righteousnesse and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poore If thou repentest indeed the sin that cometh after will not be added to thy former because that is done away through Grace A godly man according to the former poynt would not adde or commit another act of sin to his former as it is sayd of Judah Gen 38.26 who had committed folly with Tamar He knew her againe no more Though his sin was great yet doubtlesse his heart was humbled and he returned not to his former sin But the wicked man continues in his wickednesse yea he blesseth himselfe in his heart saying I shall have peace though I walk in the imagination of miâ—e heart to adde drunkennesse to thirst Deut 29.19 Every new sin is an addition to his former sins because he alwayes liveth in sin They who would not have the captives brought into the City gave this reason 2 Chron 28.13 For whereas we have offended against the Lord already ye intend to adde more to our sins c. O take heed of sinning so as to joyne sins together As in Arithmeticke when we adde summe to summe what an huge summe may we quickly make Therefore breake off sin by repentance that if thou sinnest againe it may not be an adding of sin to sin That 's a dreadfull prophesie and threatning Psal 69.27 Adde iniquity to their iniquity and let them not come into thy righteousnesse How doth the Lord adde iniquity to iniquity will he cause any to sin more or will he doe any iniquity No the meaning is as our margin intimates the Lord will adde the punishment of their iniquity to their iniquity or he will give them up to the power of their owne lusts and vile affections so that they cannot but renew the acts of sin and adde one iniquity to another It is a blessed worke when we are much in the additions of grace to grace and of good workes to good 'T is the designe and businesse of a gracious heart to adde grace to grace that is the exercise of one grace to another till every grace be exercised 2 Pet 1.5 Give diligence to adde to your faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience Here is a blessed addition When a good man hath done well once he adds to doe more he adds more acts of the same kind and he adds to doe good acts of any other kinde He adds patience to godlinesse and to godlinesse brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity thus he is busied in a blessed way of addition But the addition of sin to sin is the bitter fruit of rebellion against God Isa 30.1 Wo to the rebellious children that cover but not with a covering of my Spirit that they may adde sin to sin They that make excuses for sin committed adde sin to sin yet by these coverings we may understand not only excuses and pretences for sin acted but our owne good acts for to cover sin with any thing of our owne is to adde sin to sin Yet I conceive the adding of one kind of sin to another is the addition there meant The Israelites sayd to Samuel when they were brought to a sight of their sin 1 Sam 12.19 We have added unto all our sins this evill to ask us a King They refused the Lords government and asked a king in the pride of their hearts and so added sin to sin Thus 't is sayd of Herod Luke 3.20 That to all his evill deeds he added this that he shut up John in prison And as there is an adding of severall kinds of sin so of severall acts of the same kind of sin oath to oath and adultery to adultery and wrong-dealing to wrong-dealing this day some oppresse their brethren and the next day they doe the same O let such remember what additions the Lord will make to them he will adde punishment to punishment he will adde the same kind of punishment several times he will adde sword to sword and famine to famine and pestilence to pestilence and he will adde punishments of various kinds The Prophet reports what various or if I may so speake heterogeneal kindes of sin men added and strung up together Hos 4.2 By swearing and lying and killing and stealing and committing adultery they break out and blood toucheth blood Surely God will make blood touch blood in a way of punishment as men make blood touch blood in a way of sin The adding of sins makes an addition of plagues When Jehoiakim the King heard the roll read he threw it into the fire and burnt it Jer 36. but could he burne or make an end of the threatnings no v. 32. And there were added besides unto them many like words It is sayd Rev 22.18 If any man shall adde unto these things God shall adde unto him the plagues that are written in this booke To adde any thing to the holy word of God is as sinfull as to take from the word or act against it God can adde plagues as fast as men adde sins When sin is added to sin then guilt is added to guilt and punishment to punishment Take heed of this addition resolve with the penitent soule in the text If I have done iniquity I will adde no more JOB Chap. 34. Vers 33 34 35. Should it be according to thy mind he will recompence it whether thou refuse or whether thou chuse and not I therefore speak what thou knowest Let men of understanding tell me and let a wise man hearken unto me Job hath spoken without knowledge and his words were without wisdome IN the Context of these three verses Elihu doth chiefly these two things First he appeales to the Conscience of Job v. 33. Should it be according to thy mind ask