the great Monarchs who were as the mountains and hils of the world bowed under the Lord. The word is used to the same sense Isa 49.23 where the Lord promiseth his people That Kings shall be their nursing Fathers and Queens their nursing Mothers they shall bow downe to thee with their face toward the earth and lick the dust of thy feet The Church shall have the honour to be honoured by the Kings and Princes of the world they being converted shall bow downe so low to the Scepter of Jesus Christ held forth by the Church as if they would lick up the very dust and shall employ their power and authority for the good and protection of the Church The speech of Israel Gen. 27.29 in his prophetick blessing upon Jacob Let thy mothers sons bow downe to thee and of Jacob in his upon Judah Gen. 49.8 Thy fathers children shall bow downe before thee note greatest honour and subjection to them both The meaning of all is plainly this That except the Lord himself suspend his own act and restrain his anger no power in heaven or earth how strong how proud how confident of successe soever is able to force him or to alter him Helpers shall not help themselves much lesse those to whose help they come against the minde and purpose of God Observe here first Those passions which are ascribed to God are fully under the command of God The passion of anger is ascribed to God yet the anger which we say is in God hath no power over God Mans anger usually masters him but God is alwaies master of his anger that is he can turn and with-draw his anger when he pleaseth There is no perturbation in God when he is offended he is not moved his motions are all without upon the creatures he hath none in his own bosom The passions of the Lord are his most serious counsels determinations and we therefore say he is angry because those counsels of his acted look like the effects of anger Secondly observe That It is not in the power of man to turn away the anger of God He doth not say except men by praier or other means stop the anger of God but Except the Lord with-draw his anger all help is vain Praier is said to appease the wrath of God and to stay his anger Moses stood in the gap and Aaron came out with incense to turn away his wrath yet it is an act of Gods will which turns away his anger not the force of our praier praier therefore prevails with God because he hath said it shall He is infinitely free when himself acknowledges that we laythe powerfullest restraint upon him when the Lord is turned by praier it is his will to be turned it was his counsell and is his command that praier should be made as a means to turn him and it is his promise that he will turn to us when we pray Then it appears to us that the Lord hath decreed to do a thing when he stirs up the hearts of his people to pray for the doing of it and that he is purposed to with-draw his anger when he draws out their hearts strongly to entreat his favour Thirdly observe That untill God be appeased towards a person or a people there is no remedy for them in the world The proud helpers shall stoop under him If the helpers themselves fall who can rise by these helpers if they are cast down how shall we be upheld by them What if the people of a provoking Nation associate themselves together or associate themselves with other Nations or call in help and aid from all that are round about them shall they therefore escape in their wickednesse they shall not escape Unlesse God help our helpers they are helplesse to us When many companies and great Commanders repaired to David at Ziklag David went out to meet them Chron. 12.17 and said If ye be come peaceably to help me mine heart shall be knit to you but if ye be come to betray me c. Amasai who was chief of the Captains answers v. 18. Thine are we David and on thy side thou son of Jesse peace peace be unto thee and peace be to thy helpers for thy God helpeth thee Our helpers cannot give us peace unlesse God give them peace our helpers must be helped by God before they can give us help The anger of God breaks all the staves we lean on and makes them as reeds which wound rather then support till God is quiet all is unquiet and when he is unpacified men shall be unpacified or their peace shall be to our losse As if he with-draw his anger enemies shall oppose in vain so except he with-draw his anger friends shall help in vain Lastly They who strive to deliver those whom God will destroy shall fall themselves before God If God be resolved upon the thing not only they that are helped but the helpers also shall stoop under him helpers cannot help themselves when he is angry they shall be like Idols which have eyes and see not hands and cannot act either to save themselves or those that trust upon them The greatest strength in the world without God it is no better then an Idol which is nothing in the world Strength cannot be strong for it self and help cannot help it self Our help stands in the Name of the Lord which made heaven and earth and not in the name of any creature under any part of heaven or upon the face of the whole earth JOB Chap. 9. Vers 14 15. How much lesse shall I answer him and chuse out my words to reason with him Whom though I were righteous yet would I not answer I would make supplication to my Judge JOB having in the former passages of this Chapter lifted up the glory and majesty of God in his power and justice and shewed the utter insufficiency of creatures to implead his justice or to rescue themselves out of the hand of his power he now draws his speech nearer home and calling his thoughts from those remoter journies up to the heavens and among the stars over the mountains and hils down to the depths of the sea and foundations of the earth about all which he had discoursed I say calling his thoughts from these remoter travels he comes now closer to the matter and from all those premisses deduces a conclusion iâ— the words of the Text to vindicate himself from that charge which his friends laid upon him as if he were a contender with the power or an accuser of the wisdome and justice of God From the folly and blasphemy of both which imputations he disasperseth himself in these two verses by an argument taken from the greater to the lesse and we may form it up thus He who is so strong wise and just that all the powers in heaven and earth are not able to oppose or stay him surely I I alone or single I a poor weak creature am not able to
stubborn under the rod and their hearts are hardened while themselves are melted in the fire of affliction As man lives not by bread alone So man mends not by the rod alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God T is little lesse then a miracle that this dry rod as that of Aaron did naturall should blossom and bring forth spirituall fruit the fruits of righteousnesse 3. We may pray for the removing of afflictions because the Lord often sends afflictions upon this message to bespeak praier Many a soul is sluggish in prayer till awakened by the voice of the rod. When the rod makes the flesh smart then the Spirit in whom any thing of the Spirit is cries mightily unto God and among the many things about which the soul exercises prayer under afflictions this is one that the affliction may be removed As they alwaies sin who murmur at and quarrell with God because he corrects them so also doe they who say they care not how long he corrects them or let him correct them as long as he will It is as ill a sign when a childe will not pray his parent to spare him when he is about to chasten him or to stay his hand when he is chastening of him as it is to resist his chastisement There may be greater contempt of God in lying under affliction then in resisting it Now as it is our duty to pray for deliverance out of trouble so it is one end why the Lord casts us into trouble that we may be engaged to pray for deliverance But take it with a caution we must not pray absolutely for deliverance or the removall of afflictions but at least with an implicit limitation While we are striving earnestly for the taking away of the rod we should be ready to submit if the Lord will not take it away A believer may say to the Lord as wrestling Jacob I will not let thee goe except thou blesse me but he must not say I will not let thee goe except thou now deliver me Time and means and manner must all be laid at Gods feet and submitted to his wisdome And we must honour God though he will not remove the rod even while we are praying that he would remove it For the close of this point consider the rod may be removed not only by a totall release from affliction But First By an abatement of the affliction as we are said to leave off those graces from the degrees and lively actings of which we fall and decline He that lacketh these things that is who aboundeth not as he hath heretofore in the exercise of them is blinde c. 2 Pet. 1.9 Thou hast left thy first love saith Christ to the Angel of Ephesus when the heat of his former love was cooled So the Lord may be said to remove our troubles when he remits the extremity and cools the heat of them Secondly The rod is removed when it is sanctified to us when the Lord who is excellent in working causeth it to doe us good The Saints die yet death is abolished as to the Saints by the death of Christ 2 Tim. 1.10 because Christ hath pluckt out the sting of their death and made it a gain to them Thus while Christ makes temporall losses or sufferings an advantage to the spirituall estate of his people he takes them away And as outward blessings are taken away from wicked men while they possesse them riches are not riches to them nor is their honour an honour to them because they are ensnared by them So the outward crosse is taken away from the godly while they suffer because they are bettered by the crosse Thirdly Affliction is removed from us when Christ gives us strength to bear affliction Nothing grieves us either in active or passive obedience but what is either against our wils or above our power It is all one to have a burthen taken off our shoulders or to have so much strength given as makes it easie to us While the Saints have trouble upon their backs and loins they have no trouble in their hearts and spirits when their spirits are carried above those troubles To conquer an enemy is more noble then to have none Much more which is promised the Saints in the throng of sorest enemies to be more then conquerours In all or any of these waies Jobs praier may be fulfilled Take away thy rod from me And let not thy fear terrifie me There was somewhat more upon Job then a rod 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â radice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Formidabilis terribilis Emathah or it was an extraordinary rod a rod like a Scorpion Let not thy fear terrifie me The word which we translate fear comes from a root signifying that which is very formidable and terrible Fear and dread shall fall upon them Exod. 15.16 that is they shall be extremely afraid even dead with fear as the next words import They shall be still as a stone c. There is a letter added as the Hebricians observe to the word used by Moses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ne me transversum agat Sept. alius ne me consternet implying the excesse of fear Giants are called by this name Emims Deut. 2.11 because they are of a dreadfull aspect The whole host of Israel trembled at the sight of Goliah 1 Sam. 17.24 〈◊〉 Idols 〈◊〉 exprest by this name Emim And there is a double reason of it Either because Idols are a terrour to their worshippers we hear how at this day poor Pagans who worship Idols are extremely opprest with slavish fear of displeasing them The true God is terrible to his despisers but false Gods are terrible to their worshippers Or secondly They were called Emims in a way of contempt Yours are terrible Gods sure They have hands and handle not feet and walk not eyes and see not Here are terrible gods So then Idols are Emims either because they are really to be feared so little or because they are superstitiously feared so much Jobs fear was no needlesse fear he was not terrified with a fancy Ex vi verbi originalis ejusno di terror est qui hominem exaâ—itat quasi extra evalde distrabat though his fancy was ready enough to over-act upon his affliction and so encreased his fear Let not thy fear that is say some fearfull thoughts or sights terrifie me So Chap. 7.14 When I say My bed shall comfort me my couch shall ease my complaint then thou scarest me with dreams and terrifiest me with visions There is an humbling and a cleansing fear The fear of the Lord is clean not only in the nature of it but in the effects of it Psal 19.9 There is also an amazing and a terrifying fear such the letter of the originall imports this to be even a fear bordering upon madnesse as if he were rather frighted then afraid and scared rather then troubled Others expound this
seek unto God betimes and make thy supplication unto the Almighty c He would awake for thee There are two parts of Bildads counsell 1. To humble himself in prayer ver 5. 2. To purge himself by repentance ver 6. Or we may look upon this counsell as a patern of repentance and turning to God in three things 1. To seek unto God 2. To acknowledge our own unworthinesse to receive any mercy from God 3. To be sincere and upright-hearted with God in both If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Est quafi aurorare aut diluculare DeuÌ„ Diâ—igenter sedulo magno studio quaerere Qui mare surgit precandi causa dicitur manicare DeuÌ„ Dâ—us We have met with the word more then once before and in strictnesse of translation it sounds thus much If thou wouldest seek unto God in the morning or If thou wouldest morning God be with him early in the morning that is If thou wouldest seek unto him diligently they that come in the morning about businesse are diligent in their businesse The Apostles rule is Heb. 3. To day harden not your hearts but here Bildad adviseth Whilest it is morning which is the first part or beginning of the day pour out thy heart to God So then it may be taken for seeking God either at the first of the day the morning or for any earnest diligent and fervent seeking unto God in any part of the day To seek God diligently though in the night is according to this Hebraisme a seeking him in the morning It was an ancient custome to seek God in the morning take it in the letter early in the morning David professes this Psal 5.3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning O Lord in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee and will look up And Heathens by the light of nature took this course in their profane and superstitious worship Herodot l 10. Plin Ep. 57. ad Trâ—jâ—â— Tertul. Apol. to p. 2. Herodotus in his tenth book tels us of the Persian Magi who addressed themselves early in the morning to seek their false gods And the Primitive Christians were wondered at for their early devotions Pliny in an Epistle to Trajan and Tertullian in his Apologeticks for the Christians report their assemblies before day-break to pray and call upon God And there hath been and still is a superstitious abuse of this among the Papists who call their morning prayers their Mattins because they begin early in the morning Hence observe First Prayer is our seeking unto God That 's the generall description of prayer When we pray our work is to get neer to God to finde God every soul that praies indeed feeles it selfe at a losse for somewhat that God only can bestow In God all that we want is to be found and therefore he invites us to seek him In this life the Saints are a generation of seekers in the next they shall be a generation of enjoyers when God is fully found there 's nothing more to be sought Having him we have all The work of heaven is to blesse God for what we have found not to seek him for what we want Secondly God must be sought unto without delay As it is with vows so with prayers Deferre not to pay them deferre not to pray Isa 5.5 Seek him whilest he may be found Matth. 6.33 Seek first the Kingdom of God first in time not only chiefly but early put not God behinde in the later end of the day or in the later end of your businesses It is best to begin with him who is best Thirdly God must be sought unto with diligence We must lay our strength and spirits out in seeking God It is not a sleight enquiry which findes out God We read that he is found of some who seek him not at all but that he is found of any who seek him negligently we read not Free-grace prevents those who have no ability to seek him but it meets not those who will not lay out their abilities in seeking him If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes And make thy supplication to the Almighty The word which we translate Make thy supplication is very significant of the manner how we should seek unto God namely Verbum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 denotat gratuitaÌ„ illaÌ„ commiserationem quae sine ullo merito impenditur bottoming our selves upon free-grace alone A thought of our own worth is inconsistent with a supplication Call upon the Almighty for pity saith M. Broughton when we supplicate we desire that to be done for us for which there is no reason in us why it should be done To make supplication is to seek help and relief freely or gratis acknowledging there is nothing in us worthy love That adverb used in the first and repeated in the second Chapter where the devil objects Doth Job serve God for nought that is without respect of good pay for his pains from God that adverb I say comes from this verb. As we ought to serve God in this sense for nought and not like mercenaries for our hire So God helps us for nought without looking to any thing in us or from us as an hire of his help The Baptist had his name John from this word either because he preached the free-grace of God in Christ then exhibited or because God bestowed him upon his parents in their old-age as a speciall grace and favour The poor saith Solomon Prov. 18.23 useth intreaties some render it thus The poor maketh or speaketh supplications a poor man hath nothing of desert to plead why he should receive your charity but he lies at your feet and begs somewhat because he is in want because misery hath arrested and taken hold upon him The poor useth intreaties he doth not call for any thing of right and he will not wrest any thing from you by force he only supplicates your favour We in our drawing nigh unto God should pray for grace and favour as a poor man begging an alms who makes this his plea that he is poor So then Bildads counsell to Job is this Stand not upon thy tearms with God plead not thine own integrity and good works but cast thy self at his feet for mercy Make thy supplication unto him The word is used by Moses Deut. 3.23 when he describeth his own unbelief for which God said he should not goe into Canaan And I besought the Lord at that time saying c. When Moses perceived God was angry he did not reckon his former good services to balance this failing but he sought unto God for mercy as one that had never done him any service at all And as man expresses his desires of free-grace by this word so doth the Lord his highest actings of it Exod. 33.19 I will be gracious unto whom I will be gracious To shew that to make supplication is to desire the Lord to be gracious and that to be
