on earth praying for those that live on earth Job was alive in the body and so were those three men to whom the Lord said My servant Job shall pray for you The Lord having assured Eliphaz and his two friends that Job would pray for them giveth them encouâ—agement to go and desiâ—e his prayers by a gracious promise For saith he him will I accept and threatneth them in case they should forbear in the next words Lest I deal with you according to your folly in that ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right like my servant Job First Of the gracious promise him will I accept The Hebrew saith his face will I lift up Acceptation with God is the lifting up of the face of man then man lifteth up his face with boldness when he is accepted with God When God refused to accept Cain and his offering his countenaâ—ce fell or was cast down Gen. 4.5 Unless the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon us as David prayed Psal 4.6 we cannot with any comfort much less with true confidence lift up our face or countenance unto God That 's the significancy of the word Him will I accept God is no accepter of persons as the word is often used in Scripture Deut. 10.17 The Lord is a great God mighty and terrible which regardeth not persons It is the same phrase in the Hebrew with this in the Text he lifteth not up faces that is the Lord doth not accept persons upon any outward respect First The Lord doth not accept persons for their personableness as I may say the Lord doth not delight in any mans legs his delight is in them that fear him Psal 147.10 11. he doth not accept men for their goodly stature as he told Samuel when he would needs have poured the oile upon the first-born of the Sons of Jesse 1 Sam. 16.7 Look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature because I have refused him for the Lord seeth not as man seeth for man looketh on the outward appearance but the Lord looketh on the heart 'T is the beauty of holiness and integrity in the heart not the beauty of fairness upon the face with which God is taken 't is a lowly mind not a high stature which God accepts Secondly The Lord is no accepter of persons as to the nation or country where they were born or live Thus the Apostle Peter spake Acts 10.35 I perceive that God is no respecter of persons but in every Nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him God doth not prefer Jews before Gentiles Barbarians or Scythians that a man had his birth in this or that Nation neither helps nor hinders acceptation with God Thirdly The Lord accepteth no mans person for his riches Prov. 11.4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath No mans person is acceptable to God for his purse or his penny no not at all Fouâ—thly The Lord â—ccepteth no mans person for his worldly greatness honour and dignity He poureth contempt upon Princes Psal 107.40 The day of the Lord is against the hills and mountains Isa 2.14 The great God regardeth not any man meerly for greatness the Lord accepts no mans person upon these or any such like accounts He only accepts the persons of those that fear him and do his will Suscipit faciem Deus quando precantem câ—audit The Lords acceptance of any person in the sense of this promise concerning Job is First To shew favour and manifest affection to him Secondly To honour aâ—d highly esteem him Thirdly Which is here specially intended to answer his prayers and grant his requests not only for himself but for others When a person is once accepted his prayers shall not be denied nor suffer a repulse The Lord accepteth persons as a King the persons of those loyal Subjects who come to intreat his favour and pardon for those that have offended him and rebelled against him he grants their suit and treats them fairly In this sense the Lord maketh promise to Eliphaz and his two friends that he will accept Job Hence Observe First It is a very high favour and priviledge to be accepted of God Him will I accept saith the Lord of Job This was a favour beyond all the favours that follow after in the close of the book about the doubling of his estate If Jacob Gen 32.20 was so taken with a hope of acceptance by his brother Esau Peradventure he will accept me If when he was accepted by Esau he said chap. 33.10 I have seen thy face as though I had seen the face of God and thou wast pleased with me Then how much more should we rejoyce in this assurance that God hath accepted of us and that he is pleased with us If the Apostle Rom. 15.3 prayed so earnestly and desired others to strive with him in prayer to God that his service which he had for Jerusalem might be accepted of the Saints then how much more should we pray that our services may be accepted of God and rejoyce when they are accepted The Apostle made it his chief work to get acceptation with God 2 Cor. 5.9 Wherefore we labour that whether present or absent that is whether living or dying we may be accepted with him we are ambitious of divine acceptation The word which we translate labour noteth a labouring after honour which ambitious men labour much after implying that to be accepted with the Lord is a very high honour indeed the highest honour There is a two-fold acceptation First Of our persons Secondly Of our services The former is the ground of the latter and Jesus Christ is the foundation of both Ephes 1.6 He through glorious grace hath made us accepted in the beloved Jesus Christ is so dearly beloved of the father that he is called The Beloved as if only beloved The acceptation of our services is often promised in Scripture as a high favouâ— Exod. 28.38 Ezek. 20.40 41. Isa 56.7 This Moses prayed for in the behalf of the Tribe of Levy which Tribe was appointed to offer sacrifice and to pray for the people Deut. 33.11 Bless Lord his substance and accept the work of his hands What was the work of Levies hands it was to offer sacrifice to which prayer and intercession was joyned That Levi who had the priest-hoâ—d fixed in the family of Aaron should be accepted in the work of his hands was a blessing not only to himself but to many more This David prayed earnestly for Psal 19.14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight O Lord my strength and my redeemer He put up a like prayer Psal 119.108 Accept I beseech thee the free-will-offerings of my mouth O Lord. This was the prayer of Araunah for David 2 Sam. 24.23 The Lord thy God accept thee So great a priviledge it is for our persons and services to be accepted with the Lord
AN EXPOSITION WITH Practical Observations CONTINUED UPON The Thirty-eighth Thirty-ninth Fortieth Forty-first and Forty-second being the five last Chapters of the Book OF JOB Being the Substance of Fifty-two Lectures or Meditations By JOSEPH CARYL Minister of the Gospel JAMES 5.11 Ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord that the Lord is pitiful and of tender mercy LONDON Printed by M. and S. Simmons and are to be sold by Robert Boulter at the turks-Turks-head near the Royal Exchange 1666. TO THE Christian Reader TO Those especially of the City of London who have been THE PROMOTERS Of this WORK SIRS THE end of a thing saith Solomon Eccl. 7 8. is better than the beginning thereof Not that all things end better than they begin some persons begin well and some things are begun well which end and are ended not so well that I say not very ill Through the All-disposing providence of God and the importunate call of not a few worthy friends I began this Work and now after twenty-four years travel making twelve stages in so many parts the whole is come forth I am come to the end of it And truly I might justly be reproved at least for dulness and indiligence or counted a very slow-paced Traveller had I spent that twenty-four years the best of my time and strength in measuring so short a journey But as I have this to say towards an Apology for my over-long stay in this work that I have had frequent diversions for a considerable part of that time quite from it so the whole time which I have spent in it hath been but a diversion or time I hope honestly stoln either from my rest or from that which was my more proper work And now that I have at last ended what I began all that I shall say of it is that I have ended it Whether I began it well or have ended it well and whether or no the end be better than the beginning is not for me to say Should I say that I began it well and have ended it well or that the end is better than the beginning it were a piece of most immodest pride and should I say the contrary of both or of either it might deservedly be called more than a piece of proudest modesty Such as it is from the beginning to the end 't is what my weakness with the strength of Christ given in what my small industriousness with the blessing given down from above could attain unto And I humbly give thanks to the Father of lights from whom every good gift and every perfect gift cometh for any light received or held out towards the understanding of this Book in which who sees not there are many things as the Apostle Peter saith of Saint Pauls Epistles hard to be understood so hard to be understood that though I am confident through the grace of God with me I have not wrested them to my own hurt or the hurt much less destruction of others as 't is there said the ignorant and unstable do the other Scriptures to their own destruction yet I am not ashamed to acknowledge that I fear I have not attained so clear an understanding about some of them as to clear them which hath been my desire with satisfaction to the understanding of others However if what I have attained to may be in any measure serviceable to the Church of God or helpful to any poor soul in an afflicted condition such was Jobs I have reached one great end aimed at and if God have any glory by it I have reached the greatest end which can be aimed at And though the work should be found to have many defects possibly mistakes in it yet the ingenuous Reader will candidly interpret them or charitably cover them knowing that failings are common to humane frailty in the best of men how much more in the meanest of them And I shall account it a great kindness if I may be friendly minded of those defects that so if ever any of these Pieces shall be admitted to come out again an amendment may be made and the Work grow up to more perfection This last Part now coming forth contains the whole transaction from first to last between God and Job none speaking but they two and Job but very little Elihu having finisht his speech in the close of the thirty seventh Chapter the Lord himself appeared at the entrance of the thirty eighth in a Majestick and tremendous manner bespeaking Job out of a vehement and tempestuous whirlwind and taking up the same argument which Elihu had so much insisted upon before for the conviction of Job carrieth him in discourse quite through the universe thereby farther to convince him by the view and consideration of his mighty and admirable works of creation and providence how ignorant and weak he was in himself how altogether unable and incompetent to contend with God and therefore how rash and inconsiderate he had been in not submitting how great soever his sufferings were more quietly to him And as Elihu said Chap. 35.11 That God teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth and maketh us wiser than the fowls of Heaven so doubtless one great scope which the Lord had in his eye throughout that discourse was to teach Job and with him us that his care was much more over him and is over us than over the beasts of the earth or the fowls of heaven And hereupon having shewed his own infinite power and wisdom as also his goodness and tender compassions in providing for all sorts of irrational living creatures he left Job and leaves us to make the Inference how watchful he is over how respectful to man a rational as well as a living creature Our blessed Saviour preaching upon the same subject to his Disciples expresseth the Inference Mat. 6.26 Behold the fowls of the air for they sow not neither do they reap nor gather into barns yet yâ—â— heavenly father feedeth them are ye not much better than they And again vers 30. Wherefore it God so cloath the grass of the field which to day is and to morrow is cast into the oven shall he not much more cloath you O ye of little faith Jesus Christ saw it necessary to make these express applications to his Disciples who at that time were both of little faith and of little understanding But here the Lord left Job a wise and knowing man to pick or spell out his meaning and make application to himself while he told him so particularly how his providence at once over-ruled maintained The roaring Lion the wild Goat the wilde Ass the stubborn Unicorn the strong Horse the mighty Behemoth among the beasts of the earth the devouring Raven the proud Peacock the foolish Ostrich the swift winged Hawk and the high-soaring Eagle among the fowls of the air as also the formidable Leviathan among or rather representing all the fishes of the Sea
Job having with steddy yet trembling attention heard all these words spoken to him with irrefragable authority by the Lord himself out of the whirlwind sate down convinced that surely the great God the Creator of the ends of the earth who had so exact an eye upon all those creatures both for the continuance of their species or kinds and the preservation of their individuals or particulars could not possibly cast off the care of man-kind nor of him in particular no nor put any man to any hardship or suffering but for some great end or ends glorious always to himself and in the issue good for the wise and patient sufferer He was also convinced that himself not well understanding the mysteries of providence nor indeed could any more fully understand them than he did the mysteries of creation or the manner how God laid the foundations of the earth and shut up the sea with doors he I say not well understanding the mysteries of providence was convinced that he had done very ill to make such long and loud complaints about it that is about the severity of Gods dealings with him as if like an enemy he intended him nothing but pain and sorrow by the pains and sorrows which he endured Thus at last Job began to see that as being himself Gods creature God might do with him what he pleased and that God being his absolute Soveraign could not wrong him whatever he was pleased to do with him so that forasmuch as God was so careful of and kind to those inferior reasonless creatures there was no shadow of a reason why he should have the least jealousie of Gods kindness to him and regard of him much less make such an out-cry that God was unkind to and regardless of Him whom he had not only ennobled as the rest of mankind with reason but renewed by grace and filled with the holy fear of his great and glorious name These impressions being made upon Job by the mighty power of God speaking to him out of the whirlwind he presently cryed out as fast against himself and against his own ignorance and rashness as he had done before concerning the harshness of his sufferings under the hand of God confessing chap. 40.4 Behold I am vile what shall I answer thee And chap. 42.3 6. I have uttered that I understood not things too wonderful for me which I knew not wherefore I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes Job being thus humbled and melted down Job who was lately in the dust of dishonour and almost in the dust of death being thus brought to the dust of repentance the Lord suffered him not to lye long there but quickly raised him up out of all his sufferings and passing by all his mispeakings while sufferings lay heavy upon him he The Lord passed sentence upon or gave judgment against Eliphaz and his two friends as not having spoken of him the thing that was right as his servant Job and not only so but commanded them to do him right by acknowledging that they had wronged him why else were they ordered by the Lord to go unto him as a mediator for their peace why else were they ordered by the Lord to bring their sacrifice unto him that he offering it up and praying for them the wrath of God which was kindled against them might be quenched and they received into favour All these offices of love Job freely did for them and no sooner had he done them but God heaped favours upon him doubling his former substance and causing all his former friends who had carried it unfriendly unhandsomely towards him and would not own him in the day of his distress to hasten their addresses to bring him honourable presents and redintegrate their broken friendship with him In all these things God blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning and he found by comfortable experience which was mentioned at the beginning of this prefatory Epistle out of Solomon's Ecclesiastes that the end of a thing is better than the beginning of it the latter end of his life being fuller of peace riches and honour than the former and he not ending his life in this world till he was full of days fuller of grace and fully fitted for an endless life in glory Thus as in the foregoing parts of this book we have heard of the patience of Job so in this we may see as the Apostle James saith chap. 5.11 the end of the Lord. But what was that end of the Lord Any man of ordinary capacity reading the holy story may resolve it in the common way that The Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before that being restored his seven thousand sheep were multiplyed to fourteen thousand his three thousand camels to six thousand his five hundred yoke of oxen to a thousand and his five hundred she-asses to as many This end of the Lord with Job is obvious and runs in sight to every Reader nor can it be denied but that this was a very good and an honourable end yet behold the Lord made a much better and more honourable end for Job than this This was the end of Jobs cross that was not only so but also of his controversie Satan charged Job as an Hypocrite his friends joyned with Satan in that yet stayed not there they charged him likewise as Hetorodox as a man not only unsincere in his profession of religion but unsound in the principles of it The Lord made an end for Job in this matter also abetting his opinion in that great and difficult probleme of providence rather than theirs giving him the day and putting the crown of victory upon his head in that dispute while he said to Eliphaz and his two friends Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right as my servant Job This this was The end of the Lord. To hear this gracious determination from the mouth of the supream and infallible moderator of all controversies was without controversie a thousand times more pleasing and satisfactory to Jobs spirit not only than the double cattle which the Lord gave him but than if the Lord had given him all the cattle upon a thousand hills or than if all the fowls of the air and fishes of the sea had been given to him In this end of the Lord for Job we may see not only that the Lord is infinitely wise and just but as it followeth in that place of the Apostle James very pitiful and of tender mercy The Lord shews himself very pitiful and of tender mercy when he puts an end to the crosses of his servants by doubling their outward comforts he doth so too when he puts an end to the controversies of his servants by vindicating their credit and making it appear that they have spoken of him and of his ways the thing that is right or more rightly than their opposers and reproachers This example of the Lords pity and tender mercy in doing both
