet he put a disguise of anger upon it acting the part of a severe man who lieth at catch to finde out advantages and pick quarrels Ioseph used many stratagems of love to entangle his brethren and wrapt up his good will in hard speeches and rough carriages Nothing appearing lesse then what indeed he most was A loving brother forgetfull of nothing but injuries Job seems to have had such a conception of God while he saith These things hast thou hid in thine heart And then his sense riseth thus Lord I know thou bearest favour and good will towards me still The fire of thy love is not extinct but covered Thou dost but personate an enemy thou art my friend thou drawest a cloud betwixt me and the light of thy countenance but thy countenance is still as full of light towards me as ever and though I see nothing but sorrows on every side yet I know mercies are hid in thine heart Thus the words are an assertion of Jobs faith and assurance that God loved him while his chastnings lay most heavy upon him Hence observe First That the Saints while they are strong in faith are able to discern the favour of God through the clouds and coverings of his most angry dispensations This they can do and when they can they are arrived at a great height in grace To maintain our interest in Christ through disadvantages is strong faith The woman of Canaan Mat. 15.26 knew her pardon and acceptance were hid in the heart of Christ while he called her dog and would scarce vouchsafe to cast an eye upon her Faith did this and faith can do the like at this day But every true faith will not do it There is a kinde of miracle wrought in such believing So Christ concludes with that woman ver 28. O woman great is thy faith Truth of grace is not enough for every work of grace some works will not be done without strength as well as truth Weak faith is ready to say Mercy is lost when it is but hidden
their own sinfull hearts or had laid the raines in their necks suffering their lusts to hurry them whither they would to carry them captive unto every sinne and rush them head-long into every evil The word here used signifies either simply to send or violently to cast or to put a thing away from us and so it is as much as if Bildad had said For â—â—â—uch as thy children would sin against God he suffered them to sin their fill they being wicked he gave them up to doe all wickednesses They loved to wander from him and he let them wander We have this sense of the word Prov. 29.15 A childe left unto himself brings his mother to shame The Hebrew is A childe sent away sent to himself or put into his own hands A childe sent away to himself or left alone bringeth shame that is will certainly runne into vile and enormious courses to the shame of her that bare him A childe left or sent to himself is one that hath no guide no governour no instructour but himself A man that will learn only of himself hath but a fool to his Master How much more then a weak childe what a master what a tutour hath a childe if he have none but himself To be left or sent out to themselves is to have none to counsell or advise them in a right way or to give them any stop and check in an ill way The character that Paul and Barnabas gave of the former times when they preached to the Heathens at Lystra was this Act. 14.16 We exhort you to turn unto the living God that made heaven and earth who in times past suffered all Nations to walk in their own waies He let them goe and never staied them at all they had no bridle of restraint not so much as a word to bring them back He suffered all Nations as if he had said He left them in the hand of their transgression that their own evil hearts should doe what they would with them In which sense we may also understand that place Act. 17.30 when Paul at Athens disputed with the Philosophers he tels them that now God began to look towards them and had sent them the knowledge of Christ The times of that ignorance God wicked at but now he calleth all men every where to repent The words undergoe a two-fold interpretation Some thus to note the indulgence of God The time past of that ignorance God winked at that is he did not deal severely and strictly with them when they sinned because they had no means or so little means to keep them from sinne And there is a truth in it Nâ—hil aliud filtie volunt Pauli verba quam caecitati addict oâ— fuisse homines donec se illis Deus patefaciat Calv. for though ignorance doth not totally excuse sinne yet it doth abate the degree and measure of sinne But there is another sense which I rather embrace The times of that ignorance God winked at that is in those times wherein there was so much darknesse and blindenesse in the world God let men goe on in their sinne they sinned and he never called upon them he never opposed them or sent any to teach them better God did not manifest his will to them as unto the Jews Psal 147.19 20. He sheweth his word unto Jacob his statutes and judgements unto Israel he hath not dealt so with any Nation c. So that this winking is opposed to favour rather then to justice To have the eye upon a place or upon persons is to shew them favour 1 King 8.29 The later branch clears this meaning But now he calleth all men every where to repent now he doth not leave men in the hands of their transgressions He doth not winke and let them doe what they list now Gospel-light is risen to the world and there are many sent out to call in and reclaim wandering prodigals many to cry Return return He speaks of it as of the mercy and priviledge of that age beyond what the former ages had enjoyed That of the same Apostle hath a parallel sense Rom. 1.20 26. where describing the dealings of God with the Gentiles who sinned against the light of nature he concludes Therefore God left them in the darknesse of nature in the worst of nature they came not up so high as the principles of nature might have led them in the worship of God therefore he left them below the principles of nature in the things of man He gave them up to vile affectâ—ons which is as much as to say He put them in the hands of their transgressions And ver 28. He gave them over to a reprobate minde to a minde that could not judge aright which had not a true understanding of any thing Hence they elected the worst and reprobated the best things The like we have Psal 81.11 of Gods own people the Jews So I gave them up unto their own hearts lusts and they walked in their own counsels The Hebrew is I sent them into the pertinacy of their hearts because I had so often called upon them and they would not hearken nor return unto me therefore I said forasmuch as you will not hear you shall not hear because you will not obey you shall have none to call you to obedience follow the counsels of your own hearts as long as you will This is the first sense of putting or sending them into the hand of their transgression scil a leaving them to the raign of their lusts Expulit eos è mundo propter praevaricitâ—â—nem Pagn Permifit eis pervenire quod scelus eorum postulabat Tygur Secondly Which is the sense our translation holds out Thou hast left them or sent them into the hand of their transgression That is Thou hast left them in those evils which their transgressions did deserve and call for Our reading carries that meaning He hath cast them away for their transgression Others thus He hath thrust them out of the world for their transgression He hath suffered that to befall them which their transgression called for According to these the sense is Thy children sinned against him and he hath let those evils which their sinne deserved fall upon them He hath rewarded them according to their iniquity Isa 64.6 7. Our iniquities like the winde have taken us away Thou hast hid thy face from us and hast consumed or melted us because of our iniquities The Hebrew is Allisisti nos in manu iniquitatis nostrae Vol. Thou hast consumed or melted us in the hand or in the power of our iniquities And somewhat parallel to this sense is that Gen. 4.6 If thou dost ill saith God to Cain sinne lies at the door As if he had said Thou shalt be given into the hand of sinne presently thy sinne shall arrest thee and bring those evils upon thee which it deserveth thou shalt not need any other punishment then thy own wickednesse Hands and