way of his providence is called his sleep The complaint runnes high Psal 44.9 c. Lord thou goest not forth with our Armies we are become a reproach unto our enemies Thou sellest thy people for nought we are killed like sheep all the day long There 's a description of the confusion of things then followeth vers 23. Awake why sleepest thou O Lord Arise cast us not off for ever wherefore hidest thou thy face and forgettest our affliction and our oppression Such a time was accounted the sleeping time of God Hence when God in the workings of his providence searcheth out the wicked and brings them to destruction when he breaks their designs and turns their counsels backwards when he turns their wickednesse upon their own heads and catches them in the snare which they have laid for others then he is said to awake Ps 78.65 He gave his people over to the sword and the fire consumed the young men then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep and like a giant refreshed with wine He smote his enemies in the hinder parts and put them to a perpetuall shame Such a time was accounted Gods waking time So then Sleeping and awaking note only the changes of providence Hence also the providence of God is described by an eye 2 Chron. 16.9 which is the proper organ of sleeping or waking and the exactnesse of providence is set out by seven eyes Zech. 3.9 The Scripture speaks this language in reference to our soul-sleep and awakening When we sin and let things goe which way they will in our hearts without taking any care or keeping our watch against temptation then we are asleep in sinne And when we begin to consider our estates and return to our selves when we take notice how it is with us and ask our hearts the question What have we done This in a spirituall sense is our awakening Awake thou that sleepest Ephes 5.14 Our spirituall sleeping and waking are the decaies or quicknings of soul-endeavours And Gods providentiall sleeping and waking are the seeming stops and visible motions of his power mercy and justice in the world This is the awaking which Bildad promises If thou wouldest seek God c. Surely he would awake for thee The words opened teach us First That holy prayer shall certainly be heard If thou make thy supplication to him surely he will awake God cannot sleep when a poor believing soul cries in his ears If I regard iniquity in my heart God will not hear my prayer Psal 66.18 But verily God hath heard me he hath not turned away my prayer nor his mercy from me What God turn prayer away No he cannot lie still as I may so speak when prayer knocks at the door he must arise and open presently That 's a second note Prayer shall be heard presently What presently Yes presently heard though not presently answered Surely now he will awaken for thee even now Holy prayers are never deferred the hearing no not a minute Isa 65.24 Before they call I will hear and while they are yet speaking I will answer In the very act of praying the answer came forth yea the answer sometimes antedates our asking and the grant commeth before the petition The giving out of the answer may be deferr'd but the answer is not deferr'd We may be heard and heard graciously and yet not presently receive the thing we ask but every prayer is heard and laid up assoon as put up he hangs it upon the file he hath it safe by him Prayer receives an answer in heaven assoon as spoken upon earth though the answer be not returned to us on earth God sleeps not at the prayer of those who are awake in prayer Thirdly Observe Prayer is the best means to awaken God God hath many waies to awaken man and he hath directed man a way to awaken himself When we are asleep he awakeneth us chiefly two waies First by the voice of his word Secondly by the voice of his rod. He now awakens us by the loud sounding trumpet and the alarms of warre when God awakeneth us by judgements it is time for us to awaken him by prayer We finde two things in Scripture which awaken God First the prayers of his own people And secondly the rage and blasphemy of his enemies Psal 78.65 The Prophet having described the cruelty and rage of the enemy adds Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine David makes this an argument in prayer Psal 7. Because of the rage of mine enemies awake for me to the judgement which thou hast commanded As if he had said Lord shall mine enemies rage and wilt thou sleep Wilt not thou awake for me Arise I pray thee The noise of blasphemy and the cry of violence from wicked men stir up God when he seems to lie asleep The noise of prayer the cries and cals of faith in his own people will not let him sleep A man whose heart is drenched in the world and drowned in rivers of earthly pleasures praies himself asleep and his prayers bring God asleep to he sleeps when he praies and God sleeps at his prayers that is God regards not his prayer he is as one that sleepeth as if he heard not what was said A wordly man doth not hear what he speaks he knows not what his own requests are God sleepeth when men are thus asleep But when we as the Apostle directs watch and pray then God awakes at our prayers As in the former verse Job was counselled to awake to pray to God so now he is promised That the Lord will awake when he praieth Fourthly Seeing the Lord is awakened by prayer Wâ— learn That Prayer ought to be very strong and fervent As men are graduall in their sleep so is the Lord in his A man is sometimes so slumberingly asleep that the least noise will awake him you cannot stirre but he will hear it At another time a man is so dead asleep that though you hollow in his ear you cannot awake him thunder cannot stirre him Sometimes God departs so little that the least voice calleth him again he comes at the first word at another time he is gone so farre that as to a man in a deep sleep you must crie and cry again call and call again cry aloud before he hears And we may in a safe sense apply that to the true God which Elijah did to that false god Baal when his Priests were calling to him from morning to night Elijah mocking bids them cry aloud it may be saith he he sleepeth We may say with reverence thus when any pray to God and he doth not hear pray aloud not in regard of the voice and outward sound but pray with louder desires of heart with more fervency and zeal of spirit Peradventure God sleepeth peradventure he is in a deep sleep at this time and he will not suddenly be awakened therefore cry aloud When God
Observe That to lose our hope is the utmost of evils Bildad doth not say that the hypocrite is damned and shall go to hell and endure the wrath of God for ever This one expression Their hope shal perish amounts to all this and more if more can be Do but sit down and imagine in your thoughts and contrive the utmost of all evils felt by men yea the utmost were it possible of all the evils of punishment that are in the thoughts of God and all are wrapped up and comprehended in this one word Their hope shall perish Hell and wrath and fire and brimstone and the worm that never dies meet in this one word Bildad goes on to illustrate this by a further instance Verse 14. Whose hope shall be cut off and whose trust shall be as a spiders web Verse 15. He shall lean upon his house but it shall not stand he shall hold it fast but it shall not endure The hypocrite clings about the object of his hope as a man that is ready to drown takes hold on any thing upon a straw or a rotten stick but though he lean upon his house it shall not stand c. These words contain the second similitude which is both a confirmation and a further illustration of the former for having concluded in the 13. verse with these words The hypocrites hope shall perish he as it were doubleth and resumeth it here again Whose hope shall be cut off and whose trust shall be a spiders web The originall beareth different interpretations and from that severall senses have been given of these words The word here used for hope is not the same in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we had in the last clause of the former verse His hope shall perish This word was opened at large in the fourth Chapter at the sixth verse where we translate it confidence Is not this thy hope thy confidence the uprightnesse of thy waies Now besides that the word signifies hope or confidence it signifies also folly inconstancy frowardnesse of spirit vanity and levity of minde And thus some render it here This hope shall be cut off 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Debilitatus laÌ„guef actus fuit per MetaphoraÌ„ maestitia â—olore taedio affectus fuit propriè tanquam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. rem putidam et quae nauseam parit aversari eam abhorrere Non enim placâ—bit ei veâ—ordia ejus Vulg. That word also beareth different interpretations 1. To be weakned to languish and because those things which languish and are weak either are cut off or are ready to be cut off therefore it signifies likewise cutting off 2. Further the word imports gradually 1. displeasing 2. loathing or abominating 3. chiding or contending The words yeelding these senses receive different translations and interpretations First thus taking the former for inconstancy or folly his folly shall displease him or His folly shall not please him So the Vulgar Hypocrites never please God and at last they shall not please themselves The waies and works of hypocrites are ever displeasing to God and they shall at last be displeasing to themselves That 's the sense of their translation And not only shall the waies of an hypocrite be displeasing but they shall be a loathing an abhorring to him the Lord loaths him now The prayer of the wicked is an abomination and he shall loath himself hereafter Haec displicentia cum fastidio quodam tabescentia conjuncta est There is a double loathing There is a loathing of repentance And there is a loathing of despair The former though it be unpleasant yet it is an happy loathing of our selves Such loathing of our selves is pleasing to God in the act and will be pleasant to us in the fruit Ezek. 6.9 They shall loath themselves for the evils they have committed And again Ezek. 16.47 and 20.43 the word is taken for this loathing of repentance But the hypocrite shall have another kinde of loathing What a loathing of despair seeing himself utterly lost and his hopes quite cut off he shall be an abhorring to himself There is yet a third step or degree of sense in this word He shall not only be displeased with himself and loath himself but he shall fall out with himself his hope shall displease or vex him into self-anger Secum ipse liti gabit rixabitur quae omnia ad mentis commotionem animi cruciatum pertinent Pin. Some render the word by contending or chiding as a man that is displeased with another falleth out with him wrangleth and contendeth with him so an hypocrite at last shall chide contend and wrangle with himself he shall contend as much with himself at last as ever the word of God contended with him before An hypocrite never commeth to a Sermon but God chides him the Word of God contends with him and the Spirit of God hath a controversie with him this man will not be warned by the chiding of God nor take that to heart he still goes on in his hypocrisie But when no reproofs nor chidings can prevail upon his heart he is left to the reproofs and chidings of his own heart which will read him such a lecture and give him such a schooling as he never had in all his life Conscience may be long silent and it may long flatter but when once it begins to speak and to speak right it is the most terrible Preacher in the world There is no Boanerges or sonne of thunder hath so dreadfull a voice Mount Sinai it self did not thunder so loud as conscience will And as conscience speaks loud so it speaks long An hypocrite shall reprove and chide himself for ever What a fool was I What a beast was I thus to flatter my self thus to mask mine own filthinesse and to dawb over the rottennesse of my heart with the fair covering of a verball profession Why did I wilfully deceive my self into irrecoverable perdition Again Observe from Whose folly shall displease him That the whole course of hypocrisie is nothing but foolishnesse Of all fools the hypocrite is the greatest and the reason is because he takes a great deal of pains in profession and hath no good at all by profession he ventureth himself many times in the world to persecution he runs the hazard of his credit of his estate of liberty and life What a fool is this to take so much pains and subject himself to so many dangers in the outward profession of Christ yet at last to lose the fruit and benefit of all This folly must needs displease him he shall at last see what an extreme fool he hath been to trouble himself about that which bringeth him in no reall good but will really double and encrease all evil upon him No man sins at so dear a rate as the hypocrite A second translation takes the Noun as we for hope and not for folly and retains the former sense of
makes a bold adventure who dares passe but an unpleasing thought against the waies or works of God Fourthly Not to be satisfied with what God doth is a degree of hardening our selves against God discontents and unquietnesses upon our spirits are oppositions Fiftly Not to give God glory in what he doth hath somewhat in it of hardening of our selves against God And lastly He that will not give God glory in what he commands is in a degree hardened against God We may see what it is to harden our selves against God by the opposite of it Prov. 28.14 Blessed is the man that feareth alwaies but he that hardeneth himself shall fall into mischief Hardnesse is contrary to holy fear holy fear is a disposition of heart ready to yeeld to God in every thing A man thus fearing quickly takes impressions of the word will and works of God and therefore whosoever doth not comply with God in holy submission to his will hardens himself in part against God That which is here chiefly meant is the grosser act of hardnesse when men either speak or go on in their way acting against God let him say what he will his word stops them not or do what he will his works stop them not They are like the adamant the hammer of the Word makes no impression upon hard hearts but recoyls back again upon him that strikes with it More distinctly this is either a sensible hardnesse of heart of which the Church complains Isa 63.15 Wherefore hast thou hardened our hearts c. or an insensible hardnesse which in some arises from ignorance in others from malice and obstinacy Further We read of Gods hardening mans heart and sometimes of mans hardening his own heart There is a three-fold hardnesse of heart First Naturall which is the common stock of all men we receive the stone of a hard heart by descent every man comes into the world hardened against God Secondly There is an acquired hardnesse of heart Men harden themselves and adde to their former hardnesse He stretcheth out his hand against God and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty Job 15.25 There is a growth in sin as well as a growth in grace many acts make hardnesse more habituall 2 Chron. 36.13 He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord. I know thy rebellion and thy stiffe necke Deut. 31.27 Thirdly There is a judiciary hardnesse of heart an hard heart inflicted by God as a Judge When men will harden their hearts against God he agrees it their hearts shall be hard he will take away all the means which should soften and moisten them he will not give them any help to make them pliable to his will or he will not blesse it to them He will speak to his Prophets and they shall make their hearts fat that is senslesse and their ears heavy that is heedlesse under all they speak Isa 6.10 Thus also God hardned the heart of Pharaoh and of the Aegyptians by the ministery of Moses and Aaron So then we having hardnesse of heart by nature doe by custome acquire a further hardnesse and the Lord in wrath inflicteth hardnesse then the sinner is pertinacious in sinning All these put together make him irrecoverably sinfull His neck is an iron sinew and his brow brasse Isa 48.4 Observe first There is an active hardnesse of heart or man hardens his own heart Exod. 5. We read of Pharaoh hardening his heart before the Lord hardened it Who is the Lord saith he that I should let Israel goe Here was Pharaoh hardening his heart and steeling his spirit against the command of God God sent him a command to let Israel goe he replies Who is the Lord I know not the Lord who is this that takes upon him to command me Am not I King of Aegypt I know no Peer much lesse Superiour Lord. It was true indeed poor creature he did not know the Lord Pharaoh spake right in that I know not the Lord if he had he would never have said I will not let Israel go he would have let all goe at his command had he known who the Lord was that commanded Thus Sennacherib 2 Chron. 32.14 blasphemes by his messengers Who was there among all the gods of those Nations that my fathers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people out of mine hand that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand These are hard words against God and hardening words to man Every act of sinne hardens the heart of man but the heat of blasphemy at once shews and puts it into the extremity of hardnesse Man hardens himself against God four waies especially First Upon presumption of mercy many doe evil because they hear God is good they turn his grace into wantonnesse and are without all fear of the Lord because there is mercy so much with the Lord. Secondly The patience of God or his delaies of judgement harden others because God is slow to strike they are swift to sin If the sound of judgment be not at the heels of sin they conclude there is no such danger in sin Solomon observed this Eccles 8.11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to doe evil or it is full in them to doe evil They have not some velleities and propensions some motions and inclinations some queries and debates about it but the matter upon this ground is fully stated and determined they are so full of it that they have no room in their hearts for better thoughts or counsels the summe of all is they are hardened and resolved to doe evil Thirdly Grosse ignorance hardens many 1. Ignorance of themselves And 2. Ignorance of God he that knows not what he ought to doe cares not much what he doth None are so venturous as they who know not their danger Pharaoh said I know not the Lord he knew not the Lord nor himself therefore he ran on blinde-fold and desperately hardened himself against the Lord. Fourthly Hardnesse of heart in sinning is contracted from the multitude of those who sinne They thinke none shall suffer for that which so many doe The Law of Moses said Thou shalt not follow a multitude to doe evil Exod. 23.2 There is a speciall restraint upon it because man is so easily led by many The heart is ready to flatter it self into an opinion that God will not be very angry when a practice is grown common this is the course of the world this is the way of most men therefore surely no great danger in it And examples harden chiefly upon three considerations Ego bomuncto non facerem Tâ—r. First If great ones go that way the Heathen brings in a young man who hearing of the adulteries and wickednesses of the gods said what Doe they so and shall I stick at it Secondly If some wise and learned men go that way ignorant and unlearned men conclude