it is said that David smote Moab and measured them with a line casting them down to the ground even with two lines measured he to put to death and with one full line to keep alive and so the Moabites became Davids servants and brought gifts Some understand this act of David in measuring the Moabites with a line strictly and literally that David having made a full Conquest of their Country did cause it to be measured with a line and then appointed or allotted two thirds of the Land together with the inhabitants to ruin and destruction receiving only the third of the people to mercy and reserving only a third part of the Land to be planted by them Others take it only allusively that having conquered them he used them and their Country at his own pleasure as we do that which we measure out by line But whether we take Davids measuring the Moabites with a line in the one sense or in the other it fully reaches this third notion of it under hand Here in the Text when the Lord demanded of Job Who hath stretched the line upon it It is as if he had said Shew me if thou canst who hath given this great building this fabrick of the earth such symetry such a proportion and evenness that no fault or flaw can possibly be found in it From these two figurative expressions in the fifth verse implying the exactness of the earths frame Note The frame of the world is every way and in every respect proportionable and beautiful 'T is done as it were by measure and line The Lord is infinitely above the use of measures or lines yet condescending to our understanding he gives us to know that 't is as perfect a piece as if he had done it by measure and by line Survay the whole world or any part of it is it not a most exact piece The heavens are as the roof of the house the earth as the floor and foundation of it those elements aire and water as the walls and sides of it The lower parts of the earth are as pillars and bases hills and high mountains appear like emboslements of the earth to the eye of the beholder What can be added whether we consider the compleatness of the whole or the symetry of the parts Have we not reason to say admiringly or to cry out as Psal 104.24 O Lord how manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thâ—u made them all the earth is full of thy riches so is the great aâ—d wide sea c. Our hearts should be drawn up by all the works of God to admire his workmanship That thy name is near thy wondrous works declare said David Psal 65.1 speaking of the Woâ—ks of Providence and that the name of God is near his Works of Creation declare also his name is written upon them that is his power wisdome and goodness And therefore when we behold this Woâ—k of God in special his laying the measures of the earth we should admire both his goodness wisdom and power There are five things in this part of the Creation the earth as expressed to be done by line and measure which may raise up our admiration of God First The greatness of the work It is a vast peece or pile a huge fabrick though but a point to the Heavens We admire great buildings but what are the greatest buildings upon earth to the earth it self which the Lord hath built Secondly The harmony or uniformity of the building and so the beauty of it Thirdly The compactness of the building as knit close together and so the firmness of it Fourthly That all was done in so short a time We say Rome was not built in a day Solomon was seven years in building the Temple 1 Kings 6.38 And he was thirteen years in building his own house 1 Kings 7.1 And doubtlesse Solomon laid out all the power and skill he had for the setting up of those buildings But behold a greater building than either the Temple which Solomon built for God or the house which he built for himself set up as we say in a trice The Lord finished all his work in six dayes and that part of it the earth in one Nor did the Lord take either six dayes to finish the whole work or one to finish any one part of it because he needed so much time to do it in but because he would not do it in less Fifthly The Lord did all this without the use of any instrument rule or compass axe or hammer though here is mention made of a measure and of a line The skilfullest Aâ—chitect cannot raise up any considerable building without these though he hath the platform and idea of it in his head yet take away his line and his rule and he can do nothing But such is the glorious skill and power of God that though he is pleased to speak of a measure and of a line yet we must not be so gross as to think that he made use of any The whole work was natural to God and therefore he needed no artificial helps nor was any instrument employed in it but only his own creating word and will Some faithless Atheists of old and possibly there are such at this day asked in scorn with what tools and instruments with what ladders and scaffolds this building was set up But let us at once pity such in their unbeliefe and horrible prophaneness and labour to edifie or build up our selves in grace and holiness in the faith and fear of his great Name who built this world without tools or instruments without ladders or scaffolds Secondly As our hearts should be drawn out in admiration so in thankfulness forasmuch as God hath made such a world for us he hath laid the foundations of the earth he hath measured it out and stretched the line upon it that we might have the use of it that we might tenant and inhabit this house Man is the chief inhabitant of the earth that other creatures dwell there is for the service of man then let us be thankful Our greatest cause of thankfulness is that the Lord hath made another house for us of which the Apostle professeth his assurance 2 Cor. 5.1 We know that when the earthly house of this Tabernacle whether of our body or of the body of this world is dissolved we have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens O how should we rejoyce in he thankful for that house But that we have this inferiour house built for us which is also a building of God an house not made with hands but purely and immediately by the power of God is and should be continual matter of great thankfulness Thirdly Seeing the Lord hath thus laid the measures of the earth and stretched forth the line upon it seeing he hath made such an exact building for us this earth let us walk exactly and orderly upon this earth which he hath made
Hebrew word to interpret it of breaking up a decreed place for the sea than of establishing a decree for the sea which is a consequent of the former and therefore I understand it only of a fitting room for the sea here called a decreed place or a place determined a place not only sound out as convenient but determined and set I brake up for it my decreed place or my statuted place a place that I appointed by an ordinance of heaven that place did I break up for it that is I made a vessel or channel like a cradle big enough and broad enough and deep enough to hold the vast waters of the sea I brake up for it my decreed place Note First The Lord who made the sea made also a place for it The ordering and placing of all things is of God as well as the making of them God hath provided a place for every thing and put every thing in its place God is the God of Order And how comely and ordeâ—ly are all things while they are kept in and all persons while they keep in the place which God hath decreed for them and put them in The Elements do not ponderate are not burdensome in their place The sea troubles us not while it keeps or breaks not out from that decreed place which God at first brake up for it There is not the least worm but hath a decreed place And as God hath appointed men their time there is a decreed time for their birth and for their continuance in life they die also and go out of the world in a decreed time so there is a decreed place for every man and that two-fold First Of his habitation in what part of the world he shall live Acts 17 26. Secondly Of his station or vocation what part he shall act in the world to serve his generation or to get his living He that abides within the bounds of his calling abides in his place though he every day move or remove from place to place It is best for our selves and for others also to abide in our decreed places as it is a mercy to us all that the sea abides where God placed it If men break out of their places they may quickly do mischief like the breach of the sea To prevent which God brake up for it his decreed place and not only so but as it followeth in the close of this tenth verse Set bars and doors In the eighth verse we have only doors he hath shut up or annointed the doors of the sea but here we have bars and doors It is an allusion to strong Cities and Castles or to great mens Houses which have not only doors but doors barred and double lockt Bars strengthen doors and keep them fast and sure A strong door if not well lockt and barred may quickly be broken open therefore the Lord to make all fast tells us that when he had put the sea into his decreed place that it should no more return to cover the earth at its own pleasure or according to its natural bent for there is a desire that is a natural bent in the sea to be over-flowing all and to repossess the place from which it was at first with-drawn the Lord I say tells us that he then set doors and bars to keep it in and shut it up fast enough And if you enquire what is meant by these doors and bars with which 't is shut in Some answer The sands of the sea others the rocks clifts and banks these are bars and doors by which the sea is shut in But though these things are indeed as bars and doors to keep the sea from returning again yet that which is the great bar and door is the word of command from God as appears fully in the next verse Vers 11. And said hitherto shalt thou come Et dixi ei sc prosopopeia Dicere dei est jubere constituere quid fiat and no further The Saying of God is Gods Command and Law And said To whom To whom did the Lord speak He said it to the sea though a senseless creature a creature without reason yea without life yet the Lord said it and he said it to the sea and he spake it as angry with the sea As if he had said I see what a raging creature thou art what a froward ungovern'd child thou art like to prove therefore I say hitherto shalt thou come and no further We may take this saying of the Lord under these two notions Hebraei 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pro termino ponunt ut apparet Ezek. 41.15 ideo recte 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vertitur hoc usque Câ—â—t First As expressing the firmness of what was done He said that is resolved determined and concluded made it a Law a Law like that of the Medes and Persians not to be reversed by any power Secondly He said as noting the facility of the work When the Lord took a course to shut up these doors and to put on these invincible bars what did he He said it and it was as soon done as said so that this word He said notes the infinite soveraignty and power of God that by a word speaking the matter was done He said Hitherto shalt thou come The Lord gives the sea line He makes it a prisoner but not a close prisoner He gives it a great scope large room to role and tumble its waves in Hitherto thou shalt come that is hitherto thou maist come It is not a Command that the sea should alwayes come so far but it is a dispensation or a permission that thus far the sea may come but no further As if the Lord had said I have drawn a line and I have set a mark I have given thee a bound so far to go hitherto shalt thou come But no further Rabbi Levi. The Hebrew is Thou shalt not add Thou shalt not go beyond the bound which I have set thee to destroy the earth A Jewish Writer gives a double exposition of this But no further First Of the waves and the waters in the midst of the sea When waves rise in the main ocean how high they may rise and toss the sailing ship we cannot tell but God knows Secondly Of the waves roaring at the sea-shore To both he saith Hitherto shall ye come and no further And here shall thy proud waves be stayed Why doth the Lord call them proud waves it is not because they are proud properly but by a Metaphor they lift up their heads as proud men do and are therefore called proud waves Thus Jethro spake of Pharaoh and his host Exod. 18.11 In the things wherein they dealt proudly the Lord was above them Pharaoh and the Egyptians like the proud waves of the sea thought to have swallowed up all Israel but God made the sea to swallow them up Proud men like mighty waves think to swallow up all but He is above them that saith to
the Egyptians with all their learning could not tell the way how God parted the light then that it should be light in Goshen and darkness to feeling or darkness that might be felt in all the other parts of Egypt so who can give a reason of that distribution of Gospel light which God makes to some parts of the world while other parts of it sit in darkness and in the very shadow of death Secondly In that the Lord puts the Qâ—estion to Job Knowest thou c. for we are still to repeat those words in these questions though not exprest Knowest thou that is thou knowest not Hence Note Man is much in the dark about the light and how God distrubuteth disposeth and dispenseth forth the light Those things that are clear to our sense are often very obscure to our undeâ—standing Nothing more clear to sense than that the light is parted yet what is more obscure than this in what way and how the light is parted And as this parting of the light is marvellous so also in the effect of it held out in the latter part of the Verse Which scattereth the East-wind upon the Earth Some because the relative Which is not expressed in the Original take these words as a distinct question 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ventum Orientálem seu trentem subsolanum signifiâ—at per synechdochen hic omnem ventum Sanct. Eurum ventum vehementissimum loco omnium ponit Scult Sol dicitur ventorum pater eurus dicitur subsolanus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod sit sub regimine solis Knowest thou by what way the light is parted and taking up that again by what way he scattereth the East-wind upon the Earth But I shall speak of these words as intending this effect of light the scattering the East-wind The Hebrew Word signifies strictly the Eastern part of the World the Sun-rising and so the East-wind which riseth often with the Sun or upon which the Sun hath a great command and may be here put synechdechically for all the Winds Naturalists tell us that lightning which was the first interpretation doth raise the East-wind or causeth it to blow and that the light of the Sun or the Sun-rising hatâ— also an influence upon the wind or raiseth the East-wind is both the observation of Naturalists and an assertion which hath ground in Scripture The Sun is by some called the Father of the Winds and especially of the East-wind and the East-wind hath denominations both in the Greek and Latine Tongue as the Margin shews implying that it is much as it were under the dominion of the Sun It is said Jonah 4.8 that The Lord at the Sun-rising commanded or prepared a vehement East-wind to blow upon the head of Jonah As if the rising of the Sun had some power in the bâ—inging the East-wind and without all doubt the East-wind as one elegantly describes it at that time by Gods Call fought under the banner of the Sun and was confederate with him for the affliction of that angry Prophet Jonah The East-wind is a vehement wind a drying wind a scorching wind Exod. 14.21 When the Lord lead the people of Israel through the Red Sea it is said He commanded a strong East wind to blow all night and divided the Sea The East-wind it seems was the most proper instrument to serve the Providence of God in dividing or scattering and then in gathering the waters of the Sea as here the light is said to scatter the East-wind upon the Earth Mr. Broughton renders these words as expressing the natural aptitude of the wind to spread it self thus And which way the East-wind scattereth it self over the Earth That is which way it will scatter or in what Country it will blow The winds are of a most diffusive nature they scatter themselves they disperse and pass through the air with much violence and vehemence But I shall not stay upon that The main scope and purpose of the Lord in putting this question being onely this To shew that as the light take it either for the lightning or for the light of the Sun is in the hands of God so also that the wind even the East-wind is at his dispose too Hence Note Winds the most vehement and violent winds are under the power of God He who commands the light commands the winds Prov. 30.4 He gathereth the winds in his fist he comprehends them all in his hand 'Ts a wonderful expression of the power of God that he hath the loose winds as fast as a man hath that which he gripes in his fist and 't is at the opening of his hand that they pass forth Whatever natural causes there are of the winds we must look beyond them all at the power of God as the cause reigning over all other causes Christ John 3. treating with Nicodemus about that most spiritual Doctrine of Regeneration or the New Birth to shew how free an agent the Spirit of God is in it compares his workings to that of the Wind of which he saith vers 8. The wind bloweth where it listeth which yet we are not to understand as if the winds did blow at randome or were carried out by their own power and impression Christ speaks of the wind there as if it had a will or wilfulness rather but we are to understand it thus The wind bloweth where it listeth for any thing man can do or say to it let man say what he will let man do what he can the wind blows where it listeth The wind is not under the controul or command of any man no not of the mightiest Prince on Earth yet it bloweth not absolutely where it self but where God listeth The power and skill of all the men in the World cannot alter oâ— controul the wind Some indeed have traded with Witches for winds as if they had the command of them yet know it is onely the Lords chusing their delusions or his giving them up to those delusions and wickednesses which their hearts chuse if at any time any gain a breath of winâ— by trading with them We should onely look by faith and trade with him by pâ—ayer for the managing and disposing of the winds it is he that scattereth the East-wind over the Earth Knowest thou how the East-winds are scattered over the Earth or by what way the Lord scattereth the East-wind over the Earth Hence Note Secondly The way of the Wind is a secret to man as well as the way of the Light The Lord Christ sheweth mans ignorance with respect to the way of the wind John 3.8 Thou hearest the sound thereof but thou knowest not whence it cometh nor whither it goeth Which we are not to understand as if when a man perceives the wind to blow he did not know whence or out of what part of the compasse it comes or towards what point it goes We know when it comes from the East and when it comes from thence we know
they are As the number and nature of the stars so of the clouds which are beneath the stars exceed mans wisdom The least and lowest works of God are above mans reach how much more his greatest works and those which are far above Yet further from this word which we translate to number to declare or demonstrate that precious stone the Saphir mentioned often in Scriptures hath its name Quis sapphirinas effecit nubes sapientia Jun. and so the Text is rendred thus who can make the clouds saphâ—rine or like a Saphir the meaning is who can make the clouds bright and clear l ke the Saphir-stone The Saphir is a most pleasant resplendent and beautiful gem That glorious throne which was shewed the Prophet in vision Ezek. 1.26 had the apâ—earance â—f a Saphâ—â—-stone that is it had a most excellent and illustrious appearance Now saith the Lord who can make the clouds dark of themselves like a Saphir-stone that is serene pleasant beautiful and delightful to the eye God can make bright clouds Zech. 10.1 clouds wonderful fair and pleasant to behold even as pleasing to the eye as a precious Saphir As this translation holds out a truth in it self so 't is very sutable to that which followeth Or who can stay the bottles of heaven Clouds darken the heavens Hunc interpretationem postulâ—â—e videtur antithesis quum additur lagenas coeli quis collocet q d. quis â—oelum num â—â—renum ac sulum nunc verò nubilum reddat Pisc but when the Lord stayeth the clouds from rain then the heavens are clear like a Saphir God can make the heavens cloudy or clear Who can stay the bottles of heaven that is the clouds who can stay them or as the Hebrew strictly who can cause them to lye down Master Braughton renders who can destill the barrels of heaven The word here used signifies a bottle or any vessel wherein liquor is preserved and it may be taken either foâ— a bottle made of skin a leathern bottle or for a bottle made of clay an earthen bottle a Potters bottle as 't is called Isa 30.14 The clouds are like a leathern or an earthern bottle which as it holds the liquor so being unstopped and held up the liquor runs out who can stay the bottles of heaven that is if God once unstop the clouds they presently pour down in and who can stay them from raining no man can That 's a plain sence as if the Lord had said who can hinder the clouds from giving down rain if once opened who but I can restrain the rain which is heavy of it self and tends naturally downwards from falling out of the clouds There is another reading of this part of the verse Conâ—entum coeli qun dormire faciet Vulg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 per quinque puncta significat Nâ—hlium in strumentum musicum utri simile habens chordas quae pulsantur who can slay the harmony of heaven The Vulgar Latine renders who can make the musick of heaven sleep that is cease or be quiet The reason of this translation is this because the same word which signifieth a bottle signifies also a musical instrument somewhat resembling the form of a bottle Psal 33.2 Thus some take it here as intending that musical or melodious harmony which antient Philosophers have affiâ—med is made by the motion of the heavenly sphears yet by this they do not mean a proper musical sound or harmony such as the Pythagoreans dreamed of which some other learned men have said is so sweet and ravishing that if we did but hear iâ— we could neither eat nor drink nor sleep Yea they tell us that Moses while he did not eat nor drink nor sleep those forty days in the Mount was all that while taken up and ravished with that Musick but you may put that among Jewish fables Sober men following this translation who can stay the musick of heaven understand by it only the harmonious concord and agreement which all the heavenly Orbes unfailably observe in their several courses without the least jarr or discord That 's a truth shewing the great wisdom and power of God who hath put the heavens into such a sweet order that they move not only constantly but harmoniously Though the motion of the heavens makes no audible or proper musick yet it makes an intelligible or metaphorical musick that is the heavens move orderly there is an agreement in their motion which is the the sweetest musick in heaven among Saints and Angels and among good men on earth We say of men moving peaceably in their places as becomes them there is a harmony among them And how blessed a thing would it be to see all sorts of men moving orderly in their spheres what a harmony would it make to see every one doing his duty and doing it in his place whereas to omit duty makes our lives useless and to do it out of our place makes us troublesome and unharmonious And therefore though I insist not upon this reading yet it were well if all would insist upon the moral of it labouring to make harmony as much as may be in all their motions But I pass from it and rest in our own Who can stay the bottles of heaven that is who can make them leave raining The Lord by a late question convinced Job that no man can make it rain vers 34. Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds that abundance of waters may cover thee and by this question he would convince him that no man can obstruct or hinder the rain Who can stay the bottles of heaven Hence observe It is God who stayeth or restraineth the clouds from raining Should not the Lord put stopples into those bottles should not he close up those barrels they would drop down continually and in stead of watering drown the earth When in the days of Noah the Lord opened the bottles of heaven forty days together who could stop or stay them Did not the clouds pour down till the whole world was over-whelmed and unless the Lord did now stay the clouds and forbid them to give out their whole stock they would again over-whelm the world There are Seas of waters above our heads God keeps them in from hurting the earth and lets them out to help iâ— The next verse intimates at least this power of God over the clouds and the season when he exerciseth it Who can stay the bottles of heaven Vers 38. When the dust groweth or is poured into hardness and the clods cleave fast together The Margin of our Bibles gives us the former part of the verse in a very different translation thus When the dust is turned into mire The earth hath had its fill if not too much rain when the dust is turned into mire And when 't is so who but God stayeth the bottles of heaven from pouring down overmuch But I shall only open the reading in the Text of which there are