way of his providence is called his sleep The complaint runnes high Psal 44.9 c. Lord thou goest not forth with our Armies we are become a reproach unto our enemies Thou sellest thy people for nought we are killed like sheep all the day long There 's a description of the confusion of things then followeth vers 23. Awake why sleepest thou O Lord Arise cast us not off for ever wherefore hidest thou thy face and forgettest our affliction and our oppression Such a time was accounted the sleeping time of God Hence when God in the workings of his providence searcheth out the wicked and brings them to destruction when he breaks their designs and turns their counsels backwards when he turns their wickednesse upon their own heads and catches them in the snare which they have laid for others then he is said to awake Ps 78.65 He gave his people over to the sword and the fire consumed the young men then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep and like a giant refreshed with wine He smote his enemies in the hinder parts and put them to a perpetuall shame Such a time was accounted Gods waking time So then Sleeping and awaking note only the changes of providence Hence also the providence of God is described by an eye 2 Chron. 16.9 which is the proper organ of sleeping or waking and the exactnesse of providence is set out by seven eyes Zech. 3.9 The Scripture speaks this language in reference to our soul-sleep and awakening When we sin and let things goe which way they will in our hearts without taking any care or keeping our watch against temptation then we are asleep in sinne And when we begin to consider our estates and return to our selves when we take notice how it is with us and ask our hearts the question What have we done This in a spirituall sense is our awakening Awake thou that sleepest Ephes 5.14 Our spirituall sleeping and waking are the decaies or quicknings of soul-endeavours And Gods providentiall sleeping and waking are the seeming stops and visible motions of his power mercy and justice in the world This is the awaking which Bildad promises If thou wouldest seek God c. Surely he would awake for thee The words opened teach us First That holy prayer shall certainly be heard If thou make thy supplication to him surely he will awake God cannot sleep when a poor believing soul cries in his ears If I regard iniquity in my heart God will not hear my prayer Psal 66.18 But verily God hath heard me he hath not turned away my prayer nor his mercy from me What God turn prayer away No he cannot lie still as I may so speak when prayer knocks at the door he must arise and open presently That 's a second note Prayer shall be heard presently What presently Yes presently heard though not presently answered Surely now he will awaken for thee even now Holy prayers are never deferred the hearing no not a minute Isa 65.24 Before they call I will hear and while they are yet speaking I will answer In the very act of praying the answer came forth yea the answer sometimes antedates our asking and the grant commeth before the petition The giving out of the answer may be deferr'd but the answer is not deferr'd We may be heard and heard graciously and yet not presently receive the thing we ask but every prayer is heard and laid up assoon as put up he hangs it upon the file he hath it safe by him Prayer receives an answer in heaven assoon as spoken upon earth though the answer be not returned to us on earth God sleeps not at the prayer of those who are awake in prayer Thirdly Observe Prayer is the best means to awaken God God hath many waies to awaken man and he hath directed man a way to awaken himself When we are asleep he awakeneth us chiefly two waies First by the voice of his word Secondly by the voice of his rod. He now awakens us by the loud sounding trumpet and the alarms of warre when God awakeneth us by judgements it is time for us to awaken him by prayer We finde two things in Scripture which awaken God First the prayers of his own people And secondly the rage and blasphemy of his enemies Psal 78.65 The Prophet having described the cruelty and rage of the enemy adds Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine David makes this an argument in prayer Psal 7. Because of the rage of mine enemies awake for me to the judgement which thou hast commanded As if he had said Lord shall mine enemies rage and wilt thou sleep Wilt not thou awake for me Arise I pray thee The noise of blasphemy and the cry of violence from wicked men stir up God when he seems to lie asleep The noise of prayer the cries and cals of faith in his own people will not let him sleep A man whose heart is drenched in the world and drowned in rivers of earthly pleasures praies himself asleep and his prayers bring God asleep to he sleeps when he praies and God sleeps at his prayers that is God regards not his prayer he is as one that sleepeth as if he heard not what was said A wordly man doth not hear what he speaks he knows not what his own requests are God sleepeth when men are thus asleep But when we as the Apostle directs watch and pray then God awakes at our prayers As in the former verse Job was counselled to awake to pray to God so now he is promised That the Lord will awake when he praieth Fourthly Seeing the Lord is awakened by prayer Wâ— learn That Prayer ought to be very strong and fervent As men are graduall in their sleep so is the Lord in his A man is sometimes so slumberingly asleep that the least noise will awake him you cannot stirre but he will hear it At another time a man is so dead asleep that though you hollow in his ear you cannot awake him thunder cannot stirre him Sometimes God departs so little that the least voice calleth him again he comes at the first word at another time he is gone so farre that as to a man in a deep sleep you must crie and cry again call and call again cry aloud before he hears And we may in a safe sense apply that to the true God which Elijah did to that false god Baal when his Priests were calling to him from morning to night Elijah mocking bids them cry aloud it may be saith he he sleepeth We may say with reverence thus when any pray to God and he doth not hear pray aloud not in regard of the voice and outward sound but pray with louder desires of heart with more fervency and zeal of spirit Peradventure God sleepeth peradventure he is in a deep sleep at this time and he will not suddenly be awakened therefore cry aloud When God
David hid the Commandments of God in his heart Mary laid up the words of Christ there To have the word only swimming in our brains is to as little purpose as to have it only in our Note-books To have truth only in our brains or in our books will do us as little good as water in our shoes It is a sad thing to consider how many thousand Sermons are written almost word for word in books and scarce a letter of them written in the heart The promise of the new Covenant is that God will write his law in our hearts Let not any rest satisfied in having the word written in their books Observe further Holy men of old did highly esteem the word and truths of God You may know the esteem they had of these by the place where they laid these the heart is the best place the fairest room in man To put a thing into the heart notes highest esteem and approbation When we say a thing is in our hearts we cannot say more to expresse our esteem of it When the Apostle Phil. 1.7 professes to the Philippians I have you in my heart his meaning is you are most dear and precious to me When vve see a man preparing a speciall place a safe place a convenient place to lay a thing in we conclude that the thing he vvould lay up is of value and account vvith him vvhen vve are preparing and fitting our hearts to put the vvord and truths of God in hereby we give a real testimony that we honour the word of God For the most part the truths of God as we say of things we neglect are cast at mens heels rather then laid up in their hearts We may know the esteem a Queen of England had of the City of Calice when she said It was in her heart and there they should finde it if they opened her So much concerning these three verses containing an argument from antiquity and the testimony of the first ages by which Bildad confirms his