exalt our thrones above the stars of God We will ascend above the heights of the clouds we will be like the most high yet how are ye brought down to hell to the sides of the pit All that look upon you say Are these the men that made the earth to tremble that did shake Kingdoms Thus the Lord hath taken away the thrones of Princes and none could hinder he hath also removed the Candlesticks of Churches and none could hinder Christ threatned the seven Churches in Asia that he would come and take away their Candlesticks which of these hindered him Both Crowns and Candlesticks must down if he speak the word It is said when David kept his fathers Sheep there came a Lion and a Bear and took a Lamb and a Sheep out of the flock but he arose and went out after them and rescued both Lamb and Sheep taking the prey out of their teeth When the Lord Christ the Lion of the Tribe of Judah will come and tear and take away no David can rescue out of his hand The five Kings that came against Sodome took away Lot Abraham went with his army and made them restore made them bring back again it is ordinary with man when one hath robbed another for a stronger to make him restore and vomit up the sweet morsels which he hath swallowed It is not thus with God First Power cannot doe it though the instruments which he useth to take away from us be weak yet the strong shall not be able to make the weak restore A weak Nation may destroy a strong Nation and the stronger shall not be able to make the weaker restore if the Lord send them When the Babylonians encamped about Jerusalem he warns them by his Prophet doe not thinke you shall deliver your selves by your great strength I have sent them to take your City and your State And though they were all wounded meâ— yet they shall rise up and take your City Isa 43.13 I will work saith the Lord and who shall let it Who shall let it Why they might say We will have some that shall let it No saith the Lord none shall let it Behold I have sent to Babylon and destroyed all their Princes those that fought to hinder me in my work by their power and counsell are broken though they seemed as strong as iron bars so the word is These bars of iron cannot keep me from entring I will break all opposition raised against my work Secondly As power cannot hinder him so policy cannot no counsell shall stop him They Isa 7.6 took counsell and resolved strongly We will go up against Judah and destroy it and set a King in the middest of it even the sonne of Tabeal The Lord answereth in the next words It shall not stand neither shall it come to passe You resolve to doe it you make it out in your counsels how to hinder mine but it shall not be it shall not come to passe As no counsell against us shall stand if the Lord be with us Isa 8.10 So no counsell for us shall stand if the Lord be against us Thirdly When the Lord is resolved to take away the peace and glory of a Nation or of a Church he will doe it and no spirituall means shall hinder him praier it self shall not hinder him If any thing in the world can move the Lord to restore when he taketh away the peace of a people it is praier and the cry of his people Praier hath often met the Lord as Abigail did David 1 Sam. 25. and prevailed with him to put up his sword which was ready to destroy At the voice of praier the Lord hath restored that which he took away and hath staied from doing that which he seemed fully resolved to doe Psal 106.23 The Lord would have destroyed them had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach Did Moses out-power the Lord did he out-wit or out-policy the Lord No but Moses praied and praied so strongly that the Lord was hindered that is he as if he had been hindered did not effect the thing he restored their comforts again when he had arested but some of them and seemed to come armed with resolution to take all away Yet sometimes we finde the Lord will come and take away and praier it self praier and fasting cries and tears shall not hinder God will trample upon all these God was resolved to take away the glory of Israel and to assure them that he would he takes away that wherein their chief assurance lay that he would not Jer. 15.1 Thus saith the Lord Though Moses and Samuel stood before me yet my minde could not be toward this people c. As if he had said Ye think to hinder me now ye will stop me ye will send out praier your old friend which hath helped you heretofore at many a dead lift And if you cannot pray enough your selves you will procure praiers and pray in the aid of praier from all the favourites that I have in the world ye will get Moseses and Samuels such as they to pray for you ye may doe so if ye will but it shall not profit you they and ye shall lose your labour even these labours will not quit cost or be worth the while to the end ye aim at for Though Moses and Samuel stood before me and intreated for this people yet my minde could not be toward them cast them out of my sight and let them goe forth such as are for the sword to the sword and such as are for death to death and such as are for captivity to captivity Thus I say sometimes the Lord is so resolved to take away life riches glory peace the all both of persons and Nations that nothing shall help us or hinder him no not the praiers and cries not the supplications and tears of his own people which are the strongest stops of all in the way of provoked justice If praier cannot stay destruction and obtain a reprieve from death if the praiers of a Moses and a Samuel cannot nothing can it is as if God had said The best means shall fail you therefore all means shall fail you if when praier cannot hinder God we resort to other meanes it is as if we should thinke to fasten an Anchor with a twined threed which hath broken a cable or to conquer an enemy with a pot-gun and a bull-rush whom we could not with sword and Cannon And as God will not sometimes be entreated so he ought not at any time time to be questioned which is the next point Who shall say unto him What doest thou That 's further considerable man is not only not able to stop the Lord from what he would do Supremus ju lex est a quo non potest esse provocatio but he hath no right to put in a plea against what he hath done no nor to ask him what he hath been doing or why he did it
The superiour may ask the inferiour and call him to an account Every inferâ—our Judge and Court is accountable to those above that is the highest Court and he the highest Judge to whom no man can say What doest thou The Parliament of England is therefore the highest Judicatory in this Kingdom because their actions are not questionable in any other Court one Parliament may say to another What hast thou done This Parliament hath said to Parliaments that have gone before What have ye done in making such and such Laws No power of man besides their own can question some men much lesse can any man question God and say to him What doest thou He is supreme there is no appeal to any other higher Judge or higher Court. Hence observe Whatsoever God resolveth and determineth concerning us we must bear it and quietly submit No man may say unto him What doest thou Quicquid de nobis Deus statuit libenter ferendum est Why doe ye sit still saith the Prophet Jer. 8.14 Assemble your selves and let us enter into the defenced Cities and let us be silent there for the Lord hath put us to silence and given us waters of gall to drinke because we have sinned against him The Lord hath put us to silence that is the Lord hath done these things and we are not to question him about them or to ask him what he hath done or why he hath done thus Therefore let us be silent say they Let us not murmure at and complain over our own sufferings much lesse tax and charge God for his doings It becomes us to obey Gods suspension to be silent when he puts us to silence The Lord never silences any unlesse in wrath to those who would not hear from speaking in his name and publishing his vvord But he hath silenced all from speaking against his works and it will be ill with us if our passions how much soever God seems to act against us shall take off this suspension The Lord is uncontrollable in all his works When Nebuchadnezzar Dan. 4.35 came to himself and began to think and speak like a man after he had been among the beasts see what an humble acknowledgement he makes concerning God All the inhabitants of the earth saith he are reputed as nothing and he doth according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand or say unto him What doest thou Here we have both parts of Jobs speech none can stay his hand which is the former and none can say unto him What doest thou which is the later That great Monarch acknowledged he had no power to question God though he at that time had power to question all the men upon the earth Nebuchadnezzar speaks like Job A wicked man may make a true report of God Many speak right of the Lord whose hearts are not right with him Nebuchadnezzar was converted from beastlinesse but I finde not that he was converted to holinesse He came home to his own Court but I see no proof that he came home to the Church of God yet see how divinely he speaks and how humbly he walks not so much as offering to ask God who had chang'd him from a Commander of men to a companion of beasts What doest thou We may ask the Lord in one sense what he doth Yea the Lord doth nothing in the world but his Saints and servants are enquiring of him about it He invites them to petition for what they would have Ask of me things to come concerning my sons and concerning the work of my hands command ye me Isa 45.11 Though man cannot order or enjoyn the least thing upon God yet at the entreaty of his people he is as ready to doe as if he were at their command And as we are thus envited to ask things to come so we are not totally denied to ask about things already done We may ask him in an humble way for information not in a bold way of contradiction We may in zeal to his glory not in discontent with our own condition expostulate with him about what he hath done So Joshua Chap. 7.7 8. Alas O Lord God wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us Would to God we had been content and dwelt on the other side Jordan c. but how durst Joshua speak thus What if God vvould destroy them vvas it not his dury to bear it and let God alone Yes doubtlesse and such I doubt not vvas the frame of Joshuas spirit If Israel only had been to suffer Joshua had held his peace at least from such language but he saw a further matter in it the glory of God vvas like to suffer in their sufferings the close of his praier betraies this holy disposition of his heart vers 9. And what wilt thou doe unto thy great name As if he had said Lord the matter were not much though the name of Israel were blotted out from under heaven so thy Name were written in fairer characters But I fear a blow to Israel will be a blot to thy name and therefore I have taken upon me to pray this praier unto thee and I have praied rather for thee than to thee All praiers are made to God and yet some are made for him Not that he hath any want or is in any the remotest possibility of any danger but only for the promoting of his glory and that the world may not have occasion of a dishonourable thought of him whose honour never abates in it self or in the eyes of his own people Thus we may ask him what he hath done and why he hath brought such desolations upon his people But we may not ask him what he hath done either to question his right to doe it or to question his righteousnesse in doing of it No creature may put the question upon either of these terms What hast thou done much lesse conclude Thou hast done that which thou hast no right to do or thou hast been unrighteous in doing it Either of these is highest blasphemy for whatsoever the Lord doth he hath right to doe and whatsoever the Lord doth he is righteous in doing it Hence it followeth by way of corollary That The Lord is of absolute power He is the Soveraign Lord Lord over all there is no appeal from him no questioning of him Solomon speaketh of the power of a King in this language Eccles 8.4 Where the word of a King is there is power and who may say unto him What doest thou But is there nothing which a King doth about which it may be said unto him What dost thou And what is this word of a King The word of a King is the Law of his Kingdom all that a King doth or speaks besides the Law he speaks as a man not as a King and that 's the meaning of Solomons
text vvhich Court-flatterers have corrupted with their unsound glosses as if every word of a King were of absolute power and must have peremptory obedience A King is for his Kingdom and while he commands according to the rules and laws of his Kingdom no Subject may question him or say unto him What doest thou There is no power above his power as he is armed with the power of his Laws And because wheresoever the Word of God is there is his Law therefore wheresoever the Word of God is there is power and no man may say unto him What doest thou Every vvord of direction spoken by God is a Law because his vvill is the Law of all things and persons As the will of man by nature is not subject by obeying to the righteous Law of God neither indeed can be so the will of God by nature is the subject containing all righteous Laws neither indeed can it not be for though God be voluntarily and with highest freenesse righteous yet he is righteous necessarily and with greatest undeclinablenesse As he is freely what he is so it is impossible for him not to be what he is And therefore no man ought to say to God What doest thou seeing God can doe nothing but what he ought In vain then is God either attempted by power or sollicited by praier against his own minde For Verse 13. If God will not with-draw his anger the proud helpers doe stoop under him Though If God taketh away none can hinder him though none ought to say unto him What doest thou whatsoever he doth yet possibly some will be venturing upon this hard task and undertake this impossible adventure attempting to recover Gods booty and his prisoners out of his hand but see the issue If God will not withdraw his anger the proud helpers doe stoop under him Suppose any should come to help protect and patronize those whom God hath a minde to take away and destroy shall they prosper or speed No not only they themselves whom the Lord hath taken away but their assistants and their seconds all that appear for them except God call in his anger shall fall before him If God will not with-draw his anger 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Non revocabit nasum non redibit à furere The letter of the Hebrew is If the Lord will not turn away his nostrils or his face Nostrils or face are taken here as in many other Scriptures for anger because there is such an appearance of anger in the face and nostrils acted passion is seated there as was noted Chap. 4.9 Therefore to turn away the face or nostrill is to turn away from anger Psal 78.38 Many a time turned be away his anger â—vertit nasum suum quasi se vinci permittat ab hu milâ—ante se peccatore fugeret it is this word When the Lord is angry the turning of his face towards a man sheweth he is reconciled and when he is angry the not turning away of his face shews that he is unreconciled or resolved to continue angry And while God is so resolved man is in a sad case his helpers must stoop The strength of Israel will not lie or repent 1 Sam. 15.29 Ipsamet victoâ—ia vinci neâ—cit The Hebrew is The victory of Israel The Lords strength is victory victorious persons can hardly be overcome but victory cannot therefore except himself will with-draw except himself overcome himself it is not in the power of all creatures to overcome him Job 23.13 He is in one minde and who can turn him As if he had said except the Lord will turn himself and alter what he himself hath determined it is not in men to cause him to alter He is in one minde and who can turn him And what his soul desireth even that he doth which is the highest expression of power imaginable How many things doe our souls desire which we cannot doe We are desiring and desiring yet our hands are not able to bring it to passe The desires of the slothfull alwaies slay them because saith Solomon Prov. 21.25 their hands refuse to labour and the desires of the diligent slay them sometimes because they cannot compasse the thing desired with all their labour but as for the Lord What his soul desireth even that he doth And as his desires are irresistible so is his anger his irascible appetite is as victorious as his concupiscible unlesse God withdraw his anger The proud helpers doe stoop under him The vvord is Helpers of pride that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as think themselves most powerfull and able to help The helpers of pride Invaluit robore insolenâ— suit Freti superbia Fagn Auxiliatores superbiae Regia or the strong helpers The same word note that by the vvay signifies strength and pride because we are so apt to be proud of our strength If a man have a little strength in the world strength of friends or of riches strength of body or of minde strength of understanding strength of memory strong parts he is under a strong temptation to pride Pride is one of the greatest weaknesses of man but it is alwaies grounded upon supposed strength But who are these proud these strong helpers Some understand it of the good angels vvho are the strongest the highest of created helpers Angels stoop under the power of God as well as men Others expound these strong helpers to be devils who are evil angels to whom evil men seek sometimes for help If the Lord will not turn away his anger though men seek to the devil for help as Saul did that helper shall stoop under him Saul consulted with a witch the devils oracle yet he could not be delivered by a witch Others understand by these strong helpers godly men if the Lord vvill not turn away his anger the righteous shall stoop under him that is they shall not be able to rescue a person or a Nation from the anger of God by praier or by the utmost improvements of their interest with God Some places have fallen because they wanted godly men to support them and some places have fallen though they had godly men to support them Qui portant orbem Vulg. The Vulgar Latine translation renders They that bear up the pillars of the world shall fall Godly men bear up the pillars of the vvorld Though the Hebrew vvill not bear their translation yet the sense is good Godly men are the worlds supporters It is said Revel 12.16 That the earth helped the woman that is vvorldly men for carnall ends helped the Church vvhen a floud of persecution cast out of the mouth of the dragon vvas ready to swallow her up But the Church continually helps the vvorld and swallows up many of those flouds of Gods displeasure vvhich else vvould drown the vvorld And because the Church vvas so thin and there vvere so few godly men in the old vvorld therefore it vvas drowned Gen.