a race Psal 19.5 He that hath great strength may run a great race A race requireth great strength and he that hath strength or is a strong man should rejoyce to run it A strong man if he have an heart and a will to his work delighteth in his work more than in his reward Note Thirdly Some have strength enough to do much work to do great and good things yet are not at all to be trusted with the doing of any thing that is great or good Strength is not alwayes to be trusted There is a twofold trust in strength First There is a trust in strength as to confidence in it for success and thus we are not to trust any strength in the world neither our own nor others Cursed is the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm Jer. 17.5 The arm of flesh is too weak to be trusted in though never so strong though it have the strength of the Unicorn it must not be trusted no creatures strength is to be trusted in as to dependance upon it Secondly There is a trusting of strength as to the using and imploying of it thus strength may be trusted We may trust the strong that they will use their strength for us only we must not rest in their strength They who like the Unicorn in the Text have great strength and yet are not to be trusted that they will use it are in a much worse condition than they who have no strength to use or to make them any way useful There are three sorts of men to be considered in respect of strength First Some have a will to do more than they have strength to do they have a will to do more in ordinary work than they have strength to do and they have a will to do more in extraordinary work duty than they have strength and ability to do The Apostle speaking of the labour of love or charity in the ministration of the good things of this life to those that stand in need thus commendeth the Macedonians 2 Cor. 8.5 For to their power I bear them record and beyond their power they were willing c. He meaneth not the power of their bodies but of their purses and estates Some are willing beyond the power of their estates to relieve the necessities of others and some are willing beyond the power of their bodies to labour not only for the supply of their own necessities but in any publick service To have a will to labour according to our strength for labour sheweth an honest heart but to have a will to labour beyond our strength for labour sheweth an Heroick heart But Secondly Most have strength to do more than they have a will to do they are like the Unicorn and that upon a double ground First Some are so lazy and idle that they will not do what they have strength to do Thus Solomon describeth the sluggard Prov. 21.5 His hands refuse to labour He hath strength enough in his hand but for idleness he will do nothing Secondly Others are so proud that though they have strength enough to labour yet they will not they are so stout so stubborn so high-minded that they scoâ—n to work or do service they think themselves too good to take pains I shall say too little if I say these are in a very bad frame They are right Unicorns who are so stout that they will not serve nor be bound to attend any service There is a third sort who have strength to do service and they have also will to do it they have will and they have strength but they want an opportunity to do service This may be the case of a good man who is like the labouring Ox A good man hath alwayes a will to work and may have strength for his work too yet many times wants work As they in the Parable Mat. 20.6 7. answered when questioned Why stand ye all the day idle It was not so they excused themselves because they had no will to work or had no strength to work but say they No man hath hired us we have not been called to work we know not where to have a dayes work Such there are who have will and strength while they want a call Thus the Apostle spake concerning the Philippians Chap. 4.10 Ye were careful but ye lacked opportunity The dore was not open and so ye could not do what ye desired and had both a mind and an ability to do The point in hand leadeth us to the middle sort of persons truly shaddowed by the Unicorn who though they have much strength to do service yet they have no mind to serve but hide their Talent in a Napkin and put their Candle under a Bushel These are not to be trusted though they are well furnished I may say to any man concerning such men as the Lord to Job concerning the Unicorn Wilt thou trust them because their strength is great because their strength of mind their strength of body their strength of estate is great Can we trust all rich men that they will do works of charity because their estate is great Can we trust all healthy men who have sound and able limbes that they will take pains because their bodily strength is great Can we trust all knowing men who have quick parts and excellent gifts much knowledge that they will go through with their work because the strength of their minds is great We can hardly find any to trust what strength soever they have but those who have received strength of grace from God and so have strength of faith in God strength of love strength of affections to God strength of zeal for God And even they who have strength of grace may fail their trust very much Job 4.18 Behold he put no trust in his Servants and his Angels he charged with folly The Lord could not be confident of Angels who are mighty in strength If God should leave Angels to themselves they would soon fail it is because Angels are confirmed by grace Christ being the head of Angels that they stand fast to their work and abide by their duty else the Lord could not trust Angels with all their created strength much less then could the Lord trust the best of Saints with all the spiritual strength he hath planted in them did he not continually confirm them and quicken them to the work which he hath called them to by his holy Spirit No further than any man trusteth in Christ for strength or maketh Christ his strength as well as his righteousness is he to be trusted with the doing of any work any more than the Unicorn how much soever his strength is Many are set a work and do work because their strength is great but none in a due sense can be trusted but they who make Christ their strength and look daily to him for it Wilt thou trust him because his strength is great Or wilt thou leave
Secondly Consider the wicked proud man as one whom God treadeth down Then Observe God punisheth sinners with that which is most crosse to their lusts What more crosse to a high-spirited man than to be brought low and who can be brought lower than he that is trodden down As God sometimes punisheth Drunkards with thirst and Gluttons with hunger and covetous persons with poverty There is one saith Solomon Prov. 11.29 that with-holdeth more than is meet he doubtless is a covetous man that doth so it tendeth to poverty So God punisheth proud ones by that which is most contrary to their nature he abaseth and layeth them low The Prophet tells us Isa 3.16 17. how the Lord would punish wanton women who were proud either of their natural beauty or artificial dresses and ornaments The daughters of Zion saith he are haughty and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes walking and mincing as they go and making a tinckling with their feet there 's their pride but what was their punishment the next words resolve us Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion and the Lord will discover their secret parts they were proud of that which covered their skin and therefore the Lord punisht them with scabs or covered their skin with scurfe and scabs and as there the Lord shews what he would bring upon so what he would take from them Vers 18. In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinckling ornaments about their feet and their Caules and their round tyres like the Moon And Vers 24. it shall come to pass that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink and instead of a girdle a rent and instead of well set hair baldness and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth and burning instead of beauty What could be more contrary to the pride of these women than that which the Lord brought upon them or punished them with What do proud women more desire than beauty and bravery And what do proud men look after but to be respected honoured and to have every one point the finger at them or bow the knee to them Now when the Lord blasts proud women in their beauty and bravery when he blasts proud men in their honour and estimation when he thus abaseth and treads them down he toucheth them in that which the spirit of pride prizeth most and with greatest regret parteth from Pride is a base height of spirit therefore the Lord abaseth the proud There are five words in the Text all tending directly to crosse the spirit of a proud man First He shall be abased Secondly He shall be brought low A proud man would fain be high he would sit at the upper end of the Table yea he would sit at the upper end of the World too but saith the Lord he shall be brought low Thirdly What would a proud man do He would tread upon the necks of all others but he shall be trodden under foot Fourthly Where would the proud man be He would be conspicuous in high places but he shall be hid in the dust Fifthly He would be lookt at by all men with admiration but saith God his face shall be bound in secret he loves to appear and make a fair shew in the flesh but he shall not appear at all .. Proud ones cannot get so high but God in his Justice will get above them and strip them of that wherein they have chiefly prided themselves Read Isa 14.11 12 13 14 24 25. and Isa 23.9 Those Scriptures tell us how the Lord deals with proud men according to their pride or rather contrary to their pride he gives them that which they most disgust and takes that from them which they most passionately desire Secondly Take wicked men in the common notion for those that do evil at the highest rate that draw iniquity with cords of vanity and sin as it were with cart-ropes Then Observe First Wicked men that is impenitent sinners high-handed sinners are in a very sad condition and shall come to a sad conclusion The Lord will tread them down Psal 9.16 17. The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands yea the wicked shall be turned into hell That is the utmost of sorrow and suffering shall be their portion Isa 3.11 Wo to the wicked for the reward of their doings shall be given them Isa 57.21 There is no peace saith my God to the wicked As the tumultuousness of their own spirits will not let them be at peace so neither will the righteousnesse of God Secondly From those expressions Tread down the wicked in their place hide them in the dust together bind their faces in secret Observe God will at last purge and rid the world of wicked men As wicked men would fain purge and rid the world of godly men they would destroy all the seed of the righteous so certainly God will destroy the wicked of the world and rid the world of them though not at once of every wicked man yet in their times and seasons that they shall not do the mischief which their hearts are full of The last of the Prophets speaks as much of the Lords vengeance upon all the wicked Mal. 4.1 The day of the Lord. speaking of some great day of the Lords appearance shall burn as an oven and all the proud yea and all that do wickedly shall be stubble and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of Hosts that it shall leave them neither root nor branch 'T is utter ruin to be destroyed root and branch such shall the ruin of the wicked be Thus also the Prophet Isaiah comforts the Church Chap. 52.1 Awake awake put on thy strength O Zion put on thy beautiful garments O Jerusalem the holy City for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean The wicked of the world are the uncircumcised they have not the spiritual circumcision the circumcision of the heart these shall no more trouble Jerusalem nor tread in Zions Courts Nahum 1.15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings that publisheth peace O Judah keep thy solemn feasts perform thy Vows for the wicked shall no more passe through thee he is utterly cut off The Hebrew is Belial shall no more passe through thee That is such as cast off the yoke of Jesus Christ shall no more bring Judah under their yoke This is also witnessed by another holy Prophet Zech. 14.21 In that day there shall be no more the Cananite in the house of the Lord of hosts they shall no more mingle themselves with the faithful servants of God much less rule over them Canaanites have often been in the house of the Lord but the Canaanite shall not always be there God will sweep them out of his house Answerable to these prophesies speaks the last prophesie Rev. 21.27 Chap. 22.15 which
time of Behemoths making I made him the same day with thee for all the beasts of the earth were made upon the sixth day the same day in which man was made Fourthly Which I made with thee that is I made him to be with thee I did not make Behemoth as I made Leviathan to play in the Sea but I made him to be with thee on the Land that thou shouldst behold him and take notice of him or that he should be under thy hand yea not only so but contrary to the nature of wilde beasts to love thy company and to desire converse with thee to be guided by thee and in many things to act with a kind of reason and understanding like thee or as thy self and other men do Fifthly Which I made with thee that is for thee I made him for thy use I made him to serve thee Though he be thus great and vast yet he will be thy humble servant There will be occasion afterwards to shew further how serviceable and useful Elephants are to man Sixthly I made him with thee that is I made him as nigh to thee as any of the unreasonable creatures yea nigher to thee than any of the unreasonable creatures for I have made him excel them all as thou excellest him he is above other irrational creatures as thou art above all irrationals He next to Angels and men is the chief of my wayes The word made may import this also and so it is used 1 Sam. 12.6 The Lord advanced the Hebâ—ew is Made Moses and Aaron The Lord hath so made the Elephant that he hath also advanced him above all the beasts of the field I have set him as near the seat of reason as might be and not be rational In all these respects we may understand the Lord saying to Job concerning Behemoth I made him with thee He is thy fellow-creature and how great soever he is he is my creature I made him the same day that I made thee and I made him to abide in the same place with thee or where thy abode is I made him also for thy service and that he might be a meet servant for thee I have made him almost a partaker of reason with thee so far at least a partaker of reason that he will very obsequiously submit to and follow the conduct of thine and though he be the strongest beast on earth yet thou mayest find him acting more according to thy reason than his own force or strength There is yet another interpretation of these words given by Bochartus which favours his opinion that Behemoth is the Hippopotame or River Horse Whom I have made with thee Tecum vel potius juxta te or rather near thee or hard by thee that is in thy neighbour-hood in a Countrey which borders upon thine As if saith he God had said to Job I need not fetch arguments from far to prove how powerful I am seeing I have them at hand For among the beasts which I made in Nilus which is near thy Countrey Arabia how admirable is the Hippopotame And that the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies by or near as well as with he gives many examples Josh 7.2 Judg. 9.6 Judg. 18.3 Judg. 19.11 2 Sam. 6.7 2 Sam. 20.8 which the Reader may peruse and consider Thus the Elephant was made with man But how lives he how feeds he Not like man He eateth grasse as an Oxe From these words also the Authour last mentioned collects an argument for the strengthening of his interpretation The Oxe and Elephant saith he are alike labouring beasts and therefore no wonder if they feed alike or live upon the same kind of food but that the Hippopotame which is an aquatical Animal and abides for the most part in the bottom of Nilus should eat grasse like an Oxe this is strange and matter of wonderment Nor is it for nothing that he is compared to the Oxe whom he resembles not onely in his food but in the bignesse of his body and in the shape of his head and feet whence the Italians call him Bomarin that is the Sea-Oxe Yet these words may very well be applied to the Elephant It being not onely true that his food is grasse but a merciful wonder that it is so For â—â—d this vast creature live upon prey or the spoil of other beasts what havock yea devastation would he make to satisfie his hunger So that these words He eateth grasse as an Oxe may carry this sense As if the Lord had said Though I have made this beast so great and strong yet he is no dangerous no ravenous beast he doth not live by preying upon other beasts by tearing and worrying sheep and Lambs as Lions and Bears and Wolves do this great and mighty creature eats grasse lâ—ke an Oxe Thus God would have Job take notice what way he hath provided for the subsistence of the Elephant He eateth grasse as an Oxe yet not altogether as the Oxe His food is as the food of an Oxe for the matter both eat grasse but he doth not eat in the same manner as an Oxe Why how doth an Oxe eat by licking up the grasse with his tongue into his mouth as he is described Numb 22.4 but the Elephant gathers up the grasse with his trunk and then puts it into his mouth Naturalists give these two reasons why the Elephant cannot eat like the Oxe Ne ore pascatur adminuculo linguae ut boves impedit colli brevitas linguae quoque quae illi animali perexigua est interius posita ita ut eam vix videre possis Decerptam proboscideherbam dentibus quos utrinque quatuor habet commolit Arist l. 2. de Histâ—r Animal c. 5 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 à 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pasco First Because of the shortnesse of his Neck Secondly The littlenesse of his Tongue which lies so far within his Mouth that it cannot easily be seen and therefore he crops the grasse with his trunk and putting it into his mouth grindes it with his teeth He eateth grasse like an Oxe He is like the Oxe as to what he feeds upon not as to the way of his feeding So then though the Elephant be so bulky and big-bodied yet by the Lords Ordinaâ—ion he is as harmlesse as a labouring Oxe he will not hurt any beast of the field This phrase Eating like an Oxe is used to set forth the peaceablenesse of his Nature Thus those blessed times are described when the power of the Gospel shall overcome the wrath and enmity which is in the Serpents seed against the seed of the Woman Isa 11.7 The Cow and the Bear shall feed their young ones and the Lion shall eat straw like the Oxe Lions will be quiet that is the spirits of those men who have been like Lions and Bears even they shall eat straw like the Oxe they shall not hurt the Lambs and Sheep of Christs flock and fold
Quoties de feris bestiis dicitur quod faenum comesturae sint sicut bos metaphoricè innuitur eos mansuefieri cicurari The same Prophet shadows the peaceablenesse of those Gospel times under a like Allegory Chap. 65.25 where having shewed Verse 24. the goodnesse and tendernesse of God in hearing the prayers of his people It shall come to passe that before they call I will answer and while â—hey are yet praying I will hear he presently shews how good and kind God who hath the spirits and passions of all men in his hand will make the most ruffe-spirited and passionate men to his people The wolfe and the Lamb shall feed together and the Lion shall eat straw like the Bullâ—ck That is they who were sometimes as fierce as evening Wolves shall quietly and sweetly converse with the Lambs of Christ c. Thus here the Lord speaks of the Elephant eating grasse like an Oxe to shew that though he be exceeding strong yet he is of an exceeding quiet and harmless disposition Non alitèr quam perparvuli catelli ex hominis manu gaudet cibum sumere Aelian cap. 9. 30. And Naturalists tell us he is so gentle and harmlesse that he will take meat out of a mans hand like a Dog or Spaniel Thirdly The Elephant is described by his strength Verse 16. Lo Now or Behold it is the same word As in the former Verse God awakened the attention of Job to consider this Beast in general with a Behold so here coming to particulars he reassumeth the same note of admiration and serious meditation Lo now or Behold His strength is in his loins He hath strength proportionable to his greatness And as Sampsons strength was symbolically in his locks so the Elephants strength is naturally in his loins there 's the seat of strength in most creatures His strength is in his loins that is he hath very strong loins and is therefore very strong the loins being as was said the natural seat of strength To gird up the loins to do a thing is to do it strongly A weak man a man of little strength is said to have no loins Elumbus sive elumbis quasi sine lumbis i. e. viribus Drus or to be if I may so speak a loinlesse man And hence the failing or shaking of the loins notes the failing of strength and want of spirits to atchieve any great thing David speaking of the woful condition of the rejected Jews and the curse of God upon them gives it thus Psal 69.23 Let their eyes be darkened that they see not and make their loins continually to shake that is let them alwayes be in a weak and low condition let them not gather strength nor courage The effect of which curse is evident upon that people at this day their loins shake they gather no considerable strength they do no considerable thing nor shall till they return to the Lord. It is said of the vertuous woman Prov. 31.17 She girdeth her loins with strength that is she is ready and able for any work or action within her sphere or becoming her sex Non rectè nostri quod de lumbis dicitur adlibidinema commodant cum Eliphas tradatur esse animal maximè pudicum Merc. And when the Lord called the Prophet to lay to heart the grievous evils of those times he saith Ezek. 21.6 Sigh to the breaking of thy loins that is sigh mourn and lament till thou hast sighed away all thy strength till thou art become feeble with mourning lamenting and sighing The Elephant is mighty and strong His strength is in his loins And his force in the Navel of his Belly As much as to say he is strong every-where he is strong in back and strong in belly The Navel is the strength of the lower parts of the body as the loin of the upper The Navel is as the center of the body there is a colligation or knitting of several veins and arteries which pass from thence into several parts of the body as Anatomists observe There is so much force in the Navel that it may well be called the second seat of strength When the Lord would encourage us to fear him and depart from evil he makes this a motive Prov. 3.8 It shall be health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones that is thou shalt have much health and strength much comfort and sweetness in thy life His force is in the Navel of his Belly His strength is not in his horns to do hurt as the Bulls and Unicorns nor in his claws to tear as the Lions and Bears but in his Loins and Navel As if the Lord had said I have placed the strength of Behemoth where it may be most useful or serviceable and least hurtful I have endowed and furnished him with wonderful strength but how and where Not in any offensive part his head hath no horns his feet no claws to do mischief with but to the end he might be more serviceable to man in bearing burdens I have placed it chiefly in his Loins and Belly Yet saith the learned Bochartus This latter part of the verse doth not agree with the Elephant seeing both Pliny and Solinus teach us that the Elephant hath indeed a very hard skin upon his back but a soft one under his belly whence it is saith he that the Rhinoceros fighting with the Elephant aimes chiefly at his belly which he knows is his tenderest part He gives many other proofs of this as also that the Hippopotame hath a skin so extreamly thick and hard that 't is even impenitrable To this I may answer That though it be granted that the Hippop tame hath a very hard skin all over his body and not at all denied that the skin of the Elephant is softer by much under his belly than upon his back yet it cannot in my understanding be hence concluded that he hath not a great force in the Navel of his Belly For though he hath not a hardnesse there to resist the point either of a natural or artificial weapon yet he may have a force there enabling him to do mighty things 'T is rather from the compactness or well knitting of the Navel that he or any other like creature hath his force than from the hardnesse of it nor doth the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here rendred force signifie any force depending upon the hardnesse of any part but that force which ariseth from the good constitution of the body Gen. 49.3 or from the plentifulnesse of a mans outward estate or substance Job 18.7 Hos 12.8 What the Elephants strength and force is appears yet further in that which followeth Verse 17. He moveth his tail like a Cedar Some take the tail properly Secondly Eâ—si caudam habeat quae magnitudine cedrum aequare videatur tamen eam fâ—cile movet Insignis hyperbole Merc. Sunt qui caudam hic putant appellari promuscidem Elephantis planè alienè