former position That God is just JOB Chap. 8. Vers 11 12 13 14 15. Can the rush grow up without mire Can the flag grow up without water Whilest it is yet in his greennesse and not cut down it withereth before any other herb So are the paths of all that forget God and the hypocrites hope shall perish Whose hope shall be cut off and whose trust shall be a spiders web He shall lean upon his house but it shall not stand he shall hold it fast but it shall not endure THis context from the 11th to the 20th verse contains an illustration for so are similitudes of the former argument and it is taken from a three-fold similitude First of a rush which is explained vers 11 12. and applied in the 13th verse The second is of a Spiders web explained and applied vers 14 15. The third of a luxuriant flourishing tree explained verse 16 17 18. applied verse nineteenth Behold this is the joy of his way c. The summe of all may be given in this brief That it is as equall and ordinary in the course of divine justice to destroy wicked men as it is in the course of nature for a rush to wither when it wants water 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iuncus à 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bibit ingurgi tavit quia juncus est aquae immersus eam semper imhibens Consâ—ritur hibula Memphytis cymba papyro Luc. l. 4. Perque papyriferi septemflua flumina Nili or for a spiders web to break when it is leaned upon or for a tree to be hewen down when it either undergrows or overgrows its owners house when casting it's roots under the foundation it loosens the stones and weakens the ground-work or when it spreads its boughs and grows so high that it drops upon the roof or darkens the windows of it Ver. 11. Can the rush grow without mire It cannot The originall word for a rush speaks its nature the root signifying to suck and drink in or alwaies to be guzling down The rush lives in liquour and is alwaies drinking These abounded neer the banks of Nilus in Aegypt There Moses was put into an Ark or skiff made of bulrushes Exod. 2.3 The Prophet Isa 18.1 2. tels us of a land sending Ambassadours by the sea even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Elatus eminuit est mediae significationis sumitur pro vitiosa elatione quae est superbia etiam pro magnificentia decore Rivet in Hos 5.5 Limosuâ— juncus palustres juncâ— Amphibia Can the rush grow In strength lustre and beauty The word implies growing with a kinde of pride so plants doe in a rich or proper soyl they lift up their heads and carry it highly Can the rush grow without mire Which is as much as to say can a man live without food Mire is the rushes meat and drink It loves and delights in a moorish soyl and by the rivers side A rush upon the dry land is like a fish upon the dry land At most the rush among vegetables and plants is like those fowls and beasts among sensitives which live part upon the water and part upon the land Can the flag grow without water 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Locus graminis ubi pascuntur pecora forsan ab 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 frater quod ex una stirpe velute multifratres gignantur quasi herbarum quaedam fraternitas The word signifies any fertile place for grasse a medow Gen. 41.2 Pharaoh saw in his dream seven welfavoured kine and fat-fleshed and they fed in a medow Some render it so here Can the medow grow without water Both flags and medows are such drinkers that they quickly wither if they want water which Bildad gives us plainly in the next verse Verse 12. Whilest it is yet in his greennesse and not cut down it withereth before any other herb Whilest it is yet in his greennesse Or shooting up in his stemme 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Abib est spica maturescens veâ—spica cum calamo inde Ibbo virgultuÌ„ aut lignum virens in eo sc tempore quo est parens novarum frugum froâ—dium Vel ob 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pater q. d. in paternitate sua Some derive the Hebrew word from Ab Father and so it may be rendered from the letter of the Hebrew though the expression be somewhat uncouth While it is yet in it's paternity or fatherhood that is while it is flourishing and procreative Others derive it from Abib which signifies an ear of corn or the ear with the stalk Hence the moneth Abib among the Jews had its name because in those climates corn was then eared and began to be ripe it was the first moneth to the Israelites because of their coming out of Aegypt and answered to part of our March and part of April Exod. 13.4 Chap. 23.15 This day came ye out in the moneth
somewhat besides the Lord causeth his joy He rejoyces in his green boughs in his goodly branches in his supposed strong root but to rejoyce in God as God he knows not how Davids joy was the opposite of this Psal 4.6 Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me and that will put gladnesse in my heart more then in the time that their corn and wine encreased Let me have the Sun-shine of thy love and then though I have nothing but darknesse and clouds from the world I shall rejoyce But what saith the hypocrite let my corn and wine encrease let the Sunne of outward prosperity shine warm upon me let me have my greennesse of creature-contentments let me have credit and fair repute among men these will put gladnesse in my heart These glad his heart when he hath not a dram of grace or goodnesse there Thirdly The joy of an hypocrite is but for a moment It is a perishing joy This is the joy of his way you see what it amounts to how well it last His greennesse is turned into withering his root rots and his fruit fals off This is his joy He is like those spoken of in the Epistle of Jude vers 14. Trees twice dead and plucked up by the roots That 's the conclusion of the hypocrite he hath a name to live but he is dead twice dead naturally dead in sinne and judicially dead under wrath he was born spiritually dead and his whole life is a passage to eternall death He hath rejoyced a while but he must mourn for ever The portion of hypocrites is weeping and gnashing of teeth Mat. 24.51 Their joy is but for a morning or a day weeping comes at night that night hath no morning after it And out of the earth shall others grow Some read Out of the earth shall somewhat else some other thing grow We out of the earth when these are removed other persons shall grow who shall inherit the place and possesse the dwelling of these prosperous trees For he follows the similitude of a tree when or where one is pulled up another is planted and grows up in it's room Or others shall possesse what he hath gotten In which sense Job speaks Chap. 27.16 17. Alij qui alieni erunt ab eo quasi è terra alia germinabuÌ„t in bona ipsius su cedeâ—tes juxta illud repositâ—e sunt justo opes peccatoris Dâ—â—l Though he heap up silver as the dust and prepare raiment as the clay he may prepare it but the just shall put it on and the innocent shall divide the silver Which words may be a Comment upon these Out of the earth shall others grow that is others shall rise up God will bring a new generation to enjoy his ill-gotten substance and eat the sweet of all his labours Solomon Eccles 2.18 was much afflicted because he knew not who should grow up after him I hated saith he all my labour which I have taken under the Sunne because I shall leave it to a man and I know not what he shall be whether a wise man or a fool It is a part of the vanity which lies upon man-kinde that after all a mans labour and pains he must leave all unto some body he knows not certainly who But there is a greater and sorer vanity upon the hypocrite he seldome staies to take his part He shall not rost that which he hath takâ—n in hunting Pro. 12. that is he shall not have the benefit himself of what he hath but others unthought of shall come out of the ground and grow in his place This is the upshot or summe of all his misery he hath laboured for others in temporall things and he hath got nothing for himself in spirituall things Further the words may carry this sense That When wiâ—ked men are taken away the righteous shall grow in their roome Pull up the bryars and thorns and then vines and fig-trees lilies and roses will grow the better When wicked men are