enumerate the particular evill acts he had committed and was guilty of yet doubtlesse he had them as a burden upon his heart and was willing to unburden himselfe of them one by one in a hearty and heart-afflicting confession The publican Luke 18.13 stood a far off and durst not lift up his eyes to heaven but only sayd God be mercifull to me a sinner He struck at all his sins though he did not by name touch any one of them He that saith knowing what he saith I have sinned will not hide any one of his sins And he that indeed and truth confesseth any one will cover none of his sins Those sins may be pardoned which are not expressely confessed but if we conceale or hide any sin and will not bring it forth in confession we cannot in faith expect the pardon of it Againe Consider the time or season when the Lord looked for this confession It was a time of trouble and affliction of paine and sorrow the man was sick or but in a way of recovery out of his sickness Hence note Times of affliction are speciall times of confession and repentance Confession of sin must not be omitted especially not neglected in our most comfortable dayes much lesse in a day of trouble A sad and troubled state calls us aloud to a gracious sadness of heart to the search of our hearts and lives which are preparatory to repentance and Godly sorrow Usually in prosperity men will not be at leisure to search their hearts and take notice of their sins Therefore the Lord draweth them to confession by drawing them from the world by laying them upon their sick beds or by bringing them into straites And as when affliction is upon persons or families then is a speciall time to confesse personall and family sins so to confesse national sins is most seasonable when affliction hath seized upon kingdomes and nations The want and neglect of that publicke confession and sorrow in such a day is mightily aggravated and most severely threatned Isa 22.12 13 14. God looketh and loveth to heare every man saying and a whole nation as one man saying in a day of sorrow and trouble I have sinned and perverted that which was right From the latter words I have perverted that which was right or the Law Note First The law of God is the rule of righteousness a right rule All rightness and righteousness is comprehended in it and measured by it Secondly Learne Sin is a perverting of that which is right Every the least sin is so in some degree though here possibly sins are intended of any even of the highest degree The Apostle defining sin calleth it 1 John 3.4 A transgression of the Law and if so it must needs be a perverting of that which is right For what is or can be right if the rule of righteousness be not What the Apostle spake to Elymas Acts 13.10 Wilt thou not cease to pervert the right wayes of the Lord shewes the nature and effect of every sin and the more sinfull any sin is by so much the more doth it pervert that which is right Some sinners are sayd to make voyd the law of God to pervert it as if they would quite subvert and disanull it David remembers God of such and desires him to look to them betimes Psal 119.126 It is time for thee to work for they have made voyd thy law That is they have done their best or worst rather their utmost to make it voyd and of no force 'T is not in the power of all the powers of the world to vacat rescind or null one tittle of the law of God heaven and earth shall passe away before that yet many attempt it yea some doe that which will be found and interpreted a making voyd of the law of God who thinke themselves great zelotes for or very zealous of the law That will be the case of many especially of all will-worshippers Againe Consider though the person here spoken of had not only sinned but perverted that which was right that is sinned perversly yet upon confession the Lord deales graciously with him Hence Note The free grace of God extends to the pardon of the greatest sins even sins of perversness Where sin aboundeth Grace aboundeth much more Rom 5.20 whether the abounding of sin be taken in the number of it or in the weight of it that is in the greatness and aggravations of it Grace hath its sutable super-abounding Num 23.21 When Balaam would shew that the people of Israel were a people impenetrable by his curses he saith The Lord hath seen no iniquity in Jacob nor perversness in Israel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The word there used is of a different root from this in the text but the sence is the same implying if the Lord had seen perversness in Israel it would have layd them open to a curse yet sins made up of perversness are within the compass of a pardon There is no sin excepted from pardon but that which at once refuseth and despiseth it the sin against the holy Ghost Math◠12.31 This should not incourage any to sin perversly only it is a comfort to those who have They who have sinned perversly or who have perversness mingled with their sin should not cast off the hope of pardon but woe to those who sin perversly that is against the light of their owne consciences upon hopes of pardon Such persons have no true hope they may have much presumption that they shall be pardoned They who having sinned perversly confesse it have