thy selfe whether it should be so yea or no. Secondly he appeals to the judgement of Jobs friends yea of all wise and understanding men concerning what Job had spoken or whether he had not spoken unwisely in the 33d and 34th verses Let men of understanding tell me and let a wise man hearken unto me Job hath spoken without knowledge and his words were without wisdome The scope of Elihu in these words is yet further to humble Job and to provoke him to repentance for his inconsiderate speeches Yet Elihu doth not call Job to repentance upon the same grounds or termes as his three friends had done They moved him to repentance upon the Consideration of his former wicked life as they supposed but Elihu moves him to repentance upon the Consideration of his imprudent and rash speeches under the afflicting hand of God Vers 33. Should it be according to thy mind This verse is delivered in as much variety as any text thorowout the whole Book and as a learned writer upon it concludes Si omnes lectiones versiones interpretationes persequeremur plus tenebrarum quam lucis afferemus Pined If we should stay upon all the various readings translations
have found but wisdome Note Man is very prone to make boast of or glory in that which he calleth wisdome When he hath found out though but supposed wisdome he cannot containe he must cry it up Archimedes It is said of the old Mathematician when after long study and beating his braines he had found out a Conclusion in Geometry he ran about the Citie as if transported or ravished with this loud out-cry I have found it I have found it and thus Jobs friends were ready to cry out they had found they had found out wisdome There is indeed a very great temptation in the finding out or attaining of wisdome to puff man up and to make him vaine-glorious We have great cause to be humbled that we have so little wisdome and they that have any store as they thinke more then their neighbours are in great danger of being proud of it Knowledge puffeth up 1 Cor 8.1 When the head is full the heart grows high Yet this is to be understood of literall knowledge not of spirituall or of knowledge when and where it is alone without grace not of gracious knowledge The more a gracious man knowes the more humblâ— he is because his knowledge shewes him his own vileness and emptiness but the more a carnall man knowes the more proud he is became while such whatsoever or how much soever he knoweth he knoweth not himselfe nor doth he know any thing as he ought to know it as the Apostle speakes there at the second verse And as meere naturall men so they who are but smatterers or beginners in the wayes of godliness are also very ready to be transported with an opinion of their parts and knowledge And therefore the same Apostle gives it in charge to Timothy 1 Tim. 3.6 that he who is called and received unto Office in the Church should not be a novice he means it not so much of one that is young in yeares as of one that is young in the faith a new plant in the Church or one newly converted And he gives this as a reason Lest being puft up with pride he meanes by being in such a function or by having such reputation for wisdome and knowledge as is requisite to a Goâ—pel Minister he which is a sad fall if not a down-fall into utter ruine fall into the condemnation of the devill Not that the devill will condemne him for his pride no the more proud men are the more the devill approves of them nor is it the devills office to condemne it is his office to execute he is the executioner not the Judge and what ever he condemneth any man for he will not condemne him for pride no nor for any sin So that when the Apostle saith Lest he fall into the condemnation of the devill it is as if he had said Lest he be condemned for the same sin that the devill was condemned for which was pride And it was pride for he is the right father of the Gnosticks arising out of a high opinion or conceit of his owne wisdome and knowledge Zophar sayd Job 11.12 Vaine man would be wise But is it an argument of a mans vanity that he would be wise it is a mans duty to be wise that 's a good desire why then doth he say Vaine man would be wise The meaning is Vaine man would be in account for wisdome he would be reckoned among wise men or he desires more to be thought wise then to be wise A vaine man indeed cannot desire any good but in reference to some evill that cleaves to it and upon that account he may desire to be wise The first sin came into the world by an attempt to get wisdome or by a proud thought in the hopes of attaining farther wisdome The wisdome which our first parents sought for was not wisdome to know God for that is the most excellent wisdom It is eternall life to know God So then it was not wisdome to know God but it was wisdome to be knowing as God which they affected they would be high and lifted up above the rate of a creature in knowledge and that was their ruine And I shall shew in two things why there is such a temptation in wisdome or the reason why when we have found out that which hath a shew of wisdome in it we are so forward to applaud our selves boast in it First 'T is so because wisdome is no common Commodity as I may say wisdome is but in few hands if you consider the multitude of men in the world Now that which few have all who have