to plead and debate the businesse with God Surely of all elections I would not make that I will not choose to make many words with God silence and submission becomes me better That 's a good sense But here a doubt may arise from a passage Chap. 13.3 where Job speaks thus Surely I would speak to the Almighty and I desire to reason with God how then doth he here say Shall I choose out words to reason with God As if he had said by no means I will not doe this thing and yet there he seems very ambitious of the attempt and confident of the successe I desire to reason with God I answer there is a two-fold reasoning with God There is a reasoning of declaration and a reasoning of contestation When Job saith I desire to reason with God his meaning is only this I desire to declare and set forth my case and condition before him We may reason with God by way of narrative He allows us to tell him how it is with us Furthâ—r Job speaks in that 13th Chapter comparatively shewing how much he had rather declare his case to God then to his friends God was a better friend to unbosome himself to then any of or all his three friends for he saith of them in the very next words Ye are forgers of lies ye are all physicians of no value to what purpose would it be for me longer to make known my case and shew my grief to you I had rather reason with God then man But as for that other reasoning by way of contestation and quarrelling with the providence or works of God Job professeth in this place he had no minde to it he would never choose that task or set himself to choose out words for that end it was too high for him He saw it was neither wisdome nor duty to deal with and undertake God either with an open or a closed hand either with logicall subtilties or rhetoricall flourishes Again Whereas Iob saith he would not reason with God it will be queried May we not reason with God at all The Lord himself saith Isa 1.18 Come let us reason together If the Lord calleth us to reason with him may we not then reason with him Is it not sinfull modesty to refuse what God offers To clear that I answer There are two waies wherein we may not reason with God 1. We must not reason with him in our own strength 2. We must not reason with him upon our own worth And that is the full meaning of Job I would not choose to reason with God that is to reason with God in my own strength as if I had power to deal with him Or secondly I would not reason with God upon my own worth as if there were any thing in me upon which I were able to make it out that God ought not to deal thus with me and that 's clear by the words which follow Though I were righteous yet would I not answer that is I would not at all speak with God standing upon this bottome or under the title of my own worthinesse In either of these waies it is sinfull to reason with God But we may reason with God in the way of declaration before spoken of In praier there is a reasoning with God and the reasonings and pleadings that are in praier are the life and strength of praier Praier is not only a bare manifestation of our minde to God by such a sute or petition but in praier there is or ought to be a holy arguing with God about the matter which we declare wâ—â—ch is a bringing out and urging of reasons and motives whereby the Lord may be moved to grant what we pray for The praiers of the Saints recorded in Scripture are full of arguments I shall shew it in one example as a taste for the rest Iacob in his distresse at the approach of his brother Esau flees to God in praier Gen. 32. and he doth more then speak in praier he argues yea he wrestles with God in praier The summe of it is set down vers 11. Deliver me I pray thee to the undertaking of this deliverance he urgeth the Lord by no fewer then seven arguments First From Gods Covenant with his Ancestours O God of my father Abraham c. As if he had said Remember those names with whom thou madest solemn Covenants of protection both to them and their posterity The second is from Gods particular command for this journey Thou saidest unto me Return I departed not on my own head but by thy direction and therefore thou canst not for thy honour but free me from danger seeing at thy word I am fallen into it Thou O Lord art even engaged to give me defence while I yeeld thee obedience Thirdly He puts him in minde of his promises thou saidst I will deal well with thee and that includes all other promises made unto him these he makes as a Bulwark to defend him or as his anchor in the storm This anchor must fail and this bulwark be broken down before the danger comes to me If thy promise stand I cannot fall The fourth is the confession of his own unworthinesse Faith is alwaies humble and while we are most confident in Gods word we are most distrustfull of our own desert I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies Though I am thus bold to urge thy Covenant yet I am as ready to acknowledge my own undesert Thou art a debter by the promise thou hast made to me not by any performance of mine to thee Fifthly He seeks to continue the current of Gods favour by shewing how plentifully it had already streamed unto him which he doth by way of Antithesis setting his former poverty in opposition to his present riches With my staff I passed this Jordan and now I am become two bands That is thou hast blessed me abundantly and shall my brothers malice blast all am I encreased only to make him abound The sixth argument is the greatnesse and eminence of his peril vers 11. I fear lest he will come and slay the mother upon the children a proverbiall speech in the holy language like that of cutting off branch and root in one day both denoting totall excision or an utter overthrow Seventhly He shuts up by re-enforcing the mention of the promise which he urgeth more strongly then before there it was only Thou saidst I will deal well with thee but here it is Thou saidest in doing good I will doe thee good that is as it is rendred in our translation I will surely doe thee good and therefore let not my brother doe me evil We see Jacobs praying was a reasoning with God and himself in the issue got not onely a new blessing but a new name Israel a Prince with God a prevailer both with God and men And thus we may reason with God in the strength and for the sake of Christ in all our praiers For as when God cals
to the manner of his praier or invocation as not comming up to the height and measure of the duty as not fulfilling that Law of praier which the Lord requireth and so because his praiers were imperfect and weak therefore he would not believe that ever God had taken notice of him or hearkned to his voice As if he had said You bid me make my supplication if I doe yet I will not believe that God takes notice of my praiers Why because mine are but cold and unbelieving praiers weak and distracted praiers the praiers of a distemper'd heart the praiers of a confused spirit such I confesse mine are therefore I cannot believe God will hearken to my voice But rather in the last place take the sense thus Videtur hoc esse animi mirabiliter demissâ— atque sibi suâ—eq orationi diffidentis fidentis vero de sola divina bonitate Pined that Job in these words breaths out the humility of his spirit as if he had said I am so far from standing upon my terms with God as was shewed before as if I had hopes to carry it with him by contending that though I come in the humblest manner to invocate and call upon his Name and I finde him so gracious and mercifull to me as that he doth answer me in my requests and grant the thing I desire yet I will not believe that he hath hearkned to My voice that is that he hath done this for any worthinesse in me in my services or praiers I will not believe that the answer I receive from heaven is obtained by any value which my person hath with God Such is the coldnes and deadnes the languishment and unbelief of my heart in praier such are my praiers that the truth is Non ex diffidentia hoc dicit sed ex timore Dei reveritus judicium Drus I cannot believe I am heard when I am heard I cannot think my petition granted when I see it is granted Thus it sets forth the exceeding humility and lowlinesse of his spirit he would give all the glory unto God in granting his petitions and take nothing at all to himself in making those petitions I would not believe that he hath hearkned to my voice What voice was it then that he believ'd God hearken'd unto He hearken'd to the voice of the Mediatour to the voice of Christ He hearken'd to the voice of his own free grace He hearken'd to the sounding of his own bowels He hearken'd to the motions and intercessions of his Spirit in me to the motions and intercessions of his Sonne for me It is not my voice that hath got the answer he alone that hath granted it of his good pleasure in Christ I would not believe that he had hearkned to my voice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Credere stabile esse The word signifies both believing and establishing or to believe and establish and the reason of it is because faith settles the heart Faith is the establishment of the soul An unbeliever hath no bottom he is built without a foundation his spirit is unfixed And that act of believing I would not believe is the generall act of faith namely a firm assent to the truth of what another speaketh An assent to the truth of it two waies To the truth of it First Historically that such a thing was spoken or done 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Graecè 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and then Logically that the thing is true which is spoken When he saith I would not believe that God hath done this his meaning is I would not assent to it as done for my sake or for my voice not that he would not believe the thing was done at all He assented to the word and answer of God when he did receive it but in that restriction he would not believe it namely in reference to himself that he hath hearkned to his voice To hearken is more then to hear * Auscultare inclinationem animi denot at ad alterius dicta Cujus oppositum est auret claudere obturare ad alicujâ—s sermonem Hinc proverbâ—um Surdo natras fabulam Haec verba exactam demissi animi significationem contineÌ„t Tunc cum arriserit gratia time cum abierit time Bernard Providentia Deisaepe nobis beâ—evoâ—a est cum nulla benevolentiae externa praebet argumenta imo aliquardo quem exaudit turbine conterit malorum it notes the inclination of the minde rather then the attention of the ear As to stop the ear notes the shutting of the heart against obedience rather than of the ear against audience To tell a tale to a deaf man is to speak to one that hears but will not grant From all it appears First That Job speaks very highly of the goodnesse of God namely that God answers praier though he hath not respect to the voice of him that praieth Though he had answered me yet would I not believe that he had hearkned to my voice Secondly That he speaks exceeding humbly and submissively of himself my voice what am I a poor creature that I should think I had carried the matter with God Thirdly That he speaks very wisely and understandingly concerning the nature and efficacy of praier and the means procuring answers of praier When man praies God answers but he doth not answer because man praies Fourthly That he speaks very highly and gloriously of the providence of God though providence act darkly towards man We pray God answers and doth us good yet things may goe quite contrary in appearance If I had called and he had answered me yet would I not believe that he had hearkned unto my voice why He breaketh me with a tempest God was breaking him and hearing him at the same time God may be doing us good when the signs he gives speak evil he hears and answers us praying to him when we think we hear him thundering terribly against us Hence First We learn That Praier is calling upon God Then the heart should be very attentive upon God in praier How can we expect God should hear us when we doe not hear our selves In praier we call upon God therefore we should call upon our selves to consider how and what we pray Secondly Note Praier granted is praier answered If I had called and he had answâ—red me The Lord from heaven speaks to us in every act of his providence his speaking to us is in doing for us The works of God are answers to man God doth not answer audibly or sensibly there is a voice in his dispensations As men Prov. 6.13 So the Lord speaks to us with his feet and answers our praiers with his fingers that is his works and waies are demonstrations of his will in answer to our praiers Thirdly In that Job tels us He would not believe c. we are taught That faith is a necessary ingredient in praier This negation of his faith in praier implies the need of faith in praier
When I pray I should believe but as my case stands I cannot believe clouds and darknesse are upon me Faith is the strength of praier Whatsoever ye ask in praier believing ye shall receive Mat. 21.22 Praier without faith it is like a Gun discharged without a bullet which makes a noise but doth no execution we may put out a voice in speaking but except we put out faith in speaking we doe but speak we doe not pray As the Word of God comming upon us doth us no good prevails not upon our hearts unlesse it be mixed with faith Heb. 4.2 The word preached did not profit them not being mixed with faith in them that heard it So the word that goes out from us the word of praier prevaileth not at all with God obtaineth nothing from him unlesse it be mixed with faith All the promises are made to believers All things are possible to them that believe Mar. 9.23 Ask in faith nothing wavering for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the winde and tossed Jam. 1.6 To ask in faith is to ask resting upon the power of God whereby he is able upon his truth whereby he is faithfull and upon his goodnes in Christ whereby he is ready to make good his promises He that asks thus doth not waver Few are without doubting but all sound believers are without wavering The Greek word signifies to question or dispute a thing a degree beyond doubting as when a man is at no certainty with himself being sometime of one minde sometime of another The judgement being so carried that the man is at variance with his own brest or is between two vvaies not knowing vvhich to take We translate the word in the 4th of the Romans vers 20. by staggering Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief The similitude vvhich the Apostle James uses illustrates this sense He that wavereth is like a wave of the sea vvhich by tempestuous vvindes is sometimes carried up to heaven and anon down to the deep A man vvho is tossed with such vvaves of unbelief staggers like a drunken man in his practice and profession he is now on this side to morrow on that he doth not only stagger or halt in his vvay but he staggers and halts between two vvaies and is therefore called vers 8th A double minded man The praiers of such a man are faithlesse praiers and therefore fruitlesse praiers Let not that man think he shall receive any thing unlesse a rebuke and a deniall of the Lord vers 7. There are no promises made to such and therefore no mercies convaied to such Believing praier is gaining praier yet they vvho believe least presume most Hence the Apostles check Let not that man thinke as if he had said I know such vvill flatter themselves into a perswasion of great matters They will have high thoughts but they shall receive nothing Observe Fourthly That how strongly soever a godly man acts faith for the answer of his praiers yet he hath no faith that his praier deserves an answer I would not believe that he had hearkned to my voice Christ calleth the Spouse to praier Can. 2.14 Let me see thy countenance let me hear thy voice for sweet is thy voice and thy countenance comely Christ loves praier The praiers of the Saints upon earth are musick in heaven That invitation to the Spouse Let me hear thy voice seems to be an allusion to those vvho loving musick call upon a friend vvho hath a good voice or exquisite skill to play upon an instrument Come sing us a song play us a lesson let us have a fit of mirth Thus I say Christ speaks to the Church Come let me hear thy voice 't is sweet I know thou hast a sweet one But the Saints judge their own voices harsh and unharmonicall they are apt to thinke their praiers jarrings and discords at the best but a rude noise not a composed air in the ear of God Faith makes our praiers melodious because it carries us out of our selves A believer lives not in the sound of his own praiers but of Christs intercession What are vve that vve should expect any acceptance upon our own account or say this We have gained this We have obtained thus God hath heard us or thus vve have vvrestled it out vvith God As when we have performed all our duties we must say We are unprofitable servants so when we have obtained all our sutes we must say We are unprofitable petitioners I will not believe that God had hearkned unto My voice What 's mans voice that God should hear it Observe Fifthly That a godly man sometimes cannot believe his praier is heard when it is heard Though he cals and God answers yet like Job he believes not that God hath hearkned to his voice He cannot think his praier is heard though one should come and tell him it is heard When the Jews returned from Babylon the mercy was so great Forsan hoc dicit quia saepe prae nimia laetitia non credimus verum esse quod maxime verum esse optamus Drus that they could not believe they had it when they had it When thou didst turn our captivity we were as them that dream Psal 126.2 The deliverance was incredible they could not thinke they vvere delivered Their return to Jerusalem was suspected for a dream of it in Babylon The Church praied vvithout ceasing for Peter vvhen he was in prison Act. 12.5 yet when the Lord brought him out of prison and he vvas knocking at the door of the house where they were assembled while they vvere knocking at the door of heaven for his deliverance yet they would not believe the report of the damosell who said he stood before the gate They tell her she is mad vvhen she affirmed it with sobriety as well as vehemency then they have another help for their unbelief It was not Peter but his Angel Thus it is to this day with the Saints in their great personall sutes and petitions both about spiritual things and temporal they are so overcome astonished and amazed at the goodnesse of God that though they see the thing done yet they can scarce believe it is done As if a Prince should send a message to a poor man by some great Lord and tell him he hath bestowed honour and favour upon him the poor man is ready to say I cannot believe it the blessing is too big for him to digest and let down into his narrow heart no saith he sure it is not so Though the people of God ever preserve a high respect and esteem of the works of God towards them yet their faith is often below his workings and they cannot receive or take in mercy so fast as it commeth faith widens the vessels of the soul to receive much but God can pour in faster then faith can widen the soul to receive Sixthly Observe Faith hath it's decaies Faith doth not keep