good ground to pray for pardon but they who goe on sinning perversly have no ground while they doe so to hope for it This text speakes of a person confessing and bewayling that he hath sinned perversely not of a person purposing to sin so as appeares further in the last clause of the verse If any say I have sinned and perverted that which is right And it profiteth me not Here 's another poynt of confession we must not only confesse that we have sinned but the fruitlessness of sin or that sin profiteth not There are two rendrings and so two severall expositions of these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 potest esse verbum potest esse et nomen faemininum Vnde sensus est non accepi tantundem non reposita est mihi par paena pro peccato meo Coc Non dignè in me inquisivit pro his quae poccavi Sept The word signifieth most properly that which is equall And hence some give the sence thus which carrieth in it an eminent work of repentance I have sinned and perverted that which was right and have not that which is equall That is Though I am greatly afflicted and my sorrows lye heavie upon me yet they are not equall to my sinning or perverse dealings with the Lord. I have not received as I was worthy or according to my ill deservings The Septuagint speak thus God hath not made
say it Againe When Elihu saith Thou hast spoken in my hearing and I have heard the voyce of thy words He would convince Job to the utmost Hence note To accuse or condemne any man out of his owne mouth must needs stop his mouth Or To be condemned out of our owne mouth is an unanswerable condemnation When our owne sayings are brought against us what have we to say Christ told the evill and unprofitable servant who would needs put in a plea for his idleness and excuse himselfe for hideing his Lords talent in a napkin that is for not using or improving his gift Luk 19.22 Out of thine owne mouth will I judge thee thou wicked servant I will goe no further then thy owne words And we see as that evill servant had done nothing before so then he could say nothing because judged out of his owne mouth When the offenders tongue condemneth him who can acquit him Psal 64.8 So they shall make their owne tongue to fall upon themselves The tongues of some men have fallen upon them and crusht them like a mountaine and they have been pressed downe yea irrecoverably oppressed with the weight of their owne words The Apostle Jude tells us what the Lord will do when he comes to Judgement in that great and solemne day of his second Appearing v 15. He shall convince all that are ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him He shall say to them are not these your words can you deny them or have you any plea for them Have you not spoken these things in my hearing And have I not heard the voyce of your words speaking thus and thus reproachfully of my wayes ordinances and servants This is like wounding a man with his own weapon 't is like the act of David in cutting off the head of Goliah with his owne sword He that is condemned by his owne saying dyeth by his own sword David saith of sychophants and slanderers Psal 55.21 Their words were smoother then oyle yet were they drawne swords Such draw these swords with an intent to wound other mens reputation or good name but they oftenest wound their owne And as their words who slander others rebound upon themselves and turne to their owne disgrace so also doe theirs for the most part who are much in commending or possibly only which was Jobs case in vindicating themselves Surely thou hast spoken in my hearing c. But what had Elihu heard Job speake the next words are an answer or declare the matter of his speech and in them as was said before in opening the Context Elihu first chargeth him with an over-zeale in justifying himselfe I have heard the voyce of thy words saying Vers 9. I am cleane without transgression I am innocent neither is there iniquity in me This thou hast sayd and this I charge upon thee as a great iniquity For the clearing of these words I shall doe these foure things because upon this charge the whole discourse of Elihu throughout the Chapter depends First I shall give the sence and explication of the words as here expressed by Elihu and some briefe notes from them Secondly I shall shew what matter of accusation or of fault there is in these words of Job as brought by Elihu in charge against him or how sinfull a thing it is for any man to say he is without sin Thirdly I shall enquire what ground Job had given Elihu to charge him with saying these things Fourthly which followeth upon the third I shall inquire whether Elihu dealt rightly and fairely with Job in bringing thi sore and severe charge against him First To open the words as they are an assertion Thou hast sayd I am cleane without transgression I am innocent neither is there iniquity in me Some distinguish the three terms used in the text as a deniall of three severall sorts of sin First That by being cleane without transgression he intends his freedome from sins against sobriety or that he had not sinn'd against himselfe Secondly that by being innocent his meaning is he had not done impiously against God Thirdly that by having no iniquity in