it are ready to be proud of No man is proud of that which is every mans no man is proud that he is a man or proud that he hath reason because that is common to all men but all men are not wise all men are not learned all men have not an improved wisdome reason and understanding that hath a peculiarity in it and therefore of that many are proud Secondly Wisdome is not only rare but very usefull and which reacheth this poynt more fully very ornamentall and how apt are we to be proud of our ornaments A man is not proud of his ordinary Clothes nor a woman of her every-day dresse but when a man or woman have their ornaments and Jewells on their Gay-cloathing and rich apparel on then they are apt to be proud and lifted up so it is in this case Wisdome is like Gay-cloathing it is a Jewell an ornament and therefore man is under a temptation when he hath any thing of wisdome especially any eminency of wisdome about him to be lifted up and despise others yea to arrogate great things to himselfe and to presume that he can doe no small matters with his braine or the engine of his understanding It is a great attainment to be full of knowledge and full of humility high in parts and lowly in spirit Lest ye should say we have found out wisdome God thrusteth him downe not man or as others read God hath cast him downe not man The Omnipotent doth Toss him not man saith Mr. Broughton The word signifies to toss a man as it were in a blanket That is to toss him as we please farre enough from his pleasure or to toss him in open view As if they had sayd see how the omnipotent tosseth this man The Omnipotent tosseth him not man There are two references of these words given by Expositers First Some expound them as the words of Elihu Secondly Others as the words of Jobs three friends First Lest ye should say we have found out wisdome I saith Elihu say God shall thrust him downe not man That 's the principle by which I will deale with Job and so thrust him downe from that opinion which he hath of himselfe and humble him that 's the sence of the words thrust him downe according to this interpretation God shall doe it and not man Some of the learned insist much upon this
concerning the state of his Church to the end of the world revealed to him in severall visions I saith he Rev. 1.10 was in the spirit on the Lords day c. That 's is a famous promise which was first reported by the Prophet Joel Chap 2.28 and after repeated by the Apostle Peter Acts 2.17 I will poure out my Spirit upon all flesh c. and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams Thus it is every where clear in Scripture that dreames and visions were frequent both in the Old Testament times and in the beginning of the New But now in these last dayes as the Apostle saith Heb. 1.2 3. passing from those former wayes of Revelation described in the first verse God having spoken to us by his Son whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the Worlds who is also the brightnesse of his glory and the expresse Image of his person God I say having spoken to us by his Son and we having now a clearer manifestation of the mind of God then the old fathers had the Son who once spake to us in person on earth still speaking to us in the Gospell every day therefore now for any to look after dreams and visions or visible apparitions for the revealing of the mind of God is to goe backward to the old state of the Jewish Church or to the infancy of the Gospell Church while the Canon or Rule of the Scripture as to all matters of faith and holy life was not fully finished and compleated And though we ought to be farre from limiting God yet he hath limited us from looking after any wisdome in the knowledge of his will above that which is written 1 Cor. 4.6 The Apostle also testifying by the Spirit of God that the Scripture is sufficient to make every man wise to salvation and the man of God perfect throughly furnished unto all good works that good work especially of helping others to salvation 1 Tim. 3.15.17 Ardentibus votu precatus sum ut daret mihi deus certuÌ„ sensum scripturae et pactum feci cum domino deo meo ne mihi visiones vel somnia mitteret Luth. loci com quartae clasâ—is Luther observing how many were deluded in his time by dreames and visions which they falsely attributed to God as the immediate Author of them earnestly prayed about two things First that God would give him a sound understanding of his mind revealed in the Scriptures Secondly that he would nor send him dreames or visions yea saith he I even contracted with God that he would not And doubtlesse he did this upon a double ground First to oppose the wild opinions and practices of those who had nothing to pretend for them but dreames and visions Secondly to advance the honour of the written word in its sufficiency not only without the help of any humane tradition but without any further divine revelation And therefore though God should please to speak to us now by dreames and visions yet that were only as the Apostle speaks about his adding of an oath to his promise Heb. 6.17 to shew that he is ex abundanti more abundantly willing to satisfie our weaknesse by such a condiscention then that there is a necessity of it with respect to any deficiency of the Scriptures fullnesse And hence it is that if men shall