removed good men will prosper Again Out of the earth shall others grow they were not worth the ground they went upon though they were worth a great deal of ground therefore out of the ground shall others grow God will raise up a generation which shall be more faithfull and serviceable unto him There is a fourth sense of this expression Out of the earth shall others grow that is out of the meanest and lowest condition others shall grow and so it carries an opposition between the condition of an hypocrite and of a godly man The hypocrite in his flourishing greennesse shall be cut down to the ground but they whose hearts are sincere and upright though they are as low as the ground though they are upon the earth and are trodden down as mire in the streets yet they shall grow up They who were growing high shall be cut down and they who were below shall grow up such as they feared not nor suspected shall prevail over them They who are lowest even as low as the earth shall be raised built up and set on high in the world when God speaks the word There is an Exposition of this whole context about which because many close with it I shall give a brief account Divers of the learned understand this third similitude not as describing the state of an hypocrite but as an instance in opposition to the state of an hypocrite set forth by the rush and by the spider in the former verses Hence it is that the Italian version begins the sixteenth verse thus But the perfect man is green before the Sun c. And so the sense may be given to this effect As if Bildad had said Though hypocrites wither like a rush or like a flag though they are suddenly swept down like a spiders web yet a godly man is a green tree before the Sunne he is not like a rush without water but like a tree planted by the rivers side which is able to endure the heat of the Sunne yea the hottest Sunne of persecution His branches shoot forth in his garden he is no wilde tree no tree of the forest or of the wildernesse he is a tree of the inclosed garden which if it want the water from the clouds the Gardener will take care to water it with his hand Or his roots are wrapped about the heap about the fountain he is strongly set and he hath water continually to feed and supply his branches Thus the Church is so described by Balaam Numb 24.6 How goodly are thy tents O Jacob and thy tabernacles O Israel as the valleys are they spread forth as gardens by the rivers sides as the trees of Lign aloes which the Lord hath planted and as Cedar-trees besides the waters Thus the godly mans roots are wrapped about the fountain and there he is fruitfull though the Sunne shine hot upon him yet it cannot exhale his moysture faster then the river can supply him with
secondly It noteth such a shout as is in an army where a King in person is leader or victour Thirdly The shout of a King is amongst them because the voice of a King should be as the sound of a trumpet or some loud instrument to enform and direct his people as also to enourage them From all we see this rejoycing is no ordinary joy It is a high a triumphant joy I will fill thy lips with rejoycing till thou shall sing VICTORIA over all thine enemies and calamities Further This also is in it a rejoycing with praise not a bare rejoycing in the blessings and deliverances but a rejoycing in the praises of God who hath given those blessings and wrought those deliverances The Septuagint translate it by rendring of thanks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. confessioâ—e laudis gratiarum actionis pro accepta resti tutaque soelicitate or a confession of praise I will not cast thee away till I have filled thy lips with rejoycing that is with my praises Thus David praies Psal 71.8 Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thine honour all the day long Praise filling the heart fils the mouth joy as well as sorrow pent up stifles the Spirit Hence we may observe First That as joy is the portion of the people of God so in good time they shall receive their portion He will not cast off a perfect man till he fill his mouth with joy and his lips with rejoycing Joy is their due and joy they shall have Hereafter they shall have their Masters joy Enter into your Masters joy will Christ say at last Now they shall have such a joy as befits them whilest they are in their Masters service And as rejoycing is the portion so the proper portion the peculiar of godly men Though laughing as it is a naturall act is common to all men yet in the sense we speak of laughter is appropriated unto godly and perfect men They only can laugh indeed who have mourned indeed Tibi ridet mihi non sibi A wicked man doth but feign a laugh He laughs to thee and to me but he doth not laugh to himself He hath no true laughter while he laughs His laughter is madnesse and proceeds from his ignorance not from his reason Besides other marks of difference which shall be put between the servants of God and their enemies this is one My servants shall rejoyce and ye shall be ashamed Isa 65.13 This joy arises two waies First From the greatnesse of the blessing which they receive for themselves We must rejoyce in the least mercy how greatly then in the greatest Our joyes take their measure by our mercies When Sarah had a Son she said God hath made me to laugh so that all that hear me shall laugh with me Gen. 21.6 Her mercy in receiving a sonne was so great that it would serve a whole world to make merry with The man that had found his lost sheep laid it on his shoulders rejoycing it was a pleasant burden to him and when he came home he called together his friends and neighbours saying Rejoyce with me Luk. 15.6 As some afflictions are so big that all our own sorrows are not large enough to weep and mourn over them so some blessings are so big that they call out more then our own affections to rejoyce over them Secondly This overflowing joy arises from the greatnesse of those judgements which are poured out upon the enemies of the Saints The overthrow of Pharaoh at the red sea of Jabin and Sisera at the brook Kishon filled all hearts and mouths with laughter and so shall the overthrow of Babylon Rev. 15. Thus when God doth great things for his people and great things against his enemies then it is time to rejoyce greatly Psal 126.1 The Lord hath done great things for us whereof we rejoyce say the captive Jews in the morning or first dawnings of their deliverance from Babylon and more then so Then was our mouth fill'd with laughter and our tongue with singing And there is cause of great rejoycing in those great things because then God fulfils his promises and makes his Name glorious in his providences Then God is greatly honoured when his people are greatly delivered then the blasphemies of wicked men are unanswerably confuted and their mouths for ever stopped From all these considerations the hearts of the Saints are filled with laughter and their mouths with rejoycing in a day when God works great things At such times joy and this degree of it is not only our priviledge but our duty When we carry a message of thanks to God we must not come with uncheerfull countenances or sowr faces It is a comely thing when our affections keep time and proportion with the dispensations of God When we cannot sing the songs of Sion or use our harps by the waters of Babylon and when we cannot but sing either in the restoring of Sion or in the ruines of Babylon Some may object those texts Woe to them that laugh c. Luk. 6.25 It seems laughter is the portion of wicked men for woe we are sure is their portion It 's true worldly laughter a laughter in corn and wine and oil a laughter in riches and honours and carnall pleasures as such is a laughter with a woe annexed But to laugh in the sense of the goodnesse of God giving us outward good things to expresse our selves joyfully when God expresses himself graciously is not only comely but holy When Gods heart comes out at his hand and is seen in his actions our hearts should come out at our mouths and be heard in our exultations Thus we have seen the effect of the goodnesse of God upon his own people See the effect of his justice upon wicked men Verse 22. They that hate thee shall be cloathed with shame and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought God resists or will not put forth his hand to evil doers then follows They shall be brought to shame Shame is opposite to laughing he that rejoyceth usually holds up his head and cares not who sees him but he that is ashamed holds down his head and endures not to be seen Some men laugh in their sleeves as we say but all men would be ashamed in their sleeves They that hate thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Odâ—o habuit contempsit Dicitur etiam aliquando peâ— comparationem alterius quod nagis amâ—â—ur non quod propriè odio habeatur Rab. Dav. in l. Rad. The word hath a double signification First It imports the putting forth of bitter hatred when a man sets himself maliciously against his brother Secondly It is taken comparatively for a lesser or more remisse putting forth of love He may be said to hate who wants a due heat and height of love In that sense Jacob was taxed for hating Leah Gen. 29.31 When the Lord saw that Leah was hated c. Take