him he cleares himselfe of wrong done to man These three sorts of sin containe sin in the whole latitude of it All sin is either against our selves strictly called intemperance or against God strictly called impiety or against man strictly called unrighteousnesse But though this hath a truth in it as to the distinction of sins yet it may be over-nice to conclude Elihu had such a distinct respect in these distinct expressions And it may be questioned whether the words will beare it quite thorow Therefore I passe from it and leave it to the readers Judgement Further as to the verse in generall we may take notice that the same thing is sayd foure times twice affirmatively I am cleane I am innocent And twice negatively I am without transgression There is no iniquity in me I am cleane without transgression The word which we render cleane implyeth the cleanest of cleannesse 't is rightly opposed to the word transgression which signifieth a defection or turning off from God Every sin in the nature of it is a defection from God but some sins are an intended or resolved defection from him Some even throw off the soveraignty of God over them and his power to command them not being willing to submit their backs to his burden nor their necks to his yoke These are justly called sons of Belial they not only transgresse the Law but throw off the yoke of Christ from their necks and his burden from their shoulderS and say like them Luke 19.14 We will not have this man reigne over us So then when Job sayd I am cleane without transgression he may be very well understood thus Though I have many failings yet I am free from defection though I have many weaknesses yet I am free from rebellion and obstinacy I still retaine an entire love to God and am ready to submit to his will though I often find my heart through corruption rising up against my duty I am turned aside through the strength of temptations but I turne not aside through the bent of my affections This doubtlesse or somewhat like this was Job's sence when ever he sayd I am cleane without transgression Hence note First Transgression is a pollution or Sin is a defilement If once men step over or besides the line and rule of holinesse the Law of God which to doe is transgression they become unholy Job supposed himselfe uncleane if guilty of transgression Sin is an uncleane thing and it maketh man uncleane This the Church confessed Isa 64.6 We all are as an unclean thing or person As if they had said Time was when there was a choice people among us who kept themselves pure from common defilements But now the contagion and corruption is so epidemicall and universal
eternall death or going downe to the pit of hell Fourthly In that this word deliver him is given to the messenger Observe God conveighs deliverance and mercy to us by men like our selves He will have the creature beholding to the creature for his mercy though mercy come freely and only from himselfe God delivereth the sick and the sinner in such a method that we may owne though not stay in his messengers as the instruments of his favour God who can doe all things by himselfe will not doe many things but by meanes He saith to the messenger Deliver him from going downe to the pit You will say How can a Minister or a Messenger deliver the sick from going downe to the pit I answer as was touched before he delivers him by declaring to him the minde of God by acquainting the sick with the promises of deliverance and by pressing him to believe and rest upon them by assuring him that as God is able to performe the promise so he is faithfull and willing to performe it yea that he hath given some tokens for good that he will deliver him from going downe to the pit Thus the worke of Gods free grace mercy and power is oftentimes attributed to instruments and second causes because they have their place and use in the bringing about the purposes of God for the good of his people Hence some men are called Saviours And Saviours shall come up on mount Zion Obad v. 21. No man can save either from temporall or eternall destruction He that is our God is the God of salvation and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death Ps 68.20 yet saith the Prophet there shall come Saviours that is God will rayse up worthy men principall men as another Prophet cals them Mic 5.5 who shall destroy Zions enemies Thus Paul admonisheth Timothy Take heed to thy selfe and to thy doctrine continue in them for in so doing thou shalt save thy selfe and them that heare thee 1 Tim 4.16 The Apostle James Chap 5.20 speakes the same thing He which converteth a sinner from the errour of his way shall save a soule from death and shall hide a multitude of sins And the same Apostle faith as to the case in the text at the 15th verse of the same Chapter The prayer of faith shall save the sicke Though none can save yet many are means of our salvation And the Lord is pleased to honour those who are the meanes of any salvation so farre as to say They save It is indeed the duty of all to ascribe the all of every worke and piece of salvation and deliverance to God only When the people stood wondering at Peter and John after they had healed the lame man Peter answered Acts 3.12 Ye