of the tongue in this latter part of the verse is made use of by some as an argument to prove that Leviathan cannot be the Crocodile who as Naturalists write of him hath no tongue his mouth is wide but tongue-less To this objection Beza gives one and Bochartus adds a second answer The former saith it is not strictly affirmed in the Text that Leviathan hath a tongue 't is only denied that he hath a tongue in which a hook or cord may be fastned The latter saith that the Crocodile is not altogether tongue-less but only as we speak in another sense tongue-tied He hath a tongue but 't is an immoveable one cleaving fast to his lower jaw And this Bochartus confirms by so many unquestionable authorities as may easily remove this objection from weakning his assertion Canst thou draw out his tongue with a cord Vers 2. Canst thou put an hook into his nose or bore his jaw thorow with a thorn Constringesnè inserto junco ut piscator minutos pisces Jun. Some expound this verse only as a further illustration of the former in reference to the taking of this fish But rather it is an allusion to the custome of fisher-men who when they have taken fish put a thorne through their nose and hang them up to be seen or for sale The word translated an hook signifies properly a pond or standing water Psal 114.8 and then a bull-rush because bull-rushes grow in standing waters or by pond-banks We take it metaphoricaly for a hook because a hook is like a bull-rush with its head hanging down Isa 58.5 Is this a fast that I have chosen a day for a man to bow down his head as a bull-rush Further to put a hook into the nose signifies these two things in Scripture First To repress the rage or wrath of man And Secondly to divert or turn him aside from his purpose 2 Kings 19.28 Ezek. 19.4 And so in this place the significancy of the phrase may be thus conceived Canst thou O Job abate the fury or stop the course of Leviathan Canst thou put a hook into his nose Or bore his jaw thorow with a thorn And so carry him away with thee Some understand it as an allusion to the ringing of a Bear or Swine Canst thou over-power him and boring his nose put a ring into it as into the snout of a Swine or Bear and so lead or carry him whither thou pleasest as a beast which thou hast tamed and brought to hand These two verses have the same tendency both setting forth the greatness of Leviathan as to the weight and bulk of his body Canst thou draw out Leviathan canst thou put an hook into his nose c. Hence Note The Lord is to be admired and magnified in and for the greatness and vastness of any Creature There are two things about which the Lord is to be magnified in his creatures First In their qualities There are some little very little creatures in whose qualities the Lord is greatly to be magnified The Pismire a poor little thing little bigger than a pins-pins-head hath an admirable wit and fore-cast The Crane the Turtle the Swallow are but small creatures yet they observe or understand their times much better than many men and are not only to be imitated by men in that quality but to be admired for it Secondly Other creatures are to be admired for their quantity or bigness and of this sort Leviathan is chief The reports of the Ancients concerning the bigness of Leviathan Câ—tâ—s 600. pedum longitudinis 360. latitudinis in flumen Arabiae intrasse tradit Plinius l. 32 c. 1. Musculus piscis dux câ—torum oculorum vice fungitur Plin. l. 8. c. 2. are almost beyond belief One reports their bodies as big as four acres of ground that they appear like mountains or small islands in the sea that some being measured have been found six hundred foot in length and three hundred and sixty in breadth And that least they should come in shallow waters or be soundred by coming too near any shoar they have always a little fish called Musculus for their guide or leader which is to them instead of eyes Late Navigators and they who make it their business to follow the Whale-fishing have seen Whales of very vast dimensions and that sometimes they endanger the overthrow of considerable ships which argues their extraordinary strength and greatness Heathens have said that though it cannot be denied but there are many wonderful creatures to be seen upon the land yet the sea is the great store-house of wonders And we may give it in these three things First It is wonderful that in the sea there are such various kinds of fishes It is not imaginable how many sorts of fish the sea affords I once heard a very learned Gentleman and a great Traveller say that being abroad upon publick service and entertaining the Ambassador of another State at his table the feast was wholly of fish and the fish were only shell-fish variously cookt every dish having the shells laid about the verg of it the fish being taken out yet the Ambassador could not give a name to any one of them having never seen their like in any part of the world where he had been Now if a wise knowing man also great a feast could not give a name to any one shell-fish before him what variety of kinds is there in the sea take all together Secondly 'T is wonderful to consider the huge multitude which is of every kind of fish in the sea The kinds are exceeding many and there are innumerable of every kind Thirdly That is wonderful which I am now upon the vastness the greatness of some kinds Not only is Leviathan but several other fishes of the Sea bigger than any beast upon the land Let us consider the greatness of the creatures to lead us into the consideration of the greatness of God How great how mighty is that God who hath made such great such mighty creatures Secondly From these words Canst thou draw up Leviathan with a hook Note Great things cannot be done ordinarily with small means A hook and a line may serve the turn to draw up any small and some great fishes but they will not serve turn to draw up a Leviathan There must be a proportion between the instrument and the work else nothing can be done in a natural way As we need not call for a beetle to kill a fly we may do that with a touch of the finger in which sense David spake 1 Sam. 24.14 Against whom is the King of Israel come forth against a dead dog or a flea As if he had said I wonder thou should'st raise an army against me who have so little strength and intend thee no hurt had I strength as I have had opportunity to do it Now I say as we need not use great means to effect little things so we must use great means to do
great things and we should use means proportionable for the doing of every thing You cannot batter down a stone wall or a strong tower with paper-shot nor with a pot-gun no you must plant cannon for that service Again when this Scripture saith Canst thou draw out Leviathan The emphasis as was shewed before in opening the words lieth in the word thou As if the Lord had said thou canst not but I can Hence note The Lord is able to do the greatest things by smallest means Leviathan to God is but as any little fish to us which is taken with a hook and line To take up Leviathan to do the greatest thing is as easie to God as the least to man As the power of God supplyeth all the weakness of the creature to do any thing so it surpasseth all that strength and greatness of the creature which may seem to hinder him from doing any thing with it or upon it He saith the Apostle Phil. 3.21 shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body how shall he do this according to the working of his mighty power whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself The Lord can doubtless subdue Leviathan to himself by the working of that mighty power which subdueth all things to himself And it is much more easie for Christ to subdue any Leviathan than to change our vile body into the likeness of his own glorious body For as Jesus Christ was once declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection that is his own resurrection from the dead so he will again declare himself to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of power by our resurrection from the dead He that can draw our dust out of the grave with a word can soon draw Leviathan out of the deepest gulf in the Sea by his hook and cord This may comfort those and strengthen their faith who at any time see Leviathans ready to swallow them up as the Whale did Jonah As the Lord prepared that great fish to swallow up Jonah Jonah 1.17 so he commanded that great fish to deliver him back safe again or as that Scripture saith Chap. 2.10 He spake to the fish and he vomited out Jonah upon the dry land Both were acts of great power and teach us that the Lord hath a soveraign commanding power over all even the greatest creatures The Lord hath a hook for Leviathan He had hooks for Pharaoh The great Dragon in the midst of his Rivers Ezek. 29.3 4. And of him the Lord commanded the same Prophet to speak in a like notion Ezek. 32.2 Son of man take up a lamentation for Pharaoh and say to him thou art like a young Lion of the Nations and thou art as a Whale in the Seas and thou camest forth with thy Rivers and troubledst the waters with thy feet and fouledst their Rivers therefore I will spread out my net over thee and they shall bring thee up in my net I have a net for thee saith this Chapter I have hooks for thee saith that other The Prophet Isaiah to engage the Lord to do some great thing for his Church minded him of what he had formerly and anciently done for Israel Isa 51.9 Awake awake put on strength O arm of the Lord awake as in the ancient dayes as in the generations of old art thou not it that hath cut Rahab and wounded the Dragon This Rahab was Egypt and the Dragon was Pharoah as Interpreters generally agree The Psalmist reports the dealings of God with Pharoah and Egypt in language nearer that of the Text Psal 74.13 14. Thou breakest the heads of the Dragons in the waters thou breakest the heads of Leviathan in pieces and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness that is the remembrance of that mercy and of the mighty power of God in destroying Pharoah and his Egyptian Host who pursued them after their departure from Egypt to the red Sea was to be food for their faith in all the dangers and hardships which they were like to meet with in their travels through the howling wilderness to the Land of promise Take one Scripture-instance more 2 Kin. 19.28 Sennacherib was a Leviathan he came up against Hezekiah to destroy him and his people which provoked the Lord to speak thus of him Because thy rage against me is come into my ears therefore I will put my hook into thy nose and my bridle in thy lips and turn thee back by the way thou camest Thus far of the first thing in the description of Leviathan his greatness The second part of his description sheweth the stoutness and stubbornness of his spirit he will not comply he will not yield he will not any way submit This is laid down in the 3d 4th and 5th verses Vers 3. Will he make many supplications to thee The word in the Hebrew properly signifies deprecation Precamur bona deprecamur tantum mala which is prayer for the turning away of evil when evil is near then we deprecate it Will he do this not he He will not petition thee he scorns to petition thee or to cry for quarter But it may be said can fishes pray or make supplications to do so is at least the work of rational creatures I answer Per Prosopopoeian tribuit ei orationem these words are to be understood by that figure Prosopopoeia frequently used in Scripture when acts of Reason are attributed to irrational yea to senseless and lifeless creatures The very hills and valleys the Seas and waters praise God by a figure and here by a like figure Leviathan will not make supplications unto man which shews the stoutness of his spirit As some prisoners taken in war scorn to ask their lives so if Leviathan were taken with a hook he would make no supplications nor beg your favour so stout is he his heart is too great his stomack too big for any kind of submission Will he make many supplications unto thee no he will make none at all This is further expressed in the latter part of the verse Will he speak soft words to thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sc 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mollibus vel blandis vâ—rbis aut sermonibus Pisc Mr. Broughton renders or Will he speak to thee tenderly Will he flatter or humour thee that he may get loose or be freed from thee When the Gibeonites Josh 9.9 were afraid they should be taken and destroyed they came and begged peace they spake soft words There are words of two sorts Some are very hard words and hard words wound like hard blows And though no blows are given The Lord will come to execute judgement upon the ungodly for all their hard speeches Jude vers 15. Many speak words as hard as stones they throw hard words at the heads and about the
Sea Psal 104.26 There go the Ships there is that Leviathan whom thou hast made to play therein He is made for play not for work but where doth he play Leviathan will play in the Sea but he will not play at Land Wilt thou play with him as with a bird Wilt thou bind him for thy maidens Or for thy maid-servants or for thy litle maiden daughters Young maidens or girles delight in birds and if they get one tyed by a string they play with it Thus we see Leviathan will have no dealing with us neither in earnest nor in jest neither at work nor play he will neither serve us nor sport with us Wilt thou play with him c. Some creatures are made for play for sport others for work and service yet here is one and there are more of that temper so fierce so stout that he will be brought to neither he will not serve you as 't is said in the former verse he will not play with you nor dare you play with him In this latter verse Leviathan is somewhat like that untoward and froward generation of whom Christ spake Mat. 11.16 To whom shall I liken this generation they are like to children fitting in the market-place and calling unto their fellows saying we have piped unto you ye have not danced we have mourned unto you and ye have not lamented So we may say of this Leviathan if you mourn to him he will not lament if you pipe to him he will not dance A proud untractable spirit will not comply nor bow either way he will neither weep nor rejoyce with you fast nor feast with you work nor play with you Thus we have had the description of Leviathan First by the greatness of his body vers 1 2. Secondly by the stoutness of his spirit vers 3 4 5. The five verses following shew the great difficulty or extream danger of taking or of catching him which is the third part of his description Vers 6. Shall the companions make a banquet of him shall they part him among the merchants c. Fishermen use to go out in companies and having sped well in fishing they first eat part themselves and make merry as at a banquet the remainder they send to market or sell to Merchants for profit They shall do neither with Leviathan for they cannot take him 'T is a vain thing to talk of dividing the Bears skin before we have taken the Bear Shall the companions make a banquet of him That is either First Shall they eat him shall he be the matter of the banquet the chief dish at the feast Or Secondly Shall they rejoyce and make merry because they have catcht Leviathan and gotten such a prize Understanding the words in this latter sense Leviathan being caught is the occasion not the matter of the banquet As if it had been said Fisher-men or their societies shall never have cause to rejoyce and triumph at the captivity of Leviathan nor say they have gotten him into their hands or custody to lade their vessels and fill their ware-houses to vend him out again and fill their purses as it followeth in this verse Shall they part him among the Merchants The word rendred Merchants Causnaeorum nomen in Scriptura passio◠pro Mercatoribus usurpatur quòd ea gens negatiationi mercimoniis addicta fuerit ob maris viciniam Merc. is according to the Hebrew Canaanites Merchants were so called because there was much Merchandise used by and among the Canaanites their country lying near the Sea Shall thy companions make a banquet of him c. Hence note First That which is got by hard and perilous labour makes the labourers merry when they have got it The Text seems to say If they could but get Leviathan into their hands what feasting would there be or there would be great feasting He that by diligent search finds that blessed treasure in the field of which Christ spake in the Parable Mat. 13.44 he I say for joy of it sells all that he hath and buyeth that field And as they who have found Christ that treasure have cause to rejoyce with great joy So when any good is found or gained by hard labour 't is matter of joy But is banqueting and feasting all that Fisher-men aime at when they labour and venture so hard to catch Leviathan surely no they aime at profit more than at pleasure it is to sell off what they get to the Merchants Hence note Profit puts men upon hard and perilous labours What almost will not men do whither will they not venture for profit gain sweetens labour and the hope of a market the hardness of the undertaking Shall they part him among the Merchants Hence we may note Merchandise is of very antient use Merchants have been of old buying and selling conveighing by Land transporting by sea the commodities of one country to another as it turns to the riches so to the honour and manifold advantages of mankind Only let Merchants be wise to trade heaven-ward as well as earth-ward and be careful they make not shipwrack of a good conscience while their ships and goods escape it Let them often remember the Apostles admonition 1 Cor. 7.29 30. The time is short let them that buy be as if they possessed not and they that use this world as not abusing it for the fashion of this world passeth away Be not unwise Merchants such as mind not the true treasure the right pearl of price The Lord having in this sixth verse intimated how hard a task and how hazardous it is to take Leviathan speaks it expressly in the next Vers 7. Canst thou fill his skin with barbed Irons or his head with fish-spears Barbed irons and fish-spears are instruments in use at this day for the taking of Whales and such like Sea-monsters Now saith the Lord though thou canst not draw up Leviathan with hook and line yet possibly thou thinkest he may be conquered with barbed Irons and spears The word here rendred barbed Irons signifies thorns because such irons are sharp like thornes The skin of a well-grown Whale is extream tough and not easily penetrated so that the Lord might well say Canst thou fill his skin with barbed Irons or his head with fish-spears Yet I conceive these questions do not import an utter impossibility but the extream difficulty of taking the Leviathan what animal soever it is The learned Bochartus takes these words as much favouring his opinion for the Crocodile For saith he they who write about the manner of catching the Whale testifie that he is overcome with showers of barbed Irons cast or poured upon him by the Sea-men that compasse him about but as for the Crocodile his skin is altogether impenitrable But I shall defer any further discourse about this point which is the chief proof against the Whale till I come to the 15th verse and those which follow in a description of the scales of Leviathan And