24.63 The subject of his meditation was the starres or the heavens It is good to take field-room sometimes to view contemplate the works of God round about Only take heed of the former folly of Astrologicall curiosities confining the providence of God to secondary causes avoid that and the heart may have admirable elevations unto God from the meditation of the works of God Psal 19.1 The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handy work if the heavens declare the glory of God we should observe what that glory is which they declare The heavens preach to us every day Their line is gone out thorow all the earth and their words to the end of the world Psal 19.4 Sun Moon and Stars are Preachers they are universall preachers they are naturall Apostles the world is their charge their words saith the Psalm go to the ends of the earth We may have good doctrine from them especially this doctrine in the text of the wisdom and power of God And it is very observable that the Apostle alludes to this text in the Psalm for a proof of Gospel-preaching to the whole world Rom. 10.18 So then faith commeth by hearing and hearing by the word of God But I say have they not heard Yes verily their sound went into all the earth and their words unto the end of the world The Gospel like the Sun casts his beams over and sheds his light into all the world David in the Psalm saith Their line is gone out c. By which word he shews that the heavens being so curious a fabrick made as it were by line and levell do clearly though silently preach the skill and perfections of God Or that we may read divine truths in them as in a line formed by a pen into words and sentences the originall signifies both a measuring line 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Significat lineam non modo extensam hoc est funiculum sed etiam scriptam hoc est scripturam Par. in Rom. 10 and a written line Letters and words in writing being nothing but lines drawn into severall forms or figures But the Septuagint whose translation the Apostle citeth for Kavam their line read Kolam their sound either mis-reading the word or studiously mollifying the sense into a nearer compliance with the later clause of the verse And their words into the ends of the world Pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus I have endeavoured to make those things plain which are here represented to vulgar ears under strange unusuall and hidden expressions Job is full of Philosophy and Astronomy he was a great student in the heavens doubtlesse and a holy student Job having given these severall instances gathers them all into a generall conclusion in the tenth verse Verse 10. Which doth great things past finding out yea and wonders without number These words are repeated from the discourse of Eliphaz in the 5th Chap. v. 9. I would seek unto God and unto God would I commit my cause which doth great things and unsearchable marvellous things without number I will not stay in a particular disoussion of them but refer the Reader to the place before cited where the text is opened at large and particular observations given from it Take only this observation in generall That A godly man labours to exalt God both in his thoughts and in his words with heart and tongue when God depresses and humbles him most Mark in what a condition Job was when he speaks thus honourably of the name and power of God One would think Job had little reason to extoll the power of God which he felt to his own smart Job was stript of all he had his outward comforts were taken from him and the arrows of the Almighty wounded his very spirit Now when he had wounded Job thorow and thorow thorow flesh and thorow spirit even at this time when God appeared making no use of his power but to undo Job Job is in his Encomium all in the praise and commendation of God He endites a Chapter on purpose to set forth the power and wisdom of God while he imploied both to make his afflictions both great and accurate This shews the admirable frame of his spirit in all his distempers his heart stood right and he would speak good of God what evil soever befell him from Gods hand Let God afflict with his power yet a gracious heart rejoices in it A gracious heart will lift up that power which weakens and throws it down Let the Lord imploy his wisdom to undo to impoverish such a man to bring him into such straits that he cannot get out yet he hath enlarged thoughts of that wisdom He sees God is as wise in troubling us as he is in delivering That language of Spira is the right language of hell I judge not his person but his speech who in a great temptation spake thus I would I had more power then God or O that I were above God He was angry that God had so much power because God used his power against him A carnall man would be above God especially if God at any time puts forth his power against him When he is hard bestead and hungry he frets himself and curses his King and his God looking upward Isa 8.21 to murmur at God not to pray unto him or speake good of him Tertullian Illud est impiorum ingenium ut Deum non ulterius celebrent quam cum benefacit Fer. It is observed by one of the Ancients concerning the Heathen That if God did not please them he should be no longer God Such are our hearts by nature if God do not use his power wisdom mercy for us we presently wish he had no power wisdom nor mercy for any in the world we would be above God unles God will serve us but an holy heart saith thus Let God improve his power and wisdom which way he pleaseth if to afflict and chasten me yea to destroy and cast me to hell his be the power for ever I extoll his power Nature can only praise God and speak good of him when he is doing of us good But grace prompts the heart to indite a good matter and bids the tongue be as the pen of a ready writer to advance God when sense feels nothing but smart and sees nothing but sorrow round about Then grace is in her heights when she can lift up God highest while he is casting us down and laying us lowest When we can honour God frowning as well as smiling upon us smiting and wounding as well as kissing and imbracing us then we have learned to honour God indeed JOB Chap. 9. Vers 11 12 13. Loe he goeth by me and I see him not he passeth on also but I perceive him not Behold he taketh away who can hinder him who shall say unto him What doest thou If God will not withdraw his anger the proud helpers doe stoop under him JOB having in