up alwaies at the same height in the same plight and degree There is a faith which believes that God doth answer before he answers and there is a faith that cannot believe God will answer when he hath answered Faith in strength prevents the answer of God As God in answering sometimes prevents our askings Isa 65.24 Before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear So faith saith Before the Lord giveth I know I have it before the Lord doth this thing I see it is done Faith in it's strength realizes the mercies of God before they have a being and is an evidence to us of what we see not When mercies are but in their principles in their conception and birth or at most when they are but in their cradle and swadling-clouts faith speaks as gloriously of them as if they were fully acted and grown up before the eye Strong faith in God like God himself quickens the dead and calleth those things which be not as though they were Weake faith deadens the quick and calleth those things which are as if they were not The Israelites were no sooner over the red sea but they believed themselves in the land of Canaan Exod. 15.13 14 15. and in their Song tell the story of the submission and fears of the uncircumcised Nations round about which yet their after unbelief kept off fourty years There is a further understanding of the words which I shall clear in connexion with that which followeth I would not believe that he had hearkned to my voice For he breaketh me with a tempest as if the reason why he doubted his voice was not heard Etiamsi Deâ—â—o peccantem exaudierit minime credo cum malorum niâ—bo me obiuat lay in this because of those continuall breakings which were upon him I would not believe that he had hearkened to my voice for he breaketh me with a tempest and multiplieth my wounds without a cause As if Job had said the dealings of God are such towards me that I know not how to make it out that I am heard For though the Lord in some things carries it so graciously toward me that I have great assurance I am heard yet many things appear reporting that I am not heard Afflictions continued are no evidence that praier is not heard yet usually it is very inevident to an afflicted person that his praier is heard I shall now examine the 16 and 17. verse as holding a reason why Jobs faith was thus weakned Verse 17. For he breaketh me with a tempest and multiplieth my wounds without cause Jobs sorrows put him to his rhetorick still 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Turbo He breaketh me with a tempest An expression raising his afflictions to the height yet not beyond the reality of them He breaketh me with a tempest The word we translate break signifies an utter contusion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the totall ruining of a thing or person Contudit contrivit obminuit the dashing of either to pieces The word is used reciprocally of Christ and the devil in that great and first promise of Christ The seed of the woman Gen. 13.16 It shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel Christ having infinite power utterly destroied the serpents power he spoil'd and ruin'd him for ever the Apostle phrases it so Coloss 2.15 He spoiled principalities and powers he took away the prey or booty of souls which they had got and led them disarm'd like prisoners of warre And the devil did what he could to ruine and spoil Christ to break Christ to pieces Thus Christ and Satan strove and contended one with another And the word Shuph hath an elegant neernesse in sound to our English We call that noise which is made by the ruder motion of the feet shufling and when men contend much we hear the shufling of their feet Job was striving and shufling with God in praier and God was striving and shufling with Job in storms and tempests He breaketh me with a tempest The word signifies not only storms and tempests but likewise Chaldaeus legit usque ad filum lineuâ— vel adfila piâ—orum subtiliter disputat mecum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Filum significat A little hair or twined threed So the Chaldee Paraphrast translates it here He disputes or contends with me to a hair or to a threed making the sense out thus I will not believe that God hath answered me why He standeth with me upon the smallest matters he disputes with me to a hair and debates every thing to a threed As Abraham said to the King of Sodome Gen. 14.23 I will not take any thing that is thine from a threed even to a shoe-latchet that is I will not make the smallest gain by thee So to dispute to a hair or to a threed notes contending upon or about the smallest differences But generally the word is render'd a Tempest and thus God is often described contending with man Nah. 1.3 His way is in the whirlwinde and in the storm and the clouds are the dust of his feet that is He sends storms and whirlwindes by these he afflicts the children of men and as an army of horsmen raises clouds of dust from the earth with their feet so the Lord raises the dust of clouds with his Behold a whirlwinde or a tempest of the Lord is gone forth in fury even a grievous whirlwinde it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked Jer. 23.19 To break with a tempest or with a whirlwinde implies two things 1. A sudden and an unexpected affliction Tempests are never welcome and but seldom looked for When the sea is so calm and smooth that you may throw a die upon it a storm ariseth in a moment and the vessell in danger of a wreck 2. It noteth the fiercenesse and violence of an affliction Tempests are the most violent motions they come with power A tempest is irresistible Who can stand before it Who can contend with storms and windes When the Lord made totall conquests of his enemies he contended in the letter by storms and tempests As in the 10th of Joshua and in the first of Samuel Chap. 7.10 When the Philistines drew neer to battell against Israel the Lord thundered with a great thunder that day upon the Philistines and discomfited them The story is famous of a legion of Christian souldiers called the thundering legion because by praier they obtained a refreshing rain for the army in which they were commanded and a terrible storm of thunder and lightning c. upon the enemy The word is used figuratively in warre when besiegers comming to a Town or Fort are resolved to carry it presently what ever it cost them they are said to storm the place or to get it by storm The Prophet alludes to this Isa 25.4 When the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall that is when their rage shall
be at the highest most violent and impetuous then the Lord will be a refuge from the storm The same God who saves many from the storms of man did himself storm Job He breaketh me with a tempest Job was storm'd yet supposes his praier was answered Hence observe Praiers may be heard and answered when greatest afflictions are upon us Doe not thinke your praiers are lost because your afflictions are not removed or that God doth not hear you Quaedam non negantur sed ut congruo tempore dentur differuntur Aug. because he doth not presently relieve you God forbears when he doth not deny He answers to our profit when he answereth not to our feeling He answereth to our spirituall interest when not to our corporall The sick man calleth to the Physician to take away the bitter loathsome potion Exaudit saepe ad profectum licet non ad votum Aquin. in loc Saevitur in vulnus ut homo sanetur Aug. and the wounded man calleth to the Chyrurgion to take away those corroding plaisters and to forbear those torturing operations But the one gives him his potion and the other lances his sores and laies corrosives to his flesh both these while they vex the patient answer him for what 's the reason why the patient would have his bitter potion taken away is it not because he would be better And why would he have those painfull operations forborn is it not because he would have ease Now for those very reasons the Masters of those professions keep him to both neither could they give him his desire but by doing contrary to his will Thus also the Lord is healing us when we think he is only wounding us and fulfilling our desires while we cry out he is crossing them Secondly Observe Even while we are praying the Lord may be thundering he may be breaking us when we are beseeching him We must learn to keep to our duty whatsoever the dealings of God be whether it be fowl weather or fair pray still whether it be storm or calm go on in praier still Pray still though God break still It is our duty to pray and it is Gods priviledge to break Thirdly Observe from the loftinesse of the language That the Lord laies very sore afflictions upon those that are very dear to him Job expresseth his afflictions by breaking with a tempest Strokes from the clouds are most terrible The same afflictions and scourges which he laies upon his enemies he laies in the matter yea and often in degree upon his best friends What can the Lord doe to his greatest enemies but break them with a tempest He doth not only chasten with a rod but sometimes scatter with a storm He hath not only a sword but a thunder-bolt for his servants He hath terrible stroaks and blows for them who lie in his arms and live in his embraces Therefore we cannot distinguish men by the matter no nor by the measure of their afflictions That which is a judgement to one is but a chastening to another with the same weapon he wounds a friend and destroies an enemy Fourthly Observe That afflictions continued cause us to suspect that our praiers are not answered Why doth Job thinke that God hearkned not to him I would not believe saith he that God had hearkned unto my voice why because still he continues to break me Faith is put hard to it at such a time Licet Deus verè exaudiat tamen homo in miseriu constitutu◠se exaudiri non credit Aquin. and this is the thing which stumbled Job he could not tell how to make it out that God had heard his praier for him because he heard so great a noise of tempests and storms against him It is very difficult for faith to see mercy thorow clouds of trouble It is a hard thing for faith to look upon the pleased face of God thorow a lowring tempest or to believe the calmnes of Gods heart to us in troublesome dispensations Therefore he speaks here as if his faith were even master'd The providences of God are often too hard for man And with this temptation Satan helps on unbelief If he come to a soul in affliction which keepeth close to his interests in Christ Yea saith he you may doe so though afflictions were upon you but yours are more then afflictions yours are tempests and storms God dealeth with you as with an enemy yours are no ordinary matters yours are like the portion he gives to those he hates I would not weaken your faith because of a chastening rod but you are beaten with scorpions and will you still believe Can God love you and deal thus with you Thus the serpent whispers in those louder tempests of affliction Fifthly Observe That Afflictions continued cause us to suspect that our praiers shall not be answered And so I finde some rendering the former verse in connexion with this If I have called and he hath answered me yet will I not believe that he will hearken to my voice As if he had said I know God hath heard me heretofore but I fear he will hear me no more because I finde his hand so heavy upon me Surely then he hath forgotten to be gracious and hath shut up his tender mercies Former experiences can hardly keep faith whole while we are under present breakings Lastly If we take the words as importing a calling to God for answer in a way of provocation as was shewed before then the sense is If I had an ambition to contend with God and he had answered me by condescending to that course yet I could not believe he had hearkned to my voice that is I could not believe that he had yeelded the cause to me why because he goes on still to break me with tempests he follows me with trouble still he shews he hath done me no wrong in my former afflictions by his going on to afflict me still he is so farre from acknowledging the least injustice in what is past of my sufferings that I suffer more He breaks me with a tempest and Multiplies my wounds without cause But is not this injustice to multiply wounds without cause 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gratis Is not this a charge of blasphemy upon God May we not think that now Satan had his wish and that Job cursed God indeed The Hebrew word which we translate Vulnera sine causa sunt mala flagella quae non ob aliquod mittuntur peccatum without cause hath been opened Chap. 1.9 and Chap. 2.3 and it hath occurred elsewhere Here He multiplies my wounds without cause is not a charge of injustice upon God Jobs heart was farre from the least thought of that as you may see in all the dispute But it is an acknowledgement of the soveraignty and power of God Though he hath wounded me already yet he may wound me still without giving me a reason or though I have given him no cause What Doe
malis conficiunt Pined Significat derisionem quae fit externo corporis gestu LXX vertunt per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pisc in 1 Cor. 14.21 How God laughs at this triall The word notes derision or scorn Psal 2.4 He that sitteth in heaven will laugh there he uses the ordinary word for laughter and he will have them in derision That 's the word in the text So that properly and strictly it signifies to scorn and deride and that either by words or gestures as putting forth of the finger shaking the head or gnashing the teeth which are Scripture expressions of highest scorn by gesture But how shall we fit this to the businesse in hand Will the Lord thus scorn and deride at the triall and probation of the innocent The Vulgar was it seems so much straitned to make out the sense that he reads it negatively If the scourge slay suddenly he will not laugh at the triall of the innocent Others though they put not in a negation formally and in terms yet they doe it equivalently and therefore they render it by an interrogation If the scourge slay suddenly Will he laugh at the triall of the innocent No he will not that 's their meaning the Lord will not sleight or neglect the triall of the innocent though he destroies them yet he will not deride them But we and most of the learned Hebritians keep close to the affirmative If the scourge slay suddenly he will laugh at the triall of the innocent Suppositum verbi ridendi daemon est qui gaudet videns homines diuturnis malis cruciari Cajet There is a diâ—â—â—te whom we are to understand by this He for some taking this laughing and deriding in the broadest sense think it too low and dishonourable to be ascribed unto God and therefore they carry it down low enough ascribing it to the devil If the scourge slay suddenly then the devil laugheth to see the upright tried He makes merry with the sorrows of the Saints the devil hath no great cause how much minde soever he hath to laugh considering his condition but the meaning is that which gives the devil most content is to see righteous persons vexed And that 's a truth As there is joy in heaven when good men sorrow for sinne so there is a kinde of joy in hell when good men are enwrapt with the sorrows of suffering Others make the antecedent to He a wicked man such are within one degree of Satan his children If the scourge slay suddenly Impius justum subsannat malis implicitum then the ungodly who yet thrive and prosper rejoyce and make sport at the triall of the innocent See what these good honest innocent men have got they thought by their prayers and fastings by their zeal and strictnesse to exempt themselves from these common afflictions they presumed they should be spared though all the world were consumed but see they are destroied as well as others they smart under the lash as well as we their neighbours whom they looked upon as the only whipping stocks when a scourge should come That wicked men laugh and deride the innocent under affliction and jeer them with Where is your God now what 's become of all your praying and fasting Where are the hopes and confidences the priviledges and protections ye talked of is a truth But thirdly We need not ease the text thus nor relieve it out of this difficulty by fastening the interpretation upon wicked men Let us take the relative to be God himself and see how we can make the sense out with a saving to his honour If the scourge slay suddenly He that is the most holy and gracious God laugheth at the triall of the innocent How so First I premise this God doth not laugh or deride properly at the afflictions of his people No the Lord is a tender a gracious and a mercifull father to his people at all times and most tender of them when they are in their afflictions when they are in their sorenesse and in their sorrows he is more tender then the most tender-hearted mother Isa 49.15 Can a mother forget her sucking childe that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb yea they may forget yet will I not forget thee Will a mother laugh and deride a poor infant when it lies sprawling and wants her help No much lesse will God laugh at his people therefore as laughing noteth hard-heartednesse or unnaturall harshnes of spirit the Lord doth not laugh at his afflicted Saints it is against his nature against his practice and all experience What is it then he laughs at First Positively thus Job would here expresse that the Lord carries himself in outward things with an equall hand both to the good and to the bad as was touched before The Lord laugheth at and derideth the wicked Prov. 1.28 I will laugh at their destruction and mock when their fear cometh The carriage of God to his own people is such as if he did mock and laugh at them also Dicitur ridere quia sic judicaÌ„t hominum vulgus He that laugheth and derideth at a mans affliction doth not regard what he suffers he gives him no help nor delivers him out of his sufferings Nay a man that laugheth at another in affliction will lay more affliction upon him Even thus in regard of outward dispensations God deals with his own people that is when innocent ones are in affliction and cry unto him Ridere dicitur cum contemnere videtur orationem postulantis opem he makes as if he did not hear or regard them but lets them lie crying it may be day after day in their pains and wants yea sometimes in stead of easing them he laies more afflictions upon them poor souls since they sought the Lord they finde an encrease of their sorrows God seems to deal with them as Pharaoh did with the Israelites in Egypt who crying to him for release of their burdens are answered only with Ye are idle ye are idle let more work be laid upon these men Exod. 5. Or like Rehoboam who threatned his people to make their yoke heavier while they petitioned he would make it lighter and told them of scorpions while they complained of whips David gives us this in his own experience Psal 77.2 3. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord my sore ran in the night and ceased not or my hand was stretched out in praier and bedewed with tears my soul refused to be comforted David sought for comfort but his troubles encreasing he could not take in the comforts administred I remembred God and was troubled I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed If any thing in the world can ease a troubled heart thoughts of God can Thus David once relieved himself When the people talked of stoning him he encouraged himself in the Lord his God 1 Sam. 30.6 Yet sometimes God seems to think of us least when we
am very confident that how pure and righteous so ever I am or by further washing and cleansing believing and repenting shall appear to be yet the Lord hath an intent to try me further even to the uttermost and will cast me into the ditch mire and dirt of further afflictions so that they who make up their judgements by your rule though they were as neer to me as the clothes upon my back must yet abhor and loath me as ye my friends now doe as a wicked person He seems to speak as the Apostle doth 1 Cor. 4.9 I thinke that God hath set forth us the Apostles last as it were men appointed unto death for we are made a spectacle to the world and to Angels and to men This is the summe and generall sense of these five verses The words are full of difficulty and there is much variety of judgements about them but I hope in the close to make out a sense upon every particular which shall be matching and sutable with this which hath been given in generall If I say I will forget my complaint If I say In this Iob answereth directly to the charge of Bildad at the 8th Chapter ver 2. How long wilt thou speak these things and shall thy words be like an East-winde To which Iob answers Bildad If I should cease speaking as thou seemest to chide me into silence If I should say I will not complain any more I will give over these mournfull discourses and bite in my strongest pains What then will the event prove what thou hast promised surely no I am afraid of all my sorrows and almost assured that they will return upon me If I say I will forget my complaint I will forget The word which we render forget may signifie a three-fold forgetfulnesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Est oblivisoi ut 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 First Forgetfulnesse coming from the neglect of our naturall abilities when we are carelesse and take no heed to remember Recordari cum cura diligentia Secondly Forgetfulnesse arising from the weaknesse of our naturall abilities when though we are carefull yet we cannot remember But Iob means neither of these he intends a third kinde of forgetfulnesse even a studied and an affected forgetfulnesse when how able soever we are yet we will not or would not remember If I say I will forget my complaint that is If I purposely set my self or labour to forget my sorrows yet I cannot get off their remembrance As the Hebrew Zachar signifies not only the naturall act of memory but diligence in remembring So doth the Hebrew Sachah to forget It is sometimes as hard a work to forget as it is at any time to remember How do the damned in hell strive to forget their pains and complaints they would count it a happinesse if they could put their misery out of minde and memory one hour but they cannot And they can no more forget what they have felt then not be sensible of what they feel If I say I will forget 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 My complaint Sapit hoc verbum meditabuÌ„dum quendam sermonem anxium intellectiâ— vocisque discursum The word notes meditation and here a mournfull meditation a breathing forth in mournfull expressions The same word is used Chap. 7. vers 13. When I say My bed shall comfort me and my couch shall case my complaint or my mournfull meditation then thou scarest me with dreams Miseriae memoriam omnem depoâ—am Drus So then Jobs meaning is If I should set my self with greatest intention to forget that is to lay aside the thought of my troubles and sorrows and say I will leave off my heavinesse and complain no more I will not pore upon my afflictions but resolve to be above them yet it will not be I finde no case forgetfulnesse is a medicine for some diseases and pains but I finde no cure no remedy that way for mine Whence observe There are some things which man can very hardly forget or get out of his minde We may study their forgetfulnesse and yet not be able to forget them And they are of two sorts First Worldly pleasures Secondly Worldly sorrows These will not fail to minde us We need the art or rather the grace of forgetfulnesse to lay these aside And there are two things which we are slow to remember First Our own duties And secondly The mercies of God About these we need the art or rather the grace of memory And usually they who have most neglected to remember duty are most afflicted with the constrained remembrance of their own sorrow And they shall not be able at all to forget the wrath of God who would not remember the mercies of God If I say I will forget my complaint I will leave off my heavinesse and comfort my self 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Leave off my heavinesse The Hebrew word for word is I will lay aside my face for that which strictly and in the letter of that language Notat faciem iram etiam â—â—istitiâ—m signifies the face or countenance of a man doth also signifie First Anger and wrath Secondly Sorrow and heavinesse 'T is put for anger Psal 34.16 The face or anger of the Lord is against such as doe evil So Lam. 4.16 Levit. 17.10 I will set my face that is I will shew my anger and manifest my displeasure against them And the reason why that word which signifies the countenance or face signifies also anger and wrath sorrow and heavinesse is because both anger and sorrow break forth in the face If a man be very angry you shall see his anger scribled in the uneven character of his countenance If a man be very heavy and sorrowfull you shall see the lines of sorrow drawn in his face Therefore it is said of Hannah 1 Sam. 1.18 when she received a refreshing and reviving answer from the Lord in praier the poor soul sate drooping and mourning as much as praying but as soon as she had a hint of audience and acceptance it is said She went away and did eat and her countenance was no more sad the sadnesse of her heart appeared no more in her countenance there was fair weather in her face and Sunne-shine in her fore-head the rain and showres of her tears were blown over and dried up As in some sinners The shew of their countenance doth testifie against them Isa 3.9 that is they are so grossely wicked that you may see sinne in their faces whereas others can keep sinne close enough in their hearts they can keep the disease in and shut themselves up when they are sick of the plague of their hearts 1 King 8. nothing but holinesse is discernable in the face of their conversation when nothing but rottennesse and corruption lies at the bottome of their spirits But as the corruption of many a mans heart breaks forth in botches upon the face of his actions and the