things their being in the beginning hath hitherto preserved their being and will to the end And not only so but Thirdly all things are his in possession the Lord hath all in his hand In whose hand soever the things of the world are they are all in the Lords hand As Abraham said in his Treaty with the King of Sodom Gen. 14.22 I have lift up my hands to the most high God the possessor of heaven and of earth Psal 24.1 The earth is the Lords and the fulness thereof the world and they that dwell therein that is they are all at his dispose And again The world is mine and the fulness thereof saith the Lord himself Psal 50.12 and therefore if I were hungry that is if I needed any thing I would not tell thee that is complain to thee or go a begging to thee who art but a beggar I can help my self and take what and where I will There is a fourth title by which all things under heaven are the Lords even by Redemption The Lord hath restored the whole world to a kind of new life by the death of his Son Jesus Christ is the Saviour of all men especially of them which believe 1 Tim. 4.10 All have some benefit by redemption and so whatsoever is under the whole heaven the whole Systome of heaven and earth is the Lords by redemption though the specialty of redemption be theirs only and intended to them only who believe who as they have a peculiar portion a Benjamins Mess in the grace of redemption so the Lord calleth them his peculiars Exod. 19.5 Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people for all the earth is mine And they are called the Lords portion Deut. 32.9 The Lords portion is his people Jacob is the lot of his inheritance Thus as all under the whole heaven is the Lords so all is his by a fourfold title by the titles of creation and sustentation and possession and redemption All things visible and invisible have been created are sustained and possessed by him as their great Lord and all things visible have been redeemed by him from present perishing and a world of them in this world that they should never perish but have everlasting life John 3.16 From this general Assertion That whatsoever is under the whole heaven is the Lords take these following Inferences First Then the Devil is a lyar a great lyar for Mat. 4. in his last assault against Christ he boasted that he would give him all the Kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them whereas the truth is he hath not a shoe latchet at his dispose While the Devil saith all is mine the truth is nothing is his but a lye of that he is the father As he hath not given a being to the least worm so he cannot dispose of the least worm he is not worth a straw for all is the Lords Secondly Hence we learn That there is a lying spirit in most of the children of men even in all them who look upon any thing they have as their own There is a sense in which we have a right to and a propriety in what we have and may call it ours but that spirit which moves in most of the children of men is a lying spirit when they say this and that is their own David Psal 12.4 brings in the wicked saying With our tongue will we prevail our lips are our own who is Lord over us What have not we who have so many Lordships the Lordship of our selves the Lordship of that little piece of our selves our lips But were not their lips their own not in the sense they spake it as if they were accountable to none for them for their next word was Who is Lord over us Thus most do they look upon their lips and all the members of their body as their own but what saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 6.20 Glorifie God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods And vers 19. Ye are not your own Your body is not your own but it is the Lords then much less are the things that you have your own your Land is not your own nor your cattel your own the beasts of the earth are not your own nor the fishes of the Sea your own nor is a hair of your head your own nor a pin upon your sleeve they are all the Lords Is it not then a lying spirit which possesseth very many among the children of men who look upon themselves and what they have as their own Their houses and lands are their own their gold and silver are their own who is Lord over them or theirs O let such remember that themselves their houses and lands their gold and silver are the Lords and that the Lord saith expressly The silver is mine and the gold is mine Hag. 2.8 Thirdly If all be the Lords then the Lord is able to supply the wants of all who wait upon him and to supply them plentifully The Lord supplieth the wants of all creatures The Lord keepeth a great house he feedeth all that he hath made he provideth food for Leviathan he satisfieth every living thing Psal 145 16. and Psal 115.16 The heaven even the heavens are the Lords but the earth hath he given to the children of men that is whatsoever of the earth the children of men that is men in common or mankind have the Lord hath given it to them and seing his own children have need of it surely he will not deny it them The Lord I say hath given the earth to the children of men and if the Lord hath bestowed the earth on men as men then much more hath he the earth to bestow upon his own children Christ in his Sermon upon the mount Mat. 6.32 assureth them of it Your heavenly father knoweth that ye have need of these things Food and cloathing is in your fathers hand your father is rich he is rich indeed and therefore he can supply your wants If children do but remember that their father hath such and such lands and houses they think they shall be well provided for how much more may a godly man say my father hath a great deal of land the whole earth is his and therefore I shall be provided for The Apostle improves this position twice 1 Cor. 10. First to makâ— use of our liberty in eating whatsoever is fold in the shambles asking no question for conscience sake for saith he the earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof vers 26. He makes use of it Secondly to perswade us not to abuse our liberty ver 28. But if any man say unto you this is offered in sacrifice unto idols eat not for his sake that shewed it do not offend him and for conscience sake do not offend thy self The earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof As if he had said why shouldst thou trouble thy self or others by eating such meat seing there is enough
me or in his undertaking me about this matter And when that 's done I shall easily and quickly convince him or make him both see and confess that he is a poor weakling that he is nothing or if any thing vile compared with me For if I do but oppose to him the parts powers and comliness of Leviathan he will find himself over-matched Thus I say some conceive the Lord referreth to the former words as promising to him right that should accept the challenge there made and say that he had prevented God or had been aforehand with him Alii non tacerem mendacia ita sumitur ejus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 enim cap. 11.3 Merc. Others give it thus if any man shall venture to answer my challenge I will not conceal his lies so the word by us translated parts is rendred Chap. 11.3 nor his boasting words not the rhetorical ornaments nor the comely proportion of his speech in pleading and arguing with me all which will be found upon trial to be but lies vain flourishes and mear sophistical fallacies But I rather take this verse as a general Preface to that which the Lord intended further to say in the description of this mighty creature Leviathan As if he had said O Job that thou mayst be yet more fully convinced how unable thou art to deal with this mighty fish and mayst therein see yet more clearly how unable thou art to stand before my power who have given both being and power to this creature I shall go on to give thee a more lively picture a more particular narrative a fuller character of him and as it were anatomize this sea monster in all his parts powers and proportions So then in this context and forward to the end of the 32d verse we have the fourth part of the description of Leviathan even by the distinct parts of his body together with the wonderful powers effects and operations that appear in them as acted by that courage stoutness and greatness of spirit with which God have clothed him I will not conceal his parts The Hebrew is I will not be silent about his parts And when the Lord saith I will not conceal nor be silent his meaning is I will fully Meiosis celebrarem ejus membra Drus largely and evidently declare the parts the power and the comely proportion of Leviathan I will view as it were all that is most observable in and about him I will do it exactly not slightly or perfunctorily but like an Oratour declare all his excellencies I will not let slip nor omit any thing that is material or conducible to his commendation So that when the Lord saith I will not conceal he intends much more than he expresseth As the Prophet also did Isa 62.1 when he said For Zions sake will I not hold my peace meaning that he would pour out his heart and make a loud cry in prayers and supplications for Zions sake That 's the import of his words I will not hold my peace As also of those vers 6. Ye that make mention of the Lord or ye that are the Lords remembrancers in the concerns of Zion keep not silence The meaning is speak much for Zion A man doth not keep silence nor hold his peace who speaketh only a word or two But the Lords remembrancers must speak to the full much and often they must urge him with many arguments and plead hard till he bring forth salvation in Zion I urge this Scripture as parallel to the Text in hand where the Lord saith I will not conceal when his purpose was to speak copiously and largely And here the Lord setteth down three things concerning Leviathan which he will not conceal First His parts Secondly His power Thirdly His comely proportion To these three heads all that can be said of Leviathan is reducible I will not conceal his parts or members 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This creature is made up of several heterogeneal parts or members The word rendred parts properly signifieth the bar or bolt of a door as also the boughs of a tree There is a great elegancy in that metaphor because the members of the body in any creature are as so many boughs shot out from the stock of a tree I will not conceal his parts But what are the parts which the Lord mentions or would not conceal I answer The word parts in our language and common speech signifieth the inward abilities and faculties of any man We say such a one is a man of excellent parts or he hath good parts that is he is a wise man an understanding man a well-spoken man But here in this place the word parts notes only the limbs members and organs of the body or the several pieces of the whole compages or frame of the body Of these parts the Lord speaketh in the following part of the Chapter And he speaketh First Of his skin ver 13. Secondly Of his jaws and teeth ver 14. Thirdly Of his scales ver 1◠16 17. Fourthly Of his nostrils eyes and mouth ver 18 19 20 21. Fifthly Of his neck ver 22. Sixthly Of his flesh all over ver 23. Seventhly Of his heart ver 24. All these if not more particular parts the Lord mentions in this Chapter and therefore he might well say I will not conceal his parts Nor his power Parts are one thing and power is another There may be great bodily parts where there is but little power That which maketh parts excellent is when they are full of power or when outward parts are accompanied with inward parts which are the accomplishments of them I will not conceal his power Notum ut 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 prore sumatur Drus The Hebrew is The word or matter of his power Master Broughton renders I will not conceal the speech of strength that is the matter of his strength The Hebrew word signifies not only a word but matter or thing I will not conceal the things of his power These powers are expressed afterwards First In his nostrils By his neefings a light doth shine in the former part of the 18th verse Secondly In his eyes They are like the eye-lids of the morning in the latter part of the 18th verse Thirdly In his mouth Out of his mouth go burning lamps and sparks of fire leap out ver 19. Heat riseth out of the vital power of any creature Leviathans heat is so great that it is called fire and from thence smoke goeth out of his nostrils as out of a seething-pot or cauldron ver 20. yea his breath kindleth coals and a flame goeth out of his mouth ver 21. All these expressions shew the mighty heat within him Fourthly In his neck ver 22. In his neck remaineth strength He hath not only a neck but a strong neck Fifthly In his heart ver 24. His heart is as firm as a stone yea as hard as a piece of the nether mill-stone Sixthly Such is his power
Leviathan There 's a continual fire in his mouth then what is in the kitchin of his stomack for the digestion and concoction of his meat If sparks of fire leap out of his mouth as out of the mouth of a furnace then we may conclude there 's a great fire kept within Vers 20. Out of his nostrils goeth smoak We had fire before and now comes smoak We usually say Where there 's smoak there is some fire and surely where there is so great a heat there must be or hath been some smoak Out of his nostrils goeth a smoak Fumus est der adustus ex multitudine caloris Aquin. What is smoak 'T is air adust say Phylosophers Much heat draws out the airy part of the fewel and turns it into smoak Leviathan having such a fire in his bowels needs must smoak go out of his nostrils which are as a double chimney to vent it or to keep the metaphor in the Text Smoak goeth out of his nostrils As out of a seething pot or caldron The Hebrew is a blown pot because blowing makes a pot seeth quickly and fiercely A Caldron is a great vessel wherein much may be sodden or boyled at once and boyling sends out a great fume or smoak The Hebrew word rendred Caldron properly signifies a copper or brazen Kettle in which dying stuff is boyled for the colouring of cloth It signifies also a pond and so a great vessel like a pond as that in the Temple was called a Sea for its greatness Vers 21. His breath kindleth coals and a flame goeth out of his mouth This verse with the former three tend all to one purpose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ahenum reddidimus ex conjectura propriè ahenum magnum instar stagni quod 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dicitur Drus Leviathans heat is so vehement that his breath kindleth coals The Hebrew is His soul or life kindleth coals The soul and life of irrational creatures is the same and both are but breath His breath kindleth coals that is his breath is so hot that it will even kindle dead or unkindled coals Mr. Broughton renders His breath would set coals on fire The breath of the Whale is not only compared to a great wind issuing out of a pair of bellows which soon kindleth a spark into a great fire but is it self here compared to a fire by a strong Hyperbole like that which concludes this matter And a flame goeth out of his mouth That is a heat as from a flame or such a heat as a flame giveth These four verses may be improved for our use in two things First to inform us how terrible some creatures are There is nothing which is not terrible in this His mouth sends out a burning lamp and sparks of fire smoak goeth out of his nostrils coals are kindled by his breath and a flame goeth out of his mouth What 's the meaning and import of all this not that Leviathan hath these or doth these things indeed but in his wrath for this is the description of an enraged Leviathan he appears as if he were nothing but heat and would set the very element of water on fire and turn the very billows of the Sea into burning flames Secondly If the Lord hath put such a fierceness into this creature when he is angry what is there in the Lord himself when he is angry The Lord in his anger is described like this Leviathan Psal 18.7 8. Then the earth shook and trembled the foundation also of the hills moved and were shaken because he was wroth what follows There went up a smoak out of his nostrils and fire out of his mouth devoured coals were kindled by it The words are almost word for word the same with those in the Text. The Lord is set forth as ushered by fire Psal 50.2 3. Out of Zion the perfection of beauty God hath shined Our God shall come and shall not keep silence a fire shall devour before him and it shall be very tempestuous round about him Again Psal 97.2 Clouds and darkness are round about him vers 3. A fire goeth before him and burneth up his enemies round about that is he destroyeth his enemies in his anger as if he consumed them by fire Once more Isa 33.14 The sinners in Zion are afraid fearfulness hath surprized the hypocrites who among us shall dwell in the devouring fire who amongst us shall dwell with everlasting burnings Thus the Scripture speaks of the Lord in his wrath And doubtless the flaming anger of Leviathan when provoked is but like a warm Sun-shine compared with the provoked anger and hot displeasure of God against presumptuous sinners Who is able to abide his wrath who in sin can dwell with those everlasting burnings who unpardoned can stand before the devouring fire and flames of the Lords displeasure Thus we have the discovery of Leviathans furious heat he is all in a flame Now the Lord having shewed what work Leviathan makes with his mouth and nostrils which belong to his head he comes next to his neck Vers 22. In his neck remaineth strength and sorrow is turned into joy before him Leviathans head is strongly joyned to the rest of his body by his strong neck yet some question whether the Whale hath any neck or no because no distinction which in other creatures is visible appears between his head and his body The learned Bochartus makes this another argument against the Whale and a little reflects upon Diodate who joyning fully with him in opinion that Leviathan is the Crocodile yet le ts go this hold yielding that the Crocodile hath no more neck than the Whale as the neck is taken strictly for that discernable distance between head and shoulders and though he himself grants that several other Authors by him alleadged say the Crocodile hath no neck yet he answers 't is safer to credit Aristotle who saith the Crocodile hath a neck and gives this reason for it because those animals which have no neck at all cannot move their heads whereas the Crocodile by the testimony of Pliny and others can turn his head upwards or hold it up backwards to bite his prey To this some answer and I conceive their answer may satisfie in this Point That how little or how undiscernable soever the space is between the head and the body of any animal the very joyning or coupling of them together may be called his neck and in that sense the Whale hath a neck as well as the Crocodile To this I may add that the shorter the neck of any animal is the stronger it is and that complies fully with what is here said of the neck of Leviathan In his neck remaineth strength The Hebrew is Lodgeth And so Mr. Broughton renders In his neck alwayes lodgeth strength that is he is alwayes strong very strong neckt his neck is so stiff and strong that strength it self may seem to have taken up its residence there That 's the
elegancy of the Hebrew So then these words shew the great strength of Leviathan A stiff or thick neck signifies both strength of body and stoutness of spirit Naturalists say Qui collum habent grossum fortes sunt imbecilles autem qui illud habent gracile Aristot in Physiognomicis those creatures are very strong that are thick neckt as Bulls c. and they are weak that have thin slender necks The Scripture intimates the stiffness and unyieldingness of mans will to the commands of God by the stiffness of his neck Psalm 75.5 Lift not up your horn on high speak not with a stiff neck that is with a neck that will not bow to the Lords yoak nor obey his commands Humble ones bow their heads to worship God and yield their necks to his will For though to bow down the head like a bull rush for a day be not the Fast which God hath chosen Isa 58.5 for that is but an out-side repentance and they who do so may still remain stiff-spirited and pertinacious in their sins yet the bowing of the head hath in it the appearance of a bowed or humbled heart and a stiff neck is the badge of a proud impenitent one To speak with a stiff neck is to speak arrogantly Hannah in her Song 1 Sam. 2.3 useth this language to the stiff ones of the world Talk no more so exceeding proudly let not arrogancy come out of your mouth we put in the margin let not hardness come out of your mouth that is let it not appear at your mouths that your hearts are hard that your spirits are high and stiff speak no more as if you were Leviathans as if you could not bow your necks 'T is good to have a neck strong to bear but there is nothing worse than a strong neck that will not bow yet the strength of Leviathans neck seems rather to imply his courage than his pertinacy as it followeth In his neck remaineth strength And sorrow is turned into joy before him There are three other readings of these words which I shall name and come to our own Ante cum exilit moeror Jun. i. e. moerore afficit omnes obvios ac si de illis triumphans exultaret moeror effectus ab ea humonitus dictum Jun. First Some thus In his neck remaineth strength and before him danceth fear Several of the learned insist much upon this translation and their meaning is this all that come near Leviathan or within sight of him are afraid all the fish in the sea and all the mariners upon the sea that see him dance or hast away for fear as if fear caused by him triumphing over them danced before them He makes such a combustion by stirring the waters and rolling in them that be frights every living thing he meets with none dare stand him Secondly Master Broughton renders it thus Before him danceth carefulness that is as himself glosseth he takes or hath no care meeting with any fish to feed upon that his taking thought is a gladness He is so strong that he knows he can master all the fish that comes near him and can have prey enough for the taking to satisfie his vast stomack and fill his belly therefore he takes no care for tomorrow before him danceth carefulness Christ saith to his disciples take no thought for the morrow It were well if such carefulness danced before us as Leviathans cares dance before him We say of some men they sing care away and all carking heart-cutting and dividing cares should even dance away before all men The Apostles counsel is 1 Cor. 7.32 I would have you without carefulness as much as to say let carefulness dance before you or put it from you use the means and be not solicitous about successes or issues The moâ—e we live by faith the less we live in care or the more our cares dye and they whose hearts are full of faith cannot but have their heads emptied of cares Some say we have a great family many bellies to fill and backs to cloth how can we be without carefulness Consider one Leviathan needs more food than many families yet he takes no care God provides for him though he know it not and will he not provide for those that know him therefore let carefulness dance before you That 's a good reading for our use and comfort Thirdly Others translate thus before him passeth pennury Faciem ejus praecedit egestas Vulg. The meaning of that reading is wheresoever Leviathan comes he leaves nothing but pennury behind him he devours all before him and all little enough scarce enough for him all the fish he meets with all in the sea he eats them up the sea hardly affords enough to fill his huge belly satisfie his hungry appetite As 't is said of Behemoth he thinks he can draw up Jordan that is all the waters of Jordan so Leviathan thinks he can draw up the sea that is all the fish in the sea so that how much soever he meets with he looks upon it as pennury at most as but enough for him So that this translation Before him passeth pennury may have or bear these two interpretations Either First That he makes all pennury where he comes as it s said of the Turkish wars where the Grand Signiors horse treads the grass will not grow he treads down and spoils all Or as 't is said in Scripture of those enemies The land was before them like the garden of Eden and behind them as a desolate wilderness Or Secondly That he thinks all to be but pennury and scarcity how plentiful soever it is that is before him That which may suffice many is scarce a morsel or a mouthful for him as if all the fish in the sea could not serve him for a break-fast As 't is said of Alexander the Great when he had conquered the known world he was as hungry and sharp-set as ever he looked upon all as pennury and wished there were another world for him to conquer Thus plenty is pennury to Leviathan he is an unsatiable gulf that 's a third reading our own saith Sorrow is turned into joy before him The meaning I conceive 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 exultavit Mont. vertetur in laetitiam Pagn Quicquid solicitudinem aliis parit excitat exhilerat ipsius animum Bez. is this Leviathan is so strong and powerful such strength remaineth in his neck that nothing can daunt him or bring down his spirit nothing can trouble him much less terrifie him he fears nothing he fears none and if any object of sorrow present it self to him 't is presently his joy That which hath greatest matter of sorrow in it is to him matter of sport or he makes a sport of it he even rejoyceth in the midst of those things that makes others sad he either makes nothing of them or no such thing of them as they appear to others Sorrow is turned into joy before