men of Israel why marvel ye at this or why looke ye so earnestly on us as if we by our own power or holiness had made this man to walke The God of Abraham c. hath glorified his Son Jesus As if they had said Therefore doe ye also glorifie him not us for delivering this lame man Though God is pleased to put much honour upon man by speaking of what himselfe doth as if man had done it yet he will not give the glory of what he doth to any man nor may any take it God saith to the messenger deliver him from going downe to the pit but woe to that messenger who saith when he is delivered I have delivered him from going downe to the pit Thus we see the spring of the sick mans recovery it is from the graciousness of God and we see the meanes of it God gives a warrant to his messenger saying Deliver him from going down to the pit But what is the procuring or meritorious cause of this deliverance As the Text hath shewed us the first moving cause The grace of God so it shewes us the meritorious cause by which his deliverance is procured Things are so ordered in the Covenant of grace that though the Lord acts with infinite freeness yet he hath appointed and ordered a way in which alone he will doe what he freely doth This is expressed in the last clause of the verse Fer I have found a ransome But where did God find it certainly in his own bosome in his own heart Jesus Christ came out of the bosome of the Father there he was God found him in and with himself God did not find the ransome by chance nor did he find it by advice and consultation with others but he found it in himself in his own infinite wisdome and goodness that is he contrived it he invented i◠there This rare this most excellent thing a ransome is the Lords own invention I have found it I know how to doe this man good I know how to save him and doe my own honour and Justice no hurt no wrong my honour is saved Verbum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 denotet expiationem aut redemptionem tum etiam pretium quod pro redemptione offertur Significat etiam cooperire linire aut operire bitumine quasi pristinam faciē rei alicujus aut immunditiem abscondere quod elegantèr refertur ad ab stertionem peccati Pined my Justice is satisfied in doing it I have found a ransome The word here rendred a ransome signifies in the Verb to cover or to hide that which before lay open that it appeare no more Grace brings another face upon things a new face I may say upon our souls The covering of sin elegantly denotes the pardon of sin And what reason have we to be thankfull and rejoyce when sin our soul durt and deformity is covered We have very foul faces I meane outward conversations and more foul souls or inward inclinations till the Lord is graciously pleased to put a covering upon them If we cover our own sins we shall have no mercy but if the Lord once cover our sins he cannot deny us mercy that being it self our greatest mercy and the fruit of his great mercy The Mercy-seat so famous in the Mosaicall Poedogogy is exprest by this word which properly signifieth a Covering The Mercy-seat was it self a Covering of pure gold laid over the Arke in which Arke the Law was put Exod. 25.17.21 Thou shalt put the Mercy-seat above upon the Arke and in the Ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee And as the dimensions of the Arke were two Cubits and a halfe in length and a Cubit and a half in breadth so the same were the dimensions of the Mercy-seat Vers 10.17 which figured that as the Mercy-seat fully covered the Arke wherein the Law was so Christ should fully cover all our sins which are transgressions of the Law The righteousness of Christ is as long and as broad as the Law and so our sins being covered with that shall never appeare against us Therefore also from above this Mercy-seat between the two Cherubims the Lord said vers 22. I will meete thee and I will
have performed the commandement of the Lord he was his owne trumpeter and would needs tell the story of his doings himselfe though he had done his businesse to halves Come thou blessed of the Lord I have performed the commandement of the Lord as if it would not serve him to doe his duty unlesse Samuel had seene and taken notice of him Abraham gave proofe of the highest act of faith that ever was in the world yet did Abraham say Come see my faith Moses led the people of Israel forty yeares in the wildernesse through a series of wonderfull tryalls and temptations to the very borders of Canaan which was one of the highest services that ever man undertook and was faithfull in all his house Heb 4.2 yet did he say Come see my fidelity Joshua victoriously expelled the Cananites and divided their land by lot among the tribes of Israel yet did he say Come see my fortitude We heare not a word of any of their doings from those who were sincere When we see men forward to invite the approbation of others by making reports of their good deeds it gives a strong argument of suspicion that they have done what they have done with a bad heart or that as it is sayd of Jehu they have not sought God with all their hearts But some may object Did not Samuel proclaime his own integrity before all the people 1 Sam 12.3 Whose oxe have I taken or