for our obedience he usually adds perswasion to his precept and reasons with us as well as directs us His commands are not alwaies barely authoritative and the resolves of his prerogative So when we call upon God for audience we should adde perswasions to our petitions and reason with him as well as entreat him Only we should be carefull to reason from right Topicks and heads of argument such as these First From the freenesse of the grace of God Secondly From the firmnesse of his promise Thirdly From the greatnesse of our need or of the Churches misery Fourthly From all the concernments of his own glory c. Thus we may reason with God for the doing of any thing we ask according to his will and in these reasonings the spirit life and strength of praier consists So then the only thing which Job declineth as sinfull and unbecomming is to reason with God as a contender he might humbly reason with him as a Petitioner or as a remembrancer Put me in remembrance saith the Lord Isa 43.26 Let us plead together declare thou that thou maiest be justified We may declare our cause and we need not fear to declare our sinnes that God may justifie us but we must not presume to declare our righteousnesse that we may justifie our selves this Job disclaims How much lesse shall I answer him and choose out words to reason with him Towards the further clearing of these words we may take notice that Job puts himself under a double relation In the former part of the verse he puts himself in the Respondents place How much lesse shall I answer him And in the later part of the verse he puts himself in the Opponents place and chuse out words to reason with him His meaning is If the Lord will object against me I am not the man who dares or is able to answer him And if I should take upon me to object against the Lord the Lord may and can easily answer me From which notion of the words two points may be observed First No man can answer what God hath to object against him The Lord hath a thousand arguments which we are not able to give him satisfaction in as was touched in the beginning of this Chapter vers 3. We cannot answer him one of a thousand If God should cast a man to hell what hath he to say for himself as from himself when God objects Thou hast sinned If God afflict a man and lay him low giving him this argument for what he doth I am thy Creatour I formed and made thee if I break thee to peeces what canst thou say against me If the Lord should say I am thy Soveraign I have supreme power over thee may I not doe with thee what I will What hath man to answer Man must be silent and lay his hand upon his mouth he hath not a word of reason or holinesse to reason against God in any of his dispensations Let man on the other side gather as many arguments as he can to object against God he is able to wipe them all off presently to blow them away with a breath All the shifts and apologies the excuses and arguings which any make for their sinnes or which they make for themselves against the justice and wisdome of God are answered with a word So that put man in the opponents or in the respondents place he can make no worke of it Secondly Observe from this phrase Shall I choose out words to reason with him God is not taken with words Fine phrases and eloquent speeches will not carry it with him If we would prevail with God we must speak our hearts to him rather then our words yet we ought to chuse out words as was touched before when we speak to God As we must take heed how we hear while he speaks so we have need to take heed what we speak in his hearing That 's Solomons advice Eccles 5.2 Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God That is speak not vainly and unadvisedly thy tongue running before thy wit Let wisdome guide thy tongue and let thy heart shew thee wisdome Let not thy heart be hasty to utter when it 's office is to conceive not to utter But how can the heart be hasty to utter Utterance is the businesse of the tongue The heart is then hasty to utter when it suffers the tongue to utter what it self hath not thorowly concocted by meditation and made it's own As in the body so in the minde the third concoction is that which nourishes and assimilates So then Solomons meaning is Let not raw unboiled undigested thoughts passe out into discourses or be stampt into words before the Lord. As there is a sinne of curiosity so there may be a sinne of neglect Extreams are equally dangerous The distance that is between God and us proclaims this duty of our most reverent addresses to him He is in heaven and thou upon earth therefore let thy words be few and yet the fewnesse of words pleases God no more then the multitude of them doth We say In many words there can hardly be a scarcity of errours and in a few words there may be not a few errours possibly more errours then words Fewnesse simply taken is not the grace of words But because they who speak but little doe usually thinke the more and so their words are steept long in their hearts therefore few words are usually choice words It is sinne if we are well conceited of our words And it is sinne if our words be not our best conceptions How shall I choose out words to reason with him Verse 15. Whom though I were righteous yet would I not answer but I would make supplication to my Judge 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This brings the matter to the height Who I reason and plead with God I answer him No Though I were righteous yet would I not answer him The strength of the argument lies thus as if Job had said I am so farre from entring a contest with God that I professe I would not doe it though I had the greatest advantage and fitnesse to doe it of any man in the world though I were righteous I would not do it I doe not say that the reason why I would not plead with God is because I am wicked sinfull and abominable more guilty and unrighteous then my neighbours or then you my friends but how righteous soever I were I would not do it Job speaks as a man who would shew how much he dreads the power and strength of another What I fight with such a man I contend with such a man No I professe I would not fight with him though I were as well weapon'd arm'd and prepared as any man in the world I would not come near him If there be any armour or weapon any furniture or preparations which may enable man to contend with God it
fear with reference to the two former verses especially to the verse immediately fore-going There Job desires a Daies-man or complains that there is none here he tels us what he might have expected if he had one As if he had said Had I a Daies-man then I know he would take away the rod from me that is he would give judgement that I should be eased of this affliction and his fear should not terrifie me that is he would never give a sentence which should be a terrour to me That 's a fair sense in reference to what he spake before but I rather keep his meaning within the compasse of what he is speaking here And then by fear we may understand Paveris nomine intelligendum putareÌ„ fulgoreÌ„ splendorem vel majestatem niniam qua priscis illis temporibus nonnunquam Deus vel Angelus pro Deo serviâ— suis apparabat Bol. First Those raies and beams of Majesty which the Lord letting out a little upon Job he was not able to bear them We finde when in those ancient times God appeared the beholders were terrified Manoahs wife tels her husband A man of God came unto me and his countenance was like the countenance of an Angel of God very terrible Judg. 13.6 And when God appeared to Abraham An horrour of great darknesse fell upon him Gen. 15.12 in what a wofull plight was Daniel receiving the visions of God Dan. 10.8 God who is the joy of his people is also a terrour to them Things which are not what they seem to be are not so terrible near hand as at a distance God who is infinitely more then he can seem to be is more terrible near hand then at a distance Hence it is that when God who is alwaies near us shews himself to be so our spirits fail within us In that presence of God which we shall have in glory there will be fulnesse of joy And in that presence of God which we have in the waies of grace there is abundance of joy But if while we are here in a state of grace some little of that presence of God which is proper to the state of glory fals upon us we are more distressed then comforted with it How much more then when God clothes himself with terrour and as he did to Job so reveals himself unto us Secondly We may interpret this fear by the former part of the verse the rod his afflictions were terrible the hand of God lifted up to smite him made him afraid But whether it were this or that the majesty of God overawing him or the rod of God chastening him the sense is plain Job was opprest with fear from the Lord yea with terrour from the Almighty causing this vehement deprecation Let not his fear terrifie me Hence observe First That God sometimes appears terribly to those he loves entirely Job was one of Gods darlings and God was imbracing him while he was scourging him Job had kisses from heaven when he felt nothing but