Egyptian Sea Isa 11.15 and quotes a Jewish Doctor who expounds it so To this I may reply That other learned men and among them the late Annotators upon our English Bible deny that exposition and are very confident that by the Egyptian Sea is meant not Nilus but the Red Sea which out of the main Ocean shoots into the Land in form and fashion of a tongue Secondly He answers that not only the River Nilus and the Lakes adjoyning to it which abound with Crocodiles but several other great Lakes both in holy Writ and by many Writers are called Seas and therefore he concludes the argument will not hold that by the name Leviathan the Crocodile cannot be signified because the Sea is here assigned as the seat or habitation of Leviathan I grant this is is not a concluding argument against the Crocodile yet from these words we may gather a probable argument for the Whale for as the word Sea is taken sometimes in a large sense for great Rivers and Lakes where Crocodiles are so in strict and proper sense it alwayes signifies the Ocean where Crocodiles are not And the Scripture tells us that the proper place appointed by God for the most proper Leviathans seat is not the Sea in a large and improper sense but in that which is most strict and proper even that which is called the great and wide Sea Psal 104.24 25. as was shewed before And that we have reason to believe that God spake to Job of and about the most proper and eminent of all those animals which by Scripture allowance may be called Leviathan was there also shewed And if so then we must necessarily understand the great and wide Sea by that Deep in the Text which Leviathan maketh to boyl like a pot and by that Sea also which he by his boysterous motion makes like a pot of ointment Thus the Lord in this verse hath told us what work Leviathan makes when he is below in the deep and raising himself towards the surface of the Sea in the next he tells us what he doth when he swims aloft Vers 32. He maketh a path to shine after him c. That is he swims with such force and violence neer the surface of the water that you may see a plain path behind him he makes a great foam or froth upon the waters which shines like a beaten way 'T is good in one sense to make a path shine after us that is by the holiness and righteousness of our lives The path of the righteous shines as the morning light Prov. 4.18 A righteous man walketh not in dark black defiled filthy pathes his are paths of light and such as lead to that blessed inheritance among the Saints in light But the path of an unrighteous man shines only like Leviathans path with an ugly foam or froth or at best 't is but like the shining of a pinching frost or of an aged head which is not whiteness Aestimabit abyssum quasi senescentem Vulg. Vsitatum est ut canum incanescere mare dicatur Haec inter tumidi late maris ibat imago Aurea sed fluctu spumabant caerula cano Virg. l. 8 Aeniad describens navale bellum Augusti atque Antonii Totaque remigio sumis incaâ—uit â—â—de Catullus but hoariness and so 't is still like Leviathans path as it followeth in the latter part of the verse One would think the deep to be hoary The word signifies the hoariness of the head of an old man When we grow old our hair changeth colour and the head is hoary Leviathan makes such a foamy path that one would think the Sea gray-headed or that a hoary frost covered the Sea That metaphor was often used by the old Poets All I shall say from this verse is to take notice of the good providence of God that this hurtful and dangerous creature Leviathan gives such warning where he is While he lies below in the Sea he can do no hurt and as often as he raiseth himself up he makes a path to shine he makes the Sea hoary by which we may the more easily discover and avoid him whereas otherwise he might do mischief unawares or easily surprize the unwary passenger 'T is mercy when they who like Leviathan are able to do much hurt make such a path shine after them as gives any an opportunity to escape them and keep out of danger Thus we have as it were the picture of Leviathan drawn by the hand of God himself And from all it appears that he is a very None-such or that his fellow is not to be found he hath no equal in the visible world such another is no where to be had Thus the Lord concludes Vers 33 34. Vpon the earth is not his like who is made without fear he beholdeth all high things he is a King over all the children of pride These two verses contain the close of all they are as it were the Epilogue the Epiphonema or closing words with which the Lord shuts up his whole discourse about this creature As if he had said Why should I wade further in a description of him by particulars I will say all I will wind up all in a word he is such a one as in the earth there is not his like Or as if the Lord had said to Job I told thee before of Behemoth that he is the chief of my ways yet he comes far short of Leviathan for upon earth there is not his like Leviathan is not only the chief in his own dominion among the fishes of the sea but also among the beasts of the earth the strongest and stoutest of which are not to be compared with him Before I proceed with the opening of these two verses according to our translation which generally holds out Leviathan to be the Whale and before I touch some other translations which bear the same interpretation I shall propose the translation and interpretation given by the learned Bochartus which accommodates these two concluding verses fully to the Crocodile His translation runs thus and so doth his interpretation as followeth There is not his like upon the dust so made Non est ei simile super pulverem ita factum ut non atteratur that he should not be bruised or broken He translates the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not as we upon the earth but upon the dust thereby implying that a creeping thing is here intended by Leviathan For saith he the feet of the Crocodile are so short that he rather creepeth than goeth and therefore he may well be reckoned among creeping things And hence Serpents being creeping things are called Serpents of the dust Deut. 32.24 Now though the Crocodile be a creeping thing yet he differs from ordinary creeping things and Serpents for they may easily be trodden upon and bruised as the Lord said to Adam concerning the Serpent the Devil it that is Christ the seed of the woman shall bruise thy head
his Spirit Every man saith Christ John 6.45 That hath heard learned of the father cometh unto me that is All that are taught of God believe on me And the more any learn of the father the more they come to abide the more closely with the Son Job understood more of God and the mind of God more in all those questions he put to him concerning the heavens the earth the Sea concerning the beasts of the earth and the fowls of the Air concerning Behemoth and Leviathan than ever he did before The more immediate and extraordinary revelations of God are alwayes accompanied with notable effects And though few profit in knowledge according to the measure of the mediate and ordinary Revelation yet probably the more revelation we have of that kind the more we profit Fifthly Job had these great discoveries after God had kept him long in affliction Hence note God doth usually reveal himself most to his people after great sufferings Hence some are of opinion that in these words Job pointed at his two states First that of his prosperity then he heard of God only by the hearing of the ear Secondly Of his adversity then his eye saw him that is he greatly profited in the knowledge of him There are two things which God usually bestows upon his people in the day of or soon after their affliction First more cordials and consolations He gives that strong drink to those that are ready to perish that wine unto those that be of heavy hearts He bids them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more as Solomons metaphors may well import Prov. 31.6 7. Secondly as the Lord gives more consolation in such a day so more illumination the head is bettered by it as well as the heart Many have got much inward light or knowledge both of God and of themselves of their mercies and of their duties by being or after they have been brought into much outward darkness Davids experience taught him this else he had never said Psal 119.71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted that I might learn thy statutes He had never learned either to know the Statutes of God better or to keep them better by his affliction if God had not been with him and revealed himself further to him in the day of his affliction Lastly Note When God manifests himself much to any man great impressions are left upon him As will appear further in opening the next verse Vers 6. Wherefore I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes This verse concludes that part of the Chapter which I call Jobs humiliation He made confession before of his own ignorance uttering things that he understood not things too wonderful for him which he knew not he confessed also the great goodness of God to him in that he had both heard of him by the hearing of the ear and also that his eye had seen him from all which he inferr'd this resolve of deepest self-abasement before God Wherefore I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes This word wherefore is diligently to be attended for 't is the hinge upon which the whole matter turneth This wherefore may have a double reference First To the sight which he had gained of his own folly weakness and vileness of which having made confession in the former words he adds wherefore that is for as much as I am thus convinced of mine own sinfulness I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes Secondly This wherefore may have reference to those higher clearer and fuller manifestations of God to him He had heard of God by the hearing of the ear there was much in that but now his eye had seen him he had a light or a discovery of the excellency and Majesty of God as much surpassing and exceeding what formerly he had as eye-sight doth the hearing of the ear Wherefore the light being come thus fully in upon him concerning the glory soveraignty goodness faithfulness and all-sufficiency of God he cryeth out I abhorr my self c. The Hebrew word signifieth the greatest disgust against himself a kind of reprobating himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 significat nauseare vel reprobaro cum fastidio abjicere abominare or as we speak a turning of his stomack at the thought and remembrance of what he had said and was Some render wherefore I reprehend or reprove my self but to abhor our selves is more than to reprehend or reprove our selves Others I reject I despise I slight my self I turn away from my self All these renderings shew to how little or low an account Job was now come in his own sight Our reading I abhor takes in all the rest and more The Lord useth this word negatively concerning his people Levit. 26.11 I will set my tabernacle amongst you and my soul shall not abhor you the meaning is my soul shall greatly delight in you And at the 15th verse of the same chapter affirmatively of them If you shall despise my statutes or if your soul abhor my judgments then c. despising is less than abhorring To abhor the judgments of God is to cast them not only out of our affections but out of our judgment too and to judge them unworthy or unfit to be owned and obeyed Again at the 30th verse of same chapter I will destroy your high places and cut down your images and cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols and my soul shall abhor you that is I will manifest the utmost and highest of my displeasure against you Once more in the same chapter When they be in the land of their enemies I will not cast them away neither will I abhor them To abhor is to cast away and to look upon a person or a people as cast-aways Read also Deut. 7.26 Deut. 23.7 Psal 5.6 Psal 129.163 Prov. 24.24 Jerem. 14.21 Amos 5.10 chap. 6.8 Zech. 11.8 from all which texts we may collect the weight and great significancy of this word To abhor things or persons imports the deepest displicency or dislike towards either I saith Job abhor My self The word my self is here supplyed by our translators The Hebrew is only this wherefore I abhor leaving us to suppose what he did abhor Our translators make the suppliment thus I abhor my self that is whatsoever may be called my self self-wisdom self-righteousness self-strength self-ends and I would see the end of sinful-self Another translation saith I abhor those former things Illa priora q. d. non tantum illa prius à me cogitata dictaretracto sed etiam detestor Bez. that is whatsoever I formerly thought or spake amiss I do not only dislike them I do not only retract and recant them but I abhor them And if you would know what those former things were which here he renounceth and abhorreth you may take it in these seven words First I abhor that ever I cursed the day of my birth Secondly I abhor that
that is their own peace interest and advantage is all that moves them to it or is designed and aimed at by them in it they mind not the glory of God nor his reparation in honour which hath been by their sin greatly impaired The Lord was down-right with Israel in this Jer. 4.1 If thou wilt return O Israel saith the Lord return unto me intimating that Israel used to make some kind of repenting turns but short of God they minded not God sincerely in them but the removal of some rod or trouble that was come or which they feared was coming upon them They return to God in repenting who repent with a holy resolve upon their hearts to obey God and with a longing desire to enjoy God all the days of their life Thus upon the occasion of Jobs saying I repent I have briefly opened the duty of repentance of such a repentance as without all peradventure Job was then exercised in His was the grace of repentance his repentance was wrought in his heart chiefly by the immediate word and speakings of God to him He turned fully in it from all his passions and expostulations with God which were at that time his special sin to a meek quiet submission to the will of God and a resting in his dispensations All this was wrapped up in this short word I repent Further consider when Job said I repent in dust and ashes he was not then to begin his repentance he had repented long before yet then he began a new work of repentance or then he renewed his repentance Hence note First New sinnings call for new repentings As the new leakings of a ship calls for new pumpings and repairs so I say new sins call for new repentings There is a first repentance and there is a second repentance First Repentance is our coming out of a state of sin of which Christ spake Mat. 11.20 21. Then began he to upbraid the Cities wherein most of his mighty works were done because they repented not Wo unto you Chorazin and wo unto you Bethsaida for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes that is they had come out of their sins Those converts in the Acts of the Apostles chap. 2.38 repented that is they came out of a sinful state Now as there is a repentance which I call our coming out of a state of sin so there is a repentance which is a coming off from this and that act of sin and this is the repentance which Job was upon Again this repentance as to acts of sin is two-fold First Our ordinary and every days repentance Secondly Our extraordinary repentance When we have fallen greatly when we have sinned extraordinary of when the Lord brings any extraordinary judgment upon us then the Lord expects extraordinary repentance such was Davids repentance in the 51. Psalm and such was Jobs repentance here as it was in general for sin so for some extraordinary sinful failings Secondly Consider what was Jobs sin Job was no vile person he had committed no gross acts of wickedness If you would know what Jobs sin was it was impatience under Gods dealings with him and his distrustfulness as to Gods delivering of him yet even his were great sins Hence note Not only gross sins murder adultery and the oppression of our neighbours are great sins but impatiency under the hand of God and unwary speeches concerning the dealings of God with us are great sins Every great sin is not a gross sin Drunkenness and swearing and adultery and murder are gross sins but impatience under afflictions and unbelief not resting upon God in an evil day these are great sins though not gross sins Remember not only are gross sins great sins but many sins which appear not to the eye nor to the ear may yet be great sins especially as to the person that committeth them Thirdly note Not gross sins only but slips of the tongue and impatiency under Gods hand are to be repented of Job not only acknowledged these to be sins but repenteth of these nor had he any other matter to repent of When we are under some great sickness or any other affliction as we are to repent of former sins so let us repent of our sickness and affliction-sins that is of impatience or any unwary speeches in our affliction These Job repented of Again how did Job repent It was in dust and ashes Hence Observe Fourthly Open sins must have open repentance That 's intended by repenting in dust and ashes We are not bound to repent openly of all our sins but in in these two cases we are First When we have done any thing that hath openly dishonoured God Secondly When we have scandalized or offended others In these cases we must repent openly so far that they who are concerned may have a testimony of our repentance When Job repented in dust and ashes he like those servants of Benhadad who came with ropes about their necks testified that he deserved to be thrown into the dust or to be burnt to ashes We can neither edifie nor satisfie such as are grieved by our sins unless our repentance be visible and we appear repenting As the light of our zeal must so shine before men that they may see our good works so the light of our repentance must so shine before men that they may see us humbled for and turning from our evil works and glorifie our father which is in heaven Fifthly Note We may testifie our repentance by outward signs Here was not only the reallity of repentance but the ceremony of it There are many outward signs of repentance spoken of in Scripture Such are First Smiting upon the thigh thus Ephraim is described repenting Jerem. 31.19 Secondly Smiting upon the breast so the Publican is described repenting Luke 18.13 He smote upon his breast and said God be merciful to me a sinner Thirdly Laying aside our ornaments thus the Lord commanded the Israelites Exod. 33.5 Put off thy ornaments from thee that I may know to do unto thee as if God had said humble thy self openly and repent Fâ—urthly The putting on of sack-cloth this the Jews were called to do Isa 22.12 Fifthly Holding down the head The Jews Isa 58.5 were not reproved for doing that but because they did it like a bull-rush only when a storm was upon them Sixthly Renting the garment and walking softly So did Ahab 1 Kings 21.27 Seventhly as in the text Job saith he did sitting in dust and ashes I do not say these or the like are absolutely necessary to repentance but they are lawful and have their use When the Prophet Joel 2.13 said Rent your hearts not your garments that is rent your hearts rather than your garments it was not a prohibition but a direction or if rent your garments be sure you rent your hearts also else all your outward modes of repentance are in vain