will lay aside my heavinesse I will comfort my self It is a hard thing to comfort others Luther said It is as easie a work to raise the dead as to comfort the conscience but it is harder for a man to comfort himself Eliphaz gave testimony to Job in the fourth Chapter vers 3 4. that he had upholden him that was falling and had strengthned the feeble knees But now it is come upon thee and thou faintest it toucheth thee and thou art troubled Thou who hast holpen others canst not help thy self Yet here Job was upon a resolve to comfort himself I answer Though it be a truth that no man is able to comfort himself no more then he can convert himself and that a man is no more able to change his heart from sorrow to joy then he is able to change his heart from sin to grace yet a man may attempt or assay he may use means to comfort himself When Job saith I will comfort my self the meaning is I will doe the utmost I can I will not be behinde in my endeavours I will take the best course and improve all opportunities to get out of these dumps whosoever will prescribe me a way or direct me to a remedy of these sorrows I will submit to it I will comfort my self From whence note That What a man really endeavoureth to doe that he may be said to doe I will comfort my self Why Because though he were not able to attain such an end Joy and comfort lieth beyond the line of the creature yet he reached at it he attempted and assaied all means to comfort himself Thus the salvation of a man is ascribed to himself A man is said to save himself though salvation belongeth to the Lord even temporall salvation but especially eternall salvation yet a man may be said to save himself As the Apostle 1 Epist 4.16 exhorts Timothy to walk by a holy rule to settle himself in his studies to read the Scriptures and to meditate in them to be faithfull in dispensing of the Gospel assuring him If thou dost these things thou shalt both save thy self and them that hear thee Save thy self No man can be his own Saviour he may be as well his own Creatour Timothy was thus encouraged because in so doing he did all that a man ought who expects salvation That was the way to though not the cause of salvation Salvation is all Christs yet he who doth his best to save himself may be said to save himself Thus also a man comforts himself converts himself instructs himself when he putteth himself out to the utmost of gifts graces and opportunities to doe or attain duties and blessings No man saith the Prophet doth stir himself up to take hold of the Lord. The word in the Prophet signifies to awake or to watch no man wakes or watches his opportunity to take hold of the Lord. It notes also that action of old birds who flutter with their wings and beat up their young ones to urge and provoke them to use their wings and flie abroad Thus he complained because the lazy dull-hearted Jews did not raise up and waken their hearts to doe what they could though to doe it was more then they could Secondly Observe That a man in affliction may help on his comforts or his sorrows I will comfort my self I will leave off my heavinesse Some adde to their afflictions and are active to aggravate and encrease them they make their night darker and obscure the light of counsell that is brought unto them they joyn with Satan their enemy and by the black melancholy vapours of their own hearts stifle the consolations that are administred them by faithfull friends Like Rachel Jer. 31. they refuse to be comforted when reviving Cordials are offered they spill them upon the ground and will not take in a drop they are so farre from comforting themselves that they will not receive comfort from others The Prophet seems to be resolved upon the point he would go on in sorrows Look away from me I will weep bitterly labour not to comfort me Isa 22.4 As sometimes a man under great affliction bespeaks comfort from others O I am in a sad case come comfort me shew me how I may get ease from these sorrows Many beg praiers and send bils of their afflictions desiring to have them spread before the Lord in the Congregation that some comfort may be dropt from heaven into their diseased bodies or wounded spirits Others sleight praiers and care not to be comforted as if it were an ease to them to mourn and a refreshing to be in heavinesse There is a two-fold ground upon which comforts are thus put off 1. Some put off their comforts upon fullennesse of spirit black and dark spirits love to bathe themselves in sorrow Sorrow is the bath of drooping spirits and it is Satans bath too Melancholly is commonly called The devils bath he takes delight to wash in the streams of our unnecessary tears Sorrow for sinne puts the devil to the greatest sorrow Godly grief is a grief to Satan but he delighteth in our worldly sorrows as the devil may be delighted if he have delight in any thing this is one thing he delights in our forbidden sorrows Some sorrows are as much forbidden as any pleasures The devil is as much pleased with our unlawfull sorrows as he is with our unlawfull pleasures And he labours as much to make us pleased with them 2. Others help on their own sorrows and lessen their comforts through forgetfulnesse or ignorance they as the Apostle chides the Hebrews Chap. 12.5 have forgotten the exhortation which speaks unto them as unto children Now as wicked men rejoyce because they forget or know not their ill condition So godly men are sad when they forget or know not how good their condition is Yet Job supposes the review of his good estate would neither check his sorrows nor establish his peace If I say I will forget my complaint I will comfort my self I am afraid of all my sorrows Thirdly Observe Man is not able to comfort himself we can make our selves crosses but we cannot make our selves comforts A man may say as Job did Chap. 7.13 to his bed comfort me or to his riches comfort me or to his wine and good chear comfort me or to his friends comfort me He may say to all outward acts of pleasure to merry company and musick eomfort me Yea a Saint may say to his graces and holinesse comfort me and yet none of these can comfort him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or they comfort him in vain Timuit expavit prae metu se abstrahere timorem denâ—tat imminentis calamitatis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Significat dolore affiâ—ere interdum figurare Qui materiam aliquam ut lucum vel ceram figurat manibus digitis is illam premendo quasi dolore afficit Bold Est elegans metaphora verba alicujus figurare nam
seek unto God Surely your opinion of me and your counsel to me can never agree for if I am wicked as you hold me to be I labour in vain while I obey your counsell There is a sense wherein it is in vain for a wicked man to seek unto God and a sense wherein it is not in vain for a wicked man to seek unto God we must distinguish of this interpretation If a man be wicked it is in vain for him to seek unto God while he loveth wickednesse and delighteth in it Psal 66.2 If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear my praier He that is so wicked as to love wickednesse praies in vain fasts and humbles his soul in vain The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord that is the Lord abominates his sacrifice but The prayer of the upright is his delight Solomon describes an hypocrite in the former words he is one that will pray and offer sacrifice and yet puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face Ezek. 14.4 So they Jer. 7.4 cried The temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord are these The Prophet discovers who these zealous Templers were vers 9. Will ye steal murder and commit adultery and swear falsly and then come and stand in this house which is called by my Name and say We are delivered to doe all these abominations Some mingle prayer and fasting with stealing and murdering such praying and fasting are as unacceptable to God as stealing and murdering are Such labouring to please the Lord is displeasing to the Lord. What hast thou to doe saith God to the wicked to take my Covenant into thy mouth Psal 50.16 Doth God say to the wicked What hast thou to doe with my Covenant For whom is the Covenant made but for the wicked If men were not wicked or sinfull what needed there a Covenant of grace The Covenant is for the wicked And the Covenant brings grace enough to pardon those who are most wicked why then doth the Lord say to the wicked What hast thou to doe to take my Covenant into thy mouth Observe what follows and his meaning is expounded Seeing thou hatest to be reformed As if God had said Thou wicked man who protectest thy sinne and holdest it close refusing to return and hating to reform what hast thou to doe to meddle with my Covenant Lay off thy defiled hands He that is resolved to hold his sinne takes hold of the Covenant in vain or rather he lets it goe while he seems to hold it Woe unto those who sue for mercy while they neglect duty Thus a wicked man labours in vain But there is a sense in which a wicked man doth not labour in vain how wicked soever he is What else means the Prophets invitation Isa 55.5 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon Let him forsake his waies and then no matter what his waies have been let him return to the Lord and then his former departures shall not hinder acceptance Christ died for the ungodly Ro. 5.6 God justifieth the ungodly Ro. 4.5 It is not in vain for an ungodly man to come to God indeed and when he doth he ceases to be ungodly They draw nigh only with their lips whose hearts are not changed and they draw nigh in vain As God hath not said to the seed of Iacob reall Saints Seek ye me in vain So he hath not said in vain to wicked men Seek ye my face For with the word which bids them seek he gives them power to seek and the mercy they seek for The grace of God prevents us that we may seek him and blesses us when we doe seek him If all who are wicked labour in vain then all had laboured in vain forasmuch as all vvere wicked Thirdly You may take the meaning of it thus If I am wicked that is Si adhuc mecuÌ„ agit Deus tanquam cum impto quoâ—sum frustra laboreÌ„ Philip. Haec sunt verba hominis à Deo derelicti Vatabl. if I am reputed by men and still afflicted by God as a wicked man then why should I labour in vain or trouble my self any further to so little purpose If this sense may be admitted 't is a passionate speech proceeding from impatience and distemper of spirit Much like that of David and very near it in words Psal 73.13 Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocency for all the day long have I been plagued and chastened every morning Davids afflictions wrought as hard conclusions in him as Iobs did Grace acts and speaks ever like it self but a gracious man doth not David shewed there was vanity and remainders of defilement in his heart by saying I have cleansed my heart in vain Mr Broughton renders to this sense I shall be holden as wicked now why doe I labour in vain Hence observe That where hope faileth endeavour faileth too I have no hope saith Job to get out of these afflictions which fall upon wicked men or to get one step beyond a wicked man in your reputation my labour is in vain why then doe I labour When the heart sinks the hands hang down Where the one gives over believing and hoping the other give over acting and working Hence the afflicted are called upon by the Apostle to lift up the hands that hang down and the feeble knees Heb. 12.12 Hands and knees are the instruments of action and motion and the hanging down of these imports both retarded or stopt Those afflicted Hebrews saw little or no hope of deliverance therefore they gave over endeavouring and moving after deliverance Lastly Taking the words as in the originall absolutely without any supposition I am wicked Why then labour I in vain As if he had said I am wicked not only in the opinion of men but I acknowledge my self to be wicked indeed In vanum laborarem si coram Deo justificare me tentarem ut falso me hec velle praesupponis considered with the most holy God and then his sense is Lord if thou art pleased to goe this way to vvork vvith me to set the rigour of thy justice a work to finde out my sinne and to judge me according to vvhat thou findest then in vain doe I seek to comfort my self for in thy sight no flesh can be justified I as vvell as others am wicked In vvhich acknowledgement he seems to meet vvith and confute that supposition of Bildad Chap. 8.6 If thou wert pure Pure saith Job alas I can never be pure before God When the Lord examines my purity he vvill finde it impurity You tell me if I vvere pure the Lord vvould awaken for me I shall never be pure in your sense I am as pure as ever I shall be that is I
ad percutiendum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ye go out with a message of peace in your â—â—uths let there not be so much as an instrument of contention in your hands But in Mark he useth the word Misnan which signifies a staff to lean upon Take a staff to rest or ease your selves upon or to help your selves on in your travell Virga vel baculus ad sust entandum A walking staff but not a striking staff Thus they reconcile the difference But though this interpretation be good yet this ground of it appears not either in the Syriack which in both texts hath the word Shebet or in the Greek which expresses both by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So then we must rather say that the same word signifies a staff for both uses and that when Christ forbids his Disciples a staff he means a staff to strike with Preachers must be no strikers according to the Apostles rule in Timothy and that when he bids them take a staff he means a walking staff Iunerant Preachers might be wearied with travelling as well as with speaking But to the Text. The rod which Job desires might be removed Nihil aliud postulat Iob quam ut Deus vel mittigaret vel penitus auferret ab eo flagella sc morbos dolores Non aâ—at pro jure sed gratiae moderationi faciat locum Coc. is That sore affliction which the soveraign power of God laid upon him and exercised him with As if he had said Lord thou dealest with me upon the height of thy prerogative and I acknowledge thou maiest do so But my humble sute and prayer is that thou wouldest afflict me lesse then thou hast though thou hast not afflicted me more then thou maiest Thou hast not injured me at all but ô that thou wouldest relieve me He speaks to this sense with a little variety of words Chap. 13.20 21. Onely doe not two things unto me then will I not hide my self from thee with-draw thine hand from me and let not thy dread make me afraid And in a language not unlike this he describes the peace and prosperity of wicked men Chap. 21.9 Their houses are safe from fear neither is the rod of God upon them We finde also that Elihu who undertook Job and debated the matter with him when these three had no more to say or would say no more He I say perceiving what it was which Job had complained of as an impediment of speaking unto God promises that himfelf would give him no such impediment or cause of complaint Chap. 33.7 Behold my terrour shall not make thee afraid neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee As if he had said The Lords hand hath been heavy upon thee and his terrour hath made thee afraid but take my word I will deal gently and mildly with thee My terrour shall not make thee afraid neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee So that Jobs desire is only this That he might have ease or release from â—is present sorrows And 't is not improbably conceived that he alludes to the custom of the Judges in those Eastern Countries who laid a rod upon some offenders in token of condemation and took it off from others in token of absolution of grace and favour Take thy rod away from me Affliction is called a rod in a three-fold consideration 1. Because of the smart of it Afflictions are grievous and painfull to flesh and bloud They grieve and pain the outward man while the inward man takes pleasure in them I saith Paul take pleasure in infirmities in reproaches in persecutions in necessities in distresses for Christs sake 2 Cor. 12.10 that is my spirit doth for no affliction not that for Christs sake is joyous for the present but grievous to the flesh For as the Spirit would not doe those evils of sin which the flesh would and doth The evil which I would not that I doe was Pauls cry Rom. 7.19 So the flesh would not endure those evils of sorrow which the Spirit would and doth And as a believer delights in the Law of God after the inward man when corruption is vext and troubled at it so a believer delights in the rod of God after the inward man when corruption is most impatient and unquiet under it Hence the Apostles counsell to the dispersed Jews Rejoyce when ye fall into divers temptations Jam. 1. that is into divers afflictions the flesh hath it's sense and feels smart but the Spirit is armed with faith which overcomes the smart Affliction were not so much as a rod if it did not make us smart and we are not so much as Christians if we cannot bear the smart with patience or overcome it with faith 2. Affliction is called a Rod in regard of the hand that useth it A sword is in the hand of a Judge and a Rod in the hand of a father God deals with his people as a father with his children in afflicting them When we most provoke his fatherly displeasure against us he doth not wish as Balaam when his Asse offended him that there were a sword in his hand to slay us he only takes up a rod to scourge us Hence 3. Affliction is called a rod in regard of the end for which it is sent A rod is not prepared to kill nor is it an instrument of cruelty A rod is not for destruction but for correction There are indeed destroying rods which God will destroy and save his people who are destroied by them I will destroy the rod of the oppressour Isa 9.4 Nebuchadnezzar the rod of Gods anger was a destroying rod yet they among the Jews who feared God were only corrected while they were destroied The Lord means no hurt to those who are good when he makes them smart and die under the rod of those who are evil If ever any man might think he had a sword in his bowels rather then a rod upon his back Job might yet even he cals it a rod while he cals to God for the removing of it Remove thy rod away from me And seeing he cals to have it removed we may observe That it is lawfull for to pray against affliction We may pray to be eased of that which we must be patient under To be discontented with affliction is sinfull buâ— it is no sinne it is a duty to desire the taking of it away For 1. We may pray for the preventing of afflictions therefore we may pray for the removing of afflictions we may pray Lord keep thy rod off from us therefore we may pray Lord take thy rod off from us 2. Afflictions themselves are evil There is no good in them nor can they doe us any good of themselves The good commeth from a superiour work from those admirable influences and concurrences of God upon and with corrections The rod is an evil in it self and will make us worse unlesse the Lord make it a blessing to us Some are