professe they have received any thing from God by dreams or visions concerning what is either to be beleeved or done the matter of those dreams must be examined and weighed at the ballance of the Scriptures and is no further to be credited then as 't is found agreeable thereunto It cannot be denyed but that men may make profitable use of their dreames at this day they may see much of themselves when their eyes are shut up by sleepe Evill men may see their lusts at worke in the night and find out what lust is most working and wakefull in them What is said in History of the ancient Persian Kings that they were seldome seen in the day but came to view in the night is true of a mans speciall sin or of that sin which reignes and Kings it in him What ugly apparitions of lust hath many a man in his nightly dreams especially of those filthy lusts which are most proper to the night Thus also good men have sometimes a clearer sight of their graces in the night by dreames then in the duties of the day What holy frames of heart what lively actings of grace what sweet and ravishing communion with God have many godly men found and felt in dreames That may at lest be somewhat of Davids meaning when he said Psal 16.17 My reines also instruct me in the night season Lastly Though we cannot make any certaine conclusions either what we are or what we are to doe from dreames yet from them they who are wise and watchfull may sometimes gather strong conjectures about both or either To make dreames the rule or warrant of what we doe is extreamly dangerous yet that we may have hints what to do in a dreame I nothing doubt nor can there be any danger in it while the matter hinted is consonant to the rule of the word both as that which is lawfull to be done and lawfull for us all circumstances considered to doe Otherwise whatsoever we may think our selves warned or warranted to doe by dreames is but a mock or trick put upon us by the Devill or a deceit of our own foolish selfish hearts Thus we have seene the first way of Gods speaking to men of old by dreames and visions of the night what work God is pleased to make with and in man by such speakings will appeare distinctly in the three following verses Vers 16. Then he openeth the ears of men and sealeth there instruction In this verse Elihu gives us the first of those gracious designes or purposes of God in sending dreams or visions of the night then he openeth the ears of men There is a twofold eare of man first externall that organ of hearing placed in the head Secondly internall that power of hearing seated in the heart God can uncover or open both There are but few who have their outward eare stopt we rarely meet with a deaf man But we every where meete with and speak to those who are internally deafe The Lord openeth this inward eare and he only is able to doe it God opened the heart or internall eare of Lydia to attend to the things which were spoken of Paul Acts 16.14 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sep. The Septuagint render this place of Job expressely so Then he openeth the mind of men Their translation comes close to the sence though not to the letter of the Originall Quidam hanc loquendi formulam natam esso putant ex hebraeorum consuetudine qui cum antiquis seculis prolixam alerent comam eaque aures operirent si quis
stile Psal 67.1 God be mercifull to us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us that is give us tokens and pledges of his favour Secondly How see we the face of God Doth not God tell Moses No man can see my face and live How then can the face of God be seene I answer The face of God which was touched before as taken for the essence of God or for his essentiall glory cannot be seene That 's too transcendent a glory for man to behold What we see of God is but some ray or beaming out of light and glory from himselfe we cannot see himselfe The essentiall or personall glory of God is that face which cannot be seene but the declarative glory of God is a face of God which may be clearely seene by faith in the light of his word and workes And to see the face of God is nothing else but for a man to know in himselfe as the Apostles word is in somewhat a parallel case Heb 10.34 that God is gracious to him that is to have an assurance of his favour or a reflect act of faith about it The holy Spirit sheweth us what God is and what the things of God are 1 Cor 2.12 We have received not the spirit of the world but the Spirit which is of God that we may know the things that are freely given to us of God that is that we mayâ—e enlightned with the knowledge of the grace goodness and favour of God to us discovered in the Gospel The Spirit sheweth us this blessed face of God and we see it by the actings of our faith all our visions of God in this life are visions of faith upon whose wings all our intellectuall powers soare aloft and are carried up to God Faith is not only a worke of the will in consent and application but a worke of the understanding by assent and knowledge Thus we see God as a Spirit is only to be seene with a spirituall eye The vision of God is intellectuall the vision of faith Videre faciem dei nihil aliud est quam sentire apud animum suum deum propitium Coc In Jubilo i. e. in quodam inexplicabili gaudio Aquin Thus the reconciled