keep his sin upon him and continue in it notwithstanding our severest and discreetest rebukes yet he that rebukes a sinning brother doth not suffer sin upon him but hath done his duty and used the means appointed by God for the removing of it And as we should not let the Sun go down upon our wrath against other men nor give place to the devil in our selves Eph. 4.26.27 so we should not suffer the Sun to go down upon the sin of other men nor give place to the devil in them by our forbearance to rebuke them for their sin Thus the Lord dealt with Jobs three friends he speedily reproved them for their error in not speaking of him the thing that was right Further consider The Lord begins with Job and then proceeds to deal with his friends Job had the first reproof his friends the second Hence note The Lord reproves them first whom he respects most who are dearest to him We cannot shew our selves more friendly to any man than by an early reproof of his error or as the word is Lev. 19.17 by not suffering sin upon him 'T is a mercy when we reprove not our selves to meet with a reproof though late from others but to be soon reproved is much mercy Every good the sooner it comes to us the better it is To be helpt out of sin-evil is a great good and therefore when we are in a fault with others 't is a priviledge to be reproved before others and with all possible speed to be brought unto repentance The Apostle Peter saith 1 Pet. 4.17 Judgement begins at the house of God The Lord judgeth his own house before he judgeth the world and it is in mercy to his own house that he doth so for when God judgeth those of his house he chastneth them that they should not be condemned with the world 1 Cor. 10.32 And as God usually begins to judge his own house before he judgeth the world so the neerer and dearer any of his house are to him the sooner he begins with them as here Jobs three friends Eliphaz Bildad and Zophar were of Gods house but Job was more eminent than any of them and therefore God reproved him before he reproved them It was so that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite my wrath is kindled against thee c. The Lord said These words contain the second thing to be considered in this verse to wit the manner of proceeding He said that is he openly declared it he did not whisper it in the ear of Eliphaz he did not speak it to him inwardly by his Spirit there are inward reproofs conscience-checks he did not speak to him in his sleep or in a dream that opinion of one upon this place that God reproved Eliphaz in a dream is but a dream but openly that all might hear and so the innocency of Job and the fault of his friends might be manifest to all Some are of opinion that the Lord said this to Eliphaz out of the whirlwind as he spake to Job And though I do not assert that yet it cannot be denied but that as such a manner of speaking did best suit the Majesty of God so the matter spoken which was a sore reproof in which the Lord manifested much displeasure The Lord said openly and and angerly To Eliphaz the Temanite He spake not to Bildad nor to Zophar but to Eliphaz the Temanite But why did the Lord direct his speech to him personally and by name while the business concerned them all I might answer as some do because what any one of them said to Job was as if said by them all And though their opinions differed yet their persons did not all three agreeing in this though upon several grounds to oppose Job And therefore the Lord in speaking to one spake to them all But I shall give three other Reasons for it and from each a Note First Eliphaz was the elder man the graver person as all agree and therefore God reproved him personally Note this from it The elder and greater any are the greater is their offence when they offend though others offend with them When many are in a fault the chiefs or heads of them are most faulty and deserve chiefly to hear of it When Israel had committed that great sin in Baal-peor Numb 25.4 The Lord said Hang up the heads of the people before me that is the chiefs of the people So in proportion when the Lord came to deal with these three he fell upon Eliphaz first as the more eminent or first of the three Secondly as Eliphaz was the elder or first of the three so he began first with Job he was not only the first and chief in person but he was the first and chief speaker Hence note They who are first in a fault shall be first in reproof It is dangerous to follow or be a second in a bad matter but more to begin and be leader Thirdly Eliphaz was more sharp with and violent against Job than the other two and therefore the Lord began with him Hence note The deeper any are in a fault of any kind and the more of the heart appeareth in it the worse it is the more blame-worthy are they and they shall be more blamed for it All the three friends of Job did much mistake him but the spirit of Eliphaz was hottest therefore the Lord culled him out first The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite What said the Lord My wrath is kindled against thee and against thy two friends My wrath is kindled These words are used by Elihu Chap. 32.2 3. Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite against Job was his wrath kindled and against his three friends was his wrath kindled Here the Lord taketh up the same words concerning Eliphaz My wrath is kindled against thee thy two friends Elihu's wrath was kindled not only against Jobs friends but against Job himself but the Lords wrath was kindled only against Jobs three friends not against Job He indeed displeased God and was sharply reproved by him but the wrath of God was not kindled against him 'T is useful to consider the difference between Gods judgement and mans both as to things and persons Elihu thought Job was faulty as his friends and therefore his wrath was kindled as against his three friends so against him too but the Lord thought otherwise and therefore said to Eliphaz My wrath is kindled against thee and thy two friends he said not so to Job Again consider the Lord spake much with Job but he spake little with his friends he did not vouchsafe them any long discourse and the words he spake to them were very hot words he in few words as angry men use to do told them their own Once more consider the difference of the Lords dealing with him and them The Lord fetcht a great compass to reprove Job as
Nathan the Prophet did to reprove King David but he told his friends at first word My wrath is kindled against you Though they were good men yet not so dear to God as Job and therefore he dealt in a more fatherly and favourable way with Job than with them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Exarsit incensus inflammatus est Inter septem voculas Hebraeorum quae iram significant haec omnium est gravissima Scult they had only hot words My wrath is kindled against you c. I am more than angry As the coals of spiritual love spoken of Cant. 8.6 so the coals of divine wrath are coals of fire which hath a most vehement flame There are seven words in the Hebrew language which signifie anger and this notes the most vehement of them all My wrath is kindled The Latine words Ira and Irasco seem to be derived from it The word is sometimes applied to grief there is a kind of fire in grief Thus 't is said 1 Sam. 15.11 It grieved Samuel and he cryed unto the Lord all night Samuel was vehemently grieved becauâ—e of the ill performance of Saul in his expedition against the Amalakites 'T is also translated to fret Psal 37.8 9. Fret not thy self in any wise to do evil fretting hath its burning My wrath saith the Lord is kindled There is a wrath of God which is not kindled as I may say it is not blown up 't is covered in the ashes of his patience and forbearance but here saith God My wrath is kindled This is spoken by God after the manner of men God feels no change by wrath or anger no impression is made on him by any passion Wrath in God notes only his change of dispensations towards man not any in himself When he acts like a man whose wrath is greatly kindled then 't is said his wrath is kindled as when he acteth like a man that sheweth much love it may be said his love is kindled Further when God saith My wrath is kindled it implieth there is some great provocation given him by man as in the present case Eliphaz and his two friends had done The Lord threatned a sinful Land with brimstone and salt and burning like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and this being executed all Nations shall say wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this Land what meaneth the heat of this great anger Then men shall say because they have forsaken the Covenant of the Lord God of their Fathers c. Deut. 29.23 24 25. The wrath of God is never kindled till blown and that which bloweth it up is mans sin nor doth the ordinary sins of man kindle the wrath of God for then it must be alwayes kindled even against the best of men Doubtless when the Lord said in the Text to Eliphaz My wrath is kindled against thee and thy two friends there was somewhat extraordinary in their sin which kindled it and therefore the Lord directed them an extraordinary way as to circumstances for the querching of it and the making of their peace But here it may be questioned why did the Lord say his wrath was kindled only against Eliphaz and his two friends had he nothing to say against Elihu he had spoken as harshly to Job as any of them yet Elihu was not at all reproved much less was the wrath of God kindled against him I answer 'T is true Elihu spake very hard words of Job yet we may say four things of Elihu which might exempt him from this blame which fell upon those three First He did not speak with nor discover a bitter spirit as they did Secondly Elihu objected not against Job his former life nor charged him as having done wickedly towards man or hypocritically towards God he only condemned him for present miscarriages under his trouble for impatience and unquietness of spirit under the cross Thirdly That which Elihu chiefly objected against Job was the justifying of himself rather than God as he speaks at the beginning of the 32d Chapter not the maintaining of his own innocency nor the justifying of himself before men Indeed Job failed while he insisted so much upon that point that he seemed more careful to clear himself than to justifie God Fourthly When Elihu spake hardly it was more out of a true zeal to defend the justice of God in afflicting him than to tax him with injustice Now because Elihu did not carry it with a bitter spirit and hit the mark much better than his friends though in some things he also shot wide and misunderstood Job therefore the blame fell only upon Jobs three friends and not upon Elihu The Lord said to Eliphaz my wrath is kindled against thee and against thy two friends but his wrath went no further Hence note First The Lord knows how to declare wrath as well as love displeasure as well as favour He hath a store of wrath as well as of love and that is kindled when he is highly displeased Secondly Note Sin causeth kindlings or discoveries of divine wrath Had it not been for sin the Lord had never declared any wrath in the world nothing had gone out from him but kindness and love favours and mercies Wrath is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and against unrighteousness only Rom. 1.18 Unrighteousness kindleth wrath sin is the kindle-coal When we see wrath or displeasure going out we may conclude sin is gone out Moses said to Aaron Numb 16.46 Take a Censer and put fire therein from off the altar and put on incense and go quickly unto the congregation and make an atonement for them for there is wrath gone out from the Lord the plague is begun Now as in this latter part of the chapter Moses shews that wrath was gone out against that people from the Lord so in the former part of it he shews that sin and that a great sin was gone out from that people against the Lord. Thirdly Note The Lord sometimes declareth wrath even against those whom he loveth Wrath may fall upon good men such were these friends of Job All the Elect whilest they remain unconverted or uncalled are called Children of wrath Ephes 2.3 Though they are in the everlasting love of God yet they are children of wrath as to their present condition whilst in a state of nature and unreconciled to God Now as the children of God are children of wrath before their conversion so when any great sin is committed after conversion they are in some sense under wrath and the Lord declareth wrath against them till the breach be healed and their peace sued out It is dangerous continuing for a moment in any sin unrepented of or we not going unto God by Jesus Christ for pardon When once the wrath of God is kindled how far it may burn who knoweth There is no safety under guilt Therefore kiss the son lest he be angry and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little blessed
though they had judged him an hypocrite or an ungodly man Thus the Lord sent them to Job that they might eat their words and receive a full conviction of their error Thirdly God would have them go to his servant Job to make them sensible that the favour he intended them was very much for Jobs sake and that they must in part be beholding to Job for it Fourthly The Lord sent them to Job that he might give a high evidence of his grace especially of his charity in forgetting injuries and requiting good for evil His friends had reproached him ten times and grieved his spirit very much yet he must shew how ready he was to forgive them and pray that they might be forgiven Fifthly God would have them to go to Job that they might know that Job was reconciled to them as well as himself Sixthly God would have them go to Job that this might humble them or that they might shew their humility and submission It was a great piece of self-denial for them to go to Job after such a contest and entreat him to speak for them of whom they had spoken so hardly and with whom they had long contended so bitterly Thus the Lord tried both Job and them the Lord tried Jobs charity and their humility We are hardly brought to confess that we have wronged others or have been out and mistaken our selves 'T is no easie matter for a man to acknowledge himself overcome 't is extream hard to become a suppliant to one whom we lately despised and trampled upon All this is his hard meat and not easily digested yet Eliphaz and his two friends must digest all this before they could acceptably obey the Lords command in going to his servant Job Nor was it an easie matter for Job to forget so many affronts and unkindnesses as he had received from his friends ' T is hard for a man that hath been wronged and reproached yea condemned to pass air by and not only embrace his opposers and reproachers but pray and solicite for them Thus the Lord in sending them to Job took tryal both of Job and them The Lord commanding them to supplicate him whom they had offended and expecting that he should make suit and supplication for them who had offended him put both their graces to it and in a most sweet and gracious way at once healed the breach which had been between Job and them as also that between them and himself Who ever took up a difference more sweetly or reunited dissenting brethren thus wisely Go to my servant Job And offer up for your selves a burnt-offering That is those seven bullocks and seven rams Here as was said before was the facrifice but who was the Priest The text saith Offer up for your selves which may intimate that that as they were to offer a sacrifice for themselves so that they themselves offered it But as Interpreters generally so I conceive Job was the Priest who offered it in their behalf We read chap. 1.5 that Job offered sacrifices for his children and there it was shewed that he was the Priest Every sacrifice must be offered by a Priest the people brought the sacrifice unto him to offer for them No sacrifice is acceptable without a Priest Therefore Jesus Christ who was our sacrifice was a Priest also none could offer him but himself he was both sacrifice and Priest and Altar So then whereas the Text saith they were to offer a burnt-offering for themselves the meaning is they were to bring it unto Job and he to offer it for them The Priest offered and Israel offered that is Israel offered by the Priest they brought the matter of the sacrifice to the Priest and the Priest slew and presented the sacrifice to the Lord. It is one thing to offer another thing to slay the sacrifice They offered a sacrifice who brought it or at their cost caused it to be brought to the holy place and this any of the people might do They offer it upon the Altar to the Lord who were especially appointed thereunto These were the Priests only Before the Ceremonial law as given by God to Moses the Priest-hood lay in the eldest or father of the family upon which account Job was a Priest whereas afterwards the Priest-hood was settled in the family of Aaron and it was forbidden to any but one of hs line to offer sacrifice So that when the Lord said to Eliphaz and his two friends Go to my servant Job and offer up for your selves a burnt-offering he directed them to Job Non est hic curiousè captendo distinctio holocausti aboliis victimis cim haec ante legem contigovint Quasi latinè diceres-holocaustabitis holo caustum i.e. in solidum offeratis ut in auras totum abort officietis Merc. as having the honour of Priest-hood in him and so the power of doing it for them or in their behalf Offer up for your selves A burnt-offering That is a sacrifice wholly consumed by fire The Hebrew is very elegant make an ascentton to ascend The whole burnt-offering was the most perfect offering and therefore the Hebrews express it by a word that signifieth the perfect consumption of it in the fire and so the ascention of it to heaven in smoke and vapour as a sweet odour in the nostrils of the Lord as the Apostle speaks Ephes 5.1 and as David Psal 141.2 A part of many sacrifices was saved to feast upon afterwards as the harlot spake Prov. 7.14 I have peace-offerings with me this day have I payed my vows but the burnt-offering was wholly consumed and sent up unto the Lord. Go to my servant Job and offer up for your selves a burnt-offering Hence note First The Lord is very ready to forgive and to be at peace with those that have offended him Though the fire of his wrath be kindled as it is said in the former verse yet he is willing to have it quenched The Prophet Micah chap. 7.18 makes this report of God He retaineth not his anger for ever that is he retaineth it but a little while he is speedily pacified and forgives and sometimes as here he forgives without any higher signification of his anger than a bare rebuke The Lord did not lay the least mulâ—t the least chastning or affliction upon Eliphaz and his two friends though his wrath was kindled against them I grant it is not so always some smart sorely and pay dearly for their errors When the anger of the Lord was kindled against Aaron and Miriam Num. 12.9 for speaking against Moses as those three had against Job he was not then so easily pacified for first it is said in the close of the 9th verse he departed and ver 10. the cloud departed from off the tabernacle here was much displeasure yet not all for it followeth and behold Miriam became leprous white as snow In this case God was angry with two that had spoken against a servant of his and they felt