fear with reference to the two former verses especially to the verse immediately fore-going There Job desires a Daies-man or complains that there is none here he tels us what he might have expected if he had one As if he had said Had I a Daies-man then I know he would take away the rod from me that is he would give judgement that I should be eased of this affliction and his fear should not terrifie me that is he would never give a sentence which should be a terrour to me That 's a fair sense in reference to what he spake before but I rather keep his meaning within the compasse of what he is speaking here And then by fear we may understand Paveris nomine intelligendum putareÌ„ fulgoreÌ„ splendorem vel majestatem niniam qua priscis illis temporibus nonnunquam Deus vel Angelus pro Deo serviâ— suis apparabat Bol. First Those raies and beams of Majesty which the Lord letting out a little upon Job he was not able to bear them We finde when in those ancient times God appeared the beholders were terrified Manoahs wife tels her husband A man of God came unto me and his countenance was like the countenance of an Angel of God very terrible Judg. 13.6 And when God appeared to Abraham An horrour of great darknesse fell upon him Gen. 15.12 in what a wofull plight was Daniel receiving the visions of God Dan. 10.8 God who is the joy of his people is also a terrour to them Things which are not what they seem to be are not so terrible near hand as at a distance God who is infinitely more then he can seem to be is more terrible near hand then at a distance Hence it is that when God who is alwaies near us shews himself to be so our spirits fail within us In that presence of God which we shall have in glory there will be fulnesse of joy And in that presence of God which we have in the waies of grace there is abundance of joy But if while we are here in a state of grace some little of that presence of God which is proper to the state of glory fals upon us we are more distressed then comforted with it How much more then when God clothes himself with terrour and as he did to Job so reveals himself unto us Secondly We may interpret this fear by the former part of the verse the rod his afflictions were terrible the hand of God lifted up to smite him made him afraid But whether it were this or that the majesty of God overawing him or the rod of God chastening him the sense is plain Job was opprest with fear from the Lord yea with terrour from the Almighty causing this vehement deprecation Let not his fear terrifie me Hence observe First That God sometimes appears terribly to those he loves entirely Job was one of Gods darlings and God was imbracing him while he was scourging him Job had kisses from heaven when he felt nothing but lashes here upon the earth The heart of God was full of love while his hand was filled with a rod his bowels yearn'd upon Job and his face terrified him at the same time That precious man Heman was followed with terrours and visions of amazement all his daies I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up while I suffer thy terrours I am distracted Psal 88.15 The terrours of God even terrours to distraction may be the present portion of those whose portion is everlasting mercy Observe Secondly Man is not able to bear the anger of G d. Though he be but correcting us yet we cannot bear his anger toward us This caused the Prophet to cry out Jer. 10.24 Correct me O Lord but not in thine anger The words are not a praier for correction I know no warrant for that but a submission to it As if he had said Lord I am willing to bear thy correction but I cannot and who can bear thine anger The Church complains Psal 90.7 We are consumed by thine anger and by thy wrath we are troubled The fatherly anger of God is as a consuming fire and we are but as stubble before it What then is the fiercenesse of that anger which he will pour out upon wicked men for ever Who knoweth the power of thine anger Psal 90.11 Man cannot understand how powerfull the anger of God is much lesse stand before the power of his anger As man cannot comprehend the love of God Ephes 3.18 19. The Apostle exhorts To know the love of God which passeth knowledge that is to know so much of it as is knowable the love of God is past the knowledge not only of nature but of grace because it is infinite So we should labour To know the anger of God which passeth knowledge that is to know it so farre as it is knowable The anger of God cannot be fully known because it hath an infinitenesse in it as well as his love And as the one shall never be fully known but by enjoying it so neither can the other but by feeling it Upon this consideration the Lord makes that gracious promise to his people Isa 57.16 I will not contend for ever neither will I be alwaies wroth for the spirit should fail before me and the souls which I have made But is not the spirit or soul of man of an everlasting make And shall not the damned endure the contendings of Gods wrath for ever and not fail The substance of the soul cannot fail and the spirit is incorruptible The spirit is full of morall corruption but it is not subject to naturall corruption or the corruption of its nature How glad would the damned be if their spirits might fail and their souls return to nothing The failing of the spirit under the wrath of God is the failing of its hope and courage Thus the spirit sinks and the immortall soul dies away under the sense and weight of Gods displeasure But what if the Lord should take away his rod and change his â—errours into smiles What will Iob do then when this is granted see what he will do Verse 35. Then would I speak and not fear him but it is not so with me 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sept. But is this the use which Iob would make of the mercy he begs Doth he entreat the Lord to take his terrifying fear away from him and then resolve not to fear him at all Whose voice is this Is this the voice of Job I will speak and not fear him Jobs character in the first Chapter was A man fearing God and dares he now say I will speak and not fear him As the fear of God ought to be the seasoning of all our works and actions so it ought to be the seasoning of all our words and speeches why then doth he say I will speak and not fear him To clear this I answer Fear may be taken two waies Either for the grace of fear or
right only in the free grace of God and in the righteousnes of my redeemer According to this exposition he returneth to his first proposition laid down in the second verse of this Chapter How should man be just or righteous with God I am not right in my self as I said in the beginning of my answer Man is not righteous so I now conclude in my own particular case I am not righteous in my self and being righteous in another if God would but give me a little respit from these sorrows I would speak and not be afraid This teaches us First That the confidence and holy boldnesse which the Saints have in comming unto God is grounded upon the righteousnesse of Christ not upon any worthinesse in themselves Secondly Observe He that is most upright in heart is most forward to acknowledge and most constant in acknowledging his own unrighteousnesse They who are most proud are most empty And they who have least usually speak with the most Sincerity rates it self low I am not right that is righteous saith upright Iob. Thirdly Say others I am not right in my self that is I am at present uncomposed and unsetled in my own spirit As if Iob had said I desire that the Lord would remove his fear and mitigate my afflictions that I might speak with him and not fear for as yet I am not right in my self my spirit is so overwhelmed and my thoughts are so troubled within me Quia non sic sum apud me ut nunc sum sc in hac affl ctione uti me nunc rractat exagitae Deus sum velut extra me animi impos Merc. Neque enim metuens possum respondere Vul. that I have not the free use of my own understanding nor can my reason doe its office much lesse my grace I am scarce in my right minde but rather as a man distracted so was Heman with the terrours of the Lord I know not how to manage faith under such fears the majesty and dreadfulnesse of God oppresse my spirit as I am I am not myself The Vulgar gives this interpretation instead of a translation For I cannot answer while I am afraid Hence note A godly man in sore temptaions may for a while appear lesse then a man Fears hinder him from shewing the best of his naturall self much more any thing of his spirituall self Further note two things experienced by many of the Saints in the day of their distresse First A godly man under greatest afflictions keeps to the opinion of his own integrity yet builds his comfort upon the free grace of God He can according to the first interpretation of these words challenge all with this Question Am I not right in my self Is there not integrity in my spirit And according to the second he is ready to make this negative confession I am not right in my self I stand not upon my own integrity Secondly The Saints in great afflictions are often so overwhelmed with the majesty of God that they are not able to expresse their interest in God much lesse make out the comforts of that interest The former of these arises from that seed of holinesse and stock of grace abiding in them The other ariseth from the naturall weaknesse of flesh and bloud in which they abide and from the morall corruption of nature abiding in them Thus we see how the sense of the text rises as the word Chen is understood nominally for right or just We translate it adverbially But it is not so with me or For it is not so with me This reading bears a three-fold interpretation First In construction with the former words thus Let him take away his rod c. then will I speak and not fear him for it is not so with me that is I am not so fearfull or of so low a spirit I am not such a stranger or of so little acquaintance with God that I should not know how to speak unto him or that I should be afraid to speak unto him If the Lord would but hide that brightnesse of his own glory which dazles me and ease me of my own pains which distract me I should sure enough speak unto him 〈…〉 But secondly We may rather refer it to the false and unkinde opinion of his friends who judged him a wicked man or an hypocrite which here he denies It is not so with me as if he had said If the Lord would be pleased to grant what I have petitioned I would speak unto him without fear or doubt of being heard for it is not so with me namely as you have suspected and imagined all this while or as you think it is I am not the man you take or rather mistake me to be if I were then though the Lord should take all his afflictions from me and all with-draw his terrours yet I should be afraid to speak unto him yea I should be afraid to pray unto him every prayer were I wicked would be a praying down judgement upon my self But seeing I can boldly affirm my conscience also bearing me witnesse that though I sinne yet I love not to sinne that though I am weak yet I am not wicked as ye have charged me Non sic impius ego apud me Pagn Non sum talis qualem me putatis Vatabl. Merc. my heart being thus clear before God I cannot fear to open my mouth and report my cause before God Hence observe which hath been offered from other passages in this book and therefore I shall only observe it That A godly man standeth to and knoweth his own integrity in the midst of all the clamours and slanders the misapprehensions or aspersions of friends or enemies Whosoever loads and charges him with studied or approved hypocrisie he will and he ought to unload and discharge himself at least with Jobs plain deniall you suspect me thus but I am sure it is not so with me Thirdly The words may bear this meaning I have sought and earnestly entreated the Lord to abate my afflictions and to remove his terrours But it is not so with me Alas I doe not finde that the Lord hath done any of these things for me His rod is still upon my back and his terrours stand as thick about my soul as ever was ever poor man in such a plight as I T is not alasse with me as I have praied or as I would have it The rod smarts and terrours amaze me still Hence note That a godly man may pray in affliction and not presently be relieved in or from his affliction Many a soul can say It is so with me as I have praied I have the wishes and desires of my soul yet many and I believe many more then can cannot say so The Lord lets precious praiers lie unanswered to our sense We may pray long before we finde it so with us as we have praied and yet those praiers are not lost but laid up not buried but sown And it
not what your selves are To doe so is a sin and a sinne in respect of the body very common Many are ashamed to be seen as God hath made them few are ashamed to be seen what the devil hath made them Many are troubled at small defects in the outward man Few are troubled at the greatest deformities of their inner man they call for no repairs for no fresh colours to be laid on there many buy artificiall beauty to supply the defects of naturall who never had a thought of buying without money spirituall beauty to supply the defects of supernaturall The crookednesse and distortions the blacknesse and uncomelinesse of the soul are most deplorable yet are they little deplored we are called every day to mend and cure them we are told where and how we may have all set right and made fair again and yet the most stirre not or not to purpose God will not know any body at the last day unlesse his souls be mended by grace and some do so mend their bodies by art that God will not know their souls at that day Depart from me I know you not will be all their entertainment ye have mended your bodies till ye have mar'd your souls Besides What can the man do that cometh after the King saith Solomon Eccles 2.12 The work of the wisest among men is beyond the correction of an ordinary man Much more may we say What can the man doe that cometh after God The work of the most wise God is beyond the correction of the wisest among men They who thus come after God to mend his work lest they should be despised will but make themselves more despicable There is more worth in the very defects of Gods work then in the perfection of mans We may use means to help many bodily infirmities but they who are discontent with Gods work are quickly proud of their own and will one day be ashamed of their own Secondly Consider how Job argues Is it good that thou shouldest despise the work of thy hands Hence observe It is an argument moving the Lord to much compassion to tell him that we are his work as we are creatures and his work especially as we are new creatures When we are under such afflictions as threaten to ruine us 't is seasonable to tell the Lord he made us David strengthens prayer upon this argument Psal 138.8 Forsake not the work of thy own hands All men love their own works many dote upon them Shall we think God will forsake his See how the people of God plead with God in greatest distresse Isa 64.8 But now O Lord thou art our Father we are the clay and thou our Potter and we all are the work of thine hand Be not wroth very sore O Lord. Wilt thou be angry with thy work Lord be angry with the works of wicked men and destroy the work of Satan Doe not destroy the work of thine own hands thy people are thy work Hast thou not formed them for thy self They will shew forth thy praise That invitation to prayer Isa 45.11 seems to intimate that this plea hath a kinde of command upon God Thus saith the Lord the holy One of Israel and his maker Ask me of things to come concerning my sonnes and concerning the work of my hands command ye me while ye come to me under that notion that these are the work of my hands I cannot deny you Doe but name this and it is a law upon me ye may have any thing of me or doe any thing with me while ye speak for the work of mine hands Hence when the Prophet had put the Jews from that plea they were a lost people and their case was desperate This is a people of no understanding therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them and he that formed them will shew them no favour Isa 27.11 As if he had said Ye were wont I know to come to God with this motive of mercy when he afflicted you Lord thou didst make and forme us therefore have mercy upon us but this shall prevail no more He that made you will not have mercy on you He that formed you will shew you no favour There is but one argument stronger then this among all the Topicks of prayer and that never fails namely that God hath redeemed us or that we are his redeemed ones God bestowed much cost upon us in the work of Creation and therefore under that title he can hardly cast us off but he hath bestowed so much cost upon us in the work of redemption that he will never cast us off Further The Scripture makes frequent use of this argument to represse the pride and presumption of man and to stop his mouth when he begins to question and call God to account about any of his dealings with why is it thus Or why am I thus Thus the Prophet silences the murmurings both of mans heart and tongue Isa 45.9 10. Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker shall the clay say to him that fashioned it Why hast thou made me thus And when the Apostle found unquiet and bold spirits busied in contesting with God about his eternall counsels in chusing some and rejecting others in shewing mercy to some and hardening others he stops them with Who art thou O man that repliest against God Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it Why hast thou made me thus Remember thou art the clay and he is the Potter That we are the work of Gods hand moveth his compassion towards us and represseth our presumption against him We must not proudly dispute it out with him for we are the vvork of his hands and we may humbly plead with him not to despise the work of his hands or to Shine upon the counsel of the wicked God is light and he hath light but he hath none for wicked men or for their counsels To shine upon the counsel of the wicked notes three things Impiorum consitia illustrare idem est quod juvare illorum caeptis ac conatibus favere First To favour or delight in them Secondly To succour or assist them Thirdly To make them prosperous and successefull David praying against his enemies saith Let their way be dark and slippery Psal 35.6 And when the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwinde he questions Who is this that darkneth counsel by words without knowledge Job 38.2 As to darken waies and to darken counsel is to hinder and trouble them so to shine upon waies and counsels is to help and favour them The Sunne is the candle of the world and Sunshine is the comfort of the world The Psalmist praies in this language Thou that dwellest between the Cherubims shine forth that is help and favour us so it is expounded in the next verse Before Ephraim Benjamin and Manasses stir up thy strength and come and save us Psal 80.1 2. Thou wilt light my candle was Davids confidence
condition Vnderstand ye brutish he speaks to men who acted more like beasts then men He that planted the ear Shall he not hear He that formed the eye shall he not see As if he had said He that made the ear is all hearing and he who formed the eye is all eye all sight The argument holds strong from Gods power in forming man to his power of knowing man and to his power of disposing man I am teneo hujâ—â— rei causam cum enim manus illius me fecerint jure suo potest Deus me destruere Cajet That 's the first way of dependance Secondly Job may be conceived as rendering an account of those things about which he had taken the boldnesse to interrogate the Lord at the third verse Here he answers his own question as if he had said now I see well enough why thou maist despise and destroy thy work It is thy work I will go no further for a reason to vindicate thee in breaking me to pieces then this That thine hands have set me together Thou hast made me and thou maiest unmake me thou hast rais'd me up and thou maiest pull me down So the copulative vau in the originall which we translate by the adversative yet is taken for a conjunction causall and so it is frequently used in Scripture Gen. 30.20 Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return The sense is Dust thou art therefore to dust thou shalt return Exod. 15.23 24. The waters were bitter and the people murmured that is The waters were bitter therefore the people murmured thus here Thine hands have made me and fashioned me therefore thou dost destroy me He that builds the house at his own charge and by his own power may ruin it at his own pleasure Ex sua formatione artificis misericordiam movet ex commemorato pristino beneficio alia denuò efflagitandi ansam arripit Pined Thirdly The words may carry the sense of a strong motive to prevail with God to handle Job more gently or to deal more tenderly with him why The Lord had bestowed much care and cost to make and fashion him therefore he will surely pity and spare him There is a naturall motion of the heart in every agent towards the preservation of that which proceedeth from it Creation is followed with providence If a speechlesse and livelesse creature could speak and understand it would argue with it's maker in Jobs case as Job doth Dost thou yet destroy me David strengthens his heart to ask good at the hands of God because he had spoken good concerning him 2 Sam. 7.27 Thou O Lord of Hosts God of Israel hast revealed to thy servant saying I will build thee an house therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this praier unto thee Now if David were not only emboldned to ask but even assured to receive mercy because God promised to build him a house that is to prosper his estate and family how much more might Job be encouraged to pray for and expect mercy from the hand of God because God had already framed and built that naturall house his body The Prophet Isaiah being about to plead with God for new mercies presents him with a catalogue of his old mercies Chap. 63.7 8 9. I will mention the loving kindenesses of the Lord and the praises of the Lord according to all that the Lord hath done unto us and the great goodnesse towards the house of Israel which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies and according to the multitude of his loving kindenesses c. Having thus at large told the Lord what he had done the Prophet in a holy zeal contends with him about what he was doing vers 15. Look down from heaven and behold fromâ— the habitation of thy holinesse and of thy glory where is thy zeal and thy strength the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies towards me Are they restrained Doubtlesse thou art our Father though Abraham be ignorant of us c. As if he had said That great sea of thy goodnesse hath sent out abundant streams of good things heretofore and are all those streams now dried up and the springs exhausted What 's become of thy zeal and strength and compassions Are they all spent and gone Thus Job seems to plead here thine hands have made me Et sic repentè praecipitas me Vulg. Antithesi beneficiorum amplissimorum in se à Domino collatoruÌ„ exaggerat iram qua nunc in se desaevit ac afflictiones quibus exagitatur Jun. thou hast done thus and thus for me and wilt thou now destroy me According to this interpretation the later clause of the verse is rendered by an interrogation Thine hands have made me and fashioned me and dost thou yet destroy me What thou my maker destroy me Remember I beseech thee so in the next verse that thou hast made me as the clay and wilt thou bring me into the dust again Thus by a specification of the great outward benefits which he had received from the hand of God he seems to aggravate his present sorrows and to solicite future mercies Thine hands Hands are often ascribed to God as was shewed vers 3. Many things are made with the hand The maker of all things is without hands and yet he is all hand Hence all things that were made are said to be made by the hands of God not only the forming of man but the forming of the heavens and of the earth is the work of his hand Psal 102.25 Psal 95.5 both are put together Isa 48.13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth and my right hand hath spanned the heavens Wheresoever the great works of God are exprest a hand usually is exprest as the instrument working them yet his hand wrought the least as well as the greatest a worm of the earth as well as man upon the earth or the Angels in heaven The heads of men have run into great variety of opinion about these hands forming man First Many of the Ancients understand by the hands of God Ambros in Hexam Hom. 11. Basil c. The Sonne of God the second Person in the Trinity and the holy spirit of God who is the third Thine hands have made me that is the Sonne and the holy Spirit who were assistant to and of counsell with the Father at the Creation of man And God said Let us make man in our image after our likenes Gen. 1.26 Others expound hands literally and formally not as if God had hands that 's below their conceit but thus It hath been said of old that when God at first formed man the Sonne took upon him an outward shape or the shape of a man and so say they Christ not made man but in the form of man formed man Thirdly The hands of God are all second causes which God useth toward the production of any effect Causis secundis veluti quibusdaÌ„