sinner finding God favourable to him he seeth his face with joy The word signifies joyfull acclamation or shouting for joy such as men use after great favours done them and benefits or rather bounties bestowed upon them There is a seeing of the face of God with terror so the wicked shall see God that is they shall have manifestations of Gods displeasure they shall be made to see him with shame and sorrow They shall say when they see him to the mountaines and rockes fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lambe They who never saw the face of God with joy shall see it with horror amazement Saints see it with joy they have unexpressible comfort and contentment in beholding God they shall rejoyce with shouting as in the yeare of Jubile when they sounded out their joyes with trumpets or made a joyfull noyse 'T is no ordinary but a triumphant joy with which the godly see the face of God Extraordinary sights affect with extraordinary joy Now the face of God being the highest and most glorious sight in the world it must needs affect the beholder with a glorious with a Jubilean joy He shall see his face with joy First It being sayd He shall see his face with joy upon his prayer and the humbling of himselfe before God Observe God hides or vayles his face till we humble our soules and seeke his face God will not be seene at all times no not by his owne people There are severall cases in which he turneth away his face in anger or drawes a curtaine as it were yea a cloud between himselfe and the soule And this he doth First and most usually to try his people how they can beare his withdrawings and to see whether or to what they will betake themselves when he takes himselfe so much from them that they cannot see him Secondly He doth it often to chasten and correct man for sin To be under the hidings of Gods face is the saddest effect of sin to a sencible or an awakened soule David made a grievous complaint because of this what ever the cause or occasion of it was Psal 13.1 The absence of God from him though possibly but for a short time was so tedious to him that he cryed out How long wilt thou forget me O Lord for ever How long wilt thou hide thy face from me Even Jesus Christ while he stood in the place of sinners bare the hiding of his fathers face as the summe of all those punishments which were due to and deserved by our sin This pressed him more then all bodyly sufferings and made him cry out while he hung upon the Crosse My God my God not why hast thou left me to be crucified but why hast thou forsaken me Math 27.46 Thirdly God hideth his face from some because the manifestations of it have not been received thankfully nor improved rightly We ought to give thankes for the light of the Sun shining in the ayre and also doe our worke in it Is it any wonder if God cloud and eclipse the light of his countenance towards those who neither prize it nor improve it If you would alwayes see the face of God then be ye alwayes seene at the worke and in the wayes of God Secondly Observe It is the sole priviledge of Gods Favourites or of those to whom he is favourable to see his face As no man can see that face of God his essentiall presence so none but Godly men shall see this face of God his comfortable or blessed-making presence Without holiness no man shall see the Lord Heb 12.14 There is a two-fold vision or sight of God and that negative assertion may be understood of either or of both There 's first a vision of God on earth thus we see his face as was shewed before in the actings of faith For though the Apostle opposeth these two faith and sight We walke by faith and not by sight 2 Cor 5.7 yet faith hath its sight we walke not by sight as the worldly men walk who doe as they see and make their eyes both the guide of their consciences and the in-bringers of their comforts we walke not by outward sight nor doe we make conclusions how to guide our conversations by what we see We walke by faith and that 's the sight which we have of God while we are here on earth which cannot possibly be without holiness faith being so great a part of our holiness and by drawing vertue from Christ dayly the maintainer of it all Secondly there is a sight of the face of God in glory And if none can enter into glory but holy men then no man without
Rom. 11.34 Who hath been his Councellor As God had none to counsel him concerning his eternal purposes so we must not adventure to counsel him as to his daylie providences or dispensations either toward our selves or others the true rule of our life is to yeild our selves to be ruled by God He will recompence it whether we chuse or whether we refuse And not I. As if he had said If thou wilt struggle with the will of God thou mayest but I will not God will go his own way and do as he sees good say thou what thou canst or howsoever it please or displease thee And for mine own part I dare not entertain or give way to a thought of prescribing to him in any of these things what he should do no nor be unsatisfied with much less censure what he hath done Therefore if thou canst acquit thy self of this crime and accusation which I have laid to thy charge as thou didst theirs who spake before do it say what thou canst for thy self Hence Note He that sees another do amiss ought to take heed of doing the