also accepted Job This gives evidence or witness to the goodness of Job and his eminence in grace how full of love how ready to forgive was he He did not insult over Eliphaz c. nor say now I have got the day God hath determined the matter for me Amicè ut amicos illos amplexus est he did not tell them ye have wronged and abused me ye have unjustly censured and reproached me but putting their unkindnesses into oblivion and laying aside the thought of them he laid out his soul to the utmost for the healing or making up of the difference arising from their folly between God and them For the better improvement of these words First Let us compare them with those in the eighth verse Here it is said The Lord also accepted Job and there the Lord said Him will I accept there it is a promise here a performance Hence note Whatsoever the Lord promiseth to do he will certainly perform and do A word from God is as sure as his deed our hope upon promise as good as possession In hope of eternal life which God who cannot lye promised before the world began Tit. 1.2 Christ will be Amen that is performance 2 Cor. 1.20 to all the promises 2 Cor. 1.20 As they are all made in him so they shall every one of them and in every thing be made good by him unto the glory of God by us that is we shall at last have abundant cause of glorifying of God in performing and making good of all the promises upon the undertaking of Jesus Christ for us No man shall fail of acceptance that is under as Job was a promise of acceptation get under promises and you shall partake the good promised Secondly Whereas upon their doing according as the Lord commanded presently it followeth The Lord also accepted Job Note Though the Lord will surely perform what he hath promised yet if we would have the good promised we must do the duty commanded otherwise our faith is but presumption If Eliphaz and his two friends had not done as the Lord commanded them they could not rightly have expected God should do what he promised accept Job and so themselves There are promises of two sorts First of preventing grace these are made to the wicked and unconverted Secondly there are promises of rewarding grace these are made to the godly who must perform the duty commanded if they would receive the mercy promised As many as walk according to this rule peace be on them and mercy Gal. 6.16 If you will have peace you must walk according to rule the Lord is not bound to fulfil promises if we take liberty to break Commandements or neglect to do them And they who have true faith in the truth and faithfulness of God to fulfil the one can never take liberty to break the other None are so sure to the Command as they who have fullest assurance in the Promise The Lord also accepted Job Here are but few words yet much matter and who knoweth how much mercy Here is much yea all in a little The Lord accepted Job Hence note Thirdly To be accepted of God is the answer of all our prayers and desires a full reward for all our services Acceptation with God is the happiness of man and should be his satisfaction If we are accepted in our services we are bountifully rewarded for them and if our persons are accepted we shall be everlastingly saved When the Lord accepted Job he he heard his prayer for his friends they were reconciled This good news The Lord also accepted Job was enough to make their hearts leap for joy Acceptation is a reviving word the sum of all that we can wish or pray for 't is enough enough to confirm our faith and to wind up our assurance to the very highest expectation of a supply to all our wants and of pardon for all our sins All the kindnesses of God are comprehended in this one word Acceptation Fourthly The Lord accepted Job Here is no mention at all of accepting his sacrifice yet that was accepted too Hence note The Lord having respect to our persons cannot but have respect to our services If our persons are accepted our services are and if the services of any are not respected it is because their persons are not 'T is said Gen. 4.4 5. The Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering but unto Cain and his offering he had no respect Respect or no respect to what is done alwayes begins with the person of the doer Yet further Job was accepted but uâ—on what account or how was Job accepted not in himself nor for himself but in Christ the promised Messias Hence note Fifthly That any mans person is accepted is from free grace through Jesus Christ When we have done all we deserve nothing we are only accepted The Lord accepted Job not for his own sake not for the worth of his service not for the worthiness of his person but for him whom he in that action represented and in whom he believed Jesus Christ Job himself needed Christ for his acceptation 't is in and through him that any are accepted The word Acceptance plainly implieth that there is nothing of merit in us acceptation notes grace and favour This respect to us is not for any desert in us From the whole we may infer First If the Lord accepted Job when he offered sacrifice and prayed for his friends how much more doth he accept Jesus Christ who offered himself a sacrifice for sinners and ever liveth to make intercession for them whose sacrifice he is Did the Lord presently accept Job and his friends or Job for his friends then what confidence may we have that Jesus Christ who is our everlasting sacrifice and Advocate who is entred into the holiest the Sanctuary of heaven and there pleads for us with his own blood is accepted for us and we through him Christs suit shall never be refused nor shall we while we come to God through him This act of divine grace was as I may say but a shadow or figure of that great work of Jesus Christ in reconciling sinners and making them accepted with the Lord and therefore as often as we pray Christs everlasting sacrifice should come to our remembrance for the confirmation of our faith and our encouragement against fears We may argue down all our doubts about acceptation by Christ upon this account that Jobs friends were accepted at his suit and their acceptation not bottom'd on him nor in his sacrifice but as both shadowed Christ Where the Reconciler is accepted they that are in him and for whom he makes request are accepted too What the Lord spake from heaven Mat. 3.17 This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased reacheth all believers to the end of the world whose head and representer Christ is Let us adore and ever be thankful that we have received such grace in Christ for though Jesus
as a prayer for their return out of proper captivity and largely for their deliverance out of any adversity So Psal 126.1 When the Lord turned the captivity of Sion we were like them that dream Read also Zeph. 2.7 Secondly From the author of this turn The Lord turned the captivity c. Observe Deliverance out of an afflicted state is of the Lord. He is the authour of these comfortable turns and he is to be acknowledged as the authour of them The Psalmist prayed thrice Turn us again Psal 80.3 7 19. The waters of affliction would continually rise and swell higher and higher did not the Lord stop and turn them did not he command them back and cause an ebb Satan would never have done bringing the floods of affliction upon Job if the Lord had not forbidden him and turned them It was the Lord who took all from Job as he acknowledged chap. 1.21 and it was the Lord who restored all to him again as we see here the same hand did both in his case and doth both in all such cases Hos 6.1 Let us return to the Lord for he hath torn and he will heal us he hath smitten and he will bind us up David ascribed both to God Psal 66.11 12. Thou broughtest us into the net thou layedst affliction upon our loins thou hast caused men to ride over our heads we went through fire and through water The hand of God led them in that fire and water of affliction through which they went but who led them out The Psalmist tells us in the next words Thou broughtest us into a wealthy place the Margin saith into a moist place They were in fire and water before Fire is the extremity of heat and driness water is the extremity of moistneâ—s and coldness A moist place notes a due temperament of â—eat and cold of driness and moistness and therefore elâ—gantly shadows that comfortable and contentful condition into which the good hand of God had brought them which is significantly expressed in our translation by a wealthy place those places flourishing most in fruitfulness and so in wealth which are neither over-hot nor over-cold neither oveâ—-dry nor over-moist And as in that Psalm David acknowledged the hand of God in this so in another he celebrated the Lords power and goodness for this Psal 68.20 He that is our God is the God of salvation and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death that is the out-lets or out-gates from death are from the Lord he delivereth from the grave and from every grief The Lord turned the captivity of Job not only p eserving him from death but filling him with the good things and comforts of this life Thirdly Note The Lord can suddenly make a change or turn As he can quickly make a great change from prosperity to adversity and in a moment bâ—ing darkness upon those who injoy the sweetest light so he can quickly make a change from adversity to prosperity from captivity to liberty and turn the darkest night into a morning light For such a turn the Church prayed Psal 126.4 Turn again our captivity O Lord as the streams in the south that is do it speedily The south is a dry place thither streams come not by a slow constant currant but as mighty streams or land-floods by a sudden unexpected rain like that 1 Kings 18.41 45. Get thee up said Eliah to Ahab for there is a sound of aboundance of rain and presently the heaven was black with clouds and wind and there was a great rain When great rains come after long drought they make sudden floods and streams Such a sudden income of mercy or deliverance from captivity the Church then prayed for and was in the faith and hope of nor was that hope in vain nor shall any who in that condition wait patiently upon God be ashamed of their hope The holy Evangelist makes report Luke 13.16 that Satan had bound a poor woman eighteen years all that time he had her his prisoner but Jesus Christ in a moment made her free Ought not this woman being a daughter of Abraham whom Satan hath bound lo these eighteen years be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day The devil who had her in his power eighteen years could not hold her a moment when Jesus Christ would turn her captivity and loose her from that bond If the Son undertake to make any free whether from corporal or spiritual bondage they shall not only be free indeed as he spake John 8.36 at the time when he is pleased to do it but he can do it at any time in the shortest time when he pleaseth We find a like turn of captivity is described Psal 107.10 11 12 13 14. such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death being bound in affliction and iron because they rebelled against the word of the Lord c. These vers 13. cryed unto the Lord in their trouble and he saved them out of their distresses He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and brake their bands in sunder Thus far of the first particular considerable in Jobs restitution the Author of it The Lord turned the captivity of Job The second thing to be considered is the season which the Lord took for the turning of Jobs captivity the Lord did it saith the text When he prayed for his friends Some conceive the turn of his captivity was just in his prayer time and that even then his body was healed I shall have occasion to speak further to that afterwards upon another verse Thus much is clear that When he prayed That is either in the very praying time or presently upon it the Lord â—urned his captivity Possibly the Lord did not stay till he had done accorâ—ing to that Isa 65.24 It shall come to pass that before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear Or according to that Dan. 9.20 While I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my supplications before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God Yea while I was speaking in prayer even the man Gabriel whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning being caused to flie swiftly touched me about the time of the evening oblation and he informed me and talked with me and said O Daniel I am come forth to give thee skill and understanding at the beginning of thy supplications the commandement came forth and I am come to shew thee c. What commandement came forth even a command for the turning of their captivity Thus here I say possibly the Lord gave out that word of command for the turning of Jobs captivity at that very time when he was praying for his friends But without question these words when he prayed for his friends note a very speedy return of his prayers that is soon after he had done that gracious office for them he
ascend into the hill of the Lord c. and answered it vers 4 5. He that hath clean hands and a pure heart who hath not lift up his soul to vanity nor sworn deceitfully he shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness that is a righteous reward or a reward according to righteousness from the God of his salvation Solomon asserts the present performance of what is only promised in this Psalm he saith not The just shall receive the blessing but they have actually received it Prov. 10.6 Blessings are upon the head of the just By the just man we may understand First him that is in a justified state or him that is just by faith Secondly him that walks in a just way or that do justly And they who are indeed justified are not only engaged by that high act of grace to do justly but are either constantly kept in doing so or are soon brought to see they have not done so and to repentance for it Just and upright men in these two notions are so much blessed that they are a blessing Prov. 11.11 By the blessing of the upright is the City exalted As an upright man wisheth and prayeth for a blessing upon the City where he liveth so he is a blessing to it and that no small one but to the greatning enriching and exaltation of it He that is good in his person becomes a common good to Cities yea to whole Nations such are a blessing because they receive so many blessings Pro. 28.20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings This faithful man is one that acts and doth all things faithfully as appears by his opposition in the same verse to him that maketh hast to be rich of whom the Text saith he shall not be innocent that is he must needs deal unfaithfully or unrighteously for in making such post-hast to riches he usually rides as we say over hedge and ditch and cannot keep the plain way of honesty Thirdly As they who are in a state of grace and they who act graciously in that state so they who worship holily or holy worshippers have a special promise of the blessing As Sion is the seat of holy worship so there the Lord commandeth the blessing upon holy worshippers Psal 133.3 And again Psal 115.12 13. He will bless the house of Israel he will bless the house of Aaron he will bless them that fear the Lord both small and great that is the generality of holy worshippers shall be blessed The fear of the Lord is often put in Scripture for the worship of the Lord and so they that fear him are the same with them that worship him Fourthly They are the blessed of the Lord who trust the Lord for all and so make him the all of their trust Psal 34.8 O tast and see that the Lord is gracious blessed is the man that trustith in him that is in him only or alone being convinced of the utter insufficiency of the creature That man is cursed who trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm Jer. 17.5 therefore pure trust in God hath the blessing Fifthly They that are a blessing unto others shall have the blessing from the Lord. What it is to be a blessing to others read at large in the 29th Chapter of this Book vers 11. and in 31. Chapter vers 20. They that do good to others they especially who do good to the souls of others are a blessing to others Now they who do good they shall receive good themselves Prov. 11.25 The liberal shall be made fat and he that watereth shall be watered also himself He that watereth is a common good a blessing to the place where he lives a blessing to the rich a blessing to the poor a blessing to relations a blessing to strangers upon such the Scripture assures the blessing of the Lord. Sixthly They who promote the worship and service of God they that are friends to the Ark of God shall be blessed 2 Sam. 6.11 The Lord blessed the house of Obed-edom because he entertained the Ark shewed kindness to the Ark and was ready to do any service for the Ark of God he will be a friend to the true friends of his Church Seventhly They shall receive a blessing of God who strive in prayer for his blessing Jacob was blessed but he wâ—estled for it They that would have it must ask it with a gracious importunity they that seek it diligently shall find it These are the chief characters of the persons whom the Lord will bless And seeing his blessing is so effectual for the procurement of our good we should above all things labour to procure his blessing When Jacob wrestled with the Angel he asked nothing of him but a blessing Gen. 32.26 He did not say I will not let thee go except thou deliver me from my brother Esau he did not say I will not let thee go unless thou make me rich or great he only said I will not let thee go except thou bless me let me be blessed and let me be what thou wilt or I can be What should we desire in comparison of the blessing of God seeing his blessing strictly taken is the fruit of his fatherly love A man may be rich and great and honoured among men yet not beloved but he that is indeed blessed is certainly beloved of God Esau could not obtain the blessing Now what saith the Lord by the Prophet of him as the Apostle quotes the Prophet Rom. 9.13 Esau have I hated Esau got much riches but he could not get the blessing for he was hated of the Lord and therefore it is said Heb. 12.17 He found no place for repentance though he sought it carefully with tears that is he could not make Isaac repent of blessing Jacob though through a mistake yet according to Gods appointment he could not prevail with him no not by tears to take off the blessing from his brother Jacob and place it upon himself And the reason why the blessing remained with Jacob was because he was loved of God The blessing must go where the love goes The loved of the Lord are and shall be blessed and they who are blessed have all good with a blessing Read Gen. 24.35 Gen. 26.13 Gen. 28.3 2 Sam. 6.11 Psal 107.38 Yea as God giveth all good with a blessing so he giveth himself who is the chief good best of all and blessed for evermore to those whom he blesseth Then how should we desire the blessing of God or to be blessed by God It is wonderful how passionately and even impatiently the Votaries of Rome desire the Popes blessing they think themselves made men if they can but have his blessing I have read of a Cardinal who seeing the people so strangely desirous of his blessing Quando quidem populus hic vult decipi dicipiatur said Seeing this people will be deceived let them be deceived But we cannot be too desirous of a blessing from
outward things God deals not with all alike but it is often so God gives them their best at last even in the things of this life As the Governour of the Feast said to the Bridegroom John 2. Thou hast kept the best wine till now So the Lord often keeps the best wine of outward comforts to the very last of our lives Bildad put it only as a supposition to Job Chap. 8.7 If thou wert pure and upright surely then he would awake for thee and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous though thy beginning was small yet thy latter end should greatly increase But we may resolve it as a Position concerning Job surely he was pure and upright for God did awake for him and made the habitation of his righteousness prosperous his beginning was comparatively small but his latter end did greatly encrease or he had a great encrease at his latter end And though this be not alwayes true as to outward things that the Lord blesseth the latter end of a good man more than his beginning yet it is always true as to spiritual things it is always true as to the best things The Lord gives his people their best soul-blessings at last though they have great good before yet greater good or their good in a greater measure then he gives them more grace more of his Spirit more of his comforts and their latter end is most blessed as it is the beginning of endless blessedness Abraham said to the rich man in the Parable Son remember thou hast had thy good things and Lazarus evil things but now he is comforted and thou art tormented The Lord deals best with all his people at last one way or other to be sure all shall be well with them in the latter end Solomon saith Eccl. 7.8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning And he said so not because all things end better than they begin but because when things or persons end well it is then surely well with them whatever their beginning was That is well which ends well Hence let us be minded not to judge the work of God before the latter end The works of God seem cross many times to his people but he will set all right and make them amends for all at the latter end The Apostle James calls us to consider Job's latter end Chap. 5.11 Ye have heard of the patience of Job that is you have heard of his sufferings in the flesh and of his suffering spirit and ye have seen the end of the Lord that is what end the Lord made for him Some give another interpretation of these latter words as was shewed formerly but this I conceive most clear to the context Ye have seen the end of the Lord that is what end the Lord made for Job Though the middle part of his life was very grievous yet God changed the Scene of things and his end was very glorious David Psal 37.37 would have the end of upright men marked and well considered Mark the perfect man and behold the upright the end of that man is peace Possibly he hath had a great deal of trouble in his way but his end is peace Let not us be offended at the crosses which we meet with in the course of our lives but look to the promised crown at the conclusion of our lives Let us not stay in the death of Christ nor in the grave of Christ but look to the resurrection and the ascension of Christ You may see those who are Christs on the Cross and in the Grave but mark and you shall see their resurrection and ascension The two witnesses are represented slain yet raised and then ascending up to heaven in a cloud their enemies beholding them Rev. 11.11 12. Despise not the day of small things Zech. 4.10 the latter end may have a great encrease despond not in the day of sorrowful things for the latter end may be full of joy There are three things which should much comfort us in our afflictions First That they cannot last alwayes they will have an end Secondly That while they last or before theyh ave an end they are medicinal and healthful they are for our good while they continue upon us or we in them Thirdly which we have in the Text we may expect that as they shall surely have an end so that they will end comfortably No chastning for the present saith the Apostle Heb. 12.11 seemeth joyous but grievous nevertheless afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby God will not only bring our troubles to an end but he will give us sweet fruit at the end of them as a recompence for all our troubles God will not only bring our sufferings to an end but to such an end as will make us gainers by them Those are even desirable and lovely losses which issue in such advantages Secondly In that the Lord gave Job so great an advance in worldly things Observe The Lord sometimes gives his people much more of this world than they desire or ever looked after Job was far from praying for such an encrease he never desired that his earthly substance should be doubled in his latter end Indeed we find him once wishing that it were with him as in his beginning but he wished not for more Chap. 29.2 O that it were with me as in the months past as in the day when the Lord preserved me when his candle shined upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness Job wished that he were in as good a condition as he once had but he never wished that all might be doubled or that his latter end should be more than his beginning yet the Lord gave him more gave him double to his beginning God exceeded his prayers and his wishes As the Lord is able to do exceeding abundantly for us above all that we ask or think Eph. 3.20 so he often doth and usually therefore moderates the desires and askings of his people as to the things of this world that he may out-give their askings and out-do their desires Thirdly The Lord made Job the greatest man in the East in his beginning but he blessed his latter end more than his beginning Hence note How much soever the Lord gives at one time he can give more at another God gave Job good measure before but now according to that expression Luke 6.38 he gave him good measure heaped up pressed down and running over Let us not say when God hath given us much or done much for us he can give or do no more for us he hath more in his treasure of temporal good things and he hath more in his treasure of spiritual good things than he hath yet given out to any he can give more faith how much faith soever he hath given he can give more patience how much patience soever he hath given and so of every grace and good thing The