past that vvhich vvas from the beginning and shall be to the end yea to that vvhich hath no end eternity is alwaies before him God is said to remember or to forget vvhen he acts like a man vvho remembers or forgets but there is no act either of forgetfulnesse or of remembrance in God Remembring implieth two things in God First A serious attention to the person and consideration of the thing vvhich he formerly seemed to slight or lightly to passe by We also remember by minding and thinking upon vvhat is present as well as by recalling what is past Secondly To remember notes a speedy supply of our wants or actuall deliverance out of dangers God remembers us when he favours us he remembers us when he pities us he remembers us when he relieves us Who remembred us in our low estate Psal 136.23 that is who brought us out of our low estate The needy shall not alway be forgotten Psal 9.18 not alway no nor at any time the Lord doth not at all forget any much lesse such needy ones as that Scripture intends The meaning is they shall not alway be undelivered their estate shall not lie for ever unconsidered and their cry unattended to God will not deal with them nor suffer others to deal with them as if he had forgotten them Hannah was long under that affliction of barrennesse and when the Lord gave her conception it is said He remembred Hannah 1 Sam. 1.19 his thoughts were ever upon her and upon her petition but when he granted her petition then he remembred her indeed As we then remember God when we obey his commands so God remembers us then when he fulfils our requests Remember I beseech thee As it is our duty to remember the Lord so it is our priviledge that we may put him in remembrance It is a priviledge and a very great one to be a remembrancer to the king of heaven The Prophet describes such an office Isa 62.6 Ye that make mention of the Lord or nearer the Hebrew Ye that are the Lords remembrancers keep not silence and give him no rest Great Princes have an officer called their Remembrancer and they need remembrancers It is at once their honour and their weaknesse to have them They cannot retain all businesses and preserve a record within themselves of all affairs within their Kingdoms It is an honour to God that he hath remembrancers but it is his greater honour that he hath no need of them Himself is the living record of all that hath been done or is to be done Knowledge is above memory and he that knows all things is above remembrancers God is willing we should speak to him after the manner of men but we must not conceive of him after the manner of men We must not think he hath forgotten us though we may beseech him to remember us There are four things which the Saints usually move the Lord to remember First His own mercies Remember O Lord thy tender mercies was Davids praier Psal 25.6 Hath God forgotten to be gracious was Davids question and infirmity Psal 77.9 yet God acts sometimes as if he had forgot his nature or had need to be minded to do what he is God can no more forget himself then deny himself no more forget to be gracious then cease to be yet he gives his people leave yea a charge to move him to do what he cannot but do what he is resolved yea what he is ready to do Mercy pleaseth God so much that he often appears displeased on purpose that we may remember him of his mercy He delights we should desire what he delights to grant Secondly The Saints usually minde God of his Covenant God is ever mindefull of his Covenant Psal 111.5 yet he loves to be minded of it His royall title is The God that keepeth Covenant for ever yet he loves to be desired not to break it Thus Jeremy begs for the Jews the Covenant-people of God Do not abhor us for thy name sake Do not disgrace the throne of thy glory remember break not thy Covenant with us Jer. 14.21 The Psalmist praies upon the same ground Have respect to the Covenant for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty As if he had said Lord Thou hast made a Covenant to preserve and protect thy people but now they are oppressed The dark places that is places full of ignorance and wickednesse which are spirituall darknesse are full of cruelty Holy knowledge hath no such enemy as ignorance Or the dark places are full c. may be thus understood there is no such obscure corner or by-place in the land but their malice searcheth it out for the vexation of thy people We are so far from having liberty to serve thee publikely in the light that we feel the cruelty of bloudy minded men though we do it secretly or in the dark Now Lord it is time for thee to remember thy Covenant Thirdly The Saints use to put God in remembrance of the rage and blasphemies of his and their enemies Thus the Church of the Jews cries unto the Lord Psal 137.7 Remember O Lord the children of Edom in the day of Ierusalem who said rase it rase it even to the foundation thereof When a man is wrong'd who intends revenge he will say to the party wronging him well Remember this or I shall remember you for this Revengefull men have strong memories so hath the God to whom vengeance belongeth He will certainly remember the sinfull revengefull cry of Edom against Jerusalem though the sins of Jerusalem did cry to him for vengeance The Psalmist is as earnest in another place urging the Lord to remember for his own interest as here for the interest of his Sion Psal 74.18 Remember this that the enemy hath reproached O Lord and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy Name As if he had said Pray Lord take a note of this make a memorandum of this That the enemy hath reproached thy Name God will remember it if any of his servants are reproached much more when himself is Fourthly The Saints remember God of their own frailty and that two-fold First Naturall Secondly Spirituall Remember how short my time is wherefore hast thou made all men in vain Psal 89.47 Man is a frail short-liv'd creature and it is some comfort to him that God knows he is so That which Job puts the Lord in remembrance of is his naturall frailty some understand it also of his spirituall Remember I beseech thee That thou hast made me as the clay The LXX reads it Thou hast made me clay 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sept. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The word signifies cement or morter which are mixt of earth water Thou hast made me as tempered clay When the originall of man is described Propriè significat cementum vel terram aqua mixtam it is said The Lord formed man dust out of the ground or
our visiting God as providence is Gods visiting of us we should visit God by praier not only as they Isa 26. in trouble but in our peace we should desire him to visit our estates our families but especially our souls and spirits in their most flourishing condition The Apostle useth it as an argument to keep us from distracting thoughts Phil. 4.2 Let your moderation be known unto all men The Lord is at hand be carefull in nothing but in every thing by praier and supplication let your requests be made known unto God The Lord is at hand let not your hearts be troubled Visit God in duty who is at hand to visit you in mercy Though there be an infinite distance between God and man yet God is not farre from any man and he is ever near some men Let not us be strangers to God when we hear he maketh continuall visits to us Thy visitation doth preserve my spirit Verse 13. And these things hast thou hid in thine heart I know that this is with thee Some read the first clause which adds sharpnesse to it with an interrogation And hast thou hid these things in thine heart Is it so with thee or hast thou dealt so with me indeed The heart of God is the will purpose or decree of God These are a vast repository wherein all things are laid up And these things hast thou hid c. What things what is the antecedent to these things 1. Some say His afflictions These things that is these afflictions which thou hast now laid upon me were hid in thine heart thou hast shewed me many favours while in secret thou didst prepare rods for me 2. The antecedent to these things is mercy life favour and visitation spoken of before say others As if Job had spoken thus This bill of blâ—ssings now read these priviledges now reekoned up were hidden in thiâ—e heart thou hast had gratious intentions towards me while thou hast been smiting me I know all this is with thee Scio quia universorum me mâ—eris Vulg. That is Thou remembrest all this and keepest a record of it by thee The Vulgar makes this the text I know thou remembrest all things or all men Some supposing the antecedent to be his afflictions make out this harsh and unbecoming sense Quasi haec mala velut in animo recondita in tempus opportunum asservasset ut nec opinanteÌ„ opprimeret Atrox querimonia Merl As if Job had thus uttered his minde to God I now perceive thou hast had coles of anger raked up in the ashes while those warm beams of love did shine upon me Thou hast held out mercy in thine hand but somewhat else lay in thine heart This interpretation in the common understanding of it is most unworthy of God It is the wickednesse of men to speak fair and to doe some courtesies while cruelty and revenges are hid in their hearts When Esau Gen. 27.41 saw himself defeated of the blessing by his brother He said in his heart The daies of mourning for my father are at hand then will I slay my brother Iacob Here 's the character of malice he gave neither brother nor mother ill language but he said in his heart The holy God never speaks good to them to whom he intends evil The Creatour needs not daub or pervaricate with his creatures I grant indeed that the Lord giveth wicked men many outward favours and speaks them fair in his works but he never speaks them fair in his Word Say Woe to the wicked it shall be ill with him for the reward of his hands shall be given him Isa 3.11 Men are apt to flatter but flattery is much an abomination to the Lord as it is below him I grant also That the Lord giveth his own people many favours and speaketh reall kindenesses to them while he hides affliction in his heart What evil soever he brings upon them he hath thoughts to do them good and hath nothing but good for them in his thoughts We understand by those hidden things the mercies which Iob with his last breath had enumerated then the words import two things First An argument to move the Lord not to destroy him or or to assure his own heart that he would not As if he had said Lord I know thou remembrest well what thou hast done for me what cost thou hast been at in making me at first and in preserving me hitherto surely then thou wilt not pull all down in a moment Secondly The words may import that the Lord in afflicting Job had used only a kinde of sacred dissimulation A dissembler carrieth himself as if he had no intent to do what he is resolved to do It is usuall with men thus to dissemble hatred and so have some their love He that purposeth much good to another hideth it sometimes under sowre language and unkindest usage Ioseph had most endeared affection toward his brethren yet he put a disguise of anger upon it acting the part of a severe man who lieth at catch to finde out advantages and pick quarrels Ioseph used many stratagems of love to entangle his brethren and wrapt up his good will in hard speeches and rough carriages Nothing appearing lesse then what indeed he most was A loving brother forgetfull of nothing but injuries Job seems to have had such a conception of God while he saith These things hast thou hid in thine heart And then his sense riseth thus Lord I know thou bearest favour and good will towards me still The fire of thy love is not extinct but covered Thou dost but personate an enemy thou art my friend thou drawest a cloud betwixt me and the light of thy countenance but thy countenance is still as full of light towards me as ever and though I see nothing but sorrows on every side yet I know mercies are hid in thine heart Thus the words are an assertion of Jobs faith and assurance that God loved him while his chastnings lay most heavy upon him Hence observe First That the Saints while they are strong in faith are able to discern the favour of God through the clouds and coverings of his most angry dispensations This they can do and when they can they are arrived at a great height in grace To maintain our interest in Christ through disadvantages is strong faith The woman of Canaan Mat. 15.26 knew her pardon and acceptance were hid in the heart of Christ while he called her dog and would scarce vouchsafe to cast an eye upon her Faith did this and faith can do the like at this day But every true faith will not do it There is a kinde of miracle wrought in such believing So Christ concludes with that woman ver 28. O woman great is thy faith Truth of grace is not enough for every work of grace some works will not be done without strength as well as truth Weak faith is ready to say Mercy is lost when it is but hidden
q d. in me jam seme◠mortuo pene confecto Merc. my pains know not only no period but no pause I have storm upon storm grief upon grief here much and there much I am all waies and everywhere again afflicted though already half-dead with affliction Whence observe God doth often renew the same or send new afflictions upon his choisest servants One would think that light should follow darknesse and day succeed the night that though sorrow continue all the night yet joy should come in the morning that after wounding we should have healing and after sicknesse health So they promised themselves Hos 6.1 Come and let us return unto the Lord for he hath torn and he will heal us he hath smitten and he will binde us up yet many have felt wounding after wounds and smiting after blows darknesse hath stept after darknesse and their sorrow hath had a succession of greater sorrows It was a speciall favour to Paul when Epaphroditus was restored Phil. 2.27 He was sick nigh unto death but saith he God had mercy on him and not on him only but on me also and why Lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow God would not do what some of his enemies thought to do adde affliction to his bonds therefore he healed Pauls helper and kept him alive in whom he so much delighted Sorrow upon sorrow is a mournfull bearing yet many a precious Saint hath born that coat The promise to the Church is That her peace shall be as a river and her prosperity as the waves of the sea Isa 66.12 When the Church shall come to her full beauty and attain a perfect restauration then her peace shall be a continued peace she shall have peace upon peace everlasting successions of peace a river being supplied and fed with a constant stream the waters that flow to day will flow again to morrow peace like a river is peace peace or perpetuall peace Sions peace shall not be as a land-floud soon up and as soon down again but as a river and which yet heightens it her prosperity shall be as the waves of the sea If the winde do but stir upon the face of the sea you shall have wave upon wave waves rolling and riding one upon the back of another Such shall be the prosperity of Zion on earth for a time and such it will be for ever in heaven there peace shall be as a river to eternity and prosperity as the waves of the sea joy upon joy and comfort upon comfort riding and rolling one upon the back of another As it shall be thus with the peace of the Church at last so it may be with the afflictions of the Church or of any member of the Church at present Their afflictions may be as a river and their sorrows as the waves of the sea coming on again and again renewed as often as abated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mirabilis sis in me Again Thou shewest thy self wonderfull or marvellous against or upon me Both renderings are consistent with the originall Marvellous upon me That is thou dost not punish or afflict me in an ordinary way Marvels are not every daies work Thou takest a new a strange course to try me such afflictions as mine have no parallel such have scarce been heard of or recorded in the history of any age Who hath heard of such a thing as this thou seemest to design me for a president to posterity Mirificum fit spectaculum homo qui tam dira patitur tam constanti invictoque animo or to shew in my example what thou canst do upon a creature Thou shewest thy self marvellous upon me As Moses speaks concerning Korah Dathan and Abiram when they murmured and mutined against him and against Aaron If these men die the common death of all men or if they be visited after the visitation of all men then the Lord hath not sent me but if the Lord make a new thing and the earth open her mouth and swallow them up then c. The Lord to manifest his extream displeasure against those mutineers did as it were devise a new kinde of death for them If these men die the common or the ordinary death of all men then the Lord hath not sent me These men have given a new example of sinne and surely God will make them a new example of punishment Iob speaks the same sense Thou shewest thy self marvellous upon me thou wilt not be satisfied in afflicting me after the rate or measure of other men All the Saints should do some singular thing and many of them suffer some singular thing The Apostle assures his Corinthians 1 Cor. 10.13 There hath no temptation taken you but that which is common to man Iob seems to speak the contrary A temptation hath taken me which is not common to man Further These words Thou art marvellous upon me have reference to God who sent those afflictions as well as unto the afflictions which he sent As if he had said Lord thou actest now besides thy nature and thy custom thou art mercifull and thou delightest in mercy Thou art good and thou doest good how or whence is it then that thou art so fierce against me and pourest out so many evils upon me I could not knowing thee as I do have beleeved though it had been told me that thou wouldest have been so rigorous and incompassionate if a professed enemy had done this he had done like himself and had been no wonder unto me But now as thou hast afflicted me till I am become a wonder unto many so thou O Lord art become a wonder unto me and to all who hear how thou hast afflicted me Meek Moses made himself a wonder when he broke out in anger Every man is wondered at when he doth that which he is not enclined to doe or not used to do Is it not a wonder to see the patient God angry the mercifull God severe the compassionate God inexorable Thus saith Iob Thou shewest thy self marvellous upon me Hence observe First That some afflictions of the Saints are wonderfull afflictions As God doth not often send his people strange deliverances and works wonders to preserve them so he sends them many strange afflictions and works wonders to trouble them And as many punishments of sin upon wicked men so some trials of grace upon godly men are very wonderfull The Lord threatneth the Jews Deut. 28.59 that he would make their plagues wonderfull he would make strange work among them And he saith of Ierusalem I will wipe it as a man wipeth a dish wiping it and turning it up-side down or wiping it and turning it upon the face thereof 2 King 21.13 To see a great City handled like a little dish or a strong Nation turned topsie turvy as we say or the bottom upwards is a strange thing It is an ordinary thing to see cups platters turned up-side down but it is not ordinary to see Kingdoms and Nations