lashes here upon the earth The heart of God was full of love while his hand was filled with a rod his bowels yearn'd upon Job and his face terrified him at the same time That precious man Heman was followed with terrours and visions of amazement all his daies I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up while I suffer thy terrours I am distracted Psal 88.15 The terrours of God even terrours to distraction may be the present portion of those whose portion is everlasting mercy Observe Secondly Man is not able to bear the anger of G d. Though he be but correcting us yet we cannot bear his anger toward us This caused the Prophet to cry out Jer. 10.24 Correct me O Lord but not in thine anger The words are not a praier for correction I know no warrant for that but a submission to it As if he had said Lord I am willing to bear thy correction but I cannot and who can bear thine anger The Church complains Psal 90.7 We are consumed by thine anger and by thy wrath we are troubled The fatherly anger of God is as a consuming fire and we are but as stubble before it What then is the fiercenesse of that anger which he will pour out upon wicked men for ever Who knoweth the power of thine anger Psal 90.11 Man cannot understand how powerfull the anger of God is much lesse stand before the power of his anger As man cannot comprehend the love of God Ephes 3.18 19. The Apostle exhorts To know the love of God which passeth knowledge that is to know so much of it as is knowable the love of God is past the knowledge not only of nature but of grace because it is infinite So we should labour To know the anger of God which passeth knowledge that is to know it so farre as it is knowable The anger of God cannot be fully known because it hath an infinitenesse in it as well as his love And as the one shall never be fully known but by enjoying it so neither can the other but by feeling it Upon this consideration the Lord makes that gracious promise to his people Isa 57.16 I will not contend for ever neither will I be alwaies wroth for the spirit should fail before me and the souls which I have made But is not the spirit or soul of man of an everlasting make And shall not the damned endure the contendings of Gods wrath for ever and not fail The substance of the soul cannot fail and the spirit is incorruptible The spirit is full of morall corruption but it is not subject to naturall corruption or the corruption of its nature How glad would the damned be if their spirits might fail and their souls return to nothing The failing of the spirit under the wrath of God is the failing of its hope and courage Thus the spirit sinks and the immortall soul dies away under the sense and weight of Gods displeasure But what if the Lord should take away his rod and change his â—errours into smiles What will Iob do then when this is granted see what he will do Verse 35. Then would I speak and not fear him but it is not so with me 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sept. But is this the use which Iob would make of the mercy he begs Doth he entreat the Lord to take his terrifying fear away from him and then resolve not to fear him at all Whose voice is this Is this the voice of Job I will speak and not fear him Jobs character in the first Chapter was A man fearing God and dares he now say I will speak and not fear him As the fear of God ought to be the seasoning of all our works and actions so it ought to be the seasoning of all our words and speeches why then doth he say I will speak and not fear him To clear this I answer Fear may be taken two waies Either for the grace of fear or
upon ourselves First When we let them lie wholly upon our selves and will not go to God for strength or patience to bear them Who can sufficiently mourn over them who leave their complaints in this sense upon themselves It is sinfull and foolish to leave our complaints thus upon our selves 'T is a duty to leave them upon God and to pour them into the bosom of Christ who can and who only can either ease us of them or make them easie to us who can and who only can take off our burdens or enable us to carry them The burden of our ordinary cares will break our backs if left upon our selves how then shall we in our own strength stand under the burden of extreamest sorrows Secondly We leave our complaint upon our selves When we make no excuses or evasions but plainly charge the fault upon our selves Thus we ought to leave all our complaints upon our selves It is sinfull and foolish to charge any of them wholly upon the devil or at all upon God An honest heart takes them home and saith God is righteous but I am a transgressour what he hath done he may do and he hath done justly in all that he hath done This is the sense of Iobs resolution I will leave my complaint upon my self Hence observe Whatsoever a godly man suffereth he will not charge God with it but himself He is more carefull of the honour of God then of his own peace and had rather die then the glory of God should suffer O Lord saith Daniel chap. 9.7 righteousnesse belongeth unto thee but unto us confusion of face And vers 14. the Lord is righteous in all his works which he doth for we obeyed not his voice When the Angel was smiting Israel with the plague of pestilence David bespeaks the Lord in reference to the people Loe I have sinned and I have done wickedly but these sheep What have they done Let thine hand I pray thee be against me c. 2 Sam. 24.17 I take the blame to my self Lord upon me let thy stroak be even upon me not upon Israel So saith the soul in reference unto God upon me be the blame of all the troubles and afflictions which I feel not upon God What hath God done All that he hath done is right and just and good It is an argument of a holy frame of heart to be often judging our selves and alwaies acquitting of God To be often complaining of our selves and to be ever exalting God To be alwaies thanking him for our comforts and alwaies saying we may thank our selves for our sorrows Whatsoever the Lord saith or doth concerning us we should not only say with Hezekiah when a sad message was brought him 2 King 20.19 Good is the Word of the Lord but also Good are the works of the Lord. Many men are ready to lay their sins much more their sorrows upon God So the Apostle represents them Rom. 9.19 Thou wilt say unto me Why doth he then finde fault Why doth God complain of us we have more reason to complain of and charge our faults on God If he hardeneth whom he will Why are we blamed for being hardened For who hath resisted his will Thus they question God Who hath resisted thy will whose lives are nothing else but a continued warre against and resistance of his will They who strive most to comply with the will of God complain often of themselves for resisting it And though they know God hardeneth vvhom he vvill yet they will not leave the hardening of any upon God as his fault but as his prerogative They confesse it to be as great an act of holinesse in God to harden some men in sin as it is to soften others by his grace Mercy appears chiefly in the one justice appears chiefly in the other but holinesse equally in both I will speak in the bitternesse of my soul A bitter soul bringeth forth bitter words Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh If there be abundance of joy in the heart the mouth will speak joyfully and if there be abundance of sorrow in the heart the mouth speaks sorrowfully Loquar quicquid mihi afflictio suggesserit As when there is abundance of filth in the heart the mouth speaks filthinesse We may see the lines and image of mans minde drawn upon his words One man speaks in the anger of his soul and he speaks angerly Another speaks in the pride of his soul and he speaks proudly A third speaks in the profanenesse of his soul and he speaks profanely Again one speaks in the courage of his soul and he speaks couragiously Another speaks in the patience of his soul and he speaks patiently A third speaks in the faith of his soul and he speaks beleevingly There is a neernesse to this sense in that of the sixtieth Psalm vers 6. God hath spoken in his holinesse and we are assured he cannot but speak holily who is all holy I saith Job will speak in the bitternesse of my soul and he spake bitterly