like himself Again As these words and not I refer to the word recompence He will recompence whether thou chuse or whether thou refuse the meaning of them may be conceived as if Elihu had thus bespoken Job If thou dost smart for thy pride and the height of thy spirit if God pay thee home for it do not lay the fault upon me I have given thee counsel to direct thee better I desire not thou shouldest come under such a handling but certainly God will do it When we have declar'd the minde and will of God in the severity of his judgements upon sinners it is good for us to say God will do it and not we The Prophet Jeremiah chap. 17.16 having warned them of an evil day addes Nor have I desired the woful day Lord thou knowest it Jeremy had spoken woful things against that people but saith he I have not desired that woful day though I have prophesied of it So Elihu seems to speak he will recompence and not I though it be not in my minde yet I assure thee 't is the mind of God Yet further Some read these words with the former as an Interrogation or rebuking question made by God himself What Should you chuse and not I Election or choice is my priviledge not thine thou must not think to prescribe to me Verba Dei per Mimesmesse puto Merc. I will chasten and afflict as I think fit or according to my own will not according to thine Thus he brings in God speaking to Job thou findest thy self much aggrieved and complainest that thou art afflicted more then is meete It should seem then that I must do what thou thinkest fit not what I think fit my self Surely thou must give me the rule how much how long and in what manner I must correct both thy self and others Should you chuse and not I How uncomely Therefore speak what thou knowest Here Elihu gives Job time to reply as he had done at the 33d chap. vers 5. as if he had said If thou knowest any thing against what I have spoken or art able to make any objection against it speak if thou thinkest I have not spoken right shew me my errour and spare not Hence Note First When we have declar'd what we judge to be the minde of God in any case we should give others liberty of speaking their minds also This is my opinion speak what thou canst against it we should speak 2 Cor. 1.24 Not as having Dominion over the faith of others but as helpers of their joy The Ministers of Christ must speak as Servants to not as Lords of the faith of others Elihu did not carry it as a Lord over the faith of Job but left him to make good his own opinion and practise if he could Secondly Note Knowledge is the fountain of Speech We need no other light to speak by then that of reason the understanding should feed the Tongue we must not speak at a venture but keep to Rule and take our ayme The Apostle Paul tells us of some who make a great noise but know not what they say nor whereof they affirm 1 Tim 1.7 they speak they understand not what and vent what they can give no account of Speak what thou knowest Thirdly Note We should speak when called what we know Knowledge is a Talent and must not be hid in a Napkin if thou know better then I speak pray speak do not hide thy knowledge As Elihu would have Job speak in his own case so he inviteth others to speak about his case as it followeth in the next verse Vers 34. Let men of Vnderstanding tell me c. In this 34th verse Elihu turns his speech to Job's friends again presuming of or not questioning their consent to what he had said being confident that himself was in the right and that they were wise enough to apprehend it He was perswaded that all wise men either were or upon hearing the matter would be of his minde and that therefore what Job had spoken was very defective of wisdome as he concludes in the thirty-fifth verse Let men of understanding tell me c. He appeales to Jobs friends or any other men of understanding let them saith he Consider what I and he have spoken Viri cordis i. e. cordâ—ti cor notat fapientiam et carere cor dicitur qui descipit Cum Jobo non putat amplius producendum esse colloquium Quare viros vocat intelligentes Sanct. Et vir sapiens audit i. e. audiet me et mihi acquiescet in hoc Merc and give their judgement impartially concerning the whole matter in debate between him and Job Let men of understanding tell me c. The Hebrew is men of heart the heart is the seat of understanding according to Scripture language there we read of a wise heart and of an understanding heart and it saith of a foolish or indiscreete person he hath no heart he is a man without a heart Ephraim is a silly dove without a heart Hos 7.11 that is he doth not understand Mr Broughton translates Sad men of heart will speake as I and the wise person that heares me As in the former part of the verse Elihu called for speakers so in the latter he calleth for hearers Let men of understanding tell me And let a wise man hearken to me or as some render a wise man will hearken to me The word rendred hearken signifies more then to heare even to submit to obey a wise man will hearken to me that is he will assent to and consent with me he will vote with me and declare himselfe to be of my mind In that Elihu appealed to wise and understanding men Note First It is not good to stand to our owne Judgements altogether in dealing with the Consciences of others Let wise men let men of understanding