whose asse have I taken or whom have I defrauded whom have I oppressed or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith I answer Samuel spake this to upbraid their ingratitude and discontent not to extoll his owne justice yea some conceive that he made this challenge to give Saul a patterne how he ought to governe rather then to commend his owne government I find the Apostle Paul making large reports of his owne both doings and sufferings 2 Cor 11. But if we peruse that Chapter we shall find him hovering in a suspence of doubts and feares whether or no it were convenient or comely for him to doe so How many preambles and Apologyes did he make before he fell directly upon that unpleasing subject Would to God ye could beare with me in my folly saith he and indeed beare with me And againe I speake as it were foolishly in this confidence of boasting And yet all that he spake was not to make a boast of himselfe but to vindicate his Apostleship from unjust and envious calumniations 'T is most certaine He that is sincere desires not to be open but silently satisfieth his soule with the conscience of doing his duty and takes more content in knowing his own integrity then in knowing that others know it Vertue looseth nothing of her value in his esteeme no nor of her lustre in his eye because she is hidden from the eyes of men Like the earth in this poynt he keepes his richest mineralls and most precious gems of grace and goodness below in his bowells or at the center of his heart and will not let them be seene till a kind of necessity diggs them out When Moses after his forty dayes neere accesse to and communion with God in the Mount perceived that his face did shine Exod 34.33 he put a vayle upon it every true Moses whose acquaintance and fiduciall familiarity with God hath stampt upon him the impressions of divine light is so farre from affecting to dazzle the eyes of others with it that he rather puts a vayle of gracious modesty upon it and will not let so much as the light of his good workes be seene but as thereby in which case Christ commands it Math 5.16 He may glorifie his father which is in heaven And herein a Christian followeth the example of Christ in whom though the Godhead dwelt bodily yet he rarely shewed his divine power And when once by a miracle he had made the blind see he also by command made them dumbe concerning that miracle Math 9.30 See that no man know it It was our Saviours counsel to all his followers Mat 6.5 Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth and it was his consolation to them in the next words Your father which seeth in secret himselfe shall reward you openly yea which is a higher consolation then that Himselfe will be your reward Secondly As the designing hypocrite desires to be seene in doing good or to have the good which he hath done seene so he is exceeding censorious and rigid towards those whom he sees falling into evill Christ gives this discovery also Math 7.3 Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brothers eye but considerest not the beame that is in thine owne eye concluding at the 5th verse Thou hypocrite why doth Christ call him hypocrite surely because he was so quick-sighted to see a mote that is a smaller fault in his brothers eye but tooke no notice of the beame that was in his owne eye a spot upon his brothers coate was censured more by him then his owne wallowing in the mire I doe not say that the Patriarke Judah was an hypocrite but as those two other Patriacks so he acted one very grosse part of hypocrisie Gen. 38.24 For he no sooner heard that Tamor was with childe but he censured yea condemn'd her presently to death Bring her forth sayd he and let her be burnt and yet himselfe was more faulty then she How hard a Judge was he of that crime in another which was principally his owne Saul had sinned greatly 1 Sam 13.9 in offering sacrifice before Samuel came which was an usurpation of the Priests office and so great a sin that Samuel told him presently God would therefore rend the Kingdome from him yet he thought to put it off with a slight excuse But in the 14th Chapter when Jonathan only offended against a rash command of his putting a Curse upon that people if any did eate before the going downe of the Sun he sentenced him to death for it In the 8th of John How severe were the Pharisees to the woman taken in Adultery they haled her before Christ and pressed the Law that she should be stoned to death yet when Christ sayd v. 7. He that is without sin among you let him first cast a stone at her they being convicted by their owne conscience went out one by one We ought to reprove and not flatter sin in others yet they who are extreamely severe against a sin in others usually favour either the same or a worse in themselves He that is sincere piâ—tieth others as much as reproves them and he reproves them though wiâ—h sharpness yet with meekness at once considering himselfe lest he also be tempted Gal 6.1 and blessing God who hath kept him in or from these temptations Thirdly The designing hypocrite discovers himselfe by laying downe or departing from the profession of religion when his worldly ends are attained Feined zeale cooles or abates is lesse and