his soul was bitter and so was his speech too What he means by the bitternesse of his soul hath been opened heretofore in the third Chapter and in the seventh Chapter vers 11. thither I refer the Reader In brief I will speak in the bitternesse of my soul is either this I will let out the sorrows of my heart at my tongue and it shall appear by what I say what I feel Or Further I will speak in the bitternesse of my soul may be taken as an Apology for what he spake As if he had said Doe not charge my complaint upon my own account Nō rā mea futura sunt verba quam meae amaritudinis haec enim imperat extorquet orationem If I speak bitterly it is not I that speak but the bitternesse that is in me As Paul when he did what he would not pleads in the seventh of the Romans It is no more I that doe it but sinne that dwelleth in me It is not I Paul an Apostle not I regenerate Paul but the remains of unregenerate Paul of Paul a Pharisee which rebell against the Law of God In the same manner saith Iob here and so say the Saints Are we at any time impatient and complain more then becommeth us know it is not we that speak but the bitternesse of our hearts The thing which we would not that speak we and therefore it is not we that speak but the sorrow that dwelleth in us So then speaking in the bitternesse of the soul notes either the excesse or greatnesse of a complaint or the cause and spring of a complaint The complaints of Job came not from the ordinary temper of his spirit but from the troubles of his estate distempering his spirit he desired rather to be praising and glorifying God for his receits then complaining over his own wants But his wants were such as he could not refrain from complaining I will
The greatest wonders of creation are unseen God hath packt many rarities mysteries yea miracles together in mans chest All the vitall instruments and wheels whereby the watch of our life is perpetually moved from the first hour to the last are locked up in a curious internall cabinet where God himself prepared the pulleys hung on the weights and wound up the chime by the hand of his infinite power without opening of any part As our own learned Anatomist elegantly teacheth us in the Preface to his sixth book Fourthly The dimensions proportions and poise of mans body are so exact and due that they are made the model of all structures and artificials Castles Houses Ships yea the Ark of Noah was framed after the measure and plot of mans body In him is found a circulate figure and a perfect quadrat yea the true quadrature of a circle whose imaginary lines have so much troubled the Mathematicians of many ages Fifthly In every part usefulnesse and commodiousnesse comelinesse and convenience meet together What beauty is stampt upon the face What majesty in the eye What strength is put into the arms What activity into the hands What musick and melody in the tongue Nothing in this whole fabrique could be well left out or better placed either for ornament or for use Some men make great houses which have many spare rooms or rooms seldom used but as in this house there is not any one room wanting so every room is of continuall use Was ever clay thus honoured thus fashioned Galen gave Epicurus an hundred years to imagine a more commodious scituation configuration or composition of any one part of the body And surely if all the Angels in heaven had studied to this day they could not have cast man into a more curious mould or have given a fairer and more correct edition of him This clay cannot say to him that fashioneth it What makest thou Or this work he hath no hands Isa 45.9 The Lord hath made man so well that man cannot tell which way to be made better This work cannot say He that wrought me had no hands that is I am ill wrought as to say you have no eyes you have no ears are reproofs of negligence and inadvertency both in hearing and seeing So when we say to a man Surely you have no hands our meaning is he hath done his work either slothfully or unskilfully But this work of mans body shall not need to say unto God he hath no hands he hath given proof enough that hands and head too were imploied about this work Let us make it appear that we have hands and tongues and hearts for him that we have skin and flesh bones and sinews for him that we have strength and health and life and all for him seeing all these are also derived from him as appears in the next words Thou hast granted me life and favour Job having thus described the naturall conception and formation of his body descendeth to his quickning and preservation When God had formed man out of the dust of the earth he then breathed into him the breath of life and man became a living soul and thus when God hath formed man in the womb given him skin and flesh bones and sinews then he gives life and breath and all things necessary to the continuation of what he hath wrought up to such excellent perfections Our divine Philosopher teacheth us this doctrine Verse 12. Thou hast granted me life and favour and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit This verse holds out to us the great Charter of God to man consisting of three royall grants First Life Secondly Favour Thirdly Visitation The bounty of God appears much in granting life more in granting favour most of all in his grant of gracious visitations Thou hast granted me life c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vitas fecisti Mont. Vitam disposuisti mihi Sep. Quasi debito loco ordine The letter of the Hebrew is Thou hast made or fitted for me life and favour The soul is the ornament of the body life the lustre of our clay Thou hast not thrown or hudled my life into my body Thou hast put it in exquisitely and orderly The frame of the body is an exquisite frame but the frame the faculties and powers the actings and motions of the soul are farre more exquisite The inhabitant is more noble then the house and the jewell then the cabinet As the life is better then meat and the body then artificiall raiment Mat. 6.25 So the life is better then the body which is to it a naturall raiment Thou hast granted me life c. Life is here put metonymically for the soul of which it is an effect as the soul is often put for the life whereof it is a cause We translate in the singular number life the Hebrew is plurall Thou hast granted me lives But hath a man more lives then one Some understand Job speaking not only of corporall but spirituall life as our naturall life is the salt of the body to keep that from corrupting so spirituall life or the life of grace is the salt of the soul to keep that from corrupting Secondly Thou hast granted me lives that is say others temporall life and eternall life Thirdly Lives may be taken for the three great powers of life Man hath one life consisting of three distinct lives For whereas there is a life of vegetation and growth such as is in trees and plants and a life of sense and motion such as is in beasts of the earth fowls of the air and fishes of the sea And a life of reason such as is in Angels whereby they understand and discourse these three lives which are divided and shared among all other living creatures are brought together and compacted into the life of man Whole man is the epitome or summe of the whole Creation being enriched and dignified with the powers of the invisible world and of the visible put together under which notion we may expound this Text Thou hast granted me lives a three-fold life or a three-fold acting and exercise of the same life Thou hast granted me lives Observe hence Life is the gift of God With thee is the fountain of lives the well 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vena vitarum or the vein of lives Psal 36.9 The Psalmist alludes either first to waters which flow from a fountain and so doth life from God Or secondly To metals With thee is the vein of lives as all minerall veins the veins of gold and silver of lead and iron c. lie as it were in bank in the bosom and bowels of the earth so doth life in God There is not the lest vein of this quick-silver in all the world but comes from him Or thirdly The Psalmist alludeth to the veins of the body which as so many rivers and rivolets derive their bloud from tha◠red-sea the liver God hath a sea of life in himself